Peanut Butter Balls

I forgot to mention this.

A few days ago, Seth and Joseph wanted to make peanut butter balls. No problem. Except we kind of never got around to it. Honestly, I hate making peanut butter balls and thought that I'd end up doing most of it so I wasn't too excited. But yesterday Seth remembered and I said, "Sure."

So I helped them measure 1/4 cup of honey.

And then 1/4 cup of peanut butter except that we had some cashew butter that needed to be used so we used that and only needed a very small blob of peanut butter.

And then 1/2 cup of powdered milk. And for those who might like pictures of this, I am sorry that none were taken of this part. If there is ever another time, perhaps. I do not remember if we added another 1/2 cup of powdered milk; Seth things we did not and I am inclined to agree with him.

The stirring was not fun. Seth's arms got tired. I showed him how to kind of mash it against the side of the bowl and that's when the spoon broke. That is also when I told him it would probably be best to just dump it all out and moosh it all together like play dough. That's what he did.

Then they made balls. Well, Seth made balls. Joseph watched (he did help with some of the measuring and dumping into the bowl) and pretended to eat the blob on the counter from which Seth was forming the balls.

It was a pretty tasty endeavor. And not likely to be replicated any time soon because it was decided it's more fun to eat them than to make them. I think Seth must be my child.

Pretty cute kitchen helpers, I'd say. Even when Seth is doing his best to not look that way.

Many Words (over time, of course, not so much all at once)

Good morning! Yesterday morning the goats were being really vocal and they are again today. I’m not sure why other than they probably want to get out and start eating grass and such. The only problem is, of course, that there is no grass to eat as of yet. Most of the snow is gone other than in sheltered areas or where there was more accumulation due to shoveling, plowing, or falling off of a roof, but there isn’t grass yet. Hopefully soon. In the meantime, they get to keep on eating hay, grain, and pine trees.

It seems that Amena isn’t having much fun on the 8^th grade trip. There are something like four busses and there are a bunch of groups of three or four students. I don’t know how many chaperones there are but they don’t really go out and about with the students from the sounds of it. Amena is in a group of four girls and only one of them is she really friends with. They are on bus 4. The girls Amena wanted to be with are on bus 1. The reason she is not with them is because of the little problem I mentioned some time earlier. Since then, things have smoothed out but groups were already decided upon and she felt bad if she left the group she’s in to go back to the other one (which only has three because one of them ended up not going). What fun.

Yesterday was a fun day. It was pretty normal and average until late afternoon. Earlier in the afternoon, Elizabeth called and wanted to know if there was any chance I could give her a ride to MWCC for a meeting she had been invited to for potential early childhood education students. Because of when it was, I could and still get Cedric and Seth to scouts. I called one parent but she didn’t answer and the other potential ride home for them I don’t have a number for so I hoped that I could talk to one of them once we got there because I’d have a few minutes before I had to leave.

It went like this:

Elizabeth’s meeting started at 6:00. That meant we really needed to leave her apartment by 5:30. So I figured I needed to leave home by 5:00. I left at 4:45 instead and got there about 5:15. That turned out to be a good thing because it takes a few minutes to get Maria in and everything settled. We left at 5:30 and got to the Mount right on time.

I got home and had about fifteen minutes before we had to leave to get the boys to scouts. We left, were the third car there, and had to wait so I could make the second and final payment for scout camp for the boys. Dominc’s dad, Bill, is the treasurer and also one of the potential rides home for the boys so I gave him a check and asked about a ride. He had Henry Foley with him so he said sure, he’d already be on our road so no problem. Whew!

Then I went outside and there was Ryan’s mom. She mentioned that she’d seen a call from me but not until late so I told her what it was about and she said she would have been happy to give them a ride. I knew she would if she could. We visited for a few minutes until Joseph had had enough waiting and then we left. Because we wouldn’t have been able to be home for long, we didn’t go home but went straight to the Mount even though it was a bit early to get Elizabeth.

I got to take a few pictures of the sunset which was very pretty last night and Elizabeth actually got out of her meeting before 8:00 which was nice. We got Elizabeth and Maria home and then came home, arriving right about 9:00. Cedric and Seth beat us home and Paul got home probably fifteen or so minutes after.

If I hadn’t been able to get a ride for the boys, my plan was to get Elizabeth, take her and Maria to our house with Joseph, go get Cedric and Seth and take them home, and then take Elizabeth home. It would have worked but would have been more driving and wouldn’t have been so good for Maria, I think. I know I was tired of sitting by the time I was done.

Today we have a busy day planned out beginning with a trip to the dentist for Joseph. This visit has been scheduled and rescheduled so many times I’ve almost lost count. Twice it was due to snow, once due to maintenance work at the office. Now it will finally happen. After that, we are heading over Boston direction to get some boards so I can make raised beds. I’ll probably have more to say about that but not now and probably not today. After that, I need to pick Cedric up at school and take him to the West’s so he can do some work. Then we have church tonight. I am not sure if Joseph has scouts; if he does, I’m not sure how that will work out. We will certainly find out.

Have a fantastical day!

Just a couple of PSs. First, this is the second page of my sixth ‘journal’. I write in these documents and then copy and paste them into emails for Grandma and blog posts for the rest of everyone. Each one I end at 100 pages. That means five hundred and two pages on this computer. Since I started doing this on July 31^st of 2012 and had a hard drive fry in November, there are more out there that I don’t currently have saved in a computer. That’s semi-crazy but seemed noteworthy.

Second, I believe I missed a birthday yesterday. Happy belated birthday, Diane. I hope you had a wonderful day. Thank you for being my friend through the years. (I need to talk to you, by the way.)

That is all.

More Life (with pictures)

This picture I took while walking on April Fool's Day. I think practical jokes can be funny but I generally tend to think that April Fool's Day is just a day like any other. It was a nice day for a walk and this is the swamp nearest 68 on Pitcherville Road.

This is from last Wednesday (April 8). It was also a nice day for a walk. This is the same creek I've taken many pictures of over the past couple of years. I love water. Mostly in solid and liquid forms.

I took this when I was making pie Sunday (April 12). I was cutting the tops off and thinking about how big they were and how in spite of the fact that it's faster and somewhat easier to deal with large strawberries, I really don't trust them. I mean, why do they all, with the exception of the two small ones, look as if they are really two grown together? That can't be a good thing. And they really don't taste quite right, either.

I decided to go for a little walk yesterday afternoon down by the creek (I'd already gone for a big walk up Birches, down Old Westminster, across Cross, down Ragged Hill and back down the bottom of Birches in the morning). I like the creek. Especially now when it has lots of water.

Kitty and Misty went with me. They were funny. Misty never did make it to the other side of the creek where I was but Kitty did.

Daniel's grave. It needs a LOT of work this year. Because Paul never cut the grass last year (never), I really couldn't go down to take care of the grave like I'd've liked to. Walking through tall grass gives me a terrible rash and makes breathing difficult even if I take a shower as soon as I go in. This year needs to be different.

The garden. Talk about a lot of work. I need to start now (except that it's raining) spraying the vinegar/dish soap/salt with water to kill all the stuff I don't want growing in there. And then I need to start digging up where I want to put beds. Should be fun.

Trappings

Good morning! I believe I have an uncle with a birthday today—Happy Birthday Uncle Robert! I hope you have a wonderful day.

I love mornings. For one thing, when I have to take Amena to Quabbin in order to leave on the 8^th grade trip, more radio stations come in better so the choices aren’t so limited. It just so happens that I got to hear some pretty good stuff this morning: Journey, White Snake, Foreigner, Cheap Trick, Steve Perry, U2. In fact, U2 was coming on while I was on Pitcherville and I was thinking, “Hmmmm, maybe I would like to go see them in concert in July.” On the other hand, think of how many people that would be. In Boston. Making noise. Yeah. Wouldn’t mind seeing them, not sure I want to go.

Then I got out of the car and the real reason I love mornings became very apparent.

I love listening to the world waking up. The natural world; I don’t think I would have any appreciation of the city waking up. I love to hear the water running in the creek and the birds; so many birds. The slow lightening of the eastern sky, sometimes orange or pink or just shades of blue, is lovely to behold.

These things make the lights on in houses (including this one) and the deadlines and general hustle and bustle of appointments and needing to get things done—the trappings of society—seem so superfluous.

Ultimately, it seems that the only things that are really important are our relationship with nature (including the creators of it) and family. Anything else is just. . .extra. Not even frosting on the cake; I think much of it is more like sewage.

Deep breath in. Hold it.

Let it go.

Ahhhhhh.

In other news, the midwifery skills workshop for this past weekend was postponed because I was the only person who wasn’t sick or had sick children. Such is life.

This is the first bread finished. I thought I'd make three loaves instead of two so that they would be smaller. It didn't really work. As you can see, these loaves are not small.

Because I didn’t get to go to New Hampshire, I made bread. Three kinds. And put the peels of five or six oranges in a quart jar and filled it with vinegar to try it out for cleaning and keeping bugs away. Yesterday I made lemon bars (they are actually more lime than lemon) and an apple strawberry pie.

The chocolate bread was started first (the two larger loaves, if you needed help) and finished last. I was experimenting because Paul brought a loaf of chocolate chocolate chunk bread home and said he likes it and could I make it. Well, I can certainly give it a go. I actually do not care for this bread but the boys (Seth and Joseph) love it and Paul likes it so we're good. The other bread is my current favorite. It's the almost no knead recipe Paul brought home that has beer in it. It makes the best bruschetta (I have no idea if that is spelled correctly) and I've got it to the point where I like it with 1 cup of whole wheat and 2 cups of unbleached white. The next step is 2 cups of whole wheat and 1 of unbleached white.

This morning I got up at 3:57 to be ready to take Amena to Barre for the 8^th grade trip. I told her we needed to leave by 4:30 so that we’d leave by 4:45 which should get us to the school right on time (between 5: 00 and 5:15) and it worked just right. We left at 4:45 and got to the school at 5:07.

The lemon bars that are 7/8 lime and 1/8 lemon. Turned out really well. I don't understand, though, how Paul can stand to eat the lemon filled donuts from the store but doesn't like these.

Trappings.

The apple strawberry pie before baking.

Speaking of trappings, she’s going to Washington, DC. While there are things there I wouldn’t mind seeing, I think I could happily live my life without ever going there. Crater Lake, on the other hand, I still would like to visit. With my family. Maybe there are letterboxes there.

The strawberry apple pie after baking. I used the recipe I got from Grandma for deep dish rhubarb pie. You don't have to roll out the crust and I used the food processor to mix it last night. Heavenly! So easy and so good. And made with all whole wheat flour.

Anyway, have a fantastic day!

No Title

Good morning! As I suspected, the past couple of days have been busy.

Tuesday we got some onions planted in milk jugs (four gallons) and I did some planning for the garden. According to my figures, I need twelve four by ten foot raised beds. A couple more than that would be nice so that even squash can be in raised beds but the twelve includes two for corn. I would love to plant a whole field of corn, sort of, but so far the rodents have had more of the corn we’ve planted here than the humans have. I expect the rodent population to be somewhat diminished by Kitty but there is no way she can get them all. The twelve is not counting any for the garlic I plan to plant in the fall because I figure by October there will be empty beds OR I will just plant it around the edges since garlic is a good thing to do that with in order to keep buggy pests away from the other plants.

Tuesday  evening was the Pack 12 Leadership Meeting. It was interesting and informative. And kept to about an hour. And funny, at times. Especially the comment made by one leader about eight years of diapers is enough. I had to laugh at that one. Eight years of diapers is NOTHING! One of the other leaders had to agree because he and his wife have six.

That got me to thinking on the way home. Bill Cosby said that if you only have one child, you are not qualified to know what it’s like to have children. I agree. Child does not equal children. Child is not plural. I would go so far as to say that having two children doesn’t really qualify you either because although having two is more of a challenge than one, almost everyone is born with two hands. It is when the third comes along that we begin to understand what it means to have children. And every one beyond that adds to the chaos (I do understand that having only one or two can be somewhat chaotic—I once had only one child and then, for a time, I had only two children) and changes the family dynamic in ways that people with fewer might be able to imagine, especially if they come from larger families, but do not actually know. By the way, I have great admiration for anyone who has more than I do. One of my favorite people has eleven and she is an incredible woman.

Yesterday was another busy day. It was an early release day (which I don’t mind but really wish they happened on Friday) and I really wanted Joseph and Seth to be done with school by recess time. Backing up a bit, I got up, washed some dishes, got the goats fed and watered, waited until Amena and Cedric were both gone or at least on the bus, and went for a walk. I needed to do that and would love to go out at 5:00 but it’s not light enough. So I went at about 7:45. It’s a good time, too, it just doesn’t give me time for a shower when I get back before school for the boys.

They did get done by recess time and I was able to shower. Julia arrived as I was cutting my toenails so I only got one foot done (the other had to wait until I was going to bed). Emily was a bit late but that’s the way it goes when you have a youngling (but imagine how it would be with two J). We talked about Laura’s reception since it is going to be at the West’s house. Just FYI, Laura, as long as someone is willing to help with last minute preparations (I’m thinking Aunt Becky—heads up—and maybe someone or two else) she (as in Emily) is willing to follow you around and take pictures.

While they were still here I cleared the table of school stuff and other odd and ends because I really wanted to get more things planted in milk jugs and made a sack lunch for Joseph. Joseph needed to be delivered to the Foley’s by 12:15 when Jack and a bunch of other cub scouts would be arriving on the bus. The plan was to eat lunch and get ready to leave on a field trip to Worcester at 1:00. Julia and Emily both needed to get going at that point so we all left just after Cedric was dropped off.

I came right home and Cedric, Seth and I got ready to go to see Furious 7 at the theater. Seth really didn’t want to go but I wasn’t comfortable leaving him home alone for three hours so he got to go. Since he saw the trailers, he now wants to go see a few other movies but so does Cedric. And, honestly, there are some I wouldn’t mind going to see. When we got home, I got the message that Joseph would be later than expected because the tour was still in progress. I don’t remember when he got home but I think it was between 5 and 5:30.

We all needed to be at church at 7:00 and Amena and I both needed to stop somewhere on the way. Since Walmart had what we both needed, we stopped there rather than having to keep looking for what Amena needed.

Church was good. Amena, Seth and Joseph all had fun. I’m not sure about Cedric. The rain that had started before we left for church had turned frozen by the time we were done. I had Amena and Cedric with me, Paul had Seth and Joseph with him. When everyone was home, Paul said that the roads were slick. I know they certainly had to potential to be—the car was covered with a layer of ice—but I didn’t have any trouble slipping on the way home so I’m not sure if he was referring to the roads in general or specifically on the way to church from work.

Once we were home, Joseph started talking about the field trip. He had such an attitude about going. He did not want to. I think he wanted to stay home and watch Chima or Ninjago with Seth but because Seth had to go to the movie, he didn’t get to watch much (he wanted to stay home and watch Chima or Ninjago). As I was leaving, I told him to have fun and he turned around and said, “I’m not going to!” Well, ha, ha. He had fun. He didn’t want to go to bed he was telling us so much about it. He got to bring home a couple of pieces of the cable that they make and he told us about a building inside a building (“like a tree fort inside”) and what they use the cable for and on and on and on. It was already late so I had to shoo him off to bed but I’m really glad that he had a good time.

Today is going to be another busy one, I think. It’s colder and everything outside is covered with white icy snow. Should be fun. I wanted to go out for a walk but I suspect, and will know once I’ve fed the goats, that the white is concealing the ice. I might have to start a fire early because it’s rather chilly in the house. Or do a bunch of laundry and some baking. We have the sisters coming over for lunch today and the Petzold’s for dinner. And I need to do Cedric’s lunch still.

Have a fantastic day!

Lots and Lots

Someone put a crumb of something under the 0 key. Very annoying.

Not much has been going on here as of late. Friday was Friday. Joanna and Zak went to pick Amena and Nick up from school and then they went bowling. Then Joanna and Zak dropped Amena and Nick off because they had plans with one of Zak’s friends and Amena and Nick hung out here. I played Phase 10 with them which was kind of fun.

Paul brought Chinese home because I claimed a headache. I actually did wake up with one and I actually did take something for it in the afternoon. It was just a constant nagging thing that didn’t want to go away and as much as I like the big-glass-of-water-and-a-nap thing, I don’t usually have time for a nap. By the time Paul got home, it was gone.

Friday morning I had a dentist appointment. Seth and Joseph got to go to Joanna’s while I did that. While we were gone, Paul left for work and took Misty with him. He left a note on my computer saying he had taken her but not why. Turns out he took her to a vet because she’s been scratching so much.

I don’t understand how a dog can have fleas but the cat and the other dog don’t. When we were in Bonners Ferry, the cats had fleas and they got in the basement and after we left, they proliferated like crazy. There weren’t any cats in the house at that point but the fleas sure seemed to like the environment.

Saturday morning it seems like something was happening but other than taking Amena to Gardner for babysitting, I don’t remember anything at the moment. Saturday and Sunday were General Conference and other than picking Amena up in the afternoon and missing the last half hour of the first session, I watched them all. Thoughts on some of the talks perhaps later.

Sunday being Easter, I did Easter baskets (they were actually gift bags) for the first time in forever. I actually don’t remember doing them before ever. When we were with Dan, we weren’t allowed refined sugar and couldn’t afford anything else. After that, I just don’t remember. I know that we haven’t done them since we’ve been in Massachusetts. Next year will be better because this year we only had chocolate rabbits, Cadbury eggs, malted robin eggs and bubbles. Hunting Easter eggs was good. Some of them were hidden really well and Cedric, as usual, got more than his fair share. Next year I think I will institute the idea of only being able to collect eggs that are the same color as your basket (or bag).

Sunday I was tired so I went to bed at 9:00. A little before 11:00 I had to use the bathroom so I got up and noticed the light was on in the dining room. Paul was still up working on a puzzle he’d gotten out. At 4:00 I woke up and had to use the bathroom again. Paul still wasn’t in bed and the light was still on downstairs. I went back to bed and got up again at 5:00 to make sure Amena was getting up. She was and Paul still wasn’t in bed and the light was still on downstairs. I went back to bed. Paul finally went to bed after that and I got up for good at 5:30. Amena got off in time to not miss the bus and Paul was up again by 6:30 and in the shower. He says he fell asleep at the table. Quite possible. I’m thinking the reason he gets after Amena so much for staying up so late (she often falls asleep with the light on in her room) is because he is unable to go to bed when he knows he’s tired. He has to watch just one more episode or read just one more chapter or find just one more piece and ends up falling asleep while he’s doing whichever one it happens to be.

Amena and I had a mandatory meeting for all 8^th grade students who are going on the 8^th grade trip to Washington, DC, next week and parents. That was downright exciting. It was over fairly quickly, though, which was nice. It was also nice to be able to talk to the principle about not being able to drop Amena’s luggage off on Saturday. I won’t be home and Paul would end up being late. Students who have conflicts are able to drop off on Friday afternoon which works out just fine.

Last night Paul beat me to bed and turned his light out before I did. Imagine that, eh? This morning I was up before him, which is normal, in spite of the fact that after my alarm went off at 5:30, I actually fell asleep again and didn’t wake up until 6:10. Fortunately, Amena was almost ready so all I had to do was get her a lunch together.

I decided it was time to get busy with Laura’s dress yesterday so I thought I would get school done with the boys in the morning and then do dress stuff after lunch until Amena got home. Good plan except Paul still had the puzzle out and it was taking up half the table. He didn’t go to work yesterday for some reason and when I wasn’t needed by the boys, I helped with the puzzle so it would get done faster and out of my way. It was done shortly after lunch.

My goal was for yesterday to get the loops done for the lacing of the dress. While I’m working on that, I’m thinking what a pain it is and how her bodice doesn’t have anything to hide the lumps that will be made by the cording the loops are made of and I would prefer there to be no lumps. So I stop and go searching online for other ideas for loops and ran across a couple of tutorials on how to make a laced up back when the bodice just won’t zip up. Wa la! Don’t know where my brain was, but it clearly wasn’t thinking straight because everything that I saw I’ve done, not necessarily all together for the same project, but still. . . . So, anyway, plans have changed and I think the finished product will actually be better although I have to admit that I’m thinking of other ways to accomplish the same thing. Why do the creative juices not start running until there is just more than a month left? Anyway, Laura, you should call or message me so I can get your input.

In other news, it’s time to get some plants started for the garden and finish planning the garden. In other words, lots to do today. Lots and lots. And lots. Have a fantastic one!

Such is Life (with pictures)

Taken this morning. It was very pretty.

Good morning! Not a whole lot of interest has been going on around here. Just school and stuff. More of the same on tap for today.

This is one of Joseph from January.

Yesterday, even though I knew it was Wednesday, I got it stuck in my head that it was Thursday so I went to the library to pick up my book and the library was closed. Silly me. And I went to get eggs and it wasn’t Friday (I don’t know what I was thinking—I read the sign but it just didn’t register). That was after I dropped Cedric off at Paul’s after Seth and Joseph and I got home from going to the chiropractor. Last night Joseph had scouts and everyone else needed to go to church. Jonathan Brinker picked Joseph up, I took everyone else to church and after I emptied all the trash cans, went with Seth to get Joseph. The door to the school was locked but a couple other parents were there as well and one of them called the janitor who opened the door for us.

Seth took this one of Kitty on March 10.

Tuesday (I think it was Tuesday) I started filling out the renewal papers for MassHealth and thought it would be a lot easier and faster to do it online so I set up an account and did that and was told I could go no farther because they couldn’t verify my identity. I could send a copy of my driver’s license and they could call when they got it to finish the process. Or I could just call and give the information to someone over the phone. I called. I gave a woman my name and address, etc., and was put on hold. For an hour. And then got a guy who asked for all the information again. And couldn’t tell my ‘s’ from my ‘f’. That was fun. During the being on hold and figuring out the s and f, I was filling out the paperwork and making copies (they provide enough for three people—I have six) and filling out. I signed it as I discovered that this guy ran into the same problem I did—my identity was verifiable so we could go no farther. So I wrote a letter and mailed it with the many pieces of paper.

Lego creation from March 17.

Here is my letter:

Pamela S Flint

64 Pitcherville Road

Hubbardston, MA 01452

March 31, 2015

MassHealth

PO Box 4405

Taunton, MA 02780

To whom it may concern:

Enclosed please find my application to renew coverage for myself and my family. If you need any further information, please feel free to contact me.

In the meantime, I must express what a waste of paper this whole process is. In spite of the fact that renewing online or over the phone is an option, the paper application is still mailed out. I would have been happy to use it as a fire starter this afternoon but found it necessary to fill out in order to mail it in. This is because when I attempted to renew online, I ran into the problem of the Federal Identification Proofing service was not being able to verify my identity (copy of the screenshot enclosed). That being the case, I thought I would call. After being on hold for an hour and repeating my information to two separate people, the same problem was encountered. Not only are we wasting paper, we are wasting time. Luckily, I was able to make the extra copies needed of pages nine through twelve of the application for the members of my family beyond three as well as filling out the entire form while waiting and listening so the time was not a complete waste for me. For the two people I spoke to, however, it was.

In spite of the fact that my time was not entirely wasted, is it really necessary to take four pages to find out information about one person? It takes two inches just to determine what race a person is. It takes almost an entire page to ask about income which most grade school students do not have. Would it not be possible to consolidate this information?

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Pamela S Flint

Joseph's foot and a moose track in the back field on March 21.

Do you think it was nice enough? Did I make my point without going overboard? I also sent a copy of my license with a copy of the screenshot and a letter. It was much shorter and boring so I won’t bore you with it here.

More snow on March 27.

Today I have an IEP meeting at school about Cedric at 1:00. Should be fun. In the meantime, have a wondiferal day.

And another lovely sunrise March 31.