Let Us Have Lettuce

We've been having a lot of lettuce lately and no one is tired of it yet. Salads almost every day, lettuce on sandwiches and burgers, salad for late night snacks, and so on.

Every five or six days I'm going out to the garden to harvest some more. Who knew this is the one veggie that would really take off in my garden? Yesterday I brought in arm load after arm load to wash. Twice I filled my small sink full as I dared with lettuce leaves. After washing I filled four one gallon freezer bags of lettuce waiting for use. There is still a half bag left in the crisper from last weeks pickings. We are all so very pleased that the deer appear to be uninterested in lettuce. I still see their hoof prints in the ground occasionally, but no nibbles noticed. With the way they would scrounge peppers and tomatoes and peas it had become completely worthless to plant those veggies any more. I think it was the rabbits that got to the green beans. They left more for the gardener but did manage to damage a lot of beans.

Next year I do plan to plant more variety again. With the composter working all summer long I should have some nice nutrients to add to the soil. I have more time to think about some sort of fencing protection. In the mean time Rick planted a thought in my mind that has taken hold and flourished, but the harvest, if it ever comes, is a long time in the future:

Teachable Moments

Last week Presbytera wrote about Serendipity. These teachable moments come around rather frequently for home schooling families.

But some are more memorable and impressive than others, such as Presbytera's example with books and food preparation and eating to experience together. Around the same time, we were having such a lesson in our house, although in a rather less comfortable manner.

My family was outside playing basketball. Not a game, but each with his own ball practicing making baskets. Suddenly the Artist took a surprise basketball to the face. Impact was followed by a stunned quick seat on the ground and a quick check to see if all her teeth were intact.

No ice was needed, but some comfort and cuddling was. Dad and daughter snuggled on the couch and soon I overheard them talking, "Was that kinetic energy or potential energy?" The Artist had frequently gotten the two confused before. So a clunk in the head had yielded a review of some fourth grade physics concepts. There is nothing like an object lesson to drive the point home. Too bad she had to be the object this time!

New Martial Artist

In June the Engineer began taking Tae Kwon Do classes with his sister. He had been waiting for the day to come for a long time, and he shows his earnestness by paying excellent attention in his classes. It was me, mom, who kept forgetting to bring the camera!

Until now. In these first two photos the Engineer and another student are working on their white belt form. Later in in the class he and a partner are working on kicking drills. He is working hard and it is paying off. Last Friday he was awarded his first star for free sparing techniques. Way to go, Kiddo!

Sculpture

This year I found a book for the Artist's art classes about sculpting, Hands On Sculpting by Dottie Erdmann. From the moment it arrived, the Artist was captivated. Earlier this week she began the first few lessons in the book, making a lemon, an apple and a dolphin.

She completed the lemon and reused the clay before I had a chance to get a photo. She did show it to me before she demolished it, and I was impressed. She was more hasty and less careful in shaping the apple, but she did let me photograph it before she turned her attention to the dolphin. I could tell she was pleased with the dolphin. This is her first work with both a base and armature. She used colored Scupley for the base, some large nails for armature and white Sculpey for the dolphin. She shaped the animal beautifully, and adorned her base with some small pebbles and a seashell. After the work cooled, the Artist brought out her paints. Here, he has only a first coat, so there are still some white spots showing through, but you get the idea. Another thing I love about the book is that is gives the baking times and temperatures to use if you are working with Sculpey.

The Artist is really enjoying Sculpey. It is a step or two up from the modeling foam she had used last year. But even in that medium she impressed us with Bumble Bee, Girl with Life Jacket & Inner Tube, Girl at the Beach, and Desert Snake. My favorite of all these modeling foam sculptures is the snake at the desert oasis. Unfortunately, the cactus he is curling around suffered a major injury and was lost.

Beating the Heat

The last few days have been hot and humid. To keep cool I've been serving as many cold dishes as I can for meals and we've been enjoying that garden lettuce for salads.

For breakfast the Artist and I enjoy breakfast smoothies. The Engineer, who turns up his nose at any beverage that is not room temperature water (or on rare occasions cool, white milk) would rather have oatmeal or toast, even on these days when the atmosphere feels a lot like a bowl of oatmeal.

First we take some strawberries that spent the night in the freezer and put them in the blender. Then we add bananas, and a little milk. After the fruit and milk have whirled around for a while I add some yogurt and blend it in. When I remember, I also add a scoop of whey protein from the canister that hides in a corner of my cupboard. This time, I remembered! These make a cool and delicious breakfast for the two of us.

West Side Story

Last night the Artist and her grandpa went to see West Side Story performed at a local community theatre.

After seeing the Czarevitch earlier this month and seeing her reaction to the sad ending, my dad had his doubts about how much the Artist would enjoy West Side Story. But I reassured him. The Artist generally does well with the sad endings as long as she is not surprised by them. She doesn't cry while watching Pinocchio, for example, like some unnamed blog author!

The Artist read Romeo and Juliet in prose in her Shakespeare for Children book. Then I found a synopsis of West Side story for her on line that would help her grasp the rival gangs and the ethnic enmity that are central to the story.

Sure enough, she had a great time! When she came home she was exhausted from having such a long day and late night, but she oozed excitement when she told me her favorite part was watching the gangs tease with Officer Krupke in song and dance.

On a Mission

We're on a mission! Through the magic of audio we've been brought along on A Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In another ten days the recording of Around the World in 80 Days that I borrowed is due. I've already renewed it once and we have not yet begun the story. Can we do 80 Days in ten days?

Once our audio experience is complete I've lined up the G rated 1959 version of the film A Journey to the Center of the Earth starring James Mason, Pat Boone and Arlene Dahl. I think the kids will enjoy that very much. One of Rick's co-workers did see the movie of the same name that is in theaters now. He told Rick it was good and that it stayed fairly true to the book. The conversation did not last long enough for Rick to learn whether it was acceptable for kids or not. Have you seen the movie that is out now? Or have you heard about why it earned the PG rating? Maybe I can find a way to bring the Artist along to see it with me.

The reading of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was extremely entertaining. I ended up abandoning my knitting in favor of snuggling up in a blanket with the Artist and just listening to the story.