The First Pickles Graduate!

So despite The Plague's best efforts, Miriam was able to have a high school graduation ceremony.

Three, in fact.

The first was at the end of May and was very informal; since everything was still up in the air and we weren't sure when or if there would be a graduation for our homeschoolers, some friends sweetly hosted a little event in their backyard.  It was the first time in months we had been with a group of people, and it was SO. GOOD.

Ma Ingalls would be so proud

Hello, friends-and-relations,
yes, we are all still alive.  Still inside.  Going stir crazy.  Along with everyone else.  Last week the Powers That Be promised that everything would start opening up on Friday, and then oh big surprise changed their minds mid-week and extended our solitary confinement sentence by another two weeks, dashing all our hopes that this will ever come to an end.  I have no idea what day it is anymore.  All I know is that when the milk runs low I go shopping and try to buy whatever is left in the stores.

Enough complaining.  At least Mr. Pickles is still allowed to work, so we can still buy books and eat.

...in that order.

I know a lot of people have been planting pandemic gardens -- that sounds like it requires way too much energy.  We're still homesteading in our own way though. 

Behold!

that would be 45 lbs of hard red organic wheat

A few months ago a friend told me about how some health issues she'd been suffering through were miraculously relieved by eating homemade bread from her own freshly ground wheat, and I thought hey why not?  We've got nothing to lose -- if the allergic people in the house end up not being able to eat it, we're no worse off than before.  It's actually cheaper than the good stuff at the store, plus with the added benefit of having all the nutrients still in it since nothing needed to be removed to keep it shelf-stable.  So in the name of Science I joined a co-op and ordered a bucketful.

I started by grinding the grain in a regular ol' blender, which was very loud and took a while.  Then Mr. Pickles very kindly bought me a grain mill which is much more efficient.

It's from China, so figuring out the attempted English translation of the instructions was entertaining.


Here are the results from my first loaf:

behold, the Bread Brick!

I followed the bread machine's recommended recipe for whole wheat bread.  It was very very dense.  I think 3c. of whole wheat flour need a little more than one tsp of yeast, n'est-ce pas?

Next batch, using recipe from my friend (and 3 times the amount of yeast):

voila!  too much yeast though; it fell at some point during rising

the texture was perfectly light, though

I adjusted the amount of yeast again and have finally hit on the perfectly textured loaf. 


And the final verdict?

Mr. Pickles and Miriam can eat it!  Not too much at a time, but they're not suffering the reactions they normally would from eating wheat.  Whew! 

It also tastes so amazingly good, I wish I could make some for you all.  It's good and hearty and makes awesome toast.  The crust is a little dark, but I think that's more of a bread machine issue than a fault of the wheat.

So, yeah.  I grind my own flour now.

Daredevil Daniel

So now that there are 20 cases of Coronavirus in our county, we've decided to isolate ourselves and play at home and read books for the foreseeable future.

It's the introvert's dream.

Daniel wanted to show you an exercise regimen he designed to keep active and fit while we're cooped up at home.

Stay well, friends.

October

Okay before you start reading, you have to go here and have it just playing in the background.

You're welcome.

(I always hear this song playing in my head whenever we go hiking.)

So back in October we went hiking in the Blue Ridge mountains during Columbus Day weekend.  And by "hiking" I mean "walked along a well-defined and relatively easy 20-minute trail uphill and then back down."

the view from Stony Man Summit

Oh Shenandoah...

Andy, human mountain goat

it was so cold and windy!  I never remember to dress warmly enough for this summit.  I spent most of our time up there hiding from the wind in this little hollow

hitchin' post makes an excellent barre!

the dryads get a little bigger every year

motto: No Rock Left Unclimbed!

little trooper made it most of the way himself, but occasionally just Couldn't. Walk. Any. More. (he suckered Miriam into carrying him uphill -- mean ol' Mom refused until we were heading back down)

about a week away from peak color, but still lovely

two roads diverged in a wood...

there were never such devoted sisters...

"Miriam laughs at anything, even when I just breathe -- watch!"

Worn out boys means this hike was a success!

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There was THE most amazing rainbow in October.  The thing stretched across the entire sky, and it was absolutely brilliant.  There was a double rainbow above it, and rainbow echoes below--I counted six (none of which could I capture on film).   Why are rainbows so hard to photograph?

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Katie found a shirt that she just HAD to get, as it perfectly expresses her love for her two favorite fandoms:

I don't know if you can see it, but Epona's cutie mark is a triforce

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Andy's birthday came towards the end of October.  We had a small family celebration on his birthday.  He got to choose all his favorite foods for meals, and play video games (almost) as much as he liked. 

He really, really wanted a party on Halloween, so for lunch we had friends over for a little costume party.  I love having friends with big families too -- you invite one family over and suddenly there are 12 kids in your house!  Instant party!

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Speaking of parties, one morning Mr. Pickles came downstairs and found this little scene:

Halloween 2019

Summer days, driftin' away...

Now that fall's here, it's time to talk about summer!

this was supposed to be our nice, calm, month "off"

Father's Day weekend

Hello friends-and-relations!

It's SUMMER!

Things have finally calmed down here a bit.  Like every other parent of school-aged children, our Spring was filled with performances, recitals, friends' performances, and end-of-the-year presentations. It's delightful seeing the evidence of all the talent and hard work that the kids put into their year.  But, you know, it's also nice to have a little more breathing space to the days.

so many colors!

Our June was very full -- especially the last couple weeks.  The funnest part was driving out to Ohio to spend Father's Day with family.  Katie had been attending horse camp with her cousin for a week, so since we had to pick her up anyway we decided to make a mini-vacay out of it.

Piano Recital!

I have been added as a blogger! Mwahaha...er, I mean, now I can contribute additional posts and pictures and stories and things! In other words, add the pictures I have on my phone that we don't have on the computer ...

Anyhoo, without further ado, the spring piano recital!

Jojo's "Steampunk":

My Grande Valse Brillante by Chopin:

Now we're done! I was pretty done with Chopin by the end. As fun of a piece as it is, playing it every day six times or more at different tempos for over an hour gets a little old. I've been working on it for 5 months now, but didn't really focus on it until March. Then my teacher and I pushed the tempo and finished the memory over a very short time period, so considering where it was a couple of weeks ago, it's a miracle I could play it for guild and the recital! Now it's on to jazz and Franz Liszt for the next 7 or so months.

Be Still, My (Bleeding) Heart

So every year I promise myself that I'm going to take pictures of the Bleeding Heart in the spring, because its growth is so dramatic.  Finally, during our 5th spring here, I remembered to do it!

March 15, when I first noticed they were poking up:

one week later:

week 3:

week 4: kaboom!

(I also planted some phlox this day, to fill out what becomes an empty bed once the bleeding hearts are done)

Finally, week 5, the peak:

Like I said, dramatic.

Birthday Week 2019!

It's All Birthday, All the Time!!

Exhibit A:  Miriam's 17th on Tuesday (and Wednesday)

No, we can't believe she's 17 either.  It's just too weird.

Miriam had to go to class and work and choir practice on her actual birthday (welcome to the adult world!) so we celebrated as a family the next day.  She went skating with friends.  Mr. Pickles grilled.  Chocolate lava cakes were consumed.  She'll celebrate with some more friends later this weekend -- she and Katie are planning a Phantom of the Opera-themed party.  (It's awesome seeing Miriam get into all the musicals I loved when I was the same age!)

Exhibit B:  Jojo's 11th on Thursday

Jojo chose all his favorite foods for meals, got to play Wii (during Lent!!), and didn't have to do school.  So all in all a good day for him.  He'll have a birthday party with his friends, also this weekend.  (The fun just never stops!)

Exhibit C:  Mr. Pickles' something something-th on Friday (and Saturday)

Happy Birthday to meeeeee...

I won't post the embarrassingly silly picture of him blowing out his candles, in order to preserve the illusion of the dignity and widsom attendant upon his advanced years.




Aw, who am I kidding.

he was winding up for a huge sneeze, and then when I took this picture -- my camera is not a quiet one -- everyone broke down laughing

Since Mr. Pickles' birthday fell on a Friday in Lent, we extended his celebration to the next day as well so we could feast with a clear conscience.  Although for his birthday dinner he made grilled salmon, which really doesn't seem all that penitential. :)  He did take his birthday off work, which was celebratory in itself.  His birthday cake was the most amazingest thing -- it was gluten- and dairy-free chocolate cake made with coconut sugar and it was sooooo good.  The kids all pitched in to get him Mario Kart 8 and another set of Switch controllers, so it was really a gift for everyone.

Mr. Pickles took most of the week off work, which was nice for him and for us.  Also on Monday, the kids asked me how much school we were going to do that week, and I said "It's Birthday Week!  No school!"   And behold, the sound of a great multitude rejoicing.