These days

Did you know Smokey the Bear has been around for 80 years? 1944 is when the campaign started, so we read the story at the library about how we can help prevent forest fires.  The librarian had a craft to make a flat Smokey (like Flat Stanley, which is a laminated cartoon character on a popsicle stick, and you can document the adventures you go on with photos, or draw, or write what you do together). First stop was the lake! 

Second stop was visiting Dad at work!  He's with 2 other guys painting a bed + breadfast this week. Cream and a pale dusty rose color.

I made queso fresco and added delicious chive blossoms on the top. Below, you will see the hive my husband has built.  We'll get bees this week!  We all love honey.

We made a dozen cupcakes for a friend's birthday.  I made homemade whipped cream, by skimming the cream off the top of our raw milk.  I've had a Kitchen Aid mixer for a year now and it's easy to make whipped cream, butter, cookies, cake batter, yeast bread dough (although I DO like kneading by hand), etc. I keep thinking about getting the ice cream bowl that you can freeze and the special paddle attachment, but am just not sure.  

Here, the chicks were 1 week old.  Now they're 2 weeks old. Out of 20 eggs only 7 hatched, so we put another batch of eggs in the incubator.

We started a wilderness class and this week, focused on learning knots and how to use them when camping, setting up a clothesline or to tie your drawstring pants in a way that will be secure, yet easy to undo.  These videos by The Bear Essentials are great!

This was Sunday afternoon at the lake. Two families who we are friends with also came later, which was really nice.

My mom commissioned this icon of St. Elijah from Father Paul Akmolin.  Isn't it just beautiful?