Susiej

Well, this is interesting. On the last day of school, the fifth graders, as if Mini Mall was not enough, are now participating in an Egg Drop. Donice? Can one of the 5 Dave’s spread some light?

“We will celebrate our last day together by completing one of our best hopes for the year. You may work with partners or work alone to create a safe way to drop an egg off the top step of the Middle School Stadium. (This is the new home school the soon-to-be-6th graders.) The goal is for the egg to endure the trip without breaking!”

THE RULES

Your egg:

• must be raw
• visible from the outside of the “egg airplane”
• must not be wrapped directly in any material, like tape
• can be securely seated in some kind of device, like a towel roll
• must be in a case of some kind

Your egg case:

• must be made out of materials found at home
• may not be bigger than an adult’s shoe box

Just for fun:

• Give your egg airplane a name
• Be ready to cheer for everyone’s entry
• Stand back during launching!

Earlier this year, they had to make a skyscraper out of newspaper and tape — and it had to stand for at least ten seconds. That should prepare them for this egg drop. Do you know anything about an egg drop? Have you ever heard of an egg drop? I will post pictures — June 7th is launch date.

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Filed under: Laugh, Life, Make Something, boy by SusieJ - 16 Comments →

If you have roses in your garden, they’re probably blooming right now. If not, it could be because your rose plant is plagued with:

• Powdery Mildew
• Black Spot
• Brown Canker

I’ve had them all. About 8 years ago, I found a tip, and I’ve used it every year, and it always works. I have disease free roses with this one, simple act:

I plant chives around the rose.

No chemicals. No “timed” applications. Just chives. Chives are companion plants to roses. I think it’s the oniony-scent of the chives that deters the roses from becoming attacked. Companion planting is a very easy way to garden — it can makes gardening more fun — and a higher rate of success. There’s a great book that explains it all, Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting And, speaking of “green things,” there’s a blog, called “Gift of Green,” about all the ways we can minimize our global footprint.

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Filed under: Life, Make Something, Science, gardening by SusieJ - 8 Comments →

My second born son, the one that I labored with for 72 hours, while walking through the woods, smelling flowers, will soon be 9. He would love it if he got this:

I think there’s a pretty good chance, he won’t get it. However, he did offer me some other suggestions. Here they are:

• The Dangerous Book for Boys
• Monday with a Mad Genius (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
• Blizzard of the Blue Moon (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
• Haunted Castle on Hallow’s Eve (Magic Tree House, 30)
• Magic Tree House Boxed Set 2, Books 5-8: Night of the Ninjas, Afternoon on the Amazon, Sunset of the Sabertooth, and Midnight on the Moon

Things look pretty good. He just might get these wishes.

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Filed under: Laugh, Life, birthday, boy by SusieJ - 7 Comments →

Want to watch fifth graders count money? See it here. I guess if Mini-Mall has taught the 5th graders anything, it is this: No matter how broke you are, if you can get access to an 88 cent box of Blue Jell-O and some boiling water, you can make some money. Actually just some rocks, empty baby food jars or some sponges could do the trick. The act of accounting for every penny of production has been eye-opening for them — I even sat in on a discussion over whether they should use funds for a new tablecloth for their store front. But, the real beauty of it all, was when I watched them, after the 3-day-sales, counting the money. Dollars piled everywhere, Moms stood back and bit their nails as dollars were carelessly strewn in piles. Amazingly, most of the adult-recounts came up with the same figures as the kids.

You can’t imagine the relief that came over me on the last day to watch the shark bites fly off the table faster than we could load them up. My freezer is shark-free once again. Only 6 were left after starting with 126. Rock Turtles: Sold Out. Sea Globes: Sold Out SlingShots: Sold Out. They did a great job.

More:

• What is Mini Mall?
• Making Shark Bites: The Ants Came Marching In
• First Day Sales

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Filed under: Life, boy by SusieJ - 12 Comments →

Military holidays are always tough for me. I never get it quite right when I want to take a stand. When I was young, maybe 5 or 6, my family watched theVietnam draft on TV. Numbers scrolled a blue screen. My parents watched with worry, fear, and a look of “say it isn’t so.” My father, the oldest of 4 boys (and 3 girls), was past the age of this draft. He had already served his time. But his brothers were ripe for drafting. One by one, like a clock ticking, each one of my Father’s brothers (my uncles) was drafted. I could feel an anxiety in my parents that said things like: “We have no choice.” “We have to be strong.” “We don’t know yet if we do have anything to worry about.” “This is just the way it has to be for now.” The picture is my brother and me at the airport, sending an Uncle off to Vietnam.

I wondered how this could be the land of the free. But it was certainly the land of the brave.

My nightmares, during that period of my life involved army men in combat — but they weren’t in Vietnam — they were in my neighborhood. The “nightmare” part was that no one could tell who the enemy was. One minute you thought you were with someone to carry you to safety, and then, in the next scene, they were going to kill you. After 911, I wondered if my nightmare was coming true.

• The first Uncle that was sent to Vietnam, came back unwounded, but changed. A much quieter man. Hurt deeply by whatever it was that he saw.
• The second Uncle got caught in a land mine. His camp didn’t think he would make it. But he did. No [Read more →]

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Filed under: Life, Tears, holidays by SusieJ - 10 Comments →

Summer’s sunshine in a glass.

This is the recipe from an old boyfriend, Kevin’s, Mother. Thank goodness Kevin and I didn’t make it. I’d have to spend the rest of my life pinning away for my true love. But Kevin’s Mom could make some really good lemonade. She always put fresh sliced oranges in the lemonade pitcher to cut the tartness. If I had never met the guy, I wouldn’t have this recipe. Yet, I can’t get that first date out of my head: Mount Adams, eating outside at a restaurant that overlooked the city, knowing his Mom’s lemonade was waiting for us when we got back . . . Anyway, if you love lemons, this book to the right will keep you busy all summer. Roasted artichokes with lemons, lemon tarts, and creamy lemon fetticuini…

• 6 cups water, divided
• Zest of one lemon — no bitter white parts
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups fresh lemon juice (about 8 – 10 lemons) (microwave them for about 10 seconds to make juicing easier)
• Orange slices

1. Bring two cups water, lemon zest, and sugar to boil.
2. Boil five minutes, stirring in-between juicing lemons
3. Let your “lemony-simple syrup” cool
4. Pour into large pitcher, and add the remaining four cups cold water and lemon juice. Stir.
5. Chill, and add orange slices.
   

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Filed under: Life, Make Something, eat by SusieJ - 1 Comment →