Location & Moderation

After stuffing a wad of toilet paper down the drain, Seamus participated in an "intro to plumbing" session with Daddy this evening to fix the now backed up sink.  I am happy to report that Liam and Alistair can once again brush their teeth without risking a flood.  Seamus has since promised to keep the toilet paper in the toilet, a direct result of his plumbing lesson which placed the emphasis in equal parts on location AND moderation.  Good gracious.

MIA

I have managed to lose my phone.  Like, really lose.  I never left my house but somehow my phone is completely missing in action.  Find my Iphone does not work as apparently is it "offline".  I have thus torn the house apart looking for it and my phone is absolutely no where.   I interrogated the big boys and they swear that they did not hide it.  I even offered a really good "reward" to them for its safe return and nothing.  The only thing I can think of is that Alistair got a hold of it and squirrelled it away somewhere totally unthinkable.

And so, I am just going to take deep breaths and call this a sign that I should quit reading the news, checking my email, and participating in social media for a while.   I am thinking of it like an involuntary connectivity cleanse.  I am not so sad about not being able to call anyone but I will miss the NYT crossword.  And the ability to take impromptu photos of Pecky Becky.  Damn phone - losing you is so inconvenient and aggravating!

Furry Mitts & Meat Balls

It was another quiet Sunday here on Gael Glen Farm.  We had sleep ins, farm chores, some TV/toy time, outdoor play in the snow, afternoon naps, and even with all that, I managed to read an entire novel!

Ian was by far the most productive family member today.  He worked hard at his newest hobby - leather crafting.  He is currently making his second pair of beaver fur mittens.

Cutting

Gluing

Tacking

Sewing

In addition to all the crafting, Ian also prepared supper for us - spaghetti and meat balls.  What a treat!  The kids all had a second helping.  And then he did the dishes!

Either this is evidence that I have the best, most multi-talented partner in the entire world OR that I should spend the day reading more often, lol.  Maybe both?!

No Ass Kicks Today But Plenty of Ham

Seamus and I spent the morning outside mucking out the barns.  Charlie the donkey was feeling much friendlier to the sheep today, thankfully.  Everyone was allowed to eat from the hay sled without getting an ass (or more precisely an Equus africanus asinus) kick.  It was chilly in the wind but the sun was warm!

For the afternoon, I played dress up with this little beauty.  What a ham!

It was a simple but lovely day.  Charlotte even made a new friend.  Lucky for her, unlike Charlie, Eeyore is much more about snuggles than kicks.

Not Above Bribery

And with that, we made it through the first school week of 2021.  I may have had to bribe Liam and Seamus with making homemade caramel popcorn to get them through the final stages of today's homeschooling session but you do what you have to do.  At least baking together is kind of like doing fractions with a side of reading, right?

Wishing you a light and fluffy weekend with a hint of sweetness!

Eating the Blubber Glove

Some of the best gifts that the boys received this year were monthly subscription boxes to supplement this year's home school curriculum.  Liam gets monthly letters from a "pen pal" world traveller, Seamus gets a monthly woodworking kit, and the boys get a monthly science kit and a monthly Canadian geography kit that they share.   

One of the first kits they received was all about Weddell seals.  This could not have fit in more perfectly with Seamus' current Science unit about meat eating wild animals.  Part of the kit included a science experiment where the boys explored the insulating effect of a seal's blubber layer against the frigid Antarctic water.  They fabricated a "blubber glove" out of two ziplock bags with shortening mushed in between and then dipped both their bare hand and their blubber insulated hand in ice water to feel the temperature difference.  The boys loved this.  They were totally engaged.

After home school I was tasked with turning one slightly used blubber glove into dessert for dinner.  I was never one to let perfectly good blubber go to waste!  So, rhubarb raspberry pie it was.  I must tell you, blubber glove innards never tasted so good.

Even more exciting than the pie, the boys received their next package in the mail today!  It is all about volcanoes and shifting tectonic plates.  What could be more perfect?  The boys are ecstatic.

Goat Tinder

I do not think there will be a full moon tonight, but some members of our farm family are certainly in an odd mood.

Charlie was adamant that she did not want to share her hay with any of her woolly companions.  Sharing is not caring today, apparently.

https://youtu.be/3m3zmRQ1wrY

Meanwhile, usually silent Percy all of a sudden has decided to rehearse for a position as a goat opera singer.  Either that or she is singing her ad for Goat Tinder.  Come to think of it with all the tail flagging, it is probably the latter.  Hopefully, there are no billy goats in earshot of her goat pen.  

https://youtu.be/OGpgYozieaQ

We certainly are not the quiet farm on the block today.  Crazy animals.