Aileen Stewart's Blog, page 20
November 16, 2015
Road Trip!
I know this post is a tiny bit late today, but Emily and I just got home late last night from a four day road trip to the Central Massachusetts Children's Book Festival. This is the first time just she and I have traveled together, and we had a blast. We played a travel scavenger hunt and a license plate game, to help pass the time, which I downloaded from education.com. Education.com is a great site for worksheets, and I have found it particularly useful since we started homeschooling.
My Very First Selfie
Once at the book fair, Emily helped me set up and watched my table as I passed out blueberry banana bread to my fellow authors. It seemed appropriate to choose this recipe because it is a recipe from my latest book, Cooking In Fern Valley. It received lots of compliments and a few people even purchased the book so they could go home and make some bread of their own.
I was super excited to see my friends Barbara and Victor Mojica, two extremely talented people. Barbara is the author of a series of books called Little Miss History which is illustrated by Victor. The third book in this series particularly caught my eye as I have long been fascinated with the Sequoia trees.
Beside illustrating Barbara's books, Victor has a wonderful book of his own called Captain Crossbones. It is a story of fabulous treasure. Victor keeps the reader in suspense until the last page as to what the fabulous treasure really is, and since I don't want to spoil the surprise, you will just have to get a copy of your own to find out!
I was also able to finally meet some of my Face Book friends in person. I met the incredibly talented illustrator Diane deGroat, super talented author/illustrator David Biedrzycki, and fabulous author Melissa Stewart. And I met some great new friends like Jef Cezkaj, Carol Gordon Eckster, Joannie Duris, Jennifer Kam, David Kelly, Sarah Lamstein, Heather Lang, Jane Sutton, Joanne Roach-Evans, Susie Rich, and Gordon Morrison.
For school, I asked Emily to interview one of the authors in attendance. She chose Paul Czajak who was sitting beside me. She fell in love with his monster series and decided to chose one of his books as her take home souvenir. As soon as she is finished, I will post her interview.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley, and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
My Very First SelfieOnce at the book fair, Emily helped me set up and watched my table as I passed out blueberry banana bread to my fellow authors. It seemed appropriate to choose this recipe because it is a recipe from my latest book, Cooking In Fern Valley. It received lots of compliments and a few people even purchased the book so they could go home and make some bread of their own.
I was super excited to see my friends Barbara and Victor Mojica, two extremely talented people. Barbara is the author of a series of books called Little Miss History which is illustrated by Victor. The third book in this series particularly caught my eye as I have long been fascinated with the Sequoia trees.
Beside illustrating Barbara's books, Victor has a wonderful book of his own called Captain Crossbones. It is a story of fabulous treasure. Victor keeps the reader in suspense until the last page as to what the fabulous treasure really is, and since I don't want to spoil the surprise, you will just have to get a copy of your own to find out!
I was also able to finally meet some of my Face Book friends in person. I met the incredibly talented illustrator Diane deGroat, super talented author/illustrator David Biedrzycki, and fabulous author Melissa Stewart. And I met some great new friends like Jef Cezkaj, Carol Gordon Eckster, Joannie Duris, Jennifer Kam, David Kelly, Sarah Lamstein, Heather Lang, Jane Sutton, Joanne Roach-Evans, Susie Rich, and Gordon Morrison.
For school, I asked Emily to interview one of the authors in attendance. She chose Paul Czajak who was sitting beside me. She fell in love with his monster series and decided to chose one of his books as her take home souvenir. As soon as she is finished, I will post her interview.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley, and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
November 9, 2015
A Failed Science Experiment and A Turkey Mishap
Since Emily and I were studying volcanoes and earthquakes for school this past week, I thought it would be fun to do a science experiment. The idea was to make a little volcano in a glass container. Wax, placed in the bottom of the container, covered with sand and water, and heated, was supposed to produce simulated molten that would shoot up through the sand due to pressure created by the heat. The picture below shows what it should look like if successful.
So we diligently placed broken bits of red crayon from our box of crayon remnants in a wide mouth mason jar, covered them, added water, and place it over the burner of our gas stove. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that you CAN NOT place a mason jar over a gas flame. Apparently they are not flame proof and will break. Said breakage will cause the water and sand to leak all over. And if you have ever tried to clean wet sand and melted crayon off of a stove top and out form under the burner openings, you will be well aware of my feelings of frustration. And if you haven't, be very glad!
Not being one to give up when faced with a messy set back, I attempted to find a solution to our problem. So the second time around, I filled my canner with water, placed a new jar with sand, water, and crayons on the rack, and we waited for the water to boil. I wish I could say that this second experiment was a huge success, but it really wasn't. The crayons melted just enough to sort of ooze out in small amounts, but not enough to impress Emily.
Some days things just don't turn out like you expect them to and that is exactly what happened in the book I read for this week's review. This Is the Turkey, a rhyming story about a family and there Thanksgiving day, is about a mishap with one family's golden delicious turkey. Do they gripe and complain? Do they decide the day has been ruined? No. Instead they remind each other that the important thing about the day is being with loved ones and that there is still plenty to eat and be thankful for even if their feast is minus the turkey.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley, and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
So we diligently placed broken bits of red crayon from our box of crayon remnants in a wide mouth mason jar, covered them, added water, and place it over the burner of our gas stove. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that you CAN NOT place a mason jar over a gas flame. Apparently they are not flame proof and will break. Said breakage will cause the water and sand to leak all over. And if you have ever tried to clean wet sand and melted crayon off of a stove top and out form under the burner openings, you will be well aware of my feelings of frustration. And if you haven't, be very glad!
Not being one to give up when faced with a messy set back, I attempted to find a solution to our problem. So the second time around, I filled my canner with water, placed a new jar with sand, water, and crayons on the rack, and we waited for the water to boil. I wish I could say that this second experiment was a huge success, but it really wasn't. The crayons melted just enough to sort of ooze out in small amounts, but not enough to impress Emily.
Some days things just don't turn out like you expect them to and that is exactly what happened in the book I read for this week's review. This Is the Turkey, a rhyming story about a family and there Thanksgiving day, is about a mishap with one family's golden delicious turkey. Do they gripe and complain? Do they decide the day has been ruined? No. Instead they remind each other that the important thing about the day is being with loved ones and that there is still plenty to eat and be thankful for even if their feast is minus the turkey.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley, and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
November 2, 2015
Apple Butter and Art
For those of you who follow my blog, you know that last week I made my first ever batch of Crock-pot Apple Butter. The house smelled so amazing and the butter turned out pretty well according to my husband. So this week as promised, I am sharing the recipe I used.
Crock-pot Apple Butter
8 lbs. apples (about 24 medium) (I used Gala apples)1 cup white sugar1 1/2 cups brown sugar1 TBS cinnamon1/2 tsp nutmeg1/4 tsp cloves1/4 tsp salt
In a small bowl mix the sugars and spices and set aside. Peel and core all the apples and cut into chunks. Place into a large oval crock-pot and pour the sugar mixture over the apples. Stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate the mixture throughout all the apples. Cook on low for ten hours stirring occasionally. At the end of the cooking time, use an immersion blender to puree the apple mixture which will now be redish brown in color. Divide mixture into five pint jars and process in boiling water for ten minutes. I use a steam canner but a traditional canner will work as well.
Like I said, my husband thought this recipe was pretty good, but he wants me to try using 1/2 cup less brown sugar in my next batch because he likes his butter sweet but not too sweet.
This week proved to be a little less busy for me but Emily spent quite a bit of time drawing. Drawing is something she has loved to do since she was old enough to hold a pencil and for a ten year old she is quite good. Of course, I might just be a little bit prejudiced, but then again maybe not. I happened to find several used and fairly inexpensive drawing books for her which she has been using as a guide when drawing people. Since my people drawing skills are barely above stick persons, I was pretty impressed with her drawings.
The funny thing about the books I chose this week is that they had to do with drawing. I swear I didn't choose them on purpose for that reason, it just happened to turn out that way.
The first book was titled Bridget's Beret and was the story of a girl who loved to draw while wearing a beret. She felt that the beret was her inspiration and when it was lost, she became downhearted and felt she could no longer draw. Thankfully, her younger sister came to the rescue and convinced her to make lemonade signs. While making the signs, something miraculous happened. Bridget began to draw again proving that drawing block is not permanent. A great book for encouraging children to create as well as a good reminder for authors and illustrators that blocks of any kind are always temporary.
The second book was called Ben Draws Trouble and was another story of a child who loved to draw. Ben doodled in his sketch book all the time. He especially loved to draw people, much like my Emily. But one day, while riding home on his bike, his sketch book got lost. When he returned to school the next day, someone had found the book and had placed it on the teachers desk. Ben thought for sure he was going to be in big trouble for the sketch he had drown of his tall bearded teacher, but instead he was invited to make art for a school program. This was another great book encouraging kids to draw.
And while both these books were about drawing in particular, I loved them because they encouraged children to explore their artistic side. So if your child doesn't necessarily like to draw, let them know that they can paint, color, craft, bake, or even arrange leaves into attractive arrangements for photos. Anything at all as long as they are creating and having fun!
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley, and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
Crock-pot Apple Butter
8 lbs. apples (about 24 medium) (I used Gala apples)1 cup white sugar1 1/2 cups brown sugar1 TBS cinnamon1/2 tsp nutmeg1/4 tsp cloves1/4 tsp salt
In a small bowl mix the sugars and spices and set aside. Peel and core all the apples and cut into chunks. Place into a large oval crock-pot and pour the sugar mixture over the apples. Stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate the mixture throughout all the apples. Cook on low for ten hours stirring occasionally. At the end of the cooking time, use an immersion blender to puree the apple mixture which will now be redish brown in color. Divide mixture into five pint jars and process in boiling water for ten minutes. I use a steam canner but a traditional canner will work as well.
Like I said, my husband thought this recipe was pretty good, but he wants me to try using 1/2 cup less brown sugar in my next batch because he likes his butter sweet but not too sweet.
This week proved to be a little less busy for me but Emily spent quite a bit of time drawing. Drawing is something she has loved to do since she was old enough to hold a pencil and for a ten year old she is quite good. Of course, I might just be a little bit prejudiced, but then again maybe not. I happened to find several used and fairly inexpensive drawing books for her which she has been using as a guide when drawing people. Since my people drawing skills are barely above stick persons, I was pretty impressed with her drawings.
The funny thing about the books I chose this week is that they had to do with drawing. I swear I didn't choose them on purpose for that reason, it just happened to turn out that way.
The first book was titled Bridget's Beret and was the story of a girl who loved to draw while wearing a beret. She felt that the beret was her inspiration and when it was lost, she became downhearted and felt she could no longer draw. Thankfully, her younger sister came to the rescue and convinced her to make lemonade signs. While making the signs, something miraculous happened. Bridget began to draw again proving that drawing block is not permanent. A great book for encouraging children to create as well as a good reminder for authors and illustrators that blocks of any kind are always temporary.
The second book was called Ben Draws Trouble and was another story of a child who loved to draw. Ben doodled in his sketch book all the time. He especially loved to draw people, much like my Emily. But one day, while riding home on his bike, his sketch book got lost. When he returned to school the next day, someone had found the book and had placed it on the teachers desk. Ben thought for sure he was going to be in big trouble for the sketch he had drown of his tall bearded teacher, but instead he was invited to make art for a school program. This was another great book encouraging kids to draw.
And while both these books were about drawing in particular, I loved them because they encouraged children to explore their artistic side. So if your child doesn't necessarily like to draw, let them know that they can paint, color, craft, bake, or even arrange leaves into attractive arrangements for photos. Anything at all as long as they are creating and having fun!
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley, and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
October 26, 2015
A Looks Good, Smells Good, Feels Good Kind of Weekend!
Sometimes I wonder how we pack so many fun things into one little weekend. Perhaps this time it's because Emily and I started the weekend a little early and skipped our traditional home school work for a field trip. We started out by heading to a nearby town for a little shopping. Not your ordinary shopping mind you, but shopping for the Operation Christmas Child shoe box project that we participate in every year. I think it's a good reminder for us to remember how blessed we are and how little some other's have.
Next we went to Grandpa's cheese barn and Sweeties Chocolates. We particularly wanted to visit the cheese barn because Emily collects pressed pennies and I knew that there was a machine there. She has been collecting pressed pennies for many years now and keeps them in a pressed penny book that we found at a Cabela's store. For a long time, they were difficult to find, but recently, a friend told me about Penny Collector Dot Com where you can find listings for pressed penny machines all over the world. We printed of the listings for our home state of Ohio and are trying to see how many we can collect.
Finally, on the way home, we stopped at the Sandusky Hollow Nature Preserve and took a little hike. The autumn foliage was quite beautiful and it was nice to stretch our legs a bit.
Saturday I spent cleaning our upstairs. Two bathrooms were cleaned. Bedrooms were dusted and vacuumed. I even cleaned out the spare bedroom closet while Emily cleaned her room. We ended up with two bags for the thrift store and two for the trash. While not a particularly interesting way to spend a day, it was good to feel productive.
Wrapping the week up seemed to call for some crock-pot apple butter makin' on Sunday afternoon. This is not a quick project as it has to simmer for ten hours, but the aroma that fills the house is so incredible you will think you have entered the gates of heaven. I will let you know how it turns out next week and I will share the recipe.
Since I experienced good sights and good smells this weekend, I thought it would be a great addition to review some books that brought about good feelings. And the two books I chose did just that. The first book, The Invisible Boy, gave me a feeling of such great joy because it had a beautifully happy ending. One boy finds himself on the outside looking in so to speak. No one notices him. No one chooses him for their team. No one seems to see him at all giving him the feeling that he is invisible. Until one day when a new boy who is different then the others comes to class. Because he is different, kids laugh at him. The invisible boy wonders which is worse, to be ignored or to be laughed at. He extends the olive branch of friendship and wonderful things begin to happen. Suddenly, he is no longer invisible. The illustrator did a tremendous job of adding tot he stories depth by portraying everyone in color except for the boy who feels invisible. But as the story progresses, I noticed the boy begin to get a little more colorful with each page until he was finally in full color like the rest of the characters.
This book touched something inside of me. The something inside of me that knows what it's like to be laughed at and what it is like to be picked last. It touched a part of me that sees the invisible kids, the part of me that always encourages my daughter to notice the invisible kids and to include them. This book is truely a gem and worth looking for!
While the first book took me from sadness to joy, the second book just plain made me laugh. It was called That's (Not) Mine. Two characters spend practically the entire book fighting over a chair. Each one claiming the chair is theirs. Each one trying to get the other one out of the chair. Finally they both end up on the floor and realize how silly it is to fight and decide to go outside and play. But that is not the end of the story because as the two head out, a third character jumps in the chair and claims, "It's Mine." I had to laugh because this is so very realistic where kids are concerned and it reminded me of the time when my nieces fought over a blank piece of note paper one of them found on the shopping mall floor.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley, and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
Next we went to Grandpa's cheese barn and Sweeties Chocolates. We particularly wanted to visit the cheese barn because Emily collects pressed pennies and I knew that there was a machine there. She has been collecting pressed pennies for many years now and keeps them in a pressed penny book that we found at a Cabela's store. For a long time, they were difficult to find, but recently, a friend told me about Penny Collector Dot Com where you can find listings for pressed penny machines all over the world. We printed of the listings for our home state of Ohio and are trying to see how many we can collect.
Finally, on the way home, we stopped at the Sandusky Hollow Nature Preserve and took a little hike. The autumn foliage was quite beautiful and it was nice to stretch our legs a bit.
Saturday I spent cleaning our upstairs. Two bathrooms were cleaned. Bedrooms were dusted and vacuumed. I even cleaned out the spare bedroom closet while Emily cleaned her room. We ended up with two bags for the thrift store and two for the trash. While not a particularly interesting way to spend a day, it was good to feel productive.
Wrapping the week up seemed to call for some crock-pot apple butter makin' on Sunday afternoon. This is not a quick project as it has to simmer for ten hours, but the aroma that fills the house is so incredible you will think you have entered the gates of heaven. I will let you know how it turns out next week and I will share the recipe.
Since I experienced good sights and good smells this weekend, I thought it would be a great addition to review some books that brought about good feelings. And the two books I chose did just that. The first book, The Invisible Boy, gave me a feeling of such great joy because it had a beautifully happy ending. One boy finds himself on the outside looking in so to speak. No one notices him. No one chooses him for their team. No one seems to see him at all giving him the feeling that he is invisible. Until one day when a new boy who is different then the others comes to class. Because he is different, kids laugh at him. The invisible boy wonders which is worse, to be ignored or to be laughed at. He extends the olive branch of friendship and wonderful things begin to happen. Suddenly, he is no longer invisible. The illustrator did a tremendous job of adding tot he stories depth by portraying everyone in color except for the boy who feels invisible. But as the story progresses, I noticed the boy begin to get a little more colorful with each page until he was finally in full color like the rest of the characters.
This book touched something inside of me. The something inside of me that knows what it's like to be laughed at and what it is like to be picked last. It touched a part of me that sees the invisible kids, the part of me that always encourages my daughter to notice the invisible kids and to include them. This book is truely a gem and worth looking for!
While the first book took me from sadness to joy, the second book just plain made me laugh. It was called That's (Not) Mine. Two characters spend practically the entire book fighting over a chair. Each one claiming the chair is theirs. Each one trying to get the other one out of the chair. Finally they both end up on the floor and realize how silly it is to fight and decide to go outside and play. But that is not the end of the story because as the two head out, a third character jumps in the chair and claims, "It's Mine." I had to laugh because this is so very realistic where kids are concerned and it reminded me of the time when my nieces fought over a blank piece of note paper one of them found on the shopping mall floor.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley, and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
October 19, 2015
Busy, Busy, But Finally Done!
Some weeks are busier then others and this week was one of those weeks. Since we home school through our former private school, Emily was able to join choir this year and that means that every Monday and Wednesday I have drive her to the school which is thirty minutes away, wait an hour for her, and then drive her home. Normally this isn't so bad, but this week we also had our monthly Cookbook Club meeting on Tuesday. It is a delicious pastime, but it usually has us baking all morning and rushing to get there on time.
Cookbook Club is themed and this month our theme was ethnic foods. Emily opted to make chicken curry which is one of her favorite dinner dishes, while I decided to make homemade rolls to go with her choice. You just have to love a club where everyone brings a dish, a recipe, and an appetite.
Then, I had to get my tires rotated and get the slow leak in my right rear tire fixed. And you can beleive me when I tell you that Cookbook Club is a much more enjoyable way to spend the morning then waiting in the automotive department of Sam's Club. Especially since I discovered the next day that the repair hadn't taken and my tire was almost flat to the rim. Can you guess where I will be again on Monday Morning (sigh).
The week got even busier as the weekend approached since Emily had not one, but two overnight invites. The first was for Friday night and included a cook out and a bonfire at the home of some family friends. The second was for Saturday night and was at her besties house. Since that left Bobby and I with a free evening, we decided to celebrate our wedding anniversary a day early and went out to dinner at a local steakhouse. One of those fun places where you get to throw all your peanut shells on the floor!
But the best part of my week, besides my anniversary, was when Emily finished reading Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library to me. This book by Chris Grabenstein is nothing less then sheer brilliance. Every day as Emily read to me, I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. As the children in the book learned to work together to solve clues in the library and to find the secret way out, both Emily and I marveled at the mixture of futuristic high tech, the mention of classic books of every kind, and the general mystery. We were equally surprised at the end of the book to find that Chris had a clue for us to figure out. Emily and I got out the dry erase board and went to town deciphering. Once we had figured out the clue, Emily emailed Chris with our findings and was thrilled beyond belief when he emailed her back.
Yep, it was a busy week, but it was a great week!
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley, and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
Cookbook Club is themed and this month our theme was ethnic foods. Emily opted to make chicken curry which is one of her favorite dinner dishes, while I decided to make homemade rolls to go with her choice. You just have to love a club where everyone brings a dish, a recipe, and an appetite.
Then, I had to get my tires rotated and get the slow leak in my right rear tire fixed. And you can beleive me when I tell you that Cookbook Club is a much more enjoyable way to spend the morning then waiting in the automotive department of Sam's Club. Especially since I discovered the next day that the repair hadn't taken and my tire was almost flat to the rim. Can you guess where I will be again on Monday Morning (sigh).
The week got even busier as the weekend approached since Emily had not one, but two overnight invites. The first was for Friday night and included a cook out and a bonfire at the home of some family friends. The second was for Saturday night and was at her besties house. Since that left Bobby and I with a free evening, we decided to celebrate our wedding anniversary a day early and went out to dinner at a local steakhouse. One of those fun places where you get to throw all your peanut shells on the floor!
But the best part of my week, besides my anniversary, was when Emily finished reading Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library to me. This book by Chris Grabenstein is nothing less then sheer brilliance. Every day as Emily read to me, I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. As the children in the book learned to work together to solve clues in the library and to find the secret way out, both Emily and I marveled at the mixture of futuristic high tech, the mention of classic books of every kind, and the general mystery. We were equally surprised at the end of the book to find that Chris had a clue for us to figure out. Emily and I got out the dry erase board and went to town deciphering. Once we had figured out the clue, Emily emailed Chris with our findings and was thrilled beyond belief when he emailed her back.
Yep, it was a busy week, but it was a great week!
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley, and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
October 12, 2015
A Family Trip and Books About Friends
This past weekend we took a mini vacation. After running the farm market all summer, it was nice to have a small break. Bobby, Emily, and I took my mom and sister along with us as we headed to Hocking Hills where we road on the Hocking Valley Railway. We saw some beautiful scenery along the way, but what made the ride special was sharing it with family.
The next day we headed to the farm__the Bob Evans Farm where we attended the 45th Annual Bob Evans Festival. We saw sorghum being pressed, we saw a lumberjack show, we saw the pig races, and so much more. The weather was perfect, the entertainment lively, and the company sublime. The broasted chicken wasn't bad either.
Although just a couple of days, it was quite a wonderful vacation. And upon arriving home, I found a couple more great surprises. The first was an invitation to next April's Southern Kentucky Book Festival which happens to be one of my favorite events. The next was an indie children's book that arrived in the mail. It was a book by Donna Abbott called Mazey's Dandelion - A Mississippi Puppy Tale.
It was the story of a dog named Mazey and her pet rabbit, Dandelion. In the book, Mazey is happy taking good care of her pet rabbit until a problem crops up. Mazey runs out of rabbit food. She despairs until a friendly neighbor helps her find a solution to feed Dandelion. Although the back of the book says it is good for four to eight year olds, my personal opinion after reading the story would be more in the range of four to six. The author is also the illustrator, so the bright and adorable illustrations will entertain children as well as the text. And with Christmas just around the corner, this book might make a great stocking stuffer.
I also read a book a bout friends called Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry. I liked this book because it reminded me of the above mentioned vacation with my family because as the book says, "Alone is no fun!" It is also the story about not letting others be bullied and sticking up for friends.
This book consists of simple sentences and simple illustrations, but is anything but boring.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
The next day we headed to the farm__the Bob Evans Farm where we attended the 45th Annual Bob Evans Festival. We saw sorghum being pressed, we saw a lumberjack show, we saw the pig races, and so much more. The weather was perfect, the entertainment lively, and the company sublime. The broasted chicken wasn't bad either.
Although just a couple of days, it was quite a wonderful vacation. And upon arriving home, I found a couple more great surprises. The first was an invitation to next April's Southern Kentucky Book Festival which happens to be one of my favorite events. The next was an indie children's book that arrived in the mail. It was a book by Donna Abbott called Mazey's Dandelion - A Mississippi Puppy Tale.
It was the story of a dog named Mazey and her pet rabbit, Dandelion. In the book, Mazey is happy taking good care of her pet rabbit until a problem crops up. Mazey runs out of rabbit food. She despairs until a friendly neighbor helps her find a solution to feed Dandelion. Although the back of the book says it is good for four to eight year olds, my personal opinion after reading the story would be more in the range of four to six. The author is also the illustrator, so the bright and adorable illustrations will entertain children as well as the text. And with Christmas just around the corner, this book might make a great stocking stuffer.
I also read a book a bout friends called Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry. I liked this book because it reminded me of the above mentioned vacation with my family because as the book says, "Alone is no fun!" It is also the story about not letting others be bullied and sticking up for friends.
This book consists of simple sentences and simple illustrations, but is anything but boring.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
October 5, 2015
The End of A Season
This past Saturday was the end of a season__ the end of the farmer's market. I had an amazing time managing the market this year. I met some great new people I would never have met otherwise, I sold lots of baked goods and earned enough money to have my 1940's glider refinished, and Emily had a blast selling magnets and hanging out with her friend Katie.
Unfortunately, our last day was cold, rainy, and very, very windy. But I can't complain because despite all of that, I had a great sales day, the dj was fabulous and added a dimension of excitement, and we shared our venue with the chili cook-off which turned out to be a tasty addition. It was anything but boring!
And although the title of the first book I read was Meet the Dullards (Extra Boring Edition), the book was like my last market day and was anything but dull. The Dullard parents are dull and want their children to be dull, but page after page shows the Dullard children breaking the dull tradition in the most thrilling ways. They read books, they play outside, and they even join the circus. No matter how hard the parents try to keep their children dull, like when they order vanilla ice cream without a cone and without the vanilla, the children always manage to have some fun when their parents aren't looking. This is the type of book that is so ridiculous you just have to laugh. You might even laugh out loud.
The second book I read was Meanwhile Back at the Ranch and it too was anything but dull. It was a hilarious tall tale about a rich widow who inherited a ranch in Texas where everything is bigger. Even the widow's problems were bigger when every unmarried man for miles around showed up in order to propose marriage. Some creative solutions and a wonderful chef named Charlie eventually lead to a very happy wedding.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
Unfortunately, our last day was cold, rainy, and very, very windy. But I can't complain because despite all of that, I had a great sales day, the dj was fabulous and added a dimension of excitement, and we shared our venue with the chili cook-off which turned out to be a tasty addition. It was anything but boring!
And although the title of the first book I read was Meet the Dullards (Extra Boring Edition), the book was like my last market day and was anything but dull. The Dullard parents are dull and want their children to be dull, but page after page shows the Dullard children breaking the dull tradition in the most thrilling ways. They read books, they play outside, and they even join the circus. No matter how hard the parents try to keep their children dull, like when they order vanilla ice cream without a cone and without the vanilla, the children always manage to have some fun when their parents aren't looking. This is the type of book that is so ridiculous you just have to laugh. You might even laugh out loud.
The second book I read was Meanwhile Back at the Ranch and it too was anything but dull. It was a hilarious tall tale about a rich widow who inherited a ranch in Texas where everything is bigger. Even the widow's problems were bigger when every unmarried man for miles around showed up in order to propose marriage. Some creative solutions and a wonderful chef named Charlie eventually lead to a very happy wedding.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
September 28, 2015
Autumn's Arrival
Autumn has officially arrived and with it fall festivals. This weekend we attended the Heritage Festival at Malabar Farms State Park. We saw a broom maker...
A blacksmith who let Emily blow the bellows.
Civil War Soldiers firing the cannons.
A log cabin and the Big House where Charles Bromfield lived.
And a bit of movie history.
We even took a horse-drawn wagon ride.
And all of this fun autumn entertainment made me want o read an autumn book. The book I chose was a super beginning science book called The Autumn Leaf. It is the story of a big oak tree who has arrived at the season of change and is loosing her leaves until only one leaf is left. Try as hard as she could, she just could not get that one last leaf to drop. The last leaf was scared to drop. That is until some friendly children came up with a plan to help the little leaf overcome his fear and drop gently to the ground.
I also read a fun book called Acoustic Rooster which is the story of a musical chicken who starts his own jazz band in order to enter the farmers talent contest. He's the rockinest chicken around and even though he doesn't win first place, he has a great time. There are lots of references to past musical legends and in the back of the book there is a great glossary of musical terms, a page of the musical legends mentioned, and a musical timeline.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
A blacksmith who let Emily blow the bellows.
Civil War Soldiers firing the cannons.
A log cabin and the Big House where Charles Bromfield lived.
And a bit of movie history.
We even took a horse-drawn wagon ride.
And all of this fun autumn entertainment made me want o read an autumn book. The book I chose was a super beginning science book called The Autumn Leaf. It is the story of a big oak tree who has arrived at the season of change and is loosing her leaves until only one leaf is left. Try as hard as she could, she just could not get that one last leaf to drop. The last leaf was scared to drop. That is until some friendly children came up with a plan to help the little leaf overcome his fear and drop gently to the ground.
I also read a fun book called Acoustic Rooster which is the story of a musical chicken who starts his own jazz band in order to enter the farmers talent contest. He's the rockinest chicken around and even though he doesn't win first place, he has a great time. There are lots of references to past musical legends and in the back of the book there is a great glossary of musical terms, a page of the musical legends mentioned, and a musical timeline.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
September 21, 2015
So Many Good Things, And A Give-Away!
It's always an exiting week when books arrive on my doorstep. This week was no exception when my friend Debbie Dadey's latest mermaid tale, Wish Upon A Starfish, arrived. This particular story is the tale of one mergirl's dream to become a star and the rocky road leading to stardom. I loved the characters, the oceany references to things familiar in the human world, and the homework the teacher gave the students to compare and contrast two sea stars. The homework part gave me a particular giggle because comparing and contrasting is exactly what we just covered in last week's English class. Debbie's colorful descriptions made me wish there really was such a place as trident academy. So if y ou have a little mermaid lover of your own, be sure to check out the whole Mermaid Tales Series!
And as if that wasn't exciting enough, the twitter launch party for my new picture book, Quack and Daisy, started off with a splash and several fantastic reviews. Mom bloggers from Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and all parts of the United States shared their opinions of my story. Blessedly, Quack and Daisy seems to be a hit so far. And for those of you who are fond of picture books, please join the fun and enter the party contest for a chance to win a copy of your very own! You can enter at my book launch coordinators site or anyone of the mom blogger sites hosting me.
The excitement doesn't even end there. Today as you are reading this, I will probably be making my way to The Learned Owl Bookstore in Hudson, Ohio to meet the fantastic Drew Daywalt in person and to pick up an autographed copy of his new book, The Day The Crayons Came Home.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
And as if that wasn't exciting enough, the twitter launch party for my new picture book, Quack and Daisy, started off with a splash and several fantastic reviews. Mom bloggers from Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and all parts of the United States shared their opinions of my story. Blessedly, Quack and Daisy seems to be a hit so far. And for those of you who are fond of picture books, please join the fun and enter the party contest for a chance to win a copy of your very own! You can enter at my book launch coordinators site or anyone of the mom blogger sites hosting me.
The excitement doesn't even end there. Today as you are reading this, I will probably be making my way to The Learned Owl Bookstore in Hudson, Ohio to meet the fantastic Drew Daywalt in person and to pick up an autographed copy of his new book, The Day The Crayons Came Home.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
September 14, 2015
A Scavenger Hunt, A Field Trip,and Some Good Books!
This past week was another one of those really busy but fabulous weeks. Emily and I started the week with our normal home school lessons, but on Tuesday, we attended Cookbook Club. The theme was salads; but I don't have many salad recipes, so I made Creamy Broccoli Noodle Soup, and Emily made Cheesecake Cups. On Friday, we took another break from normal lessons and took a field trip to the Gorman Nature Center where we had a picnic and a scavenger hunt that we printed off from the Discover The Forest Book of Stuff to Do. Our most recent science lesson of the week had been about soil, so it was also great fun to see first hand decaying organic matter in the form of a rotten log turning into humus. We felt it. We smelled it. It did indeed feel and smell like a pile of dirt.
Saturday found us at the Farm Market as usual where it was a bit slow and a bit nippy. So in between sales, we watched as they prepared to tear down a historical building on the corner that had recently shifted and posed a threat. And I rounded the week off by testing my new vacuum. It is my first ever bag-less pet pro vacuum, and it worked so well that after vacuuming only one room and the back of the couch, I had to empty the canister. I am so excited to finally be able to keep up with the daily shedding of three cats!
So, in honor a very good week full of great lessons and filed trips, I read three book that are super for the pre-k youngsters. The first two are shape books by Kay Robertson, who if I am correct is the same Kay Roberson of the Duck Dynasty. They are: Circles and Rectangles and Squares and Triangles. Each book describes the two shapes contained on the pages and then goes on to describe things that can be made from different combinations of those shapes. These books seem to me to be perfect for teaching youngsters about shapes in a fun and engaging way.
The third book I read was called, I'll Never Share You, Blackboard Bear. It is a fun story about a boy with a bear drawn on a blackboard. His bear comes to life and two other children see the bear and want one of their own. The young boy does not want to share his bear, but the bear convinces him that sharing can be awesome! This book contains a great non-preachy lesson for the very young. It seems to be out of print, but perhaps you can find a copy at your library like I did.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
Saturday found us at the Farm Market as usual where it was a bit slow and a bit nippy. So in between sales, we watched as they prepared to tear down a historical building on the corner that had recently shifted and posed a threat. And I rounded the week off by testing my new vacuum. It is my first ever bag-less pet pro vacuum, and it worked so well that after vacuuming only one room and the back of the couch, I had to empty the canister. I am so excited to finally be able to keep up with the daily shedding of three cats!
So, in honor a very good week full of great lessons and filed trips, I read three book that are super for the pre-k youngsters. The first two are shape books by Kay Robertson, who if I am correct is the same Kay Roberson of the Duck Dynasty. They are: Circles and Rectangles and Squares and Triangles. Each book describes the two shapes contained on the pages and then goes on to describe things that can be made from different combinations of those shapes. These books seem to me to be perfect for teaching youngsters about shapes in a fun and engaging way.
The third book I read was called, I'll Never Share You, Blackboard Bear. It is a fun story about a boy with a bear drawn on a blackboard. His bear comes to life and two other children see the bear and want one of their own. The young boy does not want to share his bear, but the bear convinces him that sharing can be awesome! This book contains a great non-preachy lesson for the very young. It seems to be out of print, but perhaps you can find a copy at your library like I did.
Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.
