day trippin

We took a drive over to Amherst County to surprise the girls by taking them to their first Native American Pow-Wow. It was held in a beautiful setting - in a cattle field (of course!) just beside the Blue Ridge Mountains:

We watched the opening ceremonies and the introduction of the dancers, the Monacan Chief and the other guests of honor.

It was SO hot. I made the girls' dresses out of thin cotton fabric I got from WalMart. Most of the dancers were wearing heavy buckskin, leather and feathers - and headdresses of one sort or another. I don't know how they managed all day with the sun beating down on them. We only ended up staying for 2 hours - too hot!

Hannah was reticent at first as far as having her picture taken with the dancers, but after awhile she got used to the idea (once she was assured there were no tomahawks in sight....)

We met a friendly red-tailed hawk and her dad:

Han and Abbo had no qualms at all about sharp talons and a beak that can crush bone merely inches from their heads...

They each even rubbed her belly to see if she purred like the kitty.

Next up was a visit inside a REAL tipi!

Here they are with a couple of "squaws" - they looked so cute that another lady wanted to get their picture, too (they being the girls + these ladies)!

On the way back we stopped for a quick hike up the Appalachian Trail over near Buena Vista. I didn't know that Han had made a face until I had uploaded the pictures :)

A mountain stream dripping down from some cliffs. Cool relief for our faces and hands.

We crossed this bridge over the James River off of Route 501, and came across these folks beating the heat:

It looked SO FUN and SO WET and SO COOL! I was laughing just as hard as they were - it was hard to show restraint and not join them!

How much fun is that! Tight!

A quick stop at the Ben Salem Wayside on the other side of Buena Vista for the obligatory picnic before the last leg of the journey - then home after a fun day full of adventure!

Reverence & Respect Fail

We're using the LifeWalk curriclum at Wednesday night church, reading through the Bible in a year. At home I usually use a parallel version: NASB (New American Standard) and The Message. The best time for me to be in the Word is in the morning, as I'm relatively undisturbed if the girls are sleeping, so I fix the first of 3 cups of morning coffee and come back to read in bed.

On a recent morning, however.....

when I got up to refresh my coffee.......

I returned to the bedroom and the Bad Cat with a haughty tilt to his head saying,

"Me? You'd blame ME for that?"
"Uh - you got a little of 1 Samuel there under your fingernails"......

This could be an argument of why pets (certain ones, anyways) will NOT be in heaven. Ahem.

morning devotions

The other morning I got up early and enjoyed a (quiet) cup of coffee. When I came back to the bedroom, I found this: and after I got The Look, she went back to what she was doing.

Oh, and here's an example of Bad Parenting: When Andy and I talk and we can't remember their names, they go by "The Big One" and "The Little One." That way we're sure to keep them straight :)

Easter Dresses

The Golden Curls

(Frugal) Dyed Eggs

At least 5 years ago, I bought an 8-pack of Wilton paste food coloring at Michael's Craft Store with a 40% off coupon. It couldn't have cost more than a few dollars, and has turned out to be one of my best investments - we use them for homemade play dough, homemade birthday cakes and, of course, dyeing Easter eggs. Pink is the only color that is getting low in the pot, and I think that in another year or so I'll have to buy a solo container of that one. The others are still going strong!

We did this after supper, and after bathtime......

Abigail chose to dress for the occasion, while.....

Hannah took a more casual approach to her attire.

We had an abundance of brown eggs this year; our neighbor boy up the hill stopped by two weeks in a row. I didn't remember from last year whether brown eggs took the dye very well -

but here, Hannah shows that for the stronger colors, at least, they worked just fine! I used the lightest eggs of the two dozen we had on hand, just in case.

Homemade Easter Egg Dye

1 tbs white vinegar per dye color desired

1 cup (approx; just eyeball it) boiling water

paste food coloring- as much as will fit on a toothpick when you scrape it in the pot

Mix vinegar, water and dyes (separately per color) in glass containers (plastic will stain) and stir well. Soak hard boiled eggs in dye bath for a few minutes, and:

WAH-LAH!

You just saved a few dollars on packaged dye! Plus, you can dye eggs any time of year with what you have on hand (red, white & blue? green for St. Pats?). Use the egg carton the eggs came in to hold your finished creations.

Simple Math

This....

plus this.....

equals this!!

Add two days, and you get this!

She's fine. There's a big black tire mark on the wooden door though; thank goodness the screen door was flung wide open and her daddy-o was in the basement to quickly come to her aid!

Maple Festival Picutres

Seen along Route 220 in Alleghany County - the entrance to someone's homeplace.

A closer view....

Inside the Monterrey VFD building. Bellies full of hot dogs and maple doughnuts.

At Rexrode's Sugar Orchard. This is the wood-fired evaporator.

Steam going through an open hole in the roof.

Following the plastic tubing between the trees.

A couple of jokers...

Happy girls!

Doesn't that look like a great tree for climbing?

Also at Rexrode's.

It was actually pretty warm. It drizzled a bit, then cleared off and rained some more.

Heading north towards route 220. Excuse the angle, the picture was taken while I was driving.

Scenery....

Beautiful!

Sheeps! We saw dozens of sheep and it seemed that sheep and cattle were the main industries out this way. What a beautiful day for a drive.