Blueberries For Gram
It’s that time of year: Blueberry season. Since 2005 Grandma has been traveling from Idaho to Oregon to pick blueberries. It started out innocent enough – we were visiting here and my brother thought it would be a fun experience to take us all to the patch. She was hooked and can’t get enough of Those Bluerries.
So our adventure began a few days ago – the first day our favorite patch opened.
Tom’s Berry Patch on Hwy 47 between Forest Grove & Banks.
We were there at 9 am sharp with her so anxious she would have gone at 6 if I had taken her. We loaded our wagon with containers and snacks and surveyed the rows.
Three picking days later we have 301 lbs and she’s still not satisfied. Is anyone going next week that can take her along? She just needs room for her container and stool. And she’ll need freezer space becuase ours if FULL. I’m suprised she hasn’t offered to take me to Sears to get another one.
The dog is Maggie and the boys were much more interested in playing with her than picking berries. Our second morning out they brought a ball and tried to play fetch. The dog preferred fetching blueberries over the ball! Go figure.
What do you do with all those berries? That’s what everyone asks. We eat them every day in a bluberry smoothie of course. But still….300-400 lbs is an awful lot. She divies them out among family and a few very lucky friends.
This is how we process them. May not be the best but after doing it a few years it’s what works best for us.
1) Find all available containers around the house and fill them.
2) When home go through them a handful at a time and pick out the stems, greenies, and squashed ones.
3) Rinse them thoroughly. Note to self: get a bigger strainer next year.
4) Spread out on a towel on the counter or grass. Roll them around to dry them off as much as possible.
5) Scoop into freezer bags. We go through many gallon and then use quart size to fill in the small spaces of the freezer.
6) Use little pump to suck out excess air. I do have a vacume sealer but with how many we did I can’t afford so many fancy bags!
7) Freeze and enjoy all year long!
My Summer List
We’ve all heard of a Bucket List. I created a Summer List of everything I’d like to do this summer. We’re a few weeks in now so I thought I’d reflect a little on how it’s going.
First, I had to “make” something for it to be any fun. It started out quite elaborate but I finally settled on a simple calendar template out of word. I colored the backgrounds across certain dates to show vacations, company, etc. Printed on cardstock, trimmed, 2-sided tape the two pieces together, then simply taped it to the fridge.
At first I was seriously intimidated by how much time we have for summer break, ie. time all three boys are home All Day Long. But the weeks have been flying by and before I know it the summer will have passed. We like to cross of the days so they can tell how long until the next big event and I have a visual on how long I have to prepare.
Here are a few things we’ve already done on my Summer List:
Camping! In the backyard and at the ocean. I probably shouldn’t mention this night set off some nastly allergies for all the boys of the house. They all took the weekend to recover. I’m not sure I’ll get them to do it again.
Played tour guide for my Niece. Cape Meares lighthouse here.
Enjoying nature (ie. snakes) right in our own backyard.
Hiked Silver Falls Loop.
Roast Marshmallows (thanks brother!)
Visited Multnomah Waterfall. This time we did the hike from Wahkeena waterfall over to Multnomah. Certainly easier for the little ones.
Played in the river at Hagg Lake.
Rode the Banks to Vernonia Bike ride. We made it 3.5 miles north. I’d still like to ride the entire route but will have to wait for longer-legged company!
It’s about time…Yearbook
I figure it’s about time I either retire the blog or post. I’m feeling little crazy tonight so I’m going with Post. Where to begin? I guess with the project I blame for beginning the whole snowball effect.
THE YEARBOOK!!!
Yep – I’m the PTO Historian. In normal terms that means take a few pictures throughout the year and come up with a little ‘history’ at the end of the school year to keep on file. For the third year now I’ve turned it into a full blown 36 page yearbook available to all for just above cost. Pictures from all events, most field trips (thanks to parents pictures), class activities, all the school staff, class pictures, and more.
That was May. It’s been a blur since then.
I had great help from others on the committee and the printer did a fabulous job this year. Thanks Minute Man Press! I checked around for other quotes but no one could come near their price. We have a fabulous PTO president who also helped pictures and completed the (seemingly tedious) task of figuring out all the student names.
At the beginning of each year we debate if we are doing it again. By the time they are complete I’m beat and never want to do one again. We’ll see what next Spring brings!
Details-
Cover is the finalist in a contest among the fourth graders (our senior grade at the school). Then the teachers vote to narrow to the top three. Then the third graders vote for the finalist! Back covers are also done.
Inside pages are all laid out and filled in FotoFusion. I could not do this project without that software. I can flip through all pages, I can use the image browser to see what images I’ve used (and prevent duplicate), I can easily adjust brightness, crop, zoom and insets.
I use photoshop for pages like Fall Festival and other details but try and keep it simple.
It’s a huge time commitment from taking the pictures, sorting/editing pictures, page design, and press. I look forward to seeing the kids so excited to receive their books and hear about the ones that pour over every page to find themselves and their friends. I can’t use my own boys as a gauge since they hardly notice one is in their backpack…
Activity Girls: T Party
Our last Activity night was for the girls and their guest. It was a Spring theme and we chose to use Manners as our topic – which contributed to a Faith in God requirement.
We set up a table with two different place settings to practice. The took home this Basic and Formal place setting card. I printed them as 5×7 two sided and then laminated them.
I found the Emily post website handy and used their downloadable handout for Table Manners for Kids. I cut it up and the girls read them.
Newspaper for Dad
My Dad turned 60 this past weekend. He is one of those guys who has EVERYTHING and not only one but two or three of EVERYTHING. So we don’t get him much for holidays. Usually a gift card to eat out or the movies. But this was a big birthday – one that ended in a “0″ so it felt like we should do more.
I came up with a (literally) crazy idea. He is obsessed with newspapers. He reads 1-2 of them every day no matter where he is. So I thought it would be fun to make him a personalized newspaper just for him. Once again…What Was I Thinking??? Hours and hours later I collected articles from arm-twisted family members, gathered photos (thankful I’ve digitized them all), created comics (thanks to Pickles), created word puzzles, and even a coupon insert. SO thankful my sister was here for finishing up those last few articles and ads – she made me sit down and finish it!!!
-I used Publisher for the page layouts. 14 pages in all.
-Pages are 11×17 printed both sides. Believe me- I tried to find somewhere to print on REAL newspaper but a job of just 10 copies is hard to qualify.
-Saved as a pdf and took to Kinkos. They had it done in a day. I stood there and folded each page individually per paper.
At his birthday party each grandson was given a copy and yelled “Extra Extra, Read all about it!” to deliver them to the adults. It was pretty cute if I may say so myself.
Now on to the next project…and it’s another big one! Yikes!
ABC Flashcards
I’ve been doing flashcards with my three year old. They are simple ones with the letter on one side and the coordinating object on the other. We practice the colors as well. I’m bored with them so I thought I’d personalize them a bit. I pulled all the pictures and set up a template in fotofusion and this is what I came up with:
Costco has their 4×6 prints on sale for $.09 each. I think flashcards for $2.34 isn’t too bad! I just had to stage one letter – Y (yogart). And I did have to use a google picture for V (Volcano) since we don’t have any violin players around here.
With any simple editing program you can open your picture and add a letter. I used Comic Sans. I made the letters different colors so we can practice those as well. Save As and order!
Meal Planning for Dummies
Levi is learning to play chess. My DH mentioned to him he’s got a book called “Chess for Dummies” that he could look at. He was very clear that you don’t have to be a dummy to read it, it just simplifies it.
That’s what I need for menu planning. I know how to do it. I know I should do it. I know I would be less stressed during the day knowing I have it planned. And I know I would actually grocery shop and come home with food that actually makes a meal.
A while back I saw a very cut idea here. And another very cute idea here. And then made my own version:
I have used it for a couple of months now and I LOVE it! I actually USE it! Levi tries to sabotage it once in a while but that’s the worst that has happened.
Here’s what you do-
-Make a list of all the meals you typically make. Throw in a few you don’t typically make but thing it would be really fun if you did. I came up with 35 and that has been plenty. You could even make one for ‘new recipe’.
-Include Leftovers, or Eat Out. I forgot to do that but left some blank so those get put in place when I know we’ll be out for the day.
-I color coordinated it depending on what type of meal.
-Print it on that super cool printable magnet sheets. I bought some a long time ago and am proud to have finally used them. I love buying stuff like that.
-If you have a vinyl cutter then you can make the fancy border. If not just make titles with your magnet sheet.
You’re all set! Hopefully it works as well for you as it has for me!
Tooth Fairy – Adam’s First Tooth!
First tooth lost that is. We are in that phase of life – way past celebrating that first tooth.
It began a couple of weeks ago when he jumped off the bus and showed me his WIGGLY tooth. I didn’t see any movement but he was sure there was. Then yesterday he showed me the progress – much more WIGGLY for sure! So by dinner he was complaining about not being able to bite anything. In the end dear Mom pulled it right out. It bled and he cried. But it didn’t last too long. He proceeded to call & Skype anyone he could think to tell.
That day I thought back to the tooth fairy days of his big brother. She had to really search around under that pillow – all the while afraid of waking him up. Something had to change. I remembered an idea of making a tooth pillow out of felt. Very sweet indeed but that would require me dragging out the sewing machine. As usual I opted for the more technical route.
Stashed in a desk cubby I found this:
It’s a gift card holder I bought on clearance at Kohls years ago. I pulled off the ribbon (wouldn’t want that now would we?) and replaced it with a sticker I made up:
He signed it – how cute is that?
I used photoshop with a 4×6 base. I used this awesome kit that I have found many uses for. I got it on Sweet Shoppe Designs but when I looked for it to link I couldn’t find it! Travesty! Sorry. (it’s called Grinalicious by Lauren Grier & Melissa Bennett in case you want to look).
Here he is sporting his new smile!
Glass Etching & Easy Holiday Table
I’ve had these canisters for a long time. They were purchased when my dear friend helped me stage my house for sale. You can decorate your countertops with flour? Really? Now I know.
But for a long time I have wanted to etch them. It’s simple really, you buy Glass Etching cream from Michaels (don’t worry – the expensive little bottle lasts forever), cut the words in vinyl, adhere, apply the etch, clean it off.
And there you have it. And it only took me one Diego episode.
One more thing. At Thanksgiving last year I bought a nice decorative table cloth. It was a PAIN! It was always sliding off, hard to clean, and generally in the way. I should mention – we USE our table. Every day. For a few years now I’ve been buying lovely clear plastic by the yard from JoAnns to cover the table. It works like a charm – when it gets marker & paint all over it that you can’t get off you go buy another $6 piece of plastic. So for Valentine’s I cut a bunch of hearts with my Silhouette and did this:
And for St. Patrick’s I did this:
I’ve got colored cardstock in my stash so it doesn’t cost me anything.
Photobook: Grandma’s Visit
My Grandma came to stay with us before Christmas and just left yesterday. This is her 10th year staying with us during the winter. She lives in Idaho, by herself, in her home. It is fun to have her company and it’s good to let her unthaw for a bit during the long winter. I love that our boys have a relationship with her and get to enjoy her energy and influence. After each of her visits I make her a simple book of photos. She’s getting quite a collection!
I am an equal opportunity photo book user. Whichever presents the best opportunity – I use it! This time it was Heritage Makers since a friend of mine gave me her book credit she didn’t plan to use. Thanks Stephanie!
I already had all my photos organized by month. I just opened up fotofusion and set up a page template (borders, text, etc) and copied the page template to how many I need. Then it’s a matter of dragging in pictures, adjusting layouts, then saving each page (which FF does for me with one command). Then upload to HM, drag to each page (I had to resize each picture to fill the page – kind of annoying). Order, and I’m done! Just took me a couple hours. I love theme books! Quick and easy!
