I have four girls and when…

one of them yells, “Mom! I found a snake!” you’d think they’d all go running in the other direction. But nope, today when Hannah yelled those words, we all ran to go look – with our handy dandy butterfly net. I was pretty sure it was a garter snake, but we had never found this particular type of snake, so we used a stick to push it into the net.I did look to see if there was a diamond shaped head and eyes and nope, there wasn’t.

Then, we took the snake into the house and put it in the tank with the turtle. I told the girls I would look up the snake online a little bit later (after I finished some chores) and not to pick up the snake until I had determined what kind of snake it was.

A little while later, Hannah comes in the room where I was busy putting away laundry and says, “I couldn’t help it!” and proceeded to tell me how she just had to touch the snake (first with a stick) and no it didn’t try to bite her. So, now the girls are passing the snake, which turned out to be an Eastern Garter Snake around, very excited!

Girls! LOL!

I am very glad we found the snake because now we have another critter to show my Primary Kids at Campmeeting next month.

Photo Credit: Copyright, Jeff LeClere

If you homeschool and your child is interested in snakes, here is a nice e-Book about Kentucky Snakes.

Oh, and the girls named the snake “Lucky” because Hannah found it at the same time the cat found it. She said, “I really think God helped me save the snake because He made it and it is special.” Isn’t she sweet?

Valentine’s Day Menu

I love making my family feel special on Valentine’s Day. Here is a free download of our traditional Valentine’s Day Menu. I hope you enjoy the recipes!

Download the .pdf version of this menu along with the recipes here.

Breakfast:
Heart Shaped Pancakes with fresh Strawberries and Maple Syrup
Strawberry Yogurt Parfaits
Orange Juice

Dinner:
Spinach Lasagna Béchamel
Tossed Salad with Strawberries, Green Onion, Feta and Raspberry Vinaigrette
Garlic Toast
Strawberry Lemonade
Heart Shaped Butter Cookies
Decadent Chocolate Cake with Strawberries and Cream

The Prairie Girl’s Guide to Life – Book Review and Giveaway

The Prairie Girls Guide to Life:

How to Sew a Sampler Quilt & 49 Other Pioneer Projects for the Modern Girl

This delightful little book is sure to win your heart if you love timeless wisdom, crafts, and recipes. The Prairie Girl’s Guide to Life by Jennifer Worrick is chock full of ideas to feed your pioneer’s spirit. Learn how to:

• predict the weather
• embroider a pillow
• bake a rhubarb pie
• make bread and butter pickles
• knit a shawl
• make a night cream
• braid hair
• prepare sweet cherries
• lay a fire
• pan for gold
• make rock candy
• braid a rug
• make candles
• spin yarn
• milk a cow
• and much more!

I wanted to share a particularly fun recipe from the book with you. When I was a kid, rock candy was such a treat! We would go down to the shops in Warm Springs, GA (close to where I grew up) and buy rock candy. So, when I saw this recipe, I knew I wanted to make it with my own kids.

Rock Candy

What you need:

- clean glass jar

- 6-inch ice cream sticks

- pencil

- tape

- 4 cups sugar

- 1 cup water

- food coloring

In a saucepan, heat (but do not boil) 2 cups of the sugar and the water. Stir slowly until the sugar is completely dissolved. Gradually add a few drops of food coloring – your choice – and the remaining sugar, stirring continuously until all the sugar is dissolved.

Pour your colorful sugar water into a clean glass jar. Tape the sticks to a pencil and suspend them across the mouth of the jar so that the ends hang into the liquid.

Crystals suitable to eat will form in a hour and continue to grow for several days to a week. Pieces can be broken off and eaten after the first hour, but try to resist the urge to suck on them.

Although you may see modest results quickly, larger rock-candy crystals will take time to form. Good things come to those who wait, and pretty sticks of candy are yours to be had if you show a bit of patience.

Yields 12 ounces

I am fairly certain you will find a wealth of ideas here in this book. And, if you homeschool girls, this book is a perfect addition to your home economics course! If you would like to win a copy of this book comment here and on Friday of next week – February 5th – I will draw a name!

Homeschool Freebie

Here is a sweet little Homeschool Weekly Calendar that I created just to share with you. I also added it to the sidebar under e-Books. Enjoy!