Blue Jeans and Cotton Tees

I think I have a new favorite game.

Bananagrams!

It was one of the gifts opened at our recent big double birthday bash – and I think we’ve played it almost every day since!

It comes in a cool cloth banana pouch which is filled with little alphabet tiles. The goal is to take your tiles and use them all to make your own connecting words.

One niece described it as “speed Scrabble.” I would call it addicting!

You don’t take turns, so there’s no waiting for another player.

It’s fast.

It’s intense.

And it’s educational (but please don’t tell! )

A sure win in my book!

The calendar reads March already and I have a bad case of garden fever! My Mom is back today with an idea that will bring a little green into my home, provide some economical plants for the garden – and will make a great home school project as well! Now that definitely works for me!

Papa and I always experiment with one new item in our garden every year. Several years ago we tried sweet potatoes and they’ve become a “regular”!

The first year we trembled at the price of the purchased plants! Then we found out that we could grow our own plants by “rooting” a store bought sweet potato.

Every year in late February, we purchase a sweet potato or yam from the produce department at our local grocery store.

Then we stick toothpicks into the sides of the potato to hold it up above a container of water -a recycled jar works just fine.

We try to find the top or the part that was connected to the vine. The opposite end should go into the water.

We keep the water level up to the top of container and watch for roots from the part under the water. It won’t be long before we see some sprouts growing on the part above the water.

We let those green sprouts grow to about 3 or 4 inches long before we pinch them off the potato and put them in a container of water. They will make roots.

Once they have made some roots, we plant these in small pots until they can be planted in the garden.

Meanwhile , the potato in the water will keep making new sprouts. One potato should easily give us a dozen plants.

When the soil is warm enough, and all danger of frost is gone, we plant each plant on top of a mound of soil about 6 inches tall. (This gives the potato space to grow without having to dig a foot deep in the fall!) The plant will vine and the vines will root where they touch the soil. To prevent this from happening mulch mounds with newspaper or simply lift the vines often.

You can dig potatoes whenever you “feel” under the vine on top of the mound and discover a potato big enough to eat! We wait until the first frost. (Sweet potatoes will not tolerate a frost!)  We dig them carefully and lay them out to dry. If you have a cool place to store them – they will keep for several months.

In our modern houses without root cellars, sweet potatoes are not the best keepers for eating fresh all winter, but they do freeze well. We try to keep them as long as we can, then freeze the rest.

To cook a sweet potato, scrub it, prick it with fork, and bake in a 350 degree oven until soft when squeezed. Let them cool until you can handle them to peel off the skins.

Place the sweet potatoes in freezer bags or containers, label and freeze. Just thaw and use in your favorite sweet potato recipes.

Or you can cook them in the microwave. Just scrub, prick skin and place in microwave. Bake for 5 min on high and check for softness. Continue baking until they are soft, checking every 3 minutes. Peel and serve or freeze.

Our favorite way to enjoy fresh sweet potatoes is to eat them warm from the oven with Cinnamon/Honey Butter

Cinnamon/Honey Butter:

2 Tablespoons honey
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

Mix together. This stores well in the refrigerator for several weeks. This is really good on toast and squash, too!

Until next time!

Nana Shirley

I have a new addiction.

It’s a card game that should be in every home across the nation.

SET.

It’s even made by the amazing company that invented my other addiction – Quiddler.

I will admit that the first time I played SET I didn’t get it. I was playing with my college age nieces and nephews, and they were blowing me away.

But it didn’t take long for me to figure it out and fall in love with the challenge.

The object of the game is to find sets in the cards that are dealt. Sound easy? It isn’t. Each set of three must be alike in some way, but different in others.

You look at shape, color, design and number to find the sets – forcing you to see the cards in a different way – to be creative.

If they are all diamonds, they need to be a different color, a different design, or a different number.

It’s fast-action fun!

And with Christmas coming up it would make a perfect stocking stuffer.

Trust me on this one – you’re gonna love it!

Our weekend got off to an unusual start – we stepped back in history!

We attended a local Civil War Re-enactment – complete with period clothing, guns, and attitude!

First we checked out the Union camp (not just because that’s where our sympathies lie – but it was closer!)

After a demonstration on how to load and fire an authentic civil war rifle,  we moved up to heavy artillery.

While we were admiring the big guns, an older gent in Union blues came out and asked the kids if they would like to shoot the cannon.

Their eyes got big!

“Really – we can actually shoot it?”

And they did!

Do you have any idea how many steps were required to fire out one shot from the cannon? I lost count at 8.

It took 4 men (in our case – 4 kids) – and they had to remember all these steps while the enemy is shooting at them.

Then we moved on the northern entrenchment – which is basically a big hole in the ground with places to shoot from.

The northern one was nice – but not nearly as nice as the southern one!

We were very impressed with the quality of the work on the southern workmanship.

They had deluxe accommodations -

– sod covered tarps to protect the men.

-reinforced walls

-gradually earthen steps down into the entrenchment (they Northern one was just a slope – that I slide down of course)

-lots more room

It could have almost graced the cover of a home improvement magazine (okay – so I exaggerate a little – but my pride is still a little bruised after my fall into the Northern one!)

We next traveled on up the hill to the Confederate Camp. It was there we learned that these re-enactors actually take the role of a real regiment in the Southern army.

They study these regiments – reading books and journals – until they know the history well.

Most of them had relatives who fought for the South – and all are proud to wear the Confederate grey (if only for a weekend).

And they all really got into this!

But then – so did we! My history loving – sword fighting – very imaginative family – all loved seeing the past come to life.

And the sweetest part of all – we could count it as school!

Nana Shirley has a great resource to share with us today!
Reading the Bible can be a bit confusing when you try to place all the stories in chronological order. There is a Bible published just for doing that.

As you study prophecy it is important to also know history in order to see how God’s Word is true and accurate. Our faith is increased as we see prophecy fulfilled.

We found a helpful tool, Bible Time Line, published by Rose Publishing, Inc. It is a laminated fold-out with the Bible time line from Genesis to Revelation featuring 300 key people and events in the Bible. Also printed along this time line is World History and Middle East History relating to the same time frame.

Papa Jim is teaching a Bible Study on Daniel. We found it interesting to note that Buddha and Confucius were both living at that same time. Were the “wise men” surrounding the kings teaching their beliefs?

As a student or teacher you can relate what you are studying in your World History class to what God is doing in the lives of His people at that time period.

We are thankful for men who take the time to relate dates and events of the past and put them in one place to simplify our study!

Until next time!

Nana Shirley