A Lesson on Lighthouses

On Friday the weather in Maine was gorgeous. A nice change from the three weeks or more we had of rain! In an effort to soak up as much of the sun as we can while we have it, we decided to take a trip to Ft. Williams park where the Portland Headlight Lighthouse is located.

Ft. Williams is a public park in Cape Elizabeth Maine, a small but affluent coastal town just south of Portland. Rt. 77 runs from Scarborough to South Portland and is the main route to several coastal state parks in southern Maine. The park features walking trails, abundant fields with picnic tables and grills, the Portland Headlight lighthouse, swings, a small portion of sandy and rocky beach and the remains of Fort Williams. Fort Williams, a military fort built during World War II, provided harbor defense for Portland. The Fort was deactivated in 1963 and was eventually purchased by the Town of Cape Elizabeth. It is now a scenic spot for tourists and locals alike who come to see Maine's oldest lighthouse and tour the historical landmark.

As we walked the park and watched the sail boats and fishing boats of the coast we began to tell Cece about the different things we were seeing. We told her about lighthouses and how they are built to help guide the sailors at night and in storms so that they don't "bump into" the rocks. When I asked her later about lighthouses, this is what she had to say...


She also got to color a lighthouse pictures (which I had to draw freehand because the printer was out of ink). You see that the light is purple (as is most of the picture). When I asked her if the light out to be yellow she simply replied "no. because the light at the park was black". I thought about that for a moment ans realized that the part of the light she could see was the black part that holds the light bulbs. Right. It was daytime after all and not a lot of LIGHT was shining from said LIGHThouse.

 

Here are a few of the pictures we took of our picnic. It was a lovely evening spent and educational too! IT is amazing how much a little 4 year old brain will soak up. This short visit to Ft. Williams is a big reminder about just how much you can share about the world around you with your kids.

Nature takes it's course

Who doesn't love a nice, refreshing thunderstorm? Even when it's been raining 28 out of 30 days a nice thunderstorm rolling in (and hopefully OUT shortly thereafter... but, I digress) is a source of wonder, excitement and there is something so cleansing about thunder.

On July 4th, Chris happened to catch a few shots of this thunderstorm rolling into Twin Brook Recreation Area in Cumberland, Maine. Take a look at the interesting contrast of the dark storm as it swallows the blue sky.

Thunder storms, or T-storms, occur when "cool upper air sinks and warm moist air rises". Perhaps a good T-storm is so cleaning is because it brings a breath of fresh crisp air in exchange for moist stifling air.

But for as refreshing as they can be it is important to remember that T-storms can present with some very dangerous conditions. Winds high enough to cause property damage or bodily injury, hail that can range in size up to but not limited to 3/4 of an inch in diameter and all thunderstorms produce lightening.

For more information about thunderstorms, you can visit the link above.

Toasted Almonds... Fresh out of the Oven

  I finally made an attempt to roast my own almonds. Almonds are currently being analyzed as a "wonder food" for their apparent ability to reduce the risk of heart disease. Heart disease is the number 1 killer of woman in the US. A serving of almonds (approximately 28 nuts) packs 8% of your daily calcium needs, 6% of daily iron needs and 20% of daily magnesium needs, 160 calories, 6 grams of protein and only 3 grams of net carbs. Almonds are definitely smart eating!

Cut out the middle man by roasting your own almonds. To roast almonds set your oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with a layer of foil, and layer almonds in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and shake a bit to coat evenly. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, stopping half way through to turn the nuts for even roasting. When the timer goes off peel up the corners of the foil into a pouch and move to a COOL spot on the stove or counter. Season to taste and let cool about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Some New Changes, All Around

There have been several changes made in the Pasture View household. One of the more obvious ones is the collage of the kiddos at the top of the blog! I love having *slightly* more time on my hands during the summer months when school is out and I can devote some time to getting creative.

Summer vacation is a great time to work on special interest projects, household projects, crafts, gardening, blogging, whatever may strike your fancy. A few of the summer projects I have on my list are paint Cece's bedroom, sort through and organize all of the clothing, maximize space in the closets, set up a functional and attractive work room and figure out what to do with ALL THOSE TOYS!

Last week while it was raining, Chris was home more because well, you can't mow sports fields in the pouring rain. It is unwise to mow any grass in the rain, but sports fields are especially vulnerable to damage and can alter the playing performance of the field... but, I digress. So together we began to tackle Cece's room... we modified the dresser (cutting it down from four drawers to three), moved her bookshelf, and sorted through some of her blankets and clothes. We prepared 2 bags of clothes in great condition to go to the Goodwill. Next Chris needs to patch a hole in the sheet rock that he needed to make when he rewired her light switch a couple of years ago so I can paint.

Also done last week, I sorted through all of my clothes and Rex's clothes. I prepared a bag of clothes to pass on to a family member, gave some of my clothes that *don't fit quite right* to my mom and prepared three more bags to head to the Goodwill. In the end I had a place for everything, everything in a place and three really organized closets!

While I still need to finish the bathroom, there is a new shower curtain in there... so that is a start!

Our office/work room have also seen some great changes in the last week. While the kiddos and I were on a three day trip to see Alyce and her family in New York, Chris was busy with a couple of surprises for me when we got home. During the weekend he worked night and day (sleeping a combined 6hrs) to design and build a new filter system for his turtle tank and built me a new (very big) work bench.

Turtles are messy and keeping their tank clean with a commercial filter is often difficult unless you change the water about every three days. We have been battling with a "green tank" for a while. Chris decided to do some research on filter systems and decided to build a wet/dry biodiversity filter. So far the filter has been in place for two weeks and working like a charm. The water is clear and I feel so much better about the condition of the tank.

The work bench he designed and made out of basic laminate counter top like you would find in a kitchen or bathroom. It stretches the entire length of one of the walls in the office and is plenty big enough for me to run my business, and do my lesson plans, scrap booking etc. There is space under the counter where we are going to put in some storage shelves or drawers, and space above where more storage can go. And while I have yet to get the downstairs organized to the maximum functioning condition as the upstairs, it is *ahem* on the list.





Amidst all of these changes and searching for a new teaching position for the fall, I am in the very early stages of trying to get my business up and running. Country Baby Diapers and Designs began last spring when I wanted to outfit my son in cloth diapers and save some money. I drafted my own pattern and began sewing and selling my diapers. I sold quite a few diapers and had a good customer base going when I needed to begin working. For more information about the diapers, to see what I have currently sold, see what is in stock and/or read customer reviews about the diapers, the right column of the blog is devoted to the business. Also, at the bottom of the page there is a Country Baby Diaper and Designs banner which will take you to my etsy store for available in stock diapers for purchasing.

First trip to the Beach '09

 

 

 

 

We didn't bring bathing suits or towels because they were only supposed to get their feet wet.... We didn't do so well with that.