The Sydney Harbour Bridge

We did this little project one day.  Fun.

Tin Can Pencil Containers

Heya lovelies!

Just jumping back in time to use my blog quota... I set myself a goal of 8 posts this month, but I was a little short, so I've come back to fill it out a little.

At any rate, today I made these super cute little pencil containers in about 10 minutes.

Super easy.

Super quick.

Super cheap.

Here's the supply list:

4 tin cans - cleaned
2 pieces of scrapbooking paper

double sided tape

guillotine

Cut your paper to a fraction under 4 and 1/4 inches.

Run the double sided tape along all the edges of your paper.

Adhere to the can.

That's it.

These are perfect for holding scissors, pencils, textas etc....

Let me know if you make some too.

The Constant Princess

I've just stepped back in time to fill this months quota of blog posts with a brief book review of:

{ The Constant Princess }

Which I read in late May and very early June.

Spoilers alert......below

The book is part of a set.... so plenty of historical fiction to feast upon.... if Tudors history take your fancy.

It's called the Tudor Court Collection if you want to go and find them.

I actually really liked reading this book.  It kept me coming back again and again until it was finished.

Essentially it's the story of Katherine of Aragon who comes to England as a 15 year old to marry the 'next in line' to the throne, Prince Arthur.  Things are particularly short lived, as in only months, before he ups and dies in a tragic moment of the "sweats".

Before he dies though he gets Katherine to promise him to seek to have her place as the next Queen of England, which means she must marry his younger brother.  To ensure this happens she must always swear that Arthur was "unmanned" and that the wedding had never been consummated.  Everybody accepts that the wedding wasn't consumated, and so she is betrothed to Harry, but he's still a boy, so she'll be waiting a few years.

The plot thickens with the death of the Queen.  This brings on a proposal from the King himself that he might marry Katherine and thus she would be able to rise to the title of Queen, but she turns him down because it would not make her sons next in line.  Her only path is with Harry { Henry VIII } if she wants her offspring to succeed to the the throne.

As added interest we find that the King is royally ticked at having been spurned - so the next few years go by in poverty and isolation while her parents and the king continue to squabble over her dowry.  The Queen mother being particularly nasty towards Katherine the entire time.  Rumors that Harry is betrothed to another arise.

Finally, the king dies.  Harry comes to Katherine in a rush, enthusiastic and jubilant, ha ha, and not even overly saddened that his dad has just died because all he can think about is getting married to Katherine and........ the rest is History.  It's a royal happy ending - filled with infidelity within the first year, but nevertheless she becomes the Queen of England and remains in that office until they drag her into court 27 years later where she will be given her divorce.

And that my friends is where this book ends.... with her going in to court.

Not suitable for children under the age of 18.  While the book is not overly explicit, I thought that it handled it well in the minimized way that it did.  It's the fact that it mentions private moments in some capacity that makes it not appropriate.

Thanks for dropping in.

Art

This week only 2 girls managed to complete their Art projects - drawing / painting of a winter city scene.

{ Phebe 10 }

{ Hannah 8 }

Books by Maria Edgewater

I was busy the other day downloading a couple of volumes written by Maria Edgewater.  As it turns out she wrote a 10 volume { and they are not small by any means } collection of Moral Fables and Novels.

The first volume ended up printing at 308 pages.

Here's the link to where you can find her works.

MARIA EDGEWATER

Week 15

Week 15 - Art

Phebe

Chloe

A favourite meal this week:

A raw salad:  celery, capsicum, tomatoes, lettuce, carrot; flavoured with cilantro, dill, home made sauerkraut and a little left over french dressing.  Mixed into some warm white rice.  Divine!

Charlotte continues to read.....

Phebe { 10 makes her own loaf of bread }

Chloe { 12 makes her own loaf of bread }

But the week is not over yet.............

Update on Writing

I just wanted to drop in and document some of the girls writing 

{ and some other bits and pieces }.

Drawn by Phebe.

An essay by Phebe - she's just turned 10.

Charlotte is moving through her reading book nicely.

An essay by Chloe { 11 }.

An essay by Hannah { almost 8 }.

Yeah, so that's about what's happening in the writing department.  They're making the transition to including introductions and conclusions.

Next week we'll be having a Robinson Week.  We need a bit of a break from all the traditional hoop-la's without having to lose a "school" week.

Buffalo Wings and Rice

Here's another meal I've recently prepared.

{ Buffalo Wings and Rice }

I started out with 2 kg's of chicken wings.

Then I chopped off the little wing part on each one so it was more of a wingette.  Then I coated them in plain flour.

Then I dipped them in a buffalo sauce and bbq sauce.  I went 50/50 because I had to feed them to the children and I didn't want them to be too spicy.

Then I popped them into the oven for about an hour, until they looked really lovely and caramelized.

About half an hour before they're done grab 2 cups of rice and get that going.  Add some cilantro to the rice.   Just before you think the rice is going to be done grab about a cup and half of peas and corn and get them boiling.  Don't over do them though.  When the rice is done mix the peas and corn in.

Then you'll have an awesome meal ready, set, go.

Thanks so much for visiting.

Directions for Special College History Papers

Directions for Special College History Papers.

I. Make a bibliography of your subject on cards and arrange by authors alphabetically, indicating source and secondary material.

A. Make as complete a list of available material as possible before taking any notes.

B. Copy this later with annotations, leaving a line between each reference, and hand in with paper.

II. In taking notes keep in mind what you will use.

A. Follow directions for note-book work.

B. Put notes at the end of the paper.

III. Before writing, look over a copy of the “American Historical Review” for form.

IV. Make an outline of what you are to write, leaving a line between each large topic. Hand this in with completed paper.

V. In writing, try to know your subject so that you will be able to express yourself with ease.

VI. Be careful for margins and paragraphs. Write on one side of the sheet only.

VII. Leave the last four lines on each page for footnotes.

Note.—In writing footnotes, skip one line and use the last three. Make the references as definite as in note-book work. Number your footnotes from “1” on each new page.

VIII. Use ruled paper and fasten all your work together with a brass fastener.