Exploring close to home..

Since we aren't exploring an exotic island for spring break, we thought it would be fun to do something close to home that we've never done before... The road led us to the "Olentangy Indian Caverns" today. Since Jack, Maddie or myself had never been, we were all imagining what these "indian caverns" would be like. It was truly amazing. Nothing at all like I imagined & Jack said to me; "it was so different than I thought it would be." Both him & Maddie were pleasantly surprised.

The cavern's opening is under a modest brick building that sometimes serves as a museum. We were lucky enough to get a look inside today, and a worker there told us about the history of the caves. Once used as a hideout & safe haven for Wynadotte Indians, the caverns have lots of interesting history. She said that supposedly, a man named, J.M. Adam's was camping somewhere nearby in 1821 & his ox wandered off & fell into the entrance of the cave & died. This is supposedly how the "white man" discovered it.

Not knowing what to expect, we slowly climbed down two very steep staircases to find a maze of limestone rock dripping with water. It was hard to look up for more than a few seconds without a pelt to the eye! As we wondered around with our map, it was nice to have electric lights & an audio tour guides. Our imaginations were going wild at all the possible scenarios of "council rock" & "fat man's misery." I loved watching the kids faces as they slowly moved from room to room.

The moisture wasnt too pleasant for my sinus infection & allergies, but once we were above ground again, it felt like summer. I forgot to mention the temperature in the cavern was much cooler than outside. It had a natural air conditioner from the cracks in the rocks.

After exploring or "spelunking," we headed up to the gift shop area to buy bags of dirt to pan for minerals....hoping for a ruby or two..maybe even a nice gold nugget! This was so much fun!! Jack spent alot of time inspecting his treasures, sorting them all out. Maddie loved digging for her diamonds & emeralds:) We left with lots of loot! Hoping to return sometime soon for more exploring.

Lazy day in the sun..

Spring Break is rolling right along..Today we spent most of the afternoon outside. The snow is hopefully long gone & the sun is shining bright. J&M made up games with their car contraptions while I started knitting a spring top for Ms. Maddie. I'm loving a great book a friend found for me; "Aware Knits" by Vickie Howell & Adrienne Armstrong. Can't wait to make this in a softer yarn, I'm using an acrylic yarn I had in my stash. The only thing I like about this yarn is the color. I'm interested in checking out sustainable yarns. The yarn used for this pattern in the "aware knits" is made from corn. How cool!

Swimmy & Splashy

It's a first for the Demos' Family....we welcomed two cute little goldfish today!! Aren't they cute & they seem pretty happy together.

First Day of Spring Break..

Last night the wind howled & snow fell. I stood at the backdoor while letting Bond out & couldn't believe my eyes! It's March, the kids are officially on spring break, this cant happen!! I was just outside sitting in the warm sun last week, dreaming of summer. But reality is we are not in NC anymore, Ohio weather is capricious & at times depressing. We move on...snow on our shoes again.

Favorite Photo

May 2006

Women's History Month

A few weeks ago I came across a book I had in my classroom about Women in History. I started sharing it with Jack & Maddie and they loved hearing about all these famous ladies. The book reminded me of how much women have endured throughout history and how far we have come! This month is national women's history month & good time to remember some of those famous & not so famous ladies.

This is a great online gallery; "Women of Our Time" from the National Portrait Gallery.
http://www.npg.si.edu/cexh/woot/index.htm

The May Song

Every night we all get a free concert courtesy of Jackie. This week he's working on Minuet No. 2 & cleaning up "Irish Washerwoman. Moo usually has front row passes, & tonight he voted for "The May Song," as our encore. Take a listen.

Welcome Spring

Alex Chilton

Way, way back when mixed tapes were traded & I rolled around in my 323 with my sunroof wide open, hair blowing; I listened to Alex Chilton for the first time. I have never forgotten how much I liked his voice & was sadden to hear today that he died this week. Lead singer of the 60s band, Box Tops & later formed "Big Star."

Yo La Tengo

My Favorite Space

I'm been waiting...patiently for all the snow to melt off my deck & dreaming of getting my favorite space back. It's hard to give it up for so many months. The umbrella went up today!!!...only a few days from the official start of spring! Well worth the wait. We all spent alot of time outside today! The sun was warm & it felt so good on my face! Jack had fun re-discovering his rock garden from the last few summers. Maddie giggled so hard as the swing carried her feet high in the sky! C

Feeling Happy About..

Learning a new stitch, "gull lace pattern," courtesy of a free pattern from www.flintknits.com that is adapted from an Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac. This book I need to get! Hoping that I can master this lovely stitch & make the February Lady Sweater or maybe a vest.


Watching the spring flowers come to life..



Moo feeling better..love this kitty sooo much!

Pirates & Princesses

It wasnt long ago that Maddie was dressing up like a pirate. Now it's all about princesses, oh my!@ These pics are from their face painting at Springtacular, an annual school festival.

Ok Go

This band is too cool. Their videos are so fun to watch. I cant watch this one & not think about Jack & all of his gadgets. I never know what I will find around the house in the form of "metal, garbage, adhesive!"

Fanny & Blue

This morning Maddie & I had a little puppet show of sorts starring "Fanny & Blue!" Jack came home last week talking about a song they listened to in music that he loved.."I got two dogs." I reserved it at the library, so we've been singing about fanny & blue courtesy of John Lithgow. He is the author of "I Got Two Dogs" the dogs names are fanny & blue.

I tried to upload our little show to the blog, but it's not working, so I uploaded to youtube. The only problem is the audio has been disabled for copyright purposes. Sooo since we had so much fun doing it, I thought I'd still post it w.o audio & you can watch Mr. Lithgow sing it himself.

Happy Birthday Maddie!

Officially 5!! Maddie had such an awesome day dancing, playing, singing, eating,,the list goes on! I cant believe how quickly the last 5 years has passed, yet I cant really remember life without her. Maddie, you bring so much sunshine into my days!! Here's a little birthday poem from mom.

A violet was born one day in March
A flower so beloved I could never explain
A scent that makes my days so sweet
A flower so beautiful I can only stare
Watching it grow is amazing to see
I only wish I could keep it forever with me.

spring..spring..spring

where oh where have you been hiding..i have missed you so!!!!!!!!!!!

Mystery Sweater

My gauge on the top part of this sweater is way off..it looks to have a 10 year old neckline & 5 year on mid/bottom. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Not really enjoying the chenille yarn on the small circular needles..but I'm so far in, it's hard to imagine ripping off all those stitches, so onward I go. This yarn is reminding me of a terrycloth shirt I wore when I was Jack's age. vintage?? vile?? I'll be sure to post the finished beast as soon as it's off the needles.

Views of a castle..

Can you guess who got a great new castle today?? Thanks mom!

Countdown to 5!!

My sweet little Maddie is turning 5!!! Yes, 5!! In just a few days. She mentions it atleat 5 times aday! Birthdays are way cool around here! Thanks Nana for the great dress, matching headband & necklace. She could hardly wait to open the early bday package & had it on just to walk over to get Jack. Since it's still winter here...she'll be wearing this with lots of layers till atleast June.

Listening to..

Loving this group.."carolina chocolate drops" http://www.carolinachocolatedrops.com/
Jackie's Minuet No. 1 Bach. He has worked on this for weeks & played it with his teacher Sunday. They sounded so good together. Wish he could play with her everday.

March March March!!

Brand new month. The green goal this month is to make my own cleaning products. The recipes I've found online are mainly with three ingredients; lemon juice, baking soda, & vinegar. All you need are those & a few empty spray bottles. I'm learning that lemons can be used as a natural antibacterial, antiseptic & bleach. Who knew?? Supposedly lemon juice can be used for cleaning soap scum. This is the one area I am worried about sticking with for natural products..da da da duuumm...the SHOWER. Oh that is a monster to clean. I'm hoping I can avoid bleach & try the lemon juice. It definitely will smell better.

As for January & February's green goals..we are still going strong. John & I have enjoyed trying new recipes & vegetarian food we never knew existed. eg. veggie bologna. John is feeling better digestively..is that TMI:0 I havent missed meat at all. I do feel hungry more often & try not to snack on just chocolate. It's been really easy when we cook at home. When we go do out, we try & eat places we really love. I'm still waiting for my favorite little vegetarian restaurant to reopen..remember my cucumber sandwich blog. Not too long after we discovered, Whole World, they had a kitchen fire & have been closed for remodeling. I cant wait to go back again.

February's gg was no paper towels.,this was alot harder for me at first. I was always really quick to grab a paper towel for just about thing. But I've gotten use to the cloth napkins & have been using old cotton baby blankets..the ones they send your baby home in from the hospital. They work great for cleaning up spills & bathrooms.

We watched a documentary last week, "No Impact Man". A story of a NYC family trying to live without making any negative impact on the environment. It was fascinating to see what they went through & how much they gave up. I dont think I could ever give up toilet paper & electricity, but they did. Slowly over a 12 month period they let go of lots of things. & they even had a young daughter. Made you think about what little things you can do each day to help our little planet.