Linda @ Linda’s Lunacy

In the Kitchen with Linda

March 25, 2013 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

The other day I made a Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I used the cherries and zucchini pineapple that I canned last summer. Yes, I said zucchini pineapple. It’s really simple and tastes like pineapple, because it’s canned in pineapple juice. The texture isn’t the same as pineapple, but in other dishes it really isn’t that noticeable. It’s delicious on pizza, too. It’s a great way to use up all that zucchini coming in from the garden.

Here’s my cake:

I really want another one! Would it be wrong to make one everyday? lol

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….

What’s For Dinner?

Saturday – Sabbath- Make ahead meals- Chicken Taco Potatoes with cheddar cheese, peas

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Homemade Bean Soup, homemade bread

Monday – chicken – Baked chicken, baked potatoes, corn, salad

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Chicken spaghetti, green beans

Wednesday – super simple – Homemade vegetable soup, homemade bread

Thursday – beef – Crockpot deer, potatoes, onions and carrots

Friday – Sabbath Dinner – BBQ chicken, rice, peas and carrots

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

Classical Academic Press – The Art of Poetry Review

March 24, 2013 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

As part of The Homeschool Review Crew, I received The Art of Poetry from Classical Academic Press to review. Classical Academic Press’s motto is Classical Subjects Creatively Taught. They take the classic subjects that can be dry and boring and make them clear and understandable for all ages.

The Art of Poetry is a middle school and high school curriculum that teaches students the elements of poetry and how to read a poem slowly so they see all the imagery and metaphors in the poem. The Art of Poetry contains sixteen chapters that cover the elements of poetry, the formal history of poetry, and how the student can grow their interest in poetry. Also included in the book are a glossary, a bibliography and short biographies of the poets in the book. Classical Academic Press offers a Suggested Schedule to help you in your planning. There are options for a half year, one year, four year and co-op studies. The Art of Poetry Teacher’s Edition includes every page from the student text, detailed explications of all thirty-nine poems, a complete answer key, a poetry time line, a quiz for every chapter with answer keys, tips and suggestions for teaching poetry, and much more. There is also a DVD set available. I received a sample DVD with Chapters 1 and 2 on it. The DVD features the teacher discussing the content of the chapters with a group of students. With the DVD set, your student can teach themselves the course. The teacher will lead them through the chapters. The DVD set is not a requirement for the course. You can view a sample video on the Art of Poetry DVD Set page.

I used The Art of Poetry with my 14 year old, eighth grade daughter. During the review period, she completed chapters one through three. At the rate of one lesson per week, this would be a half year course. Taking two weeks per chapter would make this a one year course. After the lesson at the beginning of each chapter, she had to read several poems and answer questions about them. There was also list of activities for the student to complete. Each chapter ended with a list of vocabulary words. I like the way The Art of Poetry really teaches the student to focus on each part of the poem. Instead of just reading through the poem all at once, the course shows the student how to dissect the poem to see what the poem is really saying. Some of the activities at the end of the chapters do have the student writing their own poems but The Art of Poetry concentrates on the student studying other authors poems.

The Art of Poetry books and DVD set can be purchased separately, or you can save money buy buying them as a bundle. As of April 1st, the prices are $24.95 for the student text, $29.95 for the teachers edition, and $69.95 for the DVD set. The curriculum bundle sells for $99.95 for the teacher/student/DVD program.

Saturday on the Farm

March 23, 2013 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I had wanted to plant my peas, lettuce, and spinach on Monday. However, it has been too cold to be in the garden. According the the weather man, we are supposed to get about 1 inch of snow tomorrow, and one to three inches on Monday. I’m so over winter. lol

Since I wasn’t able to work in the garden, I’ve had to content myself with watching my seedlings grow. You know the old saying, “A watched pot never boils”? Well, a watched seed never grows. lol Here’s a few of my precious seedlings. 🙂

My biggest seedlings are the Roma Tomatoes. Way over on the right of this picture you can see a small seedling.

Those are the Beefsteak Tomatoes pictured below. They were planted at the same time as the Roma’s, same soil, same water, same light, different growth pattern. Hopefully, they are putting down some strong roots and will be overflowing with tomatoes this summer. 🙂

Just ignore the model cars in the background of those pictures. lol They, along with the cabbage seedlings are on the workbench in the craftroom so they can be under the light.

Here are some of my herb seedlings. The Dill is very leggy. They are in a sunny window, and I rotate the tray daily. Maybe the Dill needs to go live with the Romas.

I finally have a couple of pepper plants coming up. I was despairing of them ever coming up. I think I have checked those five or six times everyday, anxiously awaiting any sign of green. I almost screamed when I found the first one. lol

This week, our cat, who doesn’t have a name except “Mama Kitty”, had kittens. These four sure are cute. A fifth one didn’t survive birth. They are in a box in the house for a few weeks. At night, mama is in the girls room with the kittens. During the day, we bring them out to the schoolroom. The girls don’t want their brothers in their room all day. lol

And just so he doesn’t feel left out, here is our Australian Shepherd, Shadow. I took this picture last week when the sun was actually shining.

We no longer have our goats, and we actually miss them. Well, except when it was 9 degrees outside. Then we didn’t miss going out and breaking up their water. We also miss the chickens. We will be getting more chickens pretty soon, and I’m so excited!

Now, back to gardening! The Old Farmer’s Almanac has a chart for last frost date. There is only one city for Kentucky on there. According to that chart, our last frost date is April 15th. So I do have a few more weeks to wait to plant most things. I’m just so ready to have our own produce again!

Have you been able to plant anything yet?

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Our Homeschool Week in Review

March 22, 2013 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

We had an unusual occurrence here this week. Tuesday night’s regular band practice was cancelled, so after Dad got home, no one had anywhere to go! That is unusual because every night of the week has someone having to go somewhere. Tuesday is usually pizza night, so we ate our delicious, lol, homemade pizza and watched a movie. Then we had game night. We played Yahtzee and Jenga Boom (affiliate link)
as a family. I won the Jenga Boom game in a giveaway and it had just arrived that afternoon. It was perfect timing. It was so nice to have a relaxing night at home with everyone.

Zachary finished the Knights and Castles lapbook that he’d been working on. I have a review for it coming up next week.

We also have a few other items we’re working on for reviews, a poetry course, a non-fiction writing course for high schoolers, and a computer programming course that Zach is working on. Those review will all be coming up soon, too.

We discovered a new Hebrew course on Schoolhouse Teachers.com (affiliate link). Hannah’s been learning Hebrew, so we’re excited for this new course. She’s done one lesson so far, and liked it.

Hannah finished embroidering a blanket that her cousin asked her to do. She embroidered the name and birth date of another cousins baby on the blanket. Yes, that is a camo blanket. lol She did a great job, of course.

In fact, her plans for after high school are to make and sell crafts. She does many different things and does a great job on all of them.

This next week should be extra busy for us. In addition to our regular work, we will be moving all the clothes at out churches clothes closet. Our family works there as a family ministry every Saturday. We now are going to be moving everything to a new home on the other side of the building. At least we get a chance to clean out everything and reorganize. That’s positive thinking. lol It’s actually for the best, as our moving will open an area of the building that will be made into a youth center. The kids are looking forward to that!

That’s our homeschool week in review!

To see more homeschooling posts, visit Weekly Wrap Up.

Grave Consequences iPad Mini Giveaway from Lisa T. Bergren

March 19, 2013 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I reviewed Glamorous Illusions, Book 1 in the Grand Tour Series by Lisa T. Begren last year. Since I enjoyed book 1 so much, I was anxiously awaiting book 2, Grave Consequences, release.

The Powerful, Epic Romance Continues, Book 2 in Lisa T. Begren’s Grand Tour series

For Cora Kensington, the journey of a lifetime takes unexpected twists. And her future-her very life-depends on the decisions she’ll make at each crossroad. As her European tour with her newfound family takes her through Austria, France, and Italy, an unseen enemy trails close behind. Meanwhile, a forbidden love continues to claim her heart, putting everyone’s plans in danger.

And as Cora stays one step ahead of it all, what might need the most protection is her own heart, torn between the dramatic pursuit of a dashing Frenchman and a man who has been quietly staking claim to her affections all along. Love has dangers all its own. She must escape the bonds of the past and discover the faith to make the right choices, as each one has grave consequences.

Link to buy the book: http://ow.ly/i8ZWs (Not my affiliate link)

Meet Lisa:

Lisa T. Bergren is the award-winning author of over thirty-five books, with more than 2 million copies sold. A former publishing executive, Lisa now divides her time between writing, editing, parenting three children with her husband, Tim, and dreaming of her next trip to Italy. She lives in Colorado Springs.

Visit http://lisatawnbergren.com

MY REVIEW:

Grave Consequences is full of the same action, adventure, and family strife as book 1 in the series. I found the main character, Cora, to be more acclimated to her wealthy family. She no longer sees everything through the wide-eyed awe of a simple farm girl. So while Cora seems to fit in better with her family, there is still tensions among the siblings. After many dangerous happenings, their father joins them on the grand tour. And Cora finds out that she now has to follow her father’s edicts. Even if they go against how she was raised by her mother and step-father. Cora must decide if she will return to her mother and follow her dreams of being a teacher, or follow her father’s plan and marry for money. She must choose between the rich man or the poor man she loves.

Grave Consequences is a great read. I loved all the historical facts and places in the book. Included in the book are discussion questions, and a conversation with Lisa T. Bergren.

Celebrate the release of Grave Consequences with Lisa T. Bergren by entering to win an iPad Mini!

One “grand” winner receive:

A brand new iPad Mini
Grave Consequences and Glamorous Illusions will be pre-loaded onto the Mini!

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on March 23rd. Winner will be announced on March 25th at Lisa’s website.

Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for review purposes. I received no other compensation. I was not required to write a positive review. My opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

In the Kitchen with Linda

March 18, 2013 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

While working in the kitchen this week, my daughter learned an important lesson about not wasting ingredients, and making due with what you have.

Hannah made four loaves of french bread for her volleyball banquet last Monday. They came out great! On Tuesday, I asked her if she would make some more for us to eat with supper as I had some garlic butter left from Monday. We often have to put our yeast doughs in a warm oven to rise in the winter. So she turned the oven on to warm, and put the dough in to rise. Well, I found it an hour or so later with the oven still on, and it not only had risen, but it started to cook. I dumped it out onto a cookie sheet, then she put it back in the oven to finish cooking. Needless to say, a round bowl shaped french bread is unique. lol It actually looked like an artisan bread, so it was ok.

See? It doesn’t look that bad. I cut it in half horizontally, buttered the the cut halves then stuck it back under the broiler. When ready, I cut it into wedges to serve. It was definitely a different way to serve garlic bread, but we were able to use the dough without wasting it. My family didn’t care that it looked different, just that it tasted good. 🙂

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….

What’s For Dinner?

Saturday – Sabbath- Make ahead meals- Breakfast for supper- Eggs, homemade biscuits, chocolate gravy

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – chicken sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, homemade pickles

Monday – chicken – Baked chicken, baked potatoes, green beans

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Homemade pizza with homemade turkey sausage, onions, green peppers, and salad

Wednesday – super simple – Turkey soup, homemade biscuits

Thursday – beef – Crockpot deer, potatoes, onions and carrots

Friday – Sabbath Dinner – BBQ chicken, rice, broccoli

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

Saturday on the Farm – Garden Tour

March 16, 2013 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I got brave this week and cleaned out the front bulb garden. I scrubbed thoroughly when I came in, so I’m hoping to avoid a bad case of poison ivy. Where the line is between the dark hill and the light hill in the back is the road. We let the wild roses and honeysuckle grow up for privacy. The little pink “dot” on the rocks is really a pink duck. My youngest, who is now 12, but this duck out in the garden when he was probably 4 to 5ish. And every year we make sure to find “our duck” in the garden and put him back on the rocks. Just a fun little family tradition started by my “baby”.

The butterfly house in the garden has been there for about 5 or 6 years. And unless we have stealth butterflies, it’s never been used. Maybe this will be the year? We do have two Butterfly Bushes in close proximity to the house, so the butterflies have plenty to eat.

The mini Daffodils have been blooming for several weeks and still look great. The full size Daffodils in the back have buds on them now.

We harvested more carrots from the garden today. They aren’t big, but they sure are good! We still have some left in the garden. Good thing as these were gone right after the picture was taken.

This pallet may not look like much now, but very shortly it will be planted with strawberries. I can’t wait! Just as soon as that pesky last frost date has passed, I will be planting the strawberry seeds.

The Peppermint is growing in the herb garden behind the house. This is just one section. The Peppermint looks like it has spread a lot this year. I do believe I shall have plenty.

My grandmother, we lived not to far from where I live, always planted peas, lettuce and potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day. We’re not ready to plant potatoes tomorrow, but I will be planting peas and lettuce on Monday. It will be so nice to have our own fresh produce again!

What’s growing in your garden?

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