K is for Knot, Knife and Kerchief

Sadly, the proper use of a pocket knife, how to tie a sturdy knot, and the multiple uses of a kerchief or bandanna are no longer standard expectations of a Girl Scout.

My Dad gave me my 1st pocket knife when I was fairly young, I'm not sure if I actually was 7 years old, or that is just how I remember it. Thus, each of my children got their 1st jackknife when they were 7. We practiced the safe way to handle it, talked about the responsibility and started whittling sticks. The first masterpiece is always a sharp pointy stick with all the bark stripped away - which of course naturally leads to a little campfire to toast marshmallows on, and if you have marshmallows, you are going to want to do it again with chocolate and graham crackers!

Of course now days, a kid would get kicked out of school if caught with a pocket knife. The expectation now is they would either threaten or harm someone, or the very least do vandalism. Isn't it sad we expect the worst? I am thankful, that I have no qualms what-so-ever about my own children with a pocket knife. The very same knife my Dad gave me, is in my pocket every day, except the rare occasion my clothing doesn't have a pocket!

Knots are fun to learn, my son is much better at them than I am, but they are cool. How many of you can tie a square knot? Hmmm, I wonder how many girls in our Troop remember?

Kerchiefs are another one of those things I'm drawn to, I don't know why, I just like them, I always have - and I will admit to having a few more than the average person, ahem... Most of the time, they are just fun, or keep the hair out of my eyes, but a few times they have come in handy for other emergency quick fixes.

J is for Junior Girl Scouts

       
J is for Junior Girl Scouts. It has been neat watching these 4th and 5th graders grow! They are full of ideas and enthusiasm, a delightful group. Most of them have been involved in scouting since they started school. There are SO many ideas of things we want to do, and so little time to make it happen, yeah, I know, that is life.

Lately we have been working on our Flower badge, we have made bath beads, planted bulbs, planted marigolds, studied the social meanings and significance of various flowers, put white carnations in colored water to see what would happen, compared our new badge to ones in older handbooks - we are nearly done, I think we need a field trip to a greenhouse.

I've learned a lot along the way, and had some fun too. An adult camp out to certify leaders for outdoor skills was a blast. Even CPR & First Aid training provide a laugh or two.

As they become older, I'm looking forward to them being able to handle more outdoor skills, and hope there is plenty of hiking and camping in our future! I'd like to see more outing in scouting, and I hope the girls agree!

I is for Ink

I is for ink. I love ink, and I don't mean tattoos. I have a writing utensil and paper fetish, and have since I was a child. I'm relatively possessive of whatever pen is my current favorite, and if someone borrows it & accidentally walks away with it, rest assured I will chase them down.

The pen of the day was a form of expression for me, especially in high school. I'm sure no one noticed, but ink color, size of line produced (regular, fine point, extra fine - rarely bold) and outward appearance of the pen was a deliberate choice, based on my whim for the day.

Fletcher's Newsstand where my Grandmother worked had a fantastic selection of pens, and I had an absurdly large collection of them. Later in my 20's when I lived and worked near Brattleboro, I frequented Baker's Hallmark, which also satisfied my cravings.

There is something about the way the ink flows onto the paper that I find very pleasing. I took a writing workshop at one time, where the leader suggested we try free writing with a fountain pen, oh my what unbridled joy! Ummm, excuse me, have a good day, suddenly I need to go find that pen and a fresh cartridge of ink!

Happy writing, Diana

H is for Heart

H is for Heart -- I've been dragging my feet all day mulling over today's topic & I'm late... Nothing would come to mind. The other thing I've been dragging my feet about all day, is tonight I had to go to CPR training. I don't like to go, it sort of gives me the willies & I hope I never have to use it. As a Girl Scout leader, I'm required to be certified though, so off we went, at least I got to go with my other scout leaders! Next week we go again for First Aid, but that is less stressful to me.

(Sure, now my family sees me blogging and they are full of H ideas... they can stop shouting them out anytime now...)

I'm getting better at going to these, I'd been certified in high school, college, then a long gap.

Nearly 14 years ago my Dad died of a heart attack, he was on his way to my house to visit. The first time after that CPR class wrecked me, the subject matter was a little too close for comfort. This may be an uncomfortable topic for some of you as well, I'm sorry if it is.

Let's put another spin on it and think instead about heart health, and do what we can to keep ourselves as healthy as we can! Health & wellness are my wishes for you :-)

Today could have easily been about my Horse (but that also felt sad, I had to put him down 3 yrs ago) or Harvey, my Jack Russell Terrier who just had his 10th birthday on the 6th

ah, such a half-hearted post, and the kid is still hollaring H words! 

G is for Goat

 G is for Goat. This is Esther May, and the start of my life with goats. She was a wonderful girl, friendly & kind, pals with my horse, and great with my children.A beautiful soul.

funny & true, they like to hike with us

Buster - carries a pack saddle & is learning to pull a cart, and  was my  son's  project,  but guess  who fiddles with him most? He is at the age where he is trying to prove something - some days he is the most affectionate fellow, other days he can be a jerk.

Cowboy and Millie born March 2011, their brother, Jasper lives on another farm now

Jake and Lilly born Easter 2012

Jake

Lilly in the lead 

the herd, they hear the guinea hens

Millie found something to nibble

Maurice is a Boer goat & my daughter's 

MaaMaa - mother to our young stock, and gives delicious milk

I love the goats, they are a lot of fun! They make us laugh, bouncing, jumping goats are hilarious, and new babies are so sweet. Each one has their own personality, and they are quite smart. The idea was to be a little more self sufficient, but we ended up being more of a pet operation, as we don't end up with a vast quantity of milk, and none of them are headed for the freezer.

F is for Frederick

F is for Frederick, by Leo Lionni. Many of the posts I've read this week have taken me back to my childhood days, and while I was mulling over a topic for F..... Frederick suddenly came to me. It was read to us at school, it was read to us by the public librarian, it became a 6th grade fad, I read it to my children, I took my children to see the play.

A fad? Back in the day, Fletcher's Newsstand was an icon in our small town, as mentioned in another post, this store had a bit of everything, one of those things, in a box, on a shelf, just below waist height of a 6th grader, halfway down the main aisle in front of the cash register; were multiple stuffed mice, they were soft, and each one a different color. They had sweet little ears, whiskers and a tail and fit comfortably in your hand. We all had to have one. Unlike today, no one's parents sprung for multiples. We took them everywhere, but we especially liked to bring them to the public library for reading time.

Gosh, for thinking I had nothing to say, I could go on about Fletcher's (my Gram worked there for years), or the public library, or the content of the book itself -- but I'll spare you & tuck those away for another day.

If you haven't ever read it, or haven't in many years - I urge you to.

A simple, yet profound work.

Enjoy.

E is for Eeyore

E is for Eeyore and who doesn't love him? When I was a kid it was such a treat for me when Winnie the Pooh was going to be on TV :-) We only had two channels, PBS and and one network, either CBS or ABC , who cared it was either Masterpiece Theater, or something else. It was special because it only was on occasionally. I used to have an old pocketbook to play with, it looked like a wicker basket with a leather latch, inside I carried a newspaper clipping of an advertisement for Winnie the Pooh. I also had a stuffed Pooh, still have him too.

Charlie Brown specials were even more elusive, as those ran on the network we didn't get, so I only got to see those if I was at my Grandmother's in town where folks got more channels.

One of these days I hope to add a real live "Eeyore" to my life, and when I'm ready, I'm going to go see Ann Firestone at Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue - yup it's a real place in South Acworth, NH. They have a web site saveyourassrescue.org and a facebook page (sorry I should have figured out how to add the link).

On Easter Sunday a baby E.B. was born, the mother, a young mammoth jenny was in such rough shape from malnutrition when she came to the rescue, we worried she might not make it, but thankfully she did, and this little fella sure is something special!
Welcome to the world E.B. Don't you wish you could reach through the screen and touch him?