An Early Birthday Party

Madison's birthday is on the 22nd of December so we traditionally have a party with her friends early before all of the Christmas madness starts.  This year I hosted a baking extravaganza here on Keewatin for five little girls.  It was wonderful and tiring.  They explored the schooner, were swinging in the rigging, held chickens, enjoyed a nature walk, and of course we baked.  We made sponge cakes with honey chocolate icing and double chocolate chunk cookies.  They snacked on chicken wrapped in bacon and a fruit platter, and quenched their thirst with homemade hot chocolate.  We all had a great day.  Take home treats included a bag of baked goodies and a jar of Madison's Mix.

The boat looking beautiful before the party

Happy little girls!

Happy Birthday to you!

Mommy received the first piece of cake!

Presents and yet more swinging in the rigging - they couldn't get enough :)

Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Madison was in the galley again this morning.  We were treated to banana chocolate chunk muffins for breakfast!

                                   

Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
2. In a medium bowl blend the banana, oil, egg and vanilla together.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in the banana mixture until just blended. Fold in the chocolate chunks. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling 3/4 full.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mycelium in the garden

You might know them as mushrooms.  We spent the morning picking millions of mushrooms out of our garden beds, debating whether or not to add them to the compost heap, and, finally, throwing them in the garbage so they didn't contaminate said compost.  When we settled down for school I did some research and it turns out our efforts were pretty pointless.  Apparently the mushrooms themselves are just the tip of the iceberg called the mycelium (rhymes with helium) and roughly correspond to the apples on a tree - the medium by which the organism reproduces.  What we did this morning was pick all the "apples" off the tree in an attempt to kill the tree!  I was feeling down about that until I read on and discovered that very few mushrooms are parasitic - most are beneficial to the soil or the plant.  So . . . they would have benefitted our compost heap and we took great pains to eradicate them and throw them out - the irony!

Sorry for the boring, in-depth explanation but hey!  I am a teacher :)

Colored Greens :)

Tonight with our Corned Beef and potatoes I substituted collard greens for the cabbage I ordinarily use.  Madison confessed that she originally thought I said colored greens until she saw my blog post about what was in the garden!  :)  I thought that was pretty cute.  So the consensus is that collard greens (and colored greens) are delicious.

Schooner Sunday

We all worked hard on Keewatin today.

The kids sanded the bowsprit - a 22 ft long pole - all by themselves, and stained our new outlet covers mahogany.

Brock and a helper are finishing off our Boston Whaler renovation, including fiberglass repair and a new Awlgrip paint job!

And I removed tons of unnecessary stuff from down below.  I do not know how so many bits and pieces accumulate!

A very satisfying sunday :)

Finally - five days later . . .

Last night we burnt our Guy Fawkes.  I know, I know, it was a little late, but every night we thought about it the wind just seemed to blow stronger.  Finally Mother Nature gave us a break and we were ready!

We collected wood all afternoon - I think I have poisonwood as a result (it was either the wood collecting or the chopping down trees in the bush the day before :), built the perfect tepee shaped fire and tossed in a match.  It really lit that easily!  For those of you who know us, you may remember that we have frequently had to resort to gasoline to get a decent blaze going - Boy Scouts we are not! 

Mr. Fawkes succumbed to the smoke almost immediately, but luckily Brock rushed in and propped him back up.

My sister and nephew were also here to join in the fun - more pyromaniacs maybe?

                                           

                                           

                                           

It was a great night.

Home Economics and Home Improvement

Last night Madison decided she wanted brownies.  She asked me if we had any brownie mix and I said we didn't - we try not to buy any packaged foods.  I suggested she look on the internet for a recipe from scratch.  She looked at me in amazement (apparently she didn't realize brownies could be made without Duncan Hines Fudge Brownie Mix) but soon found a recipe.  She extracted a promise from Brock to wake her up early in the morning so the brownies would be ready in time for breakfast.  The results were amazing!

   

This afternoon our woodworking class centered around our dinghy.  We taught the kids how to use a palm sander (including fitting it with sandpaper - a task I still find difficult).  They spent the better part of an hour sanding the seats and oars of our Boston Whaler.

So today both school and the schooner received appropriate amounts of attention :)


Best Breakfast Brownie Recipe

Prep Time: 25 Minutes 

Cook Time: 35 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 

Servings: 16 

INGREDIENTS: 

BATTER

1/2 cup butter 

1 cup brown sugar 

2 eggs 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

1/2 cup all-purpose flour 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon baking powder 

FROSTING

3 tablespoons butter, softened 

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 

1 tablespoon honey 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 cup confectioners' sugar 

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan. 

2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. 

Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan. 

3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook. 

4. To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 

and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm. 

PE Practice

Softball is going well.

Here are some before and after shots :)


BEFORE:

               

AFTER:

           

I think we increased their heart rates!   :)

Weekend Project #2

Guy Fawkes!

Remember, remember
The fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot!

The kids do enjoy Guy Fawkes - budding pyromaniacs maybe?

Here is our creation this year.  Note the chicken feather and poppy :)

Weekend Project #1

Chez Chickens!

Note to self - Do not, repeat NOT, use double ended staples (U shaped nails) ever again!  My thumb is still recovering.  This project took a very loooong afternoon.

But we persevered and this is the result:

The chickens are ecstatic about their new abode - I know, I know chicken ecstasy is difficult to spot, but I guarantee that what you are seeing is it :)

Knight also loves the new chicken house - he has a new daytime soap opera to watch.


Will Mate and Babe ever be friends or will their jealousy over Captain make it impossible?  Who will get the highest roost?  The tastiest grub? It's all right here on Chicken Central!

Or . . .  he could just be contemplating dinner.  

I'll keep you updated here on School on a Schooner!  Stay tuned.

Softball Surprise

We were running errands today and, as I finished up at the pharmacy, the kids informed me that Brock was waiting for me at The Sports Center to buy softball mitts and balls.  He was adding softball to our PE curriculum.  Apparently the only one surprised was me!

We were confronted with a literal WALL of mitts and sized appropriately.

I was, admittedly, a little out of my comfort zone and found myself whining "but this one hurts my baby finger".

Four mitts, four balls and two bats (that's the fun part!) later we walked out of the store.

After school we threw some balls around and Brock succeeded in teaching Madison to catch!  A skill I had been unable to pass on.  She encountered many balls in regular school but most of them landed on her head not in her hands leading to a not completely irrational fear of fast, flying spheres.  Brock was incredibly patient and she was so proud when she caught on.

Marco seems to be a natural :)

Latin Lessons

Amo . . . amas . . . amat . . .

We started Latin today!  We are so excited - at least I am - I'll let you know how the kids feel later :)

I am using Latin for Children Primer A from Classical Academic Press.  I really appreciate the way they teach languages - I ordered Spanish from them too - it seems to be much more in line with the way I was taught in England.  As the spanish cover says "Learn more than how to order a taco!"  I think that says it all.

Sailing Adventures

I just realized that School on a Schooner is very much about the land.  We are currently land locked - or as our captain says "Corralled in the Canal" - due to hurricane season in the Bahamas.  We plan to leave on a new adventure within a month or two.

In the meantime here are some photos from our last sailing expedition around the Islands of the Bahamas.

                           A tricky wing on wing sail around the northern tip of Crooked Island.

                                                                           

Conch Cleaning in Little Inagua  

                                                                    Under Da Sea

   Tropical Storm Emily in Exuma

                                                              More coming soon . . .

Exams!

Not that kind! Hen examinations.

We have determined that our new hen will be laying imminently!

Do not ask how we determined this.

Okay, if you really must know check out this link to "happy chicks". But I'm warning you it is quite disturbing! The hens did not like it either.

Mate is weeks away from laying so we are pinning our hopes on Babe. :)

Garden Greens!

Collard Greens                            Red Cabbage                                        Basil

       Bok Choy                                                   Swiss Chard                                            Tomato

                                                 Cherry Tree                                      Eggplant