Want Your Children to Be Geniuses? Take the Challenge!

I recently read an important article that I recommend to every parent who reads my blog. 

Charlotte Mason and John Senior Agree: Great Books Are Not Enough

Don't throw that Away!

My parents had a very thrifty approach to life: reuse it, re-purpose it, or recycle it. I remember covering school books with brown paper grocery sacks. Everyone did it in those days. My dad turned old juice cans, painted and soldered together in joints to make a big building set for grandkids. Today, I reuse plastic bags as small trash bags instead of buying more plastic bags to litter the earth. And these days I collect old egg cartons and glass bottles for sharing our chickies' eggs and storing our bees' honey.

Plastics are everywhere and they must constitute a huge proportion of landfill trash. And plastic doesn't break down very fast. So a good thing to do with it, is find a new use. At our annual chapel Christmas party, I cut two gallon jugs to serve as spill catchers. Most plastic drink bottles will serve and it prevents a big floor cleanup from sticky lemonade or water which can cause a slip hazard.

Merry Christmas! And Here's My "Tiny" Camp Kreitzer Christmas Gift to You!

Our oldest daughter gave us a delightful little book for Christmas titled Tiny Ridge with almost no words, just photos.  The brief introduction reads:

Deep in the mountains of North Carolina, my daughter Josephine and I imagined a tiny world coexisting just under our feet. All of these images were created in-camera (with lots of balancing and not Photoshop alterations.) The series is designed to reflect how our organic farm and the residents of Tiny Ridge wake up over the seasons.

Do yourself a favor and visit the author/photographer's page to see the incredibly delightful and creative photos. Then let your imagination run rampant! 

Entrepreneurs in the Family

Speaking of creative entrepreneurs, I have a daughter and daughter-in-law who have their own little businesses with wonderful creative items. If you are looking for something special for a birthday, or a really unique Halloween costume check out Tutu Turtledoves. I love the little aprons that transform a little girl into a princess. They can be worn longer than a dress and can easily travel and be off or on in a jiffy. And what fun to have an assortment and invite some little friends over for a "dress up tea party." Here's a pretty Cinderella dressed for the ball.

And how about some special hair accessories that remind you of your favorite saint? Pepita Bananas offers beautiful hairbows perfect for a little girl's baptism or First Communion. Thinking Christmas in July? Here's one for your favorite Pepita's stocking. Happy shopping!

My husband and I will have our own little entrepreneurship activity after we harvest our honey on Saturday. We plan to sell not only local honey, but I'll be making some beeswax lip balm. I've already experimented with two batches and have a good recipe for starters. I'm not sure we'll ever recoup our investment in the bee business, but we're having fun and our worker bees aren't unionized and ask only a small sugar salary over the winter and when the summer nectar flow stops. If you're ever in Woodstock, stop at Camp Kreitzer and we'll introduce you to "the girls."