Winter at Piney run

Back to School

Why is it so hard to start back to school after a two week break? You would think two weeks for be plenty of time to feel rested and renewed, ready to get back to work. I'm beginning to think two weeks is too long, it seems to have put us all in summer mode in the middle of winter.
Today is definitely going to be a half day. I successfully dragged Sophia out of bed at 9 a.m. after numerous reminders of how she could have been freezing her little toes off at the corner bustop a full two hours prior. Molly took some encouraging too (aka nagging), all i require of her this early is that she read in bed her lit book for an hour, oh she has it so tough! First stop for Benny and Sophia was our animals and Their Worlds program by WinterPromise. Today was our first day in the Arctic region. We read, drew and watched a video. Now we are on break. Oh first days are tough! For English today, thank you notes for Christmas gifts. I can't even think about math today!

What I Am Reading Now

Great Epectations by Charles Dickens. I'm really enjoying this. I read it years ago but am enjoying it again. Here is a summary from the folks at Wikipedia:
Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times.

Great Expectations is the story of the orphan Pip, writing about his life (and attempting to become a gentleman along the way). The novel, like much of Dickens' work, draws on his experiences of life and people.

The main plot of Great Expectations takes place between Christmas Eve 1812, when the protagonist is about seven years old (and which happens to be the year of Dickens' birth), and the winter of 1840.

Good Old Pineapple Cake

Homey but delicious, here's my favorite recipe for an old fashioned Pineapple Cake. everyone who has tried it seems to love it. It's definitely a family favorite. I like to use fresh pineapple when I can. Try it, you won't regret it! Oh it's a Betty Crocker recipe from the red book.


1/4 cup butter 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
9 slices pineapple
9 maraschino cherries without stems, if desired
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1 egg


.Heat oven to 350°F. In large skillet, melt butter in oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter. Arrange pineapple slices over brown sugar. Place cherry in center of each pineapple slice.
2.In medium bowl, beat remaining ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter over pineapple and cherries.
3.Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over. Leave pan over cake a few minutes so brown sugar mixture can drizzle over cake; remove pan. Serve warm. Store cake loosely covered.

Recent Knitting

Made an easy peasy scarf for Mark over the holidays. Just a basic knit 2 Purl 2. I enjoy knitting lots, but need patterns I don't have to think about, as I am frequently distracted :) The yarn is part wool part acrylic.

Here is a pic of a mitten I just finished using Harmony Wool,Pattern is Gifted by Kate Gilbert

Christmas 2010

Smithsonian Trips December 2010