• Literary Pursuits

    The New Recruit – review

    The New Recruit is Book 1 in Jill Williamson’s Mission League series about a spy organization made up of Christian teens who fight the supernatural. It’s a little bit espionage, a little bit sci-fi, and a whole lot of excitement! The main character is Spencer Garmond who is decidedly not a Christian. However, his Grandma is. And when Spencer gets into…

  • Heritage

    The Antique Buggy

    Imagine, if you will, a young mommy in the late 1960s out for a walk with her baby. In your mind, what does that baby stroller look like? Maybe bright and plasticky, with shiny chrome metal bars and such? Yeah, me, too. (Go ahead. Google “baby stroller 1960s” and you’ll see what I mean.) Whatever you had pictured, it was…

  • Lifestyle

    Christmas Week Fragments

    Let’s see… it’s Friday… so that means I can post a bunch of random disconnected twaddle and call it a blog post, because that’s what Friday Fragments is all about, right? So… here we go… You’ll be happy to know that Bernadine and Beauregard Bearsaltandpepper now have company in the Downstairs Northwoods Bathroom. The new inhabitants aren’t directly descended from…

  • Literary Pursuits

    Goldtown Adventures – review

    Fellow homeschool-mom Susan K. Marlow’s new book series for kids, Goldtown Adventures, has launched! Badge of Honor  is an exciting historical novel for kids. It takes place in the waning days of the California gold rush, as seen through the eyes of 12-year-old Jem. There is still gold to be found (small amounts, anyway) if one is willing to work…

  • Adventures

    Sea, Sand, and Sky

    We stayed at Turtle Rock RV Park. We practically had the beach to ourselves. Becky turning cartwheels on the soft sand. “Log Henge” constructed by our kids. Rainbow — Monday morning. Sunset — Tuesday evening. Sunset — Wednesday evening. Sunset — Thursday evening.

  • Adventures

    Wiener Roast on the Beach

    Something we’ve always wanted to do is build a campfire on the beach. The weather was really nice in the middle of the week, so I suggested we take an armful of firewood down to the beach one evening to have a wiener roast and watch the sunset. The wind was pretty brisk, so the kids dug a hole in…

  • Adventures

    Let’s Go Fly a Kite

    The weather has cleared off here on the coast. We are privileged to enjoy clear blue skies and sunshine yesterday and today… and for the rest of our time here, if the weather predictions are accurate. Yesterday we bought a kite to take to the beach. The wind was perfect. No trees around to get tangled in. As long as…

  • Adventures

    Redwood Forests

     It’s rainy and damp today here on the coast. It’s supposed to clear off tomorrow, I think. Rather than spending the day cooped up in the trailer, we decided to drive south about 50 miles to see the redwoods of northern California. As always, the trees are majestic and beautiful. I loved driving through the misty forests in the off-season.…

  • Adventures

    Multnomah Falls

    In the summer when we came to Oregon we weren’t able to stop at Multnomah Falls because the parking lot was full. That was disappointing, but probably just as well, because no doubt the observation deck and trail was as crowded as the parking lot. Yesterday when we stopped we practically had the whole place to ourselves. It was a…

  • Adventures

    Fall Vacation

    We had several business trips back in the spring, and quite a few day trips and weekend get-aways in the last couple of months. It seems like we’ve been on the go a lot, but we haven’t had a real vacation. Today we’re headed to the Oregon coast for a week. This time we’re taking the trailer, the kids, and…