• Adventures

    On the Rock

    Remember how I mentioned that I wanted to get in more walking and hiking this summer? Well, in spite of my good intentions, I haven’t gotten out there as much as I thought I would. An overbooked schedule has a way of crowding out things like that. However, I will say, I have hiked more than usual this year– so…

  • Adventures

    Labor Day Camping Trip

    We camped at beautiful Priest Lake for the Labor Day weekend. We didn’t actually end up staying at the campsite much this time. Lyle had planned out a full itinerary of Geocaches in the area, so we did a lot of exploring. It’s such a gorgeous area, so that was a perfect plan– and the weather cooperated nicely. Here’s the…

  • Adventures

    August Monday

    The weather in my neck of the woods: About as close to perfect as possible. We have had an incredibly mild summer this year. Lyle told me he heard we’ve only had something like 4 days where the temperature got over 90 degrees. We never even bothered putting in the window a/c unit this year. We’ve just had the windows…

  • Homeschooling

    Timberdoodle Games

    Timberdoodle is my favorite homeschool company for fun supplements, thinking games, and activities. I was really impressed with the selection of single-player critical-thinking games that Timberdoodle offers.

  • Adventures

    Montana Camping Trip

    This past weekend we went camping in northwestern Montana with friends. Mostly we go camping by ourselves, but this is the second time this summer we’ve had the privilege of sharing the fun with another family. Lyle was able to take off at noon on Friday so we got to the campground in the early evening. We got our campsite…

  • Adventures

    Picking Huckleberries

    Down the forest path we went… …in search of the elusive but oh-so-desirable huckleberry. They don’t usually grow quite this profusely, so you can bet we picked like crazy when we did find the bushes loaded. Three hours of hand picking garnered about a half gallon of the luscious berries. Now I understand why they sell for $40 a gallon.…

  • Literary Pursuits

    I love my Kindle!

     As a lifelong avid reader I debated for a long time over whether to get an e-reader or not. Initially I didn’t want to spend the money– first on the device itself, and then on books to go on it. That seemed an extravagant luxury to me, as most of the books I’ve ever read have either been from the…

  • Heritage

    Priceless Heirlooms

    This past week I’ve been updating a genealogy book I compiled about 10 years ago, at the request of my great-aunt who wants it for a family reunion in a couple of weeks. It had been awhile since I had taken time to work on genealogy, and I always enjoy it, so that was a fun diversion from some of…

  • Lifestyle

    Old Fashioned Lemonade

     I like to make old-fashioned lemonade. Okay, I cheat a little bit, in that I use bottled lemon juice rather than fresh-squeezed lemons. It’s a lot less work and tastes almost as good. I also like to use raw sugar which adds to the “old-fashioned” flavor. Old Fashioned Lemonade Recipe 1 cup lemon juice 3/4 cup raw sugar (Can use…