Corn experiments and toy emergency room

After breaking about half of the dry cobs of last year's flint corn out to kernels, I ran some food processor experiments on them.  We tried to use the old meat grinder, as well.. but it didn't work out well.  After many runs through the machine and sifting out the flour - there was still so little of it and Mark doubted the food value of it.  But, I really wanted to see what it would yield and what it would look like.  We fed the resulting mixture to the chickens for their dinner today.  I think it will be a dent corn type we plant this year - and continue my experiments towards making something pretty and edible, at least edible for chickens.

 I thought the red cornmeal was VERY pretty.

And it was a more 'dent' type corn, so it was easier to get to this stage than the flint corn had been.

And Esme had an 'ER' open for her toys - which had assorted problems.  The frog had a pincer clip on his back, the panda bear had a broken arm, the dragon had a toothache, and the giraffe had a fish glued onto his back where he couldn't reach it (apparently it was distressing for the fish, too)  She put them all in a doctor waiting room and drew pictures of each problem on a dry erase board to decide what to do for each patient.

We played Skyrim, doing the book of Love quest(s) and marrying Lydia, and adopting two little girls.  Esme was very brave killing some wild beasts - so I was brave and went and did a random quest which was almost too hard for our character - but we survived!  There was even a point when we had three dragons attacking in a row, plus a lion and a wolf.  Then we settled down into our new house at Breezehome and she played hide and seek and tag with the children in the town, quite a lot.  She is making some sort of drawing gift at her table for tomorrow and is 'glad you're going to work Mom', because she will be hard at work on it for most of tomorrow... and there will be some squirrel, apparently...or so Daddy says.

Project bits: I tied the ends in the market bag I had made for her swimming/skates etc sort of things at the end of last SUMMER.. and had never done that to finish it.  And I added a few more rows on the gypsy moth colors blanket I have been working on for about a year. 

My inventor makes her own fun

 Esme gets super bored on the weekends... but she does make her own fun.  Today it was a 'cake' out of blocks, lego parts and pom pom balls that was to be served up to a dragon after I got home from work - and lots of K'nex inventions.  She was also putting pricetags on her coloring book pages she brought home from Grandma's house.

I'm still working on several blankets, a rug, and small stuffed dogs for her and a birthday party gift for April.  So, she gets the creative energy from somewhere ;)

Other:  She asked me why earth was a small word, but it had five letters which was almost as much as dragon which was a big word - 'earth' vs' dr-aaag-on'.. she meant the syllables...  Right after that she was dipping water into a container, throwing it up in the air, dropping the container and trying to catch the water with both hands.  She said she wished she had three hands.  I was flabbergasted for a moment.. but responded with: 'Yes, many people have wished they had three hands, before.' She said: 'Yea, three would be good, for this.'  She said the birthday party girl would not like a stuffed dog because she only likes princess stuff..I said 'so ... doesn't matter.  she's getting a stuffed dog, because we don't have money to go buy a toy - and you like it, right?'  She agreed... and thinks it is perfect as it is although I said I would change a few things on the next one.  As I finished sewing it she said 'there, right there, perfect, it doesn't need anything else, stop there.'  Ha.

Two days off starting Monday.  Yay!

bit and playing outside

Playing outside 

Playing with the crank on the trailer, it is an 'invention' that smashes leaves. 

 

A leaf! 

Looking off across the yard 

Standing by the rose tree

Thoughtful

playing outside before sunset

I had one of those 'I'll think back on this in the future' moments the other day with Esme.  I was listening to 'Great Big Sea' on the headphones and she dances across the room shimmering in the early morning sunlight.  I hold out the headphones to her and she puts one ear in and 'jams' to the last riff of 'I'm a Rover' with me, saying this is good music.  The moment made me smile several times later that day.. Sometimes I feel that 'this moment' is resonating in time forward and backward.. something tied to the past and that will be remembered and 'touched' back in the future.  And I love those moments... they let me know I'm in a sweet spot.

We're getting ready for Christmas.. things are wrapped, the Christmas stocking is ready and I'm finishing up knitting one last Christmas present.  Esme has been on break for several days and won't go back to school until a week after the new year.  She has been showing off her reading skills again and generally telling me a lot about how she thinks the world works.  The lights went out last night in a storm and I went upstairs to find her standing in the middle of the room scared stiff - the lights had come back on - but she was still scared.  She felt better with someone to accompany her downstairs, just in case the lights went out again.  Daddy told her that the world was raining outside and the house would need to become an ark, which was a big boat.  She took an attempt at drawing a picture of the house as a big boat - said it needed metal to protect it from being lightning...   Currently she is sitting on the floor near me putting barettes in ponies' hair and fending off kittens.

I've got some fabric from the store to make her a plain dress, in a warm russet brown color... not sure if I'll get to it today.  I finished the Christmas project, washed it and wrapped it up.  I then finished a little blue deer on my desk and put it in another package with the printed pictures to send off to my Mom in Minnesota.  The brown fabric is washed and put in my zippered bag to work on another day.

When toys play army

Esme and I had a toy war today - it was kind of like a game of chess, whoever was the winner of a fight that toy got thrown 'out'... and she won by sheer numbers.  For the record I brought up at least three items she stole when I wasn't looking... and then she went and got even more reinforcements.  It was pretty fun.. and ended in foam dart target shooting, as well... the pig was a ballistic missile which matched up to her cannon... but a lady doll came and seduced Spiderman and then ran off with the elephant (who had a water attack) behind enemy lines before we could catch her.  Quite the imagination.

She had been so VERY VERY wiggly and annoying for hours and hours before this - she needed something 'big', so when she said 'Mom, let's build'.. I said 'Yes, good idea.' 

The cough is going away a bit more for me, less drainage down from my nose - she has a little still... it was a very rainy day for most of the day so staying inside and finding things to do was on the agenda from the start.

She had a visit from her Grandma Irene - and she showed her toys and puppies and kittens.  I also had her draw a picture for her Nana in Minnesota - of an invention she called a 'duck catcher', a potato on a string - I have no idea where it all came from, but she drew herself sitting at an 'invention table' showing off the potato on a string with hearts and bumblebees all around.  I'm sending that with the letter and school picture to my mom...

Back to work tomorrow,

Of lake walks and ladybugs

 We took a couple of walks to the lake today, it was nice and sunny and not too hot out.  These are the blue star morning glories... but I didn't catch them early enough in the morning to get a splendid picture.

After the first walk Esme came in and made two signs that said 'DR.ESME' and went outside to the truck to open her business.  She said she was prescribing lots of exercise, do this and wiggle on one foot, check your heart if it is healthy, do situps, and pushups and jumping jacks...  We then went inside and got drinks.

Balance on one foot, like this, and wiggle.

 We found a pretty ladybug on the way to the lake, it was still there when I grabbed the camera on the way back.

Now Esme is in the bath getting ready for the birthday party in a few hours.  I'll have hair to brush and braid, and pick out something to wear, and present to wrap.  Mark has made a ginger pork roast to bring with.

Then there is parent teacher conference on Tuesday... promised Esme we might take her out on the lake in the boat on Friday after school if the weather is nice...  that is my next day off.

 

bath done... and she crashed on my blanket while waiting for her hair to dry...

Almost hate to wake her, but we have to get ready soon.

Out Collecting gourds and further garden cleanup

Noses 

Planting items that may withstand the frost to come 

Our long-haired monster is playing dirt. 

Washing hands in cold cold water after playing in mud 

Collecting gourds before we mow down the rest of the garden 

They are like music in them! 

This is for smacking? 

On second thought, give that back. 

All done, putting the gate back up after mowing

Shadows and sun setting 

Sun is beginning to set over our little place here

We did let her take some of the dry gourds to a stump and smack the seeds out of them, others she helped pile up by the well house to dry over the winter.

Playtime Magic Show

Sitting with Kitty, Sponge bob and an imaginary friend watching 'cartoon' on the magic show box we made months and months ago.

Having a magic show.  Abracadabra, and he is gone! (not really, he is behind her back) 

Concentrating on her lego mini figures 

Oh, and she wants a pony, that talks... gotta record when that first happened ;)
I had to be her new friend Sponge bob and talk for him while she gave him the 'tour' of the room.. although he has been there for months.  She gave Sponge bob a great description of her room, that he was on Earth now, and not in Bikini Bottom, and that Mr.Krabs can't reach her piggy bank because he is no taller than her and she can't reach the shelf it is on either.  She showed Sponge bob the Earth map she had (Solar system poster) and told him all about her birthday party and Dreamlite and when Gwennie came to play.

Tug of War Lessons

We had our internet out the past few days, it is back now just in time for my two days off. I caught these pictures of Esme on Friday the 7th, and she was giving and receiving tug of war lessons to her pack of puppies.

Golf princess after immunizations

It was awful to see and hear her cry, but those were the last ones she would need for Kindergarten admittance next year. She chose a toy off the clearance rack - a golf set.




Those are a new pair of pants made today, too




She was quite proud of it


Daffy puppy


clouds


Didn't I see this in an
episode of Highlander?

Clowning around before bedtime

owl dress with the color of pink
'that can be seen from orbit' according to Daddy

I made this shift dress with a scrap of the owl fabric I had left and some plain pink. She likes it, and it fits well enough to play around the yard or as a nightgown. After her bath last night she picked it out to wear for sleep. It has a simple button closure on it and was made with Simplicity 5937, size 5, which is also her current pants pattern.


A kitten named 'Junior' we have
That is her winter quilt unfinished in top left.


This puppy got her official name last night 'Daffy' short for Daphne
Esme tried to hold her up for a picture but decided she was too heavy now


I told her this was a blackmail picture
to show when she was older that her feet are either running or in the air.. hardly ever anything else



Simplicity 5937
size 5
bought April 2011 - getting used fulltime now!

We've got a few big things today. The windshield repair guy is supposed to call us to tell us when he will fix it today. Esme needs her last immunization and I had it scheduled for noon today before the windshield thing happened... we'll see if that can happen. She will likely be cranky after that, but she won't need any more shots for quite a while after this one.

She is outside running with Daphne and her siblings now, a whole pack of puppies at her heels. How many other kids can say they've been able to do that in this day and age? I should get on my sewing machine and make another pair of pants - with my work schedule and her 'mud' schedule, she has been going through every pair in the dresser between washings.

Memorable Quote Last night at dinner Esme had laid her head down on the table and was not eating. When we inquired, she said 'I just sleep here a little bit, so I love you again and not be mad.' She was in a pretty good mood for the rest of the night... Are we having mini naps now?