The final update....

A couple of friends have asked in the past week how my wrist was doing since I broke it; which led me to realize that, aaah!, I never gave the "last update" on here! Sorry!

If I remember correctly, the last post I did was sometime around January, right after I got my cast off and was about to start on physical therapy. (you can go to "brkn wrist" in labels and read all about it)

Hmmm...Hang on, let me jog my memory.... Okay, so after that post, I began going to physical therapy twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My therapist was really nice and was also really curious about my being homeschooled, so while I was there I was able to share with him our school curriculum which led to sharing the gospel with him! My physical therapy lasted roughly a month and a half, then my therapist told me that he could do no more to help and that the rest was up to me.

Slowly, my range of motion began to return and life started to get easier! After a couple of weeks of therapy I was able to pick up things like cups or bottles with just my left hand. and after a month I could effortlessly make a fist. One thing that I cannot still do is bend my hand backwards all the way like it should, and I probably never will be able to either. Sometimes if I keep my hand, palm up for too long (like when I'm holding a hymnal at church) I begin to feel pain in my wrist again, but it goes away after a while.

But you probably want to know the answer to the big question don't you?

Did I ever get back on the horse?

My answer? Yes, I did get back on the horse! Miss Jennifer told us that she was going to be permanently moving Peaches somewhere else, so with grim determination I got out my one pair of jeans (used solely for riding), and began tacking Peaches up. I admit it, I was trembling when I got on her, which was silly because she really is a gentle horse. But after one has had a broken wrist for almost four months because of the horse, you're bound to be a little nervous the first time you get back on. Peaches was full of pep on that ride so after some warming up I gently nudged her in a smooth, mile eating lope. Heaven!

But, I feel a bit of reserve when around a horse now, and I might be a bit more hesitant to accept an offer for a ride. I just don't want to go through all the trauma of a broken bone again... I still like horses, but I think there's something missing. I just don't know what.

And to my 'auntie M' ;D Yes, I am back to playing my Banjo!!

~Caitlyn

Spring = Chicks!

Hurray! Our little chickies finally came! This year, to boost our layer flock we bought 20 rhode Island Red pullets from Wilco. Don't you just love little day old chicks? They're so tiny, and fluffy and adorable! Sadly, we lost six chicks to our barn cats (this was before Octavia came back). The rascally varmints dug underneath the pen! But the pen is now fortified and hopefully we won't have anymore mishaps.

We also got 10, three month old Rhodie pullets from a guy who was selling them. I think I like the older chicks more than the younger ones because they're so gentle and sweet, oh, and pretty!
Yes, this is a very bad, terrible, horrible picture, but it was the best I could do for the time being! (Sorry!) But the color of the birds is pretty accurate. They're still in the "akward" stage, meaning their legs look too big for them and they're making that funny little sound between a peep and a cluck. :D
I'm still working on names for them though. We name every single chicken that we have and these will be no different.

Right now I am pondering on:

Gem Twist
Ruby
Rusty
stella
Anne
Scarlet
Jane
Pippa
Yarrow
and Rosie.

But it's not in concrete yet, Emily will help me decide later. :D

~Caity

She's Back!!

I can't believe it. Two or three weeks ago, we gave one of our female cats away to a guy up the road from us. Unfortunately it was Emily's favorite one named 'Octavia'. We had a faint hope that maybe she would find her way back, but, days passed, then weeks and still no Octavia. So we figured that she must have settled down at her new home......

This morning, right before Emily and I went out to the barn, I looked out onto the porch and counted how many kitties were waiting for us (I do it everyday), one--two--three--four--five!? Wait a minute, there's only supposed to be four! Sure enough, Octavia's saucy face was staring up at me. Laughing, Emily and I brought her inside to show everyone else.

She was pathetically thin and ate her food voraciously. And now we can't even step outside without her rubbing against our legs in ectsatic bliss. Oh well, it's a good thing that I like cats. ;D

~Caity

Just Rambling

Synonyms of the word 'Tired':

.Exhausted
.Weary
.Fatigued
.Spent
.Drained
.Ready to drop


I think these synonyms pretty well size me up right now.... :D

We went biking at Champoeg State Park on Thursday with some friends and came home really late; in fact we had barely enough time to eat dinner and then we had to leave for dance class. And for those who may not know it, dancing can be challenging when you feel like your about to drop (especially when you have to continue setting to your partner!). I tried to tell one of my dance partners that I wasn't making mistakes on purpose, I was just tired.... But I don't think he believed me (hint hint, David!).

I thought for sure we would be staying home today to rest a little bit until I got up this morning and heard mom say that we would be in Salem all day! [Sighs]. ;D

But, I survived and they say that "What doesn't kill ya' only makes ya' stronger" so maybe I'll live longer?


For a while, mom and I were looking at a Jersey cow for sale on Craigslist, She's four years old, purebred and only $500 (which is cheap for a milk cow). But I think we both decided to say no to her. Mostly just because she is really far away so we couldn't go and see her before we bought her, and our fenced side of the pasture needs a little more time to grow back before it has another animal on it. But we are still looking around for a good family cow. I think we're going to visit a dairy farmer in Dallas who raises milk cows on grass and hay alone and ask him some questions (okay, so a LOT of questions) about how he manages to get maximum milk yields without grain, how much hay he gives them daily....etc. I'm not positive but I think we might be going sometime this upcoming week.....

What should I say now? My brain feels like it's fizzed out beyond use for the rest of the night so maybe I'll just end here.....

G'night to all my readers and I will "see" y'all in the morning!

~Caity

Found 'em!

Haha! Sweet victory! I found the pictures that dad took of the celtic ball! They were buried deep amongst the files, tucked away in a inconspicous spot. :D

So without further ado....


My costume! I did tell you that is was simple didn't I? You probably can't see it, but my skirt has celtic knots all over it. Sewing it was challenging because I had to treat it like plaid. And I found the blouse at the 'New To You' thrift store for I think $5.



Meg asked me to do something to her hair so that she could put silk roses in it... This was what I invented...



Hmmmm... A scottish Lass with a scary cloak and a sword? Nothing good can come of that... ;D


The Lads wait paitently for the lilting tunes to begin.

Here's dad dancing with me and Meg! This dance was called 'Broom the bonnie, bonnie broom'.

Three of our friends with Megan tucked in there. :)

"Yes sir, the dance floor is straight ahead, walk ten feet in a straight line and you will find it."

That's all for now!!!

~Caity

Hey, look what I found!

I was digging around my dad's picture files on the computer, trying my hardest to find the pictures he took of the Celtic ball (alas, my search was in vain) when I stumbled upon a picture of a very old friend.

Please meet Fantasia May; more often known as Fanny. :)

You probably want a little bit of an explanation, huh? ;D

Fanny is a purebred Arabian mare who taught me almost everything there is to know about horses. I took riding lessons for roughly three years at a friend's stable and Fanny is always the horse that you start on. She was a little horse; standing at 14. hands high and weighing around 750 lbs. And she loved being dirty. I mean DIRTY. :D

She taught her students a lot of good lessons.....Such as how to not scream in pain when a horse steps on your foot, perseverance in grooming when you wonder if there really is a horse under the mud, how to remember to check three times that your cinch was tight before you mount.... And then there were the more "riding" type lessons. She taught me the ropes for barrel racing (my favorite), pole bending, goat tying, I learned how to use spurs on her as well as how to keep a horse at a slooooow jog, neither trotting 'nor walking (very hard).


After one has "graduated" from Fanny, you would get to go on to 'Cherokee' a rather simple-minded 17 hand high Appaloosa gelding; lastly was 'Snippy', a drop-dead gorgeous buckskin Quarter horse mare who was extremely lazy, herd bound and sometimes bad-tempered (I liked Snippy the best though).

Fanny will be 28 years old this year; It's been a while since I've seen her, but I know that last time I saw her she was beginning to look old. Her back was beginning to sway and she was getting a little harder to coax around the barrel course. She may be in full retirement by now for all I know. But she is definitely one little horse that I will never forget.....

~Caity

another dance video

Here's another dance video for y'all. Although I can't remember what the name was.....Irish Lamentations perhaps?

~Caity

You never know who's watching

I'm feeling more in a writing mood now than I did earlier so, I shall do some more blogging!

My title bears more truth then one may think at first; You really do never know who is watching you. Yesterday, our church had a "game night" at another local church which had a good sized gym in it and everyone had fun playing basketball and volleyball in there (except me, I helped mom with the babies :D). After everything was over and people began to leave (or, at least we thought they were leaving) I noticed that the gym was now empty. Perfect! So I ran and grabbed Emily so we could do a bit of dancing while no one was looking. She was really upset that she didn't get to go to the ball, so together she and I did Mary's Wedding alone. After maybe 3 to 5 minutes of dancing in perfect harmony, we ended with a curtsey to each other; following our curtseys we suddenly heard loud clapping coming from behind us. We spun around only to find that almost everbody had been watching us!!

As we walked out towards the door we got a lot of compliments on our dancing and questions about it as well. You really never do know who's watching you I guess. But maybe from now on, Emily and I will check twice before we begin dancing again. :D

~Caity

The Celtic ball

It's been two days since the ball..... And I still have one of the songs stuck in my head. :D

The ball was held at Grand Haven Elementary school in McMinnville, the grand ballroom was too small so the ball had to be hosted in the school gym. When I first walked into the gym a flood of color met my eyes. It was like stepping back in time seeing everbody's costumes. There was around 140 people there. 140 people in ONE room. I will admit it, when I saw all the people, I froze in terror. Believe it or not, I am claustrophobic around large groups of people. ;) But there was no time to be timid! The first dance was about to begin! The ball started at 7 p.m. and ended at 11:30 p.m. 4 1/2 hours of bliss! (Well, except for the large, scary group of people.)

My two favorite dances that we did were 'The Dashing White Sergeant' and 'Mary's Wedding' both are very fast and FUN!! I always feel bad for the guys during the Dashing White Sergeant because they never get a rest, they're constantly on the move! But they somehow manage to keep going. :D

I even got to dance with dad! Actually, I think he did three dances in all (ECD is highly addicting). Even more surprising is that my big brother, Chris, danced twice!!!!! I thought for sure I was seeing things when he asked one of my friends to dance. He did really well though. And both dad and Chris are coming with us to dance this Thursday! Hurray!

As you have probably noticed, there are no pictures on this post.....Not one so far. Sorry! But we were to busy dancing to take pictures. Dad however, got a lot of videos, so without further ado.....

This clip is Mary's Wedding; and the song that is playing during the dance is the one that is stuck in my head. Even during church it was ringing faintly! The dance only lasts about 3 minutes, but dad had the camera and was goofing around after it ended so that is why it has such a weird ending. :D The intro is pretty long but you can see that most of the dancers are tapping (or stomping) their feet to the beat.

And I really, truly am sorry if you have dial-up and my videos are making your computer as slow as molasses in January!! (am I the only person who has heard of that phrase?)

Okay, so this is the only clip right now because it took me an hour and a half to upload it. Maybe I'll try another tomorrow....

~Caity

Time is fleeting...

Only 24 hours till the Celtic Ball.....

How will Meg and I ever manage to wait that long?

~Caity

Just for laughs

Haha! I finally got to go roving in the 98 acres! Somewhere around 10 'o' clock this morning I felt like I would go mad if I didn't go outside and do Something, So I talked the girls into coming with me. And they did! :D

We had a lot of fun. We went to the water meadows (as we call it) and had fun traipsing through the rushes; we visited Faeries Mirror, Buckleberry Fern, Dryad's Bubble....And then the lightbulb came on... Emily had a camera and we had ourselves! Bling! We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast so perhaps we were high on sugar? Naaaah. LOL.

As you can see from the pics following, we were in a goofy mood (or else we never would have let you see these).

Continue at your own risk!!

Aaaah! Tree Huggers! I think we've been in Oregon too long!

Very sneakily hiding from Meg behind a dock plant, you don't think she'll find me do you?

A lover gives his (?) first proposal, his fair lady is not impressed.

Oooooh, here's me being really weird. :D

The devoted lover tries again; this time offering a golden hued daffodil.

She'll accept the flower because it's pretty but still says no.

The rare and dangerous Caribou that you can only find in our neck of the woods. (it looks happy right now though).

Spying is dangerous business; leave it to us, we're experienced.
Once the spy stuff is done with, we are allowed to sit and have idle gossip. (er, did I just say that?)

Ah yes, the scornful lady throws her flower to the murky deeps of the fast flowing creek. Let's hope the poor lover never finds out.....

Yeah, we're weird. :D

~Caity

Just four more days.....

Megan and I have begun the countdown until the Celtic ball....

Everything is ready....

We pass each other when walking through the house and grin, knowing what the other is thinking of...

Megan has given glimpes of her costume....

But mine shall remain a secret...

It's simple, but I think it will work for a first...

Just four more days....

~Caity

How the South lost the war

Some friends showed us this youtube a while back and I just wanted to share it with y'all! Actually I've wanted to do this for a while now but I never knew how to get a youtube on my blog until now. I honestly don't see how the actors were able to keep such straight faces throughout the film! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!

~Caity

Celtic Costume in Progress

So far so good! I finally found a blouse to go with my skirt. Nothing too fancy, but it serves it's purpose. After some thinking and planning I decided to make a few changes to the aforesaid blouse. First I tackled the sleeves. Observe:

Before.

After.

The lace was tricky to sew on, but the time it took was worth it. I won't tell you how long it took me to sew those buttons on. :D

I'm not overly fond of the ruffles that run down the middle, but the blouse would look very... Plain, shall I say, without them. :) Now all I need to do is see if there's anything else I want to add to it.

~Megan

Not again!

Grrrr. The "thing" came back last night and killed two more of our hens and injured a third.
We don't know if it was a coyote or a dog this time though; it was raining so there weren't any tracks. You gotta love going out in the dark at night and finding the coop a disaster (okay, not really). So now we have lost an over $120 investment in the birds. What's worse both birds were excellent layers, one being our prettiest Buff Orpington whose name was Lucille and the other was our gentlest hen of all; a brown Bovan named Spice. Emily's Buff Brahma, Dolly, was the injured one.

We're not sure what our next move is to be except wait and see if we can find out who the perpetrator is. We have some new neighbors who live down the road from us and they have a big female Rottweiler who has been coming onto our property but we don't have any proof that it was her. Or it could be Mr. Wile E. Coyote again. Perhaps he brought friends this time? When Emily and I went outside on Saturday night, the Bovan carcass that was left behind was extremely fresh, like minutes old, there were Orpington feathers in the coop but no bird and the Brahma was hopping slowly onto the roosting bar.

And the criminal obviously isn't afraid to strike in daylight...... Grrrrr.

~Caitlyn

Baby has a name now!

Okay ladies and gentlemen (and everybody else who doesn't fit into those two categories) now is the time you've all been waiting for.... We have finally picked out a name for little baby Menne!

That was all, I'm going to end this post now.

I'm just kidding. :D

Ladies and Gents (again), please welcome....Drum roll please.....

Connor David Menne!

Sorry about the bad shots, but the lighting at the birth center is terrible, so you won't get any good shots of him till sometime tomorrow.

~Caitlyn

Just some sneak peek color pics

He's here!!!!

Hurray!!! Baby Menne is finally here! He came into the world at 7:34 p.m. and weighs 8 pounds and 9 ounces. And like most babies, he is 100% adorable.

Still no name for him though.... A couple of names that we are mulling over are:

Levi David

Levi Mason

Eli Mason

Timothy? (that one was kind of just thrown out but not really considered yet)

???

To be continued..... Because it's really late and I hear my pillows calling me. :D

And better pics to follow!

~Caitlyn

Farewell, sweet friend

This morning I went out to the barn feeling chipper and Cheerful (is that redundant?). That is.... Until I opened the barn door that leads to our pasture. There, just a few feet away, on the damp ground were tiny little golden hued feathers....Stained with blood. Around the feathers were telltale coyote tracks....That led to a hole dug underneath our fence.

My dear sweet little Olde English Game hen was killed sometime early this morning by a ruthless coyote. Her name was Lucy and she has always had her own fan club. ;)
She was the one who hatched a chick three times her size.... She was the one who hid a clutch of 12 eggs and I didn't find it until two months later....She was my show bird and rewarded me with countless ribbons.... She sat on my shoulder during barn chores.... And had the sassiest attitude you could imagine. :D

You're probably wondering why on earth I am making such a fuss over a chicken. The answer is, she was more than just a chicken. She was my pet. Much like one would miss their dog, so was Lucy to me. I had her for 4 years and she lived to the age of 7.

She did have her own clutch going. There are seven eggs in her little nest. They aren't fertile though; I always let her go broody first and then in the night I switch all her tiny eggs for one big one.

All the little kids who ever met her absolutely adored her. Who couldn't though? Weighing only 12 ounces and calm enough to where she would sit on you shoulder, she was easy to like.

She was a creature of habit, and that was what led to her death. For some reason unbeknownst to me, every morning she would go out into the pasture and just walk around and look for bugs, then she would come into the feed room and eat breakfast with the cats (she liked the chicken flavored cat food the best). Afterwards came everything else a chicken normally does: scratching eating, sleeping.... Every day for four years it was the same.

Yeah, I'll probably feel ridiculous later for writing all this, but at least in the years to come I can come back to this post and see pictures of her again.

All for now.

~Caitlyn

Wordless Weekend

Just a roving vagabond

Today was one of those days....The gypsy blood in me was all astir and I desperately wanted/needed to go roving in the 98 acres. We have names for all the different places up there and a couple of our favorite places favorite places to visit are: RoaringBurn, Dryad's Bubble, Buckleberry Fern, MossFlower and IdleWild. After school I paced and wandered aimlessly throughout the house trying to get some of my pent-up energy out. I think all I accomplished with my pacing was greatly annoying my family, so I went outside alone. Nobody else wanted to go roving with me so I couldn't go up into the 98 acres.

So what did I do? Well, first I wandered around in our pasture singing "The Three Gypsies". Then I spotted it. Our rope swing that hangs right next to our creek. "Ah ha!" So I wended my way towards it, wondering if it was safe to swing on still. The tree that it hangs on is pretty old and a lot of branches broke off during the winter. But I was desperate to expend some energy so I climbed on. :)

After a while, Emily came out to keep me company. Along with her came her camera (you can't have one without the other). So she had fun taking pictures while I had fun swinging. It took a while before I finally felt rested, but I enjoy swinging; it's the closest thing to flight as I can get. I would someday absolutely love to go sky-diving, but until then, I shall have to be content with swinging on a rope swing.

It was fun. :)

~Caitlyn

Bread: The staff of life

When you hear the word: Bread, what do you first think of? Perhaps the store bought bread that comes in a plastic bag and has what seems like a million ingredients in it? Or maybe you think of the bread that you get from 'Great Harvest Bread Co.' every loaf being perfect in both shape, texture and flavor? Or maybe...Maybe you think of homemade bread, with every loaf different than the last, each with its own delightful tangy taste and chewy texture....

In my family we eat a lot of bread. Yes we do eat store bought bread, but more often than not it is homemade; I am the resident bread maker.

To me, there is nothing more satisfying than making my own bread from scratch and then watching my family reach for another slice when its finally cooled, and then reaching for another and then trying to get one more slice with out being noticed.

Before I broke my wrist, I was making bread four times a week and averaging 16 to 18 loaves. Now I've slowed down to about twice a week and 12 loaves. My family gets graced with fresh loaves of Baguette, Ciabatta, French, Italian, Rustic, Herb, Sourdough and regular sandwhich bread. No, I don't make all of that every week. But if a family member asks for something special, then I am immediately off to the kitchen.

A couple days ago, mom gave me a new recipe to try. With this one you make a great big batch and then whenever you need bread you just pull a hunk off, let it rise on a pan and then baked it. It sounded easy enough so I tried it. While I definitely did not like making the dough (the recipe didn't make much sense), the bread itself was heavenly. A chewy, yet light and airy texture with a tangy flavor that had subtle naunces of sourdough.

Here's the recipe should anyone out there like to try it. Oh, and I modified it slightly just so that it would make more sense. The original recipe left you scratching your head in confusion. :D

Makes 2--Loaves

3 cups warm water

1 1/2 Tbsp yeast

1 1/2 Tbsp salt

6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour


Mix yeast and water together in a bowl until yeast has dissolved, set bowl aside.

mix flour and salt together in a larger bowl, then add yeast mixture.

Mix everything together until a wet dough forms. When everything is thoroughly mixed, place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. You do not knead this dough interestingly.

Let dough rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse, anywhere from 2 to 5 hours. Refrigerate dough at least 3 hours before making shaped loaves.

When you are ready just take the dough and place on a oiled surface (I use Olive oil). Cut dough into two pieces and put in loaf pans. Let dough rise until almost double in size. Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Busy, busy, busy

The quiet days Caity posted about have now changed to busy ones. With the Celtic ball looming ahead in just twelve days I've been in a nervous tizzy about what to wear to the ball. I was at my wit's end trying to figure something out, when Mom stepped in (you gotta love Moms). She helped me pick some fabric for a simple skirt and I finished sewing it yesterday. The fabric is really pretty, as is Caity's, but that's all I'm going to tell you. Yes I'm going to keep you in suspense until the ball. Mwahahaha! (by the way, that is supposed to be an evil laugh). So now I just need to find some sort of top and see if there is anything I want to add to it. I'll keep you posted!

~Megan

Really, really random

Okay, I know this will seem weird to you but I'm going to do it anyway. :D

I was looking through Emily's camera card thingy, and found a really pretty picture of a rose;

My problem?

I couldn't decide which I liked better, black and white or color.

What's your opinion?

(yeah, I know, I'm weird. LOL)

~Caitlyn

The Answers...

Okay folks, now is the time you've all been waiting for, well-maybe.

Today I am finally posting the answers to the movie guessing game. Y'all did a good job on guessing and next time I'll be sure to do some harder ones!

1. "A street inside a church?"
National Treasure


2. "The one who gave the vision still calls."
Pendragon


3. "I thought you were a collection agent!" "I am, I collect acorns."
Robin Hood, starring Richard Greene


4. "Twenty more steps! Give me twenty more!"
Facing the giants


5. "He has a nice face....He looks a lot like you."
Chronicles of Narnia


6. "I wanted to go bowling!"
The Incredibles


7. "Bacon and mush? Why can't ya cook somethin' different, like mama?"
Savage Sam


8. "You're very lucky, with Fraulein Hilda it was a snake!"
Sound of Music


9. "I'll put that flea in a box, then I'll put that box inside another box, then I'll mail that box to myself, and when it arrives....Hahahha! I'll smash it with a hammer!"
Emperor's New Groove


10. "Sure, ya' hungry for failure? Maybe a side of unemployment? Because that's what's for lunch."
Hoodwinked


Are you suprised at some of the answers? :D Well, that's all for today folks.

~Caity

How to Annoy People in an Elevator

#1 Crash from side to side as if you're sailing in rough seas.

#2 Say "ding" at each floor.

#3 Salute and say "welcome aboard" every time a passenger gets on.

#4 Suggest you all hold hands and join in a sing along.

#5 Turn to your neighbor and whisper, "I've got new socks on."

#6 Meow occasionally.

#7 Open your bag and while peering inside ask, "Got enough air in there?"

~Megan

Name that movie!

Anybody out there up for a challenge? :D

I am posting 10 random lines from random movies, let's see if anyone can guess the movie titles! If you think you know the answer to one of the lines, just put it in the comments. On Saturday I will reveal all the movie titles. Here we go! :D

1. "A street inside a church?"

2. "The one who gave the vision still calls."

3. "I though you were a collection agent!" "I am, I collect acorns!"

4. "Twenty more steps! Give me twenty more!"

5. "He has a nice face... He looks a lot like you."

6. "I wanted to go bowling!!"

7. "Bacon and mush? Why can't ya' cook somethin' different, like mama?"

8. "You're very lucky, with Fraulein Hilda it was a snake!"

9. "I'll put that flea in a box, then I'll put that box inside another box, then I'll mail that box to myself, and when it arrives...Haha! I'll smash it with a hammer!!"

10. "Sure, ya' hungry for failure? Maybe a side of unemployment? Because that's what's for lunch."

Good Luck!

~Caitlyn

Six Tips for the English Country Dancer

Hey there, this is Megan writing. Shocking, I know. Caitlyn mentioned a while back that we would be sharing this blog, and I meant to post quite some time ago but I kept getting sidetracked. As Cait wrote in the post below ('May I Have This Dance') we have the privilege of going to ECD. These six tips I'm going to give are not learned by experience, (which is a good thing or else those of you who also go to ECD wouldn't want to dance with me) but I thought they might be good to share. Enjoy!

#1 If your shoes are slightly too big, a dab of glue will help keep them on (Gorilla glue has the strongest hold).

#2 If you prefer not to use glue and your shoe (or shoes) happens to fall of in the middle of a dance, don't stop to retrieve it. The less disruption you cause, the better.

#3 I have found that if a person is going to ask you to dance he/she will usually make eye contact with you and head in your direction. If you don't want to dance with this person, some methods for refusal would be to violently cough on your hands, seize another partner and rush onto the dance floor or make a dash for the restroom.

#4 If none of those methods are successful, fear not, there are other ways to get rid of your partner. For example: Dancing near an open window can be a hazard but if this is your case, it's a good thing. I allude to two-hand turns particularly when I tell you to use maximum speed and force, then suddenly let go. The results should leave your partner soaring out the window.

#5 Try to avoid eating foods like pickles, onions or garlic before dance. Failure to do so can have bad results and you may end up wondering why no one wishes to dance with you.

#6 Have you ever wondered how some dancers manage to glide across the floor so gracefully? Here is a tip: Grease the bottoms of your shoes.

~Megan

May I have this dance?

Okay, I am finally around to posting about the "fabric secret" (go down a couple of posts to 'quiet days').

For about a month now my sisters and I have a had the pleasure of getting to go dancing once a week. The dance style? English Country dancing. :D

Are you scratching your head in confusion yet? Good. (I'm kidding)

I am terrible when it comes to explaining things but I'll give it my best here.

ECD (english country dancing) is from the regency times--sorry, don't know dates-- the dances are simple, yet FUN!! The gentleman asks the lady if she would care to dance, if she accepts, than he extends his arm so she can take it as he leads her to a spot for the dance. After the dance is over, the gentleman will lead the lady back to where he found her and prepare to find a new partner. Of course, girls don't always have to dance with guys, she can always dance with another girl.

The ECD group that we are in is a pretty big one, over 70 people are there on an average night! At first, I bumbled terribly through the dances because I didn't understand what any of the steps were, but I'm getting better!

Every now and then, there are balls held, the one that is coming up is a celtic ball and is to be on March 21st; I am so excited!!

You do dress up for the balls, trying to keep with the theme. So this brings me to the fabric secret. My sisters and I are working on our costumes. Here's another secret.....I hate sewing!

I know, that's terrible of me, but I can't help it! I can sew, and I do sew, but I can never seem to understand just what makes it so enjoyable for other people. All that ironing, cutting and ripping makes my head hurt....Why can't it be as relaxing as knitting? ;)

But nevertheless, I am attempting to sew my costume myself. I guess we'll see how it turns out. :D

Here are some pictures of us dancing:

It has come!

Hurray! My fever finally broke and I am feeling back to normal (this is where my sisters look at me and ask when I was ever "normal" in the first place).

Anyway....

In the book 'The Secret Garden' Mary Lennox bursts into her cousin's room one morning and says breathlessly: "It has come!" What has come? you might ask. SPRING!

Okay, so I don't think the calender says that it's spring quite yet, but then, nature doesn't really listen to calenders very well.

All around me signs of spring are showing. The sweet aroma of damp earth, sunshine and wind envelopes me like a colorful shawl when I tread the emerald hued ground. The frogs have all come out from hibernation and now sing their nightly choruses; All of the bulbs that Megan planted last Autumn are slowly unfurling their leaves and blossoms and baby animals are beginning to come into the world (like the new foal that our neighbor's horse had!).

~Caitlyn