for now, the only thing we're growing on this farm is kids - not the goat variety

Month: August 2007 (Page 1 of 3)

Book Review: Turn Homeward, Hannalee by Patricia Beatty

 

clipped from flickr.com

Patricia Beatty’s Turn Homeward, Hannalee was a tale (the first half of which is true) about a young girl living in Roswell, GA during the Civil War. Like most able bodied people in her town, she and her siblings worked in the local garment mill since the men were away at war. Times were extremely difficult with little to eat, little to look forward to (except the distant hope of victory), a brother away at war, and a father who had died of camp fever.

Continue reading

Swimming with My Toddler – Jumping!

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This picture is of the big kids (Carman & Sudoku) in the pool. But the post is about Doodle’s progress.

Somewhere along the way, Doodle has gained some independence. For most of the swimming season, he’s been pretty clingy with me. I think my venturing in the water with Rosebud was when Doodle started playing more without me. With water wings on (he’s not wild about the Little Swimmer right now — it doesn’t hold him up very well), he’s been puttering around the pool.

Then yesterday – out of nowhere – he jumped (he said “dove”) off the top rung of the ladder. Thinking it was an accident, I asked him to do it again. Continue reading

Sudoku Falls out in Church

No, this wasn’t a “slain in the Spirit” experience. It was a case of low blood sugar, standing with locked knees (throughout a praise song, a responsive reading and then a 6-verse hymn), and standing in sunlight. We were on the 6th (and final) verse of the hymn, when, without warning, Sudoku fell down. Continue reading

The What & How of Flash Frozen Seafood

After learning about flash frozen seafood, I may never buy fresh seafood again unless I’m at the coast.

Unless you purchase fresh seafood from a coastal market, the “fresh” fish you’re getting may actually be several days old. Fishing boats generally stay out for a few days at a time. So if the particular fish you purchase was one of the first caught, it will be a couple of days old by the time it gets to the processor, then even older by the time it is shipped to your town and put in your local grocer’s freezer.

Flash frozen fish, however, are frozen within 2 hours of the catch. It is a process that takes about 3 seconds and is done on the fishing vessel at sea. So, the fish are caught, gutted ∨ filleted, & frozen all on board. The idea is to instantly freeze all the water in the flesh of the fish so that the “fresh” texture, flavor, and aroma are preserved.

A flash frozen fish should have a somewhat shiny appearance, be rock hard, and have no white freezer burn marks on it.

Michael Kelly Blanchard

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This past Sunday evening, we had the pleasure of hearing Michael Kelly Blanchard in concert at our church. Though he’s been writing and playing music for decades, his lyrics are fresh…about real life. His wife sang back-up with him on several songs, and her alto voice added so much to his tenor.

Most of his songs tell stories. I think “Daddy Cut My Hair” was my favorite, but there were many other great ones. Some funny (about exercising during the middle aged years), some sad. He’s most noted for writing “Be Ye Glad” which was popularized by the group Glad. Carman and Sudoku enjoyed Blanchard’s singing, guitar and piano playing too and were drawn in by his story-telling songs. – milkmaid

*photo by Romel Sanchez

Rosebud Rolls Over

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Rosebud rolled from front to back accidentally when she was 7 weeks old. When she lifted that heavy head, if it tipped too far to one side, the rest of her body would follow her head and over she’d go. But now, just shy of 4 months, she can purposefully roll from back to front and front to back.

She is a delight. Each baby I’ve had has been easier than the previous one. Probably the difference is me – not the babies. But Rosebud quickly and easily falls asleep by herself. And when she’s awake, she’s happy, with coos and giggles. If pregnancy were as delightful… – milkmaid

Low Mercury Seafood

 

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The following species consistently contain low levels of mercury. So eat up. Even several servings a week is ok when selecting from this list.

salmon
shrimp
clam
tilapia
oyster
hake
sardine
crawfish
pollock
herring
flatfish (flounder, sole)
mullet
mackerel, Atlantic
scallop
crab
croaker, Atlantic


Optimal video creation method

  • Prepare notes and pictures
  • name the pictures that you intend to use out of the video folder
  • Just record a quick clip to check everything
  • Notify family of imminent recording
  • Record an intro “freestyle” and standing, if possible
    • Record it with Camtasia to reduce steps.
    • Notes for field recording
      • avoid shuffling feet
      • If field recording with the sony still camera, see SPECIAL PROCESS FOR DEALING WITH SONY MPEGs
  • Recording of screen capture with audio
    • Before you start, mentally review the quick commands for sketching
    • Pause between complete thoughts or when you need to look at notes or plan screen sketching
    • If you lose train of thoughts, just be sure to leave the section free of vital words so that it can be clipped out
    • Try to lose the “ums”, etc.
  • While recording the screen capture, you may opt to also get PIP video. If so…
    • Don’t swivel
    • Look at camera whenever possible, this will be cut in as PIP
    • don’t do the closed-eyes-Cal look
  • Editing if there’s PIP mat’l
    • Split PIP track once it needs to go out or to thumbnail
    • Cut PIP out wherever I’m not looking at camera
  • SPECIAL PROCESS FOR DEALING WITH SONY MPEGs
    • pull to a camproj
    • edit, audio enhance
    • write to an avi at 480px
    • pull into my actual project camproj
  • Editing
    • Cut out the fat
    • audio enhancements??
    • Add Title and Closer screens
    • Add a callout or two to fight piracy
    • Save as video version
    • Now save as flash version and do:
      • add a quiz
      • add a pop-up or redirect so I can track it.
  • Uploading
    • Change flv uri in config.xml file
    • Upload the folder to homepages location. Here is the page I use for that and the kimili code.
    • Start a new page. Do KW research before naming.
    • Update the Kimili code and copy it to your new page.
    • Make sure you consider the “fpvid” decision and postdating.
    • Parent page?
    • Post-dated blog post as a pointer/intro?


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