Epaulettes

I mentioned before that the Man-Cub's new Boy Scout Troop doesn't wear a neckerchief - they wear a bolo - they also don't wear a cap - preferring the Boy Scout Expedition Hat - and even though the new epaulettes sold on the Scoutstuff site are green - they've opted to keep the red ones. I guess I didn't realize that they had so much leeway with their uniform - but I've since read about other troops that do even more 'unique' things. This troop in Massachusetts for instance - interesting...

Anywhoo, since you can no longer buy the red loops - I had to make some - it was easy and the local Stuff-Mart actually carries red 1 ½ inch grosgrain ribbon - so I used my Cub Scout loops as a reference - each set (I had to make 5) cost me 16¢.

...and being the linguist that I am I find it interesting that they don't call them epaulettes on the scoutstuff site - they've dumbed it down quite a bit - and call them 'shoulder loops'...

The Little Birds are Here

My little birds from Regina's Birds of Change exchange have arrived and I love them all!

Ash Wednesday

Remember thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return...

We had a nice supper and then the Imposition of the Ashes service. I'm always amazed at how little time we spend pondering our mortality. These forty days are good for that - it's really 47 days as the Sundays are not counted - they are always a celebration of the Resurrection...

Mother Goose

I did finally manage to get a couple of pictures of Mother Goose...

...it really was a lot of fun...

...one of the little girls came up and shyly asked me if I was the real Mother Goose...

'Praan'

I've added my current favorite song to my blog - It's called 'Praan' by Garry Schyman - The lyrics are adapted from a poem by Rabindranath Tagore called the 'Stream of Life' - he won the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature.

These are the Bengali Lyrics that you hear on the song:

Bhulbona ar shohojete
Shei praan e mon uthbe mete
Mrittu majhe Dhaka ache
Je ontohin praan

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
Shei shurete jagbo ami

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
Shei shurete jagbo ami

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
No morhe shei gaan

Shei jhor jeno shoi anonde
Chittobinar taare
Shotto-shundu dosh digonto
Nachao je jhonkare!

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
Shei shurete jagbo ami

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
Shei shurete jagbo ami

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
Shei shurete jagbo ami

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
Shei shurete jagbo ami

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
Jagbo shei ami

(I copied those from a You-Tube nature video that had the lyrics superimposed)

It's performed by Palbasha Siddique who lives in Minneapolis.

This is a translation of the poem by Rabindranath Tagore - not a direct translation of the lyrics:

The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day
runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.

It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth
in numberless blades of grass
and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.

It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth
and of death, in ebb and in flow.

I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life.
And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.

Mardi Gras

We had a blast at the Pancake Supper and Mardi Gras party at church last night. The Man-Cub stood up with me for the Mother Goose rhymes. I don't have pictures or video yet - but I'm going to get some - there were several people in the audience snapping and taping - as soon as I do I'll post them...

In the meantime, I'll distract you with this picture of the Honor Guard from the Cub Scout Pack Meeting Monday night - remember I'm still Cub Master even though the Man-Cub is no longer a Cub...

They taught us the proper way to fold a flag - did you know that each fold of the flag has a special meaning...

Costuming for Mardi Gras

Happy Mardi Gras Y'all! It is of course Shrove Tuesday - so the big 'Pancake Feed' and Mardi Gras Party are happening at the church this evening. We all have our 'talents - haha' picked for the goofy talent show and our costumes at the ready - I'll post some action shots tomorrow...

The Man will go as a guitar playing hayseed - complete with straw hat and overalls. The Man-Cub (who will soon give up his Mowgli name and choose another I-name) will go as a chimney sweep - all dressed in black with a sooty face...

...and I could of course go into the costuming business full time and have a job that I loved - I will go as 'Mother Goose' - that's really because my 'talent' is to lead the crowd singing a goofy version of Mother Goose rhymes that winds up being 'thrown out the window' - it's still a secret around here - but I'll try and get some video for tomorrow as well...

...since my costume was so much more 'elaborate' than those of the boys - I had to go thrifting to find the pieces and parts that I didn't have at home - and of course I didn't want to spend much money...

...my first purchase was a pair of vinyl lace up boots - there was another pair there that laced up further but they were $4.99 and I didn't want to pay that much for boots that I would probably only wear once - these were $1.99...

...then I needed a 'granny skirt' - I found this one for .99 - a real bargain as it's original department store price tag of $238.00 was still on it (amazing what some people will pay isn't it)...

...and then since I didn't have time to knit a shawl - which I really should have done - I found a red skirt - when I got it home I split it open and cut off the elastic and serged around the edge - it makes a nice lightweight shawl...

...then I needed that black lace up thingy that Mother Goose is wearing over her shirt around her waist - I don't know exactly what it's called and of course I couldn't find exactly that - but I did find this bustier and I just did the lace up thingy with some yarn...

...and there was a bonus when I went to check out all these clothes were on half price - sweet - so I spent less than $3 ...

...I also needed a nightcap - so I cut a circle out of some white sheeting that I had in my fabric stash - then stitched some lace around the edge - also from stash - and then about 3 inches inside the circle I zigzaged over some elastic (from stash) so my night cap cost me nothing...


...and y'all know that Mother Goose has grey hair - and I don't - right??? Well not grey enough anyway - so I had to make her some grey locks...

First I wrapped grey yarn (what else) around a folded piece of cardboard from the recycle bin - the fold provides a little slot to work the needle under the yarn...

I wrapped the yarn around about 15 times for some short locks and then went over and under each wrap of the yarn...

...when I got to the bottom I went over and under on the way back up...

...then pulled it all up tight...

...and slid the 'lock' off the cardboard - I only did the 'stay stitching' on one side as I wanted loose curls but I think you could do it on both sides and have tighter locks that would stay tightly wound - like for a dolls hair...

...then I stitched the lock to the underside of the nightcap...

Here's a little preview - when I need to get glasses - I'm seriously going to get these little sit-on-the-end-of-your-nose kind...

The Arrow of Light

At last night's Blue and Gold Banquet - the Man-Cub received his Arrow of Light Award.

We are so proud of our overachieving scout - He earned all twenty of the Webelos Activity Pins (We're kinda worried about the Scout Badges - I think there are 212 of them...)

...but he's one well decorated scout...

I need to make a few changes to his uniform for Thursday night's Troop meeting. Some patches have to come off and some new ones put on - His new Troop does not wear a neckerchief - they wear the Scout Bolo - this was a parting gift to each of the new Boy Scouts from their Cub Scout Pack...

Jiggle Jiggle

Back before Valentines Day the Man-Cub said he wanted some Jello (isn't it amazing how well advertising works) - I explained to him what Jello is made of and we ordered some Jel Dessert from Vegan Essentials...

He made it all by himself (I know it's not difficult to 'make' Jello - but it was his first time) and it was pretty good - this is the strawberry version with a little bit of SoyaToo. Dontchajusluv the vintage Tupperware Jello mold...
OOOH that reminds me - what did I ever do with that pajama cloth (um - nothing ... yet...)

Exploratory

The Man-Cub has an 'Exploratory Day' once each quarter and they offer all kinds of neat classes. He took 'Indian Cooking' this time and he was so excited about it that we had to replicate the recipe for supper when he got home.

First he washed the rice three times and put it on to cook - then he chopped all the vegetables by himself (note the two fresh bandaids on his little fingers...) - and cooked them in my new non-stick pan - while I made the flour tortillas (they're a little bit fussy and they used purchased ones for the class)...

This is my plate - there is a fork there but we didn't use them as the Man-Cub told us we were supposed to tear off bits of our flatbread and scoop up the rice dish with it - FUN!

Indian Exploratory Recipe
1 potato - peeled and diced
1 tomato - diced
1 green pepper - diced
1 medium onion - diced
1 Tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 Tablespoons canola oil

Method

Heat oil over medium heat - add mustard seeds and cook until they start to pop. Add curry powder and stir. Then add Potatoes, Tomatoes, Green Pepper and Onion. Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve with cooked Rice over a flour tortilla or flatbread.

...And yes - that's Nanny's Cloth as a table runner - Love it!

That's Why We Don't Eat Animals

There's a new book for children about Vegens and Vegetarians and all living things...

Smiley

The Man-Cub said how nice it would be to have a hot apple pie...

...I couldn't have agreed more - and we happened to have a bowlful of Granny Smiths...

...so we worked together and chopped and rolled and put together a scrumptious pie...

...and then because he had the brilliant idea of decorating the pie with a smiley face instead of the pie crust leaves that I always make - what a fun memory this will be of the pie with the smiley face...

Third

The Man-Cub won 3rd Place in the county Spelling Bee yesterday!

I am one proud Mama! He said he had fun - we had been practicing the list that they gave us for a couple of weeks - we'd try and get through one letter a night - some letters didn't have as many words (obviously) - so it didn't take us 26 days...

Den #1 is no more...

It's sad I know but Den #1 has met for the last time as a Den. They will receive their Arrow of Light at the Blue and Gold Banquet on Sunday and attend their first Scout Troop meeting next Thursday...

We finished up our Engineer Activity Pin by making a simple Block and Tackle.

And we put the finishing touches on our Leave No Trace poster - instead of a skit at the B&G they will do a 'Leave No Trace' presentation - it should be fun and informative...

I'm really happy about this transition. I will stay on as Cub Master for the Pack but the Man-Cub won't be going to any more Pack meetings. I have really mixed feelings about this - should I take time away from my family to serve as Cub Master...

Signs of Spring

You would have thought that spring was on the way - we had a warm front come up from the south with RAIN - believe it or not - of course it froze as it fell...

...covering everything with a sheet of ice...

...that was perfect for sliding on...

This is really dangerous stuff too - for just plain walking or driving...

Everything's More Fun

With a friend...

The Man-Cub's best friend spent the weekend with us...

...and there was tunneling and sledding and climbing...

...and tumbling and falling and lots of fun...

Leyburn Sock KAL

I really like this new Bamboo yarn - it's very soft and silky - this is the first time that I've used it. I'm using two strands held together.

...so I've started the Leyburn...

I'm just up to the heel...

I like the pattern - it was quite easy to memorize.

Happy Valentines Day!

The sweet roses from my love - the pink ones smell so sweet - the red and white ones not so much...

Speaking of Party

My Big Brother recently celebrated a birthday - and although I couldn't be there - I hear he had quite the party...

He should have received his little giftie by now so it's probably safe to post - they have these neat T-Shirts at a local gift shop and I thought this one suited him well.

Advice from a Bear
Live Large.
Climb beyond your limitations.
When life gets hairy - grin and bear it.
Eat well.
Live with the seasons.
Take a good long nap.
Look after your honey.

Party Time

I just got back from the Man-Cub's class Valentines Day Party!

We made cupcakes - one batch of chocolate and one of vanilla using the Vinegar Cake recipe. We arranged the cupcakes in a rough heart shape and then spread icing all over the tops - sort of joining them together and then outlined it to make it look more like a heart - The Man-Cub loved it...

Here he is passing out his Valentines...

Then as he was eating some Laffy-Taffy - his tooth came out - what a surprise!

Valentines

The Man-Cub always makes his own Valentines (hard to believe - eh?)

It can be tedious doing the same thing over and over 20 times...

So we plan ahead and spread the project out over several days...

On the first day the Man-Cub drew his designs in pencil and I scanned them and printed them on card stock and he colored them with his markers...

Then I copied the text (he wrote it out once in pencil) onto card stock - 4 to a sheet. You don't want this to seem like punishment - I remember Mr. Brannon's favorite punishment in 6th grade was to have you write out 'I must not...' sentences. Then we made a template out of card stock and just traced around it with a marker to make the colored borders.

We made the little heart stamp for the 'Happy ♥ Day' just by gluing a little foam heart onto a popsicle and then coloring it with a red marker and then pressing it onto the center of the card. We used the same procedure to make the Hearts and Hands cards here. Then that was enough for one day...

The next day we cut out all the little turtles and frogs and stuck the turtles to the class cards with double sided foam tape and the frogs got hot glued to the teacher cards with a little spring under them - we also made the little springs just by twisting an opened paper clip around a pencil - we snipped it in two and made two of the cutest little springs...

The finished class card - 20 of these...

The finished Teacher card - 8 of these - it was a lot of fun and the Man-Cub was really happy with how they turned out...