Crafty Monday: Troy All the Way to Goliath September 30, 2013

In this post: Trojan horse cookies, a visit to a labyrinth as we study Crete, and Goliath’s big feet. Also Johnny Appleseed and more!

This past week we learned about the Trojan War. I used the recipe from here:  http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/958083/cinco-de-mayo-pinata-cookies

to make Trojan horse cookies.

The ones that I made following the recipe (cutting them after they baked) fell apart. This one that I cut before baking lasted.

You can see that there are three layers. the middle one has a space for M&M’s. Then I covered it with the third cookie.

This one crumbled on it’s own. You can see the candy in the middle.

We read an almost comic book like story of The Iliad.

Michael drew and painted this Trojan horse from his drawing book.

• We learned that David and Goliath lived not long after the Trojan War. Here’s Michael’s Goliath feet. I also marked 9 ft on the wall to show how tall Goliath may have been.

Michael loved this Adventure’s in Odyssey book “Showdown with the Shepherd” about David and Goliath. He devoured it in two days. I was happily surprised.

David’s harp~ We used rubber bands instead of string.

• While reading The Story of the World we also learned about Crete and the Minoans. We found them on the globe. We learned how Greece took over and also how eventually the “Sea people” (that became the Philistines) took over Greece. The Sea people were barbarians that killed just to kill. They also never took the time to learn to read and write.

We read the legend about the labyrinth under Crete’s palace and the horrible Minotaur. We also watched “Labyrinth” (the 80’s movie) just because…well it has a labyrinth in it.

A church not too far away has a smaller labyrinth made of brick. We decided to check it out.

It was fun to run around the maze. I don’t believe however, that labyrinths should be used for prayer since they were made for pagan meditation. I didn’t always think that but after research into the matter I do.

We aren’t finished with Greece. We’ve just dipped our toes in. We will spend a good bit of time there in the weeks to come, but first we will be stopping by Babylon.

Later that week we learned about the Assyrian ruler, King Ashurbanipal, that took over Babylon and Canaan and even Egypt! He also started the first library at Ninevah. We also learned about Phoenician ships and that Jonah may have very well sailed on one as he was running from God.

Michael drew a picture of Jonah’s whale.

I put up this Fall border.

I’ve started reading “The Scarecrow and His Servant” to Michael at night. There are some books by Philip Pullman that I don’t like because of his anti-religious views in them. But this book is fine so far.

I’ve been reading Fall books to Michael during snack time. I believe we will get into more Fall crafts soon too.

Little man got a Ninja mask and likes to wear it a lot now. I’m thankful he’s reading so I don’t mind costumes.

I also don’t mind pets hanging out in the reading pool. Aren’t they cute!

Our group did a study on Johnny Appleseed. First the kids tried different apples.

Then they graphed how many liked what apple.

After a story about Johnny Appleseed, the kiddos made paper plate apples. Here’s Rachel and Maggie.

It was a fun day. I can’t wait for all the Autumny themes our group will do this year.

You can find where I got my inspiration here: http://www.pinterest.com/doverette/sow-greece/

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Last Week: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/09/23/crafty-monday-ancient-israel-and-her-neighbors/

Next Week:  https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/crafty-monday-part-1-babylon-and-persia/

My Family Rocks! Sunday: Sukkot at Enota & Dahlonega Gold Mines September 29, 2013

In this post: Our trip to Enota Mountain Campground to celebrate Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) and our stay in Dahlonega, Ga to see the gold mines. 

PS: At the end of this post I have links with our past Sukkot celebrations and what Sukkot is all about. 🙂

Hello dear ones! Last weekend the family and I traveled to Enota Mountain Campground near Hiawassee, Ga for some Sukkot camping. We had originally planned to camp at Desoto Falls, a favorite spot of ours. Then we saw that it was going to rain Saturday and didn’t want to go there for just one night. Anywho, long story short, through a series of events I found Enota and we decided to stay one night in Enota and then spend the next at a hotel in Dahlonega. I had thought about Helen but since we’ve explored it before, I thought it’d be nice to check out the Dahlonega gold mines.

So it took us most of the day to drive to Enota. We got there that afternoon with just enough time to set up and for Michael to fish before it got dark.  It was a nice drive into the mountains.

The staff were super friendly.

I like how the lodge has a fence made out of antlers. Enota used to be a camp for boys.  It was a bit run down compared to how it looked on their website. Times are hard in the states. This is a non profit place and money is probably short. Still we enjoyed our stay.

We decided to camp near the stream. It was peaceful and quiet. We did get neighbors on the other side of the stream later that night. Thankfully they were quiet.

Michael was glad to be “free” of the van lol. Here’s the other view. Follow that road and it takes you to the lodge, farm, and playground.

Michael and I helped Chris set up the tent while he made a fire. Here’s Chris and Michael.

We decided to roast some hot dogs before letting Michael catch a fish. I was comfy :).

Enota has a trout pond that you can fish in as long as you keep what you catch and pay $6 a pound or per fish. You don’t even need a fishing licence to fish there. They had poles too.  Here are the ducks that live at the pond. They have these crazy mohawks! The white one pecked my toe while I was filming. I don’t know what his problem was. We fed them too!

Chris helped Michael catch a fish. We didn’t want to pay for or clean more than one.

Michael was thrilled :).

There was a small “waterfall” if you can call it that, near our camp.

Here’s Chris cleaning the fish in the stream. I’m so glad I married an outdoorsy man. I’ve never did well at cleaning fish.

Michael throwing stones. He was disgusted when Chris showed him the fish’ insides lol.

Chris cooking the fish on a stick while Michael draws. Later we wrapped the fish in tinfoil and seasoned it to make it cook faster.

Michael and I had collected leaves earlier that day. That night we strung them up.

We hung them on our tent for Sukkot decoration. We talked about why we celebrate Tabernacles (Sukkot) and how this world is not our true home. Our bodies are like tents but one day we will go home to Heaven. We are pilgrims on this earth. We talked about the Israelites living in tents in the desert until they made it to the promised land. We also talked about how Jesus put on flesh and came to tabernacle with humans. We discussed how it’s very possible and likely that Jesus was born during Sukkot and that the manger was a sukkah.

We roasted marshmallows and…

had smores :).

We sang worship songs and campfire songs. I played the guitar this time. This is how dark it really was.

This is how it looks because of the camera’s flash ;).

That night I read Michael a Jewish Sukkot legend for fun. I got this book at the library. Its about an evil magician that makes all the adults forget holidays and at that time Sukkot. So the kids celebrate themselves and they break the spell off their parents.  Now supposedly in a certain village, the kids lead the prayers etc in honor of that time.

We woke up that morning to light rain. It was so light that we were able to pack up without getting soaked.

Since Sukkot is also about the harvest and being thankful, we went to tour the farm at 8 am. The tour guide never showed up. They were busy trying to save the pond that had started draining the day before. Another family showed up as well so we just all walked to the farm ourselves.  I was unable to milk a cow like I had wanted but we still got to see animals.

Maybe one day we will go back and milk a cow…maybe help plant and harvest vegetables.

Michael still wants turkey for Thanksgiving :).  He’s not super sensitive in that way.

We got to pet the pony.

We had plenty of time before our hotel was ready in Dahlonega. So we stopped by Helen, Ga on the way.

We had breakfast at the Huddlehouse which I believe is the only breakfast joint there. We had to stand and wait for a table. We were wet and cold so the hot breakfast was wonderful. Yes Fall made it to North Ga on time. It was chilly. I’m glad I packed sweaters for Michael and I. We didn’t want to linger long so we just stopped by Hansel and Gretal’s for chocolate and left.

We decided to tour the Consolidated Gold Mines in Dahlonega before going to our hotel. We bought a tour which came with gold panning. We panned for gold first and found about $8 worth of gold. Yep, real gold.

Then Chris and I had to put on hard hats to go into the mines. Michael was too short to need one. We watched a brief video on the history of the mines.

The stairs etc were steep and I was honestly really nervous going down there.

Here’s our tour guide using Michael as an example. Did you know that back in the day little boys were used to pass messages in the mines? It was because they were considered expendable back then. Horrible I know! Miners also didn’t live long . It was a terrible job. They often had hearing loss because of the booms. The chemicals that were used caused black pneumonia I believe, that would slowly kill a person. The miners had to stay down in the mine while they were blowing things up. The pay wasn’t that great and if you got injured you were out of luck and no longer important. There were no labor unions.  Anywho, our guide in a witty way made it clear that we would not have wanted this job.

The gold on top of the Georgia capitol building came from this mine.

It was a bit chilly and very damp. Sadly, we didn’t see any bats. The guide says they are usually everywhere.

Here’s a rock formation that took about twenty years.

The one place where you can see the light!

We got a souvenir magnet and a hard hat for Michael. He played miner at the hotel the rest of the day.

We really enjoyed relaxing in a hotel room after “roughing” it the day before. I think it should be a new Sukkot tradition, camp a day…relax a day.  I brought along a couple of Scarecrow books to read. We also watched shows about kittens lol. We don’t have cable so we enjoyed that.

This Sukkot was different but very enjoyable. We’ve usually pitched our tents in our backyard or somewhere nearby. You can see other Sukkot celebrations here: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/my-family-rocks-sunday-sukkot-the-feast-of-tabernacles/

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2012/10/08/crafty-monday-pumpkins-sukkot/

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Broadway Jewelry Review September 28, 2013

Hello dear ones! I usually don’t do business reviews but I was so impressed by this shop and it’s owner, Mr. Mabo. He did a very nice job of telling the stories behind the antiques and jewelry. So if you happen to pass through Columbus, Ga I hope  you take a trip to Broadway Jewelry at 1044 Broadway.  Let me give you a short tour ;).

Here’s Mr. Mabo, the owner. Broadway Jewelry has been in Columbus for five years and all their advertisement (til now) is by word of mouth.  Mr. Mabo has antiques and mainly jewelry from all over the world and many time periods. Below he is standing by authentic Native American jewelry.

Mr. Mabo was so friendly and very enthusiastic about his wares.  Here is a dream-catcher woven with deer sinew by an elderly Cherokee woman.

These cuffs were Celtic I believe. They have mermaids on them. You will find all kinds of unique pieces in this store.

Here’s one I really love. It’s an Amber necklace that is one of a kind. It’s about $400 but it’s nice to dream :).

Look at these fascinating poison rings. You won’t find these in the average jewelry store. And there’s the moonstone bracelet that’s very rare.

A very nice replica of the sword of Charlemagne. I really want this…hint hint ;).

Now, you can find pieces that are below $100 and even in the $20 range. Here are some gorgeous butterfly pins.

Look at these pieces up close. They are Egyptian from the early 1900’s.

Mr. Mabo showed us these coral necklaces. Some of them are actual red coral but the rest are dyed because true red coral is rare and almost extinct.

Mr. Mabo showed us how to tell the difference. Dyed red coral is smooth and completely red all over. But the real stuff is discolored and uneven. you can see in the back.

These pieces are made with tortoise shell. They are from the early 1900’s I believe, before the practice was banned. It’s illegal to use tortoise shells now.

Here’s one of my favorites. The shiny look of these comes from a rare butterfly. You can see the butterfly below. It was once on the endangered list but they are now coming back to the wild.  How I would love to see one alive.

Well, thank you for stopping by. I do hope you drop by the store sometime. Mr. Mabo will be pleased to answer any questions I’m sure. He knew that we couldn’t buy anything yet he was still willing to show us around and treat us like old friends. Maybe in the future I’ll be able to buy something special. I really have my eyes on that sword :).

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Crafty Monday: Ancient Israel and Her Neighbors September 23, 2013

In this Post: Crafts, books, and food as we learn about Ancient Israel and her neighbors. Also a trip to the animal shelter and International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Plus our Sukkot pottery is finished!

Hello dear ones! This past week we studied Ancient Israel in Story of the World. Please don’t miss the Israeli dessert Malabi in the middle. You can find recipes and craft instructions on my Pinterest here:

http://www.pinterest.com/doverette/sowsumeriansisraelassyrians/

This was a super easy week for us since we already know a lot about Israel. We’re Christians and our whole faith has it’s roots in God’s promise to the Israelites. We’ve also been celebrating Sukkot which is a Jewish/Biblical feast.

It was however, fascinating to see the kind of world Abraham lived in before God called him out.  Abraham lived in the city of Ur and most likely worshiped the moon god. Then one day the true and only God introduced Himself and Abraham’s whole life changed. Ur was under King Sargon who united Mesopotamia. It was a prosperous place for Abraham’s family. But God had called Abraham to leave and go to Canaan, a place that at that time was inhabited by wild men.  Imagine finding out that all you thought you knew was a lie..then leaving it all behind for the unknown and a mysterious powerful God that you just met. That’s faith!

Kingdoms rose and fell but God stayed faithful to his people. A remnant always remained. The Israelites made it through Egypt and later to the promised land. Despite persecution and being taken captive constantly, they have survived. God has kept His promise, all because one man had the faith to obey.

• The Ark of the Covenant~ Michael drew and painted this from his drawing book. He also wanted to draw the walls of Jericho.

The Ark was important because God promised to meet Moses there. God can not be kept in a box. But he did promise to show His presence with the Ark.  It served as a reminder of what God had done for the Hebrews.  The Ark itself wasn’t powerful but rather what it stood for and God’s presence that met there. The Ark is lost now but it is no longer needed.Now by the blood of Jesus,  the messiah, we can have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside us. God himself tabernacles with us. We can approach Him boldly because Jesus paid for our sin. You see, back before Jesus came to earth, the Holy Spirit only rested on certain ones and for certain periods of time. Now things are different. That is why the temple veil near the Holy of Holies split from top to bottom. We have free access. Praise God!

I forgot to take pictures but we also marked Israel on the map, the globe, and the time line.

In Science we finished learning about the food groups. Michael is very health conscious these days.

Michael read “Who Was Johnny Appleseed?” and filled out his journal questions. Our group is learning about Johnny Appleseed this week so I wanted him to be prepared. We also watched a Scholastic movie about Johnny on Netflix.

• Matzo Ball Soup~ This is my favorite Israeli meal. Michael helped me mix the Matzo balls.  It taste a bit similar to chicken and dumplings but without the chicken.

Then we broke out the Matzo. I always thought it was spelled Matzah but I guess not. We were going to make a big Matzo house but couldn’t stand the thought of gluing it together and wasting food. So we got out the peanut butter and had a snack.

We did break the Matzo up and try to make small houses.

They kept falling down and peanut butter does not work as glue!

Michael’s tee pee matzo. The matzo goes great with soup.

• Tissue Paper Jerusalem~ So I drew the city on the non-sticky side of contact paper and Michael tore bits of tissue and stuck it on.

Then I wiped off the dry erase marker and we put more contact paper on the other side to hold it all together. Voila!

• We learned about Sumeria this past week too. I really like the books in this series. Here’s “You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Sumerian Slave!”

• Malabi~ an Israeli dessert that’s a pudding. You can find the recipe on the Pinterest link above. Malabi is delicious and super sweet. I think it’d be great for fruit dip. I kept this on the stove a good while and it still was soupy. So I ended up putting it in the microwave and adding more cornstarch. Then it was at the right thickness.

This is what happens when you microwave Malabi and don’t put a cover over it!

The rose water adds a unique taste. I barely put any and it was strong. I’ll leave it out next time. I’m not one for rose water ever since I made nasty Turkish delight. We tried strawberry and almonds & hot fudge and caramel. They were both good. It’s very creamy. Still I couldn’t eat much because it was so sweet. I’m going to try it with apples next. I think that’ll balance it out.

• We also learned about the Assyrians and King Shamshi Adad. We learned what a dictator is. We also read about Hammurabi and his code. Michael read “You Wouldn’t Want to Be an Assyrian Soldier!”

• We read the story of Gilgamesh and watched a short cartoon about it on Youtube. The link is on a blog on my Pinterest. I think the story is overrated. Gilgamesh was a thug not a hero. Personally, I thought the story was weird.
• Our Sukkot plate and ornament is finished. Yaaaa!

We added it to our collection. It’s hard to believe it’s been six years of celebrating Sukkot. I love celebrating the Harvest and thinking about how this world isn’t our home. Our flesh is like a tent for our spirit as we pass through this life. Our true home is with God in Heaven.  Also Jesus came down to tabernacle (dwell) with us. Sukkot is called the Feast of Tabernacles. A tabernacle is a tent.

When you live in a tent there is all kinds of hardship. You get rained on and you’re vulnerable to wild animals. This life is also hard and dangerous. But one day we will be safe and full of peace in our true home and kingdom. I often say the High King lives. That is because Jesus is the king of kings. He is my true king and God’s kingdom is my true home. Christians are strangers and pilgrims passing through this world. The Israelites lived in tents until God brought them to the promised land. It’s important to know that under the old/first covenant, the promise was physical and of a physical place. The new covenant is all about the spiritual and a person’s heart.

*We made pottery every year except one, when we decorated a shirt. We have three plates (one is in memory of my Dad, for the year he died), a mug (that has a piratey saying inside), and a cookie jar (with a picture of Chester our cat on it).

• Later in the week, our group went to an animal shelter for a tour and to help out. Here’s little man coloring a doggie.

Our group donated  dog food and toys.

One of the workers talked about what they do at the shelter and all the animals need.

The lady had a box with hidden objects in it. The kids had to guess what each object was used for. Then she talked about the object and how it helped the animals. Here’s Michael taking his turn.

Then all of the kids took a tour of the animals. The kittens were adorable! A lady in our group adopted one that day. I know her kiddos were happy.

They even had bunnies! I’m glad we didn’t stay too long because it was way too tempting. I’m up to my ears in crazy animals and our little house in the suburbs can’t handle much more. Though I still want a chicken….one day.

• We dropped by the library and low and behold, it was International Talk Like a Pirate Day!  Michael did piratey activities while I looked for books.

Michael loves pirates. You probably guessed so considering his pirate birthday party a couple years back and our love of The Pirates of the Caribbean. Here’s my lil matey with his eye patch from the library.

What a surprising and spontaneous day! I was tickled to learn that Krispy Kreme was giving free donuts to those dressed in pirate garb. So of course Michael dressed up and we hurried to the store. There was a whole line of pirates waiting for their donuts!

We had seen a neat pirate book at the library so we went to Barnes and Noble to look for it. We didn’t find the same book but we did get “Top 10 Worst Nasty Pirates You Wouldn’t Want to Meet!” It was great for the drive on our Sukkot camping trip the next day.

It was a lovely and simple week. We’re not done with Israel. We are tying in Biblical characters all through out our historical studies. We’ll also be learning how the Bible came about through the years. It’s exciting!

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Last week: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/crafty-monday-part-1-ancient-egypt/

Next Week: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/crafty-monday-troy-all-the-way-to-goliath/

My Family Rocks! Sunday: Yom Kippur Celebration with Friends September 22, 2013

Hello dear ones! Last weekend we camped out at our best friends’ house, the Chamber’s. We had a great time of fellowship and Hannah made some delicious food. We also sang worship songs and camp songs around the fire.  It’s always a joy to be with our buddies in the Lord.

Olivia, Michael, and Liam around the fire pit.

James, Hannah, and Chris

The kids being silly. We had hot dogs, chips, and baked beans.

For dessert we had pumpkin bars, apple cider, and later s’mores.  Here’s Chris playing worship & camp songs on our guitar.

Liam, Hannah, and me worshiping the Lord.

The kids roasting marshmallows.

We jokingly arranged Michael and Olivia’s “marriage” years ago. I don’t know who God wants my son to marry and if he will even get married but it’s interesting seeing how his friendships grow.

Michael and his best buddy Liam. The guys are taking down the tents in the back.

Our tents in the back yard. Who says you can’t camp in the suburbs? 🙂

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Virtual Friday: My Place September 19, 2013

Hello dear ones! Today you get to look inside my virtual home. It’s not fun being homeless in Second Life.  I must have a place to change in privacy and to gather my thoughts while exploring. It is so embarrassing to teleport to a strange sim and accidentally end up in the middle of craziness. If you don’t have a home to teleport to then you’re just stuck until you figure out where to go.

I’ve lived in many homes during my 5 (almost 6) years of being a virtual citizen :). I’ve lived in tiny apartments all the way to large plots of land where I had my own “amusement park” of sorts with hot air balloons and rideable dinosaurs. I try to make each place unique. I think the most fun I had was when I lived on a farm and planted corn and raised chickens. Well, I’ve got a new home again and I’d like to show you around.

Anywho, let me take you on the tour. My virtual home isn’t that different in taste as my real life home. I can afford nicer things in Second Life that’s all. Though I’m a child avatar my decor is somewhat more grown up than it is at my real home. I’ll always be a big kid. I’m pretty proud that I have “Sting”  (a replica of the dagger from Lord of the Rings) in RL. And I have dolls galore…that’s my real life home. So there’s not a major disconnect. Who I am flows pretty well from rl to Sl :).

I seem to like blue houses, The outside is similar to my last two houses but it’s much bigger inside. I’m allowed to have lots of prims so I was able to decorate more than usual. Here’s everything all empty.

The Living Room~ I hope you click and make these bigger. I love this fireplace and how it has an ocean theme. I would so put candles in my fireplace if I had one in rl. I also like the candles in the glass jars and the black bird wall clings. If you see the picture bigger you can look at all my little pictures of my SL experiences over the years.  The small pink piano really plays :).

A pink couch and a coffee table go together nicely as well as the candle in the jar. Those candles are fun to put everywhere. I had to put up my own blinds. I really value my privacy in the virtual world.

Near the front door I have a tree decal with more pictures of my SL life.  You can even see Chris’ avatar when he came on SL a couple of times.  My mom and my best bud Julie even visited me in Second Life. It was a great way to visit with my mom when she was in Texas. We “virtually” hung out :).

If you go straight you will enter the kitchen. I really enjoy this room and my mini furniture.

I just have to show you this kitchen set up close. I bought the pictures separate as a pack. The sayings are too cute.

You’ll see that i have a theme with the sparkly lights. This breakfast table takes up lots of prims but it’s worth it. The window view is spectacular as well.

Now from the other angle…I’m really into these wall clings. I’ve got a cat in a tree to the right and in the back I have Audrey Hepburn with a quote. She’s one of my favorite actresses.  You can get a small glimpse of my reading nook near the back door.

My reading nook

So near the back door I have an adorable little space that’s perfect for chilling out. Oh how I’d love to have this nook in real life.  But in a way it does feel real. That’s the thing, in Second Life I’m putting real time and money into the virtual world. I’m really experiencing the world although it’s a virtual space. I bump into real personalities that are hiding behind avatars. So it’s very real in one sense. I have real memories of places. For instance, that picture is one of my favorite pictures and though it’s just an image in Second Life it’s still mine and in my own personal spot of the virtual world. It’s in my “house” right now as I type and though I’m not “home” others could go to my virtual house and see that picture at anytime.  So it’s existing without me even there. That’s pretty far out, huh?

I’ve got a cup of coffee on the table and several books. Some of my virtual books open up to real books that I can read online.  I have my “hippy” guitar which represents me pretty well…though I’m not a hippy…more like a free spirit.

Come back to the living room and instead of going straight you’ll take a right down the hall. On the left is my dressing room. It has no windows so it’s perfect. I brought out the glitz and glam factor with more twinkling lights.

Mirrors don’t actually work in Second Life but they are still pretty. A pose stand always comes in handy. You can get them at most stores for free with your clothing or hair purchase.

The vanity is a bit big I admit.

The room across the hall on the right is for ballet.  I was actually a ballerina for a short time in high school. But those days are behind me, in real life that is. I have a pink tutu and pink ballet slippers on the wall. The ballet bar comes with different moves and it’s fun to play with.

All the way down the hall to the end and on the right, you’ll see the playroom. Okay…so I don’t have my own playroom in real life.  I don’t play with my Barbie dolls anymore. I guess Sims and Second Life are my virtual doll houses. So I guess in a sense, I kept my childhood vow that I would never quit playing dolls lol. Oh don’t look at me that way. If you’re a fellow writer then you are doing the same exact thing in your head…playing dolls ;). The plots just thicken as adults.

I love this picture in the play room. My faith is apparent even in SL. I choose to be true to who I am the best I can whether in sl or rl.

At the end of the hall across from the playroom is my bedroom. It’s such a peaceful and lovely place. In real life I wouldn’t be showing you much of my bedroom because it’s always a mess (husband+ bedroom= never ending mess).  Well, it may surprise you but in this home I never have a mess ;). I’ve got my SL Bible on the table. It really works.  The butterfly decal on the wall reflects my inner child very well. Oh, the bed has poseballs for jumping, sleeping, and reading.

Here’s where I have my writing desk. I also have big pictures on the wall of some of my favorite SL pictures as a kid avatar. If you’ve kept up with my blog then you may remember those experiences. The desk has several poses for writing, reading, and even sleeping.

I almost forgot to show you the park next to my house. You may have a heart attack from too much cuteness. Yes, I have a giant bunny next to my home. At least he’s friendly.  Again, that’s the nice thing about being a child avatar and living in a family community…it’s so much safer. You don’t have to worry about vampires and zombies trying to kill you or other weird SL citizens.  Yeah, I’m not into all that.

Anywho, that’s the tour. Last year, I visited some neat places  during the Fall. I’m not sure if they are still there because of course sims shut down and start up all the time. Very few sims are steady. But you can check them out if you like. Here’s my post from last Autumn:

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/virtual-friday-autumn-in-second-life/

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Crafty Monday Part 2: More Fall Crafts September 16, 2013

Hello dear ones, I hope you are well. I’ve got several Fall crafts to share with you: pillows, a family sign, and another fabulous centerpiece.

• “Give Thanks” centerpiece 

I found this idea online and you can see the links on my Pinterest at the end of this post.

This was super simple to make. I painted wooden blocks of various shapes different Fall colors. Then I glued them together, modge podged it to seal them, and glued a bow to the top.

• Autumn Sign

This idea was actually original. I needed a Fall sign to replace my heart sign in the kitchen.  So I painted a wooden sign and added wooden owls to it.

I hung the little wooden pieces by gluing the twine to the back. I put various Fall items on them. They don’t hang evenly but I guess that gives the sign character. Also I’m too lazy to pull off the glue.

I just had to throw in a pic of my crazy cat.

• Owl pillows

I wanted more Fall pillows for the couch. I usually don’t sew but I couldn’t find the right pillows anywhere.

So I found some gorgeous orange material with white dots on it. I bought some brown ribbon and little owl buttons.

You can tell from the zig zags that this is not professional.

I stuffed the pillows and then I wrapped them with ribbon and sewed the ribbon to the pillow. I sewed the owl buttons to the center of the bow.  They’re not perfect but I’m very happy with them.  You’d think the button would make the pillows uncomfortable but actually they are very fluffy and nice. I often prop one behind my back.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

PS: Here’s where I got inspiration for the sign:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/82824080619698752/

Crafty Monday Part 1: Ancient Egypt

In this post: Pyramids, mummies, and King Tut! Crafts and a yummy treat! A trivia game with our group and a trip to the pottery store for our family Sukkot tradition. 

Hello dear ones! Today I’m splitting my post again between Fall crafts and our homeschool studies.  As you know, we’ve incorporated The Story of the World with our Draw and Write Through History book.  This past week we studied Ancient Egypt. We had so many neat books to read each day. We also watched Egyptian documentaries on Netflix.

Michael began “Who Was King Tut?” and answered journal questions.

• The Nile River ~ We began our studies by learning about the geography of Egypt. We found some reeds at a pond and made a reed boat. Then Michael painted the Nile on a box and I added moon sand and moss.  We got the Egyptian solder figurines at Hobby Lobby.

I found this Ancient civilizations game online and Michael played the demo for free. There was also a mummy game from Discovery Kids (I think) but it scared Michael. It was an educational game but I guess just seeing a mummy put scary thoughts in his head.

Michael liked the game below though. He was able to build up Egypt, kind of like Sim City.

• Rice Krispy Treat Pyramids! 

I bought pre-made treats and we formed them into pyramids. It takes three treats to make one pyramid.

Michael drew a picture of a pyramid and sphinx from his drawing book.

It accidentally “rained” in the picture. Michael used water colors again.

• Mummies!

So later that week we read the book “You Wouldn’t Want to be an Egyptian Mummy!” and Michael colored Canopic jars.

• Then we mummified a doll that I had found at a thrift store. I cut her hair and dressed her to look more Egyptian. You can find the links where we got our ideas on my Pinterest at the end of this post.

*Warning! Doll will be naked!

1. We gathered all our supplies: oil, salt, spices (cinnamon), linen wrappings (medical tape), Canopic jars (tp rolls with the the pictures pasted on them), tools (paintbrush & box cutter), a sarcophagus (box), and the doll.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
2. Michael “cut” her open to take out her organs.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

1. Then he rubbed her heart with spices and oil.  Then it was “salted” and wrapped in “linens”.                                                                            
2. Her mummified heart was put back “into” her body and the mourning process began. Michael is a good actor.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

1. I almost forgot. Her brain was removed through her nose and thrown away. It wasn’t that important to them.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

1. The rest of her organs (excluding the heart) were rubbed with spices and oil and then put into Canopic jars. Each jar looked like a specific Egyptian false god.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

1. The doll’s body was then stuffed with wrappings to make it full again. In this case we used cotton balls.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

1. Her whole body was washed with oil and spices. Then she was wrapped. I didn’t want to completely ruin the doll so I put plastic wrap on her hair so the medical tape wouldn’t destroy it.                                                                                                                                                              
2. I did the main wrapping and Michael finished it for me. It was tricky business.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

1. We put “amulets” between the wrappings. They were supposed to bring good luck and help in the afterlife.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
2. Michael put her death mask on and she was put into her sarcophagus.                                                                                                                                             
3. Lastly, we added her valuables: clothes, furniture, and jewels.  We left her a cup of coffee because the Egyptians believed the dead would return to their body and eat and drink before going on to the next world.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

1. Michael and I built a pyramid out of cardboard bricks. We were limited so it is what it is.

Our Egyptian princess was laid to rest in her tomb. I made it where the bricks could be lifted off the top in case there were visitors or thieves.  I was fascinated with Egypt as a kid. I would’ve loved to play archaeologist with my barbies. What do they say? Youth is wasted on the young!

• Making papyrus

We used a method I found online. We cut strips of paper and weaved them together. We left them in sugar water for a couple of hours.

Then it dried over night.  A lot of the strips fell off so our papyrus is smaller. Then Michael rolled over the paper to make it flat.

We practiced writing a Cartouche on paper first. This was Michael’s first time using these calligraphy pens. They have to be dipped in ink. They are very hard to use.

It was too hard so we resorted to putting cuneiform on the “papyrus”. The ink blotted together unfortunately. We tried  at least and now Michael knows what his name looks like in cuneiform and hieroglyphics.

• Egyptian lapbook

Through out the week we put together this lapbook found online. I copied the Egyptian flag from an Around the World book we have.

• Pharaoh for a day!

We made a pharaoh mask. First, I traced Michael’s head onto a poster. Then I drew the mask around it and cut it out.

Michael colored a design on the mask.

Later I punched holes on the sides and added yarn so Michael could wear it.

I had to punch the holes near the eyes so the sides wouldn’t fold against his head.

Pharaoh telling Daddy what to do!

You can find all of our inspiration here on my Pinterest:

http://www.pinterest.com/doverette/egypt/

• Our group met this week for Trivia. It was so much fun!

The kids were divided into three teams made up of different ages. The kids came up with their own team name. Michael’s team was The Lightning Bees! They were team B at first so it worked. Plus the kids were thinking up names like Bunnies and Butterflies. One boy wanted to do lightning. So it all kind of mixed together to form the kewlest name ever! The kids and us moms put our hands together and shouted “Go Lightning Bees!”

Our host made up a “jeopardy”  board of sorts. There were 5 categories with various points. Each team picked what they wanted to do and the kids took turns being the speaker.

“Vanna” (her name for this post) 😉 asked the kids the question and then the group had to come up with their answer as a team. The speaker would then give the answer. Our team kept choosing the harder questions so we got more points and actually won.

All of the kids got to pick prizes at the end. Here’s Michael trying to see if he could lick his elbow (which was one of the questions).

One of the little girls had a birthday so her mom brought in yummy pink cupcakes.

• After our group, Michael and I went to the pottery store to continue our Sukkot tradition of painting fall themed pottery.

You can see what we made last year here: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/crafty-monday-candy-corn-and-homemade-rootbeer/

Michael painted a pumpkin with a black cat in it. We don’t like black cats because they are “scary” or related to witch myths. We like them because we have a black cat and I happen to think he looks stunning against my favorite color, orange.

Here is a small plate for Sukkot that I painted. These aren’t the finished product. They still have to be glazed and baked.  You’ll get to see them next week, Lord willing :).

The manager was nice enough to give Michael a tour of the pottery process.

Here’s where they dip the pottery into the glaze.

Here’s the kiln, which gets hotter than I thought.  Maybe one day when we have time we will take a pottery class.

• Lastly, I wanted to show you what books we are using this year…at least the main ones.

These are the new piano work books. There’s also the actual song book that Michael plays from but it’s not shown.

Inside the theory and notespeller books.

Bob Jones devotional and spelling books. There are three spelling books because we started this series late last year. So Michael is at the end of book one and he should be able to finish all of book 2 and most of book 3 by the end of this year. Then he will catch up super quick in 4th grade.

Horizons Math book 2 of second grade (which is actually on 3rd grade level. Horizons is advanced). So we will begin book 1 of Third grade later this year. Lifepac Science for third grade and our cursive book.

Draw and Write through History, States and capitals, and Flash Forward Language Arts for 3rd grade. We are actually only doing parts of the language arts book because I’m trying to do more hands on for that subject. I didn’t take pictures of The Story of the World books but we are also doing those as you know. And we read “Life of Fred” for math every now and then. We use resources from all over and Michael reads a lot. But I wanted to give you an idea of our basics.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Last Week: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/09/09/crafty-monday-part-1-ancient-china-and-the-rats-of-nimh/

Next week: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/09/23/crafty-monday-ancient-israel-and-her-neighbors/

My Family Rocks! Sunday: Finishing the Shed September 15, 2013

Hello dear ones :). The shed is nearly finished. It just needs a coat of paint. But for now we can put Chris’ tools in it. Yaaa! Good job Chris! Well, God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber D.

Virtual Friday: The Indie Art Town, Ghostville September 13, 2013

Hello dear ones! I have a sweet sim to show you today. Ghostville has no ghosts. It’s actually named after the artist and it’s creator Cica Ghost (her SL name I’m sure).  All of you fellow Second Life and virtual explorers, I have not forgotten you.

It’s been super busy around here in rl (real life).  Also I virtually moved again. So I set my new place up before I went exploring. Then I got a new wardrobe. Anywho, my avatar is set so I can start exploring again. PS: remember you can click on these to see them better. When I post big pics it always cuts off the picture. Maybe one day wordpress will have more size options.

I’ll show more pics of my new place next week. Now on to Ghostville.  The SL Destination Guide describes this sim as having an indie-child style. I’ve never heard of such a thing but I guess it fits. Ghostville definitely feels child like, with stick figures popping up everywhere.

You can visit Ghostville here: Visit MetaLES (234, 145, 32)

When I got there I was greeted by a pleasant rain storm…of hearts (the cute kind, not the bleeding ones).

I found animated pictures of stick figures in all the photogenic areas.

And there are plenty of places to take great photos.

The details are beautiful

It felt like I had stepped into an artist’ journal.

The artist, Cica, left her mark.

Ghostville is a pleasant sim where you can relax and think happy thoughts. I recommend you pay a visit.

Well, thanks for joining me again as we explore Second Life and occasionally other virtual worlds.  I hope to show you my place next Friday. It has it’s own indie appeal. I think you’ll like it. Every time I move I try to decorate my new home differently. Meanwhile, I’ll try to explore more cool haunts ;).

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover