Longitude, Latitude, Stalagmites and Stalactites

 Today's post is treasure from years ago. The following are a couple of memory tricks that were a blessing when teaching my sons.

One little tip that I received many years ago really helped to solve a problem I had had for years and it simplified learning a basic concept for my children. The concepts of longitude and latitude were always a bit tricky for me to learn. I just couldn’t remember which was which. Then I read this tip. Draw a picture of a ladder on a piece of paper. Label the rungs, latitude and the poles, longitude. Simple and easy to remember! To avoid any confusion, it helps to remember that the “poles are long”.

Another little tip we learned many years ago, probably from an old Bill Nye, the Science episode, deals with stalagmite and stalactites. The stalactites have an extra “t” in them placing them on top. Stalagmites have a “g” in them placing them on the ground. How easy is that? No more confusion!

Ephesians 5:33

"Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that see reverence her husband." Ephesians 5:33

When smoke gets in my eyes...

Mmmm... can you feel it? That toasty warm feeling of a fire crackling in the wood stove. Don't you just love the feeling of coming in from the cold, frosty air to a warm home? It is so comforting. I have had the opportunity of benefiting from three different types of fires over the past couple of months.

While at camp in August we cooked quite a bit over a campfire. I love the SMELL of a campfire. Usually I am not big on the smell of smoke but a campfire is different. There is something so soothing about sitting around a campfire in the dark and yet somehow it is exciting too, like something good is about to happen. It causes me to think about my life and dream.

When we returned to camp in September, we used the wood cook stove instead. I love cooking on a wood stove. Just the thought of it got me out of bed bright and early each morning. I just couldn't wait to hear the crackle of the kindling and feel the camp warm up. It was so satisfying to use it, like somehow I was communing with some of my ancestors who may have had to cook this way each day.


And now it is October, a chill is in the air and I am sitting in my living room being warmed by my wood stove here. This stove and I have a love/hate relationship. Actually, I hate it and I'm pretty sure it hates me. It is suppose to be smokeless and it is not. Cough, cough! It is also a bit stubborn to start most days.To start a fire in it you must leave the stove doors open, be sure none of the tiny little holes in the back of it have any ash in them, and recite the alphabet backwards while hopping on one foot. Okay, okay, the alphabet and hopping part aren't true but you get the idea. Still, after all this, many times I must open a window in my living room so it will "draw". Goodness, I'd buy it a pack of the finest Crayolas if it would only draw well enough so I could keep my window closed!! ~smile~ Yet, this frustrating thing does eventually get a really good fire going and it warms my house very nicely. THEN, of course, I love it. I am so fickle. Right now, I am sitting in my warm and cozy living room enjoying it's generous heat. And once again, I am in love.

Wishing you a warm and cozy evening,
~Penni

Love

My God is so good, I can't help but praise Him. What an awesome God to love me so. The Love of God.... how precious it is... how very blessed I am to know Him....

It is Sunday evening and I am so blessed to have spent time today in God's house under the preaching of His Word. Once again, the messages seemed aimed right at me. Even the testimonies shared this evening have caused me to do some deep soul searching....

My deepest prayer is that everyone and anyone who might read this blog would know Him. Why would you not want to???

Warning: Cute picture ahead...

"It is a very blustery day... outside." ~Pooh bear, just after flying Piglet by a sweater string and ending up in Owl's home.

It most definitely is a blustery day today in Maine. I love the wind. I love the sound of it. I love to be out in the woods and hear it blow through the trees. At times it sounds like ocean waves, at other times, it sounds as though the trees speak to me telling me all their sad stories or are singing to me a happy little song. I also love the POWER of it. It reminds me that God is in control and I don't need to worry. To see the effects of something so powerful, the bending of the trees, and yet to not see WHAT it is, the actual wind itself, reminds me of God's might, and power. I am so glad He is in control.

When my boys were young, I read aloud Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne. It has been years since I have read it. I remember we laughed a lot. Today, with this wind, I am reminded of this book. I'm am going to sit down in a little while and begin it again. A well written book can be enjoyed by anyone of any age. So even though we may think of the story of a "bear of very little brain" as being a child's story, it is a treasure to read for adults as well. So, if you need me, I'll be off in the Hundred Acre Wood with Christopher Robin and his friends...

Alex and Pooh, 1989, I look at this picture and miss my little boy so much....

More of my lovely hens

Egg-actly, what are you looking at?? (Sorry just had to do the pun!)

Lovely...

For whatever reason, I can't get the pictures to open on another page and enlarge when I click on them. Can't figure out what I did in my previous post.

Just call me Henny Penny

My hens are a treasure to me each and every day. I enjoy spending time with them, I honestly do. They follow me around and when I talk they appear to really be listening. Oh, I know, they are probably thinking, "If we do this she loves it and will bring us some food." or more likely they are thinking: "Food. Food. You got Food?" Yet, they are fun to watch and I love how their silky red feathers stand out against the green of my lawn. They are truly a "simple" pleasure, but I enjoy them. --AND they lay eggs!

:)
~Penni

Is she not beautiful??