Adler Planetarium

Yesterday, DH and I took some of the kids from my SS class--the ones who had won a contest last fall--to the Adler Planetarium in Chicago (minus one, plus the little sister who went by default of both parents going) . It was a lovely day and we had a wonderful time. We were only able to explore two exhibits, but we purchased a membership and will definitely go back.

We saw two of the shows: the Night Sky in the dome (good) and the 3D Vision: Imagining the Universe (eh). Because we do not believe in the theory of Evolution, it frustrates my children (and me) when it is assumed to be true. Consequently, when the narrator asked if we believed what he had just told us (about the Big Bang) was true, J said "No" in quite a loud voice. He then went on to say that it was true, but they were still "awaiting confirmation". Awaiting confirmation is another name for faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." When you don't have confirmation, according to the scientific method, all you have is a hypothesis, not fact. I do not have a problem with the theory of Evolution. I have a problem when the theory is treated as fact and all other theories are ignored. If someone believed in Evolution, but could acknowledge that it took faith to do so, I could walk side by side with them without hesitation.
I pray that discussing multiple theories with my children will allow them to make an informed choice, rather than simply standing by the only option most children are ever taught.

Spoils of War

On our recent trip to Ohio, the girls and I stopped at an antique store named Benkin's in Tipp City. The store itself has a lot of interesting history and character (from furniture store/mortuary to general store). I have a particular weakness for antique linens and I scored big this time. Linens don't always wear as well as the sturdier furniture or dishes and it is always sad to see someone's beautiful hand-work stained and ragged from neglect. I love seeing all of the different techniques and styles. I came away with Huck and Swedish embroidery, crochet, lace, cross stitch and a few other interesting samples that I can't even identify yet. The most exciting piece was a pale yellow Hardanger runner in perfect condition. The prices were surprisingly low. I'm sure most of the materials were worth more than what I paid for the finished pieces. I'm not at all convinced that they are all truly antique, but I don't care. For what I spent on them, I can even afford to let M use some of them for her tea parties. You should have seen her eyes when she saw the Water Lily table runner. She loves water lilies and I knew she would love that one.
I hope you enjoy seeing my spoils of war (sorry I didn't iron them first).

A Bad Year

Prairie Dog, Questar and I went letterboxing up in Northfield yesterday. It was a fantastic day and we found all of the boxes in Atomic Beans' winter series, A Bad Year. It's a fun, clever series and we were particularly intrigued with the containers. The stamps were fun and I loved how all of them could be stamped with black ink. These boxes will be out until April 3rd, so if you get a chance, I would highly recommend that you look for them.

It would have been a great day even without the boxes. The weather was gorgeous and (according to the man pushing his daughter in the stroller) we saw lots of "naturey things". You have to love it when noxers come up with your cover story for you. What did we see?

• Deer. Staring at us. Not afraid. Making snide comments under their breath as we stamped in. Very unnerving.
• Birds. Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Black-capped Chickadee, and something that said "Ow" when it sang.
• Fungus. Because of our friend, FungusWoman, we notice fungus everywhere. Even 50 feet up in a tree. Don't have a clue what kinds they are, but we notice them.
• Moss. Until M decided she wanted to make a moss garden (a project in one of those big books of things to do), I had never paid attention to moss. Yesterday I couldn't get away from it. Perhaps because everything else is still dormant and brown, the moss seemed to glow in the sunlight. I never imagined that there could be so many textures and patterns to moss. Of course I brought some home for her.*
• Cyclists. Blurring past. Oblivious to the beauty around them. I ask you, why do you need special shoes to ride a bike?
• Mud. It could have been worse. Yee-ha!

It was a very satisfying day.

 *I realize this violates the Leave No Trace policy, so you can yell at me if you like. However, I can guarantee that none of the moss I took had a conservation status that was threatened in any way and I'm pretty sure that before spring is out, it will all have grown back.

Mud Pie

Since yesterday was Pi Day, M and I made a Mississippi Mud Pie. Thought you might like the recipe:

Mississippi Mud Pie

3 oz semi sweet chocolate
1/4 c butter
3 T light corn syrup
3 eggs
2/3 c sugar
1 t vanilla
pie crust
whipping cream
chocolate curls

I use the Betty Crocker pie crust recipe. The pie directions call for par baking the crust, but I think I'm going to skip that next time. I would recommend pricking the crust with a fork before baking.
In a double boiler, melt butter, chocolate and corn syrup. In separate bowl, combine eggs, sugar and vanilla. When chocolate is smooth, turn off heat and slowly add egg mixture, stirring until completely combined. Pour into pie shell and bake at 350* 35-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool on wire rack and spread with whipping cream and decorate with chocolate curls.

*Photo provided by Zazzle...since my pie didn't last long enough to have it's picture taken.

March BOM

Mud was the word for today. But I'm not complaining. At least we were able to stamp into a couple of boxes without it raining on us (which is par for me). The March Box of the Month was as nice as the others. I think we need to get a little more creative with our photo-in-the-same-spot-each-month though. This is only the third picture and I'm already bored with them.

More boxing on Tuesday-woot, woot!