Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Uno!
Owen is getting big - really big - and he wants to do what the big kids do. At Grandma Sharon's weekly Wednesday Family Dinner Nights, the big kids play games; so, of course, Owen wants to play games - big kid games. I recently found this deck of Uno cards for 50 cents at the thrift store, and Owen is learning to play so he can run with his older cousins. Above, we're play with our hands face up for learning purposes.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Making Music
A long time ago - almost two years - Owen kept asking for a guitar/violin. While I wanted to honor his request for a stringed musical instrument I debated what to get him since he wasn't quite sure exactly what it was he wanted, he certainly wasn't mature enough to start to use either well, I didn't play either, and I didn't want to bring something into our home for him to use poorly or break. So . . . I waited. And I talked to some musician friends and family to get opinions. And Anne and Granddaddy sent use some money for a guitar/violin. And I waited some more. And finally last winter when we were trapped in our tiny apartment with not much going on, I ordered a lap harp. 
So why after all that time did I get a lap harp?
Owen, of course had never asked for a lap harp. I had never used one.
But after a lot of thinking and waiting, I decided that what Owen was asking for was a stringed instrument to play, and what I felt our home needed was an instrument that he could play with some reasonable and early success, that wasn't difficult to use, and that would withstand the use of two small boys (with mama's help, of course).
Our lap harp came with a small set of song sheets with notes marked under each string, and we ordered an additional set. With the help of the little wrench and an online tuner, I try to keep our little harp in pretty good tune so that when the boys want to play, it sounds right-ish.
Owen has done well with using it nicely. Our only issue to date was that he immediately put the pick into the hole in the center, and it's still rattling around in there. A walk to the guitar store across from our apartment in Lancaster solved that, and the new ones are just a little too wide to fit in the hole - ha! We know because he tried right away when we got home.
Owen has enjoyed strumming the strings, listening to the sounds as he plays up or down the scale, and has even started trying to use the song sheets. I'm surprised that he can hear when he plucks the wrong note, and just like I did when I was staring piano, he starts over at the very beginning of the song to get the whole thing right.
Caedmon who loves music and dances any time he hears it has observed enough to know that you are supposed. to. use. a. pick. Now he must. use. a. pick. when he gets a turn. You can't see it in the photo, but you can see his hand molded around it plucking those strings.
It was worth the wait, and I'm glad for now to have a little lap harp we can use well instead of a violin that sits way up on a shelf and gets brought down to touch and pluck a few strings unsatisfactorily once in a while.
So why after all that time did I get a lap harp? Owen, of course had never asked for a lap harp. I had never used one.
But after a lot of thinking and waiting, I decided that what Owen was asking for was a stringed instrument to play, and what I felt our home needed was an instrument that he could play with some reasonable and early success, that wasn't difficult to use, and that would withstand the use of two small boys (with mama's help, of course).
Our lap harp came with a small set of song sheets with notes marked under each string, and we ordered an additional set. With the help of the little wrench and an online tuner, I try to keep our little harp in pretty good tune so that when the boys want to play, it sounds right-ish.
Owen has done well with using it nicely. Our only issue to date was that he immediately put the pick into the hole in the center, and it's still rattling around in there. A walk to the guitar store across from our apartment in Lancaster solved that, and the new ones are just a little too wide to fit in the hole - ha! We know because he tried right away when we got home.
Owen has enjoyed strumming the strings, listening to the sounds as he plays up or down the scale, and has even started trying to use the song sheets. I'm surprised that he can hear when he plucks the wrong note, and just like I did when I was staring piano, he starts over at the very beginning of the song to get the whole thing right.
Caedmon who loves music and dances any time he hears it has observed enough to know that you are supposed. to. use. a. pick. Now he must. use. a. pick. when he gets a turn. You can't see it in the photo, but you can see his hand molded around it plucking those strings.
It was worth the wait, and I'm glad for now to have a little lap harp we can use well instead of a violin that sits way up on a shelf and gets brought down to touch and pluck a few strings unsatisfactorily once in a while.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Patience
Okay, so I should learn to shoot videos only with the camera in the landscape orientation, but if you could just cock your head to the right for a couple of minutes, you can see how incredibly clever and patient Caedmon is. If you choose to listen to the audio, you will also be treated to Owen's rest time show - Sesame street as well as bits and pieces of a question and answer session about slinkies and how they are supposed to work.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Beer
On Sunday, we gathered at the Ring farm to make beer. It was a lovely day to attend the Church of the Blue Dome. Billy had all the ingredients for Billy Nevada Pale Ale (a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone) measured out when we arrived.
Did I mention it was a perfect day to be outside under the blue sky?
Billy boiled the wort over a turkey frying burner.
And stirred. And stirred.
And stirred.
Steve and Lauren showed up with their kids to lend a hand.
And stirred. And stirred. And stirred.
Ma supervised.
During the boil, Billy added Rakau, Perle, and Cascade hops at specific intervals.
Adding hops near the beginning (Rakau and Perle) adds bitterness to the beer while adding hops toward the end (Cascade once 15 minutes before the end and once after the boil - called dry hopping) gives you more hoppy flavor with less bitterness. Here is the first of two additions of Cascade hops. It also has Irish Moss which aids in clarification.
After the boil, the wort was cooled to 80F by water running through a copper coil into a cooler of salted ice water
then through a copper coil in the wort
and out.
After the completion of the boil, the wort needs to be treated aseptically to prevent contamination.
Billy tried to keep farm dust from the big pot - very scientific process here:
A certain daughter-in-law failed to realized the pan full of things in the sink were sanitized tools and accidentally put a dirty spatula in with them. Fortunately, Billy realized this before proceeding, and Sharon quickly re-sanitized it all. Whew!
Owen had a grand time watching shows, playing outside, and looking at books. He's such a big boy these days.
Caedmon resisted a nap but finally got a short one.
Billy and Sharon transferred the cooled beer from the big pot
to two 5-gallon buckets through a seive to remove the hops. Billy was really careful to get the two buckets VERY even.
He added his hydrated yeast to the wort and mixed each bucket for 2 minutes with a paint mixer (used only for this purpose :o)).
They transferred the wort
to two, sanitized glass carboys
which he capped with airlocks. He likes to fill his airlocks with vodka.
And they were left to ferment.
Did I mention it was a perfect day to be outside under the blue sky?Billy boiled the wort over a turkey frying burner.
And stirred. And stirred.
And stirred.
Steve and Lauren showed up with their kids to lend a hand.
And stirred. And stirred. And stirred. 
Ma supervised. 
During the boil, Billy added Rakau, Perle, and Cascade hops at specific intervals.
Adding hops near the beginning (Rakau and Perle) adds bitterness to the beer while adding hops toward the end (Cascade once 15 minutes before the end and once after the boil - called dry hopping) gives you more hoppy flavor with less bitterness. Here is the first of two additions of Cascade hops. It also has Irish Moss which aids in clarification.
After the boil, the wort was cooled to 80F by water running through a copper coil into a cooler of salted ice water
then through a copper coil in the wort
and out.
After the completion of the boil, the wort needs to be treated aseptically to prevent contamination. Billy tried to keep farm dust from the big pot - very scientific process here:
A certain daughter-in-law failed to realized the pan full of things in the sink were sanitized tools and accidentally put a dirty spatula in with them. Fortunately, Billy realized this before proceeding, and Sharon quickly re-sanitized it all. Whew!
Owen had a grand time watching shows, playing outside, and looking at books. He's such a big boy these days. 
Caedmon resisted a nap but finally got a short one. 
Billy and Sharon transferred the cooled beer from the big pot
to two 5-gallon buckets through a seive to remove the hops. Billy was really careful to get the two buckets VERY even. 
He added his hydrated yeast to the wort and mixed each bucket for 2 minutes with a paint mixer (used only for this purpose :o)). 
They transferred the wort
to two, sanitized glass carboys
which he capped with airlocks. He likes to fill his airlocks with vodka. 
And they were left to ferment. Sunday, October 16, 2011
Family Photos
Last week, the Gilliland children converged near The-Center-of-the-Universe, AL for a visit - the second in a couple of months. We will get to see a lot more of each other now that we all live in contiguous states. Anne and Granddaddy will get to see a lot more of the babies
and the big kids. As true pyros, we cooked hot dogs over a fire in the back yard.
Some of us got into it
way more than others.
Some of us were really hungry and ate them right off the sticks.
Before heading out Sunday, we got some shots of all the (current) clan. Notice a new addition will be arriving very soon. I think we went for every possible combination of folks we could think of.
Kids and their families:
with Mom:
and with Dad:
You might be a redneck if . . .
. . . you take a picture of your grandchildren on your vehicle.
Oops! Forgot one. Now they're all there.
You might be a redneck if you load them in the back of a truck for a family photo too.
And if the grandparents hop in, you are for sure a redneck or at the minimum a hillbilly, but that's okay rednecks and hillbillys are by and large good people.
It doesn't get any easier to take a photo of your kids as they get older. We're all looking a little goofy here. No the other shots weren't any better.
TTFN!
and the big kids. As true pyros, we cooked hot dogs over a fire in the back yard. 
Some of us got into it
way more than others.
Some of us were really hungry and ate them right off the sticks.
Before heading out Sunday, we got some shots of all the (current) clan. Notice a new addition will be arriving very soon. I think we went for every possible combination of folks we could think of.Kids and their families:
with Mom:
and with Dad:
You might be a redneck if . . .
. . . you take a picture of your grandchildren on your vehicle.
Oops! Forgot one. Now they're all there.
You might be a redneck if you load them in the back of a truck for a family photo too. 
And if the grandparents hop in, you are for sure a redneck or at the minimum a hillbilly, but that's okay rednecks and hillbillys are by and large good people.
It doesn't get any easier to take a photo of your kids as they get older. We're all looking a little goofy here. No the other shots weren't any better. 
TTFN!
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