Bamboo

This post is WAY overdue but I wanted to post it still.   In October the kids and I went on a field trip to a bamboo farm.  

It was so interesting and the kids learned so much about how bamboo is grown and the many different things bamboo is used for.  

Each of the kids got to plant their own bamboo plant.  

When it comes time to harvest the plants, we will be able to visit the zoo where the pandas will be fed with the very bamboo we planted.  So cool!  This was one of my favourite field trips and the kids loved it too.  

Outdoor decorations

It's been so, so cold here for the last week or so.  And I have to say that when it's so cold and the snow had all melted away before the cold snap, it was looking a little "blah" outside.  So I thought our yard needed some little bursts of colour.  So we got to work making some outdoor decorations.  All we used were a few pieces off our cedar bush, some frozen cranberries, some string and water.   

The kids each took two small containers and laid the pieces of cedar and cranberries in the bottom. They took a piece of string and laid it in between the layers to make sure it would stay put when the water was added.

Then I took some hot water and poured it into each bucket on top of the cedar and berries.  (I learned that if you use boiling water to freeze things like ice cubes, they freeze clear instead of cloudy like when you just use tap water).  

We took them outside and left them there overnight to freeze.  In the morning a light dusting of snow was covering them.  

We took them out of the containers and hung them up around the yard.  I thought they looked so pretty.  I have to admit, I was wishing we had snow - I think it would look that much better against a white backdrop.  

The day we hung them up, the sun was shining so brightly despite it being bitterly cold.  So when the sun beat on them, they started to melt a little and icicles formed on the bottoms.  The kids thought the tails were hilarious.  

The next day, we finally got more snow and it made everything look so pretty!  

I'm thinking the birds will be quite happy when they melt enough for the cranberries to drop out!  

Finished Scarves

The scarves for the kids are complete . . . cross it off the list baby!!  I'm so happy to have one item from my to do list done and just in time for this freezing cold weather we're having.  Here are the kids modelling their scarves.  

When I asked for a nice group shot . . . this is what I got.

This is what I had to settle for.  Kinda dark but I didn't want to push my luck by making them sit longer.  

One item done . . . 19 to go!!