Teaching about Bees

   I taught my first Introductory Beekeeping class tonight.  It was fun.  There were some really nice folks asking good questions and I'd guess about half of the class will probably start working with bees this year!  Hooray!   This is such a good thing - the bees need our help so desperately, and since we need them so badly, it is in our own best interest to keep bees!

Start 'em young, that's what I say!

   One of my students is an inventor who has modified the age old design of the hive tool. He gave me one and I am eager to try it. They call it EZ Pry.  He has added a couple of bends in the prying end, which gives the tool a pivot point.  It makes so much sense!  It is one of those "why didn't anyone think of this before" inventions - it is so simple and so useful!! They are trying to market it through MannLake, but if you are interested, check out the live link.
    

counter 1 done (ish)

   Due to numerous little reasons, we returned the marble tiles and have  set Italian porcelain tile  in the counter instead.  We went from this:

to this:

It is darker than the original but much more solid and will probably take the bangs and knocks of  our family better than the marble would have. 

   The counter is now usable - we still want to get two or three more coats of the Minwax on it, but we can do that  and still use the counter for eating, the morning lunch-box filling, etc.  A quick photo journal of the rest of the process.  Next we tear out the countertop between the sink and stove to do this same surface treatment there (that one should be a real joy!) and finally we will get the last two smaller counter sections.  When all that is done, we will do the flooring - which was how this entire project began!

Wearing a rain poncho to protect him from the spray of the tile saw.

Adhesive

Hard to see, but the Made in Italy stamp was done so it is backwards

Stain

Grouting is NOT our favorite job

Nearly done.  A few more sandings and coats of varnish and we are good to go

getting the counter in

   With just a few days before classes start, a fundraising gala to attend, and various children's activities to watch, taxi  kids to, etc, we are getting the counter in.

We bought a cabinet.

After several tests, my husband found the stain which matches the current cabinets the best.  

When pulling off the current counter top, we discovered that the kitchen was a custom job, so the measurements are a little off from the current standards.  This has made leveling the plywood and backer board a trick.  We are finding the need for  measurements like 9/32 of an inch.  Standard measurements need not apply. 

It is a family project with everyone helping in one form or another.  Because of the archway between the nook and the  main kitchen (the nook was an extension added by previous owners) my husband put in a 6 bottle wine rack/cubby to fill the space. 

you can see the various stain color tests

After much cursing and several  trips to the lumber store for various  supplies, we are almost ready for the tile to go in. 

The  backer board is cut.  The backsplash from behind the stove  as been removed.  We may actually get tile on this weekend.  I have tried to photograph the tile, but it looks muddy.  It is not flashy - sort of a soft, rosy beige with brown, gold, white and pink veining.  The photo just looks tan and brown.  Oh well. 

Cutting and fitting the marble is going to be the trickiest part.  There are weaknesses in marble along some of the veins, so we are expecting some unexpected cracks.  Keep your fingers crossed and wish us luck!

Lest you think the 52 Project was dropped

   There have been things I have been finishing up, or starting with  materials I already own, so the 52 Project continues.  Some needed to be given to their recipients before publishing.  Here are a few examples.

A scarf in rainbow yarn chosen by my youngest son.
He adores bright colours!

Here are a few cuff bracelets I stitched together for my niece for Christmas.

   I am still working on two quilts which I have been stitching on and off for over two years.  The experience has taught me that I am not a quilter - but has given me a great respect for those who are.  I am also in the middle of knitting an afghan for my niece.  She asked for it for Christmas, but gave me less than a month to do it.  I looked in the book 7 Day Afghans, and have adapted a pattern for this  blanket.  I do not know how many hours a day the author has to knit, but I may be done is April!

I have a whole bunch of this yarn - I think  It was originally intended for sweaters for the boys - but it is a nice colour for an afghan.

changes

     So we have been living in this house for longer than we have ever been in any place.  (Did I ever mention that we have moved around a lot?) Since we are not planning on moving soon - after all, my husband just got tenure - we are changing the house some more.
     Last summer we fixed the front steps - not aesthetically changing things, just getting rid of the insect riddled wood. We re-did the dining room, finally stripping off the old lady wall paper and putting some  paint  on the walls.  We have ripped up  the living room carpet to discover the disaster floors the previous owners were hiding (they were good at hiding things).  Now we move onto greater things.
     In the Spring we are getting the foundation fixed - a good deal of the surface cement is flaking off the cinderblock which supports the house. We are also getting the  drainage fixed (two contractors are working up estimates) so - hopefully - we will be able to turn the big room in the basement into the studio space we thought it could be, instead of the wet, nasty, "storage for all the junk we do not know what to do with" space it currently is! This will involve a backhoe and tearing up all the foundation plantings along the front of the house come spring, as well as re-grading the front lawn. Which means I will be spending some time at the nursery looking for shrubs I actually like for out front.  (Have you ever tried to walk through a barberry bush and an evergreen to turn on your hose?  A very prickly experience).
    So what are we doing NOW?  Tearing up the kitchen! We have decided that the lack of counter space is getting a bit frustrating, and the breakfast nook has become a pseudo office, so the kitchen table is not being used for anything but sewing.  In order to  streamline things, we are tearing up the flooring; a nasty vinyl which is old, with cracking and curling along the edges.

We are redoing the floor - probably in a strand bamboo.  We are adding about four feet of extra counter which will wrap around into the breakfast nook, and have about a 10 - 12 inch overhang so we can eat at it.  We will get rid of the stained cream coloured Formica countertops and replace them with (insert marble, porcelain or granite here when we finally make the decision).
    To start things off, my husband and I spent far too long at the Lumber Liquidators website, and walking the flooring aisle at Home Depot deciding what type of flooring we wanted. Yesterday my husband and daughter painted the nook the same colour as the rest of the kitchen. (Yeah, that was one of those things that never quite got finished last year).

     So today we are off to pick up the base cabinet for the foundation of the counter.  Since the counter will be bridging the archway into the nook (part of a load bearing wall, not to be messed with) my brilliant husband has decided to fill the space in between the two base cabinets by building a wine rack.  (Have I mentioned before how clever he is?  I was thinking storage for the dustpan!)
   

absconded

   We went down to check the hives this past weekend.  I never got them wrapped for the winter, so we thought, since it was very warm - in the 50s, we would wrap them now.  Armed with tar paper, and our stapler, we headed out.  Better late than never.
   I put my ear up to the Flower Hive - thought I felt some warmth and heard buzzing, but wasn't positive.  So my husband knocked on the hive.  The girls were definitely home and NOT pleased with the  disturbance!  Over a dozen bees flew out and started checking us out.   This was wonderful to see.
   We checked the Blue Hive in the same way - nothing.  Ear to top hive opening, I had my husband bang on it.  Rather than a bee in my ear, I got nothing.  We decided to take a quick peek into the hive.  Prying off the top, which had been glued shut with propolis, we saw one dead bee, and nothing else.  Maybe they were in the bottom box?  We finally got the top pried off of the bottom hive body and saw - nothing.  There was plenty of capped honey, both boxes were good and heavy, but no bees.  They had absconded (taken off with the queen to a new location).  So I think we have now  experienced just about all major bee crises (with the exception of the dreaded disease, American Foul Brood - which I hope never to experience as it means you must burn EVERYTHING - hives, bees, the works).   So we have one  hive that we hope will make it to the Spring, and an empty hive.  Are the powers that be trying to tell me I should only have one hive?   Nah!
    On a related note, I made  " bees wax lotion bars" this year.  Very nice.  Soothing to dry skin, but not messy.  Put it on your hands before going to bed and they are so soft in the morning.  YUM!
     

Expectations and letting go

  I think every parent has an expectation that Christmas is going to be the way it was in their rosy childhood memories.  As the parent of a child with autism, you need to let go of this.  For years I tried to make the Christmas we were celebrating be like Christmas from my youth, and in the process, I stressed myself to the point of snapping,  I stressed out the kids and no one had a great time.
   So now, I create things that we can do together or not.  We were making cookies today.  My eldest is best at eating them, my middle child at stressing over her youngest brother "messing things up" and the youngest just wants to get through the process.   I make the cookies - they eat them, it works.  Do we have huge decorating sessions?  No - too much pressure.
   We are having a Christmas dinner which is less than traditional: ham, mashed potatoes, corn (because the boys do not like mashed potatoes), french fries - see previous explanation, cranberry bread, green beans but without any sauce or stuff on it so the boys will eat them, salad - just in case the youngest won't eat the beans, apple pie and pecan pie.  No pumpkin because between picky eaters and lactose intolerant  intestines, I would be eating it alone.  No sweet potatoes for much of the same reasons.
   We will open presents and hang out until  we want to eat, then eat, maybe take the dog for a walk, and hang out some more.
   I am taking the younger two to church tonight, so Christmas morning has no "have to's" attached to it.  It is all about  trying to enjoy the time - everyone in their own way.  If this means watching movies - daughter, okay.  If it means knitting - me, fine.  Doing puzzles? great. Sleeping? fine.  Learning to let go of expectations has been the toughest part of living in  an autism family.  Maybe it is the same in any family?  Ultimately, it is about peace - on Earth, towards your fellow man/woman, and more importantly, for us, peace under our own roof.
  Have a Merry Christmas.