Poetry

A few months back, Jack's 4th grade class did a poetry unit. His teacher said that, quite unexpectedly, this brought out a side of Jack that she had never seen before. He dove into the writing assignments, producing poem after poem, excited about writing like he never had been before. She encourage him to collect a few of his favorites, and to bind them into a book for us to enjoy as well. Here are a few from his anthology!

THE FIGURE SKATER
By: John Bruntrager

She stepped out onto the ice
Twirling and twisting she went
She looked glorious!
She danced
She looked so fragile
Dancing so carefully
Bam!
She crashed
Out on a stretcher she went
So gracefully!

WINTER ROCKS
By: John Bruntrager

Hot chocolate
Lots of sledding
It's Christmas time
Warmer bedding

Warm apple cider
Ice skating
Winter vacation
Figure 8-ing

Covered up
From head to toes
Getting presents
Runny nose

There are good things
And bad things too
Sleepy owl
Calling "Hoo"

Falling snow
And Christmas trees
Christmas shopping
No more bees

All is tranquil
Frozen locks
Woolen hats
Winter rocks!

THE POLE OF POETRY
By: John Bruntrager

In the land of nowhere
Filled with toe hair
There is a pole.

It's never been found
But it's somewhere around
And it really plays its roll.

It stops great poets
And we've got things to show it
It acts like a nasty troll

It stops them from writing
And seeing and biting
It's like a poet's toll.

But it never opens
Even if you hope it
It's like a trouble hole.


INTRUDER ALERT
By: John Bruntrager

"Intruder alert!"

"Intruder alert!"

The emergency loudspeaker calls

The siren whails

Evildoers crowd in

Children run in all directions

The school is being invaded!

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

A bed

A chair

A desk

A toybox

A dream!

Lard and Locking Horns

I read a book called Real Food, which left me eager to make my own lard. I finally squeezed it into my schedule today. It was very easy. The prep work was a bit messy and challenging (because I had so much lard that I had to do it in several batches,) but the actual cooking or rendering of the lard was quick and easy. And the results were beautiful! I've been searching for some healthy alternatives for Elliot and Jack (who still have allergies to milk protein,) to use in cooking. I found coconut oil, which is delicious and amazing for baking, but I was still searching for something healthy and heat-tolerant to substitute for butter in the frying pan. Homemade (totally unhydrogenated) lard it is! I can't wait to try it out tomorrow on Jack's daily two fried egg breakfast! Here are some pictures of my handy work. And, if you're thinking, "lard? Did she say lard is healthy?" please do some reading. The last few decades have not been kind to fats. Our diets and bodies have suffered. Here are two great articles, here and here. And, if you're thinking, "Wow! I want to try making my own lard!" there are tons of great articles with how to info on the internet (or in Real Food.) Try it!

Now that I've shared some of what went on IN my kitchen today, I thought I'd share some of what went out right OUTSIDE of my kitchen as well. Much to my dismay, it goes on all over my house every day. It's hard to describe to people who don't have several boys living in their house. I find it both charming and revolting, often at the same time. All four boys participate in it willingly, and cry if you make them stop (although Mattie is clearly the biggest fan and primary instigator.) I try to put up with it as long as I can, but since it rarely ends well, sooner or later, I put a stop to it.

Seen enough? If not, I will post some video footage on Facebook soon... Good night!