Jam Session...(sorry just couldn't resist!)

Last year we managed to pick and eat them....made a few things, but I never got around to the jam...

This year...we gathered and washed the jars...

cut up lots of peaches (well Lane did!)...

threw them in a pot and stirred and stirred!

And it is almost just that easy to make jam...there's a little (more than the fruit actually) sugar involved, some pectin...and the stirring I mentioned...did I say lots of stirring?  Well cause there is...lots of stirring - I don't know why my arms don't look a little more muscular!?

The colour is so beautiful....

They sit on their little heads for a bit and then...

Voila!!!!!!! Jam session complete!

We made lots and lots...cause we like to share...and...

cause there are lots and lots of peaches...still...!!!

We also made a peach pound cake delicious you need to try it!

The feeling of accomplishment is so satisfying...there were peaches on the tree...they were harvested...and we made something to sustain ourselves...Ok that's a bit dramatic - we won't be living on peach jam or anything like that, but....I think you know what I am trying to say!

The fruit is getting used and that's a good thing!

Thanks Lane for all of your help...and thanks Daddy for all of the picking and the sugar and Sure Jell!

Now it's time for another slice of that pound cake!

xoxo        Elizabeth

Something Funny Going On Here.....

There is an exotic female living in my dad's front yard!  Sounds shocking doesn't it?  But really it's ok - it is just this amazing Cycad!

This wonderful plant has been carted from here to there by my dad for years. Moved with us from house to house until finally it has found it's most happy place...how do we know that...well just look at what it did...

A month or so ago Dad walked me over to his well traveled Sago Palm (not a palm or a fern actually, but a member of the Cycad family...Cycas revoluta...) and this is what I saw!!!

The center of the plant had become this funny mess of stuff...orangey seed like things wrapped in fuzzy shapes....strange and interesting. You just want to keep going back for another look! 

Well, my dad is a patient man ( as evidenced by the many times he lovingly dug this plant up and brought it with him)...and just this last week he showed me his plant again....

Right out of that strange mess had grown a whole new set of beautiful fronds! 

So brand new that they were still curled on the ends!

Some research has revealed that a Sago producing the orangey seeds and such is a female plant (the male produces a cone) and so now my dad has the pleasure of visiting an exotic lady when ever he likes!

She'll just need a minute to get the knots out of her hair!

So all of the digging and replanting of this special plant has paid off and we are all enjoying one of nature's many miracles. 

Thanks Daddy!

xoxo       Elizabeth

Success

Sometimes the art room at Tomodachi Gakko just seems a bit crazy...as we work I think "How will this ever all come together!?"

...but somehow the sacks of concrete...

the bits of shell and glass....

the burlap, the pieces of paper, the wooden discs....somehow they all turn into pieces of art!

Our Family Trees....

...and some stepping stones!!! Well lots of stepping stones actually - about 70 of them!  My poor Madison mixed the concrete for all 70 of them!!!  Those ballerinas are strong!

 The crazy art lady is awesome!   Thank you Sarah!!!!

I love the look of the tables after the art is done...I always hate throwing the papers out!

The art room always makes some thank you gifts for people that help out at Gakko...but this year....

I got a Thank You gift!!!!

This is my last year in the art room at Tomodachi Gakko...and this sweet note made me feel so good!  Thank you girls!!!

I have enjoyed the experience of Tomodachi Gakko so much - I have met so many wonderful people and learned so much more about a culture that I have always loved.  Thank you to everyone for the gift of Gakko!!!!!!

Arigato

xoxo       Elizabeth


PS....Thank you to Madison - most of the photos in my Gakko posts are hers!

Another Day in the Gakko Art Room!

Some mason jars...

some coloured pencils...

stamps and Kanji characters....

even bamboo tiles...mix these with willing hands...

and the projects in the art room come to life.

Time Capsules - ready to fill with Tomodachi Gakko mementos and stash away to be rediscovered when Gakko days are a happy memory!

The Art Room is overflowing with projects!  More to come!


xoxo      Elizabeth

A Labor of Love....

For quite a few months now a very special group of people have been getting ready for a very special event...

Tomodachi Gakko

It takes quite a few volunteers to run the Tomodachi Gakko or Japanese Friendship School in Cressy...and each year they reconvene in the heat of July to make a special place of learning and...well...friendship as the name says!

My part in Tomodachi Gakko is the art room.  I started working there as a helper when my girlies were young and lately I have been in charge of the art room and my girlies are some of the helpers!

Madison.....

and Lane....

This year we recruited a new helper...our Amy!!!  She just fits right in!

We decorated the entrance a little bit....some cherry blossoms and photos...

This year the Gakko theme is Family, Friends, and Home...this pic of the local orchards fits right in!

Tomodachi Gakko offers cooking, singing, taiko, kendo, karate, Japanese language, history of the Japanese internment, guest speakers, and of course....the art room...

The art room is a beehive of activity...and it all seems rather crazy until the end of the week when all the students have created some really wonderful pieces of art.

This year we are working on making cards to send to children in Japan, creating a family tree, putting together time capsules for the students to save and revisit later, and we will be making a stepping stone to commemorate this year's Tomodachi Gakko!

The art room is only one small aspect of the Tomodachi Gakko experience.  Each teacher for each grade offers so much to all the students and it is truly a week of new adventures and experiences.

Stay tuned for updates on our art projects!

xoxo Elizabeth