TulipGirl

At the beginning of the year, I set up some projects that I wanted to pursue in 2009. Some of them morphed through the year, some of them were discarded, and others added.

To summarize: Projects for 2009

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Connecting in Community Project
I feel like this project was a success. . . Even though we’ve had the spectre of moving looming, we’ve become more integrated in our church, our neighborhood, and community. We’ve been in the same house for almost 5 years — the longest I’ve ever lived in one town, not to mention one house, ever in my life. I have especially loved being part of a women’s Bible study, not just for the community aspects but also for how much focus the women put into really delving into the Bible.

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Calvin Quincentenary Project
The boys read through two Calvin biographies, and I read through half of one. *blush* I listened to a significant portion of the Institutes of the Christian Religion on MP3 and was so nourished by that. As Hubby received Calvin’s complete commentaries for Christmas, I think we’ll need to continue this project in another form next year.

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Homeschool Habits Project
Homeschooling has gone great this year! We’re using Ambleside Online as the spine of our studies, with the boys all in the same time period but different requirements for reading and writing. We wanted to devote significant time to US related studies when we returned to the States and I feel we’ve done that well. The older boys have also become involved in debate, and that has been a great addition to our schooling (and a great motivation for them, as well.)

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Regular Reading Project
I still haven’t kept up with George W., Half-Pint Megan, Civil Staci or Classical Kristen. . . but I have read more this year. Getting back to regular reading, but didn’t do many reviews.

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Family Fitness Project
Fail. . . no family 5k.

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More Music Project
While we did have “more” music, we didn’t quite have as much as I had envisioned. No piano, but T12 does have a guitar and C9 a harmonica. No live concerts, but did see The Nutcracker.

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And while I have been formulating and contemplating my 2010 projects, they are still a bit amorphous. Will post them as I flesh them out a bit more.

This day,
In sadness borne,
We must confess:
The Spirit of the Age
Has crushed
The infant in the cradle.

And yet:
O glorious yet,
One day, in gladness shown,
We must profess:
The infant from the manger
Has crushed
The Spirit of the Age.

Tristan Gylberd (1954-)

From George Grant and King’s Meadow

From my friend, Kathryn.

Sand Tarts or Saint Hearts

from the Mennonite Community Cookbook by Mary Emma Showalter

1 C shortening (we’ve always used butter instead)
2 C granulated sugar
3 eggs
3 1/2-4 C flour (I always end up having to add more)
1 tsp salt
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

Cream shortening and sugar together.
Add eggs and flavoring and beat until fluffy.
Sift flour (we’ve always skipped both sifting steps without problems)
Measure and add salt and baking powder.
Sift again.
Add dry ingredients.
Stir until a medium-soft dough is formed (you may have to add a lot of extra flour to get to this point depending on the humidity)
Chill several hours in the refrigerator.
Roll very thin and cut into fancy shapes. (I’m lazy so I just cut them into squares with a pastry wheel)
Brush tops with rich milk and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
Decorate with pecan halves (when we use nuts, we’ve always used chopped walnuts)
Place 1 inch apart on a greased cookie sheet (parchment paper also works well instead of greasing the cookie sheet)
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 8-10 minutes.

One thing I like about the recipe is that since it dates back before modern ovens, it’s a lot harder to mess up than a lot of more modern baking recipes.

She brought this to our little cookies-and-eggnog Christmas get together last night. They were so delish, simple, splendid. Posting the recipe so I can find it when I want to make them myself.