Lotsa Books!

Here's the list of books I've read in January  for the 2010 100+ Reading Challenge (not counting several that I have started but not yet finished... yeah, I usually have several books going at once):

1. Raising a Modern-Day Princess by Pam Farrel and Doreen Hanna
   
2. Thicker Than Blood by C.J. Darlington
   
3. The Male Factor by Shaunti Feldhan
   
4. The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher
   
5. Life on the Underground Railroad by Sally Senzell Isaacs
6. Freedom Struggle by Ann Rossi
7. The Civil War by Scott Marquette
8.  Jenna's Cowboy by Sharon Gillenwater
9. Daily Life on a Southern Plantation by Paul Erickson
10. Stephen Foster and His Little Dog Tray by Opal Wheeler
11. Too Much Stuff: Decluttering Your Heart and Home by Kathryn Porter
12. Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson
13. Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by C.B. Weatherford
14. Lavender Morning by Jude Deveraux

And in my mailbox this week I received:

For review:
Abigail by Jill Eileen Smith
Yesterday's Promise by Vanessa Miller
One Million Arrows by Julie Ferwerda
Sons of Thunder by Susan May Warren
Songbird Under a German Moon by Tricia Goyer

From Paperback Swap:
The Mary Frances Knitting and Crocheting Book by Jane Eayre Fryer

Homemade Ice Cream (sugar-free)

In my quest for healthier eating for my family I've been pleasantly surprised to find that our regular grocery store has quite a few organic options to the foods we are used to eating. Yes, it's usually a little more expensive, but I've decided that it's worth it. Our grocery store even has organic ice cream!

The only thing is, I've also been trying to eat "low-glycemic" to try to eliminate my migraines. And the only sugar-free ice cream I've found has the nasty artificial sweeteners. We even have a really extensive natural foods supermarket in our area. I was sure they would have a sugar-free ice cream with a natural sugar substitute such as xylitol or stevia. But they didn't! So I decided I would just have to make my own.

After reading several recipes (some calling for sugar, some for other sweeteners) I came up with my own concoction using granulated xylitol and real vanilla. My family declared it delicious. We honestly could not tell that it was not sweetened with sugar. Well, not by taste anyway. Cost-wise, xylitol is significantly more expensive than cane sugar. So this will have to be a special treat!

I also want to try tweaking the recipe. For homemade ice cream it was good! But  you know how homemade ice cream is usually a little "grainy" compared to commercial ice cream? I want to try to see if I can get it to come out creamier. I'm thinking if I cooked it first into a kind of custard before freezing it, that might work.

I think I might wait until the weather warms up a bit, though. January is just not the best time for homemade ice cream!

In My Mailbox

Here are the goodies I received In My Mailbox this week:

For Review:
Swinging on a Star by Janice Thompson
Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl
Spring Breakdown by Melody Carlson
Katy's New World by Kim Vogel Sawyer
Beehive Reader 1 by Marie Rippel
The Madsen Method curriculum

From Paperback Swap:
Skirts! (crochet pattern book)
Violet's Foreign Intrigue by Martha Finley

From Swap-a-DVD:
Trigger, Jr.
Along the Navajo Trail

Ordered from Amazon:
McGraw-Hill's GED
Too Much Stuff by Kathryn Porter

Vintage Walking Doll

Here's another sweet "treasure" that I brought home from my parent's house at Christmas. I'm not even sure why she was there. I thought she was packed away somewhere at my house.

This is Matil (pronounced like Matilda without the "duh")! She's a "walkin' doll" that I received for Christmas when I was 3 years old. She has a battery compartment in her back and a little switch at the back of her neck that used to make her walk.She doesn't work any more, but I still think she's cute.

And I love this picture of me watching her walk for the first time, with Grandmother and Uncle David appearing to be as interested in her as I was!

My dollie's name is Matil because she was made by Mattel toy company. I'm pretty sure I didn't name her, because I wouldn't have been aware of the brand name. My grandma's name was Matil, and apparently that sounds enough like Mattel that my parents "helped" me decide that's what her name was!

I did a little research online to see if I could discover what her commercial name was. And I found her! She was originally called  "Baby Small Walk." I don't know why she was called "Baby". She was a toddler, not a baby! But I did find a picture of her with her original dress... and all of her hair, looks like!

Her hair is so silky (like a Barbie's) that it was ideal for combing. Good thing my mother kept her put away most of the time. Otherwise she would have probably been completely bald by the time I was 10!

Visit Coloradolady for more Vintage Thingy Thursday posts.

Ski Report - Week 1

The girls have looked forward all year for the chance to get to go skiing again this winter. The day finally came this past Friday! We are able to get a really good group price through our homeschool group, otherwise it's not something we would be able to do. Last year our group skied at Mt. Spokane, but this year we are at Silver Mountain in Kellogg. It's a whole new experience!

It took me an hour and fifteen minutes last year to drive up to Mt. Spokane, on sometimes icy switchbacks up the mountain. Just a little nerve-wracking for Mom! Silver Mountain is much more convenient. It's a straight shot to Kellogg on the interstate. Well, not really straight, as we have to go over a mountain pass to get there, but still interstate, so usually clear. Then we get to ride "the world's longest gondola" up the mountain--a 30-minute ride--to get to the ski runs. That's where the adventure came in for us this week!

Our family has ridden up the gondola a few times before, but always in the summer.I was looking forward to seeing what the view looked like in the winter. Friday, it was a little foggy and there wasn't much snow on the ground at the gondola base where we parked.

The view wasn't very inspiring as we started our ride, trusting that it would indeed be snowier at the top! (The plexiglass windows of the gondola cars are very scratched-up so the pictures from inside the cars aren't real clear.)

Part-way up the first mountain, looking back at the town. We just really haven't had that much snow this winter.

The little town of Wardner tucked between the first and second mountains we went over...

Finally, snow! The view from the top (taken from inside the ski lodge, where the windows are clearer):

The girls were excited to get started. We had arrived early in plenty of time for them to practice for a bit on the bunny slope before time for their lessons. They had a great time... and I enjoyed drinking my coffee, doing a bit of work online, knitting some, and visiting with a friend from the warmth of the lodge.

But then the wind kicked up. Snow was blowing everywhere, the trees were swaying, and those gondola cars? Yeah, they were swingin' in the wind, too! Yikes! And that's the only way down! My friend and I wondered if they ever had to shut the gondola down with people "stuck" up on top. Lodging is down at the gondola base. The "Mountainhaus" is a coffee/sandwich shop, not a place to sleep.

After lunch I told the girls I thought we might leave earlier than we had planned, because of the wind. Then I saw the signs that had been posted around, "Do to high winds the last ride down will be at 4:30." (Yes, they spelled "due" d-o. I was tempted to take a pen and correct their spelling, but I refrained!)

It was about 2:45 when we headed down. I asked the attendant as we boarded the gondola if they ever had to stop the gondola with people still on the mountain, and she said they never had. So I guess that's comforting. I was somewhat expecting the gondola to stop a few times on our way down, just to wait for gusts, but it didn't. It really wasn't as scary from inside the car as it had looked from the lodge. So we survived! And we hope it's not as windy next week!