I have a tendency to buy things at garage sales and then let them sit around in the garage waiting for me to find the time to fix them up somehow. Usually the thing I buy is something we need but still...

Anyway, I purchased a bookshelf at our church garage sale for about $8 in April. Then school let out and potty training took over and, although I was pestered by Boo, I just didn't get to refinishing it. Finally, Chip decided he would like to have his garage space back, so I started stripping the old stain off. Well, Chip did a second application of stain removal and then sanded off what was left. He also trimmed up the decorative wood that was on the top and cut some scrap wood to create a better looking front siding.
Then he applied the new stain and finishing coat. I'm grateful that he took over the project because, at the rate I was going, it would have been done shortly before Boo graduated from high school! Here's the finished product. It took the place of the smaller bookshelf that my grandfather made (which I refinished all by myself a few years ago!).

Here's the older bookshelf, now in Boo's room. It took almost no time for it to be completely full of her chapter/series books!

We've been talking throughout the Olympic Games about China, learning quite a bit from the opening ceremonies and various "highlight" videos that air during the games. Today I designated as China day as I have a scrapbooking night tonight and will not be home for dinner. Since we eat Chinese food about twice a month, it seemed as if this was the day to not have the meal fit with the country.

Our craft today was to make handprint Chinese dragons. We read the Legend of the Chinese Dragon by Marie Sellier, Wang Fei, and Catherine Louis. It is a great story written in English and Chinese that outlines the legend of the creation of the dragon by children to unite their warring clans. The Chinese dragon simply stands for unity & peace. We decided to create a dragon using our handprints. We followed (well, mostly) the directions from the Activity Village website.

• Created a memory/matching game using the Olympic pictograms
• An Olympic coloring book for Bug
• A 22 page unit about the Beijing and the games from the Australian Georgraphy Teachers' Assoc.
• Chinese Words and Phrases Handout
• A worksheet to review the symbolism and colors of the Olympic rings
• An exercise in alphabetizing the events of the 2008 Olympic Games
• A wordsearch about the Olympics
• The Fuwa (mascots of the Beijing Olympics) and what they stand for

Our focus today was to learn a little more about reading music. I printed out the sheet music for O Canada and played an .mp3 of it. I then played it on the piano. We learned about the "G" or Treble Clef, the acronyms for the spaces and lines (FACE and Every Good Ballerina Does Fabulous), the difference between a sharp and a flat, and the values of the types of notes. Boo wrote the names of the notes above the notes and was able to play a little bit. She didn't get the rhythm correct but she got most of the notes.

To make this you need:
1 box of Drake Crisp Fry Mix (you need 1 cup - 1/2 a box)
1 bottle or can of beer (you need 3/4 cups)
1 lb of whitefish or cod
lemon juice
5 medium potatoes
Cooking Oil & Wok or deep fryer

Cut the fish into small to medium pieces. In a large bowl, immerse the pieces in a mixture of water and 1/2 to 1 cup lemon juice. Let soak in fridge for 20 minutes. Pat pieces dry with paper towel. Mix Drake mix and beer with a whisk until consistency is like a thin pancake mix. Put fish pieces into the batter mix then slide into the heated oil in the wok. Let cook about 5 minutes or until batter is a golden color. Remove from oil and set on a plate covered in paper towel (to catch the oil).

While the fish is cooking, cut the potatoes into small strips. Once the fish is done cooking, put the potatoes into the oil. They are finished when they turn a light gold color. It takes about 8-10 minutes. If you are using a deep fryer, check your manual for the correct cooking times.

Kids verdict: Well, Bug was ill this evening so she didn't eat dinner at all. Ebabe was pretty tired and ate mostly the chips. Boo, who protested having to eat fish, had seconds! She loved it - just not with the vinegar on it. She's a ketchup girl through and through. Props to Chip for cooking it all for me!