Camp Summer 2009

snow World!

Tue, 9 Feb 2010 11:41:15 -0500

Okay, I’m ready for summer. Yea, I am. I’ve lived here in MD for 39 years and this is the worst snow I’ve seen. We had 20 + inches on Saturday and now they are calling for another 20+ inches tomorrow. Those of you on the East Coast - hope you are warm and have not lost power. I still have power and so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the next onslaught.
My neighbor dug out a small path for me but I’m not even touching my car. I have enough supplies for a while and I don’t need to go out anywhere, but I’d rather not be trapped.
I’m keeping myself occupied with TV and reading. Today I’m going to make oatmeal cookies. I go out periodically to throw some seed out for the birds. I plan to do some crafts later today and I check on the email every once in a while so that I know there is a world out there. Schools will probably be out all week.
Hope you are all warm and cozy.

Only 5 months to go!!!

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:58:00 -0500

Like my little bear? Thanks to Judy Davlin for this oh too cute Christmas present! It has all the things connected to me (there’s a sermon tucked into her right paw, under the button bracelet, and an Indian feather in the headband,and when you press her left paw she says - Hi, I’m Belinda Bair, arts and crafts! ) I bought her a tent and a sleeping bag for when she goes to camp. You’ll all have to stop by this summer and see her.
Speaking of summer - I just checked the calendar and it’s only 5 months till camp starts! Yea !! I’ve already started thinking and planning for summer projects - of course we’ll do a basket and some polymer clay projects. The basket will probably be a bean pot style - continuous weave style. And the polymer clay will focus on creating beads and necklaces and decorating boxes, rather that the photo frames which we have done the last couple of years. And I thought we’d also do the latch hook pillow designs. We haven’t done those for a couple of years. I also will bring the Cricut machine so we can design our own T-shirts etc. and iron on appliques for that. People seemed to like the sand art so we’ll do some of that too.
In addition, I’m on the lookout for some other cute things and I think I’ve found one or two new things to try. If you have any ideas, please email me back.
I want to thank all of you who bought the 2009 DVD. I got a lot of nice responses to the theme and production. This next summer I’m going to loan out my little camera to cabins and have them take candid shots of their activities throughout the day and then choose a lot of those to include in the next video. Kind of like, a day in the life of Strawderman. Anyone who has some ideas for that - please let me know.
We had an unexpected snow this weekend. It was supposed to go south of us, but while I was out, it started with a sleety snowy rain and then became those big fat fluffy flakes. By the time I got home, I slid right past my driveway and had to use 4-wheel drive to back up and park. So today, I’m staying in. It’s clear and sunny, but the roads in my development are still icy.
Makes me long even more for the warmth of summer and my little cabin porch with my hummingbirds! When I was in Tractor Supply buying bird seed I found one of those tomato tree kits so I think this summer I’ll plant my tomato plants upside down! That should be quite a sight!
Margie has been sending out the registration materials for camp and has already gotten some back. Hope yours are among them. I hope to see you all at camp this summer!

Snow!

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:11:32 -0500

We are having the snow of the decade on the East Coast. And even the century if you take into account that the century is only 9 years old! They are predicting anywhere from 20-30 inches in my neighborhood. I am all stocked up, a pot of chili is on the stove heating up, and I’m working on Christmas cards and crafts! I’m including a few pix of what it looks like today and once it stops and the sun comes out tomorrow, I’ll take more. The wind has blown snow onto my back deck, right through the screens. I’ll be snowed/drifted in and unable to get out my front door, but my neighbor will dig me out when the snow stops. Either that or I’ll hire someone to come in. I was afraid we’d get this kind of storm because we’ve had a lot of rain this fall. I think camp was pretty hard hit too, but we really need a good snow pack there to replenish the underground streams.
If you ordered the DVD it should have arrived by now, except maybe for Australia which will take a few days. Let me know what you think!

The dvd is on the way!

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:42:15 -0500

It’s been a challenging few weeks. Right at Thanksgiving my little cat Katie became ill and died just a week later. She was 19 and I guess she decided it was time to go. It was very hard, but she’s waiting for me over the Rainbow Bridge with Pawl and Clawdia . So I had a hard time getting back to the DVD production for a few days, but now it is completed and copies are made. I will be sending out the DVD to those of you who purchased it this summer. Be on the lookout! The musical background features the piano arrangements by Valerie Webdell. The video this year is a tribute to the 80 years of Strawderman as well as a scrapbook of campers and events from 2009. At this point I think next summer’s DVD will be focused on campers and cabins and I hope to get campers to take photos during hikes and cabin time to include in that DVD as well as include special event scenes.
Just 12 days till Christmas and now I’m in the baking mode. this week I’ll be making about 6-7 different types of cookies. With my new convection oven I’m eager to see how they do. I’m going to pack tins for friends .
The weather has been alternatively warm and wet and cold and clear and I hope that any snow holds off until after I’m in Ohio for the holidays.

By the way, if you are looking for an unusual, fun and inexpensive gift to give someone, check out www.goodiebook.biz. You can also find these little books at Barnes and Noble. They are a modern and very clever creation of the coupon book. (the pages are perforated for easy removal) Each is focused on coupons to be given to a particular person (Mom, Dad, for him from her, for her from him, etc.) and each coupon is a loving gift to be given to someone. The writing is clever, fun and sharp. The illustrations are whimsical and endearing. This is a gift that can give all year long. Get one for yourself, or give one to someone you love. There are many additional works on the drawing board.

October Reflections

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:18:11 -0400

As much as I love the summer and all the fun things I get to do at camp, October has to be my favorite month. The heat of the summer is fading fast and the mornings are often crisp and cool. And the trees. The trees begin to put on their last party clothes and prepare for the serious winter ahead. It starts with one or two bursts of yellow or red deep within a green landscape and soon there are shades of green melting into orange and then red or yellow. Finally the top of a tree, like some jeweled crown, turns a brilliant red overnight and in the morning the sun’s rays capture it and it echoes in the forest. Green corn is now yellowed and standing in fields waiting to be hewn down and sent to distant markets. The meddi in front of my cabin at camp has tall brown grasses instead of the rich green of July, and here and there are matted down circles where deer have spent the night. At home, I know fall is here because I am serenaded at my yard work by the skeins of geese that fly overhead on their way to the river or to fields where errant corn can be gathered.
Apples are waiting in my kitchen to be made into sweet, bubbling pies or cut up for apple salad. The smell sweetens the kitchen even before I cut and cook them. I want to cut them up and pile them in heaps into waiting pie crusts but I hate to use them all up. Soon the apple harvest will be finished and the apples we get in stores will come from cold storage, or from orchards in far away places. Right now, the apples I have come from the Shenandoah Valley and I still have that bit of camp with me...in my kitchen.
October weekend is the signal that the 2009 camp season is truly over. The horses are all at the farm now with Rachel overseeing their care. All the cabins are closed up and locked until next spring. Even Rabbit Hill is cleaned and closed up until next year. This year there weren’t too many trees to see - the peak was a few days away while we were there, and it rained every day. On the last day, Sunday, we woke up to see a dusting of snow on the mountains overlooking camp. It was cold and the fire at Rabbit Hill a welcome friend after walking in the cold or sleeping in Wilson.
At home I’m looking forward to costumed goblins and witches to come take the candy away from me and the temptations that brings. I have several carved “fun”kins that I will put outside each night this week for a few hours. I still need to create some ghosts and maybe a scarecrow if I have time.