NEWSLETTER SNIPPETS

Just to let everyone know who is interested, the Ritchey Bible Holiness newsletter will be linked here on my blog each month along with previous issues. I have also added a link that includes excerpts from some of the older issues of when the newsletter began.

All of these links are on the sidebar of this blog and if you are a facebook member, you can also link to the current newsletter on my info page. If you prefer to receive the newsletter through email, that is possible also as I have started an emailing list. If interested, send me your email address and I will add you to the list. Dan and Tammy Williams' blog also has a link to the newsletter, so if you happen to be there first - you won't have to come here!

We realize that there may be some information in the newsletter that only pertains to our local church, but some thought it would be nice to have others read it as we have many friends and family that may enjoy keeping up. It's just another way to share our lives and our God with others.

As a whole, the newsletter will be published about nine times per year.

PAUL REVERE POTATO HEAD

I am happy to report that Mr. Potato Head arrived safely at school today. He's gone, outta the house, on vacation, or whatever. Thank goodness. I am hoping this is the last project for awhile. I have other things I need to do than figure out how to dress up a potato as a person in history.

I am not going to say much about Paul Revere. I am not sure what is the whole truth about his life. He has been glamorized through my lifetime especially through Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." I'm pretty certain that I took that poem as the literal truth in history. Guess that's not exactly right and there seems to be more than one version about that historical night. I read recently that more than likely he wouldn't have been yelling out, "The British are coming, the British are coming!" because it was a secret mission and that would have been calling attention to himself. And then another comment was that if he did shout out words, it would have been "the Regulars are coming" because in all reality he himself was British at the time! Whatever the case may be, there is one thing that I do know for a fact and that is.... if he saw this potato that is being represented as himself, he would not recognize himself.

Anyway, glad that is done and now it's time to get cracking at the church newsletter.

3rd GRADE BABYSITTERS - YIKES!

A couple of weeks ago, Aaron the 3rd grader, informed me that it was time for the egg. I knew it was coming; just wasn't sure when that "sunny" day would be. Now to figure out what to make. The Seneca 3rd graders study about penguins every year. The teachers then bring hard-boiled eggs to school. Each child decorates his/her own egg, which is posing as an unhatched penguin. They take care of these eggs all day long..... when they go to lunch, egg goes with them. When they go to the restroom, guess who goes along? Out to recess? Yes, the poor eggs are dragged out to the playground. Why? Because the students were to learn and experience - sort of - penguin life. In extreme circumstances, like when it was Aaron's turn at tether ball, it was okay to ask friend or foe to take care of the egg. The objective was to make sure the egg was being taken care every minute of the day.

However, before this day dawns, the kids have to make a safe haven for the egg. Something that will protect the egg all day long; because at the end of the day they will be graded on how that egg survives. Cracks in the shell result in deduction of points off the grade. Therefore, the more secure the transporter is, the more likely the egg will survive.

So, here we were trying to decide what to do. Actually, all we had to do was line a shoebox or basket, etc. with padding to protect the "baby penguin" egg. But that is boring. When it was Heath's project, we took a half-gallon milk jug and dressed it up as a penguin with a sign saying "baby on board." So Aaron is saying, "Why can't we just do that?" I told him that would be sort of cheating. What would really be cheating is letting Aaron use Heath's carrier - yes, we still had it!

Finally we decided on what the little egghead's - the egg, not Aaron - haven was going to be. An igloo! Perfect. So I went shopping for supplies... a can of spray paint, a styrofoam ball, a cheap disposable plastic bowl and the rest of the supplies I already had at home.

We were in business. I had Dale cut out a round wooden base and cut and sand a dowel rod for the "south pole." I cut an opening in the bowl for the door and glued the bowl to the base. Then the styrofoam ball was cut in half and glued on top of the bowl with hot glue running down the sides a little to look like snow and then a couple or so coats of white paint was added. A blue marker took care of the ice chunks on the igloo and the decorative snow-in-a-jar finished off the styrofoam on top and around the base edges. The inside of the igloo was lined with cotton balls to make sure that not even the slightest crack was possible. I then cut a door out of another disposable bowl and velcroed it onto the igloo - must keep that egg happy with a glass door to look out. The final touches were to stick a sign in, decorate the pole and hang a bell over the doorway.

I'm not sure yet what grade Aaron received, but I do know that the egg was crackless when it got home. All this to make an egg happy; but if you look really close, you'll see it is sad. Now, I wonder why. Could it be because of its name? When I asked Aaron what he named it, he said, "Obi-Wan Kenobi." That would do it.

We are now in the process of another project for Aaron. Check in next week to see Potato Revere; whoops!! I meant Paul Revere.

HORNETS' NEST and MY "OPPOSITES" DAY

After supervising my husband - don't tell him I said that - as he finished up the installation of the kitchen and dining room trim, I decided to make a quick trip to Joplin to get supplies for the next school project. After a quick trip to Hobby Lobby and spending.... less than $3.00 (you don't believe me already, I can tell) I realized I was a tiny bit hungry (I had done the no-breakfast routine). I decided to try out a new business one of my friends had recently opened. They cater to a quick snack and drink clientele. So thus began my opposite day....


ORDER TAKER: "How may I help you?" came the voice over the speaker.

UNSUSPECTING ME: "Do you have pizza-by-the-slice?" I ask.

ORDER TAKER: "Yes, we do. We have pepperoni, ham, cheese or sausage."

UNSUSPECTING ME: "I think I will have the sausage slice and a small coke," I said with finality.

ORDER TAKER: "Okay, that will be a small coke and cheese pizza."

UNSUSPECTING ME: "Ummm, I wanted the sausage - I think I said sausage," I said frowning mentally and thinking that I was pretty sure I had said sausage.

ORDER TAKER: "Okay, that will be a small coke and a slice of sausage pizza," he said. Then seconds later, "Now, was that sausage or cheese?"

UNSUSPECTING ME: "Sausage."

ORDER TAKER: "Okay, thank you, and please pull to the first window?"

I slowly and carefully pull up to the window and the poor guy apologizes telling me he couldn't hear very good. I am reassuring him that it was okay - I know how those speakers can spit out mush. And then I am not believing my ears....

ORDER TAKER: "Was that cheese or sausage pizza?"

UNSUSPECTING ME: "Sausage."

Finally, we got that cleared. He takes my money and I pull to the next window where I am quickly handed my drink followed by my hot slice of yummy pizza. While pulling out, I am stabbing my straw into my drink and retrieving my pizza in which I sink my teeth into for the first bite. It was very satisfying and yep..... it was cheese!

I can't wait to tell my friend.

A couple of errands later, I was heading out of Joplin when I did something really weird... I stopped at a green light. Did you hear that? I stopped at a green light! Pretty sure all that cheese with no sausage had something to do with it. And speaking of sausage... that one slice of sausage pizza, minus the sausage, and a drink didn't quite hit the spot so I stopped at McDonald's for a couple of cherry pies. My intention was to eat one pie and let the boys fight over the other pie as an after-school snack. Or share it... or whatever.

McDONALD'S ORDER TAKER: "Good afternoon, may I help you?"

UNSUSPECTING ME: "Yes, I would like two cherry pies."

McDONALD'S ORDER TAKER: "I'm sorry. All we have are apple and pumpkin."

UNSUSPECTING ME: Disappointment sets in. "Okay, I'll have apple."

I pull up, pay at one window and get my order at the next. Again, I pull out on the highway to head on home. The sack is open and yes, thank goodness, two green boxes that hold apple pies are inside that sack. I am almost drooling as I open one pie and tentatively take a bite just in case it's too hot. Odd, though. I thought McDonald's apple pies were a little better than this... must have changed their recipe - like mashed up the apples or pureed them or something. Two or three bites in.... I'm frowning... surely not... yep, it's pumpkin. That was when I was really glad I had sprung for the extra pie.


Now, on a totally different subject... thought I would post a picture of a hornets' nest in one of our trees in the back yard. This is the fourth one Dale has found here on our property, but it was the first one I had seen still hanging in the tree. It was still inhabited and I was very respectful when taking the picture. However, it is hard not to be respectful when it's hanging 15 to 20 feet off the ground. Dale even offered to set the ladder up for me to get a better picture of it. I declined - I'm scared of heights.

IROQUOIS LONGHOUSE

For some reason, third and fifth grades at Seneca Elementary seem to be project years. When Heath was in the third grade, it seemed we were doing some sort of project every time we turned around. Probably the most fun and by far the most hilarious that year was the potato. The kids were to pick someone from history in the present or past, and dress the potato as that person. Heath and I decided to pick Princess Diana as she is in our family lineage. Oh boy, would she have been insulted!

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, we started seeing the Indian house projects start popping up on tables along the school's hallways on display. I was feeling pretty good. Heath's class wasn't participating.... yet. I was so, so relieved. Then one day last week when picking up the boys, in a flat three seconds it all ended. There was this assignment paper waving in front of my eyes and a voice saying words like "due the 25th" and "we're doing the longhouse" and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Today when I picked up the boys, I was feeling pretty good. Heath and I would finish up the final touches this evening on the Iroquois Longhouse and tomorrow he could turn it in. And just as we turned off the county road, heading home, Aaron says, "I think we're going to do a project next week." Groan.

IROQUOIS LONGHOUSE PROJECT
Objective: Build a longhouse - 90% from natural materials

The Iroquois Indians lived in long buildings that housed from 40 to 60 people - all family. To build their houses, they put wooden poles into the ground and tied tree bark to these poles. Inside the house there was a pathway that ran the length of the house where they cooked their meals over fire pits. In the ceiling they left a hole for the smoke to exit.

The project was to build the house as natural as possible onto a sturdy base and then the student could add props to make it more realistic. Everything Heath used for his project was 100% natural - nothing on this project is fake excluding the paint, glue and the screws that attach the back and side drops to the base. The first thing we did was to find a sturdy base. I found a door from an old bar we had taken out of the house during a remodel - it was perfect for us. Since the house was the main part of the project, we had to decide what type of stick to use as the supporting structure. Dale went down to the spring and got some cane for the wooden poles. We drilled holes into the base so that the structure would be sturdier. After Heath got all of these poles into place then it was time to attach the tree bark. We took small pieces of bark in which I hot glued them for Heath to attach them. No tying bark for us! For the roof, we sort of cheated. Dale had found a nice solid piece of tree bark that we could just lay over the top. I drew out a back and side drop for the base while Dale cut it out so that Heath could paint the mountains, sun and trees/bushes.


The "skin" that is tied to the cane poles is from an old pair of leather gloves. All the rocks used along the creek and for the fire pit and oven were gathered from the boys' backyard fort play area. These rocks are the waste from American Tripoli in Seneca, Missouri. To read more about this natural rock, visit the company's website www.americantripoli.com.

American Tripoli, Inc. was established in 1891 in Seneca Missouri following the discovery of ‘Seneca Standard’ Tripoli twenty-three years earlier in the extreme southwest corner of Missouri. The Tripoli name is derived from Tripoli, North Africa, where a similar ore body was first discovered. American Tripoli remains one of the oldest mine operations in the United States today.

Nowhere else in the world is there a material that equates to the quality and effectiveness of Seneca Standard Tripoli. This is due to the high quality of the ore deposit and the company’s commitment to producing a superior Tripoli product hence, the Seneca Standard.

The canoe is from a piece of wood that Dale cut and carved to some extent to resemble a canoe. The stick on the canoe is a piece of maize stock.

The spear is a twig with a super small rock at the point that came from New Mexico. The rock that the spear is lying on is petrified wood and is also from New Mexico and likewise the petrified wood that has the 2 bowls of fruit sitting on top.

The frame over the outdoor oven is also made of cane and is tied with strips of leather. The so-called "strips of meat or leather or whatever" hanging down is again from that same leather glove.

The stumps are just super small branches cut down to look like stumps while the beaver dam is built out of fern stems stripped of their leaves.

All of the wooden bowls sitting around are acorn hulls or caps and the "fruit" inside them is either dogwood tree berries or maize grains. The so-called apples on the ground are also dogwood tree berries.


The trees are small twigs off of pine and dogwood trees.

The ground is covered with sand and crumbled up sycamore leaves which were obtained from the neighbor's yard as Dale does not believe in letting leaves stay too long on ours! Hopefully, they didn't see him doing this... late at night and stealing leaves! Actually, they would be amused and the next time I see them I will have to tell them about the "leaf thief." The sand is actually from the Cimarron River in Yale, Oklahoma, where Dale grew up.

The green "medicinal herbs" are from a Eastern Red Cedar tree and tied with a strip of leather. The dried bundles tied with leather strips are dead pine needles.

And, finally, there is a small crop of maize planted to the right of the longhouse which represents the corn that was so important in their diet.

GOD's MASTERPIECES

Paintbrushes and paint or cameras and SD cards - nothing can capture the true beauty of nature as we see it in real life. However, we still enjoy trying to get that perfect picture.

We were on our way home from a day trip to Arkansas and as we passed on the outskirts of Anderson, Missouri, we stopped at the side of the road to get the sunset pictures to the west and the late evening skies to the east.

LAST FLING!

The last day of summer vacation arrived all too soon.... for the boys, that is! Since we hadn't gotten to go anywhere as a family due to unforeseen events, we decided we would go on a little drive. We wound up starting at one point of Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma, and basically driving all around until we came back to the same point.

A Buffalo Herd on the Way to Grove

The first point we started was at a boat dock in Grove. The boys enjoyed looking at all the boats and we were even given permission to go inside one of the house boats.

Probably the most interesting boats we saw there were the cigarette boats. The cigarette boat which is pictured below was purchased for a mere $250,000! In length it was 38 feet long and at full throttle could run 90 mph. That's a fast boat; but what amazed us even more was the amount of gasoline it could hold and how much it used. It had two gas tanks that contained 150 gallons of gasoline each. Hearing that, you might think that 300 gallons is an awful lot of fuel for a boat to be carrying around until you're told the rest of the story. While this boat is idling or putt-putting (if that is even possible) around the lake, it uses 60 gallons of gasoline an hour.

And if it's out whipping through the water, it only takes a few more gallons. NOT! 90 gallons of gasoline an hour to run this vessel at full speed.

Now, let me ask this question.... why am I in trouble for driving my suv vehicle for business or pleasure while using?... hmmm... let me do the math. Oh my, I am using the grand sum of approximately 3.5 gallons an hour! I know, I know... that particular boat isn't out there every day burning up fuel. But, it could be out there once a week and that is still way, way more than I would use in a month. JUST FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

Speaking of food, we had gotten a rather late start and so by the time we digested all the info about the boat, we figured it was time for some real food. We stopped by a place called Catfish John's which advertised "nothing fancy, just good food" and it was exactly that.

Heath in Front of a Car Museum

We saw other points of interest but our main stop was at the Pensacola Dam. We had been there a few years back but the boys were younger and had forgotten what they had seen.

Dale told the boys that the dam was a mile long and so to make sure (I was making sure he hadn't made it up!) we clocked it. It WAS a mile long. However, before we proved that fact true, we had driven around to the back side so the boys could see what it looked like and while there they got to wade in the water. The back side of a dam is pretty awesome when you consider how much water is being held back.

All in all, it was a smooth day. Dale and I probably enjoyed it more than the boys as Aaron is such a home body and he informed us very early on that he would rather stay home as to go sight-seeing. To him, it was a lot of wasted time especially since bedtime would come earlier than usual as school began the next day.


SHORT HISTORY of the PENSACOLA DAM
Summer of 1896: Henry Holderman floats down the river with several others to survey a possible location of a dam. He would die before he ever saw construction begin.
December 1938: Finally after years of planning, the pouring of concrete begins - 510,000 cubic yards. Thousands work and with 24 hours a day of continuous pouring, the pouring is completed 20 months later.
August 1940: The Grand Lake O' the Cherokees becomes a reality.
November 1941: With war looming on the horizon, the federal government takes control of the dam.
January 1945: The end of war is in sight and the GRDA begins to negotiate for the return of their control. Finally in August of 1946 the GRDA officially gains back control.

To read more about the dam, visit www.grda.com or visit www.grandlakevisitor.com to learn more about the area.