Saturday, October 11

Wit and Wisdom from the Hermit in the Holler

Me: How are you feeling?
The Old Hermit: With my fingers.
:)

Fall

It's Falling

Friday, October 10

Free Note Taking Software

I am a note taker, if I don't write things down I usually forget them. :)
Everything goes into my notebook: grocery lists, phone numbers, things to do, places to go, people to see, ideas...everything.

Now I have a notebook on my computer!

EverNote
If you can see it, you can save it.
EverNote stores your notes on an endless strip of digital "paper" and automatically tags them with a category, place and time. Capture and store clippings from the web, text notes, emails and pictures, all in one place. Easily search and find what you want later.
For more information and to download Evernote visit their webpage here.
This is freeware but you can upgrade to the Premium version.

Also see:
7 Ways to Use EverNote
Evernote. Why it will make it & 20 Awesome Ways to Use It.

Now, if only I could tag and search my paper notebook like EverNote. :)

The Passion Play in the Smokies Presents "The Jerusalem Experience" Saturday October 11

For one day only, The Passion Play in the Smokies presents "The Jerusalem Experience".
On Saturday, October 11, step back in time and experience life in Bible times! This free event recreates Jerusalem during the time of Jesus and features animals, music, children's activities, Hebrew praise dance and so much more.
Event runs from 10am to 4pm at the Townsend Ampitheater in Townsend on Bethel Road.
For more information, please see their website or call (865) 448-3505.

Free Recipe E-book

Old Fashioned Homemaking has another recipe book to download! Click here to get "October Sunday Dinners".
Thank you Coffeemom!

Almost Free "Finding Financial Freedom" E-book

Do you want to get out of debt and save money?
For today only you can buy "Finding Financial Freedom" by Kelly Crawford, for $1.00! For more information and to purchase this e-book go here.
To learn more about Kelly, visit her at her blog, Generation Cedar.

Today's Homeschooling Freebies- More Columbus Day Resources

Audios

Homeschool Freebie of the Day
In honor of Columbus Day, the Erskines have another wonderful old radio show for us today, "Admiral of the Ocean Sea", hosted by Orson Welles. Download this classic program here.
Remember, this is available today only!

The Reading Well
The Reading Well, seller of used, rare and classic out-of-print books, has some free audio presentations of great events in American history, you can listen to "The Voyages of Christopher Columbus" here.




E-books

Albright Academy Christopher Columbus Page- you can also find some notebooking pages at the bottom of the page.



Poems

Apples 4 the Teacher Columbus Day Poems and Rhymes

Love to Learn Place Columbus Day Poems




Short Stories

Apples for the Teacher Popular Columbus Day Short Stories for Children




Lesson Plans

4th Grade Columbus Day Lesson Plan from "Happy Hearts at Home"

Los Banos Homeschoolers American History Curriculum Topic 9- Discovery and Columbus




Notebooking Pages

Notebooking Page: Columbus' route to the New World from Notebook Learning

Homeschool Notebooking Free Notebooking Pages- scroll down to "Holidays" for Columbus Day




Timelines

Apples for the Teacher Columbus 1492 Voyage Facts

The Columbus Navigation Homepage- A Christopher Columbus Timeline

Coloring Pages

Coloring Book Fun Columbus Day Coloring Pages

All About Coloring Columbus Day Themed Coloring Pages




Thursday, October 9

Today's Homeschooling Freebies- Columbus Day

Homeschool Freebie of the Day
Today only you can download "You Are There: Columbus Discovers America", an old radio show that recreates the famous journey of Christopher Columbus. This is in mp3 format and you can get it here.

Scholastic
Scholastic has a Columbus Day Activity Set which includes a webquest, quiz, online learning links and printables. You can access these free resources here.

BBC
For a animated biography of Christopher Columbus go here.

BrainPop Jr.
Activities, quizes and a short animated film can be found here.

More of Abby's Pictures


Our Border Collie, Blazer

Miss Kitty


Some of our Banties


Mooooo



A View Through The Trees


Autumn Mushroom


Fall is Falling


Changing Leaves

Wednesday, October 8

Wonderful Mapping Idea For Family And Friends

I ran across another blog today, Having Fun at Home by Katey Magill. She posts a lot on family and children and she has a wonderful idea for keeping track of your long-distance friends and family, put them on a map! Check it out here.

Thanks Katey for a great idea! :)

Win A Homemaking E-book

Lisa over at Homestead Originals has a new contest for October! Visit her blog here, leave a comment, and you'll be entered to win her brand new e-book "Homestead Simplicity: Natural Clean". Post this contest on your own blog and get another chance to win!

Free Garden E-books

Gardenvisit.com is celebrating their 10th birthday by giving away two free e-books by Tom Turner. Go here, enter your e-mail address and they will send you a download link. "The Principles of Garden Design" will be available through October 15th and "24 Historic Styles of Garden Design" can be downloaded October 16th through the 31st.

Today's Homeschooling Freebies

Homeschool Freebie Of the Day

Today you can download "The Story of the White House", narrated by Boris Karloff. This is an MP3 audio file and you can get it here.

Highlights of Homeschooling

For the month of October Highlights of Homeschooling has their "Pumpkin Notepaging Unit" available to download for free! You can find this freebie here.
Note: You do have to create a free account to download this product.

Tuesday, October 7

Pear Preserves

There's a wonderful old-time canning recipe for pears on one of the blogs I follow, Blind Pig and the Acorn. It's her Granny's Pear Preserves recipe, complete with pictures. Looks yummy! Check it out here.

Now, to find some pears! :)

Free Downloads of Old Almanacs

I found some neat sites with old almanacs that have been scanned and made available to download, for free!

The National Library of Medicine of The National Institutes of Health has some old "patent medicine" almanacs, you can find them here.


A Victorian Passage has a scanned 1887 Agricultural Almanac available to download free, get it here.


The Internet Archive has a bunch of old Canadian almanacs:

Canadian almanac and directory (Volume 48, 1895)

Canadian almanac and directory (Volume 22, 1869)

Canadian almanac and directory (Volume 53, 1900)

Canadian almanac and directory (Volume 65, 1912)

The Canadian Almanac 1874

The Canadian Almanac and Directory 1850-1851

The Canadian Almanac and Directory 1897

Canadian Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge 1848

An International Harvester almanac:

IHC almanac and encyclopedia, 1911

A Scottish almanac:

Oliver and Boyd's Edinburgh almanac and national repository

A "Family Christian Almanac":

Family Christian Almanac

An old Home Insurance Company almanac:

The Home Almanac (Volume 1893)

An 1842 Boston almanac:

The Boston almanac for the year .. (Volume 1842)

An Illinois almanac:

Wakefield's western farmers' almanac and account book (Volume 1874)

Many more American almanacs:
Farmers' and country merchants' almanac and ready reference book

Chicago daily news national almanac for .. (Volume 1889)

Chicago daily news national almanac for .. (Volume 1920)

Notes on the calendar and the almanac

The American almanac and repository of useful knowledge for the year .. (Volume 7 (1836))

Tables of the moon : constructed for the use of the American ephemeris and nautical almanac

The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's almanac, and other papers

The New-England mercantile union business directory, six parts in one. Containing a new map of New-England, an almanac for 1849, a memorandum for every day in the year, and a business directory for New-England

The book of almanacs, with an index of reference, by which the almanac may be found for every year, whether in old style or new, from any epoch, ancient or modern, up to A. D. 2000. With means of finding the day of any new or full moon from B. C. 2000 to A. D. 2000

Free Image Software- InPaint

Today only, Giveaway of the Day is offering "InPaint", a simple little image program to delete any unwanted object from your photo. Download it here.

Free Sewing Tutorial-Placemat Purses

Check out the blog, House of Whimsey, she has a neat little project to make purses out of placemats and recycled purse handles. This would make a great sewing lesson for little girls.
You can find the tutorial here.

Free Educational Software

You will find a wide assortment of free educational resources at Owl & Mouse Educational Software. There are Pre-K learning programs, software to build your own town, farm, village and castle and interactive maps. Find all these great freebies and more here.

Today's Homeschooling Freebies

Homeschool Freebie Of The Day
Today the Erskines give us "Rainy Day Activities for Kids" plus a bonus link. Find them here, today only.

Homeschool Radio Shows "Living Books for the Ears"
This week's program is "Mr. President Builds His Dream House", an episode of "Mr. President" classic radio show, little known but true stories of our past presidents. Download the show here.
While you're there, check out their sale. You can purchase their "Mr. President" collection and "Forgotten Tales of the Revolution" on CD for $12.00, normally $19.95.
Sale runs through Thursday, October 9.

CurrClick
Do you do notebooking? This week's freebie is "All About Birds - Basic Study Notebooking Pages" published by NotebookingPages.com. Download this product here, available free for one week only.

NotebookingPages .com
You will find a treasure trove of free notebooking pages here on a variety of subjects, from Bible, arts and music to planning, math and science. Sign up for the newsletter and receive information on new products, sales, freebies and more.

EcoBrain
This week's free e-book is "Extreme Kids", 20 outdoor sports and a slew of trips and activities for your family. This product is free all week and you can download it here.
Note: You will have to create a free account.

Monday, October 6

Free Homeschooling Resources for National Fire Prevention Week

This week is National Fire Prevention Week and this year's theme is "Prevent Home Fires". Here are some online resources to learn more about National Fire Prevention Week and fire safety. I've also included some links to information on the Great Chicago Fire.

Tennessee Fire Prevention

Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Official Kid's Website

National Fire Protection Association Fire Prevention Week

The Great American Fire Drill

Sparky the Firedog

Sparky the Fire Dog: Fire Prevention Week Website for Kids

Fire Prevention History

Fire Prevention Children Activities

Exit Drills in the Home

Fire Safety Tips

Sleep Products Safety Council Lesson Activities

Sleep Products Safety Council Fire Safety For Kids

Home Fire Escape Plan

Fire Prevention Handbook

Nebraska State Fire Marshal's Safety Tips and Bulletins

Fire Prevention Printables

The Teacher's Corner Fire Prevention Week Lesson Plans and Activities

A to Z Teacher's Stuff Fire Safety Lessons and Activities

Fire Safety: Activities to Spark Learning!

The "Big Red" Fire Museum

Knowledge House Fire Safety Mini-Unit

Scholastic Fire Prevention Week Resources

U.S. Fire Administration for Kids Lesson Plans

Smokey Bear Website

Smokey Bear Coloring Book (pdf file)

Smoky Bear Puzzle Book (pdf file)

Fire Safety for Middle School Students

Fire Safety Mini-Unit for Preschoolers

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Teacher's Tools

BeFireSmart- An Interactive Approach to Fire Safety

Virtual Fire Department

ThinkQuest The History of Fire

The ChildFun Family Website Safety Activities

The Great Chicago Fire and the Web of Memory

National Geographic Kids magazine-The Great Chicago Fire of 1871

A Story of the Chicago Fire (1892)

Chicago and the Great Conflagration (1872)

The Great Fire: Leading newspaper accounts of the terrible Chicago conflagration, including descriptions of the origin and progress of the fire, by eye-witnesses, correspondents, etc., harrowing incidents, hair-breadth escapes, &c., with a correct map ([1871?])

The Chicago Fire and the Fire Insurance Companies. An exhibit of the capital, assets, and losses of the companies (1871)

The Great Chicago Fire Webquest

Great Chicago Fire Lesson Planning Article

Earth Science Picture of the Day The Great Chicago Fire

Audio Story-Chicago Fire

Today's Homeschooling Freebie

Homeschool Freebie Of The Day
Today's freebie is "From Boys to Men: A Teenagers' Work and Influence", an e-book edition of a classic essay published in the 1800's. Download this resource here. Good today only.

This Week In Townsend

Daily

The Little River Railroad and Lumber Company Museum
Open Monday through Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 1pm-5pm. Free admission.

Monday October 6

Townsend Visitor's Center
Weaving by Gaynelle Kyser
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Tuesday October 7

Townsend Visitor Center
Weaving by Gaynelle Kyser
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Townsend Farmer's Market
You can find fresh produce, baked goods and plants for sale every Tuesday from 4:00-7:00pm in the Trillium Cove Shopping Village parking lot. The market will run through October. For more information, call 865-448-8700.

Wednesday October 8

Townsend Visitor Center
Art Exhibit by Randy White
Woodcrafts by Charles Goosie
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Thursday October 9

Townsend Visitor Center
Art Exhibit by Randy White
Woodcrafts by Charles Goosie
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Friday October 10

Townsend Visitor Center
Art Exhibit by Randy White
Woodcrafts by Charles Goosie
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Saturday October 11

Townsend Visitor Center
Art Exhibit by Cathy Colter
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

Wood-N-Strings Dulcimer Shop
Every Saturday night at 7:00pm join the Clemmer's at the Pickin' Porch for some good ol' mountain music! This week's guest is Americana singer/songwriter Karen Reynolds.
For more information call (865) 448-6647. This event is free.

The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center
The Heritage Center's Sunset Music Series presents Jenna and the Jones this Saturday at 7:00pm. Admission is free for members and $3.00 for non-members. For more information call 865-448-0044.

Sunday October 12

Townsend Visitor Center
Art Exhibit by Cathy Colter
Open 9am-6pm. Event is free. For more information call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.

For activities in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park please see this post:
Free Events and Activities In The Great Smoky Mountains For The Week of October 5-11.

Sunday, October 5

Wit and Wisdom from the Hermit in the Holler

"I didn't just fall off the turnip truck yesterday!"
:)

Biographical Family Film "Stars and Stripes Forever"

We don't have cable TV, satellite TV or even regular TV at our house. We do watch tapes and DVDs, when we find a good one for the whole family. Most of what we watch comes from our local library and I ran across a good movie last week, "Stars and Stripes Forever", a wonderful biography of John Philip Sousa.

In the 1890's, Sousa was leader of the Marine Corps Band and served under five presidents. He left the military to form his own orchestra, which became known as the "most famous band in the world". Sousa appreciated all types of music and was equally adept at playing dignified chamber music or the rousing marches he was famous for.

"Stars and Stripes Forever" is wonderful film that portrays Sousa's many sides of husband, father, bandleader, composer and military officer. Hear flawless performances of some of his famous marches and see recreations of many of the parades he led. One of my favorite scenes is a rendition of "Battle Hymn of the Republic", set in Atlanta, Georgia.

"Stars and Stripes Forever" stars Clifton Webb as John Philip Sousa and co-stars Debra Paget, Ruth Hussey and a very young Robert Wagner. This film was produced in 1952 and is not rated. I do consider this a family film but there are a couple of dance hall scenes with skimpy costumes- no nakedness, just form-fitting. Run time is 1 1/2 hours, color.

Seek Me Early


I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
Proverbs 8:17