In the last post, I introduced the BSP’s new sister blog, Big Scout Photography. Today, I’m delighted to share “The Hangover,” the site’s first photo essay. I adore New Orleans, but I’ve never been to Mardi Gras. I almost made it in 2011, but couldn’t get there until the day after. It was quite a …
Happy Independence Day, friends! In honor of our nation’s big holiday, I thought I’d pull together some of the fun facts that you probably didn’t know about the U.S. Constitution. Citizens, today’s a very good day to wise up about our most important national document. 1. The U.S. Constitution was actually signed on September 17th, …
It’s Texas out there again, friends, by which I mean it’s hot. In my search to beat the heat, I scanned some of the (many) badge tasks left to be done for this little adventure to see if something might help. The “Let’s Get Cooking!” badge opened up a small window for me — it …
Reboot Camp Post #6: I Say Trust Your Feet More Than That Salesman, But That’s Me… Take a look at this photo. That’s me (and Freida), walking about a year ago, and that old New Balance sneaker has just bit the big one. When I say old, I’m really not kidding. Those shoes must’ve been …
I scammed hand washing as a kid. I turned on the cold water, without soap, played at washing my hands for about five seconds, and declared myself done. Of course, that doesn’t actually get rid of germs, but it’s hard for kids to understand how something invisible can make any kind of real difference. Why …
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the last post in a string of posts that will mention seashells for a long, long time. Thank the heavens or curse the stars if you like. I’m just saying Amen. If you saw the recently jewelry posts (here and here), as well as reports from last month’s trip to …
In the last post, I shared a video on making simple jewelry from seashells and beads. Today I’m sharing two more pieces of jewelry I made on the same weekend. I was on a roll with jewelry making! Plus, I wanted to explore whether I wanted to pursue jewelry making as part of the “Doing” or …
You know what they say — it’s not a question of if an emergency will happen, but when. Just take a look back to 2011 and consider some of the natural disasters here in the continental U.S.: An earthquake hits the east coast. A hurricane spares the coast but causes devastating flash flooding in Vermont. …
I needed a project over Thanksgiving weekend, something that had nothing to do with shopping or the outside world at all. A little something that would require a little patience and soothe the soul. So I decided to build a birdhouse. BADGE WORK UPDATE: ARCHITECTURE A task for the Architecture badge asks scouts to “create …
Y’all know I’ve been fairly grumpy about this Texas summer’s heat, but maybe it’s been worthwhile. Yesterday, August 24th, set the weather record in Austin, Texas for the number of 100+ days at 70 degrees. That record will be broken today, then tomorrow, and so forth for the next couple of weeks. Brutal as it’s …
Yesterday, our nation’s manned space program at NASA came to an indefinite halt. Sigh. Big sigh. I wrote about this last week as well, but now seems like a good time to look at how much NASA‘s program has improved our lives. While much of the rumored NASA inventions like Tang, Teflong and Velcro turned out …
In one of last week’s posts, I offered up a word search puzzle around the theme of garden variety domestic travel. In this post, let’s go bigger. Let’s imagine ourselves aboard the Shuttle Atlantis and contemplate alternatives to our typical world view. BADGE TASK UPDATE: FINDING YOUR WAY For this badge, scouts are asked to …
If not for the Internet so many opportunities for creativity and exploration would often be limited by our short-sighted imaginations that stand in our way. Take, for instance, a task for the Art to Wear badge which asks scouts to give some thought to custom fabric design and asks them to create an actual pattern. …
A what? Don’t you mean a dutch oven? Nope. I mean a scotch oven, so named because a liquor box is perfect for the job. I learned this “technology” at a recent camp training, and I was smitten by its capacity to actually bake a meal or dessert. In the video below, you can see …
Gang, this is the second of several posts covering some of the things I learned during a recent camping training for adult scout leaders and volunteers. In the first post, I proved that, against all conventional wisdom, I’m actually capable of starting a fire with a single match. But we’re not always lucky enough to …
There are lots of reasons to visit the Big Island of Hawaii, but for us, no adventure was so anticipated or rewarding as our coastline hike to see lava flowing into the ocean, to see the planet being born. It was a key reason for choosing to visit this island over the others for our …
Starting off the New Year with bang, or rather, a fizz, for my next badge work, I’m in the kitchen making polymers. What is a polymer? I didn’t know either, so I looked it up. A polymer is a chain of molecules. We find them in everyday life, perhaps in the form of a rubbery …
My time in the kitchen is generally relegated to two things: grabbing a snack, or passing through it to get from one room to the next. But this simple “kitchen science” experiment meant little more than boiling up some water to cook up some crystals, and I’ve gotta say — it was fun (and easy)! …
BADGE WORK UPDATE: ART IN THE HOME, DISCOVERING TECHNOLOGY I have been called crafty, but I’ve never been what you’d call “craftsy.” It’s time to shoot for both. So we’re making a festive (!) holiday decoration while repurposing some old compact discs. And this little project satisfies tasks for two badges. For the “Discovering Technology” badge, scouts are asked …
Along with my friend Adrienne and my dog Freida, I hoofed several hundred miles this past year around Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake), in Austin, TX. The name’s a bit deceiving; it really doesn’t look like a lake. It looks more like a river that cuts from east to west and separates south Austin … Continue reading »
One year ago today, I started walking. This past weekend, I hit (and slightly exceeded by 3.2 miles), my goal of 500 miles in a year. All but a few walks were taken with Freida in tow; she had some surgery this past fall that kept her off the trail for about two weeks. I’ve … Continue reading »
My sister tells me that, as a girl scout, I used to carve bars of soap, and she says I was pretty darned good at it. too. I have exactly no recollection of this. None. And, as far as I can recall, I never took a knife to wood. But I’ve really felt the pull … Continue reading »
Oh, yeah, people! Today is National Girl Scout Cookie Day, and if there was ever a reason to slip on your New Year’s diet resolution, this might be it. Now, I HATED selling cookies as a kid, and I still hate selling pretty much anything as an adult. Things might be different for me today, … Continue reading »
In the two+ years since the Big Scout Project launched, I’ve stumbled into an amazing array of really remarkable resources, tutorials, and online knowledge that go way beyond Wikipedia and YouTube. That’s why I’m launching a monthly series called “That Time of the Month.” Each month, I’ll share with you, dear readers, some pre-screened recommendations … Continue reading »
This little project turned out to be a “badge task trifecta”: a chance to get folksy-craftsy, explore nature’s textures, and recycle a bit of junk. It was remarkably easy to do but took some time. As usual, I have to thank my husband for his patience as I took over our dining table for a … Continue reading »
You know the motto: Be Prepared. A good scout is nothing if not ready for any quick emergency. And the start of a new year is, indeed, an excellent time to take stock of one’s readiness. Last January, I demonstrated how to pull together an emergency “go box” — you know, in case there’s ever … Continue reading »
