I've been so busy lately that blogging has gone low on the priority list.  But I did promise photos of the Scotland trip.  And I suppose that an update on life might be nice too--at least it might provide me with the sense that I've been doing something lately.

I do have to apologize for the camera though.  It was acting up a lot, and I don't think the colours in some of the photos are perfectly true.  Still, I have picked the best of the lot to show you.


Cawdor Castle.  We've been there before, years ago.  I think perhaps it may have been my first trip to Scotland, or maybe the second, when Belle was a toddler.  If you know your Shakespeare, this is supposedly the scene of MacBeth.  It is an inhabited castle--so one isn't able to see the entire building, however the rooms we were allowed to see were very interesting.  One thing that helped a lot was the quiz the children were given to fill out.  It drew one's attention to details that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.


This is the countryside around Inverness.  I really really love this area.  My husband's Aunt lives up in this area, and we had a lovely visit with her.
The Fisher Woman statue in the town of Nairn, and the beach beyond.  It was a grey day but the sea was beautiful anyway.  The pinkish hue to the photo of the statue is due to the camera rather than the lighting.

Chatelherault, a former hunting lodge of the Duke of Hamilton, and now a country park with play area.  I believe the building, and grounds are often used for weddings.
The last three photos are of Bothwell Castle, again a place that we have been to on nearly every trip.  It is located about five minutes from my sister-in-law's house.  It is a very old castle.  We were actually there twice this trip.  The last picture is from the first visit, a late afternoon walk with Granny's dog.  I have a lot of good photos of the ruins from previous visits.  The castle is very photogenic with the red sandstone walls.  This time the weather didn't permit great photos, but I like this silhouette, even though the lines are caused by...you guessed it...the camera.

It was a bit rainy the second day we visited, when we actually went inside.  We climbed up a very steep, slippery, narrow, winding stone staircase to the top of the tower.  I didn't get photos of that because I was a) holding on with both hands to the rope attached to the wall, and b) because every time I looked at the stairs, I felt a bit dizzy.  Going up was difficult, and going down was SCARY.  But the view from the top was beautiful.  And yes, the kids went too--Daddy in front and me in the back, watching every step they took.  For some strange reason, nearly all of us had sore leg muscles the following day.

We had a great time browsing the wee shop in the castle and making some purchases to bring home, among them a book of castles (Usborne), and a fridge magnet for my collection.  The gentleman in the shop chatted with us for a long time.  I believe he probably hadn't had another visitor all day.

So a few photos of the trip.  It was a lovely visit, and fun to reminisce about it.  Just sorry the pictures didn't turn out better.

Back to our home.  Back to real life.  Back from a great holiday.  Back to the land of computers and internet and other time-consuming but necessary things.

I'm feeling ambivalent about the computer these days.  I spent three weeks away from it all--and the only thing I missed was the contact with family and friends.  Now I'm back, and under the tyranny of email again.  Oh well, one has to admit that the computer is very useful, and I doubt I could easily live without it for a long period of time.  After all I do everything from banking to menu and lesson planning on it.  I didn't have to do any of that stuff on holiday.

If none of this makes sense, I attribute it to jet-lag and the fact that I've been waking up anywhere from 2 to 4 a.m., and having to get up because at least one of the children wakes up then too.  Only five hours time difference--hopefully we'll be back to normal in another couple of days.

For the friends who aren't already aware, we are just back from a trip to Scotland.  We spent our time there visiting the other half of the family.  And we did a bit of sight-seeing on the side--to a couple of castles and museums.  We had a great time, and the weather was lovely--maybe the best it has ever been when I've been there.

Hopefully soon--once the camera and the computer get together--I will have photos to tell the story.  That is yet to happen, for I am in the throes of unpacking and laundry, and planning for next week, AND paying the bills.  The camera is a story in itself, for it has decided to go all jiggly and pink at times.  Fortunately I was able to get mostly clear photos--if I could be patient enough.  How does a digital camera die?  Does anyone know?

The biggest plus?  I got hours and hours of cross-stitch done (Relax TP--it isn't THE cross-stitch).  I even had time to take out a large chunk that I had stitched with two strands when it was only supposed to be done with one.  My travel project is a kit of Eilean Donan Castle that I bought on my first trip to Scotland about 13 years ago.  I was so motivated by it that I hope to be able to work on it more at home--whenever I can manage to get off the computer.

I also got to see two and a bit parts of the new four part BBC TV series of Emma by Jane Austen.  I am very upset because I will miss the last part, and BBC iPlayer doesn't work outside of the UK.  I did buy the book to read on the way home.  Hopefully I can finish it now.  I did read three books all by myself (not to the kids) while away.  I think that is the most I've read in that short a time since Boo was a newborn.

So it was a lovely time away, and now the house needs a clean and tidy, so I'm away too.

Well, the Fall Fair was most enjoyable.  As a family, we entered 18 different items.  In a nutshell, we won 6 first places, 6 second places, and one third place.  There was quite a bit more competition in some categories than there has been in previous years.

Belle won first place for her oatmeal raisin cookies, and second place for her skirt.  The beaded bracelet she made didn't place, but as that was her first attempt at anything like that, I am still pleased with what she made.
Here is the skirt.  Isn't it pretty?  She wanted it quite long.
Boo placed second in both the Lego category and the "My Favourite Collection" category, in which he put his collection of fishing flies.  He had taken the time and made the effort of carefully writing out the name of each fly.  I was proud of him.  He placed third in "A Big Cookie".  He had made M & M cookies, and they were delicious.

Here is his Lego effort.
It is a cutaway of a mobile police/emergency mobile station.

My husband took first place in both the Tea Biscuit and Cheese Scone category, and second in the Shortbread.  We have to chuckle over the shortbread because for some reasons the judges seem to prefer "whipped" shortbread (which looks to me like those buttery cookies you get in tins) to the real Scottish style shortbread.  Oh well, two pounds of butter as second prize is nothing to sneeze at.

I managed to do pretty well with my Pineapple Upside-Down Cake and Breadmaker White Bread--taking first in both again this year.  The winners in that category get auctioned off to raise money for next year's fair.  The same lady who bought my cake last year, bought it again this year!

I also earned one first and one second in the Amateur photography section.  That was a first for me this year, and I entered 6 photographs.  I was pleased that a couple of them placed well.

Last but not least, was the cross-stitch.  I didn't have time to get it framed (nor did I really want to frame it here because I plan to take it to Scotland).  The competition was quite stiff and the first-place piece was very pretty.  Mine placed second.  And for those of you who have been waiting....

Borders, borders and more borders!  I do still like the colours though!

So that is the Fall Fair for this year.  I am a week late in posting about it because I hadn't gotten around to uploading my photos until this evening.  One forgets how busy life gets when school is on.

Man this was quite the bug!  I am over a week into it and still have a lot of congestion.  I think I've got chest wall pain from coughing, and while my energy has increased, I still don't feel 100 %. 

Boo had a fever from last Tuesday night until Monday morning.  I took him to the doctor on Friday, and she started antibiotics.  It still took two days until his throat felt a lot better, and nearly three before his temperature stayed below 100 degrees F.  He is still coughing a bit, but is much much better!  I was quite worried about him one night--a horrible croupy sounding cough and significant fever.  His cough changed sometime during that night to one considerably less scary.

She didn't put me on antibiotics, but I wasn't nearly as sick as Boo.  And I do feel like I am getting better--just a bit more slowly than I would like.

Belle is much better from her bout with it, but she also sounds stuffy and coughs quite a bit.  She had nearly a week's head-start on the antibiotics.

By the time we were feeling able to start on our lessons again, we'd had more sick days than we'd had days of school.  That was depressing!  However, we are picking up the pace again--if only I can keep up.  Our upcoming trip to Scotland will be here before we know it. 

Yes, a trip is in the plans.  It is time to go and see the other side of the family again.  I am looking forward to it, but not looking forward to getting ready for it.

Last night we took sandwiches with us and went fishing!  The kids loved it--I enjoyed the time outside by the pond, looking at tall trees and peaceful water.  Unfortunately for me, my fishing license had expired, so I was unable to spend time casting a fly into the water.  I was impressed by how my children's ability to fly-fish is increasing!  I took my knitting, but didn't knit.  Instead, I spent the time walking back and forth between the kids, watching their bees float in the water and chatting with them.  It was a very restful time, and felt like the first time I'd been out in two weeks (although it wasn't--I'd been out taking either kids or myself to the doctor).

On another note--today I finished a cross-stitch project that I have been working on (off and on) for nearly eight years.  I started it when I was put on bed-rest for pre-term labour with Boo.  I spent somewhere around five weeks on bed-rest, and got nearly a quarter of it finished.  Needless to say--the rest of the project took a lot longer to complete.  Remind me not to do another project with borders for a long time!  This one had double borders with design in them, plus gold lines around each border.  And the backstitching!!!! Ay yi yi!  This thing had backstitching on everything--on the borders, in the borders, on every aspect of the design itself.  Did I tell you that backstitching is my least favourite thing about cross-stitching?  The backstitching took two years to complete--I'd work on it for a month and then get fed up.  Did I not know all this before I started the design?  I did, but it was the colours in the design that grabbed me--blues and golds and pinks--Gorgeous!

But alas, my faithful readers will have to wait for the photo.  I have to wash it, block it, and figure out a way to display it (I don't have time to get it framed before the Fall Fair next week).  Only after that will you get a photo.  I am delighted that it is finished.  Now I have to find another UFO to finish--of the several that are in process.  I am thinking about one that is nearly done.  Then I need to find more time to stitch.....

A few weeks ago, I blogged about the project I planned to work on when my husband went away on business.  Well, we did it!

Unbeknownst to my dear husband, I purchased a book cataloguing program, with the aim of cataloguing his books.  Now mind you, this wasn't a project I thought I could complete in odd hours, or in a day or so.  The dear man has 28 boxes of books on the porch, and assorted others scattered about the house in piles or on bookshelves.  I knew I needed lots of time and simple meals, and as much help as possible from the kids.  And I needed him to be away.  The opportunity presented itself...and we plotted and planned.

In addition to cataloguing the books, the goal was to clean the porch.  I shall post before and after photos--they do speak louder than words.

Before:
This was what the porch looked like on the day we started.

We moved about nine boxes a day off the porch into the living room, as well as the piles stacked on top.  I set about getting them into the computer program.  The children read ISBN numbers off the books that had them, and then I did searches for the ones that did not.  (I still have a small pile of books I couldn't find on any of the searches--I will probably have to enter those manually.)

We did nine boxes each day from Wednesday to Friday, plus piles.  I also did the books upstairs where his "office" corner is.  By Friday night, the books were all moved off the porch, and it looked like this:

The living and dining rooms looked like this:
And yes we do store books in diaper boxes!

On Saturday, I had to do the last couple of boxes of books, clean the porch, put everything back, and clean the  house, all before we had to pick up my husband at 8:00 pm that evening.  (There was a reason I needed to have simple meals--I spent nearly all my waking hours doing something with books.)

We accomplished our goal--at least mostly.  I still need to do the books on the shelves in the house.

Here are the after photos:
 
I was going to post one of a tired but satisfied wife, but just realized that Boo had crept into the photo under my arm.  Since I don't make a practice of posting photos of the kids, you don't get to see the one of me either, until at least, I can do some photo-editing.

It is lovely to be able to walk on the porch without tripping over something.  It is also nice because I rearranged the shelves so we are able to get one window open for air.  I could even fit a chair back there some afternoon if I need/want to hide.

And I think that my husband is pleased.   He didn't say much, but I do find him wandering around out there on a frequent basis now.

We've had a week of stuff!  Belle got sick with strep throat symptoms last Thursday.  I took her to the doctor and he put her on antibiotics right away.  I was so glad of that because Grandma and Grandpa were coming for a visit on Friday.

The antibiotics took away all of her strep symptoms within about 36 hours.  That was great.  She was just starting to feel a lot better when she started coming down with a bad cold--cough, and low-grade fever again, and then the nose started to go.  At about the same time I got it--sore throat, post-nasal gunk, and swollen glands, but no significant fever.  My throat doesn't look bad, just red.

Today Boo woke up with a fever and sore throat.  The other symptoms haven't appeared yet, but he was walking around today with a temp of 100-102.  If it got above 101 he started asking for Tylenol, but he doesn't act or appear really ill.

School is a not-happening thing this week...my first week that was supposed to be a full one of lessons is turning out to be one of no lessons.  I am hobbling through, doing laundry and getting meals on at about half my usual speed.  We've spent time watching educational dvds and working on a jigsaw puzzle--which the whole family finished together tonight.  It hasn't been a bad week--unless I think about the things I would like to be doing and am not.

Oh well, this too shall pass. 

Thus goes this entry--the first of at least two--and at the bottom, so you can read it and move on to more satisfactory things.

I haven't blogged in so long that I've even toyed with the idea of giving up blogging entirely.  I don't really think I could do that though, for no sooner would I close down my blog than I would think of something I wanted to say.  So apologies to those who check faithfully for an update.  I shall endeavour to provide you with one.

Last week I had the pleasure of a visit from my sister, Photogal, and her two boys.  Her husband and boy number 3 had to stay at home, unfortunately.  We would have enjoyed having them here too.  They were only here two nights, so we had to make the best of it.

The first evening, my sister and I went for a long walk.  I did not take my camera so have no photographic evidence of our walk, but we used the time to do some debriefing on our mother's condition.  It is nice to be on the same page.  It has really helped me this summer that both my younger brother and older sister have paid visits to Mom and Dad.  I am the closest in location, and sort of the first responder if they need help.  I deeply appreciate the backup and support I've been given by my siblings.

On Friday we took them to one of our favourite places by the lake.  Photogal spent time and money in a very large farm toys (think model tractor) store.  It is also one of Boo's favourite places.  Then we visited a farmer's market, and looked at the views of the lake.
Or boats by the lake.
Or at sister looking at the lake.
 
It was a fun evening.  We came back home to a late supper of hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill.

They all left Saturday morning.  I've spent a large part of the week catching up.

This is our last week of real summer break.  Our lessons start again on Monday.  I am not ready--or rather, the school books are ready, the school shelves are organized, some of the lesson plans are done for Homeschool Tracker--but I need to get spelling lists put into a spelling program I have to review, and I need to figure out what we are doing for French.  I decided not to try to lesson plan our history core since we only have twelve weeks left of that.  I will put my energies into lesson planning the next core.

Between now and Monday--I have two children's bedrooms to clean and organize.  Since we do most of our schoolwork up there, there is quite a bit of work to be done.  I also have to re-inventory my freezer and pantry, since I got behind the last few weeks with visitors and all.  I should clean out my hall closet again (it needs doing at least every year).

One blessing is that we had visitors over for lunch today.  That caused me to attack several piles around the living areas.  It is nice to see those areas tidy for a bit.

My dryer has been on the blink for a week.  Our fixit man says it is the "rollers".  At the moment I can still use it--for light loads, but it is very noisy.  I spent a good part of the week hanging clothes either on the line or on a rack in the house--alas I had only enough clothespins to hang a small load outside.  My dear husband got me more pins the day the fixit man came.  Oops, I just remembered that I have a few wet things still downstairs.

I'm looking forward to getting back into the routine of lessons.  I struggled during the break with a lack of routine, and feeling like I was spinning my wheels and getting nowhere.  I did do quite a bit of stuff, and not a lot of fun, relaxing stuff--why is it that I think I will have time to cross-stitch when I'm not teaching?  Why is it that I think I will have time to cross-stitch in the evenings when I am teaching?  Oh well, I live in hope--and the expectation of getting off more email lists so I am not swamped in email all the time.

We are starting into things slowly.  Next week I plan for two days of school and three days of working on a major project--more details to come.  The kids are planning to help, and it will be a surprise for my husband.  I just hope that when the time comes, I can do it because it is a LOT of work.

I've been interrupted by kids and a phone call and I'm done.

It is being a bit of a weird summer again.  We haven't had that many hot days, and the few that have been hot have been so muggy it is hard to do anything.  At least with cooler days, one has more energy.  It just doesn't feel like July--more like early June, or September.

The children are in their second week of swimming lessons, and both have made progress.  It will be interesting to see how they come out at the end.

My feet are improving--I say as I sit with them on ice again today.  The chiropodist gave them quite a workout yesterday, and I imagine they are sore because of that.  I am so glad that the calf stretches are helping!  And when I use the ice, I get so cold, I have to put on a fleece!

What do I do with my time?  More baking than usual has been one thing.  Another has been to do some cross-stitch (note to self to pick it up again after not touching it for two weeks).

Another thing I've been doing is working on learning the new (to me)  full HomechoolTracker program.  I am hoping to use the Lesson plan option on that in order to decrease the time I spend inputting stuff during the year.  It is taking quite a lot of time to learn how to use it now.  I am very thankful for the lesson plan sharing sites that are available.  It will save me a lot of time.  I hope I am able to figure things out well enough to give back to that at some point.

Another thing that is still on my list to do is to work on stuff in our garage.  I have boxes of stuff that I haven't really sorted through since we moved--nearly six years ago.  A lot of it is stuff I have kept from the past.  If the ravages of time and weather haven't taken too much of a toll on it there might be some stuff worth keeping.  If it is destroyed by damp muggy summers and cold snowy winters, it just needs to be gotten rid of.  I am hoping to tackle a box this afternoon.

The children are torn between playing by themselves and wanting to do "family things".  That means that Mum and Dad "need" to play with them.  We've played catch with ball and mitt, and with lacrosse nets.  We've taken an evening and practised batting.  We've played Sorry and Scrabble and Boggle.  It is fun.

Our Thirteenth Anniversary came and went.  Boo had a cold so we couldn't go out.  Also there was a death in my husband's family, and we haven't really felt like celebrating.  Still, I am very very thankful for all the years the Lord has given to me and my husband together.

Best get on to either doing something productive, or taking a short nap.  The nap sounds really appealing...

Two weeks of life--no blogging.  Where do I start?  With last week I guess...

My parents were here for about five days.  We had a really nice time with them, but I can see how frail my Mom is getting.  In some ways their visit was difficult, but when you look at it from the standpoint of making memories, it was an excellent visit.

We played Tri-ominoes almost every evening.  It is Mom's favourite game, and it helps her mind to keep active.  We've been looking for the game, but can't seem to find it anywhere but online.  It looks like it is available on Amazon.uk, so maybe when we go to Scotland to visit, we can find it.

One afternoon the girls (Grandma, Belle and I) made a fabulous lemon meringue pie, while the boys (Grandpa, Daddy, and Boo) went fishing.  I think the pie was one of my best ones in recent times!  We were hard put not to finish it all at one time.

Boo was the successful fisherman of the day.  He caught his first fish--with a fly rod!  He was most pleased, and his Daddy, the Scottish minister, was extremely proud of his wee son.  Boo had landed the fish before he told his Daddy he caught it. 

There was much sadness after church on Sunday when the Grandparents departed.

But when Monday rolled around, swimming lessons started.  We signed up for the first two weeks of the summer session in our town's outdoor pool.  Now, one has to realize that we live in Canada, and even though we are south of the 45th parallel, the first two weeks in July can be somewhat chilly.  The poor children have been bravely entering the pool when the temperature outside is in the low 60s, and yesterday, the pool heater broke!  So today they shivered both inside and outside the water.  This year so few people signed up for the early lessons that there are only 4 kids in the pool during their session.  The folk in charge put my two together even though they are in separate levels.  They are having a good time so far, and I hope they both improve their skills.

The weather did warm up a bit today though, and it looks as though both the weather and the pool will be warm enough tomorrow.

And what have I been doing since we ended our school year???  Cooking, baking, cleaning (not much) and trying to keep together.  Granted, last week was very busy trying to keep things rolling smoothly with two extra people in the house.  This week is busy with swimming etc.  I have hope that the last two weeks of July will settle down a bit.  I have worked a little on some summer projects, but haven't accomplished a huge amount, and not nearly what I want to do.  When I worry, I wonder how I can possibly be ready to start school in August, but I know I need to just take one day at a time.

That is, done except for swimming lessons, which I count for PE.  I have to keep reminding myself that it is really done.  It feels strange not to have to think of lesson plans for next week--strange to think that I can wake up and not have to push the lesson schedule--strange that I can work on summer projects without feeling like we should be doing school lessons.

Grandma and Grandpa are coming next week for quite a long visit.  We are looking forward to it very much, and I am sure their visit will help to get us in summer mode.

On the feet front:  Seems that much of my problems are due to too tight calf muscles.  I can hardly imagine that I could have avoided much of my pain simply by doing calf stretches on a regular basis!  The plus side of all that is that I seem to have improved a lot this week.  After going back to ice and antiinflammatories regularly for a few days, and using some heel cushions that the chiropodist made for me, I am feeling much better--not completely better, but then this didn't happen overnight, so I guess I can't expect immediate recovery.  Also I seem to have another problem that we will work on correcting over time, and that is that my feet roll to the outside when I walk.

The other thing I did this week, (which has caused much pain to the pocketbook) is go shoe-shopping.  I have discovered to my great disgust that all the shoe brands recommended to me, by various people in the know about good shoes, only make up to a medium width.  Granted, most women are a medium width (B), but what about poor me, who happens to be a D width?  I was able to find VERY good supportive sandals, and my feet are VERY happy in them--however they were priced like gold, so the rest of me is not very happy at that.  Fortunately they are good walking sandals, and will have to do for everyday and Sunday shoes for some time to come!

Guess that's the scoop for this week.  On to the list of summer projects next week....

Boo helping to drive a tractor with disk harrow.

And it was a Monday, with reluctant students for most of the morning.  Why is it that bad attitudes prevail at the end of the year?  Still, we got today's work done in the end.

I then proceeded to update my pantry inventory, and make a shopping list.  We headed out fairly early in the afternoon to accomplish our list of errands.  These included shopping at several stores, and getting passport photos.  We ended up eating out, as we had decided that grocery shopping on empty stomachs was not a good idea.

Summer seems to have started, with temperatures in the upper eighties today.  That should help the garden grow!  Shopping was very warm!  I am looking forward to staying inside most of tomorrow--aside from a doctor appointment in the morning--and getting the air-conditioners put back in the kid's bedroom windows.  At the moment a fan sits in the hallway, blowing and hopefully cooling down the bedrooms a bit.  It is still reasonably cool where I sit in the dining room downstairs.

With the approach of summer seems to come a time of intense busyness.  As lessons wind down, the projects loom.  I'll need to sort and put away finished curriculum, organizing what I want to keep.  I want to tackle clutter and do some much needed cleaning/dusting/de-cobwebbing around the house.  I want to sew more--maybe make a skirt for myself and a dress or two for Belle.

I did accomplish two projects at the end of last week.  I made a skirt for Belle, and deep-cleaned the kitchen.  I am hoping that the end of this week will be equally productive.  I say the end of the week because the beginning is full of things like laundry, church cleaning, errand running etc.

Then there is the list of want-to-dos:  Working with my photo software, doing more with pictures, finishing a cross-stitch project, sorting boxes of stuff in the garage. Ahhh, the list goes on.

We've just come off a lovely week with relatives who came to visit.  They were actually only here for about five days, but it was a very fun time.  My Aunt and Uncle came from their home in OR all the way to our neck of the woods!  They spent time with my Mom and Dad. (Auntie and Mom are sisters.) as well.

My Uncle, who does not like to be idle, set about making my yard look about one of the best on the block.  He mowed and weeded and mulched and edged....with Boo out there helping and keeping him company every chance he got.  (I've gotten several compliments on the edging job he did around the sidewalks!)

My Aunt spent a lot of her time cutting out a set of paper dolls for Belle.  She had chosen Pioneer dolls, which suits us down to a T, given that we are studying a similar time in history.

We also took an afternoon to drive up around the lake.  I haven't uploaded photos yet, so don't have any to post.  It was a beautiful day with blue skies and sparkling blue water.

Now life is back to normal and we are finding our routine again.  Back to our summer schedule of half school days and attempts to accomplish projects in the afternoon.  Unfortunately I have been somewhat inhibited by my feet trouble.  After a very good week last week, I have succumbed again to a great deal of discomfort.  And when my feet hurt, I don't want to do much in the way of summer projects.

On a happy note though, I have an appointment with a chiropodist (Canadian version of Podiatrist I think) next week.  I am hoping that I can finally show someone who knows, just where it hurts.  And I only hope that the results won't cause too much pain for the exchequer.

In spite of pain yesterday, I did feel like baking pie.  I managed to do it all from peeling apples to getting the pie in the oven, in one hour!  That must be a record for me.  We enjoyed it last night and today.

What I really should be doing now, instead of blogging, is filling out passport applications, or planning lessons for tomorrow, or looking at the lesson planning software I plan to upgrade to.  If it were morning and not a school day, I should look at deep-cleaning the kitchen, or sorting the linen closet, or working on the front porch,  or sorting Boo's closet (which has storage in the back).  All of those things are jobs I hope to get to before the summer is over.  Not to mention the outside jobs--more weeding, working out what I want to do with the front flower bed etc.

So guess I will quit for now, and perhaps tackle a passport app.

It is often on Thursday that I feel very tired.  It is hard to get motivated to plan lessons for tomorrow, and the urge to sleep or otherwise waste an evening is strong.

However, I did get up early and walk today.  That was before the feet really started hurting (they've been hurting to various degrees all week, but today it was bad enough to take out the big guns--the prescription antiinflammatories).
Once I took them it took a couple of hours for the pain to recede, but recede it did eventually, and I was able to hobble through the day.  Now they are starting to bother me again, but I plan to sit most of the evening.

I don't mean to complain though.  It was a really good and pretty productive day.  We did lessons this morning, and then worked in the garden.  I got a lot of weeds pulled at the bottom of the garden (yard for Americans), and exposed the two and only two healthy leaves of rhubarb.  Mind you those two leaves are more than I got last year!  My husband potted the tomato plants this year--in hopes of getting them in position of the most sun our shady garden gets.  He put them on that black ground cover on top of where the gout weed grows--we hope that will discourage it from growing back.  I also found my lilac bush--a gift from the VON when I got my blood pressure taken at a clinic in the mall about three years ago.  It is getting much bigger, but hasn't bloomed yet. (The lilacs are amazing this year--really blooming!)

My dear husband and the children also planted the garden--broccoli and cauliflower, and some herbs, marigolds, and lots of beans.  We know to watch the plants more closely this year, as last year they got eaten by caterpillars.
The yard looks lovely.  All I want now is to get a couple of hanging baskets of sun-loving flowers to hang in the front of the house.  (I love our closed-in porch, however it is the home of my husband's library--in boxes, and it doesn't look nice.) 

We have been permitted by our "principal" to drop to half days of school for the next month or so.  We'll alternate between morning and afternoon subjects while keeping math going every day.  The days are so lovely now, and I think we have cabin fever--needing to get out and enjoy the good weather while we have it.  Hopefully I will also be able to work on some projects too.

In the afternoon, our friend had booked us a ride on a Duck (Dukw).  Our Duck was called "The Red Sox Nathan", and you can see it in these photos http://http://www.bostonducktours.com/about_gallery_01.html.  We were delighted to be able to ride on that particular Duck.  And our ConDucktor was very good! 

A highlight for the children was getting to drive the Duck while in the Charles River.  I wonder if it helped that they were both wearing Red Sox caps......

It was lovely to see the Boston skyline from the river.


Our day ended with a lovely dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  The dinner was so filling that we ordered only one piece of cheesecake and five forks.  I have NEVER seen a piece of cheesecake disappear so quickly!

Saturday we had a cookout with friends, and an impromptu baseball game in the backyard with Boo's bat and ball.  I had the dubious pleasure of pitching a home-run to none other but my beloved husband!

Sunday was a restful day with church and Prayer Meeting. 

And Monday we started our trip home--to arrive on Tuesday just in time to get ready for guests to visit on Wednesday.  They stayed until Friday, and we had a wonderful time with them--mostly at home and in the house because it rained a lot!  Belle was in her element, looking after their baby.

Thus ends our vacation, one of the most fun ones that I can remember having with our family.

Two weeks ago we left early Monday morning to drive to Rhode Island.  We have a lot of friends there and we had been looking forward to seeing them, and preparing for the trip for some time.  I also tend to put in a curriculum order to pick up while in the States, and of course we also visited sites like Amazon.com, and Cabelas too.  So we were expecting a few parcels upon our arrival.  We were not disappointed.  I now wish I'd taken a photo of the stack.

The first full day we were in RI we visited our friend with a new baby.  My friend looks great!  And the baby girl is a sweet and very mellow child--at least she was at a week of age. 

After the visit we spent time at a beach.  The weather was beautiful, but it was very windy and not terribly warm!
We topped that day off with a seafood dinner.

The next day we got to go to a PawSox game.  I think it was a first for all of us to go to a real baseball game.  We munched on popcorn and slurped on frozen lemonade and had a grand old time!  The PawSox lost, but it was fun anyway.

Friday was another highlight of our trip.  Our friend took us to Boston!  Our first stop was at the Red Sox store right beside Fenway Park! (Can you tell I'm a Red Sox fan?)  Belle came out one Red Sox cap richer, and Boo came out with a kid's ball and bat.  I am the proud posessor of a Red Sox magnet for my fridge.

We then traveled downtown and parked right under the Public Gardens.  And yes these are the gardens of "Make Way for Ducklings" fame.  We even saw the swan boats!  And of course, Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack! But that was in the evening.  In the morning we took a tour of Old Boston--it was fantastic for reinforcing what we are learning in history.  And the guide was knowlegeable and funny!  I thought it was hilarious when he held his cane up high in the air or waved it at vehicles to get them to stop so we could all cross the street.   
 


We ended the morning with lunch at "Cheers".  It was very noisy, but the food was good.

(This is turning out to be a long post, so see Part 2 for the afternoon.)

Today was the first "normal" day after two weeks of vacation.  We went to Rhode Island to visit friends the first week, and had visitors here with us the second week.  I hope to blog about those things in another entry.

Our visitors left Friday evening after dinner, so I spend Saturday washing bedding and rearranging bedrooms, as well as my regular cleaning (which hadn't been done since before we went to RI).  It kept me pretty busy.  I also had to catch up with budgeting and bill-paying.   Then we went out to a local greenhouse and picked up plants for the garden and flowers too.  It did all get done, although I was pretty tired by Saturday evening.

Belle has a cold, and was really feeling ill this morning, so we limited our day to Sonlight and science.  It was good because we were able to get a lot of our work done, but still had time to do other things.  The weather was too grey and damp to work in the yard or garden, but my husband did shop for some of the supplies needed to put in the garden later in the week if the weather improves.

I spent nearly two hours working with my cookbook and kitchen inventory software after we finished lessons this morning.  I was trying to get caught up on the recent grocery shopping and inventory.  I am not sure that everything is accurate, but at least I have some idea of what is in the freezer and pantry.  I love the software that I use, but I haven't been using it long enough to really utilize it to its fullest potential.

This afternoon I read to the kids for a while, and then worked on backing up photographs.  I also filed two file folders worth of bills.  It felt good to get that done!

Finally, I made dinner--one of our new favorite dishes, and I cooked it in my new electric skillet!  It was fun to cook today, but it took me an hour.  Then we ate and I had to face the cleanup.  Oh I am SO thankful for a dishwasher!

Tonight blogging is on the to-do list, and that is getting done now, and then I hope I can find something productive to do that is relaxing too.

I wonder many times how folk going through difficult times can manage to keep blogging.  I seem to find that when I am smack dab in the middle of life, my blogging drops off.  Either I don't have the energy or the inspiration, or the time.  Maybe I just don't make it a priority.

I won't hesitate to say that life has been more difficult lately.  I can also say with assurance that God's grace has been abundant in the past few weeks, and I can look back on each day, knowing without a doubt that He has been there with me--even through the mundane stuff of getting the meals on and doing the laundry, and doing lessons.  Even though the academic lessons may be patchy some days, the life lessons are plentiful, and I am SO thankful to be able to have my children at home, walking with us during these times.

My dear Mom, the author of the book called The Hardest Place, a full-time missionary for over 40 years of her life, a writer of another as yet unpublished book and many other stories, a wonderful mother to her four children and wife to her husband, my Dad, has been struggling with a form of dementia for some time now.  At present, the condition has worsened, and we are struggling to find ways to keep her at home, with my Dad and with people who love her.  It is the "hardest place" I can imagine either of my parents ever being in.

On top of all that, I have been dealing with my own health concerns.  While so far at least there has been nothing serious, it has been a couple of issues that keep cropping up, along with the ongoing foot pain that I have been dealing with.  At the moment I am waiting for test results and a possible referral to a foot specialist.

So with all that, plus homeschooling the children, keeping meals on the table and groceries in the cupboard, clean clothes on my spouse and a semblance of routine, I haven't been able to blog.  But I am blogging now, and I hope to be able to get back on more of a routine soon.

As a follow-up to last week's post:  I did make desert--apple crisp, and somehow managed to do it while making supper--with a bit of help from Belle.  It turned out pretty good--I think it is best when made with Granny Smith apples.

We capped that evening off with a nice walk.

Friday last week was cleaning day, and all the usual Saturday chores.  I also managed to get outside and do the yardwork I had wanted to do.

Saturday we hopped into the van and drove down to the big city airport to pick up DH.  He had spent the previous four days away for meetings.  We were all glad to have him back.

Today is a day to squeeze in schoolwork while washing all the sheets, changing from heavy comforters to lighter ones for warmer nights, remake all the beds and get ready for a visit with Grandma and Grandpa for the next several days.  All being well, they plan to come tomorrow and stay until early Friday, so we should have a nice visit with them.  I just hope that my Mom is feeling well enough to enjoy the grandchildren.

I'd love to add a photo, but I don't have anything really recent.  So you're just stuck with the update.

It is very windy and a bit rainy today, and promises to be that way for most of the week.  Still the grass is getting greener, and the daffodils are starting to bloom.

I'm having foot trouble again.  New insoles in nearly new shoes haven't helped a great deal.  I am thinking I may need to visit my doctor again for a possible referral to a foot doctor.  This is getting tiring.

Since spring has really come now, I'll post a couple of late winter photos.  This is one of my favourite places.


I am way behind on regular blogging again.  But that is life.  And life has been getting in the way.  Since I don't usually use blogging as a way of de-stressing, I haven't had the inclination or energy to put into a post.

This week has been busy.  The spring-cleaning itch has hit, so I cut lessons to the minimum and have spent the week working on some deep cleaning and organizing of our bedroom.  Actually, the deep cleaning hasn't really happened yet--that comes tomorrow.  I did rearrange my husband's workspace.  Now the book piles are off the floor and up where they can be easily reached.  That necessitated some rearranging of my stuff, and I took the opportunity to pull everything out of my closet and try to put it back in so that I can get to stuff more easily.

Other than the regular cooking and laundry, I have paid minimal attention to the rest of the house.  Again, I hope to get to that tomorrow.

On top of all that, there is some yardwork begging to be done.  I had planned to do that today after cleaning the church, however I was
too tired when I got home, and didn't figure I had enough time before making dinner.  Dare I say "tomorrow" again?  There is a lot of green and a few crocuses showing in the spot where our bulbs are planted.  I am hoping for a good show of flowers this year.  But the rosebushes and other evergreen bushes at the front of the house desperately need a cutting back.

The children have spent every spare minute running and playing outside.  I am glad.  It is good for them.

I just remembered I was going to use up some apples in a dessert this week.  At 4:50 p.m., do I have time to do it before dinner?  I would have to work at lightning speed.  Hmmm....I don't want to push that to tomorrow because likely I won't get to it, and Saturday is booked.

Guess I should post this and get moving--to make supper if nothing else.