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.