Hi! Welcome to my blog! My name is Jane (PlainJane) and I am the blessed and happy wife to Jeff and doubly blessed mama of two perfectly wonderful daughters. Please join me as I share our Lifestyle of Learning through Christian homeschooling and homesteading on our little hobby farm with our prairie girls.
Bookworm is our dd14/9th grader.
Our perfectionist and over-achiever. She loves reading, playing violin, her Paint horse, Annie, being a farm girl, and History re-entacting.
Ladybug
is our dd11/6th grader.
Our "girls just want to have fun" girl. She loves to play and has a great sense of humor, but also likes reading, music, her Quarter Horse, Kitty, and History re-enactment.
We are finished reading
the Moody books
By Sarah Maxwell
and HIGHLY recommend them
Please click on images for
information
~ I am a part of... ~
he said to them, "Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you -- THEY ARE YOUR LIFE. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess." Deuteronomy 32:46-47
Sep. 1, 2008~ The Simple Woman's Daybook - September 1st ~
For Today, Monday, September 1st, 2008
Outside My Window...hazy blue sky and beautiful sunshine; expecting it to reach 90 today, but very windy. After a few chilly nights last week, I now see signs of fall approaching in the color of the leaves here and there. A couple of turkeys in our lower field.
I am thinking... I need to start a to-do list - we are going out of town Wednesday and I have much to do.
From the learning rooms...although all of life is learning, our "classroom" is neat & ready to go - school doesn't start until the 8th. teehe
I am thankful for...I'm again thankful for our wonderful "new" (about 4 months now) church and pastor. I love how our pastor boldly proclaims the truth! Lord, please sustain him in strength & health (he is in his 70's). I want him to continue on until the Rapture.
From the kitchen...
Monday ~ Traditional Potluck/Cookout at Grandma & Grandpa's
Tuesday ~ BBQ Ribs (usually on the 31st of every month, but I was the only one home)
I am going...we are taking a couple of days vacation to our favorite waterpark in the WI Dells later this week. We use to go once or twice every year, but haven't been there in about 3 years. We are all excited to go.
I am wearing...my usual barn wear... denim capris, a short sleeve gray t-shirt, bare feet, hair in ponytail. Some mornings and late evenings it's becoming more fall-like, wearing a light barn jacket when I go to the barn, but not today.
I am reading...II Samuel and I Corinthians. Just finished the book "Trapped in Hitler's Hell" by Anita Dittman with Jan Markell. What a GREAT book! I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended!!!
I am hoping...all goes well this week and I don't forget anything.
I am hearing...a cricket in the house, the clock ticking, and the computer engine. Outside more crickets and the wind is howling.
Around the house & barn...Jeff is home all this week (well, on vacation with us of course) which is always nice. Just busy packing and making preparations for our trip. Grandma & Grandpa will care for the animals while we are gone. I like to leave the house in perfect order when we go, else Grandma thinks she has to wash dishes or clothes. Oh that remindes me, I better clean the oven.
One of my favorite things...is just being with my family.
A few plans for the rest of the week... Play, play, play!!! It's our last official week of summer break. Going to Wisconsin Dells Wednesday and in-laws today, so I have to squeeze in all the trip prepration in on Tuesday. Also dropping off a couple of bags of stuff for the church's garage/charity sale coming up in a couple of weeks.
Here are some picture thoughts I am sharing with you...
Here is the largest of our three Honeycrisp apple trees. This variety is the official Minnesota State apple and oh so crisp & juicy - my favorite. Honeycrisps are usually ready to harvest early September here, so next week after school we will be busy making apple pies, bars, and dehydrating apples - oh, and eatting them fresh too.
Of course, we don't spray our trees, everything is organic on our farm.
And here is our Autumn Bliss raspberries, just starting to ripen for the fall. We get a few in July, but the majority ripen in September. When they are golden with a blush of pink, they are ripe and ready to eat off the bush - and oh so sweet, they melt in your mouth.
Oh what a tangled web we weave - the tomatoes that is. I have only 8 plants, but I've canned about as much as I can, unless I buy more jars which I wasn't planning on. I have about 200-300 more tomatoes that need attention - most of them barely bigger than golf ball size. Hmmmm, what to do, what to do. Come on over for BLT's!
If you would like to join us in The Simple Woman's Daybook, please see our Hostess,Peggyfor details. You may also visit her for the Mr. Linky to others.
I'm BAAAACK!!!! Actually it wasn't that bad. I think us girls could easily do without tv. Even Jeff kept the tv off for the week - but come football season (very shortly), I'm sure Jeff will break under pressure. lol Even today, when we could have tv on, it wasn't. I do want to keep our tv though - just for all our great dvds. I missed hearing good Christian music from time to time - it was very quite. The computer was another thing though, even though we stayed off it, all us girls missed visiting with our friends and occassionally I wanted to look something up, but had to wait until now (Jeff on the other hand took full advantage of not having to wait in line to use the computer, "just because he could") lol. So I guess what I learnt about our 1-week media break was that we could do without it, but it is nice to have. It really seemed wierd not knowing what was going on in the world (use to computer for news) and having Jeff fill me in when he got home from work. I think he enjoyed that. :)
Something that we knew before, but it really became shockingly evident was what a time-gobbler computers & tvs can be. Days seemed so much longer and we all got soooo much more done everyday! I'm pretty much caught up on my housework, I weeded, canned, had a book sale, went on a family walk almost every night, and played with the horses. I hope to keep this up - it's amazing. lol
Here are a couple of scenes from our farm while we were away...
Ladybug enjoying her horsey. I think that girl could ride 24/7.
Bookworm doing a little Follow-up around cones with her horse, Annie. Follow-up is when the horse follows you wherever you go, but there is no lead line between you and the horse. Annie is such a good/sweet horse.
"Baby" chick update: Here are our current batch of chickens. Brownie (the brown banty) is our oldest surviving hen - she plays mama to all the white ones. Mr. Peepers (on the far right) is Brownies adopted baby - a sweet but wimpy rooster so far - such a mama's boy). The other three are Poofy Cheeks, Tweety, and Snuggles. (named by Ladybug). Tweety has now proved to be a sweet rooster too, so I don't know, maybe that will be Mr. Tweety. lol My fear is that they will all be roosters - or perhaps just one baby hen. Snuggles use to be sweet, but is turning out naughty - and to think we brought her (maybe him) back from the brinks of death. Some gratitude! If anything, Poofy Cheeks may be our only hen baby. sigh. At least Brownie is laying eggs again. I get one small egg from her everyother day - not too many omlets around here lately. :)
It's good to be back! Now just to get caught up with you all! Talk to you soon.
Us girls were casually discussing a while back about taking a break from media -- computer, tv, radio, dvd's & cd's. Not that we overdo it anyways, but I guess just something "fun" to do. Well, to my surprise, Ladybug, our 11 year old, decided this was the week we should do it, or at least she would do it. I say surprise, because whenever I and Bookworm talk about how we would like to get rid of the tv, Ladybug is always silent on the issue. lol Anyways, to help support my daughter's decision, I will be taking a bloggy/tv break this week as well. I wish I had time to go around and visit everyone one last time, but I hope you understand. I do get an exception to check our emails a couple times a day since we are having a homeschool booksale at our house Thursday and I told people they could contact me by email, but otherwise, I will be just home doing the usual stuff - undistracted.
FAREWELL MY FRIENDS, see you next SUNDAY, August 31st.
Like I was saying in my last post, since the goatie girls are now gone, Jeff has been working on expanding Kitty & Sundance's stall into the goat pen as well -- going from a 10' square stall to 10' x 16' wide.
It's been quite a time of deciding what to do. Since I want to keep our yearling, Sundance, as my horse, we considered building him his own stall, but I really don't think he would use it - he likes being with his mama & Auntie Annie too much. Another option was to open up Annie's stall to Kitty's stall and just have one big 20' stall, but I would rather not do that either in case one of the horses gets an injury or needs to be separted from the rest for a while, we should have at least two horse stalls. So the best solution was to expand Kitty's stall into the goat pen. Actually, usually when I come out to the barn in the morning, all three horses are happily standing in just one 10' stall, but at least now they have a much roomier option that they might like, expecially as Sundance gets bigger and as colder weather will set in. Here is Annie (Bookworm's Paint) and Sundance (My Quarter Horses yearling) trying out the expanded stall. Annie is really not Sundance's "Aunt", but we just call her that.
Here you get a better idea of the wider stall - Kitty (Ladybug's pony/Sundance's mama) and Sundance again. They aren't so sure they like change, but they will get use to it soon. I always keep the outside stall doors open leading to the Paddock unless it reaches below -20, then they will be closed in for the night. This extra room with help in situations like that.
My Sweetie is so wonderful for doing this - he doesn't even particularily like horses. lol - the horses better appreciate this. Now watch, I'll find them all crammed into the 10' stall tomorrow morning. lol
Boy, what a difference a day can make here in good ol' Minnesota. Yesterday was about 90 degrees, MUGGY, and extremely windy. Now it's 61, overcast, and well, I have on a fleece sweater. We got just a tich of rain last evening, but not enough, it's dry here and we could use a little of Florida's extra water. :)
Currently Jeff is busy with his "Extreme Barn Makeover" as he calls it. Since the goats left, he has been busy bumping out the wall between Kitty/Sundance's stall and extending it into the goat space - widening the stall from a 10'er to 16'. He sould be done with it later today. The horses will be thrilled I'm sure. Stay tuned for photos.
It's 10 am and the girls are still in their jammies, busy playing with my Bible felts in the parlor, Peanut sleeping at their side. Just a nice lazy day for them. Very quiet in the house.
I will be mostly busy at home -- washing dishes, laundry (that I should have done Thur.), ironing (that I should have done Fri), Tomatoes, and I want to check on my herbs. I'm anxious to dry them soon. I need to see if the Stevia needs watering (it can wither so quickly - but the water perks them right back up) . I also need to get a few groceries - I hate going on weekends, but we are down to about 1 tablespoon of butter. I also want to stop at the local health food store and see if I can find some good coconut oil and some essential oils to try out a couple of recipes to make toothpaste (thanks Julie) & deodorant since I'm a no-flouride person.
I'm just so thankful for the internet and being able to tap into learning so much from all you creative ladies out there. Thank you for sharing your journies and knowledge! It makes homesteading & home educating so much easier and funner. You are a treasure!
Okay, so you know me, I can NEVER be wordless - maybe I should have saved this for Show & Tell Friday. Oh well! Here are more photos from our visit to Duluth on August 1st to see the tall ships.
There were 3 ships, this is the U.S. Brig Niagara (the biggest) that we toured. A proud moment coming in - escorted by lots of smaller boats. This is all part of Minnesota's 150th birthday celebration this year. These Tall Ship Photos are courtesy of my good friend, Patti, who arrived the day before to see the ships come in - wish I had been there then. THANKS Patti!
Just barly clearing the Aerial Lift Bridge (Facts: Home Port: Erie, PA, Length 198', Height: 121')
They offer Sailing School Programs either a 1-day program onboard the Niagara - learning the history of the ship, the Battle of Lake Erie, and the War of 1812. Day Sail Students are invited to participate with the crew and trainees in hauling on lines and setting sails. Or the untimate fieldtrip - a 2-4 week Live-Aboard Program where you are part of the working crew. It's for ages 16 & up - wouldn't that be a neat experience for a dad & son! (tution for 2-4 wks. is $1,200). For more info. click here. Here's what we usually see coming into the Duluth Port, not nearly as pretty.
Aug. 19, 2008~ Tightwad Tuesday - How Shall We Then Spend? ~
I don't know if I should classify this under "tightwad" as it seems unspiritual for this particular post, but my thoughts keep returning to something I have often thought about in the past and resonate yet within me from this past Sunday's sermon...
"Live each day as if we truly believe that Christ will return at any time" ~ perhaps even today.
If we/I truly believed that, how would that effect how we use our time; our relationships; and our spending? How much stuff do I really need? Could I get rid of some of this suff? How much of what I have is really essential? The answer to those questions are sobering indeed. It would change my spending greatly and of course I could get rid of a lot of things around here without missing them in the least.
Many of us can clearly see the birth pains (Matthew 24 & Mark 13) of the end times all around us. Christ IS returning just as He said, and sooner than we expect! So why are we spend like there's no tomorrow?
Isn't it strange that many work so hard to earn just one more dollar so they can accumulate the latest whatever or on entertainment, only to get rid of much of it again? After retirement they move into a much smaller home and perhaps later a senior care facility - dying with basically nothing since none of us can take anything with us. And honestly, in my own family, 99% of the things I might inherit will be sold or given away someday should the Lord tarry?
I remember once as a teen, my mother was having a garage sale and had a couple of table lamps on the sale. There was nothing special about them and we weren't asking much for them (probably under $25, most likely $10 for the two). A young woman arrived, probably in her 20's and fell in LOVE with the lamps, you could tell she needed them and really, really wanted them. HOWEVER, instead of purchasing them right there & then - she chose to take the chance of someone else buying them and went home to pray about it. You see, she was leaving for the mission field shortly and every dollar she spent she truly felt accountable to God. That was probably about 30 years ago or so, and I don't even recall if she came back for them - she might have, but it made a hugh impression upon me.
What if we/I prayed like that before we made even $10 purchases? How would that change our spending? How many science or school books do we need anyways? How many dishes? Hitting close to home, do I really need another bookcase or do I need to get rid of some books? As a true confession, I know my husband grones within when he sees me buying more and more books, only to turn around and sell them for pennies on the dollar in a few years - often unread & unused. I have really determined to cut back on my spending, to bless my husband and to be a good example to our children for the glory of God. May the Lord find us faithful!
Please join us for Tightwad Tuesday with your money-saving tips or visit our sweet hostess, Mary, for links to other money-saving ideas.
Aug. 18, 2008~ The Simple Woman's Daybook - August 18th ~
For Today, Monday, August 18th, 2008
Outside My Window...it's 4:09am, I can't see anything but the moon. It's a beautiful, peaceful morning. A slight chance of showers today, otherwise mid-80's all week and sunny!
I am thinking... still thinking about Sunday's sermon about living every day with the sense of Christ's coming in purchases & relationships. Thinking of all the stuff I could do without. Also thinking about Florida friends in the wake of a possible hurricane heading their way.
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I am thankful for...my wonderful family and His beautiful creation - enjoying every moment with my husband and daughters and marveling at all our Creator has made.
Saturday ~ Leftovers
Sunday ~ Lasagna and Garlic Bread
I am creating...still needing to work on scrapbooks & school plans.
I am going...to be home, mostly. Today we need to make a library run, otherwise it's another pretty free week.
I am wearing...my usual barn wear... denim capris, a short sleeve gray t-shirt, sports socks, and hair in ponytail.
I am reading...Judges and Romans; no time to read anything else.
I am hoping... I will use my time wisely these next couple of weeks and get everything accomplished before vacations & school begin.
I am hearing...from my open window, frogs croaking down by the river. (oh, oh,morning update: the sun is now coming up and I hear one of our 4 baby chicks (8 wks old) practicing crowing - I hope that's the only rooster. They always sound pretty pathetic when they are first learning.
Around the house & barn...(same as the last 4 weeks) ironing, keeping things tidy; & scrapbooking. Continue with harvest & putting away.
One of my favorite things...is just admiring God's beautiful creation. Nothing beats beholding the beautiful blue sky, puffy white clouds, blades of green grass, ocean waves (when I'm at the ocean), or the prairie flowers -- outside of my family, it's my favorite entertainment.
A few plans for the rest of the week... Harvest & putting away ~ possibly canning more tomatoes & freezing carrots. Usual household work. Scrapbooking. Finalizing my school plans (we will start school Sept. 8th) - would like to get our American History studies pretty much all planned out for this year today (I use mostly Home School in the Woods' Time Travelers Lapbook & Craft ideas along with lots of great books we already have around the house).
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
NO, this is not roadkill. It's Sprinkles, our barn cat, napping on her back in the middle of our front sidewalk. She usually likes to sleep with her front paws over her eyes. She will nap there for hours - the girls can ride their scooters right past her head and she doesn't flinch. Oh to have her life.
If you would like to join us in The Simple Woman's Daybook, please see our Hostess,Peggy for details. You may also visit her for the Mr. Linky to others.
I guess I'm just thinking out loud, but thought I'd record my plans for US Geography for this coming school year and the next. We did World Geo. a few years ago, and Bookworm had US Geo. in co-op six years ago, but since we are finally about midway through the study of American Colonies, I thought we better get started on this, so here are my thoughts and plans...
We will study the states in the order of statehood (I think). Every couple of weeks each of the girls will be given a state to study (I will put two states' names in a cup and they will draw which one they get), so the first week they will have Delaware & Pennsylvania (the first 2 states into statehood). Each girl will have a different state that they are to become the EXPERT in (they like this idea). Then they have two weeks to do a map and thorough study of that state using books from home and the library. Here is what I want from them:
Each is expected to trace their particular state on typing paper; write the names of the states and/or bodies of water that border that state.
Locate the state capital with a star (sticker) and locate certain better-known cities for each state as listed in U.S. Map Skills book.
Label major lakes, reservoirs, rivers, national forests, mountain ranges and the like on their map as given in U.S. Map Skills book and make a legend.
Locate special Points of Interest as listed in U.S. Map Skills book such as Washington's Birthplace or Mt. Rushmore.
Be able to define any geographical vocabulary words associated with that state such as crater or portage.
Know the state's postal abbreviation.
Cut out state clip-art and label with abbreviation & year of statehood and place on timeline (clip-art found in U.S. Map Skills book).
Be able to list one to three products the state is known for.
At the end of two weeks the girls will give a report on their state to the family (after supper) explaining their map as well as giving other interesting facts and perhaps showing pictures from library books. They will also each make one or more dish(es) from "Eat Your Way Through the USA" for dinner that night. Following their presentations and wild applause, they will draw for their next state and start all over again.
The US Geography Books that we have and I really like are:
U.S. Map Skills, a gem of a little book that only costs $2.49 from CBD. It teaches geography how I learnt it, and then some. Highly recommended!
Eat Your Way Through the USA, a yummy way to learn some gastronomic differences between states and make daddy smile in the process.
MAPS! The World and United States, I guess I like this book over the more well-known map book choices because it has nice bold outlines of the states - making it easy for the child to place a sheet of typing paper over the state and trace the outline without having to hold it up to a window. It just has the outline with a star for the capital - leaving it for your child to put in bodies of water or mtns. and cities. I might have found my copy at a teacher supply store, but it's at Amazon too.
Cantering the Country, I love this book! One could do a whole year of unit studies with just this book. We won't be going quite that indepth.
The Complete Book of Presidents and States, I got this book at Walmart a few years ago. It's more colorful than most geo. books and easy to read (for grades 4-6). Available through Amazon.
Rand McNally Kid's Road Atlas, or any good US road atlas where the children can get good practice looking up & locating cities on the map using the index, finding state parks and points of interest. I got my copy for $3.99 at Target of few years back.
So there you have it, we will probably tack on time to work on US Geography after US History each day - just 15 minutes a day will add up over two weeks. There are a lot of fun books & websites/blogs with fun crafts and lapbook ideas that we could do along with this, but since the girls are older now and we have more than enough to do with crafts & lapbooks with Early American History, this will have to suffice. The girls are really looking forward to doing this - being the experts, each doing their own thing, cooking, and doing research. They can hardly wait!
Rather then taking the time to do a Daybook today, I just thought I'd pop in and let you know that even though my calendar is amazingly clear for the week, that I will be extremely busy here at the homefront. Harvest has now kicked into high gear and I'll be in the garden and kitchen most of this week. There are a lot more green beans out there to pick and can and hopefully I will have enough tomatoes to can too. Carrots can probably be blanched and frozen and I'll have to call my inlaws to see if the sweet corn is ready to pick at their farm. Onions can be pulled and hung to dry & check on potatoes. And oh yes, it looks like rain is in the forecast, so I need to hurry and beat the clouds.
The recentl Minnesota (government school) standardized tests results are out and it ain't lookin' good folks....
According to the Minnesota Department of Education, this year 983 school made AYP (adequate yearly progress) while 937 did not. In 2007, 1,191 achieved AYP, while 727 failed, and in 2006, 1,405 passed, while 483 did not...it's getting worse with every year.
What does this mean? Well, AYP results are what the federal "No Child Left Behind" Act uses to judge how well a school & their students are doing. Federal Title 1 funds may be reduced from schools not meeting AYP ~ so the pressure is on to improve those scores at all costs lest they lose $'s. In our area alone, only one small school made AYP in both their elementary and secondary schools. All the rest perhaps made AYP in one or more areas, like elementary, but failed miserably in the high school level and not making AYP overall. I always wondered about our own local school district -- every year they send out a school calendar and it use to brag up it's test results, and I never understood WHY?. The results were soooo poor! I noticed this year they weren't bragging quite as "loudly" with reading proficiency at 64%-78% and math results at 25% for 11th graders to 71% for 3rd graders. Twenty-Five percent? ~ They have got to be kidding!!! That means 3/4ths of the 11th graders are not even testing out at their grade level - no wonder noone knows how to make change any more! In our own homeschool if a problem is not right, the girls keep getting it back until it's perfect.
Now granted, I put very little weight into test scores. I hate tests and am personally a testaphobic. The only testing we do in our homeschool is weekly spelling tests and the required-by-law national norm standardized testing each year. There are too many variables as to how the child is feeling that day (well/ill, tired, etc.) and if you are like us and study things in a different order than most (chronologically), you most likely haven't covered all the material that you are tested on; however, we do test, and the standardized tests are really not that hard to pass. Without trying we, as I'm guessing many of you, test out far above our childrens' grade level. So what are the gov. schools doing wrong and what are they doing to correct it? Well, for one thing...
in answer to the State's low math scores, Susan Burris, Director of Teaching and Learning had this to say about an improvement plan...the plan will address "how" math is taught, instead of "what" is being instructed. She suggested a more "inquiry based," multifaceted approach to problem solving, where there can be many answers to a question.
What did she say? Is she for real? Mathematics is a very exact science! Either it's right or it isn't. Even with a humanistic religion that doesn't see math as part of an exact God created world, I find it hard to fathom how there can be MANY right answers to a math problem. How will that help the student's scores on the CAT test? Will they start grading the standardized tests on a learning curve just so little Johnny will pass? Stayed tuned, perhaps next year 2+2 will equal 3 or 5 and still be right on next year's test just so the schools can receive their funding. And afterall, we wouldn't want Johnny (or the school officials) to feel bad because he/they got a bad score. AUGHHHH!
Oh, and as a added footnote, I do not blame the teachers necessarily, there are many, many good teachers out there that are doing their best. Granted, there are bad teachers too, but a lot of factors come to play in the poor test scores. Possibly one of the weightiest areas at fault is at home with parents leaving all their children's education (and discipline) to the "professionals" and not taking a vested interest in what is happening. And I fault the government system and NEA for actually believeing that they have control of and should raise our children from cradle to grave. More school dollars isn't the answer; things like using wisely the dollars schools they have in true education of the basics; parents actually loving and disciplining their children again; and returning to God and His Word is. I don't think that will happen in this fallen world, at least not on the large scale, but I praise God for each one of you homeschoolers and those of you that do take an interest in your children who are making a difference one family at a time.
To hear a good talk by R.J. Rushdooney on Mathematics, go here.
Minnesota use to be known for their better schools. How are your schools doing?
The past 18 hours have been fairly emotionally draining at our little homestead. For the past nearly two months, I have posted our three little goatie girls for sale in the local feed co-op. Not that we really wanted to get rid of them, but as a small effort to cut our losses. Well, last evening I finally received my first call on the ads (people have torn off the phone number - but some have also taken my entire ad - There were times when no ad was up - but I didn't know that and none called). Anywho, the caller bought our goats and today they left our farm.
We have had our Angora goats for four years and immensely enjoyed them being a part of our family. There have been more than a few tears shed with their leaving; but we are thankful that they are able to still be together. Although I had once invisioned sheering them myself, carding, spinning, and perhaps even weaving the mohair as part of a little homestead business - the reality of lack of time and perhaps interest took over. The goats weren't much extra work, but cost us about an extra $300/yr just to keep, which doesn't seem like much, but when you consider that we have already had them four years - that adds up to $1,200; and with the rising cost/sortage of grain and hay prices, it may only get worse.
It's a little quieter and emptier here tonight!
We miss you Charlotte, Oliva, and Katherine!!!
With All Our Love & Blessings
We Wish You Well at Your New Home.
Well, not of Noatic proportions, THANKFULLY, but enough - continued clean-up will be the order of the day.
You see, it all started out yesterday; a very pleasant day indeed. We were preparing to be out and about all day - visiting my mother near the Twin Cities, going to a violin shop (to see if we could up-grade/size Bookworm's violin), running a couple errands, and going to the beach. I usually shut all our windows before we leave if the weather is iffy, however, it was a beautiful day. I checked both the local & national radar and there wasn't any rain in site & the chance of rain was so slight that I thought it would be safe to leave the windows open for the day ~ besides, Peanut has been getting sick alot lately and I think the heat might be a contributing factor, so I kept the windows open for her sake. So off we went, leaving the windows wide open, unaware of what was to take place in a few hours.
Most All of our errand running was unsuccessful, but that didn't deter our sunny dispostiions; afterall, we were still going to the beach near grandma's shortly, so there was still fun to be had. However, when we returned back from shopping to grandma's, we were surprised to hear on her tv that there were severe thunderstorm warnings out for our home county (not at grandma's - the sky is blue there). Sigh, oh well, too late, it doesn't do any good to rush home, we live over an hour away and by the time we get there the damage will have already taken place ~ besides, MAYBE IT MISSED US. Jeff would be home in an hour or so anyways, and the girls would be sooo disappointed if we didn't go to the beach, I coudn't let them down. So like any responsible mama, we head for the beach. lol The girls had a grand time.
Later, as we neared home, I could clearly see that the storm had NOT missed us -- standing water, leaves & small branches were lying all around. Upon entering the house, I see Jeff had hung our kitchen throw rugs over the back deck railing - What? even the kitchen rugs? oh oh. We continued to go through the house to access the damage - the kitchen was a bit of a mess and when the girls entered Ladybug's room, all's I heard was a very serious "oh" and then silence. Thankfully Jeff had already taken care of most of it (and was now biking) and THANKFULLY the storm must have come from the N/NE where there were few open windows and the damage was contained just around the kitchen and Ladybug's bedroom windows (sparing our family room) - but what a soggy mess. A corner of Ladybug's bedding, the back side of her antique night table, a chair, carpet, and any knick-knacks & papers that were on or around the night table were SOAKED. There was standing water on one of her new Bibles, but thankfully it had a genuine imitation (lol) leather cover & water didn't hit the pages. Her notebook with all her Sunday School papers was soaked through & through and that is now spread out all over the kitchen counter to dry & dimple. The kitchen got it too, and I couldn't figure out why so much was soaked since the windows are above the sink and I thought all the water would be contained in that one corner, but when Jeff returned from his ride he explained that somehow the wind blew in one of our screens above the sink which in turn also blew over a couple of my good-sized planters (dirt in sink & over clean dishes). The screen was laying on the kitchen floor when he came home. Water was all over our (wood) kitchen floor & two throw rugs. Baskets and things hanging on pegs above the windows were soaked. The wind also knocked over a vase of flowers on the snack bar, spilling all that water and soaking any and all mail, bills, and papers we still had laying there from the Maritime Festival.
So in the meantime, I will have some laundry to do today because of it and try to get things back in order. Ladybug's room will still be a bit discombobbled as we keep things away from the carpet near the window for a couple of days to dry. I aimed the big box fan on the back of her night table and will see if that is all dry (the back was bowing out from the wet). And I will have to set a number of things out in the sunshine today to dry. Our front porch is soaking wet including a couple of pillows & quilt too.
All in all, it could have been much worse. It didn't affect our furniture (except the night table) or books - I am truly grateful. The lesson from this story ~ I need to ALWAYS shut the windows when going any distance. Oh, and btw, Peanut still got sick (another clean-up), not to mention the storm scared her terribly. We got "only" 8/10ths of an inch of rain, but it must have really blew.
Aug. 4, 2008~ The Simple Woman's Daybook - August 4th ~
For Today, Monday, August 4th, 2008
Outside My Window...it's 9:45 am, the sun was shining but it's now gray - expecting rain. Oh, I see a couple of beautiful yellow orioles in amongst the dandilions. Hmmm, dandilions are good for something I guess (yellow flowers attract yellow birds).
I am thinking...much to do today!
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I am thankful for...a GREAT WEEKEND!!! Friday we went up to Duluth for the Maritime Festival - us an about 125,000 others. It was so FUN! The weather was perfect! We stood in line for 4 hours (we were about 1/2 mile back in line and there was another 1/2 mile of people behind us) to tour the largest of the three tallships (schooners), but visited with those in line around us and relatives & friends joined us as the day progressed. Topping the day off with the girls wading in Lake Superior. Sunday was just a great day at church too! Much to be thankful for.
I am creating...still needing to work on scrapbooks & school plans.
I am going...to be home, mostly. I need groceries today & a library run; we will visit my mom sometime this week & go swimming; and perhaps go violin shopping for Bookworm - way past time for her to get a full-size violin.
I am wearing...my usual barn wear... denim capris, a short sleeve lavander t-shirt, sports socks, and hair up.
I am reading...Judges and Romans; no time to read anything else.
I am hoping... I get a lot done this week!
I am hearing...a crow squawking & some other birds tweeting. The girls just headed outside to swing.
Around the house & barn...(same as the last 2 weeks) ironing, keeping things tidy; scrapbooking; and finishing cleaning up the barn. I also need to check on the garden, I think I have some tomatoes to pick.
One of my favorite things...just being mama to my wonderful girls!
A few plans for the rest of the week... hmmm, I think I already mentioned it all.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... Here is a view of 2 of the 3 tallships. We toured the biggest one with all the little flags on it. Very fun! It is said that this was Duluth's biggest tour draw ever with 125,000 visitors over 3 days. Grandma's Marathon comes in second with about 60,000 visitors every year. We broke all records of those touring these ships - even in NY & Chicago. Their next stop is Green Bay. I think with the economy & gas prices as they are, people are enjoying things closer to home.
If you would like to join us in The Simple Woman's Daybook, please see our Hostess,Peggy for details. You may also visit her for the Mr. Linky to others.
I see some of you are posting your plans for the coming school year and with some of our friends already starting school, the talk around our house has turned to, "When are we starting school?". That's a good question! Traditionally, most schools in MN have always started on the day after Labor Day, and we usually have as well. This year has just been one big question mark; we follow more the agricultural season here ~ starting school after most of the harvest is complete and our last day of school just before planting. So with such a late spring, it's been questionable when the bulk of harvest would be - it still is. So the answer to when our first day of school question is "maybe Sept. 2nd, maybe not." Although I am busy canning and with just the right amount of sun & rain our garden has caught up and seems to be on schedule, I'm still not in the thick of things with harvest ~ we've got time yet. Additionlly we want to do a bit a camping & maybe a surprise trip for the girls, so we will see - school may not start until much later, or perhaps we will start with several interruptions. Stay tuned :). Anyway, here's our plans thus far (I've already made some changes since last posting on it)...
It has always been my desire to have a truly "Biblical Education"; not a packaged "Christian" curriculum with Bible verses thrown in here or there, but a very Bible centered-curriculum where the Bible is our sole/main textbook and perhaps some living books thrown in here or there. For the last several years I have been working towards that end, and this year I think we are pretty close to achieving that goal. If you recall in a previous post, I had decided to go with the Student of the Word (SOW) curriculum which is very good, but after studying it over, I found that it didn't quite fit for our family's needs. For instance, SOW is a 6-yr. plan, we needed 4 since Bookworm will be in 9th grade this year; I also desired a well-organized Bible reading/study plan where we will be reading pretty much the same amount of Scripture daily, covering the entire Bible, and a good study of God's providential hand in history and science as well. I began rewriting the scope & sequence and before I knew it, it had very little resemblence to SOW ~ more the Farmer Jane's version. Additionally, I also learnt of the Bedell Curriculum and the Balancing the Sword books, which would tie in very nicely to my new & improved (for me) plan. So here is a quick rundown of my plans...
4:30 am
Mom & Dad get up; Mom sends dad off to work; has devotions & a little computer time
6:30 am
Girls wake up; have personal devotions & get raedy for the day
7:00
Barn chores
7:30
Eat breakfast; mom cleans up
8:00
Finish getting ready
8:30
House chores
9:00
School starts with opening time: Prayer (M-F); Pledges to American Flag, Christian Flag & Bible (M); Sing the books of the Bible songs & Sword Drill (T-TH); Hymn Sing (M-TH); Today's Vocabulary Word(s) (M-TH using Vocab. Cartoons; Idioms; Eng. from the Roots Up; & Words a High Schooler Must Know) (Note: Fridays are our light/catch-up day)
9:30
Bible Reading (approx. 52 verses +/- a day; Discussion as we read; Prayer
10:00
Scribe Memory Verses (Penmanship) & Work on Bible Memorization
10:15
Make an Illustrative Outline or Lapbook about today's Scripture Reading
10:45
Setting (draw a map); Vocabulary (on Bible words); Archaeological; Timeline - do one or more of these items on today's Scripture Reading as applicable
11:00
History/Science - Doing the applicable Bedell Curriculum Lessons that go with today's Bible Reading
Literature/American History/US Geography/Science - Additional reading I have chosen for these subjects. We will be reading "Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation" for a Creation overview & finishing up our Weather Lapbook this year; We will also keep plugging away at our American History Lapbook & using other living books. Fridays will be project day where we work on a bigger craft or project related to our studies.
1:30
Topical, Character, Creative and/or Commentary Writing based on today's Scripture
2:00
Ladybug has English based on Scripture & BJU Spelling; Bookworm has Christian Light Home Ec & Life Skills
2:30
Music Appreciation (M); Art (T) - finish Watercolors for the Artistically Challanged & do God & the History of Art; Typing (3x/wk) using Bible-based Computer Typing Curriculum and Mavis Beacon; Ladybug also has Abeka Choosing Good Health 6 (approx 12 pgs/wk) and Maps Charts & Graphs when she is done with Health
3:00-4:00
Music Practice: Bookworm practices violin 5 days/wk, lesson every-other week; Self-tuaght piano. Ladybug has self-taught piano; guitar lessons via dvd.
Times will vary, we will really not follow the time slots exactly as some things will take less (or more) than a half hour - perhaps good times for short breaks. This is just a preliminary plan subject to tweeking. We also need to fit in our horsey training; Ruby Girls Bible Study, and misc. ministry somewhere. I really don't like to be held to time frames - these are just to give you an idea of approximately when we will do things. And of course, this is the plan for perfect days with no interruptions - we have those -- occasionally
And here is our Autumn Bliss raspberries, just starting to ripen for the fall. We get a few in July, but the majority ripen in September. When they are golden with a blush of pink, they are ripe and ready to eat off the bush - and oh so sweet, they melt in your mouth.
Oh what a tangled web we weave - the tomatoes that is. I have only 8 plants, but I've canned about as much as I can, unless I buy more jars which I wasn't planning on. I have about 200-300 more tomatoes that need attention - most of them barely bigger than golf ball size. Hmmmm, what to do, what to do. Come on over for BLT's!
Ladybug enjoying her horsey. I think that girl could ride 24/7.
"Baby" chick update: Here are our current batch of chickens. Brownie (the brown banty) is our oldest surviving hen - she plays mama to all the white ones. Mr. Peepers (on the far right) is Brownies adopted baby - a sweet but wimpy rooster so far - such a mama's boy). The other three are Poofy Cheeks, Tweety, and Snuggles. (named by Ladybug). Tweety has now proved to be a sweet rooster too, so I don't know, maybe that will be Mr. Tweety. lol My fear is that they will all be roosters - or perhaps just one baby hen. Snuggles use to be sweet, but is turning out naughty - and to think we brought her (maybe him) back from the brinks of death. Some gratitude! If anything, Poofy Cheeks may be our only hen baby. sigh. At least Brownie is laying eggs again. I get one small egg from her everyother day - not too many omlets around here lately. :) 
Here is Annie (Bookworm's Paint) and Sundance (My Quarter Horses yearling) trying out the expanded stall. Annie is really not Sundance's "Aunt", but we just call her that.
Here you get a better idea of the wider stall - Kitty (Ladybug's pony/Sundance's mama) and Sundance again. They aren't so sure they like change, but they will get use to it soon. I always keep the outside stall doors open leading to the Paddock unless it reaches below -20, then they will be closed in for the night. This extra room with help in situations like that.
There were 3 ships, this is the U.S. Brig Niagara (the biggest) that we toured. A proud moment coming in - escorted by lots of smaller boats. This is all part of Minnesota's 150th birthday celebration this year. These Tall Ship Photos are courtesy of my good friend, Patti, who arrived the day before to see the ships come in - wish I had been there then. THANKS Patti!
They offer Sailing School Programs either a 1-day program onboard the Niagara - learning the history of the ship, the Battle of Lake Erie, and the War of 1812. Day Sail Students are invited to participate with the crew and trainees in hauling on lines and setting sails. Or the untimate fieldtrip - a 2-4 week Live-Aboard Program where you are part of the working crew. It's for ages 16 & up - wouldn't that be a neat experience for a dad & son! (tution for 2-4 wks. is $1,200). For more info. click 
Here's what we usually see coming into the Duluth Port, not nearly as pretty.
We have had our Angora goats for four years and immensely enjoyed them being a part of our family. There have been more than a few tears shed with their leaving; but we are thankful that they are able to still be together. Although I had once invisioned sheering them myself, carding, spinning, and perhaps even weaving the mohair as part of a little homestead business - the reality of lack of time and perhaps interest took over. The goats weren't much extra work, but cost us about an extra $300/yr just to keep, which doesn't seem like much, but when you consider that we have already had them four years - that adds up to $1,200; and with the rising cost/sortage of grain and hay prices, it may only get worse.
Here is a view of 2 of the 3 tallships. We toured the biggest one with all the little flags on it. Very fun! It is said that this was Duluth's biggest tour draw ever with 125,000 visitors over 3 days. Grandma's Marathon comes in second with about 60,000 visitors every year. We broke all records of those touring these ships - even in NY & Chicago. Their next stop is Green Bay. I think with the economy & gas prices as they are, people are enjoying things closer to home.
