August is here and we have had a rainy and cooler summer so far. The few vegetables I was able to plant this year, are not producing. But, other than that, I'm not one to let the weather affect my outlook too much. I know this isn't universal because so many people seem to let the weather rule their feelings. I understand when it affects somebody's livlihood, such as farmers and painters, but a great deal of people who I hear grumbling are in neither of these categories. Anyhow, I guess I should feel grateful that I enjoy as many indoor things as outdoor. And that I live in a house with lots of glass because I truly love to watch the rain and hear it beat on the roof. The new roof, which Hubby continues to be thankful we were able to accomplish over a dry weekend this spring.
We spent two beautiful weeks in Ireland for which I'll forever be thankful. And I'm now completing a photo album to chronicle that time. After that, we had lots of "cousin time" when our nephews visited from Florida. All seven cousins did lots of swimming in Mem's pool and boating in the lake. And we did some camping at the lake with them, which included swimming, kayaking, fishing and, of course, roasting marshmallows. We also spent a fun day with friends at their lakeside cottage, swimming, tubing and playing games. Zinny has spent quite a few afternoons in her friend's pool next door as well. So far, it hasn't been hot and sunny enough for us to head to the ocean, but there are a few weeks of summer left and who knows what they will bring. We are spending a few days on the coast visiting my parents this week, but I doubt that will include swimming, although possibly some canoeing and kayaking and definitely some time at the local aquarium where the girls will participate in dissecting a squid! I think I may skip that activity and skip over to my favorite place to visit in Mom and Dad's neighborhood...the used book store. Rain or shine, I can always find treasures there.
Our neighbor returned from three years of schooling in Canada and it has been fun to reminisce together about days gone by. The three children have had some good times playing music together and sharing their various styles with each other. They have set some admirable musical challenges for themselves over the summer, and it's been a joy to listen in on their practice sessions.
I obviously have not been blogging much this summer. The girls appear to have left their computers behind to enjoy their school break "unplugged" and I have tried to follow suit, for the most part, although I do check in a couple of times a week and keep in touch with my Mom via email. The Internet is fascinating and has its place, but it certainly can swallow up hours if not used sensibly. We haven't missed it a bit this summer and have found much more valuable ways to spend our time. We enjoy a family game or two almost every day. Rainy days and after dinner are especially conducive to this favorite pastime.
Now, off to bake some goodies to bring along to Meme and Papa's house. Summer is fading fast and I can't stare at this computer screen any longer.
A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
As we enter June, we move into a new phase. "To everything there is a season" and we welcome the "summertime" season. We've all worked hard and now it is time to ready for that next phase. Lily has finished her driving classes and now she will need to log hours for about a year until we feel she has gained enough experience to acquire her license. We are in no hurry, nor is she, so we will watch and wait until the time is right.
Fundraising for the fiddlers has been completed as well, and now we look forward to the harvest, so to speak. Touring Ireland! I have much to do before we go...planting, cleaning, attending to our various appointments. All those things that we, as homeschool Moms, sort of say, ...'when we finish school...'. Well, that time is now. I am checking things off the list. I've been on the organizing stint for awhile now, and the new roof was done this weekend, which is long awaited blessing.
I have prepared for next school year. Decisions have been made and all things needed have been purchased and await us on the shelf. It is always exciting to look ahead and plan some of the exciting things we will study in the coming year. Goodness, I start doing that mid-year, so, by the end of the school year, I've got nothing left to plan which is kind of sad, I guess. Some things seem too exciting to miss, so we may have more planned than is possible, but only time will tell. For instance, Zinny will have two sciences, marine biology and zoology. Her history is comprised of four excellent sources that we will use each week in an orderly fashion...a biography set, "Exploring the Holy Lands", "Story of the World" vol 4, and "People Around the World". Lily adds another instrument to the mix this year. Along with mandolin and violin, she wants to work on her guitar which I hope to do along with her. On paper, I've worked it out all lovely and doable. Plans are very good and I'm not too modest to say, I quite excel at them. I'm a list maker...a task master, just ask my family! But school plans must be in pencil because we are human and life is real. One thing I've learned is that the beauty of homeschooling is that things that aren't working can be changed and it's not a big deal. I mean, there are times when I've finished something that I wasn't entirely happy with, but several times that I've used a particular plan in a slightly different way and it made all the difference in how much we love our schoolwork. Sometimes it helps to speed up or slow down the pace of a course, and sometimes a small factor such as doing questions orally rather than writing them down makes it much more enjoyable.
We will arrive in the "Merry Isle" in a few weeks. Ahhhh...a dream I'm not sure I ever dared utter aloud, even inside my own head or heart, and now, through my children and their God-given gifts and talents..the Lord shines such vast grace and blessings our way. As if their music alone was not enough joy for me. That is the way of my Lord...grace is the only way I can describe the bounty. I have in no way earned it. Couldn't possibly. I am awestruck and truly humbled by it.
I was going to do some planting this afternoon but it is pouring buckets. Fine with me. I hope it slows down for Hubby to grill the steaks. You know I love a rainy day. The potatoes are baking and it seems so deliciously cosy here in my rocking chair by the window. Sometimes, I think a tin roof would be fitting for me, so I could hear the pattering drops but I'm content enough with my new asphalt shingles. ;) hehe.
I will close with a wee bit of Ireland for you in the way of a traditional blessing.
May there always be work for your hands to do
May your purse always hold a coin or two
May the sun always shine on your windowpane
May a rainbow be certain to follow the rain
May the hand of a friend always be near you
And may God will your heart with gladness to cheer you
~Traditional Irish Blessing~
May and October are my favorite months of the year. I love it when the leaves come out on the trees in the spring and when they turn colors in the fall. But, it also has to do with the perfect temperatures for my liking. Everything is so lush and green right now. The gardens are filling in with all the various foliage.
Zinnia's 11th birthday has come and gone. We surprised her with a room re-do with a world traveler's theme. Lily and I framed and hung lots of wildlife photographs, maps and I made new curtains and bedspread. We revamped her existing desk lamp and with paint and hemp string and basically cleaned, organized and added a new fish tank. Then we hung windchimes and a plant and placed battery votive candles and stones in the windowsills, so when she walked in there was a nice ambiance of candlelight. Mem and Pap gave her a new cd player. It was fun project and she was very appreciative and has maintained the tidiness ever since which is thanks in itself.
Hubby has finished this first year with a 4.0! He is taking one summer course. We have a few home projects to complete before our trip to Ireland.
Lily has been busy with driver education this month which entails a trip up to the local high school four days a week for two-hour classes and five driving sessions. We will be thrilled to see this wrap up at the end of the week. I have not driven with her yet so this will be exciting and new. We don't plan for her to test for her license until she is 16 which should give her plenty of practice, I think. It will be kind of difficult to relinquish the driving seat. A new challenge for us.
Mom and Dad are home from Florida. We all went to visit on the coast this Memorial weekend and the girls and I stayed the night. It is so good to have them back. We made a side trip to see the Alewives running on our way to their house. So fascinating to watch them struggle up and up the fish ladder. They are so determined to reach their spawning grounds.
So long May! Come again.
Hubby checked my blog and reported "it's boring", so here I am. Well, life has not been dull but perhaps too interesting to spend my time here reporting of it. Today was one of the warmest of the season, so far, and we took an outing to Pemaquid to soak in the ocean view and poke around in the tide pools. A limpet was the most interesting find today. Whoopie pies for our picnic were a yummy find too! And "Watership Down" for 25 cents was a decent treasure at Skidompha used books. Oh, and my new blue life vest for kayaking! But, best of all was the lovely sea...definitely! (whoopie pie takes third, after the limpet...haha! Woulda taken the red ribbon had I a cupa java to go with.)
So, we are coming into May soon and this means the home stretch for the homeschool year. I love May! Not because school is ending, necessarily, but by now I'm always eager to start new subjects, techniques and I'm storing them up ideas for the new year. Lily finished her Spanish 2 already..she got really motivated and went full speed ahead with all the written work. Did practically perfect...just like Mary Poppins..."practically perfect in every way". It's okay if your mom calls you that, right? There is enough in ourselves and the world that will knock us back down a few notches!
I'm looking forward to studying more with Lily next year. I think I'm probably repeating myself but this is how my mind rambles on at the end of the school year. Zinny, Lily and I will be doing some literature and science together next year which will be great, and some creative writing exercises. Lily's done lots of history essays this year in her Notgrass course...lots...I think she would say she is darn sick of them. But, that's okay, she has also become an excellent expository writer and much more comfortable with essay questions. In the last month or so I've been giving her essay topics with 20 minute writing blocks to complete. I thought this was a good skill to build on and it actually takes a lot of pressure off the writer to know that they only have a small window of time to put their thoughts to paper, and can do no further research or editing. She has only two more weeks of US history/Lit/bible then we'll start an Ireland unit preceding our trip. Also, about five to six more weeks of biology and algebra 2. Only one more dissection...the frog. Speaking of frogs, Zinnia and I need to go to the pond and collect some frog eggs to watch. What would spring be without polliwogs?
Welcome April. Her showers have arrived and you know how I love the rain! It's obvious I've never had to work outdoors. There is nothing I need to do that cannot be put off until tomorrow's sunshine appears. I think that today's rain will melt away the remaining snow in our yard and then I look forward to getting out and doing a bit of raking and clean up before the spring insects arrive. Lately, I'm involved in another of my pastimes...spring tossing! Every day, I go through a different area and find things to either give away or toss out. It's not always easy but it can be so refreshing once you get past the voice in your head that says "I may need this someday". It seems I do this regularly enough that I should run out of things to sort through, but, somehow, I never do. Perhaps it is because the children are still growing out of books, toys and clothes. I do save some things, don't get me wrong, but sometimes the things I thought I should save last year, I reconsider the following spring. What if we were to move? Would I want to tote all this stuff along? So, I'm like the pioneers heading west, loads get heavy and sometimes you have to leave things behind on the trail. Ahh...too much Oregon Trail study? On that note, "Treasures in the Trunk" by Mary Bywater Cross is an excellent book that studies quilts of the going west period and the stories of their peoples. It is described as "memories, dreams, and accomplishments of the pioneer women who traveled the Oregon Trail". The robins arrived on my lawn this week. Frankie got a little excited and barked at the flock who did seem to be very, very busy out there. I can understand his excitement. They were actually sort of kicking up the leaves just as he does. When you see twenty or so birds at once doing this, it looks a little frantic out there! Anyhow, he got our attention and we all hovered at the window observing the spectacle. Zinny and I will be out there next week, digging and collecting to make an earthworm farm. The annual spring suzuki violin concert is tomorrow. I didn't see the rehearsal this year due to another of my recent maladies. Seems I finally recovered from a recent virus that lasted a couple of weeks and then was hit with an awful eye infection that left me looking and feeling like a cyclops, along with a losing a filling in the same day. I will refrain from saying my springtime is obviously long past. Hubby amuses me with "you are still beautiful to me" when, quite honestly, my eye feels the size of Montana and my teeth are falling out. What can I do but laugh? His blindness to my plight is comforting. Anyhow, back to the concert...I will enjoy more for having the element of surprise. The girls went smelting with Daddy this week. They call it "snagging"...no shack (of course, the ice is melted...duh!) just lines from shore. I guess it was fast and furious. Lily helped with cleaning and cooking them. Boy, were they delicious. They breaded them with ritz crackers as we were out of bread crumbs. We found this to be even tastier than usual. Lily and I are the only ones who partake of this treat. I gave Darby a much-needed spring haircut. I'm self-trained in this but she looks darn good. I got a little tired of paying more for dog haircuts than I do on myself. She is the only one who requires salon maintenance...Luke and Frankie are low maintenance. But Frankie thinks himself a dandy with his new red collar. He is so handsome, and he knows it. Zinnia had "swagger" in her vocabulary. If Frankie were a man, this would be his gait. He struts like a stallion in springtime. I have not spent much time on the PC lately aside from school stuff, but this morning I'm uploading a bunch of photos and this gave me some time to blog. It's been nice to catch up a bit. Time to attend those photos!
I have a little blue book of poetry that is precious to me. It's called "Ebb and Flow" by Lelia Marstaller, copyright 1936 and signed by the author. It's value is merely sentimental.
When I was a girl, I enjoyed writing poetry. My grandmother supported my interest by giving me this poetry book. It wasn't a special occasion, it was just something she gave me one day when we were together. I believe I was about twelve years old. I don't really know if it was a book from her personal collection or whether she had it in her antique shop or picked it up in her many travels to auctions and used book stores. But, what makes it so special to me is that she went through it poem by poem and made light pencil marks on the pages. Sometimes she put an "x" near a particular line that she liked and wrote a little note there. Other times, she simply wrote "good" at the top of the poem. My Dad is a collector of books so pencil marks and dog-eared pages might make him cringe. But these little marks mean so much to me because when I read my grandmother's personal side notes, it gives me a piece of her that she wanted to share with me...her love of gardening and nature, her understanding of God and the universe, rhymes she appreciated, and even little glimpses of how she must have missed my grandfather after he passed.
So, in tribute to Grammie, I'm going to post one of the springtime poems from this book. Next to this one, Grammie wrote, "very good, I like!"
In My Garden
Four days ago a little shoot
Of green came through the ground,
And just imagine my surprise
Today a bud I found,
And by tomorrow the warm sun
Will burst it open wide,
The first in all my garden plot
To greet the glad spring tide.
Some other plants will slowly grow
And yet more slowly bloom,
Yet for the quick and for the slow
My garden has the room,
For if all my many plants
Should brighten up the May
How barren would my garden be
On a September day.
by Lelia S. Marstaller
Almost St. Patty's day and I feel more in tune with it than usual because I have spent the past month firming up plans to head to Ireland this summer. The girls are "crossing the pond" with their youth fiddle group to tour southwestern Ireland and to perform and study there. So, part of my lack of blog entries is due to shopping for airline tickets, getting passports, the land tour arrangements, finding a dog-sitter, and all the fiddling rehearsal, performance and fund-raising commitments, and trip-planning meetings. There have been some stressful moments but now that it all is coming together, a big sigh of relief and the excitement is building. What a fun group of people we will be traveling with! The girls and I look forward to a unit study of Ireland and its history starting the end of April. It will be so awesome to go and see the sites and really experience the history and culture firsthand. But, trying to fit this into Lily's already full schedule means that she has to double up on some of her current assignments to fit it in before our trip and also make room for driver education classes this spring. So, academics are pretty weighty in her life right now. Luckily, she is a very focused student.
We had a great time this week with Hubby's college buddy, Sam. He came to visit and lose at ping-pong and "Apples to Apples" (love that game!) and I think he had fun in the process. I know, we did!! I also met many of Hubby's workout buddies this week when I joined him at the gym. These gentleman are mostly senior citizens, so they are the other side of the spectrum from his 20-year-old college mates. This is typical of Hubby to have buddies everywhere he goes.
Zinny just had a week off from school work which worked out well because she has had a head cold that kinda zapped her energy. She finished up grade 5 and will start a new school year next week. After this year, we will get back on a more traditional Sept-June school schedule, because we won't be continuing our formal schoolwork through the summer this year.
Daylight is now lasting until 7pm and this, along with the warmer temps, again gives us hope of spring in Maine. The winter went by quickly for me. The busyness of our lives and the contentedness that I'm experiencing from being home full-time has made it feel like the days are flying by. Too fast, at times. But, all because every day is a joy. The snow is melting and we do have a bit of that dirty snow syndrome that is typical here in March. I am looking forward to spring and summer, to our trip, and having my "snowbird" folks return from Florida so we can spend time together again. And, having spent a good deal of time lately organising next year's books and ideas, my typical pastime this time of year, I'm looking forward with great enthusiasm to next year's studies...which for Zinny starts... NOW! Fun, fun.
I recently read a book by Gary Chapman called The Five Love Languages, How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate. There are five languages outlined in this book. The author says that each of us reponds most to one of the following languages...words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, physical touch, or acts of service. He refers to our "love tank". This means that one of these five things is what fills up your love tank and makes you feel most loved. So, if you know which one of these fits you or your spouse, child, parent, etc...you can understand your relationships and have a window into your loved one's soul. The premise, of course, is that if you are tuned into what makes your partner feel loved, you will give accordingly.
I'm inclined to think that I'm affected by all of these five "languages" but some definitely stand out. And, until I took the little survey in the back of the book, I would surely have thought that I was most filled up by "quality time". In other words, I feel most satisfied and loved when my spouse spends quality time with me. In fact, earlier this month, Hubby and I decided that we would try to spend at least a few minutes each day doing something together. We have more time than many couples do but this doesn't mean that we are always engaged in one on one time. Family time is important to us and this fills my tank as well! But, we wanted to make sure that we didn't take each other and our unique "coupleness" for granted. So, we have taken more walks as a couple, played games, got alone in the quiet to talk, even went on a movie date. I think, as homeschooling parents, these adult times are especially vital. Because we know who we are as a family, but when the family has grown, we don't want to look at each other and say, "now, what?"
Well, the kicker was that taking the little quiz at the back of the book pointed me out as being most filled by "affirmative words". Hmmm. Now, Hubby is pretty good at this. He compliments. So, maybe that is why I didn't tune into this right away. Perhaps if he weren't as apt to affirm me with words, I would feel that this were missing. And, quite honestly, the kinds of comments that he is affirmed by may not be at all the kind of affirmation that fills my tank, so I think you have to have a real desire to reach that other person. Some days, telling me I am a great Mom is going to speak volumes more to me than saying "nice outfit". It is all about telling the truth, and knowing when and how it will encourage the people that you love. A close second for me, was "quality time".
So, here is the real clincher to wrap your brain around. What if your husband's "love tank "(this phrasology cracks me up) is filled best by acts of service and yours is most filled up by physical touch? You might think you are loving him to the best of your ability because you are hugging and kissing him all the day long. But, come to find out, his mojo is "acts of service", which means that he feels most loved when you wash his car, fold his laundry, bake him cookies, and help him with the taxes. All these years, you've been barking up the wrong tree! Makes you say...hmmmmm, doesn't it? Perhaps he's been fixing you breakfast in bed for the last 20 years because he thinks this makes you feel loved and happy and you couldn't understand it because you've been thinking... "I just can't eat when my eyes are barely open...why does he want to do this?" Do you get it? He does this because it is what says "love" to him. He doesn't know that all he had to do was sweetly say, "good morning, beautiful" and your love tank would be brimming over. (And no kitchen clean up, either!) So, delving into this line of thinking might sort of steer you in a different direction.
There is a lot to consider about speaking love to others. Surely a combination of these languages will speak loudest to your spouse. But, why not concentrate most on the areas that make him happiest? So, whether you read this book because you want to love your spouse better or you read it because you want to leave it in the bathroom in hopes that your spouse will read it and learn to understand you better...it will likely transform you in ways you hadn't imagined. I definitely want to give this author a shout out because i think this book opened my mind and it has a very powerful message that can change people's lives. Love is for giving. There are days for all of us that we probably can't imagine cleaning the garage or giving our husbands a backrub because he *%#**@#@*&% again....urgg!!! Ultimately, when you give all your love anyway on a day like this, that is when it speaks the loudest because you made a choice to love or not to love. For you teacher-moms...think of it this way...is love a verb or a noun. Both!
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (Jesus)
I'll have to go from memory here (eek!) because I can't seem to look at my former post and make a new post at the same time.
- dogs charging at the door...still needs work. I had forgotten this one. (See..this is why I'm checking in)
- I organized my kitchen drawers...wasn't this one of them?
- walking...not every day but pretty close...the dogs force me. But, I see that I said I would track the miles and I haven't done that. Where is my pedometer anyway?
- The girls are helping with chores every day. They are always good about that.
- I have been doubling some recipes and freezing soups, etc. It is just as easy to double it and helpful in a pinch. Sometimes I send along bowls to a great- uncle who lives alone.
- I think I have been very social this winter...getting together with other homeschoolers, having kids over, all the fiddling events, etc.
- Cutting the caffeine. Yes, I've done this. If I have a coffee in the afternoon, I make decaf. I've noticed some health benefits.
- Changing my inner clock...actually, this is going pretty well. I can't always get to bed early but at least half the week, I do. I notice myself getting tired by 10 pm. Perhaps the change to decaf?
So, I guess I need to work on tracking my miles and dog manners at the door.
We went to Camden for the annual National Toboggan Championships today at the Snowbowl. It was fun to try snowtubing for the first time and watch the toboggan races. The racers go down a luge-type chute that is filled with ice. Usual times were between 8 and 9 seconds. I have no desire to try that.
The tubing was enough excitement for me. I must admit, from the bottom looking up, it didn't seem like too big a deal. But, when I got to the top of the slope and got ready to go down, I was pretty nervous. The first run was hair-raisingly fast because I couldn't get my feet out of the tube to slow myself down, and they advise you to be sure and slow yourself down so you won't crash at the bottom. Snow was blowing into my face and I couldn't see a thing. It seemed like I reached the bottom in a few seconds and stopping was definitely a challenge. But, the next few times, I got the hang of it and became more comfortable. There are no easy rides up on this slope. Walking is the only way. So, three runs was enough for me! Three runs and 2 cups of hot cocoa!
Spontaneity
"Lack of premeditation. Naturalness. Freedom from constraint."
This is a challenge for me. I'm the planning type. The organized one. I write down my plans, rewrite them, revise them. Consider. Reconsider. I take the math book and I see how many lessons there are, divide it by how many weeks in year, add the tests to it and figure out how to make it fit.
I'm not always "by the book" but I always have a plan. I might can the plan, but I make a new plan to replace it.
Right now, I'm planning Zinny's new school year. It starts in March. This is because we aren't on a traditional schedule. See, I'm not "by the book". Rather, I'm ahead of the book. Oh bother. This isn't looking so good for spontaneity. Actually, when we started homeschooling, the girls had just completed kindergarten and fourth grade and I couldn't wait to get started, so we did. In June. This is why it turns out that we might finish a particular school year in March or April. It all depends on how many vacation days we take during the year.
So, Zinny is going into 6th and Lily should finish all her sophomore courses in June. Every year at about this time, I start to doodle in my notebook and come up with some ideas for how I'd like to do things, ways to improve, what courses look good, reading lists. etc.
This year...I decided to rent that Winnebago and hit the road!
Okay, so...no. Hubby won't go for that. But, I'm going to do something really radical. Well, relatively so. For me, anyway. I'm going to stray from the history curriculum Zinny has been using for three years even though I already bought the next in the series a year or so ago. (Okay, so, the earth didn't shake!) It's not that I'm unhappy with that history program. I just think we need a change. And, there's more. When we finish our science book, I'm not going to purchase another. I want to go back to the way we started out, with a variety of good ideas, good books and a little more spontaneity. I've found some curriculum that I really like and with that comes great comfort. But, it also makes me feel a little boxed in. I don't want to do chapter 29, I want to study animal tracks this week and maybe electricity next week. So far, we've studied history chronologically because I saw great value in that. But now, I want to read biographies and historical fictions about various times and people. I want Zinny to choose some countries she wants to study further. I want to get back to a little more eclectic style. And I want to resist the temptation to plan too much.
There. I've got a plan! And, if we do this starting in March four times a week for 45 weeks, take 3 weeks off in December and read 2 books per week, 12 pages a day....eeeek! Resist the temptation! Resist the temptation! Don't even write it down until the night before. Okay, okay. I can do this.
It's still okay to make a weekly meal plan, right? I'm much more likely to be spontaneous when I've already got dinner prepared and waiting in the refrigerator. Well, it's true. Think about it!
We are having a crazy awesome lot of snow...Yay! We've done some fun wintry activities in the past few weeks. Snowshoeing, ice skating, sledding in the yard and down the road a piece, and some x-country skiing for myself. I think that lots of school work and other activities have kept Lily from getting her skis out yet this season. But there are still several months of winter to go.
Louisa May Alcott is in the house. Little Women again...on audio. Reading Little Men aloud and watched a video that I got from the library starring Muriel Hemmingway as the adult "Jo". Lily has already read all these Alcott classics and now gets to revisit them with her little sister. And, of course, I never tire of them either.
Lots of fiddling going on too! The girls fiddled for two contradances in one weekend. This is great winter fun as well. They must bear the burden of choosing to take up their instrument or put it down and dance! Such sweet struggles. They performed with The Pineland Fiddlers at Barnes and Noble this Friday. They put on a couple of shadow puppet shows for the little ones in the children's room and then four hours of fiddling out in the lobby. All part of a book fair fundraising effort for their trip to Ireland.
Lily got a new board game from big brother for her birthday. It's called Malarky... a game of bluffing...lots of laughs! We played it last night and plan to pull up to the table once again after dinner tonight. Chicken soup is in the crockpot and naan is proofing in a bowl on the counter. A nice cosy day at home watching the snow pile up outside. I think another chapter or two of Little Men is in order.
Even my three dogs love to cosy up for a good bedtime story.
Do you ever think about changing your homeschooling approach?
Lately, sometimes I wish I could relax our schedule a bit. But, with a daughter in high school and needing to stay on task daily to keep up with her courses, this is not possible. So, in my fantasy homeschool , I think it would be so cool to spend a year on the road in a winnebago, just reading lots of great books, keeping journals, and enjoying what each new place has to teach us. Slowing down and being spontaneous. That is a big stretch.
We had an "unbirthday party" for Lily this past weekend. With she and her sister, there were 14 children. First our friends' car broke down and so this turned into the perfect little ruse. I went down the road to pick them up and they now had the perfect excuse to be stuck with us all day. Lily confesses, she thought I was acting a bit odd when I got the punch bowl and snacks out...as if to celebrate their misfortune. For the next couple of hours, we played games and worked on our already-in-progress 1000 piece puzzle. Then, four more friends showed up at the door. By now, we let her in on the fact that this was a party in her honor. As the evening wore on, more friends popped in for food and games. They brought coupons with favors to cash in for the "unbirthday" girl which turned out to be quite amusing and a fun momento of her 15th birthday. We couldn't have cake for an unbirthday party..so we had apple pie!
Happy unbirthday Lily!
...it's not your really birthday yet, but neither is Lily your real name!
xoxoxo
Hubby is back to school tomorrow. New semester..new courses, new schedule. It has been a nice winter break for him and us but it will help us to be more set in our routine without him milling around the house as much. Nothing personal, but less distraction is better. I mean, Frankie is enough of a distraction all by himself. I was recently successful in training him to stop barking and jumping at the birds that come to our deck and feeders. We sat and watched them together for about 30 minutes one day last week and I encouraged him to relax and enjoy them by using discipline along with doggie massage for reward. He now sits and watches them through the window without barking. But...the squirrels are another story. Sometimes it seems like one step forward and then another bad behavior sets us back again. It takes a lot of patience. Phew. I guess I know why I ended up with a "Frankie" in my life. Patience.
I checked in on my new year's list...I'm doing good on the walks and very poorly on the guitar, although it looks pretty standing there in the corner. Um..doing good on the decaf. Have not tackled my middle drawer...but I have 354 days, so I think I'll be okay. And I'm doing very excellently at being more social...almost too good at that. I"m going to wear myself out the first month!
We went to a pretty cool production of Wizard of Oz by a local high school this weekend. There were over 100 students in it. A colorful lively show with all those munchkins, jitterbugs, lollipop kids, etc. And right after picking up our friends who were joining us, we got stopped by a police officer because I didn't have my headlights on. Yikes! We were in town and it was bright and we were messing with directions...my bad. But the girls got to learn a lesson in what happens when a police officer stops your car. This was a new experience for them. Lucky for me, there was no ticket, just some friendly advice.
Nice snowstorm today. We got about 4 inches of the light fluffy variety. Very pretty. After church I got groceries and then Zinnia and I went for a walk with the dogs. She snowshoed and we also had some Frankie adventures as he pulled her on the sled. Oops..stopping was an afterthought! He would be a fantastic sled dog. He is so powerful, loves to pull and never seems to tire! I never had a dog who required so much equipment. First, we had to build some gates on the deck...a big playpen to keep him contained as he is an escape artist. Then he needed a backpack to carry his soup cans. That is just our joke because he is the type of dog who needs a job. So, I put four soup cans in his pack and told him we need to deliver them. Kind of like Meals on Wheels..haha!! Don't tell him it has no real purpose..just to give him a good workout and make him feel useful. He looks awfully handome with his backpack. It's his second. He wore out the first one. He also has an invisible fence which we haven't had much success with as of yet. Now he needs a sled and we need to move to a remote farm with miles and miles of fields. Hmmmm...Frankie, not a bad idea!
Gollum isn't the only one who has a "precious". Have you ever thought about what yours is..something that you can't let go that gets in God's way?
I'm still working on answering this for myself. My first thought was "fear".
Organizing..that is the word that January prompts for me. It seems a few times a year, this manic organizing bug takes over my psyche and I begin to cringe at things that haven't bothered me for months on end. I guess it is a good thing I'm afflicted with this every so often or nothing would get done. In January it is probably a mix of wanting to start fresh in a new year along with ending a time of decadence by putting away the gift boxes and decorations. The same feeling seems to hit in the spring, and again in September..after the casualness and lack of schedule in summertime.
Right now, as I put away the Christmas things, I'm delving into nooks and crannies that need organizing to fit everything back in its place. Garbage bags are filling up. Tossing feels great! I found belts in my closet that I haven't worn in 10 years or more. Do you ever find yourself asking silly questions like "should I save this?". Don't cave to it! Yes, it's true, someday the kids might be going to a costume party and need a western belt with silver bangles....but, get a grip..is that any reason to save it another ten years? Toss it!
Just as in summertime, November and December are brimming over with food and fun. After that it always feels good to get back on track with a schedule and more of less. Or...less of more? That is what I'm looking forward to now. Vacation is coming to a close today; we are back to school tomorrow. The first few days will be hard, but it will be good for us and I think we are ready to move on with our school year.
What naturally recharges your battery?
For me, the sea. Seeing it, breathing it in, listening to it, walking beside it.
A new year. I'm sick of resolutions. It is just a big fat let-myself-down list. Actually, since I don't exactly remember what was on last year's resolution list (if I even made one), I can't be sure if I lived up to it or not. But, it is likely that I didn't. So, I changed it to "evolutions" because this means evolving, changing, How can I let myself down when I have made a list of changes I am working toward?
So, please forgive me if my goals are kind of wishy-washy... I have to leave room for improvement! Plus, this is all out there in black and white... and Hubby is known to read this blog. So...give me a break. I'm evolving. This is not at all to say that I believe my ancestors are apes..just to be clear.
Somewhat Wimpy New Year Evolutions
- I will teach Frankie, Luke and Darby to be better at waiting at the door. Less charging out and less barking.
- I will go to some carving classes and work on a project.
- I will start drinking some decaf in place of caffeinated coffee.
- I will keep track of the miles I walk each week. (I purposely didn't mention losing weight or getting fit).
- I will try to add to my blog, a somewhat provoking question of the week.
- I will lean toward becoming a bit more social even though it goes against my more introverted personality.
- I will let Hubby help more around the house (giving me more time to be social, active, and work on my carving project).
- I will double more recipes (giving me more time to be social, active and creative).
- I will let Lily and Zinnia help more (giving me more time for peace and tranquility and leaving me more desire to be more social, active and creative).
- I will clean my deep kitchen drawer. (I think that is as close as I've gotten to a promise. I mean, gee whiz, I have a whole year to accomplish it!)
- I will pick up the guitar at least once a week and not just for dusting.
- oh, I think remember one of my resolutions from last year and it was about going to bed earlier. Okay...I resolve to forgive myself about my natural night owl tendencies and possibly do some experimenting with setting an alternative body clock. (hmmm..pretty non-commital)
- Lord willing, I will follow up on these "evolutions" in one year.
happy new year!!!
We've had lots of fun since Christmas. The girls played on the worship team at church on Sunday and it went very well. Then we went to our friend's party Sunday night which was lovely, with a magical winter wonderland theme decor and lots of good fellowship. The next day, Hubby took the girls to a skating party at the ice arena with many of their shakespearean homeschool friends. Other than one girlfriend falling and breaking her tooth on the ice, it was a great time. Even the dental emergency didn't damper the fun too much...this young lady's tooth was saved and she kept skating and went to the dentist right after the party. What resilience!
Today, Zinnia got hit with a stomach virus. She vomited all through the day and slept off and on. Hadn't eaten anything but a glass of OJ this morning before it hit. But, of course, the acidity of that gave her tummy quite a time throughout the day. I made some chicken soup this afternoon and let that bubble all day. Finally, tonight, she took a few bites and went back to sleep. But at least no stomach activity in the last few hours. The saddest part is that we have been planning a new year's eve party for the girls and a group of their friends for the last week or so. I had even started cooking, etc, and today we were going to finish up by making some meatballs and casseroles, etc. I got all the groceries yesterday while they were skating. But, it wasn't in the cards. Much as we hated to, when we saw that this wasn't just a passing stomachache, we had to call the party off. Even if she feels better in the morning, it wouldn't be very friendly to risk passing this virus on to all our friends. However, it was a difficult call...we feel very sad about cancelling our happy new year party.
Hopefully, we will be able to reschedule a party of some sort in the near future. I'm just afraid that all the excess...fun, food, etc, has caught up with us. I definitely think there is a correlation to increased sugar intake and decreased resistance to illness, at least it is proven over and over in my little world. We are used to a much more healthy balance of rest and nutrition and when we lose our balance, we often get a reminder like this which makes change abrupt and inevitable. Zinny had no choice but to rest today and we all stayed close to minister to her. Sweet little bugaboo. Get well, Zinny! We'll have to plan a sappy new year with "I Love Lucy" reruns or something. We have a recent Narnia New Year's eve tradition, so might end up reverting back to that. We were going to make ice cream but we'll have to see if her tummy is up to that by tomorrow night.
So...sappy new year!
Rye with his new Christmas toy.
Behind him is his wrapped gift for Zinny...her dream-come-true pogo stick! Nothing like a big brother to come through with the dangerous "they don't sell those around here" item on your wish list!
I've planned for a quiet day. A little quietude is essential, especially during a busy Christmas and New Year season. Yesterday, we had a few friends from church over for dinner and a little "pre-rehearsal", then headed up to church for worship rehearsal. The girls are going to join in on fiddle and pennywhistle for Lord of the Dance this Sunday. I love that tune.
We made a big beef stew and have some left over for tonight, so I get a break from cooking. It all works into my fabulous plan for a day off. I have some things to do in town, but I'm contemplating whether I might want to postpone that trip due to...lack of enthusiasm? Crowd phobia?
My to-do list:
- finish two books...that sounds more ambitious than it is because I'm toward the end of each of them.
- Play a new card game with Lily and Zinnia..we have to figure it out first.
- blog...check that off!
- plan this week's meals
- do some homeschool planning..with just a week before we are back to school, I have a few things I wanted to prepare and organize while on break.
- practice my arpeggios on Hubby's new guitar. (well, he said we can share it! :)
That is probably enough plans for a day that I didn't want to make any plans.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...
The girls and their neighbor friend ( I'll call her "Daisy" for blogging purposes... to go with my flower bouquet) dug tunnels in the snowbanks for many hours yesterday. I think they have five or six tunnels. They came in for a couple of hours for lunch, cocoa and a game of Simply Suspect and then back out again. I hope the forecast of mixed precipitation won't spoil the snow. It should put an icy crust on the tunnels and make for some dangerously fast sledding slopes. I was surprised that the public school kids are still in session. I guess their vacation is all after Christmas, which I don't like because getting prepared is more fun than after it's over. So, I was glad that Daisy had a snow day to come and play.
It has been a busy fiddle-filled weekend! Yesterday, the girls played four hours with the Pineland Fiddlers at a busking/bake sale at the mall. Passing shoppers stood by to enjoy some music, buy a brownie or two and support our effort to travel to Ireland. The fiddle case was overflowing by day's end and all were chilled to the bone and weary. I enjoyed manning the bake sale table but also got to sneak off and do a bit of gift shopping for a little bit. We came home and warmed up with cheese soup, homemade bread, cocoa and cookies.
This afternoon was a fabulous time at the Gawlers for a solstice party. Lots of music, dancing, grog and nog. Honestly, the best eggnog I've ever tasted! umm-um. Ellen and her family are such a talented bunch and their home exudes warmth. While the nor'easter raged outside, we had a cosy gathering.
The snow is still falling. Looks like a quiet snowbound day tomorrow.
It's getting close and I'm getting very excited. I love giving surprises and Christmas is such a fun time that way. I have so many wonderful Christmas memories with the kids. I remember when my son was little and I got up and got dressed and he wasn't awake yet. So, not wanting to spoil the moment of him walking in to see the tree and stocking laden with gifts, I stayed in bed (all dressed) and waited. I think it was 7:30 and he still wasn't awake, and I was getting impatient. So, I took one of the dog's toys and tossed it into his room and even the dog bounding in there didn't wake him. I assume he had trouble sleeping the night before. Maybe he was on santa vigil or something. I think he was about five years old. So, I finally tossed the dog toy onto my son's bed. That did the trick! The dog jumped on the bed and he finally came pitter pattering out to see his stocking. In the meantime, I had to high tail it back to my bed and fake sleep until he called out for me to wake up.
On Christmas Eve, the girls have a tradition of sleeping together in one or the other's bed. It gives them a chance to whisper until they can fall asleep and then plan their morning strategy. I think it may have started because it gave Lily more control over Zinny and whether she woke up when she wanted her to. I always told them not to get up until 6 or 7 a.m because I know they have stayed up late giggling in their bed. Of course, they wake up when they wake up, but I'd instruct them not to wake us up until a specific time because if I didn't, they might be up while it is still dark. Of course, I'm probably fully dressed and ready, under my covers, peeking out through my eyelashes. But, they didn't know this. So, I would listen for them to creep out and whisper about what they see, then skeedaddle back to bed. Sometimes, as they grew, they would be so obedient, it was a little disappointing. But, not all the time.
They always seemed more interested in the note from Santa, than the gifts. They didn't just leave cookies like other children, they always had to plaster the poor sweet soul with questions like, "What are the reindeers names? Are they the same ones? Why can't puppies come on your sleigh?" Questions that Santa had a hard time answering sometimes. He replied with something milktoast like "Be kind to your sister...I'm very proud of you..loved those cookies....gotta run!" The girls would say...awww..he didn't answer.
They never seemed to have a wish list. I think they just liked being surprised. To this day, it is near impossible to get a wish list from either. It doesn't bother me because I too love surprises. But, I think it drives their brother and other family members a little crazy when they are looking for gift ideas. I remember the year that Zinnia wrote to Santa and asked for a flashlight. She was only three or four. I wonder if that was for the Santa vigil.....hmmm. Perhaps Lily put her up to it?
Merry Christmas to all!
Let me see….October we were busy with getting ready for the Fiddle-icious concert series. This is the first season we were involved with this group and it was an awesome time of musical kinship. The musicians were all so welcoming of the girls and even featured them with a solo on a haunting waltz called “Metsakookia”. We later learned this was a Finnish tune which is quite apropos as their great grandfather was from Finland. The season ended with a recording session for the new cd, most creatively named “Fiddle-icious Volume 5” (hehe). Surely this can be purchased from their website but I'm not sure. I'm only the roadie, I really just lug stuff and get them there on time. Concerts this year were in Gorham, Paris, Brunswick and Lewiston. During this time, the girls were also rehearsing lines for Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”. Rehearsals ran through most of November, Mon/Weds/Fri for 2-4 hours. This was fairly doable because we planned for some of the chaos it brings. I tried to cook ahead and prepare for busy days, which helped. But there were times when the costume sewing and gathering took precedence over my dirty laundry pile. And there was always so much to do “backstage” at the rehearsals and back at home with my sewing, that I never really got to see much of the acting until dress rehearsal. I kind of missed listening in on Pastor Sam’s commentaries and Shakespearean lessons. Maybe another time, I can get more directly involved with the kids, running lines and that sort of thing, which I would enjoy. During crunch week, early December, they had all-day rehearsals and work days. I hurt my back. Is that what the CRUNCH is all about? One day there was a lot to do backstage and I kinda forgot I was a middle-aged softy and pushed, pulled and lifted a bit too hard and fast. This back thing slowed me down considerably and kept me awake at night for the next five days. On the heels of that, a nasty virus hit me opening night. I felt totally icky (this is an advanced medical term I try not to throw around too often). Good thing this didn't hit one of the actors, Marissa started with the head cold at the very end, but she made it through the production before it knocked her down. There was no way I could miss this important performance but as soon as I congratulated the girls, I had to dash home and crawl into bed. What a fabulous time the girls had with this production and getting to know some new members of SMASH along with all the great ones from last season. I found myself saying to the new Moms…“have faith..it looks like organized chaos, but it all comes together in the end!” Perhaps in drama, you always feel that just one more day would help. I don’t know, because I’m new to this arena…does it ever feel truly “ready”? Well, opening night was Thursday…that day they crunched in a rehearsal on a couple of shaky scenes…I held my breath and …phew, the performance was great. Then, Friday night….magic! I must try to get a few shots posted here later of my darling daughters in their moustaches! here they are....Sebastian and Fabian: With the performance behind us, we had one more week of school. And time to catch up on the laundry pile! We got the house all decked out for Christmas which always makes me happy. Zinnia couldn't wait for the tree to go up. Kudos to Hubby…he finished this semester with straight A’s! Now is on holiday as are the rest of us until after New year's. We started this week with a family Christmas party at my sister-in-law’s house Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, they were one of the 200,000 homes who lost power in the recent ice storm. Luckily they have a generator and dear sister didn't let the lack of power daunt her. She rounded up many crock pots and candles and put on a dinner party fit for kings. I lovingly dubbed it our “crockpot Christmas” but truly it was a command performance!! We received some really special gifts too. We got this ball that you make ice cream in. You put in the cream, sugar and flavorings, put rock salt and ice in the other side and roll and shake for half an hour. Voila! The most perfectly delicious ice cream forms! We tried it the other night while watching our new Narnia movie. And, from Mom and Dad, we got a Tom-Tom GPS system. I screamed with delight and so did my kids because they have been lost with Mom many times in the past and it isn‘t pretty! Even Hubby…near perfect as he might be (haha) has been known to miss an exit when we get talking. Now we have Tom-Tom to gently remind us,”turn left in 800 yards”. Everybody loves Tom-Tom. If we miss a turn, it calmly says, “turn around as soon as possible”. How calm and cool is that?! 
This is a busy season for us...it's theatre season. The girls and I are working on their second Shakespeare production with SMASH. This one is "Twelfth Night". Lily plays Sebastion, the male twin to Viola, and Zinnia is Fabian. We have an all day technical rehearsal in costume. Technically, not dress rehearsal as that will come later. We have a break from rehearsals next week for Thanksgiving and then it is crunch week...long rehearsals, dress rehearsal and then three shows. By then, we will turn the page to December. I have been working with some of the other mothers in costuming. The worst of that is over as everyone now has a costume and I think I might be finished with most of the sewing. But, last show, I remember thinking I was done and then Lily split her pantaloons during a sword fighting scene, and I had to quickly sew a new pair before the next night's show. Their drawers are so blousy this time, I can't imagine them splitting. (I hope)
We finished Financial Peace class last week. Yay! I'm glad to have all graduated and it is also time to have Thursday evenings back. We were rushing from fiddle to financial class and that was getting old.
Hubby is looking forward to finishing his first semester of college. It has been grueling. With a writing class and communications, there have been many papers and speeches to write. The other three classes have many tests and projects. Although the math and electronics courses will get more and more grueling, I think minus all the essays, he'll be less stressed. (I hope) I think an added stressor is not knowing if he is in a line of work that he might not enjoy at all when he is done the degree. Even though he broke his body all up at his previous job of 20 years as a sandblaster in a shipyard, he enjoyed working there, and did it sometimes seven days a week. I have no doubt he could be successful in his new career, but, mostly I hope he will be happy in it and won't feel that his schooling was wasted. I know there are other career paths he might rather have taken, but his career choice needed to be less physically demanding.
We are busy with the Pineland Fiddlers. The kids are fiddling and we are all fundraising for a trip to Ireland in early summer to study with some Irish fiddle masters and of course, soak in the culture. It is all very exciting and lots of hard work. We had a great goods and services auction with dinner recently and raised $5000. We have a number of concert dates, dances and bake sales on the horizon. I think we are gift wrapping at Barnes and Noble next month too. Right now, I'm up to my eyeballs in thank you cards to all the great donors.
We are making Christmas gifts. I can't say what they are yet, but maybe I'll post some pictures after they are opened. I definitely have been slack in the photo department.
The girls had two weekends of performances with Fiddle-icious. This was great fun and they played some great venues around the state to awesome audiences. I was so proud of the them. They were given a solo duet in the second set and they handled it like pros. So many wonderful new friends amongst the group, most my own age or older, but they took my girls under their wings and enjoyed them. Age is no barrier to friendship, especially when you share music. We have a pot luck dinner party coming up with this group in a couple of weeks, right after 12th Night, and then the new season will start up in January, twice a month. I look forward to hearing the new repetoire.
well, enough thought showering, I'm nodding off and have realized the costumes haven't been pressed yet for tomorrow morning 9 a.m. I better get some sleep.
Everybody is studying at our house. Hubby is back in college. Zinny and Lily are hitting the books. This is all good. But there is a seemingly endless pile of books and papers covering every inch of kitchen table, coffee table, countertop, computer desk, and schoolroom table. And no matter how much I strive for order, it seems that at least once a day, we are looking for some lost book or paper. Aaaggghhh! The only upside is that the flat surfaces are too crowded to allow any dust to accumulate.
Aside from book space, the students are each vying for quiet space. Our house seems to be shrinking as everybody scrambles to claim their study territory. Hubby requires an especially large area. Not only are his books enormous, his presence is undeniable. He works in an oral fashion with lots of random comments, reading aloud of his work, and a bit of huffing and puffing when things don't go smoothly.
In his defense, the poor guy doesn't have a desk or space to call his own. There is the Canadian rocker in the bedroom, the kitchen table, the lazyboy...and that is about all this home has to offer him in way of study space. Our family consists of two fiddlers and three dogs, and me...always beating, blending or banging something in the kitchen. He has even been known to go to the firestation, of which he is a volunteer member, for peace and quiet.
Two days later...
Alas, I made a study space for Hubby. Worry no longer, he has his very own table and lamp set up in our bedroom. It is by itself on the uppermost floor and he can even shut the door, which is about as peaceful as he can hope to find around here.
"It is only by introducing the young to great literature, drama and music, and to the excitement of great science that we open to them the possibilities that lie within the human spirit --enable them to see visions and dream dreams." ~Eric Anderson~
It seems that people always ask my daughters if they participate in any sports. The girls have played on basketball, softball and soccer teams in the past, but haven't been on a sport team for at least the past couple of years. It's not that we don't like sports. They took some golf lessons this summer and Lily recently tried rollerblading. They could swim all day long. They both also love to watch the Patriots and Red Sox on television. But, sports is not their recreation of choice.
Is dog walking a sport? We do that several times a day.
But, music....this is something the girls do year around on a full time basis. It's not a sport. And, it's more than a hobby. They live and breathe it. This year, Lily and Zinnia are in two fiddle groups. Between rehearsals, lessons, and performances, we have music sessions at least 3-4 times a week. Often more. And they practice on their own daily. So, music won out over sports.
They play at contradances...is contradancing a sport? (Just wondered.)
One of their fiddle groups is planning a trip to Ireland next summer to attend workshops, festivals and immerse themselves in the culture. This requires a great deal of fundraising effort from all of us. Is fundraising a sport? It takes a lot of stamina.
I have mixed feelings about sports. I see nothing wrong with running, kicking balls, field hockey, throwing balls, skiing, hitting balls, gymnastics, tackling people, and more running. It's all good. I like exercise. Mostly walking. Granted, it doesn't require a whole lot of coordination. But, I've been doing it for over forty years and I don't mind saying, I'm pretty good at it. I think the human body was built for it.
Truthfully, I don't get all the hype about sports. I don't really understand why everybody is playing soccer, baseball, and basketball from the time they are five years old. I mean, there's nothing wrong with it. But, how many kids that are playing soccer will still be playing soccer when they are in their 20's, 30's or 40's? But, let a child develop in other areas...music, literature, art, for instance, and chances are, they will develop a passion that will last a lifetime. I guess I'm thinking about the return on the investment.
Here's an old idea from when I was a kid. How about children just play in the yard on Saturday morning? Tag, hide and seek. Are those sports? Or go on nature walks with their families? Or help Mommy cook. Or build something with Daddy. Maybe not athletic enough? I mean, it's okay to run up and down a field with a group of children chasing a ball....or just heading in a direction...following all the other children. Nobody even knows where the ball is half the time, right? It's also pretty okay just to chase butterflies. Did you ever see the child out in the baseball field picking dandelions? Maybe that child is saying something. Perhaps standing in a field waiting for a pop fly from another six year old is not his idea of a good time. Maybe he's got better things to do.
The weekend again already! Wow! Time flies.
Let's see...I'don't miss work. In fact, I don't know how I ever had time for it. I do still wake up having had a dream about the office, so I must still be processing some things. I wonder how long this will go on.
School is both productive and fun. I wish there were a few more hours in the day because there is so much I still want to do. Zinnia and I worked on poetry today..limericks, quatrains, haiku, cinquains, ballads, free verse. It was fun making up some silly limericks.
I'm trying to think and write this blog but Zinnia has a Jim Weiss history cd playing quite loudly in the same room. :)
Lily volunteered from 10-3:30 today. The humane society had a table at Pet Smart and she was in charge of the dog they brought to spark attention for adoption. Everybody get out and adopt yourself a dog from the local shelter! They need homes and have a lot to give in return! (had to put a plug in for my canine friends.)
Speaking of adoption..my new dog, Frankie, is a happy guy in his new home. We all take turns walking the three dogs. Sometimes together, but often several separate walks. So, we are all getting more exercise which is great! Hubby likes to take the early morning walk and he says that Frankie prances along like an Arabian stallion.
Hubby is studying hard, and doing well so far. We are a house of students all trying not to be too distracting to each other. If he could get in the habit of studying the same time as us, it might be a more cohesive environment. It always seems that somebody wants to talk while somebody else wants to study. I should suggest that Hubby download his texts to an MP3 and study while walking Frankie.
I missed the financial peace class last night due to a stomachache, but I will watch the dvd so that I don't miss anything. I will say, that I went grocery shopping today and I'm now -$18 in the grocery category. That's bad. I think Dave Ramsey might say I should then put $18 worth of groceries back on the shelf. But, instead, I took it out of my gift budget. So, now I guess I'll have to send my Dad a card saying, "happy birthday...I'm cooking you dinner!". :) It's called creative financing. Funny thing is, this spending "cash" (I mean the green stuff...not even a check) really does make you think about every dollar you spend. And since I'm out of grocery money, I'm going to have to ask Hubby if apples at the orchard could be considered school supplies?
Hubby and I have been attending Financial Peace University. This is a weekly two hour class in a small group. It is step by step lessons in getting control of your finances by Dave Ramsey, based on his book "Financial Peace Revisited". This is nuts and bolts financial advise from a Christian perspective. Hubby and I claim to be pretty conservative spenders and make fairly wise purchases, etc. We don't make a habit of buying on credit or overspending on anything. However, there is financial common sense and that is still not financial peace.
We are learning new strategies every week and taker a closer look at ways we need to be planning better for our future. Dave Ramsey's motto is "Live like nobody else now, so you can live like nobody else later". It's about being patient, making a very detailed financial plan and then commiting to it. It is about husbands and wives working out the different ways they relate to money matters and coming together on a new plan together.
You can read the book, but that is not enough. In the class, we watch a dvd of Dave Ramsey's seminars. It breaks each lesson down into bite size pieces. You really need a week to digest this stuff and put it into practice. My daughters are taking the class as well. We figured, what better time to hear financial advise then before you even need it? Perhaps with education on these matters, they won't need to make financial mistakes to learn.
I would recommend this class to anybody, whether you have lots of money or live on a shoestring budget. Whether you have lots of debt or think you are doing pretty well. Everybody can learn something. Hubby and I had an assignment this week, to work out a monthly cash flow plan that assigns every single dollar a designated place in your budget. This took a pot of coffee to accomplish, but we have a plan. There are so many things that you spend money on that you don't budget for. Car and home repairs is a good example. Who has a designated amount that goes into the budget for these kinds of miscellaneous bills? But, through this course, Dave Ramsey teaches that with a plan, you won't have budget busters catch you off guard. you will have planned for it. When people go through life without financial plans, they tend to have to use credit to buy the things they want or need and can't afford. This leads to a life enslaved by debt.
So, after writing and rewriting the plan, we finally came up with the right numbers in each category to make the monthly budget balance. Of course, we don't have all the categories that we would prefer. There is nothing in the entertainment category for instance. But, someday there will be. I don't want entertainment at the cost of debt. So, it is worth the sacrifice. Tomorrow will be our fourth class out of the total 13 for the course. I'll try to update this info and share some progress.
For further info on Dave Ramsey's courses, log onto http://www.daveramsey.com - Get REAL debt help: Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover Plan (Link to http://www.daveramsey.com)
Yesterday, I was organizing my thoughts and mapping out each daughter's schedule in my notebook. Lily wants to continue to devote at least a half day a week working with the dogs at the humane society, so I'm trying to fit that into our schedule. And I want to make sure that Zinnia has some extra creative writing in her schedule. So, I'm mapping out four days a week of math, 3 of history, 3 of spanish, 2 of pilgrim's progress bible study and 2 days for the other bible study she's working on. Let's see 3 days of science. At least once a week for cooking and art. That leaves vocab, self reading, our geography study of the holy lands, travel journaling, and music practice. Lily's schedule is similar except that her math, history and science are five days a week unless she really doubles up assignments like she did this week to free up the day for working.
Then, I added in the extracurricula...fiddle group Mondays 5-10pm, violin lesson tuesday afternoon, carving class on tuesday night, another fiddle group rehearsal every other thursday afternoon, financial peace class on thursday night, the read aloud we do together about 4 nights a week for an hour. Next, I added in the morning chores from 8-9 a.m. This is part of their education too. So, I crunched the numbers, added in the hours spent on curriculum planning, correcting papers, writing transcripts, etc. Then, I remembered the girls will want to join theatre group again this year. And took into account the fiddle performances scattered throughout the year. I came up with a new and improved answer to the question of how much time goes into homeschooling.
"Twenty four hours a day; sometimes more! "
Aaaaahhhhh. School is back in session. We had quite a productive week and very summery weather. Tonight we are celebrating with "The Wizard of Oz" and ice cream! (Or, perhaps we are just watching a movie and having a snack?) Take your pick. It is so cool to watch a movie that Hubby and I have memories of watching as children. Oh my, here come the flying monkeys...as a youngster "Hubby" lost many a wink over that scene.
Four days was just right to get us back into the school groove. It is always a challenge to figure out how much to expect in a day. I think it was a pretty good balance for the first week. We had no fiddle group, violin lesson or carving class this week, so I guess we had somewhat of an easy start to our fall schedule. However, the girls have a performance with the fiddlers at a local event tomorrow and Zinnia is performing at church on Sunday.
I love autumn, and what gorgeous weather in Maine to start September. It is amazing to me that we can have such perfect weather when New Orleans was socked with Gustov. I feel for its residents and pray for their safety.
Today, I took a nice walk in the woods with my new dog, Frankie. This was his second walk of the day and Darby and Luke got their walks too. The whole family pitches in with exercising the dogs. Sometimes together. Sometimes separately. Anyhow, it was a good day for Frankie and we celebrated how far he has come in the past 18 days in our home. He's got a good new life with us. Yesterday, Hubby and Lily built some gates for each end of our deck. This gives the dogs a big pen outside when we want to let them be outside, yet contained.
I cooked a new pasta dish for dinner..Broccoli Pasta with Pine Nuts. I'll put it at the bottom of this entry. I also made granola for breakfast, a mac and cheese for tomorrow's dinner and some ham salad and chickpea salad for sandwiches at lunchtime tomorrow. Now, I can have our first day of school and no worries about cooking.
Did some laundry and housework. Good breezy drying day! The girls and i played some badminton. That was rather comical with all our silly antics. 12 non-stop hits was our record for today. Woohoo!
I read some of my current book, Christy, by Catherine Marshall. It is part of Lily's literature course and is about a young missionary woman in Smokey mountains in the early 1900s. I thought I'd read it before she does. Anytime I can get out on the deck with a good book is a happy time. I also spent some time organzing and planning our first week of school. It sure feels good to know that I can be home everyday this fall. I can't even put into words how it feels to not be torn between home and the office.
We are having some auto emergencies recently. So, Hubby was busy taking car of auto business. My vehicle is in a friend's shop waiting for a new fuel pump and all the added accessories. (I don't think mechanics call them "accessories" but what can I say? I'm not a mechanic!) Hubby's car needs some new brake shoes. See..just more car accessories! So, more budget squeezing, I guess. But, at least my children don't need back-to-school outfits! The only one getting new shoes this month, is the car!
Chick Pea Salad (for sandwiches)
soak one bag of chick peas about 12 hours (overnight) in full bowl of water. Drain and rinse. No need to cook. Then store in refrigerator until ready to make sandwich filling.
Chop 2 stalks of celery in blender. Adding some chopped onion, scallion, or chive is optional. Scoop this into bowl and add enough mayo to make a tuna- like consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Good in pita or wraps..even spread on crackers!
Broccoli Pasta with Pine Nuts
Prepare pasta.(linguini or fettucini)
Chop 1 lb broccoli, into flowerets and chop some of stalk into small coins. Steam until slightly tender but still firm and bright.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in skillet. Add 2 tsp garlic until softened. Then add 1 tsp red pepper flakes and 2 tbsp pine nuts. Saute a few minutes. Add 28 oz canned chopped tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add steamed broccoli and serve over linguini or fettucine. Sprinkle with fresh parnesan. Enjoy!
If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.
~Author Unknown
There have been alot of recent changes in our lives. I'm happy to announce that I am now a full time stay-at-home Mom. I lost my part time job and we have decided to see how we fare this year without the added income. Needless to say, if we get in dire straits, it will be less than a year. But I have great faith that the Lord will provide for all our needs. And, at present, I'm tweaking our budget and making the changes that I can in our household expenses.
Lately, everything is homemade. From buttermilk and sour cream to bread, laundry soap and greeting cards. I have been finding recipes that use more legumes and grains, cooking some new casseroles and looking for great soup recipes. I'm also working on my Christmas gift ideas and figuring out how I can bless family with gifts that take more time and love than money. I've always enjoyed this sort of thing but now I guess you could say I'm putting myself into it 100%. It has become my new JOB!
Yesterday, I used bulgar for the first time and made a tasty pilaf. But it's not all beans and grains around here. I have a family of carnivores so I can't shock their tummies too badly. We had BLT paninis for dinner using bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, tortillas and a George Forman grill. And tonight will be an eggplant dish with hot sausage. So far, it looks like the grocery budget is cut in half and this was necessary. But then again, Hubby was a bit of a stockpiler, so I probably haven't gotten an accurate read on this yet as some of what I'm using comes from his stocked freezer and pantry. So, I'm keeping track and we can assess it better later. All I know is grocery prices are rising and we all have to be more creative in the kitchen. Since I hadn't been doing the shopping the past six months, it was scary to see all the sizes of things shrinking but not the prices. A half gallon of ice cream is passe. It is now measured in ounces!
Along with me being home full-time, Hubby is now in college full-time. Only one week under his belt, but I'm proud to say, he is doing great. This is a scary new endeavor when you are middle-aged and college is just a blurred memory. But he is finding that he has a different perspective on it as an adult than as a young man. So, what the brain may lack in youthful sponginess, it gains in the wisdom and experience of years. Even the young whippersnappers are asking him for help. In some ways, he needs their help as well. So, he is encouraged and blessed that the old and young can muddle through together.
Two weeks ago, we brought home a foster dog from the animal shelter. He is a chow/lab mix named Frankie. His tail stands up and curls around and his tongue is spotted with black, like a Chow Chow. To me, his perky ears are the cutest.
My daughter does volunteer work at the local animal shelter and her favorite way to help is walking the dogs. Occasionally, I help too. It is so awesome to take the dogs out and give them some exercise and fresh air and let them roll in the grass. We are firm believers in the importance of leash walking dogs. Not just for exercise, but for the bonding factor with humans. Dogs are pack animals and walking is what they do instinctually. Without fulfilling this need for a dog, we leave them incomplete. If you can learn to be pack leader to your dog, he will be a happier dog and exhibit better behavior.
My family and I have seen Frankie turn around from a hyperactive leash-pulling animal to a normal dog who loves to play with our dogs and go for hikes and car rides. We have crate trained him for sleeping at night. He balked at this for a couple nights, but now he goes right in with ease at bedtime and settles down right away. He still gets jumpy and hyperactive upon release in the morning, so we are still working with him on this. But, watching him continue to relax and make progress each new day is exciting and rewarding. We believe he is on his way to finding a new home!
I beat hubby at ping pong today for the first time ever! This is BIG! Hubby used to play quite a bit in college and he even got invited to play with the US Army ping pong team. I only played a little at my friend's house as a girl, but then not again until last December, when we purchased a table. Hubby is mostly undefeated in this house. Lily had her big day against him about a month ago when she triumphed. Recently, I have been working on my spin serves and on countering his spins, all culminating in our big game today, which I won 22-20. Wooohooooo!!!!! After that, I didn't play again the rest of the day because I had to enjoy being "queen pong" for at least an entire day.
Six months ago, I gave away my meal planning, cooking and grocery shopping responsiblities...to my husband. He didn't exactly want them. But, when he found himself out of work due to some on the job injuries and the ensuing wrist and knee surgeries, it only made sense to share the household responsibilites. Well, believe it or not. I'm missing my kitchen duties.
So, lately, I've been perusing the old recipes, borrowing new cookbooks from the library and putting post-its on all the recipes I want to come back and copy. compiling ideas from fellow bloggers about making buttermilk and, oh yeah, had my first try at a big batch of homemade laundry soap. That was really neat and very simple. (I know, it's not food, but it's still a recipe and I did have to cook it up on my stove!)
I have been "borrowing" the kitchen over the past week and making lots of blueberry things...cobbler, blueberry/banana bread, and a blueberry breakfast casserole. This was the end result of a great day we had with friends at their homestead picking wild maine blueberries and raspberries. Yum...what a treat! And such a gorgeous mountainous backdrop.
When the summer ends and we get back to school, Hubby will relinquish his job as "chief cook and bottle washer". It's been a nice break for me, so hopefully I will return with more enthusiasm and a fresh new outlook. It might sound unbelievable to anybody who wishes a break from the routine of meal planning and cooking, but after a while, it loses its romance to be outside the kitchen looking in. At times, it ihas been frustrating to go to make something and find we are out of an ingredient that I always kept stocked in the pantry. Or my kitchen implements are not where I usually keep them. Well, I'm sure there isn't much pity out there for me. (At this very moment, Hubby and I are discussing which potato is the best for baked potato soup..I say russets and he says yukons. "Whatever", I concede, "you're the cook.") And so it goes. In my kitchen, it will be russets. But, for now, let him have his kitchen.
Lily and I volunteered at a local theatre last night, ushering people to their seats. I thought this would be a good work experience for her and also a great way to see free shows. I was sadly disappointed. The show we saw last night was sprinkled with several offensive elements of "humor". This is unfortunate because apart from these particular portions, it could have been a very good play.
Now, I can't say this is necessarily indicative of the times because this play was written many years ago. But I'm just so saddened at how hard it is to find good clean humor anywhere. Not on television, in movies or in live theatre. We have to be so careful to guard ourselves and our children from all of it. And so much of what goes into these shows seems to be just thrown in for laughs or shock value. What does that say about the audience? Is this what they think we want to see? I guess as long as people are buying tickets and not complaining, this is what we'll continue to get fed. I feel like writer's must think the general public is a bunch of idiots. Even movies written for children are often so stupid and filled with sick "humor". I know it is indicative of the world we live in.
Movie ratings can't be trusted. Even asking a friend's opinion hasn't always proven to be reliable. Everybody has their own level of tolerance and what others deem appropriate for their children doesn't mean I will agree it is appropriate or inappropriate for mine. We rarely take the children to the movies because of this. It is usually best to preview the movie first at home. Sometimes parents feel that the offensive stuff will "go over their head" but even if children don't understand it, the wickedness still penetrates and is absorbed, leaving all of us more immune to the sting of it. We are influenced on many different levels.
As a family, we have been to high school productions that have drunkenness and promiscuity in the content. I don't understand why these kinds of choices are made for schools. There must be plenty of good quality, age appropriate theatre scripts to choose from. I am realizing that I really need to do the research before attending because the advertisements are very vague and certainly not rated.
I regret to say that I didn't leave with my daughter at the first sign of offensiveness of this particular play. I got swept up in the quality parts of the experience and was blinded by that. I should have realized that this is how the enemy gets us...not all at once, but in subtle ways. Are apples bad? No. Was the apple from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil a bad choice? Why, yes it was! And they were heavily warned against it too. There were warning signs to me too and I remember thinking this is a bad part, and then convincing myself that it will soon pass and not reappear. But how dangerous is this kind of thinking? Does it mean that if we are in somebody's company and they are doing something inappropriate that it is okay because we aren't actually doing it, but only in the same room? No. This is really no different. We should get away from it so that our souls aren't poisoned by it. I don't want to just learn to let these things bounce off until they no longer affect me. This is how our hearts get hardened to sin. We have to be so careful. Sometimes people say, "I've seen worse". Hmm. I've seen worse too and heard worse and maybe even done worse. This doesn't make it okay either.
I'm thankful for these lessons I'm learning. Convicted and repentant. Needless to say, we have given up this volunteer job. I was wondering if the Shakepeare productions we are scheduled to work might be more appropriate content. But, given the fact that so much can be misconstrued and taken creative license with, we will abstain. It was my daughter who actually made the ultimate decision to use her time more wisely. She is so mature and continues to grow in wisdom. I have to believe that this rather negative experience can be turned around for good and quite possibly already has.
My daughters love geography. It is really a riot to me because I have always been so weak at it myself. But, we always want our children to do better than us. So, maybe this is why I have always made it a priority in our studies to go to the map..go to the globe..look in the world atlas...study world cultures and world history, have penpals from around the globe, travel through stories. And all this soaks into those beautiful spongey young brains and, voila, they know geography! Praise God!
I'm still geography challenged..but I'm learning. And it doesn't bother me that I can't name and locate the European countries because I can ask my daughters and they will help me. Even some of the United States still baffle me. I mean, why did the middle states have to have such rectangular borders? Why couldn't each state have a nice irregular shape like Texas, Maine, Florida or California? I think I just need to go and visit those states that give me trouble and get to know them better. A big field trip, that's what I need! A three month U.S. tour. That has really always been a dream for me. Take a big RV and travel and learn together. But that is another blog, isn't it?
So, for all of you who need geography practice or just want your kids to have a blast learning it, check out this free game download. My girls were playing it today. They were naming the European cities. Yes, cities! egads..as if the countries weren't hard enough? I'm still practicing my rectangular states!
Seterra - Learn Geography. Free Software.
I was very proud of Zinnia today when she made up a batch of chocolate no bake cookies all by herself. I told her that I used to love to have free reign in the kitchen when I was a girl. So, she picked out a recipe and got busy. I told her that this recipe needed a little adjusting because last time they came out too runny and took awhile to set up in the fridge. So, she added extra peanut butter and they came out perfect this time without even needing to be refrigerated. It's a perfect summer cookie..you don't even have to heat up your kitchen. So, thanks Zinny, we all enjoyed them!
Here's the newly revised recipe:
No Bake Cocoa Oat Treats
Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 cups sugar
½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
½ cup milk
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Line cookie sheets with waxed paper.
2. Combine oats and peanut butter in a bowl. Set aside.
3. In a saucepan, add sugar, butter, milk, cocoa. Heat until mixture boils, stirring constantly.
4. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and oat mixture. Stir quickly and mix well.
5. Immediately drop mixture by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Cool.
Store in an airtight container in refrigerator. Makes approx. 2 dozen.
Another lovely summer afternoon. I admit, I didn't sit and read like I told my dog I would but I still hope to pause and take an hour to do just that as the late afternoon approaches, or maybe blogging is as good. So far, have been getting some laundry, vacuuming, dusting, toilet washing, and gardening done. Am also cooking some Chinese Fried Rice which I may post the recipe for in the near future if there is any interest. Halfway there as it is a two step process. I have my cooked rice cooling in the fridge and have steamed the veggies. It is healthy brown rice and veggies with the Chinese restaurant fried rice flavor. It has stir fried eggs, onions, peas, carrots (whatever veggies you want) and sesame oil, tamari, etc. A friend gave me this recipe and I was impressed with it. I always like to know what is in my food, so would much rather make it at home. The girls and I played some badminton out here on the lawn earlier and now rI am actually sitting out on my deck listening to the birds sing while I type this post. So, other than the fact that I can hardly see my laptop screen, this is a nice relaxing time. Forgive my typos as I do have a good excuse right now.
I was excited to get a shipment of some curriculum I ordered from Knowledge Quest...some cds with blackline maps which will be very helpful as I'm always pulling maps off the Internet and this will save me time and probably be better suited to our needs. Also got "Exploring the Holy Land" which is a culture/geography study and so far I'm impressed with the book. Very interesting to me, so I know my girls will enjoy it also. There are always so many things we want to learn and do so I'm really getting excited about having two whole days a week extra at home with my parttime job terminating at the end of the summer. Right now, I can hardly imagine having that extra time, but it is the most extraordinary blessing I can imagine right now. I have never in my homeschooling experience had this gift of time. I think it might take me a few months to let it sink in that I don't have to multitask every moment of the day. Or stay up until after midnight preparing, correcting or keeping records.
Lily is heading into the animal shelter. She and I just got started as volunteers earlier this week. We love animals and this is a great way for her to get some work experience doing something that she really is passionate about. Some of it is cleaning cages, doing dishes and laundry but there is much time spent walking dogs and socializing with the smaller animals like cats, gerbils, ferrets, and bunnies. I would have to say there are more cats there than anything else. So, everybody should go out and adopt a cat today! All of the dogs at this shelter are spayed and neutered before they are adopted, so this is really a great way to end the cycle of unwanted pets. I was really impressed with the way that this facility uses volunteers. There is an open door policy and you just stop by whenever you can to help. Just sign in and sign out when you are done. They say they always need help so they don't want people to feel that they must schedule their volunteer time. This makes it very convenient for us. And so, if Lily finishes her studying and has time, I can just drop her off to put in some hours there. She plans on going at least once a week, most of the time, but this is her second time this week. I don't intend to give as much time as she does, but I wanted to get signed up and go through the orientation process as well. I know that Zinny would enjoy this as well, but she will have to wait until she is older.
The other day, I got a neat charades game from Goodwill for $2. It involves team play and moving around a gameboard. The clues to act out are movies, songs, tv shows, plays and books. We all sat at the table to try it out last night and got laughing so hard. The game is obviously written for more my generation and older than for my children. They recognize only some of the classic literature but most of the shows or songs are not familiar to them. Some, not to hubby and I either. But this just puts us on equal ground with them because these two sisters have a language that only they understand, so this gives them an advantage in this type of game. They just know each other so well, they can make the other say the right words. But last night I was trying to get hubby to guess the old John Wayne movie " True Grit". It was a riot. I could only get him as close as "sounds like" Blue Hit. I was rolling on the floor by know. But finally, I acted out riding a horse with a cowboy hat and eye patch and he got it! The girls had no idea what this movie was but they thought it was hysterical watching us struggle with this. I look forward to playing this one again. We actually won, even though our acting was bordering pathetic at times.
Well, it is time for me to close and go finish my rice recipe and grab some ice coffee and head to my deck chair to look at the screenprinting book I just got from books by mail. I hope we have time to do this cool art this fall. I'm getting ready!! Yahoo!
ahhhh... the humidity broke today. It was absolutely gorgeous. Blue sky, breezy, sunny, but not muggy. A good working day. Well, it could've been a good goof off day too, but we chose to work. The girls and I worked on washing windows and screens. We got the harder ones that we had to climb on ladders to do. Then, since I was already grimy, I decided to give Darby a birthday haircut and bath. Darby is our springer spaniel. She will be four tomorrow. I decided that since she is so good to work with, I would get some new clippers and try and save some money rather than send her to the groomers. It worked out well. We got set up on the deck and the hair was blowing away in the breeze. Then I gave her a bath with a bucket and the hose. She is used to this because every time i take her for a walk, she runs through the ditches and I need to hose her off when we get back home. She's done this since puppyhood, so is well behaved when it comes to bathing. We usually have her groomed about 4 times a year at $30 each. That is more than I get my own hair done! So, i figured if i have the clippers, I will try to only have her done professionally in the winter, when I can't possibly bathe and clipper her outside. She needs to have it done because when her hair gets long, the snow will ball up on her feet and tummy.
My goal from now on, is to try and keep up on her every few weeks so it will be easier. Next, i have to tackle the toenails, which I'm not as confident about. (maybe tomorrow) After she was all clean, I washed her kennel, which she only sleeps in, and all her bedding. Can't have my clean dog on stinky doggy blankets! So, she is all fresh and new for her big day. After that, we gave the dogs their celebratory bones. So, I asked Darby what she wanted to do tomorrow for her special day. Guess what she said? She wants to curl up next to my deck chair and watch me read all day. Hmmmm. I'll see what I can do.
This week Lily got her braces off. She was so excited! Dr Z likes to keep the big day a complete surprise. So, of course, we were happy to play along. She thought she was in for a routine adjustment and voila...he said "how about we just take them right off?". She had known the day was coming soon, but was not expecting it yet. Of course, she was ecstatic! And we had prepared a special celebratory goodie bag for her filled with all the things she couldn't indulge in with braces on...chewy candies, hard pretzels, gum, whitening toothpaste, and corn on the cob!! Daddy made her a steak dinner that night. And one of the best experiences was getting to brush her teeth without braces on...a simple pleasure she has missed for two years. Congratulations Lily! Keep smiling!
this is the folk art horse that Lily carved out of basswood and painted for one of her friends. Isn't it beautiful?
Daddy takes the girls to their Tuesday night carving class and last mother's day, they gave me a very special surprise. Long-handled wooden spoons for cooking, that each daughter had carved out of sugar maple. This is a very hard wood and it took them countless hours to carve those spoons. Then they burned their initials into them. I was so touched by those gifts. I use them all the time and will treasure them always. They will outlast me, I'm sure, and become an heirloom. Nothing is more special than something handmade with hours and hours of loving care. Thank you girls!