Weekly Wrap Up - Oct. 26, 2009
Posted in Weekly Wrap Up
I am reading in John again. I had to stop for a little while and turn to Genesis. Why? Paradise Lost, that’s why. I had to read Paradise Lost in my British Literature class. For anyone who has never read Paradise Lost before, let me explain a little bit about it, and you’ll understand why I just spent several weeks intensely exploring the first three chapters of Genesis. Paradise Lost is an epic poem about Satan’s rebellion in Heaven, creation, and the fall of mankind in
On the Homefront
Home has been a bit chaotic these past couple of weeks. A full schedule is nothing new around here, but we just can’t seem to settle into a rhythm. Hopefully, with things like a vacation, a birthday, and an anniversary behind us, we can finally get more comfortable with our schedule.
Also, on the homefront, I found and amazing price on apples and canned Apple Butter and Apple Sauce. I didn’t have a food mill, so the first batch of Apple Butter was a bit challenging. I put the cooked apples into a colander and simulated a food mill by pressing the apples through the holes with the back of a ladle. It worked out fairly well except I got tired pretty quickly. That’s when my hubby rescued me and finished that first batch. However, when I came home with twenty more pounds of apples, he bought me a food mill that I absolutely love! By the way, if you do make Apple Butter this year, beware! The smell of apples simmering with all those spices just might have you thinking about Christmas. I’ve been listening to Christmas music ever since!!
Oh, and I went to
In the Schoolroom
School is doing surprising well in spite of our schedule. Jared is really enjoying his weekly hands-on projects from Christian Kids Explore Chemistry and reading My Side of the Mountain for Total Language Plus. Sequential Spelling and daily dictation are really helping his spelling issues. Unfortunately, math hasn’t been much fun lately. Jared’s at a point where math is just practice and drills. He still won’t commit basic math facts to memory, and until he does we have to spend time drilling every day. It’s really just the nature of how Jared learns certain things. He simply needs to review it often before he can remember it. We’ll just keep plugging along.
Colleen is keeping up with her work load pretty well, although she did slack off a bit in Spanish 2 this past week. Oh, and she’ll get to read excerpts from Paradise Lost soon. I can’t wait to hear how much she “loves” it! She just finished Beowulf and was less than thrilled, so
On the Exercise Mat
We finally built a gas-free day into our week by riding our bikes to choir and drama classes. Between the heat and the spread out schedule, I just couldn’t find a weekday that I didn’t have to drive somewhere. Thankfully, the temperature had finally dropped below ninety, and we can ride in the afternoons again. I’ve also been using the treadmill a couple days of week in order to keep up on my reading for school. Unfortunately, I have, once again, let my strength training lapse. Time to unbury those dumbbells…again.
From the Library
School, school, and more school has taken up most of my recreational reading time. My literature class requires reading about sixty pages each week, and my environment class requires a book read every other week. Now, add in all the reading I need t do just to keep up with the kids’ schooling, and I’m full! Although, I have been getting a lot of cookbooks out from the library. Does that count?
On the Creative Side
Right now I’m working on the baskets we give to our friends each Christmas. I’ve been canning a variety of jams, jellies, and butters to put in the basket. This year, I’ll be adding an ornament of some kind. So far, I’ve found a crocheted snowflake and a quilled snowflake that I like. I’ve managed to work on these a little at a time while I watch different movies and videos for school. I hope to get the sewing room cleaned up this week so I can get a few more larger projects done. It seems someone in my home likes to dump big boxes of stuff in the sewing room so they don’t have to be seen or dealt with. Time to haul them up the attic!
In the Garden
The fall garden is coming up nicely! Hubby built an amazing drip irrigation system to keep those extra thirsty plants well-watered without drowning those that don’t need quite so much water. I do love my mornings in the garden suckering the tomatoes; thinning the turnips, carrots, and beets; weeding the broccoli, cauliflower, and corn. What a way to wake up each day!
Comments
Oct. 27, 2009 - Hi Betty!
Posted by ThreeLittleLadies
Sounds like a good full week! I'm glad the homeschooling is going well. We're in the drill phase right now too...
Hope you are having a great week this week too.
Carol
Oct. 29, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by proverbsmama
Oh yes! Cookbooks do count for reading! LOL! I've done a lot of that this week, trying to find some new soup recipes that don't have milk in them. (I am allergic to milk.)
DD got to feed a giraffe many years ago at the zoo. I doubt that she even remembers doing it since she was so young.
