February saw my birthday, Valentine's Day, my and dh's anniversary (17 years now!)  and now in March, in just a few days, my oldest son will turn 16.  That seems just a significant age.

I tried to post a week or so but couldn't get on so I gave up.  I still have a testimony I want to  share with you.  I need to get off this now so Samuel can do more of his schoolwork, but I will try to come back to this soon!

Thank you to those who have left comments.  I'm sorry I have not been very active lately on HSB but I will try to improve. 

Absent without posting?  Yeah, guilty.  Sorry about that.   January started hard, but got a little better when I remembered to pray.  I still need to pray and remember that I need God's help daily.  

My oldest daughter turned 14 in January.  We're still planning a time to go to the pool with a couple of her friends.  This month sees a few special days.  My birthday (soon), Valentine's Day, and my anniversary are all in February.

I have a story to tell you, but it will have to wait until I have some time to spend on it.  It's not very long, but I'd like to tell it right!

...I've just been bad about posting.

The week before last, over the weekend, I was really dreading the week to come.  I just had no desire to homeschool right then.  I realized I needed God's help and had neglected to ask Him.  I did ask Him, and that week went OK, Praise God.  Last week went OK, but I did also ask God's help and blessing.  This week also has started out OK (although it's only Monday).  I know I rely on God's help, and have asked His blessing for certain things, but this afternoon I think I need to seek Him a bit more earnestly for His aid. 

I was sharing with a (former) missionary friend yesterday morning about www.sermonaudio.com, and mentioned a few sermons I had heard.  I told him about Duncan Campbell's testimony of what occurred during the revival on the Isle of Lewis, in the Hebrides in Scotland, back in the early 1950's.  He knew of it (that sermon is available in print too) and said that he had heard Duncan Campbell in person.  He preached "Is There a Broken Altar in Your Home?" - about prayer and if his hearers had been neglecting it.  Oh how I wish I could hear that today!   I need it myself, and such a topic needs to be preached in many churches I think.

My friend's wife is not so well.  I am knitting her a shawl.  Par for my course I've had to start it several times for different reasons but I think I'm on the right way with it now.  I've also got a few other WIPs (also par for the course).

Our hens are laying more now.  We now have 4 of the 5 hens laying.  The araucana, Stormie, has not begun yet.  I hope she does, I am looking forward to the colored eggs her breed produces.

Yoshi, Ben's chameleon, is doing well.  He has shed twice so far now, the second time happening today.  From start to finish takes about 3 hours.  I think it looks very uncomfortable and he expends a lot of energy twisting, turning, rubbing against his leaves and stems and otherwise manoevering to get the peeling skin off.  I've got a photo but need to upload it to Photo Bucket first I think.

David's sight has not improved.  He has a follow-up visit at the Eye Hospital tomorrow and I hope the doctor will have some good ideas to help David.

The gales last week were fierce.  Oklahoma has tornados, which cause so much damage and loss of life, but the gales here last for days, and this last episode saw the deaths of 11 people, and I don't know how many injuries.  We lost our "green box" (a plastic bin for putting recycling out for the council to collect) but nothing else.  We did have a dead tree in the back blow down, but it was quite small and did no damage to anything else.  Many people lost their electricity supply and some still had not got it back when the weather turned cold over the weekend.

That's all for now!

Unfortunately I ended up with a migraine and went to bed for a couple of hours in the middle of the day.  I got up and made meatloaf for the crockpot, with a little help from Kerenza (4 1/2 years old).   Despite my migraine I'm not too displeased with how things have gone today, Benjamin fussed over his math assignment but got on and did it (I haven't graded it yet though) and he did his handwriting.   Just a few minutes ago I had him start reading Farmer Boy by L I Wilder and  thought he initially said it was hard when he looked at it, I told him just to read a couple of paragraphs if that is all he could manage.  He got through almost the whole chapter!  So I am quite pleased at what he accomplished.  On other days I plan to "tag read" (I read some, he reads some) with him, as well as having him read a bit by himself. 

The older kids have done some of their work - my 15 year old son did less than his younger sister as he daydreamed too much but I'm OK with that for today.  I'm not OK with the fact that he couldn't find his Apologia Biology CD Rom. 

The little children did some pages of their workbooks and have played with Geomag, which is quite educational.  I found some at less than half price on Saturday so after calling David to ask if he wanted me to get some (I was having a "Mom gets to be by herself" afternoon in Oxford) I bought a few boxes.

It's not been as productive a day as I'd hoped, but not too bad given the fact that I'm a bit out of commission.

I'd appreciate your prayers about my migraines.  They seem to be getting more frequent and/or harder to get rid of. 

We got our 11 year old the chameleon he wanted for Christmas.  Yoshi joined our family on December 23.  We could have waited until the 24th to go get him, but I wanted to get him on Saturday so over the first full day of our having them we would be able to call Chris at the pet store if anything concerned us.

I took a photo of Yoshi tonight as he was going to bed.  I keep getting blurry pictures of him but you get the idea and can see his beautiful tail.

He is about 12 weeks old, so still a baby.

I hope you had a nice Christmas.  We had (and still have) no oven, but some friends lent us a counter-top oven, which I used for the turkey (crown) and I also used the crockpots.  It all worked out.    I'm even more pleased that we managed to have devotions on Christmas morning, Bible reading (with a flannelgraph set of the Nativity, sent by my mom), prayer, and even singing a couple of carols.   Last year our devotions were cut short by the breakage of a radiator and the subsequent panic of getting the water caught and soaked up from the carpet!   On Christmas evening David read the final installment of Jotham's Journey, the book we had been reading all Advent. 

May 2007 bring many blessings to all of us.  I'm hoping and praying that David's eye issue will be resolved.  He had an ultrasound on his neck done today, which showed normal blood flow.  He goes back to the eye hospital later this month. 

We're still on vacation from home education.    My plan is to start back up on Monday.  We will have an interruption on Wednesday as I take the older ones to the orthodontist and David takes Stephen to the plastic surgery clinic in Stoke Mandeville for a follow-up appt (he had burns from hot water back in September).  I think it all looks pretty good now.  The appt. is just for the consultant to see that everything has healed OK.

I may duck into the yarn shop in Oxford after the orthodontist visit on Wednesday.  David bought me a book from there last time he took the children for their appt. but I have not yet visited the shop. 

We got our 11 year old son the chameleon he wanted.  We all like Yoshi who is a Yemen or Veiled chameleon.  I'll try to get some photos up another time.  I hope we can do a good job taking care of this creature - they have a lot of needs.

I've got a number of finished projects I might show pictures of, and I've got a number of things I'm working on.  I've got two hats for charity going, and I've started my first pair of socks!  Of course I have a number of UFOs about (unfinished objects) -  I did work on one of them this afternoon, which feels good.

I've recently started listening to podcasts.  My favorite knitting one so far is Sticks and String - you can find it on David Reidy's website, www.sticksandstring.com.au . 

I've got a few things I need to grade from the "big kids" schoolwork from before we started our Christmas break.  I was going to do some this afternoon but had a migraine this morning and early afternoon, so I didn't get to it.  Maybe tomorrow.  I'm finally ready to tackle it - I thought about getting it done the first week of break, but I just did not want to.  A bit of laziness or perhaps burnout. 

I do need to do some praying - I'm still not 100% revved up for the winter/spring term - but I know God gives us the strength we need.  I need to spend some time with Him.

Have you already started back if you had a break?  If not, how are you feeling about starting?  Am I the only one not feeling ready?

Happy New Year!

Last Monday, I think, our oven was "condemned."  It had so much wrong with it, and was so old it was no longer worth repairing.  The lower oven I had been using, was corroded on the bottom and the eletrician told me not to use it any more.   So we've been using the slow-cookers or the stove top for our meals since then.

We've looked at some ovens on Ebay but have lost all the auctions we've bid on. I'd be willing to do without an oven for another month or so, it does mean no Christmas cookie baking ,but I could do without the calories so it's no bad thing. 

Speaking of David we've had a bit of a scare with his vision - to make a long story and several dr. appointments short, we (well, I and the drs) were concerned he had a detached retina.  After a thorough exam at the eye hospital it was discovered he has a blocked blood vessel which has starved his retina (we think) which led to the loss of 1/4 to 1/3 of his vision.   He is taking aspirin now, and hopefully the clot will dissolve.  If it does, the eye may repair itself.  That is what we are praying for.    He has to go back in January for an ultrasound, and then later for another appointment with the eye specialist.   Please pray for him.

We've taken this last week off.  I sure needed it.  Didn't get as much done as I'd like - either in housework, marking schoolwork, or even just sitting and knitting but it's been a good week.  I got my hair cut again - just about 3 weeks after a trim at my normal salon, and 2 weeks after getting it permed.  This time I went to another salon because I finally admitted to myself that I just wasn't happy at my former one and the girl there who does my hair, just too often doesn't get what I want, and when I have perms I've been disappointed.  At the new salon the stylist showed me what she would have done and used to get the effect I told her I wanted, and it made sense to me and in fact lined up with what I thought should have been done in the first place.  She cut my hair quite quickly, and even when wet I could see it had a much better shape it.   And to top it all off, as it was my first time there, the cut was half price!

We are getting ds2, Ben, a chameleon this Christmas.  David brought home the vivarium and all the stuff for it yesterday after work but didn't have time to work on it until today.  He had a half-day off, but still didn't manage to get a lot done on it until tonight.  Preparing to have this creature in our home has been a real learning experience.  We've learned about caring for one, and what kind of habitat they need, and tonight we learned first-hand about setting their kit up!

Ben was sick in the night last night.  I sure hope that no one else gets it.  On Wednesday night I felt queasy but didn't get sick, poor old Ben was sick for real.  Why do my children always get sick at night?  It's rare that they ever start anything in the daytime!  

If I don't write again before Monday, I hope you have a lovely Christmas!

we didn't electrocute ourselves or have an electrical fire.  On the bad side, it turns out that our oven is at least 25 years old, has too many things wrong with it to be worth fixing if we could, and we couldn't get the parts for it anyway - and the lower oven is unuseable due to corrosion which would allow any spills to get to the heating element.   So we need a new oven.  The repairman strongly recommended that I not use the lower, smaller oven at all now (which I had been doing, as it did heat up) which leaves us with the stove top (a separate unit) and the slow cookers.   I am thankful for those.

I do hope that perhaps very soon something will come up on Freecycle.

This beautiful template was arranged by a "secret sister" for me.  Isn't it lovely? 

Thank you so much, SS!!

This is about Men who knit. I've got two boys who have both asked me to teach them to knit. I need to get started with them! I might have them see this video. Knitting used to be men's work. Women did the spinning, but men did the knitting and weaving, in many cultures.  I remember reading that Icelandic shepherds walked with their sheep, while knitting, and recently learned that Japanese Samurai, after all the feudal warring stopped, took up knitting to supplement their incomes. (www.knitjapan.co.uk ; there are some pages about the history of knitting in Japan on it) I'm glad that such crafts no longer are restricted to one gender. I have pretty traditional and I hope Biblical views of family roles, but I think some of our views about things like art can be more cultural than Biblical.

No, not because the weather is great.  It's not too cold, but typically gray and it's starting to rain.  I think it's fine, because after I cleaned the chicken house out, I stood there watching my chickens who were loose in the garden, and I watched my two youngest children playing with chalks on the pavement that is at the bottom of our garden. 

It's a fine thing, to have the strength and health to take care of my chickens.  It's a fine thing, to have sight, and hearing, and leisure in order to watch both chickens and children.  It's a fine thing to have the chickens, and more-than-fine to have the children.  I am so richly blessed to have my five children.  How beautiful, and clever, and interesting they are all in their own ways.  I thank God for them, and for the time I have to spend with them.

Now off to do some knitting.  I'll probably be interrupted by Miss Four Year Old a number of times.  Oh yes, it's a fine afternoon indeed. 

Or perhaps that should be Apologia and the poncho....

My oldest son just finished getting stuff ready for a lab session on micro-organisms - we don't have a pond nearby so he went to the nearby stream and hopefully he got a sample from a slow-enough section that there will be enough little things to reproduce in his jars to which are added various goodies that the little things can feed on.    That was just a great example of a run-on sentence, wasn't it?

Dad is going to do the microscope work for the project this weekend.  He's a scientist, so I figure he can take some of the science!

I decided to take the poncho seams apart so I could add more rows, which will make the neck larger.  It will also make the poncho longer but with my height and size that won't be a problem.  The first seam went well, but on the second I had a minor disaster - I started taking apart the cast-on edge!   I was nearly dispairing but then I thought I could use a needle and sew the edge back together.  That worked and I am grateful.  I put more rows on one side, but haven't put any more rows on the second side.  I've been working on some wrist warmers, and a crocheted project for a gift.

I've also made some beaded stitch markers - I've never tried them before this month and I've been pleased at how they've come out.  I've made some of them for a swap on Fiber Freaks ( a forum for people who enjoy various fiber crafts). 

The other night I stayed up late and made some felt.  I decided to take a chance the next day and put my partially felted piece in the washing machine with some towels and let it go along for the ride.  I had read that front-loading washers didn't provide enough agitation but I tell you (and I should have remembered, from unintentional feltings in the past) that they do.  My felted piece is much smaller and thicker. Not a bad thing at all, but it was more felted than I expected it to be.

Generally with the homeschooling things aren't too bad  - but with all the difficulties with the one son ( a lot of emotional outbursts when made to do things even when well within his abilities), and just the normal hassles of everyday life I am ready for a break  - but can't really take one because we didn't really start until the beginning of October!  We've also had a few easy Fridays.  

We won't be doing much schoolwork on Friday, but we won't be having a real easy day either as I have to take the children to the orthodontist.  Only two need to be seen but I will have to take the whole family along.  We have to go on the bus, which is not an unpleasant journey, but it is time consuming and costly.   Sometimes dh will take them, but I think this week is not a good week for him.   The bus fare for us will be around £20.00 I think, and then we will eat out.  If we were stoic enough I suppose I could just get everybody to the bus stop immediately afterward and eat at home but I myself will be worn out from it all so I don't think that's a great scenario.  I think I will try to find something to see in Oxford that we haven't seen before, perhaps the Museum of Modern Art,  perhaps something else.   I figure if we have made the effort to get there we should take advantage of what the town has to offer, if it is not too costly.

I realized I never got a photo of the fleece poncho.  I had a photo taken of me at Wayland's Smithy last weekend, although you can't see it hanging down, you can at least get an idea, so here it is:

I'm crocheting, if you're wondering....

Today we are having a very easy day - my excuse is that it is Dh's birthday!!  Happy birthday David!   We had Bible and a fiction book this morning, and I did some practical life-skills with Benj (shoe tying, many children learn it earlier but he wasn't ready at the "normal" age and then we kind of left it!).  Abby will do some sewing later.  Right now she and Samuel are in town buying some things for their dad's birthday.

All of the younger 3 children have been playing with KNex yesterday and today.  They have been working on wheeled objects - really working on balance which I think is a practical side of physics.

Last weekend Dh did some experiment in the garage with the two younger boys.  Here is a photo:

It had something to do with a battery, that's all I know.

I finished my poncho - all but the fringe.  I sewed the seams last night.  I'm a bit disappointed with how small the neck is, I suppose I should just lose more weight!  I hope to get the fringe on in the next few days, and I'll post a new photo of it then.  Here's how it is so far:

While sorting out my photos on Photobucket to post these here, I accidentally deleted another photo!  I'm not sure which it is so I am going to trawel through my posts here and a couple of other place to find out what's missing! How silly of me!

More news another time, there is a possibility of a big change for us but I'll write about it later.....

We've already had to administer some vet care to the new chickens - or at least one.  The arucauna was getting pecked and her feathers were bleeding, which provoked more pecking.   I couldn't find the gentian violet (which disguises the red) so after washing the hen (after we had a great time separating her, accidentally letting the flightly leghorn loose, catching the leghorn which was not easy, letting the arucauna out by accident, and catching her) I made do with blue food coloring.  It seemed to work though, as the other hens looked at her bottom and lost interest immediately. 

I've started another poncho for myself with a chunky yarn.  I'll show you a picture of it on 9mm pins, which is what the pattern and the manufacturer call for, but I will frog that as I was not pleased with how open it was.  As I mean it for more of an outdoor garment I wanted the knit a bit tighter.  My swatch on the 8mm needles is not tight at all but still less holey than the work on the 9s and I think I will be happier with the smaller pins.   The yarn is Shriek, by Rowan (but they have discontinued their Chunky Print range, too bad).

We went to a rare breeds farm up near Kidderminster yesterday - oh my long-suffering husband!  We chose 2 banties, and 3 large breed chickens.   We got a white Pekin bantam ("Cochin" in the US), a buff colored bantam (I have forgotten the breed!), a brown leghorn, a buff Orpington, and a lavendar Arucauna.     These photos are not good, since I took them today through the wire but I wanted to share them anyway!  (They can't free range in our backyard as they need to be kept in their run for a week or two, to make sure they learn it is their home.)   I had to shove them down their ladder this morning as the sill creatures didn't seem to work out how to get down!   Last time we had new chickens, I had to go out in the evening and shove them up the ladder to put them to bed; I hope I don't have to do that this time!!  Me, inside the coop, trying to not let any escape, while trying to get them one by one up to their bed may have made a fun picture but it was not a fun thing to do!!

The buff banty, the white banty, and the buff Orpington

Lavendar arucauna (she will lay blue/green eggs, DV):

The little white banty who already seems to be the boss:

This is not a good picture of my brown leghorn but wanted to share it until I can get a new one:  (there is also the white banty in there)

The leghorn will lay white eggs.  You can see she has white "earlobes" and this means she will lay white eggs.

I meant to add another post last week but just didn't get around to it.   I wanted to tell about how in about 12 hours, I came across three things on blogs or a forum that spoke about waiting on God, when He does not answer when we'd like, and about God's silences.  Considering that I have felt quite low sometimes about not having answers from God about some issues, despite trying to be patient and faith-full, those thoughts about waiting on God were very helpful.

We're trying to think of how we can save money to get ds2's chameleon. We're thinking of building our own vivarium which would save the greatest amount of money needed for all the kit we need for such a creature.   I'm trying to study up on caring for chameleons and we are using learning about chameleons as Benj's science topic on some days.  Perhaps we could even do a lapbook?  I've never done one before.

Dh has been working hard to get the old furniture  (wardrobes made out of particleboard, or MDF as they call it here) out of the boys' room so we can paint it and have the room ready for a new pine wardrobe and chest of drawers (with 9 drawers!) which will come this week or next.  He really  is a hard worker.  Love ya, hubby!   

This is strongly on my heart and mind, so that is why I will risk offending someone today. 

I have heard yet again of another injury to a child known to me, who had been jumping on a trampoline when the injury occurred.  The break involves the growth plate so more care than usual will need to be taken to set the bone, and much more monitoring than usual will need to be done as the bone heals.   This child will spend time in the hospital and there is a risk, though small, that things might not go well with the setting and healing.

I know that accidents happen (we have made enough trips to urgent care  ourselves) but I am just so tired and aggravated at children being injured because parents will not study up on and/or enforce the safety rules for trampoline use.   Almost all the injuries I have personally heard about involve more than one person jumping on the trampoline.  In the case of my daughter, two rules were broken :  that of more than one person on the trampoline, and a ladder leading up to the mat (allowing access by a too-young child).   Acturally, more rules were broken:  no spotters, no adult supervision, no safe landing surface around the tramp, but I think the most important facts were the first two in our case.  

 (We were visiting friends and though I knew they had a trampoline I did not know they had a ladder which allowed my not-quite-three year old to access the tramp.  The first I knew was when I saw my daughter bouncing upsupervised with their youngest daughter.  I got out there as soon as I could, to get her off.   I told the other child not to jump until I got my girl off.  I nearly had dd off, when the other girl gave a jump, which catapulted dd up into the air, from whence she fell onto the ground.  Thankfully it was a grassy area instead of concrete, but damage was still done. She had broken her collarbone.  I supposed that perhaps a safety surface may have helped, but if there had not been another person on the tramp she would not have been catapulted off.    Do you know how traumatic it is for a two year old to be Xrayed by a big machine on the ceiling in an echo-ey room and that moves and buzzes as it gets into place?)

A teenaged girl at church injured her leg badly this summer, again, on a trampoline with another person.

We know some people with a tramp that is right next to a cement sidewalk, and next to their house windows.    I shudder at the possibilities there.  By God's grace nothing has happened yet. 

And I know that it is God's grace that any of our children get through a day unscathed.  But I still believe we have responsibilities - not to wrap our children in cotton wool, as the English say -  but when we know we can take precautions to minimize the chance of severe injury, I believe we should take them.  

http://www.trampledunderfoot.co.uk/trampolines/safety/trampoline-safety-rules.html

(edited 20:33 for clarification/better grammar)

On Thursday night I shut the back door, which because of its weak hinges, scrapes the tile floor when it's moved, and it screeched.  Immediately I heard an answering screech from the back yard.  I assumed it was an owl and listened as it continued screeching.   I got a flashlight and dh got one too, and we went out back to see if we could see it.  Dh went in after a bit, but I continued on toward the back of our property, shining the light from time to time, to see if I could see the screeching owl.  I saw nothing, so decided to come in.

I started looking up the tawny owl on the internet, as I assumed that that was what it was.  I read that they do attack humans occasionally when disturbed.  I thought, well, good thing I didn't disturb it.  I found a page with sound  (Owl Calls and Sounds  - go about halfway down to find the section for Eurasian Tawny Owl) on it, and listened to a call.  My husband agreed that that was the sound we had heard.  I became very thankful that I did not have an encounter with the owl, as the call we heard apparently displayed aggression!

On Saturday ds1 went to play paintball with some men and their sons from church.  They were split up and put into teams with other people who were playing that day.  When Ds told us about it all over lunch today, I was impressed at how the paintballing was run.  They organize things so that the risk of injury is minimalized, fair play is observed, and enmity is not formed between the various groups who come to play (a church group will be divided and put with another group, which is also divided, for example).  I was glad ds had a good time.

The rest of us, in the afternoon, went to a couple of pet stores to learn about various reptiles that Ds2 is interested in for a birthday present (it was back in Sept!).  I am putting my foot down about snakes, spiders, and other insects (I could have conceded over stick insects, perhaps).  So many of the reptiles are so expensive!   I encouraged ds to think of a caged pet because I thought our home is too small for a dog (and I'm not too fond of cats, and they make me sneeze).   

 I tried not to influence him too much as he looked around.  At the second pet shop, for which we had driven a long way by English standards, a man spent quite a little while with us talking to us about axolotls and chameleons.  As we held a chameleon, ds decided that that is what he wanted. They are my favorite reptile too.   They are extremely interesting little creatures (although they won't stay little!) and if we can keep one healthy it should be a fascinating pet.  We did not buy one then, though I did buy a book (a bit too advanced for ds, but I will direct him to sections he will be able to understand).  We need to think about sorting out the finances for this venture.  It's not so much the chameleon, as the kit for it that will cost so much. 

I'd like to get some chickens too.  I found a place with prices much more in line with our budget, even though they sell purebreds.  I was and still am thinking about getting hybrids again, as they are much less expensive.  The problem is that they produce eggs like mad for about a year and a half, and then stop and my last lot was not all that thrifty, dying earlier than I felt they should have.  Purebreds would lay fewer eggs, but for longer (in theory).  I still need to think about this all.  I wonder if we can sell the eggs.

On Friday Ds3 turned 6.  I loved the whole year when he was five, he was inquisitive, and cuddly, and so bright in how he noticed and learned things, so I was sad a bit to see it end!  Of course he is still the same boy, but I know this year will bring many changes and I was just nostalgic already about when he was five!  I made him a "worm" cake for his birthday, which he liked.   

Tonight at dinner - which consisted of apple pie and ice cream - my daughter asked "Does God know how to swim?"

I have been reading Charlotte Mason's book, Ourselves over the last month or so.  I have found it easy to read, yet full of ideas that are nourishing to the mind (would we expect less from CM?).  A chapter that gave me much to think about lately, and was very convicting, was in Part III, The House of Heart, under the subtopic of Love (one of the Lords of the Heart).   Courage is one of the Lords in Waiting to Love, along with Pity,  Benevolence, Sympathy, Kindness, Generosity, Gratitude, Loyalty, Humility, and Gladness.  

I never thought of Courage as a part of Love, but of course it can be and often is.  It influences how we act in all sorts of situations.  Miss Mason discusses various aspects of courage, and has all sorts of useful things to say, but what really struck me was idea of "The Courage of our Opinions."  So I wanted to share it with you.  I think that copying it out here will not be a violation of copyright, as it is only an excerpt from the book, but if I am wrong please let me know.

The Courage of our Opinions, -- Besides the Courage of Attack, the Courage of Endurance, the Courage of Serenity, and the Courage of our Affairs, there are lesser forms of Courage which as truly belong to the courageous heart.  There is the courage of our opinions.  By opinions I do not mean the loosely taken up catchwords of the moment, those things which 'everybody says,' and with which it is rather agreeable than otherwise to startle our less advanced friends; but those few opinions founded upon knowledge and principle which we really possess.

It is worth while to examine ourselves as to what our opinions are as to the questions discussed in conversation or otherwise.  We may find that we have no distinct opinion.  If so, let us not take up with the first that offers, but think, inquire, read, consider both sides, and then be ready with a gentle, clear, well-grounded expression of opinion, when someone remarks, for example: 'I think missionaries are a mistake!'  'The religions people have are those best suited to their natures'; or, 'It is not use thinking about the multitude, it is the few who have intellect or art who are worth caring for'; and so on.  We often allow other people's opinions to pass without protest, because we believe that they have been carefully thought out;  but it is surprising how a word of simple conviction will arrest people who express the most outrageous opinions.  At any rate this form of Courage is due from us.

I found this challenging because I have very strong opinions, but very rarely voice them plainly in real-life situations.  My reason is not quite the one Miss Mason mentions above, but rather the cowardice of worrying what others will think of me,  either because I'm afraid I'll come across as a know-it-all, or a holier-than-thou,  or because they won't like what I say and reject all I have to say, not only in the matter of opinion but of more important matters such as the Gospel.  I feel it's wise to be cautious in some circumstances, and not say all one thinks, but I know I take this caution too far and have often ended up not speaking when to have spoken would probably have been helpful.  I even end up not dealing with on a blog like this, for example, because someone who knows me might find it and be offended about how I think on all sorts of issues!  Even posting that entry on what people have brought to dinners, made me uncomfortable!   

I think remembering to have courage will be helpful to me, if I will just follow through.   We'll see how it goes.

Attention: those interested in the Charlotte Mason method.

I am thinking about approaching a missionary couple in my church who used the PNEU program (Parents' National Education Union, founded by Charlotte Mason) to home educate their two daughters while they lived in Africa to see if they will let me interview them.

If they are agreeable to an interview, what questions would you want to ask them, either about their use of the Charlotte Mason -based curriculum or about home education in general? (Or home educating as missionaries.) 

In fact, would anyone be interested in reading about such an interview?

On a forum I frequent there was a discussion about what to bring to someone (or the couple) who has invited you to dinner.  There were some good suggestions. I mentioned something about flowers and then said I had some stories about when people brought rather inappropriate items.  I was asked to share them, and I thought that I could blog about them too, and so I give you my post (slightly edited from what I put on the forum) on two unusual things that have been brought to me when I have given dinners.  

When I share these two, I in no way wish to be unkind to the people mentioned. So here goes. One I find quite funny, and the other I rather shake my head over still.

Well, one time my mom and I had an Indonesian friend (male)from college over to my mom's house for a dinner. (I lived on campus, but in my own home town.) He came over, and brought cans of fruit cocktail as a gift!  Mom and I conferred in the kitchen about what to do - we weren't sure whether he meant for them to be served with the meal, as his "contribution" (which we didn't expect in any way, as we invited him) or whether he just thought it was a nice hostess gift. We smiled a bit (privately) but we took the matter seriously because we didn't want to hurt his feelings. My mother finally tactfully asked him somehow if he wanted these with the dinner, did he bring them to be served that day, and he said yes. So we did. We still don't know if this was a cultural difference or more of a "young male" sort of thing. We just appreciated his kindness in bringing what to him was something special (we assumed it was special to him, anyway).

The other thing that comes to mind of a (more) major nature is when I was living on my own, and invited two couples over for quite a fancy dinner. 

I had a very elaborate meal prepared; baked ham en croute, with vegetables of some sort, chocolate victoria tarts and homemade toffee topped with chocolate (all from my beloved Victoria magazine!). So all was covered, from a to z as far as I was concerned.

One couple brought ... doughnuts in a box. I was able to confer with the wife of the other couple (who had been married longer and was a Southerner like me) and although the cream was already whipped, and the chocolate cream might separate and make the tarts' crusts soggy if not eaten, she helped me see that the only thing to do was to serve those doughnuts that night. So I did.

I think in the first instance, my mom and I didn't mind the situation, realizing we were dealing with both a single young man and one who came from a different country. In the second instance, I tried to cope graciously with the situation (and so didn't let the couple know that I had made the tarts, for example), but given their age and other things, I feel they should have realized that you don't bring a dessert or other food item for a dinner unless you have been asked or cleared it with the hostess. Now, if they had brought a smaller box and said, we hope you will enjoy these tomorrow, that would have been great! I did try to appreciate their kindness but do feel it is an example of "what not to bring!"

Those are the two main ones. I have had flower issues (with trying to hurry to find someplace to put them and more importantly a vessel to put them in, while greeting people and trying to keep the food under control) but again realize that kindness was the intent and receive them with as much grace as I can. (And I do appreciate the kindness.)

Typing this out has made me realize that I ought to get myself a second-hand tall vase, so that I can just plunk the flowers in and think ahead of where such a thing might go (sometimes my mantle is already decorated) so that I may be more appreciative and gracious and less stressed. So I'm glad for this opportunity to write these things down - it's made me realize a way I can do better!

Now, after writing all this, I think I sound like an unappreciative, ungrateful shrew - truly that has not been my intent and I hope you will understand that I did not write in mean-spiritedness....

(OK, I just checked Peggy Post's Etiquette book and she says if you take flowers make sure they're in a vase, for the reasons I've mentioned. In the same paragraph she says don't bring food unless requested  and she mentions wine, chocolates, and gift soaps as good things to bring. )

I read something I found hysterical today, and wanted to share it with you:

"We're on our 3rd pair of underwear and it's only 10 a.m."   (h/t Berrymorin )

from Stephen, age 5:

When the sun is in a very bright mood, I have to close my eyes.

I thought I'd put up a few photos at a time.  I have quite a number but doing them bit by bit will keep me from spending so much time at the computer in one day.  Please excuse the quality; they are not the best but I thought I'd share them anyway.

These are photos from our campsite.  The first is a shot of the picnic table we used for our meals.  We had brought a table along with us but the picnic table was better.  As we were among only about 7 or 8 families at the camp there was no competition for using it (another advantage of being homeschoolers! - being able to vacation when the rates are down and the campsites or tourist attractions are less crowded).

The next shot is simply one of my husband walking with our two youngest children.  I like photos like this, they are soul-soothing to me, for some reason.

The last photo is of my husband and younger children examining a WWII pillbox. There were two of them on the campsite itself and a third a short distance away on a path we walked along one day.  The older children didn't notice it, and after we told them of it, one night they wanted to go see it!  So we took flashlights and walked along a very dark country track to go see the old pillbox in the dark, at night.  It was a bit tricky as the track was very muddy but it was still a good adventure.  A pillbox, by the way, is not something to keep medicine in, but a small fortification in which a small group of soldiers could stay, keep watch, and defend a section of land. They are found stretched out across southern England.  By God's grace England was not invaded so these pillboxes were never used.  Here is a site that features Pillboxes http://www.pillboxesuk.co.uk/ .  I have not explored all the site, so look through it before turning loose your WWII learners on it.

It seems that lately I have had a lot of answers of "no" or "not yet" to my prayers.  I won't go into all the theology, but I believe that through the parable of the woman who kept going to the judge Jesus taught us to keep praying.  Some of all this "no-ness" has made me wonder if I am doing anything to hinder my prayers, or just what the deal is because I think they are pretty reasonable requests that would benefit other people (mostly my family, but others too).  That last comment was truthful but I am also being slightly ironic, as I know I still am a selfish human being.  Anyway that is a little background, to explain why I wanted to share this, why I found this answer such an encouragement to me.

Last night ds1 came in from Air Cadets, with a list of events he wanted to do with his squadron over the next couple of months.  Some were fine, but I wasn't too happy with the week-long camp that he wanted to go on in October.  Not that I'd object generally, I just didn't feel it right for him spiritually at this time; I'd like him to be a bit more mature before he goes on the "fun" camps.  Weekends for training (they are kept very busy in lectures and practices, etc) I feel more comfortable with.   I  feel that  he does a lot of ATC stuff and there isn't a good balance between that and church or Christian related things. I'm putting it badly but perhaps you know what I mean.  I don't want to spoil his fun, I don't want to spoil him by letting him do everything, I don't want to keep him from non-Christians, but I don't want him to hang out too much with non-Christians either.  Also, I wasn't happy that it would be a week in October, when we are just starting up our "school year" due to our taking weeks in September for vacation. 

So, I prayed about it last night and maybe this morning (I'm not real alert in the morning, so I often do pray about things but my memory is fuzzy sometimes!).  I felt that I wished he had more Christian people to have fellowship with, and that I could offer an alternative somehow to this week camp in October, but I didn't know exactly what I wanted.  I can just say "no" sometimes, that's not a problem, but I didn't feel great about it this time.  I just laid all my concerns out to God and asked for His help.

In the mail this morning I received a letter about a Young Men's Discipleship conference over the last weekend in October! (It is on some of the dates of that week-long camp.)  In the letter the organizer stated that his sons had told him that Samuel had indicated at Cefn Lea that he'd like to go to something like that, and that's why they were inviting him.  I showed the letter to S. and he said he'd like to go!  I did point out to him that it was during some of the camp time, and I would prefer him not to go to the camp this time, although perhaps he can go to another one sometime (and he can go to the other events) and he seemed alright with that. 

I am really thankful, I feel the Lord truly worked this out, providing Samuel with something he wanted to do and smoothing things out, in a way.  I hope he will be blessed by this conference and strengthened greatly in his faith.  This episode has encouraged me, seeing such an answer so soon after my prayers for my son, and for wisdom for myself and husband.

Another blessing came when this afternoon I received a phone call from a former homeschooling mom (whose children are older than ours), inviting Samuel over to spend time with her sons today.  This family lived in our town since last November, but they only came in contact with some of us Christian homeschoolers this summer!  So Samuel went over and had a nice time playing Monopoly.  I have prayed for Christian friends for him as relationships with other Christian boys (mostly all younger than him) have not been bad, but just have not developed into real friendships.  I don't know how these relationships with the "new" older boys will go, but it was wonderful to have him go off and spend the afternoon with other Christian boys, doing something he enjoyed.  I am thankful.

I know I still need to blog about our camping trip and I plan to list my curriculum choices for my children at some point; perhaps I can do these things this weekend.

We're home!  I'll write about our trip another time.  Today I'm supposed to be organizing and tidying.  Have spent too much time on the computer, is what has really happened, although I have done a few useful things.  I had the older children do some reading, but we are mostly all just reacclimating ourselves to our home environment. 

I've been printing out some things for ds1's Systematic Mathmatics unit but something went wrong with the printer and I had to quit.  I will look at it but I'm not sure I will be able to do anything that will fix the problem.  I think the nozzle is probably blocked, but that is just a guess.

I'm off now to supervise some teethbrushing, dishwasher loading, laundry doing before tackling a few chores of my own (such as bleaching the shower tiles and tidying up my desk (that I share).  See you later!

Are we ready? No, not quite.  The children's clothing is mostly all packed, except for shoes.  David's and mine are packed, except for toiletries (that's for everyone) and our shoes.  In fact we still need to get boots for Stephen.   I am going to iron a couple of things tonight (it's 11:15). 

The tent and most of the other camping stuff is already in the car.   The cooking stuff is still in the house.

As you can imagine I've been doing laundry, and packing.  I did manage to get my poncho made - and a hat!  The poncho took longer than it should have due to my making a mistake, and then not having right lengths left to add a border all of one color - so I did a kind of patchwork border.  It came out alright, I think.  The neck is a bit big, but that was part of the original problem of my rectangles being too long.  I kept shortening them but didn't do it enough.  Anyway, it's not too bad.

The hat matches the poncho, and came out fairly well. Another time I will scan the envelope upon which David worked out with geometry or algebra what diameter of circle I needed to fit in the circumference of the upright portion of the hat (I'm sure it has a better name) plus extra in order to have a seam allowance.   This exercise is proof that algebra (or geometry) is indeed used in real life!

I'll try to get photos of me in it during our camping week.  Tonight I added to my workload by deciding to do a skirt last-minute.  I took a nursing jumper I had, took off the top part, made a waistline casing, and there was my skirt.  It's one of the things I need to iron now....

Also, what books am I going to take along??  I've started reading Ourselves by Charlotte Mason and I'm delighted to report that it is quite enjoyable - not so heavy as her other books.  I'm thinking about taking along Favorite Poems Old and New but that is quite large.  There are nature identification books to take along.  Maybe I'll take the book from our Sonlight Alt 4 American History list, The Great Turkey Walk and see if we can get it finished (we started before our summer break).  I've got some old (1975 and 1976!) Highlights magazines that I think will be nice.  What else do I take along for myself?  Maybe another Charlotte Mason book, but perhaps something easier too.  I want to take I Saw the Angel in the Marble as I hope David will continue reading it.  I might take Educating the Whole-Hearted Child.

I need to remember to take along the mystery books for my mother-in-law.  I lent her some back in the spring, and am going to take her some more.  She is an avid reader, but I don't know if she gets to the library yet.  If she hasn't joined yet I hope David can take her to visit it and join while we visit during the coming week.  (We're camping near another town in Somerset, not hers, but not too far away.) 

Stephen's burns are healing nicely, I'm thankful to say.  We still need to keep some areas moist, and will need to be diligent to apply sunscreen on the burned areas to reduce scarring. 

I leave you with a book-pile photo.  Some of the books I have read, some I have yet to read, some I'm in the middle of (and some I started and will need to start again as I've left them too long).  I'm off to iron.  Have a great week!  (Oh, since the photo isn't great I'll put the titles below.)

*Charlotte Mason Study Guide

*Formation of Character

*Blind Dates Can Be Deadly

*Ourselves

*The Well-Educated Mind

*Holiness by Grace

*Why Not Freedom?

*The Republic

*Praying Backwards

*The World That Perished

*Constitutional Chaos

*Democracy in America

*Across Five Aprils

*Why Men Can't (do something, I can't remember what) and Why Women Always  Need New Shoes

*Cliff Notes for To Kill a Mockingbird

*Shoeless Joe

*The Constitution in Exile

And with that I bid you adieu until next week. 

I suppose this is making up for the times I don't put anything in!

I did get to town today, and bought some fleece.  Some is for blankets for my two youngest children.   Some is for a poncho for myself, just for casual wear. I'm thinking it might be nice to wear while camping (we're supposed to be going soon).  I've got some coordinating fleece to make a hat and bag with too.  I'm going to base my poncho on the directions found here.  I'm going to look around to see if I can find a pattern for a hat and bag too, or I might just figure something out myself. 

Here is something I found inspirational today, from the Homeschoolblog "Serendipity"  What Kind of Wife Are You?

I've changed the template to a fall theme.  I'd like something else, but will have to search around, and I'm not even sure how to customize a template. 

I'm off to town to look for some fleece fabric.

We did manage to get a walk yesterday.  We walked to the stables of a famous racehorse breeder.  There are signs not to feed the animals, but the owners obviously don't mind people going up to the horses and petting them.

The weather was lovely, and the trees are beginning to turn.  The horse chestnuts are still growing but in a couple of weeks will start to drop.  Then the conker collecting will begin!  (Conkers are the horse chestnut - er, nuts! They are non-edible, so they aren't the chestnuts that will be roasting on an open fire later on.)

Here are some of the unplanned purchases we made at our home education conference and week-long holiday.

First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind, and Charlotte Mason Study Guide (both from Ichthus Resources).  I think the FLL might work well for us.  I hope so.

These are books on the history of the Greeks, Romans, and Middle Ages featuring historical characters.  They are reprints or updated versions of books from the 19th century. I'm not sure how I'm going to use them yet.   The Understanding Spelling book is meant for Samuel, 15.  The card game is about English Monarchs, and we have not tried it yet.

These are leaflets by the Sherwoods, the couple who produces material on thinking Biblically.  Steve preached the Sunday morning sermon for the conference.  I can't remember exactly what the leaflets are all about; two are about Mothers and Daughters, and Fathers and Sons.

Another purchase from Ichthus Resources.  The tape set is about Church history and is by Diana Waring.  The charts and book are by Doorposts.  We already have the "Go To the Ant" chart but it is quite old and scruffy now.

David picked up this magazine-format booklet on evolution.  I hope my older children will want to read it.  David, who is a scientist, thought it was pretty good (although not technical/detailed enough for him!!).