Summer Stuff...

A run-down of what we've been up to, and a few pictures...

The kids won a month's free skating, so they've been skating once or twice a week.

We fixed all the bicycles, so there's been a lot of that too.

My bicycle

I've been working out 3-4 days a week, plus doing steep hill walks with my sister, and regular walks with The Girl and her dog.

We spent a lovely afternoon out at the coast...

The "creek" that runs out into the ocean

Dunes, beach grass, cypress, and waves

A giant dune that we scrambled up a dozen times, and rolled and jumped and slid and ran back down

Sandcastle in progress

You can see how pretty and sunny it was, and then we drove 45 minutes home into a thunder-and-hail storm. Just crazy!

We've been reading The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and really, really enjoying it. We watched part one of Peter Jackson's movie version, and we all agreed... while we do love the LoTR movies, we just don't feel the same love for The Hobbit films. There was just far too much extra stuff added. ONE movie, that followed the book, would have been so much better.

Documentary watching has been half hit, half miss. We're enjoying our history selections, but haven't started science ones yet. That's okay. We will get there, and we've basically come to accept that we are year-round homeschoolers anyway.

Math is going pretty well. The Boy likes his Great Courses algebra lectures quite a lot. The Girl is making great progress through the Prodigy math game, where I set up problems several times a week to match her textbook.

The kids have taken to biking to the teen club, which saves me time... and gas. They visit it once or twice a week, and spend almost all their time in the art room. The Boy might be doing a job training program there soon, and they both want to take barista training.

I'm taking a very intensive Spanish course at the moment.... online. One semester of Spanish covered in only six weeks. So far, I've kept up. The Boy is teaching himself computer coding (I think javascript at the moment), and The Girl is working on her butterfly identification skills.

I'm also on the hunt for a job, as my position at the junior college has been frozen due to decreased revenue. I was supposed to start back next week, but that is not to be so at this time. I don't know about fall yet, though I am still hopeful. I may fall back on my grocery experience for the summer. Thankfully M is working a gazillion hours, so we're scraping by.

We're hoping to get out to the coast, and the river, soon. We have FOUR boogie boards now, so that will be fun! I plan on teaching the kids to grill -- they've been taking turns once a week to cook a dinner start to finish, and grilling in this weather would be nice.

And there's housework, decluttering, a recent return to fencing (The Boy), and gardening. I have tomatoes, squash, lemon cucumbers, peppers, and loads of herbs going now!

Hope anyone who reads this is having a lovely summer so far! Here are a couple of random pictures to wrap things up, then I'm off to make breakfast.

The local lake during my early morning trail run last week

A two hat kind of day

Up and Coming...

I didn't realize how long it had been between posts! Ooops! So I thought since I have a moment, I would stop by and give an update, Monday Musings style.

...Outside...
It's been alternating between quite cold, and very wet. It's almost time for the annual apple and olive tree pruning. I already cut back the lavender, rosemary, etc., and took out dead annuals. I also took cuttings of my geraniums and Mexican sage, and potted some baby spider plants! Almost everything seems to have taken nicely. I'm still planning to put in raised beds in late winter/very early spring, so I've been pricing lumber, soil, and more. The Boy is still on board for helping me design a new chicken hutch, and we're hoping to get some chicks around the same time we put in the raised beds, which means maybe we'll have fresh eggs by mid-late summer!

...Inside...
My seasonal cleaning and purging urges have hit. I'm weeding out books for donation to the local library, donating clothes that don't fit, and am urging the kids to follow suit. We've also been thinking paint colors for spring renewal, and after watching reruns of Friends, I think I want more colors than I originally planned... for example, we plan on going with a soft, warm brown (on the lighter side) for the kitchen walls, and a warm cream for the cupboards (currently a yellowing white), and I think I might add accents of robin's egg blue. That should all go nicely with the dark olive-y green tile backsplashes. Our Christmas decorations are mostly in place, though we still need to get the lights hung outside.

...Cooking...
M wants to spend the month of January as a vegetarian, sort of a cleanse, I guess. So I've been thumbing through my moderate collection of vegetarian cookbooks for menu ideas. I figure it will save us money too. In the meantime, we've been eating a lot of soup, to counteract the cold weather.

...Homeschooling...
We're on an unofficial break from most subjects. We've decided to go ahead and read through a number of the Little Histories (world, American, science, philosophy, and religion) starting in January, and will pick math back up at that time. The Boy is taking figure drawing and comparative mythology at the junior college next semester, so I am trying not to overload him at home. He's on a break from the truck rebuild project until after the holidays, and in January, trainings start back up for the wildlife rescue center for The Girl.

...Watching and Reading...
Lots of Christmas movies this time of year! And we've got the kids hooked, at last, on Star Trek Next Generation. After that, I think we'll tackle Voyager. We're still reading both Dickens and the Street Children of London, and Lois Lowry's Messenger. This series has been such a good read for us! One more book to go, and then we'll have to find something new.

...Work and College...
I'm wrapping up my first semester of teaching! Overall, it has been a very good experience. I really like my students, and feel much more at ease teaching than I did at first. I'm eagerly planning for spring while trying to wrap up a lot of end of the semester grading, and my own essay for my British lit seminar.

And... I've got a timeline for actually graduating! I'm taking a teaching seminar in the spring and am reading my lit list at last for the comprehensive exam, then starting my language work (one year foreign language) and thesis work in the fall of next year, with a planned graduation date of May, 2018. In the meantime, I will teach another year in the teaching associate program, and will continue working as an assistant at the junior college.

...Everything Else...
M still loves his job at the wholesale nursery, and is looking at a supervisor position by next spring. The Girl has been on a sewing craze since we read Gathering Blue, and she's developing some nice embroidery skills. I might have her learn some more from my mom soon, who used to embroider all the time. I'm maintaining my 40 pound weight loss, with another 18 pounds, approximately, to go. Exercise is a huge mood stabilizer for me, and I've developed a good friendship with the core group of women I work out with. The kids joined a local teen club with a fantastic art room, rock climbing, a computer/game room, a music studio, and more, and have started hanging out there a couple of late afternoons/early evenings each week. They're having fun, working with cool artists, and making new friends!

Making plans...

Backyard Farming Project Plans
 I wrote in this post about my garden planning, and then started research on building beds without going broke. I ended up finding this awesome tutorial on building raised beds with cedar fence boards, as cedar is naturally rot-resistant, rarely "treated", and fence boards are quite inexpensive overall. They still won't be $10 beds...more like $25 apiece, but that's far, far cheaper than getting them pre-made, with prices starting at $46 for something of comparable size. I'm hoping to put in 4-6 beds (leaning toward six...we have the space!), and a couple of potato towers. I know we want to grow tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, cucumbers, squash, beans, peas, lettuces, chard, maybe broccoli, etc., and I just learned about tree collards, so am fascinated with them!

I also really need to rebuild for the chickens. We want to relocate the chicken run, to free up our mini orchard space, and so I want to take my time to do it properly. Our chickens are sadly down to two in number, and have aged out of laying entirely, so I am seriously considering investing in 6-8 lovely ladies in the spring. I've been perusing Backyard Chickens for ideas in the process of designing my own new coop and run, which will all be made from reclaimed lumber, chicken wire, etc., much the way this blogger built one.

Cooking Project Plans
I've decided I need to learn how to can things. My mom does it all the time, so next time she has a canning project planned, I'll be watching and helping! I'd also like to try making cheese -- I understand both ricotta and mozzarella are pretty easy, so I think I would tackle those first. I also want a dehydrator at some point....

Household Project Plans
More decluttering really. I find more and more that we need far less stuff than we have. I'd also like to sew new curtains later this winter, as curtains are an easy way to really change up a room's appearance. So everyone will need to choose curtain fabrics for their rooms, and then I get to choose for the main rooms! Another deep cleaning is needed soon too. We have other plans for next summer, including a roof overhaul (just the addition, thankfully), and a shower wall and plumbing overhaul. I'm just glad those jobs are a ways off!

Finishing Grad School Plans
This one will take a while. I need to get the required foreign language out of the way (yes, a foreign language for an MA in English). I also need to take my GRE and write my thesis. So this is a 1.8 year plan (I'd say two, but this semester is almost over). I will continue with the jobs I have now if given the opportunity in the 2017-2018 academic year, and then graduate in summer, 2018. To keep me busy in the meantime, I have essays to assign and grade, and a 15-20 page seminar paper of my own to write by mid December.

Homeschooling Plans
We're doing much better with math these days, and have kept up nicely with history (Victorian times) and literature. Getting writing done though has been like pulling teeth, so that is the next area to tackle. I think both kids will be taking sculpture at the junior college in the spring, and I'd really love to incorporate a thorough study of biology into our next semester.

And there you have it... my current plans! Plenty to keep me busy!

Monday Musings Flyby....

I'm short on time at the moment, but thought I'd quickly post so that it doesn't seem we have fallen off the face of the earth!

What have we been up to? Well.....

This boy went and turned FIFTEEN on Saturday. FIFTEEN. We took him, along with his best buddy, to a classic car show, and out for burgers, so it was a good day! 

I am in constant disbelief that it's been that many years already. I mean, it seems like this was just yesterday...

Anyhow, here's this week's super quick agenda:

Math -- chapter four in Algebra for The Boy

Prodigy for The Girl (I adore this program!)

Some writing/spelling

More of A Wind in the Door

More Downton (we're on season 5 now!)

I have to finish grading essays

Working out

Housework

I hope you all have a great week!

 

Monday Musings.. Countdown...

image courtesy of knisha.wordpress.com

We have started the countdown!!!

Seven weeks left as a secretary

Seven weeks left in our "school year"



...Outside My Window...
The mornings have been very cool and overcast, after bouts of rain last week. Sometimes the sky clears off mid to later afternoon, sometimes it doesn't. It should stay cool, in the 70s all week!


...In Our House & Kitchen...
The family room has been seeing double duty the last week, as a bedroom, since The Boy sprained his foot and could not comfortably go up the ladder to his loft bed. The sprain itself is not bad, and should heal quickly. But, the ER xrays showed previous damage, from an ankle sprain years ago, which has left a bruised spot on the bone, also called an "osteochondral lesion of the talus", meaning that without any ankle support, if he keeps jumping about (ahem, parkour), he could have arthritis in that ankle in the next ten years. He's thinking about other sports. Anyhow, so hopefully soon he'll be back in his room at night, and I can remove all bedding, etc., from the family room.

In the kitchen, I've been better overall about prepping meals ahead of time, and planning more carefully. Tonight it's turkey burgers, tomorrow a roasted chicken, and then good use of leftover roast chicken!

And I was given this lovely orchid as a pre-Mother's Day gift! It's on the kitchen windowsill, which actually looks out into the family room (room was added on where there was a patio, sometime in the 70s).


...In Our Garden...

image courtesy of pinterest

The front yard is coming together beautifully. I removed a bunch of grass yesterday, while The Girl planted some more marigolds, and then we placed the slate stepping stones, although we might put gravel underneath them, sort of like this....

We've decided on a Santa Rosa plum to replace the recently deceased maple. I've got yarrow, sunflowers, and something blue I can't remember the name of all sprouting up in reused containers. I'll transplant them in later. The garden is sort of coming together as a flower/herb garden, and I am very happy with it so far! The Girl has been a big help with planting, and keeping things watered.

I also got an outdoor plant for Mother's Day, which I really love....

...In Our Homechooling...
Math this week, with TabletClass and Prodigy. Spelling and writing. More Downton Abbey. More pondering next year. We're keeping it simple right now, so that we actually feel like we're getting things done!

...Reading & Watching...
I just finished A Sudden Light, by Garth Stein, and very much enjoyed it! The Boy finally found The Martian, and only has about 10-15 pages left, so that'll be my next book. The Girl has been thumbing through a half dozen library books on various animals/sea creatures, and such, alongside her continued reading of Harry Potter. We haven't touched A Wind in the Door recently (lack of time), but did read about smallpox in Outbreak! Plagues that Changed History.

On Saturday, we read about Twelfth Night in Stories from Shakespeare (by Marchette Chute), and then we went to see the play as produced by the local junior college. It was very well done, and we were glad we went!

Our movie night featured the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film, which was not nearly as good as the first three. Though we're still enjoying season four of Once Upon a Time!

...Otherwise...
Next week, my office is being moved, so at work I am packing and sorting. I've just about finished school for the semester myself — just a final paper, and one more biology colloquium to go! Then, I have an all-day workshop in August for my new teaching position. Over the summer, I'll be working with the junior college program, and I hope to spend some time in the classroom observing, in order that I can learn more about teaching before I teach!

The Girl has derby, The Boy is off sports (and between them), and M is working about 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, so you can imagine how exhausted he is at the end of the day!

Have a good week!

Monday Musings...

...Outside My Window...

It's been gorgeous here lately, though quite warm, with the last few days in the 80s! It is supposed to cool back down to the 70s tomorrow, and there might be some rain by the weekend. The dryness, and high pollen counts, have got The Boy in constant allergy agony, so we're going to try switching allergy meds, and taking him in for allergy testing. Poor kid.

With such clear skies though, we have seen plenty of these!

...In My Yard...

I spent the late morning/early afternoon yesterday weeding, and relocating some lamb's ear. I also finally got a gift of daylilies situated too, as well as the tiny euphorbia my mom found next to her big one, and gave to me.. M's been trying to keep up with rapidly growing grass in both the front and backyards, but with the rain, then warmth, then rain, then warmth... the stuff is growing like crazy!

...In the House and Kitchen...

I've been getting bits of the house deeply (spring) cleaned... a little at a time. I'll get it done yet! And the kids are working on choosing paint colors for their rooms for this summer's big project (besides the bathroom plumbing).

I'm getting better at planning ahead food-wise. I cook several breakfast items ahead for the kids to pick and choose from, and then they add fruit, tea, etc., and I pack my own snacks/lunch the night before. On the dinner menu this week are: turkey burgers; roasted chicken; quesadillas made with leftover roasted chicken; and probably this awesome casserole from Kalyn's Kitchen.

...In Our Homeschooling...

The Boy is starting chapter three in algebra this week, after doing very well on his end-of-chapter 2 test last week. The Girl is working on multiplication more in-depth, because fluency with it will only help her as she moves along.

In language arts, I really need to get The Boy working on his expository essay! The Girl did another 3 lessons in Spelling Workout, and will do more this week. I am also hoping to have each of them memorize a poem by the end of April (free choice of poets and pieces), and maybe do a freewrite this week.

...Reading and Watching...

A Wind in the Door is going well, though we're only a couple of chapters in so far. The Afternoon Basket is high up on my to-do list this week! On their own, they are continuing with The Martian and Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone. I just finished a very odd and intriguing page-turner.. The Children's Home. The Boy wants to read it when he finishes his current book, so we'll switch at that point.

We watched another few episodes of Downton Abbey, and will watch another couple this week. I'd really like to get in another episode of Human Planet as well. And we've been enjoying the end of Once Upon a Time's season three!

...On the Agenda...

For me, running and weight training, plus introductory karate tomorrow night. I tried, and loved, TRX resistance training over the weekend, so I really want to do more of that!

The kids have parkour/roller derby, afternoon skating tomorrow, and maybe (just maybe) a fencing session this week.

Other than that, my class was cancelled today (phew!). I do have tutoring tomorrow, and office hours at the junior college on Wednesday. So altogether, it is a lighter week than usual!

I'll leave you with The Girl's last puppy petting session for the "R" litter. The "S" litter is due in early May, so we should be playing with puppies by mid-late May!

Have a great week!!!

Monday Musings...Spring Has Sprung!

Well, I had great plans for today, and celebrating spring, but then the skies opened up and are dumping gallons of water on us. A little too damp for great outdoor happenings! Although I did get a pre-rain workout in at a park with my wellness coach. And I did SIX assisted pull-ups! For someone who has never managed one pull-up before, that was pretty awesome!

So, as I am (mostly*) off from work this week, I have plans for home and homeschooling...

*I do have papers to mark, of course, and tutoring

...Around the House...

My plans for the week include:

Rearranging the family room

Spring-cleaning and decluttering!

Cleaning out the fridge and freezer

...Other Plans...

Watching some StarGate Universe with The Boy (our replacement for Lost)
Two more park workouts (Wednesday, Friday)
Fencing for The Boy, as there is no parkour this week
A biology lecture
Tutoring
Finish A Wrinkle in Time
Watching some more Downton Abbey 
Derby practice for The Girl

It'll be a full, and I hope good, week! Enjoy your first week of spring!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We're not doing a lot to celebrate the day, though we do have a fair bit of Irish in our bloodline, but we are definitely all wearing green!

M asked that I make corned beef and cabbage, with carrots and red potatoes, so I am throwing that in the crockpot at lunch time. We don't drink, so no Guinness!

We'll listen to The Chieftains (partly because I love their music anyway), and I'm planning to make green smoothies for the kids before their sports tonight.

We're also looking forward to the Spring Equinox (Ostara)! I'm on vacation next week (woo hooo!!!), so the kids and I have plans to go hiking, and gather some wildflowers for pressing. I'd like us each to plant a small pot of flowers for our front steps too (I'm thinking pansies, geraniums, and cheerful flowers along those lines), and I have great hopes that I will be out in the garden much of the day, after making some lemon-lavender muffins for breakfast.

Dinner that day will be a frittata, with veggies to be determined, and a salad full of baby spring greens and sunflower sprouts on the side.

Now, while I will be vacationing from my jobs, and school, the kids are not on Spring Break. We inadvertantly did that the week of The Girl's birthday. So we'll be hitting the books every day — I'm looking forward to having that less-interrupted time with them.

And we'll be doing yard work (lots of weeds to pull), and housework (maybe I'll rent that steam-cleaner at last!). It will be a week of caring for our home, our garden, and our learning.

Enjoy your St Paddy's Day!

Monday Musings... Pi and Einstein...

First of all, Happy Pi Day!

I'm not sure if we'll actually get around to eating pie today or not, but perhaps so!

It is also this guy's birthday!

The Boy and I have been talking about him a lot lately, with all the news on gravitational waves fascinating both of us.

...What We've Been Up To...

Watching Downton Abbey

Reading more about the Romanovs

Catching up on a couple of episodes of Once Upon a Time

Watching the skies pour down on us daily (though there's a several day break in the rain this week!)

Working [somewhat] diligently on math, which is going well

Going through clothes, as the author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up suggests, though, no, we aren't doing it all in one fell swoop!

Talking to the Boy about The Big History Project (with an emphasis on science) for fall, and writing a research essay for now

Looking at new volunteer opportunities for The Girl, now that she's THIRTEEN!

Cooking bake sale goods with The Girl for derby, and then watching her chat with a boy all evening while helping out at the bake sale table!

The Boy also tried a parkour class last week, as he's a little burnt out on fencing -- he loved the parkour class, and will be taking it weekly. Best of all, it is during derby practice, and only two minutes away!

I lost another 2.6 pounds

...Plans for the Week...

More math

The beginning work on a research essay

Ordering a new spelling program for The Girl (I'm really tempted by Spelling Workout, and I think she could move through a couple of the lower books pretty quickly, though her spelling is fairly dreadful) 

Looking ahead to next week, when I am off work and school for spring break

More cleaning and clothes sorting... we're getting there

I wear we will finish A Wrinkle in Time!

And there you have it. Nothing fancy, just going along.

Enjoy your Pi Day!

It's March!

image courtesy of bestcalendartemplates.tk

...Plans for March...

...Holidays...

March 4 is a most important day. Why? Because this little one will be turning 13!

March 11, Johnny Appleseed Day

I think we'll have to make something with apples, of course! And maybe, for old times sake, read a lovely copy of the story (perhaps this one?).

March 14, National Pi Day

Obviously, I will have to make a pie!

March 15, Ides of March

Well, it certainly feels like spring around here! Maybe a Roman style dinner, with olives, bread, cheese, etc.

March 17, St. Patrick's Day

We always celebrate this one, as both M and I have Irish heritage, especially me (I'm nearly all Danish, Scots, and Irish, with a few other things thrown in the mix). We'll wear green, have an Irish dinner, and bake some soda bread!

March 20, Vernal Equinox

I love spring, so I'm happy to celebrate it! We'll plant some flowers, and have a spring themed dinner—I'm thinking an asparagus frittata, and a big salad. I always do first-day-of-spring baskets for the kids too, since they get Easter baskets from my mom when the time comes. And of course, we'll have to try balancing eggs on end!

March 27, Easter Sunday

We have a big midday dinner at my mom's after she goes to church. She usually does lamb, couscous, etc. I bring homemade hummus and pita chips, and the kids get Easter baskets!

...Other Plans for March...

The Girl and I will be going to my cousin's baby shower next weekend

We have lots of gardening work to do, including the actual building of our raised beds by mid-month!

I get a week off from both my jobs and college!

More decluttering. We did not get to clothes over the weekend, but have high hopes for this Saturday!

...What Else We're Up To...

M's new job, at a wholesale [plant] nursery, is working out fantastically so far. He loves being outside much of the day, working with plants, and soil. He's working 9+ hours a day, and probably 5-6 days a week. Definitely a big change for our household!

In homeschooling, we're plugging away. The Boy is doing very well with the change in algebra programs, and The Girl actually really likes Math Essentials (though she's iffy still on Fred). We watched the first episode of World War One: The People's Story, and it was very well done! We're keeping up with most of our history reading, and science reading, and are making good progress with finishing A Wrinkle in Time. The Boy is thinking about doing a math lesson while he's at my mom's on Mondays, to help make sure he hits the goal of 4 lessons a week, and then The Girl and I can tackle math on Monday evenings while The Boy is at fencing.

It's all about making things work!

It's Friday! A General Wrap-Up for the Week...

I'd say this sums up pretty well how I'm feeling at the moment!

Overall though, it's been a good week. We made some good strides in homeschooling; I made it through both jobs and school once more; I didn't have a crazy appointment of doctor's visits (for my dad) on top of everything else; I kept the kitchen counters clean all week (yes, sadly that is a victory for me) and kept up on dishes; and I am having a blast planning out my front yard!

...Homeschooling Report...

This week, as part of our Downton history studies, we moved into season two, and so into World War 1. We watched half of World War 1: Cause and Effects, taking us up to 1916, which is where we are in the Downton timeline. We also read about the start of the war in The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia.

This weekend, I hope to get in one more episode of Downton, and perhaps the first episode of World War One: The People's Story.

Mathematically, we are doing quite well! The Boy completed 4 lessons in algebra this week, working with equations, variables, the order of operations, and more. The Girl did 3 chapters in Life of Fred Fractions, and two lessons from Math Essentials. 

The Boy completed lesson 2 in writing, and The Girl worked diligently on a new list of spelling words. She had to write a sentence for each word, and instead wrote sort of a This is the House That Jack Built tale (though not as long) about a chicken that went a bit crazy. 

Yesterday, I had them each read something scientific while I was at work, and then narrate it to me when I got home. The Girl talked about chameleons, and The Boy about eyesight. He and I also watched an episode of Through the Wormhole, about black holes.

Next week's plans:

More math (at least 4 lessons for each kid)

 Lesson 3 in writing for The Boy; another spelling lesson for The Girl

Some freewriting for both

Another couple of Downton episodes

More free-range learning in science, plus a (short) hands-on science lesson with a book I just ordered

More on World War 1 and the Romanovs

And finishing up A Wrinkle in Time! 

...Household/Gardening Report...

 I wrote the other day about gardening plans for my front yard, and wasn't quite sure what to do with the larger "half" of the yard, except that I want it to tie in with the smaller half, which I can already picture as complete. Then, I thought about my mom's front yard, which my sister re-did for her last year, putting in a fabulous dry stream... In case you're not familiar with dry streams, this is what they look like...

Pretty, isn't it?

So I think I will do that, kind of winding through, past the two boulders. On either side, I'll have a crazy-quilt patchwork (large-scale patches) of creeping thyme, lamb's ear, etc. Around the fenced corner of that section, I'll keep the rosemary and French lavender I have now, though I'll be removing the overgrown and shabby-looking Spanish lavender (my brother-in-law planted them, and they're not my favorites). Maybe some more French lavender, maybe some fern-leaf lavender (which I love), some bulbs tucked in here and there for spring blossoms, and a few other pretty things. 

I know it sounds like a lot, so here's my 5 minute sketch...

I think this could come together really nicely.

I hope.

And then, this weekend I'm tackling the first task in
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, which is clothing. I was going to do books first, but M will be at work tomorrow (new job!), so it seems a perfect time to drag all the clothing in the house together.

...Odds and Ends...

I need to come up with a menu plan for the upcoming week, and grocery list. I plan for Monday as a crockpot day, Wednesday as a quick and easy dinner day (stir-fry works well), and I generally do something like a casserole on Thursdays, as M or The Boy can pop it in the oven while The Girl and I are at her roller derby practice.

I'll be figuring out what to read aloud after A Wrinkle in Time.

The Girl and I will almost definitely be petting puppies again tomorrow. 

I'm going to try to get the kids out for a bike ride too. And I need to do some strength training. I'm down almost 15 pounds now! I had lost a bunch of weight a few years back, but in the fashion typical of crash dieters, I gained almost all of it back. Grrrr. This time, I'm simply eating healthfully, and exercising. What a concept!

As to M's new job, you remember he went into cooking quite some time back. And has sadly found, after several layoffs, that the culinary world is unpredictable (at least in terms of employment), and that it is less enjoyable than he hoped. He still loves cooking, at least at home, but needs full-time, steady employment. So he's returning to an earlier profession, and will start a trial run tomorrow at a wholesale nursery, working with plants, and gardeners, and the like. We are all really hoping that this works out well for him... he needs something he can depend on and enjoy! And he does miss working with growing things, and the smell of dirt, and being outside.

II think that's it for now. Happy weekend! I'll leave you with a totally random picture of one of my favorite things in my kitchen right now...

linked up over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Ch-Ch-Changes...

 

Yes, I've done it again. Changed my blog title, etc. I wanted something that reflects the fact that this really is not just a homeschool blog anymore. It's a "life" blog. I'd like to share more recipes, gardening pictures as we rebuild/re-landscape, and things of that nature. So it feels right!

I'm sort of overhauling a lot of things right now.

 ...Around the House...
As I mentioned before, I'm reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and I'm looking at approaching things (housework and organization) in a different manner than before. I've always cleaned each room as a room unto itself, separate from everything else. The author (Marie Kondo) of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up though, says to look at each category of possessions... bring out all your clothes, shoes, etc., or all your books.. from every room of the house, into one main spot, so you can truly see what you have.

I think our mountain of books might overwhelm even me.

Some critics (on Amazon) have blasted Kondo's advice to get rid of things. Personally, I think our culture puts too much emphasis on possessions. Don't get me wrong.. I love my books. But, there are many I simply don't turn to anymore. And I use the library a lot. I don't need to own so many of them, gathering dust, sitting unread.

Kondo talks about surrounding yourself with only things you love, having a home with only the things you treasure. Or, as William Morris put it,

This weekend, I plan on tackling the first challenge... books (Kondo suggests clothes first, but I'm not dedicated to following her exact advice). Not just mine, but M's and the kids too. I will not (as Kondo suggests) get rid of their things for them, but instead will involve them in the process. The following weekend, we will tackle clothes; again with everyone helping.

Other house-related work that is coming up:

New curtains for the living room

Decide once and for all if we even want curtains in the family room, or if we want it to be more of a "sun room"

Curtains for the kids' rooms

...Around the Yard...

As for the gardening, I'm in charge of the front yard, M is in charge of the back (except for the chickens, and a border by the patio), and we will all be working on the vegetable garden/beds. I'm slowly making plans for the front yard, which is in two sections, separated by a sidewalk. In one section, I have an olive tree that is thriving, rosemary (on both sides of the front gate actually), lavender, and lots of healthy lamb's ear. And weeds. I plan to dig out all the weeds, and plant some of the hyacinth bean seeds I got from a friend along the chain-link fence. I might divide the lamb's ear, and place some in patches around that side of the yard, interspersed with perhaps creeping thyme, or other low-growing perennials, in a sort of patchwork, with some Johnny-Jump-Ups tucked in here and there, and perhaps some other cottage garden flowers. There's also a space I've marked out already for a Mayer lemon tree. As for the larger half, which is anchored by a maple we put in eight years ago, and a couple of boulders, I haven't quite decided yet, except that I want it to coordinate with the smaller "half". So far, there's a matching rosemary bush, lavender, and artichoke plants, among the weeds/grass.

As for the patio border/bed, I want to put in roses, with Sweet Alyssum, lobelia, salvia, etc., underneath. I think that will be both very pretty, and will attract honeybees!

Other yard-related work that is upcoming:

Getting the beds built for the veggie garden (we have most of our own soil to fill them)

 Building a new chicken hutch and run behind M's workshop/shed

Choosing another fruit tree or two to add to our mini "orchard" (apple and cherry now, looking at Italian prune plum, and ???)

Monday Musings...

...Outside My Window...

Clear and sunny again after last week's rain, though on the cooler side again. I'm back to wearing a sweater most, if not all, of the day. We'll get some rain again late next week, I think.

...In My House & Kitchen...

I was definitely more organized over the last week, as far as cooking goes. For example, I had today's crockpot meal (yellow chicken-chickpea-veg curry) prepped and stored in the fridge last night, so I could just throw it in this morning. And I'm planning a bit better! We're using leftovers more, and more creatively, and meals seem to be pretty well balanced overall. As far as housework, I am currently reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. We'll see how it goes! Glancing through it though, I think both the clothing donation bins and the local library may well be getting some more donations from us soon.

...In Our Homeschooling...

I asked The Boy to set 4 days a week for math, and so he chose Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Now I just need to get him to work through a whole lesson at a time! He's easing into TabletClass Algebra 1, so I've been letting him do problem sets A & B one day, C & D the next, but honestly, I think he could handle A-D in one day. The Girl is doing well with Life of Fred Fractions—she even handled long division fairly easily yesterday. I'm hoping to work in some extra math this week for her, though I haven't decided if it will be Math Essentials, Math Mammoth, or Key to Fractions, all of which I have handy (probably either the first or the last choice). She's also working on spelling this week, and I have some writing work set up for her. The Boy will be  working through lesson 3  oops... finishing up lesson 2 in The Lively Art of Writing.

And history is going well! As for science, well... at least they're reading things (see Reading & Watching below).


...Pondering...

Since I backed off on science, interest has ramped up. I don't think I'll be adding anything much more to our homeschooling load in the near future. Instead, I hope to allow time for exploration, and then soaking in what they have explored.

...Reading & Watching...

The kids are both reading for science at the moment: The Boy is reading Mysterious Universe: Supernovae, Dark Energy, & Black Holes, and he and I are talking about reading Death By Black Hole: and Other Cosmic Quandaries together. The Girl has books on animals, the ocean, butterflies, and of course, diseases (history and science!). He's still reading Magnus Chase & the Gods of Asgard, book 1, and she's still reading Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone. I'm reading the book mentioned under House & Kitchen above, and I am hoping to start Wickett's Remeday: A Novel this week. We're making good progress together on the Romanovs book, and A Wrinkle in Time.

We finished watching Lost together on Saturday. I have to say that the series certainly led to a lot of interesting discussions about time, nature, human nature, alternate universes, etc.! We're watching a few episodes of Downton Abbey this week (season 2), and will be watching World War 1: Cause & Effect, and we will try the first episode of WW1: The People's Story. 

...Crafting/Arts/Doing...

The Boy is teaching himself wildlife illustration from a library book, trying to expand his repertoire past simply automotive drawings. The Girl is working on acrylic painting, alongside her sculpture work. The Boy will be getting some more hours logged on his automotive internship this week too, and The Girl got to pet new puppies!

...On the Agenda...

Fencing tonight for The Boy, derby on Thursday for The Girl. Birthday planning for The Girl. M had a job interview Saturday for a job he really, really wants—unfortunately, he won't know about it until the 25th to 29th. No doctors appointments, or things of that nature this week.. just home life, work, and college!

Exercise: I am doing well with this these days. I've been strength training, and getting in good cardio (jogging, walking, biking). Definitely on the agenda!

On that note, I'll leave you with a couple of pictures from last night's bicycle ride, just M and I, as the kids spent the night at my mom's house...

Have a good week!

A Weekly Wrap-Up!!!

I haven't done a proper one of these in ages! Let's just say that at this moment, I am glad this week is drawing to a close. It's been too full, too busy. Just too many things going on, between both jobs, homeschooling, some housework, and playing catch-up with my dad's doctors appointments (which, by the way, I am not done with yet)!

Anyhow....

This week, in our homeschooling, we:

...did math 4 times... (YAY!)

...read about Bloody Sunday in the Romanov book, and I am hoping to read another chapter or two today, introducing Rasputin to the kids...

...watched another Downton episode, and will be watching another one today...

...The Boy found a science course to try out (I highly recommend Coursera!)...

 ...read a little more in A Wrinkle in Time...

It was not the best homeschooling week, in that we did not accomplish much overall. I spent Tuesday and Thursday afternoons with my dad; Monday was packed, and Wednesday too. I'm re-configuring our schedule a little to mesh better with other expectations/obligations. The Girl started another spelling lesson, but didn't get far with it. The Boy did no writing. And there was no science. We're getting, in all likelihood, a little chance to catch up this afternoon*, but that's not really enough.

So here is the schedule I'm working on now. Math and writing/spelling/language arts are top on my list, followed by literature, then science, and then history, followed by geography. I'm not worrying about arts because they do plenty of that.

Math, Language Arts and Literature schedule:

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, at a minimum, plus one other day whenever we can

(oftentimes lately, on busy days like Mondays, the kids will do math while I make dinner. This seems to work well!)

Science:

Tuesday and Thursday, at a minimum 

(plus, since the courses are done by the kids on the computer, they can work on it independently. Then, I also want to spend some time together working on hands-on projects, such as this one, which I am absolutely determined we will do this spring!)

History:

Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, plus movies on weekends or Mondays

Geography:

Tuesdays or Thursdays

So that's what I have in mind now, though I'll probably work on fine-tuning it. Okay, not probably... almost definitely!

Weekend Plans

Hiking if it is not raining too hard

Cleaning the family room, which looks sort of like a mini hurricane went through

Tutoring... I'm cutting this from 1.5 hours to an hour, as I need the time at home more than the extra $26... I think.

Watching Iron Jawed Angels, and hopefully another episode of Human Planet. Speaking of which (the latter), I've been thinking that if we don't continue with modern history in the fall, I might create a year's worth of world geography based off Human Planet, much along the lines of my Downton study: some books, documentaries, movies, etc. OR, if we continue with history based on a TV series, I'm looking at continuing the 20th century with Foyle's War, backing up a bit with The Forsyte Saga, or perhaps even going back in time here in the U.S. with Mercy Street.

I'll leave you with a picture of a recent sunset taken from the car, and wishes for a happy weekend!

*this is if it is actually too rainy for a park day, and that's saying a lot! We're pretty hardcore when it comes to our beloved park days.

Linked up over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

A New Year...

Here we are, in a fresh new year. I am hoping the ride will be a bit smoother than in 2015!

First off...
The Boy got all As his first semester at the junior college! He is very proud of himself, and he should be—he worked hard for those grades!

I spent the holidays sick. I got a nasty cold just before Christmas, and by Christmas day, I was laying low. It turned into a lovely (ha ha) middle ear infection, which is just now clearing up. Despite sickness though, I enjoyed my time off from work! We ended up not homeschooling over the break (no big surprise!), but instead relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. The kids loved their presents, I loved mine, M loved his. At least before I got sick, we made it out to the coast for Christmas Eve, gathered mussels for dinner, and watched the sunset.

It was, overall, a lovely holiday!


...Homeschooling... Yesterday, we started back with homeschooling. After some brief discussion of what interested the kids, and Saturday's re-watching of the movie Titanic, we've decided to use Downton Abbey as a jumping off point for history. We can watch the series from the beginning, and I'll be bringing in books, documentaries, and movies that cover some of the world events in the Downton timeline, as well as other events taking place at the time. Of course, the Titanic sinking was one of those events. In addition to the movie, which always leaves me a little blue, we read On Board the Titanic, and leafed through Titanic in Photographs.

We'll be reading The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia, as an additive to our studies. I love Russian history, and have always been intrigued by Anastasia. There's a really lovely miniseries I may try to watch with the kids if they are interested enough. I'll be adding in a few movies, documentaries, and other books as the mood strikes, though I know I would like to read The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood with The Girl.

Anyhow, the kids also did a math lesson each yesterday. I am still very pleased with our math programs at the moment!

And I am reading A Wrinkle in Time aloud to the whole family, including M. Very enjoyable! I plan to make it through the whole Murry family series (4 books), then find other good books to read. I am not worried about them matching up with history. 

We also finished chapter one in The Fellowship of the Ring, which is our bedtime reading these days. The Girl has been asking that we read it for some time now, and The Boy says he really likes it. Now that series might take us a while to read!

...On the Agenda...
Homeschooling: 
More math; writing/grammar work; viewing of episode 1 of Downton Abbey; reading from A Wrinkle in Time, and our nature book and travel/geography books (when I get the geography one!); and The Girl starts her Dinosaur Paleobiology course.

Around the House: 
the house is pretty clean after I had two weeks off from work! I am still reorganizing bookcases and such, and there is some deep cleaning to be done, but it looks a thousand times better. The kids will be taking down the Christmas tree tonight, and when the current rain stops, we can take down the outdoor lights. The kids do need to finish cleaning their rooms as well.

Around the Yard: 
picking olives, at last, since we've got a bumper crop and my mom offered to brine them! Deadheading a few more plants. Pruning of the olive and apple trees in the next month. Building raised beds, tearing up the front yard... all things to look forward to in the next few months!

Other Stuff: 
I'm back at work, but just the one morning job until late January. The Boy wants to start back with fencing later this week, and derby practice starts back on Sunday, though The Girl has decided, at this point at least, no to boot camp this time around, just regular Sunday practice. Boot camp is primarily targeted at "newbies", so I get her decision. M's hours have been cut (post-holiday slow down), so he's looking for supplemental/other work. Thankfully, I had saved some money over the fall, so we're just okay there.

My dad is still in the rehabilitative center, at least until tomorrow, although the physical therapist is trying to get his insurance to approve at least another week. My sister and I found that we can move him to another apartment at his senior living facility, that is much closer to the dining room and all. Since his mobility is not what it was, I think this is for the best. We're trying to get everything lined up to make the transition back to mostly independent living as easy, and safe, as possible for him.

I'll leave you with a couple of picture collages from our holiday break... have a great week, and Happy New Year!