By , on January 23rd, 2009%
Because of the snow this week, all of the children managed to get outside and play a bit. Even my 20-year-old.
Here’s Daniel with his girlfriend and Miss Priss.
Well, something out-of-the-ordinary happened while my 20-year-old was playing around in the snow. And out of my four children, I think what happened was most likely to happen to him. Why? I can’t explain. It’s just the kind of guy he is.
He made a snowball. He threw it into the air, high above his head. It came down, centered perfectly over a narrow branch in the top of a tree. The tapering branch speared it perfectly and then tipped gracefully over, where then hung the snowball like an ornament in a Christmas tree. And it stayed!!
I’m thinking that if you were trying to do that, it would never happen. 
It was just a fluke. And what are the chances of it happening again?
The snowball hung out there for at least a couple of days. I just checked again this morning and it’s gone now. I did not notice it falling, so I’m not sure exactly how long it hung around like that.
Wow.
Lynn
By , on January 22nd, 2009%
Ackland Art Museum. Not very large. Worth seeing. Some beautiful works of art. We really enjoyed it.
The man who left the money and the vision for the museum, William Hayes Ackland, is actually interred right inside the museum, in a sarcophagus below a bronze statue of his likeness.
My two favorite paintings there? (These will be large, but you can scroll back and forth and up and down and see the paintings.)
St. John beginning his account of the gospel.
And Cleopatra with the peasant who brought to her the asp.
Breathtaking.
By , on January 22nd, 2009%
Yesterday was an okay school day. I guess.
The snow is still trying to compete with me. Many neighborhood children were at the door throughout the day to see if Princess of the Universe could come out and play. A couple of times I let her go. I mean, how often are we able to go sledding? Especially if one of the parents is accompanying them to a “really big hill?”
Nevertheless, we managed to get some school work done.
We had fun yesterday looking at
- a piece of dandruff – eewwwwwww
- a seed from a plant — groovy
- a little rosemary leaflet (still very green this time of year) — way cool
Michaela is not really doing any formal botany or biology yet, but I want her to become familiar with a microscope and to develop a sense of observation. It’s a nice science lesson just to note the differences in what you see and to be able to say them or write them.
Along a Charlotte Mason line, we got serious yesterday about our nature sketching. Michaela loves to draw, and does so regularly, but I want her to work more on her nature journal and observations. Since there was not much stirring outside yesterday, we used a little resin robin that sits in my office as a model.
Michaela and I sat side by side in front of the warm heater, sketching our own versions of the little robin perched on the mantle.
Michaela said she loves mine, but I love hers — the first one. I love her drawings and the way she sees things, and I think she should further develop her drawing skills. I see she needs to work more on observing exact colors perhaps, but I love her detail. Tomorrow we will be placing these into our nature journals and labeling them as American robin, Turdus migratorius.
In preparation for a field trip to the Ackland Art Museum, we have read a bit about Ovid from What Your Sixth Grader Needs to Know .
(there’s a newer version of this book, I think, but this is the one I have and use)
We are also reading about Augustus from Famous Men of Rome – a great book, by the way, from Memoria Press. (Writing a review of this book is on my to-do list.) Pictures to represent both Ovid and Augustus will go into the timeline notebook.
Finally, for math, we got as far as completeing one lesson in Saxon and then cutting out some fraction manipulatives for the next lesson…
and doing a one-minute math drill sheet.
I guess I can’t complain, really. Did I fail to mention how grateful I am that Princess of the Universe is learning from home? And that she and I are great friends? And that she really has it all: plenty of social interaction with friends and an amazing homeschool group AND she gets to be taught by the people who love her most and be the boss of her free time? Yeah. I can’t complain.
Lynn
By , on January 21st, 2009%
Yes indeed! There are chocolates at the doll house.
Visit the doll house for the whole story.
Lynn
By , on January 21st, 2009%
I have found that homemade applesauce is very easy and unbelievably quick to make. I love being frugal with our money and our food. Homemade applesauce has been a way to do this lately.
I have a dear friend who yearly brings me boxes of fruit for the holiday season. We appreciate it so very much. Sometimes it’s so much fruit that we cannot get through it all before some of the apples start to get a bit grainy.
I’ve come up with the perfect recipe for us to use about half a dozen apples at the time and have fresh, hot applesauce with some of our meals.
I peel about 6 medium to large apples and then slice pieces off, placing them into a heavy pot, discarding the core. I put enough water in the pot to cover only about 1/4 way up. Too much water will make runny, watery applesauce. :p
On medium-high heat, I bring the water to a boil and let the apples cook until soft and easy to chop up with a hand-held chopper. This really only takes about 15 minutes and then you can turn the heat off and let the apples sit for a few minutes to cool down a bit. I chop the apples up somewhat with the hand-held chopper, then add about 1/4 cup of sugar (maybe less, give or take), plenty of cinnamon (you can add to your taste), and a little bit of Smart Balance (a “butter” blend that we like, but this step is optional).
I then put the still-chunky applesauce into my blender and puree for a couple of seconds. From there it goes into a pretty jar for our meal and for storage in the fridge if it’s not all eaten. Rare.
Happy Cooking!
Lynn
By , on January 20th, 2009%
So just yesterday — yesterday — I was out in the garden and saw this…
and this…
and then last night the snowflakes began to fall, and it was beautiful.
Oh, the children were so excited. After all, we don’t really get snow here. And, after all, we just recently studied Snowflake Bentley . I must admit that I, too, had a feeling of delightful anticipation. When I awoke this morning you know what I did first! I ran to the window like a little kid to see if there was snow on the ground. And there was!
No, it’s not a deep snow, but it’s a powdery pretty snow. For now. Things seem to be getting wetter as the day wears on and they say the temperature and the roads this evening will be treacherous.
In the meantime, I’m just enjoying walking through my tiny garden, looking out the window, and sharing a bit of cornbread with the birds.
Yes, this cornbread was baked with the thought that…
this is for the birds.
When hubby got up this morning he noted that there were about 40 birds around the birdfeeders, but alas no birdseed. I called my mom to lament and she suggested that the birds love breads and grains and that she would just bake some cornbread and share it with the birds. And so I did.
Though these birds are not real…
These birds certainly are…
I have watched the crows swoop down to our compost this morning and fly away with little bits of this or that.
Princess of the Universe could not be kept inside today!
She was out early to play and then she and a neighbor child did the following:
- came in
- went back outside
- came in
- went back out
- came in and warmed up
- went back out
- came in all wet
- went back out
In between some of these trips they managed to squeeze in some hot cocoa, cornbread with butter, and later some warm mac and cheese.
Playing in snow is hard work!
Hubby, being the common sense kind of dad that he is, has been sweeping off the steps all morning so no one slips and falls.
I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures from the garden and a pretty something by one of our major American poets.
The Snow
It sifts from leaden sieves,
It powders all the wood,
It fills with alabaster wool
The wrinkles of the road.
It makes an even face
Of mountain and of plain,–
Unbroken forehead from the east
Unto the east again.
It reaches to the fence,
It wraps it, rail by rail,
Till it is lost in fleeces;
It flings a crystal veil
On stump and stack and stem,–
The summer’s empty room,
Acres of seams where harvests were,
Recordless, but for them.
It ruffles wrists of posts,
As ankles of a queen,–
Then stills its artisans like ghosts,
Denying they have been.
Emily Dickinson
By , on January 19th, 2009%
Suddenly and without warning, I developed a new image yesterday.
No, it’s not a midlife crisis and I really did not plan on changing my style so drastically.
It just happened.
Yesterday afternoon my daughter drew a picture of my husband and me. And, I mean, would you just look at us! I think the diagonal stripes make me look 10 years younger. No, 20. And as hubby pointed out, just look at my hair. She’s got my double buns pegged but I’ve also got plenty of hair still hanging down. Yep, I really like Michaela’s version of me!
And just check out hubby with his thick, curly hair and his groovy tie. His vertical stripes knock at least 20 pounds off. No, 30.
Anyway, that’s the new me. What do you think?
On another note…
This oil carrot cake with homemade cream cheese icing was something I had prepared for our company coming yesterday for lunch. This is the best recipe for carrot cake. Take my word for it. It’s from Joy of Cooking . It’s really rich and moist and the icing… Let’s just say cream cheese, vanilla, cinnamon. Yum.
Enough of that, or I will be having carrot cake for breakfast, and that’s not my norm. I’m still in the green tea phase of the day, and I want to keep it that way.
Last night I was looking through an old journal, going all the way back to 1988.
Well, there you have it. You can read it for yourself. We had a newborn at the time. We were newly married. (Daniel was born 9 months and 3 days after we married.) We were struggling to make ends meet. I was trying to figure out how to be a mom and housekeeper and Thomas was working overtime to pay for everything we needed.
Lately I’ve heard from several on-line friends about their stressed-out marriages. Communication at an all-time low. Resentment. Anger. Depression. Financial woes.
We’ve been through it too. I think all marriages take work. I’m just glad we’ve kept at it, in spite of the rough patches.
It makes me so thankful for my husband; that he has always been one to forgive and forget and move on. I’m glad we went into marriage knowing that it was a commitment to be taken seriously. His one rule when we married was that we would never go to sleep at night angry at one another. No matter what. Even if it meant being up until 2 a.m., we had to smile at each other and have forgiveness in our hearts before we went to sleep. I know that’s helped our marriage.
Also, having the bible to guide us has meant everything. Our “job duties” as husband or wife or son or daughter are clearly marked out for us if we’ll only follow them.
Forgive me if I sound like I’m on a soapbox. I’m not preaching to anyone, but just some things I’ve been thankful for for myself this morning. In fact, what I’m actually saying is that our marriage would not be anything near what it is without the help we have taken from the bible.
There’s also a verse that I love so much, that comes to my mind so frequently, and I quote it sometimes to my children when they are trying to decide whether or not they should do something. It also comes to mind when I think of my word for 2009: clarity.
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
I find that if I take something — anything — and look at it through that verse, it is seen in a whole new light. That verse alone weeds out a lot of stuff that might otherwise be appealing.
My children sometimes will say, smiling, “Yeah, mom, we know that verse. We’ve heard it before.”
Good. I want them to have it memorized! Ahhh. In fact, that would make for really good copywork this week.
Well, enough of my meandering thoughts this morning. I have to get over to my work desk. Yes, it’s a work day for me, but that’s okay. I’m very thankful for my job. And thankful to be working from home.
This evening I’m planning to set up a couple of learning areas: one with a Japanese theme as we are still working with Grass Sandals: The Travels of Basho and the other learning area with an art theme since we will be visiting an art museum soon. More on that later.
Oh, and it’s supposed to snow tonight!!! Yaaaay. I know I’ve been complaining about the cold, but my children will love snow!
Lynn
By , on January 17th, 2009%
This is what my mind looks like this morning…
Awwwwwwwwwww, don’t laugh.
And, no, it’s not a snowflake.
Though it’s really, really, really, REALLY cold here this morning – like maybe 10 degrees, my mind has a flower in it. I’m trying really hard to be in a wintery mood, but when I look out the window and see even the leaves on the camelias curled up like they will completely shrivel away to nothing, I can’t help but remember things like this…
and this…
and this…
Please, you wintery-minded folks, don’t be too dismayed with my struggle to keep my mind out of my garden when it’s warm and full of flowers like it hopefully will be again in a few more months. Just a few more months...
Oh and this…
and…
WAIT, WAIT.
And this.
and this
that turns into this…
Ahhhhhhhhh, infusions.
I’m okay.
Really.
But just one more THING. ONE MORE THING! Wait…
What?
Yes, I’m okay. Oh. Yeah. I’ll be fine. Yeah, you can go. Really, I’ll be okay. I’ll just get out some gardening catalogs and go plop down in front of the gas heater which is running FULL BLAST today because it’s so cold outside. And because my camelia is all withered up.
But really, I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about coming back to check on me. Okay?
I’m fine.
Really.
By , on January 16th, 2009%
Today’s Friday and we are wrapping up another week, and, well, just wrapping up! It’s cold here this morning. It’s 22 degrees as I write type and that’s cold for the Piedmont. My goldfish pond is frozen. The fish look like they’re frozen too, but I know they are not because I just saw one move. Barely. I’ll have to go out in a bit and break the ice.
I’m so thankful this morning for home and hearth, food and warmth.
It’s a good day to stay bundled up inside and just enjoy home.
Though today’s a work day for me, the children will be close by and I can still supervise what’s going on. That’s THE reason I love working from home. Actually, being able to work in my PJs is not a bad thing either.
We did a lot this week, but I am NEVER able to say we accomplished all that I wanted to do in a week. Cares of life don’t go away, even if we are having fun with school stuff, and sometimes I need a break just to be me. I ran so hard this week that I just sort of fizzled out yesterday afternoon. Like a meteor flying across the sky, so bright, and then suddenly POOF. Yep. She’s out.
I did not cook supper. I ditched the idea of doing what I had planned and instead my daughter and I got out of the house for a couple of hours. We went to Sam’s club and bought the fixin’s for sandwiches, along with sunchips, granola and two-bite brownies.
While we were out, I used a 40% off coupon at A.C. Moore to buy the first frame for one of the art prints I found awhile back at The Scrap Exchange. I just love this print. Love it! The picture below just does not show you how pretty it is.
While out, I also bought some things I’ll need for Sunday lunch. We’re hoping to have some friends over for lunch and a bit of afternoon visiting. Since I work tomorrow too, I know it was a smart move to go ahead yesterday and buy what I need. That’ll give me more time here on Saturday evening to prepare for Sunday.
Not much else to say except I hope you all had a productive week and that you have a GREAT weekend. For those of you who live where 22 degrees sounds warm, bear with me.
Lynn
By , on January 15th, 2009%
I needed a laugh tonight. Do you? Let’s keep lookin’ up. Okay?
“My mother always offered me two choices at supper: Take it or leave it.”
“If you must make mistakes, it will be more to your credit if you make a new one each time. ”
“Congress is where a man gets up to speak, says nothing, nobody listens — and then everybody disagrees.”
“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”
“It’s hard to be nostalgic when you can’t remember anything.”
“Despite the high cost of living, have you noticed how it remains so popular?”
“If at first you do succeed, try not to look astonished.”
“How did I ever get over the hill without getting to the top?”
Overheard in a doctor’s office: “I’ve been waiting so long, I think I’ve recovered.”
Lynn
PS — There’s a time and a place to be happy: It’s HERE and NOW!
|
About Lynn
I am a 40-something-year-old mother of four delightful children, have been married for 22 years to my carpenter husband, and live in a 1921 farm-style house. I find the most joy in my garden, growing and harvesting herbs and flowers and caring for our pet rabbits.
I have a 21-year-old son, a 19-year-old son, a 16-year-old son, and a bright and bubbly (and very funny) 11-year-old daughter who is homeschooled.
I'm a North Carolina girl and I love sharing North Carolina links and information. I'm a book lover, bird lover, gardener and aspiring herbalist. I seek no help for my thrift store addiction. I do medical transcription from home part-time.
The Players
Mom and Dad
Daniel
Big Joe
John
Princess of the Universe
Annie
Oreo
Coco
Basil
Midnight
Boomerang
A Pond of Goldfish
My Symphony
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.
William Henry Channing
1810-1884
Contact Me 
I would  for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
|
