May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You
by Jim Reeves
Sharing a wonderful song from my Fleur de Lis Camp days, a special song that always touches my heart.
........
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Saturday, January 3, 2015
December 29 - Jan 3, 2015 Core G 7"C" Christmas Break
December 29 - Jan 3, 2015
SL Core G Week 7 "C"
Christmas Break, plus some Greek books to start our Greek study.
Christmas Break, plus some Greek books to start our Greek study.
 |
| At the Christmas party, Dd received the top mantle for her cloak. She sewed it on herself, and did a nice job of it. |
A week technically 'off' from our homeschooling. We got our Christmas decorations down, and boxed up. I got all our billing and banking caught back up. We managed many little hikes in the woods (and I even managed to go on a good hike with Dh on Saturday!).
We needed a week like this to get back our organization, rest, and have a long spell of a migraine cluster (migraine off and on from Dec. 26 - Jan 1st). I hope next week will be migraine free! After so many ugly hours of pain and misery, I am ready to feel good for a while! Dd felt good for most of the week and played, cooked, Lego'd, read, hiked, and listened to our audio.
Another exciting thing from this week is that Dh's Christmas orders came in (a husband would never wait until the last minute to order gifts!) and Dd and I got a few more gifts! I received a 'hiking in grand rapids' book, and Dd got two 'training swords' (fun! fun!).
Also, since Giz gave Dd a small, one gallon tank, we went to the store and bought a guppy and a snail. I'm not sure this little tank, with no aeration is up for both animals and am thinking if I should buy a bubblier for it. So far her gift has cost us $20 for all the food, fish, and snail! Aren't gifts from family surprising?
 |
| The guppy: "Andromeda" |
 |
| "Opis" |
I think all the Lego kits were put together by Monday! But, she has been building a "Swamp Prison" car--don't ask me why, I think she said there was a contest? But, I think this project is done. I always enjoy when she comes up with her concepts, and is a "Master Builder"!!
Writing:
Monday Dd wrote ALL of her Thank You cards!!! She was right on this assignment, and didn't need any help. Only one had to be re-written, due to content not being 100%. Of course, it took me until Thursday to get my portion completed on the cards!! For once she had to wait on me!
Dd has been writing on her blogs; yes blog"s"--- she has THREE blogs going now! I'm really glad she has taken an interest in figuring it out on her own. She uses the blog mostly to show her friends in Indiana the photographs she has been taking here. I think she wants, so strongly, to keep those Indiana friendships reinforced.
Monday, Dd made a "Apple Betty" for us, and it was all gone by the end of the day! It is like an apple crisp--apples filling up a pie pan, then some brown sugar, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon as a topping. She liked the Apple Betty so well, she made it again on Wednesday! Also, on Wednesday, she made dinner--she made "Greek Chicken" recipe and macaroni and cheese from scratch. I have to admit the cheese sauce was pretty amazing, but when she put it over spaghetti noodles (1/2 way boiled, "al-dente"), and then baked in the oven, I didn't like it as well. She and Dh liked it, but they love pasta dishes. On Saturday, I made the "Aussie Potatoes" that we have been enjoying since we found that recipe doing our Core F Australia section, and Dd made breaded/baked chicken. Dh had given me Red Quinoa for Christmas, so I made a quinoa dish this week (Red Quinoa, regular organic quinoa, and lots of carrots bits).
We also made it out to the library twice this week. We have started going to their little store in the library, and buying a book or two there of their used and removed books. We even found one of our favorite Christmas, Auntie Claus, books before Christmas. I don't think we already own the Welcome Comfort book yet! Saturday, Dd found a cookbook that she asked us to buy for her. Seeing how she is doing a few meals each week, I am happy to help her in her cooking. It is easier than letting her look up recipes online--which takes her a long time to pick!
Auntie Claus and the Key to Christmas
Sep 27, 2011
(There are THREE books in this series--and they aren't as good as Patricia Polacco's Christmas books, but for some reason we just really like to read them! I think it is partially due to the wonderful illustrations in each book-these books are written and illustrated by Elise Primavera.)
and
Welcome Comfort by one of our favorite picture book authors, Patricia Polacco. We really missed not getting to read Oranges for Frankie this year. That really is such a special book. Whenever we do find a new home, and can get all our books back in their shelves, we might have to read a lot of the Christmas picture books that we missed reading this year...Christmas in July?!
 |
| Dd took some pictures of the stormy skies after one of our hikes this week. |
It took us ALL week, but we finished our audio; Percy Jackson's Greek Myths. It was a really good audio and we both really liked it! Dd got the book as a Christmas gift, she liked it so well! We even bought a copy of it for the eldest "L" family daughter.
Sonlight Reader:
Dd is really enjoying Theras and His Town! I am SO glad! She really didn't like the last Reader I assigned to her. She said she likes this b/c it is "Greek", and now she says she will like anything that is Greek! Oh boy, what happens when we finish up Greece and move to Rome?!
 |
| Dd has taken to "whittling" and Dh got her a new knife (for Xmas) just for the woods. It came with a big, safe sheath that stores it. |
Fun books:
 |
| Opis eating her algae chip |
Fun Audio:
(that actually is about Greek Myths, and that is where we are in our SL history!)
Awwww, how cute! These two lovebirds!
Sophie (lovey dog) and Smedley (lovey cat) snuggling in bed!
I finished the scarf I made for Dd (happen to be wearing it as I type this!) It is good to get another project completed.
The book I have been so enjoying (given by my dear friend, Heather L.) is this:
Amazon synopsis:
Julie Zickefoose lives for the moment when a wild, free living bird that she has raised or rehabilitated comes back to visit her; their eyes meet and they share a spark of understanding. Her reward for the grueling work of rescuing birds—such as feeding baby hummingbirds every twenty minutes all day long—is her empathy with them and the satisfaction of knowing the world is a birdier and more beautiful place.
The Bluebird Effect is about the change that's set in motion by one single act, such as saving an injured bluebird—or a hummingbird, swift, or phoebe. Each of the twenty five chapters covers a different species, and many depict an individual bird, each with its own personality, habits, and quirks. And each chapter is illustrated with Zickefoose's stunning watercolor paintings and drawings. Not just individual tales about the trials and triumphs of raising birds, The Bluebird Effect mixes humor, natural history, and memoir to give readers an intimate story of a life lived among wild birds.
Next week we get back to our lessons. It will be nice to get back to our bible study...I've missed it! Plus we can restart our major focus on the Greeks, with gusto!
................
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
December 21-28, 2014
December 21-28, 2014
Merry Christmas!
Christmas time is here! We had lots of work still to do to complete all the projects for our upcoming Christmas party in southern Indiana. Dd did finish the red scarf she had been working on for Aunt April. She had first intended it to be a fun poncho type thing, but found that to be too long of a job for the time we had available. It turned out great, and Aunt April liked it very much. The ironic part is that Aunt April made Dd a scarf this year too!!! Isn't that funny! Dd scarf was made out of camouflaged yarn.
We went to the library on Monday, and I was so blessed to find two used cookbooks (that looked awesome) for Dh! I was so happy about that! He LOVES cookbooks, and new ones are just so expensive that he wasn't going to get one this year.
Return of the mouse sounds....again Dd was woken up by the sound of a mouse gnawing in her bedroom wall. Dh also "caught" another mouse in the kitchen traps; which makes our tally up to TEN.
This year Dh made the Ranger Cookies for his family, normally I make the cookies, but I was so behind with my present making that I was going to not give cookies this year. Dh's grandmother use to make Ranger Cookies, and they are a family favorite, so, with his help the tradition has made it through another year.
On Christmas Eve day, Dd spent a lot of time and effort cleaning up her room, and I also went in and helped to finish up the job. It was a big job, especially when this apartment bedroom is 1/4 of the size of her last bedroom. Trying to find a place for her things is impossible, and discouraging!
Christmas morning, Dd woke us up at 5:00 AM! She had been awake since 2:00 AM, and was kind enough to wait until a more respectable hour to wake us. We were all surprised by our gifts, and I was especially appreciative of the poem Dd made for me that has a lovely drawing of a Black-caped Chickadee on the top of the page. I just love thoughtful, homemade gifts like that. Dh presented me with a yearly pass to the sculpture garden in Grand Rapids, and I am looking forward to taking Dd there soon.
We did get to take a nice nature hike on Christmas!
Christmas was also the start of my migraine cluster--Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun were all migraine days (Mon was only a bad headache...phasing out of the cycle - hopefully). With my migraine and miserable head, Dh had to do the whole drive to Indiana. On Friday we packed up the van and headed to our home in Indiana, to spend the night there, so we could make the last two hours of driving to get to southern Indiana in time for the big party. I was glad we split up the seven hour drive; so there was one bonus to our house STILL not being sold!
Sat (12-27-14) we headed to southern Indiana for the big show...Dh's parents Christmas party. We all crammed into her living room and opened gifts. It is such a odd thing, these parties where you only see most of the people one time each year. It always leaves me very, very sad at the interactions I have with "family". I always had such high hopes for being apart of a big, LOVING family. The Christmas party we had with the "L" family was so perfect--I know them well enough to know what to get them, and they know exactly what to buy to give me--and the heart and tone is of love and kindness. I was so blessed by that day with the "L" family, and will cherish that memory---that truly is how a Christmas party should be! I will have to stop thinking about the family party and move on...some things in life can't be fixed by me. After the party ended, we got back in our van and drove the two hours back to our house for the night. Then in the morning (with a massive migraine) we cleaned up the house (dishes, wash floor, wash toilets, dog poop duty, vacuum the house), packed up our bags, and got in the van for the final five hours of driving back to Grand Rapids. It was good to be back and this time without the weight of getting presents completed. (I was still putting on the last minute touches to the felt birds I was giving to the females in the family during the whole drive.)
During our fourteen hours of driving we listened to
Little Town on the Prairie
By Wilder, Laura Ingalls Little Town on the Prairie CD (Little House) Unabridged, Audiobook (2005) Audio CD
1000
and completed the audio. I should say how much we enjoy these books, but this one is probably the least politically correct for two reasons--this is the book where Pa dresses up in black-face as part of a comedy routine with other men from town, to do a song & dance show. They referred to the men as "darkies", and that isn't a term we use in this day-in-age. That old term could really offend some people. The other thing that is a bad example, is the chapters where Miss Wilder (Almonzo's sister) is the school teacher. Nelly Olson had told lies to Miss Wilder about Laura, and the teacher repeatedly is beyond awful to Carrie and Laura, to the extent my blood wanted to boil!!!! This injustice is never entirely cleaned up, and they just kind of move on without justice being served. Pa and Ma have such clear instructions to their girls that the teacher is ALWAYS right, and they must do WHATEVER their teacher tells them to do, and that just doesn't sit well with me, and isn't what I preach to my daughter. I am all for respect and obedience, but children also need to know that they have permission to tell their side of the story and be aware that some people are bad and act for their own safety. Pa didn't ever want to hear the details of what was happening in the school!!! Poor, poor Laura and Carrie!!!! I really disliked that section of the book! But, besides those two sections that book is very good, and this is the book where Almonzo repeatedly asks Laura to allow him to "walk her home". He also gives her a ride behind his two horses, and they exchange "name cards" to each other too. It is sweet to hear about the first steps, knowing they will eventually get married and have children.
Audio 2:
Audio 2:
Holiday Toy List
We are enjoying this audio for another week; as it is ten discs to listen to! Even though Dd read the book this fall, she is happy to listen to the audio. I don't really have anything bad to see about this audio. The narrator is our buddy, Percy Jackson, and he walks us through many Greek stories, adding his own humor along the way!
Within the Palace Gates
this week. She was not a big fan of this book; but I liked it myself. I'm glad that she finally completed it so we can get onto our next SL Reader--Theras and His Town! A Greek story, so she is sure to enjoy! Even when we are "off", I usually keep her reading something for me; plus she always is reading her own books and many magazine subscriptions.
..........
Monday, December 29, 2014
Finished Christmas gifts 2014
Finished Christmas gifts 2014
(Not all our gifts are here, we didn't get photo's of some things.)
(Not all our gifts are here, we didn't get photo's of some things.)
Each year of our marriage, my Dh and I have exchanged bird ornaments to put on our Christmas trees. We always write the year of the Christmas on the bird, somewhere. Three years ago, my dear friend Heather L. taught me how to make some felt birds, like she had on her tree. So, we have three years of homemade felted birds for our Xmas trees so far. They each have the year stitched onto a wing, or belly, or somewhere, to keep up our tradition! And, usually our tree is crowded with birds!
Remember the green birds I showed a few posts back in the "Christmas Present Making" post--well, I have been working on dressing those birds up, to give as gifts to the "family party". Here are the final pictures:
 |
| This is the blanket Dd asked me to make for her. |
 |
| The "Camouflaged" blanket Dh asked me to make him. It has 3 to 4 strings woven together to make the blanket extra thick. |
I finished the yellow, brown, and blue birds and took a few pictures of them on the tree---I'll replace these with better pictures soon!
 |
| Dh asked for a robin this year---here it is! |
Our stockings were safely packed up with all our Christmas stuff; so we have had to improvise this year! Dd spent a good amount of time on her stocking; and I was a bit more hasty in making a stocking for Dh.
 |
| I made this stocking for Dh--it was very full and crammed with little gifts. |
 |
| Dd made this as 'her stocking', and it was stretched to the seams bursting! What fun! |
.........
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)