Dec. 17-23, 2017 Three Performances, Lord of the Flies, Illness and Migraines

Dec. 17-23, 2017 

Three Performances, light lessons, Lord of the Flies, Illness, and Migraines

Zeus, in an ugly mood was trying to peck out the lens on my camera...he can be such a grump.

I shoveled the snow out of the coop so the chickens could get back outside.

Hello, Friends!

Things don't always work out the way we plan and this week was a prime example of that!  I had a migraine Mon-Thur., which really got in the way of the very studious week I had planned! Our week started on Sunday when our Strings Group performed five songs and the Chimes group did one song--Silent Night.  I rested through the day so I could take Dd to the Orchestra Concert on Mon., the Band Concert on Tues., and Olympians on Wednesday.  Thursday started off tough, but by the afternoon I started to rally and was able to sing at our church's Strings Group.  While I was in bed with my migraine, Dd was sick herself!  So, we were quite the pair.  It is times like this I wish I lived closer to family, we could have used an extra pair of hands.

Orchestra Concert:

So many of our friends have the flu so it was inevitable that Dd would get it too.  She rested up during the day so she could play her violin in the program on Monday night.  Dd and I sat together for the first half of the concert, watching each group perform.  It was so nice to be at a WMHFA concert and not have to be running around in the back helping out with a class.  I actually got to enjoy a whole concert for the first time in three years.  I sign up to be a "Teacher's Helper" for Dd's band class; which means I have to assist on the concerts.  I love listening to the band practice each week, but I have never seen Dd play her sax at a concert!  

Agnes, has been getting along with Honeysuckle more and more; they seem like they have come to an understanding.  Dickens and Agnes have been wrestling and fighting more, but they are getting along.  They all have been napping together more and more.

Band Concert:

Dd really was feeling worse on Tuesday and I really weighed whether Dd should go to the Band Concert on Tuesday night.  She rested through the whole day and seemed just passable to go to the band concert, but, we did leave immediately after she performed to get home and back to bed!  The Intermediate Band, which Dd plays the Alto Sax in, performed a Polar Express song---it has the "Hot Chocolate" part in it.  They did such a great job.  I watched from the back of the stage, on the side.  They really did well and sounded fantastic.

Olympians:

Dd volunteers to run the Games part of the program with her friend, Hailee.  We had a nice night of it; had a bit of a Christmas party.

Zeus and his girlfriend...I guess I should name her!

Strings Group:

On Sunday, the 17th, our group performed five Christmas songs.  The Strings Group has such age diversity--from early teens to 90 years old.  They play 1 bass guitar, 3 acoustic guitars, 1 accompany piano,  1 banjo's, harmonica, and 5 ukuleles!  Oh, and don't forget the 6 singers!  On Thursday, we practiced the two songs we are going to perform on the 24th, then we switched gears and worked on the Chime Bells.  A small group, with most of the teen girls, are performing Silent Night on the 24th too.  Dd has been in charge of it the past two weeks and did a good job leading it.

Truck:

Did I mention Dh's truck broke down AGAIN?  He got to work on it some on Sat., but couldn't find a part he needed to replace though he and Dd went to two stores looking for it.  I hope he can fix his truck soon.  He is driving our mini-van around; which is beyond hopeless on snowy roads.  We certainly have lots of snowy roads living by Lake Michigan in Michigan!!!  Ironically, the part that is broken is the same part that broke last year, so he knows how to fix it, which will make fixing it perhaps faster than it took last year.

Backwater Cafe:

Two years ago, we lost our power on Christmas Eve and had to go out for breakfast since we had to wait for Lowe's to open so we could buy a generator.  We hadn't been to this local diner before and were pleasantly surprised by it.  Dh thought it would be fun to go back there this year on Christmas Eve--for breakfast again!  

Weather:

I don't know what was going on with the weather.  We had so much snow last week, and it started to warm up this week.  

It was great news for the chickens; they got to get outside and enjoy fresh air in December, a real treat!  I worked, bit by bit, shoveling out the chicken's coop of snow so they could stretch their legs.  They had a few days of being outside and getting out of the coop; which they needed.

Chickens:

Unfortunately, since Poirot (our Bantam Rooster) was killed by a hawk, his mate, Ms. Lemon, has really been "brooding."  ("Brooding" means staying on a clutch of eggs in the nest box, typically all day and night.)I've been pulling her out of the nest a few times each day and feeding her healthy table scraps or cooked eggs.  She really gobbles up egg yokes, so she must really need the fat and protein there.  I got her outside on Tuesday, but she got into a fight with an Amber.  The Amber fought her off her perch, she got back up, fought back down x3 until finally, Ms. Lemon gave up, defeated, and went back inside the coop.  She really is having a tough go of it, her 'husband,' that always protected her from the larger hens, is no longer there to take care of her.  It is really sad, but, I am trying to help her through this transition.

Keeping the straw clean inside their coop has become quite a chore this year.  Last year we had fewer chickens and it didn't seem to get dirty so fast.  Consistently I am having to clean their coop every 5-6 days; so glad I bought extra straw this year when the truck was working!  

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

We finished LOTF on Fri.; it was one of those books I read in high school that made such an impact on me.  I plan on adding Read-Aloud selections each week, on top of her Sonlight schedule.  If she has to read those books again in another core then she will know them better and probably understand them more deeply due to our discussions this year.

Science:

Apologia Biology:Module One Test Complete

Art: Oil Painting

Dd has been working very hard all week on a Christmas gift for Grampy.  She is using a photo she took on my phone of the family farm's barn to make a painting of it.  The painting is really coming along and I know Grampy will really, really love it!  So glad she thought of that! Luckily, she could work on her painting and read in bed with her illness this week.

Saxon Math:

Dd worked on her math a lot this week, she has quite a few assignments to do while on Christmas break from her Grace Academy class.

Music and Motivation:

Ever since we attended, and Dd participated in, the violin recital on Dec. 9th, Dd has had a significant shift.  Seeing those other students of Christie perform at such a high level has really shown her how much more she needs to learn.  She had been sort of coasting along with her music so far this year and seeing how good she could be playing has really awakened her motivation.  

As a homeschool family with only one child, she doesn't have other students to motivate her to improve; she feels like she is always at the top of her class regardless of how much effort she puts into things, which is a big downfall that I can't remedy.  Fortunately, she is taking art and math with the Grace Academy and I plan on continuing that next year too until I can get her to the place where she can start taking classes at the community college.  But, I want to note that this month has really been a significant shift in her violin practicing.  

See the girls pecking at the snow?  They actually eat snow.

She has been going to the online website, "SmartMusic," and playing various songs on her violin that aren't assigned to her classes.  She is making it a goal to really practice more each day whereas before she was just getting in her 2:30 hours of practice each week to complete the minimum requirements for her teachers.

This is Aphrodite, she looks a lot like Venus but has more of a floppy comb.  

Music Vent (I am human after all!):

She wants next year to be more streamlined musically as she feels stretched too thin with all the classes she is currently enrolled in.  I think (know) that not getting advanced with her Alto Sax has really caused her to question staying in the band program. Well, she did want to drop the class when she found out and we really encouraged her to stick it out this year and evaluate it again at the end of this school year.  

All we can think is that God had closed that door for a reason.  She seems very okay with not getting advanced, but to be honest I am still tender about the complete unfairness of the program.  She had been told many times by her teacher that she was definitely being moved up, it was almost a given, and to our astonishment, she wasn't. Consequently, her practice time, at home, took a nose-dive!  I'm so glad that recital has re-lit her desire to play and improve.  She feels like perhaps the teachers on the Orchestra side of the program will treat her more fairly.  Maybe next year will just be orchestra and piano?  (And her church music--ukulele and chime bells.)

"Buckbeak" is on the right of Zeus.  She really is a stand out among the chickens.

Fun Reader:

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer: Completed

Owl:

Dd collects owls, so I decided to make her a special owl for her Christmas present from me.

I always sew in the year that I made it.  For the owl, I sewed it on the back.

Next Week:

Sunday, our Strings Group and Chimes Group will perform in our very musical program.  Quite a few other people will be doing musical numbers on Sunday---piano solo's, singing, clarinet & piano duet...  Then our family in Indiana is meeting up for the Christmas party.  Dd won't have any homework next week, our last full week of 2017!  So glad to see this crazy year come to an end!

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