SL Core H
Week 26 "B"
Sept. 3-9, 2017
Back to school, Trip to Indiana, 2 Kittens
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| The first day of "school" (band) picture. |
Hello Friends!
I guess every week is going to be a bit crazy and that is our new normal, but I want to say this was another odd week. I planned out Dd's lessons on Monday morning, thinking we were going to be here in Michigan the whole week, but by Wednesday Dh had decided we better go visit his mother. This put a big wrench in all my well-laid plans! We had a lot of chores that were going to be done on Saturday, so I had to fit those in during our week.
Visit G&G and Two New Kitties:
On the bright side, by going down to Indiana we got to pick up the two black kittens that G&G were supposed to bring when they visited last weekend, but didn't come b/c Giz was in the hospital. Our nephew picked up a stray cat...pregnant...5 kittens...and there you go! We have been missing our Sophie SO much and these little kitties needed a home. Ironically, one kitty looks just like Smedley, my last cat that died almost two years ago and the other kitty looks like Sophie! They are both black, but one has a white belly, paws, and a white mustache. Dh's other brother (J), took two kitties and Dh and I took 2 kitties, and a good friend took the other one as they had a new kitten that needed a buddy. We are happy to care for these cute kitties, but they still don't replace Sophie, at all.
Labor Day--Pulled Out My Back:
Sunday was a normal day of church and Sunday School. Monday was all planned - we were all doing our individual chores in the morning and I was working in my front garden, trying to move my peonies into the spot where I had removed a big, ugly bush when I felt something in my back go. I was done. I knew as soon as I did it that I was in trouble. I made it to bed and stayed there for the rest of the day, and part of Tuesday too. I rotated heat to ice every few hours. I really thought I was going to be laid up for days, but I was able to walk short ways on Tuesday, thank the Lord! Then I was able to walk fairly good in time for Dd's music classes on Wednesday! Needless to say, we didn't get the pool closed on Monday like we had planned. Dh and Dd did all my "have-to" chores--like taking care of the chickens and ducks.
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| We had an eight hour drive to see G&G, at least the drive down was beautiful! |
Visit G&G and Two New Kitties:
On the bright side, by going down to Indiana we got to pick up the two black kittens that G&G were supposed to bring when they visited last weekend, but didn't come b/c Giz was in the hospital. Our nephew picked up a stray cat...pregnant...5 kittens...and there you go! We have been missing our Sophie SO much and these little kitties needed a home. Ironically, one kitty looks just like Smedley, my last cat that died almost two years ago and the other kitty looks like Sophie! They are both black, but one has a white belly, paws, and a white mustache. Dh's other brother (J), took two kitties and Dh and I took 2 kitties, and a good friend took the other one as they had a new kitten that needed a buddy. We are happy to care for these cute kitties, but they still don't replace Sophie, at all.
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| The tree we married under--at the farm, almost this same time of year. It is a Black Walnut, with a swing on it that Grampy made for Dd. She had fun swinging on it again this year. |
Labor Day--Pulled Out My Back:
Sunday was a normal day of church and Sunday School. Monday was all planned - we were all doing our individual chores in the morning and I was working in my front garden, trying to move my peonies into the spot where I had removed a big, ugly bush when I felt something in my back go. I was done. I knew as soon as I did it that I was in trouble. I made it to bed and stayed there for the rest of the day, and part of Tuesday too. I rotated heat to ice every few hours. I really thought I was going to be laid up for days, but I was able to walk short ways on Tuesday, thank the Lord! Then I was able to walk fairly good in time for Dd's music classes on Wednesday! Needless to say, we didn't get the pool closed on Monday like we had planned. Dh and Dd did all my "have-to" chores--like taking care of the chickens and ducks.
Solo Canning:
Somewhere in here, Grampy called to share that Giz wasn't doing well and he had taken her to the ER and they were going to drive her to another hospital via the ambulance. This was her third hospital stay in less than 2 weeks. So, we decided, last minute, to drive the seven hours down to southern Indiana for a visit with her. So I had to spend all of Thursday and Friday doing my normal Saturday chores since we wouldn't be there to do them. Thursday I had to do the tomato canning since we wouldn't be home too. I didn't think it would take so long to do the canning, but I had never canned by myself before and it took me from 9am to 5pm to can just 10-pint jars of my tomato paste/sauce. I literally was on my feet in the kitchen the whole time!! I wish I would have thought to put all those tomatoes in my crock pot to dehydrate on Wednesday night, that would have saved me so much time and effort. I was glad I got all those tomatoes canned so they wouldn't rot on the vine while we were traveling. We were also fortunate to have our friend fit in checking on our critters while we were gone.
Academics take a back seat:
So, our academics took a bit of a hit again! Another reason we choose to go fairly year-round, we can fit in emergency visits when we have to. Giz is doing better, by the way, and they are making plans to do surgery on her to fix the specific problem.
Sunday Lunch:
When we use to live in the same town as G&G, Giz used to host a Sunday Lunch, after church. Usually Dh's two brothers, their wives and children, Aunt Charlotte, Mama V, and we would usually attend. This Sunday for lunch, Uncle Bob (Giz's older brother) brought over a big batch of fish that he had caught and cleaned and we so enjoyed eating!!! It was great having him at the table and getting to have a mini visit with him too. On Saturday we (Dh, Dd, and I) got to spend about 2 hours visiting with Dh's brother, (G) wife, and son. We usually only get to have a very short chat at the Christmas party each year, so this was really extra special and rare!
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| The brown moth's have hatched. |
Driving:
Dd did a lot of the driving down and backup too. I think she has already accomplished the goal of over thirty hours of driving before she takes the second installment of Driver's Education. She was glad to get the night driving hours in as that is harder to get.
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| Sometimes I find the weirdest eggs---this masterpiece was quite an accomplishment for some hen. It looked like it should be rubbery, but was extra, extra calcified. I ate it myself! |
Chickens and Ducks:
All alive and well! Still foraging LOTS of greens for them each day. Clementine and Poirot both continue to get out, which is very worrisome!!! I put them back in each day and appreciate that they made it through another day. Our duck and Bantam hen both are not laying. Merry, the duck, hasn't laid one egg so far; which is odd. Mrs. Lemon, the Bantam, laid eggs for about a month and then stopped---?
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| We finally saw Agnes with her toy Guinea pig, "Love." It is always fun finding Love throughout the house, though we never see her carrying it! |
Agnes:
NOT happy about the kittens in her territory, but we are keeping the kittens in our sunroom so she can watch them, but not get to them. From the glass door, she can slowly warm-up to their cuteness...hopefully!
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| Our green bean wall is doing great! |
Garden:
Still doing great, the biggest treat right now is all the green beans being big enough to eat! With the colder temperatures, it is taking much longer for the tomatoes to get really dark red. Everything is looking good and the insect attacks are way down--thankfully!
Academic Achievements for the week,
though many of the assignments I scheduled did not get done this week:
Bible:
No church this week, we were visiting with G&G.
We are using our new "Integrated Bible" to direct our reading of the NT chronologically:
Jesus Calls His First Disciples:
Matt 4: 18-22, Mark 1:16-20, Luke 5:1-11
Jesus Drives Out an Impure spirit:
Mark 1:21-28, Luke 4:31-37
Jesus Heals Many:
Matt 8:14-17, Mark 1:29-37, Luke 4:38-43
Math:
Khan Academy: 30 min x 4
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| Aunt April gave us a kitty tower along with the two kitties. Dd put it together and they LOVE it! |
Foreign Language:
DuoLingo German: 15 min x 4
Science:
Apologia Physical Science: Module 10: Completed
Newton's Laws
Read Aloud:
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: In Process
Latin/Word Roots:
Pg 88 & 89
Easy Grammar, Plus:
pg 343 & 347
Poetry:
Memorizing The Highwayman
Art: Drawing: 3 hours
History:
Abraham Lincoln's World by Foster: COMPLETED
We highly recommend reading the series by Foster, we read Augustus Caesar's World for Core G, and then George Washington's World and Abraham Lincoln's World for Core H---such a delight to read. My daughter chose Foster instead of more Kingfisher.
Reader:
The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy
This was supposed to be a Read Aloud, but Dd wanted me to read Les Miserables to her instead and switch those. This week Dd got carried away with her reading and let dust collect on this book.
Fun Reader:
My Life With the Walter Boys by Ali Novak: In Process
Twilight: Completed
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| A Hawk in our yard...luckily it didn't bother our chickens. |
Music Classes:
Intermediate Orchestra: violin: 1:30 hours
Intermediate Band: Alto Sax: 1:30 hours
Piano Lesson with Wendy: 30 min
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| Dickens, named after Charles Dickens |
Music Practice:
Hit or miss this week---Neither of us wrote down practice times...
Guitar 1:00 hour
Dd took her guitar to the Strings Group this week instead of the ukulele.
The Hunting Poncho I made for Dh:
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| Front of the poncho. I used a thick, part wool yarn and put 3-6 threads together to make it super thick (and heavy!). |
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| The back of the poncho; Dh wanted the back shorter than the front for some reason. |
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| I sewed in a muffler on the inside; made of Alpaca wool for extra, extra warmth. It is on the inside of the poncho. |
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