Fleur de Lis Homeschool Blog: 08/01/2018

Monday, August 27, 2018

Aug. 12-18, 2018 Van Problems, Garden, Lexi Over, Dd Sleep Over -B-day Party: Hailee

Aug. 12-18, 2018

Van Problems, Garden, Lexi Over, Dd went to Hailee's, and Migraines

Hello Friends!

For the second week, I fought a "cluster" of headaches and migraines. This week I finally had a BIG migraine that was the climax of the cluster and broke the cycle. I still did not feel good this week; really tired and run down, really unlike myself. I saw on the news a flu bug was going around and wonder if I might have been fighting a little of that with my hormonal migraines? I didn't get much done and let Dd be as social as she could to keep her busy and happy. Luckily, Dd had a full social schedule that kept her busy and helped to ease the withdraw from our friends in Indiana, while I was fairly miserable.

Van:

The truck was already at the repair shop when Dh noticed the van leaking fluids. He figured it was the power steering pump, and something about the 'boot.' Last week, while we were in Indiana, Dh worked many overtime hours; enough that his boss told him to take Monday off. He planned on relaxing or getting something done around the house when he noticed the van problem. He ended up spending ALL day working on the van, until after 10pm. Dd did a great job of helping work on the van with him, and learned a lot, I'm sure.

Each day he tried over and over to fix it and watched video after video on YouTube, but eventually, he figured out his diagnosis was wrong. Turns out, it was the rack and pinion steering; which is a job for the repairman...but, he had already spent most of the week trying to fix the van on his own--time, equipment, and parts all down the drain.

Down to ONE car:

We actually own four auto's, but only the Subaru seems to be reliable! The Camry has been in our garage over a year now. I had to drive Dh to work one day and the other's he took the car while we stayed home without.

Henry, the rescue English Shepherd

Henry: New Pup, Week Two:

We took Henry into the vet this week. Henry has bad allergies and requires an expensive pill each day, of course! We went ahead and bought a whole bottle of the meds. Our vet won't let you buy Heart Guard until you've given blood for a blood test, so he had to give blood during the exam, and were able to buy 6 months worth of meds. He is up to 44 pounds; which is ten pounds higher than his last visit with the foster family. He did a good job; especially considering we had to wait an hour to see the doc.

Walks:
I'm really enjoying our walks in the woods throughout the day, it makes me stop all my busy work and really appreciate all the blessings.

Smiles and Wags:
Henry is now wagging and smiling at us. It took the full two weeks for him to relax and feel comfortable with us, but now he is beginning to surface a little bit each day.

Our backwoods, and newly mowed trail (push mower!)

Mowing Paths:
I've mowed some paths in the woods to take him on longer walks and cut down on the briers getting all in his long hair. He still has to be brushed every day, but it isn't as bad with the mowed paths; if only he would stick to the paths!!! He likes to wander around and explore; which leads to more briers.

Drying out this years remaining onions

Garden:
Doing very well and feeding us more each week as things are growing better without the intense heat and numerous bugs that were part of July. August always seems better for gardening.

I put the hoop house over the onions to dry them out for a few weeks; protected from the rain and critters.

Chickens are all doing well; even Zeus with his seizures. I'm feeding them lots of greens and taking great care of them!

Library Volunteer Party:

Dd invited Hailee to attend the Volunteer party with her. It was a little party for all the teens that volunteered over the summer.

Wed-Thur: Lexi

Lexi came over and spent the night. They swam and had a good visit.

Fri-Sat: Hailee

Dd went to Hailee's birthday party; which was a sleep-over. They had a great time and kept pushing back when she'd come home! She eventually arrived back home at 6pm!!!

Dh has been continuing to design and build his workbench.

Academics:

Bible:

Church and Sunday School

Spanish:

3x this week: DuoLingo

Math:

Khan Academy 3x this week

Science:

Apologia Biology 2x this week

Art:
Drawing and crocheting--Captain America bracelets

FUN Reading:

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Music: Strings Group:

2-hour guitar lesson with a small group this week.

Physical Exercise:

Swimming with Lexi: 2 hours

Walking Henry: 7x this week

Audio:
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee: In Process
This book is eleven disc's long! So it will be a while!

Dd is doing a great job mowing this year.

Music:

Dd is still trying to decide if she wants to take music lessons next year or just focus on academics; at least for the first part of the year. This is a really tough decision.

Next Week:

Dd needs braces and the orthodontist said we need to meet with an oral surgeon to see about getting her wisdom teeth removed before we can begin. We meet with the surgeon on Monday.

.................

Aug. 5-11, 2018 Henry's First Week

Aug. 5-11, 2018

Henry's First Week

Hello Friends!

After a week with the "L" family, we had a bit of a slump. I also had a headache or a migraine every day this week; which made for a very difficult week. I just did NOT feel good this week; really tired and drained. I know part of it is missing the "L" family and also I think my hormones have gone on a little trip and are dragging me along!!! Luckily, Dd was doing okay and able to get some lessons worked on.

Van Broke Again

Dd had tried to move the truck before we left on our trip to Indiana and noticed a big puddle under the motor and the steering wheel was oddly stiff. Dd thought it just might be a hose loose and decided to let it sit in the drive while we were away and call the repair shop when we got back home. The mechanic came out to our house and towed it back to his shop only to find out it wasn't 'just a loose hose' but another part that was broken and needed to be replaced; i.e. lots of $$$. I just can't believe how much all these repairs are. I guess that was next years vacation too!

Henry:

We adopted a rescue dog--an English Shepherd.

So far Henry has been very shy and timid. He is going to take some time to warm up to us but liked to snuggle from the first moment; so that is a great sign. I'm just waiting for him to wag and smile to know he is happy. He laid on the living room floor with Agnes (our cat) right beside him the first night. He shows no sign of wanting to harm any of the critters; which is exactly what I was looking for! Dd and Dh already adore him! yay!

Walks:

Already I've found a bonus to Henry; walking in our woods. We live on 5 acres of woods and you'd be disappointed to hear how much time we've spent in the woods since we lost our last dog, Sophie. Henry needs lots and lots of walks, partly because he is only 8 months old and also because of his tramatic beginnings. He is a bit nervous, anxious, and insecure--all things that can be helped by long walks. I'm having new things to be thankful for---our new pup and going on lots of walks in the wooded canopy in our backyard.

Garden:
We've been pulling out potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, kale, chard, tomatoes, green beans, basil...and eating! The garden is doing very well! We have been having a much less buggy year; compared to last year. The tomatillos are enormous and taking over that whole garden bed. I'm eating lots of blackberries, and the grapes are looking good--though still green. This week the green beans finally really came in and we have been able to start eating them in larger portions.

Onions:

On Saturday, our garden onions seemed about done (stems turning brown), so I've dug them all out and placed them on a wooden pallet to dry out--under a hoop house. Hopefully, they will store well so Dh can eat our onions for months to come. With my Fodmap diet, I can't eat them. I think I planted over 100 onions in the spring and Dh has been eating some the past few weeks, but we still have a good little bundle to store.

Chickens:

The chickens had a few days of revolt while Dd and I were in Indiana. Normally they lay around 16-17 eggs a day, but while we were away they had a few days where they didn't even lay 12! Dh did put in some grape vines a few times, but he had to work late every night we were gone so they were not getting the level of care they are so accustomed to having! They all survived last week and so this week I did try to get extra greens to them to help them get over their ill-treatment. Zeus is still doing fine, though the seizures continue. Ms. Lemon is still brooding...blah.

Greens:

Each day, usually throughout the day, I bring arm loads or bucketfuls of greens (aka 'weeds') to our chickens to gobble up. It amazes me how excited and happy they are about that and also at how they like certain weeds better than others. I'm getting to be a pro at their preferences! We sell our eggs for $2.00 a dozen and that covers a little over half a bag of feed for the week, but in the summer months they don't eat as much feed as they do once the weather turns and the greens aren't an option anymore. Every little bit helps financially and it is WAY healthier for the girls to be eating green anyway!

Kent County Fair:

This week Dd and her church friend "H" went to the fair together and had a great time. They rode on some rides and came back to our house with slushies! Happiness is a blue tongue?!