Sept. 16-22, 2018 Zeus Ailing (rooster), Garden, Driver's License

Sept. 16-22, 2018 

Zeus Ailing (rooster), Garden, Driver's License, Anniversary

Happy 20 Year Wedding Anniversary this Week!  Dh brought me these mums, like we had at our wedding.

Hello Friends!

A whole week without a headache or a migraine!  Dd started a cold on Monday and with the temperature flip-flop, I wasn't surprised.  We went from nearly 90 degrees during the day to down in the lower 40's at night.  We have been sleeping with our house windows open most of the summer so it was wicked cold at night and extra blankets were brought out.

I hoped with Dd not doing marching band this summer we would get more things done and swim in our pool more often.  It really doesn't feel like we accomplished more; perhaps less than previous summers. Dh has been working extra, for him, which last week was 75 hours of work for the week, and perhaps that has something to do with our lack of progress.  The huge repair bills for the truck and van getting repaired probably influenced our lack of buying for home improvements too---we had thought about replacing old doors, putting in flooring, painting the house and fence, building a dog run...But, none of those goals have been met and since it is almost October we won't be starting any new outdoor jobs at this point.  We are still trying to clean out our pool, get the dead algae out, so we can close it down.  I'm not sure I fully support the massive push to get a perfect pool for the winter as last year when we opened it in the spring it was already a blur of green.  Alas, the too much to do laments.

Mom:

She wanted to return home on Sunday, so after church (and eating lunch) Dh and I took her home.  Actually, Dh slept (snored) in the back seat while I drove!  We normally nap after church and take the "Day of Rest" as a literal recommendation!!!  We arrived back home at 11 pm and she was back in her apartment.  

Grace Co-Op:

It is nice to see Dd back to studying hard and really sinking her teeth into her academics.  So far all her classes and teachers are going well.  She was super excited to get 100% on her written essay this week.

Driving Test:

Monday was the long-awaited Driving Test for Dd.  I think she has been working for this for 1 1/2 years now.  She did her first driver's education classes May 2017, then the follow-up classes about six months after that.  She probably achieved quadruple the driving hours required; or more.  The test went really well, especially the parking tasks which she nailed.  After the test we came home for lunch and then headed back out to the nearest government office to get her license..."government office" I say because every state calls them something different--Michigan calls them SOS, Secretary of State; Indiana: DMV, Department of Motor Vehicles, BMV: Bureau of Motor Vehicles...each state has a little bit of a different name for that office and it gets confusing when you've lived in so many different states!  Long story short---our daughter got her license and now wants to drive herself everywhere.

Volunteering at the Library:

Speaking of driving herself---Dd drove herself for the first time to the library.  I remember starting to take her to Story Time when she was 11 months old; almost a year old, to the library.  That is the one place I have always taken Dd, week after week throughout our time together (that and the grocery store!!!).  So, I thought it would be perfect if her first solo driving trip would be to a library!  Then later in the week she drove herself to church.  She volunteers for the Story Time event on Thursdays with the little ones and really enjoys working with kids and plans on working that into her future career.  

Zeus:

Things have taken a dive for the worse with Zeus.  He is spending a lot of time in a pile, laying on the ground lifeless.  He is still having seizures and struggling to get back into standing position.  I have separated him from the flock and am hand feeding him.  It seems like he is getting a little better each day, but it is hard to tell.  I just don't want to cause him any pain or cut his life short, but I continue to access his 'quality of life.'  I've already told him how much I love him and that he needs to get better, but he just looks at me like this illness wasn't his idea!  He seems to be enjoying the scrambled eggs I've been cooking him each day.

Orthodontist:

This week Dd returned to the orthodontist after getting her wisdom teeth removed and healed to get the 3D imaging done of her teeth/mouth.  In two weeks we will have a teenager with braces on her teeth.  She is really excited to get her teeth fixed.

Eye doctor:

Dd also went to the eye doctor this week to get her eyes examined and accessed.  She has slight astigmatism and hasn't been wearing her glasses because they give her a headache.  The doctor told her it takes some time for her brain to get acclimated to wearing glasses and then her headaches would stop.  He encouraged her to not go long periods of time without wearing her glasses as that undoes the acclimation process.  We buy her glasses every 2 years but she can see without them so she usually goes without wearing them, but always wants a new pair...There have to be other parents with kids that want glasses, but don't want to wear them unless convenient!

Doctor's Appointments:

I've been trying to fit in all our doctor's the past few weeks; hoping we won't have to go very often in the winter snow.  

Three Snakes

Snakes In The Outbuilding:

Imagine my surprise this week to see a snake as I was preparing to open the basement door in our outbuilding.  I saw a snake!  Then a few hours later I saw it by the front door of the outbuilding, so I left the door open so it could leave.  Hours later, when I returned to check on it, I saw there wasn't one snake, but THREE!  They kept scurrying back into the darkness so I couldn't tell if they had left or not...I'm thinking they left after I left the door open and music blaring inside, but I can't be positive.  What an oddity.

Canning and Harvesting:

Grapes: Our first successful year of grapes!  A fellow homeschooling family in our circle also grow grapes and shared the secret of their success----pruning!  What a difference that made to our grapes!!!  Dh made 2 1/2 pints of grape jam this weekend that is the most amazing tasting jam I've ever tasted!  Wow, what a flavor punch of awesome!

The three different potato beds are all dying out; which means I can officially dig them up.  

Green Beans:

Although our replacement part for our canner came in I haven't canned any green beans yet.  Dh and I have been doing such a good job eating all the beans I've been picking I decided I would keep that up as long as he was willing.  Dh isn't always so keen to eat lots of greens and I don't want to miss this opportunity.  I'm very thankful our green beans continue to produce although I know with these forty-something temperatures at night they can't keep up much longer.

Tomatoes:

I blanched and filled the crock-pot to the lid with great red tomatoes and then cooked them down for around 24 hours into a wonderful paste.  After all the cooking down we only had about 1/8 of a pot of tomato; which made four pints.  We filled the jars too full or perhaps a jar had a flaw, but during the canning process one jar exploded...what a mess.  But, we did get three pints of tomato for all our hard work.

A trip to Wyoming:

Our church is offering to take our teenage girls, three can go, to visit Frontier Bible College; which is in Wyoming; a sixteen hour drive each way.  We said Dd could go if she got all her homework for the following week, as well as the current week, done before she goes.  This week she spent extra time each day working to try to get ahead a little at a time.  She has a lot to do!

Academics for the Week:

Bible:

Church, Sunday School, and YOUTH PROGRAM 

Volunteering:
*Library: Story Hour on Thursdays with kiddies (1:30 hours)
*Olympians, Wednesday nights church youth program (1:30 hours)

Grace Subjects:

Algebra I: Saxon

Spanish I

Graphic Design

Introductory Logic

Geography: BJU

I'm not sure how I'm going to post her lesson information---

The green beans took down the corn stalks, but the beans are finally arriving.

Academic plans:
Continuing with our classics together.  I'm hoping to get more science and writing in when things settle down.

Our Audio:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: Completed

We finished our audio this week, but not sure how much I'd recommend it when there are so many great books.  You just never know which ones are going to connect and Dd didn't grow much from this book.  Our next audio will be Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Next Week:
https://www.frontierbible.org/
Dd to tour a college; the Frontier School of the Bible in LaGrange, Wyoming.  It is a 16-hour drive each way.  She is very, very excited!  She will be going with two other teen girls,  two adult women (that are awesome), from our church.  
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