For Today: September 15, 2009
Outside my window... a cloudy morning. The forecast calls for a mix of clouds and sun, so maybe the sun will come out later. When I woke up this morning, the sky looked like a pastel drawing -- smudged blue, pink, and gray above the hills. The first window I see in the morning is the one by my side of the bed. It is one of those small, high, rectangular 50's windows, which means that I have to stand on my tippy-toes to see more than the sky.
Now there is a weird greeny-yellow light which in the Midwest or South would probably mean a thunderstorm. Here we may get rain and we may not.
I am thinking... well, worrying would be the more appropriate term. We "lost" a mouse trap we set out this weekend, and I think I know where it went... because of the smell this morning. The only problem; I think it's behind the stove and I don't know if I can get to it. I am also trying not to worry about Farmerboy, who seems the sickest of the bunch. If his fever is still around tomorrow morning, off to the doctor we will go. I am also trying not to worry about the state of the house, although it is completely overwhelming.
I am thankful for... a decent sleep last night. And Pulmocort. It means I'm not wheezing.
From the learning rooms... Gareth is the only one who has escaped this cold/flu/whatever it is, so he's the only one who's doing anything like math. Yesterday he tried his new grammar book, Our Mother Tongue, by Nancy Wilson. His initial review was positive; he liked it more than Lingua Mater, "even though it took longer to do". Hmmm...
Aside from a little math and grammar, though, he's been in full unschooling mode, just like everybody else. Mostly this involves the older 3 reading Warriors books (Katydid reads to Farmerboy, when her throat allows) and watching science programs on TV. Last night the kids watched a DVR'ed program about weird weather on other planets, in which we learned about a man who took a hot-air balloon up to the outermost edge of the atmosphere... and then jumped, from 50,000 feet. He was still alive to tell the tale, but what kind of person thinks it might be fun to go to space in a hot-air balloon and then parachute back? Sounds like Jules Verne to me. Then we also watched a History International show entitled Predator X, about the discover of an enormous new pliosaur in the Arctic. Watching this prompted Pip to go on his own dinosaur dig around the house, collecting "dinosaur bones" and then drawing his finds on inset paper. Pop joined in, too.
There has also been an explosion of "junk-monster" making (with Sculpey and... junk) from the younger boys, and yesterday I came back to Katydid's room to check on her and she was writing music. So learning goes on, regardless.
From the kitchen... You do not want to know what we have been eating lately. Think frozen pizza and go from there. I made pancakes on Sunday night, but last night Andy was out of town and the kids got macaroni and cheese. I got a frozen dinner I brought home from the corner convenience store. :-/
I am wearing... Well, right now I'm wearing a T-shirt and cropped jogging pants: pajamas. But I'm about to take a shower, and then will probably end up in long sleeves and denim gauchos. High temp in the mid to upper 60's today. (ETA: Now it's 11 PM and I'm back in my pajamas again. But if you're curious -- I have no idea why you would be, or even if I will be if I ever look back at this post -- what I actually wore today was a short-sleeved aqua tee, charcoal gray knit skirt, leggings, sport socks and Birkenstocks or muck shoes (depending on whether I was inside or outside.)
I am creating... Gee, not much of anything right now. Just trying to get well and keep my head above water until Andy gets home from Toronto. Although after discovering from the Dick Blick catalog that street painting or drawing with pastels on sidewalks dates back to the Renaissance, there might be something itching there for a story, who knows.
I am going... to read The Day I Became an Autodidact by Kendall Hailey and then go to bed, seeing as how a lot of time elapsed between the start and end of this post.
I am reading... See above. I had to check the publication date on this book the same as I did with The Teenage Liberation Handbook. Only -- Kendall Hailey's book was published two years before I graduated high school, while The Teenage Liberation Handbook was published the year after I graduated. I would have known if Kendall Hailey's book had appeared in our small town library, though, because I was so well known at the library by then that the librarians let me check out my own books. Not that my parents would have listened to me if I had told them I wanted to quit school (or graduate early) and teach myself, of course, even if I had managed to get hold of a copy of the book. Although my mother briefly entertained the idea of homeschooling my youngest sister, it was only because of the gigantic problems she was having in school. In contrast, I was a very good student -- bored out of my mind -- and my mother was very worried about me missing my prom, which is what she always used to say when I would talk about graduating early and going to college or being an exchange student or whatever. As it turned out, my prom was a nightmare which I would have gladly paid money to miss. But what are you going to do? I find that homeschooling my kids has at least finally cured those old "I didn't know I was taking this class and now I have a final exam" dreams... in my dreams, I just stand up, put my books away, and say, "I don't have to stay here; I homeschool," and walk out. It's wonderful :-).
I am hoping... that Andy's plane is on time tonight.
I am hearing... the dryer spinning around, the sound of the keys tapping, and otherwise... quiet. Amazing.
Around the house... Ugh. I tried very hard not to be completely overwhelmed today and to just focus on whatever little bits I could get done or delegate. Farmerboy and Katydid felt better today, thankfully, so they helped pick up a bit. And Pop surprised me by requesting (!) chores. (I think he's trying to convince me that he's old enough to skip a nap. "Awww... why do we have to sleep???") The house looks a little better now. At least most of the playdough is off the dining room floor.
One of my favorite things... being able to request a whole stack of library books. Discovering that the library system actually had most of the books I wanted!
A few plans for the rest of the week: Get better and try to reintroduce a little formal work. To maintain my patience in the face of math-induced storminess. Oh, and not so much TV.
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...(add your picture here):
I was going to share a picture of my sketchbook, where I am doing some pencil exercises from Botanical Illustration Course: With the Eden Project
, a book I am impressed with and feel hopeful about. But that would require me to actually take the picture and then switch computers to download and then upload it. So I'm afraid the picture will have to wait.
Visit Peggy for more daybooks!
Recent Comments