6/28/07
Our Graduate
6/27/07
The Truffle Saga Continues...
Keep praying for our baby, Truffle. He should be on the mend now.
6/26/07
Updates
6/23/07
Truffle's Troubles
6/22/07
Crazy Kid
This is Shawn's garter snake he found in the grass. Isn't it cute?! What did a 16 year old boy want to do with a garter snake he found in the grass? Why tame it, of course. Hold it, and pet it, and stroke it, until it calms down and acts civilized.
Notice the blood. The snake wanted no part of being "tamed". After said boy was bitten on the hands at least ten times, he decided the snake was a lost cause and was better off back in the grass. Sheesh.
6/21/07
Bountiful Bliss
Next we wandered through the book store selecting a jar of homemade quince jam, a beeswax candle crafted by the monks, and a lovely little brass and enamel sign to screw to my door frame which says: Peace to all who enter here.
6/20/07
End of the School Year
On Monday our local homeschool group had our first curriculum sale. There were many sellers, but few buyers. I ended up unloading a few items and making around $100, far short of what I had hoped. I'm sure it will be much better next year once the word is out! There were about 40 tables of people selling. I'm sure we will attract quite a crowd once it catches on. It was a lot of work for those who organized it. They did a wonderful job!
Today we are off for a last minute field trip to a local monastery. They raise sheep there and keep bees. I am hoping to come away from the gift shop with some goodies! The monastery is right over the hill and I never knew it was there. My friend Gretchen told me about it. We are going there this afternoon with Gretchen and her daughter. I am really looking forward to it!
Then, on Thursday night we have our end of the year homeschool picnic. After that is over I will finally feel as though we are done for the year. I will be planning the last minute details of Julia's graduation party. After the party it will be summer vacation! Time for art work and long days of crickets chirping and buzzing in the heat. If you need me you can find me here, in my sanctuary:
6/14/07
New Family in the Neighborhood
6/12/07
Rhubarb: It's Just Good Stuff
The memories of my childhood have been sustained over the years by the sweet-sour taste of my wonderful mother-in-law's strawberry-rhubarb pies. In the summer when we'd make the long trek to Maine her kitchen would simply ooze the fragrance of cooked rhubarb and freshly made cookies. She was always prepared for the onslaught of hungry children and grandchildren. My son would gobble down masses of rhubarb freezer jelly. Sometimes Grammie and he would have to make up another batch together.
Over the years I have baked my fair share of strawberry-rhubarb pies. They are always a delight served warm with melting-too-quickly vanilla ice cream.
Alas, at the moment I am trying to avoid foods containing flour in order to control my migraine headaches. But, what is summer without strawberry-rhubarb. Here is a recipe I devised in order to have the flavor of the pie without the agony of the headache. It met with rave reviews from several rapidly growing teens as well as my husband. Enjoy:
Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce
About 7 stalks of rhubarb, chopped
1 large bag frozen strawberries, unsweetened
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch dissolved in 1 cup water
Chop the rhubarb and place in a large saucepan with enough water so that all the rhubarb floats. Add the sugar and cook over medium heat until the rhubarb dissolves into threads. Add the strawberries. Cover and cook until the strawberries begin to break down. You want the sauce to have some texture but not contain whole berries. Turn the heat to low and add the cornstarch/water mixture. Stir and cook until thickened. Cool slightly and serve over vanilla ice cream. You'd swear you were eating pie a-la-mode!
Chop and bag up your rhubarb for the freezer while it is in season, then you can have this awesome flavor memory throughout the year.
6/11/07
Irises
The following iris poem is from an old catalog of "Green Gate Gardens 1931" :
The garden with its little gate of green,
Invites you to enter, and view mysteries unseen,
Its vine laden bowers and overhanging trees,
The air filled with sweetness, the hum of the bees,
The flagged walks with Iris galore,
Of most beautiful coloring, unknown before,
Pink, white, purple, yellow, azure blue,
Mixed and mingled of every hue,
You come away wondering, can more beauty be seen
Than in the garden with its little gate of green.
6/10/07
Welcome to the Studio
Ah, I shall enjoy! Happy painting to me!!
6/5/07
On the Homeschool Front
Core classes:
Chalkdust Math (still deciding which course, maybe a geometry review, maybe pre-calc)
Exploring America (for history and Bible, not literature)
A Beka DVD program for English (including American literature) Also, Vocabulary for the High School Student
Apologia Chemistry
Electives:
A Beka Consumer Math
Artistic Pursuits, senior high book I
I was hoping he could take German I and II at the community college with his sister this coming year, but they are not offering it right now. Perhaps it will be available his senior year. Most likely he will take some other classes there his senior year too like his sister did this year. We studied German here for a year and a half on our own and may pick it up again this summer to keep the flow going. I would, personally, like to study Greek someday also, but that will have to wait for another season of my life.
As always, I will add in and subtract from the courses as they are laid out. I just can't help myself. Some of our most worthwhile ventures over the years have been literature selections and curriculum materials we have added in after reading about them in my favorite homeschooling resource: The Well Trained Mind. We do not follow a classical approach to our education at the high school level, although we did more so at the middle school level. I have found the author's literature recommendations and English recommendations invaluable. We fall into the eclectic homeschool category I would say, picking and choosing to suit our students' needs and abilities.
This will be our most expensive year ever for curriculum purchases because of the DVD math and English programs. You'd think we would be saving money since we only have the one student now! We are still paying for most of our daughter's education too at the community college. She is contributing some and buying her books. It is a help.
It always feels good to have decisions made. Now I can enjoy finishing up this year and look forward to next year.
6/4/07
Graduation Planning
6/1/07
New Friend
The Ornithology Lab at Cornell University has a bank of bird songs you can listen to. There are 138 selections of just the Oriole alone. Have a listen to your favorite bird.