School's In

From my desk. The mural was painted at the end of last year by five high school students.

It looks like a sufficient amount of space until you try to cram 21 little first grade bodies in there at one time!

Looking toward my desk from the doorway.

The supply corner. The box in front of the shelves is a cave in the making. The middle school is studying art of the stone age and is making the cave to hang their "cave art" in. More pics of this project to follow later.

School began last Wednesday. I am enjoying being back in the classroom again. Since the school is on the small side, I teach art to all of the grade levels, k-12. Also, since the school is small and yet growing, other classes besides art are held in the art room certain days and periods throughout the week. On any given day I may share my small space with Spanish III, 8th grade math, Health, or high school Bible. These few breaks during the week afford me the time needed to put up displays of art work in the hallways and work on organizing the yearbook staff.



The upside to working in a small Christian school is definitely the kids and the Christian environment. They are a nice group of students and they have very active parental support. The downside is the lack of space. My room is small and my supply budget is limited. The nearest sink is across the hall in the girls' bathroom. Also, the days are long with 9 periods plus yearbook after school hours. We won't go there with the pay situation...but suffice it to say that I have taken a pay cut from my public school teaching job of twenty years ago. All that said, I am enjoying it and look forward to each new day. My head is full of project ideas and my heart is full of caring for these wonderful kids and their families.



While I am enjoying focusing on art alone, I am finding I miss teaching all of the different subjects a homeschool mom has to cover. Where is literature and science, history and math? I am certainly glad I had the opportunity to learn right along with my kids as they worked their way through our homeschool. Shawn is homeschooling history still this year, but he is doing it independently. I may sit down to watch a lecture or two with him, but he has ownership of the course. It is not "mom lead". I have always loved learning and the homeschooling environment suited me. I will always be a learner, always curious about that which I don't already know. Now I can look back on homeschooling with nostalgia, but forge ahead towards recapturing my true vocation of teaching art. How wonderful to have been blessed with both.



Shawn and Julia are both doing really well in their courses at the community college. I am so proud of them. Julia is working on a transfer application now. She is looking at Cornell as a transfer school and wants to apply early for next year. It's a good thing I went back to work when I did. Although it will be significantly smaller than Earle's paycheck, mine will become quite necessary soon.

Old Friend

My blog template, minima black, was like an old friend whom I missed while she was away. I tried to like my new friend. I thought she was more summery and light-hearted. But, in the end old friends are the best friends and I missed my minima. So, I gave her a call and invited her over. We're very close and having her here just feels right. She may be a little dark, but I love the way she makes the colors pop. She makes me happy.

Since I've been on my short blogging vacation, my nieces have been roaming the world, Earle and Julia have been to Germany, and my lovely sister-in-law has joined the blogging world. I think it might be time for an update soon!

Blessings to you all and I hope you are enjoying summer.

Busy Days

The Phi Theta Kappa induction ceremony. Apparently, Julia was in motion, and is therefore out of focus as she received her flowers!

I am always amazed at how busy this time of the year can be. Earle is only home for one more day before his next trip and we've been working feverishly to get all those springtime chores done before he is whisked off to Germany again. We've planted the rest of the garden except the tomatoes and peppers which will go in shortly. We fenced it in too, after our local rabbits had feasted on our spinach. Little buggers. It's a good thing they're cute! We even planted our deck pots with annuals, but we had to bring them inside last night because of danger of frost up here on the hill. It is a little early still for annuals, but with Earle going away again we wanted to get them underway.

This trip he will be taking Julia along for the ride. Twelve days in Germany, she is thrilled! She has waited for this for two years now. Whenever Earle had to go she was unavailable to accompany him. School. Work. More school. Finals are over, summer employment hasn't begun yet, she is off! It will be a nice reward for a job well done at school. Last week she participated in the induction ceremony for the Honor Society of Two Year Schools. We're not sure which professor nominated her, but it is a nice honor and will translate to scholarship dollars at a transfer school. All A's and one A- to round out the year. Way to go Julia! Next year will be tough, but she is very capable. She has signed up for: Organic Chemistry, Abnormal Psychology, Genetics, and I don't remember what else off the top of my head. Anyway, they are all upper level courses and all four or five credits I think. (ETA: The other course is Creative Writing) This summer she can give her brain a rest. She goes back to Kohl's for a summer job. They welcomed her back gladly. She has already started to unwind a bit with a trip down childhood lane as she rereads an old favorite, The Wind in the Willows.

We've been busy with Shawn's educational plans too. He will be taking British Lit with me over the summer and will be studying Medieval History next year using the Teaching Company lecture series as a spine: The Early Middle Ages, The High Middle Ages, and The Late Middle Ages. He also took the placement test at the community college and will be signing up for classes with an advisor of Friday. He will be taking College Composition I and Statistics. This year is not yet complete. I suspect we will need until close to the end of June to finish up. It seems as though the junior year of high school ends up being the most taxing year with the most work. After all, when you are preparing to launch into college classes the next year you can't slack off.

Speaking of slacking off, I'd better go watch Shawn's Art History lecture with him. Back to work, Mom! Tomorrow will be a busy day. Earle and Julia leave for Europe at about dinner time and I will be spending the day at the school with the present art teacher, learning about the make-up of the different classes, the schedule, the supplies, etc. It will be a busy day all around.

I will try to get my Wordless Wednesday up tomorrow before I go. We'll see. I Already have an idea for a picture. Hopefully I'll have time in the morning to post it before I head out. Also, what do you think of the new template? I needed a break from the black. I liked how it made all the colors pop, but it was looking a bit too wintry for me. I thought about installing a custom template, but Julia, my html guru won't be here to help me, so I went with one of the presets that Blogger gives you. It's a nice change though.

Lastly, did you catch the season finale of House last night? It was awesome! Now I can't wait until next year. Is the door open, perhaps, for a personality change for House? Will there be regret? An irrevocably broken relationship with his only friend? Poor 13 though, I felt so sad for her.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was one of those relaxing, do nothing, sit around the house like a blob kind of days. It was wonderful. We attended church and came out all weepy after a very touching sermon. Then we packed ourselves full of calorie laden food at Bob Evans before heading home to slouch on the sofa reading the paper and other general "vegging".

Shawn worked eight and a half hours the day before and was tired, but he managed to give his favorite mom a very wonderful head massage which just about knocked her out for the rest of the day. He also came out of work on Saturday night with a wonderful card and luscious package of chocolates for his favorite mom for Mother's Day. What a sweetie.

Julia was tired too and glad to veg and be bloblike. She had to put in some time studying for one of her finals the next day. Today she found out she was the only one in the class to get an A on that final. Yippee! The class is Evolution and is the uppermost level biology class offered at the community college. Great job Julia! She has two more to go on Friday and then it is officially summer vacation.

Poor jet-lagged Earle was awfully tired from his two week trip that he arrived home from Saturday night. Planning ahead and knowing he would be tired, he had flowers delivered to me on Saturday. They were, and still are, beautiful and thoughtful. He also brought us home a humongous steel wok that he bought in Taiwan at, are you ready for this, Costco. He had to join Costco to buy it. We don't even have one around here. How funny is that?!

So, after we'd done our share of nothing, we decided nobody really wanted to cook. We ordered delivery. Pizza and Stromboli. Yum. Of course, the next day, and today still, I'm "bloated up like road kill" from all the salt! Earle and I washed it down with ice cold Bacardi Mojitos. I may indeed be bloated the rest of the week...

I hope your Mother's Day was also lovely and that you ate and drank well and had just the right mix of fun and comfort. Best of all, I hope you enjoyed your family as much as I enjoyed mine. Cheers!

More Visitors

Mo, Julia, Shawn, Cyndy

Earle, Me, Cyndy, Mo

Earle's sister Cyndy and her husband Maurice stopped for a few hours yesterday on their way back home to Maine. This was their first time visiting us here since Cyndy is a guidance counselor which ties them to the school calendar and limits holiday travel. We had a lovely time chatting, showing them around the area, and munching snacks! It's great living just off the RTH (Relative Transcontinental Highway)! We are a perfect stopping point for all sorts of family travelers. We'll have to make sure to keep a ready supply of Diet Pepsi and Dunkin Donuts Coffee.

Updates

The deck is ready for summer

The view from the deck overlooking the valley and hills beyond

Some early flowers near the deck

Spinach, radishes, sunflowers, and lettuce planted

Did you miss me? I've been outside, a lot. After we cleaned the deck furniture we tilled and planted the garden with the veggie seeds that tolerate cool conditions. I still have to plant herbs in my pots, veggies that we grow from seedlings instead of seeds (tomatoes and peppers), and annuals for the deck planters, but it is a little too early to do that still.

Tomorrow we are expecting visitors from out of state again. This time Earle's sister and her husband are stopping to see us as they travel back to Maine from spending time in Pennsylvania with their daughter and her family. We are excited to see them. It will be their first time visiting our new home!

Shawn has been working a lot of hours at Target. Last week, between his scheduled hours and the extra hours they called him in, he worked 30 hours. He's raking in the bucks! Target is a great store to work for. He really enjoys the environment and the other employees are great. They have an incentive program where managers give out cards to you when they see you doing a good job, then you post your cards on a bulletin board in the back and each week they put them in a pot and draw a name for a free cd. He hasn't won anything yet, but he sure is gathering his share of cards!

Next week he takes the placement test at the local community college and then he'll be able to sign up for courses for the fall. Then, next Saturday is the SAT exam. We have a lot of work to do still before the end of the year and seem to be ramping back up after a winter slowdown. We are contemplating continuing to school over the summer. I would like to cover a short course in British Lit so he doesn't have to double up on English credits in the fall. The courses he will most likely take at the Community College are English and math.


I am putting together and order from The Teaching Company. I received a $30 coupon from them in the mail yesterday along with three new catalogs. I am ordering Early and Late Middle Ages as they are on sale now. I will have to order High Middle Ages when it goes on sale another time. Shawn will be using these as a spine for history study next year along with the recommended text(s). Since I needed to spend just a bit more in order to use the coupon, we are also ordering My Favorite Universe, which we will all enjoy very much! Shawn and I are making our way through Art Across the Ages right now and we think it's great! I am also investigating physics courses for next year. Our faulty start with Chem this year will not deter us from plowing ahead next year with physics. One does not need to precede the other.


Julia is all signed up for her fall courses. On her agenda: Organic Chem I, Creative Writing: Fiction and Drama, Western Civilization, and Ecology. she will be carrying 15 credits, tutoring for bio and chem again, and working as a chem lab assistant. She could be done and ready to move on to a transfer school after next semester if they were offering the programming course she needs for her major, but her professors aren't upset that she's staying the year. They are glad to have her help in the labs!


It looks like Julia will be going back to Kohl's to work over the summer and she may even fit in some riding lessons. That is all after her trip to Germany with Earle in May. She is so excited to finally get to go! They are even planning to catch an air show in Berlin while they are there. She will be the only one of us to go in the warm weather as opposed to Christmas time.


Earle is off to Taiwan and Germany soon. His pics from his last trip to Germany are up at his blog. He got some great shots, as always and ate some very interesting food! Have you ever had veal cheek? Our photo themes are taking longer than expected due to the yucky weather and the fact that the camera travels with Earle. It will be leaving the country for two weeks this time. Flying objects is just about wrapped up though!


A warm welcome to Meridith, another of my nieces, to the blogisphere! It's always good to see another family member join in the fun. I am looking forward to reading about her adventures. I think it's your turn now, Bev. Meridith's sister Vanessa is off on an adventure soon, check out her blog to see where! It is very exciting and I am very jealous!!


Wow, I think I've covered most things. I haven't had time to do much reading or painting, but hope to get back to that soon as things settle down. We took a lovely walk in the woods in back of our property today and discovered a nice slate filled stream and mini gorge. I will post pics of that another day.

Surprise Visitors

Savannah Jade rolling snakes and making snails

At 10:30 AM I answered the phone. Earle's brother Russell was at the other end. "Hi, do you want some visitors today? We're about three hours away right now. " Russell, his son, daughter-in-law, and grand daughter live in Michigan and were just returning home via New York from a trip to Maine. They arrived mid-afternoon and I had the pleasure of meeting my great niece for the first time! What a sweetheart she is.

The delicate hands of a future artist

I gave them a tour around the house and her eyes grew very large as we entered the studio. I'm not sure she was expecting her great auntie to be a painter. She wants to be an artist. A girl after my own heart.

Earle flew in from a business trip yesterday around dinner time. Russell and I picked him up at the airport and we all chatted over some Chinese take-out. Then, they were on their way. Such a

nice surprise.

Wordless Wednesday

I don't know how we could have forgotten the whole wheat flour...

Bread and Such

Having been recently inspired by a post about bread by Daisy and an ongoing debate about whole wheat bread at the homeschool boards, we decided to bake bread this weekend. Our search of the grocery store shelves turned up no contenders for whole wheat bread that was high fructose corn syrup free. We purchased whole wheat flour and yeast. Research on the net turned up this wonderful recipe for 100% Whole Wheat and Buckwheat Honey Bread. We just happen to have buckwheat honey in the cupboard from one of our shopping adventures last year with Gretchen. We were set, right?

Only, you know that saying about "too many spoons in the pot"? There were three of us working on this bread project: Myself, Julia, and Seth.

As I was kneading the rested dough, I reached for the bag of flour to add more underneath the ball of dough. Hmm, it was white flour. We'd failed to put any whole wheat flour in the recipe, at all!

The bread is quite yummy and makes delicious toast too. I'm sure the intended whole wheat version is equally good! Maybe next time we'll find out.

Julia and Seth did redeem themselves later in the evening by making individual, chocolate molten lava cakes. Chocolate covers a multitude of sins.

Wordless Wednesday

"Hockey Puck Face"

...in lovely shades of red, purple, blue, yellow, and green.

The New Toy

We decided it was time to replace Earle's almost six year old Sony digital camera. It literally has a screw loose, missing even, and the memory stick is shot. No pun intended. He searched the net for a replacement stick to no avail. The Sony had been a surprise 40th Birthday present from me. It will always be special, but now it will take its deserved place in our old camera collection. It will be in good company there with the old Nikon 35mm and the Leicas.

The new D80

First shots with the D80. The semi-frozen pond at the park. The silly birds are lined up along the edge of the ice like they are on the edge of the sand at the beach sunbathing.

The photographer's assistant

The assistant's choice of subject matter.

The silly birds, revisited.

Since we are all equally excited about the new camera, we've decided to conduct a weekly photo challenge. We brainstormed photography theme ideas, wrote them on slips of paper, and relegated them to a basket. Earle drew the first one. All this week we will concentrate our photography efforts on fulfilling this theme. At the end of the week we'll share our best results and critique our photos.

Theme #1

Shawn, balanced on the deck stairs capturing a few of our flying friends which congregate in our yard in great abundance.

I'll share our results over the weekend. If you care to join us, pick up your camera and have fun!

Easter

This Easter was an unusual holiday for us. We didn't host a dinner for family members. We didn't drive out of town or out of state. We stayed home, attended church to celebrate our Lord's miraculous resurrection, and enjoyed a peaceful and relaxing day together, just our family. Today, instead of feeling that familiar "after holiday hangover", which has nothing to do with alcohol, I was rested and eager to begin a new week of homeschooling.




Here's what we did do on Easter:

Cuddled felines

Snuggled with daddy

Slow danced in the kitchen with my honey

Played with the new camera

And ate scrumptious dessert!

An 80th Birthday Surprise

We went stealth this weekend! Earle and I traveled to Maine and couldn't tell a soul. We were part of a master scheme to throw a surprise birthday weekend for Earle's mom who officially became an octogenarian on Saturday. We drove up on Friday, a ten and a half hour trip, celebrated the event with a dinner at an inn on Friday night and another on Saturday night. There was food, games, shopping, and visiting with relatives we usually only see once a year at Thanksgiving. Twenty three family members were able to come, much to the surprise of all. One sneaky young lady flew in from Minnesota and never even told her mother she was coming for her Grammie's surprise party! Many tears of joy were shed.

The crowd gathers for dinner at the inn on Saturday night

Happy Birthday, Nora Marie!

Nora and Gus with four of their five children. The missing sibling, Earle's brother Russell, was one of the only ones not able to make it for the celebration.

We pulled it off, we surprised the woman who slips open the tape on Christmas presents then wraps them back up snug again! Earle's sisters in Maine spent a lot of time planning and scheming and it was all worth the look on Nora's face when we all showed up, one by one, to celebrate with her.

Over the Weekend

The first thing I did this weekend was to come down with a nasty cold. I spared you a pic of my hoard of used, wadded tissues! I figured Earle shouldn't have to suffer alone, so now we are suffering together.

Since we were contagious we stayed home from church on Sunday. Julia and Shawn worshipped with friends at their church then spent the afternoon hiking in the snow. When they all headed back to "the sickie house" we met them with a big pot of homemade beef stew, mashed potatoes, peas, and chunky applesauce with cinnamon. Later that evening we cheered for New England in the Superbowl until their untimely loss at which point Earle, a Maine-iac by birth, decided it was OK for NY to claim a victory as he was officially a New Yorker now. He has actually lived in NY longer than Maine by about a year. I'm thinkin' he'll never really convert though. You can take the boy out of Maine...you know the rest. Anyway, we munched on some other yummy snacks during the game: homemade potato skins (these were a BIG hit!), homemade guacamole with chips, and breaded cheese sticks. It was nice to have an excuse for consuming so many foods of questionable nutritional value! When the post-game chatter died down it was time for a special episode of House. Wow, he may have some redeeming qualities after all. Did you catch the show?

Since I was quaranteened the whole weekend, I actually spent some time in the studio working on polymer clay projects. I am designing an assortment of spoons with decorative clay handles. A friend of mine used to sell these creations for me in her cyber-cafe, but she went out of business last year. My next adventure is to open an Etsy shop where I can once again market some of my wares. I'll let you know when it's up and running.

Wouldn't you just love to dish up some fruit dip at a summer picnic with this spoon?

Also on Saturday, my order came for new Pysanky supplies. I will be holding a Pysanky class as well as teaching a few friends how to make these beautiful Ukranian eggs. New dyes, chunks of wonderful smelling beeswax, and kistkas.

One of my favorite eggs. It is still intact inside though I made it several years ago. I decided not to blow it out, but to let it dry out over time. I think the "wholeness" of the egg helps to symbolize the Easter promise of new birth and a new life in Christ.

What did you do this weekend?

Winter is for Memories

The snow-covered yard and feeders brimming with hungry birds are a pleasant change after the holidays. The white snow washes the world creating a fresh new start for a fresh new year. It's time for reflection, warmth, quietude, and joy. It's time for closeness by the fire, laughter around a lively board game, serenity on a walk in a hibernated landscape, and sweet slumber beneath fluffy blankets as heavy flakes fall lightly just outside the window, creating their own blanket for the wintry world.

“Winter must be cold for those with no warm
memories”

Make some winter memories to last you through the dark months ahead. Reflect on the joy that 2007 brought to your life in large or small doses. Say good bye to the worst of 2007, reassured that whatever trials came your way, you are stronger because of them and more ready to be blessed in 2008.

Wordless Wednesday

Veteran's Day

We would all be remiss to fail in remembering our veterans today and the valorous service they have given to all of us and to the causes of freedom worldwide. May God hold each of them in His hand and may He bless them for their service on this day of remembrance.

This photo of Earle's father was take when he was barely seventeen. He served his country during World War II in the Pacific aboard the aircraft carriers USS Sangamon and USS Midway. We salute you today for your service, Gus, and hope the year ahead is filled with all the wonderful freedoms you and your generation procured for all of us!

Maine-iacs

Earle and I spent a week in Maine visiting his parents, his three sisters, and their families. We spent time in Baileyville, Scarborough, Jonesport, and Bangor. It's been hard to pull ourselves back towards reality and away from "vacation mode". Here are some of the highlights of the week:


Shopping for handwoven woolen goods along the street in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada

A statue along the shoreline in St. Andrews dedicated to those immigrants who died fleeing the potato famine in Ireland.

Our blueberry harvest in Jonesport. Four acres of low-bush wild Maine blueberries. Yum.

Lichen covered tree on the edge of the salt marsh. This fallen branch shows the many varieties of lichen covering the tree.

Tidal grasses of the salt marsh on the edge of our property.

The salt marsh is like therapy for the stressed soul. Now, all we need is a house there to come to...

Earle's mum gathering a bouquet of sea lavender.

Low tide on the shoreline of Mason's Bay. Our salt marsh empties into this bay. I have yet to see another soul on the beach when I have been there. Just me and the gulls and the boot tracks of an early riser who went home with a bucket of freshly dug clams. All the large rocks are completely covered at high tide.

What's summer in Maine without lobsters? Earle's dad tends the pot. He's a "lobsta cooka" from way back.

Let the feeding frenzy begin. Last one to the tail's a rotten egg.

Time to go back to New York. Do you think if I sneak Sienna Marie into my bags anyone would notice?