Tootle's Time

Grandma

2009-10-21T23:52:00.001-07:00

My dad, myself and my grandma

October 16, 1913 was the date that my grandmother was born in Mulberry, AR. She just celebrated her 96th birthday. Grandma has always been a spunky active person always laughing at something. Over the past few years, her health has slowed her down greatly. She can no longer garden or do anything active. She still enjoys company but gets tired very easily. It has been difficult for her to deal with her declining health but she seemed to thoroughly enjoy her birthday and all of the attention that it brought her way.

Nashville

2009-10-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

At the end of July we went to Nashville to visit our daughter. While we were there we did a bit of sight seeing, a bit of relaxing and a bit of visiting with extended family. I have a great aunt that lives in the area and a great uncle that lives in Arkansas who was up visiting at the same time we were there and so we had a mini reunion. It was so wonderful to see them both and extended cousins too. I hadn't seen my uncle in 10 years and it had been longer since I had seen my aunt so the mini family reunion was a joy. We also drove up to Kentucky and went to Mammoth Caves and also to the National Corvette Museum. I hadn't planned well enough for the Caves and so I was disappointed with the tour we ended up with, the ones I wanted were at times we weren't going to be in the area. As car enthusiasts, we enjoyed the Corvette Museum immensely. We went to the Opryland Hotel twice, once at night and once during the day. I have always wanted to visit a Southern Plantation and thus we went to see the Hermitage. It was the home of President Andrew Jackson. Guitar boy had written a report on Andrew Jackson and so that was a great way to culminate that study. We also visited the Parthenon in Nashville, relaxed at the hotel and also with our daughter and her friends at their home. We chose to be in Nashville over our daughter's birthday and so we got to have a birthday BBQ with her and her friends. This vacation was a good combination of busyness and relaxation.

The top photo is of the Parthenon, located in downtown Nashville. It is a full scale replica of the greek parthenon and was built in the late 1800s for an exposition that they had. It is the only remaining building from the exposition. Inside is a small art gallery that also contains drawings of the other and then inside upstairs is the full scale replica of the Goddess Athena that was in the original Parthenon.

This above photo is of the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky.

Football boy with his favorite style Corvette.

Guitar Boy with his favorite item in the Corvette Museum.

Mustang man and myself in the Opryland Hotel. This hotel is awesome, it is like a world unto itself with gardens and shops and even a canal with a boat ride.
One of the Gazebos in the Opryland hotel. It is gorgeous in the hotel at night with lights everywhere.

Life in the Yellow House . . . 8 Months

2009-10-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

How do you go about summarizing 8 months in the life of a family. I don't think you can do it justice and you miss many of the details but I am going to try anyway.

Football boy completed drivers education classes. He is currently trying to get in his required hours so that he can take the drivers test in December as soon as he turns 16. He also went to bible camp for a week (his first time) and had an incredible time.

We participated in Walk4Water to help raise funds to build wells in underprivileged areas of the world. We had great fun and fellowship with our fellow walkers along with raising the funds.

Sailor graduated from our homeschool in May. We had a graduation/going away party for him and he entered Navy Boot camp June 30th and graduated August 28th. He stayed determined and positive and did well.

Guitar boy, football boy and I went on a field trip to the Woodland Park Zoo with my sister, nurse to be, two of her children and her nephew.

In early July, we stayed at Great Wolf Lodge for Guitar boy and cousin Bella's 13th Birthday. It was fun for all!

We travelled on a family vacation to Nashville, TN to visit our daughter and do some sight seeing. We had a wonderful trip, albeit too short. We also got to see some extended family while we there and that was a nice treat.

Mustang man and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary. I really love that guy!

Football Boy, Guitar boy and I travelled to eastern Washington with friends to see some sights to prepare for our upcoming study of Washington State history. We had a wonderful time!

Our family went camping in North Cascades National Park with some dear friends and had great weather and fun.

Mustang man and I met our daughter in the Chicago area to see Sailor graduate from boot camp. The ceremony was awesome and we had a good weekend with our older children!

Unfortunately, I brought home a sore throat from Chicago and ended up being sick for almost two solid weeks and Mustang Man was sick for one week. Because of the illnesses, school got off to a slow start, but now things are going pretty good.

Once we got going with school we took a field trip to Tacoma and went to the Washington State History Museum with my sister and two of her children. That was a great day. We have also taken a spur of the moment field trip to Whidbey Island. We took the ferry over and drove up the island and then across the Deception Pass bridge and back home. It was a busy day, but great fun.

We have been going to football games just about every week since school began. Go Football Boy and MP!

As you can see, just the highlights of our summer were filled with fun and busy activities.

In Retrospect . . .

2009-10-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

My blog has been idle for many, many months and I debated about whether or not to even keep it up. After an active summer, I decided to give it a go once more. I am not sure if anyone is still out there in blog land that would be interested in the happenings of our family.

We had a rough year emotionally with one of our children and that caused me to take another look at my preconceived ideas of what parenting and homeschooling should look like and at the results I expected from it. The conclusion I have come to is that every person is an individual and has an individual will that they will exercise. Although we have made many mistakes as parents, we have done the best with the tools that we had. Do we see room for improvement, YES! But do we own all the guilt for the actions of our children, NO! After all, God was the PERFECT parent and Adam and Eve sinned. The results of our year in the fire is that we have good relationships with all of our children and for that we are truly grateful!

Our oldest child, our daughter moved away to the other side of the country almost a year ago. She has had many adventures living that far from home, done a lot of sightseeing and enjoyed her friends. Now she feels that it is time to come back home and start a new chapter in her life. We are glad that she had her adventure but are even happier that she is returning home. We have missed her greatly.

Our second child, after many bumps in the road, finished his homeschooling career and graduated from our homeschool. Last fall, he enlisted in the Delayed Entry Program with the Navy and worked toward full enlistment, which he accomplished the end of June. He graduated from boot camp the end of August and now is attending classes to prepare for his career in the Navy. His chosen career is Advanced Electronics and Computer Program (AECF) with the rate of Fire Controlman (FC). Sailors in that position work on the weapons systems and radar. We are very proud of him!

Our third child, Football boy, is almost 16 and is in his second year of high school classes. He plays football for the local high school and he loves it. He had been working hard on his school and keeps pretty busy with it and all the football practices. He is growing up and becoming quite a young man.

Our fourth child, guitar boy, has found a new love - the electric guitar. He has been teaching himself to play and seems to have an ear for music. Of course, he loves it loud. It is great to see him find something that is "his" thing that he has much fun doing.

Mustang Man is still working on restoring his 1965 mustang coupe in his spare time. It has turned out to be a very long project but he is getting close to paint time and the will be the turning point in the project. He still works at the local aircraft manufacturer and has avoided all of the lay offs there. We are truly thankful for that as well.

I keep very busy with homeschooling football and guitar boys and helping my mom, who lives near by. I don't know where my time goes sometimes, but I keep plugging away. Anyhow, that is where we are as a family currently.

Routines

2009-01-18T18:28:00.000-08:00

One thing I need to work on is having a consistent morning and evening routine. It helps the day to run much smoother. Here is a basic routine that, if followed, helps my days to go well.

Morning Routine

Feed Cats

Quiet Time

Exercise

Shower

Make Bed

Breakfast

Cat box

Start laundry

Evening Routine

Pick up downstairs

Kitchen check & clean if needed

Set up coffee pot

Read

Check calendar & menu

Catch up checkbook

Get to bed by 11 pm

Menu Plan Monday - Jan 19 Edition

2009-01-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

One of my goals for the new year is to use my time more wisely. I am hoping that planning menus will help me to accomplish this goal.

Monday: Martin Luther King Jr., Bday – No school/Plan School Day
Jake works 7 – 12
Tuna Noodle Casserole/peas

Tuesday: Inauguration – Take cats to vet
Italian Dressing Chicken, Boiled Potatoes, Carrots

Wednesday: Take mom Shopping
Jake Works 7 – 12?
Spanish Rice/green beans
Life Group

Thursday: Josh/Ben - Dentist
Go visit Grandma
Oven Fried Chicken, baked potatoes, carrots
(Turkey Tetrazzini for dinner @ grandmas)

Friday: Baked Ziti, Salad, Garlic toast

Saturday: Cook Breakfast or have Jake cook
Pancakes, sausage, applesauce

Out with the Old in with the New - 2009

2009-01-04T19:14:00.000-08:00

Reading several blogs and chatting with my daughter and friends has caused me to consider my goals for the new year. I have not firmed them up yet, but here is a partial list of what I hope to accomplish in the new year.

- Grow to know Jesus in a deeper fuller way. - Unfortunately this one is hard to measure but I plan to do this by having more consistent bible study and prayer time. I started by reading one of the gospels and am now reading through the gospel accounts as presented in the Chronological Bible - NIV. I hope to gain a new perspective of Jesus through some of the books I read as well. I will also start a new prayer journal to keep track of how my prayers are answered.

-Use my time more productively by establishing a better morning routine and evening routine.

- Read at least 6 worthwhile books this year. The Headmistress of The Common Room is challenging herself to read 12 worthwhile books this year - you can read about her challenge here. I haven't figured out all of the books I would like to read but here are the first few on my list. My list may not measure up as worthwhile in other peoples minds, but I see something worthwhile in them for me:

The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey

The Last Sin Eater by Francine River

Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained by John Milton

~~Great Expections~~Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

- Gain some sense of Health - both Physical and Spiritual

On the physical side I plan to start by moving my body each day and drinking more water each day and I spoke to the Spiritual side on the first goal I listed above.

- I want to declutter my house this year. Coffeemama at Our Blue Castle has blogged about her goal in this area here and I want to come up with a similar plan to divide up my house into bite sized pieces to accomplish this goal.

I actually started this post the first week in January and am just now getting back to it. I have been following through on some of my goals and need to work more on others. I will post on my progress in a later post.

More Winter Photos

2008-12-23T18:08:00.001-08:00

Here is Josh with his new friend.

I took these photos today. We have had a couple of days break in the snow, it was actually pretty nice out today. There were a few snow flurries and we are supposed to get more snow tonight and tomorrow - anywhere from 1 - 6 inches depending on where in the Puget Sound area you live. My sister and her family are supposed to come up tomorrow, I hope the roads aren't too bad.

Homemade Snow

2008-12-22T19:14:00.001-08:00

Baking

2008-12-22T18:55:00.000-08:00

I don't usually bake very much because I eat too much when I do. At the holidays I do try to bake some Christmas cookies and some other treats to help make the season special. This year Galen and I baked spritz, lemon cream cheese spritz, chip & dip, and Russian tea cake cookies. I also baked Fruit Cocktail Pound Cake and Kuchen. Kuchen is a pastry that has a sweet dough crust with a custard filling and you can add fruit to it also. I make peach and apple and we usually eat it on Christmas morning. The Fruit Cocktail Pound Cake was my mother in laws answer to the traditional fruitcake that so many people don't really like. I will try to add photos of the pound cake and kuchen later.

Holiday Time

2008-12-21T16:49:00.000-08:00

Like many people, we have been busy during this holiday season. We started by celebrating Thanksgiving with my mom and then my sister and her children joined us for shopping and gingerbread house and cookie decorating. My children have also made paper snowflakes of many shapes and sizes, so that we could have snow inside the house as well as outside. One of our annual traditions at this time of the year is to go out and cut a christmas tree. Although it has become an expensive tradition, it is one that holds a special place in our hearts.

Winter is Upon Us

2008-12-20T19:25:00.000-08:00

Once again I have let the blog go by the wayside while attending to other activities. Winter has hit very hard here in the Pacific Northwest and it is just now officially arrived. We have had snow, more snow than we have had in a very long time and colder temperatures than I EVER remember. It was 3 degrees at 8:30 yesterday morning and I have never seen that temperature. I was born and raised here and am well into my 40s - so you can see how long that has been. There is even a possibility of a white Christmas this year and I don't remember ever having one of those, at least not where the white came down on Christmas. I know that people in other parts of the country get this kind of weather every winter, but those of us in Western Washington don't see much snow and most of us don't get much experience driving in these conditions. Due to that, driving around here has been a bit tricky. We are supposed to see a break in the snow tomorrow before more snow on Tuesday. Even with the difficulties the snow and ice brings, I must say that I think it is beautiful especially since I haven't had to get out and drive in it.

Our Mitten Kitten

2008-11-09T15:28:00.000-08:00

Mitten Kitten likes baskets. Isn't he cute. He also likes Rusty Kitty.

More Kitty News

2008-11-09T14:53:00.000-08:00

Star - Oreo - Splash

Star is a very friendly kitten, playful but also loveable, our friends adopted him. Oreo and Splash are great kittens, both are very playful. Splash is rough and tumble and loves to play fight with his brothers and him mom. Oreo is a purr baby and will cuddle up with you. Yesterday they both went off to an adoption event and if they didn't get adopted there they will have been placed into one of three area pet stores. I had mixed emotions about them leaving, I was tired of having and taking care of so many cats but they had become part of our family after living with us for so long. I hope they find loving forever homes.

What have I learned from this whole experience? It is hard for me to foster, I get emotionally attached to the little kittens. I have learned how important it is to have your animals spayed and neutered. Ignoring stray animals around your neighborhood can endanger your own animals through disease and fighting. Would I do it again? Possibly, if we had an extra room that we didn't need regularly - such as a spare bedroom. I won't be volunteering anytime in the near future, especially since we now have three cats of our own, one of whom is not keen on other animals - including the two she lives with.

Kitties, Kitties, Kitties

2008-11-06T22:37:00.001-08:00

This is Rusty, our 16 year old furry boy.

This is Jasmine; aka: little momma; aka: Mean Kitty. She is actually a pretty good cat and would be a great pet for a family who has no other pets. She tolerates the kittens most of the time, but absolutely hates my Rusty kitty. This has been a big challenge.

We train them early to love books. This is Skitters, the petite and only girl of the bunch. She has gone to live with my sister and her family. I will post about the rest of the group later. Blogger photo uploading is just too slow tonight.

Our life . . . Random events - not so minor

2008-11-03T19:48:00.000-08:00

So much has happened in our lives since I posted months ago. I have already shared about the kittens - I will post more pictures in a later post. My husband is a Boeing employee who just went back to work today after a 57 day labor dispute. It was great having him home, but stressful watching our savings dwindle. Although we prepare for a strike every contract year, we always hope it won't come to that. We are very thankful that this contract is for four years and we gain an extra year of breathing room. Our daughter moved from Washington state to Nashville, TN and you can read about her adventure on her blog, The Joyful Student . We are excited for her but at the same time will miss her greatly. After an extremely growing year with our next child in line, things have come around and we are doing much better with our relationship. He is a senior in our homeschool and will graduate in May. He is in process of joining the Navy and will probably ship out to boot camp sometime in June. I think it will be a time of growth and self exploration for him. We have had a busy fall with our third child in football, his first year at the high school level. It has been tough competition, but a growing experience for him. He still loves to play, but is glad that it is drawing to an end this week. A blessing to my husband being on strike for so long is that he was able to see our son play in almost all of his games, due to his working swing shift he usually misses all of the games. As you can see we have had a very busy few months.

Crazy Cat Lady

2008-11-03T19:25:00.000-08:00

This is Splash before we brought the kittens inside. This is oscar right after we brought them inside and he was the first to be adopted.

Recently, I have been called the “Cat Lady”. You know, one of those people who has WAY too many cats. It all started one day many, many years ago when we acquired a young cat named Rusty who was about two years of age from some friends who were moving out of state. He has been our furry family member for the past 14 years. A year or two after his arrival in our family, we got an all black kitty for our daughter, which she named Velvet. Velvet lived with us for many years until she died of kidney failure a few years ago. And now the story continues:

One day in early August we discovered 3 kittens on our front porch, the next day there were three more. Where did they come from? and where was the mother?, we wondered. We were soon to wonder no more as the very skinny, all black mommy, who looks almost exactly like our daughter’s prior kitty Velvet, showed up. She was not much more than a kitten herself and she evidently found under our porch a safe place to have her brood of 6 kittens. At first I thought she was wild but she had on a very tight flea collar, thus we knew she had been a pet to someone at one time, although we could not find out whose. It didn’t take too long and she started to trust me and come to me when I called, but the kittens would run anytime we tried to get near to them. I contacted Purrfect Pals, a local no kill cat shelter and found some help there. I proceeded to trap all 7 cats and bring them into my house for safety. Once they were all trapped we took them up to the shelter for an examination, they all were healthy. When the kittens were big enough, I took them up to the shelter to be altered and have their vaccinations. We decided to keep one of the kittens and take care of the mommy as she was still a little wild and not likely to be adopted by anyone. I surrendered the other kittens to the shelter, but kept them at my home as foster kittens. Our family has worked on taming them so that they can be adopted. Purrfect Pals hosts adoption events at major pet stores in the area every Saturday and the foster parents bring their little wards to these events so people can see them. The first time we took our kitties to an adoption event they became stressed and hissed at everyone. Even so, one of the cute little guys got adopted. The remaining babies caught an upper respiratory infection and I had to give them an immune booster so that they could get over it before they went to another event. In the meantime they became more and more tame and used to us. Soon three of them were well enough to go to an event. They became so stressed while there, they had to be removed from the display and thus none were adopted and they came back home with us. The fourth little guy was adopted by a friend of ours and now happily has a family of his own. We were down to three kittens, 3 months old and thinking they belonged with us. We tried taking just two of them to an event (thinking they were feeding off of the third one’s stress). They still were stressed and hissed and thus came back to our home. So then I tried taking the mellowest one to an event by himself, he did better but still hissed. Who wants to adopt a hissing, snarly kitten when there are 13 sweet loving kittens nearby? It is very frustrating to have these sweet little kittens in our home and then see them get so stressed that everyone thinks they are snarling wild cats. My sister came and her children came to visit and fell in love with the kittens, now we only have two extras that need homes. A further complication that we have is that mommy kitty HATES my Old Man Kitty and causes a bit of chaos around here. Most of the time, foster parents don’t have their wards this long, we are just having a time with stressed out kitties. So while those at the shelter try to figure out what to do, here it is November and I still have 3 kittens and two adult cats and thus the name cat lady.

Online Surveys - My experience

2008-07-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

Recently, I posted about some things that I had been spending my time on. One of those items is online surveys. I started exploring the possibility of doing online surveys to make a little cash to help our budget shortfalls. My experience has been mixed, but has for the most part been pretty positive. I have found that some survey sites seem to make better sense for me to spend my time on than others and that I won't make a fortune, but can make a little bit here and there. There are many types of survey sites, some reward you with an entry into their latest sweeps, others reward with points that can be cashed in for prizes or money after a certain number have been accumulated and others that just pay cash. There are also sites called GPT sites that have surveys and other offers that you sign up for to earn cash. My experience with the GPT sites have not been very positive and therefore I won't spend time talking about them.

When you sign up for a survey site, they usually have you complete profiles on different subjects so that they can better match you to surveys that you will qualify for. When you are invited to complete a survey, many times there are a few qualifying questions to see if you meet the profile that they are looking for. Sometimes you qualify and sometimes you don't. My favorite site is www.mysurvey.com . They don't send me a ton of surveys, but I seem to qualify for most that they do send. They reward with points that can be redeemed for cash after you accumulate 1000. I started doing online surveys in June and have cashed out with them twice. Their surveys are usually fairly short and so I feel that the time spent is worth it. I also like www.surveyspot.com . A lot of their surveys are rewarded with a chance in their sweeps, but they also have some paying surveys and I have gotten most of my paying surveys from them, including a $20 online focus group participation. When you answer their qualifying questions you get a chance at an instant win, while most groups give you nothing for the qualifying questions. Most survey sites have a minimum cashout balance, meaning that you have to accumulate a certain amount of points or dollars in your account before you can get paid. When I first started looking into doing surveys, I signed up for as many panels as I could find. After doing so, I started looking at what the rewards were and found that a couple had nothing that I wanted and they didn't redeem for cash. I also found that many survey panels used the same survey companies and then you wouldn't qualify because you had already done that or a similar survey. My advice to others is first look over how they payout and if it is in prizes, make sure there are items you would like. There is nothing worse than spending lots of time doing surveys and finding out that the rewards are not worth it. As a rule, I prefer those sites that pay cash and don't really spend time on those that are only for sweeps entries or prizes. My exception to that rule is for surveyspot and NPDOR. I already mentioned survey spot. NPDOR is a site that awards points for surveys and then you can bid on their prize board. I have only done a few surveys with them, but they were interesting and it was kind of fun bidding, even though I haven't won anything yet.

Here is a list of panels that I am somewhat familiar with:

www.mysurvey.com - reward with points that can be cashed in for money or donated to charity.
www.greenfield.com - Athough they pay for some surveys they mostly reward with sweeps. I haven't qualified for many surveys and I have found that a lot of other sites use their surveys and then pay for them. I am probably going to drop this one.
www.globalopinionpanels.com - they reward with points for cash, 5000 minimum cash out. They also give some points for qualifier questions even if you don't qualify for the survey.
www.surveyspot.com - some for instant win chances, some for sweeps entries, some paid. I like this one a lot.
www.zoompanel.com - points for prizes. I dropped this one because they didn't have anything I really wanted.
www.opinionoutpost.com - points for cash. 50 point minimum cashout - 10 points = $1. I have cashed out once since April and I like this one, I don't always qualify, but they pay decent points for those surveys you do qualify for.
www.globaltestmarket.com - points for cash. Points = $.05 ea and you need 1000 to cash in. I haven't cashed in on this one yet.
www.uslightspeedpanel.com - points for cash or prizes. They pay via paypal and I just cashed in my first time. You need at least 575 points. I get quite a few invites from them.
www.pineconeresearch.com - paid surveys. They pay for each survey automatically. I have completed one survey and promptly received a $3 check in the mail. I don't get many invites.
www.npdor.com - points to bid on their prize board.
www.your2cents.com - paid surveys. Registered in June, no invites yet.
www.valuedopinions.com - paid surveys. $20 minimum to cash in. I have $8 total and haven't had any invites since June 22.
www.opinioncentral.com - points for prizes. The prizes, in my opinion, were not worth the effort to receive them. I dropped this one.
www.americanconsumeropinion.com - paid surveys. I haven't qualified for one yet.
www.harrispollonline.com - points for cash, 800 minimum for $5. I haven't had many invites yet.
www.testspin.com - Amazon gift cards. Minimum $10 to cash out. I haven't qualified for much - but will keep trying on this one.
www.clearvoicesurveys.com - cash, mimimum $10 to cash out. I haven't qualified for one yet. They did credit $.25 to my account for screener questions.
www.surveysavvy.com - cash - I have only done one survey so far.

Surveys are an interesting way to earn some extra cash without having to leave home.

Get Smart - Lighthearted end to Tough Week

2008-07-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, 1st Mustang and I had some alone time and so we went to see the new Get Smart movie. Steve Carell, of Office fame, stars as Maxwell Smart and was perfect for the part. Anne Hathaway plays Agent 99 and does a wonderful job as well. It was SO FUNNY! I don't think I have laughed so much at a movie. Get Smart will appeal to most people who like a good comedy. The movie is fairly clean, although there are some sexual innuendo and one bare bottom scene, so it does warrant its PG-13 rating. Seeing this movie was a welcomed, lighthearted end to a tough week.

Happy Fourth of July

2008-07-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty , and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. . . . .

. . .The Declaration of Independence

I am thankful for the freedoms we have here in the United States of America, but I can't help but wonder how biblical the revolution was. I have not studied the Declaration in depth, but the copied portion, on first glance, appears to be contradictory to the scriptures. I think this calls for a little more study. What do you think?

My Favorite

2008-07-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

This little pot was given to me by 1st Mustang's aunt. It came from his grandmother's farm and I love it. This year I potted it up with an ornamental grass, English Daisies, Marigolds and some cute trailing flowers. I am pleased with the result.

Back Yard Birds

2008-07-03T20:47:00.000-07:00

Today 1st Mustang and I saw a Spotted Towhee in our backyard and we observed that the Goldfinches have discovered the birdfeeders. I have never seen the Spotted Towhee in our yard before and so it was an exciting discovery! Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of it.

The To Do List

2008-07-03T20:39:00.001-07:00

I have been trying to work on my productivity this week and so I made a To Do List and tried to keep to it. Here is what was on my list:

Finished:
Change out the hummingbird feeder food
Add America's Godly Heritage to our Government Lesson Plan
Go Grocery Shopping
Go to Costco
Clean the Downstairs (with the boys help)
Weed Front Flowerbed
Do the invitations for Boy #3s birthday party
Blog
Clean the Cobwebs
Mail a Package
View writing lessons and email observations to IEW elist.

Not yet Finished
Go through Boy #2 and Boy #3s grammar books and see where they are on their summer reading.
Make Jello Salad
Make Macaroni Salad
Make Strawberry Pie

I have accomplished alot this week and it feels good! These items were on top of the regular housework, cooking and laundry that gets done during the week.

Flowerbeds and Yard Work

2008-07-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

One of the things that has captured some of my time and attention lately is our yard. We are slowly trying to fill the flowerbeds and make the yard more appealing to us and the birds and butterflies.

The flowerbed in the above photo was my main project for this year. I have had trouble keeping things alive in this bed as there is an overhang and it doesn't get much water even when it is raining. I am trying to be more diligent with my watering this year. The bed has a Yellow Oriental Lilly of some sort, two daylilly plants, two Penstimon plants, Shasta Daisies and Delphiniums. The blue flower is a delphinium, and the pinkish one is a penstimon. Penstimon are supposed to attract hummingbirds, although I haven't seen any yet. I also have a few marigolds in the front of the bed. There is still room and so I would like to add a couple of taller plants to the back row. All in all, I am happy with how it looks for now.

The Deadliest Monster, Prologue & Ch. 1

2008-06-29T16:32:00.001-07:00

In preparation for the upcoming school year, I am currently reading the book The Deadliest Monster by J.F. Baldwin. This book is an introduction to worldviews and utilizes the novels Dr. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson to illustrate the two main positions that people hold on mans' condition. In the prologue he gives a brief synopsis of the two stories and then in Chapter 1 he asks the question, which monster do we see when we look in the mirror. Either Shelley or Stevenson are right, but both cannot be. Either man is good and can save himself or he is sinful and in need of a savior. Christianity recognizes that the good news starts with the bad and thus recognizes sin and the need of the savior. Also in chapter 1, Mr. Baldwin presents a survey of the 10 most influential non-christian worldviews in hopes that it will enable the reader to be more prepared to fulfill the Great Commision found in Mathew 28:19 - 20. So far I am finding this book very engaging and thought provoking.