Monday, January 21, 2013

Grasshopper Days



Grasshopper Days

For today, January 21, 2013

Outside my window...  fog, fog, and more fog. It's been days since I've seen a clear sky.  Or even a cloudy sky.  Any sky.  In compensation, the moist air and below-freezing nights coat nearly everything with a beautiful frost.

Hearing...  the dryer tumbling a "new" (to me, anyway) sweater I picked up at Value Village over the weekend, but otherwise the house is quiet.  Public schools have a holiday today (Martin Luther King Day), so Tate and Gunnar are taking the day off as well.  Wyatt, however, is catching up on some unfinished work from last week.  Because his middle name is P-r-o-c-r-a-s-t-i-n-a-t-i-o-n. *sigh*

Pondering...  time management, as I'm taking on more activities for a season.

Praying...  for wisdom, grace, and kindness :D

Thankful...  that my hope is not in our government.  (Psalm 20:7)

Wearing...  blue jeans, white T, blue long-sleeve shirt... I think I need another layer, probably a sweater.  It's COLD today!

Going...  to meet a new friend today.  A bloggy friend is bringing her three boys over to go for a walk with me and my three boys, and we'll likely end up at our favorite local donut shop ;D

Reading...  Some Wildflower In My Heart, by Jamie Langston Turner, and enjoying it.  Also reading a biography of Eric Liddell with the boys.  I truly appreciate that Sonlight includes so many missionary biographies in their curriculum.  I love sharing these stories with the boys.  But... ACK!  I wish they were better written.  The content is great, but these biographies are sadly lacking in literary quality.

Learning...  more about the Age of Exploration with Wyatt.  We were just talking about Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer who first rounded the Cape of Good Hope and made it to India by sea.  Rather than nose his way SLOWLY south, staying along the coast of Africa, he swooped to the west (near South America) to take advantage of prevailing wind and current, in a day when such things were not as widely understood as they are today.  Interestingly, though, the Bible talks about the paths of the sea, Psalm 8:8, referring to the ocean currents.

Looking forward to...  due to Gunnar's persistence, we'll likely have my niece - Naomi - for a weekend next month.

In the kitchen...  maybe, under all that venison, I just might have some chicken in the freezer ;D

In the learning rooms...  oh heavens, it's a day off!  I'll tell you next week!

Around the house...  still enjoying my winter decorations - lots of blue, white, and silver :D

The Mother Load...  still working on cataloging a PILE of books to go on our new-ish bookshelf.  I have all the Sonlight world history books that I'll be going through with Tate and Gunnar over the next two school years.  I'd like to put them on the shelves, but - and I realize how unnatural this sounds - I don't want them to read those books.  YET.  I want to read through them all together.  But it's hard to imagine putting all those books out and saying Don't read these!  Do any of you do this?  Do you tell your kids not to read ahead?  At least not a year or two ahead?

Noticing that...  I finally found my what-do-you-call-it... it measures volume in decibels.  Because I was curious.  Remember I mentioned trouble with my washing machine?  (Because you're all hanging on the details of my household appliances, right?)  The bearings are going out, so it's loud.  How loud? That's what I wanted to know.  Nearly 90 decibels loud.  Yah, that's loud.

And not only is it loud, it's driving our electric bill up (harder for the motor to turn the drum when the bearings aren't pulling their share of the load, y'know).  My plan was to keep using the washer until it died.  I mean, like an old car, we might as well drive it into the ground, right?  But now I'm not so sure.  Our power bill was up SEVENTY BUCKS from the month before, and I don't think that's Christmas lights either.

And you know what else?  I'll give you three guesses who figured it out.

Something to remember for later...  Gunnar is industriously writing away in his secret journal.  And he keeps under lock and key.  Very mysterious.

Something fun to share...  you know what time of year it is?  It's almost...


Cadbury Egg season.  


I just though you should know.

A favorite quote for today...  

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.  
          P. J. O'Rourke

One of my favorite things...  boys doing chores.  Saturday morning I made a list and an hour later we were done.  I felt like the evil emperor's domestic cousin... Now witness the cleaning power of these fully armed and operational Grasshoppers...

A Bible verse...  you have to read this one in the old KJV...
Proverbs 14:4  Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but much increase comes by the strength of the ox.
No kidding.

A few plans for the rest of the week...  Gunnar and Kerry have Boys' Club tonight, while Wyatt and I are heading back into rehearsals for the Easter concert.  I love the choir - the people and the music - but it sure doesn't feel like much of a break since Christmas!  Boys have CAP tomorrow night and next week I'll be starting a Bible study on Tuesday night (extra commitments I mentioned...)  And we're all looking forward to Game Night on Saturday... Mexican potluck - yum!

Also, for any of you quilters and crafters out there, Thursday is "Support Your Local Quilt Shop Day". You can find a list of participating stores HERE.  Worth looking, as mine is having 25% off everything that day!  And they have exactly what I've been (unsuccessfully) looking for!

A peek into my world...


I love, love, love my flannel sheets.  Oh so cozy.

9 comments:

melanie said...

I'm curious if it's the YWAM bio of Eric Liddell that you've been reading?

{sigh} Every time you show pictures of your house, I wish for you to come and decorate mine ;-) We must be blue&white soul sistas...

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Yep, it's the YWAM one. Come visit any time ;D

Anonymous said...

"Now witness the cleaning power of these fully armed and operational Grasshoppers..."

Oh my gosh, girl, that is HILARIOUS!

Had to laugh about the decibel meter. I had a washing machine that left you convinced a 747 was taking off out of my laundry room.

Crystal in Lynden said...

Oh my, I love mini eggs too! I pop them in and let them dissolve. I rarely chomp them. :-)
I absolutely loved that walk today. The boys all said the ducks and stomping on ice were their favorite parts. You are so kind to share your corner of Whatcom with us. I do know of a neat walk to the beach off the end of Grandview.

Wilma said...

Oh, the noise of a washing machine dying. Is it leaking water too? If not, then the seals must be okay. Mine was leaking and could not be repaired. We bought a new set about 10-11 years ago and I said it would be the last I would have to buy (I was about 60). Hahahaha! So, I have a new washer which I am really hoping will be my last!!!!

Yep. get those Grasshoppers going. It's amazing what they can do. I had three of the species myself!

Take care. It is about 10 degrees in southern West Virginia and not a cloud in the sky!!!

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Yah, the washer sounded kind of like a jet turbine before... like it sounds if you were in the jet. Now it sounds like a jet engine you are standing right next to. *sigh*

Thankfully, it's not leaking!

Choate Family said...

Your bedroom (and your lovely home)makes me wonder if you have ever considered opening up the Grasshopper Bed and Breakfast? I'd come :-)

The dB family said...

Oh, I love your life!(It's a lot like mine :o)). I wish we didn't live on opposite ends of the country -- especially today, as it's -15 Celsius out. I think I'd prefer some fog. I'm sitting at the computer wrapped in a blanket sipping hot tea and wishing I was eating chocolate with it. Have a wonderful week!

Blessings!
Deborah

The Hibbard Family said...

I had to laugh about your comment on the Eric Liddell book. I've been reading the YWAM books to my children since Steven was a baby. We love the story presentation, but you're right about the literary quality!

Oh, and I'm a mean mama, too. Angela wants to read Core F books SOOOO badly and I won't let her! I've waffled between having all the books out and having them in tubs in a closet. Right now we have more closet space than bookshelf space, so the ones we're not using are in the tubs.