Grasshopper Days

Grasshopper Days

For today, Monday, September 29, 2014

Outside my window...  after a glorious sunrise, the clouds are moving in and the rain started to sprinkle on Gunnar and me, while we took our walk.

Hearing...  a very quiet house!  Wyatt is at the college, Tate is at the high school, Kerry is working in the garage, and Gunnar is reading.  This is a quite different year!

Pondering...  less than three months until Christmas!

Praying...  to sell Wyatt's Pathfinder by the weekend, for his transition into a different English class, for Tate's high school experience to go smoothly (it's homecoming week!), for Gunnar to control his emotions rather than being ruled by them, and for work to continue to come in for Kerry.  (I know that sounds passive.  He does NOT just sit around waiting for work to come in.)

Thankful...  for a glorious, sunny, fall weekend and getting lots of projects done.  Wyatt and Tate were paid to help some neighbors move.  Gunnar and I worked in the garden - dug some of the carrots, picked LOTS of tomatoes (some green, to try to ripen at home), found another bucket's worth of green peppers, and 10 or 12 nice butternut squash :D  Kerry, with the boys' help, finished leveling "Samaria", and they got the grass seed and the straw spread.  Whew!

Wearing...  old capris and t-shirt - my walking clothes.  About to shower and change.

Creating...  Sunday school lessons / projects.  As time permits, I'm having fun adapting the lessons to my younger class.  Most of the activities that came with the curriculum are aimed at readers... which would be TWO of the eight kids in my group.  So, hurray for "Uncle Google" coming to my rescue ;D

Going...  to the grocery store!  The fridge is looking pretty empty.  See, it's the mom's constant battle - keep the fridge full and the laundry empty - but today mine are reversed.

Looking forward to...  doing some more sewing.  Maybe it's the weather ;D

In the kitchen...  making soup!  I cut up and roasted a butternut squash, some onion and garlic, all from my garden, this morning, and now they're in the crock pot stewing in chicken broth, with a bit of thyme.  I'll add some cream later and puree it all.  Hope it tastes as good as it smells.

In the learning rooms...  this really is a different year, just having Gunnar full time.  While Tate busily works away at his homeschool subjects, he really does them very independently.  I just check his work at the end of the day and help him review for tests.  And Wyatt... well... he's largely on his own, at the community college.  I can help steer him toward good habits, but he really needs to take this on himself.  I will be going with him to an appointment with an advisor to map out the courses he needs to take, because sometimes he doesn't have the experience to know what to ask.  But wow - it's just a really different year.  In a good way :D

Around the house...  very fall-ish :D  Candles, fall colors, twinkly lights, and I picked a big "bouquet" of Chinese lanterns.  Love it!  I love the cozy.

And lights.  In a bowl.

The Mother Load...  okay, I can do this.  I need to have the boys I.D. cards laminated.  They need PHOTO I.D. for an upcoming CAP activity, but it can be school-issued.  Well, Wyatt has a driver's license - no problem.  But Tate and Gunnar?  Well, I'm their school.  So I made I.D. for them, using this site.  Words for me :D  I also need to...
 - grocery shop
 - find a violin teacher for Gunnar
 - decide what to do with all the carrots I picked (cook and puree, or blanch and freeze?)
 - plan next Sunday's lesson
 - figure out what supplies I still need to get for Tate and Gunnar's science experiments
 - make a plan for Christmas presents
And I'm sure there's more, but that's enough for now!

Noticing that...  it's just so quiet.

Something fun to share...  Gunnar's (funny) drama at doing his grammar practice.  I like Daily Grams.  But sometimes... the author is working so hard to construct a sentence that will require them to practice a certain style of punctuation, that the sentence sounds hopelessly awkward - something no one would ever say.   Gunnar's eye rolls and comments like, " ' Are you' comma the first  'by the way' comma the second  'about to leave' comma the third' " and so on... He just cracked me up.  And I probably screwed up the punctuation trying to demonstrate it.  Just picture a lot of emphasis on the italicized words, accompanied by eye rolls and an impish grin.

A favorite quote for today...  The world is full of people looking for spectacular happiness while they snub contentment.  - Doug Larson

One of my favorite things...  the changing seasons.  Especially this one.

A Bible verse...  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Romans 12:18

A few plans for the rest of the week...  rehearsal tonight (already started for Messiah), CAP tomorrow - I don't usually go but Tate is giving a speech (a requirement for his next promotion), then some "blank days" on my calendar (oh, how I love those!), before the weekend, with a birthday party (for the little boy Gunnar babysits) and Octoberfest, at Kerry's cousin's.

A peek into my world... 

I need to get out and get some photos of the finished project.  Soon!