Monday, February 15, 2016

Grasshopper Days


Grasshopper Days


For today, Monday, February 15, 2016


Outside my window...


Rain.

And, NO, that's not a black and white photo.  *sigh*


Hearing...  the dryer tumbling - Wyatt's laundry, and the boys horsing around downstairs, doing dishes.


I'm glad they're having fun.  And, this is why we use Corelle.


Pondering...  we had a relaxed, at-home Valentine's Day.  I made a pork roast in the crock pot (with veggies, too) so it would be ready after church, because Wyatt had to work most of the afternoon and evening.  I made heart-shaped sugar cookies, and bought "sweets for my sweeties" - i.e. candy for everyone :D  And they got me...


and even better...


and Kerry heard me "hint" that I like live primroses better than cut roses, so I have some planting to do outside, when the rain lets up.  :D


Praying...  for my family, to bring glory to God.


Thankful...  Kerry has gotten a couple of new jobs (i.e. projects) that will keep us afloat for the next month or so.  Good thing too, because the van is in at the mechanic and needs some serious work.  (Isn't that always the way it goes?  As soon as there's a spark of hope that we might have some extra money...  *sigh*.)


Wearing...  jeans, teal t-shirt, a sort-of-Fair-Isle cardigan, slippers.  It's a day to be cozy.


Creating...  are you ready for it?  My neighbor is trying valiantly to teach me to knit, and so far...



it's a dishcloth.  A slightly wonky dishcloth.

Apparently, when you wash something you knitted, it shrinks a little more in one direction than the other, so it's not exactly square.  And if you know more about knitting than I do (which is nearly everyone) you'll see some "irregularities".  First it tried to get wider, then I tried to get back to the same size, and then sometimes I missed getting the right piece of yarn to pull through.  But there you go.  The ever-encouraging Bea was thrilled.  And as Bea says, "The dishes don't care if it's not perfect."  I like Bea.

And I tried again, and did a little better the second time.


Isn't it nice?  It's got kind of an hourglass shape to it!


Going...  to stay home... because I want to, aaaaaand the van's in the shop.  ;D


Reading...  A Place of Quiet Rest, by Nancy Leigh Demoss.


Looking forward to...



Getting this mess CLEANED UP.  I mean, do we live in Bubba-ville or what?  That's the gate that blew off the back fence in a windstorm, that needs fixing.  Plastic buckets the boys were using for a project that need to be put away.  A nice blue planter my mom gave me that I can plant my primroses in!  And... The Blue Tarp of wood that needs to go SOMEWHERE.  Anywhere I don't have to see it.  Arrrrrgh.


In the kitchen...  today was a tomato soup kind of day, and we finished a loaf of homemade bread.  I'm thawing chicken to make sweet-and-sour for dinner.  Yum :D

A tomato soup kind of day.


In the learning rooms...  it's a holiday!  Actually, Gunnar and I went ahead and did his math and science anyway.  I'd rather have Friday off than Monday, and the rest of the stuff we can squeeze into three days with little trouble.


Around the house...  the Minions are doing chores today.  All the bathrooms are clean, the floor is swept, Gunnar is vacuuming, and the garbages are empty.


The Mother Load...  I realized something.  When Tate and I met with an advisor about Running Start, we knew he needed one prerequisite - a computer class - that we planned for him to take over the summer.  But I just realized, that's not going to work.  We want him to go to Worldview Academy, and that's a whole week in July... right in the middle of the already-condensed summer quarter.  Uh-oh.  I called the advisor back, and she agreed that you just can't miss a whole week (five credit class) during summer quarter, but he can take it spring quarter.  And we should be able to make it work with his high school schedule.  If he has to defer some of his homeschool work, he can finish that over the summer, because I can be more flexible.  But now we've got to jump through the hoops (placement tests) RIGHT AWAY so we can get him enrolled for spring quarter!

We can do this.  I'm just a little anxious focused about getting everything done in time.

Not to mention, that means that come April, I will have two college students.

Just trying to get my head around that.


Noticing that...  it rains a lot here.  So far today, over one and a quarter inches, and it's only lunch time.  So it's pretty common to see water running down the roads like this.


Rain, rain, rain.

And the other side of the same road.  See a problem?  The city put in a nice drain, but it's too high.  The little river of water just runs right by it.


Engineering Fail

So what happens is both little rivers of water run right through the intersection, and into the yard kitty-corner from us, (which is hard to see because of the tree, but I wasn't motivated enough to go outside and take a better photo, because like you really care.)


And our poor neighbors, over there, have a "lawn" that kind of floats on a bog.  Very, very squishy.


Something fun to share...  Gunnar is quite excited - looking forward to having Naomi stay with us over Easter weekend.


A favorite quote for today...
Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening
when you'd have preferred to talk.   
- Doug Larson


One of my favorite things...  my cousin got me an electric tea kettle for Christmas.  I just love that I can make a cup of tea right in my office :D


A devotional thought...

God loves the church with a love too deep for human imagination:
He loves her with all His infinite heart...

You may fear that the lord has passed you by,
but it is not so:
He who counts the stars and calls them by their names
is in no danger of forgetting His own children.
He knows your case as thoroughly
as if you were the only creature He ever made,
or the only saint He ever loved.

Approach Him and be at peace.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon


A peek into my world...  though I tire of the rain, there is beauty in it...







 What's your week looking like?

7 comments:

Monica said...

First I want to say I love your prayers! So awesome!
Second...I couldn't live with so much rain! Too dreary... I need sunshine. Which we are supposed to get by the end of the week. yay!!!
sounds like Tate is going to be very busy. Some times it's hard to keep all the "have to's" about getting ready for college in line. There's so much to be done.
Great job on knitting! I love and have put it on the back burner until I don't have so much else to do. Retirement is about six to seven years away and I will be able to do things like that then. :)
Hope you have a great week and I really enjoyed your Daybook today. So packed full of great stuff!

Sara McD said...

What a beautiful cozy post! I love your Jessica Rabbit dishcloth.

My week? Dog bit one kid, another slipped on the stairs and conked his head. Hubby got called in to work on his two days off and they've only offered to make up one of them. I went out for half off Valentine's candy today and got pulled over for an expired inspection which makes me worry I'm being profiled for being "dark" among all these pale people because how can you see an inspection sticker from behind before you pull me over and why would you follow me for half a mile before putting on your lights? *sigh* Don't worry, I was very polite because I respect authority, it WAS expired, and the trooper was handsome. ;)
Then I made it up to myself by buying a new vacuum. And some chocolate.

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Oh Monica, the rain doesn't bother me as much as the darkness - the short hours of daylight coupled with cloudy skies can get really depressing. That's probably why I have so many bright colored things (and bright colored walls!) in the house! Lots of candles, lots of twinkly lights... I know you get tired of the snow, but it sure reflects a lot of light!

Sara - no fun getting pulled over! But hurray for half-price chocolate!!!

Lisa said...

You have pretty kitchen cabinets.
Having multiple kids in college is crazy, and it's even crazier when they graduate.
I can totally understand your thinking you are getting ahead and then having to fix the van.
For us it was always tires. Every time I would think there was going to be money we would need tires. One day as I was grumbling about it my wise husband reminded me how thankful he was that we actually had the money and that the children and I would be safe and we did not have to put them on a credit card. Well thank you for that, honey!

I always enjoy your daybook:) Hope you have a great week and if you really want to stay home then the van will take just a little longer to get fixed.

My husband turns 50 tomorrow. We were laughing today when he looked at me and said, "50 just suddenly doesn't seem so OLD", haha.

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Thanks, Lisa, and tell your husband I agree! I'm looking at 50 this summer... suddenly it's not that old!

The Hibbard Family said...

That quote...oh, that quote. Ouch. I need to heed that more!

And good job on your knitting! Compared to my first attempts (and many of my current attempts - you should see Pooh Bear's jacket! OUCH!), those look great!

We don't have the rain this week, but we have the clouds. So I can identify with the gloomy feeling. SUNSHINE!!!

Choate Family said...

I'm finally catching up on your blog, and I always enjoy reading your daybook. Your dishcloths are lovely, but I think my favorite picture was your three handsome sons together in the kitchen. Snapshots like that make this mama's heart happy :-)