Grasshopper Days

Grasshopper Days

For today, August 27, 2012.

Outside my window...  started gray and cloudy, but now sunny, warm, and breezy.

I am hearing...  boys doing something out in the yard, Kerry in the shower, and the breeze in the trees out my window.

I am thinking...  school starts next week, and there's so much I want to do, yet!

I am praying...  for a friend in surgery today, for my mom (recovering with her new knee), and for all of us about to start schooling again.

I am thankful...  Kerry is still BUSY with work - thankful for God's continual provision and for Kerry's hard work, thankful for boys picking more blackberries for me this morning, and for a gorgeous-but-not-hot day :D

I am wearing...  blue capri pants and blue t-shirt with my blue faux-crocs.

I am creating...  well, I have fabric ready to go, time to just Do It.

I am going...  to get some ice water, or make some sweet tea.  Yah.  Tea sounds good :D

I am reading...  finally finished The Book That Made Your World, by Vishal Mangalwadi.  Boy did that book make me wish I was a whole lot smarter than I am.  Knowing facts is not enough.  You have to be able to put them all together and see the big picture.  He shows the reader things that seem obvious once he's connected the dots, but I wouldn't have seen on my own.  I think I'll have Wyatt read this with his World History this year.

Now I'm reading several women's books - skimmed through Damsels in Distress by Martha Peace (don't be put off by the "damsels" in the title - it's not anything to do with the patriarchy movement, just alliteration), and Women Helping Women, edited by Elyse Fitzpatrick.

I am learning...  better responses for stressful moments.

I am looking forward to...  school!  Getting back into a routine.  More structure in our lives.  Summer is like having some really fun company, with lots of hubbub and activity.  I love when it comes and then I love when it goes.

In the kitchen...  I am breaking out the last frozen (homemade) turkey pot pie for dinner.  And I'll
make another pie for dessert.

Wyatt and I walked down to the bus stop (to see how long it takes, not in a hurry - 4:46, if you're wondering) and noticed *score!* more blackberry bushes getting ripe!  (Around here, Himalaya blackberry bushes are a weed and are generally fair game for anyone who wants to harvest them.  Especially when they're overhanging the sidewalk.)  I promptly dispatched The Minions down to pick as soon as Wyatt and I got home.  They gathered enough berries this morning for three and a half pies.  I froze two lots, gave one to my neighbor, and I'm mixing in some peaches for a peach/blackberry pie experiment.  We'll see how it comes out ;D

In the learning rooms...  lots of preparation going on.  The boys don't admit to looking forward to school, but I know they're going to enjoy much of their studies this year.

Around the house...  I'm always happy about cleaning and purging, though the living room and dining room are looking very bare right now.  I often take my houseplants outside during the summer and it makes such a difference (in the plants and the look of the house)!  The plants do well in the fresh air, and I realize how much they do for the rooms they're usually in.

The Mother Load...  sewing projects waiting to be done, laundry always piling up, and just a bit more school prep to do.  I really wasn't feeling the love for the history program I had lined up for Wyatt this year.  It's probably a fine curriculum, but it's intended to cover two years.  Yah, sure, we could cram it into one, but only by stripping off the components that actually make it interesting, y'know?  And - I know this is kind of petty - but the text and photos were all black and white.  Very blah.  Kerry okayed me making a last minute purchase of a one-year high school level World History and I am anxiously watching for its arrival so I can start lesson-planning.

Noticing that...  the nights are cooler already, and leaves are starting to fall.  That has more to do with the stress of the week or two of hot weather than the changing season yet, but it's still a welcome sign of autumn to me :D

Something I want to remember for later...  how much all the boys (even the big ones) love to hold the baby bunnies.  They may be all carbonated testosterone, but they are very gentle.  Love it :D

Also, my brother brought his wife and baby up for a brief visit on Saturday.  As soon as Naomi woke up, guess who was offered the baby to feed?  Gunnar.

Something fun to share...  We've been using the new grill I got Kerry for Father's Day/birthday Our old one was a wedding gift... this would have been it's 19th summer and it needed to be retired.  The poor old thing still worked, but it only had two settings: Off and Surface of the Sun.  I like my meat well done, but not charred to a black crisp.  Anyway...  I made some sticky chicken marinade and threw in red pepper strips and pineapple slices, with some extra sauce to baste with.  Oh gracious.  My taste buds thought they'd died and gone to heaven.  The red pepper strips were better than candy.  (Excluding chocolate, of course.)  Must make that again.  Soon.

A favorite quote for toady...  If you can't make it better, you can laugh at it.  Erma Bombeck

One of my favorite things...  flowers the deer don't eat.

I think these are some variety of carnation, and - no - I didn't mess with the color.  They're amazing.

And good old lobelia, a favorite of those of us who love blue :D

And alyssum.  I have tons of white, but like the way this purple overflows its pot.  Even the shadows are pretty - they look like fireworks to me!  And they smell exactly like honey.

A Bible verse...  good for the "season"

The heart of the wise inclines to the right,

but the heart of the fool to the left.

Ecclesiastes 10:2

A few plans for the rest of the week...  Wyatt and Tate have Civil Air Patrol tomorrow, then Wyatt has an orientation day on Wednesday (more about that later), and an orthodontist appointment Thursday morning.  Meanwhile, a neighbor is planning a big end-of-summer luau for Wednesday evening.  She had to let go of the idea of roasting a whole pig in the ground (how many days would that take?  and how would you lift it out of the pit when it was done?) but we're going to have a fun time :D

A peek into my day...

Here is the moment for you to applaud my bravery, because I'm just a wee bit (okay, a lot) afraid of bees...