Tis Cold!

Brrr! I had to dig out my winter coat this morning to walk Penny. It was 41 with a cold wind blowing. I wish I had had some mittens to wear. And this is the morning that Charles got up early and went out to throw some hoops! He is crazy! But he wants me to take him job hunting today, so maybe crazy is a good thing! First on the agenda, though, is a hair cut. Maybe I should take a picture of how long his hair has gotten in case he ever thinks about growing it long again. He has not had a hair cut in over a year!

I came across this fun vocabulary site today. Free Rice. "For each word you get right, we donate 20 grains of rice through the United Nations to help end world hunger." That is a quote from the site. I do not see advertising on it, but the site states that is how they pay for the rice. The vocabulary words are quite challenging and adjust to your level, up or down, as needed. I spent a few minutes on it this morning and found many words that I could make educated guesses on and some that completely stumped me. There is a setting you can make on the site so that it will keep track of your vocabulary level and the amount of rice you have "donated" from visit to visit. Right now my vocab level is at 41, with my best being 46, and I have donated 1180 grains of rice. Try it out!

Is anyone watching the Sci-Fi miniseries Tin Man this week? Way cool! I always loved The Wizard of Oz but this is a much more grown up adaptation of Frank L. Baum's novels. I really should put them on my "to read" list.

I guess I had best get working on my Christmas cards, since it appears that I will be on the road some today. And no, I have not forgotten that I had promised to write some pithier posts here this month. I am mulling over a couple of different ones concerning unschooling, and also an addendum to my Joy post earlier this month, so stay tuned.

Happy Birthday to my step-father George in sunny south Arizona. Hope you have a great day, George!

Vacation From Reality

Pinch me, quick! I must be in heaven! Picture this. No children. No meals to fix. No hubby during the day time. No laundry to wash. No errands to run. Open my door from the bedroom and I step out on to a balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Blue sky. Rolling surf. Palm trees. Warm breeze. And all the time in the world to write!

We are staying at the Beachcomber Resort in Fort Lauderdale. Bill has three days of Citrix training and so the days are mine!

The drive down yesterday was nice, although the traffic once we hit Interstate in Ocala was crazy. Speed limit of 70 mph? Yeah, right!

And what is it with Ocala and horse farms? It felt like we were in Kentucky with all those horses! I will have to remember to Google and find out why Ocala is horse heaven. Sure was pretty, though.

And now, I'm off to write. Maybe I will take the laptop out on the balcony? Or would that be too much of a good thing?

Day Two of NaNo

I wrote another 1418 words yesterday, Day Two. So my running total is 4,004. Not quite 1/10th done, but getting there! I probably will not get much time for writing this weekend, but Monday I will be back at it and should have lots of time on Monday - Wednesday.

The weather today is just perfect. Cool this morning, down in the 50's. 70's today, light breeze coming in the windows, brilliant blue sky, not a cloud to be seen. We all keep pinching ourselves; this can't be November 3rd!

To Heck With Diamonds

You know the saying, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend"? Rubbish. Crockpots are a girl's best friend! No homeschooling household should be without one. Or two. I have two crockpots and I use them several times a week, often both at the same time. Just now I put a pork roast in one and sweet potatoes in the other. This afternoon we are helping a new co-worker of Bill's move into her new home and I know I will not feel like making anything for supper when we are done unloading her moving van. But we will all be hungry! With supper in the crockpot, the temptation to pick up fast food or spend a fortune at a restaurant on the way home will be much less.

Since I use my crockpots all the time, I am always on the lookout for new slow-cooker recipes. Here is a new favorite, which is in my crockpot right now:

Crockpot Glazed Sweet Potatoes

• 5 medium sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 1 dash salt and pepper, to taste

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices; place in crockpot. Whisk remaining ingredients together and pour over potatoes. Cover and cook on low 7 to 9 hours. Stir a few times, if possible, to keep them coated. Serves 4.

It's very sweet, so I am lowering the amount of sugars used this time around. Next time I might try just one of the sugars, rather than both.

I do not remember exactly where the above recipe came from. Most likely from Chet Day's Crockpot Recipes, one of the blogs on my Google Reader. There is a Lentil Soup recipe from just a few days ago that I am going to try next, maybe Monday. The weather is a bit cooler here now, so soup might be worth a try.

Two weeks ago I broke one of my crocks and that day went out to replace it. No way was I going to be without two crockpots. In fact, I am thinking of finding a replacement crock, since I still have the outside unit and the lid. I am sure I can order just the inner crock at the Rival website. Three crockpots would be handier than two, wouldn't they?

Still Hot?

While I write about a hint of fall weather (the forecast mentions night time temps below 70 later this week), my daughter seems to be suffering from an overdose of heat and humidity. Read The Rebel Cause for a unique perspective on the effects of a Southern summer.

A Hint of Autumn?

Penny and I went for a walk yesterday morning around 10:30 a.m. and it was downright pleasant outside! There was a nice breeze, relatively low humidity (for the South, anyway) and it was only 80 degrees at the time. Usually at that hour of the day it is so hot and humid that we barely make it to the mailbox and back, and even then we are drenched in sweat. But yesterday morning was so pleasant that I mailed my letter and then we kept walking around the whole complex, which is six-tenths of a mile. I realize fall is a couple of months away yet and that we have a lot more of the hot, humid stuff to endure, but today was a nice hint of things to come. And every one knows that as long as there is no snow, I'm happy!

Rain and More Rain

We had more rain yesterday. The news this morning said we had 1.64 inches. And I know we had more than that on Monday. So now the pond is at full capacity. It was overflowing last night through the sluiceways and into the overflow reservoir. Even this morning there was still some water going from the pond to the reservoir. It is amazing how much water collects in these complexes when it rains. It is obvious now that the pond is here as much for water drainage as it is for esthetics.

I was looking for Mr. Alligator this morning but I did not seem him in the pond. Instead, he is now in the reservoir. He must have gone through the sluiceway along with all the extra water. He'll be more comfortable there, as the banks slope so he can get in and out of the water at any time. In the pond there were no banks, just stone walls, so when the pond level was low, there was no way he could get out of the water. Of course, getting out means he is more mobile now, but the reservoir is fenced off form the apartment complex and surrounded by open field and woods. He'll be fine until they begin to develop that area more.

I got a better look at Mr. Bird this morning. He is a Great White Heron. And today he was joined by a lot of smaller birds. They have moved from the reservoir to the pond, obviously not liking the reservoir's newest inhabitant.

End of July Update

Can you believe it is time to wrap up July? Here are some brief thoughts, pics that didn't get posted, and updates on various items mentioned earlier this month.

While Kat and Miss Munchkin were here two weekends ago, we visited the beach. I did not think to check for beach advisories before we left, so we were rather disappointed to discover one when we got there. That meant no swimming. It was hot and sticky and there was no breeze and it was not much fun if you couldn't get into the water. Miss Munchkin played some with her sand and shovel and chased some birds, but we did not stay very long. Next time Grandma will remember to check online for advisories.

I keep telling her Mommy that she needs a haircut!

Penny Update - I took Penny back to the vet on the 23rd for a follow-up. She was doing better and then she wasn't, so the vet decided to do an x-ray to see if she had any kidney stones. Good news: no stones. (Bad news: wasted money on an x-ray!) The vet decided that she likely has a leakage problem that is fairly common with spayed females of her age and size. So she is now on a twice-daily dose of something to prevent bladder leakage. It does seem to be working, which is good news for my carpets! Now to retrieve my rug cleaner when I go back to Alabama next month.

We had a lot of rain yesterday, maybe close to two inches. The pond in the apartment complex is much higher this morning and Mr. Alligator is having fun cruising around. He seems to be enjoying the higher water level. And I notice this morning that the bird that has been fishing around the pond the last week was now staying out of the water, just fishing from the stone bank. Maybe Mr. Bird is more concerned about Mr. Alligator now that Mr. Alligator is getting around the pond more quickly? I don't know what the bird is, maybe a heron or egret. I will try to get a pic tomorrow.

The boys signed up for Kenpo Karate last week. Now they just need to get into a routine again, hopefully one that will not involve me doing all the driving! With David as a driver now, it would seem like I should be able to stay at home when they go.

I have been working on updating my Alabama Church School listings the past several days. Each summer I contact every church school listed (and many, many that are not listed) in my attempt to have the most up-to-date listing of church schools online for Alabama homeschoolers. It is a lot of work, but necessary. There are just so many lists online that are not up-to-date, with inaccurate URL's, e-mail addresses that no longer work, and church schools mentioned that no longer exist.

David's Freshman English class ends next week. It appears that he is doing well in it, perhaps even a B average. That would be great, compared to how he did last year at Evansville. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

And I think that is it for the updates! Tomorrow is August 1st. That is my Grammy's birthday, or would have been if she were still alive. I should make molasses cookies in her memory; she always made the most delicious molasses cookies! I wonder if I have her recipe with me or if it is packed away back in Alabama?

Visit One

Last night the boys joined in on an hour class at the Kenpo Karate & Kickboxing Center. They were assessing whether they wanted to join there and, at the same time, the instructor was assessing their skills and style. The style of karate seems very similar to what they are used to, but not exactly the same. Charles tells me that there is no such thing as a standard karate, that every dojo has it's own style. If they decide to join there, they will have to begin at white belt level, even though they both have black belts already. But Master Ingle (the owner) said that, based upon the skills he saw, they would move up through the ranks very quickly. They rank based upon accomplishment of skills and not based upon any time frame.

I was pleased that both boys said they should still try the second dojo we checked out, even though they were favorably impressed with this first place. It's been nice to listen to them explain what they are looking for and the plusses and minuses of each place we have visited. We have left the choice up to them, as they are the ones with the experience and knowledge upon which to base a choice. Tonight we will visit the second place and then the boys will make their choice.

I am still figuring out the traffic patterns here in Tallahassee and how to judge how long it will take to get somewhere. So much depends upon whether it is rush hour and how many red lights you hit. Tallahassee has the longest stoplights I have ever experienced. You can sit several minutes if you pull up to a light just as it is turning red. Tuesday when we went to first check out the two dojos, it only took us about 25 minutes to get to the first one. Last night it took 45 minutes, which meant that we were just a bit late. Part of that was because it was later in the afternoon and we got caught in rush hour traffic. And part was due to the fact that I took what appeared to be a more direct route, which was obviously a mistake. The side streets would have gotten us there much faster. I am still trying to decide how much time to give for getting to this second place tonight. It is further away, but there are fewer side street options.

On another note, Penny is feeling better. She is more energetic when she goes outside and less smelly inside. This morning we took a very long walk, going around the whole complex once. We usually take that walk in the evening, but I am trying to up her exercise level (and mine!). By 7:15, when we began our walk, it was already 78 degrees and 80% humidity. We have gone several days now without any rain, so this weekend's forecast of 60% chance of rain sounds good. Of course, that means thunderstorms, not just a general rain. Supposedly July is the wettest month of the year here, but like most of the southeast, we are still in a drought situation. So any rain sounds good!

Dogwood Winter Sucks!

I hate dogwood winter. Just when you think that warm weather is here to stay, old man winter blows his icy breath and we get several days of cold weather. I know you all in the north country are thinking that fifty degrees and a north wind is not cold. It is, though, when it has been in the eighties for two or three weeks. It is not nice to have to turn the heat back on and bring all the plants back inside so they don't freeze.

Yesterday I drove to Evansville and brought David home for a few days. Two days driving (yesterday and Monday) so that he can be home three days. Crazy. But it is nice to have him home, even for that short a time.

I haven't posted here this week because I have been trying to concentrate on writing a couple of articles for my website. Almost done and then I have to convert them to HTML and get them all linked up to the site. I will post here when they are up.

Next Thursday is Bill's birthday and also, coincidentally, the day he is scheduled for a face-to-face interview for a job in Tallahassee. So he is going to use a couple of vacation days and we will spend Thursday through Sunday in Florida. Most of that time will be in Tallahassee, but I think we will try to get in at least one day in Jacksonville. There seem to be many more job possibilities in Jacksonville, so we would like to see the area before we decide whether to submit a resume to any of those opportunities. Hopefully this interview on Thursday will work out and we can get under motion, begin to get out from the limbo of waiting and actually begin moving and living again.

Today was pay day and I should be paying bills instead of updating blogs! Bill paying is always so much fun. NOT! Wouldn't it be a blast if just once there was a huge surplus of funds left over after ALL the bills were paid?! I am sure that is just around the corner for us!

Job Opportunity

Yesterday Bill was offered a job opportunity that really bears some looking at. We spent all day yesterday talking about it and today I am making a list of pros and cons so that we can make an attempt at coming to a decision.

Basically, this is a year-long contract to upgrade and maintain computers and networks of an online gaming business. Everything they need, Bill can do with no problem. And everything that Bill asked about, such as budget control, etc., did not seem to be an issue with the contractor. So the job is very doable.

The pay is excellent. Heck, the pay is beyond excellent. We could pay off all our existing bills, pay David's college tuition for the next three years, and still put away a sizeable chunk into our retirement savings. And living expenses for the full length of the year-long contract are totally covered by the contractor.

Sound too good to be true? That is because the job is in Canada. Not just Canada, but some small Inuit Nation town in north Canada. I mean, really north Canada. So small it does not even appear on any maps that I can find. The recruiter sent us a .pdf map that shows where the town is. I did not realize people lived that far north!

So, here is my list:

Pros

• The salary. It's huge. Five times what Bill normally makes in one year. Since we do not have much of a retirement fund, this money would be really welcome.
• Living in an Inuit village, learn the customs of the natives.
• Charles likes cold weather and wants to learn to ski.
• All living expenses paid for the entire family while living there.
• No cooking for the entire year (they have a communal cafeteria)
• David's college would be paid for, with no outstanding loans when he graduated.

Cons

• A year away from Miss Munchkin, Kat and David. We would not be able to come and go. Once you are there, you are there for the duration.
• We would only be allowed a set weight amount of items to take with us (everything is flown in), so I would have to really plan ahead for books and such. But we would have Internet, so we could read whatever we could find online. And e-books are available from the town's cyber-library.
• The darkness. The job begins July 1 and we would be there until June 30, 2008. The summer months of sunshine are fine. It's the winter months that worry me, as both Bill and I need sunshine. We've been assured they have sunlight-replacement bulbs and such for those people that are affected by lack of sunlight, which is both Bill and I.
• The cold. Both Bill and I have seen enough snow to last a lifetime. But it's a dry snow up there, right? So our joints wouldn't ache so much?

Can anyone else think of any other pros and/or cons? Things we should consider while thinking over this job offer? Anyone have any experience living where it's so cold for long periods of time? And if you really think that we would seriously consider such a thing, you have obviously never heard of april fool's day!

Spring Fever

Spring has sprung here in north Alabama. The sun is shining, it's mid-seventies in temperature, the flowers are blooming, and the humidity is still relatively low. All that, combined with Daylight Savings Time, has given me a bad case of spring fever. I do not want to sit and write today. I want to be out digging in the dirt, playing in the leaves, planting something. I know from past experience, though, that if I go out and rake last fall's leaves or whatever other thing might need doing outside right now, my sinuses will flair up and I will be miserable for days. So instead I have expended all this spring fever on house cleaning. Don't panic! I do not mean any real serious house cleaning, just some sweeping and vacuuming and laundry.

If we were not in the middle of these trees, my sinuses would not have such a problem with outside activities. But here, with all the leaves and dampness and lack of any real circulation, we have mold spores and mushrooms and all sorts of lovely things practically year round. It is one reason we have considered clearing out all of the big trees, but could never quite bring ourselves to do so. And one reason I am looking forward to moving to an established yard rather than trying to carve some sort of yard out of a forest.

Another reason I would love to be in an established yard is due to all the poison ivy and poison oak here. For several years I had a nasty outbreak of what, I did not have a clue. But it itched and spread all over my arms and legs. After about the third year I finally discovered it was a poison oak reaction. I had never reacted to poison ivy before, so this was new to me.

Another new item that we discovered our first summer here was chiggers. It seems that chiggers love pine straw, and we certainly have a lot of that here with all these huge pine trees. Chiggers are most lovely. NOT!

So, spring fever I may have, but I will do my best to limit my energy to the indoors and hope that next year we are in a place that is more conducive to outdoors activities.

Weather changes

Looks like November is going to go out with a roar … and December come in with a brrr! We've been enjoying some lovely warm days this past week or more; 70s in the day, 50s at night, lots of sunshine and gentle breezes. But from the weather forecast, that is all going to end tomorrow. Lots of wind and rain, possibly some thunder and lightning (but hopefully no tornadoes) going through tomorrow afternoon and evening. And then turning much colder on Friday, with temps down in the 30s and 20s at night and not much warmer during the day. So far no forecast for any of that white stuff, at least not this far south, and let's hope it stays that way!

Thanksgiving was a nice quiet day. And then on Friday Kat and Miss Munchkin and Shawn came to spend a few days, going home on Monday. It is nice to have them all here, but nice when they leave also! The house seems to much bigger after they leave!

Miss Munchkin is trying to walk. She actually took a couple of steps on her own while she was here. She will be nine months in another week. Nine months! That's too young to be walking!!

Bill and I took David back to college on Sunday. We had a nice visit, but I think he was ready to go back. We have to pick him back up on December 13. On our way to Evansville Sunday we spent some time driving around Nashville, getting the lay of the land, scouting out some possible areas for housing, just in case that is the area we end up moving to.

I've been working hard on my website and it is beginning to pay off! I've also been trying to clean up some of the piles of books around here. Putting more on auction at e-bay rather than on my e-bay store. And either they sell or I donate them to the library. Too many piles, too many bookshelves. If we are going to move … no, when we move I do not want to have to move all these books!!

Needless to say, from the word count showing here on my blog, I will not be completing my NaNoWriMo Novel this month. I did get over the hump I was in last week and had a great writing day on Thanksgiving. But with all the additional company and taking David home on Sunday and everything else, I have not had the time to write. Today I have gotten a little bit done. But I am going to continue working on this novel, as I like the premise and I love the main character. So maybe by this time next year I will have two completed novels - the one I am working on now and one for next year's NaNoWriMo.

Vacation Trip - Part Three

We planned to spend Thursday night with a friend who lives just south of Youngstown, Ohio. Thursday morning we were still debating just what route to take to get there, until I heard the weather report on the radio! Lake-effect snow flurries were forecasted for Wyoming County, New York. The snow wasn't supposed to stick, just flurries. A flurry was more than I wanted to see, so we headed south on 15 into Pennsylvania, taking 220 west and picking up I-80 across to Youngstown. The area around Lock Haven and further west as you join onto I-80 was real pretty. I've often thought Pennsylvania was a pretty place to visit, in the summertime or early fall, but not somewhere I'd like to live. As we got closer to Youngstown, we ran into some brief snow flurries. Ack!

As for the "non-sticking lake-effect snow" in western New York? Seven days later they are still talking about it on the national news, reporting that there are still large populations without power. My aunt said that the Thruway was closed for over 24 hours on Thursday / Friday. It seems some places west of Leroy received up to 24 inches. That's a lot of snow for early October and a lot of sticking!

Our stay with our friend's in Youngstown was very pleasant. She has a beautiful house and certainly pleased Charles with her mashed potatoes and gravy! We met several members of her family and just had a nice visit. Friday morning we were on our way bright and early (7:30 a.m. Central), as we had a long day of traveling ahead of us if we were to get all the way to Evansville, Indiana, by nightfall. By two in the afternoon it seemed like we were making good time, so we decided to take the scenic route across Indiana rather than staying on the Interstates. Wrong decision. Lovely countryside, but a bit longer trip than necessary, especially when we hit a traffic jam the first few miles and only drove about 10 miles in 45 minutes! It was 7:30 p.m. (Central) when we rolled into Evansville, meaning we spent twelve hours on the road.

Poor Miss Munchkin, she was getting so tired of her car seat (as were we all!). After darkness fell, she really began to fuss. She would only be quiet if Kat learned over and stroked her or talked to her. Finally the kids turned on the DVD player and she quieted down. We don't think it was the DVD, just the light from it enabling her to see people around her again. She did the same thing Saturday night after it got dark, fussing until Kat turned on one of the inside back lights. Then Miss Munchkin seemed happier.

Friday night we picked up David and his friend Ashley and all went out to supper. It was nice to visit with David, although I think he was more interested in food than seeing us! Miss Munchkin seemed to remember him, even though it had been about two months since she'd seen him. At least she didn't fuss any when David held her.

Saturday morning David gave Kat (and the rest of us) a tour of the campus. He needs a bit more practice with that! "Here's a building. I think they do art classes in here. I never come to this building, so I don't really know." Very informative! After lunch and winter coat shopping for David, we loaded up and headed for home. We dropped Kat off at the mall so she could ride home with Shawn when he got off from work. Then we dropped Charles off at karate so he could be a part of the last bit of graduation. And we got home about 8 p.m., in time to watch the last half of the Nextel race and see Gordon suffer another late race DNF.

Nine days of vacation, six of them on the road, traveling 2370 miles. Are we crazy or what? Everyone did really well until Friday. By then we'd had enough togetherness. It's a good thing Charles was able to sleep at David's dorm Friday night. Another night of sharing a motel room with Charles and there's no telling what Kat might have done to him with the TV remote as he channel surfed!

Vacation Trip - Part One

We had a late start to our trip. I left too many things to accomplish for Friday morning. And then we had to make a trip to Charles's girlfriend's home to return her glasses that "somehow" ended up in his karate bag the night before. From there we attempted to find a "quicker" route to Kat's house, so instead of only taking twenty minutes, it took us an hour. By then it was time to eat lunch! It was 2:00 in the afternoon (Central) before we left Alabama!

We drove as far as Knoxville, Tennessee, the first night. We were lucky to find two rooms, since there was a softball tournament in town. We took Kat & Miss Munchkin shopping for swimsuits and enjoyed the pool and whirlpool at the motel that night. I wish I had gotten a picture of Miss Munchkin in the pool. She sure enjoys water!

Saturday it was much cooler weather, down in the 40s for most of the day and snotty rain. Bill and I suddenly remembered why we moved south! Virginia is a long state to travel through on I-81. We began looking for a room in Hagerstown, Maryland, only to discover that there was a soccer tournament in town! Sound familiar? We finally found a motel with an indoor pool, got the last two rooms available, only to discover that it was full of eight to twelve-year-old soccer players who took over the pool.

Miss Munchkin traveled very well. We usually had to stop every couple of hours for a diaper change or feeding, but then we old people needed to stop that often to get out and stretch!

Sunday morning it was cool and sunny, but warmed up as we traveled further north. We arrived in Dundee about four in the afternoon (Eastern), visiting with family and enjoying a perfect October day. Miss Munchkin met her cousin Steven for the first time and they seemed to enjoy each other. Steven was a cutie and he loved showing Miss Munchkin all his toys at his Grandma's house.

After a nice afternoon and evening with Bill's brother and sister-in-law, we left Kat and Miss Munchkin and Charles there and headed for our bunks at the hunting lodge. More on that tomorrow!

End of September

Catching up on odds and ends …

We visited David at Evansville last weekend, Family Weekend. What a rainy Saturday it was! We didn't join in on any of the college activities but instead visited the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science. http://www.emuseum.org/.

I would have never imagined that Evansville was a major shipyard in the 1940s, building LSTs (Landing Ship, Tanks) for the war effort. Even the boys found it interesting!

David seems to be doing very well. After a bit of poking and prodding we got to hear tidbits about his classes, his teachers, and what he is learning. He could even speak some Japanese already! But he's definitely not homesick and by Sunday afternoon was more than ready for us all to leave. I guess that's a good thing?

My poor fern … first Copper decides it's THE place to sleep. Then the Fluffies discovered it and now it seems like the bed of preferences for several cats and kittens. I'm not sure it's going to survive. It was so dry and hot this summer that it didn't grow as much as usual and was just catching a second breath in September. Soon it will be cold enough that I will have to move it inside, but it really doesn't get enough sunshine when inside, so I hate to move it in any earlier than necessary. But somehow I've got to keep the kitties out!

Here's a new pic of Miss Munchkin, taken two weeks ago. A drooling baby, cutting who knows how many teeth! Today Kat says that Miss Munchkin is "cruising," which is a term for standing up, holding on to things, and walking around those things. You learn something new every day, Miss Munchkin how to cruise and Grandma what it means! It's only a matter of time before she takes those first steps and walks on her own!