Christmas Week

This has been an interesting week! My brother LeRoy with his wife Anna (Ania) and 2 daughters Sarah and Naomi were with us from Saturday night through Tuesday morning. Sarah and Naomi are 21 mo old twins. I am sad that I didn't take any pictures of them while they were here! It was nice reconnecting with LeRoy and Ania and beginning to know the girls who I never saw before in person.

Friday, the 19th we took Matthew to the dentist because he was experiencing such pain in a tooth that we knew had a hole in it. Dentist said, "Abscessed tooth. Needs to be extracted or a root canal done." We didn't want either option. We had some time ago gotten the book Cure Tooth Decay by Ramiel Nagel, because of a friend's recommendation. Well, we got serious about following this book's advice this past week along with following our natural doctor's advice. A whole new venture in cooking that will need a separate post. 

The main thing we need to do right now until the abscess is healed is to avoid all processed sugar, grains, beans, nuts and seeds. Take 1 teaspoon cod liver oil twice a day.

Sunday evening was the annual church Christmas caroling. I think we went into a total of at least 21 homes that evening. We divided into three groups. A snack was served for the church afterward in the church basement. 

That concluded our two year stint on the food committee. I am responsible for one of the food groups at our monthly sisters' sewings and am responsible for the food at some of the picnics that the trustees are responsible for so it feels like I almost never get a break from food assigning. I am wondering if I will know how to act now. It just feels real good to be free from that responsibility. It was one I never desired to have and didn't enjoy it. Just did my duty without feeling any real confidence.

Monday evening we were scheduled to have Bible study at the jail for the women. A freezing rain was forecast-ed so I called it off and was so glad I did as it got pretty icy that evening. I hope the ladies at the jail had some blessing that eve!

Overall we haven't had the bad winter weather that some predicted. Thankfully. It has been really mild the last few days. Yesterday it was 58 degrees! So different from the last two or more winters. Happy me!

Tuesday afternoon the school children did a bit of caroling in the community. I worked on cleaning the upstairs of the church house while they were gone and the boys helped me finish when they returned.

Tuesday morning LeRoy & family headed to my parent's place and we followed Wednesday night, leaving after the evening milking. Christmas Day was spent there with the men working on cutting wood for my parents' outdoor furnace. None of us children live in their community and we usually try to get the wood pile done annually. 

In the evening we enjoyed supper with the Soukup family who live close by. They came to my parents' place. Peter Soukup (17) and our boys got involved in a table game while the adults visited. It was 11:30 until we got to bed that night. 

Friday saw the wood pile completed and a water leak from the furnace fixed. My sister Verina and family came that morning. We left for home in the afternoon and Verina's family took our vacated beds.

Yesterday I spent most of the day running errands. We needed groceries and I also picked up 40 lbs of meat that was butchered for us while we were gone. They saved a nice amount of soup bones for me also, for which I am most grateful. One of the recommendations of the tooth healing diet is bone broth.

Austin was sick with a bad cold yesterday. Most of the boys have colds to some degree. I have been putting sliced onions on their feet at night. Stephen stepped in a thorn that left his foot painful and swollen. He stayed home from church this morning.

We didn't do much school work this week. I was in school myself, researching and cooking for this tooth healing venture. I think I'm getting the hang of it. The boys helped with things that needed to be done in preparation for traveling.

Jesus is coming soon! Quote from the message this morning- "If you are not experiencing glory in your life today there will be no glory for you in the great beyond."

Storytime

This is the book I spoke of in the last post. A down-home type of story that makes you laugh and cry. The main character is a priest who struggles with diabetes, loneliness and a feeling of inadequacy. Many other characters add to life in Mitford and make you feel like you are at home with them. Barnabas comes into his life, is stolen from him and reappears later. Dooley makes him wonder how to deal with young boys whose hearts are full of pain. Then Cynthia moves in next door and he wonders what he is to do with her.

 Almost Home was our first read-aloud this school year. A story of the Pilgrims leaving their homeland, of their voyage and their beginnings in the new land. Written from the life of Mary Chilton, a young girl who wants to know where home really is. She begins life in the new country "alone", her parents having died from the rough voyage and her siblings left behind in Holland. Fictional history that includes actual happenings. It made the things they went through so much more real than just reading the facts in a history book.

 Our second read-aloud was Amos Fortune, Free Man. The story of his capture in Africa, his life as a slave and his life as a free man. This book made the boys angry at the cruelty the blacks faced. Amos, fortunately, was taken into a good home, was taught from the Bible and though treated unfairly he kept a good attitude. He worked to free himself and then bought a wife who soon died. He bought a second wife who also died. His third wife and her daughter outlived him. Of course it took years to save up money every time he wished to buy freedom for one person. I cried a number of times as I read this book.

We are nearing the end of Madeleine Takes Command. The true story of a young girl who with her two young brothers, an old servant and three other men (two who can't be trusted) work to defend their fort in New France against the Iroquois. Both parents are away on a business trip, the Indians attacked suddenly, killing or capturing all the men in the field and woods. The only strategy the few in the fort have is to make lots of noise & keep ceaseless vigil. When help finally arrives six days into the siege the Indians have still not attacked, believing the fort to be well defended, and the little troop is utterly exhausted. A statue of Madeleine de Vercheres can be found in Canada today in honor of her bravery and wisdom.

We now begin reading of what goes on in George Washington's world. Stories of his life and the lives of others who lived at the same time he did; in the U.S. and in other parts of the world. A full report may follow later.

A quote for you today-

Leap, and the net will appear. JOHN BURROUGHS

First week of December

December 1, 2014
I rolled out of bed at 5 am today. The call? It is time to go home! After dressing myself and packing up the rest of our clothes, lunch packing occupied an hour of my time. Apples to clean and cut, ham and cheese sandwiches to prepare, banana bread to slice. A bag of potato chips and leftover raw veggies from last eve completed the fare.

We fed our faces with cold cereals, loaded the vehicles and rolled out at 7:35. Austin and Thomas were the drivers today. I usually try to stay awake for the driver's sake but today I succumbed to sleep for awhile. For maybe half the way I read to Thomas from the first book of the Mitford Series, At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon.

We got to Mom's apartment at 12:35 - exactly 5 hours. We unloaded her vehicle and stuffed ours with boys. And then HOME - blessed home! The day was a balmy 60 degrees. We emptied the van, emptied our suitcases and then relaxed awhile. The younger boys' "relaxation" involved a football. We had a little history time this afternoon but otherwise no book lessons.

Christopher and I planned our menus for Dec. We cook on Monday & Thursday. We had leftover vegetable soup for supper, accompanied by Herbed Onion Focaccia and raw veggies with dip.

I washed a load of shirts and dresses and feel like I am on my way to conquering the laundry.

Now that we are home, another storm is moving in. The forecast is for a wintry mix tonight and tomorrow. Snow, sleet and freezing rain. We will see how that affects things.

My nephew Mervin is here for the night. He and the boys are wanting to try their luck at shooting deer. I would be so very GLAD for some freezer meat! I have no burger in the freezer right now and that is not a happy feeling. I may have to go out there and get some myself yet. Ha.

Exciting news yesterday was the birth of a new niece in Texas! Sister Doris, husband Arnold and daughter Maxie welcome Gwendolyn Regina to their home. She was a hefty 9 1/2 pounds!

Dec 2, 2014
Another gray day. I declare, I don't know when I last saw the sun! Probably on Saturday. The predicted ice and snow turned out to be just all rain, thankfully.

Thomas was at work all day, beginning another phase of renovation in a house he has been working on periodically for a good while now. Soon she (the owner) won't have anything more for him to do . He is replacing carpet with hardwood floors and doing painting. He had Stephen and Austin help him this forenoon to move furniture and tear out carpet.

We did a full day's work of lessons and then worked on regular household things like laundry, cleaning and cooking. The boys filled out the menu calendar (for Dec) with their choices of meals. The lack of burger in the freezer makes it harder to plan meals. It is hard for me to pay grocery store prices when there is so much meat running around in the field. I keep dreaming up ways to raise beef of our own. All the cattle here belong to my sister's family.

Austin and Melvin served us soup (Cheesy Chicken Chowder) and salad for supper. Good food!

This evening I took Melvin out for mother/son time. We went to the Goodwill to see if we could find him some snow pants. We didn't find much but the cashier said she would keep them back for him if some come in. We tried getting a few groceries at Food Lion but had to leave the cart sitting there full of food because the debit card was denied. Ouch! Embarrassing.

I found a game of Probe at Goodwill. It brought back memories of family times when I was growing up. Maybe we can get some happy family times out of this one too. Other finds included small clogs (Crocs) for one of the boys, a few shirts, a couple pairs of pants (always in demand!), a coat and pajama pants for Melvin, and shoes for me. Every time I think everyone is fitted out with pants one boy or another will declare he has no pants without holes to wear. Or they've outgrown everything.

Dec 3, 2014
We actually saw some blue sky and sun later this afternoon! And a big moon tonight. It isn't full moon yet, though. The Geminids - a meteor shower- begins just soon and peaks on the 14th of December. Keep your eyes peeled when the night sky is visible! There can be up to 80 falling stars per hour. The last ones can be seen Dec 18 at the rate of one per hour.

Austin helped Thomas at work today, hauling furniture to the thrift store and loading flooring for the job. They came home mid-afternoon. 

Lots of laundry occupied my non-school hours. Stephen and Matthew cooked up supper, leaving me time to get other things accomplished. They served us macaroni and cheese (made from scratch with real cheddar- for real!), green beans, chunky applesauce and cottage cheese. 

The boys are still hunting (but not full-time). They seem to be learning some things and getting wise to the hunt but so far all deer have escaped their stalking.

We had Bible study/prayer meeting at church this evening. The main thought of the study was concerning choices. We choose to forgive and be happy or we choose to remember the hurts and be miserable. We choose to let someone take our joy or we choose to keep it. We choose to use the talents we have been given or we choose to bury them. We choose to allow the Holy Spirit to work through us and give us spiritual gifts or we refuse to acknowledge Him and we hoe our own row. 

Dec 4, 2014
The sky had color this morning! So beautiful. Now this evening it is snowing. The kind that will probably turn to all rain.

The boys had music classes at school this afternoon. Stephen gives the students scale practice. Mervin came home with them again for more hunting. 

I waged more war on the laundry and did kitchen work. I served Comforting Chicken Casserole, cranberry salad and peas for supper.

Here's my recipe for no-sugar-added cranberry salad.
1 bag of cranberries
1 can of apple/raspberry juice concentrate
1/2 navel orange
5 small apples, peeled and chopped
1 20 oz can pineapple (I used slices and made them into tidbits)
2 packets Knox unflavored gelatin
1 cup water
1/2 cup pecan pieces

Put cranberries, juice concentrate and orange, thinly sliced, into a blender pitcher. Blend it to your desired size. Let it set for an hour. Add apples and pineapple with juice. Sprinkle the gelatin over cold water in a small saucepan and let it set for a few minutes. Heat it just enough to dissolve the gelatin and add it to the salad. Chill until firm. Pecans are optional. Put them in or on the salad or leave them out entirely.

I whipped up some cream (from off our raw milk) added a bit of stevia and lots of vanilla. We scooped that on top of the salad. Yum!! I should have taken a picture of it. You wouldn't want to see it now.

I've been on a search for tickets for my brother Paul's family to fly from Honduras to TX in Jan. Thomas is helping his mom go over her money matters. The boys are "flying"- with the simulator. I think I will go put clean sheets on my bed and climb in. I may read awhile.

Dec 5, 2014
The most significant things today-
P.E. at school for the boys. Chiropractor and shopping for me. Thomas accompanied me to town and we had a couple subs afterward with some time to talk about important issues. 

The sun didn't even shine and it was a great day for ducks!! 

Austin took aim, fired and.... missed! -a deer. Just about we had some meat for the freezer. 

I didn't have the groceries on hand that Austin & Melvin needed for their planned meal so they made cornbread and ate it with peaches and milk.

Dec 6, 2014
Another duck day. Oh the rain!

I ordered tickets this morning for brother Paul's family in Honduras. They will be flying to TX on Jan the 20th, Lord willing. We are all getting excited to be together as a family after years of not all being together.

A few more loads of laundry today and that job will resume on Monday. Thomas ran lots of errands, the boys did dishes, cleaning, bread baking and helping with laundry. Stephen & Matthew made supper- haystacks and baked apples with whipped cream. When the boys cook, it is a tremendous boost to me. I am able to catch up on some other things I don't have time for when I'm cooking.

Austin determinedly sat in the cold rain today, hoping for one more chance to shoot a deer. No such luck. Aww!

Dec 7, 2014
A sick day. But sunny! Had sunshine all day! Makes you almost forget the rainy, dreary, gray days. Notice I said "almost". 

I woke up feeling  like I couldn't get up. When I finally did make it out to the "crazy room" (family room/kitchen in a finished garage) overwhelming waves of nausea hit me. I managed to hold it in but had diarrhea. I got the turkey into the oven for lunch but then crashed. The others went on to church. Late morning I sat on the toilet and held the trash can with the sickness coming out both ends. Misery! Twice that happened and I am weak and hungry tonight. Lying here sucking on crushed ice. 

Everyone left me and went to church for the annual Christmas community singing at church. Lots of friends and neighbors usually come for that and there is a snack afterward. I wasn't able to fix any food but sent a couple jars of pickles and some fruit for a platter if they need it. Mom Lapp said she would make enough so I don't need to make anything. I was a bit worried though because out of the 8 ladies who usually bring a sweet snack only 3 will be there this evening. 

Being head of the food committee I feel like I am majorly slacking my duty this eve. My partner will do well though. After-all she will need to take over in a few weeks. I am looking forward to being free! Will I know what to do with myself? Oh yeah!

Lots of people are traveling. Winston Millers flew to OK rather suddenly because his brother Dwayne is in the lot for ordination there. 

Before the others left this evening one of the cats brought a chipmunk into the breezeway through the pet door. Christopher caught it and put it out in a tree but the dog is just sure it is still in here. She's been running herself ragged trying to find it. Too bad she can't understand what we try to tell her.

Venus

Venus is a hot volcanic planet. Thus the information was recorded on the clouds of a volcano. 

Now are you curious enough to do your own research to find out how long a Venus day is, what it's atmosphere is like and what phases it goes through? 

Quote for today- "Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers." - VOLTAIRE

Fall photos

I just couldn't resist posting these fall pictures. It was such a beautiful fall. These were all shots around our yard. Enjoy!

Orchard on right (fenced)

Dogwood by parking lot

Beside the lane

The boys' "climbing tree" (large one)

Along the edge of yard/woods "Climbing tree" on right

Close-up of trees in photo above

Well I have regressed. Something happened to make me busy I guess.

We are in PA. We came very early Wed morning this past week, trying to beat the storm that was predicted at home. We were grateful to have escaped. Reports from home said close to 2 feet of snow. We are hoping that by the time we get home tomorrow it will have greatly decreased.

Carl & Yvonne Shaum have graciously hosted us in their big house these days. Matthew said today that he thinks he has gained weight with not much exercise and big meals. I can't imagine it would be anything permanent for him. The 3 youngest went out after lunch and played football for awhile so he's probably worked it off already.

We have occupied our time with cooking, games, walks, building a snowman, shopping, sewing, a tour of Wendell August, laundry, going to a church service, puzzles, singing and sharing. It has been a good week and we are ready to go home in the morning.

What will we do when we get there? Get back in the swing of school and housekeeping. The boys dug some potatoes before we left. Some of them (potatoes) are partially frozen and I don't have a good place for storing the others. I will need to can or freeze them to preserve them. There are also apples waiting to be sauced and frozen or canned. I think I have plenty to do!

It's time for soft pretzels and veggies & dip so I will leave this and return at a more convenient date.

Pears, cheese, and activities

Monday- Sept 8
We did lessons this morning. This afternoon Christopher and I went to the gas station, the grocery store and library. The boys who were left at home had various work assignments. 

When I got home there were 5 bushels of pears sitting on the patio. We had ordered them and got the call Friday evening while we were out in town that they were ready to be picked up. Saturday was so busy we didn't get to it and so I thought I would get them while I was out and about today. Meanwhile they came by themselves. Not really. My brother-in-law brought them when he came to do some farm work. (The cattle on "our" farm belong to him.)

Tuesday- Sept 9
We skipped most lessons today to get some other needful things accomplished. We did do Math and memorized our verse for the day. 

Christopher's verse for Monday

Melvin's verses for Monday and Tuesday- the smiley face gets made as we say the verse 3 times throughout the day. The circle for once, the eyes for twice and finally the smile for the third time.

Actually, Stephen and Austin kept on going with their studies. I caught a few photos of things Austin is working on.

Reading The Illiad

Apologia Physical Science

Notebook for the same

We have an overabundance of milk right now so I made a hunk of cheese. 

I cut the solid mass into curds

Close-up

Then I stir it with my hand over a low heat cutting up the bigger chunks into curds

My improvised press- a blanching kettle, a tin and weights Oops! The slop pail and some toes got into the picture.

The finished chunk. If I allow the boys free access they will eat this in a few days. They love it fried. 

The pears needed to be sorted and the ripe ones done. We canned some and made jam out of the very soft ones. We are doing a year-long sugar fast as a family and so I made sugar free jam, using white grape juice concentrate to add a bit of sweetness to it.

Cooking jam in the crock pot

I put some cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in it.

 I also did something for the first time- posted something on eBay to sell. Check it out here and here.

Wednesday- Sept 10
Back to the books today. And more pears to can after school.

While doing Barton with Melvin I was giving him words to spell. "Camshaft" was the word. He asked whether it was a compost word. (Meaning compound) You can notice one trait of dyslexia if you look at the word "divers" in his verse above.

We have reinstated a practice we began earlier this year when I was pregnant. That is getting the boys to plan and cook meals. Stephen and Matthew made us a yummy supper of burgers and (homemade) fries.

Thomas had "men's meeting" at church this evening which is a monthly occurrence, necessary to the survival of the church.

Thursday- Sept 11
Same old same old. :) We finished the pear canning this afternoon. We still had a generous peck left that were a little too green and at the rate the boys eat them, they said they will eat those fresh. 

One day's work

We did have a bit of diversion when another homeschooling family popped in here to get some milk. The two oldest in their family are boys and have a lot in common with our two oldest. Stephen was pretty excited that they brought him a couple cans of calcium carbide which he uses in a homemade "cannon". It only shoots air but makes a BIG bang! 

The youngest boy is close to Christopher's age and they even look kind of alike. One more boy and two girls completed the group of children that came to visit. Mother and I have a lot in common with homesteading and homeschooling.

Stephen had an evening in town with the Kid's Club our church youth are doing for the young town children.

Friday- Sept 12
Our last day of school this week. In science we studied Mercury. Very interesting! Mercury's days (the amount of time it takes to rotate) are 59 earth days long and it's years (the time it takes to revolve around the sun) are 88 earth days long. Its days are 750 degrees hot and its nights are -300 degrees cold. If you stood on Mercury you would see no color because it has no atmosphere which is necessary for seeing color. Mercury is so close to the sun that you would only be able to see it in the late evening or very early morning as the sun rises and sets.

The boys are practicing a lesson we learned in Bible. If you look at your hand you can't balance an object but if you look at the top you can. Illustrating looking to ourselves or to God.

The boys had P.E. at school again today and brought home a half bushel of tomatoes from the above-mentioned friend. 

Stephen had an activity with the youth group this evening doing some work for a neighbor. Thomas & I had a date-at-home after supper. Sometimes we sit out on the deck but it was too chilly this evening so we shut ourselves up in our bedroom. 

Thomas' sister came today to help their mother with sorting her possessions in preparation for an auction next week. They both popped in for a late supper. Stephen came home for supper with them. He brought a bushel of apples (the first for this fall!) and a bushel of small late season peaches that a friend picked up for me at an orchard near her. We keep a network going here to get things for each other! :)

Saturday- Sept 13
Stephen left around 4:00 this morning for a day in PA with some of the youth group. They attended a seminar leveled at Urban Evangelism. He got home sometime around 9:30 this eve. 

Thomas spent most of the day at his desk. 

The rest of us worked on the cooking, cleaning and laundry that needed to be done. 

Austin swept the carpets in the breezeway where we have our classroom/office, dug a few potatoes and mixed & fried burgers for tomorrow's lunch while keeping clean dishes put away. We are preparing for Children's Day at church tomorrow. 

Children's Day is actually in November but we kind of celebrate it whenever, just making a special day for the children.

Matthew sliced a couple sweet onions for tomorrow's lunch and peeled & diced potatoes for a chowder for our lunch today. He also helped with some laundry and other odds & ends. 

Melvin made bread loaves and buns for the burgers, peeled and cut up carrots for the chicken chowder we ate for lunch, as well as keeping the dishwasher filled and dishes hand-washed. 

Christopher fried burger and shredded cheese for a pizza for supper. He was up early this morning and then slept a good while in the late morning/early afternoon.

My bro-in-law picked up a whole banana box full of free bananas this week. He brought us half of them! We have so many yummy fruits to enjoy right now. It helps to satisfy the boys' sweet tooth.

That's it for another week. 

How was your week? 

What fruits are you enjoying right now?

Do you celebrate Children's Day?

Of corn and tomatoes and other things

Tuesday September 2

Stephen raised corn this year. A week or so ago Matthew said it is ready. I kept bugging Stephen about what he is going to do with it. Finally this morning I told him he better just go pick it! He brought a nice amount of starchy corn in. We did that this evening after school work was done. We were so tired that lessons took a long time. Then the corn took awhile also because of the same. Thomas took Matthew out for a father-son evening.

I also made some cottage cheese. I had heated the milk to make yogurt yesterday and forgot it, so I turned it into cottage cheese.

This still needs to be crumbled and have cream and salt added to it. Yum!

Wednesday September 3

We did lessons this morning and then ran about. 

Still studying early Explorers of America

A friend said she had 10 dozen eggs and do I want them? I needed my sister's juicer for tomatoes. Another friend said I could pick the corn in her patch. She said it would probably be just enough for a meal. I went where she said it was and picked and picked. There were 5 banana boxes full. I wondered if I understood her correctly. She wasn't at home to ask. Another friend who is gone on vacation said I could pick her tomatoes so we did that and got a tomato box full. We came home at 4:30 and worked on tomatoes. Did 36 qt of juice. The boys went to the river for a swim around 6:30 or 7:00 and came back after dark. We went to bed around 10:00 and left the mess. Not totally but we didn't wash things up well.

Thursday September 4

I called my corn friend this morning and she said yes, I was supposed to get all the corn that was there. 

We had eaten some for supper before I took this photo.

No lessons today. We washed lots of dishes and did the corn. I have my weeks scheduled during September with Fridays off from school. That way when these days come up that produce needs to be done (NOW!) we can easily do it and still have a day to play with. It catches up to me when I have so much to do. I was quite weary again today and had to take an Ibuprofen to still a headache.

Friday September 5

We dove back into the books today. Began studying science once again. We had started a study of Astronomy that we are continuing. We finished the study of the sun today. 

I don't know why these turned sideways on me!

Know how hard it is to find pictures of the sun?!

A 

Turn the wheel to view different things about the sun.

This afternoon the boys went to the church school for an hour of P.E. which consisted of a game of softball. Stephen went on from there with the youth group. They are camping this weekend and Sunday. (I don't think of Sunday as the weekend. It's the beginning of the week.) I cleaned part of the church sanctuary while the boys played. 

When we came home Thomas and I left for a shopping trip/date. We got a few necessary items and had a date at Golden Corral. Dates are too short and far between for all the matters a family our size needs to work on. But I treasure every one.

Can you tell us something interesting you've learned recently about the sun?

What are your dates like?

Labor Day

Our Labor Day wasn't totally a holiday. We had a heavier school schedule today, beginning with My Father's World's Exploration to 1850. 

We started a study of the book of James called, Boy Have I Got Problems. We intend to memorize the book of James this school year. 

I do a daily session with Melvin in Barton Reading & Spelling which is especially for dyslexic children. 

Melvin and Christopher are doing Intermediate Language Lessons which covers 3 years of study (4th-6th grades)

Matthew is doing All-In-One English. 

He also is doing a book study of Johnny Tremain. 

For History we have a number of books we are going through.

Exploring American History

The Last 500 Years

Building a City on a Hill

In God We Trust

There will be more later but that's all for this week.

(Sorry about the photos that are sideways. Just turn your computer on end. Ha.)

After lessons we went to work making food. Fixing lunch -coleslaw (leftovers someone gave us from yesterday's fellowship meal), beans and cornbread- and making food for a church picnic this eve- sloppy Joes, buns, grape juice and potato salad.

Thomas and the 3 youngest went to the church house early (2:00) to check on supplies and etc that trustees are responsible for. Stephen and Austin decided they would rather stay and milk before going over instead of stopping through a ball game to come home and milk. I stayed to finish the food and do lesson prep. 

It was 5:00 or better until we three left home. Because we are trustees I was responsible to look after getting the picnic together. I did get to sit and watch the ball game for awhile. They had so many playing that they made 3 teams that rotated. The ladies all helped to set the food out then so it wasn't like I had a lot of work to do. It's just that being responsible is a little heavier load. Everyone brought sloppy Joes, buns, a side and a drink. A simple and interesting meal.

We are having our dog days in an Indian summer this week. Upper 80's low 90's. At least it's not 100's. The boys thought they might get a swim in this week. Stephen was lamenting the other eve that he hasn't even swum this summer. And truly it has been such a cool summer there wasn't much of a chance. 

How was your Labor Day?

Did you have a hot summer or cool?

What are you studying this year? (You don't have to be "in school" to study!)

Would love to see your comments!