Back in the saddle

Vacation is officially over and we're back to our regular schedule. It hasn't been quite as dreadful as I had thought might be. There have been a few tears, but nothing out of the ordinary. I am actually feeling refreshed from our break and not minding having a schedule once more. As things begin to return to normal and we adjust to having 9 children, I'm realizing exactly how far from normal the past 15 months have been. And then when I factor in K.'s first year home with all his therapists which was preceded by the horrible 18 month wait for K., I wonder when the last time was that we had 'normal' around here. It's been several years of a lot of transitions and I'm now feeling able to start digging out of the chaos left behind. One of the things I accomplished over Christmas vacation was to clean off my desk. I no longer have a fear of being trapped in an avalanche of papers. Even better, I like to look at it now... at it's clean, paper-free surfaces. It makes me smile. Unfortunately we did not find the Netflix copy of Kung Fu Panda which has gone missing in the house and we still can't find it. Our last best hope was that it was buried in the papers on the desk.

Along with starting back with schoolwork, we also started back to our daily read-aloud session at lunch time. We are currently reading Little Britches by Ralph Moody. We are all loving it. It's funny what triggers memories one hasn't thought of in a while. The chapter we read today was titled 'Irrigation Wars'. Before we began I thought we should discuss what irrigation is because living in an urban area of the Midwest, it's not something we come across on a regular basis. So, I was describing irrigation and was suddenly transported to my childhood in Arizona where irrigation was a regular occurrence. Yards and playgrounds would be flooded by the city once(?) a month, and we would have to play on the concrete during recess while the water soaked into the ground. My children were fascinated by the idea and I was left smelling the remembered, none-too-pleasant scent of standing water as it soaked in and evaporated.

Comments

Angie Butcher said…
I also grew up in AZ and remember that as well - I never knew why they did it though, it was just part of life. Kindof like painting the orange trees trunks white...
1/04/2010 1:43 PM
thecurryseven said…
Angie -- I can help you with the orange trees. They are supposed to be allowed to grow with their branches growing towards the ground...it helps to shade the trunks. But many people liked to prune them to give them some shape. The white paint is to protect the trunks so they don't sunburn.

e
1/04/2010 2:52 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Making bias tape... otherwise known as the Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway

Image
( Sorry, the contest is now closed .... though you're welcome to leave a comment if you like.) [This picture has absolutely nothing to do with this post, but is here solely to give Blogger a different photo to post in the thumbnail.] It's Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway time again.  I love bias tape.  It is so useful and so easy to use... finishing edges ... finishing seams ...  And while the pre-packaged stuff has it's place and I use it often, I really like to have patterned bias tape as well.  Enter one of my favorite little tools: the bias tape maker.  This one make 3/4 inch bias tape and I will be giving one away at the end of this post.  But first, I thought some of you might like to see what it does if you've never used one before. I don't have a rotary cutter, nice cutting mats, or even a proper cutting table (I cut-out things on my floor), so if I can do this, so can you.  Here is my admittedly quirky method. Step 1:  Lay out the fabric and fold a corner ove
Read more

An uncomfortable post

I hope it comes as no surprise to my readers that when I vote early next week I will be casting my ballot for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Being in a blue state this feels as though it is a very little thing in the effort to bring our country back past the brink of no return . I'll be honest and say that I am feeling such stress and fear about this election that I can't listen to any news or look at social media for very long. The radio is pretty firmly set on our classical music station even though they are in the middle of a pledge drive. The pledge drive is preferable.  But for those of you who are supporting the other side, if there are any of you left who continue to visit my blog, here is what I need to say. When I drive around and see signs in people's yards supporting that man, I treat it as an early warning system. The people who live in this house are not safe for my family to be around. This is far more than a difference of opinion. That worked for all the preside
Read more

Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway

Image
Sew, Mama, Sew! is hosting another giveaway day , the day where many bloggers giveaway things they have made or supplies to make things or both.  It is great fun to visit a lot of blogs and try to win cool stuff.  So fun that I thought I would participate this year. I had great hopes of making a set of coordinating mother/daughter aprons.  But reality reared its ugly head and I came to terms with the fact that my time is not limitless.Instead of aprons,  I must continue to spend quality time with yards and yards of red plaid flannel.  What am I making?  Well, as I tell my children, it is the season not to ask questions... I will be able to let you know sometime after the 25th. Instead of making something, I went to my favorite thrift store and found some supplies in the form of sheets and pillowcases (some of my favorite raw material).  I'm giving away three pillowcases and one twin flat sheet. I decided to go with bright, springy colors, because if you are anything like
Read more