Checking in

In the past three weeks, I have driven into Chicago/Evanston six times. For those of you unfamiliar with the geography, that little trek can take anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half depending on exactly where one is going and what the traffic is like. It was a lot. And now, I think I'm home for a while, only doing my normal errands and getting to stay home. I am very excited. So, let'e briefly pretend it's Friday.
  • The reason for this weekend's trips were because of a wedding (of a H-S family child) and because our friends, the H-S family were in town. The wedding was lovely. It's hard to beat a setting like this.

If you look at the picture closely, you'll see the Chicago skyline through the arch.
  • But despite all the driving, we have been getting school done as well. Our project on Friday was for everyone to paint the different parts of the interior of the earth. My children did point out the irony of using Styrofoam, which is definitely not earth friendly, to learn about the earth. 



I don't actually remember whose was whose. The skewers were so they could hold the balls and so they could dry.





  • R. did not paint one, though I had supplies for her. She was too busy teetering on the edge of the abyss. There was a significant amount of time on Friday morning when I truly believed she and I would be staying home.
  • I made apple butter this weekend. I canned 11 half-pint jars and still had over a pint left to go in the refrigerator. I think it is pretty tasty. Another 18 - 20 apples down.
  • I have started reading and set aside three different books this week. It's frustrating.
  • When we brought out the fall books this past week, Knuffle Bunny was among them. It was also discovered that Knuffle Bunny had (more) pages falling out, so I taped them back in. This book has now had every single page taped back. There have been books which have become so ragged tape won't help anymore, so I've had to repurchase them. Knuffle Bunny isn't quite there yet.
  • R. has discovered Knuffle Bunny and loves it.
  • We returned six bags of books to the library last Wednesday. I think our library book collection is now at a more manageable size.
  • Some of you may not have seen our new barn cat.
That's Nefertiti who somehow managed to squeeze herself into one of the stalls of the play stable I had out for my Mom and Tot horse class.
  • The stable next door is still for sale, and I truly wouldn't be too upset if someone happened to buy it for me. Just sayin'
  • The climbing wall J. and various children have been working is nearly done. I'll post pictures of the finished project soon, but here it is in progress.


  • And to finish things off for the evening, how about a nice picture of Bristol with the sun setting behind her?





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