Weekly Update - September 30, 2022

I would like to know exactly where September went. It feels as though it zoomed by faster than is typical. 

• We finished our second week of school and my school plan seems to be working. Everyone has kept up with the individual work I have assigned, which is heartening. But with the youngest being 13 at the table in the morning, it feels as though it is a total crap shoot as to the level of engagement on any given morning. I never realized exactly how much the grade schoolers were driving the energy until this moment.
• We finished reading Something Rotten, the fourth Thursday Next book today. Because I only owned the first three, as we get to the next book, I've been ordering them from our local bookstore because they are something I will reread. I waited a bit too long to order the next one, so we may have to skip our teatime reading for a few days next week.
• Identifying R.'s anxiety over being cold has helped a bit, though there still have been some tough moments over the past couple of weeks. If I had the energy, I would sift through her paperwork to see if I can find what significant event happened around this time of year. But I feel so swamped with things at the moment, that particular job is going to have to wait. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter because knowing won't undo it, but I am curious.
• We will be celebrating P's birthday on Sunday, and I think nearly everyone will be able to make it for dinner.
• In some big news, we bought a couple of new laundry baskets last week. I was down to one functional one and one not so functional one. I have some questions. 1. Why do laundry baskets seem as though they wear out faster than they should? and 2. Why does it seem frivolous to purchase an under $10 laundry basket instead of continuing to use the one that is falling apart?
• I was correct that the Ladybug magazines are the perfect level for R. She is enjoying them very much and is even able to do some of the activities in them. One story format I had forgotten about was that in each issue, one story has pictures replacing some of the words so the child can help "read" the story. R. could do it! She understood that when I pointed to the picture that she would say the name of the picture and that it was part of the story. I was blown away.
• I still have not planned K.'s Afghanistan individual study. The books are still piled on the sideboard in the dining room, and if I don't get to it soon, they will all be due.
• I also have pounds of apples from our trees that desperately need to be made into applesauce and caramel pie filling. I may just have to cancel school at some point in the next couple of weeks and spend the day canning. I'm pretty sure no one would really mind if I did this.
• The baby chickens have started to lay eggs, but they are still sort of practice eggs because they are a bit smaller than the other eggs we get from the older chickens.
• L. wants a puppy in case you have forgotten. I can assure you, no one living in this house has forgotten that fact.
• I can't believe that Christmas was up in Costco this past week. It's more than a bit ridiculous. 
• Last weekend I did a stock up run to one of the grocery stores I visit occasionally. It is the store most like my favorite grocery store from before we moved. It's just a little too far away to go to it regularly. So, every so often, I head up to it and spend what I feel is an eye popping amount. This resulted in me needing to reorganize the pantry because it all needed to go somewhere. I also reorganized the kitchen refrigerator. Due to the domino effect, the large freezer in the utility room had quite a bit of stuff just thrown into it. It will be okay for now, but in a couple of months, I will have a new side of beef arriving, so will have to reorganize it as well to make room for it.
• I think the current political climate is triggering some anxiety because I feel a deep need to stock up on food. It truly does make me nervous to contemplate the lunatic fringe (AKA the current Republican party) gaining control of congress. 
• Did I mention that Y. is beginning to take violin lessons? 
• I have been scouring sales ads looking for an inexpensive yet functioning treadmill. While I am not sedentary by any stretch of the imagination, I also realize that I need to be a bit more proactive about cardiovascular strength. This would not be for running (you all know how I feel about that), but for walking briskly. Now, my problem is that I find exercise, other than horseback riding, to be mind-numbingly dull. So here's my plan. If I subscribe to the Great Courses streaming network, I could watch lectures on my phone while I walk. If I limit myself to only watching lectures while walking on the treadmill, then that will be my motivation to do so. (Because I really enjoy watching Great Courses lectures, but rarely find the time to sit down to do so.) I think it sounds like a great plan in theory. Finding a treadmill is kind of the first step. Anyone have one?

And with that I'm going to end. I know there were several other things I wanted to share from the past couple of weeks, but because I didn't write them down, they have vanished. I know I should write things down, but every time I think to myself, "I'll remember it this time." Nope. I won't remember it. My brain is officially too full at the moment.