Ordinary Time

Last night, J. and I went to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in their Land of Hope and Dreams concert. This was a huge bucket item list for J., and was made possible thanks to TM and JH buying him the tickets. I got to go because it's not as much fun to go to a concert by yourself.  I enjoyed the concert and was glad I was able to go. I need to also say that I did not fall asleep. My children will be relieved to hear that. I also need to explain that statement even though I will not be able to use the story as one of my ultimate 'two truths and a lie' statements. You see, in my early 20's, before J. and I were married, we, along with my future sister-in-law, went to see the Violent Femmes and Elvis Costello. I never got to Elvis Costello because I fell asleep during the Violent Femmes. True story. I'm very good at sleeping. I don't think I've been to a concert since until last night. You can now understand my children's concern that there mig...

It has been a busy week around here. I had three different fiber classes at Fine Line this week. They were interesting; I'm glad I was able to take them; I'm really glad I don't have three every week. To keep this ship running smoothly, I really need to be home more. The portable sheep fencing is working well. We've (well, J. and G.) have already moved it once. The sheep love having access to grass.  I think the wool break in the sheep that haven't been sheared is now to a point where we can roo them. I think we'll try Fred tomorrow. L. has started training for her job as a deck hand on a boat on the Fox River. Today was CPR and first aid training.  G. and Y. are still on the hunt for summer jobs. J. received a very, very nice early birthday present from TM and JH of tickets to see Bruce Springsteen in concert. J. was left a little speechless.  On top of having three classes which had me out of the house this week, I also had a Girl Scout troop here all afternoo...

I think we've all settled back into our routine after I had been gone for a bit. I think I've even readjusted my sleep schedule. The end of the semester for those taking college classes is starting to loom, which means there was a lot of studying around the house today. L. gamified the process by creating on the computer a spinning wheel which listed everything that needed to be done and for how long as well as adding in some fun things. Thus, a totally randomized schedule was produced. I don't think at 16 I would have thought of that. I bought some strawberries at the store this week because they were on sale, and this morning I opened the refrigerator to discover chocolate covered strawberries that Y. had made. We had them for dessert tonight. We don't live in walking distance of anything, so it is extremely rare to have someone ring out doorbell. It actually kind of disturbed people because it happens so infrequently. Today it rang and everyone looked at me as if to ...

As I was talking with my friend yesterday, we realized that most of the people we went to elementary school with lived in families who had lived in Arizona for a while. Many people had grandparents who also lived in the area. The Phoenix area was not the city of transplants that it is now. As my mother and I have visited various friends today, I realize that they, too, are all long time residents. My friend, who still lives in the valley, says it is very rare that she comes across people who didn't personally move here. I'm not even sure where I'm going with this except to note the phenomenon.  I've also been helping my mom go through some boxes that have been stored since my grandmother passed away twenty-five years ago. A couple of them included some family history which has been interesting to look at. One picture shows my great-grandmother and my grandmother (on my mother's side) when my grandmother was eight, standing on a train platform about to leave Chicago ...

I don't know about you, but I need something a little lighter tonight. So let's play the first installment of...  Am I the Only One?!  The game show where I learn whether I am somewhat normal or if I truly do have a runaway imagination.  I'll list three actual, real life occurrences for me and you tell me in the comments if you do this, too.  1. I seen to be an optimistic and a cynic all at the same time. My optimistic side comes out every time I go collect the mail from the mail box. There is always a little fizzle of anticipation because you never know if this will be the day when I open the box to discover a letter with a large check for us inside. In reality, 99.9% of the time there is no mysterious envelope with a large check. But every once in a while (think decades here), there actually is a surprise check, so you just never know.  2. Along those same lines, whenever I'm in the vestibule where the cost closets are I always am sure to look through the fron...

It's felt like a busy week and I have ended many days feeling as though my to-do list got longer instead of shorter. I don't like weeks like that. Admittedly, I tend to have a lot of different things going on, both from outside responsibilities as well as my own projects. When everything needs my attention at the same time, it can be a lot.  Because I don't have much bandwidth to write at the moment, I thought I would share some things that I have communicated to others in various venues this week.  "Please don't equate the fact a child is homeschooled with pathology." "Sometimes you need to go back and find the missing pieces and work on those before other learning can happen." "There are so many stressed parents out there who just want to fix their kids that they forget that they are part of the equation." "Honey has antibiotic properties, so I think we need to put that on the chicken's foot after the spray." "We have a...

I had dinner with two very good friends last night which was lovely and just what I needed. One of them asked me how I was doing... as in really doing given our current political crisis which directly affects my family in a myriad of ways. My answer? So far this year I've read 12 books and finished one knitting project and started many other projects. The need to keep the chaos out of my head is huge. I can keep up with current events for only short periods of time and then I need to dive back into my books or projects or head out to the barn. It is a perpetual balancing act of keeping informed and keeping sane.  How about all of you my dear readers, how are you all faring?  What are you doing to walk the tightrope of informed and actively resisting versus keeping sane?

Can you stand one more post about me musing on my general adjustment to tolerating winter? Clearly I find the subject somewhat fascinating based on how often I mention it. This time it isn't just about weather, though.  I mentioned on Monday after my weekend away that I was exhausted. It was a full weekend of pretty constant people-ing and I assumed that was the root of my fatigue. I'm sure it was part of it, but my physical fatigue was significant. The first morning back to caring for the horses and cleaning the barn felt really hard. So hard, in fact, that I felt the need to break it up into two sessions. The next day, it still felt really hard, though I was able to complete the job all in one go. By Wednesday, I felt back to my regular endurance and nothing about it felt hard.  I sat a lot during my weekend away working on various projects of one kind or another. Certainly I sat more than I usually do. But even then, there were other times I was standing, to use a suspended...

I've got nothing. The current state of the country is so horrible and unbelievable that it feels it cannot be real. But yet there it is. The government is murdering and violently abusing people and they are seemingly getting away with it. Felon47 flips an autoworker off for disagreeing with him and the autoworker gets suspended and Felon47 goes on his racist, insane way. I truly believe, 100% totally believe, that at this rate, the psychopath in the White House could point blank kill a reporter in a news conference and absolutely nothing would happen except his lackeys would say it didn't happen.  What am I supposed to write about? All the words in the world are not going to convence the white supremacists who worship the felon in chief that he is other than a god. And anyone who is terrified by what is going on doesn't need more to perseverate over. Yet it seems weird to not address current events because they are so enormously horrible. I'm also not sure how many post...

A while back, while we were heavily in the thick of healing two newly adopted older children adjust to their new parents, siblings, home, language, and culture, I wrote a post with some unpopular opinions in it . I don't normally ask you to pause in reading the current post in order to read a previous one, but I'm asking you to do that now. If you weren't reading here in 2016, reading this past post will help you understand where I am coming from. Go on, click back, I'll wait.  Here's a picture from about that same time period to keep you entertained while we wait for everyone to get back.  R., H., and Y. at the Museum of Science and Industry Everyone back?  Good intentions don't go very far when vulnerable people pay the price. In the example I wrote about it was the children living in institutions who pay the price for orphan tourism. Nice people with good intentions get to feel as though they did a good thing while leaving unacknowledged emotional wreckage in...

It was a hard news day, huh? No one, regardless of their beliefs, should be gunned down. No one should suffer violence for their beliefs. Violence is never the answer. It is never something to rejoice over.  I think, in theory, many people agree with what I just stated. But I have been incredibly dismayed by my Facebook feed today at the number of posts which are stating how wonderful Charlie Kirk was and what a loss his death is. Do not forget that this was the man who said that gun rights were so essential that we should be willing to put up with the occasional victim. This is the man who said that gay and trans people should be killed. Exactly how do those sentiments line up with the idea that no one should be murdered?  While his death should never have happened, and I am sorry for his family, I will admit I am struggling with the whole thing. He went on record saying my children should be murdered because of who they are. He made life more dangerous for my family. He was ...

Don't let the benign nature of my list fool you that either I'm okay with what is going on in our country or that I am unaware. I am painfully aware and shattered and heartbroken and furious and hopeless and helpless all by turns. I try to dredge up little bits of normalcy when I can because it's not healthy to live in the highly anxious and angry state all the time. Here is a little dose of normalcy for you in this moment.  Y. and G. were gone much of this week, returning last night from having gone to the Presbyterian Church USA Youth Triennium. As the title suggests, it happens once every three years and is a national gathering. They both had an amazing time, learned a lot, and met lots of people. Now they are very tired.  When J. and everyone were in Michigan last week, they went blueberry picking and came home with four huge bags of blueberries. I've been spending the week freezing them so we will have them all winter. I've frozen 30 cups so far, and the conten...

I've just gotten back from spending five hours and twenty minutes driving through Chicago and only passing by the outside of the Adler Planetarium. L. is incredibly disappointed and if I never see another brake light again, I wouldn't be sad. I'm now eating some dinner and will fill you in on the whole gruesome adventure tomorrow. 

When children were younger, I would go through phases of having them memorize poetry. I know that I had several sets of children learn Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley and The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus. I think everyone should be familiar with these poems, one reminds us that human achievement and perceived greatness is fleeting, the other reminds us of how to really be great.  In case you don't know The New Colossus or haven't read it in a while, here it is: Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse...

It's been a hard day for those of us who are still sane in the United States. We have been betrayed by those who had promised to keep us safe, and I fear we will look back upon this moment and wish we could go back to it and relish our ignorance at what is to come.  The words of Julian of Norwich have been echoing through my head all afternoon.  "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well."  This isn't some trite positive thinking line, because she also wrote, "He said not 'Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailled, thou shalt not be dis-eased'; but he did say, 'Thou shalt not be overcome.'" This is the long view.  So take care of yourselves and do what you need to do in order to be ready to do the hard work when it comes. Do what you can right in front of you. Help the hurting right in front of you. Feed the hungry right in front of you. Speak the truth to those around you. Stand up for t...

Option A - Post screed about how horrible our government is  Option B - Update everyone on the car saga Option C - Link to old posts so I don't have to write anything  Option D - Share photos that K. sent me from his bike ride to work - - - - - - - - - -

Really, this is going to be more kitchen-related items than anything else because that is what I've spent the most time on. (It's also probably going to be rather dull.) Really the week was non-eventful with little to chat about. And with the state of the nation, I'm just as happy nesting in the kitchen.  Y. made bread today which we desperately needed. When she used up the wheat berries we had in the storage buckets, this meant I needed to refill them with more wheat.  I'm happy I have a new outlet to buy wheat berries.  Y. has definitely perfected bread baking.  Of course, it doesn't take long for the masses to cut into fresh bread.  The shelf where I keep cookbooks has been bothering me for some time.  It needs a good cleaning, and I had let recipes I wanted to keep pile up. Plus, I realized that there was a large stack of cooking magazines that were very nice, but I never looked at. I decided that it made more sense to pull out the recipes I wanted and ...

[Fair warning, you may want to buckle up. This will not be a pleasant post, and I am 100% sure I will make people angry and possible lose friends over it. If you are thin-skinned, you may want to just move along. And, as usual, I will be quick with the delete key for aggressive, threatening, or mean comments. You've been warned.] The brain is a funny thing, how when we're doing things our subconscious is always working and making connections our thinking brain hasn't thought of. Which is why I was rather curious about the fact I suddenly had the song, Trouble in River City from the musical, The Music Man, going through my head while I mucked stalls this morning. After a little thinking, I have it figured out. My revision of the song might give you a clue as to why it was the morning's earworm.  [For those who don't know the musical, it is about a con man who travels from town to town creating fear and selling band instruments as a result. This takes the form of tell...

I'm still working on finishing up writing my action research project. I should be able to turn it in by the due date. But I've got nothing else at the moment. Thus ends probably the shortest blog post I've ever written.