Ordinary Time

For the past few days it has been nearly impossible to get this goose off her nest. Today I couldn't get her to move at all. (And moving an unhappy goose, even if it is usually friendly was just not something I felt up to this morning.)  I'm not sure if this is Agatha or Dahlia, because I can only tell them apart when they are next to each other, Agatha having slightly darker feathers than Dahlia. The other goose, Agatha or Dahlia, is very unhappy her friend does not come out of the coop to socialize. We have no gander and we have no draje, but we do have a rooster. Since the chickens are happy to lay their eggs in the nests the geese make, it could very well happen that she accidently hatches a chick. I truly don't know what happens then.

First, an update from yesterday's post. R. slept; we slept. I am very hesitantly allowing myself to consider the idea that perhaps we have turned a corner. But that's not what I want to write about right now. As the school year ends, with most traditional students doing so with some form of remote learning, and as people look ahead to a very murky future as far as what life will look like, I am starting to see more and more parents considering the option of homeschooling, some with excitement because this has been the impetus they needed to finally make a jump they had been considering for a long time, others very reluctantly because they feel as if they have no choice. Questions on various homeschooling facebook groups reflect these two populations as well as everything in between. Inevitably the first question that is asked is::What curriculum is good? Boy do I find this a difficult question to answer. I know some homeschoolers do have a favorite all-inclusive curriculu...

And some evenings when I sit down to write, I start hearing noises from the bedroom R. is in. Even though we've been in a much better spot these past few months, I will admit that one noise from her room and my adrenal system starts to work overtime. I can feel my heart rate increase even if I'm just sitting in a chair. She's been a little 'off' all day, not acting her usual self, though it was a much calmer 'off' than we normally experience. It makes me think that the rules have changed again, and who knows what that means. Just when we think we have things figured out, too. We have plenty of rescue meds in the house, so we should be alright. But I will probably lay awake for far longer than I should listening ever so intently. It's kind of like when you have a baby who doesn't like to sleep and you lay awake wondering if you heard the baby. Was that a cry? Will it keep going? No, maybe I was just imagining it, I should sleep. But what was that?...

Captain's Log Quarantine date: 58.75 We remain in a holding pattern being unable to move the ship out of its current orbit. We are in no current danger and are waiting until we are free to move again. Star Fleet's current orders regarding future movement have not been entirely clear. The crew is faring well for the most part, though it seems that time is starting to hang heavy on their hands. Getting some semblance of fresh air and freedom by visiting the various outdoor programming on the holodeck has proven popular and healthy, but for some inexplicable reason the holodeck can only produce outside venues with pouring rain at the moment. We are having engineering look into the matter, but for the most part the crew has not wanted to make us of this particular form of entertainment. Another popular form of recreation that the crew has been making use of is to search the computer database for archaic entertainment in the form of 20th century television shows. A show calle...

This before and after I can take no credit for, because I want to show you M.' shed/tiny house that is not 90% complete. I think it is phenomenal! First, remember the shed itself. This is so M., who is 27, has a place that is private. Because it can be hard to live at home after being on your own at that age. This is what it looked like on the inside before anything was done to it. This is midway through the process, after the wood stove was set inside. And finally, the finished result. Attaching the stove pipe and running it up through the roof as well as installing the fire board around it is that last thing to be done. Every material M. used on the interior was obtained second hand or was cast off and recycled. (Well, except that stove.) Pretty impressive, huh? M.'s cats are moved in as well. One is quite happy with the situation, the other, not so much. Horses, which can be seen from the window, were rather a surprise...

This week went by faster, so that's something. I'm sorry to say that Chickadee, the chicken, didn't make it and died earlier this week. Poor chicken. I spent several days this week doing the extremely important job of sorting through all my fabric scraps. I cut them down, sorted them, and got them all put away. This then evolved into a general straightening of the entire studio. I don't think it's looked this good in quite some time. I might even be encouraged to actually make something since walking into the studio won't make me want to walk back out. K. announced at dinner that he will not be talking like Yoda for a while. It turns out that older siblings have been giving him a hard time about it. We have ten (TEN!) more chapters left in The Wonderful Adventures of Nils. The end is in sight and it is entirely possible for us to finish it before the end of the month. People are starting to do more staring at the map printed inside the back cover of the bo...

There have been a few things over the past days that have helped distract us from the fact that someone hit the pause button on life. On the off chance that you haven't heard of them, I thought I would write about a few because everyone needs help getting through the days. 1. Settlers of Catan This game is not new by any stretch of the imagination, but our youngest children have recently discovered it and it has been played at least once a day for the past several weeks. It is a really good game if you are not familiar with it. I like it so much that I will play even if I don't always win. My family will tell you that doesn't happen with a game very often. For those not familiar with it, a board is laid out and each player tries to build settlements and roads using various raw materials that you gain based on the role of the dice. One thing that I like about it is that the board is different every time you play, so it is a new challenge each time. What works for one p...