Earth Scouts

Surfing on the net today, I found Earth Scouts. There is also a yahoo group. I am looking it over to see if I think it would be good for Thomas. Just thought I'd pass the info on. It appears that you can do this as a family if there is not a group in your area.

"Earth Scouts
Imagine a community where children and youth

Appreciate one another's differences

Have awe and a sense of wonder about nature and the cosmos
Engage in making their school and community better
Value independence and cooperation
Seek peaceful solutions to problems
Welcome new knowledge and experiences

Earth Scouts is a new
national program developed by Earth Charter US that inspires the above qualities in boys and girls from 3 to 13 years of age and engages them in actions. It is based on the Earth Charter: A Declaration of Interdependence, with badges centered on universal human rights,
eliminating poverty (economic justice), participatory democracy, respect for nature and a culture of peace.
Our slogan, 'Changing the World One Fun Badge
at a Time', was developed by a 10 year old member of our design group."

Titanic

Toilet Monster

The little imp...

I woke up this morning and this is what I was greeted with. The lid was down and he taped the monster to the seat and lid. I am not a morning person so this actually gave me a start. Not because it scared me, but because I had to go and it interrupted my actions.

He's such a character.

Where's the Beef?

Or, Where's Thomas's Titanic?

Well, I asked him to bring it to me so I could scan it and we can't. He had painted over the white Titanic letters and I don't want wet paint on my scanner. I could take a photo, but I would have to find the camera, clear a spot in my messy kitchen and shoot it, come back down, upload it....I'm lazy. Tomorrow.

This is the first time he has sat down to paint. He draws a lot and is fairly good at that. He's been learning perspective from little hints from dad and from a book I try to read. He just really wants to paint now.

We've been using Tempera paints. Did you know that Tempera paint stinks? My husband walked through the kitchen and asked, "Is something burning?" No, hon, it's just the paints.

DH scrounged up about 20 of his art books. They cut some plywood on the saw for painting boards and primed them. Tomorrow DH is going to dig out his "good" brushes that he has hidden from me. We may have to make a trip to a hobby store and get Thomas his own set. We will also take stock of our acrylics supply. We're going to move him on to acrylics. I need a 48-hour day to keep up.

Anyway, tonight Thomas used the stinky paint to make a Titanic poster. He was surprised that he wouldn't' be able to finish in one night. Imagine that. He wants the poster hanging in his room. I tell him it looks great. Dad says it looks great but the Titanic is out of proportion. Huh? I look and again, Dad is right.

Bob has agreed to add an art teacher feather to his cap. He's now official science teacher, he's always been the unschooling science guy, but now artist.. I think it works out great that Bob and I are so different that we are good at different things. We've got Thomas covered!!!

Time to close, as it's an early day tomorrow. Our library is having a book sale. I don't know a single homeschooler that doesn't take advantage of library book sales. I'm hoping to find some goodies tomorrow!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I will post a painting Thomas made today of the Titanic. It's still wet now and I want to scan it rather than shoot it. His ceramics class as had the benefit of instilling a desire to learn to paint. Let's run with it, I say.

Thomas painted from 4 pm until 10 pm tonight, taking a short break only to eat. Bob insisted on postponing the physics lesson because Thomas was so grossly absorbed in what he was doing.

He did a pretty good job. He asked me my honest opinion and I said honestly, for your first-ever painting, it is great. He asked me what I would do different. That one was hard to answer. See, he had the great painting and at the top he painted "titanic" in white on the sky background. In D'Nealian letters. You know, those happy, upturned cheerful letters. I said I'd paint over "titanic". You don't need it because anyone who looks at the painting will know what it is. And besides that, it's too happy because at that very moment that you chose to paint, people are screaming and dying. It's not a happy scene.

I then asked him if he'd like to get out dad's painting books. NO, I know how to paint, mooooom. But honey, one of the best ways is to learn better is to get instruction.

He marches to the beat of his own drummer. Getting a painting book out might kill the love. What's a mom to do.

I'm going to get the books out anyway, leave them on the breakfast table, and see what he does.

I am so happy we found the ceramics class. I just wish we could find other art classes in our town.

Who is this boy and what happened to MY child?

Tonight Thomas and I went to Subway for dinner because Bob wouldn't be home for dinner. Any excuse for me to eat out and I'll take it.

So we're in line, waiting our turn and because there was nothing else to do, I watched the two guys working behind the counter. One I knew, and he's very friendly. There was a new guy and he was, um, well, not very enthusiastic about his job. Yeah, that's how I'll say it.

So it comes our turn and Thomas orders his sandwich. He asks for extra cheese. The guy making his sandwich takes two chunks of cheese and slaps them down on his sandwich. Normally, with that extra cheese bit, they peel them all apart so that you can distinctly see four pieces of cheese. This guy was just, well, not enthusiastic enough to do that. Well, apparently that made Thomas angry.

What happened next blew me away. Thomas said, in a very MEAN and NASTY voice: "I SAID EXTRA CHEESE." It was so rude. I stood there with my chin frozen to my chest. The guy behind the counter actually stepped back and gave Thomas the look of death. He then said in a nasty voice: 'THERE ISSS EXTRA CHEESE."

This was one of those moments that I was so stunned that I was speechless. I ordered my sandwich, paid and went to get my drink. We were taking the food home instead of eating there, so while I was at the pop dispenser, I told Thomas that we were not leaving this store until he apologized to the guy behind the counter.

Now Thomas is a very shy young man. Doing something like that is a huge deal to him. He started shaking and begged me to not have to do it. I stood my ground. There were so many people that we got in line again. The nice guy asked us if there was a problem and I told him "No, my son just needs to speak to that gentleman over there." We moved down the line and Thomas did it.

In a very nervous voice Thomas said, "I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." The guy stepped back again. A very big smile came over his face. He said, "Thank you, that's okay, don't worry about it." He stood there with huge eyes smiling at my son. Then he looked at me, I just smiled and nodded and he nodded back.

When we got into the car I told Thomas I was very proud of him, that it takes a big person to apologize and admit when they are wrong. I also told him that he just cannot treat people the way he did when he's upset. Thomas was just upset. I told him that he was rightfully upset, as the guy was a jerk. I'd been watching him and he was slamming things around. He had no pride in his work whatsoever. He had better places to be than behind the counter of Subway. BUT...that didn't matter.

What bugged me was the way Thomas approached the situation. He did stand up for himself, which was good. However, it was so powerfully rude that I just couldn't believe Thomas could do that. So on the way home we talked through ways that he could have been assertive without being rude. You know, a
you-can-catch-more-flies-with-honey kind of thing.

So why would I share such a thing on the internet? Because in the blogging world, we always seem to share the great things our kids do. We share the funny and crazy things our kids do. But kids are human and they make mistakes. While I want this to be a positive blog, I also want to be honest that life isn't always peachy, there are a few bumps in the road.

Thomas is a great kid. I don't know where that came from, but hopefully we've nipped it in the bud. I'm very proud of him, no matter what, and love him to pieces.

What a Dope I Am

I had on my calendar this morning: field trip, 10 am. We were going to the local bakery four a tour with the local homeschool group.

Thomas and I showed up at 9:50, and because it's snowing so heavily, we decided to wait in the car and enjoy the snow show. Not a single family showed up. At ten after, we decided to just head home. I thought perhaps the trip was canceled due to snow.

I am just thankful that I didn't go in. I could have gone in and asked if it had been cancelled, but knowing my experience with the group and that they show up at the very last minute, I knew no one was in there. I didn't recognize any cars.

Well, what a dope I am. We were 10 minutes and one WEEK early.

Good grief.

Back to Titanic. We checked out about half the library's books on Titanic. Thomas read two of the books last night, watched volume one of a four-volume Titanic documentary, and has been working on his lapbook. He just loves Titanic. We're going to snuggle up and watch volume 2 this morning -- instead of touring a bakery.

He has his ceramics class this afternoon, and he is going to get a dinner plate and paint the Titanic on it.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

In my morning routine of checking email, blogs, and all that important online stuff, I discovered something. Someone must think I'm funny. Someone nominated me for the Homeschool Blog Awards in the Funniest category.

I was completely blown away. Thank you to whoever nominated my blog. It made my day. Then I started thinking -- maybe it was a joke nomination. You know, like back in high school when the jerks would nominate the ugly girl as a joke for homecoming queen? Maybe the joke was on me. Maybe I got nominated because I'm so stupid that people laugh at me. Ha-ha.

Nah, I know that some people out there (besides Bob, Thomas and me) actually like my blog. ;-)

So then I was faced with the decision of what to do about this nomination. See, I'm always on the outside circle of homeschoolers. I never quite fit in. My cousin calls me a nonconforming nonconformist, a label that I actually like. I am not "the average" homeschooler. So I decided to not mention it on the blog.

Obviously I changed my mind.

I voted this morning. I actually spent quite a bit of time actually checking out nominated blogs. I only voted for one blog that I had never read before. Some categories I left open. The rest I voted for MY blogging buddies. I was thrilled to see your names on the list as well! I even discovered some of the bloggers I like were on group blogs! I'm living under a rock, because I didn't know.

After I voted, I thought about it all day. I obviously had nothing better to do. Well, we were studying Titanic, and that subject is really kind of depressing to me, so this was a nice diversion.

I came to the conclusion that yes, I would share the nomination on the blog. The face of homeschooling is changing. All homeschoolers are not made the same. Some of us are very unique and don't fit the mold, and our voices need to be heard. We do count. So that's why I decided to mention it.

So let your voices be heard. Go vote for your favorite homeschool blogs.

Titanic Stuff

April 15 marks the 95th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Thomas loves all things Titanic, so we are doing a unit study on the Titanic this week.

I was up late last night due to insomnia (as usual) and decided to poke around Titanic websites. Bob was up late because he injured his leg and he was icing it. (Yeah, right, any excuse to play Runescape, eh?)

I found a statistic that just blew me away. The price of a 1st class parlor suite on the Titanic was $4,350. The price of a 1st class berth was $150. A second-class ticket was about $60 and a third-class ticket, or steerage, was $35-40.

So I'm reading statistics to Bob who isn't remotely interested, but because our computers are in the same room, he was forced to listen to me. I wondered out loud what that $4,000 ticket in 1912 would cost today. Bob told me to google and find my answer. (I know he was thinking, "Just leave me alone.") So I did.

I found a great website that I can plug in my date and dollar amount to find out what it's worth today -- well, 2006. I about fell out of my chair with the results.

1st Class Titanic Parlor Suite 1912 - $4,350. Today that ticket would cost: $93,293.62.

Holy cow, holy cow, holy cow. I just cannot fathom having that much money!

1st Class Titanic Berth 1912 - $150 today would be $3217.02. Okay, that is definitely more doable, but honestly, out of my price range. lol

2nd Class Titanic Ticket 1912 - $60 today would cost $1286.81.

3rd Class Titanic Ticket 1912 - $35 today would cost $750.64.

Guess who would be buying the steerage ticket? No wonder I have a fear of large bodies of water.

After Bob and I discussed this, I was reminded of a strange Amtrak experience I once had. Thomas and I rode Amtrak to Denver to visit my dad on Easter years ago. Because we were going to be on the train less than 12 hours, I bought coach tickets. Thomas was four at the time. It was his first-ever train trip.

We boarded that train around eight in the evening, and Thomas stayed awake all night long. He has always been a train buff, and that first train ride was a fantastic experience. He was wired. Thomas finally fell asleep at 4 am. He woke me up at 6 am with "Let's eat in the dining car, mom." We went downstairs to the restrooms, washed our faces, brushed our hair and teeth, did some other things, and then went to the dining car for breakfast.

When you ride Amtrak and eat in the dining car, you must share a table with other parties. The porter seats you -- you have no choice. So we were the first in there and were seated at a table. Five minutes later, a couple joined us. They were well dressed. In fact, I'll even say their attire was completely inappropriate for train travel. He was in an expensive suit and she was wearing a beautiful dress with high heels. High heels -- on a train. Walking can be difficult on a train at times, one jerk and you lose your balance. Not too smart to wear high heels.

They sit down and we make our introductions. Thomas orders biscuits and gravy, surprise, surprise. I sip my coffee and secretly wish I were home alone in my quiet kitchen because I am so not a morning person. The woman really liked to talk, which was nice because I only had to smile and nod occasionally. He was a sheriff in New Jersey. I learned their whole life history. (And I still remember it.)

Then she asked me a question. "What was your room like?" Before I could answer, she was complaining that the shower was over the toilet in her room. I laughed inside at that because I've showered over a toilet in a train a few times in my life. She finally asked me again about my room. I smiled and said we were traveling coach this trip. She gave me a look that I will never forget. It was as if I suddenly stunk to high heaven. And then THE question.

"How are your accommodations in coach?"

Now, this is one of those instances where you just cannot get the gist of a question in print. She asked me in that same snooty way that the first-class passengers talked down to poor Jack Dawson in the Titanic movie. Very pointed, each syllable spoken slowly as if the words inflicted pain or disgust as she spoke them. It was all I could do to keep from busting out laughing. Thomas was oblivious, staring out the window. I told her they were wonderful, thank you.

That is one of the very few times I have experienced being looked down upon due to class. Maybe the only time. I have to say, I think it was one of the most hilarious things I've ever experienced. When we arrived in Denver, I got another laugh out of "my couple." They rode the luggage cart instead of walking along the platform to get into the depot. They looked SO silly.

The funniest thing about that whole experience, and how it is actually related to the topic of Titanic, is what Thomas said after the fact. Thomas has always appeared like he wasn't paying attention, doing his own thing, and in his own world. He's usually listening, though. He heard every single word that woman spoke. And this was his comment: Mom, that woman reminded me of Rose's mom in Titanic.


***

$93,000 -- I can think of better things to do with $93,000. I think the grass is actually greener on my side.

I must admit, though, that the next time we rode Amtrak to dad's house, we rode first class in what is called a roomette. That was a, well, substandard version of first-class accommodations on Amtrak. No bathroom, but we had beds. In my mind, I was prepared to be meet that woman again, I was ready to say that our room was wonderful. Thankfully, we dined with a woman who was pleasant and down to earth and didn't give a hoot where our accommodations were on the train. And that's the way it should be.

I don't mean to butt in

Last week Thomas and I went to a friend's house. We have known our friends for nine years. This family is fundamentalist Christian. For the record, I am a Christian but no where close to being what I term "fundie."

We both know that we are totally different from each other on the religious front. I watch my P's and Q's when I'm around this friend, fearing I might slip up and say, "Oh, shit" in front of her. We have both had a mutual respect for each other and our differences.

Thomas has asked me why they are the way they are, and we have had many open talks about it. One of the things I tell Thomas is that this country is so wonderful because we can believe whatever we want to and practice that chosen religion (as long as it causes no one harm) however we want. (I still take exception to the Pearls and their physically cruel punishments, but I've already talked about that ad nauseam.)

Anyway, I have suspected that she talked with her children about why we are the way we are. I was right on that.

She had to take two of her children to an appointment on the day we visited. She asked if I'd watch her youngest while they left. So I did. The boys were happy to play together and I didn't mind at all.

So what I found so funny was after my friend left, the very first thing her youngest son did was to come up to me and say this: "Um, I don't mean to butt in, but why don't you go to church?"

I believe he was too polite to ask that question in front of his mom, but he was curious and wanted to know. I didn't give him an answer other than the fact that it was a very long story why we didn't go to church. But he was very relieved to know we were Christians.

So as Thomas and I were driving home, I took the opportunity to discuss this because he witnessed it. I asked him what he thought of his friend's question. Thomas thought it was rude and an invasion of our privacy. I explained that children are curious and just want to know things, and while it is something I hope he would never ask someone, it didn't really bother me to be asked.

I brought up the fact that his friend was very relieved to know we were Christians. I asked Thomas what he thought of that. He asked me if they would be our friends if we were not Christians. I told him no, that our friends would not accept us if we were not Christians. (And that is the truth. I have talked about that with Mom Friend a few times.)

Thomas thought that it was very sad indeed. He just couldn't understand the concept of not being friends with someone who didn't share the same faith. I was SO proud, because that is the lesson I have been trying to teach. (And it's one reason I'm "not Christian enough" with some of the local homeschoolers. So be it.)

I have friends of all different faiths or lack of faith. I don't judge on what religion someone practices. I do judge, and that is if they are kind, moral, etc. I cannot imagine closing myself off to -- well, the world. I do, however, understand that is "their" choice to make, though. I just feel it's so sad. Then again, like I said, this is why I'm viewed as "not Christian enough."

Why do I stay friends then? This relationship has been on and off over the years. Sometimes I would just go crazy with it all and not call for months. We always seem to end up in the same place, though, as it's a small town. I stay friends because deep down, aside from the judgmental part I don't like, she is a very lovely person. Her kids are nice, well behaved, and warm. Thomas adores her kids, and they like him.

Thomas asked me why we (well, I) stayed friends and I told him that if we did not, we were being judgmental. We will never see eye-to-eye with anyone. There will always be differences. It opens his world to see how others live, especially those that are so different from us.

And that's it. I don't expect any more religious posts here for a very long time.

Happy "Eggster"

Wishing you all a "Happy Eggster" tomorrow!

Another great week

Yes, it has been another great week. (Okay,except for the wind, cold and snow!) While we have not started school before 8am again, we have worked hard and steady.

Awhile back I signed Thomas up for a ceramics class. It is the only art class for kids in our local community education program. I knew this class was out there, but never signed him up before because I was sexist and thought it was too girlish.

Once again, I was wrong. I admit it. Thomas loved the class and made these cute dolphins. The instructor called me the night before class to give me directions to her studio/house. We ended up chatting on the phone for over a half hour. She was so nice, she had "retired" from scouts right as I had joined up, so I was following in her footsteps. She was incredibly warm and friendly and we had many things in common.

She was great with kids. The kids were all smiling and happy to be there. They loved free reign to create what they wanted. Apparently Thomas was the only one to register for this class through the CER. The other five kids there just show up every Tuesday. She invited Thomas to do the same and he was thrilled. Two of the girls in the class were former classmates of Thomas. I only recognized one of the girls. The other girl looked about 14 and was a goth. Black clothes and black fingernails. I didn't notice if she was wearing makeup. When Thomas told me who she was, I was shocked. I don't mind kids expressing themselves, but it surprised me that she was only 11 and a goth already.

Thomas has many plans for future projects. He's doing a unit study on the Titanic right now and so when he goes to class next week, he plans on painting the Titanic on a dinner plate. He wants to make presents for his Grandma, his Grandpa and his dad for Father's day. I had to remind him that Mother's Day was fast approaching, too.

While this was not the art class I was looking for, I am a happy mom because he's happy. And that's what it's all about.

Now I'm just hoping that a cute boy who Thomas has known since preschool will get his grades up so he can join the train club. The boy, his dad and brother all visited the train club last night and the dad said that if the boy would get his grades up in school, he could join.

Feeling very happy tonight

Today was one of those -- WOW, HOMESCHOOLING IS GREAT days!

Thomas got up early, had his special breakfast, and we set out to work. He worked very hard. He even gave up his usual morning break to continue plugging along. At noon, I looked at my list and aside from reading and physics in the evening with dad, he was done.

Impossible that we had a four-hour school day! I don't know who was more excited, Thomas or I. Well, I do, it was me. After Bob left from lunch, Thomas settled in with his book and I took a hot, long bubble bath. During the day. It was a very overcast day where it tries to rain all day, sometimes managing a little precipitation hitting the ground, but definitely foggy. It was a snuggle in your jammies kind of day.

And that is what I did. After my luxurious soak, I threw on my favorite nightgown, grabbed my favorite Biederlack blanket, and found the couch and remote. Thomas snuggled in. I think he thought we'd have fun with TV for the afternoon, but the mom that I am found a two-hour show on the Dark Ages on the History Channel. I remember the first hour, but after that I was sawing logs. Thomas enjoyed what he saw. I wonder if he changed the channel when he heard me snoring? (Yes, I snore.)

When I woke up Thomas was making a cave with all the blankets in our house. (We have about eight of those lovely Biederlack blankets.) The tv was not on. I got up and felt energized so I vacuumed the entire living room, even moving furniture. I vacuumed the entire upstairs. I did all my daily chores that I never get done during the day. Wow.

Bob and Thomas did physics after supper tonight and that went well. (Sometimes it's a bit rocky because the two are too alike and butt heads.)

So I'm just feeling great, relaxed yet energized and very happy.

I wonder...would it be possible for this life-long nightowl to change her ways and become a morning bird?

Thomas has already told me he wants normal routine back tomorrow. I think I'll surprise him with some banana nut muffins to entice him out of bed instead.

I'm seeing the light -- the early morning sun rays, and they are nice.

book meme from meg

Mark in italics any books that you have read.
Mark in bold any books that your kids have read.
Underline any books that you have on your shelves. *I'm highlighting because I can't find how to underline on blogger!)
Cross out any books that you (or your kids) didn’t like. I don't know how to do this, either. Someone teach me!

red - we own it Of course when I made blue, it messed up my red, so we actually own a lot of books.
blue - Thomas has read it. (bold didn't show when I publised the post.)

What a mess I made here!


The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Robinson, Barbara)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Dahl, Roald)
Charlotte’s Web (White, E.B.)
Freckle Juice (Blume, Judy)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler I hated this, Thomas loved it(Konigsburg, E. L.)
Misty of Chincoteague (Henry, Marguerite)
Pippi Longstocking (Lindgren, Astrid)
Ramona (Cleary, Beverly)
Shiloh (Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds)
Sounder (Armstrong, William)
Velveteen Rabbit (Williams, Margery)
The Whipping Boy (Fleischman, Sid)
Little House series (Wilder, Laura Ingalls)
Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes (Coerr, Eleanor)
Sarah, Plain and Tall (MacLachlan, Patricia) Thomas read the whole series and enjoyed very them much.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Verne, Jules)
Alice in Wonderland (Carroll, Lewis)
The Cricket in Times Square (Seldon, George)
The Secret Garden (Burnett, Frances) Childhood favorite of mine
Wizard of Oz (Baum, L. Frank)
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Pyle, Howard)
Tales of Uncle Remus (Lester, Julian)
The New Kid on the Block (Prelutsky, Jack)
The Magic School Bus series (Cole, Joanna)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Twain, Mark)
Anne of Green Gables (Montgomery, Lucy Maud) on our to-read list
A Christmas Carol (Dickens, Charles)
Flowers for Algernon (Keyes, Daniel)
Holes (Sacher, Louis)
Island of the Blue Dolphins (O’Dell, Scott) We loved this.
The Little Prince (De Saint-Exupery, Antoine)
Little Women (Alcott, Louisa May)
My Side of the Mountain (George, Jean Craighead) Thomas LOVED this
The Pearl (Steinbeck, John)
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Taylor, Mildred D.)
Summer of My German Soldier (Greene, Bette) Childhood favorite of mine.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (Avi)
The Yearling (Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan)
Across Five Aprils (Hunt, Irene)
Catherine, Called Birdy (Cushman, Karen)
Johnny Tremain (Forbes, Ester)
Out of the Dust (Hesse, Karen)
The Watsons Go to Birmingham (Curtis, Christopher Paul)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Speare, Elizabeth George)
The Hobbit (Tolkien, J.R.R.) I saw the cartoon movie in the 70s and HATED -- double hated it. Not my thing. I think Thomas would love it, though.
I, Robot (Asimov, Isaac)
, the The LionWitch, and the Wardrobe (Lewis, C.S.) Thomas and I each read a couple -- found them dull
Phantom Tollbooth (Juster, Norton) just bought this
Swifly Tilting Planet (L’Engle, Madeleine)
The Time Machine (Wells, H.G.)
A Wizard of Earthsea (Le Guin, Ursula)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Doyle, Arthur Conan)
And Then There Were None (Christie, Agatha)
Call of the Wild (London, Jack)
Hatchet (Paulsen, Gary)
Motel of the Mysteries (Macauley, David)
Treasure Island (Stevenson, Robert Louis)
Aesop’s Fables (Aesop)
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth)
Song of Myself (Whitman, Walt)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Irving, Washington)
The Night the Bed Fell (Thurber, James)
The Tell-Tale Heart (Poe, Edgar Allan)
Thank You Ma’am (Hughes, Langston)
Hiroshima (Hersey, John)
The Diary of a Young Girl (Frank, Anne)
All Creatures Great and Small (Herriot, James) on my to-read list forever
Animal Farm (Orwell, George)
Catcher in the Rye (Salinger, J.D.)
Crime and Punishment (Dostoyevsky, Fyodor)
Frankenstein (Shelley, Mary)
A Girl fo the Limberlost (Stratton-Porter, Gene)
The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald, F. Scott)
Heart of Darkness (Conrad, Joseph)
House on Mango Street (Cisneros, Sandra)
Jane Eyre (Bronte, Charlotte)
The Joy Luck Club (Tan, Amy)
The Metamorphosis (Kafka, Franz)
Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck, John)
The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway, Ernest) I started reading this years ago and just could not get into it. Why was Hemingway so great? Maybe I need to revisit.
Pride and Prejudice (Austen, Jane)
The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne, Nathaniel)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee, Harper)
All Quiet of the Western Front (Remarque, Erich Maria)
The Jungle (Sinclair, Upton)
The Red Badge of Courage (Crane, Stephan)
2001: A Space Odyssey (Clarke, Arthur C.)
Brave New World (Huxley, Aldus)
Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury, Ray)
Iliad (Homer)
The Once and Future King (White, T.H.)
The Canterbury Tales (Chaucer, Geoffrey)
“I Hear America Singing” (Whitman, Walt)
“The Tiger” (Blake, William)
“The Lottery” (Jackson, Shirley)
“Gift of the Magi” (Henry, O.)
The Crucible (Miller, Arthur) saw the movie, does that count? Our library doesn't have this, I wanted to read it.
Death of a Salesman (Miller, Arthur)
A Doll’s House (Ibsen, Henrik)
The Glass Menagerie (Williams, Tennessee)
“Declaration of Independence” (Jefferson, Thomas)
“The Gettysburg Address” (Lincoln, Abraham)
“I Have a Dream” (King, Martin Luther, Jr.)
“I Will Fight No More Forever” (Chief Joseph)
A Brief History of Time (Hawking, Stephen)
Democracy in America (de Tocqueville, Alexis)
Roots (Haley, Alex)
Walden (Thoreau, Henry David)
Night (Wiesel, Elie)

Biscuits and Gravy

Awhile ago I blogged about our Hardee's closing and how upset it made us. Thomas loves his biscuits and gravy, so we always went the first morning of school, then throughout the year as a special treat. (Or as a great incentive for him to get up early.)

Earlier this week as we were driving around, we noticed a sign at Burger King: Try our new biscuits and gravy.

And so we did.

For some unknown reason, Thomas actually awoke early and was up and dressed by 7 am. That is an amazing feat, believe it or not. So I thought a special Burger King run was in order.

I drove up to the microphone and placed our order: One biscuits and gravy and one large diet pop, please. (The pop was for me.) As we pulled around the side of the building, we saw this advertisement:

I know, I know, you can't read it. The first sign said: This burger is stocked full of good stuff. The second sign says: Just like our 10,000 lakes.

Now I don't know who came up with that advertising campaign, but it immediately made me nauseous. I know they were talking about good fish, but I was thinking of fish byproducts. Come summer, our lakes (we have several lakes in our small town) smell. They're full of algae. They're an ugly green. And that is what came to my mind immediately, not lovely fish. I don't like fish anyway. So I had my laugh of the morning.

Thomas was in heaven: Fast, easy, cheap biscuits and gravy. (I know, I could make them -- Bob does every once in awhile.)

He ate every last drop. He also said they're not quite as good as Hardee's. He was happy nonetheless.

A busy day

We don't typically have busy days outside the home. I do that for my benefit. Today, though, we had a field trip and a play date at a friend's house.

The local homeschool group went to a pizza place and the kids got a tour of the kitchen and got to make their own pizzas. They had fun. I was wishing I had their kitchen -- the dishwasher that washed and dried dishes in two minutes really excited me! And the pizza oven. That would be fun.

Thomas and all the kids had fun. After eating the kids went outside and played in the yard and the moms talked shop. I used to think I didn't fit in because I had nothing in common, but in reality we have a big thing in common: love of our kids and homeschooling. Whoops, that's two big things.

A lovely outing, during school hours, in a public place -- wow. What a day.

It got better because we went to a friend's new house. I was a little envious because I absolutely loved her house -- it was huge, designed nicely and on the lake -- gorgeous. Then I come home to my little home that has many unfinished projects...sigh. We had a good time, though.

After supper, Thomas and his dad were getting ready for train club. I was so glad I didn't have to go because I was tired. As they were heading out the door, the phone rang. I answered and it was Bob's boss. He never calls here so it raised the hair on my neck. Bob took the phone and was very serious, giving uh-huh's, yeses, mmmm's for the longest time. I was thinking the worst -- maybe he'll have to fly out of town tomorrow unexpectedly to attend to one of the projects. I was dreading that only because I'm not caught up with his laundry. Well, this phone call had nothing to do with work. All of a sudden Bob said, "Well, the key is in the axles."

I bust out laughing so hard that I'm sure his boss heard me. The light bulb went on and I figured out that phone call. It is Pinewood Derby time. His boss's son is new to scouting and this is his first pinewood derby. His boss called him to ask for help/info/pointers in designing their pinewood derby car.

Bob walked out of the room when I was laughing but came back when I shut my mouth. He then told his boss how Thomas's cars did very well, having won districts three years in a row.

Guess who is going to take Thomas's pinewood derby cars to work tomorrow to show to the boss? I just think this is so funny.

The clincher, though, is this. When Bob hung up the phone, he laughed and said: "I would hope that the boss could help his son build a better car than we did. After all, he is a mechanical engineer."

And so it goes. Never a dull moment, but lots of laughs.

Honoring My Father

Dad is standing in the gangway.

This is taken in Laramie, Wyoming. I don't know the date except that it was in the 1960s. My dad is on the far right. Our neighbor, Bob Davis, a man very kind to me as a child, is second from the left. I don't know the other men. This photo was taken because it was the very last run of the Portland Rose out of Laramie. The Portland Rose was a Union Pacific passenger train that ran between Chicago and Portland that started in the 1920s.

That's dad sticking his head out the window waving hello. Taken in Laramie, Wyoming in the '60s.

Dad mad copies of these photos for Thomas. They arrived in the mail today. I don't know who loved them more, Thomas or I. I get kind of weepy looking at them. I'm very nostalgic. I wish there were more photos of dad at work. Because Thomas and I love all things train, these photos are very special indeed.

Sorry they're blurry, dad had them enlarged and they're a little grainy. I think they're fantastic nonetheless.

He thinks he's SOO funny

When will this phase end? It seems unending.

For Mama B -- Gila Window Films

Mama B, at Home Depot I bought Gila Glare Control Smoke colored window film. It was $11 and some change for each roll. It took one roll for each window (with some left over). Each window is about 24 by 52 inches. I pieced the remnants to cover a third window, but that looks really tacky.

Our kitchen faces east and the films make a huge difference in the morning. I installed them on the inside -- a no-no if you have thermal pane or dual pane windows, which I do have. Our windows are so old, that I didn't think it could damage them. We went through below-zero temps with the clings above the kitchen sink and the windows are fine. But I wouldn't do that on new, good windows.

The room did get darker. It's still light enough to sit at the kitchen table and read a book, though.

The best thing about these films for me is the privacy factor. These are not their privacy films, but they do a fantastic job of affording us privacy. At dusk I went outside to look in. All the lights were on. I had Thomas stand by the window and wave and I could not see him. I loved that! We can see out just fine.

So just a cheap fix for us but one that makes me very happy. Next time I hit the big city I plan to buy three more rolls (there goes that money again) and do our living room.

Tuesday, blues day

Well, it's a blues day for two reason. First, it was overcast all day. I do like gray days because I have blue eyes and the bright sun hurts my eyes, but gray days aren't very cheery. (My eye doctor claims the sun hurts my eyes because they're blue. lol)

It's a blues day also because I just paid bills. Aaargh! Where does our money go? Ugh, ugh, ugh.

We've been very "on" with school yesterday and today. I just love it when that happens. Thomas has been very well behaved and eager -- yes, eager to learn.

A few weeks ago I ordered Power Basics Physics from Rainbow Resources for Thomas. (Where DOES all our money go? d'uh) At any rate, I couldn't be more pleased. Thomas is doing well. Maybe that's because dad is teaching physics at night as opposed to me. Thomas and I are both taking the class. Thomas is whippin' my you-know-what, too.

That same Rainbow order also included World History the Easy Way. I just didn't like History Odyssey. We had been pecking away at it and Thomas didn't have a good sense of history. He knew bits and pieces about bits and pieces. It didn't have a good order to it, either. It just wasn't very cohesive.

I couldn't be more impressed with World History the Easy Way. Thomas likes it, too. When we got the book, Thomas actually looked at it -- I nearly fainted. He asked to start at the beginning rather than trying to start with the middle ages. Oh brother, that messed up my plans, but I agreed. We have really been enjoying the book. I read each chapter in two days, we listen to a correlating Story of the World chapter, and then I read the correlating chapter from Van Loon's Story of Mankind. I've printed out maps, too. We then do the questions at the end of the chapter in WHTEW. If I get the time to sit down and do some planning, I just might incorporate some projects as well. Otherwise, we just read and discuss. Thomas retains very well.

I was so happy with this purchase that when we were in the big city the other day at Barnes and Noble, I bought American History the Easy Way. I really like Barron's Easy Way series. I am even more impressed with the American history book.

So everything is going well here, knock on wood. I had been searching for those history books since we started homeschooling -- I am so happy to find them.

I continue to feel better every day. That was a rather nasty spell I had. I'm picking up the pieces, getting caught up on things, and making good progress. Yeah.