Our Little School Room

It is with mixed feelings that I write this post. I have had four happy years of blogging with Homeschool Blogger, but I am feeling now that it is time to move on.

I appreciate the friends that I have made here, and I hope that I do not lose you completely. You can find me here.

I am thankful:
That for the first time in weeks and weeks, I woke up this morning without immediately being inundated with worry and fear for Mom.
That yesterday I was finally able to speak with the doctor responsible for her care, and he is going to work to keep communication open.
That I have a husband who can cook, and who in a very loving way, took care of two meals this week for me.
That today was a bright and sunny winter day.
That we were all done with our lessons by just after 2 pm, and I could spend the rest of the afternoon puttering without worrying every time the phone rang, or wondering why it wasn’t ringing.
That I have a cross-stitch project waiting for me to come and sit by the wood-stove and work on.
That I have such friends, both online and in real life, (and family), who have stood by and prayed for me and Mom during this very rough period.

I took snow pictures after dark last night, but don’t have them on the computer yet. It is very snowy, and very cold, but it was truly a beautiful day.

I took this picture of a Hairy Woodpecker on Saturday when we had a period of sunshine before the big storm started. We had a Hairy and a Downy Woodpecker on the feeders at the same time. They look almost exactly alike except for differences in their bills and sizes.

Not too much happening. The situation with Mom is still difficult, but Mom herself seems to be having some better days. It really was a joy to see her and talk to her last weekend. As to another trip happening soon–that is up in the air. I’m still dealing with “the powers that be”, and nothing is happening quickly–or maybe not at all.

On the home front, we took a lot of time off this week. The kids worked on math nearly every day, and grammar most days, but other than that, school was out. They used their time well though, playing educational computer games, and making some bead jewelry–most of which I haven’t had the privilege of seeing. And they helped me cook and clean.

Today we tidied Boo’s closet, made biscuits for lunch–to go with soup, and pizza for supper. The kids also played outside in the snow. They have started using the empty garbage can and the recycle bin to make a fort. They pack them with snow and then up-end them to make walls. Sorry, no pictures, and this afternoon would have been a perfect time to get out the camera.

The snow looks like it is here to stay, and my garden isn’t covered. (We usually try to cover it with a tarp in the winter–to keep the ground a bit drier and make it warmer to plant in the spring.) I did manage to cut a lot of the parsley and froze it so I have sprigs of parsley to throw into soups and stews. I was amazed at how long the parsley lasted–even after multiple frosts it still looked good.

I have managed to walk three days this week. Yesterday I did a mile in the morning, and then walked downtown and back in the snow–about 10 minutes each way, and I cleaned our church–so I walked up and down it both with the broom and the vacuum cleaner (but the church is really small, so that hardly counts as vigorous exercise). Today, I just walked to the post–office–not as far.

I haven’t stitched a stitch this week. Keep wanting too, but get sidetracked on the computer, or have been too tired in the evenings, and haven’t had time during the day. And now I’m looking forward to a chat with my sister-in-law on Skype.

I haven’t blogged for a while because life suddenly became unsettled again. Last week events with my Mom took a bit of a turn, and we decided that it was time to appeal to the higher-ups at the hospital at which she is staying. I can’t go into any further detail at the moment because things are still ongoing. But suffice it to say that waiting for people to organize a meeting is an exercise in developing patience and peace-of-mind under duress.

I went down to see Mom and Dad on Friday–decided late Thursday afternoon to go for sure. It was a nice trip because it meant I got to see my sister and her son, who had also come for a visit. Mom was a lot better this time than she had been the last, which made it a rewarding visit that way too.

I returned on Saturday night to a week’s worth of dirt (since Saturday is my cleaning day), no menu plan for Sunday, and snow on the ground. Still Sunday is a day of rest, and the cleaning had to wait until Monday. Sunday dinner was fish and chips from the freezer–no one really minded.

Monday I assigned math and grammar to the children, and cleaned house. I also had bills to pay and budget to work on–so I basically had Saturday on Monday, except that we ate lunch at home. Still waiting for a phone call from the powers-that-be…

I also made a menu for the week–to be adjusted if I leave.

Today we did math and grammar again. I had planned next week to be a December break for us. Hoping to work on projects at home, and other things that don’t get done when we’re schooling. Because of the situation down south, I figured that trying to do a full schedule this week just wasn’t smart. So we’re doing the very basics, and if things settle down, we’ll pick back up next week sometime. The only problem is that I haven’t been successful in starting a project this week. Just the thought of getting started on something only to have to put it on hold, is not appealing. It is taking all my energy just to make sure I get three meals on the table each day–oooh dear, no bread for breakfast….too late to make it tonight….another quandary. I do have waffle and pancake mixes, but we had pancakes today. Oh well, hope I wake up in time to make a decision in the morning, and to make bread.

Still waiting for a phone call from the powers-that-be….

My sourdough starter, that was doing so well last week, didn’t survive my time away. I taught Belle how to feed it, but an evening out, and possibly a missed feeding by myself didn’t help. And possibly the room was too warm. But it developed a gray powdery mold–yuck! So I want to try again, but not when I’m looking at another trip away.

I have managed a walk the past two days. That has been nice–to try to get back into the routine again, but I haven’t been waking up early enough to do that and everything else. Today I walked with Belle in the afternoon.

I think I should go stitch….or perhaps work on expenses, which I hope to have done tomorrow. Other than that and laundry and meals, I don’t know what else I should be doing.

This cough has been the most hangy-on thing I’ve had in forever. I don’t tend to get things like bronchitis (which I’m sure is what I have) or long-lasting colds (I’m on week three). It seems to be worse in the evenings, and in the early mornings. During the middle of the day, I tend to get the itchy-throat kind of coughing, but it doesn’t seem to be as frequent. Most days I feel like I’m getting better, but by evening I start to wonder. Tonight I have a bit of a headache which is aggravated by the cough. If I’m not a lot better in the next few days I may make an appointment to see the doctor.

I’ve been having trouble getting to sleep at night lately too, which hasn’t helped. Usually it is the coughing that keeps me from dropping off, and the coughing that makes me wide awake again. But on top of that, I wonder if I have a bit of insomnia going on (I seem to get that periodically too.) So getting to sleep after midnight doesn’t help me to get up in the mornings–consequently my walking has been sporadic lately. When one has to choose between a walk and the kids’ spelling lessons, or a walk and a shower, the walk usually loses out. I miss it though. And I miss my morning burst of energy.

Enough of the whining. I did get to town today, and had another lovely time with my neighbour who went with me. We left at 9:30 a.m., and hit all of our usual shops, plus one that she had never been to before, and managed to get home at about 1 p.m. Since I hadn’t shopped for groceries (other than little stuff) in a month, that was pretty good. (The only downside is that I bought a cart heaped full of groceries, and forgot to use my bonus coupons for the month!)

When I got home, had lunch and put everything away, it was too late for afternoon lessons, so the kids and I made cookies instead–Molasses Crinkles. Yummy! Most of the dough is still in the fridge, but we baked a pan full tonight and had one warm out of the oven. Just the thing for a dark, dark, day–did I say we’re getting a taste of cold winter weather after some lovely warm (for November) stuff?

It hasn’t really been snowing–just bursts of ice pellets, so far. You can hear them hammering against the windows. Wonder if the world will be white by morning.

In other news–I’ve been trying my hand at making a sourdough starter. So far it seems to be working. I can’t remember how I came across the information, but it came from this website. My “goop” has bubbles in it every time I go to feed it so far. I started last Wednesday night I think. The kids have been alternately interested in the process and grossed out by the goop. I’m looking forward to trying some sourdough recipes–and hoping we like the finished product.

I’ve also nearly completed a section on my current cross-stitch project. There is a lot of sky in this one, and it is all stitched, and all shades of pink. I’m working on the right-hand corner. See I haven’t decided yet whether to give it away or keep it when it is finished.

Now it is nearly 9, and I haven’t gotten lesson plans printed for tomorrow, and I want to stitch a bit before bed. So I’m away.