For Love of Figs

It’s late summer, and that means one thing to me: figs.

Figs are my favorite fresh fruit. Two weekends ago, a friend invited me over to pick figs from her trees, and I happily took her up on her offer. She has no idea what kind they are; she inherited the trees when she bought her house. After a bit of research, I identified them as Celeste figs. They are a small fig but quite sweet when you let them ripen sufficiently.

My favorites – and the sweetest to my palate -- are black mission. I wish I could grow that variety, but they don’t do well here in the American South.

People ask me what I do with figs, and I tend to reply, “Eat them.” Duh. Figs are so seriously good that eating them out of hand is the absolute best way to enjoy their flavor. But you have to wait until they are perfectly ripe, bordering on overripe. Sitting out on the counter, they get that way fairly quickly.

I also enjoy figs for breakfast. A few sliced figs, a dollop of plain Greek yogurt, and a swirl of honey creates a bowl full of joy.

I also adore fig preserves. Aforementioned friend and her mother put up several pints of homemade fig preserves, and I was the happy recipient of a jar. Scrumptious on a spoon!

However, in case you are the type to want more options, here’s a link to a Pinterest search page in which I looked for fig recipes. Just for you. http://bit.ly/1EFygIT

Enjoy!

Linking up with:
A Delightsome Life's A Return to Loveliness
Share Your Style at Common Ground

Bien Dans Sa Peau at the Beach

My daughters are in the ocean, jumping waves. The water is frigid, just like the ocean at Old Orchard Beach, Maine, at the height of summer. It took them a while to get used to the water, but once they surrendered to its frigidity, they threw themselves in with abandon. Now they are drenched, salty, sandy, and ecstatic. I am certain their lips are blue.

They say that it's more fun to come to the beach with daddy than with me. He gets in the water with them, while I sit on the beach and read. There was a time in my life when I would have been in that water. In fact, I enjoyed the ocean then more than my daughters do now. My sisters and I paddled on our floats, body surfed, searched for fish and shells, and nursed a few jellyfish stings. A small price to pay.

Now I sit in a beach chair with my book, my big white sun hat protecting my face, my sunglasses covering my reading glasses. I must look ludicrous, but I don't care. I am ecstatic myself. The wind and the smell of the salty air and the feel of the velvety sand on my toes, sand that has just recently been underwater, are heavenly.

There is a narrow lookout between the wide brim of my sun hat and the top of my reading glasses.  I watch my girls through that slit. As I read, I look up periodically to check that they are safe. They don't need me as much any more, and there is freedom for all of us in that. I am able to sit and relax and enjoy. They are able to play and splash and run. And we don’t worry too much about what the other is doing.

We do, however, keep our eyes on each other. We look up from time to time to make sure that the other is still there. That's our touchstone, our way to make sure we are where we are supposed to be in the world.

They've come back to the towels to warm themselves in the sun for a bit. They have taken the time to tell me that I look ridiculous, which I know, but I am beyond the point of caring. In fact I’m beyond the age of caring. And it's rather freeing, this not caring very much of the kind of picture one presents to the world. Sometimes I do care. I take care with my appearance and my clothes and my hair and all of that. But at other times I just let it all go and just be myself, who I am in that moment. And the world can keep its critique to itself.

For me, this is one aspect of the French woman’s ideal, to be bien dans sa peau, literally, “well in her skin.” It’s an all-encompassing phrase with many life aspects. But at the moment, I’m well and truly enjoying one of them. And I’m at peace with myself.

Peaches in September

Ever since I fell in love with Mary Chapin Carpenter's song, "I Am a Town," the month of September means peaches to me. Have you heard this song? Take a couple of minutes to click below, close your eyes, and soak it up. It's my gift to you today.

http://youtu.be/BlnMmwGoFY8

Isn't that pure perfection?

Last night, I made a quick peach crisp with South Carolina peaches. Yes, I know I live in the "Peach State," but South Carolina actually produces more peaches than Georgia does. Instead of following a recipe, I did this:

I peeled three peaches and sliced them up. I placed them in a small Corningware casserole dish. I sprinkled a bit of sugar over the peaches. Then I mixed rolled oats and flour together at a 3:1 ratio, diced up some butter and "forked" it into the oat/flour, added some brown sugar and a bit of cinnamon, and mixed with my fingers until it was crumbly and yummy. (I tested it to make sure.) I sprinkled this over the peaches. I like lots of topping. Then I baked everything at 350 til the topping was light brown and crunchy.

Perfection.

This was wonderful both warm and cold. No cornstarch, no lemon juice, little sugar, pure flavor.

And if this is your first introduction to Mary Chapin Carpenter, you're welcome.

Packing Up

So here it is. The last few days of our summer sojourn in Maine.

As always, it's been lovely. We've done some fun things, visited with dear friends, had fun in the boat, ate some lobsters, relaxed, and read a lot.

It's hard to say goodbye to our life here.

But, as this leaf attests, time marches on.

And so must we.

A Day in Our Life -- At Least for Now

We are still at the lake, but we started "back to school" two weeks ago. Since summer's in the air, I like to keep things light, refreshing, and different.

Each day, the girls complete a math workbook page as a review. We also read from Abraham Lincoln's World, which we are about to finish. Yesterday, we learned about Louis Pasteur and Joseph Lister and discussed their impact on medical practices of the day. We then read from either This Country of Ours or "Brutus," from Plutarch's Lives. We are just about to complete those, as well.

Today is "Scope Day." We have checked out a neat telescope from our town's library. It's clear today, so I'm hoping for good viewing tonight. There is not much light pollution where we are, so even without a telescope, we can see much more of the night sky than we can at home.

Tiny Girl found a butterfly's wing on our deck table this morning. We brought along our new microscope, which has yet to leave its box (!!!), so we're going to take a look at the wing with the microscope. I'll post photos later.

Our life at home is busy, activity-filled, and, now that the girls are in middle school, more academically rigorous. We don't tend to have or take time to venture out. While we're in Maine, I look for things to do and places to see.

Yesterday, we visited the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester. It is the last remaining Shaker community in the world, and there are five Shakers who live there. Volunteers and hired employees help run the community. Miss Priss had wanted to visit here for two years since she read Lois Lowry's Dear America book, Like the Willow Tree. The main character and her brother are sent to live at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker community after her parents die in a flu epidemic in 1918.

 A view of down the road at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village

We took a guided tour of the village, which was very informative. (Miss Priss related to me later that she knew much of the material already, but I did not.) None of us knew that the Shakers invented the roll-up shade, circular saw, and the flat straw broom!

As part of the tour we were able to go into some of the buildings. The worship building was built in 1794 and is still used today. Visitors are welcome to attend the Sunday service at 10:00 AM. I wished we lived nearby so we could experience worship with them!

House of worship

Interior photographs are not allowed. I wish I could have snapped a few photos for you. The dark blue painted trim is original and in fine shape. Shakers enjoyed painting the interior elements of their buildings. The three colors used most were the dark blue, a dark red, and a very popular mustard yellow. The ministry house sported a light aqua blue interior trim as well.

The Girls' Shop, where the younger girls lived and worked

We enjoyed a special exhibit on the children's lives at the village. Often, orphans or children whose parents fell on hard times were brought to the community to live. We learned about Sister Mildred Barker, whose widowed mother took her to the village when the child was seven. When her mother returned to collect her, nine years later, Mildred chose to stay. At 21 years of age, Mildred decided to become a Shaker herself, and signed the covenant. She died in 1990. Sister Mildred was an important figure in Shaker music, and she was also a poet. Here is the first line from her poem, "A Prayer":

I am so small alone, and weak,

Defeat I often see;

But by the strength of Thy right hand,

A conqueror I'll be.

The community still functions as a working farm, keeps an orchard, and sells goods in their store. It is certainly not the successful concern it was back in its heyday, but focuses now on preservation and education. Also, their herb garden provides much in the way for herb and spice sales, sachets, and TEA! All are reasonably priced. Here's a link to their online herb catalog.

At the store, we purchased two CDs of Shaker music; a kitted hat for my niece; and two bottles of homemade flavorings: mint water and rosewater (with recipes!).

The store, which smells wonderful!

I was surprised to see Highland cattle, which I'd only seen in Scotland before. The girls were delighted as well.

Sheep, too!

It was quite a fantastic and enjoyable day. If you're ever in the area, make plans to visit. You'll be glad.

So there's a look at A Day in Our Life! When we get back home, we'll hit the books hard. But doesn't everybody enjoy this style of learning, too!

On (Not) Maintaining an Online Presence When You're Away

I may have mentioned that we're away from our usual domicile for an extended stay in Maine. (Ahem. I think I've mentioned it about 100 times; but perhaps you missed that.) When I'm at home, I keep up a fairly regular online communique, via my blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, blog reading and commenting, email, and the like. In fact, in the last year, I've upped the ante in my online activities, for a variety of reasons. And I was under the impression that I'd be able to maintain that -- at about 90% capacity, so to speak -- while I'm here in Maine. After all, I have my laptop, which I take to the library for wifi connection, and I have my handy smartphone for regular FB, tweets, photo uploads, email, etc.

Well. Enter reality.

It's been more difficult than I'd thought.

For one reason, the girls aren't super excited to hang out at the library for more than two hours while I blog, read blogs, and carry on other online activity. I suppose I can understand that.

A few times, I've worked on posts at the cabin, writing them in Word and then copying them into my blog on my next trip to the library. That seemed really workable until recently. It seems that there's more of a vacation atmosphere at the cabin than there is at my "real" house. Quelle surprise, eh?

We have been visiting with friends. We've been boating, tubing, kneeboarding, and wakeboarding. We've been reading. My parents arrive tomorrow for a ten-day visit, and my cousin and her family arrive next week. We have lots of plans.

Perhaps this should cause me anxiety. Like other bloggers, I've read articles and posts on how to increase and keep readership. According to experts, I should write several posts at a time and then schedule them to publish over a period of days. Or I could solicit guest writers to post in my absence. I don't want to sound the death knell for my blog, do I?

Obviously not. I like my blog. I like to write. I like to provide interesting content for folks. But.

I wrote a post recently called A Celebration of Sabbath. If I really believe what I wrote (and I do), I need to be okay with sacrificing my online presence -- my virtual life -- for the blessings and benefits of living my real life.

So that's what I'm doing. While I won't disappear altogether, I'm going to downsize for a little bit.

And I hope you won't completely forget me.

Confessions of a Mediocre Cook: Super Summer Supper

When it comes to summer meals, I much prefer non-fussy recipes that fling together in a few minutes. I’m thrilled to report that the girls and I found a new favorite that meets these requirements: Ham and Broccoli Pasta Toss. The basic recipe comes from Cheap. Fast Good!, by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross, a wonderful cookbook that I highly recommend.

This recipe is quite flexible, so feel free to add other ingredients you have on hand. We’ve only made it with ham, but I’m sure chicken would be delicious, too. Other additions might include peas, sliced fresh mushrooms, or sliced black olives.

And talk about versatility! I served it for supper one night this week, and then breathed new life into it the next day for lunch.

Here’s the basic recipe, with my alterations in parentheses:

Ham and Broccoli Pasta Toss

(I halved the recipe since I was only cooking for the girls and myself)

1 pound short pasta, such as rotini (which I used)

1 ½ cups broccoli florets

1 cup diced ham

1 ½ cups cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half or quarters (I quartered them)

2 cloves fresh garlic (I used garlic powder)

½ teaspoon dried basil (I used Italian seasoning)

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I just threw some in)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Three minutes before the pasta is done, add the broccoli to the boiling water. If you haven’t yet diced your ham and cut your tomatoes, do it while the pasta cooks and then put ham and tomatoes in the serving bowl. Peel and mince the garlic, and then add it and the basil to the bowl and stir to mix well. When the pasta and broccoli are done, drain them in a colander and shake the colander well to remove as much water as possible. Add pasta and broccoli to the serving bowl and sprinkle with olive oil and Parmesan. Toss until the cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once.

For lunch the next day, I served the pasta cold as a salad. I merely mixed together some ranch dressing and mayonnaise, which I stirred into the bowl of leftovers. I also added some chopped cucumber. To really jazz things up, you could also add grated carrot, diced bell pepper, chopped onion, shredded Cheddar, what have you. If I’d used chicken as my meat choice, a little seasoned salt would be a tasty option.

Quick, versatile, flexible, scrumptious. Yep, this one’s a keeper.

Weekly Happenings: Bliss!

Our second week in Maine and our first week of relaxation. A few days ago, I blogged about the gift of sabbath and our reluctance to accept it; but this week I've opened my arms wide with acceptance. So what have we been doing?

Reading, resting, swimming, a bit of boating, more reading, crafting. The girls have been enjoying a paper fashions kit we bought at A.C. Moore (which is just like Michaels). They've created quite a wardrobe.

Our next-door neighbors, who live in Germany over the fall and winter, have visitors from Germany for two weeks. These sweet teenagers, whom my girls love, brought us gifts, one of which was a lovely box of chocolates, packaged so perfectly.

One morning the lake was as smooth as glass.

When I write, I take my computer outside to the deck. Here's my outdoor office:

Here's my snowball bush, which was moved two summers ago for our construction project. I think it likes its new location.

And really, that's all. We started reading Oliver Twist after a break of several weeks, to Tiny Girl's delight. We read a chapter each evening. Here's an exchange that happened last night:

Tiny Girl: Are we reading Oliver tonight?

Me: Yep.

Tiny: Oh good! I am so worried about him!

Aren't books wonderful?

A Celebration of Sabbath

I’ve slept late the last two mornings. Shamelessly late. I’ve drunk coffee until almost noon. Flavored coffee with full-fat cream. I’ve read my books at brunch while munching homemade muesli with chopped nuts, dried cranberries, and brown sugar. I’ve savored chocolates brought to me from Germany. Soft chocolate drops filled with lime cream.

It feels richly decadent.

I’m writing this on my deck, sipping Lemon Zinger iced tea and watching the children swim in the lake. The temperature is perfect; the air is clean and clear. I’ve quieted the “shoulds” and “musts,” all the things I need to do, the remaining plans to make for the upcoming school year…

It feels quiet. Wonderful.

After months of a life that’s best described as reined-in chaos, I finally feel relaxed. An ahhhh has settled into my soul.

I know it won’t last. It can’t last. Like the speaker in Frost’s poem, I, too, have promises to keep. And I’m glad for those promises, those responsibilities. They are the best of privileges.

Is that perhaps why we feel guilty, like we're wasting time, when we say yes to the calm, the quiet, the peaceful? Shouldn't we be doing something? With our lists, our plans, and our responsibilities, we who are so used to doing much and filling our lives with busy-ness can actually feel anxious at the thought of basking in sabbath.

Jesus knows me, and He knows what I need, personally, to best fulfill all He has asked me to do. A time of rest and refreshment -- and a bit of chocolate – restores me.

I wonder why we often neglect to refresh ourselves in the gracious blessings the Lord sprinkles throughout our lives? Especially those of us whose lives are lived nourishing others, serving, reaching out, drawing in, encouraging, daily clasping to ourselves the things of God so that we may open our arms wide and offer it abundantly to other souls.

In the last couple of months I've noticed that my offerings have seemed small, not so much in the size of the service but very much in the spirit of my serving. Is reluctant service really service? Or is it merely another chore? I’m not sure.

But I am sure that it's time to rest.

So I say a resounding YES to this blessing of respite with a heart full of gratitude. And I pray you will, too, whenever respite is offered to you, in whatever form, small or large. This is one of God’s marvelous gifts to you.

This morning, my dear friend called to me from the beach, where she was wading in the lake. “The water is so gorgeous today! Isn’t this the life?”

Yes. It most certainly is.

Lovely photo courtesy Foter.

Weekly Happenings: First Week in Maine!

We've been at the cabin for one week, and I'm feeling weird. I haven't yet completely relaxed. I'm also having trouble staying connected to the online world. I have to go to the library to use my laptop as there's no internet at the cabin. I can read some emails, get Facebook and Twitter, and access the web on my smartphone, but that really only works for basic communication. I know it's better than nothing, but when one is used to a certain level of interaction. . . . Well, it takes some getting used to.

On the other hand, I'm also feeling good. (Himself always points out that "well" is the word I should use, but to me that sounds more like the opposite of "ill." So I use "good.") I'm back at the helm of our boat. Tiny Girl has had a big time kneeboarding and wakeboarding. (Miss Priss demurrs.) Both girls and our neighbors have had a blast tubing. We've eaten lobster and seen lots of friends.

Here are a few photos of some adventures, in no particular order:

Georgette's first trip on the boat. 

Waiting for AAA at Gettysburg National Military Park. The van overheated and needed a new battery. We only visited three stops on the audio auto tour.

Jasper likes to swim in the lake to cool off. So far, Georgette is not tempted. 

A quick break at a rest stop to stretch our legs.

A homemade lobster roll, chips, and coleslaw (also homemade by me).

We're reading a lot. I'm still at work on Elizabeth and Mary; the girls are re-reading the Sisters Grimm series. I also read Revolution, by Jennifer Donnelly, whose A Northern Light I really enjoyed. Her latest is interesting, but I didn't like it nearly as well as her first. I found the circumstances and characters so dark as to be dispiriting. And I don't mind dark. But the teenage characters, rich Brooklynites all, are irritatingly noir. I know there are better literary and philosophical terms for it, but such terms escape my feeble brain at the present time. Dissolute comes to mind. So does libertine. You get the idea.

I suppose as a homeschooling parent I should be feverishly planning our next year, but I'm not. I'm taking a break. And I'm not ashamed to proclaim it!

Happy summer!

On Our Way!

After our whirlwind June, which wrapped up last night at the swim team banquet (and I use that term in the loosest way possible), we are about to hit the highway for Maine. Himself has been busy packing the van; I had another doctor's appointment this morning, some papers to be notarized and sent overnight, and a trip to the barn to say good-bye to Max. Why slow down just because we're leaving for a few weeks?

Tiny Girl is not well. Of course. She has a sore throat and a bit of a fever. She's asleep on the couch as I type. My M.D. (mama diagnosis) says that she is simply exhausted from the fever pitch of June. One can only go so fast for so long.

Gotta run! I have high hopes of blogging whilst on the road (we'll see!). But it may have to wait til we get settled in up north.

See you soon!

A Little Bit About Our Life... with Photos!

This week was a tad less hectic. But we still had quite a bit going on:

• Miss Priss spent the first few days of the week at my sister's house, helping my mother take care of my niece, who was sick.
• Two days of helping out with pony camp for Tiny Girl.
• Another home swim meet with the mayhem of concessions -- but it's the last this season.
• A birthday party sleepover.
• A day at our city's biggest theme park.
• And planning for our upcoming junket to Maine.

That and a few afternoons at the pool, swim team practice, playdates, and iced coffee, and what more does one need?

Well, if you're me, you need some chocolate:

This is highly addictive dark chocolate filled with caramel and sprinkled with sea salt. I highly recommend it.

You also need a good book:

I highly recommend this book as well. I got it at the library and then bought my own copy on Amazon Used.

Some nostalgia is good for the soul. While the children rode the carousel in the pavilion, my friend, Eliza, and I rocked in wooden rocking chairs and talked:

It was a restful and cooling break on a hot, exciting day.

Although I declined a trip down Thunder River, the tweens had a blast:

This looks cooling as well!

At the end of the day, the caped crusaders were sweaty, footsore, damp, a tad soiled, and mighty happy.

We did absolutely no schoolwork this week, and we didn't get a whole lot of sleep, either, but it was still wonderful!

I'm linking up with Collage Friday@Homegrown Learners, The Homeschool Mother's Journal, and Weekly Wrap-Ups@Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Come join in the fun!

Summer Sipper Extraordinaire: Perfect Iced Coffee

Okay. I know I've raved before about Ree Drummond's Perfect Iced Coffee. But it's worth another mention (or fifty) now that summer is upon us. Because let me tell you, this is one perfect summer sipper.

If you take the time to read all 1,200+ comments on Ree's blog, you'll see that folks have teaked the recipe to their liking. I have too, and I'll share my absolute favorite with you.

Some people are concerned about the VAT of coffee base that Ree's recipe makes. Here's my solution: freeze it. Two weeks ago, I defrosted a half gallon that I'd frozen months ago -- before Christmas -- and it was fine. Fabulous, even.

You could also revamp the recipe for a smaller yield, as some commenters on Ree's site have. But that requires math. So I make the full recipe and then freeze the excess. It keeps really well in the fridge, too.

And if you don't have the fridge or freezer space, then give bottles of the stuff as gifts for your friends. Believe me, they'll love it!

Anyway, Ree tends to prefer half-and-half and sugar. She also recommends the Vietnamese recipe with sweetened condensed milk. Those are both delicious.

But my absolute favorite iced coffee refreshment:

• Fill a large glass 1/2 full of ice cubes. To avoid watery-ness, make some ice cubes with the coffee base and use those!
• Pour in coffee base til glass is about 2/3 to 3/4 full, depending on how strong you want your resulting libation.
• Add a healthy pouring of Natural Bliss creamer. I love all the flavors, but hazelnut makes my heart go pitter-pat.
• You can also use half milk and half creamer, which I sometimes do.
• I've made this with both decaf and caff coffees; both turned out perfectly.

I've heard that milk alternatives, fat-free creamers, and Splenda work well, too. If you're watching your fat intake and calories, or if you're dairy intolerant, those may be options for you. I bet agave syrup would also be tasty. Me, I go for the full fat, full sugar, high calorie lusciousness every time.

Cheers!

I'm linking up with No Ordinary Blog Hop! Hop on over for more great recipes.

The Lazy Days of Summer... When Do They Begin?

Photo courtesy freedigitalphotos.net

I have been away much too long! No, I did not drop off the face of the planet, but I WAS nearly swallowed up with all the stuff going on.

I've been dealing with a medical issue that resulted in my having to endure three biopsies and a few days of recuperation. That Tylenol with codeine packs a punch, my friends! But it also does its job well, and that's what I needed. Although the biopsy results were negative for cancer (big praise here!), they indicated a skin condition for which there is no cure and has to be "managed." Since there's a support group for everything nowadays, I promptly joined a Yahoo group and have been learning all I can.

My church's Vacation Bible School was last week, and Miss Priss and I both volunteered: she as a pre-K walker (shepherding a group of rising pre-K children to their activities, AKA "herding cats") and me in the kitchen. We prepared daily snacks for 300+ children, but the vast majority of our time was spent in making fabulous snacks for the volunteer room, e.g., pimiento cheese biscuit pinwheels; apple slices with caramel/cream/cheese/Heath bar dip; tapenade pita pizzas; bruschetta flatbreads; hummus and pita chips; Ho-Ho cake; strawberries with cream cheese/almond flavored dip; jalapeno corn dip; fruit trays; veggie trays; and more. Not everything made an appearance every day, but everything was fantastic. I needed a nap almost every afternoon, we were so busy!

Tuesday was our first home swim meet. Have I mentioned that I am co-chair of concessions again this year? I am. And the other co-chair was out of town last week. Fortunately, she'd bought most of the items we needed before she left. But I was busier than a one-armed paper hanger from 2:00 PM until almost 10:00 PM. And Himself, bless him, did almost all the grilling. One of the parent volunteers also made some wonderful jambalaya, which we sold by the bowl. He said he'd "wimped it down," but it was spicy enough for me!

Tiny Girl has been helping out with her trainer's pony camp as a junior assistant. She loves it, but we have to be at the barn by 8:15 AM. She doesn't go every day, but when she doesn't go to the barn, she goes to swim team practice.

On Friday, we drove to my parents' house in the country for a family reunion. It was a lot of fun. We celebrated my youngest sister's 40th birthday on Friday evening. Sunday evening we headed home, except for Miss Priss, who is enjoying some alone time with Grammie and Grandad.

Betwixt and between, there have been sleepovers, a couple of birthday parties, afternoons at the pool, and other fun activities. Tonight is another sleepover, tomorrow we have another home swim meet (fire up that grill, baby!), and on Wednesday Miss Priss comes home. Wednesday evening is a birthday party sleepover. Thursday we're going to an area theme park with some friends. Friday is my sister's birthday.

Oh, and I have a growing list of things to do before we leave for Maine. Like get an oil change for the van. And pack.

Betwixt and between those activities, I've been looking for some freelance work, making plans for next year, and attempting to reorganize and straighten the study. I'm staying up pretty well with my social media activity, but my blog feel by the wayside for a bit. Blogging takes more thought and energy than pinning things to Pinterest, after all.

So that's my life for the past few weeks! I'm looking forward to jumping back into fun link-ups, catching up with you all, and writing about sundry things.

How's your summer shaping up?

I'm linking up with Miscellany Mondays, Hip Homeschool Hop, and No Ordinary Blog Hop. Come join the fun!

Snafus: Life Gets in the Way of My Plans. Again.

It's been almost a week since I last posted, which I hate. But, alas, it had to be. Last week, I had to deal with a medical issue that had me on painkillers, sleeping quite a bit, and moving slowly. I'm still recuperating, but am getting back up to speed, bit by bit. We are awaiting test results, so if you're moved to do so, a little prayer would be fabulous.

My well-thought-out plans for our summer work has fallen apart in the face of reality. Tiny Girl has swim team practice at 10:15 every (yes, every) morning until 11:00. We're also trying to fit in riding time before the hottest parts of the day. One day, we rode before swim; but she's a girl who needs her sleep, and I am loath to wake her. So we watch the weather reports to figure out good riding times each day.

The girls also want to play with their friends as much as possible. Since we leave at the end of June for two months, I hate to be a wet blanket about this. And they also want to go to the pool in the afternoons/early evenings. Again, they only have this month, and they love to swim. They stay at the pool for hours, without me, now that they have their own pool cards. It's a win-win situation for all.

Adding to this mix, Miss Priss has begun lessons at our nearby Mathnasium center. I plan to post about this later. The good news is that she likes it; the other good news is that she wants to go every day. The bad news is that this messes up my afore-mentioned, well-thought-out summer work schedule.

Then there's their summer independent reading. Last week, we took loads of books to our closest used bookstore to trade for credit. Each girl selected several books, which made my heart go pitter-pat. But now they want to read them, for Pete's sake, and aren't that interested in closing their books to read school books (however good those might be).

Therefore, the girls and I discussed a new schedule. Instead of trying to finish most things up by the end of June, we're going to do fewer readings per day and shoot for a later finish line. Flexibility is good.

And you? Has summer's fluidity and opportunities exercised a siren call over you and your children? How do you accommodate all this joy and stick to your original goals? I'd love to hear about it!

Bright Ideas for Summer

I'm planning a post about some of our summer plans, but here's something to whet your appetite: ReadWriteThink.org's  fabulous online publication, Bright Ideas for Summer. Featuring four "activities" aimed at children in grades 2/3 through 8, the Bright Ideas for Summer campaign promotes fun and educational opportunities to keep kids' brains in gear.

Here's the scoop:

Poetic Memories of Summer (grades 2-8): "Use the sun-splashed days of summer to inspire children to write poetry. Interactive, online poetry tools guide them as they explore the writing process." (My personal favorite, of course!)

Can You Convince Me? (grades 3-8): "Children learn how to make a convincing argument—an important skill in school and in life."

Summer Trading Cards (grades 2-8): "Children can dive deeper into summer reading by using the Trading Cards tool. They’ll examine a favorite character and write a new story for him or her."

Summer Superheroes (grades 3-8): "Calling all caped crusaders! Invite children to invent a story starring superheroes who have summer super powers."

Each activity features four sections: Preview, Get Started, Resources, and Comments. The Get Started section is the heart of the activity, with a list of items needed (all basic, so no worries there!), complete directions, and suggested ideas for further exploration. I am especially enamored with the online interactive tools!

Another fab feature: children can save their work AND share it within the Thinkfinity Community. They'll be published! For extra fun, check back over the summer to see other kids' work, too.

Not merely another typical list for summer fun, Bright Ideas for Summer is well organized, carefully planned, and thoughtfully produced. Highly recommended!

Weekly Happenings: About That Slow Mornings Post...

Forget I said anything about that. It seems I mistakenly thought our few slow mornings might last when it was only for this week -- and not even all week, at that!

 Anyway.

 We're continuing with some work, much to the girls' delight (that last part is a big lie; I should have typed "which the girls are tolerating"). Each day, they complete a session on the Xtra Math website to practice their math facts. Miss Priss also completes a lesson from Life of Fred Fractions, and Tiny Girl a page from DK's Math Made Easy workbook.

 A few highlights from our readings:

• Plutarch's Lives: "Brutus": Brutus and Cassius have amassed large armies to go against Octavius and Antonius. Brutus decides to richly furnish his soldiers in hopes they will fight better to preserve their fine "furniture." We shall see.
• Oliver Twist: Oliver recuperates in the home of the fine benefactor, Mr. Brownlow; but his ne'er do well "friends" are looking for him to keep him from "peaching." The girls and I are worried about our little friend.
• A Passion for the Impossible: Lilias and her two missionary friends are bringing to life the title of this book. They've arrived in Algeria knowing no one, not speaking the language, and having no concrete plans. The girls and I are concerned. Well, Miss Priss and I are. This is not Tiny Girl's favorite, so she is less personally involved.
• This Country of Ours: President Garfield is assassinated, and the spoils system (thanks a lot, Andrew Jackson) is finally abolished.

 We continued our study of flowers, concentrating on their reproductive system. I didn't take any photos this time, mostly because I left my camera inside that afternoon and everyone (including me) was in a bad mood. We soon shook it off and proceeded to enjoy our study, but the camera remained inside.

We worked with two types of flowers, petunias and roses. We dissected both and observed each under our magnifying glass. (I can't wait until our stereo microscope arrives from Home Science Tools!) Using handouts I printed from different websites, we identified different parts. Two of us greatly enjoyed this. One of us had not shaken off all of her bad mood to participate fully. Her loss.

Here are websites I found helpful:

How Flowering Plants Reproduce
The Great Plant Escape
Flower Parts

And here's a slideshow presentation that I found particularly helpful, at least the first few pages. It goes into a bit more detail that we are.

Reproduction In Flowering Plants

View more PowerPoint from bzemcik

If you're following me on Twitter, Instagram, of Facebook, then you've seen these photos before. If not (and hey, feel free to link up and join in on the fun!), here's a mosaic of our week:

From top left: 1.) Yours truly, at the summer's here! pool party; 2.) Miss Priss reading leisurely one morning; 3.) Tiny Girl and Max, at the barn early to beat the heat; 4.) My nifty nameplate from a previous workplace. Everyone had one, made by a manager's wife. I've had it almost 20 years. Sorry it's sideways; I was in a hurry.

I'll leave you with a word from Sir Walter Scott, in honor of Memorial Day and its vast significance to us:

Soldier, rest! Thy warfare o'er,
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking,
Dream of battled fields no more.
Days of danger, nights of waking.

Amen.

I'm linking up!
The Homeschool Mother's Journal
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
No Ordinary Blog Hop
Photo Collage Friday
Camera Phone Friday

The Blessing and Bliss of Summer-Slow Mornings

We're moving more slowly in the mornings now. It's our summer schedule. We're finishing up readings and doing some math every day, but our pace is slower. We like it.

There's a bit more time to read.

The red-checked chair in the dining room is a favorite spot to read and talk. 

There's a bit more time to play.

Duck Life.

Since we're living the suburban American dream lifestyle (a big AHEM), we are also busy with summertime activities. Swim team practice is going strong for Tiny Girl. VBS is around the corner for Miss Priss and me. The girls' piano recital is next week. I'm again co-chair for swim meet concessions -- a big job. Woven through all of this is Tiny Girl's riding.

But this is all normal for June.

With the bulk of our scheduled school complete, we can relax longer in the mornings. There are more "I get to's" than "I have to's" for everyone. Including me.

Lovely.

Scribblings from Maine: Daylilies

When we bought our cabin, one of the "things" we inherited from the previous owners was mature landscaping: hostas, shrub roses, peonies, and daylilies (genus Hemerocallis). A lovely bed of lemon-colored daylilies graced the flower bed by the front door. They were brilliant in the afternoon sunlight.

There's something special about daylilies -- each bloom's lifetime of just one day literally ephemeral. I take time to look at a daylily bloom, to notice how its color changes with the light at different times of the day. By nightfall, that same bloom will have withered, a fleeting state of grace.

Sadly, my daylilies did not survive our recent construction project. I saw nary a bloom this summer, and I missed them.

All was not quite lost, however. I'd noticed a newspaper ad for daylilies for sale the summer before, and now I noticed a small sign at the top of my road and in front of a farmhouse where a Mennonite family had moved in two years ago. Perhaps I should stop in to look around.

But I have a thing about driving down someone's driveway for commercial purposes. It seems so intrusive. What if it's not a convenient time? What if they're closed, and someone is forced to come outside to tell you so? What if I interrupt a heated argument? What if they're in the bathroom? (All of them, Ellen? Come on.)

One afternoon, I somehow overcame all these (ridiculous) misgivings, and the girls and I turned down the drive. The sign read OPEN. That seemed promising. When we parked the car, a little girl, dressed Plainly in a long calico dress, white cap, and bare feet, opened the screen door and obligingly asked, "Are you here for the daylilies?"

Yes, indeed, we were.

She led us back behind the house, past the vegetable garden, the chickens, and a pen of little goats, to a field full of daylilies. Our arrival must have started something; moments later three more customers arrived, prompting the lady of the house and several other daughters to join us in the daylily field.

It was a gorgeous afternoon, sunshine in a cerulean sky. We meandered around the garden, following the straw-covered paths between each row. Some flowers were still blooming and others were finished; but the family showed us a small photo album of all their offerings, so we could see each variety in all its glory.

On my price list, I marked each one that interested us, the girls calling out names of varieties that caught their eye. We narrowed down our selections. A few I vetoed due to their price. Miss Priss, especially, has expensive tastes. Finally, the girls each chose one variety, and then went off with the two youngest daughters of the house to chase Bandy chicks and pet the baby goats.

Since I'm the mama, I allowed myself to choose two varieties. It's one of the perks of being the mama. Right?

Our selections were carefully and generously dug up and bagged. Once we got back to the cabin, I planted them quickly just to get them in the ground. They are not where I want them to live permanently, but I'll make adjustments next summer.

And I hope they thrive. I hope that, years from now, the girls and I will admire them and say to each other, "Remember the day we bought these? Remember how nervous Mama was just to drive down the driveway?"

Scribblings in Maine: The War Zone

I wrote a lot of posts while we were in Maine this summer, but I couldn't publish them to my blog due to sketchy internet availability. I thought I'd publish them as a series (which seems a bit presumptuous; a "series," indeed) so you can read about what I was thinking and doing during that time. I'm much more thoughtful when my life is not crazed and chaotic.

Here's the first:

I'm living in the middle of a war zone, and this time my daughters are not the combatants. As I write this, I'm sitting on the deck of our cabin with a lovely view of the lake where the girls are swimming. I am filled with a quiet joy.

Out of nowhere, a thrumming buzz behind me interrupts my peace. A few mouse-like squeaks and then something swoops perilously close to the top of my head with another something hot on its tail. "Tail" is an appropriate word choice.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds on the warpath.

Small in size but huge in spirit, ruby-throated hummers are aggressive, fiercely guarding "their" territory and feeders, of which I have two. I have seen a hummer take a few sips and then dart up into a nearby tree to watch the feeder. Should an unwary interloper arrive -- and they always do -- the first hummer zips down commando-style to chase away the enemy.

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

I attributed this feeder-aggression to a need for constant nourishment to fuel their extremely high activity level. While this is important, I recently learned that aggression levels tend to peak in late summer and early fall, when ruby-throats are gearing up for migration, which includes a 500-mile trip across the Gulf of Mexico. Makes perfect sense.