My occasional Daybook.
Adventures in Recent Past and Future:
We took Liam back to college on Sunday.
We may get a new van. New indeed! It has 111K on it, but is in good shape and comes with a warranty.
Hey, how many rural families of nine do you know that have gotten by for 10 years with one vehicle. It can present its challenges! We will be happy to have a second mode of transportation if only for those moments when our one car is in the shop.
Where Everyone Is:
Aidan is asleep. Sean, having finished his homework, is going to sleep. Kieron and Paddy are watching Kevin play Free Bird on Guitar Hero. Clare and Brendan don’t seem to be around.
Recent Music:
Elton John and John Denver (these are the football kid’s picks when he comes home from school at 6 pm)
Mozart’s Requiem.
Recent Books Seen Around the House:
We Went with Magellan, The Enchanted Castle (Kieron); Founding of Christendom (Clare); The Guillotine and the Cross ( Brendan); Cloud of Witnesses by Dorothy Sayers (Sean); The Cloister Walk (me), War and Peace (Liam — he has to read it during the first week of class, for Seminar). Car magazines (Aidan); Arnold Lobel books (Paddy).
Weather:
Hot, but normal hot.
Thoughts:
Too many transitions. Mom overload… ducklings scattering all over the place. Oh, the days when I had a brood of under-tens! it went fast.
What I’m Working On:
Trying to seamlessly integrate various aspects of my life and keep my focus. Yeah, right!
What I am Happy About:
Arrival of fall in this beautiful, beautiful national forest.
A stocked pantry and freezer.
Our dog has successfully lost almost all his extra weight and seems to have regained a new lease on life — he is going on 12 but acts like he’s about 8 or 9 now.
What I’m Not So Happy About:
My lack of follow-through in several “important but not urgent” areas.
Spiritual Focus:
Finished Spiritual Exercises. Turning attention to saying the Rosary well and consistently.
Recent Kitchen Events:
I made nice modified Toll House cookie bars. I use a Toll House recipe but double it, sub a cup of peanut butter for one of the cups of butter, and I use oat flour in place of two of the cups of regular flour. I make oat flour from oats by grinding it in the coffee grinder and it’s not bad.
Formal Academics:
Starting homeschooling in a lowkey way.
Informal Learning:
Some good pretend-play with Aidan and Paddy.
Culture:
Played classical guitar duets with Liam before he left.
Movies:
Perry Mason episodes; Witness for the Prosecution
Wearing:
Black knit pants and a pink thermal shirt. … pajamas, basically!
Creating:
Some order in the schoolroom arrangements.
Grateful for:
The sense of humor this family has, and the way we basically get along.
Some things I want to do this week:
I finished cleaning the garage; I want to get a therapy routine started for Aidan.
A Picture Thought:
Paddy getting sand out of his boots
