October 24, 2008

• It’s Fall Y’all

  Eeew, brrrrr, chill . .
  . NOW I feel like it is *REALLY*  fall.  Lots of frosty mornings.  Yesterday was
  cold and there was a heavy wind that blew the cold air, turning it into
  even colder air.

  

  We ended up using the
  fireplace for the first time this season.  I started a fire around 4pm as temperatures outside were beginning to drop.  My friend, Tangi, laughed and said she had her
  windows open.  She must have been dressed more warmly than we were dressed.  Everyone here was dressed to cover their flesh and even the
  pets were huddled up in blankets.  But, remember, the fall/winter clothes are still up in the attic!  We’re all happy for our electric blankets, that’s for sure! 
  And, Chirper sleeps UNDER my electric blanket with me!  Just purrs and
  purrs and stretches over and over again, rolling from side to side all night long.  It
  must warm him to the bone!!! 

  I’m trying to recall last week, when I
  was hot all the time – it’s only a faded memory!  BUT, I’m not complaining!
  
  One or two of the logs I put on, right before Jesse came home, must have been from a sappy wood.  The room became filled with smoke and I had to open windows and doors before the fire alarm went off.  Ours is hooked into our burglar system and the fire department is notified immediately when it goes off.  Embarrassingly, they’ve called me twice when something in the oven bubbled over and burned!  We covered the bird so she wouldn’t die from the smoke and aired the house out – which didn’t exactly make things warm!  It got warm again, soon enough, and we were all cozy – except for the house smelling like a forest fire when Jesse walked in!!!!
  
  Not an electric blanket, but Chirper’s doing all he can to stay warm!
  

  Stormy was pretty cuddly herself!
  
  The camera and my presence woke her up from a deep snooze!

  I baked a cake during the afternoon to help boost the warmth in the
  front of the house, which is where we stayed most of the day.  Luci wasn’t in a very good mood
  and missed the school classes held AFTER lunch.  No big deal.  She can
  learn about Wyoming in another book and at another time!  Her taking a nap was more
  important – trust me!  We did history and Bible and then called it quits.

  I was surprised that yesterday afternoon our new school books arrived.  I ordered them less than a week ago!  The girls were so excited!  So was I.  I
  guess it’s always refreshing to get something new.  We are very close
  to finishing 4 text books and what I ordered was science, health, and history.  The “Community Helpers” book we’ve used for two years isn’t offered in the higher grades.

  I sat in front of the fire going through the box of new books.  Just Stormy,  me,  and the fire!
  

  In addition to science, health, and history books,  I ordered two cursive writing books/tablets
  for Rissy.  Also, a neat little book for grades 1 – 6 to encourage
  correct oral grammar.  Example:  “Did you have your picture took?” or
  “Did you have your picture taken?”  I like it because it will last
  through so many grades.

  While I sat in front of the fire, I  got out some flash cards (from CLE or Pathway Publishers, I think) that I ordered a year ago.  I pulled the ones
  I want to use for Annamarie and Luci.  I have 4 stacks of cards, now.  Color words.  Number words.  And, some simple words with some connecting words, etc. that I want them to start learning.
  
  The bigger stack was what I held out to test Rissy. 

  I did that this morning when we first woke up.  I was amazed at how many words she knew.  She has trouble remembering some of the same words I remember giving me trouble, when I was learning to read/spell.  Like:  how and who.  That large stack on the far left is actually TWO sets of words because the backsides also contain words – sometimes two words together.  I’m impressed and not sure where she picked up such a vocabulary for reading – it certainly hasn’t been taught to her in school by me!  She’s not as good at phonics as Annamarie.  Annmarie can sound out a word, but still can’t grasp what she is really saying.  She’s so very close to reading – it makes me itch!

  Rissy has been reading textbooks (stories) at night and has made it to the second set in the series.  I believe those books may go with these flash cards and that’s how she’s learned the words.  I’m not sure if there is a list of how many words a child of 7 is supposed to know – but she knows more than I ever guessed.  She stumbles on a few words and some of those words are person’s names, like:  Levi and Rachel.  I don’t expect her to know names, not yet.

  Last night, while I went through the cards, I noticed Tango, the bird, all fluffed up to keep warm.  I kept the blanket on 3 sides of her cage for extra warmth.  When she saw the camera (which must look like a bird-eating machine to her) she straightened up and lost her “fluff” – so to speak!
  
  That’s her fuzzy fleece blanket on the left.

  I watched the evening news while I looked at our new books, enjoyed the pets, and enjoyed the fire.  So relaxing!
  
  Even old Sampson joined me in the warm and cozy room!

  Then again, it could have been the smell of the ham casserole cooking in the oven.  Where there’s food, there’s Sampson!
  

  
  The girls were young when we decided to quit eating pork and shellfish (to see if it made a difference in our health – and YES, it did) and they were worried “ham” would be nasty.  I told them it wasn’t bad if we didn’t eat it all the time, and I told them they would, most likely, enjoy the taste of the casserole.  They did.  In fact, my plan to serve leftovers tonight has flown out the window.  There aren’t enough leftovers from this week to serve a meal.  I’ll either have to pick up something when I go to the store, or go out to our freezer and stare with glazed eyes at the selection of chicken breasts or ground beef . . . chicken breasts or ground beef . . . chicken breasts or ground beef . . . you get the idea!  Of course, there is the occasional hot dog that I can use.  And I have *lots* of those after purchasing a gang load and freezing them in small baggies!  Beef roasts have become so expensive and that’s why we decided to add occasional pork meals back into our diet.  If my cholesterol and triglycerides go back up, I’ll know for sure we shouldn’t be eating it at all.

  Guess I should move from typing to getting myself ready to go this afternoon. 

  We only have a few tests to give in school today – not our biggest school day.  I’m thankful that we accomplished so much in such a short amount of time this week.  The girls hung in there through those grueling catch-up days and long hours of schooling!

  Be blessed  ~

  • 12:58 pm
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