Tooth

Going . . .

going . . .

not quite gone .

Five Great Things About My Childhood

1. Crest Grab-Bags
2. The Yellow Wallpaper (what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger)
3. Tree forts in the field off Apple Ave.
4. Playing Sardines for FHE
5. Grandpa Hugh's ancient Mac with the best games

Your turn! On your marks...get set...go!

Good News Tuesday

This man loves me.

Netflix

says "Your taste preferences created this row: Critically Acclaimed Violent Dramas"

What in the world?

I've been waiting and waiting for Nate to call. I just remembered that I asked him not to. I meant to go to bed early. Instead I watched Cold Souls and Ballet Shoes. Violent dramas indeed.

I can't seem to get caught up on the dishes.

Today was just a day. There is nothing to report.

A new-to-you photo. Isn't he handsome?

Do You Ever

tell your kids to stop whining about their food when secretly you know what they're eating is disgusting?

I do.

PS. Newman's Own Pineapple Salsa tastes like vomit. Literally.

Miley Fever

Frankie had us all rollin' with her almost verbatim performance of Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" at dinner. By the time I pulled out the camera though it had pretty much dissolved into a real case of the sillies.


"So I put my hands up they're playing my song,
the butterflies fly away,
Nodding my head like yeah . . .
It's a party in the USA"

Epiphany

Jensie is ornery, the other two are sweet.
But you already knew that. I've told you a million times.

Today it hit me--What if instead of telling everyone how rotten Jensie is, I focus on all of the good things she does?

Will she live up to the reputation of that person? Will my perception of her influence the woman she becomes? I think so. I only wish I'd seen it sooner.

Today Jensie . . .
got out of bed an hour before I did and served breakfast to her siblings,
pushed Frankie on the swing for a long long time,
hummed "Called To Serve" while I brushed her teeth,
let Asher and Frankie each take one of her books "home" with them,

and made me a twisty-tie necklace.

North is Not Always Up (Why We Chose Homeschool)

Has it ever struck you as odd, or unfortunate, that today, when the proportion of literacy is higher than it ever has been, people should have become susceptible to the influence of advertisement and mass propaganda to an extent hitherto unheard of or unimagined? . . . Have you ever, in listening to the debate among adult and presumably responsible people,been fretted by the extraordinary inability of the average debater to speak to the question, or to meet and refute the arguments of the speakers of the other side?
. . . And when you think of this, and think that most of our public affairs are settled by debates and committees, have you ever felt a certain sinking of the heart? . . . Is not the great defect of our education today--a defect traceable through all the disquieting symptoms of trouble that I have mentioned--that although we often succeed in teaching our pupils "subjects," we fail lamentably on the whole in teaching them how to think: they learn everything, except the art of learning.

--Dorothy L. Sayers
"The Lost Tools of Learning"

Pippa and June

Pearl died. We buried her in the yard with an X to "mark the spot." Something dug her up and ate her. The kids were cool about it though because the hatchery promised to send another little duck our way. They sent a bonus baby too, so now we have six.

Six ducks who'll lay an egg a day for about six years. That's 15 dozen eggs a month.
Holy guacamole!


The first four are growing like weeds. Look what a difference one week makes! Pippa and June look so teeny tiny in there with the girls.

We're working on getting them to eat out of our hands. So far they mostly just chirp and run for their lives whenever we get near them.

I could chase baby ducks all day. True story.

Unaffiliated

Allow me to explain. While Nate's name was on the profile of our blog, the blog was vulnerable to military censorship. Soldiers sign away their right to the freedom of speech you know. If we'd kept his name on the blog, we'd have had to register with an office in Bagdhad where the Army would look over our posts before they became public. Or something like that. As a free citizen I wasn't too keen on the idea. So when I say "unaffiliated," it doesn't mean that we're having marital problems, only that it's MY blog now, as opposed to being both of ours, and I am solely responsible for its content. That way some zealous Army leader can't take what is said here and try to prosecute Nate for expressing an opinion.

Urinary Ramblings

This used to be our blog, now it's just mine. Okay, it's still "ours," but we're unaffiliated so I can talk about anything--even old boyfriends.

I once dated this guy whose first-date "test" was to ask whether or not you peed in the shower. He said it was a good way to tell if someone was really honest.

Gross.

(Do I dare to leave the word "urinary" in the title?)

Later I dated this really skinny guy. He was skinnier than me, and I used to be really skinny. Like, bony even. I asked him if he peed in the shower. He said "No." That night as he walked me to my doorstep he admitted, in obvious discomfort, that he did indeed pee in the shower.

"Your question took me by surprise," he said. "I'm sorry I lied."

He turned out to be one of the most honest people I've ever known. Second only to the the man I married who shamelessly answered "Yeah every time. It's convenient."

He's got a point.

Also, I like a multi-tasker.

That skinny guy, oh boy was he skinny, had bright red hair too. I liked his red hair. And his sense of humor. He once used a napkin to map out his funeral-something to amuse me while we waited for our dinner. He drew himself propped up in a chair, wearing huge sunglasses, and holding a sign that read "Thanks for coming." The sunglasses were there just to lighten things up. They'd have stapled a good smile on too, so everyone'd know how glad he was to "see" 'em.

I wonder if I'm a difficult person to amuse? Don't answer that Nate. Even if we are unaffiliated.

According to my will, I'd like my dead body to be donated to students, but "schlumped in a chair" was very seriously considered.

I'm a dead people person.

Also, it won't be donated to students, but to a university. They, the students that is, will be free to poke and prod, but I won't actually be theirs. I hope this makes more sense in my will.

I once read Rayuela by Julio Cortázar. Rayuela means hopscotch. My Spanish used to be that good. The chapters are written out of order. I wondered how he did it. Did he write it start to finish then scramble them up? Or was is something like this that just worked out perfectly?

I had never peed in the shower, but I know a good idea when I hear it. And now sometimes I do, mostly I don't.

Because it's still gross.

So...

Do you or don't you?

My Kids Have No Standards

Tonight because I hadn't made dessert the kids were forced to improvise. Frankie sucked down a Pedialyte popsicle, Asher had a spoonful of Maple syrup, and Jensie ate half a hot dog bun.

Blast from the Past

I was going through some old CDs trying to find a picture of our first house. The one I wanted never turned up, but I found these along the way. These pictures make me smile. They also make me want to chop off my hair and figure out how to get my 20 year old skin back.

Babies having babies! What are we twelve?

Remember when we used to cut all the hot guys out of the Tommy Hilfiger ads and glue 'em up on our closet doors? (FYI This is Kate's old closet-I swore off the Abercrombie hotties the day I said "I do.")


Best haircut ever! Nate did it in the backyard with a big clumsy pair of kitchen scissors.

Hey Columbus, You've Got Options

photo taken from Jenny-Jack Farm's website

Tired of forking out $5 for a head of lettuce at Publix? Me too! And as it just so happens in addition to our teeny tiny, but completely decent little Farmer's Market, local farmers from Lagrange and Pine Mountain are running a successful chemical-free co-op. Slots are filling up fast for the summer/fall harvest so you need to get on it, and now.

Still not sure? How's this long list of available veggies to whet your appetites?

From August to the end of November you'll get:
Arugula, basil, beets, broccoli, beans, carrots, cilantro, collard greens, cucumbers, eggs, eggplant, field peas, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mixed greens, okra, parsley, squash, spinach, sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, turnips, Swiss chard, and tomatoes.

M'mmm.

Local stone-ground corn grits, cornmeal, organic coffee, and flower bouquets are available too!

Send an e-mail to Chris at Jenny-Jack Sun Farm (jennyjackfarm{at}gmail{dot}com) and let 'em know you want in.