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Random Snippets and Updates
May 17, 2010 15:39
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Tags: homeschooling housework books pets karate diet and exercise girl scouts

Only four months since my last post here? I could have sworn it was longer than that! Anyway, I got bit by the blogging bug again, so here I am. In no particular order:

The kids are getting ready to put on another play, with Mike’s help. This time it’s Gilgamesh. I made costumes for everyone, which took up the better part of May. That’s finally done, and I can get back to earning an income. About damn time, too; sewing was starting to be more work than fun, and I was missing code. I need variety!

I’m also starting to get caught back up on the housework, which has been getting away from me while I was playing Betsy Ross. Not going to do it all at once; incremental progress will be fine.

I took a break from doing “regular” homeschooling with the kids, and now we’re doing an extended unit on Egypt (modern and ancient). They’re really enjoying it and excited, and I’m not feeling bored by teachin...
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Independent Learning
June 07, 2006 01:49
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Tags: homeschooling adam books

Today, Adam finished his lunch, went to the bathroom, then started the free reading portion of his schoolwork all on his own. (He finished his second Wizard of Oz book.) I didn’t have to nag him to get started; by the time I had finished my own lunch he was already engrossed in the story of Dorothy, Toto, and the other characters. I was so proud of him, and proud of us for sticking to this homeschooling thing. Adam is comfortable with our routine, and he rarely balks at it (though he does still pronounce some schoolwork “boring”). He’s leaps and bounds ahead of the curriculum he would be doing in a public school and showing no signs of slowing down.

Most importantly, he is an avid reader. He does more challenging reading in the mornings with Dad, to help stretch his vocabulary. In the afternoons, he reads silently on his own, under my supervision. He can choose virtually anything he wants, and he’s now choosing chapter books meant for child...
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Care-a-Lot, Book Review
September 17, 2005 20:28
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Tags: books pregnancy kayla

Nope, this isn’t a book review of a Care-a-Lot book. :) I did post a book review, though, if that’s your “thing.” On a related note, henceforward the baby I am carrying will be known as “Tummybug.” :)

I’ve been trying to focus more time and attention on redecorating Kayla’s room. She decided she wanted the room to look like Care-A-Lot, where all the Care Bears live. So first step was to take down all of the awful, fake wood paneling. That job is done, and beneath it is a patchwork of some kind of composite wood stuff, with some pieces of drywall (installed with the wrong side facing out) interspersed over the areas where structural changes were made.

To do this job right, I would take down all that crap, install new insulation and drywall, then do the mudding, painting, and mural. But I’m already 18 1/2 weeks pregnant, and haven’t the time or energy for that. So for now, I’m just patching the...
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Quote of the Day
September 10, 2005 20:39
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Tags: books

We have to start thinking of America as a family. We have to stop screeching at each other, stop hurting each other, and instead start caring for, sacrificing for, and sharing with each other. We have to stop constantly criticizing, which is the way of the malcontent, and instead get back to the can-do attitude that made America. We have to keep trying, and risk failing, in order to solve this country’s problems. We cannot move forward if cynics and critics swoop down and pick apart anything that goes wrong to a point where we lose sight of what is right, decent, and uniquely good about America.


This is a quote from Colin Powell, in his autobiography My American Journey. For a review, check out my Book Reviews.
Shelves
June 20, 2005 07:26
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Tags: pregnancy books

So far, I’m feeling pretty darned good with this pregnancy. I’ve had some very mild morning sickness, but nothing that sidelined me. I got a prescription of Meclizine filled just in case it gets worse. I’m a little tired, kind of forgetful, but not yet too bad.

I’m using this time – while I can still get things done – to push through on the reconstruction project. After yet another trip to Home Depot today for supplies, I FINALLY got the shelves up on one side of the new wall! I didn’t even get them all in place before Mike was filling them with books. We have thousands of books packed away in cardboard boxes all over the house, and it’s great to see them coming out of boxes and going onto shelves.

What’s left?
* Finishing the ceiling (I ran out of staples)
* Cutting the framing around the window
* Installing the lighting
* Nailing down carpet strips
* Installing carpet pad...
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Building Lessons
March 05, 2005 16:35
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Tags: books

So I’m back to work on the re-construction project. You (8/25) remember (1/9) that (11/16) project (11/9), right (8/30)? Thought so. Anyway, today I framed the wall. Got it all done, except the door (I need more wood). I have come to the conclusion that, while I am a bright girl and a quick study, the rules of architecture will not naturally come to me. Either I need to be explicitly told by Mike that something needs to be done (like a notch cut out of a stud to carry electrical over from an existing wall), or it MUST be in the book. Otherwise, I’ll just have to figure it out when I screw something up. Since there are probably lots of others out there in the same boat, I thought I’d share a few tidbits of varying importance I learned the hard way.

1) Two nails should go in each e...
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Quote of the Day
March 01, 2005 16:49
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Tags: quotes books

“I used to think I was serving humanity … and I pleasured in the thought. Then I discovered that humanity does not want to be served; on the contrary it resents any attempt to serve it.” – Jubal Harshaw in Stranger in a Strange Land
Quote of the Day
February 04, 2005 19:28
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Tags: quotes books

“It may be relevant here to add that I hold no religious beliefs whatever. Roughly, I cannot imagine any omnipotent sentient being sufficiently cruel to create the world we inhabit.” – A Severed Head, by Iris Murdoch
Friends of the Library Sale
July 06, 2000 17:16
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Tags: books pregnancy food shopping sewing

Another Colfax trip today. That makes two in a row. Today we went in for the annual Friends of the Library book sale, and bought only 4 boxes. We spent much less this year than we did last year, but that’s ok; I don’t think we’ll ever run out of reading material. And if we do, there’s always amazon.com. Heh.

Yesterday was our regular, weekly visit. We started with the doctor’s visit, tour of the hospital, and pre-registration, and then went for dinner. Initially we were planning on going to the Top Notch Cafe, but they were closed, as was the Sol Vallarta Mexican restaurant. Must have been an extended Fourth of July type thing. Anyway, we ended up at the pizza place. It was pretty good, although we did have to wait quite some time before the pizza showed up. After that, we did egg deliveries and shopping at the fabric store. Among other things, I bought a serger! OK, technically I haven’t paid for it ye...
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Domestic Progress
June 12, 2000 18:04
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Tags: books web development

It was another reasonably productive day for me today. First, I tech-edited a chapter for the book I’m working on. Then, I did some work on a client’s website. Then, I took a bath, then a nap. :)

When I woke up, I actually did a load of dishes. Try not to faint, now, you might hurt yourself! LOL. After that was finished, I took pictures of the gifts Adam has received from folks. Then, I put together the dresser we bought for him yesterday. It wasn’t hard, but it did cause my hands a little cramping. Wah. :) It looks nice, though, and if we get our dryer fixed tomorrow (Don the appliance guy is coming to look at it in the morning) I’ll wash all of Adam’s clothes and get them put away, just like a real mommy. LOL

Lastly, I made a new page to display the gifts Adam has received. I have friends all over the world, and wanted to share pictures of the gifts with them. And now I̵...
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Steve Visits
June 05, 2000 18:09
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Tags: pregnancy food movies pets books

Steve came to visit this weekend. We had fun, although the drive to Spokane feels a lot longer when you’re in your eighth month than when you’re in your fifth (which is, I think, the last time I drove there). This time all 3 of us (me, Mike, and Steve) were in the car, since Mike (rightfully so, it turns out) doesn’t think I should be making that long of a drive myself. On the way there, I snoozed for a few minutes, and on the way back, I was so miserable I thought I was going to throw myself out the door into the ditch. It was not a pleasant car ride (it was three hours round trip, in a truck without air conditioning, much of it on bumpy, winding roads).

Saturday we drove to Moscow. On the way, we stopped in Pullman at Basilio’s and had some Italian food. I had chicken parmigiana, he had fish and chips. Don’t ask me why they serve fish and chips at an Italian restaurant; they do. Anyway, after lunch we drove on in to Moscow and sa...
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Chickens and Llamas Arrived
August 15, 1999 03:23
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Tags: farming pets quilting books mike

OK, so it’s been forever! Well, I tried to make up for lost time – there’s new stuff all over the place. I would list it all, but it’s basically the whole site. Just take a look around.

Let’s see… well, we got the chickens in. They’re a little over two weeks old, and we haven’t lost anybody yet. They had their first yard walk today. Mike let them out for about 15 minutes. About a third of them went out. The rest stayed under the brooder. We’ll slowly introduce them to the notion of being able to come and go as they please.

The llamas arrive Wednesday. We finally got the fencing put up, although we do have just a bit more flagging to do, so they won’t run into the barbed wire. Danny’s fine – she’s been allowed to roam into the neighboring pasture while we wait for the llamas. I think she’s enjoying the distraction. Her only other big news is that she’s in love. It’...
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New Horse
July 03, 1999 16:55
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Tags: pets books farming

A lot has been going on since my last update. As you probably have seen, there are lots of new pictures up. If you haven’t seen this yet, go back to the home page and take a look – there are bridal shower photos, pictures of Danny-girl (the horse), and all kinds of other knick-knacks. Tomorrow I’ll be working on wedding photos and the wedding/honeymoon update.

Well, obviously we bought a horse. She’s a 13-year-old Thoroughbred mare, 16 hands high, brown (no white markings at all), registered. We bought her from a couple out by Spokane, and she was delivered here almost a week ago, on June 28th. She’s fitting right in, and has jogged down a little track in her (3-acre) pasture. Some time next week, we’re going into Spokane to get a saddle and a bridle so she can be ridden; she’s been getting a little restless. Mike has been easing into taking care of her little by little, which turns out to be a very good thing. The other day I h...
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We're Married (Again!)
June 09, 1999 16:16
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Tags: marriage farming cooking quilting shopping web development books

Well, it’s official! We’re legally married. We even got our marriage license in the mail Monday. I know it’s been a (very, very) long time since we did an update, but we’ve been indescribably busy. Because of.. um.. technical difficulties, there won’t be any new pictures up for a few days, but don’t worry – they’re coming.

We’re back home now, in Endicott. We got in Sunday night and were just amazed at how overgrown everything was. In some places the weeds are hip-deep. We quickly added “lawnmower” to our shopping list. The first thing we did was start unloading the RV. We just brought everything in and dumped it in the middle of the living room floor. We’re slowly going through it as time goes by. We unloaded until we were exhausted, then we came in and slept. Oh, by the way, he did “carry” me over the threshold. Those of you who’ve seen us know that I’m much larger than Mik...
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Hike to the Palouse
April 03, 1999 15:53
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Tags: web development books pets

We woke up this morning to snow. About a half-inch to an inch fell last night, and it was covering everything by the time morning rolled around. Of course, by now it’s all melted away and it’s warmed up enough out there that it was uncomfortable to wear a coat. I found that out as we took another long walk today. This one really was a long walk. We drove the truck down as far as where the road/trail crosses our creek, then we walked all the way down to the Palouse River. All told, it was about a mile to a mile and a half. Not flat, either — it was rugged cliffs and game trails. The way back was almost completely uphill. We didn’t see any deer this time, but we did see lots of pheasant. We also found the owl that normally roosts in our barn. He “walked” along with us. We saw him twice. Snuggles went along, too. She didn’t think much of the riding-in-the-truck part, but she handled it pretty well.

Today I got a feel for just how m...
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Settling Into Our New Home
March 31, 1999 18:39
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Tags: shopping pets food diet and exercise books movies

Today was pretty busy. We woke up, Mike did some editing and I cross-stitched and had breakfast. About 11AM, we headed for Pullman, the closest “big” city and home of the Cougars of WSU – Washington State University. We drove and walked around basically the entire town, stopping at a quilting store (got on the mailing list), bookstore (of COURSE), gun store, Goodwill (still in search of a pressure cooker – no luck), and ShopKo (like a Wal-mart, but smaller). We were there about 2 1/2 hours, 30 minutes of which was spent on the phone with the Companion Animal Aid and Placement Society. They got more information than a humane society can POSSIBLY ever need, and we’re on a waiting list for a stray dog… a waiting list for a stray, can you believe it??

On the way back, we stopped in Colfax – the closest town with a real-life grocery store. We ...
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Bread and Apple Butter
March 28, 1999 18:44
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Tags: food books mike pets

Boy, are we ever becoming Maw and Paw Clampett! Yesterday, Mike made bread. Homemade bread. From flour. That he GROUND himself!!! And on the 25th, I made apple butter, from scratch, with real apples. OK, we didn’t grow the apples or the wheat ourselves, but I’m sure that’s coming!

What else has been going on? Hmm… well, we’re both still editing, and Mike’s authoring (a VB book at the moment). Most of the boxes have been unpacked, and now fuel our fireplace at night when it gets really chilly. Speaking of chilly, we got our first snow last night. It was really only flurries, and none of it stuck, but it was snow nonetheless. Big, fat white flakes of snow. I’m used to the light, powdery stuff that melts as soon as it hits anything, so this was new. We woke up this morning to more snow. Again, it melted off (no shoveling yet!) but it was beautiful. Today, as I look out the window in the office (we’re...
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In Endicott
March 24, 1999 18:47
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Tags: mike shopping books food guns wedding

We made it to Endicott! Actually, we made it here Saturday, but we’re just now settled down enough to do a webpage update. First we had to unload the UHaul, then we had to unpack some of the boxes (by no means ALL of the boxes – more on that in a second) and set up the bed, then our friend Steve showed up with his friend Matt, and we all went to sleep. Sunday morning we finished unloading the UHaul (big strong men, ya gotta love it!) and I rode back to Seattle with Steve and Matt. By this point, Mike had thrown out his back helping unload a desk my daddy gave us. I had JUST recovered from throwing out MY back in Albany loading boxes there.

I got to Seattle, loaded up the rest of our stuff there into our truck, then drove the truck all the way back to Endicott. I got in at 1AM, stumbled to the bed, and collapsed. The next morning, Monday, I drove all over Tarnation (that’s what we call the local area <...
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Holding Pattern
March 07, 1999 18:50
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Tags: pets mike shopping wedding web development books

Yesterday we went out to my dad’s house. Max had fun playing with Dad’s dog Charger, and Mike took lots of pictures. We stayed out there all day, then drove back to Dallas. We were so tired by the time we got home we just went straight to bed. Today, I went shopping for a petticoat and those accessories I was talking about. It took three malls to finish, but I finally got it done. Now I’m just working on updating this website, and working on one I’m designing for a local company, in hopes that they’ll buy it. That’s right; I’m trying to break into web design. More than anything, I’d like to make enough to pay to put a data line into the place in Endicott. We still haven’t closed on the property, by the way. We found out the acreage was 105 instead of 120, and that since it was listed, the owner sold off part of it, so we dropped our offer. We’ll see. Mike has spent the whole day writing and editing. He’s working on so...
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Loan Approved, Readying for Farming
February 09, 1999 18:30
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Tags: food farming books

OK, I’m feeling much better now. I had the flu and was absolutely miserable for about a week, but now I’m much better. Mike has been taking excellent care of me, including making chicken and dumplings (comfort food… mmmm). Anyway, at this point I’m just down to a nagging cough and have pretty much abandoned the sick bed. So we’re just packing up the RV as we go along, getting ready to head back to Dallas for awhile this weekend.

Friday I tried to make jelly. It was an awful mess. And it didn’t jell. :-( I was trying to make 3-berry jelly (strawberry, blackberry, and raspberry). I did it exactly according to instructions, and now I just have this really expensive ice cream syrup. Oh, well. It was just my first attempt. I think next I’m going to attack blueberry jam. No straining!!!!! (Incidentally, I’ve grown to hate cheesecloth.)

Now the big news… our loan was approved on our property! This is the acreag...
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We're Married!
February 03, 1999 18:35
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Tags: marriage books wedding

I have an announcement to make!!!! We’re married!!!!! <Major happy dance!!!> No, don’t worry, we’re not forgoing the big shindig I’ve been telling you about for over a month now. But we are Islamically married, which is just as married as the legal thing, at least in our book. :) And speaking of books, part of the requirement of an Islamic wedding is that the husband-to-be has to offer the bride a dowry. Traditionally, this has been something that will help sustain the wife in the unfortunate event that they are divorced (sniff, sniff). So Mike, love of my life, racked his brain for days, and finally came up with the PERFECT solution… books!!! Books about living in the country, to be exact. LOTS of books. To see the full listing, click here (this link no longer available).

Oh, yeah… and Mike’s been haggling with the caterers about our reception… more on that when it...
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