A Great Blog I Read This Afternoon

The Pipers have a wonderful section in their blog about how to help a grieving friend. She articulates much of what a grieving mother experiences, and doesn't know how to explain it to others. I have added a link on the side bar you can click on if you are interested. I found the site through Raising Arrows.

First Time This Season

Oh yes! Ihung out laundry for the first time this year! Woohoo! Now, that must be a sure sign of cabin fever-- getting excited about that. In fact, this morning I was waiting with bated breath for the washer to stop just so I could stuff on the lines. Ahhhh... tomorrow and Friday look like more of the same, only a few degrees warmer.

Makes me think of some spring cleaning. Here is what projects and cleaning I would like to see done this season:
-Plant the vegetable garden
-Plant a memorial garden
-sewing, sewing, and more sewing (you don't want to see THAT list!)
-Wash curtains
-Wash windows
-Go through all the clothes in storage and in use
-Sort and get rid of a bunch of the stuff in the basement
-Finish Dale's office (it is almost done.. but not quite)
-Plant the blueberry bushes (that is actually on the list for tomorrow)
-Put up the tetherball set

That is all I can think of for now. We'll see how much we really get done. We ordered some new school books for next term today too, so I'll all that to organize once we are done with what we have. I am seriously thinking about having the children do a few things during the summer. Like my mom pointed out, usually by July they are looking for things to do. I'll be glad to help them out with that. :)

Made a little progress on the girls' pinafore dresses. I made a small mistake with the lace collars yesterday that I had to fix today, so that ate up some time. Overall, I like how they are coming together. Maybe these won't be too bad to do afterall.

Now honestly....

We are "teetotalers" here but even I got a charge out of this.

If you were alive around 1919 you might have seen this slogan:



Now, really, would you qive up drinking?

(For the record, Dale sent this to me from work. :) )

Monday Madness

Yesterday was the usual.. church, rest in the afternoon, then church in the evening again. I almost didn't make it to the evening service. I was feel particularly emotional and edgy and experiencing something like sensory overload. At the last minute I went over and played piano and sat through service. I played with a 'tude, I thought, but after a couple of the ladies complimented my playing. Go figure.

Today was more of the same with the usual Monday craziness thrown in. Mondays are a high organizational day. I do the menu for the week, the shopping list, a major pile of laundry, and a bunch of printing up and planning for the week's schooling. Some weeks there is more to do than others, but there is always some. I have tried to do some of it on Saturdays, but obviously, that doesn't always work out. All this organizing and planning ahead a bit is helpful later, but very taxing on the brain and I feel like I spend the first half the day being pulled in at least 6 different directions.

I planned a somewhat lighter day for school today, and that seemed to help my end of things at least. I still didn't accomplish everything I wanted to do, but so what? I would have done more after supper, but I was encouraged by Dale (who was correctly reading my tension level as "high") to call it day and rest and relax for the evening. I have to say, I didn't put up any fuss over it. To tell the truth, I have been looking forward to this time all day. I am so mentally disjointed, and an emotional time bomb right now.

I was reading in a little booklet a kind hearted friend sent me. It has several uplifting poems in it. Here is the beginning two stanzas of one that particularly blessed me.

THE HAND OF THE HEAVENLY HOST
By: Catherine Janssen

"When broken dreams had brought me down so humbly on my knees,
I gathered all the faith it took to calm my troubled seas.

When hope seemed lost, it would return just when I'd need it most,
And I knew from whence it came- the hand of the Heavenly Host."

I was reading from The Valley of Vision this morning. I read several of the prayers in effort to calm my turbulent emotions. One line read:
"Thou hast given me the ordinance of song as a means of grace..." That is what I have felt like since the Lord returned my joy in music. When I sit and have time to just play and enjoy it, I can feel the encouragement, and grace of the Lord. What a blessing that is.

I never did get a chance to play at all today, but maybe, in light of my dark mood, I should have just dropped everything and played until I felt better. I didn't, and won't now, but I will certainly make time tomorrow. I have a violin piece and a special piano piece I am working on. Not to mention the hundreds of hymns that are available to play and experiment with in the hymnal.

Slowing Things Down for Today

We did a bunch of regular cleaning this morning, and then after lunch I went over to church to practice for a while. Well, now I am just taking it easy and resting. I just felt like I needed some regrouping time today. I have been pushing and pushing for the last several weeks and decided that when you are making lunch and crying your eyes out, it is time to take a break. Aren't I a genius? ( NOT!)

It is in the middle 60's here today and very clouzy out. The thunder and lightening storm last night was our first for the season, and didn't last very long. It is supposedly cooling off some tonight and over the next few days so we will probably have to start up the woodstove again. We let it die out last week because we just didn't need it. The body heat from all the children and baking or cooking was enough for the thermostat in the front room park around 68 to 72 on a daily basis. It did cool off a bit overnight, but never enough for our furnace to trip on. We have that as a back up in case the wood supply gives out or it gets too cold in the house.

I was planning on getting a couple hours of sewing in today, but it will be the Monday, and I know I will be more productive after a good rest this weekend. I can rest about half a day today, and about half tomorrow. That works for me! So, the only thing on my agenda right now is finishing this up and working on some cross stitch. Oh, could you pass the bonbons please?

Homeschooling Fun

Anyone interested in doing a unit study on Benjamin Franklin? We started one last week and WOW there are lots of hits on Google. I got several free printables... worksheets with Q & A's, wordscrambles, picture drawing, crosswords, and matching games. The very best thing was a hit on a PBS site that had a video simulation about making the kite and a lightening rod work. Of course they have all manner of warnings not to try it in real life, as it is very very dangerous. :) Here is the link: (we had lots of fun with this!)

http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/exp_shocking.html

Husband of the Week

Just as I was signing in to do a new post I heard this noise outside... THUNDER??? Wow. It IS spring, eh? So, depending on what this little storm does, I may have to sign off here quickly.

Another week has passed. Busy as usual, full of ups and downs, as usual. I hit what we call "critical mass" this afternoon around lunchtime. I was getting so flustered and frustrated over everything. I have been running full bore just to keep on on the basics, and still not quite doing it. Never mind the "extras" that I see that I would like to do. It still takes quite a bit of energy to focus to get things done, but that is getting better. It seems like I spend a lot of time and energy redoing or re-instructing kids.
"Don't forget to put the stool back when you are done so no one will trip over it" (this is repeated ad nauseum).
"Jerusha, no honey, you can't play in the flour."
"Don't forget to shut the basement door when you come up." (repeated ad naseum)
"Put your shoes away" (repeated ad nauseum)
"Hangs your clothes neatly, so I don't have to re-iron them!" (repeated ad nauseum)
"Jerusha, don't take that from Caleb." (ad nauseum)
"Put your clothes away neatly so your dresser drawers will shut" (repeated ad nauseum)
"Jerusha, don't touch that" (again ad nauseum)
You get the idea here.
Anyway, Dale called me on lunch hour and I must have sounded particularly tense because he ordered me to stop doing what I was doing (folding laundry) and to eat lunch (it was 1:30 and I had gotten the littles down for naps a few minutes before). Then he laid down the law, in no uncertain terms. I was to lay down, or rest with my feet up until Jerusha got up from her nap. I hoped she would take one of her abbreviated versions, but alas, she slept until after he got home from work! I admit I was up and about before she got up, but I did rest for a couple hours. It did help. I even snoozed on the couch for about 15 or 20 minutes while the children were finishing their schoolwork.

What does all this have to do with the title? Well, a lot when you think about it. But the reason why he is getting a very special mention right now is because he volunteered to stop at JoAnn's for me since he is so close to it at work. That way I don't have to take the time to drive all the way up there for a few things that he is willing to pick up. Not only that; I needed lace. Poor fellow... by the time he got through figuring out the difference of flat lace and gathered and eyelet and whatnot... he must have had a headache. He picked out some very nice lace, I have to say. He also got me some interfacing (which he is pretty well versed at by now) and some bias tape. Isn't he a saint? So, I have no excuse but to get to the sewing.