http://coffee-tyme2.blogspot.com/
That's where you'll find me from now on. It's amazing that I was even able to post this, as I've been having trouble with user names/passwords since getting a gmail email account...
See you there!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
How I Spent My Summer
It's started innocently enough. Rebekah graduated from college. But she stayed there to be in a Shakespeare-ish comedy. Josh and I drove down to see it and then fetch her and her worldly goods back here to the hill. And that's all I remember. The following is what one might hear a sleeping person mumble, and thereby communicate how they spent their summer:
Mmmmph... Clean out the attic? David - are you serious? GARAGE SALE!? (low growl...) I guess we should... OK, let's see what we have here. No one wants this old thing. Hand me that bowl. What's that in the bottom of it? Spices? No... mouse poop! Get the Lysol wipes! ... (shudder, roll over, heavy sigh)... Boxes, boxes, too many boxes. Too many old things.... spinster shoes, broken toys... what's in this box? Not that! No - not them - BEANIE BABIES! They're haunting me...
The subject goes understandably comatose for two hours. Then, she stirs.
All right, now where are all the stickers? Ok, let's price this vase at $3.50. Well, maybe $2.75. Hmmmmm... (writes on imaginary sticker) "Free - no returns!" ... I can't believe we spent a weekend selling stuff and only made $70. And that's only because we offered a free meal if they bought something. So, with the money we spent on the food.... we lost seventeen cents.... now we gotta haul most of it to the Goodwill. (rolling over, kicking off covers)
Later in the night -
When will they get here? We haven't seen them since Abby's wedding! (snore)... Hi! (hug, kiss, hug) How are you all? Feed, serve, feed, serve, fetch this, fetch that. Feed again! Now let's sit and chat. What? You have to leave? (sniff, sniff) ... (low growl)... I'm gonna make David fix the meals next time...(subject flails at husband)
That's all the mumbling a person can do in one night. So I'll wake up.
What else did I do with my summer? At the end of July, I accompanied Noah to Suzuki Institute. This is basically an intense learning camp for stringed instrument students, in which they are in back-to-back classes all day, breaking only for lunch. I chose a percussion elective for him to give him a break. He liked that class most of all. In the end, he was playing his cello 4-5 hours daily, including evening practice at home. He played with a youth orchestra for the first time, and was complemented on his reading skills.
In mid-August, I worked for a week in my step-mother's law office. I filled in for the receptionist. This would have been cushy, but like an idiot, I mentioned that I knew some Word, and was quickly put to task. It was interesting though, to copy out a deed, and I learned some new Word skills from my step-mother along the way.
The next week I spent what I had just earned on homeschooling curriculum. I worked almost as many hours choosing curriculum as I did at the receptionist job.
And now I am happily homeschooling Noah with a combination of Sonlight (History, Geography, and Language Arts), Teaching Textbooks (Math) and A Beka (Bible and Science) I think Noah likes science least of all, and history most. I love that he asks, "Can we read more?" after every history book-reading.
And then - I count this a gift from God - we went to Chincoteague and Assateague Islands, and kayaked, swam, dug in sand, petted island ponies, climbed the lighthouse, biked around Chincoteague, watched fighter-jets zoom about, and generally had a good time. David's aunt and uncle put us up for three nights, fed us, and showed us what to do and where to go. We had a blast!
I swapped out Misty of Chincoteague for Ginger Pye in Noah's Read-alouds. We're enjoying reading about the places we been to!
And it gets better - our Sarah Jane came home for her birthday. It was so nice to have her here. We threw her a party, took her to see Rebekah at the theme park she works at, and worked along-side her as she made Coconut Chicken. And then she flew back to her hubby.
Mmmmph... Clean out the attic? David - are you serious? GARAGE SALE!? (low growl...) I guess we should... OK, let's see what we have here. No one wants this old thing. Hand me that bowl. What's that in the bottom of it? Spices? No... mouse poop! Get the Lysol wipes! ... (shudder, roll over, heavy sigh)... Boxes, boxes, too many boxes. Too many old things.... spinster shoes, broken toys... what's in this box? Not that! No - not them - BEANIE BABIES! They're haunting me...
The subject goes understandably comatose for two hours. Then, she stirs.
All right, now where are all the stickers? Ok, let's price this vase at $3.50. Well, maybe $2.75. Hmmmmm... (writes on imaginary sticker) "Free - no returns!" ... I can't believe we spent a weekend selling stuff and only made $70. And that's only because we offered a free meal if they bought something. So, with the money we spent on the food.... we lost seventeen cents.... now we gotta haul most of it to the Goodwill. (rolling over, kicking off covers)
Later in the night -
When will they get here? We haven't seen them since Abby's wedding! (snore)... Hi! (hug, kiss, hug) How are you all? Feed, serve, feed, serve, fetch this, fetch that. Feed again! Now let's sit and chat. What? You have to leave? (sniff, sniff) ... (low growl)... I'm gonna make David fix the meals next time...(subject flails at husband)
That's all the mumbling a person can do in one night. So I'll wake up.
What else did I do with my summer? At the end of July, I accompanied Noah to Suzuki Institute. This is basically an intense learning camp for stringed instrument students, in which they are in back-to-back classes all day, breaking only for lunch. I chose a percussion elective for him to give him a break. He liked that class most of all. In the end, he was playing his cello 4-5 hours daily, including evening practice at home. He played with a youth orchestra for the first time, and was complemented on his reading skills.
In mid-August, I worked for a week in my step-mother's law office. I filled in for the receptionist. This would have been cushy, but like an idiot, I mentioned that I knew some Word, and was quickly put to task. It was interesting though, to copy out a deed, and I learned some new Word skills from my step-mother along the way.
The next week I spent what I had just earned on homeschooling curriculum. I worked almost as many hours choosing curriculum as I did at the receptionist job.
And now I am happily homeschooling Noah with a combination of Sonlight (History, Geography, and Language Arts), Teaching Textbooks (Math) and A Beka (Bible and Science) I think Noah likes science least of all, and history most. I love that he asks, "Can we read more?" after every history book-reading.
And then - I count this a gift from God - we went to Chincoteague and Assateague Islands, and kayaked, swam, dug in sand, petted island ponies, climbed the lighthouse, biked around Chincoteague, watched fighter-jets zoom about, and generally had a good time. David's aunt and uncle put us up for three nights, fed us, and showed us what to do and where to go. We had a blast!
I swapped out Misty of Chincoteague for Ginger Pye in Noah's Read-alouds. We're enjoying reading about the places we been to!
And it gets better - our Sarah Jane came home for her birthday. It was so nice to have her here. We threw her a party, took her to see Rebekah at the theme park she works at, and worked along-side her as she made Coconut Chicken. And then she flew back to her hubby.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
June Cleaver day
I felt like June Cleaver today. I made cookies, cleaned the tub and its accessories, did laundry, and made a really interesting meal, Moroccan Orange Chicken with Couscous. I did all dishes between and after each mess/meal. My house is in hand. It feels good!
However, when it comes to relaxing this evening, I'm not like June. While she'd spend the evening darning the Beaver's socks as Ward reads interesting news articles to her, I'd like to watch a psychological thriller, like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, or What Lies Beneath. But it's CSI night, and I'll be watching that with David. Actually, they're pretty interesting, if I can endure the icky body stuff...
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
A typical evening
Noah's watching an old Johnny Quest episode. I really liked this show as a girl; David loved it! He wanted to grow up into Dr. Benton Quest, a scientist-explorer. (He kinda did.) I wanted to be Hadji. (Or at least a tom-boy version of him.)
This is part of our average evening. After dinner, Noah does homework, then cello practice at seven. Following a good thirty minutes of practice, I give him free time til eight. That's when we head upstairs for tooth-brushing and a bath (if need be, about three times a week). From 8:15-8:30, I read to him. We wrap up with prayers and kisses and I put on his Suzuki CD. I try to be out of the room by 8:35. (He has to rise at 6:30am.)
Well, Johnny Quest is over. Time for the bedtime ritual. (And then comes Mom's free-time!)
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
They (didn't) call me Stephanie
I had a colonoscopy this morning. That could be my main topic. But no, I learned something more interesting today. (The colonoscopy's findings were normal, by the way.)
Just before I was knocked out for the surgery, the doctor and I found we had the same problem: we were given first names that were not used. We were called by our middle names. Like P. John Smith, instead of Peter J. Smith. And all our lives we've heard, "What's the P for?" This required a lengthy explanation that was fun to give the first three times. And then, like a woman asked - for the twentieth time - what her due date is, it got old. But pregancy ends. This doesn't.
I told Dad about this, mentioning the middle names of my doctor and his twin. They were from a 1960's TV show, and Dad laughed at this. Then I asked him, "Who came up with the name, *******?"
"I did." he said, and went on, " I thought it was a very nice name. You see, there was this girl down the street named *******. She was a tomboy - she could play baseball as good as or better than any of the boys in the neighborhood. And when you're eight or nine, that's pretty impressive. You hold a girl like that in high regard." Her last name was Gotloeb. So, here, after all this time thinking I was named the feminine version of my grandfather's name, I wasn't. I was named after a Jewish tomboy my dad knew as a kid. What a sweet little nugget of family history that was. I'm so glad I asked!
As for the riddle of my burbling bowels, that has yet to be worked out. I've been having regular diarrhea, stomach cramping and bloating for a month now. I had such painful cramps a week after this started that I went to the doctor. I thought it was a virus. But he decided I should see a GI doctor. That Dr wanted to start the investigation with a colonoscopy. Oddly, an x-wray on the day of the awful pain showed that I was "extremely" constipated. I will insert a visual now, to show how bad it was, even though I was also having diarrhea at the time.
See that lavender-colored snaky thing, with the bumps? That's the colon, ending in the anus. See the wiggly thing on the bottom left, at the beginning of the colon? That's the appendix. Now, go up to the first bend in the colon, and about 4-5 bumps across. That's where I was backed up to. That's "extremely constipated." The GP's main concern was that I might have a partial blockage, which only allowed liquid through, thus the diarrhea. But the GI doc thought not. And I can tell you, after doing "bowel prep" last night, I most certainly am not constipated.
I will see my GI doc soon, and discuss my situation further then. Meanwhile, my internet research brings me to two possibilities : Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Celiac Disease. Here are my syptoms:
Diahhrea
Constipation
Bloating, cramping stomach pain
Unexplained weight loss over the course of nine months
It seems some foods "trigger" my stomach aches -
Just before I was knocked out for the surgery, the doctor and I found we had the same problem: we were given first names that were not used. We were called by our middle names. Like P. John Smith, instead of Peter J. Smith. And all our lives we've heard, "What's the P for?" This required a lengthy explanation that was fun to give the first three times. And then, like a woman asked - for the twentieth time - what her due date is, it got old. But pregancy ends. This doesn't.
I told Dad about this, mentioning the middle names of my doctor and his twin. They were from a 1960's TV show, and Dad laughed at this. Then I asked him, "Who came up with the name, *******?"
"I did." he said, and went on, " I thought it was a very nice name. You see, there was this girl down the street named *******. She was a tomboy - she could play baseball as good as or better than any of the boys in the neighborhood. And when you're eight or nine, that's pretty impressive. You hold a girl like that in high regard." Her last name was Gotloeb. So, here, after all this time thinking I was named the feminine version of my grandfather's name, I wasn't. I was named after a Jewish tomboy my dad knew as a kid. What a sweet little nugget of family history that was. I'm so glad I asked!
As for the riddle of my burbling bowels, that has yet to be worked out. I've been having regular diarrhea, stomach cramping and bloating for a month now. I had such painful cramps a week after this started that I went to the doctor. I thought it was a virus. But he decided I should see a GI doctor. That Dr wanted to start the investigation with a colonoscopy. Oddly, an x-wray on the day of the awful pain showed that I was "extremely" constipated. I will insert a visual now, to show how bad it was, even though I was also having diarrhea at the time.
See that lavender-colored snaky thing, with the bumps? That's the colon, ending in the anus. See the wiggly thing on the bottom left, at the beginning of the colon? That's the appendix. Now, go up to the first bend in the colon, and about 4-5 bumps across. That's where I was backed up to. That's "extremely constipated." The GP's main concern was that I might have a partial blockage, which only allowed liquid through, thus the diarrhea. But the GI doc thought not. And I can tell you, after doing "bowel prep" last night, I most certainly am not constipated.
I will see my GI doc soon, and discuss my situation further then. Meanwhile, my internet research brings me to two possibilities : Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Celiac Disease. Here are my syptoms:
Diahhrea
Constipation
Bloating, cramping stomach pain
Unexplained weight loss over the course of nine months
It seems some foods "trigger" my stomach aches -
- pizza
- lentils
- onions
I've begun to avoid gas-producing foods, such as broccoli, cauliflower, beans, and cabbage. I'm so afraid of getting sick, I've just written them off. I cut dairy out 3 months ago, to see if I was lactose-intolerant, and my terrible gassiness stopped. So that's something.
I just wish I had some answers, though I am very relieved I don't have polyps or diverticulosis. I love nuts, and couldn't eat them if I had divert.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Noah performed at our city orchestra's music hall this weekend. We were all very excited to hear our little virtuoso! He clowned around with his friends before the lights went down, but then sat remarkably still. He waited and listened to the violins, the violas, and the violins again. And then - it was time for the cellos! Up he marched with the other children, finding his instrument, safely parked where he left it. Out with the endpin, up with the bow, and waiting for his teacher's prompt to begin... he was off! Bowing away in unison with the others, some older, some younger. They were all very serious, to be sure. And how we all clapped when they finished! Soon, all the strings were on, singing - occasionally squeeking - us into swells of parental pride. Were there ever such talented children anywhere else on the face of the earth?
And then we went to Friendly's, where Noah appropriately dripped chocolate sauce onto his dress shirt. After all, he had kept it clean and tucked in until then.
Fans, left to right, Aunt Bev, David, Ben, Papaw, Bubbe, and Nanny
Pre-concert silliness calms the nerves. L-R: Isaiah, Noah, and Jamison
Serious musicians
Noah with Miss Barb
Proud parents, David and Jill, with their small cellist
And then we went to Friendly's, where Noah appropriately dripped chocolate sauce onto his dress shirt. After all, he had kept it clean and tucked in until then.
Fans, left to right, Aunt Bev, David, Ben, Papaw, Bubbe, and Nanny
Pre-concert silliness calms the nerves. L-R: Isaiah, Noah, and Jamison
Serious musicians
Noah with Miss Barb
Proud parents, David and Jill, with their small cellist
Thursday, April 22, 2010
a floral walkabout
I had the most pleasant time with blooms and foliage yesterday. I had to capture the joy...
My neighbors azaleas. I think this is the best color. It's old-fashioned, like my heart.
Again, the neighbor's flowers. I don't know their name, but they were so sweet and unpretentious, I had to add them to my collection.
My clematis, not sure of the variety, but I like them because they remind me of pink dogwood.
They have overtaken one of our mission arborvitae. I think it is demurely pleased to be so elegantly clothed.
More clematis...
Clematis buds, quietly waiting for their debut...
Couldn't resist one more shot. Isn't the little purple bud dear?
Holly - their blossoms, so often overlooked, deserve som attention. Faint pink and white, jutting their pollen out on stalks. Come, bees, for a tasty appetizer!
I always enjoy these bright, white little flowers. They remind me of edelweis. They're probably weeds, which is all the more reason to capture them. Persistent and lovely - shouldn't we take a lesson?
Ah, the majestic purple iris. This has been one of my favorite annuals, since 1986. It required a showcase indoors.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)