One.
We had a nice day for Our Lady of the Rosary. We did most of our school work outside. I couldn't bear to bring Gemma indoors, as she was having so much fun toddling about and playing with and on Max, who has outgrown his chicken-killing, pulling laundry off the line and jumping up all over us. He is a good dog. What he hasn't outgrown is bringing home all sorts of "treasures" from his travels: soda cans, glass jars(!), feed sacks, and cardboard. If I had to clean up after him, I would probably love him less. As it stands, we have the kids clean up after him.
Two.
This weaning thing is really hard. More for me than for Gemma, I think. With her most likely being the last baby, I really had intended to let her wean herself, but with me needing to find some sort of medication to take care of this case of very resistant thrush, I feel that I have to. When she wakes in the night and wants to nurse, and throws the pacifier back at me, my heart aches. I just want to cave in and curl up with her in my bed and nurse her. During the day, she never seems to want to nurse, but it is different at night.
Three.
You know that school is in session and the weather is gorgeous when the kids don't ask to watch one single VHS or DVD the entire day long. Before having the kids, Bret and I had no TV for years. The reason we got one in the first place is that we had a little video camera to make movies of Una with, and we got tired of playing them back on the one-inch screen. I have a love-hate relationship with the TV. We get no reception, so it is only used for playing movies. Our internet in the area is so slow, that we can't watch anything on the computer without it reloading incessantly. If not for that, I would sell all the bloody tapes and DVDs at a yard sale and toss the TV. But I like my favorite British historical dramas too well. And the kids, having already been corrupted by visual media, might just die if they had to go a month without The Lord of the Rings, Narnia, or episodes of Green Acres.
Four.
Adrian wanted to make himself a rosary yesterday for the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. In the evening, he sat in Bret's lap to pray with us, following along on his own beads. This was the first time he ever sat through an entire rosary at home. So naturally, he got a huge piece of the celebratory cake. And afterwards, a huge tummy-ache to go with it...
Five.
Speaking of cake, we were having some and it was nearly 7:00 p.m. and suddenly, there was no more milk. Look at that cake. Can you imagine running out of milk? Well, Bret went out to his shop and grabbed another gallon out of the fridge there and came in, skimmed it, and we had milk. The point of this story? I love having a milk cow! And Nuala is a high-calorie milk cow. I'm making three pounds of butter a week taking the cream off the top of the milk. You have my permission to be a little envious. Just not sinfully envious.
You know that school is in session and the weather is gorgeous when the kids don't ask to watch one single VHS or DVD the entire day long. Before having the kids, Bret and I had no TV for years. The reason we got one in the first place is that we had a little video camera to make movies of Una with, and we got tired of playing them back on the one-inch screen. I have a love-hate relationship with the TV. We get no reception, so it is only used for playing movies. Our internet in the area is so slow, that we can't watch anything on the computer without it reloading incessantly. If not for that, I would sell all the bloody tapes and DVDs at a yard sale and toss the TV. But I like my favorite British historical dramas too well. And the kids, having already been corrupted by visual media, might just die if they had to go a month without The Lord of the Rings, Narnia, or episodes of Green Acres.
Four.
Five.
Speaking of cake, we were having some and it was nearly 7:00 p.m. and suddenly, there was no more milk. Look at that cake. Can you imagine running out of milk? Well, Bret went out to his shop and grabbed another gallon out of the fridge there and came in, skimmed it, and we had milk. The point of this story? I love having a milk cow! And Nuala is a high-calorie milk cow. I'm making three pounds of butter a week taking the cream off the top of the milk. You have my permission to be a little envious. Just not sinfully envious.
Six.
Today, this afternoon, I will be taking a look at our first month of school and see how we have been doing. I think that we have kept pretty much on track, although we haven't done much with music, as the CD player is still defunct and we are still trying to get sounds from the recorders I got for the kids without a lot of screeching. When they can all do that, we will proceed...I think that the area where we need to improve is my own involvement with Una. She is used to doing her work and correcting it, and I have told her that she needs to come to me for feedback in her writing work, and when the work involves the memorization of a poem or the making of a speech, she needs to come to me. She hasn't been doing so. I also need to make better use of Fridays for looking ahead to the following week and preparing.
Seven.
This is going to be one beautiful weekend! I am hoping that the whole weekend won't be given over to household chores. I am hoping to finish a hat I am knitting for Gemma and get going on the second of another pair of leg warmers, and I want to finally begin a pullover for someone--I have merino wool for three sweaters, but I don't know whose to knit first! I am a slow knitter, so there is no way on earth I will get three, or even two of them done by Christmas.
There! Those were not very quick. Anyway, here's hoping that you have a great weekend and that you have some beautiful autumn weather wherever you are.
Seven Quick Takes Friday is hosted by the arachnophobic Jennifer at Conversion Diary.
Today, this afternoon, I will be taking a look at our first month of school and see how we have been doing. I think that we have kept pretty much on track, although we haven't done much with music, as the CD player is still defunct and we are still trying to get sounds from the recorders I got for the kids without a lot of screeching. When they can all do that, we will proceed...I think that the area where we need to improve is my own involvement with Una. She is used to doing her work and correcting it, and I have told her that she needs to come to me for feedback in her writing work, and when the work involves the memorization of a poem or the making of a speech, she needs to come to me. She hasn't been doing so. I also need to make better use of Fridays for looking ahead to the following week and preparing.
Seven.
This is going to be one beautiful weekend! I am hoping that the whole weekend won't be given over to household chores. I am hoping to finish a hat I am knitting for Gemma and get going on the second of another pair of leg warmers, and I want to finally begin a pullover for someone--I have merino wool for three sweaters, but I don't know whose to knit first! I am a slow knitter, so there is no way on earth I will get three, or even two of them done by Christmas.
There! Those were not very quick. Anyway, here's hoping that you have a great weekend and that you have some beautiful autumn weather wherever you are.
Seven Quick Takes Friday is hosted by the arachnophobic Jennifer at Conversion Diary.
Yes, I am (non-sinfully) envious! Supposedly this is the month our cow will have her calf (we've thought that since June, though). I can't WAIT to stop buying cream, milk, yogurt and butter from the store! It'll probably be a lot longer before I stop buying cottage cheese, sour cream, cheddar and mozzarella :).
ReplyDeleteDo you have a churn or do you shake it or blender...? How do you make your butter?
When we had a cow who didn't make a lot of cream, I had a one-gallon, hand-crank churn. Now I have an electric 3 quart churn. It takes about 10-20 minutes to make butter, then I rinse it well and use my hands or a paddle to knead out the remaining water and buttermilk. In cold weather I use my hands, but the paddle is necessary in warmer weather when my hands will melt the butter!
ReplyDeleteIt's not my favorite chore, but raw-cream butter is wonderful, and in spring and summer it is bright yellow--nothing at all like the store-bought!
Most definitely jealous. Not seething with envy, just wishing for a cow of my own! Our 20x20 square foot backyard wouldn't be the best for her though...
ReplyDeleteYour son is so cute with that rosary! My husband is working on making rosaries with his youth group to raise money for their mission. You should check this one out for your kids next project! They are super simple once you get the knot right! http://www.saintgeo.com/cord_rosary_instructions.htm