Monday Musings--22 August 2011

Right now...it is 6 a.m.  It is just getting light, I can hear Bertram and Daryl (our two roosters) crowing, and the neighbor's calf bellowing.  Una is, believe it or not, already doing Algebra on the office computer. We won't officially begin school for another two weeks, but she was eager to start, weird kid!  Like me, she likes the early morning hours best for getting things done.

This weekend...was a bit dull, but at my age, dull is good; excitement can be exhausting.  We did make a trip to the library on Saturday, which was long overdue, as was one of our books.  I also ordered long underwear from this company in England.  Even with the shipping, it was less than I might of paid in this country for similar items. No, they are not the cotton/wool or wool/silk ones I wish I could afford, but they are better than nothing.  I used our Etsy earnings for it and got tops and bottoms for all six kids. My impetus for this was the fact that our heating propane for this winter is going to be about 50 cents per gallon more than it was last winter.  I already set the thermostat for 68 degrees (and 66 before the kids get up) during the day in winter and 62 at night.  but between the long johns and the feather duvets, it may get a bit colder around here at night this winter...

Yesterday was pleasant enough.  I awoke to a nice, steady rain, which pretty much cleared by the time we got to Mass.  We all got in for confession, and the littles behaved tolerably well (we didn't have to take any one out to the vestibule, anyway).  Afterwards we had to make a stop at Wal-Mart for .a few necessities and for some stuff to spread on our tick-infested front yard.  I don't know what's done it, perhaps perfect weather conditions, but we have the worst case of deer ticks--you know, the ones the size of a freckle?--that we've had since moving here.  We actually did a test.  Sebastian stood in the front of the house for about 20 seconds in bare feet.  In that time, three ticks crawled onto him.  I won't even let the kids play in the front, and we are all getting bitten like crazy.  So Bret treated the front last night, and I am hoping it will be much, much better now.  Because I am tired of picking these things off of my kids and myself!

Some plans for this week...the usual laundry, butter-making, bill-paying and so forth.  I also need to help Una finish her Sending Love swap item so that we can get it into the mail this week (mine is going to Canada; hers to South Africa!).  I want to finish Dominic's sweater, start a new read-aloud for the boys, and perhaps try to do a little work on my various bits of organizational paper work:  a U.S. History reading list, a menu plan of sorts, some kind of school schedule (we need this, since we have only two computers and three kids using them for at least some of their schooling this year) and even begin on a Christmas list since we will likely be making at least some of the kids' gifts this Christmas, as with the last.  A life-long maker of lists and schedules, I am rebelling against it in my old age and finding any sort of planning tedious.  It isn't that I don't like organization--I love it!  But I'm so tired and it all seems like so much work, especially when I usually fall away from the schedules and lists at some point anyway!

I also need to place an order for a few things:  organic coconut oil, milled flax seed, emulsified cod liver oil.

If I find some time for myself, I would like to...finish Dominic's sweater and work on a couple of things for the Etsy shop.  It is time to lay in stock for the holidays, I think.

Some prayer intentions for this week:  Work for Bret, our continued good health, and a response soon from the Mennonites on their estimate for framing the new Patch O' Dirt farm house.  I am also praying for this school year to be our best yet.  And for the ticks to go away...

I am grateful for...our current good health (in a large family, having everyone well at the same time is a rare and wonderful thing!), good confessors, my hard-working husband.

Something that makes me smile:  My oldest boy, taking over the lawn-mowing.