Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Yarn Along--Knitting furiously...


...through sick kids, homeschool burnout and curriculum planning.

I'm back again, joining Ginny for her weekly Yarn Along.  It is one of the joys of my week, to be able to hop around the "blogosphere" and see what everyone is up to.  I always come away with books I want to read, patterns I want to try and new yarns and blogs to love.

We are in the trenches here.  My two week cough is finally leaving me, but everyone else in this house is sick. Some a little and some a lot.  Poor Gabe was coughing and sneezing so much last night, even with a dose of medicine, that he kept waking himself up.  And naturally I don't sleep well in a house full of coughing, sneezing  kids.  Thankfully everyone quieted down a bit after midnight, and I don't hear any coughing right now.

I am binding off the first sleeve of Sebastian's Henley today, so I am pretty much on schedule with my one sweater per month challenge.  I need to get the other sleeve and neckline done this week.

I am still reading To Kill a Mockingbird before bed, and I have added the movie to my Netflix queue--but I won't get it until I am done with the book.

I am ordering our curriculum and making book lists for the coming school year, and sort of freaking out as Una goes into eighth grade and is only a year away from high school and credits and transcripts and college planning.  I was ordering some things from Sacred Heart Books and Gifts yesterday and talking to Linda, whom I used to see at the St. Louis Homeschool Conference every year, but I've not gone for the past two years.  I poured out my terror and self-doubt to her, and she gave me a pep talk.  Told me I was doing just fine, and to grab my copy of Real Learning and douse myself in holy water whenever I began to feel inadequate.  And she is like that to everyone!  Her business is her ministry.  That's why I go back to order from her again and again (that, and the fact that she has really great prices and is extremely knowledgeable).

For making my book lists I am using various resources, but among them are A Picture Perfect Childhood by Cay Gibson, Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum by Laura Berquist and Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt.  I love books, and unfortunately, living in as rural an area as we do, our little libraries are pretty pathetic.  I think we have more books in this house than our nearest library.  And no decent second-hand book dealers, either.  And forget yard sales in our neck of the woods!  I don't recall ever seeing books...

I think this has been my wordiest Yarn Along ever!

If you love books and knitting--or crocheting--stop by Small Things and join in the Yarn Along!

11 comments:

  1. Wow! One sweater a month! I am so impressed! And I love the colors in the yarn you're using -- as well as the lovely little stitch marker!

    Will your library order books for you via Interlibrary Loan? Our library will do so for a $1 fee, which is a pretty good deal compared to buying the book most of the time (unless I can find a great deal on a used copy).

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  2. Loving the sweater! I hope wellness is restored in your household soon. Don't burn yourself out too much. Jacinta

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  3. I second Interlibrary Loan...I've gotten some great things that way (with patience and perseverance), even when I lived in a much more rural area than I live in now.

    Great suggestions for homeschooling books! We are currently beginning that odyssey ourselves, so it's wonderful to get recommendations from parents in the thick of it.

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  4. Hey there! We were there for 3 years and never , and I mean never, saw books at yard sales! The most I ever saw was a few baby board books at one. seriously. That about sums up the ignorance there... Anyways, good thing there is always Amazon! Are there any Catholic homeschool groups you could book swap with? Probably not near by... Our mountain library is totally lame here as well. However there is the book barn next door and I find more books there than anywhere else. It is a community used book drop off that funds the library. All hard backs are 50 cents and all paper backs are 25 cents. I dont even go in the library anymore, just the book barn ;o)Last time I was in there I found 7 G.A. Henty books. Plus some wild edibles books I was actually looking for and Dr. Sears Fussy Baby book to add to my collection, I was happy. Sorry to brag ;o)

    Deb

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  5. Sorry to hear that you have the illness in your house.
    We fought our way through it a few weeks ago, no fun at all!
    That sweater is looking great!

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  6. I hope everyone feels better soon!

    I have a bunch of summer reading/curriculum planning to do too. I was just going to give myself a little break, but it seems to be a bigger one than anticipated. I guess I had burnout worse than I thought...

    ...or it's gardening season and I have no time. Not sure. ;)

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  7. Oh I really hope you all feel better soon.
    It's that time of year I think, close to the Summer holidays I always start feeeling a little burned out.
    The sweater is coming alon a treat!

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  8. Have you checked out paperbackswap.com? I have gotten tons of books from there, both for me and my husband and for the boys.
    I love the color of your sweater!

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  9. No I haven't, Kate, and thank you!

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  10. Although I'm a country girl at heart, the libraries here are one of my great joys while living in the city, and I shall MISS them when we someday (hopefully!) move away. Libraries, and living within walking distance of a yarn store. :)

    Never read the book about curriculum myself, but my mom owns it, and I imagine I'll be borrowing it when I start having kids of my own!

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