Home Highlights for June 12-18

Sunday.

I played cards with the boys for a long time.   Paddy made up a game using a set of two-part insect cards.  At first we were trying to guess what the other person's card was by what the first letter was.  Then we started playing a sort of Pokemon game where we each had six insect cards, put down the one we wanted to be in the battle  and then put down random number cards to see which insect won the match.  The losers were out of the game and the winning person was the last one holding cards.   Sort of like simple War.  Turned out to be lots of fun -- "my stag beetle just took out your house fly".

Kevin took Sean down to town for football practice, and got us Costco pizza for dinner, so that was easy.  

Monday. 

We played more cards.  Also, Paddy's piano lesson was today.   Kieron came with us so he could go to the library and local market.   He stayed in the car and read "Schooled" which he found rather amusing -- it's about a homeschooled boy who grows up in a former hippie commune now just reduced to himself and his grandmother.  When his grandmother is injured and has to be in the hospital he has to go into foster care and attend the dysfunctional middle school for six weeks.   It's not the book to go to for a realistic portrayal of homeschoolers but it was fairly fun reading.   Kieron said it reminded him a bit of The Man Who Knew Too Little because the longhaired homeschooled boy was so entirely ignorant of the middle school politics that his cluelessness ended up making him look good in comparison to the schemers and bullies.

I planted a garden!  I know it sounds like I am late but in fact, we had snow here until just a week ago, so it's not late at all.  It's not really a garden, just a few planters out on the deck with tomatoes, lettuce and onions.  And potatoes.   I repurposed an old plastic dog kennel for the planter box.  It was full of dessicated spiders, like a mausoleum.   Yuuuckk.   Anyway, this week is (finally) supposed to be warm and sunny so come on, let's see some sprouts come up (and not get eaten by squirrels!)

I talked to Clare out on the deck and then came upstairs and found Aidan had drawn a Buzz Lightyear all by himself.  That is huge.   He was so proud.

Clare has been knitting and so I'm wondering if this is a good time to get out the crochet hooks and teach the younger boys some crocheting.   It was actually my dad who taught me how to crochet, because of his longtime interest in knotting,  so I want to pass on the family tradition.


I talked to a friend on the phone.

Tuesday

Today was formally the last day of Paddy's school with K12.  

Sean had a football camp in Bakersfield, so he and Kevin and Brendan left at about noon.   Before that, I made eggs and hash browns.   After that, Clare invited me to watch a movie with her.   We watched A Room with a View.    I remember watching it with Kevin during our early married days and I liked it then, but I didn't like it quite so much this time through.   It seemed fluffier than I remembered, though I still liked the acting.   Denholm Elliott is a favorite of mine.

I learned to crochet!  I was quite proud of myself because I've known how to do a starting chain for about 30 years but I never learned how to build on it.  So I watched some videos (didn't help much) and looked at a book for a long time, then tried for a long time.  Finally I got it.   I could make a single, double, and triple stitch.  So that's a start. 

In the afternoon Clare made biscuits with Aidan.   In the evening we played more cards.   Aidan's cooler won the tournament. 

Wednesday

We drove down to the foothills on a few errands mostly to do with my gardening.  I got a short hose for the deck, some more potting soil, and some more seeds as well as a couple of strawberry plants at the mountain nursery.   In the garage I found miscellaneous things-that-soil-could-be-put-in -- an old planter and a drawer from a broken dresser.  Aidan helped me water.  I have some sprouts, and the strawberry plants look pretty, but Brendan tells me squirrels love strawberries and can chew through netting.

I rigged up a clothesline on the deck too so I can dry clothes out there.
The kids played with bubbles some more.

I grilled teriyaki chicken, bell peppers and zucchini on the BBQ for dinner.  Plus we made potstickers.  

I talked to my mom on the phone.   And made Spice Muffins for breakfast the next day. 

Thursday

It was somewhat cooler today.   Not much happened -- went to the Post Office and library with Aidan and Brendan, did planning things with Kevin, played cards a little with Paddy and helped him with his piano practice, and cleaned up a little around the house (for a change).   I also made several phone calls for various appointments.

In the evening the older ones among us watched a movie (Planes, Trains and Automobiles, which is miles better than Ferris Bueller, if you want to know my opinion) and I got my biking in.

Friday

An unabashedly relaxed day.   I have a lot of slow days but I usually feel guilty about them.   But today I simply felt great, like when I was a young girl at the beginning of summer vacation and I knew I could read and write and play music and go for walks all day.

I think it was because of reading Stephen King's On Writing, which I got from the library after reading about it at Homemaking Through the Church Year.   For some reason, reading about reading and writing being taken seriously makes my life feel more spacious and continuous somehow.   


Plus, the kids all seemed to be proceeding through the day in a flowing way.   Ugh, what a sentence!  But I know it when I feel it.  Now that I've written it, the house will probably explode into chaos, but right now they seem to have their summer groove going (might as well murder this paragraph completely while I'm at it).

Kieron made cookies, and the kids watched The Iron Giant.    Clare and I talked for a while.   I made tuna pasta which is a favorite for Aidan and Paddy. 

Kevin, Brendan and Sean are going to the country All Star football game -- Sean's good friend from school was one of the ones picked for the team.

Saturday

Beautiful sunny but not too hot day.  I can hear Aidan microwaving leftover tuna noodles downstairs.    I plan to tidy, put things away, water my plants, and supervise baths.   Next week will be busy!  I hope I still have time to write and read --I've been enjoying  in this corner between the end of the school year, and the beginning of summer proper.