It feels strange to write a post without any photos to add to it... My camera never did turn up after I lost it at the Special Olympics basketball camp, and I haven't taken the time (or spent the money) to replace it yet. So... no photos for awhile.
After several warm days the weather turned cold again yesterday and we got a little more snow. I doubt we got more than a few inches, but I'm glad for it... It was so dry for so long that every little bit of moisture is appreciated.
After a busy couple of days (going to the stock show, the stable for PT, the courthouse over at the county seat to drop off (another!) guardianship report, a homeschool group get-together, and Goodwill to drop off a load), we will be home all day today... hopefully getting lots of work done in school, and maybe a little sledding in, if there's enough snow.
I talked to B (dd#2) last night, and after four months of living and working in Kansas City, it looks like she'll be heading to Boston to work for a few months. I miss her not living close enough to home to visit, and worry about her bouncing from place to place... but I'm also enjoying living vicariously through her travels. She loved Philadelphia, wasn't crazy about Kansas City, Denver is special because it's home... I'll be curious to see how she likes living in Boston.
It's still dark outside.. the sun has not even started to come up... but Brighty is already braying for his breakfast. He must be cold... time to head out to the barn.
(Note to Steve about donkeys and coats: I do sometimes blanket Brighty because he won't go into the barn and when it's below 0 (F) it's just SO bitter cold and hard for him to keep his temperature up... but generally people here don't blanket their donkeys. The feeling here is, as long as they have shelter and plenty of hay they should be fine. All of our donkeys so far are either feral (rounded up with wild mustangs) or one generation away from feral (Tucker) and pretty tough. But thanks for the thought... it made me wonder how different my American feral donkeys are from your Irish donkeys.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
*~*daybook*~*
FOR TODAY
January 17, 2011
Outside my window... the sun is almost up... it's that hazy, just-past-dawn time of day.
I am thinking... of a friend of a friend who is in need of prayers.
I am thankful for... today.
From the learning rooms...we had a great schooling week last week, and got so much done. I love weeks like that! I hope this week follows the same pattern...
From the kitchen... I've been having fun with the waffle maker E (dd#1) got me for Christmas. M and R love waffles so I've been making big batches of waffles on the weekend for them to heat up and eat during the week.
I am wearing...blue jeans, dark green long sleeved t-shirt, denim button down shirt.
I am creating... I'm still possessed by cleaning things out and getting rid of stuff, so I guess I'm creating order. I've also learned a couple new tunes on the banjo and have been stealing as much time as I can to practice them.
I am going...up to Denver this morning to restock some homeschool supplies.
I am reading... I just finished reading The Immortal Life of Henriette Lacks, it was an amazing book! I'm starting Unbroken now, and it seems like it's going to be another really good read.
I am hoping... for a calm, peaceful day.
I am hearing... a show M's watching about Midway Island.
Around the house... we are moving ahead with plans to finish the basement. I don't have the estimate yet... I hope it's a project that we can afford.
One of my favorite things... watching the deer graze right outside the window. They are in the back pasture right now...
A few plans for the rest of the week... we're going to the Stock Show tomorrow evening, later in the week we'll be meeting with friends from the homeschool group, heading to the stable for M's PT, and celebrating E's birthday with lunch and some shopping. :)
A picture I'm sharing...
waffles for breakfast....Mmmmm
Visit Peggy's blog for more about The Simple Woman's Daybook
Saturday, January 15, 2011
starting fresh
As years go... 2010 really kind of stunk.
At least for us.
I was extremely happy to kiss it good-bye and start fresh with a new year.
I think that feeling of a new year/a new start has been driving my mood lately.
I've been possessed by cleaning out-throwing out-giving away. I've gone through the basement and it's gone from a place you could barely walk through, to a place that's so cleaned out that I'm going to start gathering estimates for (finally!) having it finished. When we bought this house, six years ago, finishing the basement was the first thing we were going to do... But then we discovered the rest of the house was in dire need of major repairs and the basement project was put on long term hold. It's a small space, but I've had fun playing around with ideas of how to do it...
I went through every box and shelf in the storeroom... getting rid of everything we don't need or use, and keeping only those things that are really important. I love the process of cleaning out like that... It makes me feel lighter somehow to let go of "things".
I've taken one large load to the Goodwill, and have another ready to go.
I've gone through all the old photos and organized them and boxed them up... Then I went through 25 years of school papers (the older kids papers, they went to public school) and pulled out what I wanted to save for myself, and then organized the rest into a keepsake box for each girl, holding school papers, report cards, school pictures from each year, award certificates, etc. It was a fun project and I think the girls will like them.
Like my sister, I love new beginnings, and I love starting off having everything cleaned out and pared down.
I'm not spending much time at the computer. I just don't have the patience for sitting at it right now...
We're getting lots of school done, and (unfortunately!) still spending plenty of time on insurance and medical stuff connected to the accident. We're also just relaxing and enjoying what is turning out to be one of those lovely calm spells we have from time to time.
The kids had a great time on Wednesday at the Special Olympics basketball camp with the Denver Nuggets. I was very impressed with the players... They seemed to be truly enjoying spending time with the kids, and it looked as though most of the team was there. I took some great pictures of the day, but unfortunately lost my camera somewhere between leaving the arena and getting home... so no pictures. If I don't find my camera soon I'm going to have to get another one... I don't mind buying a new camera (the other one was needing to be replaced) but I am sad about losing those photos. For now, I'm using my extracamera (the one I use for close-ups), and it's ok... but not the best for quick snapshots.
Well.... this has turned into a long rambling post so I'll close now with a picture I took this morning of the sunrise.
At least for us.
I was extremely happy to kiss it good-bye and start fresh with a new year.
I think that feeling of a new year/a new start has been driving my mood lately.
I've been possessed by cleaning out-throwing out-giving away. I've gone through the basement and it's gone from a place you could barely walk through, to a place that's so cleaned out that I'm going to start gathering estimates for (finally!) having it finished. When we bought this house, six years ago, finishing the basement was the first thing we were going to do... But then we discovered the rest of the house was in dire need of major repairs and the basement project was put on long term hold. It's a small space, but I've had fun playing around with ideas of how to do it...
I went through every box and shelf in the storeroom... getting rid of everything we don't need or use, and keeping only those things that are really important. I love the process of cleaning out like that... It makes me feel lighter somehow to let go of "things".
I've taken one large load to the Goodwill, and have another ready to go.
I've gone through all the old photos and organized them and boxed them up... Then I went through 25 years of school papers (the older kids papers, they went to public school) and pulled out what I wanted to save for myself, and then organized the rest into a keepsake box for each girl, holding school papers, report cards, school pictures from each year, award certificates, etc. It was a fun project and I think the girls will like them.
Like my sister, I love new beginnings, and I love starting off having everything cleaned out and pared down.
I'm not spending much time at the computer. I just don't have the patience for sitting at it right now...
We're getting lots of school done, and (unfortunately!) still spending plenty of time on insurance and medical stuff connected to the accident. We're also just relaxing and enjoying what is turning out to be one of those lovely calm spells we have from time to time.
The kids had a great time on Wednesday at the Special Olympics basketball camp with the Denver Nuggets. I was very impressed with the players... They seemed to be truly enjoying spending time with the kids, and it looked as though most of the team was there. I took some great pictures of the day, but unfortunately lost my camera somewhere between leaving the arena and getting home... so no pictures. If I don't find my camera soon I'm going to have to get another one... I don't mind buying a new camera (the other one was needing to be replaced) but I am sad about losing those photos. For now, I'm using my extracamera (the one I use for close-ups), and it's ok... but not the best for quick snapshots.
Well.... this has turned into a long rambling post so I'll close now with a picture I took this morning of the sunrise.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
We love snow...
I didn't realize how much we loved it until it didn't snow for almost the entire autumn. As the dry, warm, days that were our autumn continued, I felt unsettled... as though something wasn't right somehow. We needed snow...
We got about 10" of snow with the storm, and it's been so bitter cold that it's all still around. I love looking outside and seeing the back pasture blanketed with white... with only the tips of the yucca plants and tall prairie grasses poking through the snow.
I love that the kids can grab their sleds and head out back and sled until they are covered with snow, hands and noses red with cold... and they come back in laughing and ready for hot chocolate.
It's been a good week so far... we're back on track in our school work, the insurance stuff from the accident is mostly done, and life seems to be getting back to normal.
R, taking advantage of the snow...
We got about 10" of snow with the storm, and it's been so bitter cold that it's all still around. I love looking outside and seeing the back pasture blanketed with white... with only the tips of the yucca plants and tall prairie grasses poking through the snow.
I love that the kids can grab their sleds and head out back and sled until they are covered with snow, hands and noses red with cold... and they come back in laughing and ready for hot chocolate.
It's been a good week so far... we're back on track in our school work, the insurance stuff from the accident is mostly done, and life seems to be getting back to normal.
R, taking advantage of the snow...
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We're off to Denver today... The kids are going to a basketball clinic, through Special Olympics, with the Denver Nuggets. It should be fun...
Sunday, January 9, 2011
This is more like it...
... it finally feels like winter.
It's been snowing since early this morning, and we're getting a pretty good covering of white. We may have as much as 8 - 10" by the time the snow stops tomorrow.
Things are slowly getting back to normal after the accident. R and I are still achy, and our backs are very touchy, but I think it will just take time for the soreness to go away...
We bought a car to replace our old Sedona on Friday. After looking at everything within 100 miles of us that was in our price range, we finally found a car about 90 miles north of us. It's another Sedona, same year as the old one, but red this time instead of green. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles our old car had, but it seems to be a decent car, has low miles, and was in our price range. I'm so glad we found it and got it home before the snow started!
(it looks better without the snow! ;)
Today was a nice quiet day. I cleaned house this morning, and this afternoon we played Monopoly (the Irish edition :) ) and made necessity bags for the homeless to restock the car so we'll be ready the next time to go to Denver.
(We no longer make the huge number of bags we used to... We started changing the contents slightly depending on the season, so now we just make a dozen or so at a time so they don't last too long.)
It looks like we'll be snowed in for awhile, but that's fine... in fact, that's wonderful. I can think of nothing I'd like better than to be snowed in, get lots of school done, and enjoy just being home and together...
Stay warm!
It's been snowing since early this morning, and we're getting a pretty good covering of white. We may have as much as 8 - 10" by the time the snow stops tomorrow.
Brighty... snow covered because he refuses to go into the barn!
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Things are slowly getting back to normal after the accident. R and I are still achy, and our backs are very touchy, but I think it will just take time for the soreness to go away...
We bought a car to replace our old Sedona on Friday. After looking at everything within 100 miles of us that was in our price range, we finally found a car about 90 miles north of us. It's another Sedona, same year as the old one, but red this time instead of green. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles our old car had, but it seems to be a decent car, has low miles, and was in our price range. I'm so glad we found it and got it home before the snow started!
(it looks better without the snow! ;)
Today was a nice quiet day. I cleaned house this morning, and this afternoon we played Monopoly (the Irish edition :) ) and made necessity bags for the homeless to restock the car so we'll be ready the next time to go to Denver.
(We no longer make the huge number of bags we used to... We started changing the contents slightly depending on the season, so now we just make a dozen or so at a time so they don't last too long.)
It looks like we'll be snowed in for awhile, but that's fine... in fact, that's wonderful. I can think of nothing I'd like better than to be snowed in, get lots of school done, and enjoy just being home and together...
Stay warm!
Tucker
Thursday, January 6, 2011
totaled!
My awesome little Kia Sedona I got such a good deal on back in March has been totalled by the insurance company handling the claim (who insures the guy that hit me).
USAA has given me three days to find and buy a new car, and return the rental car they've been paying for.
They don't seem able to acknowledge the complications that having children with disabilities can bring to something like finding and buying a car...
I'm not sure how it's going to get done before they take the rental car back (especially with the extra doctor's appointments we have during that same time frame, for problems related to the accident), but I'm trusting that it will all work out somehow.
I'm off now to Craigslist to look for a Sedona that might have been listed since the last time I checked...
USAA has given me three days to find and buy a new car, and return the rental car they've been paying for.
They don't seem able to acknowledge the complications that having children with disabilities can bring to something like finding and buying a car...
I'm not sure how it's going to get done before they take the rental car back (especially with the extra doctor's appointments we have during that same time frame, for problems related to the accident), but I'm trusting that it will all work out somehow.
I'm off now to Craigslist to look for a Sedona that might have been listed since the last time I checked...
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Finally!
... some snow.
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We didn't get a lot of snow, but it was enough to feel like winter has finally arrived.
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We spent New Years Eve at home and did get a little sledding in (R even found a good new sledding spot!), but spent most of the day inside... staying warm in front of the fire.
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It was an altogether wonderful way to spend the day.
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Happy New Year... and all the best in 2011.
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