Friday, April 24, 2009

7 Quick Takes Friday

*1*
The weather was beautiful this week- up to 91 yesterday- a far cry from the blizzard we had 2 weeks ago. We have seedlings coming up from the bunches that we planted: marigolds, sugar snap beans, watermelon, cucumber, cosmos, basil, Roma tomatoes. We put tomatoes and cabbage in the beds and covered them with milk jugs - the tomatoes still look pretty wind-burned, but the potatoes and onions are snug in the ground. It will be our first year for potatoes and I'm wondering if the bed space is worth it.

*2*
Had a blast Wednesday afternoon taking graduation pics for KB (see below). I shot 150, we narrowed it down to 11 that we really liked and then all agreed on "the winner." Still, there are so many cute, fun ones, I'm going to have to figure out something adorable to do with them all.
*3*
Living Memory Grammar Catechism to the rescue! (Thanks-again, Dr. Campbell!) Feche boy was really struggling with Latin grammar. KB showed him how to apply the grammar that we've been memorizing to the translations and he is good to go. We have Henle Latin for next year but I've discovered another program with songs, chants, on-line helps, tutorials, DVD's. Tempting to bail on Henle and go with more.
*4*

The great outdoors was so very tempting this week and I always feel, on these first weeks of real spring, that I'm coming up for air after three years underground. We traded floor heaters for fans yesterday! Iris, sedum, flax are all poking tentative tendrils above ground, along with lettuce and the trees and bushes are beginning to blush pink and green and yellow.
*5*

My big homestead success of food preservation for the year: pick tomatoes, put a bunch in a freezer safe baggie, press all of the air out. When needed, rinse tomatoes, the skin falls right off, pop in a pan for tomato sauce, etc. Summer perfection stored in the freezer.
*6
Worked out several days this week for a few minutes at a time- the first regular anything since mangling my knee and cracking my tailbone about 15 months ago. It is slow going but I can walk afterwards and my knee is no longer swelling. Praise God!

*7*

We are winding down with our year's school work. I think that we'll do Famous Men of Modern Age for summer school, along with Sequential Spelling, an extensive reading list, some memory work and lots of gardening. The boys in particular don't love to help weed but I love being out in the garden together and the rambling, crazy conversations that take place. Last year I read The Epic of Gilgamesh to them while they weeded- howz that for multi-tasking?

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3 comments:

Robin M said...

Sounds like a fun week. I'm need to decide what going to do in our garden. Also need to figure out when our summer is going to begin and switch to summer light lessons.

Paige said...

Spring has sprung, it's always a good feeling. Thanks for the tomato tip and for sharing your week. I enjoyed reading about it!

Ami said...

If you need more practice weeding, I'll volunteer my yard LOL! Thanks for sharing!