My Little Barbarian

I wouldn't want to meet up with him on the battlefield...

We just began our second book in "The Story of the World" history series.

Today we read about barbarians and Celts and the story of Beowulf and Grendel.

Since we rarely did the activities in the first SOTW book - I didn't order the activity book for Volume 2. But after about a week I decided that we ought to be doing at least some of the activities to add some fun, so I went ahead and ordered it. Glad I did.

Today both kids did a coloring page. If you didn't already realize - the boy isn't much into coloring or crafts. But he happened to spy an activity in the book I hadn't mentioned. Making a double bladed weapon. Right up his alley!


He was all set to make it on his own - but needed some help. He was quite pleased with how it turned out.

The boy has always been interested in history...his love began with the book "The Kitchen Knight" when he was only about three years old.

Not A Very Good Way To Start The Morning

I decided to make a fresh batch of granola for breakfast this morning. We usually have cold cereal - but I thought I'd go the extra inch and whip up something a bit more interesting.

I have a great granola recipe that only takes about 15 min as it's "cooked" in the microwave.

I have an old, large, green, heavy glass bowl that I like to use for mixing bread dough and for making granola. I received the bowl for our wedding 13.5 yrs ago.

While the granola was microwaving I thought I heard a funny sound coming from the microwave - but as the microwave is actually much older than the bowl I didn't worry about it.

At the end of the timing I went to take out the granola and found a large crack down the side of the bowl :( At least the granola was not littered with bits of glass. I carefully scooped out the granola and placed it in another container. Only when I went to lift the bowl again did the whole chunk of glass break away from the bowl. Sigh.

What Are The Chances...

What are the chances that a little boy, covered in snow and cold, 20 minutes walk from home - would fall into a puddle of melted snow about 60 seconds after mom had just given him a dry, warm pair of mittens?

We ended up taking a "snow day" yesterday. DH decided to take a "snow day" - so the rest of us did the same. The girl was a big help in clearing the driveway, the boy mainly played in the snow.

I walked to the post office (about a 20 min walk) carrying a few parcels to be mailed, hoping that I wouldn't get to the post office and find it closed. It wasn't. Just as I got to the end of our street and crossed the road I saw "the pedestrian". "The pedestrian" is one of two or three regular road walkers that we see and we generally call out (in the car) "I see the pedestrian" when we see a particular pedestrian...almost like a game who can see him first because, come rain or shine (or snow) he is out walking.

Well I was in a bit of a dilemma - there was no available sidewalk to walk on - it all being covered in snow so I was going to have to walk on the road and there was the pedestrian walking on the road. I've always been a bit scared of him b/c he usually looks angry and is constantly talking/muttering out loud to himself. Should I hurry up and pass him and walk in front of him or slow down and walk 2 paces behind him.

Being a fast walker - I decided to pass him. Then I realized that he was actually talking to me - some of it I couldn't understand - some of it was commenting on all the snow. So I replied and walked on.

After I went to the post office I popped into the grocery store and bought a few things - none of which included bread, milk or eggs.

When I got home, or perhaps on the way home, I started to think about us going on a family walk. And what better place to walk to on a snowful day - but to McDonalds. We wanted to walk out in the beautiful snow and enjoy it while it is here but for a brief day or two and I thought it would be nice to also pop in at the library - which is about a 15 min walk from McDonalds.

It wasn't really all that cold out (and definitely mild by Manitoba standards)...

Speaking of McDonalds - it wasn't that long ago that the boy could never finish his hamburger Happy Meal. Usually his fries were left behind - which made the girl happy. But now he's eating all his meal and even wanting some extra fries! He's definitely growing.

When we finally made it to the library midst much snow and slush - we found it CLOSED!!! What on earth! As we were leaving the parking lot (unplowed) we noticed the girl had lost her hat so we backtracked and found it outside Big Lots store. Coming back that way, pops decided he'd like to pop into Cummins Tools. Neither the kids nore I were too thrilled about poking around in there so we decided to head on home. But we got sidetracked.

In the parking lot was a huge snow "mountain" made by the snowplows. It definitely brought back memories from my childhood...I can even picture one particular snow mountain outside the parking lot of the old TomBoy grocery store.

I was kind of worried some snowplow driver would come and yell at us for messing with his mountain - but decided to let the kids play on it anyway. They had great fun! I wish the mountain was in our backyard instead of 20 min from home, so the kids could have played on it to their hearts' delight...I didn't want them to get too cold and too wet b/c of the walk home - so we finally went back into Cummins to wait for pops. Then coming out of Cummins is when the boy fell into the pool of melted water, soaking his dry, bright red woolen mittens and his britches.

Que Sera, Sera...

"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas..."

We finally got a "real" snow - about 5 inches.

The kids were very eager to get outside and were arguing over who was going to get the privilege of helping shovel the driveway. The girl got out there first so she began shoveling and doing a pretty good job of it.

My dh remarked that he could just loiter inside awhile longer and the driveway would be clear :)

"Is it a snow day?" the boy asked at breakfast. A "snow day" meaning "no school". I guess he thinks public/private school kids get "snow days" so they can stay home and play in the snow. He was hoping all the snow meant a no school day for homeschoolers too. That's one of the advantages of homeschooling...we can still do school when it's too nasty to go outside but we can also choose to make it a "snow day"...or a "sun day" or a "rain day" or "it's just too beautiful to be stuck inside today day".

I figure we'll still sneak in some educatin' today.

Politics - It's Getting Crazier...

I stopped reading one of my favorite news gathering sites b/c I was getting too worked up about things prior to the election. I think I may have to ditch Drudge also.

Don't get me wrong - I still like reading it - and he's just posting what's already out there - but it just seems like things are getting crazier and crazier.

Pelosi saying birth control will help the economy...hmmmm does that sound a bit too much like China's 1 baby rule to anyone else? The problems with the economy have had nothing to do with people having too many babies...

And then Blagojevich announcing that he had considered Oprah for senator!!?? What is the purpose of announcing that now ...and Oprah? Come on!

On one hand I don't want to know what's going on - but on the other hand I'd be a fool not to.

I'm Impressed!

A month and a half ago my dh bought a digital piano. It did not come with a bench so we've been keeping an eye out for one. One problem is that the style of the piano is very plain and we wanted a bench that would match it.

Saturday morning my dh started thinking of how maybe he could MAKE his own piano bench and started just drawing up some plans (he is not a craftsman by trade!). Awhile later he sauntered out to the garage to "check on my scrap lumber". Shortly thereafter the tablesaw was screeching...

By the afternoon the bench was almost completed ... and looked great (well great in an unfinished-needing-to-be-painted way).

The bench even has a storage area under the lid. From start to finish (including the planning/drawing state) it took about 8 hours for him to get it to this built but unfinished state. It ain't beautiful as you can see...it still needs to be painted (that will happen in the spring) and we'll probably "upholster" the top, but I'm impressed that he could do all this without any plans other than his own - and that he accomplished it so quickly.

This isn't the first thing he's built without plans - he's also made a bunch of built-in-bookcases / storage shelves in our basement...but it makes me wonder what else he can build. I've been wanting a footstool and got to thinking how maybe the girl needs to have some kind of storage bench in her room...

Another GroovyGirl Bento Box

GroovyGirl continues to have fun with bento box making.

I love the house with "snow" falling around it...she made the snow by poking holes out of white cheese. The coloring on the house was done using Foodoodler edible markers.

Unclogging a Toilet - Works For Me Wednesday

There are some things I wish I never learned how to do - like unclogging a toilet.

On the other hand, even though we have two bathrooms, if one of the toilets is clogged I don't necessarily want to wait until my dh gets home from work. And I'm sure my dh wouldn't want me to wait either!

If you have a clogged toilet, before you even consider calling a plumber and flushing a wad of cash down the toilet (so to speak) - consider the humble closet auger (A.K.A. THE TOILET SNAKE). In the amount of time it takes to call the plumber and explain your problem - your problem could be solved!

You can purchase a closet auger online via Amazon (if you are wise and purchase it before you actually need it) for only $13 - so you could probably find one even cheaper at your friendly neighborhood hardware store.

Here are some instructions on using THE TOILET SNAKE - very simple process. It's not fun but then neither is a pricey plumber's bill either.

Put on a pair or rubber gloves and some old clothes if you are totally grossed out by even the thought of unclogging a toilet by yourself...

For more Works for Me Wednesday tips - visit Rocks in My Dryer.

Slow Cooker Gourmet - Lewis & Clark Lentil & Sausage Stew Mix

I usually make my soups on the stove-top so this mix of stew/soup that you make in the crockpot, appealed to me.

Don't you just love these "instant" soup mixes where you only need to add the vegetables and meat...oh yeah and the liquids? Hmmm - why not just do it all from scratch? Well I tend to have a hard time getting my soup bases tasting "just right" - so sometimes I like using pre-made mixes to use a base.

This mix seemed a bit pricey at $3.29 but I decided to give it a shot. Well $3.29 plus $1 for the bag of carrots, about $1 for the chicken broth, $1.25 for the kielbasa and $2 for the two cans of bean and bacon soup I added once I tasted the finished product.

I didn't like the soup much at all. The boy said he liked it "except for the carrots"...the girl only ate about 1/2 of hers and I wasn't going to make her finish it knowing that I didn't like it much either.

Now I'd say one problem was that I added about a cup more water than the instructions called for - BUT I later added some instant chicken broth powder to make up for that. The soup had an overpowering taste of sage and the broth seemed very watery and tasteless, hence my adding the two cans of bean and bacon soup.

I've really tried to like lentils but so far I haven't had a whole lot of success with them. But I'm not giving up quite yet!

M&M Candies - Cold or Warm?

I'm just wondering how many folks prefer their M&M candies cold or warm...we keep some M&Ms in the freezer for preservation purposes (the M&Ms stay fresh plus out of sight out of mind means they last longer) - but 1/2 of our family members also prefer their M&Ms "frozen". I, on the other hand - prefer mine to be warm to the point where the chocolate inside is liquid. This can be attained by putting the M&Ms in the sun or by placing them in a glass dish on a warm oven or in front of a little heater.

Three quarters of our family love M&M Blizzards - but I have to take a pass on it. Hard bits of crunchy chocolate - nasty!

----

I'm still on my paper organizing kick so I haven't had much time for blog posting. Well I did write a very long post the other day but it's still sitting in my draft "box" and will probably remain there forever... Someday it would be fun to post all the draft items...maybe I'll post just the titles...usually stuff remains in the draft stage b/c A) it's not finished B) it didn't sound so great after I wrote it C) it's something I'm soapboxing about and figure there would be folks that would end up offended

A Boy of Many Faces

The boy has always had a very expressive face. Maybe he'll be an actor someday. This is his fierce look.

There is another face that he does that he says even makes him scared, when he looks in the mirror. I think it's the eyebrows that does it.

Stratego-ing

Remember the old game Stratego? Well the boy got one for Christmas. The kids have had many a game thus far... The instructions make a point of saying "This is NOT a war game"...try telling that to the boy!

St. Louis Magic House Expansion

This was a group of tubes with a powerful vacuum...you could put in colorful scarves and yarn-balls and watch them move through the tubes and then fly out.

Tuesday was "Homeschool Day" at the St. Louis Magic House.

A few times throughout the year the museum is closed to the public and open for 2 hours for only homeschoolers. The price is $5 per person (child or adult) - the regular price is $8.50.

We've been to a couple of homeschool days but this is the first one since the expansion opened up at the end of December.

The expansion is WONDERFUL! A giant "Beanstalk" that you can climb...a replica of the Oval Office - you can sit at the desk or stand at the podium and pretend you are the president... a crime lab with a mystery to solve...a fairytale "land" - kids can dress up as fairytale characters and the props are wonderful...a table set with a feast...a pumpkin coach to sit in and ride to the ball...

President in 2037? Looks a bit like a dictator in his camo shirt...

The kids liked the beanstalk the best - I'd say the best was the crime lab and mystery library.

Shepherd's Pie Seasoning Packet - Great Britain

I bought a packet of Shepherd's Pie seasoning from the World Food Store...it cost about $1.50 and provided enough seasoning for the above pie. Way back in October I mixed up the seasoning with some ground beef and popped it into the freezer.

On Monday I finally dug it out of the freezer and decided to give it a try.

I think I have made Shepherd's Pie before - or all my memories of it is just from my mother making it when I was living at home. At supper my dh said he didn't even know what Shepherd's Pie was - so that's a good indication that I haven't made it for at least 13.5 years!

The directions on the package have you mixing the meat and seasoning with carrots and peas. I dislike canned veggies (and I hate the term "veggies") - but we had a big day and were gone for most of it - so I used up my last two cans of mixed vegetables and even took a risk in using them since the date stamped on the can said "use by December 2008". I'm sure they were fine...

Anyway - so I mixed in the sorry looking canned vegetables and then added some frozen peas and topped it with the mashed potatoes and a sprinkle of cheese.

I don't generally make "casserole" type dishes so I was not too sure what the kids were gonna think of it.

At first the boy didn't realize that the mashed potatoes on top were mashed potatoes (it got firmer and crispier when cooked) so he asked for more of the "crust"...I gave him more and he continued eating (he usually hates potatoes in any form other than french fries and potato chips). The boy decided that it was "mediocre" tasting - the girl thought it was a bit better than that and I thought it was great!

Ukrainian Christmas Cactus

I'm starting to wonder if my Christmas Cactus is following after my paternal family heritage since it is opening up during the Ukrainian Christmas season...

"The Ukrainian Christmas festive days according to the Julian Calendar, starts on Jan 6, Christmas Eve and ends with January 19th, "Jordan or Epiphany." (Wikipedia)

It was purchased around Christmas last year and had flowers on it when I bought it (from Aldi I think).

I don't have a "green thumb" and my plants tend to get neglected, but I did move it in front of a window about a month before December 25th - as it seemed to be the sensible thing to do.

I was hoping it would flower and so it has.

Bento Box Lunches

For the past year or so, my dd has been interested in Bento Box style lunches. We've read various books about Bento boxes and she had made up her own boxes using disposable plastic containers.

For Christmas she received her very own, bright pink, Bento Box. The lunchbox is flat and is called a "Laptop Lunch Box" b/c it it kind of reminds you of a little laptop - albeit bright pink. I think it cost about $28 (included shipping) and there was also a little book that came with it (which was rather d.

The inside is divided up and has small containers that all fit in nicely and some of the containers have lids. The box also contains a small fork and spoon.

My daughter loves it.

She's homeschooled so she generally eats lunch at home - but that doesn't stop her from making her little Bento Box lunches. Here is the one she made for herself today.


It has a quartered orange, peanut butter sandwich, cheese/pepperoni "kabobs", and grated carrot (to be eaten with a fork or spoon - she loves carrots) and the tiniest container (which can be used to hold something like salad dressing) which housed a mixture of micro-mini marshmallows and chocolate chips). Yesterday she had some apple slices cut up to look like rabbits.


Now if only I could get the boy interested in Bento and then I wouldn't have to make lunches for him either :)

The whole Bento thing is very fascinating to me as well - and I think if I worked outside the home, I'd be tempted to buy myself one just like it (though maybe not in bright pink!). Problem is it does take a bit of work - though depends on how fancy you want your lunch to be. Here are some cool Bentos on Flickr.

O. Henry (The Author Not the Candy Bar)

I bought an old school book of "prose and poetry" way back when and yesterday while we were reading a different old poetry book, my daughter mentioned a poem she had found in the former.

I hardly remember cracking open the "prose and poetry" book - but while looking through it with the kids I noticed a couple of stories by O. Henry.

First I read "The Gift of The Magi" - a story I had told the kids before but I don't think we had ever read the original story. I love all the unusual words he uses like: parsimony, mendicancy and meretricious.

When I saw the little black and white photo on the other O. Henry story, "The Ransom of Red Chief" - I knew I had to read that one to the kids as well.

For those like myself, heretofore unfamiliar with "The Ransom of Red Chief"...the story is about two men Bill and Sam, who in need of some capital, decide to kidnap a 9 yr old boy.

They chose the wrong boy. It should have been obvious to them when they greeted the boy who was busily throwing rocks at a kitten, and then the boy throws a piece of brick at Bill. They nab him anyway.

On taking the boy, who has dubbed himself "Red Chief, back to their hiding place in a cave - they soon find out what a mistake they have made. The boy talks constantly and is having a good old time playing that he is an Indian Chief at the expense of Bill and Sam. "Red Chief" does not want to go home...he rather enjoys tormenting his captors - an attempted scalping of Bill, a game of David & Goliath where Bill gets sling-shot with a large rock.

The day after the kidnapping the men figure they'll find "...the sturdy yeomanry of the village armed with scythes and pitchforks beating the countryside for the dastardly kidnappers." But they weren't - it seemed as if no one cared that "Red Chief" was gone.

The kidnappers send a ransom note to the boy's wealthy father. They receive a note in reply stating that their demands are too high and a counter-proposition is put forth by dear old dad. "You bring Johnny home and pay ME two hundred and fifty dollars in cash, and I agree to take him off your hands. You had better come at night, for the neighbors believe he is lost, and I couldn't be responsible for what they would do to anybody they saw bringing him back."

The kidnappers bring "Red Chief" home, pay the reverse ransom and run away before the boy can catch up to them.

The kids (and I) LOVED this story. Especially my boy who could identify with the boyful play of "Red Chief". We all had our little favorite parts and re-read them and talked about them.

Even though the story deals with a boy that is kidnapped - the story is in no way scary for children (well at least not for my children) and quickly you see that this is not a typical captor / captive tale.

Recipe Book Organizing

I love organizing things (and people) - my problem is sticking with the program I have organized and ending up with things all in a mess.

Perhaps it's due to the New Year so I've been making lists (and checking them twice) and trying to re-organize some things.

Today it was my binder cookbook.

Most of my recipes come from the internet and some are torn from magazines. I usually get a hard copy of an internet recipe and then hole punch it and file it in a binder. Lots of times I'm too lazy to do the hole punching part so the recipes get shoved into the binder. My binder wasn't in too bad of shape until recently when the rings came loose and things fell out and mixed up. I decided it was time for a new plan.

I decided to streamline the book and to format all the recipes so that they looked the same. Not as hard as it seems since a lot of the recipes already had the URL - so I could copy the recipe and re-format it and make any changes to the recipe that I had on my original copy. I also pitched some recipes I figured I didn't need.

So far I've re-formatted about 40 recipes and it's looking good. I still have another stack to go through - but I think I might pitch a bunch of them as they fall into the "dessert" category and I don't make a whole lot of desserts. And really isn't ice-cream just about the perfect dessert? I could just keep a carton of that in the freezer and pull it out when need be - problem is that the "need be" would be daily. I'm not an ice-cream connoisseur so Aldi Vanilla Brand at less than $2 a carton is good enough for me (and the kids!...though they always try to persuade me to get chocolate or chocolate chip...I like vanilla b/c it tastes the best and it's more versatile...though I do give in occasionally and let the kids pick).

I figure that once I have gone through all my recipes I'm on the road to menu planning (something that has never worked for me yet)...or at the very least I'll have some tried and true recipes that I can get my hands on in a jiffy.

Works for Me Wednesday - New Years Family Plan Meeting

The day after New Years, we had our annual New Years Family Meeting at Starbucks*.

The night before DH and I worked up a tentative plan for 2009, and then, over coffee and cocoa and with kids, we talked about the future.

This was our second year discussing our plans for the year in a "formal" manner with the children.

Though I don't believe young children (or even older children) need to be involved in every decision - it seems that once they get to be a certain age they ought to be able to participate to some degree in the plans and discussion of a future that involves them too.

Our meeting took about 2 hours. We first went over our list from 2008 and talked about the things we did and did not do. Amazingly, there were only a few items that didn't get done (camping in a yurt, visit the Science Center, buy an LCD TV). I think going over the list from last year with the children, enabled them to see that we are serious about these plans and that things that are planned are more likely to happen. Some of the categories on our planning list that we discussed were: house improvements, homeschooling, travel, fitness, charitable giving, God & church, hospitality and specific plans for the children. The kids were encouraged to give feedback on all the topics discussed.

Even though we took time to make up our list and discuss details of each item - it is all done with the understanding that our plans may change...One thing we wanted the children to know is that "The mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his path" (Prov 16:9) - meaning that these are just our plans and that God might have a different plan for us.

For more Work's For Me Wednesday Tips - head on over to Rocks in My Dryer.

Of Pens and Inks and Writing Things

Of Pens and Inks and Writing Things and "Cabbages and Kings"...

Have you ever noticed that not all pens are created equally? That some pens actually inhibit your ability to write as nicely as you'd desire?

I used to hand-write a lot of letters. A lot. When my dh and I were "dating" (he lived in Missouri and I lived in Canada) we wrote at least one letter a day...all handwritten. I did have a typewriter and access to a computer - but I always felt like letters needed to be written by hand. I didn't even think I'd be able to compose a letter while typing it (maybe like walking and chewing gum?)...plus I felt like a type written letter was cold and impersonal.

Over the years I worked on my cursive script - and I had plenty of practice. And as far as I can remember my pen of choice was always a ballpoint pen with a with a "fine" tip. Pens with a medium tip or just a regular tip, I found, interfered with my writeability. The "flow" just wasn't the same.

Lately though I've been liking rollerball ink pens for the little handwriting that I still do. My handwriting has suffered much to my chagrin. I hate making a mistake - even with just one letter looking "off" when I'm using a pen instead of a computer. And though I like the liquid-ish-ness of the ink from the rollerball...the "flow" of a ballpoint pen is missing...it's like the rollerball moves too swiftly across the page.

And speaking of cursive - is anyone else bothered by the inability to get certain letters looking "just right?" My handwriting today looks nothing like the "proper" way cursive should look - so I'm not meaning that - but there are certain cursive letters I HATE writing b/c I just can't get them to look the way I want them to look. For instance - capital cursive G and H...and then there are letters I LOVE to write b/c I love how they look - for instance capital cursive E, I, L and S (L and S are my initials prior to marriage - so I think I got lots of practice perfecting those letters).

And how about this - does cursive really matter in this age of computers? I guess I'm not too picky about my children's handwriting b/c I figure that especially by the time they are of high school age (or earlier) - handwriting will be almost obsolete.

"The time has come," the Walrus said,

"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

How We Plan For the Year

The day after New Years, we had our annual New Years Family Meeting at Starbucks*.

The night before DH and I worked up a tentative plan for 2009, and then, over coffee and cocoa and with kids, we talked about the future.

This was our second year discussing our plans for the year in a "formal" manner with the children.

I remember in the book "Cheaper By the Dozen" the family would regularly hold family meetings to make decisions that would involve them all. Though I don't believe young children (or even older children) need to be involved in every decision - it seems that once they get to be a certain age they ought to be able to participate to some degree in the plans and discussion of a future that involves them too.

Our meeting took about 2 hours. We first went over our list from 2008 and talked about the things we did and did not do. Amazingly, there were only a few items that didn't get done (camping in a yurt, visit the Science Center, buy an LCD TV). I think going over the list from last year with the children, enabled them to see that we are serious about these plans and that things that are planned are more likely to happen. Some of the categories on our planning list that we discussed were: house improvements, homeschooling, travel, fitness, charitable giving, God & church, hospitality and specific plans for the children. The kids were encouraged to give feedback on all the topics discussed.

Even though we took time to make up our list and discuss details of each item - it is all done with the understanding that our plans may change...One thing we wanted the children to know is that "The mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his path" (Prov 16:9) - meaning that these are just our plans and that God might have a different plan for us.

Once the meeting was finished - we headed on over to Bandanas for lunch (a precedent that was set last yr). And then we decided to tackle one of the items from our list - under the category of "entertainment" - we headed on over to the World Bird Sanctuary.

It's funny how we've lived around here for 13 yrs but only recently heard about the bird sanctuary. Primarily the birds are in cages outside - so it's good to plan this for a mild day. Most of the birds are large birds of prey - something children don't usually get to see up close - so that was really interesting. I especially liked the owls.

Note: Am I the only person that does NOT like Starbucks coffee?? Even though I added much cream and a ton of sugar - I still thought it tasted nasty. Sorry but I'll stick with my cheap, albeit tasty, Folgers Instant De-Caf :)

Interesting Words

I've always been interested in words - the more unusual the better. Sometimes I like a particular word b/c of how it sounds - other times b/c of it's meaning. Some words are great because the sound of the word fits perfectly with the definition...like the word fetid. I've noticed that both of my kids tend to use the more fun or descriptive word for something rather than the typical - so it seems they also enjoy words.

Well - at the library yesterday on the "for sale" table - I came across an interesting book called "The Word Museum - The Most Remarkable English Words Every Forgotten". The book cost 25 cents so I bought it.

Before I continue let me say that I have found it odd - the selection of books the library sells off at times. I have come across hardcover, in still good condition, editions of "The Little House on the Prairie", and many decent books for children (hardcover) also in good condition. Makes you wonder what books they are keeping. I'm curious to know what their method is for disposing of some of these books. No longer popular? Too many copies?? Too old fashioned???

OK back to The Word Museum...I have enjoyed looking through the book thus far - and believe that some of those old words need to make a comeback...Adam's Ale (water), doattee (the nodding of your head when falling asleep while sitting...that happens to me fairly often), kedge-belly (glutton), maw-wallop (filthy, ill-cooked food), pharmacopolist (seller of medicine), ruckle (loose heap), scruttle (save money w/difficulty).

So what are some of your favorite words?

Happy New Year!

Last night we went to a New Year's Eve party at a friend's house.

They live an hour away from us and the kids were with us - so we didn't stay very long - but had an enjoyable time.

We got home around 10 PM - got the kids to bed...then I went to bed. I have a very hard time staying up past 10 PM - especially if I am laying or sitting still watching a movie or reading. I initially say to myself that "I'm just resting my eyes briefly" - but the periods between opening and closing the eyes gets bigger and bigger until I am just sleeping. My dh stayed up and listened to the noisy neighborhood sounds at midnight.

Today we spent doing odd jobs around the house and then in the late afternoon we dropped the kids off at my brother/sister in-law's house for them to babysit while dh and I went to a work related party. Thankfully we were able to slip out relatively early so we didn't have another late night out.

This evening my husband and I discussed our plans for 2009 and hope to have a family meeting tomorrow with the children to go over our ideas...