Monday DayLook - January 25, 2010

For Today: January 25, 2010

Looking out my back porch... crisp white snow blankets everything, but I can't see it yet (it's too early).  It sounds cold becasue of the wind whipping around the house.  I'm sure it'll look cold, too.

I am thinking … it sure is fun to play around with the the picture features on Windows Live Writer!  There are a so many neat effects … I haven’t had much opportunity to play around before.

I am thankful for... health.  I know I keep writing health, but I really am.  We haven’t been sick with colds or any real ‘bug’ of concern for a long time.  Quite frankly, that’s pretty miraculous considering the age of my children!

From the sewing/craft room (aka. laundry room!)… Louis’ Christmas stocking is still on the table; it’s there to remind me to purchase green lining and to finish it soon!

From the school room... Zeke was given paper planets to use in a craft project about a year ago … or maybe it was during our move … anyway, it was a long time ago!  We finally put them to good use last week and made this planet project.

It’s not perfect, but that’s my fault for not considering the size of the cardboard planets in relation to the size of the poster board.  The important part is that we DID it and that we talked about the planets a bit while gluing.

From the kitchen... lots of homemade whole wheat bread.  I’m on a bread kick still, but have switched from all hand-made to using the bread machine to prepare dough.  I like the shape of a loaf pan, so have been transferring the dough to a bread pan after the first rise in the machine.  Angelina and I made a pound cake on Friday (an ingredient in a pudding dessert she wanted to make).  I hadn't realized pound cake was so RICH or so tasty.

I am hoping... that my parents (Grandma & Grandpa Golden Acres) have a safe trip back to their farm after a long vacation in warmer climes.  The weather is still not calm in ND; a storm is still raging this morning.

State of the house… the toys have been held at bay this past week, so it’s looking good.  Even the dishes are caught up.

I am reading… just finished reading Inkheart (checked out from the library – the young reader section).  I’ve seen this book in B&N and also online.  I wondered if it would be a book my kids could read, and decided to read it myself to find out.  This type of book doesn’t take long for me to read, if I can get a couple hours each day.  The story is intriguing; however, there is a very, very dark character in the book that I do not want my kids to meet (he is dealt with in the end … but this is a trilogy so I wonder what other character might take his place…).  While it is fantasy, there were a couple passages that I marked as problematic for me and my family because the writing touches on religion in a way that could be confusing for kids, especially without explanation or guidance.  At this time, I plan to steer my readers to other books; it’s not the right time and may never be.  Besides, we haven’t even begun to make a dent in all those I consider classics!  Note:  After writing the above ‘review’ I checked out the rest of the series.  In reading the reviews of others, it is quite clear that this series becomes much more dark and even less appropriate for it’s intended audience.  Apparently, the first book even includes profanity.  Missed that during my proofing!

A successful moment… we made it through 5 hours without electricity on Saturday.  It went out at Noon and came back on at 5pm.  Eric and I thought we might loose power, so we prepared for the possibility.  Preparation was key and I am very thankful it was only five hours.

A few plans for the rest of the week…
Monday: Eric is gone all week for the first of many ag-related shows.  Angelina’s dance lesson is tonight.  During Angelina’s lesson, the boys and I plan to go to the town’s public library.
Tuesday: Dash, Angelina, Zeke and I are going to make a plan for completing their 4-H projects in a timely manner.
Wednesday: Need to get bills paid and finances updated today.
Thursday: Feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas
Friday/Saturday/Sunday: Every Saturday morning that doesn’t have a crop judging contest is used for study … this weekend is for studying.

A Picture Memory ...