Monday DayLook: May 16, 2011

Looking out from my back porch... GREEN is everywhere!  It was sunny, but is now a bit cloudy. 

I am thankful for... friends who offer a willing ear and provide excellent advice.

I am reading…gardening and cooking magazines.

I am hearing... Louis talking and trying to push a chair around the school room so he can reach cool stuff (ie. stuff he shouldn’t be touching).

I am wearing… jeans and a grey NDSU t-shirt.

From the sewing/craft room (aka. laundry room!)…the room has been temporarily moved to the main floor so Angelina can work on her 4-H projects and be close to me while I work in the kitchen.  She made great progress on her corduroy skirt, and finished cutting out her pajamas and knit top.  Patience be with me as I teach her to sew in an invisible zipper!

From the school room... closer, closer, closer to the end.  Cat tests are done for all students, just need to send them in and await results. 

An inspiration occurred while working with Dash on Latin today.  Since he’s really working on the 9th grade lesson plan for Latin, we are going to stop this struggle right now, even though there is only a week’s worth of work and a quarter test left.  He agreed with me that he doesn’t understand some of the sentence structure/translation rules as well as he should and that it would be OK to repeat this subject next year.  The majority will be easy, but we’ll be able to spend a little more time on problem areas.  Maybe he’ll even be able to test out of a few chapters by taking the quarter tests.  At least, that’s our plan for now …

From the kitchen... tried a new banana bread recipe with rum extract.  Eric and the kids liked it.

From the Garden…  hope to plant a couple rose bushes, a few perennials and irises, a few of the SFG’s, and dig up day lilies from my MIL’s garden.  This is a week long list!

From the FarmYard…  the Mallard duck has left her nest.  Either she finally realized that people live on the other side of the glass and we move around a LOT or she didn’t like the toddler banging on the window!  So, while we are extremely disappointed, that is the nature of nature.  I hope she is alive and has just found a better (ie. quieter!) spot to nest. 

The chicks are moved into their new and bigger home in the Wahoo.  I miss seeing them every morning in the garage, but not the chick-dust covering everything!  It’s absolutely amazing how fast the cornish rock cross chicks grow compared to heritage breeds.  The cornish rocks are definitely meant to be raised for meat – they are about twice as big as the Barred Rocks and Buff Orpinton chicks.

A successful moment… the basement and carpeted stairs have been vacuumed and a load of laundry has been folded and put away.

Another Inspiration… reminded once again during this weekend’s homily, of the importance of daily mass or an hour of adoration during the week.  And, that computer and TV are a source of distraction and waste (Fr. mentioned they are good, too, but in general waste a lot of time).  Adding either to our week includes a bit of planning, but the heart and mind do long for the peace of either!  The desire is here, now to pray for ‘the how.’

A few plans for the rest of the week…
Monday: School, cleaning, gardening, TKD.

Tuesday: Hosting a group of friends at the farm.  Fun for moms and kids.

Wednesday: School, cleaning, gardening.

Thursday:   Packing and prep for the boys’ trip, TKD in the evening.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday:   Father/Son camping trip for Eric and the three oldest boys.  Angelina, Louis and I get to hang out at the farm … planting and doing chores.  Angelina and I hope to attend the Camria Ballet Recital on Sunday.

A picture memory... it’s seeding time again … Louis has enjoyed riding in the tractor, as has Graham.