Bright and early Monday morning, I went to our local Sears store to buy a range and have it delivered to the house. P and I were anticipating that we would have to do microwave and grill cooking for a week or so since it takes a while to get things delivered. Well, I walked in and saw that the sales person was a previous patient of mine - someone that I liked. I also saw that they had the range I want right out in front. Beside the perfect white range, they also had a bisque range (the color I wanted) that was $100 off because there is a dent in the side. The dent is definitely visible, but won't be noticed when I get some appliance paint on there. Not only did I get it for $100 less than they were asking for the perfect one, but they delivered it about 4 hours later! Talk about good timing and God's providence.
Our Fiddler on the Roof unit is going pretty well. We made Star of David yesterday with pin and threads wrapped around the pins. L did very well and had lots of fun. It was a stretch for C, though. But, he did what he could and made a very passable project. I have lots of reading scheduled, so I try to space that out through the day.
C's reading is coming along nicely. The program that we are using requires a lot of work on both of our parts, but it seems to be working. C had his dyslexia testing done Monday and we will see the doctor for results in a week or two.
Well, it's breakfast time, so I'll write more later.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Burning down the house - almost
I was cooking ground beef this evening to make tacos before our small group. Our stove is "temperamental" and the front burner that I was using only does High and Low - it doesn't seem to have an in-between setting. While I was cooking the meat, I suddenly realized that there was a lot of smoke from the stove element itself. I pulled the pan away and flames started coming up from the center of the burner! It wasn't burning because of anything related to the cooking except that it got too hot. Well, I pulled out the fire extinguisher and yelled for P. I was still trying to sort out how to make the fire extinguisher work, so P took it, pulled the pin, and sprayed the fire. So, the fire is all gone, but our house is filled with smoke. It is 59 degrees outside, but we have downstairs windows open with fans blowing the smoke out. At least the smoke alarm quit ringing!
So it's Subway for dinner. I'll drain the ground beef and cook it another day. I was hoping to get a new stove for Christmas, but it looks like I can get it sooner. I'm a little wary of the whole thing right now. I hope we can get some of the smoke smell out before our small group comes (it's only one other couple right now, but I don't really want anyone having burning eyes or smoke smelling clothes.
So it's Subway for dinner. I'll drain the ground beef and cook it another day. I was hoping to get a new stove for Christmas, but it looks like I can get it sooner. I'm a little wary of the whole thing right now. I hope we can get some of the smoke smell out before our small group comes (it's only one other couple right now, but I don't really want anyone having burning eyes or smoke smelling clothes.
Friday, September 22, 2006
September 22
It's the end of a long week. This homeschooling thing is pretty tough. We try to be flexible to work around my headaches and scheduling issues, but still run into problems. I had an appointment Tuesday, which was an all-day event, so the kids were at a friends house. L did all of her work that day, but C didn't do much at all. L is finishing her study of Russia, and C is working on the Renaissance. We made frescoes with plaster of Paris and watercolor paint. The kids had a great time and they learned something about Renaissance art.
I am working on a couple of knitting projects, one of which is a sweater for me. The problem is that my size 7 needles are too short to cast on 97 stitches. So, I can't really start until I get some needles. But, I did my gauge swatch so I know what I need.
L is taking art class at the middle school. Originally, it was T, Th, and every other F. Her teacher recommended that she also come for the M, W, and every other F class since they're doing different projects. L loves it and is doing a good job. I'm glad we found someone to teach her art finally.
I went to a Dr. at Marshfield. He was pleasant, but didn't really have any new recommendations except to consider adding an anti-depressant. So, I'm on a new anti-seizure medication and I've also started the anti-depressant tonight. I have a headache now, but it's pretty well controlled. I think it's the bad weather.
P and C went to the high school football game tonight. They just got home, so it's reading and bedtime.
I am working on a couple of knitting projects, one of which is a sweater for me. The problem is that my size 7 needles are too short to cast on 97 stitches. So, I can't really start until I get some needles. But, I did my gauge swatch so I know what I need.
L is taking art class at the middle school. Originally, it was T, Th, and every other F. Her teacher recommended that she also come for the M, W, and every other F class since they're doing different projects. L loves it and is doing a good job. I'm glad we found someone to teach her art finally.
I went to a Dr. at Marshfield. He was pleasant, but didn't really have any new recommendations except to consider adding an anti-depressant. So, I'm on a new anti-seizure medication and I've also started the anti-depressant tonight. I have a headache now, but it's pretty well controlled. I think it's the bad weather.
P and C went to the high school football game tonight. They just got home, so it's reading and bedtime.
September 22
It's the end of a long week. This homeschooling thing is pretty tough. We try to be flexible to work around my headaches and scheduling issues, but still run into problems. I had an appointment Tuesday, which was an all-day event, so the kids were at a friends house. L did all of her work that day, but C didn't do much at all. L is finishing her study of Russia, and C is working on the Renaissance. We made frescoes with plaster of Paris and watercolor paint. The kids had a great time and they learned something about Renaissance art.
I am working on a couple of knitting projects, one of which is a sweater for me. The problem is that my size 7 needles are too short to cast on 97 stitches. So, I can't really start until I get some needles. But, I did my gauge swatch so I know what I need.
L is taking art class at the middle school. Originally, it was T, Th, and every other F. Her teacher recommended that she also come for the M, W, and every other F class since they're doing different projects. L loves it and is doing a good job. I'm glad we found someone to teach her art finally.
I went to a Dr. at Marshfield. He was pleasant, but didn't really have any new recommendations except to consider adding an anti-depressant. So, I'm on a new anti-seizure medication and I've also started the anti-depressant tonight. I have a headache now, but it's pretty well controlled. I think it's the bad weather.
P and C went to the high school football game tonight. They just got home, so it's reading and bedtime.
I am working on a couple of knitting projects, one of which is a sweater for me. The problem is that my size 7 needles are too short to cast on 97 stitches. So, I can't really start until I get some needles. But, I did my gauge swatch so I know what I need.
L is taking art class at the middle school. Originally, it was T, Th, and every other F. Her teacher recommended that she also come for the M, W, and every other F class since they're doing different projects. L loves it and is doing a good job. I'm glad we found someone to teach her art finally.
I went to a Dr. at Marshfield. He was pleasant, but didn't really have any new recommendations except to consider adding an anti-depressant. So, I'm on a new anti-seizure medication and I've also started the anti-depressant tonight. I have a headache now, but it's pretty well controlled. I think it's the bad weather.
P and C went to the high school football game tonight. They just got home, so it's reading and bedtime.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
September 16
P is off taking his Praxis Math test. This is the test that he needs to pass in order to teach math. He will need to take a more general test later just to teach. If he doesn't pass this test, he can use it to figure out if he needs to take any math classes before he takes it again. His classes have been going well. The only problem now is that he stays on campus all day on Tuesday and Thursday. The good thing is that he gets all his studying done that day and that he is now signed up for the tutoring service. The bad thing is that he has one class at 8am and the next one at 5:30pm, so it's a long wait. But, it doesn't make sense to come home because of the gas involved.
L and C have been doing pretty well in schoolwork. We do have our bumps in the road and I'm having to work with them about making sure all the work gets done. I'm really excited about C's reading. He is reading much better, although he still has some trouble with the vowels in the middle of words. I'm really excited that he can write simple sentences. He has some special techniques that he has learned with his reading program to help him along like "sentence pounding" and "finger tapping". Sounds a little strange at first, but really works for him. Whether he's dyslexic or not, we certainly are seeing some improvement in his reading. L is improving quite a bit in art. The influence of a different art teacher is amazing. C is doing a lot more drawing these days, so I think I may add some art to his days as well. They are both doing Spanish on the computer with good results. The neighbor kids are bilingual, so maybe they can help L and C with their vocabulary and usage.
We have been watching Fiddler on the Roof because L has been studying Russia. There is a ton of stuff in that movie that I want the kids to learn, but we don't have nearly enough time to cover. I have decided that we're going to take a week off of Sonlight and do Fiddler on the Roof the week of September 25. L already knows a lot about Russia, but Chris doesn't, so I'll have him do some stuff to learn about the country and it's history. I would like L to learn about the history of the late 19th and early 20th century, especially the rise of Marxism and socialism. She's really not old enough to understand all the political, philosophical, and sociological ramifications, but I think she's old enough to study the history and start to engage those ideas. Perchik, in the movie, is a revolutionary, and I would like her to understand what that means. I want to spend a significant amount of time learning about Judaism and it's festivals, etc. From a historical perspective, the kids really are going to learn a lot about pogroms and persecution of the Jews. But, I want to follow that up with a discussion of Zionism and the formation of the state of Israel. They don't need to get into all the political ins and outs, but they need to learn about when and how the nation of Israel came about (something I didn't learn until I was an adult). So, I may be crazy to try this, but I think it will be a fun and educational week.
My disability insurance company is stalling again. This time, they are considering an independent medical evaluation. I am going to see another neurologist next week (not for an IME, just for another opinion about the migraines). I have weaned off my Topamax (almost completely) and my acute headache meds (although I had a migraine today that I treated - I use acute headache meds twice a week, three times if I'm desperate). My PCP and I have a plan to start another anti-seizure medication unless this neurologist has other recommendations. I'm really frustrated about the insurance. Every roadblock makes me feel like they think I'm lying. And I'm not. I'm certainly not in a position to return to work full-time, but I would be thrilled to be able to go back to part-time work. So, we'll see what happens.
A couple of days ago, I wanted to go for a walk with the kids. They didn't really want to go, but I told them they had to. We finally decided to go on the trail by the river, but then the kids wanted to ride bikes. So, we decided to ride bikes. I ride my bike every few weeks, but not for very long distances and not off-road (although it is an on-road/off-road bike). The trail we went on is generally packed dirt, but there are some sections that had recently added dirt, so it wasn't packed and the recent rain had made it mud. Several areas were deep enough mud that we had to walk our bikes. I didn't like going up the hills, but I really enjoyed when I got to coast down a nice gentle hill. I got to the top of one hill and was very ready to coast down, but the kids said that I needed to get off my bike and walk down the next hill. Indeed, had I ridden down that steep hill right toward the river, I would have likely ended up right in the river. The trail is much faster riding than walking, but I was seriously sore at the end of the ride. What a mess we were! Both kids and I had mud all over our shoes and on the bottom of our pants. We had a blast, though! And I'm looking forward to doing it again.
L and C have been doing pretty well in schoolwork. We do have our bumps in the road and I'm having to work with them about making sure all the work gets done. I'm really excited about C's reading. He is reading much better, although he still has some trouble with the vowels in the middle of words. I'm really excited that he can write simple sentences. He has some special techniques that he has learned with his reading program to help him along like "sentence pounding" and "finger tapping". Sounds a little strange at first, but really works for him. Whether he's dyslexic or not, we certainly are seeing some improvement in his reading. L is improving quite a bit in art. The influence of a different art teacher is amazing. C is doing a lot more drawing these days, so I think I may add some art to his days as well. They are both doing Spanish on the computer with good results. The neighbor kids are bilingual, so maybe they can help L and C with their vocabulary and usage.
We have been watching Fiddler on the Roof because L has been studying Russia. There is a ton of stuff in that movie that I want the kids to learn, but we don't have nearly enough time to cover. I have decided that we're going to take a week off of Sonlight and do Fiddler on the Roof the week of September 25. L already knows a lot about Russia, but Chris doesn't, so I'll have him do some stuff to learn about the country and it's history. I would like L to learn about the history of the late 19th and early 20th century, especially the rise of Marxism and socialism. She's really not old enough to understand all the political, philosophical, and sociological ramifications, but I think she's old enough to study the history and start to engage those ideas. Perchik, in the movie, is a revolutionary, and I would like her to understand what that means. I want to spend a significant amount of time learning about Judaism and it's festivals, etc. From a historical perspective, the kids really are going to learn a lot about pogroms and persecution of the Jews. But, I want to follow that up with a discussion of Zionism and the formation of the state of Israel. They don't need to get into all the political ins and outs, but they need to learn about when and how the nation of Israel came about (something I didn't learn until I was an adult). So, I may be crazy to try this, but I think it will be a fun and educational week.
My disability insurance company is stalling again. This time, they are considering an independent medical evaluation. I am going to see another neurologist next week (not for an IME, just for another opinion about the migraines). I have weaned off my Topamax (almost completely) and my acute headache meds (although I had a migraine today that I treated - I use acute headache meds twice a week, three times if I'm desperate). My PCP and I have a plan to start another anti-seizure medication unless this neurologist has other recommendations. I'm really frustrated about the insurance. Every roadblock makes me feel like they think I'm lying. And I'm not. I'm certainly not in a position to return to work full-time, but I would be thrilled to be able to go back to part-time work. So, we'll see what happens.
A couple of days ago, I wanted to go for a walk with the kids. They didn't really want to go, but I told them they had to. We finally decided to go on the trail by the river, but then the kids wanted to ride bikes. So, we decided to ride bikes. I ride my bike every few weeks, but not for very long distances and not off-road (although it is an on-road/off-road bike). The trail we went on is generally packed dirt, but there are some sections that had recently added dirt, so it wasn't packed and the recent rain had made it mud. Several areas were deep enough mud that we had to walk our bikes. I didn't like going up the hills, but I really enjoyed when I got to coast down a nice gentle hill. I got to the top of one hill and was very ready to coast down, but the kids said that I needed to get off my bike and walk down the next hill. Indeed, had I ridden down that steep hill right toward the river, I would have likely ended up right in the river. The trail is much faster riding than walking, but I was seriously sore at the end of the ride. What a mess we were! Both kids and I had mud all over our shoes and on the bottom of our pants. We had a blast, though! And I'm looking forward to doing it again.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
School News
We have been busy with lots of school stuff recently. P and I took C to an educational psychologist about having him tested for dyslexia. We are going to have the testing itself done sometime in the next month or two.
In the meantime, C's reading has picked up significantly. We are using a reading program based on the Orton-Gillingham approach to teaching kids with dyslexia how to read. It is a multi-sensory approach, so it's also good if we just hadn't figured out his learning style yet. He has learned about 15 phonemes so far. He reads words with the phonemes he knows very well. His reading is much more fluent and confident. He is also working on some sight words. The program is pretty intense. We work for about 30 minutes every day; this includes review of what he's learned, learning new phonemes and/or sight words, writing and spelling practice, and reading short books. I'm very happy with how he is doing.
I have been reading about learning styles and watching L and C over the last couple of weeks. L is definitely an auditory and kinesthetic learner. She also learns pretty well visually. Basically, she remembers a large amount of what she sees, hears, or reads. C is not a good auditory learner, though. He is a much better kinesthetic learner. We use a curriculum that is very literature intense, though, which makes it more challenging to make sure he is learning. We do a lot of reading aloud, but C is not picking up the information just from hearing it. So, I'm realizing that we need to add some activities to help him learn. We started making a mural of the ocean, coral reef, and an estuary. Just in making the main part of the drawing, we reviewed the geography of oceans. Later this week, we will review all about the organisms we've read about when we draw or paste pictures of fish and other animals in the correct places in the mural. C was able to process the importance of the plankton in the surface portion of the water because of the need for sunshine when he colored the shallow part of the water blue-green. Unfortunately, this is going to require a little more effort on my part. But, I have realized that C and L have some areas where their curricula intersect, so I may be able to do some things with them together.
L started dance class this week. She is taking ballet again - the same class as last year, but with a different teacher. There are only three of them in the class this year. L enjoys ballet, especially now that she is up to a level that she can really perform some of the moves well. The class is a full hour, though, so she gets pretty tired. She gets a 45 minute break and then has a tap class. She hasn't had tap in several years, so she's having to do a little bit of catch-up, but she's doing fine.
L is also taking art class at the local middle school. She started just taking every Tuesday, Thursday, and every other Friday with one of the 6th grade art classes. She is enjoying the work, even though her teacher is expecting more out of her than I had been. Today, her teacher asked about having her also take the Monday, Wednesday, and opposite Friday class to get even more art exposure. L is thrilled. The school is 4 blocks from the house, so L rides her bike unless the weather is bad. I'm pleased that she is taking the extra responsibility of making sure she is ready and out the door on time.
P is in school as well in the Valley. He is taking three classes this semester, in addition to making sure he gets 30 hours of classroom observation. Two of the math teachers at the local middle and high school are happy to have him come in for his observation. He is happy to be able to do that so close to home (especially with gas so expensive and he already has to drive 60 miles round trip three times per week for his own classes).
I have become the typical homeschool mom. I am addicted to homeschool forums on the computer. When I'm not doing something with the kids, blogging, or having a headache, I'm probably on the forums. The forums have been really helpful, though. I have gotten great ideas on how to manage school when I have a bad migraine. I have gotten great advice on how to make our own frescoes - we're studying Michelangelo next week. We have already had one field trip to a local nature center. Everyone had fun. It was also nice to hear how well-behaved and well-educated the kids are (from the naturalists).
Well, I'm off to bed. It's another full day tomorrow.
In the meantime, C's reading has picked up significantly. We are using a reading program based on the Orton-Gillingham approach to teaching kids with dyslexia how to read. It is a multi-sensory approach, so it's also good if we just hadn't figured out his learning style yet. He has learned about 15 phonemes so far. He reads words with the phonemes he knows very well. His reading is much more fluent and confident. He is also working on some sight words. The program is pretty intense. We work for about 30 minutes every day; this includes review of what he's learned, learning new phonemes and/or sight words, writing and spelling practice, and reading short books. I'm very happy with how he is doing.
I have been reading about learning styles and watching L and C over the last couple of weeks. L is definitely an auditory and kinesthetic learner. She also learns pretty well visually. Basically, she remembers a large amount of what she sees, hears, or reads. C is not a good auditory learner, though. He is a much better kinesthetic learner. We use a curriculum that is very literature intense, though, which makes it more challenging to make sure he is learning. We do a lot of reading aloud, but C is not picking up the information just from hearing it. So, I'm realizing that we need to add some activities to help him learn. We started making a mural of the ocean, coral reef, and an estuary. Just in making the main part of the drawing, we reviewed the geography of oceans. Later this week, we will review all about the organisms we've read about when we draw or paste pictures of fish and other animals in the correct places in the mural. C was able to process the importance of the plankton in the surface portion of the water because of the need for sunshine when he colored the shallow part of the water blue-green. Unfortunately, this is going to require a little more effort on my part. But, I have realized that C and L have some areas where their curricula intersect, so I may be able to do some things with them together.
L started dance class this week. She is taking ballet again - the same class as last year, but with a different teacher. There are only three of them in the class this year. L enjoys ballet, especially now that she is up to a level that she can really perform some of the moves well. The class is a full hour, though, so she gets pretty tired. She gets a 45 minute break and then has a tap class. She hasn't had tap in several years, so she's having to do a little bit of catch-up, but she's doing fine.
L is also taking art class at the local middle school. She started just taking every Tuesday, Thursday, and every other Friday with one of the 6th grade art classes. She is enjoying the work, even though her teacher is expecting more out of her than I had been. Today, her teacher asked about having her also take the Monday, Wednesday, and opposite Friday class to get even more art exposure. L is thrilled. The school is 4 blocks from the house, so L rides her bike unless the weather is bad. I'm pleased that she is taking the extra responsibility of making sure she is ready and out the door on time.
P is in school as well in the Valley. He is taking three classes this semester, in addition to making sure he gets 30 hours of classroom observation. Two of the math teachers at the local middle and high school are happy to have him come in for his observation. He is happy to be able to do that so close to home (especially with gas so expensive and he already has to drive 60 miles round trip three times per week for his own classes).
I have become the typical homeschool mom. I am addicted to homeschool forums on the computer. When I'm not doing something with the kids, blogging, or having a headache, I'm probably on the forums. The forums have been really helpful, though. I have gotten great ideas on how to manage school when I have a bad migraine. I have gotten great advice on how to make our own frescoes - we're studying Michelangelo next week. We have already had one field trip to a local nature center. Everyone had fun. It was also nice to hear how well-behaved and well-educated the kids are (from the naturalists).
Well, I'm off to bed. It's another full day tomorrow.
Friday, September 08, 2006
They added an ocean!!!!
So, I figure that I'll be a pretty decent homeschooling parent since I love my kids and I'm pretty literate (12 years of post-high school education). But, imagine my suprise when, as I'm reading history with my son, I see on a map something labeled "Southern Ocean". What is the Southern Ocean? When I was in school, there were four oceans. When my kids were learning about oceans and continents with songs, there were four oceans. So, where did this Southern Ocean come from? I looked at the map: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, Southern. There was clearly one too many. So, I put a question to the other parents on the Sonlight forums (we use Sonlight curriculum) and another parent answered that she was told a couple of years ago on a field trip that they (whoever geographical types "they" may be) have decided that there is indeed a Southern Ocean. So, one more thing to add to my befuddled brain and try to teach my kids. EEK!
We have survived another week of school. Actually, we are doing pretty well. I had some headaches, but the kids and I are figuring out how to work around them. Next week will get a little more tricky when L's dance class and both kids' piano lessons start, but we'll sort it all out. C actually wrote 2 sentences that I dictated for him today. That's pretty cool for us, because he really has not been able to spell much at all. He did a wonderful job - and remembered capitalization and punctuation. He got a box of TicTacs for working so hard.
L does more advanced dictation, and has a more creative time with capitalization and punctuation. She has a habit of not capitalizing the first word of a sentence, but then will capitalize the first letter of a word in the middle of a sentence, sometimes the same letter - not a lot of rhyme or reason to her choices. She was having some real trouble with making her "t's" look like capitals when they aren't. Her comment was "Well, that's how I write". My response was, "You can't 'just write' however you feel like. There are rules to follow." She's not thrilled, but is slowly improving. She was very happy to finish her math book today because she really wanted a box of TicTacs like C got.
Well, not much going on here except school. The house is a mess because I did have a couple of headaches this week. I'm feeling a lot better on my non-migraine days since the rebound/chronic headache is much better (still not quite gone, but much better). I see a neurologist again in 2 weeks. Well, we're having a storm and the kids are down here because they're scared, so I'd better end this post. Besides, if the power goes out, it'll all be lost.
We have survived another week of school. Actually, we are doing pretty well. I had some headaches, but the kids and I are figuring out how to work around them. Next week will get a little more tricky when L's dance class and both kids' piano lessons start, but we'll sort it all out. C actually wrote 2 sentences that I dictated for him today. That's pretty cool for us, because he really has not been able to spell much at all. He did a wonderful job - and remembered capitalization and punctuation. He got a box of TicTacs for working so hard.
L does more advanced dictation, and has a more creative time with capitalization and punctuation. She has a habit of not capitalizing the first word of a sentence, but then will capitalize the first letter of a word in the middle of a sentence, sometimes the same letter - not a lot of rhyme or reason to her choices. She was having some real trouble with making her "t's" look like capitals when they aren't. Her comment was "Well, that's how I write". My response was, "You can't 'just write' however you feel like. There are rules to follow." She's not thrilled, but is slowly improving. She was very happy to finish her math book today because she really wanted a box of TicTacs like C got.
Well, not much going on here except school. The house is a mess because I did have a couple of headaches this week. I'm feeling a lot better on my non-migraine days since the rebound/chronic headache is much better (still not quite gone, but much better). I see a neurologist again in 2 weeks. Well, we're having a storm and the kids are down here because they're scared, so I'd better end this post. Besides, if the power goes out, it'll all be lost.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
The headache continues . . .
I had a migraine last night which was incredibly frustrating. The good news is that some of the meds I'm allowed to take made me tired enough that I fell asleep until the migraine pretty much wore off. I still have a headache this morning, though. I emailed my doctor and she encouraged me to keep going. She told me to stick with all the healthy living stuff - eat your veggies, drink water, etc. C and I took a nice long walk on a trail by the river this morning (nice that we found it since we're living in town now).
Unfortunately, C is really very sad these days. I'm hoping that most of it is because he's had a little fever the last three days and now has a runny nose. When he gets with friends he plays and has a blast and has tons of energy. At home, he complains about being tired and not wanting to do anything. He actually has a friend right next door, so I'm not sure what's up. I hope he just needs a little more time for us to all get adjusted to life here.
C has been working hard on his reading and I'm seeing progress. He has a much better sense of how letters blend together and how words always get sounded out from left to right. He knows a few more sight words. He and I are both encouraged on that front.
One of P's friends gave us a bunch of venison. I cooked a roast the other day, but P and I were the only ones who really liked it. L loves beef cooked that way, but she thought the venison (which was falling apart) was too "tough" for her. C didn't even try it. P and L and I all like venison steaks. All 4 of us like ground venison for meatloaf. But, I don't think we have much ground venison. So, C and L are just going to have to make do when I make a roast, because I'm not going to waste perfectly good, free meat!
Book reviews:
The Sun also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. I couldn't finish it. I could blame my meds, but I have been reading tons of other stuff. I really tried to plough through it, but just couldn't do it. I felt like I was watching an old Bergman movie in slow motion. Somehow, I was supposed to understand the plot from all these stilted conversations, but I never got it. I finally gave up. I'm sure I will hear from some of you that if I had just plugged away a little more, I would have reached that nugget of gold that is Hemingway, but I just couldn't do it.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I can't believe that I never read this book in high school or college. Somewhere along the way, I developed this idea that it was a dark and foreboding book. It certainly has it's dark moments, but it is truly a wonderful book. I found it quite a page-turner. Bronte's writing does require something of an educated reader, I found. For example, I always wondered why we use the word "malignant" as and adjective, but never "benignant" but always "benign". Well, it has not always been this way; at least not in Bronte's world. She makes numerous Scriptural references that I was glad to be able to understand. I did read a one page description of the springtime beauty of England that required me to go to a dictionary several times. But, back to the story. C. Bronte has taken what could have been a plain and simple love story and added plot twists that not only hold the reader spellbound, but show the growth of the characters - emotionally and spiritually. I highly recommend it; but make sure you have a good week or two.
Well, now that I have finished Jane Eyre, I got the DVD from the library, so I am off to see how well the BBC interprets it for the screen.
Unfortunately, C is really very sad these days. I'm hoping that most of it is because he's had a little fever the last three days and now has a runny nose. When he gets with friends he plays and has a blast and has tons of energy. At home, he complains about being tired and not wanting to do anything. He actually has a friend right next door, so I'm not sure what's up. I hope he just needs a little more time for us to all get adjusted to life here.
C has been working hard on his reading and I'm seeing progress. He has a much better sense of how letters blend together and how words always get sounded out from left to right. He knows a few more sight words. He and I are both encouraged on that front.
One of P's friends gave us a bunch of venison. I cooked a roast the other day, but P and I were the only ones who really liked it. L loves beef cooked that way, but she thought the venison (which was falling apart) was too "tough" for her. C didn't even try it. P and L and I all like venison steaks. All 4 of us like ground venison for meatloaf. But, I don't think we have much ground venison. So, C and L are just going to have to make do when I make a roast, because I'm not going to waste perfectly good, free meat!
Book reviews:
The Sun also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. I couldn't finish it. I could blame my meds, but I have been reading tons of other stuff. I really tried to plough through it, but just couldn't do it. I felt like I was watching an old Bergman movie in slow motion. Somehow, I was supposed to understand the plot from all these stilted conversations, but I never got it. I finally gave up. I'm sure I will hear from some of you that if I had just plugged away a little more, I would have reached that nugget of gold that is Hemingway, but I just couldn't do it.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I can't believe that I never read this book in high school or college. Somewhere along the way, I developed this idea that it was a dark and foreboding book. It certainly has it's dark moments, but it is truly a wonderful book. I found it quite a page-turner. Bronte's writing does require something of an educated reader, I found. For example, I always wondered why we use the word "malignant" as and adjective, but never "benignant" but always "benign". Well, it has not always been this way; at least not in Bronte's world. She makes numerous Scriptural references that I was glad to be able to understand. I did read a one page description of the springtime beauty of England that required me to go to a dictionary several times. But, back to the story. C. Bronte has taken what could have been a plain and simple love story and added plot twists that not only hold the reader spellbound, but show the growth of the characters - emotionally and spiritually. I highly recommend it; but make sure you have a good week or two.
Well, now that I have finished Jane Eyre, I got the DVD from the library, so I am off to see how well the BBC interprets it for the screen.
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