7 Quick Takes Friday–9/12/2014

 

1. It has been raining for two days around here, so today I went to Fleet Farm and got the light bulbs I needed and have been making sure that we have light bulbs in every light fixture so I can turn every light in the house on in the middle of the day!! I will not be depressed because of darkness!! (Yes, I do take my Vitamin D! Why do you ask?)

2. So, my body has decided to pull a new trick on me. I am having a recurrent episode of pain and swelling in my right lower leg. The first time it happened, I thought it was superficial thrombophlebitis, which means inflamed blood clot in the superficial veins. Which is painful but not dangerous. But, since my father-in-law died of a pulmonary embolism (blood clot to the lungs which often starts in the deep veins of the legs) and my mother is an ICU nurse, I went to the doctor and had an ultrasound done. Which was negative. That was two weeks ago. The problem came back two days ago and I saw my doctor today who ordered an XRay which was normal so I’m getting an MRI next week sometime. Deep breath. I don’t have a blood clot. Yay.  (BTW, Aren’t the paper shorts they gave me for my leg XRay just adorable???)

3. Wild Man was telling us last night about working on an American History timeline in American Literature and reading about Europeans giving Native Americans smallpox. I said, “Well, the native Americans probably gave the Europeans syphilis.” PWM said, “Yeah, real fair trade.” Wild Man said, “European and Native Americans never had fair trade!” Then stopped and said, “Boom! See, I do remember my American History!!” Yes, we’ve managed to raise a somewhat educated child.

4. Sophie, Rosie Girl’s cat, is lonely. She always gets a bit lonely when Rosie Girl goes back to school, but this time it’s worse. Not only did Rosie Girl go back to UWSP, but now PWM is teaching, so he’s gone all day every day and Wild Man is in school, so he’s gone all day every day. It’s just me and Sophie, and if it’s busy in the shop or if I have a migraine, poor Sophie is all alone.

5. To try to help Sophie entertain herself, I got her this cool little tube that has crinkly plastic inside which Sophie should love since she keeps trying to eat plastic. So far, her response has been “meh”.

6. I hired an employee last week! Ack! That feels so . . . . grown-up. Yes, I know I’m 47 and that I’m well past grown-up, but there’s still a part of me that doesn’t believe it. But, with PWM working now, I can’t run the shop on my own, so I hired a wonderful woman who is a great knitter to work 24 hours a week so we won’t have to close when I have a migraine. Not only that, but she has great ideas and seems organized and able to implement them. I’m excited!

7. One of the downsides to sending Wild Man to school is that I don’t get to see him very often. He’s working two jobs, going to school, in band and choir, in a community choir, and a church worship leader. He was finally home for a few hours last night without homework to do, so he agreed to play Yahtzee with me. I lost terribly, but I didn’t care.

What’s going on with you??  Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday at Conversion Diary to see what others are up to these days!!

7 Quick Takes Friday–August 8, 2014

 

1. We took family pictures on Wednesday!! For the first time in at least 8 years! We kept putting off scheduling them because of my headaches, but we finally just put the date on the calendar and hoped for the best. Yes, I was on Maxalt when we took them, but the two that the photographer put on Facebook so far look really great!

2. Rosie Girl left home yesterday afternoon with her usual light brown hair. When she comes home tonight after spending the night at a friend’s house (and going to the tap dance festival in Stevens Point), she’ll have orange-ish red hair. Yep, they’re doing henna! I guess it will calm down to red over the course of a week or so. I can’t wait to see it.

3. I’ve been freaking out a bit about the whole school supplies thing. I’ve never had to buy stuff for a kid to go to public school before. Does he need notebooks or binders? Folders? How many pencils or pens? Guess what? They put that info on the school website, even for juniors in high school!! My stress level is way down.

4. My headache level is NOT down, however. Bummer. I had a long migraine last week that I think was triggered by a dental cleaning. Next week, I have to have a cavity redone. I’m making Wild Man drive me so I can take my muscle relaxers beforehand. I don’t have much to blame this week’s headaches on, though.

5. My counselor has encouraged me to do one thing I enjoy every day to help with my depression. Yesterday, I had a milkshake and then drove home the back way which is more wooded and less commercial and, mostly, less familiar. Central Wisconsin is gorgeous in the summer!!

6. Wild Man now has three jobs! He started as a cook’s assistant at a local restaurant. Right now, he only works once a week or so. And, on busy nights, he just washes dishes. But, it will be good for him when school starts and his job and the laundromat finishes, but he still needs gas money!

7. I finally got Something Other than God from the library!! Yes, I know I’ll be the last one of this blog’s readers to read the book, but, better late than never, right?

So, what’s up with you these days? Check out Conversion Diary for more 7 Quick Takes Friday!!!

7 Quick Takes Friday–July 25, 2014

2 Fridays in a row? Is that possible? I believe it is. Here we go!

1. It’s been a headache-y week for me, mostly because of the weather. I’m also fighting a cold that my darling daughter gave me. In any case, I’m having to work a little harder today to keep my mood from slipping. Here’s hoping tomorrow is a little easier on the head.

2. Tonight, we watched “Ragamuffin”, a movie based on the life of Rich Mullins. (Rich Mullins was a Christian musician who was killed in a car crash about 15 years ago. If you’re not familiar with him, look him up and listen to some of his music. It’s wonderful!!) The movie was very good, centering on a couple of main themes that permeated his life. Of course, the music was excellent. It’s on Charter On Demand right now for those of you who have Charter Cable.

3. There are advantages to having teenagers who have driver’s licenses. Wild Man went out tonight, so he stopped by the pharmacy to pick up my medications on his way. 

4. The kids went to Appleton today and Wild Man bought a djembe, which is a hand drum. He’s borrowed hand drums from church several times in the last year, so having his own will be convenient. My hopes of having a quiet house are slowly being dashed.

5. We are down to just one cat, but she is trying her best to require the maintenance of three cats. She does not like to poop in a less-than-pristine cat box. We still keep three cat boxes, but once she uses one two or three times, she start to poop on the floor near the boxes. So, in an attempt to properly serve our cats, we are trying to clean the boxes every day. All hail, Queen Sophie!!

6. My daughter’s friend got me the cutest book from Goodwill the other day called Knit Your Own Cat. Yes, it’s a book about how to knit a stuffed animal cat that looks rather realistic. I wonder if knitting a cat from that book and adding catnip to the stuffing would be funny or cruel to Sophie. Or both!

7. As I’m thinking about Wild Man starting school in a month, I realize I know nothing about the whole school thing. I think I’m going to email another mom to ask how I know what kind of notebooks, etc. he needs. I’m being paranoid, I realize. But, what kid doesn’t need a psychotic mother stressing over his backpack, what to about lunch, and whether he’ll be able to take notes?!

7 Quick Takes this week is being hosted over at Svellerella, so check it out!! What have you been up to?

7 Quick Takes Friday–July 18, 2014

 

Yes, I’m finally posting a 7 Quick Takes post again. And it’s only an hour until midnight! BTW, don’t hold your breath next week for another one next week; we’ll just have to see how things play out.

1. I have a smart phone!! Actually, the whole family how has smart phones. We had been overpaying for our phone service, so the overage gave us the money up front to pay for the phones (although I think the kids had to pay extra to get the newest phone). And since we had been overpaying all along, we’re now paying less than we were for coverage for all of us. I’ve migrated all of the stuff from my ipod to the phone. We got them right before camp which was great. One device to rule them all!! (But, I’m still learning to use all the toys!)

2. This summer has been really bad for migraines and headaches in general. I don’t know what to make of it. I know that the first few days after camp would be bad because I had too much soda and processed food at camp. Now that I’m home, I’m trying to eat better. I’m trying to exercise, but the headache is making that hard to do as well. I’m just in a bad cycle. Every day that I’m not too headache-y, I’m trying to exercise and eat well and not get too stressed out to try to stretch out the number of good days I can get.

3. I’ve loved having Rosie Girl home this summer. She’s been busy working, but she and Wild Man play video games when she’s home. She’s also suggested books for read-alouds in the evenings. Last night, a couple of Wild Man’s friends came over to play video games and watch a movie. When Rosie Girl got home from work, the whole group played some card games and then watched more movies and videos until Rosie Girl took them home. I like that my kids get along and that they have nice friends who like to hang out around here.

4. One of my headache issues right now is that I have strained my trapezius muscle. The upside is that I get neck massages from the hubby. The downside is that it is making the right side of my head hurt more than usual. I tried taking 1/2 a tizanidine tablet yesterday (2mg) which certainly helped with relaxation and pain, but it also made me take a 2 hour nap. So, I think I’ll try a 1mg tablet when I need it during the day. (Note. I usually use it at bedtime.)

5. Being 47 years old feels remarkable like being 46 years old.

6. Having received some money for my birthday, I’m planning on going clothes shopping! I’m not sure when, because Rosie Girl wants to join me, but sometime in the next week or two. (Wild Man and I stopped at Kohl’s on our way to camp for me to pick up some jeans. I also got a dress and a top. Wild Man was not happy because we had “only come for one pair of jeans.” I don’t think he’ll want to accompany me on my shopping trip!)

7. Rosie Girl went out busking today for a little while. She only made $1, but was happy with it. She played ocarina and tin whistle. But, while she was in town, she got guitar strings, so she can try again later next week with her guitar.

How was your week? Check our Conversion Diary to see what others are up to!!

7 Quick Takes Friday–February 28, 2014

 

After two weeks of neglecting my blog, I’m sure I have more than seven things I could share, but I’ll limit this post to just seven.

1. Wild Man is getting all of his stuff ready for Solo and Ensemble tomorrow. He is performing in seven (yes, SEVEN!) musical pieces tomorrow: 2 pieces with Show Choir, Stars from Les Mis for Musical Theater Solo, Vocal Solo, Vocal Duet, Percussion Ensemble, and Marimba Solo. He’s going to be a busy boy tomorrow!

2. Between migraines, I’ve actually gotten some cleaning and organizing done around the house. Goodwill and St. Vincent’s are the recipients of our efforts. I even gave away some school books this time around; PWM is thrilled!

3. It is officially the second coldest winter in our area since records have been kept. We don’t even blink an eye when the temperatures are below zero anymore. Spring could come anytime. Really.

4. Due to the depressing winter, one of the pipes going from the house to the shop has frozen. It probably hasn’t burst the pipe because it froze because the frost line in the ground has gone low enough to freeze pipes that are usually low enough to not freeze. (Did that make any sense?) In fact, our town has us all running water so the town pipes don’t freeze. When people taking knitting classes need to use the bathroom, we have to escort them into the house, which I guess is a good incentive to keep the bathroom clean.

5. We’re still working on eating more healthy, particularly because of PWM’s elevated blood sugars. He tried making pizza with cauliflower crust today which he said wasn’t too bad, but was pretty labor-intensive. I eat pretty poorly when I have a migraine because I have little appetite and because I have no interest in actually cooking anything. So, I pretty much have a few graham crackers and some milk. But, when my head feels better, I’ve been eating veggies and some fruit, too. Someone, be proud of me!

6. I decided to try a yoga video the other day and got through 30 minutes of it. I figured I’d do the other 30 minutes yesterday – until I got up. Oh. My. Goodness. I was really sore and I’m still feeling it today. (Actually, I have a migraine, so I hurt everywhere today.) I ended up just doing treadmill yesterday. I guess I’ll try yoga when this headache calms down (tomorrow?). It did seem like it could be a relaxing form of exercise when I get used to it.

7. This has been the first winter in several years that I didn’t end up calling my doctor for more meds for depression. That has to be partly due to the fact that I’m pretty maxed out on my depression meds. Otherwise, it’s something of a miracle since it’s been so cold and I’ve been indoors and I’ve had lots of headaches. But, I think it’s notable. And it allows me to do useful things between headache instead of sit and stare at a wall.

And, on that optimistic note, I’ll remind you that comments are most welcome and suggest that you check out 7 Quick Takes at Jen’s blog!

7 Quick Takes Friday–January 17, 2014

So, it’s Friday. Which is a good thing, I guess. Except that I’ve had a migraine all week, so I haven’t really noticed that it’s Friday. But, we’re here anyway.

1. Wild Man has chosen not to audition for the school play this spring, which has caused great consternation for his band and choir director because they were planning for him to take a certain part. However, Wild Man is working on solos for Solo and Ensemble in Band and Choir, leading worship for the regular adult worship service about once a month, leading the youth worship band, and still trying to get his schoolwork done. Needless to say, PWM and I support his decision.
2. Rosie Girl has been home for a month!!! Sadly, she leaves to go back to school sometime in the next few days. The people in this house will be sad, but probably not as sad as Sophie, her cat.
3. Rosie Girl has been taking an online class called “Film Music”, but she’s been taking the 100 level class for non-music majors. She’s been taking it mostly for fun, but also to get her feet wet because she wants to work in the film music industry. The rest of the family has gotten to watch movies with her as well as listen to her “rants”, excuse me, analyses, of the scores. She takes her final tonight, but I’m pretty sure she has done quite well.
4. Wild Man takes the ACT next month. I’m a little concerned about his reading speed because of his dyslexia, but he’s currently reading Oliver Twist and keeping up with his curriculum, so maybe I don’t need to worry.
5. Last week was the Polar Vortex when the public schools were shut down for two days because of the cold. And it requires some serious cold to shut down schools around here. This week was the blizzard. And the attendant migraine. The headache started Monday night and wasn’t better till sometime yesterday morning. Yikes.
6. And today, I decided that I’d better try to get back to some kind of normality from the migraine. I was really tired this afternoon, so I decided to take a walk on the treadmill instead of taking a nap. Then, I was having a healthy lunch of triscuits with cheese and spinach. Right in the middle of lunch, I developed one of the lovely vomiting and diarrhea episodes that I’ve been occasionally getting after a migraine. This one lasted about three hours. I think I’m finally perking back up, but I’ll wait another few hours to try to eat anything.
7. We had an energy efficiency inspection done on our house last week. We found out that we’ve been heating our town as well as our house. Wild Man’s room is over the front porch and there’s no insulation between the porch and his room, so the poor kid has been sleeping pretty much outside. We’d have let him sleep in the hall. Really. Now, we move on to dealing with the lack of energy efficiency. They start work next week. On the good side, I get a range hood!! Also good, we get grandfathered in to all kinds of Incentives!! On the bad side, it’s going to cost money. On the good side, we’ll eventually make back that money by not spending to heat and cool the entire town. Eventually.

How was your week? Anything exciting? Did you survive the snowstorm – or did it storm where you are? Check out Conversion Diary to see what others are up to!!

7 Quick Takes–November 23, 2013

 

1. Last night, PWM, Wild Man, and I went to head the University Choir and Symphony Orchestra perform Mozart’s Requiem. Rosie Girl was thrilled to be part of the choir and I don’t blame her. The music was just amazing! Unlike anything I’ve ever heard.

2. It’s deer season here in the upper Midwest! Today was “Deer Hunter Widow’s Weekend”, an unofficial holiday in which the men go deer hunting and the wives go craft shopping. We usually aren’t too busy in our shop, although today wasn’t too bad. To be honest, though, I know lots of women who are out in the woods this weekend. Here’s a hysterical comic for all of you deer hunting families!

3. One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on TV in the morning while the turkey cooks. When I was growing up, Mom would be making cornbread dressing and other things during the parade. This year, I’ll just be letting the turkey cook since I hope to have most other things pretty well prepared the day before. Here’s some interesting things about the Macy’s parade.

4. I learned about a lot of things when I moved to Wisconsin, like snow and deer and cold. One thing I didn’t expect to be different up here was the name for a water fountain. Apparently, here in Wisconsin, we call a water fountain a “bubbler”. Who knew? Here’s a great article all about why we have bubblers in Wisconsin and hardly anywhere else.

5. One of my favorite authors is C.S. Lewis. Another of my favorite authors and speakers is Alistair McGrath. Just in time for the 50th anniversary of Lewis’ death, McGrath has published a new biography of Lewis. I can’t wait to read it!

6. I love homeschooling because we can teach our kids what we think is important, even if that is Jedi training.

7. I could totally watch dominoes falling forever. I think it is so cool. This one is the Guinness world record holder for the tallest domino set-up.

So, how was your week? Check out Conversion Diary to see what others are doing!

 

7 Quick Takes Friday–November 15, 2013

 

Whew! I made it to Friday! Somewhere around Wednesday morning, I wasn’t quite sure. This has been quite the week. Now I’ve just got a migraine hangover and I’m super-tired. Here’s the 7 Quick Takes for this week:

1. Wild Man is playing electric guitar for Christmas Eve service this year. The big piece that they’re doing is a Trans-Siberia Orchestra piece. I’m sure I’ll be bragging on him more as the Christmas season gets underway. In the meantime, I get to hear lots and lots of practice.

2. Next Friday night, we get to hear the Choral Union and Concert Choir from UWSP perform Mozart’s Requiem! This is especially exciting because Rosie Girl is in the Choral Union.

3. Delivering babies was one of my favorite jobs as a family doctor. The thing I didn’t like was complications, like when a baby got stuck and we had to intervene to get the baby out of the birth canal. Here’s a great article about a new invention by an auto mechanic (!) to help get babies out who are stuck with fewer complications. And, it sounds like it will be great for use in low-resource locations!

4. How do you know what to say to someone who is ill? Or what to say to the caregiver? How do you deal with your own emotions while being sensitive to their emotions? This article gives a great graphic about how we can do that. Everyone should read it.

5. I really love 19th century romance novels, particularly Jane Austen novels. Thankfully, I discovered them after I was married, so I wasn’t tempted to use them as dating manuals. This woman shows why 19th century romance novels are terrible guides to finding a man.

6. Have you seen this? It’s a comic about a year in the life of a parent and is adorable. You have got to click on that link.

7. It’s pretty chilly here. Time to make soup! Particularly tomato soup!! We have a big ham bone so I can make the stock. I am debating whether or not to make it before or after Thanksgiving. I’ll probably make it after Thanksgiving since Wild Man has a bunch of performances and soup will make for easy dinners.

So, what’s up with you? Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see how others are doing this weekend?

7 Quick Takes Friday–November 8, 2013

And it’s Friday again! And you know what that means!!

1. Wild Man got his temps/learners permit!! He can start to drive with an adult in the car!! Now let’s see when we can find enough time for someone to get enough time to drive with him. He’s already done the classroom part of his driver’s ed course and he is about to set up time to drive with his instructor. Watch out world!!

2. The Winter Olympics are coming in a few months! Here’s a cool article about what some of the athletes do for a living. What’s amazing is that they have jobs and still have time to train to be world class athletes. Talk about commitment!

3. Wild Man has dyslexia and had to work really hard to learn to read. It was clear when he was learning phonics that his eyes didn’t track properly, and one of the things that really helped him was vision therapy. He also tended to mix up his “m”s and “w”s, which is unusual with dyslexics. They’re more likely to get “b”s and “d”s switched. Here is an interesting article showing some ways that dyslexics may see written words. No wonder they hate reading! Thankfully, a heavy dose of tutoring and vision therapy has gotten Wild Man to reading well. Now to get spelling and grammar caught up!

4. Here’s a cute button! It reminds me of when I would hear my mom coming when I was supposed to be cleaning my room!

5. So, how did an alligator escape in O’Hare Airport? Crazy! I’m from Florida, so I’m used to hearing about alligators showing up in places that they’re not supposed to be, but, Chicago? Really?

6. I love sleep. Really. PWM wonders how I made it through medical school with my love of sleep. Apparently, in past centuries in the Northern Hemisphere, people didn’t always just sleep in one long period of sleep every night. They actually had several hours of sleep, a couple of hours of quiet wakefulness, then more sleep. Overall, though, they probably got eight hours of sleep total. How interesting.

7. Here’s a great article about whether or not Forrest Gump could have survived his cross-country run. I’m not remotely interested in running, but I liked the take-home message that exercise is best when you’re not concerned about the finish line, but about the moment itself. Read the article. It’s good.

Check out Conversion Diary to see what others have been up to this week. And have a great week!!

7 Quick Takes Friday–November 1, 2013

1. Here are some great tips that will theoretically help you be more productive. I have no idea if they work. I haven’t gotten around to trying them. Clearly, I’m not very productive.

2. I lived in New Orleans when I was a med student and knew that they had the NFL New Orleans Saints, but I had no idea about a NBA franchise. Well, they are trying to remedy that problem by rebranding the NBA team and giving it a new mascot, the New Orleans Pelicans! And that is one scary mascot!

3. For true C.S. Lewis fans, here is a conversation between the White Witch and the Green Witch from the Narnia series.

4. Our family LOVES Enders Game (the book) and many of the sequels. Rosie Girl and Wild Man are going tomorrow night to see the movie and I’m just a bit jealous. Here’s some things to know about the movie. And, if your family hasn’t read the book yet, you should.

5. Another good book is Kenobi. We’re still reading it as an evening read-aloud, but it has had wonderful reviews. The author is a friend of ours. What’s kind of funny is that we met up here in The Great White North, but the author was probably at LSU when PWM and I were there.

6. I’ve recently gotten into the Game of Thrones series of books. I’m really not interested in watching the HBO series. I think watching all the violence and sexuality will not enhance the story any and will likely make it less appealing to me. I’ll stick with the books for the moment.

7. And, guess what? Fannie Flagg has a new book out: The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion. Actually, it doesn’t release till the 5th, but I’m already like 20-something on the hold list at the library. I’ll let you know what I think of it when I’ve actually read it!

Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see what others are up to! And let me know what you think of my little spot of the blogging world with a comment!

7 Quick Takes Friday–October 4, 2013

I’m finally home!! I realized that my last post talked about Mom doing well and anticipating and uneventful recovery. Well, that didn’t happen. Mom’s surgery was three weeks ago. After about three days, she developed c. dif. colitis, which extended her hospital stay about about a week. It also left her significantly weakened when she did come home. I ended up staying an extra week to help out both in the hospital and at home. But, she’s doing much better and she’s almost back to her usual, energetic self, so I came back home to PMW and Wild Man.

• It’s rainy here in Wisconsin, but it is wonderfully cool!! The constant heat and humidity of South Florida just about did me in. I found a great bathing suit at Wal-Mart for just $6 (on the discount rack), so I did make good use of my parents’ swimming pool.
• Knitting, knitting, and more knitting!! I’ll probably do a post on The Knitting Nest blog about my current projects, but suffice it to say right now that I’ve got a lot of my knitting plate. I am almost done with a pair of socks for myself that I worked on in Florida. I’m doing a hat for someone with a hair-losing illness. I’m  doing a knit-a-long on a sweater with a Wednesday morning group and probably doing a colorwork project on Thursday nights. Let’s just hope my fingers don’t fall off.
• I finished two of my three library books while I was down South and found that the third one was a very dry read that I knew I wouldn’t finish. So, off to Barnes and Noble I went and got A Game of Thrones. And I am loving it.
• Wild Man and PWM got to see Rosie Girl on two of the three weekends that I was gone. She came home one weekend and Family Weekend at the University was the other weekend. Bummer.
• To make up for not seeing my Rosie Girl for a month, she and I had lunch today. During our discussion at some point, I finally had to change the subject to keep her from telling me too much of the plot of The Game of Thrones. She hasn’t quite finished the first one, but she loves it and desperately wants to share it with me. I guess I’d better get reading!!!
• While I was gone, Wild Man decided to join the high school choir. He is singing bass and is really excited about it. He walks around the house singing in Latin. Pretty entertaining.
• Between starting that, his broken arm (with doctor’s appointments), and PWM handling the store and schoolwork and the house, Wild Man’s schoolwork got a little mixed up. My task for this weekend is to sort things out. He is caught up on Sonlight, so I need to figure out where he is in Biology, Bible, and Spanish. I think it was the last week that I was gone (the unanticipated week) that got things off. In any case, I’ll sort it out.

How was your week? Check out 7 Quick Takes to see what others have been up to?

7 Quick Takes Friday–September 6, 2012

 

1. Wild Man crashed his bike on the way home from band yesterday and broke his arm – technically, he broke his tibia at the wrist. He and I had a fun hour and a half in our local emergency department getting x-rays and a splint. He gets a cast on Monday. Yay.

2. With Wild Man’s injury, our school schedule has gotten messed up. He didn’t finish all of Thursday’s work, and he was intermittently taking sedating medications today, so he didn’t get today’s work done, either. Not only that, but the splint makes it impossible for him to use his right hand to type. Thankfully, he’s left-handed so he can still write. But, he still mouses with his right hand. Hopefully, he’ll be able to do more with the cast.

3. We’ve survived Rosie Girl’s first week of college. And I think Rosie Girl did, too!! She’s coming home tomorrow to do laundry – we’ll see how often this happens. But, I’m glad to have her back for a day or two.

4. I’m going down South to be with my parents because my Mom is having surgery next week. Unfortunately, she has bronchitis which needs to get better before her surgery date. And nobody really wants to put off the surgery. And I’ve already bought airline tickets! Please pray!!

5. Right now, I’m sorting out my reading and knitting materials for my trip South. Not only will I have travel time, but there will be plenty of time when Mom is just recovering that we won’t have much to do. Mom likes to knit with some novelty yarns, so I’m taking those for her to keep her from getting too bored.

6. PWM fixed my computer today!! My computer has a design flaw and it tends to get dirt and dust around the air intake and fan. Then, it overheats and I have to shut it down till it cools off. So, PWM took it all apart and cleaned out the HUGE amount of dust and cleaned out the fan and put it all back together for me. He’ll need to do it again in 6 months or so, but it’s better than buying a new laptop!

7. Wild Man’s biggest activities in the next few weeks were going to be playing percussion in the high school band for Homecoming and Horse and Buggy Days as well as playing guitar for the church youth band. Sadly, his musical activities will be curtailed for several weeks. I feel really bad for the kid.

So, what’s up with you? Check out 7 Quick Takes to see what others have done this week!

7 Quick Takes Friday–August 30, 2013

 

1. Wild Man’s first week of school went quite well. The one problem is that he may call the authorities over having to read poetry.

2. Rosie Girl is at college and moved into her dorm. The strangest part for me is that she isn’t telling me where she is going and when she’ll be coming home. And she’s not telling me all about her activities when she gets home. It’s going to take a while to get used to.

3. Sophie (Rosie Girl’s cat) is starting to spend more time in the living room with the rest of the family. She used to spend a lot of time in Rosie Girl’s room with Rosie Girl, but that’s a pretty lonely room now.

4. I’ve been reading through Rosie Girl’s school journal from 10th grade. She was hysterical sometimes. When reading Jane Eyre – “Is it poor form to fall for your employer? Just a thought . . .” Her take on Leviticus – “God’s version of the purity talk . . . Don’t do it, lest you die. Simple as that.”

5. I had planned to go to the second day of Rosie Girl’s orientation on Wednesday, but woke up at 4am (why is it always 4am???) with a wicked migraine. And I’m still recovering from that darn migraine. I’m going to hang out with her some on Monday, hopefully bearing cookies. Cookies always helps.

6. And Wild Man has been asking about when I’ll be making cookies. I know the kid can cook. He needs to start demonstrating some of those cooking skills soon.

7. Speaking of cooking, we have a half of a  side of beef in our refrigerator (1/4 of a cow). Last night, we had grilled T-bone steaks for dinner. There is nothing like grass-fed beef steaks! Between that and our CSA, we get plenty of fresh food around here.

That’s our week. How are things going with you? Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see what others are up to!!

7 Quick Takes Friday

 

1. We opened The Knitting Nest in our new location today on Tuesday!! Our customers really like our new place as much as we do.

2. Tuesday night’s storm only left us without power for about 12 hours. We’ve been praying for those nearby with more damage and been very thankful that things weren’t worse here.

3. Wild Man had his final exam in Driver’s Ed this morning and passed! He’ll start his driving in November and plans to get his driver’s license the first of May. Wow. Can this really be happening?

4. Rosie Girl and I went shopping yesterday and got the last few things on her college shopping list. Two and a half more weeks before she leaves . . .

5. I’ve worked some in the shop every day of this week. I think this explains why I’m so tired and why the house is such a mess.

6. I finally got my washer and dryer, but couldn’t use them because both kids wanted to do laundry as soon as they were hooked up. I guess I raised my kids pretty well if they want to do their own laundry that badly.

7. In two and a half weeks, Rosie Girl goes to college and Wild Man starts his sophomore year homeschooling. No, I’m not ready.

What’s up with you? Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see what others are doing!!

7 Quick Takes Friday–July 19, 2013

1. Central air conditioning!! They put it in today – after three days of heat indices in the 90s and 100s. I think I could stop the blog post here. That’s how significant air conditioning is to our lives this week.

2 Earlier in the week, we had one little window air conditioner trying to keep the downstairs from becoming an oven. We kept offering to read it the story “The Little Engine that Could” every night just to keep it’s morale up.

3. Rosie Girl and I have to go buy linens and other supplies for her dorm room in the next couple of weeks. Can I just go bury my head in the sand?

4. And Wild Man starts Driver’s Ed on Monday. Again, more head in the sand burying needed.

5. Two and a half weeks till the new shop location(The Knitting Nest)! The carpet was cleaned yesterday. There’s a little more painting to do. Otherwise, it’s just time to start moving in! Yippee!

6. I put a moratorium on house cleaning during this last week of super high heat (aka living on Hell’s doorstep). Now that we have air conditioning and I’m willing to do something besides sit in my rocking chair reading a book, I’m appalled at the amount of house cleaning I need to do in the next few days. Ouch.

7. Speaking of reading books, I got Inferno by Dan Brown from the library! Yes, it’s complete junk food for the brain, but who cares?!

What are you up to these days? Check out 7 Quick Takes at Conversion Diary to see what others are doing on these long summer days!

7 Quick Takes Friday–Fort Wilderness 2013

 

We’re home!! We had a splendid week enjoying God’s creation in the Northwoods. For today’s “7 Quick Takes”, I’ll tell you about 7 high points of the week. Be prepared, though, for more fun Fort facts in the next few days.

1. Wild Man loves archery and shooting. This year, he won the archery tournament for his age group – and also scored higher than any of the adults in the tournament. For his prize, he got a double scoop of ice cream!!!

2. Speaking of ice cream, I had more ice cream this past week than any one person should have. But, it was delicious.

3. For a special breakfast this year, Grandma and I went to Trapper’s Breakfast. “Jacques” took us on a walk out to Cranberry Point and told us about the history of trappers in Wisconsin. At the end of the walk, we found waiting for us staff members who were making french toast, bacon, and cooked apples. It was a yummy breakfast and lovely morning.

4. Rosie Girl spent her time playing her ocarina, guitar, and tin whistle along with making a leather journal cover. Basically, she was creative at camp, like she is at home.

5. We took Wild Man’s girlfriend with us this year. She seemed to fit right in with our family and enjoyed herself.

6. We went on the Loon Float, which is a boat ride on Spider Lake to see some loons (if they’re around – which they usually are) and learn about them from the camp biologist. It was a very pleasant afternoon excursion.

7. The speaker for the week, Kent Carlson, spoke about the Kingdom of God, which was very interesting and helpful.

I’m sure I’ll be blogging more in the next few days about camp activities and what we did and learned.

In the meantime, check out Conversion Diary and 7 Quick Takes to see what others have been up to!

7 Quick Takes Friday–Ireland

 

I’m devoting this week’s 7 Quick Takes to the kids’ trip to Ireland because, well, Ireland!

1. Quiet has left our house now that the kids are back home! But, I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ve had people noise and music again since Wednesday night!

2. Both kids got tin whistles. Rosie Girl got 2 “tourist quality” whistles, one in the key of D and one in the key of C, as well as a “real” tin whistle. She was sitting and playing one while they had some free time on their tour and one of the other tour members dropped a Euro at her feet – it’s the first money she’s made as a street musician!

3. Wild Man got me a Cavanaugh (actually “Kavanagh”) coat of arms with history and room for genealogy information on it since my family on the paternal side is the Cavanaugh’s.

4. Rosie Girl, knowing that I love religious artifacts, got me a celtic cross from a church. It’s just beautiful. She also got me a worry stone from some special Irish marble.

5. Grandma brought home some truffles from the Jameson Irish Whiskey plant. Oh, my, were those some yummy truffles! But, I did share with the rest of the family.

6. I felt kind of bad for the kids and Grandma. Not only did they have jet lag from coming home, but they came home with jackets on to temperatures in the 80’s with 100% humidity. Thankfully, yesterday’s storms brought a cool front. Nonetheless, Wild Man has decided that he wants to move to Ireland when he’s an adult.

7. The kids loved the music in Ireland. Rosie Girl was excited about one duo because they go to Thailand to make their instruments. Wild Man got to learn to play one of the hand drums that one of the groups played.

Yep, my kids loved their trip to Ireland and we can’t thank Grandma enough for taking them. It’s an experience that they won’t ever forget. They learned a lot about Ireland, but they also had some great experiences.

Check out Conversion Diary to see what others have been up to this week!!

7 Quick Takes Friday–May 17, 2013

 

1. Big news! Wild Man has a girlfriend! I am so not ready for this. PWM and I really like the girl. We’ve been friends with the family for a long time, too.

2. Wild Man would like for his girlfriend to go to family camp with us in July, but we’ve said that the two of them have to come up with the money themselves. Guess which two teenagers will be working hard over the next couple of months?!

3. We went to a wedding reception tonight that was held in an old barn. It was lots of fun. The food was all potluck, so there was plenty to be had with lots of variety! We got to visit with lots of friends, but finally had to leave about thirty minutes after the dancing started. The music and lights were starting to do a number on my head! But, we had a great time while we were there!

4. The renovation on the new shop is coming along well. One interesting thing is that they found a door when they tore down a wall. A door in the wall. That went nowhere. Interesting.

5. I’ve finished two knitting projects – a baby cardigan and a shawl – except for weaving in the ends. So, of course, I’ve been knitting a pair of socks. I guess I’d better tackle the ends tomorrow.

6. Rosie Girl and I spent last Sunday in Appleton shopping for some sandals for her and then hanging out in Barnes and Noble. I do love bookstores.

7. Wild Man’s band concert was Tuesday. I missed it because of a headache, but PWM said they did quite well. Sigh.

So, how are things in your part of the world? Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see what others are up to!

7 Quick Takes Friday–May 10, 2013

 

1. We celebrated Mother’s Day early by going out to eat at Menasha Grill!! Legit Cajun Food!!

2. The romance of doing laundry at the laundromat is wearing off. I’m ready for a washer and dryer. But, we need to get the electrical done first because we don’t have the right kind of plug for a new dryer. At least one and maybe two more laundromat visits. . . .

3. Rosie Girl’s graduation mortar board cap and tassel came in the mail today. She doesn’t want a ceremony during her graduation party, but she does want the cap and tassel. So, I bought her (at her request) a dark green cap with silver tassel.

4. As we get closer to dance recital, Rosie Girl has practices for the Daddy-daughter dance and for the faculty dance (which she’s in since she’s a demonstrator). The last week of May is when things get really busy for her.

5. Wild Man is also staying busy with playing in the teen and adult worship bands. And, the teen worship band is leading worship for the main worship services on the first Sunday in June.

6. I need to clone myself in order to keep up. And it would be nice if the clone me didn’t have headaches.

7. And we have a contractor who’s about to start the renovation work on the cottage to make it into the shop. Fun!!

What’s up in your part of the world? Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see what others are doing!!

7 Quick Takes Friday–This Old House Edition

 

This week’s 7 Quick Takes is dedicated to our “new” house – which is a good 80+ years old!

1. PWM discovered why the bathroom is right beside the front door. It was added after the house was built. Apparently, they originally “made other arrangements” (I assume they used an outhouse). The lower half of the stairway is more narrow than the upper half because they had to take some stair space in order to make the bathroom. So it wasn’t just a design choice.

2. ‘Tis the time of year to change from storm windows to screens. In our last house, this just meant raising the window. In this house, we have to take out the storm windows and put in the screens – at least in the old part of the house. After we figure out which screens go with which windows!

3. Then there is the fact that the windows have been painted shut. PWM spent a good bit of yesterday evening cutting through the paint and then trying to actually open the windows. Some of the windows actually opened.

4. The old part of the house still has knob and tube electrical wiring. So, we’ve had three electricians come in to give us estimates on the cost for redoing all the electrical. Yay.

5. I’m about ready for a dishwasher, but we discovered that we need a plumber to come in first and modernize some plumbing behind the current (broken) dishwasher.

6. There’s a basketball hoop and blacktop area in the back yard for Wild Man to shoot hoops.

7. PWM and I have started thinking about what we’re going to do in the cottage to make it a shop. We found out that the building used to be a blacksmith shop! It’s most recent incarnation was a chiropractic office that included a kitchen, so our main goals are to take out the appliances, update the bathroom, and repaint. But it won’t happen overnight.

This house is proving to be a source of adventure and challenge!!

What’s up with you? Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see what others are up to!