Miss 12 prepared this tray for me when I felt ill.
Even before the door slammed shut I knew something was very wrong. Miss 12 had taken the dogs for a walk to our small river, and while they were playing in the water, she used stepping stones to get to a small island. Except one of the ‘stones’ she stepped on was really an enormous snapping turtle. Understandably it was upset at being stepped on and chased her through the river. “They go really fast, mom!” she sobbed. I am so thankful that she went even faster!
A few hours later, still not entirely over the shock, Miss 12 noticed a cloud or swirling insects. Bees were swarming! Because they did not belong to either of our bee-keepers, they will be Miss 12’s if they do enter the new hive set out for them.
The girls and I visited Calypso waterpark with our half-price tickets. Because of the weather, lineups were not very long so we had an exciting time trying out different slides (all three girls tried the vertical drop!), the wavepool (very powerful, almost aggressive waves), and the Kongo Expedition (three times in a row). What a wonderful and tiring day!
Other activities this week: soccer, a sleep over, Bible study, a track meet (throwing shot put and watching Pan Am games athletes train), friends for supper, driving practice, gardening, haircuts, writing resumes, applying for jobs and volunteer positions, swimming, and sewing (sweatbands, bathmits). My husband took down a diseased tree and trimmed the posts of our new fence, and my son is cheerfully working two almost full-time jobs, spending any spare moments sleeping.
This week I’m reading Redeeming Philosophy (fun stuff about the metaphysics of an apple and of walking) and Scrum (a business and computing book that just may have the answers to my homeschooling dilemmas; it’s used in education in the Netherlands).
Books to be finished and/or reviewed: Disciplines of a Godly Woman, 101 Top Picks (but not until I’ve finished thinking through the educational implications of Scrum); Sex Matters; Minds More Awake (to read after Scrum). Taking God at His Word; God Did Say; and Cheri Field’s new free ebook for middle schoolers, Mysteries of Time and Creation.
Charlotte Mason promotes reading books slowly, several at a time, to build relationships between them and to have time to think about them. Scrum and other efficiency books point out the inefficiencies of multitasking. I suppose if the task is to learn a topic, then simultaneously reading many books about it is not multitasking but just doing the one task even though many books are involved. On the other hand, if the task is to master one book or idea and then apply it to other thoughts, reading many books is an overwhelming exercise in multitasking. I’m feeling very overwhelmed with my current reading, something that rarely happens, and I think it’s because I’m trying to hold too many ideas in my head.
Summer goals: I did not have much time to continue organizing my desk; in fact, it has at least 10 new items on it. Sigh. On the other hand, other summer goals are being reached: the garden, various sewing projects, having a memorable stay-at-home summer, and completing articles I’ve been writing for months. Encouraged by Psalm 66:16 “Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me,” I finally published a very personal article this week. I hope it will bless many.
How is your summer going? Please comment here since my blog comment form is still not working.
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This post is linked to Kris’s Weekly Wrap Up , Week in Review, and Finishing Strong.