A surprise from my husband
In my life this week…
First of all, Miss 10 is doing much better. Thank you for your prayers. Her flashing dizzying headaches disappeared and only returned briefly after 15 wild minutes of unsupervised play. The more ordinary regular headaches are also gone, but we’re still trying to keep her calm and quiet for a while.
We had unexpected company, a cousin and his young family. There we sat in the evening, four adults, born on three different continents, with three different mother tongues, and only my cousin fluent in all three. Different cultures, different experiences, different languages…but the same faith. It was beautiful.
In our homeschool …
Music practice, an enormous amount of British history via Victorian Farm and Wartime Farm, and some logic. Very little math, writing, or languages, although we did speak Dutch while my cousin’s family was here.
In our garden…
We’re weeding, cleaning up, and preparing for some time off. We replanted what the bugs had eaten and sprayed it with our molasses-soap pesticide, but the rain constantly washes that off. We also weeded gallons of creeping Charlie out of our lawn, but there’s more there, creeping sneakily along the ground.
We are eating herbs, snap peas, snow peas, radish seed pods, spinach, salad greens, rhubarb, red currants, garlic, and cinnamon-poached baby apples that fell off the trees. Apparently they look like liver—but they taste a whole lot better!
Our primroses, roses, peonies, day lilies, and poppies are still beautiful. Black-eyed Susans, holly hocks, yarrow (white, pink, and violet), and fragrant pink bee balm have just begun to bloom. Finally our pink petunias and tiny marigolds are becoming visible among all the green. And the basswood tree is filling the air with its haunting perfume.
The wildflowers are changing. The viper bugloss is now a dull violet, but the purple loosestrife (here’s a story) is starting to bloom. There are still daisies, of course, and the Queen Anne’s lace has just opened up. We have some white fleabane, and I’ve seen the pretty pink variety as well. Wild sedum is also slowly turning pink.
In the kitchen… Salads, chicken, and chicken salad. Yes, and fresh garden peas; white cupcakes covered with cream cheese icing and red currants; tangy burgers prepared by my husband; jalapeno mushroom skillet; homemade yoghurt, flax bread, corn bread; bacon and eggs; and many vegetables. And boxed cereal, too.
Some of my favorite things were…
- My cousin’s visit.
- Eating red currants. They are so beautiful and so delicious.
- Watching Miss 10 recover.
- Finishing the review for the wonderful book Cooked as well as for Windows Programming, a great high school course. Both of these reviews were challenging, as the products were, in some senses, way over my head. I highly recommend both and plan to put up the Windows Programming review next week.
- Buying an outfit, with the girls’ advice, for an upcoming anniversary celebration. I’m going to wear it to a fancy dinner tonight.
Questions/thoughts I have… It is not good when a relaxing, energizing activity becomes stressful. I love writing, reviewing, and blogging, but I’m taking a break after I post the Windows Programming review next week.
Fitness… Gardening, walking, housework, swimming. Once again my steps averaged about 10,000 a day. We’ve been eating well—lots of garden produce, good yoghurt, and homegrown chicken.
Things I’ve been working on…
- Weeding the garden. The weed seeds are germinating more slowly, so the job is becoming easier and easier.
- Preparing for a family reunion far away.
- Planning and overseeing the garden and orchard work.
- Overhauling the house in a very minor way. Miss 13 is gifted in this way; when she spent a few hours wandering around the house, I find beauty and neatness wherever I go.
- Some writing and editing.
We’re watching…
Miss 10 has watched hours of Victorian Farm and Wartime Farm, two very relaxing BBC mini-series, great for recovering from a concussion.
I’m reading… Psalms. I finished Cooked, and am still reading Fighting Fatigue and Mathematics: Is God Silent? but life has been busy. This summer I do hope to read Saving Leonardo and Captivating, as well as Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin.
Reading Aloud… We’ve almost finished 2 Chronicles, which makes the current political situations in the world seem a little less startling. Power corrupts and, even if one is a Christian, it leads to great temptations. Let us remember to pray for our leaders as well as for the Christians who influence the world.
When my husband is home for meals we’re still reading Matthew.
I’m grateful for …. Healing. Taste buds. Smiles. Visitors. Basswood blossoms.
Quote or link to share…. Here’s a website about the Heidelberg Catechism, one of the most pastoral and comforting Bible summaries available.
This post is linked to Kris’s Weekly Wrap Up .
So very happy to hear of Miss 10’s recovery. This is a wonderful time of year for being out of doors. I hope you enjoy your break.
Sounds like a great week. So glad Miss 10 is recovering well. I finally got myself a decent pedometer, which is great. I am no where near 10,000 steps. But I’ve also realized with our smaller house, it makes it more of a challenge. I can get to any of our rooms in about 10 steps. It’s nice for cleaning, but not to helpful when I want to walk more. 🙂
Thanks, Jenn. I’m sure I will!
Great that you have a pedometer now, JoAnn! It’s a real effort to get 10,000 steps indoors, isn’t it? Summer is great, because walking outside is possible. Are you going to write down how well you did each day?
Leuke wekelijkse wrap up! Glimlachen om jouw fitness!