In our life this week
We had a snowstorm, and now, suddenly, winter’s here, and we burn up piles of logs each day. One morning I curled up on the couch by the fire in the sunshine to mark a French test, and out the window I saw a Christmas card landscape of snow-laden branches and delicate blue sky. So cozy!
Snow also brings along shoveling. This is not our favorite way to exercise, but we all did what we could. The younger girls also sledded a lot and built a bridge over a tiny, unfrozen brook that crosses the sledding path.
And the men of the family surprised me with a new phone, very fancy, that does emails, has a Bible, and will allow me to write anywhere I like if I can ever get used to typing with my thumbs. Although I’d always said such phones were not necessary for me, they assured me that it’s saving us $12 a month over my old phone, and, once I had played with it a bit, I was almost too excited to sleep.
Because I attended Augustine College’s Student for a Day last Saturday with Miss 16, my usual Saturday jobs did not get done last week…so I’ve felt behind all this week. It also doesn’t help that I have half a dozen reviews on the go, either in my head or already partly written down. And I’m behind on several other projects, too. Feeling scattered like this is not nice, but perhaps by the end of the day things will be better.
In our homeschool …
We worked hard four days out of five, and learned a lot. Miss 11 finished her NaNoWriMo novel, all 4000 words, and did a lot of her regular bookwork too. The other girls worked hard on their Omnibus, math, French, and more. Besides that, everyone is still enjoying books left over from reading week.
In our garden…
Snow! A nice blanket of warm, insulating snow to protect the garlics and the last bits of kale—a whole meal’s worth—that were forgotten in an earlier picking.
In our gluten free kitchen… Stampot with sauerkraut. Pork picnic shoulder. Pizza. Bread. Cinnamon buns. Chicken soup. Lots of squashes of all sorts. Steak. Mushrooms and hot peppers. Left-overs. Stewed apples. Salads. Walnuts. Mandarins. Omelets. Mocha swirl cheese cake. French fries. Right now beans are soaking and a hambone is cooking in preparation for tomorrow’s curried bean soup.
Some of my favorite things were…
- Watching the girls work diligently, each in her own way.
- Our warm fireplace.
- Time with family and friends.
- Colorful supper plates full of vegetables, day after day, until our yummy pizza supper which was almost veggie-free. Moderation is good in all things, even eating vegetables.
- Being strong enough to do a bit of the snow shoveling myself.
- Watching Martin Luther with the kids during the snow storm.
Questions/thoughts I have… No thoughts. Just sighs of contentment as the sunshine pours into our home.
Fitness… I averaged close to 10,000 steps a day and discovered, once again, that walking in deep snow in my heavy boots is just too difficult for me. I did my knee exercises most days, though, got a whole new set of exercises to work on, and was able to shovel some snow.
Some of the things I’ve been working on…
- Homeschooling.
- Getting our basement back to normal.
- Trying to catch up on everything I’m behind on.
- Balancing exercise and rest.
We’re watching… We watched Martin Luther and Anne of Green Gables.
I’m reading… Jeremiah. I finished rereading The Story of Canada (review coming up) and two more Camp X stories, Trouble in Paradise and Enigma, and started the non-fiction book Inside Camp X. I am also reading The Soul of Science, Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye, Awakening Faith, and Image (part of the Hot Buttons series).
Reading Aloud… We’re still reading Psalms and William of Orange, the Silent Prince and volume 3 of In de Zoete Suikerbol. Reading ten minutes of Dutch every day is really improving the girls’ comprehension.
When my husband is home for meals we read 1 Corinthians.
I’m grateful for …. Saturdays, sunshine, laughter.
Quote or link to share…. As it is Thanksgiving week in the US, here’s a unique take on counting our blessings: “The Advantages of Having One Leg” by G.K. Chesterton.
Watch the birth of an island! Amy Lynn Andrews sent this link in her fabulous ‘Useletter’.
This post is linked to Kris’s Weekly Wrap Up .
Sounds like a good week. We haven’t had any snowfall recently, and we’ve actually had some very warm temperatures, high 40’s. But our cold weather comes back this coming week, and I’m sure snow will follow soon. Glad you could do a bit of shoveling. Sounds like your body is continuing to heal.
I am eager for our first snow to arrive. This year our driveway is one quarter the length of the old one. Glad to hear you are still keeping up your steps. That’s excellent!