Renaissance life in a post-modern world
Posted in Education on Dec 10th, 2008
This school year, I was introduced to an educational resource that has proven invaluable: The Homeschool Buyer’s Coop. This is a purchasing cooperative for homeschooling families. One family started this co-op so that individual homeschooling families could gain the purchasing power of a larger group. Similar to a school district, their size allows this coop to [...]
Posted in Recipes on Nov 26th, 2008
Simple, unpretentious ingredients work synergistically to produce glorious golden gravy. Fat, flour and liquid. . . the combinations and variations of these three components are too numerous to mention. Creative culinarians have produced sumptuous rich gravies from this uncomplicated trio for generations.
The gravy that embellishes the feast at our home embodies the flavors that I relish - creamy butter [...]
Posted in Family and Children on Nov 5th, 2008
Our modern world contains an unlimited selection of toys. We could entertain our children ad infinitum and never see the same toy on any given day if cost and over-indulgence were not issues. So, we must choose - wisely.
Playmobil. That is my choice hands down. Playmobil consists of small, somewhat flexible, plastic figures centered around [...]
Posted in Education on Oct 22nd, 2008
We have been home-educating our children for over 15 years. I am fairly traditional and somewhat boring in my curriculum choices. Early on I found myself overwhelmed with options and alternatives. Frankly, it was paralyzing. I waded through the available curriculum, found what works for our family and now I rarely change our methods. (The exception to this is [...]
Posted in Family and Children on Oct 14th, 2008
I have this awful habit of scheduling airplane flights that depart at the crack of dawn. This is complicated by the fact that ten or eleven of us travel together (always!). Then, throw into the mix the fact that my absolutely wonderful husband is usually not himself and becomes quite uptight when we are traveling via [...]
Posted in Cleaning and Organizing on Oct 8th, 2008
My command center is a cork board centered in a fabulous 42″ x 30″ black frame. It holds a prominent position in our dining room/kitchen/great room where we ALL spend so much time. The important point is that it is visible by all at any time.
The command center’s primary feature is a simple 16″ x 22″ monthly calendar. [...]
Lehman Brothers declares bankruptcy, AIG is rescued from bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch is delivered from bankruptcy by Bank of America, the Dow drops 500 points, the nation is experiencing a housing foreclosure crisis . . . tough times appear to be upon us.
Tough financial times require most of us to tighten our belts. Little luxuries must often be sacrificed. [...]
Posted in Education on Sep 4th, 2008
You are your child’s best advocate - I have heard this often, particularly as the parent of a child with special needs. in fact, I have heard it repeated so often that it has come to sound almost trite.
On the other hand, I have, over the years, come to an understanding of what I think [...]
