Half-Pint House

Yep. Like I Expected Anything Else

We're going camping this weekend. Looks to be just about perfect, don't you think?

Self Control

My number one problem in writing involves the internet. And that's tricky for me because when I'm writing news pieces, I need the internet. I can't go somewhere with no internet and still expect to get anything done.

But with the internet comes Facebook. And Twitter. And Google Reader. And whatever else I can click on to avoid doing the work I'm supposed to be doing.

Enter SelfControl. It's an application that is easy to download (I even did this one myself and I'm a downloading idiot). You set up which sites you want it to block and for how long they need to be blocked. Presto, you are locked out of Facebook and Twitter for 3 hours. Or for however long.

I heard about this last week on Katy Bowser's blog, but just set it up today. Even now I can't get into Facebook or Twitter until 3:30. I may set it to last the rest of my life.

Okay, so I'm kidding about that last part. I've toyed with the idea of deleting all those accounts. I don't think that's really actually necessary, but what is necessary is mastering the amount of time I waste on either place. And getting the work I really need to do done during the time I have to do it and not in that time plus an extra 2 hours because I'm clicking around playing Scrabble after every paragraph.

Also, I'm finding that things I would normally care to write about here on my blog I'm just as quick to post in 140 characters or less on Twitter. Thoughts are not getting developed, they are just getting tossed.

Sometimes that's okay, other times it's just lazy. I need to do better. I need to be better.

We're going to put in a garden this year. It is going to be hard. I have a history of killing everything that is green and grows in dirt. But this isn't just something fun to mess around with now, it's a need we have to spend less on food that is better for us.

It's going to take work and self control. Lots of it. It's going to require me not jumping on the computer every 45 minutes to say something.

Nobody needs that from me, nobody cares, and I need to be doing other things.

It's no surprise my blog has been quieter than usual lately. I have no apologies to offer, no statements to make, nor any promises to extend. I will continue to write when I can, when I have something to say, but not every day. I don't want to waste anyone's time - yours or mine.

I'm finally getting to the place where I'm okay with that. And if those who drop by here drop off to 20, you know what? I'm okay with that too.

This month is crazy. Our family holds no exception to that end-of-the-school-year rule. Focus is needed and in my case the internet doesn't usually help.

I just wanted to let you know.

Swine Flu

Some friends of ours are missionaries in Mexico. Here is a recent post on their blog on the effects of the Swine Flu outbreak:

I suppose you are all aware of the reports concerning the Swine flu.. which is real and alive here in Mexico. Matehuala, a town of 100,000 or so that is about 30 (45 km) miles from us has reported 3 deaths. Many of our pulga (market) vendors come from Matehuala on Mondays to sell their wares. Schools and day care centers are all closed here in Doctor Arroyo until May 6, or further notice. Some businesses are closed and the pulga has been cancelled today.  Other businesses are requiring patrons to wear a mask to enter. I don’t think people understand the importance of proper hand washing. About half of the people we’ve seen on the street are wearing face masks.

Tom’s research shows there are two antivirals here in Mexico that have some effect against the flu if administered properly (I don’t know those details, but there is usually a short time frame for effective use with anti-virals), but the country has enough to treat a small percentage of the population. I do not know if these antivirals are available at all in the smaller towns. He also said there is a vaccine of sorts that has been developed in the international health community, but is not yet manufactured for distribution.

The first thought that occured to me is to try to find a way to help distribute this vaccine here if and when it become available. I will be talking to the health professionals in our area to see if there is any way we can help. I do not know what the US plans to do to help with the situation here in mexico, as there are now reports of cases in CA and TX as well. I do not know what various mission groups may have in mind for assistance either. I do know that there is a distinct possibility that the US will close the border with Mexico.

ALL of that to say - pray. We are not worried, but we are aware. Panic is worse than the flu. This is an opportunity to minister to people in a very real way, we just need to be aware of how and when and where… so, as you pray, Pray for discernment and clarity on these aspects as well.

If you are like me (and I'm not saying you are), this whole Swine Flu thing is very much removed from my daily list of things to think about. It's just not really on my radar. I need a post like Laura's to make it more so.

Would you pray for Tom and Laura and their ministry in Mexico? And for others struggling with this outbreak even as I type?

Thanks.

Challenge of the Day

My two oldest girls were touring with their choir today which left me home with my two youngest for most of the day. Perfect day to start a very large project! Right? Sure, whatever.

The challenge of the day was this window:

The project started like this:

It then morphed into this:

Whereupon I remembered that these shades require weight rods, not these little corner squares. Doh!

After doing some internet research and realizing all the missing parts to make two of these shades was going to cost around $60 before shipping, I became discouraged. I then realized I could probably make do without all the $60 parts. At least for now. I took the girls with me to Joann's Fabrics where we spent $5 on cord and cord pulls. While there I realized I don't need the cord stoppers after all because I'm planning to get cord cleats to attach to the walls. So that was $10 off the list. Buying the cord at Joann's instead of online also saved another $10. I realized I could wait on the weights and see what other heavy rod I can come up with sometime later. $30 off the list.

But then I had to leave. We met some friends at the park to fly kites, then I had to pick up the older girls from their 8 hour day of choir touring (the bus was late and I was frustrated by that). I ran them to softball practice and then 7 hours after I last stopped working on this shade I was able to start again. I spent the entire movie of Singing in the Rain measuring and marking where the ring tape would go. I then started pinning on rings:

I got this far and realized I'm 7 rings short. I have to go back to Walmart tomorrow and buy another length of ring tape. Drat! After that I have to sew the goofy rings on and then get myself a long 1"x2" board and screw eyes. Then I can start stringing cord.

Did I mention it's been 10 years since I've made these and forgot all the details that go into them? If not, let me say it again: a lot of details go into making these.

But I think it will be worth it when I get it done.

Earth

My thoughts on Disney's new movie Earth are up on WORLDMag.com right now. Doesn't this just look amazing? Maybe my parents will want to go see it with us when they come soon (hint, hint). *grin* Are any of you planning to go see it on the big screen?

Some of you know I tried out the whole CSA thing last year and didn't have a very good experience with it. I'm trying it again this year and I picked up my first round today. So far, so good. I tried to price it all out, but it's just too hard - all this stuff is very localized and I'm sure if I had an extra hour I could do it, but I don't, so I won't.

My gut tells me I got my $50 worth in terms of organic food today. For the greens, I got to choose, which meant choosing greens I knew we would all eat (read: NO KALE). There is a meat component (pork sausage), dairy (goat cheese), eggs, bread (bagels), and maple syrup, too (I know this is worth a lot, I recently went to Trader Joe's for some and was shocked at the price).

Overall: happy - much happier than last year. I may look forward to picking this up every week instead of dreading it.



Hinkebein Hills Chorzio (Pork Sausage)  1.055 pounds
Herbs en Route Thyme .3 ounces
Ozark Fresh Forest Mushrooms 7.9 ounces
Wildcard Greens Choice (x2) (My choices: Spinach .7 ounces and Green Lettuce 14.7 ounces)
Dry Dock Farm Lettuce Mix 8.5 ounces
Salume Beddu Mostarda (Still no idea what this is) 11.1 ounces
Heartland Fresh Chevre (Goat Cheese - I had to ask) 7.2 ounces
River Hills Poultry Alliance Eggs 1 dozen
Marble Creek Maple Syrup 1 pound
Black Bear Bakery Bagels 6 bagels

This year's CSA Experiment is brought to you by Fair Shares of St. Louis. Their membership list is not full yet, so if you are local and want to get in you still can.

Being a homeschool mom tends to imply that I love being with my kids a lot. And I do...except for those occasions when I don’t. Grocery stores fit into this category - rows and rows of mass-produced consumerism turns four otherwise fairly-behaved young girls into, well, not quite fairly-behaved.

It could also be me - I get pretty single focused when I’m shopping (I don’t like going into the chain stuff-marts at all) and try to get what’s on my list - nothing more than what’s on my list - as quickly as possible. I must have had “strained mother” written all over me today, though, because while in the candy aisle picking up Symphony bars to make the world’s best brownies ever, my kids started their predictable “can we have a candy bar” routine.

I was doing my best “tune them out” routine while comparing sizes and prices and blood pressure levels when a woman I’ve never met before smiled at us. This act in and of itself is blog-worthy - families like mine don’t get smiled at very often when we’re in grocery stores; instead, we get sighed at sometimes or asked “Why aren’t you in school today?” other times.

Not today. Today this woman smiled at me and handed me a package of candy.

“Can I buy this for your kids?”

“Excuse me? I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Oh, they don’t have to have this one - there are a bunch there all for the same price. I’d just like to buy them a little treat. Of course, if you don’t want them to have any candy that’s perfectly fine.”

“Oh, no. It’s not that at all. You’ve just really surprised me. People aren’t usually kind to us in these stores. I’m just really surprised.”

“I have three grandchildren I don’t get to see very often. I’d like to do this for you.”

She then pulled out four one dollar bills and handed them to me. My girls, who before this interaction weren’t really being all that crazy (but were nonetheless driving me that way) looked at her with wide open eyes. They couldn’t believe it either. They thanked her profusely and then went to the task of making their selections.

I turned back to the woman again just before she pushed her cart down the aisle and gave her a hug. This isn’t really like me either (I have some pretty significant personal space issues), but I was just so taken by her simple act of kindness that I hugged her. She laughed, we both smiled, and the ending of my shopping trip was completely changed.

Truly, the tongue has the power of life and death. That woman in Wal-mart gave me life today...and she did it for only $4.

There is something in me that must have a major project in the works at all times. Apparently. Because although I've known for a while now that Craig is graduating next month it just occurred to me today that it might be nice to have a party for this momentous event. I'm now planning one.

Happy to celebrate this. Also, it gives me a deadline to get the curtains done. You think?

Until next year...that's a wrap on Classical Conversations, St. Louis Style 2008-2009.

You all saw my "To Do" list yesterday. It wasn't pretty, but sadly, that's what my days tend to be like more often than not. I just don't write all the stuff down like that so even I don't know how truly goofy the day is, I just know I'm exhausted by the end of it all.

I made it to Starbucks today. Check! I decided not to make the bread (really, I have no idea when I would have done it), so I just need to swing by the store and get some before the banquet tonight. Nice that the store is within walking distance of the church.

One of the families in our group thought it would be fun to make a slide-show for tonight, so they took care of that. We ran into a snag today, though, when we couldn't find the projector screen anywhere. Craig came in to rescue us by asking to borrow one from the school. What a relief!

I went to the church early to prepare the room and such. I thought I'd be there about three hours and be done, but because I had to shuffle kids back for piano lessons and also squeeze in Starbucks and Trader Joe's for flowers, my three hours actually turned into about five.

But it's done now. I'm home resting, but really needing to clean the downstairs. This poor house sure takes a beating when I'm stretched in a gazillion different directions. Which is most of the time. I need to think on that some more because I need to figure out how to make this house more of a priority of my time.

Anyway, the party should be fun tonight. The kids are excited and I think they will be honored by the time. The food will be good and plenty. Conversation should be easy.

Clean-up, though, that could be a bit of a bear. Good thing tomorrow is Saturday.

Happy Weekend!

CSA Experiment 2009, Week 1

Some of you know I tried out the whole CSA thing last year and didn't have a very good experience with it. I'm trying it again this year and I picked up my first round today. So far, so good. I tried to price it all out, but it's just too hard - all this stuff is very localized and I'm sure if I had an extra hour I could do it, but I don't, so I won't.

My gut tells me I got my $50 worth in terms of organic food today. For the greens, I got to choose, which meant choosing greens I knew we would all eat (read: NO KALE). There is a meat component (pork sausage), dairy (goat cheese), eggs, bread (bagels), and maple syrup, too (I know this is worth a lot, I recently went to Trader Joe's for some and was shocked at the price).

Overall: happy - much happier than last year. I may look forward to picking this up every week instead of dreading it.



Hinkebein Hills Chorzio (Pork Sausage)  1.055 pounds
Herbs en Route Thyme .3 ounces
Ozark Fresh Forest Mushrooms 7.9 ounces
Wildcard Greens Choice (x2) (My choices: Spinach .7 ounces and Green Lettuce 14.7 ounces)
Dry Dock Farm Lettuce Mix 8.5 ounces
Salume Beddu Mostarda (Still no idea what this is) 11.1 ounces
Heartland Fresh Chevre (Goat Cheese - I had to ask) 7.2 ounces
River Hills Poultry Alliance Eggs 1 dozen
Marble Creek Maple Syrup 1 pound
Black Bear Bakery Bagels 6 bagels

This year's CSA Experiment is brought to you by Fair Shares of St. Louis. Their membership list is not full yet, so if you are local and want to get in you still can.

In which I hug a complete stranger in the candy section of my friendly neighborhood Wal-mart store

Being a homeschool mom tends to imply that I love being with my kids a lot. And I do...except for those occasions when I don’t. Grocery stores fit into this category - rows and rows of mass-produced consumerism turns four otherwise fairly-behaved young girls into, well, not quite fairly-behaved.

It could also be me - I get pretty single focused when I’m shopping (I don’t like going into the chain stuff-marts at all) and try to get what’s on my list - nothing more than what’s on my list - as quickly as possible. I must have had “strained mother” written all over me today, though, because while in the candy aisle picking up Symphony bars to make the world’s best brownies ever, my kids started their predictable “can we have a candy bar” routine.

I was doing my best “tune them out” routine while comparing sizes and prices and blood pressure levels when a woman I’ve never met before smiled at us. This act in and of itself is blog-worthy - families like mine don’t get smiled at very often when we’re in grocery stores; instead, we get sighed at sometimes or asked “Why aren’t you in school today?” other times.

Not today. Today this woman smiled at me and handed me a package of candy.

“Can I buy this for your kids?”

“Excuse me? I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Oh, they don’t have to have this one - there are a bunch there all for the same price. I’d just like to buy them a little treat. Of course, if you don’t want them to have any candy that’s perfectly fine.”

“Oh, no. It’s not that at all. You’ve just really surprised me. People aren’t usually kind to us in these stores. I’m just really surprised.”

“I have three grandchildren I don’t get to see very often. I’d like to do this for you.”

She then pulled out four one dollar bills and handed them to me. My girls, who before this interaction weren’t really being all that crazy (but were nonetheless driving me that way) looked at her with wide open eyes. They couldn’t believe it either. They thanked her profusely and then went to the task of making their selections.

I turned back to the woman again just before she pushed her cart down the aisle and gave her a hug. This isn’t really like me either (I have some pretty significant personal space issues), but I was just so taken by her simple act of kindness that I hugged her. She laughed, we both smiled, and the ending of my shopping trip was completely changed.

Truly, the tongue has the power of life and death. That woman in Wal-mart gave me life today...and she did it for only $4.

Moving On, Then

There is something in me that must have a major project in the works at all times. Apparently. Because although I've known for a while now that Craig is graduating next month it just occurred to me today that it might be nice to have a party for this momentous event. I'm now planning one.

Happy to celebrate this. Also, it gives me a deadline to get the curtains done. You think?

Done!

Until next year...that's a wrap on Classical Conversations, St. Louis Style 2008-2009.

My Hour Off

You all saw my "To Do" list yesterday. It wasn't pretty, but sadly, that's what my days tend to be like more often than not. I just don't write all the stuff down like that so even I don't know how truly goofy the day is, I just know I'm exhausted by the end of it all.

I made it to Starbucks today. Check! I decided not to make the bread (really, I have no idea when I would have done it), so I just need to swing by the store and get some before the banquet tonight. Nice that the store is within walking distance of the church.

One of the families in our group thought it would be fun to make a slide-show for tonight, so they took care of that. We ran into a snag today, though, when we couldn't find the projector screen anywhere. Craig came in to rescue us by asking to borrow one from the school. What a relief!

I went to the church early to prepare the room and such. I thought I'd be there about three hours and be done, but because I had to shuffle kids back for piano lessons and also squeeze in Starbucks and Trader Joe's for flowers, my three hours actually turned into about five.

But it's done now. I'm home resting, but really needing to clean the downstairs. This poor house sure takes a beating when I'm stretched in a gazillion different directions. Which is most of the time. I need to think on that some more because I need to figure out how to make this house more of a priority of my time.

Anyway, the party should be fun tonight. The kids are excited and I think they will be honored by the time. The food will be good and plenty. Conversation should be easy.

Clean-up, though, that could be a bit of a bear. Good thing tomorrow is Saturday.

Happy Weekend!