Merry Christmas, Belle Watling?

I was able to get in quite a bit of stitching this week while I was too sick to do anything else. I finished up three more ornaments for Christmas. We decorate our tree on Christmas Eve, but I was thinking of decorating an Advent Tree this year with Old Testament themes. I have been going through various Mary Beale publications and finding many must-stitch ornaments!
The story of Rahab has always intrigued me, and the above ornament is a highly stylized symbol of that Old Testament episode. It is so highly stylized that it makes me think of Belle Watling's apartments in Gone with the Wind! ;)

I enjoy Mary Beale's color schemes, although I usually hold my breath a bit as the first few garish colors meet on linen.

I have had quite a bit of stitching and tea this week, although not under the best of circumstances. Fortunately I have occasionally felt well enough to go out with the puppy and enjoy some autumn sunlight. Hope you all have relaxing, sunny weekends!

Well, knock me over with a feather...

I have cross stitch finishes!

I was in a major cross stitch rut. I was working on an autumn design, and I messed up. I know it can be fixed, but I was just annoyed. But this weekend I jumped back in the saddle. Nothing like a new project to cure the stitching blues! First I stitched Tanya's newest ornament from the 2011 JSC ornament issue. Then I searched through my JCS ornament magazine collection. I probably could have stitched 3 or 4 ornaments in the time I spent going through those magazines! I finally chose a Little by Little design from 2001. The colors are so much brighter than they appeared in the magazine photo! I picked out a Mary Beale ornament to work on this week while the girls are at dance. I just need to find a lighting arrangement for the van.

Hector the pound puppy is doing well. He is healthy and happy and loves his new family. Every mom needs more of this in her life!

That's better!

The Weekly Report and ...The Dog

We had a family hike to a waterfall last weekend, and that served as nature study for the week.

We did all the usual things, and then some.
I decided to stretch chapter 4 of SOTW vol 3 over 2 -3 weeks. Nutmeg is reading a book from the Vision series about Kateri Tekakwitha, and I am reading Madeleine Takes Command aloud to both girls. We covered Champlain this week, and plan on Henry Hudson for next week. We are also reading other books about Canada. We are concentrating on the French missionary work in Canada, and the differences in the French relations with the Native Americans and those of the English. Nutmeg is doing Canada map drills while Buttercup is doing drills on oceans and continents.

I think I have finally figured out how to incorporate Lingua Latina into Nutmeg's latin studies. I spread the Latina Christiana II work over the week, and added short readings and workbook exercises from Lingua Latina on two days. Nutmeg loved LL last year, but I just could not work it in. This year she does not like it a bit, but I am focused on "eating the elephant one bite at a time!"

We do Saxon math. We do Saxon math. We do Saxon math. We do Saxon math.
There is really no way to make that exciting. I just have to believe that it covers all the bases! I can throw together history with a good spine, and I can choose and discuss literature, but I just don't get math! I need something to rely on, and that is Saxon. Buttercup is breezing through Saxon 2 which is a review year. Nutmeg is still using 5/6. I ordered Life of Fred Decimals and
Percents to see if we can break some plateaus. I'll let you know how that goes.

We finished reading aloud 101 Dalmatians to Buttercup and began Wind in the Willows. She is a bit worried about the Wild Wood, but otherwise seems to be enjoying it.

Then there was yesterday...

Nutmeg performed with her dance studio's Ensemble at a local fair.

And somehow, this happened.

I don't really know what to say. ;)