Time for a New Start!!

I am doing a Cross Stitch Rotation this year. Yep. I just got a little side tracked, but I bought a little calendar to keep records so I can get back with the program. 1 and 2 January I finished A Stitcher's Prayer, and 3 and 4 January I dutifully worked on Susan Rambo. 5 January, instead of finishing a 3-day rotation on SR, I chose to start Souvenir de France, a freebie from the Blackbird Designs blog. I used a cream-colored scrap of fabric and DMC 924. I knew I should have chosen a ribbon first and then selected a matching thread, but I didn't. Now I will have to settle for a thematic match instead of a color match. Nutmeg started learning French last summer, and I thought it would be a cute little pillow or pinkeep for her. (I would also like to purchase or borrow French Lessons by Birds of a Feather. I'm not paying 80$ for it on Ebay.) I finished Souvenir up this morning. As I note that in my little calendar, I see that I should work on SR again today. But I don't want to. I want to start something new...

I have some natural light fabric that I think is the correct size for Anonymous Women Sampler by Sheepish Designs. If I can locate my DMC 3011, I will start this after I feed lunch to the Fam. You know I love Sheepish Designs, don't you? So I don't need to go on and on telling you about my SD obsession, how I watch and wait and snap up the designs where ever I find them, how I flip through the charts in a huge binder before I sleep at night (counting sheep- haha-sorry), how I called Dawn Bradford last summer and begged her to release all the designs digitally....yes, I really did. She was sweet to me, but she has moved on...

I also plan on ordering some 40 count linen from Terri at The Stich Store to begin Bridget Power. She's gorgeous. *sigh*

She is also huge. Look at those flowers! Look at that altar! My favorite things in a sampler - how could I resist?

Now look at this.

Jerry and I are going to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary next month. We have a little trip planned, but I don't know if he will be able to leave Hector. What do you think?

Oh, our wedding anniversary! Now I remember that I wanted to stitch Tanya The Sampler Girl's ' Jane Austen & Me...the Emma Project for our anniversary. Hmmm....better get stitching!

Weekly Report??????

It's just always something, isn't it? I thought this would be the week that I got everything back on track after being sick. Well, this turned out to be Teeth Week around here! The girls had a dental cleaning on Tuesday (the morning after Halloween - eek!), and then the orthodontist had a cancellation so we took the appointment. We sped 20 minutes south, and learned Nutmeg definitely needs braces. Her teeth really aren't crooked, but they are not aligned properly. Poor Nutmeg was mortified when the orthodontist looked at her teeth and said, "Mom, we have problems!" X-rays and photos were made, and Thursday we had the official consultation and made appointments for braces. I also need to call the bank - between braces and dance costume fees, I will need a new box of checks! :P

Homeschool...homechool...homeschool...Oh, I think I remember! Isn't that when you load the van up with books and binders, sharp pencils and Cheetos, and play some classical music and ask for oral narrations as you drive around three counties?

No, I'm not joking.

Yes, it really was that bad.

Art is our memory of love. The most an artist can do through their work is say, let me show you what I have seen, what I have loved, and perhaps you will see it and love it too. ~Annie Bevan

Somehow the girls managed a few violin and piano practices. We have to put the puppy Hector outside when Nutmeg plays violin. See the video that may or may not be at the bottom of this post. Buttercup has a piano recital in two weeks, and Nutmeg is working on Tchaikovsky's Mazurka for her piano lesson.

We are studying Degas and Tchaikovsky for six weeks in anticipation of The Nutcracker. There are so many great books for children about these two artists; it was really difficult to come up with material for Corelli. This week we listened to The Story of Tchaikovsky (Alright, so the music we listened to in the van was not classical, strictly speaking.) I have to say, I did not care for much of the music. Rubinstein described some piece as "clumsy," and I have to agree.

The girls did Picture Study of this painting by Degas.

It is wonderful to be here in the great state of Chicago. ~ Dan Quayle

This week we read chapter 5 of SOTW vol 3. Yes, we are behind, but I do not regret spending extra time on French Canada and Native Americans. That will lay a good foundation for the upcoming French and Indian War as well as provide material for a comparison of relations between the Natives and the different colonial powers. Chapter 5 was Japan and Hideyoshi. Now, I know that SOTW was intended to be fairly neutral and that neutrality is of course impossible in a history text. However, I was a bit surprised to learn what was left out of the account of Hideyoshi - his horrible persecution of Christians. As I read the chapter aloud, the girls kept asking, "Is he a Good Guy or a Bad Guy?" I didn't know; I supposed it would make a great deal of difference whether one were Japanese or Korean or Chinese. As I looked up dates to record on our books of centuries, I realized that it was Hideyoshi who was responsible for the 26 Martyrs of Japan or Nagasaki Martyrs. You can read more about them here. I think that settled the girls' question for our family.

We are looking at Japan and some of it's famous landmarks for geography this week. I am also trying to use Trail Guide Geography again. I just need to make it a habit.

History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illumines reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life and brings us tidings of antiquity. ~ Cicero

This week I spent a lot of time working on my Book of Centuries timeline. I realized some time ago that I did not have the room for the wall timeline I had envisioned, not to mention it kept falling off the wall! I spent time reading many blog posts and articles about Charlotte Mason-inspired BOCs. I finally went with a template from Notebookingpages.com. I was just going to write down dates as I came in contact with them, but it was just so addictive that I followed many rabbit trails! I also put my collection of trash old Teaching Company catalogues to good use.

The TC catalogues are good for many things. I frequently pull out and laminate charts and maps.

I am helping Nutmeg put together her own BOC with the same template as I choose for myself. I ordered a landscape binder for her from Home School in the Woods.

Those were some of the highlights this week!

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. ;)

Saturday

Happy Saturday! This is the sunniest, windiest day ever! I have never seen such wind without a tornado watch. It was not the best day for yard work, but it had to be done. I came in an hour ago with dirt in every pore! Jerry and Buttercup are still out there. I feel a bit guilty inside watching 'I Love Lucy' with Nutmeg, but I will get over it. ;) I need to put some more work into Susan Rambo. I am starting to wonder why I started such a huge project!

This is a picture of our front room. It is supposed to be a dining room, but we decided to use it as a library. We had a quick family tidy-up this morning, and I am very pleased with this room. Ursa is pleased with it also! This is her favorite room. In the evenings, we say family prayers in this room. Ursa always comes in for prayers and nuzzles us. Our cat Merlin, The Heart of Darkness, also comes in while we say prayers- he plants himself between us and our home altar and cleans his nether region - vigorously. Jerry and I think it is good training for the children to learn to pray amid distractions! ;)

I hope you all enjoy your weekends!

When One Gets This Old...

When one gets this old, apparently one no longer feels the need to hide the evidence.

I made a pizza, fed my children, and went up for a shower. This is how I found our 15-year old dog, Ursa, upon my return downstairs. Yes, she is awake, and quite aware of my presence, but apparently unconcerned. There was a time when she would have crawled under the dining room table, racked with canine guilt, after a garbage raid. Apparently, those days are behind us.

I was not going to blog again until I could proudly show you my finished Unna von Bergen. She is not quite ready, but I wanted to show you a picture of stitching in case Dog with Empty Cheese Wrapper is not your idea of high art! ;)

Rainy, Chilly Day

I finally finished the "Scottish Companion Sampler" published in The Gift of Stitching (digital) magazine. I changed the green and the brown. I just could not resist doing this when I saw the boating scene at the bottom!

I started and finished this a couple of days ago. I don't know why really, probably because it was designed by Darlene O'Steen. It was in an older JCS ornament issue. I kind of like it and kind of don't. And now I see I haven't quite crossed all the stitches.

WoooHooo! Look at my amazing progress on "Far, Far Away" by Shepherd's Bush! I started it last night, but really I feel to yucky with allergies to stitch. I also want to stitch the next band to hide my threads under, but did not have that color.

Last, but never least, is Merlin. Can you guess what that is hanging out of his mouth? Look at the bottom of my last post for a hint! ;)

Will She Like It?

Well, I finished "Williamsburg Lady" by Historic Stitches. I personalized it with some of the highlights of a friend's trip. I also filled in some spaces with BBD stars and a Tennessee sampler dog. (Now I wonder if I should have made the BBD stars yellow.) Mommylaywer, let me know if you hate it, or if it is not your style - I won't be heartbroken if I get to keep it! ;)

I bought a small bag of buttons at a "junque" shop this week. I have them in mind for a design by Cross-Eyed Cricket. I have spent a lot of time arranging and rearranging them, and it occurs to me I should stitch the design first!

I'll close with a shot of our kitty-witties. You know, I love my sister, but she has to clean her own ears!

Sugar, Stitching, and Snoozing

Sunday our church ladies group had a baby shower for MommyLawyer. Here is a picture of the beautiful cake! There was so much yummy food! We played the "dirty diaper" game. I melted candy bars in diapers, and everyone had to guess!

I started Tanya's "Pride and Prejudice." I thought I would just change the colors to ones that I had on hand. Somehow I have messed the borders up, and they aren't meeting up. I have laid it aside for a few days. Maybe after stitching a few Christmas ornaments I will be able to figure out my mistake.

This is my progress on "Agnes Scott." I am fascinated by the color combination!

And who doesn't love a good nap?