Pumpkin Plans

Today Daniel came home with some farm stand pumpkins. The girls set to work. They planned and planned some more. Their daddy heaved a sigh of relief when Sapphire said she wanted the basic triangle model.  And then we cut. 

They all went to the parade Monday night and had a great time. It seems like a big event in town, with the marching band, twirlers, karate schools, and churches parading by. 

Someone thought they should write on my living room wall in pencil. It didn't take much to figure out who the perpetrator was, since, though she had written backwards, the letters spelled her name.  I've read enough crime fiction to figure that one out. After a nice calm talk, we decided that we only write on paper, and she practiced doing just that fifty times. It took about half an hour.  Thank goodness for magic erasers.

The girls dressed up for some early trick-or-treating with friends. They were pretty cute, but the little girls were very temperamental. I think they were overexcited about the outing. Pearl is smiling deceptively, since she's dressed as the White Witch of Narnia.  Ruby is a ballerina, and Sapphire is Tiger Lily. 

Say "Pumpkin!"

Fall Flowers

This week has been so normal I'm not sure what to share. We had a break between the two cavity appointments for Sapphire. She isn't really aware we're going back in.

Pearl and I have been researching shelter dogs.  She has earned her twenty popsicle sticks, for so many good days of good attitude during school time.  That means she has earned her cat, but her dad prefers a dog, so we're on the look out for a nice, cuddly terrier.  I think I have finally found a list of shelters that allow homes with children to also have dogs. If they don't work, we will have to track down a puppy.  I personally would prefer a dog that is already house-trained.

The goal had another nice affect. The other day Pearl told me she enjoys school because she is bored when she doesn't have any lessons.  That is a big step from the end-of-summer's rough transition into schoolwork!

On Sunday we had a chance to celebrate my sister-in-law at a baby shower.  It was so nice to see the aunts and cousins.  The theme was rubber duckies.  Right now there is a pink ducky strapped to a monster truck in my living room. 

Wedding in Western PA

Our wood stove sits in front of a ten foot wall of field stone. It is, to me at least, an improvement over the coal stove. No shaking the unburned coal into the pan, no noisy metal-on-coal rattle every time you add a shovel of fuel--I came to understand why the ladies of Cranford found coal distasteful. The wood stove quietly accepts a log or two. 

So far, I haven't discerned the same cantankerous nature here; our old coal stove seemed to know it was me handling it and always tried to put out its fire. Daniel touched up this wood stove so it looks brand new. 




The girls and I enjoyed a family reunion during my cousin's wedding in Somerset. The primping and planning that went into the wedding, and this was entirely on the part of the three little girls! We packed their fanciest dresses, and Pearl planned hair styles. She couldn't wait for the day to come.

The wedding itself was relaxed and perfectly decorated for the fall.  Pumpkin perfect. The rising host of bubbles as the bride and groom left the church was one of the prettiest sights I've seen for a while.


At the reception Sapphire wandered off to make friends with just about everyone, especially my cousin's patient girlfriend. Pearl and I joined a tour of the wine presses and tanks below the reception hall. Later she assisted the photo booth attendant.

 

Back on the farm and out of their fancy dresses, the girls also enjoyed corralling the barn cats. We took one kitten along on a walk to the family cemetery, which is maintained as a garden by a distant cousin.

Co-op Week

We had co-op this week. The girls are used to the routine now and disappear into their first classes. I spend the first period chatting with other moms, and it is a great time to ask questions of more experienced homeschoolers.

Pearl's favorite class at co-op is Greek Mythology.  She likes how there are so many stories, and she is always learning about a new Greek god. 



Daniel is still working away at repointing the wall in his free time.  He is now racing against the cold, which comes a bit earlier in the year for him than for normal mortals.  We decided to repoint the sunny side first because it is against the deck, but now he gets chilly in the shade of our two one-hundred year old pine trees on the other side.  He has developed real talent for this craft. His repointing is beautiful.


Now the girls and I are off to a wedding!

Weaver's Orchard makes for a nice fall backdrop

The Varied Life of Our Kitchen Table

I came home from class Monday night to find our table covered in steamed crabs.  A friend had been crabbing that very day and delivered them.  The girls feasted.  Daniel was picking the remaining crabs when I walked in. The scene reminded me of a crab dinner twenty years ago at a beach house in the Outer Banks. 

The purple floating thing is a jellyfish, of course.  Sapphire made it in her Oceans class.  When she was telling me about the crabs, she explained that the man had poured seasoning into the ocean to flavor the crabs before catching them. 

Yesterday Pearl had her first Chinese class.  Making this happen in rural central Pennsylvania isn't as easy as in the big city.  I found a native speaker willing to give lessons. She is a substitute teacher at a local school and was a science teacher in China.  I also invited other homeschooling families to join the class.  Daniel is a student too.

Happy October!