October 2008 Archives

It was a struggle to find the time to read this month, but I managed to finish a whole book.

 

This is the third of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small series. I couldn't finish the series because I was missing this one, but finally got a copy last month - thanks to PaperBackSwap.

Herriot's books are charming tales of Vet life in the dales of Yorkshire, England from the Thirties to more recent times. Each chapter is written as a single short story. This makes it easy to read a chapter at a time during stolen moments. The books are not for children due to much drinking and some curse words. I have let D begin the series, though, because I gauged her maturity to be suitable.

 

D also read Howard Pyle's Men of Iron. We picked it up an old, hardcover copy at the thrift store for three dollars. She enjoyed the book, which I thought she would because it is about soldiers and battles.

I had a few brass-colored lamps that worked still but did not fit in with my evolving style. I decided to try some spray paint and am very happy with the results.

In the background, you can see an original lamp. In the foreground, you can see a new-ish lamp. Amazing, I say. The paint is Rustoleum American Accents Metallic in Oil Rubbed Bronze. It's very dark brown, almost wrought iron looking, with tiny flecks of shine. 

As soon as I redo the lampshade, I will have a brand new lamp. Nice.

By the way, the rug is my rather large coffee rag rug.

Here, it was 50 inches in diameter; it's much larger now. I dye in hot coffee old, white or beige sheets from the thrift store, cut them into strips, and crochet them.

Recently, I showed you S's new hair cut.

Here's his new 'do today:

He wanted to dye his hair green and I figured this is the one day of the year when being weird is socially acceptable.

D said, "Well...at least we won't lose him in a crowd."

We used Jerome Russell Bwild Temp'ry Color Spray in Jaguar Green and it washes right off. Thank God, because S is having some Buyer's Remorse. He's not accustomed to standing out like a sore thumb...or, as D called her brother, a neon light.

From FoxNews:

A Texas woman went to a housing auction distraught about the prospect of watching strangers bid on her foreclosed home.

Then one of those strangers bought it back for her.

Now Tracy Orr can return to her Pottsboro home, making payments to the woman who unexpectedly and impulsively bought it for her.

"It means so much to all of us," Orr told Dallas television station WFAA. "It's not just a house."

Marilyn Mock said she was acting on instinct on Saturday when she decided to buy a house she had never seen for a woman she had never met. Mock was at the foreclosure auction to help her 27-year-old son bid on a house when she struck up a conversation with Orr, who was crying about losing her home.

Orr had bought the house for $80,000 in 2004 but fell behind on the payments. She lost her job a month after taking out the loan, and earlier this year she lost the house. On the spot, Mock decided to buy it, eventually bidding $30,000.

"She didn't even know if I had a job or was a nut case," Orr said in a story for Wednesday's online edition of The Dallas Morning News. "She didn't even see a picture of the house."

Mock told a crying Orr she could stay in the house, making payments to her instead of a bank.

"She needed help. That was it," Mock told the newspaper. "I just happened to be there and anybody else would have done the same thing."

Orr said she hopes others will do as Mock did.

"More than my house, she gave me something inside, and that's more important than material or financial things," she said.

The two are waiting on final approval from Fannie Mae before visiting the home.

Mock's son also got a home at the auction.

Isn't that a wonderful story? It takes an amazing person to buy a house - sight unseen - for a stranger. Marilyn Mock showed kindness and generosity and she gets a gold star in my book. It's easy to miss the good news during this election season, but it's always pleasant when you happen upon one.

Vote Twice buttons.

If you caught last night's Larry King interview of John McCain, you might have been blessed with a glimpse of my hometown's most beautiful building, Plant Hall at the University of Tampa.

Built in 1891 by railroad magnate Henry B. Plant, Plant Hall began its life as the magnificent Tampa Bay Hotel. Situated in Downtown Tampa on the edge of the Hillsborough River, the Gilded Age building housed many famous people, including Clara Barton, Sarah Bernhardt, Stephen Crane, the Prince of Wales, and the Queen of England. Babe Ruth signed his first baseball contract in the hotel dining room and Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders camped on the grounds before setting sail for Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

Bought by the city after Plant's death, the hotel became a National Historic Site and Plant Hall, the central building of the University of Tampa. One wing of the ground floor houses the Henry B. Plant Museum, a showcase of the hotel's glory days.

As a teenager, I was privileged to take summer classes at Plant Hall and my Ecology class was in one of the third story classrooms. It was a thrill to enter the Victorian lobby each morning and I spent my free time exploring the building's many beautiful rooms. I have not seen all of my state, but I can't imagine any building in Florida can be lovelier than Plant Hall. Photo Credits: Aerial, Portico, Night, Minaret.

If my husband was late this often to his job, he'd be canned.

I miss Carnac the Magnificent and I'd like to make my own Election 2008 predictions.

McCain will win. The DNC will cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war. The RNC will once again be accused of "stealing" the election.

OR

Obama will win. Sorta. We'll never really wade through the voter fraud. It'll make us long for the days of dangling chad.

At the YMCA tonight, I heard Lou Dobbs connect McCain to Palestinians. <cough> I also heard several preteen girls in the bathroom proclaiming their love for Obama. <gag> The most amazing item I heard, though, was that 29 of Mississippi's 82 counties have more voters registered than eligible adults. In all, there are 10% more voters registered than are eligible, according to the 2000 Census. George County Circuit Clerk Chad Welford says that the Census doesn't reflect the growth his county has experienced in the last eight years.  According to Welford's logic, Mississippi has had a population boom of at least 10% since 2000. Right and I've got a bridge to sell you.

On the way home, H and I were talking about the voter fraud and H remarked that we've become a third world country. He's right. We're one of those pathetic nations most Americans can't find on a map and no one pays attention to except during an election when Jimmy Carter and the UN manage to show up to give their stamp of approval to the local dictator who hates liberty and calls for the destruction of America.

Yay, us! How far we've come.

if ya'll can't figure out your ballot, perhaps ya'll shouldn't be voting. Come on, people, it's voting, not rocket science.

As we near Reformation Day, October 31, when Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation by nailing his ninety-five theses on the Castle Church door, I find this article on Wittenberg fascinating.

What caused the spiritual death of the birthplace of Protestantism? The Socialism of East Germany.

Just as Wittenberg rises slowly from the despair of Socialism, America descends willingly into its depths. It is as though Wittenberg proclaims our fate, as did many tombstones of yore: eris quod sum - what I am, you will be.

Last week, during school, S decided to make a quill and ink. He microwaved a few frozen raspberries for the ink and he took a feather from our nature table for his quill. It worked and I think he was quite happy with the result. It was pretty, pink ink.

Here is all that remains: a poor, tortured feather and raspberry bits at the bottom of the jar.

This is a quick and easy activity to do during the study of Colonial America.

A year and a half ago, we joined the local YMCA. I highly recommend the Y for all of ya'll. We're very happy with it.

Over the summer, D signed up for basketball. Being her first time in organized sports, it was a season fraught with worries.

This Fall, we signed both children up for basketball. Oh, my! Twice the practices, twice the games, twice the stress, and twice the joy.

They each had the first game last Saturday.

Here is our little Buddy:

    

Yes, he's number one.

Here he is shooting during the Warm-up:

Here is D (Number Eight) during her Warm -up:

The age difference thankfully puts them in separate leagues. (It would not do if D were to Mother Hen her brother during a game.)

The scores? They both lost. They came away happy, though. I do not expect them to win; I require three things of them: that they do their best, that they try to improve, and that they enjoy the game. Nothing else matters. We do give treats to winners, though, because we're all Pavlov's dogs.

Now you know where I'll be three days a week. It's a good thing the Y has a great exercise center. During all those practices, I can keep busy by lifting weights and running the treadmill while watching TV. And you know I'm counting all this as P.E.

...I Voted For the Other Guy"

If Obama wins and the world goes to Hell in a handbasket (as Biden prophesizes it will), I want to put this bumper sticker on our car.

Real change is finally giving our kids everything they need to have a fighting chance in today's world. That begins with recognizing that the single most important factor in determining a child's achievement is not the color of their skin or where they come from; it's not who their parents are or how much money they have. It's who their teacher is.

That's right, Senator Obama, a child's teacher is the single most important factor in determining that child's achievement. This is why I homeschool. Sadly, you are against homeschooling. You and I, though, know an important truth: she who rocks the cradle rules the world.

A football is a prolate spheroid, a spheroid in which the polar diameter is longer than the equatorial diameter.

This is the sort of question I have to answer in our homeschool. Thank God for the internet.

I hate to hear of any child dying, so I was upset to read last night of the little boy who accidentally killed himself with an Uzi. Looks like no laws were broken. Eight-year-old Christopher was allowed, by his watching father and a licenced and certified instructor, to shoot a pumpkin. No one could have anticipated the boy's death.

Having gun-loving children, I wonder if I could have been Christopher's father, reaching for my camera as my son takes a shot. The answer is no. We're just not gun show people. My kids are, but not my husband or me. If we were? Yes, I would have let a teenager try the Uzi, but not a little boy of eight. Not even my son of ten because he is not very strong and I doubt he could handle the gun's kick.

It was a parenting choice that ended with a nightmare. I don't think any one should be punished; however, this was Massachusetts, home to some of the toughest gun laws in the country, and I am sure gun-control groups will use this terrible event for their own agenda.

What do ya'll think: would you let your child fire an Uzi?

D just informed me that she recently made a comment on my blog using an alias. She said she wanted to see what I thought of her opinion if I didn't know it was from her.

I had no clue - she really got me. I had read the comment days ago and thought, "Hmm, this person is someone I should get to know." Little did I know...

She's so giddy that she fooled me. Yep, ha ha, joke's on me.

Here is Miss Smirky this past Saturday at Basketball - wearing her perpetual ponytail:

Their coffee is pretty good, not Cubano good, but comparable to Bigbucks (which my husband refuses to go to any more).

And free...well, free is always good.

Someone on Flickr asked if the Wax Paper Leaves were really that simple. Here is my reply:

Yes, it's so simple...even I can do it. :) Put the wax paper between two kitchen towels (not the terry cloth kind, the other kind) and set your iron on medium/dry. I think pressed leaves would work best, but we used leaves fresh off the trees and they were fine. Hanging them in the window gave us a great view to study the leaves. Have fun.

I hope any of ya'll who have not tried this craft before will go for it. It's very easy and diverting. (I looked that up in the thesaurus.)

My Kindergarteners didn't get to go to Gay Day.

D and S worked so diligently this week that we had some free time yesterday. We spent it by doing two fun activities with leaves.

First, we made wax paper leaves. Can you believe they've never done this before? I remember this activity fondly - from Kindergarten. Obviously, I have neglected my duties and deprived them of this easy craft.

The children collected the leaves they wanted to use and we ironed them between sheets of wax paper. Here they are in the living room window:

Next, we made a paper banner. I showed D this cute, newspaper bunting. She liked it, but also wanted to make a paper chain. We combined the two ideas to make this:

(The chain ends are even; I just had to take the photo from an odd angle because my chandelier was in my way.)

Unfortunately, we didn't have paint for the newspaper as used in the Maya Made bunting, so we substituted with poster markers.

D's piece de resistance was the addition of a Planetree leaf at each corner of the banner.

It was a fun, fall afternoon. I hope we have another one like it soon.

*Updated: Argh! She faked it.*

Because I do not like my sympathies toyed with. I say "ditto" on everything The Anchoress posted.

My kids won't get HIV tests en masse in the school gym.

(Normandy High School, how's that s*x education working for ya'll? I'd say not very well.)

D says, "That's disturbing!" Article has must-see photos. They give me the heebie-jeebies. What is it with snakes and spiders in the news lately?

My kids won't get paid $100 a month to attend class or turn in homework.

My kids won't be bit by a misidentified venomous snake.

I knew many of these Celebs Who Lean to the Right; others were unexpected. Not that I hold much stock in Hollywood, but it's a pleasant surprise to find out that not every actor is a Hugo Chavez-kissing loon.

Not even if it was a cold day you-know-where!

Bernat now has glow-in-the-dark yarn. It comes in six colors. Wouldn't that be cool for a child's afghan or winter hat?

Yesterday, D used clay pumpkin instructions linked from this post to create the little pumpkin below.

I bought her Pumpkin Orange craft paint last week, so we just have to wait for the clay to dry and then D can paint her cute pumpkin. (Look at that tiny stem!) The best part: this pumpkin won't be rotten by Thanksgiving.

The Art History assignment this week was to create art mimicking stained glass. S came up with this:

He used permanent markers on Contact paper. The flag was, of course, his own idea. He bleeds red, white, and blue.

Bumper sticker spotted by Babalu:

Cuba got "CHANGE" in 1959

Not all change is for the better, you know.

Monday

D was awake and dressed before her father. Unusual.

D drew the anatomy of an Australian Stag Beetle.

The children watched "Conquest: Bible Weapons" and "History's Turning Points: Pizarro". They wrote narrations for both.

I helped S make an Indian game - Wheel and Dart. He made the corn cob and feather dart; I helped make the wheel with a flexible branch and yarn. We all went outside and the children tried the game.

Both listened to movements 2-5 of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique.

Tuesday

Morning Meeting.

S turned in his research on the Assyrians. Also, his picture study on Van Eyck's "The Man in the Turban".

D had a spelling test.

S drew the anatomy of a Tiger Beetle.

S wrote a narration for Carl Sandburg's "Good Night".

S had a spelling test.

S worked on his Bible study.

D and I worked on Saxon 8/7 lesson 17 on protractors and measuring angles. She did a great job and I assigned some computation problems.

I worked with S in his math workbook. He completed 2 pages.

D worked on her Bible study.

We watched the Eyewitness movie, "Plants". Short, but interesting. Wonderful visuals. Put movie in mailbox to send back to Netflix.

D worked more on her Bible study.

S made a stained glass picture of an American flag for Art History using permanent markers and a sheet of Contact paper.

S practiced the harmonica. Worked to write a song using the harmonica.

D made a clay pumpkin using these instructions.

 

(Didn't record Wednesday - Friday here on the blog.)

Your twelve-year-old daughter won't be called racist at school for wearing her Palin t-shirt.

Here are some coupons from JCPenney Portrait Studios.

For those also studying Shakespeare, you may find this list of Shakespeare's soliloquies from Shakespeare's Great Soliloquies helpful.

 

All's Well That Ends Well
Helena: "O, were that all! I think not on my father" [Act I, Scene 1]
Helena: "Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie" [Act I, Scene 1]
	Antony and Cleopatra
Enobarbus: "I am alone the villain of the earth" [Act IV, Scene 6]
Enobarbus: "O, bear me witness, night--" [Act IV, Scene 9]
Antony: "All is lost!/This foul Egyptian hath betrayed me" [Act IV, Scene 12]
Cleopatra: "I dreamt there was an Emperor Antony" [Act V, Scene 2]
	As You Like It
Orlando: "Hang there, my verse, in witness of my love" [Act III, Scene 2]
	Coriolanus
Coriolanus: "Most sweet voices!/Better it is to die, better to starve" [Act II, Scene 3]
Coriolanus: "O world, thy slippery turns! Friends now fast sworn" [Act IV, Scene 4]
	Cymbeline
Posthumus: "O noble misery!/To be i' the field, and ask, 'What news?' of me!" [Act V, Scene 3]
Posthumus: "Sleep, thou hast been a grandsire, and begot" [Act V, Scene 4]
	Hamlet
Hamlet: "Now I am alone./O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!" [Act II, Scene 2]
Hamlet: "To be or not to be, that is the question" [Act III, Scene 1]
Ophelia: "O, what a noble mind is here o'er-thrown!" [Act III, Scene 1]
Hamlet: "'Tis now the very witching time of night" [Act III, Scene 2]
Claudius, King of Denmark: "O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven!" [Act III, Scene 3]
	Henry IV, Part 1
Prince Hal: "I know you all, and will awhile uphold" [Act I, Scene 2]
Hotspur: "'But, for mine own part, my lord, I could be well contented . . .'" [Act II, Scene 3]
Falstaff: "If I be not ashamed of my soldiers, I am a soused gurnet." [Act IV, Scene 2]
	Henry IV, Part 2
King Henry IV: "How many thousand of my poorest subjects" [Act III, Scene 1]
Falstaff: "As I return, I will fetch off these justices . . ." [Act III, Scene 2]
	Henry V
King Henry: "Upon the king! Let us our lives, our souls" [Act IV, Scene 1]
King Henry: "O God of battles, steel my soldiers' hearts" [Act IV, Scene 1]
	Henry VI, Part 1
La Pucelle (Joan of Arc): "The regent conquers, and the Frenchmen fly" [Act V, Scene 3]
Suffolk: "I have no power to let her pass" [Act V, Scene 3]
	Henry VI, Part 2
York: "Anjou and Maine are given to the French" [Act I, Scene 1]
Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester: "Follow I must; I cannot go before" [Act I, Scene 2]
York: "Now, York, or never, steel thy fearful thoughts" [Act III, Scene 1]
King Henry: "O Thou that judgest all things, stay my thoughts" [Act III, Scene 2]
Young Clifford: "Shame and confusion! all is on the rout" [Act V, Scene 2]
	Henry VI, Part 3
Henry: "This battle fares like to the morning's war" [Act II, Sce
Clifford: "Here burns my candle out; ay, here it dies" [Act II, Scene 6]
Richard, Duke of Gloucester: "Ay, Edward will use women honourably" [Act III, Scene 2]
Warwick: "Ah, who is nigh? Come to me, friend or foe" [Act V, Scene 2]
Richard, Duke of Gloucester: "What, will the aspiring blood of Lancaster" [Act V, Scene 6]
	Henry VIII
Cardinal Wolsey: "So farewell to the little good you bear me" [Act III, Scene 2]
	Julius Caesar
Brutus: "Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar" [Act II, Scene 1]
Brutus: "O conspiracy!/Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night" [Act II, Scene 1]
Antony: "O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth" [Act III, Scene 1]
	King John
Philip the Bastard: "Mad world! Mad kings! Mad composition!" [Act II, Scene 1]
	King Lear
Edmund: "Thou, Nature, art my goddess; to thy law" [Act I, Scene 2]
Edmund: "This is the excellent foppery of the world, that, when we are sick in fortune . . ." [Act I, Scene 2]
Lear: "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!" [Act III, Scene 2]
Edgar: "When we our betters see bearing our woes" [Act III, Scene 6]
	Love's Labour's Lost
Armado: "I do affect the very ground, which is base, where her shoe, which is baser, guided by her foot, which is basest, doth tread." [Act I, Scene 2]
Berowne: "And I, forsooth, in love!" [Act III, Scene 1]
	Macbeth
Macbeth: "This supernatural soliciting/Cannot be ill, cannot be good . . ." [Act I, Scene 3]
Lady Macbeth: "They met me in the day of success; and I have learned by the perfectest report, they have more in
them than mortal knowledge." [Act I, Scene 5]
Lady Macbeth: "The raven himself is hoarse" [Act I, Scene 5]
Macbeth: "Is this a dagger which I see before me" [Act II, Scene 1]
Porter: "Here's a knocking indeed!" [Act II, Scene 3]
Lady Macbeth: "Yet here's a spot" [Act V, Scene 1]
	Measure for Measure
Angelo: "What's this? What's this? Is this her fault or mine?" [Act II, Scene 2]
Angelo: "When I would pray and think, I think and pray" [Act II, Scene 4]
Isabella: "To whom should I complain? Did I tell this" [Act II, Scene 4]
Duke: "He who the sword of heaven will bear" [Act III, Scene 2]
Angelo: "This deed unshapes me quite, makes me unpregnant" [Act IV, Scene 4]
	The Merry Wives of Windsor
Ford: "What a damned Epicurean rascal is this!" [Act II, Scene 2]
Falstaff: "The Windsor bell hath struck twelve; the minute draws on." [Act V, Scene 5]
	A Midsummer Night's Dream
Helena: "How happy some o'er other some can be!" [Act I, Scene 1]
Helena: "O, I am out of breath in this fond chase" [Act II, Scene 2]
Hermia: "Help me, Lysander, help me! Do thy best" [Act II, Scene 2]
Helena: "O weary night, O long and tedious night" [Act III, Sce
Bottom: "When my cue comes, call me, and I will answer" [Act IV, Scene 1]
Pyramus: "Sweet Moon, I thank thee for thy sunny beams" [Act V, Scene 1]
	Much Ado About Nothing
Benedick: "I do much wonder that one man, seeing how much another man is a fool when he dedicates his behaviors to love . . ." [Act II, Scene 3]
Benedick: "This can be no trick . . ." [Act II, Scene 3]
Beatrice: "What fire is in mine ears? Can this be true?" [Act III, Scene 1]
	Othello
Iago: "And what's he then that says I play the villain" [Act II, Scene 3]
Othello: "It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul" [Act V, Scene 2]
	Pericles
Pericles: "Yet cease your ire, you angry stars of heaven!" [Act II, Scene 1]
	Richard II
Richard: "I have been studying how I may compare" [Act V, Scene 5]
	Richard III
Richard: "Now is the winter of our discontent" [Act I, Scene 1]
Richard: "Was ever woman in this humour wooed?" [Act I, Scene 2]
Richard: "Give me another horse! Bind up my wounds!" [Act V, Scene 3]
	Romeo and Juliet
Romeo: "But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?" [Act II, Scene 2]
Juliet: "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?" [Act II, Scene 2]
Friar Laurence: "The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night" [Act II, Scene 3]
Juliet: "Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds" [Act III, Scene 2]
Juliet: "Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again" [Act IV, Scene 3]
Romeo: "If I may trust the flattering truth of sleep" [Act V, Scene 1]
Romeo: "Let me peruse this face" [Act V, Scene 3]
	The Taming of the Shrew
Petruchio: "Thus have I politicly begun my reign" [Act IV, Scene 1]
	The Tempest
Caliban: "All the infections that the sun sucks up" [Act II, Scene 2]
Ferdinand: "There be some sports are painful, and their labour" [Act III, Scene 1]
	Timon of Athens
Alcibiades: "Now the gods keep you old enough; that you may live" [Act III, Scene 5]
Timon: "Let me look back upon thee. O thou wall" [Act IV, Scene 1]
Flavius: "O, the fierce wretchedness that glory brings us!" [Act IV, Scene 2]
Timon: "O blessed breeding sun! Draw from the earth" [Act IV, Scene 3]
	Troilus and Cressida
Troilus: "Peace, you ungracious clamours! Peace, rude sounds!" [Act I, Scene 1]
Cressida: "Words, vows, gifts, tears, and love's full sacrifice" [Act I, Scene 2]
Troilus: "I am giddy; expectation whirls me round" [Act III, Scene 2]
	Twelfth Night
Olivia: "'What is your parentage?'" [Act I, Scene 5]
Violet: "I left no ring with her: what means this lady?" [Act II, Scene 2]
Malvolio: "'Tis but fortune; all is fortune" [Act II, Scene 5]
Violet: "This fellow's wise enough to play the fool" [Act III, Sce
Sebastian: "This is the air; that is the glorious sun" [Act IV, Scene 3]
	The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Julia: "Nay, would I were so anger'd with the same!" [Act I, Scene 2]
Launce: "Nay, 'twill be this hour ere I have done weeping" [Act II, Scene 3]
Proteus: "To leave my Julia, shall I be forsworn" [Act II, Scene 6]
Valentine: "And why not death rather than living torment?" [Act III, Scene 1]
Launce: "When a man's servant shall play the cur with him, look you, it goes hard . . ." [Act IV, Scene 4]
Julia: "A virtuous gentlewoman, mild and beautiful" [Act IV, Scene 4]
Valentine: "How use doth breed a habit in a man!" [Act V, Scene 4]
The Winter's Tale
Camillo: "O miserable lady! But, for me" [Act I, Scene 2]

You dared to question "The One" and now you're paying the price.

Long before John F. Kennedy, way back in 1928, Al Smith was the first Catholic, major party candidate to run for President of the United States. Smith was also Irish. Those were two strikes against a presidential candidate back in the days when Catholics were distrusted and the Irish were ridiculed. Al Smith lost to Hoover but still managed to become a four-term New York Governor and, as president of  Empire State, Inc., was instrumental in the construction of the Empire State Building.

Each year since Smith's death in 1945, the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation has held a dinner in his honor to benefit Catholic Charities.

While commendatory references to Smith and his actions were once common, by chance or by design, many of the addresses at later dinners have taken on a lighter tone. Indeed, the occasion has evolved into something of an opportunity for speakers - particularly ones whose mien is typically quite serious - to show, through quips and slightly irreverent humor, that they can poke fun at a political issue, an opponent, or themselves... In the days before Saturday Night Live, the Al Smith dinner served as a kind of "proving ground for the candidate as entertainer," as one reporter described it. Today the dinner remains a true phenomenon - a living memorial to an uncommon public figure, best known as the first Roman Catholic presidential candidate, who died more than six decades ago. Doubtless the dinner's honoree would be deeply gratified that he is being remembered each year in this fashion. He would be even more gratified to know that the dinner commemorating him and his unique role in American politics has contributed millions of dollars for charitable endeavors in the city he loved so much.

This year, the dinner's keynote speakers were Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. I find it ironic that Obama was a keynote speaker because, while he shares Al Smith's Socialist ideals, his extreme pro-abortion beliefs and votes run contrary to Catholic Charities' Principles of Catholic Social Teaching. There have been times when pro-abortion politicians were not invited, such as in 1996 when Cardinal O'Connor was reportedly upset with President Bill Clinton for vetoing a bill which would have banned certain late-term abortions and in 2004 when presidential candidate John Kerry, a Catholic, was not invited, reportedly due to his pro-abortion stance.

I love to watch politicians mock themselves and each other and I think you will enjoy the videos below of McCain and Obama speaking at the dinner last night. The first two videos are of McCain, who spoke first, and the last two videos are of Obama, who spoke right after McCain. Regardless of which candidate you support, I believe you will want to watch all four videos. They are refreshing glimpses of both Senators and humorous respites during this tooth and nail election.

Tomorrow at 8 Central, TLC is premiering a new show - Real Simple - Real Life

The new lifestyle makeover series REAL SIMPLE. REAL LIFE. helps busy women tackle their daily challenges, sharing strategies to help make life easier. Each week the show features a 360-degree lifestyle makeover, using best-in-class experts to help women identify their day-to-day challenges, offering realistic solutions and "aha" tips so that they can live an even better life. "It's not about making the perfect meal or having the most organized closet," explains Executive Producer Jude Weng. "We're working with women to implement time-saving changes that will help them add more of the fun 'me' time they're craving back into their lives."

Hosted by Kit Hoover, a working mother of three, the series also stars these top experts:

• Ashlee Barnes, beauty
• Nathan Lyon, food
• Gia Russo, design
• Sam Saboura, fashion
• Lana Titus, fitness
• Farnoosh Torabi, finance
• Jodie Watson, organization
• Nicole Williams, motivation

Sounds interesting. I think I'll set my DVR to record it.

A father in Tennessee decided to name his new daughter Sarah McCain Palin. Sarah is a pretty name; though not even I, a die-hard Republican, would name my child after the current Republican Ticket. However, the father, Mark Ciptak of Elizabethton, went behind his wife's back to show his affection for the GOP. The baby's agreed upon name was to be Ava Grace, but Ciptak got his wife's signature on a second name form.  Republican, or not, what he did was sneaky and wrong. You are a bad, bad husband, Mark Ciptak. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Just take a look at all of these cute pumpkin crafts available online:

1. Puffy Stuffed Pumpkin in crochet from Marlo D. Cairns
2. Paper Pumpkin Ornaments from Hostess with the Mostess
3. A Stuffed Fabric Pumpkin from About.com
4. Pumpkin Picture Holder from 365 Halloween
5. Celebrity Pumpkin Stencils from Better Homes and Gardens
6. The Pumpkin Patch papier mache pumpkins from Stolloween
7. Crochet Pumpkin Tutorial from Express Yourself
8. PomPom Pumpkins from Liquid Paper
9. Pumpkin Pie Playdough Recipe from Like Merchant Ships

 

I'd love to have another gathering of pumpkin crafts (or crafts and recipes) before the end of the month, so please send in your favorites.

Also, Meredith of Like Merchant Ships, who posted her yummy-scented playdough recipe, had a bouncing baby boy on Monday. Congratulations, Meredith!

S has fast growing hair. It would make any girl happy, but S is a boy and he likes very short cuts. H often has to go a few weeks between cuts and this bothers him. He doesn't like to look shaggy.

I decided enough was enough and suggested we buy hair clippers so that I could cut his hair at home and keep it short for him. I figured we could save money and that I couldn't possibly do a worse job than he normally gets. S, at first, did not like this idea. Handling sharp objects is not my forte and hair clippers have electricity thrown in for added fun danger. I persisted and finally S succomb. I think he was just plain tired of that mane.

We bought a Conair clipper set from Big Lots for $15. I figure, within two haircuts, the clippers will have paid for themselves.

Naturally, I started the job by reading online and looking for video tutorials. Armed with just enough knowledge to get myself in trouble, I tackled S's hair - faithfully assisted by D.

This is the result (now, don't laugh):

He likes his hair this way, so he's very happy now. That makes me happy.

His sister will no longer complain about his hair. That makes me really happy.

Last night, I told H, "Remember this day; it is the day I agreed with Howard Stern."

Frightening thought, isn't it? Take a listen below (safe for work and children):

These do not sound like ignorant people who can't put a noun and verb together; yet, they are obviously uniformed and/or racists voting by skin color.

"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have...a right, an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, I mean the characters and conduct of their rulers." - John Adams

Thanks to Stop the ACLU for posting the Howard Stern audio.

 

Monday

S is having bad allergies and said he wanted to "call in sick" today.

S watched "The Real Tomb Hunters".

Both watched "Conquest: Stone Age Weapons".

S wrote cursive q and r.

D did two grammar mad libs.

D copied from George Washington's Rules of Civility for handwriting.

S watched a program on the Rosenbergs.

D worked on Saxon 8/7 lesson 10.

D completed her Bible Study.

We all ate Texas One Dish and watched the Rays pummel the White Sox.

 

Tuesday

We were still feeling poorly. and had Morning Meeting to assess where we were behind.

Latina Christiana Lesson 1 test - D scored 100% and S scored 90% - he missed only one. S promptly commenced a meltdown. We had Lesson 2 and I assigned more drilling independently each week so that we can progress faster than five weeks per lesson (which is what happened for lesson 1). The children had no problems with more drill being assigned.

I collected all work that was due Monday.

I sent in a request to join the Latina Christiana Yahoo group. Printed a First Conjugation chart found online.

Leftovers or ham sandwiches for lunch. Ham and Split Pea Soup in the crock-pot for dinner.

I searched online for Latina Christiana drill sheets. Not much luck. Will have to make my own.

D had a spelling bee from McGuffey's Speller to get her new spelling words for the week.

D wrote a narration for Carl Sandberg's "Fog".

D helped her brother with a Byzantium icon painting for Art History and made her own.

D investigated the Hittites and wrote a narration.

S dictated his narration on the Israelites to D.

Both watched "Written in Bone" on forensics.

D read about Jan Van Eyck at my Wiki.

D worked on her papier mache project - a clone trooper helmet. S also worked on his clone helmet.

We had Ham and Split Pea Soup for dinner. A bit too salty because I added a little too much chicken bouillon.

After dinner, we watched the townhall debate while I worked on a crochet pumpkin.

 

Wednesday

I read most of "Any Child Can Write". I got through PaperBackSwap.

D organized her bedroom craft box and discovered many items long believed lost. "Guess what? Today is I Feel Like a Fool Day."

"Tales from Watership Down" arrived for D from PaperBackSwap and she promptly read 10 chapters.

Leftovers for lunch.

The children worked on cleaning their rooms and chores around the house.

H brought home bagels and cream cheese leftover from a meeting and picked up cheese and fruit from the grocery store. I had sliced ham, so we all had a little feast while watching "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". I worked on my crochet pumpkin while I watched.

Early to bed for everyone - early being before 11pm.

 

Thursday

D completed Saxon 8/7 lessons 10-16.

I read the local area paper and clipped coupons.

S worked on his postcards for England.

D completed the pie fraction puzzle activities.

We hopped down a rabbit trail and looked up name meanings in my books.

Ham sandwiches and tangerines for lunch.

S read more of "Tom Sawyer Abroad".

D finshed the rest of "Tales from Watership Down".

I matched socks, started dinner, and tidied up while the children did their chores.

D and I researched planting a pineapple and D prepared the pineapple plant.

We had Italian meatloaf over pasta for dinner.

We watched "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" while I worked on my crocheted pumpkin. Do you notice a trend?

 

Friday

We watched "Therese".

D completed Intermediate Language Lessons lesson 19 - writing dialogue.

D asked for a freezer paper pumpkin on a shirt, so I looked for the style of image she requested.

S finished making his postcards for England. He has Stonehenge, Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the Houses of Parliament.

We watched a two-hour program on Crucifixion.

One of the children's friends knocked on the door, so I let them stop school early to go play.

H and I signed the children up for another basketball season at the YMCA.

We ate Black Eyed Pea Soup and cornbread and watched "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock". 

D turned 13 on September 22nd. I would have posted before now, but I waited 'til I could add some of her baby pictures to the mosaic. I best do that when I get a chance. Better to post sooner than never. Until then, just imagine a petite, smiling girl with fuzz on her head and lovely gray eyes.

These photos are D from age 2 1/2 to 12 1/2 and are some of my favorite photos of her alone. Together, they give you a glimpse of who my daughter is. Let me give you another glimpse in words: a spitfire wrapped in velvet, a gust of silence.

D had a few wishes for her birthday. She wanted to stay home, visit a hobby shop, and eat apple pie. That should tell you a lot about my daughter right there - a crafty homebody who's not that fond of cake.

Unlike her brother who wants to go, go, go, D prefers quiet and home. She detests attention, so don't sing "Happy Birthday" or make a big deal. Her birthdays are always such solemn events. Odd for a girl who smiles so much.

We, of course, made all her wishes come true. She is, after all, our favorite girl.

Here S makes a call on his Foot Phone, not to be confused with a Get Smart Shoe Phone. In the background, you can see our bookcases and my new school closet.

"Does my butt look big?" asks S.

Here you can see our new floor and our current lack of baseboards.

She is also FDR's cousin. We're all related somehow, you know. We're all descendents of Adam and Eve, so I suppose I must be Palin's cousin, as well. I'd like to be more closely related to someone famous, though. Someone good famous, not bad famous. I wouldn't want to shake any skeletons out of my family tree. 

 

I discovered the 100 Species Challenge from Melissa Wiley's blog.

Here are the rules:

The 100-Species Challenge

1. Participants should include a copy of these rules and a link to the original challenge in their initial blog post about the challenge.

2. Participants should keep a list of all plant species they can name, either by common or scientific name, that are living within walking distance of the participant's home. The list should be numbered, and should appear in every blog entry about the challenge, or in a sidebar.

3. Participants are encouraged to give detailed information about the plants they can name in the first post in which that plant appears.

4. Participants are encouraged to make it possible for visitors to their blog to find easily all 100-Species-Challenge blog posts.

5. Participants may post pictures of plants they are unable to identify, or are unable to identify with precision. They should not include these plants in the numbered list until they are able to identify it with relative precision. Each participant shall determine the level of precision that is acceptable to her; however, being able to distinguish between plants that have different common names should be a bare minimum.

6. Different varieties of the same species shall not count as different entries (e.g., Celebrity Tomato and Roma Tomato should not be separate entries); however, different species which share a common name be separate if the participant is able to distinguish between them (e.g., camillia japonica and camillia sassanqua if the participant can distinguish the two--"camillia" if not).

7. Participants may take as long as they like to complete the challenge. 

Sounds like great Nature Study fun, right?

 1. Callicarpa Americana (American Beautyberry) - found on the local trail

Has the same irritating scent of its cousin, Shrub Verbena, also known as Lantana.

Callicarpa is Greek for "beautiful fruit," however they are not tasty berries. They are an emergency food source for birds and deer, saved for consumption in the coldest times when nothing else can be found. This is because the berries are very tart. Callicarpa is apparently effective in repelling mosquitoes and ticks. If only I wasn't allergic to it, I would surround my house with these plants.

2. Zephyranthes Atamasco (Rain Lily) - found in neighbor's yard

The genus name comes from Zephyros, the Greek of the West Wind. These bulb plants often appear in the yards in my neighborhood. The petals turns pale pink when the flower is pressed.

Sometimes, we are lucky to find a patch of Rain Lilies.

3. Erigeron quercifolius (Southern Fleabane) - found throughout my neighborhood

These tiny asters are said to repel fleas. They often grow near my mailbox.

The genus name erigeron is derived from the Greek (eri = early; geron = old man), a reference to the appearance of the white hairs of the fruit soon after flowering. Quercifolius means oak leaf. Another name for this flower is "oak-leaf fleabane".

Recently, we made some coffee clay from used coffee grounds. We didn't care for the result - too lightly colored and crumbly.

I had S take the failed mixture outside and dispose of it. Unfortunately, a little toad hopped into the clay, which has a high salt content. S washed the toad off, but the little ribbit soon expired. D informed me that the toad would be cremated instead of having the customary burial. Influenced by Lord of the Rings, perhaps?

I was invited to photograph the solemn event.

D said the smoke rising from the toad looked like his soul rising to heaven. Mayhaps to a celestial Toad Hall where all toads wear waistcoats and breaches and drive like maniacs?

Just a bit of fancy, not sacrilege.

I had been looking forward to the Townhall Debate. Shame on me, because it was just a lie-filled panderfest. I felt like I was watching the school president debate. "I'll make lunch time longer." "I'll get us pizza everyday." And it was so boring. I was looking for excitement, yet the only bit was at the end when both candidates blocked Brokaw's view of the teleprompter. Great going there, guys!

If you're looking for the truth, watch the hilarious SNL skit that Saturday Night Live has tried to pull and revise because it didn't "meet [their] standards". I wonder who demanded the SNL censorship, the Sandlers or George Soros?

You can find more truth by viewing this twelve-month-old, British comedy skit.

I hope none of ya'll were caught unawares by this sub-prime crisis. The coming gloom-and-doom was common knowledge a few years ago. I, however, had no clue our Congress and President would attempt to assassinate Capitalism with a massive bailout. Then, McCain's mortgage proposal last night took Capitalism off life support. Capitalism is now Code Blue. Will someone, please, resuscitate it?

I have many photos on my computer which I think have not made their way to blog posts. This is one of them:

This is my first rag rug. I've made five now (one oval, three round, and one rectangular) and I do believe I prefer to make round ones. This one is in my master bathroom. There are four color changes. The two shades of oatmeal in the center were boys' cotton pants. The blue is navy with white stars. It was a sundress I made a few years ago for D. She literally wore the dress to shreds, so I figured it was better to cut it up into a rag rug than to just throw it away. The outer row is two of S's old white sheets.

At the top, you can see I made a mistake. I know better now and could easily go back and fix it, but I won't. A mistake can be humbling and esteem-building - all in one. Let us always work towards better things, but never forget where we started from.

 

Monday

We had a Morning Meeting to discuss the plans for the week. I reminded the children of assignments due this week. I noted the holidays this week: Wenceslaus, Michaelmas, Rosh Hashanah, Jerome, Therese of Lisieux, and Francis of Assisi. I read a bit from A Year with the Saints. I read about Michaelmas on the Catholic Culture website. S wanted to find out about Michaelmas foods. Gave the children calendars for October for their assignments.

I gave out this week's spelling words.

S watched the Valley Forge episode of Liberty Kids while D and I had poetry.

The children presented their reports on the Zebra Longwing, our state insect, for Nature Study. I assigned research on the lifecycle of a butterfly.

They both presented their findings on important events and persons during Rembrandt and Handel's lifetimes. They noted many early American Colonial events - interesting. I assigned watching a biopic for Rembrandt and making a timeline for Handel.

We read Titus Flamininus from the study guide and from Plutarch. We discussed the reading.

I sorted laundry. S helped and then started washing & drying the loads.

S worked on writing his last name in cursive.

We watched Act II of the BBC Richard III. Discussed each scene.

We watched the Charles Laughton 1936 Rembrandt while eating a leftovers lunch. We discussed the movie and compared it to the recent biography we had viewed. Sent the disc back to Netflix.

I researched info on Rembrandt on the internet.

S made his first clay vase as part of his Art History assignment, due Wednesday, on Greek and Roman vases. D gave him pointers.

D worked on her Bible Study and, of her own volition, wrote Bible verses in Arabic, using the Bible Gateway site.

D fetched the mail. S filled our weekly pill box and called in prescription refills.

I didn't feel well and took a wee nap on the couch. Slacker Mom. D tidied the school stuff and S did some laundry.

Mexican lasagna for dinner. D washed some dishes and broke a bowl. Not her fault.

S asked for more math lessons each week. It's one of his best and favorite subjects.

We went to the YMCA after dinner for a free kids' basketball clinic. On the way there, we discussed the Rembrandt movie and my research from earlier.

H and I watched some taped TV shows while I crocheted a large messenger bag from plarn for our nature study outings.

Read a few pages of Creative Home Organizer.

Tuesday

I still didn't feel well, so I let the children sleep in. S was upset when he woke up; he was worried about being late for school.

S talked to me while he ate his Berries and Cream oatmeal. He discussed the basketball clinic and informed me that he thinks most people have narcissism.

S was still hungry after his scrambled eggs and big bowl of oatmeal, so I made him some toast with Strawberry jam and I had some toast with Apricot preserves. S asked me to photograph his latest Lego creation.

I made D a bowl of Berries and Cream oatmeal and woke her up. 

The children did their morning chores and we entered them on "My Reward Board".

I printed timelines for them to use for their Handel assignment.

S saw a gas truck outside and wanted to know about propane, so I read about it to them while they colored Michael.

S and D worked on their Bible Study assignments.

S requested that I let him write half a page each week and then go over his grammar mistakes with him. He also wanted a math workbook. I had some extra ones and gave one to him. He completed three pages.

D tried her hand at Arabic some more and asked for some worksheets to help her. I found an Arabic site and some handwriting worksheets for her.

D took apart a walkie-talkie.

S examined a dollar with a magnifying glass.

We had Linguini and Clam Sauce for lunch.

S read "Factory Windows are Always Broken" by Vachel Lindsay and completed a narration.

D and S read about Rosh Hashanah.

We had a Latin quiz. The children almost knew the first conjugation, but not quite, so I wrote it on the chalkboard and had them copy 10 times each.

S turned in his Bible narrations.

We worked on chores: dishwashing, sock matching, vacuuming, etc.

I went over D's Bible Study with her and helped with a few wrong or incomplete answers.

D turned in her research on Leonard Wooley.

D and I read Tablet I of Gilgamesh at my Wiki and then discussed it.

Leftover Mexican Lasagna and green beans for dinner.

We went to the YMCA for the second part of the free basketball clinic.

We went grocery shopping.

S and D alternated watching a show on the Dilley quints with me and taking baths. The Dilleys homeschool, btw. I finished my crocheted messenger bag.

 

Wednesday

S did six pages in the math workbook.

D sang several hymns on her own and then one with me.

Both completed their research on the anatomy of a vascular plant and included lovely drawings of a plant with labeled parts.

I added 30 more folk song lyrics to our family songbook.

I gathered twenty Carl Sandburg poems and printed them for the children to read and discuss this term.

S finished his model of a Roman vase by adding war decorations.

Both worked on a papier mache project.

D fixed quesadillas for lunch. We watched "Modern Marvels: Mold and Fungi" while eating. S drew a mushroom afterwards.

D completed the rough draft of her research paper and emailed it to me.

Apple Chicken with carrots over brown rice for dinner.

I printed out several worksheets in anticipation of Thursday's debate.

 

Thursday

D and S completed their investigations of Native American homes and the Government of England. I assigned creating four postcards for England. I assigned researching Native American foods for D and Native American games for S.

I worked more on our family songbook.

D completed a book report activity for "The Aeneid". She chose to dress dolls as characters in the book. Thus, two G.I. Joes became two Latins.

We had a Spanish quiz on question words. The children missed a couple and wrote them ten times each.

Leftovers for lunch.

D and S watched "Cities of the Underworld: Beneath Mt. Vesuvius".

We discussed the history of the presidential debates, fallacies, and how to analyze a debate. I gave out worksheets for post-debate analysis.

D worked on her papier mache project.

S wanted some help with his math workbook.

Red beans and rice for dinner.

Watched the debate.

D and I discussed the debate.

 

Friday

Children worked on schoolwork in the DR's waiting room.

Both completed their research on the lifecycle of a butterfly.

Both read about Francis of Assisi.

Both completed a timeline of Handel's life.

Both completed a spelling activity.

Both had spelling tests.

We watched Act III of the BBC Richard III.

School let out early since Daddy was home.

I vacuumed and mopped the house.

Children rode bikes and played basketball.

H was home, so I didn't mind falling asleep on the couch.

Leftovers and sandwiches for dinner.

 

Sunday was the first day since Spring cool enough to bike ride the local trail. Even still, the humidity was very high and the temperature in the eighties. This is South Florida, you know.

After a filling of tires and a fiddling with brakes, we slowly and hesitantly began our ride. The first ride of the season goes often awry (at least, it does with our little gang of riders), but we muddled along.

This ride was unlike previous ones because I brought along my camera. This, you may not realize, was a bit of a dance with danger. There is always the chance I may wipe out; I am, after all, a person whose missteps periodically prostrate me into humbleness. On Sunday, however, the desire to photograph Nature's loveliness won out over my usual solicitousness. I'm glad it did because we saw several lovely things on the trail.

Our county provides water stations along the trail and at one of those was a clearing where I spotted this decaying stump with fungi. I can't help myself; I am becoming fascinated by molds and fungi. I must get a good fungi guide soon because I am tired of being unable to identify all the mushrooms and such I come across. This stump was as tall as I, but covered in fungi. I would have gotten a closer look, but the ground was covered in plants and it would be just my luck to unknowingly step in poison ivy. I've never done that and am not interested in trying it.

In the same clearing, we found hundreds of bunches of purple berries.

At home, I was able to identify them as American Beautyberry - Callicarpa Americana. Beautiful, but has the same irritating scent of its cousin, Shrub Verbena, also known as Lantana.

Callicarpa is Greek for "beautiful fruit," however they are not tasty berries. They are an emergency food source for birds and deer, saved for consumption in the coldest times when nothing else can be found. This is because the berries are very tart. Callicarpa is apparently effective in repelling mosquitoes and ticks. If only I wasn't allergic to it, I would surround my house with these plants.

On the way home, we passed a Wood Stork fishing in a pond.

We paused to watch him use one foot to stand and the other to stir up the water and pond bottom. Then, he would snap up any fish visible in the murkiness.

Here he has just drawn his foot out of the water and is going for his dinner. Can you see his foot? It's real ugly - as ugly as homemade sin. That's your southern phrase for the day and, no, I have no idea what store-bought sin looks like, but I'm pretty sure you can find it at the mall.

And that was the end of our first Fall bike ride. No one perished and it only took me three days to recover. Hooray!

I'm still waiting for the World to realize that Chinese food products are unsafe.

   
Feast of Trumpets

Leviticus 23:23-25

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.'"

I Thessalonians 4:16-18

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

As do all the biblical feasts, the Feast of Trumpets foreshadows an event important to my Christian faith - in this case, the Rapture, when Jesus will come again to fetch the faithful. Just as the shofar sounds each year on Rosh Hashanah, so shall the shofar call to all believers, alive and dead, on that holy day to come.

I wish "Shana Tova," or "a good year," to all Jews, but I listen for the shofar from the heavens which will finally call me home.