Faro's Daughter is one of my very favorite books by Georgette Heyer. I read The Reluctant Widow last week which I enjoyed but didn't think was Heyer's best, but Faro's Daughter is nearly perfect to my mind.
Debra Grantham is beautiful, twenty-five and works in a gaming house. Her aunt is of shabby nobility and has fallen on hard times; she runs a gaming house in order to make ends meet. Both Deb and her nephew Kit were left in her charge. Deb doesn't mind working in the gaming house though she knows it has lowered her reputation. She is a girl with her own mind and with great finesse she walks the fine line between falling into a life of easy virtue and playfully keeping her suitors at bay. In fact Deb has very high standards and a very loyal devotion to her aunt. Unfortunately, the bills are mounting much to her aunt's dismay.
One of those would be suitors is Lord Adrian Mablethorpe, a young gentleman not quite twenty-one and due to inherit a considerable amount of money. His mother hates the idea that he has fallen in love with a gaming house woman and sets Adrian's uncle, rich taciturn Max Ravenscar, to rescue Adrian from this woman's (Deb) grasp. Deb isn't at all like that however. She would never in a million years stoop to marrying an innocent like Adrian just for his money. Max insults her mightily by trying to bribe her away from Adrian. Deb's anger rises magnificently and thus begins a war between Max and Deb. This battle of wills leads to hysterically funny situations. The sparks fly between them as they spar, the plot twists and turns, but always plausibly, and the ending of the book is a heartily satisfying romantic and amusing one.
A very satisfying and cleverly written novel. Three cheers for Georgette Heyer!
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
What's Happening = 4/24/13
Over the weekend:
Poor Rick was in a lot of pain Friday night. Saturday afternoon I took him to the emergency room. He's got a kidney stone. Poor thing. He was all doped up on Sunday. The whole episode made me completely forget about Becky's art show on Sunday afternoon! Didn't remember until yesterday morning. Mommy fail! Anyway, Rick has been feeling much better but the darn thing still hasn't passed. He is very worried because he has to go to California all next week. Not quite sure what to do about it. He went to another doctor yesterday but that doctor didn't do anything about it nor did he learn anything more than the ER doctor or his own regular doctor has told him. Poor guy.
Monday was Aquinas Learning day as usual. Becky had written her IEW essay on Mother Teresa. I did my usual thing of spending most of Sunday prepping for it. Things went off well. The big deal is that we are preparing for our end of year showcase. We practiced reciting the Angele Dei in Latin and our little skit based on The Unexpected Party from The Hobbit. In science we had fun. Liz took the all the kids outside and she made a volcano with diet coke and mentos. Yahoo! It really blew! Quite thrilling! LOL! Monday was also Earth Day. Did you know the person who started Earth Day murdered his girlfriend and is on the lam, fighting extradition in France?????? Anyway, Sean's school decided to celebrate Earth day by not using any electricity and having most of their classes outside. The kids get to vote on stuff like that. Frankly, though, I am not sure how all that went over and Sean is not one of those kids that comes home and relates everything that happened in school that day. The conversation goes more like this: Me - Hey Seano! How was school today? Sean - (grunt). Not the most illuminating of conversations!
Tuesday, I took Sean to school, got everybody Starbucks breakfast sandwiches (there's one right across the street from his school). Becky and I did some math, mostly just doing two or three digit multiplication problems. She still needs to practice those, if she isn't forgetting to add in a number carried over, or adding one in when it doesn't belong, or messing up the columns or just doing multiplication wrong, she really, really is not paying enough attention. She just dislikes it so much she just can't bring herself to focus for more than a nanosecond. Hence lots of mistakes and tears. Math and Becky, they don't mix! Josh went to Physics and Becky went to art. I picked up Sean and did some quick grocery shopping. Rick was home and we watched some Jeeves. We'd heard about how good Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry were and they are! Very enjoyable. It was nice having Rick home even though he was so unsettled about his little condition. I made meatloaf for dinner. I had not really cooked a good dinner for several days; a lot of pizza and take out unfortunately.
Today, Wed. we go to the zoo with Sean's school. He's supposed to be practicing photography, you know trying to get good at taking pictures of animals,etc, all of which he is being very grumpy about. He's always hated field trips for some unfathomable reason of his own.
Thursday - Becky is supposed to go to work with Rick for bring your kids to work day. Hopefully that will happen but some of it depends on how Rick is feeling and also exactly what is going on at work for him. I warned Josh I wanted to do lots of weeding in the garden. They are taking over again!
Friday is to far in the future to even think about. Plus I have to rush to make a picnic lunch for everybody and then get them up. I also have to start dinner in the slow cooker. I am going to bring some of it to a new mom who had a baby a couple weeks ago. Gotta get rolling!
Poor Rick was in a lot of pain Friday night. Saturday afternoon I took him to the emergency room. He's got a kidney stone. Poor thing. He was all doped up on Sunday. The whole episode made me completely forget about Becky's art show on Sunday afternoon! Didn't remember until yesterday morning. Mommy fail! Anyway, Rick has been feeling much better but the darn thing still hasn't passed. He is very worried because he has to go to California all next week. Not quite sure what to do about it. He went to another doctor yesterday but that doctor didn't do anything about it nor did he learn anything more than the ER doctor or his own regular doctor has told him. Poor guy.
Monday was Aquinas Learning day as usual. Becky had written her IEW essay on Mother Teresa. I did my usual thing of spending most of Sunday prepping for it. Things went off well. The big deal is that we are preparing for our end of year showcase. We practiced reciting the Angele Dei in Latin and our little skit based on The Unexpected Party from The Hobbit. In science we had fun. Liz took the all the kids outside and she made a volcano with diet coke and mentos. Yahoo! It really blew! Quite thrilling! LOL! Monday was also Earth Day. Did you know the person who started Earth Day murdered his girlfriend and is on the lam, fighting extradition in France?????? Anyway, Sean's school decided to celebrate Earth day by not using any electricity and having most of their classes outside. The kids get to vote on stuff like that. Frankly, though, I am not sure how all that went over and Sean is not one of those kids that comes home and relates everything that happened in school that day. The conversation goes more like this: Me - Hey Seano! How was school today? Sean - (grunt). Not the most illuminating of conversations!
Tuesday, I took Sean to school, got everybody Starbucks breakfast sandwiches (there's one right across the street from his school). Becky and I did some math, mostly just doing two or three digit multiplication problems. She still needs to practice those, if she isn't forgetting to add in a number carried over, or adding one in when it doesn't belong, or messing up the columns or just doing multiplication wrong, she really, really is not paying enough attention. She just dislikes it so much she just can't bring herself to focus for more than a nanosecond. Hence lots of mistakes and tears. Math and Becky, they don't mix! Josh went to Physics and Becky went to art. I picked up Sean and did some quick grocery shopping. Rick was home and we watched some Jeeves. We'd heard about how good Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry were and they are! Very enjoyable. It was nice having Rick home even though he was so unsettled about his little condition. I made meatloaf for dinner. I had not really cooked a good dinner for several days; a lot of pizza and take out unfortunately.
Today, Wed. we go to the zoo with Sean's school. He's supposed to be practicing photography, you know trying to get good at taking pictures of animals,etc, all of which he is being very grumpy about. He's always hated field trips for some unfathomable reason of his own.
Thursday - Becky is supposed to go to work with Rick for bring your kids to work day. Hopefully that will happen but some of it depends on how Rick is feeling and also exactly what is going on at work for him. I warned Josh I wanted to do lots of weeding in the garden. They are taking over again!
Friday is to far in the future to even think about. Plus I have to rush to make a picnic lunch for everybody and then get them up. I also have to start dinner in the slow cooker. I am going to bring some of it to a new mom who had a baby a couple weeks ago. Gotta get rolling!
Saturday, April 20, 2013
The Reluctant Widow - Book 18
This is a reread. I am a Georgette Heyer fan. I went through a real obsession with her a few years ago. What spurred this reread is that I happened to see somewhere on the internet that a long time ago they made a (bad) movie of The Reluctant Widow. I had read it before and didn't think it was really Heyer's best, but still enjoyable. Anyway for some reason Rick and I started watching this (bad!) movie on youtube. We didn't get far into, but it was enough to make me realize my memory was fuzzy. Rick actually noticed the book on the shelf in the bedroom and took it out. I read the first three chapters aloud to him over the course of a few days (it helped him fall asleep quickly, LOL). But then he had to go away for a week on business so we stopped that. But I continued reading it to myself!
Anyhoo! Here's my review:
The Reluctant Widow is a typical Heyer work of Regency Romance fiction. Wonderful characters, funny, sparkling dialogue, a great sense of historical accuracy and attention to every day detail, an exciting plot line and a touch of romance, these are all hallmarks of a Heyer work. And they are all present here in The Reluctant Widow. However, this book just didn't work quite as well as some of her other books have for me. For one thing the heroine, Elinor, and Lord Carlyon, the hero simply do not know each other well enough or see each other enough (the novel all takes place in the space of a week) to really build romantic tension. So I thought that aspect of the novel fell very flat. I also had trouble with Lord Carlyon's cavalier attitude towards protecting Elinor from his dangerous cousin.
Other than Elinor, who is delightful, I loved the characters of Nicky and his dog Bouncer. Lots of laughs there.
This was a terrible week in terms of news so I needed something light to read and The Reluctant Widow did provide some lovely diversion.
For more book reviews see 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Anyhoo! Here's my review:
The Reluctant Widow is a typical Heyer work of Regency Romance fiction. Wonderful characters, funny, sparkling dialogue, a great sense of historical accuracy and attention to every day detail, an exciting plot line and a touch of romance, these are all hallmarks of a Heyer work. And they are all present here in The Reluctant Widow. However, this book just didn't work quite as well as some of her other books have for me. For one thing the heroine, Elinor, and Lord Carlyon, the hero simply do not know each other well enough or see each other enough (the novel all takes place in the space of a week) to really build romantic tension. So I thought that aspect of the novel fell very flat. I also had trouble with Lord Carlyon's cavalier attitude towards protecting Elinor from his dangerous cousin.
Other than Elinor, who is delightful, I loved the characters of Nicky and his dog Bouncer. Lots of laughs there.
This was a terrible week in terms of news so I needed something light to read and The Reluctant Widow did provide some lovely diversion.
For more book reviews see 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Housekeeping this Week
I have not really done any housework post Easter. At first I was lazy just recovering from Easter itself, but then I got my little back skin infection problem and I sort of didn't focus on it at all. But I am feeling so much better now and the house once again is grungy.
So this week I will:
Clean the fridge
Scrub the bathrooms
Dust main floor and vacuum (kids help here)
Dust bedrooms and vacuum (kids help here)
Do a few loads of laundry (kids help here)
Plus the grass has begun to grow! Argh! So lawn care, weeding and mulching are big items on the to do list this week. Since we got our manual push mower though, all the kids can help with that. And they always need to pitch in for the weeding and mulching.
Isn't it rather pathetic that I feel the need to blog this stuff? It should be so mundane and automatic but, no, it takes a lot focussed energy from me to get stuff like this done!
So this week I will:
Clean the fridge
Scrub the bathrooms
Dust main floor and vacuum (kids help here)
Dust bedrooms and vacuum (kids help here)
Do a few loads of laundry (kids help here)
Plus the grass has begun to grow! Argh! So lawn care, weeding and mulching are big items on the to do list this week. Since we got our manual push mower though, all the kids can help with that. And they always need to pitch in for the weeding and mulching.
Isn't it rather pathetic that I feel the need to blog this stuff? It should be so mundane and automatic but, no, it takes a lot focussed energy from me to get stuff like this done!
Sunday, April 14, 2013
The City Homesteader - Book 17
The City Homesteader; Self-sufficiency on Any Square Footage by Scott Meyer. Meyer was editor of Organic Gardening magazine. He lives in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. I thought this book was excellent. There's no preaching or holier than thou attitude, just clear, simple, helpful instructions on how to get started told with common sense and humor. This book is a keeper! It really is a reference guide that one can refer to over and over again. As a homestead wannabe, this book gives me a lot of hope and takes the intimidating factor out of the whole concept. Meyer covers the usual topics from gardening, to preserving foods, raising urban friendly livestock, foraging for wild food in urban/suburban areas and a lot more.
Two enthusiastic (almost green) thumbs up! For more book reviews go to 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Two enthusiastic (almost green) thumbs up! For more book reviews go to 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Adam and Eve After the Pill - Book 16
The full title of this book is Adam and Eve After the Pill: Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution by Mary Eberstadt. This book is essentially a collection of essays on the effects of the birth control pill on society and culture. The analysis is razor sharp. Everything bad that Humanae Vitae predicted has happened and then some. I thought the essays on the transvaluation of values on food and sex and pornography and smoking were really interesting. A very powerful, intelligent and honest book on the fall out from the sexual revolution.
I highly recommend this book! For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
I highly recommend this book! For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Seano's First Week at School
Well, the week ended on an up beat. Sean has decided he likes school! This week was pretty much a roller coaster emotionally but it all ended well. The thing that impressed Sean was on Fridays you get an hour of leisure instead of a 1/2 hour. So he beat the game Contra during that time. However, his teacher said no computer time next week because apparently everybody kept forgetting to charge their laptops, so they get a week without to reinforce the idea that they need to be responsible. Sean was a little panicked about that! We'll see how that goes!
Anyway the things he did this week:
He really learned a ton about civics. Something he'd never had any interest in before and would have resisted mightily from me, he's suddenly spouting all sorts of facts about. They have finished up a unit on the three branches of government. Now they are going to make a music video about it. Sean thought this was demeaningly stupid! But they told him he could edit the video and that would be his contribution and he loved that idea.
His favorite teacher so far is his math and science teacher, though he says they are all nice. For math this week he just reviewed some basic algebra stuff. I think the teacher is trying to figure out exactly where he is. In science the kids are all starting a science project. Sean could not come up with an idea for his, so the teacher came up with one: test to see if reaction times vary according to different game controllers. So Sean has been busy brainstorming about this and how he's going to set up his experiment. He's going to ask seven people to play a certain game twice on three different controllers.
In English/History he researched about diseases during the Revolutionary/colonial era. He had to construct a poster presenting the information he'd found and then give a talk about it.
Other cool things they did: one morning they went for a 'marsh walk.' The school is really in an office park so it doesn't look like a school. Behind the office park is a park like area that is very marshy and the county has built a long boardwalk out into it. So the kids went on a nature walk one morning. Another thing Sean was talking about was how the kids all meet to decide things like what the theme of the next spirit day is going to be.
Sean regaled with funny stories about the crazy kids. There is one kid he especially likes because he is so sweet and goofy. Another kids is also into retro video games like Sean is so he is enjoying getting to talk to him.
Sean does have homework this weekend. He's still reading Water Sky and he's got more civics to do. Anyway, it was great to have things end so well for the first week.
Anyway the things he did this week:
He really learned a ton about civics. Something he'd never had any interest in before and would have resisted mightily from me, he's suddenly spouting all sorts of facts about. They have finished up a unit on the three branches of government. Now they are going to make a music video about it. Sean thought this was demeaningly stupid! But they told him he could edit the video and that would be his contribution and he loved that idea.
His favorite teacher so far is his math and science teacher, though he says they are all nice. For math this week he just reviewed some basic algebra stuff. I think the teacher is trying to figure out exactly where he is. In science the kids are all starting a science project. Sean could not come up with an idea for his, so the teacher came up with one: test to see if reaction times vary according to different game controllers. So Sean has been busy brainstorming about this and how he's going to set up his experiment. He's going to ask seven people to play a certain game twice on three different controllers.
In English/History he researched about diseases during the Revolutionary/colonial era. He had to construct a poster presenting the information he'd found and then give a talk about it.
Other cool things they did: one morning they went for a 'marsh walk.' The school is really in an office park so it doesn't look like a school. Behind the office park is a park like area that is very marshy and the county has built a long boardwalk out into it. So the kids went on a nature walk one morning. Another thing Sean was talking about was how the kids all meet to decide things like what the theme of the next spirit day is going to be.
Sean regaled with funny stories about the crazy kids. There is one kid he especially likes because he is so sweet and goofy. Another kids is also into retro video games like Sean is so he is enjoying getting to talk to him.
Sean does have homework this weekend. He's still reading Water Sky and he's got more civics to do. Anyway, it was great to have things end so well for the first week.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Our Experiment
Seano started school yesterday. He kept saying all afternoon after he got home: I can't believe I go to school now. Of course it was only the first day and a half day at that! LOL. It's a special school for kids with spectrum issues, social and communication deficits, etc. Sean said that the kids were even 'crazier' than he remembered from his visit. He said that he thought maybe he'd just been hyping it up because he was afraid of attending, but he says, they really are crazy mom! That's the big issue for us. Is Sean going to feel comfortable there or is the fact that the other kids aren't 'normal' (whatever that means!) going to break the deal? So we are giving it a try from now until the last day of school (late June). If it seems like things will pan out, he'll go there for 9th grade.
I feel guilty about the whole thing.
The truth is, I think, it is my own lacking that has sent him there. I can't seem to maintain any kind of structure for long. He desperately needs the structure. While I was never high in confidence, we did manage to muddle through and both Hannah and William went on to experience success in college. That was very gratifying. Josh though is a different story. He is so very unmotivated and pretty immature. Not immature in a bad way, he's a responsible kid in that he doesn't act out or do dangerous things or rebel or anything like that. He's quiet and very content (in fact too much so) to just stay in his room, reading his fan fiction (but never writing, even though he says he wants to), daydreaming and listening to his music. Every once in a while he breaks out and play videogames, LOL (laughing through my tears). Never getting out of his comfort zone. Never thinking about his future. Never thinking about other people much. I don't care about not wanting to go on to college either (well, a little bit) if he had some direction, some plan, some passion that would translate into becoming self-sufficient. But there's nothing there. So he needs time. But he also needs nudging and expectations and to be directly taught about how to conduct himself. He doesn't get it intuitively very much.
My vision for next year:
Josh has a job and is hopefully taking a class or two at the community college. Josh also is involved in some kind of Catholic group and maybe volunteers somewhere to expand his horizons and (I hate to say it!) build up his resume.
Sean goes to school for 9th grade. Right now I fantasize about bringing him home after that.
Becky and I do our Aquinas Learning thing and have lots of fun doing things that Becky would love to do. Things we haven't been doing because Sean is such a stick in the mud about everything and puts the damper on everything from read alouds, projects, field trips, etc. You name it, he'll whine about what an imposition it is on him! I love the guy but it is hard living with a kid who is depressed and rigid. I am really hoping with this school, through their social thinking skills therapy, that he'll get into some new habits of thinking and behaving. Just the fact that he'll have to get up every morning at the same time and do the same thing and then go out and have to be responsive to the world instead of living in his own little bubble - this will be good for him.
Alright, I better go take my shower and get Sean up now. Gotta pack him a lunch and get him to school on time!
I feel guilty about the whole thing.
The truth is, I think, it is my own lacking that has sent him there. I can't seem to maintain any kind of structure for long. He desperately needs the structure. While I was never high in confidence, we did manage to muddle through and both Hannah and William went on to experience success in college. That was very gratifying. Josh though is a different story. He is so very unmotivated and pretty immature. Not immature in a bad way, he's a responsible kid in that he doesn't act out or do dangerous things or rebel or anything like that. He's quiet and very content (in fact too much so) to just stay in his room, reading his fan fiction (but never writing, even though he says he wants to), daydreaming and listening to his music. Every once in a while he breaks out and play videogames, LOL (laughing through my tears). Never getting out of his comfort zone. Never thinking about his future. Never thinking about other people much. I don't care about not wanting to go on to college either (well, a little bit) if he had some direction, some plan, some passion that would translate into becoming self-sufficient. But there's nothing there. So he needs time. But he also needs nudging and expectations and to be directly taught about how to conduct himself. He doesn't get it intuitively very much.
My vision for next year:
Josh has a job and is hopefully taking a class or two at the community college. Josh also is involved in some kind of Catholic group and maybe volunteers somewhere to expand his horizons and (I hate to say it!) build up his resume.
Sean goes to school for 9th grade. Right now I fantasize about bringing him home after that.
Becky and I do our Aquinas Learning thing and have lots of fun doing things that Becky would love to do. Things we haven't been doing because Sean is such a stick in the mud about everything and puts the damper on everything from read alouds, projects, field trips, etc. You name it, he'll whine about what an imposition it is on him! I love the guy but it is hard living with a kid who is depressed and rigid. I am really hoping with this school, through their social thinking skills therapy, that he'll get into some new habits of thinking and behaving. Just the fact that he'll have to get up every morning at the same time and do the same thing and then go out and have to be responsive to the world instead of living in his own little bubble - this will be good for him.
Alright, I better go take my shower and get Sean up now. Gotta pack him a lunch and get him to school on time!
Friday, April 5, 2013
What's happening - 4/5/13
This week started with a lovely Easter Sunday. We had the requisite egg hunt, albeit at 11:00 a.m. instead of much earlier. That's life with older children! Hannah and her boyfriend Peter made us a wonderful dinner of steak and crab cakes. Peter made the crab cakes and they were delicious! William went back to Boston late Easter evening and. . . forgot his laptop in the security check station at the airport here.
The next day was Easter Monday. Rick left for New Jersey at 5 in the morning. There's a trial going on up there. Hannah and Peter left in the afternoon to fly back to Dallas. I dropped them off at the metro (they were flying out of the OTHER airport nearby, just to make life confusing!) and then drove over to the airport to rescue Will's laptop. I didn't get around to mailing it to him until the next day because I had to take Sean to a physical to get all his papers in order so he can start at his new school. At least we had Easter Monday off from Adler Academy. That starts up again next Monday.
Tuesday morning started off bright and early with a meeting at 8:00 a.m. at Sean's new school. I met all his teachers. They all seemed very nice. Sean has two take home papers he has to fill out for his civics class. I told the English teacher that I was making him read a book so that he couldn't say he'd never finished a book anymore! The book is Water Sky. The teacher (wish I could remember his name!) said that was great because each month the kids pick a book they want to read and then do a 3 to 5 minute presentation on it to the class. So Water Sky is Sean's book for that. Tuesday at 11:15 I went to my first water exercise class. I am the youngest there, though there is another lady who might be just 5 years older than me. The others are into their 70s or 80's even. There is a large contingent of I think Chinese ladies. Apparently the same people attend this class year after year. They were all excited to see a new face! LOL. I do enjoy the exercises a lot.
After the class I noticed this stupid little cyst I've had on my back for forever started to bother me.
Tuesday afternoon I took Becky to her art class and Sean and I did some very needed grocery shopping. Picked Becky up from her friends' house later.
Wednesday - cyst on my back is all swollen and hurting. Math tutor came and gave Sean his last tutoring session from her. Finally mailed Will's laptop to him. Started watching a movie with Becky and Sean called Nanook of the North. It's a 1922 film about an Eskimo hunter and his family. We've only watched about half of it. Hopefully we'll finish it over the weekend. Did a little bit of math with Becky and a little bit of her Aquinas Learning activity sheets. Also focused on trying to clean her horribly messy room. Make her do her own laundry. Also helped her sort through all her books. Worked with Sean in his civics assignment. Sean and Josh went to CLC in the evening. Rick got home from New Jersey about 11:00 p.m.
Thursday - Joshua's 18th birthday! Made bacon and eggs for breakfast. Rick gave Josh a fancy complicated watch. My cyst is really bothering me. I ignore it and go to the water exercise class. Come home, Becky's friends come over to play, got to chat with their mom, a good friend. Drove them home, took Becky to gymnastics. While she's there I buy a lemon cake mix and some ice cream. Pick her up again and come home. Immediately bake cake and start Josh's favorite dinner of spaghetti with meat sauce. Rick gets home a bit after 7:00 p.m. and we all sit down and eat together and then sing happy birthday and have cake and ice cream. My cyst hurts like crazy. I had a terrible time driving around because I couldn't lean back at all.
Friday - Cyst is even worse. I call doctor and talk them into seeing me at 3:30 p.m. I send Josh off to a running class only to have him come back and tell me it starts next week. I do that sort of thing a lot! Rick wound up working from home all day. Did a little more schoolwork with Becky. I've been reading her The White Stag which is the family read aloud for Aquinas. Watched a little more of Nanook. Gathered up a bunch of books and donated them to a good cause. Josh drove them over to the place to drop them off. Went to doctors. NP says it is too inflamed and hard to lance. Prescribes antibiotic and tells me to spend the weekend putting hot compresses on it and then come back early next week to have it removed. Came home feeling really lousy. Took some Advil and kept hot compresses on the darn thing for about an hour. Started to feel much better! Josh ran to the drugstore for me and on the way home picked up sub sandwiches for dinner. God bless that boy!
All week I have been on an urban homesteading jag and I even started a social group at the Well Trained Mind. That has been my escape this week!
So this weekend: nurse stupid swollen cyst. Prep to teach RE class Sunday a.m. Prep to teach at Adler on Monday. Also prep Sean for 1st day of school. Make sure he has clean clothes, has all his work etc in his backpack, make sure I have remaining forms filled out and check to give them Monday a.m. I have to pack him a lunch as well. Becky and I are going to be late for Adler and then we are going to leave early as well, so I can pick Sean up. It's his first day and he really isn't happy about going so I am trying to be there for him and make things go as smoothly as possible. Becky also has her American Heritage Girls meeting on Monday afternoon.
So that's that!
The next day was Easter Monday. Rick left for New Jersey at 5 in the morning. There's a trial going on up there. Hannah and Peter left in the afternoon to fly back to Dallas. I dropped them off at the metro (they were flying out of the OTHER airport nearby, just to make life confusing!) and then drove over to the airport to rescue Will's laptop. I didn't get around to mailing it to him until the next day because I had to take Sean to a physical to get all his papers in order so he can start at his new school. At least we had Easter Monday off from Adler Academy. That starts up again next Monday.
Tuesday morning started off bright and early with a meeting at 8:00 a.m. at Sean's new school. I met all his teachers. They all seemed very nice. Sean has two take home papers he has to fill out for his civics class. I told the English teacher that I was making him read a book so that he couldn't say he'd never finished a book anymore! The book is Water Sky. The teacher (wish I could remember his name!) said that was great because each month the kids pick a book they want to read and then do a 3 to 5 minute presentation on it to the class. So Water Sky is Sean's book for that. Tuesday at 11:15 I went to my first water exercise class. I am the youngest there, though there is another lady who might be just 5 years older than me. The others are into their 70s or 80's even. There is a large contingent of I think Chinese ladies. Apparently the same people attend this class year after year. They were all excited to see a new face! LOL. I do enjoy the exercises a lot.
After the class I noticed this stupid little cyst I've had on my back for forever started to bother me.
Tuesday afternoon I took Becky to her art class and Sean and I did some very needed grocery shopping. Picked Becky up from her friends' house later.
Wednesday - cyst on my back is all swollen and hurting. Math tutor came and gave Sean his last tutoring session from her. Finally mailed Will's laptop to him. Started watching a movie with Becky and Sean called Nanook of the North. It's a 1922 film about an Eskimo hunter and his family. We've only watched about half of it. Hopefully we'll finish it over the weekend. Did a little bit of math with Becky and a little bit of her Aquinas Learning activity sheets. Also focused on trying to clean her horribly messy room. Make her do her own laundry. Also helped her sort through all her books. Worked with Sean in his civics assignment. Sean and Josh went to CLC in the evening. Rick got home from New Jersey about 11:00 p.m.
Thursday - Joshua's 18th birthday! Made bacon and eggs for breakfast. Rick gave Josh a fancy complicated watch. My cyst is really bothering me. I ignore it and go to the water exercise class. Come home, Becky's friends come over to play, got to chat with their mom, a good friend. Drove them home, took Becky to gymnastics. While she's there I buy a lemon cake mix and some ice cream. Pick her up again and come home. Immediately bake cake and start Josh's favorite dinner of spaghetti with meat sauce. Rick gets home a bit after 7:00 p.m. and we all sit down and eat together and then sing happy birthday and have cake and ice cream. My cyst hurts like crazy. I had a terrible time driving around because I couldn't lean back at all.
Friday - Cyst is even worse. I call doctor and talk them into seeing me at 3:30 p.m. I send Josh off to a running class only to have him come back and tell me it starts next week. I do that sort of thing a lot! Rick wound up working from home all day. Did a little more schoolwork with Becky. I've been reading her The White Stag which is the family read aloud for Aquinas. Watched a little more of Nanook. Gathered up a bunch of books and donated them to a good cause. Josh drove them over to the place to drop them off. Went to doctors. NP says it is too inflamed and hard to lance. Prescribes antibiotic and tells me to spend the weekend putting hot compresses on it and then come back early next week to have it removed. Came home feeling really lousy. Took some Advil and kept hot compresses on the darn thing for about an hour. Started to feel much better! Josh ran to the drugstore for me and on the way home picked up sub sandwiches for dinner. God bless that boy!
All week I have been on an urban homesteading jag and I even started a social group at the Well Trained Mind. That has been my escape this week!
So this weekend: nurse stupid swollen cyst. Prep to teach RE class Sunday a.m. Prep to teach at Adler on Monday. Also prep Sean for 1st day of school. Make sure he has clean clothes, has all his work etc in his backpack, make sure I have remaining forms filled out and check to give them Monday a.m. I have to pack him a lunch as well. Becky and I are going to be late for Adler and then we are going to leave early as well, so I can pick Sean up. It's his first day and he really isn't happy about going so I am trying to be there for him and make things go as smoothly as possible. Becky also has her American Heritage Girls meeting on Monday afternoon.
So that's that!
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