At Home Day

I always think that when Dean is gone that things will slow down - no window washing going on, I have the van at my disposal - no fancy arrangements to be made for transportation.... but it never is slower. I have the van at my disposal and suddenly, my backlogged list of things to do when I have the van.... And in my efforts to reduce my own emissions, I try to make only one trip and get as much done as possible. So that has meant Rhiannon and I have been gone for big parts of the day. I've got a lot accomplished.... It has been really busy. This picture of my dance class of whirling dervishes best captures the feel of our week. We've done a lot of fun things but it has been a bit of a whirl! (my class was so full of energy yesterday afternoon that most of my pics look like this and I invented a new dance exercise. You lay on your back on the floor and dance with your arms and legs.... necessity is the mother of invention after all)


By Friday, we are both a little worn out. My social butterfly was begging for an 'at home' day despite an invitation to join other homeschoolers on a bike ride and her regularly scheduled violin lesson. So home we have stayed (well, almost). Rhiannon has laid on the couch for most of the morning watching some new movies from the library and her grandparents. (she loves Watership Down) I don't usually allow so much tv time but it seemed to be in order this 'relax' day.

For myself, I have carved a little space for myself in the 'homeschooling room' which has mostly been the 'unused' room since we moved in just over a year ago now.... It was has housed all the boxes that were waiting for their place in our new home and then it just became a dumping ground for things that had no other place to go. So finally this week, amidst all that whirl, I cleared the table enough to have a space for journalling and sitting and doing my own paper work. I have loved sitting there and writing and contemplating and planning. Hopefully by this weekend I will empty that box on my table and I'll have even MORE space...

So after that nice, contemplative beginning to my day and a bit of socializing and philosophizing at Friesens about homeschooling, I set to work on my gardens. Of course our 'at home' day is the day of worst weather - chilly and overcast after all the sunshine of the past few days when we were flying around.... I have been working on a flower bed long neglected by previous tenants and overgrown with weeds and crab grass. My new philosophy in gardening is ease. So instead of fighting those weeds, I have been 'working with' them. I didn't even attempt to pull them up... I just put a layer of newspaper and a layer of fall leaves and then a new layer of top soil. I have transplanted some plants from my friend's garden and today I discovered this... Remember that beautiful peony that I photographed for Laura? Here it is through the newspaper and leaves and new topsoil.... Just for you, Laura! Although that peony's persistence has inspired me to use a much thicker layer of newspaper in the rest of the bed... cardboard even...