Something New

I did something brand new in the past couple of weeks. Sometimes my life gets so routine that I am surprised that there are new things to do and discover. (How sad is that?).

I sold something on ebay. It was exciting and scary, but I had a veteran to get me started. That is right, Sabrina is a veteran ebay seller. Now all those books sitting and collecting dust--you know the ones I enthusiastically bought when I started home schooling that are just a BAD fit for Sam and I--are all going to other households where they will, hopefully, be more useful.

I did discover a tick on me after camping, but it is not developing any lyme disease symptoms. Dwight has chiggers which he seems to be reacting allergically to--it is worse than expected. Sam came away unscathed (thank you, God, for that).

The month of May is going to be a big testing month--I will probably be testing every Friday for the whole month. Sam will finish pre-algebra and take his first final exam (mostly to experience it).

Other than that, things are very routine. I'm not complaining, I like routine.

Right now I am on hold with the cable company. They want to charge us $49.95 for a service call when we were paying a monthly fee for "service assurance" or something. Every time someone has come to our house since purchasing this service assurance, the service fee has still appeared on our bill. In order to not pay it we have to dance with the customer service people. Don't you just love that kind of treatment? They won't keep their word unless you call and force them to. That is the kind of integrity I can live without.

Right now Sam and I are reading Little Britches. In there the boy's dad tells him there are two kinds of people, honest people and dishonest people. What race, economic level, language, or any other way of grouping people didn't matter. Whoever at Cox has made the decision to charge and make the customer demand what was promised doesn't fit into the honest category!!

Long time no write

So much has happened, I haven't had time to post. Sabrina being here for Easter was WONDERFUL!! We had a perfect Easter Day. She is fun to have around. You can read about it on her blog.

Then we had a lazy week of no school! Fun was had by both teacher and student. I saw the orthopedist and got a "healed" diagnosis--really he said "healing" not healed, but I don't need to go back or continue the physical therapy.

Thursday we packed the car and headed to a park near Richmond. We camped Thursday night with six other families from our church. It was fun. Dwight drove back to church to open the doors for our martial arts class, then returned to camping on Friday morning. We hiked--got to experience geo-caching for the first time (letterboxing is better in my opinion). We got rained on, we got lost. We finally returned to our campsites and the sun came out. About the time we were thinking it was going to be a good night, the thunder started--and it rained hard. So, we packed our stuff, ate dinner together and all but one family went home to sleep.

With the walking, lack of sleep and probably dehydration, I ended up with a wonderful migraine headache. I was glad to sleep at home. Sam's asthma flared up because of the damp and pollen and...everything else. I still like camping, but I don't like camping in the rain. This group of families are planning on going again in June to the Eastern Shores. There are tidal pools for the little ones and the bay for the big kids. I think we'll join them...depending on the weather forecast.

We are planning our second annual birdwatching field trip with resident expert, Mr. Marshall. Sam's ability to spot a bird has improved incredibly in the last year, so I think he'll get SO much more out of it this time. Mr. Marshall's generosity and patience is endless so he's willing to take us again.

This next week it is back to a normal school schedule and back to volunteering at Mom to Mom, too. One more chapter to finish pre-algebra. Less than 15 books to read for history. We'll be done with 5th grade. I still plan school-lite over the summer rather than review in the fall.

Bird News

We have a flock of chipping sparrows visiting our feeders. They are darling cute. They look like female house sparrow with an orange-ish brown yarmulke on their heads. :-) They must be celebrating passover!

We are also seeing hummingbirds at our feeder--yippee!! The backyard bird sanctuary is doing well. During this dry time, the birdbath is a popular site (squirrels are drinking from it, too). The only thing we are missing are birdhouses, but I think that there are many natural nesting sites nearby--lots of trees and bushes.

Come share our bounty with us!

Update

School:

We are fighting an energy sapping virus here, but managing to get through school in spite of it. Sam has switched back to the textbook I like for math, but now he knows he wants to do it instead of me telling him it is the best way. (peace).

Spring fever is hitting and we are slowing down a bit. We are going to do some outdoor things and take it a little easier. This is so doable when you do school all year round (just lightly in the summer). We don't have to fight our spring fever--just enjoy the beautiful weather!

Good News:

We get to host Sabrina for Easter weekend (I know--you are all jealous!). This holiday is usually not one we celebrate with family since it isn't a good time of year for me to take off work. But this year at least some family is coming to us (and a really FUN segment of family). Sam is excited!

All the rest:

Everything else seems to be same old, same old. I have one more week of physical therapy and then see the orthopedist the following week, my ankle is almost 100% back to normal. The PT says I need to do these instep exercises--I didn't even know I had a muscle in my instep. The only way I am able to flex it is to tense up everything from the waist down (and both feet at the same time). So, I guess everything gets exercise.

Hope you are all doing well. Glad to hear that Dave is on the mend. He's in my thoughts and prayers daily. Keep us posted.