On Mandy Mae. whom I loved best

I Loved You Best
Jim Willis

 So this is where we part, My Friend, 
   and you'll run on, around the bend,
   gone from sight, but not from mind, 
   new pleasures there you'll surely find.

   I will go on, I'll find the strength, 
   life measures quality, not its length.
   One long embrace before you leave, 
   share one last look, before I grieve.

   There are others, that much is true,
   but they be they, and they aren't you. 
   And I, fair, impartial, or so I thought, 
   will remember well all you've taught.

   Your place I'll hold, you will be missed,
   the fur I stroked, the nose I kissed. 
   And as you journey to your final rest, 
   take with you this...I loved you best.

I hate to publish another dog obituary on my blog so soon after last year's loss of Kearney, but it's been a long time coming. We lost our Mandy at the end of February, a mere three days before she would have been with me five years. I have struggled and fought, unsure what to write and how to share this experience with you all, but then I know that you, my friends, would want to share in my grieving again and join me in celebrating the life of my very best friend.

You wouldn't, I fear, want to know the depth of my pain when I held her in my arms, laid as she was across my lap, on the cold floor of the vet's office, and I understood for the first time what is meant when people say they felt the life drain out of someone. The mere retrospective thought of this still leaves knots in my belly, and makes it hard for me to breathe. Her life was my life. She saved my life. We shared this life. And now it was gone from her. Now I must go on without her.

I am afraid to tell you how, night after night, I dream of her, and I awake in the morning without her, saddened all over again. I am afraid to mention how this freight train of emotion and longing hit me with the same force of the death of some human family members, and, indeed, more force than others. But I have promised you that I would be open and honest, and this is my truth. You see, my Mandy, I have said, was not a dog.

Mandy was more like my partner. From the day I moved into my first real home as a single mother, away from my friends "back home" in the bayous, Mandy was by my side. I pulled her, broken, bleeding and sick, out of her old home and brought her with me to heal. Our vet says that we helped each other to heal. We had both been neglected and mistreated, but now, we had each other. She was the one reason I held onto that home as long as I did after it became untenable, and one of the biggest reasons I moved into the home I still live in.

She slept in my bed every night. She pined away for my son when he was at his father's. She loved my parents and my friends. She let me cry into her silky soft neck when I was sad. She laid that same neck over my eyes when I got migraines. She wiggled when I laughed. She pouted when I was frustrated. She was ALWAYS THERE. She was our constant. She was our stability. She was our best friend. She was my partner. Without her, I think our hard times would have been much harder, and without her, I am not sure our good times would have been as good.

I woke up one morning in February to get ready to take our puppy, Christopher Marlowe, to get neutered, but instead, I found my Mandy in great distress. Her kidneys had officially failed her, and there was blood everywhere. She was confused and in pain. It was time. I made the appointment, and the next morning, my beloved died as she lived best: snuggled in my arms, my face in the silky smoothness of her neck.

I love you, sweet, sweet girl. We will never, ever forget you. We loved you best.

Happy New Year.

It's 2014. Or I think it is. There are fireworks EVERYWHERE. My dogs are not pleased. All three are crated, and the older two are nice and sedated, but still panicking a wee bit.

I've been asked to do some more blogging, and I apologize for the length of my absences. I've had a lot of stress and anxiety, and I guess something about the transparency of blogging scares me just a bit. I am working on that. But it's a new year, and I guess, a new "start" so to speak for my inner blogger.

So, let's start the year off like everybody else, okay? The dreaded New Year's Resolution post. Year after year, I've said that I don't make New Year's Resolutions. They don't work. People don't stick them out. But what I WILL do is accept some challenges and make some goals.

Challenge 1: 52 Week Money Challenge
Looks simple, sounds hard. Starting this week, you save a dollar. Then each week, you save one dollar more than the previous week. At the end of the year, you should have $1378 in savings. Since I am broke as a joke and have no actual bank account, I have an American Express Bluebird for this project. For all other things, I use my PayPal card or my AccountNow card.

Challenge 2: 52 Weeks to an Organized Home
I love how simple this is. It's brilliant! I think it spends two full months just on the kitchen, but you don't do the whole room in a day. I can handle that. Even my OCD can handle that.

Challenge 3: Attack of the Flylady
So, this one I am sharing with another friend who has specifically asked me to blog about it as I go. So, I've mentioned before that I fail at the flylady thing with my OCD, right? So, after further investigation in 2013, I've realized that I just can't with flylady. The control journal makes me crazy, and the daily routine lists leave me obsessing for weeks, and I just CAN'T. It's absolutely not a failing of her system. It's a failing of my therapy, or lack thereof, and my complete lack of coping skills. It's cool. I have my own way of coping. See? I have a routine for the most part, and it's not that far from OR that close to Marla's. I can't get dressed to lace-up shoes every morning. It hurts. Plus, I'd like to keep my orthotics intact as long as possible, because those things COST! So, Flylady, I can't do the whole program without working myself into a complete neurotic breakdown. What I CAN do, though, is focus on the daily missions (linked above), and work on the HOM (Habit of the Month). And I can keep up with my own system of checking off the daily chart and moderately-deep-cleaning a room a day, but super-cleaning a zone at a time the flylady way sounds like a great way to keep it manageable. My dear Natacha wants me to blog these challenges as I go, daily for a while. I will tag them "keeping house with Kate."

Challenge 4: NaBloPoYEAR
Because I have utterly abandoned my blog within three days of starting any other NaBloPoMo endeavor. Yep. I'm going to try it every month this year. I am actually going to use the writing prompts, which means, no themed NaBloPoMo posts on weekends.

Challenge 5: Read the Orthodox Study Bible in a Year
Because I always abandon this idea pretty quick too. Not this time. Y'all keep me on top of it, okay??

So, that's it. My OCD is begging me to find a fitness challenge (there are a million of them out there), but I JUST got health coverage again for the first time in two years, and I want to get the doctor's opinion before I start anything major. Also, with my healthcare plan I can get a free membership at Gold's Gym, and I REALLY like that idea. The local one has a women's only facility. No hot tub though. I may have to see if I can find a local gym with a hot tub that my plan will cover. The big goal with this though, well, really, covers both the fitness thing AND the I-finally-have-health-coverage-and-can-see-a-doctor-after-33-straight-days-with-the-same-migraine thing: getting my health in order as much as I can and regaining some of the quality of life that I have been desperately missing recently.

Alright, Flylady, I shined my sink. NOW what??

It's that time of year. The season has officially changed. The summer clothes need to packed away for next year, and the lovely sweaters get laundered and brought back out. That always throws me into a cleaning spree. Is fall cleaning a thing? If not, it bloody well should be! It CERTAINLY is a thing here. And this year, happy birthday to me, I am getting my dad's sleeper sofa, which I love. I ALSO inherited two FABULOUS dog crates.

Have I mentioned that my house is tiny? That I have OCD? Yeah......... And now, EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF FURNITURE I OWN HAS TO BE MOVED (except Roo's bed, which is a Goliath beast of a thing and will not move unless and until we are moving out of this house. It took three people four days to get it where it is now!) Also, the laundry/storage room was a big heap of cluttered chaos. I haven't been able to find anything in there since a few weeks after the last time I pulled EVERYTHING out and reorganized it. So I pulled everything out again. But good news! We think we found Hoffa behind the paint cans left behind by some previous inhabitant....

In the last week, I have thrown away two over-full big trash bins (you know, the small dumpster thing the sanitation folks send out?) of junk, my paper recycle bin has been filled to overflowing twice (it's more than overflowing now, and I DON'T think they pick up recycling this week. Oops!!). I've donated TWELVE bags of clothes and shoes, SIX boxes of food-that-isn't-gluten-free, and I am currently looking for the right family to give FIVE bins of toys and games for preschoolers, a play vanity, and a tricycle (Merry Christmas!). I even finally talked myself into throwing away the patio bench that I loved so much that has been broken since May and cannot be fixed.

I've rearranged both bedrooms, the living room, the storage room, and the carport. On Thursday, the lawn will get mowed and edged, and the garden spots will be adorned, and, in theory, my coveted sleeper sofa will be arriving in my living room.

And I am asking myself, again, how do I keep my house and my brain in shape once I have completed my own personal Extreme Home Makeover: Crap You Already Own Edition. I am also asking myself exactly WHERE I am going to store my extra towels now that I've moved the dresser they were stored in into my bedroom and my tall-boy into the storage room to hold art, craft, and school supplies so I can actually FIND them. But that's not what this post is about. Much.

I've tried "organizing," "housekeeping" and other such systems in the past, including letting my OCD and my ADD wage war and wreak havoc in my head - and my kitchen. And ALWAYS, ALWAYS, I overthink things WAY too much, and I let my OCD get the better of me (as it will do, whether you "allow" it to or not!), and I give up, and three months later, I spend ten days trying to sort through boxes of what-the-heck-is-this?! and I-forgot-I-owned-this! Seriously. I went through a box of stuff tongight. I didn't know the box existed, much less the really cool vases and the WEATHER RADIO it contained. I have no idea how long I've had it. Probably all summer. And I've been LOOKING for a weather radio. To PURCHASE. So glad I never got around to that!!

So, I am working my way through the laundry and the storage room at this point, and then, a thorough cleaning of the floors, and I am finished. I am determined that the contents of my storage room shall henceforth remain static. If something goes in, something comes out, and it will only contain (other than the laundry supplies. DUH!) art supplies, craft supplies, school supplies, a spare AC, ceramic space heaters, camping supplies, and seasonal decorations. And I may need to scale those back.

I need to maintain, and keep organizing regularly. But how?

So, I thought I'd give Flylady another go, but this time, I am determined not to try to get ahead of myself. She says to make shining your sink a habit, right? But the "baby steps" are theoretically a month's worth of things. Not me. Not this time. So, here's my plan.

Flylady has "zone missions," right? Each week, they focus on a different area of the house, and each day, there's a short "mission" for that area. I should do that.

I like the ideas at Organizing Made Fun's 31-day challenge. It was for October. Nobody says I can't do it now. It's like a daily mission. I should do that, too. That's two short tasks a day. Morning and afternoon, right?

And I am not doing Flylady's steps in 31 days. I don't shine my sink. It's not even close to a habit. I am just going to work on THAT step and the mission-things until I'm doing it without flipping out on myself or complaining, or stressing. THAT's a better plan for me, I think. I should TOTALLY do that.

I am hoping that maybe this time I can maintain without the crazy anxiety attacks I get. Because, honestly, as mildly as I've got it, OCD is a BEAST. I was talking to a friend tonight while I was working on the patio trying to get stuff done, and I said the following, almost ver batim:

"This is stupid. I am seriously about to have an anxiety attack because I don't have the right bin for my lumber, and I don't know where the lumber goes. And I want it in an opaque bin with no lid. If I am going to use a CLEAR bin, I want my garden stuff in that. Okay, transferring garden stuff to clear bin. That's a bit better. I still don't know where the heck to put it without making it look JUNKY. You know what I need? I need some pallets and some canvas and a sheet of plywood so I can build a little mini-shed-thing to store my garden stuff in, because then it wouldn't look junky. And another one (or two) for my lumber, because that makes SENSE, darn it. And I feel COMPLETELY insane right now, because I can acknowledge that I am about to have an anxiety attack. I can tell you exactly WHAT is triggering my anxiety attack. But I can't do a THING to prevent it, because if I go inside and get away from the trigger, the anxiety is only going to get WORSE. I feel stupid. A stupid, insane, neurotic mess. OMG. Where do these bins go?"

I've got a bunch of laundry to put away. I haven't vacuumed the floor yet. So I can't put the laundry away. I know that's ridiculous. But it's true. And that's neurosis. And it's OCD. And it's my daily self. So. I am going to go put away dishes, wash a couple, because my sink isn't shining right now, and go back to work on the carport and the laundry.

And when I am finished, I have this plan to thoroughly clean my vacuum cleaner. That gives me a bit of anxiety too, because it has to dry for 24-48 hours, and I vacuum about every six hours. Not the whole house, mind, but SOMETHING.

But after THAT, I am going to just see how I do doing the flylady system, basic daily cleaning, and some organizing challenges. Because my life is crisis cleaning, and I can't live like this. Especially not if I am going back to school full-time (starting up again tomorrow! YAY!) and trying to get a "real job"

But where the heck am I going to keep my rag towels?!

I keep trying to just breathe and remember:
Íosa Críost é buadhach (Isous Christos NIKA) (Jesus Christ is Victorious)

Stay tuned for the reason we started learning this phrase! Bullying and Boy Scouts.

With love as always

Halloween, food allergies, a rant, and a reply

I posted this as a reply on a post over at BlogHer, but I thought it warranted it's own space here.

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We also prefer give out stickers, halloween-themed pencils, and silly-band type treats. I take my boy trick or treating, but then I have to go through everything and make sure it's safe. He's been a trooper about it, but it does kind of bum me out to have to toss out 75% of his "candy haul." On the upside, it's fewer days of being relentlessly bugged every twenty seconds for a piece of candy even though the answer was "no, and don't ask again til after lunch" about a minute ago, and it's only 8:00 in the morning!

What has really driven me bats this year is the SCHOOL! It's our first time in public school, and it's ridiculous. When I went in to register him, I took his medical documentation to prove his allergy (gluten), and was told that we could fill out x-form and y-page and jump through a hoop or two and that the school would accommodate his needs. Well, they don't. They do NOT make accommodations for gluten allergies here. They also do NOT have any sort of list of ingredients on school foods that they will make available to me. So, my son qualifies for free lunch, but it costs me four or five times as much as it would cost me to feed him at home. And he's constantly being given "treats" for different things at school. Not ONCE has one of them been a safe food. Not ONE SINGLE TIME.

His birthday is this Friday. I was asked if I was sending cupcakes. I am not. I wish I could. But the school says they must be CUPCAKES (not cookies. That's not okay for some reason. What the heck??), store-bought, in the original packaging with the ingredients listed and peanut-free. That's doable in theory. Except there is not a single local store that carries any such thing WITHOUT GLUTEN. I'd have to drive an hour to spend something in the neighborhood of $50 to make that happen locally! So, not only does he not get to bring cupcakes in on HIS birthday, but if somebody ELSE brings in birthday cupcakes, he can't eat them, AND the teacher can't tell me in advance if there's going to be a birthday so that I can send my own child something safe.

I don't understand. If we can accommodate any allergies, shouldn't we accommodate all of them and/or just ban food from classroom parties?

NABLOPOMO - National Blog Post Month?

Right. So I signed up for this, and I committed to posting once a day in November. It's only the 3rd, and I've already failed!

OOPS!

But I am looking at the Blog Prompts, and they're not including weekends, so maybe it's not a total wash?

How's your weekend been?

Me? Thanks for asking. I've been absolutely plagued by the CUTEST PUPPY EVER. He showed up at my house Friday night, and by Sunday afternoon, he had decided to worm his way into my heart, defer and be all submissive with my dogs, and beg my son for belly rubs. So, of course, now it's just a few hours til it's time to decide once and for all whether he stays here or goes to the shelter in the hopes that his people come and claim him. And I REALLY can't decide. My heart is telling me to keep the little guy. My head is telling me not to. The boy is begging me to do it.

Seriously, I've worked with this pup TWICE, and he remembers "sit," "down," "wait," "give hug," "off," "leave it," "go to bed," and "come to me." That makes him about two commands shy of Mandy and about a billion more than Joey, who took six months to realize that he's ACTUALLY supposed to sit on command. And he's CUTE. And so sweet. And affectionate. Ugh. It's really not helping my decision-making process that he's so darned adorable. And obedient. At least, he is so far. He's only been here two days, and it can take a couple of weeks for their temperament to really show up. But, he's just tugging at my heart strings so hard!! It's a nightmare, I tell you!! A NIGHTMARE!! A cute, fluffy, whimpering, adorable, happy little nightmare.

See? Do you see??  Do you see my dilemma here???? How can you say no to these faces????????

I've also been working pretty much nonstop around the house this weekend, but more on that later, when I can come back with some pictures and the story! 

I hope you all enjoyed your extra hour of sleep last night. I know I did!  I'll be back some time on Monday with a less-insane update.

Love always,

Here I am.

So, hard decisions in life. You may know by now how strongly I feel about homeschooling and taking a very active role in educating my son. I also feel very strongly about staying in our (inexpensive) house, and maintaining stability. Several weeks ago, it became very apparent that things were just not working, and I needed to start searching for a "real" job. ANY job. Even part time at minimum wage. I don't have friends and family nearby who can watch my boy and/or help with his schooling while I look for a job, and then while I am working. I have spent months searching for something I could do that would have the right hours and days to let me keep homeschooling. It wasn't happening. So we decided that public school was an inevitability this year, and that it was better to make the choice to put him into a public school and try to get a job so we can stay in our home than it is to lose everything and be forced to use the public school system.

So my son has been in public school for four weeks now. Except this week. God bless him. He's been home sick all week.

So, that's where we are right now. I am still looking for the job, but I can at least have my days right now to go to interviews and things like that. I am at the mercy of his dad on a car though. I've been driving his car since July, and this week he decided he needed it back. So I am now a public school mom with no car to get to work once I can find a job.

I am frustrated beyond words, and I really, desperately need your prayers. Roo is struggling hard at school. He keeps getting into trouble, because he always HAS to be right, have the last word, be the boss, etc. He's trying so hard to adjust, and he really wants to want to be there. I want him to have a really positive experience there. I want this to be something GOOD for him. I want it to be good for our family. I want us to come through this stronger, wiser, and better off. But it's hard for a jumpy little kangaroo to adjust to a new environment when he's supposed to do as he's told and be quiet about it. It's been miserable that he's been sick this week, but I have to confess that I've really missed having him at home during the day. Alas, next Monday morning he'll be back on that bus, off to a world where I can't help him.

I am struggling with this decision a month in. Please, please pray for us.

In other news, we've had our Joey dog a year today! He's my pumpkin puppy. He came to us last Halloween a broken, starved, heartworm-positive dog with some "questionable" lung and stomach problems. But we saw our vet last week, and Joey is officially a well-adjusted, well-fed, PERFECTLY HEALTHY HEARTWORM NEGATIVE DOG!!!!!!!!!!!!! Glory to God! My puppy is all better. So, I have been saying, now that he's perfectly healthy, we know he really IS lazy and useless. Good for him! He can be pampered and lounge about all day.

Roo turns seven next Friday. That just amazes me. How did my tiny baby get so big? It's incredible. For his birthday, he asked for a cool chair and a reading nook in his bedroom, a model of the solar system, a rug, and a sweater made from Plymouth Galway yarn in this cool electric blue color. My dad is giving me his AWESOME sleeper sofa, so I put made over Roo's room with his favorite recliner. There's nowhere to FIT a model of the solar system, but we found an AMAZING rug that answers that question. And it's not too expensive. I have all but one skein of the Galway yarn and the pattern for his sweater. I told him it won't be done on his birthday, but I'm working on it, and that's good enough for him. He's really a great kid.

I am currently working on reconfiguring pretty much the entire house to make a space for that sleeper sofa. I will update on that shortly, as progress is made. I won't be a stranger anymore. Really. I've just been struggling a lot, and trying to figure out how to post about the public school issue that broke my heart.

As always, I deeply appreciate your prayers and your comments.

With love,

New Chapter

It seems we're entering a new chapter. I will explore it later in some detail, but right now, I am just asking for your prayers as we enter into the public school system and back into the work force.

posted from Bloggeroid

My dog has thumbs.

Do you remember a few months back when I built a locking cabinet to keep my labrador retriever, Mandy, out of the trash? Not only has she figured out how to open it and get into the trash, but she's also mastered opening my bedroom window to let herself out. The problem? She then climbs the fence and takes herself on a walk around the block. The only logical conclusion? My naughty dog has opposable thumbs! Any suggestions, friends?

posted from Bloggeroid

The Return of the Fidget

Glory to God! My little man made it home last night! And he's psyched about our new eating plan.

It was an interesting week. I was working on cleaning up his room, which had an odor I couldn't find the source of. Well, I found it.

See, the thing is, my child is six, and still wets the bed fairly regularly. The doctors have said they don't consider it abnormal until it's still happening when he's coming up on nine. So we just handle it. Or so I though. I've layered the mattress - a waterproof cover, a fitted sheet, repeat a few times. I also snagged him some extra bedspreads. That way, if he wets, we can pull off a fitted sheet and a quilt and just throw on a new bedspread and get back to sleep. No big deal, right?

Apparently it is. It seems that his dad's family makes a HUGE DEAL about it, and he gets in  trouble there if he wets - even though his dad has admitted to wetting through elementary school himself. So, I guess he's sort of internalized it or something. Or he's afraid that I am going to flip out too. I don't know. I get that it's embarrassing. I really do. But I try to make it "just a thing" for us. It's just something we deal with because it has to be handled.

But he had trashed his closet. I mean toys, books, shoes - everything just CRAMMED IN THERE. And not just crammed in, but covering his hidden accidents. When he wet, he crammed stuff in the closet instead of coming to me with it. So I CLEARED OUT THE CLOSET. All of it. The closet is no longer storage for toys at all.

It became a project for the whole house.

I pulled books off his bookshelf, and moved the books to the living room. I pulled the bookshelf (yes, bookshelf) out of the bathroom to store our collection of VHS tapes. I put the bookshelf from his room into the bathroom. Then I set out to build him cubbies out of milk crates so I could take the plastic drawers and reclaim them for art supplies. Here are some photos. Please forgive the blurriness of some of them. I took several, but I've got this hand-me-down point-and-shoot.....

Milk crate cubbies - all of his toys are organized and accessible under his loft bed. He has a toy cave!

This corner was ALL cluttered up. The bookshelf (and four milk crates) were at the window, and everything else was shoved behind the closet door. Now he can actually get to his music stuff!

I shifted around posters, cleared and cleaned the top of his desk (and underneath it. Dude is a clutterbug!).

This was also crammed full of toys (and milk crates!). The cool hat rack was behind the bedroom door)

I cleaned up the area between the door and the closet and used some wood salvaged from my neighbors kitchen remodel to build the boy a trophy shelf. I have to pick up his trophy, but when he got home, we hung his pine derby ribbon and put the derby car on the shelf. 

Smaller, but much more suited shelf in the bathroom. I think I like it better!

This one WAS in the bathroom, and the VHS tapes were taking over my world (and by "world" I mean "beloved huge bookshelf that I scored for cheap at Goodwill). I love it here, and all our movies fit. There WAS a stack of milk crates there, but they were turned into cubbies in the boy's room. So we've gone full circle!

I am still working on the rest of the house. Still figuring out how I want the laundry/storage room organized, how I want my art/craft supplies organized in there, and how to get people to buy all the loads and loads of stuff in my carport waiting for a yard sale!! I have to move my dresser to make room for an extra-large dog crate. And I am still working my way through laundry - cleaning EVERYTHING here!

I know some of you are curious how the "diet" is going. I hate that word, "diet," but I guess it applies if we take it to mean "the way a creature eats" not "a hare-brained scheme to lose a lot of weight fast with no long-term plan."  The Young Farmer is totally on board, especially if it means he gets to graze on fresh chard and carrots. I'm working on a pot of soup for his lunches this week, which he's totally excited about. It's split pea and broccoli soup with some turkey. He picked it out.

We talked about gluten, what it was, and why it may not be a good idea for us. He wasn't sure what to think at first, then he discovered the juicer and forgot ALL ABOUT bread. He had fun picking out stuff to put in juice. We have made apple juice and blueberry lemonade for him today. Both were pretty exciting. 

My "jus de jour" today was kale, cucumber, swiss chard, carrot, dandelion greens, bell pepper, apple, blueberry, and lemon. It is actually quite satisfying and tasty. No, I haven't quit my coffee. 

For dinner, we made stir fry with chard and carrots from the garden and your standard-fare stir-fry veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, water chestnuts, snap peas, green beans, peppers, baby corn, mushrooms, fresh garlic, onion, a bit of kale, and brussels sprouts) cooked in bone broth with just a bit of fish sauce and about three ounces of ground turkey. I am guessing the boy liked it. He ate THREE BOWLS of it.

So, so far so good. Kiddo loves his room, loves the kitchen, loves the food. He loves to have a hand in the decision making about what foods we're eating. I think that helps a lot. We talked a bit about how Mama is sick a lot, and this can help me get better, and also about how it might help him feel better instead of feeling so frustrated and grumpy sometimes (how he explains the "ADHD moments" - oh, how well I understand!).  His only request was that we make Saturdays pizza day. I told him we could compromise with a gluten-free crust. He agreed happily. 

I will take off for now, I've got laundry waiting for me! Thanks for reading. Thanks for praying. And thanks, so much, for being with me on this journey of mine.

_______________________________________

Linking this post with:
Making the World Cuter
Make it Pretty Mondays
Inspiration Monday

The Beginning of My Friday

I said I'd be totally public and totally transparent, right?

I think I also mentioned that I am not (yet) willing to give up my coffee, which they can have when they pry it from my cold, dead, but still-twitching coffee-addicted hands? I am at least willing to put it OFF for a bit.

So I started with a tall glass of water. My water, I have to tell you, is fantastic. I keep three gallons in the fridge, infused with lemon, mint, and cucumber. It's delicious. 

Then I took a multivitamin, some Osteo Bi-Flex, Caltrate with D3, fish oil, magnesium, and "Yeast Fighters".  All of these are thanks to my mother, who bought them for me, because she is awesome.

My first juice of the day consists of a ruby red grapefruit, a navel orange, a lemon, and a lime. It's really REALLY tasty.

I am also brewing some green tea, into which I will put some raw local honey to help with my allergies. 

Then I'll drink a half a mug of the perpetual bone broth I started on Tuesday. 

I am not missing my coffee. YET. We'll see how that goes. Like I said, I am not cutting it out yet. Don't hate. I cut out a LOT of garbage this week. 

So far, the only down side I will give to this is that I have a small, inexpensive juicer and no dishwasher. So it's kind of interesting to clean. There is an old toothbrush involved. Seriously. 

This morning, I am watching Forks Over Knives, a documentary about how a plant-based diet helps heal the body. 

Today, I am going to finish cleaning and rearranging stuff in my house, clean ALL of my clothes, bedding, slip covers, etc., and clear out the storage room to reorganize. I am trying to have a yard sale this weekend. I also want to get four more mint plants, one more parsley, and two rosemary plants into the ground. 

So far, since Tuesday, I really haven't felt HUNGRY. I haven't had any cravings. I've had a salad a day, which has been amazing, and has been shrinking! I am not really sure how I feel yet, because it's just a strange week. It's a week of weird sleep schedules and lots of activity, with no Little Man around. So it's hard to say how I feel physically or mentally yet. I refuse to weigh myself daily, so I'll update you on that periodically. I am still VERY symptomatic, but it's only been three days.

I really appreciate your prayers and support, here, by email, and on facebook. I can't tell you how much that really, genuinely helps me!

Monday, Monday (bah dah, bah dah dah dah)

Don't tell me you're not singing it yet.

Okay, I am not as cool as Mama Cass Elliot. I am just not. I am, however, an awesome (and overweight) woman. You can call me Mama Kath.

No?

Okay.

Enjoy the music anyway. For my friends on the Old Calendar, today is the first day of the Apostle's Fast. It is interesting to me how the calendar difference can just erase an entire fast period from the calendar for a big chunk of the Orthodox world. It makes me wonder about things. I think I am going to sit down later, perhaps, and do some research into WHY so many jurisdictions changed their calendar! Does anybody know?

Regardless of your calendar, it is Monday. Summer is in full swing. My sunflowers are HUGE, and my little garden is producing little green tomatoes and tiny carrots. And my much-beloved Lawn Dude is here working his magic on the overgrown jungle of my yard. This is the downside of summer. if I go two weeks without mowing, it turns into a perilous jungle out there. Seriously. Little Man plays tiger in the tall grass. There are dangers in the jungle!

Speaking of the wee one, he is currently out of town with his dad. They're going to the annual family reunion. He was totally excited. I was........not. I haven't been away from my only child for more than just a couple of days in a VERY long time. So eight days and seven nights is not really an appealing thing for me right now. It's been less than 36 hours, and I have already turned into a crazy woman.

At least I use my powers of neurosis for GOOD, right?

I am cleaning, reorganizing, sorting, washing, scrubbing, planting, baking, creating, fixing, rearranging - probably sulking a little bit too. I am trying to see this week as my opportunity to do some serious projects that I can't easily get done when the kiddo is home.

I tossed out all the junk food, so I don't get lonely and binge on junk. I went to the grocery store, and I loaded my cart with fresh, seasonal veggies to eat while he's gone. I am planning on not re-purchasing any of the junk when he gets home. I've been doing more and more research on things like the GAPS Diet, the Feingold Hypothesis, and whole foods as health care. I am sold on GAPS, since I personally know several people it's worked for. Some bits of Feingold have been common knowledge in the ADHD community for years and years (artificial stuff is bad for you! Also, it hinders our ability to exercise some control over our emotions and things. And let's face it, my family puts the H in ADHD.) So I am going to work on transitioning us into a GAPS style of eating, with special emphasis on whole foods and local stuff when possible.

I am currently re-arranging my "pantry thing."

You remember the pantry thing? Did I show you the pantry thing?

This:

It's a great pantry. I love it. When I moved in, I was using a half-broken old changing table as a pantry shelf thing. See, my kitchen has 13-foot ceilings, and the cabinets go ALL THE WAY UP, but the lowest cabinet is about six-and-a-half feet up there, and I am only 5'4". So most of the glorious cabinet space here is entirely wasted. I briefly entertained the idea of taking the doors off and putting pretty stuff in it, but then realized that I wouldn't be able to reach it to DUST!

It didn't take long for the half-broken changing table to become an entirely-broken-beyond-repair heap of useless MDFboard. When that happened, my mother picked this up at a garage sale for me. It's brilliant. I painted it when I built some really cheap cabinet doors to keep my dog out of the trash. Did I show you those either? (NOT useless MDF board here. This MDF board was very useful, and also free. I paid for the hasp. That was it!)

But I am rearranging the pantry. I have two purposes here.If we're going to eat REALLY HEALTHY STUFF, well, then I don't need a pantry full of cheap stuff, so I don't need to dedicate shelves to things we PROBABLY shouldn't be eating anyway. I do, however, need some space for my business supplies.

Yes. Business supplies!

I am now making and selling organic bath and body products.

It was an answer to prayer, and it happened SO suddenly. Have we discussed my health? I have lupus, eczema, and psoriasis (among other things. But these are the pertinent issues that lead to the business). I was sitting up one night, entirely unable to sleep, OUT of any products that would make me stop itching, burning, and hurting all over. In desperation, I went to my garden and grabbed what I could: lavender, mint, rosemary, and calendula. And I started to work distilling, pressing, and infusing my extra-virgin olive oil to try to get some relief. It helped!

Next, I made a moisturizing bath soak.

Then a heavy body balm for the worst spots.

Then a lotion for maintenance.

Then I started making a little money selling it. Now I am working on opening up an etsy shop! I'll let you know when that's up and running.

My skin is feeling better than it has since I was a CHILD, and some of the spots I have been fighting for months are FINALLY starting to clear up. 

So that's my Monday so far. What's your Monday looking like? Do you have big plans for the week?

......................................................................

Two Months?

Hello again! I can't believe it's been two months! It's been a very EVENTFUL two months at that. 

I wasn't away on purpose. Oh, no. I shattered the screen on my computer, and didn't have a monitor handy for a quick fix! But I am back with a shiny new laptop (thanks, Dad!), and ready to start blogging again!

What should we talk about?

Pascha at Home?

So, if you've been following much, you know that I am pretty badly injured, and driving is a problem right now. So let's add to that the very rainy day, the very dark skies, my bad vision, bald tires, and engine "issues." It's just not safe or feasible for us to drive to church tonight. We were so sad. We absolutely live for Pascha. It's our favorite. My son, who wants to be a priest when he grows up, can often be found knocking on doors, so that "the King of Glory may enter in!" (And all year, I must ask him "Who is this King of Glory?" from the other side of my bedroom door.)

At random points throughout the year, he asks for The Homily.  That only means one thing. He wants the Paschal Homily of Saint John Chrysostom. "Hell received a body and encountered God. It received earth and confronted heaven. Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh hell, where is thy victory?"

We live, basically from Pascha to Pascha, awaiting the Resurrection service.

But we can't go. It's just not safe this year.

Perhaps it will be safer for the Agape Vespers.

So I am digging through what I have, and finding the Reader Service for Pascha so we can celebrate at home.

In the meantime, here are some pictures from our Pascha Garden, and the text of The Homily! Pray for us, please.

If any be a devout lover of God,
  let him partake with gladness from this fair and radiant feast.
If any be a faithful servant,
  let him enter rejoicing into the joy of his Lord.
If any have wearied himself with fasting,
  let him now enjoy his reward.
If any have laboured from the first hour,
  let him receive today his rightful due.
If any have come after the third,
  let him celebrate the feast with thankfulness.
If any have come after the sixth,
  let him not be in doubt, for he will suffer no loss.
If any have delayed until the ninth,
  let him not hesitate but draw near.
If any have arrived only at the eleventh,
  let him not be afraid because he comes so late.

For the Master is generous and accepts the last even as the first.
He gives rest to him who comes at the eleventh hour
  in the same was as him who has laboured from the first.
He accepts the deed, and commends the intention.

Enter then, all of you, into the joy of our Lord.
First and last, receive alike your reward.
Rich and poor, dance together.
You who fasted and you who have not fasted, rejoice together.
The table is fully laden: let all enjoy it.
The calf is fatted: let none go away hungry.

Let none lament his poverty;
  for the universal Kingdom is revealed.
Let none bewail his transgressions;
  for the light of forgiveness has risen from the tomb.
Let none fear death;
  for death of the Saviour has set us free.

He has destroyed death by undergoing death.
He has despoiled hell by descending into hell.
He vexed it even as it tasted of His flesh.
Isaiah foretold this when he cried:
Hell was filled with bitterness when it met Thee face to face below;
  filled with bitterness, for it was brought to nothing;
  filled with bitterness, for it was mocked;
  filled with bitterness, for it was overthrown;
  filled with bitterness, for it was put in chains.
Hell received a body, and encountered God. It received earth, and confronted heaven.
O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen! And you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is risen! And the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is risen! And the angels rejoice!
Christ is risen! And life is liberated!
Christ is risen! And the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power, now and forever, and from all ages to all ages.
Amen!

The Pascha Garden

My friends, I am overwhelmed by the emails I have gotten since my last post. So many words of encouragement and offers of prayer! It's certainly been a difficult week. My boy finally started processing Kearney's death on Tuesday night, so there have been many tears and much talking and praying. Necessity dictated lots of extra snuggles as well, which I will never turn down.

My arm is healing, but it feels so slow. I know it's only been a week, and it can take up to sixteen weeks for this tendon to heal, but I feel so useless sometimes. I shouldn't, I suppose, but it's part of the process. My leg is infected, and my arm needed subcutaneous stitches at Monday's appointment. At today's appointment, it was no better, and I needed still more antibiotics. I go back again on Monday. Hopefully after THAT appointment, I will be cleared to take the shower I want so desperately. No amount of sponge-bathing leaves you feeling as clean as even a five-minute shower! Please continue to keep me in your prayers. I heal slowly to start with, and this is pretty major, I suppose.

We were able to go to church last night for Holy Unction. I love Holy Week so much! I am a bit sad that I am not able to be there much this year, but I live an hour from any Orthodox church (and, in fact, I live almost exactly an hour from no less than seven Orthodox churches!), and making the drive with my arm is not very wise if it can be avoided. So this year, we are doing something extra-special at home. In fact, I think this may be the start of a family tradition.

My poor young botanist's flower bed has not been doing well. We have ONE sunflower and a few blue flax sprouting, but nothing else. I knew that was highly likely, since we didn't have time to really prepare the ground, and we didn't have a lot of soil to put down. But he was sad. He's sad about his dog, and he's sad about his injured mama, and he's sad about his flowers. I can't fix the first two, but I could do something about the third.

So, today, we went window shopping at the garden center, just to get an idea of what we might want to plant eventually. We ran into our neighbor and my son's best friend there, and they offered to let him come over and play for a while. PERFECT OPPORTUNITY! I had been needing to find a time for someone else to watch my boy so I could sneak out and buy him presents for his basket! (just a note: He got a huge basket with candy, toys, and books at my parents' Easter picnic a month ago, so I was planning on a small toy or two, maybe a Cadbury egg, and something we could do together. Lately, that means gardening, building, or painting.)

I went through the garden center on my own, lingering at the sale tables, and I hatched a plan. Then I went to find soil. I came back with a gusto, grabbing flats and quarts like a woman on a mission.

Did you know? There is NO good way to hide a bunch of flowers in a tiny little house for three nights without killing them.

So "Peter the Pascha Rabbit" came early to visit my son. He asked him to plant a Pascha garden, and to pray as he plants.

He has Joseph's Coat for the prophets, marigold for the Theotokos, white gardenias for Christ and His Resurrection, some beautiful red flowers (whose name escapes me) for Christ's humanity and death on the Cross, and some purple and blue petunias for His divinity (and I believe I remember reading that the purple also represents His Passion).  Three of the plants creep and spread to show how we should spread the Gospel.  He's got an angel garden statue already, and while I was browsing online looking for a garden cross, I got another neat idea:

I am going to decoupage an icon or two to go in the Pascha Garden! I have instructions on decoupaging for outdoor use, and I am ready to go (once I figure out what I am decoupaging onto....)

Which icon(s) should we use? Leave me your suggestions!

Pray for us! God willing, we are going to try to plant in the morning before the rain moves in. Then I imagine I will promptly be taking pain meds and a nap.

McKearney Marie: What I have learned about God through my dogs, and an obituary.

As the mother of Moses laid him in the reeds at the river’s edge, entrusting him wholly to your care because she could no longer keep him safe, so we lay our pet in this place. Keep her safe in your love until we come, and give us Grace to come when you call us, as she came when we called her. Forgive us those times when we did not love your pet as you would have us do, and accept our thanks for your having given her to us for her time on earth. 
~from a funeral service for a dog




Forgive me for being away from the blog the last several days. I have been going through a very difficult time, and I just haven't felt up to taking the time to sit down with my thoughts. Between my grief and the intense pain in my right arm and hand, blogging was just not something I could bring myself to do.

Above is a picture of my beloved prissy little pricness, McKearney Marie, three months before she joined our family. We have loved her so much. She's been a delight with her prissy little prance and her silly polka-dotted feet and antenna ears. This baby girl was a joy to everyone who knew her, and a great comfort to me in a time of grief before.

It was the first weekend of October, and the weather was perfect - not too hot or too cold. Leaves were turning bright colors, and the world was getting ready for winter. My son, our next-door neighbor, and I went for a long hike with my dogs, Mandy, aged 10 and Finny, who would soon be a year old. It was our last hike with Finny. He was poisoned that night, and died two days later. We had a friend help us with everything. We buried him in the backyard, under his favorite digging spot. We gave him a sweet memorial service, and we said our goodbyes. We were heartbroken. More heartbreaking, though, was the discovery that the people who had poisoned my sweet puppy were merely children. They were sent to various detention centers, some for longer than others, all with the hopes that counseling might help them. It was a difficult time for everyone.

Finny, sitting by his dig spot where he would eventually be buried

Finny's Funeral

We were determined though. We had room in our home and our hearts for more than one dog, and we were not going to be broken by the loss of our Finnegan. We were working with a few groups to find the right dog to fill that space. And we were doubly blessed! We buried Finn on Monday night. On Wednesday, we made a thirty minute drive to pick up Kearney, a border collie and corgi cross breed who just won our hearts. She fit right in, and we all adored her.

Two weeks later, we were a bit overwhelmed, but extremely happy to be introduced to Joey, who would become the third member of our doggie family.

Oh, how we loved these dogs!  We have all been doing well, working hard on Joey's fear aggression and nervousness around strange men, Mandy's dumpster diving, and Kearney's need to bark at EVERYTHING that happens outside. They've all made a lot of progress, and we were all getting along swimmingly.

Until Thursday night.

Thursday evening, as we were getting ready to leave for baseball practice, we heard a scuffle in the front yard. I ran out the door to find the beginning of a dog fight. Kearney attacked Mandy, our ten-year-old black lab. The best we can figure, Mandy had found something that Kearney wanted, and Kearney attacked. It had happened before, but always ended quickly as soon as I stepped in.  Not this time.  Mandy tried and tried to get away from the fight, but Kearney was, as my friend put it "battle blind" and kept lunging at her. I tried everything to safely break up the fight - shouting, clapping, separating them with the lid of the toy box, spraying them with water. Kearney kept coming. Finally, I grabbed her scruff, and I got bitten pretty badly. But it gave Mandy time to get away, and once Kearney realized she was biting ME, she backed off immediately. It was too late though.

The vet said it was obvious that Mandy was trying very hard not to hurt Kearney, but she had to protect herself too. She didn't want to hurt Kearney. My poor girls. My poor, poor baby girls. Kearney was badly injured. We honestly didn't think she'd make it for more than a few minutes. But she was a tough little girl. She curled up in the corner next to the porch.  We brought her a blanket to make her comfortable and a water bowl.

Thank God, my Mandy was mostly unharmed. She's got a few abrasions we've been treating, and she was given some antibiotics to be safe, but she is, for the most part, fully recovered.

I had to be taken to the emergency room. The bite went into the tendon of my right forearm, and is very painful, but it will heal. The ER took x-rays, gave me a Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) booster, a shot of antibiotics, and cleaned out and dressed the wounds. They offered me a shot of pain medicine, but it would have required a bed and a two-hour stay. I declined, and was discharged from triage with vicodin and augmentin.

Kearney Marie, Christmas morning 2012

When we got home from the hospital, my Kearney had moved onto her favorite seat - the cushioned bench on the front porch. I couldn't move her inside without hurting her more, so I covered her with a warm blanket, and sat with her for an hour. I just held her beautiful little head and told her how much I loved her, and that no one was upset with her. We knew she didn't mean to hurt anybody. She was just being a dog, and sometimes, dogs fight. Unlike people, they don't have free choices. They are servants to their animal nature, and no training will change their nature.

Our vet determined that there was nothing we could do for her. For many reasons, it was time to say our goodbyes to my beautiful princess. First, she was in agony. She was suffering greatly, and it was obvious. The vet hesitated to give her anything for pain because of the risk of more bleeding and because of any effect it might have on her temperament. We did NOT need another dogfight. There was no guarantee that she would recover, and her injuries were pretty bad. Then came the risk of future aggression. She'd gone after Mandy before, but never to this extreme. It had escalated out of control, and there was no telling what or who she might attack next.  We really had no choice but to go ahead and put an end to her suffering.

I spent most of the rest of the day sobbing my eyes out and being thankful that my son had gone to his dad's for the weekend.

I tried to stay focused on the things for which I was thankful, but at the same time, my heart was broken. I ached for my baby girl. And every time my arm or leg would throb in pain, it only made the pain in my heart more potent. Oh, Kearney! What could I have done for you?

In my grief, I called my dear friends in Saint Louis, and they, as always were a great comfort to me. I spoke to Isaac about dogs and salvation, and found we shared a similar view on many points. I wanted to share some things with you all, because they have helped me before and are helping me greatly now.

Happy boy with his happy dogs

The relationship we have with our dogs is a mirror of the relationship God has with us. The more I think about this, the more I realize how very true and beautiful it is. When we lay Finnegan to rest in the backyard, part of our prayer was "Help us always to come when You call as our dog always came when we called." How poignant are those words?

We train our dogs to be obedient to us. The goal is that they are 100% obedient to our commands, but we know that when they are not given commands, their doggie nature will take over, and we love them all the same. We are different, in that we are capable of overcoming our "doggie" nature, and making the free choice to be obedient always, but if we admit it, we aren't always obedient. But the Master is still there with a pat on the head, a rub of the belly, and an overflowing bowl of mercy for us when we paw at the door, so to speak.

The ever-faithful Mandy, who is entirely devoted to us.

When our dogs are not obedient, we correct them, because we are training them in large part for their own safety.  Sure it's CUTE when we have a dog who is an agility or rally champion, but at the heart of it, we train tricks so that we can train recall, "leave it," "drop it," and the like. Once the dog has good recall and will give me her undivided attention when asked for it (I say "focus," and expect eye contact until my dog is released to "go play"), I know I can keep her safe from most situations. Was it extremely precious that my Kearney would literally dance for her supper? Of course it was. But more importantly, Joey can focus on me when he is terrified and wants to jump at a stranger, and Mandy will come every time she is called NO MATTER WHAT. She even tried desperately to get away from a dogfight because she heard the sound of my voice. How true is that of our Master and us? Obedience to God is not expected so He can show us in some great, cosmic trick-dog championship. He requires our obedience for our own good.

In the Holy Scripture, we read (St. Matthew 11:29) "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."  To our dogs, I would say, here, baby, let me put this collar, and tag, and leash on you. You are my beloved pet now, and I will be gentle with you. I expect you to behave, but I have kibble, blankets, a warm place by the fire, and unlimited belly-rubs for the rest of your life. Sure, I have expectations, and you will be corrected when you pee on the floor or dig in the trashcan, but I am quick to forgive, scratch you behind your ears, and take you for your walkies. It's not so different, I think. My dogs understand it pretty well.

Chow smile over his first belly rub!

Just as we learn the rules that God has for us, our dogs quickly (with some consistency) learn our expectations for them. They KNOW when they have done something wrong. And they CONFESS it. Now, they don't go to a priest, say their prayers, and ask for forgiveness. No, they tuck their tails in, duck their heads, and show me what they've done. Even after the seven years of serious abuse my labrador suffered before she came to me, she isn't afraid that I will punish her harshly. She knows I will be quick to forgive her, but she shows me that she acknowledges that she did wrong.  If only I could follow her example all the time! Because my God, like her mistress, is quick to forgive when I acknowledge my sin. When I go to Confession, I know my sins are forgiven. Does it mean I'll never dig in the trash again, so to speak? Well, I am NOT a dog, so the answer is "hopefully, but probably not." No, like a dog, I will keep trying, failing, and asking for forgiveness, until someone puts in a cabinet door to keep me out of the figurative trash. As a human, that responsibility may well fall on me. As a pet owner, I can put up a door for my dog. As a person, I have to change my habits, my thought patterns, my behaviors. Either way, there is much to be learned about Confession, repentance, and forgiveness here.

I have even learned a lot about parenting through training my dogs. Yes. Parenting.  See, my dogs respond best to praise and rewards. There was NOTHING Kearney would not do for a belly rub. Mandy would walk through fire for pepperoni. Joey? He likes a good combination of affection and food, and he's learning well. They don't need harsh punishments, especially when they don't know what they've done wrong. They need consistency and positive reinforcement. They need a firm "No! Leave it!" when they're getting into something wrong, and then they need to hear "good girl!" and get a treat when they leave the bad thing behind. Yeah. Sound like any six-year-olds you know? Because it sounds a lot like mine. 

We really can learn a lot about our relationship with God if we think about our expectations for our dogs. The more I think about WHY I expect the things that I do, the more I begin to understand what God expects from me. My dogs are faithful, loyal, protective, slow to judge, quick to forgive, willing to admit their wrong actions, always wanting love and mercy and a good old fashioned belly rub. Is it really that simple? Well, no, but I don't suppose it's much harder than that either. 

But on to the big question my son asked: Is Kearney in heaven?

I don't think anyone can answer that for sure, but here's what I can say:

It seems to be that the Orthodox position is that dogs have souls, perhaps not the same sort of souls we have, since mankind is special, but they certainly have souls. 

Metropolitan Kalistos (Ware) seems to believe that there will be pets in heaven. In his The Orthodox Church, he says "Christ took flesh - something from the material order - and so has made possible the redemption and metamorphosis of all creation - not merely the immaterial, but the physical" (emphasis his!). All creation? Well, certainly my dogs were created by God! He also says that " the earth "was created by God, currupted through the fall, but redeemed with us in Christ..." (emphasis mine).

So, while there seems to be no official Orthodox position, I have known several Orthodox clergy who would contend that our pets will are included when all creation is redeemed.

It makes sense to me, since God teaches us so much through them, and gives us so much comfort through them. 

So I continue to believe that Kearney and Finny, Nemo, Fibi, Snoopy, and Charlie will not just cease to be. If nothing else, it gives me some comfort in my grief to trust them entirely to God's care, as he trusted them temporarily to mine. Forgive me, Lord, for the times I was not the best master I could be for your creations! Have mercy on me, a lowly and humble sinner! 

The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have is in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. ... He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer; he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the roughness of this world. ... When all other friends desert, he remains. 

— George G. Vest, US Senate, 1884

Poem for Native American Day

O Great Spirit,
Help me always to speak the truth quietly,
to listen with an open mind when others speak,
and to remember the peace
that may be found in silence.

Themed Days, Spring Unit, and More Fun Plan(t)s

So tomorrow we are starting our themed days. Monday is Native American Day, and right now, my Wee Brave is all about gardening. So we will be learning about the three sisters, and getting the beginnings of our raised beds to plant them.

We're going to use a small, modified hugelkultur to make the mounds, so first we dig a hole, then line it with newspaper and/or cardboard. Then we put sticks, twigs, and the like on top of that, til it's raised up a good bit off the ground. Next go the dirt and sod removed from the holes, followed by top soil, manure, compost, and some sort of mulch or dirt. We'll plant directly into that.

MATH
We'll spend some time on Khan Academy
Addition, subtraction, measuring, and mapping in the garden

SCIENCE
gardening - decomposition, sprouting, etc.

PENMANSHIP
Writing names of tribes, plants, etc.
Copywork from..... somewhere.

COMPOSITION
Journal - garden journal will work!

PHONICS
Explode the Code

READING
His bible
The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Tribes
whatever else catches his fancy

BIBLE
Reading from his bible reader
Let Us Attend

ETIQUETTE
Lesson from Manners Made Easy workbook

HISTORY
The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Tribes

LANGUAGES
Introducing the Cherokee Alphabet

And of course, GARDENING! We've got another dogwood to plant tomorrow, leaves and sticks to move to the backyard after the hedges were trimmed (we'll use these in the modified hugelkultur beds for our three sisters garden)

CHORES FOR THE DAY
Clean room
Feed dogs
Keep dog water bows full
Pick up your things
Get the mail
Take out the trash

Water flower garden
Water Charlotte (our first planted dogwood)
Water box garden (tomatoes, bell peppers, swiss chard, basil, and carrots. He built the box and planted the garden with my dad yesterday when my parents showed up for a surprise visit!)
Pick up sticks from hedges and take to backyard
Rake leaves
Put away laundry


And we have a baseball game at 7:00 - Go CPRD A's! I promised Wee Brave that if we got done with the schoolwork, house work, and gardening in time, we'd go to the baseball park early to walk the nature trails and feed the ducks. So, here's hoping!  I have a ton of laundry to finish in addition to all the other usual stuff, and I also have a boatload of my OWN schoolwork to catch up on. And I need to get back on Amazon and get some small jobs so I can get paid!

We have an exciting week planned, with several trips out to my friend's farm for mutual assistance. He needs to level some beds, and I need topsoil! He's also got some cuttings to root for my butterfly garden, and he knows some good spots to pick up compost and pallets. He's also got logs for some of our hugelkultur beds, and we can talk ducks and goats. And hey! Added bonus! I get another adult to talk to, and the Budding Blue Botanist gets a couple of kids to work/play with!

Lots of exciting things coming up this spring. Watch this space!