Simple Woman Monday, November 10th

Run over to Peggy's to meet a world of kindred spirits at her Simple Woman Monday gathering!

Outside My Window ... the eastern sky is lightening up just enough to see that Bella (our 10 month old yellow lab) has gone over to our neighbor's where they are building a new fence and dragged a box of nails over here and dumped it out in front of our door. Bella.

I am hearing... My husband whistling, as he goes about getting ready for work.

I am wearing... pink sweats jammies and my purple velvet "queen" robe.

I am reading... The Last Camel Died at Noon by Elizabeth Peters.

Towards a daily rhythm ... we've changed a beat in our school routine, trading out our geography tour of Europe with a study of the U.S. presidents and the states, themselves. That's the beauty of homeschooling; we can allow an event like the elections to divert our attention and lead us down a path of learning that may be more productive than the one we started out on.

I am hoping... for a peaceful, productive week ~ with everyone well. We've been fighting off a bit of a virus and colds here for a couple of weeks now...

From the kitchen ... My mom just called a couple of days ago for our annual "turkey talk." We have Thanksgiving out here at the farm with the whole family in attendance (my parents, six brothers and sisters and their families, plus a contingent of our boys' friends from Omaha who can't get home for Turkey Day), and there's a lot of food planning to do!

One of my favorite things... Homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes (we're addicted!)

I am creating... handmade gifts for Christmas and crafts for our parish St. Nicholas Festival ~ coming up sooner than I want to think about!

Around the house... Just got a good price on thermal drapes for some of our leakier windows. It makes me sad to have to cover up our views and cut off the light ~ I really prefer not to have window coverings ~ but, we're trying to be as energy efficient as we can this winter. I guess I'll get used to seeing them...

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... I have this idea that I need to get down into the cellar (also referred to as the "pirates' cave" and the "general store") and do some cleaning ~ and make an inventory of what food stores I have down there, for more efficient shopping and cooking. We'll see if I actually get to this project; it'll be a time consuming one.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing:


Michelle (13), William (2), and Gabe (4). (Cathy (7), Theresa (10) and Anna (6) have already run up to the house.) We let all of them out of the car at the bottom of the driveway when we picked up the Sunday paper. Don't worry, we didn't kick them out. They always want to do this on nice days. There's something so free and young about running your little heart out in the cool, clear air, trying to "beat" Daddy up to the house. It's fun for us, too, coasting at a snail's pace behind them, watching them run ahead of us. Doesn't take much to amuse us, does it?

The theory, of course, is that some of the after-Mass-doughnut-silliness we got to listen to on the drive home will burn off with the exercise, leaving us with calm and docile children when we reach the house. Does it work?

What do you think?