Wordlesss Wednesday

Walkway over the Lakes
(courtesy Allposters.com)

I love this shot and have had this picture on computer desktop for some time. I finally ordered it from allposters.com

This shot speaks to me, it's so ethereal and spiritual. It makes you want to walk down the walkway and find out what's around the corner. So, as we leave 2008 and enter 2009, I encourage you to join me in taking the next step, to continue the journey, to find out what's around the corner. Life is beckoning.

Sunday Salon

Sunday Salon

I just finished reading T.L. Hines "The Unseen". He is a writer of 'noir bizarre' stories and this story was quite bizarre. Really made you think and I'll have to give it some time to sink in before I write a review. I also finished "Smoke In Mirrors" by Jayne Ann Krentz this week. I'm caught up with all my reviews and resolved for the new year to write a review after finishing a book and before I start a new one. After all, I was telling my husband and son last night "finish one thing, before you start another."That way I won't get backlogged. However, I really don't feel like I did the review on Smoke in Mirrors justice because my mind was on other things this week.

I've been reviewing homeschool curriculum looking to make some changes. Which is another post for another time. But while perusing 'Well Trained Mind' ( which is a guide to classical education at home) it brought to mind Susan Wise Bauer's other book 'Well Educated Mind'. Of course, that lead to thinking about all the books I've been reading, the book challenges I'm involved in and challenging myself to read better books.

Which served to remind me of my original intention to follow the book lists in The Well Educated Mind. Yes, my mind goes in convuluted circles sometimes.


Susan wrote the book as a guide to the Classical Education you never had. I purchased the book back in 2005 and read it cover to cover. She outlines how to read a book from the standpoint of the grammar, logic and rhetoric stages. Read, think and formulate your opinion of what the story means to you. She recommends keeping a journal and outlining the story as you read.


Included in the book are her suggestions of great books to read from 5 genres: Fiction, Autobiography, History/Politics, Drama and Poetry. The books are listed chronilogically and she suggests reading them in order. The genres are broken down into 5 chapters with an detail explanation how to read them and a synposis is included on each title with the best edition to read.

For example the first 5 books in Fiction are:

Don Quixote
Pilgrims Progress
Gulliver's Travels
Price and Prejudice
Oliver Twist

The first 5 books in Autobiography are:

Augustine 'The Confessions'
Margery Kemp - "The book of Margery Kemp"
Michael De Montaigne - 'Essays'
Teresa of Avila - 'Life of Saint Teresa of Avila by Herself'
Rene Descartes - 'Meditations'

The first five books in History:

Herodotus: 'The Histories'
Thucydides: 'The Peloponnesian War'
Plate:'The Republic'
Plutarch: 'Lives'
Augustine: 'The City of God'

The first five books in Drama:

Aeschylus: 'Agamemmon'
Sophocles: 'Oedipus the King'
Euripides: 'Medea'
Aristophanes: 'The Birds'
Aristotle: 'Poetics'

The First Five books in Poetry

The Epic of Gilgamesh
Homer 'The Iliad and the Odyssey'
'Greek Lyrics'
Horace 'Odes'
Beowulf

The examples give you a good idea of the books and the chronology. I went over the lists yesterday and found I had read a few of the fiction books and currently have a few on my TBR list. And it made me realize why I had bought 'Confessions' and 'The Life of Saint Teresa'. We have the Iliad and Beowulf in the bookshelves... somewhere.

I had originally started by reading the first fiction book Don Quixote and it took me a while to read it using her method of 30 minutes a day and journaling as you go. I decided that wasn't going to work for me and read it like I would any normal book. Found I read the classics a bit more slowly than regular fiction, because of the way they are written and it takes a bit more brain time to absorb and understand. Exercising the brain, which is a good thing. Which brings me back to my original point that the book challenges reminded me of my original decision to work my way through the lists.


I decided to set a personal, perpetual challenge to read at least one book from each genre each year. Whether I read them in chronological order or not, is another story. I may add or subtract to Susan's list of books that I am interested in reading. Even she admits in the book that the list is biased and reflect her interests. The lists don't include all the greatest books in each genre but are meant to introduce you to each area of thought (pg 51)

I'll put a list of books completed in each category in the sidebar and update it as time goes on. I currently have on my TBR pile from the Fiction list: Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Tolstoys's Anna Karenina and Wharton's The House of Mirth. I'll have to decide what going to read from the other genre's. Poetry and Drama will be the hardest for me, but we have an overabundance of Shakespeare books which we inherited from Father's mom. All the books will cross over into the other challenges I'm involved in, so I'm not really adding all that much.

Changing the page, I made up a list of all the books read for the year. Found that I did read over 100 books after all. I started inputting and importing the lists from Amazon over to LibraryThing. I don't know why I didn't start using LibraryThing a long time ago.

Well, I've procrastinated long enough... It's time to do a major oven cleaning. Then I have to work up lessons for next week and go grocery shopping.

Christmas - Books, books and more books

Merry Christmas!

We opened up our gifts on Christmas Eve. We gave James a WII for Christmas and of course he had to try it out. Once we figured out the configuration to get the dvd player on video 3 and the WII on video 4, then we were set to go. I also bought two extra remotes and nunchuk controllers so we could all play. The WII came with a sports game package and I got him the games: Star Wars the Complete Saga and Outdoor Adventure. Santa got him Cars and Super Mario Galaxy, plus a couple wii wheels, and the book Mysterious Benedict Society.

Father received a looj robot gutter cleaning system. He unfortunately can't test it out because he's not going to be climbing any ladders soon. We got him several books including Intrepid's last case by William Stevenson, My Country Versus Me, the First Hand Account by the Los Alamos Scientist Who Was Falsely Accused of Being A Spy by Wen Ho Lee, (mouthful of a title) Herding Cats, a Life in Politics by Trent Lott and Flight, 100 Years of Aviation. Plus the Spacecrafts DVD Apollo 7 Shakedown Cruise.

And the moment you've been waiting for. Father and James gave me several books including two rather huge books: War and Peace by Tolstoy, 1424 pages and Walls of Phantoms by Courtney Thomas which is 1320 pages and supposedly the 3rd largest self published novel ever written. He got James and I the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock which we'll be using for home school. And four other books from my wishlist: Bad Faith, A Sister Agatha Mystery by Aimee and David Thurlo, Distant Echoes by Colleen Coble, Edge of Midnight, The McCloud Brothers #4 by Shannon Mckenna and Sarah Palin, a New Kind of Leader by Joe Hilley.

Today we are going to have a quiet lazy day at home playing, reading and napping. Tonight I will be fixing prime rib and yorkshire pudding for dinner. The shop is closed for the rest of the week and we are all going to enjoy a mini vacation. Especially me.

Musing Mondays - Books for Christmas

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about Christmas book buying…

In these last few days before Christmas, I'm sure there are plenty of us scrambling to get our last minute shopping done. Are you buying any books for friends or family (or even yourself)? Do you expect to recieve any bookish gifts from others - books, or book-related?

Since all members of our families have already received their gifts via Amazon and UPS, I can answer. Yes, I did buy everyone books for Christmas except for James and Father. Father had a few specific requests like a looj robot gutter cleaner or Nikon camera lenses or a gold bar. James had a list of 42 things from Godzilla movies to Wall-E toys to a Wii. I think they will both be very happy this year, but I have to keep it a secret until Christmas day.

I had a blast picking out books for everyone. Thanks to all you wonderful book bloggers I had a wonderful new assortment to choose from. The majority of books are ones I had read or on my TBR pile waiting to be read or on my Amazon wishlist. It made a difference to my nephew that I had actually read the book I sent him and his sisters and it just wasn't a random 'here you go' book.

Yes, I do expect to receive books for Christmas. I already know Father has gotten me several that will be from him and James. He hasn't been out of the house since he broke his leg, so pointed him in the direction of my Amazon wishlist and let him have at it. My folks sent a check which I applied toward the big family gift for us. I don't know what the rest of my family will be choosing this year. They sometimes balk at buying me more books just because I already have so many. But what else do you buy for a bibliophile, but books and bookish things. :)

Christmas - Trees and Ornaments

It's beginning to look like Christmas!

James and I went out last weekend and picked out the tree. One of our wonderful neighbors came over and helped me get it down from the top of the SUV. I decorated the tree while we watched my favorite tree decorating movie "White Christmas." It's been a tradition with me for years now to watch the movie while doing the tree. James and Father supervised and watched the movie too as I decorated the tree. Why are only two packages under the tree? Because the cats have been going crazy since I put up the tree.

The first night they were fascinated by the tree and just couldn't get enough of playing with and hearing the ornaments tinkling. So ornaments were moved up and I had to dig out some plastic ball ornaments and give them to the cats to play with. They had a wonderful time playing soccer with the balls and finally left my tree alone. We placed a couple packages received from family under the tree and that created another fascination. Hopefully, that will wear off by this weekend. The cats have been yelled at, chased, drenched with Dr. No, and put on time out in the bathroom for a night.

Now lets see if I can manage to give you a montage of ornaments without messing up the whole post.


From Father on our first christmas together


Because we are!



Ornament from the year James was into Nascar. We try to get him an ornament each year that represents what he is into that year.


Yep!


Just one of many.



Of course, we couldn't do without the Nativity. We have another larger version but Father cleaned up the garage and moved all my christmas stuff around. Now I can't find it.



Aren't they cute?

We've had daily deliveries from UPS with gifts ordered from Amazon and the rest should be here on Monday. James and I will be making one more foray to Borders just because. I will spend the weekend wrapping the presents received so far and put them under the tree. We are foregoing the train set up this year. There just isn't enough room for the train and Father's crutches. I will be working Monday and Tuesday, then we will be closing up the shop for the rest of the week. I gave my technicians their Christmas Bonus last Wednesday which made them quite happy.

Wonder

There is faint music in the night,
And pale wings fanned by silver flight;
A frosty hill with tender glow
Of countless stars that shine on snow.
A shelter from the winter storm,
A straw-lined manger, safe and warm,
And Mary crooning lullabies,
To hush her Baby's sleepy sighs.
Her eyes are rapt upon His Face,
Unheeded here is time and space;
Her heart filled with blinding joy,
For God's own Son--her little Boy!

Special gift

Aw! How sweet. When I arrived home from work last night, I had a pleasant surprise waiting for me. A beautiful bouquet of flowers complete with chocolates and a nice red glass vase to put them in. Thanks Mom and Dad. As always, you are the greatest.

Booking Through Thursday - giving books as gifts

Booking Through Thursday asks:


Do you give books as gifts? To everyone? Or only to select people? How do you feel about receiving books as gifts?

Yes I do give books as gifts but not to everyone. If I know someone isn't a reader, I won't send or give them any books. They wouldn't appreciate it. Both Father and I come from a family of readers: I know what everybody likes to read and send them books in those genre's. Both my dad and father's dad only read non fiction, my brother and sister in law love science fiction, one sister reads mainly christian fiction, etc, etc, etc. They don't necessarily like books for every gift so I honor that.

But for this Christmas....



The surprise will be what books they get. Thanks to all the book bloggers out there in internet land, I've discovered a whole new array of stories.

I love receiving books as gifts. Since father can't go out shopping right now, I sat him down at the computer a couple nights ago, signed him into my private amazon wish list. He was concerned about buying something someone else had already chosen to buy me for a gift. I solved that by setting up a public gift list and private wish list.

I left him to it and kept hearing an evil cackling coming from the kitchen. He yells out to me. "Dear, what's the longest book ever written, the one with the most pages?"

Huh? He really can't keep a secret. So I guess I'll be receiving a really long book. Any guesses as to what that might be?"

Wordless Wednesday

Check out the photos of participants of WW here and here or here

Musing Mondays - Reading on the Go

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about reading on the go…

I always like to have a book with me at all times – call it a nerdy grown-up security blanket – and rarely do I leave the house without slipping one into my bag (even if I KNOW I’m not going to have a chance to read it). Do you take a book with you? Do you take whatever book you’re currently reading, or do you have a special on-the-go book? And do you have a preference for a these types of book (paperback, hardback; short stories; poetry etc)?


I used to take a book with me everywhere but now I will only take a book with me when I know there will be some down time or waiting time in which I'll have time to read. Such as lunch or dinner break when working at our shop or when have to wait alone at the doctor's office. Someplace you know you are going to have to wait. Except I don't take a book and read with James or Father along. They like my undivided attention. When I do take a book it's the one currently reading. I tried the 'on the go' book and it just didn't work well for me. I'd forget what had happened previously and have to backtrack. So I grab my current read and put it in my purse. I prefer paperbacks because they are more portable. Novels are my favorite.

When we are traveling on vacation or for business or visiting relatives overnight, a book or two is an absolute must. Have you ever been stuck on a plane for a few hours without a good book -- the flight seems to last an eternity.

It now strikes me that there have been quite a few times I've been stuck somewhere without a book and I really could have used one. I'm going to have to rethink this and perhaps start putting my current read in my purse whenever leaving the house.

Well Educated Mind Challenge

Well Educated Mind Book list

Fiction

1. Don Quixote
2. Pilgrims Progress
3. Gulliver's Travels
4. Jane Eyre
5. Huckleberry Finn
6. Red Badge of Courage
7. Heart of Darkness
8. 1984
9. Street Car named Desire
   

Autobiography and Memoir

1. .

Historians and Politicians

1. .

Drama

1. Romeo and Juliet

Poetry

1. .

Weekly Report

Weekly Wrap Up

What a week. Even though we are officially on a Christmas vacation from formal lessons, the week has been full of informal and life lessons.

I worked at the shop on Monday, Wednesday and Friday until 5:00, then came home to fix my guys dinner. My techs agreed to cover until 7:30 on those days and handle the shop on Tuesday and Thursday. The three of us will rotate working on Saturdays for the time being. We were all a little fried yesterday, especially with it being a full moon day. Lord have mercy when the moon is full - we gets the strangest calls. I had some folks call and come in who were just out there.

The full moon was absolutely beautiful and I had a hard time taking a shot that would do it justice. I fiddled with all the different settings on my camera and came up with a few that I liked. We have been enjoying walking the court at night and looking at the Christmas lights. The full moon was an added bonus.

Father is feeling a bit better and the pain in his leg is starting to abate just a tiny bit. He has been taking vicodin and we've been trying to alternate it with advil. His regular doctor only gave him a prescription for 30 pills which lasted him one week. We pulled teeth to get a refill. He's been able to go a bit longer between dosages, however is still in a lot of pain. He does have a low threshold for pain so talked to the podiatrist yesterday. They are going to give him one more refill of vicodin and prescription strength ibuprofen. They want him to take one vicodin, then three hours later 600 mg of ibuprofen and just keep alternating every three hours. That way it keeps pain medication in his system without any rebound effects.

James tried taking advantage of the whole situation with Father being laid up and me going into work on Monday. I had stayed home quite a bit the week before and only went into the shop for a couple hours to take care of payroll and other paperwork. So what does he do the first time I'm gone for several hours?

He went out in the front and wondered around the court, chatting with different neighbors for a good hour. He walked down to R's and talked to him while he worked on more christmas decorations. Our grandmotherly neighbor saw him and sent him home. She came by to talk to Father to let him know James had been wondering about. The rules are he is never to go out in the front, beyond our patio gate without our permission nor alone. Despite the fact that he is nine, I don't like him being in front by himself. When I was eight, there was no problem with me walking alone to school up a busy street. It was safe. Now, you can't even let your kids play in your front yard alone.

James was sent to his room for the rest of the night by Father with the threat I would spank his butt good when I got home. When I came home, we had a long conversation about responsibility, trust and consequences. (and no I didn't spank him - the threat was good enough) We went over the scenario of him being outside and Father being stuck inside, not being able to help himself. What would have happened if he had fallen while James was outside. Who would have helped him? Yes, I guilt tripped the kid big time, but we had discussed him being responsible and 'the man in charge' while I am at work. I need him to be there to help get Father a drink or his glasses, keep him company, while I take care of the shop for a few hours. He was allowed out for dinner, but sent right back to his room for the rest of the evening. Being 'confined to quarters' , as James put it (courtesy of Chicken Run) seemed to be quite effective. I rarely ground the kid and send him to his room for long periods of time. He didn't like it very much. What he hated more was me taking away his computer time for the rest of the week.

Other than that one day, he's been pretty good and helping Father without complaint. He's been making his own lunch, feeding the cats and just basically being helpful. He and Father have been reading together and just spending alot of time together.

James and I are going to have the pleasure of going out and picking up a Christmas Tree today, preferably a small one. Then, we will be decorating it and the rest of the house. Time to get into the Christmas mood, put on some music and boogie.

Jesus is the reason for the season!

Writing Challenges and Goals

During National Novel Write Month,several writing moms, including me, over at Well Trained Mind formed an online social group. After Nano ended, we decided to continue as a creative writing group to provide support and encouragement. The group is called WLyHiOf which is short for "Writing Like Your Hair Is On Fire'. We have been discussing our writing goals for next year and I made a few decisions regarding mine.

The major part of the goal will come from novel writing. Right now, my goal is 1000 words a day while working on Winter's Illusion. Some days I go over and some days under. So I expect however much I write, it will average out to 1000 a day. Also, my college courses require lots of essays for which you have to be really creative. If its just a regurgitation of facts, I won't include. And let's just add a miscellaneous category, because you never know what may come up. Should I be tempted at some point to try my hand at a magazine writing contest, I'll include it.

My writing goals for 2009

Write 365,000 words for the year
Finish and edit current work in progress - Winter's Illusion
Edit and complete 2007 Nano novel - Floating on the Surface
NaNoWriMo 2009 - Already have a good idea for a story
College Essays
Miscellaneous

It sounds rather ambitious with everything else we have going on, but I think I can do it. As long as I am organized, diligent and take advantage of the time I have, it will work out. I'm going to post a goal meter on the side bar to keep track of my writing, plus give myself some accountability.

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart " - William Wordsworth

Booking Through Thursday - time to read

Time is of the Essence

1. Do you get to read as much as you WANT to read?

(I’m guessing #1 is an easy question for everyone?)

2. If you had (magically) more time to read–what would you read? Something educational? Classic? Comfort Reading? Escapism? Magazines?

I'd have to say Yes. I do get to read as much as I want. Reading is so much a part of our lives and always has been. I've been known to get grumpy if I don't get my reading time.

If I magically had even more time to read, I would read more classical books. I generally read for relaxation, escapism. Occasionally, I'll wade into a classic, but they take so much more time to absorb, that I read more slowly. A couple years ago, I bought Well-Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. The book gives a brief history of five genres - fiction, autobiography, history, drama and poetry and includes a list of 'great books' to read out of each category and how to read them. I found I had already read quite a few over the years such as Pilgrims Progress, Heart of Darkness and Jane Eyre.

I decided I would work my way through the list of books in each genre and I started with Fiction and Don Quixote and think that's about as far as I got. There are others on the list I want to read that we have on our bookshelves: Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Dostoyesky's Crime and Punishment, Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby, Augustine's The Confessions and Merton's Seven Story Mountain. So thanks to this question, I just decided to join Should Be Readings Casual Classic's book challenge for 2009 which is simply read 4 classic book between January and December. I can do that.

I am magically making more time to read for 2009. How about you?

Wordless Wednesday

Father reads in Bed while recovering from broken ankle and James keeps him company, along with two of the cats. I decided to fool around with my new camera and figure out all the settings. So took some black and whites and various other shots of them and around the neighborhood of our neighbors christmas decorations.




I know it's blurry, but thought it was interesting. During Christmas we have a steady stream of cars driving around our court to look at decorations. This car actually had christmas lights and teddy bears on top of it, but they moved too fast for me to get a normal picture.

Book Giveway - Dark Pursuit

Winner of Dark Pursuit Drawing

Good Morning! The winner of Dark Pursuit is... Just Me.

Please email your address to me at rlmccormack59 (at) gmail (dot) com and I will mail it off to you.

Thank you to everyone for participating and a special thank you to Susan Helene Gottfried at West of Mars - Win a Book for posting the drawing.

Musing Mondays - Reading

Rebecca over at Just One More Page asks:




How long do you wait after finishing a book before you pick/start another one? How many books do you have planned ahead or do you pick up random books from your TBR (to be read) pile (if you have one)? Do you review right away or keep reading and come back to it later?

When I finish a book, I will pick out another and put it in the kitchen so can start it the next day. But I have been known to start reading it in the evening while having a snack or I don't have anything recorded on the DVR to watch. I really don't plan ahead as far as what I'm going to read next. I pick from the oldest ones purchased and work my way through to the newest. So by the time I get to the newest, they are the oldest again. Clear as mud, right!

I usually have about 20 books in my TBR pile at all times. I made a list last night, including some non fiction books I have been ignoring and counted 40 in, on, and around my night stand. EEK! I'll have to whittle the pile down a bit before I buy more...just for my own sanity. Too many choices!

I've signed up for several challenges and all the books will apply to those in some form or fashion. That's why I included the non fiction books. I've been meaning to read them, so if it is listed, I will read it. Except the Pub Challenge which is books published in 2009.

Sometimes I will review a book right away and other times the review pile stacks up. I currently have four books finished and waiting to be reviewed. Since I joined the Read and Review Challenge for 2009, which is basically review everything you read, I am going to try to review each book as I finish it, before starting another. I figure if I do that, it will slow down my reading a bit. But it will force me to get the review done so I can start that next book. We'll see how well that works.

Buying Books for the Holidays

I'll admit it - I'm an a Bibliophile, a lover of all things books. So, when I heard the publishing and book industry is having troubles due to the economic downturn, I decided to do my part. So, don't be surprised if you get books for Christmas or birthdays or anniversaries or just because.

Amy over at My Friend Amy started a campaign to encourage people to buy books for the holidays. Check out the blog she created aptly called Buy Books for the Holidays.

I was very surprised to hear about Borders having troubles and thinking of selling itself in order to maintain business. They have since managed to reduce their debt somewhat and make changes that will enable them to continue operations. Barnes and Nobles reduced their inventory by setting all the books facing outward on the shelves. I went into the store here while they were in the midst of this change in November. The store was in chaos, but I have to say the employees were trying to be polite. Especially with everyone, including myself asking "where can I find this book?" I returned a few days ago and they had finished, but the shelves looked strangely bare with all the books turned outward and about a hand space between each book.

In the publishing industry, there has been news of the publishers reorganizing or laying off employees and heads of divisions resigning to go on to 'other things.'

And when you do buy a book, head on over to Buy More Books and let them know. The goal is not only to get people to buy more books, but to reach the goal of one million. Buy More Books is the brainchild of Karen Dionne, a cofounder of Backspace, which is an online international writers organization.

James and I are doing our part today and heading off today to Borders to buy some Christmas presents and get a few non fiction books for Father.

"A love of books, of holding a book, turning its pages, looking at its pictures, and living its fascinating stories goes hand-in-hand with a love of learning."

Laura Bush

Weekly Report #12

Weekly Wrap up

We had a very short week lesson wise and only did lessons on Monday and Tuesday due to Father's injury. It's interesting because in the past we have taken two weeks off for thanksgiving and three weeks off for Christmas. This year I decided to power through and not take off the two weeks for thanksgiving. Murphy's law derailed me and we have ended up taking the equivalent of those two weeks off anyway.

What we accomplished:

Devotions: In Real Life Encounters read about "God is Three in One" and "God is Holy". Started working our way through Proverbs 10 and also started reading "The Jesse Tree" for Advent.

Voyages in English: Finished Section 3 pronouns

Spelling: Finished Lesson 11 Y as a Vowel

Cursive: i and u's

Math: Reviewed subtraction of 1's, 2's, and 3's and started subtraction of 4's

James and Father finished "The Mystery of the Periodic Table." I think father learned more than James did. He said the book should be mandatory reading for anybody taking Chemistry because it presents an excellent history of the discoveries.

Self Education wise - I finished Section 2 of my information literacy class and have 3 sections to finish up before the end of the month. It is an easy 1 unit course required by Excelsior and will try to finish that up in the next few days. I have 6 units left of lower division classes and just requested approval to take Art History course for January session.

Writing wise - I haven't accomplished too much this week on Winter Illusion. With the end of National Novel Write month, I set a goal for myself of at least 750 words a day. Have managed to write 2573 for the week so far. I am part of the The Nano social group on the Well Trained mind forum and we decided to continue the group for writing support. We are now "Writing Like Your Hair's On Fire." I will be deciding on a word goal for next year and posting the goal in my side bar. That will keep my accountable. Once I finish the first draft of Winter's Illusion, then will set it aside and work on the editing of Floating on the Surface. I have a better idea now how to finish editing that story. My brother, who mastered in English, has offered to proof the novel for me when I done. Yeah!

Now with Father's injured ankle, (if you want to see the x-ray, scroll down a couple posts) I will be working more days, so will have to write up my schedule and make sure I stick to it. As long as I take advantage of my quiet times in the morning before everyone gets up, I will get the writing done. I just have to keep reminding myself "no internet, no internet, no internet" until I reach the daily goal. Will make blogging and browsing my reward for the day.

So ---- Imagine Trumpet's blairing ----

We are officially on Christmas Vacation

While there will be no formal lessons, there will be plenty of life lessons and fun lessons going on the next few weeks. James will have to learn to be more self reliant ie fixing own lunches, more chores, etc. He will also have to help Father while I am at work. I actually think this will be a good experience for him and teach him not to be so self centered and more aware of what is happening around him. He is constantly thinking, analysing and questioning everything and is such a smart kid, but he has no common sense. I hope this experience teachs him some common sense.

Once Father is feeling a little better and not in so much pain, there are a few electronic projects he has been putting off. He and James will be doing these together and maybe, just maybe James will catch the electronic bug like his dad.

Booking Through Thursday - Favorite authors

Five for Favorites - Deb asks

1. Do you have a favorite author? I have several that I will buy whatever they write including Ted Dekker, Bodie Thoene, Elizabeth Lowell, Linda Howard and a few I just discovered. When I discover an author I like I devour all their books. My all time favorite as of last year is Nora Roberts who also writes under the name J.D. Robb.

2. Have you read everything he or she has written? Yes, I have. I think she has around 150 or more books out there and I have read and reread them all. I've already read the death series twice. And if I had absolutely nothing at all left to read, I would chose one of her books to reread.

3. Did you LIKE everything? I did actually.

4. How about a least favorite author? There are a few, but it's based more on personal reading preference than anything else.

5. An author you wanted to like, but didn’t? I can't think of anyone in particular at the moment.

Father Broke His Fibula

My poor baby

We spent the morning at Kaiser and result - no surgery for now. The doctor thinks that the bone will heal on its own and remold itself. He consulted with the other doctors in the department and they all agreed it is better to wait. The break is approximately 2 inches long. He will recheck it at 3 weeks and 6 weeks. After 6 weeks the top break should have healed just fine. If the bottom doesn't heal due to soft tissue getting in the way, then they will pin that part. He said they could do surgery but most times it isn't successful, so they'd rather wait and see. Father had a new splint cast put on it and can't put any weight whatsoever on the leg.

We are so fortunate we own our business. We will have some adjustments to make since Father won't be able to carry any equipment whatsoever. I will most likely be working the majority of the time, but leaving early and rotate working Saturdays with my technicians. H has agreed to work this Saturday and R the next. James will have to be a bit more helpful and more self sufficient at home and help Father. And Father will have to learn the fine art of internet shopping for Christmas.

Now we just need to figure out how to cover up the cast so he can take a shower.