Returning to Monday Musings

I have taken a long break, but here I am again with:

Right now…it is 1027 am, sunny and 82 degrees (with 57% humidity). I am sitting in the recliner watching Benedict play with my bread bucket and the kids are watching their 1/2 hour of a DVD. (Richard Scary’s Busy Town this morning. I have a nice cup of coffee next to me, laced with cream and waiting for me to enjoy. (it is my second cup of the day)

This weekend…was full of visiting with friends and a few other things. I had suggested to Joshua that we invite Sam (his boss) and Michele (Sam’s wife) over for dinner with their kids, they came over on Saturday
Some plans for this week:  Hm…I guess it is about time to jot out some sort of plan for school and menus and chores, seeing as we are supposed to start school next week!  I am happy to start school (well, sort of…), but planning it is hard work, and I hate putting time into things that don’t work out, and in my experience, my school plans fall apart every year around Advent.  I may have to just count on unschooling for 6 weeks or so around the holidays…

What else?  I have to clean up the mess in the bindery and start clearing outgrown and worn-out clothes from the drawers and closets in preparation for the Great Changing of the Wardrobe at the end of next month.  I like it only slightly more than  cleaning my wall oven and a bit less than scrubbing my shower stall.

I have to bake a coffee-hazelnut cheesecake for my mom’s birthday on Saturday.  I am fiddling with another cheesecake recipe to customize it, so I hope it comes out and I don’t make a mess of it.

If I find some time for myself, I would like to…work on Una’s sweater and find a very simple peasant dress pattern with long sleeves to sew up for Gemma.  I also want to make a list of things that I can make for the kids for Christmas or for the Etsy shop.

Some prayer intentions for the week:  for my mother, whose birthday is on Saturday, and for my Mother-in-Law, whose birthday is today!  Also for Adrian and Dominic’s cough to go no further…I don’t sleep well with a house full of coughing kids.  For work for Bret to continue to come in. For the ticks in the front yard to DIE! DIE! DIE!!!  Um, sorry, I sort of lost myself there…I just can’t keep my kids prisoners indoors, and the stuff we have been spreading in the yard to kill ticks is not working…

I am grateful for…the fact that Adrian and Dominic didn’t cough through the night last night, that none of our many tick bite have shown the “target rash” of Lyme Disease, that we are not experiencing the oppressive heat of a few weeks ago.  I am grateful that the Mennonites have pretty much agreed to take on the framing of the new Patch O’ Dirt Farm in October.  This will be an enormous help, and Bret can work with them.

Something that makes me smile:  A gift of soft, squishy, berry-colored yarn from my blog-friend Ginny, who was trying to mail this to me when the recent earthquake hit.