Weekly Wrap-up: Week 4 - The One with Seeds, Sunsets and Strawberries

Another week with the kids visiting Nannie and Grandpa Lobster. Another week of quiet downtime, coming and going with few obligations. Another week of puttering around the yard, planning school, fishing, reading, and crocheting. It's a hard life, but someone has to do it!

I replanted the garden. I sowed more pie pumpkins, weird yellow-skinned cucumbers, wax beans, and Snow peas. With the help of Jake, we covered the garden over with wire to keep out snacking chickens and wild birds. (Those yellow-and-black Goldfinches are pretty though...) And I fertilized with an organic mixture from the hardware store. I have to say: That stuffed SMELLED something awful! Does that mean it'll work well?



I had to be creative with watering the garden though. Who wants to stand there for-ever? I have crocheting to do and books to read and sweet tea to sip.

We fished when we could. Unfortunately the trolling motor we bought used has some, um, issues, and with time constraints we just headed out to fish from shore. We've yet to actually catch a fish, but the serene late afternoons are so worth the effort. Just look at these photos! NO editing whatsoever. (Only my name added.)

As soon as the farm opened up for strawberry picking, my step-kids and I were there. I don't think many people knew they opened U Pick early because we had the field to ourselves. We ended up getting about 9 pounds or so of juicy, fragrant strawberries. I've been making meals of strawberries and cream. Nothing better than farm fresh, just picked berries!

I helped a stunned Hermit Thrush. I'm assuming it flew into one of our windows as I found it breathing, but feet up in front of our door. When it didn't move after 10 minutes, I picked it up with an old towel placing in on my outdoor table under the trees. Thrush like to hang out in the "understory" of forests. It was another 20 minutes before it was able to fly away.

Next week? We're heading down to pick up the kids. We've missed them. The house will again be noisy and there will be never-ending dirty dishes in the sink. We'll be signing up for the summer reading program at the library, having lunch at the Rec Center, swimming at the lake, and starting summer studies.

As always, special thanks to these bloggers for their weekly homeschool blog link-ups. Click on over to see what other homeschoolers are doing!

"When one teaches, two learn." - Robert Heinlein

Weekly Wrap-up - The One With Head Spinning: July 7 - 20

Did you see? I have my 2nd giveaway running! Education.com is a great resource for printable workbooks, worksheets and activities. Be sure to check it out here and leave a comment or two! 

In OUR LIFE the Last 2 Weeks

((head spinning))

Phew! What a whirlwind couple of weeks! Although it's been fun to spend time with family, it's also wonderful to be back home and enjoy some "downtime". As much "downtime" as we can get during our crazy-busy summer! LOL

Sugar Maple, Balsam Fir and I meandered up to the island again to visit my family. Even with the Atlantic sea breeze it was HOT! We spent time swimming in the ocean AND a lake AND running under the sprinkler! And look what I had for lunch...

Yeah, a Maine lobster roll! Yum! But poor Dad's lobster boat was towed home. ((sigh)) The engine went so he's done for the season. Lobster prices have "bottomed out" anyway and the fisherman are struggling. After 40 something years, he's ready to sell out and just continue driving a local school bus. So, this was probably my LAST lobster that Dad will catch!

We also dropped White Pine off at his week long Boy Scout camping trip. He LOVES scout camping! It'll be fun to hear about his week when he returns tomorrow. 

We spent a sunny afternoon at Hadlock Field watching a Sea Dogs baseball game with my ILs and extended family, and then enjoyed a great BBQ dinner together.

And now we're relaxing at home again! Doing the usual. Enjoying the usual! Even if it means going from room-to-room cleaning! ((wink)) It's time to get the house in order before another school year rolls around. Sure, it's 6-7 weeks away, but it'll take us that long to go through each and every room.

Sugar Maple's Garden Has Bloomed

Or sweating in muggy 90+ degree temperatures while harvesting snap peas, bush beans and loose-leaf lettuce. There's something satisfying about making meals from those things you grow. Balsam Fir was especially proud of pile of peas and beans we have from his garden and asked to help prepare them for dinners! And on Thursday we pulled the dying pea and lettuce plants, loosened to soil, added a little fertilizer, and replanted. I also worked a patch of the garden that never grew and sowed some summer squash. (We're not all that fond of summer squash, but why not give it another go?)

Bowls of Green

Chicken Candy! The "Tops and Bottoms" of the Beans and Peas

Let's Eat!
Mama's Creamy Mac and Cheese from Southern Plate.  Chicken Cordon Bleu Wraps from Real Mom Kitchen. Boston Baked Beans from Spark Recipes.

In OUR HOMESCHOOL This Week

School?!

((thinking)) ((hmm))

Oh, yeah, I started reading The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden to the Saplings this week. I've never read this book! Blue Spruce picked it up at a book sale and we've been enjoying it! A very delightful story!

Tips and Tricks: Back-to-school sales are starting! Don't forget to check out those sales flyers to make the most of deals!

I found a FREE, SIMPLE and FUN money game from First Grade Frogs for Balsam Fir. He's been struggling with his money recognition and adding coins, so playing Coin War looked like a GREAT way to review. If you'd like to download and print out this game, click here for my favorite resource this week!

Who Has the Most Money? Add. Higher Amount Keeps Cards.
Win by Getting All the Cards. And Don't Throw Out Plastic
Food Jars with Lids! Wash and Store. Great for Small Games
and Snacks On-the-Road! Recycle!

And I started putting together Sugar Maple and Balsam Fir's work binders with workbox cards for next year. I'll be sharing a post in early August about all this stuff with the TOS Blog Crew (and probably other Not-Back-to-School link-ups). Nothing like meshing together Charlotte Mason, Traditional schooling and Sue Patrick's Workbox philosophies, huh? LOL

MY Favorite Thing This Week
Making time for one-on-one time with each kiddo can be a challenge, but finding something SIMPLE to share with them is such a wonderful thing. On Tuesday, Sugar Maple and I grabbed lemonade and iced tea from the grocery store, checked out some books, and relaxed on the library's covered porch for some quiet reading time. Together.

Pondering
I'm in AWE of my calendar. Or is it overwhelmed?  How does a summer get SO busy? And I've deliberately NOT included things that we could be doing - library program workshops, free community activities, swim lessons - or special family outings. Do you suppose when school rolls back around in September we'll be "bored"? Nah, who am I kidding! ((wink))

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