the old schoolhouse

Homeschoolers, if you have not checked out all the good things offered by The Old Schoolhouse, click on over and give them a look. I’ll wait here.

Are you back? Good. Did you see? Free cheesecake mix, Apologia gift card, Quarter Mile Math software, Sue Gregg cookbook, art curriculum, biology software…

Come back a little later today for a great giveaway…

Happy Monday!

in fact, it is rocket science

friday files, because writing, like life, is a process

(Here I am in 1970. Two years old and already very interested in cake. My cousin is providing the boost because I couldn’t reach. Still can’t.)

**Homeschoolers, come back here Monday for a fun giveaway.**

For comic relief, I am going to use Fridays (‘cause everyone is in a better mood on Friday) to post some excerpts of things I have written that will never see the printed page. Some of these will be better than others. All will be embarrassing – because I can do better now, I hope. I think it helps sometimes to see how far we’ve come, while remembering that they journey is still ahead of us. (No, that’s not the Friday File.) These files are OLD. I am not going to say how old, but trust me, this isn’t the first (or fourth) computer they have been transferred to over the years.

I will do this for as long as I can stand, which might be just today.

The porch was deep—a full ten feet—enough to provide an oasis on even the hottest days. Rocking chairs would be in the budget one day, and her waiting room would be cooled by massive brass ceiling fans and the breeze that made her sign come alive. One day. For now, the blue-gray of the porch mingled with sap that had risen to the surface of the cedar planks that comprised its backbone, and a hundred summers had blistered the paint into warts. Beyond its confines, the front yard had been stolen inch by inch, as the farm road of another time had swelled into a growling four-lane. It had forced Esther to turn Mr. Jacob’s remaining patch of backyard fescue into a gravel lot.

 

P.S. I don’t even venture into fiction these days. You’re welcome.

disney homeschool days

Walt Disney World. Learning. Fun.

Think one of these things is not like the others? Read about Disney Homeschool Days at Heart of the Matter Online and in Heart of the Matter’s July edition.

I’m feeling that twitch that happens when I’ve been away from the Happiest Place on Earth for too long. (Cowbell will not cure it.)

look, over there

Yes, there – to the right. Down just a bit. See that box? If you want to keep up with things here, you now have the option of signing up for updates via email.

I’ll try to make it worth your while.

fields of gold

Dear Neighbors,

I am sorry you have to look at my flowers, since they have now gone to seed. I assure you, the garden neglect is intentional and not (just) the product of a busy schedule and a bit of laziness.

Behold:

The gold finch families only come if they have an all-you-can-eat buffet.

classic bread, vintage pyrex

Behold, my new to me vintage Pyrex Spring Blossoms loaf pan. Two bucks at the thrift store, priceless in my kitchen.

The bread is the classic whole wheat loaf recipe from the back of the King Arthur whole wheat flour bag. Somebody probably had this exact sensory experience in 1972. I was three and we ate store-bought white bread, so it probably wasn’t me.