Catechism

I am now officially a catechist. I'll be teaching the third grade catechism class, starting next week. Last night was the teacher in-service, where we handed in all of out paperwork and went over the schedule for the first semester.

I've been researching and writing down ideas all week, and am really looking forward to teaching. Some of the anxiety may return come Wednesday, but I'm feeling pretty good about it right now.

Mystery Solved

These mysterious plants voluntarily came up in my vegetable garden. I knew they weren't the cucumbers I'd planted there, but I also recognized that they were vegetables, so I let them grow. After weeks of watching these things expand and try to take over the entire garden, my suspicions have been confirmed. They are the dreaded mini-pumpkins. I thought I was rid of the little Napoleons, but they're back again trying to conquer the melon patch and strangle my green beans.

I may just let them have the beans. I've put up 39 quarts so far, and today I'm freezing some in mixed veggies. I'm one quart short of my canning goal, but we're still working our way through the last set of 40 I canned 3 years ago.

The kids will be happy to have all those tiny pumpkins around, and at least I don't have to worry about weeding them. Still, I hope they don't come back again next year.

Biking

Dear Reader, I'm up to a seven mile ride now. I'm not paying too much attention to my speed, but it's likely somewhere in the 10-12 mph range. As of yesterday, I'm more than halfway to my 100-mile goal. I should make it sometime in August. Then I can concentrate more on my summer reading goal, which is at the same point, progress wise.

Summer So Far

Dear Reader, Summer is very busy so far. My driving test is scheduled for early September, so I'll be practicing more. Summer homeschooling makes the mornings go by much faster, and should be excellent practice for teaching CCD classes in the fall, which I've volunteered to do. I did my first 5-mile(approximately) bike ride this morning. Due to weather and knee pain, I've only ridden 22 miles thus far, but since I've taken to riding on the road instead of the leg-killing dirt lane, my 100-mile goal is still viable.

I've ventured into the realm of home owning, which has me looking for more ways to save money. For instance, today I made a rag mop out of an old towel, a wooden handle and some baling wire. It doesn't hold together very well, but it serves its purpose, and should save a bit over time. Those sponge mops just fall apart after a short time, and are a big waste of money.

The garden is bigger this year, and everything is growing well except the watermelons, which needed replanting. They may not have time to be more than ornamental, but I'm hopeful for a long growing season. The weeds are being kept at bay, and I'll be canning beans before the month is out.

Only two more months before school starts. It doesn't seem like an eternity this year.

More Driving Stuff

The driving is actually going well. I've improved a lot, and am just awaiting an opening in the DMV schedule so I can take the road test again. I'll probably have another lesson sometime before then to make sure I've got it down. I've had three lessons so far, and they've been a great help to me.

Driving Revisited

Dear Reader, tomorrow I will meet my new driving instructor. We'll be driving around town for an hour so he can assess my driving skills. He just recently opened the driving school, a service that was very much needed in our area(especially by me).

Mr. Allen has been forewarned about my extreme nervousness while driving, although I assured him I've gotten much better about it. Maybe he can help with that. In any case, this is an excellent opportunity for me to get some behind-the-wheel experience, and with any luck, finally get my license.

I'm a little nervous just thinking about it, but I think it'll go well.

Late Night Round Up

I was going about putting the house to bed for the night, when I looked out to see why the motion sensor lights were on in the driveway. A few of the steers had decided to go out for a stroll. It didn't take long to run them back in, although one of them took off into the bean field. It's hard to see the black ones in the dark. That little guy was out for a walk early in the afternoon, and I'd put him back in myself.

Now they're all back in their pen, which is blocked with a swinging gate. I think the electric fence is broken. My husband and father-in-law are looking into that now.

Just part of the fun of living on a farm....

Death by Bicycle

Dear Reader, I did my first full mile on my bicycle today. I think my legs are about ready to go on strike. I'm keeping track of my miles this year, but I haven't got a goal in mind. Maybe 100, if my knees hold up. Seems a decent goal for Summer.

Lent and Fitness

So far, I've spent half of Lent being sick. I get really sick about once or twice a year, and I'm hoping this will be it for 2009.

I gave up pop again this year, as well as snacking. The snacking is actually the most difficult. I didn't realize how much snacking I've been doing.

I'm hoping the self discipline I'm learning will help me with my fitness goals for the year. I haven't quite given up on the idea of jogging/running(which I tried last year until my knees made me stop), so I asked my doctor about my knee problems, and he suggested I get knee braces and take up bicycling. Walking is still my preferred exercise at the moment, but if the braces help reduce the irritation, I might be able to step it up a bit. Riding a bike up and down a half-mile dirt lane ought to be a good workout. Regardless, I'll be making good use of our treadmill.

On the Road Again

Today marked my return to driving practice. I'm going to try again to get my license. It took a long time to recover from the failed road test, but I'm back at it.

My sister came up this morning to be my designated passenger. I did alright, although I still have several things to work on, such as: picking out landmarks for deceleration; maintaining speed while changing lanes; watching out for old ladies who come to a complete stop before turning off the main highway; and negotiating the Walmart parking lot.

I managed to find my way around town alright. I found the church, Walmart, and Taco Johns. Then I found my way home again without getting lost. I consider that an accomplishment. That and not being nearly as nervous as I had previously when behind the wheel. Other drivers still make me nervous, but not so much as before.

I think the next time I drive, I'll cruise the residential neighborhoods for places to practice parallel parking and y turns. I got pretty good at the former, but I haven't done it since I failed the road test and stopped driving in town.

All in all, it was a good driving experience, and should make the next excursion that much better.

Year of Reading

Dear Reader, this year, I intend to do a ridiculous amount of reading. I'm off to a fairly good start, having finished the Bible in less than two months. But since I started that back in December, not all of it counts toward this year, I suppose. Still, I've got two more Bibles to read, which will make three within a year. I'm saving the King James Version for last. So far, I much prefer the New American Bible to the New Jerusalem. It's easy to read, yet still somewhat poetic.

I have five fiction books to read, two of which I've already started, and a couple of borrowed nonfiction that I really need to read and get back to my sister. If I get those read in good time, I'm going to attempt to read my old Business Law textbook. I'm already planning to buy some books from Amazon, so it's doubtful I'll get the textbook read.

In the middle of all of this, I'll continue to write, and perhaps find some inspiration in the gazillions of words I'll be taking in over the course of the year.

The Catching of the Shrew

We knew we had mice, or something like them. We heard them at night, and sometimes even saw them scurrying from one major appliance to the next.

One of them was suspiciously slow, and dark in color. We thought it might be a shrew. We had one or two in the house last summer, one of which I squished with a toy box.

I set out a mouse trap: the classic Victor finger-smasher. On night one, we caught a mouse. On night two, the trap was set off, the cheese taken, but the trap was empty.

After a couple of trapless nights that lured the furry one into a false sense of security, we did some research on shrews and set the traps accordingly. Two traps this time. Come morning, one of the traps was gone. No cheese, no animal, no trap. It has vanished. We looked around to see if it had been dragged and discarded under the furniture, but we still haven't found it.

Last night, we finally caught the shrew. I gave it to the cat this morning. There very well could be another one, but I shall still consider this a victory.


Update:

The missing trap has been found. The score is now 3:0.

Goodbye 2008

Dear Reader, this was actually a pretty good year, despite economic difficulties, and being afflicted by chronic writers block from Summer onward. I only had one New Year's resolution for '08(saving money), and I kept working at it. I think I can consider it kept, although December managed to undo all my progress. But what do we save for if not to spend?

It was a good year for gardening, especially for tomatoes. I've got so many tomatoes put up that I shouldn't need to can any for at least the next two years.

I read many books, and started about the same number, which I'm still working on reading.

I completed my first quilt, which turned out alright for a first.

All in all, it was a good year, but I look forward to the next one.

Quilt

Here is my first quilt. One corner is messed up, but it's not too bad.

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving cooking has officially begun. I made the cranberry-orange relish tonight. Tomorrow I will bake bread and cookies. I'm not sure when I'll make the pumpkin pies because I'm not hosting this year, but it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without them.

The daily writing strategy failed. I got distracted by economic worries and quilting. At least the quilting is going well. The writing is coming along, but very slowly. I've invented a new character.

Quilting

Dear Reader, I have decided to take up quilting. I'm making a nine-patch quilt for the angel, and I'm sewing the patches by hand. It's good practice, and it saves me the trouble of making the sewing machine work on unevenly cut squares. I might use the machine to sew the blocks together, and definitely will for the finished edges.

I took pictures of the two blocks I sewed tonight, but I don't know how to get them off the camera.

Not Not Writing

I swear, I am writing every day, but the little writing I am doing is hardly worth posting. It's mostly work on the fanfic. Today hasn't gone so well, as I've written a total of one word that happened to be missing from a sentence I wrote a week ago.

It's 9:30 pm and I'm waiting for bread to bake, so I'm going to go and write something quickly before I decide to give up and just go to bed. Probably more fanfic, but I will write something post worthy this week.

Excerpt

Yesterday's writing was confined to fanfic, but today I worked on one of my stories. I wanted to write at least 100 words. Here is what I wrote tonight. Consider it an excerpt from a future book.

"Alex sat, unnoticed, in the corner of the ballroom. The guests were leaving by twos and fours, slowly improving his view of the couple in the center of the dance floor. They weren’t dancing. The music had stopped long ago. But they talked and smiled, and seemed oblivious to the people around them.

He slumped in his chair and glared at his brother so hard he felt sure the jerk would feel it. Jealousy was a new experience for Alex, at least where Preston was concerned. He’d always been proud of his brother’s easy success. But not tonight. Not with her."

New Poem

Today's writing project was a poem with two endings. I couldn't find the html code to make a spoiler box, but I did find one for hidden text than can be highlighted.


The Door

As toward the door
I walk once more
Slow apprehension growing
Familiar fears
Of younger years
Old dreams unfinished flowing

A swirling mist
A brand new twist
On a scene once known so well
Will it open now
Be revealed somehow
Or remain an unreachable cell?


Highlight for ending one:

I reach out a hand
The door crumbles to sand
I stand and I stare at the glory
Of angels singing
Their praises ringing
To the author of this age-old story

Walking through light
That banishes fright
I calmly approach the throne
My sins all forgiven
Pain far away driven
I smile, for now I am home



Or ending two:

I draw within feet
Of a strange new retreat
As the door pulls away from my grasp
I try it again
Lest the dream never end
And forward I pitch with a gasp

Floating or falling
One name I am calling
I know he will save me once more
But he can’t get near me
Although he can hear me
From the other side of the door

Writing Exercise

Dear Reader, after an irritatingly long bout with writers block, I am making an effort to really get back to writing. I will try to write something every single day.

I started tonight with a simple writing exercise: write fifty words about a topic. I've just finished, and haven't edited, so it might be a bit rough. The topic is coffee.

"Coffee is the friend whose call is always welcome. The lover you don’t have to hide. Warmth and wakefulness float on ribbons of steam, a comforting contrast to the blaring shock of the alarm clock. Clouds of sleepiness parted rather than broken, bringing a more peaceful start to the day."