Outside my window…
Since we cleared that old car out of the backyard we have had TONS of picnics back there – in fact, we eat outside most nights now!
I am thinking…
about the property we are selling that used to belong to my father. What. a. hassle!! This was part of a large tract of property that used to be owned by my great-grandfather.
Then he gave it to his kids and they gave parts to their kids etc. When my dad was alive, he had all kinds of deals with his many cousins, such as, “I can use this road to get to my property and in exchange you can cross over my property to graze your cattle.” And none of it was legal and most of it was done with a handshake and a wink.
Which was unfortunate.
Because it appears that some of the cousins who grew up there considered parts that they remember living on as belonging to their fathers when they actually belonged to mine and there are now hurt feelings over legal deeds. Because legal deeds are like currency out there. It’s a mess.
I am thankful…
that I grew up around the Great Lakes and missed out on all the drama!
From the learning rooms…
- Gabe and Noah are starting “As I Lay Dying” by Faulkner. (What a gawd awful book! Be glad when we are done with it – we haven’t done much reading at all this week.)
We are sort of in semi-vacation mode this week. Concentrating mainly on math for Noah and reading and math for the girls. Gabe is taking a government class at a local charter school just to get it out of the way.
- The Long Winter.
- Mary Poppins for Rosie and Izzy.
Gabe and I have also decided to change his course for the coming year. He does not want to wait and work for his diploma. Instead, he wants to take the GED as soon as possible and then get into a 22-week welding course given locally. This is not what I would have chosen for him, but he is almost 18 and this is what he wants to do.
Now, as a homeschooler, I have read for years and years how the GED is just not as acceptable as a high school diploma. There is a stigma attached to it. But when I shared this with my sister, (who has made a career in the field of corporate human resources) she looked at me as if I had my head screwed on wrong. It is her perception that at the entry level, it really doesn’t matter if you have a diploma, or a GED, as long as you have something!! And when I shared with her all of the reading I have done as a homeschooler about the stigma of having a GED she said, “THEY’RE HOMESCHOOLERS!” which can be synonymous with “OVER ACHIEVERS!” Then I went back and looked at the application to Calvin’s paramedic school and they accepted a diploma or a GED.
Finally, I started looking at the GED prep and I am now satisfied that obtaining a GED is as worthy as getting a high school diploma – they certainly don’t seem to just hand them out. Maybe as a society we need to start honoring that credential as highly as we do the diploma.
Anyway, Gabe goes for his GED orientation class next Monday.
From the kitchen....
Turkey. I bought a big ole Thanksgiving Day turkey and I am going to cook it up in my hot kitchen all afternoon so that I can have turkey sandwiches and turkey shepherds pie and turkey burritos all week without cooking another thing!
I am wearing…
still in my nightie folks!
I am creating…
hopefully a sale of property that will close by the end of the month!
I am going…
- walk every day
- Get in a strength and cardio video at least three times.
- Start organizing the soccer league I inherited.
- Start organizing the support group.
- finish straightening up my office.
- prepare my notification for homeschooling next year.
I am reading…
I am wondering…
how I will feel in 10 years when the drama of this time of my life is over!
I am Hoping…
- That Calvin gets the job he interviewed for a couple of weeks ago. He said the interview went really well. He has also applied to three other jobs.
- that I have the strength to manage a homeschool group and a soccer league.
- that Gabe passes his drivers test.
- that the property I am selling from my father’s estate sells.
- that I can endure all of the things I am called to endure – through Christ who strengthens me.
I am Looking Forward To…
upcoming family reunions.
I am hearing…
the buzz in my left ear, the air conditioner and the computer – all white noise!
A Picture I am Sharing…
a picture of me and Noah from 10 years ago.
Are you the first to sell the land? Have you thought of leasing it to others?
Homestead selling is VERY sticky business around here and can take years and years with lots of fights in between!
Lucky you are not in most Western states where a fence that has been up for seven years is considered boundary. We found that out a 6 years on our Arizona land and tore down the fence. OW! that was not fun.