Elena 
Outside my window…
Leaves finally fell!
I am thinking…
about my mother’s goddaughter who came to visit me with her husband. It was so great to catch up on things and to reminisce about the past. She had memories to share with me that I had forgotten.
She used to come to our farmhouse when she was a kid for my mother to give her piano lessons. She remembered sitting in the little playroom with me and my sister watching Under Dog on our little black and white set waiting for her lesson to begin.
She also vividly remembered a couch that used to be in the piano studio that she would sit on. I remembered that couch too. She said that her lessons were an hour long, but my mother would pull out some classical music for her to listen to while she watched the fish in the fish tank. I’m so grateful she shared this with me!
Just a Reminder…
my mega Advent and Christmas Link Post is up! Lots of great ideas for ways to prepare during Advent and celebrate Christmas. This year, I’ve added a link up so you can share your own links too!
I am thankful…
I have all of my Christmas Shopping done except for one little thing. My cards are here and I’m getting ready to send them out!
I am pondering…
the short Advent this year and what that means for masses, and preparing music for masses and getting there early for all of these masses. It’s going to be challenging!
One of my Favorite Things
My sister’s holiday spread. Sis always does a great job making her celebrations festive!
I am hearing…
my computer hum, and Rosie practicing Christmas Music.
In the kitchen…
Turkey Stew!!
I am wearing…
Black yoga pants, a black T-shirt and a gray hoodie
I am going…
- To walk or do videos every day this week. My knee only hurts a little bit – it’s much much better. It does make strange noises though!
- add some additional novenas next year with the help of PrayMoreNovenas.com.
- to cut my carbs via the Wheat Belly Total Health: The Ultimate Grain-Free Health and Weight-Loss Life Plan recommendations
and Intermittent Fasting.
- Taking Izzy to work five times this week!
- Help Mr. Pete with his monk costumes!
- Continue my practice for my big performance in April.
- Attending Noah’s Choir concert this week.
- Performing in two concerts myself this weekend!
This is a pretty good read so far! Really fills in the gaps of information I had about this important historical figure.
This is the book my flute teacher recommended to me years ago, It’s about mastering your inner self and giving your best performance! It’s applicable to musicians too. In fact, another musician friend who plays a keyboard instrument got the same book recommendation from her teacher!
I have the Audible app on my phone as I walk the trails during cross country practice or work on the flip house scraping paint.
From the Learning Rooms…
Starting A Gentle Advent Exploration next week!
Latin for Children, Primer A (Latin Edition)
Rosie is also taking a writing class online using the Once Upon a Time Saint series as the writing
prompt.
We have a schedule! Rosie writes her history paper every Monday based on what she has read in her history the week before. Also on Monday, she reads her assignment in Once Upon a Saint. Then on Tuesday she writes her assignment for that class and turns in her paper. Thursday is for revisions.
When I was desperately looking for ways to help Calvin learn to read, the Writer’s Jungle by Bravewriter’s Julie Bogart was a source of great inspiration to me. This fall, I’m going to be sharing some of my favorite parts that really helped me teach my kids to write – from the absolute most recalcitrant writer to the kid who has prose and poetry just dripping out of her!
When I asked my friend about that paragraph, she told me that she
added that awful topic sentence after she’d written the whole paragraph.
Why? Because somewhere haunting her memory like a teacher-shaped
ghost was the thought that it didn’t qualify as a paragraph unless she
started it with a topic sentence. Oh puh-lease! The rules we must
unlearn!
…”so much wasted time.” David Cassidy’s last words
A Photo to Share
A newly discovered (by me) picture painted by my mother over 60 years ago!
Have you ever watched the Bob and Brad physical therapy videos? They have a lot of helpful advice. This is on knee pain. https://youtu.be/jxNO8ytjYh8