From the Trash Heap

This summer has been too busy, with not nearly enough fun and relaxing. We haven't had any time to garden, the vegetable and flower beds are all shamefully weedy, and I am completely unmotivated to go out in this godforsaken heat wave to do anything about it. The Lord may have taketh away my will to work in the hot sun, and my free time with which to do so; but the Lord Giveth too. An enormous cushaw plant has grown out of the compost bin, across two trees, and out into the yard. The gourds are enormous. I have no idea what to do with cushaws. Pie isn't really my thing, and you'll find out later why that option is off the table. So if you know what to do with cushaws other than put them in pie, please leave a comment. Otherwise, these will end up like their predecessor, and sit on the porch as lovely fall decorations. 

We only have two weeks before school resumes, and I miss my kid already. The summer started out rough; Mr M. and I were both in a large wedding, and no sooner was that wrapped up than his grandfather passed away. Multiple trips out of state, a vacation that was simultaneously too long and too short, and we had to put the Fiery Prince in day camp so I can work. I'm grateful for my job, and I really love my job, but I need the next two weeks to slow down and enjoy my kid. I haven't touched my sewing machine in weeks, and that shawl isn't knitting itself (trust me, I checked).

This fall promises to be even busier than the summer in very good ways, but I am still on the PTA board (this is likely my last year), and I've been asked to act as PR chair for the school. Add to that my new involvement with an exciting community group, and, well . . . some days I can barely get things done because my head is swimming with it all.

As there is no time like the present, I am adding Weight Watchers to my list of stuff to do every day. So I am likely going to blog about it. Today is day 4, and so far, so good. I will say, the new PointsPlus system is easier and more fulfilling than the old system, and many fruits and vegetables are 0 points, so you'll never starve. That's great, because my favorite fruit is in season, and as it's such a small window, I plan to eat all the cherries I can get my hands on.

Flog that dead donkey

When I grow oldish, I'm going on tour.  I really love concerts.  I love the people, shaking my ass, the travel, all of it. I really love my husband for accepting this about me, even though he doesn't really get into it.

Les Claypool is currently on tour, and for the next few weeks, before he hooks back up with Primus and Gogol Bordello, London's Hot Head Show is warming up the crowd.  Before the show, I was not at all interested in these punks and was unimpressed when they first took the stage.  Within half an hour, they'd won our hearts.  Sadly, I can't seem to find their album anywhere in the States.  The lead singer is nearly unintelligible most of the time, but occasionally you catch lines like "flog that dead donkey" and "suck my nuts".  We really got the impression that he was making fun of us.

The lyrics come through much more clearly in the recordings, and are even better than we thought.  Also, this band has serious musical talent, making them entirely worthy of globe trotting with the man, the myth, the legend himself.   

Not Forgotten

Whew, the end of the school year really keeps a Mom on her toes!  Also, the economy is picking up, which is evident by the way my business is picking up.  Read: companies are putting money into advertising once more. 
I'm also trying to finish the socks I've been knitting for Ezra for nearly a year.  I have about 50 rows to go. 

My garden needs weeding, and I have a bunch of work to do now, so this is really just to put something here. 

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend, Chris moved a few tons of landscaping bricks, and together we moved about 4 tons of dirt and compost. We turned ourback yard from this:

To this:

That bed is where we will grow our own organic veggies for the summer. I think I'm going to need to learn how to can.

Let summer begin!

(No really, I'm tired of this school year and am ready to have my kid back-- Let Summer Begin!)

What I'm Thinking About

As far as the current crisis goes: I don't want to talk about it. Hopefully it will be wrapped up soon, and I'll let you know once that happens, but for now- I just don't want to talk about it. I'm thinking about it enough as it is.

What I am thinking about right now is the upcoming summer. More specifically, what exactly Ezra and I are going to do with it. I must admit, I am partially dreading it-- in that Ezra is such a whir of energy and activity these days that the whole thing sounds exhausting. Simultaneously, I am really really looking forward to it. He's been in full-time school this year, and I miss him a lot. I miss really being a stay-at-home Mom, guiding him and learning with him. So, in the name of channeling his energy and giving him some time to learn on his own terms, I am looking into summer Unschooling and trying to plan out some ideas, at least to get us started.

I don't yet know much about Unschooling, other than that, on a daily basis, you follow the child's lead. That means that whatever Ezra is interested in, I will find activities and lessons to enrich his interest. I really like this idea. I feel like it will keep us busy and happy, and give both of us guidance on how to spend our time, without taking over all of our time.

Right now, Ezra is excited about summer swimming, so I'm thinking I will start with a "unit" on water. We will probably visit the local resevoire, and the park with the fountains for playing. Of course, the local pool is on the schedule for much of the summer, but I'm going to enroll him in swim lessons too. I'm thinking this interest in water might be turned into an interest in water ecosystems, so I'm working on finding a good creek or pond where we can chase frogs. If anybody has any suggestions for that, please let me know! Along with a "unit" on water ecosystems, we'll probably include some fishing days because Ezra LOVES fishing. Hopefully, our planned beach vacation will add a lot to the water "unit". Of course, we'll use a LOT of books to help us learn, which will help strengthen his reading skills.

Ezra's other current interest is math. That's not really my strong point, particularly where coming up with fun outings and activities to enhance his math interest goes. The way we do math now is just to find geometry in the world around us, and to use mathematical concepts as we go along (how many of x are there, categorize them, what if we took away y number of them). I would really like to build a unit on math that would include lots of outings. I'm sure I can come up with lots of crafts for a math "unit", but right now I'm coming up short on outing ideas. I have time though, so I'm sure it will work out.

We will also be expanding our food garden this year. Ezra is determined that we should grow corn, so a "unit" on plants and food will form from that, and with the harvesting of the corn, I envision a history lesson on Native Americans.

I know this sounds like a lot of planning for something called "Unschooling" and it probably is. But I'm a planner and need a bit of a framework to work from, or else we'll end up doing nothing at all the entire summer. I'm basically getting my framework together now, so that I can refer to it this summer. I think that will help us stay busy but remain plenty flexible. And as his interests change and he finds new interests from each subject, I think having a framework will help me to adapt.

For more information on Unschooling, check out This Vintage Chica's site on Unschooling: http://vintagechica.typepad.com/summerunschool/. I'll be following along with her all summer, and sharing our experience here.