Weekly Wrap-Up

You can catch me over at MidCenturyModernMoms today, discussing how I managed to get my teen daughter to pay for a little vacation for me...

And over here, I am just about to hold an exciting drawing to see who will win a copy of Fifty Acres and a Poodle. I've got all the names on pieces of paper and all the pieces of paper are in a plastic baggie (freezer-safe) and now I just have to reach in (no peeking!) and pull one out. Ready?

Here, I'll shake the bag a little first. Okay, here we go...

(Oh, this is so exciting, I almost can't bear to look.)

Kari! Kari is another homeschooling mom who has only recently started showing up around here (or else has only recently de-lurked). Her blog is a must-see if you've ever wanted to know how to convert a school bus into an RV. (And, darn it, Kari, it's your fault I can't get the Partridge Family theme song out of my head this evening.) Anyway, they've just painted the bus (not in Partridge Family colors, to my immense disappointment); and it is well worth looking at.

So, Kari, send me your address (I won't publish it, don't worry) so that I can send you this book. What's that, farmsuite? Where's your book? The one you won last week? Oh. How embarrassing....

Would you believe me if I said I have right here next to me 2 envelopes that I have sworn to address tonight before I allow myself to indulge in the Haagen-Dazs raspberry sorbet that is sitting in my freezer? With any luck, these books might just make it into the mail this week. They've got to, or this book club is going to lose what little credibility it might have. Let's see, where is my pen?

There! Envelope addressed (anyone else feel as though they are forgetting how to write longhand? I swear I had to think about how to write an "m") - now I just have to find the book; it's around here somewhere.

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Produce update: We've baked a double batch of peach cobbler, canned 6 pints of peach jam (with the fruit all floating on the top, which does bother me, still), and have gotten absolutely nowhere with the box of tomatoes, from which is emanating an incredibly foul odor.

Weather update: Electricity prices are supposed to rise by about 20 percent starting this month, so I decided to use our air conditioning 20 percent less to make up for the increased cost (yes, I know, I am a real pioneer woman). Unfortunately, temperatures are hitting the 90's this week, with matching levels of humidity. That fact, plus working in the kitchen for hours with a canning kettle steaming on the stove makes me have second thoughts over my new-found frugality.

Kid update: Anna's away! ...and the livin' is easy...I'm sorry, I cannot help breaking into song every now and then. It's nice to get a break from all that teen girl stuff - you know, the hair crises and the slumped shoulders and this new thing where she'll answer any question or request with an "Um...okay?" along with wide-open eyes and a slight shake of the head which convey with remarkable economy the sentiment, "Sure I'll do it, even though it is a totally nonsensical request that only a total loser grown-up would make." I've tried imitating it when Larry asks for something, but I can't do it right. It's very subtle.

Susie is three. She keeps telling us that.

Rachel's tooth is loose. I don't know if it is naturally loose, or if it is loose due to her aggressively wiggling it because she wants the money.

Health update: We are all taking turns falling prey to this weird throat virus that lasts forever. One of its more endearing features is that it makes its victim start coughing every time he/she falls asleep. I feel as though I am being tortured. The only thing that will stop the cough is sucking on a Ricola cough lozenge, but then I worry that I will choke to death on it as I sleep. The other night I woke up with a little bit of the lozenge left in my mouth and I thought one of my teeth had fallen out. I got a little hysterical.

Otherwise? We're fine. Just fine.

Tomorrow - a new book!