Sunday, July 27, 2008

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!


20 comments:

  1. Probable cause of weird viruses: neighborhood pool. Probably remedy: leaning over steaming pots with reduced air conditioning.

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  2. Peach cobbler and one less child-heaven.

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  3. My daughter Sarah is such an aggressive wiggler that she lost teeth she loosened by falling on her stick pony. It took a year to get the new teeth.

    Can't wait for the book!
    -Farmsuite

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  4. AnonymousJuly 28, 2008

    a new book, a new book!!! i love the reading suggestions (i take them as suggestions, hard to find any of them here and shipping can take weeks...)

    kudos for your AC pioneering efforts. go save the world, one AC at a time, momma! does your teen support you in all this? they can be very persuasive you know, when they have this tree hugging gene pool...

    franzi

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  5. I hear you on the kids wiggling teeth in a wild attempt to make a little fast cash! One of my kids just lost a tooth, forgot in her pocket...or somewhere... So I told her if she writes a note to the Tooth Fairy explaining what happened, that the tooth may have gone through the wash and may even have gone down the sewer, I'm sure the Tooth Fairy would honor the note in place of a tooth. Her first question was (which was on the heels of her little sister's question of, "Do you think she would go in the sewer and dig it out?"), "Do you think a person could just fake it and leave more notes just to make money?" I'm so proud of my little enterpreneur!!!

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  6. You have out peached me! Mmmmm...that sounds grand.

    We had that throat thing this spring. OMG. It is lovely. Because who needs sleep when they are sick?

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  7. Julia lost a tooth at age 4 because she was chewing on a bendy figure, you know, rubbery with wire innards, and the wire got wedged between her teeth and she just yanked. The wire came out and so did a tooth. She's almost 7 and I don't know if that tooth is in yet or not. I've lost track.

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  8. You Go Girl!!!
    Oh and get to the bottom of those tomatoes...
    To avoid over heating the house, you could do your cooking on a grill outside...course then you would be REALLY steaming!
    Blessings, E

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  9. AnonymousJuly 28, 2008

    Ugh. Canning and humid heat? Can't you just leave the A/C on and factor in the savings of making your own?

    Enjoy your week o' bliss.

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  10. mmmm Peach jam. Our A/C went out last August and I moved Heaven and Earth to get it fixed. I could not do it. Our house broils in the sun. How did we ever live without it? I agree with Green Girl - factor in your homemade savings and turn the air back on.

    On a side note, sleeping with a cough drop in your mouth can also give you a thrush infection while you sleep. A nice, gross, yeasty tongue because of the SUGAR in them. I'm sure you can guess how I know that. . .

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  11. Um, canning? You're so super-productive it scares me. It's summer! You're supposed to slack off, woman!

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  12. It's sort of an activity around here - cheaper than camp, and less buggy than being outdoors.

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  13. *choking on my own lozenge* I about died right here and now~Thank. You. You need a disclaimer.

    I totally can't get that dumb Reeeeee-colaah song out of my head now.

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  14. Honestly, I don't know how you live with all that teenage girl drama and not have the desire to kill someone at the end of the day.

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  15. I LOVE "Um... okay...?" I'm going to use that on my daughter tomorrow. Turn the tables. I'll let you know how it works...

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  16. You have to get the head movement just right. I'm telling you, it's an art.

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  17. Geez. You are putting me to shame with your cobbler makin'. I've got all the necessary garden-grown ingredients to make my usual kick-ass salsa and have yet to find the time or energy to do it.

    Hope you get over the throat stuff soon and can conquer your lozenge addiction.

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  18. Mix a 2 whole boxes of rock candy with 8 ounces of Bourbon. Shake until a syrupy consistancy. It make take a few days to completely dissolve. Gargle a couple of shots of the mixture before bed and swallow. It should help the cough.

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  19. Ooh, yeah - I don't think my husband will believe that one!

    Just 8 ounces, huh?

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  20. Came over from Kari's site~ For your tomatoes... peel them (with a paring knife over a bowl/pan) and cut them up and freeze them in freezer bags (we do quart bags..one bag makes a pot of chili...put it in frozen and add the rest of the ingredients...as it heats it will thaw and it tastes soooo good). For your cough/sore throats we went through that the kids would lie in bed and cough ALL night. Delsom (sp?) the over the counter cough meidicine worked really well for us.
    Happy day.

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