September Pagan Family Thread: Moving toward Mabon

[revolting]

I welcome September and these last days of summer. We visited an apple orchard and have spent the last few days feasting on apples we harvested. When my youngest takes a nap this afternoon, my eldest and I plan to start making our apple dolls for our Mabon altar. Of course, I can't talk about apples without sharing a poem by my favorite poet, Mary Oliver:

The Orchard

I have dreamed
of accomplishment.
I have fed

ambition.
I have traded
nights of sleep

for a length of work.
Lo, and I have discovered
how soft bloom

turns to green fruit,
which turns to sweet fruit.
Lo, and I have discovered

all winds blow cold
at last,
and the leaves,

so pretty, so many,
vanish
in the great, black

packet of time,
in the great, black
packet of ambition,

and the ripeness
of the apple
is its downfall.

We still wait on closing our home, and we have significant work to finish in the home before we can move. I hope to light our first indoor fire in our new fireplace on the equinox. We still oscillate about the school decision once we move, and I still have more healing to do from my miscarriage from last month.

What are all of you harvesting in your lives right now?

[Indigo73]

I really don't make many plans for this time of the year...  My sinuses are giving me issues 5 out of 7 mornings, added to college work, my day job, and Fall Ball... well our free time tends to be at home and chilling out.  I hope to hit one of the local orchards before it's too late, my favorite has shorter trees and a hotline they keep updated.  Hm...

[DaughterOfKali]

I don't really harvest anything.  Well, I buy fruit/veggies that are in season but that's not harvesting. LOL.

I love Autumn, though.  I change accessories in the home to reflect the season.  We use both natural items and things like blankets, lamps, cushions/pillows, artwork, etc.

[vydalea]

Hello, September!

Holy Moly Pangolin (to quote Z) the first half of this month is WILD, mamas!  Z starts preschool next Tuesday, one of my very close friends gets married next weekend.  I was at the point today where I was just so overwhelmed I just stopped.  I feel like everywhere I turn something needs to be done and I have no idea where to start!  

I'm finishing harvesting everything out of our garden.  I have about 25 butternut squashes in the basement - I'm waiting for a chilly day to do a full day of roasting and freezing for the winter.  Tomatoes are just about done - freezing lots of those, too.  

I love fall scents.  I think I'm going to splurge and get a jar candle that smells like pumpkin or banana bread or something... that's the most I do to change the accessories in our house.  Oh, and football starts tomorrow so we start doing Sunday dinner with my sister and her hubby.  I'm roasting a chicken and one of those B-nut squashes I was talking about for this week.  I cannot wait.  yum!!  

Sounds like you're both quite busy revolting and Indigo.  What's on the docket for this semester, Indigo?  How are you feeling, revolting?  

[Maiasaura]

Here I am!

Originally Posted by revolting We still oscillate about the school decision once we move, and I still have more healing to do from my miscarriage from last month.

What are all of you harvesting in your lives right now?

I love Mary Oliver! Since I am a UU and she was a UU, she gets oft quoted at our church. I had never heard of her before, but since they read her so much, I have really gotten fond.

for you, revolting, about your healing. About schooling: what is the compulsory age for school where you are? Here it's not till age 7, but since most kids go to kindy by age 5, nobody knows that they can actually keep their kids home till 7 if they wanted to.

Harvesting...nothing, at the moment. I hope to harvest a new home in MA one of these days!

Originally Posted by Indigo73 our free time tends to be at home and chilling out.  I hope to hit one of the local orchards before it's too late, my favorite has shorter trees and a hotline they keep updated.  Hm...

Our free time is always home and chilling! I'm such a bad mama...I tend to let ds have lots of screen time and I have lots, too

Your orchard hotline is such a cool idea! What, they say what's harvesting right now? That is awesome.

Originally Posted by DaughterOfKali I don't really harvest anything.  Well, I buy fruit/veggies that are in season but that's not harvesting. LOL.

I love Autumn, though.  I change accessories in the home to reflect the season.  We use both natural items and things like blankets, lamps, cushions/pillows, artwork, etc.

That counts! She didn't say what, that you grew, are you harvesting It could be any number of things, from attitudes, body changes, actual garden foods, anything. And I do think buying in-season veggies definitely counts.

I also decorate seasonally, but subtly. I have coffee mugs for every holiday and I make an altar in my bedroom on the dresser-top, with a cloth that is just a yard of seasonally-themed material. I used to use those when ds was little so I can just throw it in the wash, and I still use them.
Some times I have a wreath for the door. Or Indian corn. Or something seasonal to reflect the time of year.
I usually also decorate the back of the stove like a mini kitchen altar. I'm not doing that right now b/c of the house being for sale. I really miss going all-out with the decorating....I can't wait till the house sells!

Originally Posted by vydalea I have about 25 butternut squashes in the basement - I'm waiting for a chilly day to do a full day of roasting and freezing for the winter.  Tomatoes are just about done - freezing lots of those, too.  

I love fall scents.  I think I'm going to splurge and get a jar candle that smells like pumpkin or banana bread or something... that's the most I do to change the accessories in our house.

How do you put up the squash? And the tomatoes, do you just freeze them as-is? What do you do with them after?

Oh gawd, roasting a chicken sounds so YUM! I have been craving wings, though-- need to get some tomorrow at the store

I have two new Yankee candles-- one is Harvest, which I think smells great but rather lame for potency, and the other is Apple Pumpkin, which is really nice. They had Banana Bread, but I dunno...I thought it was kind of weird. I oughtta, though, since I don't make banana bread anymore.

I had both Pumpkin Pie and Apple Cider from last year-- those ones are really amazing. I will have to drag them out soon.

So, back from M's...already It seemed to go really fast. Not actually while I was there, but all of a sudden it was Monday and time to print out my boarding pass for the next day

I had one person come through and look at the house before I left, and part of the feedback was that the price is too high. Can you imagine?? I think it's perfect, and there were two houses that sold back in Spring that were almost like mine (except they had basements)-- they had the same square footage and sold in a month each, for $140K or so. Mine is only $136,900, and I don't have a basement, but the roof is new and the windows are awesome thermalpane.

But still...my realtor wants to know if I am wanting to dump the house quickly, or if I am willing to sit on it for awhile. Hard choice! I want out of here really badly-- but I also need a healthy profit in order to move. Because she's talking about lowering the price again. Sigh.

[Wolfcat]

Hey. It's been awhile. I've been keepin' on.

We are getting some squash and tomatoes and pumpkins from the garden. I'm sick of the high temps already. Can't wait for the first freeze...

We are prepping for Mystic Fest, our fav annual pagan vending event. I'm making some tough business choices, but it's been a long time coming.

Dh is working evenings now, so I'm home with the kids every night and dd is growing molars. Ds has an awesome teacher this year so I don't think we'll have the issues we did last year.

It's about time for bedtime snack, so I better go feed the monkeys...

[Aubergine68]

Hi, Wolfcat!  What sort of business choices are you making? About what you carry?

I had a dream that I came to visit you in NC, Maia.  I was amazed by how fertile the gardens are there and by what an amazing harvest was duethe end of the dream I'd had a baby girl, rather to my surprise.  I named her -"Origin - Ginny for short."   (My sister is expecting and I'm sure I was dreaming about her baby, but it was fun to "meet" you, even in a dream.

Vydalea, my squash was a total fail this year.  Had to beg zucchini off of others, believe it or not.  Got a mess of corn from my sister, which I blanched and froze, and I've been canning tomato salsa and apple butter from our own garden fruits.  Got some root veggies in the ground and I really must harvest the herbs before first frost.

[Aubergine68]

Ah - it won't let me edit to say I love the poem, Revolting.  I'm so sorry about your loss, glad to know you are healing.  

[revolting]

Why won't MDC let me quote? Anyway...

Indigo - Fall Ball? Is this for school? Work? We go somewhere with shorter trees, too. We live near a couple of crab apple trees, but with how tall the trees have grown, mostly it feeds squirrels. We can only reach a few apples.

DoK: That totally counts, and I wish I did that. Other than my altar and seasonal craft projects I inflict upon my kids, we fail to do much seasonal decorating.

Vy - Wow on the preschool. Is Z excited? Who's more anxious: you or her? I love hearing about your garden. I hope once we move, we will garden more. I've never heard of freezing tomatoes. Why do you freeze them rather than can them? What do you make with frozen tomatoes?

Maia: I hope your home sells soon! If the other homes had basements, I don't know if a new roof and nice windows will make up for it. Let us know what you choose.

Wolf: Yay for better teachers! What kind of business choices do you face?

Aubergine: I like the name in the dream.

AFM: Compulsory schooling starts at 7 here, but my eldest asked to go to school after we move. Even since the first miscarriage, I haven't done a great job of being an involved parent, and I think she's bored. Maybe she'd be better off at school while I work through the grief and physical healing process and then go through another round of TTC. At the same time, the public school is an academic kindy: there isn't any school choice where we will move. My daughter tests as gifted, but I'd describe her as highly asynchronous. I just can't imagine a public, academic kindy education benefiting her. If we had a play-based kindy, I'd feel fine sending her at this point, but it isn't, so I'm torn.

We carved our apple heads yesterday and now we dry them. Hopefully the storm promised this afternoon, the humidity will dissipate. In the meantime, we have them in the oven (turned off but it's warm in there), though I worry someone will forget they are in there and start the oven.

Oh, and I looked at the Mabon mini-camp aweyn did a few years back. Check it out! I love this prayer Wombat (I miss her!) posted:

From Cooking Like a Goddess-
 

Blessings of the first frost to you
Blessings of the goose-stitched sky
Blessings of the trees in sunset glory
and warm hearth at end of day.

Blessings of the harvest set before you
Blessings of the food that brings comfort
Blessings on the fire that stays within you
Blessings on the fire that cannot stay.

In a few weeks, I definitely want to start using that for our family prayer. There are a lot of great ideas there.

[LionessMom]

Yay! September!
I spend most of time my time nursing my little guy. He is growing so fast. I did get to go out to a dinner meeting with my local brehastfeeding group. So I guess I am harvesting friendships.
I am trying to do this from my phone. It doesn't seem to be working to well.

[pampered_mom]

Revolting - I'm beginning to think I'd like to take a gander at your bookshelf.  Love the poem and the blessing.  This time of year always brings to mind Carin Berger's "Little Yellow Leaf."  How do you make your apple dolls?  I don't envy the school decision.  I hemmed and hawed about ours for quite awhile and I'm still not sure if I made the right decision.  I was going to agree with your thoughts on sending her while you took some time for yourself, but then the academic kindy part would be a bit of a sticking point for me as well.

Indigo73 - Sounds busy!  I think one of things I most look forward to with fall is the change in the air that almost begs that you sit down and relax for a spell.  Maybe it's the cooler weather or just that I feel less pressure to enjoy the warm weather while it lasts at. all. costs.  We love the apple orchard, though we don't usually pick anything.  Ours has a store with it that my kids love to wander around trying all the food samples.  Ds made the circuit yesterday in record time and tried *everything* - it was riot.

DaughterOfKali - Sounds lovely!  :0)  We're breaking out the dried corn cobs from last year (love, love, love the colors) and I managed to remember to change out the postcard in the postcard holder on the altar.  We haven't quite gotten into the swing of things, though dh is chomping at the bit to get out to the one farm market where we buy our pumpkins in Oct to buy a bundle of corn stalks to put up out front.  He doesn't quite believe me when I tell him it might be too early for that just yet.  He always means to burn it the next year come spring or summer, but since we live in the city he never gets around to it as it's too big to fit in the UL rated fire pit the city requires.

I've been working on quilting a runner to go on the fireplace mantle which is where we put our altar/nature table, but I suppose it will be winter before I finish it.

vydalea - Whew!  That's a lot.  I picked up some of the Orla Kiely Vanilla Chai hand soap at Target the other day that my kids have been telling me smells just like fall so I completely understand the fall scents thing.  Oh, and roast chicken?  When would you like us over for dinner?

maiasaura - Love the idea of using the back of the stove for a kitchen altar.  I always wish that we had held out for more money when we sold our first house a little over four years ago.  We should have gotten more for it than we did, but then again it sold in less than a month and we really wanted to be out of there.  It's a tough decision - I don't blame you for not wanting to drop the price.

Wolfcat - I'm of two minds about the temperature.  I'm really sick of hot and humid days (especially the later part which is a bit odd given how dry it's been here this year) and am ready to move into cooler weather.  On the other hand, I hate cold weather and spend most of the days between late October to late April huddling under a blanket freezing my tail off...

Aubergine68 - When we were gardening we always had to beg zucchini off of others.  We were never successful in growing any before the vine borers got them.

LionessMom - Many happy nursing moments to your and your little one!  :0)  I've tried MDC on mobile devices before, but I've never been very successful.

I think I got everyone.  Today was my oldest's first full day of school.  He's only in second grade, but I've homeschooled him up until this point so I'm a bit apprehensive about how well this is going to work out.  It's going to be an experiment for sure.  I'm just burnt out beyond belief and tired of fighting to find a group of homeschoolers (reliable folks) who aren't raving Christian fundies.  It was impossible and I was beginning to get the impression that ds' social skills were lacking.  So, we thought we'd give the school district a try for this year.  Ds is excited, though we'll see how excited he is when I pick him up in a couple of hours.  Academics wise I'm less confident in our choice - they're using Everyday Math and the school is embarking on their pilot year in alternative grading.  Ugh.

On the other hand, today it's felt a little bit like I've stepped back in time two or three years.  I've done laundry, straightened out my bedroom, stripped down our bed and washed every bit of bedding on it, vacuumed the rug, and read for a bit.  It feels like I have more time than I know what to do with.  Things are going to pick up next week when my middle one goes to preschool, but I can't say as I'm minding the change in pace...minus the adjustment period we had this am when my girls tried to figure out what to do without their brother.

I have a few veggies in the fridge from my dad's garden that I need to do something about soon - otherwise so far it seems like all we're harvesting this year is difficulty and challenge.  I was really hoping that the end of 2012 would be better than the beginning.

[DaughterOfKali]

Originally Posted by Maiasaura 

 Because she's talking about lowering the price again. Sigh.

 What about lowering it to $129,999.  It will open up the door to people searching for under $130k.  It may sell quickly that way.  I know it's not ideal but at least it would get you out of there.

[vydalea]

Oh, I am so happy to see everyone!! I love when this thread is all poppin' with you fabulous mamas!! 

Maia: What do you think you'll do about the house?  How is M doing?  How is the new school year for R?  

Wolfcat: Mystic Fest sounds like fun!!  Hooray for an awesome teacher for your DS!! 

Revolting: I want to do a family prayer here, too.  A thankful for the Earth giving us food kind of thing.  I'd also like to do some kind of night time gratitude prayer.  I remember when I was a kid we would say "blessings" every night before bed blessing all of the people in our family, extended family, dogs, cats, birds, sesame street characters, etc.  ha.  But I think it was nice to reflect on all the support you have...??  Does anyone do anything like that?  

Lioness: I hope the harvesting of friendships goes well.  Sometimes I feel like it's so hard to find like minded mamas IRL it's nice when we come across them!! :)

pampered_mom: how did the first day of school go for your oldest?  I hope the transition goes smoothly for him. I'll be thinking of both of you.    And yes, bring your family on over for dinner.  Whenever I cook on Sundays I cook like 15 people are coming here when there are only 4 adults and a toddler!  haha!  There's always extra!! 

About my gardening/freezing techniques: I just freeze the tomatoes after I cut off the top and core them.  Then I throw them in a bag.  I plan to use them in chili and crock pot recipes all winter.  HOWEVER, I have never done this before this year.  So, I can't guarantee results.   I used to blanch and peel and smoosh get like 3 cans out of the giant pile I had.  That just annoyed me.  I'm too lazy... or rather, I have better things to do with my time like hang on MDC. ha!  So that's why I don't can.  As for the squash, I cut them in half, scoop out the seeds, and roast with 1/4 c water for 45 minutes.  Take 'em out, let them cool and then freeze in 2-3 cup intervals or whatever you would say.  I have a DELICIOUS vegetarian/vegan winter squash casserole recipe if anyone wants it (has pasta in it).

As for Preschool... I don't know how I feel about it. I'm happy that she's ready and healthy and growing... and then I'm sad because our days that we spend together will be lessened...and then I'm relieved because I think I her to go DO SOMETHING ELSE.  Is that terrible?   As an only she relies on me a lot for a playmate and I'm excited for her to have some playmates that are under the age of 30.  haha.  

Randomly, we're buying a new car today!  New to me.  It's a 2007 Subaru Forester...in beautiful RED.  I have been driving around my 99 Civic (with no AC for the past 3 summers) and I think I would drive it forever but for the fact that it's days are seriously numbered.  You know, when you get in your vehicle and you're like... is this the trip where this thing dies?  So, that's happening.  We've kind of been looking but this just came up this week.  Wish me luck... 

[pampered_mom]

Originally Posted by vydalea 

pampered_mom: how did the first day of school go for your oldest?  I hope the transition goes smoothly for him. I'll be thinking of both of you.    And yes, bring your family on over for dinner.  Whenever I cook on Sundays I cook like 15 people are coming here when there are only 4 adults and a toddler!  haha!  There's always extra!! 

About my gardening/freezing techniques: I just freeze the tomatoes after I cut off the top and core them.  Then I throw them in a bag.  I plan to use them in chili and crock pot recipes all winter.  HOWEVER, I have never done this before this year.  So, I can't guarantee results.   I used to blanch and peel and smoosh get like 3 cans out of the giant pile I had.  That just annoyed me.  I'm too lazy... or rather, I have better things to do with my time like hang on MDC. ha!  So that's why I don't can.  As for the squash, I cut them in half, scoop out the seeds, and roast with 1/4 c water for 45 minutes.  Take 'em out, let them cool and then freeze in 2-3 cup intervals or whatever you would say.  I have a DELICIOUS vegetarian/vegan winter squash casserole recipe if anyone wants it (has pasta in it).

As for Preschool... I don't know how I feel about it. I'm happy that she's ready and healthy and growing... and then I'm sad because our days that we spend together will be lessened...and then I'm relieved because I think I her to go DO SOMETHING ELSE.  Is that terrible?   As an only she relies on me a lot for a playmate and I'm excited for her to have some playmates that are under the age of 30.  haha.  

First day of school went well from the kiddos perspective.  He was really excited about going back today and he's looking forward to tomorrow.  I'm still not to keen on the academics part.  When we were homeschooling I always felt like we were behind or weren't covering enough.  I'm getting the distinct impression that we could have done half of what we did and still would have been on the same level as the kids in the public school.  But I was burnt out and I'm enjoying having one less thing to do.  We've thought about afterschooling, but then that kind of seems like it would be defeating the purpose of sending him elsewhere.  Ya know?

And don't even get me started on lunch.  They cut a recess out of the day so that they could add 36 instructional hours to the school day, but they can't add a few of those minutes on to the lunch period?  DS has come home with 3/4 of his lunch uneaten both days.  I sent an email off to the teacher to ask if she knows what he's like while at lunch figuring maybe he's chatting folks up or goofing off, but we'll see.

For freezing tomatoes I've read where some folks freeze tomatoes on a baking sheet (maybe they called them tomato plops or something?).  I usually went the hard way with food mill and pots and canning and oh my was it a lot of work.  I'd love the squash recipe.

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who tends to over prepare food.   :0)  Oh, and I don't blame you for wanting her to have more playmates than yourself and I totally get feeling pulled in so many directions about it.

I'm off to make cornbread muffins to go with our chicken chili verde.  I'm hoping this will get me in the groove to do some fall (and Mabon) planning.

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by DaughterOfKali  What about lowering it to $129,999.  It will open up the door to people searching for under $130k.  It may sell quickly that way.  I know it's not ideal but at least it would get you out of there.

Oh HELLS no. No, no, no! That's WAY lowball for what this house is, and it would leave me no money at all to move with. I haven't got an extra cent. I need every penny to get out of here, or I might as well put it up for free.

Originally Posted by vydalea Maia: What do you think you'll do about the house?  How is M doing?  How is the new school year for R? 
 

My realtor is coming over tomorrow. I'm going to go with $2000 lower, for starters. M is doing great, thanks for asking! HE GOT HIRED, finally! Oh, cross fingers it lasts. Today was day two. R's new school year is going alright so far. He's only gotten in trouble twice in 3 weeks of school so far

Originally Posted by pampered_mom And don't even get me started on lunch.  They cut a recess out of the day so that they could add 36 instructional hours to the school day, but they can't add a few of those minutes on to the lunch period?  DS has come home with 3/4 of his lunch uneaten both days.  I sent an email off to the teacher to ask if she knows what he's like while at lunch figuring maybe he's chatting folks up or goofing off, but we'll see.

My ds never eats his lunch. I know most of it is his meds, and I *know* they have plenty of time to eat-- they get 1/2 hour to eat and 1/2 hour for recess, but he tells me all.the.time. that they only had 10 minutes today for <fill in the blank reason>

We had a really good time at M's this time I went WAY overboard and added more $$ to my credit card but we rented a car and had so much fun. It was a really nice car, wish I could afford to own one! A Chevy Impala, 2011. Black, even! And we drove a couple hours to M's brother's house in VT, and we drove all over the place, and I drove almost the whole time, so I got a feel for the area when *I* am behind the wheel. I did a great job, too!

[Valerie.Qc]

Hi all!

Fuzzy brain didn't retain anything I've read...

Going to a Rallye: DS hope to meet Ken Block who is leading so far.

Went apple picking on Thursday,

[revolting]

Originally Posted by LionessMom 

Yay! September!
I spend most of time my time nursing my little guy. He is growing so fast. I did get to go out to a dinner meeting with my local brehastfeeding group. So I guess I am harvesting friendships.
I am trying to do this from my phone. It doesn't seem to be working to well.

Great to see you. Glad you and the new babe are doing well. The difference a week can make at that age is amazing!

Originally Posted by pampered_mom 

Revolting - I'm beginning to think I'd like to take a gander at your bookshelf.  Love the poem and the blessing.  This time of year always brings to mind Carin Berger's "Little Yellow Leaf."  How do you make your apple dolls?  I don't envy the school decision.  I hemmed and hawed about ours for quite awhile and I'm still not sure if I made the right decision.  I was going to agree with your thoughts on sending her while you took some time for yourself, but then the academic kindy part would be a bit of a sticking point for me as well.

Indigo73 - Sounds busy!  I think one of things I most look forward to with fall is the change in the air that almost begs that you sit down and relax for a spell.  Maybe it's the cooler weather or just that I feel less pressure to enjoy the warm weather while it lasts at. all. costs.  We love the apple orchard, though we don't usually pick anything.  Ours has a store with it that my kids love to wander around trying all the food samples.  Ds made the circuit yesterday in record time and tried *everything* - it was riot.

DaughterOfKali - Sounds lovely!  :0)  We're breaking out the dried corn cobs from last year (love, love, love the colors) and I managed to remember to change out the postcard in the postcard holder on the altar.  We haven't quite gotten into the swing of things, though dh is chomping at the bit to get out to the one farm market where we buy our pumpkins in Oct to buy a bundle of corn stalks to put up out front.  He doesn't quite believe me when I tell him it might be too early for that just yet.  He always means to burn it the next year come spring or summer, but since we live in the city he never gets around to it as it's too big to fit in the UL rated fire pit the city requires.

I've been working on quilting a runner to go on the fireplace mantle which is where we put our altar/nature table, but I suppose it will be winter before I finish it.

vydalea - Whew!  That's a lot.  I picked up some of the Orla Kiely Vanilla Chai hand soap at Target the other day that my kids have been telling me smells just like fall so I completely understand the fall scents thing.  Oh, and roast chicken?  When would you like us over for dinner?

maiasaura - Love the idea of using the back of the stove for a kitchen altar.  I always wish that we had held out for more money when we sold our first house a little over four years ago.  We should have gotten more for it than we did, but then again it sold in less than a month and we really wanted to be out of there.  It's a tough decision - I don't blame you for not wanting to drop the price.

Wolfcat - I'm of two minds about the temperature.  I'm really sick of hot and humid days (especially the later part which is a bit odd given how dry it's been here this year) and am ready to move into cooler weather.  On the other hand, I hate cold weather and spend most of the days between late October to late April huddling under a blanket freezing my tail off...

Aubergine68 - When we were gardening we always had to beg zucchini off of others.  We were never successful in growing any before the vine borers got them.

LionessMom - Many happy nursing moments to your and your little one!  :0)  I've tried MDC on mobile devices before, but I've never been very successful.

I think I got everyone.  Today was my oldest's first full day of school.  He's only in second grade, but I've homeschooled him up until this point so I'm a bit apprehensive about how well this is going to work out.  It's going to be an experiment for sure.  I'm just burnt out beyond belief and tired of fighting to find a group of homeschoolers (reliable folks) who aren't raving Christian fundies.  It was impossible and I was beginning to get the impression that ds' social skills were lacking.  So, we thought we'd give the school district a try for this year.  Ds is excited, though we'll see how excited he is when I pick him up in a couple of hours.  Academics wise I'm less confident in our choice - they're using Everyday Math and the school is embarking on their pilot year in alternative grading.  Ugh.

On the other hand, today it's felt a little bit like I've stepped back in time two or three years.  I've done laundry, straightened out my bedroom, stripped down our bed and washed every bit of bedding on it, vacuumed the rug, and read for a bit.  It feels like I have more time than I know what to do with.  Things are going to pick up next week when my middle one goes to preschool, but I can't say as I'm minding the change in pace...minus the adjustment period we had this am when my girls tried to figure out what to do without their brother.

I have a few veggies in the fridge from my dad's garden that I need to do something about soon - otherwise so far it seems like all we're harvesting this year is difficulty and challenge.  I was really hoping that the end of 2012 would be better than the beginning.

Oh, I love that children's book, but where I live, the trees generally don't start to change color until October. We made our apple dolls following instructions at the end of a picture book bye Elisa Kleven. If your kid just started school, he might really like it.

I hope the year gets better.

I hear you about secular homeschoolers being flaky flaky flaky. We're moving, so I'd previously hoped that maybe the homeschooling culture out there would be less so, but I have no idea. I'm glad his first day went well.

Vy: IDK why MDC won't let me quote you but yay on the car! We are in the process of looking for a second car, but I'm pretty overwhelmed by the process.

Originally Posted by Maiasaura 

Oh HELLS no. No, no, no! That's WAY lowball for what this house is, and it would leave me no money at all to move with. I haven't got an extra cent. I need every penny to get out of here, or I might as well put it up for free.

My realtor is coming over tomorrow. I'm going to go with $2000 lower, for starters. M is doing great, thanks for asking! HE GOT HIRED, finally! Oh, cross fingers it lasts. Today was day two. R's new school year is going alright so far. He's only gotten in trouble twice in 3 weeks of school so far

My ds never eats his lunch. I know most of it is his meds, and I *know* they have plenty of time to eat-- they get 1/2 hour to eat and 1/2 hour for recess, but he tells me all.the.time. that they only had 10 minutes today for <fill in the blank reason>

We had a really good time at M's this time I went WAY overboard and added more $$ to my credit card but we rented a car and had so much fun. It was a really nice car, wish I could afford to own one! A Chevy Impala, 2011. Black, even! And we drove a couple hours to M's brother's house in VT, and we drove all over the place, and I drove almost the whole time, so I got a feel for the area when *I* am behind the wheel. I did a great job, too!

That sucks that you need the money to move. Yay for M getting hired. I hope it works out this time. And yay on the trip. It sounds fun!

Originally Posted by Valerie.Qc 

Hi all!

Fuzzy brain didn't retain anything I've read...

Going to a Rallye: DS hope to meet Ken Block who is leading so far.

Went apple picking on Thursday,

Hey! What's a ralley? Ken Block?

We finally closed on the house. We got a nice surprise of how little money we had to bring to closing...about 2/3 of what I thought we'd have to bring. We started the work today...pulling up carpet, taking down paneling, leveling the tile floor in the basement... It's a lot of work. In-law drama wasted half the day, but we're going back tomorrow. My brother got married, and we might spend part of the day looking for a minivan. I've never bought a car previously, so I'm a little overwhelmed by it all.

[vydalea]

Originally Posted by pampered_mom 

First day of school went well from the kiddos perspective.  He was really excited about going back today and he's looking forward to tomorrow.  

And don't even get me started on lunch.  They cut a recess out of the day so that they could add 36 instructional hours to the school day, but they can't add a few of those minutes on to the lunch period?  DS has come home with 3/4 of his lunch uneaten both days.  I sent an email off to the teacher to ask if she knows what he's like while at lunch figuring maybe he's chatting folks up or goofing off, but we'll see.

For freezing tomatoes I've read where some folks freeze tomatoes on a baking sheet (maybe they called them tomato plops or something?).  I usually went the hard way with food mill and pots and canning and oh my was it a lot of work.  I'd love the squash recipe.

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who tends to over prepare food.   :0)  Oh, and I don't blame you for wanting her to have more playmates than yourself and I totally get feeling pulled in so many directions about it.

I'm off to make cornbread muffins to go with our chicken chili verde.  I'm hoping this will get me in the groove to do some fall (and Mabon) planning.

I'm glad that the kiddo likes school.  That's half the battle right?  Don't get ME started about cutting recess!!   Children learn through play and need to get their energy out.  Plus, we all know about obesity rates in this country.  Let the dang kids out, let them roam free for a minute!  GAH!  That's just me, though.  *sigh*

here is a link for the squash recipe: http://1greengeneration.elementsintime.com/?p=817  I don't use the unsalted butter it calls for in the recipe but other than that I stick to it pretty well.  I halve it for our little family and make it in a 9x9 pan and that will last us 2 meals.  It tastes really good with cottage cheese, actually.  

Originally Posted by Maiasaura 

My realtor is coming over tomorrow. I'm going to go with $2000 lower, for starters. M is doing great, thanks for asking! HE GOT HIRED, finally! Oh, cross fingers it lasts. Today was day two. R's new school year is going alright so far. He's only gotten in trouble twice in 3 weeks of school so far

We had a really good time at M's this time I went WAY overboard and added more $$ to my credit card but we rented a car and had so much fun. It was a really nice car, wish I could afford to own one! A Chevy Impala, 2011. Black, even! And we drove a couple hours to M's brother's house in VT, and we drove all over the place, and I drove almost the whole time, so I got a feel for the area when *I* am behind the wheel. I did a great job, too!

I'll keep my fingers crossed that coming down 2000 will kick start some more folks looking at your house.    

Hooray for M and Hooray for R!  How is M liking the job so far?  Twice in 3 weeks is a great start!!  Yeah?  Oh, fun to rent a nice car and dart around new england!!  That sounds like a blast!  Glad you two had so much fun together!! When is the next journey north??

Originally Posted by Valerie.Qc 

Went apple picking on Thursday,

How was apple picking?  What do you do with all the apples you get?  

Originally Posted by revolting 

Oh, I love that children's book, but where I live, the trees generally don't start to change color until October. We made our apple dolls following instructions at the end of a picture book bye Elisa Kleven. If your kid just started school, he might really like it.

Vy: IDK why MDC won't let me quote you but yay on the car! We are in the process of looking for a second car, but I'm pretty overwhelmed by the process.

That sucks that you need the money to move. Yay for M getting hired. I hope it works out this time. And yay on the trip. It sounds fun!

Hey! What's a ralley? Ken Block?

We finally closed on the house. We got a nice surprise of how little money we had to bring to closing...about 2/3 of what I thought we'd have to bring. We started the work today...pulling up carpet, taking down paneling, leveling the tile floor in the basement... It's a lot of work. In-law drama wasted half the day, but we're going back tomorrow. My brother got married, and we might spend part of the day looking for a minivan. I've never bought a car previously, so I'm a little overwhelmed by it all.

I have heard a lot of good things about Elisa Kleven.  I'm going to need to buy a couple of books.  Including Sun Bread!  

Car shopping =   it stinks.  We have been talking about it for 2 years and have been browsing for about 6 mos. without any real ambition to buy something, honestly, until this one came up.   It's lovely...but the trunk won't open.  It was sticking at the place we bought it so we hope we can take it back and get him to fix it without any hassle.  I hope.  It's pretty important to be able to get at the dang trunk.  

Hooray for closing on your new home!!  When are you moving in?  Sounds like you have some thing to work on first but I bet you can't wait to get out of dodge!!  How do the kiddos feel about starting a new school?  

Today was the first day of school for Z.  She did really well, I did really well.  Over all it was a good morning.  DH came, too, and we got to have breakfast together after we dropped her.  A bagel with cream cheese comforts me every time.    

Speaking of food and comfort... have some left over mashed potatoes from this weekend that I can't wait to make into soup.  The fall chill is most definitely in the air now and I am just rarin' to go on soup making!!!!!  YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...

[vydalea]

oh, by the way, Maia, after your talk about Yankee candles I did treat myself to a delicious smelling "Pumpkin Cupcake" candle (bath and body works scent).  It's amazing.  I'm not going to lie.  But I just want to eat powdered donuts all day long as that's what it smells like to me.  haha.  

[Maiasaura]

Yay, I can quote again! Must've been a glitch.

Originally Posted by revolting We finally closed on the house. We got a nice surprise of how little money we had to bring to closing...about 2/3 of what I thought we'd have to bring. We started the work today...pulling up carpet, taking down paneling, leveling the tile floor in the basement... It's a lot of work. In-law drama wasted half the day, but we're going back tomorrow. My brother got married, and we might spend part of the day looking for a minivan. I've never bought a car previously, so I'm a little overwhelmed by it all.

Yay on house closing! Maybe my turn's next...one can hope.

Originally Posted by vydalea I'll keep my fingers crossed that coming down 2000 will kick start some more folks looking at your house.    

Hooray for M and Hooray for R!  How is M liking the job so far?  Twice in 3 weeks is a great start!!  Yeah?  Oh, fun to rent a nice car and dart around new england!!  That sounds like a blast!  Glad you two had so much fun together!! When is the next journey north??

How was apple picking?  What do you do with all the apples you get?  

I have heard a lot of good things about Elisa Kleven.  I'm going to need to buy a couple of books.  Including Sun Bread!  

 

It's cooling down here, too already, for two days, I'm wearing sweat pants in the morning and evening, and socks and boots with my ankle-long stretchypants instead of sandals and capris. Oh lurve. I can't wait to put the flannel sheets on! Couple more weeks, probably. Usually it's right around Mabon I put them on...then it gets so warm for a week that I have to put on the A/C because I am NOT changing the sheets back again!

Thanks for the fingers crossing! I came down $3K, actually. Hope hope hope.

M is liking his job. He's not used to working anymore-- it's amazing how a month or two out of work can really set you back. He's tired, he's sore...but in a good way. He doesn't get paid but every two weeks, though, so he's still way out of money.

The next journey north is Thanksgiving.

What I used to do with lots of apples is go through half a bushel in a couple weeks, just eat them! And then get another half and plow right through that! But I'm not eating so much fruit anymore so we probably won't even get any. DS doesn't care anymore. I love apples-- at least, during apple season. Oh well. I like having stable weight better than I like apples.

Sun Bread is awesome awesome awesome. We make a Sun Bread every year (though I do not like her recipe at all). Some years we have had to settle for refrigerator dinner rolls, but we always throw bread up to the Sun. We read it every Yule eve, and then the next day we get up before Sunrise and throw bread to Him and pour a bit of sparkling cider libation on the Earth-- and then WE finish the rest! Yule is for small handmade gifts, and a stocking, and a very lazy day, and a family feast later on. Christmas is the Big Gift Extravaganza, with Santa and all. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by vydalea oh, by the way, Maia, after your talk about Yankee candles I did treat myself to a delicious smelling "Pumpkin Cupcake" candle (bath and body works scent).  It's amazing.  I'm not going to lie.  But I just want to eat powdered donuts all day long as that's what it smells like to me.  haha.  

Haha! I'm brand-loyal with Yankee, though. Now I think I have too many fall scents. I did score a Holiday something-or-other at the Goodwill for only $5 and it's brand new, almost! For Yule/Christmas. I couldn't not pick that one up.

I am SO loving this cooler weather. LOVING it.