Home is Where the Potato Chips Are

Here are some shots from our kitchen. I guess it is the room in the house where I spend the most time. I love this kitchen. It is very simple, but has everything we need.  This house is the first house I have lived in where I have  had a dishwasher. I am completely spoiled now. In my bookshelf, you can see my groovy recipe keeper in the gold box . I found this at an antique store for $5! It is marvelous.
To the far right, you can see the back half of our wonderful little dog, Rascal. He is Mr. Personality, and we have considered having him run for President.    The bottom picture was taken on one of those very rare occasions when my counters are clean. I have the picture to remind me that it CAN be
done.                                        

May 2012

For my blogging friend, BRM.  Here is a little picture of our family at Church after we had DS1's homeschool graduation/piano recital.  DS1 is the one with the piano tie. DS2 is with him. I am in the middle of DH and DD.

Moonbeam Clock

What do you think of this little pink clock? I have one in my office at school as well. I just love it. I found it on Amazon some time back, and it was so much less than at other retailers. I love the analog face, and it does have such a nice little light.

Where?

I finished this lovely little project some time ago, and did not have the money at the time to have it framed the way I wanted to.  Guess what? I cannot find it at all. I have looked in all of my sewing baskets and bags. It is nowhere. In our family, we are always looking for something.  We need to declutter. My Dad lived by the old addage, "a place for everything and everything in its place."  He was almost fanatical about these things. I wish I had that gene.  Over the Christmas break, maybe I can find it!

Bowling Alley Fun

Well, here I go again. I was typing away, and my post disappeared. I wonder what I was typing that I wasn't supposed to be typing. Hmmm .... Anyway, here is the post  . . . . one more time. This semester, we have had a great time at the Bowling Alley! I always wanted to learn to bowl when I was a little girl, and I think this is the closest I will get to it.  DD and DS 2  participate in a homeschool group in a neighboring county, and once a week they get together for art lessons and drama.  The art lessons for their group are really centered around different media and art history. The history part is right up our alley.  They are also working on a production of Narnia, and DD is a character!  She is the bear in the Narnia forest. She was ok with the part, although she really wanted to be Susan, but now that she is practicing with the bear costume, she feels pretty silly.  She has not missed a single practice, and she learned her part very quickly (admittedly, not a lot of dialogue)--proving herself to be dependable. I keep telling her that being reliable as well as having a "good sport" attitude are major contributions to "the Company."  I need to remind myself of these truths in my circumstances.

During this three hour block of time, I sit in the bowling alley and work on school work. SInce DS2 is not part of the production (his choice), we get a couple of hours together to work on Latin or history.  The bowling alley is not quiet for sure, but amazingly, it has proven a great place to sit and do school work.  There is a little restaurant attached--it is safe, clean and very pleasant. The workers know us now, and are always so nice. We both get a HUGE Coke or Diet Coke while waiting for our little thespian to finish up.

I am grateful to have Tuesdays and Thursdays at home, and to be able to have the kids with me at the College on the days I do teach. I hope one day they will be able to look back fondly on these days--telling their children about hanging out with Granny at the bowling alley!

I'm On a Roll . . .

Oh no! I feel compelled to reveal my obsessiveness! Haha!  For years in College, I took all of the Latin courses I could, even though I was not a Classics major. I have always loved Latin, and hoped I could one day put all of those undergraduate and graduate hours to use.

When I was in grad school, I would go to the University's Science Library. It was and is a massive structure. The top floor was where all of the really serious students studied. It was silent. I would go up there with all of my Latin books, my nerdy pencil case and my Walkman and Star Trek soundtrack cassettes my dear friend and fellow fanatic, Steve Davis  had made for me. I would sit for hours, happily doing my translation work, listening to the ST soundtracks.

The past few years, the College where I teach History has given me the green light to teach Latin. It is the dream of a lifetime. Guess what I do when I am preparing the lessons? Yes! I  have all of my books, my nerdy pencil case and my Star Trek soundtracks, now on CD's from Amazon.

On a light note, I used to have to "sneak in" my diet coke to the library. If you were caught with food or drinks you could be asked to leave the Library. Now, there is a Star Buck's in the Library and you can take a pizza into the stacks if you want to do so!  My goodness, how things have changed.

BUT some things never change!  My diet coke may have changed to a diet mountain dew, but I still have my Wheelock's Latin, my ST soundtracks and my nerdy pencil case!

Happy Memories

To Boldly Go . . .
Star Trek has always meant the world to me. Our kids have grown up with ST:  TOS the way I did. I actually remember watching it first run with Daddy on  WESH, Channel 2 out of Orlando. At one point, Mom and Daddy bought a color TV in large part to be able to watch the reruns in color!  Last night, everyone had worked their way to bed after supper (we took a quick trip up to Tennessee to be with the family and are we tired!). DD asked me to watch an episode with her while we crocheted. How could I turn down that offer? We had a great time watching it together. She loves the old show, and like mom, likes to crochet or knit while watching TV (redeeming the time a bit, I guess). Anyway, all of this brought back such memories.

My parents went through a very difficult time around 1971.  My Dad's struggle with epilepsy had reached a crisis stage. He spent several months at the VA Hospital so that they could regulate his medication and try to bring the seizures under control.  Mom and I lived in a small but very wonderful little house. Star Trek came on an independent channel, Channel 44, every weeknight at 7:00. Many nights, my granny (Daddy's mom) would come over, and we would all watch Star Trek and have popcorn. I think that routine helped all of us in Daddy's absence.

Many years later, when I went to College (around the time of the emergence of VHS players and tapes), Daddy taped every Star Trek episode for me (he was afraid I would spend what little money I had on the Columbia House tapes--he was right!) He lovingly labeled the tapes and included Captain Kirk's "star dates" when he could! Isn't that hilarious?! I still have those tape he made for me, and treasure them more than you can know. (They were taped off of Channel 44 in the 80's). I love watching the old commercials from that era.

Jumping ahead to 1991, my dad passed away the same year as Gene Roddenberry--within just days of one another. I think Daddy would be so pleased to know that his grandchildren love Star Trek the way he did. And now, he has a "close up" view of the heavens and the earth as he sits in the presence of He who created them all.

I miss Moma and Daddy, but am grateful for the memories they left me with.