Wednesday, January 30, 2008

COH - Week 109

Carnival of Homeschooling ~ Week 109
hosted by Tiffany at Life on the Road


Note: Tiffany's family lives and homeschools in an RV. Check out some of their adventures while you are visiting the site.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Book Meme

I've been tagged by Heather at Stepping Heavenward for the following book meme:

1. Pick up the nearest book (af at least 123 pages).

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people.


Seems easy, right? You'd think so. Here was my problem... these were the two books closest to me:





Neither has 123 pages.

Not to worry. I have four other books on my desk that are at least 123 pages each:










Well, they each have at least 123 pages, but two are dictionaries and one is heavily illustrated and has a picture on page 123. I thought for sure that Botanical Latin would fit the bill (it has 539 pages), but no. It has conjugations and translations of the pronouns alius and alter on page 123, no complete sentences.

Next closest is my date book. No good. Then there was a tie for the next closest book:





So, you are going to get quotes from both because I couldn't decide which to choose. Hopefully, you can determine which quote comes from which book.

Quote 1:
Wherever Yates appeared, there was the inevitable Stephen. And not only there, but beaming with affection and gushing with apologies for not being able to pay. By and by, however, whenever poor Yates saw him coming, he would turn and fly, and drag his company with him, if he had company; but it was of no use; his debtor would run him down and corner him.


Quote 2:
There the Lord made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you."
Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.


The five I am tagging:

Angel at Aduladi' Homeschool Academy
Chris at A Mountain Homeschool
Brittney at King Alfred Academy
The Mama at and the mama
Jessica at Trivium Academy

Hopefully, I'll remember to go tag them all after lunch. If I forget and one of you is here reading, consider yourself tagged... participation is optional as always. Also, anyone here reading that wants to participate, but I didn't tag specifically, consider yourself tagged and leave your answer in the comments section or leave a link there to your blog so we can all check out your answer.

Guess I'd better go read Botanical Latin and get writing... after lunch.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Geology 101 by Samuel Clemens

Photobucket
Photo from ecology.info

Now, if I wanted to be one of those ponderous scientific people, and "let on" to prove what had occurred in the remote past by what had occurred in a given time in the recent past, or what will occur in the far future by what has occurred in late years, what an opportunity is here! Geology never had such a chance, nor such exact data to argue from! Nor "development of species" either! Glacial epochs are great things, but they are vague - vague. Please observe:

In the space of one hundred and seventy-six years the Lower Mississippi has shortened itself two hundred and forty-two miles. That is an average of a trifle over one mile and a third per year. Therefore, any calm person, who is not blind or idiotic, can see that in the Old
Oölitic Silurian Period, just a million years ago next November, the Lower Mississippi River was upwards of one million three hundred thousand miles long, and stuck out over the Gulf of Mexico like a fishing rod. And by the same token any person can see that seven hundred and forty-two years from now the Lower Mississippi will be only a mile and three quarters long, and Cairo and New Orleans will have joined their streets together, and be plodding comfortably along under a single mayor and a mutual board of aldermen. There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.

- from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain, 1883


Tuesday, January 22, 2008

I'm A Rare One

But I think we all knew that already, didn't we?





Your Personality is Very Rare (INTP)



Your personality type is goofy, imaginative, relaxed, and brilliant.



Only about 4% of all people have your personality, including 2% of all women and 6% of all men

You are Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving.



I've done these personality tests before, and I usually come up as an INTJ, "judging" rather than "perceiving". Wonder why this one came up differently. I've never really been accused of being goofy... except by my kids, and Frodo, and maybe my folks, and my sister, and the in-laws on occasion, and Angel, but no one else. And relaxed? Really? I guess usually, but add in some stress and BOING! I'm a tightly wound get-it-done machine with a very sensitive emotional detonator. Maybe I'm learning to chill in my old age. (Notice I didn't argue the "introverted" and "brilliant" categorizations? Those are pretty spot on I would say. *grin*)

HT: Mental Multivitamin

COH - American Literature Edition

Monday, January 21, 2008

Zip. Zilch. Nada.

That's how much snow we got. Just north of us received a dusting. Just south of us (pretty much all the way to the Gulf of Mexico) got FOUR INCHES! FOUR INCHES! How Alice in Wonderland/ Through the Looking Glass is that?!

If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but if it isn't, it ain't. That's logic.
- from Through the Looking Glass


Needless to say, the kids were disappointed. Their disappointment was compounded by the fact that I also got sick Saturday. We were supposed to go out to a MeetUp group meeting to make signs for Ron Paul's campaign, so I took decongestants hoping to clear my head enough to make the 1.5 hour trek (one way) with the three oldest. Big mistake. The meds knocked me out, and I slept for almost 6 hours. We missed the meeting. Sigh.

We're still cold (the powers that be are calling for an "ice storm" tonight, but I'm not holding my breath), I'm feeling better, no one else got sick, school went well today, and writing is going well (I'm taking 5) so I guess I shouldn't complain. I just needed to get it out of my system.

I feel better now.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Snow! Snow! Snow!

As many of you already know, we moved from the mid-Atlantic to Dixie this past summer. The one thing we are really missing this winter is snow. I have the weather forecasts for our old town, the towns of relatives, and our new home on my homepage, so the kids will often peek over my shoulder and sigh, "There's snow at our old house." or "There's snow at Grandma and Grandpa's." I try my best to point out the silver lining, "Yeah, but you'll be at the playground in shorts and t-shirts in March when all of your friends up north are still in snowsuits and sloshing through the dirty slush." In my stronger moments (when I am happy to not have to be shoveling snow), I may say something like, "God brought us to this place, and if He wants us to have snow, He can provide it."

Well, it seems He heard the prayers of my children for "just a little snow" because we are expecting up to an inch overnight tonight, and tomorrow's high is supposed to be about 24 degrees, so it looks like it will stick around a bit. Guess I had better see if I can figure out where I put those mittens and hats.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

COH - Week ???????

I have been terrible about posting the weekly link to the Carnival of Homeschooling. At least when I did, my parents knew that I was still alive. So, I have decided that there is no time to get back into the swing of things like the present, so here is the link for this week's carnival:

Carnival of Homeschooling ~ Week ???
hosted by Judy at Consent of the Governed


Also, Henry at Why Homeschool (COH's "dad" so to speak) has asked me to mention that they are having a contest to find graphics for the Carnival of Homeschooling. If you have some ideas for the graphics and would like to enter, you can find more information on the contest here. The contest ends in just under two weeks, so get those submissions in ASAP.


Wednesday, January 16, 2008

What Difference Would It Make?

Supposing we had awakened today to find everything concerning the Holy Spirit and prayer removed from the Bible - that is, not removed the way liberals would remove it, but that God had somehow really removed everything about prayer and the Holy Spirit from the Bible. What difference would it make practically between the way we worked yesterday and the way we would work today, and tomorrow? What difference would it make in the majority of Christians' practical work and plans? Aren't most plans laid out ahead of time? Isn't much work done by human talent, energy and clever ideas? Where does the supernatural power of God have a real place?


-Francis Schaeffer
from L'Abri by Edith Schaeffer

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Ponderings

This evening Frodo and Primo discussed the following deep philosophical question: If each member of our family was a cartoon character, who would they be? Here are their conclusions:

Frodo - Mike Wazowski (from Monster's Inc.)


Me - Pacha's wife, Chicha (from The Emperor's New Groove)


Primo - Squirt (from Finding Nemo)


Secondo - Egghead, Jr. (from the Foghorn Leghorn Loony Tunes)
In case you have no idea who Egghead, Jr. is, watch the video below.






Terzo - Linus (from Peanuts)


Quarto - Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes)


So, if you were a cartoon character, who would you be?

Fly on the Wall

Terzo: Thanks, Dad.

Frodo: What? For breakfast? You thanked me already, but I'm glad you liked it.

Terzo: No. For everything.

*****
Seriously, it just makes me want to melt.