Sundry thoughts

(looks like I saved a partial draft yesterday--the text for this entry is written Wednesday!)

This is a catch-all day. My son Alvin Fernald had the opportunity to attend a major-league baseball game yesterday with a homeschooled friend, so slept overnight there. School will not be regimented today, and it seems my thoughts aren't either.

I made this salad a couple of days ago (tho' I took the photo when it was *fresh*!)
I went to California last summer to visit my auntie before she passed away. Her good friend Cindy made this for us--she said it was a typical California salad--romaine, pears, and pecans. I thought that was really funny--we Midwest people would *always* make this with apples and walnuts, not pears and pecans! But it is very tasty this way. Give it a try if you live east of the Mississippi!

Now to some homegrown treats:

The larger, very ordinary tomatoes are from my garden. My neighbor grew cherry tomatoes, and these "black cherry" tomatoes. They look nice mixed in a salad. Such gorgeous bounty!

Well, I decided to join the "bag lady" phenomenon, and try my hand:
I bought three of the great "mod" Michael miller fabrics from the "Fashionista" line. This one, called Hollywood, I made into a bag for my sister. Here is a peek at the inside:
I will show you the other two fabrics as I make them into purses for Forget-me-not and Lily.

The weather has been so gorgeous here. It just "feels" like fall. And the sunshine--the path it follows in the sky from sunrise to sunset is shorter--more to the south (I think, I am directionally challenged!), which makes the sunlight/sky a different color. *Now* I understand that chart we all learned in school about the placement of the sun in the different seasons!

One of the best, best things about homeschooling is how I understand now, so many of the facts I learned. I was a science girl and loved learning about how the world works; now I see the hand of God all over everything. I love how I can see a bigger picture of history, one I could never understand as a child. Experience gives clarity. Literature, even children's literature (the best stuff--I'm trying to read through the Newbery winners I missed as a child), speaks to our souls. Maybe tomorrow I will print a description of "literature" that my daughter Violet wrote for a Master's class--it was so good I kept it.

Of course, I could mention art and music, too--so many things go into our education. We all want to be "lifelong" learners, but homeschooling has given me opportunities that I maybe would not have taken time for, had I not been on the journey with my children.

There you have it: a completely random set of thoughts. Waxing philosophical toward the end, but I have this warm fuzzy feeling that I'm ready for my day, now. Except that we are OUT of milk, half-and-half (Violet, my love, *you* understand!), toothpaste, and paper napkins. Maybe Today will be the day I pull out those cloth ones sitting in a drawer, and begin to use them! Or, maybe I'll just get some at Wal-mart, since I have to get half-and-half anyway...