Daybook: November 12th

Outside My Window... Cooler than it has been this week, but still nice. It was in the 70s on Wednesday and Thursday. Have to love that in mid November.

I am thinking... about Vacation. We are going for vacation from November 20th through the 28th. To some place warm. Well, it is pretty warm here right now, but this place is usually warm all the time.

I am thankful for... Veterans and the fact that we have a house to live in, enough clothes to wear, and enough food to eat. I put the flag out yesterday for Veterans' Day and we took clothes to the thrift store and food to the food pantry to celebrate Martinmas. It made me feel blessed.

From the learning rooms... The preschoolers worked on the color brown, the number 3, the triangle shape, the letter H, and squirrels. Jelly Bean is learning about 9s in times tables, the Tang dynasty, Montana, and reading a book called Word after Word after Word.

From the kitchen... I made more apple sauce and apple butter, and I'm making apple pie filling and dried apples this weekend. And then I'm done with apples for the year.

I am going... nowhere today. Between myself and the three kids, I feel like lately all we ever do is go to the dentist or the doctor, but nobody has any appointments today.

I am reading... Annie's Garden Journal. I don't love it, but it has been a quick read so far. It is about a woman who lives in California who works in Film, and gardens mostly unsuccessfully, but it is also about her relationship with her dysfunctional family and her relationship with her boyfriend/fiance. She wrote a book after this about gardening and motherhood that I think I would enjoy more. Maybe I'll read that next.

I am hoping... that my children will miraculously start listening and obeying me All The Time. Hey, I didn't say that I was hoping for anything realistic.

I am hearing... the clock tick and noticing that there are still clocks that I haven't changed.

Around the house... I've been doing dishes by hand for a couple weeks because our dishwasher died. I'm finding that I actually enjoy it. It is relaxing, and the dishes are clean, almost all time, instead of piled up in the sink or on the counter.

One of my favorite things... Sleeping. I used to hate to sleep when I was in my 20s. And then I had kids and never got any. And now, everybody sleeps through the night and I can generally get at least 6 hours. Heaven.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week ... Well, it is a pretty light weekend. We are going to the Festival of Trees and then probably to my friends' farm. We've had a bunch of busy ones, so I'm looking forward to having some time to just hang out.