Basking on the beach

Magic

Even the road wasn't clear on Wednesday morning

When I got home last week on Tuesday night, the Beachy Buggy made tracks through the snow. When I went outside to feed Charlie on Wednesday morning, my driveway was clear. Everyone should have a driveway like mine... or maybe everyone should have a neighbor with a snowplow like mine. 

Homework

Weather

I have three pairs of snow boots. And, still last week I had to borrow a pair of Julie's boots.

Recently, we've had snow, mud, ice and slush--all mixed together. A typical step starts with a crunch as you break through a thin layer of ice, then a mush as you sink through snow and finally a slog as you land in murky water puddled above the frozen ground. 

On Thursday, I realized I had left a pair of boots at school. My second pair of boots was damp from a walk with Charlie the day earlier. The third pair of boots had holes an inch or two from the soles making them unsuitable for the occasion. So, I borrowed a pair of Julie's boots.

That, my friends, is a commentary on Michigan weather. 

Worth dying for

One of our journal prompts this week was, "What are you willing to die for?"

"Are you willing to die for your car?" I asked. "If someone pointed a gun at your head and said to give him your car keys, would you?"

"Of course," they said.

Next I asked about their money and houses. None of the students were willing to die for their possessions.

A few students said they were willing to die for their motherland.

Many were willing to die for their religion and almost everyone was willing to die for his family.

"Would you die for a stranger?" I asked. "What about if the man was a great doctor who was about to cure cancer; would you die for him?"

They thought about it.

"What if the stranger was a bad man, a murderer?" I asked.

They laughed at the absurdity. No one would die to save that man's life. "We would die to kill him," they said. 

~~~

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:7-8 NIV

Portfolios

One of my achievements during Christmas break was to sort through my school portfolios. 

My Mom was very diligent at documenting our education--each year we created a portfolio with samples of our work in every subject, as well as tests, quizzes and papers. We also included photographs and other artifacts, such as certificates, concert programs and museum pamphlets. Partly this was for our benefit, but it was also to prove, should anyone ask, that our educated at home was legitimate.

When Julie and I moved to the Cookie House our boxes of portfolios moved with us. Since keeping all of my records for truancy officer is no longer necessary, I wanted to reduce the number of boxes in my closet. The easiest thing would have been to haul them to the road for the trash man. 

But, I decided there was still some value in keeping some of those drawings and old math worksheets. So, I sorted through the boxes and three-ring binders and saved some of the artifacts. I started the task months ago, but finally completed it in January. It was a painful process to look back at those math and history tests. I reread a few of my high school essays and cringed. I still could barely stand to look at my Moderm Curriculum Press elementary math workbook and felt no qualms about chucking it in the trash. I threw out nearly all of the worksheet pages, quizzes and tests, saved all the essays and photographs, and managed to reduce the lot by three-quarters. 

In the end I was quite pleased. I had four, neatly-organized, three-ring binders. They still represent the blood and sweat and tears of those years of my home education, but they don't take as much space in my closet. 

Fish eye

Fish chowder anyone? You can have my portion.