A Letter to Myself in 1992

I write for Latter-day Homeschooling and this is my submission today:

We recieved this inspiring e-mail from a reader and decided to share it here.  I left out the name but if you recognize this letter and want to be acknowledged just let us know and I will put your name back in.

I am 17 years old and I want to homeschool my children some day (no, I don't have kids-no I'm not married, and yes I'm still in High School)
As the time came to select our classes for our senior year- I was thinking about what I want my future to look like.
I want to go to college, meet a nice guy, get married (in the temple) and have kids, and maybe Home-school my children.

I know & babysit many families with homeschooled kids- they seem SO much more intelligent and happy.
I love the idea of being close and spending more time than otherwise.
Only thing is....

What things can I do now to prepare for my future as a Home-schooler mother?

 What are some important skills I need to be a homeschooler mother that I can gain now?

Do you like what you do?

Thanks! I love reading your posts (even though I'm only 17)

 My Dear Young Friend,

Oh, Bless You for knowing what you want for your future children!   I am so excited for you because you are at the PERFECT time in your life to prepare for this important (no other is more important in my opinion) mission.  So many homeschooling mothers realize AFTER they have little munchkins running around that they wish that they were better prepared and there just isn't any time!  "There is no time" we cry " If only I had known about this when I was younger!"

Study NOW!  
Fill yourself up with knowledge learn everything you can.  Read, read, read. Try out all the wonderful branches of knowledge that are available to us in this information age. Discover beauty, become addicted to learning. Become an encyclopedia that your children can turn to for questions.


Get an Education:
Education and school are not necessarily synonymous.  Find out what true education means to you and then choose your future institution.  Choose one that will mold your character and enrich your mind rather than just provide you the credentials to earn a living.  Choose one that you can afford so that you and your husband will not be saddled with debt.


Use Your Time Wisely:
You are young and you deserve to have fun but don't waste your time on things that don't bring you joy or don't prepare you for your mission. You might have time to read The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire now you WON'T when you are a mom.  Keep a book or audio book with you at all times.


Become a Student of the World:
Engage with the people around you.  Everyone knows something, you can learn from everyone.  Ask questions, be bold!  If you can afford it I highly recommend travel.  It is amazing how your mind broadens and opens when you travel to a new place, city, town, society or culture!  You won't have time later.

Establish a Relationship with the Lord:
Search, ponder and pray.  Become dependent upon the Lord.  Listen to the spirit, read the scriptures, understand the Atonement , dedicate yourself to Him. Discover his plan for you and your family. Establish now patterns of study, meditation, prayer, service and charity so that when your children arrive you will already have those things in place as your most valuable support and resource.

If you teach your children nothing else you will have succeeded.

Love,
Samurai Mom

P. S. I LOVE what I do.

Tales of the Alhambra by Anonymous

 

I picked up a used copy of Tales of the Alhambra today.  I had heard the title before but didn't know it was written by Washington Irving. It has charming colored engraving illustrations.

And on the fly leaf this is penned in blue ball point:

"September 30, 1981,

As we approached the Alhambra this morning, a young gypsy woman handed me a red carnation, grabbed my right hand and proceeded to tell my fortune.  As it was in southern Spanish I couldn't understand most of it, but I did get the words 'a great love life.' I told her 'Thanks, but I have already had it' as she grabbed my left hand. 

Every girl should, just once in her lifetime, have her fortune told on a sunny morning in Spain at the entrance to the Alhambra, by a gypsy fortune teller. Now shouldn't she?"

The book cost me $0.50 but I think the story was priceless.

Up Dog, Down Dog

I have been doing a fitness challenge with friends this month.  Here's how it works as my friend Afton puts it "You make your own goal. Whatever you want. Then we make you pay if you screw up."  Well, My goal is to go to a yoga class everyday (except Sunday) this month.

So, there has been a lot of Yoga going on around here.  My 6 year old ever precocious and coordinated has been doing some yoga of her own. 

 We got this book from the library The ABC's of Yoga for Kids by Teresa Ann Power.  She has been having a great time doing yoga on her own.  I will find her with my old mat spread out carefully following the instructions in the book.  Some of the poses have been given different names to fit the ABC theme but the little verses help the kids remember how to do each pose.


Yoga has been great for me physically and mentally.  I feel great!  I don't usually get to say that. What I love about it is that I get a good workout without the high impact.  I have never been much of a MOVER, exercise and I have never been friends.  I like to walk because I like the scenery, I like to bike because I like to feel the wind in my hair, I swim because I am part fish, I love to dance because it is dancing, but exercise for exercise sake?  No way.  I do like to be in touch with my body, I want to be healthy and I have felt the need to be stronger physically and this has been such a good fit for me.  I love that my daughter wants to join me in this journey.

Nursemeg

Today I am trying to beat a cold.  It really a shame because after several years of staying in on Valentine's Day, Moose and I planned to go downtown tonight and try a nice place I have wanted to eat at for a long time.  So I am playing it safe and resting today in hopes that I can go out tonight.

Nutmeg loves to nurse me when I am sick so today I let her wear my nurse hat and she found her Alice apron and we created Nursemeg!

Starlings' Sky Scarf

 As I was thinking about what to share with you this month I thought "What am I doing right now?" and the answer is Conceptual Art.  More specifically conceptual knitting and it is all I can think about right now.

Photo from whipup.net

I found this post about the Sky Scarf a while back and I loved the concept but wasn't sure what I would do with a blue scarf, but last week I realized I live in Portland, Oregon, I wouldn't have a blue scarf, it would be grey, my favorite color!
And so my friend Paula and I are impatiently waiting for our order of grey and blue yarn to arrive so that we can start knitting.  In the meantime we have begun diligently recording the color of the sky each day.
Paula is knitting a sky shawl and is being a bit more methodical than I am, she has a palette of 6 colors, plus white for snow (which will be MAYBE one or two rows) and has specific criteria for what weather merits what color. She will decide the color for the day at 12:00pm.
I, on the other hand, am knitting a scarf an have a palette of 9 colors, plus white, and will be mixing the colors as well.  I will choose the color of the day when I wake up in the morning and will sit and knit the row after I say my morning prayers and wait for my eyes to "wake up." I don't have a strict criteria for the colors as I prefer a combination of matching the actual color of the sky as well as the mood of the weather.

Not everyone will knit this project but wouldn't it be fun to do this with your kids to record the  color of the sky each day, or record the mood of the day, or the color of sunset or the sunrise? One gal I read about is knitting the high and low temperatures of the day.  How about using a box of crayons and some lined paper?  Just color in one line each day. Or color the box on the calendar?  You could cut out squares of colored paper and glue or tape them on each page of the kids journal or daily school workbook.  The possibilities abound.

To learn more about the Sky Scarf and Conceptual Knitting visit Leafcutter Designs. Watch the video too!

Santa Lucia Day

St. Lucia Day is coming up and I found this darling St. Lucia Day paper doll printable last year but I can't for the life of me find out how to link it to the original source.  Have fun with it.

http://tpettit.best.vwh.net/dolls/pd_scans/xmas_morning/200dpi/kirsten.jpg

I am spending the day making a Lucia Dress for Nutmeg since she has outgrown all of our white things.

Blessings

Like many I have been thinking of things to be thankful for every day this month.  I have been posting them on Facebook and thought I would record them here as well.

 

  Nov 1:I am thankful for the Glorious weather we have had the last few weeks. Kind of like an apology for the non-summer.

Nov 2: I am thankful for Downward Dog, it really is a rest pose.

Nov 3: I am thankful to for everyone who made last night an enriching one, for my awesome committee, Robin and that my feet aren't sore this morning. Thanks to our touching speaker and beautiful singer and accompanist. I am thankful for all who attended and brought food and decorated. I am thankful for Gratitude.

Nov 4: I am grateful for Kelly's Sock Class!

Nov 5: I am grateful for Netflix

Nov 6: I am grateful for my daughter.

Nov 7: I am grateful to know WHY I have felt so miserable for the last 5 weeks and grateful to Donnalee for helping me figure it out. (allergies)

Nov 8: I am grateful for the opportunity to serve, I am overwhelmed with love.

Nov 9: I am grateful for Yoga (I really like Yoga I was grateful for it twice!)

Nov 10: I am thankful for my sisters.

Nov 11: I am grateful for wool coats

Nov 12: I am grateful for the washing machine and electric dryer. Greatest inventions ever.

Nov 13: I am grateful to know Sarah who happens to be the reason I got out of my warm slumber this morning. She is a delightful soul and we are going to miss her deeply.

 

Murmuration

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Just a little bit more pleased that we named our house "Starlings."

Murmuaration...how lovely.

Boutique at the Barn Reprise

  I was not going to do any craft shows this year, the time and energy that goes into a show is not proportionate to the profits recouped at a craft fair.  However; a friend said she would do it if I would do it...pressure. I started thinking along two lines of thought; first, The Boutique at the barn was really fun last year, I enjoyed the experience thoroughly. If I had gone this year as a customer instead of a vendor I know that I would have been looking longingly at the vendors wishing I was there. Second, there might be repeat customers from last year who will be looking for me this year and I really want to keep the Miss Moss Demi-millinery in people's mind as a place for fabulous, custom, handmade hair adornment.

So this year I approached it differently.  My goal is not to make money (but I do hope to pay for some Christmas gifts) but to keep up exposure and to show what I can do in the fabulous world of millinery.  My goal is to get at least one (hopefully many) custom orders.

 I didn't do much other than order supplies until after Boba Fett's baptism and then I worked every day for a few hours.  Last year I worked for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, for 3 weeks.  Instead of volume I concentrated on a variety of hats.  I finished 2 days early and now I am just sitting about waiting for tomorrow.  Nice.

The Miss Moss Demi-Millinery will be at  Boutique at the Barn , tomorrow Saturday, October 29th from 10am -4pm at Fallbrooks Farm on Jackson School Road in North Plains, Oregon.

 I look forward to seeing you there!

Ordinances, New Baby, Vew Crafts and 2 Fairies

Boba Fett was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last weekend.  It was a good time to spend with my family and get a great family photo.

See how I got Moose to wear a tie?

Boba Fett requested that we go out for ribs at Applebees.

Blech.

I have been spending a lot of time millinering getting ready for the Boutique at the Barn. 

But I have had time to make a Halloween wreath that  I found here.

 

I also managed to make a nightgown for Kristen's sweet adorable new baby girl who is the most beautiful baby ever.

  I had to make it, the baby was 2 weeks over due and I was going stir crazy waiting to discover if it was a boy or a girl!I am so happy she is a girl.

Today we had sweet Bella over to play with Nutmeg and they were awfully cute.

I need to re-enact this up at the Gardner's place in the woods.

Aren't they the cutest pair of girls ever?

Today was a glorious autumn day.  I hope we can get a few more weeks of weather just like this as payment for our awful rainy and cloudy summer.

September Stuff

Have I really not posted since The Gnoming?  I am trying to figure out where the time went and I can't account for it.

On the 15th we went to our annual Homeschool Field Trip at Kah Nee Ta, a full day in the pool and 6 hours of driving always wipes us out but we did enjoy a stop at Timberline Lodge.

Boba Fett started Cub Scouts a couple weeks ago and lost a tooth.

The 20th was my 33rd Birthday and it was an absolutely perfect day.  The weather was glorious and I did just what I wanted all day long.  I knit, I watched North By Northwest, I went to Sushi Town with Boba Fett.  Dinner was the Surf Side at Benihana.
 

The most fun gift I received was a plot by Paula where everyone who stopped by brought me some yarn!  Two of my favorite gifts were a hug from Zac and a hug from Brock. And as it has turned out the most thoughtful gift was from Moose, he downloaded a bunch of Relief Society podcasts for me to listen to while I sew.

I sewed 2 dresses, one because it had to be done before the end of summer.  I am calling it "The Diner"

 

 The other was for the train excursion on the Mount Hood Railroad that was a really fun double date.

    

There was dancing in a very unstable car

 The fellows refused to take a serious photo

 and our conductor was named Roman.

Tomatoes are being harvested and the sunny days are at an end.  Soccer season is in full swing and I am getting ready to do the Boutique at the Barn again.

My sweet friend lost her husband to cancer this month and we have loved her, served her and held our husbands extra close with a prayer of gratitude for them on our lips.

The Gnoming

The Gnoming happened this morning. 
As I had planned, Boba Fett was blissfully sleeping while the gnome watched over him, it was strategically placed so he would see it when he awoke.

He came down to me (asleep) to ask me why a "idiodic dememted dwarf" was in room.  I asked him what he was talking about.  As he headed back through the house he saw that there were gnomes everywhere. For example this guy was having a bowl of cereal on the table.

The pictures had been replaced with pictures of gnomes.

And all of his photos had been replaced with gnomes.

As well as other small gnomes in other places.

I told him I heard someone at the door and when he went to it he saw this terrible act of flamingocide.

Fleeing from this terrible scene he saw the Starlings' Chalkboard had been tampered with

.

In the back yard he was confronted with an army

 Whilst other kept watch from the foliage

There were also a dozen parachuting gnomes which were genius but were tangled in knots within 30 second of landing.

Which was too bad because they were really good parachutes.

 

There were also a bunch of gnome tattoos that doubled as stickers.

 

It was a sucessful gnoming and I think a cure for Gardengnomeaphobia.