Why I Don't Blog Much Anymore

There was a time when I was very excited about blogging. Tara and I, between us, read several blogs per day and then discussed the contents with each other. It grew our marriage, you know.

Mostly I am not blogging right now (well, I am blogging right now, but you understand) because I have been dabbling in a friend's life who needs my help (and your help) and especially just God to work a few miracles. Since that has been heavy on my heart, and I can't really broadcast his struggles across the internet, I can't write about it.

Also I have discovered Facebook and been amazed to see how many people's lives I can now either observe or affect through this strange form of friendship.

I continue to work on my curriculum. Jason and Ashley met with me for lunch today, and we outlined our plan for the rest of the spring. It is going well so far.

Finally, it is the end of the quarter. Need I say more???

Iron This One Out!

So we got our tax refund and have been busy stimulating the economy. My wife declared that one thing we needed was a new iron. Our last one I got "off a dead guy". (In my summer business, sometimes a job entails cleaning out a dead person's estate, and I often get to keep some of their possessions as part of the deal.) It is a nice iron, but of late it has begun leaking profusely while you are trying to iron. So I said, "Sure, go get one."

She brought home a lovely box with a picture of an iron on it. I opened the box. Sure enough, there was an iron inside. With retractable cord. Cool. But then I noticed some scratches on the face plate. Strange. I investigated a little further. There were calcium deposits inside the steam vents. I was a little disgusted, but I figured, oh well. Someone must have tried it out and then brought it back.

I plugged it in and nothing happened. This was disheartening. It was then that I noticed the brand of the iron was "Panasonic" and the box said "GE". Some dishonorable sap had apparently purchased a new GE iron, switched the irons, and then returned their damaged one in the new box and gotten their money back. Deceptive but effective.

Then I imagined going back to Wal-Mart and convincing them that I wasn't the one who switched the irons. How humiliating!

Well, my wife did the dirty work and she reports that no questions were asked. I guess it would take a lot of talent to concoct that scheme and then act like the one who's been swindled.

Stuff like this makes you pine for the good old days, whatever they were!!

Pancake Party

Well, I've been limited lately in what I find to write about. Partly that is because I have discovered Facebook, which takes some time and divides my interests. Partly I have also been writing a Latin curriculum for 5-6th graders and that takes some time also. Also, I can imagine that you don't want to read every gory detail of how each unit comes together. I might be immersed in that kind of stuff, but you don't have to be!

A few fun things have happened. One is the next installment in the little almost-restaurant that I blogged about previously. The owner, Helen, called about a week ago and invited us to come and have a pancake with her on one day that week. We chose Wednesday and arrived at her place around 6:45. There were already two other patrons there, a retired Spanish teacher and an older lady. Helen instructed everyone to introduce themselves and we got started.

I got my pancake first. It was a full-plate-sized creation and absolutely delicious. I was just digging in when Evan's arrived. Helen had made Evan the same pancake, except she used M&Ms and butter to make a face on his. He was delighted! Evan also had coffee with his pancake. Not a coffee drinker myself, I had water.

As we were eating, more breakfasters wandered in. There were eight of us that Helen fed that morning. I learned a few days later that our hostess had her 90th birthday last summer! It seemed almost inappropriate to be served breakfast by a 90-year-old woman, but I guess she's been doing it 60 years, and a few more times wouldn't hurt.

They said we could come back next Wednesday. Evan absolutely loved the experience, and I really enjoyed the sense of community, even though I don't yet know these people too well. I'm hopeful for a rebirth of community in our "neighborhood". Real community is centered in Christ, and I am anxious to see if He will allow some growth in our lives in that area.

Wrong Boy

I usually get Evan up for school around 6:30 in the morning. My method is to yank the blankets off him, which causes him to stir and then arise. [Evan comments here that he hates that method; he would prefer to be shaken gently.]

Usually he stumbles into the bathroom and we don't see him again for several minutes. This morning I didn't see where he went, so I went about the business of getting my breakfast. A few minutes later I wandered into the living room to see what Evan was up to, and a saw a small boy covered with a blanket on the couch. Only the feet were sticking out. Thinking he had attempted to go back to sleep, I snatched the blanket off in one swift motion. However, it wasn't Evan. It was Aidan, who had come down about 5:00 a.m., snuggled into bed with me, been booted out of bed by his mother, and then curled up on the couch after his eviction.

He didn't quite wake up, but it gave me quite a surprise to find that Evan was in the bathroom as usual and I had almost lambasted Tater thinking he was Evan!

A few posts ago I mentioned visiting the Old Woman Who Makes Sourdough Pancakes. She called this evening to say that she hasn't forgotten about us. This coming Wednesday Evan and I are invited for pancakes at her tiny restaurant (you can only eat there by invitation, I guess). I'm glad that we'll have this opportunity; it feels just the slightest bit like community or neighborliness.

Sunny Saturday

I woke up early this morning but didn't feel very well. That makes about three weeks straight of various, moderate illnesses that don't keep me home from work, but also don't make me feel sharp and able to make an impact on the universe.

I made pancakes for my family this morning. I usually do that on Saturday mornings. Then my adult children will be able to say, "Dad always made pancakes for us on Saturday mornings."

Tara left a little after breakfast to buy some stuff and then go to a tea party over lunch. Yes, all the children are home with me. I've moved the legos to the living room so I can watch people building.
I've also thought about what to make for lunch, but I will have to go do that soon.

I am reading _The Fellowship of the Ring_ in my spare moments.

I am also catching up with lots of long-lost friends on Facebook. It really works!

Tara Teaches...Latin and Mathematics???

Anita was sick today, and Tara has her name on the sub list, so after some phone calls and childcare gymnastics, she was free to take Anita's classes.

So Tara has been telling people all day on Facebook and whatever that she taught pre-calculus today, and Latin. Sounds educated, doesn't it? Now, I don't know how much actual teaching went on, but I'm very sure that there was decent order in the classes. Better than most, I know Mrs. K.

On to more interesting subjects... like me! Evan and Aidan and I distributed more (belated) Christmas treats in our neighborhood on Sunday afternoon. Two owners were not home, we had a brief conversation at another place with a young family, and then we came to Lowell and Betty's place. Betty came out to meet us, and the beginning of the conversation was a delight:

Me: Hi, I'm Jim, and this is my son Evan, and my son Aidan. We just moved in.

Betty: Oh, which house did you move into?

Me: The little gray one just over there.

Betty: Oh, my! I'll have to go get my husband! He's been waiting to meet you.

Me: (gulp)

Betty: He saw your tractor. He loves tractors. He notices every time you move it and tells me about it.

So we had a marvelous conversation once Lowell came out. He has a John Deere A or something , and he is very proud of it. Even went back in and got a picture of it to show me.

It's interesting to speculate about what ministry will look like down here.

I turned over the first three units of my new curriculum to one of my sophomores today. J----- is going to serve as project editor; A------ is going to write the historical readings that are to be interspersed with the grammar and vocabulary lessons.

We have much to be thankful for. Soli Deo Gloria.

Why I Wear Vests

Once I was young. I wore shirts and sweaters. During my first few years of teaching, I noticed that if you get to teaching with energy, a sweater will get too warm. If you're sitting at your desk correcting papers, a shirt by itself will get too cold. The demands of teaching don't leave a lot of time for temperature change.

So I wear vests. I suppose they seem old-mannish and unfashionable, but they handle the temperature factor just perfectly, allowing me to be comfortably warm almost all the time. They also reduce the need for a tie. I am not opposed to wearing a tie, but it does take time to choose one that coordinates and then tie it correctly. And time always seems to be at a premium.

Two of my sophomore students have agreed to help me with the curriculum I'm writing. Since they are just as good at Latin as I am, it is a nice arrangement.

Three fifth graders continue to come at lunch on Thursday to work on Latin enrichment stuff. It's kind of like Math Masters.