Things Worth Remembering The three habits that lead to success are: Patience, Application, and Vision.
Take care: The person who will tell others' faults to you - will tell yours to others.
It is always better to be underestimated.
There are three things that are better than riches: Health, Freedom, and Honor.
Think swiftly, speak softly, act wisely.
"The world is neither Scottish, English, nor Irish, neither French, Dutch, nor Chinese, but human, and each nation is only the partial development of a universal humanity." - James Grant on founding the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, 1862
All from: The Book of Celtic Wisdom
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Mace Windu: “I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi. The Dark Side of the Force surrounds the Chancellor.”
Ki-Adi-Mundi: “If he does not give up his emergency powers after the destruction of Grievous, he must be removed from office.”
Mace Windu: “The Jedi Council will have to take control of the Senate to ensure a peaceful transition.”
Yoda: “Hmm. To a dark place this line of thought will take us. Great care we must take.”
Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
Around January a thought occurred to me, what if Padawan Learner and I are allergic to something we’re eating? You see, Padawan Learner and I have issues. Skin issues, to be specific – lots of very stubborn plantar warts (both of us), eczema on the palms of my hands, and a foul, dirty-hair type smell that just radiated out of PL. The warts were just something we’ve both had for years and assumed that it was something we were just going to have to live with, just part of who we were. I figured my eczema was the same. But there was just no way that PL’s smell was something that could be ignored. Granted, the kid was exercising for hours a a time at trampoline and gymnastics classes, but YEOZA, the smell was intense and no amount of hair washing or showering did anything about it. Within a half-hour of washing up, it was back. I aired his room out daily. We cranked the windows open in the car – even in winter. Something had to be done. Many people said, “Oh, that’s just how boy’s smell,” and suggested that it would go away once he became interested in dating and cared about his appearance/hygiene. Trust me, he cared. He washed.
I thought back to another person I knew that used to have a similar smell, a very sour dirty-body smell despite being more than adequate in all the usual hygiene behaviors – showering, using an anti-perspirant/deodorant, brushing teeth twice a day, etc. He was a hard-core, junk food & what-are-veggies carnivore. His rancid smell seemed to disappear when he moved in with a staunch vegetarian who then did the bulk of the cooking. His smell disappeared quickly. I thought about what PL ate. Our meals were healthy and well-rounded, but he did eat a significant amount of animal protein in the form of eggs and – especially – cheese. Nearly as much of a “dairy-atarian” as his non-meat-eating friend, Biggs.
I remembered hearing once that vegans don’t stink because they weren’t ingesting any animal protein. Not knowing any, I didn’t know if it was true or not. That was another venue to check out. Dad Windu and I talked it over, including PL as much as we could – despite this one and only refrain of NOOOOO – and decided that February (the shortest month) would be when we went temporarily vegan. Well, lo-and-behold the smell was gone within 4 days. Nothing, nada, niets. The first time he got in the car after one of his marathon trampoline classes and I didn’t have to roll the windows down was an eye-opener. He actually smelled fresh after his workout.
We allowed our systems to clear out for February and began adding foods in, beginning with dairy. A glass of milk, a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup for dinner. It took about 1 hour for the smell to begin creeping in and 2 days for it to hit it’s maximum again. He also developed a patch of hives along this upper back. Dairy was out. We added everything back in slowly, but nothing else triggered the smell like dairy did and does.
As a side bonus, his warts cleared up without our even noticing once he was off dairy (mine are still there but at least aren’t growing or spreading), his acne has greatly improved, and my eczema is clear so long as I don’t goof up and slip in some dairy unawares. PL and I are walking, talking dairy-detectors now. When there’s dairy in something we don’t expect, his smell will flare up and skin breaks out and my eczema starts up again. Not terribly, but enough to remind us to read our labels more carefully again.
I got to thinking about this again as I made yet another batch of Red Leader’s Soft Vegan Ginger Cookies (or as we call them, Soft Jedi Ginger Cookies) this morning. They’re very good. Even Dad Windu, who doesn’t much like ginger, liked these cookies. Red Leader says these are her go-to ginger cookies, despite the fact that they’re vegan.
Many thanks to Red Leader (aka ScoutMom) for this recipe.
3/4 C. margarine, softened
1 C. white sugar
1/4 C. molasses
1 1/2 t. baking soda (put in 1/4 C. measure, add water to fill)
2 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
2 t. ground ginger
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground nutmeg (freshly ground is best)
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. salt
In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and the sugar until fluffy. Stir in molasses and water/baking soda mixture, mixing at low speed until just combined. Sift or whisk together flour, salt and spices. Add gradually to the sugar/margarine mixture until combined.
Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
Shape dough into walnut-sized balls. Place 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Return dough to refrigerator between batches. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes. Cool. Eat. Not necessarily in that order.
Notes: Red Leader rolls her dough balls in additional sugar and flattens them with a fork, baking them on an ungreased cookie sheet. We prefer them unsugared. And I have a thing for parchment paper, an obsession really.
Amidala: “We must continue to rely on negotiation.”
Bibble: “Negotiation? We’ve lost all communications!…and where are the Chancellors Ambassadors? How can we negotiate? We must prepare to defend ourselves.”
Captain Panaka: “This is a dangerous situation, Your Highness. Our security volunteers will be no match against a battle-hardened Federation army.”
Amidala: “I will not condone a course of action that will lead us to war.”
Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
Our new home team, the Iowa Cubs, had a day game today so Dad Windu took the afternoon off and we strolled over to Principal Park to watch a few hours of America’s national pastime.
It was a battle of the bats this afternoon. Boom, boom, boom. Some type of negotiation certainly went on last night over a few beers, something akin this:
“These defensive games are just so much work.”
“I noticed the crowd was getting a little bored today, too.”
“How about we just let the ball fly tomorrow for the afternoon game? It’ll be mostly kids and soccer moms anyway, and we don’t want to get them restless.”
“Good idea. I say we start dropping homeruns around the 3rd inning and you take the 4th. We’ll piggy-back every couple of innings to keep things fresh.”
“It’s a deal then. Loser buys tomorrow night’s rounds.”
I mean, seriously people, there were two grand slams and more home runs than you could shake a stick at this afternoon. It was a 30 hit game. Thirty.
And hot. We actually moved into the shade about halfway through the four hour game because Padawan Learner was getting sick from heat. The AC in the apartment felt soooo good after our stroll home from the ballpark.
“You stupid little astrodroid.” – Super Battle Droid, Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
I went into my spam file today – always a joy - and found genuine comments from different people who have commented before. This was bizarre but not impossible, so I clicked on and approved them. Only to see them all disappear into the ether. ARGH.
Sooo if you left a genuine comment and it is not showing up under the post as expected, this is the reason why. I haven’t blocked you or put you on the naughty list. My blogging software was just acting like a stupid little astrodroid. I’m due for an upgrade and will be moving that task higher up the list now.
“Oh, I have a bad feeling about this.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
Dad Windu and I woke to bright sunny skies again this morning. Such a nice way to wake up. After taking a shower, as he was getting dressed for work, he paused a moment and said, “Look at that…” in a low, soft voice of quiet amazement. A wall of dark clouds was stretching from one side of the window to another, pushing the bright sky of morning away in front of it. Creepy. There are some days when the only thing worth doing is sitting in the living room and watching a wall of thunderstorms roll in. This is one of those days.
Bibble : “Your Highness, I will stay here and do what I can…They will have to retain the Council of Governors in order to maintain control. But you must leave…”
Faux Queen Amidala : “Either choice presents a great risk…to all of us…” (looks at Padme)
Padme : “We are brave, Your Highness.”
Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
So here we are, ready for the summer. Internet service is back up and running, which is merely a sign of my weakness and internet-junkie status. My original plan was to put off internet service in the apartment until fall giving us all a chance forcing us to really jump into life in Des Moines. Yeah, I know. Dry your eyes, the tears of laughter sting when they make a path for sunscreen to get into your eyes. The reality is, despite the fact that we have a free (albeit s.l.o.w.) wifi hotspot just below us, we use our wifi connection far more than even I ever realized. Google Maps, search engines, the white and yellow pages for everywhere, community events calendars, weather.com, our Netflix queue, email, Facebook, iCubs game times, coffee shop hours, you name it – we use the internet to access them all.
And to make the siren song of the internet just that much more enticing, we bought an internet ready TV back in early May since our old television set gave up the ghost back in March just a few days shy of Dad Windu’s move to Des Moines. Poor guy made good with our 20 inch (and 20 yr old) set for two months, but it was time for us to get him a Big Boy television set since it wouldn’t even connect to the DVD player and he’d watched all our old VHS tapes (some more than once). So we got a “small” 40 inch, internet-capable HDTV – did you know those things go up to 70 inches now?!?! – on sale and have since plugged that puppy in. Let me tell you how cool the Netflix on-demand feature is, when downloaded directly to your TV set - really, really, really cool.
In unwired news, Padawan Learner and I have joined a secular teen unschooler group. Yes, all three of those words cause me to swoon just thinking about them. I especially like that the group’s definition of unschooler is so fluid. I’ve looked at groups that have real unschooling and not real unschooling definitions, and I find them annoying – ironically – in their rigidity. I have no interest in trying to pass someone else’s unschooling “quiz.” From what I’ve seen, there are teens in this group that go to school part-time and teens who have never set foot inside a school. There are teens who do lessons as they and/or their families see fit and teens who wouldn’t know a worksheet if it jumped up and bit them in the tukus. Teens that take formal classes for something or other and teens that aren’t currently take any outside classes at all. Teens that have home routines, schedules, chores, and – dare I say it … parental expectations in one form or another.
The moms I’ve met are friendly and welcoming, and no one gasped in shock or horror to hear that we’re a family of atheists. Score another one for Des Moines.
One new thing in our homeschooling world is state requirements. Since Michigan is a no registration, no notification and no annual assessment state, the mild to moderate requirements of Iowa seem a bit overwhelming at times. There are registration and notification deadlines – August 26th this year – and testing requirements if not using a supervising teacher. I considered going the supervising teacher route, but decided to just do the pre- and post-year testing instead. PL has never taken a formal assessment test before and I don’t think it’ll be a negative thing for him to go through that type of experience a few times. The initial test, in October I believe, is just a starting-point assessment. In a nut-shell, they just want to know where he’s at “according to the norm” and it will be used to show that he has made academic progress over the next nine months when he tests again in June. Since registration and assessment is only required until he is 16 years old, I won’t be required to jump these hoops after this initial year. While I don’t think it will be a big deal for him academically – he’s a bright boy – I also don’t like being told what to do by a bunch of educational bureaucrats.
For PL, this single round of testing is going to be more of a ACT/SAT warm-up than anything else. If he was going to have a few years of it, I’d likely have gone the supervising teacher route instead. Annual testing requirements get my panties in a twist on principle.
Obi-Wan: (quietly to Anakin) “This time we will do it together.”
Anakin: “I was about to say that.”
Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
Time sure flies when you’re entire life is picked up, packed up, carted off, unloaded, unpacked and re-arranged over the course of a few weeks. This is a massively long post, so grab a cuppa because you’re going to be here a while reading this.
I don’t know where I left you all on this journey that has become my life – and I’m too lazy to go find out – so here’s what has transpired over the course of the last 6 weeks or so. We sold the house and are waiting to close this later this week. Huge sighs of relief are being held in check until we get a signed form telling us that, indeed, we are no longer home owners. The woman that is buying our house is using Bank of America for her mortgage, and they are taking for.ev.er to get the paperwork done. This must not be too uncommon because the woman at the title company gave a very audible groan several weeks back when she heard which lender the buyer was using. We were supposed to close today or earlier, but B of A didn’t get their paperwork in on time so we’ve been delayed a few days. Oh well. Did I mention we sold the house in Michigan? Because if not, we did, and selling a house in Michigan is no small feat. Let.Me.Tell.You.
 Four movers showed up on May 20th in a 24 ft truck to box up all our worldly belongings – that hadn’t been sold or given away, that is. After the initial walk-through (in which our nearly empty 1800 sq ft. house looked like it had been robbed), the driver said, “You hardly have anything to move! I’m glad we didn’t bring the semi that we were scheduled for!” As it was, everything filled just under half of the truck and they finished both the packing and loading in a little under six hours – a wee bit short of the two DAYS they had scheduled for the packing (day 1) and loading (day 2). I’m pretty sure they weren’t too impressed with the estimate given by the local subcontractor regarding amounts of goods to be moved.
My mom picked us up on the 22nd and drove us, our liquids, a few perishables, and our financial records out to our new place in Des Moines, Iowa. That’s right, we’re Iowans now. Having never even been to Iowa before Dad Windu’s marathon interview back in February, it seems a little weird to think that this is likely where I’ll spend the rest of my days, but we’re rather enjoying it here. The people have been uber-friendly, there’s no tourist industry to speak of so no fighting traffic on the weekends, Padawan Learner found a gym he’s happy to train at for competitive trampoline, we’ve linked up with an active homeschool teen group, the downtown is awesome and very, very walkable, there’s the most fantastic farmer’s market each Saturday that’s only a ten minute walk away from our apartment, and best of all – Dad Windu, Padawan Learner and I are all together again. Ten weeks felt like a hundred. I don’t know how other families do it long-term.
On the flip side, we’re missing friends and family, we have 79 apartments full of people who are – literally – only steps away, and there’s no giant lake (ok, really more of an inland sea) to flee to when the heat begins rolling up the thermometer.
Still, I do declare: Life is good.
Our worldly goods returned on Monday, the 24th, on a very full 14 ft truck. Two young men tugged, lugged, rolled and dragged all of our things into our 865 sq ft apartment for seven hours. This (different) pair of movers, after dropping off the last box and standing in the last two sq ft of available floor space, said, “You have an absolute TON of stuff!” It’s all about perspective. I tried to get a picture – but it took me all day just to find my purse under all that stuff!
On the 25th, PL, my mom and I headed back to GR for a final week of classes in Grand Rapids. PL’s last piano and Dutch lessons and homeschool and competitive trampoline classes took place over the course of three very busy days. We were even able to grab a little park time with Yoda and Red Leader and their respective boys: Lando Calrission, R2-D2, Wedge Antilles and Lobot, before having dinner with my sister-in-law, Queen Amidala, and nephew, Zebulba. On Thursday, my mother-in-law treated me to a mani-pedi at a little nail place near her and I treated her to lunch. Unexpectedly getting out of work early, Queen Amidala shot me a last-minute call and we ended up drinking eating dinner for three hours, laughing all the while.
Come Friday morning, we were back on an Amtrak train heading for home. Juuuust making our connection in Chicago, PL and I relaxed on the train and I had fun making train tips statements on my Twitter account based on the goings-on around me.
Saturday afternoon found us hanging out and surrounded by other Michiganders at the graduation party for, get this, Qui-Gon Jinn’s niece out in the suburbs of Des Moines! Knowing that we were brand-new to the area, Q-G J’s sister very generously invited us to crash the party and begin the holiday weekend in a social manner. It was fun to meet and put a face to the names of people that I’d been hearing about for the past several years. We even got to drag Qui-Gon Jinn, Endicott, and C-3PO out to our favorite restaurant downtown and show off our new apartment – I’m sure they were impressed by our large assortment of boxes, piles of stuff, and absolutely jam-packed furniture.
Memorial Day was parade-free, at least for us, because we didn’t know anything about where such things began, but that night we found out that they was a large going-on up at the Capital Building. Doh! We did go out to the mall – after we realized that we’d obviously missed all the Memorial Day programs – and saw the new Robin Hood movie. I finally got to go to Ulta and, I must say, it made my X-chromosomes sparkle. Angels sang, the clouds parted, and money absolutely flew out of my hands as I began the process of anti-humidity-fying my make-up supplies. For the record, Smashbox foundation is glorious – it simply does.not.melt.off when the air is hot and sticky. By the way, locals have a favorite past-time with northern newbies: talking about how hot and humid it’s GOING to get. I have been instructed to: wait until August gets here and go for a visit to Kansas/Missouri (preferably in August). From what I can gather, the weather here in August is just a few degrees short of Hell and much, much more humid. *yea*
Oops, out of time. More later.
“You must unlearn what you have learned.” – Yoda, Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
Back in the day I was a homeschooling mom, at least that’s what my tagline says. Ok, I’m still a homeschooling mom - or eclectic, non-radical unschooling mom if you prefer that label – but it feels like I’ve let the move take over my life these past couple of months. And it has, to an extent, but not exclusively. I am learning, slowly, to step away from The Schedule and let the learning happen in a more relaxed manner.
In our day to day lives, well maybe week to week lives depending on where we’re living at the moment, Padawan Learner is continuing to explore the world of geometry (which he MUCH prefers to algebra). It’s concrete and tangible and he can readily see it being used in the world around him. And for whatever reason, he loves the fact that all angles in triangle add up to 180 degrees. Simple pleasures.
PL is also nearly through reading Joy Hakim’s A History of US . He’s been going through it in fits and starts this year, but since we’ve borrowed the series he’s making work of getting it read before we leave town. She did a nice job covering the history of our land and the people who have inhabited it. And she did it in a way that doesn’t complete turn most late elementary and middle school kids off. That’s nothing to sniff at. When I read the books, it’s almost like a favored aunt is talking – conversational, informed, slightly gossipy and a bit opinionated at times. We also found overviews that were contradictory in tone and interpretation to make sure that we saw other sides to our nation’s history.
Star Wars ancillary fiction and Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series have taken pride of place in PL’s recreational reading these past few months. It would appear that the doings of Moist von Lipwig (and his none too benevolent over-seer, Lord Vetinari) are just too entertaining to put down. I spotted a new visual dictionary, LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary , the other day at the bookstore, but didn’t have time to check it out. It might not be something PL would be interested in anymore (although the fun factor might be too high to pass up), but it’s probably perfect for the younger Fanboy and Fangirl set.
Out of time for now. Just wanted to remember out-loud that there’s more to live than moving. See, I’m learning.
Obi-Wan: “Sorry, Master, the water fried my weapon.”
Qui-Gon: “You forgot to turn your power off again, didn’t you?”
Obi-Wan nods sheepishly.
Qui-Gon: “It won’t take long to recharge, but this is a lesson I hope you’ve learned, my young Padawan.”
Obi-Wan : “Yes, Master.”
Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
Still alive and still in the middle of the moving drama. Here’s the situation in a nutshell:
- House was put up on the market in mid-March
- Come to find out, the realtor’s assistant works for the devil, the Galactic Empire or some other evil monstrosity like Sprawl-Mart and did a major f*ck-up on the listing – 4 days late, crappy pictures, pathetic blurb, etc.
- Realtor’s assistant apparently does not know how to use voicemail as messages were never returned before 48 hours, if at all.
- Realtor did not check assistant’s “work” until after week two of the listing when we had not gotten a single showing.
- Realtor assistant has now been fired/’quit’.
- Price on house was dropped twice.
- House finally sold last Thursday – yeah – but we’re taking a major bath on the price – boo. I’m walking away getting less than I paid for the place 12 years ago – after spending 40K on home improvements these past couple of years. Double boo. I spent most of the 29th in tears.
- BUT it is sold and we’re finally going to be together again. Quadruple yeah!
- I’ve shed about 1/2 of our furniture and all of our yard/garden/garage items. House and garage look like they’ve been robbed. Apartment will still look like a furniture store exploded inside it. It’s all about perspective.
- We’re hoping to close by the end of the month.
- I told Padawan Learner tonight, as we had a Mom’s dinner out, that he has given me the best Mother’s Day present ever in the way he has been handling this topsy-turvy, split household, back and forth to see Dad Windu, emotional roller-coaster of a move.
If all goes well, I’ll be able to write again in complete sentences and whole paragraphs soon.
Boushh: “Just relax for a moment. You’re free of the carbonite.”
Boushh: “Shhh. You have hibernation sickness.”
Han Solo: “I can’t see.”
Boushh: “You eyesight will return in time.
Han Solo: “Where am I?”
Boushh: “Jabba’s palace.”
Han Solo: “Who are you?
Leia: “Someone who loves you.”
Han Solo: “Leia!”
I think most people have hibernation sickness these days, or have recently had it from all the spring-related posts I’m seeing lately. The warm air, the buds on the trees, kids taking to their bikes again (be still, my beating heart), talk of farmer’s markets opening soon here in the Great Frozen Midwest. Ah, it does a weary brain good.
Padawan Learner and I made a trek out to the eye doctor’s yesterday. He, as usual, has perfect vision and just needed a check up. I got a pretty sizable up-tick in my prescription, so I ordered a new set of contact lenses and a new pair of lenses – because they were just a few days off from being older than the sun. These new ones will be my fourth pair of glasses in over 27 years of wearing the bothersome things. Not too bad. Wearing contacts most days has a nice way of extending the life of a pair of frames I guess.
It was nice to take the day off – driving there and back, eating out, haunting a bookstore, watching the orange construction cones popping up here, there and everywhere. Admittedly, I’m a fan of road construction sites in general (they pay my bills), but I’m especially glad to see them popping up around here this year. Michigan’s roads are in such sorry shape because there’s been just no funding for (long, long) over-due repairs for several years running.
We got back around dinner time and after a rousing meal of mac & cheese, I cleaned up the kitchen and then cozied up with another Nevada Barr mystery. They’re getting darker and darker as the series goes on. PL wrote about a spring-loaded mechanism he figured out, read some more about the 20th century, practiced the piano, and played around with a Mobius strip he found in his math book. All in all, not a bad day.
Last weekend, my neighbor and her sun had a “Minute to Win-It” party for the kids on the block, which looked to be great fun. They had kids from 2 to 14 participating in silly games – all to be completed in 60 seconds or less, of course – and even had the local news channel come out for a little “in the city” segment. I was busy cleaning the house for a weekend showing, but PL attended and represented the Jedi in fine style I am told.
What did you do yesterday or over the weekend?
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Secular Homeschoolers Unite!
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