My latest educational venture involves deceit. One of the moms in our homeschool group was clearing her shelves of various materials and offered Switched-on Schoolhouse, multiple levels and subjects, to any interested party. I asked for, and was generously given, Math 9 (Algebra) and Science 9.
Sarabelle is still working her way through Saxon 8/7 and we never officially do science, preferring an unschool approach. This is my attempt to slide in a few more advanced math concepts and organized science study under the guise of computer fun. Everything is a game when viewed on a screen and directed with a mouse, right?
I had the chance to play around with Switch-on Schoolhouse at one of the FPEA conventions and thought it was certainly interesting, but lacking in any real learning effort on the part of the student. Multiple choice, whoopee, a one in four chance of guessing the right answer. How challenging is that? And obviously, there's no writing involved.
She can't wait for me to load this program so she can get started.
[Sounds of manaical laughter fill the air.]
Friday, April 29, 2005
Monday, April 25, 2005
Take that, Flylady!
Lazy Household Tip of the Day
Save time dusting: Drag dirty laundry across all surfaces on the way to the washer machine.
Save time dusting: Drag dirty laundry across all surfaces on the way to the washer machine.
Back-up, back-up, back-up!
This is the mantra I have been chanting, keeping time with head banging on the table, while I wait for my new hard drive to arrive.
After the first breakdown, Computer Guy was able to get my laptop up and running with no problem. He made a CD of a few very important files, Outlook and Homeschool Tracker, per my request, but forgot perhaps the most important one, "My Documents." This was not a problem until last Wednesday evening, when my hard drive began its gravel grinding noises again. Computer Guy pronounced it D.O.A. Thursday.
C'est la vie.
I'm learning not to get too attached to things, most notably the ephemera in my files. My book-in-progress needed a rewrite anyway.
After the first breakdown, Computer Guy was able to get my laptop up and running with no problem. He made a CD of a few very important files, Outlook and Homeschool Tracker, per my request, but forgot perhaps the most important one, "My Documents." This was not a problem until last Wednesday evening, when my hard drive began its gravel grinding noises again. Computer Guy pronounced it D.O.A. Thursday.
C'est la vie.
I'm learning not to get too attached to things, most notably the ephemera in my files. My book-in-progress needed a rewrite anyway.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Tips
I’ve gone back through my past posts, trying to find something worthy of a submission for this auspicious event, but have come up virtually empty handed. Anything that might have begun as seriously informational eventually trailed off into either frivolity or references to those whom I consider more knowledgeable or eloquent, or I completely changed my mind a few posts later on, which made me acutely aware of several things:
1) I am rather manic in my approach to schooling (and life too for that matter)
2) I am willing to believe others have more expertise on any given subject
3) I temper my lack of self confidence with a sense of humor
We fell into homeschooling, so I had no grand plan or philosophy when we first began. My lofty goal at the time was merely to keep the kids up to speed in the event our international travels landed them back in school stateside. But now, nearly through our fourth year of home education, without the kids ever having returned to school either foreign or domestic, I do finally have some firm grasp of what I’d like to accomplish and how to get it done.
So without further ado, accompanied by a soundtrack of the Andrews Sisters and Bing Crosby, I present to you my recent formerly negative observations, now turned into positive, road-tested, sanity saving tips:
BE FLEXIBLE – This term is preferable to what I usually call flip-flopping or waffling, both of which could accurately be used to describe my technique. Not too long after starting out hardcore Well Trained Mind, we began our fairly constant wobble between classical and unschooling styles. Some days it’s straight Latin, history, math and grammar; other days it’s painting nail polish numbers on gopher tortoises for a terrapin census. If the girls want to spend the day with their father, we call it an apprenticeship; let them learn how to process building permits and deal with clients and employees. Left to their own devices they have published The Newspeeper semi-regularly, done dental work and autopsies on anatomically correct handmade clay figures, and videotaped historical dramas and adaptations of literary classics. Like a pendulum, we’ve swung widely from one extreme to another, but each arc brings us closer to the center. It’s all about balance.
How flexible am I? I am committed to giving my kids the best education available. Right now that means I’ll do it, but if we ever find a school that fits my requirements and offers a better education than I can, that’s where they’ll be.
BE CONFIDENT – You are the expert on the subject of your children. Focus on the big picture and all the details will fall into place. I have gradually been able to home in on how and what I want to teach my children by reading The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Climbing Parnassus, and A Thomas Jefferson Education. I’ve learned all you really need is a thirst for knowledge, great books, and a mentor. Read, write, and discuss, it’s that simple. Even with that knowledge, I still find myself having to resist the urge to buy additional curricula, second-guess my obsessively researched plans, and look for someone to hold my hand throughout the process. Remember, you can do this. Some whining will be permitted. Not much. Okay, that’s enough.
KEEP A SENSE OF HUMOR – Play along when your children spend the entire day affecting nerd voices, or write the Rod ‘n’ Staff Grammur Hillbilly Idishun. Let them skip the rest of their schoolwork if they’ll eat a piece of Limburger cheese. Work bodily functions into your lessons whenever possible.
1) I am rather manic in my approach to schooling (and life too for that matter)
2) I am willing to believe others have more expertise on any given subject
3) I temper my lack of self confidence with a sense of humor
We fell into homeschooling, so I had no grand plan or philosophy when we first began. My lofty goal at the time was merely to keep the kids up to speed in the event our international travels landed them back in school stateside. But now, nearly through our fourth year of home education, without the kids ever having returned to school either foreign or domestic, I do finally have some firm grasp of what I’d like to accomplish and how to get it done.
So without further ado, accompanied by a soundtrack of the Andrews Sisters and Bing Crosby, I present to you my recent formerly negative observations, now turned into positive, road-tested, sanity saving tips:
BE FLEXIBLE – This term is preferable to what I usually call flip-flopping or waffling, both of which could accurately be used to describe my technique. Not too long after starting out hardcore Well Trained Mind, we began our fairly constant wobble between classical and unschooling styles. Some days it’s straight Latin, history, math and grammar; other days it’s painting nail polish numbers on gopher tortoises for a terrapin census. If the girls want to spend the day with their father, we call it an apprenticeship; let them learn how to process building permits and deal with clients and employees. Left to their own devices they have published The Newspeeper semi-regularly, done dental work and autopsies on anatomically correct handmade clay figures, and videotaped historical dramas and adaptations of literary classics. Like a pendulum, we’ve swung widely from one extreme to another, but each arc brings us closer to the center. It’s all about balance.
How flexible am I? I am committed to giving my kids the best education available. Right now that means I’ll do it, but if we ever find a school that fits my requirements and offers a better education than I can, that’s where they’ll be.
BE CONFIDENT – You are the expert on the subject of your children. Focus on the big picture and all the details will fall into place. I have gradually been able to home in on how and what I want to teach my children by reading The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Climbing Parnassus, and A Thomas Jefferson Education. I’ve learned all you really need is a thirst for knowledge, great books, and a mentor. Read, write, and discuss, it’s that simple. Even with that knowledge, I still find myself having to resist the urge to buy additional curricula, second-guess my obsessively researched plans, and look for someone to hold my hand throughout the process. Remember, you can do this. Some whining will be permitted. Not much. Okay, that’s enough.
KEEP A SENSE OF HUMOR – Play along when your children spend the entire day affecting nerd voices, or write the Rod ‘n’ Staff Grammur Hillbilly Idishun. Let them skip the rest of their schoolwork if they’ll eat a piece of Limburger cheese. Work bodily functions into your lessons whenever possible.
You’ve got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don’t mess with Mr. In-Between
You’ve got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium’s
Liable to walk upon the scene
(Johnny Mercer)
Sunday, April 17, 2005
So excited!
I sure hope they can pull this one off!
And if they ever want to film Sick Puppy, I'm offering Little Gasparilla Island.
And if they ever want to film Sick Puppy, I'm offering Little Gasparilla Island.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
My two little non-conformists decided they wanted to show some solidarity with the other field trippers and appear in coordinated uniforms. The required attire for the day was the forest green polo with embroidered school logo and khaki shorts. They pulled out two forest green tee shirts: one emblazoned with a Victoria Bitter logo and the other sporting the emblem of the Celtic Ray.
Nice try, girls.
---
Today was a big day. Our inspection period has come to a close and this afternoon I dropped off a check for the balance of the deposit. Orange House is a go.
I experienced a burst of not just early buyer's remorse, but deep, pit-of-the-stomach dread that we were making a terrible mistake -- a terrible, expensive mistake -- and reading about the real estate bubble hadn't helped things. [Although I firmly believe South Florida is relatively immune from such disaster. There will always be someone, foreign or domestic, willing to pay for Florida coastal property.] Then I spied an editorial in our local paper, detailing the plans for development in our part of paradise. We'd heard once upon a time, when we had the island on the market, that big things were in store. Our area was going to be the new Naples, blah, blah, blah. Our realtor even talked us out of selling and good thing too; it's really starting to happen. The column pleaded with the county to purchase and protect any remaining waterfront parcels for the public's sake. It's probably too late for them, but if this deal closes, we will no longer have to worry about our marina selling out to develop condos and leaving us literally high and dry. We will be secure with our own land base for the island. So, I was slightly relieved. That's the good news.
The bad news was that Jorge figured we don't have enough money to continue renting this place and rebuild Orange House, and proposed living in the house in the midst of the tear-out. Now, I've been through this before and unfortunately don't have the patience to do it again. I know, I'm a selfish jerk, not willing to make the sacrifice for my family, but if the cobbler's children have no shoes, the builder's children have no Certificate of Occupancy. (Do the pharmacist's children have no drugs? Not in my neighborhood.) He even tried to bribe me with a pool (my germ phobia and fear of swallowing Band-Aids keeps me out of public pools), something I have been wanting for years, to exercise in. I don't do the official strokes, but I can tread water forever. When the plane goes down, that'll be me paddling away in the middle of the Atlantic, patiently waiting to be rescued after three or four days at sea.
The tension finally lifted when I suggested stashing most of our stuff at the house in a POD while the house is torn apart. In the meantime, the girls and I could resume living on the island. The solution was agreeable to all parties.
Nice try, girls.
---
Today was a big day. Our inspection period has come to a close and this afternoon I dropped off a check for the balance of the deposit. Orange House is a go.
I experienced a burst of not just early buyer's remorse, but deep, pit-of-the-stomach dread that we were making a terrible mistake -- a terrible, expensive mistake -- and reading about the real estate bubble hadn't helped things. [Although I firmly believe South Florida is relatively immune from such disaster. There will always be someone, foreign or domestic, willing to pay for Florida coastal property.] Then I spied an editorial in our local paper, detailing the plans for development in our part of paradise. We'd heard once upon a time, when we had the island on the market, that big things were in store. Our area was going to be the new Naples, blah, blah, blah. Our realtor even talked us out of selling and good thing too; it's really starting to happen. The column pleaded with the county to purchase and protect any remaining waterfront parcels for the public's sake. It's probably too late for them, but if this deal closes, we will no longer have to worry about our marina selling out to develop condos and leaving us literally high and dry. We will be secure with our own land base for the island. So, I was slightly relieved. That's the good news.
The bad news was that Jorge figured we don't have enough money to continue renting this place and rebuild Orange House, and proposed living in the house in the midst of the tear-out. Now, I've been through this before and unfortunately don't have the patience to do it again. I know, I'm a selfish jerk, not willing to make the sacrifice for my family, but if the cobbler's children have no shoes, the builder's children have no Certificate of Occupancy. (Do the pharmacist's children have no drugs? Not in my neighborhood.) He even tried to bribe me with a pool (my germ phobia and fear of swallowing Band-Aids keeps me out of public pools), something I have been wanting for years, to exercise in. I don't do the official strokes, but I can tread water forever. When the plane goes down, that'll be me paddling away in the middle of the Atlantic, patiently waiting to be rescued after three or four days at sea.
The tension finally lifted when I suggested stashing most of our stuff at the house in a POD while the house is torn apart. In the meantime, the girls and I could resume living on the island. The solution was agreeable to all parties.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Heloise doesn't know jack
Lazy Household Tip of the Day
Save time ironing: Step out of the shower soaking wet. Do not dry off. Put wrinkly clothes on.
Save time ironing: Step out of the shower soaking wet. Do not dry off. Put wrinkly clothes on.
Had a post all typed up and then my hard drive started making sounds like it was crushing gravel again. Back to Computer Guy.
Tomorrow is a big day chaperoning a trip for Elle's class to Mote Marine in Sarasota. Silly of them to offer a homeschool option allowing my other two children to participate in field trips and extracurriculars. Instead of paying $500 a piece to be covered under their private school umbrella, I just volunteer to drive.
Next up, field trips to see a live production of Cinderella in Fort Myers; Carribean Gardens and Zoo in Naples; and Disney on Ice: Finding Nemo in Estero. Fun, fun, fun!
Tomorrow is a big day chaperoning a trip for Elle's class to Mote Marine in Sarasota. Silly of them to offer a homeschool option allowing my other two children to participate in field trips and extracurriculars. Instead of paying $500 a piece to be covered under their private school umbrella, I just volunteer to drive.
Next up, field trips to see a live production of Cinderella in Fort Myers; Carribean Gardens and Zoo in Naples; and Disney on Ice: Finding Nemo in Estero. Fun, fun, fun!
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Ta-da!
I have decided for ease of reading, to finally reveal the names of my three daughters and husband. Not their actual, legal names, but nicknamed versions that are close enough.
S = Sarabelle
G = Gracie
L = Elle
G (spouse) = Jorge
The only reason I have resisted until now was the Google factor. My brother Googled up the first and last names of family members of an old family friend he was hoping to reconnect with and came up with a curious hit that stunned us all.
That's my old friend "Skipper." Stephen and I knew each other from birth through eighth grade. My mother is his Godmother. We called each other "cousins." We went our separate ways for high school, though I still saw him in our neighborhood wearing his newly affected black trenchcoat. The last time I spoke to him was when he attended the small reception after my first marriage. As a child, he was the only person, besides Uncle Ed, with whom I could enthusiastically discuss my rock collection. We once spent a sixth grade gym period indoors together, doing long division, convinced that we could discover the final digit in pi if we just worked it far enough. I used to think he was so smart that he could probably calculate the speed and pattern of falling rain, enabling him to dodge drops and stay dry during an afternoon deluge. I was convinced he would grow up to be a nuclear physicist. The last time I saw him was a couple years ago when Manson played at Ozfest in West Palm Beach, he was onstage, I was in the crowd.
Oh, yeah, so be careful with Google, okay?
S = Sarabelle
G = Gracie
L = Elle
G (spouse) = Jorge
The only reason I have resisted until now was the Google factor. My brother Googled up the first and last names of family members of an old family friend he was hoping to reconnect with and came up with a curious hit that stunned us all.
That's my old friend "Skipper." Stephen and I knew each other from birth through eighth grade. My mother is his Godmother. We called each other "cousins." We went our separate ways for high school, though I still saw him in our neighborhood wearing his newly affected black trenchcoat. The last time I spoke to him was when he attended the small reception after my first marriage. As a child, he was the only person, besides Uncle Ed, with whom I could enthusiastically discuss my rock collection. We once spent a sixth grade gym period indoors together, doing long division, convinced that we could discover the final digit in pi if we just worked it far enough. I used to think he was so smart that he could probably calculate the speed and pattern of falling rain, enabling him to dodge drops and stay dry during an afternoon deluge. I was convinced he would grow up to be a nuclear physicist. The last time I saw him was a couple years ago when Manson played at Ozfest in West Palm Beach, he was onstage, I was in the crowd.
Oh, yeah, so be careful with Google, okay?
Not golf
Yesterday was a two eagle day. We spotted the first one circling over the mainland post office while checking our box and suspect it was one of "our" eagles, the ones whose nest neighbors us out on the island, a very short distance by air from that postal facility. The second was circling over our neighborhood when we arrived back at the Punta Gorda house. The state is considering removing the American Bald Eagles's special protection status in order to accommodate developers. This would be a terrible mistake. Their protected status has finally enabled them to come back in sufficient numbers that seeing one is not the once-in-a-lifetime occasion it was up until just recently.
After dropping L off at preschool one very foggy winter morning, we caught a ghostly glimpse of a large bird, who by the flapping of its wings appeared to be an eagle. We drove through the development hoping to see it fly by again. After failing to locate it, we headed back out to the main road and were stunned to see this magnificent bird sitting on the front lawn of the last house. We pulled over, less than thirty feet away. We watched him and he watched us for about ten minutes before he found something more pressing to do.
Did you know eagles wear little fluffy pants?
After dropping L off at preschool one very foggy winter morning, we caught a ghostly glimpse of a large bird, who by the flapping of its wings appeared to be an eagle. We drove through the development hoping to see it fly by again. After failing to locate it, we headed back out to the main road and were stunned to see this magnificent bird sitting on the front lawn of the last house. We pulled over, less than thirty feet away. We watched him and he watched us for about ten minutes before he found something more pressing to do.
Did you know eagles wear little fluffy pants?
Monday, April 11, 2005
Testing 2
Paying Bob Jones was so difficult for me to come to grips with that my mind chose to push it aside. Not until the last minute did I realize that they don't take our credit card, the one that the Visa Corporation likes to remind me is so inferior to its own, you know, the one that's not everywhere you want to be, and I would have to mail a check. Today was the deadline though, so my mom bailed me out. Unfortunately now that she knows we're testing, and since she was there to lend her financial support, even though my reimbursement check is in the mail, she will feel entitled to know the results.
Why Bob Jones for the IOWA test you wonder? I believe they are the actual publishers, and plus, the woman performing the testing for our homeschool group is one of their Pre-Ordained Master Certified Official Grand Poobah Test Administrators, or something. There are other tests that would measure basic skills, but I would probably have to administer them myself. G flips out when I time her Saxon pre-lesson drills. Could I handle a full blown test tantrum? I think not. It would also be hard to resist requests for, "just a little hint, please Mom?!" Somehow I think she'll be more likely to stay in her seat and refrain from thrashing around on the floor for the official proctor.
The state of Florida will accept any nationally recognized standardized test for an annual review in lieu of a portfolio review, but I'm not testing to fulfill my annual requirements, that would imply I was a registered homeschooler to begin with. I'm an Australian resident, mate. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more! Until that runs out I'll continue to enjoy my un-official status. This testing effort is only to satisfy my curiosity, and now, my mother's.
Why Bob Jones for the IOWA test you wonder? I believe they are the actual publishers, and plus, the woman performing the testing for our homeschool group is one of their Pre-Ordained Master Certified Official Grand Poobah Test Administrators, or something. There are other tests that would measure basic skills, but I would probably have to administer them myself. G flips out when I time her Saxon pre-lesson drills. Could I handle a full blown test tantrum? I think not. It would also be hard to resist requests for, "just a little hint, please Mom?!" Somehow I think she'll be more likely to stay in her seat and refrain from thrashing around on the floor for the official proctor.
The state of Florida will accept any nationally recognized standardized test for an annual review in lieu of a portfolio review, but I'm not testing to fulfill my annual requirements, that would imply I was a registered homeschooler to begin with. I'm an Australian resident, mate. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more! Until that runs out I'll continue to enjoy my un-official status. This testing effort is only to satisfy my curiosity, and now, my mother's.
Friday, April 08, 2005
Testing
The paperwork is completed except for the blanks where the credit card information goes. All I have to do is fax the order and we're all set. But it's killing me to have to send $83.74 to Bob Jones University. It is from them, that rather racist and homophobic fundamentalist institution of higher learning, that I shall order the Iowa Test of Basic Skills for 4th and 7th grades.
When we first started homeschooling, my husband was very concerned that we should test the kids and see how they were performing. I was feeling rebellious and spouting off about teaching to tests, and all the other problems with standardized testing. We wouldn't be testing. Between the graded math and grammar, the inclusion of Latin and logic, and the chronological study of history, I knew we were doing fine, and besides, those tests didn't cover the particular subject matter we were focusing on. Why bother? He finally came around to my point of view.
But now, in our fourth, soon to be fifth year, I'm curious. Over the years I've seen lots of other homeschooled students, and while it's an apples to oranges comparison, I think my kids are doing better than most. (No thanks to me, in fact in spite of me.) I'd like to see exactly how well they are doing. A test of basic skills seemed to me the best diagnostic tool.
The tests are scheduled for May 23, 24, and 25. To get the tests to the Qualified Tester on time, I mustn't delay. I just need to complete that last bit on the form and send it off, but I just can't bear to pay Bob Jones.
When we first started homeschooling, my husband was very concerned that we should test the kids and see how they were performing. I was feeling rebellious and spouting off about teaching to tests, and all the other problems with standardized testing. We wouldn't be testing. Between the graded math and grammar, the inclusion of Latin and logic, and the chronological study of history, I knew we were doing fine, and besides, those tests didn't cover the particular subject matter we were focusing on. Why bother? He finally came around to my point of view.
But now, in our fourth, soon to be fifth year, I'm curious. Over the years I've seen lots of other homeschooled students, and while it's an apples to oranges comparison, I think my kids are doing better than most. (No thanks to me, in fact in spite of me.) I'd like to see exactly how well they are doing. A test of basic skills seemed to me the best diagnostic tool.
The tests are scheduled for May 23, 24, and 25. To get the tests to the Qualified Tester on time, I mustn't delay. I just need to complete that last bit on the form and send it off, but I just can't bear to pay Bob Jones.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
I was in a pinch these last few days because all my contacts, appointments, and homeschool info were on my laptop. After telling Computer Guy that my most important stuff was in Outlook and My Documents, I had a bit of a panic when I realized I had forgotten to include the Homeschool Tracker program. After spending nearly three days entering book titles and dates and all sorts of other nonsense like our school motto*,courses, and subjects, I dreaded repeating my efforts. Fortunately, all the data was recoverable. There wasn't even a real repair necessary. He only had to pull the hard drive and reinsert it and everything was just fine. Hurray for Computer Guy! (Computer Guy: "Hurray for Mechanical Retard!") Not nearly as interesting as having your kid pee on your server.
*The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life. -- Plato
I've also been in a slump these last few days, surrounded by hundreds of books with nothing calling out, "Read Me! Read Me!" So what do I do? I force myself to start reading Gods and Generals, a book I know I'll enjoy once I ever get it going and the prelude to The Killer Angels, another book I've been meaning to read for way too long, and end up on Amazon.com making a few more purchases. Home by Design: Transforming Your House Into Home, by Sarah Susanka -- the author of another home design favorite of mine, The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live -- is on the way to help inspire some creative solutions to our current housing obsession. Then today at the homeschool meeting when one of the moms deposited a large load of books, craft supplies, and toys on a table to be given away, I found a few more, from E.D. Hirsch's Core Knowledge Series, What Your 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Grader Needs to Know.
We made a second offer on the anostos spiti ("ugly house" in Greek) after our first lowball offer was shot down. The seller accepted and we are now into our inspection period. If we chicken out, the house does not seem as big as the square footage claimed on the MLS listing and is in reality a two bedroom with an illegally enclosed garage and a walled off living room, NOT a four bedroom, we will back out of the contract with "misrepresentation" given as the reason. Tonight we are heading over with a measuring tape to investigate our suspicions.
Also under consideration is doing a quick rehab on the house, turning it over, keeping the separately owned boat slip, and beginning the search for a house all over again. What's that saying? The chase is better than the catch?
---
Here we are just barely in April and already the annual end-of-year dead notables list is getting pretty full, especially with the additions of the past week or so: Terri Schiavo, Pope John Paul II, Saul Bellow, Prince Rainier, Frank Purdue... I can see the montage now.
*The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life. -- Plato
I've also been in a slump these last few days, surrounded by hundreds of books with nothing calling out, "Read Me! Read Me!" So what do I do? I force myself to start reading Gods and Generals, a book I know I'll enjoy once I ever get it going and the prelude to The Killer Angels, another book I've been meaning to read for way too long, and end up on Amazon.com making a few more purchases. Home by Design: Transforming Your House Into Home, by Sarah Susanka -- the author of another home design favorite of mine, The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live -- is on the way to help inspire some creative solutions to our current housing obsession. Then today at the homeschool meeting when one of the moms deposited a large load of books, craft supplies, and toys on a table to be given away, I found a few more, from E.D. Hirsch's Core Knowledge Series, What Your 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Grader Needs to Know.
We made a second offer on the anostos spiti ("ugly house" in Greek) after our first lowball offer was shot down. The seller accepted and we are now into our inspection period. If we chicken out, the house does not seem as big as the square footage claimed on the MLS listing and is in reality a two bedroom with an illegally enclosed garage and a walled off living room, NOT a four bedroom, we will back out of the contract with "misrepresentation" given as the reason. Tonight we are heading over with a measuring tape to investigate our suspicions.
Also under consideration is doing a quick rehab on the house, turning it over, keeping the separately owned boat slip, and beginning the search for a house all over again. What's that saying? The chase is better than the catch?
---
Here we are just barely in April and already the annual end-of-year dead notables list is getting pretty full, especially with the additions of the past week or so: Terri Schiavo, Pope John Paul II, Saul Bellow, Prince Rainier, Frank Purdue... I can see the montage now.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Whoops
My laptop slid off the couch last night, and gently landed on the tile floor. It began making an ominous clicking noise and then fell silent. Now it won't recognize my operating system. Probably not good, eh?
Blogging may be intermittent for awhile.
Blogging may be intermittent for awhile.
Friday, April 01, 2005
April
1 April Fools’ Day
Golden Rule Week
Nat’l Poetry Month
Nat’l Humor Month
2 Ponce de Leon discovers Florida, 1513
Hans Christian Andersen b. 1805
Frederic Bartholdi b. 1834
3 Daylight Savings Time begins at 2:00 AM
Washington Irving b. 1783
4 Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated, 1968
NATO ratified, 1949
Maya Angelou b. 1928
5 Tutor Appreciation Day
Joseph Lister b. 1827
Booker T. Washington b. 1856
6 First Modern Olympics at Athens, Greece, 1896
Robert E. Peary reaches North Pole, 1909
US Enters WWI, 1917
7 First use of Metric System, France, 1795
No Housework Day
Mars Odyssey launched, 2001
UN World Health Day
8 Day of Vesak, commemorates birth of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddah, c. 563 BC
Solar eclipse begins 1:51 PM EDT, visible over Pacific Ocean, Central and South America
9 Civil War ends, 1865
Civil Rights Bill passes, 1866
Winston Churchill Day
10 Nat’l Library Week
Commodore Perry Day
Joseph Pulitzer b. 1847
11 Civil Rights Act signed, 1968
Liberation of Buchenwald, 1945
Apollo 13 flight, 1970
12 Highest velocity wind on earth, 231 MPH, recorded at Mt. Washington, NH, 1934
Yuri Gagarin first man in space, 1961
Salk develops polio vaccine, 1955
Astronomy Week
Truancy Law first enacted in New York, 1853
13 Thomas Jefferson b. 1743
Marguerite Henry b. 1902
14 Noah Webster publishes first dictionary of American
English, 1828
Abraham Lincoln assassinated, 1865
Anne Sullivan b. 1866
First American abolition society founded in Philadelphia, 1775
15 Income Tax Pay Day
Titanic sinks, 1912
First McDonald’s opens, 1955
Gallaudet and Clerc found first US public school for the deaf
Charles Willson Peale b. 1741
16 Astronomy Day
Wilbur Wright b. 1867
17 Ellis Island Family History Day
Nat’l Volunteer Week
18 Nat’l Park Week
Nat’l TV Turnoff Week
Nat’l Wildlife Week
Paul Revere’s Ride, 1775
San Francisco earthquake, 1906
Yankee Stadium opens, 1923
19 Battle of Lexington and Concord, 1775
Oklahoma City bombing, 1995
20 Adolf Hitler b. 1889
21 Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower
Rome founded, 753 BC
Mawlid Al Nabi, birth of Muhammad
Queen Elizabeth II b. 1926
22 “In God We Trust” first stamped on all US coins, 1864
Girl Scout Leaders’ Day
Oklahoma land rush, 1889
23 Passover begins at sunset
James Buchanan b. 1791
Shakespeare born, 1564
Shakespeare dies, 1616
First movie theater opens in New York City, 1896
Physicists discover top quark, 1994
24 Earth Day
Reading Is Fun Week
Library of Congress founded, 1800
Penumbral lunar eclipse begins 3:49 AM EDT
Orthodox Palm Sunday
25 New York issues first auto license plates, 1901
Hubble space telescope deployed, 1990
Guglielmo Marconi b. 1874
26 Confederate Day (FL)
Richter Scale Day
Chernobyl disaster, 1986
John James Audubon b. 1785
27 Ferdinand Magellen dies, 1521
Samuel Morse b. 1791
Ulysses S. Grant b. 1822
Ludwig Bemelmans b. 1898
Walter Lantz b. 1900
Babe Ruth Day anniversary, 1947
28 Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day
Mutiny on HMS Bounty, 1789
James Monroe b. 1758
29 Nat’l Arbor Day
Japan celebrates Greenery Day
Duke Ellington b. 1899
Zipper patented, 1913
30 Nat’l Honesty Day
George Washington inaugurated, 1789
First presidential telecast by FDR, 1939
Saigon falls, 1975
Spank Out Day USA
----
It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.
-- George Orwell (1984)
Listen, my children, and you shall hear,
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Tales of a Wayside Inn)
He capers, he dances, he has eyes of youth, he writes verses, he speaks holiday, he smells April and May.
-- Shakespeare (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
O! how this spring of love resembleth
The uncertain glory of an April day!
-- Shakespeare (The Two Gentlemen of Verona)
April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
--T.S. Eliot (The Waste Land)
Sweet April showers
Do spring May flowers.
--Thomas Tusser (A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry)
Golden Rule Week
Nat’l Poetry Month
Nat’l Humor Month
2 Ponce de Leon discovers Florida, 1513
Hans Christian Andersen b. 1805
Frederic Bartholdi b. 1834
3 Daylight Savings Time begins at 2:00 AM
Washington Irving b. 1783
4 Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated, 1968
NATO ratified, 1949
Maya Angelou b. 1928
5 Tutor Appreciation Day
Joseph Lister b. 1827
Booker T. Washington b. 1856
6 First Modern Olympics at Athens, Greece, 1896
Robert E. Peary reaches North Pole, 1909
US Enters WWI, 1917
7 First use of Metric System, France, 1795
No Housework Day
Mars Odyssey launched, 2001
UN World Health Day
8 Day of Vesak, commemorates birth of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddah, c. 563 BC
Solar eclipse begins 1:51 PM EDT, visible over Pacific Ocean, Central and South America
9 Civil War ends, 1865
Civil Rights Bill passes, 1866
Winston Churchill Day
10 Nat’l Library Week
Commodore Perry Day
Joseph Pulitzer b. 1847
11 Civil Rights Act signed, 1968
Liberation of Buchenwald, 1945
Apollo 13 flight, 1970
12 Highest velocity wind on earth, 231 MPH, recorded at Mt. Washington, NH, 1934
Yuri Gagarin first man in space, 1961
Salk develops polio vaccine, 1955
Astronomy Week
Truancy Law first enacted in New York, 1853
13 Thomas Jefferson b. 1743
Marguerite Henry b. 1902
14 Noah Webster publishes first dictionary of American
English, 1828
Abraham Lincoln assassinated, 1865
Anne Sullivan b. 1866
First American abolition society founded in Philadelphia, 1775
15 Income Tax Pay Day
Titanic sinks, 1912
First McDonald’s opens, 1955
Gallaudet and Clerc found first US public school for the deaf
Charles Willson Peale b. 1741
16 Astronomy Day
Wilbur Wright b. 1867
17 Ellis Island Family History Day
Nat’l Volunteer Week
18 Nat’l Park Week
Nat’l TV Turnoff Week
Nat’l Wildlife Week
Paul Revere’s Ride, 1775
San Francisco earthquake, 1906
Yankee Stadium opens, 1923
19 Battle of Lexington and Concord, 1775
Oklahoma City bombing, 1995
20 Adolf Hitler b. 1889
21 Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower
Rome founded, 753 BC
Mawlid Al Nabi, birth of Muhammad
Queen Elizabeth II b. 1926
22 “In God We Trust” first stamped on all US coins, 1864
Girl Scout Leaders’ Day
Oklahoma land rush, 1889
23 Passover begins at sunset
James Buchanan b. 1791
Shakespeare born, 1564
Shakespeare dies, 1616
First movie theater opens in New York City, 1896
Physicists discover top quark, 1994
24 Earth Day
Reading Is Fun Week
Library of Congress founded, 1800
Penumbral lunar eclipse begins 3:49 AM EDT
Orthodox Palm Sunday
25 New York issues first auto license plates, 1901
Hubble space telescope deployed, 1990
Guglielmo Marconi b. 1874
26 Confederate Day (FL)
Richter Scale Day
Chernobyl disaster, 1986
John James Audubon b. 1785
27 Ferdinand Magellen dies, 1521
Samuel Morse b. 1791
Ulysses S. Grant b. 1822
Ludwig Bemelmans b. 1898
Walter Lantz b. 1900
Babe Ruth Day anniversary, 1947
28 Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day
Mutiny on HMS Bounty, 1789
James Monroe b. 1758
29 Nat’l Arbor Day
Japan celebrates Greenery Day
Duke Ellington b. 1899
Zipper patented, 1913
30 Nat’l Honesty Day
George Washington inaugurated, 1789
First presidential telecast by FDR, 1939
Saigon falls, 1975
Spank Out Day USA
----
It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.
-- George Orwell (1984)
Listen, my children, and you shall hear,
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Tales of a Wayside Inn)
He capers, he dances, he has eyes of youth, he writes verses, he speaks holiday, he smells April and May.
-- Shakespeare (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
O! how this spring of love resembleth
The uncertain glory of an April day!
-- Shakespeare (The Two Gentlemen of Verona)
April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
--T.S. Eliot (The Waste Land)
Sweet April showers
Do spring May flowers.
--Thomas Tusser (A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry)
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