At last the windows are open and the loud songs of the late summer crickets are easily heard and the fresh air can blow in through the windows! Almost everyone I know loves these months of September and October.
My fig tree is nearly done bearing for this year. I've had nearly 3 dozen figs off it this season! The weather worked out in my favor and the figs turned perfectly sweet and soft.
We are well established in our school routine now. Some mornings we are late and we take our breakfast upstairs. And sometimes we need a BIG pot of tea. School is going well. It is a completely different story than homeschooling with babies or young children. My energy levels have been quite poor but I'm thankful I can still plod forward and I take Elisabeth Eliot's advice: "do the next thing." Routine is my best friend.
I feel almost as though we have two families going: the high school family and the still-at-home family. Rachel and Andrew really enjoy going to school and they always have stories to tell at the end of the day. We also text during the day which is nice.
Andrew's been playing JV soccer. He loves it!
It is Rachel's 3rd year on the golf team. She has made a new record score for herself recently that we are all proud of. It is a real treat to be able to escape to the golf course for several hours to watch her play and enjoy the serenity of the golf course.
It's the stay-at-home family with which I get to do all the fun field trips. Last week we headed to Conner Prairie to use up our pass. We checked out the new outside brick oven.
The lady tending the fire told us an old trick for predicting the winter weather ahead. She cut open a persimmon seed and we looked to see if it was a knife, a fork, or a spoon. It was a spoon (as were a few more she later cut). A spoon shape means lots of wet precipitation ahead. (Knives mean a sharp, bitter winter, and forks are for mild winters.) We will wait to see if this prediction comes true!
The pigs amused us for quite some time!
It's just hard to get the idea of this being "fun" and "enjoyable" into my head:
I love the sign in front of the barn. Wouldn't it make a good sign to put in front of a house?!
The sheep are so cute! But you should see the wool on their back -- it's all matted down like worn carpet from being petted by thousands of people! ha ha!
It was a beautiful day and the Conner House looked like quintessential Indiana!
We found tuber roses blooming in the Loom House garden. I love how smells can take you places. The smell of this flower takes me straight back to my 13th year and dark, warm African evenings in our Ugandan home with this scent wafting in the windows as we visited with guests.
Of course I was delighted to find a beautiful plaid pattern being woven on the loom!
Trying out a canoe in the Indian village.
I just love chickens! I probably wouldn't be any good at actually raising them, but they are such beautiful creatures with all their feathers. Loved the rooster!
We took some time to stop and paint what we saw.
Yes, the sun was hot!
But everyone persevered and did several pictures!
One day I found I had an extra passenger driving along with me! Poor thing!
You wouldn't believe the hours and hours of fun the kids had with these boxes! It was pretty funny! Even the older kids couldn't resist trying them out!
The pool closed on Monday. Laura made lots of progress this year -- going from being afraid to jump in to jumping in by herself all the time.
My flowers have brought me so much joy!!!! Mostly thanks to my mom who picks them for me each Sunday when she comes. It is hard to find time to pick flowers! There are always too many things to do and so many things must be left undone.
The kids love sculpting things out of kneaded erasers. It's so funny!
Someone even likes to utilize garbage! I came down this week to find the dishwasher creating tantalizing "ant food" rather than doing his chores. How to be mad?
We had a rainy day this week and due to a cancellation I had a little time to make tea and read. It's always a refreshment. I bought myself a little beeswax candle at the fair after reading about them in my latest British Country Living.
Well, it's time to go and do some tidying. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
