around home

We spent most of last week making jellies and jams and juices from apples, peaches, and a heap of grapes from a generous friend. We also 'started' school... a little unofficially because, lets face it, we had nothing together. The end of August was a sneaky little bugger. So we did a few lesson in this, cracked open a new binder for that... Then along came Tuesday with our Hunger Games special edition dvd in the mail. Wednesday was automatically declared Possible Future (If-the-World-really-goes-down-the-Tubes) Studies Day. Because, hey, we're homeschooled. And these informal days during the first week of school are kinda to make up for the fact that snow days for us mean extra school ('cause there's no escaping.)

-Gwyn

I visit George, Tom, Teddy, and Abe

I have announced summer to be officially over. It seems quite premature, but doesn't it always? I imagine our cold, wet spring accounts for the feeling of not-yet-begunness summer had its entire stay. Still, this morning for church I wore jeans and blouse with three-quarter length sleeves because, as I went out to throw hay to the horses earlier, the scent and chill of autumn was definitely on the air. How can I tell? Each season has a very distinct smell to it; Spring is sharp and fresh, summer is lazy and warm, autumn mellow and woody, winter of course is biting and crystal clear.
 But scent isn't the only thing that determines this new season in my life: We started school last Tuesday, which is really what I'm here to blog about, because it was not your average first day of school, oh no. I just happen to be home schooled -- or home educated, if you prefer -- so the word average doesn't even enter into the equation.
 On the first day of school, I got to go to Mount Rushmore: the shrine of democracy, and had a few other stops on the side. Read it and weep.

The road trip began as all others do -- with the road. How exciting. There's really nothing to do while 'tripping except take pictures of the landscape and... yourself. I refuse to publish any of the latter since most of them involve Little Brother and I on a caffeine high.

Speaking of that caffeine high, all I can say is thank goodness for awesome little coffee shops, shaken iced teas, Amariconos, and iPods. Shaken iced teas are the bestest things since sliced bread. You get your regular ice tea but with a 'shake' of Fruit Tea Blast flavoring. Sweeeetness! And they even taste great when they've been sitting in the car for an hour and a half! moving on....

Our first stop: A little Keystone taffy & candy shop. It's pretty much world famous. I think they even say that on the packages.

the taffy makin' process.

They have a million different flavors for their taffy {made in a little glass room in a corner of the shop - see photos}. Anything for jalapeno to the native buffalo berry that grows right there in the Hills.

The lady was nice and let us sample before we walked out with two pounds of the stuff in every flavor. Mum says we're going to send some to friends "of course", but I'm not so certain they'll be full bags.... om nom nom....

LB and I would have like to take this truck up on its offer -- Mt. Rushmore helicopter rides -- but besides being $49 short, Mum said they have at least one crash a year. Uh... Who hires these pilots? Or do you fly the chopper yourself, I wonder. I could be on to something...

Ah, yes! The reason we've come! Mount Rushmore itself, as seen from the Hall {or walk?} of State Flags.

As seen from Grand View Terrace... aptly named. The place was buzzing with tourists, as you would expect at a National Monument. Lot's of rich retired folks in their giant caravans - er - RVs. British television is ruining me. People have also informed me of dropping my 'r's, and only yesterday I said tomăto instead of tomāto! Gah!

LB using his first public machine -- we're so proud. It only took him three minutes to figure out that you need a quarter to make the thing work."I can't see anything!" Hehehe.

The day was spectacular for this kind of sightseeing: cloudless, breezy, and in the lower 80s. We decided to take the Presidential Trail and from there took the 'strenuous' branch -- read: 1 million stairs. It started great, all nice and even, chipmunks playing and chattering alongside the walkway. Then we started going down. And down and down and down. And what goes down must eventually come up it seems. All in the form of unevenly cut stone stairs. Not so great when you're wearing flipflops. I had zero traction, and by the end of it a scraped knee, sore rear, and blisters between my toes. And I was starving. I needed happiness.

please excuse the lack of head, i lost it some time ago.

And it came in the form of 5 tons of raspberry-chocolate best-soft-serve-in-the-world.
While omnomming, I had a good time people watching and writing down what I saw. What a treasure trove for that kind of thing!
I....
*walked the trail with a couple from Tennessee
*was served my ice cream by an Italian
*sat across from eight Australians while eating above item
*had a table next to a guy from Greece that was Skyping with his brother {also Grecian} who was in Turkey
*walked into a Chinese family's photo --  I'll just back away slowly and hope you didn't notice....
*encouraged and elderly East Coast lady up the strenuous stairs -- "I can't make these .... stairs!" "...Of course you can! {tries not to laugh out loud and therefore look like a total jerk}


By the time all this had taken place it was already late afternoon and we started to head back home. Then we came upon this little slice of heaven...

They call it... Pack..toe..la... Pactola reservoir. It's right in the heart of the Hills and utterly beauteous. We had to pull over. And we found the perfect spot, too.

And get this - The water is warm! Like warm warm! I so wished I had had a swimsuit or at least shorts. But I had to settle for wading, which was alright.

I promise you my feets aren't really misshapen, whatever this photo may imply. I have very nice feet, thankyouverymuch.
I had fun splashing LB when he wasn't looking. Benevolent sister? But of course! I just had a perfectly large rock, and when one has a perfectly large rock one simply must place it with some force behind an unsuspecting person in the water. :)

But like all travels, this one had to come to an end. A whole day on the road, trails, and in quaint little shops, and very well spent. The next day we had a real day of school - textbooks, papers, and brand new pencils. I'm taking nine classes this year, and now TLOS has a designated spot in my day everyday. So maybe I'll finish it after all.
 In spite of my ranting and raving, I am feeling the tingles of excitement for this...this... newness.
A tree in the backyard is turning yellow though it is only just September. Order and routine has returned to its throne in my day -- everything is scheduled so that I get the important stuff done. Priorities, Gwyn, priorities.
Music lessons are also back and I'm excited to show my teacher my new violin, Dido. {I have pictures of her for you coming soon...}
So bring on Fall and the turning leaves! ... just winter stay away for now...

I shall return to you all later!

-Gwyn

Everything is falling into place

All summer — well, make that ever since May, when my grandmum passed away — my life has felt hectic and rushed: 

I've got to do this and then I've got to do that so I can do this, so then... *gets a phone call* Okay, now I have to do that as well...

 Everything seemed spur of the moment and nothing was regular, I simply bobbed around trying to keep my head above water. Don't get me wrong, I like spontaneous moments. But having no structure at all I've realized, is not a good idea.
In my last post I moaned about having to start school again and how I was dreading it. Looking back I regret it. I looked at that post and thought: Oh for goodness sake! Grow up a bit, Gwyn. Okay, yeah you don't understand algebra very well and struggle with it, but you're not doing anything about it. This isn't like you. One, one "raises the eyebrows!"
So I did do something about it, oh yes. I took it to the highest power. I prayed. I prayed for knowledge and understanding. I got it! I could believe it the next day when I zipped through twenty problems in thirty minutes. And I understood my lessons! On the second day of school in the middle, mind you, of my textbook! There is nothing on this earth that could have done that for me.
 The mind boggles.
And still there are some who refuse to believe in the power of prayer.

{*Tid bit*: Many say they don't believe in prayer because they didn't get what they wanted. Did they ever stop to think that maybe God knew more than they, and that they didn't really need it? Just a thought.}

I have learned much in my first week of school; the importance of balance in everyday life, more of how God works, unequal quantities, exponents and signed numbers, the battle of Troy and Paris and Helen's huge role in it, just to name a few things.

Tomorrow is Monday. I will get up, do my chores, do school and homework, practice music, and play with my animals. I can breathe again. :)

Welcome back Normal, you've been missed.

-Gwyn

Back to school and somethings of interest!

Today we started up school again, after a wonderful{if stressful} 3 1/2 week break. I started in on Algebra too.
Monday we went skiing, and since I hate skiing{please don't ask me why. People bombarded me with the same question for 6 hours} I took Newton along and worked on my story. Which leads us to my next news bit:
I thought of another story that NEEDS to be written.{Earwen, you gave me your bug} It just came all of a sudden while I was listening to The PBS Civil War soundtrack{very moving pieces, by the way. If you haven't heard them, you simply have to soon!} and, as I often do, I thought up a story to go with the music. And BAM! I've got a whole story of a girl during that time wanting to make a difference; and it's pestering me badly to write it down!
I haven't thought of a name for her yet, so any Civil War era ideas would be neat:)

Another thing; my dad is sending in an ap. for an art commission in Lexington Kentucky for a jocky sculpture the Parks people want done! Pray that he gets it!!!! I really hope he does! I've ALWAYS wanted to go to Kentucky!! My family is obsessed with racing! I mean, Derby Day is considered a holiday for us! :D Oh please -oh please -oh please!!!!!

I'll try and get that Civil War song posted on here so you can listen - it truly is a beautiful song.
And I'm gonna start working on that drawing for you Evenstar, and try and post it tonight:)
Cheers!~Gwyn

The weather is frightful! "don't forget me! I'm in there too!" Be quiet, Newton!

Oy! You know its cold when your eyelashes freeze together when you blink and freeze to your skin when you open them!
Last night it got down to -16 with a wind chill[that hasn't warmed up] of -27*!! It's now a balmy 6* above! We were praying our water pipes didn't freeze last night, and thankfully, they haven't! YAY! That has to be one of the worst parts of winter.
Our water tank on the other hand is nearly frozen solid >~<. By some miracle there's still about 4" of water left so we won't have to start hauling water in buckets till tonight. UGH!! I HATE hauling water! Sorry, just had to rant for a second...
Today we also have music lessons and shopping. That'll be fun in the but cold ;l Oh, no. *moans* That means we'll get home after dark {it gets dark @ 4:00pm} so we'll be feeding and hauling water in the dark! Maaaaaann! "Suck it up, Princess!" Hey! Don't you call me princess! "You're acting like one." Newton! Shut up! YOU get to stay here inside and be plugged into your nice warm charger! *Newton: sticks disk tray out* I knew I should have gotten Clara. Even if she didn't have a WIFI card. But no, I got the smart mouthed $200s more you! "And you're glad you did, prissy" I've about had it..! "You know people are going to read this" ......Oh.Right.... Back on topic!...Newton, what was the topic?? "You were complaining" *glares* Okay. I get your point. Right. I'm doing it for the things I hold most dear: my fur-children. So I shan't complain. Right. *nods impressively, hands on hips*
On to the good news!
"About time..!"
Newton, I shall ignore that last snide comment and continue with my post. On to the GOOD news!
Today I finished my math book and so... am on Christmas break!!!!!!!! Whooohoooo! Three WEEKS off!!!!!! Can you believe it?? Sweetnes!
Its mainly because I have to help Mum a lot. We have 27+ cookie trays to make and send out for Christmas and I've got several horse-hair necklaces to make by next week. Should be fun. I got some really beautiful horse pendants for them; I'll have to post pics when I get them done. Speaking of pics, the reason I haven't posted any of getting the Christmas tree is because my Dad has been making a DVD of hi sculptures on the iMac which has all the pics on it. And Newton doesn't have enough memory to hold my story and 80+ pictures and run fast enough for me. "Say what?" That's why I got him under $500. :)

Update on Hammie: He's going to have surgery next Wednesday to repair his ligament. Afterward its going to be really hard to keep him from running about like he usually does. We might have to get "ace" for dogs or what ever they use for them. Have you ever tried to keep a corgi/ shepherd cross calm? Not easy. Even now, when it hurst him to move, he runs after the truck and jumps around. Hmmm. That dog:)

Well, I guess that's I really have to say. Cheers!~Gwyn Farewell~Newton
Oh, don't be so dramatic.
"I'm insulted!"
Oh please.....
"You just hush! Or I'll...I'll post all your passwords! Ha!"
You wouldn't dare!
"Oh, I think I would."
Don't look so smug. Remember, I have your power cord! Ha, trump that, Newt!
"Smiggamorphgrr...."
>:) I win.
"...For now...."

Homeschool Picnic/ role play

Yesterday evening was our Homeschooler's picnic/ kicking off the school year.

There were a lot of new families this year, which I found odd. Usually we have only one or two new people join us, but this year there was at least seven! Most of them are young families, with toddlers and preschool-aged kids, so now we have even more little people running about! It's chaos!

Last night I just had to laugh at our motley crew. Most of us(homeschoolers) are ranchers too far away from anything to even consider public schooling. But there are the, hmm, how would you describe them? Urban types?

The rancher dads talk about cows(or in my friend's case, buffalo) and sheep while on the other side, the {I'll just call them urban} dads talk about their jobs and stuff like that.

The rancher moms will talk about cows, jams, veg gardens, kids, ect. and the urban moms will talk about laundry and their children.

I'm not favoring or anything, this is what was really being said last night. It was kinda funny:) Its like two different languages! Almost.;)

After awhile I got tired of talking about...hmm, I don't even remember what it was us teen girls were talking about.:s So, I found my friend Jamie and we walked around the park. Several times. 

I wanted to join the boys and play kick ball; it looked like so much fun! But none of the other girls wanted to, making up various reasons why they couldn't("Its immature,"). I didn't want to be the only girl! 

*sigh* It stinks getting old:(

Ah, well. I'll go riding today and maybe tonight and that will make me feel better:)

Oh, before I forget, the role play ends tonight at midnight*(mt. time)! {*it has to sound professional!}:P

Till later then!

~Gwyn

'Back' to school...

*sigh* Tomorrow I indeed go 'back' to

 school. Logically, I never left since I'm homeschooled, but still, it hardly makes it any easier. This year I have a lot to do and I will list them for those of you who are interested in the homeschooling ways:

First we start off our morning with Bible and/or devotional and prayer. Then I have my own studies:

Memory Work(a Bible passage, memorized)

Poetry

Shakespeare or Plutarch

Logic

Geography/map work

Nature Studies

Copywork (copying long poems to help with penmanship and/or calligraphy)

Dictation

Language

Math

History and Ancient Myths, etc.

Latin

Science/Bio

Typing

Current Events

Narration(of books we are set to read. Mostly, it to ensure I actually read my assignments:S)

Handicrafts/ Life Skills (like cooking. Yes, my brothers have to take it too!)

P.E.

Piano

Violin

Art

Art Appreciation (learning about the artist, why they painted it, what its meaning is, etc...)

Music Appreciation (see above and apply music terms)

Home Comforts(What is that?! First time I've heard of it!)

And yeah, that should keep me pretty busy.

We all have to be on time for school, too. You must be dressed(Duh!), bed made, breakfast eaten, and, most importantly, you must have your assigned animals fed and watered. All that done and you must be seated at the table by 8 o'clock sharp. It gets really hard in winter when you have to break the ice in the water tanks. Most of the time there's more than 6" of ice, or you could be out there an hour, smashing the ice with your ice breaker(a sharp mettle pole) only to find that the whole tank is frozen solid. Very annoying and exasperating. If that is the case, then you have to haul water in a five gallon bucket all the way from the hydrant. On average it takes well over fifteen buckets to water nine or so horses. 

Ah, but I make winter sound like the worst thing ever!(it is. jk, jk!) There are of course good parts too. Like, the horses and ponies all fluffy with their winter coats, they look like regular teddy bears! lol! Their nickers of appreciation when you feed them. The cat curled up on a hay bale, sleeping in a faint ray of sun. The bunnies jumping about, excited about their new white surroundings. The dogs bounding through the drifts(Hooey trying to be elegant doing it. Without success) and the delicious taste of hot choco in the morning as you try and warm your feet, cold with the touching of the frozen floor.

Yes, I think I am slightly excited for it all, but I'd rather have a few more years of summer....:)