The Sinister Scribe

Okay. I’m going to give the spirit of this a try.

After almost a week of just laying things on their “shelf” I can see I do need something. And… after much agonizing over what would work the best and cost the least, I spent $10 at Walmart to get a plastic crate for each kid. Can you guess which belongs to whom? All the other supplies (hanging file folders and manilla folders) I had on hand already.

I don’t think these are THE solution for us. They don’t really fit on the shelf all that well and they’re not easy for the kids to pick-up-and-go if necessary. But they can be used for other storage when I find the perfect solution.

These may travel with us tomorrow on the car trip to the Amish. Sam usually does math and Latin on the trip. Jessie brings something to color or play with sometimes but often she just watches out the window. I keep thinking of recording me reading a favorite story for her to listen to but that is something for another post. Tomorrow’s science could easily be done in the car IF Sam can lead AND Jessie follow his direction. But if that doesn’t work, there are other things in her tote.

I’ve been really good (well with a couple exceptions) about getting everything laid out the night before. It has really helped! Jessie has been doing lots of things and asking for them each day. Sam has been able to get through all his assignments in record time. And many of those were independent assignments so I was free to do more with Jessie. The biggest downside is that I’ve been up late doing it and I’m wearing out. Somehow I’ve got to some up with a system to make this set up streamlined. Perhaps that will come in time.

For now, I’m off to bed…

I recently came across this system on Ravelry’s Homeschooling Yarnies Forum. If you google “workbox system” you’ll find lots of links. It looks good but I’m thinking to myself, it all boils down to organization. Ugh. If I just get my ducks in a row before the day they are needed. Things will go smoother. Duh.

Previously, I’ve had most of it in HST+, the rest in my head and the supplies all over the house. Not so good when I find out that we’re out of something or something has disappeared. Also recently realized that if I’m sick, it would enable Bob to pick things up and keep going for them.

So, to that end, Jessie and Sam now have a shelf where all their work is ready and waiting for them. Sam was pretty easy since I already have most everything set up in HST+. I collected all his books, went over the assignments and printed out an assignment list. Jessie is another matter (on soooo many levels ;)). But I need to start getting her into the habits Sam has already mastered. So I’ve got a few things on her shelf to do.

Today was the first day of this revamped organization. Went really well with Sam. Not so well with Jessie. I think we were just both grumpy today. But in the end everything was done. Jessie even tried to spell her complete first name “Jessucu” was her phoenetic equivalent of Jessica. LOL! I congratulated her and figured we’ll work on the correct spelling another time.

Tomorrow is all ready to go for them both. Sam has more independent work tomorrow so maybe I can focus more on Jessie.

I think, what it all boils down to is Mom has become rather lazy. So, time to get off my duff and really dedicate myself to my work!

This week’s theme is not really about geography as it is about weather. It is going to be cold this week!

1. White Bean Bisque with Garlic Chips
2. Potato Leek
3. Butternut Squash & Ham Bisque
4. Italian Wedding (slight mod to make GF)
5. Tortilla Soup with Chicken & Lime

We’ve already made the white Bean Bisque with GF cornbread. Yummo! Definitely a 5 star. I was out of garlic cloves this time so we didn’t to the chips

Going to have to streamline this or I’ll never keep it up!

Week 3 theme was South American and was nommy! It went something like this:

1. Empanadas
   Used leftover chicken and beef for filling and GF tortilla recipe for dough.
2. Peruvian Grilled Chicken
3. Arepas
4. Yucatecan-Style Pork
5. Enchiladas
   made corn torts with masa flour
   left over pork and chicken for filling
6. Skirt Steak Tacos with homemade GF tortillas

All recipes were great and al 5 star according to my rating system

1. Everyone likes it
2. minimal prep/cook time
3. Leftover/Freezer friendly
4. Cost effective
5. Will make again

The arepas had to be the most popular, hands down! First go was with masa corn flour and then I found some actual arepa flour. The flours are different for whatever reason but both made awesome arepas. We used mozzarella cheese.

For the “skirt steak” I used what was on sale. I don’t remember what it was called. The names of cuts of beef make no sense to me and I can never find the one I am looking for anyway. Target was something thin and cheap.

This week’s theme is Mediterranean… sort of. We’ve got an Indian and italian recipes in there too. LOL! At first I had down 5 new recipes but as the ingredient list grew longer and longer, I knew I had to cut back so Here are the new recipes:

1. Cold Plate Night: Keftedes, Hummus & Tzatziki & GF fry bread
2. Gyros Meat Sandwiches (using beef not lamb) & GF Tortillas
3. MYO GF calzones
4. Spicy Beef, Bombay Potatoes & Salad

In there somewhere will be a baked potato night and a left over night. I think the grocery bill this week was under $60. But I had a lot of what was needed already on hand. All breads will be from this GF flour mix and a tortilla recipe I found…somewhere.

Onward and upward!

Wow! That went fast!

Dinner prep went great and lunches were all delicious leftovers.

Thinking of coming up with a rating system. One point/star for each of the following

1. Everyone likes it
2. minimal prep/cook time
3. Leftover/Freezer friendly
4. Cost effective
5. Will make again

I’m only going to rate the new recipes…

1. Slow Cooker Char Siu Pork roast : 5 stars…  Very yummy and easy to prepare. Made dinner and several lunches!

2. Japanese Beef bowl & rice: 5 stars … Easy peasy! I can see adding a veg to it… carrots or broccoli maybe. But oh so good! Should get an extra star for being a one bowl meal too.

3. Sesame Chicken Pasta : One star… for cost. I could see this as a good summer pot luck dish. The recipe made a HUGE amount!

4. Seoul-ful Chicken with Minted Cucumbers & Rice: 3 stars… (make again, cost, freezer) It is really only partially freezer friendly. The cucumbers wouldn’t freeze, but the chicken will.

5. Pot stickers definite 5 star! Have made several batches already. I liked the dough best when I ran it through my kitchenaid mixer but even when I didn’t it was nice. I’ve tried freezing a few before cooking to see how well they cook after thawing. We used leftover char siu pork and beef bowl meets so all I did for the filling was chop them into smaller pieces. Dough could be made ahead too.

This week has only a few mediterranean recipes and we’ve already tried one.. keftedes! Yumm!

Something new for the new year is happening at the Martin house! We ALL sat down and decided on the menu for the week ahead. OMG! I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to have that help. It was either Bob or Sam who had the idea of a weekly “theme” making it easier to look for recipes. Not every meal HAS to follow the theme though! We’ve got a couple nights of average fare for those hectic nights where we need something quick and simple.

This week’s theme is Asian cooking. All the linked recipes are new. I can’t wait to try them!

So here it is:

1. Slow Cooker Char Siu Pork roast with stir fry vegetables and rice

2. Japanese Beef bowl & rice

3. Vegetable Soup & biscuits (yes I know but not every meal HAS to follow the theme)

4. Sesame Chicken Pasta

5. Baked Potatoes & Salad

6. Seoul-ful Chicken with Minted Cucumbers & Rice

7. Pot stickers & Fried Rice

On a whim, I made a list of all the projects I want to do and when I might possibly do them over the next year. OMG! There’s a whole year’s worth. Scary.

The links are for the pattern entries in Ravelry so you’ll only see them if you are logged in there.

January
Pink/purple bear for daughter – must use yarn from stash for this and decide on pattern
pink socks for daughter – have some pink I could use here
Fuzzy Feet slippers – maybe use leftovers
Mystery Sock KAL starts 2 days before the daughter’s birthday. Ugh! What? Was I thinking? Ummm… no.

February
Finish my meribo scarf?
Finish mosaic socks
Finish Farmer’s Market Bag?

March
Celtic braids socks– have yarn
Flying Spaghetti Monster – have yarn

April
knitting break? Want to finish calligraphy/illumination projects. Not that a month is enough time to finish. :\

May
Coachella – for me; have yarn
2 Mini Stockings (going to get started early!)

June
Dr Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Wristers
– in black and white; need yarn
2 Mini Stockings using leftovers

July
4 Mini stockings
Adult Mittens for me – maybe use handspun for these

August
catch up month

September
My Sweet Cogette Lace Cuffs
–steam punk-ish; two sets (undecided on yarn)
Steampunk Spats (undecided on yarn)

October
May not get much knitting done due to holiday but I will probably find something to knit on the trip to OK Probably a pair of socks for the boy or mini stockings for advent

November
Mini Stockings using leftovers

December
remaining Mini Stockings using leftovers and garland
Socks for Sam
Socks for Jessie

Day 2

Here’s the redo of what would have been the first advent stocking. Today it held bubbles, study lead on the Monroe Doctrine and an “eat out” coupon.

Sam settled on HuHot which usually I can tolerate with the help of Benedryl. Tonight however it’s taken Benedryl, GaxEx and ginger tea. Sigh. Don’t think I’ll be doing that again. :\

I’m also thinking that I won’t be able to get all 24 stockings done this year. Maybe I’ll do a few and make do with those then keep working on one a month so they’ll be ready for next year.

Found a great study tool today! Quizlet.com It links to Facebook too. A member on the Oerberg list set up a bunch of stuff there in support of Lingua Latina Familia Romana. It is free. Woot!

I am off to knit, drink tea and rest my knee.

My poor neglected blog! I’ve been assimilated into Facebook. While it fulfills those quick fixes it doesn’t lend it self well to the longer posts that I (infrequently) want to write.

Like Now!

By hook or by crook, I’m going to make this holiday special. I keep trying to do that as each holiday approaches but I keep letting things get in the way. Sometimes, I just don’t have the energy or feel like it. Excuses, excuses!

Watching “UP” gave me this gem: “Its the boring things I remember the most.” Or something like that. So I’m not going to let another holiday pass without giving it my all to make it a special family moment.

Enter the Advent Stocking Garland… I’m going to try to knit a smallish stocking for each day leading up to Christmas. Every morning I will put a new one out on the mantle with goodies for the kids inside. Sometimes there will be something special… like a “coupon” for a hot chocolate at Kaldi’s or eating out. Others it will be something we were planning on doing anyway… like get a live tree. The second one seems like a bit of a cheat to me at first. But then I remember what I’m trying to do here… make a conscious effort to make each day of the season special. Bob and I talked about going hiking with the kids to gather materials to make our own wreath for the door.

So tomorrow morning, this little stocking will go up on the mantle. In it will be a chapstick for each and a coupon to get hot chocolate at Kaldi’s. Yeah, okay so I was going there anyway to knit. To satisfy my educational urges. There will be a scrap of paper with a tid bit about Rosa Parks for some quick research.

This is actually the second stocking I knit, but I just found my cat eating the first one. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! I think it is salvageable.  My cat’s life however….

All yarn used will come from stash. I spent $10 dollars today getting cookie cutters for Thursday’s cookie tree making (again something that will be in the stocking to do). I want to keep track of the costs for next year.

Other things… I seem to have irritated the IT band in my right knee. Hiking Saturday left it mildly painful. I tried a couple of short jogs but stopped as soon as I felt a particular stiffness that generally precedes the pain. Sunday’s swim left everything else sore. Today’s Karate lesson left everything else quite fatigued.

Yes, I’ve signed up for Karate. Tonight was the first regular class… 1 1/2 hours. I was all thumbs, elbows and knees and none of them seemed to be in the right places. A couple of the other participants were talking about being “old” before class. HA! I got ‘em beat in that department. In fact I think I have many of them beat there. :\

Yeah, so I feel like am the old lady in the class. Kinda out of my comfort zone too. But the people seem to be genuine and caring. The group seems to be about more than just learning to beat the crap out of someone. It is definitely going to help me help Sam with Karate. I will enjoy practicing with him and I think I will enjoy the class more once I am more comfortable in my skin there.

I’ll close with a picture of the stocking Mirage tried to eat tonight. Sigh. She is SO glad I’m not the kind to just kick her out. HOwever, if she does this too much longer, I just might make an exception.

nearly chewed up stocking