Wordless Wednesday: Natural History Museum, Second Floor

Awesome Geography: Ghana and Nigeria

After a hiatus for holidays, sickness, and trips out of town, we are back in the saddle in West Africa.

For our art activity we made these cool flexible fish.  There are a ton of tutorials online. Fish are a big part of diets along the coasts and rivers all over West Africa, and they show up in art of the area.

Our active activity was Fire on the Mountain. This is a kids' game that seems to be played all over Africa, and has migrated to other continents.  Fun and easy to set up!

Our snack was Puff Puff, a kind of fried yeast raised dough that, well, puffs!  Totally as delicious as it sounds.

Leena is Driving!

 Leena went for her driver's test last week.

Was she nervous?

Maybe a little...

Going places!

But she passed with flying colors on her first try!

That makes four kids driving independently, and it means SIX drivers in the house!!!

Poem of the Week: The Splendour Falls

from The Princess: The Splendour Falls on Castle Walls

By Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The splendour falls on castle walls

 And snowy summits old in story:

 The long light shakes across the lakes,

  And the wild cataract leaps in glory.

Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,

Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.

         O hark, O hear! how thin and clear,

                And thinner, clearer, farther going!

         O sweet and far from cliff and scar

                The horns of Elfland faintly blowing!

Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying:

Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.

         O love, they die in yon rich sky,

                They faint on hill or field or river:

         Our echoes roll from soul to soul,

                And grow for ever and for ever.

Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,

And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying.

HT: Poetry Foundation

Wordless Wednesday: Somewhat Winter

Thursday vs. Friday

Poem of the Week: The Double Fortress

The Double Fortress

Time, wouldst thou hurt us? Never shall we grow old.
Break as thou wilt these bodies of blind clay,
Thou canst not touch us here, in our stronghold,
Where two, made one, laugh all thy powers away.


Though ramparts crumble and rusty gates grow thin,
And our brave fortress dwine to a hollow shell,
Thou shalt hear heavenly laughter, far within,
Where, young as Love, two hidden lovers dwell.


We shall go clambering up our twisted stairs
To watch the moon through rifts in our grey towers.
Thou shalt hear whispers, kisses, and sweet prayers
Creeping through all our creviced walls like flowers.


Wouldst wreck us, Time? When thy dull leaguer brings
The last wall down, look heavenward. We have wings.

Alfred Noyes
HT: Poem Hunter

Wordless Wednesday: Natural History Museum, First Floor

Yet More Random Things

 I don't think I've mentioned it, but the Emperor had minor foot surgery in January... and again in February when the first surgery didn't work.  I think he's doing better. At the very least, he certainly looks dapper with a cane!  He's supposed to be all healed up in a few weeks.



Completely unrelated, how amazing is it that Klenda can copy a Michelangelo sketch in his style, and also sketch herself and her sister in a completely different style on the same day?

Leena (who backed the big honking van into this tiny parking space perfectly on the first try) is taking her driver's test for her license next week!   I think she'll do great, but prayers would be appreciated!

I'm trying to stretch my brain around the concept that we will have 6 drivers in the house...


And, speaking of stretching my brain, I've been working on a new science class for younger kids: Paleontology!!

It's been super fun to work on, but tricky to  work out how much to cover and in what order.  I started out planning it sequentially, like: this is how life on Earth developed, and then realized that, while perfect for a high school class, it was way too much detail for the age group (7-13 year olds).

On the plus side, I think I've figured out a hands on way to explain radiometric dating to young kids.  It involves chocolate.  I'll be posting those classes as I do them starting in March.





And, lastly, one of the great joys of feeding birds in the winter, is finding your yard covered in teeny tiny bird footprints, along with the occasional little squirrel prints.

This and That

 I love January and February because they tend to be the quietest time of the year: after the holidays, but before things start up again in earnest.

So excited!

Unlike summer, we don't plan a ton of activities since we know we're bound to get sick, and when we do, we can just hunker down and rest.

Near the end of January, Leena and Zorg started up some new college classes including Music Theory, which Leena loves, and Public Speaking, which she does not.

Zorg, meanwhile, has been really enjoying both Philosophy and Business Management.

They are actually also taking a home school economics class from a Catholic U professor of Business Ethics who also happens to be a fantastic and in demand speaker.  He is also my friend Shelli's husband, and Zorg's friend Eli's dad!!

 Can I just say that having an affectionate and clever bird around is more fun than I ever would have guessed.

He sings a wide variety of songs, usually to the person who taught him that particular song.  He also has learned a few words, mostly "hello" and "pretty bird."

I can't whistle, or even sing very well, so he likes to sit on my shoulder and jabber, jabber, jabber, and then laugh!

Just in case I ever wonder what I sound like...

In other news, thanks to all who prayed for my dad, he's doing much better!

With amazing irony, the good news is that he has bone marrow cancer.

We had thought that the Parkinson's he's been fighting for nearly 30 years was finally winning.  Nope, he was actually extremely anemic because his bone marrow had stopped making new cells.

In case that still doesn't sound like good news, the hematologist was able to get his bone marrow working again, and told us that his form of cancer is extremely slow growing and they should be able to manage it comfortably for a decade or two.

My sister, who had come home to help out, just went back to North Dakota last week.

Speaking of which, yes, it's been shockingly cold this past week, down in single digits (-15 C) with wind chills below zero (-25 C), and yes, the people from Northern North Dakota are laughing at the rest of the country.  To them, cold is only worth mentioning when it passes 40 below (mostly because -40 F = -40 C), and only really remarkable at -60.

Poem of the Week: Candlemas

Candlemas

The Mother brings her Candle
To the Temple of Desire,
In wax of flesh and weakness
But soul-wick full of fire!
A light to pierce the darkness,
Redemption for our race,
The gift of expiation
Before our Father's face!
A flame of contradiction
To tyrant, Gentile, Jew,
But holocaust for ages,
Each dawn will see anew!
O take your Candle, Mary,
Too soon you'll suffer loss
In Love's great conflagration
On the altar of the Cross!

– Francesca, Franciscan Magazine, February 1960

HT: U Dayton 
Image HT: National Candle Association