Technology and Learning

I have a sort of love - hate relationship with technology.  I like to have access to it, I also very much like some parts of life void of it, or some time void of it.  I think Ranald MacCaulay's 'Technology Sabbath' talk still rings in my ears somtimes.  We don't have the latest/fanciest gadgets - there is no iAnything in our home right now, but we do have some useful gadgets and I try to look at them as tools.  There are other pieces of technology and ways that technology is used in our home that I find distracting/disruptive and we try to keep within certain boundaries. 

One thing I am very thankful for, however, is the amazing access we have through our cable internet connection and wireless network in our home to learn - espeically from videos.  To see and meet people and connect with their ideas in a way that we would never be able to - even with the perfect book.

A couple of years ago I read Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks and fell in love with this man and how his mind works and his passion for learning and creative thinking.  The boys have seen his videos on Ted Talks and I've read to them excerpts from some of his books.  When Jonathan takes Chemistry (hopefully next year) Uncle Tungsten will be required reading.

This morning while doing some reading about desks and workspaces because I've been thinking about these areas in our own home I happened across this video from another favorite use of technology around here (NPR on the radio, internet, mp3player, phone, etc.).  A chance to see Oliver Sacks in his periodic table T-shirt sitting at his desk talking about how he works - "Yes, please!"



Evidently Science Friday did a whole series of these this year called Desktop Diaries.

For Sale Shelf

I have a huge selection of books and magazines that I need to clear out.  I don't want to take these items to Goodwill, and I'm not up for a yardsale or selling on eBay right now.  So I thought I'd put a post up here - I'll make a bookmark for it to the right so it doesn't get lost admist other posts.  Maybe some of you will want or could use some of these things -- I'lll be updating it a bit at a time.

A note about prices - all prices INCLUDE shipping, if you want more than one thing I'll discount not only shipping but also the prices depending on how many items you want.  If there are several things you want email me with an offer.  If you live local and are willing to pick up items or arrange a drop off, subtract $2 from the price.  Email me at amberb@carolina.rr.com with inquiries or to make a purchase and I'll reply with instructions.

Right now I'm working on listing the BOXES of magazines that mom gave me - if you are interested in a particular magazine or issue email me because it may not be listed yet.  There are all varities of knitting magazines and also back issues of Artist's magazine and Watercolor magazine!

NEEDLEWORK MAGAZINES
Knit 'n Style $6 each
Feb 2008
Mittens, Button Closures, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
June 2008
Meg Swansen, Knitted Hems, Sock Wars III

Knitscene $6 each
Fall/Winter 2005
Bohemian - red hot folk, Crocheted circles, Fair Isle, PomPoms
Fall 2006
30 Wrap Styles, Fearless Felting, Cabling
Spring 2007
Intarsia, Edgings, Comfort Knits, Knits on the Town, Retro Specials
Fall 2008
Easy Sweaters, 12 Fall Essentials, Modern Medieval, Colorful Outerwear, Global Knits, Selling on Etsy
Fall 2010
Easy Lace Projects, Understanding Ribing, Learn to Fit your Foot - custom knit socks, metalic yarns, Hattah Fettig's super simple sweaters

PieceWork $10 each
March/April 2003
Mosaick Patchwork Quilting, 18 Color Knit Vest, Crewel Embroidery, Beaded Evening Bag
September/October 2008
Annual Quilt Issue, Jane Austen's Patchwork Coverlet, Native American Star Quilts, Knitting Traditions of Pioneer Women, Knit Edgings
November/December 2008
Nancy Bush's Norwegian Wedding Gloves, Zigzagging Rags to Rugs, Baby Soakers, Holiday Gift Issue
January/February 2009
Alice Starmore's Wee Baby Bonned, Andean Figure Purses, Knit a Sock in A Sock, Eleanor Roosevelt, Estonian Mitten, Portuguese Knitting
March/April 2009
Textiles for Historical Reenactment, Civil War Socks, Ewardian Monograms, 17th Century Undershirt, Smocked Baby Gown, Knitting During the Civil War
May/June 2009
Understanding Lace - Knots and Loops, Russian Lace Shawl, Chantilly Lace Tatting, Italian Needlelace
July/August 2009
Travel Issue, Tree of Life Mittens, New England Embroidered Quilt, Ceremonial Clooths, Gifts of the Sultan

Heigh - Ho, Heigh - Ho!

Dear Nana,

Well, we pulled it off again - another year of homemade costumes!  This year they did most everything themselves...I only had to make one thing - a beard for Nathan and help with his stuffing.  (David made James's nametag!)  We did buy some slime and an axe...shh...

Nathan has kept us all laughing - he loved his beard which I made while he was sleeping and kept trying it on him to make sure it fit. The boys taught him to sing heigh-ho, heigh, ho.  He makes a good dwarf don't you think?

Joseph pretty much created his own costume with only a little help.  He picked this hat and a holster out of his Daddy's closet and borrowed a bandana from Jonathan.  I loaned him my poncho and he was very happy to be a real cowboy...

Not a great picture of Jesse - we were in a hurry to get to the parade and he forgot his magnifying glass, but he was Sherlock!  Don't you love his idea of wearing two hats?  (I'm sure you recognize the scarf.)

Professor bent made yet another appearance.  I'm not sure who was responsible for the hairdo this time - Catherine or grandmom, but it was great.  He had a testube full of slime.  I think he's James's official alter-ego!

Jonathan was a big help in getting them ready and he and Catherine walked with them in the parade.  Jonathan helped when they trick - or treated down mainstreet.  He carried Nathan on his shoulders after a while because he got so tired.  Wish you could have seen them in person.  They had a great time in the parade and enjoyed everyone's encouragement for their creative costumes!

Here they are with Catherine.  They had such a good time with her.

Now they are outside enjoying the beautiful sunshine and cold wind.  The leaves smell so good!!

Love to you and Papa,

Amber and the Boys

Why haven't I blogged? (Well, not ALL my days have been like this...)

6:30 am wake up.  Eat a bowl of cereal because I'm starved.  Go to Food Lion for another box of raisin bran because I know what kind of morning it's going to be and the needed pots and griddle are still dirty because of the kind of day yesterday was.  I think about washing them using them and washing them again and grab the keys - Food Lion is just 3 minutes away!  Call C to prepare her that I might not be able to carpool - Nathan has poison ivy around his eye.  Home and urge boys out of pjs and in front of cereal.  Time to start chores and lessons.  Call the doctor because it's now 8:02.  Wipe down the bathroom because guests are coming and Joseph is the one whose been cleaning it all week!  Wipe down the cleared table, urge a couple of boys to finish chores and swap out laundry. 

Take Nathan to Dr. for poison ivy around his eye, drop of his perscription at pharmacy.  Drive home, sweep and steam mop floor while little ones color themselves red on the screened porch.  Clean them up (sort-of - these markers are not washable).  Start baking cookies and wiping down the kitchen between pans.  Biology carpool guys arrive and I find them desks.  Check the cookies  - they are sticking to cookie sheet.  Try to have a history tutorial while the littles have tears with one another upstairs.  Suddenly realize it's time to leave for biology and no one has eaten lunch yet!

I stash the cookie batter in the fridge while they all dig out their lunch bags.  The biology guys finish the crumbs of their lunch and cookies on the way to class (I'll grab the little ones a hamburger on the way to the library) and are walking up the drive way at 11:30 (that's when class starts).  Drive to pick up steroids from pharmacy and have to wait 10 minutes even though it was supposed to have been ready in an hour.  Give Nathan his steroids in the car.  Wait a long time in another drive-through to buy the littles hamburgers to go with their bottled water that I keep in the car. 

By the time we get across the street there is no time left for the library so I dry tears as we walk into Nathan's speech therapy appointment (he's still carrying his hamburger).  The boys sit in the waiting room without their games and things to occupy them for an hour - all they have is the bag of library books they had planned to exchange for new ones.  They wait by themselves as I go in with Nathan.  They were very well mannered and patient in spite of it all and Jesse read the same book again, and then again.  I give thanks that those tense sibling moments of the morning seem to have passed.  And try not to worry that most of them are red at least in patches.

Nathan's appointment goes well in spite of the fact that his Benadryl makes him sleepy and I was told the steroid would make him hyper.  The insurance company still hasn't responded to the claim forms the therapist filed so as soon as I get home I have to call them because it's been more than 4 weeks now.  We are out of the office at exactly 1:30 which is what time biology is finished.

Drive to biology to pick up Jonathan and pick him up at the end of the driveway at 1:47.  Drop Jonathan off at home so he can work on lab reports and grammar.  He's learned that if he doesn't keep working after co-op and biology classes it's near impossible to get all of his work done even if he works at night and on the weekends. 

We head to the library.  Last night when planning Jesse's weekly assignments I look up the next book for his literature class.  Of course it's the only one of a whole stack of books that he's reading that we don't have a copy of and  he has to start his reading tomorrow in order to finish by Tuesday.  We ordered it 3 weeks before co-op began but it's still back ordered.  Thankfully, when I checked the library website they had a copy - but it was at the Matthews branch.  I live in University - close to a 30 minute drive!!  We hop on 485 and drive straight in to a blinding deluge.  We arrive in Matthews where the truck dies three times while we're trying to get through the red lights.  We make it to the library without getting totally soaked in spite of the fact that none of us have rain coats.  I head straight to the bathroom.  This pregnant Mommy can't remember the last time she went, but it was way too long ago. 

Matthews library is lovely and we all settle in.  They have great book selections and James loves their kids science section.  At our library he always ask me to take him to the big science shelf (the adult section).  We found some old favorites including Cranberry Thanksgiving before all the copies get checked out and an Alfie book that our library doesn't have a copy of.  The boys are very cheerful - after their long day they got their library time after all.  We sit around a table and I examine each of their piles, weeding inappropriate titles, and paring down the books till each of them are able to manage their own piles.  I pass around library cards and they go to the desk and wait patiently in line while a real person checks out their books instead of a computer.  We stack the books in the truck while they run up the ramp and around the Chamber of Commerce into the little red caboose.  They each climb up into the high seats to look out the window and we pile in the truck amidst the books to head home.  (It feels strange to have one son too old for all of this - old enough to be home alone writing a lab report!)  The pace of the day is slowly beginning to wind down, but so am I!

I have peaches to slice and freeze but need to stop and get freezer bags.  I decide to buy another roll of parchment that I have run out of before finishing the rest of the cookie batter so we don't have to deal with cookies that stick to the pan and burn.  While I'm plannig my list at the store I look back at these boys who've been carted here and there ALL DAY.  I make a quick call to Jonathan and he's made good progress so I drop them off at the driveway before heading to the store alone.  They joyfully splash inside happy to be home.  While at the store I decide that the best plan for dinner is Stoffer's lasagna and pick up a loaf of french bread for toast.  I make another mental note to try and get something else in the freezer besides meatloaf and carry the bags to the truck.

Jonathan hears me pull in the driveway and rounds up all the little ones to carry in the groceries and they put things away.  It's so nice when they are thoughtful!  Relief.  Pop in the lasagna and it's 4:50 - just enough time to call the insurance company.  They haven't received any claims and have no records of any of Nathan's visits to speech therapy so a call to his doctors office get's slated to first thing in the morning.  They boys are watching Richard Scarry and I sit down to check my email while lasagna is in the oven.  There are lots and lots.  Sigh.  I put up my feet and just 'Do the Next Thing'. 

I call about a van that David sent me a Craigslist post to check into.  It's big enough and actually within our budget and looks like it's in good condition.  There aren't many details.  So I call and Hector answers.  He uses it as a work truck.  How many miles does it have?  He bought it four years ago and hasn't had any problems with it.  I ask again.  It had almost 100,000 miles on it when he boutght it, but it runs great.  He doesn't really want to sell it but he's going back to his home country.  He asks why I need it then says he's taken out the seats but knows someone who has some in storage.  He can drive it over to let us look at it - he's only a couple of miles away.  I ask again, How many miles?  He finally says 330,000!  But they are all highway miles he says this several times and it still runs great - he drives it Chicago and back twice a week!!  Oh, Hector, good luck selling that van!!

David is home before I know it and we've had dinner and talked.  I'm again sitting with my feet up.  As soon as the little ones go down for bed I think I'll start on some of the peaches.  Now I think its time to try and squeeze in a couple of those library books amidst listening to Joseph's very first whistles!  One more mental note to crank the truck early in the morning and try to locate the source of that vacuum leak that we hear under the hood.  Then whether I can find it or not brave a call to C&S to ask Jeff if they can try just one more time to find it...

Morning Work

I have not washed the dishes, made the bed, swept, done any laundry or any other 'work' and yet I have decided my morning work is done.  The boys have been away since Tuesday - in the mountains with Grandmom and Grandad - and we have been working hard here on some large projects.  I was ready this morning - my last morning in a silent house for awhile - for a different kind of work...

First thing before breakfast I decided it was harvest time.  I have promised the boys some pickled beets, and these carrots are headed to the freezer.  The last of the chard and the first of the veggies are being chopped into some stirfry for dinner tonight.  We were so happy to pick the first eggplant we didn't wait for it to get any bigger!

After breakfast I picked another bountiful harvest meant to be a feast for the eyes only.  I filled the container by the front door with a bit of everything blooming in the garden now.  So this is my garden in miniature.  (I wish my beds looked this full.)

The only thing not represented in this container are my Mama Williams's garlic.  The boys and I love to watch it bloom every year.  When the blossoms pop out of their skins they sit on top of the blooms like little hats.  This is what they looked like a couple of weeks ago:

I brought them inside this morning because they were beginning to fall over:

I also planted some basil where the carrots were harvested - better late than never - and watered a few things from the rain barrell.  I guess now it's time to do some of those other things...

Today's Harvest

This is our first carrot success.  This is a Nantes Short 'N Sweet variety.  They are definately short - we'll let you know if they are sweet.  Now to divide 3 small carrots 7 ways.  It's a good thing there are plenty more growing - we have 3 successive plantings and this is the first of our 'early' crop planted way back in February!  The boys want to pickle the beets, but these are going in the oven tonight.

Illustration Friday

Once - long ago I posted an illustration here for Illustration Friday.  Illustrating is something I am still interested in when there is time.  I don't know how long it's been (2 and a half years I checked) since I made this first post.  Anyway, I've done another, and made a special place to put them here incase there are more.  I'll post a link here if any more are done...