Weavings: January 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Blythes are Quoted by L.M. Montgomery

Before I give my Teaser I wanted to share a little synopsis of The Blythes are Quoted:

The Blythes Are Quoted is the last work of fiction by the internationally celebrated author of Anne of Green Gables. Intended by L.M. Montgomery to be the ninth volume in her bestselling series featuring her beloved heroine Anne – and delivered to her publisher on the very day she died – it has never before been published in its entirety.

In this story "A Dream Comes True" the main character, Anthony Fingold really feels he hasn't had any adventure happen in his life and he is determined he isn't trading in his nightshirt for pyjamas! Anthony comes to realize that sometimes having our dreams come true isn't all that we thought it would be.

I have included a few more teasers than normal, but these lines just tickled my funny bone! Here they are:

Did she thing ginger cookies a substitute for impassioned longing and mad, wild, glamorous adventures? Then she added insult to injury by remarking that Carter Flagg was offering bargains in pyjamas! p. 176

And had William Tell ever worn pyjamas? Not very likely. p. 178

He often told himself he would be willing to die any death you could think of if he could but once have touched her beautiful hand. He never dared ask himself the question...Would he have been willing to have worn pyjamas for her sake? p. 184

If you are interested in this story and can't find The Blythes are Quoted this story is also available in The Road to Yesterday by L.M. Montgomery. It is a shorter version of The Blythes Are Quoted.

Friday, January 27, 2012

The Homeschool Mother's Journal - January 23-27, 2012

I found Delani eating her snack laid out on the table!

In my life this week…
Monday started off with a bang! Delani woke up early Monday morning and I knew something was wrong with her tooth. She has been complaining off and on for the last week. My husband and I took her to the dentist to find out that one of her front teeth which had been crowned in November had an abscess on it. He recommended we pull the tooth. My husband were both kinda of stunned and I ended making the appointment. After we left my husband was pretty upset and after talking it over we went back to the dentist and asked about other options. It looks like we are going to try a baby root canal which has a 70% of working. We both disliked that fact that if the tooth was pulled she would have to run around for the next 5 years with one tooth missing in the front. If she was older we wouldn't have any qualms about pulling it, since a five year missing a front tooth doesn't look strange, but a 3 year old?

On Tuesday we got up early and took my mom to the airport for her trip home. On the way home we had to stop to get the boys haircuts.

Wednesday it was back to real life and school work. The kids did pretty good though we are all tired.

On Friday, we got up and headed to writing class. I had had a terrible nights sleep and by the time I got home I had a horrible headache and felt terrible. I did get enough energy to get some groceries at Walmart, but when we sat down to eat dinner my headache intensified and I started to get cold. Eventually, I started running a fever. I guess I have come down with a flu bug and am spending the evening in bed drinking lots of fluids, blogging, and watching DVDs. I'm am also going to just lay around tomorrow and hope I get to feeling better. I am just praying this doesn't pass through the house!

In our homeschool this week…
We had to head back into a normal routine. We have finished up Week 18, which when I had scheduled it I had made it an easier week, so I think that turned out well.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
Well, this really isn't a tip or advice, but it sure made me laugh!

I have been trying to work on upping Chantry's reading to get him more independent. Today I told him he had to listen to the next chapter in Then There Were Five (Melendys Family) and then to read the next chapter in Three Tales of My Father's Dragon. I turned around to find the audio CD playing and him curled in his dad' chair reading in Three Tales of My Father's Dragon. I had to inform him that wouldn't work. He was really bummed!

I am inspired by…
Caleb really got into listening to The Three Musketeers (Classic Collection (Brilliance Audio)) by Alexandre Dumas. He can sometimes drag his free reads on for a long time, but not this one!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
Destini had a piano lesson this week and then we went to Caleb's writing class, which Destini will be joining and getting some tutoring, too.

My favorite thing this week was…
My mom helped me with purchasing a new serger! A Baby Lock Imagine--no killing myself threading the serger. Also, no more excuses for not wanting to sew!

Questions/thoughts I have…
I'm in a quandary...which Shakespeare play should we do next? We have done Twelfth Night (No Fear Shakespeare), The Taming of the Shrew (No Fear Shakespeare) and Much Ado About Nothing (No Fear Shakespeare). I think I would like to do one more comedy before heading into the dramatics and tragedies for Destini's benefit.

Things I’m working on…
Trying to get better!

I’m reading…

I’m cooking…
-Potato soup
-Tacos
-Pork roast with mashed potatoes

I’m grateful for…
My husband who was willing to go back and talk to the dentist. He HATES doing things like this, but he did!

I’m praying for…
Delani...next Thursday they are going to attempt the baby root canal with oral sedation. If that doesn't work then we have to wait until April to put her under an anesthesia, which would raise the chances of losing the tooth altogether.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

A beautiful rainbow that my mom and I spied.

My new serger!

See what others are doing over at The Homeschool Chick.

Book Review: Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery

Book Description:

Anne's children were almost grown up, except for pretty, high-spirited Rilla. Rilla wasn't yet fifteen, and she was still looking forward to her first dance and her first kiss. But undreamed-of challenges awaited irrepressible Rilla when the happy world of Ingleside was endangered by a fearful far-off war. Rilla must join her courageous family in a dramatic struggle that would change her life and leave Rilla no longer a girl, but a proud woman.

My thoughts today are going to more from a historical point of view rather than an "Anne" point of view:

I enjoy every book in the Anne Series by L.M. Montgomery--from Anne of Green Gables to Rilla of Ingleside. I have read them over and over and enjoyed them, but the story of Rilla is told from a little bit different view than the other "Anne" books.

I have to admit that the first several time I read through Rilla of Ingleside I didn't quite get the "whole picture" in relation to history. Several years ago I was listening to the audio when I realized what a portrait of World War I it presented. It hit me full force what the Canadians and others endured. I don't think that this story can be better explained than by L.M. Montgomery herself:

In my latest story, “Rilla of Ingleside,” I have tried, as far as in me lies, to depict the fine and splendid way in which the girls of Canada reacted to the Great War – their bravery, patience and self-sacrifice. The book is theirs in a sense in which none of my other books have been: for my other books were written for anyone who might like to read them: but “Rilla” was written for the girls of the great young land I love, whose destiny it will be their duty and privilege to shape and share.

– L.M. Montgomery, from “How I Became a Writer,” 1921

Since that moment, Rilla of Ingleside has become one of my favorite books. Yes, the story is at times incredibly sad, but it is also an awesome story of courage and patriotism. Rilla of Ingleside is historical fiction at its finest and to make it even better it is filled with L.M. Montgomery's incredible writing ability. It has her poetic flair, her wonderful insight she displays with children, and her charming and often humorous character sketches of the people of Ingleside and the Glen. If you have lost interest in Anne in the earlier books, don't be afraid to pick up Rilla of Ingleside . It is a gem of a story!
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On a side note:
When I went to write this post, I found out that a special gift edition of Rilla of Ingleside has recently been released in hardback and paperback. This copy was edited by Benjamin Lefebvre and Andrea McKenzie. Here is a synopsis of what it includes:

This special gift edition includes Montgomery’s complete, restored, and unabridged original text as well as a thoughtful introduction from the editors, a detailed glossary, maps of Europe during the war, and war poems by L.M. Montgomery and her contemporary Virna Sheard.

A copy of this book has gone to the top of my list. My main reason: the maps! Weird, I know, but I think this is a great idea. Many times in the book many of the battles were listed. Since I'm a little deficient in my knowledge about World War I, there were moments I was in the dark.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Teaser Tuesday

Love on the Line by Deeanne Gist

All that magnificence, he thought, wasted on a woman who had no more sense than a grasshopper. A woman who cried over a few dead birds, but had no qualms about knocking around a tomcat. p. 61