this was a really fun one.

this was a really fun one.

and quite interesting in it's observations.

late night music

latest favourite song - carol king "up on the roof" - live version with ... is it ? james taylor?

love it.

a gem from my dd

yesterday we went to a 'read, write and share' day with the local homeschool crew.

one of the activities involved the children each drawing 5 symbols or little pictures across the top of a page. they then wrote a few sentences/ story including them. they would then swop pages with another and it continued until they had written on all the various pieces.
it was interesting to see what similarities and differences came out in interpreting the symbols.

one of the mums leading the activity talked about the beginnings of written language and heiroglyphics etc, and refered to the symbols as 'keys'.

my dd (7) moved her arms indicating something small becoming larger, and said
"they are keys. they are keys that open a box. in the box is ideas and inspiration."

gotta love it.

been a while

thought i'd make an entry since it's been a while.

currently i've been trying to write some stuff for the local homeschool group's website.
it has really brought my insecurities into sharp focus.
i have NO idea how to write anything!!!! wah!!!!!
i need to find some course or book or something to help me get away from the "i dropped out of school so i'm a dunderhead" mentality. i just need some practical stuff about how to shape an essay and what the 'rules' are.
particularly poignant since one of the things i'm writing about is how school isn't necessary to education. lol.

i'm reading an interesting book that my sister got for me. it's a publication from new zealand. i just loved the cover and title - made me all gooey inside. lol.
it's called
"He'll be OK. Growing Gorgeous Boys into Good Men." by Celia Lashlie.
i'm not going to buy it all hook line and sinker. she's rubbed me up the wrong way already with a couple of statements, but i love the main gist which is about giving boys the space to enjoy being male.

one section was about 'living in the moment', and the dangerous stuff that can be done in the spur of the moment. particularly when they despair.
here is an excerpt. describing a conversation with one young man in a school she visited.
"he acknowledged that he could understand our fears so I then asked him what he would tell despairing young men if he was one of us, the concerned adults. Without hesitation, and with extraordinary wisdom, he replied, 'You just have to keep telling us there'll be more moments.'
i think this is advice i've taken on board for my dealings with my own good man! (the 'grown up' one).

also enjoying some ursula le guinn. her turn of phrase gives me a physical thrill. some of her pseudo anthropological stuff needs diagrams to go with it (lol) but the beauty i stumble on in the midst of these stories just makes it all worth while for me.
Here's a few gems.
The Birthday of the World and other stories.
The Matter of Seggri - p65
"His authority was in fact immense, but he never stood on it. He sat down on it, comfortably, and invited you to sit down with him."

Solitude - p 141
"I said, 'I learned something in my education here. In one of the songs, it says' and I hesitated, trying to translate it into Hainish, 'it says, thinking is one way of doing, and words are one way of thinking.' "

exciting for me - a friend's husband works at the local hospital. someone left a book in the ward and they couldn't get it back to the owner, so he brought it home. so now it's MINE ALL MINE!!! lol.
yes it's "Half Blood Prince". i own it. i own it. i own it.
my dh thinks i really need to get a life if that makes me so excited. hehehe.

of course the fact is that i HAVE a life. and it's a very satisfying one. just doesn't make great copy.