Back from Hiatus, I think.

So it's been utterly upside-down and cross-ways here on the Home Front.

Plus side, minor repairs are a lower priority.

The holidays liked to have killed me, but after this many years, I've managed to survive. Down side, I didn't see my siblings or their kids for the holidays which is a MAJOR bummer. I miss my brother and my sister, terribly. I did get to see parents, cook good meals and enjoy time with our friend. Up side? I also didn't murder anyone.

Nor did I lead any parades.

It's been a wild roller coaster in the school department as well. We have been tangling with the school both due to our India trip and for gifted testing. Well the India thing has been decidedly easier, but thanks to Husband's knowledge of The System, we've taken a "26 week observation and assessment period" and made it into a "We're sending you the paperwork and will have him tested as soon as possible.

Just waiting on their reply now.

And who knows, if Junior was in regular school out of the house, I'd probably do the whole house twice a week AND have time for my hobbies.

Didn't you know I was a gamer?

Speaking of hobbies, I've been picking up a new skill: Gregg shorthand. Technically, if you want to get down to it, it's a bit anachronistic to the time period, but then, I also enjoy my computer, my bread machine, dishwasher, and a laundry list of medical advancements. Besides having always wanted to learn shorthand, it will help me with other tasks. It's an all around useful skill. Especially considering all the meetings that we have had with Junior's teachers it might become incredibly important to have detailed notes.

As for my hipster hobbies of churning butter and baking my own bread, I've only bought one loaf of bread in the months since buying the bread machine. The husband is enjoying choosing his own slice thickness, and his ability to cut it by himself has drastically improved. (If it didn't I'd have to keep doing it for him, and that would interrupt his quiet morning. Downside, the first bread machine couldn't keep up with us. I just got another $20 machine off of craigslist. A cute guy with a great truck didn't need his anymore. That's the great thing about bread machines. Most people buy them thinking that they'll do what I'm doing.

Because this is useful.

In pet issues, it seems that one of our guinea pigs will likely die this year. To be fair they are rather old, and we've taken good care of them. These will be our last guinea pigs. Their corner will probably be filled with bookshelves and maybe a work-desk for me.

It's not all this kind of glory.

Last but not least, there IS actually been some pre-spring cleaning. Every year, we promise that we'll declutter the Home Front.

The problem comes when the regular use surfaces are not just cluttered, but just dirty. Who cares about organizing the kitchen when the regular dishes aren't done? So I have re-instituted my one room a day clean, which works very well for our family. In addition to this, I've put the husband to work, and the kid, which makes my life easier.

Your Nagus is proud of you.

So everyone has their check-lists. It's been working pretty well. Though this week we're catching up after we all took a snow day. I'm also introducing a new "Friend" of mine, the Pentopus of Alien Doubt. You know how sometimes you read something or someone says something to you, and suddenly you doubt things that make perfect sense? As in, you start to believe the conspiracy theorist. Well, here's the reason.

"You don't see anything!"

...

Shut up, Pentopus.

Inconquerable!

Okay, let's get this post started off right:

Nothing can contain it!

Well, a few things have happened over the past little bit, so it's going to take some brainpower this morning to sort it into a pseudo-coherent post.

More or less...

Most of our recent conversations have been in congratulations of our good friend Sid, who is getting married in may. We're very happy for him, and as his close friends, we are invited to the wedding, and of course we'll stand there with him...

Oh, and it'll be on the other side of the world. In India.

Multiple hands optional.

While I'm going to totes rock a sari, I always thought that I would, I don't know... slide into international travel. You know, start with Canada or Mexico, places closer to home, then maybe to another country whose culture is more like my own before I expand my palette to include wildly different countries. Oh well, dive in, enjoy, and take my courage, my cheerfulness, and my resolve with me!

I'm carefully moving from "terrified that I will be kidnapped and sold into international slavery" to "I might actually survive this!"

Cautious Optimism... or an early spring.

I am currently bearing up in the tradition of the Home Front. Just contacted the state Gifted Association about Junior and found out that there is a gifted testing facility that the recommend and it's just down the road. It's not cheap, but it's nearby.

Just a few more equations, and I'll be able to

summon my own waffles!

I manage to tat here and there to keep my sanity. As the crafters among you should know (that should be most of you, if I know my readership), there are few better ways to keep your sanity while holding up the world.

Multitasking is key.

This isn't made much easier by a pair of bra-line bruised ribs. Apparently the bra recommended by Oprah doesn't really hold up to a work out created by Zeek. Between incline sit ups, lateral raises on my stomach, and jumping jacks, I am remembering why I wear a soft sports bra instead of one that actually provides a ton of support.

"Okay, maybe an under wire was a bad idea."

Once I'm healed up, though, I'm going to try again. This is an amazing workout!

This man is ten years older

than my parents.

We never give up, here on the Home Front. Today is laundry day, and I will be washing, drying, fluffing and folding. The boy will be helping me with my grocery shopping, and I will have a nice clean house by the end of the day.

Hope springs eternal.

Detective work

So, as you know, I've been hunting down the cause of my household allergies. I thought at first it might be the carpet.

 

Anyone would be allergic to this.

Vacuuming took pretty good care of that. I thought it might be dust mites in the bed.

I can feel them crawling on me...

And whispering.

Flipped the bed, treated with vinegar AND vacuumed. Then I thought that it could be the air filter.

 You're supposed to change these twice a year, right?

Even the dog got blamed.

Et tu, Bruce?

Eventually, I came to my senses and remembered that like any mystery, you have to put the pieces together. Each of my suspects had the means, some had the motive, they all certainly had opportunity. But then I heard a little bird whisper a vital clue.

Still a better--

No, no, that's not right...

Still a better love story than Twilight.

What I had not considered is that our little friends not only had returned, but they'd torn holes in the duct work. The filter going from the intake was all well and good for keeping the stuff out of the AC unit, but then when the air was blowing to the vents, it was picking up all sorts of crap from under the house, from shredded insulation, to dust, mold, probably other stuff.

Use your imagination.

I've never been allergic to dust or dander before (or other stuff), but what I am allergic to, what will get me every time, is mold. I could tell you horror stories about it from when I was a kid, and all the fun places that mold can hide. It likes dark places, and when it's near by, you can feel it.

Is that an allegory in your pocket?

Or are you just... hey, where are you going?

This is why we will be hiring professionals to refurbish our duct work with proper cut-to-size solid ducts, and different professionals to remove our unwanted house guests. In the meantime, we'll be adding filters to all the vents so at least I can breathe. Or since I'm the only one bothered by it, there are alternatives.

We call it, "Working the Problem."

This isn't my first go-round with the idea. I'm also allergic to smokers in one of the smokiest states (Tennessee is 8th in smokers per capita). I think of it as a fashion statement with benefits.

Swarovski crystals make everything better.

Regular Postings are not Regular.

I never realized, when I started this blog, how much of my time would be taken up sitting at the computer and NOT doing something personal. There's no checking G+ and few spare hours to do anything at all BUT click buttons on the school website. Not precisely what I imagined, but at least Junior's getting some sort of a state required education, and not being yelled out of the room. So due to this unforeseen change, it's put a dent in my ability to post. It's as if I got a full time job that doesn't pay.

In today's news of the Home Front, I made a deal with Junior that if he helped me recover our living room from the Blitz that was Halloween and the first month of school, that I'd give him a pass on today's chore chart. You see, my mother taught me a lesson many many years ago, a lesson I take to my heart: If you've got kids, put them to work. Hey, Junior lives in this house, too!

Normally, he has his regular chores to do. I have them listed out with a chart, as well as clear rules. Our system is this: If he does his chore with a good attitude, he gets a sticker on that chore, if he does it but has a bad attitude, he gets a check. If he doesn't do it? An X. An x on any chore means he gets no payment. Mostly checks means he gets his dollar for the day, but no point. Mostly stickers, and he gets a dollar and a point that he can save up for some special rewards like eating out or buying off a choice of chores.

Today, however, he earned his dollar and a point, because he helped me get the living room back up to scratch and was a terrific helper! Maybe tomorrow we'll lounge around in there and do our work. Maybe tomorrow, we'll also get the kitchen cleaned up and I can be proud of our home front again!

Wiggle Breaks

So I'm writing today while Junior takes a "Wiggle Break" in his homeschooling. (I swear, this is not a home school blog. I swear it!) It is week three, things have reached a sort of "order" we just have to keep plodding along. Burning through the curriculum is actually helping us, but because it's all boring review, we have to take a few wiggle breaks through the day where he can sing to himself ("DOO DOO DOO!"), shake his strut, and decompress. I keep them to about every two hours or so, and that seems to be working.

Slightly less wiggly than Junior.

Since we have no online teacher meetings today, our Halloween Schedule is our own. This is great because the Home Front has not been exactly the bastion of sanity. I'm behind on almost everything because between being upset about money troubles (that I make none), and trying to get Boy Scout patches sewn on, costumes made, and every thing else, well...

Situation Normal.

I've got a pile of laundry that's reaching my height in a corner. It's clean, but I'm behind on folding. I've got a kitchen that looks like a greasy dinner bomb went off, a kitchen table that looks like a school bomb went off, and our larder is running a tad bare.

Oh, and my palm pilot, where I keep all my shopping information, and months of data? Crashed. Hard. I lost everything.

Go home, Plane, you're drunk.

Rule #1 on the Home front, though. Never panic. Never. You could be actually on fire, but there will be no screaming, no running around. We deal with problems head on.

Also applies to palms.

Today, I have to work on decorating for All Hallow's Eve. On that note, I've decided that I need to join the neighborhood association and start campaigning for a better solution to Halloween, one that I'd seen in a dream, twice. First and foremost, spooky is great, but our neighborhood was laid out by drunken hobos on a five day meth bender. There are few streetlights, and fewer sidewalks, not to mention many, many front yard gates.

Trick or... Treat?

Do you enter a front yard gate? Usually those strike me as good signs to move on. Well, our haul has been less than spectacular the past couple of years mostly because of these reasons, so I had an idea to use the big local track/soccer field as a sort of massive neighborhood Trunk or treat, only without cars, and maybe with a sorta party in the soccer field area. Basically, we would be getting together as neighbors in a safe place.

And just because it's Halloween, I'll leave you with a picture that's not scary at all:

Not even a little.

Fighting on the Home Front! Hidden Gems in your Refrigerator!

What's for dinner, Mrs. Jones? Leftovers? That's excellent! You've been paying attention to what Uncle Sam has been telling us:

What's the matter? Ah, the family can get pretty bored of three days of roast. Well, I suppose few of us would blame them, but let's go look at Mrs. Smith, her family never seems bored! She's serving up a wonderful casserole tonight, my my, that smells good!

Mrs. Smith, what is your secret? Oh, there IS a secret hiding in that dish, isn't there. With rice, crackers or breadcrumbs, white sauce or gravy, a little meat and some fresh vegetables, and maybe even a dash of cheese if you can spare it, and you've turned leftover night from a sad affair to a gala event in taste and thrift! Just layer it all in together, bake in the oven until heated through.

Our friends across the pond remind us:

Now, let's not forget those little ones at Halloween. For those craving sweets at home, don't forget that many recipes for spice cakes and honey buns take less sugar than they used to, and a spooky and fabulous time can be had when you're not filling up bags.

Also, let's look at what we already have on hand for those costumes. Just like our food, we must save the cotton and other fabrics for our boys overseas. Mrs. Smith has adapted an old dress and a pair of Mr. Smith's trousers that are too worn to wear, and now Junior makes a scary ghoul, without wasting precious cloth.

Keep 'em flying, Mrs. Smith!

Fighting on the Home Front! Ready for Winter

It's not quite time for Halloween tricks and treats, but a chill is in the air in our little neighborhood. Mrs. Jones is in her favorite spot, curled under a blanket and listening to music on the Wireless.

Mrs. Smith is--Say, where IS Mrs. Smith?

Why here she is! Out back in the garden. While fresh bread rises in the kitchen, she's working hard to finish out the summer victory harvest. Anything left, she'll get into cans or on the table this week, but what about the ground? No, our Mrs. Smith would never let all that hard work go to waste!

She's already checked her copy of the Old Farmer's Almanac for what to do to keep her garden healthy through the long winter months. They've been in print since 1792, so they know their business. Not only that, but there's a lot more great information to help you through the year. Now that's a national treasure!

(These suggestions have been adapted from the page. Our thanks to the Old Farmer's Almanac for their contributions to the American household through the many years of their service!)

Let's check back on Mrs. Smith!

Here she is checking the carrots. We'll leave those in the ground, along with garlic, parsnips, and radishes. Here's plenty of good mulch to keep the ground warm and some tall stakes so we know where the rows are.

Beans, Tomatoes, Squash and Pea plants are checked for any diseases. The good ones are thrown into the compost, the bad ones are burned first.

She's tilling up any insect nests that might have decided to make their homes there, and also sowing some mulch, compost and fertilizer as needed into the soil.

Don't forget those cover crops. Mrs. Jones is using pea plants as a cover, but she won't be picking these peas! Just dig them under in the fall and you'll be ready to go in the spring as soon as the last frost has passed.

Once again, a little hard work sure can save you some trouble when it's time for the spring planting. Why, Mrs. Smith, I bet you'll double your yield! And every vegetable you don't have to buy is one more for our boys overseas to eat good healthy meals and keep up their strength for the long road ahead!

Keep 'em flying, Mrs. Smith, and Old Farmer's Almanac!