not so

Generally when I visit Kristen Its tradition to spend Tuesdays together. We hit up Starbucks to read, eat delicious snacks and attend her bible study. This last outing proved quite amusing. We played one of my favorite writing games and this is the result.

                                                                The Cursed Climb

Gwendelith stubbed her toe against the cobbles and mumbled a couple of choice bits from Ecclesiastes that would have to do in lew of curses. The nuns were about and they broaded no filth from the mouth of their ward. If only the nunnery had a bit more spice and color, adventure and romance. She had tried to embrioder a scene of spended slaughter and deeds of valor onto one of the many wall hangings that the nuns were forever stitching. But somehow they managed to mold her brilliance into a depiction of Jesus casting the devils out of the pigs. I mean it had been Hercules and Odyssious and all manor of gore. How in the Heavens has those nuns done it.
  She had been an orphan, literally left on the heavy  marble steps that lead to the nunnery. Her hair was a blazing red and the nuns had debated giving her to a farmer because she might end up being too much trouble. Perhaps they should have because most days she was lost imagining how grand it would be to do anything but sit and weave.
  Weave indeed! Perhaps she could weave herself a boat and sail down the river to the sea. Or weave herself wings to fly up the cliff face where caves littered the rock face. If she did nothing in her grey accomplishment she would accomplish that one task or plunge to her doom in the attempt. She would get into one of those caves. They were so close. Life was so very close to her, yet so horribly distant.
  “Gwen! You are daydreaming again! Just look at that tapestry. You gave the apostle Paul Three arms!”
  Sister Telig held her breath. No other orphan had been this much trouble. Gwendelith stood up slowly. Nothing could prepare the sister for the slew of words that came streaming from Gwen’s mouth.
 The sisters waisted no time. Gwendelith was rushed out the door with a napsack and a hasty prayer of farewell before she could utter another unsightly curse. So there she stood. Alone, her only home barred and locked and the cliffs that rose behind it laughing down upon her and all her silly dreams. And so Gwen began to climb. Her robe soon became a bother and so she wound it through her legs and secured it into her belt. But on she went. Scrambling up and up toward those black mysterious holes in the stone.
   The sisters took a pact and never spoke of the event again. Gwendelith’s existence became something of  a legend. The people of the area spoke many a tale of the fire haired girl stealing bad little girls and boys who wouldn’t finish their chores and mothers who had given birth to a red haired child would say a special blessing over their cradle to ward off her spirit.

Dirty mouths run like rivers
Little girls give nuns shivers
Pray this blessed day be warned
Grow in grace lest you be scorned

silly? Oh yes, but very fun. The computer changed hands every other paragraph. Kristen started and I ended.

just a quickie

Hey there! Its long lost me. I am having such a crazy and yet fun time up here at camp that I haven't found much time to type. However, I do have some thinking news to bounce off of you. Its about our house. The far away one. Its been in my prayers for so long. It seems like this big rock on my toe that I ignore. The last few weeks I have started to notice it more. The people who were in the house have recently moved out and we are facing a dilemma. What are we going to do with this empty house 2 hours away? Renting to people we have no previously knowledge of scares me a bit. Selling it would be at a loss. (bleck) Living in it full time would be..possible but not terribly enjoyable. (eye roll w/sigh) Something has to be done. I have been mulling the possibility of living in it part time. Greg and I  are already quite the nomads. Think about it. Every other month we come up to camp and spend at least two weeks. Then we have the Peninsula house that we have been spending every sunny day at. Once or twice a week. Then we have my parents house where all our stuff is. Seriously, it wasn't until yesterday that I made the connection. We are out on the road A LOT. Would living up on the Peninsula part time be that much different? Its still being kicked around. There is now a full time neighbor living next door to the house that is nice. (gasp! they even wave back and say hello!) as well as a change in the upper neighbors who are selling their house. Greg and I have made our pro.s and con.s list. Who knows what the future holds or what God has in store for it. All I know is if you pray about something long enough, eventually an answer comes...even if it might not  be the answer you wanted. ;) Hope your week has gone well and all that.

haiku tuesday

bareback on horseback

dated pictures tell past tales

oh how life has changed!

click for kristen

hiaku tuesday

good marridge is prime

small matters pass away quickly

you want to buy what?!

school so far

Things have been going smoother than I had anticipated. Much smoother. The best part is I am a much better teacher this year and the boys are benefiting most of all. Instead of me fumbling through the material I am confidant. (we are talking phonics here) Its unfathomable how fast the boys are catching everything. I am sure the competition helps. Thomas and Mr. Steel are about the same speed but have approached it differently. Thomas experiments with writing words by himself. Mr. Steel on the other hand will come up to me and break a word down into sounds. " MOM! Mom! d    o    g! dog!" Not so labor intensive. Admittedly , I am loving it. Whats that, you think I would love it if homeschooling had no bumps...Why yes I would! But I am also ready for the challenges we face. Greg is home for the next month and gets to be a part our school room. Its SO fun for me to have him actually be a part of the kids growing and changing. He is usually at work or recovering from work and I just don't ask him. He does SO much for the family anyway that I take on the homeschooling myself.  The best part of having him around so much is he gets hear them discover the world of reading.
My girl is going over early Rome this month and Its fun to hear all the stories about Cesar and Cleopatra etc. The rise and fall of civilizations is WAY more interesting as an adult. (wink) The boys are on a road trip around the world and since Thomas is at the helm we meet and greet every weird and wild creature on each continent. Australia is far superior in that aspect. We are also going through a devotional every morning. Its something I had tucked away and have implemented it into our daily routine this year. Well enough chatter!! I hope your school adventures are fantastic too!

haiku Tuesday

 whispered "I love you"

each year races by so fast

I blinked and you grew!

click for kristen

Yawn

This AM I woke up as always with a little warm body next to me. Lately, Mr. Steel has snuggled me awake. My other two only occasionally stumble in at odd hours. In truth I don't mind much any more. Perhaps if my husband worked regular hours and was home every night, our bedroom might be no kids allowed. Greg will be home with us for the next month so my opinion might change considering we sleep in a queen. A funny story comes to mind when I think of bigger beds.
  Greg and I had just gotten engaged. We were looking at bed frames at a place called the old cannery in Puallup. ( I think)    We looked through many different styles and shapes. Greg kept looking at the king size. I rolled my eyes at the size and the price! "No no no we can get away with a full size!" I said. Who wants to pay for sheets on a king let alone anything else. Do I feel like this now? No way. Who cares if the entire room is bed. Several more feet of comfortable sleeping room would be well worth the square footage loss. (eye roll) sigh. Live and learn. IKEA is calling my name.
  This weekend we visit our peninsula house and see what work can be done. We would LOVE to sell, but seriously look at this horrid market, multiply it by odd location and you get nearly impossible. We will still throw a sign out front but in the mean time will finish fixing the a few things and then rent. I'm not a huge fan of renting but Greg is not going for my "lets keep it as a personal vacay spot" idea. After my girls and I visited IKEA I wished ever harder we could just keep it as such. All those awesome space saving ideas with great prices. I wish I knew what the future holds for us. There is so much I would like to happen, but alas every day is eaten up with schooling the kids....and yeah...schooling the kids. Crazy man. Love those weekends tho! They flay by much faster than last year but are worth every bit. Happy Friday by the way! ;)

haiku Tuesday

sore throat and plugged nose

cold snap makes plants whither

I want to see snow!

click for kristen