Smoke Alarm Test

Charles decided to test the smoke alarm system in our apartment last night. Not intentionally, mind you, but the end result was the same. They work very well. Guaranteed to wake you up from a dead sleep at 1:45 a.m. I promise!

It would seem that cooking hot dogs directly on the burners of an electric stove causes a lot of smoke! Can you imagine? Bill was dumbfounded that anyone would even try! But Charles assured us that you can cook them on the burners of a gas stove! Oh my. I think that maybe we need to invest in a small, electric hot dog grill!

Driver's Edge Review

Here is David's description of his participation in the Driver's Edge program last Saturday:

So, Saturday I got to attend Drivers Edge in Atlanta. If you're not familiar with it, Drivers Edge is a non-profit driver's education program based in Las Vegas that travels around the country, run by professional race car drivers. It holds that in America today, people are not truly taught how to drive, but merely how to pass the driver's license test, and it therefore seeks to teach new drivers the skills needed to actually drive safely.

All the participants were given a short test on their knowledge of driving and car care in general, and then we were divided up into four groups, to move through the four different portions of the program. I first attended a talk given by a local police officer on traffic laws and safety, and his personal advice. It was mildly interesting, but the highlight was one of the fathers asking the officer if he should teach his daughter to obey the speed limit or follow the flow of traffic. I'm sure you can guess what the answer was.

Then we moved on to the oversteer portion, where I got to drive a very nice BMW vehicle through a wet portion of the parking lot and learn what it feels like to spin out a car, and how to prevent it. That was fun, and the cars were air-conditioned, which, considering the 95 degree heat, was quite nice. The primary lesson here is to look where you want to go, not at what you want to avoid. After that we moved on to the driving posture, safety, and car care lecture/comedy act. The speaker did an excellent job of making a somewhat dull subject more interesting, and taught me to Wash BOATS.

Finally it was back to the cars for the braking and avoidance course. The idea here was to experience what ABS feels like when it activates, and it does kick a bit. The second portion was a small jink in the track meant to simulate a rapid lane change on a highway. I got a bit of a lecture here on proper steering, and how to keep a firm grip on the wheel at all times.

Finally, there was a post-test to be compared to the pre-test, and some awards were handed out. I got one for scoring in the top two of the group on the pre-test, and there were awards for the driving portions for best driver and most improved. Then they handed out various, free, merchandise, and certificates of completion, and then we were done.

Since taking the course, I've done a bit of driving, and have noticed myself paying more attention to the road, particularly farther ahead, and keeping a better grip on the steering wheel. Overall, I'd say it was a worthwhile experience, though the day and a half on the road there and back might have been a bit much.

Reading Harry Potter, Again!

This weekend I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and began Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (books one and two). This is the third read-through for me; the first time aloud to the kids as they were released and the second time two years ago just before book six was released. Each time I read them I see more hints and clues about the future books. Of course, it was difficult to see those hints and clues in the first read-through when I didn't have the advantage of having already read the rest of the series.

I will be very sorry for the series to end. But I have to know if Professor Dumbledore is really dead! I don't think he is. I noticed when I reread The Sorcerer's Stone this last time, the very first time we meet Dumbledore, he makes the statement that he would trust Hagrid with his life. Hagrid is the one who carries Dumbledore's presumably lifeless body away at the end of book six. I am sure that Hagrid took him somewhere and cared for him and hid him until Dumbledore was able to recover from whatever enchantment made him appear dead.

J.K. Rowling is an amazing author. She meshes the world we currently live in with the wizarding world so believably. She states that she knew how the story would end the very first time the story idea occurred to her. Maybe it will seem obvious once I've read book seven, but right now I cannot imagine how the series will end. I can't wait to find out, though!

Cute as a Button

Do you think Miss Munchkin knows how cute she is?

Driver's Edge and stuff

David and Bill just left for Atlanta. David is signed up to participate in the Driver's Edge program tomorrow afternoon. They will spend the night near Macon and be back late tomorrow night. For those of you not familiar with Driver's Edge, it is a youth driver's education program founded and developed by a professional race car driver. Here's a quote from their website:

Young drivers are placed through this half day, four hour program at no cost, making the program accessible to young drivers from all economic backgrounds. With professional driving instructors at their side, the students … participate in customized behind the wheel driving exercises developed to address the most common driving situations that can lead to collision.

I'll post next week to let you know how it went and whether David found it to be worthwhile.

So what have I been up to this week? Mostly playing with Miss Munchkin. I drove up to Albany Wednesday morning and brought Kat and Miss Munchkin here for a few days. They were getting housebound. Not sure yet when I'll take them home: possibly either tomorrow (Saturday) or Monday. I could do it Sunday, but Sunday is race day and the four-hour round trip would cut into my race watching!

It appears like David is ready for Orientation on Tuesday at Tallahassee Community College He's spent quite a bit of time online and on the phone and visiting the college, trying to get all the needed paperwork submitted. He plans to take an English Composition class this summer and then begin full-time classes in the fall. We are hoping that this works out better than Evansville did last year.

Oh, and I found a great natural foods place yesterday. New Leaf Market.It has a deli, organic and local produce, and best of all, it's a co-op! I'll be joining after we get next month's paycheck!

There are also three different farmer's markets in the area, on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The one on Monday is less than a mile from me! I hope to get there next week. Last Saturday we visited the one downtown and bought loads of fresh produce and some cut zinnias. It's so nice to have fresh flowers!

Square Dancing in Tallahassee

Last night we visited the local square dance club, the Capital Twirlers. Brindlee Mountain Promenaders it definitely is not, but the level of dancing was better than we expected. Their caller, Elmer Sheffield, was good, the floor was just right for dancing, and the calls were challenging. The average age of the members is a bit higher than Brindlee, or so it appeared. But several members told us that many of the regulars were not there last night, so we will see. Maybe there will be a few more people closer to our age there next time.

A few of things of note …

The very first call in the very first tip we danced to was tea cup chain. Anyone who has danced with me at Brindlee knows that is my very favorite call. NOT!

The last song we danced to was "It's Only Make Believe," which is my all-time favorite. It was nice to hear it, but rather sad, too. No one can sing it as well as our favorite caller, Mr. Wayne Mahathey.

The group round dances in between the square tips, which neither Bill nor I enjoy. Not only that, but for two hours of dance time, it appears like the square dancing part only accounts for about 50 minutes. The rest of the time is round dancing and/or just visiting. The square dance tips are not our usual 15 - 25 minute sessions that Wayne put us through!

The Capital Twirlers dance the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Mondays (and 5th Mondays, if there is one), but sometimes they (for various reasons) skip one Monday and dance on the off Monday instead. Instead of an e-mail list or a website to announce these changes, it sounds like they just call around each week to see if anyone knows whether they dance that week or not! Sounds rather unorganized to me.

And they have not had new member classes in years. Which means the club will eventually die.

Next Monday is one of those nights that they normally dance but this month will not dance (I forget the reason why). So we will have to wait two weeks. But I imagine we will go back. Maybe if more of the regular members are there, the dancing time will increase. Who knows? But it sure looks like we need to stick to our plan of attending more of the specials that are on Saturday nights around the tri-state area here, if we want to really dance our feet off!

Digital Natives

Wow! Another great article at Life Without School

Unschooling and the Digital Native by Laureen

What is a Digital Native? From Laureen's essay:

The term digital native was coined by Marc Prensky, who explains it like this:

They are native speakers of technology, fluent in the digital language of computers, video games, and the Internet. I refer to those of us who were not born into the digital world as digital immigrants. We have adopted many aspects of the technology, but just like those who learn another language later in life, we retain an “accent” because we still have one foot in the past.

Laureen writes:

I've read through some of the literature on this phenomenon, and I'm convinced that it falls short, because it's being written by people who self-identify as professional educators. As an unschooler, I don't believe in educators, I believe in learners. My personal paradigm rests firmly on the assumption that children are self-starters, and that the information they absorb is the information most necessary to them in the environment they inhabit, so I'm exploring this digital native idea with that in mind.

Prensky states,

Today’s students have not just changed incrementally from those of the past, nor simply changed their slang, clothes, body adornments, or styles, as has happened between generations previously. A really big discontinuity has taken place. One might even call it a “singularity” – an event which changes things so fundamentally that there is absolutely no going back. This so-called “singularity” is the arrival and rapid dissemination of digital technology in the last decades of the 20th century.

Today’s students – K through college – represent the first generations to grow up with this new technology. They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, video games, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age. Today’s average college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV). Computer games, email, the Internet, cell phones and instant messaging are integral parts of their lives.

Her family sounds much like ours! Check out her essay and see what you think!

Double the Wishes

Today is my youngest sister's birthday. Happy Birthday Jen!! Jen is a great mom and a wonderful person and today is one of those days that I wish we lived a lot closer to each other. But she is in Colorado where it snows! And I am in Florida, where there's humidity. So the likelihood of us ever living very close together is not very high! Enjoy your Colorado summer, Jen!

And today is also Father's Day. A day of special meaning this year, since we (my siblings and I) almost lost our father earlier this month. Heart attacks. Triple By-pass. I think we've always thought our dad was invincible, since he's always been so strong and healthy. He's doing great now, though, walking several miles each day and his doctor gave him the okay earlier this week to drive again. It won't be long before he's dancing again! Happy Father's Day Dad! I love you!

Life Is Good

Fresh sweet corn that tastes like actual corn. Tomatoes that smell and taste like tomatoes. And an afternoon walk on the beach. What more could one desire?!

The Universe speaking …

Today's quote from www.tut.com

Actually, there's really no such thing as "maybe," Karen.

There's just indecision.

Peace out-
The Universe

A Respectable Trade

I have been reading several of Philippa Gregory's books recently, enjoying her historical fiction. A Respectable Trade, though, is much more than just historical fiction. It is an introduction into the harsh realities of the slave trade and it's economic, social and moral consequences, good and bad, for all those involved, whether willingly or not.

Chronicling the lives of one household in Bristol, England, A Respectable Trade illustrates how the slave trade of the late 1700s affected all of society. The story begins in 1787 and brings together Frances Scott, the impoverished niece of a peer of the realm, Josiah Cole, a small-time trader with ambitions to better his station in life, and Mehuru, a priest from Africa who has been enslaved. We experience only two years of their lives, but during that time we see how each member of the family confronts the issues of the slave trade (a respectable trade) and we learn how the slave trade has become an integral part of England's economic success. We also get a glimpse, albeit brief, of how the slave trade affected the ancient societies in Africa for generations to come; the strife and civil wars taking place there today are likely only one of the most evident results.

I highly recommend A Respectable Trade to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and to anyone looking for something a bit pithier than Gregory's usual novels. And you might also want to check out her Gardens For Gambia program:

http://www.philippagregory.com/Gambia.shtml
Gardens for The Gambia is a charity set up by author Philippa Gregory to provide water for wells in the gardens of rural schools in The Gambia.

Nice Article at Life Without School

I just read a really good article at the Life Without School blog:

Unconditional Teaching, by Tammy Takahashi
How and why do we impart our knowledge on our children? Now, that’s an important question! I guess it depends on what we want for our children.

You can read it here:
Unconditional Teaching

I have the good fortune to be on a few lists with Tammy and always enjoy reading her work.

Technology and Rain Delays

Today is the first NASCAR race broadcast of the season that we have not been able to watch on TV, since we do not have cable ... yet! Cable is scheduled to be hooked up tomorrow! In the meantime, we signed up for a 14-day trial version of NASCAR.com's RaceTrack so that we can watch the race live on the computer. And Bill has hooked the computer's display into our 42-inch television and the sound into our stereo. All so that we can watch a live-web cam of the pit as the cars sit covered, waiting out the rain. Such excitement! Hopefully, though, the race will begin sometime today and then we can watch it through streaming video.

Yesterday we got more things settled around the apartment. I discovered there are some hooks outside on the screened-in balcony, so I can hang a couple of my plants. I am going to have to find some outdoor plant stands, as I really only have room for a few plants indoors. And I'm more than a bit worried about how the cat (and Miss Munchkin) are going to deal with the three plant stands that I have for inside.

We moved my computer around a bit in the bedroom to ease up the bottleneck. I can now sit at my desk and still have room for someone to walk past me to the bed! And today I unpacked the bathroom boxes. That leaves just my office stuff (three boxes) to settle and Bill's computer corner in the dining room. We need some shelves for there, I think, or a desk with shelves above it. And a couple of more small bookcases to hold the books I brought. Really, small ones will work as I only brought a few books! Honest! Some to sell on e-bay, some to use this last year of homeschooling, and some I just wanted to read. But right now they are all in boxes in the hallway closet and it will be a lot easier to use them if we can actually see them!

All in all, we're getting quite settled in here and adjusting nicely!

Am I Home Yet?

I know I have not made an entry here in over a month, but I've been busy! It sure would be nice to be able to stay at home for a few days and begin to settle in here in Tallahassee. Here is a brief recount of the past couple of months:

April 5th - Drove to Evansville to pick David up for Easter weekend.

April 9th - Drove back to Evansville to take David back to college.

April 11th - Drove to Tallahassee, Florida

April 12th - Bill's job interview in Tallahassee

April 13th - Drove to Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Florida

April 14th - Home again to north Alabama

April 18th - Bill received the job offer, but had to wait for all forms to be processed before giving notice.

April 19th - Bill accepted the job offer in Tallahassee.

April 30th - I drove to Tallahassee, looked at a lot of houses and apartments to rent, settled on one apartment complex and came home on May 3rd.

May 1st - Bill gave two weeks notice at his current job.

May 5th - Drove to Evansville to bring David home for the summer.

May 10th - Son-in-law (Shawn) received a promotion and notice that his new job was in Albany , Georgia.

May 11th - David went to Kat's to help her pack up her apartment.

May 13th - Shawn left for Albany, Georgia, to begin his new job the next day.

May 14th - Kat arrived, with Miss Munchkin and their cat in tow, to stay with us until we go to Tallahassee.

May 15th - Bill's last day at work.

May 17th - Picked up the moving truck.

May 18th - Loaded the moving truck. Discovered that the a/c system on my van was not working properly. Left it at the dealer so they could order the parts and fix it. Picked up a rental van to drive for the duration.

May 19th - Finished loading the truck. Went to the Hobo Dance and stayed up way too late considering how early we had to leave in the morning.

May 20th - Drove to Tallahassee. Shawn arrived in the evening to pick up Kat & Miss Munchkin. We kept their cat.

May 21st - Unloaded the truck.

May 23rd - Bill began his new job.

May 25th - I drove back to north AL to return the rental van and pick up my van. Drove back that same day (arriving in the wee hours of the next morning). Saw my dad, who had just gotten back from vacation, a vacation he cut short because he wasn't feeling well.

May 26th - Drove to Albany, Georgia to pick up Kat and Miss Munchkin. Life in a motel was not working out so well with a fifteen-month-old!

May 27th - Received a phone call from my dad that he had had a heart attack and was in the hospital, scheduled for a catheterization on Monday and possible installation of a stint.

May 28th - They were unable to do the stint on my dad as he had too many blockages. By-pass surgery was scheduled for Wednesday.

May 29th - Drove to north Alabama to see my dad before his surgery.

May 30th - Dad's surgery.

May 31st - Dad moved in to a private room less than 24 hours after the completion of his by-pass surgery. They did a triple by-pass. I visited with him there before heading back to Tallahassee; he was doing great.

June 2nd - Took Kat to Albany, Georgia, so she and Shawn could go back to north Alabama to move their stuff. Kept Miss Munchkin with us for a few days. Dad called to tell me he was back home, having been released several days early due to how well he was progressing.

June 5th - Drove to Albany to take Miss Munchkin back to her Mommy and Daddy and also to help unload their truck. A long and exhausting day.

June 6th - Today! Slept late. Have done little to nothing. Hopefully I will have more energy tomorrow. There are still boxes to unpack! And things to do! A new life in Tallahassee to begin!