Has snowed 14-in. so far...and our young boys are madly trying to keep the roads, paths, decks, porches and other areas which do not need to be snowbound, clear of snow....hard to do with the fine drizzle, well....just drizzling....
Snow covers a multitude of - left-over-trash-that-we-forgot-to-pick-up....and so everything is nice and white...that is one of the pros..
One of the cons, is that it can get rather messy in the school vestibule with a dozen small and medium sized bodies leaving all THEIR winter gear, just where you want to leave YOURS!! oh well...here comes the mop lady (Sara J) to mop up the wetness of 12 pairs of packs....oops stepped in the snow puddle with my socks...ugh...wet for the rest of the class....
But on the whole a good time is had by all...well...the kids at least...
The flame orange for Rob is done on purpose. Against the white snow I can see him clear across the horse paddocks where he likes to ride about on the horse wagon. During summer months he is equipped with a radio tracker belt and walkie talkie, but now we manage very well with the flame orange. Found it at the Cabelas hunting online store.
Here's Rob doing his sno angel on the fresh snow outside the schoolhouse...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGjMeR4UBOM
Pat Lou left today on his first leg of the journey .. May leaving Tuesday...Both off to the Old Country. Pat to visit his sweetie in the UK who is finishing a degree and May to Ireland. After her return she plans to join the AF...Pat is still unsure of what he wants to do, probably something in the Emergency Medical arena, since he got his EMT 3 certs. as has May...decisions, decisions...was life this complicated when I was growing up? Can't remember, I certainly don't recall having as many choices...
Big Pat is off to southern coastal Alaska tuning and repairing pianos all along the way. Hopefully weather and road conditions will make for a propitious business trip. Don't like him having to leave at the worst time of the year...but this is when clients and schools want their ailing pianofortes doctored, it seems. He stays with friends, communities and customers along the way, sometimes exchanging bed and breakfast for a tuning. Seems to have worked so far.
BUT, that means that self, Annie (16) and Rob must handle all the rather labour intensive chores at the cabin. Wood boxes, stoves, water hauling. Now that Rob is older he can help his sister with some of this which will be a break for my ailing shoulder....will make me appreciate my DH more...he does so much...and so does May....she supervises Rob's self help skills and helps with his showers etc. When she leaves Dad will take over with some of those, but for this week Annie says she will pitch in...we shall see....
My school days are coming along nicely. I enjoy teaching SStudies to Micah (mild CP) and Rob, we are doing Colonial America from BJU using a Gr. 2 textbook. Finished the Continents and Oceans Unit, and they enjoyed that. The rest of the academics I do with Rob alone, and Micah is taught his by his mom...lucky boys I think. Both boys then takes Art, Music and Science with another teacher...gives us both a break from our boys and they get a new teacher ....they need a break from us too!! . Is working well so far.
HS Spanish is also doing well. My 8 students seem to be enjoying it and, of course, I do too, always enjoy coming back to my roots, don't get much of a chance of practicing my Spanish. We have not had many traveling Spanish preachers lately...one does tend to get rusty.
Some of the boys are trying to get the ice rink ready for hockey and skating. It is rather large and does not seem to be freezing as fast as they would like...this is something that kids all enjoy. I never did learn how to skate but am trying to teach Rob...his balance is pretty good so I think he will probably catch one soon.
May and Pat were invited to a costume party at one of the family cabins last night. Pat came up with an Arab costume complete with dagger, turban and Tunisian cape...looked quite the part and May dressed up as a Viking warrior. She has so many daggers and swords accumulated these past few years that she found it hard to decide which one to use. May loves the Tolkien Middle Earth mythical stuff....so has quite a collection, some she purchases and some she makes herself. Pat is actually wearing a genuine Tunisian akhnif, a wool hooded cape worm by the Berber herdsmen...the gun is his air-soft gun...looks the part don't u think? His little bro def. thinks so...
and here is May in her Middle Earth/Viking costume she created herself. Made the sword and leather trappings. She is sporting her new longbow and the arrows she just finished fletching. May has really enjoyed her longbow this summer and is getting quite good with it....I find squirrel pellets taped to backwoods spruce trees...ugh...but they really can be pests, very destructive and a nuisance with the trash...May is much in demand in camp as a squirrel exterminator...when the pop. get to be a nuisance.May will be sorely missed...she does so much for me...but I know she will have a lifetime experience and am praying that her time in Ireland will bring her a larger outlook in life and make her new friends.
Will seem weird not having the 2 big kids with us....
Annie has been featured in the North Dakota Center for Distance Education Program. She is taking an advanced course in drawing and her instructor Annette Marchand has been encouraging her to do her best...some of her work is featured here at this link:
it has hit 3 degrees...getting colder....
Well folks, this is Alaska Nightly, signing out...
Have a great week!
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