A Hot Topic

Well, it's supposed to be a hot topic, but sometimes... Oh, you'll just have to wait and see.

For the past year, The BestHubbyEver has had a bee in his bonnet about rising fuel prices. We have a large house heated by an oil powered hot-air furnace. It's been getting plum painful to see the bill after the oil man comes to fill up our tank. Oy!

Accordingly, he (That would be the BHE, not the oil man) has been looking into alternative heat sources. You know - wood stoves, propane heaters, pellet stoves, Amish fireplace thingies, or insane amounts of aerobic exercise.

He discussed all of them with me and I smiled and nodded politely. He is not an impulsive man, so I knew a decision was going to take a while. In the meantime we could go on as we have been with me sneaking over to bump up the thermostat every time his back was turned.

A wife who's shivering in a parka in her own living room WILL do what she must to survive!

Anyhoo, he finally decided that a pellet stove was what we needed. He had me look them up online and compare their prices and ratings. He talked to everyone he knew who had one - they all love theirs - and he measured over and over again to figure out the best place to install it. Finally, he called a few stove shops and had them come out to give us estimates.

The short story is that we have had a pellet stove in our kitchen since November


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ARG! We interrupt this blog post to report another strong evidence of Groovy's mediocrity at blogging. She can upload pics. But can she arrange them and put them where she wants them in the post? NOOOOOOOOOOO!

Henceforth, the following pictures are A. out of order and B. not where I want them in the post. Just use your imagination to fix it all, K?

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Here is my sad, lonely, and COLD desk waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over on the far wall of the living room where it is always chilly. (Oh the irony! See all the blankets on the recliner??!!)




This is the only doorway opening in the-wall-that-cannot-be-removed. That round, brown hooey in the wall is the fan that presumably blows the kitchen warmth into the living room and bedrooms.


Here's one of the cozy spots the BHE set up. It's a lovely place to read or visit with friends.



And here's our pellet stove corner, complete with yet another comfy chair.




This is the model we own -a Napolean NPS 45.




And here is where I get to tell you how much I love/hate it.

First of all, after MUCH debate, we decided to install the stove in the corner of the kitchen, blowing inward to the rest of the house. I was a little worried about placing it there because there is a wall between the kitchen and the rest of the house. I was concerned that the heat might stay all bottled up in the kitchen and wouldn't make it adequately into the rest of the house, even though we did aim the blower toward the doorway. When I finally realized that the BHE meant for the stove to be our ONLY heat source (I was under the insane delusion that we still might use the furnace on occasion - you know, if we got chilly or something) I begged him to tear the dividing wall down completely.

Alas, it is a load bearing wall. Curses, foiled again!

Instead of tearing the wall down, we did some ventilation experiments. The final result was a fan near the ceiling that blows from the kitchen into the living room, and a cold air return vent near the floor.

The BHE moved some cozy chairs into the kitchen and then *gasp* moved my desk into the living room (It WAS in the kitchen. It's been there for the past 10+ years!) and we were in business.


Here's what I love about the pellet stove:

1. We finally have a warm spot that we can go to if we're chilly. (Not so fun with a hot air vent...)

2. I can hang wet clothes, etc near the stove to dry quickly.

3. I finally have a warm place to raise bread, culture yogurt, or start sourdough!

4. The flame is cheerful and cozy.

5. We all tend to hang out together in the kitchen/dining area instead of going our separate ways in other parts of the house.

6. The oil furnace is still functional so I can use it to fill in the heating gaps. Or at least, I can if the BHE is not here.

*gasp* Did I just say that?????????

And now, the reasons I Hate/Loathe our new pellet stove:

1. The reason we all tend to hang out together in the kitchen/dining area is because the rest of the house is COLD. ie. In spite of our best efforts, the kitchen area is significantly warmer than the rest of the house! Including bathrooms! *shiver* And bedrooms! *shiver* And the living room where my desk is! *shiver*

NOTE: It is very hard to type with numb hands and it is very difficult to enjoy watching movies together when we're SHIVERING! (We have no tv. Movies are seen on the iMac or they aren't seen at all.)

I'm just sayin'...

2. The pellet stove is high maintenance. We have to brush out the ash (particularly from the burn pot) and clean the glass in the door daily. This necessitates shutting the stove down, opening it up and making a mess. Every Day.

It has to be vacuumed weekly - either with a special ash vacuum or with a shop vac with special filter that will keep the ask from being regurgitated back into the air.

40 pound bags of pellets have to be carried up the stairs from the garage once or twice a day (depending on how many pellets we've been burning).

3. Like wood stoves, pellet stoves apparently attract dust. I have dust webs everywhere - from the ceilings, in the corners, on the floor. I can dust a room and then next day it is coated again. Blech!

NOTE: Max Tuttle, our chief dustbunny, loves this aspect of pellet stove ownership.

4. The pellet stove has an electric auger and blower. If the power goes out we will have no heat at all.

5. Hmmmm, I don't guess there actually IS a 5. I thought there would be because my feelings toward the pellet stove are much more negative than positive. (It doesn't show, does it?) I guess God is reminding me to be more thankful for #'s 1-6 in the "love it" department.

Ok, so there you have it. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to bring up another bag of pellets...

A Christmas Meme

Author Tricia Goyer is hosting a meme this month so I thought I’d join in.

From Tricia: Here’s how it will work…post and answer the below questions on your blog or Facebook. Then either tag specific people or tag your readers/friends (so they will answer share and answer the questions too). Then hop over to my blog to fill out the linky. Easy. I’ll choose 10 winners to receive a 4 book Tricia Goyer prize pack***!

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Here are the MEME questions!

1. What’s your favorite holiday song?"Mary Did You Know"

2. What’s your favorite holiday tradition?

I really don't recall any "traditions" from growing up except that GrammaJ wrapped her gifts to me in colored wrapping paper and all the gifts (many, MANY gifts - see #6) from Santa in white tissue paper.

As for now, we have our last devotion of the Advent season with the whole family (including the folks and Uncle GrumpyPants and Uncle Pickle Nose) before we open gifts. We each read Scriptures about gifts God has given to us. Then we ponder the strange, selfish and bizarre fact that it is HIS birthday, yet we are the ones getting gifts - from Him and from each other. We take a few moments to pray silently, then we each write on a 3x5 Card a "gift" we want to give to the Lord for the coming year. We fold it in half, then write our name on the outside and it goes in a gift box under the tree.
After Christmas, I pack the gift box away (without peeking at what anyone wrote). The next year, as our devotion time starts, I pass out the old "gifts" so that we can all consider how well we kept our promises. (If someone is only with us for one year and not the next, I mail their card back to them.)

Once all the "gifts" are in the box, we sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. It is my favorite Holiday tradition because it really helps us all to focus on Jesus instead of on materialism and greed.

3. If you could travel one place with an elderly family member where would you go?

Travel with them? Ack! You're scaring me! :-O

To be perfectly honest, shopping in a nearby city is about as far as I'd want to travel with any of our 3 remaining parents... (No offense to them!)

4. What questions would you ask?

We're quite close to our folks now and see them all the time. I think they've told us pretty much everything by now. I never knew my grandparents at all and the BHE's are long gone. However, if the BHE's paternal grandmother (aka "Great Gram) was still alive I'd love to interview her about EVERYTHING. I got to know her in a small way when the BHE and I were dating and we visited her a few short times in the early years of our marriage. She was a cheerful, colorful old lady and we loved her dearly. It makes me sad that Girly-Girl and Silly-Head never got to meet her.

5. What is a non-tangible gift have you received from an elderly relative?

Wonderful examples of endurance and faith in God.

6. What is the best/worst/strangest gift you’ve received from an elderly relative?

Hmmm. Tough one. I've never really had any elderly relatives and the BHE and I didn't think of our folks as "elderly" until the past 5 years or so (They are, all three, in their early 70's).

Keeping that in mind: The BEST gift we've gotten from our folks (most notably from GrammaJ) has been date money for our birthdays (The BHE and I celebrate our birthdays only 3 weeks apart) and for our anniversary. It has been wonderful to be able to go out and enjoy each other sans kiddos even when the budget was tight. That's a gift we have determined to pass on to our adult children.

WORST? GrammaJ had an unhappy childhood with few, if any gifts. Consequently gifts mean alot to her. A. LOT. She likes to get them and she LOVES to give them. It makes no difference to her that the gifts she feels compelled to give are, at all, wanted or necessary. Over the years she has given the BHE a weird buttoning towel thing that he was supposed to wear after a shower. We use it to dry the car. She also bought him too small swim trunks (They were a "good" brand and she got a deal) and she has bought us, as a family, innumerable manicure sets, bath poofies (which none of us use...), and various other personal care items. She's also bought "toys" like model airplanes for the BHE or a baby doll for me. She still cannot fathom that we don't want gifts - and lots of them. She is sweet and generous and means well, but sometimes it borders on the ridiculous!

And that's not to say that she hasn't come up with some wonderful gifts over the years. It's just that she wants so badly to bless us all with what she didn't have that she tends to go WAY overboard!

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From Tricia: On December 22nd ten people who have filled out the linky will be selected at random to win one of the ten 4-book prize packs. You can either have it sent to yourself or a friend. To enter all you have to do is answer the MEME on your blog and then fill out the linky on this post. Easy.

Then be sure to pop over and read the other MEMEs on the linky – let’s celebrate our elderly loved ones!

Everyone who visits is tagged I hope you will join in! Have a wonderful day!

Groovy Has Won! Again! Woot!

This past week I was ever so blessed to win yet another blog contest. No, not for my mediocre and neglected blog. What I mean is that Goatsong (My new goaty internetty friend) had a contest on HER wonderful blog (Hurry, go read it!) and I won!

(You can find proof of my blogging mediocrity in the underlined section above. It's not supposed to be underlined and I ain't sharp enough to figure out how to fix it!!)

Over the past year or two, my interest in vegetable gardening has been growing. Unfortunately, not much IN my vegetable garden has grown except for a lovely crop of tomato hornworms and a plethora of pesky slugs. So this spring, the Best Hubby Ever is planning to build me some raised beds. I can fill them with free goat compost and some lovely loam and maybe, hopefully, grow some real food.

Goatsong's gift to me was an autographed copy of The Heirloom Life Gardener by Jere & Emilee Gettle. It's a gorgeous hardcover book full of easy-to-understand and practical wisdom for organic gardening. It may even help a less than mediocre gardener like myself actually, you know, GROW something other than weeds!

Thank You, Goatsong!!!!!!

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Caprine Update:

A thousand apologies for not keeping everyone up to date on our goat adventures. We've been busy with raising the kids and milking Annika.

The boys, Rutherford and Ulysses, found a happy new home as pet wethers (a wether is a neutered male goat).


My grandkids loved to come visit the boys while they were here. Ji-Ji even gave them kisses!

In a quest to keep them entertained, Silly-Head became a human goat toy.
But all that attention was not enough. They wanted to GET OUT!


So we sold them to a very sweet couple who email me goat baby updates. :-D

At this point, Mindy has been bred (we think) and we just stopped milking Annika so she can rest up and be bred next month. After that we'll keep her on a fall breeding schedule since Silly-Head and I aren't overly enthused with winter milking. I already miss the milk, though. Hers is so sweet and creamy!! I made cheese and have taken it to a couple of Christmas parties thus far.

It. Was. Amazing.

Looks like I'll have customers lined up out the door once we get some more does (Oh PLEASE let Mindy have doelings!) and step up our production levels. :-D

A Quick Caprine Update

Oh Mercy, It's been a busy summer! So for now, you'll have to be satisfied with with a few short words of update.

First of all, remember how we were going to breed Annika this Fall? Well, that sounded like a good plan, but God has a REAL sense of humor. As we were preparing her for a local 4-H show we noticed that she was a little on the chubby side. AND where she had been flat before, she now seemed to have a bit of an udder, AND she was dripping milk.

Hmmmmm.

After talking to her former owner (we bought her 3 weeks ago), it seems that she and the buck may have already had a tryst around the end of April.

Yep, we're having goat babies after all! Looks like I'll be milking this winter. In the basement! Where it's WARM!

She's actually due within a day or 5 of our next goat show in late September, so this could get interesting.

In the meantime I'm trying to get together a birthing kit, locating milking supplies, and "kid proof" our fencing. None of which I was planning to do until next Spring!

Nigerians usually have 2 or more kids. We're hoping for 2 does! Then I'll sign them over to the girls as their own goats and Annie will be mine.

Mindy, the larger, older doe, had a cough when we got her and several other health issues. We were able to deal with some of the problems by switching her feed and giving her some supplements (she had a copper deficiency), but the cough has gotten worse.

I finally called the vet on Monday and now we've got her on nose drops and antibiotics. Yes, folks, Groovy can now give shots!

I'm happy to report that she finally seems to be improving.

By the way, both the girls and the goats did a super job in our last fair. Girly-Girl got a 2nd for showmanship and fitting, Silly-Head got a 6th in the same age division and got a 1st (with a trophy!) in the Novice class. Mindy got a blue ribbon - even with her health issues, and Annika took a 1st AND made Junior Grand Champion!!!

By The Grace of God...

(I don't know why part of this post is underlined. I can't figure out how I did it or how to undo it - so please bear with me!)


Pffffffffffffff. Tap*Tap Pffffffffffffff.

Is this thing on?

Good Day, Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to my Groovy blog!

I guess I can extend that welcome to myself as well, since I haven't been here in so long.

Much has happened in the past few months. Since I do plan to begin writing regularly again, I shall give you a brief overview in photos and exclamation marks.

Hmmm, now where should I start?

OK...first of all, God has given me so many hugs lately that I am overwhelmed with thankfulness. I don't know why He is so good to me, but I do know that He is worthy of all my praise - in good times (like now) and in bad. He is my rock and my King forever! Lately, He has graciously chosen to bless me with several desires of my heart.

First, and most importantly, Funsocksgirl called us with some very exciting news. She and J-Man are expecting a baby! Our first grandchild from them! (I have 3 other grandchildren that are my son's precious kiddos)

See, here's the proof!







Naturally we are VERY excited!!!!!!

Secondly, those of you who have been faithfully reading my blog for many millennia know that I love dairy goats. The girls and I have been involved with dairy goats in 4-H for 6 years now - other people's dairy goats. I have wanted my own for a very long time, but The Best Hubby Ever was opposed. Farm animals take too much time, cost too much, are too much trouble, yadda, yadda, yadda.

But over the past few years, as our passion has continued and as I've gained experience as a farm sitter and as the BHE has fallen in love with goat milk cheese, God has been slowly changing his heart. The final result being that we now have a small barn and pen and TWO goats of our very own!

Here's the new barn and pen that the BHE and our dear friend Pastor Jon built together.
And this is Miss Mindy with Silly-Head and Girly-Girl. Mindy is an older Nubian. She is supposed to be pregnant, but, unlike Funsocksgirl, she does not seem to be showing any signs thereof. We are leasing her for the summer. In exchange, we were supposed to get to keep her kids. But sadly, there are no kids.
So for a few days, she was here all alone and oh so stressed! Goats are herd animals and do NOT like being alone. She called and called and called and wouldn't eat. It was so sad! Fortunately, my friend EarlyBird has a goat farm. She said she lease us a companion for Mindy. See her in the back of the pen?

Her name is Annika (We call her Annie). She's a miniature dairy goat - a Nigerian. They didn't like each other much at first, but now they get along fine. We have the option to buy Annie in the fall after she has been bred. That way we can have her and some kids and finally get some goat milk.


By the way - and this is very hush-hush - so don't tell anyone: The BHE is totally smitten with this little goat. He-who-hates-animals LOVES her! He even likes our Mindy who is not pregnant and will not give us milk!

Isn't God good?

Here they are together. The picture is a little blurry, but I wanted you to see the size difference. They are both full grown.

And thirdly, I finally did it. I rode my bicycle 180 miles in the Trek Across Maine to raise money for the American Lung Association. I've been TRYING to do this for 5 years now.

Year 1: I tried to ride, but I hadn't trained adequately. I was absolutely miserable and totally exhausted. I quit after Day 2 and ended up working as a volunteer instead.

Year 2: I jumped into training too quickly and strained my achilles tendon. I couldn't train for over a month, so I decided to volunteer for the whole weekend instead while the BHE rode.

Year 3: I did a super job a training and was in GREAT shape for the Trek. However, 2 weeks before the Trek I noticed some discomfort in my left leg after a lengthy ride. It went away and I thought all was well. On Day 1 I rode. It was pouring and many folks were hypothermic, but I love riding in cool weather. I was so excited at how easy it all seemed. Sadly, in the last 20 miles of the ride, the leg pain returned and got worse and worse and worse. By the time crossed the finish line it hurt so bad I had trouble walking and stairs were murder. We had a dorm room on the third floor... I took a boatload of ibuprofen and iced my leg and hoped for the best.

I only made it 12 miles on Day 2. By then I was in so much pain I had to flag a medic. A SAG van took me to the finish. I volunteered for the rest of the Trek. I was depressed for weeks after the Trek. I felt like such a failure!

It gets very disheartening to see folks who are grossly overweight or who never train who ride the whole stupid event like it's nothing. I kick my butt trying to be ready and just can't do it. I was in a depressed funk for weeks and weeks.

Year 4 (Last Year): I had a severe allergic reaction in March and ended up on prednisone. Prednisone completely wastes me, so training was out of the question for well over a month. I didn't even try to ride. The BHE rode and I volunteered. Again.

Year 5 (THIS year): I started training in the middle of winter by running on the treadmill and lifting weights. I increased my distance and speed little by little in an effort to avoid injuries. I started riding when there was still snow on the ground. Unfortunately, we had alot of rain. So I tried to fill in the gaps with walking, running, and weight lifting. When I did finally get to ride, I felt great aerobically, so I increased my riding distance too quickly and, guess what? I started feeling that leg pain again.

I immediately backed off and did some research. The Lord led me to a fabulous website that helped me figure out that pain was patellar tendonitis. The website also gave me some wonderful info on how to treat it myself and how to alter my riding style to prevent it.

I was just starting to get a handle on the tendonitis when I had a bad reaction to the sun. Which meant that now I could not ride in sunny weather. Which we now had alot of. Yee-haw. I was able to treat it with a prescription steroid cream instead of prednisone, but now I was becoming seriously concerned about the weather during the event. I knew I could cover pretty much all of me except my face and neck. Sunblock helps, but does not provide complete protection. After much MORE research I found the answer: Take mega doses of beta carotene and buy a UV Buff. I ordered one from the UK and it didn't get here until 2 days before the Trek!

AND my period was due JUST before the Trek. I am perimenopausal and my periods are ugly affairs that make me pretty much worthless for a couple of days a month. I literally cannot exercise during those couple of days...

Needless to say, I was on an emotional roller coaster. Could I actually do it this year or was I going to "fail" again. One minute I'd cry and want to throw in the towel and the next minute I'd have a calm assurance that God really was making a way for me. After all, I was already in great physical condition. He had helped me find the info I needed to work on the tendonitis. He had helped me find the Buff and the info on beta carotene. He actually put me in a position of forced rest from biking (hello! Sunny Days!) so my tendon could heal. He worked in my body so that my period started a full week early. He helped me raise over $1,000 so I could be in the "Winner's Circle". Many, MANY people prayed for me. And He gave me a Scripture - Psalm 20:
¹ May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high! ² May He send you help from the sanctuary And support you from Zion! ³ May He remember all your meal offerings And find your burnt offering acceptable! ⁴ May He grant you your heart’s desire And fulfill all your counsel! ⁵ We will sing for joy over your victory, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the LORD fulfill all your petitions
⁶ Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand.
⁷ Some boast in chariots and some in horses,

But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.
⁸ They have bowed down and fallen,
But we have risen and stood upright.
⁹Save, O LORD;
May the King answer us in the day we call.

Wow...It still makes me cry to read this. I truly felt He was speaking to me and yet I felt guilty and unworthy. There are people going through cancer and earthquakes and floods and tornadoes and dead loved ones. Why should He care about my insignificant desire to ride a bicycle.

And yet, He did. Not only did I ride the whole Trek, but I never had any trouble at all with my leg. My hands never went numb. My feet never hurt. I had one minor reaction to the sun and one application of the cream stopped it completely. My muscles did get tired, but they never got sore. Even today, after riding 180 miles over some incredible hills, I feel terrific! In fact, if I wasn't just a tad saddle sore (some chaffing, you know!) I'd be thrilled to ride a few more miles.

God. Is. So. GOOD!!!!!

The Trek went right past our house on Day 2. See what the girlies made for us? Take special notice of the balloon bicycle. Silly-head is getting quite talented with her balloon work!


And here I am. At the FINISH. With my MEDAL.
Because, by the grace and goodness of God, I DID IT!!!!!!!!


WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MINE!! MINE!!

This past week, the BestHubbyEver and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary. We went out for coffee on the actual day, but this past Saturday we went on a more substantial date. We left the girls with GrammaJ and headed south.

First stop was Augusta for a small lunch, then we headed to Freeport. Because we've signed up to raise money for the American Lung Association via the Trek Across Maine, we had coupons for 20% off any biking or camping gear at LLBean. We had some fun shopping and came away with a couple of bargains. We grabbed a couple of free coffees at a local gas station (more coupons) and wound our way south to Portland via the back roads.

We drove here and there wasting our $3.75 per gallon gasoline in a leisurely way. Finally we parked near the Old Port and got out to walk on the cobbled streets and enjoy the ocean breeze. After quite a bit of walking we were getting hungry, so we reviewed the restaurants we were passing. There were plenty of them and many looked quite good, but we decided to settle for familiarty. We got back in the van and headed up to Yarmouth to enjoy a meal at The Muddy Rudder. The restaurant has a classy, romantic atmosphere, decent food and a gorgeous view of a tidal river and marsh.

We came in to dine rather early, so there was no live music, but the entertainment on the marsh was first rate. As we ate and whispered sweet nothings to one another ("Pass the salt, please"), we watched the birds outside. There was this one duck who seemed determined to go fishing for his own supper. He'd go down for a long dive, then come up for air and dive again.

We were watching pretty intently, trying to predict where he would surface. Suddenly he popped up with a shining silver fish flopping in his mouth! The BHE and I practically cheered for him. However, we weren't the only one watching the action. A seagull who had been lazily perched on a post also spied him. He was in action immediately, swooping on the duck in an attempt to steal his food. I could almost hear him yelling out, "MINE!!"



The duck dove, but he lost his fish. A few minutes later he caught another. This time TWO seagulls attacked him, "MINE! MINE!"

The next fish he caught almost got him brained as a whole flock descended on him. After that he (wisely, in my opinion) thought better of fishing in that part of the river and moved on.

The whole incident got the BHE and I to thinking. What were we doing paying for a meal? We could each just perch lazily on benches or chairs in the restaurant and wait. As soon as a waitress emerged from the kitchen we could swoop and try to snag a hearty meal! If she could fight us off, then fine. But if we overpowered her - "MINE!! MINE!!", we could end up with some awfully nice meals for very little work.

;-)

An Honest Review of Time4Learning's Homeschool Website

Well, you didn't think I'd give you a dishonest review, did you? ;-)

The website Time4Learning approached me to ask if I'd be willing to try their homeschooling website for a month with my girlies and then write a review on it. My month is up! Th girls and I went there several times, though certainly not every school day. I haunted the parent forums and had the girls try several assignments in each subject level.

But before we begin, you need to know about our typical homeschooling practices and philosophy so you'll know why I feel the way I do about Time4learning. We all have different styles of teaching and learning, so no one curriculum is right for all of us.

First of all, our Groovy homeshool is a Christian homeschool. I do not demand that all our resources be Christian based - ie. I don't need Scripture verses in my math texts and sermons in my history books - but I will exercise my parental authority to censor reading material that I find overtly offensive to my faith. If a particular book or series or curriculum continues to offend, I will ditch it.

Secondly, I am a strong proponent of unit studies. I firmly believe that learning is more solidly entrenched when one object of study is approached from many different directions. This puts us in the position of usually scheduling our schoolwork around historical events. We can study related events in the same time period, art of that era, science discoveries related to the time or person we're learning about and write papers related to those topics. Spelling words are from the vocabulary found in our studies. In short, everything, but math and grammar are related together by a strong central thread. Right now we are studying slowly trough the Presidents of the Untied States. As we do we are learning about food, dress, morality, science, language, major issues like slavery, reasons for war, the political systems of the world, and great literature.

Thirdly, I am also of the opinion that homeschooling allows us the freedom to have a child who functions at different levels in different subjects. Ask me what "grade" my girls are in and I have NO idea. When they are ready to move on, they move on irrespective of their age. So one child may be in 4th grade math, 8th grade reading, 6th grade spelling, and 6th grade science. I really don't keep track, so I find the concept of trying to mash a varied child into a cookie cutter "grade" of expectations where some things would be too hard and others would bore her in their simplicity.

Fourthly, let's face it, I am eclectic. I know...you are shocked. I don't like to be locked into schedules and preset expectations!!

So now, I humbly ask you to take all this baggage of mine into account as I give my review:

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Time4Learning is, in their own words, "a convenient, online home education program that combines learning with fun educational teaching games."

Let's look at the pros and cons of the program. Shall we?

From here on out, I'll highlight the Positives (as I see them) in blue and the Negatives (as I see them) in Deep Orange:

You pay for the program on a monthly basis and are given a 14 day money back guarantee. So you can try it for two weeks and bail out if, for some reason, it isn't a good fit for your family - and there are no return shipping fees because it's all online. THAT's a good deal!

We had to start out with Time4Learning by entering each girl in a "grade". As you can imagine, this was tough for me. But I slated Silly-Head as a 4th grader and Girly-Girl as a 5th grader.

Well, at least I think I did. ;-)

There is a WORLD of support for new users. There's a lovely "Getting Started" guide to help moms and dads navigate the website and understand how it works. It was a wonderful resource for me. You can also get help in planning out our school year.

There is the usual FAQ section, but there is so much more. You can email the administrators for help - and they do respond fairly quickly. You can pump more experienced T4L parents for help and advice on the forums. You can use the website itself to plan out your school year. You can preview your child's lessons before they do them and you can opt to have a child who "doesn't get it" do lessons over again as often as you like.

As a side note, each child registered has her own home page and records. This makes it cery easy for the parents to monitor each child's work You can keep track of all that has been mastered and what subjects still need work on your child's "Progress Report".

The program worked without a hitch on my 5 year-old Macintosh. That was a big plus for us since we're moving into the era where many online programs have hitches and glitches when we try them. Time4Learning worked perfectly, every time.

Unfortunately, we quickly ran into problems for Silly-Head. She is a poor reader and the fourth grade curriculum was far too verbose for her to handle. One short email and the Time4Learning crew moved her to a lower grade. Now, as I'm looking back over the parent info, I see that I could have just moved her grade-wise in one subject instead of all of them. That's a nice feature if your children, like mine exist on several grade levels!

We still had a conundrum though, in that while she is smart enough for advanced (in elementary school terms) science and social studies, I have to read the instructions and text for her or she gets frustrated. If we dumb the text down so she can read it herself, then it feels baby-ish and boring to her.

And there is alot to read. Onscreen text. At my desktop. Ugh!

I have trouble reading passages/books online and my girls didn't care for that aspect either. They'd much rather curl up on the sofa while studying! It was very hard for wither of them to stay focused while reading on the screen, so I had to divide their lessons into much shorter segments.

Girly-Girl is a much better reader, but still got fatigued more quickly than usual by reading onscreen. Also, in one particular lesson there was a flashing graphic right next to several paragraphs of instructional text. She actually had to hold a piece of paper over it so she wouldn't be distracted.

Speaking of animation - Time4 Learning uses high quality, entertaining animations in many of the lesson presentations. The girls really enjoyed those. The animated instruction seemed much more apropos for the computer screen medium than the more text heavy presentations. The girls laughed frequently, and retained what they learned. The lesson was then nicely enforced in follow-up exercises.

Sadly, some of the humor used was "potty" humor involving multiple manifestations of gas, etc. I noted on the forums that this seemed to start in the third grade curriculum. It wasn't horrible, but also wasn't entirely uplifting, if you know what I mean.

I also learned on the forum that that God's Name is used as an exclamation in some of the sixth grade Language Arts lessons. That doesn't sit well with me. Nor did the creepy story Girly-Girl was supposed to read in her Language Arts about Houdini's wife and her persistant attempts to call him back from the dead. The story reeked of the occult. Girly-Girl read a couple of paragrahs and then called me because she was disturbed by the direction of the reading assignment. I scanned the rest of the story and we decided to scrap that lesson.

Moral of this story? If you do choose to use Time4Learning you, as a parent, will NOT want to go on auto-pilot. You will want to review the lessons ahead of time so you can discuss or weed out objectionable material.

On the plus side, there were book and reading assignments given from real books with comprehension and discussion questions to be completed after each chapter. There are also worksheets and charts in various subjects that can be printed off and filled out to complete various lessons.

I must confess that we didn't look much at the math or science curriculum. We've been using Math-U-See since day one of school and our science is informally sprinkled throughout our year as it fits in with our unit studies. I didn't want to interrupt the flow of the girls' studies to try something totally foreign to them. I did look at the math and science lessons myself, though. What I saw seemed orderly and well presented.

One feature on the site that the girls truly loved was the "playground". There are a number of wonderfully fun games for the kids to play. Some reinforce problem solving, some involve educational reinforcement and many are just silly fun. And they all WORKED - which, I will stress again, is a HUGE plus for ancient Mac owners. Even better (at least from a mom's perspective) there was a built in timer. So when "recess" is over, the website kicks your darling child right back to their lessons with no nagging from Mom. :-D

One problem I would forsee if our family were to use Time4Learning exclusively is the issue of having one computer and two children. I think it would complicate our schedule greatly to try to find a way to schedule all the lessons for both girls so that they could actually have the computer time they would need. For a family with many children, this problem would naturally be multiplied.

I also don't like the idea of them spending THAT much time on the computer - even in a learning situation. I much prefer reading aloud and interacting with them!

However, I could see Time4Learning as a viable program for a single child family or for a family that is going through a stressful time and needs a curriculum that is simple to use and fairly complete. They really have done a good job of making the site and the program thorough.

So, as is the way of all curriculum, Time4Learning is a TOOL. For our particular family I don't think it is a tool I would use often enough to be worth the monthly fee. But you and your family may feel differently.

Perhaps you need the ease of a curriculum where everything is laid out before you. Or perhaps you have a child that needs lots of structure and visual cues. Or perhaps you just need something new and different to spur your homeschooling efforts to new heights. You may even find Time4Learning very valuable as an added resource to the curriculum you already use. We are currently studying U.S. Presidents and the history in each of their terms of service. Girly-Girl seemed to enjoy learning more about how government works in the Time4Learning Social Studies program. It was a nice addendum to what we were already doing.

Anyway it goes, Time4Learning is certainly worth a try. Remember, you can - more or less - try it before you buy it. So check it out, I'm glad I did!

In Which Groovy is Finally Ready to Whine About the Weather

...But I won't because there are waaaaaaaaay worse things than winters that never seem to end.

Like the earthquake and tsunami reported in Japan this morning that now threatens the whole Pacific rim.

Or the ugliness of divorce.

Or abuse.

Or slavery.

Or__________________________________. You fill in the blank; There's plenty of gloom and doom in the world to choose from.

However, there is also Hope. There is personal hope for each one of us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know Him? More importantly, do you trust Him? In these very troubled times, we need an anchor that holds. After a multitude of years in His service, I can testify that Jesus is a rock we can cling to. None of the events in the world today take Him by surprise and none of the events in your life are hidden from Him.

He IS in control and He cares about you. Please, trust Him today - with your past, your present, and your future - and find PEACE!

^{Psalm 46}

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see what the LORD has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

A Random Explosion of Groovy Thought

Ah, my friends, it has been much too long since I posted here. I've been busy, but not that busy. It's more that I've been in a writing funk. I've not even had any wandering thoughts that begged to be pinned down.

In other words, I've been more boring than groovy.

Fortunately, that's about to change! In fact, this post will probably be so chock full of flying thoughts that you'll need a butterfly net so you can catch and examine them. Maybe TWO butterfly nets!

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First of all, The BHE and I are trying raise money for the American Lung Association again. We're both planning to ride in the 180 mile Trek Across Maine - and this time I. AM. GOING. TO. FINSH. THE. RIDE!!!!!!!!

You can make your tax deductable (USA) donation with a credit card by clicking one of the donation links in my sidebar. You can also read more about our Trek preparations on my other blog: Groovy Trekkers: Suffering Pain for Others Gain

Training thus far has been limited to weight lifting, the treadmill, and snowshoing due to the copious layer of snow that is still on the ground here. But we'll get the bikes out soon. I promise you!

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I suppose, since I've started off by mentioning a hugely athletic event, this would be a good place to talk about dieting.

I hate dieting.

I love food. I hate limiting food and living by rules that say, "Don't eat this, Don't eat that, yadda, yadda, yadda..." I've eaten low fat, low carb, vegetarian, Mediterranean, "Flat Belly", no sugar, no processed, and all organic. I've counted carbs, counted calories, counted MUFAs, and counted fat. I'm "good" for about 3-6 days and then BAM, I'm back to me - eating what I want, when I want it (and too much of it). Twice I have lost 11 or 12 pounds (on low carb and Flat Belly) and been oh-so-proud, then....You guessed it. I got sick of eating by the "rules" and gained the weight back.

I know, I know, it's not about a "diet" it's about a "permanent lifestyle change". The problem is WHICH lifestyle? If the science keeps changing and the rules keep changing as to what's the healthiest way to eat, then how am I supposed to keep up?

They have told us that fat was evil. Now they tell us that fat is good, though there is some debate over which types of fat are beneficial. Some of them say, "Mono-unsaturated fats from nuts and olives ONLY". Others say animal fat is best. Now grains are evil (I've even recently read that corn is gonna kill us all) and sugar is worse. But I found this awesome ad in a 1968 edition of Woman's Day magazine:

I'm told that I should count calories -spend more than I take in and voila, I'll be lythe and lovely. Then moments later I'm told to NEVER count calories.

It's all starting to get to me!

I am working out quite regularly now, but the eating - OY! Truth is I'm only 15-20 pounds overweight. That's not bad, really. But those extra pounds DO weigh me down in long distance biking and in hiking with heavy gear for Search & Rescue. I'd really like to see them go. Permanently.

Sooooooo. I made donuts this morning. And they were yummy.

;-)

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And now, on to puberty. Not me, I've already been there. But both my very young girlies are there now. Silly-Head, at 9 and 1/2, seems unphased thus far - except that she has quit wetting the bed AND quit sucking her thumb. We are all doing the dance of joy on her behalf! (And fear not, she will not be embarassed if I write about this here. She does not read my blog.)

But Girly-Girl is 11 and she is in turmoil. She is asking questions of deep, emotional amd spiritual import pretty much every day. She struggles constantly with a HUGE sensitivity to sin - real or imagined. ie. She is constantly "confessing" to us. Little things, "I touched the kitchen counter, but I'm not sure if I washed my hands first." (???) and big things, "I was rude to so-and-so at my birthday party last August." or "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening to anything you or Dad just said."

I'm glad she has a tender heart, but she worries WAAAY too much. We've tried to reassure her and redirect her. We've looked up Scriptures on sin and confession and repentance. After all, when there IS sin, it needs to be dealt with. But most of her issues are with false guilt and mistakes and imperfections, not sin. We've prayed with her and remind her constantly that she's loved just the way she is and that we are proud of her. Nonetheless, she struggles.

She reads her Bible VERY faithfully and makes sure we all read ours as well. The BHE and I don't mind being reminded - we want to read the Word every day, but Silly-Head was starting to balk at her sister's well-meaning legalism and we had to tell Girly-Girl to back off.

Girly-Girl and I did go away for 24 hours or so. We stayed in a Bed & Breakfast and listened to Dr. Dobson's tape series Preparing for Adolescence. We also shopped and ate out and watched all 3 of the original Star Wars movies - though now she wants to know why we watched them when we believe young ladies should dress modestly and Leah was NOT dressed modestly in the scenes with Jabba.

I still have to deal with that one. But, the tapes and our ensuing discussions about thoughts and crushes and feeling insecure, etc. did help alleviate some of her thought tornadoes.

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Man, those donuts were GOOD!

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It's raining today. It rained most of yesterday and all night long as well. The trees and powerlines are covered with ice. I am praying we don't lose power. Without power we have no heat or water. We've looked at generators, but it seems like a lot of mony to spend for insurance against a possible power loss...

The ice is so beautiful and yet, so treacherous!

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OK, enough fluttering thoughts for one day. I need to work out and get the girls rolling with some schoolwork. I'm reviewing an educational site called Time4Learning. I need to plug the girls in so my review will be more thorough. I should be writing that quite soon, so stay tuned.

Oh, and before you leave, Have a donut. They're really yummy!

I Get to Review Fun Homeschool "Stuff"

And by "stuff" I mean online curriculum.

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning is an online educational program that can be used in many ways including as a homeschooling curriculum or afterschool tutorial. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.

So stay tuned and Groovy will let you know what she and her groovy girlies think of Time4Learning.