Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, to my own wonderful daddy....

and my children's darling daddy!  

Enjoy your day, sweeties!

Cultural Collision

Katie drew this today while I was reading The Boys' and Girls' Herodotus aloud. Jo March burning Beth on a funeral pyre. This is what happens when you read a lot of Greek and Roman stories to a child obsessed with Little Women! (and doesn't that look like an awesome edition of Little Women?)

Couch Day

Had a massive muscle spasm in my lower back this morning, before starting the kids on their lessons. We did watch two lectures in Robert Brier's The History of Ancient Egypt (I've never been all that keen on Egypt, but this may be my all-time favorite Teaching Company series!), but the rest of the day I spent pretty much like this....

(thank you, Travis!)
or sleeping. I don't know how much of their work the kids did. I did watch them in the pool for a while, gritting my teeth and feeling noble.

The kids have been doing Vacation Bible School with the Baptists Next Door this week. (They don't have Bible School in the fire truck. The fire truck ride around the neighborhood is just a tradition at the kick-off event, which this year also featured pizza instead of hot dogs!)

My back is feeling enough better tonight that I've been able to walk a little (and sit down at the computer!), so tomorrow I hope to be properly mobile again!

Sunday

Katie made eclair cake (her first!) to take to today's church picnic. It came out very nicely and she was so proud! I made chocolate brownies with mint frosting, which were also well received.

Today was our yearly church picnic (following the service) at the beautiful farm of a member of the congregation.  Her house is on a hilltop, and her gardens, despite the long winter we had, were gorgeous!

We had a guest preacher (I overheard that he is a "preacher" instead of a "priest" because he was never ordained, but instead teaches theology), Scott Bader-Saye, who gave an absolutely marvelous sermon based on today's gospel reading, Luke 12:22-34. He's a school chum of our priest, and I've had his book, Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear, on my Amazon list, but now I've moved it up the list to "really want to read soon." Really inspiring stuff.

 (setting up chairs)

You can just see how much Ed and the kids love it when I take pictures of them eating, can't you?

I wish I could remember what this shrub was called. It has beautiful purple flowers.

Spirea. I want it.

And her peonies were absolutely glorious!

The ball game. Travis played astonishingly well, given his experience with sports. He hit the ball well, ran in the right direction, .... all that stuff!

Katie declined to play ball this year. But she made herself charming in the kitchen, so all was forgiven.

And my flowers do not belong in the same post as Frances's, but my hydrangeas are blooming, and, even amid the weeds and lack of mulch, I love them!

Our Week

These are from last Sunday's spaghetti dinner/talent show fundraiser at church. The kids worked hard and made quite a bit of money. 

Here Travis is helping chop onions. Lots of onions. Onions so potent that my eyes were still stinging hours later. But he didn't complain. And the meatballs were excellent!

Katie making rolls.

 Travis talked some of the other kids into drawing on mustaches. To go with the Italian theme.

 Travis helping set the tables.

 Ed.

Katie carrying salads.

Several weeks ago the church held a rummage sale, and these mirrors were among the things that didn't sell and were still in the fellowship hall looking for homes. I had expressed an opinion about them, but the Lord of the Manor made an executive decision when he found he could get them both for the five dollars he had in his pocket. Harry approves!

Our fat cat....

 and one of our family of rabbits.

We finished the Teaching Company series Origins of Great Ancient Civilizations this week and started in on Bob Brier's History of Ancient Egypt. It is terrific! Katie tended to doze during Ancient Civilizations, but Bob is so animated and enthusiastic that he holds even her attention! I'm so glad. And he keeps mentioning Herodotus, which is lovely because we started Jeanne Bendick's Herodotus and the Road to History this week, and next week we are starting in on John White's The Boys' and Girls' Herodotus. I'm a bit disappointed with White's lack of pictures and maps, but it otherwise looks very good.

Today, after lunch, we went to Stone Mountain. It was a bit chilly but very lovely.

Travis, working on getting to the sliding part of the falls. We've had a lot of rain lately, and Widow Falls was running faster and deeper than I've ever seen it. The air around was full of spray, and the water was absolutely icy!

Gold! (not really) Katie found lots of pretty rocks and shared them with me.

My poor frozen child trying to defrost in the sun.

 (His sister is better able to stand the cold water. She'd have stayed for hours!)

Katie. Under the falls.

 There she is!

 A close-up.

Ed. So cool.

And the rhododendrons are in bloom! Absolutely beautiful.

And, obviously, ice cream!

Ed takes such artistic pictures!

 It was a lovely afternoon!