What a MONTH!

Hi all:) We've been really busy for the second post in a row! I guess it's just Fall. I seem to remember this time last year was very busy as well...
Grace has had piano, drama class, art class, nature hikes, beach classes, spiral scouts, a trip to a working Grist Mill and , of course, school!

We also went to Mt Gulian in Beacon, NY. The children learned about the Dutch Traders in the Hudson Valley in colonial times, as well as the Native Americans with whom they traded goods and services!
Here's the photo page: http://web.mac.com/david_dentry/gulian/Photos.html

Grace has also been diagnosed with a condition called "Convergence Insufficiency", which is impairment of certain eye muscles which help in focusing and tracking. Anyone who knows us for a while knows that Grace has had issues with her reading, because, although a very "early" reader, she was choppy and slow for quite a while. It is interesting that I brought up the same concerns at her last eye appointment with the regular eye doctor but he didn't see fit to check her convergence then...

We are also continuing to unpack here and there, and we need to completely redo the closets for book storage, but I figure it will all come in good time!

A House is a Home There's Love Running Through it...

What can I say? The house is a work in progress, but I sure love it! The way that the campus housing works here is that they split up buildings for multi-purpose usage. Our "House" is actually along the bottom of the large Victorian, a where all of the glassed-in porch part is. It is about the size of a decent ranch house, and Grace gets use of the entire lawn, side lawn and the rest of campus;) It's a pretty sweet deal for where we live, and we are making the most of it! Currently, our "painted lady" is getting a bit of a face lift and she also just got a new roof. It is a 5 minute walk to the beach proper, but to the harbor, it is only 1 -2 minutes. There is an area where herons live and fishing is popular off of the sea wall nearby! It's wonderful! Grace and I have been walking/scootering daily up the road and doing some of her lessons in interesting places! Carl just got a private office facing the harbor, so we visit him sometimes too!
Forte

September Fun...

Hi Everyone! Grace and I have had a REALLY busy September! These are just some pictures of things we've been doing! This doesn't include 90% of it all, but at least it is a post! Right?
As predicted, our homeschool year has become more relaxed, and we are really getting along at this point. Grace is reading Peter Pan and a biography about Teddy Roosevelt. ( Pronounced "Teedie", BTW...He hated to be called "Teddy" as in bear!)
She's really having a good time with her tutor for Math so far and will begin her Friday 2 hour lessons in October. She's practicing her piano hard, and she's been working hard learning about the health of fresh water bodies and watersheds. his should be an enjoyable year!!

Forte

All Systems "Go!"

I went to Staples today to purchase the last of our supplies for the year. Yes. It *was* a zoo. Thank you for asking;)
I found a great magnetic white board to write our daily stuff on and mounted it on Grace's easel. I also found a small calendar to attach to the white board so Grace and I can mark off her school days. Finally, and I am very proud of this idea, I bought an "easy" button for Grace to push as she finishes each subject;) Anyone here who knows Grace will know that she will be THRILLED to push th e"easy" button and it will be a great motivator to keep things humming along nicely during our school day. I 've decided it will be from 8:30 am until 11 am and we'll attend functions in the afternoons. For the days that she has functions beginning before 11, we'll call it a wash. Most weeks will be four days of homeschool. Grace is so excited about the year, and so am I!
Bon Voyage!
Forte

A Swing Makes it "Home"

I regret that I do not have pictures yet, as we cannot find our doohickiethingamajigger to upload the digital photos! *SIGH*
I shall have to paint my pictures with words, and I assure you this is something I have never excelled at!
Our home is a home because we have made it so. It smells like little girl's soapy hair and kitties' fur, cleaning agents and chicken soup. The porch is nice and roomy and Carl and I like to perch in the blue chairs out there in the morning and listen to the birds and watch the campus come sleepily alive. Our kitchen is the heat of our home, with lots of color and with big, cheery windows overlooking the porch. My plan is to paint a couple of the walls in a light terra-cotta color to go with the Talavera pottery I plan to continue purchasing! Grace's room is coming along nicely, with a wonderful set of Pottery Barn linens featuring cherry blossoms and Traditional Japanese scenes on a light blue background. VERY Victorian!
Here's a link:http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/fd24101/index.cfm?pkey=cbdggqt%7Ck
The living room is still a bit rough,as that is where we are currently storing the unpacked boxes, mostly books. We await the call for our furniture to be delivered! Carl insisted on a chocolate brown leather sofa and chair with ottoman to go along with the look of the room, which is mostly dark wood. I must say, I believe it will be stunning. We found a colorful oriental rug that will accent the set nicely and we are still on the lookout for a cool coffee table!
What Grace loves best of all is the swing! Carl srung it today on an apple tree out behind the house! It is a traditional wooden swing that Grace's Grandmother painted last Fall, and it says "Grace's Hollow". It features a painted fairy version of Grace as a fairy and her lovely flower friends around her! The swing is what truly makes it "home" , as we vowed we would put it up when we felt like we were there.

Forte

Wow! I'm Nice?!:)

Thanks to Mamita for nominating me for this! We think you girls are pretty cool too! I apologize that I haven't been keeping up with my posting, and I vow to do better!

Forte

Home Sweet Home...and then a trip!

We made it!

Grace is all set up in her new room, but we need to work on redecoration of her room, as the walls are light blue and the carpet is a slightly darker blue shade. The trim is white. It's extremely pretty. Her white iron bed goes very well. It is almost a "Wendy" room from Peter Pan. I just need to find the right bed linens and accents, with Grace's input. I would really love to find a Dean Morrissey painting to go in there...

Our bedroom is nice, but nothing to shout about. White with white carpeting. There are some beams in there, which are also white, but maybe we could use them for decorating!

The kitchen is WONDERFUL! It is oversized with oodles of counter space, two very large front windows that look out over a grassy area and recessed lighting:) There is also a real live bricked-in "pantry" where we plan to hang lavender and other herbs and store canned and sealed dry goods in lined baskets.It is very "Beatrix Potter". LOL

The bathroom is cavernous, with a very large blue slate-tiled floor space, and a completely tiled-in shower and tub. (White with slate blue accents) The sink and vanity are white with a large mirror, very clean and tidy, and the sink is from Paris. Nice;)

The living room is large, off-white and has a beautiful decorative fire place and two large windows beside it. There is also another window on an adjacent wall.

Finally, there is a huge glassed-in porch that runs along the entire front of the house. It is essentially a conservatory/sun room for 3 seasons of the year. We have also found out that there are glass inserts that can be put into the doors of the porch to completely enclose it during the winter months! Our plan is to put a couch ad table out here as well as reading lamps and a space heater for the winter. It will be perfect for the entertaining that Carl and I will need to do for his new position:)

Tonight, we leave to go visit family and friends in the southwest!
Forte