A Poem

The Awesomely Boring Free Verse
by my youngest brother
who is 13 years old
for a school assignment

Why can't we play games on your computer?

I really want to. =D

Shooting games and racing games

Games and games and games and games

Lots of fun and boring games

Games and games and games and games

Strategy games and no attention needed games

Internet and video games

Games and games and games and games

Games on phones and games on hand-held's

Games and games and games and games

Game boy games and Nintendo games

Games and games and games and games

Why can't we play games on your computer?

I really want to. =D

Now That is Talent

Give it a few seconds, it's a slow start, but worth the wait!

Morning Music

It's a great thing to listen to your boy singing first thing in the morning!

Defending Against Tyranny

We must study and learn for ourselves the principles laid down in the Constitution which have preserved our freedoms for the last two hundred years. If we do not understand the role of government and how our rights are protected by the Constitution, we may accept programs or organizations that help erode our freedoms. An informed citizenry is the first line of defense against anarchy and tyranny.

-Ezra Taft Benson, former Secretary of Agriculture(1953-1961) and past President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints(1985-1994). Quoted in A Glorious Standard page 105.

Pinball Song

Kiss It Better

Monkey walks in from the kitchen this evening and we had this conversation:

Monkey: Ow. Foot.

He's not limping. No crying. No thumps while he was in the kitchen.

Mom: What's wrong with your foot?

Monkey: Fix. Kiss. [He holds foot forward toward me.]

Sunday Scripture

Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name;

And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.
3 Nephi 18:19-20



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Cool Word: Ennui

It's from French, pronounced an-wi. An, like Announcement.

From my Big Unabridged Dictionary That Andy Bought Me:

a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom.

Used in context:

The monk he instantly knew to be the Prior of Jorvaulx Abbey, well known for many miles around as a lover of the chase, of the banquet, and of other worldly pleasures still more inconsistent with his monastic vows. Yet so loose were the ideas of the times respecting the conduct of the clergy, whether secular or regular, that the Prior Aymer maintained a fair character in the neighbourhood of his abbey. His free and jovial temper, and the readiness with which he granted absolution from all ordinary delinquencies, rendered him a favourite among the nobility and principal gentry, to several of whom he was allied by birth, being of a distinguished Norman family. The ladies, in particular, were not disposed to scan too nicely the morals of a man who was a professed admirer of their sex, and who possessed many means of dispelling the ennui which was too apt to intrude upon the halls and bowers of an ancient feudal castle.

From Ivanhoe, page 15

Been Needing an Ironing Board Cover

Cuz I got a Walmart brand one when the old one wore out. Don't do that. It doesn't work at all. The old one was better and the money's never coming back. But it seems that there is a tutorial for making an ironing board cover!


- More cool how to projects

Why Vote Baldwin

In a nutshell: you can't do the same thing and expect a different result.

Debate

That debate is actually on C-SPAN2, or you can watch it online here.

Voting Tip

I've always struggled with figuring out who is going to be on the ballot. I'm sure that most folks know this already, but your city or county clerk can tell you. In fact, I picked up a sample ballot this morning. Now I have the actual list for my address and can look up the local candidates as well as the better-advertised state and national candidates prior to election day.

In Other Words

Here are some more lovely posts about the dangers of voting for the "lesser evil."

From Harvest Academy:

My question when I hear something like this is, "So how will it be any different if a Republican wins?" Don't get me wrong, I have been a "faithful Republican" all my life. I have never not voted Republican. I had these feelings of "gloom and doom" eight years ago when George Bush ran against Bill Clinton. ... However, over the past few years I have begun to realize that the Republican agenda is not that different from that of the Democrats. If you look at the outcomes the results are typically the same, no matter who is in office. What we end up with from either party is more government "programs", with a bigger National debt as a result, and more government control of our lives. We can see that thanks to President Bush things are just as bad as they would have been with Clinton, if not a little worse. He has single-handedly taken away more freedoms from the American People than any President before him, violated the constitution over and over again, and left us with a country that is teetering on the edge of collapse. In regards to this election, and many before this, I have heard a number of people express the sentiment that although John McCain isn't the ideal choice for President, in this case "you have to vote for the lesser of two evils." My contention is, the lesser of two evils is still evil. This is the President of the United States we are talking about. This is supposed to be the most venerated secular position known to man. To think of settling for "the lesser of two evils" in choosing who should hold this high office should be reprehensible.

Read more...

From Apples of Gold Ministries:

May I introduce to you the Constitution Party. This party's candidates are Chuck Baldwin and Darrell Castle. Here is what they stand for and have not danced around their convictions. You owe it to yourself and your children to look into your options. ... What direction do you see our government going? People say they want change, but these two main political parties have not brought us a real change. ... When was the last time we had another political party on the Oval Office? Wouldn't a new party show CHANGE? I understand these two main teams have some different experiences that many of you like, but are you 1000% positive in who you are voting for? Are you convinced that who you are considering voting for is the right choice for America?

What did our founding fathers work so hard for? Why would they go to battle against other countries in order to have a FREE nation? Why would they go the extra mile to be sure the Bill of Rights and Constitution was established? Why did people give up their lives for these documents?

We ARE a free nation and it's time we start living like we're free. We are free to make up our own minds without the media persuading us. We CAN get online and read about the other options. We do know how to figure out who WE want without the bombardment and onslaught of immoral ads that are targeted to fill our minds with their propaganda.

Read more...

Third Party Presidential Debate

CSPAN TO AIR PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE LIVE!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Free and Equal is pleased to announce that CSPAN will be covering tomorrow night's [October 23rd] debate LIVE from 9:00pm to 10:30 EST. Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin and Independent candidate Ralph Nader have confirmed their participation.
Read more...

Now There's a Thought!

Seems only reasonable, doesn't it?
Shouldn't they at least LOOK at the bills they pass?

Homeschool Blog Awards!

Best Homeschool Mom Blog:
Wanderer in a Strange Land
http://madiantin.blogspot.com/

Best Blog Design:
Chocolate on my Cranium
http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/

Best Artistic Content Blog
Pioneer Woman
http://thepioneerwoman.com/

‘Live-What-You-Believe’ Homeschool Blog
Starry Sky Ranch
http://starryskyranch.typepad.com/

Best Geographical Blog
One Child Policy Homeschool (China)
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Jimmie/

Best Current Events, Opinions or Politics Blog
The Common Room
http://heartkeepercommonroom.blogspot.com/

Best Cyber-Buddy Blogger
Wanderer in a Strange Land
http://madiantin.blogspot.com/

Best Variety
The Common Room
http://heartkeepercommonroom.blogspot.com/

Best Nitty-Gritty Homeschool Blog
Classic Adventures
http://classicadventures.blogspot.com/

Best Homeschooling Methods Blog
Handbook of Nature Studies (Charlotte Mason)
http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/

More Machines

Monkey still loves the heavy machinery!

Joe the Plumber on Obama

I tried to get the full video, but it's been pulled. This next one is a clip from "The O'Rilley Factor," and the commenter is pretty annoying & apparently thinks her viewers are pretty dim, but they do have a little more of what Obama said. "Spread the wealth around." Sounds pretty socialist to me.

Ron Paul Endorses Chuck Baldwin

From Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty blog:
The Libertarian Party Candidate admonished me for “remaining neutral” in the presidential race and not stating whom I will vote for in November. It’s true; I have done exactly that due to my respect and friendship and support from both the Constitution and Libertarian Party members. I remain a lifetime member of the Libertarian Party and I’m a ten-term Republican Congressman. It is not against the law to participate in more then one political party. Chuck Baldwin has been a friend and was an active supporter in the presidential campaign. ...

I’ve thought about the unsolicited advice from the Libertarian Party candidate, and he has convinced me to reject my neutral stance in the November election. I’m supporting Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate. (emphasis added)
Read more...

Choosing Between Two Evils

From Connor's Conundrums:
The Lesser of Two Evils

A common critique against the “lesser of two evils” mantra is that the lesser of two evils is still evil itself. The Lord appears to agree. This is nothing to be trifled with, as the Lord continues in the following verse by explicitly commanding us to shun all evil (including the “lesser”):

And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God. (Doctrine and Covenants 98:11; emphasis added)

Imagine if the Saints collectively upheld this rule, did their homework, and proactively supported the campaigns of those candidates that applied (after all, the Lord says to diligently seek for such people, not wait until the primaries and caucuses have decided the candidates for you). We alone would be a great force to be reckoned with, as would the worthy individuals we support.
Read more...

Democratic Lawyer Questions Obama's Citizenship

Sunday Scripture

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6



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Fall Colors for Emma

Monkey Asks Why

Monkey burped several times as we finished dinner. Then we had this conversation:

Monkey: Mama burp?

Mama: No, I don't want to.

Monkey: Mama burp?

Mama: No, it's really not good manners.

Monkey: Why?

Mama: I don't know!

Monkey: No idea!

It was a fun conversation! We think it's the first time he's asked why. He was so funny about it! But I still don't know why not. There are places where a good belch indicates that dinner was good. What's the logic behind forbidding them?

Corn Maze!

We went to a corn maze last weekend with Monkey's Aunts & Uncles (the local ones, anyway).



It's possible to get quite lost in the corn. Letting Monkey choose what direction you're going to go at each intersection is a good way to do it. Although he did find the entrance again one time! (Us big kids found it twice more, I think.)



They told us that our corn maze was the shape of a tractor. I don't think that I ever figured out how that worked.



It certainly wasn't a whole lot of help in finding the way out!



Of course, a little boy has to stop and look at the rocks he finds.



And, having recently discovered his pockets, they should be filled with rocks!



They had hosted a scavenger hunt in the maze a few days before, and had fun shaped paper punches here and there. Monkey had a good look at each one. We found feet, a fish, a star, a lizard, and at least one more that I can't remember any more.



It took us about 30-45 minutes to solve the maze.



It probably would have taken less time had we gotten to the serious business of solving it a bit quicker, but we were having too much fun.



We did get there eventually.

Something to Ponder

In classical education, the teacher isn't a never-ceasing fount of information from which students continually drink up answers. Instead, the model of the classical teacher is that of leader and "disciples," meaning that the teacher and students are united together in the same task, learning an inherited body of knowledge together. "The teacher's true competence," writes classical headmaster David Hicks, "is not in his mastery of a subject, but in his ability to provoke the right questions and ...[in his] particular eagerness to explore new subjects and new ideas with his students."

-The Well-Trained Mind, page 6`5, emphasis added.

Sunday Scripture

I got home terribly late & I'll do the post after church tomorrow. I'd love to see a few people in Mr. Linky when I get back!

*******

Whew! Yesterday didn't go as planned at all! Here it is Monday morning and I'm finally posting my scripture!

And it came to pass that the fifty and second year ended in peace also, save it were the exceedingly great pride which had gotten into the hearts of the people; and it was because of their exceedingly great riches and their prosperity in the land; and it did grow upon them from day to day.

Helaman 3:36



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Lasagna Gardening

I told Mom I'd collect some "lasagna gardening" information for her. It's also called "no-till gardening" and "sheet composting." It's also very easy to do organically. (Which is nice cuz organic's nice, but also cuz those chemicals are expensive!) I never felt the need for feeding or spraying my garden & it's not because I'm such an expert! I tried it out this summer & it works great! Even though I didn't build my bed as deep as most of the sites recommend building it, and I built it in the spring, rather than the fall, it worked great. I weeded 2-3 times this summer, and when I did weed it was mostly pretty easy. I'm planning to build up my bed a bit more this fall: some people I know who went whole hog on this only watered their garden once, when the planted. They say they got the best harvest ever! I know I did well. (Except for the peppers , & almost everyone I talked to had a poor year for peppers.) I was gone for almost 3 weeks, twice. I also don't enjoy weeding so much that I do it terribly often. This picture of my garden was taken about a month and a half ago. It's a bit bushy, but not overtaken by weeds.


Basically what you do is pick your garden spot, then lay down a bunch of newspapers. My friends used cardboard on their walk-ways, and avoided weeds there too. On top of the newspapers you put layers of brown & green types of stuff. Leaves that fall & dry straw are browns, crass clippings & kitchen waste is green. It "cooks" over the winter, which is to say that it decomposes into compost, which is fabulous for planting in! Next year you plant, add more mulch, and it's the easiest garden you've ever worked in.

How to Make a Lasagna Garden
- This one has really clear directions.
Lasagna gardening & planting instructions - the directions for building the garden are less complete, but they have great tips on how to grow some common veggies.
Here is a long, but fun article about how one woman discovered lasagna gardening.
This is a list of things you could add to your compost pile. Or your lasagna garden.

Wrought by Prayer

What a powerful message--and so needed in light of the current US political situation! It is my goal to follow this advice (reposted below with permission) and have faith in the power of prayer.

ONE MINUTE EACH NIGHT

“This is the scariest election we as Christians have ever faced and from the looks of the polls, the Christians aren't voting Christian values. We all need to be on our knees.

“Do you believe we can take God at His word? Call upon His name, then stand back and watch His wonders to behold? This scripture gives us, as Christians, ownership of this land and the ability to call upon God to heal it. I challenge you to do so. We have never been more desperate than now for God to heal our land. This election is the scariest.

“2 Chronicles 7:14--'If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.'

“During WWII, there was an adviser to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every night at a prescribed hour. For one minute, they prayed collectively for the safety of England, its people and peace. This had an amazing effect as bombing stopped. There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in the United States of America and our citizens need prayer more than ever.

“If you would like to participate: each evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central, 7:00 PM Mountain, 6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, for peace in the world, the upcoming election, that the Bible will remain the basis for the laws governing our land and that Christianity will grow in the US.

“If you know anyone who would like to participate, please pass this along. Someone said if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have.

"Please pass this on to anyone who you think might want to join us.”

In Daddy's Shoes

Heavy Machinery

.

Sunday Scripture

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7



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All Kinds of Crazy

Work In Progress

Here I am working on altering my dress.


It doesn't look like much, but here's what I spent the bulk of my day on. The pattern on the left is the original. The pattern on the right is the altered pattern. It's bigger. After I was done I actually got to cut it out of my practice fabric, but I didn't get so far as to start sewing. I'm hoping that I'll be able to do that tomorrow. But with General Conference going on, we'll see how far that plan gets.

Today's the Day!

Alterations currently in progress.

First, I increase the size. (Instructions here.)

Then, I increase the bust. (Instructions here.)

Then I cut it, sew it up and try it on.

I'll update on twitter as to how it's going.

Happy Birthday, Monkey!

Happy Birthday to you,



Happy Birthday to you!



Happy Birthday, dear Monkey,



Happy Birthday to you!



Monkey's a lucky kid: he had 2 birthday parties. There was the first one with just Mom and Dad. He had a Superman Cake, and for several days after he wanted us to sing "happy to you" over and over to him. It was pretty entertaining.



The next weekend Nana, Grandpa, and all the local aunt and uncles came over and we went to the zoo. Monkey enjoyed this quite a bit as well.



Monkey was much photographed.



We wandered all around seeing strange critters.



He played on some statues. Those are always a good spot to take more pictures.



He got to feed the giraffes. I was amazed at how long and flexible their tongues are! Those things are crazy! Not to mention they're purple. That was a bit odd.



Some animals were tall and friendly



Some were shorter and a bit more stand-offish. This guy I used my whole zoom to get the picture of. He was not going to come and be sociable.



Monkey had a good time watching them all.



Then we came back and unwrapped the load of presents that came with the crowd of folks who love Monkey.



Monkey got several bear items. He and Grandpa share a love of bears, so it works out very well. He's sleeping with that polar bear he's got on his lap here these days.



In addition to the bear items, he got a completely hilarious cookie monster toy that laughs from the tickles until it (literally) rolls around on the floor. At least it did. It's well into the process of being loved to death. I'll have to post the video I took later, when I find it. I've got to go to the dentist again right now. They want to talk about doing another root canal. Oh boy am I ever excited.