Tour of California Stage 3

It was a tough day all around, both here at my house and at the Tour of California. I faced the arrival of a virulent gastrointestinal virus amongst my family members; the cyclists met their first mountain challenge. Somehow, I think I had the easier trial.

Route: Modesto – San Jose
Riders remaining: 132
Distance: 102.7 miles
Climbs:
- Del Puerto Canyon Road (category 4)
- San Antonio Valley Road @ 2338 feet (category 4)
- San Antonio Valley Road @ 2370 feet (category 4)
- Mount Hamilton (HC)
- Sierra Road (category 1)

Since I only caught fits and starts of the race online and about as much of the evening coverage with Phil, Paul, and Bob, I have virtually nothing to offer in the way of race narrative except to say that the race leader at the start of Stage 3, Tyler Farrar (Slipstream-Chipotle), abandoned the Tour due to illness. Race coverage reported food poisoning as the cause. I understand, too, that Kevin LaCombe (Kelly Benefit) was forced to withdraw after a crash sent him to the hospital for x-rays. The Tour of California website also had this to say about the health of the competitors in general:

Race doctor Ramin Modabber [said] yesterday that many riders in the peloton have been hit by a virus and are being treated with IV fluids.

This came across the web as well:

Matty Rice of Jelly Belly and Hilton Clarke of Toyota-United have abandoned...

As I said before, it was a tough day for everyone.

My favorite race moment: the finish, of course, because it was exciting and because it put Levi Lepiheimer in the golden jersey. I was happy to see George Hincapie on a lone breakaway, too. Maybe next time he will succeed.

Stage 2 Standings
- Robert Gesink (Rabobank)
- Levi Leipheimer (Astana)
- Jurgen Vandewalle (Quick Step)
- Kevin Seeldraeyers (Quick Step)
- Mauricio Ardila (Rabobank)

General Classification
- Levi Leipheimer (Astana)
- Fabian Cancellara (CSC)
- Robert Gesink (Rabobank)
- David Millar (Slipstream-Chipotle)
- Gustav Larsson (CSC)

Hopefully, the gastrointestinal symptoms of my family won’t hamper my Thursday viewing. I missed the first “real” mountain stage of the race; I don’t really want to miss the longest stage, too. See you later today.

Tour of California Stage 2

Well, I definitely had a sunnier day on tap than they did in northern California. The video feed from the race start showed lots of riders in arm warmers, knee warmers, and jackets, pedaling in the rain. Not a great way to begin one of the longer days of the Tour of California. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much better by the end either. Oh, well.

Route: Santa Rosa - Sacramento
Riders remaining: 132
Distance: 115.8 miles
Climbs:
- Trinity Grade (category 2)
- Highway 128 (category 4)

The Tour website had a good route description for the first climb:

The Trinity road climb and technical descent leading into Napa Valley wineries proved to be one of the most difficult sections in last year’s race so the racers will have to be attentive or risk getting gapped.

And for the trek into Sacramento:

The pack will roll east past Lake Berryessa and spin through the cities of Winters and Davis, the latter of which was recently named the best cycling town by Bicycling Magazine. After turning north, the route will float adjacent to the Sacramento River and across the Tower Bridge before arriving at the Capitol Mall in Sacramento. There the cyclists will whip up the speed when they engage in the final three-lap showdown through downtown before drag racing to the finish line in front of the state’s Capitol building, a monumental location to catch the action.

After reading that, I was wondering if Governor Schwarzenegger would be at the finish line. Apparently, he was.

Once again, the race saw an early breakaway by Team BMC, only this time it was Scott Nydam. Gaining about four kilometers and six minutes on the pack, he was the first to hit the Trinity Grade climb and the first to descend it safely. Like teammate Jackson Stewart in Stage 1, Nydam managed to maintain his lead for most of the day, staying ahead for some 90 miles and at one point reaching fifteen minutes gap over the rest of the peloton. For while there, I thought maybe the group was saving their energy for the climbs on Stage 3 (three category fours, a category one, and an HC). Not so; the pack caught Nydam within ten kilometers of the destination.

And speaking of the finish, the rain that dogged the riders throughout most of the day impacted the closing action as well. With three two-mile circuits through town before reaching the Capitol building, the course offered plenty of opportunities for weather-related mayhem, none of which materialized. The challenges started with Sébastien Turgot (Bouygues Telecom) launching off the front and flatting…and still managing to keep a lead until just after the peloton entered the finishing circuits. Most every team took a turn at the front, all trying to set up their sprinters for a win. In the end, it was Team Quick Step that prevailed with none other than Tom Boonen taking his first accolades of the race.

My favorite race moment: the fact that no one crashed on the rain-wet roads.

Stage 2 Standings
- Tom Boonen (Quick Step)
- Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner)
- Mario Cipollini (Rock Racing)
- Mark Cavendish (High Road)
- Juan Jose Haedo (CSC)

General Classification
- Tyler Farrar (Slipstream-Chipotle)
- Fabian Cancellara (CSC)
- Tom Boonen (Quick Step)
- Bradley Wiggins (High Road)
- Gerald Ciolek (High Road)
- Levi Leipheimer (Astana)
- David Millar (Slipstream-Chipotle)

Tense ending on the day for me. I couldn’t get the play-by-play from the video feed to display on my Mac. I had no idea what was happening for the last three kilometers! Maybe I will start watching on my husband’s PC so I can use Adobe TourTracker.

Until tomorrow.

Tour of California Stage 1

Trying to watch a bike race during the early season is such a struggle around here. My time is already allocated to other, dare I say, more important things like homeschooling and household management tasks. I can’t/shouldn’t really give it the time of day, but…today, I managed to squeeze in Stage 1 of the Tour of California.

Route: Sausalito – Santa Rosa
Riders remaining: 132
Distance: 96.8 miles
Climbs:
- Coleman Valley Road (category 3)

It appeared, and was reported, to be cool most of the day: 53°F at the start and forecast to be cooler by the end of the route. Jackson Stewart of BMC spent most the day on his own, out front, only to be captured by the peloton just before the closing circuit. Sad. I was hoping he would take the day, especially since he earned all the top sprint points for Stage 1, as well as the King of the Mountain jersey. Being from Santa Rosa, it was understandable that Mr. Stewart would want to turn in an impressive performance. I think he should be pleased with a job well done.

Mario Cipollini (Rock Racing) was definitely on his game, racking up third place on the first intermediate sprint. To watch a video of it, click here and go “Peloton Hits the First Sprint.” I had to run some errands toward the end of the race, so I didn’t get to see if he mixed it up at the end. Curious question: does Señor Cipollini hold the record for the highest number of ‘unretirements” in the history of cycling? Just curious. At 40, he sure looks great. Not that I was paying attention. :-)

I understand that George Hincapie (High Road) took a spill in the final turn, although he was able to remount his machine and finish up on the day. Here is a short note on his condition, quoted from the media page of the Team High Road website:

George Hincpaie was part of the lead-out train setting up Ciolek for the sprint but was involved in a crash going under the tunnel within the final kilometer. He was pretty scraped up at the end but finished without losing time.

Last year, Mr. Hincapie broke his wrist during a fall in Stage 6. Hopefully, he will start Stage 2 with only a few aches and no worries.

My favorite race moment: Fabian Cancellara, back in the pack and wearing the yellow jersey, cheering on his teammate, Juan Jose Haedo, even before he crossed the finish line, knowing he had sewn up the Stage 1 win. To view the video, click here and go to “Juan Jose Haedo Wins Stage 1.”

Standings Stage 1
- Juan Jose Haedo (CSC)
- Gerald Ciolek (High Road)
- Heinrich Haussler (Gerosteiner)
- Dominique Rollin (Toyota-United Pro)
- Matteo Tosatto (Quick Step)

General Classification
- Fabian Cancellara (CSC)
- Tyler Farrar (Slipstream-Chipotle)
- Bradley Wiggins (High Road)
- Levi Leipheimer (Astana)
- David Millar (Slipstream-Chipotle)

Hopefully, I can squeeze in Stage 2. Stay tuned.

MassHOPE Convention 2008

This past Saturday, I received my first flyer for the 2008 MassHOPE Convention, the largest conference for Christian homeschoolers in New England. Mark your calendars; it will be in Worcester, Massachusetts, April 25-26. The scheduled keynote speakers are Michael Farris of HSLDA and Kevin Swanson of the Christian Home Educators of Colorado. The theme: Parenting --- A Right, A Responsibility, A Reward.

I am particularly interested in these workshops:

- Smart Kids Who Hate to Write
- Teaching Sense in a World of Nonsense
- Teaching Your Children the Constitution
- Evaluating for Excellence
- Can One Man Make a Difference? Can You?

My daughter has indicated some curiosity about these sessions:

- Real-Life Courtship
- Are You ‘Just Fine’ Without the Fine Arts?
- I’m Sorry: Training Young Apologists

Of course, I am interested in these sessions for my daughter:

- Public Speaking: A Force to be Reckoned With
- Forging Ahead: Apprenticeships in the 21st Century
- Teaching Your Child the Most Feared Activity: Public Speaking

We’ll see how that discussion goes. :-)

Generation Joshua will also be there organizing a mock Presidential election as part of the Teen Track for students ages 12-18. Here is the description for that activity from the convention brochure:

Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to run for President of the United States? Now you have the chance to run for President, to build coalitions, to interact in press conferences --- while learning about our system of government, and how faith and politics intersect.

- snip –

Interspersed with the mock election will be serious and relevant lectures about a Christian’s role in politics, how young people can make a difference in their country, and how youth can get involved in Generation Joshua.

And, of course, my daughter and I will be shopping for curriculum. This may be one of our last trips to the conference as active homeschoolers, as my daughter is approaching her high school graduation. I can hardly believe she is almost finished. It seems like we just started with some Play-doh and a work-play curriculum from the Calvert School. I guess time flies when you’re having fun engaging a young mind!

To learn more about the convention, check out the MassHOPE website at www.masshope.org. A full listing of workshops and classes has not yet been posted there but should be available shortly. One last suggestion: if you plan to attend, make your hotel reservations early. Rooms fill up quickly.

See you there!

Some Good Advice

This video fed to my Google Reader from Symphony of Scripture. I thought it contained some good advice on how to approach the Bible.

Tour of California Prologue

Ugh! I almost missed the first leg of the Tour of California today. I finally remembered to tune in at around 6:00 PM, just in time to see Bobby Julich cross the finish line. My favorite commentators were on board: Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, and Bob Roll. Versus has coverage on the following schedule:

Sunday 2/17/2008 5:00 PM-7:00 PM
Monday 2/18/2008 1:00 AM-2:00 AM & 11:00 PM-12:00 AM
Tuesday 2/19/2008 11:00 PM-12:00 AM
Wednesday 2/20/2008 11:00 PM-12:00 AM
Thursday 2/21/2008 11:00 PM-12:00 AM
Saturday 2/23/2008 5:00 PM-7:00 PM
Sunday 2/24/2008 1:00 AM-2:00 AM & 5:00 PM-7:00 PM
Monday 2/25/2008 1:00 AM-2:00 AM

Also from the Versus website:

The tour will...raise funds for cancer care and treatment. Founded in 2005, Breakaway from Cancer™ is a complementary component to Amgen’s race sponsorship. Breakaway from Cancer™ raises awareness and funds to support valuable services and programs, provided free of charge, that help people living with cancer. This year, the initiative will support The Wellness Community and the National Coalition of Cancer Survivorship.

Today’s high finishers for the short, flat individual time trial in Palo Alto:

1. Fabian Cancellara (CSC)
2. Bradley Wiggins (High Road)
3. Tyler Farrar (Slipstream-Chipotle)
4. Levi Leipheimer (Astana)
5. Edvald Hagen (High Road)

For in-depth coverage of standings and route information, check out the Amgen Tour of California website.

See you tomorrow!

Note to parents: don’t miss the Education page on the Tour of California site; it offers links for bike safety, maintenance, and cycling history, as well as information on California weather and geography. Surf around a bit. You and your kids may just learn something new.

Another note: To view the new Visit California ad featuring Levi Leipheimer, click here.

Urgent Update!!! CT Senate Bill 162

Early this afternoon, I received this comment from Judy Aron at Consent of the Governed. I am quoting here so as not to miss any important information (emphasis mine in orange/gold, underline mine as well). This comment can also be read at the original post. I will continue to supply new information as it comes my way.

We’ve actually found some major problems with this wording --- which is not the same wording that we agreed on!

As the bill is currently proposed, we will not be supporting it --- yes, your read that correctly --- I have pulled my post because we are looking into what happened with the original language. Details will be forthcoming about what the story is but basically this was not supposed to be part of 10-184, nor does it really solve the problems entirely.

Although it does require the school district to accept a letter of withdrawal, this new bill, SB 162, in essence, would codify the right of school districts to somehow grant “permission” to the parents to allow them to withdraw their children “if” they “elect” to provide the “required instruction.” Conversely, this bill could be read to prohibit parents from withdrawing their children from school “if” parents do not “elect” to provide the “required instruction.” The bill does not define the term, “required instruction.” This leaves the door wide open to still more of the coercive tactics already used by school officials to prevent parents from withdrawing their children. It does nothing to solve the problem. It only encourages more of the same.

To repeat, Senator Meyer’s version of the new bill, SB 162, would infringe on the already existing right of parents to withdraw their children from public school without the so-called “permission” of the school district.

This is not the bill that Representative O’Neill originally proposed, and it is not the bill that NHELD and other homeschool and parenting groups supported.

The original language and statement of purpose was supposed to be this:

AN ACT CONCERNING WITHDRAWAL FROM SCHOOL
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

That subsection (1) of section 10-220 of the general statues be amended to provide when a parent or guardian of a child provides be certified mail, return receipt requested, to the principal of the school that the child attends or tot he superintendent of the local or regional board of education, written notice originated by and signed by the parent or guardian of a child stating that the parent or guardian is withdrawing the child from enrollment in a public school and will provide instruction for the child as required pursuant to section 10-184 of the general statutes, the principal of the school that the child attends or the local or regional board of education shall accept such notice and shall deem the child withdrawn from enrollment in the public school immediately upon receipt of such notice.

Statement of Purpose
To allow parents to home school their children and to require the board of education to respect their decision.

Check back to my site Monday to read an update on this issue --- right now we are not very pleased with this turn of events and Senator Meyer is claiming he doesn’t know what happened and support the original language.

A bulletin will be coming out from NHELD.

CT Senate Bill 162

PLEASE NOTE: A problem has arisen with the wording of SB 162 as presented below. The legislation, as originally proposed by Representative Arthur O'Neill, was not intended to amend Connecticut General Statue 10-184. It was supposed to amend Connecticut General Statute 10-220. For further explanation of this development, please see the comment to this post by Judy Aron or read my more recent post, "Urgent Update!!! CT Senate Bill 162." Thank you.
----------------------------
Well, after three years of work, it looks like NHELD, Representative Arthur O’Neill, and Connecticut parents will finally get a hearing for An Act Concerning Withdrawal of a Child from Enrollment in a Public School. From Consent of the Governed, we have this information:

Thanks to the support of State Senator Meyer and State Representative Anne Ruwet of the Select Committee on Children, the Parents Rights Bill proposed by Representative Arthur O’Neill has been raised in the Childrens Committee and will finally have a public hearing on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 9:00 am in Room 2B of the Legislative Office Building.

The purpose of the bill is to create a procedure by which parents will be able to remove their children from public school without fear of being harassed for truancy because an educational institution refused to remove the children in question from an official enrollment list. This has been a problem in Connecticut as schools attempt to “motivate” parents to comply with the current voluntary suggested procedure of filing a notice of intent before disenrolling a student. If passed, the legislation would add the following to Connecticut General Statute 10-184:

If the parent or other person having control of a child elects to provide the instruction required pursuant to this section to such child, such parent or other person may withdraw such child from school upon providing the notice described in this subsection to the principal of the school the child is attending or the superintendent of schools for the local or regional school district in which such school is located. Such notice shall (1) state that the parent or other person is withdrawing the child from school and that such required instruction will be provided by the parent or such other person, (2) be in writing, (3) be signed by such parent or other person, and (4) be delivered by certified mail, return receipt requested. Such principal and superintendent of schools and the local or regional board of education for such school district shall accept such notice and shall deem such child withdrawn from school immediately upon receipt of such notice.

Any homeschoolers who wish to testify in support of the bill are instructed to sign up at 8:00 am Tuesday morning in Room 2B of the Legislative Office Building, approximately one hour prior to the official proceedings. Those signing up to speak are also asked to bring at least fifty copies of their testimony. At present, I do not plan to testify. Sadly, I may not even be able to attend the hearing due to some scheduling conflicts. However, I will try to keep you apprised of any developments.

If Only!

Lately, I have been crazy busy with homeschooling and keeping up with some other goals I set for myself in 2008. Consequently, I haven’t checked the LiveStrong Blog on a regular basis. I did surf over there this morning, though, and found this entry, “Luke Armstrong’s Invention of the Day.” For those of you who may not know, Luke is Lance Armstrong’s oldest child. Apparently, Luke’s school has a cool program that Lance tells about:

...the kids have to sit down and think of an invention and write about it. Part of the fun is getting to draw their inventions on these shirts. So when I got home, Luke was wearing the T-shirt...

So, I said, “Luke, what’s up with that T-shirt?” And he said, “This is my invention. It’s a pill that cures cancer. You put the pill in a cup of water and it fizzes and bubbles. You drink the water and it cures the cancer.

The delivery system for young Mr. Armstrong’s cure reminded me of those old Alka-Seltzer commercials where the gentleman with indigestion sings “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz. Oh, what a relief it is.” What a relief it truly would be if the cure for any type of cancer were as simple as drinking a glass of water. If only!

Nice work, Luke. And, by the way, I like the t-shirt.

Release the Hound!

Congratulations to the owners and handler of the cutest beagle ever --- Uno! The quality of this AP video from YouTube isn’t the greatest. If you would like a clearer specimen, try this link. I was unable to post it here on Gooseberry Lane because embedding was disabled by request.

DYK? Flu Smarts

Do you know how to keep yourself from getting sick with the stomach flu when the virus knocks down your entire family? Here are some ideas from Dr. Weil.com. This advice comes from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology:

1. Wash your hands often or use hand sanitizers containing at least 60% alcohol.

2. Disinfect surfaces (like doorknobs, light switches, and faucet handles) with a cleanser containing bleach.*

3. Wash raw food before eating; don’t eat food prepared by someone who has been sick until they have been symptom-free for 2-3 days.

4. Wash laundry in hot water and dry on high setting.

5. Quarantine sick family members; disinfect what they use.

6. Keep your house clean; disinfect surfaces regularly.

*I use this Shaklee product instead of one containing bleach, even though such use is contrary to the above recommendations. Please note: there is no evidence that a non-bleach product kills the norovirus that causes stomach flu. To be certain that the virus is eliminated, a product containing bleach is preferred.

Worst Places to Live (for Christians)

Earlier this week, I read an article on The Christian Post website that listed the top ten worst places to live if you are a Christian. No big surprises for me, although I would have expected India to be a bit higher on the list given some of the recent violence there.* Here are the top thirty countries from Open Doors USA. They are listed in ascending order and categorized by level of oppression:

Severe Persecution
1. North Korea

Oppression
2. Saudi Arabia
3. Iran
4. Maldives
5. Bhutan
6. Yemen
7. Afghanistan
8. Laos

Severe Limitations
9. Uzbekistan
10. China
11. Eritrea
12. Somalia
13. Turkmenistan
14. Comoros
15. Pakistan
16. Qatar
17. Vietnam
18. Chechnya
19. Egypt
20. Zanzibar Islands
21. Iraq
22. Azerbaijan
23. Libya
24. Mauritania
25. Burma (Myanmar)
26. Sudan (North)
27. Oman

Some Limitations
28. Cuba
29. Brunei
30. India

*To read more about the persecution of Christians around the world, visit Persecution.org.

Keep Learning

VeloNews.com reported last week (click here for article) that the Johann Bruyneel Cycling Academy was underway in Albuquerque, New Mexico, hosting sixteen young cyclists under the tutelage of Bernard Moerman. The goal: to provide a bike racing education that each rider can then use to negotiate a professional cycling contract. Stated another way: to raise up the next generation of competitive cyclists.

Part of the training? Ride in all kinds of conditions:

Morning temperatures in the low 20’s haven’t exactly made for vacation-style riding. On Tuesday, with black ice spotting the roads, Astana cancelled its planned team ride...All 16 Bruyneel Academy riders, however, suited up for a three-hour ride.

Another part: build a team:

When riding tempo, each group takes a turn rotating at the front; when a squad member flats, his whole team squad stops and paces him back to the group.

Driving behind and alongside the group, Moerman barks instructions, which riders dutifully relay through the group. “Stop sprinting! Ride steady! Keep it tight?”

When one squad neglected to stop for a teammate who flatted, Moerman pulled the whole group over...

And, finally, the plan for each rider, as articulated by Mr. Moerman:

“Don’t blame yourself for not knowing. Blame yourself for not learning.”

I like that philosophy!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Question
How did February 2nd ever come to be known as Groundhog Day?

An Answer
from “The Official Site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club”

The groundhog tradition stems from...beliefs associated with Candlemas Day and the days of early Christians in Europe, and for centuries the custom was to have the clergy bless candles and distribute them to the people. Even then, it marked a milestone in the winter and the weather that day was important.

According to an old English song:

If Candlemas be fair and bright.
Come, Winter, have another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain.
Go, Winter, and come not again.

According to an old Scotch couplet:

If Candlemas Day is bright and clear.
There’ll be twa (two) winters in the year.

- snip –

The Roman legions...brought this tradition to the Teutons, or Germans, who picked it up and concluded that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, an animal, the hedgehog, would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of bad weather...

Pennsylvania’s earliest settlers were Germans and they found groundhogs in profusion in many parts of the state. They determined that the groundhog, resembling the European hedgehog, was a most intelligent and sensible animal and therefore decided that if the sun did appear on February 2nd, so wise an animal as the groundhog would see its shadow and hurry back into its underground home for another six weeks of winter.

The 2008 Prediction of Punxsutawney Phil
Six more weeks of winter

Plush Duck Groundhog Day Tradition
Watch the movie “Groundhog Day” with my family

A Guy Thing

Today, at the bottom of the accumulated mail and catalogs on my kitchen island counter, I found the March 2008 issue of Fine Homebuilding magazine. Technically, this periodical belongs to King Richard, but I enjoy reading a column entitled “Great Moments in Building History.” These are usually pretty hilarious and pertinent to my life (or to some event in the history of my marriage). This month’s article, “My $14,000 Lamp,” was no exception.

A short account of men and the tools they require to make household repairs, the author had me at this paragraph:

After an intensive month-long search for a replacement part turned up nothing, my husband said, “You know, I could make that part. I just have to buy one tool.”

How many times have I heard that mantra?! I have a hydraulic jack, jack stands, and various small auto-repair-related tools in my garage that were purchased under the auspices of “I just need one more tool.” Fortunately, none of them set me quite as far back financially as this poor woman:

The next thing I knew, a 2-ton, $12,000 lathe was being delivered to my husband’s workshop.

And, not surprisingly, once this awesomely necessary tool was delivered, the much anticipated replacement part did not materialize. Why? What woman hasn’t heard these words in answer to that question?

“You don’t understand,” my husband said. “This is just the basic lathe. Now I need accessories.”

Oh, ho! I should have guessed that was coming...along with the tale of delivery trucks that dropped all those boxes of “accessories” on the author’s doorstep. I can so relate to this scenario. I just spent the last three weeks waiting for various and sundry parts to arrive so that King Richard can improve my hot water system.

But the best part of the entire article, the part that made even my husband howl with laughter, was this:

I felt trapped in a male version of the children’s classic If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. If you give a man a lathe, then he’s going to want a collet. If you give a man a collet, then he’s going to want a chuck. If you give a man a chuck, then he’s going to want a reamer...

Of course, my husband says that this holds true of women as well. If you give your wife a new refrigerator, then she’s going to want a new microwave. If you give your wife a new microwave, then she’s going to want a new kitchen. I don’t see the similarity in these arguments at all. Nope. I think it’s a guy thing.

How Encouraging!

A few years ago, I subscribed to some daily e-mails from FlyLady.net, hoping the gentle reminders would guide me through the monumental task of decluttering my home. Well, FlyLady is still encouraging me, even though I am “fluttering” miserably on my way to flying. I will get there...eventually...someday.

During January, I was supposed to conduct what FlyLady calls a “Super Fling Boogie.” For the uninitiated, that is where I “fling” (or throw away) any unwanted/unneeded items that have been lying around my house. As you may have guessed, I didn’t toss much of anything. However, some “Flybabies” did. Here is a sampling from the list of weirdest items that got tossed, quoting from the FlyLady website:

Today I flung 2 giant, practically human sized “Kiss-Kiss” Bears that were raffled off at a local Hallmark store a few years ago...The 2 that I decluttered are about 4 feet tall and when sitting together and “kissing” take up an entire loveseat.

Today in my fling fest I found a dried up grilled cheese sandwich up in the soffit in the living room. One of my children had flung it up there approximately 25 years ago! Yikes!!! There were also some children’s vitamins they had fired off in a straw they used as a pea shooter.

One huge antique solid cast greasy iron printing press from the 1920’s-1930’s from our basement. It weighted 1500 lbs. Had to be carted off using a roll back with a wench. It was too heavy for 3 strong men to lift. I can’t believe the empty hole that it left!!!!

The weirdest item I have flung was probably the box of wedding stationery and programs that was in our storage unit...leftover from my husband’s first marriage in 1998!!!!! He had no explanation for why they were still hanging around...I got a chuckle out of finding them and flinging them...It was like throwing his ex-wife in the trash!

Super fling boogie in my kitchen: 2 cans of diet shakes, 11 YEARS OLD!!!!!

I feel better knowing that I am not the only person in America with weird stuff in their house. The only difference between these individuals and myself is that they actually threw their weird stuff away AND they were brave enough to divulge what it was. Congratulations, Flybabies!

Quoting Again

From Book Three: Chapter 1 of Mere Christianity:

Morality, then, seems to be concerned with three things. Firstly, with fair play and harmony between individuals. Secondly, with what might be called tidying up or harmonizing the things inside each individual. Thirdly, with the general purpose of human life as a whole: what man was made for…

And this:

You cannot make men good by law: and without good men you cannot have a good society.

Another Quote from Mere Christianity

Yet another interesting bit from C.S. Lewis, one that I so totally agree with:

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I am ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic --- on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg --- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is,the Son of God: or else a mandman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

Too Smart for Me

It’s no wonder squirrels got into my attic! My daughter wants to know how the second guy got that candy bar. Not my find. Thank Scot McKnight over at Jesus Creed.

Much Ado Podcasts

This semester, I am facilitating a Shakespeare class for our homeschool support group. As part of the class, I created a blog that the students can use to get reading assignments, schedules and, sometimes, extras that I think they might find interesting. Today, I found this great site from the United Kingdom that has podcasts of every act of Much Ado About Nothing (the play that the class is currently reading), plus interviews with the characters and the director of the production. If you are in the mood for a little diversion this evening, check it out.

DYK? Super Oatmeal

How’s this for math:

Oatmeal + Orange Juice = Superfood

Apparently, oatmeal and orange juice have a synergistic relationship. From RealAge.com:

The phenols in oatmeal and the vitamin C in OJ both help make LDL more stable --- and that’s a good thing, because the more stable LDL is, the less likely it is to rupture, stick to artery walls, and cause [a heart attack]. But consume the phenols and vitamin C together and they’ll stabilize LDL at twice the level expected from adding their effects together.

A shameless plug from the Plush Duck: if you would like healthy tips like this delivered to your e-mail account, check out the Real Age website for yourself.

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

Dated Advice

This morning, I asked my daughter to browse through Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book in search of a few more interesting recipes to add to my Rudolph Club plan. During her inquiry, she found the following statement:

Those on weight reduction diets or diabetic diets should be under the care of a physician and should follow his directions. Artificial sweeteners have proved a boon for those on this type of diet and recipes for baked foods made with the sweeteners are available from the manufacturers. You may also want to consult the State Board of Health (if your state has one) or the American Diabetic Association for diet recipes.

The idea that, in 1963 (the year the cookbook was published), some states didn’t have a Board of Health amused my daughter greatly. I wonder, did Connecticut have a State Board of Health in 1963? If you know the answer, please leave a comment. Many thanks.

A Quote from Mere Christianity

Yesterday, I began reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis for the CHOOSE CT High School Book Club. I am only one or two chapters along, but already I found this thought-provoking idea:

Progress means not just changing, but changing for the better. If no set of moral ideas were truer or better than any other, there would be no sense in preferring civilised morality to savage morality...In fact, of course, we all do believe that some moralities are better than others.

- snip –

The moment you say that one set of moral ideas can be better than another, you are, in fact, measuring them both by a standard, saying that one of them conforms to that standard more nearly than the other. But the standard that measures two things is something different from either. You are, in fact, comparing them both with some Real Morality, admitting that there is such a thing as a real Right, independent of what people think, and that some people’s ideas get nearer to that real Right than others.

An Awesome Cookie Press

Yesterday, as part of my January 2008 Rudolph Club activities, I made Snowflake cookies with my daughter. Now, these were no ordinary snowflake cookies. They weren’t the kind that you roll out and then use a cookie cutter to achieve the desired shape (a task made incredibly easy by my beautiful, functional, multi-sized snowflake cutter). No, these were the kind of cookies that required the use of a cookie press. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this tool, it looks like this and functions thus, quoting from Wikipedia:

A cookie press is a device for making pressed cookies such as spritzgebäck. It consists of a cylinder with a plunger on one end, which is used to extrude cookie dough through a small hole at the other end. Typically, the cookie press has interchangeable plates with holes in different shapes, such as a star shape or a narrow slit to extrude the dough in ribbons.

For years, I had the same type of cookie press that my mother used when I was a child. Yes, it was an older model, but had always produced perfect cookies for my mother (the pastry chef) so how hard could it be? It required the operator, after filling the press with dough, to set the bottom of the device against the cookie sheet and turn a knob on the top of the unit while watching to make sure just the right amount of dough was extruded. Too much dough and the cookie would look “fat,” as if it had “melted” in the oven; too little dough and the cookie would look like the runt of the litter, if you will; like Goldilocks with her porridge, just the right amount of dough would create a firm, well-formed delight. Needless to say, this took a little training and it seemed that no matter how hard I tried, I always ended up with “fat” cookies (and it usually took a while for me to get them in that condition). Such positive reinforcement, of course, made me avoid pressed cookies like the plague.

Then, about two years ago, during a fit of frustration, I searched online for a replacement cookie press and found this, the Marcato Biscuits Cookie Gun. Yesterday was the first time I had used it and what a joy! Easy to load, easy to use, and FAST! I was able to press out two dozen cookies in less than thirty seconds. Whoever designed this thing was (is) a genius! If they handed out a Nobel Prize for kitchen equipment, this guy (girl) would definitely get my vote. Pressed cookies are no longer a nightmare at my house. I could make them every day. Hurrah!

RC: January 2008

This year, as part of my New Year’s Resolutions (NYR: Christmas/Holiday), I decided to participate in a book and movie club through the website Magical Holiday Home. Each month, the organizers of this club select one Christmas book and one Christmas film for members to read and view. Then, on the 25th of the month, those who so choose can go to the Rudolph Club forum (on the aforementioned website) to share their thoughts about what they read and watched. Since I don’t generally have (or make) time to do that, I chose to share my critiques here instead. The selections for January 2008 are given below.

BOOK
Rover Saves Christmas
by Roddy Doyle

Written for the 9-12 year old set (at least according to Amazon.com), I actually had trouble getting through this little tome, possibly because I am a traditionalist or possibly because I am a grown-up, or both; I’m not sure. At any rate, I could not relate to Rover, the dog with “a brain the size of Arizona tucked into a head the size of a baked potato,” who sold his poo and urinated on cars as a fundraiser for the neighborhood kids (yes, you read that correctly). Nor could I appreciate the revisioned portrayal of that icon of secular Christmas lore, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, as a narcissistic, middle-aged hippy wearing a bandana around his antlers and spouting lines like:

“Look, man, next year, maybe. It’s a mid-life thing. I need a rest.”

Or

“But that’s it, man,” said Rudolph. That’s all it’s about these days. Presents, presents, presents. They’re spoilt, man. The kids these days. They don’t even say thanks.”

I had trouble as well when the poo-selling pooch replaced the flu-stricken Rudolph on Christmas Eve, no doubt qualified for this position by his superior entrepreneurial expertise. He is a dog. Does Santa not employ backup reindeer for such emergencies? Surely, Comet or Dasher or another member of the sleigh-pulling team must have fallen ill at some time throughout history. Please tell me the man who is organized enough to deliver gifts to all the children on earth in one night is not so foresight-challenged as to lack a back-up team. Please tell me it isn’t so. Please!

So much for my opinion. The review on Amazon.com describes the book this way:

Captain Underpants fans and like-minded kids (and grownups) will appreciate such respect for their intelligence --- and their sense of humor.

I am so obviously not a member of this demographic; else I would have enjoyed Rover Saves Christmas. I just think that if you want to raise kids who believe in the “magic” of Christmas, you need provide a narrative that will reinforce that “magic,” and I am not convinced this book contributes positively to that goal.

Sheepishly recommended, but only for teenage boys who may enjoy the “poo” humor. Plush Duck Rating: *****

FILM
“All I Want for Christmas”
starring Harley Jane Kozak, Jamey Sheridan, Ethan Randall, & Thora Birch

Much, much better than the January book selection, this film had all the elements that I love in a Christmas movie: sparkle, lots of traditional decorations in the scenery, and characters that convincingly believe in the magic of the holiday, even if it is only from a secular perspective. Better yet, the film also had sibling characters who love each other, demonstrated most pointedly by an older brother who watches over his younger sister not only by taking her to see Santa, but by attempting to make her most heartfelt Christmas wish come true --- reuniting their divorced parents. Accomplishing that goal is the crux of the tale...and antics are certainly part of the process.

A recipient of the Award of Excellence from the Film Advisory Board, “All I Want for Christmas” is definitely a family-friendly film with no profanity that I can recall, no children in abject rebellion, and nothing more than pecks on the cheek amongst the teenage love interests. Boring? No. Refreshingly innocent. Perhaps that is why I had trouble finding it. The movie was nowhere to be seen at my local library; nor was it available on Netflix. It was also missing from my local Walmart and my neighborhood Blockbuster. It was available at Walmart online but, in the end, I purchased it from Amazon, something I don’t always like to do sight unseen. In this case, however, it was money well spent.

With cameo appearances by Lauren Bacall as the grandmother and Leslie Nielsen as Santa. Release date: 1991. Highly recommended. Plush Duck Rating: *****

NEW COOKIE
In addition to the monthly book and movie choices, my daughter and I decided to experiment with a monthly Christmas cookie recipe as well. That way, by the time December rolls around, any new favorites will already be on the cookie list, and no one will be asked to sacrifice a traditional favorite for something unusual or unexpected. The January cookie:

Snowflakes
from Christmas-Cookies.com

Yield: 66 cookies
Supplies needed: Cookie press

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 3-ounce package cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350° F. Cream together butter, cream cheese and sugar. Beat in egg yolk, vanilla and orange zest. Sift together flour, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually blend flour mixture into butter mixture. Fill cookie press. Form cookies on ungreased cookie sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugar, if desired. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Remove at once to cooling racks.

Note: the orange zest in this recipe can be quite overpowering, so use caution.

Highly recommended. These little lovelies all but vanished from my kitchen within a day. They never even made it into the cookie jar. Plush Duck Rating: *****

On a Happier Note

Our friend Joe just rescued this guy from oblivion. His name is Hoagie. He is a Bassett Hound puppy.

Farewell, Mrs. B

It has been a rough week on my old street in Fairmont, Minnesota. On Sunday, little Kasey Cae Scheff passed away. She lived in the house where I grew up. On Wednesday, one of the neighborhood moms, who was also a good friend of my mother, passed away at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester.

I can barely remember when Mrs. B and her family moved to Fairmont. According to her obituary, it was in 1970. I would have been nine years old and in third or fourth grade at that time. Her youngest daughter was in my class at school. We were all in Girl Scouts together --- Mrs. B, her daughter, my mother, and me. I did music; her daughter did swimming. I moved away after graduation; her daughter stayed in town. I had one child; her daughter had more. I haven’t seen her daughter for years, but I did see Mrs. B when I was home for my dad’s funeral. She was about 77 years old at the time and still her jovial self, sharp wit and keen sense of humor still bright. Frankly, she seemed almost unchanged from our summer camp days, just a bit older.

I can also remember going to Mrs. B’s house once in awhile, almost always with my mother, to see the latest quilt project. Mrs. B had the largest machine-quilting device I have ever seen, even to this day. It took up one entire side of her family room and then some. I always imagined making a quilt and bringing it to Mrs. B so she could finish it for me --- quickly --- so I wouldn’t have to spend hours (or months or years) quilting the project by hand. I never did make that imaginary quilt and, even if I did so now, I no longer have the luxury of taking it to a beloved neighborhood mom so she could perform the task that I was too lazy to complete.

My mother told me recently that on the first day of school in the fall, after the children were all safely delivered up the one-block hill to our local elementary school, the neighborhood parents (read mothers) would gather for coffee and go house to house, sifting through sandboxes for items that had been missing since the end of the previous school year --- spoons that filled buckets, forks that were used to decorate the sides of sandcastle creations, muffin tins that were excellent molds for fortresses against invading sandbox soldiers. One by one, the neighborhood mothers who must have participated in this annual ritual are passing into history. Another one departed this earth on Wednesday. Even though I don’t think about it much these days, I do miss them all. Their humor, their talents, and the love that they had for each other is a precious example of community that I have yet to see duplicated. I thank God for each one of them and look forward to seeing them in Heaven.

If you would like to read the obituary for Mrs. B, click here.

Study Bucks Revisited

The other day I posted a note about a program that the Georgia public schools plan to try to increase the classroom performance of their students, that of paying them $8.00 per hour to study. Well, guess what? In my area of Connecticut, that is the same wage rate as a cashier at the local supermarket. Noticing this, I began to muse about some of the particulars of the Georgia plan:

- will the students who participate in the “study for money” program get a weekly “paycheck” from the program sponsor?

- will the students’ “paycheck” be subject to payroll taxes?

- will the students be considered recipients of a “welfare” program, recipients of a grant, or will they be defined in some other way?

- will the program be staffed with monitors to ensure that studying is actually occurring or will the students be on the “honor” system? And if monitors are supplied, who pays for them --- the public school or the program sponsor?

- does the program have any criteria for disqualification, such as a minimum GPA that must be maintained?

Oh, and one other piece of information that may interest my readers: minimum wage in Georgia is $5.65 per hour, so the students who participate in the “Learn & Earn” program will be making 137% of minimum wage. The equivalent rate in Connecticut would be $10.46 per hour...for students to be doing what they are supposed to be doing --- studying.

Just a few thoughts that crossed my mind on the way home from the grocery store.

DYK? Sleep and Nutrition

Have trouble getting to sleep or, worse yet, have trouble with heartburn as soon as you lie down to go to sleep? Well, here is some interesting information that may explain why. From Dr. Weil.com:

1. It is more difficult to digest food when lying down. Our digestive tracts work best when we are upright --- sitting, standing or even walking. When you lie down after a meal, gravity can disrupt proper digestion. This can lead to acid reflux, or heartburn, which can hinder sleep.

2. Digesting food requires the body to expend energy. This can interfere with the relaxed metabolic state required for sleep. Your best bet: eat large meals earlier in the day, when the body will best use the energy the food provides, and limit any late-evening eating to small, healthful snacks.

Sleep tight…and eat right.

DYK? Nasal Irrigation

I have used this treatment for years (on myself and on my daughter) and, I must say, it definitely works. In fact, the years that I slacked off or outright abandoned the practice, I fell ill with serious, long-lasting upper respiratory infections. You know the kind: they hang on for months and usually require the assistance of inhalers and antibiotics.

Well, now a study out of the Czech Republic confirms what I have known all along: nasal irrigation with a saline solution may clear up cold symptoms faster than medication alone, at least in children, and may prevent such symptoms from returning. Quoting from an article on Medpage Today:

[The] prospective, parallel-group, open-label study included 401 children ages six to [ten] seen for uncomplicated cold or flu in eight pediatric outpatient clinics.

Participants were randomized to treatment with standard medication, which could include antipyretics, nasal decongestants, mucolytics, and antibiotics, alone or in combination with nasal wash, and then observed over 12 weeks.

And here are some of the results:

- At the 12-week follow-up in the subsequent prevention phase, symptoms of dry cough, nasal secretion, and nasal breathing were less common or less severe among children in the nasal irrigation group than in the control group.

- Long-term saline irrigation also was associated with better parent-reported health status, fewer reported days of illness, fewer absences from school, and fewer complications.

- At the first visit, the saline nasal wash group reported less use of nasal decongestants (15.9% versus 35.6%), and mucolytics (17.3% versus 31.7%).

- At the follow-up visit at about week eight, medication use was lower in the nasal irrigation group for antipyretics (9.4% versus 32.7%), mucolytics (9.7% versus 36.6%), nasal decongestants (9.7% versus 46.5%), and systemic antibiotics (5.6% versus 20.8%).

So, the next time your kids fall ill with a cold, give nasal irrigation a try. Who knows, you may end up with a shorter course of illness and healthier children.

For the complete article from Medpage Today, click here.

Study Bucks

Just when I think the public education system has hatched their last hair-brained idea, they come up with yet another one. Here is the latest from Georgia, courtesy of Fox News:

Fulton County school officials will pay students to study after school in a new program designed to improve their classroom performance.

The program, called “Learn & Earn,” is being offered to 40 students from Creekside High and Bear Creek Middle schools in Fairburn. The program will give students $8.00 an hour to study after school.

- snip -

School officials say the goal is to determine whether paying students to study will improve their performance.

The program is privately funded, but I can’t help wondering if it won’t teach children that nothing is worth doing unless they get paid for it OR that they can get paid for doing nothing. The ultimate result may be mercenaries or sluggards. Gee, which one of those creatures do I want to let loose on society?

Our Condolences

Yesterday, my mother informed me that one of the children who moved into my childhood home (after her parents purchased it last March), Kasey Cae Scheff, passed away on Sunday. She was only six years old. My family and I would like to extend our most heartfelt condolences to her family, and ask that others keep them in prayer at this most difficult time. To read the obituary for Miss Scheff, please visit the Lakeview Funeral Home website.

Not Again!

News Channel 8 had this on their website yesterday:

Grief counselors will be on hand tomorrow, following the deaths of two students in a car crash. Both victims are from Wallingford and it has left the town grief-stricken.

Tyler Priore, 15, was a sophomore at Notre Dame High in West Haven. The driver of the car --- 16-year-old George McLean was a student at Xavier High School in Middletown.

Police say the car was going fast on Williams Road last night when the driver lost control --- crossing the center line and slamming into a tree.

- snip-

David Cojas, 15, survived the crash and was listed in stable condition at Yale New Have Hospital.

This latest teen tragedy is especially poignant for young people who will soon take to the road themselves.

Especially poignant for young people who are about to start driving? The situation is definitely poignant, meaning it evokes a keen sense of sadness or regret. It is always sorrowful when young people lose their lives, departing this earth before they’ve ever had a chance to truly make an impact on a larger circle of people than their close friends and relatives, before they’ve really seen other parts of the world, or before they’ve gone through such benchmark life experiences as high school graduation, college, marriage, and parenthood. The situation should be poignant to everyone, not just to young people, and not just to young people who are about to start driving.

But since the author of the news article saw fit to single them out, what exactly should “young people who are about to start driving” take away from this tragedy? Not knowing any of the particulars of this most recent accident and being the parent of a daughter who is about to start driver’s training, here are some of my suggestions:

1. Don’t hasten the licensing process, not matter how many of your friends have their licenses. Take the time to clock enough time behind the wheel, more time than you (or your parents) probably think is necessary. In Connecticut, any driver under 18 years of age must hold a permit for 120-180 days before they can apply for the licensing exam. Make full use of that time.

2. Study, with your parents, the boundaries of your automobile. Recognize where your car is in relation to other drivers.

3. Learn to drive defensively. If possible, complete a defensive driving course that uses a simulator. Unfortunately, these are not widely available at this time, but if a center is available near your home, make use of it. For a list of centers, click here.

4. With your parents, make a plan to expose yourself to a wide variety of driving scenarios and weather conditions before obtaining your license.

5. Complete more than the minimum requirements for your license. For instance, in Connecticut, homeschooled students must complete only four hours of drug and alcohol education as it pertains to operating a motor vehicle. That seems woefully inadequate to me, and to my daughter, so we plan to include a bit more study on those subjects when the time comes.

6. To the best of your ability, and at a minimum, obey the restrictions that the state has placed on you as a teen driver. In most cases, these are not unreasonable, nor do they infringe on your liberty as a citizen of the United States. If you are not supposed to be driving after 10:00 PM, for example, make certain you are home with your family before that hour. If you are not supposed to carry passengers with you, other than family members, don’t offer to take your friends to the mall after school. Obey the law, even if it is tough to do so in the face of peer pressure. Your life may depend on it.

7. Follow safe driving practices, even if these are not always modeled by your parents: wear your seatbelt, obey speed limits, park legally, and don’t talk on your cell phone (or text message) while driving.

Learning to operate a motor vehicle is one of the riskiest, most significant, and responsibility-laden endeavors a teenager ever attempts. All of us, as parents, pray never to be the one who receives that phone call saying our child is the latest victim of an automobile accident. It takes a tremendous amount of faith to let them go and let them drive. Yet, we can influence the process, I believe, much more than we think we can and, oftentimes, much more than we do. Be there, so your “young person who is about to start driving” learns more than poignancy from this latest tragedy.

For a more complete news story about this event, click here.

Just Stop!

Ok. I think it is time for me to resign as the Coordinator for our local homeschool support group! I have finally gone ‘round the bend. I found myself griping at my online mailbox today when I received yet another e-mail message from yet another organization attempting to sell me yet another curriculum item that is currently being used in the public school. Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! What makes these people think that I want a curriculum that is being used in our failing and dysfunctional public education system? Is it not obvious that if I wanted to use such a curriculum, I would send my child to public school? Better yet, if I wanted my child educated with such a curriculum, why would purchase it when I could just send my child to the public school for FREE, where she could “benefit” from this curriculum for FREE? Seriously, do I look that intellectually challenged? Seriously.

Here is a portion of the e-mail I received (with comments):

Homeschoolers can now buy EXACTLY the same materials used in thousands of schools across North America at considerably lower prices.

- snip –

These cross-curricular, multi-level learning tools offer interactive learning, stunning graphics and engaging video clips, and are perfect for homeschoolers. [Ok. For my enlightenment, exactly which of these previously-mentioned characteristics makes this curriculum “perfect” for homeschoolers?]

- snip -

The ONLY difference is the home versions do NOT include public performance rights – just like the DVD’s you rent, they are licensed for home use only. [If I sent my child to public school, I wouldn’t be paying these fees directly. The school would pay them. I would contribute to the bill through my taxes, which I do anyway despite the fact that I homeschool.]

So, if you are one of the curriculum vendors who keep bombarding me with advertisements, please stop sending your flyers and brochures to my home, and your e-mail messages to my cyberaddress. Just stop! Spend your postage budget, and your time, targeting someone who truly wants your product --- America’s public schools.

Sorry. Just had to get that off my chest.

Homeschool Forum

I received this from Judy over at Consent of the Governed. If you are a homeschooler and can possibly attend, please do so!

Homeschooler Legislative Forum!
Come Meet Your Elected Officials!
Thursday, January 24 at 7 pm

Southbury Town Hall
501 Main Street South
Southbury, CT 06488

Directions

Refreshments will be provided.

Homeschool friendly State Representative Arthur O-Neill has arranged with are homeschoolers and NHELD, this fourth meeting is a series of similar events throughout Connecticut, in an effort to educate legislators about the homeschool community. He hopes that understanding the homeschool community will encourage legislators to support homeschooling and parental rights in the State legislature in the upcoming session, which will begin on February 6. In the next legislative session, Rep. O’Neill will be proposing legislation guaranteeing all Connecticut parents’ right to withdraw their children from the public schools.

Representative O'Neill, Attorney Deborah Stevenson, and Judy Aron will moderate the meeting. Area homeschoolers will be able to participate in discussing what homeschooling is, different ways of home educating, experiences in withdrawing from the public schools, and homeschooling success stories. Families are encouraged to bring samples of school projects, display boards they have created, or scrapbooks or other pictures or items that they are proud of, to display to attendees and legislators. Even if you don’t care to speak, please come to show your support for the homeschooling community and to greet the legislators! Children and homeschool graduates are welcome to speak.

It is very important that as many of us as possible attend this meeting. Please make every effort to come, even if it involves some challenges. You may bring non-homeschooling friends and family, as well. Adults and well-behaved children are welcome. You may wish to bring something to occupy younger children.

Please RSVP and let Tina Pirozolli (fitzgerald@pshift.com) or Leslie Wolfgang (lesliewolfgang@yahoo.com) or Deborah Stevenson (info@nheld.com) know if you can make this meeting, and if you will bring pictures or projects for the display table.

Please pass the world along too! We thank you for encouraging other to attend! Also please save the date of February 6th, 9 am, when we will ask all homeschoolers in CT to come to Hartford on the opening day of the legislative session and join with the Governor and legislators to support CT homeschoolers. Details to follow.

Mock Primary Election

Calling all my homeschool friends and readers! I posted this note on the CHOOSE CT Co-op Basic American Government blog this evening and thought I would add it here as well. I will be checking the results on February 4th to see if the media reports hold true that "homeschoolers vote for Mike Huckabee." I myself am a Thompson fan.
----------------------------
I have seen this exercise on several homeschool websites and at least one homeschool Yahoogroup and it looks interesting enough to try. You will need to create a free HomeschoolEstore account to participate, but it might be worth it to see whom your fellow homeschoolers are supporting for President of the United States. For instructions, please read this quote from the host website:

If you are 7 to 17 and a resident of the United States, we encourage you to learn about the 2008 presidential candidates and the election process by participating in our mock primary election, now through February 4th, the day before Super Tuesday. You must have a free HomeschoolEstore account in order to participate. Click here to cast your vote now! Results will be posted real-time, and the final winners will be posted on Monday, February 4th. Please, keep this election fair and only allow one vote, per child, in your homeschool. Only 5 votes per account will be allowed. To see our current vote tally, click here.

I must reiterate the admonition from the website that ONLY ONE VOTE PER PERSON is permitted. This isn’t American Idol where you can vote more than once. Also, if your household rules require parental permission prior to going online, please speak to your parents before voting on the HomeschoolEstore website.

The polls are now open. Don’t forget to vote.

Add 14 Years...Maybe

Would you like to add fourteen years to your life? Well, according to a British study that included some 20,000 men and women between the ages of 45 and 79, all you need to do is cultivate four healthy lifestyle habits:

Don’t smoke. A bit of a no-brainer. By now, I think most people know that smoking is deleterious to their overall health and well-being.

Exercise regularly. Again, we’ve all heard this advice for years. Tell me something I didn’t know.

Drink moderate amounts of alcohol. This is a somewhat controversial finding. Some studies say not to drink, while others (like this one) say that moderate amounts of alcohol, especially red wine and/or strong beer, can be beneficial.

Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Yep, I knew that.

Nothing horribly profound. The story behind the study, however, is quite interesting and isn’t being discussed much. For that information, see this article on Junkfood Science...and remember, things aren’t always as they appear.

Wanted: Happiness

Yesterday, my Google Reader returned this article from Christian Post.com entitled “Americans’ Search for Happiness.” The column briefly discussed how we in the United States currently describe what gives us pleasure, as well as some of the challenges that prevent us from reaching that state of contentment. For example, when asked (as part of an ABC News poll) what made them happy, some moms from Texas listed socializing, prayer, sex, and television. Sadly, they relegated parenting to the same level as housework. Guess what? Neither of those activities induced happiness for these ladies. Unfortunately, I can’t say that was a big surprise.

This wasn’t too terribly shocking either:

Many [people] look toward the future for happiness, hoping “someday” they’ll meet that perfect person, win the lottery or retire....” That leaves the majority of Americans just enduring the present while waiting for something better to happen.

With that kind of attitude/behavior, is it any wonder that youth say this about the older generation:

“Adults have no friends, adults have no passions, and adults are stressed out.” --- Contemplative Youth Ministry by Mark Yaconelli

Regrettably, most people gauge their happiness by their life circumstances, by what is happening around them; but are activities/events the true source of happiness? Only marginally. According to University of California psychology professor Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want, only 10% of our total contentment is related to our life circumstances. 50% is genetic. 40% is controlled by our thoughts, our outlook, and our intentional activities.

C.S. Lewis disagrees. For him, God was the source of happiness:

“...it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There in no such thing.”

I agree with Mr. Lewis on this one. If Americans are seeking happiness, they need look no further than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, what do you think is the true source of your happiness? Comments desired.

NYR: Christmas/Holidays

RESOLUTION
To plan and prepare for the Christmas season throughout the whole of 2008 so that most, if not all, of the time-consuming tasks that I perform to get ready for the holidays are completed by the beginning of Advent. To plan and prepare for several other major holidays as well, namely Easter, Family Heritage Night, and Thanksgiving.

PLAN
- Record what went well during the 2007 Christmas season
- Participate in a Christmas reading/movie club to get gift ideas for others & to build a holiday book & movie library
- Use a holiday planning notebook or computer folder to organize planning efforts
- When possible, centralize holiday decorations, food service, and food preparation items in attic or basement
- Spend time each month reviewing holiday plans, scheduling holiday preparation work, and performing specific holiday preparation tasks. When possible, set this time aside on the following schedule:

Easter planning: 3rd day of the month
Family Heritage Night planning: 30th of the month
Thanksgiving planning: 4th Thursday of the month
Christmas planning: 25th of the month

RUDOLPH CLUB READING & MOVIE LIST
Rover Saves Christmas by Roddy Doyle
“All I Want for Christmas” starring Harley Jane Kozak

How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas by Jeff Guinn
“The Santa Clause” starring Tim Allen

Flight of the Reindeer by Robert Sullivan
“Holiday Inn” starring Bing Crosby

The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere
“Meet John Doe” starring Gary Cooper

When Santa Fell to Earth by Cornelia Funke
“Miracle on 34th Street” starring Dylan McDermott

The Bird’s Christmas Carol by Kate Douglas Wiggin
“The Bishop’s Wife” starring Cary Grant

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
“The Holiday” starring Kate Winslet

1001 Christmas Facts and Fancies by Alfred Carl Hottes
“Trapped in Paradise” starring Nicholas Cage

A Highland Christmas by M.C. Beaton
“Home Alone” starring Macaulay Culkin

The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado
“Silver Bells” starring Anne Heche

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” starring Jim Carrey

NYR: Church/Christian

As it is customary to make New Year’s Resolutions in January --- and fail at keeping them by February --- I decided to get serious about this exercise for 2008. Since I mentally divide my life into roles for organizational purposes, I am making my resolutions per each role. This is my plan for Church/Christian during the next twelve months:

RESOLUTION
To study more about the Emergent/Emerging Church

PLAN
Read some, if not all, of the books on a reading list that features authors and opinions that are both pro-Emergent and anti-Emergent.

READING LIST
Contemplative Youth Ministry (Pro-Emergent)
by Mark Yaconelli

Becoming Conversant with the Emergent Church (Anti-Emergent)
by Don (D.A.) Carson

Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches: Five Perspectives (Pro-Emergent)
by Mark Driscoll

A Time of Departing (Anti-Emergent)
by Ray Yungen

They Like Jesus, But Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations (Pro-Emergent)
By Dan Kimball

Faith Undone (Anti-Emergent)
by Roger Oakland

Velvet Elvis (Pro-Emergent)
by Rob Bell

For Many Shall Come in My Name (Anti-Emergent)
by Ray Yungen

The Sacred Way (Pro-Emergent)
by Tony Jones

The Truth War (Anti-Emergent)
By John MacArthur

A Generous Orthodoxy (Pro-Emergent)
by Brian McLaren

Another Jesus (Anti-Emergent)
by Roger Oakland

The Barbarian Way (Pro-Emergent)
by Erwin McManus

The Other Side of the River (Biography)
By Kevin Reeves

Stumbling Toward Faith (Biography)
By Renee N. Altson

There Was a Fire in Town

This past Wednesday afternoon, at about 12:40 PM, on our way over the Gold Star Bridge, my daughter commented that some localized fog seemed to be rolling in off the river and up the hill toward an area of town known as Groton Bank. On closer examination, we both realized that the “fog” was actually smoke from a large fire that had started just minutes before...in the basement of Ken’s Tackle Shop, a local landmark on Thames Street.

Being the curious individual that I am, I immediately exited I-95 and headed toward the fire. Yes, I guess I am one of those obnoxious onlookers who get in the way of emergency response vehicles; but not really, as I did pull over to let a paramedic truck drive past. Once I was within a few blocks of the blaze, I was rerouted down a side street by a police officer since the river road had been shut down a good distance on either side of the fire. Just as well. The emergency crews didn’t need a bunch of gawkers getting in their way. Instead, I drove to the top of School Street, the short road that usually gives a great view of the front of the bait shop. Usually. Unless, of course, the entire store is engulfed in smoke and flame. Admitting defeat (and devoid of a camera), I went home.

Around 2:30 PM, just before music composition class, Katherine the Great and I returned to the top of School Street, parked our fresh-smelling Subaru next to the curb across from the library, and headed down the very steep hill toward the remains of Ken’s Tackle Shop. As long as we were on foot and weren’t making a nuisance of ourselves, the police officers allowed us to walk closer to the building. For us, that was about half a block. Smoke was still pouring from the structure, so much so that it was almost impossible to see the facade, even at that close distance. Once or twice, just as the wind came up off the water, the billowing white cloud of vapor parted momentarily to show charred brick around the front door and what used to be the display window (so much for that wooden sandpiper I was considering buying for my bathroom; he was most blackened ash by now). We spoke to a few of the residents, all of whom expressed their sadness at the loss of a long-time establishment...and their relief that the blaze wasn’t reaching another local favorite, Paul’s Pasta. Everyone seemed to be in shock. It was truly a challenging day for the neighborhood.

When I got back to my car (which was quite a jaunt up the hill) and hopped in, I became aware that the Subaru smelled of smoke. I know that should have been a no-brainer since I had just parked downwind from a fire, but I had secured all the windows despite the wonderfully balmy temperatures. Maybe the odor had wafted in through the ventilation system, I thought. Or up through the bottom of the car. No, it wasn’t because smoke had somehow sneaked into my automobile; it was because Kate and I reeked of smoke from standing near the storefront. Duh!

Now you may think that at that moment my thoughts would have turned to laundry methods by which I could remove the odor from my jacket and my car upholstery. Nope. My thought at that moment was how does my friend Janet, who is married to a firefighter (and whose husband’s firehouse actually responded to the Tackle Shop emergency), keep this smell out of her house? I have never heard her mention the challenge of keeping the smell of smoke out of her home. I wondered, too, if her husband has a permanent smoky smell. Landscapers have permanently dirty fingernails. Painters have paint splatters on their hands. Submariners often carry a hint of amine on their clothes from the air purifiers on the boat. Do firefighters smell smoky?

Just an unusual thought on an unusual day for my community.

For photos of the fire, visit the photo gallery at The Day. Click on "News events from around the region" and then look for “Fire at Ken’s Tackle Shop in Groton City.” For an article about the fire, click here.

Housewife’s Lament

This year, for Christmas, my daughter received a CD of American music entitled Behold That Star by the Christmas Revels. One of the songs on the album is “The Housewife’s Lament.” Apparently, the lyrics were found in the diary of a Victorian homemaker. The tune (which you are not privy to here, unfortunately) can be found in many traditional melodies of Irish and Scottish descent. I find the whole thing to be rather amusing; yet, for the woman who wrote these words, life may have been quite depressing. The last two verses do describe what I imagine Hell might be like for a homemaker. If you are feeling a bit blue about your household tasks this New Year, you may wish to lament with this housewife for a while, but remember, in Christ, our picture of everlasting life is much more uplifting.

One day I was walking,
I heard a complaining,
I saw a poor woman
The picutre of gloom.
She gazed at the mud
On her doorstep (‘twas raining),
And this was her song
As she wielded her broom:

Chorus:
“O life is a toil,
And love is a trouble,
Beauty will fade
And riches will flee,
Wages will dwindle
And prices will double
And nothing is as I
Would wish it to be.”

“There’s too much of worriment
Goes to a bonnet,
There’s too much of ironing
Goes to a shirt.
There’s nothing that pays for
The time you waste on it,
There’s nothing that lasts us
But trouble and dirt.”

Chorus

“In March it is mud,
It’s slush in December,
The midsummer breezes
Are loaded with dust.
In fall the leaves litter,
In muddy September
The wallpaper rots
And the candlesticks rust.”

Chorus

“There are worms on the cherries
And slugs on the roses,
And ants in the sugar
And mice in the pies.
The rubbish of spiders
No mortal supposes,
And ravaging roaches
And damaging flies.”

Chorus

“It’s sweeping at six
And it’s dusting at seven,
It’s victuals at eight
And it’s dishes at nine.
It’s potting and panning
From ten to eleven.
We scarce break our fast
Till we plan how to dine.”

Chorus

“With grease and with grime
From corner to centre,
Forever at war
And forever alert.
No rest for a day
Lest the enemy enter,
I spend my whole life
In the struggle with dirt.”

Chorus

“Last night in my dreams
I was stationed forever,
On a far distant rock
In the midst of the sea.
My one task of life
Was a ceaseless endeavor,
To brush off the waves
As they swept over me.”

Chorus

“Alas! ‘Twas no dream ---
Ahead I behold it,
I see I am helpless
My fate to avert!”
She lay down her broom,
Her apron she folded.
She lay down and died
And was buried in dirt.

Chorus

For a sample of this song, click here.

Happy New Year 2008

A collection of photos from New Year’s celebrations across the world yesterday, all set to that famous Hogmanay tune, “Auld Lang Syne.” Enjoy and may your New Year be blessed!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” --- Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)