Shop Class with Dad this past week — enjoy the photos:

SK is learning how to use a router:

Wow, 100% on me grammar. Ate years ago i never, ever wood have past this here test. (ugh, I can’t get the cute little box and red line to come through)

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know “no” from “know.” Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?
(Continue reading…)

On Saturday afternoon my back-left lower side became quite tight. By Sunday the pains were stabbing whenever I sat or tried to rise, or took a step. This morning the pain was even worst then Sunday so I went off to see the Dr. Thankfully I do not have a kidney infection but a pulled muscle. How I got a pulled muscle is a real puzzle to me. The Dr saw me right away however the pharmacy had trouble getting my insurance to fly. Finally after an hour of waiting the pharmacy suggested I call my insurance company from home and see if they could fix the problem. I still do not have the pain killer the Dr prescribed—UGH!!

So, what did my boys do while I was in pain and at the Drs? They read. SK finished reading the Odyssey while MK finished another book in the Great Brain series. They also each did math, grammar, and writing. Neither got to Latin, science or history but I was quite pleased with all the learning that went on today. When I returned home they were back to reading, no fighting, no playing around, just fun reading and other learning.

DH pulled dinner together too which was a nice change.

It is that time of the year, the time to make traditional cookies that only get made at Christmas. Growing up my family had one recipe that fit that criteria—Penny Cookies. We all couldn’t say Pfreffernusse as kids so Nana had us call them penny cookies — they look like pennies.

Nana wouldn’t share the old family secret recipe with anyone but once grown I asked my various Aunts if they had the recipe. Sure enough one Aunt had the secret recipe and she shared it with me. Guess it won’t be a family secret recipe after being posted on the web, Now the story goes that Nana supposedly used her thimble to punch out these cookies, but that is impossible. I tried it. Plus this recipe makes hundreds of these cookies which would have taken tons of time, and well Nana would rather be cleaning then cooking so I doubt she really used a thimble. Grandpa liked Nana to add lots of black pepper to the recipe; Aunt Marcia left the black pepper out when she made it for little kids. We all like it with the pepper.

Pfreffernusse

2 cups dark corn syrup
2 cups sugar
2 cups shortening
1 cup coffee
1 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp ground cloves

Mix together in LARGE bowl, add 14 cups of flour

Roll out in snake like rolls (a penny size in diameter) and cut in one inch pieces. Bake a 350 until brown, 12-15 minutes.

Store in coffee cans for 3 weeks for flavors to blend.

We’ll be making these today or tomorrow. Do you have a traditional cookie only for Christmas?

Normally on my blog I only write about happenings within our family but today I am breaking that policy. Yesterday I received a letter from DE DOE dated November 6, 2006. It announced the formation of the JH Groves Adult High School and Home School Partnership. The letter reads:
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“JH Groves Adult High School is excited to announce a partnership with home school families. This partnership offers a mechanism for home school students to earn a State of Delaware high school diploma.

To participate, home school students must meet the JH Groves admission requirements and perform a series of verifications leading to high school credit. All instruction will remain the responsibility of the home school.

A pilot program has been established at the JH Groves Adult High School at Middletown and Diploma-At-A-Distance. For more information and to register, please call Ms. Hazel Showell at 302.378.5037 or Mr. Matt Davis at 1.888.321.GRAD (4723).”

Here’s the informational sheet:

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The JH Groves High School and Home School Partnership is designed to offer home school students a mechanism to obtain an official State of Delaware high school diploma. Instruction remains the responsibility of the home school. Flexibility is designed to allow the home school student an open-ended time frame for completion. With this partnership, the home school student must meet the following to obtain a high school diploma:

1. Be 16 years of age or older and meet the entrance assessment* criteria of secondary skills in reading, writing, and mathematics.

2. Pass the GED Official Practice Test (OPT)

3. Write a research paper according to a content standard in Social Studies or Science. This meets the requirement for the Certificate for Educational Attainment 3.

4. Pass the following Knowledge Assessments * with 80% or better:

—–Computer Literacy

—–Algebra Applications B

—–Statistics and Probability

—–Earth Science

—- Physical Science B

—- U.S. History B

—– Economics

A syllabus and a study guide will be provided for each of the Knowledge Assessments.

5. Career Pathway credits can be earned through evidence of knowledge and/or skill in a wide variety of career areas or in a content area that leads to postsecondary education, or documented work experience or specialized training.

* A fee will be charged.

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Now I’m wondering if this is the beginning of DE’s DOE attempt to regulate home schools in DE. Sure this program is optional today, but just how does regulation begin? One family joining in, then another and another…..

My family will not participate in their program but what about the family who is not confident in their ability to either home school through high school, or who are concerned that their child needs that DOE high school diploma to get a job or get into ‘that college’? Those are the families who need our support to help them see that they do not need DOE to go the distance. But is this the beginning of regulation in DE?

We will be enjoying the day with our family eating turkey and all the trimmings.

MK and I made 8 Turkey Pins yesterday morning but instead of felt we made ours using foam we had on hand. They turned out quite nice and our friends who we visited in the afternoon were quite surprised. Nice visit with hs’ing friends we haven’t seen in months. I so wish they lived closer.

Thanksgiving; we read Thanksgiving books with such titles as Gracias the Thanksgiving Turkey by Joy Cowley, A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting, and decided to fore-go the typical Pilgrim Thanksgiving books. Both boys have heard about the Pilgrims too often and want a break from the traditional story. Instead we laugh our way through these books, chuckling at the thought of having a Turkey at our table rather than on it.

The turkey is defrosting, the cranberry sauce will be made later today along with a pumpkin pie and chocolate black-out cake, so we all ready feast on Thursday. The dirt is to be delivered tomorrow, DH will pick up the backhoe early in the morning, and we’ll be quite thankful at Thanksgiving dinner to have this all behind us.

Ah so much joy. A thriller of a game. THE game of the century.

For those of you who do not follow football let me explain. OSU — that is Ohio State University – has been ranked #1 all season. In early September they beat #2 Texas in a great game. And yesterday, yesterday they did it again. They beat the #2 team in the nation Michigan. It is quite rare that the #1 team gets to play the #2 team during their regular season and OSU had to do it twice this season.

It has been a thrilling season but it isn’t over yet. On January 8th I will be glued to the TV to watch OSU play in Glendale Ariz. for the national championship.
I hope they are playing Michigan. They deserve a rematch and in my book are the #2 team in the nation. To not give them that chance would be sad for such an outstanding team.

I have but one thing to say this morning:

GO BUCKEYES!!!

It is raining here in Delaware, again. The timing is once again, awful.

You see, the garage foundation and footers must be backfilled with dirt and the ground graded away from the garage. It is critical that this occur before winter so that the footers and foundation walls are below the frost line. Now, way back in September DH ordered 6 truckloads of dirt to be delivered on that Saturday in September, and he reserved a backhoe so he can easily move the dirt. It is a simple operation really. Dig some trenches for electrical and water lines to the garage and move 6 truckloads of dirt. However, for the last umpteen weeks on a day near the end of the week it has rained. Wet dirt cannot be delivered; it clumps instead of flowing, and it weighs tons more than dry dirt. Each Friday has been the same; we’ve gotten the phone call telling us that the dirt is too wet to be delivered.

Yep, every week we’ve had enough rain that the dirt is too wet. Tonight we had a doozy of a rainstorm and I expect that tomorrow we will once again get the phone call — the dirt is too wet to be delivered. On the bright side this means that we’ll be able to watch my Ohio State Buckeyes football game on Saturday without interruptions. But……DH has already decided that he will tell them to deliver the dirt on Wednesday, and reserve the backhoe for Wednesday. He needs it for two days so that we are able to do all we need to do. Having the backhoe over a Holiday means we do not incur an additional several hundred dollar daily rental fee. This also means though that our Thanksgiving Day will be spent not feasting on turkey and all the trimmings with family, but moving dirt and grading the ground around the workshop.

No, Casey, there is no joy in Mudville.