A burst of beagles, lady bugs and the flu

Despite the lady bugs, actually Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles (which are no longer so cute!) we are still enjoying our new home in the country. I'm just learning to keep things covered, and to check anything that is out on the counter before either putting it away or serving it. :) The picture is of the window in the laundry room.

Saturday morning we were in various stages of getting ready for the day when we heard the most unusual noise coming from outside! I looked out the kitchen window, and there on their way through the yard were at least a dozen beagles, baying and sniffing, and following a scent. I yelled for Jon and David to come look out the window, and we watched the "burst of beagles" as they zigged and zagged their way through our yard, the neighbor's yard and into the woods behind. As they disappeared here came another one- slightly more portly than the rest. He paused, sniffed, looked confused and then heard the rest of them. He made a bee-line for the woods and followed them in. How unusual!! We were left feeling that you just never know what might happen when you move 8 miles away! :) Unfortunately I didn't have the presence of mind to grab my camera.

We've had a quiet week or so, otherwise, because David has had the flu. After a weekend of a fever, I finally took him to the doctor on Monday afternoon. He confirmed my thinking, and sent us home to recuperate. Today all that is left is a cough, thank goodness! Click on the image for a larger view.

Adventurous Home Schooling in the Country

Well!! I have to say that we've been in the new home less than 10 days and we are already having adventures! David has fished almost every day, and earlier this week he went with our neighbor (and landlord) to put out a beaver trap. Apparently beavers are building a dam and messing with Mr. W's lakes. My thought was "cool! David will get to see a bit about being an outdoorsman."

Yesterday Mom and I left David and my dad fishing while we went to look for curtains. After a while we called Dad's cell to let him know we were on our way, and I asked him if they had caught any fish. He said yes, and that David had an otter!!! Now, lest you think I'm hardhearted and not an animal lover, I truly thought he was joking. I told Mom what he said; we laughed and came on home. As we drove into the driveway we saw Dad and David with a river otter hanging from wire in a tree!!!! ACK! I said to Mom- "oh, my gosh!! He DOES have an otter!!" and Mom said "oh, NO!!!"...



They had gone with Mr. W to check his trap, and the trap contained an otter rather than a beaver. So, Mr. W told David to take it home and skin it. He told Dad how (he probably already knew) and told him that he was not to do it- David was, with Dad's supervision. So, they began the process, and then Jon took over when he got home from work after Mom and Dad left for their home. They finished about dusk and put the skin in the freezer until they can begin the tanning process.

This morning David went with Mr. W again- this time they had a beaver!!! So,... today he and Jon skinned a beaver, and tonight we (or maybe THEY) are having beaver stew!!! Can you imagine?? I'm thinking of all sorts of ways to use this in school. I'm also very thankful that these animals are already dead by the time David sees them and that he's not responsible for their termination.



Please don't anybody get mad at me for posting about this completely unexpected adventure! I just felt it was too interesting not to share.

Daffodils in the new home

Yesterday I took a break from unpacking and sketched the first daffodils blooming at the new house. I only spent about ten minutes on it, but really enjoyed doing it! I have to get back to pursuing my goal of sketching every day this year. This past week I've not done so well...

I'm part of an online art group called Everyday Matters, and there is a weekly challenge of something to draw. They are currently at week #157 or so, and I just recently joined. Therefore, I am going to be doing some of the older challenges mixed in with other things! Here is #1- a shoe. The daffodils fit #76 (flowers) and #124 (something yellow).

Stuff everywhere!

These last few weeks have been pretty (!!) hectic and stressful, but with the very generous help of an amazing number of friends, we moved into our new home this past week! We spent the first night here Saturday. Whew! Now we are surrounded by boxes and trying to figure out where to put everything. We've determined that we are going to release a lot of these things that we haven't used in years to bless others, and we're going to start using things we've "saved for a special occasion."

One example is the nice china that we got as wedding presents- we've hardly ever used it! Why is this?? I've decided that it's silly. Of course, now it's all in boxes and I need to find a place to put it where I can get TO it in order to use it, but that's all in good time.

Meanwhile, why did I save that beautiful tea dress from our wedding tea 21 years ago when I've not been able to fit my left elbow into it for, oh, 15 or 16 years?? I've got the husband! I don't need the dress to remind me of the special occasion. But it is so beautiful...

This home is at least 32 years old, just a few miles out of town, surrounded by pecan trees and a couple of ponds we're welcome to fish in, daffodils are already blooming in the front and there are crepe myrtles at the corners (I can't wait to see what colors they are!) and azaleas near the house. The house itself has more space than we had, and a wonderful place to homeschool! We've been assured by many friends that our neighbors are wonderful, and we've already seen evidence of that. How God has taken a very stressful situation and used it to bless us mightily!

The back yard:



And here's the combo den, school room, tv room, family room. Take a look at the shelves! Of course we've already filled them and have boxes of books leftover to figure out what to do with... :



More good news is that our email address stays the same and so do our cell numbers. The land line had to change, but that's okay! We're blessed. David caught 6 fish yesterday, and we had them for supper last night after church!

Come visit in a few weeks after we've had time to sort out everything!