What's Been Going On: Thursday, 12 May - Sunday, 16 May, 2022

Welcome to the start of another busy week! This weekend was super busy, but it was the good kind of busy, the satisfying kind. Plus that good thing that happened. Arright, let’s get this party started so I can tell you all about it!

Here’s what I’ve been up to!

 

Thursday, 12 May, 2022

I had coffee and edited and posted Thursday’s post. I got a batch of Indian-spiced lentils in the crockpot, filled the dishwasher, and posted my review of The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer on my book blog. I gave my daughter an early-morning shower, then we both got dressed and started school.

We started with On This Day in History and geography (Netherlands), then did a unit of math. We did spelling, then we finished the second grade Language Arts curriculum. Third grade is laid out quite differently than the second grade one, so I’m going to have to figure out what we’re going to do for Language Arts in the fall.

We had lunch and watched a second TED talk with Tristram Stuart on food waste (which I didn’t remember to link!), and then it was out to the swing! We finished Be the Change, finished our book on fashion history (which was great!), and read one Hans Christian Andersen story. We did our 30 minutes of Read Harder/silent reading, and then we were done for the day.

I picked up my son and ran him over to Walmart for a few things he needed, and I came home with caffeinated soda (oy, the headaches this week, likely from a combination of hormones and the weather change) and a marked-down pie. I dropped my son off, then came home and filled and ran the dishwasher. I took out the compost and recycling, started the rice in the rice cooker, tidied the kitchen, and tidied and swept the living room.

We had dinner, I did my Duolingo, and then…

MY SON MOVED BACK IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He moved back for various reasons, but I’m just thrilled to have him here again. I helped him carry his stuff in, and then he and I went on a 3-ish mile walk together.

When we got home, he and I watched a few YouTube videos he’d been telling me about, then I showered and helped him set up his computer. My husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

Friday, 13 May, 2022

I had coffee and wrote and posted Friday’s post. I got dressed, scooped the litterbox, and emptied and refilled the dishwasher.

We started school with On This Day in History and geography (New Caledonia), then did math. And then I got the email cancelling my daughter’s counseling appointment. Unfortunately, her therapist had been exposed to two people with COVID and while he had tested negative, he was feeling sick and was assuming it was just too early for him to test positive. We’re hoping it passes by quickly for him and leaves no trace behind.

While my daughter worked on some math problems, I prepared some tomatoes for roasting and got them into the oven. We worked on spelling, then read a book about Chicago. After lunch, all three of us headed over to the library for some new books.

At home, my daughter and I headed out to the swing for our afternoon reading. We tried to read a book about a blizzard in the 1800’s, but my daughter found it too scary, so we abandoned that one. We switched to Not One Damsel in Distress by Jane Yolen and read a story from there instead. We also read a book about fair trade (which also gets into explanations of economics, which is great!), then read a book about art called Why Is Art Full of Naked People?

I read on the swing for a bit, then I helped my daughter with her math problems. I headed in and made salad and the salad dressing, then I boiled the spaghetti noodles and blended and heated the roasted tomatoes. I filled and ran the dishwasher, and we had dinner.

I did my Duolingo, then went on a 3-ish mile walk with my husband and daughter. I showered, put dinner away, and attended my virtual Shabbat services. Afterwards, I watched a YouTube video by Rob Greenfield, read my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

Saturday, 14 May, 2022

After coffee, I wrote 2.5 book reviews, got dressed, and helped my daughter look for her glasses (my husband eventually found them in a cardboard box of old school supplies. Because of course that’s where they would be…).

My son and I went to Walmart and a local grocery story for potting soil and plants (plus some fresh tomatoes on sale and two pounds of green beans from the markdown rack). We had lunch at home, I filled and ran the dishwasher, and put the tofu on to press. I grabbed my son and I made a Freecycle run for a pair of shoes for me, then we stopped by the library again so my son could grab a few extra books.

At home, I made tofu meatballs and cooked them, and helped my son fold and put away his clothes. And then I headed outside to plant my flowers and tomato and basil! Super hard work, but so worth it!

 

After dinner, I did my Duolingo, and my son and I went on a 3-ish mile walk. I showered, put dinner away, and read the rest of the evening (husband and daughter were backyard camping).

 

Sunday, 15 May, 2022

After coffee, I cooked a batch of lentils in the Instant Pot, then emptied and refilled the dishwasher. I snapped two pounds of green beans, sauteed onions and garlic, and made the lentil meatloaf for dinner. I peeled and chopped about ¾ of an Instant Pot of potatoes, then got those cooking. After I took out three loads of compost, I cleaned the kitchen and got dressed (yup, did all of that in my pajamas!).

I ran to the basement and brought up toilet paper and some popsicle sticks, then headed out with my son to pick up a packet of Cherokee Trail of Tears beans from a local group’s One Community, One Seed program (you plant the seeds, grow the plant, then save some of the seeds for the program’s seed bank at a local library! Super cool, right?). At home, I headed to the garden and ripped up a boatload of weeds and turned the soil, then planted the bean seeds, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, a pepper plant, another tomato plant, two more basil plants, and several cucumber plants. All I had left was the watermelon, but I didn’t have time to get that in, plus I would’ve had to clear out more space, and it was starting to rain, and my back was KILLING me.

Inside, I had lunch and relaxed on the computer for a bit. I finished reading Tiny Homes, Simple Shelter, then dozed on the chair for a bit. When my daughter woke me up, I made a batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars, made the mashed potatoes, sauteed the green beans with garlic, got the dishes in the dishwasher and ran it, then took out the recycling. I cooked the lentil loaf and spent the time it cooked looking for new recipes on Pinterest.

After dinner (which was awesome, though time-consuming!), I did my Duolingo, went for a 3-ish mile walk alone (shorter than my normal alone walks, but it was a little rainy and I didn't want to chance a longer one!) and then showered. I put dinner away, put my daughter to bed, and began reading The Big Tiny: A Build-It-Myself Memoir by Dee Williams. My  husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

And that’s it! We’ve got two weeks of our regular school, and then we’re going to take a little bit of time off to do some house projects before starting our summer schedule. I don’t have anything on the calendar this week (just errands after school today!), but I’m sure it’s going to be another wild and crazy week packed full of tons of things to do, because that’s how it goes around here.

Wishing you all a lovely week, friends!