Where did the past week go? It's one of the times when I'm sure I must be the lead character in a Truman Show-type movie and someone edited a whole week on the cutting room floor and didn't tell me!

Next year will be our 25th "anniversary" year of homeschooling. I'm mulling over some ways I might like to mark the year with some special activities, both in the family and in writing... (And yes, Anne, I know that makes you feel very old.)

Our house has seen a resurgence of interest among our kids and grandkids in the classic game "Battleship." I remember being astounded when the first versions came out, because my father taught me to play when I was a child and we did it with pencil and paper! It was kind of a sophisticated tic-tac-toe and we spent hours at it...now I smile at how my kiddos think that Hasbro invented the game!

And of course I have to report that the new trampoline is already about the most popular thing at Granny's House, right after the water in the door of the refrigerator. We've seen a lot less computer and X-box use and a lot more outdoor play (and sunbathing, LOL) since getting the tramp replacement up and bouncing!

Once again this week I've been amused at how many people (okay, me included to some extent) waste time and key strokes complaining about the latest changes on Facebook, as though we all have some kind of stake in the piece of real estate there. Technology is a funny thing.

I love it. As we get closer and closer to spring recitals, I hear more and more lovely music in this house.

Yes. Avocado Potato Salad works. And then you don't need dessert. Except that Orange Pound Cake doesn't hurt either :-)

REGARDING ATLAS SHRUGGED: This week, having started through the book again, I decided I should write a bit of a disclaimer. Sometimes you can read a very long book and absorb the magnitude of the themes and the plot and forget other things that might be hanging around the edges. After re-reading the first quarter of the book (and even that is a feat, huh?) I want to add a caveat or two. Ayn Rand was not only not a Christian, she was blatantly immoral and even her economic and moral philosophy (commonly referred to as "objectivism") included a hostility to some things Christians hold dear. This comes through in her work, although not as much in this book as in The Fountainhead. Her characters are sinful human beings who many times act quite sinfully; occasionally Rand's description of the sin is a little more graphic than I am comfortable with so I can imagine the clucks it was met with in the 1950s! And it makes me wonder about the wisdom of the teacher who recommended it to me in the 9th grade...I certainly wouldn't recommend it to your children or anyone that young. What I would recommend is that YOU read it for the unsettling mirror it holds up to what is happening in our country in a new millennium and for the timeless observations of human nature, and then discuss the themes with your kids. You are, of course, free to skip over passages that might be objectionable. You'll get the gist of what's happening without reading every word.

And from this morning's worship...

Labels: Books, Food, Fun, Music, Technology