It's going to be a great week! This week I get to discontinue the antibiotics that have been the bane of my existence since New Year's Eve. And on the same day (Thursday) I have clearance to begin putting weight on my operated hip/leg. Just 25% at first, but it's a start and I'll be on the road to some independence again. And Tuesday I will begin outpatient physical therapy, having exhausted my in-home therapist's ability to keep up with me. I'm on the move!

Yesterday was not a good day for me physically, still feeling the debilitating effects of the antibiotics. I didn't really accomplish anything all day other than going through a six-inch stack of old magazines, culling a few gems and throwing the rest out. As I tackled the first few, I realized it was an interesting visual for me of where my life stopped last December. Most of the mags were holiday issues that I hadn't yet read and then they accumulated in a corner since I didn't want to get rid of them until I'd gone through them. Well now, my bedroom is several pounds lighter and my shelves have several inches of space to breathe that they didn't have before.

I realize I've been really spoiled in the months since December...hardly a week has gone by without someone either bringing me flowers or having some delivered, and sometimes I've had three different bouquets at once. I think when I'm on my feet again I'm going to have to buy my own and keep at least one bunch in my room all the time!

"To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it." [Thomas Jefferson, via a must-read article, America's new culture war: Free enterprise vs. government control, by Arthur C. Brooks in today's Washington Post (!).]

Anyone have a recommendation for a really, really good santoku kitchen knife? Pioneer Woman swears by her Wusthof, but I'm also looking at Shun and a couple others....

We have just completed our 25th straight year of homeschooling. This year, because of many unforeseen circumstances, the year didn't look like most others; and yet, when I look back over the past quarter-century, not too many years looked like most of the others. Nevertheless, I'm glad to see this one go and glad to be in the planning stages of year 26, one in which I have only two students, a freshman and a junior in high school. It's impossible to explain to new homeschoolers how different things are now than when we started in 1985. And although most of those differences are good ones, the opportunities available now make the process of choosing and planning mind-boggling!

Other summer plans include working with CJ on her wedding arrangements and getting our photos into digital format via the new photo scanner I bought on sale months ago. It's still sitting in the box, but not for long!

But first, we have Shelley's senior recital and graduation at the end of next week. We're so proud of how hard she's worked in many different areas this year, completing several college courses, achieving some real competence in French, and continuing to hone her piano skills in both performance and teaching...all while finishing up her regular high school studies. Next weekend we'll celebrate all those things, hearing her concert on the piano and then presenting her with her diploma (and eating some good food afterward!)

Reading this week: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (via Kindle), and back to reading The Reason for God by Timothy Keller.

Okay, I'm having trouble figuring this one out. I've mentioned before that during the past couple of years my taste for chocolate has pretty much evaporated. Since I was never a dark chocolate lover and can't therefore claim those health benefits, I've been okay with losing my craving for oozy milk chocolate desserts. But now I find I'm losing my taste for sweets altogether. I know this can't be a bad thing, especially for a diabetic, but it's a mystery to me how it's happened in such a short time. I may find that it's been a side effect of some of the dozen or so meds I've been on and that my taste will return when some of them are discontinued...but then again, I almost hope not :-)

And snip, snip, that's all folks...hope you have a week as good as I expect mine to be!

Labels: Books, Food, Health, Homeschooling, Kids, Political Observation