Returned from my WONDERFUL stay in Virginia last week and ended up going straight from the airport to the emergency room with a scare that was, thankfully, over in 24 hours. I was afraid my infection had returned or that I had again fractured something, but both those possibilities were quickly ruled out. Other than that, the trip was such a joy...got to spend some good time with Erin, Judah, new baby Savannah, and, of course, their parents.

Tomorrow, we start Year 26 of our homeschooling journey with only two (male) students. After missing so much of last year I am chomping at the bit to get started. Can't say as much for said male students, but I'll have 'em on my team in no time.

This week was momentous for our country, and not in a good way. We've now installed on the Supreme Court a woman whom I firmly believe is in the "enemy camp" as far as matters of morals, the Constitution, economics, and the role of government in our lives. Yes, elections have consequences...and those who were so keen on voting for Obama just to say we'd elected a black president forget that his choices for the court will outlive his term by a factor of ten. And we can't un-elect her.

At O'Hare airport last week, I made an uncharacteristic impulse purchase of a book I had seen on the bestseller list and started reading it during my trip. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (author of The Time Traveler's Wife) is a fairly mindless but pleasant modern "ghost story" with a lot of interesting characters and some occasionally inspired writing. It's been a nice foil for my rather plodding trip through Herodotus.

URGENT REQUEST: Please, please check now to find your state's voting schedule for November. If you want to vote early or need to vote absentee because you'll be out of town on November 2, then find out NOW what the deadlines are, mark them on your calendar, and send yourself email reminders with the pertinent dates. Then use your blog, Facebook, Twitter, and every other means you can think of to remind people in your state what those deadlines are. Every vote matters, and only by restoring a Congress who respects the Constitution can we have any hope of stopping our slide into the abyss. (Here's the schedule for Texas)

And at the risk of sounding like a broken (vinyl) record, download a copy of Atlas Shrugged onto your iPod, iPhone, iPad, or Kindle, or get the book from Amazon now and increase your awareness of just how close we are to a socialist state and how quick the trip will be to totalitarianism.

From the recent annals of nationalized health care in the country that our decision-makers (read: High Priests of Obamacare) worship, there's this tragedy, coming soon to a country and hospital very near you. May God have mercy on all the little humans born before 24 weeks.

Guacamole? Yes. Please.

I spent quite a bit of time this past week listening to clips of madrigals, an early music form that shaped much of my music education. Just listening made me feel young again.

Said I wouldn't do it, but I did. Signed up for Netflix again. I vowed that I wouldn't do it until they stop using pop-up ads to advertise, and they haven't stopped. But what they have done is made a lot of the stuff I want to see instantly available through streaming and I could no longer resist. Last night I watched the first episode of the mini-series Pillars of the Earth. I loved the book, and unlike with many book-to-movie/TV conversions, I was not disappointed. Looking forward to the next parts.

I'm off to finish up plans for tomorrow...I hope that whenever you're starting your school year, you're as enthusiastic about it as I am! Have a great week!

Labels: Books, Family, Food, Homeschooling, Music, ObamaNation, Political Action, Political Observation, Sundays