Testing, Testing...Is This Thing On?

It seems that after an extended period of ignoring updates, the long suffering Mr. A commandeered my iPad and did the updates himself. 

And - who knew?! - Blogger has a fancy new interface for tablet blogging. 

Methinks Melikes. 

Obligatory test photo: 

A somewhat apropos photo/meme as this is where my headspace has been lately. I'm freaking out in my head (which actually is productive for me as I am motivated by adrenaline) at planning our school year. At the same time, I'm trying to be calm and productive and keep a daily routine. 

That's all for now..

<3 Mrs. A. 

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Byte Size Blog #6

Good Morning. Today I bring you Byte Size Blog #6 to catch you up on what's been happening. Since I'm leaving town in an hour and I'm not ready to go nor is anyone else awake, it ought to be a quick one...

• The dogs got their Christmas presents - new beds - early. My living room is no longer a playground of stuffing and fluff from the old bed. An unexpected development: daily games of Musical Beds. Very amusing.
• Christmas cards have been mailed and gingerbread baking has begun. I've also decorated the house and will not do anything else to make things look festive. Except get a Christmas tree. We'll do that on Sunday.
• Off to the City today with Mr. A. to finish up our Christmas/Birthday shopping. As we only have a little bit of shopping to do this year, it's more like a date.
• Christmas knitting continues. One Holden Shawlette is done and blocked. The second Holden is on the needles. This is a very gift-worthy knit. Today, two hours of driving for Mr. A. equals two hours of knitting time for me. I'm thinking of adding a knitted hat for my dad to the Christmas knitting list (which really wasn't very extensive to begin with...)
• School work with the kids continues. I had planned to be done today, break for almost a month and then start up again the second week of January. However, since I am a sloth and it takes me forever to insist that the kids finish things...we'll be continuing throughout the coming week. I am encouraged as The Boy Child has actually finished a project and The Girl is tackling some task writing - not happily and under direct supervision, but she's doing it.
• Because I am a grown up, I went to the doctor's this week and updated my tetanus. On purpose, before I had to due to injury...which has been the case in the past. What was I thinking!? Two days after and I still can't lift my arm above shoulder height and I feel like I've been hit by a truck. Perhaps I didn't notice the effects of this vaccination before because I was laid out on the couch dealing with what I thought was injury recovery.

Byte Size Blog #6 is now concluded...I'm off to get everyone up and out of the house - a novelty for those of us who homeschool and work from home.

♥Mrs. A.

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My Weekend In Pictures

Friday: The 'Before' - kitchen is cleaned out in praparation for a new countertop, long awaited and long overdue.

Friday: During - coffee station is fully operational throughout the entire countertop replacement procedure. And my kitchen has been emptied into the dining room.

Friday: Still During - At this point, the children and I left for holiday festivities and Mr. A supervised Fred the Countertop Replacement Man.

Friday: After - Other than the sink being replaced front-to-back, the replacement was a great success and we now sport a lovely new, non-rotting, firmly attached countertop. But you may notice the cupboard doors are missing...

Saturday: After the After - since we had to caulk the edges (Fred was lacking the caulking and said he'd return 'next week'...I grew up with an extended family of contractors; I know what that means) we went to Home Depot for caulking. $100 later....

Sunday: Still After the After - a very calming neutral bluey-grey called 'Horizon'. And our new faucet! See how it's not leaky?! You may notice the lovely 20th century design feature of the single lever rather than the two taps. I can now touch raw meat without contaminating my entire kitchen!

Sunday: About When Mr. A Started To Get Annoyed - The Blue Eyed Bandit has 'helped' with the cupboard doors.

Sunday: About When Mr. A Was Definitely Annoyed: Photo Bomb by The Boy Child.

Sunday: The Final After - Coffee is ready to go. The yellow under the stove hood is the glow of the light.

Sunday: The Fnal After - I will miss the old cheery yellow. But it definitely had to go. It was old and dirty and clashed with the rest of the main living area.

Sunday: The Final After - The new colour is calm and quiet, much like the colour we painted the main living area last year.

♥ Mrs. A.

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