There’s been a slight delay . . .

I’d hoped that we’d begin our homeschooling lessons today, but honestly . . . I’m just not ready.  I know I’ll be ready by next Monday (hopefully before), but our remodel on the classroom/library/office has taken longer than I expected. 

Originally, we just planned on ripping paneling down, putting up sheetrock and painting.  But we decided that, considering everything was moved out of there, it would be the perfect time to refinish the red oak floors, too.  Not a huge area square footage-wise, we just couldn’t get excited about setting everything up and then having to take it all out again later to do the floors.

So we rented the sanding equipment and sanded the floors.  Went over them twice with tacky cloth to remove all the dust, etc.  Painted “Red Oak” oil-based stain over the entire area twice, leaving it on for 10 minutes the first time and then 15 minutes the second time.  The color is very pretty.  It had to dry at least 5 hours between each application and before applying any sealer.  The sealer (Varathane) had to dry 4 hours between each application and a minimum of 3 is recommended.  We decided to go ahead and do 4, since that’s what a friend had recommended to us.  Their floors are beautiful and the finish is very durable.

I finished putting the fourth coat of Varathane on the wood floors at 3 a.m. this morning.  It has to dry at least 24 hours before light usage, and preferably 3 days before normal usage. 

We’re going to see if we’re brave enough to gingerly try to install the baseboards before the 3 days — I think if we wear socks and only go in there to measure, then out to the garage to cut, then back in to nail the baseboards in place, we won’t hurt the floors.  By the time the 3 days is up, I can paint the trim and move everything back in.  And get back to real life.  Whew!

I’d try to start school right now in the middle of it all, but I’ve got stuff all over the place . . . I’m just not quite ready and I don’t think it will hurt us to wait another couple of days.  We may do some math and some spelling . . . I think I can put my hands on that stuff without too much trouble.

I’m kind of stressed about it all, but I keep reminding myself how blessed we are that we have a home, food in the cabinet, and each other.  So many right now have so much less . . . thinking of this really helps one to keep perspective, hmmm?

Have a blessed day.

And people wonder why the rescue effort is going so slowly:

Hospitals struggled to evacuate critically ill patients who were dying for lack of oxygen, insulin or intravenous fluids. But when some hospitals try to airlift patients, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesan said, “there are people just taking potshots at police and at helicopters, telling them, ‘You better come get my family.”’

To make matters worse, the chief of the Louisiana State Police said he heard of New Orleans police officers — many from flooded areas — turning in their badges.

“They indicated that they had lost everything and didn’t feel that it was worth them going back to take fire from looters and losing their lives,” Col. Henry Whitehorn said.

(from MSNBC)

 

Thoughts on the Storm and its Aftermath . . .

This morning a good friend left a message on my answering machine. We’ve been playing telephone tag for a number of days and so I guess she decided to leave a lengthy message on the machine in “conversation.” I’ll probably leave one on hers as well, and eventually we’ll both know what’s going on in each other’s lives. She said the kids are good, she’s been very busy, and she’s horrified by what she’s seen on t.v. regarding Katrina. Then she said something that would normally really tick me off. (However, we’ve been friends since childhood and that allows for a little patience when either of us says something stupid . . . )

She said, “If one baby down there dies, I’m never voting Republican again.”

ARGHHHH!!!!!

I’ve not had a chance to talk with her yet, person to person, but I can’t believe how anyone can cast blame at the Republican party for something that dwarfs any and all catastrophes that have struck our native soil in well over a century. Granted, she is a more liberal conservative (or maybe a more conservative liberal), and she did vote for Clinton (I’ve forgiven her, really, I have . . . ) But how can anyone blame the Republican Party and more specifically George W. Bush for how the relief effort is progressing?

I am still having a difficult time wrapping my brain around the magnitude of the damage . . . and I’m about to say something that may tick some people off, but bear with me while I try to explain what I mean. This is so much more horrific than 9/11 in a way . . .

As a specific event, 9/11 had a beginning and an end. The Towers fell and the cleanup began. Survivors grieved, but they were able to find shelter, food, water. They had places to go. For instance, HOME. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think there were any apartments in the Towers. I may be wrong, but I don’t remember hearing about any apartments in the vicinity that were damaged beyond repair when the Towers fell. So while there was great loss of life, those who survived did have a place to go to and many received financial assistance from the government (the Republican government, I might add).

Hurricane Katrina may be “gone,” but the effects of her visit will go on for years. The levees (which were not built strongly enough to sustain this type of storm YEARS before President Bush came into office, and therefore cannot logically be blamed on him) must be “repaired” with something, anything, in order to drain the city and then rebuilt to withstand future assaults by WEATHER SYSTEMS. The city must be drained and then cleaned up and honestly, I don’t know if that is even possible. My sister is a nurse and she commented that the hospitals need to be bulldozed and rebuilt. She said that she just didn’t see how one could possibly bring a hospital contaminated by the toxic sludge now flowing through New Orleans back to the relatively sterile state it was before the storm. I think of all the homes that are soaking up the filth and wonder how they can ever be restored. It’s simply mind-boggling . . .

People are clamoring for help, and yet the people trying to help them are getting shot at. What’s that all about? Another blogger thought it was terrible that it was suggested that looters be shot. Yes, it is terrible . . . but if that looter is packing heat and threatening rescue workers trying to help those who really need help, I say “take ‘em down!” They are preventing the continuation of the rescue mission and in doing so, may be costing even more people their lives. So to some degree, they are to blame for the slowness of the process. And as harsh as it may sound, some of them don’t deserve saving. (Not very Christian, I know, but if reports can be believed, some of those who’ve taken refuge in our Astrodome have committed rape and other crimes even as we try to help them.)

As far as the current administration’s actions, while nothing will seem “fast enough,” I’m confident that they are taking proactive steps to handle the situation as well as can be expected, considering the great magnitude of the task ahead. What I would like to know is, where is the foreign aid? Where are the people that we’ve helped in times of trouble? There were Americans en route to London after the bombings (a much, much smaller catastrophe by comparison) even before the dust settled. We have sent so much money to aid in the tsunami relief effort (and yet were criticized for not sending “enough”) – where are our international brethren when we are in need? Hmmm? And if I have missed something, if in fact someone has sent us aid, please let me know so I can correct my thinking.

It’s going to take a long time to get this resolved, and criticizing the current efforts is counterproductive. It wastes energy. Instead of criticizing, find out how you can help. There are currently approximately 750 people staying in the hotels in my little community alone and the churches are coordinating efforts to provide meals to these people. A spaghetti dinner will be served tonight. Spaghetti goes a long way and is relatively cheap to prepare. I purchased eight cans of Kroger spaghetti sauce (79¢ each), two (3 lb.) packages of Kroger spaghetti ($1.99 each), and three loaves of garlic bread ($1.99 each) for a total of $16. It will make enough to feed 48 people one meal. Not necessarily a lavish meal, but a meal that will fill their tummies and give them energy for a few more hours.

If everyone will do this or something similar (and many are, I know), it will go a long way toward helping those taking refuge in our communities. If 15 people do what I did, it is enough to feed those 750 one meal. The Brazosport area has a population of approximately 30,000. Fifteen goes into that 2,000. So if every person donated $16 toward that, 750 people could be fed 2,000 meals. Quite amazing, huh?

Well, that’s all I have to say on the subject right now. I think the main thing is: Don’t point fingers, keep praying, and show compassion both for the victims of the hurricane and our administration. Can any of us honestly say that we could handle this situation better if we were in charge? It’s very easy to say “Why aren’t they doing this? Why did they do that?” The fact is, there are many, many militating factors slowing down the recovery process including the magnitude of the crisis and the fact that our president doesn’t have a national “checkbook” at his disposal requiring only his signature. I’m sure that if he could, he would sign off on unlimited aid, but that’s not possible. There are checks and balances and processes that must be adhered to, no matter what the crisis.

It’s very late, got a busy day tomorrow (actually, today!) what with my girl having choir and recorder band classes and all.  I’m hoping to get some lesson plans figured out during the three hours she’s in class.  Gas is too expensive to drive home, so I’ll find a corner somewhere to perch until she’s finished.

Just a reminder (like any of us need one), to keep all those along the Gulf Coast in our prayers.  I, myself, am a Gulf Coast girl — albeit the Texas Gulf Coast.  I live a mere 8 miles from the beach, and I keep thinking “there but for the grace of God, could have gone I . . .”  Texas hasn’t been hit by a big one since ’83, when Cat. 3 “Alicia” came roaring through.  The damage was incredible with that tiny storm (compared to Katrina, that is).  My dad lives in New Orleans, and thankfully left town Saturday before the storm hit.  He and his girlfriend went to stay with family near Victoria.  I’ve not been able to reach him, because his cell phone is a Louisiana number and I keep getting a busy signal.  At least I know he’s safe.  Their house lies a mere 3 miles from the Superdome, and so I don’t have a clue what they’ll return to — if there’s anything to return to.  It’s a two-story house and I’m hoping against hope that it’s in one of the areas where the waters were less deep . . .

I’m gone for now, but I just had to try this out. 

Cookin’ with gas . . .

I’m on a mad typing blitz tonight.  My girl’s 4-H club is putting together a cookbook for their annual fundraiser.  I am typing recipe contributions into the publisher’s online program.  Gotta’ burn the midnight oil because I only have one phone line and it is truly frustrating to be in the middle of an entry only to have someone beep in and bump me off the net.

Hopefully my fingers will be swift and accurate and I can get a good number of these entered.  I’ve already entered about 55 or 60, but there are many, many more to go.  Ciao! 

Making progress . . .

Today was a fairly productive day.  We went to church (excellent message, by the way about Jesus caring about even the littlest details of our lives and how He’s always there for us to turn to . . . ) and then had some excellent Mexican food at a little mom ‘n pop restaurant near our church.  Have you ever had seafood enchiladas?  These were honestly one of the best things I’ve ever had at a Mexican restaurant.  Cheese enchiladas covered with a creamy shrimp and crawfish sauce.  I don’t think I’ll ever order anything else again.

Came home and I managed to get the second coat of Savannah Red paint on the accent wall in our library/classroom/office.  After I’m finished with all my business during the day tomorrow, I’ll be putting the second coat of the Fiorli Gold Ecru on the remaining walls.  When the walls are good and dry, probably Tuesday evening, we will rent a floor sander from McCoy’s and sand the floors down in prep for fresh stain and varethane sealer.  When the floor’s finished, new wood trim will be painted Wooden Wagon, installed, and then we can move the furniture back in.

I can hardly wait!  Right now my computer’s on a card table in the dining room and the back bedroom is literally full of the stuff that came out of the library/classroom/office . . . I’ll be glad to get back to some semblance of organization.

I’ve gotten almost everything I need for my girl’s lessons this year.  I’m feeling pretty good about it all, if the room was just finished.  Our days will go something like this:

Monday:  Arithmetic, History, Latin, Language Arts, Lunch, Science.

Tuesday:  Arithmetic, History, Latin, Language Arts, Lunch, Ballet.

Wednesday:  Arithmetic, History, Latin, Language Arts, Lunch, Science.

Thursday:  Arithmetic, Latin, Language, Choir, Lunch, Recorder Band, Public Library.

Friday:  Art studies and catch-up day.  This day is reserved for unfinished work from the first 4 days and chores, after we do our art lesson.  If we’re caught up on our school work and the chores are done, the rest of the day is for a fun activity, field trip, family game night, etc.

I’m really not sure how much time each course of study will take, but I’ve allotted between 40 minutes and 60 minutes for each, keeping in mind that the beauty of homeschooling is its flexibility.  So none of this is carved in stone!  I do have a rough guideline to follow, though, if for no other reason than to keep us disciplined and for the most part on track.

I thought this was cute . . .

Nobody asked for them, but here are some little known Texas facts (Some may be debatable, like the flag-flyin’ thing, but it’s still fun to read):

Beaumont to El Paso: 742 miles Beaumont to Chicago: 770 miles

El Paso is closer to California than to Dallas

World’s first rodeo was in Pecos… July 4, 1883.

The Flagship Hotel in Galveston is the only hotel in North America built over water.

The Heisman Trophy was named after John William Heisman who was the first full time coach for Rice University in Houston.

Brazoria County has more species of birds than any other area in North America.

Aransas Wildlife Refuge is the winter home of North America’s only remaining flock of whooping cranes.

Jalapeno jelly originated in Lake Jackson in 1978.

The worst natural disaster in U.S. history was in 1900 caused by a hurricane in which over 8000 lives were lost on Galveston Island.

The first word spoken from the moon, July 20, 1969, was “Houston.”

King Ranch is larger than Rhode Island

Tropical Storm Claudette brought a US. rainfall record of 43″ in 24 hours in and around Alvin in July 1979.

Texas is the only state to enter the U.S. by TREATY, instead of by annexation. (This allows the Texas flag to fly at the same height as the US flag.)

A Live Oak tree near Fulton i s estimated to be 1500 years old.

Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in the state.

Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. There is no period after Dr in Dr Pepper.

Texas has had six capital cities:
1. Washington-on-the-Brazos
2. Harrisburg
3. Galveston
4. Velasco
5. West Columbia
6. Austin

The Capitol Dome in Austin is the only dome in the U.S. which is taller than the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. (by 7 feet). This was of course intentional.  Legally it could not have been done, but they found the highest hill in Austin and built it there. By the time they finished, it stood 7! feet higher than the National Capitol.

The name Texas comes from the Hasini Indian word “tejas” meaning’friends.’ Tejas is not Spanish for Texas.

The State animal is the Armadillo. (An interesting bit of trivia about the armadillo is they always have four babies. They have one egg which splits into four and they either have four males or four females, all identical.)

The first domed stadium in the U.S. was the Astrodome in Houston.

TEXAS STYLE,……Cowboy’s Ten Commandments posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Fairlie, Texas.

(1) Just one God
(2) Honor yer Ma & Pa.
(3) No telling tales or gossipin’.
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meeting.
(5) Put nothin’ before God.
(6) No foolin’ around with another fellow’s gal.
(7) No killin’.
(8) Watch yer mouth.
(9) Don’t take what ain’t yers.
(10) Don’t be hankerin’ for yer buddy’s stuff .

Now that’s kinda plain an’ simple don’t ya think? Y’all have a good day. You hear!

Ebay is a wonderful thing . . .

I’ve been shopping, shopping, shopping for my sweet girl’s school books on eBay.  I am quite tickled to report that I got $60 worth of math materials for $32.  I also got $30 worth of health materials for $17, and $13 worth of spelling materials for $11.  Keep in mind that the first value does not include tax or shipping, and the second value is tax-free and includes shipping.  So I’m feeling pretty good about things.

I still have a few bids in on language materials, science materials, and penmanship materials — these will be ending in a few hours.  Hopefully my maximum bids will be enough to stave off any last minute bidders and yet still save me some money.

I’ve decided to use Abeka Book for most of our remaining subjects.  I mentioned that we’ll be using Susan Wise Bauer’s “The Story of the World, Vol. I” for our history studies in an earlier post, because it just seems so much more logical to start history studies at the beginning of history.  We’ll also be using a Latin program.  However, since we’re relatively new to the homeschooling scene and I am trying to run a business at the same time — we’re going to use some “easy” materials that are pretty straight forward and do not require a lot of “legwork” for math, grammar/spelling, and science. 

I don’t feel like we’re using a “curriculum in a box,” because I am tweaking the things that are really important to me (like the logical study of history), but for this first year, I think the Abeka path will make the transition a little more smooth, a little less painful for all involved.  We won’t be using the reading materials because Girlie is well beyond 4th grade level reading materials — so we’ll be using the library for that.

In addition, we’ve discovered some WONDERFUL supplementals to our studies.  The Girl will be taking dance (ballet, specifically) once a week, homeschool choir and recorder band classes once a week, as well as continuing to participate in her 4-H club.  She and her daddy plan to volunteer at the local SPCA a couple of times a month, too.

I don’t think she’ll lack for things to keep life interesting and to alleviate any concerns of those who think we’re trying to put her in a “bubble” by homeschooling.  Do you?

Thank you for your comments re: my dilemma . . .

I’ve come to the conclusion that I worry much too much about these things.  The likelihood of anyone even needing warranty service is pretty minimal because when I say these things are top-quality, I’m not whistling Dixie.  The company was in business for over 30 years and did top-rate work.  However, three years ago the husband passed away unexpectedly and it’s been very hard for the wife to keep things going.  I have to commend her in that she’s done a marvelous job these three years — maintaining high quality standards, meeting and beating deadlines and always being very pleasant about it.  She is moving to another company that manufactures similar products — her title will be sales representative, and from what I understand, a few of her best employees will be making the transition with her.  So if I ever do have a situation, I do have a place to go to for repairs.  It’s just that more than likely there will be a fee involved.

Otherwise . . .

After my man ripped all the wood paneling down, sheet rocked and textured the walls, I spent the last two days painting the ceiling and walls with Kilz to seal the extremely dry texture.  Ohmigoodness – you could hear the loudest of slurping sounds every time I touched the paint roller to the wall.  I put two coats of Kilz on the walls because I didn’t want all of my “pretty” paint sucked into the insulation!

Now I have to paint the ceiling with honest-to-goodness ceiling paint and then I can start on the “fun” part.  I put “fun” in quotes because I really don’t like to paint, but at least now I’ll be utilizing color and seeing something happen on my walls. 

I’m excited about a couple of light fixtures I found at Lowe’s.  I won’t be able to get them right away because they are about $65 each, but they are pretty AND fluorescent — which means great light for a office/library/classroom, not to mention energy-efficient.  I’ll have to save my pennies, but I think they will look very nice and meet the need, too.

Well, I’ve got much work and laundry to do before turning in for the night.  Catch ya’ll later!

So I have a question for anyone who cares to give an opinion.  I have my own business.  Custom window treatments (blinds, shutters, that sort of thing).  I discovered yesterday that one of my manufacturers is closing their doors.  I can find product elsewhere — no problem.  However,

the product they supplied was covered by a limited lifetime warranty.  Basically, “if your _____ ever breaks, we will fix it”.  I really emphasized this when selling this particular product.  It’s rare that there’s ever a problem that falls under the warranty because the quality on this product is so high.  Usually when things go wrong, it’s because the customer’s dog chewed on something or the kids hung from the window treatment.  Because those things don’t fall under the limited warranty, the customer would need to pay for repairs and so I can get a different company to handle that if I need to.

But what do I do if someone calls with a problem that should be covered by the warranty?  The warranty was issued by the manufacturer.  As the dealer, am I obligated to pay for repairs?  Or do I just say, “I’m sorry, but the company that built your ____ is no longer in business.  Yes, it was a shock to me, too, but businesses do close even though we’d rather they didn’t.  I’ll be happy to find someone to make your repairs, but there will be a repair fee involved.”

I’m at a loss to know what my legal, moral, and ethical obligations are here.  My business reputation is my best advertising and I don’t want to do anything to damage that, but I also cannot afford to shell out big bucks on shutter repairs “just to be nice”.  Appreciate any thoughts ya’ll may have.