AND I SAY TO MYSELF...

(Wow!) What a wonderful day! Begins with some Van waffles, Griffin syrup and fresh blackberries from Sprouts. If you don't have a Sprouts near you, I am truly and deeply sorry. I think I've written about this farmers market type grocer. Love it. On Wednesdays it's everything from last week's sales flyer PLUS next week's. Cool! Thus the fresh blackberries-- 77 cents for a 6 oz box.

Blackberries are important to this story. This is the good non-EMF kind. Packs a wallop of Vitamins C and E, and loads of anti-oxidants. I like 'em because they remind me of picking those and wild berries as a kid at Grandmas. Like nature's little candies while we were outside playing... could just pop one in your mouth, and keep going.

Back to current events, though. It's the second visit of our new house cleaner. A kind friend we don't mind helping out for helping us out with all the nitty-gritty, down-and-dirty domestic stuff I'm not very strong at. Truth is, the kitchen my domain. I can prep, cook, clean like a pro who works in one all day. Perhaps because I work in one all day, with 3 meals, a million snacks and an awesome island we like to hang out at, even when we're doing school stuff. Plus the cool Bunn coffeepot's in this room! But the dusting, mopping, remembering laundry... not my expertise. And we don't hafta burn a fun Saturday morning doing chores when we could be goofing off as a family. It's a win/win.

THEN, tonight I get to go catch up with my old college roomies/band buddies. One I see a few times a year. The other I've seen only twice in the last 16 years. We all still live pretty close to Denton-- where a lot of our history lies. And we'll meet at the square. I've blogged about this before too, only not on the homeschool blog, but the town is a great place to start up a chat with anyone-- young, old, wearing a tie or tattoo... everyone seems to get along. A wonderful backdrop for the occasion. So it'll be great! 

And finally, tomorrow, we have a guest lecturer, or fieldtrip guide. Basically, Mom's taking the day off for a 3 day weekend. All we know for sure is schools starts off-site at the bagel shop. Who knows after that what adventures lie in wait! I'm sure you'll hear about it soon.

POST-logue, of the goat thang

The weekend was crazy... a few items stand out:

So far as the 12th annual Goat Cook-off is concerned, it went well. Perhaps too well. And by that I mean if you find yourself in Goldthwaite, Texas this time next year, with about a thousand pounds of goat meat on ya, you'll stand to make a moderate fortune. After about 11:00-- the shindig started at 10:00-- EVERYONE was outta goat meat. And for the next six hours hours, no less than 5000 people walked around craft and food booths asking if they had any... that's crazy.

Aside from that, we still had a farm to run. One with milk goats that needed addressing twice a day, nannies birthing, kids bottle-feeding, feed buying and distributing and hay-tossing. This particular weekend included rescueing a young one out of a feeding trough they were stuck in overnight, along with its being drenched in a day's worth panic excrement. Gross, yes. Not a real regular part of day-to-day living back in the burbs. Next time I blog about going down to the inlaws to help, someone comment to remind me not to wear my good clogs either. Okay?

At this time, I need to point out: This is no serious complaint. We all come home tired, hungry and incredibly appreciative of menial things. PLUS we've the benefit of the feelgood from helping loved ones. So much so, we're looking for a regular volunteer oportunity around town. Cool, huh? I lean towards the retirement homes and terminal wards. Wifey leans toward services. 

Sweet fodder for future blogs, I am sure...

A Really Boer'ing Weekend!

Anyone who knows me knows we have family with a goat farm, and we frequent visits to help out with things. All kinds of things. Things like milking, feeding, cleaning, building... ocassionally even birthing. Things that make us appreciate the little stuff like sleeping in one's own bed in their own room, jaunting down to the grocery store and back in 30 minutes, wearing clean shoes and not smelling like all kinds of nast. Stuff like that... 

"What's your point there, Todd?" I hear instinctively in my mind. And send out telepathic apologies to those which whom I've intrigued and then bored. Bear with me, please...

Well, this up and coming weekend is the grandparents Big One. The one where their little town, located smack dab on the bullseye of the middle of a Texas dartboard, holds its 12th Annual BBQ and Goat Cook-off & Arts and Crafts Fair. And it's a doozie! You see, Mills County is Meat Goat Capital of America! So this is kinda crucial.

All the vendors put their best foot forward for folks from-- well-- all over the world. That's right... the world. That's because we sheltered and blessed citizens here in the States hardly realize how much other nations depend on comodities such as "goat" for mere survival. It's crazy! Crazy and fun. For us, it's a real education of how countries like India, Africa, Mexico and others live day to day. That's awesome!

And furthermore, it's insight into farm-life, economy, responsibility and even humanity. I won't go into detail because the opportunity to explore stuff like this is pure gold! And I'm no 49'er... would rob anyone of such riches! Of course, my oldest on this weekend every year declared vegitarianism. So I annually remind her how I was a Veggie-tan for 4 years/Vegan for one, and how it doesn't mean we don't have to try and have a little protein to balance our diets--hers, a 80% sugar and starch diet. She tries a reluctant bite and says, "it's not terrible..." every year.

My challenge-- and gift to you-- is "Check It Out For Yourself!" As a sidenote, I was gonna throw CIOFY (pronounced "see-o-fie") in there, but somehow sounded too cliche and "el stupido." Sorry... 

Oh, and as for the title? Boer is a classification of meat goats. Tee hee.

By the way... if you happen to be around Goldthwaite, Texas next weekend... make sure you find me. I'm related to "The Longs." Ask anyone...

i'm gonna live to be a hundred and three!

Maybe just shy. No matter, " 'cause I'm no fool..."

Does anyone else feel that certain anxieties of parenting/schooling is cutting short our very lives? It worries me sometimes, in my selfish thoughts. I mean, we all know for a fact that stress is the number one killer. Nothing else comes close. To boot, nothing I've even heard about comes close to the pressure of raising and education children to their fullest potential

To add pressure, we have to model it to give our gang a reasonable chance of learning it. But here's where the "hundred and three" (a quote I picked up from Jiminy) part comes in: As we claw and strive to provide the best possible for our kids, we grow... we enhance ourselves. It's been said that a teacher learns far more by way of preparation than what they end up "teaching." It's one of those side benefits we homeschool educators quickly learn the benefits of.

But I encourage you guys to take full adavantage of this. What we strive for is ultimately the Big Picture for our little "loves." And what we avail ourselves to, is nothing less than a total reformation of the TEACHER, as well. And this fulfillment is a breath of fresh air, if you allow it. A life-giving, chunk of inspiration we can use to enrich not just our kiddos, but ourselves and the world around us.

So be that kinda "full" today, and breathe it in! Besides, if our kids end up wanting what they had growing up, we can count on being solicited to schooling our grands and great-grands as well! 

Blessing to us all! ~Mister Dad