Tonight, we watched the DVD A Man For All Season about the life of Sir Thomas More during the reign of King Henry VIII. We discussed Sir Thomas' obedience to God over obedience to a king. We discussed the scripture, "What does it profit a man if he gains the world but loses his own soul?" as was mentioned by Sir Thomas to Richard Rich. We talked briefly about the Pilgrims and their leaving England to worship as they saw necessary as opposed to being ruled by a church that was ruled by a king.
On Thursday, Edison, Monet and Sweetheart had art appreciation where they learned about Seurat and practiced a bit of their own pointilism. They found that sometimes art takes much, much patience. Photos of the art class are here.
We also spent time at The Hartville Marketplace where Edison spent some time talking to a magician friend of his. Bard and her friend Kat wandered around looking at things they wanted to buy but couldn't afford. Bard and Kat had spent the morning babysitting, but Bard is saving money for her trip to China in 2005.
When we got back to Kat's house, my dad called to say that Poochie (who almost has a name now) was missing and had been gone all day. He had followed us to feed the chickens and apparently never went home.
On Thursday afternoon, the kids and I shopped Goodwill for some new (to us) clothes. Bard carefully chose her things based on the sales and prices as well as the styles. We'd had a great conversation about What Not to Wear, about how cruel the "fashion gurus" are and how hurtful it must be for some contestants to know that their friends thought so poorly of their clothing choices. We discussed how much more important it is to be kind than to be fashion-conscious, but that you could still be fashion conscious without breaking the bank. She stayed with this theme during her shopping trip. I hope to go back to this particular Goodwill earlier in the day, as it was a really nice one, but so much of the stuff was picked over. Still, a tag that said Old Navy or GAP was about 200% more expensive than one that said Faded Glory or Cherokee. Brand consciousness, even at Goodwill. Afterwards, Bard and Houdin went to the grocery with a list and a cash card and came out with all that was on the list.
Thursday evening, we had dinner with our friends, S and B and their kids. We were there when B came home from work, and S took him aside to talk to him for a minute. When they came out, S informed us that she had just taken a pregnancy test and are now expecting #4! How exciting! They've chosen a name already...Seth Joshua Louis.
After dinner, Bard, Kat, S and I went to another friend's home for a PartyLite party. I feel guilty buying...but I do love their stuff. While I was there, Bohemian called to say that Poochie was home, safe and sound. My friend Jen's mother offered Bard a job cleaning house once a month, to help with her China tour.
I made my case to Bohemian that we should stay at S and B's overnight, since Bohemian had taken Friday as a vacation day. It was dark, rainy, and we had driven into town seperately. Bohemian wanted to drive home...so we left our Jeep and drove the van. On the hour-and-a-half-long drive home from S and B's, the alternator in our van failed and we spent an hour in a Wal*Mart parking lot at 2:00 AM, walking a dog we're dogsitting (yes, that makes five) and watching the live bat that was frequenting the Hallowe'en display, ironically! After brainstorming for a solution to get us the 45 minute trip back home and coming up with nothing better, we finally purchased a battery, and we were able to get back home.
On Wednesday, we drove to Toledo to pick up Bard from her visit to Chicago. We had lunch at Tony Packo's--fried pickles, a chili sunday, hot dogs and chicken paprikas. While there, Edison (who has decided to change his name to Houdin, so will henceforth be known as such) saw a picture of David Copperfield along with his signed hot dog bun. At Tony Packo's, celebrities sign hot dog buns which are then encased in acrylic and hung on the walls. There are hot dog buns signed by President Clinton, several of the Kennedys, and many famous musicians. Apparently, Tony Packo's was made famous not only by Burt Reynolds dining there, but also by Jamie Farr mentioning Packo's on M*A*S*H.
After lunch, we went to a park in Toledo called Pearson Metropark. The Baby got to play with her cousin while Sweetheart made friends. Bard stuck close by my side, hugging me and being so glad to be home after her almost-two-week adventure in Chicago nannying for her aunt. I missed her so much, and now she's gone again for the weekend, scrapbooking with Kat, and then to choir in the morning and then a hayride for the choir with Ash in the evening on Saturday. We'll pick her up on Sunday...and I will be very glad.
The Baby at Pearson Park
All of the kids at Pearson Park
Wednesday night, we all went for a nightwalk up to Aden's Hill where we talked about the constellations, pointed out the summer triangle, asked who could see The Milky Way (we all could) and saw that The Big Dipper was low on the horizon but could still be used to point to Polaris. We could see Pleides and Casseopia (I'm probably spelling all of these wrong), and then it was time to head for home, because it was getting cold. Now the kids are asking for night hikes every night. :-) Bard kept talking about how good it was to be back home, out of the light pollution of the city, and how she knew she could just never live in the city...it was the country for her. :-) She was anxious to hug her siblings, listen to their stories, and just be home again. What wonderful things she learned while away!
On Monday, the kids had choir, and I had to pick up a phone from a freecycle offer (did I write this already?). While in the car, Houdin told me all about the books he's been reading--he's been working his way through all of the condensed classics. He told me about Journey to the Center of the Earth, which was his favorite, and explained why Little Women was not his favorite (Beth dies, and there was nothing they could do about it).
Tomorrow, we hope to finish the kitchen cabinets, and then, maybe, go to the Kidron Folk Festival to see Pierce Pettis.
Another late night. It's off to bed...
