Edie Wadsworth

Life on the Lake

August 7, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 9 Comments

If the day and night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry , more immortal,—that is your success. All nature is your congratulation, and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself. The greatest gains and values are farthest from being appreciated. We easily come to doubt if they exist. We soon forget them. The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indescribable as the tints of morning and evening. It is a little star-dust caught, a segment of the rainbow which I have clutched. Thoreau

Knit Together

August 5, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 23 Comments

I have a strange way of grieving. Lately, I am always on the verge of tears. Today, my eyes welled up with tears at least three times and I can’t even remember why. But I don’t usually slow down or withdraw. I cry frequently and then feverishly keep my hands and my head occupied. (officially called being ‘in a tizzy’). It’s the only way I know to give my heart a break. So, in this grieving season of little birdies leaving my nest, I’m reading and knitting. Almost ravenously. Since we arrived in MN, I’ve knit and read nearly continuously. Except for the multitudinous breaks for eating. I guess I should add ‘eating’ to my list of grieving activities but it seems much less industrious than knitting and reading.

Like this beanie I made for Taylor this week, I couldn’t get Psalm 139 out of my head.

You have searched me and known me

You search out my path and my lying down

You are aquainted with all my ways

You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me

‘You knit me together in my mother’s womb’

Where shall I go from your spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence?

He will never be alone. His Lord will be ever present. And my beloved son will be ‘hemmed in’. He will be surrounded by a hedge of protection. (And a cute little beanie hat). I know that I need not worry. But I also know that this is just one more stage in the process of letting them go. And I don’t know any other way to walk through that valley except one painful step at a time. So bear with me. My heart is heavy. My thoughts and days are bitter sweet.

I guess I should be thankful that I’ll still have this one home to make me laugh. I’ve been trying to think up a good rap name for him. Maybe S. Macdaddy Wads or better yet, all one word, Smacdaddy Wads. And just that quick I go from tears to belly laughs. Welcome to my emotional roller coaster.

~~BTW, I did NOT ask him to pose. This is his natural gangsta face. Be very afraid.

~~And thanks to Grandma Evadne for her patience with my facial contortions when she told me I was going to have FOUR knitting needles going at once. She’s a saint with my questions and mistakes.

~~ Caiti like the beanie so much, I’ve started one for her. I feel a tsunami of tears on the horizon.

Cherry Picking

August 2, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 21 Comments

We went out to (brother) Jeff’s farm and picked cherries from the most gorgeous cherry tree you’ve ever seen.

Everywhere I looked was a photographer’s dream world; there were old barns, grapevines, kids picking cherries, wheat fields. I could’ve stayed there all day and used up all my memory card.

This is one of my favorite photos.

Vicki showed us the ropes, including how to pit them with a paper clip.

There were more cherries than I’ve ever seen in one place in all my born days!

…….what’s even better, you ask? I woke up this morning to not one, but FOUR cherry pies from the master of all pies, Steve’s mom. It’s like heaven on a plate. Then she started to teach my girls the old American folk song “Billy Boy”. Listen below but be warned: you WILL sing it all day. I’m humming it as we speak—-much to Caiti’s chagrin.

P.S. FYI: I edited these photos using the ‘cross-process’ function at picnik.com
P.S.S. Thanks to all of your kind words and to those of you who introduced yourselves for the first time!

I’d like to wish a Happy Birthday to one of my favorite people in the whole world, my beloved sister. Her friendship and love have been a constant source of strength. She is God’s hand of mercy to me. And I say ‘thank you’.

From the North Woods

July 31, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 110 Comments

“Her house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking, best, or a pleasant mixture of them all.”

This is what I get to do all week. Sit by the lake, watch the cottonwood trees blow in the wind and figure out a way to spend more time here in the summer. We’re in Steve’s hometown, Alexandria, MN. It’s the quaintest little town I’ve ever visited. I’d rather come here than anywhere for vacation. There’s something like 400 lakes in this little town. And the cutest antique shops ever. Steve’s mom is spoiling us with wonderful food and lots of knitting tutorials. Which I seem to desperately need. I’ve restarted Taylor’s beanie 4 times. Or is it five?

I spent a little time at Steve’s childhood home (where sister Julie now lives) and her house is full of wonderful priceless treasures. A virtual antique store in its’ own right.

(Cousin) Daniel, Steve, and Emme were concentrating on something yesterday…..

and so were Grandpa, Josh, (brother) Jeff and Elea……

….a little remote control boat…..that kept getting tangled in the weeds……

Aren’t the simple pleasures always the best?

Stay tuned for more vacation fun. Wonder if I could talk the retired Naval policeman whose house sitting for me to blog for me too? Maybe that’d be too much to ask.

Special message to my blog readers:
I’m so thankful that you meet me in this ‘space’. I’m so grateful that so many of you have taken the time to introduce yourselves and become friends. And so often when I visit your blogs, I find that you support the writing and the projects here by linking to them and sharing them with your friends. I’m always so amazed and humbled by that. We are friends, you and I, and I want you to know that I notice and appreciate your kindness. You are some of the most amazing and talented people in the world and I feel privileged to know you.

I thought it’d be fun (and I’m flat out copying Emily at ChattingattheSKy) if you’d tell us all where you’re reading from. Just city and state or just state if you’d like. And if you’re not a blogger and you’ve never ‘registered’ to comment, it’s not hard at all. Just type a comment and then it will ask you to sign up with blogger. (This does not mean you have to sign up to write a blog, you’ll just have a sign in name and password). Take the time to do it because I know there have been times you wanted to comment. So sign up with blogger and then leave a comment about you’re from. It’ll be fun. It will.

Logos School gets ready for year 2…….

July 28, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 30 Comments

To the poet, to the philosopher, to the saint, all things are friendly… all days holy, all men divine. R.W. Emerson

Our homeschool starts almost as soon as we get back from vacation. I’ve been reading and searching and making our final selections. We’re making some changes this year, mostly in literature and math. In literature, we’ve decided to follow the Charlotte Mason approach, introducing more difficult classic books at an early age. Our list for this year for my 2nd and 3rd grader includes Pilgrim’s Progress (which is read very slowly over 1-2 years), Tales from Shakespeare, The Jungle Books, The Adventures of Robin Hood, English Fairy Tales, and Heroes, just to name a few. That list seems a little daunting but reading Charlotte Mason this summer has convinced me that children are much more capable than we think and tend to rise to the level of expectation. We’ll continue to use supplemental literature from the time period we’re studying which will be the middle ages through the Renaissance— from Story of the World.

I’ve also been feverishly working on our timeline. I couldn’t find not ONE free wall in this house for our timeline. Not ONE. I was sitting in the school room (ie. garage) mulling it over when it dawned on me that the perfect place for the timeline was right in front of me—-the garage door. So, I quickly got to work and couldn’t be happier with how it’s turning out. There’s something just *inspiring* about a physical timeline right there in the open where everyone can see it—study it—digest it. I used black cardstock cut into strips to make the actual ‘line’. Then I just printed off the dates and events from my computer. I basically followed the Veritas History Cards—with some of my own additions and omissions–to decide what events to include. Then to make it come alive, I’ve been printing off famous classical paintings or sculptures of that event or person and taping it above or below the timeline. It will take me a while to catch up, but once I do, I don’t think this will be that hard to maintain. I plan to use the other garage door panels to hang maps. It’s just perfect. There is literally ZERO wasted space in this schoolroom.

Other changes include substituting Singapore Math for Saxon and implementing Andrew Pudewa’s Poetry Memorization program. We’re also working on possibly hiring a Latin/Spanish tutor—-which would definitely warrant a series of hitchkicks on my part. I sorta drop the language ‘ball’ last year. Apparently, I can’t do it all. And although I say that we ‘start’ school soon, I’m trying to change my paradigm—-we’re always learning—school doesn’t start and stop. So, on our little excursion to our farm this weekend, we learned about blackberries and ruby-throated hummingbirds……..

……..and that fishing is extremely difficult without worms.

I can’t wait to get back to our little cozy routine. And if we can manage this reading list, these girls are gonna be smarter than me by next year.

Spelling–Spelling workout C, D and Charlotte Mason’s Spelling Wisdom

Grammar–Shurley Grammar and Daily Grams

Writing–Writing with Ease by Susan Wise Bauer

Literature–Charlotte Mason method reading list here.

Math–Singapore and some Saxon supplements

History—Story of the World 2

Science—Considering God’s Creation and Nature studies

Latin—Prima Latina and Latina Christiana

Memory—Andrew Pudewa’s Poetry Memorization program + our history and bible catechism

Bible–Veritas Judges through Kings—-also finish the 10 commandments and start memorizing the articles of the Apostles’ Creed from the small catechism

Art–Study 3 artists: Raphael, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet

Music—Study 3 composers: Beethoven, Handel, Brahms

I’m joining Darcy’s Back to (home)school bloghop. Click below for a peek into wonderful curriculum ideas!

Guest Post

July 25, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 12 Comments

I’ve been begging him to do this for-EVER. So, today, without further adieu, I give you a guest-post, by none other than Macdaddy, the sole sponsor of lifeingrace, without whose support and love, this blog would cease to exist. Take it away, my dear!

$10 clipper +

Reluctant Physician +

#1 on the sides and #2 on the top+

pile on the floor still “looks” black=

HAPPY-

CAMPER!!!

I know it does not look so black on the head. Alas….