(no subject)
Time for an update I suppose.
Last month, the weekend after the 4th of July holiday, we took a trip to see our former neighbor's new place in State College. It's lovely, bright, airy rooms with 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths. There are lots of kids for her 2 to play with, and nice lawns in which to do so. It's close to her new job, and her in-laws (for watching the kids).
We went to the Arts Fest which involved a lot of walking which the temperature and my left hip weren't making any easier for me though we enjoyed the things we did manage to see, hear, etc. We went swimming in the complex pool and Elora was so excited, she jumped in with her shoes on!
The boys look so much alike in build, mannerisms and hair style it was difficult to tell them apart from the back. On one of my nightly rounds of checking on the kids, I went into C's room but couldn't tell which boy was my own! Both were sleeping in red T-shirts and dark shorts and were lying on their stomachs. I had to get really close to see which was which. It was easier with the girls, as D is so much taller than Elora. D has a loft bed which leaves a nice big area for playing on the floor. We'd like to have one for Elora. Have to buy the 2 x 4s.
It was great seeing them again, and I'm glad that she's so happy with the new changes in her job, her location, her situation, her new SO. :-) The hospitality was unmatched!
===========
Recently, we received the new reassessment paperwork on our home. Our county's properties hadn't been assessed in FORTY years! So, where we were paying about $2K in property/county/municipality/school taxes, it has now gone up to over $5K. Our house has been reassessed at (Fair Market Value)...and those of you who have been here, try not to laugh too hard...$289K. Yeah, TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY-NINE THOUSAND!!
Right, like I've said, try not to laugh too hard. $289K, ON WHAT PLANET?!? I mean geeze, if we were in a better area instead of MAIN STREET in a depressed city, I might be able to justify that, but there is NO way anyone would pay that for this place. Houses here sell for around $50K-$100K TOPS! We wouldn't get $100K for our house, let alone nearly $3K. Needless to say, I've been busy gathering information for an informal appeal which will take place on Thurs (28th). What a pain in my ass.
==========
School will be starting up again soon, and the kids' curriculum has arrived. Conal was retained in 4th grade this year. We are not pleased. Not because he couldn't do the work, he was an honor student all through, the problem is, he didn't finish enough of the curriculum to be able to progress to 5th grade. My sister, who teaches music in brick-and-mortar schools was upset because she knows he can do better, and knows he is capable. She feels that were he in a "regular" school (as opposed to an online cyber charter school with me as learning coach) he would have gone on to 5th. Perhaps, but, given the circumstances, I couldn't see pushing him along and teaching to the test just to get him into 5th.
Oddly, or perhaps not so, Conal doesn't seem to feel like it's a bad thing to be retained. I'm certain that were he in a regular school, the peer pressure would likely have him feeling miserable about it. That can be good, and that can be bad but it is what it is, and we'll have to deal with it. I'm hoping to get him through 4th by the end of the year so he can start 5th in early 2009.
=================
Last weekend, we drove down to Lancaster to visit friends of ours who relocated there about 10 years ago, and whose new home we hadn't yet seen. We had a blast, it was great! I love the way she decorated their house using various items from the seashore. They both love the sea, and were married on a beach a few years ago (though they had a previous handfasting in 1997).
They had a barbeque for us on their back patio. The burgers were delicious! K said she felt odd purchasing meat as she's a vegetarian, but her hubby thanked us in an aside. LOL!
We drove through town and saw some really great Victorian architecture. Her hubby took us on a tour of the television station at which he works, and showed us the truck he works out of. Conal loved all the electronics; readouts, buttons, switches, radar, etc. etc.
We visited the Strasburg railroad http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/ and road the train to Paradise and back. The kids had never been on this particular train, though I had a few times when I was still living at home, and hubby and I went for one of our early anniversaries. They went through the museum http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/ as well (Elora and I sat that one out, and had fun chatting to a lovely lady from D.C. in the atrium).
One afternoon we went to a local public park from which a vast expanse of the Susquehanna river could be seen. It is a large bend, flanked by 2 bridges. One of the bridges has some historical significance as the people purposely burned it to thwart oncoming Confederate troops. We were amazed as the bridge is rather long (1 1/4 miles).
Here is a website: http://www.civilwaralbum.com/misc6/columbia_wrightsville_bridge1.htm The photo at the top left on page 3 is the bridge from the boat launch where we stood and watched a family of ducks paddle about.
Not far from that park, is a place called Chickie's Ridge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickies_Ridge
We walked up the quartzite riddled path but were not close to Chickie's Rock at the peak. I took some photos of the wooded area. K says many people have been murdered or suicided there.
Sleeping in their house was cool, the guest room has a trundle bed, and Mark took the lower one. I thought he'd want the upper one. Once we got our respirators set up, we got comfy. The kids were on an air mattress in their office. Lovely weather for sleeping, and their neighborhood is SOOOO quiet.
Conal got a massive chuckle over one of the town's names in the area: Bird-in-Hand. He was apalled at Intercourse, but we didn't tell him about Blue Ball nor Virginville. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ball,_Lancaster_County,_Pennsylvania
====================
Oh, and in the saga of the furnace! It's here, finally! It arrived the day before we left to go to Lancaster (15th), so Mark covered it with a blue tarp and left it. Thank goodness it remains undamaged! I was SO afraid someone would take a sledgehammer to it or something. It weighs nearly a ton, so no one could have walked off with it, but I was very concerned about damage.
TOMORROW! Or rather later today, the guys are coming to move it into the basement and install it. Mark took time off because he'll likely be moving stuff with them, and may have to demolish the walls of the laundry room to get it through.
===============
I'm thinking of enrolling the kids in some physical activity related classes. The school will reimburse up to $100 per student per session for a class of this sort. Elora is VERY much interested in gymnastics, and Conal would like to get into karate. He had a mini lesson at the library during the summer and not only enjoyed it, he seemed to do well at it after some initial awkwardness. I noticed he wasn't learning through repetitions of the movements, he was making the movements into rhythms and repeating the "music".
I think that's about it. For now.
Last month, the weekend after the 4th of July holiday, we took a trip to see our former neighbor's new place in State College. It's lovely, bright, airy rooms with 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths. There are lots of kids for her 2 to play with, and nice lawns in which to do so. It's close to her new job, and her in-laws (for watching the kids).
We went to the Arts Fest which involved a lot of walking which the temperature and my left hip weren't making any easier for me though we enjoyed the things we did manage to see, hear, etc. We went swimming in the complex pool and Elora was so excited, she jumped in with her shoes on!
The boys look so much alike in build, mannerisms and hair style it was difficult to tell them apart from the back. On one of my nightly rounds of checking on the kids, I went into C's room but couldn't tell which boy was my own! Both were sleeping in red T-shirts and dark shorts and were lying on their stomachs. I had to get really close to see which was which. It was easier with the girls, as D is so much taller than Elora. D has a loft bed which leaves a nice big area for playing on the floor. We'd like to have one for Elora. Have to buy the 2 x 4s.
It was great seeing them again, and I'm glad that she's so happy with the new changes in her job, her location, her situation, her new SO. :-) The hospitality was unmatched!
===========
Recently, we received the new reassessment paperwork on our home. Our county's properties hadn't been assessed in FORTY years! So, where we were paying about $2K in property/county/municipality/school taxes, it has now gone up to over $5K. Our house has been reassessed at (Fair Market Value)...and those of you who have been here, try not to laugh too hard...$289K. Yeah, TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY-NINE THOUSAND!!
Right, like I've said, try not to laugh too hard. $289K, ON WHAT PLANET?!? I mean geeze, if we were in a better area instead of MAIN STREET in a depressed city, I might be able to justify that, but there is NO way anyone would pay that for this place. Houses here sell for around $50K-$100K TOPS! We wouldn't get $100K for our house, let alone nearly $3K. Needless to say, I've been busy gathering information for an informal appeal which will take place on Thurs (28th). What a pain in my ass.
==========
School will be starting up again soon, and the kids' curriculum has arrived. Conal was retained in 4th grade this year. We are not pleased. Not because he couldn't do the work, he was an honor student all through, the problem is, he didn't finish enough of the curriculum to be able to progress to 5th grade. My sister, who teaches music in brick-and-mortar schools was upset because she knows he can do better, and knows he is capable. She feels that were he in a "regular" school (as opposed to an online cyber charter school with me as learning coach) he would have gone on to 5th. Perhaps, but, given the circumstances, I couldn't see pushing him along and teaching to the test just to get him into 5th.
Oddly, or perhaps not so, Conal doesn't seem to feel like it's a bad thing to be retained. I'm certain that were he in a regular school, the peer pressure would likely have him feeling miserable about it. That can be good, and that can be bad but it is what it is, and we'll have to deal with it. I'm hoping to get him through 4th by the end of the year so he can start 5th in early 2009.
=================
Last weekend, we drove down to Lancaster to visit friends of ours who relocated there about 10 years ago, and whose new home we hadn't yet seen. We had a blast, it was great! I love the way she decorated their house using various items from the seashore. They both love the sea, and were married on a beach a few years ago (though they had a previous handfasting in 1997).
They had a barbeque for us on their back patio. The burgers were delicious! K said she felt odd purchasing meat as she's a vegetarian, but her hubby thanked us in an aside. LOL!
We drove through town and saw some really great Victorian architecture. Her hubby took us on a tour of the television station at which he works, and showed us the truck he works out of. Conal loved all the electronics; readouts, buttons, switches, radar, etc. etc.
We visited the Strasburg railroad http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/ and road the train to Paradise and back. The kids had never been on this particular train, though I had a few times when I was still living at home, and hubby and I went for one of our early anniversaries. They went through the museum http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/ as well (Elora and I sat that one out, and had fun chatting to a lovely lady from D.C. in the atrium).
One afternoon we went to a local public park from which a vast expanse of the Susquehanna river could be seen. It is a large bend, flanked by 2 bridges. One of the bridges has some historical significance as the people purposely burned it to thwart oncoming Confederate troops. We were amazed as the bridge is rather long (1 1/4 miles).
Here is a website: http://www.civilwaralbum.com/misc6/columbia_wrightsville_bridge1.htm The photo at the top left on page 3 is the bridge from the boat launch where we stood and watched a family of ducks paddle about.
Not far from that park, is a place called Chickie's Ridge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickies_Ridge
We walked up the quartzite riddled path but were not close to Chickie's Rock at the peak. I took some photos of the wooded area. K says many people have been murdered or suicided there.
Sleeping in their house was cool, the guest room has a trundle bed, and Mark took the lower one. I thought he'd want the upper one. Once we got our respirators set up, we got comfy. The kids were on an air mattress in their office. Lovely weather for sleeping, and their neighborhood is SOOOO quiet.
Conal got a massive chuckle over one of the town's names in the area: Bird-in-Hand. He was apalled at Intercourse, but we didn't tell him about Blue Ball nor Virginville. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ball,_Lancaster_County,_Pennsylvania
====================
Oh, and in the saga of the furnace! It's here, finally! It arrived the day before we left to go to Lancaster (15th), so Mark covered it with a blue tarp and left it. Thank goodness it remains undamaged! I was SO afraid someone would take a sledgehammer to it or something. It weighs nearly a ton, so no one could have walked off with it, but I was very concerned about damage.
TOMORROW! Or rather later today, the guys are coming to move it into the basement and install it. Mark took time off because he'll likely be moving stuff with them, and may have to demolish the walls of the laundry room to get it through.
===============
I'm thinking of enrolling the kids in some physical activity related classes. The school will reimburse up to $100 per student per session for a class of this sort. Elora is VERY much interested in gymnastics, and Conal would like to get into karate. He had a mini lesson at the library during the summer and not only enjoyed it, he seemed to do well at it after some initial awkwardness. I noticed he wasn't learning through repetitions of the movements, he was making the movements into rhythms and repeating the "music".
I think that's about it. For now.