Our home school learning journey is progressing well and we will continue during the summer, interspersed with summer camp activities for both kids.
I've had fun working on a long forgotten project:
A stripey crochet blanket.
Double crochet stitch and treble crochet stitch.
The main section was made using left over yarn from previous projects. The edging consists of wool purchased from a charity shop last Thursday. The colours are lovely but I had forgotten that somewhere along the line I have become a "yarn snob" and working with pure acrylic wool is awful!
I have also been busy reading. The Moneyless Man was not only informative but a very honest and enjoyable read. Mark Boyle offered a no holds barred account of his year living without money; he bartered, skip (dumpster) dived and even managed to thumb a lift to his parents' family home in Ireland in time for Christmas. He began the journey providing a free meal for several hundred people and closed the project with a one day festival. Not only does the book challenge us to look at different ways of doing things, it also reminds us that true value and worth cannot be solely ascribed to a monetary value. There are some things in life that you cannot quantify, one of which is the work done in the home, either by one parent or both. Running a home and the caring and educating of children is a formidable task, if each individual task were undertaken by another person, the weekly cost would run into several hundred pounds!
I am still reading "Radical Contentment" and so I will hopefully offer a commentary once it is finished.
In addition to the usual daily round I am working on an initial permaculture design for the running of the home, the home school programme and how to proceed with my obligation for "working" an additional 16 hours per week. Using permaculture principles is a positive way of addressing what is going on with the reminder that, "the problem is the solution!" As in all things nothing is ever set in stone and so the design is re-evaluated and adapted time and time again. My first design looked great on paper but it became apparent that it was not sustainable on a long term basis! Not when it meant that in a 24 hour period that 23 of those hours were assigned a task and accounted for!! Eight of those hours did include sleep, I hasten to add!
Looby Macnamara is a well known permaculture tutor. This book is packed full of information and questions for self reflection.
Pip had a blood test over a week ago and we received the results on Friday. She tested positive for IG(g) antibodies for gluten, dairy, soya, peanuts and egg. We are no strangers to avoiding gluten but the latest results means a whole lot more label reading and checking the ingredients when out and about:
Waiting for a gluten free fish and chip supper early last week, I'm hoping that this place will continue to be an option for us :-)
Hope whatever you are doing that life is treating you kindly x
6 comments:
Oh! Poor Pip! I cannot have gluten (actually, any grains at all) or dairy -- but i would be lost without tofu or eggs, oh my. Wishing her and you too all the best with that. The crochet is gorgeous; the books look fascinating. {{hugs}}
Love the blanket! I'm intrigued by the idea of applying permaculture principles to things other than gardening. I confess I don't know that much about it really. Sorry to hear about Pip's intolerances, avoiding multiple foods must be tricky! Hopefully she'll feel better for it though.
Oh no, poor Pip! I have a few friends with the same intolerances. My Godmother's husband has it particularly bad (and has done for 30 years!) x
The blanket is marvellous too!!x
That reminds me a lot of our allergy testing when Jonathan and Charlotte were little. They tested positive for eggs, dairy, corn, wheat, and soy. We cut out everything and it made life challenging. After about a year we experimented with all those allergens and only kept corn and wheat (and later gluten) out. What was very interesting when we got the results back was the fact that those were the food groups that were on the "avoid" list of the blood type diet of Peter D'Adamo. Both children are blood type O. When we started to feed them more like those suggestions, many of their problems went away. Good luck with finding the right foods!
Hello San! It's so good to hear from you. I've been a bit out of it lately. It's been really, really hot here, and Chanda had a four week ballet intensive. It finally ended and I'll do a post of the last day soon. She and Morgana have been going to some yoga classes and she's looking forward to doing some open ballet classes.
Your blanket is really lovely! You do such beautiful work :) I've been working on napkins. In this heat it feels like all I can do.
I have to sigh with you over Pip's allergies. That does look like a challenge. I know it will work out, but I also know it's not easy. I also know how much better one can feel when particular foods are avoided, so please know that I will be thinking of you and sending lots of support your way. Love from all of us here in hot, muggy Gotham City! (93 percent humidity today! It's like Florida!) xoxoxoxo
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