RM North

Remember when we used to walk this thing like every weekend?  Then the heat went out and we just cut wood all winter and fell out of the habit.

Well, a hot day in June seemed like the perfect time to renew our love of the really long walk.  Today was 12 miles with lunch at Belle Chevre at the halfway.  Their prices have gone up.  The cheese plate has more than doubled!

I was in WALKING MODE and did not want to dink around with photos, so I barely took any.
But I did take this one below for more than just 'here is the trail now'.  I stepped off the trail to tinkle and heard a sneeze!
I ran back to Matt, who thought I was a little nuts.

Then about 2 miles later, we BOTH heard sneezing coming from the woods!

Ghost Sneezer Field

We finished our walk with little drama.  No more sneezing ghosts, though I managed to get worked up about some barking dogs.  It occurred to me that on that trail, there's no where to go if a dog decided to come bite you. I have been bitten twice out of the blue by dogs I knew.  I have also killed a dog that came at Jake.  Matt said he would get me a baton so I would feel better.  I have never had a panic like that before...well, I am sure I have maybe in other ways.  But this was pretty irrational considering I have not been in a situation like that in 16 years.

We left the trail and headed out in our 900 degree van that had been in the blazing sun for 5 hours (thank goodness THAT AC is working!  It was HOT) and went geocaching in Tennessee.

I set the camera to Pop Art!  Cause it's Father's Day!

Smith Cemetery in Pop Art

Howard is a family name.  This was in Pop Art, too, but looked asinine.  I desaturated it.

We ended up about 4 miles from Sugar Creek, so we went to check it out.

The bridge is still there, and the creek was FULL of squealing kids and people driving back and forth, but the grassy area where the kids used to play tag and run around in is a mud pit.  People have started taking their 4 wheelers up and down the creek and through the area we used to park in.  It's just a mud pit now, I was sad to see it that way though I doubt we will ever go back with a group again.  Suzette was right, everything ends.

We stopped on the way back for gas and got home to discover the kids had done ALL their 'school' stuff and then some.  I had asked for a short essay about yesterday (Chan went to bed about 7 last night and so we postponed yesterday's assignments) and for them to also be prepared to give me 3 facts about the last Ice Age, other than 'it was cold'.  They wrote essays about the Ice Age instead.  I guess that works, though I will be googling phrases from Jake's to be sure he did not cut and paste from Wikipedia.  It's a little longer than his usual efforts.  They seemed to get into the whole thing, I have been interrupted 5 times now with more info on the Ice Age.  I was just wanting them to do little history research practice!  

I figured (at 6 this morning when I realized I needed to leave them with something to get done) the Ice Age would have many different angles and viewpoints, it would give them a chance to weed through and of course the rule is always and always verify from 3 trusted/legitimate sources.  You just make yourself look like an idiot parroting the first thing you see someone else say-especially quotes.  I just saw a quote on FB and a blog attributed to both Thomas Edison and Einstein about technology that was actually a line from the movie Powder.  Verify-there's no excuse.

I want to find another way to phrase 'school' stuff, it IS directed learning, but they need some linear coverage.  Their knowledge is all over the place, interest-led learning is great, but I need to know they can function in the actual world without the mama-that's the WHOLE POINT of being the mama-to make yourself obsolete..  The only way I know to do that is to be sure they know their basics-math, writing, history, science, geography, literature...at LEAST the 'big stuff'.  I tried, I really did.  Unschooling is still the way I would go, if I had it to do over, but...I see where they need work.  I don't know another way to fill the gaps and I know I will never fill them all, but this helps me sleep. I think controlled panic is pretty common at this phase in homeschooling-if not the whole way through.  It comes and goes, I have decided to listen to my mama heart, I don't want the kids to fail just to follow a philosophy.

Jake has been on his own with learning for years, he does VERY well, his grasp of science and history surpass me.  But his math is pretty terrible, his knowledge of where places are from the news is hit or miss and he can't write, he just doesn't do it enough.  He can do a story or a basic essay with his info right there, but something like a essay out of thin air or cover letter or a query or...filling in an application even-he hasn't done that.  We are also doing  more 'independent living' talks and I am making them pay attention when I make lists, run errands, balance the budget, do the banking, menu things, file taxes, plan vacations, take the van in for this and that, even making appointments for the vet and various dental issues.  I am also sending them correspondence when people ask me for information or I send off for more info myself-how that should look and be worded to get your point across and be polite.  I have never had an adult before, I am not sure how to launch one!  I am just doing things I wish I had known when I was first on my own.  I think each of my parents assumed the other one had covered this or that.  When I moved out, I did not even know how to get utilities turned on or that you should check the fluids in your car and later on, things like what an open marriage is.  I told someone when I was asked, "Yes, we have one!" thinking it meant that we talked to each other often.  *sigh*

Anyway, that was our day!  I am looking forward to some snuggly sleep with the fan on HIGH tonight!