Getting Ready for Graduate School

Oldest child leaves for Grad. School on Wednesday.  His last day of work at his old job, at his undergraduate institution was Friday.  We are frantically attempting to get him together.  He's going to be further away from home now- 5 hours instead of 1 - so there will be no same day runs from us on our way into or out of work to drop stuff by. 

Yesterday, I did the unthinkable. I forced him to clean his room.  He and his brother share a room, and neither of them are great housekeepers, and I've tried to let them have their own space.  However, I fully realize that he's never really going to live at home again full time, and I want him to clean up his space so it will be clean when he does come home.

After 4 hours, we had cleaned out under his bed.  Let me be specific here:  He has a loft bed, so the space under his bed is significant, and it is cluttered.  We found trash.  Good Lord, did we find trash.  We found stuff from high school - old papers, notes from friends, and whatnot.  We even found a one gallon bottle of water that had been put under there when he moved back home for the summer.  The bottle had broken, water had seeped into the carpet, and there was mold and mildew everywhere.  I don't understand where or how all of this stuff got there, because he and I do clean out his room annually before he goes back to school.  I think it just procreates - like bunnies.

We've got him partly packed.  He wanted to put that off until Wednesday morning - right before we leave.  No, no, no, no, no!  We wouldn't get out of here until after noon, and we have a 5 hour drive staring at us, and the rental office closes at 4.  I made him start packing stuff up last night.  We've got a huge pile in the living room, but at least the pile is in one place. 

That's the funny part- I feel a little like a hoarder.  Middle child has his boxes and stuff piled in the hallway.  Daughter has her stuff piled in the kitchen - and the dining room.  Oldest child has his in the living room, and I am winding way my through stacks and stacks of boxes, crates, and bags every single time I try to move anywhere. 

I am really going to miss him when he goes.  In my heart, I know that from now on, he'll just be visiting us.  He's going to be working on his PhD, in a different state, and I know he's going to have great adventures, meet wonderful people, and do fantastic things.  I'm terribly excited for him, and for all of the possibilities laid out before him.  (I'm a little envious, actually.)

But I am going to miss him.  He's my first baby.  I know, he's not a baby anymore, but he is my first child, and he will truly be flying out on his own from now on.  I'll always have his back - but I'm going to have it from much further away now.

This is going to be a very weird fall.  All 3 of the kids, out of the house. 

Odds and Ends

When I got to work this morning, I found these guys waiting for me.  It's a little hard to see, but the geese are back.  We had 40 of them, stalking the parking lot.  There was also a heavy odor of skunk.  I don't know who ticked off who, but the skunk smell was strongest near the geese.  I'm suspecting someone got a little hasty and aggressive with a skunk, and ended up getting odorized.

We got the a/c in the van fixed yesterday.  I was expecting a $500 repair.  Thank the good Lord, it came out to $200.  Of course, after spending the last two months driving a car in the heat and humidity with the windows down, the first day the a/c is working, it's all of 60* outside when I leave the house.  I could have waited longer to have this fixed!

Instead of watching the debates last night, we went out to the airport, to our favorite spot where we used to watch the airplanes land when the kids were little.  We took dinner with us and watched the airplanes and watched the little kids running around and waving at the airplanes.

I had an interesting encounter with a student this week who told me she wasn't sure that the book I gave her was the one she was looking for because "the pictures don't match".  I asked her if it was the same author, and she looked at me and asked, in all seriousness "What's author?".  As Bill Engvall would say:  Here's your sign.

Maryland Tax Free begins on Sunday and runs through Saturday.  It is only good on clothing items - not school supplies, computers, or calculators.  Items only priced under $100.  For us, tax free week means a 6% break on taxes.  We're planning on picking up the clothing that the kids need - jeans, shirts, underwear, and shoes.  Do you have a tax free week where you live?  Are you planning on picking anything up for you or your kids?

Tiger, looking adorable.  His grey fur is starting to turn white now.  He's 12 years old, so I guess that is to be expected.  He's still a very active cat, but he has more grumpy moments than he used to.

Book Review: Travel Origami

Ng, Cindy.  Travel Origami.  2014. Tuttle Publishing.


What a fun idea!  You use maps, papers, and travel brochures from a recent trip to make origami.  The projects range from novice to advanced.

What struck me the most about this book was how well this would work with scrapbooking - and add a new dimension to your scrapbook pages.

Can't you picture it?  A multi-media scrapbook page, complete with accessories made from actual brochures and maps from your vacation?  It would be beautiful!

What a great way to remember your summer vacation, and fill up the last few days before school starts!

 The Nitty Gritty:
The pages were beautifully illustrated with simple, easy to follow directions, illustrations, and pictures.  A glossary of folds was included at the front of the book.

I'm headed off to deliver kids to colleges over the next month.  I think I see some Origami made from college brochures in my future!

Disclosure Statement: This post contains affiliate links.  Your purchases through this link will be added to the Remodel the Hallway Bathroom fund.  THANK YOU!!

An Ode to an LL Bean Backpack

LL Bean doesn't even make this style of back pack anymore.

11 years ago, oldest child was in need of a new backpack for school.  Previously, I had bought him a "good" back pack from a department store, and it had fizzled out and died within a year.  At that time, he was just beginning middle school, and I had been told that back packs really take a beating through middle and high school - between the book loads and being stuffed into lockers on a daily basis, they just fell apart.   I wanted to buy him a back pack that would last him through high school.  And, I was willing to spend a decent amount of money on this back pack.

I picked this up this morning to take a picture.  No joke, it weighed 30 pounds.

And so, I bought him this bag.  I don't remember how much I spent on it off hand, but I do remember that it was well over $50.  If I remember right, it was around $65.  I couldn't believe that this bag cost so much money.  But, the back packs at the chain stores were running around $40, and they were falling apart on us at the end of every school year.  I decided that it was worth the extra $25 in cost if the back pack lasted at least 2 years.

Damage at the top of the bag.

And last it did.  For the last 11 years, that back pack has been back and forth to middle school, high school, and college classes.  It has carried textbooks.  It has been shoved into lockers.  It has gone along on every scout camping trip, mission trips, and track meets through both high school and college.  It has gone on vacation with us. And finally, it is beginning to show signs of wear.  The zippers all work.  The bag itself is still intact - no holes, anywhere.  Unfortunately, the damage is on the shoulder strap, and I don't know that I have the ability to fix it the correct way.  As you can see in the picture, the straps are ripping on the seam with the back pack.  The stuffing is falling out of the straps, and the fabric is raveling.


With him headed off to Grad. School next week, I made the executive decision that he needed a new back pack.  He said he was willing to see "just how long before this one gave out".  I have visions of the strap giving out and dumping his computer on the ground in the middle of a rain storm.

And so, I broke down and bought him a new back pack last night.  It's another L.L. Bean backpack.  We're hoping that it gets here before he leaves for school on Weds.  The one we ordered cost us close to $65 again.  Which, when you consider the passage of time, really is an excellent price on the backpack.

I found some nylon fishing line this morning, and an upholstery sewing needle.  I hope to have some time this afternoon to see if I can hand sew a patch of some kind into the straps.  Maybe I can fix it somehow?  Because, honestly, this is a kick ass backpack, and I wouldn't mind having it myself!

Disclosure notice:  I received no compensation for this post.  I love our L.L. Bean backpacks.  They last for years.  Yes, there's a high initial cash outlay, but when you have a product that last for 11 years with heavy daily usage, I think it's worth it. 

Grocery Expenses 7/29-8/3

It's been so stinking hot here that I put the crock pots to work. I really didn't want to heat the house up with the oven or the stove top.  The crock pot keeps the heat down low.  We've pulled a lot of food out of the freezer this past week, and I've made a huge pot of black beans.  What we didn't eat, we froze into serving size portions. (Serving size portions for our family is a 16 ounce freezer container - it's enough to eat as a really good soup, and enough to add to something else.)

We hit up my favorite farm stand - where I could pick up a fresh chicken and watermelon, and peaches.  I also got a couple of roasts delivered from the dairy.  Everybody will be home for the next week, and I want food that's going to be able to feed all five of us - and KEEP us full!  I see fajitas, pulled pork, and taco salad in the very near future. 

The $15 chicken provided dinner for three nights.  The first night, we had roast chicken.  The second, I used the left overs to make chicken enchiladas.  (I made a pan of black bean enchiladas for the lactose intolerant vegetarian) and the third night, I boiled up the bones and made a chicken vegetable soup.  (Daughter had vegetable soup.  I cooked up a separate pot, just for her.) 

BTW, I used up some more of the chile in adobo sauce that I picked up when I was still really happy from the drugs after my procedure.  It added a very nice flavor to the enchilada mix.  Chiles in adobo sauce keep for a long time in the fridge.  I ran mine through the mini food processor, and have them sitting in a jar in the fridge.  I have been adding 2 TBSP to everything I cook that has a Tex-Mex flavor to it.  I'm going to freeze whatever I don't finish off by the end of the week in little "dollops" on a cookie sheet.  I'll keep them in a freezer bag and pull them out as needed.

Expenses for the week:

South Mountain Creamery:   $58.39
Local Homestead Products:   $ 36.71
Shopper's Food:                     $ 27.57

Total for the Week:               $122.67

Book Review: The Heroes of Olympus Book Five: The Blood of Olympus

Riordan, Rick.  The Heroes of Olympus Book Five: The Blood of Olympus.  2014.  Disney Hyperion.

Book Talk:  (Yeah, the librarian part of me needs the practice...)
The Heroes of Camp Half Blood are back!  Teaming up with the denizens of Camp Jupiter, these young people are determined to put a stop to the rise of the Earth Mother - Gaia.  All of her giants have risen, and they are powerful beyond anyone's wildest dreams.


Will the demigods be strong enough to look past their inherent differences and work together to stop the rise of the all powerful Gaia?

With the Gods suffering from multiple personality disorder, they will never be able to pull themselves together enough to help the demigods in time.  Or will they?

Just how will a handful of teenage demigods stop Gaia, unite the two camps, and defeat the giants?

My Note:
This was a fun filled romp through the worlds of Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter.  While this book could be read as a stand alone novel, I recommend reading the series, as this book refers to prior action that could be crucial to the story line.

I enjoyed the book.  It's not the same enjoyment I had with the Lightning Thief, but Rick Riordan does and excellent job of keeping the story line new, and moving the plot along without dwelling in the past.  I know that can be tricky, and I applaud him for continuing to keep the series fresh and exciting.

Amazon Summer Reading

This is the last time I'm going to share this, I promise!  The deadline is today!  If you have a picture of your child reading that you are willing to share, Amazon has a contest for you.  Submit the picture here -   Capture Their Love of Reading, Again.

The top prize is a Kindle package.  Hey, it's worth a shot!
 

image: amazon.com

You can click here to find out more!