New Desk for Dorito's Long Legs

Dorito often stands while doing math (I don't know why except it seems to be genetic with Schmidling students).  But now I find him squirming and rearranging his body all the time.  I first thought it was from his concussion headaches (caused by sitting too long).  Then I realized that the desk was too small underneath!  This year, he had been promoted to Meggar's homeschool desk in the adjoining room.  It is more quiet there and hopefully that bit of privacy also supports the oldest child in working independently.  But whenever I went in to check on Dorito, he was knocking things off the edge of the desk.  That is partly caused by his ambidextrous use of both hands.  But then it dawned on me that he didn't have enough leg room (he is at least six inches taller than Meg) and couldn't scoot his chair up close enough.  And it wasn't helping his posture to do school work in his lap nor while standing and leaning over the desk.  New desk.  Looks like an executive.  Captain said he was jealous.

Something Smells Good in the Kitchen

Meggar wanted good food while she was home.  I started with ribs and sweet potato biscuits.  Then pot roast and the trimmings. She is supplementing the main meals with little treats:  eggnog scones and coconut madeline cookies!  So French and delicate.  From the Ina Garten cookbook we rescued from Border's going-out-of-business sale.

Mid-Term Break

Meggar's mid-terms are over, so she gets a week off for "spring break."  Here's a picture of her at college studying in her slippers.  We are glad to have her all to ourselves again and stayed up late watching a movie together last night.  She is sleeping in this morning.

"I Have a Dream" play

Yesterday, we enjoyed the performance of "I Have a Dream" by Theatre IV from Richmond, Virginia.  Only 4 actors and 1 actress played all the roles in this biographical sketch of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  It was moving and inspirational, and the lead role even looked similar to MLK.  I was pleased with the connection for Dorito, who recently stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in D.C.

Take a Ride in the Sky

Captain has been flying this simulator all week in Dallas--an odd-looking contraption.  He scored well on the written exam with a 96%.  His check ride will begin late tonight.  I'm sure he will pass with flying colors, despite a few deadened brain cells from the long hours of studying.  Hang in there!

The Virginian Rides Well With Book Club

I forgot to describe our February book club, but not because I didn't enjoy the book!  It was a romantic western called "The Virginian" by Owen Wister.  Written in 1902, it was wildly popular for its dialect of the Wild West cowboy, and it remains popular today as a classic.  I was expecting a Louis L'Amour tale, but this was lighter and more comedic.  For the month of February, it was a perfect love story to discuss:  a brave cowboy falling in love with an east-coast school teacher at the one-room schoolhouse over fine literature.  Miss Molly introduces the Virginian to Shakespeare, Sir Walter Scott, and even Jane Austen!  I was hooked.  Even Uncle Howie finally gets married and has TWINS.  Guess it makes me eager for my own chivalrous man-with-high-character to come home.  Two more days!

Giving Away Friendship Bread

One of the best gifts is homemade food, and today's cooking class was about using Amish Friendship Bread.  I had saved up 20 batches of starter for my boys' class and 10 batches for the girls' class.  They each baked a small loaf in a tin soup can to take home with the instructions for growing their own starter this next week.  Yummy!