What letter does your town/area start with? That might help. For example, a local homeschool group for teens is HYP, Hawaii Youth and Parents. It is pronounced like 'hype.' Or it could been named something rural sounding like, The Barn, The Coop.

About a year ago, the local Ashley's store went out of business. There were some very unhappy customers. Folks who'd paid for furniture that was on order got neither furniture nor money back. Turns out that the local stores are all independently owned. The store owed money to the company and no furniture was being shipped to fulfill orders made and paid for. All that customers were offered was store credit to use on items on hand before it was all auctioned off. My general opinion on furniture is that much of what is sold is very cheaply made, with little expectation that it will last more than a couple years.

A couple thoughts. I've compared notes with a friend of mine who doesn't have a TV. She didn't watch any of the coverage of September 11th and never had the experience of watching the destruction of the towers in real time. She has noticed that she was much less traumatically effected by it, in her mind all due to not watching it. I think that I have more time to connect with topics of meaning and with people that I care about because I'm not stuck on watching the endless cable offerings. Did you notice that despite being around cable for the week leading up to September 11th, you didn't notice the anniversary? Was that in part because you were too taken up with all the other little things that *were* on cable that week? We have cable for the first time in years. We put it in for the Olympics and the election campaigning. But I won't miss it when it's gone. As often as not, I have better luck getting solid, chewy news on the internet.

One I love right now is Haleiwa Hula, especially the Amy Hanaialii Gilliom version.

I tend to use my blog a lot for this. Either I make a little post with the link and subject tags or I just add it to a side bar. Then I can just search the blog for any posts relating to, say, foreign language or books.

Warning HC - homeschooling content We are down to about a month before the packers come. Then we'll be living out of hotels and with relatives for three months, another month or so of unpacking in our new home. I can't just take 4-5 months off from school. Does anyone have any suggestions from their own schooling while transitioning experiences?

I guess the difference is between legible and beautiful. I would expect that he could produce short written work that was readable. But it wouldn't have to be lovely except in some subjects. And I would be ok with long projects being done on a computer. It may change in the next few decades, but I have spent too many hours writing essays in little blue books to completely abandon the idea of readable handwriting. And I'm enough of a skeptic to disbelieve that we will always have computers and printers at our fingertips. So legible always. Lovely sometimes. Computer assisted sometimes.

What about using a Boy Scout Merit Badge as a framework? There is one for Auto Mechanics. The requirements are all online, along with worksheets and some links to related videos. Anyone can buy a merit badge book, and there are sometimes copies in the library system.

I like big canvas bags, especially because I can fold extras up inside one and then parcel the full bags out amongst the kids and me.

They are published by DK. These are generally unabridged, but with lots of glosses on the sidebars. Sometimes there is an entire two page spread with an explaination of something related to the story. There are also nice large illustrations. They are something of a bridge between an abridged version and unabridged with absolutely nothing but pages of text. I've read the Treasure Island in this series and loved it. There is also a larger format hardbound series from the 1960s that has a similar side gloss approach. The Swiss Family Robinson from that series was one of my favorites. I run into this older series pretty often in used bookstores. And I do see the Illustrated Classics in Goodwill and at used bookstores and library sales all the time. So you wouldn't need to spend a fortune to get ahold of these.

I was impressed with Mavis Beacon too, although it's a subject we've let lapse for a while. I think that there are plenty of kids who are capable of typing well at upper elementary age. On the other hand, I didn't start learning until 9th-10th grade and I could type around 90 wpm. So it isn't a skill that you need to emphasize learning early. (In other words, if I had to choose between a language and typing, typing would lose.)

I have 10 and 9 yo boys. Sometimes they are moodiest when they haven't been getting time with mom & dad. Have you made any changes with this year's homeschooling that he might be having trouble adjusting to? Maybe some of the snarkiness is how he's voicing frustration or feelings of being overwhelmed. And in general, I'd argue that going to public school isn't going to improve an attitude like you've described.

I'm in your camp. I will accept most comments as an attempt to make conversation. The same way that my lame, "Looks like you're having a busy day," comments when the grocery line back up through the freezer section are just an attempt to treat the cashier as a real person, who might be tired. (I will confess, though that my flip answer seeing the thread was, "We're working on abnormal psych." But that wouldn't really fit in with my attempts to control my tongue.)

We're Percival Blakeney Academy, named for the true name of the Scarlet Pimpernel. If only I can figure out how to buy embroidered shirts from Land's End without spending an arm and a leg on set up fees.

Well, I stopped assuming that my husband would come home from work each day. I always wake up now to tell him goodbye.

Deb, I hope the travels go well and your mom gets better. I connected through LAX a month ago on the way back to Hawaii. Let me see if I can give a halfway competent answer. ---if you can recheck your bags just after passing through customs in LAX or do I need to plan to carry the bags to my new terminal & recheck them in there? Not LAX specific, however, when we flew into JFK or La Guardia from overseas, we would process through immigration, then collect our bags, then clear customs. Then there would be a place to check our bags back in. I would imagine that there is something similar entering through LAX, because your connecting domestic flight wouldn't have a customs check when it arrived in VT. ---if you can recheck your bags just after passing through customs in LAX or do I need to plan to carry the bags to my new terminal & recheck them in there? The NY method was to check the bags as soon as we cleared customs, but before we changed terminals. I'm not sure if this is the case everywhere. ---What is the current luggage allowance & allowed carry-on bags on domestic flights (United & US Air) ? It looks like the luggage fees depend on if it is one itinerary from NZ to VT or multiple. United allows two free bags if one of the cities is outside the US or Canada. US Air allows two free bags for passengers traveling to & from Asia or Europe. It looks like both airlines consider bags over 50lbs/23 kg to be overweight. If they are code sharing, you're probably fine. However, if you bought each leg as a separate ticket, they might consider the LAX to VT as a domestic flight (which would have fees for each bag). For carry on, both allow one per passenger plus a purse, computer or small tote. Remember the 3-1 rule for carry on of liquids. 3 oz or smaller and only what will fit into 1 quart zipper bag. I was amazed how many people were trying to get through security with big bottles of shaving cream and shampoo. Also, the metal detector screener will ask for a boarding pass, so don't leave it in your purse when you put it through the xray. It looks like US Air may be charging for beverages. $2 for water and soft drinks (which is about the same per oz as a big bottle from a vendor within the security area of the terminal). United doesn't seem to be charging yet. One tip is that ipod headphones will work with the seat entertainment systems. And that you can often find charging stations around LAX for phones and things like ipods and handheld games. There were several in the international terminal. I'm guessing they are in the domestic side too. Sorry I couldn't help with the other questions.

The Broadway version of The Scarlet Pimpernel. I will forever kick myself that I wasn't able to catch this. For a real concert, The Cincinnatti Pops Orchestra with Erich Kunzel playing movie music (esp. sci fi stuff) or the Dr. Who charity concert in Cardiff with David Tennant as MC and all the costumed bad guys.

We have the Learning Resources Pretend & Play Cash Register. We've had it about six years and it has gotten a lot of use. Things I like. Buttons beep when keyed, but are operated by a small watch battery, so a tired mom could take this out, without affecting the rest of the toy. It has been very sturdy. The calculator screen is solar operated, so the batteries don't run out. We have the version with no scanner and no credit card function. I think it did come with a pretend card and there is a slot for it, but it is just a slot, not a card reader. It did come with some money. But for a little kid, I would invest in sturdy play food rather than more money. My kids have also loved having a little shopping basket (just the carry type, not a cart) to load and unload. Play food and dishes and a cash register are still favorite toys at my house. I will still catch the older two (10 & 9) setting up shop with the little one (6).

I totally agree with this. But as another wife who didn't know if she would be a widow at the end of the day, I would also gently remind that any recollection is terribly vivid for some of us. My memories don't just include being glued to the newscasts. They include seeing and smelling the smoke cloud and not knowing if my husband was alive. They include seeing other husbands arrive home on the street and not knowing if my husband was alive. They include grubbing through the trash looking for phone numbers of people who might have heard something, anything about his office. And they include the weeks and months afterward. Like how his office staff had to divy up who would go to which friends' funerals because they couldn't all attend them all. So on one hand, I don't mind seeing the events shown on tv. I think it is imperative that we remember what happened. But on the other hand, it drives me nuts when relatives tell me how traumatic it was for them to watch it on tv on the other side of the country, when for them it was a spectator event and they didn't even know anyone in the buildings involved. (I realize that this is quite contradictory.)

I got angry at other cub scout leaders for having a meeting at 5 pm instead of the 5:30 time that I KNEW I'd been told. Except when I got home and checked email, it really did say 5 pm. I felt like a jerk and had to send apologies to all involved.

How about some of the Dorothy Sayers' mysteries. The Nine Tailors or A Cloud of Witnesses are both good. Not quite as classic as Austin or Wharton but very good. You might also try a short story collection. Wharton has some good ones. Or Gogol. Or Jack London (I just finished Stories from Hawaii). I like short stories because they give me a sense of accomplishment.

The Handbook of Nature Study blog and the other blogs from Barb and her family are some of my favorite blogs. Barb has regular Outdoor Challenges to get you outside, looking around and thinking about what you are seeing.

I totally agree with this. I thought that I had been a pretty regular poster on the old boards (albeit with several different names as we moved around). But there is no way that I am going to hit a thousand posts in the next couple years, let alone several thousand. I read lots, but only contribute when I feel that I have some unique addition. And I think that happens less and less the more busy I am with teaching my own kids. The number of posts in the corner can feel a bit like a scorecard.

My parents live there (Rowlett actually) and I graduated from one of the local high schools. It is a nice area, although Dallas seems to have concentric rings of ever more expensive suburbs. I think that the current new push is north of Plano. I'd say that it isn't a bad place to live, although Texas heat isn't my cuppa and I try to avoid the whole state between May and September. There are tons of Half Priced Books stores in the area, which is a huge draw for me personally.

I used FLL in tandem with my then 1st grader and kindergartener. It worked great. In fact, I would use it now, while the student's reading ability is still growing rather than waiting. Once my kids were reading really proficiently, I switched to grammar workbooks that were directed directly toward the student rather than read aloud. (Lightened the workload on me) The other thing we used was Wordly Wise 3000. The early books were light and easy but taught words that were easily confused.