I have three younger brothers. I have a half-sister who is 12 years younger than I am, and she doesn't really keep in contact with the rest of us. I have some step-brothers (all younger), but they haven't kept in contact since we've all grown up.

Apparently U2 has nothing on the Jonas Bros. :glare: My dd just said, "Mom, you're so weird" as she walked away. As soon as they heard Jenni's links playing they came running in to see what I was doing. The only thing they could say was, "Are they wearing wigs?" "What are they doing?" and "This looks old". :001_huh: I'll just have to keep working on it. Maybe I'll sneak some songs onto their ipods.

I can't believe I forgot Aerosmith!

Oh my gosh. I loved this tape. I forgot all about it. Loved Bon Jovi. Saw them in concert in 1989. So much fun! And Def Leppard. And the Thompson Twins. Oh, and Bryan Adams. And Duran Duran. and....:001_smile: should I stop now? My kids hate it when I play 80's music. Hmmm. My dad hated it when I played it in the 80's.

Oh, I've been there. We did not attend a church service for a couple of years after several stupid and hurtful situations. We even did some 'homechurch' for a bit. When we knew the Lord was drawing us back to fellowshipping in a church again, I was reluctant and not real enthusiastic about any church. I seemed to find fault with all of them that we tried. (I'm only sharing what I did, not what I think you are doing). I finally quit doing that. my husband chose a church that I didn't want to attend (large, but I have several good friends there). It has been a year now and I am so grateful for being there. My attitude has changed completely. I'm actually helping with VBS (500 kids!). We are growing in relationship with other families. It is truly a blessing. I am glad though that I had that time of healing and growth outside of attending a church. I learned a lot about God, myself, and the body of Christ.

I'm bursting at the seams with cucumbers. Thanks for the recipe. I'll be trying it soon. One I like is similar. You cut up tomatoes and cukes. Add vinegar, water, a bit of oil, salt and mint. Refrigerate to let flavors mix. mmmm Anyone else with a cucumber recipe for those of us who over planted?

It seems to me that I remember on my old one with a weight that a little pin pops up as pressure is being reached. Mine had notches in it. When the first notch showed, I had reached 5lbs, when the second notch showed, I had reached 10lbs, etc. Also, my memory could be way off here, but I think I had one where I turned the weight a certain direction depending on what pressure I needed. I love dilled green beans. You do have to time them carefully. Have fun!

My dd12 has always struggled with spelling. Last year she used Apples Daily Spelling Drills for Secondary Students by Susan Kemmerer. The back says: Apples is designed for the older student who needs basic phoics review. Apples drills the student in spelling rules without dwelling on confusing exceptions. Each day your student will study a spelling rule, and then apply that rule by completing Bible verses, sentences and puzzles. My dd could work on this independently, it took about 15-20 min./day and the lessons seemed to focus on common errors. I did see improvement in spelling this last year. I don't know if that is because of Apples, more writing using Writeshop, or maturity. There are two books. http://www.timberdoodle.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=331

Somehow two threads have the same title. The one with the list is on page two now. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40350

This always happens to us. What I do is go to the next level, but start the new book in the section where we left off in the old book. It works for us.

Oh, we used these last year. My kids loved them!

We haven't done logic here and my dd will be starting 7th grade. I just ordered The Art of Argument based on some posts I read here. It looks like a good starting point for us. I hope to use Traditional Logic for 8th.

Mine is R&S math, but will be ending this year as we try out TT. I've been very happy with R&S math. This will be our 3rd year using sotw. My dd12 did the four books in 2 years and my dd9 will be starting them this year.

Does your nearly 13 year old DD have the following items? 1. Her own cell phone will prob. get one for Christmas, but she will pay for the $10 monthly fee with her allowance $ 2. A t.v. in her bedroom no way 3. A computer in her bedroom no way 4. Hair that has been dyed blonde or any other color wouldn't really bother me. She has done haircolor that washes out in 28 days. 5. Ears pierced with 2 or more holes each (DD has one hole per ear) no 6. Clothes of her selection from the mall yes, and she is modest. 7. Makeup -- all kinds (not just lip gloss) a bit. Bare Minerals face powder and lip color, but most days she goes bare. No eye makeup yet.

I second the BBQ method. Yum!

Well, that's not fair. It must be because you're in Washington. :001_smile:

At Safeway (grocery store) it was $4.55, but if you buy $50 worth of groceries, you get 20 cents (is there no cents symbol on the keyboard??) off/gallon.

Ah, you beat me! :) We just went camping at Lake Siskiyou. It was beautiful! We had a great time there. I love looking out at Mt. Shasta, especially on a clear winter day. Incredible!

Really, good quality jam is expensive. I know I pay $3.59 for a pretty small jar of organic blackberry jam. You are making jam without all the fillers like corn syrup, so it is much better for you. It's good to keep that in mind when considering cost. I know several elderly ladies who are finished canning and are always trying to give me their jars. Ask around.

Redding. So far, it looks like I'm the farthest north.

Well, all you can do is try and see what happens. I live in Redding and last year I planted corn this late and it did better than my first spring planting. I think this is the time to plant for winter veggies, like cauliflower and broccoli if you want to try that sort of thing. I don't see why you couldn't try a cuke or melon. I planted a bush cucumber and it started producing very quickly. So did my lemon cucumber. They are both on the small side. Oh, I'd bet a zucchini would be fine, too. Maybe starts instead of seeds? I've started to mist my garden plants with water when the temps are over 100. I read that it cools them off, and around here they need it. Good luck!

Oh, Rachel, what a bummer! Maybe it is just a firework and not a pipe bomb? Or maybe some kids were trying to make a bottle rocket or something. I was feeling sorry for my family since they canceled all fireworks due to fire danger, but at least I can leave my home. ;) I hope it all gets figured out so you and your house-full can have a great evening!

Bill, this may give you the information you are looking for: http://gravitashomeschool.wordpress.com/category/evolution-id-and-creationism/

A gas stove was my first choice for a long time. Mostly because I like controlling the flame, especially since I use my pressure cooker several times a week. I also like the flame for warming up tortillas. I am also in the market for a new one and am tired of how hard it is to clean my gas stovetop. It never looks nice. Here's the one I'm eyeballing: http://http://www.electroluxappliances.com/node31.aspx?categoryid=1006&productid=18090 Hope that link works. It comes in gas, electric, or dual.

dd12: Grammar: Easy Grammar Plus Writing: Writeshop II (co-op class) Spelling: Megawords Math: TT pre-alg. History: AAH vol 2, with lots of hands-on (co-op class, I'm teaching) Science: Apologia Physical (co-op) Not thrilled about this and am questioning. Literature: BJU 7 Home Ec?: cooking, it's high time I got some help in the kitchen, beyond just potato peeling :) ddalmost9: Grammar: BJU 5, but not using writing portion Writing: Jump In! (co-op, me teaching) Spelling: ? she likes workbooks Math: TT6 History: SOTW 1 & 2 (co-op) Science: RS4K Chem and Phys level 1 (co-op, me teaching) Reading: Probably CLE art: outside classes One thing that I feel we've missed the boat on is Latin and Logic. I'm going to start older dd on Traditional Logic the next year. But, latin? I feel like it's too late. I tried once with LFC, but that was awful. I would also like to find something for Bible study. I just can't seem to find what I'm looking for. I don't want to use KJV and that eliminates a bunch.