Whovians get all the good stuff. <pouts>. Where is the Firefly cookie jar/tea storage I ask you? So unfair!

Not exactly as inspiring as some of the above, but our mottoes are: “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.†― Thomas A. Edison "Failure is always an option." --Adam Savage "Fall down seven times, get up eight." --Japanese proverb My kids tend toward perfectionism, and fear of failure. I wanted to find inspiration to allow them to try and fail, then try again.

Dh's only request on our wedding registry was a Mr. Beer kit. (I made sure he got it!). He used it for several batches and decided he enjoyed homebrewing enough to replace the kit with higher quality parts, but the kit itself was fine for beginning with. You could check to see if you have a local brewing store too. Every one that I have been into has employees who are really excited about home brewing, can understand not wanting to spend a fortune before you know if you like it, and could help you pick out basic necessities.

Gaaaaaahhhhhh! After weeks of waiting we missed it! Sigh. I thought it was scheduled for later today. Dd is in her room sobbing. Please pass the Worst Homeschooling Mom of the Year award.

To paraphrase that great Philosopher Joss Whedon (:wub: )-- I keep homeschooling my daughters because people keep asking me that question. Or at least until they ask the same question about my son.

Ds wrote to the local zoo, asking about some of their animal breeding programs, and the zoo responded with a great letter and some free Zoobooks magazines.

I have Black Hole Math lined up for ds near the end of this year. He is so excited to start "really using" math! He recently decided he want to be an astronomer or cosmologist, and has been really hitting the math hard since he knows how much he will need if he sticks with this. His enthusiasm has been so infectious that we are all now getting excited about astronomy!

Ooh! We are currently watching our way through How the Universe Works (documentaries) and LOVE them. Also, this Wednesday the Rosetta Mission lander, Philae, will be landing on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for the first time ever, live on the Science Channel. If you have that channel, the whole week has been dubbed "Space Week" and all sorts of awesome documentaries are lined up. All of the How the Universe Works episodes are lined up, along with specials about the whole Rosetta mission. We are super excited! I imagine that the European Space Agency website will also show some video of the landing, if you do not have the Science channel.

My suggestion is to watch LOTR first and throw The Hobbit into the trash can as forcefully as you can, then set the can on fire. (If you must though, watch LOTR first. If The Hobbit is too unbearable, at least you won't have soured the whole experience.) (Sorry if you liked The Hobbit. As you can likely tell, I am a huge Tolkien fan who is sorely disappointed, after loving the LOTR films.)

DP

I would totally "get" that costume. The teddy bear is a dead give-away. But, then again, I am a proud, freak-flag flying geek, so....

Lime. Zest. Chocolate?! Why did I not know about this? :w00t: Until now, my indulgences have been graphic novels/non-library books, along with actual k-cups for the Keurig. Now I'm thinking I'll be refilling the reusable Keurig filter and eating Lime. Zest. Chocolate!

Me too. I keep thinking of individual short stories that I want to reread! "Barn Burning" Wm Faulkner "The Horla" Guy de Maupassant (appropriately creepy for Halloween!) "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" Ursula K LeGuin

I enjoyed Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find and other stories." Any collection of hers would likely be good, but I liked this one.

Congrats!

How about fairy houses? http://www.fairyhouses.com/about-fairy-houses/how-to-build/ I agree with Coco Clark about knitting, but if that seems too daunting, how about embroidery? A google search for "free fall hand embroidery patterns" turns up lots of great fall patterns. Check out this book: http://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Sharps-Traditions-Victorian-Celebrations/dp/074321076X/ref=la_B000AP8V60_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412695921&sr=1-11 "Mrs. Sharpes Tradtions" for fun fall ideas--the Martinmas paper lanterns look fun. She also mentions nut-gathering parties, and lots of other ideas.

So, very tentatively, I am jumping in to ask a question that has been occurring to me as I've kept up with the thread over the last few days. Several posters have stated that it would be fine if she were unschooling, but since the mother has stated that she *means* to teach them but just never gets to it, she is *not* unschooling. My question stems from that thought. Is there a difference between an *intentional* unschooler and an "accidental" unschooler? How would the children's lives look any different if the mom declared herself an unschooler? Is unschooling educational neglect? What is the difference? I am asking in seriousness--I have no agenda regarding unschooling. It just seems that some posters feel that the label makes a difference, and my understanding of unschooling (which admittedly may be uninformed) is that the actual outworking of unschooling may look very much like what is happening here.

(((Hugs)))) So sorry for your loss.

Squee! Thanks. I just finished a book and was looking for something new. I like Sanderson, and totally agree that his doorstop novels are way easier on the wrists when read from a Kindle!

A third vote for budget bytes. I've never disliked any dish I've made from that site. Tweaked, yes, but no utter fails. Hillbilly Housewife has a good collection of frugal recipes as well.

Whhaaaa.??? :blink: You should find it and watch! I think it is available on Amazon Prime.

Happens exactly like that in my head...

Just found out about the graphic novels/comics. They are on my birthday list. Gotta find a way back into the 'verse. :)

Oh, wow, thanks! These are exactly the kinds of things I meant but didn't know how to ask about. I am such a read/write kind of learner that I couldn't even think of ideas. My dd will sure appreciate it as well! :)

Of course, this is the week I go on a tech vacation and don't check in. So sorry Susan! I hope someone reported my avatar--I see it has been deleted. Thanks! I have also gone through as many of my posts as I could access and removed the few pics that weren't my own. Sorry to have missed the notice and caused extra work. I hope that everything is resolved quickly. Now I'm off to have an identity crisis and pick a new avatar...