I've used something called radio blog, you have to register to use it, and as far as I can figure out you can only use songs they have in their list...but I have used it a few times...it gives you a little play button to put into your post, you can change the colors of the button. Just google radio blog. I have seen other types on blogs in the sidebars, but I don't know anything about those.

Happy WW! Here's mine, kind of late getting it up, Sunset over the Charles River looking towards Cambridge. http://homeiswhereyoustartfrom.blogspot.com/2008/02/wordless-wednesday-sunset.html

the sound effects thing follows into adulthood, it seems (tho more low-scale), dh just got a new phone, some guy at the bookstore excitedly tells us how to download a program to make it sound like a light saber whenever it's moved. "Boy" seems like a foreign land sometimes.

Amy, yes, that is me with the Make way for Ducklings statues. DH and I visited Boston for the first time this past fall, I was so excited to see the statues and to take pictures of the swan boats!

at her blog, she wrote about praying the same blessing over him that she does with her own children every night, and that she told him her family prays for him every night- and he said he prays for them every night. I am thinking about sponsoring too, I always thought this type of organization gave out letters of symbolic children you sponsor, I didn't realize they matched up a sponsor and a child, or that they work thru the local churches in the area. I was really impressed by what I saw.

Has anyone else seen this? Several bloggers were invited to go with Compassion International to see the work they do there and to blog about it, hopefully highlighting the need there to the blog world. Shannon who writes at Rocks in her dryer went . Here is a video clip of her meeting the boy her family sponsors. Warning, have tissues near by. http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/?p=4280

my much loved and lovely friend from England would say yes---just throw some sherry on it! She'd probably layer it with a fruit salad, whipped cream and um...sherry. We've noticed around here that most of her desserts involve sherry. The English are either on to something, or not good at desserts, we haven't decided yet.

the second post struck me as funny, since I've been dealing with the symptoms you were describing...I was seriously wondering if I was suffering from early onset alsheimers... I'm actually used to being scattered and irrational- so when I saw this post up again, I was thinking it looked familiar, but wasn't sure- I almost replied to it again until I saw my own answer. sheesh. really, tho, go get a physical. I was so bad that I would ask my husband 4 or 5 times in a row each night if he had locked up our chickens. I drove to my mom's old house, after she had moved 6 or 9 months earlier. I'd forget things, mix up dates. Drove up to my daughter's camp on the wrong day...I was seriously an airhead.

I have a great library system, can reserve books online- so I find that I am buying a little less then half...mostly books used more than 1 or 2 weeks or books the library doesn't have but I thought a book would round out our studies. I already own Story of the world and Streams of civilizations, I am using those as spines...we love listening to SOW on audio. We just started out with TOG this year, so far I am buying books one unit at a time- to see how I do and to spread the cost out. I try to remind myself that we don't need to read all the books covered...for instance when we covered Jewish OT customs, I settled on one book suggested for all levels and resisted ordering others.

Welcome! I'm eclectic too, tho mostly influenced by CM and classical.

Welcome to blogging, I like the little blurb in your header, and your little souvenir from the cruise caption made me laugh!

It's very pretty, I love the header.

I've only taken lessons, sorry I don't know anything about videos. It is alot of fun, and a great workout. also, easy, inexpensive way to give dh a great birthday gift every year...!!!

gosh, how do you pick a favorite? I don't think I can. my late father in law's favorite was "the best man" , I think...that's the one where the hero thinks he is taking the best man's place and ends up marrying the bride, if I'm remembering right... I always really liked Marcia Shuyler- kind of set earlier than her usual books, she researched the material for it. Pattern on the mount was a hard read, I felt for the wife... I think my favorite is probably "The witness" which is different from her usual, kind of a modern re-telling of Paul and Stephen. I remember thinking the first time I read it that It was probably the one she was most proud of. She really had a heart for boys, interesting because she had only daughters, right? I loved "The obsession of Victoria Greyson" for those bad boys...and I loved "Cloudy Jewell" because I loved how an old, faded, lonely lady was lifted up and loved and kind of mother-adopted. I have lots of favorites, hard to pick just one! and oh my, how GLH detested flappers to her very fiber of her being...I always look forward to a horrible painted, forward flapper showing up and stirring up a mess! fun reading!

we loved "The tale of Desparaux" audio, the narrator was killing with all the accents...my kids were spellbound, from ages 12 down to 5. we also liked "Boston Jane", the narrator was really good. we're kind of low-brow here and love the "Hank the cowdog" stuff, the author is hilarious. Hank talks real mean to his sidekick, we don't usually listen or watch stuff with alot of that, but Hank is kind of an exception, the kids know he is not being nice...it's a hoot. Pollyanna was very good, even my husband got into this one, Secret Garden was good too.

here's one of my son, being still for a moment at the skate park. happy WW! WW-Boy at rest

Lorna, your painting you posted on your blog is stunningly wonderful! I know if I possessed such a painting, I would feel lucky to have it to enjoy. Wow, you are an amazing artist! How neat that one of your kids was the model. thanks for sharing it.

Sally Clarkson described them in her book Educating the wholehearted child..it is an enchanting idea...I guess for me, my home is already busy and cluttered- I just felt like I didn't have room to leave things out like that. But, the idea sounded very education-encouraging- delight-driven, not sure how to phrase that.

have to admit that her books are favorites of mine...I collect the old hardcover editions. I love to read them while eating...have you noticed she talks about food alot? Maybe a result of the depression years??

I thought violin string right off...by product of being a somewhat geeky family, I suppose. that is a funny mental picture, the list on the white board!

maybe to make you feel better,...they could more likely be dolphins. I live in So. Ca and it is more likely to spot dolphin fins like that. Once, when I was swimming in Corona Del Mar, I looked up and spotted a fin in front of me maybe 3 feet from me. I panicked and turned around and got to the shore as fast as I could without looking back. When I got pretty much out of the water I turned around and realized it was a pod of dolphins, and they were swimming around, being curious with everyone in the water. I got back in. They were amazing. I'm not an expert on fins, maybe if you take an enlarged picture with you to an aquarium, someone might be able to tell you for sure. I always tell my kids that sharks don't like people, they stay away from people...it's just the unfortunate surfers dressed like seals that sometimes have bad encounters with them. beautiful photo, by the way!

Lorna, your reply was very helpful, I am thinking of ordering this for myself, then to use with my younger children...I took 2 years of French in highschool but sadly do not remember a whole lot. I am thinking of doing Galore park for myself maybe with Rosetta stone...and doing the easy French with my 5 and 8 year old. I really enjoyed your blog, lovely photos! Could you tell us something about the painting above your "about me" section in your sidebar? It's just beautiful.

a home tour would be fun! Put a mr. linkey up too.

so sorry for you guys, my dad used to do stuff like that when we were kids, partly to make my mom mad and mostly I think because he loves those types of movies and way underestimated what we could handle. He read Salem's lot to me when I was 5. I had nightmares, I think he edited it some. really sorry. My dad did this once and only once with my kids, he showed them Arachnaphobia - I think my oldest was 6 or 7 tops, she couldn't go to bed and was crying the next night... I finally called my Dad at 1 a.m. and told him to talk to his grand-daughter, I am sure he felt like a heel, which was my point. He realized he was in bigtime trouble and the next day over and above apologized. I'm sorry that you can't play tough love with your ex. It was realizing that we could and might shut down visiting that cured him.

I think they are wonderful, too. The artwork is beautiful. Our library system had the 2nd book only, so I purchased the first and 3rd.