A Worthy Cause

Help to save the Pacific Northwest Tree octopus.  This gorgeous animal is in danger of extinction and needs our attention!

The Pacific Northwest tree octopus (Octopus paxarbolis) can be found in the temperate rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula on the west coast of North America. Their habitat lies on the Eastern side of the Olympic mountain range, adjacent to Hood Canal.  Find out how you can help at the website: Tree Octopus

Homeschool Resource Meme

Boy, I haven't done one of these meme things in a looong time. Saw this on Explorations in Learning's lovely blog and thought I'd steal it. Thanks G!

1. One home schooling book you have enjoyed.

The Well Trained Mind-While I am not a strict follower of the classical model in my home school, I always find this book to be so centering when I am feeling doubtful about where to go next. Susan Wise Bauer's ideas are laid out clearly and precisely, and they give me a neat and tidy outline into which I can plug my own ideas and materials. My thinking is not always as organized as I would like, so this is my favorite tool for getting things in order!

2. One resource you wouldn't be without.

Library card,online catalog, -I would go broke purchasing every single book we would like to use every year, so I am beyond grateful for being able to browse online and order books from libraries all over the state.

3. One resource you wish you had never bought.

SRA Math Explorations and Applications. When my oldest was in 2nd grade or so, I moved him from saxon math to the SRA math program. (I don't know where I first read of it, but I do remember reading reviews on Mathematicallycorrect.com which gave it a grade of "A-" overall.) It seemed like a good idea at the time because it includes story math, literature suggestions for many of the lessons, game boards and lots of mental math. ( Damn. Still sounds good!) Problem was that it was written for a classroom and I wasn't sage enough at the time to adapt it to better suit my needs. Also, it was difficult to piece together used and very expensive new. As a result, I hobbled through a school year-and-a-half doing this program poorly and then I switched math programs again and again, to find a good fit. I think we were to fourth grade by then. I feel I lost continuity in changing programs and did oldest a dis-service. Oldest doesn't necessarily struggle with math, but he doesn't exactly enjoy it either. I always wonder if my choices in this area affected him negatively. That is my dirty little home school failure secret. Not so much the fault of the SRA program itself, but I wish I just hadn't attempted to do it and stuck with something more clearly executable, especially as a new home schooler. Whew. Catharsis!

4. One resource you enjoyed last year.

K12 Human Odyssey Prehistory Through the Middle Ages-

Secular. Beautiful book. Photographs are fantastic. A textbook written in an engaging style. The layout is very nicely done as well. While packed full of good information, there is plenty of white space on the page so kids are not overwhelmed while reading. Again, though not really a narrative/story style, it is engaging, for sure.

5. One resource you will be using next year.

Teaching the essay- I have enjoyed using both Junior Analytical Grammar and Analytical Grammar, also written by the author of Teaching the Essay.  I find her materials to be easy to understand and use, and they are fairly priced.  I think Ben will take well to this writing curriculum.

6. One resource you would like to buy.

Oak Meadow curriculum.  This is one I wish I could afford for all my kids.

7. One resource you wish existed.

A fully-scheduled-all-the-bells-and-whistles secular history program/box curriculum with all the books I like, worth-while hands-on projects and at a price I can afford. (See above "One resource you would like to buy)

8. One home school catalog you enjoy reading.

Unfortunately I don't like looking at any of them anymore. I've gleaned much in the past from catalog book lists, but don't drool anymore over the curriculum I simply can't put into practical use. Although this Acorn Naturalists looks intriguing!

9. One homeschooling website you use regularly.

The Well Trained Mind forums-A variety of perspectives on curriculum and methods gives me a daily fix. It is a great place where I'm able to find the like-mindedness often lacking (sadly) in my local community.

10. Tag other home schoolers.

Play along if you feel like it Ladies!

Homegrown on Siskiwit

Crayons, Critters and Craziness

Two Young Boys, A Rainy day, And The Magical Powers Of Photoshop

So that's where those mysterious crop circles came from!

For Moms Wanting More

Have you ever felt that, as a Mom, your heroism and sacrifice have gone completely without notice? Have you ever said to yourself "Where the hell is my inaugural luncheon/tribute concert/21 gun salute/ticker-tape parade/14-hour sale"? There are purple hearts for Soldiers, certificates and tassels for Graduates, plaques for Volunteers and crowns for Beauty Queens. What do Moms get show off their accomplishments? Are spit up down my bra and cheerios in my hair forever to be my only badges of honor? Say it ain't so.

But wait! What's this? There is a way to proudly display the honors we have earned through the minefield of early Motherhood! And display I shall! Thanks to ingenious Mom Amy Bowers, you can now collect and display Mama Merit Badges and proudly proclaim your achievements in Diapering, Breastfeeding in Public, and Successfully Navigating1st Birthday Parties, just to name a few. With eleven badges in all, you're sure to find at least a couple to decorate that diaper bag!

Thanks, Caryl, for sharing this with me!

Spuds McCreepy

I bought these smiley potato fries for my kids after they enjoyed them at a friend's house over Christmas vacation.

It wasn't until I pulled them out of the freezer at home to serve them that I noticed the brand name.

Hmmm....

McCain's smile.

McCain Smiles.

Is the eerie resemblance a mere coincidence? Or are these potatoes just one more hapless victim of spudploitation?

Do It Now! Does It Again!

You've heard of Batman, Spiderman and Superman...now there is a new superhero in town. She's older, she's pinker and she makes a mean chicken soup.

Introducing Old lady Man

Watch for Old Lady Man 2-Dr. Crazy Hair's Capture!

Melancholia And A Little Drama

Boy, I have been feeling really blue lately. Maybe it's the crazy rain/ snow/sleet/perpetually gray weather. I don't know. Haven't smiled in days. But, things may be looking up since this was brought to my attention. Ah, life's simple pleasures!

Super Why, Indeed

Here is an example of what the boys get up to when I'm not supervising....

A Fall Meme

It's that time of year again, at least north of the equator. The windows are still open but thoughts are turning to starting up the furnace. Steve leaves for work under cover of darkness and before long it will be dark when he returns again. Sweaters in the morning, t-shirts at noon and sweaters again at 3:00pm. Ahhh, fall. Back so soon?
And yes, where we are, the colors are already turning.

Consider yourself tagged if you want to be. As this vivid season begins, list five favorite things about fall.

1. A fragrance-the smell of wood burning stoves/fireplaces throughout the neighborhood.

2. A Color-Red Maples burning a hole through the other fall colors. Love the Red Maples!

3. An item of Clothing-I like the change from my sandals to my fall leather shoes-Birks and Borns. Cozy!

4. An Activity-Orchard visits and walks through the woods.

5. A Special Day-See # 4. Aside from just being an enjoyable thing to do, a treat for all the senses, orchard/woods walks hold a great nostalgia for me as they were always a "must do" on the list of my dear friend Jay. The crunch of leaves underfoot always bring me back to those walks with him and the memories make every walk that much more special.

A fall walk at St. John's Abbey with Jay -1999

Name Change For A Day (or two. you never know. we're intense.)

Well, the votes are in and we have a winner! It looks like the blog will now be called Turbo Monkeys!,but just for today. Maybe. How's that for exciting? Thanks for participating in the silly poll and indulging our eccentricities. I must say however, that I was surprised by the maturity of my readership. Only one vote for Poop Flingers? I thought for sure it would have been a landslide victory there. Well, you had your chance. No sense cryin' about it now.

Take Part In My Exciting Poll!!!!!!!!!

My helpful son has expressed some concern that I don't get many comments on my blog. "Perhaps," he mused, "it is because of your blog name." He went on to explain.. "Old Oak school. It sounds so Old and boring. Maybe you need a new name." He made some fabulous suggestions then and there without a moments hesitation. Please see my sidebar for his top 3 choices of new Exciting blog names and join in the poll. Pick your personal favorite. And remember, if I don't get many votes on this poll, I will have one very disappointed 10 year old on my hands. Do your part!

Bigfoot...A Hoax?

Remember back in the 70s when Bigfoot was everywhere? TV, movies, books and of course he was on the cover of The National Enquirer every week. All the cool people wanted to hang out with him.

Ah, those were the days! Well, there has been some hubbub again recently as two Georgia men claimed to have found a Bigfoot carcass. Turns out it was a hoax . Or was it? If you don't hear from me for awhile, just know that I couldn't rest until I saw for myself.

Oh, and in case you see a Bigfoot before I do, make sure you fill out a full report. The truth is out there!

May The Farm Be With You...Always

Yearbook Yourself

Well, there's an hour of my life I can never have back! I just spent way too much time at Yearbookyourself.com generating pictures of myself as I would have looked had I graduated from high school in various years gone by. This was absolutely hilarious and I encourage everyone to go and waste a little bit of your time doing this. One tip-once you have uploaded your photo and are looking at yourself in the different years, if you put your cursor over the bottom of the photo a toolbar will come up so you can readjust the position of your head.

I had a hard time picking a "favorite", so I just decided to make a parade of me through the decades.

Here's me in 1952. I look a little like my grandmother!

I'm glad I didn't graduate in 1960. Those Cat's Eye glasses do nothing for me!

Now, 1966 gets a little better. Can you say Bouffant?



1968 pretty much looks like normal me. Don't ya think?


And here's my boyfriend, Steve, from 1968. Aren't we just the cutest couple?!



In 1978 I get all Cleopatra Jones on your ***.


I remember I had a crush on the gym teacher that year.It was scandalous! His name was Steve, too.


And most frightening of all, 1986, the true year of my graduation. I can tell you I looked a lot better than that!


Hope you laughed hard at me! Now go try it out and laugh at yourself!

Are You Neurotic?

My husband, Steve, who I like to mention as often as possible on my blog, was tipped off to this web site- I am neurotic.com- by his co-worker Darcy. The gist of it, is that people can "write in" and tell about their neurotic habits. It's worth a long look. I've already gotten a few good ideas for eccentricities to add to my repertoire and I bet you will, too. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go make sure the light in my fridge is still on.

Chocolat Review and A Response to Babs

Babs left a comment for me yesterday regarding the hygiene of Johnny Depp, my celebrity crush. This is not the first snide comment she has made about Mr. Depp, but she has cleverly hidden most of her malice on her own, private blog.

Comments such as this one:

"...... You usually have a crush on someone who is attractive to you. Since we are ladies, this is typically a male... the kind with testosterone, who you can picture defending you from foes, winning your affection with manly deeds, and perhaps bathing and shaving...."

Or This:

"I have never seen Chocolat. What is it about? I hope Johnny Depp took a bath for it. No, wait. Ms. Binoche is French, so she won't mind."

I'd like to address these comments briefly, as well as open her eyes to the truth about her celebrity crush, Sean Connery, who is now 77 years old. I doubt he is performing many "manly deeds" these days.


Babs, I did enjoy watching Chocolat last night, thank you for asking. It was quite a whimsical and charming film based on the premise that chocolate can cure mental illness, mend broken relationships, inspire art, awaken passions and get Johnny Depp to fix the squeak in your door. Oh, and it also does a fairly good job of imparting the message that christianity without compassion is empty ritual. From the film:

"Listen, here's what I think. I think that we can't go around.... measuring our goodness by what we don't do. By what we deny ourselves, what we resist and who we exclude. I think we've got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create and who we include."

Johnny Depp didn't have that much screen time in the movie at all, but from what I could tell, he prepared well for his role as a river gypsy by forgetting to bathe. But I suppose if one is to have a bad habit (watch out! Here comes the crux of the matter!), poor hygiene is preferable to the physical abuse of women, such as Sean Connery seems to promote.








Well, well, what do ya know Babs, he does have the ability to leave me both shaken and stirred.

Indirect Brush With Greatness

Interesting tidbit. While on the train this afternoon I struck up a conversation with the gentleman across the aisle from us and found out that he is a firefighter in a small Wisconsin town by the name of Columbus. Now, I had never heard of Columbus, WI until last night when I was reading this. Yes, Johnny Depp was on location in Columbus, WI back in March shooting his newest film Public Enemies. It chronicles the story of notorious gangster John Dillinger, along with other such bad boys as Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd. The gang spent a fair amount of time in and around the north woods of Wisconsin in cabin hideouts until a final shoot out ended it all. I love 1930s era films so this one will for sure be on my list in 2009!

Anyway...Darrell, the man on the train, was on the set during much of the filming and met and shook hands with Mr. Depp. He was kind enough to oblige me by shaking my hand so now I can proudly say "I shook the hand of the man who shook Johnny Depp's hand". He also informed me that Johnny seemed "nice enough", spent a lot of time in the taverns, and signed a lot of autographs. He said Johnny didn't mind spending time shaking hands and signing autographs, but would pack it up if the ladies started swooning and screaming. Evidently that must get old pretty quickly. (Note to self; do not scream and swoon when meeting Johnny Depp. ) Darrell also informed me, while rolling his eyes, that the Mayor of Columbus choose to use the money generated from the movie shoot for the annual horse show budget. Ah, small town life.

So, I just think it's a funny coincidence that I made a Johnny Depp connection in such an unlikely place. A true oddity. Especially with all the mentions I've made lately in posts and comments to certain friends. Now, what degree of seperation from Kevin Bacon do you suppose that gives me?

Mosaic Meme

Here are the questions...see if you can guess my answers. (The first one should be easy)

1. What is your first name?
2. Favorite food?
3. Where did you go to high school?
4. Favorite color?
5. Celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you?
12. Hobby?


How to do it? Your turn to jump on the bandwagon! Go ahead and make one of your own. Here's how: a. Type your answer to each of the questions above into Flickr Search. b. Using only the first page, pick an image. c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker. d. Save image to hard drive and post to blogger. e. Copy HTML code for flickr photo credits and paste into blogger at the bottom of the post.

Photo Credits (And answers):

1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY....MICHELLE!, 2. Hot 'n spicy, 3. St. Agnes, 4. How much more red could this be?, 5. More Johnny Depp..., 6. Coffee Latte, 7. Salzburg, 8. Death by Chocolate | Katz's Deli | Austin, TX, 9. Archaeologist, 10. Autumn walk, 11. Introvert, 12. To relax on the meadow


H/T Waltzing Matilda

One Word

"You know what this is and you know what to do." - Matilda

1. Where is your cell phone? Store
2. Your significant other? Smart
3. Your hair? Thick
4. Your mother? Chatty
5. Your father? Quiet
6. Your favorite thing? Kids
7. Your dream last night? Forgotten
8. Your favorite drink? Liquid
9. Your dream/goal? Organize
10. The room you’re in? Spacious
11. Your church? Masqueray
12. Your fear? Loss
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Europe
14. Where were you last night? Garden
15. What you’re not? Awake
16. Muffins? Yes!
17. One of your wish list items? Armoire
18. Where you grew up? MN
19. The last thing you did? Clean
20. What are you wearing? Rags
21. Your TV? Off
22. Your pets? Wheek
23. Your computer? Fritzy
24. Your life? Crazy
25. Your mood? Jazzy
26. Missing someone? Always
27. Your car? Totaled
28. Something you’re not wearing? Mink
29. Favorite store? Book
30. Your summer? Workmen
31. Like(love) someone? Secret
32. Your favorite color? Red
33. Last time you laughed? Saturday
34. Last time you cried? Saturday
35. Who will re-post this? Fat Boy

Where do I begin?

I have been tagged for a Meme by Babs, all because of Matilda. That Matilda is trouble. So, I am to list six unspectacular quirks about myself. Here goes....

1. You know how all library books with dust jackets have that protective plastic sleeve on them? Well, so do mine. I just get edgy if they are not protected. Besides, it makes them look so pretty and shiny.....I bought a whole roll of that stuff from my library and I feel much calmer now.

2. I cannot sleep in total darkness.

3. The sound of someone chewing gum sends me into a blind rage. It really irritates me to no end.

4. My Achilles heel? Thunderstorms. I have been known to abandon my children to their own defenses when there is a tornado warning. I run screaming for the basement and shout over my shoulder for them to follow, damnit.

5. When asked to list six unspectacular quirks about myself, I can never come up with more than five!