Treebeard's Hill

An Early Taste of Winter and Other Blabber...

2006-11-29T06:56:00.000-08:00

So we had an Arctic Front blow in yesterday and it's been snowing ever since. It's not coming down hard, so it has only accumulated about 4 inches since yesterday around 6pm. Even though I am still feeling very much under the weather, I think we may either snuggle and watch a marathon of LotR while munching on fresh baked cookies, or I may actually venture the 2 miles down the road for the kids to swim at the Rec Center. Since it's only 15 degrees outside as of current, I may opt for the first idea.

We managed the Yule tree up without incident this past weekend and it's a beauty. We watched March of the Penguins and the hubby and I had a few Pomegranate Cocktails. It was nice to see the kids putting the ornaments on without an altercation.. :)

Not the most detailed picture. The cats are loving it even though it's fake, and I put together a bottle of spray to try and keep them off of it. So far, so good. Pine, Sandalwood, and Cedar. Yes, an odd mix, but it actually smells real good. The cats hate it! Huzzah. Sweet victory is miinnnnneeee....

Book Site for Kids

2006-11-29T06:52:00.000-08:00

International Children's Digital Library

http://www.childrenslibrary.org/

I haven't been through the site thoroughly, but it seems interesting enough to grab a cup of coffee and sit in front of for an hour.

Graphic Novels

2006-11-26T07:50:00.000-08:00

Ever heard of ToyoPop? Graphic Novels? Well I never had until Pixie started to read them... Yeah, they are books from Japan (she is fascinated with any Japanese culture and has even been teaching her to speak the language). The books are actually backwards -- Let me explain:

The book cover is where we usually have the "back"cover. It goes backwards. Pages and all. You also read them right to left rather than left to right. Very interesting. There are several series and at this moment she is reading "Kodocha".

"Japanamation" is really adorable. It keeps her reading in a very veracious manner and that's a good thing. I found that I was trying to push my type of genre on her (science fiction/ fantasy/ medieval etc) and while she likes it fantasy, it wasn't something that would hold her attention book-after-book. She did read the Circle of Three series (all 15 books) which is written by a Wiccan lady, and our library has the entire set. The Japanese books, being graphic novels, do go rather fast and she's going through one book a day. At least she's not sitting in front of the tv.

For the books to be authentic the back is stamped "100% Manga" and the cover and pages are reversed.

Warning: The Vent of an Overwhelmed Mom

2006-11-15T05:07:00.000-08:00

What a week. What a darn, ridiculous, and expensive week! And today's only Wednesday.

Well, yesterday I had to take my car in for an entire new brake job, including a master cylinder. We were going to get another car this month, but it looks like it wont be until next year. I cant believe we put $520 into a car with 220,000 miles on it... but the little thing really has been the best car ever! We bought it for $700 seven years ago with 118,000 miles on it, and the only thing I have ever had to have done is the alternator. So hear this:

The mechanic gave me a ride home while they kept my car. I forgot to take my house key off the ring! I thought, No biggie" since I could go through the garage and into my bedroom. The Husband LOCKED THE DOOR! Never before has it been locked, but he did so a few days ago. So the only window NOT locked was the one over the kitchen sink... yep, measures roughly 20 inches across while fully open. I imagine my arse is bigger than that. I climb in, and staring back at me is the trash can that the dog decided to get into... dragged all the way into the living room. Oh, but let us back up. I dropped the kids off at the rec center to swim so they didn't have to deal with the boring brake job. I went into the Safeway to grab them some breakfast to break a $100 bill so I could get them into the pool. This chump is behind us (a Pepsi employee) who is taking inventory of the cooler. He drops a bottle of pop which EXPLODES 4 inches behind my feet, and went all the way up to my butt, in my shoes, and on my hands. The SOB didn't even apologize. I said a few, not-so-choice words in front of the kids and left. That was fun.. bathing in Pepsi at 8 in the morning, being told how much it would be to fix my car, climbing through a window meant for "Barbie", cleaning up trash and feeling like crap the whole time. What a day! Not!

I have come down with a cold, probably due to my hardcore running around. I have a low-grade fever and a swollen throat. The aches don't help -- that's for sure. I have to get Pixie's new Team Dress this afternoon from the seamstress about an hour away for another $550. Then I have to get her to a final rehearsal at 7pm tonight (another hour away!) in which I won't be in bed until after 11pm tonight, and finally get her to the airport at 8am in the morning.

*******ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH******

Ok, there's my scream for the day.

Sunday I am hosting a Croning Ceremony for some friends, and I seriously have put to much on my plate this week.

I know its supposed to be a homeschooling blog, but I seriously needed to vent. Thanks...

New Pagan Forum

2006-11-09T22:48:00.000-08:00

A dear friend in my local PaganCommunity, started this forum after the demise of pagans.org -- She humbled me by asking if I would help Co-Moderate it.. Of course I said yes, and now i'm in charge of several sections of the online community, including Pagan Parenting. It's still new and i'm building the sections slowly. The activity is rising fast, and the questions are provocative. I have thought more about some of the posts in recent days and it's actually refreshing.

Check it out! It really is a warm and inviting bunch of people. Tons of info, articles, chants, questions, etc.

http://www.paganscircles.org/smf/index.php

Did I Mention I'm Tired??

2006-11-09T22:38:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posting! I'm just so exhausted. Pix had class tonight, and to top it off i'm having to cart my mother around due to her car being vandalized by her insane neighbor. The only thing is, she lives 15 miles away. Long story, but it's really getting to be a pain in the arse.

Saturday i'll be in Colorado Springs for the day, taking Dedication with my coven, so dad has to deal with Pix getting to class. Huzzah! And I don't feel one bit guilty. LOL

I just realized this blog is NOT turning into the homeschooling journal I intended. I may have to change the title of it, and just make it personal... family related. Who knows. Maybe it's the exhaustion talking. Off to bed before I say more... Oh, and one final pic of embarrassment for my kiddos. Enjoy.

This was taken the morning after we arrived in Washington D.C. -- We didn't get into our room until well after midnight, and with the time change from Mountain -- we were all screwed up! This is a tradition from every vacation. I take a pic of them snoring after a total collapse. Yeah... they'll thank me when they're older. NOT!

Pixie's Competition Yesterday

2006-11-06T07:08:00.001-08:00

We have been so busy with Pixie's dance classes and preparation to go to Portland. She leaves the morning of the 16th with her teacher and other advanced students to compete at the Western Regional.. This one is the BIG ONE of the year in the US. Sadly I won't be going along. Can't afford too, but she will be in good hands. Luckily they video tape the Drama portion, so I won't totally miss out.

So yesterday she competed at the Colorado Fall Feis in Loveland. There were some 800 competitors total. In her age group she did 6 dances -- which had roughly 30 competing in each dance. She placed in 4 out of 6!!! She walked away with:

1st / Hard 2 Hand Reel

2nd / Single Jig

3rd / Reel

3rd / Light Jig

The 2 she didn't place in were the Slip Jig, and the Hornpipe (hard shoe set). She knew when she messed up in both, but recovered so well that her father and I did NOT catch it. Oh well.. the judges did though.

They wouldn't allow us to take pics during comp, so we took a few before hand. Here are her posses.

Afterwards, we took her out to dinner to celebrate her sweet victory. :) Here she looking extremely tired, but happily wearing her metals.

She was tickled pink with herself, as she should be. It was a good day. It sparked a fire under her butt, and even made Loki want to return to class. She's going to be taking on an extra class.. so Monday and Thursday will revolve around a drive to Lakewood. I can't wait till we move to Golden, then i'll only be10 minutes from the class. Right now, i'm about 35.

So there's a little update on my busy life.

Bad Me

2006-11-06T07:06:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted, and I didn't even get any pics on Halloween. But we had an awesome time, got a huge booty of candy (enough to fill 2 size 13 steel toe boot boxes -- obnoxious) and came home to warm up with chai and honey cake. We left out offerings, and went to sleep in a sugar coma. Hope everyone had a wonderful celebration.

IT WORKS!!

2006-10-29T07:11:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it worked! I may not have to find another blog after all. Yippie!

We'll see how long this lasts...

Obviously, the above image is a collage of the kids finding their pumpkins. Above that is Loki sizing up a few prospects.

2006-10-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

I'm going to create a new blog and connect to this one. I can no longer take the inability to post pictures. I even downloaded Picasa by Google to blog pics, but to no avail. I can't imagine my computer being the problem. I can uploads to pics to my website. ::sigh::

Off to find another blog.

Behind the Scenes

2006-10-22T08:11:00.001-07:00

Dr. Phil recently set about taping an episode on homeschooling. I don't know about you, but it really frosts my knickers when someone, who has no clue what they are talking about, bashes a community to millions of people.

The article below was written by a mom who was a guest. It's nice to get a 'Behind the Scenes' perspective from someone who was actually there. I plan on watching the episode, but I will never watch Dr. Phil again.

http://localhs.com/scuttle/2006/10/great-school-debate.asp

2006-10-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

Beta Blogger is really working on my last nerve. I have not been able to upload any pictures of our 'hunt for the perfect pumpkin' or anything else for that matter. ::sigh::

On that note - the hunt went well. They searched high and low looking for a pumpkin that would work perfect with their carving plans. Loki created a crazy cyclops, and Pixie's looked like it rolled right out of Egypt. Yesterday, we went in search of the costumes. Pixie is Tinkerbell (a Pixie - go figure) and Loki, a scary sort of grim reaper with eyes that light up. It's pretty darn scary. Oh, and instead of the usual scythe, he's toting around a plastic chainsaw with sound effects.

As for anything else new... we've just been nesting. I am so irritated at Blogger, and wish I could post activity pictures! I'll keep on trying.

Cosmeo Anyone?

2006-10-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

I signed up for Cosmeo's free 30 day offer. Loki loves to watch Animal Planet, and Pixie adores anything Egyptian. That's not all, but those are a few of their favorites. Anything they feel like looking up is right at their finger tips. The games alone are really a blast. It's good for any age with a little digging.

We are off to the pumkin patch with a group, and i'll post some pics later. :)

2006-10-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

Saturday, the kids and I had a small Full Moon circle in the backyard, as a part of their wanting to learn more, including practicing. Before hand, I baked them some Full Moon cookies, while they watched X-Men 3. I gathered everything needed with the help of Pixie, and since the weather was so mild, took everything in the backyard in full view of Her. Loki grabbed the camera and took a lovely picture of Her with wisps of blue and silver clouds around...

Beta Blogger is being a real booger, and i'm unable at this time to upload the picture. I'll try it again until I have success!

Pixie has been in Circle several times before, so she took to it like a fish, but Loki may have found it a little to formal.. So, for him, I would need to make it more 'fun' than I did that night. I did give him the job of ringing the bell (which normally I don't do, but thought he would stay interested if he had a fun job) and calling 2 of the Quarters, and lighting their candles.

We danced and chanted, and he loved it. But then decided that the energy was a little to much, and so we grounded. I think next time, i'll have him help bake the cookies, and anything else he'd like to do (like craft etc) take pictures and sit on the porch talking to Her. That may just be enough for him.

Pixie is old enough for full ritual, with mild intensity, and so i'll work in that direction with her.

On another note - We are expecting SNOW tonight, so check back for any pictures! We usually have our traditional first snow on the night of Halloween. It is a well known and expected tradition in the Denver area. So, I was talking to my husband a few weeks ago, and told him that my gut tells me, we're going to have it earlier than normal. My bones feel it, and my body (which has been getting more in tuned with the ebbs and flow of the earth) is preparing to go into nesting mode. He thought I might be right, and last night while watching the weather, he turns to me and says, "Damn, your getting good!" So -- if we do get the 1-3 inches predicted, i'll certainly have been right. It happens here, we get a blizzard warning, and end up with nothing but 4 inches. Heck, we've been told 'look out for a foot of powder.." and gotten squat!

Will update later. :)

Update: Got Squat! It's still raining, and had it dropped below 38* last night, it might have turned to flurries. They said another chance tonight, but i'm not holding my breath. Hmph. I still have until October 31st to be right. LOL

Origins of Halloween

2006-10-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

Since Samhain is coming, I thought I would post the Origins of Halloween for those who might find it helpful for their kids, or to help dispel myths to family and friends. The references are great, and make for good reads.

It was written by my High Priestess, Rowan Moonstone, a few years back. She's a lovely writer, and well-read Lady. Google other things of hers. You will enjoy them.

Pixie is wanting some formal Pagan Studies at home, and so this will be on her list of reads.

Another one I highly recommend is Mike Nichol's -- All Hallow's Eve and putter around his site. His articles are incredible. They were Incorporated into a book, which includes a few never before seen articles called - The Witches Sabbats. For older kids (teens), this book is a great teaching tool.

Fall in Full Bloom!

2006-10-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Loki took some pictures in the yard of the gorgeous changing leaves. We'll be moving from this house in the spring, and we're all going to miss the sumac trees turning red, and the wonderful oak tree we like to give libations too. :)

The sumac off of the porch is at it's highest point of red. Don't worry, it's the non-poisonous variety. It will begin to shed it's leaves in the next week, and will be no more. The next one is the changing leaves on the old oak tree.

The one below is our neighbor's tree. He loved how bright it was.

The sumac that turns red, usually does so about 2 weeks into October. This year, it started to change the last week of September! Either we're going to have a big winter, as opposed to the last 4 years, or we're going to have our first snow before the traditional Halloween night. Our personal guess, is an earlier snow, but it's Colorado... You can't quite guess the weather here to save your life.

Yesterday, we spent several hours at the library. Pixie is a volunteer there, and works twice a week for about 6 hours total. We picked her up, went in side, and hung out for a few more.. Of course we came home with 2 bags of stuff. Loki loves Bill Nye, so we pick up his DVD's a lot, as well as movies, and documentaries. Pixie picked up Wuthering Heights (the one with Ralph Finnes - meow!) and hopefully will be inspired to read the book. Also, she found the original 1968 version of The Producers.

So, I found a book -- 365 Nature Crafts & Activities by Karen Bledsoe

I'll keep track of what the kids do, and post them here. We love this time of year, and try to cram in a lot of outdoor activities before the weather makes us stay inside more often.

Hey Mom! Can I Keep Him??

2006-09-27T21:39:00.000-07:00

Yep. This is what I hear from the front porch while cooking dinner. The very words that strike fear in any parent whose home is beginning to look like the neighborhood animal sanctuary. Whether the animal needs rescuing or not, mind you, is the real question.

As I get to the door, I realize it's not your typical creature of rescue, but rather this little guy....

A Plains Garter Snake native to our region.

As i'm sure you can guess my answer.. his powerful brown googley eyes made one final attempt. Nice try little man.

He was released, and was seen slithering off into the sunset.

2006-09-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

The Chronicles of Willowmere by Alison Baird

(You can read the synopsis at the link)

This beauty caught my eye as we were leaving the teens section of the library today. It was on the "NEW" shelf, and after reading the back.. Pixie was thrilled! It's got Wicca, mystery, intrigue, and magic. Whoo Hoo! We are always looking for Pagan / Wicca friendly books for teens, and this set (3 as of yet) look awesome. If you click on her name above, you'll see other books she has written, and we're going to try and find all of them!

I'll have Pix give me a review to post when she's finished with it.

The Education of Little Tree

2006-09-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

The follwing is my own personal opinion and review --

Synopsis:

After his parents die, a young boy called Little Tree is raised by his Cherokee grandparents in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee during the 1930s. The novel follows Little Tree's daily life as he helps his grandparents learn to stand up for their rights, and in the process he learns a great deal about standing up for his own. As the novel progresses, Little Tree describes the simple life lessons he learns by living in touch with Nature.

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press; 25th Annv edition (September 2001)
Language: English
ISBN: 0826328083

This is a book that should be on every single bookshelf. If you have never read it before, run, don't walk (or pop over to half.com) and get it! There is a lot of controversy about Forrest Carter (born Asa) in which it turns out this book is not an autobiography as claimed, but a work of fiction. In fact, the early life of Asa Carter is a despicable one. Not only was he a white supremacist, but also the speech writer for George Wallace. A very surprising life history for a man who wrote this incredible work, as well as the likes of The Outlaw Josey Wales and Watch for Me on the Mountain! There is nothing in the book that would lead you to believe this was the man who wrote the book, and the story seemed like a redemtion of his past.

My husband and I read the book before finding out who Forrest Carter truly was, and if you can look past the man, you will find a magnificent piece of work that will change you forever. I know we did... We checked it out at the library, but had to buy a copy at the used bookstore. We hope our children will read it.. As Pagan's -- we found the nature, spiritual, and soul connection of the story to be educational in and of itself. There is a movie, and just as the book will make you cry (besides having a hard time putting it down) the movie will bring you to tears too, in a good way.

Who Are We?

2006-09-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

I might as well make my first post an introduction for those who may stumble across this blog. I am in my 5th year of homeschooling (with a major unschooling bent) my 2 witchlets, Pixie and Loki. Ok, not their real names, but for the sake of some privacy, these are the names they have chosen.

I am a Georgian (Wicca) pre-initiate, an avid knitter, love to read, and a wife to an awesome guy. We have been together 14 years, and always have fun together. My husband loves to ride his motorcycle in the mountains, off-road... he's a gunsmith, truck driver, and great dad.

Pixie - 13 - is a passionate Irish Step Dancer, rabid about crypotzoology, the paranormal, and an all around teenage girl who loves to hang at the mall with her best friend. She wants to learn Japanese, and have an Irish dance school. Yeah, I know.. no connection.

Loki - 9 - loves hanging with his dad, getting the occasional motorcycle ride, trucks, and irritating his sister. He also loves his Game Cube when he finds a new game at the video store. He wants to live in New Zealand when he grows up, and own a cafe.

We are really relaxed in our homeschooling style and allow more freedom in their pursuits. I firmly believe they retain information that is of interest to them. Learning from doing is key!

So that is us in a nutshell. I am learning as I go, and just enjoying my family while I can.