September tapestry

The work of Edmund Blair Leighton was brought to my attention once again and what a pleasure it is to observe his beautiful artwork. He was an English painter of the mid-to-late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

This one is called September.

Enjoy! 

something lovely to look at, something lovely to listen to

"One can always find something lovely to look at or listen to."

                                                                   ~L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Windy Poplars

The sedum in the back garden was falling over with the weight of its heavily producing blooms. What a happy plant sedum is with its many clusters of little star-shaped flowers! I thought the color was perfectly contrasted against the 

cherry- wooded dining room table.

I found a podcast I wanted to share. I have enjoyed listening to this weekly podcast while I go about my homemaking duties,

The Art of Home.

helping with Miss Marion

This photo was taken back in the early spring.

Caregiving an elderly family member could possibly become a part of your life, and many times it comes unexpectedly.

I have a small blog I entitled Shadow Pearls for the seventeen months I was the prime caregiver for both of my parents. It was sometimes the best of times and sometimes the worst of times. And my attitude and trust in the Lord is what helped to make it something I can now look back on with the blessing it did give me and my family overall. It was not a worldly blessing at all, it was downright hard, yet the blessing received was deep, wide and rich because to care for those who need you, those who cared for you when you needed them, comes around to a full circle and you see the Lord's abundant grace and  never ending mercy. I was glad when I was doing it and I am even more glad now that I was able to do it then.

There is a family in my church that cares for his mother in their home. She has dementia. My heart knows what they are living day by day, evening by evening. It is such a privilege to give them a bit of time so they can at the least pretend life is "normal". I tell the daughter-in-law that while others have no framework to understand what they are doing, I do understand and it is a joy for me to come alongside them in little ways.

This past Saturday Miss Marion came to our home and my husband and I kept her all day so this family could go with their visiting daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter for a day of fun and adventure. I love her and she has paved a grove in my heart. 

philomath

                      

 a lover of learning  

This could also be entitled Homeschooling Yourself.

On Happy Homemakers Monday on the last Monday of August I explained I would give some details concerning my new learning plan, a self-imposed objective to extend my own personal learning. Homeschooling myself, so to speak. It is quite simple and while I am not a slave to this plan or the schedule, still I have always done better when I keep a rhythm to my days by having an intentional plan. I definitely did this when I homeschooled my children so it works for me now too.

 The plan is not in cement, it might change a bit depending on the season, yet without any sort of set schedule or plan, I do not believe I would have reasonable amounts of success to accomplishing my goals. 

 Some of these things were already in my daily life, but adding them to "the plan" lends a recorded purpose to my learning curve.

             Four main parts:

I. Literature Reading/Vocabulary

II. Geography/History/Science facts

III. Greek Study

IV. Scripture Memorization 

I. Literature/Vocabulary:

I already have a reading list, but by practicing any new vocabulary I've acquired from reading is necessary if I want to retain the meaning of these words, especially with the hopes of assimilating them into my daily vocabulary.  I allow myself to concentrate on three words weekly. I usually get these words from reading material. I will write sentences for each word and try to use them throughout the week.

II. Geography/History/Science:

This one is fun and my husband has joined me. It does require me to either make a weekly page of facts or information to learn and know or in a pinch I can open one of the several geography/history/science books we have in the library and begin reading and studying any information.  

III. Greek Study:

This is a subject that has been dangling around in the back of the closet for some time. When Charlotte was in middle school, we began a study of Greek with her and a friend using Koine Greek for Beginners.

 This involved learning the Greek alphabet then moving on to the grammar lessons. Since both students had already studied Latin it was much easier to advance in the grammar lessons. This study also included Greek vocabulary words to learn and decline.

  With great expectations of continuing with Greek, I ordered this curriculum of Greek study from Memoria Press. However, due to demands from other subjects for Charlotte  in high school we never and got around to any further formal Greek study. 

But I never lost the idea that I would open those books and  study Greek for myself in the future. What better time than the present? However, I needed a thorough review of basic Greek so I am back in Koine For Beginners once again. This week I am re-learning the Greek alphabet.  After the initial four letters, I add up to three new ones daily. This also includes writing the alphabet every day.

IV. Scripture Memorization 

Most of what I am memorizing presently is in Hebrews since I do lead a Precepts Bible study starting back this Friday. Scripture memorization takes quite a bit of work and persistence. But it is so worth the effort! I can not stress memorizing the Word of God enough. It certainly takes daily practice and review. I might not add but one new verse a week, but I continue with repetition until my brain seems to know it rather well, then the rest of the time is spent reviewing other chapters and verses.

A loose-leaf binder notebook holds all this homeschooling together so I can grab it easily. Usually, as of late summer  I am doing most of my homeschooling in the evening after dinner.

How are you being a philomath?