Annie The Musical

Our church is putting on Annie The Musical, one of my favorite musicals since childhood. It’s a busy season with Adele in the orphan ensemble and Avril in the stage crew. The girls keep a volunteer notebook that accounts for all the hours they put into service and arts projects like this. They use the book to answer questions about volunteer work when it comes time to apply to colleges and scholarships. Adele has already been at the church over three days when you add up the hours she's been at rehearsals so far! I’m thankful for a church that nurtures the arts. 

 

Sharing the Salt

I recently attended a conference at Belmont Abbey for students of Classical Liberal Arts Education was entitled “Sharing Salt." It's based on a quote from Book 8 of Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics," his chapter on friendship. The quote says, “It is not possible for people to know each other until they have eaten together the proverbial salt.” The last few days, those at the conference got to "share salt" by reading and discussing that portion of Aristotle’s Ethics, a portion of The Gospel of John, Willa Cather’s short story “Two Friends,” and John Henry Newman’s sermon on “Love of Relations and Friends." I’m grateful for my friends- those at home, and these friends at school, too. The best sort of friends need to be what Aristotle calls “alike in virtue" in the sense that they seek truth together and want to embody truth in virtue, the greatest of which is love of Jesus Christ. We shared a supra dinner, an amazing experience that lasted for hours and was a true foretaste or the fellowship and overflowing thankfulness and joy believers will share in Heaven. We also got to hear from several leaders in Classical Christian Education at the conference, who spoke to us on "salty" topics like "Whether or not Classical Education can be taught in a secular setting" with both sides powerfully represented and "What are the heresies present in current Classical Christian education?" So I have come home fascinated, and therefore, refreshed and inspired to get back to work in my home and homeschool. I'm also dreaming and preparing for work outside my homeschool someday, but... not yet. After all, John Henry Newman says, “The best preparation for loving the world at large, and loving it duly and wisely, is to cultivate an intimate friendship and affection towards those who are immediately about us.”

Orlando

Dwayne had to go to Orlando for a week for a conference, so we tagged along and made a mini- vacation out of the week.

The hotel where we stayed and where the conference was held, the Signia by Hilton, had an epic lazy river connected to its pools.  It took a full 15 minutes to float around the entire lazy river. We enjoyed the pool, lazy river, and hot tubs a few times throughout the week. We enjoyed the Starbucks at the hotel lobby everyday, managing to get addicted to cappuccino. A cappuccino maker is going on my Christmas list. 

On the nights when Dwayne was free for dinner, we went to special places like The Rainforest Cafe and Kura Revolving Sushi Bar. The sushi bar was probably our favorite experience of the entire week.  

When Dwayne was working for dinner, we went to special places, too, only without him. Lol! The girls and I went to Melting Pot. A fondu pot or two is also our Christmas lists now! 

We were able to use the Waldorf Astoria's pool, so we went over there for a few hours one lovely Florida afternoon.

When the conference was over, we took a few days to go to some parks. The girls had never been to SeaWorld; They didn't even know what it was. So we took them there. 

We love waterparks, so we enjoyed another day at Volcano Bay just playing together as a family. 

The girls had lots of new experiences and we're thankful for the memories made together. 

The Quarrel Between Poetry and Philosophy

I've got one more class before I earn my masters in Classical Liberal Arts Education from Belmont Abbey. 

And I'm devastated. 

I want to continue going to graduate school, because there are a few more graduate-level classes that I have heard about from my classmates that I don't want to miss- one on the quadrivium that includes Euclid, another on rhetoric that includes speeches from Cicero through Lincoln, and one on faith and reason that includes Aquinas.

So obviously, I want to take them all. 

Alas. 

Technically, I have only one more class before I am done. 

But, thankfully, this class includes Plato's Republic. 

I did not want to finish graduate school without reading that book. 

This class also includes Aristotle's Poetics for which I am thankful. 

I love all things Aristotle. 

My graduate studies started with his Categories; It will end with his Poetics, and that seems just as it ought to be in liberal arts education. 

This class also includes The Oedipus Cycle. 

I have only read Oedipus Rex, so I am curious about the other two. Of course, I have heard of Antigone, but I have not read it yet. 

I can't say enough about the effect this course of study has had on my soul and my intellect and my understanding of education. 

So as I begin what may be my last class, my heart is full of gratitude that the Lord's will for my life included this beautiful journey through the Classics. 

Sourdough- Take Two!

I made a second loaf of sour dough, this time in an oblong pan. 

I'm a novice to all the sourdough methods, but as far as I understand the madness I'm using a recipe for a cold, unfed starter straight from the fridge with 100% hydration with an overnight rise with zero stretch and folds. 

I got this recipe from "Sour Dough for Lazy People," because it was recommended to me by a friend who uses it, and I love her bread, and I have no interest in the other seemingly absurd methods that require a full-day process- at least not yet. 

My dough was so wet and sticky as it poured from the bowl, it was nearly impossible to work with. I added enough flour to it to shape it into a loaf and salvage it. 

This is the second loaf that came out of the bowl too sticky to work with. 

So now, I know that I definitely need to adjust the hydration of my starter, something I suspected after my first loaf, but wanted to confirm with another test. 

There's a method to adjusting the hydration of your starter that I won't explain here, but I am hopeful after that process is complete, my loaves will begin coming out of the bowl better formed, easier to shape, and hopefully, then, I'll also get a better rise. 

So this second loaf isn't the prettiest. 

Neither was the first loaf. 

But I bet it's going to be delicious nevertheless, because the first loaf was. 

I'm making homemade beef stew tonight. 

We'll have it with some freshly baked sour dough! 

Scottish Buttermilk Bread

I made Scottish Buttermilk Bread from Bernard Clayton's Complete Book of Breads. It was similar to Irish Soda Bread; It was also similar to homemade buttermilk biscuits, so we ate it like biscuits with eggs or butter and jam, etc.  This was my least favorite bread so far, honestly. 

Egg Harbor Bread

 

I made the Egg Harbor bread from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Bread. 

This particular bread has five rises, so it was the most complicated bread I've made so far, and it took the longest by far. 

I am working my way bread by bread through Clayton's book in the order that the recipes come, and I'm growing in competence and confidence. 

One important thing I have learned from my mistakes: Check the temperature of your water before adding yeast to it. This way, you don't end up killing the yeast and preventing your dough from rising.