It’s Saturday night, around 10 PM, and my sorely missed husband is due back at 2 AM. After we all do church on Sunday and then crash on Monday, it’s back to a normal work week, and those page proofs for the History of the Ancient World, which looked like this two weeks ago:

and now look like this:

because I haven’t even started on them. I DID do a bit of work on the second volume this week, working my way through the first five Gupta rulers of medieval India in between mom-duties. But since Wednesday night, we’ve been dealing with Ernesto, the tropical storm which (unexpectedly) sailed right overtop of us and dumped ten inches of rain on the farm. It also knocked out power, washed out roads, and blew a zillion maple branches all over the lane, so Emily, Dan and I have been trying to clear them up.

We spent today piling them up in the truck and then dumping them into the burn pile, which has been doubling as a backstop for target-shooting (which is why it hasn’t actually gotten BURNED yet).

Across the road, my cousin’s cornfields are beaten down almost flat; the cornstalks are bent double.

He hasn’t begun combining yet, and I’m not sure whether he’ll be able to save it–I’ll ask him at church tomorrow.

A less dire problem: the bunny hutches got swamped and had to be cleaned and dried out. I resisted rabbits for a long time, because they’re useless (unless you eat them, which became a non-option after the kids had cuddled them for about five minutes). They don’t lay eggs, or trim the grass, or really do much of anything. Except get loved.


(Daniel and Zork, the world’s most placid mini rex. Or else he’s just clinically depressed and can’t be bothered to move–hard to say.)

So we’ve cleared the road, dried off the bunnies, scooped twenty pounds of leaves and twigs out of the pool, shaken out all the soaked dog bedding, and mopped up all the leaks. Now the temperature has dropped thirty degrees, the sky has that gorgeous post-hurricane look, and it smells like fall time.

Update on those page proofs coming NEXT week, I swear.

Showing 8 comments
  • heather

    So sorry to hear about your weather troubles–it continues to be a GORGEOUS summer over here.

    It’s nice to have the men back, isn’t it? 😉

  • Jill, The Crib Chick

    Isn’t that cool air WONDERFUL, though? I didn’t care for losing power to get it, but all it cost us was some soaked carpet (leaky house), a few packages of chicken and beef (in the fridge), and our ‘sunflower house’ (which looks like a giant has stomped it down).

  • Lizzy

    I’ve never SEEN so much RAIN! Wow, this east coast weather is interesting. I think it’s funny that God doesn’t consult us on when He should dump the earth with buckets of rain. (Really, when would be a convenient time for this?) I loved that cool air on Saturday, though. Aahh. Enjoy getting back to “normal”!
    P.S. Am wondering if you really took two pictures of the proofs.

  • The Tutor

    Glad all is well… and drying out.

    Don’t write the usefulness of bunnies too quickly. They are a great source of manure for the garden! Plus they are soft and cuddly and help teach the kids responsibiliy (or at least teach us responsibility when we have to remember to remind the kids to take care of the bunny).

    Looking forward to reading the book when it comes out. I don’t know how you do it. I am trying to come up with a writing schedule, and on top of homeschool, dh’s grad school schedule, and general life events, I don’t know how to fit it in. Where there’s a will there’s a way, right?

    Blessings to you all.

  • Catherine

    Glad that you were able to clean up a little. We have our share of the same here in SC.

    I am biting my fingernails waiting for the audio of Ancient Times, Vol. One of S of the W to be ready. Is it available yet?

    As a pastor’s wife, I wear many hats as well. We become Master Jugglers.

    Hope the new plan for curriculum for your oldest is going well.

    Catherine

  • Jeni

    I really enjoy reading your blogs. They always make me smile. Thanks for sharing! One more thing… my son is in the first grade, and we have just begun the history of the world vol. 1 books! We are learning a lot and have had so much fun too! I am learning events that I never learned in public schools. I really appreciate your devoted time to helping others to homeschool more effectively.
    Thanks again,
    Jeni

  • Miz Booshay

    Such a beautiful picture of the clouds.

    I’m so happy to hear that your beloved is home and that you are recoving well from the storms.

    Donna

  • Sandy Burr

    The American Studies Program a soap opera? More like vaudeville, burlesque, and melodrama colliding in one free-floating dysfunctional space. I’ll share if you will!

Contact Us

We're not around right now. But you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Not readable? Change text. captcha txt