Seven Quick Takes: July Edition

I'm jumping on to Jen's 7 Quick Takes for Friday meme because this is Friday and I am still trying to get back in the blogging habit, so I have only scattered things to talk about.   The theme of this TUAR edition will be:  Summer Doings.

I.

Chari is winging off to Hawaii today!   Pray for her safe and comfortable travels.  Let's hope she blogs a couple of times while there, if only to post a Hawaii photo or two.    I think it's funny how our lives so often work out in weird parallels.... last month I went to the 49th State and met with my two younger brothers, and this month Chari is going to the 50th State and meeting with her two younger sisters. 

II.

I like the idea of Summer Bucket Lists.    Actually, for me it goes back at least to the time when my oldest was at college.  During at least one phone call during the last term, he and I would discuss how we wanted to spend our summer....  our Story Club was a result of one of those discussions.   This year, things on my list include teaching two boys to drive, going to the lake several times a week, exercising a couple of times a day, making good use of all my CSA goodies, and painting at least the mudroom and maybe the downstairs bathroom (Chari gave me some tips on painting rooms).  Also on my list is driving to our local giant sequoia grove, and maybe driving up to the coastal redwoods with my forestry-major son.    I also want to read everybookinthehouseandonmykindle, but yeah, like that is really going to happen. 

III.

Blogging more regularly is also on my summer list, but I need a focus, I think, so I am thinking of spotlighting one homeschool resource per day that I am intending to use this year.   I like reading about what curricula other people are using, and I need to have some motivation to actually examine the books we're using, so that is my pretext.   Just warning you, so that you aren't surprised to see a flood of curriculum spotlights. 

IV.

Aidan was in a drawing mood last night and drew this:

Test Tubes

You would probably think it was Independence Day fireworks, but in fact, it is the blood collection tubes he sees next to him when he gets blood draws every 6 weeks.  He is quite fascinated with them and often looks them up on Google.   Our town's  fireworks aren't until this Saturday, because we live in a tourist town and so the tradition is to have the firework show on the weekend (usually before July 4th, but I guess they thought fireworks in June would be silly).

V.

Paddy and I have been spending quite a bit of quality time together since I came back from Alaska.  We've developed a habit of taking a mile hike through our National Forest in the evening after it cools down, and then sitting on our deck to read The Two Towers.    This wasn't on my bucket list but it is a nice tradition.  We read until the bats and flying squirrels come out.   Paddy had the idea of bringing a floor lamp out on the deck so we could keep reading even when it was dark.    We've even discussed camping out there for the night. 

VI. 

Just in case you forget we are a family of computer game types (my husband is a computer game designer/programmer, my oldest son is too, and a couple of the others have aspirations in that direction, though one is thinking computer artist rather than programmer) I will mention that my boys have been playing a lot of League of Legends recently.   Some of the perks are that it is massively multiplayer, FREE, and has a social element.  They can join up in teams together across their respective computers, with their brother in Oregon, their in-laws in Virginia and their friends, and their own buddies around the California area.   Dangerous perk for me is hours that I want to use reading and planning for next year.  Temptation!

VII.

On the computer game topic, my husband is currently working on Contraption Maker with some of the same team that were involved in one of his first games (from the 90's) The Incredible Machine.   It's fun for him to revisit some of his 2-decades-ago work that way.