Thinking about getting colder

 It is inkling towards the end of September, which means it is getting cooler at night. Our pool is still open and techniquely swimmable, but I am a wimp and don't like cold water. I might jump in tomorrow but if so, that will be that for the year.

I made bread today. I cannot eat bread; first becuase it is high carb, and second because wheat is high fructan and my digestive system does not like high fructans. But I like the way it looks, and smells, and live variously through my family eating the bread.

The thing above is not DOUGH, surprisingly enough; it is modeling (white) chocolate. It can be colored and molded and all that. VERY COOL!

One of the interesting things about having nine kids is every one is different and every one has different interests. Rose is my cooking and baking and candy enthusiast. She likes to watch shows about making cakes and candy, and every time we go to the library, she checks out a bunch of cook books.

An orange!

Rose also likes playing with our giant magnets.

Petey is still a big hit. Kevin found some videos about training your pigeon to like you, and we have been teaching him to eat out of our hands. He is doing so with alacrity.

Yesterday we had a bird escape, though, and he is a bit more nervous today. Kevin was feeding him, and had the door to the cage wider open than usual. Petey ate away happily, and then got bored (apparently) and flew off! That was a surprise :-). We moved his cage into the sun room while he perched on the mantle, and then encouraged him to fly out into the sun room. I had to follow him around and he did not like that, so he is a bit more anxious today about people in general, and hands in particular, than a couple of days ago.

Pigeons apparently get nervous about hands, which are grabby and also maybe look like claws?

Rose drew a waistcoat, hat, and monocle on a picture of Petey.

Sarah is definitely a "science girl" and I realized that since she may end up going to college for engineering and/or science, we need to push a little faster with math. 22 years into this homeschool thing, I have concluded that most people don't really need to learn trigonometry and calculus. But if she is gonna be an engineer, she needs to have both of those and right now she is doing Algebra 1 and Geometry.

So we will work on that.

She definitely has a scientific mind. She reads books about science and often asks me complicated questions about chemistry and physics.

In writing news. I am getting near the end of a Christmas Book. It is early for that, but being done is nice. I am like five chapters away from being done, probably? 

Stained glass window

 

Kevin and I are church hunting. The church we have attended the last couple of years is almost certainly dying in less than a month; the pastor of 34 years is retiring, and it is a teeny tiny church and we don't think we'll be able to find a pastor to fill his shoes.

So last Sunday, we visited a church within ten minutes of us. The sanctuary is old and beautiful, and the window above is the largest of the windows.

Kevin was moving around during the sermon and finally whispered that he realized one of the words at the bottom was Kendig.

So I moved around as well, and sure enough, the bottom says: In Memory of Julia H. Kendig. Harry R. Kendig and Family.

I found Julia and her husband Harry. They both were born in the late 1800s. Harry lived to a ripe old age and he and Julia (and a bunch of other relatives) are buried in the giant cemetary which rings the church we attended.

So that was interesting. Probably a relation? I haven't found a connection between Harry and Kevin's paternal grandfather, Albert. I might poke around some more because it is fascinating.

In other news, we have a new refrigerator arriving on Friday. Our current one is not as cold as it should be. We are vaguely indignant that this one is dying at only 3+ years old, but such is life.

We have had a mild stomach bug. Irritating.

The first week of September has been warm; today is supposed to hit 90. It WILL cool off soonish but for now, our pool is delightful.

I think that is about it!