All In A Day's Work

Hello Everyone!
I am so glad that January is almost over! The sun has returned for the whole week which is such a help even though it is still cold. Before my daughter left for college, we started on a quilt for Veith, and did some mending on her things to get her ready.

Now that Harmony is back at college, life is settling into a new routine of sorts. Everyone misses her so much! It is my turn on the rotation with the boys to do the dishes and table. I feel quite sad when I start to set her place and realize that she is gone. Doing up the dishes by hand takes some extra bit of our time. We try to not to run the dishwasher much to keep the bills - water, electric, and gas water heater- lower. It does add a bit of satisfaction at least to put that "Joy" in the water and scrub things sparkling clean. Makes me wonder how I managed to do it so long ago when I had ten place settings to clean by hand three meals a day.

These colder days keep our schedule more relaxed since we don't go very many places when it is chilly. The main creative thing we did two weeks ago was to make a bunch of Thank- you notes a bit late for the Christmas gifts they received. (Better late than never!) And a couple children have a few lessons to catch up on that will keep them busy this week. I never like to finish January unless everyone is generally caught up in their schoolwork. I encourage all of you to do a special review of where your students are and adjust for their needs, too. Aside from our usual school day, we are actively doing home remedies for our allergies that have hit our area, mainly cedar fever and mold spores. Luckily, we are still well enough to do schoolwork, with a box of tissues to share :-))

For fun we are practicing learning calligraphy and bowling skills indoors until the weather gets warmer. Then we will take up kick-ball which seems to be becoming popular here. The bonus is that they can learn running bases for baseball at the same time. They are starting to beg to get seedlings started. I may actually try it this year. We have also done some organizing and played a few games to liven things up a little.

Our evenings are mostly spent reading, playing with Legos, or listening to Jonathon Park some nights. I work on writing up tests for the boys, doing e-mail, or sewing for my doll dress business. Have a soft-bodied doll almost ready for the website, and is she ever cute!

Then, Veith has to be driven to work and back most nights, so I sandwich supper in-between. We finally got in some driving practice together in the neighborhood last weekend. He did quite well! But the hand maneuvers for turning corners still need refining before we go anywhere over 15 or 20 miles an hour :-)) This is my fifth child l've taught to drive. It is always good to see their confidence and carefulness improve with their skill.

Today, for excitement, after starting laundry, I did some sewing/ mending on my husband's duffel bag and my son's favorite pair of socks. Later, I have to go to town with the boys when I drop Veith off to get just the right ribbon or yarn to make hair for those dolls. Plan to make chili or a chicken casserole or the like for dinner, too. Yum!

Later this week, Andrew will help me put my pictures of the doll and a couple new outfits up on the website. Please, check out harmonydollfashions.com if you get a chance in February. Thanks!

Hope all of you have a great finish to January!
Melanie