Penola Part 1

The day started with Breakfast. Yes the dog likes cereal too!!

Then Daniel and I headed off to the Penola Coonawarra Arts Festival for the day. Daniel was booked into 2 workshops. I was booked in to do a Poetry one but since Daniel has had 2 seizures in the last 3 weeks, the doctor said we should be with him all the time. It was fun to hang out with Daniel for whole day anyway - he is really good company. He is easy-going and never has a whinge! The first workshop was about Herbs. The kids got to make an egghead with mustard seed,

grind up their own pesto with a mortor and pestle (think I spelt that right??), put the pesto on rice paper with some yummy veges and eat it all up - Dan made 2 so guess who got one too??

Then they got to pot up their own herbs to take home. Daniel chose rocket, chives and basil - yummo!!

At the end of the workshop, there was a little competition for the funkiest apron. Daniel and I were so amazed that he won third prize. He was wearing the free apron I got off the front of a magazine years ago, that he had worn to a scout camp and covered in house paint and handprints of paint!! He won 3 bunches of herbs to take home and cook with.

You just HAVE to listen to this...

This doesn't make you cry then I don't know what will!!

Susan Boyle

Don't you love serendipity.... I do. After listening to the above youtube movie, I was reading a blog with the following quote.

Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in the magic will never find it!" - Roald Dahl

That is serendipity.

Later
Kathryn

New Blog

I have started a new blog for homeschoolers. It is about computers and internet etc for homeschooling families. If you want to have a look here it is....

http://computersandhomeeducation.blogspot.com/

Cheers

Kathryn

Dr Suess

The subject I have chosen to do first for my study is called Computer Based Resources In Education. I figured that even though I don't have an actual class as such, I do have these 2 technologically minded sons that I homeschool, so thought I would enjoy this subject. I started off very tentatively as I was unsure of so many things to do with studying after finishing my first degree 25 years ago!! I'm sure I am not THAT old??

I am enjoying it now that I have decided to do what I tell the kids - be yourself and do your best!

A task we had to do was chose an historical figure we could identify with and how they would have used the internet. I couldn't think of anyone to identify with... so ended up on the internet (how appropriate!) searching for historical figures.

This is my response to the task -
I ended up choosing Theodor Suess Giesel or Dr Suess. We have many things in common - love to write, enjoy nonsensical words, love bright and wacky illustrations and always like to see a positive message in things. I think Theodor would have loved the internet. Imagine the possibilities? He could have made interactive characters come alive on the screen for millions of people. He could have surfed the net and found enough to make hundreds more crazy characters and zany drawings. Imagine what fun it would be to read his thoughts on twitter?
My lecturer ( I think that is her title) posted a reply in response and included the following poem by Dr Suess on computers. I love it... as does the rest of my Dr Suess loving family. I hope you do too?

If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port,
and the bus is interrupted as a very last resort,
and the address of the memory makes your floppy disk abort,
then the socket packet pocket has an error to report.

If your cursor finds a menu item followed by a dash,
and the double-clicking icon puts your window in the trash,
and your data is corrupted 'cause the index doesn't hash,
then your situation's hopeless and your system's gonna crash!

If the label on the cable on the table at your house,
says the network is connected to the button on your mouse,
but your packets want to tunnel on another protocol,
that's repeatedly rejected by the printer down the hall,

and your screen is all distorted by the side effects of gauss,
so your icons in the window are as wavy as a souse,
then you may as well reboot and go out with a bang,
'cause as sure as I'm a poet, the sucker's gonna hang!

When the copy of your floppy's getting sloppy on the disk,
and the microcode instructions cause unnecessary risk,
then you have to flash your memory and you'll want to RAM your ROM.
Quickly turn off the computer and be sure to tell your mom.

Don't you just love that!? Of course I had to look up what a gauss is... here is a definition.

The gauss, abbreviated as G, is the cgs unit of measurement of a magnetic field B (which is also known as the "magnetic flux density", or the "magnetic induction"), named after the German mathematician and physicist Carl Friedrich Gauss. One gauss is defined as one maxwell per square centimeter.

So now you know too!!

And a souse? souse 1 (sous) v. soused, sous·ing, sous·es. v. tr. 1. To plunge into a liquid. 2. To make soaking wet; drench. 3. To steep in a mixture, as in pickling.

Not so sure this fits the poem but then Dr Suess was reknown for his use of non-existent words!

Righto gotta go...

Ciao, Kathryn

Study Time

Well this confirmed natural learner has gone back to school! Yep I have enrolled in a Postgraduate Certificate of Education. I already have my teaching degree but thought it would be a good example to set for my children to do some serious study. If I survive the four units for this I will go on and do another four units and than when I decide to return to teaching I will have a Masters degree to wave around!!
Gregory has also enrolled in some serious study -a unit through Open Uni. He is pretty impressed with himself for starting a Uni subject at only just 15 and this has gotten him through the very steep learning curve he had to begin with. He has chosen a Philosophy subject which means there are some seriously deep and meaningful discussions going on in this house!!
Part of my Uni subject is to start a blog - woohoo I am ahead there!! About the only thing I feel ahead on though... who had the bright idea that she had time to do study??? Yikes - talk about serious committment!!
Anyway the good thing is that I won't be neglecting my blog so much now.
Ok, off to do some more study - will be back soon to fill you all in the first 2 months of the year.
Ciao, Kathryn

Interesting Start to the day

As most of you know I like to start my mornings with my breakfast in front of the computer checking my emails and blogs I read.

Today was interesting and has had me thinking all day. One friend, who I will call a friend although I don't know her very well, but have a lot of respect and admiration for, had replied to an email saying that she was having a bad day. She has CLL, which can vary in its severity and today she was obviously feeling very down. The other friend, is a special part of my teenage life and he sent me a photo taken from the balcony of his apartment in Switzerland. It was breathtaking!

I was sad that my first friend felt unwell and unhappy and wanted to cheer her up but she lives 4 hours away! The second friend I felt a little jealous of, for his gorgeous view. It made me think how important friends are and how they can affect your life without even realising it. I stopped being sad and jealous and thought about what a great life I have and how blessed I am to have a few very good close friends and many many friends all over the country who I often think of, even if I don't see them. So am now in a happy place!!

And on to other less deep and meaningful things! I am attempting to follow Becky Higgins and lots of others into the 365 day project. You have to take a photo a day for a year - yep, you heard me right - a whole year. Well I can tell you that if I can do it anyone can. I was wondering what photos I could take as we seem to go from being hermits to social bunnies here at this house. We spend weeks hanging around the house then we zip off to some gorgeous place for a week , then home again. I was thinking how boring the stay at home parts are - BUT of course, they won't be boring to the future generations. For example, it is good to document the everyday things too. At our house, Tuesday is always Pizza night. It started because Tuesday is the afternoon I take the Joey Scout Mob for an hour or so. After this I don't feel like cooking, so Gregory orders the Pizza and I collect on my way home. It is now part of our lives and worth taking a photo of!!

There is a blog I have been reading where people are putting there 365 photos but for now I think I will try to upload them here and see how I go. Here is Day 1 and Day 2, the rest are still on the camera! Not going to do very well if they stay there hey??

Day 1 - Daniel in front of the computer - he takes after his mother - he likes to check his emails and blogs first thing in the morning too.

Day 2 - Gregory having a very serious conversation about something - as only he can do. Note the glasses - he only got them on 30 Dec.

Righto off to do some things...

What a naughty little blogger I am...

I have neglected by blog for over 3 month now. Probably no-one left to read it now!! So hello if you are still checking my humble little place in the world of cyber space. See hand waving!!!

A lot has happened since then too.
I went to Qld for a month.
Caught up with all the rellies.
Organised a high school reunion which was absolutely bloody fantastic!!!
Saw my bestest friend Vicki and her family, including Nana!!
Am now a member of the Inspiration Team at The Scrap Heap Very exciting stuff!! I am so proud to be a part of the Team of awesome and inspiring ladies!!
Went to a wonderful homeschool camp with the boys over in Daylesford in Victoria.
Organised and enjoyed a lovely quiet Christmas and New Year with just the 4 of us.
A very busy three months put into less than 10 lines of text!!!

And so a new year begins.... resolutions, goals, aspirations yeah all that too!! I start goals all the time. Last year I did an Ali Edwards and chose one word to live by for the year. I can't even remember what that word was!!! Hopeless I am!! This year's word should be "FOCUS", Kathryn FOCUS!!!!!

Anyways I promise to blog more, share more photos, layouts etc.
Ciao for now!