Term Three: Week Two ~ New Hobbies

 

A good place to start with my blog reporting this week is with the reading we did. As we slowly get back into the routine of the school term, we were able to finish two books this week. The last of the books about body systems that I was reading primarily to Munchkin, and an adult non-fiction book about cells, ("The Cell: A Visual Tour of the Building Block of Life" by Jack Challoner). This book was a re-read for me as I read it aloud to Monster about four years ago. Since then I have discovered the wonderful books of Siddhartha Mukherjee and learned that there are better ways to write about such academic (and seemingly dry) subjects as cells. So this book was a bit of a disappointment to Monkey and he only scored it three stars. The bonus of this book is that it includes fascinating photographs of a variety of different cells and the boys did enjoy that aspect of the reading the most.

Another fun photography session in the garden after church Sunday morning.

Sunday late afternoon Munchkin and I took a quick walk around the block - managing two laps before it started to get too dark. We spotted a couple of gorgeous Rainbow Lorikeets in a tree who were kind enough to allow me a couple of photos. The sky was just gorgeous as we headed home after our second lap.

Munchkin has decided to learn how to crochet. I only knit these days, but still own a couple of hooks, so I loaned him one, along with a skein of white yarn, and with the help of YouTube tutorials he was off and running. The top two photos were his first attempts on Monday and he improved very quickly through the day. I put some books on reserve at the library, and during a shopping trip mid week he purchased some little kits that interested him. Stay tuned for progress reports as his learning continues.

Friday was a solo trip to the library for me as we are still unsure what the boys are doing about youth group this term. The family that normally hosts them for dinner and transports them to and from group have some scheduling issues so while we work out the best solution for everyone involved, the boys have spent Friday afternoon and evening at home. This is the book haul photo once I got home. I had a bunch of errands to run besides the library so took NO photos while I was out. Munchkin's crochet books are here, plus a pile of picture books for another author study, and some independent reading selections for Munchkin perched on top.

The happy library bookshelf!

School books... stay tuned for the author study in upcoming blog posts.

My independent reading selections. I borrowed NO new books for myself this week as I still have all these to work through. Several of them MUST be returned to the library by 4th September so I have some work to do.

Garden photos! One of our succulents is blooming (left) and hubby was gifted a second chilli plant (there are actually three separate plants in this pot) and you can just see a tiny cream coloured flower on the right side - so we SHOULD have our first chilli soon.

Saturday afternoon Munchkin and I headed out for another walk. He walks independently during the week, but on the weekends I like to join him if my schedule allows. Originally we were just going to do a couple of laps around the block but then we decided on an "exploring" walk. We roamed around a bunch of side streets we don't normally explore and just made decisions as to which way to go on the spur of the moment. I enjoyed snapping interesting photos along the way. These two were of least interest to Munchkin as he finds bare trees in winter boring - but I find them beautiful, even on a mostly cloudy day.

More beautiful grevillea (this time a bright yellow) and these tiny little pink flowers growing in amongst another plant.

We visited two of the four Little Free Libraries that are within easy walking distance of our house. I may be returning to the one on the left to grab those Ken Follett books but need to check if my libraries still have copies first.

Munchkin was thrilled to find an old wooden "fence" to walk along. He much prefers them to the newer ones they are replacing these with, as these old round ones are easier to balance on and walk along. We found a park we never knew existed, complete with playground equipment. Munchkin was thoroughly disappointed to discover he is really too big to properly play on the equipment these days, but he thought the climbing ropes were super cool.

The beautiful park we chanced upon...

We enjoy noticing different styles of houses and gardens when we are out walking. I LOVE Hibiscus and I'm so pleased with how this photo turned out. In order to take the photo I had to stand at a strange angle AND use the zoom on my phone camera which almost NEVER turns out this clear. We also found this Prickly Pear plant growing complete with a fruit. The plants are invasive and considered a pest in this country, but there are certain species you are allowed to grow. 

Three walks this week - NOT in the order they were taken - but this shows Sunday, then Saturday, then Wednesday for shopping.

Pleased with my Duolingo streak.

SUPER proud of my Wordle work this week. I currently have a 31 day streak and I feel like I'm finding my groove with solving the puzzles each day. I'm determined to beat my past streak of 35 days so stayed tuned next week for the report.

Books I Read in July

 

Somehow it is the last day of July and therefore it is time for me to share about all the wonderful books I read over the past thirty-one days. As the boys had their two week winter break at the beginning of the month, there were well more independent reads than read alouds this month. This was a fiction heavy month as well. Here are a few thoughts about these wonderful books.

"The Invention of Wings" and "The Secret Life of Bees", both by Sue Monk Kidd, were exceptional books that truly surprised me. They exceeded my expectations and received five stars and four stars respectively. I have now added other titles of hers to my to be read list as I want to experience more of her magical writing ability.

"Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul" and "Farewell to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul", both by Deborah Rodriguez, were the second and third books in her trilogy based on her time living and working in Afghanistan. Though fiction, they were so beautifully written that you felt the characters were real. I am looking forward to reading other titles by this author as well and I awarded these books four stars each.

"The Opera House" by Peter FitzSimons was my one buddy read with my mom this month. We absolutely loved the book, his writing is fabulous, and we really enjoyed learning about the construction of one of Australia's most iconic buildings. A five star read for sure.

"9 Months That Count Forever", written by Jessie Inchauspe, was an excellent book about a mother's eating habits during pregnancy. Just as we should be mindful of our sugar and grain based carbohydrate intake throughout life, and the consequent glucose and insulin spikes our choices incur, we should be extra aware of our glucose and insulin spikes during pregnancy as they directly affect the baby. I have enjoyed Inchauspe's previous books and found myself wishing this book was available when I was pregnant with my boys. I gave it four stars.

I enjoyed two Agatha Christie novels this month. "The Secret Adversary" and "The Moving Finger". I awarded them four and five stars respectively and read "The Moving Finger" in one day. It has been a couple of years since I have read a book start to finish in just one day.

"Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston was my biggest disappointment this month. It has been on my to be read list for years. I gave it 3.5 stars and wished that I could have enjoyed it more. It wasn't a horrible book, just not what I was expecting, and therefore not a fabulous read.

"James" by Percival Everett was a simultaneous independent read whilst I also read aloud "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain to the boys as part of their literature. It was interesting to read the story from Jim's perspective, and I gave the book four stars, but the ending threw me a little bit.

Finally, I finish with two five star reads which are featured in the middle of my collage. "One Hundred Days" by Alice Pung and "Poems & Prayers" by Matthew McConaughey. The Alice Pung book was excellently written and did a fabulous job of describing the cultural clashes that can occur in family life. Matthew McConaughey's book was another quick read and I loved experiencing the creativity in his poems and prayers that he has committed to paper throughout his life. I will be looking to acquire my own copy of this book as I believe it deserves a place on my forever bookshelf. Right alongside his memoir "Greenlights".

July was a wonderful reading month and I'm looking forward to more amazing books in August and throughout the rest of this year.

I always enjoy the monthly wrap-up graphics that Storygraph creates for me at the end of a month. It is interesting to see the visual representation of all my reading.

Last but not least, the two books I read aloud to the boys this month. They have already featured in my Weekly Review posts but I always include the monthly collage here as a reminder.

Term Three: Week One ~ Chaos and Celebration

 It was an interesting first week to the new term. We had a decent enough start, and I feel like we will achieve much, but it definitely could have gone better. We had some dramas: an infected finger for hubby and frustrations with replacing a household appliance, but we survived the week. We ended with Monkey's 17th birthday on Saturday and I reflected on the passing of time. It is hard to believe that I will soon have a household of grown men, not little boys.

Despite the loss of our wonderful friends from the other congregation, and the lack of their wonderful gardening skills, the flowers at church are thriving. I took some time after church to photograph some of my favourites. The bees were enjoying the lavender and were so busy with their job that they ignored me and my camera.

We had no errands to run after church, and my batch cooking went faster than usual, so there was time for a walk with Munchkin Sunday afternoon. The agave plant was blooming beautifully and we found this gorgeous orange grevillea plant as well.

Monday was a soft start with reading aloud only. I had plans of starting our newest David Attenborough DVD but we ended up sticking with just the reading. This is the stack of what we started on Monday. The rest of the week was much the same. With some of the other dramas throughout the week, we stuck with reading aloud and on a couple of days only managed the Bible and Book of Virtues. Hopefully week two will go a bit more smoothly.

We're back to spotting and photographing lonely Lime bike helmets. I have actually seen several over the school holidays but wasn't ever able to photograph them. So I was excited when I spotted this one on my walk to the shopping centre for groceries early Friday morning.

We finished off several books this week. The series along the left is primarily for Munchkin and there is one more book left to read. He is doing a unit study on cells (mainly) and body systems (secondarily) and these books are a great place to start. They are below his level, and the humour in them is groan worthy, but they have solid information and we will branch out to more detailed books from here. 

The picture book was a random find at the library as it was on display and the beautiful illustration on the front cover caught my eye. I had never heard of this particular bird before and we enjoyed learning more about it as we read the book and enjoyed the gorgeous pictures.

I finished on Saturday!!

My walks for the week. Two walks to the shops for groceries and the short walk with Munchkin Sunday afternoon. Ideally I would like to extend our Sunday afternoon walks if we can as that was a bit on the short side for my liking.

I had a GREAT Wordle week. I now have a 25 day streak AND I earned that badge you can see above! I didn't even know there were awards within Wordle. I've been concentrating much better with Wordle and not rushing to solve the puzzle. Hopefully I can keep my streak going.