We essentially homeschool year-round. The summers here are so sweltering that I don’t want the kids outside much. Arianna gets overheated too quickly. We like to wait until autumn to take a couple weeks off before diving back into studies. By this time I am usually hard at work planningfor the new school year, but this year I just haven’t done it yet. Not a big deal, I usually plan for so much more that actually doesn’t get completed. We like to take rabbit trails when something comes up that is homeschool worthy. Next thing I know, we are working for 3 weeks on something that normally takes only one or two. Either it gets put to the side, or I think of something else to extend it. After a discussion with Arianna about what wherefore in "Wherefore art thou, Romeo" means, I decided we needed to study some Shakespeare. So I chose Romeo and Juliet. I’m not a huge fan of Shakespeare. There is a lot of bawdiness in all of his plays, and it bothers me. I love the wordsmithing (is that a word?) he accomplished, and his plays have stood the test of time, but still, I’m…

Sorry I’ve been MIA. I’ve been working on websites, and playing around with website software. It is quite fun, believe me. I should have been doing this much, much sooner. Anyway, I thought that I would go back to featuring free resources. Most of the time, I can’t really think of any. However, it just dawned on me that there might be people out there that might be interested in this. I discovered a Content Management Software that I think is fantastic. It is open source, so there is no cost involved. Do you have server space? If you do, this software is for you. You install it on your server, set it up, apply a template, and voila, you have a dynamic website all ready to add your content to. The components available as add-ons are numerous. There is no way you could install all of them, there are so many. Most add-ons are also open source, but there are also commercial add-ons. What is this wonderful software? Joomla! The community support is excellent. I highly recommend it. Some other quite useful software is PHPBB3 for setting up a forum, Gallery 2 for a photo gallery, and WordPress for…

. . . or What Else Can Happen? Seriously, folks, I’m doing alright. I’ve had some health issues that I hope are on being resolved. It’s a slow road, and a hard one I suppose. As you know, I’ve been developing bronchitis quite a bit this past year. It’s now been over a month since I last developed it, so hopefully I won’t be getting it again any time soon. I was recently diagnosed with a moderate case of sleep apnea. After two sleep studies, and a couple of weeks, I received my new CPAP machine. I think it is helping, but I’m still trying to get used to the mask and side effects of the air going down my windpipe. Hopefully this treatment will get me the much needed rest that has been so far eluding me. On top of the sleep apnea, I just found out that I have high blood sugar. I’m sure that’s one of the reasons I haven’t been feeling very well. I’m trying to make modifications to my eating habits. Sometimes it’s hard because it’s so much cheaper to buy potatoes, white rice, and pasta. What with the price of gas, we are barely…

****Spoiler Warning**** I am an avid reader. I love books, and the books that I love have been read numerous times. (Should I say at least 30 times in my life?) There are very few books that capture my imagination like the Chronicles of Narnia. Everytime I read them, I find something new that paints a picture of God’s abounding Godness to me. (Okay, Godness is not a real word, but I couldn’t come up with any other.) In C. S. Lewis’ wonderful storytelling, I gain insight into the Real Aslan in such a simple, yet multi-faceted way. The books stand for themselves. They don’t need to be fleshed out. They don’t need to have more excitement added to them. Having seen The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in theaters, and on DVD, I do know that the screenwriter(s) and director like to "up the ante" by adding ridiculous scenes that are so unlike C. S. Lewis’ stories. However, I was able to stomach those intrusions because they got so much stuff right. Not so in Prince Caspian. I wasn’t actually timing it, but it did seem as if there was an entire hour’s worth of drivel that had…