Try as I might, posting at regular intervals seems to be a goal that is simply out of my reach. I inevitably fail.
Looking back over the past couple of weeks, two events undermined my success. First, hot weather arrived here in Northern California, making our irrigation system's inadequacy all too obvious. As a result, we've been reworking old drip lines and watering large parts of our yard and vegetable garden by hand in the evenings. Unfortunately, our vegetables and fruit and nut trees are not better for our efforts. I normally write posts at night, so watering has seriously cut into my blog time. Fortunately, we've hired someone to create an irrigation plan that matches our limited water supply to our large yard. With luck, watering will be easier next summer.
Second, we pulled the plug on the television and all computer games. I wrote that we intended to shut off our television several months ago, but our provider made Jerry an offer he couldn't refuse in the late spring when he called to cancel. Still, as this summer progressed, it became increasingly apparent that the boys merely tolerated every activity we attempted until they could get home and play games or watch TV. So, we canceled our service a few weeks ago and banned all computer game playing as an experiment.
So far, I like the results. Landry returned to reading voraciously again. Kipp is building more. And Galen has stopped demanding Magic School Bus reruns as if they were his God-given right. All have a renewed interest in board games.
The only downside (and I have a hard time terming it a downside) is that the boys seem to need me to help keep them busy. That, again, cuts into my blog-posting time. I wonder if this is a phase that will correct itself as the boys adjust to life without television and computer games? Either way, however, I like the result.
Last of all, we did get in one wonderful family trip to Tahoe. Because of our property and animals, it's hard for us to stay away longer than a night. However, we rented a cottage at Rustic Cottage Resort in Tahoe Vista. I cannot recommend this place highly enough. Of course, free homemade waffles and muffins with fresh orange juice and coffee each morning and fresh cookies and brownies with lemonade and coffee throughout the day generally gets my attention.
Once we set up a base camp at the cottage, we headed out for a several mile hike in the area around Mt. Rose. The fields of wildflowers were simply amazing. Later, we returned to the cottage and headed across the street to a surprisingly quiet public beach. The boys played in the lake, looking for fish and crawdads and building sand structures, while Jerry and I drank in the lovely views. The next day, we returned home in time for the night feeding.
So, that's where we've been for the last few weeks. I hope all of you are enjoying your summer as much as we are.
Looking back over the past couple of weeks, two events undermined my success. First, hot weather arrived here in Northern California, making our irrigation system's inadequacy all too obvious. As a result, we've been reworking old drip lines and watering large parts of our yard and vegetable garden by hand in the evenings. Unfortunately, our vegetables and fruit and nut trees are not better for our efforts. I normally write posts at night, so watering has seriously cut into my blog time. Fortunately, we've hired someone to create an irrigation plan that matches our limited water supply to our large yard. With luck, watering will be easier next summer.
Second, we pulled the plug on the television and all computer games. I wrote that we intended to shut off our television several months ago, but our provider made Jerry an offer he couldn't refuse in the late spring when he called to cancel. Still, as this summer progressed, it became increasingly apparent that the boys merely tolerated every activity we attempted until they could get home and play games or watch TV. So, we canceled our service a few weeks ago and banned all computer game playing as an experiment.
So far, I like the results. Landry returned to reading voraciously again. Kipp is building more. And Galen has stopped demanding Magic School Bus reruns as if they were his God-given right. All have a renewed interest in board games.
The only downside (and I have a hard time terming it a downside) is that the boys seem to need me to help keep them busy. That, again, cuts into my blog-posting time. I wonder if this is a phase that will correct itself as the boys adjust to life without television and computer games? Either way, however, I like the result.
Last of all, we did get in one wonderful family trip to Tahoe. Because of our property and animals, it's hard for us to stay away longer than a night. However, we rented a cottage at Rustic Cottage Resort in Tahoe Vista. I cannot recommend this place highly enough. Of course, free homemade waffles and muffins with fresh orange juice and coffee each morning and fresh cookies and brownies with lemonade and coffee throughout the day generally gets my attention.
Once we set up a base camp at the cottage, we headed out for a several mile hike in the area around Mt. Rose. The fields of wildflowers were simply amazing. Later, we returned to the cottage and headed across the street to a surprisingly quiet public beach. The boys played in the lake, looking for fish and crawdads and building sand structures, while Jerry and I drank in the lovely views. The next day, we returned home in time for the night feeding.
So, that's where we've been for the last few weeks. I hope all of you are enjoying your summer as much as we are.
We have not had television access for 16 of the 17 years we have been married. Our kids have no idea what it is like to have a wide variety of viewing options. We have always had videos available and try to limit the time spent watching them. We have a good supply of documentaries around that the kids enjoy. That said, I have found myself allowing them more time viewing repeat videos when I need time for me (especially since we started schooling at home). I'm hoping I can follow your lead to stop that! My older son will often choose books over the tv, but the younger one (who is just starting to read) loves watching the videos. I need to bite the bullet and pull the plug. Thanks for the inspiration!