LFLF Editor's Blog

A Few Good Stories

Kenzie's cold took a turn for the worse at the same time I started feeling mostly human again.  Last night his ear began to hurt, and by midnight, the pain had intensified dramatically.  He couldn't get comfortable, and the pain medicine he'd taken wasn't doing the trick.  We decided to watch some late-night TV.  Of course, there was nothing on, so we popped in The Princess Bride instead, quoting and laughing through the pain ("Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die"), and by the time it was over, his eardrum had ruptured, giving him some peace.

He felt well enough this morning to attend a wonderful performance by Jim Weiss, our favorite storyteller.  Starting with "The Tortoise and the Hare," Mr. Weiss entertained dozens of homeschooling families for almost three hours.  He was animated and joyful, and he was extremely kind to the kids, who ranged in age from infants to teens.  Kenzie's favorite stories?  The last two he told: Archimedes and the golden crown and Hercules and the Erymanthian boar.  We bought one of the cds we didn't have - She and He: Adventures in Mythology - and Kenzie had him sign it.  He's curled in bed listening to it now. 

"Creative Writing"

Kenzie's fallen asleep surrounded by state maps spread wide across the bed.  This cold has really fallen hard on him.  I still feel awful but am able to be up and around, for the most part, cleaning the house and working on layout for the next issue.

Recently, Kenzie's been writing quite a lot - thank-you cards for birthday presents, letters to his great grandparents, and emails to a Pokemon website.  Here's the text from the first one:

my name is kenzie i need to no if you cud give me any tips how you can get the key on cinnabar islaind? iv got pokemon blue my faverit pokemon is golduck it is lv 100 and i have a charizard that is lv 100 to and i have zapdous to it is lv 72  p.s i am 8 years old and iv got thes other pokemon games pokemon red pokemon silver pokemon yelo and pokemon crystal oh got to go by _kenzie

and the second:

this is kenzie agin i need sum more help but not for pokemon blu wat type of help i need is for my pokemon crestel (lyck i includid in my last email) i need to no how do you get to palit town? i rileey hope you can anser it  p.s my fayfrit pokemon in pokemon crestel is my feraligatr spase its lv 69 and my 2 faverit pokemon is my red gyarados it is lv 30 oh got to go now by _ kenzie

I don't think he'll get a reply (goodness only knows how many emails this site receives), but he says he doesn't mind; he enjoyed writing the emails just for the fun of it.

Making the Rounds

Well, I knew it was coming.  I'm getting the cold that's been going around the house.  So, I've brewed some echinacea tea, and I'll be getting to bed soon.  I picked up a copy of Dorothy and Raymond Moore's book Home School Burnout (the first book of theirs that I've run across) at Goodwill this evening, so I think I'll curl up and read for a bit. 

Kenzie is in bed sniffling while playing his Gameboy.  He's drinking some hot tea and feeling awful.  Poor kiddo.  That's no way to spend Valentine's Day (or any day, come to think of it).  Terry is watching TV - something he does only when he feels terrible.  We'll see how everyone is doing tomorrow....

Birthday Cake for Breakfast

Well, the presents have been unwrapped, the pizza has been scarfed down, the candles have been blown out.  Kenzie's birthday was a roaring success, judging by the number of elated screams we heard yesterday.  Dragon books, old Pokemon Gameboy games, a magic kit, "The Voyage of the Basset," trivia games, a photo-mosaic puzzle, a build-it-yourself mechanical dinosaur (with hilarious instructions translated from Japanese), a paper airplane kit, assorted books, a magnet set, dragon tattoos....  Hooray for Goodwill!

Right now, he's playing Pokemon Blue on his Gameboy.  A present from his grandparents, it was used, of course (Pokemon Blue is quite an old game), and when he popped it in to play, he found that the last owner had a level 100 character and two level 60 characters.  What a fun surprise! 

Eight years old.  What an amazingly cool kid.

In magazine news, I'm in the thick of editing for the next issue.  In my mind, I keep calling this the "Big Thoughts" issue, as so many of the articles I've received have been truly enlightening, looking at unschooling in unique ways.  More on this later.  For now, I think I'll join Kenzie in having some birthday cake for breakfast.

Opening presents....

Walking Dinosaur translation (click to enlarge)

Tagged!

Okay, I've never been tagged before, but today, I was tagged twice - for the same "meme"!  Guess that means I need to play, huh?  Well, if it will get me back into the blogging spirit, I'm game.  Here goes:

The Four Things Meme

Four Jobs You Have Held
    1. Publisher/Editor of Live Free Learn Free (of course!)
    2. Owner of an extremely cool (if I do say so myself) coffeehouse/concert
        venue
    3. Receptionist at an eye clinic (to help me get over my near-phobia of eye
        stuff - it didn't work)
    4. Barney at children's birthday parties (my first job <shudder>)

Four Movies You Could (And Do!) Watch Over and Over
    1. Harold and Maude
    2. Sabrina (the original with Audrey Hepburn)
    3. When Harry Met Sally
    4. Harvey (Jimmy Stewart and a giant white rabbit - what else do you need?)

Four Places You Have Been on Vacation
    Oops - Never taken a vacation....

Four Websites You Visit Daily
    1. My Own (Live Free Learn Free) - I'm constantly updating it (or overhauling
        it completely)
    2. Craigslist (I'm an addict - what can I say?)
    3. Doonesbury
    4. Mothering.com discussion forums

Four of Your Favorite Foods
    1. Crackers with farmers cheese
    2. Black cherries
    3. Veggie burgers
    4. Fettuccine Alfredo

Four Places You Would Rather Be Right Now
    1. The coast of Oregon (don't know why - just always wanted to live there)
    2. The western shores of Ireland (see above)
    3. Watching a great concert (Arlo Guthrie comes to mind)
    4. Or, well, I kinda like where I am at the moment - with my child asleep in
        the next room, my glass of Merlot and apple juice (yum!) sweating on my
        desk, and the hum of the dishwasher in the kitchen....

Four Cars You Have Owned
    1. A little, red 1967 bug.  My first car, and it's still in the driveway.
    2. That's it.  Just the bug.
    3. No, really.  I've been driving it for twelve years.
    4. You should see the bumper stickers....

Four Bloggers You Are Tagging
    1. Miranda
    2. Mom Coleman
    3. Schuyler
    4. Mary Ellen