I love this song!!

I love beautiful music with power. For me this song fits this criteria. It has a sweetness to it, but is very powerful. As a bonus, it is right in my singing range. I am a strong alto, so most songs are either too high or too low. This one is perfect; he must be a baritone. I still have not yet figured out how long I can listen to it before I get tired of it.



Viva La Vida alternative video

Sailing Day

When we left Bremerton, we had to sell our 25 foot boat. It was a good boat. I miss it.

We were still able to bring our dingy but we don't use much now. Our family is too big, and it is too slow for Jonny.

So when we came to Arizona, Jonny found a 16 foot catamaran. It is fast and fun. You can get wet, so you only want to sail it in good weather. So that what does that mean for here? Well Winter is OUT! The lakes are frozen, if not frozen, the water is still way too cold. They don't really warm up until May. But then the wind is blowing constantly. 25-50 miles an hour is way too much for this little boat. Then when the wind stops the monsoons start. So you have a few hours in the morning before the lightning starts. I don't know about you, but I'm not very fond of sailing in a thunder storm. Once the monsoons are over the wind starts again and everything cools off again. We end up with a few good days a year, some of which Jonny doesn't have to work.

Yesterday was one of them. Jonny took me, just the two of us, sailing. It was great. A warm wind was blowing. The direction changed a lot, but it was steady. Jonny had rigged up a trapeze so I got to hang out over the edge. It was so much fun. Having the trapeze made the boat more stable and we could go a lot faster than I had before. Then the only problem was that we ran out of water quickly. We need a bigger lake!! But a fun, fun day.

What is TJed?

In my homeschooling I have been greatly influenced by a book called A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century, By Oliver Van DeMille. This approach is commonly referred to as “TJed.” In my community several families who also have been influenced by this book have banded together and started a homeschool group for support and social outlets. We are open to all, and although the majority of the group does follow the principles described in DeMille’s book, not everyone does. We have often had people come for a park day or two and not come back. That is fine, if we are not a good fit for their family, I would encourage them to keep looking.
Recently we had a new family come to our park day. The question of what is TJed came up. The group turned to me and asked “Flora, what was it you said the other day? You summed it up well.” “I did? If it was good, someone should have written it down!” So I will try to sum it up and write it down.
“TJed is a classical, mentored approach to education incorporating the principals of freedom with accountability.”
That is my one sentence answer. The problem with a one sentence answer is that it produces more questions. I’ll try to answer some of those later.