The comments from my last post were *very* interesting to read thru.  Ok, here is my next question.  Do you actually know
anybody who has been thru the courtship/non dating process?  I'm
actually working on a project along these lines and would like some
case studies to look at.  Yes, I'm serious.

I'd also be interested in knowing what garbonzo beans are supposed to
be and where they come from exactly.  They're weird little
critters but they taste mighty fine.

Love Jenefer Igarashi Who STILL Hasn't Accomplished Anything Packing Related

January 17th, 2006 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments

I cringe when friends or relatives ask my kids (or
other little kids) “Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?”

Why is this insanity so prevalent even in the church? It is actually a relatively new phenomena within the last 300 years.  *Dating* is something that Americans and
Europeans developed and perfected.  Honestly, what is the point of allowing
children to participate in these types of potentially dangerous
relationships?  What does it teach them?  These kids end up knitting
their hearts together and then later ripping them apart and then they move on
to the next relationship experience… yet pieces of their heart are inevitably left with
their last ‘partner’.  If you don’t think
that is true, imagine your husband’s ex girlfriend showing up at your next
homeschool meeting — there is anxiety there because we know a bond was formed that should belong to us alone(either physically and/or emotionally).  I don’t want those bonds formed for my kids until they get
married.   

I think dating primarily teaches kids how to prepare for break up and
divorce.  It provides an outlet for exploration that should be reserved
solely for marriage.  Why mess with it?  Why encourage it?  Am I the only one out here who feels like
this?  Do you let your kids date?

January 15th, 2006 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments

Isn't that exciting?  Yep, it came in
the mail.  A voucher for me and geo for $1600 to use for a
Carribean cruise (don't tell me if I spelled that wrong).  So
anyways, alls I needed to do was call this 800 number and collect my
free cruise, I think. I'll never know for certain because I put my free
cruise voucher down to go to the bathroom and then I took a nap and
when I woke up, *poof* it was gone.  That's what happens if you
leave anything of any size or of any semi-importance laying around the
Pigarashi house.  It gets sucked away and lost in the clutter
within seconds. 

On a side note, I was asked how 'Geo' was pronounced.  It is not
actually pronouncable because it is only used in writing.  I see
it in my head as Gee Oh.  But nobody calls him that.  It's
just shorter to type 'Geo' than Geoff, and it looks sort of cool. 
In real life I actually call him Jefferson.  I'm sure you were
just *dying* to know that, eh? 

What do you call your husband? (or wife — Jay, I already know what you call the lovely Deb-striss)

Love Jenefer Igarashi Who Still Has Not Started Packing

January 14th, 2006 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments

Clare is cool, so this blog entry is in honor of her.  I wish I would of thought of the name Jilly Bob when my daughters were born. 

I used to live in England, on an airforce base.  And I went to a
British school when I was in the 5th grade and the only thing I learned
that year was all my lines from being Dopey in the play Snow
White.  Honestly, that is all we did there that whole entire year
was rehearse. And I suspect they made the only American in the school
“Dopey” for a reason.  Those British are clever like that. But I
still had a good time, and didn't mind being called “silly yank” at
all.  The kids at that school even wrote a poem for me that they'd
chant at recess.  It went like this:
Jenny Wright
Had A Fight
In The Middle Of The Night
Saw A Ghost With the Most
Climbing Up A Lampost

How about that? It even rhymes.  I actually miss England. 
They call cookies 'bisquits' and apartments 'flats' and trucks
'lorries' and all their naughty words do not sound like naughty words
(but I shant list any here) and they put a spot of milk in their tea
(which I adopted and still do) and they have stinger nettles and conkle
trees and gloomy weather all year round which makes the sunny days
really mean something.  Maybe someday I'll go back there for a
visit.  Can I stay at your house Clare? 

And on an ending note, you'll be delighted to know that Geo the Great
hath returned in all his glory and all my Woes fled in screaming terror
at the very instant of his glorious homecoming.  Now who wants to
come over and help me pack? We move to the farm next week.

January 13th, 2006 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 14 Comments

I’ve been asked “what
do I watch” since I find Little House On The Prairie so abhorantly gagacious.  First of all, I never said I didn’t watch it.  I just said it made me gag. And since it’s
all out in the open, I’ll also confess that we watched Anne of Green Gables, but
I still maintain that it also makes me gag. 
I mean honestly, Anne is so overly dramatic and always coming to the
rescue of older silly women who just can’t figure out life until she comes along
to enlighten their world with imagination and a flair for overdone emotional
productions.  All those weepy television dramas
that are supposed to be ‘tear jerkers’ generally make all of us roll our eyes.      

 Now as for things I
watch and actually like, let me see.  Well,
first of all, we aint don’t got no TV, so that cuts out quite a bit of choices.  But truly, as Lynan mentioned, Leave It To
Beaver is indeed a golly swell program
that I enjoy in small doses. When we did have a TV I liked watching the news
and Kings games.  Stop yawning.  It was great enjoyment.  As for movies, one of my favorite movies is
The Village – it’s simply the coolest movie ever.  I also liked a couple of Jimmy Stewart
movies. Anyhow, now that we’re on a ‘what do you watch’ kick, tell me what your
favorite movie of all time is so I can rent something interesting this week
when Geo gets home.

By the way, my house is entirely non-packed due to the most
sublimely awful week I’ve had all year.

January 11th, 2006 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments

I am just flubbergated at the responses
from my last entry — specifically, I'm referring to the unbelievable
affection you homeschoolers have for Little House on the Prairie. 
SNAP OUT OF IT!  You people can't be serious!  I am so
disappointed.  It was bad enough when I found out the ridiculous
fondness you HSBers had for MUSICALS <gag cough sputter choke heave
snort barf >, but to have this in conjunction with an attraction for
Little House On The Prairie is just unbearable… I just don't know if
I can take it. Tell me you jest; don't break my heart, my achey breaky
heart.  Next you'll be raving about how much you like dumb old
Anne From Greene Gables and (shudder) Mary Poppins.  Golly
Jeepers, how can I go on knowing the truth about you (with the
exception of my fellow Little House hater allies, kentuckyjourney and jayfromcleveland and MaggieHogan and hippiechyck and lynan ) The rest of you all need a sound whippin' and a dose of castor oil without a spoonful of sugar. 

Lastly, I'd like to express the deep abiding abhorrance I have for
accidentally inhaling my own hair.  I'm not entirely sure, but it
may be time for a haircut.

January 10th, 2006 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments

Having the stomach flu is not all bad.
I mean, when else do you get to lay around and watch 15 consecutive
hours of Little House On The Prairie and lose about ten pounds in the
process?  Speaking of Little House On The Prairie, am I the only
one in the world who thinks it is lame-O times two?  Especially
that Almonzo, what a twit.  And it's laced with silly social
messages that were popular in the 70s and 80s.  But they do have
super groovin' back-then-bonnets so I reckon they get some points for
that. 

By the way, did you get your “why I homeschool” entries in for the big huge homeschool carnival that is being hosted on the Front Porch?
If you haven't, then you ought.

January 9th, 2006 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments

Homeschooling for my family is not just about academics.  One of the things that drew us to homeschooling ten years ago was the ‘togetherness /family mentality’ it offered.

200 years ago, homeschooling was more common than not.  The
pioneers, the pilgrims, and the families who struck out to explore the
world together educated their children along they way.  They accomplished amazing things with no small amount of hard work, and a dependence on one another.  But what sticks out the most to me, was that they did it together.  They learned together and they worked together and they discovered life and God’s wonders side by side.  That is a dream of mine.  I look at the world now and wonder if I was born in the wrong century.  I am not content to conform myself to the normal ‘way things are done’ nowadays.  I
do not want to trade my children in for a career; I do not want my
husband to be traded away to live the majority of his life in a little
cubicle growing pasty and gray alongside other men and women who are
trapped in the same cage.  Our dream was to
have Dad working with our sons and daughters, putting in a good days
work using the muscles that God gave him (and them).  And to have the children also working alongside Mom tending to the garden, cooking, baking and keeping the house together. together  I only get them for a short time.  I want to make the most of it.

My family was so blessed when Geoff got the opportunity to leave the corporate world and come home.  And
now we are even more blessed to have bought our dream place, our own
little homestead with a pond stocked with fish, woods stocked with deer
and turkey, a large garden plot, and an orchard full of peach, pear,
apple and plum trees.  It is truly an incredible gift that we hope to take full advantage of.  Yes, I admit, I am a homestead wannabe who probably has no idea of the challenges and struggles and hardships ahead.  However, I take great confidence in knowing that is exactly how I felt when we first began to homeschool.  Clueless, nervous, and unsure… yet so excited and grateful for the amazing adventure ahead of us.  I
hope our dreams of having a homestead will be as fulfilling and
precious as our homeschool experience has been (and continues to be!)
It has been really fun for me to have found so many homeschool families
who are also moving back home and carving out their own little
homesteads.  It will be an adventure to see how the next chapter of our lives plays out 'on the farm'.

Homesteadblogger.com has been a great place for me to begin my homestead education, just as Homeschoolblogger.com has been a tremendous encouragement to meet and learn from likeminded friends.  I’ll keep things updated on my blogs as I go.  I think it will fun (for both me and the kids) to read through years later and remember these very exciting times.

January 8th, 2006 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments

We fled Sewer Flats; I am at this moment
typing this entry on my laptop from higher and less smelly
ground.  Once again the murky waters rose up from the depths and
chased us from our rental.  Paul and Gena are out of town and I have their four little monsters, so it was a mighty good dang diggity dang thing that Coie
got the tire changed on the Igmobile.  We all piled into the car,
which had four fully functional tires, and came to live at the Suarez
house for the night. Before we left I called the landlord's office (for
the fourth time in the last thirty days) and said,
   
“CAN YOU PLEASE COME OVER HERE AND FIX
THE SEWER SINCE IT IS FILLING UP MY BATHTUB WITH NASTIES AND LEAKING
ALL OVER THE FLOOR AGAIN???”  cept for a little louder and in a more annoyed sounding voice.

And his wife said, “mmm hmmm. kin yeh hold please?”
tap tap tap went my foot till she came back to tell me in a very
irritated voice of her own, “well we jest caint make it out right
now.  I kin git someone out thayer sometime in the mornin
mehbee”.  To
my credit I did not saying anything mean or loud or smart alecky, nor
did I reach thru the line and choke her with the dental floss I keep in
my purse…

Geoff does not come back until next Friday.  Good golly I hope
they get the sewer partially fixed again so I can go back and keep
packing tomorrow.

The only bright spot in my day (besides the box of Japanese goodies that my sister in law sent me from CA) was TC's entry today. 
Wow, it is comforting to know that there are other, strange, random
fruity nutloafs in the world.  Thanks for thinking of us today,
TC. 

Love Jenefer Igarashi Who Is Entirely Too Cold Because Gena's Dumb Old Heater Is Broke. 

January 6th, 2006 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments

Yep, whenever Geo is gone I have bad luck.
Today the sewer started backing up again and the tire on our van went
flat. No, scratch that… it didn't just go flat, it like exploded or
something.  It look like it got attacked by a rabid mountain
lion.  Coie
was like, “I think I can fix that with some Fix-a-Flat”.  she's a
funny little toad.  So now she's out there with the car all jacked
up and she is trying to change the tire herself.  wow, i would
never try that. Geoff is the best Daddems in the world to teach her how
to do all that stuff.  I wish I had some pictures of her out there
trying to wrench the bolts loose.  This should be
entertaining.  Updates to follow….

January 5th, 2006 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments