Back from Vacation

I am back from a week at the beach with my family. I saw both my sisters and their kids. And, of course, my parents, who are looking very tan and fit from living in Florida.

I went to a cute quilt shop in Port Saint Lucie, whose name is escaping me at the moment. It is right on Route 1. I picked up a cute purse pattern designed by Kimura in Jensen Beach, Florida.

I have been seriously unpacking this week. I got my cookbooks unpacked and shelved. I am a cookbook fanatic, so there were lots of them to put away. I also rearranged the kids' playroom and family room in the basement so both are more usable. I set up a huge table on one side of the family room for crafting. It doubles as a great place to baste quilts.

Tomorrow starts the tax holiday weekend in Georgia, so I will take the kids to get their school supplies. I love school supply shopping. I am also going to get some arts and crafts stuff for the craft table in the basement.

It is strange to be starting a new school year in a new place. I used to know everyone and was very involved. Now I don't know very many people, although the ones I know are the very involved ones because I met them a PTA Council events. I do plan to take a step back this year. Last year I edited both the weekly and quarterly newsletter for my son's school. While it was very time consuming, I did know everything that was going on. I also had a good relationship with most of the teachers and all the administration of the school. Now I am starting fresh in two schools. However, with children who need gifted services, it does not take long to get to know the staff and administration of a school. Excellent gifted services is one of the key reasons my children are in public school.

I have started collecting my "afterschooling" curriculum. (I have a friend who homeschools and she made up that term for me...) Today I picked up the new kids' version of Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Lynne Truss. I loved the adult version of the book and saw this one on The Today Show yesterday. I looked at a couple of other things at Borders, but didn't find anything that impressed me. Next week, I will go to the teacher supply store to see what I can find. I want to do a lot with oceans and marine life since we have season passes to the aquarium. I also want to find some things on energy since my kids loved visiting the nuclear plant in Port Saint Lucie. My oldest was won over by nuclear power. So Debra, if you are reading this, can you point me to some interesting things about oil and petroleum since I know you are connected to that industry?

Rian's peach crisp is in the oven as I type. I found Georgia peaches in the grocery this week, so I am making it. Living in Georgia, I feel weird using California peaches...

Debra posted some beautiful Quilts of Valor that she and her mom have worked on. It is such a worthwhile project, and one that will go on for some time, I am sure. Check out what she did.

Tracey has been canning, which I have never done. My mom used to, though. I am hoping to get to Little Quilts for some repro fabrics to bribe her for some blackberry syrup and preserves...