It's Tuesday, FWIW.

I want to say a hearty and sincere 'thank you' to those of you who posted comments or sent notes of condolence about DJ. It's hard to believe she's gone - I guess I thought my sister might change her mind at the last minute, but she didn't. Not that I think she should have, only that it was so very hard for her to make the decision, and even she wasn't sure she could go through with it. My mom is handling it fairly well, but I pretty much lost it when she said, "She's at peace now." Because how did my puppy turn into an old lady? As I get older, though, it seems these reminders of our mortality keep coming ever more frequently, and I suppose that's normal, but it still stinks.

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I've been having a sort of blog-identity crisis. Is this a homeschool blog? Is it just a catch-up blog with a few of my pals? Is it a place for me to talk about pictures I've taken? Is it a place for me to write - for the sake of writing, even? Something else altogether?

Well, don't look here for an answer, 'cause I don't know either! Maybe it'll stay a mixture of all of the above, or maybe the focus will naturally whittle down to something more specific. For now, I'll just give fair warning that it's a little o' this and that, and hope the rest works out okay. Maybe I'll add headings, because of course, I can be that organized, if I try. Like that little train, right? Heh.

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HOMESCHOOL

Although I missed the specific session at the Expo, I have been intrigued by the notion of doing a version of "Hogwarts Homeschooling". I was sure that James wouldn't be at all interested (since he "hated" the first HP, refusing even to read any of the other HP books), and that it would only be appealing to Molly (who lurves HP). No matter, right? He can do his own thing, and Molly and I will have fun with this. Except, when I started reading the first HP to Molly recently, James was as captivated as Molly. He's even been taking the book and reading it again - I guess a year will change things, sometimes. Anyway, so I've been looking at all of the various HP/Hogwarts items available (there are plenty), and I hope we'll be ready to get started next week, when school officially starts for us.

"I am not a Muggle."

Speaking of school, though, I am feeling more and more compelled to withdraw from our charter and file an R-4 affidavit with the CA DOE. Basically, it is a declaration that we are our own private school, without any affiliation with any other school, such as the charter where the kids are currently enrolled. The drawback is that we lose the ability to join the school on organized field trips and enrichment classes, plus other options, like the LEGO Robotics team here. Steve isn't ready to take that step, but... I am. Since we can do it later in the year, I'll just keep it as an open option for us, if/when we choose to go down that path.

ETC.

It's too late to add more, but I am planning to share a few pictures of our not-really-new-anymore kitten, who is still freakin' adorable, especially when he runs through the house with his little kitten growl. Like he's fierce. :)