Coffee Table Books, No Coffee Table.

Tried to take care of a few things today after school. One thing was to take some books and toys to the attic. I love books. I am not a voracious reader, like my wife. I love to read, but more than that I just love to have them around. When I was in college, if I went on a weekend retreat, I would usually bring 5 books with me. Not school books, mind you, just books. I would then wind up buying 4-5 more books at the retreat. This probably explains why our bookshelves are so overcrowded.

One problem we have with our bookshelf is that we have a number of coffee table books, and no coffee table. The problem is that these coffee table books are over sized and don't fit naturally in any of the book shelves, save the bottom ones. This of course is a problem, as puppy can easily take them out of said shelves.

One partial solution I have found to the book over crowding is a little thing called paper back swap. It is an on line paper back (and hardcover) exchange system. Today, I took a number of books from our shelves (many purchased at those weekend retreats) and listed them at paper back swap.

If someone wants a book. I mail it to them at my expense and then I get a free credit for a book. I listed 15 books an hour ago and already have 1 book to send out.

My wife doesn't see this as much of an accomplishment. As I am either spending money to get rid of books or adding more books to the household.

So far, all of my "purchases" have been on school books I would have needed anyway. Today was an especially good book as I was able to order a book that has been out of print for more than a decade. Our co-op skits class is using one of the stories from the as a final project this fall and another one this spring. This way we won't have to borrow it from a local college library. I will blog more about this book once I get my hot little hands on it.

If you look directly below you will see a link to the books I am giving up.






Well, that's enough about books and exchange rates and all that. Have a great evening.

Keith Time: Time For Jeopardy

Not Much. what's a woodchuck with you?

On the way home from Awana today, my son asked me why a woodchuck is called a woodchuck. I told him, I did not know but would find out.

And the thing is I did . . .




groundhog day! Originally uploaded by NapaneeGal


I originally thought that woodchuck was just an informal version of Wood Charles. It turns out, a woodchuck is just another name for a groundhog. It comes from the Indian name for groundhogs and other similar animals, wujak. The name evolved into woodchuck. I don't believe the animal evolved, but I can believe the name did.

I also found out that woodchuck isn't the only alternate name for groundhog. There is also Land Beaver and Whistle Pig. It reminds me of that old tongue twister (I just made up):

How many names would a ground hog have if a ground hog could ground names?

Keith Time: Memories From the Funeral Part I

Sunday at the Rollers

And now, a word from our sponsor....

What does Sunday at the Roller's house look like? Maybe much like your house. Wake up, make breakfast, run around getting everyone cleaned and dressed for church. Go to church. Enjoy worship, preaching, and announcements about our pastor search. During second service, divide up into our various classes where we're serving. Don't forget the donuts. Get home by 1:30. Have a nice relaxing lunch, then everyone scatters for their Sunday down time. Some are reading, some are playing Lego's, some are watching tv, some are sorting coins, some are devising ways to get the others involved in her dramatic/comedic play that they will write later. Sundays are generally spent doing all of these things. Then, someone remembers that the fish are almost out of water (they tend to die if we use tap water), and we're almost out of tp and dishwasher soap. So, a quick run to Walmart to pick up the essentials. Obviously, a LOT of other families had the SAME idea! Not before the dog and sheep dramatic/comedic plays. Some of us had better roles than others: Dad and older sister were crawling around as either dogs or sheep, younger sister (author and director) also "got to" crawl around as dog and sheep, brother was the clown to make the animals happy (did his job with gusto) and mom had the cushy role of looking for the lost dogs and lost sheep. Evening spent watching Hulu: Extreme Home Makeover, and Supernanny. More coin sorting by some. Oops! Forgot to have dinner. Dad to the rescue, picks up our favorites! Thanks dad! One more Sunday gone by...tune in next week for another episode of As the Rollers Roll...

Keith Time: The International impact of Keith Part II

Six words for vote for me @ HSBA

http://www.showmyface.com/ has arguably the best blog meme ever. Six Word Saturday is all that and a bag of chips infinity. It is also one of the few memes with a day in it that doesn't broadcast a day before it's name sake. WTG in the truth in advertising game, Show my Face!

My Six Words today could easily be surmised from the above button. But I'll be glad to reiterate . (reiterate v. - To iterate again) :

2010 Homeschool Blog Awards. Vote Now!

The HSBA Post is again hosting the awards. There is about a week to vote and for the purpose of full disclosure, my blog is nominated in 2 0f the 20 categories. Yes, I have been nominated for best Home School Dad blog again this year. Since the name of my blog is Home School Dad, you'd think I'd be a shoe-in. Tell that to Families Again who won last year. I say vote for me and let him win Best Families Again Blog.

And as surprising as it may sound considering the last paragraph, I am also up for funniest home school blog. You can vote for me by clicking here. I strongly urge that you browse all the categories. You may find some new favorites (fav-o-rites n. Irish Rapper).

To get back to more Six Word Saturday or just to get away from me click here.

Keith Time: A Summertime Remembrance