Surgical removal of Television

Some folks have TVs in every room in the house. There are special models for bedrooms, family rooms, kitchens, and game rooms. Big screens for Home Theaters, and small screens for a spare bedroom. Well, our house has only one TV, and it is pretty old. I has a built-in VHS player, and the reds wash into the blues, making for interesting pictures to watch. Anyway, Mary and I don't watch TV very much, but the kids like to turn it on sometimes.

Here is the catch. One of our kids (who will remain nameless in this post, but you know who you are...) has had some scholastic challenges this year, and has lost the electronic entertainments at our house. Everyone in the house knows what loss of electronic entertainment means. No TV viewing for the person, until the grades come back within standard. So, I've come home from work or from being out for this and that 3 times now, and found the TV on, being watched (or having been watched) by the child who knew that it was off limits.
The first time, I discussed it with Mary and decided that appropriate action would be to remove the TV from everyone, but I procrastinated on that, not wanting to inflict the lack of TV on the child who has no restrictions. When it happened the second time, I confronted the child, hoping that the child would change behavior after being confronted, saving me from having to take drastic action. For a couple of weeks this seems to have worked.
Or so I thought until today.
I came home from work, and found the kids listening to my Mannheim Steamroller V album... The same one I had listened to yesterday. Oh, and it had just started. I grew suspicious. I asked the kids if they had been watching TV. They replied, "Yes." Both kids knew that one of them was not supposed to be watching TV. The child who was not supposed to be watching TV seemed rather smug about it also. I asked them calmly and nicely what they had been watching. They said, "Sabrina". I then asked if they had enjoyed it. And again they said, "Yes."
To their credit, they didn't add lying to the situation. If only they had hit the off button on the stereo, instead of the CD button... Good ol' James wouldn't have been any the wiser...

So I came upstairs, took off my shoes, and then very calmly went back to the family room, and began to remove the TV. Both kids watched. Neither said a word. I unplugged the TV, coiled the cord around it, and picked it up and carried it downstairs. It now sits on a chair in the storage area that used to be Eliza's room. Unplugged and unwatchable.
I came back upstairs, as if this was normal, not having raised my voice, not having shouted, not having done anything but remove the TV, and apologized to the child who has now lost TV also. That child will now suffer TV loss because of the siblings disobedience.

The TV may come back when/if Mary and I want to watch a movie, but then it will be taken back downstairs. When the grades come back up to standard, the TV may come back. Until that time, the TV is officially on vacation.

Weekend Wrundown

Pardon the horrible title but I thought it was a bit cute.

Anyway, Mary and I had a slow-ish weekend. She is grading exam papers from her class, and studying for her own exams. I've been knocking about, doing the small odd jobs and little things around the house that needed doing.

Mary had a few of her coworkers ask her about being vegan and sweets. They are under the impression that Mary can't eat sweets, because nobody in the whole world knows how to make things without eggs, milk, and butter. WRONG! Mary asked me to make some of my vegan brownies to "show off" a bit. I did that, and I made a double batch of vegan fudge to go with her also. If they don't like the brownies (I'm sure they will though) they will LOVE the fudge.
I'll hear back on the treats tomorrow.

Laundry was done. Dishes washed. Kitchen tidied up. Firewood brought in. Kindling chopped. Groceries purchased. Carrots chopped into sticks. Bell peppers hacked into bite sized pieces. Hummus made. Soup for dinner last night - Mary wanted something with mushrooms and onions, so I whipped up a delicious soup for us. Dinner tonight was Spicy Mongolian Noodles.
For dessert, we enjoyed half of a freshly picked Florida orange.

Overall, a very relaxing weekend.

Fall Mulching of the "Gardens"

I spent some time scattering 5 bales of straw over the front and side gardens this morning. It had rained last night, and the leaves were nice and wet from the rain and melted snow from last week. I thought it was the perfect time to get the straw down.

This is another of my "experiments". I'm trying to see if the straw holds in enough moisture to help the leaves decompose in place, rather than raking them up. Hopefully by spring the worms will have done their thing and the mulch will have black earth under it. I know it works in the forest, I'm just helping it along a bit with the straw. I'll let you know if it works. Next year.

Mary has been working on papers for school most of the weekend. but we had a lovely break yesterday. We went to a Friends wedding. Two of the elder Friends, who had each lost a spouse, found each other and fell in love earlier this year, and now have tied the knot. The wedding was "under care of Meeting," so it was very Quakerly. I was married in the same way, since Mary is a member of the Friends Meeting. The wedding was very simple. The meeting sits in silent worship for about 15 minutes, and when the spirit moves the couple, they rise, take each other's hand, and speak their vows. Most couples write their own vows, but some use a traditional format. They then exchange rings (if they want to) and then kiss. They sign the wedding certificate, and then sit back down and settle into silence. A member of their Clearness Committee then reads the certificate, and then sits down. At that time, Friends are welcome to rise and speak, saying whatever good wishes, thoughts, congratulations, or words of wisdom they want to share. It is a very powerful and uplifting ceremony. After everyone who wishes to speak has spoken, the clerk of the clearness committee then rises and closes the meeting. The couple leaves first, then the committee and finally the meeting rises. All who witnessed the wedding are asked to sign the certificate. And this takes some time, as there are many people who go to the weddings. That's a good thing! That was Saturday afternoon. All the best to Carol and Bill and as many happy times together as you have remaining. I'm so glad you found each other.

Other than that it has been a restful and peaceful weekend.

Teen Ager Parties

So Mary had this idea the Samuel and Miriam (both 14) could have a party. They each invited some kids, and it would be hosted by us, and well, everyone would enjoy themselves. It went fine.

We had 17 14+ year-olds in the house last night for about 4 1/2 hours. They played games, chatted and were very LOUD!!! Mary and I kept them within bounds, as 14 year-olds seem to want to push the boundaries to see how far they can get. Aside from eating 8 pizzas, chips, dips, veggies, and gallons of soda, they did very well. It was good to see the kids that our kids are hanging out with.

It was a quick Saturday night... looking back at it. Living through it was a bit more nerve-wracking.

Love you Samuel!
Love you Miriam!