Book deliveries!

Did you know that it's now over a year since all of our camera equipment was stolen from the back of our car?

Yup.

I knew at the time that I was going to find it difficult to blog without it, but I didn't realise that we would be without it so long. One day we'll be in a position to replace it again, but in the meantime I'm using a point and shoot that fits on to a clever piece of equipment hubby uses at work. It works quite well, but our computer is on the way out and the camera photos won't upload anymore (among many other problems) which means I have to wait for my clever husband to do it for me when he gets time. Often the inspiration that I have to write a post relating to an immediate event evaporates and I find myself lost for words. So there you are.

I couldn't let the Annual Delivery Of The Book Orders pass without so much as a Hurrah, despite all the problems, so I snapped a piccy of yesterday's stash lying on the floor and posted it to Facebook using Instagram so that I could cut and paste it here. And here they are. Don't they look delicious? Oh, this time of year is just so scrummy.

Some of these are from Amazon; others came via Abe, but they all arrived yesterday. Oh the pleasure those little red and white Australia Post cards can bring to a girl - it's criminal, really.

It is always a bit of a lucky dip purchasing books online. I so much prefer leafing through my books in a real life bricks and mortar bookstore. Jemimah is disappointed by the lack of pictures. Thems the breaks, kiddo, when you grow up. There are a few disappointments for me too. The hardback edition of The Family Under the Bridge that I ordered to replace my flood loss is a poor quality letdown, and a couple of the others are amateurly printed, but these are strongly outweighed by all the beauties. I am particularly inspired by Hillyer's A Child's Geography of the World, which you can see in the foreground. I'll definitely be using that in AO5.

Despite my concern about using Jeannie Fulbright's Apologia books as part of Ambleside Online because of the sheer bulk of work contained therein, as well as the chatty veneer on what is effectively a series of textbooks, I went ahead and ordered the Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology text, believing it would be a great fit for Jemimah's interests right now. I am delighted with it. It is, if anything, even more work than her other books, but I think that by being very selective in the parts of it we use, in will be marvellous. Jemimah has a very well developed 'Busywork' meter, and so I will allow her to chose which, if any, of the myriad activities she will do. I will not expect written narrations from this book, and nor will we plough through it at the incredible pace that Fullbright recommends. I've yet to decide where we will do the Christian Liberty Nature Reader that is part of AO5, or whether that will be overkill. I'm inclined to think that it may be, but I haven't looked closely at the reader yet.

I've been working hard on my plans for AO5. Despite appearances, it is now only a few short weeks before we begin the new year on January 9th, and I'm not ready. I'll post the schedule when it's done. I'm finding the Australianising of this year difficult to be honest. I've finally decided on Term 1: Expansion and Exploration, Term 2: Gold, Bushrangers and Federation, Term 3: WWI, but I haven't get managed to fit it all together. I haven't decided on the history bios to include either - nor which books in the AO line-up to replace.

Having the books here to look at will help in that I feel, although it is frustrating to purchase books and not use them. Many of these I will add to the Free Reads pile though, so we will get some use from most of them.

I am reluctant to talk to you about Christmas since it appears to distress many of you so. We have been reading some lovely books together each day - some new to us, others much beloved old friends. We have particularly enjoyed Madeleine L'Engle's The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas as new-to-us this year. Today we are decorating gingerbread Christmas tree ornaments. So much fun! We're baking flapjack as well. We are listening to Paul McMahon singing Gaudete! with Aussie chamber choir, Cantillation. So beautiful. It is on this CD.

This isn't them singing, but this version is similar. Lovely.



Enough about Christmas before I get hate mail.

I am expecting some further book deliveries in the next few days, along with the arrival of our Mission Monde curriculum and the Minimus readers. I shall post on both of those separately when I've had a chance to have a look through them.

Until then the kitchen and the gingerbread call. Enjoy the music, my book-loving friends.

Love to you all from me.