Fickle Weather, Laptops and Jane Eyre

In Kentucky, this time of year requires patience and lots of drawer space. You must be prepared for the weather to deal you seventy degrees one day and below freezing the next. Therefore, you must drag out all of your spring clothes and mow all the grass one day, and still have available your winter clothes and mittens for the next. Wearing layers makes the entire state look like it is menopausal, peeling off layers like a group hot flash as the day warms. It is easy to get caught wearing either too much or worse, too little. Nearly everyone sports some pink as sunburns have become a memory and it doesn't feel like burning weather yet.

My absence from blogging was prolonged by a cord on my Toshiba laptop. Googling tells me that electrical shorts in the cord for Toshibas are common. Such a little thing, such a big disruption to my life. To read email, I either had to use my ancient desktop in the cold basement, or steal my daughter's Dell cord which seems compatible, but will likely cause some catastrophic meltdown second only to Chernobyl.

Also devouring my time was the re-reading of Jane Eyre , prompted by my daughter who wanted to discuss it with someone. Though I'll admit to skimming a paragraph here and there near the end, the interest for me came after the end and reading the introduction (backwards, I know). Over dinner last night, dh admitted that in high school, they were "forced" to read the book, but he never finished it, preferring a lower grade to having to read such drivel. The girls protested. Our conversation followed the usual route of discussing the historic significance of the book and that for its time, it was considered revolutionary and feminist. Dh wasn't impressed. Pushing further, Anna asked if he knew what book was written by Charlotte's (Brontë) sister. Lauren prompted by making a "wuhh, wuhh" sound. Dh, pulling their leg (I hope!!) hazarded that it was the book about that pig, Wilbur. You know, Charlotte's Web. Slapping of tables and loud hoots of disbelief ensued as dh laughed with his head thrown back. Such is the life of homeschoolers.