The Saga of my Nikon Coolpix camera...or....Does the Squeaky Wheel get the Grease?

Back in July, I bought a new camera. After much research and thought I chose a Nikon Coolpix s6000. It was a rather new model with 4 cameras in the series.  I have been very happy with this camera until about 2 months ago. I started noticing funny things like an occasional WAY overexposed picture or WAY underexposed picture.  Then I noticed when I set the camera to flash (not automatic, but forced flash) it wouldn't always flash. I decided I better contact Nikon. The website at www.nikonusa.com has a handy way to ask the Nikon support people questions.  Basically you open up a "question" with them. (Later on in this, I'll refer to emailing or getting email from Nikon, and by this I mean through the website "My Questions".) So after I asked my question, I decided later in the day just to call them. The first person I talked to wanted me to reset the camera (I already had) and leave it with the battery out for 24 hrs. At this I asked to speak to a manager. The manager asked me to email (submit by the "My Questions" thing) examples of the camera acting up. After he saw the pictures and looked at the file info, he said it did indeed need to be repaired but it would be under warranty. He provided me with 2 day Air shipping labels through UPS, so I wouldn't have to pay to ship it in. He also told me that the turn-around rate for repairs was 7-10 days after they receive the camera. I was assured that I'd receive my camera  back before Christmas. In case you're wondering, Nikon does not make a policy of exchanging cameras. In other words, they weren't just going to send me a new one.

     According to UPS, Nikon (in NY) received my camera on November 30th. They didn't respond to me about the camera until Dec 7th! At that time, they said it was going to cost me over $100 to fix the camera (that was 4 months old) because it wasn't under warranty. I just about hit the roof at that statement. Immediately I was on the phone with them again. The girl I talked to said I hadn't provided proof of purchase. I had been told exactly what info I needed to give them when shipping it, and proof of purchase was not one of the things they mentioned. She told me to fax the proof of purchase attention to her and she'd take care of it. Fine. I faxed it. Six days later I had heard nothing.  After contacting them I found out the fax was lost, and the next guy I talked to let me scan it and email it to them. That was on the 13th.  Finally on the 15th I was told that the camera was under warranty and was finally able to be repaired.  Here we are now on the 20th and it is still being repaired.

     Today I called Nikon support again to see what could be done about all the delays. I just wanted to talk to someone in charge and tell them my experience with their support department.  I asked to speak to a supervisor and was transferred to one. After I talked to him, I asked to speak to someone above him. He informed me that I couldn't talk to anyone above him!! What? I'm not allowed to talk to anyone over him? You've got to be kidding. The internet came to the rescue though, and I found the corporate phone number. When I got in contact with the appropriate person, she said "How did you get that number? Support didn't give it to you, did they?" Hahaha!  How about that! She made a call to the service department and called me back to say they were making my camera a priority. She can't guarantee I'll have my camera by Christmas, but apparently it could happen.

   Now look, I understand that I'm not the only one that needs a camera repaired, but the number of times the ball has been dropped in this case is not acceptable. In the first place I shouldn't have been told I would have it back in 7 to 10 days if that wasn't the case.  I would have kept the camera until after Christmas if that was the case.  Also, if I hadn't called to check on the status of the camera, I'm not sure when I would have known that they lost my fax.

     I have spent hours of time on the phone with them now. They have had my practically brand new camera for 20 days and I have no guarantee when I'll get it back.  What will I get for all my trouble? Eventually I'll get my camera back. Is this too little too late? I'm afraid so.  I have been thinking about buying a Nikon D90 (a digital SLR camera, in case you don't know) for a while now. Someday....eventually....when I save my pennies.  I'm not so sure I want to deal with Nikon anymore. Maybe I better start looking at Canon.

From Drop Box

Making Applesauce

Back in October we made applesauce. We made 34 quarts of applesauce to be precise.

Here's what 3 (1/2 bushel) bags of apples looks like. 

So we start by chopping them up (seeds and skins included) and throwing them in a huge pot!

Somewhere along the line an apple thief showed up.

Then we put C and M to work with this handy gadget, my Victorio. Can I just tell you how much I love this handy dandy thing? I have different screens for it - apple, salsa, pumpkin, and berry. Did I just use the word handy in two sentences? And now three sentences?

Then the jars started to get filled up...

And......the finished product....or products.

Of course, I had to save out enough apples to make an big apple crisp for all the hard workers. It disappeared before I could get a picture of it, so you'll just have to use your imaginations.

From Drop Box

Favorite Books #s 2-4

Howdy, I'm back with some more of my favorite books. Picture Books #2 A Baby Sister for Frances by Russell Hoban        There are a number of books about Frances, a badger, and they are all great. #3 My Truck is Stuck by Kevin Lewis        This is a good selection, especially for boys. #4 Here We Go, Harry by Kim Lewis         Harry, the elephant, and his friends Lulu the lamb and Teddy the bear share a fun day playing outside.      The illustrations are adorable. Chapter Books #2 Happy Little Family by Rebecca Caudill      This is the story of a family of 5 children living in Kentucky in the 1900s. It is the first book in a series of 4 books. #3 Clara Barton: Founder of the American Red Cross by Augusta Stevenson      For this selection I actually chose one of many books from the series, Childhood of Famous Americans. These are great biographies for younger to middle elementary children. They are huge favorite in my house, and I recommend finding the old paperback versions from your library, because some of the newer reprinted books have been changed. Plus, I prefer the older books type-set. #4 The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall       Once again, this is the first in a series of books. The third book is supposedly coming out the summer of 2011, and my daughter can't wait. Until next time, happy reading.

My 50 Favorite Children's Books

Here's the plan. From now until Christmas Eve, I'd like to share 50 of my favorite picture and chapter books with you. For those of you with children to shop for, I hope this helps you. I love books! We have bookshelves in almost every room of our house and still I don't have enough space for all my books, so some are in boxes.  I especially love old books. There is something comforting about the feel of a book in your hands. Oh, did I mention I love books?

My guess is I won't be faithful enough to actually post every day, so I'll end up doubling or tripling up sometimes. So now without further ado, here are today's books. The order in which they appear does not have any bearing other than being the one I'm thinking of at the time.

Picture Book #1: The Tale of Custard the Dragon by Ogden Nash

     This is a current favorite of my 2.5 yr old. If you're not familiar with this poem, I'm sure you can search for it. It's quite funny.

Chapter Book #1: Dealing With Dragons by Patricia Wrede

     This is one of my daughter's favorite books. It's the first in a series of 4 books called "The Enchanted Forest Chronicles".  It is very humorous, and even adults would enjoy reading this book.

There you have it! Happy reading!

*I do not have any affiliation with Amazon, nor do I get anything out of linking the books to their site. It's just an easy place for you to look, should you be interested.

From Drop Box

My Daybook - Sept 27th

Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window... ~there are rain clouds and a slight breeze

I am thinking... ~how this has shaped up to be a typical Monday

I am thankful for... ~my friends who can relate to my "typical Monday"

I am wearing... ~jean capris, a striped green short sleeve shirt, and no show socks

In the learning room... ~H is collecting her things to go up to her room

I am remembering... ~warm sunny Summer days with not a thing to do

I am going... ~start Bible study on Wednesday (YAY!)

I am currently reading... ~No Place for Fear by Al and Joanna Lacy

I am hoping... ~that we have a better school week this week


I am hearing... ~ The wild rustling the leaves on the trees and someone running water upstairs

On my mind... ~what I'll be making for dinners this week

Noticing that... ~dominoes are spread all over the kitchen floor

Pondering these words... Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6: 9-10

From the kitchen... ~zucchini bread that I baked yesterday

Around the house... ~mostly silence as the kids are resting and reading

One of my favorite things ~reading to my children (right now we're reading D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths)

From my camera...~ Hannah's sentence diagram from last week

From Drop Box

Bad days and hard times

Monday was a bad day. It was more than a bad day. It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Children fough over toys. The youngest threw toys at C. H threw fits about getting her school work done. M fussed and complained about spelling one word on his spelling test.  At one point I felt that everything was completely out of hand.  The disrespect, willfull disobedience, fighting, whining, and crying was going to drive me insane. I wondered, "Why am I bothering? Wouldn't it be so much easier to just put them on the school bus? Why should I do this? It's too hard!!" Then last night I was reading and was reminded about Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Does this mean, then, that life should be easy? As a Christian and as a homeschool mom, I know full well life isn't easy. The enemy is out there, waiting to pull us down. We need to clothe ourselves in the armor of God daily and stand against the enemy.  We will struggle. We will fall. But, we need to stand up and try again.  Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33 NIV) Wow! Isn't that encouraging! It's one of those times I'm extra thankful to be a child of God.

National Lazy Mom's Day

Did you know that today is National Lazy Mom's Day. That is one holiday that I just can't celebrate. Today I did NOT celebrate National Lazy Mom's Day by schooling 3 children, cleaning my kitchen floor, and a host of other day to day tasks.  Also, I scrubbing the walls going up the stairs, which, by the way, look ever so much better now. What is so hard about holding the railing instead of trailing your little fingers up and down the wall? I took a picture of it in progress and I'd post it, but it's so shameful. Suffice to say, my stairway looks much better and the scrub brush and I might have another few dates with some dirty walls. So much for National Lazy Mom's Day. Cheers!

Wordless Wednesday - Goldfinches on my cone flowers

Yes, this is Thursday, and yes I am adding words....I guess I just break all the rules at once. But actually I missed posting this yesterday because of a sick kiddo.

Successful First Day of School

First Day of School

H-Grade 6

M-Grade 3

C-Kindergarten

A- Total and complete ham around the camera

All in all our first day went very well. The tears were minimal, we completed everything on our schedule, and A didn't wreak too much havoc. 

Have a blessed day!

From Drop Box

Gardening

We decided to try something new this year and grow peanut plants. If you don't know how these plants grow, it's really neat.  First off, the plant will produce pretty yellow flowers like this.



Oh goodness....I hope you're not noticing all those lovely weeds.


Then after the flower dies, these cool shoots grow down from where the flower was. They grow down into the soil, and that is where the peanut grows.

I'll have to remember to take pictures when we harvest them. My plants might be a little behind what they could have been because they were shaded by my pea plants for a while. Now they get plenty of sun and are hopefully making enough peanuts for us to have a few!!


As for the rest of the vegetable garden, it is still going strong. I'm still picking green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peppers, and our zucchini plant has some little zucchinis on it! To back up, my zucchini plant died quite early in the summer after only producing 4 zucchinis. I decided to try planting again. Both plants (I planted 2 seeds and both came up) look quite healthy! Yay! Here's a look at what I picked yesterday. It was so pretty, I just had to take a picture. A stuck his chubby little fingers in the picture too. Aren't they cute little fingers?

A Day in the Life...

Welcome to a day in the life of our homeschool. We haven't actually started school yet. We start on Monday. Everything is ready. The school room (dining room) is cleaned mostly clean.  The books are ready. Homeschool Tracker is up to date. I just need to print out the schedules. Homeschool Tracker is great for this. Check it out! I've decided that for H, a daily schedule would work better than a weekly schedule. M likes a weekly schedule because he tends to work ahead. H finds a weekly schedule overwhelming. So, here is how I imagine things should go. Check back next week and I'll let you know if it works out.
7:00-9:00 Wake up, get showered/dressed, have breakfast, get chores done


9:00-9:20 H and M read their Bibles/Devotionals and I read a Bible story to C and A


9:20-10:30 H will start her Classical Writing and Grammar while M does his spelling on his own.  Once H is underway, I will start M on his math. Usually he only needs me for a short amount of time.


10:30-12:00 I will start H on her math lesson while M works independently on his handwriting. He's starting cursive, so he might need me to start him out. We'll see how that works. Then I'll start M on his Classical Writing and Hannah will do her Latin independently.


In spare times during all this, C will get time to do his Alpha Phonics, Explode the Code, and Math U See Primer. Also, there will probably be a working or breaktime snack in here along with some breaks to run around outside or play with A as weather and time permit.


12:00-1:00 Usually we take an hour for lunch. Sometimes I start reading a book (fiction or from our history curriculum) while they eat if I think we need the time.


1:00-2:00 At 1 pm A goes down for his nap, and I do science and history with the other 3 kids. This usually happens at the couch where we snuggle up and read.


2:00 Our scheduled school day is over by this time. The kids have a rest time where they read quietly to themselves while C and A are napping.  Typically in the past H has used this time to continue working because she has mastered the art of procrastination.  This is also mom's coffee, chocolate, Facebook, blogging break.


Now, let it be known that this is my IDEAL schedule. For some reason the kids don't seem to want to work this way. They try to skip around on their schedules and always want help at the same time. I sure hope I'm not the only one who occasionally wants to pull her hair out. What I really ought to do is write down exactly how one day goes to see how close I get to this one.


If you'd like to read more "Day In the Life" posts, head on over to the NOT Back-to-School Blog Hop and check them out.

Not Back-To-School Blog Hop - Week 3 School Photos

This week is School Photo week over at the NOT Back-to-School Blog Hop. I plan on taking some different photos of my cute students, but we haven't actually started school yet. However, I don't want to miss this week, so here are a few recent pictures of the children taken on our trip to the beach last week.

Meet H:

H just turned 11 this summer and is going into 6th grade. She loves drawing, writing poetry, and reading. Her world would be perfect if it involved never having to do math.  She is the typical bossy, take charge, firstborn.

Meet M: 

M just turned 8 and is starting 3rd grade. He loves loves loves to read. He is very self motivated and tends to get his work done promptly. However he tends to get frustrated quickly when something doesn't come easy to him.  Did I mention that his favorite past time is reading?

Meet C: 

C is 5 and is very excited about starting Kindergarten.  He loves to be goofy and play with his big brother.  He is my easy going child and can always make people smile with his smile and his twinkling eyes.  He can't wait to start to read and so far he loves math.

Meet A: 

A is 2. His specialty is playing with cars and little people and getting into trouble. He loves to join us in the school room and sit at his desk to color.

Check back again in case I get to take REAL school pictures. Also, join in on the NOT Back-to-School Blog Hop. It's been a lot of fun.

Making dill pickle relish

This summer my cucumbers have been plentiful....very very plentiful. I haven't made pickles in many years, but M loves dill relish, so I thought I'd try my hand at it. After searching for a while I decided on this recipe.

Ingredients :

9 small field cucumbers (about 3 lb/1.5 kg)

2 onions
1/4 cup (50 mL) pickling salt
3 cups (750 mL) white vinegar
3/4 cup (175 mL) granulated sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp (10 mL) each dill seeds and mustard seeds

 First cut the cucumbers in chunks and, in batches, pulse in a food processor to finely chop. Do the same thing with the onion. (I might try less onion next time.)

 Next add the salt to the mixture and let it sit for 1 hour. Then, drain the mixture, rinse it in cold water, and drain again, pressing out all the excess moisture.

 In a large pan bring to a boil the vinegar, sugar, dill seeds, mustard seeds, and garlic.

 Garlic is good for you. Go ahead...add it. Yum!

 When it comes to a boil add in the cucumber mixture. Bring the whole thing back to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes.

Pour the relish into prepared canning jars.

Process them in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.


We haven't actually tried our relish yet, other than a little taste before it went into the jars. I'll keep you posted on whether we like it and would do it again. I also made dill pickle spears, hamburger dill slices, and pickled green beans (dilly beans). Then, while the canning stuff was still out I canned 3 quarts of tomatoes. Phew. Just writing all that makes me tired.

Our Schoolroom

Technically, last week was "School Room Week" for the "NOT Back-to-School Blog Hop". However, I was away, so now I'm playing catch-up.
For a few years we used our kitchen for school, but last year we moved to the dining room. We don't use the dining room as an eating area anyway, but it is home to my dearly loved antique dining room table, chairs, and sideboard which belonged to my great grandparents.

So here is our school room. The two little boys have little metal school desks. We found M's desk out for the trash in our neighborhood. Can you believe it?!

H used to have her desk under the dry erase board, but I thought putting her over here in the corner would be better for her concentration or lack thereof.

My area still needs to be cleaned up as you can see. I just bought a magnet basket to put the dry erase markers and eraser in so that A doesn't get into them.

Many of our books are in different bookshelves around the house, but this one contains all the curriculum I need at my fingertips and a lot of reference books and such.


I have dreams of someday having a dedicated school room, but for now I'm content as we are, and I try to tweak it occasionally.

Local Fair Week

Our area had a local country fair this week. It's not huge, but the kids always enjoy going. We don't do the rides (really expensive), but we like to see the animals and walk around. Last year H entered some of the contests, and this year M and C joined her.  Tonight we picked up our ribbons.
H got 2nd place for her carrots and her peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and 4th place for her zinnias.

M got 2nd place for his snapdragons.

C got 2nd place for his blanket flowers. (He didn't come with us to pick up his ribbon, so here's a picture of the night he entered them.)

 

All in all it was a fun week.

Not Back-To-School Blog Hop

I've just discovered the "Not Back-To-School Blog Hop" started over at http://heartofthematteronline.com. I've just become a blog follower, so I thought I'd dust off this blog and give it a try. The topic for this week is curriculum, so here it goes...

This year I will have a 6th grader, a 3rd grader, a Kindergartener, and a tag-along.

I'll start with shared subjects:
Science-

Both H (6th grade) and M (3rd grade) will be doing God's Design for Life series. We are doing all three books in the series which are Plants, Animals, and the Human Body.


        We also use Nature Friend Magazine for science.


History-
We are starting with TruthQuest's Ancient Egypt and Greece and will probably move on to Ancient Rome as time permits.  Our goal is to move through to the Middle Ages and Renaissance/Reformation/Exploration eventually, but I'm assuming it will take a good 2 years.



Bible - Both H and M are going to continue their devotion books; Gotta Have God and God and Me! We also will be starting a book by Kay Arthur called Boy Have I Got Problems which is a study of the book of James.

Current Events - God's World News


Now for the 6th grader:
Math - We'll be continuing with MathUSee. This year she'll be starting Zeta.

Writing/Lang. Arts/Grammar -

We use the Classical Writing series. H will be working on Classical Writing Homer B combined with Harvey's Grammar. Also she'll be doing Classical Writing Poetry, which she is very much looking forward to. I can't speak highly enough about these books. They are wonderful. It takes some effort on the part of the teacher, but it's well worth the result. Last year M did the Primer books and they are fabulous. I can't wait to use them again with my two youngest children.

Latin - If you're interested in a Latin program, we've been really pleased with Lively Latin.

Reading - Various books to go along with our history program and anything else she feels like reading. She loves to read, so that shouldn't be much of a problem.

Now for the 3rd grader:

Math - Once again we're going with MathUSee Gamma.

Spelling - Spelling Workout Level C

Language Arts/Grammar - Classical Writing Aesop A (see above for link)

Handwriting - Classically Cursive

Reading - Elson Reader Book 3 (which he actually started last year) and any other books. He loves to read so my challenge is keeping him supplied with enough books.

And finally the Kindergartener:
Math - MathUSee Primer (See a pattern? We love MathUSee!)
Learning to read - AlphaPhonics and Explode the Code books 1 and 2 (We'll start with any beginning reader books as soon as he's ready. We have the Frog and Toad books, Dick and Jane, Little Bear, etc.)
He will also tag along with our history and science. I'll probably have him make a lapbook/notebook of our science projects, so he can color, cut, and follow along with us.

I think I've covered everything, but who knows. I'll probably realize later that I've left something out.