Caleb, our eight year old, had his chorus concert last night so I made him take a shower. I slicked his hair back good and used gel to make it hold.
Doesn’t he look handsome?
Even more than his Dad’s good looks, it’s what I see coming from his eyes….his gentle, sweet soul…..
Rich was at Jacob’s track meet (J got fourth in Javelin) and Grace was at youth group. Ethan sat in the back of the auditorium (he had baseball practice so I brought him dinner on a paper plate) with Dave and I sat up toward the front, with Seth on one side and Sarah on the other.
During the performance, Sarah whispered into my ear, “Caleb was being a good singing.” I immediately sent that one to Rich. (kid quotes)
During the performance, Seth whispered into my ear, “I’m so so hungry!” Come to find out, I had completely missed giving Seth his dinner. (large family problems).
When we were leaving the school he asked, “Mom? Can we go someplace to eat?” I said, “Sure! Home!”, to which he replied indignantly, “That’s NOT A PLACE! IT’S A HOME!”
It began to rain and we saw a big rainbow.
Rich was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher when I stepped in the house. We hugged for a long time.
“When life is a weariness and escape impossible, it is wonderful to have a friend who can bring us peace with the touch of a hand.”
“Those were the good days. They were serene days and quite undemonstrative, like the best days in one’s life; the boy never forgot them. Nothing happens; one simply lives and breathes and wishes for nothing more, and nothing more.”
Independent People by Halldor Laxness
new dress
striking a pose but has a wedgie
“what are those brothers up to now?”
two toy cats, one in each hand, named Stacey and Jessica
I held her cats as she crossed the stream.
how I love this daughter of mine
with her big brother, they look so much alike
What a blessing it is to have older children to help arrange days of fun with loved friends. As parents, we desire and delight that the children *want to bring their friends* to our home. It lifts the soul to talk and laugh together with a house full of happy people, comfortable and relaxed in our relationships.
Today is the delicious feeling of a good healthy TIRED, the result of yesterday’s full day of fun, and memories. Oh how we need one another, our friends, our community, our families. I watched with contentment in my heart as children from multiple families ran in and out of doors, ate their treats, teased, laughed, got dirty, and had a wonderful time of freedom and beautiful wildness. All the children had dirty feet by the end of the day.
Kathy, Caroline, and I went for a little walk, talked, and discovered wildflowers; two simple activities which are like therapy for the woman’s heart. A good talk about all of life’s happenings, and the eyes to see and notice the beauty of the world around us.
“Come in the evening, or come in the morning:
Come when you’re look’d for, or come without warning.
Kisses and welcome you’ll find before you,
And the oftener you come here the more I’ll adore you!”
Thomas Osborne Davis
“The more I think about it,
the more I realize there is
nothing
more artistic than to love others.”
“Hold my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.” Psalms 17:5
I am feeling somewhat more human this afternoon since I decided to cancel the plans I had this morning in favor of staying home to catch up with things around the home-place. It has been days and days of activity and I needed a catch-up day for my soul. I am much more at peace now that I put new sugar water in the hummingbird feeder, took the time to hang the loads of laundry on the clothesline rather than throw them in the dryer, watered the houseplants, caught up on the dishes, washed the fronts of the ovens and dishwashers, cleaned the upstairs bathroom, gave my darlings Seth and Sarah baths, washed my hair, spent a lot of time outside, admired ducks and toad tadpoles, put dinner in the crock pot, and took a cat nap.
I discovered this morning that one of my hens was consumed yesterday by what Seth believes was a FOX. All that remains are some lovely gray feathers in the green green grass and a firm belief that life is easier when one does not become to attached to one’s hens.
I read some Dr. Laura Schlessinger this morning and came away with these quotes:
“If you determine to SEE value and feel gratitude for what you have, you will not be consumed by envy and disappointment.”
(praying for eyes that SEE the real and true!)
“LOVE is about awe, admiration, respect and appreciation.”
(thinking of my dear husband and these feelings I have for him.)
“If you’re looking for true happiness with another person, you first need to be reasonably mature, psychologically sound, and able to deal with truth and reality.”
(thankful that although we married young, much grace was given for our immature years, growing along together.)
Things are by no means excellent around here, but the reality of the matter is, when raising seven children you must lower your standards of cleanliness unless you can hire a full time housekeeper. All we need is love and understanding to cover over the messy parts.
Seth is currently standing on the counter throwing bacon dog treats to Parker, it makes him so happy to be nice to the dog.
Wind chimes are singing.
Sarah is napping.
My mom started these green pepper plants seeds from a pepper she ate and liked the taste of! My mom is awesome and an ever-source of inspiration to me.
My dad is awesome, too. He has a drum set in my old bedroom, right where my little sister Amanda’s bed used to be. He takes drum lessons every other Saturday! He practices every day! He loves it. How wonderful it is to do something for YOU, no matter who you are or how old you are.
His arms were flying so fast that I told him to freeze so I could take a picture.
In the living room, by the window, he has a practice drum and a music stand. He listens to the metronome through his ear phones and practices technique.
It’s a challenge. Mom says she loves to listen to him drum, she also loves this song:
“Like a drum my heart never stops beating for you.”
David asked me if he could make a chocolate cake and whenever it is possible, I say YES because I used to make the same recipe when I was 11 years old like him.
Wacky Cocoa Cake
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
3/4 cup oil
2 Tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla.
In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients like a mountain, with baking soda on the tippy top. Pour water and oil carefully around the bottom of the mountain. Pour vinegar on top of the baking soda to watch the bubbles! Add vanilla, beat until smooth. Pour batter into 9 by 13 pan, bake at 350, 35-40 minutes. Lick out the bowl.
His confidence grows and grows with each baking.
Well I hate to tell ya, our cat caught and ate an entire butterfly this weekend.
While Davy-do caught a fish.
(seth is in the other room and I called out to him, “are you getting into mischief?” “NO!” “What are you doing, then?” “Oh, I’m just sitting in a chair. holding a guitar pick. and thinking about God.” I laughed my way to him and gave him a hug. “Really, Seth?” “Oh, I don’t know what I’m doing.” Kiss kiss on the cheek, back to blogging.)
This young dragonfly landed on my shirt, Sarah was worried it would bite and asked me if she could kill it, and we put it gently on a bush. “No-No! Don’t ever kill the dragonflies, they eat mosquitoes!”
The mallard ducks came back. One of the boys came to get me and I snuck down with my camera. They were in the stream, and the stream was overflowing and fast. It was fun to watch them in the rushing water, I wonder if they enjoyed themselves as they dipped and bobbed along?
It was hard for Sarah to keep her eyes on the female duck; she blends right into the stream!
I think he was trying to keep his balance.
He was about to go down the “rapids”.
****
Her face, when I came home from a date with her Daddy:
“Sarah, Sarah, where are you? I have a surprise for you!”
“You do? I hardly believe it.”
“Well, what is it? What is it, Mom?”
“NEW SHOES!!!” (this was her wondrous face as I said the word “shoes”) :::
“For reals? You’re awesome-sauce, Mom!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“May I just get to the end of my road and say, I have done this important thing in my life, and I have done it well.” ~Tessa Kiros
“When love and duty are one, then grace is in you and you will enjoy a happiness which passes all understanding.” ~The Painted Veil
“Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 (If you are a believer than you are pleasing to him because YOU HAVE the FAITH that He has given you!!)
Grace just came home from school smiling and singing because she is learning sign language with Larissa at 3:00.
When I was back home visiting my family I was glad to have some extra time to visit one of my favorite little shops. The Masonville General Store has a lot to offer in the way of unique, earthy, fair trade, organic goods. The store also includes a small cafe. There are groceries, cosmetics, jewelry, cards, chocolate and candy, clothes, and gifts for any age.
I found a new artist to admire; Nikki McClure. The store had several of her works, including note cards, prints, and this darling little book. We have had a flock of chickens for about 5 years so anything “chicken” related always excites me.
More Nikki McClure; look her up on pinterest!
I gravitate toward the stationary things, but believe me there is a lot more to this place than notepads!
These “Foot Notes” have the actual footprint of common little wild creatures.
My little sign language lover found this ^^ and we bought it; hand signs for the entire alphabet.
This is the little cosmetics area; I bought some lip gloss and admired the dainty earrings~
Isn’t this the sweetest packaging for earrings?
BOOKS!
I bought a natural geode for Jacob (the family rock collector) to break open himself (he loved it), a bar of organic chocolate (shared with Mom and Grace), some note cards, and a few things for Joanna’s birthday coming up in June. Grace picked out a tiger eye stone and a little paper bag of Swedish Fish.
(Grace and I ate at Brooks on Sunday, Mother’s Day and we had no wait b/c we sat at the counter. By doing so, we avoided an hour or more wait. The line was out the door and around the building. Also::: OUR FOOD WAS SERVED ON SCARLET FIESTA.)
It’s funny how the thoughts go back back back to childhood … today was opening day for little league (after church) and I couldn’t help but think so much about my own younger brothers and all the years of watching them play at the fields. Our sons Jacob and Ethan are too old for little league, today we concentrated on David and Caleb….Jake and E weren’t even with us. SO WEIRD. They are growing up and away, little by little. Yes, the older boys stayed after church for the fellowship lunch, and then Wally was going to go over some Javelin tips with Jacob again. Jacob throws for school, and with Wally’s help he beat his own personal record on Friday at the meet.
It’s quite chilly outside today so after several hours I asked my husband if he would drive me, Grace, and the little ones back home. I am currently and happily under a blanket with my feet on a warmed up corn bag with Seth at the end of the couch. Grace is on pinterest next to me and continuously laughing at someone’s “funny” board. Sarah Joy is sitting next to her, watching a movie. (“Once Upon a Forest”) Billy Cat is stretched out so softly next to my legs and Sherlock is curled in a ball by Sarah. We all have our pajamas on already.
I was on pinterest and somehow got to thinking about Trailing Arbutus. Do you know that lovely wild flower? I remember my Grandmother liking it, and it grew in the woods near our home when I was a child. It grows close to the ground, but getting down into the forest leaves to smell it is worth it. It smells wonderful, better than apple blossoms even. I haven’t seen the flower in years and years. There were pictures of it on pinterest so I pinned one and then thought about Yellow Violets. As a child, I remember finding them just one time. I had walked deeply into the woods on Grandpa’s property and was thrilled to discover a bunch of yellow violets…at that time I had not known there was such a flower. I picked one and added it to my bouquet. On the way back home I stopped and showed it to Grandma and she smiled. She knew exactly where I had been. It is a nice memory for me, I felt that we shared a secret delight together. I learned a lot about the flowers and things from my mother, who in turn had learned them from her Mama. And now, when I go for walks I cannot help but point things out and tell my own children about them. Beauty from God.
We spent time outside on Friday. It was a beautiful day. I found the children up on the hill behind the house exploring, and then Sammy jumped up on the fence from the neighbor’s side. She was exploring, too. Isn’t she pretty against the bluest of blue skies?
Daffodils are in bloom and the fuzzy buzzy bumble bees love them.
I am amused by the lengths a bee will go in order to collect pollen.
When we walk by the edge of the smaller pond, hundreds of bullfrog tadpoles ripple away, out of the shallow water. Going up closer to investigate will scare the last brave ones from the edge. Once they swim into the deeper water, it’s funny to stay and watch them go up to the surface to breath. There are SO MANY, if they all develop into full grown frogs I am afraid we will have a Biblical proportion of them (like a plague). Parker the dog enjoys the challenge of catching one in his front teeth. He does not let the tadpole touch his lips at all, just the teeth.
He detests bullfrog tadpoles.
After he brings one back into the grass and lays it gently down, he gags in deep hisses.
He can’t resist the urge to pick it up again with quivering lips and dainty teeth.
He plays with it a minute, rolls on it, and then goes back to get another.
No, he can’t bring himself to do it twice. Once is enough.
Tadpoles are cold and slimy, and they disgust him.
We look at wild flowers next.
Sarah likes to ask me if she can pick one. I say “yes”.
Seth goes across the monkey bars and I ask him if he can go all the way. He has to work, and I marvel at the bodies of young children, so light and mobile and strong.
I tried to help him once but he panted, “I want to do it by myself!”
He made it across and was proud of himself.
After throwing tiny pinecones into the long pond and watching the fish grab them and pop them back out of their mouths, we headed to the stream.
A hen came over to see what was up. So very nosey! What a busy-body!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next day, Saturday, it rained and rained all day. The boy’s Little League Opening day was cancelled.
It was today instead. We went to church, came home to quickly change, and then headed to the park.
It was a big to-do with “thank you’s”, dedication of benches (in memory of those who passed away over the last year), trophies, a presentation of the banner for last year’s winners, etc, etc, National Anthem sung, players name’s announced (including our Davy’s) and then….finally….the first games of the season.
Caleb
David. Please keep me in your thoughts as I try to keep these pants white all season.
Sarah had a ring pop.
The movie is over, it is time for me to serve a little something for dinner. It will be an early bedtime for Seth and Sarah tonight.
My friend Danielle posted the most adorable springtime portraits of her children on Facebook the other day and I asked her if I could please share them here on the blog. She graciously gave me permission. They are absolutely precious, and will bring a smile to your face.
I also thought I would also share some Easter ideas with you, and perhaps others (yes you, my friend) might enjoy sharing their traditions with us, too, in the comment section.
(a glad easter)
Resurrection Sunday has deep and beautiful meaning for all lovers of Jesus Christ. In fact, Easter is my own personal favorite holiday because of the joy I feel in my heart as I meditate on all my Lord and Savior has done in atoning for our sins on the cross and conquering death on the third day, when he rose up from the grave. This is why I believe, first and foremost, that telling the “old old story” to our children should be the highest priority on this important weekend. There are so many ways to make this a special weekend for them, but if I can only do one thing, I will share the gospel TRUTH at their own level here at home, and take my children to church. Soul-needs come first.
But what other things can we do to make this springtime celebration fun and memorable for our families? Here are some simple but lovely ideas:
1. Decorate eggs (bet you didn’t see that one coming!)
You can use vegetables to dye eggs, or kool aid, or regular food coloring. But however you do it, it is fun to afterwards rub each egg with a drop or two of vegetable or olive oil. In this way, your eggs will glow like polished marble.
2. Make an Easter Egg tree
I love seeing the colorful plastic eggs dangling from little trees or bushes outside in the neighbor’s lawn. At our house, we decorate an artificial indoor tree at every holiday. This morning Grace helped me hang it with eggs, ribbons, and green plastic grass. We put our tree on the table as a centerpiece.
3. Make hot cross buns for breakfast (served with an icing cross on top, these buns are “traditionally considered blessed and believed to impart powerful protection.” (quoted from the book Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions)
I am rather busy this year, so I bought mine from the grocery store. But if you would like to make them, here is the inspiring Tasha Tudor’s recipe, of which she always made “a large quantity to serve at tea on Good Friday and for breakfast on Easter Sunday.”
1 cup milk, warmed to 110 degrees 1 packet yeast 1/2 cup sugar 2 cups unbleached flour 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1 cup currents 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
In a small mixing bowl, stir the milk into the yeast to dissolve, adding 1 tsp of the 1/2 cup sugar. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, the remaining sugar, the cinnamon, and the currants. Add the milk and yeast mixture and mix well. Cover with a warm towel, set aside, and allow to rise in a draft-free place for 30 minutes. Add the salt and melted butter, being sure that the butter is not too hot, so as not to destroy the live yeast. Knead the dough lightly on a generously floured surface, then place in mixing bowl, cover again, and let rise until double in size, 1 hour or so.
Shape the dough into 12 buns and place on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise until double in size, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the buns in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from the oven and cool on racks. When the buns are cool, make an X on top of each one with a tasty tube filled with a mixture of:
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar 1/8 tsp. vanilla extract 2 tsp. light cream or milk, or enough to make the icing easy to spread.
4. Easter Basket or Nest for each child..
At our house, we have each child go outside in our woods and make their own little nest out of twigs and pine needles, leaves, and whatever else they can find, like charming, busy little birdies. Oh they have the grandest time, especially my older teenage boys (kidding). It’s all worth it on Sunday, when they troop back to the woods to discover all the wonderful goodies that the Easter bunny (me) has left them.
5. Egg hunt
I have heard they are great fun.
6. Living Easter basket
It’s too late for this year, but another idea is to take a basket, layer it with gravel and potting soil, and sprinkle fast-growing ryegrass seeds on the top. Keep the soil moist and place the basket in a warm, sunny spot. Once the grass is high enough, you can add little Easter toys and figures within it.
7. Do the chicken dance
repeatedly
8. New clothes
Use Easter Sunday as an excuse to freshen up the children’s spring/summer church clothes. I usually buy the boys each a new shirt and the girls each a new dress. I also buy snow white tights for Sarah (or ruffled bobby socks if the weather is warm) and proper footwear (pink glitter of course!) Don’t forget to buy yourself a new outfit, too, if needed.
9. Prepare a Feast
This year I am roasting a leg of lamb. I am also making a pan of apple crisp, a nice salad, mashed potatoes, and corn.
10. ?????
Leave a comment telling me what you or someone you know (like your grandmother) does for Easter!
This one gets me every time:
Utter adorableness!
Here is the link to my friend Danielle’s Photography Facebook Page: InJoy Photography
Happy Easter to my wonderful blog friends! xo
PS, most ideas were gathered from the book Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions, Reviving Victorian Family Celebrations of Comfort & Joy, by Sarah Ban Breathnach
The cooking onions think it’s springtime and are growing!
2 organic chickens, 8 cups of stock, 3 onions, 6 carrots, and 2 bay leaves
My son is like I was at 16 years old. As soon as spring was in the air and the ground becomes mud, I wanted to be in it. I remember one spring when I rubbed mud from the dirt road on my face (I was so weird when I was 16) and guess what happened? My face turned sore from the road salt in the mud.
ETHAN was outside with his little brothers. They started out on the trampoline, but as I drove off to pick up Jacob from school, I saw the four of them tramping off into the woods, all in BARE FEET. Mind you, there is still quite a bit of snow and was only 46 degrees. They were all thrilled to do it, and Ethan was kind enough to carry Seth part of the way. I wish I had a picture of them disappearing into the trees as a clump of happy, joyful country boys. They told me later it was a “barefoot adventure”.
I had to get some groceries after I picked up Jake and there were flowers 75 percent off. I bought 2 bouquets of roses for 5 dollars.
Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity. John Ruskin
I love having flowers and plants in the house.
While I worked on dinner, Seth, David, Sherlock the cat, Caleb, Sammy the cat, and Sarah watched a Winnie the Pooh movie. (the one from 2011, I love it, it’s such a cute movie).
They looked so cozy that I had to take a couple pictures. I adore how they snuggle up together.
I had to laugh when I looked down at the dog while I was taking pictures of the children, he was waiting for his turn.
He even brought his own prop to the photo shoot.
What he really wanted all along was chicken bits. 🙂
I left Jacob (my hardworking helper) to dice the cooked chicken and veggies while I once again drove to school, this time to get Grace.
As soon as I got home, we finished everything up.
veggies, chicken, and gravy; right before I put the biscuits on top
The children were all eager for it to get DONE. I made a double batch — a big lasagna pan and a 9 by 13 pan.
Comfort food
I’m hoping that if you want the recipe, you will click on the photo and it will enlarge enough for you to read it, as it is quite a bit of typing. I remember when I started making this dish almost 20 years ago. It was a recipe I found in a Taste of Home magazine. Rich’s grandma used to renew my subscription every year and I enjoyed studying each issue. I wasn’t used to cooking or baking when I got married and I found this recipe laborious. It is still time consuming, but much easier to put together. Rest assured, with practice, working in the kitchen gets more enjoyable every year. It just goes to show that if you stick with something you WILL get good at it!
The children all liked the meal, I think, although Seth did object to carrots. “Don’t you remember, I throw up when I eat these?” And I know for a fact that Caleb didn’t appreciate the mushrooms because he had to tell me; “I LOVE the mushrooms, MOM.” So I wouldn’t feel bad because I’m a mind reader and know that he doesn’t like them. David simply said nothing and left all his mushrooms in his bowl. I ate them later on. Jacob asked me if we could add flour to the gravy to make it thicker even though it was already completely baked. Rich said, “mmmmmm”.
If you have read a book that is impossible to put down because it is so well-written and fascinating, I would be grateful for the title. I’m getting ready to go on vacation on Monday and I need a few books on my kindle. I’m reluctantly leaving War and Peace at home because it weights so much. thx
A fire is crackling in the other room, David is under a flannel quilt with a cat, Seth is playing with legos at my feet, and I’m sitting in the recliner with the old Audrey Hepburn movie Sabrina on TV.
It was a pleasant Saturday morning. Grace and I decided to go downtown. By the time we got ready to go, Sarah, David, and Jacob convinced us to let them come, too. We listened to a John Denver concert on PBS while I fixed Grace’s hair in two french braids, as she requested.
Saturday morning is the only morning of the week we can be slow, take our time, not rush. I enjoyed fixing my girlies’ hair.
It was a nice spring-like morning, with temperatures in the mid 50’s. We parked down at the thrift store and did a little shopping there. It’s a great shop because they charge next to nothing for their stuff.
Grace and David held hands and skipped down the street to another junk shop. Jacob and I followed, with little Sarah holding my hand.
We ate pizza for lunch and walked back to the car to drive to two more second hand stores, and the library to return books.
We were a cheerful party of five…….would you like to see what we found?
a little pink bench for Sarah’s dolls.
a barbie. a pony.
a sweet lace-trimmed pillow with a dancing boy and girl for Sarah’s bed
a “one september” blouse that Grace found for herself
oversized cotton kitchen towel and seven spoons which are currently soaking in bleach water
wooden framed country decorations
The most thrilling; knitting needles, green rick rack and brown lace trim (three dollars)
knitting needles!!
My second most thrilling find; a McCoy Orange cookie jar. Oh, I love it. There was a strawberry and a green pepper, but I preferred the orange.
the lovely lid, may it never break
I brought this home for my husband.
“Mr. Great-heart”
“I am always full of good motions.”
“Mercy would be making coats and garments for the poor.”
I’m happy-happy about my new crochet project, with a pattern that I had to figure out, more complex than I’ve ever attempted. It’s not perfect but it’s beautiful to me, and I’m going to keep working on it now, and then make cookies to put in my new cookie jar, with Sabrina on as well.
As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world. ~Terri Guillemets
It’s 7:30pm and dark outside. I can hear water running off the roof and this evening before the sun went down there was a thick, white fog. They say this rain will turn to snow later on toward morning.
The time change has been throwing me a bit of kilter……sleeping a little bit too late into the mornings and a general feeling of being “off” with the clock.
Yesterday the temperature reached the mid 50’s. We spent as much time outside as possible and I even fell–right into the stream.
Today has been full and busy with Community Bible Study and then a trip to Costco. When I got home Ethan, David, and Caleb were already home so they helped put away the groceries. I put a chicken pot pie in the oven and then I went right back out to pick up Jacob from track, and go to the elementary school to meet with 2 teachers.
The parent teacher meetings went well. Generally speaking, I have two smart boys capable of making A+ grades but lacking the drive to achieve them. We all wish we could find a way to “turn them on” to doing their very best all the time.
Since I have some extra time tonight, only because I told my husband I was going to bed and left him alone with the kids, I thought I would post some pictures of the last few days………
On Monday, the little ones went outside to enjoy the snow.
On Tuesday, Ethan and David shot their bows (into a target set up in front of a snowbank).
It’s always fun to be outside in “warm” enough weather for no coat, yet still have snow on the ground
During the children’s nap time yesterday, I went for a little walk on our property, into the woods. I noticed a lot of deer tracks and droppings. There was an actual deer path to the stream.
I followed the path (like a deer) but didn’t drink any water. I walked next to the stream back toward home. It breaks off into different directions and was frozen over with snow on top so I unknowingly walked right over the ice.
I fell right in. I fell in and said out loud, “I just fell in!” No one was around to hear me but I laughed, “I can’t believe I just did that!” I scratched my way back up to solid ground and looked back. Would you believe an egg had fallen out of my pocket! I wanted it so bad but there was no way to reach it without falling back in, and my boots were already so filled with water. I knew I had to just go home.
I had been having a rather dull and blah day mentally (darn time change!) but this little experience perked me right up. I took a dip into a frozen stream and survived, with pride. Like a wild adventurer.
My boots are still upside down on the porch, drying.
Me and my Caleb, or “club” as I sometimes call him, or “clubby”. I love this boy.so.so.much.
I noticed Sarah reading a book to our cat through the window and grabbed the camera……so cute!
making friends
Seth looks so tiny on his Dad’s lap, listening to Little Pilgrim’s Progress. My baby boy (five years old).
Seth requested spaghetti with meatballs for dinner.
After they were cooked through, I put them in the crock pot with this 6 pound can of tomato sauce, to simmer until it was time to cook the pasta.
I also made a big tossed salad with real greens not from a bag. Washing lettuce is such a pain but OH so much better than the (very convenient) bagged stuff. I also added tomatoes, onion, cubed mozzarella, grated carrot, and a shaking of dried oregano.
It was a youth group night so the older kids didn’t eat nearly as much as they usually do and there was a ton of leftovers. *sigh*
But everything was delicious. I love cooking for my family.
When I told Seth to smile he thought I was video-recording him. He leaned forward and said to the phone, “My mom won’t let me have a soda.”
I bought myself some beautiful wild looking flowers, on tall stalks. Little purple flowers, just the prettiest things.
I didn’t get a chance to put them in a vase until I got home from the school and I was rushing, trying to do many things at once. You know how the flowers come with a packet of powdered preservative? Well, I opened the packet up, sprinkled half of it in a vase, and put half the flowers in the vase. I put them in the bathroom. Then, I got a glass pitcher to put the rest of the flowers in and added what I thought was the rest of the packet of powdered preservative. I dumped it all in, used the flower stems to stir it up…..it looked strange…..I grabbed the packet to discover:
I had used the rest of a package of Emergen-C. (the first vase was correct, the second was a completely different packet, I tell you I am going nutso) I burst out laughing and Jacob wanted to know what was funny so I told him. “Well, those are gonna die,” he remarked. “They might live longer!” I replied. I’ll let you know.
Pretty flowers in a pitcher of Emergen-C. I’ll never get over it.
Catnap
All together, all but Grace (who got home at 6). This was taken tonight.
I have to put Grace in this post so here is an old picture of her from December:
She’s wearing make up. She just came in my room a minute ago and asked me to start pinning to her board on pinterest. She and I want to redecorate her bedroom next month, we are collecting ideas. Yes, she is on pinterest and I can’t believe how she’s taken to it. (((I love having a teenage daughter!!)))
I bought this book at Costco today. I love Susan Branch and the inside of this book is all handwritten with illustrations. It’s pretty and fun, like reading her real journal. I always forget that she has a blog, I need to go check it out. I’ve liked her for years– ever since I got married, and someone gave me one of her cookbooks. I also have a Country Living magazine still in it’s bag that I need to read. I got it last week, but in this full and busy season of life there is hardly time to focus on my magazines.
Before I go to sleep at night I read a few pages of War and Peace.
I wanted so much to tell you about Thelma and her eyes but I guess I’ll have to save that for another day.
Fiesta ware is manufactured in the USA and is a sturdy, simple set of dishes and accessories with elegant but humble lines. Fiesta, in my opinion, is best known for it’s bright, solid colors. Every once in a while a new color is produced and/or an old one is retired, making collecting fresh and exciting. My parents got me started on my fiesta collection in 1998 with cobalt blue, and over the years my collection has grown with many of my friends and family members giving me pieces (thank you!) I used to be much more passionate about adding, but other interests have taken over my time now. I remember the days of going to tag sales just hoping for a find. I think the best day was when I bought a small fiesta teapot clock for ten cents, which has since been broken by the children (it ticked nicely but never did keep the correct time, it was totally worth the 10 cents).
Crackerbarrel used to carry Fiesta in their giftshop, but my best sources now for an immediate purchase is Macy’s or Kohl’s. At full price, it is very much out of my price range, I only buy on sale and sometimes find a good clearance price.
Brimfield Antiques show (locally) is a great place to purchase seconds and I usually get a piece when I go with my sister once or twice a year.
The best way to receive Fiesta is as generous gifts, but the best way to buy it for yourself (or for your friend Shanda) is online. The HLC Fiesta outlet store is great. They ship quickly and everything is packaged so nicely. It’s a treat to open a box of smooth, shiny fiesta ware, especially if you’ve ordered a variety of colors.
I used to have fun by acquiring it, now I have fun by playing with my collection. For the month of February, I decorated my hutch like this:
Yesterday, I sadly put away all my Scarlet and Rose and White, and happily got out all the GREENS.
(click to view gloriously larger!)
The plate on the bottom left is lemongrass and I don’t know if it really belongs but for the “grass” I kept it, although it is more of a “lemon”.
Green is my favorite color.
It is Ethan’s favorite color, too.
It’s Ethan’s 16th birthday tomorrow, so this is a nice display for the birthday boy, too.
Let me introduce you to some of the pieces:
This is a small heart shaped Shamrock bowl. My friend Elissa sent it to me. I remember opening it and being doubly thrilled because #1 it was fiesta, and #2 I did not know that the heart shape even existed.
My friend Kathy gave me this vintage forest green covered sugar dish. I love the handles. I usually keep this one in a glass cabinet to keep it safe. It feels delicate in my hands and I worry about it’s knob on top, too. Isn’t it beautiful?
I found this vintage light green ice lip pitcher at the antiques show in Brimfield. It was only 15 dollars because it has a chip. It’s solid and nice and round, so friendly, I use it for water and as a vase, too.
This is a modern piece, square Shamrock mug with a java handle (fiesta typically has the trademark “ring” handles).
I found some vintage fiesta ware at a local antique shop and the lady who was selling it had more at her house that she invited me to see. This medium green tea cup was one of the things she sold me from her house while serving me freshly picked raspberries from her vines out back. Medium green is the most valuable of all the colors and I brought it home with shaking hands. (The color is also referred to as “John Deere” green to help differentiate the different shades). It was only produced for 10 years, from 1959-1969.
Only one of my vintage light green salt and pepper shakers has the original cork on the bottom.
The lovely dancing Fiesta lady on a Shamrock trivet.
The pie plate on the bottom left by the shaker is a retired color…Juniper….and the top oval plate is also a retired color…Evergreen….
Good to be Home 