Fall Schmall

Ya, you all just go ahead and eat your pumpkin pie and drink your fresh made apple cider. Here’s my lunch today…

Nothing says summer like a plate of Caprese with fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella.

I sure wish I was not out of sea salt.

I found the book for $1.50 on my very profitable garage and estate sale perusing this weekend. More on that later. The book is called Time Out Ladies! By Dale Evans Rogers “A dynamic recipe for good living by one of America’s most beloved women”, copyright 1966. I thought it would be fun to see what is the same for women today -- and what is not.

My new 1960’s glass (from the GW) is filled with my favorite iced tea,

sweetened with a tad of real maple syrup.

I’ll be eating pie soon enough.

P.S. By the way, if any of you know anything about that Georges Briard glass, I’d love to hear it. The whole thing is glass, but the bottom has an outer coating of a rubbery, light-yellow coating filled with glitter.

Very different.

Finding A Sweet Spot

Last year, on a whim, we left one campground for another while following my little brothers around. One was visiting from SoCal and we wanted as much time with him, and with my other brother, as we could have. We went to the basic area they had in mind -- and discovered one of the best camping spots we have ever found.

We have since referred to it as “The Sweet Spot”

That’s where we are supposed to be this week if it weren’t for the gosh-dawg weather.

I can’t always be gallivanting about, but I do have Sweet Spots here and there around our home and property, that I can enjoy most every day. Some of them are areas where I have put things I love and provided with chairs and what-not (don’t you love when people use the word “what-not”? Once, when we were at a campground listening to a ranger give a talk, we counted how many times he said “what-not” and it was over 20! So I am using it here just for my enjoyment!).

There are other areas I love even passing by or walking to and sitting on the ground, or just standing and taking in the view and what-not.

View from my new Morning Sweet Spot

This morning I sat in a newly created Sweet Spot. Outside. Because my favorite Sweet Spots are usually outside. It was somewhat brisk, so I wore my (husband’s grandfather’s) old wool shirt over my pj’s and had a blanket (crocheted by my late step-grandmother) around me.

Someone gave us the table when they were moving, and I spray painted it lime green. Someone else who was moving gave us the cute Indian Blue papasan lawn chairs. They really are too low for this table, but I rarely read or use my computer on a tabletop anyway. I just need a place to set my books and coffee.

The pile of books I am currently working on

I found the quaint tablecloth for ten dollars. I love birds. Embroidered birds are especially sweet. And I think I mentioned that I have been falling in love with old linens. I was just thinking of how I wished I had one I love for that table and, out-of-the-blue, on an unexpected side trip from taking my son to lunch on Saturday, I found it – the perfect size and practically custom made to my preferences.

Each little piece of this spot has it’s own story – bought at the beach, love the size and shape, found at the GW and works great for this or that – but my post would be too long and boring if I told you all about each of them.

Today I even had my own special soundtrack. These two boys were having a crow-off.

You can see who got the girls…

I was rewarded for getting up early by this gorgeous, naturally framed sunrise behind my left shoulder…

And by getting a glimpse of this little volunteer who has been trying to bloom for weeks.

Being a morning person has it’s perks

I love that, no matter what our lack of budget, we can create little spaces that are our own, where the things we place there help us relax, breathe in the good things in life and reflect on sweet memories.

Where we love to be.

I hope that today you can find your very own Sweet Spot… and what-not. Enjoy your view!

Happy Labor Day!

What Do You Subscribe to?

I used to be a voracious reader. Seriously, I’d read book after book after book. I still enjoy reading, but my choices are so much different. I rarely read a novel anymore. It’s usually a biography or more of an informational/instructional book. Or a story I am reading to or with one of my children for school or for fun. Novels don’t seem to capture my attention enough to really get into them.

I do enjoy reading magazine articles, especially with beautiful pictures. I can get from the beginning to the end within one cup of coffee or tea, curled up on my new Napoleon Dynamite Chair (more on that another day) from Craigslist.

For years, my dear Gramsie subscribed to Guideposts and Reader’s Digest for us. Those were sweet and pleasant reads. Sometimes they were informational, sometimes inspirational, but almost always at least casually enjoyable. Guideposts stopped coming a few years ago. But this is the first year of no RD. Gran is winding down and it’s sorta hard to experience the process, even if it is just a magazine.

Back in the day, I subscribed to a certain magazine. Mostly because I liked the idea of it. Looking at it made me feel like, by merely having it on my coffee table, I’d be able to create a ethereal, magical home with lots of feminine appeal. Oh, and INCREDIBLE gardens. Wondrous, lush havens where we could find a cool respite on a hot day, glass of lemonade in hand, whilst whiling away our leisure time.

Well, namely:

Can you see why I felt that way?

Well, that was short lived. I think I subscribed off and on for a year or two. Being married and working full time, then being pregnant and sick, then being a mother – life was busy and finances were low.

Oh, I recently noticed they are back in print so I went to their website to check it out.

“Serenity awaits you in every issue of Victoria magazine. Unabashedly feminine, Victoria offers the best in charming home décor, gracious gardens, entertaining touches, intimate profiles of inspiring women, and off-the-beaten-path travel destinations. Leave the every-day behind with Victoria. “

Well, according to this, I still could create that magical oasis -- if I subscribe. They have a free issue offer, so maybe I’ll sign up for it and maybe we’ll see. <Probably not.>

Then I subscribed to this more practical resource (calling it a resource makes it sound very utilitarian, thereby justifying the cost. Very clever.):

Yummy – This issue is even about soup, my fave!

I have subscribed to this for years and years. And I use it all of the time. And I have all of my back issues. My kids use it each year for our extended family cookie contest at Christmas. There are recipes I’ve made for most of the kid’s lives in it, including special things I make almost every holiday. I LOVE it. Very practical recipes, not calling for alot of ingredients I don’t already have or frequently use. Yes, you can get many of their recipes online. But not all of them. And I don’t always want to pull up the internet every time I want to cook. My kids, especially my daughter, also enjoy looking through it. And I want to encourage that sort of thing.

While fishing through other people’s magazine’s for a project I was working on for a bible study assignment at church, I came across a magazine that I have always enjoyed looking at in the doctor’s office. It reminded me how much I loved it. So I decided to subscribe. I have received two issues of Sunset so far and it does not disappoint!

If you know me very well, or you have read a few of my blog posts, especially this time of year, you know I love camping (in fact, I am camping right now). So this was the perfect first issue for me to receive.

With cooking, NW destinations, camping, great outdoor features, gardening and home decor, etc. It is definitely my style. I have either made or am going to make several projects or recipes they feature each month. The pictures are beautiful and make me just want to get out there and experience all that life has to offer! I am loving it and look forward to each new issue.

So, hey! What are you reading these days? Do you subscribe to any magazines? Check any out from the library? What book is on your nightstand or on the arm of your version of a Napoleon Dynamite chair?

I've Got To Talk To Somebody, God

On my recent trip to visit my Grandma, she gave me a few old books she was finished with. In her condo, much smaller than the house she lived in while I was growing up, her bookshelves are full to overflowing. And I love old books. Okay, I love books, period. But old books are something special, especially if they once belonged to my Grandma.

These days, I don't have much time to read long books. On the days I do, just about every attempt leads to sleep. I am a pretty energetic person. But when I sit still my body thinks it must be time to sleep. So I find myself reading books that are short, magazine articles, etc. And blogs. Of course blogs.

One of the books Grandma gave me is a normal sized chapter book. But within each chapter is a series of prayers. I have a similar one by Elisabeth Elliot that I love. This one is written by Marjorie Holmes and is called I've Got To Talk To Someone, God -- A Woman's Conversations With God, published in 1968. I love the conversational style in which she writes. And the authenticity I hear through what she writes.

How much of this prayer rings true for you? What parts? I love that she is just so real. And I love that the Lord is just so always there.



"I've got to talk to somebody, God.

I'm worried, I'm unhappy. I feel inadequate so often, hopeless, defeated, afraid.

Or again I'm so filled with delight I want to run into the streets proclaiming, 'Stop, world, listen! Hear this wonderful thing'.

But nobody pauses to listen, out there or here -- here in the very house where I live. Even those closest to me are so busy, so absorbed in their own concerns.

They nod and murmur and I make an effort to share it, but they can't; I know they can't before I begin.



There are all these walls between us - husband and wife, parent and child, neighbor and neighbor, friend and friend.

Walls of self. Walls of silence. Even walls of words.

For even when we try to talk to each other new walls begin to rise. We camouflage, we hold back, we make ourselves sound better than we really are. Or we are shocked and hurt by what is revealed. Or we sit privately in judgment, criticizing even when we pretend to agree.



But with you, Lord, there are no walls.

You, who made me, know my deepest emotions, my most secret thoughts. You know the good of me and the bad of me, you already understand.

Why, then, do I turn to you?

Because as I talk to you my disappointments are eased, my joys are enhanced. I find solutions to my problems, or the strength to endure what I must.

From your perfect understanding I receive understanding for my own life's needs.

Thank you that I can always turn to you. I've got to talk to somebody, God."




I pray you can turn to Him today, to share whatever it is that is on your heart. Me too:)

Let's Talk About Grief: Anniversaries Can Be Hard

One year, ten years -- it doesn't matter how long. Once a loved one is gone, they are always gone. And their memory is a part of who we are. So anniversaries are often hard. It can be the anniversary of a birthday, a wedding anniversary, the anniversary of a special time spent together ... or the anniversary of their death. That is why I write today.

Seven Years. I don't think any American hears the numbers 911 or 9-11 without remembering. And when we remember those who died, in sympathy we think of those who knew them. Those who walked along beside them and were witnesses to their lives. Those who loved them and were loved by them. And our hearts are squeezed anew with sadness.

I think of so many others who are suffering on this day because of the war that ensued. Lives have been valiantly given. Many people have paid the price, either by giving their life or by the loss of a loved one who courageously paid that price.

And I think of people who have recently lost loved ones and grief is fresh. A sweet young mother in our church died unexpectedly this week. She has a husband and an 8 year old daughter. Heartbreaking. Heart rending. Raw grief.

There are those of us who are further along in grief, yet still have aching hearts, and who yearn for that someone who is not here. Every day can bring memories, every year more anniversaries. Once you have grieved, truly grieved, you are never the same.

This is the human condition, yet not a condition we were created for. I don't personally believe death is natural. That is why we struggle with it so. We were not created unto death, but unto life. And one day there will be no more death. No more death of our bodies and no more death of hopes and dreams and expectations.

For each of these griefs we can turn to the Bible for comfort. There is so much there that sustains. When we lost our baby boy in 1998 I turned to it often. I was so grateful for the passages I had "hidden in my heart". And I read alot of books whose authors pointed me toward that Source, and who made so many of the words and concepts more understandable.

"Here we will attempt to show that God is dependable in grief always - no matter what causes it - and that once we accept the loss there is a chance for participation in healing for the stricken person left behind.

Are you rebelling already at that word accept? To accept the irrevocable fact that a loved one is gone, whether by natural death, desertion, divorce, suicide, or accident is the first necessity. But in the early hours of our journey through any darkness,true acceptance is often impossible. You will say "You don't need to remind me that my loved one is gone. It hurts to breathe." But true acceptance does not stop with mere acknowledgment of the fact. True acceptance, when one is counting on God's redemption of grief, includes our agreement to join God in bringing an end to our night of weeping. And you who grieve, only you, will know when the moment comes that you feel you can begin to participate with Him." ~Eugenia Price

We are all today, in our collective grief, remembering. May we be comforted as we comfort one another. And if you are weeping today in your personal pain, I pray you too will find comfort and solace. Let us all reach out in love and compassion. We never know who is sitting right next to us with an aching heart.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be abel to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with whcih we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds in Christ." 2 Cor. 1:3-5

Melon+Collie=

This is how I feel today.

Get it?




When I am melancholy, it is time to apply the "mantra" I heard from Gregg Harris at a homeschool conference and brought home about 5 years ago. As a family "we" have adopted it as a way worth living our lives. I have repeated it to countless friends and I am about to read the book his sons wrote on the topic for teens (really, I am. It is on my reading list and my virtual shelf, right?).



Do Hard Things? Today? I don't wanna.

When I am feeling low and just want to crawl back into bed, I usually analyze myself for hours at a time. Why am I feeling like this? At "my" age, I suppose it could be hormones, being low in iron, wakeful night-times catching up to me, something's unsettled in my spirit or with a relationship... The possibilities are endless.

I really don't feel like getting the house ready for company. I REALLY don't feel like "riding herd" on the kids to do work. I am tired.

I really don't feel like doing reading with my daughter out of the same reading book I've used for the four before her, saying it slow and saying it fast, sounding out the words and hearing the same silly stories I've been hearing for the past 13 years. I really don't. I don't want to hear her read the word hunting just fine then get stuck on the word at.

Or listen to my sweet 8 year old trying so hard to do it right so he overemphasizes emotion in his voice that is reflective of the punctuation of the story he is reading. So when it says "We better hurry!", he reads it like the whole town is afire by inflection and volume. WE BETTER HURRY!!!! I appreciate his heart in this and see how precious it is that he tries so hard. And I want to want to sit with him. But today I don't.

Let's not even talk about junior high and high school math that needs my attention. I will definitely raise the Star Trek wall and there will be no putting it back down today. Subject closed.

I don't want to unearth the buffet, recently having become a dumping ground (why, after 7 years of no dumping, I do not know). Nor do I want to face the pile of mail or spot clean the carpet. This is just the visible-to-company stuff. Not to mention all of the other projects that nag at me continually that I can't seem to make a dent in.

Here I can launch into all of the "I'm a Holy Wife and Mother" reasons why all of this will be a blessing to my family and how encouraging that should be to me. Or how I am sure that by tonight I will be so glad I did. Or I can spend some more time analyzing why I am feeling this way.

But what it all boils down to is... when I say the words "do hard things", it isn't just for those days when I purposely take on an extra challenge like walking to the blinking light and back with a baby on my back or in a stroller (3 miles of hills), or those hard things forced upon us by necessity like tracking down a cow and calf over the countryside and trying to get them a mile back up the road and into a stall.

For ladies like you and me, it is just as much, if not more, about these day to day "I don't feel like it" moments and days. !!!

So here I go. I am sticking my chin out and letting my strong stubborn side prevail for good.

Here I go to DO HARD THINGS. 1....2....3....