Still Not Really Spring

A little of this and a little of that sort of post.

Such is life where we live... winter comes and just stays and stays.  April 1st and this is the view from the back door.  Lots of snow piled up still and a plank bridge out to the chicken coop for those warm/wet/muddy days when the yard turns into a bog.

Now to be fair, we've had tremendous amounts of melting and the dirt road we live on is a rutted mess on a good day and a quagmire on a warmer day.  This is also known as 'mud season' where we live, so it is all to be expected.

We are plodding along (sometimes literally!), Steve and I have begun our almost daily walks again - which is so lovely! There is a nice loop about 3 miles long that we do together and chat about everything and anything. It is time I cherish with the man I love.

The kids are entering the home stretch of our school year and as this is now officially the end of Jess' Jr. year (we have re-shuffled things due to a change of heart on her part), we are also making plans to meet with a college adviser, attend a few college fairs and looking towards some campus visits in the coming weeks.

Ben has begun learning to drive so I'm spending lots of time in the passenger seat again.  We are also contemplating the purchase of a new vehicle and that is producing not-a-little-bit of anxiety for me as I try to sort through models and trim lines, needs vs. nice-to-haves, do test drives, research pricing and financing options, etc.  Not my most favorite thing, but a necessary evil in the world of car buying.

This coming Sunday is Easter (Resurrection Sunday) and we will be officially accepted into membership at our church (MCC) and I'm feeling rather happy about that fact.

Blessings on the journey all~

Random Brain Ramblings

I haven't posted much of late as I've been sort of in a low spot in many ways and have had trouble pulling my brain out of the fog for more than is required for just general life a lot of the time.
We've had a very long stretch of cycling snow storms and freezing cold temperatures and that has caused it's own issues as well as creating a certain amount of drab feelings and cabin fever alternatingly (is that really a word?).

We've had frozen heat pipes, a giant frost heave just outside the garage door, the chicken coop is at a definite angle - probably also due to frost heaves, we've had ice dams and leaking into the house, and as of yesterday, a different heating pipe has begun to leak and the plumber can't come until next week Tuesday.  I've had a weird tendonitis thing in my right hand/wrist that has made life very challenging and has completely thwarted my self-therapy of sewing.  The dog had surgery and then a weird doggie vertigo episode that has resulted in lots of vet visits and bills.

All this is fairly negative on the surface, however there have been many good things and bright spots as well.
There are things to be thankful for even when things are hard:

• After my temper-tantrum with God back in September (mom-camp), we started attending church in Peterborough (Monadnock Congregational Church) and that has been a tremendous blessing and source of peace.  Steve and I even attended membership class with the Pastor and are planning to become members during the month of March (Lord willing).
• We've had some rough spots with friends and family that have required us to speak up and step out of our normal non-confrontational lifestyle to deal with uncomfortable issues - this has resulted in shifts in relationships that prayerfully God is putting on the right track again.
• Almost all of the house issues have resolved - mostly - without any really dreadful situations or too horrendous of expenses.  And we are really evaluating what is needful for projects and home improvements both long and short-term.  I do see having to paint the family room this year after the water leaking in left water spots on the ceiling, but that was sort of needful anyway.
• My chiropractor has made great improvement in my hand/wrist with a new technique.
• Today it is 40 degrees and the sun is peaking out!
• The kids are healthy and doing well with their school work and we are working on our plans for next year including starting to look at colleges for Jess.
• Ben is learning to drive.
• I'm reading several books right now.
• Steve built Jess some fun built-in bookshelves in her room.

• Steve is working on building me a design wall for my sewing room.
• My chickens are all still laying and seem to be surviving their first winter okay.
• My new cat Gypsy is settling in nicely and loves to sit on my desk with me.
• We have had some great silly laugh-fests when we get a bit stir crazy.
• I've got lots of projects to work on once my hand heals enough to get back to sewing.
• There is prayer meeting on Thursday evenings at church and it's wonderful.
• There is coffee and chocolate and fudge in my world.
• I have a husband who is truly amazing, loves me so and cares for me completely, and we've just celebrated 19 years of marriage!
• My kids are awesome, smart, funny and very helpful.
• I have dear friends to share with, laugh with and who will keep me in prayer.
• I know that Jesus loves me and will carry me through the toughest things by His grace & mercy.

Blessings on the journey~

Random Life

There are times when my life feels sort of random and disconnected.  That there is little flow of continuity from one area or subject that requires my attention to the next.  Sometimes it is almost amusing.  This fact is clearly illustrated by these photos from my phone.

Curved quilted pillow I made testing out a new ruler & book of patterns

Buckwheat sprouts on the window sill - growing for my chickens

new quilt rack Steve found for me at a local consignment shop

my brand new quilt labels!

Books I'm reading right now - on the coffee table

My newest fur baby - Gypsy

A Random Childhood Memory & Recipe

A few weeks ago Steve and I were discussing things that we remembered eating fairly regularly as children but that we have never had as adults or fed to our own children.  **Yes - I do realize that this is probably not a normal conversation line for most people but we are not 'most' people.**

One of the items in question was Boston Brown Bread in a can - he didn't remember the can part as he only ever saw said bread on the table but he did remember that it was round and he didn't quite know why.

About a week later J and I were in the grocery store and found it and were compelled to send a photo via text to him just for giggles.

The other day I was reading through a handful of blogs that I enjoy and stumbled on this post about muffins... and in particular THIS recipe.


An actual recipe for Boston Brown Bread muffins!  Yes - I was way too excited about this and vowed to make a batch as soon as I could remember to purchase some rye flour - as it is not something I normally stock in my pantry.
On Monday I finally remembered to purchase a small package of the needed flour and just this morning had the opportunity to bake a batch of the muffins.  I mixed them up according to the HM's directions and even the batter had the same aroma I remembered from my childhood.  Soon the kitchen smelled of molasses baking and even J agreed it smelled good.

After about 15 minutes they were done!

Warm with real butter and ... YUM!

A childhood memory memory made from scratch and so good!  J did try a half of a muffin but was unimpressed.  When Steve gets home from work, he can try them and see if they match his memory and then tomorrow I'll take a few down to my folks when I visit them and see if they remember... I'm sure they will.

Blessings,

Pondering a Remark

Photo by Steve - because fall is my favorite

The photo has nothing to do with my post - I just love it.  Steve took it last week near our home.  He's amazing like that.

Anyway - I'm pondering a remark that someone made to me during a conversation this past weekend.  In one sense I find it amusing and in another, slightly terrifying.
The remark happened when I mentioned one of my favorite topics - home schooling.  For those of you who aren't aware, we home educate our children and are now in our 12th year of schooling at home,
I believe my children are bright and funny, well-read, articulate (usually) and thoughtful, caring, kind, generally responsible, etc, etc, etc.  Basically pretty great young adults that are seeking to follow Christ.  At this point I'm pretty close to feeling like - Lord willing and by God's amazing grace - they are going to be successful adults in whatever plans God has for their lives.

So - back to the conversation.  I was talking with someone who teaches public school for a living. 
I mentioned that we home school and nodded toward my daughter who is almost 16 now and a junior in high school. 
The other person looked at J and looked back at me and said "I don't think I could ever do that. I think I would put too much pressure on myself."
I replied that there are lots of resources for the academics, but our goal is to raise young adults in Christ for God's glory and it isn't really about the numbers at all.  I said that our primary academic goal is mastery/excellence and having them know how to learn and do things - not just perform on tests. Then I added my standard line - as a parent you teach your children a ton before they are 5 years old anyway (walking, talking, using the potty, eating with a fork, saying please/thank you and to not hit/bite their friends), the academics just build from there.  The other person just sort of looked at me stunned and shook their head.

I was amused because this person teaches other people's children for money.  It is their job. Yet they feel there would be too much pressure to teach their own child(ren)?  That seems funny to me.  Wouldn't you think the pressure would come from the fact that you take money from someone to do something well? 

The terrifying part is that this person teaches other people's children for money.  It is their job.  Yet they don't feel the same pressure for something that they do for a paycheck that they imagine would be there for their own child(ren)? 

Standard disclaimer - Given the nature of the topic - I always add this part:  I fully realize that not everyone feels called by God to home educate their children.  I also realize that there are good and bad home school parents and public school teachers alike.  I am NOT making a judgement of people who make a different choice from our family - only stating that this choice makes sense for our family and our situation and according to what we know God wants from us as parents and as a family.

New Wall Art

Moving to a new house means new decorating challenges.  This house has many more walls than our old one did, so I'm going to have my work cut out for me in the coming months.
Last night I found this....

And it is now hanging above my desk/computer.  It makes me smile.

A Random Scarf

Back before Christmas I won a blog give-away on this really great blog... I was SO excited as I don't normally win things.  Plus I love reading Eyvonne's posts and I felt more connected when she emailed me personally to find out my choice for my prize.

The prize was a scarf of my choice from this pretty amazing company FashionAble. 
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm pretty fashion-impaired.  I do not do 'styles' and pretty much stick to solid colors and basics for fear of embarrassing myself or my family by looking like a ... well... a 40+ year old woman who doesn't know fashion.  So the opportunity to have something stylish for free - plus knowing it was for a great cause was a definite win-win in my book.

My scarf arrived after the New Year and I was a bit baffled as to how to wear it, thankfully there is a spot on the FashionAble website that explains it! :-)  I love my scarf!  It's a basic black and goes with lots of the tops I own already.  I have even been brave and worn it to church... yes... I wore something style-y in public and no one looked at me strangely! Win!

So... that is my random post for today... now back to packing boxes.

Blessings on the journey~

It makes me smile

This is a close up of my new bedspread as it was back-lit with sunshine on the clothes line. 

Here it is with no back lighting.  The color is sort of between the two photos - a buttery yellow that is cheerful and soft.
It makes me so happy! 
It's a cotton (old-fashioned) bed spread - the kind with fringe around 3 sides and it pulls up over the pillows - I found way way on clearance from the LL Bean outlet store in Nashua.  I love to sit on it in the morning when I'm doing my devotional time and run my bare feet over the top of it.  It feels like summertime & vacation to me.  Like being at a cabin that your grandparents have by the ocean or the lake or up in the mountains.
I'm sure this makes no sense to anyone else... but it brings me such happiness that I wanted to share a slice of silly smiley-ness.  I think everyone should have things in their home that make them smile...  just because!

Blessings on the journey~

Odd Cat

Crazy random photos -

After seeing me post this photo on Facebook, one of Steve's running friends told him "That is one odd little cat you have." Yes - she is sitting in a trashcan in the bathroom.  We don't know why.

Yes - those are Steve's ratty old work shorts and that is the odd orange kitten peeking out.  Seems it was a comfy spot.

Saffron is just the newest addition to the pet-insanity that we live with here... and we love her.  She is lots of fun even if she doesn't really know her name and seems to think we all exist simply to feed her and provide a lap to sleep on when she needs one.

Musing about life

I've been thinking a lot lately about life...specifically my life (and by extension my family's life).  I've also been doing a bit more reading than usual, even for me.  I have finished a few books in the last week or so, and am working through two different Bible study books right now.
I've also been spending some time poking around various blogs, some of the 'mommy' variety, a few homeschooling ones, the occasional sewing find, a bunch of 'frugal/money' type, and most importantly, several that are devoted to God's truth being shared for women specifically.
God is really speaking to me in a lot of areas right now and it feels a bit overwhelming and chaotic on the surface, but deep down in my heart I feel peaceful, loved and cared for ...like a small, beloved child being taught important things.
I have often felt that my life is sort of in a series of boxes.  Each related, but distinct and generally separated on some level from the rest.  I know this is not a truth per se, but just a general feeling of how things flow at various times and seasons for me.
I am first and foremost a follower of Christ.  Stumblingly, imperfectly, forgiven and starting again daily I seek to live in God's will for my life and bring Him glory.
This has not always been the case, even though I was saved (born again, redeemed, etc. choose your favorite term) as a child - I think I was about 8 or 10 years old - I have not always lived my faith.  This is not a fact I am proud of by any stretch, but it is a fact nonetheless.  By God's amazing grace and faithfulness, I found my way back about 9 or 10 years ago and have been blessed by a steady growth of my faith and strengthening of all I believe as I study the Bible and draw closer to my Savior.  I have also been blessed beyond measure to see 3 of our children and my husband come to faith in Christ during the last 9 years also.
Secondly I am a beloved wife to an awesome man and a (mostly) devoted mother to my terrific children.  These two roles are my highest calling and dearest ministry on the planet.
I also home educate our youngest two children, so I am a teacher.  I am a student in that I try to read/learn new things regularly.  I am a daughter.  I am a friend.  I am a quilter and seamstress.  I am an aspiring cook/baker.  I am the acting CFO of our family life.  I am generally the caretaker of the furry creatures that love us.  I am a less than stellar house-keeper (though I try to be better all the time).  I am passionately politically conservative and incorrect. I am a believer in absolute truth and see things very often in terms of right and wrong.  I am aspiring to become a better steward and more frugal in our finances and living.  I am a very slow and not very committed runner.
I am many things and yet I am just one.... me.
As random as all this may seem, it is all part of a process I am working through to attempt to un-compartmentalize (is that a word?) my life.  I don't like fragments generally.  I want to seamlessly live a life that is pleasing to God while fulfilling all the work He has set before me.   I don't want to miss His best for me because I am chasing loose ends flapping in the breeze of my life.
Much of my studies and reading lately have focused on truly trusting God...with everything.  I have a sense of being on the brink of something, yet have no idea what it may be.  Sort of like standing at a cross-road or at the edge of a staircase, but I can't see either road or step.  It's weird, exciting, terrifying, and yet I'm not scared.  I'm more anxiously excited to see what God is about to do.

I have learned a few things recently that struck me as profound.

• God has a perfect plan and it will not be thwarted by anything I do or do not do
• He can use me for His purposes if I am willing and obedient.
• His ways are not my ways and how He will accomplish something is probably not going to be the way I expect or would even choose.
• He can use something we see as dreadful to accomplish something wonderful.
• He sees what I will become and that is like Christ.  (How cool is THAT!?!)
• God loves me...completely... totally...unconditionally... now. (That one is really beyond amazing!)
• Jeremiah 29:11 is true even when I have no idea what is happening or will happen next.

 Blessings on the journey ~
  

Just Wednesday Rambling

Today is Wednesday.
Do you ever feel like Wednesday is this sort of no-man's land?  Stuck in the middle of the week, not usually a terribly exciting day, still feels like miles to go before the weekend and anything 'fun'.
I like Wednesday.  It feels like I'm making progress through the week to finally be half-done and hopefully things on the 'to do' list are being checked off.  Not always, but most weeks.
Today is a 'home day' for us.  The only outing may be a bike-ride to the library later.  Tonight is Steve's track work out and I have quilt group (if I'm feeling better), and that means a fairly easy supper of breakfast food - the kids favorite dinner usually.
I spent some time this morning thinking about Steve's birthday, which is tomorrow.  I am continually amazed by my husband.  He is so wonderful in my eyes and I never feel like I am quite conveying to him how important he is to me and our family.  It's tough to tell a modest man how marvelous he is.  He just doesn't seem to believe me.  It can be really frustrating at times... I want to really show him how much I love him, how much I appreciate him, how proud he makes me to be his wife.... and have no idea how to do so.   Maybe someday I'll have a brilliant stroke of inspiration.
The kids have begun some minor summer-schooling work.  J is taking an on-line writing course and so far it seems to be going well.  I am getting closer to having our next school year plan mapped out.  Only about a half-dozen more lesson plans to do.  Science is split this year so that means 2 plans for one subject (J & B).  Actually this year they have much more split subjects than ever before.  Having them grow is wonderful, but the planning is more involved.  I'm looking forward to a wonderful year for them both.  It seems like such an accomplishment to have them both in Middle School grades this year!  We have reached a milestone!  B is 6th grade now and J is 8th.  We'll see how excited I am about it when I'm mired in pre-algebra & astronomy lessons later in the year.
Off to continue my Wednesday by hanging some laundry on the line.  I love my life.

Random Rainy Day Stuff

It's a rainy day in New Hampshire.  Not terribly exciting, but we've had a good day.
I slept in a bit this morning, easy to do with the gray skies and gentle pitter-patter of raindrops on the trees.  I do love that sound. 
After some odds-n-ends of things accomplished over coffee, I glanced out the window to see a mini-van pulling into my driveway.  A woman I've only met through email was stopping by to purchase a book from me.
I went downstairs and met her at the kitchen door with a big smile and laugh about the fact that I was still in my robe & slippers.  As a fellow homeschooling Mom, being in pjs at 9am didn't surprise her.  Good thing.   After she bought the book and went to leave, she realized that she had locked her keys in her van.  Back she came and we each had a nice cup of herbal tea and chatted at the kitchen table while waiting for her husband to come with another set of keys.  A pleasant 15 minutes shared with a like-minded person.  A nice start.
After she had gone I did my strength training and got ready to go for a walk.  I dragged J along with me for the 3 miles in the drizzle.  She was good company if not overly thrilled about the distance we covered.
Back home for a hot shower and lunch and then off to run some errands.  We had to get gas in the truck and I was tickled to use my Override card and save 20 cents per gallon!  It doesn't sound like a big thrill, but when you have to put 20 gallons of gas in your truck... it helps!  Then we hit Shaw's for a few things as I had a $4 coupon to use that was going to expire and I wanted to get a jar of Hoisin Sauce that is needed in a few new recipes I want to try out in the next few weeks.
We also hit Tractor Supply for a bag of new dog food for Piper.  She is our enormous yellow lab.

We are switching her to a higher quality (read more expensive!) food to try and control her weight and keep her healthy.  I've been researching pet food for a few weeks now and settled on Blue Buffalo for her.  Hopefully she will like it.  I also found out that they will be hosting a farmer's market every Wednesday afternoon right in the parking lot at TS here in town.  Woohoo!
Our last stop was the library, I had requested a copy of Ben & Jerry's ice cream recipe book through inter-library loan.  I love that feature!
Now to decide which recipe to try first with my new ice cream maker attachment for my mixer.  We've never made home-made ice cream before and I'm looking forward to it.  We can make up all sorts of yummy things and hopefully it will be less expensive and maybe a bit healthier.
Tonight Steve has his running club track work-out and I think I'm going to spend the some time sewing before I start dinner (a new recipe is planned for tonight!).  I'm working on some blocks to take to quilt ministry next week.  We have LOTS of new babies coming in our church this year.  God has blessed me thoroughly by the opportunity to do something I love (sew) as a ministry.