Staying on the Path

If you've read this post already, please forgive me.  I posted it yesterday, but somehow it published incorrectly and was buried behind last week's posts.

Last weekend we went on a hike.  It was more like a walk in the woods on a flat, newly paved path, but it was lovely nonetheless and lead us to my most favorite vista in the area- a lovely, 180 degree sweeping view of the other side of the mountain we were on and the valley below.

The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth. 

Isaiah 26:7

This is a great path for kids.  Not only does it allow Miriam to stay steady on her feet but, off to the one side of the path, it's littered with huge boulders that the big kids love to climb on. The only problem with all this is that the little kid (two years old) also wants to climb the big boulders.  This becomes the problem of the mama (me) because I do not wish to climb them with her or watch her tumble off them.

The path of life leads upward for the wise; they leave the grave behind.  

Proverbs 15:24

On the way back to the van, I asked Sadie to stay on the path and keep off the rocks, as a favor to me, so that Miriam wouldn't beg to climb them again and again.  Don't feel too bad for Sadie, she got plenty of boulder climbing on the way out the path.

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. Proverbs 4:18

Poor Sadie could not keep her little self on that path.  She was drawn to those rocks like a magnet.  Sometimes she disobeyed on purpose and sometimes, I could tell, she honestly forgot and was lured away and into the rocks, brush and moss.  After about the twelfth reminder, something clicked in my brain.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. 

Psalm 119:105

I am just like a boulder-loving little girl on a path.  I want to stay on the path.  I really do.  I know that it's the right thing to do and I really want to obey.  And not just out of duty, but out of devotion.  And yet, some days I deliberately step off the path and head off into my own direction- because I'm impatient, tired of trying to be good, or because want what I want and think I know best.  Other days, I come to my senses and I'm way off the path and I wonder how I wandered this far.  What lured me away without my knowing?  Often I can retrace my mis-steps and determine where I went wrong, but it's too late.  I've strayed.

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. 

Psalm 16:11

Staying on the true path in this world is tough.  We are pulled and lured off it all the time and yet as faithful followers of Christ, we scramble back onto the path again and again and again and again because we love God, we want to give Him honor and praise and glory, and we seek the promises that staying on the path offers.

In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death. 

Proverbs 12:28

What are the things that cause you to stray?  The things that the Spirit calls you on, but you refuse to admit are off the path?  What are the activities, the habits, the temptations that pull you off before you know what's happening?

The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway. 

Proverbs 15:19

I challenge you today to respect the path and get yourself back on it every time, to recognize the things that draw you away and avoid those things.  We know what they are and if we're honest with ourselves we know that we could do a better job of not allowing them to distract and derail us.

I'll be right there beside you, doing my best to stay on just like you.  Oh, the joy we will find! 

Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. 

Psalm 119:35

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Kaleidograph Winners!

I'm so excited to help give these two kaleidographs away.  By all your responses, I can tell you're excited about it, too.  It appears that many of love all sorts of apple-related foods this time of year and that there are some strong feelings (both good and bad) about pumpkin/squash:-).  On to the winners...  But you're all really winners to me.  You know that, right?

The winner of the Flora Kaleidograph is...  Cindy G.!

The winner of the Crystal Kaleidograph is... Becky Ann Carico!

Congratulations to you both!  Winners, please email me your name and address and we'll get your Kaleidographs sent out to you.

Thank you to Red Hen Books & Toys for helping host this giveaway! Pin It

PB&J, All Grown Up

Peanut butter and jelly is no longer for the kiddos.  Not that it ever really was, but now you might not be paranoid about people thinking you're a bit immature when you tell them you like the flavor combination.

When my sister first made these, I thought of them as a bar that my kids would love.  And, they do.  Maybe it's the drizzled icing or the glimpses of jelly peeking through, but I don't think of them as a kid dessert any more.  They're too good.

You know how it is.  There are just some desserts that you know you're kids won't appreciate as much as they should.  Take lemon bars for example.  Sure, they love them, but do they really appreciate them?  Really?  Likely not, so they get hidden in the microwave where they're out of kid-sight, out of kid-mind and very easily accessible to the grown-ups (when the kids are not in sight).

They are super easy to make.  You whip up a peanut buttery dough, reserving a bit, and press it into a pan.  Slather it with jam, crumble the reserved dough on top and bake.  Once they're cool, you do the drizzle dance.  And that's it.

You don't dance when you drizzle?  Oh, dear.  Forget that I said that.

Peanut Butter and Jam Bars (recipe from my sister)
Yields 32 bars.

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup jam (we like red raspberry or strawberry)

Drizzle:
2 tbsp. melted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3-4 tsp. hot water

Beat sugars, shortening, peanut butter, and egg in the bowl of your electric mixer.  Stir in flour, baking soda and baking powder.  The dough will be crumbly.  Reserve one cup of it, setting it aside.  Transfer the remaining dough to a greased 9 x 13 inch pan, covering the bottom evenly with the dough, then press it down.  Spread jam evenly on top.  Sprinkle remaining one cup of dough evenly over the jam layer and press down gently.  Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly browned and a knife inserted comes out clean. 

Once the bars are completely cool, in a glass liquid measuring cup (this will make the drizzle easy to pour), mix with a fork the melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and hot water, adding a bit more hot water if needed to create a pourable icing.  Drizzle and dance. Pin It

Allowance, Revisited

Remember awhile back I was lamenting about our issues regarding allowance?  How we were failing miserably at remembering to dole out the cash and weren't thrilled with our system anyway?  Well, you all came through for us in a BIG way.  Your comments were incredibly helpful.  We chose our favorite aspects out of those comments and have come up with a system that we've been using for months now that works really well for everyone concerned.

Here's the current, beloved, Allowance Plan:

1) We no longer deal in cash!  Both Sam and Sadie are learning about coins and bills in math, so please don't fret.  They will grow up learning how to count money and recognize coins and bills just fine.  And, since so many of us today rarely deal in cash (forgive me, dear Dave Ramsey fans), it seems to be that teaching them to manage accounts is just as important.

I asked our bank for small account books for Sam and Sadie and this is where we keep track of their money.  This solves the problem of us not having the correct cash on hand when allowance day comes around as well.

2) Sam and Sadie each get their age in dollars on the first of each month via us writing it into their account book.  Throughout the month, there are occasions when they might earn or lose some of that money.  Occasions for earning include extra jobs.   Occasions for losing include when the break something (intentionally) or use up something they did not have permission to use (including food).

3) This money is now theirs to spend, BUT (and I sooooo love this BUT) in order to get to spend it, they have to put in writing (on a slip of paper on the fridge) what they want to buy and the date IF they have the money to pay for it.  TWO WEEKS after they've written the note, if they STILL want the item, we allow them to buy it.  We buy it for them and deduct the amount from their account book.

This means there is NO MORE BEGGING TO BUY THINGS AT THE STORE!  I'm so sorry I just yelled but I still can't contain my excitement over this part!  Sure, at the store they can look at things and at prices, but they know that in order to get an item they want they need to save up, then write a note and stick it on the fridge.  Sometimes the trouble of those two steps alone keeps them from wanting something!  And how cool is that?!

Sam and Sadie have both successfully saved up for larger items ($20-30) since we've started this and it's been really fun to watch them be thoughtful about the process.  As far as giving goes, we provide offering money for Sunday school offering projects at this point, but larger giving (like at Christmas time) will come out of their account after they decide to where and how much they would like to give.

***********************

This process is teaching me a thing or two as well.  Even though I'm thrifty, I can be impulsive, too.  I've been using my "Wish List" on Amazon A LOT since making Sam and Sadie wait for purchases.  It only seems fair.  When I see something I think I want or something I think the kids should have for school, I put it on my Wish List.  Just the act of doing this releases something within me that allows me to "let go" of the item.  A week or so later  I come back to the wish list and gratefully delete the items that I would have bought on impulse but now realize I don't want.  Swagbucks are cash (in Amazon land) and need to be used thoughtfully, right?  Right!

One more thing.  You all are smart, smart, smart and I want to thank you one more time for helping us get our allowance problems cleared up.  

There is now peace in allowance land thanks to you:-).

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A Fall Sweet

If you have a special occasion coming up, you might want to consider making this wonderfully-fall cheesecake.  The orange-flavored cream cheese filling is poured into a ginger-snap cookie crust, baked and then topped with orange marmalade.

The marmalade didn't make the pictures, nor did the slices or crumbs.  It's one of those desserts that causes you to lose some of your senses until it's too late.  You all are lucky I had the where-with-all to snap this one.

There are no fancy ingredients here and while there are three parts to the recipe, they are simple and easy to follow.  If you'd like to remove the cheesecake from the bottom of the pan, scroll to the bottom of this page to see my tutorial with photographs.  

Cooling before the center sunk.  The center will sink a bit.  That's okay.  It gives you the perfect place to put the topping.

Orange-Glazed Cheesecake with Ginger Snap Crust (adapted from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2002) Yields 12-16 servings (depending on the size of your servings).

Crust:
1 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 18-20 small cookies)
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. butter, melted

Filling:
4 (8 ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened (you can use all full fat cream cheese, or all 1/3 less fat or a combination of the two)
1 (8 ounce) carton of sour cream (full fat or reduced fat)
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup undiluted orange juice concentrate
2 tsp. vanilla
3 large eggs
2 large egg whites

Topping:
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1 tbsp. orange juice

To make the crust:
Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray thoroughly (I like to wrap the bottom of my pan with foil because it sometimes leaks.  You can skip this step if yours doesn't).  Combine the cookie crumbs, 2 tbsp. sugar and melted butter with a fork in a small bowl.  Pour the crumbs into the greased springform pan and spread them gently around the bottom of the pan until it's covered, then press the crumbs down with your fingers.  Bake at 325 degrees for 5 minutes and then set aside.

To make the filling:
In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sour cream until smooth.  Add the flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the orange juice concentrate and vanilla, beating well.  Add the eggs and egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Pour the filling into the prepared pan (the crust can still be warm).  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the center barely moves when the pan is bumped and when the center kind of puffs up.  Let cool for 10 minutes, then carefully run a knife around the outside edge of the pan.  Cool to room temperature, remove sides and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make the topping:
Combine the marmalade and 1 tbsp. of orange juice and spread it on top of the cheesecake up to several hours before serving.  Chill cheesecake again until ready to serve and eat.  This freezes very well, by the way.  Just wrap the entire cheesecake well with several layers of plastic wrap and let it thaw overnight in your fridge. Pin It

Kaleidograph Giveaway!

 This giveaway is closed.  Please go here to find out who won.

Remember those kaleidoscopes we used to play with as kids?  You know, the little tube we'd look through and as we turned the end, the colors and designs would change?  Well, we came across an activity that allows your kids to make their own kaleidoscope creations by layering squares of designs on top of each other.

Each set of cards comes in a compact sleeve that holds everything together.

Each card is two-sided, showing a different color on each side, adding even more design options.

There are so many possibilities!  Each set comes with a booklet that shows you some of the many designs that can be created.

Sam and Sadie have enjoyed this immensely.  Not only have I loved watching them get creative, but I also love watching the little wheels turn in their minds (yes, I can see the wheels) as they try to figure out how to replicate the designs on the design page.  Their minds are saying, "Which card do I lay down first?  This one?  No, then I wouldn't be able to see this part of the design...let me try this one, " and so forth.  All of us love the bold colors and the fact that the cards are made of heavy card stock.  They'll take some wear and still stay nice.

This is another great quiet activity that could be used during read alouds or even in church.  It would also be a great stocking stuffer- anything to get away from cheap plastic toys that break within days, are soon
abandoned, and don't encourage creativity!

Giveaway:  With the help of a Kaleidograph distributor, I will be giving away two (2) Kaleidograph Sets- One Crystal and One Flora.  There will be two winners, each winning one set.  To enter to win one, please leave a comment below telling me two things.

1) Please tell me which Kaleidograph set you'd like to win- Crystal or Flora (photos above are of Flora, see link above for photos of Crystal).


2) And for fun...what is your favorite or least favorite fall food?

One entry per household.  Please leave me some initials if you're commenting anonymously. If you have trouble commenting, you can always email me your entry.  I'll chose a winner from each group sometime on Tuesday (the 27th).

Our family was given a Flora Kaleidograph set by a distributor who asked if I'd like to host a giveaway.  The review was my idea.

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Fragmented

I'm all over the place today, so this post might be a bit less than tidy.

I tried drying carrots this past weekend thanks to your recommendations.  I almost laughed my head off when I saw what seven trays of carrot slices turned into 6 hours later.  I was in such denial that I reconstituted one of the dried slices in water and, sure enough, it popped back into it's flattened, slice-y self.  If I have some time, I'll do another dryer batch this week.  You'd think I've never dried anything before, but I have.  You all should go dry something.  It's hilarious.

 

Yep, it all fit in a pint jar.

A science project about camouflage that incorporates math that both a kindergartener and a 4th grader loved?  Worth the potential hyper-ness.

My dream team.

Oh, and if you need an idea for dinner this week, pull some frozen corn, potatoes, canned tomatoes and some of those peppers in your garden, and make a big 'ole batch of Brunswick Stew.  It freezes really well.  I put 4 quarts in the freezer and served the rest with Oatmeal Rolls for Sunday lunch.

 Forgive my jumping around.  It's just one of those days:-).

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Back to School In Three Parts

We started school on Labor Day.  Jamey was scheduled to work, so it didn't seem like much of a holiday for the rest of us, so we said a prayer (with me on my knees- that was one important prayer) and we jumped right in.  We're almost finished our second week and so far it's going well.  There have been a few tears, but I've also heard, "I love school this year" so it all evens out (thus far).

I want to clear the air a bit before I go on.  I believe that there are pros and cons to both homeschooling and "big school" (as we call it).  Each family has to decide which of the two has the most pros and if that choice suits their situation and inclinations. We all have doubts and second guess some of the choices we make for our kids.  It's all part of being a good parent.  Questions cause us to sit back and review the reasons we've made the decision we went with.  They can remind us of why we've chosen to be where we are and they can affirm our choices.  If we didn't care, we wouldn't question, but that doesn't mean that if we question we've made a mistake.  

Is anyone still reading this?  Am I making a semblance of sense?  I just want you to know that I really do care about you and don't want anyone to come here and interpret my sharing as anything but that.  I'm just sharing our life.  Your family and life and experiences and choices are just as important.

Now that I've conveyed my deepest thoughts and feelings, I want to do a couple things in this post.  I'm feeling organized at the moment, so we're going to use headings today.

Encouragement

For those of you with younger children who are considering homeschooling, but aren't sure how it works with more than one little children, I want to tell you a couple of things.  Homeschooling starts out slowly.  Around here, public kindergarten is all day, Monday through Friday.  In our experience, homeschooling kindergarten takes one to one and a half hours.  Really, it does.  It took that long when I did it with Sam and it's taking that long this year with Sadie.  First grade takes a little longer and so forth.  I want to tell you this so you don't think starting out is an all day affair.  It begins gradually.

Secondly, there is room for a lot of flexibility.  This year I have a 4th grader, a kindergartener, and a two-year-old.  So who does the school schedule revolve around?  The two year old, of course!  Our morning session coincides with Sesame Street and Sid the Science Kid and our afternoon session with Miriam's nap.  I've found that each year, our days look differently (sometimes they even change mid-year) and that's all right.

What We're Studying

This year, Sam is doing Sonlight Core D + E (Intro to American History) which also includes Bible, reading, geography, art, and language arts.  He's using Sequential Spelling 1, First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind (level 3), Homeschool Saxon Math 5/4, Exploring Creation Zoology III (Land Animals), A Reason for Handwriting D (Cursive) and mandolin lessons with Jamey.

Sadie is doing Sonlight Core A (Intro to the World: Cultures) which also includes Bible, reading, geography, art, and language arts.  She is also using Zaner-Blosser Handwriting K and Horizons Math Kindergarten.

Sam and Sadie do art and science together and they both listen in on each others read alouds.

The Room

It's one of the things I loved most about our house.  Even when Sam was two years old (the year we moved in), I was pretty sure we would decide to homeschool.  A separate room is certainly not necessary to home school, but if you have one, it sure is convenient.

During the summer, it's the "play room" and the school table is folded up and the Foosball table is uncovered and brought in from the shed.

Yes, the lamp is bent (it still works, so it stays) and one of the cabinet doors is broken (and on Jamey's honey-do list). Pin It

Our Carrot Solution

I'd really love to hear if any of you have good luck storing carrots.  We've failed every time we've tried.  Next year, I'm counting on my future pressure canner to give me another option.  I've read that you can just leave the carrots in the ground over winter (mulching thickly) and dig them up as you need them.  I take issue with this method.

1) I don't want to have to bundle up, head out in the cold, wield a shovel, and wash off muddy carrots each time I need a few for supper.  I'm a bit lazy.

2) I'm not good at wielding a shovel and would be even less good at it if the ground is almost frozen.  I'm a weakling.

3) I don't think that most of our carrots would last that long.  Many of them are perfect (without worm holes or blemishes), but a lot of them aren't, so I imagine that much of what we'd dig up wouldn't be very good any way come January or February.  I'm no dummy.

So, in spite of all this we continue to grow carrots because we use tons of them in our tomato sauce, we like to eat them raw and we like carrot soup.  This past weekend, Jamey dug up most of our remaining carrots for me and I sat outside with the muddy lot of them peeling and cutting out the bad spots while trying not to get grossed out by the worms and grubs and their combined poop.  Then I washed them well and made enough soup to freeze some for later use this fall and winter.

It took a good part of my afternoon but was way better than wielding a shovel in the dead of winter. Pin It

Worth the Itch

Our neighbor's grape vines are loaded right now and even though I'd love to wash my hands of food preservation at this point, I can't ignore free fruit.  I'm incapable.

For some of us, concord grapes can prove to be...well...itchy.  Just pulling them off the stems is fine, but when I start separating the pulp and skins, my hands start reacting.  I can usually make it through my task, but by the end of it, I'm about crawling out of my skin.  Washing my hands and lower arms doesn't provide relief, so I sit and itch my hands for a solid 15 minutes until the worst of it passes.

I learned about this reaction the hard way the first fall we lived here when Sam reacted to the grapes while helping me.  I felt so bad for the boy.  He seemed to grow out of it (and Sadie never reacted this way) which was great, but poor Miriam...she had peeled (by hand) and eaten about 20 of them before her little mouth, chin and hands started itching like crazy.  I plumb forgot what it can do to my little people.  Itching for her, lots of empathy and some cortisone cream ensued and about a half hour later it abated and she was fine.  And has steered clear of the grapes since.

So, go out and get yourself some grapes, but consider yourself warned (Note: None of us react to them once they're cooked).

The other week I made grape jam and this past week, I readied grape pie filling.  This past weekend, Jamey made juice.  I know of two juice-making methods that do not require a fancy juicer.  The first requires no special equipment and involves placing whole grapes, water and sugar into canning jars and processing them (recipe and instructions here).  The other method, which we used this past weekend, is fast becoming our favorite.  There is no sugar involved- only pure grape-y goodness.  This time, we just froze a handful of quarts of the concentrate, drinking a good portion of it fresh shortly after making it, but it can be canned (see below) and we'll do that next time.

Straight Grape Juice (inspired by Joy)

ripe concord grapes, removed from stems and rinsed

Place all grapes in a pot suited to hold the amount you have.  Bring them to a boil (don't add water- they make plenty of juice) while mashing them up a bit using a potato masher.  Simmer for 20 minutes until the grapes are very soft.  Transfer the cooked grapes in batches to a food mill.  Here you have two choices.  Turning the food mill the normal direction will give you a very thick grape juice that would compare to extra-pulp orange juice.  It can be diluted, but you will still have some "pulp-y" texture to your juice.  If you don't mind this, by all means, make the juice this way.  You'll use more of the grapes and end up with more juice.  Your second choice (the one we choose) is to run the food mill the opposite direction (as if you're trying to skim out the mill).  This scrapes the grapes through, giving you mostly juice with a little bit of "pulp".

Chill the juice (what comes through the mill) and drink or freeze.  You can add water to thin it if you like or use it in it's potent form.  It's delicious.

To Can Straight Juice (per The Ball Book of Complete Home Preserving) :   Cover and chill the juice for 24 to 48 hours to allow the sediment (a.k.a. pulp) to settle.  Ladle or pour the juice into a large saucepan, being careful not to disturb the pulp on the bottom or strain the juice through a sieve.   Bring the juice to an almost boil (190 degrees F, 88 degrees C) for 5 minutes.  Ladle the hot juice into hot jars, leaving adequate headspace.  Top with hot lids and screw rings on finger-tip tight.  Place jars in canner of boiling water (jars should be covered).  Process quart jars for 15 minutes.  Remove canner lid and boil an additional 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store. Pin It

Take Them A Meal

I know many churches are good at taking meals to families when they have a baby or need meal support for other reasons, but I can't help but think of the Mennonite church we attended for over a decade when it comes to meals.  We had all three of our babies while attending that church and we were lavished with meals.  Incredible meals.  If my memory serves me correctly, for each child we brought home, we were brought meals for 4 plus weeks (2-3 times a week).  Talk about a blessing.  I don't know which I was more excited about, the newborn or the break from meal preparation.

Just kidding.

Mostly.

Many of you have probably played the role of meal coordinator for families at your own church or within your circle of friends when a baby was born, someone was struggling with health issues or there was a death in a family.  It was a labor of love that wasn't very laborious considering what the families that needed the meals were going through, but still.  There was organizing the schedule, getting folks to sign up, passing along food allergies or preferences, preferred times of delivery (depending on work schedules) and then relaying what days the family could expect meals so they would know how to plan their week.

Well.

Sometime between Sadie and Miriam, I believe, a website was created that does all this for you, the meal coordinator {for free}.  Goodness!  The family needing the meals could quick as a wink set this up for themselves.  Wait.  A.  Minute.  I'm thinking through an idea...no.  That would be dishonest.  Right.  Back to the website.

It's called Take Them A Meal and it's super easy to set up.  First you click on "Create a Schedule" and enter the minimal information required to set things up.

The schedule will be created based on your specifications including how many times per week meals are requested, etc.  Then, you just email out the link to the website along with the last name of the person/family who will be getting the meals and the password you've chosen for the schedule (See above).

When someone visits the website, they just enter in the family's last name and the password, are taken to the schedule, and can reserve a particular meal slot.  The person who set up the schedule as well as the family can visit the site as often as they wish to check on things for planning purposes.

It's such a simple idea, but I must applaud those who set it up- pure genius.  Spread the word fellow meal-takers and enjoy!

I was not asked to write about (or compensated in anyway by) Take Them A Meal.  I just think it's awesome.

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{Please Don't Buy Me Towels}

Jamey and I didn't register for wedding gifts.  The practice of registering did exist at the time but we didn't really care about matching towels and coordinating China.  We still don't.

My parents gave us a set of stoneware dishes for a wedding gift.  My mom had used her grocery store points to buy me the entire 12-piece set.  She bought a lot of groceries since there were seven of us.  That set was/is perfect.  Not too fancy, plenty sturdy and bought with love and anticipation.  Some of the plates and bowls have broken since, so we've replaced them with plain, white dishes found at discount stores.  I was given a set of china by a great Aunt several years after we were married and I do use that for special occasions, but if I hadn't been given any I don't think I'd have any today.

As far as towels go, we were given a small set of light blue bath towels and a set of peach ones as wedding gifts.  Those are our company towels and, yes, they are 14 years old.  Our every day towels followed us from home or were picked up at Kmart years ago.  They're fraying and tearing, but they're still absorbent and isn't that the point?

When I was hanging up a load of wet towels and wash cloths the other day, I stood back and looked at them.  I wondered what some people might think about our towels.  Would they think we don't care about our things?  Would they think we're poor or backwards in some way?  Would they look at my stained (canning) dish towels and wash cloths and think we're, dare I say it, icky?

Before I had kids, I told myself that my kids' wash cloths (for after meals) would never look like this.  Oops.

None of these things are true, but I can't help but wonder.  Instead of these ponderings making me ashamed or self-conscious, they make me sad.  I wish such unimportant things weren't so important to people.  When we buy new things, where do the old things go?  And what about our money?  Doesn't it go companies that are already making millions?  Hm.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you have old, frayed and stained towels or if you're dishes are chipped and mis-matched (by choice or not), that's okay.

In fact, I think it's pretty cool.  Pin It

Froebel USA Winners!

Happy Friday to you all!  And a big thank you to Froebel USA for introducing us to some great educational toys and giving away two of their unique items!

Let's get down to it.  The winner of the Parquetry Tablets is...

Mom of 8 (sspeegle)

And the winner of the Archimedes Square Stomachion Puzzle is...

Christy K.

Congratulations to you both!  Please email me your name and mailing address and we'll get your gifts sent off to you. 

Have a wonderful weekend, friends, and be careful!  Steam burns are vicious:-). Pin It

It Came Back

I'm suffering from C.O.D. again.  It snuck up on me.  I almost thought that because things were fairly evenly spaced out this summer that I would escape it.  Who was I kidding?

After our tomatoes ended, I convinced myself I was almost through.  I mean, school was starting in a week.  What more could I be expected to do?

Then (just on Monday) a friend called and offered me her surplus of tomatoes.  Then our pears started falling off the tree and needed picking.  Then our neighbor's concord grapes ripened and started calling me from across the way, "Silly neighbor la-dy! We're waiting for you to pick us and turn us into ja-am!"  And so, it all began again.  The mega-clutter, the heat, the steam, the slop on the floor and the counter, the frazzled hair and mind and all the other symptoms returned with a vengeance.

tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes

In the midst of it all, I learned two very important things (note I'm learning these things at the very end of the canning season.  Brilliant.).   
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