* Today is Wednesday. I have NO IDEA where the week went! Not to mention- it is now November. I have no idea where the YEAR went.
* Something funky happened to the scarf I am knitting-but I am not sure what, or why, or how to fix it. What's a girl to do then? Well, I don't know about other girls but I know what *I* am going to do. Ignore it!
* Tonight I am making sloppy joe for dinner. I secretly (or not so secretly) add oatmeal to my sloppy joe to make it extend further (a nice little trick I learned from you Mrs. B!).
* Last night for dinner I made a dutch meal made of mashed beets and potatoes with bacon. Along with it I served pickles and applesauce. After we had nearly licked our plates clean I realized that the meal consisted solely upon things I had grown right down to the bacon (I found one lone package of bacon from our own pigs way at the bottom of the freezer when I cleaned it out a while back.) I love it when that happens.
* I am going to try to overwinter the hibiscus tree I got for $6.00 this spring. I brought it in when it got so cold and it thanked me with a gorgeous display of blooms.
* Yesterday I was taking a shower in the morning and THREE people had to come use the bathroom while I was in it. Three. (And no- I don't take crazy long showers.) I hate having only one bathroom.
* Judah used a sharpie on my coffee table this week. The girls broke a stained glass lamp that I bought before I was married. The arm of our big chair is shredded. The couches require you to strategically locate yourself so as not to fall into a hole. (Made, probably, by bouncing children.) The lid to the toybox hangs by a thread. Oh yeah! The light fixture globe in the kitchen shattered recently too-thanks to a broom-baring bear. I am feeling pretty overwhelmed that everything in this house feels...junky. I have decided to save up my consignment shop money to buy some new-to-us furniture. Some day. (Hopefully soon.) Not sure what to do with the children who do the ruining though.
* My house is a wreck. I am not sure how it got that way but I have to do something about it. Yesterday I tackled the school room and mudroom. But I REALLY need to tackle the Spare Oom because that is the worst. Living in a disorderly, over-filled home makes me feel twitchy and makes my life feel chaotic. SO- yeah. That is on my short list of things to do.
But first....
* This afternoon I have got to finish canning the last of the apples from our trees. Tomorrow I am picking up Crispins by the bushel for fresh eating through the winter. The crispins are large and delicious...and will take up enough room without having the last remaining few buckets worth of small, ugly tree apples lying around. It is going to be a busy night.
* Matt officially stopped shaving about two weeks ago and his face now sports an official BEARD. Right now it is in the sexy stage. Not far behind this stage is the "Middle-Aged Arab" stage which I am not looking forward to. (Needless to say.)
* Due to the above bullet, I must get our family pictures done SOON (for Christmas cards) before the next beard stage sets in.
* Speaking of hair... all the boys are desperate for haircuts. Better not do that tonight though. Applesauce. Hair. Ewwww.
* Can you tell I am feeling the strain of a never-ending TO-DO list? Lots of things to do. Things that should have been done yesterday. Things that will need to be done tomorrow. Things that will be needing to happen soon...
* I am continuing to work on my Christmas list... I am still in the writing the list phase and not in the actual MAKING things stage. Which brings me full circle to where I began. It is November already!
ACK.
11 comments:
I really enjoyed your pictures! I had to grin when I read your comment about your house feeling junky when I had just chastised myself after looking at your picture with the hibiscus in it and feeling a tinge of envy because I thought it looked so cute and homey and farmhouse like and I would like to have that look in my house a bit more.
I understand about feeling overwhelmed. I have lately just been focusing on doing what I can, being a peace with what I can't do and being thankful for each little project that does get accomplished. I wrote a post on that last night.
Your pictures proof that despite what you say about the state of your house, there is real beauty there in the small things.
Oh and one sharpie tip: depending on the suface of your coffee table, you can try aceton (nail polish remover) to try get it off. I cleaned off markers and sharpies with that from all sorts of surfaces (tile, laminated furniture, walls, varnished wood (just don't use to much or you damage the varnish), etc.)
you know we love your pics...where did you get the sac cloth hanging and that cute tree in the rock??
I am desperately waiting to see your to make Christmas list..i eagerly await them...well like a kid at xmas..lol
I've started mine, ignored the house...but started making some of my stuff.
take care..
Abbi- ha! I should post a picture of our Spare Oom and see if it illicits any tinges! :-)
You are right about accepting our own limitations and time restraints and being thankful for what we do accomplish. There are times, though, when I just have to repeat, repeat, repeat that until I actually believe it again. :-)
Lydia- thank you for that! I will try it on the coffee table. Oh- and on the bathroom wall too. (Another recent artistic endeavor.)
Mapleleafmom~ The quilted feedsacks were a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law. The feed bags were actually from HER mother and had been saved- she had some local Amish ladies quilt it for her. The tree rock gemstone thing was out of a free box at a yard sale. I never thought about posting the list BEFORE Christmas...I'll see what I can do. Oooh- whatcha making?
First, Rebecca, you are no slouch, and if a room or two or three feels messy, so be it. You're working HARD to feed your family (and possibly others as in the past) this winter, and that's a HUGE task. Chin up.
As for the couch, there's a little two letter word, NO, that must be part of your vocabulary. I don't think things should be idols, and I believe in letting children play, but there are limits to be set and obeyed. A man from our church once came to our home and remarked that he could never keep his home in the repair that ours was in because he had children. Me, the mother of four young ones at the time, just stared blankly at him. Children need to be taught that we need to be stewards of what the Lord gives us. New, hand me downs, or thrift store purchases, included. I don't write this to chide you, for I think that you are an EXCELLENT mother, but to encourage you that it's good and right to set boundaries.
Lastly, you just know that I LOVE those quilted feedsacks. What a treasure!
The boat in a bottle is priceless. Something to be aware of when you get discouraged about your messy house is that even with the mess you have a house (and things within it) that is FULL of precious reminders of people - things with STORIES, things that are MEANINGFUL - and that they shine out through the mess to communicate the love that they represent.
Love the double rainbow over the beautiful trees! Nice shot! Those look like pretzel bites and they look yummy, and your hibiscus us to die for! Beautiful photography yet again!!
Bullets flying comment: Loved all your pictures--especially the potatoes. Know what you mean about old farmhouses with one bathroom--we had only one for 15 years--from the time our seventh baby was born to the time our eleventh was seven years old. ALL THIRTEEN of us... Tribulation worketh patience. Ha ha. And dittos to first comment about the hibiscus room photo: Beautiful.
I bought a few thrift store items this week that were marked with a permanent marker and my husband said to use WD40 which worked beautifully on getting it off the two items. Hope that helps...
I had to chuckle over Judah and his escapades. I was given a big box of family photos to go through this week and there are several pictures of my 3 yo son with a huge HUGE gap in the front of his bangs. I remember he cut his own hair and it was to the scalp in that spot, sigh...Made me grin NOW but not fun at the time, lol.
i follow loosely a cleaning schedule from www.flylady.net.....it has helped me feel a little less chaotic. And she has a holiday planning a what she call cruising missions too.
Tracy- I know what you mean about children knowing the word "no" and while my children do know it well- they do get overly rambunctious at times and at other times, there are just plain accidents. I think, in this particular case, that the furniture being over 25 years old might have something more to do with it. ;-)
Anna- I have to remind myself of that. It is especially hard when we invite people into our home (which we do quite often) because while *I* have the stories, THEY don't.
Ulli- they are indeed soft pretzel bites and I am wishing for them again!
Cathy- see, it is stories like that which make me feel ashamed of myself. If 13 people can, than surely six people can!
Terri- I have thankfully not had any scissors and hair incidents but with Judah, it is only a matter of time! :-)
MJ- I have heard many good things about flylady. My big messes usually follow big PROJECTS (like canning or Halloween costumes, in this case) so, while overwhelming, usually short-lived. Thank goodness. If I never created, I would never have messes so I guess I deserve what I get. It's my own fault!
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