Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Here and There
It is BLACK as night here and it is mid-morning. The rain is just a pouring down. More springy than fallish but who's complaining? That just makes me focus on inside tasks...
.......................................like blogging. hehehe
At dusk, my daily ritual is to turn on my stained glass lamp in the big window. Sort of like a lighthouse beacon. I want it to be a beacon to our home. I guess today it can be on ALL day! :-)
Hoooo-wee. This is going to be an interesting week-and next week even more so. This weekend we are meeting my sister in Williamsport (our half-way point) and then the children and I will be riding up with her to spend the week visiting my family in New York. An extended visit.
The following weekend, Matt will drive up and join us to celebrate at Oma and Opa’s anniversary dinner and then we will all come home. This will be the LONGEST time away from Matt that we have ever endured-the longest thus far being two nights on a business trip. And the thing is-it is VOLUNTARY! No business trip is requiring us to be apart, it is just an opportunity for me to have a good sit down visit with my family.
Our past visits are always hurried and cramped-and often with the Newman side, so it is needed. But nights will be ever so long and I will miss him so terribly. I will sob like a lunatic when we part, I just know it.
Of course, I might be loony by then ANYWAY, because preparations for such an extended time away are not few! Among the chores…
~Make and can applesauce, apple butter, and (possibly) pumpkin butter
~Pack clothes and everything else needed for a week.
~Do laundry
~Stock freezer with meals for Matt (so far I have…pizza, meatloaf, browned ground beef for tacos or spaghetti, and beef stew. Although-he assures me if I stock up on Lucky Charms he would be happy…)
~Write A ‘Remember’ list for Matt.
~Make some sheets for Corynn to do while away and a practice Memory Verse card.
~Pack up some crafty stuff and a book to wittle away my lonesome nights.
…And I am not sure what all else. As it gets closer HOPEFULLY I will figure it all out. This is a HUGE deal as I have NEVER packed up children for so long a time. I have no idea how many diapers to pack…
So I wrote about applesauce on my to-do list. I made it to Way Fruit Farm this weekend for some apples and asked about prices.
The ‘good’ apples were $15.00 a bushel (those are prime…)
‘Seconds’ are apples that were picked from the ground. Most LOOK prime and taste prime but you get a better deal on them. These are apples that you have to request because they don’t advertise. These apples in a specific variety were $12.00 a bushel
And then there were what they called ‘Deer apples’ which were ‘seconds’ but were all the different apple varieties mixed up. They were $4.00 a bushel.
Can you guess which one I got?!?!?
I was so pleased to get three bushels of apples for the price I expected to pay for ONE. The Amish roadside stand offered me a bushel of apples for $19.00!!! Sheesh! Thank goodness I looked around. Now it is just a matter of getting motivated to get to making applesauce and butter. I think I will make ALL of these into applesauce and butters because of our trip this weekend and next week. Perhaps I will go back to get a bushel more for pies and such when I have time to devote to more finicky recipes. And who knows? If Matt gets that cider press made, we may go back for quite a few more bushels to make cider. We will see about that though. It seems to me a more problematic process than to Matt.
And for those who wouldn't know right off...
Three ways you know your house is CO-OLD…
*Baby goes to bed with a onesie, long johns, and a blanket sleeper, socks and MITTENS. (I am saving the hat for REAL winter.)
*You start baking bread in the oven instead of the bread machine. (Actually, it was SO cold, I made cheese and beer bread, cinnamon rolls and a batch of soft pretzels. Those pretzels were GOOD-especially with the honey mustard dip I made or dipped in cinnamon sugar. I was trying to think of the other dips that Auntie Anne Pretzels offers with THEIRS but couldn’t think of any to reproduce except cheese. Anyone know? ) My favorite were the scrumptious cinnamon rolls though!
*You haven’t turned the heat on but it turns on anyway because it must heat the house to the start of the thermostat, which is 35.
That about sums up news on this home front.
BTW~ The children and I will be staying at my parents house who have wireless internet. So, I will be living with internet luxury for a week-so don’t think you will be rid of me!!! :-) In fact, no doubt, I will be blogging MORE to get my mind off of…well, things. Els~I will get to feel 1/6th of what you just recently felt. I wonder if I am as strong as you….
Cinnamon Rolls
I used the icing recipe that you posted with your cinnamon rolls, Abby, and it REALLY topped it off. These were EXCELLENT and I am SURE the icing had much to do with it. Besides, I had enough icing left over that I was able to freeze two other portions to top other breads with. I am thinking maybe pumpkin?!?
Apple Drying
Dried apples make WONDERFUL snacks and nibblers. Ideal for a LONG car ride back to NY this weekend!
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Cross My Fingers...
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos
Okay. So. So many friends have been posting videos and I have been SO envious that FINALLY-I spent FAR too long on the internet uploading, downloading, and all around the house loading with my head spinning in a frenzy.
But. I **THINK** I figured it out.
THIS time. Now, I will post this and hope for the best. These are two of my loves. Corynn (despite what she says!!!) and Andrew- newly three and half-way to one. Enjoy!
Reverie
Before the nighttime creatures have finished their jaunt, my little Panda awakens like clockwork. First with a whimper then, if provoked by waiting, a wail. I am not so devoted a mother to enjoy this interruption in sleep several times a night; but once, on the brim of the sun’s rise, I find great pleasure in it. The last few mornings, little Andrew has startled me with his frozen little fingers. This on the winds of Autumn and not yet having gotten to the bitter cold of winter!!! I bring him to our bed and he immediately burrows his hands underneath of me and settles in to warm himself from the inside out. After he is sufficiently filled and his body is warmed, he will snuggle in so close that the rise and fall of his belly become part of me and sometimes, he will bring his hands out from under me just to put his little arm on my arm. He is a lover of being held and I a lover of holding. I suppose that I will have to start putting two pairs of pajamas on him soon and I think that I will get to work on making him some fleece bed mits. I don’t know if he will like them very much though, as he has taken to sucking his fingers occasionally. Children don’t often see what is best for them, silly creatures. Of course, neither do we.
* * * * *
Have you ever drawn pictures in your mind’s eye, of the seasons? Personified them? Last night as I listened to the winds howl, my thoughts wandered through the seasons of my mind. I imagine that Winter would be a coarse old man with a long white beard that billows like the wind. Perhaps he would carry an old worn and crooked walking stick to match the exposed limbs of the leafless trees. And like many coarse old men, he would have a glint in his eye and a soft spot in his heart-but only a small one.
To me, Autumn would be a cheerful and bubbly sort. It would most definitely be a ‘she’ and no doubt bending over an old oven to see her latest batch of warm goodness. She would have cheeks like cherries and a fantastic double chin, with a laugh as bubbly as she was round. Her disposition would be as sweet as her concoctions and her sparkling eyes and friendly smile would just call you to embrace her.
Spring would be a lovely young mother, children clutching at her long skirts flowing in the breeze. She would have a large hat with a fresh flower tucked in the cream band and she would certainly smell as sweet as she looked. She would have a mild manner and marvelous femininity about her but excitement would radiate from her eyes. And she would hum-all the time.
Summer, the days of not so long ago, I envision as a younger man. He makes his bed from the clouds and enjoys their softness so immensely, he rarely leaves them. Occasionally his anger will stir and a storm will brew, and perhaps at times he will move about stirring the winds to blow, but for the most part he lazes about in the warmth of the sun. He has brown hair to match his browned skin but has beautifully vivid green eyes. He is strong, though I know not how he came to be so...and barefooted. I am not sure why I envision Summer to be such an idle sort, since summer is often the most busy time of all for men and women-but what can I say?!? That is what I dreamt up.
* * * * * *
Back to reality now, my Oma and Opa (that is, my grandparents) are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary at the end of this month. A God-given gift, to be united with one for so long. They want for nothing and yet, such a monumentous occasion calls for SOMETHING special. I suppose, nothing is so dear as your loved ones gathered around you, celebrating life and love; which we plan to do at the end of this month. Our family (meaning my extended family) will honor them by singing in unison Pslam 127A, their wedding psalm (and Matt’s and mine as well!). “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it.” I am also teaching Corynn a memory verse, that I hope she will recite for them at the celebration. IF she learns it well and is brave enough to be the center of attention for a moment. Isn’t it funny how children vie for your attentions but clam up when they are given it?? The verse is this…
Hear, O my son and receive my sayings; and the years of life shall be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
Proverbs 4:10-12
So far so good.
* * * * * *
I had to hop on here and say hello before the week was through. And with that, a wish that you may all have a lovely weekend.
* * * * *
Have you ever drawn pictures in your mind’s eye, of the seasons? Personified them? Last night as I listened to the winds howl, my thoughts wandered through the seasons of my mind. I imagine that Winter would be a coarse old man with a long white beard that billows like the wind. Perhaps he would carry an old worn and crooked walking stick to match the exposed limbs of the leafless trees. And like many coarse old men, he would have a glint in his eye and a soft spot in his heart-but only a small one.
To me, Autumn would be a cheerful and bubbly sort. It would most definitely be a ‘she’ and no doubt bending over an old oven to see her latest batch of warm goodness. She would have cheeks like cherries and a fantastic double chin, with a laugh as bubbly as she was round. Her disposition would be as sweet as her concoctions and her sparkling eyes and friendly smile would just call you to embrace her.
Spring would be a lovely young mother, children clutching at her long skirts flowing in the breeze. She would have a large hat with a fresh flower tucked in the cream band and she would certainly smell as sweet as she looked. She would have a mild manner and marvelous femininity about her but excitement would radiate from her eyes. And she would hum-all the time.
Summer, the days of not so long ago, I envision as a younger man. He makes his bed from the clouds and enjoys their softness so immensely, he rarely leaves them. Occasionally his anger will stir and a storm will brew, and perhaps at times he will move about stirring the winds to blow, but for the most part he lazes about in the warmth of the sun. He has brown hair to match his browned skin but has beautifully vivid green eyes. He is strong, though I know not how he came to be so...and barefooted. I am not sure why I envision Summer to be such an idle sort, since summer is often the most busy time of all for men and women-but what can I say?!? That is what I dreamt up.
* * * * * *
Back to reality now, my Oma and Opa (that is, my grandparents) are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary at the end of this month. A God-given gift, to be united with one for so long. They want for nothing and yet, such a monumentous occasion calls for SOMETHING special. I suppose, nothing is so dear as your loved ones gathered around you, celebrating life and love; which we plan to do at the end of this month. Our family (meaning my extended family) will honor them by singing in unison Pslam 127A, their wedding psalm (and Matt’s and mine as well!). “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it.” I am also teaching Corynn a memory verse, that I hope she will recite for them at the celebration. IF she learns it well and is brave enough to be the center of attention for a moment. Isn’t it funny how children vie for your attentions but clam up when they are given it?? The verse is this…
Hear, O my son and receive my sayings; and the years of life shall be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
Proverbs 4:10-12
So far so good.
* * * * * *
I had to hop on here and say hello before the week was through. And with that, a wish that you may all have a lovely weekend.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Scrappy Pages
Here you go Kris! I promised I would show you the finished product since you were the one to get me motivated to sit still enough long enough to start Andrew's baby album. Only four pages later...it's at least a start!
Monday, October 09, 2006
Monday's musings
This weekend was magnificent. We went to a Harvest Party hosted by a family of twelve. My naïve self was half expecting chaos and mess because after all, how can a family with ten children BE peaceful and refreshing? (This coming from the woman who has always wanted AT LEAST ten children but not knowing the logistics of how I was going to DO it...)
Well. The old stone house was BEAUTIFUL and organized. And what impressed me the most was the PEACEFULNESS of the house. With ten children. (PLUS a family of seven as house-guests, PLUS me and my two children…) There were NOT toys scattered throughout the house! There was not clutter in every nook and cranny! The place was decorated for fall, inside and out, even sporting a huge fresh homemade wreath made from berry twigs and wildflowers-and a birds nest! I would have a trillion photos to share today except the batteries were dead in my camera. I suppose you should be thankful, but I myself am quite bruised from all the self-imposed kicking.
We got to their house four hours earlier than the start of the party so that Matt could shoot some clay pigeons with the guys. Four hours before about 100 people show up for a party, and the ladies and I sat and drank tea while we visited. There was nothing else to do! THAT is how miraculous that woman is.
She evokes an awe in me like no other woman and yet she readily admits that she struggles, like every OTHER woman about how well she does at things; how stressed she sometimes becomes, how she doesn’t do all that she should. She doesn’t say these things in a time where all is well, but has confided in me when times were NOT well. So I KNOW she isn’t just saying it for my benefit. The funny thing is, her admitted weakness only strengthens my respect for her and elevates her in my eyes. I can honestly say SHE is the epitome of what I want to be and what I want our family to look like-HOW EVER many children the Lord gives us and WHATEVER home we may live in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The other day the children and I enjoyed a nice walk to revel in all the changes that are taking place. It felt SO good to be free of inside duties (er, well, not FREE but rather waiting…) and to focus on the season. We stayed outside for hours gathering leaves and wildflowers, finding wooly worms and just enjoying one another and all that was around us, even having a picnic for lunch. It was medicine for my soul.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And for all those who missed the comment my sister made, she has started to blog anew.
Well. The old stone house was BEAUTIFUL and organized. And what impressed me the most was the PEACEFULNESS of the house. With ten children. (PLUS a family of seven as house-guests, PLUS me and my two children…) There were NOT toys scattered throughout the house! There was not clutter in every nook and cranny! The place was decorated for fall, inside and out, even sporting a huge fresh homemade wreath made from berry twigs and wildflowers-and a birds nest! I would have a trillion photos to share today except the batteries were dead in my camera. I suppose you should be thankful, but I myself am quite bruised from all the self-imposed kicking.
We got to their house four hours earlier than the start of the party so that Matt could shoot some clay pigeons with the guys. Four hours before about 100 people show up for a party, and the ladies and I sat and drank tea while we visited. There was nothing else to do! THAT is how miraculous that woman is.
She evokes an awe in me like no other woman and yet she readily admits that she struggles, like every OTHER woman about how well she does at things; how stressed she sometimes becomes, how she doesn’t do all that she should. She doesn’t say these things in a time where all is well, but has confided in me when times were NOT well. So I KNOW she isn’t just saying it for my benefit. The funny thing is, her admitted weakness only strengthens my respect for her and elevates her in my eyes. I can honestly say SHE is the epitome of what I want to be and what I want our family to look like-HOW EVER many children the Lord gives us and WHATEVER home we may live in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The other day the children and I enjoyed a nice walk to revel in all the changes that are taking place. It felt SO good to be free of inside duties (er, well, not FREE but rather waiting…) and to focus on the season. We stayed outside for hours gathering leaves and wildflowers, finding wooly worms and just enjoying one another and all that was around us, even having a picnic for lunch. It was medicine for my soul.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And for all those who missed the comment my sister made, she has started to blog anew.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
A Fresh Start
If you were not bored by the last glut of butterfly photographs, I thought I would share a few more from our last metamorphosis. This time we were able to watch the process from caterpillar to butterfly. We have not yet found the eggs-but give us time! :-)
Unfortunately, as I put together this post, I searched my ENTIRE computer for the caterpillar pictures I had taken, to no avail. I am SO upset because I took pictures not only of the caterpillar but of the caterpillar actually in the PROCESS of 'becoming' the chrysalise. And now they are gone. SO-you get, once again, an INCOMPLETE process in photos. But I think just the shots of the butterfly emerging from the chrysalise are interesting enough. Hopefully, you will enjoy them.
We brought the caterpillar home on September 3rd, it formed its chrysalise two days later and the butterfly emerged on the 26th.
Books related to this miraculous event are not sparse. No wonder. It is truly an amazing thing and something that, though a witness to the entire process, I am STILL not sure how to explain! Here are a few that I found at the local library pertaining to the life mission of a caterpillar. Some are more extensive than others. All were interesting.
The Travels of Monarch X By Ross E. Hutchins: This is a more extensive book, telling the story of a monarch tagged by a scientist. This monarch was the monarch that told the 'story' of its migratory pattern. Interesting for Corynn and myself.
Butterflies by Dorothy Childs Hogner: This is more extensive. I sort of skimmed through it.
Waiting for Wings By Lois Ehlert: This is a colorful and vibrant book-very simply written. Short and sweet-but captivating. In the back it has a small butterfly and flower index.
Charlie the Caterpillar by Dom De Luise: This is more of a children's book, a story, but it served to reinforce in a fun way what she was learning.
(Related butterfly photos in October archives and other monarch photos -of chrysalise stage in particular-in September archives.)
Unfortunately, as I put together this post, I searched my ENTIRE computer for the caterpillar pictures I had taken, to no avail. I am SO upset because I took pictures not only of the caterpillar but of the caterpillar actually in the PROCESS of 'becoming' the chrysalise. And now they are gone. SO-you get, once again, an INCOMPLETE process in photos. But I think just the shots of the butterfly emerging from the chrysalise are interesting enough. Hopefully, you will enjoy them.
We brought the caterpillar home on September 3rd, it formed its chrysalise two days later and the butterfly emerged on the 26th.
Books related to this miraculous event are not sparse. No wonder. It is truly an amazing thing and something that, though a witness to the entire process, I am STILL not sure how to explain! Here are a few that I found at the local library pertaining to the life mission of a caterpillar. Some are more extensive than others. All were interesting.
The Travels of Monarch X By Ross E. Hutchins: This is a more extensive book, telling the story of a monarch tagged by a scientist. This monarch was the monarch that told the 'story' of its migratory pattern. Interesting for Corynn and myself.
Butterflies by Dorothy Childs Hogner: This is more extensive. I sort of skimmed through it.
Waiting for Wings By Lois Ehlert: This is a colorful and vibrant book-very simply written. Short and sweet-but captivating. In the back it has a small butterfly and flower index.
Charlie the Caterpillar by Dom De Luise: This is more of a children's book, a story, but it served to reinforce in a fun way what she was learning.
(Related butterfly photos in October archives and other monarch photos -of chrysalise stage in particular-in September archives.)
Here she comes!
I noticed a bit of squirming coming from within and RACED upstairs to grab the camera. I made it JUST in time!!!
This is my FAVORITE!
I was impressed with this one. Look closely at the wings-they have tiny rainbows! And the eyes as well. I LOVE this shot.
Homely and awkward
the beautiful Monarch begins its life as a butterfly in a rather, er, surprising way. It is incredibly swollen and the wings seem to be an afterthought. I was SO surprised to see the young monarch emerge THIS way, that I thought at first that I 'got' a deformed one!
Somehow, someway
...before my very eyes yet without me noticing; the wings and body elongated into the normal body shape. It will forever be a reminder to me that, though we may not see it before our eyes, changes do take place. And slowly can STILL be surely.
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