A trip around the herb 'garden'

I use the term 'garden' loosely here, since I am no where near the someday place I envision.

There is....

oregano, chives, thyme, lemon balm, chamomile, a bit of dill, sage, the most luscious lemon verbena you have ever smelled, hyssop, lavender, rosemary, basil and of course, plenty of mint.

Not a day goes by where something is not either being dried or plucked by stubby, chubby fingers by the handful upon Mama's request.

What is so lovely about herbs is that the more they are used, the more they thank you with bounty. So I am never afraid to use them. In fact, my lavender has given me FOUR (so far) new growth periods this year because I keep cutting all the buds to dry!

Many of my herbs are in pots and I bring them in during the winter months to enjoy fresh herbs all year long; they do surprisingly well, only whimpering for warm sunshine around midmarch/april....just about the time they can be put back outside. But I do hope someday, to have a garden like this:




(forewarning: video is narrated in Japanese. But who needs words, anyway?)

CELEBRATE!

Three months since Mr. Brave One gave his notice and stepped out into the unknown and faith-building world of the self-employed.....


he got his first job!

PRAISE GOD!!!


After a good days work, we celebrated with a candlelit dinner on the patio,


the first bruschetta of the season and most importantly...



DESSERT.



(Many have asked what my Misters' new business is. In short, it's Dragon Taming)

Here we are again!

Ready or NOT~~~~~~~~~ here it is! Time to share your favorite photo of the week and/or 'challenge shot'. Last week, the challenge was ANIMALS.

Our farm doesn't really feel all that farmy to me these days as we are down our pigs and cows (yes, we will be getting more~ with plans to add MILK COW to the mix in the near future) and have only rabbits, chickens (plenty of them!), cats and a dog. And the occasional frog/snake/salamander/butterfly. But even still, we have plenty of animals to photograph.

Here are some kitten pictures; they have grown since I last showed you pictures, no?

.... and here is the rather regal Mama, perfectly poised.

Can't wait to see YOUR pictures! (Remember, they don't HAVE to be challenge photos. They could just be favorites from the week.)




And a few of MY favorite contributions from last week:

#1~ by Serving from Home


#2~ by The Williams Family



Be seeing you next week, when the photo challenge is SILHOUETTE!

FORC retreat

Our churchs' denomination (Federation of Reformed Churches: FORC) had an almost-week-long church retreat last week and since it was all expenses paid, we were able to go.

It was the first time EVER, our whole family has gone ANYWHERE for more than one night.

Being sandwiched between a lake and a road, it was stressful at times to try and keep track of all the children~all (naturally) running in opposite directions. But I didn't have to make a meal or wash a dish for FOUR DAYS!!! And we could jump in the lake whenever the heat got to us. And you always had great company. (And I happily ignore the rule that states you may not start a sentence with And. And you all know that because I do it all the time. And you don't seem to mind too much. )

Here are a tidy few pictures from that time, in no particular order.

(it works better with the tongue...)

I was (and am still) fighting some residual camera-hate so I never did photograph the

kayaking,
swimming,
water trampoline jumping,
the karate-kicking Anna,
the blackboard pictionary and snort fest,
the late night gab sessions by the lake,
the circle of ladies all working on their own projects,
the singing(!),
the porch full of rocking chairs all lined up and rocking. There must have been 20 of them,
some new friends,


and my greatest lament:

no picture of everyone all together. That would have been great.

My favorite moment of the retreat?

Before the rest of the camp was stirring, my love and I sneaking hand and hand to the lake to drink up the sunrises. And swim in them.

Tied up with String

I have been a bad, bad blogger the last few weeks. Those of you who didn't give up on me and went off in search of cooler people (or at the very least, more active) in blogdom, thank you. Fore those who did, I completely understand. I wouldn't visit me either.

I figured a photo-intensive post may make amends to those few readers left. Thankfully, I have been quite behind for SOME TIME so even though my camera has been on a restful hiatus, I still have plenty to blog. So here is to lots of pictures, few words, getting back on track, and starting fresh.

“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.”
Laura Ingalls Wilder

~ communion bread rising on the patio~

~ a note Corynn wrote for me. She found the poem in a book and thought I would like it.

I do. ~

~ we have had our fair share of amphibians this summer. They are caught DAILY, or so it seems.~


The children are so enthusiastic about it. The frogs? Not so much.



It even got so bad as we began RAISING them. We found newly hatched eggs. (*ahem* Sorry Mrs. Toad)

And watched them hatch. And then shortly thereafter, die.


So we caught a bunch of tadpoles. And watched them turn from tadpole to pollywog to eventual

frog.
26 of them, I believe.

Some were wee peepers. Some were larger. And yes, a few of them died as well. If there is a frog shortage this summer, it is likely due to us Newmans.

Andrew found stuff in the barns and decided to make a ducky river. Clever boy.

~ finding more STUFF in barns. Bet you wish you had your very own construction worker for hire. ~





~ painted rocks and milksnakes ~

~ a stroller hammock for a tired boy~

~ my nieces. Two of them, anyway.~


~ oops. ANOTHER. (now you understand!) ~

~ nearly bedtime~

~ a bunch of homemade pizzas from Friday Night pizza nights~

I have fully intended to document my "how many different pizzas can I make?" challenge each Friday over at my recipe blog, but haven't actually done so. And I won't even tell you how many other foods are photographed but without a typed recipe. Seems I can't manage more than one blog very well. Truth is, I can't even manage ONE blog very well these days. (Can I get an AMEN?)

For the record:

Back when we were discussing pizzas, I don't even remember when, many of you asked for my dough recipe. I haven't forgotten you. I was going to make a video for it, which is why it has taken so long. Maybe I will just put a ca-bash on the video thing and post the recipe already! Just know, I haven't forgotten you. I have just been lame. I am sorry. You will forgive me upon first bite of it, of that I am certain.

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing

anything that is beautiful

for beauty is God's handwriting

- a wayside sacrament.

Welcome it in every fair face,

in every fair sky,

in every fair flower,

and thank God for it as

a cup of blessing."

*

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Foto Friday

We just got back from a week long church retreat at a lake/campground hence the silence here on ye olde blog. Needless to say, I didn't take any FRUIT pictures (which was last weeks' challenge).

Instead, here is one from the week. I will post the others sometime soon; there are surprisingly few. After the last few weeks of required photographing, I am still fighting some residual anti-camera feelings. :-)



Link up your favorite photo of the week or your version of the photo challenge!





As for last week, there were some BEAUTIFUL contributions! It was terribly difficult to pick just two. Here they are:

Winner #1: Ruth Hicks

Ruth doesn't appear to have a blog, so I couldn't leave a comment telling her how amazing her shots were. But they are. And I don't just think so, I even had other readers tell me so! :-) Thank you for sharing, Ruth!

Winner #2: Kate from Shirley Goodness and Mayhem

I really love the shape of the sun in this shot~ rarely do you see the sun in such an amazing circle. And look at that orange!

Both winning pictures come from first time contributors so that is really neat! Keep them coming, everyone!

Next weeks' optional challenge is.............AnImAL