Through My Window

Reading Aloud :: Farmer Boy

2008-12-02T18:00:00.000-05:00

Out of a sense of parental duty, I decided I should start reading chapter books aloud to the girls. I know the benefits of reading with children are many, but I'm going to be honest here, I was not excited about the thought of reading chapter books aloud to my children. I was very concerned that I would view following through to finish a book or a series as an obligation and that I would not be joyful about spending the time reading. I was also worried that the girls would be bored and resentful of my insistence that I read to them. Much to my pleasant surprise, I could not have been more wrong! I am thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to read to them nearly everyday, if not for the time I spend with my children, then just to be able to read (something I don't have much time for otherwise at this point in my life). I don't know why I have been so shocked that they are enjoying being read to - I have read to my children since they were tiny and they have always enjoyed it immensely.

***

We started reading the Little House on the Prairie series. I figured I would be safe starting with stories about a little girl and her sisters and family. Presently, we're in the middle of Farmer Boy, and I've found myself in utter amazement with the daily life of the Wilder family. At the moment, my fascination lies with Mrs. Wilder (Almanzo's mother) who spins wool, harvested from the sheep the family owns, into thread, weaves the thread into fabric, and then proceeds to sew clothes from the wool fabric for her family. The self sufficiency throughout this book is amazing - even more than that. I do not for a minute think that those were the "good old days", as I am sure that many of our advancements and technology would have been readily welcomed - times were hard and treacherous then; however, while reading this book I definitely began to consider how dependent I am for everything. I found these thoughts disconcerting...frightening even.

Sweet Potato Fries

2008-11-29T15:07:00.001-05:00

I am more than slightly addicted to these - in fact, buying sweet potatoes to make a batch all my own in the middle of the day.

Cut up potatoes. Generously drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and crushed rosemary. Arrange on a pan coated with cooking spray. Cook in 450 degree oven until done (sorry, I don't time a lot of things I cook).

First Day of School

2008-08-18T12:08:00.003-04:00

One very excited second grader...

...and one sort-of nervous kindergartener.

Beach Vacation::Followup

2008-08-18T10:52:00.008-04:00

Now that summer is winding down and it has been nearly two months since we returned from our beach vacation I thought it would be a good time for a followup.

I am not exaggerating when I say that this trip is still talked about around my house on a daily basis ("Remember when we went to Pawleys Island..." or "When we go back to Pawleys Island..."). My girls have been on fun out of town trips, but there has always been an agenda - someone to see, something to do. This was the first real vacation for them - the first time our agenda was whatever we felt like doing or not doing.

I have to admit that I was a bit nervous going into this vacation. I am interested in preserving friendships, and sometimes spending lots of time (8 days solid for this trip) with a friend is not in the best interest of the friendship. However, I would have to say that this trip was fantastic! Sharon is an amazing and interesting person, her kids are wonderful and I am so happy we were able to spend that time with them.

Though it is not pictured below, for me the best find during this trip was the outdoor shower. Bathing five children after every visit to the beach can be quite arduous. None of the children bathed inside even once the entire week - we managed to keep the beach outside!!

Early risers (6 am) making breakfast for the rest of the sleeping house!!

This beach tent is amazing!!!

My little surfer girl. She was in her element. The vastness of the ocean and the shore suits her well.

We enjoyed fireworks nightly, courtesy of the folks across the street. One evening when we topped the boardwalk we were greeted by this enchanting scene - mounds of sand all over the beach propped up kayaks and boards.

I am sure my friendly girl introduced herself to every wave that came crashing in around her ankles.

I cannot even begin to describe my joy watching my girls and their friends in non-stop, happy, busy play!!

Endlessly twirling, running, leaping, digging, splashing, hopping, dancing, falling, skipping...

Ava was my kite flying assistant...

...while Hannah managed her kite on her own.

They persisted, tirelessly, in trying to coax some of the ocean to stay and play at their sand castle.

Their dreams come true...mermaids, if only for a few moments!!

Brock. I don't think he minded too much spending the week with four little girls and two mamas - he enjoyed himself too! Hannah initiated several friendly rounds of mud flinging that he more than willingly took part in!

Besides the beach...

Before the trip Sharon and I had decided we would not plan any additional adventures. We knew the area was very historical and Myrtle Beach was a short drive up the road, but we wanted to avoid ending the week with regrets that we had not spent enough time on the beach. We also decided to take our chances that the kids would be happiest either on the beach or at the house - fortunately, we were right, and our decision not to fill every spare minute rewarded us with happy children!!

But.

We weren't on the beach all day, every day.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the trip was what a hit Perler beads were with the kids. On a whim I thought our container of 20,000 beads and four plastic templates would be a good activity for our vacationing group. Never in my wildest dreams did I think they would literally sit in complete silence for hours working on their creations.

The only excursion we decided to take was down the road to The Hammock Shops. The kids wanted souvenirs (and so did the mamas). What a cute place that turned out to be. We were all pleased when we left. I found a Christmas ornament and the kids left with priceless souvenirs (literally and figuratively).

Little girls with matching hair.

This little unassuming building turned out to be the souvenir jackpot we were hoping for!!

As soon as our kids started exclaiming and asking questions about the hammock weaving process a man, pictured in the magazine article below, took them all behind the counter for a hands on demonstration.

He got them started and then left them alone to try their hand at weaving the rope. This was quite time consuming - we were pleased with the attention he gave the children individually. They each left with their own hand woven hammock end piece.

One more stop before the day was finished. This place on the main road had been calling to us since we drove by it on the way in. We finally caved!!

24 flavors of soft serve and 3 sorbet flavors for Hannah to choose from!!

10 years

2008-07-31T16:56:00.009-04:00

Bryan and I celebrated our 10th anniversary a few days ago. Of course, this means nearly 16 total years together.

1993

1998

I stumbled across this song about a week ago - I'm going to let it articulate for me.

It's bigger than we thought * It's taller than it ought to be * This pile of rubble and ruins

The neighbors must talk * It's the worst yard on the block * Just branches and boards where walls stood

Did it seem to you * Like the storm just knew * We weren't quite finished with the roof * When it started?

So we build * We build * We clear away what was and make room for what will be * If you hold the nails, I'll take the hammer * I'll hold it still, if you'll climb the ladder * If you will, then I will, build

On any given day * We could simply walk away * And let someone else hold the pieces

The lie that we tell * Says its better somewhere else * As if love flies south when it freezes

What I'm trying to say * In some clumsy way * Is that it's you and only you for always

What I'm trying to say * In some clumsy way * Is that its you and only you, not just for now, not just today * But its you and only you for always

10 years...good times...not so good times. What am I most excited about after all this time? That God is constant and faithful. Seeing His work in my marriage has been absolutely thrilling!

(...and this is what you get when you attempt a family self portrait - hmmm.)

Beach Vacation

2008-06-17T07:09:00.005-04:00

For the first time in five years my foot pedal is unplugged and this is what my feet are doing instead...

I am taking a break from listening to doctors and I am enjoying the sounds of laughter and delight coming from these five sweet kids...

Because of the thoughtfulness of others, my friend and I and our children are vacationing on a beautiful beach this week (Saturday-Saturday!!).

2008-04-08T07:12:00.003-04:00

My beautiful bridal wreath spirea is fading now, but I am looking forward to the roses and hydrangea!!

See! The winter is past...Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come... Song of Songs 2:11-12

Eyebrows

2008-03-29T16:59:00.004-04:00

Before:

After:

Fortunately for me (and my eyebrows), I have friends who are not afraid to call my eyebrows into question and then offer to handle the situation.

Thank you, Charlotte and Jessica!!

Don't wait around on your friends - check your own eyebrows.

Music Recommendation: Ben Sollee

2008-03-29T16:09:00.004-04:00

Listen to more here or here.

Ben Sollee will also perform with The Sparrow Quartet (including Abigail Washburn, Bela Fleck and Casey Driessen) as part of the Savannah Music Festival.

Baby blueberries

2008-03-19T19:15:00.004-04:00

When we bought this house a third of the backyard resembled The Secret Garden. We are still not finished with it, but it took 18 months to get to the point where we felt like it was a clean slate. By far our favorite "secret" from the backyard was the blueberry bushes. Last year my tiny berries were zapped by the late freeze in April. If Jack Frost will scoot on out this year my bushes promise to more than make up for last year's losses.

Cleaning "that" room: Part 2

2008-03-19T18:08:00.016-04:00

This turned out to be a much more daunting and monumental task than I expected. Nevertheless, it is finally finished!! We have been in this house for 4 years - the longest time we have lived in one place in 10 years of marriage. I did A LOT of de-junking in the years prior to purchasing this house. Since we have been here, much has come through the door and not quite as much has gone back out. After ebaying, consigning, selling, dumping, and more than a few trips to Goodwill, this is what I am left with (here are the after pictures):

From the door. When I finally get a powder coat on the old iron bed I bought over a year ago the chairs will need to find a new spot. Of course, they are in this room right now because I have yet to find any other place to put them...or the cedar chest.

From the corner with the two chairs. A wardrobe presently being used for storage and not clothes. Mom bought this for me last year. It is the little sister of a much bigger identical wardrobe that she did not buy.

From the corner directly across from the two chairs (see the reflection). My grandmother's vanity, stool and mirror that goes with the bedroom suite the girls are using. I nursed and rocked and sang to both of my babies in the platform rocker - very beautiful and very comfortable.

This closet was formerly my office. It is outfitted with electrical outlets, phone, fax, and DSL hook-ups. Working in the back of the house away from the family was just not a good thing. I bought a desk and moved to the living room over a year ago - this is what the closet looks like now. The Singer sewing machine is over 60 years old. My granny sewed all of my mom's clothes and skating costumes on it. I don't sew much yet, but I have aspirations. The chair will eventually have the legs cut down a bit, a new coat of paint, and a pretty cushion.

I managed to resist going through the massive amount of unbooked photos, but I did have to sort through two years of school papers for each girl. I try to keep a small sampling of their work from the school year. They each have an expanding accordion file box specifically for these papers. My household filing was also ridiculously behind.

Quite honestly, the state of this room was rather uncharacteristic of me. I am very much an "A place for everything and everything in its place" kind of person. I don't even think I am going to try to summarize why this room got so out of control. I will say that the disorder was stifling to several areas of my life. It's nowhere near what I envision, but at least it's clean now.

This room will be getting another "makeover" in the near future. Take another look at the cedar chest photo. See the bare patch of wall between the top of the chest and the bottom of the window? Wanna guess... (I am in a little denial so I might not confirm or deny.)

Cleaning "that" room

2008-01-19T10:19:00.000-05:00

My girls are gone for several days spending time with grandparents and pretty much being spoiled. I have decided to use this uninterrupted time to tackle a monumental task. Most people have "that" room, or closet, or drawer (if you're lucky) that is so embarrassingly messy it stays closed and avoided at all times.

Unfortunately, I can claim "that" room. I think half of this stuff needs to leave my house and find a new life and the other half made a long pit-stop here before being put away.

My one obstacle to success in this room? All of my pictures from the last 10 years are in a box in this room...including pictures of my babies from birth until I started using a digital camera. I hope I can resist a rainy afternoon of nostalgic picture browsing.

After pictures will follow...

Wild Rice Soup

2007-12-08T09:33:00.000-05:00

Updated: What is chervil?

My favorite item from this year's Thanksgiving menu.

1 (6-ounce) package wild rice
1 cup firmly chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried chervil
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 (8-ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups half-and-half
2/3 cup dry sherry

Cook wild rice according to package directions.

Meanwhile, cook onion and next 5 ingredients in butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until onion is tender.

Add mushrooms and celery; cook, stirring constantly, until mushrooms are tender. Reduce heat to low. Add flour, stirring until blended. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Gradually add chicken broth; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened.

Stir in cooked rice, half-and-half, and sherry; cook until thoroughly heated.

Yield: 12 cups.

**Obviously, Hannah did not eat this soup. When I make this I will be substituting with Earth Balance and soy milk

Savannah Children's Book Festival

2007-12-08T08:09:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I took Hannah and Ava to the Savannah Children's Book Festival held in beautiful Forsyth Park.

Michelle Knudsen read her award winning book, The Library Lion.

Bruce Degen, illustrator of The Magic School Bus.

Sonia Manzano (Maria on Sesame Street) read her book, A Box Full of Kittens.

The fountain was surrounded by local children's authors.

The day was quite cool under the shade of the huge trees so we found a sunny spot for our picnic.

While Hannah attempted to climb every tree in the park and enjoyed the activity tables...

...Ava was content to sit in the wagon and play with the Ernie doll she picked up at the GPB tent (crowds are not her thing - we were joined by about 20,000 others) .

I am so proud!!!

2007-11-06T03:33:00.001-05:00

My family is full of amazing bread bakers. My granddaddy made the best cinnamon raisin bread, absolutely unmatched, to this day, by any other cinnamon raisin bread I have tasted. My mom has been making bread for as long as I can remember - in fact, they don't even buy bread at the store, there are always a couple of homemade loaves in the breadbox. My sister first learned the craft at a bakery in Roanoke. We are fortunate to have her at the bakery down here for a little while.

I have always wanted to provide this homemade bread deliciousness for my family, but I have been a little intimidated. I mean, how could there possibly be room in my family for one more successful bread baker? I decided it was time to overcome my fear of inadequacy.

Please feast your eyes on my first attempt. Not too bad...even if I did have to borrow mom's wonderful tapered loaf pans - I'm hoping to find my own under the Christmas tree in a few weeks, or maybe earlier than that and accompanied by a birthday cake!!

Needless to say, Hannah and Ava snacked on bread and local honey after school!

Happy Birthday...

2007-11-04T03:18:00.002-05:00

...to my sweet, sweet brother. I love you, Nathan!!

Pumpkins and Seeds

2007-11-04T02:02:00.000-05:00

The pumpkins have been so pretty sitting on our front porch and glowing warmly at night, but I think the girls enjoyed the seeds more this year.

They had so much fun separating the seeds from the pulp, and Hannah has not been able to get enough of the toasted seeds.

Pumpkin Seeds

4 Tablespoons butter*
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Heat oven to 325. Mix the pumpkin seeds with the butter mixture. Spread evenly on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.

*I used the dairy free sticks so Hannah could enjoy them also.

The Princess and the Owl

2007-11-01T05:55:00.001-04:00

I was pleased to accompany a beautiful princess and her trusty companion, Owl, on a trick-or-treating adventure around the neighborhood last evening! This was their first time on such an adventure, and the princess was a bit skeptical about the idea of knocking on various doors and asking for candy and actually having that request granted quite willingly. She thought that surely such a possibility was something that could only happen in her dreams (definitely in my nightmares!!).

The princess chose to wear her grandmother's gown for the evening's festivities. The gown was actually sewn by her great-grandmother 40 years ago for a high school Latin Club event (my grandmother sewed this for my mother) - of course, the hat was not part of the original ensemble.

Notice the HUGE hem!! The dress was obviously worn by other little girls in years gone by!

Owl flew in from her perch in the woods just in time to join us. What pleasant company she was - of course, the evening has always been her favorite time of the day.

She has such beautiful feathers!

Fall Beauty

2007-10-26T04:17:00.000-04:00

Apparently, roses love the fall. These are in my neighbor's yard. Her rose garden is right on the fence so we enjoy these for the duration of the rose growing season. My favorite part is the heavenly fragrance that comes wafting across the fence into my yard.

Of course, this is not a rose, but isn't it so delicate (she tells me what this is all the time, but I've forgotten again).

The windows are open...

2007-09-19T22:13:00.000-04:00

...and now I can hear the view!!!!

The Last Wedding of the Summer (for me, at least)

2007-09-19T06:13:00.000-04:00

It was a beautiful wedding. Hannah is still talking about the dress...I want to go back and sit in the church a little longer.

The ceiling was magnificent.

A Visit

2007-09-15T09:53:00.001-04:00

Recently, we made a trip south to visit Bryan's parents for the day. We had a wonderful time. The weather was nice, and the time we spent there was relaxing.

The girls are always excited to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house - there's just always so much fun to be had...and they were not disappointed this time.

Of course, we had a wonderful meal. Hannah helped "drop the (made from scratch) dumplings".

We ate on Grandma Tine's beautiful china (pronounced "teen" - Bryan's grandmother).

For dessert we enjoyed coconut cream pie...

...and Hannah was treated to this delicious milk-free creation.

The girls love playing with their daddy's (now vintage) childhood toys.

The weather was unusually pleasant for the end of the summer season so we spent some time outside.

After persistent problems with the electric fence this summer and more or less losing the garden to a multitude of deer, repairs have been made and a late summer garden has been planted. I have since been informed that the crop is plentiful!!

Their whole yard is beautiful and so pleasant...

...and so is the porch, where the girls were able to help water the plants...

...and act silly with Grandma.

When we arrived back at our house the girls were delighted to see that an entire fairy village had sprouted in the front yard.

It rained today - it's still raining

2007-08-31T21:20:00.001-04:00

-In my front yard

Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.
-Langston Hughes

Curly Whirly

2007-08-31T11:57:00.001-04:00

This morning Ava asked me if her curls would go away when she turns 5 in a few weeks (birthdays are the portal to all change). She was upset when I told her that she will probably have her curls forever.

Why was she upset?

Because she wants to have straight hair like her sister, of course.

If at first you don't succeed...

2007-08-25T09:02:00.000-04:00

I am going to try this once again. I have attempted blogging at least four times over the last 2+ years only to succumb to lack of time or an extreme need for perfection which, of course, can keep an entry from every being posted. So, here’s hoping that time is on my side and that I can control my perfectionist tendencies.