daybook

 

For today… Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Outside my window... it is G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S.  Strong, cool breeze and sunshine.  Birds are chirping, grass is greener than ever.  {{windows are OPEN}} 

They said we had ‘poor quality air’ early this morning due to the stream of smoky Canadian air coming into the state again.  Last evening we could smell the smoke in the air.

I should be out weeding and dead-heading the geraniums, soaking up some Vitamin D.

Hearing... birds, the wind, stuff rattling as Tim sorts thru his storage trailer (or the shed?)

Pondering... Galatians chapter 5 and the fruit of the Spirit …versus my flesh.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  Galatians 5:22-23

Praying for… each of our family to walk in the Spirit; Denise – Day 2 of another round of really harsh chemo; family and friends of Brian P., a young man who died due to injuries in a construction accident {funeral today}; VBS next week; house-hunting of three young families from church, all with plans to move by August 1 to serve in other ministry opportunities; the gaps left by those families to be filled!

Thankful...  that God is faithful, even when the world has gone crazy with ungodliness.

… for hay baled between the smoky, hazy days last week.

Creating... more organized, effective storage spaces (?) – Well, one can dream anyway.  I purchased yet another shelf via the local swap last night – this one is a garage-worthy combination of rough 2.x4s and OSB, so it’s been added to my basement pantry/freezer storeroom.  Combined with a Major Heave Ho effort, we just might get our s.t.u.f.f. under control.  But don’t hold your breath on my account please!

Meanwhile, Abby wanted to help with posters for an upcoming church fellowship…

And I finished blankets for a little boy a now a month old and a little girl scheduled for delivery next week…

 

Going... to add much more to the purge piles today/this week, AND hopefully haul it all away.  {wash, rinse, repeat}

Reading... Don’t laugh – well, then again, feel free to bust a gut and laugh out loud – I read an e-book last week called,

The House That Cleans Itself

by Mindy Starns Clark.  I saw it recommended in comments on an article reviewing the popular Tidy book about the KonMari method  {Marie Kon… somebody?}  The gist of Mindy Clark’s book is to deal with clutter of course, but also to make your house fit the way you really live…  Such as, if your kids walk in the door and dump their backpacks in the first convenient spot – instead of around the corner, down the hall on your designated hooks – then she recommends putting a storage bench or trunk in that first convenient spot where they can dump them and close the lid.  Voila, your house still looks neat and orderly.  You still have to clean your house, but it will be easier and more doable – when you make it easier to accomplish.

Looking forward to... next year’s strawberry crop {We missed a few blossoms so enjoyed a few berries from the new plants = Yum.}

In the kitchen... {woot! for Tim who instigated new ‘supper prep teams’ for July} 

Sooo, Abby & the Cowgirl cooked and served up last night’s Cajun chicken pasta and profiteroles {apparently also Cajun?}

Tonight, Kate & the City Slicker have meatloaf on the menu.  Tomorrow, the Popper & I will make burritos.  Thurs – chicken salad (Popper & Mom).  Fri – pizza (Ab & Cowgirl).  Sat – grilled steak fajitas (Kate & CS with Tim’s help on the grill).  Sun – panini on baguettes (Mom?) 

The Berry Patch workers brought home both blueberries and cherries last week…

 

More than enough for a pie, so Kate used extra crust and cherries for a few turnovers.  Yummy.  We put the pie in the freezer for a special Sunday dessert soon…

The City Slicker wanted to make monkey bread for breakfast on the Fourth of July.  She and Kate worked together.  {while I gasped over the quantity of butter and sugar used in the glaze}

   

In the learning rooms... all books and DVDs are here.  The kids want to start speech soon, so the college girls can watch too.  I’m thinking after August 1. 

Around the house... crafts for VBS in Kansas City later in July, a large pile of zucchini and a few cucumbers.  Regarding the basement, I plead the 5th.

The Mother Load... {sigh}  Yesterday was ‘desk day’ but I did a few other things so need to return to that and try to make more progress {reconciling who owes Mom what for the past four months and vice versa – in addition to tracking spending for past two months in our computer program.  Fun stuff.}

I suppose school papers (past) and planning would also count as desk work.

The Basement Project.  New {{red}} shelf by the TV needs attention – well, the stuff it currently holds that it really shouldn’t.  Baby book memorabilia and ancient cassette tapes.  Thinking the cassette tapes could possibly find a home behind the red doors instead of the baby memories.  Also determined the multi-decade collection of Acts & Facts and homeschool magazines and whatever else I have kept (but not looked at twice if ever) needs to just go away.  And that’s just one wall.

I saw an article the other week about ‘staging your home for living’ inspired by the more common effort we spend ‘staging our homes for selling.’  Follow that?  Smart??  Yes.

I started rearranging in the storeroom where I added the new shelf – much more to do, including purging the collection of stuff like plastic ‘freezer boxes’ and other kitchen ‘extras’

Other:  buy a couple more things and bake sugar cookies for VBS snacks; find more eggs to buy; weed flower beds; make peanut butter; dust ceiling fans; clean basement fridge {I did the kitchen fridge & its freezer – wow, that needs to happen more often!}; register the Cowgirl for online accounting class at community college; make more jam; sew and mend; keep ironing pile *current* … ha ha…

Noticing that... I should have been measuring the Cattleman’s height on a weekly if not monthly basis the past year or two.  He seems to have the Thompson TALL genes!

And evidence that Abby cooked in the kitchen last night – lotsa tools and dishes to wash!

 

Something fun to share...

The dads were thinking alike on Saturday when the kids requested permission to have some fun with water balloons. 

Stepping it up just a little with a few of these:

 

A favorite quote for today...

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Galatians 5:13-16

One of my favorite things... flannel blankets for little ones!

A few plans for the rest of the week... Tim is working at home this week – hoping to get dirt work done in shed and other spots.  Among other things.  My day for grocery shopping is yet to be determined :-)  Kate and Berry Patch crew go to work daily; Abby is babysitting this afternoon {after working at Berry Patch}; Thurs is the last equestrian therapy; Friday more babysitting for both Kate & Abby; Saturday they are planning to serve at men’s prayer breakfast before decorating for VBS.  In between, it’s last week of prep for VBS!  Most of our ‘kids’ will have lessons to teach as they help in their various classes.

A peek into my world...

Fourth of July fun with friends

 

~.~.~.~.~

Giving credit where credit is due:

While I am not linking up with anyone, you could read more weekly news posts at other blogs by following any of these links:

• Peggy at the Simple Woman’s Daybook

• Julie for adapting this daybook version as her own ‘Grasshopper Days’ ~ Perhaps I could call it the GHV Daybook. :)

• You can also find a similar weekly meme in Happy Homemaker Monday at Sandra’s

~.~.~.~.~

Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord,

that thou fulfil it. Colossians 4:17

June is flying by {bye-bye}… and gone

 

Week One:  dentist appointments, bought file cabinet and full bolt of denim from swappers, mending with the City Slicker, Tim took Diamond Bright to the butcher, orthodontist appointments, a looong afternoon/eve of shopping with all five girls,  sewing culottes for the Cowgirl, baked bread, more shopping, more shopping (wally-world three days in a row?! plus multiple grocery stores), Tim’s nephew Matt and family stopped in for supper on their travels, Tim bought a ‘new’ car for our kids to drive, more baking, a visit from an out-of-state childhood friend, bonfire (see pics), killer migraine returned to lurkdom, and then we shipped via van our two new world travelers…

But via the camera the week looked like this:

Kittens for sale {still have one of these plus her black-haired brother, Conny!}

 

Encouragement from Tim while on our five-hour? shopping trip…

 

To pack laundry soap for my overseas travelers, I bought and emptied travel-size mouth wash bottles.  Ha!

 

Washington says, Hello!

 

 

Facebook status reveals… Odometer reading on June 3:  290,071
Less than 10k to reach the Suburban's lifetime goal!

 

Remember this lovely bouquet from Bev?

Here are a few bonus photos from Bev’s phone, thanks to facebook – It was fun to reconnect with her.  And I think she enjoyed her baked goodies as well as a glimpse of Peggy the calf, named as requested for Bev’s mom!

 

 

Roasting hot dogs with our Little friends…

With a stick race down the creek

and other fun adventures!

 

Week Two:  After delays enroute to Chicago and a delayed departure from Chicago, the teens and their leaders arrived in Paris on Monday morning for a day of touring.

 

At home, I started a Stupid Diet {aka the Fast Metabolism Diet} and became Grumpy Mom {okay, grumpier than usual?}   Commence the mind-boggling feat of cooking for the family and cooking totally different for me. 

Which also meant when I baked up this cake for Emma, I did not taste a single drip or crumb of cake or frosting.  Horrible.  You would be grumpy too.

Abby was helping with something here, but her curtain of hair hid her beautiful face.  I think we were cooking soup.

 

This.  This was delicious on day three/phase two of the Stupid Diet.  But cutting the cooked turkey bacon was the end of this cheap kitchen shears.

Unfortunately I also learned in the midst of day three that no sugar = brain fog on day three.  So I went to Ames to order A Beka at a hotel meeting and to buy groceries at three stores anyway.  And snacked on a Larabar which was NOT on my food map for the day.  But I came home and returned to diet obedience for supper.  And continued to apologize to all for being grumpy.

A bonus I should admit was getting a massage on Friday because I had to.  According to the Stupid Diet, which also has exercise requirements for each phase.

Saturday the kids-at-home went to Cambridge to walk in a parade promoting our upcoming VBS and then to volunteer at the inflatables set up for the festivities.  They were pretty keen on the tee-shirts given to volunteers…

I have a couple parade photos thanks to Angie and facebook…

Saturday at home meant friends stopping in for lunch on their way to a wedding.  Hmmm, what to serve?  I ended up grilling sandwiches panini-style, making mine with approved nitrate-free deli meat on Ezekiel bread.  But that was pretty much the end of diet obedience.  I had no time to even look at my food map, let alone follow it.  We enjoyed our lunch with friends!   And I only ate half of a tollhouse bar cookie.  ahem.

Tara also brought into our house a large pan of these.  Ree Drummond’s cinnamon rolls.  You can see what’s happening here, can’t you?!

And pie.  We had enough strawberries from our garden for a fresh berry pie so I made one.  And when we served it up after supper and sang an early Happy Birthday to Christy {Tim’s niece}, I ate some!  but passed on the ice cream.  So there.  End of Stupid Diet.  Cuz I also ate my chicken fajita in a flour tortilla with cheese and sour cream.  Yes, I probably have submission issues.  Except my hubby did raise his eyebrows and express disapproval when I mentioned attempting a restart with week two of the Stupid Diet.  So see:  Obedient wife I am.  {sorta?  I remember Elisabeth Elliot saying it’s NOT submission when you already AGREE.  So yeah.}

{insert a loud Happy Birthday to our Cowgirl!!! who celebrated on the island of Corsica}

 

I did wait for my migraine to recede a bit before I sampled the cinnamon rolls.  Then I had to ask or the recipe of course.  Pretty sure this recipe will be used sooner than might be deemed wise.  Moving on…

 

Week Three:  Both Elisabeth Elliot and my friend Jill’s father passed away on Monday, June 15.  Both lived lives worth celebrating and are enjoying the glories of heaven with our Savior!  Sadness mixed with much much joy and gratitude.

New mega batch of elderberry syrup with a jar to send an ailing friend.

 

The Cattleman’s garden looks lonely without him…

It rained enough that the Berry Patch workers stayed home on Monday… and instead the girls went to a work day at church to help prep crafts for a VBS in Kansas City. 

Tuesday, Diamond Bright came home wrapped in paper packages enough to fill our deep freeze.   But for supper we enjoyed good food at Hickory Park Restaurant with my folks who will spend most of the remaining summer in AZ (my mom had knee replacement surgery there).

photo credit – Berry Tramel

 

Another wearying Wednesday with grocery shopping in Ames, and I conclude this is not a good option for my summer routine.  {HyVee offers a Wellness Wednesday discount on many items I buy there, but a big errand/shopping day makes going back out for church in the evening more difficult}  This must have been the day I bought the red book shelf from a swapper in Ames on the same trip.  hee hee

Abby, the City Slicker and the Popper continued to work at the Berry Patch as many long mornings as possible between rainy days.  Strawberry season was cut short by the abundance of rain, but the berries we did enjoy were mighty delicious.  Abby & the CS also have continued to volunteer at One Heart Equestrian Therapy on Thursday eves.  Tim and crew have made it to a few of the Friday night church softball games.

Met up with the honey guy to buy another gallon.  Made a double batch of strawberry jam.  Multiple connections with my local sources for eggs.  Wish I knew how many dozens we’ve consumed in a month.

We concluded week three of June with a really busy Saturday.  Kate took Mrs. M. to the airport, then shopped for wheat berries and fresh produce {among other things} on her way home.  Tim & I went north for a funeral in the morning, then picked everyone up to go south for a wedding in the afternoon. 

 

Week Four:  Father’s Day!  I stayed home on Sunday in midst of another incredible migraine {Should I mention I think I knocked my atlas out of whack within the week of our last chiropractor visit in May?  not helpful.}

Monday was somewhat better.  And a happy, exciting and crafty day!  Kate continued to work on a special Father’s Day card for Tim, and Abby started making flowers with pattern tissue paper.  An old book she hoped to use for craft paper was too old – the paper just crumbled.

 

In the evening we went to church to bring our travelers home safe and sound!  Yay!

 

The Cattleman woke up early on Tuesday ready to return to work at the Berry Patch.  The Cowgirl crawled out of her bed and back into life on the farm with sleep in her eyes – but willing to help her dad with a visit from the vet. 

Belated 17th birthday party for our Cowgirl! 

 

 

Another dentist check-up, made muffin mix, cleaned out the toaster {exciting I know}, much more laundry and cooking, babysitting…

Here’s a healthier picture to drool over.  Not quite the same is it?

 

Hello. My name is Joe, and I work in a button factory.. 

Anyone else know that song?  and wish they didn’t?

 

Abby’s got her craft going again!  Should have taken a ‘before’ pic of the ‘wreath’ constructed of cereal box cardboard.  This is up-cycling.

  

 

Just a few days to finish out the month:  singing in church, baking 100 buns for a special girl’s bday party, wishing someone had time to create a photo book to use coupons and good sales.  Began my ironing catch-up marathon with Alexander Scourby and Pauline epistles for company.  Lunch with my good friend Jill followed by VBS snack shopping – yay!  And another visit with the chiropractor closes out June. 

Whew.