pictures

I managed to upload these photos without any space for my comments between, thus the comments all come first.   Also, it was early evening, so the lighting was past prime.    Bear with me please...

• If you enlarge this photo you might be able to see a wee calf by her mama.  Sorry that I didn't get a better picture.  Tim found calf #2 this morning when he checked on the ladies ~ another heifer  :-)  Names are still a matter for debate.

• The proud papa, Bullwinkle.

• The herd as viewed from the house.

• And, of course, photos of ductwork and Tim's PEX tubing with reflector plates, as promised ~ sort of.  Exciting, yes? 

daybook 9

• Peggy's Daybook Entry~Updated Weekly

The Simple Woman's Daybook will be posted each Tuesday ~ here.

FOR TODAY

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Outside my window...

the sun has been up longer than I have today.

most of the yard and pasture is a lovely green.

the cattle have come for a drink - they look especially fine on the green grass!

I am thinking...

I should have called the chiropractor last week ~ I should still call today and see when they have an opening big enough for the five of us.

I am thankful for...

the fun my kids have together - really I am.

the first healthy Angus calf  born Saturday(?) ~ Tim & kids found her Sunday afternoon ~ She's a girl, and she is /s/p/u/n/k/y/

I am praying for...

Little ones Sophia W. and Kali B. both have important doctor visits today.

My dad (not so little - his 78th birthday was Sunday) also meets with a favorite surgeon today to discuss options for his torn something in his shoulder.  They are thankful for the medical care they get in Arizona.

My mom is recovering from her ankle surgery last Friday ~ Mom & Dad are thankful for friends and family nearby as they struggle to care for each other right now.

Mrs. Barnes, who is meeting with yet another French anesthesiologist tomorrow ~ hopefully this one will agree to assist in her needed hip-replacement surgery.

Tim's nephew Craig, who broke his leg a few weeks ago ~ praying for good, strong healing!  (Crack the books, Craig, not your leg!)  :-) 
[edit:  Craig finally had surgery a week ago to put a rod in that broken leg - still praying for healing!]

From the learning rooms...

The Popper finished reading her science book yesterday; the Cattleman is enjoying his new curriculum via dvd; the Cowgirl has finished her math book; the Computer Geek has the final exam left in his literature; Miss Artist has been studying the DOT book to get her learner's permit to drive which she needs for a photo ID before flying solo next week; Miss Music Box is trying to hurry through the remainder of her geometry book (to end that source of misery!)

We discussed existentialism a bit this morning in our history reading ~ the youngers are a bit aghast that anyone could be so deluded.  It is so sad for a culture to turn from hollow religion with some remnant of truth to the hopelessness of humanistic lies.  I am thankful that we know the God who is real!

From the kitchen...

I served a Lazy Mom supper last night:  frozen pizza  :-)  It was Tim's first night in the field with planting, so I wasn't very motivated.  Tonight will be meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

I am creating...

Okay, last time I should have to say this - until next year... tax returns ready for mailing, if only I could find the big envelopes I know I have somewhere...

And a list of potential light fixtures for the new house  :-)

I am going...

to take Miss MB to the orthodontist today (thus, the soft food supper) and hopefully Miss A to the DOT 

(while wishing we had an appointment at the chiropractor - Did I say that already?)

I am reading...

hmm, lately it's been the lighting catalogs.

The Winged Watchman was a fun diversion the other night (about Nazi occupation of Holland).  I started reading Bright Candles: A Novel of the Danish Resistance, but I think I will return it unfinished since I don't like the flavor (somehow it's different listening to John Wayne swear as he portrays a US officer than reading about a fictional 17yo swearing with his friends and lying to his parents...)   Aha! - just found where I'd stashed Dancing with My Father, so I can read another chapter in that!

I am hoping... 

that all is well with Tim and his fieldwork.

that more calves will be born without difficulty this week.

that somehow our preferred cabinet maker will offer a better special to reduce the cost of our kitchen.  (hoping that it is God's will we have the better-quality, Iowa-made, locally-retailed cabinets?)

I am hearing...

the CG singing/humming/trumpeting while he solves his Algebra problems.

Around the house...

I need to forget that I own a computer and deal with our collection of s.t.u.f.f.  Talk is cheap, ya know.  I have a dream:  A place for everything, and everything in its place.  That probably means a lot of our 'everything' needs to live in someone else's 'place' or a recycling bin somewhere over the rainbow...  Yoohoo, Flylady?  I can do anything for 15 minutes...

One of my favorite things...

~ ~ ~ Cheer up, cheer up, cheerio!  ~ ~ ~

the best unalarming alarm clock ever - in the form of a robin.  They also sing an evening song that could remind a person to call it a day.

God's way is the best!

A few plans for the rest of the week:

Making progress? with the same-old -- schoolwork to accomplish and organize (including 'next year'), house decisions, sewing projects always, infinite ironing...

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

The Cattleman is a determined gardener ~ broccoli, peas, radishes here; and potatoes at the new house's garden.  More to come.

...and another from Miss Artist who was capturing the green grass and caught the Cattleman in the background.

Cool beans.

Peggy hosts the daybook at The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ click to find more.

cool beans

Thanks, Conny!

Here's what I think is cool today:

Today's 'verse of the day,' courtesy of Bible Gateway...

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” (Luke 9:23-24) Public Domain

And the passage in Mark chapter 8 that Pastor was preaching from yesterday...

 ³¹And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
 ³²And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
 ³³But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
 ³⁴And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
 ³⁵For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
 ³⁶For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
 ³⁷Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
 ³⁸Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Cool beans! (as Conny says)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

¹³I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

 ¹⁴And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.  Daniel 7

This is what the disciples of Jesus were expecting in their Messiah ~ the Kingdom now.  Not a cross.
It is not cool that we are so easily bent on having "kingdom, glory, and power" for ourselves.  But that is reality ~ apart from God molding us into the true image of Christ.  What does it mean to know "the fellowship of his sufferings" and to deny self?  As Pastor pointed out, taking up our cross doesn't require a woe-is-me martyr attitude.  God knows what level or area of suffering is required in each of our lives to enable us to glorify Him best.  God is good  ~  His grace is sufficient  ~  and Jesus knows what it means to suffer.

Here's a statement from Pastor's message to think on for a while:

God's glory is more important than my comfort.

And I thought of Kate Stoll and her physical pain....

"Don't feel sorry for me, Mom.  Jesus is with me."

♥  ♥  ♥ 

house progress - and needed vision!

I haven't taken pictures for a while now.  :-(  As I told a friend recently, the house doesn't look very different.

But, we are still making progress.

This week, Jacob & his helper (Daniel?  Help me out, Amber!) put most of the ductwork into place.  Would you like pictures of sheet metal ducting?   (Wow, I just won 10 swag bucks in this search!  ...but I also found that we do not qualify for the HVAC tax credit since we are new construction... I think I'd rather have your $1500.  Didn't find a picture worth pasting in here either.  I'll have to go take my own photo I guess.)


And Tim has been working on additional radiant in-floor heat for the bathrooms upstairs - putting the PEX tubing up.  Okay, here's a picture of someone else installing PEX tubing  ;-)  The pic on the far right is what Tim has been doing... adding the tubing under the upper floor.  Does the picture help? 

Our PEX tubing is red, if that matters.  And Tim also bought metal reflector plates that hold the tubing to the floor and reflect the heat up help spread the heat.  Is this a fun post, or what?!

Oh, here's an interesting explanation about the metal plates...

These thin aluminum plates spread the heat from the PEX tubing to the surrounding floor more efficiently than just allowing the heat to be conducted through the wood.  They also result in less of a hot spot right over the PEX tube.

 This same guy (Gary) made his own plates from sheets of aluminum soffit.  I'll let Tim see this next year, maybe.  ;-)  You can look at his website now if you want ~ here.

Hmmm, what else?  Our electrician is getting ready to start - soon, I think/hope.  I stopped at an electrical supply store and picked up some lighting catalogs - one of them is 996 pages including the index.  And would you believe I looked at the entire thing yesterday, in spite of an enraged migraine?  Some pages I turned very quickly ~ Want an example of what we won't be buying, even if we like the name?  This is from Quorum's collection called Bohemian Katerina...

Pretty, huh?  But we aren't building a replica of Versailles.

I also refuse to buy some just because of their given names, ie. Rousseau  or Origins that has Evolution glass.  I'm too easily offended, I know - but yuck.

So, just what is our style?? 

 Quorum ~ Aspen

 Quorum ~ Avondale

 Quorum ~ Harrison

Quorum ~ Craftsman

Quorum ~ Prairie

 Tim probably doesn't like any of these.   I haven't asked him yet.
Do we really have to have a chandelier over the dining table?
This one (Loretto) is on the cover of the Golden Lighting catalog...

If he doesn't like the Loretto and its "casual elegance," will he like any of the others I've shown you?

This is called Grace ~ from Golden ~ It's listed as "excellent value," which is why the lighting consultant pointed it out to me.

 This is Candace, also from Golden.  "Artfully modern style.  Upscale look at an affordable price."  Exciting - not.  (These are both available in a darker finish, 'rubbed bronze,' or pewter.)

Remember this?

Change the countertops to a light color, the floor to something darker, probably an 'oak' laminate.  Paint the walls something besides gray!  Remove the can lights.  Mostly white appliances, stainless steel sink.  (hmmm, and hang Danish blue plates on the soffit ~ how do they fit in here?  this picture is way too modernistic for me)  Do I go with florescent 'clouds' - or some pendants over the island (and what besides cans for additional lighting?)  The dining table is this side of the island and you could pretend you are standing in the 'great room' to see this picture.  We plan to put a ceiling fan in the great room.  Plus there will be a light in the front entry -- all this needs to coordinate somehow.  And I have lived a very eclectic (live with what you've got) life thus far  ;-)

Remember this front door? 

 As much as I am not devoted to Frank Lloyd Wright, our kitchen cabinets and the front door would both fall into the 'arts & crafts' or at least 'prairie' style. Thus, my choice of Quorum's Craftsman and Prairie (above) as options for lighting.  Help!  Amber?  I need a design consultant.  I don't expect a home that looks like Better Homes & Gardens, but I need help with the big picture to guide our choices... ya know, vision - something besides the price tag.  (Not that the price tag isn't the final decision-maker...)

Sunday Edit:  Since the pictures from Golden Lighting seem to disappear, then reappear - maybe.  I added links - in case anyone really wants to see the Grace or Candace chandeliers  =)  And I scanned the Loretto from the actual catalog, so you can see it easily, since I still think it looks cool - it just won't be in my house.  One thing I like about it is the finish - the pictures of russet bronze fixtures look better than those of the rubbed bronze - but whatever. 

Actually what we may have almost decided on last night is the Spencer from Quorum.  Yay.  At least according to prices I found at online sources, it looks like a budget-friendly choice.  But I'm still in a conundrum about the kitchen lighting.  Since it's a Quorum, I should be able to add a picture  =)

And for another 13 swag bucks, I will do just that! A "large" image even.

Or two. 

This one below is actually in the Old World finish, which looks black to me ~ we like the finish above, Toasted Sienna.  But I wonder if we need the 5-light version instead of just 3 since they're just 60watts each.  And I'm not sure what the *Note is all about.

Do I want this hanging over the island?? 

I'm purposefully choosing a chandelier with lights facing up, so that we won't have the glare on school books at the table, which will invariably end up there, even with a separate "school room."  I'm not sure I want that glare on the island either.  (I know, I'll have bowls full of dust and bugs to clean out on a regular basis.)   And, the only (acceptable) general-light to combine with a pendant light would be recessed lighting, probably cans, which Tim would prefer to avoid.  Oh, the pressure!  ;-)  Ugly, efficient florescent cloud(s)?  and skip this $200 item?  Hmmm, probably - unless we want multiple chandeliers?  (btw, Thanks for reading all this think-out-loud blather!)  The 3-light chandelier is cheaper by a lot; the 5-light is still cheaper than this island thing.  (I didn't price the individual mini-pendants.)   What's with that?  Must be too cool for me.

...and this is like an additional post added onto an already lengthy post...  I'll quit now.

Hansi

I read this book last night.  ...all..of..it....  It's the auto-biography of Maria Anne, who once was a leader in the Hitler Youth.  Funny how things go around.  My daughter actually read the book first (and my son, and another daughter) then recommended it to a friend at church, Sarah, who found it at her library and read it - okay, read most of it - and then blogged about it yesterday  =)  So after reading Sarah's post, I thought I'd better get busy on it myself ~ espec since it might already be overdue at the library  :o

Such a good story.  So much sadness.  But also so much evidence of God's love and faithfulness.  I'll give you a couple quotes from later in the story.

"God," I pleaded humbly, "forgive my doubts; for now I know that thou art; and not only that, but God, thou art love."

I thought the stars smiled as they twinkled.  They reminded me of the time when Rudy and I had first met, and we had sat on that log to watch our friends the stars.  Then love had begun to bind our hearts together, and now love was again weaving.  But this time it was greater love, for God was in it.

And this on prayer and a new relationship with Christ while reading a book translated from Alone with God by Matilda Erickson Andross...

This writer said that there was nothing wrong with a formal prayer, but Christ longed for more than that!

She likened communication with Jesus to a telephone conversation -- we on one end, he listening on the other. But the usual prayers of Christians were monologues, she said. We would say our piece, finish with "Amen," and slam the receiver down. Shouldn't we stop long enough to listen? Would not Christ talk back to us if we waited for an answer?

...Jesus and I became friends that night when I surrendered my all to him the best I knew how.  Not that surrendering to Christ is over in a moment.  When a human being gives himself to Christ, it is the beginning of eternity, and it becomes a more meaningful reality from day to day with no end to its depth.

And here's a beautiful thought from Sarah's post...

It's amazing to think about how perfect God is and that even when we're not secure with the leadership of sinful man, we can be eternally secure in the leadership and love of a Holy God.

 I found this website if you want to learn more about Maria Anne Hirschmann right now.  :-)  Then go check out her book!

our own March Madness

The water softener went kaput... the kids enjoyed the big box while Tim worked to install a new one.

Friday of Birthday (& TFC) Weekend, we grilled steaks and had cream puffs (profiteroles) for dessert, as per the Popper's requests.  The Cattleman's wish was for mashed potatoes with gravy and a two-layer birthday cake.  I suggested Miss Artist bake the cake (from scratch) on Friday.
Saturday was a L>O>N>G> day at Talents for Christ.  Here we're waiting to enter the room for Miss Artist's turn to compete.

To celebrate both birthdays and TFC competition, my folks took us out for supper at a nice restaurant ~ The Machine Shed.  The kids seemed to perk up again when we got home... played basketball, rode their bikes, made noise,... decorated the cake!

The rest of us went to bed and left Miss Artist to finish her creation - and to clean up the kitchen - it was an especially long day for her!

Sunday we invited my folks for the homemade birthday dinner of beef roast, mashed potatoes & gravy, and of course, cake!  (and presents?)  Eight candles for the Popper and ten candles for the Cattleman ~ their friendship is such a blessing!

The Cattleman has decided he should be baptized soon.  He's been wanting a new "study" Bible ~ he and Tim are looking over his new Thompson Chain Reference  :-)

He also had a long list of garden seeds and plants, so he was pleased to open packages of peas, radishes, popcorn, onions, etc.  And the Popper's been wishing for a sewing box... complete with gadgets and fabric for new pillowcases.

Thanks, Grandma (&Grandpa)!

profiteroles by the Popper