out of the miry clay

Friday, October 25, 2013

please help the Lockwoods minister this Christmas ~

It's time to gather some treasures that might delight a child in Mexico...

You can read details at the Lockwoods' blog.
They have an American address for shipping this year!

~ Feliz Navidad ~

Monday, October 21, 2013

daybook 10/21/2013

For today, Monday, October 21, 2013

Outside my window... it’s been a sunny but chilly day!

Hearing... the Cattleman informed me that Charlie is out again {a calf with a reputation}

Pondering... why I blog. Among other things.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work. 1 Timothy 5:10

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Psalm 31:19

Praying...

for friends and family with health needs, especially young Callan & Denise.
for the P Family awaiting news of visa approval.
for the Rettigs in Prague ~ an Evening of the Bible planned for Wednesday in Kladno.
for our college kiddos.

Thankful...

for answered prayers.
that Callan’s parents were pleased with doctors they met last week.
that ‘no news is good news’ about Jon’s survival through the Crucible.
for the end of the corn harvest ~ soybeans are almost done too.

Creating... an early birthday gift/care package for Abby :-) She broke her purse last month, so when the Cowgirl & I found this one on sale at Kohl’s last week…

Going... to serve leftovers for supper tonight :D

Reading... Psalms, 1&2 Timothy

Looking forward to... another book from the Sister Circle series by V.Bright & N.Moser.

In the kitchen... Hoping my attempt at transplanting some aloe ‘pups’ is successful. {I googled ‘aloe propagation’ after I’d already moved them…}

Menu options: leftover taco meat, chick/veg soup, lasagna; pepper steak; Cajun chicken pasta

And the kids add, “Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!” with Italian gusto.

In the learning rooms... the Cowgirl finished with Physical Science! woot woot! and will be moving on to Chemistry 101

Around the house... ~~Ten~~ Seven buckets of apples waiting in the garage. Gerberas moved back into the house.

The Mother Load...

Noticing that... the “red” trees are coming on strong with their annual color change ~ sorry, no lovely pics available on my camera

Something fun to share... {balloons are always fun!}

christmas balloons

[source ~ The Christian Homekeeper]

A favorite quote for today...

[source ~ Gary Morland via his daughter, the Nester]

One of my favorite things... my mom’s quilts!

A few plans for the rest of the week...

Wednesday & Thursday ~ the usual.

Saturday ~ Outdoor Extravaganza at Jack’s.

A peek into my world...

~.~.~.~.~

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

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

daybook 10/16/2013

FOR TODAY

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Outside my window...

The cows are in the corn… and that’s a good thing.

I am thinking...

as much as I am able ;-) …and trying to process it all in light of God’s Word.

{refer to this bit of brain dump}

I am thankful...

for Marcia’s chickens ~ and her willingness to share their produce with me us.

In the kitchen...

Yesterday ~ chicken packets. Tonight ~ tacos. Friday ~ pizza. Sunday ~ lasagna.

I am wearing...

~~walking clothes ~ time to shower and get on with the day~~

I am creating...

If/when I receive gumption from on high…

a wall collage maybe? Maybe. I like this one. Moo.

[Flower Patch Farmgirl]

I am going...

~~to the chiropractor in an hour!~~

~~to visit with my dad’s cousins from afar over lunch~~

~~to mail this little package~~

to church tonight with my hubby I think :-)

I am wondering...

if the Cattleman will be able to back this wagon back into its place by himself.

Here’s where play becomes preparation for real life work.

I am reading...

the clock. Time for breakfast and moving on!

But I did read Tuesdays with Morrie last week, Lea!

Psalms, 2 Thessalonians

The Story of the Thirteen Colonies by HA Guerber

I am hoping...

~~the chickens at Mrs. Spear’s are laying eggs again soon.~~

Mrs. Spear gets new chickens soon. Today she gave me a carton with 5 eggs in it since she’s getting one egg total from them each day. Methinks the current birds will be stewed soon…

I am looking forward to...

a haircut. Maybe next week?

In the Learning Rooms…

The Cattleman ~~enjoyed~~ suffered a lesson or three with verb tenses.

I really did hear him say, “Perfect.”

The Cowgirl had a few experiments with light to finish her latest chapter in physical science ~ Happily Tim was home early that night to help her while the Popper observed.

I am learning

to not be so fast/careless when putting the pizza in the oven… the hard way.

Around the house...

last week’s fruit processing.

See the floating jar of pears. Not good.

Do you also see why we call the strawberry-blueberry jam “Saint Blue”?

Most of the fruit flies were drawn into my vinegar trap – yAy!

I am pondering...

The Crucible takes place over 54-hours and includes food and sleep deprivation and over 45 miles of marching. The Crucible event pits teams of recruits against a barrage of day and night events requiring every recruit to work together to solve problems, overcome obstacles, and help each other along the way. [source]

And praying…

for Jon as he in the midst of the Crucible right now as he concludes his Marine Boot Camp training. And for Jon’s family as they plan to fly out for graduation next week.

for friends and family with health needs, especially young Callan.

for the P Family awaiting news of visa approval.

for the Rettigs in Prague ~ an Evening of the Bible planned for next Wednesday in Kladno.

A favorite quote for today...

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

Psalm 28:7

~~One~~ A few of my favorite things...

A few plans for the rest of the week:

Thursday ~ piano, groceries, yada yada yada

Saturday ~ Tim’s birthday!

He expects to work, and the teens have a hayride/bonfire; so we’ll celebrate on Sunday.

The Mother Load…

~~Bake bread for us, for Mike~~

~~Ship violin book etc to Kate~~

~~Defrost upright freezer~~

Defrost chest freezer

Make a batch of applesauce

Make jam x five boxes of Sure-jell

~~Scrub our toilet~~

~~Vacuum laminate floors~~

~~Catch up laundry~~

Catch up with ironing (just two weeks’ worth – it is still doable!)

Finalize an order from Azure Standard

Bake a cherry pie for someone special

Shop for birthday gifts

Rescue the gerberas before another frost nips them

Help Mrs. S. clean up her orchard

Repot aloe plant(s), water Abby’s amaryllis {Plants that live in the basement are on my mind while I am on the treadmill and unable to tend them. And then quickly forgotten.}

Reconcile new bank statement.

Wash, rinse, repeat. Yes?

A peek into my world...

The Cattleman helped Tim seed some rye over the weekend.

~.~.~.~.~

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

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Oh dear. As I told a friend this afternoon, my timing of such an indulgence is poorly timed – Tim was home today for meals since the fields were too wet to combine today. Thankfully, the Cowgirl and the Popper pitched in at lunchtime, and we served up “dinner” then – on time even. Almost. Which made tonight’s smorgasbord of leftovers ~~perfectly~~ acceptable. {whew}

So which “one thing” started my day?

The migraine that makes me want to chop off my entire head? Well yes, but while that settled down to a dull roar with some breakfast, I was checking in at the computer of course...

Accu-Weather ~ checking their record of our rainfall last night {Tim agreed that we got about a half inch!}

E-mail…

Deliciously Organic.net [not dot com] ~ almond flour recipes for a friend who asked.

Online banking.

Apologia’s new Jeannie Fulbright book that I must order and convince the Popper to read with me because I love them :-) FYI, the book is cheaper at Amazon.

Amazon. Yikes. Must have spent at least an hour looking at various historical fiction books that are potential Christmas/New Year’s treasures. shhhh

Whoops! I was going to bake bread – fresh and hot in time for lunch today. And use the treadmill. Ahem. Plan B: Make the chicken packets for lunch instead of supper. And get the bread started! And take a shower!

After lunch/dinner, I took time again to check email while bread was rising/baking. New to me – I’ve had posts from the Nester delivered to my inbox this month… because a couple of my faithful blogger friends have joined her for a 31 Days of {whatever} Series. Thank you, Conny! and Jodi!

Anyway. Reading Ellen’s story about her bathroom re-do at Nester’s led me to a wild i-net chase for decorating styles and ideas. Eventually I came back to her own blog to read part of her 31 Days of Hope series. Very Good.

But in between – again launching from the Nester’s – I spent time at Kelly’s blog beginning with her kitchen remodel story. Oh my. Then her Decorating 101 posts… and more. I want to make some back-tab drapes! With a detour to Fieldstone Hill Design as well. And more. And more…

The good news is that I did bake two batches of bread successfully. And mixed up cookies too. {happy kids!} I did deliver half the bread to my brother and drop an item in the mail and a book at the library.

I am just a leetle overwhelmed with stuff in my brain – important stuff like Ellen’s series. and Laura’s too. As well as the temporal junk like draperies ad nauseum…

But tomorrow is a new day!

If I can keep my head from exploding, perhaps I’ll even post a daybook and some of the ~~bzillion~~ pictures I’ve now got on my camera…

Good night!

Monday, October 7, 2013

daybook 10/7/2013

For today, Monday, October 7, 2013

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5

Outside my window... sun is setting, but the kids are still outside. I think they’ve been picking up dropped corn in the field south of ours.

Hearing... the 4-wheeler once in a while

Pondering... the messy desk in front of me :p

{hmm, should be pondering Tim’s upcoming birthday}

Praying... for my cousin’s little boy Callan – headed to Mayo Clinic next week; for new owners for my MIL’s house – as well as strength for her and family moving her to a smaller home

Thankful... for God’s provision of the ‘perfect’ house for my MIL {next door to Tim’s sister}

Reading... Bible – Psalms, Acts, Colossians

History read-aloud – This Dear-Bought Land

One Candle to Burn by Kay Washer

In the kitchen... chicken enchiladas for tonight {recipe from Taste of Home}

I need to make more elderberry syrup and caveman cookies. And a menu.

In the learning rooms... In math/algebra: second degree equations, compound measures, and factoring

Going… with the Cowgirl to the orthodontist tomorrow. Fun times. {Not. But not as bad as the expected follow-up with the dentist… for extractions. Very sad face.}

Around the house... ~~100~~ 90-some Bartlett pears ripening and needing to be canned {or “jarred” as Tim would have us call the process}

The Mother Load... ~~school papers~~, ~~ironing~~, ~~laundry~~, can pears, pay bills, clean off desk, ~~treasurer duties~~

Something to remember for later... how quickly the ironing pile disappears when it’s not neglected for several weeks ;-)

A Bible verse...

And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. Psalm 9:10

A few plans for the rest of the week...

Tuesday – orthodontist, pears {All hands on deck!}

Thursday – piano lessons, groceries & other errands. The ~~Cowgirl~~ Cattleman has an offertory to prepare for Sunday.

Saturday – office cleaning with the girls

A peek into my world...

the ‘blonde caveman cookies’ for Felicity :-) {Recipe available from Jodi ~ Tim prefers them without the cocoa… hence the ‘blonde’} –> sort of a homemade Larabar. I used almonds and a few cashews along with English walnuts in this batch. {yum}