His faithfulness

  "Today there are fewer places to discover, and the real adventure is to stay at home." G.K. Chesterton

 The LORD's faithfulness overflows the simplicity of daily living here in my comfortable home. These days we are living in seem dark with the events that surround our nation and the world, both before us and behind us. Yet, The LORD is His people's shield, He is their refuge, and He is their strong tower. I read this in His Word and I believe it.

I walk in the wintry afternoon, and on especially cold and damp days I wear the hand knitted hat of natural cream that I spun from the wool of my flock of sheep at least twenty-five years ago. I remember those days of being a shepherdess with great joy, the lessons learned from that experience are garnered in my mind to be recalled for later days like these. Those spring days of lambing season, that special sound a mother ewe gives to her newborn lamb, going outside in the evening to sit in the pasture while watching those growing lambs frolic- "feeling good all under"- the smell of the straw in the barn and the sheep's wool, and how my sheep "knew" my voice apart from stranger's voices. But there were also the days when the wild dogs got into the pasture and chewed the bottoms of pregnant ewes, and the vigilant care of watching for parasites and foot rot that will weaken the health and life of your flock, and yes even the culling which eventually must come.

During my afternoon walks I hear the birdsongs clear and sweet even in this season of winter, they have no worries or anxieties.

Every day I awaken and I praise Him for His goodness and grace. He is abundant in mercy and I will declare this as long as I have breath. I chose to make homemaking my life's work, a choice I made over thirty-eight years ago. It is a most rewarding life work. But I am also a full- fledged warrior, a praying warrior. My armour is sure, my heart is guarded, I will not back down until "His kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven." 

a homemaker's nightmare confession

 I believe I might have possibly discovered an adult nightmare equivalent to a child's, but this one is definitely my own personal homemaker's nightmare. It is dust bunnies under the bed! Now I am a huge advocate for hard wood floors. The reason for that is more than two-fold, not only  the ease of cleaning, but equally so is the amount of dust I know for a fact accumulates weekly under the bed and with carpet it would be the same amount of dust, you just do not see it and I guess the mind has the tendency to forget that simple truth. Having  a vacuum cleaner small enough to get under the bed without literally moving the bed is not a easy weekly chore either if you have carpet under your bed. Dust bunnies...eww and yuck!

On Fridays I clean my bedroom. That means I get my *Norwex mop, get down on my knees and eliminate all those dust bunnies under the bed. It takes several sweeps and the cleaning of the mop before I feel as if I have relieved the floor of most of them. 

Thankfully, I am one of those people who can clean and then not think about it until it is time to clean again the next week. So I do not truly have nightmares...but just saying... dust bunnies!

1776 Commission

 As our school year resumed back in late August, Charlotte's senior year, I knew I wanted to finish her high school years with an American Government course with emphasis on the United States Constitution, and I found the most excellent class online through Hillsdale College. There are two parts to this course, Const 101 and Const 201, and it is absolutely free. Every American would do well to take the time to listen to these outstanding lectures.

Which leads me to another thing that few people realized occurred on September 17, 2020 at the Archives in Washington, DC, which happens to be Constitution Day, the anniversary of our United States Constitution. A panel of educators and historians organized by the White House met together to discuss how to restore the teaching of American history to students in schools across America. American history would be taught with truth and honesty for the preservation of freedom.

"We must carry on the fight because our country is at stake. Indeed, in a larger sense, civilization itself is at stake, because the forces arrayed against the scholarship and the politics of freedom today have more radical aims than just destroying America. " 

                                   Larry Arnn, President of Hillsdale College

2021 reading challenge

"The world was hers for the reading"

                      Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

                                (0ther than the crow, this seems familiar)

Due to the occurrence of some extensive mouth and teeth surgery I had the last week of 2020, which from there hurdled me into the second week of January before I felt more normal again...what's normal these days? Thus my 2021 reading challenge is a bit delayed, but no worries because reading is wonderful and necessary and something I wish to always have in my life, ergo, my self-imposed reading challenge is only slightly delayed. 

I spent the later part of the week making my plans and gathering my books. Following are the proposed reading genres and books I am considering for this year.  As always, the majority of them are classics and I am mimicking Karen's list  as a format to include in my genres.

1. 19th Century Classic (1800-1899)...

           Far From the Maddening Crowd-Thomas Hardy 

2. 20th Century Classic (1900-1971)...

                        This Proud Heart-Pearl Buck

3. Classic written by a woman...

                         I Capture the Castle- Dodie Smith

4. Classic in translation...

         The Odyssey (Homer)-translated by Robert Fitzgerald 

5.  Classic written by a non-white author...

                    Up From Slavery- Booker T. Washington

6. Classic author new to you...

              Cry, the Beloved Country-Alan Paton

7. Classic by an author you've read before...

              The Dean's Watch- Elizabeth Goudge

8 Classic with animal in the title...

                The Little White Horse- Elizabeth Goudge

9. Humorous or satirical Classic

                       Screwtape Letters- C.S.Lewis

10. Classical Play...

                      A Winter's Tale- Shakespeare

11. Children's Classic...

                     a Laura Ingalls Wilder book

12. A biography or autobiography...

                      Bonhoeffer- Eric Metaxas

13. A religious classic...

                     In His Steps-Charles M. Sheldon

14. A classic with a Season in the Title...

                 The Solitary Summer- Elizabeth von Arnim

15. A Craft/gardening/or cook book...

        The Geometry of Handsewing-Alabama Chanin

16. A  Grace Livingston Hill  Classic

                        Duskin

17.  A modern novel...

      Peace Like A  River-Leif Enger 

 There are still several holes I will be filling in as the months go by, and these titles are not written in stone. I can change them at the last minute if another choice becomes more desirable. All in all I will be reading more books than are listed in this challenge, my goal here is to simply enjoy reading a wide variety of classics. Nothing difficult about that...

Please share some of your reading choices for 2021.   

 

Monday: cooking, laundry & ironing

 In the hopes of getting a more considerable hold on my week, I have come up with a plan that I hope will prove to work well for this season of my life. I am at home more often and with that I have found I must be more intentional for devising a general flow of getting things done to allow me to feel as if I have accomplished things at the end of the day....and week.

Mondays are now my meal planning and cooking day. I usually make a weekly soup of some sort, whether that involves using the leftovers in the refrigerator or from other ingredients on my pantry shelves, to prepare a tasty and nourishing soup. Soups are usually our lunch fare. Meats for any of the planned dishes for the week's meals are cooked and stored in the refrigerator, and lastly I will bake bread or rolls.  

Today I made a leek and potato soup, prepared the meat for burritos, chopped a head of lettuce for fermenting, and cooked a pot of pinto beans. We still had some cranberry bread left over from last week and there are also some bagels in the bread box so baking was not necessary today. There is a fresh whole chicken in the refrigerator to roast one night this week. I roast a whole chicken at least every week. 

Mondays are also designated as an "empty the clothes hamper" laundry day, which means at least three loads to wash, dry, fold and put away. I also try to set aside time for ironing. I discovered if I maintain a weekly ironing schedule then it will take less than an hour to complete. Sounds easy enough.

winter contradictions

             "I like winter. I like its contradictions: cold but cozy, sparse but beautiful, lifeless but not souless".     -Poppy Adams                                  

     I heard the chimes outside in the cool grayness of the early morning's fog blurring all the fine lines of the landscape. I was in the kitchen standing at the counter with a new ceramic coffee dripper brewing my first cup of morning coffee. The verdict is not out yet deciding if it indeed brews a better cup of coffee.  

Saturday at home with fluctuating weather.  Restless wind, the appearance of the sun for a bit then suddenly disappearing with heavier clouds tight on its heels and even stronger gusts of wind tossing the bare branches. A few snowflakes falling lightly made us "ahh" but knowing they would not last either. As the colder temperatures continued we would glance outside the window and shiver. 

                      I love the sparse beauty of this day. 

the meyer lemon tree's final crown

      This past year has given me lemons and it has been the most satisfying art to be in active observer of each part of the process leading up to the end.

But I must begin at the very beginning of this tale just as all presentable tales must begin. Late fall of 2019 I was the excited giftee of a Meyer Lemon tree. It was a small, unpretentious plant in a pot, certainly nothing to make anyone think great things would come from it. But then lofty hopes are difficult to dispose of when the reality of growing lemons reign high. I set it on a table where the morning sun provided light and warmth for three to four hours daily during the winter months. By December the sweet smell of the blooms were lovely so I attentively and carefully rubbed a Q-tip across  one bloom and, just as I imagined a flitting bee would do, deposited it on another bloom. That was rather fun! Then I waited to see if any lemons would appear, just as I hoped the blooms dropped off and tiny green globes appeared. While several of the tiny buds fell off, three continued to grow...oh so slowly they grew the entire winter and spring. When summer came  the plant was repotted and moved it outside. I continued to fertilize it throughout the summer as the entire plant grew and grew. It was a happy plant, the green lemons grew fat and round on my patio. Everyone remarked about my "limes".  I assured them there were indeed lemons and would turn yellow in due time. By late summer they were just beginning to be yellow, patience had produced the desired fruit.

 

The threat of frost had me bringing the tree inside where the further maturation of the lemons could take place. Finally the time came to harvest the lemons. You can not even imagine my sheer joy of walking into the sun room, plucking a lemon into my hand and returning to the kitchen to make a lemon meringue pie!

One lemon made this pie, and it was delicious.

A lemon drizzle cake was made this past week with another of the lemons, and it too was tasty, sweet and lemony.

I have one more lemon hanging on the tree...any suggestions of what I can make with it?