30 days of peace - day four

With thanks to Chaotic Home for the graphic.

Today I feel so very grateful. Funny enough I do feel calmer too. Not sure if that's just because there wasn't a lot to get upset about or because by focusing on calm and peace it is wending it's way into our home. Of course with adolescents under roof I'm sure it will only last so long but I'll take every moment I can get.

Today's list of gratitudes:

• My friend's Rita and Anil who are so generous of spirit and always feed me wonderful meals
  
• Another beautiful sunny day
  
• Tea with my friend Helene
  
• The public library - a wonderful institution
  

As my Aunt taught me to say, Chalamot Paz (sparkly dreams) and may you have a peaceful tomorrow.

stuff learned

I believe that learning is a lifetime endeavor. We should remember that learning does not just take place inside the four walls that represent school. There are opportunities to learn all the time and I try to set that example for my kids by sharing what I learn.

So today I thought I would share with anyone who reads my blog.

A good organic spray for your plants? Crush 375 mg aspirin into 1 T. cider vinegar and dilute into 1 gallon of water. Apparently the salicylates in the aspirin help act as a bug deterrent. Sounds worth a shot to me.

Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory agent as well as being quite tasty. My friend Rita shared that her mother used to mix turmeric with warm olive oil to make a paste to treat bumps and such with. Internet research shows that there are lots of studies done to investigate the effects of curcurmin (the active ingredient in turmeric) onpancreatic cancer, multiple myeloma, Alzheimer's, and colorectal cancer. Time to eat more curry.

book review

As promised here is a book review from my Fall Into Reading challenge list (challenge posted by Katrina).



I read this book and loved every minute of it. The descriptions of the characters, the dialog, the shift in perspectives was very well done. The story really draws you in. As the author is careful to note, the events portrayed in the story did not happen, the U.S. Government did not trade 1,000 white women as Cheyenne brides for 1,000 horses. But it's based on the fact that the Cheyenne did propose such a thing. Apparently their belief was that this would help their culture to successfully merge with the white man's culture. A fascinating and different type of story, I highly recommend it and kudos to my sister-in-law for recommending it to me.

Book review number two really isn't much of one.



Savannah Breeze was supposed to be on my summer reading list and I somehow never got to it. Although the story line seems cute, light and easy to read (Socialite gets rooked by con-man of everything she owns except a ramshackle hotel. Sets out to rebuild hotel, find con-man and take back her life) I couldn't really get into it. This is definitely one of those, take to the lake and read while the kids splash kind of books. I guess I'll put it back on my list to try again next summer when I am in search of more fluffy fare.

chilly friday

It's definitely fall. The air is so cool and crisp, even during the day, that I have been forced to close the windows. I love the cool air coming in, especially in the evenings, but now it is too cold. We're starting to haul out the heavier shirts and thin sweaters. Soon it will be bulky sweaters and multiple layers.

I am not complaining though, I look out my window and am surrounded by the beauty of the fall colors creeping their way across the landscape. This year appears to be a particularly vivid year. We're so fortunate to live in an area of such natural beauty.

30 days of peace - day two

Here we are at day two and I've realized that nothing says there can only be one peaceful event/thing to be grateful for on each day. So here are today's gratitudes in no particular order:

• a beautiful, balmy, sunny day
  
• hugs from my family
  
• a beautiful new sink faucet installed by my wonderful husband
  
• farm fresh eggs from my friend Martha's chickens for our dinner
  

So I'm ending the day on a peaceful note, feels good.

bananas are herbs

Wow, you learn something new every day.

Steve just told me about the fact that banana trees are actually NOT trees but herbs (meaning their fruit is technically berries). I went and looked it up and I'll be hornswaggled but it's true.

wfmw redux - gamma seals

WFMW is the brainchild of Shannon over at Rocks In My Dryer. Every Wednesday you post something that works for you.

The memo said we're doing a greatest hits of wfmw. So here's my favorite one.

A friend of mine introduced me to Gamma Seals. They;rere great! I buy bulk products (such as dog food, wheat, sucanat) and instead of breaking my nails trying to pry open the containers I can attach a gamma seal.



Easy to open and air tight. Works for me.

30 days of peace - day 1

I hope this is okay. I just found Chaotic Home and was reading her blog. I liked the idea of finding something in each day to be peaceful about/grateful for. I know sometimes I feel so overwhelmed (doesn't everyone) that by the time I collapse into bed I've not spent enough time being grateful for all I have. Believe me I know I have a lot, it's just that sometimes you tend to lose sight of that.

While I don't promise to post every day I am going to spend part of my day for the next 30 days focusing on being grateful and positive about something in my life.

Tonight it's Stitch Sisters. We had our usual meeting tonight. As always it was wonderful although a bit sad with the loss of one of our sisters last week. I'm continually amazed by how we all manage to support each other and how well we all get along. It's truly a gift to have found myself surrounded by these amazing women.

picture puss

D took this sweet picture of our little Chloe.

tackle-it-tuesday

This, once again, took two weeks. But it's done!!!!

This is our guest room. Formerly the room of our oldest. It also functioned as the overflow room during our/my big "let's rearrange all of the rooms in the house" project. Finally it's become a more peaceful place.

before

after

Don't forget that you can visit 5 Minutes for Mom and play too.

questioning

Truth time...I have had a migraine that has not fully gone away for two days now. Functioning has not been easy.

A few days ago I had a big pot of tomatoes cooked down and ready to can for sauce but I put the pot in the fridge to do it later because I was so tired and not feeling well. Tonight Steve asked if he could can it. I showed him where everything was, explained how to do it (put it in the sterilized jar, wipe the jar, lid, ring, boil) and came upstairs to go back to bed.

Now I'm sitting here feeling a little sad, perplexed, and confused. Canning is something that I really enjoy. I mean it makes me feel really good to produce those jars for my family. But I'm not feeling well so he's doing it for me. Somehow I feel like I am failing/slipping/incapable because of this. It sort of ties in to my "not perfect" type post earlier today. I'm grateful that he wants to do this, can do it, and did it cheerfully. I just can't shake the fact that somehow, on some level, it is bothering me. Don't know why, just trying to deal with it so that I can let it go.

dinner tonight

Was so delicious that it got rave reviews from my pickiest child. I was so surprised by her approval of the meal that I decided to post it along with the recipes. Please let me know if you try it and what your crew thinks.

Crockpot chicken something

Unfortunately the credit for this recipe belongs to someone out in blogland (if you read this and it looks like you please let me know so I can give you credit). I wrote the recipe down, converted it for the crockpot and the results were delicious.

One whole chicken (although you could use parts)
1 heaping T. ranch dressing powder
1/4 C. olive oil
1/4 C. Braggs Liquid Aminos
1/4 C. cider vinegar

place chicken breast side up in crockpot
sprinkle with dressing powder
mix together liquids and pour over chicken
cook on low 10 hours

Black Bean Salad

1 15 oz can black beans drained
corn kernels cut off one ear of cooked corn
1 large tomato diced
2 T. recaito (I get mine in the Hispanic grocery)

mix together and serve

This was served with a cooked sweet potato. It was a colorful and tasty meal.

any passing gypsies?

Hmmmmm. In the way of the blog-o-sphere I read this post which I got from somewhere else. Don't really remember how I got there but it's not important.

It reminded me of this post which I had gotten from this post which inspired me to write this post.

I know that sometimes people think I do so much when somehow I feel I don't do enough. Yes I can jams and pickles, yes I bake bread. But that's just one aspect of my life and one that is important to me. Yes I have three children and people who have 1 or 2 frequently tell me that they can't comprehend the chaos that three bring. Well, truthfully it's what I've got so it's what I deal with. I often wonder how people who have more deal with theirs.

Today it it all hitting home again. As we go through the doldrums of daily life. Wondering why the kids seem to be unable to complete chores that have been assigned since they were 8 (the two still at home are 12 and 17) or pick up after themselves. Why I am feeling unable to stay on top of everything in my life at the moment (especially the look-at-her-she-balances-so-much-what's-wrong-with-me scenario).

I'm realizing that this is all cyclical. There are times when I feel like I have it all under control, although that is not often. It also highlights that the public reality is so very different from the private reality. But since all we see is the public view we take that at face value.

As I was talking to a friend today I was telling her how I was willing to sell my kids for 50 cents...for the pair. Her response was that the gypsies could have hers for free. We both laughed and through the conversation came to the realization that while things may not be perfect it is what it is. I'm trying hard to remember that.

fall into reading

Katrina over at Callapidder Days has thrown out a Fall Into Reading challenge.

Since I already have a list of books that I hope to read this is an easy one for me to join. The problem is knowing where I will be by the end of fall. So I'll list what I think I can read before Winter Solstice which is the shortest day of the year and the first day of winter.



I'm actually reading this right now. It was recommended by my sister-in-law. The story itself is not true but it is based on a historical happening. It's interesting reading, I'll be giving my usual book review when I am done.



I really like reading Perri Klass' columns in knitting magazines. This book sounds very interesting to me plus it's got recipes and knitting patterns, what's not to like.



This was supposed to be a summer read, several people told me that it was very funny. I never got to read it so perhaps I'll get to it in the fall.



Another book recommended to me by my sister-in-law (who is a good book reference person). She claims it's a great fall/winter read because it's a long book.



My aunt recommended this book and it sounds sad but interesting so I hope to get to it.

That's five which should be more than I can reasonably accomplish. All fiction. I do plan to read cookbooks, knitting books, etc. but since I have nothing on my list for those at the moment I'll stick with these.

Of course I'm sure that once I browse through everybody else's list I'm going to *sigh* have more on mine. Too many good books, too little time.

edit:
Whoo boy! I just went through the current list of challenge readers. Seriously outclassed here. First, some of these people must be really fast readers because their lists are huge! They are claiming they read between 4-6 books a month; I wish I had the time to do the same. I'm so happy for them, but confess to a twinge of jealousy since I love curling up with a book. Second...some of these people are very serious readers. While I confess to having read many of the classics (and truthfully a lot of what is on the lists) I haven't read many in the last year (I re-read Pride and Prejudice and bought War and Peace). I'm tending toward practical non-fiction or fiction these days. It's amazing how differently we read at certain times in our lives. I think I'm inclined to consider adding a personal requirement to add classics back into my reading list. Perhaps 2-3 new ones per year and 1-2 re-reads. But first I'll get through the list above, I hope.

edit #2:
rrrrrh! Blogger STILL won't let me upload the graphic so I give up. And on an editorial note one of the books above "Every Mother Is A Daughter" is NOT fiction. It's a book/dialogue about being a daughter, mother, wife, person from different but related perspectives. I'll let you know how I like it.

wfmw - recyclables

In order to try to simplify my life, and especially the amount of garbage we generate we have come up with a system for recyclables that works for us. We collected a bunch of large boxes from Costco and labelled them newspaper, magazines, cardboard. Then we asked for and received a second recycle bin. Those are for plastic, metal and glass. We also have a couple of boxes for redeemables.

All of these boxes are lined up on the back wall of our garage on a shelf. When the cotd (child of the day) takes out the recyclables they know exactly where they go. When we need to take the containers in it's much easier to load everything into the car.

Simple and sensible, wonder why I didn't think of this sooner.

Check out Shannon's website for other Works For Me Wednesday ideas.

tuesday update

It's Tuesday, a typically busy day for me. I did go to the farm today, Steve went with me. In addition to our usual haul of yummy veg we were told that we could pick all the gleanings of plum tomatoes that we wanted. Whooie! Steve and I picked four bags (no idea how much that came to maybe 20 pounds?) and we have two huge pots cooking down for sauce. Yummm. Tomorrow will be a busy day too.

Tonight was also Stitch Sisters. A sad meeting tonight as one of our members passed away. She was 18 and had been ill for a while. We all got together tonight and shared memories, tears, laughter, tea and chocolate. We also made plans to get through the next few days of the wake and funeral. We're all in shock, it's so difficult, but we're grateful for our sisterhood of each other.

Another loss that cuts so close to my heart is that of my sister-in-law's mother, Joyce. She was an amazing woman of strength, dignity and true southern charm. When we lived in Texas she made sure to include us in all of the family holidays, we had several wonderful Easter egg hunts at her house. She was an amazing woman with so many interests and a true passion for life. I felt even more fortunate to be able to continue our relationship when we moved back East as we would get to see her when she and her husband came to visit her daughter and family. She leaves a large gap in a lot of hearts and will be greatly missed.

It seems so hard to end this post on a sad note. I usually try to make my blog entries hold only the happy things so that I have a record of the joys in life to counteract those moments that get you down. But these passages are part of life and such a part of where I am right at this particular moment; so here it stands.

leaf dancing

It's amazing to me how quickly autumn arrives. Just yesterday the trees were green and the weather was balmy (okay rainy but not chilly).

Today I notice the first brushes of color spreading their way through the landscape. While driving along the gently curving back roads of our small town I notice the colorful leaves dancing in the wake of the car in front of me.

The seasons change.

talk like a pirate day

h/t to Peg-Leg Meg for sending this:


Arrrr maties, the day is finally here.

http://www.yarr.org.uk/
http://www.talklikeapirate.com/
http://www.talklikeapirateday.com/translate/
http://www.piratequiz.com/
http://pirates.meetup.com/
http://blogs.herald.com/dave_barrys_blog/
http://www.spongebobworld.com/
http://flickr.com/groups/34169615@N00
http://shiver.therogue.net/
http://www.thepirateking.com/
http://www.thepirateking.com/movies/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Talk_Like_a_Pirate_Day
http://loadingreadyrun.com/showmovie.php?x=480&y=360&url=talklikepirate.mov
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/08/26/talk_like_a_pirate_d.html
http://bmgbiz.net/pirate.html
http://www.jolly-rogers.com/


...Ahoy, thar be 10.100,000 entries on Google for Talk Like a Pirate Day Gar, Where can I find a bottle o'rum?

book review - Dragon's Fire

As promised, as I read the books that are on my list I will give a short review. The latest read was Dragon's Fire, another collabortion between Anne McCaffrey and her son Todd. Todd obviously has lots of ideas for where he wants the series to go and we are being introduced to different elements of Pern.

In their previous book, Dragon's Kin, it was the watch whers. In this one it's a discourse on stone with some delving into murder, thievery, and other unsavory aspects of human character.

I also wonder if there are any other handicaps coming up but won't say more because I don't want to give anything away. I will say that the first time was okay, the second time was trite and if there is a third time where someone with a particular handicap overcomes that handicap to become something that would otherwise be impossible (due to their handicap) I will be disappointed. Anne herself wrote about it in her short story "The Girl Who Heard Dragons" but it got carried a bit further in these last two books.

I confess that overall I liked the story but mostly I think it was because I like the whole world of Pern. I was disappointed that some of the events in the book seemed contrived and, as with the last one, the ending winds up feeling very rushed. One thing I did like a lot about the book was how parts of it parrallelled the previous book. Unfortunately I found lots of odd shifts in the story line and suspect that they are there simply to provide openings into future books rather than because they really add to the story line.

One more in the "new" series to go.

blog overhaul

Bluebird Blogs is having a fall contest. She's offering two (2) lucky winners a free blog design.

I've been thinking I would like to freshen things up but am not sure where to go. And, let's be honest, it's not too high on my priority list.

But hopefully I'll win .

You can enter too, just visit her blog.