Five on Friday

  1.

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926-2004); psychiatrist, author

2.   Did you know that  within 72 hours you’ll forget 95 percent of what you heard? 

3.  This week I popped a lovely little chicken into my slow cooker, added a little paprika and garlic salt, filled the cavity with an onion and a whole head of garlic (following the ideas here) - and walked away for 7+ hours.  When I got home, the house smelled yummy and supper was nearly ready.  I cooked some potatoes, squeezed the head of roasted garlic into them and (s)mashed the whole lot together.  Some gravy from the slow cooker drippings and cooked creamed cabbage rounded out a  most delicious meal!  You should try it!  I'm so glad I took N's advice and tried this method.  

4.  I started a little sewing project this week - but I can't show you because it's going to be a Christmas present.  I like how it's turning out so far :)  Next up - some pouches for the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

5.  Photo of the week:

the birthday girl with her Olympic swimming pool cake

(her Mama is so creative!)

NaBloPoMo #2

National Blogging Post Month

Prompt #2 - If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

W - e - l - l - --- it would have to be somewhere close to most of my family!  I would not be happy if I lived far away from all of them and could only see them once a year.  I'm so blessed to be able to drive to my parents, my sisters and brothers, and three of our four children (sorry, M!).  I like being able to celebrate birthdays, to watch the milestones as they grow up, to cheer at games and sporting events, to bake pies and watch flowers grow together.   I am content living on our farm with its wide open spaces, beautiful views and tall trees.

One of the things I like best about living in a cold climate is the definite change in seasons - the leaves greening up the bare limbs of trees in springtime, the long evenings of summer, the gorgeous coloured leaves of autumn and the hoarfrost and snowflakes of winter.  I'll take short trips to here and there and everywhere over leaving our home and our province to move somewhere far away.  There are so many wonderful places that we've visited and I know there are many more just waiting for us to explore!

But the old adage that there's no place like home really does ring true for me.  I'm always happy to travel and then I'm happy to come home again.  I'll be calling this place home for many years to come, I hope.

Lists of 2012 - #42

Listography 2012 - #42 - Answered Prayers

1.  For safety while driving daily

2.  For guiding our decisions and actions while being stewards of the land and farming

3.  For continuing good health for me and those I love

4.  For dignity for our parents while they age

5.  For energy, strength, curiosity and the ability to learn for our grandchildren

6.  For bountiful food that we've produced

7.  For wisdom in finances

8.  For patience - moment by moment some days

9.  For days of subbing

10.  For simpler, quieter, intentional living

11.  For opportunities to serve in many places in many ways

12.  For grace day after day

National Blog Posting Month

Over at BlogHer, November has the distinction of being National Blog Posting Month (otherwise known as NaBloPoMo).  The idea is to write and share something every single day for the month.  I'm in!  After the busy-ness of summer and fall, I'm ready to focus on writing and sharing more.  Plus I love the idea of recording some thoughts and memories of this time in my life.  Feel free to check it out and join in - I'd love to visit you and read your posts so let me know where to find you :)

The prompt for November 1is "what's your favourite quote and why".

I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to Words and different ones speak to me on different days depending on my mood, what season it is and the things about which I'm praying.  I went back and looked at everything I'd collected on my board.  What a pleasant surprise to read some that I'd tucked away and forgotten about!

Many of my favourite words come from the Bible.  There are promises in Isaiah, comfort in the Psalms, words from Jesus in the gospels, and wisdom from Paul in his writings.  This quote isn't a scripture but the words speak straight to my heart.  God is always there, He loves me more than I can understand and He promises all that I need as He looks after it all.

And I also love these words.  I've always been interested in women's issues and in helping women around the world.  It's fascinating to see how women survive, work hard to support their families and what they do to make life better - all the while smiling and encouraging each other.  Perhaps it's because I have three daughters and now four granddaughters that I love so much and of whom I've so very proud that these words speak so clearly to me.  

Gratitude Gifts Today

#4755 - #4795

- whole school assembly quietly hearing about an amazing father and son, the Hoyt family

- quiet hallways

- arms to carry things

- grocery sales

- finding small Christmas gifts

- leftovers

- chocolate covered donut :)

- green tomato salsa finally finished

- new pyjamas for the grands

- gluing paper together to make cards

- Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to fill

- birthday gift collected

- days of subbing

- book club gatherings

- lively discussion and a pool of ideas

- apple cider

- podcast of WE Day

- singing "Happy Birthday" over the phone

- new words from Maëlle

- meeting Meadow at the door when she comes home from school

- baking cookies with little helpers

- watching them lick the spoon just like my kids did

- Olympic themed birthday party, complete with games and national anthems

- photos of Helayna throughout the last year

- birthday cake

- holding Peyton - she's grown so much!

- Jolly Jumper bouncing as she practices her moves

- Halloween outfits and decorations

- grilled cheese sandwiches with basil and tomatoes (thanks, D & K!)

- beautiful warm sunshine melting snow

- Monday mornings at home

- putting away garden vegetables in muffins, sauce and relish

- bags of grated carrots carried to the freezer

- all the dishes washed

- Halloween treat bags to share

- daily devotions and scriptures

- switching the radio from awful news reports to praise music

- His protection while traveling on icy roads

- His word and the promises in it

- talking about what this means for us and how to be wise stewards

Five on Friday

1.  "Love your home - its physical spaces, its personal history, the relationships that define it."  Thomas Kinkade              

2.  Our book club read "Purge" by Sofia Oksana, translated from the Finnish this month.  It was an amazing historical crime fiction novel about two women in Estonia.  Full of family relationships, intrigue, and suspense, it gave me a look into life under the Communist regime.  There were so many themes to ponder and twists and turns in the plot.  And I haven't even finished reading it yet!  This is the second book we've discussed about the international sex trade - such a huge, sad and somber issue.

3.  Pinterest is full of Christmas ideas these days!  Oh, my - so much inspiration!

4.  I am so very proud of my nieces who both were at Alberta's first WE Day this week.  They are amazing women who serve their communities and inspire others in so many amazing ways.  I encourage you to watch the podcast - the energy is incredible.



5.  Photo of the week:

the top of Samuel's treehouse tree

Lists of 2012 - #41

Listography 2012 - #41 - 10 Things I Love About My Daughter(s)

Three daughters - three lists?
Or 1 list with 30 things on it?
Or 3 lists with 3.3333 things for a total of 10?
And 1 more list for our precious daughter-in-law?
Or just make the list already?  :))

Dedicated to K, H, M and N -

1.  Our daughters walk with God and lean on Him.  What a great example for their families!

2.  They love their children with every fiber of their being and take such good care of them.

3.  They've each married a wonderful partner who loves, encourages and appreciates them.  (So thankful for those men!)

4.  Each one of them is committed to healthy eating, preparing food from scratch, using local food and preserving summer goodness for winter use.

5.  They love their cameras and use them often :)

6.  Exercise is an everyday active part of their lives, whether it's a video and an exercise mat, a bike ride, a run with the stroller or a walk after a big meal.  I'm so proud of them for taking good care of their bodies.

7.  They are volunteers in their churches and their communities.

8.  They appreciate their grandparents and our family history.

9.  They believe birthdays are very special occasions and they make them special for their families.

10.  They love the outdoors and our beautiful country and take every opportunity to hike, camp, ski, bike and explore - with their little ones in tow!

11.  Intentional spending and the wise use of money are part of their everyday.   They make good choices for their families.

12.  They are country girls who love wide open spaces, fresh air and animals.  I think each of them would love to have a pen of chickens in the backyard, a few lambs playing in the grass, a pot-belly pig to scratch and cats and dogs playing with the kids - perhaps one day!

I am so very proud of these 4 beautiful women!

Gratitude Gifts Today

#4720 - #4755

- reading books over and over with the grandchildren
- Blake singing "Jesus Loves Me"
- lights burning brightly as the nights lengthen
- 3 sets of vehicle lights shining as the combine repairs progress
- every single seed of canola - it might never have grown at all - all a gift from God (to paraphrase Ann)

- supper ready before 10 a.m.
- baking pies with Naomi and Mom
- coring apples with Blake and Maëlle
- cinnamon and sugar on top of Mom's pies (no one else makes them like this!)
- taking apple pie to the field for supper

- pictures of harvesting
- eating supper inside the van while the wind howled outside
- neighbors coming to help combine
- more and more pails of beets gathered in
- last row of carrots dug

- going to bed at 9:30 p.m.
- donuts :)
- my orange vest from Austria
- helping to setup for book fair
- marking spelling tests quickly

- delicious food at the Harvest Supper
- enjoying a movie with our Bible study group
- afternoon nap on a Saturday
- hot cup of coffee to warm my fingers
- autumn inventory in the yard

- Sunday dinner ready - on Saturday night!
- Amazing Race and amazing places
- my Gramma's pearls
- blog friendships
- text messaging

- a greenhouse to grow tomatoes in
- a dishwasher
- all the good food that He grew for us this summer
- how much abundance He has blessed us with
- singing praise hymns

Creating

I was desperate for some cards last week so I did a little creating.  In the process of moving things around on my table, I found a photograph that just needed a layout too :)  I used the leftovers to create the cards. The card designs were inspired by the Stamp It Vol. 9 issue of Papercrafts magazine.

The photo really doesn't do this one justice (the card itself is actually turquoise cardstock the colour of the chevron washi tape) - but I mailed all three of them off before I realized this was the only picture I had taken.  The hexagons are chipboard by Pink Paislee from the Nantucket line and the #2 made it perfect for a second anniversary card!

Five on Friday

1.  Quotes I love:

  

via Pinterest

2.  The Harvest Supper at our church is tonight and I am definitely looking forward to sauerkraut and pork ribs as well as a piece of pie!  Of course there will be lots of other good food too.

3.  Three nights this week we had supper in the field which is an event filled with memories for me.  My Mom took many meals to the field wherever my Dad was working when we were kids and our whole married life I've done the same.   It doesn't matter what the food is - it all tastes better when it's eaten outdoors!

4.  It seems to me that the beets are multiplying overnight in our garden!  We do have 2 very, very long rows that my enthusiastic planter-husband put in and so far this fall I have dug 12 (yes, you heard it right - 12!) five gallon pails.  And I'm sure there are at least 2 more out there!  That count does not include all the bunches I pulled throughout the summer as I thinned them out and gave them away.  Do you need / want some?????

5.  Photo of the week:

(technically imperfect - 

but so many memories in each element)

Lists of 2012 - #40

Listography 2012 - #40 - Favourite Recipes

This could be a very long list!  But in the spirit of my lists this year, I'll limit it to 12 favourites.
(H) means a heritage recipe unique to our family - kind of a family secret :)
If you are interested in any of the others, let me know and I'll be happy to share.

1.  Brownies (H)

2.  Poppycock (H)

3.  Banana Oatmeal Muffins (H)

4.  Chicken Cacciatorie

5.  Raspberry Cheesecake

6.  Honey Wheat Buns (H)

7.  Swarties' Hash Browns

8.  Sauerkraut and Ribs

9.  Mom's Apple Pie

10.  Green Rice

11.  Tortilla Espanola

12.  Shortbread (H)

World Food Day

World Food Day, celebrated around the world today, aims to focus the world's attention on hungry people and what we can do help change lives.  This amazing CBC link talks about Molly who lives in Kenya, benefits from the World Food Program*  and then shows videos that she took as part of a special project.

At the end of the video you'll be invited to take a short quiz and when you do, a donation is made to the World Food Program by an anonymous donor.  Please go and do what you can to help!

* WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Each year, on average, it feeds more than 90 million people in more than 70 countries.

Baking

Last year, the Pioneer Woman talked about a very cute baking pan she had that made lovely little acorn shapes.  Well, I found that pan at Superstore for just $9.99 :) and it was the last one they had - score!

So today Blake, Maëlle and I made banana muffins and baked them while Meadow was at school.  They are just adorable.

The instructions give a tip for putting icing on the flat sides and then gluing them together to make a 3-

D nut shape - wouldn't that be clever?  Next time we'll try that.

Such a little addition to my kitchen but it made me - and my helpers -  very happy today!

Hello, Monday!

Hello, middle of October - suddenly this year is running away!

Hello, day with the grandchildren.

Hello, picture day at school - hopefully I can do her hair the way she wants.

Hello, three days of subbing.

Hello, apple pie-making.

Hello, Bible study group - we missed you over the summer.

Hello, harvest supper - sauerkraut and ribs, turkey and pumpkin pie - yum!

Hello, beets - how many of you are still in the garden?!  Are you still multiplying?!

Hello, sewing machine - it's time to get some Christmas gifts made.

Hello, sweaters and corduroy pants - it's much chillier these days.

Hello, new batch of sauerkraut.

Hello, Monday!

Five on Friday

1.

“There’s always going to be bad stuff out there. But here’s the amazing thing - light trumps darkness every time. You stick a candle into the dark, but you can’t stick the dark into the light.”

Jodi Picoult (born 1966); Author

2.  I'm at the Rural Alberta Community Physician Attraction and Retention Conference today - how's that for a long title?!

3.  My plans to do a bit of a photo walk downtown got rained out :(  Better rain than snow, I guess.

4.  The world is full of amazing people, doing amazing things, with amazing attitudes!  I had a great reminder of that today.

5.  Photo of the week:

special Thanksgiving drawing from Meadow

(whipped up just as quick as could be when she got home from school)

Lists of 2012 - #39

Listography 2012 - #39 - Things I'm Grateful For

1.  God's love and Jesus who saved me

2.  My health - and the health of my whole family

3.  Freedom

4.  Abundance - of food, shelter, clothing - everything I need

5.  Our grandchildren and their parents (our children)

6.  My senses

7.  My parents and my siblings

8.  Education

9.  Universal health care

10.  Literacy and books

11.  Friends

12.  My camera :)

A Taste of Winter

No matter which window I looked out today, the view was the same!

It was snowing when I woke up and the white flakes just kept coming all day long!

By late afternoon, it let up and the golden leaves still hanging on and the snow-capped evergreens created a very pretty picture.

Tonight's forecast is for -8 C and more flurries but a reprieve is predicted for Friday.  Oh, the joys of autumn in Alberta.

Gratitude Gifts Today

#4673 - #4720

- candles burning brightly
- digging potatoes without a fork or hoe
- more tomatoes in boxes
- a few precious apples from our tree
- 50 pumpkins from our volunteer plants

zucchini, ambercup squash, spaghetti squash, 

pumpkins and onions - all from our garden

- more pails of beets and potatoes
- much needed rain
- waterslides with grandsons
- impromptu plans
- groceries for Thanksgiving weekend

- chocolate covered almonds
- a shy little one saying "it was a good day"
- late evening nachos
- 20 lbs. of big beautiful onions from our garden
- daily blog visits for inspiration and wise words

- making Soule Salsa
- a whole container full of chopped cilantro
- taking time to make and send cards
- long afternoon naps
- her "what did you make in the oven today?" as she comes in the door after school

- more pails of beets and sacks of potatoes
- grain combined, straw baled, field empty
- building puzzles together
- Maëlle's help putting clothes in the dryer
- watching them skate at the arena

- yellow leaves "raining down"
- car heater blowing warm air
- special envelopes tucked in a bag for Gramma and Grampa on Thanksgiving
- pumpkin pie with whipped cream
- watching the cousins visit together

- heritage pictures from 50+ years ago
- history books
- cream puffs
- 80th birthday parties
- fresh flowers, many fresh flowers

- rolling up cabbage rolls
- vacuumed and scrubbed floor
- making cranberry sauce
- chickens, happy as can be
- gathering around Thanksgiving tables

- digging carrots with Auntie Ruth and Mom
- visiting with nieces and nephews
- Thanksgiving display at church
- Mom's turkey stuffing
- my Dad's giant pumpkins

- that He gives us everything - everything!
- His grace new for each day, no matter what

Five on Friday

1.

“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.”

Khalil Gibran (1883-1931);

2.  Only 80 days until Christmas!!

3.  We've had two nights in a row of frigid (like -6 degrees C) nighttime temperatures - summer is definitely over.  I hoped my sunflowers would make it to Thanksgiving but they are droopy and finished.   It's supposed to warm up a bit NEXT week - I really need to get the garden root vegetables pulled out and put away.

4.  I canned my first batch of sauerkraut this week!  I made this one all by myself for the first time :)  I will need to make one more batch so I have enough to share around the family.  My pantry shelves are getting very full!

5.  Photo of the week:

In Nose Creek Park

Lists of 2012 - #38

Listography 2012 - #38 - Photos I Wish I'd Taken

I only have a few regrets in my life and this week's topic reveals one of them!

1.  Newborn photos of our son and daughters

2.  Little fingers, toes, ears, smiles - the closeups of babies

3.  All the firsts - first smile, first rollover, first sitting, first crawling, first steps, first tooth - and so on.

4.  Reading together when they were little

5.  My pregnancies - I have 1 photo from 36 months total of being pregnant.

6.  More people pictures when we were on vacations (seriously - I have more pictures of elk in the mountains than of the people who were on the trip!,

7.  Pictures of our parents with our children when they were little - I have some from birthdays but didn't do it regularly.

8.  Farm pictures of Bob working, especially in the dairy barn

9.  Photos of the kids helping me in the kitchen and the garden

10.  Pictures of our vehicles through the years

11.  Photos of building our house

12.  Everyday photos of the things we ate, the games we played, the people who were in our lives.

I guess the lesson learned from this is that when you know better, you do better.  So our grandchildren are blessed - I take lots of photos of them and their parents take even more!  And each one is just a precious reminder of their days.

Gratitude Gifts Today

#4623 - #4673

- students laughing in the gym
- listening in as they share jokes with friends
- Maëlle's laugh as she watches Blake (he can entertain her like no one else!)
- more potatoes dug
- cattle grazing in the early morning autumn mist as the sun rises

- smell of autumn leaves
- empty boxes as fruit is preserved and eaten up
- mailing cards to loved ones
- time for wandering through the new Winners that opened in our community
- little treasures to tuck away for Christmas giving

- thinking about sending shoeboxes with Operation Christmas Child
- new books
- home for supper
- pansies, sunflowers and sweet peas blooming on
- bumper crop of squash and pumpkins this year

- more tomatoes
- days of subbing with good plans and wonderful students
- amazing education assistants
- safe driving
- taking the scenic route

- me in bed by 9:30 p.m. (giant surprise!)
- breakfast with grandchildren
- walking to the bus together
- seeing the community gathered at the playground at 7:45 a.m
- watching her climb aboard - all grown up and confident

- seeing her in her learning space
- sitting together on the floor while she reads about beetles
- shopping together
- finding ways to support others around the world (Tom's shoes)
- supper ready in the crockpot when we got home

- frozen fruit yogurt as a treat
- jars and jars and jars all full
- photo albums filled with memories
- reading stories together
- help to fill the shopping cart

- picking one treat
- time at the playground
- hungrily eating lunch together, all 3 of us
- watching them play together
- a walk in the park

- taking photos
- watching Heather take photos
- words of wisdom on Sunday morning
- lunch with friends
- text messages from our children

(smallest and largest of my tomatoes in the greenhouse)

- picking more tomatoes
- gradually cleaning out gardens
- sales
- His love, no matter what anyone else thinks
- feeling completely surrounded by grace and love

On The End Of Summer

Dear September,

It seems you just arrived and now you are already slipping away!  Your 30 days have been full to the brim and so much has been accomplished around here.   But I'd love it if you could linger on and push the coolness of October back a whole lot longer.  Alas, I know there's not even the slightest chance of that happening.

sun shining through the trees at Nose Hill Park

I'm already missing these things about you:

- wearing my flip flops day in and day out.  More often than not I've had to put socks and shoes on lately.

- fresh peaches.  Just the other day I ate the last one that I'd saved from our BC trip.   And there are no more  to be found in any store around here.

- more hours of daylight than night time.  Much to my chagrin that all came to a quick end last week.   I'm much happier when there's more daylight and the time is falling back too.

- leaves, whether green or coloured.  Sadly there are more leaves on the ground than on the trees these days.

- flowers - the pansies and the sunflowers linger on but every day they look droopier.

- the warmth - the only way to be truly warm these days is to wear jackets and sweaters and socks and soon I'll have to include hats and mitts.

There's not much combining left to do in our little corner of the world and your warm, dry days have helped with that.  Thanks for holding off with the rainclouds and cold.  A few more weeks of that weather would be most appreciated.  Thanks for doing your best!

See you in 335 days!

Crystal

Five on Friday

1.  I made these scrumptious Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins via the Martha Stewart website  this week.

photo from Martha Stewart's website

2.  And also this week I cut a chicken into pieces in 8 minutes!  I was actually quite surprised that it only took me a few minutes - it sometimes seems like such a big job.

3.  Beet relish, zucchini relish and spaghetti sauce are still on my list of "to-makes" this fall.  

4.  The kindergarten students and I joined the rest of the student body yesterday and did the Terry Fox Run through our community.  As long as I've been teaching, this has been a school event, raising umpteen dollars to support cancer research.  

5.  Photo of the week:

Bob's photo of the gigantic red sun

disappearing over the hill -

I love the ribbon of road that leads straight into the sun.

Lists of 2012 - #38

Listography 2012 - #38 - Favourite Meals

1.  Shrimp and mushroom pizza

2.  Sweet and sour spareribs

3.  Roast chicken with dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy

4.  Homemade soup with fresh bread

5.  Sauerkraut with spareribs

6.  Ham with scalloped potatoes

7.  Taco salad

8.  Barbecued burgers and potato salad

9.  Chicken cacciatorie with mashed potatoes

10.  Lasagne

11.  Meatloaf and baked potatoes

12.  Salads (of all kinds)

Creating

Last week one day, I walked into my scrapbook studio and realized just how much I was missing the photos, words and layouts that I create.  So I left the box of tomatoes waiting in the kitchen and used an enlargement that I found at the bottom of a pile on my desk and came up with this!

During Big Picture Classes Big Idea Festival, Becky Novacek's big idea was to go bold so I used this big picture and came up with this response.  The paper and journal card are from the Birthday Girl Line by Echo Paper.  This was the first time I used washi tape (from The Sweetest Thing line by My Mind's Eye) - it was fun!  I can see myself playing with that again!!

Gratitude Gifts Today

#4588 - #4623

- a new journal to fill with counting
- photographs from when I was a child
- summer memory of Revels in Grampa's freezer
- leftovers
- book club gatherings

- tractors and combines and big farm machines
- fresh flowers gathered from outside
- visits from our grandchildren and their parents
- little boy who's our wakeup call
- quiet evening conversations

- long days of sunshine
- work gloves for a little helper
- family suppers
- cousins playing together
- perogies and peaches

- safe road trips
- a friend to go along with my craziness
- afternoon naps
- grilled peaches and nectarines
- cooking for family and for guests

- making cookies with Samuel
- gifts yellow: golden zucchini for lemon loaf, yellow sunflowers, yellow school bus
- wedding pictures and details of the party
- all the veggies for supper from our garden
- tomatoes ripening on our plants

- shopping with our daughter
- seeing how much Malachi has changed in 3 weeks
- treehouse climbing and building
- washi tape for scrapbooking
- squeezing in every last moment of play

- golden grain laying in long rows down the field
- pansies, reminder of my Gramma, blooming on
- Meadow's reaction at smelling something baking when she came home from school
- juice popsicles to ease a sore throat
- making supper with a little helper

Five on Friday

1.  Could our harvesting progress anymore slowly?  Bob knows every inch of the combine, inside and out, from the repairs he's had to do.

2.  I love the colors of this season and driving through the countryside, off the beaten path, at this time of year.  Three times this week I've traveled a different scenic route.

3.  The weather has been glorious this week - sunny days, warm temperatures, even the nights have been balmy but there's been too much dew to combine after 9 p.m..

4.  I kind of wish my garden would clean itself out.  I'm tired of it all this week.  I guess digging 5 rows of potatoes will do that to a person.

5.  Photo of the week:

 taken along the Old Battle Lake road

Lists of 2012 - #37

Listography 2012 - #37 - What I Want to be Remembered For

1.  loving my God and Saviour

2.  sharing what I have

3.  kindness in words and deeds

4.  time and sharing this precious resource

5.  good food in taste, in producing and preserving

6.  love of reading and writing

7.  memories recorded with photos

8.  laughter and playing

9.  baking brownies

10.  an open door to our home

11.  handmade with fabric and with paper

12.   curious and open to adventures, big and small

Right Now

Right now, I am...

:: waiting for the jars to finish washing so I can fill them with tomatoes

:: guessing that Bob's parents will soon be out of their house and moved into their new residence

:: wondering how the adjustment will go for them

:: loving that 3 of our kids and some of the grandchildren could be around yesterday

:: anticipating frost one of these nights

:: reeling with the number of squash my garden produced this summer!

:: listening/remembering how Peyton cooed and talked as she rolled around last night

:: downloading nothing - my computer is having issues - I hope it doesn't decide to die!

:: counting the jars of canning on my shelves - I need to use a third shelf this year!

:: hoping for long sunny days so that harvest can continue

:: believing His love is all I need everyday

:: confirming that we are so blessed with this abundance of food!

:: making a batch of tomato salsa

:: thinking that a day or two of subbing would be nice this week

:: doing lots of carrying of squash from the garden

:: deciding to dig some potatoes this week

:: getting ready to make sauerkraut tomorrow morning

:: wanting to be finished with all this preserving already!

:: hearing the geese honk as they gather on the dugout

:: leaving the long days of summer behind!

Five on Friday

1.  This post really made me think about the attitude that I bring to my family and our home.  I am most often an optimistic person and I need to remember to convey the joy that I feel in living with those around me.  And - those pancakes sound really good!

2.  I'm doing some baking with fresh fruit these days.

Almond and Plum Coffee Cake from Cheeky Kitchen

3.  At long last we've done some combining :))

4.  My laptop has decided not to recognize either of our cameras this week.  So here I sit with great pictures of garden produce and of combining but I can't get to them so you can see them.  I haven't even had time to Google the problem and find a solution.  Hopefully that will happen soon.

5.  Photo of the week:

Still dreaming of Wind Rosa Orchard- 

especially as we watched the aftermath 

of fires in Peachland, just one town away

Lists of 2012 - #36

Listography 2012 - #36 - More Things I Love

1.  Sunshine

2.  Fresh peaches and cream

3.  Sunflowers in my garden

4.  Reflections in mountain lakes

5.  Babies

6.  The curiousity of children

7.  Hugs

8.  Little voices talking to me on the telephone

9.  My scrapbooks

10.  Any kind of double crust fruit pie

11.  Happy mail

12.  The colours of autumn in nature

13.  New books of any kind

Busy

Too busy -

- canning tomatoes
- making salsa
- picking squash
- stomping sauerkraut
- husking corncobs
- cutting silage

and dealing with the craziness of September to post!

Back soon - hopefully before the snow flies!!
Thanks for your patience.

My Mom and Dad's sweet pea 'wall'

Five on Friday

1.

Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.

~ Margaret Cousins

2.  I borrowed this cookbook from the library

and have tried a few recipes this week.  The whole concept of eating only raw food, using soaked nuts and not using heat on food is interesting, to say the least.  What we've tasted so far has been delicious so that's definitely a motivator to try more.

3.  It's a canning blitz around here this week!  Apricots, plums, peaches and pears are all in jars but I still have more of each to work with tomorrow.  I love lining the jars up on my pantry shelves when they are all done :)

4.  I made popcorn tonight.  Filled the hot air popper, put the cover on and turned to the other side of the kitchen.  When I looked back a few minutes later, there was popcorn everywhere!  Yeah, I forgot to put the bowl under the machine!  Multi-tasking at its best!

5.  Photo of the week:

This spring I gave my Dad 4 of the tomato plants I'd started.

They are now taller than I am - he's such a good gardener!

Lists of 2012 - #35

Listography 2012 - #35 - Things to Do This Fall

1.  Can BC fruit and tomatoes

2.  Make apple pies with my Mom and my friend

3.  Make tomato salsa and peach salsa

4.  Get back in to the swing of subbing

5.  Take a road trip to the mountains

6.  Have fun with my camera

7.  Change out seasonal decorations in the house

8.  Clean out the garden

9.  Attend Bob's parents moving-out auction sale

10.  Enjoy autumn colours and the sunflowers

11.  Make cards and send happy mail

12.  Be a go-fer for Bob during harvest

13.  Survive the craziness!!

Hello, September!

Hello, September!

Colours of 2011

Your first week has nearly slipped by already - my, how time flies when one is having fun!
This month I will:

- phone Silas on his 4th birthday and sing to him
- take Melinda, Tyler, Samuel and Malachi to the airport and send them back home :(
- work to put away a whole lot of BC peaches, pears, plums, apricots and tomatoes
- watch the weather forecasts carefully and hope the frost will stay away
- combine barley and canola - but the weather has to improve a whole lot!
- gradually clean out the garden
- start back at subbing in a few classrooms
- discuss "Walk Across the Sun" at book club
- be readers and greeters at church
- make salsa, tomato and peach this year
- eat a whole lot of fresh corn-on-the-cob
- return to spending days with the grandkids while their parents go to work
- anticipate the colors of the leaves
- hopefully take a drive to an apple orchard to pick new varieties
- take a road trip to the mountains
- marvel at how very blessed we are again!

On Going Home

Dearest Melinda and Tyler,

It has been an absolute delight to have you and your two beautiful sons here at home for the past 19 days!  We have loved every moment of this precious time and the memories we've made together have been so wonderful.

 Tonight at supper you were talking about favourite moments and it got me thinking about:

- that special moment in the morning when a certain little boy pushed open our bedroom door and came straight to Grampa's side of the bed with the biggest smile

- "Grampa, do you wanna play baseball / feed the chickens / go for a quad ride?"

- "Gramma, are you gonna miss your daughter?"

- "Yes, I am - and I'm gonna miss my grandsons too!"

- "my very own work gloves!!!!" (and how they'd sneak on to little hands at meal times and even went to church with him on Sunday morning)

- baking cookies together and sneaking bites of dough

- the great treehouse building event

- how a pry bar, a hammer and a handful of nails can make a little boy so very happy

- sweet, sweet smiles and cooing from a baby

- how much Malachi grew and changed over the 3 weeks

- how long Samuel's hair grew too

- cooking favourite meals for you all

- Sunday's weiner roast

- the chickens - ah, the chickens - and all the trips to feed and check on them

- how a certain boy grew to be very brave in the chicken house

- "I'm gonna miss Cripply - he's my friend."

- sharing pictures and stories about Mommy as a little girl

- reading stories while Malachi watched the pictures so intently

- what a novelty he was while shopping

- evening games and cups of tea after the boys were settled

- hugs from each one of you!

I know that it's been a challenge some days but I am so very thankful that you came here for your summer vacation.  Please remember that you are welcome here any time - the door (and our hearts) are always wide open!  Travel safely tomorrow - we'll be praying that all goes smoothly.  And we'll be planning for next time too and praying that it comes very soon :)

All my love,
Mom  XOXOXOXOX

On Their First Day

Dearest Meadow and Helayna -

Today is the day that you are both starting first grade!  What a great day it's going to be for each of you.  There will be new teachers and new classrooms, new friends and some familiar ones, and a very long day ahead of you.  This is such an exciting year.  You are going to learn so much and do so many interesting things.

I pray that you will have a year full of kindness and encouragement.  I pray that your teachers will be patient with you and remember that you are just little people, on the first step of a lifelong journey of learning.  I pray that they will treasure your spirits and encourage you with every ounce of their beings. I pray that they will love reading and math and that they will challenge you to grow your skills.  I pray that they are curious at heart and encourage you to ask questions and explore your world and its people.  I pray that they will give you high fives and hugs and celebrate your strengths.  I pray that they will know when you are worried or nervous and gently lead you on.  I pray that this year will be spectacular!

I will be thinking of your Mommy and Daddy as they let you go out into the big world tomorrow.  It will be a bit scary for them too but they will be your cheerleaders every step of the way.  They love you so and want you to grow and learn everything you can.  I know they will be waiting at the end of the day to hear all your stories and see all the things you bring home.  Your brothers and sister will be so excited to see you too!

I can hardly believe that just six years ago you were tiny babies!  Where has the time gone?  How did you grow to be so tall and so beautiful, so strong and so energetic?  God has blessed you both and I am absolutely delighted to be your Gramma.  I am so very proud of you and all the things you can already do.  You always make me smile and your hugs are the best!  Thank you for being the best granddaughters ever!

All my love,
Gramma Crystal  XOXOXOXOXOXO

P.S.  I will be waiting to hear all about your day - please call me!