10 Things Right Now

Ali Edwards almost always inspires me - so here's my take on a prompt she used this week.

10 Things in my life right now:

1.  I have many tomatoes sitting in boxes, waiting to be made into salsa and spaghetti sauce.  Not sure when that's going to happen!

2.  There are still potatoes to dig.  Bob's exuberance in planting this spring is not matched by his availability for digging this fall!

3.  Squash has made its appearance in cookies, pies, soups, and pasta sauces this fall - all good ways to use this prolific vegetable.  The colour it adds to food is positively beautiful!

4.  I am so enjoying my confirmation class students at church.  They are curious, cooperative, eager and fun to be around.  I am amazed at how God is working with us each week - it's amazing what He does with all of us when we open ourselves up to Him.

5.  Winter could stay away until December 20th for my part.

6.  I love when our granddaughters come to visit and head straight to my scrapbook room to create.  Their creations hang on our fridge until they are replaced on the next visit.

7.  This Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cornmeal Cake is on my must-bake list this week.

8.  My niece reminded me this week that Christmas is 2 months away and then someone said that was 9 more Fridays - and I felt panicked!

9.  Our chickens are gone and I miss them.  I wish winter wasn't so cold and long so that we could keep some laying hens around.

10.  We are thinking about a trip to the East Coast to visit a certain special family in the not too distant future.  

11.  Just because -
I miss blogging.  I need to do something to change that!

Thanksgiving Thoughts

It's a gorgeous autumn weekend here with beautiful leaves, crisp temperatures and golden sunshine.  It seems like the right time to record some thoughts and share them again.  

1.  As we gather in our harvest from garden and field, this set of harvest photographs reminds me that there are so many farmers around the world who have also been blessed with abundant crops.  

2.  I'm going with my class of confirmation students from our church to spend a few hours working at our local food bank next week.  This is a first for all of us and I'm happy that we are spreading our wings a bit.  We are also taking along produce from our community.  

3.  These days of coloured leaves and beautiful sunlight are good for the soul!

4.  This week I baked pumpkin muffins and pumpkin cookies, and then we had pumpkin French toast for breakfast.  Another day there were baked apples and applesauce.  Ah, the flavours of autumn!  Apple pie baking is still on my radar but I have too many other projects going on right now.  

5.  The ever-amazing Kelle Hampton at Enjoying the Small Things wrote this wonderful letter, "Dear Daughters, Be You" .  I love the message for my daughters and my granddaughters.  

Happy Thanksgiving!  May you live a life of thanksliving for all He's given us!

Five on Friday

1.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

African Proverb -

2.  We have had 2 weeks of glorious summer weather, even though it's September!  It's the warmest September ever says the weatherman.  It's been great for wearing summer clothes and for growing things.

3.  My cucumbers are in overdrive, producing nearly 20 lbs. every few days!  I have never had this many and I've even tried a couple of new recipes.

4.  Ali Edwards is doing her famous A Week In My Life project and after doing it last year, I had to join her.  I've taken lots of photos recording what's happening for us this week.  I even got some printed and into an album already - so happy about that!!

5.  Photo of the week:

Little helper doing dishes for me

Five on Friday

1.

“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.”

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900); novelist, playwright

2.  Last week I bought corn at the Farmer's Market (ours needs a few more weeks to grow) and I wanted to grill it on the BBQ.  This post at Our Best Bites outlined 3 awesome methods, including one that did not require soaking.  I've done it twice now and it's. absolutely. the. best. way. to. do. corn!  Try it - I guarantee you'll love it :)

3.  The garden is still going strong with peas, beans, beets, carrots, cucumbers and cabbage all ready. I think the only thing we are still waiting on is the corn and it's coming!

4.  This morning I picked a small yellow squash, which was delicious steamed and served with butter and a hint of maple syrup for lunch.   The good news is there are lots on the plants.

5.  Photo of the week:

Roasting Marshmallows

(and really interested in how the stick was cut!)

Five on Friday

1.

Laughter is the fireworks of the soul. ~Josh Billings

2.  You. must. read. this!  Kelle Hampton writes about her beautiful daughter, Nella.  So, so precious - make sure you watch the video too.

3.  The weather for most of July and the first 10 days of August was cool, with highs in the mid-20s.  We had periodic showers and things grew slowly and steadily.  This week the temperatures have gone up - and everything is growing like crazy again!  The chickweed is taking over my garden.  So now I have weeding to do, right when everything is ready to pick and preserve.  My days do not have enough hours in them!

4.  I shredded the first big zucchini of the year and made muffins and chocolate cake today.  It. was. delicious!!

5.  Photo of the week:

Fun with Grampa

At the Playgroundgrand

Pantry Inventory

Peaches from last year's trip to BC

There are only a few full jars on my shelves:

2 salsa

1plum

2 peaches

2 apricot

12 pears

 (over-estimated on that one)

3 sauerkraut

8 relish

0 beet relish

(that was a hit!)

2 raspberry jam

Definitely time to plan another trip 

and work hard to restock!

2013 Joy Dare

#776 - #842

- gifts that made me really smile - playing boats with laundry baskets, taking turns jumping on the trampoline and clapping for the performer, a puzzle building marathon
- gift at 8 a.m. - feeding chickens in morning light
- gift at noon - lunch at home
- gift at 2 p.m. - text saying Kelsey, Peyton and Gramma Hank were coming for a visit - big surprise, bigger gift!
- gifts painted - words on the store window "Life isn't a dress rehearsal - dare yourself", robin egg blue bedroom walls, frames for photos

- gifts full - sacks and pots full of new potatoes, scrapbooks full of photos and stories, fridge full of good food
- gifts smelled - van full of flowers coming home from greenhouse cleanup, lilacs under the bedroom window, onions and herbs sauteing in a pan
- gift unexpected - row of beautiful colorful scarves in J. Crew (no purchase, just enjoyment of the colours)
- gift unwanted - weeds growing but it means plants are growing too
- gift unlikely - library book culling leading to a box of books for summer school

- gifts in His word - "Seek and you will find - Ask and it will be given - Knock and the door will be opened"
- gifts in moving - kids on playgrounds, clouding roaming across the sky, car driving me to work
- gifts in my Dad - his love of children, his attitude of doing it right, his clear mind and great memory
- gifts from Heavenly Father -  beautiful colours in plants growing, the miracle of seeds growing, people to love and cherish
- gifts I became in serving - thankful that I have been blessed in so many ways, aware of needs in so many buried so deep, humbled that I can be His hands and feet

- gift bent - weeds picked out of the garden
- gift beautiful - pansies blooming in pots
- gift loved - memories of my Gramma Hetman
- gifts found in light - moon shining through the night, lantern lighting kale for picking, warmth for chicks
- gifts that are difficult - storms and the possibility of hail, juggling time and finances, doing housework

- gifts found around a table - grandchildren gathered, sunshine salad bowls for supper, craft supplies and markers and glue from project time
- gift found in water - washing little feet at the end of the day's adventures
- gift found in words - conversations as we play queen and tractors farming and hospital
- gift found in white - Naomi's bread pan used as a foot bathtub
- gifts found in someone older - gentle nurturing and caring for others, wisdom about cooking, stories of the past and coming to Canada

- gifts found in fabric - beautiful colours, the joy of creating by cutting and sewing, a new quilt top

- gifts framed by a frame - inspiring words, pictures of our families, photos and memories of our travels

- gifts eaten - fresh cherries, new potatoes from our garden, lettuce & kale & spinach from the garden

- gift small - new baby chicks

- gift big - wide open yard

- gift just right - our home, not too big & not too small

- gifts you gave today - birthday gifts for Blake, Meadow, Naomi & Jerry

Oh, the blessed, beautiful counting of all that He has given to me!

Five on Friday

1.

Never squander an opportunity to tell someone you love or appreciate them.

~Kelly Ann Rothaus 2.  I spent this week working at a high school and noticed quite a change from the elementary scene.  Secondary students come, write an exam or two every day and by Wednesday noon most of them were finished.  That means teachers have lots of time for marking, organizing, cleaning and other tasks.  At elementary schools, kids attend to the very last day and teachers are so, so busy with student centred activities - which means that there are lots and lots of jobs to do at the very end of the year (often on their own time!).  [Thought captured from the end of June!} 3.  Doing lots of berry picking and freezing these days!  And there are so many good things ready in our garden.  This morning I gathered up beets, carrots, onions, a big head of lettuce and potatoes.  I need to pick the peas again and I'm sure the beans have more on too.  And there's one little red tomato on one of my plants - can not wait to try it!  Good stuff! 4.  For your weekend reading - and pondering - The 1 Mantra That Everybody, Every Family and Every Kid Needs - recommended by Ann at A Holy Experience. 5.  Photo of the week: 44 Years Ago  they were all in high school together

Right Now

Over at I Love It All, Monica shared a Right Now post and it was a reminder of how much I like that kind of 'snapshot' into my here and now.

feeling

excited that we get to hang out with my family tomorrow, doing some quadding - happy that I'm actually posting on the blog again!

on the to do list

bake a batch of oatmeal coconut raisin cookies to take along.

my guilty pleasure
raspberries with brown sugar and cream - just finished a dish of them!

favorites

tv shows: Amazing Race Canada - Calgary last week, Yellowknife next week.

dreaming about

all the great meals we are going to have this winter as I restock the freezer with produce from our garden and a rhubarb saskatoon crisp, on tap for this weekend.

grateful for

warm weather and sunshine - and for 37 years together as we celebrated our anniversary this week ❤

Thanks for the inspiration, M!

Summer Sun Setting As the Storm Rolls Over

Missing In Action

The last 3 weeks have been crazy busy with subbing as school ended, birthday celebrations, gardening, then planning for and now teaching summer school.  This poor neglected blog has definitely been put on the back burner but tonight I was inspired to pop in and let you know that I'm actually still alive :))

The lovely Kelle Hampton posted this little snippet tonight and I've lifted her idea to share with you.  

What I'm listening to: CBC news as I travel 35 minutes to work and back every day
What I'm reading: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (to both Language Arts classes at school), The Book Whisperer by Donalynn Miller and writing samples
Something I splurged on: new wedge sandals
Something that was free: lunch made by a teacher friend and dessert from another colleague - such lovely treats!
Something I'm looking forward to: the wedding of a good friend this weekend


And with that, I'm back to typing quiz questions as there are only 2 days of classes left.  Back soon, I promise!

Lists of 2013 - #22 - Favourite Smells

Listography 2013 - #22 - Favourite Smells

1.  Flowers - especially lilacs, sweet peas, dahlias and peonies

2.  Freshly mowed grass

3.  Cured hay in the field that is ready to bale

4.  Apple pie baking

5.  Cinnamon in anything

6.  Wood fires, especially campfires

7.  The Christmas tree when it comes in the house

8.  Strawberries, just picked

9.  Babies

10.  Little ones right after they've had a bath

11.  Rain

12.  Coconut

13.  Baking bread

Five on Friday

1.

2.  Because It's Time and You Can Change the World on Ann Voskamp's blog, A Holy Experience,  are amazing and you really need to reach them both!  We can make a difference in the lives of others, not just by giving things but by giving love and hope.

3.  Today's Capture Your 365 photo prompt is "photograph purple".  My morning meander around the yard made me happy!  And then I ate breakfast outside before tackling more weeding.

4.  Do you ever agree to do something and then wonder "What in the world was I thinking?!!"  Yeah - that's me with a project I'm working on right now!

5.  Photo of the week:  Glimpse from the past - a very old - and blurry! - photo of our kids taken at Expo 86.  There are so many memories attached to this - I am flooded with emotions!

Lists of 2013 - #21 - Ways I Am Like My Father

Listography 2013 - #21 - Ways I Am Like My Father

Checking the Grain Crop

1.  We adore and love to be with our grandchildren.

2.  We are both thoughtful and non-confrontational.  But we stick up for what we believe in.

3.  We share a love of growing things.

4.  The farm and country life is in our blood.

5.  Sometimes being by one's self is bliss.

6.  We love to read.

7.  We have been strongly influenced by our fathers.

8.  "If there are no leftovers, someone went away hungry" is a bit of a motto when we entertain.

9.  Flowers make one happy, especially sweet peas and pansies.

10.  Chocolate is a food group, right?!

11.  When driving we often take the road less travelled.

12.  We love curling - and lots of other sports.

13.  Our faith and church are hugely important to us.

Lists of 2013 - #20 - Green Things I Love

Listography 2013 - #20 - Green Things I Love

1.  Green leaves on trees, in all their shapes and sizes

2.  Freshly mown grass

3.  Alfalfa hayfields that are dry for hay baling

4.  Green shirts - I have a whole chunk of them in my closet

5.  The stripey green rinds on a box full of watermelons

6.  Fresh lettuce from the garden

7.  Really little cucumbers for making dill pickles

8.  Hosta plants with their variety of greens

9.  Little green apples growing on trees

10.  Ferny leaves of dill

11.  The bright green tips of growing evergreens in the spring

12.  Fields of green as different crops grow and wave in the wind

13.  Green mint leaves, waiting to be picked and dunked into jugs of lemon water

Five on Friday

1.

2.  We had quite the weather week here with 2 funnel clouds touching down just miles away from our farm.  One was on the lake and the other was over farmland.  Luckily there was no damage from either.  And the showers just keep coming, which is good for the cabbage transplants :)

3.   Here's something cool to watch!  

4.  I've decided to move the 3 spaghetti squash I have growing in bags back in to the greenhouse.  The wind and cold weather have beat them up rather badly and they look quite forlorn.  They will love the heat in the greenhouse and come fall they will be protected for longer too.  

5.  

"Contentment"

2013 Joy Dare

#737 - #776

- gifts found in today's work - the joy, laughter and energy of our grandchildren, the great outdoors as we spend more time outside than inside, coming home to greenhouse and garden
- gift at 8 am - Maëlle reading Pinkalicious on the couch
- gift at 12 pm - lunch with Blake and Maëlle while Naomi heads to sleep
- gift at 8 pm - safe at home, chickens fed, plants watered
- gifts blue - blue skies for a little while at the Children's Festival, tattoos for the adventurous, a new dough "Bubber" to press and play and experiment with

- gifts you gave today - advice on essay writing, time to cover classes, Gramma time
- gifts orange - orange Tigger pyjamas, orange juice to go with vitamins, carrots for salad
- gift of generations - time with my Dad and my grandchildren, watching them play together and learn from him
- gifts funny - Great Grampa and Silas reading the newspaper together, tickle fest, fun in the swimming pool
- gifts from today's conversation - talk about the new piano and her improvements, conversation with our daughter, being the pupil while we played school :)

- gifts found in Christ - He creates everything good, with Him all things are possible, He will never leave me nor forsake me
- gift of peace - flowers and trees blooming
- gift of hope - wrapped up in every seed planted
- gift of love - hugs from our grandchildren
- gifts ugly-beautiful - weeds growing - I know the soil is good, black storms clouds - God is powerful, long days in the field - the crop is being planted

- gifts in what I am reading - reminder of what it was for my grandparents to immigrate, the bounty of the garden and work done by women through the ages, reminder what it means to clear the land and put up buildings- from "Under This Unbroken Sky" by Shandi Mitchell
- gifts empty - favourite mug with just the smell of hazelnut latte' left, bottle of last year's apricot syrup, shelves in the fridge cleaned off

Five on Friday

1.

“There is no such thing as a 'self-made' man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.”

George Burton Adams (1851-1925); educator, historian

2.  This poor little blog has been majorly neglected lately!  I need more hours in my day and more days in my week.  There's so much to do at this time of the year and it looks like November might finally be quieter!

3.  Have you seen the movie Girl Rising?  Watch it on CNN on June 16 and 23.  Now I need to find a friend that has cable :)  I love this quote from the website!

4.  My idea of doing a Friday photo share from my iPhone pictures is going by the wayside - at least for now.  I'm taking about 100 pictures a week and the choosing and editing process takes a long time.  Right now there are so many things needing my attention that this project is way, way down on the list. I did like the reflecting and reviewing process so maybe I'll do it once in a while.  (I thought of a month in review but then that means I'm looking through 400 pictures - and the project got even more overwhelming!)  Kudos to those who can maintain this Friday Photo Dump!

5.  Photo of the week:

Grampa Gus and Helayna

(my Dad is so good with kids -

and they love the tickle fests!)

Lists of 2013 - #19 - Places I Have Gone This Week

Listography 2013 - #19 - Places I Have Gone This Week

1.  Airdrie to stay with our grandchildren while their Mama and Papa went off to the mountains for a day.

2.  Red Deer to fill the gas tank on the van with gas.

3.  Ponoka, on my way home from Airdrie, to pick up some flowers to give to our granddaughter at her piano recital (because I forgot to do it in Airdrie or Red Deer!).

4.  Calmar to the high school for 1.5 days of subbing.

5.  Leduc to No Frills to buy groceries.

6.  Leduc to Winners to browse and buy a gift or two.

7.  Calmar to the elementary school for 2 days of subbing.

8.  Thorsby the the library to pick up a book I had on hold.

9.  to the greenhouse - many times! - to water and transplant tomatoes.

10.  to the chicken coop to feed, bed, tuck in and otherwise enjoy the chickens.

11.  to the garden to hoe weeds, which are growing faster than any of the vegetables!

12.  to the kitchen to make meals and lunches - and then to quickly leave  for the next project, before doing all the dishes.

13.  back and forth to the field, ferrying Bob to move tractors and trucks while he tries to finish seeding, in between rain showers.

Lists of 2013 - #18 - Favourite Baby Names

Listography 2013 - #18 - Favourite Baby Names

If we had a baby this year I would have a very hard time deciding on a name!  Here is a random sampling of some names that strike my fancy - and I've left off the names of loved ones, just to make it doubly hard to decide :)

Girls:

Isabella
Sophia
Victoria
Savannah
Maya
Caroline

Boys:

Benjamin
Lucas
Carter
Andrew
Caleb
Jackson

2013 Joy Dare

#712 - #737

- gifts that made you laugh - chickens busy in their spaces, junior high students and their excuses, seeing pictures of our grandchildren and their antics
- gifts found in community - small businesses especially greenhouses, neighbours, seeing students and their families
- gift in a pot - ivy, hosta and petunia growing together
- gift in a plate - delicious supper at graduation
- gift in a package - new tshirt that came in the mail

- gifts hard giving thanks for - mud, being so busy, having so many rows
- gift white - saskatoon and mayday blossoms
- gift worn - play clothes, no matter the mud
- gift whispered - little voice with "I love you, Gramma"
- gift from long ago - anniversary of 40 years

- gifts unexpected - learning about something completely new, walk in the garden, gift ideas
- gifts of green - tiny shoots piercing the soil, tomatoes growing tall, new lettuce
- gifts of color - lilac blossoms, cherry trees in bloom, robins all over the lawn


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