Sunday Afternoon Tea

Thank you for all your well wishes. I am much better now. I do have my cell phone alarm set to the time I take my evening long term insulin shot as it is the only shot not specific to a meal.

It was quite amusing Friday evening when I heard the alarm go off but was confused as the phone was with my husband. It turned out he was walking in the door at exactly that time! Normally I have no trouble remembering to eat so I set no alarm for meals. :)

Stephanie had told me she slipped another birthday present in with a box of exercise gear arriving for her brother (I am quite thankful the P90X stuff was not for me).

How absolutely thrilled I was to find the Collector's Set of the PBS/BBC version of Sense & Sensibility and Persuasion which I so enjoyed watching together late at night, after the children had been put to bed when they visited.

This was my "extra" birthday gift, having been given gifts when they visited. (They are leaving for England and will "celebrate" my birthday there, most likely enjoying an extra scone with Devonshire cream and strawberry jam in my honor.)

It won't be quite as much fun watching it without Stephanie but still enjoyable. As I told her, I will brew a pot of my favorite Earl Grey Green tea and make some cinnamon toast for my own Jane Austen tea time and "therapy".

After a week of more than enough drama going on with extended family members, working on priorities for a tight budget, and last minute parties... I can use a trip to the land of good manners and beautifully dressed ladies.

To be honest, it has been a week of spiritual dryness. We all walk through those times once in awhile. I tried to read even the Psalms but found my Bible in the same spot most of the week. I picked up a good motivating book to read and then review... ditto.

Even the books in my Summer of All Things Lovely list lay waiting to be read.

Normally I enjoy the reading of summer. When Stephanie was around middle school age (she was not officially homeschooled), I started making a Summer Reading List for her. Not that she wasn't an avid reader already but I wanted her to graduate from the Mandie books to those one can sink their literary teeth into. I started with books like Christy, then went to books such as Exodus... and even later threw in some of the Russians.

However, recently I have found words not to be what I needed (gasp!). Instead I have pulled weeds in the raised bed garden, grated the zucchini I harvested to be measured and placed in the snack size Ziploc bags (which are then all placed inside a bigger Ziploc bag to keep safe in the freezer)... ready for quick breads later.

I have slowly sipped my morning coffee while enjoying the deck and porch, memorizing the scenes of summer for the days the trees will be bare and the snow blowing. I propped up my feet on the living room coffee table with an elderly cat curled up beside me as I watched cooking and gardening shows on PBS (the antennae runs into the living room where we keep our ancient Sony TV).

There have been moments as I stood at the edge of the forest listening to an amazing variety of birds singing in the trees. Sigh... I wanted to hug a tree. :)

I even found some peace in washing the dishes while enjoying the aroma of lavender from sudsy water. Somehow the site of clean dishes stacked in the red dish drainer makes me smile... even though another used plate or cup will be placed in the sink within a half an hour... awaiting the next washing.

It should come as no surprise that spiritual refreshing often comes through the sights, sounds, and aromas of nature along with appreciating the growth of vegetables and flowers... to feel stress leave as I pet Sasha's soft fur and see the kitty smile on her face.

I will return to Scripture and find wisdom and peace. The books stacked so high on my coffee table will soon be opened and enjoyed. But for now I will find rest and recreation in the sights of summer, peruse eye candy magazines recently delivered by the rural mail carrier, watch wonderful Austen DVDs, perhaps nibble a little of the leftover cherry chocolate cake, and enjoy a small pot of tea poured in a sweet English china cup.

I think it is a short journey through the spiritual desert. :)

From hospitality to bah humbug!

Yesterday started out to be so good. Hubby was out of town so I had the house to myself... queen of my own time.

I tweaked the garden and deck flowers, posted some pictures here, wrote a snail mail letter to a friend who hadn't blogged for awhile, and was just getting ready to respond to e-mails which have been patiently waiting for days... when the phone rang.

It was Christopher telling me he was having friends over in the evening and if I knew how to make hot chicken wings. While the answer was no about the wings, I did offer this house and deck for his friends to enjoy and we'd talk about food when he finished his afternoon class. He took me up on that plan immediately.

So... since the house only needed a very small cleanup, I went through the recipes for cakes and cookies in my recipe card file. After checking the pantry for ingredients, I started making his favorite cherry chocolate cake and blond brownies in case there were those who could not eat chocolate (how awful). Everything was going fine. Sigh...

Then, out of nowhere, I became violently ill with nausea and light headedness which caused me to prop myself up against the kitchen counter. I pulled the chocolate cake out of the oven and poured the icing over it, then popped the blond brownies in the oven. I set the dishes to soak in hot, sudsy water before taking an antihistamine and heading for the sofa with Cheerios... not sure if the nausea was caused by weather changes or low blood sugar (and then realizing it was the latter).

Somehow, when my day took a different direction than planned, I had forgotten to eat anything after having had an early breakfast. Low blood sugar for someone who takes five shots a day can be dangerous and neither of my guys were in a position to come home.

I should have quickly downed some orange juice but one of the symptoms of plummeting blood sugars is confused thinking. Fortunately, I could keep the Cheerios down and they worked until I could take the blond brownies out of the oven, turn it off, and then head for the sofa to sleep. Yikes... I'm glad that doesn't happen often.

Thankfully, when I awoke an hour later I was better except for that "hangover" feeling one has for hours and hours after such an attack. I figured the party would still be no problem since Christopher was pretty much in charge and I could retire to my room with a book after saying hello to everyone.

Then the phone rang... one of the moms had asked Christopher to come over with her kids so she could meet me. He knew that would not be good news but we both agreed we should invite her. That changed everything, now I needed to spiff up the bathroom and make certain the kitchen was clean as adults tend to linger in the kitchen. I was so happy I'd set those dishes in hot, soapy water before collapsing on the sofa!

Okay, I was already more tense than usual since I didn't feel well when the phone rang again (perhaps my first mistake was answering the phone at all). This time it was hubby with his first crisis which was delaying his arrival home. That set in motion another crisis... how to get Christopher to the store and then over here as we'd expected the car (and Dad) to be home by this time and he hadn't left, yet. Thus, starting Christopher's own Perils of Pauline afternoon.

I had just finished cleaning the kitchen when hubby called again with a worse crisis. He had gone to drop his sister off at the place she had been staying when her friend said she had to leave. She couldn't handle her there, anymore. So hubby said he had to bring her home. Silence on this end at first and then I think I said something like "over my dead body" (which felt like that was going to happen).

I called Christopher and he had his own mini heart failure (and he called Stephanie). I had also called Stephanie and left a message on her cell phone to tell her my worst nightmare may be coming true and that no it was not Bigfoot in the forest but much, much worse... Dad was bringing her aunt home. His sister... the only person in the entire world... no, make it universe... that sends me over the edge within a few minutes. If this was a test from God, I told Him I was failing it.

Poor Stephanie... she can't escape family drama 1,000 miles away but it is her own fault. I always feel better after chatting with her. Poor hubby... he really is caught in the middle of all of this. To make a very long story short (which included lots and lots of phone calls between hubby and I), he was able to find a place for his sister to stay temporarily but that drama is still hanging over our heads. Which has been happening for about a year now as his sister is reaping the results of a lifetime of bad decisions.

So... the party did go on with Christopher ordering pizza with his own small bank account instead of my cooking, his friends all had a wonderful time and I was able to be somewhat human. I explained to the mother who wanted to meet me that I wasn't feeling well but we were able to chat about many things, including dulcimer music (she plays, I listen) and homeschooling as both of us had centered our homeschooling in a modified unit study approach around the study of history.

Hubby arrived home after a long drive to take over host duties. The mother was not only from his hometown originally but also had Norwegian grandparents who had settled in Minnesota. I left him nibbling cold pizza and talking... two talents he excels in... eating and talking. :)

I went to bed around Midnight leaving everyone else in party mode (the kids from early teens to young adult ages were all watching their second DVD of the night). The noise didn't keep me from falling asleep.

I'm so glad even with all the drama going on I didn't turn my back on hospitality. I learned I could turn it over to other people and go to sleep with a house full of company. Now, that wouldn't have happened even a few years ago. :)

More pictures of working with what I have...

I thought I'd show a few pictures of the dining area again as well as a different view of the sewing table in the kitchen. I love having not only my own furniture from all these years of marriage but inherited furniture from both sets of parents.

Of course, the same "look" can be put together by attending auctions, garage sales, etc. I'm always surprised how inexpensive some people sell family heirlooms for because they don't like "old" stuff.


First... here is the other view of the sewing table (purchased many years ago at a garage sale for $5.00). That yellow vintage utility cart was very cheap at Goodwill because it was falling apart. It took just a couple minutes for my husband to repair it when I arrived home. As for the scratches on it... that is part of the vintage charm. :)

Below are pictures of my dining area in the early morning. In my former home, I had a separate formal dining room with doors leading to the kitchen and the formal living room. It was very nice to be able to set the table and get everything ready for a special family meal or a party and shut the doors. However, I'm happy with this little dining area.

I love lace curtains, doilies, and tablecloths. Long ago I read in a decorating article to think of a favorite restaurant and then what made it special. I immediately thought of the Queen's Inn when we lived in Holland, Michigan (back then it was open to the public almost every day).

Oh... the quaintness and charm of that place. What I decided to recreate about it was the look brought about by the Dutch lace on each window... thus, my small dining area brings to mind a favorite restaurant from the time Stephanie was a child. :)



I just love the ethereal look of the early morning sun shining through the lace.

There are lots of picture of our house from the past three years in the Favorites under "My Home".

Creating instead of complaining

As you can probably tell, I had my camera out recently taking pictures of anything and everything that came across my path. I even have a picture of my neighbor's dog trying to drive their pickup truck. :)

Anyway... as much as I love my small-ish house in the country, there are a few things I miss about the Colonial we had to give up after a serious financial reversal. Perhaps what I miss most is all the counter space I had in the kitchen. So, I decided to stop whining and get creative.

The foot pedal (unseen here) is home for a basket of root veggies.

I "borrowed" (theft is more likely the truth but is it really theft when it is yours in the first place?) the old sewing machine table from Christopher's room since he isn't using it, anymore.

There is a drawer in the island which holds
my favorite apron, cookie cutters, and phone charger...

The mini butcher block island which used to stand against the wall was moved to the middle of the kitchen. It was originally purchased years ago (on clearance!) when we lived in a townhouse. I've wanted to use it again as an island but I wasn't sure how it would function in this small kitchen.

I must say it has worked out very nicely once we got used to negotiating around it. Since it has wheels, it can be moved when necessary.


I've shown this red bookcase before but it is a great illustration of using old furniture in new ways. It was the bookcase in my husband's bedroom from elementary school through college. He doesn't remember why it was red, as it is not a color found elsewhere in his parent's home. However, it is perfect for my vintage kitchen.

In a former home, it held homeschool books and supplies. That's why there is a pencil sharpener attached (which David found fascinating when he was here).

I'm so glad I decided to get creative instead of stomping my feet and complaining. :)

Hope for the real future

Sigh... I have lots of book talk going through my mind but the day must be spent working on the garage again. It was amazing to me how a couple morning errands and then spending time in a doctor's waiting room in the afternoon made for a Tuesday which flew by!

I knew the stress test would take awhile so I took a book with me I had found at the tiny used book room in our local library. It is called Searching For Mrs. Oswald Chambers by Martha Christian. I was there so long the first page of the book was started... and the last. Since My Utmost For His Highest is one of two devotional books I have in my quiet time basket (the other being The Valley of Vision), I enjoyed learning more about the woman who actually assembled the book.

The story is told in the telephone conversations and letters between the author and the Chambers' only child (who was then in her 80s). Anyone who loves the work of Oswald Chambers would enjoy the book but it would also be good to give to one who is experiencing any kind of suffering. I'm so glad I had to wait on Christopher for another hour that day and spent the time perusing inexpensive books. :)

I received an e-mail from the husband of a blog reader who had passed away. Her name is Kathy and she wrote the Australian blog called Ambling Along. We make so many friends through blogs, perhaps because we truly do "read to know we are not alone".

I sent him, not scripture... but the following scene from C. S. Lewis' The Last Battle. I love this section of the book as Aslan has told the children they died in a train crash and they were now no longer in the Shadowlands but in real Narnia. Among the best description of Heaven literature offers...

It is as hard to explain how this sunlit land was different from the old Narnia as it would be to tell you how the fruits of that country taste. Perhaps you will get some idea of it if you think like this. You may have been in a room in which there was a window that looked out on a lovely bay of the sea or a green valley that wound away among mountains. And in the wall of that room opposite to the window there may have been a looking-glass.

And as you turned away from the window you suddenly caught sight of that sea or that valley, all over again, in the looking glass. And the sea in the mirror, or the valley in the mirror, were in one sense just the same as the real ones: yet at the same time there were somehow different -- deeper, more wonderful, more like places in a story: in a story you have never heard but very much want to know.

The difference between the old Narnia and the new Narnia was like that. The new one was a deeper country: every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more. I can't describe it any better than that: if ever you get there you will know what I mean.

It was the Unicorn who summed up what everyone was feeling. He stamped his right fore-hoof on the ground and neighed, and then he cried: "I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that is sometimes looked a little like this. Bree-hee-hee! Come further up, come further in!"

"The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning."

And as He spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after.

But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at least they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."

Picture: Grandma's Garden by Robert Duncan; allposters.com

Frugal flowers and bloggy business

The spring was not kind to my deck flowers.

Now is the time to go out among the merchants and find clearance flowers. My flowers on the deck were looking stressed (all that rain we've had since early spring and then the week of intense heat) but just the addition of two pots of clearance flowers added lots of depth and color.

This was a hanging planter on clearance for $5.00 at my grocery store. I clipped the "hanger" off and it is now on the deck.

The zinnias were on clearance at my local Ace Hardware. Since taking this picture, they are now sitting with the other flowers in the corner of the deck and the blue & yellow flowers above have taken this spot.

I'd love to add even more flowers but my food budget needs to be for... food. As it was, I figured these two were food for my soul. :)

As for blog business... I'm behind on answering e-mails since all my computer time over the weekend was spent "tweaking" the sidebar. There is a lot of information there, including the links to all the Pantry Talk, Stocking Up, and Recession Pondering posts from the past few years.

Actually, almost all the Pantry Talk and Stocking Up posts overlap each other (I went back and added Stocking Up to the later Pantry Talk posts). The Recession Pondering posts are mostly about living on a small income and the two separate years we lived with NO income... those lessons learned.

Although the link to the "Cozy books and films" recommendations is still on the sidebar (click picture), I also added it to the CTB&Me Favorites list (which, can you believe, had not been updated for two years and I'm still working on it). I've gotten lots of e-mails asking for another list so I think we'll do another in late summer. More specific info to follow. There were so many people (including myself) who printed the list off and are keeping it handy.

I'm reading through a book for a Thomas Nelson review right now and I'll try to answer some book questions asked in Comments soon.

Life is still happening around here. Lots to do inside, outside... and in town. Hubby's stress test at the cardiologist is today. The doctor doesn't think he has a problem but, of course, they want to check it out.

My world in July

Sigh... the garage. With high heat and humidity expected once again, we must work on the garage today as much as possible. It is not fun like decorating but necessary. By the way, hubby loved the cleaning and organizing I did in the small office while he was gone.

So... I thought I'd give you a little peak of my world right now as I work in the garage. This may take a couple of days.

The view from my porch

Rural Mailboxes

The county road leading to moi's house

The gravel lane we share with two other families

People wonder why I have this thing about seeing Bigfoot...

Can you tell we live at the edge of a forest? :)

Sunday Afternoon Tea

It was a chilly and wet 4th of July here but the 90 degree highs are peeping just around the corner. Thus... I will not complain about the cool or the wet. Instead, I sip one of my Celestial Seasonings Holiday teas (which were a gift). After all, this is a Holiday weekend, isn't it? Hmmm... do I want peppermint, or ginger and cinnamon, or Cookie Dough... peppermint I think.

Last night I watched fireworks on TV. Gorgeous fireworks. I can just imagine what it would be like watching them in person in the nation's capital. I can no longer watch fireworks without thinking of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and the magic of it all.

There were also up close and personal sounds as my neighbor's college age son had a few friends over and they were shooting off fireworks on the gravel lane we share... I asked them if they were certain they would not end up on my roof. :)

They assured me everything was safe so I told them to have fun and went back inside... watching TV fireworks and listening to the local sounds (and seeing a few colorful blasts from my window). I know there is a science behind all that color but it's still fun to think Gandalf is at work.

That... to me... is what summer is all about. Magic. Good magic. Narnia magic. Red, white, and blue magic. Morning Has Broken magic (beautiful song). The kind of amazement found in The Magician's Nephew when Aslan is singing the world into existence. That which the shepherds must have felt on the night of the Nativity as a multitude of angels appeared.

I meet so many children and young people today who have lost the sense that this world is a special place. There is so much darkness today which shows up in the eyes of those who are newer to the world than we who have lived longer.

How urgent it becomes that we who are mothers and fathers, grammies and granddads, aunts and uncles, cousins, friends... teach the children how to view life from the eyes of one who sees the Wonder.

As a Christian, I always shared with my children how God loved us so much He created the beautiful quartz, or the colorful leaves, or snow sprinkling like diamonds when the full moon shines "moon rays" down on a winter landscape, or the sweet taste of the just picked strawberry.

Have you ever been beside a child as they take their first taste of ice cream? How about when they first view the magic of fireflies? I have...

I have precious memories when both of my children first felt the taste of vanilla ice cream on their tongue. The look in their eyes as they tasted the cold and then the sweetness became real. Their little mouth opened once again as a robin waiting for mother to drop food in its' mouth.

Quite often when they were each small, I'd remind them that God did not have to give us delightful tastes, colors, and textures... we could have been given the same manna day in and day out if food was just to be used for substance.

I was also there when (my sister) Jean brought my niece and her children for a visit one hot summer week. The two children stood on my front porch, with jaws dropped and eyes wide as there appeared hundreds of fairy lights in my front yard as well as throughout the forest. Imagine what the sight would look like to a child raised in Florida who had never seen them before... they couldn't wait to run among the fireflies on the lawn.

I thought of them recently when Christopher called just as the sun was setting, asking if I could pick him up and bring him home for the night. The extreme heat and humidity were coming together to cause severe allergy symptoms since the air conditioning where he is living doesn't work well. I was very happy to bring him home as hubby was still in North Carolina and it was too quiet in the house. :)

As I drove the country roads, I couldn't help but drive slowly and let my eyes take in the scenes of early summer dusk on Midwest farms. No one else was on the road at that time. The sight caused me to thank the Creator of all...

For in the midst of large fields of corn, small farmhouses with horses grazing near the fence, another old house with sheep settling in for the night, my favorite rustic red barn, the tiny country church built in the 1800s... and the occasional modern subdivision... all having in common the thousands of fireflies twinkling in the summer heat as the sun was setting below the horizon. Breathtaking.

Perhaps we need to remind ourselves of these lessons... in the midst of the darkness and bad news overwhelming the world today... we need to look for the Narnia magic... that which remains of Eden as we watch seeds becoming vegetables... perhaps even picking up the Book of Psalms and reading the words of a shepherd who would be king... :)

Picture: Tea time at my home last year

4th of July - Happy Birthday America!

Okay, I had to post Faith's birthday picture last night. She is so cute, we call her "Tigger" because she is always bouncing around. I have this feeling she may think the entire country celebrates her birthday for awhile, and... yes... she looks so much like her mom did at that age... and me... and Mamaw... generations. :)

I was so excited when Faith was born on the 4th of July. It is such a wonderful holiday. The "American Experiment" is, my friends, (or perhaps... was), a miracle. Forget the revisionist teaching of history in our public schools these days.

Study the American Revolution from good books. America is and was a miracle.

There is just no human reason the rag tag army should have won the revolution. The true stories of the revolution are inspirational and wonderful to read. My sister, Jean, doesn't believe in reading biographies or autobiographies. She thinks they are more fiction than those modern novels she reads.

However, as any good homeschool emeritus type person knows... you get a very good idea of a time and place in history when you read multiple authors (as well as the original documents, diaries, and letters). These men and women were far from perfect but through them a country like no other was born... a melting pot from other countries.

We had our family 4th of July celebration yesterday when Christopher stopped by for Mom's cooking and grilling. Thus... the picture of the strawberry rhubarb pie above (strawberries and rhubarb were both on sale!). I made extra potato salad so C. could take some back to where he is living.

What are we doing on the 4th? We're going to a tea party. :)

The 4th of July... Happy Birthday

Faith!
We love you :)