a gypsy caravan

seven quick takes-april 30

1. 

Kim has convinced me that you are, indeed, interested in the goings on of my life, despite my hesitation to get back to blogging.  :) The last few months of the life of my family has been a whirlwind and a blur of activity, much of which I will update you in this post.  Regardless, I am glad to type again and hopefully can keep a nice record of our activities.  So, hello again to all of you.  Thank you for stopping by!

2.

We recently moved a bit farther out into the country.  I have spent the last few months packing, moving and now unpacking.  We are in a much smaller, more manageable place with quite a bit of acreage.  The kids are enjoying the pond, creek and woods in general.   Since it has been so long since I have posted, I will include several photos to catch up a bit. :)

The pond and one of many fire pits. 

The creek that runs through the property.

The pond is chock full of snails.  The girls go outside often and fill their buckets with snails, only to set them free a while later.  We have been wearing rubber mud boots almost constantly since moving in.   

3.

I am expecting a baby girl, due in about 2 1/2 months.  I had been hesitant to announce the news as I lost a little one this time last spring and because this pregnancy did not appear to be starting on the right foot.  However, I have recently regained the weight I lost in the beginning and have gotten good news regarding my little girl's health.  She is due sometime in July.  I have wanted to keep a photo record of what my tummy looked like but, honestly, I only started showing a short while ago.  I will try to get a belly shot up here on the blog as soon as I get a chance.  In the meantime, know that I pretty much look just as I always do only with a basketball under my shirt. :)

4.

I am so grateful to my friends for all of their help and support during the last few months.  I have never been particularly good at accepting help from people and rarely ask for it (maybe it is the only child in me) but I have become humbled by the amount of love and support sent my way while moving and working through this pregnancy.  

5. 

We spent the morning today pulling bushels of invasive garlic mustard from the property.  It is actually an edible plant, valuable to foragers and has several medicinal uses as well.  But it is taking over everywhere so we spent a couple of hours yanking it.  Counts as Botany, right? :) Here is a picture for those of you who don't have it locally.

It has a strong garlic odor and can be cooked up, similar to spinach, if you choose the small leaves from the plant.  We won't be having it for dinner tonight but you are welcome to come take a basket or two if you'd like some for your salad.  :)

6. 

Also, this morning, the kids and I read from the Handbook of Nature Study about red winged blackbirds.  We have quite a few around here because they live in marshland and on the edges of pastures, both of which are fairly prevalent out here.  I haven't cracked open that book in a long while but I always enjoy it when we do.  It is just a treasure of information.  I don't have a photo of a blackbird at our feeders yet but here is a stock photo.  You can tell the males from the females as the males have the striking military feathering, glossy black with the red and pale yellow shoulders.  The females are plainer, with brown and mustard colored speckles.   

7.

Ben made pancakes this morning for breakfast.  We love the recipe for Weekend Pancakes found in Leanne Ely's book Healthy Foods.  We've been making them from that recipe for years except this morning we  enjoyed them with some homemade maple syrup from my friends Anne and Nick (who tapped their own trees this spring).  

 

Well, that's all from me.  Stop by Jen's for more Quick Takes.  Thanks for visiting today. :)

 

seven quick takes-november 20

    ~1~

I started making Christmas presents this week.  So far I have half of one present done.  Half of one down, dozens to go.  Mike's grandmother used to have a sign in her home that read, "Don't tell me I'm efficient, tell me I'm beautiful".   :)

~2~

My daughters are selling peanuts in the living room.  Whenever I walk by,  I am obliged to buy them. No one else in the house eats peanuts so that leaves me as the sole peanut customer.  They are a quarter a piece. What do they plan to do with their earnings? Why, buy more peanuts to sell to me, of course.   Why couldn't I have thought of that?

~3~

Even when every leaf is raked, there are always more in the morning.  Apparently, they multiply while I sleep.

~4~

Christopher wants to join Cirque de Soleil when he grows up because he watched this video.  (Turn off the sound)   Last week he wanted to be a Marine.  The week before he wanted to be a police officer.  I am hoping he decides to become a plumber or something well out of harm's way. The other day I found him on the roof of one of the out buildings, daredevil that he is. 

~5~

My mother surprised me and bought all of the candles for our Advent Log and brought them by the house last weekend.  Yippee! Advent is my favorite time of the year, especially the very first day when the entire house is dark and only one candle is lit.

~6~

I have plans this weekend to make two big pots of soup, one chicken noodle and another ham and lentil. I'd like to freeze some and have plenty to eat in the upcoming weeks. We are also going to try to get back in the habit of baking bread on the weekends.  The winter months lend themselves to baking around here and everyone is always willing to help with both the baking and the eating. :)

~7~

We are joining extended family for Thanksgiving this year.  Last year, Mom and I made a full spread, complete with ginormous turkey and all the fixins'.  This time, I am bringing a large green salad.  I actually felt guilty for most of one minute that I am not required to bring more. :) Hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families! 

You can read more Seven Quick Takes at Jen's. 

seven quick takes

~1~

My home is clean.  Now, my goal is to keep it that way indefinitely! :) It makes me happy to walk from room to room and not trip on anything, to wake up in the morning and enter a room and find it clean.  It is clean because I have been spending less time online (see number two) and working my tail off.  In my home, there is a direct correlation.

~2~

I have recently become horribly convicted at the amount of time I have wasted online over the years.  I mean, I completely squandered that time.  I justified it because I thought if it was spent discussing homeschooling or issues of faith, it certainly couldn't be wasted.  Well, it was, at least the majority of it.  It was a huge distraction from what I should have been doing. The more time I spend offline, the more I realize that God put me in this family for a reason, to nurture it, not to escape it.  Real life is much more interesting than the goings on and happenings of strangers.  And my family is worth it.  I got that clue many times over the years but I ignored it and second guessed it so I didn't have to change my ways. Stubborn girl that I am.  So if you hear that same voice and have for years on end, listen to it.

~3~

I am not writing a book. :) I thought that was noteworthy because it seems that everyone and their brother is writing a book these days.  How they find the time, I don't know, especially if they have a full time day job or a family to raise.  I find it challenging to keep the house clean and give the people in it the attention they need. And really, I have nothing to say that hasn't already been said by someone much wiser.  I am also not sure how I feel about the trend to self publish nowadays. A person can pretty much write anything and have it printed.  I'm not saying all self published books aren't worth reading, not at all.  Just that not everyone who can write for the general public, should.  Still mulling the whole thing over.

~4~

The kids and I have been spending quite a bit of time outside: playing catch, eating fudgecicles, running through the sprinkler, writing on the sidewalk with chalk.  The little kitty is a constant outdoor playmate for the girls.  She is growing and loves to climb trees.  Sometimes she climbs much higher than we can reach and mews loudly to be rescued.  

~5~

I  am not writing lesson plans.  It is such an odd feeling since it has been such a huge part of my summer for so many years. We are just going to do essentially the same as last year with some very minor adjustments.  It was our best year ever,  mainly because we kept it simple and I stopped looking to everyone else for ideas.  I am finally content in my homeschooling. 

~6~

There was a coyote on our deck last weekend.  My mother saw him while she was making coffee.  She stays on the weekends fairly often.  Anyhow, the other night I heard two coyotes howling in the woods. Still haven't seen them yet but hope to snag a photo if they come around again.

~7~

I am taking the kids to the beach today.  :) The weather has been unseasonably cool this summer and we haven't gone nearly as often as we normally do.  I am hoping to find some excellent beach glass.  Catch you later!

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