Weekending

 We had a beautiful and productive weekend. My firstborn and I had a date in the city (Cuban food, science program, thrift store, yes!). At the thrift store he chose a princess figurine for his little sister, a little ceramic mill figurine for himself, and I found little goodies like a tall clear glass vase, a bolster pillow--breaking my rules about buying upholstered items at the thrift store--and a couple of pieces of artwork. One piece, an original oil painting, was signed by the artist, whose name is the same as my son's piano teacher.  Interesting! I am eager to have it framed!  The other is a Mary Cassatt print; I usually don't buy prints, but captivated me with its cozy domestic scene and the child's gaze.

[image: the Metropolitan Museum of Art]

I painted the first coat of white paint on an old chair that needed it, and finally finished painting the mirror for our bathroom.  I hung it last night and it looks so pretty! One step closer....

We also cleaned out my car--my husband spearheaded this effort--which sorely needed some looking-after.  It wasn't *too* bad, but it was sort of amazing how much better it did look after we removed the blanket, the CDs, the random jackets and he thoroughly vacuumed it with the *real* vacuum cleaner (I usually just use the handheld cordless thing....)

We did the usual round of Sunday school and church this morning, and I was able to do a tiny bit of writing in the afternoon.  Then the weather was so gorgeous we got to sit for a while and watch the children swing on the swingset while the sun made an extravagant last hurrah to the west, and then we came inside to a warm supper and reading aloud on the sofa.  I think we're ready for a new week!

A New Year

I love setting New Year's goals, resolutions, call-it-what-you-will.  I do it every year when we are in Charleston, South Carolina after Christmas, and keep the list in the back of my monthly planner calendar.

I often set goals related to exercise or sleep, like most people probably do, and I also try to expand my definition of resolutions. This year a couple of my quirkier ones are--

*learn to can something....anything!
*sew a garment that I am fully pleased with from start to finish, for myself (I sew frequently, but I'm often not pleased with *something*)
*keep fresh flowers on the table
*try to do FUN things with my children every single day, whether that means staying home and playing together for a while in the afternoon or going to the park or somewhere else....I want to enjoy them, have fun and be fully *present* with them.  These years are fleeting!
*write every day--journaling is good for me!

Now, in order to keep that sleeping resolution, I'd better get to bed....

The Juxtaposition of Two Environments

"It makes an enormous difference if someone creates an environment for you to live in.  One person sleeps half the day, gets up looking like a half-dead duck, drags around with eyelids scarcely open, slurping coffee and leaving a mess all over the newly polished sink, leaves the bed unmade and a week of clothing in a heap on the bed, heaves a sigh and moans about what a drag life is, then prepares to sit and philosophize while you work.  What is the effect of this on you? Surely, you begin to feel tired, discouraged, irritated, frustrated, and hopeless.  Your own energy begins to ebb away.  You decide to put off the rush of getting your article written.  After all, you might as well go out for a walk.  And so one wasted, ugly life infects another.

"A second person gets up when the alarm goes off, or soon after, puts water on for the tea or coffee and helps to get breakfast, takes a bath and dresses so cheerily that you feel the sun must be shining and have to look again to realize the sky is still grey, makes his bed and clears things up so that you feel the urge to get to work soon, tidies the living room so that it looks better than it had been left the night before, and talks with an awareness and enthusiasm that gives you inspiration for your article and you feel there will be no doubt about getting it finished in time.  Both have pitched into work before the hoped-for starting time, feeling a surge of accomplishment and energy that seems to multiply the time instead of wasting it."

                   --Edith Schaeffer, The Hidden Art of Homemaking

Nothing motivates me to avoid looking like a half-dead duck in the morning more than this passage! And for anyone who has lived with or visited with a person described in the former paragraph....you know what a joy it is to live with someone like the one described in the latter paragraph.  I'm glad to note that my husband is firmly in the second category and I appreciate that very much.  My natural inclination is to drag around with my eyelids scarcely open, because I am not a morning person, but I genuinely try to get up and at it in a cheerful, efficient way each day-thanks in no small part to the encouragement of Edith here.

The View Down the Valley

The mundane chores like tossing scraps over the fence for the cows are a lot less mundane when you have a view.  I never tire of the view down the valley, which is ever-changing and always lovely. 

Soul food. 

A Cozy Tuesday

The weather was gorgeous and moody here today with that changeable October sky, blustery winds and leaves blowing off of the trees.  Inside the house we were cozy, staying home because my son was under the weather. I wore my housedress-avec-leggings and an apron all day, washed and dried laundry nonstop, the heat kept us plenty warm and I busied myself making *two* soups (13 bean and black bean), a pan of cornbread and our favorite chocolate-chip gluten-free peanut-butter cookies! After a short nap and many phone calls--my sister is dealing with a complex and risky medical issue at the moment and I'm cheerleading and reminding--and some hand-sewing while talking to an insomniac child....I am ready for bed.

Because: tomorrow morning the craftsmen deliver our new vanity!  Joy!