Ocean Sapphire...

Sarah's friend got a Siamese Fighting Fish(betta) a few weeks ago and she's been bugging us to get one too. I resisted because of the cats, but finally gave in today. He's GORGEOUS!! (click to see larger images)



I wish his irredescence showed up better in the photos. He's a dark blue with slightly lighter fins.


Here he is backlit, showing off his greenishness. You can see a few of my needle-felted balls behind his bowl too, an nice foil for his coloring.


This is the truest picture of his color.


We already had the bowl and red marbles, a perfect habitat for such a beauty. However, we will be looking for a bigger container. They do better in 1-2 gallon tanks, this one is probably a half gallon. Why yes, that is a C3PO standing in the corner!

In other news...

I'm taking time this weekend to go through a newish(acquired last year) old cookbook, Rodale's Naturally Great Foods Cookbook by Nancy Albright(published in 1977). Is it ever full of good stuff! Not just recipes but instructions on everything from making yogurt, sprouting sprouts, and even grinding flour from pumpkins! Wowza!!! There are soooo many recipes in it that I'm dying to try out, like Alfalfa Sprout Gazpacho, Avocado Banana Dressing, Grainburgers, Millet Meatloaf, Broccoli Timbales, Yogurt Cheese, Sourdough Rye Bread, and the list goes on and on and on!!! I'm also reading another goodie called Cooking Vegetables the Italian Way by Judith Barrett. Lotsa good stuff there too.

We are supposed to be taking the last bits of wallpaper down from the dining room tomorrow. The paint we've decided on is called Caramel Cream, a rich, bright orange. All the playing I've done at Valspar's online room painting thingie points to this color. I think it will be perfect.


I'm sure it looks garish on your monitor, kinda looks washed out on mine too. Trust me, its really a rich, goldish orange with depth and a nice warmth. In fact, if you'll scroll back up to the third picture of Ocean(his true color pic) and look directly above his tail you can see a felted ball of red, yellow, and orange. The orange in that picture is very close to the wall color. I can't wait to get it painted!!

Guess that's all the goings on for this weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to blog more next week. Having a working teen who is also very social is demanding more of my time than I ever thought possible!!

Abundance Is....

(First I'd like to thank everyone who commented on my deliberate living post. What you all wrote was inspirational and has given me more to think about. I'm absolutely at peace with dancing to my own music, using my microwave, and sleeping in dyed sheets.*G*)

Now,

Abundance is...

Having enough to give away and never miss it.

We filled the whole Suburban today with stuff for charity and gave a nice dresser to a needy family. We aren't finished, not by a long shot, but we were cleaning first, sorting out second. There are more weekends coming up.

Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. Ecclesiastes 11:1-2.

Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.~G.K. Chesterton

Abundance is...

Perfect weather, rain or shine.

The past two weekends were spent raking, moving, hauling, lifting, digging, bagging, and so forth. We got our entire front and back yards done! This Saturday we awoke to chilly, windy drizzle and it was just perfect because we had nothing to do outside(no yardwork). Ryan had to be at his job just before noon so we all got ready and dropped him off. We headed to Lowe's for some shelf holders and Jake's for guinea pig and dog bedding. The girls were hungry and decided on Taco Bell. Just as we were waiting for the light to change for us to turn onto that road, Mark had the brilliant idea that we needed something a bit more substantial so we headed for our favorite Tex-Mex dive. It was exactly what we needed on a gray day, very comforting and relaxing.

Today we had no plans to work in the garage but it happened. The weather, once again, was just perfect. Not too cold, not windy, sunny and mild. We didn't get hot on the west side of the house nor did we get cold fingers(except the girls when they washed some box lids). Now after hours of hard work, our garage is clean and organized with (almost)everything in its place.

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. ~John Ruskin

There's nothing like biting off more than you can chew, and then chewing anyway. ~Mark Burnett

Abundance is...

Experiencing one of the Earth's most powerful and awesome events and not being hurt or scared.

We had an earthquake early this morning! Actually, what we think is that it was an aftershock from one that happened north of Oklahoma City at 3:43am(Did You Feel It?"). Mark and I were awakened at 4:45 by a series of vibrations like idling in a diesel truck but there was no noise(our bedroom doors did shake a bit). The dogs had actually got me alert a few seconds before so I felt them before Mark. The shakes woke him up. It was unnerving but we really didn't think "earthquake" until we'd got up and around later in the day.

Which would you rather have, a bursting planet or an earthquake here and there? ~John Joseph Lynch

It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. ~Frederick Douglass

Deliberate Living....

A new friend of mine said something that gave me pause. She said she needed to start living more deliberately. Hmmmm. As with all philosophies, some followers are rather militant, taking it to the very far extreme. Many, however, like my friends Cheryl, Kel, and Anet (and others of course) are just wading in and doing what their hearts tell them. Baby steps for me. I'm not sure I am ready to commit to any certain "thing" yet. It might be that I do as these women are doing and deliberately change the foods I serve to my family but it quite likely won't be exactly what they are doing. Maybe I'll work at reducing my plastics like Kel has done.

There are things we have that we cannot give up, like our swimming pool. Sure chlorine isn't the healthiest thing to be swimming in but does the exercise we're getting count against that at all? We can't afford to switch over to a salt water filter but I can research alternatives and possibly switch to a less toxic treatment or determine when the best times for swimming would be. There are other things out there that seem to be hype(or at the very least, overly dramatized) as well. I won't be giving up my microwave, sticking my feet in a detox machine, or exchanging our current bedding for organic, unbleached, undyed sheets. I have no room for a garden, nor do I have the inclination to dig in the dirt so that's out for me too. What I do know is that the phrase I heard at park day, "live more deliberately" struck a cord in me and I want to investigate further. How about you?

Here are more websites about living deliberately...

DeliberateLife.com

Deliberate Living: Slowing Down & Simplifying

Living Deliberately(a discussion group)

Living-Deliberately.com

New Year's Resolutions?

I don't typically make resolutions but this year will be different. Here are areas that I will be working on for the next year:

1. Simplifying my home. When we get back home I will help Mark sort through our garage full of furniture and the attic junk as well. At least 90% of it needs donated or plain old tossed out. My closet is a catch-all for everyone's "stuff" as well so that will be February's task. March through the end of the year yet to be determined.

2. Simplifying my schedule. I need to come up with a better system for grocery shopping and meals. Having church, park day and other commitments is not something I'm all that used to and I struggle with remembering to cook those days.

3. Getting my physical self back together. Mark wants to go hiking with me when we come back to North Carolina in August. I'd really love to be fitter, WAY fitter and stronger, by then. Its a goal to work toward so maybe that will help my motivation this time around.

4. Learn some things that I need to know. Like machine quilting, how to sew garments, how to knit socks... you name it, this is the FUN stuff I'm resolving to at least attempt in 2009.

Like I said, I hardly ever make resolutions so this will be something I can refer back to every week or so to keep me on track maybe. That would be nice.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!

Christmas Party...

I'm sitting here wondering why we haven't done one before!! We had a special time visiting and the kids enjoyed getting to play with things they don't have access to on a regular basis. My friend Brandee suggested we rent out the R.O.C. here in Longview for our party and it didn't disappoint. I'm pretty sure this will be a regular event!

Everyone brought wonderful food and we drank hot cocoa, fresh Guatamalan coffee, and sherbet punch. Mark joined us for a while to shoot baskets with the kids before he got called to a delivery. I sent him with a bag of party mix but he missed these...


(basic recipe at Homesick Texan-do a search for chocolate pie. mine is altered with an extra egg yolk, 2 more tbsp flour, dark instead of regular cocoa, and about 1/4 teaspoon mint powder in filo cups)



(this room has foosball, ping pong, and pool tables)



(they shot hoops and played dodge ball in the gym)



(the cafe area had more than enough room for our group)



(they provide the tables, chairs, trash cans, and access to their full kitchen)



(you can tell we had great food!)



(the tree has gorgeous sequined Chrismons on it, wish I'd got a picture by itself)


Now I'm tired! My parents will be here sometime tomorrow so who knows what my blogging will look like until after Christmas. Hopefully I'll get some in. I'm headed to Gilmer tomorrow for soaps and bath salts(shhhh) from my friend Tricia at Herbal Grace. She goes to a few flea markets with her wares so I've got an excuse to shop a bit.

Making adjustments...

Yesterday I danced with a bully. I let her sway me to do something I didn't think was right. My action didn't really hurt anyone but it was unfair to some other people. I was distracted, getting ready to head out the door with three kids, sorting through some items for a flea market sale this weekend, needing to go by the bank and other errands before landing at the park, planning a camping trip, and dealing with a lot of other people's emotions and feelings that were supposedly hurt so it was kind of a "heat of the moment" moment. I was hoping that by doing what was asked, I'd not be bothered again. In the back of my mind was the thought that a snowball might be in the making but thankfully it wasn't. Her foot did not get caught in my door, there is no entrance gained. And, it won't happen again.

The Walk...

It started beautifully....
(please click each picture to enjoy the full-size version)








Got even better...







With many neat discoveries...

















Then, luck turned and we had to head home...

Wild and Wooly Texans!

In my last post I mentioned our field trip to a living history event in a nearby town. There were supposed to be 10 or more demonstration set-ups but many of them backed out at the last minute for reasons unknown(to us). The owners of the establishment felt so bad that they refunded everyone's money and let us go in for free! It was something we all agreed we'd have gladly paid for anyway. We had a FREAKIN' BLAST!!! It was all made even better with the addition of beautiful cool fall air(low 80s are considered such in east Texas), wonderful fellowship, curly fries, nachos, turkey legs, and a totally CrAzY kAraOKe train ride with insane people who shall remain nameless!!


(Traveling Texas Style, 1830s-1840s)


(Trader on Horseback)


(Civil War Saddle, the real deal, not a reproduction!!)


(Female brave who happened to have been homeschooled!)

Both of these riders are on Colonial Spanish Horses from Karma Farms near Jefferson.

I think because of my love of all things artistic, these guys were my favorite.


(Blacksmith beginning the ladle making process. The feather in his hat is forged, wish I'd asked if I could photograph it.)


(Blacksmith forming the bowl of a ladle. He was a bit farther along in the process than the other man.)


(Blacksmith wares for sale. I wanted that door knocker in a bad way but was too chicken to ask how much it cost.)


(Trapper/storyteller with a beaver pelt.)


(Learning how to use Char Cloth to start a fire.)


(Don't look Anet! The trapper was cooking his lunch, which happens to be a squirrel.)


(The char cloth guy also made lead bullets because he was the "law", Texas style. The small pail is filled with melted lead.)


(Kids hanging around the teepee.)


(Sarah and Grant tried hard but I'm not sure anyone in our entire group got the tomahawk to stick.)


(Yall watch it, Kim's got a tomahawk!)


(I wanted to take this drum home with me but couldn't quite afford the $400 price tag. That's me with the dark hair and Kim in the brown shirt. I look a bit short because I was kneeling.)


(Kids getting ready for our train ride.)


(Big Cypress Bayou. Yes we did see two alligators along the way!)


(They typically lurk in waters such as these.)


(Or these. The green and brown "ground" is actually water.)


(The tracks carried us through some "spooky" places as they gear up for their Terror on the Bayou haunted train rides. I'd LOVE to do that!)


(I didn't see this man when I took the picture but he ended up ON the train a few seconds after this shot so I guess he wasn't a bad guy.)


(We ended our day with a trek through the corn maze and haunted cemetery.)


(Corn maze)


(The cemetery)

And that concludes the field trip portion of this blog. If you are ever in
Jefferson, Texas, in early October this makes for a lovely day.