I wanna be a rink rat...

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

Deer and music....

The more I listen, the more I like them. First Aid Kit.





Now for the deer!! I wish I had been able to slip out the door to take these pictures. There was a mama, a daddy, and two babies. I only managed to get one shot of the mama, running across the yard to join the others. They were in the front yard late last night, I could see their eyes glowing blue when I stepped out before bed. This morning they were in front of the picture window for about an hour but I only found the camera at the last minute.


(mama deer sprinting across the yard)


(babies nibbling)


(babies watching mama who'd snuck around the back and come up the neighbor's driveway)


(watching and listening)


(itching)

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 Art....

(these were all done about 3 years ago using the paint program that came with windows)


(I used this one as a banner on my blog)


(I really don't know who drew which pictures)


(this is probably my favorite)



(guinea pigs of course)


(ok, so Spongebob isn't Christmas but he sure is cute!)

Advent

Growing up Southern Baptist, our family didn't do anything for Advent. I'm embarassed to admit that I didn't even know what it was until my mid-twenties. We still don't formally celebrate Advent as a family really. However, I love online Advent calendars! I love the anticipation of Christmas and calendars help me focus. Here are a few of my faves for this year.

Explore Faith Advent Calendar

Online World Interactive Advent Calendar

Holidays on the Net Advent Calendar

and my very favorite of all...

Episcopal Diocese of Washington Advent Calendar

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...

What a DAY!!

Actually it all started yesterday when Sarah and I left bright and early to get the milk for our co-op. It was an uneventful trip up but on the way back a strange animal ran right in front of us, I thought I'd hit it actually. It was fuzzy, chocolate brown, and ran like the dickens. If I didn't know better, I'd swear it was a guinea pig! Anyway, we were almost home when a huge buck ran up the embankment along side the highway and caused me to very nearly stand the car on its front end. Luckily he decided not to dash into my path but turn and run up the shoulder towards us. Just as he got within about 15 feet of the car he bounded back to the woods. Absolutely amazing, would have loved a picture or two.


(Sarah and friend ready for a big night)

I picked up an extra kid when I took the milk to the drop-off house. She went with Sarah to their church's "trunk or treat". Mark joined up with us later and then we went across town to pick up his car from work. Sarah's friend spent the night and went with us to homeschool park day...


(Jackson park play area)


(pecan leaves)


(trees mid-park)


(Virginia creeper)


(park trail to the right)


(Ike damage to the left of the trail)


(Ike damage by the creek banks, I did not happen to include the picture of a homeless camp that I happened to be standing in when this pic was snapped)


(sparks of sunshine)


(hello there, I see you)


(he doesn't live here but someone probably does)


(Sarah and friend spinning)

After park, we ran by and grabbed a bite of fast food, then to Goodwill for socks and on to Kids Station for a birthday party. It was a looooong day, but oh, so enjoyable.

(girls in the ball pit)


(birthday boy)

The Weekend....

When comrades seek sweet country haunts,
By twos and twos together,
And count like misers, hour by hour,
October's bright blue weather.
- Helen Hunt Jackson, October's Bright Blue Weather


Friday morning I took the girls grocery shopping with me while Mark and Ryan stayed home. It was a beautiful mid-morning and promised to be a lovely afternoon as well. I had the bright idea that we should spend time outdoors so I called Mark from the store to see if he'd be interested. We decided to wait til Saturday and head north to the Yamboree, a local festival celebrating that wonderful cash crop of the 1930's, the Sweet Potato, which is really not a yam. The Yamboree is one of the oldest folk festivals in Texas just behind the Tyler Rose Festival and the Jacksonville Tomato Festival.

We watched the Queen's Parade, ate some fair food, rode a huge ferris wheel, gawked at the crowds, visited the exhibit halls, the ag barns and all the other things most people do at festivals. Ryan found several of his friends in the ag barns with their livestock so he was busy socializing while the girls, Mark and I petted pigs, goats, calves, and bunnies. I think Sarah would have brought a baby cow home if she could have, or a goat! Then we hit the vendor area but didn't end up finding anything we couldn't live without. One of the exibits we especially enjoyed was the junior art and photography division. There are some very talented young artists in east Texas! Amy and Sarah are wanting to enter the drawing category and maybe photography too for next year.

As you may have noticed, there are no pictures. I decided to take a break from the camera this trip. Its a big, clunky thing and I did not feel like wagging it around all day. You'll have to imagine the dappled sunlight on the courthouse lawn, the chilly breeze, the greasy food smells, laughter, screams from the scary rides, and the sound of fiddles playing. You are off the hook as far as imagining the lovely livestock smells.

On our way to the car, we stopped at the monthly flea market across from the exhibit areas. Patricia, my homeschooling friend had a booth there promoting her business, Herbal Grace. She sells mineral make-up, organic teas, soaps, and much more. I left with a new eye shadow color(nutmeg) and some fantabulous organic seasoned salt. Her soaps are to die for too, LOVE them, and we use several of her other formulas.

We also nabbed a huge bucket of sweet potatoes for $4. Wooo hooo! Could have got a bushel for $13 but I didn't think we'd eat that many. How wrong I was...

Several days ago I came across a blog post featuring sweet potato fries and Hungry Girl had mentioned butternut fries not too long ago as well. I googled to get a good idea of what to do and went for it!

I preheated the oven to 425, sliced up our two largest "yams" into french fry sized pieces, layered them on two baking sheets(it is best if they don't touch and have space between each fry). I sprayed them with butter flavor cooking spray and sprinkled them with the new seasoned salt mixed with cayenne, onion, and garlic powders, and paprika. They went into the oven on the middle and lowest racks for 15 minutes. I stirred well and switched their places on the racks, baking for another 15 minutes. We scarfed them down with ketchup and there were no more. They are woooooonderful!!!! With a texture like a steak fry, creamy and soft on the inside, but not starchy(gritty) like regular fat fries, along side frizzled spiral ham and a spinach salad, these made a wonderful meal.

Today I'm working on our bedroom. We decided to try the bed under our window but I don't know if it'll work with the kitties wanting to be in the sill at night. I've swept and thrown away a whole bagful of garbage. Mark turned off the Cowboys game, too painful to watch. He's washing his car now and Sarah's got Dirty Jobs on.

Later we'll have more ham in some form, maybe a quiche or something. I'm not sure yet. Meanwhile, back to the room for me!

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.