This and That

We are diving into house projects for the new year! There is a BIG project coming up, and a less big (but not exactly small) project in the works right now. 

In the past, I have done posts about our house goals, as well as summaries of the previous year's goals. If you're interested in so much detail, let me know and I'll put something together. 

I'll be the first to admit that a house is a temporal thing. Pineapple House is not my final home! As much as I love it (and I do believe that it is a gift from the Lord!), it pales in comparison to the home that awaits me!

But . . . 

• I (we) do love house-y things!
  
• I believe that this home is a gift that can be given back to the Lord to be used for His purposes: shelter, hospitality, teaching, growing, nurturing, loving. 

I stumbled onto a post on Instagram this weekend that impacted me greatly. The poster told about her 92-year-old grandmother who was hosting Thanksgiving dinner at her own home for the 32nd year in a row! The grandmother had made the choice many years ago to "buy the big house" so that everyone (especially her family) would want to come. She wanted them to feel welcome, and so she had made choices that would affect the future. 

I was inspired by that grandmother! I realize that everyone's situation is different. You may not have the monetary means or the health or the energy or the desire to host for thirty-two years! But I am inspired to use my home as long as He provides for that to be! 

Ryan will be here this evening helping Ron with a step in the "less big" project. 

We invited their whole family to come with him and have dinner with us. Originally, I was to be out of town a good part of the day, so I planned an easy meal. Now the "out of town" plans have been changed, but I kept the "easy meal" plan. We will have a choice of soups. I have some chicken noodle soup that I made on Saturday when it was so cold, and I put another favorite soup in the crock pot this morning. My friend Dotsie shared the recipe for chicken tortilla soup with me and my blog readers several years ago when I was doing a blog series of slow cooker recipes. My house is smelling so good as I type, and of course, I think of Dotsie every time I make it! Do recipes remind you of people? That is one thing that I enjoy about sharing recipes with family and friends.

We also have plans to Skype with Kati and family this evening. Andrew may be out, or he may be home due to snow. Ron and Ryan may join the chat, or they may still be working on the project. But we will enjoy checking in and seeing the babies whom we have not seen since they flew home after their Christmas visit. (Skype is not as good as a hug, but we take what we can get!)

While I don't typically make New Year's resolutions, I have a couple of small goals for the coming year. 

1) I would like to improve my meal planning. I used to do fairly well with that, but (cue the excuses!) moving into a new kitchen (I know, I know, it's been close to six years), cooking for fewer people, and changes in how I shop for groceries have all affected my planner self. So I am making an effort to ditch the excuses and be more consistent with a weekly plan. 

2) I am going to do a simple sketch and watercolor every week. Actually, I know very little about watercolor, and I don't consider myself an artist by any means. But I am inspired by the art of Emily Lex who painted a watercolor every day of 2019! Every day! One per week is my goal. So far, so good. Maybe I'll even share one now and then. 

Gentleness is A Christian Virtue

A friend shared this article on her Facebook page this morning and I think is well worth reading! A few quotes:

My greatest concern is not that our culture is angry. My greatest concern is that this sense of meanness has even invaded many corners of the church. Christians on both sides of the political spectrum justify their anger toward others by claiming to be fighting for justice or Christian liberty or the future of our country, or whatever other narrative fits their desire to express their more base emotions.

 

There is no room among Christ’s followers for meanness. In a dark world the light of Christ must shine through with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. Christians must be willing to be wronged, if being wronged enables the gospel of Christ to go forward and the glory of Christ to shine brighter to a lost world.

There's more. Read ~here~ to see what the author has to say about how gentleness should characterize a Christ-follower. 

And now I need to go make some dessert! What would you make for a winter's evening following a simple meal? 

{30 Days of Thankfulness} Day 23

I am thankful for my "servants." 

I just heard the buzzer ring in the basement, letting me know that the laundry is dry. That reminded me of how thankful I am for such "servants" . . .

          my clothes dryer

          my washing machine

          my dishwasher

          my hot water heater

          my oven

          my boiler

          my coffee pot.

These tools work for me, helping me with my daily tasks of keeping a home. 

When a Procrastinator Likes to Set a Pretty Table

Last week, Kati helped me clean out the linen closet. We found an embarrassingly large stack of clean linens waiting to be ironed.

So for a couple of evenings, I ironed through . . . 

Thanksgiving

Christmas

a winter dinner party

Resurrection Sunday

Bekah's birthday

and Mother's Day.

I'm all caught up! 

(for now)

Weekend Snapshots: Snow Days

The weekend really began on Friday evening as Ron accompanied our daughter-in-law Sarah to pick up Ryan at the airport . . . before the snow arrived, thankfully! 

By the time the storm hit, we were all hunkered down, content with a weekend of cozy. As we ate brunch on Saturday morning, we planned to do a few chores, then get out a jigsaw puzzle or play some games. 

We never did get out the puzzle or games. 

Instead, our snowy weekend looked like this: 

pajama days

paint new set of kitchen shutters

make spaghetti sauce

clean up a storm

baked oatmeal with cranberries

drink coffee

clean out extra bedroom school room Puss's room library

(more on that later)

roasted and mashed butternut squash

scrub floors

move a rug from bedroom to attic

eat snow cream

wash all the bed linens

clean out a closet

clear the driveway for Monday morning

mending

eat leftover Christmas cookies

knit

watch TV/snooze in our recliners (depending on your age) 

Whew!

These were not our typical snow days. Usually we are more of the puzzles-and-games-and-eat kind of people. But Ron and Kati were both off and they are both goal-oriented. We all got motivated, we were on a roll, so we went with it! 

And it feels good to start a Monday after such a productive weekend!

{Weekend Reading} The Balance of Things

Things. 

All temporary. We can't take any thing with us. And yet, we do need a certain amount of stuff to accomplish our God-appointed tasks. 

That's where balance comes in. Managing, organizing, sorting our things. Treasuring things with meaning. But not allowing things to own us.

Balance is tricky, isn't it? 

Here's what I've been reading lately...

200 Things to Throw Away

Yes, 200!! That's a good start, wouldn't you say?

8 Rules for Ditching Sentimental Clutter

This is the hardest kind of clutter for me to eliminate, but this writer has some good tips.

Why do so many millennials prefer Ikea to family heirlooms?

This article caught my attention as I am the owner of many family treasures. Will these things be treasured by my children? Is it okay either way? 

A Stylish Way to Hide an Ugly Wall AC Unit

This one is more on the topic of managing stuff. (It also goes along with my own rule of thumb: Hide Ugly Stuff.)

What do you think about the balance of things? 

Wintering

With the harshness of winter settling in this week {snow, bitter temps, a cold virus}, I can only be grateful that it is now rather than...

...when the new baby arrived and we were traveling back and forth with the children between our home and their home and the hospital

...during moving weekend when our family was traveling busy roads in separate vehicles and all of their worldly goods were being hauled into the new house

...when Ron was ill and in the hospital, or even when he was home but using a walker or a cane, and when I was doing the driving. 

Yes, now I have the luxury of staying home and feeding the woodstove and hunkering down. 

Now, we are wintering.

• Simplifying decor. 
• Enjoying cozy candlelight.
• Making soup. Last night it was Baked Potato Soup. Comfort food. 
• Watching Downton Abbey. Relishing this last season and wondering what winter Sunday evenings will be like without it! 
• Drinking hot coffee. Drinking hot tea. (Key word: hot.)
• Getting our school work done...even if it means reading in our pj's while nursing a cold. 
• Looking at the snowy scenes that are outside our windows.
• Keeping a few snippings of rosemary on my kitchen window sill.
• Tackling miniprojects. A miniproject is a little extra task (not one in the normal round of chores) that can be accomplished in 15 to 30 minutes.
• Crafting. I finally gathered all my supplies for a penny runner. I plan to begin it this week.
• Planning. Always planning.

And even though this has nothing at all to do with wintering (although she is a winter baby ~smile~), I must show you a picture (or two) (or even three) of Macie. 

Edited to add: 
So far the cold virus has only struck Bekah at our house. But my parents have both been sick and our son's family have all had it.

Are you wintering? What sorts of things are you doing?

Thursday This-and-That

After I chatted about our revised plan for painting the living room (the plan in which we are breaking the project down into manageable chunks rather than be overwhelmed with the seemingly gargantuan task of tackling it all at once), many of you nodded your heads in affirmation. It seems that you, too, have learned the wisdom of "eating the elephant, one bite at a time." I am sure that I had heard about that proverbial elephant before, but now he is a part of my reality and I am seeing how that principle can be applied in many areas. 

As a perfectionist, eating the elephant has to be deliberate for me. My natural tendency is to procrastinate any project until I can do it thoroughly and well. But the reality is that some things just never get done because there is no perfect time to do it or enough time to do it in. 

So this week, I have been making an effort to do daily "mini projects." I am setting aside a small amount of time (30 minutes, 15 minutes, or even 5 minutes) every day to tackle some extra project. Clean out a shelf of the bathroom storage cabinet. Clean out and organize the second shelf. Put away several bags of pantry items that Ron brought home from a friend who is moving. It sounds simple because it is...but it is something that I have to be deliberate about. It's okay to do something small. It's okay to do a part of a project and then come back to it on another day. 

I also mentioned in my post last week that we were not going to be watching Call the Midwife any more. Some of you agreed. Some of you were curious about why. 

I am very disappointed because it is one of the few shows that I watch. (Downton Abby and Jeopardy are the others.) I loved this one because it was based on actual events, the experiences of Jenny Worth who was a midwife in London's East End in the 1950's. I enjoy true stories and I fell in love with many of the characters. (Who couldn't love Chummy? Or Jenny?) Over the past several years, there have been issues with which I didn't agree, but most were limited to one episode, were based on actual events, and were not a continuing theme of the show.

However, now it seems that the creators of Call the Midwife have decided to take one such "issue" (sin) and make it "in your face." Not only was homosexuality a major theme on the episode that aired on April 12th, but a little online research tells me that it will continue to be a theme with one of the characters. I have had enough. I am weary of this tireless attempt to desensitize us to this lifestyle, making it appear to be normal and even mainstream. It all brings to mind the words of the prophet Isaiah:

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

* I read this article last night. Lots of food for thought...

Why Homosexuality is Not Like Other Sins

I didn't tell you about another of Ron's vacation projects. He and his brother felled a rather large cherry tree in our side yard. Huge sections of bark had peeled off this tree, giving us doubt as to its general health, and it was too close to our house to take a chance. As they began the process of cutting it down, Bekah was peering out of her upstairs window and I couldn't watch (but I was praying!!). What a crashing thud it made as it fell! Thank the Lord that it came down perfectly, totally clear of the men and the house and the power lines (!!!), and never even skimming another tree or bush.

Two new things here. 

(Technically, it is more than two.)

I mentioned that Ron had brought home some pantry items from a friend who is moving. Actually he brought lots of things home. Which is so Ron. (Knowing his weakness for accepting free items, my son once said, "I hope no one ever offers Dad free drugs.") 

On his third trip to our friend's house (he was doing a few odd jobs to help get her house ready for the market), I cautioned him begged, "Please, don't bring home anything else." (Remember, my house already looks like a used book store.) 

When he came home, he brought in a cardboard box. 

"I think you're going to like this," he said, and he opened the box to show me an assortment of Churchhill Blue Willow dishes. 

Yes!! He made the right call! Fourteen dinner plates, three salad plates, and a meat platter. (I know I don't need dishes. But I know just the ones I am going to pass along to someone else to make room for these babies.)

Last night, I ate my slice of Impossible Coconut Pie (that was the other new thing...a new "keeper" recipe by Martha Ellen) on a Blue Willow salad plate. I had to. 

That was an awful lot of this-and-that!

What are your thoughts on "eating the elephant"? Are you weary of political and social statements "in your face" at every turn? Anything new in your world? 

Weekend Snapshots: SURPRISE!!

Do you remember last Thursday when I told you that our son Ryan and his beautiful bride were celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary? 

Well on Thursday evening as we were getting ready for Bible study, Bekah saw a vehicle pull into our driveway and said "it looks like Ryan." I wondered who it could be that looked like Ryan? 

It was Ryan!

And Sarah, Eve, Nora, Peter, and Baby Paul!

As the car door opened, I could hear the children giggling, delighted with their surprise for Papa and Gran! We were delighted too!

Ryan had already planned to take a few days off for their milestone anniversary weekend. They were going to take a couple of day trips in their area. But early last week, they had decided to just come our way and make the day trips around here instead!

SURPRISE!! 

Ryan and Sarah ~ 10 years!

This time, they didn't stay at our house. They had their own place, thanks to a dear brother who has a vacant house and generously allowed them the use of it for the weekend. They did a bit of coming and going, but even so, we were able to share some precious time together. Coffee and dessert. Morning coffee at their "vacation cottage." They brought dinner to our house one evening. Gammy and Gampy (my parents) were able to come for a while. They had an impromptu meal with Kati and her boyfriend at Chick-fil-A. And they were still able to fit in a couple of day trips, have dinner with friends, and worship with our church fellowship before the long weekend was over.

Around the table

Peter, 4

Eve, 7.5

Paul, 4 months

Lucy loves Gampy!

Sweets for the sweet!

Puppet show 

Nora, 6

Peter wanted me to take a picture of all the puppets. So of course I did! 

Stories with Gammy

Baby snuggles!

Aunt Bekah gets some snuggles too.

It was a surprise of the very best kind! 

And again, I am grateful that they are finally close enough that such things are possible. I don't take our shared time for granted.