Meeting Karen Andreola {A Special Gathering}

When your friend asks you if you'd like to come for a gathering of ladies at the home of Karen Andreola...first, you pinch yourself to be sure that you're not dreaming, and then you rearrange your calendar and make travel plans because you know that you are not going to miss this golden opportunity!

A recent summer morning found us riding the rolling hills of beautiful Lancaster County, Pennsylvania,

past Amish buggies and vibrant farmland,

iced coffees in hand (of course),

each of us with our own plans for the day. Ron would be going antiquing, Bekah would be hanging out with Deanna's daughters, and I would be going with Deanna to this special gathering of like-minded ladies.

What a thrill it was for me to meet Karen! Her "purple book," A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning, has been such an inspiration to me on my homeschool journey. I have read it several times on my own, referred to it countless times, twice studied it with a group, and, most importantly, implemented many of the helpful thoughts and ideas in my own homeschool. I have also read Karen's Pocketful of Pinecones and Lessons at Blackberry Inn, as well as her delightful blog Moments With Mother Culture. 

Click to visit Karen's blog.

What a delicious afternoon we spent together! Yes, the food was delicious (the tantalizing aroma of homemade bread greeted us as we walked it...and that was just the start!), but so was the fellowship. Karen's hospitality and our common ground made us at ease with one another, and we quickly moved into conversations about homeschooling, children, decorating, food, and books...some all together around Karen's farmhouse table or seated in her cheerful family room, some in smaller groups or one-on-one. I especially enjoyed getting to know Heather, a blog acquaintance whom I now consider a friend. 

L to R: Jennifer, Bonnie, Heather, me, Deanna, Karen

Of course, I adored the Andreolas' Pennsylvania farmhouse! Karen and I share a love for colonial decorating, and I oohed and aahed through every room. It is such a gorgeous home with carefully chosen furnishings, simple accents, and lots of homemade touches. (I also appreciated the fact that many of her "treasures" were bargains or clearance finds!) She graciously allowed me to take some photos, but I showed restraint and limited myself to only a few (when what I really wanted was to record every nook and cranny for later enjoyment ~smile~). 

The afternoon flew by! But we all left enriched...and with hopeful plans to spend time together again in the future. 

And now my "purple book" bears a message by its dear and gentle author.

Thank you, Karen, for a most lovely afternoon of fellowship! And thank you, Deanna, for bringing us all together!

Weekend Snapshots: Birthdays (Of Course)

My daughter and I were chatting this morning about some plans and the need to change them ...again. "Isn't that the theme of the summer?" was Kristin's rhetorical question. 

Yes. It must be. 

And my other theme is "running late" or "failing to keep up with everything" or something like that. Blogging and reading/commenting have fallen way down on the list. (Although, to be totally honest, I am sometimes reading but not having the time to make a thoughtful comment. Forgive me.)

* * *

I enjoyed a couple of especially delightful days last week...one with family, one with friends. The kind of days that are satisfying on many levels, the kind of days that find permanent places in your collection of memories. I'll talk more about those at another time. 

This weekend was all about birthdays. 

Saturday was Ron's birthday. 

I had been gone all day Wednesday, part of Thursday, and all day Friday, so there was lots to do to get ready for a small birthday dinner on Saturday evening. Ron and his brother spent the day at a tractor show and Kati was needed at work, so Bekah and I made our list and did the necessaries. I reminded myself of the myth of convenience and the whole idea of hospitality and we actually enjoyed working together to prepare. (Well, except for the layer cake challenges. Layer cakes are my nemesis. Let's just say that a three-layer cake became a two-layer cake.) 

When Kati got home, she jumped into the preparations along with us, and we were nearly ready when our guests (Ron's mom and one of his sisters) arrived. Just then, the birthday boy called to say that he was on his way home (eek!) and would be there as soon as he could. So I told Bekah to prepare a quick appetizer (spread peach chutney over a block of cream cheese and arrange some crackers) and that bought us a bit of extra time. 

We had an enjoyable evening with a simple dinner and family chatter, ending with German chocolate cake per Ron's request. Ron's mom usually reminisces about her children's births on their special days and we love hearing the stories. This year, she talked about the day she brought Ron home from the hospital and how she sat him in his carrier on the kitchen table and how his three older sisters all oohed and aahed over him like he was a little doll. 

On Sunday, we celebrated two grand birthdays.

Maddie turned 11 a couple of weeks ago and Owen will be 9 later this week. There were multiple plans (all changed for one reason or another) for celebrations, but, for our part, we ended up inviting them to choose the day's menu (Maddie, the meal; Owen, the dessert) and giving them their gifts here at our house. They also brought cards and gifts for Papa, so I suppose it was a triple celebration.

Gammy stopped by with birthday presents and paused for a birthday photo. We ate Maddie's requested lunch of Parmesan-crusted chicken, mashed potatoes, and peas (I threw in the rosemary rolls)...and we had a lot of fun!

Gammy stopped by with birthday presents and paused for a birthday photo.

Photo bomb! :)

Grasshopper pie for dessert!

A birthday Mad Lib!

It was a weekend of simple celebrations, taking time to rejoice with the ones we love!

Always Books {The Burgess Bird Book for Children}

This post is a part of my series Always Books in which I share some of our family's favorite living books. Gathered through our twenty-four (so far) years of homeschooling, they are books that we have loved, books that are inspiring, books that we heartily recommend. These are books that will stay on our shelves...always. 

When my friend Kathy introduced me to The Burgess Bird Book for Children, I knew that I would have to find one for our family. Kati, then nine years old, loved birds (she still does) and I thought that this book would easily engage her. 

It wasn't an easy find! Online copies for this out of print book were expensive. I purchased a Dover thrift edition, but the illustrations were not the originals...or were they done by the original artist, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, but were in black and white? I am not sure, but I do remember that the art was not satisfactory*.

Kathy actually found a lovely edition for us in a local used book store and she kindly asked the owner to hold it for me. When I went to see it, we were smitten and gladly paid the thirty dollars...more than my usual price for books, but well worth it for an "Always Book"!

As I knew she would, my little bird lover adored the book. We were intrigued by the stories of Jenny Wren, Bully the English Sparrow, Melody the Wood Thrush, and their friends. Yes, Burgess gave the birds names and personalities, but, don't be fooled...there are enough facts about birds and their habits intertwined in these tales to teach even an experienced birder a thing or two! 

As I mentioned, the illustrations are key. Fuertes was a naturalist as well as an artist, and his watercolors are beautifully detailed, a memorable part of the book.

We used this book as the basis of our elementary science curriculum one year. 

How-To:  Read the book (no more than one story/chapter per day).  Have the child(ren) do oral and/or written narrations.  Try some bird sketching or watercolor.  Voilà...science!

P.S. After I learned about The Burgess Bird Book for Children, I seemed to remember that someone had given me some sort of animal book that was similar. Sure enough, I found it on my shelf and it was The Burgess Animal Book for Children. Another year of fascinating, engaging science! And another "Always Book"!

* It appears that there are now reprints of The Burgess Bird Book for Children that do have color illustrations and are entirely affordable! Click ~ here ~ for one. 

Click ~here~ to see more of our Always Books!

Gathering the Moments of July

We have had so many sweet moments in July. We are so blessed!!

And yet life is not all sweetness, is it? There are struggles and sickness and sadness. 

But then, if we are Jesus followers, we are not "of this world." And so we continue to be sojourners...passing through this life, making the most of the moments, being grateful for His gifts, holding those gifts loosely, serving others, and looking toward that perfect day!

July Photo-a-Day Challenge {Week 4 and a bit more}

Summer days are racing by! We are keeping busy with one thing or another (or six) every day. 

Recently, I confessed to my friend Joanne that I felt like I was getting ready to be run over by the birthday train. (We have a gazundle of July and August birthdays and anniversaries in our family.) Later in our conversation, I said that I'd love to host a ladies' game night/dinner party in August and she said, "What?! That would be like throwing yourself on the tracks!" 

Yes, Joanne/Voice of Reason, it would. So I'll stay off the tracks and just do my best to keep up with the birthday train.

Today I am completing Kati's photo-a-day challenge for the month of July. Even though I can't believe that July is over. And I hear that train whistle right behind me...

day 22: tree

We planted two locust trees in our front yard when our oldest children were quite young.

One day my toddler son brought a "flower" he had picked for me.

It was the tiny locust tree.

(But what mother can refuse a gift given from the heart?)

The little stub that remained of the tree flourished and grew,

although it is still a wee bit shorter than its mate.

day 23: an ordinary moment

Ordinary in its every-dayness, but extraordinary all the same: morning coffee.

day 24: close-up

Petunia on the back porch.

day 25: far away

The long rows of corn lead back to the woods.

day 26: 9 o'clock

At 9 pm on day 26, we were on the edge of our seats!

This summer's shark activity on the East Coast (we saw one!!) had us talking about the movie Jaws.

Oh my. It was intense! Not our typical movie night.

day 27: cloud

Dark clouds brought some afternoon rain showers.

day 28: blue

Blueberry pie on a Blue Willow plate.

day 29: flip flops

Old Navy flip flops: one of the few things you can still buy for a dollar. 

(At least when they're on sale.)

day 30: shapes

When our friends took a trip to Israel, Kati and Bekah cared for their pets.

They were paid well, but our friends also brought them each a gift. 

Bekah's is a ceramic dish based on an actual mosaic of the loaves and fishes.

She keeps it on her nightstand where it sometimes holds earrings overnight.

day 31: morning

The morning sun spotlights the multitude of blooms on the limelight hydrangea.

This week (and a bit more) has found a couple of us under the weather, cancelling plans, rescheduling activities, cancelling again, cleaning out the laundry room, and shopping for birthdays.

What  has been happening in your world this week? 

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Click ~ here ~ to see how others have met the photo-a-day challenge!

Thank you, Kati, for encouraging me this month to get my camera out of the bag and into the little details of daily life!

My Canning Story

Ron and I are a little like The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse. My growing up years were spent in small towns, in neighborhoods. His growing up years were spent in the country, on a farm. When we got married, we had a few --ummmm-- cultural differences. (Ask me about the first chicken killing.) (No, don't.) 

When the first summer of our married life rolled around, Ron planted a garden. A big garden. It was what his family had always done. He seemed happy enough planting and weeding and watching things grow. 

But then. 

He began harvesting. 

And I was surprised shocked overwhelmed at the harvest!

He would come in with bushel baskets full of tomatoes. Green beans. Lima beans. Corn. 

And Town Mouse Girl had no idea what to do with all of the bounty.

Thankfully, Country Mouse Boy was willing to help and teach. I snipped (thousands of) beans and shelled (millions of) limas and shucked (mountains of) corn. He taught me how to can the tomatoes and beans and how to freeze the limas and corn. Actually, we canned together. I was the helper as he led the operation. The pressure canner was (is) scary to me. (And my fears were confirmed when my niece had a canning mishap resulting in a kitchen full of hot green beans, but thankfully, only minor injuries. Yikes!)

I did not learn to love it, neither the gardening nor the canning/freezing process. It was just too overwhelming to me...all of that produce, especially as I spend two summers very pregnant (August babies two years apart) and summers with babies and toddlers and summers with no air conditioning. I would cringe when I saw those heaping baskets at the back door. My memories of the storybook wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana will always be intertwined with snipping mountains of green beans as I watched!

Over the years, Ron scaled back the garden to a more manageable amount. We gradually canned less and less. Eventually, we canned only "specials" like pepper relish, green pepper jelly, and an occasional batch or two of jam. (Remember, Ron is the canner; I am the helper.)

A few years ago, Lorraine (With a Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart) shared a recipe for Peach Chutney. I made it and served it to our dinner guests who suggested that I might try preserving it. Hmmm... I could do this in a water bath canner, avoiding Mr. Big Scary Pressure Canner.

I did it!! Without help too!

Oh, the thrill of the ping as the jars sealed!

(Don't laugh at me, experienced canners and farm friends. It was a thrill!)

So now I am hooked. (On small canning projects, that is. I still don't want a bushel basket of green beans to can.) In fact, last summer I asked for the book Food in Jars for my birthday and I was inspired by the tempting recipes and beautiful jars.

My goals for this canning season:

• Strawberry Vanilla Jam ✓  This recipe is from Food in Jars. It is the best strawberry jam I have ever eaten! (I let Ron help me this time. ~smile~) 
• Blueberry Butter ✓  Also from Food in Jars. Delicious.
• Peach Chutney  Last year's batch was gone long ago. I gave several away as hostess gifts. We need some more.
• Green Pepper Jelly  Green pepper jelly and cream cheese on crackers is a go-to hors d'oeuvres at our house.

So this Town Mouse has finally learned to enjoy canning (on a small scale). Maybe it's not too late to teach an old dog mouse new tricks.

What about you? Do you can/preserve? Do you have a canning story?