A Month of Pictures: 31

 

Today has been a cozy, rainy day at home. I feel like I've spent a lot of this week running here and there, so today was especially nice. I've just puttered around - straightening up the house, washing up a pile of dishes, folding accumulated clean laundry and feeding endless dirty clothing through the washer...

I thrive on slow days and menial rhythms but I can also quickly feel like my life lacks purpose and meaning. I'm constantly walking a fine line between looking for motivation and purpose, and needing calm and quiet. 

Today is the last day of my month of pictures! It's been a fun little exercise for me; hopefully you've enjoyed it as well. Someone suggested that next I should post a recipe a day for a month - somehow I don't think that would go very well! Pretty sure I would run out of recipes long before the month was up. 

I did read some books in March, maybe I'll share those another day. 

Cheers to April and budding trees and all things spring!

A Month of Pictures: 30

 

School Dress Up Day

With the school teacher as The Honorable Judge Eicher, the 8th grader as Mary Poppins, the 4th grader as Sheriff Charles Eicher, and the birthday girl as St Lucia. 

(And The Mom, as Chief Seamstress, Shopper, Stresser, Brainstormer, etc and so forth...)

We had a lot of fun, until The Over Investor (aka The Mom) was tired and grouchy and over it, as one is. But we sent them off to school this morning, and everyone was happy! 

A Month of Pictures: 29

 

I feel like my brain and my house all look about like this picture.... stacks of things everywhere. 

So, I sat down to post my picture, and then I'm taking a deep breath and tackling the stacks. 

Sorry you don't get an 'after' picture. 

A Month of Pictures: 28

Every morning the cats patiently wait outside the window for Charles to wake up and come feed them. If he takes too long, they start scratching at the door. 

This morning, I went down in the basement to get something, and saw them there, and decided that would make a great picture for the day! And then I promptly went on with my day and never remembered to post it. Now it is late, and my email subscriptions are set to go out at 7 pm, so those readers won't even get my 28th picture on the 28th but I'm a little too tired to care a whole lot. 

The end. 

A Month of Pictures: 27

 

Every day, on my way to and from school, I pass this house. It reminds me of an old plantation house, with its tall, white pillars and shuttered windows. I wonder when it was built? I wonder who lived there? 

Rumor has it that the owners live in the basement, and the upper floors are kept like a museum. 

I wonder what stories the walls could tell, of bygone days and things long forgotten? 

A Month of Pictures: 26

The weather today was perfection but my soul felt a little cruddy. So I took a nice, solitary walk (which is a nice way of saying nobody else wanted to take a walk) and I drank in the fresh, spring air on my skin and the blue, blue of the sky overhead and the joyful, swelling chorus of spring peepers in my ears.... 

I paused to look at the staring cows and a tiny new calf. I laughed at the yipping dog, who wanted to be sure I knew I was coming mighty close to trespassing on her territory. And I stopped to chat with the neighbor lady and her grandchildren, who drove up in their gator to assure me the dog wouldn't bite. 

Lesson to myself: the out of doors are a powerful cure for soul cruddiness. 

A Month of Pictures: 25

Well, I didn't try to take a picture of the most prominent part of this day -- High Winds. Thankfully we haven't had any damages or power outages so far!

It was a very laid back Saturday at home. Late this afternoon I went with Chris to run some errands and we picked up some supper on the run. That's when I remembered I still needed a picture for this day.....

A Month of Pictures: 24

My route to school gets interesting when we get lots of rain! Fortunately, there are quite a number of different ways to get from here to there, as long as you give yourself time and adjust accordingly. 

There's a chance of more rain tonight. I'm quite happy that it's the weekend and I can stay right here in my dry house!

A Month of Pictures: 23

 

Five afternoons a week, you'll find me sitting here in my van. On either side of me, there will be a long line of other vehicles; their occupants also expectantly waiting. We might smile at each other or wave or roll down our windows and chat a bit. 

Then the white door will open, and children of all shapes and sizes and moods will come tumbling down the steps. Some will be hippety hopping their way, and others will be dragging along; their arms loaded down with books and bags and abandoned coats. They will all sort themselves out into the long line of vehicles, and in no time at all, the parking spaces will be empty and the area deserted. 

Another day of school completed!

A Month of Pictures: 22

 Just a little something yummy for you to try...

Cinnamon Twists

1 T active dry yeast

3/4 C warm water (divided)

4 to 4 1/2 C flour

1/4 C sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C warm milk

1/4 C butter (softened)

1 egg

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Add 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, milk, butter, egg, and remaining water. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. 

Filling: 

1/4 C butter (melted)

1/2 C brown sugar

4 tsp cinnamon

Roll dough into a 16x12" rectangle. Brush with butter. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle over butter. Cut rectangle lengthwise into 3 16x4" strips. Cut each a strip into 16 4x1" pieces. Twist and place on greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes. Mix 1 cup powdered sugar with enough milk to make a thin icing. Brush on twists while still warm. Yield: 4 dozen. 

Enjoy! 

*These freeze well.... if you can get them into the freezer before they're all eaten.....

A Month of Pictures: 21

 

me·ni·al

/ˈmēnēəl/

adjective

1. (of work) not requiring much skill and lacking prestige.

My day was full menial things.... laundry, cleaning the fridge, washing up dirty dishes, scrubbing the sink, sweeping the floor, folding the laundry, cooking, driving to and from school.... Some days buckling down and doing all the menial things makes you feel alive and content and happy. 

After all, it's the menial things that build up together to make the noble ones. 

A Month of Pictures: 20

 

Note to self: Bulletin boards always, always, always take longer than you think they will. 

A Month of Pictures: 19

Sunday morning tradition. 

I shared the recipe for "sugary biscuits" (as my children call them) in this post. It almost isn't a proper Sunday morning without them! Unless, of course, there are cinnamon rolls...

That isn't quite true, but I do probably make them more Sunday mornings then I don't. It's a simple tradition I don't mind keeping. 

A Month of Pictures: 18

 

As a child, Saturdays were always house cleaning days. I remember writing out all the jobs on slips of paper and taking turns with my sisters, picking our list for the day. Sometimes we split up the jobs by rooms (do everything in that room), sometimes by categories (all the sweeping/all the dusting). You always hoped to not end up with the bathroom. That was the only time having one bathroom for a family of eight was a plus!

I started my oldest children out with the same routine -- choosing jobs, cleaning on Saturday -- but any more, we kind of go with whatever works best. Ever since we moved into this house, the children have taken care of cleaning the basement and I take care of the upstairs. They still generally do their part on Saturdays, and I generally do mine during the week. 

All that to say, today I cleaned. And it made me think of Saturday cleaning and choosing slips of paper with jobs. 

When do you do your cleaning?

A Month of Pictures: 17

 

Rainy day + Recovering mom =  Comfort food

A Month of Pictures: 16

 

Spent most of my day holding down the couch and checking out the back sides of my eyelids. The bucket on the floor kept me company. I was determined we would not become well acquainted, but alas. Against my iron will, and intense loathing of the bucket's job, I succumbed. 

There is a fierce stomach bug going around, but I'm not sure how I managed to pick it up before anyone else in my family? I suspect Bethany, in the school library, with many students....

As Pollyanna would say, "Oh, but I'm so Glad I got it first -- now my turn will be over!"

Back to the underside of those eyelids..........

A Month of Pictures: 15

 

Winter was having a last bit of fun this morning, covering our van windows with intricate designs that slowly melted away on our morning drive to school. 

But the sun has shown brightly all day, and the blue skies and glorious brightness has been quite lovely. 

You're losing, Winter. 

A Month of Pictures: 14

 

On Tuesdays, a friend and I take turns being librarian at our church school. 

My order loving soul enjoys checking the stacks of books back into the system and sorting out 'upper elementary fiction', 'lower elementary non-fiction', etc into orderly piles. 

I find great amusement in the first and second grader's antics -- 

Their unchecked verbalizations: "You're not allowed to get books from those shelves, Mrs Miller said!" 

Their unconcealed glee over the fact that I still have a hard time remembering some of their last names: "I'll just have to type it in for you!" 

Their fierce intensity over all wanting to check out The Unforgettable Joke Book: "Tell you what," I say. "I'll make a list and put your name down so you for sure get it next!" We now have several holds on The Coveted Joke Book.

The older the grade, the more polite and demure the students become. It's interesting to see which students thank me, when I've checked out their new stack of books. 

Then there's my least favorite job -- returning all those books to their proper place on the shelves. It's tedious and time consuming and gives my back and knees a workout. But there's also something satisfying about seeing the piles of books disappear and the rummaged through shelves restored to order. 

A Month of Pictures: 13

 

Best Granola Ever

10 Cups Oatmeal

1 Cup Chopped Pecans (optional)

1 Cup Coconut 

1 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

2 tsp Salt

1 T Maple Flavoring 

1 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil

1 tsp Vanilla

3/4 Cup Water

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Combine wet ingredients and add to dry mixture. Stir well. Spread on two cookie sheets and toast in a 275 degree oven for 2 hours or until nicely browned, stirring every 30 minutes. (Note: I make it all the time without the maple flavoring and add an extra teaspoon of vanilla)

This was my mom's granola recipe and I can hardly eat cereal without having some of this granola to add to my bowl. I love it with yogurt, on top of ice cream, added to a bowl of oatmeal... I keep this on hand pretty much all the time. It freezes well, and a jar full makes a great gift. My mom also liked to put it in a ziploc bag, flatten it out nice and thin, and add it to packages of goodies she sent to her children. 

Added bonus: it makes your house smell amazing when you bake it.

A Month of Pictures: 12

I should have had a beautiful snow picture to post today. Early this morning, as I was putting potatoes and ham in the crockpot and finishing up my cake for the fellowship meal at church, the snow was gently falling outside my kitchen window. By the time we left for church, the ground was turning white, and the closer we got to our destination, the more slippery the roads became. The snow stopped falling sometime before church ended, and by the time we had eaten our lunch, talked to friends, and left for home, the roads were completely clear. When we arrived at our house, the ground was completely clear as well, and I had missed my chance for a snow picture. 

Sunday Aftermath

The fact of the matter is, this picture is a much more accurate representation of the day anyway. 

But what a lovely nap I had.........

A Month of Pictures: 11

 

Aren't you glad God made colors?

A Month of Pictures: 10

 

It is a grey, rainy day in Ohio. 

My brain feels fuzzy -- just like this picture. 

I force myself to fix the bed, gather the laundry, hang up the wet clothes and start another load. 

It's easy for my fuzzy brain to quickly go to agitation -- what is wrong with you? You should be getting something done! Why do you feel this way?

Maybe, after all, it's like Dorcas says in her blog today. Maybe I am allowed to be unproductive and to sit on my recliner with a fuzzy blanket on this dreary, grey day, while the raindrops cling to the window screens and the washer churns in the background.

A Month of Pictures: 09

If, by any chance, you have ever looked at me and wondered, "My! Where does she get those big muscles??" I am here today to explain. 

Does it come from lifting weights, you ask? No. It does not come from lifting weights; never lifted a weight in my life. 

Chin-ups? Nope. Not from chin-ups.

Push-ups. Do you do a lot of push-ups? No. I do not. Couldn't do a lot of push-ups even if I tried!

Are you saying you're not in some kind of exercise program? That's exactly what I'm saying. See, big muscles resulting from an exercise program would mean that you stuck with said program for more than five days so... no. It's not that. 

Toddlers! You have a toddler and a baby you lug around everywhere? Uhhh, no. My youngest is almost ten, actually. 

Give up? 

Ever tried hauling your piles of groceries up five hundred and fifty-nine steps every time you come home from town? It's exhilarating, let me tell you. Gets your heart pumping fast, your breath starts coming in little gasps, your legs get all shaky, and your arms go to aching....

Pretty sure it produces muscles. Probably makes for overall better health, I'm guessing. Best results happen in extreme temperatures and in inclement weather. If you'd like to try it some day, come right ahead! My mom always taught me not to be greedy. 

PS. On another note: Some days I go shopping and feel like Frugal Francis; today was not one of them. Will I ever stop being shocked at the astounding totals these days?!

PPS: I am truly thankful I have the means to buy what my family needs. That's really the only thing you need to take away from this post.

The End

A Month of Pictures: 08

 

Forsythia 

Ohio is trying to act like it has some southern roots this year. 

Can't say that I'm mad about it. 

But I might feel differently next week when the temperatures plummet and everything freezes.....

A Month of Pictures: 07

 

This Facebook memory stopped me in my tracks this morning. 

Six years ago, I wrote this post celebrating six years of blogging. At the time, we had just moved into The House On The Hill, I hadn't experienced a child getting their driver's license yet, and I still had a child who wasn't in school. It's wild to realize that I am currently at the point in time I was talking about when I said, "Frankly, I'm glad I can't see ahead six more years!"

Twelve years ago, I googled "how to start a blog", and hit publish for the first time. Twelve years. Eight hundred and ninety-three posts later, I barely recognize the woman I was then. 

What will the next six years bring? Who knows! Many changes, I can guarantee that. Very likely my house will be emptier than it is now; quite possibly I'll even be a grandmother. Six years ago I said the same thing -- who knows? "But I expect I'll still be here, sharing bits and pieces of it with you."

Well, here I am... just barely. The bits and pieces have gotten smaller and less frequent, but I'm still here. I won't make any predictions about 2029!

PS. I'm curious -- how long have you been with me? Any 12 year folks? 6?

A Month of Pictures: 06

 

The view from my dirty windshield on my daily drive to school.

The pieces of road you see in the distance are all part of my trek to school. 

I grew up on the hills and curves of Arkansas and I've always been grateful that God didn't move me somewhere that it's flat and straight. 

A Month of Pictures: 05

 

The view from inside The House On The Hill. 

As a general rule, I am the first person up on Sunday mornings. I take my shower, work on lunch prep, make sugary biscuits.... That is not as virtuous as it sounds, and I have to force myself to do it almost every time. More often than not though, that quiet morning start is one of the best things about my day. 

This morning was gorgeous! I opened my window to try to capture the beauty, and reveled in the singing of the birds. The picture does not do any kind of justice, but I tried. 

A Month of Pictures: 04

 

Blue sky, puffy clouds, brown landscape, and The House On The Hill.

In a few short months it will be completely hidden from view by the leaves! 

Bring on the green. 

A Month of Pictures: 03

 

Not sure there's anything that makes me feel more Proverbs 31-ish.....

Chris works an hour later two nights out of the week, so supper gets a little complicated those nights. I like to say that the reason I don't enjoy cooking is the fact that I want to make everybody happy, and at my house the differing opinions on food make that nigh into impossible! I digress.

Two of Chris's favorite meals are tator tot casserole and potatoes and ham. A couple of months ago I made a batch of tator tot casserole (minus the tator tots), split it into individual servings and put them in the freezer. Bingo! On the nights he works late, I often make food he doesn't particularly enjoy for the rest of us, and then pop an individual serving into the oven for his meal later (I do a few tator tots on the side to add on top).

Win Win!

Today I did a batch of potatoes and ham to refill my containers. 

A Month of Pictures: 02

I grew up in an area where driving on an intestate meant you were going on a long trip. 

If someone had told me I would become so used to driving interstate every time I go to town that I hardly thought of it, I would have found it hard to believe. 

I still don't love driving, and it's taken many bloopers and repetitions to get to this point, but here I am. 

A Month of Pictures: 01

 

Hehe.

I don't think this is what you imagined when I said a picture a day, is it?

Me either. 

This is what happens when you are sick of your bedroom being the catch all place, and you start the task of decluttering by pulling everything out of the closet. 

And then you discover old notebooks with the scribbles of a very whiney woman you once knew, and you hold your head in your hands, and wonder if she's grown up at all in the last 10 years?

I now have several satisfyingly full garbage bags and a clean closet..... and a long way to go yet on the catch all room...