Monday, March 6, 2023

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. 

Sunday, March 5, 2023

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. 

Saturday, March 4, 2023

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. 

Friday, March 3, 2023

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. 

Thursday, March 2, 2023

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. 

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

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...

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

February

 

Feb 3: Who knew the library could offer the hope of green, growing things?

I've been silent for a whole month again; I guess that's what happens when I stop having a monthly reading goal to report on. I listened to one whole audio book in the month of February: Watership Down. Looks like I still don't do very well at reading when there's no goal! 

A couple of February highlights...


I turned a year older on the fourth
(Yep. That's me and my birth announcement.)


Jasmine turned a year older on the eighth

We ended this year's Bible quizzing with a third place win for Isaac's team. They memorized the book of Ruth and John 6 and 7 this year.


He got to coach two of his sisters and their friends this year. After a kind of discouraging year, I was so proud of them that they made it to the finals! 

Following the quiz retreat weekend, was our school's week of winter break. We stayed at an airbnb for the weekend and spent a very laid back week at home the rest of the time. We took one day to go to the Carnegie Science Museum as a family. I remember how, as the youngest of six, I was convinced my family did everything fun before I was old enough to remember! Now, as a parent, I see how easily that happens -- Charles didn't remember all the times we've been to science museums in the past. 



It was a fun day... even though I hardly took any pictures. 

Today is a grey, wintery day. I woke up with a headache and the grey skies make me feel dull and listless. On a recent sunny day, when I felt bright and energetic, I got all caught up in a fun and exciting brainstorm about posting a picture on my blog every day in the month of March. Now the idea seems like a drag, and I have serious doubts about it being either fun or exciting. It seems much more probable that I'll start, and wish I'd never begun, long before 31 days are past! 

Does your brain do that too -- offer 559 reasons why a bright idea isn't a good one at all? I feel like my brain is way worse about that than it used to be (or maybe I've just gotten way worse about listening to it?) At any rate, whether it ends up being dull and boring or not, I'm going to act on the brainstorm. 

So, coming in March, one picture every day. It won't be anything phenomenal, just a way to stop and take notice of things -- funny things, pretty things, inspiring things, boring things, interesting things, dumb things..... my head is feeling less dull already!