The Start of Spring

 'Tis the night before a road trip, and all through the house.....

I need to pack our suitcases!

The children and I head to Charleston tomorrow for Annie's spring break.  Finn will still have 3 classes to juggle, but after 2022, he's at expert status on homeschooling away from home! I will still have to work remotely (a bit), but my primary goal is to go through every book in our house in Charleston and decide what to keep, what to donate, what to give to family, and what to bring back home. Along with that, I'll be scrubbing the bookcases. It will be fun to undertake this minor "spring cleaning" project!

Otherwise, I'm hoping to just spend some quality time with my stepmom, see some azaleas in bloom, take nice walks, and maybe (maybe?) get some rest.  I have been too busy recently, and I am, in a word, tired. 

We're also going to tackle a college visit (photos to follow!).  I can't believe Finn is a junior. 

We are so ready for spring in these parts.  Why did winter feel so long, so intense, this year? It was cold, for sure; we also had a lot more sickness than usual. But there was something else, something unidentifiable, that made it feel long. I'm reading a lot of federal regulations--maybe that's it? Or maybe it's because Annie goes to school, so it's an every single weekday thing of hitting the ground running each morning. All I know is, I am excited that we have only 2 months left of school and that warm weather is around the corner. :)

Fun tidbits of recent life:

*Annie finished her 3rd quarter of school with straight As (she also made straight As in the first two quarters of school).  Mothers of tiny humans, don't ever let anyone tell you that letting your elementary schoolers play in mud, put on long theatrical productions, build with Legos, spend all day constructing forts or drawing picture or writing poems, or create imaginary civilizations in the backyard is somehow inferior to sending them to elementary school, and that they'll suffer as a result. They'll be just fine.....

*Track also started for Annie!  She has fast running in her blood (dad and both uncles ran D1 cross country and track in college). She's only had one meet, but she did great.  She has assured me that track is way easier than ballet, and I have no doubt that that's true.  Also, her endurance is excellent, thanks to years of ballet training in long, structured classes where dancers hyper-focus on form and technique.  I'm looking forward to seeing how she likes track this season! (If you're looking for her, she's the one in the Dutch braids and the pink compression sleeves.  Naturally.)

*Finn is so tall, so blonde, so perpetually hungry.  His French is so beautiful. We aren't in senior year yet, but it's on the horizon. I don't know how I feel about this, and how I'll be emotionally next year.  A couple of years ago a friend told me that the summer before her son went off to college, she made a quilt for him, and she cried the entire time she worked on it. So when it was finally time to drop him off--12 hours away (!)--she didn't cry at all.  This has led me to believe it may be time to take up quilting. 

*Teaching a US government class is so fun! I love my students! Today we talked about Equal Protection of the Laws, the rational basis test, and strict scrutiny.  Sigh.  SO fun.

*There are lambs on the farm!  Twins, black and white, born just the other day.  Annie and I have planned a Friday afternoon field trip to go examine them up-close.  Darling! I love having sheep on the farm!

*I will be 48 this fall and am thinking about how to prioritize my health during a busy season of life which is also a season of change--family changes, physical changes, etc.  What are the best practices for someone pushing 50?  I still feel very good. I do not feel "old" (my husband complains that he does!! I do not, not at all). But I do feel--different.  If you're around this age or older, I'd love to know what health habits you prioritize. 

*The next 3 months will involve: SAT prep, National French Exam, AP French Exam, two out-of-state college visits, multiple track meets, several ballet and theatre performances to attend, one out-of-town concert (overnight stay!), my kids' drama camp (Finn works there now :)), several work goals to meet, picking out stuff for Finn's room redo, TWO (!) visits to Charleston (next week and another short visit in May), hosting a party, attending another party, Finn's 18th (EIGHTEENTH!!) birthday, a ballet recital, a trip to the big city for a pointe shoe fitting, Easter, a day-long seminar, the kids' spring "prom" for homeschoolers, Annie's school dance, Annie's 8th grade graduation.....my Google calendar looks like a multicolored painting.  And I am thankful.  I am acutely aware, with Finn turning 18 and Annie going to high school in the fall, that my life is shifting.  I love this busy season because it indicates to me that my children are still home and still here. Soon enough, Finn will be at college, and Annie will be at high school all day.  I don't know what that will look like for me....but it will feel too quiet....

(Did I mention I need to start sewing a quilt?? yeah)

*The world is still, after all these years, beautiful. 

Happy Spring!

Midwinter Shifts

Mr. Polly and I realized the other day that someone has been sick in our household since we returned from Charleston at Christmas.  We all cycled through a bad cold in January, starting with Mr. Polly. Then poor Annie caught some sort of crud, had a fever for 3 days, and missed 4 days of school *and* the first two performances of the play she is in (which Finn is directing).  Fortunately none of us caught that illness. But on Monday I spent some lovely time with a friend who then texted me Tuesday saying she was now sick. I wasn't worried about it, but on Wednesday I came down with the plague, and poor Finn caught it on Thursday...fortunately, I really wasn't very sick this week. I was aggressively devoted to resting, and spent close to 48 hours mostly in bed with a heating pad on my chest, drinking vitamin C. I think it helped. 

Finn and I are both on the mend now and neither Annie nor Mr. Polly show signs of illness, so I'm cautiously optimistic.  Finn is giving the curtain speech for his play, and so for the past couple of days I whisked him to the back of the theatre, he jumped out with a KN95 mask on, ran in, gave the speech, then ran back out and I whisked him home. I told him it was like chauffeuring the President!

The play closes today and I will confess that I am relieved and thankful. It has been a challenging 6 weeks, with rehearsals, heavy involvement in production and set-building, Finn trying to manage his schoolwork with theatre, multiple illnesses, lots of snow days, even more sick days, etc. I sort of feel like I need a vacation week just to restore order to my home and my mind!  It's often sad for the children when one of their productions ends, but it's a deep exhale from their mother. :) 

We are still over a month away from spring. I'm trying to re-orient myself into domesticity (while still needing to juggle Annie's ballet schedule and facilitating school with Finn).  Here are a few things I want to do before spring that I think will help me shift in the right direction:

*implement a new cleaning routine that makes more sense to me in this stage of life

*get into the yard once things are warmer and drier, and rake out the flower beds, assess the mulch needs, and think about gardening

*commit again to walking every day on our lane. I dropped this habit for a few months and I *really* miss the stress relief and peace it provides for me!

*look at my evening and morning routines and make sure those are working for me and not against me! I always tell my children that a good morning starts the night before--I think I need to internalize that myself. ;) More on those soon.....

I'm calling these my "midwinter shifts"--I think they'll be life-giving for me during these cold and dreary days while we wait for spring!

What Do You Feed It? (Feeding a Vegan Teenager)

 Years ago Mr. Polly and I saw a movie and this was a funny line in it--I don't recall the movie, I don't recall what the character was referring to (I think it was a person? a baby? but maybe it was an animal? I don't remember!) but it was humorous and we've used the line jokingly with each other sometimes since then.  It has taken on a new seriousness as "what do you feed it?" is a legitimate question when it comes to feeding a tall teenage boy who has decided to try veganism.*

First he was vegetarian, which is imminently doable. We did that for quite some time, but since our family eats a lot of vegetables, beans, and grains anyhow, it didn't cramp my style at all.  He was content to eat eggs, cheese, and butter.  He floated the idea of trying veganism, which I nipped in the bud, telling him that I did not have the bandwidth to cater to a vegan!

Fast-forward to early fall--Finn wanted to try eat vegan foods only for a month.  I decided to consent.  He has been faithful to it ever since, and it hasn't been *as bad* as I predicted, although there are times when it feels inconvenient. However, since he's committed to it, he has both learned to cook some things on his own *and* devoted himself to being adaptable to eating things that aren't as excited as they might otherwise be if he weren't vegan, so his own efforts and attitude have gone a long way. 

So what do you feed it, when "it" is a vegan teenager?

*For breakfast he typically eats a waffle (I make these in advance and freeze to have on hand) topped with peanut butter, stovetop or baked oatmeal (also topped with peanut butter), or Ezekiel bread toast (topped with...you got it!...peanut butter! and sometimes banana or a few dark chocolate chips).  He accompanies breakfast with a cup of plant-based milk and always a very good cup of coffee. I am really good at coffee, y'all. 

*Lunch is often leftovers from dinner (see below). Sometimes he'll make himself a broccoli and organic tofu stir-fry.  He will also sometimes have a lentil BBQ sandwich: lentils + barbecue sauce on a Dave's 21-grain bun.  Today I made pizzas for lunch--his had tomato sauce, spinach, tofu, and sundried tomatoes; mine had tempeh, but Finn isn't a fan of tempeh! 

*Snacks: If he's hungry between meals--and he often is--it's smashed avocado on sourdough bread, guacamole and tortilla chips (more rarely), apple and peanut butter, dark chocolate (with peanut butter, if he wants a little protein), or--if he's REALLY hungry--lentils or tofu/broccoli. I sometimes make black bean brownies, which he likes, and that's a not-terrible snack.  Finn isn't a huge fan of nuts, but if he were, that would be a great snack. 

*Dinners: Dinner is the easiest.  We make a wide variety of soups or curries.  Once a week or so I'll make black bean burgers (from scratch)--plenty of leftovers for lunch--which Finn will have with roasted potatoes and veggies.  Sometimes I'll do a bunch of veggies and salmon, and instead of salmon Finn will have broiled tofu or a bowl of beans. My husband makes a great vegan stirfry with lots of veggies, topped with peanuts and served over rice.  

There are some parameters that I hold to very strictly. 

First, no soy protein isolate.  Period.

Second, tofu needs to be organic, and not eaten daily. His doctor said it's fine for him to eat tofu regularly, but we want to make sure we've got a variety of protein sources. 

Third, no junk food.  Oreos are vegan.  Potato chips are vegan.  We don't eat that stuff! Sweets are either dark chocolate or black bean brownies.  I do buy tortilla chips a couple of times a month.  Finn sometimes asks me to get Daiya cheese, but since it's not that good, he doesn't eat it often. I keep Orgain Simple on hand and he has that in a smoothie once a week or less, but it's really not that great-tasting...more of a "quick protein" source on rare occasions.  We consistently focus on whole foods, not processed junk, to try to make sure he's eating healthfully. 

Finn isn't an athlete; if he were, I'd be making twice the amount of food I already make!

So that's what you feed it!

*Finn's rationale for this is fairly sound, encompassing multiple factors, and although I don't share all of his opinions, I do respect him!

The Sick Kit

We were in Charleston for the New Year when Mr. Polly came down with a cold, which then hit Finn when we got home, and then Annie last week, and finally landed on me this week.  I am recovering, but not without a few icky nights of congestion. 

It struck me that after 17.5 years of motherhood, I should have grasped this idea sooner: I need a sick kit! I have had a sick book for years, which has been invaluable. But I need a little arsenal of things that will make life easier when sickness hits us. Here's what my sick kit should include:

*Zicam

*Zinc pills

*Emergen-C. I love drinking the powdered vitamin C stuff with hot water, kind of like a weird tea, when I don't feel well. 

*Puffs Plus Lotion tissues. We never keep tissues on hand; I'm going to do it now, in the sick kit.

*The humidifier. As soon as someone starts feeling sick, I'll run the humidifier in their bedroom at night and in the room where they spend most of their time during the day.  The humidifier helped me so much last night--I can't believe I didn't think to use it sooner! 

*The little steam oil diffuser that I like to use with a few drops of essential oil.

*Sore throat lozenges--I like Ricola. 

*Lemons for hot lemon water, which often cures what ails me. 

*The NetiPot!!! And distilled water.

*My stepmom would remind me to add Vicks VapoRub.  She is a devotee of it!

And a few pre-existing household items would round out this kit:

*A hot water bottle and a heating pad--so comforting when you're pitiful in bed.

*A simmer pot in the kitchen: the crockpot filled with water plus sliced oranges, whole cloves, cinnamon, fresh rosemary. I made one this morning and although I don't think it's *doing* anything, it sure does help me feel happier. 

*Pot of water on the stove, simmering, to add humidity to our very dry indoor air.  It was 22% last night, but I've gotten it up to 37% with the simmer pot and humidifier.  

*Squishy socks, a cozy blanket, comfortable clothes, and a hot shower anytime to break up the congestion. 

*Good books or a knitting project, or--if you're really in bad shape--an easy movie!

What else would you add to a Sick Kit?  

A New Year, Again!

 Happy New Year!

I hadn't really realized that my last post was way back in April. It's funny how life's seasons shift.  I remember when I posted a lot--and now it seems like time is constantly pressing down on me.  I have to make room in my life for leisure and creativity--two things I have sorely neglected for a number of years now. My 40s have been an intense season of caregiving--the husband with cancer, the father with cancer, and two teenagers (in some ways, the caregiving of teens is more exhausting than the caregiving of little ones). 

*Annie turned 14--FOURTEEN!!--last Thursday.  My little baby with the wispy curls, a teenager!  She still looks very young, more like 11-12, so it's especially hard to believe that she's 14 already.  She started real, brick-and-mortar school in August, and she absolutely loves it.  She loves coming home with anecdotes, she loves attending different classes, she loves her friends. I thought 8th grade would be one of the hardest years to start school, but she is thriving.  She makes straight As easily (she has told me on multiple occasions that homeschooling is harder, and after seeing some of what she's doing, I have to say I agree....)  The school is small and we have known many teachers and administrators for years. It's a blessing for her at this time in her life. 

*As a result of choosing to start school, Annie also chose to not continue with the ballet company this year, which has changed the landscape of our lives significantly.  She still takes ballet classes 7 hours a week, but that feels like nothing compared to our lives in recent years. I am not sure what she will choose to do for next year, but I'm enjoying the breathing room right now.  Her involvement, the driving, and my own volunteerism for the ballet company were....a lot. 

*The fact that she wasn't in the Nutcracker and isn't in the company has been an unexpected blessing in another way--my mother-in-law had a health crisis in October (just off the plane, literally, from South Africa!) which has required us to pivot and try to provide support to her and my father-in-law. She spent 5 weeks in the hospital (3 of them in ICU) near the airport, which is about 3-4 hours away. She is a walking miracle, that's all I have to say.  I am so thankful that she is still with us.  She's such a sweetheart!

*Last year we did get to see the eclipse.  That probably deserves its own post.  It was amazing. 

*Also last year, we took a big Southern road trip to visit my family in South Carolina and Georgia, where we enjoyed a Lowcountry shrimp boil with first, second, and some third (!) cousins. We went to the beach with my husband's family--a low-key and relaxing week. It seems like the world is off taking all sorts of exotic vacations and having these big adventures (Annie has friends who went to Spain, Japan, Nepal....), but we go see family!  Family means a lot to me, so I am happy to spend our vacation opportunities making memories with grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. 

*The iconic, 100+ year old barn that represents our farm and has housed so many memories burned to the ground in July. It was a devastating day (and has made me feel so much empathy for California right now--we lost *one* barn, which is nothing compared to the losses that are occurring out west).  It was such a blessing that the fire was identified quickly, that it didn't spread to other nearby structures, to the house, or to the fuel (!) that was stored close to it.  It's also a blessing that no one was harmed--including the sheep, chickens, goals, or the livestock guardian dog. But oh, what a heartache it was for a few weeks. 

*I currently teach US Government to 7 homeschooled high schoolers in my basement once a week, and it is SO much fun!  It's really one of my favorite things about life right now!  They are curious, polite, engaged, and funny; I wish they could come over more than once a week!  It started as a way to get Finn's US Government credit while also getting some time with friends, and we are achieving those things, but I simply didn't realize how much I would LOVE doing it.  The lesson planning is excruciatingly time-consuming, writing all the tests and quizzes, coming up with projects, etc....all of this I'm doing from scratch, but it's so fun.  I guess that's where a lot of my creativity is going these days. :) 

*I still work part-time, and I still really like my company.  In March I will have worked for them for two years, which doesn't seem possible--the time has flown. I usually work 5-10 hours a week still, and that's what I plan to stick to until Finn is in college.  Once he's in college, if Annie is in *regular school* and not homeschooled for high school, I may increase my hours to 10-20. (If Annie decides to homeschool for high school, I'll work 5-10.)  Once Annie is in college, I will consider working somewhere full time only if we truly need the extra income to pay for college.  Otherwise, I think part-time works very, very well for our family. 

*Speaking of college, Finn is a junior in high school and we're looking at colleges.  We're also running Net Price Calculators, which has been a sobering exercise.  Everything seemed so straightforward when I applied to school: I picked a college I liked, I applied early decision, it was in-state, and so I went there. That same college costs over four times as much now!  Finn isn't really sure what he wants, but it's looking like maybe a small liberal arts college with a strong French/study abroad program. (Anyone know of a fantastic French program??)  That doesn't really narrow things down, frankly!

*Speaking of Finn, he's the tallest person in our house now!  He's very tall, has long blonde hair, and was recently mistaken for an adult--probably because he almost is an adult.  He's also vegan, which is a tad inconvenient sometimes, and speaks beautiful French and Spanish, and is the Assistant Director for a play right now!  So Finn is busy. 

*I just came down with a mild cold, but otherwise I am healthy and well, and grateful for that.  Mr. Polly is also doing great.  We celebrated our 25th anniversary last October by taking Finn and Annie to a Very Fancy Restaurant in the city.  Annie was fascinated by the bananas foster situation. 

*I've been thinking recently about the disjointed feelings of life with 2 teenagers-the way we go in different directions. Life looks so different than it did 10 years ago, and for good reason! But there are elements that I miss; for instance, I didn't do anything in my flowerbeds this past summer.  And we don't read aloud anymore. Life feels very functional, and I am operating it with efficiency, but I really lack something--I can't put my finger on what.  Leisure? Soul-supporting activities? Lightheartedness?  Something like that!  I'm going to "study on it" this winter to see what I can do to help with that. Even so, I am thankful for this quiet, filled-up little life of mine. 

A Late Winter Wrap-Up: Anna Karenina, Mozart, Brick and Mortar, and Eclipses!

Parenting two busy teenagers, one of whom is a classical ballet dancer in a pre-professional company, is a serious business these days! My husband recently told someone that I "run the [insert our last name] empire," and he's not wrong.  Between paying bills, keeping house, cleaning, chauffeuring, cooking, grocerying, supervising homeschool, laundry, some part-time work, and countless volunteer hours for the ballet...well, I am not bored. 

Here are a few tidbits from our busy, busy lives lately (I hope to see some calm after my daughter's spring ballet performance):

*I am in the last hour of listening to Anna Karenina (read with great success by Maggie Gyllenhaal) and I cannot wait to finish it so that I can then turn around and read everything about it--criticism, interpretations, etc.  WOW! I have so much to say about Anna, Levin, Kitty.....whew.  I can't wait to start reading about what I've been reading (surely this is one of the marks of a bibliophile?). 

*We went to our first opera last month! We saw The Marriage of Figaro and we were all heavily invested in the narrative. It was so fun!

*Our spring break trip to Charleston was cancelled due to a flat tire that suddenly appeared on my car the morning we were set to leave (with a fully-loaded vehicle, coffee and muffins in hand....).  So we stayed home and had a quiet week, and as it turned out, it was very, very good.

*Big changes are underway in schooling for my sweet Annie.  Next year she's trying a brick and mortar school--I can hardly wrap my mind around this.  But she is so excited to at least try it out.  (She knows that her fallback will always be homeschooling, and having a safety net is nice!)  She's got a few friends there already, we know several teachers/administrators, it's a small school....so it has potential.  If you know Annie, you'll probably agree that she is a powerhouse of genuine kindness and solid determination packaged in one small, long-haired, graceful human.  I am happy for her.  Finn and I won't know what to do with ourselves, but I am happy for her!

*We have reservations to head to the midwest for the eclipse--if the weather cooperates.  We've had these plans in place for nearly 7 years, since we saw the last eclipse. It was incredible.  No words. I pray we can see it again. It's especially tricky because it's theatre week for Annie--eek!

*March 27th marked the 23rd year since my mother's death, and I realized that it also marked that I've now been without my mother for half my life. I was 23 when she died, and I'm 46 now.  She was a lovely, lovely human, and I am thankful I had 23 years with her. 

*The peonies are coming up, the crabapple tree is in bloom, the tulips have popped, the bleeding hearts are rising, the lilac is purpling, and I pruned the roses last week.

Life is full and fascinating and I'm thankful for it all. 

 

Every Week: A Bouquet

 How about this?  How about posting a photo of my dining table bouquet each week?  That'll encourage me to keep the practice of fresh flowers going!

I have two sweet young ladies who help me around the house twice a month.  I hired them, with a twinge of guilt, in January of 2017, because my homeschooling had gotten more intense (with addiing a second child to the mix) and because I was starting to teach two classes at our co-op.  By the end of 2017, I felt no guilt at all: my husband had been diagnosed with cancer, and frankly, I needed all the help I could get.  They've now been coming to my house every other week for seven years. I am endlessly grateful for them. Anyhow, sometime last year they said to me, "we love coming here because it always smells so good" (which made me laugh--it's because they come on one of my "crockpot dinner" days!) "and because we love all your fresh flowers."  Well, that stopped me in my tracks, because I realized I'd not had fresh flowers consistently for quite some time.  But I loved that they associated my home with flower bouquets--that's what I want to hear, because I do really, really love flowers.

There's nothing blooming here yet, but yesterday when I ran to Kroger to pick up antibiotics for Finn (pray for Finn! he just cannot kick this whatever-it-is), I bought a $5 bouquet of baby's breath and a 40-cent markdown bouquet of fern fronds.  In a needs-to-be-polished silver pitcher, my inexpensive bouquet is a good start. 

(The only drawback here is that baby's breath smells terrible, so I do have to move it away from the table when it's time to have a meal!  But that's the price we pay, at least this week, for beauty.)

A bouquet a week.  Stay tuned for more!

Routines to Help Return to Peace

After two years of feeling "off," I am finally starting to re-orient myself to, well, myself! Have you ever gone through times when you're just not living like yourself?  

My father was diagnosed with cancer in January 2022. For the next year (he died in September 2022), I was constantly on the road between Charleston and home, juggling my children's schedules and schooling, and just trying to spend as much time with him as I could.  I knew it was unlikely that he would live even a year past diagnosis, so I worked hard to see him as much as possible.  

In 2023, I was  still trying to regain my equilibrium, but I felt "off."  I gained about ten pounds.  I wasn't reading, I wasn't putting fresh flowers on the table, and I wasn't sleeping on my normal schedule. I wasn't enjoying food, and I wasn't getting enough fresh air. I was finding myself easily distracted and unfocused. 

It was time for a change!

I knew there were things I could not change.  My days are very full, and I spend an inordinate amount of time chauffeuring my children to their various activities.  Although I could force my children to drop their activities, they find a great deal of value and purpose in them, so I'm not changing that. I have decided that the problem is not my children's busy schedules. The problem is me.

Here's what I decided to change:

*I'm sitting down to eat in a mindful way again. I've done that for years, but had gotten out of the habit with our hectic lives in 2022.  This makes a huge difference in the way I feel, in my health, and in my peace!

*I'm moving slowly!  Instead of procrastinating and never rushing, I'm committed to never rushing, which means I cannot procrastinate. ;) 

*Every day I get dressed in a way that makes me happy.  For a while I had slipped into the "leggings and sweatshirt" scenario on my at-home days.  Frankly, if I'm wearing a leggings and sweatshirt, I'm just not that productive.  I'm sure lots of people are productive in those clothes, but I need to be wearing real clothes, my hair fixed, my earrings in, my apron on!

*I'm going to commit to flowers around the house again. I miss this practice--I did it for years!  I realized I fell out of practice (for winter) when I moved to grocery pickup, because I was no longer looking at the flowers at the grocery store each week.  (In the summer? I have no excuse. My yard is full of flowers!) I haven't started this yet, but I shall. 

*I'm embracing routines again.  I get up at the same time every day, do the same routine. At night I read in bed.  I assign my weekly/recurring tasks to a time and do them then. I'm trying to get the children to bed earlier, and up earlier as well.  This generates a lot of peace for me!

These changes are simple and, for the most part, free.  And they've been very freeing as well. I feel like I'm becoming myself again--the person who enjoys good meals, fresh flowers, reading books, long walks, knitting, and happy, undistracted routines. 

Shifting Seasons

 We had an eventful January, but it was still a lot calmer than December.  I was so  thankful to get a "recovery month" with no one performing in anything!

We got a bunch of snow that cancelled the local schools all week.  School went on as usual at home, but we loved the view, and the children did some serious sledding--before the biting cold totally set in. I love how bright the valley looks when cloaked in snow. 

Annie broke her foot (by chasing Mr. Bingley on the front porch, no less) and is in a special boot, with taped toes, for now.  This is not easy for a ballet dancer!  She'll be alright. 

Seasons fascinate me; I'm so glad to live in a place where there are four solid, recognizable seasons.  But the seasons of life are the ones that interest me the most.  Things shift and change--sometimes when we're not even looking.  It's like you're buried in folding laundry and suddenly you look up, the leaves are falling, and your son is almost six feet tall. It's just like that. 

For years I've had intuition (I suspect it's the nudge of the Holy Spirit) related to shifts. When I turned 40 I felt a major shift and had no idea what it would entail.  A few months later, my husband was diagnosed with cancer.  Oh, so THAT is what this will entail, I thought. I've felt it at other points in life, too. 

I feel that shift again now.  I'm not sure what is brewing or what direction the shift will take. I just feel like I'm on a ship heading in one general direction, and that somewhere below me the current has changed, and I'm still headed in the general direction I set out to go, but I feel like we're going to get there by a different route.  What is it?  I approach this with genuine curiosity.  I don't fear it, because I trust the captain. :)  I wonder!

The Goodness of God

 Today at church during our quiet personal prayer time, the worship leader sang "The Goodness of God."  I've heard this song plenty of times, but somehow today was different. Today I just shut my eyes and listened, and saw my life through the lens of these words.  

 I love you, Lord/for your mercy never fails me/All my days, I've been held in Your hands/From the moment that I wake up/Until I lay my head/Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

I thought about waking up in the morning, either in the dark or as the sun starts to break through (I face east in my bed, so the rising sun hits me!), and how thankful I am to be alive, and then at night, I'm so tired that often my only prayer is thank you, thank you. 

I love Your voice/You have led me through the fire/In the darkest night/You are close like no other/I've known You as a father, I've known You as a friend/And I have lived in the goodness of God

So many images rushed through my mind.  The long night that I endured as I miscarried our third child--the brutal emotional pain of that experience.  The deep, difficult nights at the end of my father's life, when I was the only one awake in the house, sitting vigil at his side to be sure he wouldn't try to get up and fall down. I never slept. When I needed to wash sheets or change linens (often) I woke my sister up, but otherwise the house was quiet. I knew I wasn't alone. God was watching with me. 

Cause your goodness is running after, it's running after me...with my life laid down/I'm surrendered now/I give you everything/Cause your goodness is running after me.....

For years I ran in the opposite direction of God, and His goodness showed up constantly, in unexpected places, pursuing me. And the surrender that has had to occur when I've reached the end of my own abilities...I could see flashes of my husband's cancer, my father's cancer, moments with my children when I wasn't sure what to do, difficulties in my extended family...the surrender to God that is so hard, but such a relief. 

And all my life You have been faithful/And all my life You have been so, so good/With every breath that I am able/Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

Life can be hard. I don't understand most of what happens, or why, but I try to turn, over and over again, in the direction of trust and surrender to the goodness of God. 

2023 Reader's Journal

 My Reader's Journal from last year is woefully bare, primarily because I kept forgetting to write down what I was reading.  I also started a new job, and that did cut into my reading time. I'm hopeful that this year I will remember to keep track and that I will make more time to read.  I read more books than this for sure--but these are the only ones I remembered to write down (and I'm terrible at trying to remember this far after the fact!).  I put an asterisk beside the ones I liked the best.

1. Dear Bob and Sue (Matt and Karen Smith)(this is a very funny book that I read when I went to the Bahamas last winter)

2. Middlemarch* (George Eliot)(this is a re-read, but I'm not done with it yet)

3. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe* (CS Lewis)(Audible)

4. Prince Caspian* (CS Lewis)(Audible)

5. How We Die (Sherwin Nuland)

6. Several books related to practicing law (ie, contract drafting and so on)

7. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader* (CS Lewis)(Audible)(I LOVE THIS ONE!)

8. Re-Creations* (Grace Livingston Hill)

9. Digital Minimalism (Cal Newport)(another re-read) 

10. Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstory)(I'm not finished with this, so please, no spoilers! I'm about 3/4 of the way through....and I'm going to withhold my opinion until I see how it ends)

11. Debt Free U* (Zac Bissonnette)(super useful information for how to attain a college degree while taking on zero debt--this is really important to our family) 

12. Heidi* (Johanna Spyri)(with Annie-we love this sweet story)

13. The Death of Ivan Ilych* (Tolstoy)--this one is motivated me to begin Anna Karenina.  The Death of Ivan Ilych was excellent; I had read it in college, but reading it now, in midlife, after all the water that has passed under the bridge...it was completely different, and so, so good. 

....see? Pitiful! 

I read multiple books on college admissions and paying for college, the titles of which escape me (mostly library books).  I read lots of essays. I dipped into some old favorites, such as The War of Art, to read favorite sections. I think I did a lot of that "dipping into" books this year! In fact, 2023 may have been my Worst Adult Year Ever for real, meaty reading.  In reflecting upon this, I do think my job was a major factor. I read a lot for work. 

So this year I hope to read a lot more books for just plain fun. :) 

Find my other reader's journals, and some good quotes, here. Happy reading! 

An Advent Recovery Week

 This morning I am sitting under a blanket, sipping coffee, in pajamas, at 9:30am-which seems luxurious to the point of lazy, and it very well may be, but I'm in "recovery mode" from the Nutcracker, so I'm giving myself lots of grace. 

Whew! Another year of the Nutcracker is behind us!  If you've had a classical ballet dancer in your home, you know the intensity of which I speak. Two weeks prior, she had 12 hours of "appearances" to do at a cookies-and-Santa event, in addition to her usual 13ish hours of ballet lessons.  The week of, she had 70 hours of Nutcracker rehearsals and performances in 9 days.  I worked about 40 hours at the theatre that week.  On Sunday we came home, changed into pajamas, ate pizza, and rested. (And while all that was going on, Finn had opening weekend for the community theatre play he's in this year! So in the course of 4 days, my children had 8 performances.) Finn has 4 more performances left and then we are done. I am thankful for the opportunities my children have to develop poise, self-discipline, confidence, and to be a part of these organizations (our local community theatre, in particular, is a nurturing, familial, and fun environment for my teenage boy, who isn't into sports!).  

On Monday I worked on laundry, bills, and making sure I had all my ducks in a row for the week, and yesterday I did more laundry (and Annie got braces!).  Today will be a day for finishing laundry, deep cleaning, and setting out more Christmas decor.  Tomorrow I will get the card table out of the garage and start wrapping gifts! I'm taking my recovery week slowly. :) 

Last Christmas I was quite sad, and we didn't do any of the usual Christmas things--only the bare minimum (Nutcracker, gifts, a tree, Christmas day brunch and evening party). This year I've got a list and we're going to enjoy these things:

*baking plenty of types of Christmas cookies

*going into town to see the Christmas tree displays in the village

*going into the Big City to see more trees (sense a theme?)

*the annual "get into pajamas, make cocoa, and drive around looking at Christmas lights" tradition

*Doing crazy "who hair" on each other and then watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (don't ask)

*plenty of hymns played on the piano and sung together--I LOVE Advent and Christmas music! I'd say sacred music and white lights inside my house are my favorite things of all at Christmastime.

*reading through our basket of Christmas books that I keep under the tree

*Watching a few Christmas movies ("It's a Wonderful Life" is my favorite)

*baking fruitcake. I really debated about this because I always made fruitcake for my father, who loved it.  Last year I didn't do any Christmas baking except that, driven by uncontrollable urges, I baked fruitcakes--even though Daddy wasn't here to enjoy them.  This year after I talked to my stepmom, and she mentioned how much she enjoyed the fruitcakes, I decided to continue the tradition. 

And of course, a few days after Christmas we will leave for the annual New Year's trip to Charleston. 

Life is full and poignant and beautiful and sometimes hard..... and I am thankful for it.  

Happy Advent!

Homeschooling the Sixteen-Year-Old Boy

 Today marks the start of Week 11 of school for us, which means (I think) that we're about 1/3-ish of the way through the school year.  But lo, it has been a grind so far, and I'm already plotting ways to make things easier next year.  

Finn (who is in 10th grade--we had to decide what grade he was in last year, and decided to say 9th to give us plenty of leeway/room, and we're not in a mad rush to see him off to college anyhow!) is taking Geometry, Chemistry, a combined history + literature + theology class, French 4, advanced conversational Spanish (a substitute for Spanish 4, basically), while also juggling choir, two evenings of work at the local fancy nursing home, and a community theatre performance (in which he has 4-5 roles this production!). 

I'm not going to lie. It's a lot.  Especially for this perfectionistic, slow-paced, deep-diving, pondering learner.  

I have been constantly ruminating over whether to convince him to drop his (confusing, rigorous, massively time-consuming) chemistry class for something with a gentler pace and more practical application, but so far he wants to keep it.  I'm praying about it.  We'll see. Next semester he's going to drop back to working only one day per week, and maybe even scale back further to not working at all for a few months until summer.  That may help. But time management, distractions, and prioritization are all issues that we are facing now.  His classes are generally set up like college classes: two days a week, with lots of homework in between.  This is great "training" for the independence of college, but challenging for a 16-year-old male.  Finn is a brainiac, but like most teenagers, when he logs onto the computer he suddenly finds himself "distracted" by all of his interests*....letting the actual schoolwork move to the back burner. This is an issue that I'm seeing unfold, and that I'm also praying about trying to solve with wisdom. 

Annie, who is in 7th-ish grade, is taking two online classes (Language Arts and Physical Science/Intro to Physics and Chemistry).  They're pretty good, but I'm going to shake things up next year.  The online classes were a great way to "cover the gap" during my dad's illness and death, and during my recovery from it, but I am feeling a bit more like it's time to turn back to analog learning for a while.  My Charlotte Mason roots are still there, still strong. :) 

Boy! Every stage of parenting involves so many decisions and so many things to navigate and consider.  It's a joy to raise a child into adulthood, but it also take a long view and a lot of patience and discernment. It's the biggest investment of time anyone who is a parent can make, and undoubtedly the most worthwhile, too.  

I'm all about Galatians 6:9 when considering the realities of raising a teenager!

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." 

Yes! I'm banking on this! I remind myself of this every day!

(*Here are the ways Finn gets totally distracted on the internet: watching past Republican primary debates (nope, not kidding), reading everything he can about various world religions, and learning about composers.  Like I said, he's a nerd. I appreciate his passion to learn...but you gotta get that chemistry done, too! He doesn't play video games...but he does like to watch funny Babylon Bee spoof YouTube videos.  And I have to admit, they can be really amusing.)

Revisiting the Blue House

 It had been a solid four years since I had been to my Dad and stepmom's mountain house a little over an hour from here.  We spent the most wonderful, gorgeous, idyllic long weekend there in September of 2019. Then covid hit, and no one really traveled; in October of 2020, my Dad and stepmom did come back to the mountains, but they stayed with us and visited us. In 2021, my Dad didn't come back because he was living in Georgia, caring for his brother-in-law with cancer, who died in December of that year.  My stepmom essentially drove my father from the funeral to the emergency room.  His illness, not yet diagnosed, had begun. He died last September.

{my stepmom's aunt is an artist. This painting is actually huge!}

So my stepmom decided to come stay at the mountain house for the first time in three years. Our family met her there a couple of Sundays ago for a work day.  But driving into the deeper mountains and into the beautiful valley where the house is located was an emotional experience for me.  My Dad first began living there when I was younger than Finn.  I have over thirty years of memories there.  It's where my husband drove when he went to go ask my father for his blessing to marry me.  It's where we celebrated the new millennium (usually we're in Charleston at the new year, but my father had to stay onsite at work to be sure the world didn't end, so we moved our usual family gathering to the mountains instead).  I have great memories there, and painful memories there.  It's where I climbed ancient apple trees and ate the fruit--nothing like an heirloom apple, untouched by human "help!" It's where I ate Concord grapes right off the vine, ran many miles down a dirt road next to a creek, and, maybe most poignantly of all, rode with my Dad all over the farm, even up to the "backside" of the farm, to the highest point around, and sat and looked at God's gorgeous creation: sweeping 360-degree views of the mountains and valley.  

A few days before my father died, he asked me to bring my stepmom into the room.  She came in.  He looked at her and said "let's go up yonder on the hill, look down over the vale."  The quaint language struck me. She and I looked at each other.  We knew exactly what he was seeing.  He wanted to go sit on that mountain again. 

So, tears.  

{I love her marble-topped living room set.}

Once we got to the house I was ok.  There was much work to be done!  Mr. Polly, Finn, and Annie all worked outside all day, and my sister met us for the afternoon and she worked outside, too. I took over cleaning inside--after three years of not being lived in, there was some dirt and dust to mitigate.  I did lots of sweeping, wiping down, dusting, vacuuming, scrubbing.  And then we all sat down together for a meal. 

The house actually belongs to my stepmom; she bought it when my father retired. His housing was provided by his employer and when he retired he was ready to move back home to Charleston, but my stepmom wanted to have a place in the mountains (she's from a nearby town).  So she found this little blue house, two bedrooms, one bathroom, just over a ridge from where they'd been living.  She furnished it with her family heirlooms and artwork.  And so it remains. 

{Victorian settee. Excellent for photo shoots of little girls in dresses!}

I miss my papa.  And God is good. 

On Working

 I have been working from home, very part-time, for about 7 months now. A typical week is between 5-10 hours for me; one week I think I worked 14, and that was Too Much. Not doing that again unless there's some sort of major urgency! My goal has been to work without impacting our family and home life, or my own ability to rest and exercise, and I'm *mostly* achieving that goal. Here's how:

*Annie has an online class from 9:30-11 Monday through Thursday.  I take that window of time and sit down at the laptop and do a solid chunk of work. Many days this is all I do. But this allows me to do the work while Annie is occupied (she's 12, so she can occupy herself easily, but I prefer to work when I know I'm not needed). 

*Otherwise, it's ballet.  Annie has ballet three nights a week (plus Saturday morning).  One night she has 3 hours of ballet, one night 2 hours, and one night she has 4 hours.  Finn has choir one of those nights and he works the other night, so I have a large swath of time where no one needs me, and if there's anything leftover that I didn't get done during Annie's class, I do it during ballet. 

*Every so often I do have to go into the office (maybe once a month?) for a couple of hours.  Annie and Finn have checklists and they carry on without me--that's one benefit to having these older children!  But in general, I am always home, and that's how I want to keep it.  Even teenagers need a mother around. :)

The primary challenge for me has been trying to fit in exercise, since sometimes I exercise first thing in the morning, sometimes later in the morning, and often I walk while Annie is at ballet.  So I'm having to be strategic about this, and I can't say I've gotten into a great routine yet.  I used to bounce out of bed and exercise, but now that I'm in my mid-40s, I benefit from a cup of coffee first and a little bit of waking up and pondering the day.  So I'm still navigating the best way to manage this....last night I was on my exercise bike at 7:45pm. Not ideal!

I like the work I'm doing and am extremely grateful for the extra financial cushion it provides us right now, but I am careful to keep hours limited (fortunately, this is mostly within my control).  There's not an endless supply of time in the day, and there's also not an endless supply of mental and emotional resources for me personally.  I want to stay pleasant with my family and not feel like I'm always rushing them, or giving them divided attention, and so keeping my work within very set boundaries (Annie's class time and ballet) helps me keep work in its proper place.  I think if I didn't have those set times, it would be a lot harder, because work could creep into the times I am trying to spend homeschooling, keeping house, etc.  So the number one tip I would have for anyone who is needing to incorporate some at-home work into domestic life is to give it as strict a boundary as possible. 

I'm the type of person who will suffer emotionally if my home environment gets out of hand, or life feels too chaotic, or the laundry isn't done, or things are not clean (growing up with a full-time single working mother, these things happened more often than she or I would have liked, and those memories are still very real in my mind).  Knowing that helps me stay very strict on how much outside work I'm willing to do. I am well aware that I'm privileged to be able to do this--my mother wasn't. She would have loved to stay home with us! But that's not how it unfolded for her; as a result, I don't take this privilege for granted. At the same time, we have made, and continue to make, financial sacrifices in order to keep me home and to homeschool our children, and to me they have been more than worth it. Our home is peaceful, relatively well-run, and generates a lot of nutritious foods! Most importantly to me, Annie and Finn have had a peaceful childhood that has been worlds away from my own, and I'm so, so thankful for that. 

Whatever my work is, at home or elsewhere, I pray it will always be a blessing to the people for whom I work. 

"Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish the work of our hands upon us;

yes, establish the work of our hands!"

-Psalm 90:17

End-of-the-Year Plans

We are home now from our 5 days away in Chapel Hill. No oncology appointments this time--that's coming on November 28th!  This was just the annual gathering with our best friends, and it was so pleasant and fun, although they'd literally moved into their new house *four days before we arrived.* We had a nice time catching up together and getting to know their new place, but it was wonderful to get home yesterday.  Does anyone else just love and crave Normal Life?  I do. There are always so many things to do at home that I enjoy: baking things, tidying up, laundry, reading books, checking out the flowerbeds (frosty now!).... I love these things. 

The first night in Chapel Hill I couldn't sleep and was awake until about 4:30 (very unusual for me).  I tossed, I turned, I tossed again....finally I decided to order reading glasses. I realized last year that when my vision is corrected by contact lenses or my glasses, I struggle to read up close.  When I'm wearing glasses, I just take them off to read, but when I'm wearing contacts, I need reading glasses! I bought an inexpensive pair ($1ish) at the dollar store in January in preparation for the trip I took with my sister, because I planned to wear contacts all the time, but I wanted to read lots of books.  I've used those off and on ever since, but decided it was time to up my game with cuter frames.  Peepers are cute!  They were having a buy one/get one sale and I wound up getting 4 pairs for about $11 each. Which seems excessive when I type it, but felt very logical at 3 a.m. I will have one pair at my desk, one in my handbag, one in my car.....I should not need to buy reading glasses again for a deacde.

Now that our trip is done I can turn my attention to The Rest of the Year.  What needs to be done? 

*Finish Christmas shopping. Start wrapping!

*Purge and organize in Finn's room. I started, but got sidelined. I'd like to finish this by Thanksgiving at the latest, because once Advent begins, I know I won't have time. 

*Wrap up a couple of work projects--by Thanksgiving, that's my goal!

*Get the outside spaces cleaned up a bit (raking, trimming, tidying)

*Lay off of flour and sugar to give my body a rest from these substances

*Sit down with the planner and a cup of coffee and make sure I've got some intentional things plugged into December.  Last year I didn't do anything, really; I was so, so sad about my Dad and so depressed that I did the bare minimum just to get through the holidays.  That's not normal for me, but it's what I needed during that hard season.  This year I'm happy to get back to some of our beloved traditions. 

*Maybe hosting a small group at our house next week.

*Finding a few more fall dresses/skirts to wear--Annie and I haven't started the challenge yet, but we may soon! I did buy 5 long tunic-type sweatshirts (mimicking my inimitable Aunt Mary, who wears this exact one from Walmart a lot--it comes down low with good coverage!) with some very cute and comfortable leggings. Good for at-home days of cleaning and cooking, with an apron! But I want a few winter skirts and dresses for streetwear.

...and then there are all the usual things: taking my children to many, many lessons and rehearsals and classes and performances and work, paying bills, making meals, trying to exercise and sleep! 

Schooling for Finn

 I just recently realized that Finn, who is in what we'll call 10th grade this year, lacks just 1 credit to hit the recommended or required class credit list for most colleges.  For a long time I was looking at the requirements for the advanced diploma track for our public high schools which is hefty indeed (and what I followed), and just this week I realized I should actually look at what colleges want to see. Interestingly, we're almost already there!

This has been a liberating revelation for me. Finn is having an extra-strenuous year, weighed down with rigorous math and science classes, plus high-level language classes (his favorite thing!), and a reading-heavy literature/history/theology class as well (his other favorite thing!).  On top of all that, he performs in community theatre productions and is working at a local retirement home twice a week, so Finn is working hard to keep his head above water, and it's honestly A Bit Much. 

To meet the minimum recommended requirements for most colleges, Finn lacks 1 class. One!! (That's Algebra II.)  This means that we can probably strike out and allow him to get more "specialized" over the next couple of years, which was, after all, one of our primary motivations for homeschooling in the first place.  I think we'll scale back our math/science plans (four years really not necessary) and replace those with the courses he's most interested in taking (humanities-heavy).  As a sophomore, he's already in Spanish 4 and French 4, and his heavy lifting in languages will almost certainly balance out the fact that he takes 3 years of math instead of 4! (If I could have skipped my senior math class--which was a colossal waste of time--I sure would have!) He does so much independent reading and study on his own that I'm already planning to award him a credit in World Religions. He's a curious, interested learner, and I'm so pleased that we can let him have more leeway and freedom over the next couple of years!

And if anyone has any college recommendations, please let me know. So far his ideals appear to be: east coast/not too far from the Mid-Atlantic east coast (although we could work with the midwest); a setting (whether secular or Christian) that values free speech and respects students' perspectives (in other words, Finn doesn't want to attend a school where professors are hostile to students of faith); smaller size school, preferably in a smaller-sized city or town (flexible on those points); strong study abroad possibilities, particularly for France or French-speaking countries; and--his mother's wishful addition--plenty of money to give away to good students! :) 

I've already started making lists of places that may check the box on some of these, and we'll likely do some casual visits over the next 6-9 months.  I'm so glad we're still a couple of years away from all of that, though. I'm in no hurry to send Finn off into the world. 

He's still mine--for a little while longer!

Pink Things in Quebec City

 The first of a series of snippets from Quebec... 

It's a beautiful city. I was driving when we arrived. As we snaked our way through the city and found our way (miraculously! my husband is such a great co-pilot; we didn't have GPS helping us!) to the older section, we passed Parliament, and when we took a left and passed under the Porte Saint-Louis, I literally gasped, I could not believe what I saw.  It was all so quaint, so French! It was love at first sight. More photos of all that soon. 

These enormous pink hydrangea were everywhere in Canada, and in many places in the northeastern US as well.  I love them! I need to figure out what they are, although I suspect they're a cold weather variety that may not fare well in my climate. 

Loved the stone walls with colorfully painted trim.  Quebec City has a fascinating history.  The first thing we did the morning after we arrived was go on a two-hour walking tour, and I'm so glad I chose to do that, because it oriented us into the city and its history so well!

Street artists line the Rue Sainte-Anne. I stopped to watch them work every day.  The things these men could do in oil pastels, in an hour, amazed me.  It was mesmerizing!  

Not really pink, but orangey-pink: one evening we walked back into our room, shut the door, and heard a sound.  We walked to the balcony and opened the door, and behold!  Fireworks!  Turns out, the city puts on a massive twenty-minute fireworks display twice a week during the summer. We watched the show from our balcony--and it was a gift. 

More Quebec City photos soon! 

The Autumn Dress Challenge

 Last spring Annie (who is 12 years old) suggested that we do a "dress challenge" and try to wear only dresses or skirts for an entire month. I mentioned that, and its parameters, here. 

I think we're gearing up for an autumn dress challenge.  Last night Annie was bemoaning the typical attire for 12-year-old girls these days.  She is underwhelmed and irritated by the copious quantities of ripped jeans, crop tops (ah! so many crop tops!), and generally un-pretty fashions for girls her age.  I don't blame her! I bemoan the same thing for girls my age! :) Earlier this summer, when we were at my dear friend and neighbor's house, Annie asked for a dress pattern.  Naomi and her family are Beachy Amish (Mennonite), and the girls wear very long dresses that are "cape" style.  Naomi sweetly traced a dress pattern that she thought would fit Annie, using newspaper!!!, and brought it to me.  She explained how it would be easy to leave off the cape.  We haven't tried the dress yet, but I think I will use the skirt pattern to start with making Annie a couple of long fall skirts. Annie can run the sewing machine proficiently, but this year I want to teach her to sew with a pattern.  We may start with a few skirts--they're easy. 

Annie is ready for a fall dress challenge, but I'm not! My cold-weather default in previous years has always been jeans.  But jeans are honestly not very comfortable, and I'm genuinely tired of them.  I have only a couple of skirts that could work for cold weather, and I need to strategize the "underlayer" as well (I loathe being cold!).  Skirts are tricky, too, because not all shirts go with all skirts, so it takes some strategizing.  Dresses are easier in that you don't have to coordinate, but dresses are hard for me. I have scoliosis, and one hip and one shoulder are higher than the other. Finding a dress that works on my frame, with the scoliosis and with my extremely high waist, is a challenge!  Shirtdresses are totally out--my torso is so short! So I usually have to wear separates. I particularly like a skirt and a twinset--I know it's retro, but it suits my personality, somehow.  In any case, I may be prowling around the thrift stores off and on in preparation for the challenge (I think we may start November 1st).

Annie wishes she could start a new trend among girls her age of wearing pretty things. 

Maybe we will!

Last time we took a photo of ourselves every day and posted it on my private Instagram account.  I don't want to post photos of Annie here, but maybe we can figure out some way to share our daily outfits.  She and I love clothes, we love pretty things, and we love doing things like this together! 

Autumn Anniversary, Baking, and Plans

 Autumn is so beautiful where we live! The maples are starting to dazzle, which means other leaves will also start to turn as well.  Usually late October and early November are the prettiest weeks here for autumn colors.  

My husband and I celebrated our 24th anniversary last week!  We were such babies when we got married--look at those juvenile profiles! I am genuinely so thankful for our relationship. It is easy, it is happy, it is comfortable, it is safe.  I am well aware that this is not always the case. For a girl from a broken nuclear family background, this marriage has been a magnificent gift. I do not take it for granted. Ever.  

I've been on a big baking kick lately.  This morning I made apple-cinnamon coffee cake for my children's breakfast.  Last night I made homemade naan bread to go with the vegetable masala I'd made. (How had I never made naan before? It's super easy, tastes great, and costs about 5% of what I'd spend to buy it in the store! I'll be making it again for sure....)  I've made cheddar bread, gingerbread with whipped cream, almond cake, pumpkin cookies, baked oatmeal.....the list goes on.  Cozy autumn baking is so fun, and of course, it's much healthier to eat what you bake from scratch, which is why I seem to do so much of it.

Naan isn't much to look at, and I'm no food photographer, but this was good!

This fall is flying past (I feel like I always say that!). When we were in Quebec City, I had a street artist do an oil pastel of Annie. It is beautiful! When we got home I had it framed as soon as possible, and it's now hanging on our dining room wall. Don't worry; Finn isn't left out. I had a family friend do a portrait of him in acrylics years ago! So now I have artwork of both of our children. For some reason, this just makes me feel happy. I'm debating about posting the portraits--I don't post photos of my children, but a photo of a painting? Maybe? I'll think on it!

Annie is deep into Nutcracker rehearsals and hours of ballet every week; Finn just started rehearsals for a community theatre production of A Christmas Carol.  Fall fun!  We'll have an eventful couple of weekends in December!

Everyone in our household except me fell ill a couple of weeks ago and while my children were out of commission I had the luxury of staying home--not chauffeuring people to rehearsals and lessons! So I did a huge purge/cleanout/reorganization of our laundry room/my sewing room. It was epic.  I had no idea I could remove so much from one small space! It was satisfying, and I feel like the things that are left are going to be things I actually use/make/do/need.  I was surprised at how much had accumulated there over the years.  Next up: Finn's room.  I haven't done a good clear-out in his room in several years, and I know there's a lot we can remove.  He has the smallest bedroom and he's not naturally tidy, so he needs to be able to have a manageable level of stuff so he can more easily keep things neat. I love neatening! But I respect the fact that not everyone else does. :)  I start that project on Thursday!

A few plans for the next month:

*drink hot beverages on the patio

*s'mores and fire pit, also on the patio

*visit my stepmom in the Blue House in the mountains (we hope!)

*enjoy time with our best friends at their new house in Chapel Hill at the end of October

*plenty of surreptitious Christmas shopping (I've already started!)

*maybe some dress-and-skirt-and leggings shopping, as I want to wear more skirts this winter, but I don't want to be cold! I'm just so over jeans!

*and, I hope, some outside work--need to do a bit of a fall cleaning on the outside spaces before putting up the Christmas stuff!