Saturday, October 30, 2010

One Moment

I felt life breathe today~green, fresh, vibrant, undying~


 She will not "go gentle  into that good night"(click here to read the poem)
She will cling to what is hers
She is still becoming


 still pulsing, still singing,



 still flowering, still giving
delicate abundance




  She weaves a bower of beauty for us to behold



Her gentle arms embrace me for one moment




peace.



Mary Margaret led me into the garden today to discover the Mustard greens and Romaine lettuce that had replanted itself from the Spring growing season. We even found a bit of Arugula. Do you know what an Arugula flower looks like? It's the flower in the fourth picture down. I was awed by the life abounding in what looks from the distance to be a has-been ,withered, used-up garden. There is always life to be found; that life is the pulsating of God all through His marvelous creation.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Industry


Their little hands had been busy all afternoon...








Mama's hands were busy, too...



Mama and children were pleased with the results:












Treasures were discovered on Mama's bookshelf:







Wisdom passed down through the ages




Was this prophetic writing? How relevant these words are to us today!

I want to feel the poetry of beauty.



"The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart." ~ Helen Keller

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Bare

                      Today, Be who you are!

Photobucket

Aware

I overheard a smart and observant little girl at the grocery store today. She looked to be about eight, and she was in the produce section with her mother. She was trying to put a word together, and I heard her say,"Plum. P-l-u-m...add an 'e' and it makes 'plume.' Mom, what does plume mean?" I was excited about the little girl's discovery and disappointed by her mother's less than enthusiastic response: "Oh. That must be one of your new 'list' words. What should we get for dinner tonight?"

It was kind of funny that the grocery incident took place this afternoon, because earlier in the day I was struck by the sizable vocabulary in this book:





Keep in mind, I was reading to five children, ages two to ten. Here is some of the vocabulary in the book:
whopper, hauled, coincidences, revealed, apoplectic (confession: I had to look this one up), proceeded, devoted, pleasantries, peering, tam-o-shanter (Mary Margaret asked about that one!), satisfy, portcullis, ragged, sheepishly, gasped, sumptuous, gnashing, phase, clutching, prospered, etc...
Do you get the idea? The kids were enjoying every minute of this delightful story, and so was I!

Who knows, maybe the mother and her daughter in the store went home and looked up the word, "plume," together. I hope so! At any rate, I was thinking about all the opportunities we have to teach our kids that might we miss if we are not in tune! We learn so much just from simple conversations. Of course, there are days when we are tired or busy with another child, but if we aren't careful it can so quickly become a habit to be non-responsive to our children's queries. It's all about AWARENESS and really listening to another person.

Ahhhhh...I fall so far short of awareness. Thanks for allowing me to digress; I have renewed my ambitions to be present and interested in my children and what they have to say!! Every moment we can begin anew...Every moment we can begin AWARE!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Busy, Busy, Busy

Origami with Martha:
(using Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia Of Crafts)






Fractions with Hershey's:







Ghostie Friends:






Getting ready to be the tooth fairy for Halloween:








Listening to old records:








HAPPY DAYS OF FALL!


Saturday, October 23, 2010

Feast Or Famine: The Story Of A Boy And His Mother

Once upon a time, a boy's mother lovingly prepared for her son a huge feast:




It was such a wonderful dream. The boy could almost taste the roastbeef on his platter. He awoke from his sleep ravenous. He shuffled into the kitchen and made a beeline for the fridge. He expectantly opened the refrigerator door and stood staring for a moment...or two. He shut the door, then opened it again:




Bummer.

Impatiently, he closed the refrigerator door and turned his hopes to the cabinets.
Things didn't get much better:



He had one last chance. The cabinet above the microwave:



Things were going from bad to worse. His mother was in the next room, folding laundry...holding her
breath. She knew what was coming. Starving teens and sparse cabinets don't mix.

"There's nothing to eat!" he complained. "Why can't we be like normal people and have something I can just throw in the microwave?"

"Well, now. I am so glad you asked. I have a potato casserole cooking in the oven. We'll discuss this over lunch."

****************ANATOMY OF A MEAL********************

POTATOES AND SAUSAGE GRATIN (prepared at home, Feeds Ten) : @ $.25 per serving

vs.

MARIE CALLENDER FROZEN ENTREE (store bought, feeds one): @ $ 3.50 per serving

*********************************************************************************

If the price difference isn't enough to convince anyone, how about the taste?Check out the reviews on amazon for frozen dinners. Not to mention, frozen dinners from Amazon?

And what about the danger of recalls...they're all over the place. Isn't it a good feeling to know where your food is coming from?

I'm not saying we never eat convenience foods. My kids have eaten their share of frozen pizzas, etc... We are not as "pure" as I would like to be. For the most part, however, we try to make as much from scratch as possible.

For those of you thinking, "But who has time to spend all day in the kitchen?" Eating from scratch does not have to be time-consuming. Try peanut butter spread on whole wheat bread (or almond butter, as a friend of mine recently suggested). There are always baked potatoes with a little cheese sprinkled on top, and fruits like bananas! Another fun option for homemade goodies is to create Monkey Platters (credit Sandra Dodd). You just get a variety of healthy snack foods and place them appealingly on a plate or tray. These are especially fun for little kids!

The story of the boy and his mother has a happy ending. The boy devoured his lunch, learned a little about nutrition and home economics, and even thanked his mom for the "good food" as he walked out the door.

Mission Accomplished!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Big Pile-Up In Deerfield




It's The...



Perfect



Day



For A....



LEAF FIGHT!