Lessons from My Garden: Surprise!

Between late planting, first tries, and weird weather -- this plant was an interesting, albeit unproductive, part of the garden this year.

Until now!

What will I make... ?  (I really do love this part, too.)

Going out to the garden is fun again -- so much color and change every few days.  Better late than never, I always say.

Lessons from My Garden: Patience

  What a treat for Linus's little hands, mouth & tummy!  I am HAPPY.

What We All Need

It's been one helluva day.  Can I say that?
Sigh.  It was rough.  So rough that I had to cancel plans with dear friends because, well, it was going to get even uglier if I didn't.

I guess I should have seen this coming.  When I think about it, we haven't done more than sleep at home since Thursday morning.  And, not even a lot of that, I guess.  I didn't see the signs.

Now that we've stopped moving, I can see my home and my children need tending.  Oh, and while I'm at it, I guess I could probably use it, too.  The kids have spread out and unwound.  I've cleaned my kitchen, done some laundry, and made some nourishing food.  Caught up with myself and caught my house up with us.

After eating, Sela and Linus scampered off to play, and I stayed at our little table -- enjoying some space, quiet, and rest.  I noticed this poster was speckled with... food, paint, and ???.

I love this poster.  It reminds me of my first career job.  It was the best job I ever had.  I grew into who I am there.  It was a wonderful place.  This poster is old.  It was old then.  It probably used to have a little color to it.  It's faded from exposure.  The poster is old, but the message is not.  When I left that job, I took it with me.  I had the sense those coming after me would see it as "old" -- as in "too ugly."  I saved it, and I hung in our playroom when Sela was born.  I hung it in our kitchen when we moved.

Today, because we all needed tending, I gently, mindfully washed away its' speckles and resecured it to the wall.  Today, when taking care of my children was so challenging, this was a good way to end the day.

How to Read & Get Where You're Goin'

Our summer reading is going so well! I'm not saying this to be braggy (as our friend says) - I'm saying this with great surprise!

To be clear, I've read very little -- but we've listened to a large handful of the books from our pie-in-the-sky summer reading list.  (We've never made a list before; that was an inspired whim that somehow has taken shape!)

So far, we've enjoyed: Thimble Summer, The Would-Be-Goods, Five Children and It, and now we're on to Swallows and Amazons. 

I, for one, am loving it.  I believe both kids are, too.  Sela asks the moment we get into the car.  Linus rarely asks for something else, although he does sometimes ask for a Raffi song by singing it (which melts my heart - tiny little voices singing song lyrics is pure, sweet magic).

We've bitten off quite a large one, this time. (Gasp!)  I hope this won't mean it's the last of our summer 2012 books!

And boy, I thought I was quite clever combining Swallows & Amazons with Mr. Putter and Tabby Row the Boat and a day trip up to paddle around on the lake.  Well -- we didn't quite make it all the way to the lake, but it was a fun idea.  In any case, the books are great, and summer's not over yet...

What We Need

This morning's activity sponsored by...

our Village.

When we accidentally checked out Mr. Putter & Tabby on cassette (rather than cd), I was finally motivated to make a last attempt at assessing the working order of any and all cassette players in our basket of such things.  New batteries in each and a solid try.  All three (!!!) were broken.  I sent out a call to our Village, and this little beauty was kindly gifted to us, no longer the loved play thing it once had been at their house.

And this was not a passing fancy for Linus. This was the day's activity.  Of course! There are buttons!  You can make it do things!  (Nobody reminds about cd scratches.)

And so, having enjoyed Mr. Putter's fine adventure many (many, many, many) funny times, I remembered having organized all our (unusable without a working cassette player) cassettes in a drawer at one point, I think...

Oh yes, here it is neatly labeled & lovingly adorned...

...open it up...

... and voila!  More gifts from our Village.  A treasure trove.

We get a lot from our Village: toys, games, meals, clothes, educational materials, organized activities -- from our entire "village" - near and far.  

But, most importantly, we receive care and friendship.

It comes in many, many forms.  I see it and feel it sprinkled throughout the course of every day.

And I am grateful.

What's on the Menu?

Cool weather & time, glorious time led us to an impromptu Cooking Camp at our house this week.

It was nothing fancy, but there was no rushing, and we made it up as we went along -- so it fit easily with anything else we had going on.

The number one (unspoken) rule for me was:

Enjoy our time in the kitchen together.

Cooking Camp wasn't on a checklist; it was just one of life's lovely little bonuses that I had time to notice because we slooooowed down.

"What should we make?"

"Apple pie & peanut butter cookies!"

Ok!

We added some other dishes, too, as time and supplies on hand allowed.

Linus "smashing to smithereens" the
peaches for peach crisp.
The kitchen is another place we can all
add our own unique flavor to our family life.

Making Banana Coins meant both kids
learning to use a new kitchen tool.

Sela asked to make apple pie and did more of the work
on it than I did.  Even the "star" vents were her vision.
Fruit pies are fantastic family cooking projects. 
Surprisingly simple to make & truly delightful to eat!

Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes about
healthy eating.
"What would you like on your salad?"
"Pie."  - Drew Carey

And, our meals were more interesting this week
(considering many of them had fruit in them, why
reserve them for dessert only?)

Banana Coins
Crush graham crackers in a small ziplock.
Add equal part ground flaxseed meal & mix.
Add sliced bananas & shake to coat.
Practice with your tongs to remove : )

Breakfast Popsicles
Stir together 2/3 cup vanilla yogurt & 1/3 cup (thick) orange juice.
Pour into popsicle molds & freeze.

Lessons from My Garden: Abundance