Tangled

We traveled today to meet friends at Red Robin's for lunch than go to the movies. On the way, we planned to pick up a pair of snow pants for Josh.

I thought I packed the kids snow pants in a box that would be accessible once we moved. I was wrong. They are among the other lost things in storage. But as Myrtle pointed out, since they were from last season, maybe they wouldn't fit the kids anyway.

So I looked on line to purchase new ones, which bothered me to have to do. I couldn't find any for Josh, but found some for Ellie for $30.00, but waited to buy them. Good thing. I remembered to check freecycle, and three people responded.

The lady had given us her neighbor's address, but didn't tell us or her neighbor she did that. So of course I couldn't find the house. The neighbor, though clueless to what I was there for, did direct me to a house up the street. Though since I wasn't sure, I didn't go knocking on the door. I wanted to call her, but I forgot the paper with the phone number on it. I tried calling my dad to look on my yahoo email, but he wasn't home, so I called Myrtle. She was able to get it for me. But the lady didn't answer, so we left and continued on our drive.

We had a nice time at lunch and the movie, "Tangled." When Josh and Ellie heard we were going to a movie, there was much excitement, and it escalated when we said it was a movie about Rapunzel. They both are enamored with Rapunzel. Gary and I felt the movie was well done. The storyline and the animation. Animation has come a long way since "Snow White."

While we were at lunch, the lady called me back and told me the correct house and that the address she gave me was her neighbor's, since her house doesn't have the address marked. I didn't mention to her that the part about the address being her neighbor's was important. On the way back we stopped at the correct house and were able to pick up the pants.

A Baptized Life

On this day my daughter was baptized. Is baptized. Jesus wrote his name on my daughter, and through her baptism He works forgiveness of her sins, rescues her from death and the devil, and gives her eternal salvation.

And I was there with her in the baptistry. It was a moment I will treasure always.

Jesus said, "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." Mark 16:16

Peter says, "Corresponding to that (Noah and the flood,) baptism now saves you - not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience - through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" 1 Peter 3:21

Paul writes, "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by
the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all
our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." Colossians 2:9-14



Now her baptism also had a bit of humor. As Pastor Mark prepared to dip her backwards, she turned to me and requested a cloth for her face. She took it, dipped it in the water, squeezed it, and placed it on her face. Now she was ready.









Here is the newly baptized girl.


Jesus first came to us as a baby. He became our sacrifice to save us, to forgive us, to do all for us.

A new thing for Christmas

Since moving to the cabin, we now will most likely be traveling at Christmas time.

Gary came home early on Wednesday, we picked Ellie up from school, and left to drive to my parents' home, where the four of us joined the other 8 people and dog there. The home I spent most of my childhood in, which had been in an empty nest state for several years, was once again filled with people. My parents of course, my sister and her boyfriend, my brother, his wife and two children, and us. It was a hopping place.

Matt and Claire brought some tasty meat from their farm. We had the most delicious pork roast, bacon, and sausage. Matt also roasted their 33 lb. turkey, which I actually haven't tasted yet, but will tonight. But I know it will be a most agreeable experience.

We got to meet my sister's boyfriend. She is quite smitten. And she acts herself around him, which means he's a keeper.

Ellie and Josh got to play with their cousins. The girls like to be creative and the boys like to play cars and trains.

We took a trip to Philly to visit Rittenhouse Town (part of our family history,) Independence Hall, and the Liberty Bell. We also watched a movie - one on the Revolutionary War at Independence Visitor Center.

Christmas Day was spent with my family, Gary's extended family, than my extended family.

Sunday was the day to drive home. It was also the day of the snow storm. The 2 hour drive home was lengthen to 4 hours, because of snow and a quick dinner stop. The road conditions were not great but with careful driving, it was passable.

We had to shovel the driveway to put the car in the basement. We decided to not use the snow blower yet. There really wasn't enough snow to warrant that monster yet.

Family day

We started with a healthy breakfast at McDonald's courtesy of Verizon. [Our refund check from July finally came.] Then off to Wal-Mart, where we split up to shop. Josh and I shopped for Gary and Ellie, and since Josh doesn't really pay all that much attention, I threw in some things for him. And Gary and Ellie shopped for Josh and me. Then we switched kids and did it again.

We had packed a lunch and ate in the parking lot. We then drove into town (Honesdale) for Gary's haircut (he finally found his new barber.) We got there 22 minutes after they closed. No haircut today. We headed home by way of the two houses that have caught our interest, even though we have no intention of actually buying right now. Neither are real winners in the beauty department. We are going more for features besides the house. The one property has a shell of a house, which really deserves to be demolished. But it has nice land. The other is a foreclosure on a busy road. But we still take a look around.

It was a nice day for a drive.

When we got back to Indian Rocks, we stopped to look at the pond. Ellie had been asking to touch ice on the various frozen ponds we passed. So we stopped to check out "our" pond. We ventured out on the frozen water a bit, which the kids enjoyed. We took a walk around it, stopping to check out the ice here and there. There was one spot near the pond where there was standing water that had frozen. I had fun running and sliding on it. The kids wanted to do it too, though they aren't quite masters of their balance yet. Nor do they know how to slide on ice. So I held their hands and we'd run and slide together.

We threw pieces of ice across the pond to see how far we could get them to slide. We chased each other, we pretended to be trees.

We headed home. Lit a fire that eventually smoked us out. Had leftovers, took showers, sang advent hymns, prayed, put the kids to bed. Paid bills, blogged, did dishes, and will put ourselves to bed. Very soon.

It was a great family day. Good night.

No more cozy fire

The fireplace hasn't been cleaned in ages, if ever, so I called a chimney cleaning place. Also, lately when we have a fire, the house gets quite smokey. We end up closing the doors part way and letting the fire die out.

After a look-see the chimney man said the Heatilator insides are all rusted out (which is why there is smoke in the house when we have a fire) and expensive to fix. We either stop using it, or get an insert.

It cost $49.95 for chimney man to tell me this.

Did I mention that we just bought a cord of wood last week?

By the way, when chimney man came to the door, the first thing that popped into my mind was the image of Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins" when he is the chimney sweep. This fellow could have been part of the cast. Except for he wasn't sooty yet and a little older.

Are we done yet?

Yesterday we had settlement on the sale of our house. Everything went smoothly and we no longer own a home. I am sad, but relieved. No longer do we have a too-high mortgage hanging over us. We will be smarter in buying another house.

We do have a storage unit to root through, though. I forgot to flag stuff going in, so now some things we want are lost. And you can see in the "storage" post, it is quite packed. It is a 10x30 space. Only about 8 feet is available to walk into. I try not to think about it.

And we took the camper to Gary's dad's house. We have some boxes at my parents', which we will take with us back to the cabin. Everything else is in storage.

While at Gary's dad's we had a break from child watching. Judy took over for us. She and Ellie made cookies. Josh played trains. I watched a movie. Gary read.

My mom and Ellie made cookies together as well. I pitched in after Ellie moved on to something else. My dad, Gary and Josh took my dad's Lionel steam engine to the train shop to have it fixed. Josh enjoyed himself. He also followed my dad around after they got home and called himself a worker.

This visit to Lansdale was much less stressful than the previous one.

In storage

On the way to meet the movers (I was going to the right place,) I received a call from them. They were at the wrong storage area. Even though I previously called the movers and told them of the address change for storage areas, the truck was still at the wrong place. So we rerouted ourselves and met the moving van at the wrong storage area. They followed us to the right one. It wasn't the moving company's first mistake.

They got their truck into position, and Josh and I settled in for 4 hours of watching the movers move our stuff into the unit.

It was a cold day. I would run the heat now and then to get the chill off, but even then my lower legs never warmed up. Josh spent the time eating his lunch, roaming around the car as best he could, and doing puzzles on the iPod. He was well behaved for being very confined for four hours. All the while, we listened to music.

The unit is packed floor to ceiling. They did a very good job of getting it in there. Almost too good. There is no way to access anything. I was hoping for an aisle. All I got was a skeptical look from those guys.

Doctor's visit

Josh had his four year doctor's visit several weeks ago and I am just getting around to write about.

I liked the receptionist's personality. She was nice and helpful. The nurse seemed nice when we walked back with her to get Josh's weight and height. He is not fond of being weighed and measured. Then while walking on to the exam room, another nurse waylaid us and started asking me questions about Josh. Right there in the hallway. It was not very private. I was not to fond of that. We reached the exam room and the nurse took his blood pressure and said she was going to check his iron. If you've given blood, you know they prick a finger to check iron. He wasn't too fond of that either. The nurse's kid-side manner degraded, as Josh became less

Then I undressed Josh, and he got to wear a cute paper robe. He wasn't impressed; his finger hurt. He also wanted to know what the doctor was going to do to him. The doctor came in and did his thing. He checked out Josh and asked me more questions. One of which was if josh was potty trained yet. I answered no. He asked why with (in my opinion) a disapproving tone. I said he has no interest in using the potty. [This is a sore issue with me. Josh just won't tell us when he has to go. He sometimes goes if we make him go, and he refuses to do his other business on the potty. We've scolded, bribed, taken things away, spanked, and reassured. We've tried putting him in underpants (messy) and pull-ups (expensive.) He still behaves as if he is wearing a diaper. So that's what he is going to wear.] Generally, the only time he uses the potty is first thing in the morning. And he'll do it all himself. But that's it. Then it's back to diaper duty for me.

Anyway, I wasn't impressed by the doctor and will try another in the practice for Ellie's well visit. After the doctor left, the nurses came back in for Josh's vaccines. Three of them. They pretty much ambushed my child, with me as an accomplice. They each took an arm, while Josh sat on my lap and held his arms down. He struggled mightily. The one nurse took hold of his chin and scolded him that he needed to let her stick a needle in his arm. She wasn't very gentle with a very upset boy. Needless to say Josh is not too fond of shots.

After we left, I asked myself why I let the nurses treat my son like that. Why didn't I step in and say stop. Or at least do something different. And it bothers me most because I have seen the way my friend has been treated by people who are suppose to be helping but don't and I had less than caring treatment when Josh was born. But knowing that, I still feel like I didn't stand up for my son. I know he wouldn't have listened to reason, but still I wish I had handled it differently.

Moving Day

This day could have gone much better. I requested a specific mover man, who wasn't there. I also requested they wrap the furniture with paper pads to protect it in storage, which they didn't bring. One of the workers said our stuff wasn't all going to fit in the truck, but another worker said he wasn't worried. They tried shoving our refrigerator through a doorway too small for it before measuring, though no damage was done. They were unaware that everything was going to a storage area and didn't pack the truck accordingly.




Gary's brother, Mike, and Mike's friend, Chris, came and were a huge, enormous help. We were so glad Chris was there. His father works for the moving company and was the one we requested, so he knew a thing or two to help us.

We were not that happy with our movers.

Sister of my Heart

While reading something my dear friend Myrtle wrote about me, I kept thinking "well of course, who wouldn't." If your friend needs help, who wouldn't give her help. If she's hot, cool her down. If she can't find something, help her look. If she's hurting, comfort her. If she finds solace in hymns, record yourself singing them and send them to her. If God's Word brings her peace, read it to her.

I makes sense to me to do these things. I don't find the things I do for my friend extraordinary. In fact, I remember the sinner I am, and think I can't possibly be a good friend.

But I grew up in a Christian home, Myrtle did not. I come from a family of people who do things for others. Myrtle does not.

So when our worlds collided through our friendship, her whole view of love and friendship was challenged. And continues to be. She struggles mightily with understanding my love for her. All the things that come naturally for me are foreign to her, even after 15 years. But Christ continues to work in her, reminding her of her baptism and what He's done for her. Letting her see, through me and other specific people He's placed in her life, that love is not the lies she's been taught.

Through her and her struggles, Christ is teaching me. I have a new understand of what Christ has done for me in my baptism, and what He is still doing for me. Baptism as a whole has changed for me. Baptism saves; how I didn't see this before astonishes me. Baptism is not just some thing we do to show we are followers of Christ. It is something He does for us. He writes His name on us, claiming us as His.

The Lord's Supper has also changed for me. I am taking in Christ's body and blood. For forgiveness. Cleansing me from my sin. Every time I take it in. It isn't an act I am doing to show I am His follower. He is doing the work, He is offering Himself. To take my sin, to give me forgiveness.

The proper distinction between law and gospel is another new thing for me. The law points out my sin, my need for a savior. The gospel is the grace and mercy I receive from Christ, in spite of my sin.

Loving another person is hard work. But it is also very easy. Myrtle is in my life because Christ brought us together. How can I not love her with the love Christ has for me?

One last hurrah!

Ellie stayed in her pajamas again, though Josh and I got dressed. They played awhile today instead of a PBS marathon. They did get to watch TV while Mommy got a shower and made lunch.

For something different, Gary came home and had lunch with us.

And instead of Ellie having a rest time, she got to spend time with me. I gave up my alone time to spend time with her. We had a special afternoon. I still had laundry to hang, which by the way is a frigid activity when it's only 30s, so we played Wiz Kidz while I did my task. When we came in, we played Phase 10 Dice. Ellie won. Gary says she has my game playing gene.

We ended our day with the kids with dinner and a movie - Veggie Tales Pistachio: The Little Boy That Woodn't.

Gary and I will end our day with another movie - The Natural.

Coming to an end

Tomorrow Gary goes back to work. His Thanksgiving vacation is over. It's been a good four days. Ellie still has off tomorrow, though we suspect it has nothing to do with Thanksgiving.

But more to do with deer hunting season. If you can follow the different areas and animal allowances, I think non-archery antler and antlerless deer hunting season starts tomorrow in our area. It is really hard for me to follow the list, but some of Gary's co-workers are taking off tomorrow to hunt. So something having to do with killing deer is starting tomorrow.

Since our move is next weekend, and we have some stuff to move before the movers come, Gary is taking off Thursday and Friday. We'll be having another long weekend. But decidedly not as relaxing. No lazing around in PJs this weekend.

Another thing coming to an end is Ellie and Josh falling asleep in the same room. Of course that privilege also depends on their behavior in the room once the lights go out. If it still sounds like romper room, then they get separated anyway. Though they just have to tough it out two nights, then they are back to sleeping together in the bunk beds at my parents.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are having a fine day here at the cabin. We decided that it would be best to stay put this Thanksgiving. So for four days the four of us will be at the cabin all day. Good family time. No running around, driving two hours to Lansdale, then going around to different family two hours back.

We again are in our pajamas. We had a fire up until the activity of dinner was more important than fire keeping. I plan to stoke it up soon. Well, actually start it again, since it went out completely.

Our menu included: the all important turkey, mashed potatoes, squash, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, corn, and biscuits. Dessert is apple and pumpkin pie, with homemade whipped cream.

Gary and I usually both make dinner. He cuts up what goes in the turkey, and I do the turkey handling. I make the cranberry sauce, since he doesn't eat it. He makes the stuffing. Ironically, we hardly had any of our own spices for this meal. I did the apple pie, he made the pumpkin. He also cooked the squash and the biscuits. I made the gravy and the mashed potatoes. I also worked very hard opening the can of corn, which was the only thing from a can. [If we were in our kitchen in Lansdale, we would have had fresh frozen corn from last year.] We made everything else from fresh ingredients.

It was our first attempt at pumpkin pie made from pumpkins. It will not be our last.

While the food prep was occurring, the children spent time watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, PBS kid shows (incidentally whenever I say they watch TV, 99.99% of the time I mean PBS,) the National Dog Show, and some football. They also built a fort, played with toys, and colored.

Josh is really only smelling the pie, though it looks as though his whole face is in it. He actually won't be getting any, since he wouldn't finish his dinner.

A turkey

A few weeks ago we purchased 5 chickens from a local farm. We were going to have one of those for Thanksgiving. But Gary decided he really wanted turkey, not chicken. So on Tuesday I went on a turkey hunt. We wanted a farm fresh turkey, but orders were already taken. I emailed four "local" (remember local around here could be 45 minutes or more away) farms. Two responded. One with a maybe. The maybe turned into a yes.

After a quick dinner of grilled cheese, we piled into the car and drove 40 minutes to Bohemia, PA. Our turkey is 15 lbs. Only four people will be eating it, two of whom hardly eat turkey. Needless to say we'll have leftovers. A lot of leftovers. We talked a bit with Annette. We learned how they started their farm endeavor. She also gave us two squashes. She told us the kind, but we forget it. All we remember is that she said the Amish call it dessert squash, because it's sweeter than most squash. Talking with her is like talking with my brother, Gary says. You ask them one question about the farm and their love of what they do spills out. We love it.

We then went to the grocery store, since we had forgotten the celery and onions for the stuffing.

Once home, we took a look at our bird and realized we had nothing big enough to roast the thing in. I made a second trip to Weis. They were not closed yet. At 10:00 at night, I picked up a few more things that were forgotten. Gary was concerned for my welfare, so I called him from the cell phone as I walked out the door, and we talked during my trip. While I was at the store, Gary started the roasting process for the pumpkins, squash, chestnuts, and bread.

After I got back, while Gary finished his roasting and such, we watched "Robin Hood." Bedtime came around 2:00 am.

Home with two kids

Yesterday at 12:00 noon started Ellie's Thanksgiving vacation. She might not be counting, but I am. She starts back next Tuesday.

Today we stayed in our pajamas and watched TV, with a fire to keep us warm. When nap time is over, there will be more TV, maybe popcorn. I've kept the fire going and currently I need to get more wood.

I have also organized all our paperwork and filed said paperwork. Around here paper has a way of somehow multiplying and taking over surfaces. I did two loads of laundry and have much folding ahead of me. I tend to get it washed and dried but not folded. I also played a few online games and posted!

Now I have to prepare dinner - grilled cheese and tomato soup. And get the wood.

P.S. The photo is the kids listening for water in a pipe. This summer.

Catch up

The house is painted, the termites taken care of. I think the house is ready to be sold.

Gary's mom has been HUGE help in packing. Each time we talk she's put more things in boxes. She also has our one cat, Patches. Patches is more of a one person, one pet cat, then a four person, two cat, one dog cat.

Kalli is with us at the cabin. She has spent most of her time under our bed. She does come out at night to eat and do her business and to take up room on the bed and walk across our pillows. She gets booted if a paw touches my pillow. She still tries, though.

On the trip up, we had to stop to clean up her accident. She pooped and peed in her box. Not pleasant, especially in a car. Then since Ellie woke up from the activity around her, she had to go to the bathroom. We were right near a state park, which thankfully hadn't closed their restrooms for the winter yet.

I tried posting every day this month for National Blog Posting Month, but I didn't say anything. I knew I wouldn't be able to do it. I just can't seem to manage it. I'm lucky if I post once a week. But I'm okay with that.

He turns 4!

My boy is four. He is full of life and giggles and goofiness. He is not fond of bugs and using toilets. He loves trains and cars and drives his versions everywhere.





This year's train cake. I lead Josh to pick the pan cake with a train drawn on, instead of an actual train cake.











While hugging the pan, he declared he loved his train cake. Apparently the drawn on train was good enough.










Besides the train trip, he got a handmade wood car and a stuffed husky dog (from Ellie.) Gary went looking up the type of car and found it to be a 1937 Jaguar Roadster. And the dog is a Webkinz, but we weren't impressed with the computer program.

All Aboard!

The Josh birthday train has left the station. We took Josh to Steamtown National Historic Park for his birthday this year. He and a blast as did Ellie and the parents and Grammy H.



Ellie is sporting a conductor's hat, gloves to protect hands and a signal lantern.










On the train.












Upon leaving the train, I read this message: Spitting is forbidden.











Gary almost enjoying a fine cooked meal in the train's dining room. (This is not the train we rode. This is a train car in the museum.)








Anyone needing the facilities on the caboose?
















Josh enthralled with a video.













The round house, with a turn table in the middle.













The steam engine of the train we rode on the turn table.












Ellie became a Junior Park Ranger.














Ellie and Josh sitting in front of Big Boy, one of the largest engines ever built.

Happy eyes

I am back in my contacts. As first I thought there was no improvement, but then realized I had the right one inside out. I am still feeling the need to squint while typing this post though. What's that about? I am tired of having issues.

The house

The house inspector was by the house last week. After much to do, all we are to do to satisfy the buyers is to pay for termite treatment. They wanted the pellet stove, but we said no.

The inspector for the FHA loan is another matter. He has a problem with the peeling paint, which just happens to cover every exterior surface that isn't brick. Although it isn't official yet, we will most likely be required to repaint all wood surfaces on the outside of the house, including the garage. And windows. And the inside where there is peeling paint. But hopefully nothing else, we pray.

A nightmare, to say the least. We called Gary's uncle who is a painter and not currently on a project. He and other family and friends will be painting over the next week.

We thought, "What if we say no." Our realtor said 24 out of 25 loans are FHA, which means the next buyer, whenever that would be, will most likely be getting an FHA loan as well. So, we're stuck.

We thought we'd be able to pay off some debt with selling the house, but all we are doing is going in further.

The cabin will be our home for a lot longer than we thought.

The third one

Little Miss lost her third tooth today. She knocked it out while playing after school at the bus stop. Now she did knock out an already very loose tooth. So loose, in fact, she could make herself look like Mater.

Although it was hardly attached, there was much blood.

The Observer

The women looked on as the old man shuffled off the porch. She had been to the store to purchase some everyday items and had watched the man deep in his memory. She wondered what in his past affected so. Pain, hurt, love. She thought of the rocking chair, and how it came to be on that porch.

The winds blew around her, pulling strands of hair from her pony tail. She was 11. It was an unusually cool summer. At that time, the porch only held backless benches for resting one's weary bones. The owners, a couple who had been there since forever, didn't mind the occasional sitter, but certainly did not want anyone sticking around too long. The porch was attached to a general store, the only one in the small town.

Shielding her eyes from the sun, she saw the uniformed man step off the bus. He held a duffel bag and a wooden box. He glanced up and down the street, but no one came to welcome him. Adjusting his belongings, he walked down the street in the direction of the general store. She didn't recognize him and wondered who he was.

An allergy

I have the unfortunate experience of being allergic to eye care solution. Walgreen's hydrogen peroxide cleaner is now off limits to me. My eye doctor said my eyes were irritated and slightly puffy. All I noticed was that my right eye had a slight ache and my vision would blurry easily. And to top it off, since it's not a vision issue, but a health issue, I had to pay the specialist's co-pay, instead of it being a free consult.

I am to wear my glasses for eight days and use some eye drops. It's only been one day, and me and my head are tired of wearing my glasses.

The Rocking Chair

The empty rocking chair sat alone on the porch. It rocked gently in the breeze. Over and over people walked by, but no one sat. No one took a moment to rest in the chair and to reflect upon his day. Days past into nights. Nights, back into days.

Finally one sunny day, a little boy let go of his mother's hand, when he saw the chair. But he did not see a chair; he saw a rocket ship. He climbed in and soared up into space. As the brilliant blue turned to black, he dodged stars and zoomed past the moon. He rocked invaders and saved the earth from the sun's death rays. Her voice called him back to earth, and the rocking chair was empty again.

Days pass by again. Walking home from school, a young girl sees her throne. She sits upon it with majesty and grace. She listens to her subjects and resolves their differences. The porch becomes the ballroom floor. She spins around her throne, watching her pink dress twirl and twist. Her crown tips back on her head, while she glances around her kingdom. As she chases her next dream, the chair is empty once more.

An old man, worn by years of hard work, sees the chair and remembers. He is back ages ago, holding his child. He sits in the chair and rocks his baby. He hums the lullaby that quieted his newborn, sent his toddler to a blissful sleep, and carried away the troubles of his teen. His eyes are closed, but tears
make their way down his cheeks. The rocking chair is still. The man pushes himself up and shuffles off the porch. The lonely chair waits.

Looking Healthy

We make our own ketchup, salad dressing, soups, sauces, pickles, desserts, to name a few. I have, unsuccessfully, been trying to get a loaf of sandwich bread right but am currently taking a break from that. We add to our list when we find something else that has stuff we don't want to consume. Like last night, we made tomato soup. Most people just open a can and never even think to make it themselves. The soup wasn't hard to make, and it made enough for two meals. If you want to try it, let me know. Since seeing how easy it is to make freezer jam at MOPS, I will now be making that.

Keeping away from the processed foods finds us making a lot from scratch, using mostly natural and organic ingredients. I read almost every label that goes in my cart; it can take me a while in the store. I try to buy local food, at farm stands. If I can, I buy meat from local farmers as well. If I can't, I buy the antibiotic-free meat at the store, and hope that the free range label actually means free range. I even ask for nutritional information at the deli. Some people might call me obsessed. I think not. I believe I have a right to know what's in my food.

A few weeks ago at my doctor's appointment, my doctor surprised me by asking if I had a healthy diet, if I watched what I ate. Apparently whatever I am doing is making a difference.

Side note on high fructose corn syrup - have you seen the commercials for it? Where they try to tell you it is just like cane sugar and your body processes it the same. That it is fine in moderation. Well, tell me HFCS industry, since you put your product in nearly everything, how can I only consume it in moderation? In looking up info on HFCS, I did learn one thing: subjects gained more weight when HFCS was in their water and their food, then when it was only in their food. So, the first place to rid HFCS is from your drinks.

A peck and a half of apples

That many apples gets you almost 9 pints of applesauce and one apple pie. At least I think it was a peck and a half of apples. You can see the bags on the table. One is a peck; the other two are left overs from a peck, which I think equals about half a peck, give or take.

Here is the set up for our applesauce/pie production. Josh is modeling the apple corer/peeler/slicer. See below for video of the boy at work.





Mister ham bone asked me to take this one. Usually, I can hardly get him to stand still for a photo. He's saying, "Cheese."











Apples cooking down.











Straining the sauce.









Finished product. These are from the left over peck, since you still see the peck bag behind the jars.

The entire process took over 5 hours, interrupted only by lunch and getting Ellie off the bus. Though the apples were still cooking down at lunch, and sort of cooking down while I was gone to get Ellie, since for safety, I turned the stove off. I did the applesauce in two batches, with a pie in between.




I'm tired.

And to top it off, we made homemade tomato soup for dinner. Or Gary did, while I finished up the applesauce.

Of course we had some pie for dessert.

Commas and semicolons

My mother-in-law asked me proof-read a writing assignment for her English class. She claims that writing isn't her thing, but what she sent me was good stuff. She has a writing gene in there somewhere.

I decided to investigate semicolon usage, of which I haven't been as sure, and brush up on my comma usage. Semicolons have four main functions, and commas have many.



I'm glad I learned a thing or two about semicolons, and I chuckled when I read this sentence about commas: "Some essays look as though the student loaded a shotgun with commas and blasted away." According to that person, commas are highly overused.

Signing

We finally have ourselves an offer on the house. It isn't the greatest, but it is one. And we're signing it. Settlement is scheduled for Dec. 10th.

Organizing, again

If you look at this photo, you will see quite the array of products on the dryer. It has been like this ever since the shelf that held it all fell off the wall. You can see the outline of it on the wall behind the washer.





I decided that it has been that way long enough. I tried rehanging the shelf. Not worth it. So, I hauled the decrepit dehumidifier out from beside the washer and dragged over the former TV cabinet and put it in its place. Now I have space for the clothes cleaning products without cluttering the dryer and getting in the way of using said dryer. I am much pleased with this new set up.

A new washing experience

Last week the washer decided to break. It wouldn't stop filling the tub with water. I had started a load of sheets and went upstairs to help Ellie get ready for school. When Gary left for work at least an hour later, he decided to check something in the cellar. The washer was still filling up. Water was covering the floor.

I called Dad later to ask him to see what deals Lowes had. He called back later to say he and Mom would buy a new washer, he had one picked out and would I be home Thursday for it to be delivered. Well, if someone is going to buy me a new washer, I'll be home whenever I need to be.

I was secretly hoping for a front loader. But it isn't. It's just as good. It is a top-loading, low water washer. I really like it. A lot.







Here is a label on the inside of the lid that compare it to a regular top-loader. And it shows the low water.

I did at least 3 loads the day it came. The next day I did a load and it got stuck. It wouldn't unlock the door and it wouldn't continue in the cycle. I called Whirlpool. The helpful lady said to unplug it for a few minutes to reset it. It didn't work. So, on the second day I have this wonderful machine, I also have a work order. For Monday. But it's Friday. My wet load would be sitting for three days. Stinky. I decided to try the reset option again. I unplugged it and went upstairs. When I came back (longer than a few minutes) and plugged it in, it did reset.

Yummy stuff

I decided to do a variation of our regular pizza. Barbecue chicken pizza. Instead of pizza sauce I used barbecue sauce and topped with cooked chicken. But since we didn't have any barbecue sauce, I made some. It was tasty stuff, and I've included the recipe below. The adults thought the pizza was good! The children prefer regular plain cheese pizza.

Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ medium onion
2 medium garlic cloves
½ cup cider vinegar
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup ketchup

Method:
Mince the onion and garlic and sauté in the oil until translucent.
Stir in remaining ingredients (apart from the ketchup).
Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down.
Gently stir in the ketchup.

Enjoy!

A Toasty Fire

We had a fire Monday night. It was toasty, and we all enjoyed sitting in front of it.

I suggested we sing some hymns, and Ellie piped up that I should play my flute too. I'd play one stanza and then sing all the verses. Then I read from the book 101 Things Jesus Has Done for You. And Ellie wanted to read from the Bible, so I read the passage from John, which corresponded to the reading from the 101 things book.

We all prayed and then the kids went bed. It was a lovely family time.

I looked up how to bank a fire to save the coals for the next morning. It worked. The hot coals from Monday night's fire lasted until the following night, while being banked several times.

But last night we decided to let it go out. It's still not really cold enough during the day for a fire. Yesterday the novelty of trying to bank the fire was the main reason I kept it going all day.

It's gotten cold enough at night, though. We've had frost several times now.

There is a distinct odor in the cellar

When I first smelled it, I was getting something out of the refrigerator. It smelled like something died in it. Later that day I remembered that corner is where the pest control guy said he could see mouse activity in the insulation.

Back in college I took a class (I can't remember it's title) where all us students each received a dead rat and found a location outside to put it to study it's decomposition. [Fascinating class. I'll tell you more if you want.] So, I know what dead animal smells like.

It's been about two weeks since we put the poison out. You take a guess as to what I am smelling.

Look at the difference

I was cleaning my pizza stone after dinner tonight and was reminded of the difference between three of my Pampered Chef stone wear pieces.

The pizza stone - oldest and most used - nearly black
The small bar pan - newer and used - brown
The large bar pan - newest and hardly used - tan

A small farm dream

I don't know if it's actually a dream of ours or not, but Gary is taking a class on it. I would be taking it also, except for we don't have anyone to watch the kids. The class is suppose to help you decide if a small farm is the way to go. His homework this past week was to interview a farmer. Gary said he didn't know any, so he'd have to skip that part. I think he was thinking of large scale, but I reminded him of my brother and sister-in-law. They have a small farm, are feeding families produce through CSAs and are raising some livestock. Farm indeed.

We would like to have chickens, and I also like the idea of bees. Though Gary likes honey, he is not at all interested in having needles with wings around.

We really like the idea of a cow, but there is more involved there. But through this class Gary found out about miniature cattle. And that is possible for our small farm dream.

Here are two little guys next to a fence. As you can see, they are quite shorter than regular size cattle. They eat less food, require less land, and produce much less milk.

And the added bonus is they are so cute.

The moms are coming

My mom is coming for grandparents' day at Ellie's school. I am excited since she is coming a full day early to spend time with us. We are going for a drive and I am going to show her around the area (even though she's been coming up here longer than I have been alive and apparently hasn't been anywhere.)








Tomorrow Gary's mom is also coming for grandparents' day. And she's staying an extra couple of days. We can go driving around too.

I like when family comes to visit.

Some Whys of to not to

July 19, 2009
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 Peter 3:22
¹⁸For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; ¹⁹in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, ²⁰who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.

²¹Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you--not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience--through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,²²who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Psalm 103:1-4
¹Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
²Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
³Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
⁴Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deuteronomy 30:14-16,19-20
¹⁴"But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.¹⁵"See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity;¹⁶in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.

¹⁹"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,²⁰by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mark 9:23,24
²³And Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes." ²⁴Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2 Thessalonians 2:15-17
¹⁵So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were (and are being) taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.¹⁶Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,¹⁷comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. (This is gospel.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Philippians 4:6-7
⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! ⁵Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. ⁶Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Philippians 1:3-6
³I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,⁴always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, ⁵in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

The Last Day, but yet . . .

. . . we are going to the Post Season.

Today is the last day of the regular baseball season. Phillies have the best record in MLB in 2010.
A CORRECTION: There are only 162 games in the regular baseball season.

Back to Lansdale

On the way back to Lansdale, Josh decided to play "What's in that truck?" He would see a truck, which was about every three seconds and ask what was in it, fully expecting us to know the answer. Our most common answer was "I don't know." The game started by Josh asking what was in a Shop Rite truck. We knew the answer satisfactorily to that question. In his mind, we'd know for every truck and started the game. After many "I don't knows" later, I suggested they look for a round truck (tanker.) Than a brown truck (UPS.) Than a horse trailer. It became a game of spotting different kinds of trucks or vehicles.

A happy report

I am happy to report that there appears to have been no mouse activity last night. There were no droppings and the poison had not been disturbed.

Yesterday I got to cleaning up the droppings in the closet. As it turns out, they were a little busier than we thought up on that shelf. If you didn't realize it, Gary's hat makes a nice place to eat poison. I had to take everything off the entire shelf, wipe it down, and clean the shelf. I washed all the hats and cloth bags I had sitting up there. Everything is back in order and I will be putting a container up there for all the non-wipeable things.