Bach Takes the Cake

(Or in this case, the ice cream...)  ;-)

We don't really do Halloween.

When Jeff was a child, he did, during the mostly secular years of his upbringing - dressing up, trick-or-treating, the whole nine yards.  Because of my parents' religious convictions, we never celebrated Halloween when I was young, but we surely had a ton of fun at harvest parties or other forms of alternative celebration.  I never felt deprived in the least because of the way we celebrated (or didn't celebrate, as the case may be) Halloween.

With our boys, it hasn't been a big issue.  Since they don't go to public school, they don't hear much about it, so even though they're aware of this holiday, it's not very important to them.  They do love to dress up, however; and when Josiah's choir was encouraged to dress in costume for last week's rehearsal, he was more than happy to do so.  We tried to think of what the *perfect* costume would be for him to wear to rehearsal (without us spending a penny on a new costume), and I think we succeeded.  :)

Without further ado, I present to you...  

Johann Sebastian Bach!!!

 Even though the robe was hot and the wig was itchy, Josiah gallantly wore it the whole time; and his determination paid off.  He was awarded the prize for best costume in his choir, and the reward was sweet.  Literally.  A gift certificate to our wonderful local ice cream shop.  I'll volunteer to take him when it's time to redeem it.  ;-)

 Josiah was SO EXCITED about winning the contest.  Every week, after he finishes with his choir rehearsal, he always comes to meet me in the room where David is having his choir class; and when he walked in that day, he was absolutely beaming.  Glowing.  Radiant.  Clearly, there was a huge, happy, roaring fire inside him, illuminating his face.  I was delighted beyond words for him.

And now, Mr. Bach, if you'll excuse me, I'll sign off for now...even though there is really a lot more I could say about you.  But, you see, I'm a little busy.  I've got some other things to do.  Like redo my blog design for November...and nurse my aching right hand and arm (I'm not sure how I hurt it, but it is really quite painful right now)...and finish reading this blog that I happened to discover today (ever since my maternal grandfather had Alzheimer's, my interest in books--and now blogs--about that disease has been high).  But it was certainly nice of you to drop by, Johann; and please feel free to come anytime.


Anytime at all.  :)

Recipe Box - Smoothie 2: The Jeff

"My" smoothie came from a book.  Jeff's came from his head.  This isn't the least bit surprising, of course, because by nature, Jeff is much more creative and definitely more of a risk-taker than I.  And most of the time, his creative risks pay off.  ;-)  It certainly did this time!  Introducing...

"The Jeff" Smoothie.

The ingredient list and directions are simple.  Go down to the garage and get a pint of frozen blueberries and a pint of frozen peaches out of the freezer.  Before coming up to the kitchen, go into the cellar and get a quart of grape juice.  Put the frozen fruit into the blender, pour in as much grape juice as the blender will hold, and mix it all up.  Drink.  :)

One side benefit of this particular smoothie is that it helps me be more spiritual.  Really, it does.  Every time I make it, I'm inspired to pray more.  My prayers usually go like this, "Dear God, please help the blender not to break.  Yes, Lord, please just keep it running a little while longer.  Protect the motor by Your mighty hand that parted the waters of the Red Sea.  You are powerful and good.  Thank You for Your love.  Amen."  ;-)

OK, I'm kidding.  I don't really pray exactly like that.  But it is true that making this smoothie puts our blender to the test, every single time.  You see, our blender is old--probably given to us for our wedding--and it's just a standard size and strength.  What this smoothie really needs is an extra-large, super-duper blender with a powerful motor.

Or maybe it just needs a smoothie maker who remembers to get the fruit out of the freezer ahead of time to soften up a little.  I *never* remember to do that.  But so far, our blender hasn't broken yet...and chances are, I'll still keep making this smoothie the way I always have.  It's so, SO yummy!

My poor blender...  ;-)

Pinch Me. I Must Be Dreaming.

Either that, or I'm in some kind of strange time warp, having gone to bed a few days ago in the month of October and having woken up in January or February.  Something strange is going on.  Just look at this!

They say (whoever they are) that it's been over 30 years since we had measurable snow in October, so snow on pumpkins is not a common sight at all.  Neither is snow on branches that still have some leaves.

We're so used to seeing snow on pine branches, and we marvel at how heavy the snow can be and how low the pines can bow down while carrying their weighty burdens before springing back up when the snow melts or slides off.  But to see snow like this on maples and oaks that are still wearing their autumn finery?

That's quite different; and I marveled at the sight, even while I wondered how many branches would fall because of the unaccustomed weight.  Our damage wasn't too bad; fortunately, only a few branches were broken.  It surely did seem topsy-turvy though to see the beautiful color of fall leaves mingled with the white splendor of winter's snow.

My plans for the day (loads and loads of laundry and quarts and quarts of applesauce) were set aside when we woke up and saw the enticing snow.  Opportunities this rare must be taken full advantage of.  :)  So out we tromped, the boys and I, to do all the fun stuff we could think of:  eating snow, throwing snowballs at each other, doing a little shoveling (although the sun took care of most of that for us, warming the sidewalks and driveway very nicely), making a snowman, playing in the pasture with Molly...

...and a little sledding.

The bigger boys even climbed up the slide to the trampoline and investigated how slippery and fun that was.  (As an aside, if I didn't know the boy in the picture below was David, I would have guessed, just from looking at it, that it was Josiah.  I don't normally think they look alike; but in this view of just a portion of David's face, I actually think he resembles his big brother.)

I love this next series of pictures:  I had gotten Shav all bundled and ready to go out, and we were standing on our little front porch together, I with camera in hand to snap a few photos.  Only trouble was, Shav was so unfamiliar with snow and snowsuits and snow boots that he hardly knew how to walk.  Since I was holding the camera, I asked Josiah if he could help Shav get down the steps; and this is what he did...

 1. Lift.

 2. Swing around.

 3. Set down.

 And then Shav was ready to head off...

 ...still a little unsure of his footing...

 ...but quickly getting the hang of it, thanks to Josiah's kind help.  :)

Seeing my two younger sons in the snowsuit that Shav is wearing and the jacket that Tobin has on...

...reminds me so much of the winter of 2007, when David was the little guy wearing that bright snowsuit and Josiah was the big brother with the coat Tobin now wears.  Seeing my boys wearing hand-me-downs is another way that time seems to play tricks on me.  :)

This morning, I wore the Fun Mom hat; and it really was a pleasure to get outside and play and enjoy the surprise gift of an October snowfall. In the afternoon, I turned into the Making Applesauce Mom; and--with the invaluable help of my mom--canned 19 quarts.  When Jeff got home from work, he took a look around the kitchen, saw the applesauce operation in full swing but no real dinner in sight, and gallantly said, "Should I go get some takeout for our supper?"  :)  He departed, two boys in tow, and returned a little later with subs from Subway.  He knows how to speak my love language.  :)  

Now that night is here, I'm just the Tired Mom.  It's been a memory-making, special day--with a dose of productivity thrown in for good measure--but here I sit, completely worn out and not sure I can even summon up the energy to crawl upstairs to bed.  ;-)  Based on how quickly all of my boys fell asleep tonight, it's obvious that I wasn't the only one completely worn out by all of our activities today...

...especially by playing in this wonderful, amazing, fantastic, unexpected, absolutely gorgeous SNOW!!!  :)

He Wears Africa

Last evening, Josiah, David, and I, along with my parents, had the pleasure of watching the Mwamba Children's Choir perform.  I love to do things like this with my boys for so many reasons:

1. It exposes them to a style of music much different than what they otherwise experience.

2. It opens their eyes to another part of the world and helps chip away at the egocentric, the-Shenandoah-Valley-is-the-world mentality that is so natural for them to fall into.

3. It--hopefully--helps build their gratitude as they realize that the many blessings they enjoy are not equally poured out upon all the children of the world.  (Josiah, for example, on the way home, was talking about giving some of his money to support the children there.)

4. It's fun and builds great memories in our family!  :)

After the concert, David, being the gifts person that he is, pleaded with me to buy him a necklace.  Since I know how meaningful gifts are to him (and because I was glad to support the choir and all the children they care for in Africa), I agreed.  This is what he brought home...

...and now he can wear Africa around his neck.

Hopefully, the experience we had last night and the necklace he got will help him carry the beloved people of Africa, not only on the outside of his chest, but deep in his heart as well.  

He Lives Above Our Compost Pile...

...but I do not know his name.

 For weeks, he's been living in a fine web which he built across the corner of our wooden box (cage? structure? thingamajigger?) at the edge of our garden.  Because spiders don't particularly scare me, I've mostly let him be, although I did throw a bunch of raked-up leaves on top of the compost one evening, and that disturbed his web enough that he rebuilt it in a different corner.  I haven't felt the urge to kill him because I don't think he's hurting anyone, and it's not a place where my little ones could even reach him and possibly get bitten.  I'm not sure why I think of him as a he, but I do.

But the real mystery is...

...what kind of spider is he?  The top photo shows his front side (I think), and the bottom photo shows his other side.  Besides spinning his web, I never see him do much; but he's almost always there when I toss scraps in that pile.

Who are you, Mr. Spider?

Wordless Wednesday {David Loves a Flattop}

A Special Birthday for a Very Special Lady

Twelve or so hours before the circle of life rolled around to the sad part of the wheel, our household was enjoying a much more celebratory occasion:  the 70th birthday of my dear mother.  I was so absent-minded after a long, busy day yesterday that I didn't get out the camera to take any pictures of her on her big day, so instead, I decided to dig through some old pictures and see what I could find.  ;-)  These are not high-quality, because as I dug them out of my photo storage box, I quickly snapped a picture with my current camera; pictures of pictures aren't known for their outstanding technical characteristics.  But the memories connected with these pictures far outweigh the deficits.  :)  Here, then, are some peeks back at my mother through the past dozen (more or less) years...

~ one summer (maybe '98?), Jeff and I went with my parents to Camp-of-the-Woods, for an incredible vacation there...actually, we went twice: once during the summer of '96 during Jeff's first visit to the East Coast (and his first time meeting my family) and once after we were married

 ~ while at Camp-of-the-Woods, Dad and Jeff played horseshoes

 ~ and so did Mom and I?!?!  Mom throwing a horseshoe?  I had completely forgotten about this and would not have guessed that she had ever played horseshoes  :)

~ Mother and I also played a piano duet for the camp's talent show...I'm not sure what song we played, but I'm sure our cute overalls impressed the judges  ;-)

~ when Mother came to visit us in our first apartment in San Diego, she helped us turn a funny little strip of land that our apartment opened to, into a small but fertile garden for tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, hot peppers, and even a dwarf orange tree that is still there!  (every time we visit San Diego, we drive by and look at the orange tree's branches hanging over the fence and think with a small amount of pride, "we planted that!")  :)

 ~ in those days, I was a piano teacher and had a large group of students...for our Christmas recital one year, Mother happened to be visiting, and she and I played some duets together...we didn't wear overalls this time though  ;-)

~ my parents were there for Jeff's graduation from the University of Phoenix...once they got over their initial reluctance to him pursuing me ;-), they quickly grew to love him, and have been so supportive of and grateful for him through the years

~ my mother was there when Josiah was born which was so special in so many ways (she's actually been present for three out of the four births...and the only reason she wasn't with me when I gave birth to David is because we were living in Israel at the time and she had just arrived--literally--from the States to stay with Josiah while I was in the hospital)

~ my dad came out to join us about a week after the birth; and here they are standing by a little patch of ground at our second home...once again, Mother helped us transform that into a little spot of beauty

 ~ about five months after Josiah was born, we got the call to move to Israel, so Mother came back to California to help us begin to pack

~ she also helped by cuddling sweet Josiah a lot  ;-)

A few days ago as I was driving along with my boys, they started singing, "I Love You a Bushel and a Peck," which they learned from a Veggie Tales lullaby CD.  When I heard their voices, I was swept away to when I was young and often heard that tender, silly song being sung to me.  Whose voice sang it?  My mother's, of course.  

Tonight it's my turn to "sing" it back to my mother...

I love you, a bushel and a peck,

A bushel and a peck, and a hug around the neck,

A hug around the neck, and a barrel and a heap,

A barrel and a heap, and I'm talking in my sleep

About you...about you.

I love you, a bushel and a peck,

You bet your pretty neck, I do!

Happy 70th birthday, dear Mother!  I admire the way you've arrived at this milestone with such grace and joy.  I wanna be like you when I grow up...

In the Circle of Life, There Is Sadness

Our phone rang about 7:30 this morning.  It was the neighbor.  "There's a black dog lying by the road; is it yours?"

It was.  Jasper, so intent on winning his freedom that he failed to recognize the danger, had once again slipped out of the pasture and, this time, had apparently gone into the road, getting hit by a car at some point during the night.  When Jeff went out to get him, he was already dead; and Jeff had the unpleasant task of carrying him home, then informing our boys about the accident.  Can you sense the weight of sorrow in this picture?

We got Jasper when he was just a puppy; and for over three years, he's been part of our world.  It's hard to say farewell; but with soberness, I'm reminded today that for all the joyful parts of the circle of life--like cute little puppies--there are sad parts, too--like saying goodbye to our handsome Jasper.

Recipe Box - Smoothie 1: The Davene

If I could, I would have a smoothie every day.  At least once a day, maybe more often.  I like them that much.  

There are three main smoothies that we make that I enjoy; and in my head, they are named after people.  The first, shown here, is mine.

In actuality, it's not mine, but came from someone else:  Esther Shank, the wonderful lady who wrote Mennonite Country-Style Recipes & Kitchen Secrets, my all-time favorite cookbook and the only one I took with me when we moved to Israel eight and a half years ago.  These days when I make it, I don't measure anything - just put ingredients into the blender until it's full, knowing that not only I, but others in the family, will enjoy every last drop of this delicious, refreshing smoothie that Esther calls Orange Jubilee.  Here is the recipe as it appears in her book.

1 (6-oz.) can frozen orange juice concentrate

2 cups milk

1 egg (optional) - which I always add...Josiah and David are not fans of eggs, but when it's in a smoothie, they drink it down without even noticing...I'm not concerned about the health hazards connected with raw eggs, especially because we get our eggs from our own chickens...can't be any fresher than that!  :)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

12 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in blender and process on high speed until well mixed.  Serve immediately.  (Great on a hot summer day!)  Or on a fall morning when you can't think of anything else that sounds appetizing for breakfast...or on a Sunday evening when you're still mostly full from a big lunch but need a little something to tide you over...or any other time, for that matter.  ;-)

When I Was a Child...

...my brother David and I took turns giving each other rides in a cart.  It's likely that it was the very same cart shown in these videos (taken a few weeks ago, by the way - when our weather was warmer than it is now).  The more things change...

...the more they stay the same.

Like the simple joy of riding through gorgeous fall days, in a cart, pushed by brothers.

Three Out of Four

My dad is the second of four children, and tonight we had the pleasure of having three of the four here in our home with us.  Unfortunately, the oldest child, Aunt Eleanor, lives in Florida and couldn't be here; but Uncle Rufus was here, and so was Aunt Helen, in town for a visit from her home in Chicago.  Before the party ended--rather, before it moved down the hill to my parents' house (I wonder if it's still going on down there!)--I knew I needed to get some pictures.  

The evening was filled with much laughter, lots and lots of noise, plenty of silliness.  It didn't take my boys long at all to warm up to these crazy relatives of ours.  ;-)

As a bonus, we got to celebrate the birthday of Aunt Elaine who graciously brought her own cake with her...and equally as graciously, shared the honor with my mother whose birthday is on Monday.  It occurs to me suddenly that we never did sing "Happy Birthday" like I had planned!

Well, Aunt Elaine (who is one of my most ardent blog stalkers), consider yourself duly happy-birthdayed.  If you'd like, I can wake up all the boys from their after-the-chocolate-cake-wears-off deep sleep, gather them around, and call you up so we can sing loudly over the phone.  Wouldn't that make you feel loved?!  ;-)

Tobin's Room: Before & After

This blog post is lovingly and gratefully dedicated to my friend Sally, without whom it would not have been possible.  :)  You see, Sally had been asking me for some time if she could keep the boys for me to give me some extra time to do whatever I wanted with it.  Today was the day, and I was looking forward to having time by myself to accomplish something.  With so many projects on my want-to-do list, what should I choose?  Tobin's room.

Here, in chronological order, is how my day went, showing how the project fared:

After I picked up the boys and heard all about what a WONDERFUL time they had at Sally's (Tobin kept asking, "When do we go there again?"), I brought them home, get them settled for naps and quiet time, then resumed my work.  Five hours after I started the project, it was finished.  Hooray for beginning and ending a project in the same day!  Hooray for friends who give the gift of time!  :)

After I was done, I tiptoed down to the library to check on Tobin, who was having his quiet time down there "for special," instead of in his room like normal.  This is what I found:

He's not the only one of my boys to fall asleep on this old brown chair.  :)

Thank you so much, Sally, for blessing me by giving me time, providing such a fun morning for my boys, and even feeding them lunch.  I'm grateful from the bottom of my heart!  :)

Wordless Wednesday {A Moment to Treasure}

My Favorite Picture of the Day

Productive!  That's a fitting word to describe today.  But before I report on my to-do list, here is the picture of the day:  Jeff, after a long day's work, standing by our (planned, of course) brush fire, both feeding and monitoring the flames.  He didn't even pause for supper, just jumped right in to the task at hand as soon as he got home from the barber shop.  I'm grateful for all the ways he sacrifices for us.

 So, how did I do on my to-do list?  Let's see...

1. Bring boxes of kindling from woodshed to porch, to put under air hockey table.  Done! Quick and easy.
2. Empty ashes.  Done!  Another quick and easy job.  I like that kind.  :)
3. Plant daffodil bulbs in front flowerbed.  Also done!
4. Find the mulch pile!  Just kidding, sort of.  I know where it is alright, but I will have to hack away at the plants that have grown up around it before I'll be able to actually get any mulch from it.  I did this; and you know what, it wasn't as bad as I thought!
5. Mulch the front flowerbed.  I made a good start on this one, but didn't have time to finish - maybe about two-thirds done now?  If the rain holds off, I'd like to finish this tomorrow morning.
6. Possibly plant some roses from cuttings.  I know it's not the best time of year to do this, but what do I have to lose?  I was leaning towards not doing this, but my neighbor happened to stop by this morning and she encouraged me to go ahead and try it.  So I did!  I've got two new rose cuttings hanging out in the ground tonight, protected by their very own gallon glass jar greenhouses.  Who knows if they'll survive the winter, but it only took a little bit of time and didn't cost a thing!  :)
7. Prune the holly bushes, and weed that flowerbed.  Possibly plant some bulbs there.  Add more mulch.  Started, but didn't have time to finish.
8. Weed the blueberry flowerbed, and add more mulch to it.  Didn't even touch it.  Did glance at it a few times, however.  ;-)
9. Harvest the basil that is hanging on in the garden, and figure out something to do with it.  I'm thinking of, to keep things easy, simply chopping and freezing it in small portions, since I don't have the necessary ingredients on hand to make pesto.  I didn't get to this one either.
10. Figure out what kind of fertilizing, if any, I should be doing for my fringe tree and magnolia trees; then do it.  Add more mulch around those trees.  Partially done.  I did look up some info and found out that I don't need to fertilize them now.  I did not, however, check them to see about adding more mulch.
11. Rake leaves!  I hope to get quite a few bags of leaves raked up, so we can use nature's free fertilizer/mulch in the garden next year.  I did this, but of course the project isn't done - not when, with every breath of air, more leaves float down!  I'll be working on this for a while, and that's fine with me; it's a project I truly enjoy.  I did manage to get two more bags done.

12. Have fun!  Take the time to laugh with my boys, throw leaves at them, watch them jump in a pile of crunchy yellow and gold, answer their questions:  in short, to be happy with them, and to make sure they know how deeply they are loved and how they rank higher - so much higher - than all the other projects on my list.  How to answer this?  Yes and no, I guess.  In reality, it wasn't a day that I devoted to having fun with the boys; but they ended up having an extra-special day anyway because Tuesday is the day when the wonderful Kathryn comes over to play in the afternoons.  And then, after Jeff got home, there was fire to watch and feed.  So all in all, it was a great day for the boys, even if I wasn't the primary source of fun for them.

When I looked through the photos from today, I found another one I liked a lot, obviously taken later than the one at the top of the post.  They're hard to see; but at the right side, three little/big boys are watching their daddy as he pokes the fire.  I remember how, when I took this picture, our fourth little one was sitting on my lap, cozy and warm, safe and secure.  Just like how I feel when I see this picture...

Torn...and a To-Do List

Time is the coin of your life.  It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.  Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.

~ Carl Sandburg

Always, I have more on my to-do list than I can possibly accomplish.
Always, I feel the pressure of balancing the responsibilities and obligations I have, knowing that I cannot satisfy them all to my own satisfaction.
Always, I long for more wisdom to discern what task should be moved up the priority list and what can be moved down - or eliminated altogether.

Even though this struggle is constant, I have felt it in a particularly strong way recently; and this is the form that it's taking.  "Winter is coming," I think to myself, "and there are a number of jobs that need to be done NOW.  They CAN'T be done later.  The grounds need to be 'tucked in' before winter, and I must somehow find the time to do this.  There will likely only be a few sunny, warm, really pleasant days left before the cold arrives for good, and I must take advantage of them to accomplish this work."

The other side of my brain kicks in, "But there is so much to do INSIDE the house!  Tobin's room MUST be organized, particularly the clothes that he needs for fall and winter.  Bringing out the storage boxes of larger clothes for him, plopping them in his room, and letting him rummage through them is not exactly the proper way to do things.  And besides that, the laundry is piling up, and the bathrooms need cleaned, and really, you could just start by doing the dishes.  Why are you even thinking about flowerbeds and mulch and bulbs and fertilizer?"

Another thought pops up:  "What about homeschooling?  Sure, the boys are doing fine; but are you really giving them enough time?  I know Josiah is doing more independent work this year, but how many 'Teacher Work Days' can you call without completely messing up their education?  :)  When spring comes, you'll have a new baby and it will be harder to focus on school then, so shouldn't you spend EXTRA time on it now?"

Torn.  I'm torn.  Which voice should I listen to?

I can't figure it all out; but for today, since the forecast is for a wonderful 72 degree day with bright sunshine (followed by rain on Wednesday and a chilly high of 52 degrees on Thursday), I believe I'll go with Option A and head outside.  The fresh air and sunshine will do us good, boosting our Vitamin D while we get some pre-winter things accomplished.  And besides, we can always consider this to be our Physical Education class...as well as our On-the-Job-Training (in case any of the boys wants to become a gardener or go into landscape design)...not to mention, Horticulture and Agriculture.  I do want my boys to have a well-rounded education, after all.  ;-)

Here is my to-do list for today, with some tasks being easy and quick and others being harder and longer (and since I obviously won't get all this done today, I'll refer back to it if we happen to have other sunny and warm days in which I decide to devote a chunk of time to outdoor work):
1. Bring boxes of kindling from woodshed to porch, to put under air hockey table.
2. Empty ashes.
3. Plant daffodil bulbs in front flowerbed.
4. Find the mulch pile!  Just kidding, sort of.  I know where it is alright, but I will have to hack away at the plants that have grown up around it before I'll be able to actually get any mulch from it.
5. Mulch the front flowerbed.
6. Possibly plant some roses from cuttings.  I know it's not the best time of year to do this, but what do I have to lose?
7. Prune the holly bushes, and weed that flowerbed.  Possibly plant some bulbs there.  Add more mulch.
8. Weed the blueberry flowerbed, and add more mulch to it.
9. Harvest the basil that is hanging on in the garden, and figure out something to do with it.  I'm thinking of, to keep things easy, simply chopping and freezing it in small portions, since I don't have the necessary ingredients on hand to make pesto.
10. Figure out what kind of fertilizing, if any, I should be doing for my fringe tree and magnolia trees; then do it.  Add more mulch around those trees.
11. Rake leaves!  I hope to get quite a few bags of leaves raked up, so we can use nature's free fertilizer/mulch in the garden next year.

 I just thought of another one; and truly, this one is the most important.  To make my list an even dozen, I'll add...
12. Have fun!  Take the time to laugh with my boys, throw leaves at them, watch them jump in a pile of crunchy yellow and gold, answer their questions:  in short, to be happy with them, and to make sure they know how deeply they are loved and how they rank higher - so much higher - than all the other projects on my list.

I'm not at all sure how far I'll get on my list today, but I'll begin at least.  While I work, I'm certain to be interrupted frequently; however, I'll try to keep in mind another bit of wisdom I read recently:

Much may be done in those little shreds and patches of time which every day produces, and which most men throw away.

~ Charles Caleb Colton