Daybook : Sunday Before Summer Vacation

Outside My Window: The late afternoon sun is blazing down with absolutely no chance of rain expected. I'm glad it's hurricane season...hopefully a tropical depression will plop itself right on top of us and rain for days.

I am thankful for: A whole weekend with Daniel at home and that he will start his summer vacation this Wednesday. I love having him at home...me alone with my brain for too long is not a great thing.

I am thinking: how much there is to do before our new son is born. I can't believe his due date is 22 days away! A part of me would love to have him come sooner than the 27th and another part of me wants him to hold out as long as his older brother did so we can do all that we need to do to finish preparing for his arrival.

From the kitchen: Daniel made homemade ketchup from The Primal Cookbook last night for a recipe he tried out. The pork turned out delicious as today's lunch leftovers so I'm thinking the sauce portion of the recipe need to sit for a day or 2 before serving. It was yummy Daniel, thank you.

I am creating: A program that will help Fulton communicate better with his family. It will also be useful to use for the new bambino.

I am working on: finishing up several sewing UFO's including a baby quilt, a couch throw, a body pillow case, a doll for Bernadette and let's just throw in a few newborn baby pants to put the pressure on. I also had to crochet SOMETHING as I await my yarn to finish up my baby granny stripe blanket so I'm trying to whip up a little pixie bonnet for Ginny's Knit For Japan.

I am going: to try to make my blog look presentable enough to make public to invite family and friends to read it again. It's a mess right now.

I am reading: The Moffats (which I'm loving), The King of the Golden City to prepare Bernadette for her FHC next Saturday (which she is loving), The Tale of Tom Kitten (over and over again to Fulton who loves it) and I'm beginning Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell.

I am hoping: That things pick up on the job front and Daniel is able to secure a few interviews this summer. I don't really like this waiting game and I'm praying for patience and that God's Will be done in this matter.

Around the home: We're preparing for our baby's arrival by switching rooms with the children before he arrives. Were giving the kiddos the larger space to move around in. Daniel wasn't sure he wanted to make the change seeing as we may be packing up and leaving the apartment soon. I took the stance that we should go about it the way we got rid of all the baby stuff thinking we didn't need it anymore. In any case, if we do end up staying here another year switching rooms will be very difficult once our son is here and impossible once marching season begins again.

One of my favorite things: Crocheting that granny stripe baby blanket. It took a self-imposed yarn fast to realize just how much I love it. I miss working on it and I can't wait to get my yarn!

I am loving: My Pinterest account.

On our Imac: Unfortunately a little more Bob the Builder than I'd like to see...about an hour a day which is a bad habit I hope to break this summer.

Spring 2011

This spring is one of anticipation and change. My parents will turn their home keys over to new owners and become fellow apartment dwellers in the hopes of moving north on land in the near future. Each step in pursuing our dream for living off the land becomes trickier because so much of our present course now depends on external forces beyond our control. I need to remember to hold fast to Hope and God through prayer in this season of our lives. We see our future in our mind's eye and we must try to cultivate the joy we anticipate in the here and now. I think starting a small garden in a couple of pots and boxes is a great place to start.

And as we anticipate a late spring harvest our excitement mounts for welcoming a new baby boy into our midst. Bernadette will be receiving the Body and Blood of Our Lord for the first time within weeks of her little brother's arrival - Yes, it is truly a time of joy and anticipation in our lives.

Daybook

Outside My Window: It's a sunny Saturday morning with lots of lovely natural light streaming in through the windows. Across the tracks at the park there is a marathon taking place so I'm listening to the sounds of encouragement.

I am thankful for: a few hours to myself this morning so I can clean our home. And as I clean I still marvel at the great blessing we received in having found this apartment - I love it here.

I am thinking: about what our near future holds. So many major life changes are about to happen in the next few months. I have to remember to hold fast to Our Lord and turn to him for guidance and assurance. Funny how it's possible to feel such a broad range of emotions.

From the kitchen: Not a whole lot of baking from the kitchen....almond flour is a precious commodity. But for our birthdays and my in-laws recent stay, I made these delicious brownies from my favorite gluten free website. I used peanut butter instead of almond butter and I used more honey than agave. I get a lot of rave reviews when I make them. Also, I've been making quite a bit of sphaghetti from homemade pasta sauce and and sphaghetti squash. I don't even miss the wheat pasta when I make this...now if only I could convince my children to eat it.

I am creating: ideas in my head for bringing in income to pay off our student loans so I can stop working and go back to being at home full-time. I'm hesitant to tell anyone these ideas until I can get them down on paper and start acting on them.

I am working on: organizing a new home management binder. I'm excited to finish the prep work so I can start using it daily. The success of using my management system will depend on me cultivating the habit of looking at it at the start of each day and then carrying it around wherever I go. I'm hoping it will end up being an extension of my brain....a hardcopy of all the thoughts I have in my head. We'll see.

I am going: to work half time now and I love it so much better than the 6 months of full-time work. Lord, may I never have to work full-time again. Bring me home Lord.

I am reading: Gardening books. I gave up my google reader for lent and I'm seeing the fruits of that sacrifice. It has allowed me to focus my time on actually doing projects instead of just reading about them. Anybody who suffers from analysis paralysis should defintely consider managing their time online.

I am hoping: My parents sell their house. I am hoping to pay off student loans sooner than later. And I'm hoping I can get back to staying at home full-time soon.

I am praying: That all my hopes come to fruition. I'm praying for clarity in our present circumstances. Lord, what would you have us do? Lead us Lord.

Around the home: Cleaning up after letting the clutter and dust catch up with us. I'm hoping to clean it really well today and then start some sort of cleaning routine throughout the week to ensure I don't spend an entire Saturday doing heavy cleaning.

One of my favorite things: Adele's hit song, Rolling In The Deep. The drums in that song and her amazing raspy voice help me to clean my toilet with more vigor.

I am loving: A constant supply of natural light streaming through our apartment. It's so lovely.

On our Imac: rediscovered pandora.com and started downloading songs again.

Works In Progress

When I first set about learning to crochet a few years back the one thing I had hoped to learn to make was the one thing I kept putting off due to a fear of failure. Thanks to my sister-in-law I have conquered my fear and mastered The Granny! Well, maybe not mastered, but I now know it's not impossible to whip one up. I rather enjoy the process now that I have a better understanding of the construction. I can forsee a potential addiction in making them and I imagine myself spending many an evening with my feet up on the couch watching Elizabeth Gaskell and Jane Austen movies whilst I churn them out to make all sorts of things...the possibilities are endless: cushions, blankets, scarves, potholders, ponchos, brooches, bunting, slippers, washcloths etc.
Gardening books form the bulk of my written works right now. I was pleased as punch when Daniel came back from the landlord's to say she had granted us permssion to plant a garden in our apartment's backyard. Our yard is unusually large for an apartment. I reckon it's as big as our old house's front yard. It's a blank canvas of healthy grass with plenty of sunshine. We decided to build a couple of square foot gardening boxes. After a couple of season's of failed attempts, we decided to go exactly by The Book. Other reads I'm referring to are the Texas Organic Vegetable Gardening Book by Howard Garrett, because gardening in the Texas heat ain't like gardening in New England. (It seems most gardeing books I preview are written by New Englanders and British gardeners.) We are also experimenting with an heirloom tomato plant in a pot so my copy of The Bountiful Container is finally getting some use. So far, what I've learned from this book is to read the book BEFORE I set about planting anything. It seems I may have omitted and done all the things that will ensure our little Brandywine plant will die before it produces anything. Oh well, It's an experiment. Lastly, I'm reading The Backyard Homestead. I found this book about about a year ago at Barnes and Nobel and Daniel gave it to me for St. Nicholas Day this year.