Memorial Day

Remembering those who have served,
and paid the ultimate price for our freedom,
we pray for those who've loved them
and been left behind.

We pray as well, for those serving today,
and the loved ones at home waiting for their return.

Images from Allposters.com

The Secret Garden Update

The robins have grown so quickly!

Just last week Sweetheart took their pictures.
They were so small you could hardly tell that there were four babies in the nest.

Then, the other morning I let Abner out into the yard. He was actually minding his own business, doing his business, when he was attacked by dive-bombing robins. He resisted the temptation to have an early breakfast. Good Boy!

That evening Sweetheart went out to the garden area and looked around. Here's what he found:


Isn't it cute? They are officially out of the nest. Sweetheart has mixed feelings about this, as it now means he has to rototill the garden. I didn't know they'd be speckled. What a cutey! Now, to go pull and till all those weeds...

Coming Soon!

Based on the webpage they put up, I'd say the NEW Victoria is on the right track. What fun!
I signed up for a subscription already even though it would be mailed until October. (There's no cost until you receive the first magazine.)
I signed up early in the hopes that a positive response from all of us old readers will help them with their advertisers and keep Victoria going strong.
In the meanwhile, I'll keep rereading my old issues.
I was looking at the Premier issue just the other day...

Little House

A few weeks ago Sweetheart returned from the thrift store with a special surprise for me. He found all nine Little House books in perfect condition. I had an old, worn out set when I was teaching, but couldn't find them in my tubs of books. What a treat to receive the whole set in such nice shape. See why I call him Sweetheart?

I've been reading them off and on since he brought them home and finished the series earlier this week. I loved these books as a child and enjoyed rereading them a few years ago. How nice it's been to visit with them again!

Laura's role as Mary's eyes to the world, I believe, made her an extraordinary writer. Her prose is simple, yet descriptive. I always feel as if I am a part of the scene, just standing on the end, watching her life. I enjoy how she also shares her feelings. Personally, having a perfect sister like Mary would have driven me nuts and I, too, would have wanted to speak my mind more.

The hardships that the Ingalls family lived through are truly amazing to me. How many of us would have given up when things got tough? Their ability to keep on persevering is inspirational to me. I've been personally convicted to stick with some tough jobs since I began rereading these because I've thought about how much harder they worked than I ever will.

It's so neat to read about a family that works so hard for one another. I want to instill that love of family into our children as they grow up. Laura became a schoolteacher, not because she wanted to, but because it would help Mary. She stuck with it even through some horrible times (the lady with the knife!) because the family was counting on her. She gave and sacrificed time and time again, as they all did for one another.

Yes, she was pretty critical of one of the preachers, Reverend Brown, whom she grew up under and she refused to have "obey" as part of her wedding vows, but she was equally kind in her descriptions of the Reverend Alden, who truly loved his church members.

All in all, I love these stories. I'll keep rereading them in the future I know, and look forward to sharing them with my own children someday.

Here's a link to a fun site that has some fun activities to go along with the books. Also, Kelli shares her experiences with her three children and their Prairie Days. What fun! Think Pumpkin's too young? I bet he'd love Farmer Boy. I think all Almanzo did was eat, do chores, and dream of horses! Pumpkin would be eating, playing, and dreaming of Airedales!

Look at Me!

I can pull myself up to standing all by my self! I am so proud of myself. Plus, you can see my cute puppy dog shoes. I'll be walking soon! ~Pumpkin

Sweet Thought

"The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom."
~Henry Ward Beecher

Image from All posters.com, Mary G. Smith artist

Orange Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I received this cookbook the Christmas before last. It is one of my absolute favorites! Every recipe I've made has been delicious. The recipes are so flavorful and usually pretty healthy. I love there bread recipes and have made several different kinds. This particular recipe takes a lot of time to make, but it's worth it.

A few weeks ago I made the Orange Cinnamon Swirl Bread for the first time. It is so good! I've already made a several batches since the first one. I bake the bread, let it cool and then slice it up and put it in the freezer. This lets me enjoy it fresh over the week as it does not last long at room temperature. (It gets hard, plus I'll just eat it all up!) The cookbook suggests using it in French toast. I've done that and think it's the best French toast ever.

My dad and stepmom gave me the cookbook. She had apparently stayed at the Garland's Lodge several times a few years ago, so when the cookbook came out she bought it. The book is full of the history of Garland's Lodge, beautiful pictures and wonderful recipes. I wish we could spend the weekend down there. The Sedona area is so beautiful.

Mystery Flowers

I love this picture Sweetheart took on our hike around the Maroon Belles here in Colorado.
Does anyone know the name of this flower?

Our Porch in All Its Glory

This is from a summer or two ago. I love how the Morning Glories take over the porch. They give so much privacy. Now, to just get this year's planted...

Morning Glory

I've found my Morning Glory seeds from last year. I guess I better get them in the ground soon. I was hoping to plant them with the sunflowers in the wildflower patch of the garden, but we're still waiting on the Robin Family to vacate the rototiller. The Babies are born and hungry. Mrs. Robin is driving Abner nuts as she flies around the yard and garden collecting food.

This Week

I am amazed that it is already Thursday evening! It's been a very busy week here.
I've spent most of my time working on a few big projects.
I created a scrapbook for my stepmother for Mothers Day. As her mother just passed away last month I wanted to make a special gift for her on this first Mothers Day without her mother. I am my own hardest critic, but I was pleased with the final result of the book. I had planned on taking pictures, but was too tired when I finished the book at midnight on Tuesday. We mailed it Wednesday morning in the hope that it will arrive in time.
As a part of the memorial service for Eleanor her four children pulled together quite a collection of family pictures going back to when their mother had been a little girl. She was almost 94. They gave the pictures to someone who made a memorial video to show during the service. My Dad secretly gave me a copy of the video on disk. Sweetheart did his computer magic and saved the pictures for me to get prints made. I did and used those for the scrapbook. I talked to my stepmother's sister on Sunday and she shared all the information about the pictures with me as we each watched the videos on our computers at the same time. I took notes and was able to add information and names to the pictures in the book.
It took a lot of time, but was fun to make as well. I hope it will be something Eileen treasures for years to come and may even pass on to a niece or nephew someday. I only met Eleanor once, but I know she was loved and will be missed.
I was able to spend a few hours in my garden the other afternoon as my mom came over to watch Pumpkin so I could work out there. I was so happy to get to spend time out there in good weather. I didn't get the garden really taken down for winter last fall as the harvest time was right while Pumpkin was in his cast. I picked all the herbs and vegetables, but didn't really do the maintenance I usually do so I have a big mess out there now. Here's picture from a few summers ago when it looked nice. This was apparently before pregnancy and babies! I am planning to try and keep it simple this year, but I've got a mess of weeds to get out first. I've learned to not really plant anything until Mothers Day because we still often have snow in May. I was surprised to find some herbs and my lettuces I planted last year up and going. I picked a bunch of them for dinner last night.

I was hoping to have Sweetheart roto-till for me this weekend. However, when he went out Tuesday night to get the lawn mower out of the shed he was in for a surprise. I guess it will be a few more weeks of pulling everything by hand and waiting to plant seeds outside of the beds!

I am imagining this is the Robin's wife from The Secret Garden. What do you think? We're planning to keep the nest when she's done with it! (Future homeschooling lessons abound!)

I ended up hosting my Bunco group last night in our home. I was supposed to be the hostess in January, but ended up canceling because that was the day I thought I might be miscarrying. It turned out to be apparently nothing as I am constantly being kicked and gaining weight rapidly at 25 weeks along! Our group meets once a month and whomever is the hostess is in charge of food and beverages. The gal who was supposed to host canceled on Monday, so I volunteered to have everyone here.

Due to several others canceling I ended up making dinner for 10. We had spaghetti and meatballs (100+), garden salad, bruschetta, stuffed mushrooms, garlic bread, toffee and a three-layer carrot cake. I made the bread and toffee on Tuesday and spent Wednesday rolling (and rolling) meatballs, baking cakes, and generally cooking up a storm. We ended up having a lot of fun with plenty to eat!

By the time that ended and Sweetheart and I washed up I collapsed into bed hardly able to move. We had Bible Study this morning and both Pumpkin and I took long naps this afternoon. It's all caught up with me. I'm going to post this and head off to bed. We'll go to see the midwife in the morning for our regular appointment.

All in all, it's been a much busier week than I've gone accustomed to. It's been filled with many wonderful things. I am tired, though. I plan on taking tomorrow slow and trying to recoup. Of course, there is a growing pile of laundry to tackle...

Here's picture from the weekend before last. Grandma babysat and Sweetheart and I drove up to the mountains for a few hours. We took a nice stroll as I cannot hike these days. This baby is sitting so high I have trouble breathing just on level ground at our regular altitude.

We found this fun little treasure at the Forest Service Ranger place. He'll grow into it! We were only gone a few hours, but missed Pumpkin so much. It was time to have time with just Sweetheart, but I think next time we'll put Pumpkin in the backpack and take him along. He is sooo much fun!

Pumpkin & Sweetheart

Rainy Day

We had such a lovely, rainy afternoon today. We had run errands in the morning and then returned after lunch. I was awakened during my nap by the rain and thunder. I continued to doze off and on for awhile just enjoying the sound of the rain on my window. Eventually, I got up to discover Sweetheart had made a pot of tea, so I relaxed a little longer with my tea, a few tea biscuits and The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Then Pumpkin woke from his nap and we were off and running again!

Sweetheart came from from work a week ago with the entire "Little House" series for me that he found at the thrift store on the way home from work. I've been enjoying rereading them. I love the entire series. I used to have the set when I was teaching, but had not been able to find them again when I looked last month. That's okay, the set he bought me is in much better condition than the one I had. Aren't the simple things in life just wonderful?

Victorian clip art courtesy of Averyl's Attic: http://www.averyl.com/attic

Victoria Returns!

Some great news discovered over at The Sparrow's Nest! Victoria Magazine is set to return this holiday season. Here is the link to the story.
Guess we'll all have something new to read instead of just rereading all our old copies. I was reading the May 1998 issue just this morning on the treadmill. I hope that it is like the original Victoria under Nancy Lindemeyer. I know I actually stopped my subscription for a time under the second editor. I wish they had never changed it!
I wish there were other magazines out there for women that celebrated beauty and joy in life. Everything out there now just seems to be filled with celebrities, advertisements and articles that in no way relate to my life. Do you have any magazines to recommend?