Taking a Break

I am sitting here at my Hoosier in the kitchen on my red stool cutting up apples.  It has been a sunnyish day and a bit warmer.  It feels like an extra day of Autumn. 

The apples were picked from the apple trees we have out back weeks ago.  I stashed them in the basement recently just to get them out of the way, but decided I had better get to work on them before they rot.

I have been slicing off the good parts of the apples for a few hours now and needed to take a break, so here I am.  Cupcake is still snoozing and boys are playing upstairs.  Turkey broth is simmering on the stove to become soup for our dinner tonight.

Sweetheart is chopping wood to keep us warm.  An endless job it is.  Guess it is his version of laundry.

We are strolling along the days, thinking ahead to Christmas.  Except Pumpkin who is completely fixating on TOMORROW when he becomes six.  He has been waiting forever and is not quite sure he can wait so long. 

For some reason I am not as excited about my next birthday as he is.  (40)  I think it has something to do with not having done all I wanted and being who I wanted to be by then.  Guess it is good I have a few months to go.

Yesterday Sweetheart took the boys with him for a few hours.  It was rather quiet around here.  Cupcake slept a good part of the time.  I slept for a few minutes, but spent most of the time sipping tea and hot cocoa and reading Dickens.  I didn't want to waste the quiet by sleeping too much though I was tired.  Cupcake is teething teething teething and has a hard time sleeping through the night from it.  Looking at her gums, it appears as though all the rest of her teeth should be popping in this week.  I wince just to see it.

I finished David Copperfield last night before bed.  I started it at the beginning of the month and so feel quite accomplished to have finished it all so quickly.  ;)  I also read a few Mitford books at the same time.  As much as I enjoy Karon,Gaskell, Austen, and Alcott, I do believe that Dickens may be my favorite author. 

There is so much to each story.  Such a depth of characters and such a variety of them fill each story.  How he weaves so many different threads of storylines together to create such tales is truly amazing to me.  I even just love the names of them all!  They are so descriptive of each person.

Now, it is time to start on his Christmas Stories.  By the way, the DK Eyewitness Book version of A Christmas Carol is extraordinary.  There are so many details given on each page that make it all come to life.  I HIGHLY recommend it for adults and kids and it would make a great read aloud this Christmas season. Just a thought.

Well, the soup is almost ready and Cupcake just awakened so I am off for now!  Sorry for any typos.  No time to edit.  Not that I usually do anyway...

All is Well

We had a delightful time yesterday having neighbors in for Thanksgiving. Lots of yummy food and new friends make for a fun time.

I have been spending a bit of time just in my own thoughts since I have been home. I have not felt really like writing and honestly, have been too busy just working around here to sit and write. I did write a lot while I was gone and have those notes that I may share later. Good stuff.

As we are transitioning to our first full winter here on the farm, we are preparing both outside and in for lots of cold, cold weather. We are having the attic insulated which we hope will help keep us warmer. We are also installing a pellet stove upstairs in our room which should be able to keep all the bedrooms toasty. This will also allow Sweetheart to set up his office up in the attic and free up the Reading Room for our schooling room.

I will also carve out a spot up there for my own area to sew and craft. I am longing for a bit of space of my own. How nice it will be to have a place to leave out an ongoing project without having to move it all to do all the daily things. I have missed being creative. How much time I will have to be up there is anyone's guess!

It has been a quiet day around here. I removed all my autumny things and started decorating for Christmas. The kids are all engrossed in Christmas books as I type this. Even Cupcake has her own little pile of board books to read. After having almost everything stored last year at Christmas, it is nice to see all our special things again. I am finding it a bit challenging to figure out where to put certain things that always had a certain place in the old house.

All this decorating and having company in yesterday is making me want to plan a Christmas Tea. I love having them. But I will wait a bit more to decide if it something I really want to do.

Next week is a big week around here as Pumpkin turns six years old. He is more than a little excited and has been talking about it nonstop since Dumpling and Cupcake's Birthdays in September. He will be even more excited when he opens his presents!

I am enjoying reading David Copperfield as I continue my quest to read all of Dickens, in between chores and decorating.  What are you reading? I love to know what others are enjoying!  I am also doing my annual reread of the Mitford series timing it all to read Shepherd's Abiding a chapter a day through Christmas.  (Loved to discover a kindred spirit reading Dickens aloud by the fire and Shepherd's Abiding during Advent.  Hi, Missy!)

More Pictures-Multnomah Falls & Washington Park

Just Some Pictures from My Retreat

It was such a grand time! Autumn is still hanging on in Oregon. It fled Idaho, that's for sure.

Retreating

This has been a truly delightful time.  I am so grateful.  My smile is back and my heart is light.  Even with the temptation of an additional night away--thank you Dad--I feel renewed and ready to return.  I have one more special thing I get to do before I leave, coffee with tonia, and then I will be on the road.
I have written, read, slept, sketched, painted, walked, talked, been silent, taken oodles of pictures, pampered myself, enjoyed wine and chocolates, and generally just done what I have wanted.  Even better is that my Heart has been free to sing, pray, praise and delight in it all.
I am thinking and praying about how to cling lightly to all of this when I return.  There's the rub.  And yet I feel I will be able to somehow.  And I might just have to make that Stuffed French Toast with Berry Compote like I just enjoyed for breakfast.

In Case You are Wondering

I am having a truly delightful time.

R&R

 

So, I was taillights pulling out of the farm at seven yesterday morning.  I drove to Portland, stopping as I wanted, going wherever I pleased.  It was amazing.

I stopped at a few small towns along the way.  Did you know they pump your gas in Oregon?  That was a new experience for me.

With the time zone change I even had an extra hour.  I checked into my room and went in search of Chinese food.  It was awful, but I did get my haircut while I was out.  (Remind me to someday tell my stories about getting my haircut in China.) As my last haircut, not by my own scissors, was last December I was due.  Jeannine, I miss you!!!

I was back in my room by about seven and just read for awhile sipping mint tea I brought with me from our grove.  It was truly luxurious.

I woke ridiculously early, but went back to sleep for a bit.  Now, I need to get ready and go have breakfast--that someone else will cook and clean up from! 

I am heading into the city then to explore a few sights and then hopefully will get to meet up with someone special.  Having been inspired by her words and life for years now, we are planning on getting together!  

I am just a LITTLE excited.  I skipped, mind you, to the van yesterday morning.  Not an easy thing to do, skip, in boots, but I did.  And tried not to be too giddy about the fact that I wasn't the one heading out to the barn to milk Buttercup.

I miss everyone at home.  I do.  And I am totally enjoying myself here.

(Bonnie-This beats your idea of a day off by far.)  ;)

apples

This Week

It would appear that Sweetheart has my computer all put back together again. Yippee! I can blog now a lot easier and have access to my pictures.
I am not sure how much I will get done this week though. I am planning on taking a few days off. Alone. I am just a little more than excited. I am still working on my itinerary and trying to get some stuff done around here to make it easier for Sweetheart-laundry, baking, etc. We will see.