Pictures from the End of Summer

Waiting happily for my friend to arrive for Bible Study.

I love to say it usually doesn't look like this, but it does.  There is always a project, or twenty, going on.  I was going to do a nice post, and I still plan to, on my kitchen remodel, but this is simply the everyday picture of reality.  The pot on the stove is full of wild plums cooking so I can skim the pits out and make fruit leathers.  The crock-pot is full of oil and herbs for a new batch of Healing Balm.  The big baskets on the counter are full of windfall pears, a neighbor's tomatoes, and some early apples.  All the stuff on the island is what I'm working on for gift baskets to sell.  The four pumpkins are ones that were ripe already in the garden.  Two are now on the porch for decoration, one became dinner and some desserts and one is still sitting here next to me.  Between my Seasons~Autumn Board and my Farmhouse Kitchen Cooking Board, I've got lots of uses for the thirty or so pumpkins I've got growing!
Actually, I just looked around and noticed everything is done and the counters are really pretty clean!  Well, there is still a pile of new baskets I washed drying on the counter behind me.  I'm planning on using my late afternoons and evenings to really get cracking on making all my stuff for the sales.

All the kids love to watch and play with the chickens.  Cupcake is a bit to small still to just roam with them, but she's loves to feed them with me.  She and Pumpkin were watching these guys.

The chicks sure have grown!  We're down to four, but they seem to be going strong.

I love tea.  Have I mentioned that before?

Cupcake loves olives, so he sure enjoyed these guys. I was inspired by this pin.

Sometimes we all play with our food.

Even Pumpkin liked the penguins although he doesn't like olives to eat, they were fun to play with.

My zinnias have been a source of delight this summer.  Definitely something to grow every year.

Just a little pretty I've had for years.

After redoing the kitchen, I moved my odds and ends out of the dining room built in, put down vintage shelf paper I bought years ago, and filled the cupboard with my canning and my dried herbs in jars.  I like it.

Now, the cool mornings and lessons make me feel that Autumn has arrived.
It's the best time of year to me.

I took these pictures over the last couple of weeks and just decided to throw together this post while the kiddos are doing chores.  Time to go and get back to the other lessons!

Sharing Our Unplugged Sundays

In the midst of our huge life change of moving from Denver to rural Idaho, we were working on endless projects around the clock and seven days a week.  No one gives you a day off when you work for yourself and are trying to revive a severely neglected homestead.  After a few months, I knew I needed a change.  I began to organize my week to make Sundays easier and more restful.....




Come on over to Unplugged Sunday to read the rest of the post.  This is my new project I am excited about.  I will write more about it soon.

Score!

I just raided the bargain bins at Target and think we are set with preschool/homeschool supplies! From books and clocks to tubs and counting blocks~ we are ready to roll. I even bought two giant calculators for the boys' "computers". Pumpkin loves to type his numbers on the computer and goes up to 65. He also enjoys typing out the words he can spell which obviously doesn't work on a calculator, but he's pretty happy.

They had a ton of things we can use for their ages and so I thought I would pass it on to others out there who might be interested. I usually avoid the bargain bins area, but I am glad we saw them today.

Also, can I just say how much I enjoy driving around here? So many beautiful farms and fields with golden wheat, barley, lots of corn and sugar beets. My favorite though is the acres and acres of sunflowers. Tomorrow I am planning on taking my camera with me to the midwife's and hopefully will be able to take some shots.

I am waiting for another load of laundry to finish rinsing. I just poured some vinegar in to help soften everything. It works as well as Downy, but without the smell which bothers me. And, no, it doesn't smell like vinegar either once the load is down.

I picked up some more clothespins at Target as well to use on my new clothesline that Sweetheart hung up this morning before work. I have one load up and drying already, but I needed more pins to hang the rest. I have my grandma's old clothespin bag I am using. It is rather plain, old and faded, but the one I made a few years ago is still in storage. This one will be fine for now. (I have no idea how my everyday one came to be packed and my grandma's wasn't since I rarely used it! Such are the mysteries of this move.)

We were able to pick up some really nice furniture from Craig's List this weekend for REALLY cheap. I am almost giddy to have comfortable places to sit! Come over everyone and we can visit now and have some tea. Though since it is quite warm out today, I need to brew up some iced tea. You'd love it here. The trees are truly amazing to me.

Well, off to discover what we are having for lunch. Hope you are enjoying a wonderful day as well.

Company's Coming!

The salad is in the refrigerator, the iced tea is cooling, the salad dressing is made, the brownies are cooling and waiting to be cut--except for the one I had to try for quality control purposes, of course.

The table is set. The candles are waiting to be lit. I tried to think of the last time we used candles. Then I remembered, it was before Pumpkin started eating at the regular table. Coincidence? I think not! We used to use them all the time. Tonight's are just tealights in some low mother of pearl candle holders and set out of a certain red-headed boy's reach.

I am off to get ready with an hour to spare. Everything is clean and ready. By the time I finished curling my hair the boys should be ready to get up. I am calm. This is so nice.

Sweetheart once declared I wasn't allowed to invite anyone over anymore because I would be such a stress case and drive him nuts. I was. Now, things are ready to go early and I am happy. Why? I'm no longer trying to impress anyone. Learning that hospitality is to bless, not impress, helps a lot. So does keeping it easy and letting others help. Our guests are bringing the main dish. It feels weird, but honestly, right now, I'm glad we planned it this way. I also decided to skip a bunch of extras we don't really need and to just do a tried and true dessert that I know we'll all like since I served it the last time they were here!

Tonight, I will just enjoy--our home, our friends and the blessing of sharing a meal together. It's a nice change. Thank you, Lord, for changing my heart.

Care Request Form

I was visiting over at Sandy's and read about her ideas for sharing meals with people in need. I commented about how I've coordinated meals in the past and thought I'd share one of the forms I made to help with the process. Heidi had left a comment asking for more information on what I wrote, so here it is. (Sorry, Heidi, there was no way for me to contact you from your comment, Hope this helps!)

This is the form I fill out with all the necessary information. After it is filled out, I copy as many copies as I'll need meals for someone. This is based on a form Emilie Barnes had in her book Things Happen When Women Care, a great resource, that I adapted for my own needs. With where I'm at in life this is usually used for meals after a new baby is born, but there are other blanks for other situations.

When someone signs up to do a meal for someone I can hand them this form just filling in the date and highlighting it (by the +) that they've signed up for. They can then contact the person in need directly to coordinate drop off times, as well as have a written reminder of what they've agreed to do. I also have a blank calendar page marked with the dates food is needed. This can be easily passed around a group to allow people to sign up for the times that work for them. I have the person write her name, phone, and email, in the calendar box. When the calendar is filled out, I make a copy for the person in need and keep a copy for myself. (I'll also make a copy for the helper if they want one, but since the date in on the form they get, most people don't bother.)

Giving the calendar to the person in need helps them to see what they can expect and when. It also allow them to have the direct contact information for the helper if needed so that they don't have to try and track me down, or look up someone's number if their needs change. Keeping a copy of the calendar also makes it easy for me to do reminder calls or emails a few days in advance.

I've used this system and while it may seem complicated at first, it saves a whole lot of time in the end for everyone. I only wished someone had done this for me after Dumpling was born. I know that Sandy says she doesn't do reminder calls and the friend that coordinated meals for me doesn't either. The reality is, half of the meals never arrived. Half. That left Sweetheart and I scrambling at the last minute to do something, a problem we could have avoided if we had known in advance that someone wasn't going to show up. I had a bunch of meals in the freezer, but didn't defrost them on the nights people were supposed to bring things over. It was so bad Sweetheart even asked me to just cancel the rest of the meals. I didn't, but probably should have.

Anyway, here is a copy of the main list I use. I didn't post a blank calendar page because, well, you can just Google that easier than I can figure out how to do that in Blogger! Maybe this next time will work out better for us, though I don't think too many people will want to bring meals over in December. :) (Did you catch that?)

Hope you may find this useful yourself! There are a lot of ministries that aren't too practical for me to be involved in right now, but I can always cook! Please leave your comments, as well as any suggestions you may have.

Care Request Information Form

Person(s) in Need: _______________________________

Address____________________________________________________________________

Phone Number(s): ______________________________________________________

Email: ______________________________________________________________

Coordinator/Contact Person: ___________________ Phone: ___________________

Contact __________________ directly to arrange drop-off times and directions, if needed.

Situation:

____ Birth _____ Surgery/Illness ___ Accident/Injury

Hospital:________________________________________________________________

___ Death Family/Friend of _______________________________________________

Funeral Home: __________________________________________________________

___ Crisis Info, if Needed:

_________________________________________________

Care Need:
__ Visitation ___ Phone Call ___ Prayer ___ Meals ___ Other: ___________________

+Date Needed: _______________ Meal Quantity: _____ adult ___ children

Meal Information (Check as Applicable)
___ No Salt ___ Low Salt ___ Low Fat ___Low Cholesterol ___ Low Meat ___ No Meat ___Chicken/Fish Only ___ No Sugar ___ Other:

________ Allergies ***Read ALL Labels of Ingredients!!!



Other Notes:

Thank you for your willingness to serve!