Monday Musings--1 July 1013

Right now...it is after 2:30, and I am taking a well-deserved break!  The kids are all playing quietly--an almost unheard of miracle--and there is the sound of distant thunder.  It is actually cool enough right now that I have windows open to catch the breeze.  Actually, it isn't totally quiet; Gemma is chattering away to herself as she plays with a deck of cards.  I wish I could record it, it's so incredibly charming.

This weekend...was pleasant enough. Saturday Bret went to move bales of hay up at the KY property and spent a few hours working with my brother-in-law taking down pasture fencing.  He was gone all day, and had forgotten his phone.  I had some cleaning to do in preparation for a priest-friend's Sunday visit, and we made chocolate ice cream and I put an herb rub on a couple of gorgeous pork loins (thank you, Pink Floyd!)  It was a pretty exhausting day, but I felt pretty good at the end of it.

On Sunday we went to an early Mass and picked up a few things at the store before heading home to prepare for Father's visit.  He came in the early afternoon, and we all really enjoyed the visit.  Dinner was very tasty, and the ice cream turned out very well, and after dinner, Father showed us photos from his trip to Ireland and Scotland a couple of years back, which I enjoyed, and then I pulled out photos from the two months I spent in Ireland back in 1990.  He stayed late into the evening and gave us a blessing before he left to go back home.

Some plans for this week: today was--and is--a foodie day.  This morning I made butter, which is chilling and still needs to be finished; I put up yogurt, put up water kefir, made a half-gallon of Bret's Pu Ehr tea, and rinsed my salad sprout mix and put it out to get green.  I still have sourdough starter to put up and I need to blend some berries with some cream and stevia for frozen fruit bars.  I really want to get one of these in the future, so that I can make bigger batches. I printed out all the school worksheets for this week, did two loads of laundry finished school with the kids and read a few books to Gemma.

I don't know what we are doing for the 4th; we have a chance of thunderstorms every day this week.

I do know that I have only two weeks until Gemma's 4th birthday, and I still have a few clothes to make for her baby doll.  I know I won't have time, but she would love a baby back-pack carrier for her doll.  She has, apparently, fond memories of me carrying her around in the Ergo.  I need to search Etsy and Pinterest to see if I can find an easy design for one I can sew up myself.

I also need to bake bread.  I've been lazy about it, but the store-bought stuff is just kind of icky.

If I can find some time for myself, I would like to...well, actually I would find working on the doll clothes rather enjoyable.

I am grateful for...Bret having work again this week; the hay being in before all the rain started; for all the goodies I got from my food co-op order (bulk organic stuff, like oatmeal and flour and coconut oil); for my faith, which carries me though all sorts of ups and downs.  I know what a wimp I am, and that the strength I find in facing challenges does not come from my own resources.

Some prayer intentions for this week:  for my sister-in-law, Tamara, who is 50 today, beating me by a few months to the half-century mark; for my mom and Bret's mom; for Bret to somehow accomplish the impossible and have time to work on the house and have time to work to pay the bills.

Something that makes me smile: 

Gemma learned to swing all by herself this past week!  And to peddle the tricycle!

And having never learned an instrument myself, I love hearing Sebastian practicing chords.

Have a blessed week!