The start to wonderfulness

Olive woke up just before 5am wanting to go out. I'm always pleased to see her up and around, considering her health just now, though her abilities to tell time are sorely lacking. You know how Labs are....and she's such a trooper. She still laughs and gets a smile on her face. Seems that Labrador Retrievers are famous for smiling. Even with her being sick, she's got a sense of humor. Well, considering the extra attention she's getting too, she's enjoying herself more, I do believe.

Looking forward to a slow day. Have been out and about the last couple, and need to have one of puttering. I misplaced a piece of fabric for a new kitchen window curtain, and would like to get my hands on that. Just want to move about the house slowly, putting things to rights. Dusting, straightening, re-arranging, baking. Puttery occupations that settle my spirits. Sounds relaxing to me.

Finished one of my library books, the Elizabeth Berg called Home Safe. The only disclaimer I'll give is that Ms. Berg seems unable to write a book without swearing in it. I'd rather not have to read that, but this book is so wonderful, am able to overlook the irritation. The main character reminds me of myself in ways considering the times she feels confused and unable to figure out what to do (though she has difficulty with directions, one of my gifts is having the homing skills of a pidgeon!), and is so appealing in other ways. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was sorry to see it end. Whizzed right through it. Now am reading Eulalia! which is a Brian Jacques book that our youngest son wanted me to read, plus the first book in the Fablehaven series. Both are keepers. Wonderful stuff.

On that note will go. The sun is FINALLY looking like it'll stick around for a whole day, and I need to get the wash moving soon. Thanking the Lord for work in my husband's shop (steady for over a month now) and for healthy kids. Today is good.

Yummy book pile

The whole pile followed by the starters. The children's books include the Fablehaven series (one son has read), and a picture book by Cynthia Rylant called Let's Go Home---illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin, reason enough to check it out. Love her drawings. Homey, homey, homey.

Already read a bit of the Elizabeth Berg. Delicious so far. Hope it stays that way. :) One is a re-read, and the others are new. Hey, the Vintage Vavoom is one put out by the Romantic Homes magazine people, and advertised at the end of their publication. Prettiness itself.

Must be off now.

Husband

Listening to Westlife on my media player, and thinking about stuff. Among other things, just thinking about praying for family members---the extended ones. I have two sisters-in-law who are having tough times either health-wise or involving relationships. Also have a cousin (daughter of first cousin) who's dealing with issues with the father of her child. Don't ask. I listen to their stories either first hand or at most second hand. I look back at my own houseful and all I can say is *Praise God*.

My relationship with my husband is excellent, and I'm not kidding. We're best buds and that's the way I think it's supposed to be. I adore him. My daughter told me one time that she'd read that when one of a pair touch the other one (this reference was made about the husband's touch on his wife), that her blood pressure immediately drops. A hand on her back---pressure on her arm. Calmness. I agree. Just a touch.

I'm thankful, and almost tremble with the hugeness of that. It's been work, and I don't deny that, but not as much work if we'd married the wrong folks. Now, that'd have been a challenge. I come from the school of believing that there's one perfect match---the others being poor substitutes. Not that God can't help even an imperfect marriage, but the right one is just that. Right.

Needed to say this. My husband won't see this, and that's not the point, but wanted to write out my gratefulness nonetheless.

Tunes

Taking a variety of the kids to the Lecrae and company concert this Friday. Then, we're going to see Shane & Shane on June 2nd. Last year our Summer was filled with all sorts of music---looks like we're well on our way this season too. :)

Olive update

She's having a good day, doesn't look so drained in her eyes, and is comfortable all stretched out on the floor. I'll take it as it comes. Today, she's doing well. My husband said he's praying that the Lord will either take her quickly or will heal her. Uh, she seems to be better today.....what do I know?!!

Just wanted you to see who you're praying for. :)

Memorial Day Eve

I take it back. Sleep isn't overrated. I'm feeling so much better....restful and not so spastic. Yeah, sleep IS necessary so that we don't self-destruct, I guess. The thing is, I got to sleep after 1am, woke up with Pugs at 6:15am, fed all four-legged creatures then went to sleep again on the sofa---adorned with Pugs. Middle daughter got up at about 8:30am and the first thing out of her mouth was, "You need to go back to bed, Mom." I followed her orders and woke up later at around 1pm.

Ahhhh. Much more normal.

Highly recommend more churches having Saturday evening services so that folks can actually have Sunday off as a day of rest. Hope more catch onto the trend.

Saturday evening

So glad to have reached this particular place in the weekend. A busy day with grocery shopping after getting up after a five hour sleep night. I realize the sleep studies talk about a person needing 7-8 hours, but since that's not happening here, I'll adjust, you know?

Took a bit of a rest with a book this afternoon, then it was time for rounding up the kids for church. We had a friend over for dinner, so whipped the house into shape quick-like. The sermon was perfect for where my head is now. So good to hear....loved it. Afterwards a good dinner at home with the friend who went with us to services and she and I had a wonderful talk out on the porch after dinner.

Olive is still sinking---each day brings a different twist on her symptoms...her belly's swollen, but she's eating very well and today was able to get around a bit better. God bless her, she's been a faithful friend. We've never had another dog so trustworthy and sweet. My friend was able to share a bit about pet hospice care, and I guess that's where we are now. Simply loving her and providing her needs of comfort.

Time for bed now.

Found out that my BIL and his wife can take the newborn twins home on Tuesday. So exciting. In the meantime, I'm crocheting baby blankets for the little ones (whose names as of this moment are Ava and Bella). I looked high and low online for an easy pattern, but all of them had edgings or stitches that were too complicated for my brain at this stage of life. The best I found...and one that's not too mind-numbing, is a prayer shawl pattern. I wanted a looser weave, and the half-double crochet stitch looks pretty anyway. The cool thing is that I'd talked yesterday about wanting to go buy a larger hook. Figured I'd slip into Michael's either yesterday afternoon or today. One of our sons handed me something before dinner last night and it was two crochet hooks he'd made. Got some wood out of some he'd cut and whittled them for me. One the exact larger size I wanted.

How neat is that?

I'm a rattled mess just now. Watching Olive pace the floor and not comfortably lie down is causing my nerves to be a bit pinched. I want to yell. She's looking feverish and is restless. Her appetite is good, and that's wonderful, but her physical self is just wasted.

Still shocked at how quickly she's going down.

Kids are aware of what's going on, but still, hard to watch a sweet dog be so sick.

Adoption news

Babies born last night, or this morning depending on where you live. :) My BIL called us at just after midnight (our time) and told us that the little girls had just arrived. Thrills! Not sure when they'll be able to take them home, but maybe even this weekend. My goodness.

And while adoption isn't new to our family (another brother of Gary's has an adopted daughter who came into the family in another cool way), these twins are sort of amazing in their own right. There's a neat story, but it's not mine to tell yet.

Soon. God's blessing, that's for sure.

Thursday night

A good day. Well, mentally stressful in terms of Olive, but good nonetheless. With my tendency to clean when I'm fretful, the house is tidy. A blessing in an odd way. :) Got the groceries bought to last a day or two, and wound up the day with the least one (she's 7) mopping the kitchen floor after dinner and loving every minute of it. There's a lesson there somewhere with her sweet attitude.

Found out from one of my husband's brothers that the babies they're adopting will probably be born very soon---maybe even before the Memorial holiday weekend is upon us. There's an incredible story attached to this adoption of little twins. They're due next month, but as twins are wont to do, might be here sooner. I've been so excited since my BIL's phone call this afternoon that my adrenaline has been pumping non-stop. So excited. Takes a bit of the hurt away from Olive being sick, you know?

My, that was a disjointed couple of paragraphs! Must be off now to move the sprinkler. The flowers are up and so pretty now, but we've not had rain in a week, I guess, so things are a bit dry.

Enjoy your evening.

Olive

I've hesitated writing this, taking a wait-and-see attitude, but need to talk about it now. Don't mean to sound dramatic. Seems our oldest dog, Olive, the Yellow Lab., has breast cancer and it's rushed up on us. She's been fine. But just recently she began to show a particular symptom which can't be denied. Then, she had to go outside at around 4am this morning, and seemed to struggle to maneuver around. Now, she's having difficulty walking up the back steps to come back inside. Not all the time, but enough to make you shake your head. All of this in the space of about 2 weeks.

How'd we miss this? She's inside about 90% of the time. She gets petted and loved on and still---we didn't see it coming. Like wildfire.

The kids know something's up. I can't leave them in the dark, especially after the hard time we had a few years ago with losing 3 dogs in the space of about a year or so. Not losing-losing them, but they died. All ordinary deaths (yet what's ordinary when someone you love dies?), but the circumstances were too close together.

We're just fussing over her, giving her special things to eat and making sure her covers are soft and clean. Not much else we can do. Man.

90 Minutes in Heaven--again

OK, said I'd talk about this book for a minute today after finishing it, and here it is. A sweet book, and a very sincere one. Not great literature to knock your socks off, but the writer (and his co-writer) get to the point quickly, and appear to be very honest. This isn't a book to impress folks, but one written from the heart.

The book is filled with lots of comments from friends and others who were impacted by the story. That in itself sells the book to me. Folks are being saved. That's the bottom line.

Critics can blast away, but as far as I'm concerned, you can't take away from the true spirit of what actually happened to Dan Piper. Well done. Very well done.

Dogs and stuff

While the majority of the kids eat lunch at my mom's today, I'll take bleached blond son out for a bit. He needs some away time....he got rattled last night while walking Opal. A guy around the block had his dogs out loose, and was letting them wander in front of his house and across the street, just in our son's path. Our son froze when it was obvious that the owner wasn't going to call his dogs. Opal, with her German Shepherd tendencies, will stand right by him and growl or bark. Last night she just stood there, keeping an eye out. She really is wonderful, just doing her job---and she does look intimidating. One of those other dogs appeared to be a Shepherd/Rottweiler mix, so the idea of a dogfight was a real possibility. Son called one of our cellphones and he was picked up. Afterwards, our son said he was worried to walk away, not knowing what the other dogs would do---would they chase them, or what. The guy just didn't get it, talking about his dogs being pushovers and all....telling our son to not worry about it. My husband went over later on with this son to talk to the guy, making sure there wasn't any anger on anyone's part, and talked to his wife. Turns out the guy had left for a bit. She said their dogs shouldn't have been loose either, and was a peach. Guess all's well that ends well, eh? Does make you wonder why folks seem so clueless, though.

As to other things, winding down the schoolwork. My heart's not in it, feeling more like Spring fever in this house. We're dragging and not too motivated to finish up the work, but we will. The two oldest school-age boys have finished their Warriner's Grammar and I'm greatly pleased. It's taken us 2 years to go through the whole book, and it may be the first textbook that any of the children have worked through start to finish. I remember as a child, getting to the end of the year and seeing that we weren't anywhere near the last chapter. Not unusual.

Not much else going on. My mind's on home repairs for the Summer...preoccupied with paint colors and the plan to recaulk the windows. Oh joy! No, really I'm looking forward to it. Progress always gets me excited, and to tidy up parts of the house that need looking after gives me a rush. Must be off now. Not that I'll do anything but sit with the Pugs, but need to get away from this machine.

90 Minutes in Heaven

Reading Dan Piper's book 90 Minutes in Heaven and must say I'm amazed. I knew the book existed, but wasn't aware that a Christian wrote it. And, interestingly enough, I've done some research on it since I got up from reading it at naptime....am about half-way through with the book. Quickly found a particular site (which will go nameless) where the site owner, pretty much, blasted Piper's experience. This is a well-respected Christian website, one that folks frequently turn for insight on what's new in the world.

I have to disagree. And will add that I get weary of Christian sites that continually make their audience feel pleased with themselves by blasting what others believe. I believe in Biblical inerrancy, and heresy is just that, heresy, but my goodness---there's a huge population of self-satisfied Christians out there who make their bread and butter by putting others down. We're such a horsey crowd.

I believe that Dan Piper speaks the truth. There's an air of honesty about his writing, and I'm feeling blessed by reading it. Probably will finish it tonight, and will say a few words about the ending tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll choose not to judge.

Friends

Some of you hung around with me on my other blog while I helped my neighbor who was ill with ALS awhile back. My neighbor died in November of 2007, and I still keep in touch with her sister, who's like a sister to me. LOVE HER. She's in town now (she lives in California), and was over this morning. For those who don't know the story...the sister moved back here temporarily to care for her sick sister, and was here for the duration---up to and shortly following her death. Tough times, but ones I'd never want to do without. An amazing experience.

You know folks who you just hit it off with? Time is irrelevant and you just love one another to pieces? It's like that with the two of us. Guess after sharing the days/months of Lisa's sickness, we (Tina and I) just grew together naturally.

She causes me to feel better about myself, and I guess that's what friendship is all about. Rare, at best.

Hearty bread recipe

Bread for dinner. Yummy-ness for sure. Here goes the recipe found in a book I'm reading:

Dissolve 1/2 a packet of yeast (which measures out to be one tablespoon) in 2-1/4 cups warm water. Stir in 1 T. sugar. In large bowl, measure out about 5 cups of flour. Add liquid. Stir well and turn out on floured surface. Knead in more flour until you reach a total of about 6-7 cups. (I used 6) While kneading, work in 1 T. salt (I used sea salt) Work it for about 10 minutes, oil a bowl well and put smooth ball of dough into bowl. Cover with damp tea towel and set aside in cool place for 2 hours.

After time's up, form dough into two ovals on greased cookie sheet. Allow to rise for 2 hours more. (The book's recipe calls for spritzing the loaves before baking, but I didn't want a hard crust. It was fine without that step.) Then bake at 425 degrees for about 1/2 an hour. A hearty pair of loaves....very firm and my husband said it was more meaty than plain old white homemade bread. Dense. And yummy. :)

There is no oil or shortening in the recipe. And 1/2 of what you might ordinarily use in terms of yeast. The lesser amount of yeast, plus the longer rising time gives a different texture. Well worth the wait. And adding the salt at the end makes the dough work against you...making it harder to knead...something to do with what's happening to the gluten. Very different than how I'm used to doing bread, but love the changes. I'll be making this again.

First day of the week

It's early yet. For me. I realize some folks get up early everyday, but I'm not some folks by choice. Daisy woke up somewhere between five thirty and six---restless to get outside, with Violet not far behind her.

Thinking about the day. Oldest daughter said she'd go grocery shopping for me this morning...taking a couple of the boys with her. The list is made, dinner plans all set out until Thursday. I like having that done. And her help is a huge blessing, truly.

I need to get a handle on the day before it gets control of me. Listen to me...man....like a gerbil on a wheel. The first sentence of this paragraph spells out clearly the bug-bear I contend with. An attitude of continual work. I've mentioned on F*cebook about needing to be more like a Mary and less like a Martha. It's not that my life is out of control, but like many homeschool moms, guilt seems to overwhelm me and I work overmuch to compensate. Fear is a terrible teacher, and I always feel like I let my kids down. 'Course there's always more to do/teach/control, and my ability to find joy in life in the midst of it is sadly lacking. (I realize I'm repeating myself, but it's my blog and I'll repeat myself!)

Some of you get what I'm saying. When there's honestly one more thing always lurking in my head, needing attention, I realize that 'not' doing it can drag me down. How to find ballance is hard...so hard.

To sprinkle in happiness is my goal, but with 8 children, a huge challenge. For those women of large families who appear to have it all together (at least in a virtual sense)---you're leading people on. It's just not possible. Life is hard, but with the Lord's help, deep-down joy is possible. Sometimes harder to reach than at other times.

Saturday morning

The Pugs seemed to think it was time to get up when the clock spun around to 4:45am. I told them otherwise. A quarter to 7 sounded more appropriate to me. Besides, the sound of rain woke me up---then the realization that there were two lines of clothes hanging out back. Nuts. The clotheslines might twang with the weight of the water on them. Then we'll find our clothes strung in the trees. Might be interesting.

Am trying to fish out a good mood. I was grumpy when I got up, but the dogs were all happy and glad to see me. I get tired of their cheer. Opal (Shepherd/Husky mix) always says hello in the morning. Huskies have the gift of speech, and I'm not lyin'. You look it up online. It's a fact. She'll yawn and actually sound like she's saying words. Hello is as far as she's gotten, but she'll say it over and over in the morning. Very strange.

Must go have some quiet now. One son is up and the others are sure to follow soon. This might be my only chance of a breather....church later on and hopefully some sewing before then. Before I sit and think about stuff, might see about those clothes outside before more rain hits. :)

Book signing

The book signing and talk given by Phyllis Hoffman last night (see Wednesday's post) was wonderful. I came home feeling so relaxed. Our oldest daughter went with me, we got seats in the front row---which was cozily set up for about 15 folks or so, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. She spoke about the book (which I bought as a splurge, very necessary sometimes), and the magazines her company, Hoffman Media, publishes.

What a delightful person she is. Very much at ease, taking time to talk and seeming to enjoy it. Like the best sort of neighbor. The other women who attended were very sweet, the lady sitting next to me talked about her in home tearoom, and others shared stories related to Mrs. Hoffman's magazines.

The bottom line, and the reason for writing the book is to encourage women to enjoy being women. To take time to bring beauty into their homes and to celebrate those sorts of things.

All in all, a restful and great girlie time.

About sleep and stuff

The reality is that I get only about 5-6 hours of sleep a night. That's a given, and must be a plain old habit by now. My brain clicks on early, and the dogs encourage that. They're ready, let me tell you. And, like I mentioned the other morning, the slightest noise can wake me up. Today it was our next door neighbor's truck alarm going off. At around 5:30am, we had a bit of lightning and thunder (just a smidgen), and that always causes his alarm to kick in---over and over and over. Guess he doesn't hear it!??!

I'm not really grumpy either. Figure I might as well adjust my mental attitude, because this is the way it is. Complaining doesn't help, and moving the dogs to a different part of the house won't fix it either. Daisy is up at 6am everyday now, regardless. My husband has already tried to help by suggesting that the puppies be put in a different room (aside from the kitchen, which is by our bedroom), but habits die hard. They'll wake up and be ready to go out no matter. So, that idea is out. Besides, if the kids took them out, I'd hear them....(refer to first paragraph).

The end result is to make the best of it. Won't last forever, 'cause things rarely do. I have the luxury of nap time later on. Don't have to go anywhere today, until the bookstore visit tonight. Truly I'm fortunate in my ability to tuck in a short rest here and there---nothing's pushing me except my dailies, and they'll get done no matter.

The only glitch to little sleep is not feeling as perky as I'd like. I'd love to feel bouncy, but maybe at this time of my life, that's not possible. Guess I'll just take this as it comes, and not get my knickers in too much of a twist, eh? Maybe there's a lesson in all of this. Maybe not. Every event in life isn't a spiritual issue, but plain living. I have a lot to be thankful and I'll focus on that. Mostly melatonin. :)

To end this on a high note...go here for a smile.

Where I'm going on Thursday

Phyllis Hoffman--editor-in-chief and publisher of Victoria, and Southern Lady magazines
discussing and signing (at a local bookseller)
Southern Lady: Gracious Spaces
Thursday, May 14
6:00 pm
Phyllis Hoffman shows readers how to create an entertaining space with personality and elegance to make guests feel special and welcome. Complemented by lush photography and told in Hoffman's accessible and deliciously Southern voice, readers are encouraged to play with colors, patterns and styles to embellish a space that's both inspirational and functional.

More on Tuesday

What's going on...

• Helped two sons with digging out garden area, with them doing the hard work---just 4x6' or thereabouts---and put in 4 rows with tomatoes, banana peppers and onions.
• Rearranged the living room.
• Did a quick run through of most of the house, tidying up.
• Had a tea party with the two little girls, complete with a sliced up Danish, part of a Hershey bar and one Ferrero Rocher a piece. A feast!
• Have enjoyed having fewer kids in the house---at one time, it was just the 2 least ones and me :) Very quiet. Makes you wonder.
  
• Three boys at shop helping Gary.
• Two boys spent part of early afternoon doing yards (not ours).
• Finished reading Ted Dekker's book The Boneman's Daughters, which was violent and disturbing...used to Dekker being a bit difficult to read, but the horrors portrayed in this one make the Christian message hard to get to, in my opinion---2 of the kids read it and weren't disturbed like I was---go figure.
• About to put dinner together---leftover spaghetti from last night and two cherry pies---not in a mood to roll out pastry, but will anyhow (how long-suffering of me, eh?!!).
• Hoping for a low impact night. Thankfully had a short nap, so feel relatively normal----for me.
• Now must go. Look a fright and need to do something with this hair. Bye. ;)
  

ZZZzzzzzzz (I wish)

I really did try to get a good night's sleep last night. Got to sleep before midnight (an effort), but someone honked their horn just a tiny beep at about 5am, and it woke me up. Closed my eyes again, but they did it a second time. That's all it took. Then Daisy the Pug woke up at 6am, and here I am. Trying to get my surfing in before anyone wakes up---oldest daughter gets up at about 7, then husband at 8, then the boys begin their dog/house-sitting chores for a neighbor around the block. Blah, blah, blah. There's a constant stream of activity here, and sometimes it's enough to drive me to distraction.

Tired of being a half-person during the day. Sleep eludes me even at naptime, it seems. The bane of mid-life----sleep deprivation.

I do amaze myself, though, at what I'm able to accomplish with feeling like a zombie. God is gracious even to that tendency.

Here we go.............

Monday

It's been a busy weekend, but good. I've done too much, though, that's a fact. Last night I just wanted to crawl somewhere and hide. The thing is---I'm satisfied with such a mundane routine---enjoy it, in fact---so that when I get over-busy, I tend to want to stick my head in the ground. End up feeling overwhelmed. Saturday was definitely overbooked. But, the thing is, it was---all of it---fun stuff. Just needed more hours in the day to accomplish all of it, I guess.

Craving a day or two where I feel in charge of my life. That doesn't happen often, but I need it to now. Need to putter, put the house to rights, cook an ordinary meal and read something soothing. Maybe today.

If it stops raining long enough, I have some more plants to set out. Spent about 3 hours outside putting in the bedding plants, etc. yesterday. That's my typical way of spending Mother's Day afternoon...gardening, since I always ask for lots of plants for my gift. It started to rain toward the end of my work, but I kept on. Truly was delightful weather for gardening. We need a couple of days of sun now, though. The ground could do with a dry out.

Must go now. Time for a cup. Enjoy your day...take time for yourself. I intend to. :)

Was gone from home more than AT home today. Lunch and shopping out with daughter. A brief time at the house before leaving for church. Then home for dinner, then Gary wanted to go to Target.

More on Friday

So, after getting home with the kids last night with a tray of Lantana, three larger pots of things I don't remember but saw that they were beautiful, the veggies, an Aloe and some plant fertilizer....Gary brought home 4 trays of flowers for me today. Mostly Petunias, which are my seasonal favorite. They're a trial having to keep the slugs away, but I do adore them...the scent at sundown is dishy for sure. Whoa. I was content with what I got last night, but he said it wasn't enough. I'll go with what *he* said. :)

I'll be busy this weekend. Oldest daughter and I will be going out to lunch tomorrow and then to the hippie store for some China Rain spray I wear. Sunday afternoon will be spent with my head in the yard!

Looks like the weekend is going to be nice indeed.

A good Friday...so far :)

I've been online about 1/2 an hour. Did my rounds, but only briefly glanced at the news. They'll have to continue on without me. Best that way. Looked at the weather, and hope the rain bypasses us today. I really want to garden, and the backyard is soggy as it is. I know I'll rue that comment in mid-July/August, since we've tended to be drought-ish in the Summer months lately. And not that any of my new plants will go out back (too many kids and dogs)...will tuck the tomatoes, peppers and onions in with the flowers in the front yard. Shoot, the front beds are so full of perennials, the vegetables won't even show!

Finished the book from the other day. SO good. Full of encouragement, plus entertaining as well. So much of what's hawked as Christian fiction is so lame, but this was far from that. Susan Meissner is gifted, and that's all I'll say. If all of her books ring this true, then I'll definitely look for more of her writing.

Not a whole lot spinning in my head but grateful of a full shop of work for Gary...such a huge blessing, especially to see him looking hopeful and not stressed. He's optimistic and excited about work again, and I love to see that. Truth is, we don't earn God's grace, but it's handed out as He wills. I can't pray enough, give enough or do enough to show myself worthy and deserving. I don't deserve ANY of it. Just Him being God.

Must be off now. Am crocheting a tiny blanket for the least one's stuffed bear, Russel. Need to sit awhile and play with that.

Enjoy your day!

Things at home

I can smell the fresh, hot chocolate sheet cake middle daughter (10) made this afternoon. She's just waiting for it to cool enough to put on a confectioner's sugar glaze. Oldest daughter is fussing over her skirt pattern. Pleats are a stinker to figure out. Boys are in their rooms, one listening to Redwall on his CD player, one on his laptop, another reading, not sure who's left to account for. Least one is drifting from place to place, looking for food. She's so funny. She'll open the fridge, hunting for snacks and then will head in there again about 15 minutes later, expecting something new to have materialized. So silly. Her thirteen year old brother does exactly the same thing. Must think the refrigerator is magical. I wish.

The house is a mess (like it gets in a day) and I don't even care. Just finished re-potting the two African violets my hippie neighbor gave me awhile back. I got them to blooming (yay me!) and haven't killed them yet. I'm a whiz at outdoor gardening, but am a death wish on indoor plants. They're doing me proud, however, and they deserved pots that are a bit larger. Potted a new cactus too, and if I can avoid overwatering it, we'll be doing just fine.

The only glitch of the day was my needy neighbor calling once this morning before 9am, and then during naptime. No message and I just didn't answer. My heart begins to fly when I see that she's the one calling---how's that for stress? But for now, avoidance seems to be the best plan for me. I don't like being that way, but it appears to be necessary.

Now off to make a meat and potato pie for our dinner. I'm hungry!

On this rainy day

My goodness. What a thunder storm we had last night at around 3am. Made me jump. Caused a couple of the dogs to be a bit restless too. I always get a little antsy when the lightning and all are so evident. We have a huge old oak tree in the backyard, and I always pray for the safety of that tree. So far, so good.

Still raining now. Oldest daughter's home from work today, and she was wanting a rainy day so she'd not be tempted to leave the house. She's got a pattern for a western-style skirt to sew, so she'll be pleasantly busy at home.

I might leave for a bit later on---a breather. Just some alone time would be nice. It's still raining and thundering a bit, but that's not a problem. Makes for a cozy day.

Reading a good book....very good, in fact. A nice way to spend my naptime today, yes?!

On the news and other stuff

Back around Lent, I went on a media fast. It was trying, because I tend to stuff my poor brain with as much information as possible. To not be doing that was a stretch. A sacrifice. But, here lately, I've found that my life isn't hardly ever impacted in a positive way when I read news online, or read it in the newspaper. We just cancelled our subscription to our city's Sunday paper, and I think I'll dance around the online news sources more often.

The nonsense about the sw*ine fl* has been a big no-show concern, and the news about the pres*dent walking the grounds holding his wife's hand is definitely not news worthy. My husband has a theory (and he's not the only one) about the media. He says that when they make a big hooplah about issues, that they're diverting our attention from the real news. Maybe so. For whatever reason, I'm going to fill my head with other stuff.

On that note, I've got two pots of Marjoram to play with...the best-smelling herb on the planet, at least to my thinking, but also one of the hardest for us to find....oldest daughter bought me some flowers for an early Mother's Day gift! Plus a hanging basket of Impatiens and 3 pots of Petunias. She wasn't able to find the smaller six-packs, so gave me generous pots worth. Pink all around. Love it.

Will spend some time on schoolwork this morning, then on to cleaning up from the construction work of yesterday. A good day. I'm tired from the fuss, but looking forward to order again.

Monday's work done

The bathroom floor is done---well, except for the tiling. We can live with pressure-treated plywood and plastic for a bit. I'll tell you, the rot under the floor was extensive, and it's only the Lord who kept if from caving in. Truly. I think of us taking baths, filling that tub and the lack of support in the middle of the floor----well, it was practically all gone.

God's timing. So cool. We had the money at the time when the fixing of it was desperate, but the Lord took care of us through it all, even before we knew how bad the floor actually was.

And, to add to that blessing, Gary got the approval for two jobs today. One an elaborate headboard, and the other of a custom-made table and eight (count 'em) eight chairs. Whoa. The barn is definitely moving to being overflowing. When Gary told me about the table and chairs bid being approved today, all I could do was gasp. Sometimes blessings are a bit out of my comfort zone. I'm good at hardship, but this is wild. Just amazing.

Must go to bed now. We're bushed. Not much sleep with anticipating the bathroom work, and everyone (the boys and Gary) are pooped. Thanks to our friend of a neighbor who had all the expertise. Without him, we would've been lost. So grateful. :)

What happens when you have Pugs

Saturday

The movie night at church was so much fun. Little children who don't get to sit through a church service were there---and in the quiet spots in the movie (there were few!), you could hear their talking, whispers and giggles---and yes, yelling. Definitely oriented towards the little ones, which was sweet. Ours enjoyed it and everyone was worn out when we got home. There was a time when I avoided doing much extra stuff with them, finding it too overwhelming. I mean, really, taking eight children anywhere is an event, but after repeatedly seeing them have a good time away from home, we've done more doing than sitting at home. I make no excuses. Life is full, no matter. I can only do so much, but have rearranged my thinking so as to accommodate fun more readily. Sometimes it's a bit of a stretch...unfortunately.

Today must go to the store. Food's gone. I twittered about only having peanut butter and potatoes in the house, and don't exaggerate. I'm the only on up now, so when someone sidles into the room, will get ready and go. The dogs sometimes get frisky when left alone in the house (all four together), and I don't relish a race around the living room just yet. If I don't separate the puppies from the big dogs when I leave the room and they're not napping, joy abounds. :) 'Course it's overcast outside, and they think it's nighttime---all sleeping, so maybe they'll chill anyway.

Hope the weekend is restful. I'm low on sleep. A noisy thunderstorm blew through last night--right over head, so rest was just fitful and nothing more. Must nap. Often.

Books and relaxation

Reading the most relaxing book in awhile. Hope it stays as peachy as it is now. It's A Stopover in Venice by Kathryn Walker, and the buzz is that the book is a bit autobiographical being that the author is a former wife of James Taylor. I wasn't aware of that when I began reading (and it doesn't change the way I feel about it in any way) but am enjoying the slow pace of the book. Very restful, which is a treat for me. I admit to picking it up at the library because the title is so fetching and the spine of the book is so pretty....decorative qualities do matter!

I took it to bed with me after getting back home from taking the least one and one of her brothers to Target for her to spend her birthday money. Wonderful to have an overcast day---a bit cooler, but still would warrant having the air conditioning on if I had a mind to pay for cooler air. As it is, seems too early to weaken for the indoor breeze. Will wait a bit more, and we'll enjoy using the fans in the meantime.

Tonight will take some of the kids to church for free family movie night---Cars, which we've rented and the kids will get a kick out of. And since we're not tearing into the bathroom tomorrow (it'll be on Monday), the weekend can pass fairly peaceably. I like that idea.