Grandma

The baby on Daddy's lap

Graduation photo

A momma with two little ones

Proud momma with her family

Retired and enjoying life

Iconic last photo of Grandma on the farm.  Everyone in the family knows and loves this photo.

Five years ago today I said my final goodbye to my Grandma.  My last Grandma.  Held her hand, kissed her cheek, told her that I loved her one last time. But she was already gone.

My cousin and I had been staying at her side after a severe stroke left her paralyzed and her wish to die naturally meant that we had only a few days.  So many emotions.  The children and I had been camping out at my mother's for several days when I finally had to go home and take care of some business.  Twelve hours before I had planned on making the trip back, I got the phone call that she was going.  It is a three hour trip. Chances were not good that I would make it in time.  But I tried.  I was too late.

After the rest of the family had left, it was down to my cousin and I and Grandma once again.  We shared memories and waited for the funeral home to come.  We waited and watched while they did their job.  And then it was just quiet again.

The funeral would be several days away, so it was back home for us.  Laundry and school and planning and phone calls.  At her funeral, the children and I sang an old hymn Sweetly Resting.  I think Grandma would have liked it.  She was a very quiet woman, just as her parents were.  I think that quietness skipped her children and landed squarely on me.  But she was always there, always busy and doing and creating and tending.  Loving in the way that was most comfortable to her.

(I originally posted Sweetly Resting exactly one year before my Grandma passed away - a fact I didn't realize until several days after her funeral.)

Simple Daybook ~ 20 March, 2013

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... a cloudy sky, a beautiful flowering bush, and two mockingbirds doing some kind of dance on the garage roof next door

I am thinking... about how many things have changed in just a few years, mostly me, and how some of those changes are good, and some not so much

I am thankful... for my children and the smile they bring to my face with each thought of them and remembrances of times past

In the kitchen... a turkey is in store for us today

I am wearing... skirt, snowman sweatshirt jacket, and pajama top ;-)

I am creating... dishcloths that I started knitting on recent trip to Oregon

I am going... nowhere, in more ways than one

I am wondering... how to make each moment last as long as possible

I am reading... The Hobbit

I am hoping... for complete renewal and revival in my heart and my children's

I am looking forward to... getting our garden beds ready to plant

I am learning ...  just how deceptive our hearts (my heart) can be

Around the house ...  need to sweep and keep the floors clean now that little P is crawling

A favorite quote for today... Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.  Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, love them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.

One of my favorite things... An open window with the sun coming through

A few plans for the rest of the week: work on garden beds, get family ready for new flooring, cook, bake bread and a cake, watch my attitude

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Welcome Home: Front Porch

The front porch and lawn is a work in progress - I evaluate it every now and then to see what can be added or what needs to be cleaned up to make it more welcoming.
One great addition to our walkway was this beautiful bench that husband made out of redwood logs.  Rustic yet comfortable and unique.  Looking forward to adding some plants and herbs around the bench  for a more natural look as well as a more sensory experience whilst sitting and visiting.

Getting Established

The weather has been just lovely here for almost a month - beautiful sunny days with just enough rain to get everything growing.  It has been wonderful to see our transplants from the move taking hold and growing in their new home ~

The strawberries are growing wonderfully, with so many new leaves and shoots.  Looking forward to watching the scrumptious fruit develop!

Lavendar and rosemary planted in front - it will soon fill this space physically and with its' heady fragrance.

The long neglected roses in front are growing and blooming - such a joy to watch each flower unfold.

Geraniums.  Somehow geraniums have become a symbol of home for me.  Many years ago when we volunteered at our county fair, we were able to take the donated plants after the fair was over.  Several geraniums came home with us.  What most endeared them to me is that they pretty much take care of themselves - they can withstand a lot of ignoring and with just a bit of care give you beautiful color and greenery.  Now they are a favorite of mine and this one was recently planted out by the mailbox, ready to announce to all that this place is a 'home.'

 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;  The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle (dove) is heard in our land;

Song of Solomon  2:11-12

A Fresh Start

A new home means a new garden.  We are blessed with a couple of great spaces and have a variety of options.  Daughter and I decided to go with some "garden boxes" on the side of our home - nice open space and gets great sunlight throughout the day.  We're not going to do a traditional garden box - build a box frame, add dirt to fill, and then plant.  I don't want to have to buy a lot of dirt or soil, would like to make do with as much of what we have as possible.  We'll add a vinyl picket fence across the yard here so that the garden is a little more protected from roaming neighborhood critters, a.k.a. cats, dogs, and bunnies!

After staking out where our first few boxes were going to be, I set the hose out and watered the area really well to make de-grassing easier!

Daughter and I were able to pull the grass on about half of the box area before we both decided to call it quits.  Within an hour, a few of our escaping chickens had found the freshly dug dirt and were scratching in it.  Hopefully they didn't get many of the wonderful worms that were there!  It's really good soil and glad to see that it was so full of worms - great for the garden!  We'll also be adding a fence across the back of this space to keep out wayward chickens!! 

(The red 2x4's are laid out as guidelines to make sure we are cutting our boxes straight.)

So many seedlings!  I'm abundantly blessed with a friend who is a seed distributor and for a small postage donation, she sent me a box FULL of 'last year's' seeds.  Oh the variety!  And it is so much fun to watch everything sprout and grow.  But .  .  .  all these growing plants need a place to be planted!  So we've got to get busy and get those boxes ready -

I'm really looking forward to gardening this year - maybe because it is our first year in our last house;
maybe because I want to create a strong bond with daughter who loves plants and outdoors and growing things;
maybe because I am enamored with the peaceful ideal of a green, colorful, growing garden, walking amongst the rows in apron and bonnet, gathering the harvest to preserve and share;
maybe because I've always wanted to have a garden but have never really had the time or space to do it properly;
maybe because I want to continue the legacy of gardening and being outdoors that I witnessed with my grandparents - so that when grandchildren are here they can be "out in the garden" with grandma (me!);
 maybe because I love the idea of being self-sufficient and doing as much on my own as possible;
and finally, maybe it's for all these reasons.

The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof

Psalm 24:1

Super Easy Laundry Detergent

We have made our own laundry detergent in the past - see Science in Action - and happily used it for a few years.  But somewhere along the way, in the busyness of life and schooling, it was simply easier to go to the store and buy a jug of detergent.

Then along comes Pinterest.

Daughter and I saw a Pin with a beautiful picture of homemade powdered laundry detergent in a big glass jar.  Functional AND Decorative!  Definitely worth a look see!

Now, to prove how easy the recipe is, I had looked at the post twice but didn't write anything down.  Several days went by and I kept thinking how I really wanted to give that a try;  ended up at the store yesterday and I was able to quickly remember the items needed, and at the Mart, they were all within a few feet of each other on the shelf.

The original post said it was under $20 to make.  Let's compare that to my receipt:

2 bars Fels Naptha soap, 0.97 each = $1.94
OxyClean (48 oz) = $9.47
Borax (76 oz)  = $3.38
Washing Soda (55 oz) = $3.24
Baking Soda (4 lb) = $2.24
which equals $20.27
I also opted to add the laundry crystals for another $4.76 bringing the grand total to $25.03

The original site said that she does about eight loads a week and this amount lasted her for nine months.  If mine lasts for nine months, then my detergent costs will be $2.78 a month for over thirty loads of laundry!

Not bad!!

Plus I had the excuse to buy one of these great oversize glass canisters that I've always wanted but never known what I would do with it - It holds this full recipe very attractively!

See original post here: http://beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.com/2010/11/homemade-laundry-soap.html

Blessed

Dear son is home from college.
It was such a treat to see him last night, hear his voice and watch him interact with his brother and sister, touch his arm and kiss the top of his head, see his smile and look in his eyes.

Listened to him play the piano for a bit this morning and my heart was overcome; all those years of lessons and practice and money and recitals and frustration when he didn't want to play or practice -  it all spilled out into the joyous blessing that he now has chosen the piano and music as his life's work.

Moments shared while cutting his hair, words of understanding, love, and encouragement.  Precious.

Sleep

sleep

i need sleep

laying down in quiet darkness;  protected from the world outside and turmoil within

soft pillow and softer blanket reaching out for me, beckoning, promising peace, a respite from toil and strife

but it is not to be

moments after my head has found its niche in the softness of my pillow, and the blanket has enveloped me within its folds

i'm starting to feel secure - 

i am hit with a weapon of flame, there is no escape

turmoil startles me and peace flees

arrows, without thought, are being flung at me

stealing my security and stirring up thoughts that will keep me from

sleep

i need sleep

Complete in Thee

Complete in Thee, no work of mine
may take, dear Lord, the place of Thine
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me
and I am now complete in Thee

Yea justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified!  Salvation wrought!
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me
and glorified I too shall be!

Complete in Thee, no more shall sin
Thy grace hath conquered, reign within
Thy voice shall bid the tempter flee
and I shall stand complete in Thee

Yea justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified!  Salvation wrought!
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me
and glorified I too shall be!

Complete in Thee, each want supplied
and no good thing to me denied
since Thou my portion, Lord, wilt be
I ask no more complete in Thee

Yea justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified!  Salvation wrought!
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me
and glorified I too shall be!

Dear Savior when before Thy bar
all tribes and tongues assembled are
among Thy chosen will I be
at Thy right hand complete in Thee

Yea justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified!  Salvation wrought!
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me
and glorified I too shall be!

lyrics by Aaron Robarts Wolfe (1821-1902)
chorus by James Martin Gray (1851-1935)

God of Heaven

God of Heaven
God of all the earth and sky
Great Creator
Master of all nature
Who gives birth to snow from heaven
  holds the waves at ocean's edge
  gives the orders to the morning
  shows each dawn its place to shine
God of Heaven
God of all the earth and sky

God of Ages
God who wrote the Book of Time
Sovereign Ruler
Alpha and Omega
Saints before he's guided safely
  history's pages signed by him
  author of our days and hours
  things to come are held secure
God of Ages
Alpha and Omega

God of Power
God who breaks the darkness
Righteous warrior
Champion of his children
Goes before us into battle
  good and evil bow to him
  those in bondage freed forever
  victories won at his command

God who Heals us
God who gives us Peace and Hope
God who listens
Carries all our fragile
  dreams and heartaches
  wins and failures
  binds the broken
  hides the weak
  new beginnings freely offered
Who can make us whole again
God who Heals us
    God of Power
        God of Ages
            God of Heaven
                God of all the Earth and Sky