Home Sweet Simple Home

I fell in the trap but am determined to get out

Falling into the trap.
I have come to the simple realization that somehow- “while I wasn’t looking/aware” I slip-slided at a slow and steady pace into the ugliness of whining and complaining.
Hmmph. “Wasn’t looking/aware” yeah right- I just wasn’t listening to the nudging that I was slipping and needed to grab a foothold.
It’s been a pretty easy downward slope- not a steep grade- just nice and easy until you get closer to the bottom and realize what you are-
A whiner
A complainer.
Ugh.
I whine about my job.
I complain about my church.
And then I do it some more.
I especially like an audience to listen while I whine and complain. I find it seems to justify my whining and complaining.
If I don’t stop that ugliness will ooze over into other areas of my life and I will soon find myself complaining and whining about just about everything.
I know this to be true because I’ve slunk down that slope before.
I am ashamed.
Now what?
I am purposing to speak good things and think good things.
Instead of dwelling on the negatives of my job and church situation I purpose to say a praise for every “off” thought or word.
I praise God I have a job.
I praise God I have a church where I can worship freely.
I praise God for the church family that I have grown up with and am surrounded by.
I praise God for the pay I draw for my job and how it helps support my family and pay off our debt.
I praise God that while others say and do things that hurt me in my job it doesn’t stop me from doing my job.
I praise God for all the youth who are in and have been in my youth group.
Yes, I praise you Lord for the EGR people in my life and what I learn from them. [EGR= Extra Grace Required].
I praise You Lord that I have choices before me. Tough choices but they are MY choices.
I praise You for the friends and family that stick by me when I continue to whine and complain. And that’s saying something!
I praise You for the prayers others lift up on my behalf.
I praise You for nudging me out of this whiny funk and pray that I will keep climbing out of it.

Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand. Psalm 37:24

14 more days

We have 14 more days until school starts.
The unofficial end of summer.
We are eager and excited about this upcoming school year.
And at the same time we are also eager to squeeze out every last little shining bit of summer vacation.
Last evening the children held an impromptu softball game in the back yard. My three plus their dear friend and his dad from across the street. One base was a sand pail, another my foam gardening kneeling pad, and yet another the squashed-flat bottom basin to a plastic flower pot. The two dads played the field as the kiddos took turns batting and running the bases. I weeded the garden as I watched and listened and soaked in the moment.
The children were all barefoot and filthy.
And laughing like hyenas.
It is in these moments that family is built- the ease of being together. The joy of living in the moment. The simple familiar-ness of it all.
Oh, such sweet contentment.

Reticent

Committing my Day

Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust Him, and He will help you. Psalm 37:5

Don't overlook the obvious

While I haven’t made note of it here- my hospitality adventures continue in small ways. But the small ways count just as much as the bigger ones.
I sent a post card to my mother-in-law thanking her for all the little articles she cuts out of the newspapers and saves for me. I have found that its not the articles that matter (sometimes, I admit, I don’t even read them) it’s the fact that while she is doing a normal every day thing (like reading the paper) she thinks of me. And in thinking of me, she takes it a step farther and cuts out the article and sets it aside- just for me.
And so it doesn’t seem like much but it is. [I am one of 7 daughters-in-law.]
The least I could do was to pen a few words of thanks on a lovely little postcard and pop it in the mail.

Watching the miles

I will be taking my children into Little Busy Town for Vacation Bible School every nite this week. Six to 8:30 pm every nite (with the last night being a family program and dinner).
This will be [approximately] an additional 136 miles in driving this week.
Our car averages about 25 miles to the gallon for this length of trip and gas is hovering around $3.85 right now.
So it will be an additional $21.00 in gas.
To some it may not seem like much but our weekly gas budget for my car is $40.00. That’s half my budget.
So how will I make this work? By cutting back the rest of my schedule and doing extra odds and ends such as . . . . .
Taking numerous boxes and bags of STUFF to Goodwill. We have been unable to take this accumulation (all on my front porch right now) on previous trips into town because of carting different loads of stuff with us (like pool toys and such). I calculate that it will take at least two car trips to take everything to Goodwill.
Also- I will do my errand running while the children are at VBS. I will still need to make a trip to Aldi’s as its location is in an opposite direction.
Another idea is to pack up my school planning “stuff” and utilize a table at the local library while the kids are VBSing.
Plus there is a book store in town with a gi-normous used book section where I can while away some time . . . .
The way I’m calculating things- I will only be making 2.5 trips in the car to locations other than Little Busy Town and VBS.
1 trip to Aldi’s.
1 trip to sister-in-law’s for homeschool group summer fun and what I consider
.5 trip from VBS location to my own church for a board meeting and then back to VBS.
By my calculations these other trips will total around $10 in gas which should bring me in just under budget.
It is my plan to do everything I can not to do any — at all— additional driving.

How Wonderful to be thought of

VBS, life lessons & Rock Steady Man

VBS has come and gone.
Almost.
We still have the program Sunday morning.
Followed by the picnic.
But for the most part- It’s over.
We had some rough patches and my oldest learned another life lesson after choosing to pass along information (i.e. gossip).
It was a difficult for me to step back and let her learn this life lesson as a couple of adults blew it way out of proportion in an extremely public way but Mr. Steady remained rock-steady and took care of the situation. I was able to squish the automatic momma reaction of “protect your child no matter what”.
By God’s grace alone.
I am proud of my Mr. Steady and how he handled the situation- he did so much better than I would have done. I am ever so glad that I quelled the momma bear instinct and walked away- allowing my husband, who was already handling it continue to handle it.
Bottomline- I would rather my daughter learn at 11 what can happen when we “innocently” spread gossip than let her grow up thinking such “small” things were acceptable and/or to continue with such talk. And while we were all unprepared for the lengths that two other mommas took it- we were able to use it all as teaching moments and Life Lessons. Maiden was able to see that what she saw as a small thing quickly mushroomed into something big, nasty and ugly and hurt others.
However- Mr. Steady made sure to point out to Maiden that the gossip she spread did not cause those two mommas to launch a verbal attack right in the church lobby- our 11 year old was not responsible for those adults’ decisions. They are.
As far as teaching moments and life lessons go- this played out real big. We could have set no better stage than the one that played out in front of us. It as difficult and painful to experience but it was such a big thing that I imagine it will be burned in Maiden’s brain and psyche for all time. It has spawned some great discussions for us as a family. We have discussed about how to “properly” rebuke a brother or sister in Christ, how to handle ourselves in heated situations, how pride can get in the way of making matters right and various ways to stop gossip in its tracks.
Of course it was a reality check for me also. To make sure that I continually set a good example for my children and that I make a point not to gossip or share information either.
Mr. Steady has continued to take charge of the situation even going so far as to speak with one momma on the phone when she wanted to “have a talk” with me. He knew that she wanted to “hash it out” and that her words would be hurtful and that possible gossip would spew forth. He also knew that I truly was ill at ease about speaking with her.
I am so very thankful that God led me to step back and allow my husband to take the situation in hand. His kind firmness was refreshing to see as well as an eye-opener for me in better ways to handle volatile situations.
Once again I am profoundly thankful that the Lord saw fit to bless me with a Mr. Steady.

For understanding: The gossip: Maiden shared with a friend that another friend had called him a "girlie". Simply put- Maiden should never have shared that information and should have put more thought into how hurtful that young man found those words.

Getting my act together

Simple continuation -but- Will I make it?

Let's call it a day

Getting back on track

Keyboards and blow ups

Hikes and picnics go well together

Ah, another beautiful, breezy day today. Mid-70’s with none of that horrid heat of the past week that kept our ancient window a/c chugga- gugging.
Ahhh, I sit with the breeze ruffling the ends of my hair and contemplate the blissful energy-savings of not running the contraption.
We have so enjoyed this cooler weather. Mr. Steady had a church softball game Tuesday evening and we quite enjoyed watching and visiting with our church family.
On Wednesday, Mr. Steady and I both took the day off for a special family day at our local nature center.  We explored their special exhibit as well as their gardens, butterfly house and a couple of great hiking trails.
Tomorrow is suppose to be another day like today.
And there was a picnic lunch.
Created by yours truly in a fit of inspiration.
l didn’t want to do the same ol’ same old but wanted my family to know they were special. And how better to tell your family how special they are than with food?
I mean really!
First, I decided no paper products! Its not because I want to go green- although that’s a good 3^nd best reason- but because I wanted my family to feel special (and paper plates doesn’t exactly say “You’re special”) and because my momma gave me the most wonderful little picnic basket filled with cups and silverware and enamelware plates and red checkered cloth napkins.
Now we still had good ol’ sandwiches and the kidlets chose bologna- but Mr. Steady and I had yummy thick slices of ham (from the freezer) with garden fresh lettuce and tomato.
There was chunk cheese.
And of course, chips.
Grapes.
Homemade bacon ranch macaroni salad (something I whip together that Mr. Steady and Maiden just LOVE).
Raspberry Lemonade.
And the bestest little pies ever.
The kids named them Baby Berry Pies.
Aren’t they sweet?

Little graham cracker crusts with a generous dollop of Bavarian cream and topped with farm fresh black raspberries.
Delish.
Only thing that would have made it better (or gilded the lily) would have been a dollop of fresh whip cream on top.
I’ve noted that for next time.
We were so full from such a delicious lunch that we ended up scrapping my meal plan for supper and had a small batch of nachos instead.
While hiking we spotted two wild turkeys plus various birds, a chipmunk and Maiden swears she almost stepped on a snake.
We didn’t see the snake but Mr. Conductor and I found four snake skins nearby.
Very cool.

Photos: Kiddos and I after our last hike. Enjoying a Baby Berry Pie.

My little guy, Bugs, Leaves and Moon Tea

Last night as we were cleaning up and putting away after the family campfire, Mr. Conductor decided to go a-wanderin’ through my garden.
And pick some apple mint.
He held it tightly clenched in his fist and brought it into the kitchen where I was putting away dishes.
I smelled it before I saw him.
He came in saying, “Momma, I need a glass jar and lid.”
Of course I inquired as to what he planned to use it for- a boy coming in at twilight with a clenched fist often means
Bugs.
But no bugs- just warm crushed apple mint leaves and a little boy who had recently watched his aunt and Grammy make sun tea using some mint ‘borrowed’ from Momma’s garden.
And so it happened that we got out a quart jar, added the crushed leaves and two tea bags and the boy filled it with water.
He hugged it close as he carried it outside to leave out and make

Moon Tea.

Another opportunity for learning Hospitality

And here we have yet another unremarkable-to-most tale of me stepping into hospitality that borders on the edge of my comfort zone.
And yet I lived to tell the tale.
Evening services were lifted at our church yesterday due to district camp meeting. On the way home from church, Mr. Steady and I discussed the camp meeting schedule and decided that we would not go that afternoon but instead to a couple of services during the week (we must calculate gas for this because it’s not close by and choose carefully).  I remarked that it being such a nice day we should invite my brother and his family over in the evening for a campfire and pizza camp pies. He thought it an excellent notion and we decided to invite my parents also.
This was totally spur of the moment.
Lucky for me I had the most important ingredients for pizza camp pies on hand (re: wood for fire, pie irons, bread, pizza sauce and cheese). I had some pizza toppings and my sister-in-law stated that she had some onions, tomato and more pizza sauce and some pie filling for camp pie-pies. We had quite a bit of macaroni salad in the fridge (my donation to the funeral dinners held at our church on Saturday) and I thought it would go fine with pizza camp pies. My momma said she had a couple of toppings and would bring the stuff for smores.
And with that said- My momma showed up a Jell-O salad, container of beans, string cheese and cottage cheese. Oh and plastic plates and lemonade too.
Our humble camp pies turned into a veritable feast.
And so how is this stepping out of my hospitality comfort zone you ask? Its family after all.
Well, first off- it was totally spur of the moment [and forgive the big head but perhaps I should add- I’m proud to say that I was able to host it without worry about a frenzied house cleaning or the need to run to the store- in fact, truth be told I took a really nice nap and read some in the afternoon]

Then with my parents and sibling and family all present I looked over and saw our neighbors sitting out on their enclosed patio. A wonderful elderly couple, very sweet and nice (he lets my kiddos bike thru his amazingly smooth, slightly hilly and wonderful u-shaped drive way) and they were just sitting.
And that’s when God nudged me.
And I nudged Mr. Steady.
I asked him if he would like to go over and invite the neighbors.
And he did.

And they did (after they ate their supper but they had dessert and dare, I say, pleasant conversation- with us).
And

It was nice.
I did not panic.
Instead- I felt
Very Blessed.

And thankful for not overlooking the simple opportunity of extending hospitality on the spur-of-the-moment.

Berry Picking fun

On Wednesday evening

we had an early supper and then packed up the pails for some berry pickin’ over at my parents’ farm. Mom supplied us with more containers as she said the picking was so good we were definitely going to need more.
Then we hopped on the gator and took off for the “back 40”.
It was the most amazingly tranquil evening. The temperature was cool and we were enveloped in a big enough cloud of bug spray as to not be bothered.
We’d drive the gator, park and walk and do it again as we drove and walked the perimeter of a large bean field.
The children discussed how they would eat the berries- berry pies and on cereal and in muffins and such as Mr. Steady and I just enjoyed the companionable tranquility of it all.
Time flew by as we picked- the kids would wander off and explore. For a time Mr. Conductor and Sassafras picked the wild onion out of the bean field (a very good and generous thing to do) and then the two of them took to cleaning up the trail with hand-clippers. Mr. Conductor was ever so diligent about it and took to the task like it was a real job, which of course it was. He even helped his Momma out a few times when my shirt got all caught up in the overhanging brambles. He liked to walk a bit ahead of me to prep the trail.
As I said- it was so enjoyable that we totally lost track of time (we chose not to bring the cell or watches- good choice).
Upon returning to the house we realized we’d been gone about 3 hours.
And picked approx. 5-6 quarts of ripe, sweet-smelling, black raspberries.
Free except for labor.

A most enjoyable labor.

A surprise change in menu plans

Let’s see- On Tuesday my dear sweet sister-in-law (Mr. Steady’s sis) took all THREE of my kidlets for an overnighter with her brood.
That left Mr. Steady and I ALONE.
Yahoo.
Date Night.
With that news, I quickly scrapped the original dinner menu and pulled a couple of steaks and a bag of frozen shrimp out of the freezer.
The steak was thawed and marinated.
I baked a loaf of bread.
I put together a salad with garden fresh greens.
I scrubbed up a couple of big potatoes for baking.
I sliced up some store-sale strawberries for the crockpot chocolate surprise cake I was baking.
I went to the movie rental place and picked up a movie Mr. Steady had really been wanting to watch for awhile (paid out of date nite envelope- $3.50).
Mr. Steady grilled the steak and shrimp (he made BBQ grilled shrimp- delish!) while I baked the potatoes and wrapped my hospitality offering.
Of course, we had a most wonderful relaxing and enjoyable evening.
A much needed relaxing and enjoyable evening
Just. The. Two. Of. Us.
God is so good.

Photo: Crockpot Chocolate Surprise Cake

Another Hospitality step

Another Hospitality Mission Accomplished.

Over the holiday weekend new tenants moved into the rental behind our home. Mr. Steady has already met one lady when he helped her back up her truck and trailer to the front of the house. In 15 min. time he got most of their story- two ladies- mom and daughter, both adults, moving from about an hour south (across state line) from large metro area to our little town mostly due to a severe problem with criminal activity in their previous neighborhood. Oh and they have two dogs too.
Anyhoo- back the mission: Seeings how I have vowed to be more hospitable to my neighbors in spite of my fears- I decided I needed to do/make something to welcome the new neighbors and since I’ve been in a bread making mood of late . . . . .

Homemade Honey Oatmeal Bread.
Of course it’s made in the bread machine- ere-go my bread making mood- easy-peasy.
Now how to present it . . . . .
Should I slice it first? Naw, that will ruin its shape!
Should I send some jam with it? I don’t have any homemade or in fancy jars . . . .
What about homemade honey butter?
And what should I put the homemade butter in?

Presentation is important but not as important as the act of giving. So I put to rest my need for perfect presentation. Wrap the bread with plastic wrap, tie it with a bow and a Welcome to the Neighborhood tag and put the homemade honey butter in a small throw-away container.
Mr. Steady accompanied me to the neighbors and I nervously rang the doorbell . . . .

And so- I was once again able to step out of my comfort zone and go forth as God directed. Yes, it felt good to do something nice and I must admit- a relief too.

Back in the online saddle

Sigh. Having some internet issues. I’ve had posts to post but no way to post them.  And now- I am here.
And
There are moles in my yard.
Squirrels & birds enjoying my garden. Too much digging. Pests.
Black raspberries in my fridge (hand-picked and free!)- yum.
Library books to return and others to request.

Enjoy today’s plethora of posts.