The Height of Summer!

 It's been a little over a month since I posted -- too long! Apologies. I'll glance through photos, choose the best, and then chat with you about what's happened since the middle of June ....

We spent five glorious days together in the North Carolina mountains on vacation in the same home we stayed in last summer. It was warm, the river was cool, we tubed twice, and fishing was enjoyed. I took a chilly drive up to the top of the Blue Ridge Parkway with my son one morning for the amazing views.

I've been spinning a LOT. There's a casual online event in July for spinners called the Tour de Fleece (haha). I've set a goal to spin enough yarn to knit myself a vest for the autumn. Here's what the yarn looks like:

Shortly after the big family vacation, our son and daughter-in-law and grandson came for a visit here, which was absolutely delightful. Philip worked so hard on our property, but we also enjoyed a day at the beach.

I've been knitting and felting hats, and am surprised both by how well they've turned out, and how inconsistent they are in size. I need to practice more.

For reading during these warming days, as I hibernate in the air conditioning, I've plowed through two of Josephine Tey's books, Miss Pym Disposes and The Daughter of Time. If you want reading that will prey on your brain, make you debate with yourself, and generally cause you befuddlement, I recommend these two. I'm currently in Anthony Trollope's The Eustace Diamonds. I pulled it off my shelf for a reread because a group read/zoom discussion was going on in the Facebook Trollope group, but I started too late to participate. Still, a good read. Trollope's fortes are character crafting and plot development. He's a master!

Lastly, I have finally figured out how to put my little children's book, The Thanksgiving Mice, on my youtube channel as a read-aloud. I've been pondering this for years. Here's the link to the video. Please share it with the little children you know (maybe ages 5-9 or so?) The world needs more silly books about naughty mice, don't you agree? Lisa, I wonder if your sweet grandkids would enjoy it?

In addition, Adam has been sewing up a storm this summer, making hats, suspenders, trousers, and vests. He's revamping his wardrobe. Church happenings keep us busy with friends, and he has only a month left of his summer break before he's back in the classroom teaching middle school science. We are getting old(er), but we don't seem to be slowing down much!

Blessings to all of you! I will survive August, and then we will eagerly await autumn -- hooray!!

There and Back Again

I took another little trip to West Virginia to visit my mother and other family. She is doing so much better after her surgery.

We had a delightful visit with dear long-time friends, Ann and Beth. We met them at Tamarack for lunch, and we talked and talked and talked ....

The next day we drove to my brother and sister-in-law's home for lunch and a good visit there too. She made a wonderful winter lunch - wild rice soup and cheese toast and pineapple cake for dessert, with her delicious spice tea.

 Can you tell my mother is a dog person?

The weather has been quite good, but tonight it will turn nasty with ice and snow, so I'm heading home this afternoon to get ahead of the storm. I do miss my West Virginia family so much and the beauty and rich peace of this place.

I crocheted my mother a little tea cozy to hug her tea pot in wintertime.

 We've enjoyed movies (Miss Potter and Persuasion) and a couple of dinners with my brother and sister-in-law who live down the road, just wonderful family time.

Good-bye, Christmas

On Monday:

 One last picture of this year's Christmas tree. I took down all the Christmas decorations. It's all boxed up. 
It rained in the morning at last. Our weather for all of Christmas week was stunningly warm and gorgeous. Rain is perfect for saying good-bye to Christmas and putting things away.

 I tidied up the guest room. Six people have slept in that room since Thanksgiving!

 Adam washed his silvery hair, put on a dress shirt and new bowtie ... to go to work! He's starting a Youtube "show" channel (which I'll tell you about another time), so he has to look spiffy. 

 You can't see his right pinkie finger, but some of it is missing. It was caught in a door Sunday morning, and a big chunk of it was ... well, caught in the door. Quite painful, and then he had to get it under control so he could preach. 
I played around with some new tube paints Adam gave me for Christmas.

 To end, here are a few more photos of sweet little Isaac, everyone's darling. He was an utter delight. We could not have asked for a better Christmas gift than to have a little grandbaby in the house.

 Baby selfies are challenging!

Christmas Day

 Christmas Day was very fun! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous -- perfect Southern Christmas weather: sunny, nearly 70 degrees. We took baby Isaac outside.
He sported his Santa Suit all day long. Adam bought this for him after seeing one at the farmer's market.

 We opened presents, lounged around and nibbled a little, eating our big Christmas dinner at 2:00. Adam decided to make my mother's Sunday roast dinner: roast beef/gravy cooked with potatoes and carrots, asparagus, yeast rolls, and cole slaw - and he added stuffing too. I was in charge of cole slaw and was quite sad when we were out of mayonnaise and Adam informed me that ALL the stores had closed at noon. Then he said, "That's okay. I'll make you some mayonnaise." Which he did, and all was well. He'd made 2 batches of chocolate truffles, plus leftover cookies of various types, so we enjoyed all of that for the afternoon. Isaac was fed by a very cute elf.

 My amaryllis is blooming now.

 As Adam prepared dinner I set the table. I decided to dig out my wedding china and crystal and set a pretty table as the afternoon light filtered in from the west windows.

 Afterward, Julia and Anna crashed on the living room couches. 

Gramm decided to get the burn pile going in the pasture and spent the rest of the day (and evening) fiddling with fire, which is fun. Adam and I took Isaac outside to watch that for a little while. He loves being outside and calms right down when he's out there.
I got to chat with Kara and Philip, who are spending Christmas in Peoria with her folks, and I enjoyed talking with my mother, who is doing so much better after all her dealings with cancer this fall. I think she's on the mend at last!
Adam and I did dishes, and a silly movie was enjoyed in the living room while I played the latest "Myst" computer game ("Obduction") on my laptop. I haven't played one of those in many years.
Merry Christmas to all of you!
As I age, I realize more how important it is to embrace the Christmas that fills one's heart with comfort and hope: the infant Savior. All the Santa and presents and traveling and feasting in the world only leave a hollow place; it's fun, but it does not scrub away the sorrows of life. Somehow knowing that God Himself came to this harrowing world stripped naked, chased and threatened, a refugee, the lowest human -- yet in Him was the key to heaven for me. That is hope. Nothing in His poor life could extinguish the divine power of saving us. He overcame. He says, "I came that you might have life, and have it more abundantly." That is hope. Merry Christmas!

Sickies

That's what we are -- a house of sickies. Adam got it first and gave it to me. (I knew I shouldn't have kissed him. Ah well.) Kara and Philip are here too, and she has the most appalling cough. Even puppy dog Charlie is under the weather!

Here's what I'm using to combat the vile bug this time.

Adam drove to the store one evening to buy me my own bottle of saline spray, not something you really want to share. He uses saline spray all winter; I find it utterly repulsive, like drowning in the ocean. But this new bottle design is a wonder! You push a button and it sprays on its own! I must confess, it helps so much. I'm a convert.

What's that bottle on the right, you ask? So old,  so very old. It's Mentholatum, and who knows when we bought it. I'm not sure if they still sell it. The other item, Chloraseptic, is wonderful for a sore throat.

It only expired 10 years ago -- exactly!

Sunday night was our community Thanksgiving service.

 It's at the Catholic church. They always do a beautiful harvest display. The Pamlico Chorale sang.

 The preachers all did their various roles in the service. There's Adam, in a bow tie.

 I played the piano. I'm not used to these high tech keyboards.

 Sunday morning was so beautiful, I took pictures of our church.

 Then I asked Philip and Kara to pose.

 I'm trying to rest as much as I can before Thursday's dinner. Last night we watched this movie because Kara had never seen it. Can you believe that? It's a favorite.

Today Julia comes home.Then it'll get rowdy around here! Oh, did I mention we have 6 dogs here now? P & K brought theirs. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

The Short List

Recently I heard a lady online advise us to make a list of all the things we do that we love. The activities that give an instant feeling of peace and satisfaction, activities that -- every time you do them -- make you happy.

I did. In my journal, I made a very short list of seven things that I love to do. Seven. I was very honest with myself and didn't include anything that I felt I ought to love doing, or used to love doing. The list was for myself, and I included only the things I honestly loved, and I brutally left off everything else.

No music made the list.
No soap making, no lotion. No yarn.
Lots of things didn't make that list, and particularly things that involve groups of people. Being with people can be wonderful, and I love people ... but being with groups usually doesn't bring me feelings of peace and contentment. 

Then I mentioned this short list at Prayer Shawl on Thursday. We agreed that it's good to reassess ourselves regularly and ask ourselves: What do I love doing? And be willing to let some things go that we no longer enjoy.

Yikes. It's hard to give up things we've done for years, even decades. Will it feel good to give them up? Will I regret it? How long do I wait to do it -- until I'm so sick of activities and resent doing them? I'd truly love to know if any of you have thought about this, made a short list of your own. 

What else is going on with us? I did a post about our farm (such as it was) this past summer. If any of you missed it, click over if you like.
Do any of you remember that, long ago, I was making an Advent Calendar? I wove a piece of fabric, folded it into a calendar, and started crafting little figures to go on it. Here's some photos from two years ago:

weaving it on the loom

finishing edges and mounting on a rod

little pockets for figures

But ... now Isaac is here! (Isaac -- all things Isaac -- made my short list, of course!) I'm working on the Advent pieces again!

Wise Man #1

 Another craft I've been longing to learn is needle felting. Making the sheep for this calendar gave me the impetus to start. I bought some felting needles and pulled out some old alpaca fleece ... and a couple of sheep were born!

Something else delightful happened this week. A friend invited me to come to her grandson's 2nd grade classroom at school and do a read-aloud of my picture book, The Thanksgiving Mice.

 It was so much fun. The kids were responsive, attentive, engaged, full of questions and stories. I loved inspiring them with my story and art, telling them they can do that too.
A pair of snowflake earrings are important in the story, but I don't have a pair. In the hardware store the day before the read-aloud, I saw these on their store-decorated Christmas tree. The lady (who'd found them at the local Salvation Army) said I could borrow two for the day.

 Adam's been baking. Thanksgiving is coming!

Baguettes for French onion soup

challah bread in a loaf

finger-sized sugar cookies dipped in dark chocolate

 And to our delight, lots of cilantro is popping up in the herb garden! Cilantro is a cool weather plant.

Philip and Kara and their pups come tomorrow, and Julia comes next week. Thanksgiving will be a blast, and then the Christmas season comes rolling in! Enjoy it all; do the things you love because time is short and love is important.