Wordless Wednesday

 

 

 

DayLook – November 2, 2010

For Today:  Tuesday, November 2, 2010 – All Souls

Looking out from my back porch... the garden cages, fences, and hoses are put away.  Now, to get out there and take care of the dried up tomato plants.  Need to clear a few items off of the front and back porch, too. 

I am thinking about... Louis.  He’s had such a hard time sleeping the past couple nights; I hope the next couple are better.

I am thankful for... good friends – this time, the Grant’s – who make a feast day festive!

I am reading... good grief, I haven’t touched a book that is deeper than my kids’ school texts for over a week.

I am hoping... for a productive week.  Need to plug through a few items on that To-Do list.

I am hearing... absolutely nothing.  It’s truly beautiful.

From the sewing/craft room (aka. laundry room!)... well, thank goodness I’ve washed some laundry.  Crafts – not so much – unless you count the tissue paper flowers the kids made on Monday.

From the school room... Dash has been working hard, Angelina and Zeke are doing well, too.  Graham drags his feet some days, but Angelina has been so good about finding a way to bring learning into his day.  She’s a natural.

From the kitchen... Holy Ghost cookies and Soul Cakes for our All Saints party yesterday.  The dough used for the Soul Cakes was REALLY good – maybe add raisins, currants, or another dried fruit and I could eat a dozen.

State of the house... nothing has improved, but it hasn’t gotten worse, either!

A successful moment... we celebrated a feast day in style!

A few plans for the rest of the week…
Monday: All Saints Celebration at the Grant home.

Tuesday: Please say a prayer for my hubby – he has his performance review today.  Angelina has dance tonight.  ELECTIONS!  I voted by absentee – with five kids at home, you really never know if you’ll be able to get away.

Wednesday: Hopefully this is a day spent at home.

Thursday:   Visiting relatives today.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday:   Deer Hunting Opening Weekend.  Louis turns 1 year on Friday!

A picture memory...

These pics are from November 2008.  The group I was involved with started a lefse fundraiser.  We all got together and rolled/grilled between 275-345 rounds of lefse on one Saturday each November.  Most of the packages were pre-sold.  Very few were left for sale, which is a great way to do a fundraiser.  It was a great amount of prep and work on the days preceding and the day of the grilling, but it covered the childcare cost for four childcare workers at two meetings per month.  (The work was set up in shifts, so not everyone who helped is pictured below.)  It was a great bonding experience, and multi-generational, as well.  My mom usually came to help, and at least two other women brought their mothers, too.

 

 

 

 

All Saints Day!

The kids and I got together with friends – The Grant Family - to celebrate All Saints Day and have a bit of fun.  We started our celebration with the Litany of Saints and a saint parade.  Each child gave a few clues about his or her saint so the rest of us could guess their saint. 

While Sarah and I worked on preparing lunch, the kids created a tissue paper Saintly Spiritual Bouquet.  The boys each did one and the older girls rounded out the bouquet by making a flower for each of the little kids.

It’s truly surprising how fast the time goes when you are having fun! 

The menu consisted of Tuna Toasties, St. Lucy’s eyeball wraps, Bone Salad, Martyr Punch, Holy Ghost cookies, Halo Pretzels, Soul Cakes (they actually look like hot-crossed buns), and Mary’s Tears (pumpkin seeds).  Seriously, my favorite was the St. Lucy eyeball wraps.  I’ll have to get the recipe from Sarah and re-create it for a special post.  I’m not quite sure how many I ate! 

After lunch, the kids played outside (it was a gorgeous day!), played a black-out game of Saint Bingo complete with prizes for everyone, and had snacks – St. Bartholomew’s Brew (again, this was a great recipe – I hope to post it later) and St. Hildegard’s produce (basically a veggie tray with dip).  Sarah and I had about a half hour to put our feet up, and then it was time to pack up everyone and everything.

Zeke at St. Patrick

 

Miss Grant as St. Bridget

 

Graham as St. George

 

Angelina is holding Louis, who is St. Joseph.  His costume didn’t last long, but he was cute.

 

Dash as St. Gregory, a German monk.  Wow, can you tell he’s had a growth spurt!

 

Mr. Grant as St. Kolbe.  Yes, I told you I’d post the crazy one…

 

Angelina as St. Winnifred

 

Miss Grant as St. Gemma

 

 

 

 

Angelina & Ms. Grant with the Saintly Spiritual Bouquet, which will be given to friends.

 

Sarah (right) and Me!

 

A cute blast from the past of Angelina and Miss Grant at a past All Saints Day Party.

DayLook – October 27, 2010

For Today:  Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Looking out from my back porch... a wet, slushy snow is falling and blowing.  The wind is not as strong as yesterday.  The ground is snow covered.  Still need to clear out a few items from the garden, sandbox, and porch.

I am thinking about... getting done with school early so we can clean up in the yard and house a little, the piles on the desk NEED to be filed, unpaid bills need to be paid today, clothes need washing. 

I am thankful for... the fact that Angelina finished her kitchen duties before leaving this morning!

I am reading... “Common Sense'” by Thomas Paine.  I’m not very far into the book.  The title caught my eye in the B&N bargain book section; I didn’t realize he was not a Christian.

I am hoping... the wind lets up so Greg and I can go outside without getting pelted.

I am hearing...the sounds of wind and the loud play of Frick and Frack (my husband’s nicknames for Zeke and Graham).

From the sewing/craft room (aka. laundry room!)... last week, I purchased an embroidery pattern and thread for kitchen towels.  The pattern is focused on chickens and is super cute.  Will I ever complete it; especially when hand stitching is not my favorite thing to do?  It’s so cute (chickens) that I just might.

From the school room... we just keep plugging away.  Angelina is with her dad today, so she took all her work along.  I accidentally packed Dash’s science book in Angelina’s backpack, so I guess he won’t be studying for his unit test. 

From the kitchen... Angelina baked a cookie cake yesterday and I mixed up a pan of banana bars for the freezer … except for the two I ate … to test the recipe.

State of the house... the floors, oh my!  And when did the spiders move in??  Feel like I’m killing some kind of bug every time I go to the basement; they must come up out of the sump pump hole.

A successful moment... the Wyandotte’s have been moved to their new home and both flocks are adjusting to living next to each other.  I finished sewing all three cloaks for the Light Parade and they have been ‘turned ‘in’! 

A few plans for the rest of the week…
Wednesday:  Ortho appt for Angelina this afternoon.  She and her dad headed to Fargo this morning.

Thursday:   Maybe I’ll can the rest of those tomatoes – or the apples – sitting in the garage.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday:   Angelina has a girlie/sleepover weekend planned with friends.  After I drop her off, I need to do a bit of shopping – some family members need new winter clothing.

A picture memory...

Louis tried on his snowboots for the first time today.  He really hasn’t ever worn solid bottom shoes, so he was pretty wobbly at first.  All my kids have worn these little snowboots – mainly for warmth on outings.

 

 

This is the view from out our back porch this morning.  Very wet snow.  Most of it melted before accumulating.

DayLook: October 18, 2010

For Today:  Monday, October 18, 2010

Looking out from my back porch... a smooth backyard that is weed-free and newly seeded; still-growing tomatoes; sandbox toys that should be put away; a bright yellow mum.

I am thinking about...my to-do list, which includes taking care of the remaining tomatoes and 2 boxes of apples just sitting in the garage waiting for me to ‘do-something’. 

I am thankful for...great harvest weather, fresh eggs whenever we need, the littlest who loves being outside and sees something new at every corner, the 4yo who is ‘king’ in his world, the 7yo who dutifully strolls out to the mailbox with his littlest brother in the stroller, the 10yo who loves watching the youngest brother, the 13yo who diligently completes the morning chores before prayer time, and the man who makes it possible for me to stay home to see all of this.

I am hoping... to get the Silver-laced Wyandottes moved to their new home tonight.  We created a pen where the two flocks can observe each other – for up to three weeks – and get used to each other before they live together.  Update: Got it done!

From the sewing/craft room (aka. laundry room!)...I have two of the cloaks for the Parade of Lights completed...one more to go!

From the school room... considering the last couple weeks, I’m very thankful to be almost caught up; I still have one paper, written by Dash, to correct. 

From the kitchen... hopefully I’ll be making some Mexican Stewed Tomatoes and Apple Juice later today or this week.

From the garden...I am ready for the garden to be done!  When I have time, I plan to pull out the remaining tomatoes and call it a year.  We are enjoying the extended season for raspberries!

State of the house...it needs a good cleaning, but the laundry is caught up.

A successful moment...while Eric was building the partition for the second chicken flock, I took down the poultry fence for winter.  The grass had grown up and into it, so it was WORK! 

A few plans for the rest of the week…
Monday: Quick trip to Valley City to swap out the back seat in the suburban (we had to cut the seatbelt to get one of the kids out – no kidding – cool part was that it was approved to be covered by a company rep.) and stop at the library.  Corn harvest in full swing.

Tuesday: Canning, Dance for Angelina & Corn Harvest.

Wednesday: Playdate with friends, Ortho appt. for Dash.

Thursday:   Canning, Corn Harvest

Friday/Saturday/Sunday:   Bison FB on Sat.  On Sunday, we plan to celebrate the Viking/Packer game with friends (who happen to be Packer fans).

A picture memory...

 

  

Wordless Wednesday