advent

it has come upon us again, the season of advent, whereby we ready our hearts for the God-Incarnate, Jesus Christ. i read two great posts (with glorious pictures!) about how advent can be shared with our precious children. for the last two years i have used the jesse tree to mark each day in advent. we also use an advent candle wreath! i have several books i go to for reading the children. and course i have put out our creches -- i have several from my childhood and several i am collecting as an adult. i want my children to have the joy of playing with the mary and joseph as i did! how do you celebrate advent?

phoebe's sweater giveaway!

ginny over at small things has a wonderful contest going on until friday. check it out. i think this book is gorgeous and the knitting pattern that goes with the story is even more gorgeous!!!

miss ann

miss ann is our neighbor across the street. she is 93 years old and lives alone, as her husband passed away seven years ago. they were married for 62 years. when she comes over to visit with us, we often ask her questions about her life and ask for her wisdom on children, homekeeping, and mostly marriage. last night she told us stories of her life as an immigrant child in baltimore. she left sicily when she was five years old, on a boat bound for new york city. something that struck me as amazing last night was her proud declaration that she wasn't afraid to say they didn't eat meat everyday. she was one of ten children. her mother baked bread every morning of her life. meat was a luxury reserved for sunday meals. as i am putting together our meal plans for this fall and after making soulemama's delicious soup and lentil soup last week i have been considering using meat only a few days a week. meat is expensive and if we don't buy organic, grass fed beef it is very costly on the environment as well as our health. i'd like to have a pasta night, a soup night, roast chicken, homemade pizza night, mexican night (using beans or meat) and then two other options to round my week out. i know i want to cook with a lot more lentils, beans, and vegetables as the main dishes. since it is the new season of autumn, warm hearty soups and stews will be really wonderful on the chilly evenings. its good to learn from the older generations, who lived in leaner times, as we are now in a time of recession. it is good to value the old wisdom.

a room with a view

our sunroom: its my favorite room in our home. we eat our meals here, knit, color, cut paper, draw, write letters and stories, have quiet times, visit with friends adn family, watercolor, read and do nearly all of our living in here. i don't know if it will be warm enough in here during the cold months but i aim to put some little heaters by our feet to prolong the sunroom-goodness. and according to my mama (the expert flora and fauna lady) we have lilacs, dogwoods, possibly a red maple, and more azaleas on the side of the house. [which means we'll have red buds in the winter and the gorgeous dogwood blooms in the spring.]

all of this talk of flowers, seasons and gardening inspired me to get out yesterday and weed my frontyard beds. i am half-way done. i will be putting in some lovely mums soon. fall is not quite here but i am looking forward to the changes that we will see through our sunroom views.

we also just spied a "sharpie" or a sharp-shinned hawk on our fence. what fun!

radical homemaking via soulemama

i was just perusing amanda's site and found this fantastic review of the book radical homemaking - i want to go run out and buy it! while i believe that it is a God-given role for the woman to be in the home, i think that the reviewer has some excellent points. check it out. ps i am already planning out my garden for spring 2011! so excited!

leftover solutions

i had some leftover oatmeal from yesterday's breakfast and so we made delicious pancakes with the remainders! here is a terrific/easy recipe i found through keeper of the home. the kids ate theirs with real maple syrup and i had mine with homemade blackberry jam that my mama made a few days ago (from our berry picking at morris orchard in monroe, va!) needless to say everyone was satisfied. this will be a good go-to meal for the upcoming school year.

make your place

last week i ordered make your place: affordable, sustainable nesting skills by raleigh briggs. i am loving this book.

words to describe the home i am creating:

affordable
frugal
sustainable
green
mindful
loving
caring
listening
noisy
peaceful
nesting
keeping
watching
waiting
protecting
creative
safe
intentional
community
busy
joyful
d.i.y.
industrious

so i am off to make the house in to our home ie. time to unpack the office!!