Friday, September 28, 2012

An Autumn Walk Around a Favorite Pond





I love how this pond changes with the seasons.  I love how it is only two miles from my home.  And, I love fall!!! 

Monday, September 17, 2012

Keep It Simple

Tomorrow, I host dinner for eleven of my friends, something I do just once a year for this particular group, although, one of them has me to dinner each month. I purposely stay in this group as a way to make myself more social.  Oh, I do love each and every one in this dear group, don't get me wrong, it's just that my natural bent would be to stay home, focused on my own world.  I'd be quite content, in fact!  And perhaps, I will one of these days, but right now, I am trying to stretch myself in the area of hospitality.  I've always had to make myself be social, now that I think of it! 

So, how do I keep things simple so that I do not become an anxiety ridden mess, driving my family crazy in the process?  First of all, I am keeping my menu simple. 

Chili with assorted toppings
Raw vegetable tray
Cornbread with butter and honey
Blueberry Peach Crisp with vanilla ice cream
Lemonade or decaf iced tea

Other hostesses are much more elaborate, others have had food brought in.  I finally realized that it didn't matter so much what we were eating, it was the friendly atmosphere that we all craved.  

I am also not stressing about the state of my home. Quite a few of the others in my group have large, professionally decorated homes.  My home is quite lived in as we are here learning together most every day. 

We're a diverse group.  Only one other home educates her children.  Most of the ladies work outside of the home, at least part time.  We all have our own struggles.  Yet, we all love one another and accept one another's limitations.  No one is going to care about the weeds in my flower bed along the side walk, or care that the walls of my home are still a bland white that now really need painting!  

I've been a part of this group for more than five years.  We've been through a lot together.  They are worth the effort I will make tomorrow.  And next month when I go to one of their homes, it will be all the sweeter!  




Friday, September 14, 2012

Last Weekend of Summer

Technically speaking, this coming weekend is the last weekend of summer, although, it should feel more like the first weekend of fall, if the forecast holds true.  How I have longed for cooler weather!  And now it is here!

All this cooler air makes me in the mood to bake once again, too.  I want pumpkin muffins, pie, and lattes!  I am more than ever thankful for my new oven.  I will roast a whole chicken today, something I dared not do in the summer heat wave. 

Fall temperatures also makes me want to wear my favorite sweater, and to enjoy wearing socks!  I can't wait to build a fire in the fireplace and sip decaf coffee in front of its warmth.  It should not be a long wait now! 

I love fall, if you could not tell.  It's my favorite season.  There is just so much you can do in the outdoors when the weather is more enjoyable.  

Friday, September 7, 2012

Truly Worthwhile Things, Never Change

"As you read my stories of long ago, I hope you will remember that the things that are truly worthwhile and that will give you happiness are the same now as they were then.  Courage and kindness, loyalty, truth, and helpfulness are always the same and always needed."

Laura Ingalls Wilder, in a letter to the Pomona Public Library, Pomona, CA. 

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Enjoying the Fruit of Our Labors

Last evening, we harvested one of our red cabbages.  It was just enough for one large salad for us all to enjoy.  It was perfect!  There are several more.  I am so glad I did not give up on them and quit watering them through the drought.  I'm also impressed that the bugs did not eat them, as well.  They are small, but they are wonderful.