Be It Ever So Humble

Cutting back on overconsumption this Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 17:55:00 +0000

I have been fixated by stories in the news of container ship backups and cargo stacking up at ports. When I see problems like this, I know that I can't fix them—but perhaps I can do my little bit. I constantly fight overconsumption in my own life, but it keeps creeping back up on me.

I'd like to take steps to cut down on unnecessary consumption this Christmas. Bonus: it should lead to less stuff cluttering up the house! Here are my ideas thus far:

Instead of maxing out a gift budget for each family member, we're going to stick to three gifts per child. We have tried to be intentional about picking things they will actually use and enjoy.
Give experiences instead of stuff when it makes sense.
Make gifts or regift things you already have. I am giving my little nephew some of Pip's old toys that are still in great condition. Tiger Lily is using supplies we already had on hand to embroider a t-shirt for Pip. Regifting is perfect for siblings, as they are often eyeing each other's stuff anyway.
Try to find gifts for free. I found a fluffy throw blanket on my local Buy Nothing Facebook group that will be a perfect gift for Pip. (I can't say enough good things about this group! They exist in most areas and are definitely worth checking out.)
Don't be afraid to buy used. We have a family tradition of giving each child a special ornament each Christmas. One year, I picked them all up at a garage sale. Nobody noticed or cared.
Give fewer gifts. With extended family, is it possible to draw names instead of giving to everyone? If you're giving to a family, do they all need separate gifts, or can you give a family gift instead?
Give group gifts. My grandmother does not need separate gifts from each of her twenty-four grandchildren. My siblings and I are are sending a group gift. We are doing the same for our parents and aunt. Less expense for us, less clutter for them!
Charitable donations make great gifts for certain people.
Give a gift of service or time: babysitting, a home-cooked meal, car detailing, time together with a child.
Try to gift fewer, high-quality items instead of a larger quantity of cheap things that won't last long.
If you're thinking about regifting/gifting used items outside the immediate family, have a conversation. Having it out in the open as an intentional practice keeps you from looking cheap when your sister-in-law opens up a package of gently-used-but-obviously-not-new books on Christmas morning.
Be willing to compromise: perhaps the exact item you want isn't available, but perhaps you can find something else that will be just as special.
Take good care of Christmas decorations so they can be reused again next year.
If you have items in good condition that you think might make good Christmas gifts, see if you can find someone who can use them! Again, the Buy Nothing groups are perfect for this. Just this week, I gave away one of Pip's old toys as a birthday gift for a little boy, and a favor I received at a baby shower became a stocking stuffer for a teenage girl.

Please chime in with your own ideas!

Levels of home care

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 18:30:00 +0000

Lately I've been thinking of different ways to show my home a little more love, and they seem to fall into categories. Somehow, I seem to do most of my work in the first and third categories and ignore the second category altogether.

In my ongoing quest to help my home feel like a place that someone cares about instead of a combination landing pad / dumping ground, I am going to make an effort to do things from all three categories.

First, the basics:

Pick up the clutter in the living areas
Dust
Wipe up the stickies
Sweep, vacuum, and mop
Wash a wall or baseboard
Clean the stove
Do the dishes
Do a load of laundry

Next, build on the basics:

Get the laundry out of the dryer and actually fold it before people need to wear it
Straighten the books on the shelves
Tidy up a less-used room
Vacuum around the edges and in the corners
Sort and organize the children's toys and art supplies
Wash the windows
Dust the ceiling corners
Sweep the porch
Weed
Clean out a cupboard or drawer
Have the carpets cleaned, the piano tuned, small repairs done, etc.

Finally, the icing on the cake!

Arrange a vase of flowers
Decorate the mantel
Bake something
Make a few freezer meals
Simmer some spices on the stove
Change the shower curtain liner
Light a candle or two
Set out some books and magazines
Hang a picture or wreath
Plant flowers

I'm sure this is only the tip of the iceberg, but it's a start. I'd love more items to add to my lists, if you have ideas.

Clothes shopping for people who hate clothes shopping

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 15:03:00 +0000

As I mentioned last time, I hate clothes shopping. I can feel my blood pressure rise as I walk into the mall. I hate the silly sales games that make it hard to figure out how much things cost. I hate the perfume counters that stink up the air. I hate the loud music. I hate 99% of the clothes—and because I hate 99% of the clothes, I hate that I have to go to five or ten stores just to find one or two things to wear. And I hate that when I finally something to wear and want to buy three of them, they only have one in my size. Ugh.

I get that this isn't normal. Most women I know enjoy clothes shopping and have fun at the mall. Just not me.

I tried mail order for a long time, and that didn't work great for me. A lot of what I ordered ended up not fitting well, but I was often too lazy to send it back, so I'd end up wearing it anyway. It was less than ideal, but it kept me clothed.

Now that I'm no longer procrastinating my clothes shopping, I've figured out a better way, and it makes clothes shopping almost painless.

I shop online, but I buy from stores that have brick-and-mortar locations in my area. This has several advantages. First, I can browse through a huge amount of clothing in a small amount of time. I can see everything the store stocks, and if they're out of the garment I like in my area, they will mail it from another location. Second, if I find something I like, I can order as many as I want. Third, if something doesn't fit or look good on me, I can return it in person instead of having to pay for return shipping.

I still buy from a few mail-order businesses that I can't return to in person, but they are businesses that I have a good track record with: I know how their clothes fit me, and I trust that they will be high quality.

I'm feeling terribly self-satisfied now that I'm not a slave to the mall anymore.

Capsule wardrobe

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 13:30:00 +0000

Let's talk about another Francophile book I read recently: Lessons from Madame Chic by Jennifer L. Scott. I first read it several years ago, and it was so far out of my comfort zone that I was embarrassed to share with anyone that I was reading it.

I don't do makeup and fashion and fanciness, and this is that sort of book—which is precisely why I needed it. Have I started wearing makeup and silk pajamas since reading Madame Chic? Absolument non. I'm still me. But Mrs. Scott taught my clueless self how wardrobes work, and I'm grateful for that.

I've always abhorred clothes shopping. Formerly, I would wait until every last article of my clothing was completely dead before buying more clothes—because why go shopping unless you absolutely have to? So I would go around in holey, stretched-out, stained, ill-fitting clothing until I just couldn't anymore, then I would have to go out and buy a whole wardrobe all at once.

Did I mention I'm also very picky about what I like to wear? My tastes usually don't usually follow the general direction fashion is going, so it's hard for me to find clothes I like. I would end up buying one or two things I liked, and a lot of things I didn't love, just to fill my closet, so I would have something to wear. Then I would wear the few things I liked over and over, and I would wear the things I didn't like when I ran out of things I liked, and . . . well, let's just say it wasn't a very good system, but it never occurred to me that I could do better. I hated clothes shopping, and I assumed I always would, and there was no getting around it.

But Lessons from Madame Chic taught me about the ten-item wardrobe. When the author, Mrs. Scott, spent a few months with a host family in France, she was shocked that in the upscale, fashionable home she lived in, only a small wardrobe was provided for clothing storage. She noticed that people around her wore the same things over and over—nice things, but always on repeat.

This is the part where I had my epiphany. You mean I don't have to own ten of everything? Just a few will do? I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I cleaned out my closet and flung all the clothes that didn't fit, that I didn't like, and that weren't in great shape—and to my surprise, I only needed to buy a few things to have enough to get by.

Fast forward a few years, and I am still using this principle. I keep two to three pairs of jeans, perhaps a pair of khakis, a few sweaters, and one or two dresses for church. I aim for about seven tops so if I don't do laundry twice a week I will be okay. I try to keep on top of my socks and undergarments and such, and replace them before they get embarrassing.

I have committed to updating my wardrobe twice a year: once for spring/summer, and once for fall/winter. Now, instead of being desperate to find something—anything!—to wear, I am able to take my time and replace my garments one or two at a time. I take inventory, discard clothing that isn't working for me, and make a list of what I need. Because I update regularly and my needs are not urgent, I am able to look around until I find something that is good quality and that I will like—and yes, I am even learning (slowly!) what I like.

I store out-of-season garments (or anything that I'm not currently using but think I might come back to) in a plastic tub. I love opening my closet and only seeing clothing that I'm currently using. The days of the overstuffed closet full of worn-out clothes are over, and I couldn't be happier!

Jennifer L. Scott blogs at The Daily Connoisseur.

Cleaning day

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 14:27:00 +0000

After a chaotic weekend, I was looking forward to a serene Monday at home to put everything to rights. Although I had less energy than I had hoped due to being up in the middle of the night cleaning cat vomit off my daughter's bed, I still managed to clear out much of the backlog.

Remaining three deposits of cat vomit cleaned up
Some extra carpet spots cleaned up
Carpet cleaner cleaned (it was gross!)
Trash taken out
Tiger Lily's sheets and comforter washed
Dishes done
So much laundry washed, dried, and folded
Processed a small part of the Halloween pumpkins (because when Red Chief begs for pumpkin pie, something must be done!)
Picked up and vacuumed

I listened to videos while I worked. There's no need to think about the grime you're cleaning; I'd rather have my mind on something more interesting! I only finished about half of what I had hoped during my allotted time, but I'm still counting the day a success.

Dozens and dozens

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 14:36:00 +0000

Pip's elementary school PTA wanted to feed the teachers dinner during parent-teacher conferences recently. That's an undertaking that I can get behind! I signed up to bring all five dozen rolls, planning that I would spend all morning making them, but that if something came up, I could buy some instead.

Nothing came up, and I had a wonderfully therapeutic and relaxing morning (stretching into afternoon) making three double-batches of rolls, the final number coming in somewhere between eight and nine dozen.

Not only was I able to share them with the teachers, but I was able to spread the love to two other families in addition to my own.

A homemade roll is like a hug, and everyone deserves one no matter what, but I'm extra happy to think that a school full of overworked, big-hearted teachers got one from me.

Loved again

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 14:11:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, I got it into my head that my house felt neglected. After burnout from everyone being home for the past 17 months, things were looking pretty sad around the house. The living area floors would be constantly covered with dominoes and blocks, because 6-year-old Pip is constantly building. The kitchen counters were littered with dirty dishes and packaging generated by two very hungry older children. I was busy homeschooling my younger two and overseeing my older son's virtual education, and that left me little time and energy for the house. Because the messes were a constant, I stopped trying to keep things neat and tidy all the time. Decorating wasn't even on my radar.

But then everyone went back to school and I had some time to catch up and breathe, and I felt the neglect. It wasn't the dust bunnies (they're still there!), the house just felt unloved, and I felt that the children felt it too, even if they couldn't put it into words.

Decorating and spending money are both not my things, but minutes after having this thought, I was headed out to the craft store, my goal to make the mantel interesting and enjoyable for the kids.

It was a success! Even though I don't have a knack for decorating, Hobby Lobby offered up plenty of coordinating decor. I just filled my cart and hoped for the best, and it worked out. But even better, the kids love it! The week after I put everything up, Tiger Lily could be found by the mantel several times a day, smelling candles, playing with animals, or tweaking pinecones to make things look better.

Appearances have always been rather far down on my list of priorities. But I will do my best to continue to follow this prompting that my home needs to feel more loved and cared for. I'm actually looking forward to changing it up every season. If anyone reading has ideas for a winter mantel, I would love to hear!

French women aren't guilty

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 15:41:00 +0000

I've been on a Francophile reading bender the last few weeks, and I have a pile of French-related books so long that I could be busy well into the new year if I don't burn out, so expect to hear more on this subject.

In seventh grade, I read Jane Eyre and wanted desperately to be able to understand the character Adèle's French dialogue. That started me on about seven years of French classes—although I never got to the point of fluency or visited a French-speaking country, sadly.

Several years ago, I used my limited French skills to start researching my ancestry. My grandmother's grandfather was French, and combing through records online that look like this one, from the marriage of my third great-grandparents, I have been lucky enough to find many generations of French ancestors.

Whoops, I'm veering a little off topic here. The point is simply that I'm kind of a Francophile, although I feel like a phony since I've never been there.

In any case, I've been indulging in a bit of armchair travel and psychology the past few weeks. I'm re-reading a few favorite books about French lifestyle and culture, and trying a few new ones (based on what my library had available via ebooks, since I was too lazy to actually get up and go to the library).

I reread the old standbys French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano and Lessons from Madame Chic by Jennifer L. Scott. And now I'm trying something new, Ooh La La! by Jamie Cat Callan. It's certainly not my usual style of book. The author is attempting to get inside a French woman's head to find out why they're so different from Americans. Ms. Callan sent out a survey to several French women, and one of the questions on the survey asked what they felt most guilty about. Most of the respondents left that question blank. French women simply don't feel guilty. They can enjoy a delectable meal or a pastry in a café, they can go to a spa several times a year, buy expensive body products, have massages, take care of themselves after childbirth—and nary a guilty pang.

How many things do I feel guilty about that I shouldn't? What's wrong with taking a nap when I'm tired, leaving the kids to fend for themselves while their dad and I go out to dinner once a week, or throwing away my ratty t-shirts and buying something nicer? Why does self-care make me feel guilty? Is this just a me thing, or is it an American thing?

I'm starting to wonder if one of the blessings of growing older is dumping the guilt and doing what makes you feel like you. Many older friends whom I admire are refreshingly free from guilt about doing what makes them happy.

I'm learning.

All the time in the world

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 15:38:00 +0000

A long time ago (it seems so long, but it was really only ten years), I had two littles at home all day and another in my future. Sometimes I would fantasize about the day when they would be in school and I would finally have some breathing space and time to myself. Not that I didn't love staying home with them and caring for them—I absolutely did—but as any mother knows, sometimes it gets to be a bit much.

The time has arrived. All three of mine are in school this year. And now I wish I could go back and tell my younger self that it's not what I imagined.

I used to imagine myself partitioning my day just so: time for music practice, time for cleaning, time for errands, etc. The empty hours would stretch before me, and there was no end to the wonderful things I imagined I would accomplish when the children were in school.

Allow me to laugh at myself for a moment. Reality is so different. I'm older and tireder, and some days, a nap is my priority. Rheumatoid arthritis keeps me from playing much on my violin. Having my kids in three different schools means a couple of hours out of my time due to staggered start and release times. And hardly a week has gone by thus far without someone catching a sniffle and having to stay home, or having to deal with a broken dishwasher, an incontinent cat, or following through on projects I volunteered for (because I have so much time!).

I'm not complaining. I'm incredibly grateful to have the continued opportunity to be the keeper of my home and to care for my children and husband. But I can't help but smile at my younger, energetic, idealistic self. I'm accomplishing a quarter of what I want to. I will never be on top of everything. But I am most definitely enjoying the bit of quiet space that this stage in my life has brought, even if it wasn't exactly what I imagined.

It's been awhile

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 14:02:00 +0000

It's been awhile since I blogged last. I enjoyed taking a good, long break. Lots has happened. I occasionally contemplate the fact that blogging as I used to enjoy it—non-commercialized, no videos, not promoted on social media—is basically dead. Most of my favorite blogs of the past are inactive or gone.

But the fact remains that I kinda sorta miss it. I miss finding the little beauties and pleasures in life and highlighting them here. I miss having—for myself—a record of what I've been doing around the home. And, I won't lie, I even miss having friends, family, and random strangers leave comments.

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” —C. S. Lewis

So I'm going to test the waters again.

Lately

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Mon, 27 May 2019 20:06:00 +0000

Hi there! It's been awhile. I've been enjoying an extended break from most things internet but I thought I'd pop in for an update.

Reading
I'm deep into my 50-book challenge from my local library. Current read: The Summer Book by Tove Jansson. I've also been exploring Open Library and am loving that I'm able to access a lot of out-of-print books there. Pip and I spent a good 45 minutes on it this morning, reading picture books aloud.

I also got a subscription to a real, honest-to-goodness, made-of-paper newspaper for my birthday. It is so much less stressful to read the news in the paper! The news is more finite in that format. It gives me the need-to-knows, plenty of local stories, and, best of all, crossword puzzles!

Cooking
I've been enjoying trying a lot of new recipes lately, and I've been spending extra time in the kitchen for fun. But on the lazy side, I've found a grocery store where I can just pick up my groceries and not have to shop. I like that, mostly, although I do miss picking out my own produce.

In the garden
My seasonal allergies were so bad last year that I never planted a garden. They're just as bad this year. They actually make me feel ill when I can't keep them under control with medication. I'm rethinking whether we ought to take out our garden since I'm having such a hard time working in it.

In the home
My new toy, a robotic vacuum, is helping me keep the living areas tidy (tidy enough to run it!). The kids love starting it or driving it with the remote control; my floors have never been cleaner.

I've been trying to use up my conventional cleaners and switch over to homemade after reading Clean Mama's Guide to a Healthy Home earlier this year. The book is packed with cleaning formulas, and so far they've all worked perfectly.

This week I finally tackled our guest room, which had boxes of decorations from every holiday all the way back to Halloween that I had never sorted out and put away. Now it's done, and it feels good. I also reshelved the books that had gotten out of hand, and we had a nice tidy room to put my brother and his family when they came to visit.

Pip
Pip just finished out his first year of co-op preschool. He has learned a lot about getting along with others. Pip loves apples and will eat several a day if I let him. He also loves playing on the PBS Kids website as much as I'll let him (which is probably too much). He is especially obsessed with the nature shows. When he goes to bed at night, he has to have his stuffed dog Woofer, his red magnetic drawing board, and his bird identification guide.

Tiger Lily
Tiger Lily's current priorities are working on her reading bingo game (I made it for her for the summer, but let her start early), playing a math game she loves, taking art classes, and seeing as much of her best friend as possible. In the past year, Tiger Lily has shown herself to be very good with younger kids; when she's with her cousins, they follow her around like the Pied Piper, and she's great at keeping them in order.

She recently tested into the gifted program in our school district. It's too late to get her started this school year, but next year she'll be riding a bus to a different school one day a week to work on more challenging, open-ended problems than she gets in her regular class. However, she has had a teacher this year who was perfect for her unique needs, which has been a great blessing.

Red Chief
Red Chief has really blossomed in his second year of middle school. He's figured out the basics and is running with them. It doesn't hurt that he has the best group of teachers ever. Seriously. I never want to move because I love our middle school so much. Red Chief has had some hard things happen to him this year, but he has come through everything with flying colors, and he's a straight-A student.

He's finally settling in with his new piano teacher. She is very demanding, and he is making good progress with her as long as he gets his practice time in. He still loves to play the French horn as well, although we've been missing a lot of lessons lately due to medical appointments and scout campouts!

Music
Life got so busy early this spring that I had to drop out of orchestra for a concert. I am looking forward to going back in the fall. But I've had more opportunities than usual to play in church since then, and have been enjoying learning a new song that I heard on the radio and liked (the fourth movement is my favorite, although it's the second movement that drew me in, because I thought it would be good for me to learn all those scales).

It's amazing to me that I can hear a song on the radio in the car, go home and look it up online and print out the sheet music in minutes. There are many good things about technology that I take for granted, even though I do remember the pre-internet days!

Weather
We had a late winter and a wet spring. Usually it's feeling like summer by now, but we haven't had many really hot days yet. No problem, I don't mind saving on the power bill!

January

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 18:25:00 +0000

Hi there! It's been awhile. Life has been good—a little busy—I just haven't felt the itch to share my life in a public forum lately.

But I miss having the record of our quotidian happenings. I enjoy looking back at life five years ago, and it's sad to think that in the future, I wouldn't have the same record of what's happening now.

I'm going to try moving to a longer format and checking in once a month with major happenings and goal updates. So here goes!

———

January Happenings

Church went from three hours to two at the beginning of the year. It is turning out to be a lot easier for some of us (like me!—but also Pip) to make it through. Going along with that, we started a new home gospel study program. Our goals were to move our study to the kitchen table (instead of the couches, because we were getting a little too casual), and to participate in the program. It has made a big difference in our study, and I love how the lessons at church are synchronized with the home study.

Our stake church group had an arts event this January. Tiger Lily and Red Chief had their paintings displayed, and Red Chief played his French horn in the concert. I'm proud of both of them. Tiger Lily has been taking art classes for the last six months and has produced some very nice paintings under her teacher's supervision. Red Chief has been working hard on his French horn for almost two years, and his performance showed all the hard work and love he's put into it.

Tiger Lily has been participating in a STEM club after school. It has worked out to be a blessing for us, because Red Chief just switched piano teachers and lesson times, and the club allows us to pick Tiger Lily up from her club right after piano lessons, instead of having her come home to an empty house. Luckily she enjoys the club—it's not just the scheduling boon that I'm grateful for.

Red Chief's new piano teacher is an older lady (a great-grandma!) who is very exacting. We're sad that his old teacher had to stop teaching, but we're happy to have found a teacher who is such a perfect fit for him (she only teaches classical music and hymns—just the things that Red Chief is interested in playing). The only spot she had in her schedule requires me to pick Red Chief up right from school (I abhor the traffic in that parking lot!) and take him straight to lessons. It has been going well so far, although I feel for poor Pip spending so much time in the car between both sets of Red Chief's music lessons.

I finally let Tiger Lily quit piano lessons. She has hated it for long enough that it wasn't just a passing struggle, and I just didn't have the energy to make her keep practicing. She is much more interested in theater and art, and although I hoped she would become a competent pianist as well, it looks like it's just not going to be her thing.

All of us but Pip went to see The King and I. It was a good performance and it was fun to take the kids to a musical, although next time Red Chief wants to see a shorter one.

Red Chief was called to be secretary for his age group at church. He is taking his calling to heart and it warms my heart to see him performing his duties with no urging from anyone.

My husband has been busy. He is the scoutmaster for our ward right now, and it's a demanding job that takes up most of his free time. I'm grateful for my husband and all the other adults who spend extra time to teach and help my children at church.

I've been busy too. I'm two-thirds through a plant-based nutrition course. I've been using Pip's computer time to get my classwork done.

The local professional orchestra asked me to sub with them this month. I said yes to one concert and no to another that wouldn't work with my schedule (it's hard to fit it in when they need you every night for a whole week!). It was surreal filling out employment forms after not having a job for twelve years. I have been practicing hard and will perform this week and next. I was excited at first, but the whole thing is turning out to be fairly stressful and nerve-wracking for me, and at this point I'm just excited for it to be over.

———

Goals

Gospel study with the family. As I mentioned above, this has been going really well. I'm so grateful for the new program.

Losing ten pounds this year. Down three. Changing my habits at the grocery store to buy less junk food has helped me a lot. Also, handing over my chocolate stash to my husband. He gives me one a day and it's working great.

Potty training Pip. He has finally decided that it's okay to poop in the potty. This is a huge breakthrough and while we still have farther to go, I'm 100% satisfied with this month's progress.

Teaching Pip to read. Pip has expressed interest in reading lately. He knows his letters and letter sounds, so we're moving on to sounding out short, phonetic words. I've also made him a few flashcards with simple sight words that we'll work on this month.

Reading fifty books. My local library is having a 50-book challenge, and I've signed up. The books have to come from specific categories listed by the library. I'm aiming to finish one a week, and I made a spreadsheet to help myself keep track. In January I read:

A book from a library display: Willa of the Wood by Robert Beatty
A book with an alternative lifestyle: Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome (I'm not sure what they were getting at with this category, so I hope a book about three responsibility-free, Millennials-of-another-century-who-think-they're-hilarious-type men living on a boat for a couple of weeks counts!)
A cozy mystery: Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer (It didn't up being very cozy . . . I thought from the author that it would be, but I was wrong! However, it wasn't gory or hardboiled either, so I'm content.)
An autobiography or memoir: Becoming by Michelle Obama (I ended up enjoying all the books this month, but I liked this one best.)

Less screens and more books. The library reading challenge has helped me move away from screens a little, as has my violin practicing. I seem to get more headaches when I get too much screen time, so I will continue to limit my time.

Go to the temple every month. January: check.

Play more board games as a family. I could do better at this.

Get rid of 2019 things this year. I have postponed this goal until March when my class and concerts are over, but I still managed to get rid of over 300 things in January!

Do something with our digital photos. This is another goal I'm postponing until March. However, I have started some preliminary sorting and deleting, and I've decided that I'm going to start with last year (while I still remember it!).

———

Funny sayings from Pip

Looking out the window: "Why is it all froozinated out there?"
"Can you cut my pancake into tiny rectangles and put poison syrup on it?" (He meant boysenberry)
To the barking dogs on our walk: "Stop it, dogs. I'm not bothering you. Stay in your own habitat!"

———

That ended up being a lot more than I expected. If you made it through all that, I'm surprised!

Someone wanted a bite

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 23:02:00 +0000

If you're guessing Pip was the hungry one, you'd be guessing right.

Cake day

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 03:13:00 +0000

Today I had more energy than usual and didn't have to be anywhere in the afternoon, so cake happened. Soup and three loaves of bread happened too, while I was at it.

It had occurred to me earlier today that it has been years since I made my husband his favorite spice cake.

Not anymore.

Quick trip

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 14:32:00 +0000

We made a quick trip to visit family over the weekend to see my sister's baby blessed and to visit with everyone. The children had the most fun playing my parents' two organs and two pianos. (Pictured above: Tiger Lily wearing my old dress, which is 20-something years old, at the pump organ, which is 100+ years old.)

We finished off the weekend with a cousins' piano recital (and Red Chief performed a hymn on the pipe organ, the first he's learned). We made an impromptu stop at a historical site on the way home and got back home late and tired, but happy.

Frivolous pleasures

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 23:01:00 +0000

Today Chrissy inspired me to share some of my favorite little pleasures. They may not be good for me and they're completely frivolous, but it's good to know what you need when it's time to unwind sometimes, no?

Food: Dairy free ice cream, chocolate cake, salt and vinegar chips, chocolate-covered raisins
Shows: Jane Austen movies (or spin-offs like Austenland), Studio C, TwoSet Violin, Antiques Roadshow, Great British Bake Off
Reading: Robin McKinley, Anne McCaffrey, Patricia C. Wrede, D.E. Stevenson, L.M. Montgomery, Daisy Ashford, Grace Livingston Hill, James Herriot, J.K. Rowling, Ruth Reichl.
Music: Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Ravel, Eric Whitacre, Anonymous 4, or just about any classical music
Activities: Journaling, sleeping, playing Design Home, listening to audio books or podcasts, genealogy, library trip, walk, arranging flowers

What do you do to unwind?

Flowers of two sorts

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 16:35:00 +0000

I gleaned my weedy garden yesterday and came out with these flowers. They were just what I needed to brighten up a house made gloomy by wildfire smoke. I haven't seen the sun all week!

And below the bouquet are some paper flowers Tiger Lily made earlier this summer. She learned to make them at an art class this summer, so I put in an order. She is usually happy to fill my requests. Now she's working on birthday cards to send out to relatives so I don't have to buy any.

Quick trip

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 14:39:00 +0000

We made a quick family trip before school started. We saw an ice cave, a volcanic site, and an early nuclear reactor, all of which Red Chief was highly pleased with (the rest of us didn't mind). We also stayed in a tipi and cooked over a fire, which the kids enjoyed very much.

The first night Pip was wandering around in the dark and fell on top of the fire pit (the fire was out). My husband and I just assumed it was still quite hot, and we immediately got the nearby hose and started treating him. But when I went to check the grate, it was almost cool. We feel very blessed that Pip came through with nothing more than a few scratches. However, the whole incident scared him and it took him quite awhile to calm him down.

The next evening a thunderstorm blew in, and it hailed and rained quite violently. Our tipi turned out not to be very waterproof and soon we and our belongings were quite damp. Pip was completely traumatized at the failure of his shelter and wailed all the way to a restaurant where we eventually warmed up. After dinner we packed up and went home a night early rather than sleep in puddles.

All in all, we actually had a great time, and we definitely made some memories. Three-year-olds may be easily upset, but they recover quickly.

Local economy

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 14:33:00 +0000

I've been pleased this summer to do business with my neighbors. One teaches art classes, another piano lessons. We buy garden vegetables from another, who also takes viola lessons from me. Teenagers in the neighborhood run summer workshops and classes for children, and I can't even count the number of times I've had them over to babysit. I love that we can all help each other, and it makes me feel more at home here, more rooted in our community.

Fixed-ish

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Sun, 19 Aug 2018 02:24:00 +0000

Thanks so much to Danielle who let me know this week that comments on my blog weren't being published. I haven't seen any in my email in months and I just assumed no one was reading. I found your comments (thank you!) and I'll work now on figuring out what happened with the email. My apologies for not answering for so long!

Howlers from Pip

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Wed, 25 Jul 2018 16:08:00 +0000

I love the stage when my kids start saying funny things unwittingly. Here are some of Pip's latest. He's three and a half.

———

"Mom, Tiger Lily's touching my property!"

Pip saw a man smoking in a parking lot. He was very impressed. "That man is blowing FIRE bubbles!"

Pip: "See these things in my ears? They're eardrunks. My eardrunks help me hear."

Me: "Oh, you mean eardrums?"

Pip: "No. Drunks help you hear. Not drums. I don't have drums in my ears!"

"Mommy, can you observation a tree and find me a chopped down tree?"

Tiger Lily had a doughnut.

Red Chief: "Could I please have a little bit?"

Pip: "You're allergic to doughnuts. Give it to me!"

Pip: "Mommy, are you happy?"

Me: "Yes."

Pip: "Then why is your mouth straight?"

"I got an owie on the chin of my arm."

Pip: "Can you please get me a drink of water?"

Me: "Sure."

Pip: "This water is too wet for me."

Envelope hoarder

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 16:21:00 +0000

Hi. I guess it's been awhile. Lots has happened since I last checked in. Red Chief turned twelve. We've kept busy running around to swimming lessons, music lessons, and other fun summer classes (a woman in our neighborhood just started teaching art classes and Tiger Lily is a big fan). We've tried to make the effort to go to one or two fun places each week. Red Chief has finally learned how to keep his room clean.

But I'm checking in today to confess that I'm an envelope hoarder. Tiger Lily and I organized the school supplies yesterday to see if we needed to buy anything, and I found a few boxes of envelopes. This is on top of the several-inches-high stack I already have at my writing desk, and the industrial-sized box I just gave away a few months ago.

It's not just envelopes. We found several pounds of crayons, about ten boxes of markers, eight rolls of packing tape, and enough notebook paper to run a classroom.

If the apocalypse happens tomorrow, we may starve, but at least we'll have plenty of office supplies.

Red Chief plays Beethoven

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Thu, 21 Jun 2018 19:46:00 +0000

Red Chief has turned into quite the connoisseur of classical music. I can tell when he's been on the computer last, because YouTube will be open to music from Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss, or Mozart.

He decided last month that he wanted to learn a song by Beethoven. Most of the Beethoven I could find was still above his level, but after a little sleuthing we found an Ecossaise in E-flat that he could handle—with a lot of practice, and a little help from his teacher.

He practiced, and now he's got it! I'm so proud of him.

Pip's favorite place

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 21:46:00 +0000

If I don't know where Pip is, chances are I'll find him here.

Things we can't get enough of lately

noreply@blogger.com (Dianna) — Tue, 19 Jun 2018 19:35:00 +0000

Not all family members go with each activity, of course.

Corn on the cob
Non-dairy ice cream
Sleeping in
Listening to Harry Potter audiobooks
Playing name the composer with the classical station on the radio
Legos
Baths
Playing in the sandbox
Playing Minecraft
Watching Nova and Antiques Roadshow