It's a Beautiful Life

The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes. If you foolishly ignore beauty, you will soon find yourself without it. Your life will be impoverished. But if you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life. ~Frank Lloyd Wright

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. ~Rachel Carson

A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself. ~Henry Miller

While we try to teach our children all about life,Our children teach us what life is all about. ~Angela Schwindt

How did my little baby turn into a little boy?

It is getting a little cold out here.

Don't you think it is time to go in?
Please?!

The Little Prince

Do not dismiss The Little Prince as a children's story. While Levi was enchanted, the story has layers full of thought-provoking themes and ideas for adults.

The Little Prince is thoughtful, bittersweet, and highly imaginative. The plot is all over the place and beside the point; read to find the not-so-hidden messages for living a rich and beautiful life.

This book has found its way onto my best books list. Excellent.

"Good-bye," said the fox. "Here is my secret. It's quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."

"But what does ephemeral mean?" repeated the little prince, who had never in all his life let go of a question once he had asked it.

(This particular phrase was repeated several times throughout the book, reminding me of the five-year-old living in my home. And, indeed, a few days after finishing the book, Levi was insistent that I address a question of his saying, "I have never in my life let go of a question once I've asked it.")


"Good Morning," said the little prince.

"Good morning," said the salesclerk. This was a salesclerk who sold pills invented to quench thirst. Swallow one a week and you no longer feel any need to drink.

"Why do you sell these pills?"

"They save so much time," the salesclerk said. "Experts have calculated that you can save fifty-three minutes a week."

"And what do you do with those fifty-three minutes?"

"Whatever you like."

"If I had fifty-three minutes to spend as I liked," the little prince said to himself, "I'd walk very slowly toward a water fountain..."

Thanksgiving Feast

What are your favorite Thanksgiving foods? I have spent every Thanksgiving with my parents, usually at their home. We always have a traditional dinner of turkey, bread dressing, mashed potatoes, candied yams (with marshmallows, of course), green salad, bread, jello salad, sparkling cider, and pies--pumpkin, apple, and/or (chocolate) pecan.

I am always in charge of the 'jello salad.' While I'm actually not all that fond of traditional jello salad, our recipe is a bit more like a cold, fruity mousse. And it is delicious. I have had more requests for this recipe than anything else I have made. My family is so fond of Orange Cream Souffle, we have it for every holiday. I make the original orange version for Thanksgiving, lime for Christmas, and lemon for Easter. Raspberry is delicious for July 4th. Try it. You'll like it!

Orange Cream Souffle

6 oz pkg orange jello (or lime, lemon, raspberry...)
2 cups boiling water
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup orange juice
1 small container of whipped topping or 2 cups whipped cream

Dissolve jello in boiling water. In separate bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar--mix until well blended. Gradually add jello, cold water, and orange juice. Chill until slightly thickened. Fold in whipped topping. Pour into serving bowl. Chill. (I always make this the day ahead of an event.)

And then there is the bread. I'm a bread addict. I can eat an entire loaf by myself. But no bread compares to Swedish Limpa, especially in the fall. It is dense, dark, rustic, and slightly sweet. It makes incredible leftover turkey sandwiches... which makes it a must on the Thanksgiving menu. I am sure there are numerous limpa recipes floating around, but here is the one I follow:

Swedish Limpa

Cook 1 medium potato. Mash and use cooking water, adding enough liquid (water or milk) to make 1 quart. Add 1 cup dark corn syrup (part molasses), 2 Tablespoons melted shortening, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 Tablespoon salt, juice and zest of 1 orange, 1 1/2 teaspoon crushed fennel seed, 2 Tablespoons yeast (I proof the yeast first in a cup of warm water), 2-4 cups whole wheat (or rye) flour, and about 7-10 cups white flour. Knead until smooth. Let rise in greased bowl until double. Punch down and form 4-5 round loaves. Place on greased cookie sheets. Let rise again until double. Bake 45 minutes-1 hour in 350 degree oven. Place on cooling rack. Cover tops with melted butter. (I just take a stick of butter and rub it over the hot bread.)

I usually freeze one or two of the loaves for our St. Lucia celebration on December 13th. More about that later...


Enjoy your Thanksgiving feast!

Thanksgiving
(Old Rhyme)

The year has turned its circle,
The seasons come and go.
The harvest is all gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.

Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain.
So open wide the doorway--
Thanksgiving comes again!

Thankful

I am overwhelmed by the enormous quantity of blessings in our lives. How sorry I am for all the moments of complaining and whining that I have indulged in this past year. How thankful I am for the graciousness of God.

I adore my husband. We have three incredible young boys. We have a lovely, warm, dry home in the country. We live just two miles from my parents. Almost all of our extended family live within 20 minutes of our home. My husband has a good job. Our cars still run. We enjoyed a road trip and many other days of fun and adventure this past year. We are healthy. We eat good food (usually too much). We read together and just plain enjoy each other's company. We have great friends. The list goes on and on and on.

In my mailbox the other day I recieved the World Vision Gift Catalog. As I poured over the pages, my heart ached for those in developing countries (and families in our own city or country) who would be overjoyed by a gift of oxen and plow, sewing machine and training, seeds and farm tools, fresh water, soccer balls, musical instruments, art supplies, or any of the other incredible gifts to choose from. This week, Levi and I will choose a gift. And it will be priceless to me to help instill in him a heart for those with less. Consider giving a gift to those in need this year!

Welcome!

It has been nearly a year since we moved into our 'Forever House.' I posted Open House pictures back in March even though we hadn't finished settling in, and a few of the pictures were taken before we moved in.

Since I have spent the last week cleaning and organizing in anticipation of hostessing book club (isn't entertaining a great catalyst?), it seemed like an ideal time to invite all of you to another open house. So, welcome, and come on in! Our library/school room is straight ahead through the French doors. (Unfortunately, it became my 'stash and dash' room, so I will post pictures later... Grin.)

Below is our living room. The kitchen is again straight ahead (we'll go there last of all so we can sit and enjoy some hot spiced cider). The hallway is the opening on the left. We'll head down there in just a moment.

This is the view from the kitchen doorway~ looking back toward the front door.

We've now walked down the hallway to the master bedroom. Some day we'll have a master suite, but until then we'll enjoy this cozy little room.

I hesitated to show you this messy picture, but if you were here you would see it. Russ built me these wonderful shelves which I have yet to organize. I still use one of the dressers as a changing table (when it isn't covered with clothing and what not) since we don't have space in the boys' room.
This is the hallway view from our room back into the living room. Through the curtained doorway is the tiny stairway leading up to the playroom. If you were really here, you would still not be allowed up there. Maybe tomorrow. Or the next day. To the right is the boys' room.
Ah, we are now entering my favorite room. The quiet room. Sometimes. Leif is only taking naps in here. At night he sleeps in the play pen in the school room. It's soaking in and he will be brilliant by the age of 3.

And we are heading back into the hallway...
I'm sure you were just dying to see our bathroom, but it is nice to know where it is... just in case.

And now back to the kitchen for some cider. Our dining nook is to the right. I love the way the sun pours in the window all morning.

This is the kitchen view from the dining nook.
And our laundry nook. I'm only showing it to you because it is actually clean. Otherwise I would have the curtain closed.

The view back into the living room.

I wish you could truly be here, but I'm glad you came for a virtual visit!

Quotable

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

~T. S. Eliot (1888-1965)

Owning Books

A book reads better which is our own, and has been so long known to us that we know the topography of its blots and dog's ears, and can trace the dirt in it to having read it at tea with buttered muffins. ~Charles Lamb

Do you have a favorite book that has been with you for years and shows signs of loving? My favorite is Maggie Rose. Have I mentioned that before? Actually, the copy I have is not the same as the one I grew up with, but it looks just the same. The old, pale pink cover, slightly worn on the edges. The sketchy, quirky illustrations. This current copy looks forward to years of loving by my family.

Honor and Appreciation

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again. Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause. Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." ~Theodore Roosevelt, The Man in the Arena

"Never give in —never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." ~Winston Churchill

"Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die." ~G.K. Chesterton

Fall, Leaves, Fall

Fall, Leaves, Fall

By Emily Bronte

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away.

Lengthen night and shorten day.

Every leaf speaks bliss to me

Fluttering from the autumn tree.

I shall smile when wreaths of snow

Blossom where the rose should grow.
I shall sing when night's decay

Ushers in a drearier day.

A Tale of Two Cities

The Taking of the Bastille

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

" . . . tell Wind and Fire where to stop," returned madame; "but don't tell me."

Charles Darnay seemed to stand in a company of the dead. Ghosts all! The ghost of beauty, the ghost of stateliness, the ghost of elegance, the ghost of pride, the ghost of frivolity, the ghost of wit, the ghost of youth, the ghost of age, all waiting their dismissal from the desolate shore, all turning on him eyes that were changed by the death they had died in coming there.

If you could say, with truth, to your own solitary heart, to-night, 'I have secured to myself the love and attachment, the gratitude or respect, of no human creature; I have won myself a tender place in no regard; I have done nothing good or serviceable to be remembered by!' your seventy-eight years would be seventy-eight heavy curses; would they not?"

Although I struggled to follow the story at the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens, I was immediately drawn in by the writing style. The versatility of Dickens is striking. A Tale of Two Cities contrasted sharply with the charming, humorous, touching story of David Copperfield which I read for the first time last year.

I wish I had covered more pages in less time when beginning the book. I think I would have followed the story line more clearly, though it seems as if Dickens was trying to be somewhat vague and mysterious and didn't intend for his readers to immediately understand where he was headed. A few chapters into the book, I was completely hooked.

The haunting imagery, the poetic cadence, and epic tone of the novel will stick with me for a lifetime. It is a story I am sure to revisit in the years ahead.

I've posted quotes from A Tale of Two Cities in the past months, here and here. Good stuff, that.

Babies Don't Keep

BABIES DON'T KEEP

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing, make up the bed,

Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,

Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew

And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo

But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo

Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?

Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow

But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

I have been enjoying my boys immensely of late. All I want to do is read to them, snuggle with them, listen to their stories, make silly faces, play games, see new sights, and learn fascinating things with them. My house is starting to show it, but these are moments and days that I will never get back. I have much on my plate this next week so the posts will be light, but hopefully I will at least be leaving you with a thought for the day. Go rock those babies... even if they aren't quite babies anymore.

Hope

Hope is the word which God has written on the brow of every man. ~Victor Hugo

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19 a

Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all. ~Emily Dickinson

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Hope is putting faith to work when doubting would be easier. ~Author Unknown

Levitical Sayings

Mom, come this way! (We were exploring paths on a hike) I promise I'm not Flatterer. (Which will probably only make sense if you've read Pilgrim's Progress.)

May I please watch a quiet movie? (He looks at me with pleading eyes during a long pause.) I lack a yes....

Mom, do you know what cumbersome means? (I ask him to tell me.) Heavy. Hard to handle.

The rain is striking in different directions!

The frog is pleading for some food.

(In the middle of the night I hear his voice calling. I go in. He says in his sweetest voice...) Mom, could you help me with my covers, please? I only say those words when I need assistance. (I cover him up. He doesn't move or open his eyes.) Thanks, mom.

I'm going to pounce. That means to spring on someone suddenly.

(He gets out of the bathtub... His swimming trunks are dripping wet, but he doesn't seem very clean.) Only the south half of me is wet. The north half is still dry. (He puts his hands around his waist.) This is the equator.

(I ask him if he likes Tae Kwon Do.) Yeah! (Slight pause.) Except for the pushups. They give me the arm aches.

I despise you, Diego! (Said one Zorro to Diego from Go, Diego!)

Connections

One of my favorite aspects of homeschooling is the chance to make connections along with my children. I find it fascinating how one piece of information leads to another and another....

Our most recent Around the World card featured Chinese pagodas. The first was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda built in 652. While searching around the web, I found an article about the largest pagoda in the world, the Tianning Pagoda, which is 13 stories high. The picture shows Buddhist monks attending the inauguration of the Zen Buddhist pagoda.

Levi remembered seeing pictures of Buddhist monks and statues in the fabulous picture book People by Peter Spier. This book alone provides hours of 'people watching' with seemingly endless detailed illustrations. (As an aside, I wish my childhood bookshelf would have included any of Peter Spier's works. I could have spent hours pouring over his illustrations!)





We moved on to a discussion of the various ways people around the world worship using The Usborne Encyclopedia of World Religions. Upon opening the book, Levi immediately spied a photograph of the Wailing Wall (or Western Wall) in Jerusalem, Israel, which was added to our Around the World cards after I read The Silver Chalice.

And who knew that a short geography lesson would also add saffron to our color palette?! One of our books described the monks' robes as being saffron, and Levi was searching for a saffron ribbon in the ribbon drawer this morning. (How many times can I use the word saffron in one paragraph?)

Anne of Green Gables

My first brush with Anne of Green Gables occurred when my uncle gave a lovely hard-bound book of the same to my older sister. My mother read the book aloud to the three of us girls that winter.

It seems as if it couldn't have been too long after that when the movie version was shown on the public broadcast station. We were all hooked, my youngest sister most of all. She became Anne.

I don't remember details from the early reading of Anne, but the movie became an important part of our lives. It is probably the most-watched movie in my collection, and the one I wouldn't ever want to part with. I feel as if Anne helped shape my childhood. My husband was 'given the privilege' of watching the movie with me before we were married. I'm not sure he would have been allowed into the family otherwise.

Guilt started creeping in when I realized how important Anne was in my life, and yet I had never read the book on my own. Determined to remedy said tragedy, I added Anne of Green Gables to my autumn intentional reading list. And I loved it. Absolutely. Loved. It. Don't go through life without meeting Anne. (Read the book(s) first if possible, but I highly recommend the movies Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea.)


pg. 77

"Saying one's prayers isn't exactly the same thing as praying," said Anne meditatively. "But I'm going to imagine that I'm the wind that is blowing up there in those tree tops. When I get tired of the trees I'll imagine I'm gently waving down here in the ferns--and then I'll fly over to Mrs. Lynde's garden and set the flowers dancing--and then I'll go with one great swoop over the clover field--and then I'll blow over the Lake of Shining Waters and ripple it all up into little sparkling waves. Oh, there's so much scope for imagination in the wind! So I'll not talk any more just now, Marilla."

"Thanks be to goodness for that," breathed Marilla in devout relief.


pg. 83

Marilla felt helplessly that all this should be sternly reproved, but she was hampered by the undeniable fact that some of the things Anne had said, especially the part about the minister's sermons and Mr. Bell's prayers, were what she herself had really thought deep down in her heart for years, but had never given expression to. It almost seemed to her that those secret, unuttered, critical thoughts had suddenly taken visible and accusing shape and form in the person of this outspoken morsel of neglected humanity.


pg. 286

"That Anne-girl improves all the time," she said. "I get tired of other girls--there is such a provoking and eternal sameness about them. Anne has as many shades as a rainbow and every shade is the prettiest while it lasts. I don't know that she is as amusing as she was when she was a child, but she makes me love her and I like people who make me love them. It saves me so much trouble in making myself love them."


pg. 287

But Anne, with her elbows on the window sill, her soft cheek laid against her clasped hands, and her eyes filled with visions, looked out unheedingly across city roof and spire to that glorious dome of sunset sky and wove her dreams of a possible future from the golden tissue of youth's own optimism. All the Beyond was hers with its possibilities lurking rosily in the oncoming years--each year a rose of promise to be woven into an immortal chaplet.

Can You Find It?

I pulled this book of art off the book shelf, remembering that the cover art depicted San Francisco. (View of San Francisco, Number 2 by Peter Saul.) Luke is fascinated by Golden Gate Bridge lately.

Can You Find It? showcases 19 works of art of various styles and time periods ranging from Scenes from the Tomb of Nakht (unknown artist) to Sweets by Randall Deihl, an American realist painter. Each painting covers 3/4 of a two page spread, large enough to search for small details such as 1 man who looks like a rock, the time 9:45, 7 blue parasols, 6 brown jugs, and 3 men on a roof.

This search and find book was produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the introduction, the author describes playing Can You Find It? at an art museum. The game requires a partner. One player finds a detail in a painting and says, 'I see a man who looks like a rock,' and the second player searches until the detail is found. What a fabulous way to encourage young children to spend time looking closely at a painting!

When you've finished the paintings in Can You Find It? be sure to move on to Can You Find It Inside? and Can You Find It Outside?.

Happy Costume Day

Warm-Weather Beach Boy and Diego

Cold-Weather Diego and Zorro

Diego, Lion, and Zorro