The Silent Artist, Demanding Attention

The silent artist
Softly works
With one color only
O'er the sleeping earth

Children awaken
Eyes bright with cheer
Adults awaken
Lost plans, new fears

No escaping our notice
Opinions are made
Masterpiece of wonder
Or canvas of jade?

Thank You, Lord, for this food and this day!

I have really been enjoying food more than ever these days. Something is different with this pregnancy, all the other pregnancies undermined my efforts in the kitchen, but this pregnancy seems to be enhancing them. Hooray! And Jason is enjoying being part of the kitchen revival, which makes it that much more enjoyable. The kids are still happiest when macaroni and cheese is on the menu, but when it is made with real noodles and real cheese, as opposed to instant from a box, or made with "cheese products", and served with home canned stewed tomatoes and venison meatloaf it still meets my criteria for the kitchen standards these days. This week's (and a few days extra) supper menu includes:

~Corn Pone Pie and beets (and old standby actually)

~Some of Pap's delicious fish - baked and seasoned with a touch of lemon and herbs, steamed limas, and fried potatoes

~Venison steaks (not sure if they were compliments of Snyders or Showers, but thank you both!)
baked potatoes, and artichoke gratinata (recipe from Giada De Laurantiis, who has become my favorite Food Network chef)

~Cheddar Chowder and homemade WW biscuits

~BBQ chicken, baked green beans with homemade garlic white sauce, pasta salad with diced avocado (I didn't save the seed, but our avocado tree that we planted from a seed last year is still doing great!)

~WW pizza from scratch with home canned tomatoes, italian herbs, and three cheeses (real cheeses of course), applesauce

~Reuben burgers on gourmet buns (our own sauerkraut is an awesome touch), and broccoli alfredo

~Lasagna (I have a great recipe that does not require boiling the noodles first, but still has that wonderful "from scratch" appeal), Ceasar salad

~And last but not least... the aforementioned mac and cheese with stewed tomatoes and venison meatloaf


Christmas cookies make for a lovely seasonal dessert! Fruit slushies have been on the list of must haves these days also, fresh squeezed oranges and lemons added to frozen raspberries is a fabulous high vitamin C treat on these dry, virus filled days of winter....


It probably doesn't qualify as a gourmet menu, but it sure makes the kitchen smell good, and the house feel warm and cozy, and fills our bellies, and nourishes our spirits!

The Birthday of Faith

You were born in the season I love the best
Of pumpkins and hayrides and family fests
Your Daddy's image, your Mommy's girl
I'm proud to be part of your blessed world
May each passing sunset bring memories sweet
May each day becoming carry wished for treats
Happy Birthday, my Mother!
Many more, my friend!
May the blessings of loved ones know no end!!!

Ain't We Sweet?

"Sometimes you feel like a nut!"





















Love my slimming pose!!















This looks like it needs music....





















Not sure what to say....

















Ah! There's the music! Savannah has a well developed funny bone!



Avé is actually pretty hilarious...















Not so sure about me....






















They must get their sense of humor from their Papa ;-)












































maybe sometimes
me....

At any rate, we know how to crack each other up!!

Bon Voyage to Our Migratory Grandparents

The cool breezes blow. The nights grow long. The extra
blankets and woolen socks come out from their summer
slumber. Canadian geese, robins, butterflies, hummingbirds,
and Gram and Pap all make the long voyage to warmer
climates. We are saying goodbye for now to our summer visitors.
Maybe someday we will follow you to your winter getaway,
but for now, we will batten down the hatches, throw another
log on the fire, and set the teapot to simmer. Winter hasn't
really begun yet, but the first snow, the shimmery
icicles, the anticipation of sledding, and maple sugaring,
and crocuses peaking through the snow, is enough for
me to stay content and snugly in my Pennsylvania cabin,
with my sweet country man and precious children. I love
my wonderful life, but we will miss you, Gram and Pap!
Safe travels!! Bon Voyage!!

Lemon Blossoms

We have had this lemon tree for several years now. It is such a novel treat to be able to grow lemons in Pennsylvania! We usually get two or three lemons a year :-) and they are very sweet,
not nearly as tart as the ones from the store, although I don't mind tart, especially these days.
As in the days of being pregnant with twins, I crave sour foods! I figured that lemons were a healthier alternative than all those Sour Tarts I used to indulge in... I will have to wait several months before I can enjoy another one of our home grown lemons, but that's okay. For now the scent of lemon blossoms fills the air and winter in our home defies the bitter cold by producing tropical fruits for us to enjoy! Anyone have any ideas why our Christmas cactus blooms at Easter?

A Walk in the Woods

A few weeks ago we enjoyed a magical day walking in the autumn woods of Pennsylvania. The children always seem to have an optimistic view of homeschooling, but on days when school gets them into a setting such as this they count themselves among the fortunate few that get to spend the fleeting days of fall in the great outdoors.

Certain Tide

Be careful what you wish for
If wishing tends to work
Mostly it does in my case
God allows the blessed quirk
Wishing tends to cause change
Change tends to cause unrest
Unrest can lead to every type
Of grief and unhappiness
If courage and steadfastness
Can carry through the stress
To hope and bright tomorrows
Determination can sort the mess
Along with change and lessons
Learning should also come
Focus and future goals
Tempered by the scorching of the sun
Is it better to have lived with longing
Then never to have longed at all
To climb the treacherous mountain
Able to stand a million feet tall
Or camp out in the valley
Never feeling lightheaded winds
Never dangling above the precipice
Would that be such a sin
To never seek the moment
Of a surmounted obstacle
Perhaps its not a choice
But a calling after all

Have you ever watched the sun rise?
Can you really see it move?
Or do you look away and back again
Snooze a little snooze?
Have you sat to watch a flower grow?
The petals to uncurl
Never force a rose in bloom
Or the feelings of a girl
All life lives change in stages
Natures moments seem so slow
But seasons, weather, lifetimes
Quickly come and go
We could not choose to not have change
Even if we tried
Pick the course, adjust the sail
And ride the certain tide

Slowly but Surely

We make progress around here, it is tortoise speed type progress. Each step seems so slow and laborious, but when we look back over the years, particularly the years in this home, it is encouraging to see how many goals have been accomplished. We have a garden, an orchard, a goat herd and adequate housing for them, chickens and sufficient coops, guineas, a rabbit with hutches for more, new windows upstairs, nice and reliable vehicles, and we are getting more organized and more tidy. It all feels good. There is a lot more that we desire to accomplish, and small tasks filling up every day, but home is where our heart rests, and and our hands work, and our family grows. I am full of contentment and gratefulness.

(Not So) Simple Pleasures

In the process of counting my blessings there are so many things I may take for granted simply because I am so used to them that they hardly feel like blessings, and although I am not a huge history buff there are several fairly common things I am quite certain that I take for granted in light of the fact that even 100 years ago these things either did not really exist or were in very short supply, such as....

-toilet paper (where would we be without it?!!!)
-tissues (my personal ball and chain)
-paper products in general... (although paper work is not necessarily something I count among my blessings)
-clean sheets on a comfortable mattress without straw or bed bugs
-indoor plumbing
-water heater attached to indoor plumbing
-electricity
-double pane windows
-washer and dryer (again laundry isn't exactly a blessing I am counting, but it would be much, much worse if I had to wash it in the creek and dry it on the bushes!!)
-grocery stores that sell fresh fruit and vegetables year round
-automobiles
-paved roads
-telephones
-computers
-easy access to the medical community (although the medical community in general often makes me feel like we are the victims of a conspiracy theory, and I won't even get started on medical insurance companies!!!)
-freezers
-refrigerators (why is fridge spelled with a "d", but refrigerators isn't?)
-electric sewing machines
-the millions of easy access online stores and local stores that eliminate any need for at-home sewing (I do still like to sew, but I am glad that I don't have to make all the clothes for this family of 7 going on 8)
-disposable diapers (I am sorry for the negative impact on the environment, and I am delighted to see some more biodegradable choices starting to come out, I used cloth diapers for one week when I had three babies still in diapers... whew!)( I do actually love hanging clothes out on a clothesline, but glad I do not have to rely on it entirely)
-chain saws (it is an incredible amount of work heating a house with wood even with a chain saw, I can't even imagine how hard it would be on my man to stock up a winter's woodpile with nothing but hand saws and axes as tools)
-aluminum foil and plastic baggies ( when these things came out the housewives treasured their new found good fortune and would carefully wash, dry, and reuse these valuable commodities... many still do, they are part of the original recycling conscious generation, "waste not, want not")


I don't really know what life was like even just 100 years ago. I have enjoyed discussions with my 95 year old grandmother and her colorful depiction of her childhood is shared with obvious nostalgia, memories of pony rides and apple picking, dairy cows and canning, lots of close family, pleasure in work, extreme excitement at the sight of the first vehicle ever to drive by their home (driven by the mail man at a whopping 20 mph!), one room school houses and daily walks to and fro. The older generation enjoys and has become dependent on many of the conveniences we now take for granted, and I don't honestly know if I could survive the "once upon a time", or even if I would want to try. I am grateful to be living in the here and now, but I do want reflect on the past joys and historical accomplishments (Wonder who invented toilet paper and tissues?), and I want to learn from the many who have come and gone before us.

Autumn of the Soul

Sunshine through the maple is a bit too far for warmth
Golden leaves raining down must die to feed the earth
Each new little breeze catches yet another chill
Patches of ice and dust come and go on the window sill
Deep inside the mother, life is waiting for the spring
Songs of new beginnings must patiently wait to sing
Harvests brought much bounty to the kitchen and the heart
Piles of wood are waiting to heat the winter hearth
Why, oh why, Dear Journeyman, do your eyes hold a sad tale?
Has not every trial brought joy worth the travail?
Has not every autumn been followed by the spring?
Tho winter comes between and threatens life it seems
Grow weary not with coldness, find cheer in all that glows
Long not too long for futures, life has joy yet to bestow
In each gifted moment, in each waking day
The past should not dishearten it should cheer the clearer way

My Man

Beware, this might get mushy....I wouldn't have married him if I didn't love him bunches, but even still, it is no secret that marriage can be rough, and I won't fib, sometimes it can be challenging to see eye to eye, but after all these years I am still so in love. My man is wonderful, and he has awesome hobbies, and he loves me. Today he planted fruit trees in his orchard, and tended his bees together with Chester, and converted the stove to propane and worked on goat pens, and took the time to sit and visit with his mother and have sweet conversations with me. He is mine and sometimes I just feel like singing his praises. Our hearts are in the same place, and our goals are in the same direction. I love seeing how all our children resemble him so greatly and hope that they all grow up to be just like him. <3

The Twins Turn Eleven!!!!!

Go ahead and guess who is who :)

Happy Birthday to my wonderful girls!!! We are so very blessed to know you!!!

The twins were born with a lot of energy. So, it was especially fitting to enjoy the day with them in an active way... a birthday bike ride!!! The pics are mostly out of focus, a bit impressionist, but still cheerful :)


























Top to bottom:
Shiloh, Daddy, Avé,
Mommy, the kids and Daddy,
Destiny, Savannah, Chester

Like Father, Like Son

Happy Birthday, Chester!!!

A few months ago we were browsing through the Dadant catalog and saw this child's beekeeper suit. Chester expressed an enthusiastic desire to partake in his Daddy's hobby. I thought that was just the greatest idea, so for quite some time I planned on purchasing this outfit for Chester's birthday. Chester hadn't mentioned it again, and he really didn't seem to have his heart set on anything in particular in the way of birthday gifts. Yesterday I was poking around a little bit to see if he did have any expectations I wasn't aware of, and he said... so long as my birthday present has something to do with bugs I will love it!!! I sure was relieved!! This is a very buggy gift, and very bonding as well, and SWEET!!! Jason's honey extractor came the same day the child's beekeeper suit did, so hopefully they will soon be filling our home with the valuable and delicious liquid gold, which, by the way happens to be the only real food that does not spoil, or so I have read. I think we are all feeling very blessed in this household today!!! Thank YOU, Heavenly Father!!!

Birthday Blessings... Sweet Avé

Such sweet ways
From a caring heart
Teaching love
Right from the start
A harsh word
Rarely leaves your tongue
Though goals for you
Aren't always fun
The other children
Know you're kind
Help from you
They always find
My hope and prayer
For you, dear girl
Is that every trial
Becomes a pearl
And every tear
Makes a flower grow
Surely you will reap
All the love that you sow

They Said It

No honest poet can ever feel quite sure of the permanent value of what he has written: he may have wasted his time and messed up his life for nothing. T. S. Eliot

To a poet, silence is an acceptable response, even a flattering one. Sidonie Gabrielle Colette


Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does. Allen Ginsburg


As soon as war is declared it will be impossible to hold the poets back. Rhyme is still the most effective drum. Jean Giraudoux


If poets were realistic, they wouldn't be poets. Peter Davison


Poets don't draw. They unravel their handwriting and then tie it up again, but differently. Jean Cocteau


Poets should ignore most criticism and get on with making poetry. Anne Stevenson

Still Time

All I really want to do
Is sit and read a book or two
Dream away the lovely day
With coffee and and a little play
Smell the flowers, pet the dog
Watch the creek, find a frog
Imagine shapes in fluffy clouds
Hear my children laugh out loud
Spread a blanket, feel the breeze
Spend a day in blissful ease
Write a poem, draw a cat
Surely this is where its at
Someday as I am old and bent
I'll wonder where my youth has went
All my babes will be so grown
With lives and children of their own
Today I think I'll seize the hour
No matter if there's sun or showers
So long as they are here and young
With lovely little tunes they hum
Special moments, daydreams are
For some it takes them very far
Up a mountain, down a cave
The famous and the very brave
Had a mother, had a thought
Had a vision and a plot
No harm in thinking, that's just me
That is why we're here and free
Give them room to know their mind
Though it is fleeting, there's still time.

Contented Sigh

Loving the season
Loving the life
Loving the man
That calls me his wife
The air all around us
Is sensing the change
The coming of autumn
A time for sweet gain
Assessing the harvest
Chopping the wood
Securing the windows
Storing the goods
Stacking the grasses
Making time for the books
Unpacking the sweaters
From their summertime nooks
Of blankets there's plenty
The wood stove we'll fill
Potatoes we'll dig
From the gardener's hill
Hang them in baskets
In the basement, just so
Enjoying the pleasures
When the coming of snow
Forces us indoors
At least for awhile
The efforts of this time
Will then make us smile.

Through the Eyes of My Children

The children use the camera from time to time. Here is a post about some of the pics they have taken lately. Not only am I impressed with the quality of some of their photographs, but I am fascinated at the shots they choose to take. These pictures were all taken at our home. Glimpses of life through the eyes of my children...



























I am not sure which child deserves credit for which photos. Avé, Destiny, and Savannah mostly take turns using the camera lately, but Chester and Shiloh will occasionally take a turn practicing photography as well. It is a lovely form of art, and can of course turn into a career someday if they so choose and are able to develop the necessary skills. Around here that qualifies as highly educational and a form of expression that I hope to continue to be able to encourage.


























The young photographers notice and appreciate the beauty of the simple things... the pile of winter wood, the clean dishes and the bowls of ripe tomatoes fresh from our own garden, the sweet goats and flowers, the blue sky full of fluffy white clouds, the forest of summertime. They also deserve credit for the sunflower picture I posted at the top of my blog. This is our life, but I so often focus on the things that need done, the endless "to do lists". I get discouraged. I forget to stop and really see what is important. We are so blessed. What a privilege to raise such pleasant people in a home nestled snugly in nature.

Less Petit Rats... Much Less

Little ballerina
Running through the walls
Chewing at the plaster
Nibbling in the halls
Peeking so discreetly
Staying in the lurk
Warnings come so loudly
I mean to do you hurt
Brother feels so fondly
Me, I hate your guts
I wouldn't mind you nearly
If you stayed in your own hut
With all your many offspring
And all your stolen goods
Hang your little children
From the nearest wood
And watch the owls and cats
Haunt my garden grave
You'll wish you were a bat
This coming rat dooms day