More Redecorating

You can't imagine the insecurity, the palpitations, the sweat, the grimaces that accompany these words....redecorating.  But living in a world of designers makes me look around at my surroundings and think how I can make my home the HAVEN I desire.  But I really would rather have a magic lamp with a jeanie in it.  I wish...and there it is. 

Soooo....it all began with a leak from the ice maker that turned into a soaked carpet that had to be pulled up which meant moving everything out of the room for the carpet man to retack the carpet which meant looking at walls that had been painted 8 yrs ago and thinking,  "Huh...it wouldn't take that much to repaint this room.  and the trim.   and possibly the bookshelves.  and scrape the popcorn ceiling. and change out the fan....I could go on.

My sweet husband cut in and I painted.  Now,  that sounds so simple,  like when the Bible states that David fought the Philistines and won.  You KNOW a lot more went into the fight than those words.  I spent a week looking at two paint samples painted on my wall...loved the color....maybe the name more...Down Comforter.   Anyway,  we painted.  And it is really more like....buttery yellow.  Now,  I like butter and I like yellow flowers...but I have NEVER like yellow in my house.  Not that it's not a great color,  just not ME.  But I am going to live with it.  And then I hate that phrase...live with it...cause that means it's not what I wanted,  I am sure I will want to paint over it next year,  I feel petty being so caught up in a PAINT COLOR,  when really there are more important things to think about in life.    Here are some pictures.   I will post again when we put the room together. 

I dont' think you can really tell from these.  Or maybe I am vision impaired and it is not as yellow as I think.  Anyway,  please ignore the chaos.  My mom is coming over to help me put the room together. 

thanks for reading,

Reb

Remember your pits and sale!!

My good friend, Kelly, at Creative Chickadee,  had my children and me over to make pitzelles.   I had heard my sister and Kelly talking about how good they are and how much fun they have making them,  and I felt a little left out.  So this sweet adopted sister had us over to learn how to make them. 

If you have never had them or don't know what they are,   I can only tell you they are Italian and  DELICIOUS.   I will show you pictures first,  because if I tell you the ingredients you might not even finish the post,  they are a little...different. 




This is the machine you use to mold the batter.



Here is the batter ready to be squashed by the big bad pistelle maker.




Here is the dough after being squashed.  The goal is to make a perfectly centered cookie. 

See how lovely the designs are?  I think Kelly may have gotten it pretty close to perfect.

YUM!!!  This is smeared with the filling just before it's gobbled up...
. 



Here is the recipe from Allrecipe. I haven't used it, but it is a good starting point.


Ingredients

3 eggs

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

Directions

1.In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until thick. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla. Sift together the flour and baking powder, and blend into the batter until smooth.

2.Heat the pizzelle iron, and brush with oil. Drop about one tablespoon of batter onto each circle on the iron. You may need to experiment with the amount of batter and baking time depending on the iron. Bake for 20 to 45 seconds, or until steam is no longer coming out of the iron. Carefully remove cookies from the iron. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

3.For chocolate pizzelles, add 1/4 cup cocoa sifted together with flour and baking powder, 1/4 cup more sugar and 1/4 teaspoon more baking powder. I find that for the chocolate mixture, the iron must be well oiled to start and then brush on more as needed.


The spread for the center of the cookie is made with....1 jar of grape jelly and chocolate cake,  a day old.  Mix together in a sauce pan on low until fully mixed.  Sounds strange,  tastes  GREAT!!

And as to why the title of the post?  I had such a difficult time trying to figure out how to say the name of this cookie,  so Kelly said,  "Just remember your pits and sale.  You'll get!!  I have ever since.  We had such a great time laughing and eating and talking. The Lord is good to give me wonderful friends. Love you,  Kelly!!!

thanks for reading,

Reb



Change...I think

January is typically a panicky month for me.  I know it begins a new year,  we make new resolutions,  we clean up our homes,  and we try to do better things.....whatever those things may be.  In a homeschooling home January is typically a time for mom's to look at what has or has not been accomplished and begin to panic.  We look at the books we have been using and wonder what made us think this would be good for our families,  we look at our schedules and pull our hair out remaking them, sure that this NEW one is the key to success,  we get up earlier or later depending on our past habit,  we really are a mess.

I have not really panicked this year, being as this the year for  letting go of things that don't matter and leading a more joyful life.   I am looking at our schedule and wondering if I really like putting all the kids together for school or not.  That sounds strange,  of course we all do school together in our house, but for most of our homeschooling I have used http://amblesideonline.org/index2.shtml and my kids  study different histories, science, literature, etc.  Last year I decided to combine them in history and science and geography,  well, the youngest three.  It has been ok,  but they really are on such different levels, and I can see they are missing out on some things.   My son loves to read alone and absorb the information,  and there are books we had to skip that I just loved because of moving them all to one time frame in history. My youngest is missing out on some great stories because she is listening in on our other books.  My middle girl is also missing out.    So....I am tweaking our schedule just  a little, not much, and I feel much more comfortable  I am going back to Ambleside's suggestions and working towards beginning next year with them all in the  correct years.  I am excited about what they will discover in the pages of these books, the discussions we can have, and the relations they will make with other ideas from other sources.  For most of you this makes no sense and that's ok.  I just needed to share it with someone.  Anyone,  my mom, sister...I think that's all who read this anyway.   And that's ok too.

And I just realized this post is really about I, I, I......very selfish of me when I think this homeschooling thing is really about THEM...isn't it?

thanks for reading,

Reb

Charlotte Mason and Caffeine induced hysteria

The fourth Monday of every month finds me scurrying around the house around 5:00 pm.  I am looking for books, paper, pen, keys,  a little money, and anyone old enough to watch younger children for a few minutes.   I then head over to Books a Million, walk through the glass doors, and my smile is bigger, my shoulders a little straighter,  my walk a little springier (is that a word?  If not,  it is now!)  I am here for my Charlotte Mason Study Group.  This group has met for over 14 yrs.  Many of the faces have changed from the beginning,  I came in the middle,  but the concepts discussed, the struggles shared, the joys rejoiced over,  they never change.  We read through the CM Homeschooling Series books, and discuss what we find and how it relates to today.   Charlotte was an amazing woman for her time.  Well read,  understanding scientific findings in light of scripture and human nature.  If you have ever been curious about her here are a couple of web sites. 
 http://simplycharlottemason.com/basics/what-is-the-charlotte-mason-method/

This is a link to her book series.    http://amblesideonline.org/CM/toc.html

And here area few resources I use to plan our curriculum each year. 
http://www.amblesideonline.org/
http://simplycharlottemason.com/


You would think after 8 yrs of joyously attending this meeting I would have ONE picture.  No,  not ONE.  Last night I took a camera to take a few and there was no memory card.  Figures.  I hope to get one next week, or year, or maybe never.  We'll see. 

I want to thank all the ladies last night who listened to my caffeine induced rambling, and my takeover of the meeting.  You are patient and kind and comforting and encouraging and funny.  And I needed the laughter.  And the other stuff. 

About the caffeine.   I spent 5 minutes telling the woman over the counter how I wanted coffee that I really didn't want cause I wanted decaff tea they didn't have  CAUSE  when I drink caffeine at night I get a little crazy and can't sleep.  So after drinking this LARGE cup,  I began to suspect it was not decaffeinated and I think the others around me began to suspect that too.  And then I think my husband wondered all during the night.   And this morning as I feel very tired and a little kranky,  I SUSPECT  it was not decaffeinated. 

I will bring my own next time.

thanks for reading,  

Reb

Happy Anniversary Dear!!

Today I will have been married to the same man for 18 year.  So much drama,  a few kids,  a few states,  a few houses,  a couple of jobs,  a couple of churches,  a few pets,  a few dishes.   So many changes and yet the same man.   He's a keeper.  Steady provider,  supportive of my crazy ideas like homeschooling and staying home with the chillin's.  Faithful to church,  and can help me out of any computer problem I have..which are many depending on the day.   In this day and age of easy marriages and easier divorces,  I am so thankful we made (and are keeping by the grace of God)  our promise "til death do us part".   It's not easy, but we are determined with the help of God Almighty to be a testimony and leave a legacy for our kids of Christ's faithfulness in all things.