Quick Takes Friday #10

Here we are: another whole week gone, and for my Seven Quick Takes let me take you through my week.

-----1-----
Last Saturday:

My house guests (brother and his 10-year-old daughter and her 12-year-old sister) went home after a two-week visit. Big general sigh of relaxation among all the household.

LovelyDaughter and JD showed up in time to say good-bye to the visitors, and then stayed for dinner (our noon meal), and then stayed to hang out. It felt real holiday-ish.

In the evening, JD and LovelyDaughter let me ride along to see the town fireworks, and when we got back, we found the other boys had planned a surprise and had a pile of our own fireworks ready to set off. I know they blew mucho wages on that display but it was great fun to watch and they had great fun putting it on. I don't know who comes up with the names for some of these fireworks--stuff like "Crazy Exciting" or "One Bad Mother" or "The Whole Enchilada"-- but for some reason it adds to the fun.

And then I plunged in and made homemade lemonade for the first time, and discovered that it's ridiculously easy:

1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Heat till all the sugar is melted. Then add:

1 cup lemon juice
3-4 cups cold water and ice (more or less, till the sweet/tart ratio suits you)

That's it! Unless you want to spruce it up like I did, and put a whole sliced lemon into it and stir it around. And then put a slice of lemon in each glass, which will make everyone say really nice things about how you're spoiling them.

-----2-----
Sunday:

JD and Lovelydaughter came over again for the day, I went to the library in the afternoon (big splurge activity), and in the evening Swede came over, which made a great ending to a great holiday weekend.


-----3-----
Monday:

Laundry, laundry, laundry. All the bedding the girls and Brother slept on. And I do mean ALL, since one of the girls has to wear Depends at night, and let me just say that perhaps "Depends" is not the best name for something that undependable. The foam mattress they slept on is still out in the yard airing.

Bake bread.

-----4-----
Tuesday:

Laundry, laundry, laundry. Everybody's clothes.

Bake bread again, while the weather is reasonably nice so I don't have to use the oven later in the week when it's supposed to get really hot again.


-----5-----
Wednesday:

Crash. I did some cleaning in the morning, and then read a book all afternoon. As Agatha Christie wrote in a story in another one of her books, I was both "soothed and stimulated by the perusal of it."


-----6-----
Thursday:

Super Crash. I'm ashamed to say I did absolutely nothing all day beyond making supper and was still exhausted.

Well, I gave a whole morning of my life to reading The Persian Pickle Club, and I felt cheated. For one thing, I kept noticing little things that seemed to say "This description is to add atmosphere," or "Here I throw in jargon for realism." It's disconcerting to have a story keep somehow reminding you of all the things you read in "How to Write a Best Selling Novel and Make Big Bucks."

For another thing, the "moral" of the story was something to the effect of "it's okay to kill a man if you save a woman in the process."

?????

And the secondary moral was like unto it: "women need to stick together because women's friendships are strong and heartwarming, and better than relationships with men."

Or something like that. *sigh*



-----7-----
Today:

Hubby has charged me with taking two naps today. He said "get rested!" before he left for work this morning. I don't know if I'll manage to sleep twice, but I will probably try for a snooze this afternoon. Right now I need to do a little cleaning up and go buy some groceries.

And now I am looking forward with anticipation to tomorrow: We are invited to spend the weekend with some friends who live about a two-hour drive from here. I'm really, really looking forward to the chance to visit with friends, and also the break from my kitchen!




More Quick Takes at Conversion Diary.

Quick Takes Friday #9

-----1-----
It's been a busy week, what with three house guests (my brother and his two girls). As usual, I feel like I spend most of my time planning meals, cooking them, and cleaning them up.

Here's what we had today:












How'd I do for my first time to grill steak?














Dessert: "Mud-from-the-Crik," aka Ice Cream Sundae Cake.













Would you like a closer look at that?














(Pix courtesy of DrummerDude, who I think could have a future as as food photographer...)


-----2-----
Two days ago we did something I've been dreaming about for a year: we bought a new mattress.

Last July, Hubby and I and Swede spent a night in Denver at a Comfort Inn, and that hotel mattress was the most comfortable I've ever slept on. You may remember that in the morning I tore the bedding off the bed to find out what kind of mattress that was.

Well, now we have some money, and we drove to the Denver Mattress store in BigCity and told the sales guy what we were looking for. He sold us a mattress and we brought it home, set it up, and slept on it.

BIG DISAPPOINTMENT!

My ribs hurt and my hips hurt and my back hurt. After I'd been tossing around on it for HOURS I looked at the clock and discovered I'd only been in bed for an hour and a half. This is going to be a LONG night I said to myself. And it was, and Hubby agreed, and now we are on a desperate search to find The Perfect Mattress.

You see, the label on the mattress did not say exactly which model of mattress it was; it only said "Denver Mattress Co, Hospitality Division." So we had to try to guess which model, which is complicated by the fact that the Hospitality Division is separate from the Retail Division. Hubby says if all else fails we are driving back to the Comfort Inn in Denver and offering to trade them our mattress for theirs! :)

On the bright side, I bought a pillow and it IS just like the one in the hotel. At least my pillow was comforting last night while my ribs were hurting!

-----3-----
We also ordered a new couch:


The website said they ship in one to three days. It's now been two weeks, and the only sign of life I can see is that our credit card has been charged with the order.

Let's hope all goes well, and that we like it as well as we anticipate. The couch we have now was a hand-me-down twenty-seven years ago, and it was probably ten to fifteen years old then!


-----4-----
Today for the first time I am wearing these:



I'm wearing them with black capris, a yellow scoop-neck tee and a white camisole.

Technically, they should be all I was looking for in a pair of flats: cute, stylish, comfy... I'll let you know later how they live up.


-----6-----
Makeover Update:

New book! Just came today!



I paid one penny for it (at Amazon), plus shipping, of course, but still a good deal. It has all kinds of great diagrams, so it looks like fun. I'll let you know if it's good or not.



-----7-----
Okay. I'm done. Have a great 4th!


More Quick Takes at Conversion Diary.

Quick Takes Friday #8

-----1-----
I enjoyed this post written by the author of the blog Zen Habits.

To summarize: he suggests that you do only three things today, and choose them for importance, not urgency. However, I remember when my children were small, the organizational rule of prioritizing by importance-not-urgency did not work unless you counted urgent things-- like changing diapers or doing laundry-- as also important. Doesn't it seem like young children make all of life urgent?

However, I think I might like to try it now that the kids are all grown. I have a tendency to put so many things on my list to do TODAY, that I'm still trying to get through the list after three days! And then I feel like I'm always behind.



-----2-----
One of my new favorite fashion blogs is called La Bella Figura. Being inspired by French and Italian wardrobe simplicity, she wears nearly the same thing every day-- a black skirt or black jeans, and a fitted tee in some nice color with some sort of feminine detailing, one of two or three necklaces, and one of two or three pairs of black shoes. She looks beautiful and put together in a very simple way and I'm inspired by it.

Then there's this gal whose closet must be as big as entire bedroom, but I read her blog just because of her wardrobe creativity.



-----3-----
Yesterday I wrote about keeping cool in this hot weather and today I want to add to that. Here are two ways to keep DRY in hot, sweaty weather:


"Smooth seamless microfiber construction moves with you. Soft, lightweight feel. Breathable fabric keeps you cool and comfortable all day. Classic bikini cut. Tag-free to eliminate tag chafe." (Barely There Breathe Bikini Panty)

I never knew it before, but microfiber makes all the difference in the world!

And then there's this:


And it really works.

Now I want to find similar things for Hubby, but for some reason men's underwear, especially microfiber, costs about triple what women's underwear costs. What's up with that?



-----4-----
Just a note: last night I made fajitas for supper, but instead of stir-frying the meat as usual, I marinated it and then grilled it--to keep from using a burner in the hot, hot house--and then cut it into strips. It was so good that it all got snarfed up very quickly and I had to serve up the portion I had saved back for DrummerDude's lunch to have enough. You can find the recipe here.



-----5-----
Not long ago DrummerDude showed me a YouTube video that had me in tears. We've had a couple of rough years at our house with various family members dealing with depression and even suicidal thoughts, and this song touched those deep feelings.

Here it is, if you've like to see it:





-----6-----
This post by ElizabethEsther about her 18-month-old twins made me laugh.



-----7-----
These leather and pearl bracelets



that I saw at Une femme d'un certain age that are for sale at Garnet Hill have me inspired. I don't want to pay $180, though, so I'm thinking about the three pearl bead necklaces I have, and the spool of leather lacing I have, and wondering if I can make my own....



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More Quick Takes at Conversion Diary.

Quick Takes Friday--May 22

-----1-----
Do I have sore muscles today! I've been a lot more physically active this week than I've been for a while, and every muscle is protesting. But I'm not going to let that stop me! Also, new discovery: Opening and closing an enormous sliding door (like, 12 feet wide by 15 feet tall) is a great abdominal exercise. So I've decided to use our cute Z3, which resides behind that huge door, as often as possible.


-----2-----
Yesterday LovelyDaughter and I were out running a couple of errands for JD's grandma, who has severe rheumatoid arthritis. One of the things she wanted done was to find a solution for a situation involving her new adjustable bed. It has a remote control that lets you raise or lower the head or foot, and she wanted a way to keep the remote close to her for use in the middle of the night. The problem was, she has very little range of movement, so the normal solutions, like putting the remote on a beside table, or in a mattress pocket, were out of question. Also out of the question was anything involving snaps, zippers, velcro, buttons, or elastic. And we really didn't think sewing pockets on all her jammies was a good long term choice.

After putting our heads together, LovelyDaughter and I came up with what we thought was a brilliant solution: we took out one of the screws on the back of the remote and replaced it with a screw that has an "eye" on it. Then we bought a small purse with a removable wrist strap and attached the strap to the eye. It was perfect! We are really proud of ourselves.



-----3-----
As I said, LovelyDaughter and I were out yesterday, and once or twice I caught sight of myself in a mall window. I was wearing a flouncy skirt with a sleeveless top and flat comfy sandals. I thought the look was cute-- until I saw myself in the window. My first thought was "comfy old lady." Darn! I wanted my thought to be "stylish woman." I'm little discouraged about my makeover at this point....



-----4-----
I've been basically home alone this week, since the guys have taken their lunches with them every day, and GuitarGeek is off helping with a benefit concert in Minnesota. It's amazing how much I can get done when I don't have to make a big meal in the middle of the day.


-----5-----
Big news: I've started drinking coffee!

We discovered a place online called "Coffee Fool." Their coffee is supposed to be really fresh and less bitter, and once you've tried it you never go back, so they say. So we ordered three kinds of coffee beans, to go with the coffee mill Hubby just bought off Ebay. One of them is called "Smooth Sailing," and is supposed to be reduced acid. I tried it, and I can actually drink about half a cup of coffee, as opposed to the two tablespoon maximum I normally drink. Usually coffee sets my stomach on edge, but not this one, so now I know. Avoid the acid, and I can be a big girl.


-----6-----
I'm going to be using this for the next nine days as my daily prayers. What better way to prepare for Pentecost than to pray for the Holy Spirit's work in our lives? (Thanks, Jen, for the link.)


-----7-----This article from Zen Habits has some interesting ideas (55 ideas, actually) about energizing your life. I'm particularly struck by #14: Drink lots of water. I know I have a tendency to get easily dehydrated. Drinking more water would be an easy way to perk up!

Quick Takes Friday

1. I finally got my seeds planted. You know, the ones that say "start indoors six to eight weeks early"? We have approximately five weeks till we usually put our garden in. Close enough.

2. However, I think I got a little carried away with some of them. I have something like 47 baby broccoli plants. And if every hot pepper seed sprouts, I will have about a hundred of them. And those aren't even for me, they're for the boys. So I guess they have 30 plants apiece. Whew. At least it's not 100.

3. We are playing a musical program on Saturday, and I'm feeling a little sentimental about it because Hubby says this is probably our last program as a family. With LovelyDaughter married it's getting harder to pull off, and with DrummerDude planning to go off to YWAM next fall it will be even harder. We've already pulled back quite a bit in the last year and played only a handful of times. But to more or less officially declare it DONE is, well, sad, and makes me wistful.

4. Regarding my wardrobe makeover: I suddenly realized recently that I am all set for fall and winter, but I have very little now for spring and summer, so I've been planning, or trying to plan, my warm weather outfits. I decided to go with red and white with splashes of other bright colors, and keep a little of the black and gray, at least until it gets really hot.

5. I had a little time yesterday to stop at the local Goodwill store, and I found a few more items for my new wardrobe:

--a tailored, knee-length red skirt
--a crisp stretchy wrap skirt in a bright red and white print. (still new with tags!)
--red sleeveless blouse that matches the red skirt so well it looks like a two piece dress.
--black and white polka dot dress. It's strapless, made of stretchy knit, and ties around the neck. (I'm still debating if it's "age appropriate" or not. If not, LovelyDaughter will be the gainer.)
--white eyelet skirt

I spent an hour in the evening mixing up all my clothes, and I must have done a good job choosing these new items, because I was able to make all SORTS of combinations.

6. Hubby has been up to his ears in spring work--tree trimming and roofing--which is wonderful. It keeps me on my toes because I have to be ready to pack a lunch at the drop of a hat, or have a meal ready at home, and also have lots of cookies and other goodies ready. Yesterday I made something I call "Breakfast Oatmeal Cookies." They're good, and they have enough nuts and oatmeal and raisins that you can eat them for breakfast with milk and feel nourished.

7. Remember when I said I was sick? Well, I think I'm well, but I have a lingering cough, and it's getting VERY old. Any suggestions for getting rid of chest crud?

7 Quick Takes Friday #5

Here we are again, another Friday. Is it just me, or do the days just FLY?

-----1-----
Tomorrow is my birthday. I'm turning...um, let me see...it's 2009, subtract 1962...oh, gee. It's too early. YOU figure it out. Whatever that number is, that's how old I'll be. And to celebrate, LovelyDaughter and I are going shopping ALL DAY. In particular, we want to hit a slew of thrift stores in BigCity that I've never been in. I have a few things in mind to look for, but who knows what treasures we'll find among the junk?

-----2-----
I'm home alone for a couple of days. All my guys are off to a men's retreat. They are part of the worship team-- even MB3, who is running sound. They finally pulled out yesterday at almost 3pm, and I spent the next hour wandering around the house trying to decide what to do with myself. It's like finding a wad of money and wondering what's the best way to spend this windfall. Take a walk? Go get my hair cut? Invite a friend over? I ended up trying on several of my new outfits and then chose one (the one with the animal print skirt) and drove to a nearby town that has a long walk trail, and went for a very nice walk. It was a beautiful day and there were lots of other people out too. Of course, they were dressed in activewear, and I was dressed in a skirt with a tank and blazer and comfy cute sandals, but hey, I was comfortable, and felt stylish to boot.

-----3-----
So I want to get my hair cut. I know I had it cut a couple of three months ago (see what I mean about time FLYING?) but the layers have grown out really long and my hair is so fine and light that it's just enough to pull it all down and take the body out of it. Also, I am done with the long side bangs that are always IN MY FACE, even with hair spray. I'm thinking of getting something like this:

I'll keep you posted!

-----4-----
I mentioned going for a walk yesterday. Actually, I went for two walks, one in the morning, because it was so nice out, and one in the afternoon, because it was so nice out, and because I didn't have to be home in time to make supper. I think "taking a walk every day" is going to be my next habit, now that I've finally mastered "clean sink every night before bed." I've been thinking a while now what habit to tackle next and I thought maybe it would be to put myself on some sort of house cleaning schedule. But night before last something happened to change my idea: I leaned over while I was in my skivvies, changing clothes, to pick something up, and a roll of fat around my tummy hung down and gave a flabby pendulum swing. Youch. Forgive me if you think I'm over-reacting, but I still think a walk every day would be a good thing to aspire to.

-----5-----
The nicest thing happened last night. I was home alone, as I said, watching a movie on YouTube, when LovelyDaughter called and asked if she and JD could come over to borrow our internet. Of course I said yes, and when they got here, she had brought some dessert she had made, and JD brought in enough firewood to last me till morning. Which was just so, so nice. And then-- they stayed long enough that I could go to bed with them still here, and the house didn't feel so empty and dark. I'm very used to going to bed with people still up, and this way I didn't feel so lonely. It's one thing to have a whole day to myself; it's a completely different thing to be all alone in the house at bedtime. (In fact, I don't think I've EVER been in the house alone at bedtime, in 27 years! There's always been somebody here.)

-----6-----
I think I should have called today "Five Quick Takes" because that's all I can think of. I started this post at 6:30 this morning. (I was up early and had the house to myself. I could play music! Type! Turn on lights!) So I worked on it for a while and went do other things, hoping more inspiration would hit and now it's almost 10:00. I'm going to give up on this and go do something else, mostly involving my sewing machine (making shopping bags, hemming my skirt and a pair of pants, maybe even make an apron) and I won't have to clear away my project for dinner. I might even eat sitting in the rocker by the woodstove. Is that decadent or what?

-----7-----
Number seven is canceled this week. Sorry. :)

7 Quick Takes #4

-----1-----
This quote from yesterday's prayers in The Divine Hours has me thinking:

Exalt joy as we may—and there is surely no joy to be compared to that of the Christian adventure—it is not to the pilgrim in quest of joy, but to the lover of the cross, bent on sacrifice, that the secret of the Lord is revealed.
~from CREATIVE PRAYER

I believe there is nothing wrong with joy. That's something I've been learning. However, the idea of finding our joy in sacrifice is definitely thought-provoking.

-----2-----
JD and LovelyDaughter were sick this week. They had some sort of flu bug, and I got to play mom by dropping by and bringing crackers and chicken broth, and also a sweater for LovelyDaughter, which, by the way, was a highlight of my week because it was a steal at a local thrift store: $1 for a nearly new cable knit sweater made of merino wool, cashmere, and angora!

-----3-----
Ash Wednesday was this week, which is the start of the Lenten season, which I only know because I have been studying the Catholic church this year. I debated doing something for Lent, not because I'm Catholic, but because anything that helps form discipline and sacrifice and brings us closer to God sounds like a worthwhile activity. Finally I thought maybe I'd give up chocolate, but I am confessing here and now that I've already flunked.

-----4-----
I am having a recurrence of my achiness today, and after thinking it over I realized the weather is changing. I thought only old people could track the weather with their aches and pains....!

-----5-----
I am working on sewing shopping bags, while still keeping my eye out for more fabric, and I'm having a terrible time finding more material that is medium to heavyweight cotton in pretty prints. The three stores in our area that sell sewing supplies mostly just sell quilting fabric, which is not what I have in mind. I've also been all over online and have not found much. If any of you knows a good place to shop for fabric, please tell me.

-----6-----
I saw a video online-- actually two different ones-- of something called the "Clown Mass.". I guess many Catholic churches are trying to be modern and relevant by doing innovative things with their services. The two examples I saw involved the priest and his many helpers all dressed up like clowns to administer the Mass, or Communion, as we Protestants call it, and it made me feel rather sick. I have no idea what the relevance was-- for example, of blowing bubbles instead of sprinkling holy water-- but even to my sensibilities, having been taught that Communion is symbolic, it seemed frivolous and irreverent. And if I were Catholic and believed that the bread and wine were actually Christ's body and blood, then I would think the whole thing positively blasphemous. Doesn't this fall under the admonition of the Apostle Paul where he warned us to properly discern the body of Christ lest we suffer dire consequences?

-----7-----
Coming up later today: photos of my new wardrobe. This is a red letter occasion: Two posts in one day!


To read more Quick Takes, or join in yourself, go to Conversion Diary.

7 Quick Takes #3

-----1-----
Today for supper we are having company-- JD and LovelyDaughter, and JD's mother and sister who are here visiting-- so I will be busy cleaning up the house and planning a great meal.

-----2-----
Unexpectedly, JD's dad had a heart attack this week-- he's only 43-- but fortunately he will be fine. Oddly enough-- though less unexpected, since she's elderly-- Swede's mother had a heart attack this week also, and ended up in the hospital room next door to JD's dad. It feels like heart attacks are going around, and maybe I should stay indoors.

-----3-----
I had a a extra half hour or so while I was out getting groceries the other day, and I took the opportunity to do a little clothes shopping, and ended up getting three great items on SUPER clearance . I want badly to show you pictures, but I have to find the batteries for the camera and charge them, and then take the photos, which I just don't have time for today. (In case you're wondering, the reason I have to look for the batteries is because they're rechargeable AA's, which also fit just about every other small electronic gadget we own and our collection of batteries is always scattered amongst them.)

Where was I? Oh yeah. My great clothing finds:

*A classy fitted white shirt with some cute details and a tiny bit of stretch ($5, originally $27.99)

*a red velvet blazer ($8, marked down from $39.99)

*a gray and black striped henley sweater with jewel buttons($5, original price $23.99).

Now all I need to do is hem my ankle-length black skirt to knee length and I'll be set for a weekend of worship team responsibilities.


-----4-----
Oh! And Also! I bought this pair of shoes:


I wanted these for LovelyDaughter's wedding, but I didn't have the money for them at the time. But now I found them on ebay for much less, and I'm really excited to have a pair of dressy black heels for summer. They're in the mail and will be here any day.


-----5-----
One of the reasons I was so excited to find those three clothing items is because they were on my "menu." I've decided that shopping for clothes is very similar to shopping for food. If I go grocery shopping and I just buy what looks good, along with some staples that I know I always use, half the time I get home and have nothing for supper. It's much better for my cooking sanity to shop by menus. Then when I go to make some great dish, I actually have everything it takes. When I don't there's always one or two important ingredients missing, which is very frustrating.

I've been doing the same thing with clothes shopping. I'll buy some cute thing that caught my eye, and it probably fits and looks pretty good, but all the same, I get home, and I still have nothing to wear.

Now I've changed my plan, and I've got a set of pictures I'm shopping off of, as well as a list. Classy white shirt? Check. Cute blazer? Check. Black strappy dress shoes? Check.

I'm going to keep going until I have everything on my list and can make every outfit I've chosen. Later, I should also be able to mix and match those things into many other outfits as well, but first I have to have the ingredients!


-----6-----
Here are some more outfits that I'd like to try to imitate:













What do you think? This blazer and leather skirt combo really catches my eye.

















This is the first trench coat I've seen that I like. And since a trench coat is one of the classic basics, that's a good thing. I want to have the basics, but I want to like them!













This outfit makes me want to get a pair of khakis. I really don't like khaki, but this outfit is so cute that I'm thinking of finding some just so I can do this look. I know, I can do the "look" by just wearing jeans and some other color of sweater and some other color of scarf-- which technique I'm using for most of the other outfits I'm patterning my wardrobe after-- but sometimes it's all about the, you know, details. Besides, I don't have any dark blue in my closet, and this would be a nice change.


-----7-----
I've been asking myself, "How did I get here, thinking, talking, planning, dreaming CLOTHES, after studying St. Therese last week?"

Doesn't it seem odd, after reading about a holy life consecrated to God and spiritual things to now be so focussed on something as worldly as clothing? The vanity, the uselessness!

No--really it's exactly right. This is all about 1) redeeming everything for Christ, making every part of my life holy and consecrated, including my interest in looking nice; 2) reclaiming the little joys of life which I had lost somewhere in my journey, and 3) rejoicing in my femininity.

Strangely, I feel an unexpected joy and excitement about this project which is overflowing to other areas of my life. New clothes! New dishes! Plan a garden! Invite friends over! Clean!

I don't understand all of it, but I feel like God has me in for an interesting, fun, exciting ride.



You can read more Quick Takes, or join in yourself, by going to Conversion Diary.

7 Quick Takes Friday

-------1------
We are in the middle of a doozy of a snow storm. It started about 7:30 this morning, and I'm so glad I talked DrummerDude into staying home from work today. Am I horrid?

He's been fighting a cold all week, and I could see him getting very fatigued. So when the forecast for today was 6-10 inches of snow with 25-30 mile an hour winds, I thought the time was propitious for him to stay home and get some sleep. Besides, I kept dreaming last night about him being stuck at work because his car was snowed in. My mama heart is happy because all my brood are safe indoors. (JD and LovelyDaughter, even though they're not under my roof, are cozy and safe under their roof.

-----2-----
Speaking of JD and LovelyDaughter's roof, you may remember that I mentioned earlier that the house they are living in belongs to DrummerDude. Well, Monday was a red letter day because he paid off the house! DrummerDude is so pleased with himself. (I told you he got a great deal on it. Plus, he's been putting most of his paychecks on it ever since he took out the loan.)

-----3-----
In my last post I wrote about learning to form the habit of cleaning my sink every night. In response, Ornery's Wife said this:

Personally, I have no problem with leaving the dishes till the next morning. I know lots of people think that is bad, and if I can get motivated to get them done before bed, that is better, but I don't sweat it.

Most of my housework is actually just a little behind. Life intervenes, and I am just not that worried about a bit of dust, dog hair or an unmade bed or two. Relationships are so much more important, and they take undivided time.

I agree with her completely. In fact, except for the part about dog hairs, I could have written it myself. However, the reason I started the new habit was two-fold:

1) I wanted to learn to keep my kitchen under control.

2) I'm working on learning to humbly accept instruction. If what I'm doing is not working, why wouldn't I accept help from someone who knows what works? A couple of years ago I read FlyLady's suggestions and waved them aside, saying to myself that that would never work for me because she doesn't know MY priorities, and MY house, and MY personality, etc, etc, ad nauseum. Finally, I decided that as an act of humility I would take her word for it and begin by cleaning my sink.

Where it goes from here, I don't know yet. But I will say that it's amazing the impact that that one little chore has had on the state of my kitchen. (And maybe it's even helping the state of my humility, but that's not for me to say, I guess.)

-----4-----
I just finished reading "The Story of a Soul" by Therese De LeSieux. There's so much to say about it that I can't really summarize it here. I really should just do an entire post about it alone. But here's one little quote:

In the refectory we have but one thing to do: perform a lowly
action with lofty thoughts.

Substitute "kitchen" for refectory (or "bathroom," or "laundry room") and there you are: up-to-date instructions for making the mundane have eternal value.

-----5-----
Which reminds me: On Monday when I was reading the book, I had to take a break and run some errands. While I was out, I had the radio on and I heard a preacher/teacher say that he lived his life always evaluating whether each thing had eternal value. He said, "We should start each day with the Judgment Seat and work backwards."

I was struck by the contrast between this viewpoint and Therese de LeSiuex's attitude of doing everything by and for love. I guess we can choose whether to serve God out of fear of the Judgment, or out of love.


-----6-----
I was raised Protestant, but lately I've been studying Catholicism and reading writings by Catholic writers and I've discovered something.

It seems to me, and I could be wrong, that Protestants work-- at least in theory-- to eliminate everything from their lives that does not have "eternal value." That line of thinking always confused me, and eventually, a few years ago, sent me to the edge of suicide. Nothing in the world has any real value, does it? It's all destined for destruction, and maybe I should just go to heaven right now. Of course, winning souls, or being in full-time Christian ministry, are considered valuable. But what about cooking, cleaning, shopping, getting dressed, brushing your teeth, making the bed, putting gas in the car? I used to look with amazement at preachers who shouted this doctrine at us and then wonder where they found room in their conscience to go out to eat or buy that expensive suit they were wearing.

On the other hand, Catholic thinking seems to be to redeem all of life by the attitude in which we live it, thereby giving every action, no matter how small or mundane, great eternal weight. While I have no plans at this moment to convert to Catholicism, this view has encouraged me greatly and I have decided to adopt it.

-----7-----
Did you know that leftover blueberry pancakes are really good re-heated in the toaster and then sprinkled with sugar?

Quick Takes Friday, First Try

-----1-----
I'm joining Quick Takes Friday over at Conversion Diary. I'll try it in place of my Chocolate Box.

-----2-----
Well, today is the big day, the day of MB3's birthday party, and I have been working my tail off. Some sort of cleaning ogre takes over when I get ready for an event like this, and I start feeling like I have to make up for all my housecleaning inadequacies over the last however long all in one fell swoop. I have to keep pulling myself up short and taking it in perspective. After all, we didn't invite people over to inspect and grade my housekeeping. We invited them over to have fun together. In spite of that, I still have at least two hours of work in front of me. Let's hope I'm not too tired to enjoy the party!

-----3-----
We had a great time at the conference we went to last weekend. It's always fun to go somewhere with Hubby and Swede. They spent all their free time-when we weren't in the hot tub-- using my computer to look up lathe tools and accessories. It's good to see Hubby starting to enjoy his hobbies again.

-----4-----
Related to that, we've had a long slog through depression and ill health, but at the first of the year we felt a shift, and I think at long last our prayers are being answered. Life is looking good again.

-----5-----
I think I'm going to buy some new dishes. It just feels like time for a change. I have some picked out that I can buy a little at a time till I have enough. The melmac set I have is not essential anymore, since the kids aren't in danger of breaking dishes at this age (at least, not in more danger than most normal adults) so I can have stoneware again, ya think?

-----6-----
I helped LovelyDaughter paint her kitchen. I guess you can call it a kitchen. Even though it's in a house, it's no bigger than a tiny apartment kitchen. It seems like an after thought, tacked on to the dining room. It's paneled, with wooden cupboards, and wooden louvered closet doors hiding the hot water heater and washer and dryer. All that dark wood made the room very dank and dark and uninviting. In addition, the back splash over the sink is aqua colored tile. Very bathroom looking and seemed to clash somehow. AND there is no window. None.

So I had the bright idea to paint the paneling a pale creamy yellow, and you would not believe how much cheerier and brighter that tiny kitchen is. Plus, LovelyDaughter found a blue glass vase for her counter, and a painting that includes aqua and blue and yellow that pulls it all together. I'm pretty pleased, and so is she.

-----7-----
My time is up. I've GOT to get back to work.