The birthday

We had a wonderful time last night at Buca. The food was great and the family had a room to ourselves. Bethany, not being the big drinker, had about 1/3 glass of Chianti. Several of us tried the Limoncello, but I think it is best diluted a bit. I poured a bit into my ice water and that was yummy!

A bottle of good Chianti was an important part of the experience, because the fiasco is signed by everyone present to commemorate the evening.

Bethany with her brothers on Monument Circle.

Buca, with the Artsgarden in the background.

Bethany climbing off her chair after the waiters had her stand on it for the singing of Happy Birthday.

Opening gifts with the oldest of her girl cousins, Kate.

Bethany with her fan club, aka, brothers and cousins.

Photo Hunt: Music

Another photo from Symphony on the Prairie for this week's photo hunt. The theme is music. You can see some of the reenactors presenting the colors in front of the stage.

There's nothing quite like live music.

One of the biggest, bestest days of my life

Wow.

Twenty-one years ago today, September 7, 1986, I held the first of my children in my arms for the first time. I can't say I became a mother, because I'd already been a mother for about nine months, but the absolute joy that I felt when I first looked into my daughter's eyes that morning has rarely been matched.

She was an adorable, precocious child who has grown into a beautiful, smart, hard-working, lovable adult. I am happy to say that she is not just my daughter, but is also one of my best friends.

Happy birthday, sunshine.


(I tried and tried to find a picture of Bethany alone. Every picture has a cousin, brother or someone else in it. I finally picked this one because I like it!)

I may try to scan a few older pictures from her younger days later on.

This is how behind I am

I went to my Snapfish account today because I want to be really organized for my scrapbooking retreat in November, which is one of the highlights of my fall.

Oh boy.

I have not uploaded photos since last Labor Day weekend. I have an entire year of photos to upload. How on earth did I let a year go by without doing this? This order could really cut into my Starbuck's budget for the next few months!

I'm trying not to get too bogged down in looking at pictures, but it has been quite a year! And I can't believe how much all of the kids have changed. So I may have to share a few favorites, such as this one of my mom and step-dad with my brother on his fortieth birthday.


Or maybe this one of my hubby, also taken at Buca.
Or maybe this one of my kids and sweet nieces from Symphony on the Prairie this year:

A friend brag

Can I just take a minute to brag on my friend Jen?

She is walking in the Breast Cancer 3-Day this weekend and I am so proud of the determination she has shown in getting prepared for this. As I have watched her struggle through these months of preparation, I have prayed for her in her discouragement and watched her push through.

And she's going to do it. Go Jen!

Homeschool carnival

The 88th Carnival of Homeschooling is up at Consent of the Governed. I'm sure this carnival will be full of good things. (And her blog looks pretty interesting, too.)

How we spent our Labor day weekend...

If you haven't seen our garage in the before state, these pictures will mean little. Picture this: five years in this house, one very fast disorganized move-in, two garage sales with leftovers, and no thorough garage cleaning to date. We spent hours hauling stuff out, sweeping, hosing down, even swiffering the garage walls.

Then I was tyrannical about organizing what went back in. After eleven hours we all gazed in exhaustion at our beautiful, clean organized garage.
Organizing the newly clean shelves.
Patrick isn't going walkabout. He's just making the long trek back in with the camping equipment.
The side yard at the height of the chaos.
A moment of fun before the hula hoops are put away.

Yesterday was a lovely day of rest. Today we labor again.

Heavy sigh...

I will not write posts with any attempt at humor. I will not write posts with any attempt at humor. I will not write posts with any attempt at humor.

Now that I've been suitably punished:

Some of you got my earlier posts on dressing as what they were. Maybe because you know me. Maybe because I declared my curmudgeonly intent at the beginning. Sarcasm and exaggeration were present in abundance.

So for those of you who don't know me:
I have friends who dress well. I have friends who don't. I don't care.

I don't care if you wear a baseball cap in a four star restaurant, unless you're with me. (But, guess what! It's okay for me to have a little pet peeve about that!) I do on the other hand care if you wear shorts so brief that I'm seeing parts of your anatomy better left unexposed.

I don't care if you wear jeans to church. I'm not going to, but you can if you want to. And that is an entirely different conversation.

I do, however, think that the way you dress shows respect--or lack thereof--for where you are and what you are doing. I don't think that the growing casualness in our society is a good thing. Businesses and schools are recognizing this. There have been a number of articles lately discussing the retreat from casual attire in the workplace and many schools and school districts have instituted uniform policies or stronger dress codes, because they know that how people dress has an impact on how they think and act.

As for the guy in the baseball cap that some of you seem so concerned about: The baseball cap was just one thing. If it had been a good match she could have trained him not to wear the hat at the table, inside a building, while talking to a lady. (And yes, for those of you who don't know me and have judged me to be judgmental, I have a HUGE grin on my face as I type that.) It just wasn't a fit.

(Oh--and for anonymous if you are curious--there are many websites with proper hat etiquette. You are fine with your hat on in the mall. It is considered the same as a street. But as soon as you go into an eatery, it should come off.)

Ball caps revisited

One of the comments on my baseball cap post, by "anonymous" led me to wish to post more on this.

I think maybe your opinion about someone's outer appearance should be a little less judgemental (sic). I don't know... just a thought. Maybe that guy who met your friend for coffee just wanted to keep it a casual thing and thought nothing of it. Ya never know.

Whether we like it or not, people are going to judge us based on appearance. It's a fact. It's part of the reason the fashion industry is huge. Everyone knows that part of others' first impression of them is going to be based on what they are wearing. It's why job seekers--and generally people on a first date--make that extra effort to look good.

The way we dress also expresses our attitude toward the place we are going and the people around us. Keeping a hat on in a restaurant or coffee shop is still considered disrespectful and ill-mannered. The few dismissals I've seen of this rule are of the "we're gonna do it, so get over it" variety. Not exactly respectful.

In our society judgment has become a dirty word. But judgment is not a bad thing. This is the definition from the American Heritage dictionary:

1. The act or process of judging; the formation of an opinion after consideration or deliberation.
2. 1. The mental ability to perceive and distinguish relationships; discernment: Fatigue may affect a pilot's judgment of distances.
   2. The capacity to form an opinion by distinguishing and evaluating: His judgment of fine music is impeccable.
   3. The capacity to assess situations or circumstances and draw sound conclusions; good sense: She showed good judgment in saving her money. See Synonyms at reason.

In fact, better judgment could save a lot of pain. Girls. If he comes to pick you up for a date in a cap set askew and a tank top, just stay home. (Unless you're going boating, to play softball, etc.) But, if it's for dinner, forget it. They don't call sleeveless white shirts "wife-beaters" for no reason.

We all make judgments every day about the people we see. Most of them are at the unconscious or subconscious level. We notice whether people are clean, whether they seem to care about their appearance, whether their clothes are appropriate. Sometimes we may notice their attitude, whether positive or negative. Depending on the circumstances this can help us know how to deal with that person.

The young man in the coffee shop with the baseball cap may, indeed, have thought nothing of it. And that is precisely the problem.

I forgot about some of those...

Yeah, I've got some muscles that I haven't thought about for a long time.

Hello quads. I do need you to ride a bike, don't I?

I never realized how many of the muscles in my lower body were going largely unused. Wow.

Rush still rocks

Months ago Colin and I decided to buy tickets to see my all-time favorite band, Rush, at the Verizon Wireless Center north of Indianapolis. It was a very good decision.

We had seen Rush three times in the '80's, so we were interested to see how the concerts and the band had changed. The biggest change we saw was the audience. No longer mostly teens and twenty-somethings--although still predominantly male--the audience ranged from late middle-aged to little kids. There were old hippies, many-pierced teens, and LOTS of middle-class-looking forty-somethings like us.

The band has, if anything, gotten better. Geddy Lee has amazing energy and showmanship and his voice has mellowed just right. Alex Lifeson is still tremendous on the guitar. And Neil Peart is still the most incredible drummer I've ever seen. They played from 7:40-11:00 with one 15 minute intermission, and of course we stood the whole time! From the opening notes of Limelight to the ending notes of Tom Sawyer and through the encore, the energy level was just incredible.

Bethany and Patrick went with us and really enjoyed the concert. Having seen Rush live adds another dimension to listening to their music and Patrick and I were discussing different aspects of their songs this morning.

This was one of the high points--and the end note--to what has been a really great summer.

Want to win a fun purse?

Go check out Debbie's blog! She's giving away one of her cute purses. She also has a website with her quilts.

(I like the cute striped purse!)

My new bike!

I feel like a little kid. I got a new bike today and I could hardly wait to get home to ride it.

I practically lived on my bike in the summers until I was in college, but I haven't had a bike for years. I've been looking at them all summer, but those that I liked were all pretty pricey. The price on this one was reasonable, and best of all it's PINK!

It's funny, I've never been much of a girly-girl, but I've always loved pink. I saw this bike and it was love at first sight. As I wheeled it through Target people were smiling at me, probably because I was grinning like crazy. A girl came up to me after I paid for it and told me that it was cool. (And that her mom paid $324 for her pink bike.)

Colin had to come to Target and pick up the bike, because he had a van today and I had the car, and he was smiling at me as he drove up, too. I think pink bikes make people happy.

So, when I got home I hopped on and took it around a couple of culs-de-sac. I was a bit wobbly at first, but I got the hang of it back pretty quickly. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time together over the next couple of months.

Accidental diet

I've lost six pounds in the last two weeks. I haven't even tried.

Here are the step-by-step instructions.

Buy stones to mark a 10x20 garden. Fill with good dirt. Plant four cherry tomato plants. And five other tomato plants. And some cukes. And some green pepper. And some basil.

Try to incorporate the above ingredients into every meal for two weeks. Especially the tomatoes.
Give some tomatoes away. Eat more of them. Give some more away. Eat more.

Weigh yourself.

I'm back

I hadn't planned on an extended absence, but I left town last Tuesday, expecting to have internet access. When I arrived at my destination, I discovered that my hotel had access, but that it would cost me $14.95 a day, on top of the pricey room and the $22 a day parking.

Nope. That $14.95 could buy some really yummy food for dinner.

Jackpot!

I have been wearing lots more skirts lately. I love the way it feels. I love the way men hold doors for me.

I have been haunting the summer clearance racks looking for skirts. Since I do not yet sew--although I am working on it (slowly)--I am still limited to what is in stores. And since I've hardly worn skirts for years outside of church and formal occasions, I'm starting almost from scratch.

I've had pretty good luck on the clearance racks, but today was the best. I got a beautiful charcoal gray wool jersey Jenne Maag skirt that had been over $300 for less than $30. The shape is gorgeous and it has just a touch of spandex, so it has a teeny bit of stretch and *lots* of movement.

I spent more on it than I've been spending in my clearance-shopping outings but it is classic, well-made and beautiful.

And please take off that stupid cap!

Still in curmudgeon mode:

I love to see men in hats. Real hats. Baseball caps are not hats. Baseball caps belong on boys. The only men who should be wearing baseball caps are those playing the game.

I was never annoyed by the ubiquitous billed caps until I started noticing a trend. Guys who wear them don't realize that they aren't supposed to leave them on inside. I have noticed that men who wear real hats tend to be very polite. They remove them inside. They remove them in the presence of a lady. Some of them even doff them. Unfortunately, the same cannot often be said of the overgrown boys who wear baseball caps. I know a very proper young lady who met a guy for coffee. He never took off his cap. Even if he had been fantastic in every other way, he wouldn't have had a chance.

I can understand why the guy doesn't want to take his cap off walking through Walmart or Gander Mountain. I'll cut him some slack. But when he's sitting in a restaurant--white tablecloth, cloth napkins, wine list--he needs to take it off. He also needs to wear a shirt with arms. Please.

ADDENDUM: Yes, many of the men I love wear baseball caps. My favorite bald guy often wears a baseball cap. My wonderful brother wears a baseball cap. That doesn't mean that I have to like it. And if they ever displayed poor hat etiquette, I would probably confiscate the hats. (My favorite bald guy is making a transition to real hats. He looks so incredible in his winter dress hat with his suit and overcoat on!)

Have some dignity

This post is going to sound rather curmudgeonly, but I am sick of seeing flesh everywhere I go. Way too much flesh. Whatever happened to leaving something to the imagination?

Last week my friend Polly sent me a link to this site about shorts. Last night Bethany and I kept seeing women who needed to see this site. Or a mirror. Seriously.

I don't wear shorts unless I'm playing tennis or--maybe--working outside. I am also one of those people who is always hot. I am living, breathing, walking, shopping, dining-out proof that a woman can dress comfortably in the summer without wearing shorts. I wish more of them would try it!

I don't have anything against shorts. Really. Slender young women with toned legs should definitely wear shorts if they want to. Fat fifty year olds should not, especially not short shorts with a tank top to the restaurant where I am paying over $20 a person for dinner. (Such a woman also should not eat her salad with her fork and the fingers of her other hand while chewing with her mouth open, but I digress.)

I also don't have anything against legs. But I do have something against fat thighs making shorts ride up until everyone can see way more of those legs--and other things-- than they ever wanted to.

There are several other posts coming on this topic and others related.

ADDENDUM: I do realize that there are some times and places for shorts: parks, beaches, amusement parks, etc. I don't even care if people want to wear them to the grocery store. Or the mall. Or Steak and Shake. Seeing women in nice shorts that come to somewhere between mid-thigh and above the knee is fine. But with very very few exceptions shorts don't belong in nice restaurants. And most women should never, ever wear shorts that hit higher than mid-thigh.

Happy birthday, Patrick!

My son Patrick, who is also, I am happy to say, one of my favorite people, is 17 today. (This is him in the birthday sombrero at Cebolla's tonight.)

We parents always say we can't believe how old our kids have gotten. It is hard to believe that it was 17 years ago that we rushed to the hospital in Waukesha, Wisconsin. (It was a good thing we rushed, because he wasn't waiting around! ) On the other hand, it isn't hard for me to believe that he's 17 because he is, in many ways, more mature and responsible than you would expect a teen-aged boy to be.

Patrick and I had some hard years when he was little. There were times when I wasn't sure we would both survive his childhood. Don't ask me how many times he ran off in a public place. Ran. Far. There were some major battles.


But somewhere along the line things started to change and I am very proud of the man my son is growing up to be.

Tonight he is exhausted because he just got back from spending a couple days helping out with his cousins in Indianapolis. They are 11, 6, and 3. Tomorrow he is leaving bright and early for a fishing trip that he'd really rather not be taking, but he knows it's important to his father, so he's going, and not in a sulky teenager way. He'll go and he'll fish and he'll be good company and help with his little brother. And when he comes home I'll take him to Starbucks.

Well, this was fun. Especially since I'm Elizabeth. I had to take a tiebreaker question that I am assuming made me Elizabeth instead of Emma.

You scored as Elizabeth Bennet, As one of Austen's most beloved characters, Elizabeth Bennet represents what most women would like to become: strong, independent, and loyal. Of course, she has her faults including a stubborn will of iron and a clinging to first impressions. Overall, Lizzie is bright and lovable...something to admire and aspire to. Emma Woodhouse 72% Elizabeth Bennet 72% Marianne Dashwood 63% Elinor Dashwood 56% Jane Bennet 53% Charlotte Lucas 28% Lady Catherine 25% Which Jane Austen Character are You? (For Females) Long Quiz!!! created with QuizFarm.com

Living in the past

Those photos sent me into a genealogical frenzy, the likes of which I haven't seen for a while. I have spent the better part of the past four days deeply engrossed in a couple of my family lines.

I have figured out a lot about the photos and I am going to post on my genealogy blog about that in a little while. We are fairly certain that we know where the house in the picture was. If you are familiar with the intersection of Coliseum Blvd. and Lima Road in Fort Wayne, you've been there. That was the site of my great-great-grandfather Louis Bracht's farm in the early 1900's.

All of this sent me to the library to look at other records, and I have learned much more about this branch of my family.

Since I was going to the library to look up Bracht obituaries anyway I decided to look at some other branches of my family who might have ended up in the Fort Wayne paper when they died.
In one of those I found that an ancestress had brothers with a different last name than her maiden name. Several hours of research later, I had discovered even more family ties to Allen County than I knew that I had.

This photo is Flora Bracht Hildebrand, the same woman who is holding the baby in the middle of the old picture. In this picture the baby she's holding is me.

On a mission

Today I'm in detective mode. My mother showed me this picture yesterday and I want to figure out who these people are and where they were. The first will be easier than the latter, because we have some clues about the people.


We are fairly certain that these are some of the same people. It may have even been taken the same day. The taller woman in the center who is holding a baby, with a little girl standing in front of her is my great grandmother.

I think I know about when this was taken, but if any of you are photo-dating buffs I'd appreciate the input.

To think I used to let him beat me at Clue

There is a nice article in the Indianapolis Star about the hubby's youngest brother.

It is true that I used to let him win at games. He was five when Colin and I started dating and I wanted him to like me. I've never played golf with him, but he'd beat me at that fair and square.

These pictures are making me hungry

I will, absolutely, be making this recipe.

Absolutely.

Another favorite summer thing

One of my favorite summer time memories from my early childhood was climbing the big wide steps on the front of the Carnegie Library and the going down the stairs to the children's department. I would load up on books to get me by until next Saturday.

When I was nine we moved away from my hometown to a bigger city. The bookmobile came to our neighborhood each Friday and I was always ready to swap out my books.

When I was 13 we moved back home and I was able to return to my beloved old library. With its cool marble floors and shelves full of books--even across many of the windows--it was my cool, dim refuge on many hot summer days. Now instead of heading down the stairs I could explore all of the nooks and crannies.

As an adult my favorite libraries have usually been the kid-friendly ones and those that haven't thrown out all of the old books. My reading time has often been more scarce than I would like. As the kids get older the reading time is becoming easier to find. This summer I am getting thoroughly reacquainted with the joys of haunting the library shelves, browsing for an interesting book. I also cheat and browse the books at Barnes and Noble, writing down interesting titles to request from my library. (Don't feel sorry for B&N. I spend enough on books in a year to keep them plenty happy.)

I have been immersing myself in books. I always have several going at any given time. Right now I'm in the middle of The Perfect Man. I'm reading Jihad Incorporated; A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style; the poetry of John Donne; and Cite Your Sources. Just before Deathly Hallows I read 'Tis. I didn't like it as well as Angela's Ashes. In one of those quirks of library hold lists, when I checked my account tonight I was first in the holds queue for eight books, three of them total fluffy chick lit. That always seems to happen. Guess I'll just have to read faster!

Book seven

I'm not saying much about The Deathly Hallows until a few more of my friends finish it. I'm fortunate to have a family who understands reading from 8:30-3:00 stopping only for brief moments for food, drink, child-hugging and cat-petting, so I was able to finish it Saturday. It helps, too, that we got three copies. We learned our lesson after two of us were trying to read Half-Blood Prince at the same time.

It was a very satisfying book, and a great finish to the series. My biggest complaint is that now I'm having trouble reading anything else! My friend, Pastor S., has posted his thoughts about the book on his blog.

Pickles!

We have pickles! Today I pickled two quarts and four pints of bread and butter pickles using my grandma's recipe and her jars. The cucumbers are from my garden.

I'm pretty excited. I watched people can when I was a girl, but I've never done it before. Now I have 8 jars of my own blueberry preserves, (I gave three away,) four jars of freezer preserves, and my lovely pickles.

My cucumbers are going crazy, so I'll be doing more pickles later this week. Tomorrow after I get my haircut and do a mystery shop we have class, so I won't get anything done tomorrow, but Wednesday has to be beets.

Personal Style

I was tagged for this meme, about one of my favorite topics, by Not Worthy.

Personal Style Quiz
Rules: You have to choose one of the two. You cannot answer "neither" or "both." You can indicate that you like both or neither, but you must state a preference.

Animal fiber or plant? Plants all the way, with the exception of leather on my feet. (I'm allergic to wool.)

Natural or synthetic? Natural

Ornate or simple? Simple

Color or Neutral? What is black? I think that's neutral.

Pastel or Vibrant? Umm--this depends on my mood, really! Mostly pastel, I think.

Blue/Green or Red/Orange? Blue/Green

White Gold or Yellow Gold? White Gold

Gems or texture? I like sparkle, but most of mine comes from silver. I think I'm more texture.

Watch or no-watch? Watch

Comfort or fashion? Another hard one....I love fashion, but comfort usually wins in the end.

Trendy or classic? Classic

Cables or lace? Both add bulk. But I love my one cotton cable knit fisherman's sweater. And I loved cable knit knee socks. :)

Heels or flats? Heels

Flip-flops or sandals? Sandals--flip flops make most people shuffle.

Skirts or pants? It used to be pants, but its more and more skirts for me. (Have you ever noticed that as women age skirts are much more flattering than pants?)

Geometric or floral? floral

V-neck or turtle-neck? V-necks are my friends.

Skulls or butterflies? Butterflies

Loose or snug? Loose.

Long hair or short? On the shortish side. I wish I could do long, but my hair doesn't.

Headbands or barrettes? Headbands

Shoulder bag or handbag? Shoulder bag!

Now I get to tag some people. Three people immediately came to mind: Bethany, Favorite Apron, and Hoffman Homemaker.

Off to the Potter party!

We will be among the many nerds, geeks, whatever across the country going to parties while awaiting the midnight release of Deathly Hallows.

We should be home about 1:00 with our three copies and the race will be on.

I'm at a disadvantage because I have to pickle beets tomorrow.

This is summer

We went out to the 4H fair tonight and walked around. It was a beautiful warm breezy evening. The dust was at a minimum because we've had some rain the past few days. We visited the livestock barns--always my favorite part of the fair--and the other exhibits. I thought about how cool it is that my friend took her turnips to her county fair.

We ate pork sandwiches and elephant ears and drank a lemon shake-up. We looked at antique tractors.

Tomorrow morning I am making my blueberry preserves and some refrigerator pickles. (I read that last line and had the thought that my blog has given me frequently lately. "Who is this person, and what has she done with Jane?")

I just need to remind myself that next week I get to do some shopping and the week after that I get to have a manicure and pedicure and go to my convention. (That's a relief. I'm still here somewhere under the sewing and gardening and cooking!)

Blueberries!

We went blueberry picking today with RPW, HH, and another friend who--gasp!--has no blog. I have never been before and, although I love blueberries, was feeling a little ambivalent about actually leaving my house this morning.

It was well worth leaving the house and the 40 minute drive. It was a gorgeous morning. I finally have enough sun that the freckles on my nose are starting to show. We picked 23.7 pounds of blueberries. Tonight the first eight cups made their way into a cobbler. (More about that cobbler tomorrow.) Most will be frozen, although the eating just as they are commenced as soon as we got them home. I'm also going to attempt blueberry preserves.

Tonight was a true summer supper: our zucchini baked with a little olive oil, salt & pepper and cheese; fresh sweet corn from the farm, and blueberry cobbler.

Books, books, books

I was debating which blog to post this on, and decided since I have some readers who read only one or the other to put it on both.

One of the great things about being a homeschool mom is that reading books is part of my job. I have been able to revisit some of my favorites from childhood and young adulthood, as well as encountering many wonderful books for the first time as an adult.

I love book lists because they help jog my memory; they remind me of those books that I want to read or reread, or that the kids have not yet read. Tonight as I was catching up with things at Mere Comments, I came across this post. This is a nice book list and the comments have more suggestions.

What books do you think are necessities that didn't make this list? Any on the list you think don't belong? On my book list that I used for my children's literacy talks I included a list for preschool. What would you put on that?

What books do you think are necessary for basic cultural literacy?

No jury duty

I have been, in some strange way, looking forward to reporting for jury duty tomorrow morning. This evening I found out that I don't have to report after all. I was, at the same time, relieved and disappointed. I was relieved that I don't have to give up a day or more of my time, but I was disappointed that I don't get the chance to experience this particular slice of American life.

I managed to get my office and my desk cleaned and my bills paid while listening to the streaming video of the synodical convention. Tomorrow I think I'll clean my room, go through a couple of closets, and catch up on a couple of projects at my desk while I listen. I'm finding it fascinating, although not necessarily in a good way.

The fourth of July and prayers

One of our long-standing family traditions is to attend the Indianapolis Symphony's Independence Day concert at Conner Prairie Farm near Indianapolis. The first trip Colin and I made to this concert was 21 years ago when I was seven months pregnant with Bethany. The crowd with us varies, although it always includes my mom and step-dad and my brother and his family.

We take fried chicken and little rolls, fresh fruit, cheese & crackers, a few veggies, and of course suitable wine! If we're lucky my sister-in-law, Kim, makes chocolate-covered strawberries. Colin and the kids and I arrive before the gates open to line up with the other die-hard crazy people so that we can get the exact spot as soon as the gates open. We then bake on our spread out blankets--because the temperature is invariably in the 90s--until the rest of the crew begins to arrive a couple of hours later.

The concert is generally held on three consecutive nights, ending on the fourth. We usually go on one of the earlier nights, with the fourth as a backup date in case of bad weather. Last year we got through half of the concert before we were cleared out because of a thunderstorm that was on the way. This year Bethany's work schedule made the fourth our only option, because none of us could fathom going without her. As the day drew nearer the weather outlook was looking bad: seventy percent chance of thunderstorms, huge storm systems to the west.

I don't usually pray for much of anything, unless it's big. I've always felt like I shouldn't "bother" God with the mundane and trivial. (Although some sermons and Bible studies I've been hearing are getting me past this way of thinking.) But I prayed for good weather. And prayed. And prayed. I told my mom to pray. I told my kids to pray.

An evening like this may not seem like it should be that important, but this has been our one consistent family tradition. Everything else has flexed and shifted, but except for the year I was eight months pregnant and living 400 miles away, we've been there. We have had a rough past four months and I think I almost felt like I couldn't lose this, too. Not this year.

So we loaded up the car and drove to Indy. We waited in line, with less than a tenth of the usual crowd. We spread our blankets. We bought some kettle corn and we sweated in the heat and humidity. At 6:30 as storm clouds gathered in the west a voice came over the PA system and said, "We are in contact with the National Weather Service, so far so good." We ate our food and settled in for the beginning of the concert. There were more clouds and another announcement.

At the intermission a man sitting behind us was talking to someone on the cell phone. He said--and we found out later that this was indeed the case--that the storms had passed about ten miles south of us and about ten miles north.

So we got to enjoy our music, our food, the fireworks, and most importantly, our family. I don't know if the beautiful evening at Conner Prairie had anything to do with our prayers, but I felt profoundly grateful.

My little garden

The amount of food that can be grown in one 200 square foot garden is amazing. These pictures are ten days old, so they really don't do it justice. The tomatoes are taller than Andrew now.

We have had salads coming out our ears and have given lettuce to friends and neighbors. We've had yummy roasted turnips and a big pan of zucchini.And there's more of everything to come.

Today we're shredding up two monstrous zucchinis that got away from us for zucchini bread and muffins. I'm going to feed my mom cucumber sandwiches made with my own cukes.

And most exciting so far, I'm going to pickle a couple of quarts of beets, which will give me great juice for pickling some eggs when the beets are gone!

If I don't end up on jury duty, we're going to go pick some blueberries next week and mom and I need to get a quantity of cukes so that we can make some bread and butter pickles from my grandma's recipe.

Today I need to bake pies for our chicken barbecue and ice cream social. I bought some fresh Michigan cherries when we went to the farmers market, so I'm going to make a cherry pie and a butterscotch pie. I also need to bake a cake, I'm just trying to figure out what kind.

Quick filler

This is mostly a nothing post so that my friend Pastor S. doesn't have to see Bethany with the a-blaze orange hair any more.

Vacation Bible School has been going on this week, plus my brother-in-law and his wife have been in the states from Australia, and I've actually been working a bit, plus I've had two extra kids in the afternoons, and we had our church council picnic, so it has just been a busy week!

I have several photo-inspired posts to come over the next few days.
We went to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo Monday:

Photo Hunt: Fake

Where better to find "fakes" than on Halloween?
I present a fake redhead and a fake pirate.

A book that I didn't expect to like

Every once in a while I have to step outside my anti-Oprah box and read a book that has been endorsed as an Oprah's Book Club book. I read them, not because the O. has endorsed them, but in spite of that fact.

I decided to read The Road because I thought that the premise sounded interesting. A man and his son are walking south through the barren landscape after some unspecified apocalyptic event. I wasn't entirely sure that I would enjoy it, but figured that I might as well check it out from the library and at least start it to see how it was.

I certainly didn't expect that this would be a book that I couldn't put down. I read it in a few hours. I feel like I need to read it again to figure out exactly why I loved it. This is the first book that I've read in a long time that I want to discuss with someone.

So if you've read it, tell me what you think.

Photo Hunt: Sweet

When I saw the topic "sweet" I immediately thought of pictures of my nieces or one of my kids. The problem would be choosing a picture. So instead I chose this sweet mix that my daughter and my friend were eating at our scrapbooking weekend.

Too sweet for me!

Homebody?

I was just reading the last bunch of posts here and had to laugh. The person writing this blog sounds like such a homebody.

I must be going through a phase.

A-ha moment

Okay, cleaning is not my favorite thing. I have paid someone to do it in the past and will again when finances allow.

But I did grow up in a very, very clean home and I know how to do it properly and well. I am also trying to teach my kids how to do it well, although probably not with the consistency or frequency that would be desirable.

In my mother's house dusting/cleaning walls, baseboards, doorframes, etc., were part of the weekly cleaning. I have never done them this frequently, but still manage to do them with some frequency. (As an aside, I was shocked to discover, after almost a year, that my cleaning lady didn't dust the door frames!)

So baseboards are done on the hard floors each time I sweep--almost daily--on the carpeted areas every month or so. Door frames about once a month. But the walls have been neglected because we have high-ish ceilings and I have not had much success with the fuzzy duster implements. They drop the dust everywhere else. I hate standing on something. So it just hasn't been done much.

So this morning I had a brainstorm: the Swiffers with the extendable handles, which I already had for my floor. This worked absolutely beautifully and now all of my walls are dusted! (This may seem obvious to some of you, but I was thrilled.)

Being home

This summer I am getting to enjoy something that is infrequent for me. I get to just be home. Cleaning doesn't have to be a panicked affair because someone is coming over. Meals can be cooked with care. Time can be spent deadheading flowers and thinning plants.

For the first time in recent memory I have five weeks until I need to go out of town, and I am not expecting any out-of-town company. I am, purposefully, barely working. I will be helping with, but not teaching, Vacation Bible School.

I am going to paint my powder room and refinish a couple of pieces of furniture. I am going to shorten the curtains in my dining area that have been driving me nuts. I'm going to clear clutter out of my basement. I'm going to make an apron like the ones my grandma wore.

I'm going to take my kids to the beach at an old quarry to swim. I'm going to play tennis. My mom and I are going to can pickles. I am going to start scrapbooking my 20-year-old's childhood pictures.

And, if I want to, I may even spend hours just doing nothing.

Fresh food!

This is an exciting day around here. I weeded and thinned in the garden today and we have turnips! I am getting ready to fix a mess of turnip greens and some yummy creamed turnips. We also have a couple of kinds of lettuce ready to eat.

There are little tiny tomatoes, and sweet little zucchini that are promising future enjoyment, along with blossoms on the pepper, cucumber and squash plants. Just looking at my garden makes me hungry!

We will be planting our second bunch of turnips and beets next week, along with some kale. It's hard to believe that just a little over a month ago Andrew and I were watching for the baby plants and worrying that the cat would trample them. Now she's resting in their shade.

Awarding Innovation

I went with my husband last night to a patent award banquet for his company. I expected a night of boredom, but it was really fascinating to see the patents that were awarded to them last year.

Some of them were design-related, like the shape of hoods, headlights, and grills. Some of them, like those that my husband received, are for very technical aspects that make the trucks more efficient and dependable. A huge majority are driven by two concerns: fuel efficiency and driver satisfaction.

I see how hard my husband works and how much he loves the trucks.But it was very interesting to see that company-wide they are working hard every day to improve some of the most mundane, yet vital, vehicles on the roads, things like utility trucks, school buses, and ambulances, along with the big trucks. They also are working hard to find ways to make safer vehicles for our military.

Mamapalooza Fort Wayne

I had a wonderful weekend with some of my fellow confessional Lutheran homeschooling moms this weekend. Good food, good conversation, and a lot of laughter.

This was doubly great for me because it was at my house and one of my favorite things is having people come here. I love to feed them. I want them to feel at home, and, hopefully, comfortable. (Plus it gave me a great excuse to buy some new sheets and towels!)

To read more about our weekend, and to see lots more pictures, visit Polly.

Letters

I had a wonderful day with my mother yesterday as we sorted through a couple of the many boxes of photos, letters, and newspaper clippings that my grandmother had accumulated in nearly ninety years on earth. Not only did she have letters that she had received, but also some that my great-grandparents had sent to each other when they were courting during 1907-09.

One of the treats was a stack of postcards from the early part of the 20th century that were mostly the communications of my great-grandmother's siblings to her. They lived in Fort Wayne and another town to the north, while my great-grandparents had remained in Magley, a little town about forty miles south of Fort Wayne. These were the written equivalent of a phone call, making plans for a visit the next Sunday, or sharing little bits of news.

The other letters that had us crying from laughing so hard were a number of letters written by my mother and grandfather to my grandmother--and her missiles in return--while she and my youngest aunt were on a trip to California in 1962 to visit my older aunt who was a Navy wife living in Oakland while her husband was at sea. She was gone for three weeks, and because long distance phone calls were still prohibitively expensive, all of the news and thoughts that they had during that time were written down.

What a treasure! This is the best insight I've ever had into my mom as a teen, before she was almost killed in an accident or was worn down by years of a dishonest and irresponsible husband. We laughed and laughed.
Her descriptions of the actions of my grandfather brought back so many happy memories.

We also found a bunch of letters that my little brother wrote to my grandparents when he was a kid. They were adorable!

Last night on the way home I started thinking about those letters, and the treasured letters that I have: letters from Colin when I was away at school; letters from my grandmothers, full of news about their gardens and what they're doing; postcards from my mom when I was in college; letters from Bethany at camp. These are all little insights into these people and I'm glad that I have them.

This has also made me determined to write more letters and encourage my children to do the same. It takes more thought to put news into words than it does to make a phone call. Email is impersonal and transitory.
Part of the magic of those old letters is seeing the handwriting, unique to each individual.

And think about the recipient. Getting the mail has become a chore. It's usually bills and a mountain of junk. Or some days it's just junk. Think of the little jolt of happiness that comes from seeing your name handwritten on an envelope that is obviously personal. If you write letters you might even get some back!

And of course the genealogist in me is screaming, "Write letters! Leave something of yourself for your great-great grandchildren to find."

New washer!

Did the first two loads in my new washer last night. Wow.

I'd forgotten how good clean laundry smells when your washing machine doesn't have mildew issues.
(And yes, we tried every possible remedy for the mildew problem. Nothing worked. We even replaced all of the effected parts last year with "improved" ones. It just got worse.)

Today I'm putting up my clothes line. I wonder how many of my neighbors will complain.

Photo Hunt: Shoes

Today's theme is shoes, always a favorite topic at our house. This is a picture Bethany took of some fun new shoes I got last summer.

Looking at the bright side

Of course, after a good night's sleep, I'm not feeling so whiny today.

I bought my new washer. It's a Kenmore and it's being delivered tomorrow. I hate to spend the money right now, but I will be glad to get rid of my problem-plagued Maytag Neptune. It will be a wonderful relief not to smell mold every time I walk by my laundry room.

My house is still a mess, and I do have 14 women coming to stay here next weekend, but--hey--I've got kids, right? That's what they're for! And I keep telling myself that if my house is less than perfect these wonderful ladies will still be my friends. Right?

I got an encouraging email from a friend this morning suggesting that I try to increase my exercise by 15 minutes a day. She said it helped her lose some weight that wasn't budging after 40 and she also just feels better. I know that I should exercise more; I just need to do it.

My garden is looking fantastic we're going to have lots of zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers. We should also have a nice bunch of turnips and some lovely salads. I still need to get a picture to post.

Out of sorts

I'm feeling generally cranky tonight.

It's hot.

My washing machine is on its way out. My house is a mess. I spent all afternoon at church working on financial stuff and didn't even get to what I went there to do.

I'm past forty and suddenly the strategies of watching what I eat that used to help take off an extra ten pounds relatively quickly have given me a three pound loss in five weeks.

I probably should just go to bed and read the latest Lincoln Child book. I know I'll feel better in the morning.

One picnic, hold the ants

Mumme mom posts about picnics after reading this piece by John Rosemond.

We love picnics. Food of all kinds tastes better in the fresh air. Last year Colin's birthday and father's day gift was a fire pit that doubles as an outdoor table. We've eaten many meals on our patio in the last year.

We also have several big picnics every year. There's always one for Colin's company, and our extended family usually gets together at Mounds Park in Anderson at least once for a family picnic.
This is the old-fashioned, sit at picnic tables, play wiffle ball and frisbee, go for a walk in the woods, picnic. We also look forward to our church council picnic, when we get to hang out with our friends.

One of our favorite family traditions is our trip each year to the Symphony on the Prairie at Conner Prairie near Indianapolis. We take along lots of blankets for the family to sit on, my mom makes fried chicken and we all bring along the necessary foods to go with it: rolls and butter, potato salad, chips, grapes and cherries, cheese and crackers, carrots, celery, & radishes, cookies and brownies, and--if we're very good--my sister-in-law Kim brings chocolate covered strawberries.

Then we all sit back and listen to the wonderful music and wait for the fireworks. This is always a highlight of our summer. The first time Colin and I went was 21 years ago when I was pregnant with Bethany, and we've only missed it twice.

The kids and I enjoy impromptu picnics once in a while. Sometimes we make sandwiches and head to whatever park we're in the mood for. Sometimes we're already out and we'll grab Taco Bell or a hot dog and go eat at a park. Just last week my mom and I were lamenting the disappearance of roadside picnic tables. These used to be fairly common along state highways. There would be a safe spot to pull off the road and a picnic table. Once in a while there would be some other amenity like a pump for water or a trash can. We like to travel with a cooler and sandwiches, but often end up eating in the car because there often aren't good spots to stop.

When and where do you picnic?

Blog highlights

Life has been such recently that I haven't written or read much in the blogosphere. In catching up today I have run across some gems. So, in the spirit of lazy bloggers everywhere, I give you these reading suggestions:

First, if you have not yet visited Pastor Rick Stuckwisch's blog, you must do so. For those of us with children the age of mine, his post Matchmaking, Boyfriends and Girlfriends is an excellent read. And before you leave, read his post about First Communion.

For a quick laugh, go visit Barbara Frank.

For more entertainment, as well as a look at a day ion the life of an organ technician, check out The Elephant's Child. (She also has some great links about the ethanol problem.)

Maybe some more later. Now I have to leave my house again, which means that will be able neither to blog, nor to read blogs.

Photo Hunt: Art

This is a couple of my kids creating with the acrylic paints and supplies that the boys got for Christmas.
I love this photo of Dale Chihuly glass--and Bethany-- reflected in the highly polished black floor at the Indianapolis Children's Museum.