Posted in Miscellaneous Matters

I love the days of early autumn.  Gold and russet are just beginning to show on the hillside, the apples turning ripe in the orchard, the morning air crisp and cool.  We are settling back into our schoolday routine. 

I'm not sure why I love this time of year so much.  Perhaps it is the homey feeling I get when I walk back into a warm, cozy house after a walk in the cool air.  Maybe it's the brilliance of the colors on the trees as the leaves turn.  It could be the way the ground under the maple in the backyard looks as though it has been scattered with red confetti.  Or maybe it's the smell of woodsmoke outside on a chilly afternoon.  Autumn gives me an excuse to cook soup and bake apple cake,  to drink freshly pressed cider and wear a sweater.

The last of the garden produce is ready for harvest.  The days are shorter, so bedtime comes a little earlier and a little easier.  Our days have more consistency and order than our summertime schedule allows.  We are preparing to hunker down for the long, cold winter I wish would hold off a few more months. 

The only fault I find with autumn is that is does not last long enough.

Posted in Miscellaneous Matters

This blog has really accumulated some dust over the past few weeks.  I guess I have been pouring all of my creative energies into our farming endeavors this summer and haven't had anything left to offer here.  Growing one's own food takes a lot of time and effort!

So, let me blow off the dust and sweep away some of the cobwebs.  Take a seat, make yourself comfy, and we'll do a little catching up.

Aside from all the harvesting, preserving, canning, freezing, weeding, milking, mowing, fence-erecting, barn-remodeling, cleaning, organizing, laundry, cooking, sewing, and schooling I've been doing over the summer, I haven't had much time for reading or writing.  Actually, I've felt an amazing feedom in purposely avoiding using the computer except for absolute necessities.  I have not allowed myself to feel obligated to check my email every day or update my blog twice a week or read my favortie blogs regularly--and it has been good.  Real living is so much better than living through a computer screen.

Our family has been very blessed over the past few months to have opportunities to fellowship with several likeminded families.  It is so wonderful to spend time with people who "get it", people who have the same goals and desires for their families as we do for ours, who have similar views and a vision for the future much like our own.  God has been good to direct us to these people who have become dear friends.  These God-given friendships are an answer to some very specific and fervent prayer.

We have officially begun our school year, though we are taking it very slowly, easing our way back into a more structured schedule.  We've already had the "attitude is everything" lecture, and we have all (especially mom) exhibited some signs of *ahem* stress, so I am hoping some of the kinks iron themselves out soon.  Maybe the beautiful weather, which is the first of its kind for most of the summer, is making it harder for everyone (including mom) to focus.  I plan to do a lot of nature study (outside of course) from now until the weather changes.

I have been falling behind in my usual quota of personal reading (one book per week), but what I have been reading has been very good and some of it has been challenging, so I have been stretching my brain despite how busy I have been.

It is hard to fathom how quickly this summer has passed.  I can hardly believe that it will soon be time for picking apples and watching the leaves change.  My family is continuing to try to enjoy the remainder of these warm, sunny days.  I have recently become much more aware of how life truly is a vapor.  Redeeming the time has become more than just a phrase I have memorized.  Time passes by quickly, and what we don't use for God's glory is just a waste.

There, the dust is brushed aside and you now know what's been happening in my life.  How about what's been happening in yours?

Posted in Miscellaneous Matters

Remember when you were a kid and the summer seemed to last forever?  I think back on those lazy summer days, carefree and full of promise of the wonderful adventures I knew would come my way.  Whatever happened to those days?  Here we are, already half-way through June.  In Maine, that means we only have a few weeks left of the summer.  The fourth of July is at the middle point of the summer, and by my birthday at the end of July, summertime is waning and autumn fast approaching.  Life certainly is a vapor and the older I grow, the quicker is seems to speed by.

Busy days lie ahead for my family.  We are preparing for a trip to Boston for Vision Forum’s Reformation 500 at the beginning of July.  This is something we have been excitedly anticipating for quite some time, and I can hardly believe it is almost here.  After that, the remainder of the summer will be filled with many projects such as finishing the barn, tending the garden and animals, berry-picking, jelly-making, canning and preserving, and several more that escape my memory right now. 

Whew!  I love doing all these things, but it leaves me to wonder how on earth anyone has time to sit on a beach with a good book?  I do vaguely remember the days when I was able to do that.  Of course, that was when I had only two little ones and lived in a tiny cabin and had only a dog as a pet.  The dog is still around (though she moves much slower these days), the little ones are much bigger now, and our home is three times the size. 

And life goes on.

Simplifying and savoring the moment while I am in it has become so important to me.  Like the rest of life, summer goes all too quickly and before you know it your baby is getting ready to enter high school.  Much too soon. 

Oh, those busy summer days.

Posted in Miscellaneous Matters

It is officially syrup-making season around here!  In fact, last Sunday was Maine Maple Sunday.  For anyone not familiar with this particular delightful tradition, I'll explain.  You see, we Mainers really like our maple syrup, so much so that we have an annual holiday to celebrate it!  Many sap houses across the state are open to visitors, offering tours of sugar shacks and sap lines, maple products, lunch items and other fun and delicious treats.  It is a perfect excuse to get out of the house after a cold winter; sap season means spring is just around the corner!

The weather lately has been perfect to keep that sap running.  Cool nights (mid 20s or below) and warm days (above 40 degrees) are just right for a good flow of sap into the buckets or down the lines.  We have been busily gathering our sap, and at this point we have several large barrells full and waiting to be boiled down into syrup.  It takes 40 gallons of sap to make just 1 gallon of maple syrup.  That means a lot of sap gathering, and a lot of boiling!  My husband spent some time last weekend sitting in the sap shack, boiling away, and he has many, many more hours ahead of him.  The older three children have been gathering sap buckets, collecting all the syrup each day.  My job comes at the end, when the sap is boiled into syrup and I "finish it off" on our stovetop (which simply means to boil it a little bit longer to get it to just the right consistency), then I put it into canning jars.

It really is a fun process, and I love the fact that the entire family is involved.  The rewards of gallons of delicious maple syrup are quite nice, too.  And of course, it makes for a great homeschooling project!

Posted in Miscellaneous Matters

...or let our boys play video games.

An article in the Washington Post today (follow this link to read the article) shows the results of 30 years' research on the effect of media on children.  Here is an excerpt from the article:

The report found strong connections between media exposure and problems of childhood obesity and tobacco use. Nearly as strong was the link to early sexual behavior.

. . . .

The average modern child spends nearly 45 hours a week with television, movies, magazines, music, the Internet, cellphones and video games, the study reported. By comparison, children spend 17 hours a week with their parents on average and 30 hours a week in school, the study said.

"Our kids are sponges, and we really need to remember they learn from their environment," said coauthor Cary P. Gross, professor at Yale School of Medicine. He said researchers found it notable how much content mattered; it was not only the sheer number of hours of screen time. Children "pick up character traits and behaviors" from those they watch or hear, he said.

The average child spends 45 hours a week using some form of media!  And there might be a link to the childhood obesity problem? 

Interesting, isn't it?  Watching a lot of TV might actually be bad for children?  Who would have imagined?  You mean playing outside in the fresh air, using their God-given imaginations, might actually be better for children than sitting in a dark room in utter inactivity for hours on end?  Amazing!

(Please excuse my sarcasm--this is a pet peeve of mine.)

It is rather sad that the average child spends so much more time being influenced by media sources than by their own parents.  Heartbreaking, isn't it?

Posted in Miscellaneous Matters

I love making jams and jellies.  There's something very satisfying about taking something you get for free (in the case of the above photo, raspberries picked in our backyard) and making something delicious out of it.  My husband loves to eat jams and jellies, so it's a win-win relationship.  I know it seems like a simple thing, and some people might find it silly, but I really do find great delight in seeing all those lovely rows of jewel-colored canning jars filled with the fruit (pardon the pun) of my labors.  There they are, lined up so neatly on my kitchen shelves.  It's a pretty sight.

I taught myself to can from reading (that's how I teach myself to do most things I want to learn) a book on canning and just diving in.  I vaguely remember my mother canning vegetables from our garden when I was growing up, but I never helped her with it, so I learned on my own several years ago.  It has become one of my favorite hobbies.  (It's also very useful and almost necessary for an avid gardener.)

I've often asked myself what it is about canning (and making jellies in particular) that I like so much.  I'm not sure of the answer, I just know I find it relaxing and enjoyable.  I know, I know, I'm a little bit strange.

So, that's my completely useless, not-so-very-interesting post for this week.  Incidentally, much of my creative energy has gone into making jelly and jam lately, so I don't have much left for this blog.  Sorry.  I'm also preparing for a much-needed and highly anticipated family vacation which is coming up next week, and since packing for seven people to go away for a week is hard work, time is at a premium these days. 

I shall return in a couple of days with something slightly more worth your while (I hope).