Stream of Consciousness

Rivers run into the sea...

Every now and then I catch a glimpse, as through the corner of my eye, of the tapestry threads my life is spun upon...

certain themes repeat: family, children, love, flowers...

I have seen exquisite beauty in the pattern of the petals on a rose, and I have experienced exquisite pain on a heartbreakingly beautiful day.

I have loved, lost, and regained lost loves. I have said many a teary goodbye, and I continue to say hello to new friends, new loves, new experiences.

My river runs along paths sometimes strange.

To Autumn, by John Keats

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook; 
Or by a cyder-press, with patient look, 
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of spring? Ay, Where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,-
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies

Book Review: Freezer Meals from The Common Kitchen

 I was sent an ebook to review from the "Headmistress" of one of my favorite blogs (The Common Room)....and I promptly lost it in my email! But I found it again, and am posting my very LATE review now.

Freezer Meals from The Common Kitchen is an amazing "walk-thru" of a real family's bulk, freezer cooking for one month, using real-life recipes and the real-life experience of a mom to seven progeny (as well as feeder of various guests, grandbabies and godchildren). The recipes are easy and delicious, the preparations are carefully explained (along with ideas for side dishes, etc), and the meals are generally "one step" on the night they are to be served for dinner - a huge plus for a busy family! It includes detailed shopping lists, prep lists, and all the "oh, I assumed you knew this" tips that you really don't know you don't know until you are knee-deep in the food...

I only have DH and The Boy - so I never needed to bulk cook in the way larger families often do to maintain sanity and food budgets - but I do regularly make smaller freezer meals. Why? To save money by avoiding takeout during busy work periods, to take full and frugal advantage of food sales, and mostly to control the quality of what we eat! I currently have a freezer stuffed with "twice-baked" potatoes and mini meatloaves for quick "take to work" lunches, containers of vegetarian chili that can be popped into the slow cooker or right into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, my homemade stocks and soups, various preparation of summer veggies from the garden and the farm market, and some of the meals listed in this very ebook (in smaller batches, but still the same prep).
 
Freezer Meals from The Common Kitchen is available here for $.99 -  and I thoroughly recommend it!

Book Review: Tough Guys and Drama Queens by Mark Gregson

I want to preface this review by stating unequivocally that I really wish that I had this book 10 years ago! It would have saved me from some seemingly endless teen drama scenes!

Mark Gregson's Tough Guys and Drama Queens: How to NOT get Blindsided by your Child's Teen Years is a must-read for all parents.  There, I said it! It isn't that I believe all parents must follow Gregson's pattern, as much as reading this constantly pointed me to the the reality that I must stay aware of my child's needs over my own...which is really easy to overlook when we were in "the heat of a problem"! The book is simple, accessible, and spot on target - Gregson loves the children in his care, and this love comes shining through on every page.

In one very touching chapter, Gregson's willingness to walk away for a day or two to regain perspective after a teen kicks his dog and smashes his van - and then to hug this hurting boy, to meet this boy in his pain and to forgive him (with some consequences - this is real life, after all, and bad behavior should have realistic consequences) echoes the love our Heavenly Father has for each of us. And it models for parents how we can each handle the various outbursts and disappointments that our teens may or may not deal us. Gregson models and lists explicit examples of how Grace looks in a family, and acknowledges that just because we are the "grownups" doesn't mean we always behave appropriately - but that's OK, because we need Grace, too!

I plan to share my copy with friends of teens and tweens - and I thoroughly recommend it!


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson through BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trace Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Stone Soup...

It is a cold and rainy day...and I am lucky indeed to have a large kettle of soup on the hob - and a fresh loaf coming out of the oven any moment! We received our CSA box yesterday, so the soup is bits and bobs of the older veggies that have to be used up, simmered in beef stock - with some small bits of meat - and a few generous handfuls of greens. The steam warms the kitchen with comforting scents, and this easy bit of kitchen magic lends a cheery note to a dreary day,

Whilst making today's soup, I was reminded of a childhood favorite tale...I have to say, this version - with its variations here - is quite different from the gentle, "community cooking" story I grew up with!

A tramp knocked at the farmhouse door. "I can't let you in, for my husband is not at home," said the woman of the house. "And I haven't a thing to offer you," she added. Her voice showed unmasked scorn for the man she held to be a beggar.
"Then you could make use of my soup stone," he replied, pulling from his pocket what appeared to be an ordinary stone.
"Soup stone?" said she, suddenly showing interest in the tattered stranger.
"Oh yes," he said. "If I just had a potful of water and a fire, I'd show you how it works. This stone and boiling water make the best soup you've ever eaten. Your husband would thank you for the good supper, if you'd just let me in and put my stone to use over your fire."
The woman's suspicions yielded to her desire for an easy meal, and she opened the door. A pot of water was soon brought to a boil. The tramp dropped in his stone, then tasted the watery gruel. "It needs salt, and a bit of barley," he said. "And some butter, too, if you can spare it." The woman obliged him by adding the requested ingredients. He tasted it again. "Much better!" he said. "But a good soup needs vegetables and potatoes. Are there none in your cellar?"
"Oh yes," she said, her enthusiasm for the miracle soup growing, and she quickly found a generous portion of potatoes, turnips, carrots, and beans.
After the mixture had boiled awhile, the man tasted it again. "It's almost soup," he said. "The stone has not failed us. But some chicken broth and chunks of meat would do it well."
The woman, recognizing the truth of his claim, ran to the chicken yard, returning soon with a freshly slaughtered fowl. "Soup stone, do your thing!" she said, adding the chicken to the stew.
When their noses told them that the soup was done, the woman dished up a healthy portion for her guest and for herself. They ate their fill, and -- thanks to the magic stone -- there was still a modest bowlful left over for her husband's supper.
"My thanks for the use of your pot and your fire," said the tramp as evening approached, and he sensed that the husband soon would be arriving home. He fished his stone from the bottom of the pot, licked it clean, and put it back into his pocket.
"Do come again," said the thankful woman.
"I will indeed," said the tramp, and disappeared into the woods.