Everyday Simple

Many thanks to my German friend for introducing my family to the advent calendar even before we fully embraced the tradition.  This year, however, I came up with something each day for the children to do before they get their daily treat.  Sundays are busy for us, so I decided to make use of the [...]

Just when I thought I was keeping the house clean (or at least tidy), we discover a little surprise.

Need a close-up of our apparently not-so-clean sink?

Yep, that’s a plant growing in the sink trap.  A bean plant, it seems.  I didn’t even know a bean had fallen in there.  We really don’t use this sink [...]

A friend shared this recipe with me several years ago, and I’ve made it every Thanksgiving since.  How grateful I am for our family and friends and the food, shelter, warmth and Love we are so blessed with.
So, I share this with you, with thanks and attribution to Erin W. 
(and this is my [...]

May your season of harvest and abundance be filled with thanks for blessings big and small.

Part of being home is nuturing and nourishing the family.  After husband read In Defense of Food, a renewed sense of commitment to nutritional quality and wellness arose.  I find it difficult to buy manufactured loaves of bread.  Hopefully this is a practice that will last because the allure of homemade bread is irresistible and [...]

Some days, some seasons, I find myself pulling toward something, someplace.  It may be outward or inward, but the pull is almost gravitational.  Now must be the season of my introverted self, and the home is my sun.
My to-do list is manageable, filled with much, of course, but the first half of the list are [...]

-Mark 13:1-8
This past Sunday evening, I realized I hadn’t fully listened to the Gospel during the morning church service.  My lapse in memory baffled me.  Others were talking about how unpleasant a reading it was, but I had no recollection, no point of reference.  Could it have been that bad?
Ah, end of times talk.  All [...]

This whole week embodies an Indian summer.  We’ve had our first frost.  All the trees have come aglow, and most have dropped their leaves.  I chanced upon this ginko tree at the park the day before Halloween; they drop their leaves so quickly.  Their golden leaves must be too heavy to hold for long.
And this [...]

After promising myself I would get started in July, I’ll have to settle for starting in October.
The first gift gives me practice at switching colors while knitting, which will be good preparation for another scarf of many colors and great length.    Other gifts this season will include pottery, quilts, sewing and baking as [...]

Many of my friends knew about the “bowl project” I volunteered my husband and myself for.  In short, Rev. Peggy Bosmyer, the first Episcopal woman priest in Arkansas (and the first west of the Mississippi), died last year of cancer, being only 60 years old.  As Episcopal Church Women, we wanted to do something special [...]