{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ April 21, 2013

This week I have only {pretty} and {happy} and I can't really even decide what to put where, so let's just call it all {pretty} and {happy}

{Pretty} and {Happy}

Hannah finished a baby quilt for her cousin (my nephew) and his wife who are expecting a little girl next month.  It's darling!  She is becoming quite an accomplished quilter, and who wouldn't want a handmade quilt for their baby?

Don't let the sunshine fool you; it's still unseasonably chilly here in Illinois.  Despite that, the daffodils are finally blooming.  I love this miniature variety!

When you're a pastor, people give you things.  A parishioner who was recently widowed and is now moving to a retirement community is downsizing out of necessity, and she wanted Dave to have a chair bought for her husband not long before he died.  A sweet gesture of appreciation!  While there, we ended up buying a beautiful china cabinet she no longer needed.  She didn't ask nearly enough for it, and though we got her to double her asking price, we still got it for a song.  I'm in the process of unpacking four boxes of china that have had to stay packed away for almost two years because I didn't have anywhere to put it.  (You may remember that our old house had three built-ins.)  I haven't quite finished, so I'm not showing you the cabinet yet, but here is some of the china I've uncovered.  It's so good to see these pretties again!  Come back next week to see everything in it's glory. :)

I feel tremendously blessed of the Lord to have found exactly what I wanted and at such a great price!


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{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ April 13, 2013

Gosh, it's been three weeks since I posted!  That's because Dave and I were at a regional conference for our denomination (The American Association of Lutheran Churches) and then on the way back I got dropped off for a few days in West Virginia to visit my granddaughter and her parents. :)  I have a bit of catching up to do.

{Pretty}

 

 

Of course, you knew I'd post a picture of Arane for {pretty}. Don't you think her mother is equally pretty? :)

 

 

 

 

 

{Happy}

 

 

 

 

Arane is a very happy baby in general.  She loves her toys and is good at playing by herself, and she rarely cries or fusses.  

At the Huntington Museum of Art.  It's a very nice museum, especially for a town
of its size, and if you are ever there, it's definitely worth going to!



It makes me happy to see how happy Lizzie and Justin are together.  They work as a team and take care of each other, and now to top it all off, they have Arane too! :)

 

As with much of the country, spring has been late here, but we had a couple days before Easter that were warm and sunny.  So Hannah spread out a blanket and her books and took advantage of it while it lasted because . . .

 

{Real}

 

. . . this is what happened earlier in the week~

 

 

 

Yes, an early spring snowfall.  If it had been January, February, or even early March, these pictures would have gone in {pretty}.  But who wants snow after spring has officially started??

 

 

{Funny}

Dave has gone low-carb, so for Easter he didn't get chocolate.  He got something else he likes better and is low-carb~

 

 

 

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{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ March 24, 2013

Joining Like Mother, Like Daughter for {phfr}

{Pretty}

On Monday, the dark, heavy sky began to clear in the west just as the sun was going down, creating unusual light amidst the gloom~

 

 

Hannah is getting a new skirt, hopefully in time for Easter.  This introverted girl has a strong preference for extroverted clothes! 

 

 

 

{Happy}

 

My first great-niece (great-anything, for that matter) was born on Friday.  What a sweet little potato!  I can't wait to meet her when we visit in June!

 

 

 

{Funny}

 

 

Our new phonebook arrived this week.  It covers two towns, ours and a nearby. . . ahem . . .  metropolis.  We chuckled at its extreme diminutiveness.  (But we really do like it here.)

  

 

 

{Real}

 

Here is what our strawberry plants looked like after spending the winter under a thick layer of straw~

 

 



They don't look too promising, do they?  There is still some green there, so we are hopeful they will bounce back.  And after all, what would you look like if you'd just spent a cold winter outdoors with nothing but straw to keep you warm?

From My Commonplace Book

"Men despise religion.  They hate it and are afraid it may be true.  The cure for this is first to show that religion is not contrary to reason, but worthy of reverence and respect.  Next make it attractive, make good men wish it were true, and then show that it is."~ Blaise Pascal

"True education is a kind of neverending story~ a matter of continual beginnings, of habitual fresh starts, of persistent newness."~ J.R.R. Tolkien

"The smell of the food had been exciting from the beginning.  It was rich and good and full of promise.  It made hunger merry.  It made craving a joy.  The rare memory of it would come into lean weeks for long after."~ Neil Gunn, Morning Tide

"I am always hopeful that the pendulum will swing back and that women will see again not only the necessity of a mother's being at home, but also the infinite and rich choice in that occupation for women of all ages.  Some will complain of monotony, but how few going out to a paid job have the opportunity to make their own schedules, to choose the routine of their week's labor, to follow up creative interests that women have within the home.  Our ever-present disciplines, the pattern of creaturely necessities~ cooking, laundry, decently clean houses~ are a blessing.  Beyond the physical care of the family, for better or worse we are shaping souls and characters.  Women learn slowly the magnitude of their influence.  Perhaps we would be more contented if we could realize that one of the few remaining free professions is that of a housewife.  If a woman resents being just a housewife, let her be called an artist." Josephine Moffett Benton, At the Pace of a Hen.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ March 17, 2013

 

Let's just plunge right in, shall we?

{Pretty}

Here's a glimpse into our new sewing room.  It's been painted and a new table bought.  Every scrap of fabric and paper, every bit of notions and trimmings has been sorted and organized.  Maybe now the dining area will no longer look like an explosion in a New York garment factory.



The windows still need curtains.  The cabinet holds fabric and how-to books.

 

 

The closet~

 



These also hold gift wrapping supplies.

 

 

 

I think an organized space is pretty in its own way, don't you?  It's certainly prettier than a big, jumbled mess!

 



{Happy}

 

My cheerful, delightful, kissable granddaughter, Arane (photos courtesy of Elizabeth via Facebook)~

 

Such sweet, chubby legs!

 

{Funny}

 

Arane's hair has been a challenge from day one.  It's particulary unruly here because it had been up in a Pebbles-esque "sprout" all day . . .

 

 

 

 

{Real}

 

 

Alas, alas, I mourn for an old friend that I broke this week.  I began collecting mismatched blue transferware about a decade ago, and this was the second piece I ever bought.  *sniff*

 

 

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{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ March 10, 2013

Joining Like Mother, Like Daughter again this week . . .

{Pretty}

It snowed this week.  Humph.  Snow in March shouldn't be allowed.  I am waiting for snowdrops, for crocuses, for daffodils!  Instead, what we got was this:

 

Isn't he cute?

I have to admit, the snow was pretty!

{Happy}

Dave planted our tomato seeds yesterday.  Last year, not being familiar with spring in northern Illinois, we planted them a bit early.  They turned out fine~ in fact, we were really pleased~ but we opted to wait a couple extra weeks this time.  Seedlings in peat pots on our counter under the grow light is a sure sign of impending spring!



{Sad}

A week ago Saturday was a sad day at our house.  It was the day when we ate the very last of our homegrown tomato sauce and green beans.  It's back to store-bought for the next several months . . .

 {Real}

I knew this day would come eventually. I managed to get through high school and college without having to dissect even a little bit. Elizabeth was also not required to dissect in her high school science studies. But Hannah is taking biology through The Potter's School and, alas, she is required to dissect, a worm for starters. The various animals~ frog, crayfish, grasshopper, perch, starfish, and the said worm~ came preserved and vacuum-packed in plastic along with a dissection kit. The things one can send through the US Postal Service! It's a good thing Hannah is not squeamish. In fact, she enjoyed it!

Snow

I like snow in December, January, and February, but snow in March shouldn't be allowed.  Remember when I showed you the snowdrops that were coming up in my garden a few weeks ago?  It's been snowing off and on ever since and I haven't seen them in all this time.  Now Saturn is passing over us and we are supposed to get four to eight inches.  I know it could be worse, so I'll stop complaining . . . for now. ;-)

 

 

I'm looking forward to when I can post pictures of daffodils!