Around My House

ing~
Listening~

How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt   A good counterargument for the "religion ruins everything" crowd, at least as far as Christianity is concerned.  Schmidt goes back to the very beginnings of the Christian faith to show how much good it has done in the world, while he doesn't deny the errors committed by those who acted in the name of Christ but who nevertheless went against Christian teaching.  Schmidt explains how the establishment of the first hospitals and orphanages, the abolition of slavery, the elevation of the status of women, and advances in science, to name just a few topics, are the direct result of faith in the Bible.


Reading~

The Scent of Water  by Elizabeth Goudge   I loved this book from the first page!  I'm reading it s-l-o-w-l-y and savoring every sentence.  I've wanted to read Goudge for a long time now, but she is hard to find in used bookstores!  I was given an Amazon gift card for Christmas and after much pondering, decided to use some of it to get three Goudge books:  The Dean's Watch, Gentian Hill, and this one.  One of the things I most love about it is the attention paid to the houses and housekeeping.  I think I developed a taste for glimpses of domestic life while reading the Anne series by L.M. Montgomery and I still enjoy descriptions of houses and how people live in them.  I also very much like Mary, the heroine of The Scent of Water.  My Amazon gift card was well spent!


Watching~

A Series of Unfortunate Events   This highly enjoyable series is available on Netflix.  The casting is excellent, especially Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf.  I remember him from his Doogie Howser days and knew he had been successful on Broadway, but I hadn't seen him in anything for a very long time.  Count Olaf's various incarnations give Harris the opportunity to showcase his versatility, and it is immense.  This show has me laughing out loud at times.  Highly enjoyable, even for adults!


The Great Interior Design Challenge    Also available on Netflix, this is the decorator's version of The Great British Baking Show.  Amateur designers compete to become the next big thing in the world of interior design.  It's fast-paced and fun and keeps my half hour on the treadmill from descending into drudgery.





Celebrating~

Easter is the most important feast of the entire liturgical year and is always a joyous celebration.  Some highlights:

This actually took place on Saturday.  Elizabeth and Justin were hosting a gathering of 25 people on Sunday at their house, but I wanted to have a smaller celebration with just immediate family as well, so we kicked off the festivities a little early at our house.  It was a great time!

Hey, I'm Still Alive!

Hi, there, she said sheepishly.
 
I didn't mean to take a long blog break; it just happened.  There was nothing earth-shattering, but day after day went by without time for blogging.  Hopefully, I can pick it back up.  Here's to trying, anyway!

Since we last talked, my part-time, on-line teaching job has come to a close.  I've been teaching young people on-line about the great masterworks of classical music and the people behind them for fifteen years, and I look back at that period of my teaching life with great satisfaction.  But it was time to move on.  Family life had become too busy and demanding.  By the way, all you young mothers out there, don't think that once your kids grow up you will have time on your hands.  No sirree.  Grown children have different needs, and the support you can give is essential.  My mission continues to be as a ministry partner to my husband, but I've discovered being available for my grown children also takes time and energy.  Not that I mind.  I'm happy to be there when they want and need me.

Here are just a few highlights from the past six weeks~

Hannah embroidered these for our family to give to two confirmands in May.  The one in the silver frame is for a young lady, the black for a young man.  You can find more of Hannah's beautiful work in her Etsy shop.

My goodness, I do love allium!  I planted six bulbs in the fall of 2015 and they have multiplied to ten.  Allium blooms in mid-spring, so these are finished for the year, but they are wonderful while they last!

Arane picked these for me.  Sweetness! 💕

We took a quick trip to Rockbridge State Park on a beautiful day in May.  Kids love nothing more than to paddle around in water with no one hurrying them!

Dave and I in front of the rock bridge~

  

Photo credit:  Elizabeth

That's all for now.  More to come soon!

Easter

It's about time I shared some Easter photos, eh?  The grandkids and I colored eggs a few days before.  I always use the old-fashioned method with food coloring and vinegar.  It's the way my sisters and I did it when we were kids and it never occurs to me that there is any other way!

I love Easter morning service.  The more pomp and circumstance, the better I like it.  The processional and recessional, the decorations reminding us of the resurrection of our Lord, the brass instruments adding to the excitement--it all makes for a glorious celebration! 

The nave Easter morning

Our house was the gathering place for Easter dinner and egg hunting.  I have such wonderful memories of holidays at my grandparents, and I believe we are making great memories too.

Hannah listening attentively to her niece

Arane

Verity

Elizabeth and I--Our first selfie together!
(Why we never did it before I don't know.)

Justin and Arane

And in other news~

I've got a hobbit for a granddaughter!

The road goes ever on and on . . .

Hannah's Birthday

Hannah's 20th birthday was yesterday and we no longer have teenagers.  I'm not exactly sure when I got old enough to have two children in their 20's.  I think it happened last week, because the week before I was still 25.  Or at least in my mind I was.

Hannah has relaunched her Etsy shop and has some lovely quilted and knitted items.  She will be adding embroidery at some point as well.  Her prices are reasonable.  Click on the picture in the sidebar to visit.

At Hannah's request, we had a quiet celebration at home with Elizabeth and her family and a big bucket of chicken from KFC (plus sides).  Our family tradition is for the birthday person to choose what's for dinner.  Some years have required a lot of preparation and cooking, and other years, like this one, I get off easy. :)  Some highlights~

A new computer!  Necessary since this 6yo one is dying. . . 

You can never have too much Tolkien.

Two candles for two decades

An excellent father and his two girls (Photo credit: Elizabeth)

Instead of cake, we had low-carb cookies and frozen yogurt.  I followed this recipe.  They were very easy to make.  Each cookie has about 1/4 teaspoon of confectioner's sugar, so they are not super sweet, but the almond flour has a good flavor and there was plenty of butter.  The texture was excellent, too.  I used sugar-free apricot preserves for the jam.  Definitely a keeper!