Home is Where the Potato Chips Are

Here are some shots from our kitchen. I guess it is the room in the house where I spend the most time. I love this kitchen. It is very simple, but has everything we need.  This house is the first house I have lived in where I have  had a dishwasher. I am completely spoiled now. In my bookshelf, you can see my groovy recipe keeper in the gold box . I found this at an antique store for $5! It is marvelous.
To the far right, you can see the back half of our wonderful little dog, Rascal. He is Mr. Personality, and we have considered having him run for President.    The bottom picture was taken on one of those very rare occasions when my counters are clean. I have the picture to remind me that it CAN be
done.                                        

May 2012

For my blogging friend, BRM.  Here is a little picture of our family at Church after we had DS1's homeschool graduation/piano recital.  DS1 is the one with the piano tie. DS2 is with him. I am in the middle of DH and DD.

Moonbeam Clock

What do you think of this little pink clock? I have one in my office at school as well. I just love it. I found it on Amazon some time back, and it was so much less than at other retailers. I love the analog face, and it does have such a nice little light.

Where?

I finished this lovely little project some time ago, and did not have the money at the time to have it framed the way I wanted to.  Guess what? I cannot find it at all. I have looked in all of my sewing baskets and bags. It is nowhere. In our family, we are always looking for something.  We need to declutter. My Dad lived by the old addage, "a place for everything and everything in its place."  He was almost fanatical about these things. I wish I had that gene.  Over the Christmas break, maybe I can find it!

Bowling Alley Fun

Well, here I go again. I was typing away, and my post disappeared. I wonder what I was typing that I wasn't supposed to be typing. Hmmm .... Anyway, here is the post  . . . . one more time. This semester, we have had a great time at the Bowling Alley! I always wanted to learn to bowl when I was a little girl, and I think this is the closest I will get to it.  DD and DS 2  participate in a homeschool group in a neighboring county, and once a week they get together for art lessons and drama.  The art lessons for their group are really centered around different media and art history. The history part is right up our alley.  They are also working on a production of Narnia, and DD is a character!  She is the bear in the Narnia forest. She was ok with the part, although she really wanted to be Susan, but now that she is practicing with the bear costume, she feels pretty silly.  She has not missed a single practice, and she learned her part very quickly (admittedly, not a lot of dialogue)--proving herself to be dependable. I keep telling her that being reliable as well as having a "good sport" attitude are major contributions to "the Company."  I need to remind myself of these truths in my circumstances.

During this three hour block of time, I sit in the bowling alley and work on school work. SInce DS2 is not part of the production (his choice), we get a couple of hours together to work on Latin or history.  The bowling alley is not quiet for sure, but amazingly, it has proven a great place to sit and do school work.  There is a little restaurant attached--it is safe, clean and very pleasant. The workers know us now, and are always so nice. We both get a HUGE Coke or Diet Coke while waiting for our little thespian to finish up.

I am grateful to have Tuesdays and Thursdays at home, and to be able to have the kids with me at the College on the days I do teach. I hope one day they will be able to look back fondly on these days--telling their children about hanging out with Granny at the bowling alley!

I'm On a Roll . . .

Oh no! I feel compelled to reveal my obsessiveness! Haha!  For years in College, I took all of the Latin courses I could, even though I was not a Classics major. I have always loved Latin, and hoped I could one day put all of those undergraduate and graduate hours to use.

When I was in grad school, I would go to the University's Science Library. It was and is a massive structure. The top floor was where all of the really serious students studied. It was silent. I would go up there with all of my Latin books, my nerdy pencil case and my Walkman and Star Trek soundtrack cassettes my dear friend and fellow fanatic, Steve Davis  had made for me. I would sit for hours, happily doing my translation work, listening to the ST soundtracks.

The past few years, the College where I teach History has given me the green light to teach Latin. It is the dream of a lifetime. Guess what I do when I am preparing the lessons? Yes! I  have all of my books, my nerdy pencil case and my Star Trek soundtracks, now on CD's from Amazon.

On a light note, I used to have to "sneak in" my diet coke to the library. If you were caught with food or drinks you could be asked to leave the Library. Now, there is a Star Buck's in the Library and you can take a pizza into the stacks if you want to do so!  My goodness, how things have changed.

BUT some things never change!  My diet coke may have changed to a diet mountain dew, but I still have my Wheelock's Latin, my ST soundtracks and my nerdy pencil case!

Happy Memories

To Boldly Go . . .
Star Trek has always meant the world to me. Our kids have grown up with ST:  TOS the way I did. I actually remember watching it first run with Daddy on  WESH, Channel 2 out of Orlando. At one point, Mom and Daddy bought a color TV in large part to be able to watch the reruns in color!  Last night, everyone had worked their way to bed after supper (we took a quick trip up to Tennessee to be with the family and are we tired!). DD asked me to watch an episode with her while we crocheted. How could I turn down that offer? We had a great time watching it together. She loves the old show, and like mom, likes to crochet or knit while watching TV (redeeming the time a bit, I guess). Anyway, all of this brought back such memories.

My parents went through a very difficult time around 1971.  My Dad's struggle with epilepsy had reached a crisis stage. He spent several months at the VA Hospital so that they could regulate his medication and try to bring the seizures under control.  Mom and I lived in a small but very wonderful little house. Star Trek came on an independent channel, Channel 44, every weeknight at 7:00. Many nights, my granny (Daddy's mom) would come over, and we would all watch Star Trek and have popcorn. I think that routine helped all of us in Daddy's absence.

Many years later, when I went to College (around the time of the emergence of VHS players and tapes), Daddy taped every Star Trek episode for me (he was afraid I would spend what little money I had on the Columbia House tapes--he was right!) He lovingly labeled the tapes and included Captain Kirk's "star dates" when he could! Isn't that hilarious?! I still have those tape he made for me, and treasure them more than you can know. (They were taped off of Channel 44 in the 80's). I love watching the old commercials from that era.

Jumping ahead to 1991, my dad passed away the same year as Gene Roddenberry--within just days of one another. I think Daddy would be so pleased to know that his grandchildren love Star Trek the way he did. And now, he has a "close up" view of the heavens and the earth as he sits in the presence of He who created them all.

I miss Moma and Daddy, but am grateful for the memories they left me with.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're Home! Thank You, Lord Jesus

Thanks be to the Lord! We are home. We got in a little after 1:00 am this morning.  Those last miles over the mountains are no fun, but the boys were silly and had Dad laughing most of the way. There is no sweeter sound this side of heaven than your children laughing except maybe a tired husband laughing along with them.  We have this week off from classes, but have lots of work to do with the online coursework AND there is more laundry than the law should allow. I told DH this morning that I think the washer and dryer were happy we were out of town for a few days. We made an interesting stop on the way down I will share in a later post. Time to really get moving at a faster rate for now. 

Deepest Thoughts

As I type this entry, we are about to head home after spending a few days here at the Creation Museum. I am ill-equipped to explain to readers what I am feeling after this time here. I want to gather my thoughts before I substantively comment on the Museum's mission. I felt like the men on the road to Emmaus with the Lord; after they heard the truth, they stated, "weren't our hearts ablaze within us . . .?"  My heart was and is certainly ablaze within me after hearing the truth of God's Word represented in such a dynamic way.
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Hollywood figures and even members of our extended family have belittled the Museum and the message it represents--but they also belittle our Savior and demean His Word by picking and choosing what to believe and what to dismiss. I think that many who reject Creation Science do so because they believe that if they don't do so, they will seem uninformed at best, stupid at worst. Children are now taught that Evolution is a fact, not a theory.  When the Georgia school system wanted to place a disclaimer on student textbooks in public schools which stated that Evolution was a theory to be explored and not proven fact, former President Jimmy Carter went absolutely nuts.  He declared that Georgia schools would be the laughing stock of the world.  How can he dismiss so much of the Bible?

More later. We need to pack and load up the van.

"I Love This Yarn"

We are still here at the marvelous College Expo at the Creation Museum.  This morning we had just enough time to stop at Hobby Lobby while DH filled up the gas tank in the van. DD and I ran into the store and found our yarn. It was great. I actually found 4 colors I didn't have. (They are not these colors--this is a Hobby Lobby stock photo).  Last night, when we were all back in the room, I popped an episode of Bonanza into the  DVD player in the room. We watched the Cartwrights, and I was able to do some cross stitching. DD went online with her best friend and shared some of the info she had gathered from the conference (worthy of its own post). The boys did their thing, catching up with everyone back home via the internet. DH enjoyed reading and resting. We have had a good time here for sure, but is has been a lot of work--good work, without a doubt.

In the Big City

Hello, Dear Blogging Friends! Well, the Country Mouse is in the Big City. DH and I are here with our kids in Florence, KY. We have been asked by the College to represent them at the College Fair at the Creation Museum. This is so exciting and for so many reasons. We had wanted to go this summer back to the Museum but could not work it out. The Lord knew all along this is what He would have in store for us. I love the Creation Museum and what it represents--the Primacy and Infallibility of God's Holy Word. As I have said for some time now, how can we claim to believe in that empty tomb of the third day if we don't believe in the 6 days? 

Years ago, we visited a very popular Natural Science location (no names mentioned here, but it had lots of fish). The living exhibits were breathtaking, but the facility itself was dark, messy and seemed to have no particular order. Evolution was everywhere. The Creation Museum, by contrast, is bright and beautiful AND as we walked through it, the God-ordained order was evident. 

In a little while, we will go set up our College's table and meet the parents and their children. Our teens will be able to enjoy the Museum all day (and DH2 has already declared his intentions on a large bowl of Skyline chilli).

As for this Country Mouse, I am so happy to be here, and I will post later on the events of the day. 

Wishing a special hello to Miss Janice who first told us about this lovely place several years ago, Mrs. Jenny, whom we already miss, and BRM at Just A Thought! Wish you girls were here with us. 

A Little Break

Be back on Monday with lots of details. Thankful for the kind Fall break we have at the College and the kindness of friends. Hope you all have a good weekend as we head into the beautiful Holiday season.
p.s. I am taking my yarn with me!

A Little Light and A Little Color For Your Friday

The lovely and very colorful afghan squares you see above are not my own. Wow! I wish they were. Aren't they pretty? This must be an attempt to create a crocheted patchwork quilt.   In any case, I do have some variegated yarn that needs a home--as noted in another post, the variegated doesn't do well in the rounds of my granny square pattern. (Although one might do well as a border for each of the squares--that fifth round might give the colors a chance to "express themselves.") This would be a nice project to use all of that extra yarn I have collected.

The top picture is a picture of lighted crochet hooks!  I bought one at Hobby Lobby on my last trip!  It is GREAT!.  I crochet a lot coming and going from Church, which is about 20-30 minutes away.  No, I am not the driver. With the time change, now much of that travel time is in the dark.  This little lighted hook makes that possible.  How about that?  Now I just need to find a lighted embroidery hoop!

Hope each of you have a lovely and restful weekend. 

Sometimes We Feel Like . . .

Circling the Wagons!

There are so many things going on around us these days. Our values, our way of life, our morals--which we try to base on Biblical standards --are under attack. Our Nation just elected a President representing a party which 3 times rejected God in their platform. The unborn appear to be in  more peril than ever. The family as God designed it seems to be moving closer and closer to extinction. 

No, it isn't about the economy.

What do we do?

Pray for forgiveness of our sins. Pray that we please Him with our lives and values.

Circle the wagons for a little while--continue teaching your children what is right and what is not. 

LIVE Deuteronomy 6! 

Eschew the world and its values. Scripture tells us not to be conformed to it. We have to live in it, but we don't have to be like it, Praise God. 

When we come out of the wagons, they will still be shooting at us, but "take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day . . ."

"Have faith in God.
He's on His Throne.
Have Faith in God.
He watches o'er His own."

And a special note to my friend BRM; Let's turn off the news and open our hymnbooks! I'd rather spend my night with Fanny Crosby than Bill O'Reilly any night!

Rather than Fretting . . .

 . . .I think we'll have some friends over this weekend. Nothing like a family get together to take your mind off of  a stressful election season. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

The Name Above All Names

No matter what happens, He is with us. We are citizens of His Kingdom, and it is His love we should value most.

Jesus is all the world to me,

my life, my joy, my all;

He is my strength from day to day

without Him I would fall

Following Him, I know I'm right

He watches o'er me day and night

Following Him by day and night

He's my friend

D-O-G

A friend at school shared this with us today. It is just so wonderful. How He must cherish His wonderful Creation. Hope you all enjoy this as much as we have. 

Our Room

Ginger Naps

Ginger takes the political season in stride.

Ginger Snaps

It's that time of year again. Mr. and Mrs. Ginger are ready for me to make our annual cookies. I love all of the Fall and Christmas season smells, flavors, recipes and traditions. This picture is from my old blog last year. Time to heat up the oven and start baking this year!