The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I know my absence has been quite prolonged and I will explain by way of a book review. A few nights ago I finished an intriguing book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. At first I was doubtful about it keeping my interest. It's written as a compilation of letters. And my mind has a difficult time turning one voice off and another voice on until I know the characters well. But I pushed through because of the humor of the main character, Juliet. She won my affections quickly.


The book is about a London based writer, her old friends, and a literary group that she begins a correspondence with on the Island of Guernsey. Soon this group becomes more than just pen pals. But you must read the book to discover what role they end up playing in her life. This group, this island, was under German occupation during World War II. It wasn't a pleasant time, as you can imagine.


Thus my favorite quote from the book...

"As Seneca says,

"Light griefs are loquacious, but the great are dumb."

And so I give you my reason for my absence from blogging. In November, my mom, who suffers from Alzheimer's, didn't know me for the first time. I wasn't prepared for it. I knew it was coming. I knew it would be soon. What I didn't realize was how difficult it would be; my response was one a profound dumbness. I found that I could only manage the things that were required. Meals and laundry made the cut. Blogging didn't. I've been told that blogs should be upbeat, interesting and fun. I couldn't accomplish that, so I went silent.


But I'm back now. My heart still hurts, but I'm doing better. And I have several book reviews and many knitting projects to share. Now if I can just make blogging a habit again. That's one of my New Year's resolutions.


So...The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Read it! You won't be disappointed.

Weekly To Do List

• pray I've been struggling through some reevaluating of my priorities lately. Struggling would be a good word for it. One thing I've come to realize is that I say I believe prayer works. So I need to do it more. The Bible tells us to: "Pray without ceasing." What does that mean? I think too much of the time I use that as an excuse to pray whenever I think about it, which ends up being a lot less than I should. Whatever happened to setting aside time to pray? So that's a goal this week. Pray throughout my day, but also set aside some time specifically to pray.
• write I'm one of those crazy people who signed up for NaNoWriMo. http://www.nanowrimo.org What was I thinking?! So now I'm supposed to write over 1,500 words a day every day in November. Did I not just lose my head? I have kids. I have commitments. I have a life. I have a blog, for goodness sakes! But hey, one of my life goals is to write a novel. Wait till you see the garbage 50,000 words in one month can produce. I may have written the novel, but it's going to take years to revise and edit!
• knit This week I want to finish the scarf I'm making as a doorprize for the Chix OneDay in February. Check out our new website! http://chix.mccth.org/ I'm excited about this scarf.This year's OneDay's theme is Wonderful World. So I'm knitting the scaft from yarns from every continent. (okay, not Artica and Antartica) I figure I'll need some knitting to calm me down after a few hours of writing. Between it and prayer maybe I'll survive.
• sing last night during church I sat listening to the music, then the sermon, and I realized something. When I lose my desire for music, to sing, something is seriously wrong with my soul. I haven't felt like singing much. And my soul aches. So I'm going to turn on the IPod and sing along. I might even sit down at the piano or pull out the violin. (The cat hates when I play my violin.) Beware. Stay far away from the clunking, screeching sounds!
• cook, clean, laundry, bills Pugh! Who needs to do those things.

Who Do I Appreciate?

My big brother, that's who. All right...all my brothers are my big brother. I'm the baby. And they will get their turn. But today I'm sending out a "I love you" to my brother, Kevin.

See how thrilled he was to pose with his little sis?!

The poor guy was eight when I came along and took over the house. Until then he had been the cute one with the little round face and big black glasses...so adorable. Then I crashed the party. But he repaid me by giving me my very first present...a lovely case of the chicken pox. I was only fourteen days old. Thanks A Lot, bro.


He taught me a lot too...like how to avoid a rubber band shooting straight at one's head, how to wash mud out of an eye when suffering a direct hit by a mud ball, the most effective method of capturing Grandma's attention when stuck in a room where the doorknob has conveniently gone missing, and how to lay very still so someone eight years older than you can ride his bike over your stomach area.


But in his defense, he did hand me down his prized Batman costume. I finally gave it back this past year, hard to let go of. I loved that costume! He took me to my first movie. He was my defender when a boy broke my heart. And he invited me over for meals during my college years.


But why write this touching tribute now? It's not even his birthday. It's because Friday he gave me another very special gift...security. He reached over and held my hand during my Aunt's funeral. How did he know I needed human touch? How did he know that his strong hand covering mine would give me such strength? That's just the kind of big brother he is. And that's why I appreciate my brother today.


What about you? Who do has been there for you lately?

The Crops are Harvested

The harvest season is over....that's always a time to stop and give thanks.


Here's a few reasons why...
1. The long hours are over. (What I'm really saying, "He'll get some sleep and stop being so crabby.")
2. We finally get to see the hubby and father. (Hear me sigh, "Whew! I'm not a single mom anymore!")
3. There were no major problems. (In other words, "I can finally sleep without worrying about the dreaded 'someone's hurt..or worse' call.")
4. He'll be home for lunch. (At last I can make food that involves a fork. How many different ways can one woman make a sack lunch without driving her husband insane with sandwiches, chips and a drink?!?!)
5. It was a good season. (That means there will be enough money to meet our needs this year.)


Sometimes people think farmers only work when they plant and harvest, but really it's just that in those times of the year, they work long, long, long hours. There's a lot to be done in between now and spring, but the worrying about his safety and whether the crops produced is over for another year. The world will have corn and soybeans to meet its needs. And some of them came from our fields and the hard work of my husband and his father.


Next time you buy a bag of tortilla chips, open a bottle of canola oil, smear your finger on newsprint, look at the bottom of your tennis shoes, take some medicine, add some cornstarch to your recipe, drink a soda, put some grapes in a sandwich bag,...etc, remember that a friend's husband and father-in-law may have provided the corn or soybeans needed to make what your using. Oh, and if you like bacon, thank that pig for eating some of our corn too.


My family is just one of many, many farm families that provide food, fuel and fiber that we all use each and every day. And it's a job we love doing...a life syle that we love living.

Having a Little Fun

I was in a festive mood the other day....a crocheted treat bag.

(Free pattern from http://www.lionbrand.com, Lion Brand®  Vanna's Choice^® Pattern #: L0112AD)


Then I made this adorable pumpkin by modifying an apple pattern I found.

What's next? Felted candy corn? Yummy....without all the calories. Ha!

A Weekend Away

I drove through the curves and hills of southern Indiana this weekend. If you've never traveled through this area in the fall, you don't know what you are missing. Reds, yellows, golds, oranges mingle with green and brown. It's God's amazing creative hand at work.

Fall is my favorite season. It's the colors, the leaves so casually swaying toward the ground and the crisp cool air. I find myself slowing down, breathing in deeply the scents of nature, walking with more awareness of the world around me, looking within myself at where I am heading my life, reordering my priorities, and talking with more meaning to my Creator. Fall does that - points me toward peace.

So I did this weekend what I've never done before. I went away, all by myself. I booked a hotel room in a far away town. (My father's childhood stomping ground.) And I drove through the hills for a few hours until I arrived in Corydon, IN, Indiana's first state capital. I visited a quaint fiber festival, bought some yummy smelling yarn, picked up some Chinese carryout and spent the evening alone in a quiet, peaceful hotel room.

The next morning I woke up really early for a Saturday, 6:30a.m., to be exact. I opened up my computer and wrote. All too soon it was the 11:00am check out time, so I made one more walk through the Southern Indiana Fiber Festival, and headed my car northwest. I broke up the return trip by spending an hour at my favorite childhood vacation spot, Spring Mill State Park.

I'm so glad I was able to treat myself to this time away. Why have I never done this before?!?

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte'

Yummy!

I just made my first homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte! It was a success, so much so that my two daughters loved it. One even said it was the best she'd ever tasted!


The recipe started as the one on the All Recipes website. http://allrecipes.com I changed it up to suit my tastes.

Pumpkin Spice Latte'


3 cups hot skim milk
3 packets Truvia
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
(had to make my own from the recipe at the Allrecipe.com site)
8 ounces expresso
(one packet for my Flavia machine made 8 ounces)
Silk Vanilla Creamer
a pinch of pumpkin pie spice


Combine the hot milk, Truvia, vanilla, and spice in a blender and blended until frothy.
Pour equal amounts into three mugs. (Original recipe said 2/3 full.)
Pour equal amounts of the expresso into the mugs. (Original recipe called for 2 ounces. in each mug. I made them slightly stronger with the 8 ounce total.)
Add a little Silk to top off the mug.
Sprinkle a pinch of pumpkin pie spice on the top.
Enjoy!