Today's Lunch

This past weekend I picked up a bunch of beautiful eggplant at Farmer's Market.  So, this morning I drizzled olive oil over it and roasted it until it was soft and juicy.  I let it cool and then skinned it.  I mashed the meat in a bowl and then added two vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes, a sweet yellow pepper, garlic, onion, and freshly picked cilantro.  I grated in some Parmesan cheese and added some extra olive oil so it was a beautiful consistency.  I seasoned it gently with sea salt and coarsely ground pepper.  When I tasted it I thought, "This tastes amazing now, imagine after the flavors blend a little!"  I put the lid on the dish to transfer it to the fridge where it would become something even lovelier while we were at the library.  In anticipation of coming home to eat it with some warm pita and some olives, I picked up the dish, turned to the refrigerator and dropped the entire thing on the floor.  The dish shattered.  The salad smeared its fragrant goodness over my kitchen floor. 

Before the tears fell, I cleaned it up and took the kids to In-N-Out.

Summer has (obviously) not been about blogging

It's been a long time since I've let so much time elapse between blog posts!  I have several undeveloped posts swirling around my right-brain.  But, the left-brain is still MIA, so nothing much has gotten accomplished.

Actually, though, July has been beautiful.  Peaceful.  Relaxing.  Lovely.

June had us swept up in so many activities we scarcely caught our breath from one exhilarating event when another was upon us!  But July swished itself gently in and we all breathed a sigh of relief.  I valiantly held the reigns on our schedule (that's my job, isn't it as manager of this tribe?) and did not commit to any meetings, field trips, park days, or classes.  It was tough, let me tell you!  But, in exchange for this hard-fought effort, we gained a month of laying on the grass, playing in the sprinkler, obsessing over homemade ice cream, grilling out, camp-outs in the tree house, sleeping in, staying up late and having something I've never before understood--those lazy days of summer.  Ahhhhhhhhh.  Refreshing.

So, here are some updates in no particular order of importance or in any sort of timeline.

~We celebrated my brother and sister-in-love's eleventh anniversary by attending their vow renewal ceremony.  They renewed their vows on the same day and at the same time as they did eleven years ago.  I considered trying to squeeze into my bridesmaid's dress, but thought better of it.  There is such a thing as dignity.  (A phrase that I will use again before this post is over.)  The day was super blessed.  I wept, of course.  It was a hard fought victory, these 11 years.  I am proud of Josh and Serena for standing when the whole world was telling them to give up.

~So, I've been absolutely obsessed with making homemade ice cream.  It all started, I think, when we watched It's Complicated.  The movie itself is pretty forgettable.  But, the food was rather inspiring.  Meryl Streep's character makes ice cream when she cannot sleep.  In the movie they eat lavender honey ice cream, the result of her insomnia.  So, a couple days later I was shopping with a friend in Silverlake and went to the Spice Station.  It's my new favorite place.  Gift ideas for Christmas, my birthday, Mother's Day, Send A Gift To Your Favorite Blogger Day include gift certificates or gift sets (they have one entirely of about nine different kinds of salt!) from there.  I promise to cook something for you.  Anyway, while we were there I bought an ounce of organic lavender.  The next day I created lavender vanilla ice cream.  Because it involved not only my children but some that I was babysitting for a friend, I used this method (but not this recipe). Kids had fun kneading it.  Normally we make our ice cream in a Donvier Chillfast which we picked up years ago (at a yard sale?  I seriously cannot remember.  It's an older version, though.).  The great thing about this ice cream maker is that it does not require salt, ice, electricity or elbow grease.  It's super easy.  I pop the ice cream in the freezer while I'm tending to lunch or dinner and every so often I give it a spin.  In the last five days I've made ice cream three times: lavender vanilla, blueberry rum, and jasmine green tea.  In fact, as I type this blog post I'm eat the jasmine green tea.  It's my favorite so far!  Tomorrow........we'll see.  I have several flavors I want to try.  I will keep you posted, most likely on the Gomboblog, which is where I usually talk about food.

(Image from here.)

~OK, so I was in the park playing with my children recently, making small talk with other parents on the playground.  More than one mom asked me if I was at the park for the free lunch.  Let me insert that I was aware of the government's school lunch program and that it goes year around.  In our previous neighborhood (we just called it the 'hood, if you know what I mean) the community center promoted the free school lunch program through the summer.  I naively assumed that was because we lived in a lower-income neighborhood.  However, we do not now live in a lower-income neighborhood.  Curious, I took the kids to the "free lunch."  The picnic area of the park was roped off and stereotypical school lunch ladies were there with food carts and hairnets.  On the rope hung signs that said "NO PARENTS ALLOWED BEHIND THIS POINT."  Well......you know me.  My inner response was something like H.E.Double-Hockey-Sticks No!  I marched on through.  Each of my children--including the baby was handed a small brown cardboard box which contained a piece of microwaved-in-its-plastic-wrap-cheese-pizza, milk (which Meg insisted "tasted funny"), a fruit roll-up and a snack-sized bag of carrots.  No signing in required.  No verification of age (anyone appearing under the age of 18 gets a lunch).  No verification of income or residency.  So, I positioned my kids at a picnic table, baby still in the stroller.  I sit down with them and start opening up the milk cartons, pizza, etc.  A lunch lady on a power trip comes over and informs me, "You are not allowed to sit down.  You can stand behind your children, but not sit with them."  My initial response was to stand up.  But, something inside me said, "What the?!"  So, I sat back down again.  The lunch ladies glared at us and circled the tables making sure that no food was sneaked into backpacks or purses and that no adults attempted to take any bites.  No food is allowed to leave the roped off area.  Anything not eaten, whether or not it was opened, has to be thrown in the trash can.  We could see with others that the lunch ladies really enforced this rule.  Strictly.  The whole atmosphere was really intimidating and unfriendly.  And the beauty of it all is that this is happening all over town at several different parks and community centers.  Theoretically, I could eat as many lunches as I could fit in about a two hour window, by going place to place.  Is it any wonder the State is bankrupt?!  Your tax dollars at work.  A couple days later I told the kids that we were going to the park.  Luc said, "Are we going to eat that free lunch again?"  Gana said, "No son.  There is such a thing as dignity."  When Luc gave him his puzzled face, Gana explained, "If you are willing to be treated badly in exchange for something just because it is free, you don't value yourself."

~My best friend and her wonderful husband just gave birth to their second baby boy!  He's beautiful and I'm so happy for them!  I wish I could be there to snuggle him in person.  As I can't the Lord will have to do it for me, through my prayers.

~My mother sent me this blog post: 50 Summery Things To Do For Your House.  It totally inspired me today.  It somehow kicked me out of autopilot and gave me such joy for making my home beautiful and scrumptious.  I had a blast today, adding little touches here and there and livening up this place.  It has sent me meditating today, as I puttered around, about what it means to be a homemaker and not just a housekeeper.  I think there is a blog post on this theme in the works.  Left-brain, come in Left-brain.  Do you think we could schedule in some blogging time for the right-brain? 

The Fairies

"Now it is well known that the little creatures commonly called fairies, though there are many different kinds of fairies in Fairyland, have an exceedingly dislike to untidiness.  Indeed, they are quite spiteful to slovenly people.  Being used to all the lovely ways of the trees and flowers, and to the neatness of the birds and all woodland creatures, it makes them feel miserable, even in their deep woods and on their grassy carpets, to think that within the same moonlight lies a dirty, uncomfortable, slovenly house.  And this makes them angry with people that live in it, and they would gladly drive them out of the world if they could.  They want the whole earth nice and clean.  So they pinch the maids black and blue and play them all manner of uncomfortable tricks."  From The Golden Key by George MacDonald

I don't want to tempt any fairies to pinch me and would rather draw on their good graces.  So, I think that I shall devote the next several hours to tidying up.  It certainly would be lovely if the whole earth were neat and clean--including the little piece over which I have dominion.

(Artwork from here on Flickr.)

Ordinary Days

This exactly fits my mood and meditations lately.  A perfect continuation from this post.

Before you hit play, get your handkerchief.  If you click play before you do so, don't say I didn't warn you.




H/T: Starr at Lost In Laundry

When To Use The Death Stare

After the washing machine has been broken for more than two weeks and it finally gets fixed and you spend all day washing, hanging on the line, folding and putting away to the tune of 10+ loads and your husband comes home and sees laundry in the garage and says, "I guess you didn't get around to tackling the laundry today, huh?"

That's when you use the death stare.

Food. It's not just fuel.

I owe you all a post about my food philosophy.  I promised you that after my confession.  So, here you go.....

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.  ~Voltaire

I love food.  I love eating.

There is a tendency in some health circles (to avoid emotional or over-eating) or some religious circles (in order to avoid making food an idol or succumbing to the sin of gluttony) to take the position that food is only fuel for our bodies and nothing more.  Eating is sort of equivalent to stopping at the gas station.  It's not the end, it's only the means.

I just cannot feel that way, though.  When I take one whiff of a sumptuous chowder rich with cream and a pinch of nutmeg, I feel instinctively that the chowder is an end and a means.  When I walk through the farmer's market and see tomatoes in every shade from red to deep purple and almost black and see the fruit, tender and ripe, I have to admit, they don't always make it home.  Sometimes we have to enjoy them in the car.  When I'm getting together with friends at the park or taking the kids to the zoo, one of the highlights of the day is preparing the picnic basket.  Nothing beats a perfect sandwich, unless it's the perfect dessert.  Speaking of dessert, I eat it every day.  Sometimes more than once a day.

The Bible has a lot to say on the subject if we look for it.

Ecclesiastes 2:24, "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God..."

Ecclesiastes 8:5, "So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun."

Eating is not just a necessary part of existence.  Rather, feasting was commanded by the law of God!  I don't think when you sit down to feast you are just fueling up for more work.  There is a deeper thing going on.


Besides being about taste, food is social.  Being that I'm an extrovert, I love that part aspect of eating.  When people eat together there is a sense of community, a renewal that occurs. It's good for the body and for the soul.

We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink... ~Epicurus

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  1 Corinthians 10:31

But what about healthy eating?  I am big on healthy eating.  A health nut, some would mark me.  Whenever possible and affordable I like to buy organic.  I like to eat balanced.  I like to eat natural.  But (here's the caveat) healthy eating can be as idolatrous as gluttony.  If having to eat so healthy that I can no longer enjoy fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ, if I can no longer be a witness by going to the neighborhood barbecue or invite my neighbors in for dinner, if I can no longer be grateful for what is set before me and only see the nutritional flaws, healthy eating has become an idol.  1 Timothy 4:4 says, "Nothing is to be refused if received with thanksgiving."  Because eating is not just about fueling up with healthy things to keep us going, but also a social function, my nutritional standards cannot be so high so as to limit my partaking of the fellowship!
 
I really believe that if people had a holistic view of eating--that it is good, to be enjoyed, commanded by God, to be enjoyed in its natural state and as a social not just biological function--over-eating and obesity would not be the problem that it is in this country.  Would there be so many drive thru fast food places serving sub-par (out right disgusting at times) non-food to be eaten on the run in the car if we had this perspective of food?  Would we be serving school kids edible food-like substances (to borrow from Michael Pollan) warmed in the microwave to be eaten in a 20 minute lunch "hour" if we had this perspective of food?  Would we be stocking our pantries with single serving high-fat foods if we had this perspective?

So much in our society that is labeled a health problem is partly a health problem and partly a social problem, partly an emotional problem, partly a sin problem, partly a lack of faith, partly political....you get the idea.  We are whole people, people!  And we cannot dissect food and eating from our essential make-up and social structure without dire side effects.

So, how does the Gombojav Tribe eat?  We have a few principles and each new principles builds on the previous one:

1. We eat food.  Not things with numbers (e.g. Red 40) or things we cannot pronounce. (such as the 59 ingredients in a certain fast food restaurant's shake.  Here's a sampling: Amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethylpropionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphrenyl-2-butanone (10% solution in alcohol), ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylace-tophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphtyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, undecalactone, rum ether, rose, vanillin and solvent)

2. We want to eat clean food--meaning food in close to its natural state.  We choose fresh over canned, cook from scratch, and avoid anything that isn't classified "food."  For example, we eat potatoes (cooked a variety of ways).  We don't eat instant mashed potatoes.  We eat bacon.  We don't eat fakin' bacon. (I don't care how good for you people claim it is.  It's not a real food!)  We eat cheese.  We don't eat cheez-whiz.  You will not find a lot of cans and boxes in our pantry.

As for butter versus margarine,

I trust cows more than chemists. 

~Joan Gussow

3. Unless you're at a cocktail party, sit down to eat your food.  We eat three meals at the table--unless we are on a blanket on the grass in the backyard.  


4. We eat variety and color.  Food is a feast for the eyes and not just the stomach.  Yellow, red, purple, green, blue, white, brown.....enjoy!  We let our plates be a canvas.  I think if food is presented beautifully and if it appeals to all the senses one doesn't have to gorge oneself or shovel it in.  Sushi is a perfect example.  It looks so lovely and is so lovingly prepared, that when I am finished I feel satisfied in body and soul.  I do not feel like I need to be wearing my fat-pants.


5. Eat with a thankful heart.  We do not allow our children to complain about the food.  We would be teaching them to be hypocrites if we made them pray "Thank you, Jesus, for providing this food, bless it to our bodies." and in the next breath to say "Oooo, yuck!  I don't like broccoli!"  If it is indeed what Jesus provided, that proper response is always "thank you."


6. Sharing food and fellowship with others is a spiritual discipline.  When we lived in a 40-foot 5th wheel trailer we had people over for dinner.  When we lived in a two bedroom apartment we had people over for dinner.  When we lived upstairs in a three bedroom sauna duplex we had people over for dinner.  Now in our home with the view, we have people over for dinner.  Jesus, who had no place to lay his head, fixed fish on the beach for his disciples.  We have no excuse for not extending hospitality.  Hospitality isn't so much a gift you have as it is a gift you give.


Now what do we do with our principles if someone invites us over to dinner and offers us red kool-aid and monochromatic food, that we eat standing up?  We eat it!  We enjoy it!  We receive it with gratefulness believing that that is what the Lord had prepared for us and nothing is unclean to us.


In closing, have you ever stopped and given thought to your embedded ideas about food and really taken stock of your eating habits?  What do you really believe and what has just sort of been assimilated because of culture or convenience?  Is it time for a paradigm shift?


Wishing you a beautiful plate, a kitchen full of lovely aromas and a happy heart!

The New View

I know you probably think I've dropped off the earth.  And maybe I have.  Maybe I'm living in Paradise now.  Here are some shots around our new house. I love it early in the morning as the sun is coming up.  I love it in the afternoon as the breeze is blowing the scent of the orange and lemon trees through my open doors and windows.  I love it in the evening as the light changes and I sip tea in my "tea room" and look out over the San Gabriel Valley.

So, if I don't post often, you may imagine me laying on the grass with my kids and the dog gazing at the clouds and thanking the Lord for our new place.

I just planted herbs in these pots.  I want the scent of mint, lavender, thyme, basil to waft through my kitchen and dining room.   Mmmmmmm.........

These are the views from the North-East side of our house.

Our backyard:

A park about two blocks from my house where I walk the dog.

More pictures to come.  Stay tuned.

Trying to decide....

....whether to spend the afternoon cleaning my desk or doing a craft project and catching bugs with the kids to feed to the praying mantis.

"At the worst, a house unkempt

cannot be so distressful as a life unlived."

~Dame Rose Macauley

Although, I've used this excuse for about six months now and my desk is looking mighty scary. Too bad clutter is not a valid decorating motif.

The Cook's Creed

"The health of my family is in my care; therefore--I will preserve as far as possible the nutritive elements in the foods which are delivered to me.

My family's enjoyment of food is in my care; therefore--I will preserve and enhance the attractive qualities of the foods with which I work.

Stretching the food dollar is part of my responsibility; therefore--I will take such care of foods that none will spoil. I will use left-overs with thought and skill.

A well-prepared dish and an appetizing meal are a creative achievement; therefore--I shall derive happiness from work itself.

Good food is of prime importance to my family; therefore--I shall take pride in doing an outstanding job of cooking."

The Modern Family Cookbook
Meta Given, 1942

Check out my food blog, The Gomboblog, to see Meg taking on a cooking challenge, hosted by She Looketh Well.

Not all superheroes wear capes!

Today is National Wear Your Apron Day!

Wear your apron with pride!

Loving My Home

Lately I've struggled with really liking where I live. We live in seminary housing. My house is old. All the walls are white--with flat paint that shows every smudge. We aren't allowed to paint. My carpet is 40 year old avocado green shag, I kid you not. I have to climb no less than 18 steep steps to get in the door. Imagine that carrying kids, diaper bag and groceries.


But, last Saturday I felt desperately like I needed to make something with my hands. I needed to express myself! And my house has certainly benefited. Furniture has been rearranged. New pictures purchased and hung.


And I made two special crafts. The first I did Sunday afternoon for Meg's room. She wants a pink and orange room. And she's through with baby art. She wants a big girl room.


So, I made her this:






The second thing was a funny little table. My friend was clearing it out and gave it to me. The date stamp underneath is 1971. It was medium brown and just sort of average looking and definitely old-fashioned. So, with Israel's help with the sanding.....



....we gave it a face lift. Just a little spray paint and decoupaging. Now it matches my hippy carpet. It's not perfect. The varnish dripped, leaving some odd spots. But, it makes me smile.

Now I'm thinking maybe I'll spray paint the chairs to match.

"The irregular and intimate quality of things

made entirely by the human hand."

--Walla Cather

Lessons From a Rubberband

Today I did a devotion for my home school moms' group. I began with passing around some rubber bands, asking each lady to take one to help them to remember the following lessons:

1. You will be stretched. You cannot be a woman of God unless you let God stretch you.

Proverbs 31:19-20 “She STRETCHES out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle. She EXTENDS her hand to the poor, Yes, she REACHES her hands to the needy.”

Why does she have to stretch, extend, and reach? Not all work and ministry of a woman of God will come easy for her. Sometimes she may have to go beyond her comfort zone. Sometimes she has to go a little further than she’s used to. God is good at putting our ministry just slightly out of our reach. Then we have to strive for it and ask Him for help in reaching it!

Like a rubber band, it is certain that you will be stretched.

2. The only way to fulfill your purpose is to be stretched.

A rubber band does absolutely no good if it is never stretched. If it only loosely hangs around the object you are trying to hold together, it really is useless.

The same goes for us. If we do only what we are used to, what we are comfortable with, or what comes easily, then we are not fulfilling our purpose! And, we are not relying on God’s strength!

God wants us to learn to rely on Him. Things done only from our own power are lacking in the power of the Holy Spirit. God wants to love others through us, serve others through us, and work change in the world through us. We cannot do these things unless we are stretched!

3. Over-stretching results in snapping.

A rubber band can hold together quite a bit. When it’s holding things together, it’s quite useful and a real blessing. But, have you ever tried to stretch a rubber band over too many things? You think, “I’ll just pull a little bit harder or a little further and it will be fine.” Inevitably, the rubber band snaps back, hurting your fingers, maybe breaking or sometimes flying across the room. I know I’m not the only one to have done this!

Yes, as homeschooling moms we have to hold a lot of stuff together. We manage our complicated lives quite well. We get the kids to their soccer practice, dinner on the table, our husbands' suits to the cleaners, the spring garden planted, teach Sunday School, attend the women’s luncheon, join the committee for the next luncheon, coordinate the home school field trip to the museum, maintain our weight, keep the house tidy, remain sexy for our husbands, get up before dawn to be with the Lord, nurse our sick children through the night, are members of the gym, head up the phone tree for church, keep up on our email, and then…

They ask for volunteers at church to head up the bake sale and we think, “Sure, I can do that!”

The night before the bake sale, we are snapping at our children for banging around the kitchen while the dough is rising. We are snapping at our husband for not containing the children. We are nearly snapping at everyone who calls to ask for the millionth time about what they should bring. And if one more person calls and says, “I know I signed up to help, but we are going to the beach tomorrow,” you’re going to totally come unglued!

We need to learn an important key to our mental sanity and harmony at home. That key is to say “no.” We cannot do everything. Something has got to give. Don’t let it be your snapping and flying across the room! Gently let off on the pressure to perform and say no to things that are not essential. One of the greatest deceptions of the enemy in the church and world today is that in order to be fulfilled we must be busy! We often mistake business for happiness, for wholeness, and for genuine religion. Real religion doesn’t have you running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Real religion has you going about your duties unhurried with a sense of resolve and calm, knowing you are in the will of God. (I Thessalonians 4:11-12, James 1:27)

4. A rubber band can do many things, but it can never be a paper clip or a staple.

A paperclip holds things together by getting all bent out of shape.

Staples hold things together by poking and stabbing, then by gripping very tightly.

But, rubber bands hold things together by wrapping itself around the objects and embracing them.

Wrap yourself around your home, your children, your husband, your church, your Lord. Embrace them.

Party Time! Time to shake it like a polaroid!

It's a Titus 2 Blog Party, hosted by She Looketh Well!






I love Titus 2:3-5. It's a lovely passage, don't you think?

"The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

For those stopping by the blog just for the party, please make yourself at home! Have a cuppa and a scone. Would you like lemon curd or clotted cream with your scone? Feel free to take a look around and please ignore the laundry that hasn't gotten put away this morning yet. I'm sure you understand.

Allow me to introduce myself....

I am Mrs. Gombojav, wife to Gana. Gana is a pastor, a theology student at Fuller Seminary, a skilled carpenter and my friend. He rocks.

I am Mommy to six fantastic children who make me laugh everyday, who make me cry sometimes, and keep me young!

I am the daughter of a Titus 2 woman, Lady Dorothy. Lady Dorothy is a teacher, a prophetic lady full of insight and discernment. She's God's daffodil. She makes the best cakes and the tastiest soups. She holds me accountable in a lot of ways.

I am Swee to my sister. We can finish each other sentences and spend hours talking about nothing. She makes me laugh until I cry, except when she's irritating me to tears. I do the same for her. She teaches me lots of things like, "Don't put it down, Daja, put it away." She's more organized, hipper and cuter than I am. Though she's my little sister, she's a Titus 2 teacher for me.

For more Titus 2 influences in my life, click here.

Here at In Other Words, we blog about all facets of our life including missions, homeschooling, homemaking, friendship, health, politics and theology. We're not afraid to admit that we are a little eccentric, a little random, and a little too opinionated. Most of all though, we are caught up in the love of God. Our desire is to become sponges to soak up all the Holy Spirit we can! That way when life squeezes us, we'll just ooze love and grace!

In honor of Titus 2 week, here are some posts from our archives that you might enjoy:

My Favorite Time of Day

How To Make Dinner

Enjoy Life, Stay Home

Making Stuff

The Interesting Lives of Women

Please leave us a comment and let us know you stopped by! We'd love to come visit you as well!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things....

A looooong time ago, The Happy Homebody tagged me for a meme to take a picture of my favorite things--things that make our home beautiful or functional. At the time my digital camera was broken, so I couldn't do it. Then we got a new one, but it seems like I just never got around to doing it, even though I loved the idea.

So, yesterday I finally took a bunch of pictures. It is rather remarkable how many of my favorite things revolve around my beverage consumption.

My espresso/cappuccino machine, which I just got for my birthday from my mom and dad. There's just something magical about frothing your own milk.

"Haluun Sav" from Mongolia. These wonderful decorative thermoses (or should that be thermi?) keep my water hot for two days! I can have tea ready for guests in an instant. When we have Bible studies here I use the blue one for coffee and the pink one for hot water for tea.

This beautiful cup is ginormous. Great for ingesting large amounts of caffeine and feeling pretty while doing it! This was a Valentine's Day gift from my mom and dad. They sure know how to pick presents for me, don't they?!

Bonne Maman jars. I don't have a lot of brand loyalties. This may be the only one. This jam is really good with no artificial colors and no high fructose corn syrup. And the best part it that it comes in this adorable jar! These are our usual drinking glasses. It's handy to have the lid in case a child doesn't finish his drink. No waste! Just pop it in the fridge! I also use these for storing leftovers, taking drinks for picnics, giving gifts, collecting coins, keeping the kids' counting beans, etc. But, wait there's more! (said in my best infomercial voice) The beauty of reusing jam jars for your drinking glasses is if one breaks your heart doesn't break with it.

For meals and occasions that don't include milk or juice, these are my stemware. Just looking at them make me smile. The picture doesn't do them justice. They are so pretty and feel really good in your hand. The feel of a glass is really important, you know.

OK, here are my favorite things that don't involve coffee, tea, juice or wine:

Gana gave me this Willow Tree figurine a few years ago. It's how pregnancy feels at its best. The mother is lovingly protecting her baby. So beautiful. So peaceful. Tranquility. Gana totally knows me. It is this protective and protected and serene feeling that makes me addicted to pregnancy.

This tapestry hangs on my wall. It's from the home of someone from the Kazakh tribe in Mongolia. It's all hand done without a pattern. The date is embroidered in: 1968. Our good friend whom we call Chief brought it from Northern Mongolia for us. It makes me feel connected to Mongolia, even far away. I also think of the little Mongolian woman who likely made this. As is tradition, she probably started on it as a teenager in preparation for her marriage and finished sometime years and year later. Her diligence and skill inspire me. If this wall could speak.....

What home with six children could be complete with The Chore Chart! It's magnetic, so notice the timer stuck to it. Time limits on chores are as important as the chart itself!

My library/farmer's market bag. I'm Gaga to my most beautiful nephews.

Flour Sack Towels. I'm very particular about kitchen towels. My favorite ones are fuzz free, so I can use them to lay cookies fresh from the oven, cover food or drain bacon without getting fibers in the food! I also like white towels and dishcloths. This makes them bleachable and they look nice much longer.

Sharing the meme love, I tag Lady Dorothy, Generation Cedar, Serena, and Cantare. What are your favorite things?

My Favorite Time of Day

I love it when the house is quiet before the kids wake up. Time for tea and yoga and gathering my thoughts for the day.



I especially love it when my kids wake up. They come into the living room or kitchen all sleepy-eyed and warm. They hug me and say, "Morning, Mommy. What's for breakfast?" even though they know full-well, if it's a weekday, the answer is oatmeal.



Even more, I love worship time when the kids and I dance around the living room and "shout it out" to God. Then we find a place to lay down, close our eyes and "soak." (Which basically means we put on a quiet worship song and take time to listen to the Lord.)



I love tea time in the afternoon. I bring out some muffins, banana bread, or cookies. We all sip tea from lovely little delicate teacups (even the boys). It's our afternoon rest before tidying up from the many crafts, school project and general mess we make. Then we begin dinner preparations.



I love making dinner. I sometimes almost lose myself in the process--but then a child who desperately needs my opinion on a coloring matter rushes in and I know I'm not alone. That makes me smile.



But, my favorite time of day is when I hear Gana's rickety old truck coming in the driveway, his familiar heavy steps on the stairs, and his charming face peering in the back window. That's when I really smile. That's when my whole family is together. The kids rush to him, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" From that moment on all moments are treasured. No matter if the day was stressful or if my pregnant body is tired, somehow we all know that everything is OK. No, actually, everything is good. Daddy's home.







The Blue Bowl



All day long I did the little things,
The little things that do not show;
I brought the kindling for the fire,
I set the candles in a row,
I filled a bowl with marigolds—
The shallow bowl you love the best—
And made the house a pleasant place
Where weariness may take its rest.



The hours sped on, my eager feet
Could not keep pace with my desire.
So much to do! So little time!
I could not let my body tire.
Yet when the coming of the night
Blotted the garden from my sight,
And on the narrow graveled walks
Between the guarding flower stalks
I heard your step, I was not through
With services I meant for you.

You came into the quiet room
That glowed enchanted with the bloom
Of yellow flame. I saw your face;
Illumined by the firelit space,
Slowly grow still and comforted—
“It’s good to be at home,” you said.


~ Blanch Bane Kuder

That Funky Smell

For the past few weeks there has been this increasing funky smell in my house. I've been trying to solve the problem. I deodorized all the drains, made sure all the trash cans were cleaned out, I put the diaper pail outside (even though I didn't think the smell was coming from there). Still the smell grew worse.

Gana took all the recycling out. No better.

Being pregnant the smell was literally making me gag. I started looking through old diaper bags and purses wondering if somehow there was a dirty diaper somewhere. Nope. Not the problem.

A couple days ago I peeked in the back of my chest freezer and saw a bunch of stuff--toys, books, pens--that had fallen back there. So, I pulled it back. And sent Luc back there to remove all the stuff. He started handing me stuff. A hat, a picture book, a Lego. Then he handed me a plastic bag and said, "What's this?" I examined it and realized it was an individually wrapped piece of fish that was decomposing.

Gag, gag, gag. Dry heaving for a few minutes as I got that outside.

I told Gana about it later when he got home. "Oh....you know what.....I think that might have been my fault. A few weeks ago I was looking in the freezer for bread....."

If you have visited me lately and have noticed the funky smell, please know that IT WAS ALL GANA'S FAULT!

:-P

Men!

National Wear Your Apron Day!

Superman has his cape. Mom has an apron!

Today is National Wear Your Apron Day! Celebrate your domestic felicity! Visit the Kitchen Madonna for more Apron Inspiration!

Life in the Heart of My Home

"Your wife will be like a fruitful vine, flourishing within your
home. And
look at all those children! There they sit around your table as
vigorous and
healthy as young olive trees. " Psalm 128:3 NLT

These last few days I have been a little under-the-weather. I have had a migraine (only the third one in my whole life) and a sinus thing which has made my teeth hurt. Seriously. It's not been pretty. And yet, in spite of this, it has been a lovely couple of days, and that for one main reason: I am a homemaker.


I can only imagine the depth of misery I would be in if I was having to drag the children to the schoolhouse or the school bus every morning. Instead my mornings these past three days have been slow, deliberate, an extra cup of tea and a little extra PBS kids. I can only imagine the continual torture if I would have to "grin and bear it" and go to an office, dealing with people who could not extend extra grace for all my shushing them. Instead, I have spent most of the day cuddled under a blanket with my kids who have been more than gracious.



Yesterday, after a little of the morning funk cleared from my head, I said, "No regular school work. Let's just read today." So we gathered all the pillows and blankets (and another cup of tea for me) and we read "The Magicians Nephew" by C.S. Lewis. It's delightfully funny and suspenseful for the children so that they are not bored, but much easier on me than trying to make them do sums or science. I made chicken soup and Mongolian mantuu (steamed bread). From my cushioned throne I assigned the children various simple chores--fold the towels, put the dishes away, make the beds.



While I have been in no position for going out--looking rather like something the cat drug in--I have decluttered my closet, made chocolate pudding (comfort food) with Lucas, and let the children make some Mother's Day art projects to send to grandmothers and godmothers.



Being in the heart of my home I have freedom. I have the authority over my time, my schedule, my wardrobe, my bedtime, and can even take a nap whenever I want to.

"Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, Your
children like olive plants all around your table." NKJV

This little spell of illness has caused me to slow down. I feel freshly inspired in my homemaking. I feel happy in my small domain. There is no better place to be sick and no happier way to be nursed to health than by all the olive-plant-children who like to bring me treats and fetch my slippers and put on another movie. Lovely little nurses, all of them.

I am overwhelming grateful to God for letting me spend my days in the heart of my home.

A little motivation for my lazy house....

A Very Important Education

Remember this post? I wish more schools, highschool and college, still offered home ec!