The Kitchen Meme





1. How many meals does most of your family eat at home each week? How many are in your family?

We eat most of our meals at home. Last week we ate out twice. Patrick and I went to Outback on Saturday night and Sunday after church we all went to the Village Bar for delicious burgers and fries and ketchup.

2. How many cookbooks do you own?

Twenty-three .

3. How often do you refer to a cookbook each week?

A few times a week.

4. Do you collect recipes from other sources?

I collect recipes from friends and from personal websites. If I like a recipe I ask for a copy. This is really my main source.

5. How do you store those recipes?

I keep my most frequently used recipes in a quilted envelope.

6. When you cook, do you follow the recipe pretty closely, or do you use recipes primarily to give you ideas?

I do follow the recipe very closely...until I have it memorized.

7. Is there a particular ethnic style or flavor that predominates in your cooking? If so, what is it?

50's American :o)

8. What's your favorite kitchen task related to meal planning and preparation?

Tasting.


9. What's your least favorite part?

Cleaning up.

10. Do you plan menus before you shop?

Not really. I have a general idea of the staples that we need (frozen French fries, bagels, tomato sauce) I buy chicken and ground beef almost weekly and then I choose from the other meats that are on sale.
I also buy frozen foods from the Schwanns man. Having frozen foods to choose from helps us quite a bit here at Chez Booshay.
For instance last night. I prepared Chicken Kiev, Chicken Cordon Blu, Emma made Mac and Cheese (from the blue box) and Patrick ate Sloppy Joes with Ore-Ida French fries.
With the girls not feeling well and hungry...and hubby coming home late....
dinners can be crazy like this.
When we were growing up (with seven children in the family) our mother would prepare one meal for us at lunch and at dinner. If we requested something different or complained we heard, "This is not a restaurant!"


11. What are your three favorite kitchen tools or appliances?

Our fridge...so that my pop is nice and cold.
Clean washcloths!
Garlic press :o)

12. If you could buy one new thing for your kitchen, money was no object, and space not an issue, what would you most like to have?

I would love to have a farm sink!

13. Since money and space probably are objects, what are you most likely to buy next?

Paper towels :o)

14. Do you have a separate freezer for storage?

No. Sometimes I wish we did, because our freezer is skinny. But I wonder if the energy it takes to run a freezer would be costly.

15. Grocery shop alone or with others?

Katie and I go together quite a bit. I like to grocery shop :o) We have a great little grocery store in our town. It is 104 years old.
It's one of my favorite things about our town.


16. How many meatless main dish meals do you fix in a week?

None for hubby....but the girls and I eat noodles and soups every week.

17. If you have a decorating theme in your kitchen, what is it? Favorite kitchen colors?

Nope...no theme.
If I could plan a kitchen I would have light cabinets, a wood floor, and a vintage stove.

18. What's the first thing you ever learned to cook, and how old were you?
I suppose it was Tollhouse cookies....or pop corn.

19. How did you learn to cook? I learned to cook from my mother. I specifically remember learning to make spaghetti and gravy and green peppers from her. I would help braise the beef. She would put some in a bowl for me with a little extra salt and pepper :o)
And then I was pretty much on my own.

20. Tag two other people to play. Want to play? Let me know where I can read your answers. You can answer any or all of the questions in the comments if you don't have a blog.

Tagged by Amy

Encourage one another,
Donna

Cover Girls


Make your own magazine cover!
I loved trying this...but could not come up with catching article titles....
Go see a few really great covers here, here and here.

First spotted at Mental multivitamin.










Click here to make your own spiffy magazine cover :o)

Leave a little note if you try this and put one up at your blog. I love seeing these! Everyone has been so clever!

*******




Congratulations to Drew and Cheryl for winning Dancing with the Stars!
They were my favorite team!

Ye-Haw!

*******

Emma is well enough to go to Biology class this morning.

Katie is coughing like a dog and she has a little fever.
I don't have the heart to tell her she can't play with Carrie this afternoon. (We had to cancel with Carrie on Friday also) For Katie, there can be nothing worse than missing a visit with a friend. Poor dear :o(
She does not complain of pain and the fever doesn't even slow her down.
But the thought of taking a little medicine totally ruins her day!
"It tastes icky"

Waaaaaa.....


I continue to be very thankful that I have not caught this bug...and that our afflictions are so very light.

I'm still reading Anna Karenina. I am enjoying it very much!
(Kitty is visiting Dolly.
I hope Kitty and Levin get together :o)

Are you reading any gems?
Are you staying well?
Did you finish knitting your projects by the time the flame was extinguished?

I hope so!

Encourage one another,
Donna

Little things

List 5 Little Things That Bring You Satisfaction or Pleasure.

Hearing my children laugh.
Photographs.
Downtown Chicago.
Talking with friends or family.
Making my husband's favorite foods.




My little caboose.
A perfect package of pleasure :o)


Encourage one another,
Donna

Friday Feast

Appetizer
Choose one: moving to another state, having triplets, or never being able to eat chocolate again.

Soup
Name a news story that truly shocked you.

Salad
What was your very first job?

Main Course
If you had the chance to read the diary of someone you're really close to, would you? Why or why not?

Dessert
What's something you're looking forward to?


HT to the folks at Friday Feast



My first job lasted a total of three hours. It was a total flop!

I went to work in a bright red and white striped uniform.
With two minutes of training I was assigned to the cash register...at 'rush hour'...

I spent two hours ringing up orders of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

I was so slow...there was a line formed out the door.
It was horrible.

Going back was out of the question, so I kept the uniform and never returned.

I was teased about this for a long time! (I hate to be teased)

Boo hoo.

*******

And what do I look forward to?

I look forward, always, to the boys coming home.

And a summer wind.


Encourage one another,
Donna

Eureka!

Trekking XXL, in person...at our Local Yarn Shop.

What a find!

I have been watching bloggers knit with this yarn for over a year. I have thought, I gotta get me some of that.

I was so close once or twice to buying some of it on line....it was in the shopping cart....but I didn't buy it.

But last night the knitting stars were aligned.

I dropped Katie off at Awana and headed to The Sow's Ear (LYS) (It is so local...it is next door to church!)

I had one dollar to spend until I could redeem $25.00 on my frequent shopper card.

And there it was.
Perched on the top shelf.

What's this?
Could it be?

Trekking XXL.

Hello gorgeous.

Five steps to the front counter, I order a hot chocolate.

Ten steps to be back counter, I pay for the yarn.

Five Dollars!!

Yes, you heard right. Five dollars for thirty dollars of delicious yarn.

Man, it just doesn't get any better than that :o)


The blue is for my sock exchange pal. She requested blues.
I think it is perfect.

The other skein is for me :o)

************

Emma was feeling better last night. How could I tell? She rose from the couch and scooted (walking like Natasha in a sleeping bag) over to the computer.

However, I heard a lot of coughing in the night...so we shall see how she feels this morning.

We are not accustomed to being sick for more than 24 hours at our house.
We are really quite blessed in the health dept.


Katie has dance today.
Hooray!
Wait til I tell her.
She will run upstairs, immediately, and put on her leotard and tights.

Then we will go through the..."It feels funny" for about ten minutes and I will try to be gentle and understanding while wanting to blow my top...

And then she will be okay and dance around the house until 2:00.

What a girl!


What has made you smile this week?


Encourage one another,
Donna

To the Thawing Wind

COME with rain. O loud Southwester!
Bring the singer, bring the nester;
Give the buried flower a dream;
make the settled snowbank steam;
Find the brown beneath the white;
But whate'er you do tonight,
bath my window, make it flow,
Melt it as the ice will go;
Melt the glass and leave the sticks
Like a hermit's crucifix;
Burst into my narrow stall;
Swing the picture on the wall;
Run the rattling pages o'er;
Scatter poems on the floor;
Turn the poet out of door.

~Robert Frost

A thank you poem from a favorite poet.
For your warm and kind thoughts for Emma.



When you hear the weatherman say breezy, what do you think?
Do you think a cool breeze or do you think a warm breeze?

I think of warm air when I hear breezy...and I get hopeful.

I love nothing so much as a warm breeze.


**********


Now here is the exciting American Idol news I have been waiting to tell you...

Kim in Ill. aka Hiraeth goes to church with that darling David Radford!

Here is a quick interview with David

The boys sing tonight on Fox.
Don't forget to vote! It's free, ya know :o)

I flipped between the women's figure skating and American Idol last night...there were extraordinary young women's performances on both channels :o)

My fingers are sooooo crossed for Sasha Cohen! She skates like an angel!


Prayer requests for this morning;

LB is having an MRI at 10:00 Pacific time. Please pray for comfort while in the machine and good results from her test. (And for her hideous headache to subside!)

Little Candace is going in for her 9th or 10th surgery in as many days.
May her infection be healed and may her pain be light.


Encourage one another,
Donna

Disturbed

My little blogging world is disturbed this morning.
My Emma is awake and quietly suffering on the couch.
She asked if she could turn on the tv and I didn't have the heart to tell her no.

My children are far from spoiled.

Except when they are sick.


So my time of quiet is not to be found this morning....and I can't concentrate on writing.

So this is all I've got this morning

DUST OF SNOW

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

~Robert Frost

Encourage one another,
Donna

Two things


Is it possible to motivate your children?

Is the desire to challenge oneself and do ones best, inborn?


I have a theory that unconditional love extinguishes a healthy fear of failure.

(It's a rather harebrained theory combined with a touch of humor)

Can parents light that fire in their children....or is that fire there from the beginning?


********

The second thing I am wondering this morning is....

Can you recommend a book that teaches word origins in Greek for beginners?

For instance last night I read this in Martha Peace's book "Becoming a Titus 2 Woman;

The Greek work for "love their children" is philioteknos. This work is a combination of the word philos (beloved, tenderness) and teknos (child).

I love learning what the Greek word means. It adds so much to my understanding.

But I don't really want one of those big thick books with all the cross references. And I am not looking to learn the Greek alphabet right away.



Any thoughts? It can be very basic.

Thanks!

Encourage one another,
Donna

The tooth fairy has made her first visit to little Katie!
Her tooth fell out without a bit of pain or blood :o)
All it took was a soft hot dog and a soft bun to break her tiny tooth loose.

We placed the wee tooth inside a matchbox and made a paper note announcing that inside this box was Katie's Tooth.

Katie was determined to stay awake to see the fairy.
But she could not stay awake.

She awoke to a crisp dollar bill but was a little concerned to find the tooth still in the box.

"The tooth fairy must want you to save that tiny tooth."

"Okay....I can't wait until I get another loose tooth!"




Silhouette by Karl Johnson

Mr. Johnson is a lovely artist. I didn't know one could be a silhouette artist until I happened upon the pretty tooth fairy silhouette. (Google search for tooth fairy)

When we were children our silhouettes were made by someone at the public school.

Perhaps my sister Sue has a better recollection of this than I do.
I think I was in the Second and Third grade.

They were very special and we brought them home to our parents...
As far as I know, no one in my family has one of their silhouettes.

All that is left is a very distant memory...
My memory is a silhouette.


Wishing you warm memories on this cold February weekend.

(-13 below here in Wisconsin)


Encourage one another,
Donna

****Update***
Check out my hit counter!

Wow! Who'd a thunk it?

Friday Feast


Appetizer
If you were a color, which color would you be, and why?

Soup
When was the last time you went to the doctor, and what was your reason for going?

Salad
What do you collect?

Main Course
What were you like in high school? Name one thing you miss and one thing you don't miss about those days. (If you're still there, imagine how you'll remember it in the future.)

Dessert
Pretend you're standing in front of your home, with your back towards your home. Describe the view - what can you see? Trees? Cars? A zoo? Wal-Mart?





A mighty snow shoveler, in our front yard, on the newly cleared driveway.
Looking mighty fine :o)

Why not post a picture of what is out your front door?
Then leave a note and a link....and we will all come over and see what you see, every day of the week.


I will be gone most of the day...
so have fun...and be good :o)


Encourage one another,
Donna

The Bet

Yesterday afternoon, in sign language class, I told the girls (Emma, Emily and Kathyrn) about the challenge that was given to Dr. Seuss. 'Write a book with less than ___ words.' And so he wrote Green Eggs and Ham.

(At the time, we were signing "Put me in the Zoo" by Robert Lopshire. (Which is really very easy to sign...and fun too!) Lopshire reminds me of Seuss and "Put Me in the Zoo" is one of the classic Beginner Books.)

Anyway, the challenge was 'less than fifty words' and Seuss won the bet with forty-nine!

So this morning, in order to get my facts straight, I did a little research and found an interesting article on the internet. A portion of it is below.
(The article goes much deeper into the political and social issues of the day and if you are interested in that aspect of Seuss and his times...follow the link)




This is how Katie looks at most of her food!

"The Cat in the Hat" was published in March, 1957, seven months before Sputnik. Within weeks, it was selling at a rate of twelve thousand copies a month. Random House's publisher, Bennett Cerf, contrived to sell his trade edition to the schools through jobbers, and he ended up acquiring the textbook rights from Houghton Mifflin. And 1957 was the peak year of the baby boom. In 1945, the last year of the war, 2.9 million children were born in the United States. In 1952, 3.9 million were born: these are the children who were five years old when "The Cat in the Hat" came out. In 1957, 4.3 million children were born, still the largest cohort in American history. By 1960, "The Cat in the Hat" had sold a million copies. By 2000, it had sold 7.2 million hardcover copies in the United States alone, making it the ninth best-selling children's hardcover book of all time. It was translated into many languages, including Latin: "Cattus Petasatus."

The success of "The Cat in the Hat" persuaded Cerf to start a division at Random House called Beginner Books, and he put his wife, Phyllis, and Geisel in charge of it. They shamelessly appropriated poor, forgotten William Spaulding's model. Phyllis Cerf made a list of three hundred and seventy-nine words, taken from primers. Authors could choose two hundred words from this list, and could add twenty "emergency" words of their own. Beginner Books started with four titles in 1958. By 1960, it was bringing in a million dollars a year. Random House became the largest publisher of children's books in America; a third of its total sales volume was in juvenile books.

A hundred Beginner Books were eventually published. One was "Green Eggs and Ham," in 1960. Bennett Cerf had bet Geisel fifty dollars that he could not write a book using just fifty words. Geisel won the bet. Forty-nine of the words in "Green Eggs and Ham" are one-syllable words. (The fiftieth, of course, is "anywhere.") Cerf didn't come out too badly, though. "Green Eggs and Ham" was the most successful book Dr. Seuss ever wrote. It is the fourth best-selling children's hardcover title of all time. (The No. 1 best-seller is Janette Lowrey's 1942 blockbuster, "The Pokey Little Puppy.")

The New Yorker
CAT PEOPLE
What Dr. Seuss really taught us.
by Louis Menard



********
Hello Snow




The funny thing about snow
is that is it so quiet
and it surprises you
in the morning.

"It snowed!"


Encourage one another,
Donna

A Couple of Questions


Of all the trips you've been on, what was your Great American Adventure? Where did you go? What did you do?



Patrick and I fondly remember our trip to Kiawah Island in South Carolina when the children were small. We loved the Island, Charleston and visiting The Biltmore.

It was at least twelve years ago.
We long to return to that lovely place.







If you were on Survivor, how soon do you think you'd be voted off? Do you think you'd win the $1 million?


Well, I would either get voted off the first day...or be one of the lucky ladies who have won because they were sweet :o)
Sometimes the show is very physical...and being strong matters...
other times it's all politics.




Speaking of reality television. The Amazing Race is coming back on Feb. 28th.
Yup. Just pulled that date out of my noggin'.

And. American Idol is driving me crazy. There are these loud mouth, conceited twins who are given way too much air time. I just now googled their names...and apparently, they have been dropped from the show due to an unfortunate incarceration.

Thank goodness.

I honestly was changing the channel anytime they came on screen!

Unfortunately, it looks like I missed a great evening of the Olympics. I was up very early this morning (couldn't sleep) so I watched many of the Olympic highlights on the internet and read about some amazing athletes/people.

The Chinese figure skating pair for their recovery after that terrible fall and Joey Cheek for his philanthropy.

And for his nickname.... Fastest Cheeks on Ice!
(And for MFS...his favorite book is "Enders Game" :o)

Check out the video clips at NBC Olympics

Hope you can get that link to work. (I think it gets a lot of traffic!)

The girls are both still asleep; I think I have time to read a chapter or two Anna Karenina before they wake up.

Nice.


Encourage one another,
Donna

We aren't really very romantic around here. But those little children that keep coming along insure that holidays like Valentines Day don't get forgotten altogether.

So Katie and I were scrounging around for a box to use for her Valentines. She could not find a shoe box, but I spotted a nice sturdy Priority Mail box.
"Let's just wrap this!" So we found the only pink paper in the house and wrapped the box nice a tight. Cut a slit in the top and applied stickers.

It wasn't until about 2:45 am that I realized my mistake.





Shoe boxes are used so you can take the top off to get the Valentines out!

Ahh!

And don't even look at the sad wrapping.

We will just pretend Katie did it.

I may be able to knit and quilt....but I have a reputation around the house when it comes to crafts, I'm afraid.

Emma scooted through the kitchen as I was bemoaning the butter on the tissue and remarked,

"Mom and crafts!"

Turns out I am as good at making a Valentine box as I am at putting paper bags on High School Text books! (Do you remember doing that?)

************

The best advice on love;

1 If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated,
5 it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
6 it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
9 For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
11 When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
12 At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
13 So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13....the love chapter :o)

How many of you had that Scripture read as part of your wedding service?
What will you do for your Valentine today?

Make a heart shaped meat loaf? Buy chocolates and a card?

Do tell :o)




PB, will you be mine?


Make your own candy hearts @ Acme heart maker

Encourage one another,
Donna

Still very much in my heart and prayers

*Candace
*LB
*Cindy

Little Candace is on my heart and mind. She needs our prayers so desperately. She has had five surgeries in five days. She looks to be about Katie's age and what her family thought was a typical virus has turned out to be a life-threatening infection in her lower torso. I know so many of you are great prayer warriors and I ask you to pray for Candace.

please pray for Candace

I learned about Candace from Carmon, who knows the lively and talkative Candace and her family.



**************

Homeschooled Olympian

It always makes the Olympics more fun to know something special about the athletes.

Her 'about' page on her website is especially interesting to read.

God had given me a talent and now he had given me another chance. So here I am back on my skis training hard year round and proving to myself and to others that it is possible to live life to its fullest, be a mom, help run a business and persevere through all the ups and downs. It is all a matter of God's graces helping me prioritize and schedule my life so that I can accomplish all of my goals. Rebecca Dussault

Go Rebecca Go!!!


***********

Did anyone watch Grey's Anatomy last night?

I just love the writing and acting. There is a tenderness about how the characters treat one another and I think that is my favorite part.

And George O'Malley was my hero last night.

I do have a minor gripe. Doesn't the bomb squad put live bombs in special metal boxes? Don't they wear special gear...like helmets and full body suits if they are going to be carrying a bomb around?

I think the writers had the ending they wanted in mind....
and neglected reality a bit.

(And we couldn't see their fabulous acting thru big clunky helmets)

But other than that...it was a riveting and moving show!

********

Emma made the drive to and from Oskgosh with safety and ease! She is one step closer to driving to our old home town or even to Chicago. Mer-cy!

I went to a delightful baby shower yesterday afternoon. We welcomed little Lily from Ethiopia and heard her amazing story from her mom, Helen!

(Imagine the Amazing Race to and from an orphanage :o)

Lily is a beautiful 19 month old and in just one month she is adjusting perfectly.
She adores her big siblings and her mom and dad are so excited to have her...they hope to go back to Ethiopia in a year to adopt again.


Life is so beautiful and so painful and so fragile and wondrous... all at the same time, isn't it?


Encourage one another,
Donna

You Betcha!

If there is someone on your blogroll who makes your world a better place just because that person exists and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence on your blog.

Via Julie D @ Happy Catholic


I am encouraged and enlightened and entertained on a daily basis by the dear people I have met due to the internet. People in real life and cyber-life...both so real and true and remarkable.

My world is a better place because of all y'all.



*****

You know, with all my fussing over the cell phone...

I am sure glad that Emma has one!

She drove to Oshkosh for a Summer camp reunion last night by herself and will return tonight so she can play indoor soccer.

Because she has a phone she can call me and let me know that she is going in the right direction :o) and she can tell me what time she arrived at her destination!

I'm so proud of her. She had to find her location on Mapquest, (then we double checked with a real map(you know how goofy Mapquest directions CAN be,)) and then she had to drive at night.

The trip is just a touch over 100 miles (one way)...so it is a good starter trip.

All made so much easier on mom because of the cell phone :o)

******

I don't think I have told you this one....
When we got our first computer....

I told my husband...."This thing is a fad!"

He gets a real kick out of reminding me of that comment :o)


Wishing you a great weekend!

Encourage one another,
Donna

Friday Feast


Appetizer
What was a class or course you took while in school that you realize now was a total waste of time?

Soup
Who is the tallest person you know?

Salad
What's your favorite midnight snack?

Main Course
Have you ever found money somewhere? If so, where did you find it, and how much was it?

Dessert
Where would you like to retire?



I can't really think of a class that was a total waste of time...all of the sports and dance classes kept me fit...and all of the academic classes stretched my mind, in one way or the other.

I took flower arranging for a semester....and well...that must be the loser....because I totally forgot that I even took the class....and I never used any of the information I learned in that class. I have never made a boutonniere or put a plant in a larger pot...not once ;o)








***Olympic Knitter's, I am thinking about you today as you cast on!
I am looking forward to seeing your fantastic creations!

Let the knitting begin :o)


***And dog lovers....Westminster starts on Monday night.


Encourage one another,
Donna

Hey! Matthew! I'm wearing your jersey!



I just love hand-me-downs! I always have. With two older sisters I had quite a large wardrobe back in the 70's. I rarely went to a store to buy clothes.
In the fall, my mother would take us shopping for school clothes. We bought five outfits (at the most) and one pair of shoes. And we didn't go clothes shopping again....until the next fall.

After I graduated from High School (1975) designer fashions arrived.
Up until then...we did not care about name brands or store brands.

We just went to Marshall Fields to get our school clothes :o)


So with our children, clothing has not been a huge part of the budget. (It is a big part of Emma's budget now that she is working at Old Navy. She buys something almost every week. "But Mom....you won't believe what I got today." Then she pulls out a cashmere sweater for $10.00. I can't argue with a good shopper)

But the 'keepers' really make me smile.

Katie's sweater coat, that cousin Lindsay and Emma have also worn....The Blackhawk jersey from Matthew's one year as a hockey player....now worn by Emma and Katie....Katie's favorite black velvet shirt from her cousins Dani and Sydney.... special Laura Ashley dresses from Caroline and Hillary.

Little pieces of the past...little pieces of family...

Little memories to wear.

And man....what is cooler than a Blackhawks jersey???

I have a feeling one day....Matthew will have a little one who will also wear this jersey. Now that is cool!




Emma in the same jersy :o)

Are you saving your children's clothing to pass on?

Encourage one another,
Donna

Caleb's Socks

I was commissioned to knit a pair of socks for a young man. A growing boy who loves knitted socks! I finished them yesterday and will send them off to Canada...where they will keep Caleb's toes warm and toasty while he helps his daddy on the farm or snuggles in to read his favorite book.











I seems I was not meant to be an Olympian. Knitting or otherwise.
I tried to choose a pattern. I really did.
Anything that interested me was either sold out or the required yarn felt scratchy.
Lynn emailed me yesterday to tell me I had until midnight to sign up.
I made one last attempt to find the right project.
I went to the Sow's ear. Nada.
I went to Knitty.com.

There is was. I will make this pattern.

So I made a copy of the pattern. And set off to www.abbeyyarns.com to purchase the exact yarn that Jillian had used. (Because I am like that. I want to use exactly what is pictured. I have no imagination. I am a copycat knitter)

I put the 16 skeins of yarn in the 'shopping cart'.
Pressed the button.

And was saddened and shocked to see..... $201.00.

Waaaaa.....

Yup. I am a copycat. With Champagne taste....and well you know the rest.


So I am resigned to my role as cheerleader. Which I am pretty good at.

But man, I wanted to compete and challenge myself.
Just couldn't get all my ducks in a row this time around.


What was your last challenge?

It can be a mental, physical or spiritual challenge.

Care to share?


Encourage one another,
Donna

Happy 21st Birthday Matthew!



We love you!






Please join in praying for our friends in California.

The Lord will keep you from all harm--he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and for evermore.
Psalm 121:7-8

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8

Praying for you, Linda, your family, and all of those in danger.

I know that prayers will be prayed from all over the world today.

Please, God.


****How to purchase those cute stamps...and others....

U. S. Postal Service Shop


Encourage one another,
Donna

Just released stamps!

Aren't they darling!





Now, when it come to preconceived ideas...here's one...
stamp collectors are geeks.

But I tell you...I think I am becoming a geek.
Over the last few years I have come to adore many of the stamps that have been released.

Recently, I visited Beetlegrass...and the author posts the most darling stamps from around the world.

And I'm thinking...that looks like a fun little hobby.

And wasn't the big secret in Charade...priceless stamps?

Those stamps -- they're worth a fortune!

Nothing geeky here!

Are there any very cool stamp collectors who visit Quiet Life?

I promise I don't think your geeky anymore :o)


Encourage one another,
Donna

p.s. I'm sorry blogspot has been spotty of late!
What's a girl to do?

My Scrabble© Score is: 21. What is your score? Get it here.

For all of you Scrabble Lovers! Cute, huh?

My Zipper Suit

My zipper suit is bunny-brown-
The top zips up, the legs zip down.
I wear it every day.
My daddy brought it out from town.
Zip it up, and zip it down,
And hurry out to play!

~Marie Louise Allen

February Twilight

I stood beside a hill
Smooth with new-laid snow,
A single star looked out
From the cold evening glow.

There was no other creature
That saw what I could see-
I stood and watched the evening star
As long as it watched me.

~Sara Teasdale

That's it folks.
That's about all I can come up with today.
Happy Weekend!

Encourage one another,
Donna

A pretty illustration by Sarah Stillwell-Weber


Friday Feast


Appetizer
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10=highest), how sociable are you?

Soup
Name 3 DVDs you currently own.

Salad
If you were to win a superlative award now (such as most talented, class clown, most likely to succeed), what would it be?

Main Course
What is your favorite radio station?

Dessert
Complete this sentence: I believe __________ because __________.


************


When I graduated from High School, I was chosen for two such awards.

I thought they were the most boring and dumb of awards.

I was chosen.... Most Friendly and Most Courteous.

Not too exciting for a 17 year old...
But as a mom...well...I wouldn't mind my children receiving those accolades, I guess :o)

How our perspective changes as we grow up a little!

Happy Friday!

Encourage one another,
Donna

Alison @ Sockapaloooza Central

There! I've gone and done it :o)

I have joined my first internet knitting exchange! I will knit socks for my Pal and I will receive socks from a gal...(or guy...it's a secret)

The button is what got me. I adore that sock monkey button! So cute.

The socks are not to be sent until May. Plenty of time!




Now about the Knitting Olympics...I just don't know if I am able to participate.
I keep looking and looking for the perfect pattern and yarn...and it is not coming together for me.

Lynn in Wi. is a possible participant!

Sign Up Lynn!!!! I want to place this button on my sidebar...just for you :o)






Homeschooling Update

Emma is breezing through Saxon Algebra II. She is using the Dive CD's with the book.

Do you remember how worried and freaked I was at the beginning of the year when she was struggling? Well...that must have just been the need to clean out the summer cobwebs....cause she has gotten the hang of it and is understanding her work and doing very well!

Katie is learning to read. We are using "Teach your child to read in 100 Lessons." We do at least two lessons a day. Katie hops and cheers when she reads a word correctly and can't wait to see the picture that goes with each little story. (I hide the picture from her so she is surprised. Emma loved this part, too. Isn't that sweet) Emma and I both like to watch Katie learn to read.

She is so funny and excited!

In math, Katie understands well but I noticed she is still very much in the 'concrete' stage.
With teddy bear counters she can do almost any problem I give her.
Such as 4-0 = 4

But...if I just say to her, "Katie, what is four take away zero?" She can not quite figure it out yet.

Interesting how the brain works.

Little by little.

She did, however, use the word metaphor the other day...incorrectly in a sentence.
But, where on earth did she pick up the word metaphor!?


That's all the news from our little corner of the world...

Are your children enjoying their studies?


Encourage one another,
Donna

**********

Go on over and wish our blog-sistah Sandy a Happy Birthday!
How silly to share your special day with Punxsutawney Phil!

Quotable Anna Karenina

'Well, there haven't been many sins in your past!'
'Ah, but all the same,' said Levin, 'looking back at my life, I tremble and curse and bitterly regret...Yes!'
'What's to be done? That's the way the world is made,' said Oblonsky.
' My one consolation is that prayer that I like so much: "Not according to my deserts but according to Thy loving kindness!"

Yes, that is a great consolation!

Grace, grace, God's grace...
Grace that is greater than all my sin....






Highly recommended for readers everywhere!

As Emma and I read thru portions of The Well Educated Mind yesterday, I wondered how I could have missed all of this information in sixteen years of school. (That includes four years in college. he he)

Susan Wise Bauer writes very well. She does not write in a complicated, over your head sort of way. Her book is clear and straightforward and interesting.

Reading this book is like taking Intro to World Literature in college...but from a really, really good teacher :o)

It is, indeed, "A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had."


What are you reading this week?


Encourage one another,
Donna