Simply Summer Daybook

Outside my Window...It's Sunday, early evening, and the late-day sun is slanting in under storm clouds building to the west. My usual window view is backlit now with a sort of surreal brightness.  There's something about the slant of the light at this time of day that must bend the prism to make the colors especially vivid  -- particularly the greens of the trees and meadows. This is my favorite time of day. The wind is picking up now and I can hear thunder in the distance...

I'm hoping for... some rain.  It rained just enough last night to perk up our morning with a fresh, just-rained, whole-world plug-in scent.  Now I'm greedy and want my Monday morning to start out the same way.  My flower pots would like it, too...

I'm thankful that... Saturday afternoon's house-showing is over and we lived to tell about it.  It was our first public viewing of our house since we put the "for sale" sign up and we were running around like mad Friday afternoon and Saturday morning trying to make everything look as good as we could.  Talk about nerve wracking.  I'm happy to report that we got somewhat positive reviews and we're apparently on the couple's short list;  I guess they want to come back for a second look.  I'll be even more thankful, though -- more like ecstatic! -- if the first viewing ends in a sale!  (I'm not counting on it, but praying that God's will be done --  quickly if He doesn't mind!)

I'm remembering...  The last time we tried to sell the farm -- and I'm trying to get back into the good groove we had for preparing for showings.  We were a well-oiled machine after a while.  When we had to do a quick cleaning, we had lots of empty clothes baskets ready to collect debris: plastic dinosaurs, stray socks, hair clips, bath toys, stinky sneakers, sinks half full of dirty dishes, everything on and under Anna's dresser, little boys' "tents"...  We ran around and threw it all in baskets, stuffed the baskets in the back of the car and took all the unsightly junk with us when we left.  Made for a pain-in-the-neck unloading when we got back, but it was effective for spur-of-the-moment prospective buyers.  I've got to get me some more clothes baskets...

I'm planning...  free and easy summer outings with my children.  I owe Cathy a hike- date, because she never got her turn last summer, and the little boys are telling me it's their turn to go out with Mommy, too, so I need to plan a zoo day for them before my zoo pass runs out.  And I always love getting out with my teens and my tween, Theresa, too.  This week particularly, though, I get to look forward to a lunch-date with an old friend on Tuesday, the eagerly-anticipated homeschool field day on Saturday, and a BBQ for my Mom's birthday on Sunday. 

I'm reading...  Maurice and Therese, the story of St. Therese the Little Flower's correspondence encouraging a young priest.  This book is a wonderful read; I am loving the chance to see Therese of Lisieux through her own words, instead of through the sentimental mist we very often see.  After clearing away the mist, Therese is even more dear than I knew before.  Highly recommended book!

On my mind... It's Monday morning now -- and I just got a call from our realtor to tell us that she is expecting an offer on our house today or tomorrow from the folks that came Saturday.  What would the odds be?  Especially after 2 1/2 years of trying to sell this house a couple years ago.... 

In light of this --- I'm thinking a lot  this morning about patience and timing and the will of God...  And where the heck are we going to live if this place sells in the next few weeks...

From the Learning Rooms... Joining awesome mom-of-many, Joann, on her preschool learning adventure for the summer.  My little guys need some educational "tuning up" and Joann has a practical, fun blueprint that looks like just the ticket.  Thank God for such smart and organized internet friends!

I am noticing... how tall my little boys are getting all of a sudden.  Gabe has only one pair of church pants that aren't high water, and I'm having to pass all of his old pants down to William.  They'll be getting  me the platters off the top shelf before I know it.

From the Kitchen...  My favorite, quicky BBQ side dish:

To feed about 8 nomal people or 5 teenage boys

U.N. Beans

1 can northern white beans
1 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
or, if your gang likes it spicy, you can substitue a can of Rotel

1 small bag frozen mirepoix mix (The Holy Trinity variety, with celery, onions, and bell peppers)
alternatively: dice and sautee approximately 1 smallish onion, 2 stalks celery, 2 small bell peppers)

two heaping tablespoons plum jam (jelly works, too -- as does apricot jam or jelly)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:  Drain all the canned goods; dump everything in a pot, stir enthusiastically, heat over low burner. Serve.  Yum.

In the garden...  still nothing planted.  We've been working on the perennial beds this week in an effort to make our curb appeal less shaggy.  So with that and with the fact that I wasn't here the last two weeks of May and it was snowing before that...  well, there's not a blessed vegetable started here.  =heavy sigh=  Hopefully I'll be able to get something going this week.  But that will only be possible if I can, once and for all, get the chickens in their pen and out of the garden.

Which reminds me...  I dont' think I mentioned that a fox (we think it's a fox..) has found out where we are and has taken advantage of our dogless state....  You might remember that since the chicken eating and highway rambling incidents of our last dog-attempts, we only have Brigid, the foofoo dog left -- who, God bless her, is a sweet but wimpy indoor dog.  Anyway, having nothing to stop it, some predator has been raiding the henhouse.  All we have left of our original thirteen chickens are Booboo Chicken, Henrietta, and Uncle Steve, the rooster.  And empty egg cartons. 

So, to end the carnage, we decided we had to get a farm dog.  We prayed to St. Francis and St. Anthony to help and headed out to the animal shelter last week.  A dangerous place, the animal shelter.  You want to save everyone there.  But we controlled ourselves, somewhat, and only ended up with two more kitties (to help with the barn cat shortage), one mistake that we had to take back because he tried to eat one of the kitties, and one sweet little yellow lab mix.  We named her Noe, for one of the saints of the day that we got her (St. Noe Mawaggali, a Ugandan martyr) and she is perfect.  She doesn't chase chickens or kittens, but loves the children and is very sweet and well-behaved.  We love her already.  We think she's a keeper. Thank-you, St. Francis and St. Anthony.  (Franciscans rock.)


A picture to share...

Jon making his "Stanley" face.

  Paul got him this shirt for his birthdayas a challenge, thinking he wouldn't really wear it.  Paul has this mistaken notion, you see, that Jon is a totally serious kinda guy.  Silly Paul.  (Cracks me up every time I see this shirt!)

Oh, and by the way...  My camera battery charger has been missing since our Breckenridge trip...  I wanted to post a picture of our new doggy, family member, Noe, but have no camera to use right now.  Hopefully Dan will pick me up a new charger today and we can take some pics of our new pets...

** Lists of more Simple Woman Daybooks can be found here.