Monday, October 14, 2024

From My Journal

 TODAY IS: October 14, 2024

AROUND ME: I will be trying to get back into my day-to-day routine after having fun with family.  

I AM PONDERING: this quote by F. B. Meyer "If you carefully watch yourselves, you will find that failure in temptation is always preceded by some permitted evil, which took place perhaps days before.

AMONG MY FAVORITE THINGS:   



This was a gift given to Strongheart by one of the grad students that he helped in the research lab that he was a part of.
Her grandmother made it, and we have been blessed to enjoy this in our home because we understand the amount of work that it took to make the gift.

 BOOKS I AM CURRENTLY READING:

  Refreshment for the Soul is a collection of Richard Sibbes thoughts on different topics and is compiled as a devotional.  So, it will be an ongoing reading throughout this year.

The Soul's Conflict by Richard Sibbes  I'm making a bit of progress on this read.  While Richard Sibbes writings as a Puritan are much easier reading than some of the Puritans, I have taken my time on purpose as I've read through the pages.  It's been not only a learning experience, but also a convicting experience as well.

A Place for Weakness by Michael S.Horton  Almost finished with this one.  Hopefully, I'll be able to do a book review next week.

I AM THANKFUL FOR: The wonderful time that we had with our son and daughter-in-law from Maine last week.  They were only here four full days, but we packed a ton of fun into those four days!

.FROM THE KITCHEN:  I spent a lot of time in the kitchen prior to our son and daughter-in-law's visit preparing meals to store in the freezer and baking treats for the freezer also.  I knew how much fun we were going to be packing into these few short days that they were here, and I didn't want to spend my time in the kitchen cooking, but I wanted them to be well fed.  However, I did not take a single picture of any of it.  I did a turkey breast, Julia's meatballs and pasta, pulled pork, chocolate chip cookies and raisin filled cookies, plus homemade bread for sandwiches for our lunches.

TO DO LIST FOR TODAY:  A bit of laundry and some cleaning, as well as spending some time in the kitchen.


"So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom."
Psalm 91:12

16 comments:

  1. I'm glad you had such a good time with your family! But I am also glad to see you back online. :) That was a good idea to cook some things ahead of time. I love that plaque with your name! What a labor of love. I forget--do you know what that type of lacework is called?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's fun being back here in this little space. We certainly enjoyed our time with our son and daughter in law. I knew their visit would be short and that we would be away from the house a lot, but I wanted to make sure they were fed well.

      Yes, that picture is certainly a labor of love. I first thought of "tatting" when I read your question so I looked it up and then I looked at the picture more closely. I really think that the majority of it is crocheted, but I am not sure about how she filled in the name.

      Delete
  2. Welcome back! I'm so glad you had fun filled precious time with family.
    The plaque with your name on is intricate and beautiful! I'm sure it took a lot of time to make.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! That visit with our son and daughter in law was exactly what I needed.

      The dear lady who made that lovely piece also made one for Carroll's boss... and his last name is a. LOT bigger than ours. I've seen it hanging in their home and it's just as beautiful.

      Delete
  3. Yes, welcome back! We missed you but so glad you had a good time with your family! What an awesome gift! That does take a lot of time to make. I hope you have a nice quiet week getting back into your routine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, my friend. My son wanted to make my birthday special and he certainly accomplished that goal.

      I found myself in need of a bit more rest today so that's what I did. Tomorrow will be soon enough to ease back into those routines. 😊

      Delete
  4. Yes! I remember that wall hanging when I came to visit. How special and so much work! Amazing. I'm so glad you had such a good time with family. And it is difficult to get back into a routine when you are having fun!
    I'm glad you were able to cook things ahead and have more time with the family. And I know they appreciated that as well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had forgotten that I had that wall hanging displayed when you were here. That's neat that you remembered it.

      You know what James Clear would say about fun and routines....he would say to make the routine fun! I'm not quite there yet.😂

      Delete
  5. Glad you had a great time with family. I used to live in Maine years ago, Brunswick where Bowdoin college is.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Bill. We really did have a splendid time.

      So you used to live in Maine? I know where both of the places are that you mentioned. It put you in Longfellow territory. I did a blog post in June about the Longfellow house . We visited our son's family that month for our granddaughter's graduation. They live in Richmond, Maine. I would move to Maine in a heartbeat, but my husband is a WV guy so that takes care of that. 😊

      How did you come to move to Ireland, if I might ask?

      Delete
  6. Hi Dianna. I'm so glad you had a wonderful visit with your family! I hope they liked the meatballs! What a gorgeous wall hanging. I can only imagine how much time and work went into making it. What a thoughtful gift!

    I'm happy to hear you received your copy of Vegetables A Love Story. It's one of my very favorite books to cook from. Here are a few of my favorite recipes from the book and ones that I make often - Tortellini with Kale and Buttered Bread Crumbs, White Bean and Kale Chicken Chili (I often use ground turkey in place of chicken) - Lentil Nachos is my go-to recipe for nachos - they are so good - Mushroom Soup and Mushroom Spinach Lasagna, Hearty Kale and Sausage Soup, Roasted Corn and Black Bean Tostadas are perfect for a quick and easy and healthy weeknight dinner, Christmas Eve Cauliflower is one of my very favorites from the book - I've made it for Christmas Eve, but also make it throughout the year. I could keep going... Looking forward to hearing about what you decide to make first!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The family certainly did enjoy the meatballs. Thank you for sharing your favorite recipes from the book! I'm looking forward to trying some of them.

      Delete
  7. I am glad you had time with them. Mine are almost grown. Oh... how did you adjust to them moving out?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Sandi. Both our daughter and our son made their first "move" when they went to college. It was definitely different. I was still teaching at the time, so that kept my mind occupied during the day but there was definitely an adjustment period...I missed all of the evening family time... especially since my husband was working nights. But we made it through it by the grace and faithfulness of the Lord.

      Delete
  8. Pumpkin waffles - oh my, that sounds delicious!! Thanks for coming by the blog -

    ReplyDelete