Home's Cool!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Shadow

Posted on March 7, 2011April 19, 2011 by Katharine

I am SO not a photographer.

If you know anything, at all, about photography, you know: soon as I planned to take photos of shadows, the sky clouded over, erasing them all. Later, as the clouds thinned, the resulting shadow quickly disappeared while I readied my camera. You know.

The sand pictured below lives in the shadow of our house, a northeast inward corner and a cool playground for kiddos in summer. In early spring, though, it boasts the abundance of weed seed it has collected since last summer. In this photo, I have just raked all the weeds away. Don’t like to spray where kiddos play.

Nevertheless, here is the sand area, complete with shadow but sans board to keep it all in place. We’ll get a new board; the old one was termite-ridden. This is the usual spring cleanup ritual around our yard.

If you know anything, at all, about sand areas, you know the gritty-squish sound my shoes made as I tried to step lightly into the sunroom where my camera is. Will have to sweep there, soon.

If you know anything, at all, about gardening tools, you know what brand these are, from the fragment of label revealing itself from the underside. The torturous-looking one is torturous in real dirt, but in sand it is perfect.

Isn’t it odd the sand looks more like sphagnum in a close up? It looks just like sand, in reality.

Thinking about shadows made me realize I have an early bloomer in the deeper shade. Between the well-house and the house grow some hellebores. These picky little ones love living in the shadows. They were camera shy and I had to prop up their faces with my green watering can. It is fun to realize they have come back to bloom for me.

I can be like that, sometimes. Although I do enjoy an outing, I am most comfortable at home, blooming in the shadows. I like my old comfortable places

Don’t we all, Sisters?

Inspiring, Scripture, Wisdom

Sunday Scriptures – Shadow

Posted on March 6, 2011March 4, 2011 by Katharine

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

–Psalm 91: 1-2

Inspiring, Sayings

Saturday Sayings – Abundance

Posted on March 5, 2011August 14, 2011 by Katharine

Great abundance of riches cannot be gathered and kept by any man without sin. – Desiderius Erasmus

Talent is always conscious of its own abundance, and does not object to sharing. – Alexander Solzehnitsyn

Slavery is founded in the selfishness of man’s nature—opposition to it, is [in?] his love of justice…. Repeal the Missouri compromise—repeal all compromises—repeal the declaration of independence—repeal all past history, you still can not repeal human nature. It still will be the abundance of man’s heart, that slavery extension is wrong; and out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth will continue to speak. – Abraham Lincoln

Machinery that gives us abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent, and all will be lost. – Charlie Chaplin

She either gives a stomach and no food—
Such are the poor, in health; or else a feast
And takes away the stomach—such are the rich,
That have abundance and enjoy it not.
– William Shakespeare

Believe it or not!, Home School, Pre-schoolers, Who's the mom here?, Wisdom

Look Out! You Just Look Out!

Posted on March 4, 2011March 11, 2011 by Katharine

Christians Make Bad Parents in UK

The United Kingdom has decided that Christians are not acceptable as foster or adoptive parents and that Christian beliefs are harmful to children and violate a child’s international human rights.

Since when are personal beliefs a reason to deny children a home and a family? If religion, of all things, violates child rights, what will be next?

Such problems are built in to the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and would plague the United States if we ratify that treaty.

You know, we’ve been kicking these ideas around for about forty years.

Happily, I can say, a resolution opposing ratification of the CRC will appear in the U.S. Senate probably next week. Still, only the Parental Rights Amendment can end the threat of ratification permanently.

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether a child has the right to be protected from seizure and interrogation without a warrant, emergency circumstances, or parental consent.

To learn more, and to guard your children, go to parentalrights.org/petition

Please check these facts and pass them on. Thanks.

Cats, Homemaking, Husbands, Who's the mom here?, Wives

Adequacy

Posted on March 3, 2011March 25, 2014 by Katharine

Do you ever feel strong, only to find out you’re weak? I sure do.

Today we face troubles with our chickens. A raccoon is eating one per day, starting yesterday. Soon we will have none.

Me? In your garbage? No! (Photo credit: jronaldlee)

We’ve set a trap where the coon can get in it but the cats cannot. It is smart though, ate the bait, and got out again.

We believe people should protect their penned or cooped animals, since they are at our mercy. What else can they do but die at the hands of this marauder? Sadness creeps in as we think of their terror and understand, now, their reluctance to trust.

Anyway, it falls on the one who is at home to check on the critters hourly, during the day. It’s almost time for the next check. Even if the trap should work, I will have to operate our small rifle because coons don’t die that easily and it would be wrong to make it suffer. Not even tempting.

Although I boasted of knowing how to aim and shoot, I forgot I don’t remember something: which way is off, for the safety button. So is the rifle sitting by the back door, loaded and ready to shoot, or is there one more step to prevent that disappointing “click” that means I forgot something? And will it hurt my shoulder, which has been acting up, lately? And will the creature be in the trap, or warily roaming around the coop? And will I miss? And if I miss, will I hit something else important, like a chicken? And how do I arrive at the chicken coop without our ever-curious cats following?

I was so ready, willing, and able. Now I’ve talked myself into being a wimp. Earlier, I even dreaded and second-guessed the idea of having fresh, organic eggs, at all.

It all reminds me of my curtains. The cost of one panel would buy fabric for the whole house. The test is in making them. Will I finish them?

It reminds me of the ironing. You’d never guess how many starched shirts wait for me to finish that ambitious project. But am I saving money!

It reminds me of refinishing the basement.

It reminds me of redecorating the guest house.

It reminds me of unpacking the last few boxes from moving.

It reminds me of weeding the flower beds.

It reminds me of me.

Homemaking, Inspiring, Wisdom

Another Abundance

Posted on March 1, 2011March 1, 2011 by Katharine

We have plenty of these little golden guys out already, too.

Dandelions are not daffodils, but children do not know or care. In their innocence or ignorance, they cherish dandelions.

I did. Didn’t you?

Moms know, however, that for all their cheer and good smell, dandelions do not make good cut flowers. They wilt and close up. Once I even had one re-open while living in a vase, and put forth seeds.

Ah, yes. The seeds. They do put them forth. And children, again, in their innocence, hardly dream we frown on the glorious fun of blowing seeds all over the yard.

But we do.

It’s not that we don’t like dandelions, but that they are not grass. Don’t we change as we mature! Suddenly we realize the great fragrance of the dandelion hides amazing skill at infiltrating.

So what is the lesson, here? I think we can say God made Mom and Dad older than the children for a good reason. He put children into homes for a good reason. He told children to honor their parents for a good reason.

That good reason is: the preservation and teaching of the children. Parents teach the children that not all that glitters is gold. We teach them that not every good smelling thing is good, on closer inspection.

If we are diligent, if we can remember all we know and teach it, our children will turn out better than we did.

That’s a promise.

Believe it or not!, Good ol' days, Homemaking, Inspiring, Wisdom

Weekly Photo Challenge: Abundance

Posted on February 28, 2011September 4, 2011 by Katharine

We have an abundance of daffodils. You may think this vase full of them is an example, but it so far falls short.

When we bought our property, it was a hot, arid summer. Few people would think of daffodils at that time of year. In fact, the lovely woman selling the property apologized for not having fresh flowers out that day. Amazing lady!

Come spring, this is what we found:

And, of course, as promised:

We were shocked at the abundance, marveled at the forethought of people now passed on, who planted and planted and planted for someone else ultimately to enjoy. And they did this just because that’s the way it ought to be done.

I want to think like that. Sometimes I do. I have given and planted untold times for my children, for their future, but I want to be sure I leave behind something someone can point to and say, “Someone was sure thinking about the future!”

I want to amaze someone with abundance.