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Artificial Boundaries

Posted on February 11, 2011March 1, 2011 by Katharine

Who would have thought a big pile of dirt could make something fun and beautiful?

On one side of our pond is just a bank, a man-made boundary that turned the springs on the side of a hill into a body of water. It is not fancy, just dirt. But it makes all the difference. It holds the whole thing together.

It’s big enough to walk on, to leave footprints in the snow. It’s big enough to stow a boat on, to arrange a few dead logs on for seats. It’s big enough to anchor a dock on. And although you cannot see them, there is even room for sustaining infant mayhaw trees, which will provide us with the best juice in the world.

But it’s just a pile of dirt.

On the other end of it are the daffs. A huge, glorious flock of daffodils pops up on this bank every spring. They are always the first open, due to the warmth off the water, I guess. They are already out and waiting for a bit more sun, to show some yellow for us. All they needed was a pile of dirt.

People are not dirt. But I want to be there when needed, nothing fancy, just there for whoever or whatever the need. I want to hold my end of this life in place and be firm and supportive. I want to matter. I want folks to feel like they could anchor something in me.

And I want to support the blooming things.

Inspiring, Wisdom

Extending Your Boundaries

Posted on February 10, 2011November 13, 2015 by Katharine

padded deck furniture — Padded deck furniture

Look at this dock, extending the fishing surfaces around the pond, into the pond.

Boundaries in life can extend this way, too. When does this happen?

In emergencies. Someone might drive too fast with a passenger who needs medical care. A widow might need to take charge of money she never thought of before. A bystander might direct traffic around an accident, just like a policeman, and with the same success. Anyone could dive into the pond above, to save a life, even if it were posted “no swimming”. It would be the right thing to do.
With maturity. When we learn more, practice more, know more, we can find ourselves freed from old boundaries and invited to do or to enjoy more. Little children would not be safe on the above dock, but older ones who know how to swim can have permission to try it out. It’s a fun, wobbly experience!
On special occasions. We skip diets for weddings. We block streets for parades. We eat with our fingers for bar-b-que. The dock above has had very little people who were non-swimmers on it, sometimes, when grown-ups decided it was okay, and when the little ones held someone’s hand.

So, are your boundaries extended these days? Have you had to extend yourself because of an emergency? Have you “graduated” to a time of fewer restrictions or more privileges? Are you in a special bubble of different boundaries? Look around you and enjoy the stretch.

And catch a few fish, while you’re at it. 🙂

Inspiring, Wisdom, Womanhood

Weekly Photo Challenge: Boundaries

Posted on February 6, 2011November 13, 2015 by Katharine

Boundaries occur everywhere and they are good. Think of a horse or a toddler without a fence. Think of a dog without rules. Think of your bank account without a PIN. We love these boundaries and use them to the fullest.

We agree with boundaries for others, but for some reason, we cannot reconcile ourselves with boundaries for self. Think of the red light runners. Think of all the overdrawn bank accounts. Think of overweight. We refuse to see the good in boundaries and quickly shrug them when they are imposed upon self.

People who ruin lives overeating, overspending, and running red lights probably would tell you the boundaries are good, but . . . deep down we hope some other rule cancels the ones we don’t like. A friend once actually told me eating cheese with apple pie will cancel the calories in the pie. Another friend told me she divorced her husband because, “divorce is too easy these days.” That’s a reason?

Actually, marriage used to be a boundary for most people. It kept the rightful spouses in and pretenders and diseases out, a good thing. These days, we’re so used to tossing boundaries for perceived convenience, we fall in and out of love, marriage, and all other “affairs” at the blink of an eye.

Do not get me wrong. I do not think every obese, broke, divorced person who accidentally wrecked while running a red light is bad.

I just think with so many, it may be a trend. Just look at all the boundaries and rules we ignore, and their resulting ruinous counterparts:

1. Marriage–divorce
2. Pregnancy–abortion
3. Motherhood–day care
4. Budgeting–bankruptcy
5. Contentment–stress
6. Cooking–eating out
7. Seatbelt and texting laws–funerals

This incomplete list shows how all-encompassing the problem is.

Let’s each work to shorten this list, to add a few more boundaries to our lives.

Home School, Homemaking, Inspiring, Wisdom

The End of the End

Posted on January 13, 2011January 12, 2011 by Katharine

Car with layer of snow on it — My Frosted Car

Not the end of the world, but just the last of the snow.

This is my little car, just before I had to go to town. We were out of milk, bread, t-paper, and birdseed. Which of those disasters is worse? I don’t know, but I had to make that trip.

Since driving and allowing your icy jetsam to smash into oncoming windshields is dangerous, I had to remove all that beautiful snow. It made me sad and cold.

I wore a jacket, but debris kept falling on my legs and feet. I needed a ten-foot handle on my broom. The broom wasn’t exactly working, anyway, because this snow was soft only in the middle, after days of sunshine and nights of freezing.

One of my kids had mentioned chopping the top ice into pieces, then scooping the entire business off in gobs. I kept brainstorming until I came back outdoors with what might have appeared to be grill-time gear: spatulas and oven mitts. Now everything was perfect. My hands were as comfortable in that cold as they would have been in the oven. My largest plastic spatula was excellent for chopping out sections of the snow layer and then scooping it off, exactly like serving huge slices of a huge cake.

When the snow is dying, I don’t care what I look like. Besides, we homeschool, so everyone already thinks we’re kooks and usually admires us, anyway. Handy.

What I like about homeschool, though, is that we used our heads and figured a way to do what we needed to do without buying something first. That’s good, since I couldn’t go to the store. Necessity is a great thing, and the mother of many other great things.

Necessity caused us to homeschool in the first place. That’s also good, since I couldn’t go to the…

'Tis the Season, Home School, Inspiring, Wisdom

It Has to End Someday

Posted on January 12, 2011January 20, 2015 by Katharine

Layers of snow on webwork — Layers of snow on sagging webwork

Mr. Snowman is sagging. Snow art propped on cars is sagging. The beauty of it all is slowly passing away.

Well, not all. The beauty of the memories is with me, still. The last hurrah of my life as a mommy is still resounding.

I did it. I raised a whole passel of kids and we all thrived.

The promises all were true.

I love this life. I love that we homeschooled. I hope everyone who casts off from the shores of tradition will carry along plenty of life preservers, because this homeschool trip is worth the finishing, no matter the storms. And HMS Homeschool is a tight vessel, a beauty, she is, and laden with the stuff dreams are made of.

I think the thing I love best about homeschooling, though, is snow days. From a small child, I have always loved snow. I would stand by our back door and look out the half window at sun on the snow, when I was just tall enough to see out. It sparkled yellow, over mysterious blue shadows. I could hardly bear it. I always knew no one could really capture that sparkle in painting or photo.

Only experiencing snow really tells the things snow has to say. Its gleam is like the gleam on dew, only brighter and rarer.

I like to think I own that gleam. We all do. It is the gleam we scatter onto our children as we handle their lives when they are too little to handle it themselves. Now they sparkle, like snow, only brighter, rarer, more mysterious, and even more impossible to capture.

But I have experienced them and I know what they have to say.

And I am glad.

Inspiring

Another Day Off!

Posted on January 11, 2011January 20, 2015 by Katharine

Shoveling snow.

The workers will get our roads safe and everyone back in their places eventually. In the meantime, we play in the snow.

The day begins with Dad shoveling snow and bleary-eyed offspring wandering into the kitchen to ask, “What is that noise?” Ha. We so seldom have the pleasure.

Now our snowman stands watch. Our cars are decorated with snow objects. Lots of hot cocoa has slipped down. I enjoyed the crazy antics of our two remaining adult kids, playing in the snow as if they were grade-schoolers. How thankful I am for the snow! Realizing they can still find joy in each other’s company is bliss to this mom.

ALSO—here comes the fun part:

They can put on and remove their own wraps!
They can heat their own water and stir up their own hot cocoa!
They can hang all their wet things to dry!
They remember to shut the door!
They think about not tracking the whole house with snow and mud!

I get all the same fun as when they were younger, but have none of the work.

Another amazing thing: No one grumbles today that the Internet is “down-ish”. We all have decided to do traditional snow-day fun and forget about the rest of the world. I love it. Board games, non-electric musical instruments, laundry hanging on wooden racks by the wood stove, homemade food, and watching birds have risen to the top of our most-selected activities list and everyone is content.

And I wonder: How is it in other homes? I hope you and yours enjoy a great day, today. I pray God grant you peace and contentment.

And snow.

Inspiring, Recipes

Snow! And Ice! And Slush! Oh My!

Posted on January 10, 2011January 20, 2015 by Katharine

Whew! What a treat this blast of winter has been!

We just returned last night from visiting our Texas granddaughter for her birthday. Now our fires are rebuilt, house is re-warmed, chicken water is thawed, and icy crud on the car is knocked off. We literally had to plow our way through winter precipitation along a three-hour drive.

In four hours.

I was surprised and blessed at how excited our passengers were. Our adult offspring, home on winter break, were like little children as they recalled rare snow days from their past and giggled in excitement over the frightening but beautiful scenes around us.

We all learned much about snow tires, black ice, legalities, and travel safety in snow-slush-ice. My husband, born in Iowa and raised in northern Missouri, practiced every safety tip he knew, as he drove us home. Since we were experiencing his expertise first hand, he used it for a teachable moment, in hopes the rest of us could somehow be safer one day, should we have to drive in such conditions.

We probably won’t drive anywhere today, though. When universities and government buildings close, it’s time to stay home.

Instead, we will build a snowman. The snow will be perfect and it is deep, from our southern viewpoint: six inches. We will make snow angels and have at least one good snowball fight, although, YES, we’re all adults. We’ll have a huge breakfast with meat, and I’ll cook chili for lunch. Of course, we need more hot cocoa mix, so I’ll stir that up, too.

It’ll be a family day off. Why not join us?

Hot Cocoa Mix
3 cups instant non-fat dry milk
1 cup sugar (OR 1 teaspoon stevia powder)
1/4 cup pure cocoa powder

Place all in blender and blend on high until pulverized and thoroughly mixed. Use 1/4 to 1/3 cup mix for each serving hot water.

Chili

1 pound ground beef
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup chili powder (or less, to taste)
1 quart whole tomatoes
1 pint cannellini beans
1 large can Mexican style hominy
Black pepper to taste

Fry beef in oil until browned. Add onion and fry until clear and soft. Stir in rest, bring to boil, and serve with corn chips and grated cheese.

See ya’ tomorrow!