Feminine Adventures: I have moved

To any dear friends that still happen to drop by this little blog to see if William finally got a full set of teeth, let me assure you that he has.

And, that I'm blogging again.

I am rather embarrassed to post about my new blog, because, well, I forgot that I hadn't posted about it here. A dear friend said she hadn't seen any new updates and I realized what a mistake I'd made. Whoops! So sorry!

All that to say, after months (or years!) of non-blogging, I decided to start over. I am now blogging on a fairly regular basis at Feminine Adventures.

I would love to have you join me, though I make no promises that I won't simply drop of the face of the blogosphere. Again.

A Fender Bender

I am not a confident driver.

My future self will be the stereotypical "old lady" driver that annoys young people (They don't annoy me. I just sympathize.) I like the passenger seat.

I would have really liked the passenger seat yesterday, but Joshua is out of town and Rosalind doesn't have her license.

You see, folks down here run red lights all the time. Yellow does not mean slow down.

But I did. I slowed down and even stopped before the light turned red.

And got run into.

I was stunned. William was already screaming, I've been walking around on a sleep high (or would that be low? whatever the one without sleep is) and before I knew it the offending driver vanished down the street.

While I waited for the police to arrive and tried to shake off the shocked feeling, I checked the munchkins. When I asked Rosalind if she was okay, she looked at me for a minute and then pointed to a microscopic bruise on her leg from three days ago. She's fine.

Today as we headed to the library and came to a stoplight, Rosalind asked, "Car run into us now?"

Thankfully not.

Getting hit made me realize how blessed we were. No one was hurt. The damage to the car is (hopefully) minimal. We're alive. We weren't hit today.

Living is an awfully dangerous business (that will inevitably end in death), but we are held in the hand of an all wise God. And that is definitely something to be grateful for!


photo by longnshort

No roaches

As I walked into our bedroom the other night to lay William down, I was just in time to see a hideous little roach scramble up the wall behind our bed.

"Darling, can you come here?"

"Is it a roach?" he asked. I didn't even scream, but I guess my voice was enough of a clue.

Before Joshua could come to my rescue, the roach crawled behind the curtain. When Joshua pulled it aside, shoe in hand, the nasty little critter dashed down and disappeared under the bed.

A cursory search under the bed failed to uncover it, so I proposed sleeping in the living room.

Joshua didn't like that idea, so he conducted a thorough investigation...

...until even I was convinced that THERE ARE NO ROACHES UNDER THE BED. Where he could have disappeared to is beyond me, but it's been two days and he's still in hiding. Roach traps are definitely top of my shopping list!

Rejoicing in slow internet

While sitting in front of the gradually loading screen wishing for high speed (you can't get it way out here), I realized that the tortoise pace really does have it's benefits. And even slow internet qualifies as one of those things that we are told to "rejoice in". :)

The benefits are there: The temptation to browse the internet or read the comments on a controversial news story is greatly diminished. You are forced to decide whether it is really worth waiting for the page to load. I still check my e-mail and favorite blogs, but more often than not, I find myself spending less time on the computer because of the wait.

I've also gotten more sleep. The internet invariably seems to fade out altogether when I decide to blog at night, and this forces me to bed. A good thing, right?

It encourages creativity. When the answer to just about any problem is just a click away, the internet can easily become a crutch. Of course, it's awfully handy, but maybe not always quite as necessary as imagined. Our grandmas somehow really did manage to cook without consulting the online chefs.

There are blessings in most frustrations of life, and that is certainly true with slow, unreliable internet. Blessing to remember when I return to a high speed connection...

photo by Theo Kleen

Irons and marriage

My mother is a garage sale queen. As our wedding Joshua and I were so blessed to find furniture and kitchen appliances and pots and pans.... But there was one thing I knew I didn't want to get used: an iron. Growing up we had gone through so many used ones that I just wanted a good new one that would last.

Joshua and I were talking about things we needed for the house and I was just going to tell him that we had to get a new iron, when he said, "Darling, there's one thing that we simply must get used."

"Really, what?"

"An iron."

"Oh! uh, why?"

"We've gone through so many new irons and they just keep on breaking. I figure if we buy 20 irons at a garage sale for a dollar each, at least one of them would work for more than a year!"

"Oh." I really couldn't refute that argument, so we started hunting for an iron. Not only did we find a used one, we found one that was made right after they invented electrical outlets. ;) And for another two and a half years it has worked wonderfully.

Then, a couple weeks ago, I noticed that the more I ironed, the longer it was taking the wrinkles to leave the shirt. I felt the iron. Cold. "It bit the dust at last!" I thought.

But no, it wasn't the iron, just the electrical outlet. The iron lives on...

Goals...

A New Year. So often begun with new resolutions, new goals, new books and ideas to explore. Yet more often than not, by the end of the year, these goals have fallen to the back of our mind, perhaps to be dug up again at the beginning of another year.

As we've taken the first few steps into December, I've been pondering the goals we had for this year. Some, like law school, have been an overarching theme of the entire year. And as I type, Joshua is in the midst of his first final.

Other goals are in the works, and much as I'd like them to be over with, there's no way they'll be done before the New Year. That's when Joshua will gently remind me "honey, chill." Life is not about the list. These things will still be here in the January, and pale in comparison with my duties as wife and mother and homemaker.

But that leaves those smaller desires, like finishing my recording of St. Bartholomew's Eve. With the many late nights Joshua will spend studying over the next two weeks, I know that there will be time, if I work diligently, to complete this goal without compromising more important matters, and be able to start the year afresh.

So if you have time in the midst of the Christmas busyness, I'd encourage you to pick up that book or project you've meaning to finish all year, and enjoy it! :)

photo by Mia

So many things

How this weekend has flown past! With exams coming up this next week, we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving at home, just the three of us. After growing up with the at least a dozen or two gathered 'round the table celebrating and feasting, it was strange loading up three plates.

Thought we barely made a dent in the turkey, and really missed family back in Missouri, it was delightful just spending the day together. Over and over I was reminded of how much I have to be grateful for.

• For fresh mercies each morning. For God engraving my name on His hand. For His compassion which is like an earthly father's toward his child, yet even more patient and overwhelming.

• Getting to watch my little girl with her father. Papa was certainly the highlight of the holiday for Rosalind. All day she dragged out book after book for him to read. He, I'm sure, got his fill of "There's a Woset in my Closet"... the 20th time reading it in a record 1 minute 15 1/2 seconds. ;) After feasting, she cuddled up in his arms for a nap and soon they were both sound asleep. I'm so grateful my little girl has such a wonderful Papa.

• ...and that I get to be his wife. For the way he comes into the kitchen just as the gravy is thickening and puts his arms around me, telling me he loves me. And then that he'll listen to a forty minute long illustration from the lives of Catherine de Medici and Henry of Navarre and still love me. ;)

• A few fallen kernels of corn brought to mind the first winter the pilgrims spent in Plymouth when the daily rations dropped to just five kernels of corn. Truly there was great cause for thanksgiving the following year when the tables were weighted with food. And what great cause I have for thanksgiving for God's constant provision for us...

I have so so many things to be grateful for. God has been so abundantly good to me.

Photo by bosela

Vodka adventures...

Rosalind and I stood in Wal-mart's alcohol aisle searching for a bottle of Vodka. Didn't need to be fancy, any sort would do. But after slowly pacing the aisle there was not a single bottle to be had. Where else would they keep it? So, I went in search of help.

In an amazingly short time (for Wal-mart) I found someone and asked where the Vodka was.

"Honey, this is Wal-mart (Yep, that's why I'm here)... we don't carry vodka." (well, I thought it was Wal-mart!)

So then we headed to a large regular grocery store. Surely, they'll have some. C'mon. You could get lost in their wine aisle. But no, they didn't have any either. "Ma'am, you'll have to go to the Alcoholic Beverage Control store."

What a weird town! So we turned 'round and headed over. And, of course, I passed it. But traffic was busy so I just pulled in to the parking lot next door.

After stepping out of the car, I realized we were in an empty lot with a huge ditch between me and the vodka. Great. Now I get to walk along Main street with my little munchkin in tow.

The store was packed. Come to find out it's one of the busiest stores in the state--thanks to several surrounding dry counties. (When did Prohibition end, pray tell?) But finally I found the vodka, grabbed the cheapest bottle, paid and walked back along the busy street with a baby in one arm and a brown bag in the other.

And at last I have everything needed to make some mouthwash.

I thought we were moving SOUTH...

...but sweaters and jackets and such are still needed here! :)

Check out more pictures here.

Fall....

"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn."
Elizabeth Lawrence

The changing season makes all of life seem fresh and delightful and ushers in so many of my favorite things:

1. After a sultry summer, who can resist the pleasure of a cool autumn morning? or the delightful feeling of waking up with your noise slightly chilled while getting to cuddle under the warm cozy blankets?

2. What signals fall better than the smell of pumpkin bread or apple pie wafting from the oven? Not only that, but it's time once again for soups with piping hot bread just pulled from the oven. Hurrah!

3. Socks and sweaters and slippers. Especially when the sweater's on Rosalind and makes her about as round as she is tall. ;)

4. Taking refreshing walks beneath the vibrantly colored canopy of leaves and watching as the leaves fall one by one and create a lovely crunchy carpet of yellow and red and brown.

5. Hot drinks. Even a latte didn't sound all that great during the hot summer months. That has changed quickly changed! And a latte with a book in hand-- delightful!

photo by scol22

Light bulb joys

Last night, the light bulb in the bathroom blew. Not that big of a deal, right? Well, yes it was. For, as I fumbled around in the dark trying to unscrew the fixture, I discovered.......... the outlet.

There it has been sitting unused all this time while I resorted to blow drying my hair in the hallway. Despite thoroughly searching the bathroom walls for the missing outlet, I never thought to look up.

This delightful discovery inspired me to clean the other light fixtures in the house.... maybe some other happy surprise was waiting for me.

Alas, there weren't any secret treasure maps or even a nugget of gold hidden behind the old-fashioned fixtures. But, I tackled a chore that kept getting put off and disposed of all those nasty little bugs.

This will make getting into bed [the only time one really notices the dirty light fixture, right?] much more pleasant.

Check out what others are tackling today here.

Justitia Caeca Sit

All afternoon I've waited with bated breath to hear the results of the election...

Any breach of rules in law school is handled entirely by a student run Honor Court. Penalties for cheating are often severe, including failing the class, getting expelled and permanent marks on one's record. Though strict, the Honor Court helps maintain a level playing field for all students.

Each year the incoming law students vote for four associate justices to begin serving on the court. Any first year student can run, so Joshua decided to give it a try.

Absolutely no campaigning is permitted, except one 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper hung above the election booth. Though posting a resume is allowed, it was made clear that the sillier the better

 

...and it WORKED! Hurrah!

**To allay any concerns, rest assured that "No supreme court buildings were harmed in the making of this poster**

The sun is out!

It rained all morning and all day yesterday and all day** the day before yesterday and all day the day before that! But now, the sun in shining. Hurrah! Time to head to the park...

** Well, just about all day. For a few brief moments it stopped and Rosalind and I went to the park (we really like it). But the moments quickly passed and we arrived home soaking wet. :)

A few of my favorite things...

It has been a great week- an exhausting week- a week full of adjustments!

Susanne, over at Living to Tell the Story is hosting "Favorite Five" today so I thought I'd join in with five of the things I'm grateful for this week...

Sweet baby hugs: What can be more delightful than warm chubby arms wrapped around your neck or little lips smothering your cheeks with kisses?

Long walks at the park: There's a lovely park just five minutes walk from our home. Massive old trees shade the walking paths, and Rose and I often go after lunch to enjoy the beauty of God's creation.

Watching the plants begin to grow:

Great internet finds: We've had some pretty rough nights around here lately [Rose wide awake and ready for stories at 2:00 am- help!]. Imagine my delight when I got on Librivox a few days ago and found that "Mother" had just been completed. I downloaded it immediately and have been so blessed- just what I needed. :) You can download it here.

Having just recently joined the coupon zealots out there, this story about made me cry with laughter.

On a more serious note, Elizabeth Botkin wrote a great article on girl's reading boy's literature. I'm working on recording St. Bartholomew's Eve by G. A. Henty and found it especially pertinent.

Dinner time: Can it really just be Friday? I'm sure Joshua has already put in 80 hours studying! This has made dinner a jealously guarded highlight of my day: a time to set aside the books, relax and talk.