daily strength for daily needs: september 30

Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his hear.--PS. xv. 1, 2.

How happy is he born or taught,
That serveth not another's will,
Whose armor is his honest thought,
And simple truth his utmost skill.
~ H. Wotton

If thou workest at that which is before thee, following right reason, seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract thee, but keeping thy divine part pure as if thou shouldest be bound to give it back immediately,--if thou boldest to this, expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity according to nature, and with heroic truth in every word and sound which thou utterest, thou wilt live happy. And there is no man who is able to prevent this.
~ Marcus Antoninus in Daily Strength for Daily Needs edited by Mary W. Tileston

our brand new reader

Chickadee learns to read.

language acquisition, older child+adoption, brand new reader

hanna andersson 90s

All our size 90 hanna andersson's are on auction now at a computer near you. Click on in to see the pics:

bloggy birthdy

Woooooot! This blog is six months old today with 21,014 visitors since 29 March 2007. Thrilling, I know. Just humor me, okay?

let me count the ways

How much do I hate it when my honey works 12 hour night shifts?

1. I hate it that I hardly ever get to see him and when I do, it is 7 am, I am waking up and getting the kids off to school and he is dog-tired OR I see him at 5 pm as he awakes, showers, eats, and departs in about a half an hour.
2. We miss him in the evenings, the dinner hour, the story time.
3. We have to do all the noisy housework at the end of the day, as he is sleeping from 7-5.
4. I spend most of the day Shushing the children.
5. Live mice and large spiders take advantage of the situation and I have to rise to the occasion.
6. I wake up at night, all warm and cozy in our bed, and think of him working in the cold and dark and I feel sad for him.
7. Our family meals are all off as he needs breakfast in the evening and hot dinner in the middle of the night.
8. But the worst? The very worst? I hate waking up on a soccer morning with a bad cold and realizing that I have to go stand in the soccer fields in the rain.

Poor him. Poor me. Poor us. Did I mention that he doesn't get days off? Blech.

Trader Joe's

It's a happy day in my small town. A Trader Joe's opened here today and yes, we were there, sampling cookies and coffee and an orange-glazed chicken on rice dish. We bought some artichoke hearts for White Chicken Chili, a bottle of wine, some canned goods and - the best part - Terra Chips. MMMM mmmmm. Trader Joe's is between Dandy's school and my parent's home, so I can often stop in for a free jolt of coffee bit of shopping.

Friday Poetry: Mrs. Browish Beetle

Today's selection is Mrs. Brownish Beetle and it comes to us from, Hey Bug! and Other Poems About Little Things edited by Elizabeth M. Itse and illustrated by Susan Carlton Smith.

Mrs. Browish Beetle

When it was October
and a hard frost came,
Mrs. Brownish Beetle
(I don't know her other name)
said: "Dear me, it's chilly."
said: "My coat is thin,"
said: "Land sakes, I'd better find
a place to cuddle in."

So Mrs. Brownish Beetle,
after several tries,
found a hole beneath a stone
that was a beetles' size,
and said: "Oh my, how lucky,"
said: "How very nice,"
said: "I'll snuggle down away
from wind and snow and ice.

"I'll set my clock at April,"
Mrs. Beetle said,
"I'll wind it up and put it here
beside my little bed."
So Mrs. Brownish Beetle
(I don't know her other name)
nestled down and went to sleep
and slept till April came.

~Aileen Fisher

Here is the coding if you want a button with a link to this week's round-up.

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:: this post is part of the Friday Poetry roundup hosted by AmoXcalli.

Reading Railroad

Be sure to visit the very clever September Carnival of Children's Literature.

an interesting idea

Now this is interesting. What if the land and sea were reversed?

works for me: get out the door

Getting out the door in a timely fashion has always been challenging for me, even B.C. (before children), but now, with children and a early morning school commute, it is tougher than ever as I have never ever even once in my life been mistaken for a morning person.

Guess what has come to my rescue?

Yup, my cellaphone, as the kids call it. We set the alarm function for 7:00 (get up!), 7:30 (start eating), and 8:00 (get in the car). So instead of me having to a.) remember that we are on a mission and b.) be the resident nag, the phone does both of these functions for me. We just obey the phone! Works for us.

first day of school

Well I'm off to my first day back at school. I have 16 students in my face-to-face Research Writing class and a bad case of nerves. I didn't used to get this worked up about the first day, but then again, I used to have a brain.

isn't not easy finding green

I am in search of women's clothing in this color and am having no luck at all. Any ideas?

truly pathetic

My kids set out to play Mama. Hmmm . . . I wonder what this will look like?

They each get a big hard-back book.

They put it on their laps.

They open them up.

They rotate them 90 degrees.

They start to type.

Technological Christmas

This is over the top, even for me and my fondness for technology.

Congregants of Rev. Tom Ambrose, of St. Mary and St. Michael Church in Trumpington, England, met in September to complain of several things about their vicar, most notably that he delivered the Christmas sermon last year (and several since then) using Microsoft PowerPoint. [Daily Mail (London), 9-4-07]

daily strength for daily needs: september 23

Show me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths ~PS. xxv. 4.

When we cannot see our way,
Let us trust and still obey;
He who bids us forward go,
Cannot fail the way to show.
Though the sea be deep and wide,
Though a passage seem denied;
Fearless let us still proceed,
Since the Lord vouchsafes to lead.
~ Anonymous

That which is often asked of God, is not so much His will and way, as His approval of our way.
~ S. F. Smiley

That which is often asked of God, is not so much His will and way, as His approval of our way.

There is nothing like the first glance we get at duty, before there has been any special pleading of our affections or inclinations. Duty is never uncertain at first. It is only after we have got involved in the mazes and sophistries of wishing that things were otherwise than they are, that it seems indistinct. Considering a duty is often only explaining it away. Deliberation is often only dishonesty. God's guidance is plain, when we are true.
~ F. W. Robertson in Daily Strength for Daily Needs edited by Mary W. Tileston

pita bread

What is hummus without pita?


You will find a most excellent pita recipe with beautiful photography over at Farmgirl Fair. I like to print my recipes on 4 by 6 index cards, so I edited her recipe and instructions down to something I can fit on a card and changed a few steps to conform to my KitchenAid Stand Mixer addiction.

Pita Bread

Combine in KitchenAid:
1 C bread flour
2 t salt
1 T sugar
2 t active dry yeast

Add and beat on high for 3 minutes:
2 T good olive oil
1 C warm water

Add:
1 ½ C bread flour: ½ C at a time

Knead for 6 minutes
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll into balls, dust lightly with flour, and cover with a damp tea towel. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Flatten each ball into a disk about 6" in diameter and 3/16" thick. Thin is more important than perfectly round.

Place each round on a square of foil, and carefully place 3 or 4 of the rounds directly on the oven rack. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, or until they are puffed.

Derived from a recipe found at FarmGirl Fare.