The Microscope

The telescope makes the world smaller;

it is only the microscope that makes it larger.

~G. K. Chesterton

Baby Blue

Hanging out the Bedding...

It is such a perfect day.

I had to stop halfway down the hill to the clothesline and close my eyes.

To really feel the breeze.

And hear the birds.

And smell the crushed grass under my feet.

Life.

It is such a precious gift.

Fairies

 There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!

It's not so very, very far away;

You pass the gardener's shed and you just keep straight ahead~

I do so hope they've really come to stay,

There's a little wood, with moss in it and beetles,

And a little stream that quietly runs through;

You wouldn't think they'd dare to come merry-making there~

Well, they do.

 There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!

They often have a dance on summer nights;

The butterflies and bees make a lovely little breeze,

And the rabbits stand about and hold the lights.

Did you know that they could sit upon the moonbeams

And pick a little star to make a fan,

And dance away up there in the middle of the air?

Well, they can.  

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!

You cannot think how beautiful they are;

They all stand up and sing when the Fairy Queen and King

Come gently floating down upon their car.

The King is very proud and very handsome;

The Queen ~now can you guess who that could be

(She's a little girl all day, but at night she steals away)?

Well ~ it's Me!

~ Rose Fyleman 

Perfect Morning

Miss Posy helped make the pancakes.

Blue skies, low seventies, and a bit gusty outside.....

.......and inside, well, there were/are vase~fulls of gorgeous tiger lilies from the garden.
Perfect.

The End and the Beginning

The end of last week came all too quickly. It was so much fun that the kids and I weren't ready for it to end! We went sailing on the biggest natural lake in the state.......had a campfire under the stars and toasted marshmallows........gave a tour of our new house and property.......had wonderful conversations........and shared so much laughter. I love our family.
Eleven children and six adults just in our little place ( the rest stayed with my parents)..... ~No wonder the house feels so empty now that it's just my Knight and me and the four little ones. It is hard to get back into the normal routine.

~~~~~~

This week began with our seven year anniversary. I can hardly believe it has been seven years. The time has gone by so fast.
 My Knight brought me more roses......

......and we went out to a lovely dinner..... just the two of us.

I have so much to be thankful for.

Cleaning's A Breeze...

.......when you have a pair of these. And I am talking about the rubber gloves, although the Bar Keepers Friend is very handy as well( ~especially if you find yourself plagued with hard-water stains) My mother found the gloves for me, and I must say, they certainly make scrubbing out the tub feel downright glamorous. I am certain the Elizabeth Taylor wore something similar whenever she cleaned hers;) But I digress.

Yes, today I am busy cleaning bathrooms. And not just a standard cleaning, but a get-out-the-toothbrush sort of cleaning. Tomorrow we travel up north to spend a few days with my Knight-in-Shining-Armor's family, and then we will all come back here to spend  a lovely week together. I can hardly wait. So hence the toothbrush in the bathroom. There are other things I can let slide when I have company, but if I have a bathroom that feels less than sanitary, I feel horrible. And having two little boys who use it makes it extra challenging.

But, one bathroom is almost done, and then there is only one to go.

And that is where the picture below comes in.

Yesterday, I stirred up some chocolate custard. I had about eleven egg yolks in my refrigerator from when I made the chocolate angel food cake, and they were enough for a double batch. I love making custard. It is so much fun watching it suddenly thicken. Anyway, a small bowl of this ( I caution you that it is quite rich!) topped with whipped cream(after I had a proper lunch, of course) was just what I needed to give me the necessary energy to type this post and now go on to cleaning the next bathroom...

So, till next time then.......which probably won't be till late next week!

On Mice...

I am deathly afraid of mice. I do not know why. I was raised in the country and had numerous encounters with them. But the fact remains. I am deathly afraid of them. Most especially, and even more illogically, when they are dead. (Which is very strange, I know, and perplexes my husband immensely.) Well, to continue.


This morning started out quite beautifully. Full of singing birds and sunshine. The children were happily getting dressed, and I had just finished up a batch of pancakes (Tuesdays are Pancake Day at our house) when I remembered that I needed to empty the water reservoir on our dehumidifier in the basement. It really is a spiffy little reservoir, holding about a gallon or so of water, and having a handy little spout where one can pour out the water once it is filled. So, I lugged it upstairs and then out to the porch. And then I tilted it over the edge to let the water drain out.

Only, it didn't drain out. It only trickled the tiniest bit. Odd, I thought. So I righted the reservoir and peered around to the spout. And I saw Something. Something dark and shriveled. And It was lodged in the spout. It looked like a large~ish piece of what had once been wet, but was now dry, lint. But how could it be lint? I had serious doubts. Since when does lint go wondering around getting itself stuck in drain spouts? Exactly. Never. Even if it was lint, something had to have put it there. A mouse? Wanting to make a nest? My stomach started to quiver.

I wanted to call my husband, who was away at work........but what would he say? I wanted to call my dad who lives next door........but what if it was just a piece of lint? "You are such a coward!" I kept telling myself as I started looking for something I could use to pry It loose. I found a hand rake and tried to ignore my stomach, which had started jumping around in an agitated manner. I tried not to look as I loosened It a bit with one of the prongs of the rake. Then I quickly tilted the reservoir, hoping the water would force whatever It was out as it poured from the spout. I heard the water draining out, and peered over the top of the reservoir in relief,~when horror of horrors!! Hanging half out of the spout was a dead mouse, with water running out around it!!!

My stomach made a mad dash up my throat, and it took every ounce of my will to intercept it. ( ~ I could feel it slowly sliding back down my esophagus, and finally dangling there at the bottom, quivering weakly.) I am not a screamer, but if I were, I most certainly would have been screaming at that moment. I shook the reservoir. I pounded it against the porch and finally the mouse came free and landed in the flower bed. I chanted "This is SO nasty!" over and over under my breath as I searched for a stick. I found one, and used it to push the mouse under the porch. Then I went inside and called my mother. And after that I tried to eat breakfast. My stomach declined the fried eggs, and at first cringed at the pancakes, but eventually consented to try a small one. I ate it, feeling brave in a weak and jittery sort of way.

Then my husband called, and I told him all about it. He chuckled and told me that he was proud of me. I am glad. But I can't help shuddering a bit now, every time I go down into the basement and pass the dehumidifier. Unfortunately the experience didn't cure me in the slightest. I am still deathly afraid of mice.



*I originally wrote this to share with the ladies of a yahoo group to which I belong. But then I decided to post it here as well. Especially because of a particular cousin of mine, who has stopped by here a few times, and is fearless, when it comes to mice...........and who I was wishing could have been here to help me this morning! To her, the above is lovingly dedicated;)

What Remains of The Day...

Roses......
(I keep trying to remember to stop and smell them every time I pass the kitchen table)

Chocolate...........
(Mmmm! I've been slowly savoring each bite!)

And unfortunately nothing remains of the cake,

but here is a picture of what it looked like before we cut into it.

I layered a homemade chocolate angel food cake
with chocolate ganache and strawberries......

(........on second thought, perhaps it is rather fortunate that it is all gone. It was excessively delicious;)

So really. 

Does a girl honestly need anything else on her birthday?

I didn't think so.

Except of course, the company of her Knight-in-Shining Armor, and four precious children.

God is so good.

I have been very blessed.

Scrubbing Radishes

Miss Posy is quite handy to have around the kitchen.......;)

Butterfly

Big Brother's Car

He made it himself, out of scraps from the construction work at our new house.....

.....and peanut butter jar lids that he has been patiently collecting for the past several months.....

......I love this boy!

Jumbo Calamata Olives

They were marked down to a dollar for a seven~ounce tub. So I bought three.

Boots and I can't get enough of them!

Daddy's Boots....

Finished!

Well, practically..... I just have to pull through some yarn to quilt it, and then add a few more embroidered embellishments. But it is perfectly usable in its current state, and I really am quite excited! I was sewing like a fiend yesterday to get it finished up. Our first big family vacation of the summer is only two weeks away, and I am counting on using this quilt a lot during it!

Ascension Thursday

And while they were beholding him going up to heaven, behold two men stood by them in white garments. Who also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven.

Acts. 1, 10-11

Serendipity......