Character Building

 

 

Did you see very tired eyes above?  Then pure relief and elation?

 

Well, that's what it is. 

 

This little budgie, Samson...  We dedicate a large portion of our day to his safety.  We also spend copious amounts of time enjoying his silliness and growth.  I've been told he's about 6 months old and is going through his first molt.  So we have been enjoying seeing his head turning white and his necklace spots coming in. 

 

Imagine how absolutely devastating it was to see him fly out our back door.

 

Oh, how mistakes happen so quickly and easily.  And the pain involved, the sheer pain of not being able to go back and NOT make the mistake.  Ugh.

 

Young Man had Sam out of his cage.  All other animals were safely tucked away elsewhere.  I took the trash out.  Yep, the major mistake right there.  I opened a door and went outside knowing that Young Man and Sam were in another room.

 

But then I had to open the door to come back inside.  And in that split second, Sweet P. was in the doorway crying about something and that moment of hesitation was all it took for a sweet little blue birdy to fly up into my face and subsequently over my head.  It was awful.

 

My heart broke because I love Sam, because I knew he was gone, because I worried about his safety, but more importantly, my heart broke for Young Man. 

 

We followed him instantly and talked and talked and talked to him.  We used all of his 'words' and do you know what?  Young Man spotted him in a tree in front of our house.  We have a lot of birds around the Hearth Room, but that little parrot song is unmistakable.  Once we heard him, Young Man spotted him. 

 

We immediately took his cage outside to the patio, opened it, put out favorite foods and cried, cried, cried, (keeping my own tears a secret of course). 

 

After probably an hour, we watched Sam fly down the road to the other end of our neighbor's pasture where he stopped to perch in a big tree by the road.  This was definitely getting worse. 

 

I snuck to the computer to do some quick Parakeet Research, only to find that these little guys are nomadic and don't have much in the way of homing instincts.  If the wings aren't clipped, (which we were advised against due to the fact that we have other pets in the house), then they will continue to fly and can be miles away in a matter of minutes.  The protective mother in me decided to keep this information to myself and pray. 

 

I told Young Man the old saying about, "If you love something, set it free...".  I also told him that everything belongs to God.  Even if that little budgie lives with us, he's not just our bird.  Oh, what life lessons came from this extremely sad day.  So we continued to pray for Sam's safety and for him to be brought back to us. 

 

Young Man walked down the road with sprigs of millet and talked to Sam.  We listened to him sing and chirp for the entire afternoon.  We sat outside for the entire evening listening and watching for him.  We figured our only hope was for him to come back to his cage at bedtime.  He really likes bedtime.  But he didn't come.  It was a rough night to say the least. 

When Hubby came out to make coffee in the morning, he checked the cage on the patio and told me there was no budgie.  So as he got ready for work, I grabbed my coffee and came outside to listen.  The most amazing sound came from just above my head!  It was that sweet little parakeet voice! 

 

I ran to wake Young Man with the words, "I don't want to get your hopes up, but I'm pretty certain I just heard him.  Come listen!"

 

Sure enough, it was Sam.  He had returned to the tree that he looks out at each day from our classroom window.  When he saw us he cried out his very happy song and we horrifyingly watched him fly around our house and yard.  But he came back and perched 20 feet above us.  We were so very thankful to see that little blue puff!  So happy to hear his song!  He was hungry and was eyeing his cage in a big way. 

 

So we prayed and poured out food.  We tempted him with millet and used all the happy words he knows.  We rang his bell and tapped on his cage.  He dropped down to perch on the lowest branch of the tree, just above Young Man's head.  He was really looking us over and considering our breakfast options.  And then he finally dropped down onto his cage.  Young Man told him to 'step up' and he did.  We stuffed him quickly inside his cage and were so amazed and thankful!

(sigh)...
 

That little budgie couldn't decide if he was more tired or hungry, but he was safe and  home.  We were exhausted and relieved.  We were so extremely thankful.  Thankful for safe birdy returns and thankful for small miracles.  Young Man grew up just a bit extra that day.  He learned so much more from that painful experience than I ever could have taught him with words. 

 

I still can't believe it.  And I don't know if what I read during my 'Parakeet Research" was accurate or not.  But I do know it's a real joy for us to get to see Sam's necklace spots growing in and his pin feathers opening.  We've made some new house rules for Sam's safety and it's really good to see Young Man being very responsible and extremely cautious.  We continue to be diligent everyday, but there's also a new appreciation that goes along with it. 

 

I think we just had a huge lesson in Character Building.  We both learned a lot. 

 

For that, I'm thankful. 

(And I hesitate just a moment before opening any doors). 

 

 

 



Lessons I've Been Learning

I remember that I had decided that journaling daily, (whether here or on paper), would be good for me.   I guess I have some catching up to do.

It's been busy as usual here at the Hearthroom.  Well, maybe a tad more than usual.  I know there have been many days when I thought about journaling, but honestly didn't have the time or energy to upload pics and look through them.  I can't even believe this part myself, but I have completed some very lovely crochet makes that I normally would have run and taken a picture of immediately, but even that didn't happen.  Aghast!  What's wrong with me, I say.

For one, the end of the school year, which I desperately wanted to be over. 

"Young Man, please, please, please, help me knock this out this week!"  Of course, I can simply beg and plead, but the truth is he does great work and some things shouldn't be rushed.  Then I was hit by some kind of horrible cold/virus thing that knocked me off my feet for a few days, but left me whining and droopy for about 10.  When that went away, it seemed to leave me with a nice, exhausting cough that I'm not sure is done yet. 

Just a note:  Dear Hubby is blaming me, (yep, completely blaming me...), for being sucked into a game called The Heist that I happened to get as a free app on my phone for using my Starbucks card.  You know how this modern technological world works...  Anyway, it's a great game if you like puzzles and some of them really push the limits and stretch the synapses (if that's really a word...).  The point is, I didn't force him to put the game on his phone.   I don't make him stay up at night driving himself crazy to solve a sudoku type of puzzle.  Besides, I've been doing a lot of reading,(see this book by Dr. Barnard), about brain health, and there is quite a bit of discussion on the topic of puzzles exercising one's brain.  Come on, Hubby...  I'm really doing you a favor.  Besides, I cooked you kale and put lemon juice on it and sneak loads of other "good for your brain" foods into your day.  I think you you should be happy and frankly, by now, loads smarter...  :)

Oh, back to the previous 2 months.  Yes, crochet happened.  I'll need to take those pics and post some time. 

I've also been away with Hubby to a meeting in New Hampshire, which was great fun to share with the kids.  I've always loved NH and it's been years since I was there.  They were having those late, spring snows and it was nice to see covered bridges in the snow and the last of the skiers working in a few late season runs. 

Then the grandfolks really threw me for a loop over the past few months and definitely taxed my brain cells, drained me emotionally, and pulled on the heartstrings.  All in all, that situation has calmed down tremendously, but I expect more uncharted territory ahead.  I'm learning more about dementia than I ever expected.  It's really such a challenge for everyone involved.  If you know me, you know how I adore those grandparents of mine.  I would go to the ends of the earth to help them out, but at this point I just wish my efforts could be either remembered in a positive way or at least understood as me trying to be helpful and carryout their wishes.  That's another post, totally. 

I'm currently sitting outside using the laptop and it is about 10:30 p.m.  I find it funny and fascinating that bugs are flying to the screen.  I always find humor in little things.  And then Young Man pipes in with something about our cat and fire and I realize he's just using an app on my phone to alter a picture...  I can't keep up.  And I wonder why I'm so tired at the end of the day...
 

 

World record for longest candy counter:  Chutters in NH. 

 

 

Lovely covered bridge in Littleton, NH. 

 

 

Little girls can dress themselves, wear lovingly made hats backwards, and sit out on the courtyard wall to wait for Daddy.

Yes, she is wearing shorts with a winter coat and hat.  For the record:  It was very warm out. 

 

I can only pray that both of these sweet ladies will have happy memories of the other.

 

Bowling is fun at any age!

 

Life needs strong jolts of color.  Often.

 

Kids are always so excited to find the first sluggish, spring toads.

 

Landscaping can change everything. 

(More to come here...)

 

Not all spider webs give me the creeps after this.

(North Carolina Zoo)

 

However, Gin's spider episode would still have me running!

 

This is my most favorite squash ever!

 

My children did not hatch from these eggs.

 

Hubby can suture Nemo back together.  He's talented in so many ways.

 

I did manage to take a picture of this book I recently discovered at the library.  I loved the projects in this one soooo much I didn't want to forget it.  I should have thought to ask for this as a birthday gift!  I guess it's not too late...

 

This flying geese sculpture reminds me of the time I spent with my grandfather this spring.  He has always been an outdoors man.  I can hear him now making goose or duck calls.  This sculpture was spinning in the wind very slowly and elegantly, and it reminded me so much of my grandfather.  And spending a good bit of time with him confirmed for me that boys will be boys at any age.  When doing his laundry I didn't think to check his pockets.  I just didn't...  He's been around a long time and I know him to be a very responsible man.  And as I pulled his laundry out of the wash to dry, I was left with a washer full of nuts and bolts and other hardware things I can't identify.  I just thought that was cute, really. 

 

Young Man has a new pet.   Yep.  His name is Sam and we have a dog and three cats.  The week before Sam arrived, Young Man's cat, ( not my cat....) brought a dove into the kitchen, ( I shooed them out, dumped water on the cat and the dove got away.  I hope it survived.), brought home a rabbit the next day, and threw up a cardinal in the basement later the same week.  He more recently killed a baby copperhead.  That said, it has added a fun new dynamic to the household to love all pets equally, spend time with them, and keep them alive.  So far, so good.  I think we have a great plan, but there will be NO room for error. 

 

 

This little princess had a birthday and it was fun to see her excitement. 

 

We chose to give her a pony swing and it has been a great hit!

 

Young Man had a birthday, too.  His birthday took place right in the middle of that virus - at the point that I could barely get out of bed.  Somehow, we made it very memorable for him.  It took a lot of ibuprofen, but we did it.  Did I mention Hubby had the virus, too?  And he actually took Young Man canoeing.  Good man, that Hubby.

 

In the end, I'm truly so thankful that the kids did not get sick, my grandparents are doing well and are settled at home, and our school year is really, officially DONE!  We have an achievement test to take, but that's it. 

 

Ah, I think I can look forward to a little slower pace now.  Less routine, more relaxed time with the kids.  More yarn, (much more yarn!), lots of sweet tea, and all the brain food we can handle. 

 

For now, we are spending some time at the beach with the little people and look forward to every minute of watching them run and splash and discover all things oceanic.  That should get me back into my picture taking groove.

 

I'm now going to spend some highly anticipated time catching up on YOUR blogs that I love to read and be inspired by.  I've really missed my time here in blogland. 

 

xoxo

 

 



Mums the Word... and Little Pumpkins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Friends.  How are things with you this weekend?

 

I am enjoying the crispness of a new fall and the change in light.  I'm taking in the new colors of the season that are slowly creeping in.  And I'm pulling together the old fall decorations that we diligently pack away each year and then drag back out and spruce up enough to use again.  Sometimes something new gets tossed into the mix, but we do tend to get stuck in our ways here at the Hearth Room.  Or should I say, we are just plain comfortable with how we do things so we just keep doing them over and over year after year!  Actually, we find that at times like this, what has repeated itself over the years has become something of a tradition that we all look forward to.  Young Man has asked if we can make a scarecrow this year and that just tickled me right down to my toes!  Yes!  Of course we will make a scarecrow!  And we will place our pumpkins around the house and we will even have our little family Jack O'Lantern carving contest!  I should start planning ahead for that, because these guys are getting Really good at that in recent years...

 

So, I attempted to grow a few pumpkins this year.  I thought it would be fun for little people to have their own patch and then when fall came, our pumpkins would be ready to display or carve...  But I had some trouble with the whole pumpkin-growing thing.  Well, I either had trouble or too much help...

 

While the corn was still up, I squealed with excitement, "Look, Sweet P., the little pumpkins are growing!"  I continued to pick beans or weed until I heard, "Look, Mama!  A punt-in'!"

 

"Oh, Sweet P., you're not supposed to pick them yet.  You have to let them grow BIG!"

 

"Otay, Mama..."

 

That scenario replayed a few times.  And then Hubby, who loves the garden and can't seem to keep his hands off the most fascinating specimens out there, would often apologetically admit that he 'just touched' another pumpkin and ...   Ok, Honey, will you STOP 'touching' the pumpkins please!

 

So I finally had a couple pumpkins growing very nicely.  They were looking so great.  I thought, yay, we will have a few good pumpkins for carving after all!

 

Then, while I was watering the potatoes one evening I noticed a spot, no, more of a hole in one of my pretty, orange fellas...

 

Hubby says, "Hey, did your son tell you?  He shot your pumpkin."

 

?  He shot my pumpkin?!  Really? 

 

Apparently, my orange bounty was growing too close to his target.  Hmpf!  He usually hits his targets!  But apparently somehow he missed just this once.

 

  Ok.  So, Young Man, looks like your pumpkin is already morbidly dressed for our carving season. 

There.  You have a shot pumpkin.

 

So the few remaining pumpkins that survived and looked healthy I have set around the patio or in the mulch so that we can enjoy their fall beauty.  And we have now acquired a few other locally grown gourds that are blessing us with their beauty and varying textures.

 

In fact, Sweet P and I arranged them on the Hearth Room floor this morning to experience how they all feel and look a bit differently.  It's a true joy to me to have these lovelies around the house this time of year.  It may be silly to some, but I love it.  And we have fun with it here. 

 

So as Hubby and I have cleared most of the garden we gathered the last of the small melons that aren't good for eating and we made a pile -  right by Young Man's targets.

 

Now hopefully our scarecrow won't suffer the same fate.

 

I hope you're enjoying some fun fall things where you are!

 

xoxo

 

 



Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Sunflowers

Happy Monday, folks!  We've certainly had our share of thunder and rain lately.  I love it!  I truly do.  The kids love it, too, and I think that's just great.  It's true that we cannot play outside and do lots of outdoorsy kinds of things when there's boomin' going on out there, but we manage to fill our time nicely.  Books, yarn, cooking... Oh, and one of our favorite Rainy Day movies, Coraline.  It's all good with us.  Besides, with beauties like these flowers brightening up the Hearth Room (that came from our garden!!!) I am ecstatic whatever the weather!

So I've got a few cabbages quartered and cooking to freeze for wintertime soups.  I've got so much squash lined up on the kitchen counter to blanch for freezing that I think I'll be busy all night.  My sweet neighbor called a while ago to ask if I needed any squash or cucumbers!  Ha!  I told her I'm pushing those very things on anyone who walks in my door, lol.  I was hoping to get a zucchini out of her, but her plants died.  Phooey. 

With Sweet P. napping and Young Man playing a fierce game of 'fencing' on Wii (another reason he's all good with the rainy day thing), I will be making something nice out of a huge pile of blue yarn for a crafty swap I'm in.  Maybe I'll put in 27 Dresses for the 8th time and see if I can actually finish it. 

Better get going...  Naps don't last as long as they used to and I have a feeling I'll be needing to defend my pitiful Wii record soon.  I'll show you what happens to the pile of blue yarn later!



The Hearth Room Unplugged

Derecho:  Wind Storm.

I have always been fascinated by both the power and the beauty of weather.  I grew up on the Eastern Shore so I've experienced some very mild hurricanes, but somehow I had not even heard of a Derecho until now.

I have a new appreciation for the power of wind.  I also feel so much for the folks who live in areas that fall victim to tornadoes and other violent storms.  The fear can be gripping to hear something powerful coming towards you.  Yet you must maintain composure enough to protect your family in a state of unpreparedness.

We were very fortunate to have only some tree damage that requires lots of elbow grease to remedy.  I know many others were not as fortunate.  The wind was  powerful and made quite a mess, but we can clean it up.   Most of the corn is standing up again now.

Roads were blocked. 

Lots of power lines were down and damaged. 

They said it could take a week to restore power to everyone, but we were only 5 days without.

That was our biggest challenge, being without power, especially while it  also happened to be 102 degrees most days that week... But we were able to keep cool in our old house and slept in the unfinished basement.

 


Since we are on a well, that also meant no water for us.  Thankfully, I had a few gallons stored up for such an occasion, but it wasn't enough by any means!  We were able to go fill up our water supplies every day, but what a chore that is!  The things we take for granted really came to light that week.  Doing dishes was something that required planning and preparation.  As I was talking to my mother on the phone I had to tell her, "Mom, I have to go...  I have to wash dishes before it gets dark."  What a funny statement that was!

Because this was our new "kitchen" during the outage.  I had to boil water here to bring in to do the washing.  And it was quite dark, too!  So it was pretty important to get everything done before dark.  With that said, it was very cozy brushing our teeth and cuddling up at night by the light of a lantern.  There were definitely moments that were startlingly comfortable and made great lessons for the kids. 

Now, we did have our frustrations such as a hot toddler needing naps.  Hot babies don't sleep well.  And hot Young Man simply did not take the heat well. 

Yet the time spent sitting quietly, getting them to rest comfortably ended up being well spent.  For as much work that was involved in the extra chores and preparations, there was equally as much down time.  REAL down time, lol. 

We did spend a good bit of time in the mornings outdoors on our patio when it was shaded and cool.  Coloring and drawing and most meals took place here.  Tapping into that unplugged opportunity to be creative and use our hands. 

Something I have always done and have taught my son to do over recent years is to draw a random design with a black pen or crayon or marker.  Sometimes you just end up with a cool, random design, but often we color it in using one color per open space.  Sometimes a really neat image emerges, which is so fun because the point is to be completely random, unplanned....  So I recently was reading somewhere about Zentangles which I had not heard of before and was totally surprised to find.  It seems that this random drawing has become a therapy of sorts...  A way to relax the mind.  Apparently you can purchase books and patterns and everything!  I guess that really takes away the 'randomness' in the drawing process, but I can see where you still get the creative/relaxation benefits.  There are tons of pics of the tiles folks have drawn all over the web.  Very cool, but I think I like my random, whimsical scribbles.  They are free!

The kids also found lots of things to do around the house that would not normally get their attention with the electric  on!  Instead of asking to play video games or watch a cartoon, they decided to visit with a huge stuffed animal collection that ended up becoming a sea of critters to play in.  At this point, we were fortunate enough to have found a generator, so were able to run a fan and save the contents of our freezer, so things were a 'tad' easier to manage around  here. 

In the end as we look back it was a sweet time.  We were unplugged.  It was quiet and that was nice.  We cuddled and read books out loud.  We cooked outdoors and percolated our coffee on the camp stove.  We took it easy so as not to get overheated or over dirtied (due to lack of water!).  We played with toys long forgotten and used our imaginations.  I worked in some cool, summery crochet time while the kids played and I read while they napped.  I can't say it was easy without power and water, but I can say I was almost saddened by the power surprisingly popping back on.  Our sweet, quiet times were abruptly brought to an end.  Within 2 minutes the windows were closed and the air conditioning was on.  And probably the tv, too.  There were good lessons this week.  For me and the kids.  Everything in moderation, I know...  I always limit the amount of tv and screen time in the Hearth Room.  But it's different when it's just not an option.  I liked it.

I hope all of you are safe and sound where you are!  Now turn your computer off and unplug yourself for a few!  You'll surprise yourself with what you can do with the extra few minutes of quiet.

xoxo

The Speed of Life

Hello, Friends.  I've missed connecting with you, but frankly I feel like the picture below!

Do you sometimes feel that life is just moving at a dizzying pace?  Summer is here and it is supposed to be a time to kick back...  A time of Rest and Relaxation....  Aahhh.....  But somehow it seems that the days got busier.  Honestly, I enjoy the busy-ness of tending the garden and taking the little ones to swim, but I tend to fail miserably and go downhill quickly if I let myself get too over-tired.  Know what I mean?  Life has really caught up with me this past week and I've teetered on the edge of being a stressed-out-caffiene-consuming-crazy-woman.  Ok, some  in the Hearth Room would argue the "teetering on the edge" part....  But the good news is I managed to recognize my downward spiral and do something about it.  After squeezing in the last few committments of the week and having a talk with myself about how the garden and kitchen floor demands CAN wait til the weekend, I feel much better. 

En route to my downward spiral was a wonderful little time away that served multiple purposes.  We attended a homeschool convention where Young Man was in his very first chess tournament and I got to surround myself with learning materials of every kind.  From there we headed to the shore for a bit of a camping adventure.  The very first thing I do is set up a 'kitchen' while the Guys put up the 'house'.  Part of setting up our 'kitchen' table requires decorations.  We particularyly liked this little heart shaped rock and oyster shell, since we were camping at the beach. 

Did you notice I said, "beach?"  Tent camping is a tricky combination of relaxing and working yourself silly, but beach camping is just more work than being home!  Sand.  Need I say more?  So the very few moments of calm were so special!  Sitting by the fire at night was great, roasting marshmallows with little ones.  But sitting by the fire in the morning was even better!  Calm, quiet, yarny goodness time by the fire!

With coffee!!!

All in all, it was a wonderful treat to visit some of the area where I grew up and I got to spend a little time with my mother and grandparents.  One of my favorite places is the little town of Lewes, Delaware.  It's a more quiet beauty as far as summer beach towns go if you know what I mean.  We also spent some time with the kids at Rehoboth Beach, but that consists of parking meters, crowded boardwalks and spending all the quarters that have collected in your house for the past year.  It's all good fun and we do love the candy shops and rides, but it can be a bit overwhelming.

It's always so nice to come back home after a few days away.  It was great fun to see the changes in the garden and to see that the weeds behaved while we were gone. 

And I was VERY happy to find that my concoction of homemade, natural pesticide worked like a champ and saved my poor cabbages.  There aren't poor any more!

The potato bags look great...  Well to me anyway, but I'm a fairly inexperienced Farm Girl!  Hope there are some taters growing in there!

And just a peek at one of my Moments of Whimsey:  My Unconventional Squash Patch.  Since we are still in the process of tearing out and rebuilding landscaping (and everything else at the Hearth Room), I decided to plant some squash seeds and nasturtiums along a portion of our patio out back. 

You can see here that we are still very much in the process of tearing out and fixing, but I am so in love with my little squash patch.  It's growing so nicely!  I have had to catch a few squash bugs lately and I'm not happy they have found me out so quickly, but so far things are looking good!

Here you can see there was a fairly unsightly, rock-walled, concrete-bottomed, very-dangerous-for-Sweet-Pea fish pond and waterfall here that has not been properly loved for years.  In the process of tearing it down we disturbed a very busy yellow jacket nest.  Yep, that halted production for a bit.  But we are back on track with our slow determination.  Just as soon as this 100 degree temperature business subsides. 

Keep cool and well where you are!  And don't get overworked or over tired and be a grump like me!

xoxo