The Cottage on the Hill

Caroline's Kitchen/Dorthea Lange http://vi.sualize.us/view/randxm/7d76aaa575922aa2d5b561389076eba1/ I have to admit that I love that my mother and I have an open door policy. No knocking or doorbells needed. We just open the door and let ourselves in to each other's houses. Of course, we have the common courtesy of notification first, for the most part. Though, "dropping in" is welcomed, too. I think it is a beautiful and comforting thing between my mother and I.

I want this pattern.

I didn't realize when I started this year that homeschooling would awaken my oldest son! Throughout the last 2 years, I've noticed a decline in his enthusiasm, imagination and activity. I stopped wanting to help. He just wanted to sit and watch TV. Oh, he'd still play, but his play and his art lacked development and imagination. I worried and I knew why it happened. A very difficult pregnancy followed by a very difficult year of illnesses, challenging events, changes, etc forced me to rely on the "electronic babysitter" too much. It got to a point where if the TV was off, he didn't know what to do with himself! We had little improvements once things settled more, but it wasn't until I started homeschooling him that he blossomed and grew! He's a big helper now. He's more cheerful, joyful, reasonable, imaginative, responsible, playful....and he's soaking things up like a sponge! More than I could have asked for! And while homeschooling ...

As public school begins, even though we homeschool, I begin my germ warfare against the common cold. It is inevitable that as soon as large groups of children join together, illness breaks out. So, I started this September with adding an immune booster to our diet. Unfortunately, the common cold still got a hold of us. It took advantage of our weakened states from suffering the ill effects of contaminated well water after the massive rainfalls of Tropical Storms Irene and Lee. It took advantage of my 3 year old's weakened immune system from her extremely picking eating habits and gut problems. Thankfully, even in her weakened state, the immune boosters (and simply being a child) helped and she recovered within 3 days with nothing more than plenty of nose rubbing and fussing. The baby got it next with tell-tale fussiness, congestion that kept him up all night, and a runny nose. Although he's too young for me to comfortably give him supplements, he recovered quickly, too, t...

February 28, 1927 - September 24, 2011 He left a legacy of 3 Godly daughters, 10 Grandchildren, and 16 (and counting) Great-Grandchildren He left a legacy of a Godly husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He leaves behind my Grandmother, one of the most graceful and faithful women I know. He leaves behind 9 years of Alzheimers, Parkinsons, and lung cancer. He goes on before us to be with our Savior. Praise be to God!

I was preparing to go to bed when I hear some fussing on the other side of the children's bedroom door. Upon investigation, I see two books poking out from underneath the door. When I opened the door, my daughter was on the floor in tears. I asked what was wrong and she said, "They're stuck!" I bent down and picked up the books and asked if she'd like me to read them to her. She smiled and said that she did. So, we sat down on the floor together just outside the bedroom door and I smiled as I discovered what books she had chosen: As I read to her, she chimed in with comments and discoveries. She loved seeing what the little mommy did and ogled the little girl's illustrated bedroom. Hopefully next week my daughter will have a space to call her own, too. She loved that the baby in Baby Looks has a big sister. When I finished Baby Looks and closed the book, my daughter carefully took the books from me, tucked them under her arm and went straight to bed ...

Lately, I've been interested in the budding movement called "Slow Clothing" or "Slow Fashion." Wikipedia describes it as: "The term "Slow Fashion" was coined by Kate Fletcher in 2007 (Centre for Sustainable Fashion, UK). [ 10 ] "Slow fashion is not a seasonal trend that comes and goes like animal print, but a sustainable fashion movement that is gaining momentum." [ 11 ] The Slow Fashion Movement is based on the same principals of the Slow Food Movement, as the alternative to mass produced clothing (AKA “ Fast-Fashion ”). Initially, The Slow Clothing Movement was intended to reject all mass produced clothing referring only to clothing made by hand, [ 12 ] but has broadened to include many interpretations and is practiced in various ways. [ 13 ] Some examples of slow fashion practices include: Opposing and boycotting mass produced fashion (AKA " Fast-Fashion " or "McFashion"). Choosing artisan products to support s...

Photo Credits With terrible weather and illness, we have missed the unofficial end of summer. Even the weather has changed. Throughout the neighborhood, I am beginning to smell wafts of wood smoke. Leaves are beginning to change and the garden browns. Today, I removed the air conditioner and put socks on my cold feet. Still feeling the affects of quite an illness, which has been pretty much narrowed down to a contaminated well from the overflow of rains recently, I've been dreaming of a hearth to curl up in front of. I love that they make those electric or gel fireplaces now so anyone can enjoy a hearth. Some day I'll buy one. In the meantime, knitting is starting to sound good again. Just sitting and knitting. I can't knit worth beans, but I can at least make squares and scarves and it is relaxing. What's your favorite curl up in an Autumn evening activity? Oh...and cinnamon rolls! Autumn beckons cinnamon rolls and apple cider donuts from a local orchard! Oh...

It started off with earthquakes, which I thankfully didn't feel here. Nevertheless, there were 2 local earthquakes and the large one in VA that many felt here in Upstate New York. Then, Hurricane Irene made landfall, downgraded to a tropical storm and slammed us with rain that caused record flooding and widespread destruction. Again, thankfully, I didn't get any more damage than a wet basement, 12 hours without power, and a few leaks, but it was a busy week trying to help out those who lost so much. My efforts were cut short by the ravages of a nasty stomach flu, which happened to strike me the same time as a rare tornado cut through my neighborhood less than 1/2 a mile from my house, knocking out electricity for 30 hours, and closing the county down. The tornado was registered as an F1 1/2 a mile wide. It traveled down into the valley, across the river, and up over the other side of the valley in a north east path 7 miles long. How's that for unique!? The day after...

Yes, that 5 year old is my son! He's got farming in his blood. He wants to be a farmer when he grows up and loves all things farming. Many of our local farmers lost crops, livestock and equipment right at the start of harvest season due to the massive flooding from Hurricane Irene here in Upstate New York. My son wants to help so we started a weekend long $1.00 Drive. The collected monies will be personally handed to the local farmers (we're compiling a list) by Donald who will visit them on their farms. Please consider donating. Donald is only asking for $1.00, but if you feel led to give more, you can.