The Cottage on the Hill

www.art.com 1. A single white crocus 2. The porch is open! 3. The almost unbearable urge to clean and garden. 4. Garage sales have started popping up 5. Motorcycles.....the first one I saw was a little on the loud side and the rider was without a helmet. 6. Mud inside and out! 7. Leaky basement 8. Clothes drying outside 9. Walks 10. Birds singing........... Which brings me to my woodpecker! I have a crested woodpecker living in the woods next door. He's made a feast of the bugs living in the white pine that was struck by lightening a couple years ago. I had never seen one before, and this year I've seen two already! Don't you just love spring!?

Bubby's birthday was just a few days ago. His party was on Saturday. Everyone had a great time! We managed 19 people in our 880 square foot cottage! The original guest list had 25! Anyhoo...the theme was construction. My sister came over and helped me decorate with orange and yellow balloons and streamers. We even had streamers that looked like crime scene tape that said "birthday zone." I made a #1 that looked like a construction sign and put pictures of Bubby in it from birth to 1 year. My sister decorated the cake with construction equipment candles in a scene of a road, river and construction site. Hubby decorated outside with road cones and a "flaggers ahead" sign he borrowed from work. The children guests received their own plastic hard hats and sippy cups in the shape of road cones. Even the punch was orange! Donald was so well behaved and received so many wonderful gifts. I put him to bed after cake and ice cream before a melt-down occured. He slept soun...

Just a reminder that this blog is still open. I haven't given it up. I just have two blogs now! To see my other blog, just go to: allthingsfeminine.blogspot.com

I read an article in Parade magazine that comes in a local Sunday paper about the top 10 worst inventions (reader-led poll). Here are some of them: 5) Television“For the greatest promise betrayed,” explains Bob Altman of Mount Pleasant, S.C. “TV has desensitized the world to violence; reduced political discourse to sound bites; fostered short attention spans, sedentary lifestyles and crass materialism; and demeaned women and fathers.” 6) Video Games“As a schoolteacher, I see how video games have shifted children from interaction to isolation with their controllers,” writes Lynn Hatch of Park City, Utah. 10) Cell Phones“On the plus side, they’ve made us instantly available anyplace, anytime,” notes Nina Cooper of Las Vegas. “On the minus side, they’ve made us instantly available anyplace, anytime.” Adds Bill James of Austin, Tex.: “They ruin our personal time. Both your boss and your client want you to be reachable. A quiet dinner with the family? A movie? Fuhgettaboutit!” Another read...

Yesterday was my dear maternal Grandfather's birthday. He is a sweet man of God who unfortunately suffers from Parkinsons and Dementia. However, his legacy lives on. My Grandfather has been there through thick and thin. He's provided for not only his immediate family, but his extended family when circumstances arrived. He gave up peaceful vacations to take along squirmy grandkids, all on his own dime. He graciously took his granddaughters to the mall and put up with their silliness to buy them new garments and/or toys so they wouldn't feel left out at school. He would take out his entire extended family for dinner just so we could all be together. His home was always open. Even though his mind is being ravaged by this disease, he still enjoys the sight of his great-grandchildren (9 on earth, and 5 in Heaven that we know of). He helped friends and church without complaint or hesitation. He was a wonderful husband to his dear wife who now cares for him in their home. He worke...

I read in the paper and heard on the news that there is a significant rise in my state of public and private school teachers who molest their students. Most cases usually involve teenagers, but recent attacks involved first grade students. 6 and 7 year olds! It is my job to protect my children. How can I do that if I can't even trust the school system?

I admit, I've never read through the Bible. There are many chapters I never even looked at. So, this year I am reading through the Bible. It is actually easier than I thought. I only need to read several chapters a day. I've also decided to read cover to cover rather than jumping about. This makes more sense to me. Thank you, Jesus for convicting me to read Your Word! My March prayer is for single moms. There is such an epidemic of single mothers. My prayers go out to them.

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I ultimate defiance of winter, I've gone green. I felt like my blog needed a lighter look to it. I hope when I get my borrowed computer that I'll be able to add some pictures, update links, etc. Well, my dear hubby surprised me the other day by buying us a new bed. It's a Louis XIV style in dark wood. I love it because not only is it beautiful, but it sits high. I like high beds. I like to be able to see the floor under the bed and not have anything under it. I like having to hoist myself up into bed. Now I feel I have a real bed!

Hubby took me out to dinner and a movie for our anniversary. We went to see Night at the Museum and let me tell you it's a good movie! It's entertaining and fun without being dirty, ridiculous or cheesy. There are some good points worth talking about after the movie, including how the dad gave up his "schemes" because his son mattered the most. Though divorced, the ex's actually get along and the ex-wife actually doesn't belittle him, but looks out for what's best for their family. Also, the whole museum concept makes learning history a bit more fun. If you're looking for a gift for a young wife, a bride, or someone who's returned home from the workforce and needs help in the kitchen, I highly recommend the Taste of Home Cookbook. It's a 3-ring binder "Cadillac of Cookbooks" available through Reiman Publications. It is very easy to read, very well cataloged and goes through the basics easily and with pictures. It is also chock...

I was thinking back to my school days yesterday. I wondered why I was always lethargic, never really felt well, and could hardly make it through the day. It dawned on me that I was dehydrated for most of my life! I would have cereal in the morning, a juice box or milk for lunch and then nothing to drink until I got home. There wasn't enough time between classes to get a drink of water. Bottles weren't allowed in school and teachers didn't consider thirst to be an urgent enough issue to leave class for. I don't want my children to go through 13 years of public school (14 if the law that makes pre-K mandatory goes through) dehydrated. I care about my children's health and well-being.

Today's my hubby and I's wooden anniversary (5 years)! I remember when I first got married, someone would ask me how I liked married life. I'd respond quite positively and they'd say, "Just wait a few years." Well, it's been more than a "few years" and I can honestly say that I am VERY happy! Married life agrees with hubby and I. :) My February prayer request is for a revival of godly men in my church, especially taking up the reigns in leadership roles. Thankfully, in the past couple of years, this has been taking place. We've had godly families come in with strong men with leadership skills, and we've had husbands come in a get saved and become strong leaders. However, there is one untapped vein. Christian husbands who have backslidden and need to return. For this I pray and for the other unsaved husbands. There are far too many wives and mothers coming to church alone, or being the only one to bring the children.

I heard on the radio today that 21% of parents and 27% of students believe that spelling should not be taught in schools anymore because computers have spell-check. Now, how ridiculous is that!? Spelling is fundamentally important AND spell-check doesn't always catch errors. Also, we can't rely on technology for everything. Frankly, I rarely use spell-check, which may be evident in my spelling on this blog. Yes, one never stops learning! ;) I really believe that America's fight for education needs to back up and return to the basics and classical education. There are far too many general "extras" in public schools today...which leads me to my next reason. I read in the paper that locally there was a big Math-a-thon type thing where students from all over the state competed in mathematics. 100 area homeschoolers attended and basically kicked rear. A local public school teacher involved tried to explain why the homeschoolers did so much better than public sc...

UGH!! My electric bill went up again! I thought I was being careful, but it is WAY over budget this month. I've been replacing bulbs with florescent ones, turning off lights, unplugging appliances, and trying to harness the sun's rays. I think a major issues is the outdoor furnace. Since we're saving on heating fuel costs, we've kept the thermostat way up. Now, I'm turning it down in hopes to get back under budget. Any other ideas? Hmmmm..... My husband told me that his GF (general foreman) paid me a compliment. He said that I keep a very organized home and that if his home was more organized, maybe his marriage wouldn't have ended in divorce. What a thought! It is true that when a home is in disarray, it can cause added stress and anxiety in the home which isn't good for anyone. It does take a lot of discipline to maintain organization in the home. It also takes a joyful heart. Here's what I mean. Have you ever asked someone to do somethin...

Last week, I thought I'd make one of hubby's favorite dishes on a cold winter evening....beef stew. Unfortunately, I went a little crazy with the pepper and ruined it. It was unpalatable. So, I tried doubling the broth and veggies to water down the pepper. It didn't work. Throwing it away seemed such a waste. Besides, I'm on a strict dinner menu and have run out of grocery money for the month, so I couldn't substitute. I had to make do. Praise God, I found a solution. I dumped the stew into a collander, removing all the broth. I then dumped the bulk into a greased casserole with a can of cream of mushroom soup only 50% dilluted with milk and topped it with a buiscut recipe rolled out like a pie crust. I cut a few slits to let steam escape and baked it until golden brown. Now, it wasn't a culinary masterpiece, but it was good and I didn't waste dinner. Bubby is going through some changes. He's now 10 months old. Since his 10 month birthday, ...

There was a request to see re-enacting photos. You can see them at: www.coloniallivinghistory.org That's the group we belong to. They have a photo section.

I had a thought today.....Hollywood touts that they are against violence, particularly the violence in Iraq. Yet, Hollywood continually churns out very violent movies. I'm not talking about historical movies like Band of Brothers and Master and Commander. I don't believe in watered-down history. I'm talking about blood and guts horror movies, movies with mindless violence, the "coolness" of gang violence/street violence.... The good guy doesn't always win anymore. And most of the time you're not even sure who the good guy is. Or the good guy is a bad guy who's fighting another bad guy. What goes in must come out. The Bible says "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." There have been scientific and sociological studies about violence reaping violence. Of course, Hollywood alone isn't responsible for how people act. We are responsible for how WE act. However, perhaps if the anti-violence Hollywood practiced what t...

You know how you hear people saying how children grow up so fast? They mature so quickly. They handle adult issues so soon. My observation is that they aren't turning into adults sooner....they're growing into KIDULTS. My hope and prayer is that I can preserve my children's childhoods while at the same time teaching them to grow into ADULTS. If the Lord tarry's, they'll have enough kidults to deal with. While thanking God for something He provided for me, a non-Christian pointed this out to me. "You Christians always thank God but never seem to thank the person God worked through to give you that blessing." So, lets make sure that the next time we get a blessing, we thank God and those God worked through. :)

My wonderful husband bought me a new vacuum! My old one threw sparks out at me, so I refused to run it for fear of my life. So, hubby bought me a new vacuum and it's wonderful! It even has a self-cleaning duster attachment! Hubby appreciates the hepa filter. I enjoy having a vacuum that actually does it's job. Oh, and my other favorite attachment is the special adjustable upholstery and stairs doo-hickey with it's own rotating brush. It's great for dog hair. I recently had my 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed. Hubby teased me that I was going to lose my wisdom, but I actually gained some! While I was in dreadful pain and recovering, I had to eat VERY carefully. During this time I learned that: 1. I eat when I'm not hungry...not a good habit to get into. 2. I eat too fast and don't savor my food. Therefore, I tend to eat a bit more so as to enjoy the flavor. 3. I put food in my mouth when I'm still chewing the first portion I put in. Blech...what a...