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August 30, 2024

Korea

Our oldest daughter, Hannah, is in Korea.  I am looking forward to hearing about her trip eventually.

I talked to Olivia on the phone this evening and she said they used leeches on a patient recently.  She's enjoying her work.

A little over a week ago, I started with Amish friendship bread starter. I just baked cinnamon muffins today.  It was cooler today, in the 60s.

We went swimming in the lake on Wed. as it was 88°f and sunny.  I'd share photos of Paul using his one piece scuba face mask and swimming so well, or George on the inner tube with Elijah on his lap, but i can't upload still.

Last night, we went to a honey tasting with several beekeepers.  Father Paisios set up hives with a couple families near us last year and.an additional four this June.  We are ready to harvest our honey soon.

August 13, 2024

Apples, already

The weather has been cooler this week. Today we got a bunch of apples, from our trees and, also, from the monastery, the neighbors and friends of ours.  Some are good and we made apple crisp, apple sauce and others are bruised andna treat for the pigs!  Upstate New York is one of the best places for apples to grow. I've always been intrigued by what studies they are doing at Cornell with their fruit trees. We have 2 mature apple trees and 8 young apple trees we bought from Fedco:  honeycrisp, wealthy, Cox's orange pippin, sweet sixteen. blue pearmain, Golden Russett, Keepsake, and Belle de Boskoop.  None had flowers this spring, but some are now taller than me.  Next, we need to learn how to properly prune apple trees.

We brought apple crisp to a friend's house this morning.  The kids played nicely outdoors while we walked to their garden, saw their butternut squash, picked some cherry tomatoes and ate them, admired their calendula and other flowers.  They're growing loofah.  I remember buying seeds and never getting a long enough growing season to harvest it as a washing loofah, although I did think of eating them as they are edible.  This family also homeschools.  It's nice to talk about our plan for this year.  We'll start on Monday Sept. 2nd.

August 4, 2024

My birthday

It's been a wonderful week, the end of July and now, the beginning of August already. I got an instant pot as a birthday gift.  Do you have one?  Will you share a fav recipe, if you have one?

We picked blueberries again this week.  4.45 pounds of organic berries.  Last time, we got 3.15 pounds.  I may go again once more.

Friday was St. Elijah's day!  We went to Liturgy and after, swam at the lake for an hour.  Our little one loves the water and tries to swim.

Six of my nieces and nephews were at church camp in the Pocono Mountains last week. One of my nephews is here for a week.  The boys are having a good time together, helping feed animals, collect eggs, lay in the hammock, play hide and seek as the sun set and now we are all ready for bed.

July 21, 2024

Blueberries and lavender

I haven't posted recently, because I can't seem to upload photos.  It wants me to sign into Google, and when I am and browse for a photo, try to upload it, nothing happens.  

This past week, we picked blueberries at a nearby farm.  I made fresh blueberry muffins yesterday!  

  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 t. baking powder
  • 1/4 t. salt
  • 1 beaten egg
  • 3/4 c. milk
  • 1/4 c. lard, melted and cooled to room temperature, which we rendered from fat from a recently butchered hog (you can also use butter)
  • I blended the 1st four dry ingredients.  I mixed the egg, milk and lard, then added it to the dry ingredients. Filled 12 liners, about halfway. Bake at 350° f 20 minutes.

Elijah is 10 months old now and has 7 teeth.  Unfortunately, he has a cold right now.  He woke up with a runny nose and one eye shut with discharge.  Thankfully, he's cheerful, but nursing a bit more than usual and sleeping more.  All things we need to heal, fluids and rest!

I went out with a friend of mine (our husbands had the children) to a lavender farm and then to several small town shops, with pretty paintings, ceramics and a soap shop.  I came home with a bouquet of dried French lavender, a Munstead lavender plant, and one pretty bar of soap. Inspiration to pick up my paintbrush!  And a rejuvenated mama!!  Also, thinking of making a lavender blueberry muffins next!

July 6, 2024

The Atlantic

Low tide in Gloucester, MA yesterday. The kids found clams, sand dollars and crabs at the beach.  We didn't take anything with us, although the kids wanted to, because this is their habitat and we can't recreate it.
Strawberry season just ended, although there are "ever bearing" strawberries!

My sister and her family came for a visit.  
Also, two of my cousins, Jeff and Beth came with their spouses for a day trip.  I didn't take any photos that day, unfortunately.
Elijah enjoys bananas and here's a video to go with the above photo. I do take a lot of little videos.
I'm reading a book by Kristin Hannah called The Women. It's about a young nurse and reminds me of our daughter, Olivia, who finished nursing school this past spring.

June 29, 2024

Beautiful

We went to an infant baptism.  It was so very beautiful and to hear the prayers that were read for me in my baptism, when each of my five children, and as Godmother to my Godchildren.  The Godfather here was especially sweet.
These chicks are a month old now.  Growing well and I'm looking at the comb developing on 2 of them and wonder if we'll only have 5 new hens.  Our other batch of chicks are doing well, still under the red heat lamp.
More garlic scapes to chop up and cook with eggs one day and ground beef the next.

June 22, 2024

Camping

With every child, I've documented their firsts, whether writing it down on a calendar, in a scrapbook, or taking a photo. Some are hard to see in a photo, like 1st tooth, so I wrote that down.  However, a photo documents Elijah's 1st time camping!
I made homemade marshmallows using gelatin, water, sugar and vanilla extract.  I let it sit in the mixer too long afterwards, so it wasn't easy to spread smooth, but after it set for a while, I was able to cut it into cubes. I put them into 3 jars. We toasted them over a fire, SO good and melty for s'mores.
On the summer solstice, we went hiking to the caves and waterfall that we like so much.  We walked in the water, cooling off on the 90° day.  It's been hot and humid all week.
Yesterday, we had field trip to the Farmer's Museum.  The school teacher rang a bell out by the door, she had two maps on the wall, long bench "desks," and everything written on the chalkboard as it would have been in 1845.  She also had a basket of individual small slate chalkboards. I prefer chalk to the dry erase markers and shiny boards.  She said all work was done in cursive.  That's something I want to do more of, as all old letters from relatives and documents are in cursive. We saw sheep, pigs, chickens, and cows.  The same animals we have at home, but different breeds. Oh, there were goats, too, we don't have goats!  The calf below is a Jersey Hereford cross.
The ride on the carousel is always special.  The animals are local animals, beautifully depicted, maybe personified, with clothes, or a crown of flowers. Can you tell Elijah is on a loon?  He didn't like it once the music started and we began to move up + down and around.  He clasped onto me with both hands, but didn't cry.