This sweet rock of gilbraltar son of mine has a band called “The Verity” that performed in the Battle of the Bands contest in Johnson City tonight and THEY WON! WHAT? Their prize? You ask? They get to open for JEREMY CAMP in October. I can’t believe it. Way to go boys! You make a momma proud. I’m really sorry for all those times I told you not to play music so loud…and all those times I ask you to practice at someone else’s house…..and all the times I fussed about guitar picks everywhere. I take it all back. Play your music and play it loud and use 20 guitar picks at one time. I’m so proud of you.
One day you’re making homeade salsa and……
the next day you get a dreaded phone call that your husband and daughter have been in a four wheeler accident. Thanks be to God no one was severely injured…..a clavicle fracture, some extremely large bruises and painful-to-look-at road rash were actually a relief and blessing given that the ATV flipped over and skidded about 30 feet. It has a way of giving you perspective. They are both improving every day and I know someone who’ll give you a good deal on a four wheeler! That said, it has given me “pause” in my normal busy schedule to serve those I love in a different way (ie… bandage changes, medication nurse, wound care specialist). I’ve also had time to ponder the what if’s. What if someone had been killed? What if there had been life-altering injuries? What if , what if , what if? That game can make you crazy. Thankfully, I can kiss my little girlie goodnight tonight and can hug my husband and tell him how much I love him. I don’t want to take it for granted. I don’t want to glide through days and months without truly being present for those I love. So, tomorrow or the next day or the day after that, when life is back to normal, I hope I remember to drink it all in….to be thankful and available and kind…..to live and love purposely without hesistation, to truly enjoy my family and to cherish our days. This trauma has in essence pushed life’s pause button for us. I don’t recommend the trauma but the pause button is kinda nice. Gotta go now and check all the wounds and pass out the evening medications. We’ll be back to salsa making soon enough.
Today, we memorized our school verse…..
By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding
it is established;
By knowledge the rooms are filled with
all precious and pleasant riches.
Proverbs 24:3,5
Wanna Salsa, I mean want some salsa?
That would be a toss-up for me ’cause I really wanna learn how to salsa. My girls wish I’d stop practicing before I really know how to do it. As I free associate, that reminds me of a great line I read in Pride and Predjudice today, quoted from Mr. Darcy on dancing…..” It has the advantage of being in vogue amongst the less polished societies of the world. Every savage can dance.” I don’t know Mr. Darcy, my girls would argue that the “savage” that makes their breakfast everyday is not a very good dancer! But, I digress. Back to the salsa I can do. Thanks to my friend Kristi for the “recipe”, I canned homeade cooked salsa today. I started by collecting these beautiful tomatoes from my humble herb and tomato garden.
I then chopped green peppers and onions
and added Mrs. Wages salsa spice mix along with some vinegar
and then cooked the mixture, poured into jars and boiled for forty minutes
and the sites and smells are inspiring. This is a great tasting salsa albeit a bit of a labor of love. Isn’t everything in the kitchen a labor of love though? I guess I’ll have to keep salsa dancing on that ever growing list of things I want to to do……learn to quilt, play the fiddle, run a marathon, learn latin….and greek, read a million more books, adopt a child, cook paella, memorize Colossians, and meet Susan Wise Bauer. Until then, pass the chips!
School (at home) starts on Monday, so we went……
…to the antique store to search for the perfect milk glass candy dish for my desk. Isn’t she lovely?
…to Walmart to buy composition notebooks where I promptly had my arm twisted into getting this guy. Every homeschool needs a class pet, right? He’ll make a perfect little chore on the chore list, won’t he?……feeding the fish? And fish travel in schools? Okay, I’m a pushover but he is cute and we named him ‘Logos’ which in Latin means word or think or learn. He goes perfect with our classical model which focuses much more on words than on images.
…..again to Walmart to buy SCHOOL SUPPLIES and instead got this pretty little classroom plant….called lipstick; never heard of it or seen it before, but every school needs a class flower….to water…..and watch grow. Do I have ADD or what? Where are all those school supplies?
…..then back home to sweet talk this guy (more on him shortly) into moving
this beastly mammoth down into the school room. The girls and I had a ‘giant spotlight’ moment and decided that this ‘ol used up computer desk would make the best little American Girl playhouse you’ve ever seen. So, we’re gonna paint, bedazzle, and decorate ourselves into a frenzy…..ya know in a schooly sort of artsandcrafts kind of a way.
As promised, more on above mentioned young man: Meet Marcus. Steve’s bright, funny, and friendly 21 year old. He just moved in with us last night to go to UT and we couldn’t be happier. He’s a fanatic Cubs fan and will in general increase the amount of man-TV that gets watched at our house.
To summarize, I have a darling milk glass bowl, a new goldfish, a “lipstick” plant, and a bright and funny 21 year old…..oh, and some highlighters. School supplies are overrated.
Three Things….
Number 1 is……that previous plate wall picture does not do this pretty little wall justice. So, there is pretty plate wall…..in all her glory. Thanks to the “Nester” for plate wall inspiration.
Number 2 is…..I love this grouping. This is my foyer and unlike most spaces in my house, this one has been the same for I’m thinking 2 years……unbelievable. I think it’s the frog playing the banjo that I love so much or maybe it’s the sketchy little “tapestry” that I conjured up from a $5 piece of fabric from the antique store downtown and hot glued and pinned til’ my heart was content(or till the thing stayed up). I don’t know…..I just like it. Still.
Number 3 is…. this is a fantabulous work of redecorranging if I do say so myself. Any self-respecting blogger would have taken a before picture…..but I’m a loser. So just imagine the ugliest little duckling chair you’ve ever seen at a yard sale followed by some black paint , vintage fabric and a little fairy dust later and voila! I adore it. It is going to be my desk chair in our homeschool. The desk is another redecorranging project that will follow shortly. Leigh Anne is gonna be mad she sold me that desk for $5.