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The Odyssey, books 13-24

September 30, 2012 by Edie Wadsworth 26 Comments

I’m so sad that we’re finished with The Odyssey!
Don’t you feel like it changed you?
Great books get under our skin and make us see the world differently.
I hope you enjoyed it and I hope it’s magic will live in your heart for a long time to come.

I’m sorry if this video feels rushed but I was trying to finish under 15 minutes because of YouTube’s uploading rules.
I hope you’ll make your final comments on the book on THIS post instead of the forum this time and we’ll discuss as long as you’d like!

This book was a great preparation for the 31 days series, which will go live at 9pm tonight! I’m committing to writing every day for 31 days about hospitality (or xenia as it’s called in Greek). I hope you’ll join me later this evening for the first post of many on my very favorite topic.

Our next book is Antigone by Sophocles. I’m using the following translation but feel free to use what you’d like.

I promise I’ll post the rest of the books soon. I’ve most certainly got too many irons in the fire!

31 Days to a Heart of Hospitality::What is hospitality and Why does it matter?

September 29, 2012 by Edie Wadsworth 41 Comments

What is hospitality? And is it still relevant in our modern, individualistic society? This long lost art of welcoming others into our homes and hearts can and should be revived. Join us in a 31 day series to rediscovering a heart of hospitality!

This series on hospitality has been growing inside my heart for a lifetime.

Because really, isn’t it the ache of every human heart—to be known, to be loved?

Join me in a 31 days series as we dig deep into what true hospitality means and how it can change our lives.

Day 1:: What Hospitality is Not

Day 2:: Every life is sacred

Day 3:: We Need Each Other

Day 4::Making Room for Others

Day 5::Winter in my Heart

Day 6::The Barriers

Day 7::Solitude

Day 8::Why All the Fuss

Day 9:: Hospitality Begins in the Bedroom, part 1

Day 10:: Hospitality Begins in the Bedroom, part 2

Day 11:: A Breather

Day 12::The Well-Appointed Guest Room

Day 13:: The Well-Stocked Guest Bath

Day 14::Welcome Gifts

Day 15::All They Really Need is You

Day 16::Hospitality the size of Texas

Day 17::Readying the Hearth with Prayer

Day 18::The Well Stocked Pantry

Day 19::The Beverage Bar

Day 20 Potato Corn Chowder

Day 21:: On Feeding People Well

Day 22:: Setting up a Baking Center

Day 23:: Homemade Honey Wheat Bread

Day 24::Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

Day 25::The Paradox of it All

Day 26::Hospitality, Square Dance Style

Day 27::On Listening and Margin

Day 28::What to Cook, when company comes

Day 29::Below My Feet

Days 30 and 31 will be completed as part of printable booklet!

I’m in love with Texas

September 28, 2012 by Edie Wadsworth 41 Comments

I’m in Texas with my girlfriends and on the agenda today is:
visit a field full of wildflowers
go antiquing with a bunch of pyrex hoarders
visit a couple local wineries
tease my hair, put on the boots and big belt and go to Luchenbach dance hall.
yee-haw!!!
As a result of all this Texas fun, I won’t be posting about the Odyssey until Sunday.
Love y’all!
God bless Texas.

And God bless Mumford and Sons. Their new CD is rocking my world.

Just for fun, can you guess which boots are mine?

Why I (almost) gave up homeschooling…….

September 26, 2012 by Edie Wadsworth 108 Comments

I’m writing this post as a preface to the bright and shiny one where I’ll tell you about all the wonderful stuff we’ll be studying this year. You’ll be tempted to think it’s all unicorns and butterflies here at the Wadsworth house. This post will shatter all your illusions. Proceed with caution.

Classical education refreshes itself at cisterns of learning dug long ago, drawing from springs too deep for taint the strength to turn our cultural retreat into advance. (David Hicks)

If I ever really do give up homeschooling, I hope I go out in a blaze of glory like Simcha.

I’m not giving it up just yet but here’s why I teetered on the edge and nearly threw in the towel.

It’s hard.

It’s really hard.

It’s by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

And to quote Simcha, ” It wasn’t the hard work that wore me out; it was the crappy job I did, and the worrying about it. That’s what was so exhausting.”

Ouch. And if I’m honest, that’s the same thing that wears me out. Worrying about it all. Did we do enough? Why can’t she remember 12×9? Why am I not more patient and kind and prepared? Can I not just get a substitute today and go antiquing or just sit in a coffee shop and stare at the walls all day?

And haven’t I brought this all on myself—which I think excludes me from any of your compassion and pity?

In March of this year, I wanted to be anywhere doing anything but homeschooling my girls.

I knew I was done. I felt an ache in my heart that wouldn’t go away. A heaviness—-the kind that comes from bearing the weight of your child’s education on your own weak shoulders. The sinking feeling that I’m just not enough. I’m all out of ideas.

And the lure of greener grass made it all the more difficult. I wanted to work out in the mornings, go for long runs and perhaps buy groceries from three different stores. I wanted to decorate and sew and clean—yes, even clean, without lessons hovering in my head. I wanted stretches of time in my house by myself. I wanted to meet people for lunch and let someone else worry about whether or not my girls could properly diagram sentences. Oh, the places I’d go.

I starting checking into schooling options. I even confessed my secret fantasies to Stevie, who promptly reminded me that I threaten to quit every year in March. Despite the crazy look in my eyes, he humored me. He listened, really listened. And he was ready to support my decision. “Maybe it is time,” he said. “But don’t quit like this. Wait it out a little. You never know how things change in a month.”

So, I waited and trudged on, like a good soldier. We finished strong and had a really good year, despite my struggles.

I gave it one last ditch effort—-I registered for the Circe Conference.

Boy, do those people tell the truth.

This talk by Andrew Kern changed it all for me. (a contemplation of creation)

I’ve never heard anyone quite so inspiring. And he does it with the gospel, in love. It’s as if he saw me struggling, beaten, left for dead on the side of the homeschooling road and became my good Samaritan. My faith in this way of life, this way of teaching was restored. He helped me see my kids differently. This is sacred work but it is work. It was never supposed to be easy.

And here’s what I realized—–here is the crux of my struggle with homeschooling. With cloudy eyes, I will tell you the truth.

I am the one in need of reform.

It’s me that is broken.

I must be a practitioner of the art of learning because it’s my stone heart that needs to be remade.

The curriculum is there to inspire ME so that I can inspire them. I must be drinking deep from the ‘cisterns of classical education dug long ago’. Christian classical education is difficult because it is honest and it leaves no room for phonies. True learning begins with repentance. We must confess that we don’t know what we ought to know. We must come to the table hungry. And our children learn by our example. They know when we’re trying to force feed them from food we don’t eat ourselves. There are no shortcuts and I must confess that I’ve often spent more time looking for a short cuts than doing the hard work of repenting and learning. And maybe it’s gotten to the point where we must confess that we’re not even hungry anymore. We don’t even yearn for what we don’t know so how can we blame them for their lack of wonder.

I was burned out because I wasn’t drinking from the well.

I was taking shortcuts.

I was busy and distracted. I wasn’t practicing what I preached and kids see right through a phony.

I was tired of the nagging feeling of guilt for not doing what I knew I needed to do. I wanted to quit so the ache would stop. I wanted the easy way out.

Isn’t that just like us, as children of Adam? We want easy. We want the beauty without the struggle. We want the glory without the cross.

I had wondered off the path—because the path was difficult. I had lost the ability to see the wonder in it all.

Life is full of His beautiful mysteries and we reduce it all to what we can measure and analyze. We’ve lost our ability to see the mystery. We’ve lost our ability for true wonder. We like boxes to check and papers to grade but what about their hearts? What about ours? Are we truly being transformed? Can we even remember why we wanted to do this in the first place?

The most important question I’ve had to ask myself in preparing for this year is not WHAT are we gonna do but WHY are we going to do it.

And here’s the answer I discovered for why we started doing this in the first place—–

We are here to be transformed. And that transforming is not easy work. It feels a lot like death sometimes—dying to my selfish desires, dying to my ideal of perfection, dying to my own polished agenda. It starts with humility and repentance.

Maybe, the truth is—-I had lost the courage to be honest with myself.

So, thank you to all the truth tellers who say the hard thing—-and reassure us that all the best things in life exact a high price.

Redemption is costly. It cost our Savior His very own life. I shouldn’t be surprised when it costs me mine.

And when the time comes to turn my girls’ learning over to someone else’s tutelage, we will be a different people for this journey we’ve taken together.

This arduous road of becoming who we ought to be has taught us that life is beautiful and life-giving and full of wonder—-but it is not easy and it was never meant to be.

Better Homes and Gardens Photo Shoot

September 24, 2012 by Edie Wadsworth 109 Comments

Long story short, here’s how it happened.

My friend, Gretchen, a freelance food and wine writer, pitched the story of our house fire and rebuild to several shelter magazines after our rebuild last year. Several months later, we found out that BHG wanted to run the story.

WHATTTTTTTTT? Y’allllll???!!!! I have been beside myself with excitement. It has been a little like birthing a baby. A huge period of waiting, wondering, worrying, asking a lot of questions……….

My first encounter with them was a phone call with the Home Design editor. She was completely adorable and gracious and charming. And thus has been my experience every step of the way. They have been so great to work with and so kind and complimentary—not to mention very thorough and professional. This whole thing has been such a process. So many emails, so many photos, so many questions, so many layers of people involved. The shoot was originally gonna be in June, then July and finally September. I’ve been feeling completely nervous and excited and quite inadequate. I don’t think I even realized what a big production this would all be. But it was such a blast and I’m so glad I did it and so thankful that they gave us this opportunity. And thank you, sweet Gretchen—-for making this all possible for us!

The day before the shoot, Elizabeth Beeler, the stylist came to get everything set up. It was love at first sight. She’s completely adorable and perfectly laid-back but has such an eye for design. I think we’re gonna adopt her into our family because frankly, she loves to say Bean Station—in her best Alabama voice. I’m SO MAD at myself for not getting a picture of the two of us. She’s my new BFF and I’m so thankful for her talent but mostly for her kindness and approachability. I stole this photo from her fb page because it’s so perfect for her. She was running late one day and when she got here, her shoes were muddy from scaling down a ravine to get a picture of the fog rising over the lake. She’s a jewel and I am SO glad our paths crossed. I’m one of those quirky ones who thinks that things like that don’t happen by accident. I LOVE YOU, Elizabeth!

And here’s how I knew we were separated at birth. Her instructions from BHG were to make the laundry room look more laundrified with baskets and cute detergent, etc.

She came with baskets but they got lost in the cabinetry so she asked if I had any cute fabric. Of course I do and in fact, I make a sport out of fabric hunting.

I produced this lovely David Hicks fabric and Grannie and I mistreated it into a basket liner—with safety pins. Yes, we did.

I’ve been mistreating fabric my whole life and now my professional stylist friend not only approves but applauds it. She and I? Two peas in a pod.

I loved it so much I think I’m gonna make an honest to goodness liner to go in there and I’m gonna keep the clothespins idea. Loved it all.

I also loved the pillows she brought for the sofa! (from John Robshaw) Good pillows are expensive but so worth it.

She borrowed a twin quilt from the Camp Room (which I haven’t shown you yet) to put over the sofa and I think I’m just gonna have to keep it there. And her trick for getting things just right? She takes pictures of the space and then studies it from there and decides what changes might make it better.

That’s Stevie in the background, trying to get the heck out of Dodge as fast as he could. He’s not much of a photo shoot kinda of a guy, in case you were wondering.

Pretty quick after the crew arrived on Wednesday, I did the important things first. I found out who’s in charge of the photoshopping and we had a little talk. I said to Zane, “Zane, dear, I just want to be clear on something. No matter what the photos look like, I weigh 120 pounds. Are we both okay with that?”

And he said, “Yes ma’am”. Like the good Southern boy he is. I may or may not have offered him cash.

They took about 20 different shots, including the kitchen, the workroom, the master, the girls’ room, the living room and the guest room. They came prepared with a shot list that described in detail what they were trying to capture with each one. Nearly every shot was the same process: they would set it up, style it, shoot it and then tweak it after looking at the shot on the monitor. It took a long time to get everything just right. These people are serious business when it comes to everything being perfect. They do not attend the school of ‘oh, everything looks fine wadsworth academy’. They cipher and hem and haw and move things an inch and then another inch. They are really good at what they do. I was so impressed.

They sent me an email a week before the shoot and said, “Hey, since you’re gonna be in January’s issue, do you have any good organization solutions that are pretty to share?”

“Um, no. That’s not one of my spiritual gifts,” I replied.

But turns out, they did find a couple.

They shot my colorful shelves with all the fiesta ware and my glass canisters, labeled and all, full of flour, sugar, etc.

My poor sister slaved over the open shelves in the pantry for a good six hours the day before they got here. “Should we put the tomatoes beside the chicken stock or the beans by the rice?” we kept asking ourselves. This is just like rocket surgery, people. You gotta get it right. Everybody knows that barley and wild rice should be stored in proximity. We both just had a hunch they’d want to shoot the pantry. And we were right. I’m so glad she took her organizing skills to the next level and made the pantry beautiful. I can promise you that it’s not always so.

Because she’s all kinds of sweet and amazing, she also baked pumpkin bread with pumpkin buttercream icing and it may very well be famous. They took several photos that included the pumpkin bread! It definitely won ‘best prop’ award. Unless you ask Stevie and he’ll say it was the glass of wine.

Here’s what I learned from the living room shoot. Decorate the room how you think it looks best and then take out half the stuff. EDIT. I don’t edit. I need to learn to edit. Tzotche hoarders don’t edit well. See how cleared off my coffee table is? THere’s NOTHING on the bottom of it. NOT. ONE. THING.

Stevie and I compromised when we rebuilt our house and I told him he could find any chair he loved as HIS chair. It wouldn’t have to match with the decor and I wouldn’t tell him what it had to look like. All I can tell you——it’s really comfortable. Not so photogenic, as it turns out. They made a note on their shot list to remove ‘the ugly leather chair in the corner.’ Okay, they didn’t say ugly but Stevie knew what they meant. It’s a tiny notch above a lazy boy. A very tiny notch. It got sent to the kitchen for the shot, along with two other chairs and a stool. Apparently, I hoard furniture too.

We all had a good laugh!

The other side of the room is where the camera was positioned on the tripod. The shots came up on a large screen for everyone to analyze. We all crowded around the computer to see Zane and Heather Anne work their magic. They opened the front door for the living room shot to let as much natural light in as possible.

To make the day more soothing and enjoyable, Zane played some wonderful music for us. I learned about the Lumineers and Old Crow Medicine Show. Then around 4:30 when everyone was tired and jacked up on too much caffeine, Zane decided to show us a YouTube clip of Flight of the Conchords. And in a twist of beautiful fate, he sang this whole little ditty for us, complete with all the beautiful facial expressions. I laughed until I needed to change pants. It was epic. I’ll never forget. Thank you, Zane. So very much. I hope we end up in the same nursing home cause you’re funny.

The island looked like this most of the time. I was far more worried about making sure everybody was fed and caffeinated than anything else. I can’t even help myself. The photographer was so gracious to have food catered but cooking is just what I do. I’m happiest when I’m feeding people.

The girls room was scheduled to be shot, which is why they were relegated to the attic room for three days. Grannie (my mother’s name to all who know her) ironed the sheets, pillowcases and duvets and then we forbid anyone in that room until the shoot. I’ve added bedskirts and a couple pillows since you saw it last so I thought you might like a peek! They are so glad to have their space back and I’m still trying to fumigate the attic room.

They weren’t originally gonna shoot the workroom—but they added it and I think I have finally located all my wayward books. You’ve seen this room a thousand times but I thought you might like the green trellis monogrammed pillow I added. It makes me smile every single day. And those adorable yellow ranunculus? My new favorite flower.

They didn’t shoot the side entry but this purse was hanging there this week and I instantly fell in love and had to know all about her.

I sent a text of this photo to JamieKnoxville today and under the text, I said, “Never mind the eggs.”

She texted back, “Hmmm, love it but the basket of eggs throws me off. At least there’s not a live chicken coming out of the purse.” Truer words have nary been spoken.

The purse belonged to Jessica, the very talented art director from BHG. She was very inspiring to be around and was the cause of all my Amazon dollars being spent—-in books and one very cool purse. She is quite the creative lady with a VERY colorful house! Her house was featured in BHG a few years back and she showed us the pics. Her house makes mine look like a snoozer. Great inspiration for us all.

I’ve already received the purse and I can testify that it is in fact the most wonderful purse I’ve ever owned. It’s falls the perfect length off the shoulder and the leather is like buttah.

As a side note, I feel like such a fraud when I say purse. I grew up in a family where the women carried pocket books. It just seems wrong to call this beautiful thing anything so wrong as a pocket book. I know what pocket books look like and this is not one of them. Whatever this is, it is not a pocket book. Tell me I’m right on this?!

The volume and beauty of the flowers they bring is amazing. I wish I had access to fresh flowers like this everyday. Life is better with beautiful flowers!

Here’s what might surprise you about a big magazine photo shoot.

1. They turn off all the lights in the house, including the lamps. I’m so stealing this idea for my own home shooting.

2. They use a tripod on every shot. I never bother to get out my tripod but when you’re shooting with the lights off, the shutter speed will inevitably be longer and noone can hold that still. Stealing that idea too.

3. They’re all so darn nice and gracious. You feel intimidated and out of their league. I was gonna start apologizing for all the things in my house that weren’t done. But they’re all people too—with homes in various stages of progress. We’re all the same, really. I shouldn’t have been so nervous.

4. They shop the house and rearrange things like crazy. They moved chairs, tables, rugs, etc to other rooms and for other purposes. They also brought a host of things that might help including pillows, rugs and lots and lots of flowers. AND…..beside and all around the beautiful shot they’re creating??? Utter chaos. Crap laying everywhere, stuff pushed into corners. But that one spot is perfect. It’s really kinda cool.

5. You need your people with you. My mom and my sister stayed with me nearly the whole time. It was so comforting to have their help and to have someone to enjoy the process with. Thank you, a million times thank you for all your sacrifice of time.

6. It was a wonderful, life-enriching experience and I feel SO BLESSED to have been a part of it. What a way to end a story!

What Better Homes didn’t shoot

September 21, 2012 by Edie Wadsworth 45 Comments

I’m writing a big, long, ginormous post all about the Better Homes and Gardens photo shoot at our house. Presently, I’d like to show you 3 things they didn’t shoot.

Exhibit A: My favorite vignette.

They didn’t shoot it. Did I say that already?

They begged, borrowed and pillaged all the items here—-including the table and the stool and the tray and the tzotches—-to use in other photos. But I like it better just like this. So after they left, I styled it myself just for you and me to look at and enjoy.
And Stevie. Of course, he’s enjoying it immensely. Did you even have to ask?

Exhibit B: The Screened Porch

The screen porch got dissed. She was on the original shot list and somehow she didn’t make the cut.

It hurt. I comforted her with flowers and long sessions of coffee drinkin’. It’s okay, she’s happy to serve her family dutifully, whether she gets the credit she deserves or not.

The stylist, who is my new BFF, ‘called in’ a few Dash and Albert accessories in the form of pillows and a rug. I loved them and bought them at cost. For. The. Win.

Exhibit C: Living in Squalor

In anticipation of this very busy week, we wanted to try to establish a ‘safe zone’ for the girls—-where they could sleep, do schoolwork, chill out, braid each others’ hair, etc—away from the lights and cameras.

I took one look at this room yesterday (after 3 days of abuse) and said, “Are y’all hiding a dead body in here?”

There were :

2 old Hardee’s bags full of half eaten breakfast items from TUESDAY.

some McDonald’s chicken nuggets and leftover milkshakes from Sonic.

Three days of clothes strowed all over the floor.

huge tangles of yarn and duct tape and embroidery floss.

oodles of dance paraphernalia and even a few school books and papers.

They pretty much lived in squalor like two meth addicts for three days.

But somehow, we all survived and lived to tell about it.

Which I will do on Monday.

The highlight of my week was discovering Old Crow Medicine Show from the photographer’s playlist!

Happy Weekend!