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life{in}grace

live with more presence, passion, & purpose

family life

From the North Woods

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“Her house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking, best, or a pleasant mixture of them all.”

This is what I get to do all week. Sit by the lake, watch the cottonwood trees blow in the wind and figure out a way to spend more time here in the summer. We’re in Steve’s hometown, Alexandria, MN. It’s the quaintest little town I’ve ever visited. I’d rather come here than anywhere for vacation. There’s something like 400 lakes in this little town. And the cutest antique shops ever. Steve’s mom is spoiling us with wonderful food and lots of knitting tutorials. Which I seem to desperately need. I’ve restarted Taylor’s beanie 4 times. Or is it five?

I spent a little time at Steve’s childhood home (where sister Julie now lives) and her house is full of wonderful priceless treasures. A virtual antique store in its’ own right.

(Cousin) Daniel, Steve, and Emme were concentrating on something yesterday…..

and so were Grandpa, Josh, (brother) Jeff and Elea……

….a little remote control boat…..that kept getting tangled in the weeds……

Aren’t the simple pleasures always the best?

Stay tuned for more vacation fun. Wonder if I could talk the retired Naval policeman whose house sitting for me to blog for me too? Maybe that’d be too much to ask.

Special message to my blog readers:
I’m so thankful that you meet me in this ‘space’. I’m so grateful that so many of you have taken the time to introduce yourselves and become friends. And so often when I visit your blogs, I find that you support the writing and the projects here by linking to them and sharing them with your friends. I’m always so amazed and humbled by that. We are friends, you and I, and I want you to know that I notice and appreciate your kindness. You are some of the most amazing and talented people in the world and I feel privileged to know you.

I thought it’d be fun (and I’m flat out copying Emily at ChattingattheSKy) if you’d tell us all where you’re reading from. Just city and state or just state if you’d like. And if you’re not a blogger and you’ve never ‘registered’ to comment, it’s not hard at all. Just type a comment and then it will ask you to sign up with blogger. (This does not mean you have to sign up to write a blog, you’ll just have a sign in name and password). Take the time to do it because I know there have been times you wanted to comment. So sign up with blogger and then leave a comment about you’re from. It’ll be fun. It will.

From my kitchen— on July 4th

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We interrupt the regularly scheduled series—-which I shall certainly not finish by Monday—to bring you a few dynamite ideas for the Fourth of Juuuly.   That’s how we say it in the South. 

Juuuu-ly.   

With an emphasis on the ‘Ju’.  And I’ll just confess this right now, I don’t have a whole lot of Independence Day knick-knacks.  
Hold on, let me scan around the house one good time. (from the sofa I look quickly in all directions)   
Not even one.   I don’t have one Fourth of Juuuly knick knack.   And I probably won’t look like an American flag myself.   I’m just not a ‘try to wear as much holiday paraphernalia as possible’  kind of a girl.   Not that I don’t enjoy cute little girls or darling little old ladies decked out in holiday fare.   Because I do. And it’s not that I’m not intensely patriotic.  Because I am.  I get teary eyed almost anytime I meet an honest to goodness soldier, or read almost any book about America’s founding fathers, or see little girls and darling little old ladies decked out in flag-printed clothing.
 
Not to worry though,  I can often be ‘over the top’ when it comes to my tablescapes.  And I’m never in short supply of flags.   When I saw this cute little idea on Kimba’s site, with the bandanas, I knew  it would work perfect for my upcoming ‘luncheon’.   We dined inside but in true picnic style.  I used one of those genu-ine camping table cloths and my favorite white plates with red napkins.   Strawberries and cherries in fancy compotes completed the festive table.

 Okay, enough about the tablescape, I must introduce you to the star of the show:  
Ratatouille Tart
This recipe came from my favorite source for new recipes, Cuisine at Home.  Have you seen this little magazine?  I’ve been getting it for about 3 years now–since I stopped hi-jacking them from my mother’s house– and have made so many scrumptious recipes from it.   You must subscribe.  I don’t mean to make your mouth water unduly, but this is a homeade tart crust (prebaked for 30′ at 375), with basil and fontina cheese layered first, then mandolin-sliced zucchini, squash, red onion, and red pepper, layered next.  It’s finished off with generous drizzles of olive oil and salt and pepper and then baked for thirty more minutes.

Then, I searched high and low until I found three cute little helpers decked out in red to skewer the kabobs–jerk chicken kabobs with kielbasa and veggies–from same said magazine.

My style is often to mix elements of style–a little retro with my cottage or picnic with my fancy–I think it makes decorating and living in general, more interesting.

So, I wish you all a Happy Fourth.  Of Juuuly.    And I wish you were here to taste this tart. Stevie says it doesn’t touch the homeade pizza I made earlier this week, but he was only mad because I didn’t add salami, pepperoni, beef and sausage to this tres chic tart.  We’re foodies around here, we can’t help it.   

We had such a fun visit with our friends Sebastian and Sarah.   And can’t wait to see them again!
I hope to post the ‘Surround Them with Books’ this weekend and then we’ll finish up next week. I can’t decide if I should do a linky or if you just want to post your ideas for ‘Creating a Learning Environment’ in the comments.   Let me know today in the comments and my girls  will pick one lucky (at random) person to give a one year subscription of Cuisine At Home.  And if you have any fun ideas for July 4th desserts (besides the cake decorated like a flag or the standard trifle) let us know! 
Disclaimer–I have no affiliation with this cooking magazine, I just love it….and you!
Post Edit:  It occurred to me while I was running this morning that you might need to hear Juuuly pronounced, at least those of you who don’t live below the Mason-Dixon.    And when this song came on my iPod, I knew I had to share with you.   A little family trivia for those of you who enjoy such, our dog Scooter is named after Shooter Jennings—because I thought his name was Scooter Jennings.   And our dog Hank is named after Hank Williams—my daddy’s favorite musician.  I’m not a fan of much current country music but I grew up listening to eight tracks of  Tammy Wynette and George Jones–so if I bust out into ‘Golden Ring’ or ‘We’re Gonna Hold On’, consider it a form of mental disorder forced on me when I was 3 and cut me some slack.   Please, for the love of all things honky-tonk and patriotic, give Shooter a listen–at least until you see those darlin’ girls with those sundresses and cowgirl boots (one of my all-time favorite looks)  and until he says
 ‘Foath-a-Juuuly-yyy”

Today is June 24th and I’m…..

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….moving things around…..creating spaces that inspire me and cleaning up dust bunnies in the process.  The ones I can see…..in my bedroom….and the ones
I often forget….in my heart.
  I’m thinking about my life and finding so many reasons
to be thankful.   I’m worrying…..about Taylor and ‘the boys’ taking their 10 day tour 
…..in my car……praying for safety and anticipating this journey as his rite of passage
into the world of manhood and adventure…..
and wishing I could stow away in his guitar case….if only for a day.
This little boy that has become a man nearly always
reminds me of you—-something in his smile, I guess.
I’m dreaming…..of books I’ve yet to read and places I’ve yet to visit 
and standing quietly over the memories of books and places and people that have changed my heart forever.    I’m longing……for more time, for more patience, for the gentleness of heart to lead my children to life abundant.   
 But then my thoughts freeze.
When I think of you.
 
The kind and humored spirit whose life marks my soul forever.
Whose death changed me forever.
And who, in his deliberate choice to laugh…..
when life constantly brought him tears……
is my teacher always.
Happy Birthday Daddy.  Your children miss you.  Your grandchildren
would make you proud.
Your tears were not in vain.

Father’s Day Weekend

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I love holidays.   All of them.   And you can bet your bottom dollar that holidays will find us ‘hunkered down’ at the ranch (ie. suburban home on a cul de sac), cooking all manner of yummy treats, and taking full advantage of family time. Father’s Day is an especially fun one because it coincides with the US Open.   In summary, we have watched golf (ie.Tiger), consumed generous amounts of food, read some good books, and made every attempt not to leave the house.
And if you had this guy
with these particular forearms……hanging around your kitchen, you wouldn’t want to leave either.   (I admit that I share Pioneer Woman’s obsession with forearms)
My feeble attempts at family photos were met with much resistance.   
Even the dog resisted.
So I settled for a few candid shots of the backyard antics.  
 A little soccer.
A little Yoga.
And a whole
lot of
tomfoolery.
Father’s Day Menu (made by yours truly and kicken-nicken)
Grilled Filet
Corn on the Cob
Key Lime Pie (I’d tell but I’d have to kill you)
Happy Father’s Day, honey!
You are the key lime to my pie….
the HD to my TV…..
the avocado to my homeade salsa!
We love you and thank God for your presence in our lives!
We also would like to wish Grandpa Eddie a Happy Father’s Day!  We can’t wait to see you.
Reminder:  Tomorrow I hope to host a Linky Party on Painted Patio Furniture.  If it rained all weekend at your house (like it did at mine) just show us what you plan to do.  Painted planters or other garden ‘stuff’ is fair game.  I may not post the Linky party until later in the afternoon, so you’ll have plenty of time get those posts ready.

Summer school, strawberries, hobbits, and aprons

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Guess what happens when strawberries are fresh….and children are bored….and days are long?

First, we read chapter 2 of The Hobbit aloud. Those little guys eat a lot. So then we get hungry and make a little homeade strawberry sugary magic. And then make toast and bagels and peanut butter sandwiches to spread it on.

What’s better than making homeade strawberry sugary magic? Eating it! And giving it away. And eating some more.

And the only thing better than making homeade strawberry jam and eating it….is wearing this adorable Anthropologie apron, that my friend Ruthie gave to me, while doing it. And my favorite necklace of all time that I bought from Lisa Leonard Designs. I know, it’s like a dog-tag….kid-tag….or something like that. I absolutely love it and wear it everyday. Oh, and that birdy necklace? Lisa Leonard too. You really need to visit her website.

Welcome to Logos Summer School! And thank you Ruthie for the perfect apron. (It just so happens to to match my kitchen and my blog!) And thank you Tolkein for the perfect summer read-aloud.

Post-edit: I’ve been working on my curriculum review from this past year and also have included in there some of our summer plans. Click here to read. In a nutshell, we’re going to do Rosetta Stone French, reading (aloud, alone, and books on tape), and continue learning the multiplication tables, along with other fun stuff such as canning and jam making and herb growing! Loosely, our schedule will be chores, french, and math in the mornings, reading after lunch, and swimming and chasing fireflies whenever we can!