Sixteen summers ago, my sister in law and I were pregnant at the same time. Due the very same day, actually, August 15th. It was my 4th and her first. Her baby seemed anxious to arrive first — she was on bed rest beginning in mid-pregnancy. In mid-June I also began having signs of...
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When you pick 15 cabbages in one morning, it’s a pretty sure bet there’s all manner of salad in your future. Recently I made a great Thai Pasta Salad that was inspired by the recipe here on Casual Kitchen, one of my very favorite cooking blogs. The salad is perfect on a hot day,...
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I got two books in the mail on the same day a few weeks ago, which was an interesting coincidence, because I think the authors would find a lot of common ground. Palmer Chinchen wrote True Religion: Taking Pieces of Heaven to Places of Hell on Earth. He challenges Christians to be part of...
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It’s begun already. Earlier it seems than most years. I’m awash in zucchini. I vowed to pick them tiny, I really did. It’s so much easier to pick/eat/give away 6-inch zucchinis than 18-inch monsters. But then we went camping and came back to plants that had gone berserk in our absence. John and I...
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I got an email earlier this week from Jessica at Life As Mom. She is doing Christmas in July this week, talking smart about budgeting, avoiding debt and other important ways to plan wisely for a meaningful, debt free Christmas. Go check it out–looks like good stuff, and there are some good giveaways too. ...
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Fishing to some people involves a dock and a lawn chair, or a boat out on the lake. But to us and to our kids, fishing means putting on water shoes and ‘getting wet’ clothes, and hiking a winding river whose banks look different every year. Much of the river meanders shallow. You can...
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I’ve been listening in all the wrong places Am I alone? Am I missing every word You’re saying I don’t know the sound of Your voice anymore Anymore, anymore Speak to me, please speak to me I’m in between and I can’t hear You Whisper, shout it Give me something I need it now,...
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This afternoon I sat in my shady corner of the deck next to our pool, and watched my kids splash into the water one by one. With only one child in the water, waves were small. But as more kids splashed and leaped their way in, the water got choppier, the waves bigger, the...
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30-Second skirt — all this takes is an old t-shirt and a few seconds (OK, maybe 5 minutes) of sewing. And it has POCKETS. I’m totally totally trying this. Maybe even 3 or 7 times. Easy kids weaving craft — all this takes is a paper plate, a big needle, and some yarn. ...
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OK, here’s another recipe I tried from The Berry Bible. If you already have berries, this is very affordable. It is elegantly delicious, and it comes together really quickly. I modified it just a bit. Most notably, I didn’t have fresh lemons, so I used bottled lemon juice and orange zest. I rounded half-tablespoon...
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