Montage du Jour: our life through pictures & words

Lent is upon us....

2011-03-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

It is lovely to finally make it to this time of year, a pause in the whir of days. My Lent though usually looks like a wild ride at a fair, with a lot of falling off and getting right back on. I used to worry about that-the falling off part. Then I figured well, I do get back on, right? That is what I'm supposed to do, get back to the Lenten tasks, or challenges, or prayers.
There is so much to pray for this Lent-wars and disturbances in the Middle East and North Africa, Monetary crises big and small, The Massive Earthquake, Tsunami, Nuclear Issue in Japan, Abortion and all the requests I read daily. Life is such a mess, it always has been, yet lately is seems messier than it was....Well, we just keep going-God willing with prayer, grit, determination, hope and love we will help each other and advert more crises. I'll pray on that....

Another fall....

2010-10-06T11:55:00.000-07:00

Unbelievably, almost a year has gone by since my last post! Good grief, how’d that happen? It seems Life has a way of tearing along like a river, just carrying us along as if we’re an untethered boat-gotta take control, steer, consult a map, chart a course, then follow it! I could keep on with the boat/river/sailor analogies, but I’m sure you understand.

To wrap up the last post, my challenge with the early mornings has been rocky at best, but I am doing better at the early hours. Rising with the squabble of sparrows is not my forte but it’s do~able, though by the end of the week I find it a definite challenge! Especially if we’ve gotten to bed late. There’s so much to do, so many interesting things or jobs that must be done, that it’s hard to pay attention to the time and hit the hay at a ‘reasonable’ hour. Oh well, I’m trying and that is the point, to try! Of course, while cooking for our county 4-H camp I found it quite easy to get up at 6 a.m., 5:45 even~that probably had a lot to do with the fact that it was light out, there were raucous ravens next door and my tent mate generally rises at 5 a.m. I really hoped that would carry over into everyday life, however I was so exhausted that it didn’t~as a matter of fact the whole next week was a drag yourself out of bed challenge extravaganza!

Well, in looking back over my posts I mentioned some posts to come-silly me, to promise things like that! Well, I will try to cover those ideas of mine, perhaps in the next post even (apple pie anyone?) So stay tuned! I have recipe ideas, homeschool ideas, commentary on life and nature, even observations of people and such, perhaps even about what my kids are doing, or what I’m doing (my new past time? Fiddling (or violin playing, you pick I can never decide). My goal is a post a week, if not more often.

Here’s to a lovely fall~cranberry muffins and hot coffee (or tea). Enjoy the season!

...One Week Down

2009-11-06T13:57:00.000-08:00

Today I am very proud of myself, not in a prideful way mind you, but in a ‘proud of myself for doing something hard for me’ way. I have gotten up at 6 a.m. for 5 mornings in a row...I know, I know, some of you are saying, “Big Deal, I’ve done that all my life!”. Well, I’m not a morning person as my family and friends know. I don’t like getting out of that warm cozy bed, purring cat hogging my robe. Oh, I can get up early-I get up at 5 a.m. during the fair, 6 a.m. for camp-in those situations others are dependent on me as we need to get to the fairgrounds by 6 a.m. or I need to get cooking for the camp. Just don’t talk to me much the first hour, the conversation center in my brain’s not awake. (This was tried once at camp by a obtuse volunteer, it didn’t go over well at all!)

Having a busy household, one of my goals has been to get going sooner, I felt I must do this thing-roll out of bed an hour earlier. Ugh. When tried before I failed miserably...however I believe I have found the solution. It sounds really silly too-just get up when the alarm goes off. That’s all, just roll out of bed, go turn on the coffee, feed the cat and the rest of the morning routine. No thinking or analyzing allowed! Before my downfall was thinking before rolling out of bed, stopped me in my tracks, er sheets, right there...before I knew it the alarm was repeating itself for the 3rd or 4th time. I’d have to spring up and hustle to get lunches made, get myself taken care of, chores and off to work or wherever. Stressful! With no time for me or eating nicely or even cleaning up! I even tried to justify it-I‘ll pray, I’ll think about the coming day. Right, you know what happened of course, I just went back to sleep!

So, it will be interesting to see if I can keep this up-I am going to try. If I have extra time in the mornings I can work on the computer or get chores out of the way. I can bake, clean toilets, work in the garden, pray or read! The possibilities are endless...Wish me good success! :)

Fall, Apples and homeschooling...

2009-10-09T13:12:00.000-07:00

Perusing friends posts and great fall photos got me to thinking about what I love about fall. It’s one of the richest times of the year-the trees are turning gorgeous colors, there’s a lot of activity by both animals and humans as they gather in and store foodstuffs, there’s a flurry of activity as football games are played weekly, harvest fairs and festivals take place, craft fairs spring up. The air itself becomes changeable. Now we really know the seasons have swung-some days the air is crystal with the red and yellow notes of autumn in the trees, other days it has a blue smudge along the hills from shifting air patterns and wood smoke. Smells are more pronounced-apples are abundant and if you drive by an orchard there is a winey fresh crisp scent that makes one want to run and shout. A late rose has a spice to it reminding one of cookies, dry leaves a different spicy smell and so on.

Once my children and I began to explore this world we found a ton of things to do, books to read, places to explore...really an explosion of colors, scents, tastes-the whole sensory experience!

I loved to do what we called Unit Studies, which takes a theme, say “Apples” in this case, and ties together all the disciplines and includes hands-on as well as the more formal writing reading and arithmetic. Of course, I took this farther by adding to them myself, and encouraging the children to add as well (to the extent that they’d come up with their own “unit studies”) With different age groups I tried to have activities and books for all levels so there was something for all. We often ended up rabbiting onto other topics, but that was okay-learning was actively happening!

One experience that comes to mind is the field trip to the local apple orchard. We spent the majority of the day at Gizdech Ranch which is a wonderful ranch, as it has not just apples, but all sorts of berries as well-you can do u-pick for about 3/4 of the year there...As well, there is an on-site bakery, fruit ‘stand’ (a store really), antiques shop and cider mill. You can spend the day there!

For our field trip the kids started with a tour of the orchards where they were taught how the apples were grown, what kinds there were, how the pickers knew they were ripe, how they were picked, what they were made into and what happened to the excess or apple waste! Whew. They then picked a bushel to take home, a job made quick by the fact apples are so large-if you aren’t careful you can pick quite a few in thirty minutes. At an u-pick farm that can add up quickly-apples are much heavier than berries! :) This was followed by a tour of the apple sorting, washing and packing facility and the cooler. We watched a batch of apple cider being made (the non-alcoholic kind) and then it was off to the bakery! My favorite part-they were making apple pies with mounds of apples! Yum. Once the tour was done, apple pie was on our menu-before lunch even!

The day was so full it seemed foolish to push anything else into the schedule, however with all those apples it also seemed silly to not create! Apple pie, applesauce, apple butter, dried apples...we came up with a lot of things to make in the next week. A lot of apples were munched up in hand-really one of the best things about an apple; a quick snack, loaded with fiber, pectin and more! The ones we picked were small too, a perfect snack for little hands-big ones too.

So besides baking and preserving, lots of other things can be done with apples. Apple themed math of course-weights and measures, graphing, even addition and subtraction. For literature, we made apple books-large apple shapes, colored to reflect the child’s favorite apple and enclosing enough pages for them to draw and write inside. (A journal would work too, especially for old kids) These books were devoted to the exploration of apples, including poems, Journaling about the field trip, observations of apples... We cut apples in half different ways and made botanical drawings showing the seeds and stem along with the flowers. As well, I pulled out all the books I could find, plus more from the library with information about apples, or apple themes. It is amazing what you can find! (That was in pre-internet days too!) We covered history, famous people, stories both true and fiction-I don't think we exhausted the subject either!

Crafts are fun done with apples. There is printing with halves-gift wrap, bags, aprons. Cinnamon-applesauce ornaments. Apple heads :) which are hysterical when done-they start out all nice and plump then become wizened and wrinkled. Apple pomanders. The four seasons of an apple tree using tissue paper on a rail road board-draw four trees, color then add the foliage and flowers, or apples. Fun!

It’s easy to do this yourself. Call around to local orchards, many have tours or would be happy to have you come out. Much of what we did was just pulled from our bookshelves or various places around the house-it doesn’t have to be expensive. I ‘ve provided some links for you below-more can be found by searching for different phrases. Don’t forget your local library either-it can have a ton of resources and books (fiction and non-fiction) available, fun to look through and read. I’ll rustle up some of my favorite recipes and ideas and post them next!

http://www.fastq.com/~jbpratt/education/theme/food/apples.html (ideas)
http://www.kinderkorner.com/apple.html (ideas)
http://www.ket.org/trips/orchard/ (electronic field trips)

About that Green Thing...

2009-05-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

Being green is what a frog does, or a lawn, or a shamrock, or even beer on St. Patrick's Day, but alas, it has also become the code word for "into saving the planet by reducing use of resources in daily choices". My first thoughts were, Please give me a break, I grew up doing all of this, it was (and is) just common sense! Then I thought it was funny, and now I am just really tired of it all since most "Green" people seem to be a really pale shade of green, say, by buying green cleaning products, shleping them home in a green sack and then using paper towels to clean up spills. (personally, I have used and reused cloth for years on just about anything and I am here to testify that yes, we have stayed healthy!)

You see, I grew up in a one wage earner family where mom made clothing, used a clothes line, and vacations often meant visiting people. Simple stuff. We ate whole foods too, as in, roast chicken. Then you take the left overs and make sandwiches or soup or... My mom was (is) big into lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, olive oil, and so on. Her ingenious way of using up left-overs was to make what she called goulash. It involved some leftover meat(s), noodles, sour cream (or not), tomatoes (or not) and so on. It actually tasted pretty good too. So when it comes to using a laundry line, I am following the examples set before me!

When my dry broke the other day it got me thinking about all the things my mom, my aunts and Grandma Vodvick taught me about living frugally, er excuse me, Green. Laundry was one of them...the sun is a great dryer and whitener. It can take stains out with a little help from a lemon (and now oxyclean), and it helps create fresh smelling clothing with the help of the air around us. It is also green aka free and easy to use (well, unless its winter, and then I have (really) strung lines in the garage and house.). Believe me, with a family of five, 3 of them male, we really used that 5 line pull out a lot! So when I see articles on how to save money in these tough economic times, or how to be more Green, I roll my eyes and shrug. What is old is new again, I guess. It is good that a whole new group of folks are being introduced to an old way of taking care of things in a low impact way on both our enviroment and ourselves. I just wish they would not feel the need to make it so pc, so code worded, so silly.

God gave us much on this earth to use wisely for our lives, for others, for ourselves. To be a good steward is to try to do that when we can, but to also realize He gave someone the idea for a dryer so that is a great thing too! When buying one we can look for the best use of materials and the least use of energy. Perhaps buying a clothes line at the same time for those times the wonderful invention fails isn't a bad idea either, actually, a really frugal idea! Just keep it away from the creative ones in the family! I should know....

From the Garden, a wee bit of Heaven....

2009-05-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

Graham Thomas, a glowing yellow scented rose

So, the merry Month of May is also Mary's month for those who still follow tradition...crowning statues of Mary with rings of roses and other flowers, the extra heaped about her feet. A beautiful bower to be sure!

It is also the time when weddings start gearing up with the glory of the weather and garden and bird song, and May Day-something we celebrated growing up in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Due to the huge population from Scandinavian countries, we inherited their wonderful customs and foods (Danish Pastry is The Best!). We would learn dances and preform, the climax being the dance around a May Pole with its multicolored ribbons-beautiful. Then we feasted on all the goodies brought by families, oh it was glorious!

To celebrate this wonderful month, here is a bouquet of roses, picked in the morning before the rain had a chance to make the blooms soggy...

Sitting on the wagon seat...

A little bit of Heaven, right in my yard...

A parting view, over the wagon seat...pay no attention to the weeds, they belong to my neighbor! :)

(NOTE: Sorry about the CopyRights, but it had to be done. I do sell the photos, so if interested, contact me @ helenrr @ sbcglobal.net (must remove spaces). Thanks!

Golly, a month goes by fast!

2009-05-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

It seems so silly, to promise to blog, and then...not blog. Ha. I have a life, really, and it seems to take all those really good ideas and trash them. Sigh. Oh well.

So, I am, with God's grace (the only way really) going to try to blog more...not just about kids, or flower pictures, but other things...like the state of the world and how I feel about it. Or recipes. Or food, and my thoughts on eating. :) Or chocolate and wine (which go together very nicely thank you!)

So let May begin! Mary's month....

Looking back...reviewing our homeschooling days...

2009-03-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

Looking back at the past 16 years, well longer really, 22 years, I marvel at how much my children did on their own, that was not part of a curriculum, class or other scripted educational exercise. We started homeschooling when my daughter was 5 (and a half) since she was already well past the area kindergartens, and the private schools were well past our means. Even with her younger brother in tow, we managed to blow through the kindergarten math, reading, phonics et cetera and play, enjoying the world and seasons. Eventually, I managed the knack of "after the fact" recording, where I would figure out where everything fit in the assignment forms after the children did something, built something or we went somewhere, or....Looking back at those assignment sheets, they are crammed-yes, there is math, English, science, etc-but the projects, the art, the life experiences! WOW

(Least you think my children are out begging on street corners - my daughter graduated with a BA in psychology from SFSU, and is looking to work on her graduate degree, among other things. My middle son has graduated from high school and is living on his own and working on a cattle ranch as a cowboy and doing general all around work including welding. My youngest entered the only local high school (that we'd consider ) and made it into GATE classes. Not bad for having fun homeschooling!? eh?) (Alas, none of them are social misfits, and have friends and an awareness of the world that puts "PAID" to the whole socialization myth.)

My 3 managed to cram a lot into every day and week. They still do, too. My middle son is the child who basically taught himself through unschooling, while the other two were close behind...as a matter of fact, none of them are afraid to go and figure out how to do what they want to do and to find the funding or materials for it. Which is good because my bank account is not a bottomless pit of money, it is just a pit ....without much in it :) Of course, my yard and house were pretty much a hopeless mess, but lets not dwell on that, shall we?

So for this post I thought I would pull out some recent examples of their creativity...and what was learned through each experience.

First the middle child...
Who decided to grow corn. What was impressivee was that he did all his own research, found his field, bought or got materials donated, and even made this handy plow (left) out of found materials. He eventually had a crop, that is until the deer came and ate it-even replanted three times. Sadly, we never saw the corn harvested and he never found out if he would have had the finances come out the way he figured. Possibly, had he invested in deer fencing he would have come out in the red, at least last year. Then this year he would have perhaps made a bit. Life changes though, and he is now too far away to maintain the field.

Some may think that this project was a failure, after all, he never harvested a crop. However, he learned a lot, and applied a lot of collected knowledge to make the corn field work, at least until the deer won. He learned perseverance, that there is more than one way to water corn (or that there is more than one way to approach a project), he learned to utilize found lumber and other things to build a fence and make a plow, he even used knowledge from an agriculture class to prepare the field and find seed and drip tape. No crop of corn was harvested, but a crop of learning, of experience and lessons in life was harvested, and that is what his life, our life, has always been about. It will carry into the future with him and help him be a can do type of person, something that is getting very rare indeed.

As for my other son, here is an example of what happens when you give a child room to imagine, to just play with out directions. Well, and a huge collection of Lego's ;) He loves Star Wars, but also adventure and fantasy. So one day they all morphed into a Indian Jones meets Star Wars sort of stage setting.

Here you can see what I mean, the rough and ready are taking on the droids. I believe the light and dark blue is water while the figure in the middle is a 'statue'. Oh, and here is a knight just in to help-see him there on the far left, emerging from the watery depths?

What I find fun is that he uses Lego's in ways my brother and I never thought of, such as the knight coming up from the deep.

The next photo shows Indiana Jones taking out a droid...ouch.

Again, someone may say, so? all kids play with Lego's. True, yet many don't go past the usual play and kits. Some, like my son spend hours planning, building sets or models, photographing them and publishing to Lego sites. They chat with other Lego hobbyist about anything Lego, and beyond. My son is much more aware of events taking place in the world today than many adults I know of, which makes him much more astute, especially of the political and economic climate. In discussing these current events with him, I have found him to be much more questioning of decisions made by the current crop of politicians, which is a good thing to learn early on. I want to stress I don't force these conversations, but do remind myself to stop and listen when he wants to talk. We have a lot of lively conversations, that is for certain!

So there is just a very small piece of our journey. Next post (which will be soon, I hope!) I will share some of our favorite ways to learn through homeschooling and unschooing....hopefully they will help someone else find joy in their children and the journey of learning in life.

more photos, just because...

2009-02-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

I can never seem to create a wonderful and clever post-they are there, just not on the page!
So I resort to photos...

Lemons, just after a rainstorm

A young flicker, sunning himself - taken through a glass door.

More to come....

Randomness explained

2008-12-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

A random list of photos, I know, but I am cleaning out my 'blog' file. These were meant to be posted a long, long time ago. Sigh, I have good intentions, but I just don't seem to put them at the top of my 'to do' list!

'Peace' in the garden, a gorgeous rose, originally named Rose d'Ore in France.

One of my favorite photos of Mike and Lefty at the Western Bonanza Livestock Show in February...Lefty was enjoying the people/cattle watching.

"The Wife of Bath" a lovely Austin rose, in full fig.

"Love-in-the-Mist" in a gorgeous blue, such a fun flower, with funny seed pods...a favorite as it will replant its self and come up over and over again.

"Peace" in Bud.

So there you have it, my collection of random photos...for now!

Just a Little Bit Behind....

2008-12-23T14:11:00.000-08:00

Updated pictures of the garden

Looking towards the back fence and the garden shed

Looking towards the front, note morning glories I didn't plant!

Looking at the zinnias :) and Potatoes (a failure, just a pound for all the foliage) and the compost

A beautiful green tomato with 'glitter'-so pretty in the sun

Well, as you can see, I have not posted in a good long while...so many more important things to do and so, this blog has languished... However my garden did not languish. It grew and grew, especially the Italian squash, which went every where! Next year, I think I will plant one. Also, all the squash will go in pots! They need room to roam and I can put the beds to better use...
The tomatoes did well, even though they weren't ready until October. I just used the last of them up-after covering the plants against freezes and rain, I let them go and last weeks freezing did them in! Garden Clean up, here I come.

(More catch-up posts to come)

Just gotta catch up, some how!

2008-08-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is the middle of August and I was going to try to post more often, well, at least weekly. Sigh. Today I haven't much time, we are off to see Randy Travis at the local fair. I love how he sings, and he is very nice and funny as well.

Our summer has been busy and the latest thing keeping me busy is my job, dog sitting Mike's new puppy (who is yet to be house broken, but we are working on that) and the garden. Darn fog has come in daily and the tomatoes are so slow in growing and ripening! I don't know about you, but I love good homegrown tomatoes-there is nothing like them! If I have extra I will freeze them...if I don't use them up in sauces or salsas that is :)

Here are some photos of the garden that I took before I traveled to San Diego to visit with my cousin Susan. By God's good grace, those plants have gotten bigger-I will have to take some more photos of them again!

Note the tomatoes in the buckets and bins-that is because they are heirlooms and I have bad luck with planting them in my soil. I followed the instructions found here and so far, so good. I only had about 5 die or simply disappear. :( And they left no forwarding address....
Okay, so I only have about 14 or 15 counting the volunteers...(why do they always do so well? I want to know the secret!!)

This is a shot of the zinnias, mint in pots, rhubarb in bigger pots and the potatoes (yes!) in the garbage can and the compost behind the barrel. The barrel will be planters for fruit trees next year, while the soil has been moved so it is not so unsightly.

A parting shot of the beautiful koi in a garden in Encinitas. With luck I will post more about that visit later...you should visit it if you are near there as it is both peaceful and beautiful.

Coming back from a Loooong Hiatus

2008-07-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I am sorry for anyone with enough time to check my blog to see if I had ever added another post! I basically checked out and didn't check back in...sorry about that! Between pigs, steer, school, work, kids working, husband, house and garden I never seemed to find the time to blog! I do love reading blogs, and I have great ideas for this one, so I am going to start again!
Starting with the beautiful snowy mountains in the last post. They aren't so beautiful right now as you can see (or not see :o\ ) from this screen shot from a local camera mounted on one of our local tv Stations.

The smoke is from not just the Indians Fire (started by a campfire) in the Los Padres National Forest (southwest of King City) but also from the Basin Complex Fire (started by lightening) which was located in the area east of Big Sur. The fires have burned over 100,000 acres and are yet to be extinguished, hardly surprising seeing as this area has not burned since the Marble Cone Fire in the 1970's.

So as you can see, the mountains are not visible today, and we have had ash falling, black skies and red suns on and off since the middle of June. Ugh. I still have to wash my van-ash really isn't good for the paint, but I bet it is good for the plants. The smoke has also caused allergies to take off and asthmatics are not happy campers with this, but other than staying inside, there is not a lot we can do.

I will post about some of the events that have already taken place, and I will try to remember to bring my camera so as to share the fun! of summer. :)

Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful...

2008-01-24T18:25:00.001-08:00

For this part of California! Well, maybe all of California..no it is not the Golden State at the moment, it is the White State, and brrr, COLD! We are having day time highs of 46 degrees, haha. Not counting windchill. Well, it is winter. The photo above is one Mike took today of Mt. Toro and the Santa Lucia Mountain Range. There is over a foot of snow in places and when it clears and you look down the valley, there is snow along all the ranges. Wew, it was one of the bigger storms we have had in a while.

I was worried about the new piggies, they are fine, as well my lemon tree is enduring the confines of the garage. This weather can't last forever (can it?) however we do need to water, and even snow has an inch of water to approximately every foot. So far we have escaped much wind damage, compared to the last storm (several weeks ago), however they are calling for more rain, snow and high winds...so we shall see what tomorrow brings.

I do love the look of snow up on the mountain tops though!

Belated Merry Christmas and A very Happy New Year!

2008-01-16T22:10:00.000-08:00

Hello all, so sorry to be so late with the good wishes...typical for me I guess. Today I sent out all of our thank yous for this year, and last year, and prior years. You see, it was good for my dk to write the thank yous mom requested, who of course then set them aside to send out some time...when the moon was in the perfect quarter and Martha S. came over to help do envelopes in Spencerian Script. Haha. (and don't get your knickers knotted. I like MS too...it was just fun to say that! )

So, the TY's are gone! And now I need to really get the rest of the Christmas cards out before Candlemas...February 2nd I believe...(I feel bad though, the tree is usually down by the 6th, Epiphany, but It Is Still UP. geesh. Even my dd has her tree down...never mind that she locked herself out in the process... but she even has it together!)

However here is my contribution to your seasons greetings-Wishing you blessings in the new year, may 2008 be good to you and yours and the grace and peace of Christmas be with you all.

~Helen and Family.

Raccoons and Rascals

2008-01-16T21:40:00.000-08:00

Raccoons are not often seen in our neighborhood, however rascals are....one night my two rascals ran in the house out of breath and excited...they had Seen Some Raccoons! On one hand, I was not interested ( I grew up with the critters irritating the heck out of us) on the other hand, I was not sure the boys weren't just foolin' around and trying to pull the wool over our collective eyes.

Actually, they were telling the truth, as the photo below illustrates. There were 2 or 3 of the critters in the trees about a block away, and Rascal Mike got a picture of at least one...as well I have pictures of "eyes" but those aren't as cute as the little 'thief' below.

Incidentally we have not seen them since, so I suspect the raccoon crew decided there were a few too many rascals around and left! At least I hope so-they are not kind to ponds! Which I have...

in Getting Ready for the Day

2008-01-16T21:31:00.000-08:00

I got sidetracked. Looking in the bathroom mirror at the holly tree. Which of course made me think about the birds that like to eat the berries, that haven't come yet...that poop on all the cars. That is the quandary. I love the tree and the birds. I like how the tree looks with the red berries and the bi-color leaves, I love watching the cedar wax bills wolf down the berries-I just don't like the mess they leave! :) Although it is amusing when they overload on the older berries and ahem, can't leave the premises...lol.

I also started thinking about the song "The Holly and the Ivy" which led to musing about a children's book, "Holly and Ivy" which led to another childrens book, "The Favorite Days" or something like that, and on to Christmas planning...

So I never got everything planned done that morning-because of dwadling in the bathroom looking at the holly tree thinking !

In Asking Around...Results on Favorite Saints...

2007-11-06T14:45:00.000-08:00

I asked my boys who their favorite saints were, and no surprises there...St. Patrick for Patrick, my youngest...and a fine saint!
As well as Michael's favorite, which is one of mine too! I always seem to be praying to Saint Michael, especially in times of severe stress or fear. I try to offer up intersessions in his name for more ordinary things....

One of my favorite saints is St. Helen of the Cross, not just because of the name, but because she was determined to find the true cross and brave! As well, St. Francis of Assisi is another favorite, he seems to have figured in my life since I was very small. I was born in Carmel, CA when it was a real town :) and there is a mission, a presidio cathedral and more located in the area, all founded by his order. Additionally, the Franciscans, Poor Claire's, Carmelites, and Capuchin orders have at some point or another all had an influence in our life. It would take too long to explain here, but somehow those brown habits have a way of appearing in times of need and comfort.

We have been extremely thankful for the graces experienced by my family by the intercession of the saints.
Leonie, I like St. Teresa of Avila too. She is a favorite of my friend Theresa in the Pacific Norhtwest along with St. Therese of Lisieux. Once Theresa even dressed up as her for All Saints! Here is her icon just for you- :)

A Good Long Time Has Passed...

2007-11-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

Since I have blogged, obviously! I have no idea if anyone even checks my blog out, but I like using my links and if I had blogged more, fewer of my photos would Lost. That's right, lost. Me -who knows better- lost a ton of photos, data, and what not, on a M*x*r drive that failed. First of all, I know these particular hard drives are bad news, and secondly I know to BACK UP all data. I have not really done that since 2005 (fall). Some photos etc are on the home computer, so not all is lost, but enough that it was devastating. I ended up utilizing a local firm to help me out (since this is way beyond my brother's or my computer expertise) and the drive had to be sent to L.A. :(

I still have not received my pictures back-well, they were on the disk but my DVD drive malfunctioned and destroyed the file (anyone see a pattern here? As well, our Dish receiver died, as well as my son's car-which may be an electrical problem...). All the other retrieved files are there, even if some are corrupted...which is okay, I think most of the zip files are unneeded. (They were most likely business files which would have been backed up elsewhere. Of course.) My tech will be getting another DVD for me, and I ordered a new DVD drive from Sager Notebooks (my laptop is from them, they originally were one of the few firms that did "build to order".)

While is seems crazy that a DVD burner would kill a file, consider that the back up I attempted with it actually erased the disk, and all the other computers read it as unusable! It has stalled out on burning Cd's more and more as well. I now refuse to use it -what will it do next? I am not finding out!

Needless to say, there are lots of photos and ideas and discussion that could have taken place, which because I was waiting for the perfect time-to blog, to back up, to share...might never take place:( So take note of my advice below, which comes not just from this experience, but multiple occasions (we utilize computers at work for many things and one sure thing is that something will fail.).

Back up weekly all data that is important or even just a little important to you; favorites, files, photos, even downloads (create a download file and always send everything there every time). Use DVDs or Cd's that are made to last a long time. Some cheap ones may not. Archival quality disks are available for modest prices.

For photos you can buy storage binders, print a proof sheet, and insert that along with the DVD on each page. Don't for get to note date, place, people and so on. So helpful later when all might become less obvious!

Do not depend on external or internal hard drives! Keep things on several operating systems or in several different places. See no. 1, back up stuff, it is less heartbreaking and cheaper than trying to recreate it all! (I need to find maps and sites that I use in my work, not fun!!!) (As well, if you copy your DVD's/Cd's and store them in a different location and/or fire proof safe you will be able to preserve the data much better.)

Research new operating systems before installing, and check to see if your machine is proprietary. We almost lost a huge portion of data because Compaq is proprietary and if you install Windows XP on 98 that is not a Compaq "approved" disk, it can really mess stuff up. Fortunately in those days we backed up! And did so until I obviously became a flake :p

Another thing, research before purchasing software, hardware or computers! We do that a lot around here, but even I took a chance on the M* drive which I knew to be suspect. Moral of that is don't trust that hardware can change it's ways (tong in check here..). We have all worn out a variety of hardware, most commonly the hard drives, but also lots of key boards, keys, mice, etc. So a better quality product is a good idea.

So there is my helpful Helen hint for today! May you have a good November, with today being All Saints Day. If you were to choose a favorite saint, who would it be?

One of the last Peace roses in my garden before chilly fall weather!

Well, it has been a loooong time

2007-06-10T20:37:00.001-07:00

Since I blogged last. Sorry about that, that is if you read mine ;p I just got busy with the boys, school, work, the house, you name it! Summer is now upon us and I hope to "catch" up. If one can do that...
Today I am just going to do a quick post...tired after working in the garden. Hoping to put up some more pictures-the boys have been busy, especially Mike. Christina is home part time during the summer :) and is going to perform in the local theater companies version of "Kiss Me Kate". (Western Stage has a great reputation regionally, which is a good thing.)
Below is a photo of one of our projects-a new pig pen.

We had to build this after we lost our original site (due to the eColi scare, it was next to crop land and became a "hot potato' for the landlord. :( we almost did not find a new site.). This new set up was quite an expense, and we hope to use it next year as well. That is Fred you see in the doorway-Patrick's pig. Mike's is behind his...
Well, I am going to post again soon, with pictures and comments. We are missing Father Thomas our Priest today. He is on his way to Moscow to meet with other Oratorian priests...we will miss him in the coming weeks, however we pray that his journey is a blessed one!

Just some of what goes on around here!

2007-02-02T08:29:00.000-08:00

(Patrick with a Star Wars plane designed by him, circa January 2006)

Every day seems like a busy day around here! What with work and homeschool, and the usual activities going on, we never really seem to stay on a schedule. Our homeschool days look a lot looser than most, I suspect (more eclectic, really). That is partly because of the need for me to work (dh was out of work for 7 months, and the job he holds now is well, not the same as the last...).

It is also partly because we have so many interests and persue lots of different things. So the boys get assignments and they need to get them done with out me nagging so much! However there is the lure of the next good book, the Lego's, planning the next scouting trip, current projects, the jeep my son is redoing..(the photo is of Mike on the right, with his friend P. on the left. They were up until 2:30 a.m. taking this apart! And P.s mom did not even know! He lives right around the corner, and was safe. But it was rather late!)

Even though I get a bit uptight about things needing to be done, I try to relax and work on the major things with the boys. Both boys read well, and can write. The things they have both learned come more from doing than text books. For Mike that is especially true because he is very hands on, visual-spatial and gets more out of life than a dry text. However being in the program we are in has forced him to do more traditional work, and that can be a good dimension of learning. For example, writing is a struggle, however he has learned to write and passed the CASEE first try in both english and math (big sigh of relief). He loves the drafting and welding classes at the local JC, and soon that will be his next round of schooling, which will open new worlds for him.

My daughter, Christina, now a Junior in college,has had successes with learning which has given me confidence that the boys will do fine. My goal is to teach them to facilitate their own learning: how to find what one needs to know, how to organize it, write it, figure it...how to search out others knowledgeable on the subject. It is these talents that will help them learn and grow. Not the memorization of facts, or the regurgitation of them at the right time. Testing is useless in a way because it only shows a limited snap shot of the person, and basing any opinion on it with out looking at the whole is just as useless..so we deal with all of that while living our lives!
Learning at home, taking each day at a time...

Best wishes for a blessed 2007 & my Christmas Card

2007-01-18T10:19:00.000-08:00

I did manage to create a card this year using collage technique. One of my favorite magazines is a wonderfully arty one called Somerset Studio and in it they have all sorts of treasures. There is a little bit from here and there in this card: a stamped tree with gold overlay (hard to see), the red paper from a package some years back, trim from another one, a stamp, the clipping from a Green Tiger Press clip art sheet....it was fun to play! Now I want to make more! And if you have not received one yet from me (and you are on my mailing list) you will, I just have yet to make it through my card list!

May the Blessings of Christmas be with you and yours, and Best Wishes for 2007!

from Helen et all

Before the color fades...

2007-01-18T09:55:00.000-08:00

I wanted to record it! While I know we are no New England, there is a lot of color in the fall around here. I have a hard time driving just trying to see that firey red maple over there, or the gold ginko tree here...my kids think I am a bit nutty! Oh, well.

When you look south-southwest you can see the Ginko tree, all golden, but not lots of Maples...
Rose Hips in the garden, above, and Tarby in the leaves, below (she is very nervous, as Being Outside Is Scary!).

This is one of two Maples in front of our house, and they have minds of their own!! One is golden the other green. As I write this, January 18th, leaves are still coming down. Never mind, they are almost done!

In November we experienced...

2007-01-18T09:36:00.000-08:00

the death of my husband's father, Joseph Russo. It was so unexpected because he was in good health, however he was old and has been moved many times, from care home to convalescent hospital...not good for someone who is older and very routine oriented. I won't go into the long story here, suffice to say he is missed, and I certainly will try to avoid the same thing for both my parents and someday myself (or my husband!).

At any rate, we had an influx of family as my husbands brothers and nephew came down right away, (and we were happy to be able to house them) and they were followed by the rest of the
CREW (as in sisters-in-law, cousins, grand cousins....or great nieces to Angelo and I-they're just the cutest :). I think I counted sixteen at one point! Even though the days were melancholy, it was still good to connect and talk...I enjoyed the early morning coffee and conversation with my b-i-ls, and it is too bad that Angelo had to work. We all gathered for big family style dinners in the evening, with a spaghettie feed on the night of the funeral-which was in a way a toast to "Papa Joe" or "Dad".

The day of the funeral was strange, somewhat surreal, and that feeling lasted until we all decided to grab lunch and head for Carmel-by-the-Sea (40 min. away, the town I grew up in.).

The weather that week had been awesome, warm and balmy for November. Friday was a gift, perhaps from Joe. The beach was beautiful, and surprise, we saw four dolphins trolling along the waves, just behind the breakers! What a gift. As was the time spent with family including my daughter and sons, and my lovely nieces and their daughters! All the boy cousins seemed to enjoy the time, even though one briefly suffered a cold!

I have included some photos of the day-I have no idea who the girl in the waves is, but the nieces are "K' and "V" however nicknames abound!

If you think my fridge montage is interesting...

2006-12-01T09:01:00.000-08:00

Then you might like the one over my desk!

I seem to be allergic to blank wall space! :) I have pictures drawn by my 3 kids on the top row, with job related items below and to the right. I 've stuck up sayings and photos that I like or that speak to me in some way. (Yes, that is a Starbucks coffee bag-their graphics are well done this year!) I also have a calander that helps keep me on track plus my laptop usually sports a seasonal picture-right now it is a view of a field in late fall with hoar frost and the slant of light I associate with this time of year. Soon I think I will pick something for advent....

My laptop usually sits in the center (that is what the 2 little books are for) and I plug in the speakers so I can hear music... My dk either sit behind me or in another room for school. Sometimes Mike works in the shop on projects, he earned quite a bit by helping my brother repair his drill rig after an accident.

I am sure someone will ask about the sayings, so here is what I can remeber:

"Never wrestle with a pig-you get all muddy and the pig has a good time"

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of it's sorrow, it empties today of it's strength"

"Most Folks are as about as happy as they have made up their minds to be"

"Let Go, Let God" (take care of the problems, punish or reward, take care of the universe, etc)

Those aren't all by a long shot, however I can't read the rest in the photo-I 'll have to have a shot at putting more on later! So there you have it, my inspiration in my place away from home!

2006-12-01T08:52:00.000-08:00

The fall color on many of our street's trees is just beginning, (some are rather slow) while in other areas it is almost over! I love walking or driving down a street drifting in leaves, golden and red, shimmering in the autum sun or glowing in the dusk.
We love watching the visitors to our two feeders (black sunflower seed and nijer seed). This is a house finch, their colors very from peach to orange to red-pretty! On the nijer seed feeder this moring there are some American Goldfinches along with their lesser cousins! Exciting as we don't see them very often. Tarby of course observes all this-it is like tv for cats but better! (Well for the birds anyway!)

Give thanks for this day that the Lord hath made.

2006-11-29T10:34:00.000-08:00

It came to me this morning that instead of chasing down the myriad of things that must be done every morning, the first and foremost thing I ought to be doing is giving thanks for this new day. Everyday, no matter what the weather, the occasion, the good or bad taking place...it is a new day firmly wrought with God's hand, and it is there for better or worse, and having faith I hopefully am open to what God wishes to bring me and my family (or friends).

Today as yesterday it is freezing cold, but clear and sunny. I just read on the National Weather Service (the headquarters of which are located in our own backyard, er, Seaside) that a cold freeze advisory is in effect and tonight is going to be a deep freeze in action! (from San Francisco, where my daughter is , to south of here...) Now I know y'all elsewhere, perhaps Alaska or Illinois or New York State, have really cold weather, however for us flat landers near the coast it is really cold! There's even ice in a sag of the Fiat's protective tarp...with a beautiful maple leaf captured in the water. We are having fun watching the frost on roofs, grass and leaves, and the ice fascinates the boys. Mike even added water to the tarp to see how much more it would be frozen this morning (about 3/8ths of an inch).

And this is what is great about this day-the beauty of the trees, the excitement of the freezing weather, even the suffering cold is a good thing (for one, it teaches me to not take our mild climate lightly! It could be 20 below with a foot or two of snow on the ground!). The more chilly the nights, and sunny the days the better the fall color. Our area is known as Maple Park for the beautiful maples that line most of the streets. Their colors are varied and gorgeous, as are the Chinese Pastichio trees, the ginkos and any other fall coloring tree. My spirit rejoices every time I turn down streets lined with gold, red and bronze. Thank you to whom ever had the wisdom to begin the planting of these glorious trees!

Well, my day is calling me away from this rumination, so I will give thanks not only for this day and all the others, but also for those folks who are in it, or who are elsewhere but whom I call to mind and as God's blessing on, truly this is something to be grateful for!

My very first post, has to be a quick one...

2006-11-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

because I had better jump through the shower and get to work! ACK. This is great fun, but a huge time eater. Oh, well. I have a photo of my fridge front to show what I mean by Montage...My life is layers of different things and my days are pretty much like that as well! I wish I had more time to devote to art and calligraphy, to baking and sewing. However the boys need schooling and I need to work to pay the bills. You have no idea how much teenagers can eat!

The boys, Michael and Patrick, went to Portland, Oregon (on the train!) to see their cousins and aunts and uncles and the fridge stayed static. It was very quiet here as well. I think the cat was bored with no one to chase her or harass her! We were even on time for church, not having to round up sleepy heads. (Christina and Zach were very timely, having to leave early to find gas, and the boys went with Greg and Lois to the service at their Greek Orthodox church, a very peaceful place).

Christina went to Portland too, on a plane, and had a blast staying with Cousin Katy and family. They drank pots of coffee, went shopping, played with Vassie (my darling Grand-niece :), made pie, and celebrated Thanksgiving at Lois and Greg's. We need to go next year-I kind of felt, well, left out. I am so glad they all had a great time though. (The boys watched football, played football, ate, went to the Army Surplus store, played Settler and several other intense games (as did Christina), ate, went to the service, slept...I think they had a fine ol' time!) Then Christina and her boyfriend, Zach (short for Zachariah) came down and we had a late T-giving dinner at my parents. My mom, Angelo (my DH), Christina and Zach played an intense game of Canasta while my Dad and I cleaned up the scrumptious dinner.

So Sunday evening was quiet and I tried to work through my papers, bills, mess, photos, etc. The table is covered! Sigh. And it all has to get cleaned up before dinner! I am taking the afternoon off, I think and cleaning that mess up. I have a list of errands too...

Well, there it is -my first post. What do you think?