Hi there!
Happy middle of summer!
I'm checking in quickly from my favorite place {the porch}. It so happens that I'm without children for a few days and the quiet is both soothing and disorienting. I find that sitting for long stretches of silence is nearly impossible without the rambunctious sounds of the kids forcing me to deeper concentration. Not to fear, though, the problem will fix itself very soon.
I had grand plans of all of the house freshening I'd do while no one was around to undo my efforts, but halfway through this empty week I'm accepting the reality that I'll be doing good to get fresh sheets on everyone's beds and cook a meal or two ahead for next week when it will again be necessary, even vital to have lots of food at the ready.
My Man and I have been only too happy to make meals of any leftovers we've carried into this week from last and have even feasted on cold cereal a time or two. I hardly remember what it was like before the children came along and grew to the point of requiring all recipes to be doubled and tripled.
As I sit here on the porch my plans for the day involve a second day of planning for the school year ahead. I've nearly gotten my list of core subjects determined and what remains is to fill in around the edges for the younger girls and to begin making the actual orders so that our books and materials are ready for us when we are ready for them. I'm keeping eBay and Amazon busy as well as Sonlight, Timberdoodle, Rainbow Resources, and Institute for Excellence in Writing (for any of you who might be doing this job too!). While on the subject of homeschool…my sister in the south has highly recommended Mindset: The New Psychology of Success saying that it was a game changer for her upcoming school year and that it was "amazing info and practical help." I don't know about you but the words "game changer" and "amazing" and "practical" usually perk my attention.
- The Pastor's Wife: Strengthened by Grace for a Life of Love by Gloria Furman
- Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World by Michael Horton
- It's Simply Tuesday: Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World by Emily Freeman (coming out in late August)
- The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir by Katrina Kenison
Can you spot the theme? I'm loving the simple just now…the plain… the quiet. Even my fiction book, which I have vowed to finish this week, is a simple quiet work. It's a huge book at 800 plus pages but I am all the better for the reading of it. {The Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin} I've 300 pages left and I'm committed! I'll probably have more to say on this one later.
Providing the background music to my porch retreat is Maria Schneider whose music is live streaming from her website.
When I put my books away I'll continue through the series I'm addicted to on Masterpiece, Inspector Lewis. It's all British and Oxford and accents and mystery and murder and I'm in deep!
I hope your week has been full of peace and I'm wishing you tons of ordinary contentment as we meander into the last half of summer!
"…happiness hasn't much to do with perfect surrounding, with having a lot or doing a lot. It comes with living simply, taking care of one another, allowing time in the day for ease and pleasure and play."
~Katrina Kenison
"The Gift of an Ordinary Day"
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