Little Cabin In the Woods

I'm innocent I say!

I was scrubbing down the master bathroom as the girls played quietly in the room . “Such good girls” I thought to myself as I cleaned. I heard a soft humming noise and peripherally noticed Piper trying to put something in the cats mouth while the poor puss lay trying to nap upon our bed.   I gently told her not to put things in the cats mouth not taking notice of the object in which she was trying to push open the little pussers lips with (busy mothers often take notice then file it for later when something of importance happens).   Piper was quick to obey and began another task with the instrument as it gently hummed. This time I peripherally noticed her cleaning the post of our log bed and smiled… "she’s emulating her momma"… sweet thing.    She then went on to clean her foot, the baseboard, the trim around the door and finally came into the bathroom where she began scrubbing the floor around the toilet with the tool, which I then took notice of (busy mother brings up file). It was my son's toothbrush.  I gasped, grimaced, then told her that it was Jack’s toothbrush and to stop that immediately, the toothbrush is ruined.   Being an obedient child she stopped and then quietly left the room.   I vigorously went back to my task of cleaning, the fresh scent of Ms. Meyer’s Lavender soap now filling the room.   A few minutes later my son comes up to ask me a question.   As I lift my head I see the toothbrush in his mouth ( busy mother again pulls up the file recalling all the lovely places the toothbrush has been).   A look of shock and horror must come across my face because my son’s eyes widen and he says “What?!”   I tell him to take the toothbrush from his mouth and shamefacedly tell him about Piper’s cleaning adventures with thus said toothbrush…. from cats mouth, to bed post, to feet, to the floor around the toilet, the baseboard and the door frame..... “Mama!!”

Thus is the story of a mother and an older brother with two little sisters and a toothbrush. I shiver to think what is worse~ the floor around the toilet or the cats mouth, which recently by the way had a chipmunk in it.

Moral: Keeping a toothbrush where little sisters can reach can leave a bad taste in ones mouth.

Have a good evening!

the evidence...

the perpetrator

the victim...

where is she?  Do ya see her?

Best Biscuits Ever....

Here it is!  This recipe comes from Not Quite June Clever.  I used butter instead of lard, and  whole wheat flour from Wheat Montana with baking soda and salt since it is an all-purpose flour.  They were so light and flaky!  hmmm... I think I will make more tomorrow.  ;)  You all let me know how they turn out!

• 2 cups self rising flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup lard chilled
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• all purpose flour for shaping biscuits
• Melted butter for brushing tops after baking

Preheat oven to 475. Spray a pan with cooking spray. Mix flour and salt in a medium bowl with a whisk. Add lard and crumble with your fingers until it crumbles with no pieces bigger than a pea. Just rub the flour/lard between your fingers.

Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk and heavy cream all at once and mix with a fork until JUST MIXED. Do not over work. The dough will be very sticky, very wet…kinda like large curd cottage cheese.

Dust your hands with the all purpose flour and also your work surface. Turn out the dough onto the flour surface and work with it so it is just coated with a very light covering of flour. Pat it out…fold it over on itself from the right, turn a half a turn and pat out again…this gives you the layers. Pat out to a 8 inch by 6 inch rectangle and cut with a 2″ biscuit cutter - DO NOT TWIST the cutter. Cut straight down and lift up. Twisting will seal the edges and your layers will be gone! This should give you 10-12 biscuits…you can pat your scraps out once but no more. Re working will cause the dough to become tough.

Bake for 15 minutes more or less…watch them so they don't get too brown. Mine were so near perfect and then I over baked them maybe by a minute. So as soon as they are perfectly golden, take them out! Brush with butter and eat!!!

Have a blessed day!

Patricia

Biscuits and the Blues...

Marci shared a recipe for the lightest, fluffiest biscuits ever and we just had to try them.  Wow, were they light, fluffy and delicious with a dab o' butter.  And most important easy to make!  The girls took their job as bakers quite seriously and took to task mixing, rolling and patting  out their soft lumps of  dough.  Being  good stewards they  surprised their dolls with petite biscuits  that only tiny  hands can produce.   Even one of the dolls participated carefully kneading and patting the dough into balls.  It was a splendid snowy afternoon.

On another note, My darling little daughter waiting in China has decided not she could not wait for me and had to begin walking.  How bittersweet,  I want her to progress but deep down am melancholy that I missed this small right of passage in her life.  Day 65 and no news of LOA for us ... I had so hoped for it this week.   I am happy for all those who will be traveling soon to pick up their precious blessings!!  For now I can live  through their journeys until our turn comes and we can with out hindrance run to our Little Flower.

My little baker...mixing the cream and ground wheat from Wheat Montana  ( flour and grains we use).

Carefully rolling out the dough

Just look at that concentration...

tiny hands carefully working...

An example of the perfect biscuit ball....

back to work!

S decided the dolls must participate ...

and made some of them work for their supper...

dough master pieces...

On the baking stone and into the oven...

on the plate... but not for long!

Enjoying the reward of hard work...

Spread the Love...

Mothers Pride has graced me with this sweet award.  I am ever so humbled and give her a gracious thanks.

I wish to pass it to these friendly homesteaders who strive to live a simple life cutting out their way on the land.

Heather @ Muddy Boot Acres  - a busy homeschooling mother living a simple life on a homestead.   Take a  peek into the  simple and arduous life of a homesteader.

Hidden Haven Farms   She raises goats (like we use to) and and children ( like we still do ) and always has clever and interesting entries.  She also makes creamy goats milk soap (like we use to)  Guess her blog makes me reminisce... 

Twirly skirts...

I had so many emails about the girls twirly skirts that I thought I would go ahead and share some of the patterns I use.     I say, with all honesty,  I am not a seamstress and assure you these patterns are all quite simple.  I have also taken dresses they have out grown and made them into long skirts they can play in.   One jumper pattern  I use is from Simplicity.  These are the jumpers in my last entry.   The dress above , which is reversible, is from one of the Bonnie Blue  patterns and is available in 6 months to 6 years ... so easy to make.     I also made a simple white petticoat to go underneath, adorning it with a bit of lace on the bottom for a feminine touch.    Most pattern sizes run quite large for my girls.  If you look through my blog you will see many other dresses and skirts from different patterns such as the pinafores and pantaloons from Sense and Sensibility.  They have a large assortment of  lovely feminine patterns for women, children and even dolls!  They are also quite easy to put together and I noticed  their site now has instructions with pictures. :)   Another company is Folklore which provides all types of period and cultural dress for women, children and men. 

I try to set aside one day a month to sew.  I hope to make dresses for the girls using McCall's M4746 on my next sewing day.   My oldest  is excited to have flounced sleeves -which this dress has. :)  I sew out of the necessity for modest, feminine clothing for my girls.  My desire is that they will  be maidens of virtue.  I also love fabric and fiber!   I so enjoy ambling around a fabric shop gandering at all the appealing patterns and textures.  I like to not only see, but feel the fabric before I buy it.    My eldest daughter loves soft fabrics and bright designs.  I am more of a plaid and paisley or toile personality, attracted to earthy tones such as mulberry wine and deep warm hues of greens, blues and browns.  It has been a challenge for me to purchase cloth not in my taste.

lovely fabric...

   

From dress to skirt...

My simple, delightful life...

Greetings!  Thanks for stopping by to visit.

I am a blessed, busy wife who enjoys the simple things in life but adore most of all my  beloved children, each one uniquely and marvelously made who are the joy of my life, and whom I treasure.   I  am often captivated in watching them , as they delight in the world around them.   I learn many things from my children... one is to enjoy this great life journey we have been blessed with. 

Growing up in a  home where the piano was heard for hours daily and the sounds of music resonating throughout my home, I have a love for music.  Every morning I enjoy listening to a variety of  pieces,  ones that bring awareness and solace in the morning... jubilance in the afternoon or comfort in the evening.  Music not only inspires me but  is a balm to my soul.   It can bring comfort or induce passion.  I am enchanted when my daughters dance around the house or play the violin.  We all enjoy scripture CD's which we listen during the day and story CD's at night as we settle in for bed.   If I could keep only one material thing it would be music.

This weekend we stayed in as it was chilly and I was a bit under the weather.   We were not unproductive however!  I woke early one morning and filled the sink full of warm water.  I added some of Mrs. Meyer's Cleaner and was inspired to clean from it's fresh lavender scent.  I scrubbed the kitchen until it shined and smelled of lavender .  I even tackled the refrigerator :).   There is nothing like putting your groceries in a freshly cleaned refrigerator!    I have noticed the girls going through a growth spurt so decided to set to sewing a couple of skirts and dresses.   Little hands are always eager to help and one set to making her first little pillows for her and her sister as well as their doll house beds. She was so proud of her first sewing projects and we chatted while we sewed.  Little feet can help by pushing the pedal.... what pleasure children find in the smallest things.   I let them each pick out a fabric they liked for dresses... (notice the emphasis on they :)  The tiered skirts were simple and made quickly with scrap fabrics I had lying around,  and more importantly they had a good twirl factor, which is necessary when you are a child.   

It began to snow later in the afternoon, big fat fluffy flakes that I love... I couldn't help but feel joy watching the snowfall as music reverberated throughout the house along with the sound of the sewing machine humming and the children reading and chattering in the background....  What a simple, wonderful life.

Tiered skirt

Tiered skirts and little hands...

Testing the twirl factor...

She likes a lot of swish in her skirt....

Oh yes,  this skirt has lots of swish to it..

twirly girls...

Fabric of choice... hmmmm

Little hands working...

Big hands working.....

I hope you have a delightful day full of simple pleasures!

Back in Time...

We had such a lovely weekend.  It  warmed up after our little snow storm and we went outside to enjoy the spring like weather.   The weather is  enjoyable up here and you are never snowed in long.   We have several large boulders in our wood the girls take pleasure in playing on.  They have had picnics  & tea parties, built fairy houses and been Pocahontas on these massive rocks.  They have pretended to be on a boat, or an island far away from their home.  In the snow they have climbed on the rocks to escape an avalanche and in the summer stretched out and sunned upon it's top.   This weekend it became the Dancing Rock.  Sage sang and danced to the music of the butterfly -- ad lib.   She did this for almost an hour engrossed in a great drama and I was mesmerized in watching her.  Not being a prissy one, Piper played with a snow shovel digging in the dirt and climbed on a log in her own style enjoying the mud left behind by the melting snow.  Children are creative little sprites when left to their own imagination.  They really don't need to be entertained constantly or taken somewhere.  When left to their own devices they learn to create using the gifts of nature that God has given us.   I know the Lord smiles on these little ones.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words.... It truly was a wonderful splendid weekend.                                             

Song of the Dancing Rock...

Be thou my vision.....

Oh Lord of my heart...

Not be all else to me...

Save that thou art...

Thou my best thought...

By day..

or by night....

Waking or sleeping

My presence my light...

Be thou my vision, and thou my true word...

I ever with thee and thou with me Lord...

Thou my great Father, I thy true one...

Thou in me dwelling...

And I with thee one.

She's dancing' while I'm doin' all the work

You see all my work?

humph...  I'm workin'' hard

I need a rest...

And some fun...

The sun shinning and warm temperatures drew us to the General Store for a soda and some treats.  Nothing is so good as soda in a glass bottle!  You feel like you've stepped back in time when you enter -- the smell of old wood, music on the banjo, fiddle & mandolin, the smell of the old piper stove heating up the store and little ones eyes sparkling at all the candies and toys.  It is a good place to go if you want to experience old time living up in the Appalachian mountains.

General Store

Relaxing on the porch...

An old rocker blackened on the back from years of use...

A child's delight..

Stepping back in time...

to good ol' Appalachian music...

don't forget to leave a tip in the can

oh, look at the toys mama....

an old file...

up the stairs with their baskets in hand

iron works

soda in a glass bottle... a must

an old log church

Little Cabin In the Woods

Cream soda in a bottle....mmmmm

Later, after we were rested I did some work in the studio.  I let the girls record some music and stories of their own.  With great enthusiasm they planned their project..... stories with musical interludes in between. 

serious recording session... (with very chapped lips)

Once upon a time....

Piper the pipest...

getting tickled

Have a delightful day and enjoy life!

<3 - A Heart Award...

How sweet Marci over at Amazing Graze Farms gifted me with this... She has blessed me so much over the years.  A farmers wife who is strong in her faith she is truly a woman to emulate.

About this award:  When the girls and I want to express our mutual admiration in public we say ‘Less than Three’. If you look at it sideways: <3 It looks like a heart. So I heart you."
I would like to pass this on to:

Tabitha's Heart - I just recently discovered her blog and have already been lifted up by it.   This woman truly has a heart for the Lord. she is also a gifted knitter and I hope to glean much from her knitting advice and examples even though I am no where near to be advanced like her!

A Mother's Journal - Such an inspiring blog , always something old and nostalgic and simple.   A homeschooling mom who enjoys her life.

Donna at Handfuls is the homeschooling mother of  one daughter, a set of triplets and soon another little girl who is anxiously waiting in China for her mommy and daddy to come.   They will be traveling very soon!

Unless the Lord - I think her life is beautiful.  She has a lovely family and always has the cutest things,  pictures  and ideas to share -- like her snowmen pretzel rod sweets!  I really enjoying visiting her blog and always leave inspired.

Sew Mama Sew -  This blog has the absolutely cutest things to sew!!  Again, I am inspired every time I visit -- from hats to toys to totes!  Oh, I wish I was so talented!

Three is A Magic Number - My sweet friend  and mother of 3 who is waiting to travel any time now for her son!  What a cutie he is!  She works with autistic children which is a gift in itself and has a fetish for black boots. ;)   She has often lifted me up when I was down from the wait.  She is about to be soooo blessed!

Hope you have a joyous weekend and a year full of fun and surprises!

Welcome 2008!

Welcome 2008 you've come in with a bang!  We are having a nice winter storm with blustery winds and awakened to a blanket of snow this morning.  2008 is full of promise!  Yesterday before the snow began we took the girls out to breakfast then to the park to play.   It was nippy but they had a grand time.  I felt frisky and went down the slide with them a few times.  I must admit... it was fun!  Daddy then took them for a ride inthe ranger to visit our neighbors.  Sage was quite impressed with their large house and informed me of how "neat" it was "with not a thing out of place."  Have I metnioned I am striving for contentment? :)

My oldest son celebrated his 26th birthday on New Years Eve.  I was tickled he was able to visit for a couple of days.  Happy Birthday David.  You are a jewel in my life. and I thank the Lord for you each day.  May this New Year bring you abundant blessing, much peace and a good Christian wife. :)  --- sorry, just had to add that part.  hint hint..

A friend of mine came up to see us with her three little pumpkins from China.  They are all lovely and so very different in personalities!  The funny thing is they don't look Chinese.   Sage and Jenna as always asked to play math.  What can I say?  We are lucky moms.  We dearly enjoyed having them and sent them home with their floam art master pieces and bags of goldfish. :)  I am sure she with send me a bill for the car wash.

I  am going to start some potato soup then snuggle up and do a bit of knitting.  I bought some colorful wool and have been anxious to use it!  I am working on a hat and want to make a pair of "longies" for Paisley and have been inquirinig about a pattern.  Does anhyone have one?

Have a beautiful day!   

 

Professor Ai Ai and mom.  This little one is soooo intelligent-- really!

Wren and Ai Ai....  Wren is absolutely gorgeous and looks Native American.  Mom said they don't play with dolls but Ai Ai sure loved this baby.  I believe she is going to be prissy. :)

Sage doing the messy look...

Sage doing the leave me alone look....

Nothing like taking a ride with your pet bunny  on your horse

Whoa horsey!

First snow of 2008

Mimi and Piper

hmmm.... someone is becoming quite the ham for the camera...

Photo by Sage who loves to take pictures...

Happy birthday David!!

Have a blessed....

productive year!