By Lynn, on November 10th, 2008%
I’m really good at last minute meals. I love menu planning, having all my ducks in a row and all the shopping done. Don’t we all! But let’s face facts. It does not always happen that way.
As long as I have some sort of “core” idea, i.e. will it be chicken or fish, and a pantry full of ingredients and plenty of spices, I can make something happen pretty quickly.
I worked today, so no time to bake or cook in the middle of the day. At about 2 this afternoon I put three large chicken breasts with skin and rib meat in a large pot of water to boil. While I worked, they boiled until they were completely done and falling apart. I cut the burner off to let them sit and cool while I finished my day.
At about 5:30 I had my usual last-minute-meal epiphany.
I took a clean large pot and put in two cans of black beans with juice. I turned the heat up and added three cloves of minced garlic. I then added a small can of diced tomatoes with chiles. I then put another can of sliced tomatoes seasoned with celery and onions into the food process to puree’. I dumped that into the “soup” as well. I added a couple of cans of water, getting the last bit of tomato residue from the cans. I then sprinkled in probably a teaspoon of ground oregano, a teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon each of ground thyme and ground white pepper. The soup was starting to boil by then. I put a few tablespoons of olive oil in and added back in the cooked chicken cut into small pieces.
I let the mixture simmer while a pot of rice cooked.
It is wonderfully delicious — the bean soup over rice.
I was finished cooking by 6 p.m.
The broth where the chicken cooked will be strained and put in the fridge. Tomorrow I’ll skim the fat off and freeze the chicken broth for later soups.
My favorite pantry staples for quick meals: pasta, rice, spaghetti sauce in the jar; canned black beans, pinto beans, corn; all types of seasoned and plain canned tomatoes, black olives, tuna, salmon, chicken broth, dried lentils and split peas, fresh garlic and onions.
Do you have favorite pantry staples or last minute meals?
Lynn
By Lynn, on November 9th, 2008%
Every year we rake the leaves into a nice big pile underneath the rope swing. And every year the children play in the pile of leaves. This pile is not nearly as big as it’s gonna be before we’re done. There are many more leaves to fall and many more to rake up.
If you’re small enough (or in good enough shape — or think you’re in good enough shape) you can stand on the wheelbarrow, grab the rope, jump and SWING!
She might complain about him sometimes, but I know Princess of the Universe loves this big brother of hers. He’s just waiting for her to land so he can wrestle her right into the leaf pile.
The children are allowed to enjoy the leaf pile for awhile, but some unknown day in the near future Papa Bear will announce that it’s time for all the leaves to go on the vegetable garden as mulch and to protect my garden from the most bitter winter cold.
But wait. Who’s wrestling who? Where did Brother John go after wrestling Miss Priss to the ground?
Hey now!! Great job hiding. Or being covered up by your sister. Whatever it was.
Leaves make great free mulch and they bring the worms to the surface of the ground. Makes for very rich garden soil. The little fence around our vegetable garden helps keep the leaves in place.
I’ve been trying to really enjoy our family rituals these days, and this has been one of them. Year after year. I love it.
Lynn
By Lynn, on November 8th, 2008%
You may have tangible wealth untold.
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be –
I had a mother who read to me.
Strickland Gillilan
Lucky me. 25 cents. An excellent book that is on my current list of must-reads. Don’t you just love old books?
One of our rituals is bedtime reading. We may travel to Europe before we go to sleep. We may tame a wild animal or two. Sometimes we make a new friend before we close our eyes. Often we learn of someone who lived and endured hardships to make the world a better place.
Libraries make me giddy. I shall never have enough books. My favorite room to think about creating is my someday library. If it comes to pass, it will have bright buttery-yellow walls, large windows, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, two overstuffed chairs for me and Hubby, and little rocking chairs for (fingers crossed) grandchildren.
Now. Let’s turn off the electronic noise and go read. 
Lynn
By Lynn, on November 7th, 2008%
Every time I look at this pitcher, it has me by the heart.
From the late 1800s, with its crazing and cracks, how can it still be in one piece? I wonder who used it and for what purpose exactly. The stamp on the bottom includes part of the British Royal Coat of Arms, the lion and the unicorn, and yet this does not mean it was made in England. Around the time it was made there were American potters using the mark to make their wares look more British. There were also newly American potters, just over from England, using the trademark they brought with them, so to speak.
Was her pitcher from England? Was it American? Was she slender and frail? Perhaps stern? Or was she plump with a rosy face and a cheerful laugh?
Silly me. The time I spend wondering about things like this. It’s a miracle I ever get anything done.
Speaking of keepers of long ago, I lucked out and found a keeper of a book during my last thrift store outing.
It’s called Seven Brave Women , and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it with Princess of the Universe. History is often told from the perspective of the many wars that mark our timelines, but this book tells history through the eyes of seven brave women who lived through wars but did not fight in them.
Me and my sappy self, yes I got all teary-eyed reading about women of long ago and how they worked and raised (and fiercely loved) their babies and lived through times I cannot imagine. It’s a simple concept — the author sharing personal stories of seven brave women in her family tree, but what an amazing book it turns out to be.
I love the illustrations, too. They are full of color and life. It’s definitely got a permanent place in my home library.
As a side note, it would be a great book to go along with They Were Strong and Good , in case you are doing a unit study of genealogy or if you use the wonderful literature-based curriculum called Five In A Row.
Lynn
By Lynn, on November 6th, 2008%
These muffins are heavenly! Yum…
This recipe was modified from a recipe found on a Hodgson Mill Milled Flaxseed box.
Flax, Apple, Chocolate Chip Muffins
- 1/4 cup Hodgson Mill Milled flax seed
- 3/4 cup Hodgson Mill whole wheat graham flour
- 3/4 cup white flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 egg whites beaten
- 1-1/2 cups finely chopped apples
- 3 TBSP olive oil
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Blend all dry ingredients. In another bowl add the egg whites, olive oil and milk. Add the liquid mixture in with the dry ingredients. Next add the apples, nuts and chocolate chips and mix just until blended. Fill greased muffin pan. Makes 12-14 muffins. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
These were a BIG hit.
Lynn
By Lynn, on November 6th, 2008%
The sun may be shy today, but we can still take our walk, and talk of happy things, and laugh.
Let’s say hello to our favorite tree. As you rub your hand across the rough bark are you thinking what I’m thinking? Thank you for being the same today because I needed you.
There’s a face – or two or three –in this little neighborhood of ours who would want to know that we’re okay.
Give me eyes to see my own life from a higher plane.
Back at home, we have a gift that cannot be measured: family and love and a treasured routine of living every day so that we all might be here again another day, together.
Play and climb and laugh and be of good cheer! And let my heart enter into all of that with you!
Enjoy today the sweet rituals of home.
Home’s not merely
four square walls,
Though with pictures
hung and gilded;
Home is where
Affection calls –
Filled with shrines the
Hearth had builded!
Charles Swain.
By Lynn, on November 5th, 2008%
The lines of the farm long ago blurred into little yards with now-old houses, but my cozy farm house remains. It has stood for nearly 100 years and I wonder as I putter through cleaning and straightening, how did they live here then? I still dust up bits of coal that float down from tiny nooks and crannies, from winters long ago, and I picture them warming themselves around coal-fed heat.
They’re mostly gone now, and I’ll be gone too some day. Probably best to just live today, with a thankful heart and a song and do a little of this and a little of that. Getting too caught up in any one thing can consume a day and then what do we have?
I’ll open the curtains today and look out at the gray, rainy day, the only brightness being the vibrant leaves, blowing to the ground in a blaze of color. I’ll straighten just a little. Come across a few things that I might decide we no longer need. Maybe tidy a shelf or two. I’ll sweep out the leaves that have blown in with gusts of wind and have ridden in on the children’s shoes. But there I must stop.
The important things are bigger than that, but they are quieter than that. They don’t call out as loudly. I must seek them out. Quiet time and a thankful heart to start the day. Cuddling up with a quickly-growing-up 10-year-old girl to do lessons and read a good book out loud. A cup of tea and a bit of a magazine for me. Enjoying time in the kitchen, dancing around to soothing classical music, as I thankfully prepare what we’ll eat today.
Enjoy your day. Take little breaks of thankfulness throughout the day.
Lynn
By Lynn, on November 4th, 2008%
Books that are great as go-alongs for The Pumpkin Runner .
Australia (Enchantment of the World. Second Series) This is a great book with very beautiful, interesting pictures and current information about Australia — nature, history, government, economy, etc.
Hooray for Sheep Farming! (Hooray for Farming!) A very, very informative, easy-to-understand book.
I recommend them both!
Lynn
By Lynn, on November 4th, 2008%
I wanted a special place to keep our story disks for our Five in a Row, because the story disks are so special! Well, Five in a Row is so special.
I’ve tried keeping the disks in various places, but they end up getting knocked over, spilled, etc. And with all the, ah-hem, organized clutter that I have, they sometimes get lost! Gasp.
Lost no more. I found a really cute, empty stationery box at the thrift store for a quarter. It came home with me, of course.
Here’s a picture of the box, open, with a little medicine cup sitting inside to hold our sticky-tack so that it doesn’t stain the inside of the box. We use sticky-tack and a big laminated world map for our Five in a Row geography study.
Over time, I found little bits of pretty things to Mod Podge onto our box. Everything symbolizes our rowing and homeschooling. The dark-headed older girl is me. (Come on now, I used to be young.) The little blond girl is Miss Priss. She was born with a head full of auburn ringlets, believe it or not.
Do I need to tell anyone what the big, pretty ”5″ is for? The heart on the box. I’ve always said that Five in a Row is the heart of our homeschool.
Old Eyes Made New is our little “trademark” stamp on the back, cut from pretty scrapbooking supplies, and it’s oh so true!
Little bits of bright tissue paper work great over an already-colorful box. Some of the original design shines through. Just be careful Mod-Podging them on.
The bees on the original box design shine through. Tell me. Can you see a bee without thinking of The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco?
The coffee pot reminds me of times I’ve met together with like-minded moms to talk homeschooling.
The little teapot (nearly out of sight) on the end of the box reminds me of all the teatimes I’ve had with my children. Here sits the box, on the shelf underneath our world map, ready for rowing! It’s fun to just sit down and look through the story disks. This is a box full of memories.
Lynn
By Lynn, on November 4th, 2008%
We finished up The Pumpkin Runner yesterday. It turned into a 3-week study instead of a 2-week study for us due to the unforseen events of late. This week we are working on the Election Fold-N-Learn from Five In A Row and we are just doing some review and the 3 R’s.
We made a little felt pumpkin for the doll house. How’s that for bright orange?? Doesn’t mom look proud of the pumpkin she’s put on the front porch? I think she does. (I simply must remember to trim all the little pieces of hot glue when we’re done. They’re not so great for pictures.)
I toned Mr. Pumpkin-head down a bit for this picture, but he’s still bright!
Princess of the Universe has decorated the house for Halloween. I had to laugh. She’s got this little boys hands in the air and his hair on end when he sees this spider on the couch next to him. Poor thing. He’s trying to have teatime.
The rest of the children are in for a fright as well. Princess of the Universe has also put a large scary bug on their play wagon.
That’s me, above, in my rented sports car. I called ahead to someone in the United States (Princess of the Universe) and said, “Hullo. I’m a reporter and I’ve just flown over from Australia where I’ve been following The Pumpkin Runner. Have you heard of him? Well, I need a room to rent and I need to buy a horse.”
You can see all my money spread out in the seat next to me.
The person I hooked up with in this nice U.S. dollhouse said of course she had a room and furniture and a horse for sell for $1,000.00. (I thought she did pretty well on the pricing of the horse.)
Amity, remember the ham thing? You are so right. Just get her around a camera.
Lynn
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About Lynn 
Approaching-50 mother of four. Thrifter. Content with lots of clothes bought for very little money. Loves retro. (That could be styles from the 40s and 50s. And sometimes stuff even older than that. And sometimes stuff from all time, all mixed up together!) Bluffs about decluttering but secretly loves STUFF. Goes through stages. Has standing and staring spells before rearranging the entire home. Just because. Tune in each day to see what new outfit comes home from G.W. Boutique next. (That's Goodwill, by the way.) Oh, and she owns a spoiled beagle named Annie. And this blog.
Grab A Button <div align="center"><a href="http://www.amothersjournal.com" title="A Mother's Journal ~ A Bit of Birdsong"><img src="http://www.innatelygray.com/images/abitofbirdsong_120_200.jpg" alt="A Mother's Journal ~ A Bit of Birdsong" style="border:none;" /></a></div> The Players
Lil Ol' Me
Son Daniel, 23
Son, Big Joe, 21
Son, John, 17
Daughter, Michaela, 13
Annie Fatso Beagle
My Symphony
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.
William Henry Channing
1810-1884
What You Do Sow a thought, reap an action.
Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny.
Contact Me 
I would  for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
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