The Psycho Cat

To put this story in perspective, you have to understand that I have been sleep deprived since Saturday night, when Emily came down with the stomach flu AND an ear infection. After a couple rounds of antibiotics I was hopeful last night that I might get a whole nights sleep. Emily was doing much better, but....

At 2am I heard the most awful howling, screeching, hissing, moaning sound I've ever heard in my life! I looked out my bedroom door into our little courtyard and saw a stray cat huddled under our bistro table. We have a cat, and every once-in-a-while she'll get into a cat fight. Nothing that a swift opening of the door and a loud noise won't break up. This time, the cat didn't move!

Our cat was crouching about 2 feet away observing this scene, but otherwise doing nothing. After several attempts at making enough noise to scare the loud cat away, I started to think that this cat must be injured or have rabies or something. I couldn't see very well though, because I didn't have my contacts in, and with out them everything 8"away from me is blurry. So I telephoned my husband, who was working the night shift. "Sorry, honey. I'm dealing with drunks. Try using pepper spray" was his reply. The last time I tried using pepper spray on an animal, I ended up spraying my husband instead of the dog that was attacking him! Plus, I had no idea where the pepper spray was and I still couldn't see. So, I called the the local police instead.

Meanwhile the cat was going on and on and on like it was going to die! The dispatcher could hear the cat over the phone. She laughed (with me, I 'm hoping, not at me!) and suggested that maybe the cat was "In Season." Our cat is neutered. "Are you SURE?" she asked. I think so. She told me to try spraying it with water. But the faucet was only a foot away from the evil-doer cat, and I would have had to go outside to use it.

Realizing no one was going to help me with this cat, I did the best I could. After blocking the door with the ever present laundry basket (so the cat would have to jump over it to "get" me), I tried throwing several mugs of water at it, to no avail. I looked around for something to chuck at it and found a jar of pennies. 25 cents later the cat was still there!

I went around to the school room which also opens to the courtyard. On the way, I saw my son's BB gun. I stood and stared at that gun for at least 2 minutes debating, (1) whether or not I could actually figure out how to use it, (2) would it kill the cat? (I really didn't want to do that), and (3) should I wake up my son to come and help his poor mom out!

Deciding the BB gun was a bad idea, I headed toward the toxic wasteland under my sink. Febreeze only had a spray mist. No good. Hardwood Floor Cleaner had a jet stream. Now we're talking!

I was scared the cat would attack me. The courtyard is only 7 feet across so the cat was too close for my comfort. But I braved it and opened the door and sprayed! Finally, the cat moved, obviously not injured. But now our cat was blocking the way through the narrow opening around our hot tub! I had to yell at our cat to get out of the way. Finally, things settled down, but I was too amped up to go back to sleep!

When I told my kids this morning, Evan kindly offered to give me a lesson with his BB gun. He also wished I had woken him up!

Homemaking ABC's

A little while ago, while reading different blogs, I came across this fun and original questionnaire at Making Home. The woman who made it up has links set up if you like being a part of those and want to do it too. You have to scroll all the way to the bottom.

Homemaking from A-Z

Aprons - Y/N? If Yes, what does your favorite look like?
No, usually. But Amy was given a really cute apron for
Christmas and she has been helping a lot more in the kitchen, so I may start wearing one with her. I have a lot of pretty ones.

Baking - Favorite thing to bake
I really like baking just about anything

Clothesline - Y/N?
No

Donuts - Have you ever made them?
Yes, once. My grandma gave me a deepfryer for the express purpose of making donuts. But it took a lot of time and donuts are cheap to buy, plus I like eating a lot of other things better than donuts. So we use the deep fryer for making chips and buy our donuts (for the kids).

Everyday - One homemaking thing you do every day - Dishes

Freezer - Do you have a separate deep freeze? - Yes, but it is turned off right now

Garbage Disposal - Y/N? - yes and my husband says I work it too hard!

Handbook - What is your favorite homemaking resource? - Magazines, books and friends- I guess I can't name a favorite. I'm always learning!

Ironing - Love it or hate it? Or hate it but love the results? - Hate is too strong a word, but dislike, yes.

Junk drawer - Y/N? Where is it? - Yes, right by our phone.

Kitchen - Color and decorating

You can see a picture of our kitchen here. (I can't seem to upload it to this post for some reason.) The cupboards are painted a periwinkle blue. As we've had to replace appliances we've replaced them with black. The clock above the shelves I bartered for with lavendar that I grow in my yard. And I really like my roosters and Pig. They're just fun!

Love - What is your favorite part of homemaking?

I love anything that is creative: decorating, planning and preparing new and interesting meals, and organizing. I love cleaning out closets!

Mop - Y/N? - Yes, but my son likes to mop so I'm trying to train him to take over more of this job.

Nylons - Wash by hand or in the washing machine? - Um, I don't wear nylons. It's California!

Oven - Do you use the window or open the oven to check? - both

Pizza - What do you put on yours?

Fetta Cheese, olives, mushrooms, roasted bell peppers, zucchini, and sausage

Quiet - What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?

In the morning I read my Bible and other devotional books. Right now I'm reading Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon and the corresponding chapter that the verse was taken from, as well as the Valley of Vison. During the day, there's not too much quiet around here, but when there is I clean or check e-mail and blogs. In the evening, after cleaning (or sometimes before!) I like to read and blog.

Recipe card box - Y/N? - yes, and several notebooks

Style of house - What style is your house?

I have no idea what to call it. You can check it out here and here.

Tablecloths and napkins - Y/N? - Yes

Under the kitchen sink - Organized or toxic wasteland? - It's a disorganized mess!

Vacuum - How many times per week? -

We have hardwood floors so I sweep different parts of the house every day. The two bedrooms that have carpet get vacuumed once a week if I'm lucky.

Wash - How many loads of laundry do you do per week

I'm not sure. Laundry is not my strong area.

X's - Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?- No

Yard - Y/N? Who does what?

Yes we have a yard. My husband does most of it. I help out when I can. We're trying to teach our kids how to do some of the work too.

Zzz's - What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed? - Dishes or laundry

Recipes From Friends

I received a cute card in the mail from Cara with pictures of her kids, and a recipe for "Riganilla" which is I think her kids way of saying "granola". It's in the oven right now and smelling wonderful so I wanted to share it.

"Riganilla"

5 cups rolled oats
2 cups chopped nuts (I used sliced almonds)
1/2 cup each chopped pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds (I used a cup of craisins instead of the seeds)
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1 Tbsp. grated orange peel (I used 1/2 tsp.orange oil)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup safflower oil
1 1/2 cup honey

Mix together and bake on a cookie sheet (I greased it just in case) at 350 for 25 minutes. Break apart before it cools!

Yesterday I tried the recipes for Barley pancakes from Cara and the breakfast cookies from Jessica. Both turned out great! It helps that they are both good cooks. I'd pretty much trust any recipe from either one of them.

Jessica asked my advice about the cookies. Here's what we did different.

I find that any recipe that has oatmeal or a lot of spices (like gingerbread) can have white flour switched to wheat with out anyone noticing. I substituted King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour. It is a different, more mild wheat, but it still has all the whole grain benefits. I reduced the sugar to 1 cup and used Sucanat instead. Next time I'll use just 3/4 cup I think. I also added 1 tsp. cinnamon, a dash of cloves, and a dash of ground ginger. My kids really liked these as cookies. I didn't give it to them for breakfast, but I'm sure they would love it if I did!

An Unusual Week

This week was full of surprises! Some were wonderful, some painful, but overall a very different week for us. I meant to blog about the little series over at Girltalk, and even took pictures, but that didn't happen. So here's our week in a nutshell.

Monday: I took pictures of our dinner table to show what I sometimes do to make a meal of leftovers special. My kids love using stem glasses. So it seems fancy to them if I use them. Thanks Leslie for your reminder about candles. My kids love those too. I'll have to pull those out sometime soon. Sean is easily pleased when it comes to meals. The leftovers were lasagna!

Evan tested for his next belt level in Karate. He passed and is now an "orange" belt! Way to go, Evan!

That same night my niece Abigail was born.

Tuesday: Drop everything to travel 6 hours round trip to visit Abigail, CJ, my sister Shauna and her husband, Aaron. I'm having trouble reading the pictures that my dad took so I'll have to post those later. My hands were too full holding Abby, and directing Emily to take any pictures. It was so fun to get to see her just 1 day old. It was well worth the drive.

But....I got my first speeding ticket on the way there. Yikes! I had 5 hours to contemplate my driving, God's discipline, and His previous grace to me in this area. (I've been pulled over several times, but never gotten a ticket before.) The ticket was, unfortunately, well deserved and the officer showed no mercy. How glad I am that God does show mercy. Even this ticket which will be a big one, ultimately shows God's grace to me. I drive like a race car driver and I'm not sure that anything short of the "spank" I got would have gotten my attention. Let's just say that until I can get the lead out of my right foot, I am setting the cruise control on my car EVERY time I get on the freeway.

Wednesday: I had my first meeting with the woman who runs our new homeschool group. I was really nervous for some reason and had a stomach ache all morning! The meeting went really well. The lady was very helpful, kind and sweet. The mom that had her meeting right before me is a friend of mine and it was so encouraging to see her. Then the woman after me told me all about some stuff that her 10 year old boy is participating in. I left feeling encouraged, strengthened, and hopeful that this group is going to be a good fit for our family.

Thursday: We actually stayed home! This is the usual for us, but this week it was out of the ordinary, and very welcome. Here's a cute picture of Amy reading to Emily. Those two are becoming inseparable!

Friday: All week long Amy has been looking forward to a very special Tea Party she was invited to by our neighbor and friend Tawni. They dressed up in their finest and had tea and cakes. Evan dressed up too and escorted Amy next door. Amy came home feeling like a princess!

We have company coming into town tonight. Evan's best friend Ryan moved last weekend. He and his dad are coming back for their cub scout's "Pinewood Derby" and one last goodbye. We're going to miss their family.

This week has highlighted quite a few changes that are instore for our family: new cousins, new homeschool group, new responsibilities for Evan, and an opportunity for new friends. I've been extremely emotional this week, feeling up then down, but with the odd realization that it's just emotions. Changes are hard to make. But God is good and I can trust Him that what He has for us in the future will be for our good and His glory.

Abigail Julia Has Arrived!

Guest post by Sean ....... (And Thanks to Uncle Aaron's QUICK announcement!)



Abigail Julia arrived last night (January 22) at 9:37PM.
She weighed in at a petite 6 lbs. 11 oz.; 20.25" long

She is baby #2 for Christina's sister, Shauna. Daddy Aaron and big brother CJ are tidying up the house for their new Princess.

Christina and the kids have embarked on an all day adventure to see Abigail and family.

Beautiful Meals

Sean has switched to working nights for a while. This actually is better for the kids since they see him more. It also means that he gets to eat dinner with us every night. When he works days he doesn't get home until the kid's bed time. So, I have been trying to make more regular meals. And I have been struggling to keep the dining room table cleared off and clean!

Over at GirlTalk they are starting to talk about food. I'm not sure what they are going to be sharing in the next few days, but the quote from "The Hidden Art of Homemaking" got me thinking. What are some practical ways to make everyday meals more interesting and appealing? How can I incorporate a measure of beauty and pleasure in our meals? What are some ways to create an atmosphere that is relaxing and invites conversation? Does anyone have any answers or advice? I would really like some new ideas!!!

Tomorrow I'll try to post some ideas that I do have, and some things that have worked for us in the past.

By the way, if you've never read "The Hidden Art of Homemaking" by Edith Schaeffer I highly recommend it. Thanks, Mom, for giving it to me.

Pruning Roses

This past weekend we spent quite a bit of time pruning. We live on an oversized lot (but not acreage) and have 4 fruit trees and 18 roses that all need pruning this time of year. But I am so excited because this year Evan learned how to prune roses! He is very detail oriented and careful and has a good eye for the shape of the rose. He is also motivated to earn some extra money! We'll have to finish up this weekend since we didn't get it all done, and our green waste bucket was all filled up anyways.

Here are some pictures to show how I taught Evan. This way he can read them next year for a refresher course!

The first step is to remove all the leaves that didn't fall off on their own. (Picture on the left.) Then you need to cut away dead wood. The picture on the right shows a dead cane coming out of the center of the rose. You can tell it's dead by the color (black) and the sharp contrast of healthy wood to dead.

The next step is to cut back the plant. This is where the art and science of pruning come together. The pink growth bud pictured right below the clippers is where the next shoot will grow. The plant will send up the growth hormone strongest to the top. (That's the science.) The direction of the buds tells you the direction of the next branch. You want to have a bush that opens up like a vase with branches generally facing out. This gives space for air to circulate which cuts down on disease. This is where the art comes into play...where to make the cut. The good news is roses are very forgiving. You really can't kill it by bad pruning. My mom has always joked that you could take a chain saw to it and it would live; it just wouldn't be pretty.

Pruning (Continued)

A "hard" prune would take a rose down to 3-5 canes. Many Hybrid Tea roses can handle this. However if you have an old fashioned rose or a David Austin rose they require a more gentle touch. I generally take it down a third, cutting out dead wood and wood that crosses itself. (The picture on the left shows before, the picture on the right shows after.) Sometimes I will take out a cane that is in the middle of the plant, or one that goes in a funny direction. Again, this helps prevent disease.

A few other tips for pruning. It's best to make your cuts about 1/4" above the growth bud and at an angle. To cut back on disease it's important to clean up all the dead leaves and clippings underneath the rose bush.

Sometimes a rose will send up a sucker. This looks like another little rose bush that is right next to yours. Or it can come from the bottom of the rose bush, underneath where the rose is joined to the root. If you let it grow, it will produce a rose that is a different color. It will also suck the strength of the rose into the "new" plant. So it is best to cut it off at the root. You may have to dig a bit to get there. You can see the sucker to the right in this picture.

Here's a picture of what it looks like when it's all done.

Where We Have "School"

Leslie asked about how we decided to use desks instead of a table. I remember someone else asking that question awhile ago too. Since there is a story behind the desks, I thought I'd share in a post rather than a comment.

Evan's desk was my old desk when I was little. My dad used the rent money to buy 20+ such desks when I was about 5. He painted them and fixed them up and sold all but a few. He made a tidy profit and I got my desk.

FishMama had the pink one that Amy uses. Having all boys at the time, she offered it to us knowing that Evan had a similar one. I spotted Emily's little one at an Antique shop. I traded a basket full of dried lavender from my yard for it, and a few other things.

The first year we started homeschooling, we used the kitchen table. The desks were in the kid's rooms. Our house was only 1400 square feet at the time and we didn't have room for a separate school area. I made mats out of posterboard and got them each a little pencil box for their stuff. I copied the alphabet on a strip of posterboard to go at the top. This kind of gave them a defined work space and a harder surface to write on since our table had a protective cover on it.

The next year we used the table for a few months until I got put on bed rest. Then we used clipboards. They could come and sit by me on the couch or lay on the floor and do their math etc. While I was on bed rest, my husband built our addition. We added 900 square feet, a homeschool room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.

Last year was the first that we used the desks. We use them for math and writing assignments. (Science is done primarily in the kitchen, History on the couch, reading cuddled up wherever!) We actually have a really big table in our room right behind the couch. Sometimes Evan will want to work there, but mostly we use it for projects. You can see a picture of the whole room including the table here.

Sometimes Amy will grab a clip board and want to sit next to me on the couch to work out her math, especially when she's needing extra help. Evan has also adopted the stairs as a favorite place to work. He can set his paper or book on the landing, and have his legs dangle down the stairs. If he had a choice he would rather build a fort and crawl in there to do his work. But I don't let him do that too often since it really distracts him!

We have a quiet reading time in the afternoon and Amy loves to curl up on the couch. Evan likes to lay on his bed but sometimes he'll just sit at his desk! It cracks me up to see them on a Saturday both sitting at their desks coloring or sculpting with clay. I guess they really like them!

Emily Officially Joins "School"

She actually only sat in the desk for about 5 minutes and then was off to play with playdough. But she likes to be in on the action. And Evan and Amy think it's pretty cute that she wants to be with them.

Book Meme

I was tagged by Jenn for this book meme. (It's kind of like an online game of tag. Someone posts questions and answers them, then "tags" the next person who is "it".) Here's what you're supposed to do.

1) Grab the book closest to you
2) Open to page 123, go down to the fourth sentence
3) Post the text of the following 3 sentences
4) Name the author and book title
5) Tag three people to do the same

When I first read this on someone else's blog, I happened to have a book in my lap. I had just gotten a box from Timberdoodle and was looking through it while checking up on blogs.

"Show me how to know when a thing is evil
which I think is right and good,
how to know when what is lawful
comes from an evil principle,
such as desire for reputation or wealth by usury.
Give me grace to recall my needs,
my lack of knowing thy will in Scripture,
of wisdom to guide others,
of daily repentance, want of which keeps thee at bay,
of the spirit of prayer, having words
without love,
of zeal for thy glory, seeking my own ends,
of joy in thee and thy will,
of love to others.
And let me not lay my pipe
too short of the fountain,
never touching the eternal spring,
never drawing down water from above."

The Valley of Vision is a collection of poems and page 123 only has three sentences. So I copied them for you as they are written. It is the second half of a poem on Self-Knowledge. I got this book because I have enjoyed the CD by the same title. I am looking forward to reading this book.

I tag Cara, Bethany, and since it's National Delurking week, if you read this blog but have not yet commented, I tag YOU! If you have a blog please leave a note in the comment box to direct us to your blog. If you don't have a blog, you can just leave your quote and book title in the comments. If you click "other" you'll have a chance to add your name.

Cheerful Service

"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!" Psalm 100:2

This has been the first year of homeschooling where I have struggled with wanting to give up. It hasn't been a "fun" year like the first, or a "relaxing" year like the second, or a "rewarding" year like the third. We've had fun, relaxing and rewarding days this year, but there have been many days that I just have not looked forward to teaching. So this verse really hit home with me. I know that God has called me to homeschool my kids. This year I have not done it with much gladness. Charles Spurgeon writes,

"Delight in divine service is a token of acceptance. Those who serve God with a sad countenance, because they do what is unpleasant to them, are not serving Him at all; they bring the form of homage, but the life is absent." (Morning and Evening, evening of Jan 9th)

Ouch! That has been me on too many mornings. Serving my family's breakfast or math lesson up with a sad countenance. Yesterday Amy drew a picture of us at Trader Joe's. In the picture I was handing Emily a balloon, but I had "angry eyes". At first, I was offended, but afterward when I thought about it, she was probably right. I was probably scolding about something. Our kids see right through us.

So my prayer for today, and the rest of this year is for God to help me to be cheerful, to serve Him with gladness. Again Spurgeon writes,

"Cheerfulness is the support of our strength; in the joy of the Lord are we strong. It acts as the remover of difficulties...The man who is cheerful in his service of God, proves that obedience is his element....Let our gladness proclaim that we serve a good Master."

Some Thoughts

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1Peter 5:6-7

My mom tells me that when I was little, one of my favorite songs was "Humble Thyself" based off of 1 Peter 5:6. I would say "Humble, MaMa, Humble."

These past couple of years have been ones of humbling for me.

My devotion this afternoon, (I was in a fog this morning having had ample extra time to pray last night due to Emily's double ear infection) was based off the same chapter, but the next verse, "Cast all your anxiety on Him for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7. I had never realized before that the two were right next to each other. Humbling ourselves under God's hand then casting our anxiety on Him.

Charles Spurgeon writes "O child of suffering, be thou patient; God has not passed thee over in His providence. He who is the feeder of sparrows, will also furnish you with what you need. Sit not down in despair; hope on, hope ever. ...Doubt not His grace because of thy tribulation, but believe that He loveth thee as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness....With a little oil in the cruse, and a handful of meal in the barrel, Elijah outlived the famine, and you will do the same. " (Morning and Evening, morning of Jan. 6th)

Two years ago, when I was placed on bed rest, I basically was taken "out" of life as I had known it. The funny thing is when I got off bed rest, I never really went back. It wasn't something I wanted, but it happened all the same. For a while I struggled trying to make certain areas of my life the way I wanted, the way they were before. All I got were lots of closed doors. Then I resigned to the life I had but felt pretty depressed about it.

Then God started showing me more about His sovereignty. He started showing me how gracious He is being with me, how He is providing for me, and gently pruning areas of my life that needed to be cut out. Mainly it deals with friends and the value I have placed on what other people think of me. The Bible calls this the fear of man. I think that I have been learning to fear God more, and hopefully man less. Maybe this has been God's way of gently leading me to something else that he knows is better.

Mixed in with all this is a struggle we have been having with our home church (of 11 years). About the same time I was placed on bedrest, the church started making major changes. There are many people there that we care about. But it seems that as the church is moving one direction, God is moving us in the opposite. So we find ourselves wondering what to do. We still don't know. Being church "homeless" has been very humbling. The CD The Valley of Vision has been very encouraging and uplifting to me. The first song, In the Valley is my favorite. It puts my situation in perspective and reminds me to put my hope in God. On the hard days it's good to remember that the pruning or humbling is to make me more like Christ, and that's ultimately what I want.

"And though my humbling wouldn't be my decision
It's here Your glory shines so bright
So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown
To be low is to be high
That the valley's where You make me more like Christ"

A Year of Bread

No, I'm not trying to "bust" your diet after just a few days! Rather the kids and I are embarking on a year long study of how to make bread.

A few months ago, I read an interesting idea about how to teach cooking as part of a homeschool curriculum. Basically, you pick one category, (ie. meat, veggies, salads, bread, etc.) and cook one thing from that catagory each month for a year. This appealed to me because it didn't involve fitting in another subject during the week, yet is an intentional way of teaching a valuable skill. It is a very long rang way of teaching, but hey, I plan on having my kids around at home for a while, so by the time they leave, we may have gone through each section of the cookbook together.

Our Art teacher last week had a persimmon tree that was just loaded. So we picked persimmons and made persimmon bread the other day. We talked about the difference between quick and yeast breads, what "creaming" means and an odd fact associated with baking with persimmons. In every recipe I've read you always dissolve the baking soda in the persimmon pulp before adding. Does anyone know why?

Here's the recipe we used. It turned out great!

Persimmon Nut Bread

6 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup Sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup persimmon pulp (Scoop out the flesh of the persimmon, then run through a food processor or blender.)
2 cups flour (I used 1/2 whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
1 cup chopped nuts (we used pecans)


Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Dissolve soda in persimmon pulp and add to creamed ingredients. Combine dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture. Add orange rind and nuts and mix well. Bake in loaf pan at 350 degrees for about 75 minutes (I always needed less, so check after 50-60 min.) or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool and slice.