The thing about grace.

I love the analogy I read on another blog this morning: (paraphrased) Some days are smoother than others; yesterday was like sandpaper.

Bingo.

A series of events over the past few days - little things - have got me in a tizzy. Each thing no big deal on its own, but all together a burden so heavy my heart aches from the emotions of it all.

I stay up late to chat with Steve about it and then I'm overtired.

The kids feel ignored and I think all my work is unappreciated.

I try to squeeze one more purchase out of this paycheck and then I'm over budget.

The laundry piles up. The dog won't stop barking. This broke. Something smells funny. The cat prince howls to be let out. Then in. Then out. Then in. Then to be fed. Then out again. The house plants are dusty. "Mom! She won't stop coming into my room!" Favorite pens get lost. The sewing machine doesn't work. It's too cold in here. We all overslept. It's hot in here. Nobody likes to try anything new for dinner. I moved a shelf and something fell on my head (I have a mark on my forehead to prove it). "Mom? Can I have a party for my birthday?" I can't find the box of Kleenex I just opened. The library books are overdue.

But. BUT!

It turns out the public library extends some grace to those who overlook their due dates. "These are late and I'd like to just pay the fine," I said.

"There's a three-day grace period," she tells me. "You're good. No fine."

Grace!

That's the thing about grace. The days when you think surely you don't deserve it, you still receive it. And it's a two-way street; the times you think you can't possibly muster the grace to offer someone else, somehow you do and you both feel better for it.

Do you know I just about skipped my way out of that library yesterday? All over not having to pay a 30-cent fine. Because after a crummy day just the smallest act of grace was a major bright spot. It made me happy. And it reminded me that I could show grace to others in very small ways that might mean the world to them.

Something to think about.

Lots of leaves. No plumber.

So here I am with scaly skin waiting on the plumber who was supposed to be here to install our water softener yesterday. Way to feed the stereotype of Plumbers Who Never Show Up, eh?

Meh. It's fine. I'm just glad it was a simple human error (his, not mine) of writing the task on the wrong date instead of some really big problem. So he apologized and promised he'll be here this morning.

My crusty faucets and I are counting on it.

Meantime, some colorful pictures like *I* promised.

This is what I see outside my back door. Looks like a bowl of Fruit Loops.

My burning bush, relocated last year to somewhere it would get more sun.

Lots of variety here ... I believe some of the orange leaves are of a sassafras tree.

Bright red berries on a bush. These are everywhere.

 Pink(ish)!

 Yellow!

 Pretty ...

 More yellow along the driveway. Lots of Popple trees.

 Ferns.

 Pointy leaves of a Sumac. We have lots of these around here, too, and they provide SO much color through the fall.

I was trying to show the color of trees surrounding the house, but the blue sky kinda' takes center stage here.

 Still a few bright spots in the front yard.

Mums! Gotta get these in the ground so I can enjoy them next year.

And I couldn't resist a shot of Ladybug sacked out in the leaves. She was so content, I think if I hadn't walked over there to pet her she would've been covered in them before long.

Look - she already had a couple stuck to her chin. *snicker*

Happy Tuesday!

Monday, Monday, Monday!

Happy Monday, folks!

Wow. I am just in awe over my surroundings lately. As I was walking into the house from the front yard yesterday I had to stop and take it all in. The fall colors are just amazing. The air has been nice and warm during the days and cool at night and I am lovin' it. Sounds like we have a few more days of this and then it's going to turn cooler again. I'm ok with that, too.

Yeah, I totally teased you with that comment about the fall colors and I have no pictures for you. I'll try to remedy that today because I plan to spend some time outdoors. (And as I type I'm looking out the window to see leaves floating down onto the ground. Gorgeous!) I keep saying I'm going to do some cleanup in the yard and then I go out there and get started and I get distracted by something else. Lame. I need to pull the rest of the plants out of the veggie beds, plant some perennials I bought on clearance, and do some general tidying up and tucking things away before the snow flies. Because ... ugh ... it will be here before we know it and if I don't get this stuff done I will be kicking myself.

And - excitement abounds! - I have someone coming to install a water softener today. Praise Jesus! This is something we have really needed since we moved in, but somehow it always got pushed to the bottom of the list. (It's pretty easy to push things to the bottom of the list when they require spending a chunk o' change. And they're not as fun as a big-screen TV. *ahem*) After today I won't have to scrub the showers so hard, the dishwasher will work better, my skin will be softer, the faucets won't be all crusty, and my coffee will even taste better. Hallelujah!

AND ... why not continue my randomness with a few pictures from the weekend? OK, I will then.

The kids and I visited one of our favorite local parks on Lake Michigan Saturday afternoon. There's a great playground and sculpture park and you can watch boats going in and out of the harbor all day long.

I let Sam and Rachel go off and play while I stretched out in the grass and soaked up some sun. Until Rachel came racing over and hollered, "Mom! Take a picture of me!"

I obliged.

What a joker. Believe me, she is never, ever this still or quiet at home.

Both the kids' favorite: the zip-line-type-thingamabob. 

(Ha! Notice how Sam's feet touch the ground?)

Hm. Yeah. He doesn't get quite as excited as Rachel does about having pictures taken.

Still cute, though.

Exhibit B, the self portraits:

Sometimes the outtakes are the best.

Taking notice.

Wow. I really do feel like this week has flown by. Not sure why. It hasn't been any different than any other week in terms of the kids heading off to school each day and me holding down the fort here at home ... evenings that seem to be over by the time we eat dinner and the kids do their chores and get ready for the next morning. And things have been running pretty smoothly as far as all that's concerned.

I've got a few things on my mind today and I'm going to do my best to not let them drag me down. I'm gonna' give those thoughts up to God, make a point to enjoy the day, stop and take notice and rejoice in the little things.

In wandering around the yard recently I've noticed lots of little changes that occur in the hours between my walks - leaves turning from green to gold and orange and red, moss spreading along the shady forest floor, and the typical fall fungi is abundant this year. I'm guessing the days of rain we had a week or so ago helped.

These little fluted spores are all over the place in my flower beds:

And these, covering an old stack of wood now hidden by ferns:

Interesting stuff. I'm looking forward to spending more time outdoors this weekend. We're having unseasonably warm weather and I plan to take advantage of every minute of it.

Happy Friday!

Adventures in Domesticity.

I finally did it. I used tomatoes I grew in my own garden to make salsa, and then canned it.

Two whole pints.

Yes. TWO.

For years - YEARS - I have said I am going to learn how to preserve my own produce like my mom did. In summers past I have had bumper crops of various varieties but never had the time or energy to can it. This year I planted only enough vegetables for us to eat, with the possibility of maybe having a few extra tomatoes. Late in the summer I did share a baggy of grape tomatoes with my dad because I just couldn't eat 'em all, but I didn't think enough of the larger ones would ripen at the same time to make canning worth the effort.

Well. I ended up with a bowl full of romas in the kitchen that were screaming to be made into salsa, so last night I decided it was finally time to dust off the canning supplies I purchased last year.

Rachel gleefully served as my sous chef. She gathered ingredients, chopped garlic and cilantro, and measured out spices while I peeled and diced the tomatoes, jalapenos and onion.

We destroyed the kitchen. I fretted that I would miss a step or the timing would be off. The kids stayed up past their bedtime because I was too engrossed in de-ribbing hot peppers to march them off to bed. And I marveled at how the bowl of "stuff" headed for the scrap pile outside (where I will hopefully have a compost bin next spring) was more abundant than the good stuff piling up in the pot.

But oh, it will be so worth it when we pop one o' these babies open in the middle of January.

At least I hope it will be worth it. That's the thing about canning - you don't really know until it's time to try out the finished product, and that could be months down the road.

I can tell you last night my dry, cracked hands were not feeling the love. I'm too ornery to dig out a pair of gloves to wear while chopping jalapenos. Yes, I am one of those people who wrinkles my nose and waves off the warning in the Ball Book. "I don't need no stinking gloves!"

Eh, some advice? When working with hot peppers, find some gloves. Wear them. You can thank me later.

Also? If the activity immediately preceding your canning adventure had anything to do with leaving half your groceries stacked on the countertops, or washing dishes and leaving them stacked on the countertops, or unless your kitchen is the size of the Iron Chef's Kitchen Stadium, empty your sink and clear your countertops first. You're gonna' need the space.

Oh, two pints of salsa does not take up much room; it's the prep work. Washing, peeling, chopping, measuring. All that good stuff.

And don't make any appointments. Give yourself plenty of time. (Yeah, canning on a whim? Probably not my best choice, but it worked out OK.) I'm sure as I gain experience my process will be a little more streamlined, but dang! I was exhausted and in need of a shower by the time I pulled those jars out of the water bath. Since I was so exhausted, I did not take the time to clean up after myself before I shuffled off to bed ... so now it's time to do that. Olé!

This week is flying by.

Wednesday?? How can it be Wednesday already?!

Listen, I'm just going to get right to the point. I had a great night of sleep last night, woke up refreshed, and then those blasted children sucked every ounce of energy out of me within the first hour of my day.

Every. Ounce.

I came back from putting them on the bus and flopped down on the couch where I spotted my wine glass from last night sitting on the end table. Don't even think that if there was a smidge of anything left in it I wouldn't have sucked it right down.

Alas, it was empty. (Hence the good night of sleep.)

I decided 7 a.m. was a leeeetle early for wine anyway. I decided to skip the coffee, even, and head out for a walk. I could blow off some steam and even vent a bit to my walking buddy.

It doesn't matter how many times the gurus say it, I'm still amazed at how a bit of exercise makes me feel so much better. The sun is shining too, and that's always helpful. Now I'm ready to get my day started ... again, and on a better note. I have a few errands to run, a lunch date with my mom, and maybe a little nosing around the second-hand stores while I'm out. It's probably a good thing we don't have a garage because I've got DIY projects piling up and I certainly don't need any more room to store them. At least the way they are now I'll eventually get tired of tripping over them and I'll actually start working on them.

Aha! I need to add spray paint to my list.

Enjoy your Hump Day, peeps. We're on the downslide and headed toward the weekend. Wahoo!

Changin' things up.

So Blogger, where I created this blog, is rolling out a bunch of new stuff. I left my blog alone for a long time, kind of appreciating the simplicity of it. Now I'm ready to change it up a bit.

I've tried some different background photos and templates and different numbers and widths of columns, photos here and widgets there. I think I'll be tweaking it for a while 'cause I haven't gotten to that point when I could sit back and say I really loved it. I am far from a blog designer (and perhaps I've mentioned my lack of patience?) so this is an interesting challenge for me.

What I do like and will keep around are those new page tabs up top that tell you a little more about us. This blog is not solely about any one thing, rather it's a journal of our days which can include a little bit of everything - home improvements, kids' shenanigans, random thoughts, gardening progress, cooking trials and errors, and a whole lot more. It's just me, reflecting on this unconventional way of life that is being married to a pipeliner.

So, faithful readers, thanks for hanging in there with me. New folks - welcome! Grab a cup of coffee and have a look around. Let me know what you like or what you'd like to see more of.

Thanks for stopping by!