Sunday, October 9, 2011

October 8: View from the Mountaintop


We celebrated Keith's birthday on Saturday, and his idea of a great birthday was to climb Long Valley Peak (elevation over 4900 ft) which looks down into the valley in which our small town in nestled. He took this photo of the highest point, looking northeast. (He's a little sore today after 5+ hours of hiking.)

September 30: Sunset


As I drove Jonathan down to Alpine to play in the Starbucks Jam with the Free Teen Guitar Class, an outreach of Alpine Anglican Church of the Blessed Trinity, the sunset was incredible. So I asked J to pull out my camera and take a few shots while I drove. And this was the best photo of the bunch.... :)

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

September 26: Dinner!!



It's ready for the oven. Keith baked his special chicken pie recipe for dinner--a favorite in our family.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

September 9: Prayer Corner


My bedside table doubles as my prayer corner, and this candle is my latest addition. Given to me by my poet friend Kitty, the Scripture she included is my favorite verse.

September 8: Blackout


On Thursday afternoon, a string of events occurred that caused a huge power surge and outage throughout Southern California. All of San Diego, Imperial, and parts of Orange County went dark for 8-12 hours. 1.7 million homes and businesses survived by grilling dinners, burning candles, using flashlights, and opening windows after a day that reached 107 degrees in some areas. Neighbors hung out together. Families reconnected without the interruptions of computers, televisions, and other electronic playtoys.

We played gin rummy by candlelight and enjoyed the evening so much that I'm tempted to have a "blackout" night once per month.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

September 7: WIP


Yep, I have a WIP...a Work in Progress.

I started last November on writing a work of fiction for teen girls. I have about five short chapters left to write (I've published 45 chapters so far), and I may reach 200 pages before I'm done. I'm still pinching myself that I've written this much...174 pages and 101,000 words. It's entered in a contest, but I doubt it will win anything. I'm just thrilled that I'm up to 92,000 reads on WattPad. :)

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

September 6: Last of Delphiniums


The summer flowers are fading, but one violet-blue delphinium remains, seed pods developing....

Monday, September 5, 2011

September 5: A Bit o' Rain


Rain in Southern California is a precious and rare commodity. I heard sprinkles on the roof around 3:00 AM, and a definitely rain shower came through later in the morning. Clouds hung heavy over our little valley all day, a blessed relief from the usual summer heat we have in the mountains during August and September.

September 4: Cleared at Last!


This concrete slab has been ankle-deep in wood pieces, logs, and assorted detritus for a couple of years as we often split and stack our wood pile here. But the boys' summer project was to clear it--and they did. All the stacked boxes are full of kindling, and the wood is stacked and ready for winter.

September 3: Labor Day Weekend

My dad always told us that Labor Day was for labor...namely, yardwork. I didn't know differently until high school.

But this weekend, Labor Day meant yardwork for our family as well as T mows the weeds that we pretend make up a lawn....

J and B pull weed along the concrete slab....

Keith, J and B take a quick breather....

At least the yard looks acceptable now. ;)

September 2: Homeschooling in Crazyville


J shows off his calligraphy on the school whiteboard while he's supposed to be focusing on algebra. Such is homeschooling in Crazyville!

Friday, September 2, 2011

September 1: The Blushing Pear


I loved the blush color on this pear--and did it ever taste as wonderful as it looks....

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

August 31: The Promise of Fall


The Pippins are looking promising this fall. We'll give them another month and pray the squirrels don't beat us to them this year as they did last autumn, the little thieves....

August 30: Whiteboard Cartoons


Benjamin and Keith collaborated to create this poor, doomed stick figure on our school white board....

August 29: First Day of School


School planbook is splayed upon the school table, ready to tackle Week #1 of 36. Year #15 of Home Education is now underway....

Thursday, July 28, 2011

July 28: Praying the Book


Sorry I've been MIA for the past week. My chronic illness flared up (and is still flaring), and I have been in too much pain to keep up blogs, Facebook, etc. E-mail has been it.

And lots of prayer from the Book of Common Prayer 2011.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

July 20: Summer Project


One of my two summer projects is recopying my Gratitude Journal from computer printouts from my blog into a dedicated, hardbound journal. I'm up to almost 600 entries on my blog, but I've only recopied 70 or so as I can only handwrite ten at a time before my hands start cramping. And, of course, I'm having to edit some of my more long-winded entries.... ;)

July 19: Praying on the Porch


A quiet day, with Keith and the boys working atop the mountain, affords a lovely Quiet Time of prayer on the front porch with my Book of Common Prayer, my English Standard Version Bible installed on my Kindle, and, a rare blessing, uninterrupted TIME....

July 18: The Harry Bear


Keith gave me the teddy bear on the right for the Valentine's Day before we were married. I christened him "Honey Bear," "Bear" for short, and once I moved out of the PLNU dorms and married Keith, Bear has resided on our bed.

But, upon occasion, he escapes. With Keith's help, of course.

When we were first married, I came home to find Bear swinging from the ceiling fan, circling in flight over our miniscule living room, the Post-It beside the switch declaring him to be Super-Bear. A few weeks later, he was discovered in the dragon-shaped cookie jar, the lid on his head, accompanied by a note declaring that he had a thing for Snickerdoodles.

And thus Bear has made his presence known through the 26 years of our marriage.

When Elizabeth and I came home, exhausted, from the Twilight Saga: Eclipse midnight showing, I discovered Bear sitting on my side of the bathroom counter, covered in glittery paper and with paper fangs descending from his mouth, the Post-It declaring that he could sparkle in the sunshine, too.

And Monday morning, just as I went upstairs to brush my teeth before the whole family went to see the last Harry Potter film together, this is what I discovered on our bed. Yes, Keith and Bear have struck again, with poor Chaucer-Bear changed into a pumpkin-head, my pen becoming Bear's very own wand....

Sunday, July 17, 2011

July 17: Summer Garden


We haven't had any money this spring, so I haven't been able to plant any flowers. But many of my plants from the last few years reseeded beautifully, filling my container garden with snapdragons, delphiniums, alyssum, blue salvia, and other flowers. This photo is framed by our Pippin apple tree.