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.

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.

July 11: Words on the Fridge

The other side of the fridge is plastered with words. Some more pictures, too, photos enclosed in Christmas letters and cards, but mostly words. And a cool magnet from an art museum, gift from a beautiful poet.
Here words bump up against each other, gently rubbing shoulders. Smirking, the boys rearrange words into odd phrases, words that are usually strangers becoming acquaintances, then friends--all on our fridge.

July 10: On the Fridge

The photos on our fridge, arranged by Elizabeth. Many "m-workers" represented here, plus close friends and tons o' family. The photos are posted just over our water/ice dispenser, so we can pray for Christian workers, friends, and family members while we fill our water glasses and bottles. :)

July 7: Study Session

This afternoon I spent a couple of hours on our front porch, reading and writing. It was so quiet and relaxing, truly a little piece of mountain paradise.

July 2: Lamps in the Dusk

We have two of these lamp posts in our yard. A friend sent me an article she wrote for our small-town newspaper on the history of these lamp posts that can be found in the yards of several of the older homes in Pine Valley. Manufactured in Ohio in 1926, the lamps were installed in downtown El Centro, the largest city in the Imperial Valley (between San Diego and the Arizona border). Removed for more fashionable lamps in the mid-40s, they were sold for $100 apiece, and many home owners in our town bought them for their yards. I love the looks of these beautiful lamps and am glad we own two of them.

June 30: A Clean School Area!

With the boys' final grades submitted yesterday and Keith's sister and her family arriving tomorrow, I cleaned up our school area today. "Normal" people might call this a dining area, but Keith made this drop-leaf table with school in mind. After selling so many school books, the bookcases are only stacked single-depth deep now, rather than the double-stacking that had been necessary for the past several years.

One thing homeschooling families always need more of: bookcases!!!

June 19: A Clean Desk...

...is a sign of a sick albeit organized mind.

Yes, I hadn't cleaned this thing off since Christmas. Now I can work here again!

Day 56: Battening Down the Hatches

We have the coldest storm in twenty-thirty years bearing down on San Diego County tonight. So the boys stacked firewood all over the hearth and all over the porch so that when we receive the expected 6-12 inches overnight in our town. There's even a chance of snow flurries in the inland valleys where I grew up--that's happened only twice in my lifetime.

So we're ready for the deluge and prepared to be snowed in for a few days....

Day 40: Little House in the Mountains

On my way walking home from the post office--taking a grading break--I snapped our house as it nestles against the 6000 feet of Mount Laguna in the distance....

Day 37: Worship

As I went inside on Sunday evening, I noticed the cool shadows the porch light was making on this wooden cross (a gift from my friend Noko) that hangs next to our front door. It seems a fitting photo for a Sunday.... :)

Day 36: Saturday's Task

Every Saturday is laundry day around here....

Day 35: Warming Up

With overnight temperatures in the high teens and low twenties (which is very cold, even for our little mountain village here in Southern California), we've had to use the woodburning stove almost around the clock to keep the house warm. This is our only source of heat as we can't afford propane for the heater, but it makes life rather homey. Although the boys are a little tired of hauling wood....

Day 32: Home, Disheveled Home

I love our home, but with the economy the way it is, we haven't been able to invest in upkeep much. Despite the peeling paint, it's still a lovely place to live. At least the roof doesn't leak (much). ;)

Day 24: J and Dash

Jonathan plays with Dash, our dachshund (instead of doing school).... :)

Day 20: Reminder

In last Sunday's sermon at Alpine Anglican Church of the Blessed Trinity (which I receive via e-mail), Father Acker reminded us of this Collect and asked us to copy it down and put it somewhere we would see it regularly. So I copied it and taped it to my desk lamp...a much-needed reminder that God leads and guides us in what is right and true in our relationships with Him and with others.

(And don't ya love my little bust of Shakespeare? I bought it last fall at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre gift shop....)

Day 9: A Girl and Her Pup

This afternoon after church we dropped Elizabeth back on campus at Point Loma Nazarene University as her second semester starts tomorrow. I'm gonna miss my girl something awful, but I think that Dash, who sleeps with her, may miss her as much, if not more, than I will....

Day 6: Bye Bye, Christmas

Today is Epiphany, the day following Twelfth Night, the last night of Christmastide. So today we packed away our Christmas decorations....

Bye bye, Christmas. See you in eleven months....

Day 3: Tenth Day of Christmas

Today is the Tenth Day of Christmas. And the sparkling lights are just as gorgeous and dreamy as the First Day....

Tree Decorating '09

The kids very much enjoyed decorating the Christmas Tree this year -- Elizabeth is the Decorating Maven of our household.