This past Saturday, Lizzie played the violin and harpsichord in a "Going Baroque" recital at Christ Church in LaPlata, Md. It was wonderful. This church is steeped in history. Its congregation dates back to 1683! The church building was originally located in Port Tobacco, Maryland. It was later moved in the early 1900s to LaPlata. It is beautiful...and with excellent accoustics.
I was so enjoying myself that I forgot to take pictures of Lizzie! But Mike recorded both her pieces on his camcorder, so I will have to download a few frames. The recital had two pieces played on this real pipe organ. There is nothing like an organ with real pipes...and this organ has more than 700 pipes. We also heard from 6 flutists. Saturday was very windy and rainy, but the Lord blessed us with drizzly rain while we were going in and out of the church.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the harpsichord...especially the younger students. I hope this becomes an annual recital.

Lizzie had my camera out in our yard today and captured some fall pictures.

I just love this time of year. This is our driveway. This past Friday we went driving around the Mennonite community. This sign is a mile in the woods on a lone dirt road that allows the horse and buggy folks a major shortcut. We took the road because we wanted to stop and show Mike the wonderful leather shop.
Of course, we had to stop and enjoy the cows.

This old order Mennonite farm has llamas. Evidently they make good watchdogs and will protect the young calves from foxes and coyotes. Yes, coyotes! We have seen one in our neighborhood, too. The folks in western Maryland re-introduced the coyotes to help keep the deer population under control. As expected, some of the coyotes are finding their way to southern Maryland. Every 10 years or so we even get a black bear coming down the Patuxent River on a log!
I got out and fed this beauty my apple core. He loved it. We stopped at this Mennonite farm to get some winesap apples. They are delicious.

Ruthie bought a gourd like this one so she can dress it as a goose. We also bought two pumpkins and some delicious cabbage and green beans.

Mike is in New York today for a funeral of a college friend, Shauna. She was married to one of Mike's fraternity brothers. Shauna has been fighting cancer for 10 years. What a courageous spirit she had. So our hearts and thoughts are with her hubby and three adult children.

The time is flying by so fast. I don't know what happened to October. We have done some projects around here, so I'll take some pics and catch you up to date this week. Enjoy the colors. Many blessings ~ Kathie

Recently I was reading through a copy of my No Greater Joy magazine where Michael Pearl talks about making paintbrushes out of fox squirrel tails. I knew in an instant that I'd like to try that...someday. So I went on a google search and learned there is not much info about this subject.

I did find one really good website though, with 9 simple steps and good pictures. Most websites talk about purchasing horsehair at a craft store to make your own brushes, but this article gives the advantages of many different natural bristles ~ weasel, boar (strongest non-manmade), pony, squirrel, and goat.

I am not an artist or painter, but I think it would be fun experimenting with different hairs.

When Maggie and I eat at our favorite Kodori Japanese restaurant (on the way to Walter Reed), we enjoy drinking this Nestea Red Tea ~ pomegranate and passion fruit. We have looked for it everywhere but so far it is hard to find. But if you ever get the chance to try it...it is delicious!
While doing some research for an upcoming post, I found these two pictures of recycling ideas. These are cd cases made into a lamp.

And guess what this trendy chair is made of?! This would be a handy chair to have if you need a conversation piece. I wonder if it's even comfy?

I let everyone sleep in this morning since we have a big day ahead of us...cooking for my Dad's church, then a mini-concert. Sarah will be up at the airport picking up Mike and Glen.

Beautiful weather is here again. Yesterday I woke up to 40 degrees but this morning the thermometer read 55. Yippee! Allen turned the pellet stove on last night but had to turn it off after an hour. We were roasting!

Enjoy your day. Go outside and soak up some Vitamin D. Many blessings ~ Kathie

This week on freecycle.org there was a giveaway post for a pair of sugar gliders. I had never heard of sugar gliders before, so I did a little googling.
These pets come from Australia. There is a lot of debate over whether or not they make good pets. Evidently they require a lot of high maintenance affection.

They are also nocturnal. These pets are also called honey bears. The name sugar glider comes from their preference for sweets, and their ability to glide through the air like flying squirrels. Just what one needs in their home!

These pets are legal in 49 states...CA is the lone hold out.

Well, you learn something new everyday.

I'm off and running. We have three appts today. We've been asked to sing at SAYSF Bible Church tomorrow night, so we have some brushup practicing to do. Anna was able to sing twice for our church in Texas, PTL. Since the church doesn't have a pianist, she used the cd. That worked out well, so we may get her to repeat that tomorrow night since Saysf doesn't have a piano in their big hall.

Warm weather is upon us for a few days. Many blessings ~ Kathie

Allen's first squirrel!

Last Friday while Maggie and I were up at Walter Reed, our Pastor took Allen squirrel hunting. Boy did that make his day! Better yet...Allen shot one! Pastor did the skinning. I did the cooking. Allen did the beaming. Pastor also sent this picture to all our family cellphones. Thanks so much, Pastor!

Two peas in a pod. Hunters and fishermen, I'm sure neither eats quiche.

I read a lot about cooking squirrels. I wanted to fry Allen's, but everything I read said to fry only young squirrels. Since we didn't know the age of our squirrel, I made squirrel stew. Tasted okay...but not worth the effort. So I told Allen to go shoot 2 more squirrels and we'll fry them. Then we'll try rabbits.

Pastor's wife, Debie, was saying that Allen sure is "all boy" for having 5 sisters. We agree, but we also enjoy the softer side of Allen. He couldn't endure the cat's meowing while Anna was in Texas the past two weeks. He would put on his "cat sweatshirt" and snuggle her every night.

Aren't they cute?!
Grandma's visit was fun but short. We roasted one of Allen's chickens for dinner one night, and the second night we had spiral sliced honey ham. Yummy!

The next morning Allen made one of his favorite breakfasts...this salad. Took a lot of chopping but he was sure pleased with the end result!

We had play practice at church all afternoon, then stayed last night until 10:30 pm playing extreme soccer. This morning we woke up to the goats wandering about the yard. I don't know yet if someone forgot to lock the gate...or if the goats jumped the fence. It's okay by me...they are staying next to the house trimming all the weeds.

Mike is working hard in Florida and enjoying the family time. Maggie only has five appointments this week, so I'm looking forward to unwinding. Our home looks like a bomb was dropped on it. All the Texas stuff is scattered about, all the bags of gym clothes along the wall, etc. This is probably when someone shows up to visit. Yikes!

Pastor preached about Jonah yesterday. Great sermon, as usual. The point of the sermon is that God has a plan for all our lives. Maybe not as magnificent as Jonah's, but significant all the same.

Enjoy the new week. Many blessings ~ Kathie

It's a Giveaway!

It's been a long time since I've posted a giveaway, but this pumpkin table runner is a wonderful place to start! Thanks to my friend, Deb, from Mountain Musings, I learned about this giveaway. Added later: Congratulations on winning the table runner, Deb!

Judi, over at Green Fairy Quilts, sewed this beautiful table runner and posted a tutorial of how to make one for your own fall table. Someone will win one of her pumpkin table runners by leaving a comment on her blog. Winner's name will be drawn on Friday. Stop by and see what else Judi has in her shop!

My daughter, Anna (16) enjoys sewing pumpkin blocks, so I am going to try to win this for her. If not, Judi's tutorial is one of the best step-by-step presentations I have seen. It's a win-win!

So hurry on over to Judi's blog and leave a comment.

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Mike left this morning with his brother to drive his parents to Florida, then stay for a week. His sister will fly in from Phoenix, and his second brother will drive down from Ocala. All four children will meet in FL to do yardwork and handyman services for Grandma and Grandpa. The best part is that Grandma will be feeding them...yummy!

Anna, Sarah, and Grandad are packing up to leave TX bright and early tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see them!!

Many blessings ~ Kathie

Last week when it was warm, we went to a thrift shop that is located in a log cabin. Since I love almost everything about log cabins, we went in. I have passed this thrift shop probably a hundred times over the past 20 years, but this was the first time I ever thought to stop in.

The thrift shop is on the same property as the Episcopal church. Everything seems steeped in history here.

Isn't this a nice graveyard. We were rushed for time but I would have enjoyed looking at the tombstones.

There is a daycare in back of the log cabin. Can you tell by now that I uploaded my pictures in reverse?!

And finally, a terrible picture of the thrift shop! I didn't realize until now that I never got a pic of the front. Inside were lots of good deals. Everything was reasonably priced. The only thing we bought was a western outfit for Ruthie's doll. It was fun, but I doubt I'd ever have reason to return.

Somewhere on the church property is a social hall that you can rent. I like the woodsy feel.

Last Wednesday, Pastor asked Mike to teach his Sunday School class on Sunday. Mike readily agreed. Mike's spiritual gift is teaching, and he loves it. However, the week was very busy, and before we knew it, it was Saturday afternoon. So he decided to show this DVD from Vision Forum called The Culture Wars. The speaker for this DVD is Voddie Bauchum (pronounced Vodie Bockum). Our family has now watched this DVD 3 times, and it only gets better!

We were unprepared for the interest this DVD would generate. We offered to lend ours out, but folks said they wanted their own...and more. PTL! Voddie has many books, cds, and dvds that are outstanding...and convicting.

Grandma and Grandpa, as well as Uncle Glen, came over for dinner last night. We served one of Allen's homegrown, free range, chickens. He was so proud!

Tonight they will be coming over again, as well as Glen's whole family (they were out of town last night), so we are busy making apple dump cake, ham, roast potatoes, sourdough dinner rolls, festive cranberry salad...and homemade coleslaw from Chick Fil A. *smile*

Many blessings ~ Kathie

Well, for the second time this month, we had to cancel our bonfire because of gusty winds. Had we burned this pile, I'm sure it would've quickly spread to become the fire of the century!

So we had everyone inside for a spaghetti dinner. I had a lot of fun even though it was Plan B. Bernard used Lizzie's violin, Nathan used Mike's trumpet, and Al played piano. It was great fun! I love music!! It was also a lot of fun having two babies in the crowd. It's been a while since we dug out the playrug and the baby toys. Hopefully the weather will hold so we can burn that pile. You know what they say about the third time!

Today the public schools were off because of Columbus Day, so Allen's friend Jeff came over for the day.
Since Allen had to feed the bees some sugar blocks, Jeff joined right in.

They also went squirrel hunting and played airsoft guns. Two peas in a pod!

Allen said Jeff is a good smoker. I'm sure Jeff's mom will be pleased about that!

Lizzie's violin teacher moved from Leonardtown to Mechanicsville, so she is 10 minutes closer. That's wonderful.

But Lizzie likes their new home because of the ride through the countryside. Aren't these beauties?!
On our way to church we have a little funny intersection with two circles. Trying to give directions to our church is difficult with these circles. One Sunday we were coming home from church, and we saw a family in a van, and as they were driving off the circle, you could see the Dad pointing to the next exit and saying, "I think we want to go there!" Unfortunately, when the circle was first built, we did the same thing. Each circle has 3 exits, so it's hard to explain which exit to take. The signs don't help much either. And when you take the wrong exit...it's quite a drive to turn around!

I just added the above picture because I like funny signs.

We are finished with day one of another busy week. My inlaws are coming this week, so I hope to do a little cleaning each day. Hope is the operative word here!

Ruthie's winter pajamas are tight, so I hope to sew two pairs today and tomorrow. Then I need to start on her winter dresses. Hopefully that will motivate me to start sewing some quilt blocks or something fun.

Many blessings ~ Kathie

Sowing Seed Video ~ This is incredible!

Please take the time (8 minutes) to watch this powerful video. We sure serve a great God!

Many blessings ~ Kathie

On October 1st, Allen's Tang Soo Do class had a special celebration for his teacher, Master Miller. The adult class and the student class had a combined class to celebrate Master Miller's 50th birthday. After a good workout, the students surprised Mr. Miller with a certificate in honor of becoming an adoptive parent to Brave Spirit, the eagle pictured above. Mr. Miller loves eagles, so this was a very special gift. What a wonderful evening it was.

The eagle gift is from the American Eagle Foundation. Take a minute and click on the name to see some beautiful pictures.

Today I bought some freshly picked watercress from our mennonite friend, Ronald. I lightly sauteed it, but for some reason it had a bitter taste. Next time I will snip off the stems. I have made delicious watercress soup, but the watercress I got today looked like arugula. I googled some pictures of both, and some of the pictures look the same!

I also made a very weird but tasty dish called Georgia Cracker Salad. I found this recipe on Paula Deen's website. It sounded intriguing, so I had to try it. Here's the recipe:

Georgia Cracker Salad

Ingredients:
1 sleeve saltine crackers (we used 1 bag oyster crackers)
1 large tomato, finely chopped (I used 2)
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used 2/3 cup)
1 hard boiled egg, finely chopped

Because we are allergic to egg whites, I used 3 egg yolks. Delicious!

Tomorrow, Sarah and Anna are going with my Dad to Padre Island, Texas for 10 days. Lizzie was planning on going, but finally decided she didn't want to leave her mama...and her pets. She gets too homesick. That's okay by me. The weather this week in Texas is in the 90s, but the normal is in the low to mid 80s. How I wish I were going!
This past summer I bought this beautiful, brown, ceramic cornucopia at the thrift shop. Now that autumn is here, we had fun filling it with indian corn and gourds for our centerpiece. This summer was the 24th coolest summer on record (in 125 years), but this autumn is the most beautiful that I ever remember. Perfect weather...but we could use a bit of rain.

I am exhausted from all the running around today. Mike went with Maggie to her chiropractor appt so he could learn how to massage her arm/neck, but the Dr was running late, so they have to go back on Thursday.

Maggie was hurting after her occupational therapy today, so she's been enjoying watching a young Steve McQueen in Wanted: Dead or Alive. If you enjoy westerns that have no bad language, you may enjoy these. This series has 94 episodes that are only 20+ minutes each. I like any westerns where the hero is a cowboy who lives by the cowboy code: honesty, integrity, and charity.

Ruthie gets an x-ray of her arm tomorrow, so we'll see how she's doing. Lizzie and Allen mowed the field and the yard...hopefully for the winter. Sarah and Anna are packing. And I'm calling it quits for the day. Many blessings ~ Kathie