Chris and the boys helped with baking our weekly loaves last night.
I don't know what they did differently this time around but later that night when the timer went off I opened the oven door and this is what I found.



The bread actually rose so much it was almost touching the roof of the oven and the loaves were lopsided and stuck to each other. Do you also think they look as if they are kissing one another? To be honest I felt almost guilty walking in on them!

Since starting my job I have just felt so uninspired at home. Even though it is part time I feel as though my brain is constantly there. I keep hoping that surely balance will come again soon. And so the little times like these become even more precious, when something unexpected happens which brings my heart once more back home, the place where it loves to be most of all.

Oh dear readers,
I am so sorry to have ditched you like this, without even an explanation as to where I had gone or what I'd be doing. The truth is that I thought I would have time to post a little "going away" message before leaving for a friend's wedding in Memphis but carefully laid plans quickly gave way to chaos as I readied myself for the trip.


Memphis is home to lots of amazing antique malls. It is quite impossible to do any shopping without rescuing at least a vintage hat or two...

Now I am back home and life has taken an unexpected turn. A non-profit organization that I have been volunteering at has asked me to fill a part- time position they had available. Now, you must understand that I thought I would never have to work again and I am even ashamed to admit that I have at times felt somewhat snobbish towards mothers who could stay home but choose to work instead. But this org. provides a service which I am passionate about and if they need me how can I say no?

And so now after being a wife and a mother, in between gardening and homeschooling, and right before crafting and canning; I will be working part-time.



By the way, this is the picture I promised two weeks ago. Jars and jars of Plum Jam, Stewed Plums and Apricot Jam. Oh dear, surely I will still have time to can all the Apple Butter and Apple Sauce which is coming up next? We shall see...

You would think that by the time I got around to weaning Baby #3 making homemade baby food would have finally lost some of its appeal. Not so!! Every time a new child comes along I start blending up those organic steamed carrots, peas and beets and never cease to be so amazed by their vibrant colors and lovely aromas.



Making baby food is so fast, fun and inexpensive that I cannot encourage enough moms to try it out. There are loads of resources on the internet to help you out and you don't need much equipment. About twice a week I make Pepper her food. Some fruits for breakfast and veggies for lunch and dinner, along with oatmeal and rice.

When Isaac was a baby I bought The Petite Appetit Cookbook - Easy, Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler by Lisa Barnes and it has remained a steadfast kitchen companion, even when I am looking for some snacks to cook up for my older ones.

Pepper always dives into her fresh food with such gusto. I feel good knowing exactly what is in it, that it is the freshest possible and made with much love.

Aside from the obvious beauty of these darling handmade linens, they are precious to me simply because of the shear amount of work that I know must have gone into them. Most of these were recently rescued from a local thrift shop. After my initial shock that someone would actually even send them there I snatched them up and squirreled them away.
It wasn't until after they were safely home and had been handwashed, starched, pressed and folded that I began to wonder what I was actually going to do with them. It seemed like such a shame to tuck them away in my closet where they wouldn't be displayed.
Gradually they have found homes in my nooks and crannies. One tucked in a little basket on Pepper's dresser, a few decorating the top of our commode, memories of a time when needlecraft was precious and women took pride in their handwork.

As I sit down at my own hoop this morning to begin the day's stitches I contemplate the work of women who came before me and can't help but wonder if one day my projects will also fall through the cracks and be forever lost and forgotten, or if like my thrift store linens they too will be found (and rescued!) by a stranger who sees a value greater than simply having something new.

My bed used to be situated so that at night I could look right out the window. From there I spent many a sleepless night staring above the trees which whispered gently in the evening breeze at the stars as they twisted and turned, at the silvery clouds wandering past, and at the moon as it ambled slowly along it's track.

Sadly, my bed has now been moved to make way for furniture and other such practicalities, and I often lie in bed staring at the blank white ceiling wishing I was in Pepper's crib.


This is what she has to stare at, a jumble of silken fairies fluttering above her head, dancing in the occasional breeze that makes it's way through her open window on a warm night. Twisting and turning; and, I like to imagine, maybe sprinkling her with a dust that brings good will, like Tinkerbell sending her on wild adventures full of mystery and adventure.


If you could gaze at anything as you drifted off at night what would it be?