Veronica Boulden

My new lawn is quite unkept, but I really like it that way.  I do plan to rake it and trim the overgrowth, but that's only so that I will be able to see more of the beautiful rocks and mosses and birds.  There are many "prettyish kinds of little wildernesses" like the ones in this photo.  Lady Catherine might not approve, but my heart just sings.

This year each child got one thing they really wanted from us.   With the move, we just didn't have time or energy or money to go all out.  Our family and friends sent some wrapped gifts in the mail and meant for them to be opened Christmas morning, too, so the girls did have more than one thing to open...   But, in all, this was a really simple Christmas.   And, I have to say, I think we got it right this year.  In years past, we bought a lot more stuff, so the girls would have more to open.  But every year, there would be gifts the girls never even played with.  That grieved me.   This year, the girls have been playing with their gifts every single day since Christmas and they are still talking about their gifts.     The prices of their gifts were not at all equitable, but the value of the gifts are the same in each girl's estimation, so we don't feel bad about not spending the same amount on each kid.  Each gift was thoughtfully chosen.

Adele was showing signs of being sick when she woke up yesterday. So we got out the puke bucket ready. And she eventually did throw up a few times. I kept her close to me on the couch until I figured she was probably done throwing up.  At that point, she was perking up, talking a lot, and even wanting to play with her sisters. So I knew from experience that her appetite would be coming back within the hour, but that she really shouldn't have any sugary foods that would further weaken her immune system. So I made her some savory soup, and she actually ate it! So I think I'll record the recipe to use again, when the time comes. Sick Day Soup Ingredients: Two cups of prepared, frozen bone broth, beef (or chicken) 1/2 cup dry barley (or rice)   One small carrot Three green beans One heaping spoonful of minced garlic One teaspoon dry onion flakes One half teaspoon dry parsley Two chunks of pink Himalayan sea salt and a dash of corse Kosher salt Optional ingredi

If someone I respect tells me they like a book, I will read it as soon as possible. If someone I respect tells me they like a book enough to read it every single year, well, you can bet I will read it right away! That's what happened with "On the Incarnation"  by Saint Anthanasius; A person I admire says she reads this with her family and friends out loud every year during Advent. So then I had to read it! The language of the book is very complicated, so I will want to read it again and again in order to feel like I have an understanding of what all is being said.  But, one passage, in particular, made my spirit sore on my first reading and I wanted to share it here. As I read this passage, I pictured all the fairy-tales, superheroes, villains, devils, Greek and Roman Gods, and even the greatest leaders in human history.  Images of all these flashed through my mind's eye as I read this passage... "For since human beings, having rejected t

There's a map at the beginning of the book "My Brother Sam is Dead" by Collier and Collier and it shows all the significant places in the novel. We looked and then did a double take to find we live on this map! All of these places are within walking distance of our new house! We think it's cool that we settled right in the middle of a place with such interesting history. But, truthfully, the same could probably be said about anywhere. If you have the right perspective and information,   any place could be exceedingly interesting, I am sure. Nevertheless, we are excited to be learning new things that will help us better appreciate our new home in Redding. I did finish the novel yesterday and it was, in total, very depressing.  But it shows the complicated nature of war and the ethics and morality behind the way real people really acted. Note: I would not read it to my younger children, four and seven, but my oldest, who is twelve, is ready for this sort

We've deduced that the two barred feathers we have found in our yard are both from wild turkeys. It was a bit of a let-down to find out they were from turkeys.  I won't even lie. We see hawk-like birds perching on our trees, and soaring around almost everyday, so we were hopeful that these feathers belonged to them and would help us identify them.  But we will just have to work to get a better look at those birds through our binoculars, so as to find out what they are. To identify these feathers, we used The Feather Atlas on The U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Website. It looks like one of the feathers is a primary wing feather  from a female. Note: This feather looks absolutely perfect for a quill.  Now I can't help but wonder about quills, and quill-making, etc. And the other is a tail feather , probably from a male. Further, secondary evidence that these feathers belong to turkeys and not another bird: our neighbor says whole flocks of wild turkeys will co

If it's sunny and anywhere over forty degrees, we usually end up on a nature walk. We noticed these bright red berries today.  We didn't see any berries yesterday, though we were on the same path, looking at the same vine.  This confirms to me that it's good to come to the same trails again and again even if you think you've seen it all.  What is this vine is called? The girls discovered magnificent ice cycles forming on the surface of puddles.  The girls took off their gloves, scooped them up gently, and held them up to admire the designs. But only very briefly, because the heat from our fingers made them melt fast. How does ice form on the surface of water? These interesting seed pods looked somewhat like miniature thistles to me. I went to touch one and this many of them ended up on my glove. So, naturally, I went to pull them right off, but they just kept ahold. They only broke off in pieces, exploding tiny seeds all over my gloves. Now I wonder wha

We took the short drive to the other side of Putnam Park and took a walk over there. In the photo above, you can see the two rows of stones piles that go on for a hundred yards or more. Each pile represents where a hearth of a soldiers' barrack once stood. This hearth is standing where a captain's quarters used to be.  Avril made us all laugh when she stood inside the fireplace and yelled, "Diagon Alley!"  (Harry Potter fans will get it.) We marveled at all the massive rocks and moss. The rock formation above is said to have a cave. But since it is a tad icy, we decided not to climb and explore for it. This rock looks precarious from this angle, but the other side is massive and quite flat, so it isn't going anywhere.  We keep an eye out quartz crystals forming on the surface of the rocks. This one was the largest we've seen so far, bigger than a quarter. We have so many questions! All the time spent in nature is making us inte

It had been weeks since we had been to the library, since our last visit was about two weeks before our move, and then we didn't have time to visit our new library until a few weeks had passed in our new home.   The girls started missing the library and asking about it within a week of the move. They expressed anxiety about finding a new library and had been eager to go.  Apparently, my desire to make them love the library by simply taking them consistently for over a year is working just as I planned.   We got our new cards and a stack of books that we really struggled to carry out, because I forgot our library bags back at the new house.  Forgetting things like bags and cell phones are a regular occurrence now that I am in a new space. I still haven't figured out the best place is to keep everything. I have three floors now, so where should I best put my phone? And we park in the garage now, but often use the front and back doors, too, so where should we best k

With three girls who all like to draw and paint and craft, we have collected a lot of finished artwork over the years and I am certain there is more to come. I do actually throw most of their artwork away. Gasp!  I do this simply because it would be impossible to contain it all in my home and still function. So I keep only what I really like, or what the girls really seem to like. Yet we still have so much! I found these Tjena boxes at Ikea, big enough to hold almost everything the girls have ever made and kept. Even the larger sheets of paper can be stored in here. Those just can't be stored flat. They have to be folded over gently, so they don't crease, and then the lid will still go on top. These boxes come with tags that stick to the side, so I do also have each girl's name on each box, so it's easy for me to remember whose box is whose. I have a few poster sized paintings that won't fit in these boxes and that I can't part with for reason or an

Minestrone 1 large white onion, chopped 3 celery sticks, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 3 carrots, peeled, halved and sliced 1 zucchini, quartered and sliced 1/2 head of green cabbage, finely sliced 2 15oz cans of diced tomatoes with juice 1 15oz cans of chick peas with juice 1 15oz can light red kidney beans with juice 1 15oz can cannellini beans four cups of homemade chicken broth water 1 Tbs Italian Seasoning 1 Tbs Basil 1 tsp Tarragon 1 tsp Marjoram 1/2 tsp cayenne 1 tsp ground thyme 1/2 tsp sage kosher salt and cracked pepper Optional: Chopped or shredded chicken 12 oz small shells shredded asiago type cheese to go on top Throw all of this into a big pot together and simmer it until the vegetables are soft.  My friend Wendy gave me a batch of minestrone when we moved and I just loved it.  The broth was perfection itself. So I asked her for the recipe and then adapted it, because I can't actually follo

"We are all meant to be naturalists, each in his degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so filled with the marvels of plant and animal life and care nothing for these things." -Charlotte Mason I am going to try keeping a nature journal. Again.   It just feels like the right thing to do to steward the gift I have been given in this new home and try and express my gratitude to God for being surrounded by so much beauty.   I have only found time to sit and sketch and write two entries so far. But if we live here for as long as I imagine we will, I am bound to have a decent journal if I am consistent over years.   I am critical of my work, even in pain as I draw, because I am not capable of making the beauty I want to make, but I am following the advice I give my students and my children, and I am doing it anyway.   The only wrong drawing would be the one I do not even attempt for fear of failure or for pride.  To quote another person whose writings have in

We had our first real snow in the new house.  We built a snowman and tried out the sledding down our driveway and all the different inclines in our yard. There is not one single place to just let the kids go.  So Norah and I took the little girls down in turns, because she and I can steer and stop whenever necessary. We went for a little walk to the creek and we admired the various winter scenes.  Norah enjoyed blowing on snow-covered lichen and watching the snow melt off. "It's like spring happening in a time elapsed video," Norah said. And it was.  The girls also enjoyed dropping snow balls into the stream and watching them soak up water.   We came back to the house after what seemed like hours. We we're all muscle and bone tired, and very hungry.  I had been tending to dinner on and off all afternoon, so it was ready in a few minutes.   Now we are all fed, and dry and warm. The girls are playing quietly nearby as I type this and n

 

This is my favorite spot in our new house so far.  Isn't it lovely?  I took this photo shortly after we started our first fire in the upstairs fire place.

I had two prophetic dreams about this move. In one of the dreams, I was dancing through Connecticut's countryside in worship. As I finished my dance, I bowed to Lord, then I came up from the bow to find myself in a new home. ??! (At the time, we were not even contemplating a move and so the dream did not seem to make sense.) But, there were things about the dream, symbols, that I noticed.  For instance, there were pine trees outside the window and pine cones and needles all over the ground, things like that. But, the thing I remember most was that in that house, I felt the most unspeakable joy. My rational mind struggles with supernatural experiences like this, but the memory is so real to me, the joy was so potent, that I can bring it back to me if I concentrate. I can remember it better than any real memories I have of things that happened to me during my waking hours. These powerful dreams have served me in a few ways through the last few months.  They brought me the

A few mornings before we moved, Dwayne sat down with me and said something like, "We should think about what we want to do with this house, what it will be  for , what we want the new house to mean ."  He does this at work, leading teams of people to consider their purposes and goals and families need to do the same thing sometimes.  He said he had a few ideas, but wanted to hear my mind about it.   Within three minutes, we had decided on the three things we knew this house would be for!   The words in his head were the same exact words in mine! We were totally in sync and I just knew it was because God was leading us by His Spirit.  As well-suited as Dwayne and I are for one another, we don't often agree that perfectly. The three words we agree upon were: Stewardship: because God was giving us something simply  bigger  than we had before and we knew we would have to grow in order to care for it as well as we should.  And because a big part of my job a

We have moved to our new home in Redding and we are busy settling in.  We've been working non-stop for over a week! We get up, sit and have a cup of coffee (or two), and then we work all day until past bedtime. Dwayne is enjoying his much, much shorter commute to work every day.  But before and after work and sometimes during the day, he is working to get us settled, too. Today, for instance, he will take a final load to the town dump on his lunch hour. The only respites we get, if you can call them respites, are when we get to go outside and rake leaves or trim thorny branches to tend to our property.  Then we will take a half hour and go explore the land around our home. We are delighted with every little mushroom, every interesting bump on trees, every bright clump of green moss. We are constantly explaining, "Oh!" and "Wow! Come see this!" Our spirits are soaking up the beauty of nature and we are thanking God for such a gift in this home. And it

We're moving and I have found myself grieving as I pack. This was the first home we ever bought. We've lived here for over ten years. Our oldest daughter was a toddler when we moved in and the house was so empty back then. We'd moved here from a one bedroom apartment before that, so we didn't have much.  I can remember how her footsteps echoed through the empty spaces. We've had our two other daughters since then, and so we've really built our family in this place.  And now, we certainly have a lot more stuff! I was packing up our classroom today, where I spent a lot of my time, and I was tucking all my favorite things into a box, feeling joy over each thing, and remembering how I came by them, and these verses went through my mind: By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.  -Proverbs 24:3-4  I closed my eyes and agreed with the Spirit of God

I have chosen twelve specific Psalms to memorize in the next few months. I have treasured each of these Psalms for one reason or another since I was a youth, so I know portions of them already. However, my goal now is to know every one of them  so well that I won't need any prompt at all to be able to say them to myself when I am without my Bible, like when I go hiking, or so that I won't need a Bible to be able to share them with others. I feel compelled to plant the word of deeper  than ever before.    Teaching my kids classically is showing me the value and usefulness of memorizing precious information.  And it is showing me that "knowing" something and really knowing  something are two very different things. I want to really know Scripture. When I consider the more distant future, when I imagine who I want to be and what I want to be capable of when I am old , I always imagine a wrinkled, but lively old woman who can tell her grandchildren Bible