Veronica Boulden

Tonight, we made and canned blueberry lime jam with the last of the blueberries.  This is another new recipe we tried, and it's great!  I am already excited about making charcuterie boards throughout the coming year and using our various blueberry jams and conserves with crackers and cheeses and meats.  I often sign up to bring a dish to a church or homeschool group event or make something when we have friends over, so it'll be great to bring charcuterie boards and bring some of our own homemade fruit jams to share.  One of the unforeseen joys of doing so much extra and special canning this year is that we are already looking forward to having some special meals and desserts and teas throughout the coming year so we can use our jams and jellies, etc.  Adele helped tonight the whole time- start to finish; I didn't even need to ask, just looked over and she was washing her hands and getting her apron on.  As we cooked the jam, we read other recipes aloud and asked and answere

"The world was meant for our eyes And our eye's were meant for Wonder" -Arcadian Wild  A photo of the tiny bird's nest fungus growing in our herb garden   

This summer, I've read: Four detective novels by Dorothy Sayer's (and I've named my new black Suburban " Bunter") The Lyme Solution by Darin Ingles ADHD for Dummies by Jeff Strong The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay  Dear Mr. Knightly also by Katherine Reay  And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian Watership Down by Richard Adams I've listened to: Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer Bad Therapy by Abigail Shrier The Medieval Mind of CS Lewis I've re-listened to: The Abolition of Man Till We Have Faces I've started, but haven't finished: Sex and Virtue by John S. Grabowski Emily Post's Etiquette Catherine of Siena by Sigrid Undset

Avril and I picked raspberries, blueberries, and peaches.  We've been making jams and jellies almost everyday since.  It's very hot and humid in our kitchen, so the jam is consistently taking three times as long as it is supposed to in order to gel.  So far, this week, we've made and canned a batch of:  raspberry jam peach jam peach melba jam (peach jam and raspberry jam layered in the same jar) berry jam (a jam made with a mixture of blueberries and raspberries) peach jam and blueberry citrus conserve (blueberry jam with orange and lemon slices and raisins).  And we've made two batches of peach jelly from the juice collected as we peeled the peaches over a sieve placed in a large bowl. Note: The second batch, Avril made and canned entirely on her own start to finish.  There's always a little extra jam or jelly or conserve in the bottom of the big pot that won't fill an entire jar, so we put that jar in the fridge and enjoy it right away.  The sun shining throu

We had chicken croquettes when we were at Shadymaple Smorgasboard in PA.  I had never tasted anything so good. Dwayne grew up eating chicken croquettes, apparently, but somehow, failed to ever mention them to me...  Note: Even the most outstanding Christian spouse can let you down.  I resolved to learn to make them.  First, I researched recipes online.  Next, I realized I'd probably have to fry them to get them right.  I don't fry as a rule.  I always thought, "I'm fat enough even without frying... Can you imagine what frying will do to me?"  Nevertheless, I decided to fry these.  And I served them with mashed potatoes and chicken gravy just as they are traditionally served.  I also served some vegetable I can't remember to give a passing nod to healthy; I think it was steamed green beans. My family hasn't responded that well to a meal in years.  Sounds of delight as they chewed  Two thumbs up all around the table My children rose up and blessed me My husb

 We spent the late morning/ early afternoon at Topstone, one of our favorite places in summer.  Then we traveled to Wilton for their fireworks shows.  As always, Dwayne read the Declaration of Independence aloud as we sat waiting for the fireworks display to start. We all have a good deal of it memorized by now.  God bless America! Land that I love. 

A needle-sharp pain in the bottom of my foot kept me awake for an unknown period of time last night. And it was bothering me periodically throughout the morning hours, too, so much so that I actually cried out once while sipping my coffee and saying my prayers. My daughter, moving around the same rooms on that floor of the house, even asked, "Mom, Are you alright?"  Apparently, the inflammation due to Lyme has migrated to the bottom of my right foot. But I put on my sneakers a few hours later and went for my planned walk anyway, determined to follow my very gentle exercise plan, since I find that I am finally strong enough to exercise again. But I also have asthma now, which is also likely due to the inflammation due to Lyme, so walking outside is more like swimming now. The humidity is high and with asthma, I feel the moisture keenly. We are all moving and breathing underwater every moment of the day.  But I pushed myself forward and pushed play on my current audio book: The

 Adele and I went strawberry picking on the very last day of the season. We had been traveling and so we weren't here to pick sooner.  It was just she and I because Avril was on a mission's trip and Norah was at work.  The berries were so ripe they were bursting in our hands. Then we made and canned a bunch of jam. 

It was a lovely Saturday. Many loads of laundry were washed and folded and put away. We signed Avril up for a dual enrollment art history class for the fall and inventoried the classroom closest for all the art supplies she needs/ purchased any needed art supplies she didn't have. It was a lovely, sunny day, so we took the top off the Jeep and went out for burgers for lunch followed by more errands. We picked out paint color for the girls' bedrooms and bought a few more herb plants for the garden including chives and basil. We harvested and hung dill and thyme and mint to dry all around the kitchen. We had steaks from the grill and played Catan. Note: A game of Catan with dinner is a nightly ritual now. Now the girls are chatting and laughing and working together to complete a 3D creative bookend that they combined their own monies to buy. The house smells like fresh herbs, and for that, I am very thankful indeed. 

Our homeschool classroom has a new look. The desktop was sold, since we often use laptops instead. The individual desks went upstairs to the girls' room, and they are thrilled to have space to draw and do other art and crafts in their own rooms. We upgraded the classroom table and chairs and added a few bookshelves. We've given away most of our pre-K and elementary materials and homeschool books to friends or relatives, since we are done with that phase. Even though I imagine I'd like to teach my grandkids phonics, it feels right to put those items into hands that can put them to use right now. We kept some of the precious things we feel very sentimental about like my painting of Christ among the children, our poster of Colossians 2:2-3, our Moses puppet, and Abraham Lincoln hat, etc. And we've added a big rug to cover the floor. Up until now, we preferred to sit and work in other spaces in the house and the homeschool classroom was used to neatly store our materials aw

We went rollerskating with homeschool friends yesterday. We had the best time until the very end when Adele fell down and fractured her wrist. We didn't know it was broken, but it was swelling, and Adele was in pain. I took her to the children's orthopedic doctor, and they recommended we go to children's hospital so they could reduce the break and set it properly. Adele had a positive attitude and some kind words when I blamed myself for deciding to go rollerskating, of all things. "Mom, It's not your fault. I had the best time until I fell down." The girls have already painted the cast. Now all three daughters have broken an arm or wrist at twelve years old.   

I finished "How It Went" by Wendell Berry last night. So I was able to read both books of Berry's short stories about Port William before our recent trip to Florida was over.  I was often crying, one time out-right sobbing, sometimes reading portions aloud to Dwayne and talking to him about the text, highlighting many quotes for my common place book.  And I am still thinking about what was said, knowing I'll need to read these books again soon.  Large, deep parts of my soul feel like they have been shifted around.  These are not a books one looks up from to see the world the same as before.  

   This picture reminds me of the Andrew Wyeth painting "Christina's World." I'm going to call it "Adele's World." 

Our visit with Grandma continues... with cookies and ice cream in the evenings, and a visit to Brevard Zoo, one of her favorite places. On the way home, we had dinner at Rib City, which is now one of my favorite places.  Dwayne's cousins came to visit before we left town. Our nephew and his wife live nearby, so they also came to visit. They have a new puppy that we all enjoyed so, so much. 

These two are watching through Star Trek Next Gen together.  It is our duty to bodly pass on culture to the next generation. 

"At such times as these she felt that the great, mute creation was trying to speak to her. This disturbed her, it moved her almost to tears, for it seemed to intimate the nearness of some consolation- forever imminent and unreachable, almost knowable- for everything that was wrong."  -Wendell Berry, A Place in Time

We're visiting Dwayne's mom at her home in Vero Beach. Mom has been in the hospital and rehab since Thanksgiving, so we've come to give Dwayne's sister a break and simply enjoy the time we have with mom. It's in the middle of our homeschool year, and we all have so many responsibilities, but as we order our lives, nothing is more important than being with mom right now.  We take at least one walk on the beach everyday, and the landscape varies constantly, drastically, yet it's always beautiful.  What Grandma wants, she gets. She wanted snickerdoodle, so... The exuberance of nature overwhelms my senses at the beach. I can almost hear the earth singing. The sun warms my face and the cold waves roar and then whisper and break on my toes and the salt spray mingles with the salt tears at the corners of my eyes and a chuckle rises in my belly at the exact same time it rises in Adele's belly, too, and we laugh in unison at the sandpipers feet, at it all, at everyth