By Sun and Candlelight

Stormy mornings ...

... do have their bright sides:

Rainbow Surprises

Majestic Skies

Cozy Moments

Have a cool and happy Thursday, everyone!

This is trouble ...

Look who paid a visit to our bustling, bird-friendly yard yesterday:

(Is this a coopers hawk, or maybe a sharp-shinned hawk?)

He or she was obviously bee-lining for the forsythia bush, inside which several baby sparrows were hiding. I only took the briefest of moments to take this picture (hence the poor quality) before demanding the scoundrel leave the premises - and promptly. (That's putting it politely; actually, I think it came out more like a hiss.)

Yes, yes - I know. Circle of life and all that ...

Well, not on my watch. ;)

A question about our windows ...

... from Nancy. :)

Now, you all know how much I love our windows. Not so much for how they look, as for what they let us see. But Nancy wanted to know specifically about the panes, or grilles, we inserted. Our windows are made by Anderson, and we ordered the grilles at our local Home Depot (it might have been Lowe's - I'd have to ask Bill). As you can see in this post - they made a big difference. :)

Hope that helps, Nancy!

Nobody tagged me, but I'm doing it anyway :)

I saw this meme a long time ago at Tracy's Seaside Enchantment. Today it's time to pull it out of the drafts folder!

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

Ten years ago I was reveling in stay-at-home-motherhood. Bookworm was 3 and we were spending our days attending play dates and play group, visiting family, listening to stories at the library and walking the neighborhood. I was living the dream ~  and I'm happy to say, I still am. :)

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today:

• Tidy the house.
• Bake cookies.
• Fold laundry.
• Make a menu plan for next week.
• Start a shopping list for Saturday.

3. Snacks I enjoy:

• Triscuits and cheese
• Red peppers and ranch dip
• Peppermint Patties
• Coffee
• Vanilla wafers

4. Things I would do if I were a billionare:

• Help others.
• Move to a farm in Vermont (taking my whole family with me).
• Design a dream house (complete with a barn studio).
• Fund an autism support center.
• Buy an RV and travel the country.

5. Places I have lived:

• Texas
• Massachusetts

And who am I tagging?

Well, if you want to do this meme, please do! Then come back here and tell me. :)

Happy Wednesday, my friends!

Themes, Thoughts and Apologies~

This morning, Colin asked about my July Themes & Plans, and I thought it a good time to publicly apologize for the extreme tardiness of that particular post! I was so busy with so many things at the end of June I just never had the time to pull it together. I am going to carve out some time this week to get that post up - and before the end of July, I promise! It will be the last installment in my Themes and Plans series; you can access the rest of the monthly posts here.

Now, about those long ago Mittenstrings posts ... ahem. ;) That series, too, had to be moved to the back-burner for a while. Sometimes I am too ambitious for my own good, and I probably should have noticed how full my plate was becoming last spring, before embarking on so many "projects." I do fully intend to return to the book study - the chapter, "Stories" will be next. When, I can't say for sure - but soon. :)

And while we're talking blog thoughts and apologies I'd like to just say that - to be perfectly honest - this spring was a bit trying for me and for a while I considered not blogging anymore. But I realized I would miss it too much, and even if I can't post as zealously as I once did (old-time readers might remember when I posted at least once a day!) I would still like to come here and chat with you all when I can. It's not as often as I used to, I know, and those meaty posts are slower in coming and I feel badly that I can't always address every question or fulfill every request. I do appreciate your visits - and all your comments - so very much, but I'm just a mom like everyone else, and my time is hardly my own. If you've asked a question in the past and I never answered it, please feel free to leave a comment beneath this post. I will do my best to address any queries just as soon as I can.

Well, that's all for now; I'd best be off and turn my attention back to my family. :) Thanks, everyone ~ thanks for being such a lovely and encouraging audience. You make it a very happy place to be here in my little corner of the web, and I am grateful for your patience and support. Have a great day, and I will see you all again sometime soon!

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ July 22nd

~ Do stop by Peggy's for all the Daybook links this week. ~

***

Outside My Window ... the sky is slowly clearing after a gray, cool start; everything is damp after yesterday's storms. A mourning dove is resting on the gatepost, dignified and serene - beside him, a dozen baby sparrows are lined up, squabling for their breakfast. A vee of geese just passed, honking, overhead.

***

I am thinking ... about the August calendar - and how quickly it's filling in!

***

I am thankful ... for the kind of friends who love you, quirks and all. :)

***

From the kitchen ... there are banana breads baking in the oven right now, and the house smells amazingly good. (Bill and Earlybird made them *early* this morning.)

***

I am wearing ... denim shorts, Red Sox shirt, keds.

***

I am creating ... a week-by-week "playbook" for the new year. I'm having a hard time deciding on the format - binder or notebook? And will it be exclusively academic, or will it address household activities, too?

***

I am going ... no where in particular. My friend Beth is taking our oldest boys to a computer class each day this week, while I watch the younger kids at home.

***

I am reading ... (re-reading, actually) the whole Twilight series, in preparation for the release of the final installment, Breaking Dawn, on August 2nd.

***

I am hoping ... to spend some time on holiday planning this weekend.

***

I am hearing ... baby birds chirping, a car driving down our street, the hum of my laptop.

***

Around the house ... the lawn needs to be mowed and the carpets need to be shampooed. (Both of those chores are Bill's department.) Lots of laundry to fold, and a refrigerator to clean out.

***

One of my favorite things ... the craft store at this time of year - all the fall goodies and Christmas stuff, too. I know this annoys most people to no end, but - planner I am - I love it all. :)

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: ... Bookworm's computer class, a VBS meeting, a trip to Whole Foods, a birthday pool party.

***

Here is a picture thought I am sharing ...

and another:

~How cute is this little guy?.~

***

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Pumpkins in my Garden~

Before Bill left for work this morning, I ran out to fill the feeders and check on our sugar pumpkins. (Came *thisclose* to hand-feeding a chickadee, too!) Please let me share a few pictures - this is the first time we've ever grown pumpkins and I am just thrilled!

They look pretty good, don't you think? I have these guys to thank, of course:

I was pretty much swarmed by honeybees while I was snapping my pictures - they were everywhere, all over the pumpkin blossoms - impatient for me to get of their way, lol! Godspeed, little fellas - and thanks for all your hard work! :)

(A question for more experienced pumpkin growers: though for the most part our vines appear healthy, there are more and more withered yellow leaves showing up. Does this mean too much water? Or not enough? Do they need some compost added? Or, heaven forbid, could there be unfriendly bugs? Any advice is appreciated - I really want to keep these plants healthy!)

You know, as I've been working on Earlybird's kindergarten ideas - and to answer a few readers' queries - yes, I will definitely be sharing those ideas very soon! - I have been working all kinds of seasonal things into our plans. Or I should say, I've been working our plans around the seasons. :) I have lots of "pumpkin things" planned for October, but I can see it would be very timely to start discussing pumpkins now - while we have all these weeks ahead to observe their growth and changes. (Nature notebook, anyone?) And I actually think these pumpkins will be ripe by Labor Day, if not before!

So, while I'm thinking of it, here are a few of our favorite pumpkin books:

• From Seed to Pumpkin (Let's Read and Find Out)
• Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden
• Pumpkin, Pumpkin

It is my hope that we will be able to harvest plenty of sugar (or pie) pumpkins - bake them up and use them in delicious autumn recipes like pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread and a spiced pumpkin butter, too!

And speaking of pumpkins, my friend Lisa recently started a new nature blog, and it's called Around the Pumpkin Patch. I've added a handy-dandy widget just below my Nature Corner that will keep us up to date on all her posts. :)

Thanks for stopping by today - I hope wherever you are, you keep cool and have fun!

The newest member of our family ...

My sweet second cousin, Connor Frederick.

We spent a lovely lunchtime today at my grandmother's house visiting with my cousin Colin and his wife Tina who were on from New York. They brought their beautiful baby boy, six week-old Connor. Seeing Connor in our grandmother's - his great-grandmother's! - arms was the best ...

Welcome to the family, little one!

Driving home from my grandmother's, Crackerjack looked up from his comic book, and announced:

"Well, it was nice to finally meet my new cousin."

"And what did you think?" I asked. "Wasn't he cute?"

CJ thought a moment. "Well, he was small."

"True," I agreed. "He was small. But he'll be a lot bigger when we see him at Christmas."

CJ pondered this a moment. "Will he be running around by then?"

"No, not at 6 months." I replied. "But he might be crawling."

CJ shrugged and turned back to his reading:

"Well, that's something I guess."

:)

And so it continues ...

The plans for the older two boys are mostly in order - so today I'm concentrating on kindergarten plans for Earlybird. (Kindergarten is so FUN!) I think I'm at the point where I know enough to report to the school dept. (actual topics of study and the resources we'll use) but now I must focus, for myself, on even finer details. It's one thing to say we'll study physics this year - but it's another thing entirely to break that study down into do-able weekly goals.

So with that in mind, I'm making up a week-by-week "playbook" to the year ahead ~ I hope to fill it in as much as possible over the rest of the summer, addressing the following areas of study:

• math
• language arts
• history/geography
• science/nature study
• kindergarten
• crafts/activities
• religion

I'll keep you posted on my progress. :)

In other news, it's foggy and muggy this morning, but the temps. should reach near 90 this afternoon. Strong storms are expected later today. And did anyone see that moon last night - as it rose in the eastern sky - full and gloriously orange?!

Well, I'm off ~ time to get ready for church. I hope you all have a pleasant and peaceful Sunday, and I'll see you all again sometime soon. :)

Poetry Friday ~ in the Garden

Dragonfly, damselfly, butterfly, bee,

All in the garden, waiting for me.

Cricket, cicada, and katydid

All love to sing, especially when hid.

Spittle bug, stink bug, assassin bug, flea,

All these critters are better left be.

(Brigette Zacharczenko)

Summer in a snapshot: an electric-blue damselfly perched on a snow-white hydrangea blossom ...

Thoughtful Friday ~

"What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance." ~ Jane Austen

Here are my makeshift curtains for the French doors in the family room. On most days of the year I absolutely love these doors - and all the light that fills our home thanks to them - but on days like this, not so much. These "curtains" (actually a flannel sheet from one of the twin beds) may not look very elegant, but they do keep the room shady and comfortable. :)

This has been a busier week than usual for us, and I'm looking forward to a quiet and restful weekend. There's not too much on the docket: a VBS meeting, some grocery shopping, a Sunday brunch (not hosted by me) and lots and lots of ed. planning ...

Happy Weekend, everyone!