More Q & A: Magazines!

Happy Weekend, my friends ...

Several posts back there was some conversation about magazines and folks wondering what I read and if we might talk a bit about magazines in general ...

And of course, I'd love to! But let me start with some questions for you, all:

1. Firstly, what magazines do you read? What are your regulars - those not to be missed? And what magazines do you splurge on when you have a little extra pin money to spend on yourself? 

2. Do you subscribe or pick them up at the newsstand/supermarket?

3. How do you organize your magazines - where do you keep them, where do you read them and when finished, do you store or recycle them?

*❤*

I have loved magazines since I was a kid. There was Teen and Young Miss (and occasionally, ahem, Tiger Beat) and then the "creme de la creme" ... Seventeen. Oh, how I loved that one especially. Back in the 80s they still ran domestic features about holiday parties, craft projects and recipes. And the back-to-school issue was THE best of the year. It was my favorite thing to read ... and I wasn't 17 until 1988, mind you, but my mother allowed it because back then teen magazines were more innocent than they are nowadays. (Or so I suspect ...) I started reading my mother's magazines, too ... I was reading Better Homes & Gardens and (our favorite) Country Living in high school and dreaming of the day I'd run my own home.

Fast-forward a whole lot of years and I still adore magazines. I love the pictures, the articles, and even the ads - as long as they're not perfumed! I have many "favorites" that I read each month, and I keep them in a neat pile (in a certain order, of course) and read through them one at a time. I keep a magazine at my workspace and flip through as I can through the day - clipping items of interest as I go. (The things I clip I add to my domestic journal as we've discussed  - or save in a file for future use.) If there's an article I want to read fully, I set it aside for when I have more time.

Here is my list of current mags - I'd love to hear about yours! 

• Victoria
• Martha Stewart Living
• Real Simple
• British Country Living
• (American) Country Living
• Yankee
• Everyday with Rachel Ray
• The Food Network Magazine
• Woman's Day
• Family Circle
• Better Homes & Gardens
• Taste of Home
• Parents
• Family Fun
• Mary Jane's Farm
• LandLove and Landscape (on occasion)
• Babybug :)

Magazines I miss: Everyday Food, The Baking Sheet, Country Home, Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion, Faith & Family, Living Crafts, MS Kids

I try to subscribe when I can because it's much more economical and convenient. A few of the British magazines I like (including the occasional Jamie) I can order though this website. They're excellent - reasonable and quick! Sometimes, if I have a gift card or if it's "Educator Appreciation Week," I might pop into Barnes & Noble and indulge in a few magazines I don't usually buy ... Green Parent (UK), Mollie Makes, Artful Blogging, Organic Gardening, Romantic Home, Where Women Work/Cook ...

I keep them in the library - it had been on an end table but they've since been moved to the edge of my writing desk now that Little Bear's reach has expanded. I have other things I add to the top of my pile - the local weekly paper, a few Sunday Globe inserts, People (shared with my mum) and Entertainment Weekly (shared with Bookworm) as well as Time (shared with Bill and the boys) and my parish bulletin. The Boston Parents Paper (a freebie I pick up at the market), my WGBH Program Guide (PBS shows), and any new catalogs go here too. I do also receive Vanity Fair and Town & Country, but I don't care much for them - I got them as freebies when I subscribed to something else.

Oh! And one magazine I never clip is Martha Stewart Living - I have every issue going back to her first publication!

 *** 

Well, I'm sure there is more I could say about magazines, but I'll leave it here for now. This was probably more than you ever needed to know about my magazine habit, lol! Anyhoo, if you'd like to join the conversation, please leave a comment below. :)

Speaking of conversation, there's some great stuff happening in the comments box from my last post. I just LOVE that so many of my dear readers are happy to jump in and share their own styles and suggestions. I wish I could make the sharing part easier, but I don't know that Typepad has a different format for comments. But please, check that thread out if you have a chance ... we're gearing up for a big post on household routines.

:)

Well, my friends - I must be off, as my (younger) boys will be rising soon. It's quite early here and still dark outside my windows ... the wind's been howling and I can see it's lightly snowing ... time for another cup of coffee in my sweet squirrel mug!

❤

See you here again very soon ...

Happy Things Thursday ...

Today is National Carnation Day, my friends! Carnations, in the language of flowers mean: fascination, devoted love and other nice things depending on color. (White as above ~ sweet, innocent, lovely.) I just adore this flower - for one thing it's January's flower (my birth month!) and well, it's just so sweet and unassuming. The rose's less fussy, more economical cousin. :) It smells amazing, too ... I'd love to find a body wash in this scent!

A rainbow of lovely seasonal papers, one for each month of the year ... not entirely sure what I'm doing with them yet, but you can be sure I'll show you once I've figured it out!

My Oliver, such a sweet kitty. He loves to sit on bookshelves and chair backs and in baskets. Well, anywhere really ... out of traffic and near a sunny window if possible.

Me and my little man. He finally got his mama to join him in the play-tent set up in the sunroom. I fit in there ... just ... and we read books and talked about trucks and took pictures until it was time for lunch. Then we had spaghetti and toast ...

Love days like these.

:)

My friends, a quick question ... I am writing out my new housekeeping routine (new house + new baby = new list!) and I'm wondering ... how did you come up with your own list? Of things that have to be done on a daily basis (or weekly, monthly, yearly etc.). Pinterest is full of cleaning schedules and the like - and you can be sure I've been combing through them - I'm just curious about others' housekeeping methods and thought I'd ask. If you have a moment, please leave me a note below.

And enjoy the rest of your Thursday!

See you here again very soon ...

A Wednesday Winter Wonderland!

Good afternoon, my friends!

I'm stopping in to let you all know we are through the blizzard and doing fine - our power has held *knock on wood* and we woke this morning to a bright and glorious day! Many folks are still shoveling out so schools are closed across the region ... and though Boston is back up and running, Governor Baker has asked folks to stay off the roads if at all possible. So happily, Bill is working from home once again today!

I took some pictures on my walk down to get the paper this morning - it was super cold, and I had the little fella with me, so we hurried, but I managed to take a couple of pictures. Most of these photos are taken from inside my windows, however!

So without further ado ... welcome to my snow globe. :)

***

There are a few more inches coming Friday and another storm in the forecast for Monday ... now this is Winter as I remember it! Little Bear however, had such wonder on his face this morning ... there was just so much white stuff around him! And it was so very cold on his fingers!

:)

My friends, I hope wherever you are, you are safe and warm and at peace today. Thanks so much for all your prayers and concern, and as always, for stopping by to read. I will be back again soon ... with a post that does not have to do with snow. ;)

Snow, snow, snow ... and more snow!

Good Tuesday morning, my friends ...

I know a lot of you have heard about the blizzard hitting New England today ... and yes, it is here! I thought I'd check in (while we still have power) to tell you that we are fine. We are having heavy snow and a lot of wind, but so far things are as expected. We have our devices charged and our blankets and flashlights at the ready ... and we got our coffee made very early - a second pot is brewing "just in case."

The top photo was taken out the sunroom doors about 6 a.m. The wind, as you can see, was raging! Those are picnic benches on the left and a picnic table on the right ... here's the same view (sort of) a couple of hours later:

This is looking out the breakfast nook window. The deck is buried!

 (I'm quite glad I got the birdfeeders filled yesterday ... it would not be an easy task today!)

***

My chief concern: we are surrounded here by very large trees which - in any storm, at any season - makes me nervous. As of now, the air is so cold (14° F at last check) the snow is not sticking on the branches, but I pray no trees or limbs come down. I am grateful to have my house and heat and supplies, but I know not everyone can count those things among their blessings today. My prayers go out to them most of all - for shelter, warmth and help where it's needed.

My friends, I'll check in later today ... thank you for stopping by!

:)

More Q & A: homeschool planning?

Continuing on with our Q&A series, a few ladies asked about my homeschool planning methods, so I thought I'd tackle that subject today. :)

From Leah:

How do/did you give your boys their assignments? Did they each have a planner or did you print out assignment sheets? Or, did they just do the "next thing" in the curriculum? How did you keep track of your side of it (read-alouds, projects, etc.) or is that part of that FCS cover sheet?

From Helena:

How/where do you plan out your homeschooling? I don't mean the outside classes you have scheduled, but the lessons you do at home.

From Tanya: 

Meant to ask you where you keep your home learning plans? Are they in your planner or do you have a specific place where you lay out what subjects you want to study and then specifically how you will study them? 

As you might expect, over the past 15 years of homeschooling, I've used all kinds of methods for managing home lessons - in planning them, assigning them, reviewing them, etc. I've used separate planners (both commercial and homemade) and I've worked the plans into my file folders, and/or my main planner. Each year was a bit different depending on what we were using for curriculum. What I can do here is tell you about what I do now ...

These days, Bookworm is at college and Crackerjack takes several outside-the-home classes (in small groups of homeschool peers). I don't have a hand in those assignments but I am in charge of overseeing his schedule and how he manages his workload. (We also decide together which classes mesh with our goals.) Math, Religion, and Geography/World Events are home-taught. (He is also enrolled in monthly Confirmation prep at our church.)

With Earlybird (who is developmentally delayed), I'm basically designing my own curriculum - using a few workbooks and a wide variety of educational materials. We rely on his interests and simple activities - immersing ourselves in (hopefully) memorable experiences that involve his head, hands and heart. It is child-led learning, but not too unschoolish, for lack of a better word - I need a real plan to work around, but I gave up scheduling assignments firmly a long time ago.

I usually do my lesson planning over the weekend, though I'm trying to work it into my Fridays instead. It would be much more efficient if I could. But whenever I do it, I begin in the dining room where I pretty much take over the whole table, lol. Holidays and Summer aside, it looks like this pretty much all year:

I know not everyone can - or wants to - use their dining table in this way, but it works for me. I am a visual person so I like to have piles of books that are grouped by theme/lesson. It helps me focus and organize ideas. I keep even more books in nearby tote bags, including my own general "teacher" resources, as well as Crackerjack's books and notebooks ...

This table displays periodicals and seasonal books ... this is done mostly for me. :)

I start the planning "process" by first making a hot cup of tea ... moving the cat off my chair ... retrieving a pencil from the toddler ... neatening the table ... and pruning those book piles. Some books go back to the library bag (or storage downstairs), once I've made note of them in our portfolio. Actually, "portfolio" is probably too formal a word for what I'm keeping right now, but at the end of the year I hope it applies!

Next, I open up my planner and fill in our agenda for the week ahead:

What classes/activities/appts. do we have?

What things do we need to turn in or remember to bring?

Are there library holds in or books due?

What days are of note? Will we work them into our home learning?

(This week we have - Grandma Barbara's birthday, National Chocolate Cake Day, St. Thomas Aquinas, National Carnation Day, Days of the Blackbird, St. Brigid's Day, February begins, Parish Breakfast, The Superbowl)

What's the weather looking like this week?

Anything special happening at Church?

I then have Crackerjack sit with me (or he stands beside me, eager to get back to whatever he was doing) while we go over his work for the week. His classes were a bit overwhelming last semester, so he came up with an idea to make himself an assignment board. I thought it was a great idea and left it entirely up to him to create and maintain. He found an old white board downstairs and unearthed a dry erase marker (which we mostly hide because EB does bad things with them) and set this up ...

I transfer CJ's assignments to my own grid ...

(As you can see, I didn't retrieve that pencil from the toddler quickly enough!)

 The top side of this sheet is for Crackerjack and the back side (seen below) is for Earlybird. I'd been writing these notes rather randomly, but have decided to keep formal weekly lesson planning in a new section of my journal binder. (One of the reasons I love doing these Q&A posts is it gets me to assess what I'm not doing well!) This is just a trimmed down piece of legal pad paper - I like how the yellow paper stands out.

(I will post more about this new journal section later this week, but here it is pictured below.)

Also, the index card seen on CJ's  planning page is another "system" I've used from time-to-time: daily task cards. I'm giving it another go to see if I can get us back on a steady track. (The holidays kind of derailed us ...) These cards, as their name implies, are for assigning daily lessons and other tasks ...

 I have a little plastic basket that fits index cards perfectly and I have one per day per child. Right now, though, I'm just using this system with Crackerjack. Each day Crackerjack gets a card that details what he needs to remember to do - like, put out trash, finalize art project, complete math lesson, fill birdfeeders, pray for a specific intention, etc. We have this neat little photo holder from Disney World and it holds the card of the day perfectly - CJ keeps it next to his computer in the living room. 

Ok, back to the planning ...

I then look through my in-basket, book piles and journal pages for things to record:

Videos watched - lately it's been Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, Liberty's Kids, and Popular Mechanics for Kids.

Magazines read - Skywatch, Highlights, Trains, and The Baker's Catalog.

Books read/chapters listened to - currently we are reading Little House in the Big Woods and we are LOVING it. It's the perfect book to listen to at this time of year.

Any papers done, printed out, drawn/colored ...

Any things EB said or did that demonstrated a new skill or comprehension, independence, his sweet sense of humor, etc. I'm usually jotting those things down in my daily journal.

As I plan for Earlybird, I don't use a subject grid like I do for Crackerjack (though I'm trying to come up with a life skills goal sheet that would be a bit more formal). Rather, I brainstorm miscellaneous ideas for the week ahead ...

Here's a closer look in case anyone is curious ... :) 

Then each day I decide what might be a good fit for us (for him). I make sure my book requests are made at the library (it usually only takes a day or two to get them in) and I make note of any materials I need to pick up at the store. (Seems we'll be doing some baking this week!)

(Note, we've just learned a blizzard of "potentially historic" proportions is heading our way for Tuesday. So, first of all, YIKES - but second of all, this would be a perfect opportunity to look at the science of snowstorms and research record snows in New England ... so I've added these notes to my list.)

So it's not all that organized, and there's certainly no guarantee we'll get all of it (or even most of it) done ... but it's been working pretty well for us this year. I just need to remember to sit down periodically and revisit the overall goals I made for the year, and see which areas need attention. For instance, EB listens and comprehends literature quite well - if I have him "trapped" in the van, lol. At home, he's more "free-ranging" so I try to catch his attention when I can. He can be very resistant to seatwork so I struggle between making allowances for what are legitimate issues and pushing him a little ... do I make him get used to it or will it make him hate it even more?

That, however, is probably a post for another time: How do we work with our special needs children at home? How do we make learning enjoyable for children who struggle with rigidity and extreme sensory issues? And still make progress? Idea-sharing would be wonderful!

***

Well, ok then - I think I'd best wrap up or I'll never hit "post," lol. I am sure I left a lot unsaid - which seems crazy after this mammoth post, but I could have talked more about planning a year in advance (generally speaking), keeping track of progress (weekly/monthly) and other assessment/review methods ... mind you, just the way I've done it! Not as a "how to" guide by any stretch of the imagination. I may be a "veteran" homeschooler, but I'm still figuring things out as I go along!

Also, before I forget, I wanted to mention two other post ideas that were suggested to me by my friends Shirley Ann and Emma. I have these in queue as well ...

* How do we keep our Sundays special, for our families and ourselves?

* How do we find time and create space in our daily routine for quiet contemplation, personal prayer and spiritual goals?

*

Thank you you all so much for joining me today ... I'd love to hear about your lesson planning methods if you'd care to share. If you have a moment, please leave a comment below. :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, my friends. If you're in the path of nasty weather - hold tight and stay safe! I'll see you here again very soon ...

Seeds, Snowflakes and a Cake for St. Agnes

Well, in the midst of all this journal talk, life at home is marching on to a familiar and happy beat. Yesterday was the Feast of St. Agnes as well as National Squirrel Appreciation Day ... representing two sides of our family's seasonal life - liturgical and natural. For the squirrels we made a seed craft, and for St. Agnes, we contemplated the prayer card handed out at last Sunday's Mass and made a snowflake cake in her honor ...

Naturally, I have pictures to share!

I had some wooden snowflakes leftover from Advent so, when I was thinking about making  "critter treats" with the kids for Squirrel Appreciation Day, I remembered those snowflakes ... and I thought, hmmm. That could work. And, as it happens (according to one legend anyway), snowflakes are known as "St. Agnes Flowers" ...

So, there you go!

To keep the craft kid- and critter-friendly, I made up some homemade paste. Then we smeared those snowflakes with the paste ...

And stuck those sticky snowflakes in a mix of seeds and dried fruits ...

 (Messy crafts are always a hit with the boys!) 

A short while later we had a tray full of rather seedy looking snowflakes ...

Bundled up, we headed outside with the treats and leftover seed mix.

Little Bear immediately found a leaf to hold onto - lol, he's done this since he was tiny. If we're outside he's got either a leaf or a stick in his hand!

Marching over to hang his snowflake in the bush ...

They kind of blend in, don't they? I suppose we could have tinted the paste with some natural food dye and that would have been pretty. Maybe next time!

 The birds loved the snowflakes, but the squirrels (including my dear little red shown above) liked the scattered seeds and fruit best!

Back inside it was time to start our Feast Day cake ... my best helper is Earlybird who just LOVES to bake. Someday this boy and I will run a little baking business together!

I followed a simple online scratch yellow cake mix recipe. We took our time measuring out the ingredients ...

While my littlest fella clung to my legs, lol. He wanted "Pup!" which is how he asks to be picked up. He wanted to be a baker, too!

At last we had cakes cooling on the counter ... and just before supper I assembled our cake:

A glossy layer of apricot jam in the middle, some buttercream on top ...

And the final touch: a sprinkling of snowflakes - aka St. Agnes's flowers!

❤

Our dinner was yummy and simple - baked ziti ("cheesey-pasta," my boys call it), steamed broccoli with lemon, crescent rolls and then of course, cake. Bill got home a bit late because he was working out of state, but we saved him a plate. :)

These are the quiet, homey days I love best. Not too much "out and about," the bulk of our day spent at home. We got some fresh air, made things, read books, baked stuff, and celebrated our faith ...

And we enjoyed our home, truly. I count that all joy!

Well my friends, I'm off for now, but I will give you an idea of the drafts I have in queue at the moment. Posts I'm working on ...

* binder breakdown

* lesson planning/assignments

* new household chore routine

* magazine love :)

* winter meals

* henkeeping advice

❤

Let me know if there's any topics you'd like to chat about or if you have any more planner/journal issues to discuss. I'm always open to ideas!

Enjoy the rest of your Thursday, my friends ... see you here again very soon!

More Q & A: Storing Seasonal Ideas

Hello, friends and a Good Wednesday, to all!

I have a great journal question from Emma today:

Hello, Dawn ... If you find a craft idea or recipe for, say St. Patrick's day in mid-January, do you glue it in your daily clip book now and then file it away to use for March? Or, does it stay in your darling book and you read back to find it later? I truly love these posts! Sincerely, Emma

 Oh, Emma, one of my favorite things to discuss: finding and saving (with hopes of using) seasonal ideas! Thank you for your kinds words - I am so glad you are enjoying these posts. :)

Now, I must be perfectly honest and first say that, although I am quite diligent about the finding of information - information junkie, right here! - I'm not always so organized about the storage (and retrieval) part of the equation. My problem is that - as I've confessed previously - as much as I love adding stuff to my journal, I'm a bit loosey-goosey about the endgame procedure. I do read back over my journals quite often, but the indexing of information does not happen as consistently as it should.

So you've inspired me, Emma! I am going to get better at this, starting now. I'm thinking of our recent conversations when I say: my journals are beautiful to me, but they should be useful, too! :) I recently re-vamped my seasonal planning binders (shown above) and re-ordered their insides a bit ... added new tabs and weeded through the miscellaneous (messy) papers and whatnot. I will go into greater detail about all this in my (forthcoming) "Binder Breakdown" post ... but here's a glance at my "Deep Winter" planning binder:

The front cover features a January inspiration page ...

... while the backside shows February's page.

(These are the decorative monthly pages I made when creating my binder - but ended up leaving out, lest the planner become too bulky.)

Also Emma, you inspired me to bring my old journals out of storage - because I am going to go back through them, one season at a time, and find all that "saved" information! I have not looked at my old journals since we moved here (two years ago this summer); as of now, they are in storage boxes in the garage. So I went down there yesterday and picked out the ones that are timely for Winter and will start combing through them ...

Here are a few ... I can't wait to dig in and revisit all those Winters from years ago!

(Note: These small books are quite different from the large Yearbook system I use now! But for many years I used these basic little notebooks and was perfectly happy with them. I would choose a patterned paper for the cover and then I'd tape my Mary Engelbreit daily calendar page on top to denote the start date. Lastly, I'd add a pretty ribbon as a pagefinder. There was usually a couple of months' worth of journaling in each notebook, but I could never write past the mid-point because they'd get too bulky from all the clippings! And this is why I moved on to the loose-leaf system I use now.)

Oh, and speaking of pretty journals, I want to share a link with you all for Shirley Ann's lovely blog, Under an English Sky, where recently she shared a bit about her own domestic daybook.  Our journaling style is very similar, and what a pleasure it is to be on the same page - so to speak - with Shirley! Today's snow pictures are not to miss, either ... :)

But to get back to your question, Emma - in the scenario you described, what I would do (ideally) is add that St. Patrick Day craft or recipe to the journal and then make a note of the idea in my seasonal planner (Early Spring: March-April) index. If the idea was not suitable for my journal I would add it directly to the planning binder OR to the Food binder under "Seasonal." (I currently have hanging folders with recipes that need to be sorted this way!) I don't keep seasonal recipes in my seasonal planning binders, simply because there are too many of them!

So here are a few examples ... these are pages from last year's journal (now stored away in my 2014 Yearbook):

On this page there is a moisturizing soap craft that I thought would be nice for the wintertime - the sweet almond fragrance, the dry winter skin issue ... I'd add that to the Crafts/Activities tab. (With a note to dry marigold petals next summer!)

This shows a cute plastic cup snow-globe craft. I'd also note this in the Crafts/Activities tab.

 Above is shown a baked grapefruit donut recipe - which sounds perfect for citrus season! I'd note this in the Food tab.

And here's one last example, because I just added this one today:

These gorgeous purple Ball jars ... oh, MY! My lovely friend Tanya linked them for me on my Facebook page because we share a love of Mason jars, and immediately we thought of how they might work nicely in Lenten (or Advent) crafts and activities ... Friends chimed in - Mary Ellen, Jennifer and Donna (who also linked solar-lantern lids which make the whole thing EVEN more intriguing!) - and we all oohed and aahed together ...

So that I would remember this - not just the jars, but the fun, friendly interchange too - I opened the image in a new tab, printed it out, cut it out, and added it to today's journal page. It's a fond memory and a potential activity at the same time!

So what I will do is this - I will make note of this product/potential ideas in my Early Spring binder (under the Lent tab) and the Late Autumn binder (under the Advent tab). I will also add "order ball jars" to my "to-do list" because they are already sold out at Amazon and I feel they might be difficult to find elsewhere!

*** 

Well!

As usual, I have gone on long enough, I think! But I hope this rambly post answered your question, Emma - please let me know if I can describe things more clearly. It really isn't a perfect "system" at all, but I do enjoy it and hope to make it work better for me with a little time and effort!

:)

Enjoy your evening, my friends ... see you here again very soon! 

Good Morning! Happy Feast!

A few pictures to share with you on this bright and cold winter morning ...

 

A pretty hen visiting our yard yesterday afternoon - love how her dark feathers look against the drab landscape. :)

A St. Agnes prayer card, and our dinner menu featuring a snowflake cake in her honor. Today is her feast day!

It is, I must also mention, National Squirrel Appreciation Day, which is a favorite holiday in our household ... 

This is a page from a beautiful book we enjoy perusing called The Ultimate Peter Rabbit: A Visual Guide to the World of Beatrix Potter. This is a two-page spread all about that little rascal, Squirrel Nutkin. I am extremely fond of red squirrels (after my own cats they are my favorite animals) so we'll take a look at this page today and perhaps make some special treats to offer our little woodland friends - seed-filled snowflakes to hang in the trees! If we get it done, you can be sure I'll take pictures and tell you all about it. :)

Have a nice Wednesday, my friends - see you here again very soon!

p.s. I am *thisclose* to finishing our next Q&A post - answering my dear friend Emma's question about seasonal ideas and where/how they get stored. Hope to post later today!

More Q & A: journal = scrapbook?

Good morning, my friends! And Happy Monday!

I am checking in quickly this morning - it was a busy weekend and a very late night last night as we cheered on our beloved Patriots ... but I'm quite happy to say this morning that we are going to The Superbowl!! Well, not us personally of course - but our team will be there! And we'll be there too, if only in spirit, watching at home in New England.

:)

Anyhoo, suffice it to say I was not able to watch Downton Abby last night (or TGBBC either). I hope to catch them one night this week and when I do I will get a "Masterpiece Monday" post up so we can chat - only it will probably be more like "Masterpiece Wednesday or Thursday."

So today, I'm a bit sleepy-eyed and slow-moving (much like my Oliver up top), but I'm going to do some catch-up here as I find time. So many of you have left wonderful comments and I can't wait to read and digest and respond. I will also continue working on several upcoming journal/planner drafts, and while I don't have any of them quite ready to post yet, I will answer this quick question from Kelly, because I think I have a pretty brief answer.  

I thought of one additional question, Dawn - could your journal be described as a scrapbook? I love the idea of it but as I mentioned, I tend to keep parts of my life organized differently so I'm having a hard time seeing how this fits in. Understanding it as a scrapbook helps me to understand this better.

Kelly, my journal is a collage of memories and observations, mostly about family, current events and the turn of the seasons. I don't, however, include photographs or stickers ... and it's not all that planned ahead or thought out. And I don't really show other people (though I certainly could and hope I might someday).

So I consider my journal habit to be a form of scrapbooking, just maybe not as formal or clever. I dabbled in Scrapbooking, as a hobby, many years ago when Bookworm was little. I attended "Creative Memories" parties and subscribed to Creating Keepsakes ... and collected TONS of scrapbooking supplies. I remember when I started blogging I called it a kind of "online scrapbooking" ... and that's when my love of photography and capturing memories really kicked in. I couldn't seem to sit down and create pages, but I could upload photos to my computer and write (rather lengthy) texts to go along with them.

Our photos now are stored here at my blog and on my (personal) Facebook page as well as on our home computer. Oh, and my phone. Bill just offloaded about 1100 pictures because I'd used up my storage space - in about a month, lol!

(All that said, I think digital photography has made true, in-your-hands photo albums, a rarity these days. And that's a shame, because those types of memory books are wonderful to display and share with friends and family. That might be a great topic for a post - storing and sharing family photos - though, come to think of it, we might have done that already, lol ... )

Well, this wasn't as brief as I thought it would be, but I hope I've answered your question, Kelly. Please let me know if that cleared things up for you, and if it didn't, feel free to ask for more clarification. Thanks so much for reading and caring and sharing!

One more shot of Oliver because ... well, just because:

:)

My friends, I hope you will excuse a bit of a pause as I get my gears going this week - we're heading back to formal lessons and everything else that comes with it! (I've made note of several homeschool-planning questions and have a draft started!) And I think I might have found a solution for my weekly planning sheet/clipboard conundrum. Photos to come! 

Enjoy your Monday, everyone ... see you here again very soon!

More Q & A: journal vs. planner?

 Hello, my friends ~ how's your weekend going? It's a nice Saturday here - bright, sunny and cold. Look what I put up in our kitchen window this morning:

A whole bunch of pretty white carnations - a January tradition in our house! Next week we'll add drops of food dye to the water and see how the petals change color ...

:)

Now, before I launch into the actual Q & A, I first want to say that I am doing these posts as a way of clarifying things I've mentioned previously but have perhaps not been clear (always a risk when one's as wordy as I am!) and to open up a discussion with other like-minded people. And obviously to answer specific questions! What I don't mean to imply - in any way at all - is that I'm some sort of all-knowing expert on journals and journaling or planners and planning!

*grimaces just thinking about that misperception*

Ok, hardly! Lol. It's just that I focus a lot of time and energy on this topic and I absolutely LOVE comparing notes, thinking out loud, and hearing how others do things ... I find your comments so interesting and insightful! And I'm thrilled when readers connect here and help each other out. Please always feel free to jump in and chat! And of course I always love more questions ...

So today's journal/planner question is from Amy and it concerns both journal and planner:

I have a new question. Maybe someday you will have time to answer it. And of course we would love a post about mothers, and time! I'd write it myself if I had the time, lol!

Q: How do you use this domestic journal separate from your weekly planner? Is it not redundant, in a way?

Amy, I really love this question because it's one I mull over myself sometimes. I'm always trying to reign myself in and simplify things ... because I tend to create more tools than I probably need. But the short answer is Yes, the journal and planner are a bit redundant ... in some ways. But they each serve a unique purpose and I could not do without one or the other!

Now for the long answer ...

The journal is free-form and fluid ... a continuous stream of thought. It's filled with wordy blurbs I wouldn't put in my planner (nature notes, family memories, lesson ideas) and clippings of all kinds. It's a bit messy to be sure - but for me, that kind of adds to the charm. :)

With the journal I get to unload all the thoughts and ideas and observations that cross my brain throughout the day. They are usually seasonal or timely in some way. I add bits of magazines, newpapers, ticket stubs and other random memorablia. It lets me be creative and a bit "artsy" (if quite humbly so) and when I look back at it (even years later) it brings me SUCH joy. I get a real feel for the time in which it was written - the season, the year and where we were in those days as a family. Reading about the things that mattered then and the things the boys were doing is a gift. I never worry about my journal being "perfect" because its very imperfection makes it precious.

On the other hand, the planner is more formal, with more of a framework, and its pages are all assigned a date. With the planner, I get a grasp on what's happening when, where we're going, when we're home, what's important or special this week and what my family needs from me. If Crackerjack tells me he needs a stick of butter for Spanish class on Thursday (lol, true story), I write it in the planner - because on Thursday I'll be reviewing that agenda. I could write that in the journal because it's a neat remembrance, but it would have far less chance of being remembered when it's needed!

This new planner I made with a bit more flourish - space for doodles and quotes, for instance - but that's just because I'm hoping it might help me write that book I have in mind. And also, because when I think of the "perfect" planner, should one exist, each week's page would have a very seasonal and personal feel. The trick though is to keep it clean and not too cluttered. It's a tough balance. I've toyed with the idea of using colored pens as many people do ... but I can't break away from the pencil habit.

I keep both the journal and planner on my workspace at all times and my workspace is usually my kitchen counter. It's a comfort to me to have them both in the open in this way so I can work easily in one or the other - or both!

Amy, I feel like I talked in circles a bit, so if I can clarify further, please let me know. I am typing this up while Little Bear naps and he's making little snuffly noises so my "free" time is coming to an end. Thank you for asking your question and for your contribution to this ongoing conversation ... I look forward to chatting more!

My friends, enjoy your Saturday evening ... my boys are "making me" watch Toy Story 3, lol - because I've actually never seen it and "that just won't do." ;) Sounds good to me ... homemade pizzas are in the oven and I have a salad to toss, so I'll be off!

See you here again very soon!

More Q & A: How about the file crate folders?

Good Friday evening, my friends! I hope your weekend's getting off to a great start. :)

Happily, we have a few more journal/planner questions to address! I'm thrilled there are others out there who love talking about planning and journaling - not just in general, but delving into the real nitty-gritty. I'm so glad it's not just me, lol.

Anyhoo, I've been working on this post for a bit, but it's getting quite big, so I think I will break it down and answer each question in a separate post. I will post these Q&A's over the next few days.

First up, a question from Tanya:

How does your FCS fit into all this? I know you used to attach your planning cover sheet to your weekly file folder. How is it working with your new bound planner? Thanks so much for answering these questions - so helpful to hear it from your perspective.

Tanya, it is very much my pleasure to answer these questions! You know how much I love this topic! (And all its sub-topics ...) So, to answer your question ... I keep my current FCS (file crate system) folder just inside the front cover of my open binder ...

What you see here is the left-hand side of my planning binder, which is laying open on the table. This week's folder is slipped in behind the journal pages with the open side facing outwards. It's pretty easy to slip things in and out with it here, but it wasn't so easy to see the weekly planning sheet which, as you mentioned, used to be stapled to the front of that folder. I really liked that idea and was disappointed it didn't seem to work. I've been, admittedly, in a bit of "weekly planning sheet muddle," lol.

Because - though the sheet was hidden when it was on the front of the folder, now that it's in my handmade spiral bound-planner, it's still fairly hidden! Because I keep the planner open like this, folded on its side ...

I like seeing the weekly agenda, open to the current half of the week (so the Thurs-Sun side is open right now). But of course, the weekly planning sheet is tucked a few pages back, so it's not immediately available for review. Do you see my issue? I like seeing the agenda (where we are in the week and what's on tap for the day) but I also like referring back to the weekly overview - the to-do's, the dinners, the prayer intentions, etc. I can obviously flip back and forth ... and perhaps that's just what I need to get used to doing. But I'm so darned impatient, lol! I have half a mind to scrub the weekly planning page from the planner completely and keep it somewhere else, somewhere more visible ... like say, on a clipboard that is propped up nearby. Hmm.

I find what I'm needing to look back at most is the to-do list - the actions that truly need to be done, like phone calls and paperwork and meds picked up and checks mailed and thank you's sent. I get antsy not having my to-do's in my periphery at all times - because even when they're right in front of me I struggle to get all of them done. The rest of the information I can mostly review at the start of the week and plug into the agenda: what days/events are of note and nightly suppers, for example. So what I did this week was to write the dinners on the agenda itself (each day, @ the 6 p.m. line) and then the to-do's I transferred to a sticky note and posted it nearby. Right out in the open, for all to see. (Most importantly, me.) It took the edge off a bit.

It's not perfect - this whole planning "system" of mine - and maybe, since this is all very humbly handmade, I should just accept that fact and move forwards ... but I can't help wanting it to all work just so. It's like I know there's some magic combination of parts - lists and outlines and schedules - that will make up THE perfect planner system ... if I can only just figure it out. Do other planner-obsessed people feel this way too?

So all this to say, I'm not thrilled with the weekly planning sheet being "stuck" in the spiral-bound planner, but the weekly folders are always in the mix. I'm going to try to give this new set up a bit more time (and a little tweaking) to make it all work. 

*fingers crossed*

Ok, so our next question is from Amy, and I hope to address it in tomorrow's post:

I have a new question ... How do you use this domestic journal separate from your weekly planner? Is it not redundant, in a way?

This is such a good question (one that would be good for me to ponder myself!) and I can't wait to tackle it! So please join me this weekend for more planner talk, if you can. And as always, have yourselves a good night. I'll see you here again very soon ...

Journal/Planner Q & A ...

Hello, my friends ... I hope this post finds you well! A few people had questions about my domestic journal and homemade planner, so I'd like to answer what I can today. Journal junkies and Planner people - this post is for you! Everyone else ... well, I hope you enjoy, too!

(Even if it's not your cup of tea.)

:)

First, from Kristie:

Do you like having it in your binder rather than a separate notebook?

I do! It's quite convenient to transfer completed sections to a storage binder and work with a smaller amount of paper, one month at a time. My notebooks would get very bulky and unwieldly by the time they were half-full! Also, I really like this particular paper for writing so it's a joy to "scribble" on.

Do you write to-do lists and shopping lists in here or do they go in another spot?

I keep daily to-do lists here (more about them below) and while I might jot down a quick shopping note - I keep my shopping list separate from the journal. I'd like to talk about shopping lists in a future post because I'm forever moving mine around.

And are you using all those different binders you once blogged about as well?

I am, and I'm putting together a post about them for later this week. (Or let's face it, as soon as I can get them up! Me and my promised posts, lol.) 

Do you work on your journal in little bits through the day or spend one big block of time putting in clippings?

I'll get more into this in Amy's question next, but it's a little of both. Ideally I would just work in it throughout the day, but sometimes I have to play catch up with my clippings! I try to keep up with them though, since they are quite timely/seasonal.

Do you take your binder out with you at all?

No, I don't. I leave it at home on the kitchen counter at all times - unless we are having a party in which case it all gets folded up and put aside somewhere until life returns to normal. :)

Do you think I can come up with any more questions?!?

Well if you do, Kristie, you are welcome to ask them! I love doing Q & A. :)

***

From Amy:

How... How? Can you tell me how and when you have time to do this? I am not asking this in a snarky way, not at all. When do you find time to organize, write lists, cut and glue things...? I love it! I want to do it! I would if I could. When do you get these moments? I don't have time to scrapbook usually, I don't have time to blog anymore, I barely have time for a decade or two of the rosary... our families are similar: oldest in college, youngest in diapers, I have three more in between, two homeschooling and one of those with sensory processing, it's so similar to autism. I do once in a while find time to write a note on paper to a friend and pop it in the mail, but otherwise I don't do Facebook (all my friends are hidden so I only use it for messaging, and not often), I don't do instagram or twitter... I skim just a few blogs throughout the day for encouragement, they are all Catholic, and until this week I wasn't even commenting on any of them. I always have little hands trying to type when this machine is open. People want to draw in my planner - and sometimes I let them. Sorry if this sounds like a lot of complaining, I just really want to find a bit of quiet time for that lovely habit of record keeping, journaling, praying-on-paper etc., and you do it in such a lovely way that I am inspired and hopeful. :)

First of all, Amy - thank you. I am glad you feel inspired when you read here - that is always my hope when I write! And please don't apologize for "complaining" - it's a very realistic question! We have similiar families and time is precious and fleeting. (As is energy.) So as for the how and the when ... well, yes. It can be tricky. And there are days (weeks) when I get very little journaling done. Then I'm playing catch up over the weekend when Bill is home to help with the kids. Journaling might seem like an indulgence, and in a way it is (because I enjoy it so) but I really feel it helps me in so many ways - with the children and the house.

What I do first of all, is to make it casual and convenient. I keep my journal in a central location where I can stand (because who has time to sit?) and do a little entry now and then. Or cut a few things from a magazine or newspaper. The baby might be playing with potatoes at my feet or napping upstairs or sitting in the high chair by my side ...

I have my laptop, current magazines, mail pile, tape dispenser and scissors here as well as my planner and favorite pencils. It's all right smack dab in the middle of the kitchen - I've staked a claim on the "jetty" counter as we call it. (It's not quite an island, more of a peninsula.) The idea of sitting down at a quiet desk in the living room, sounds lovely and very "Jane Austen," but not realistic for me. Because the moment I sit down, A. someone needs me and, B. I lose all focus, lol. That's not to say I don't sometimes relish spreading out at one end of the dining room table when Bill is minding the boys ... then I can immerse myself in my domestic journal and focus on what's been going on in my life and the "world" around me ...

My journaling style is quick and efficient. I grab the pencil and write the date when I first wake up, wherever I left off on the open page. I make a quck note about weather and how the day is significant and then I just go about my business. If something comes up I want to journal about I just get it in there as soon as I can and as neatly as I can but I don't fuss over it. Today I added the label from the bakery box where Bill bought my birthday cake last night, a snippet from our newspaper about "Pet of the Week" entries, a note re ~ a new binder theme, something neat EB said this morning as we listened to Little House in the Big Woods and a note re thank-you's to send out asap. None of this was done slowly or with the finest of penmanship. Just quick scribbles - but they've been "caught," as I like to say.

And somehow in this way, day after day, page after page gets filled up and pretty soon I have a month full of thoughts and remembrances. They're not always profound or super pretty but they are authentic and pleasing to me. :)

Hope that helps a bit! We can talk more about "finding time" in a future post if you'd like. I think it's something mothers really struggle with - some years more than others!

***

From Lisa R: 

Hi Dawn! Like everyone else I love how you share your life at home with us. It is so inspiring! Can you give a close-up picture and explanation of your daily task list that's in the middle of your binder? It's the little marker in the rings. How did you make that? Thanks!

Sure thing, Lisa - and thank you for your kind words! I actually just redesigned that task list-page marker because the old one still corresponded to the chore schedule at our old house. I will do a separate post about the chore schedules themselves (like, what chores are done on which days), but here is where I keep the reminders ...

This is a giant (#12) "craft tag" purchased at my paper store - I liked the look of it! (My old page-finder was just a trimmed piece of thick scrapbook paper. Cardstock or tagboard would work well here, too.) I used a three-hole punch to fit the tage here in the middle of my binder and added some pretty twine as a marker. The washi tape just dressed it up a bit. Across the top is a "Tiny Type" sticker which reads: "Rhythm and harmony will find their way ...".

On one side I keep two (sometimes three) post-it notes. These are lined post-it notes made by 3M. The top one is a daily task checklist - by placing the note on its side, I have a column for each day of the week. On the left side I have listed those everyday actions I must remember to do - meds, cats, dishwasher, sweep, tidy, mail, review, etc. I add a check when that task is completed each day. I started using this to keep track of Earlybird's medications and supplements and found it very helpful in keeping things straight!

The post-it note underneath is for THIS day's to-do's. So I write the date in the corner and then jot down things that must be done today. (Not tomorrow or sometime this week.) Things like, "launder crib bedding," "mail a check to X," or "proofread CJ's paper." I often have a second post-it note for tomorrow going so I can jot things down as I they come up.

Now, on the other side of this tag is the weekly routine ...

I put this together rather hurriedly so I may tweak it further. I just used some label stickers to write out the chore routine for the days of the week. I'm still struggling with that weekly routine and finding time to keep up with my (newish) household!

From Coral:

Hi Dawn, I love this post on your domestic notebook. I love this idea and wanted to know what you use to adhere your clippings and so forth to the lined notebook paper. Does glue work nicely? I haven't tried any yet, I do scrapbook but it will be costly for me to use the double sided tape for photos unless I find some cheaper. Just wondering what you use. :) Also, do you use page protectors to enclose some pages like for recipes you clipped? I need to take a class on this. Haha!

Thanks, Coral! I use regular old tape for my journals. I don't think it's acid-free so I'm probably asking for trouble down the road, but I like how quick, easy and efficient it is. I use 1/2" Scotch brand tape (I like the thinner size). I order it in bulk online because for one thing, it's cheaper, and for another, lately I've only seen the 3/4" size at Staples.

As for page protectors, I do not use them, but that's an interesting idea! It wasn't an option before when I kept my journal in a spiral-bound notebook, but ... hmm. I do clip lots of recipes and some of them do end up (taped) in my journal. Any full page or multi-page recipes get filed in my recipe hanging files, but I kind of like the idea of page protector at the end of each month's journal pages holding recipes that correspond with the season. I will have to think on it a bit, Coral - thank you for the suggestion!

From Denise:

New question: I am wondering about your *weekly planning.* How you decide what to focus on; eg. you mention above 1/19-2/25 snowflakes & shortbread. I would think you decide what you want to study on (ie focus on) somewhat by what season we are in. Then, do you have planned activities to go with that theme? Do these correlate with a specific curriculum you use? (I am always interested, since I help homeschool grands.) I would like to do more of this, but am a little lost in what to do! Thanks for any light you can shed!

Hi Denise! First of all, I meant those dates to read 1/19-1/25 (not 2/25) as they refer to one week at a time. Snowflakes and shortbread indicate a potential theme to wrap our crafts/activities/tea/lessons/reading around and they are seasonally inspired. I have wooden snowflakes to paint for St. Agnes on Wednesday and a simple Scottish shortbread to make in honor of Burns' Night on Sunday. I have a (pen-and-paper) spreadsheet of the 52 weeks of the year and each one is assigned this kind of theme. (I'm working on filling them all in - some are more readily apparent than others!) They will provide a framework for Little Bear's eventual curriculum which will be very nature/seasons-inspired. There will be simple crafts and activities, "teatimes," nature walks and storytimes. This will be a culmination of things I did with the older boys as they grew. :)

Well my friends, I'd best wrap this post up now as it has gone on rather long! I hope it wasn't too boring ... I know I can get carried away when talking about certain subjects! ;)

Please let me know if any other journal or planner questions come up - I'll be happy to address them. In the meantime, look for the next few posts to cover housekeeping binders, rhythm & routine, and desk areas. I have drafts in queue and work on them every chance I get - which, admittedly is not as often as it once was, but I do try my best!

Thanks so much for stopping by, everyone ... see you here again very soon!

Thank you!

Good Tuesday morning, my friends! I wanted to say thank you for all the lovely birthday messages yesterday, both here and at the Facebook page. It was a lovely day. :)

I also wanted to show you the present I received from my boys last night, shown above ... a pretty glass cloche for my nature displays! (Right now it's protecting a primrose from wandering mitts and paws.) I can't wait to set up a lovely little winter scene inside and set it somewhere sunny - out of reach of the aforementioned mitts and paws, of course - it is made of all glass!

Well, I hope you all enjoy your Tuesday - very cold here today, in the teens or perhaps the low 20s at best. But bright and sunny, with just a smattering of snow out there ... it looks like January should! I'm working on that follow-up journal post and should have it ready by later today or tomorrow. Sorry to be so slow with my posting these days! It's just the way things are right now ... But please let me know if you have any questions or post suggestions, I'd be happy to add them to my drafts folder.

:)

Have a blessed day, everyone ~ see you here again very soon!

Masterpiece Monday: Downton Abbey, 5.2

Good Monday morning, my friends! I hope this post finds you well and enjoying a lovely start to your week ...

So I must confess right off ... I only kind of watched Downton last night because a certain little Little Bear was awake through the first half, and a certain sleepy Mama was half-asleep through the second half! But despite my inattention, I wanted to get this post up early so we could all start chatting ...

Some key plot points to discuss (if my foggy memory serves) ...

Mary and Tony (and Charles) ...

Daisy and Miss Bunting (and Tom) ... 

Edith and Marigold and the Drews ...

Rose and the Wireless ...

Lord G. and Carson and the War Memorial ...

Cora and Some Art Guy ...

Violet and Isobel and ... ? Quite missed what's happening there.

I'm going to re-watch the episode tonight so I'll hopefully have some more "thoughtful" thoughts to add to this post tomorrow! But please, if you'd care to leave your impression of last night's show, I'd love to hear it and get the conversation rolling!

Before I go though, may I show you something first?

Today is my birthday and yesterday after church, my folks came over for breakfast. Bill brewed coffee and my mum made French toast for us all as well as bacon and fresh raspberries and a lovely lemon-glazed gingebread. This beautiful Irish sweater was my birthday gift from Mum and Dad and I don't think I've ever owned anything finer - I love it so much! And the little guy on my hip snuggled right up against it. It's quite soft and warm. :)

Ok, on with the day now ... I am typing this up in the dark of the wee hours ... a second cup of coffee is in order, I think (and possibly a third, we'll see). If my birthday holds true to form, there will be snow today ... and maybe a little more cake.

:)

Have a good one, my friends ... see you here again very soon!

Friday Photos ~ Happy & Homey

Happy Weekend, my friends! :)

Here are some photos I took over the past few chilly days here at my house. (Chilly outside, I mean. Thankfully, it's been fairly warm and toasty inside.) A few post notes at the bottom ...

Somebody experimented with a monster truck (not seen) and his Mama's half-full tea mug. :) This was late one dark afternoon, post-nap, while we rocked and read in the chair by my bed. It was such a sweet moment - ruined tea notwithstanding. ;)

My Archie's favorite napping spot these days ... the fruit bowl on the kitchen table. I think the sunshine - though technically "less than" at this time of year - is truly worth more, seasonally speaking ...

Winter Sunshine > Summer Sunshine

And a picture of Oliver, to be fair, because Archie's always hogging the sunlight spotlight. I just read that "Oliver" is the #1 cat name in America. Any other Olivers out there reading? You know, over their owners' shoulders? :)

My sweet red squirrel, braving a fierce -5° morning to grab a little breakfast under the feeders.

And the lovely Lady Cardinal - a rare sight at the feeders. (Below our front bushes is where we usually spot her.)

What I spied upon stepping out my front door this morning! Wee bird tracks left in an overnight dusting! Not a clue which feathered friend they belong to, but lovely to see all the same ...

My bright (yet absolutely filthy!) window above the kitchen sink - that's the last little bit of our Christmas tree, a reminder to take with us through the year ...

A few pretty things on my kitchen counter desk ...

I'm in absolute LOVE with this floral washi tape. (Purchased at the Paper Source last month.) I will use it wherever I can find room as I spruce up my planning binder ...

Lovely early birthday gifts from my beloved. <3

The loveliest scrapbooking paper - a sunburst for the cover of my domestic journal pages. "Celebrate the everyday" (an affixed sticker) ... that's what it's all about, isn't it? 

And, yes. This is happening. Soon.

:)

Post notes ~ I've just realized that "National Clean Off Your Desk Day" is not today, but MONDAY and all I can say to that is PHEW. Lol. I'm not ready to get my desks post-worthy yet! And by desks, I mean the kitchen counter where I do 99% of my work, the computer desk where Crackerjack does his (+ hours and hours of Minecraft), the pretty writing desk that is used for seat lessons and the good-sized craft desk I am setting up in the library/living room.

I will be posting about my myriad desks and a bit more on my journal and some other stuff like that over the next week or so. I hope, in the meantime, you all enjoy your weekend. Is it as cold where you are as it is here?

(Siri says it's 27° Farenheit right now which is positively balmy compared to yesterday. Warming into the 30s with snow coming on Monday!)

Thanks so much for stopping by, my friends ... I will see you here again very soon!

My 2014 Domestic Journal

Well, I've called it a lot of things over the years - my clippings journal, my hodgepodge book, my commonplace book, my brain dump, lol - but whatever its name, the thing itself remains the same: a notebook in which I keep the bits and bobs of my everyday life. Any little thing that comes to mind or catches my eye. Thoughts, ideas, observations ... magazine and newspaper clippings, movie ticket stubs, a post-it note from a friend. It's almost like a very (very) low-tech Pinterest ... only without all the links and efficiency. :)

I've been keeping these journals for years and years, and usually they were kept in spiral-bound notebooks. Lately though, I've taken to using loose-leaf paper and transferring completed pages (after a month's time) to a large storage binder, which I've entitled, "Yearbook."

 

(I'm all about naming things these days, aren't I?)

So I keep the current month's pages in my everyday binder, which is kept open on my kitchen counter so I may write in it easily throughout the day. The plan is that at the end of the week I read back over my entries to see if there's anything to follow up on or file away ... and at the end of the month, I file the pages into the storage binder, behind a monthly tab. This is the plan anyway, it doesn't always work out that way! Case in point, I'm still going back over and indexing last year's journal ...

Some of you have seen this before, and some of you have something similar of your own (and some of you are bored silly by this very topic, lol!), but I share this in case it gives someone some journaling inspiration. I know a lot of folks' New Years begin with a goal to write more! Of course, journaling can be much lovelier than this, but this is what works for me. If I were to make it "lovelier" and use a very special book and write carefully and slowly and as prettily as I could, well, I'd just never do it. Plain and simple. Instead, I keep it super casual and fliud so there's no real pressure ... just an open page where I can throw down my thoughts everyday. And what comes of it is very satisfying to me and I like to think someday, someone in my family might get a kick out of reading about my very "domestic" days.

So for those who are curious and/or new readers, here's a peek at some of the pages from my 2014 Yearbook: 

 A January page-spread has some magazine clippings I liked - things that said "winter" to me, as well as a craft project idea and a few notes about the weather, a family dinner, and current events.

A February page spread has snippets about upcoming tv shows, winter vegetables, a page from my Downton calendar (a recipe for Apple Charlotte) and a post-it note with some (meaningful) scribbles (done on his own, when no one was looking).

March pages inlcude yet more weather notes, a lovely quote, snippets from magazines about local events to attend someday, and a jaunty Calendar page (Mary Englebreit).

These pages from the summer were taken from a magazine that caught my eye - love the decorating style here!

Early September - learning notes and lesson ideas, autumn party tips, recipes, a couple of things Earlybird said, a blog post idea, a post-it note from a homeschool class.

More seasonal recipes and notes from early May - rhubarb and herby things - a note about one of the children having a dry throat. (I erased names in these pictures for privacy, but the note was referring to Bookworm who was about to begin final exams!)

And finally, above is my current journal page, shown here in my active planning binder, open on my kitchen counter as we "speak." There are magazing clippings (a bit of after-Christmas inspiration), notes about the weather (of course!), a bird sighting, lesson ideas re ~ American tall tales, and an organizing idea from a catalog. In the middle of the spread is a page-marker which lists my weekly cleaning schedule (what to clean Monday, and so forth) and a post-it-note where I check off routine daily tasks such as feed cats/give meds/get mail/tidy/review/pray (with a column for each day of the week). Behind the journal section are my month-at-a-glance calendars and some more tabs that have yet to be labeled.

And there you have it! 

This morning I've written notes about the bitter cold (16 degrees!), a new show on the Smithsonian Channel to check out (Million Dollar Princesses - hosted by "Cora Grantham" from Downton Abbey), a warning about local coyotes, and a cute thing Little Bear did this morning (grabbed Earlybird's jacket and ran after him calling, "La! La!" which is what he calls EB.).

So there's a little of this, a little of that ... and it's so good to get things out of my head and down on paper ... nice also, to go back later on and read "what was what" at that time in my life. :)

Now, before I go, I wanted to mention that Friday (Jan. 9th) is "National Clean Off Your Desk Day" which I think is a great idea at this time of year! I plan to take the next couple of days to work on my desk area in the living room and then I will post about it over the weekend. I hope you will join me!

Enjoy your Wednesday, my friends ... see you here again very soon!

Looking for a Hearty Winter Meal?

Good Monday evening, my friends!

Well, I am so excited to see so many comments under this morning's Downton Abbey post! I'll be catching up there soon, but right now I want to share a really lovely recipe with you all - Beer-Braised Beef & Parsnips! Doesn't that sound so wonderfully wintry? We had it for our Monday supper and it was just perfect on this brutally cold and wickedly windy January night. (It's Twelfth Night, in fact!)

Beef, parsnips, beer, brown sugar, thyme, mustard, allspice ... it all blended and cooked down into a sweet and lightly spiced stew. I adore parsnips and I loved the idea of the mustard, brown sugar and beer, so I knew I had to try it. I also figured my home-on-break boy would enjoy it very much! (And he did!)

I first saw the recipe in the December issue of Rachel Ray Magazine - and I was going to pin it on my "Feeding My Family" board, but could not find the recipe on the RR website. So I'm typing it out here - for you and me both! :)

By the way, you could do this in a crockpot, but I wanted to use my Dutch oven instead. It cooked the dish right in the oven and did a beautiful job! Also, it is an economical dish - less than $3 per serving! I spent a bit more on a few of the ingredients at Whole Foods but it was still reasonable and I think it made more than the four srevings suggested.

Beer-Braised Beef and Parsnips

3 slices bacon, diced

1 large onion, halved and sliced

3 tsp. dark brown sugar

1 bottle (12 oz.) dark beer

*Note - I used some leftover Christmas beer we had in the fridge - I have no idea if it's considered dark or not!

1 lb. boneless chuck steak, trimmed and cubed

1/4 tsp. ground allspice

1 lb. parsnips - peeled and cut into 3-inch pieces, thicker segments halved

4 bay leaves

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 300° Farenheit. In a large, heavy ovenproof pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium, 5 minutes. Stir in the onion and 2 tsp. sugar. Cover and cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until the onion is deep brown, 12-14 minutes. Stir in the beer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

In a bowl, combine the beef, allspice, 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Transfer to the pot along with the parsnips, bay leaves, mustard, 1 tbsp. thyme and the remaining 1 tsp. sugar; bring to a simmer over medium. Cover, transfer to the oven and cook until the beef and parsnips are tender, about 1 1/2 hours; remove the bay leaves and season. Divide among bowls; sprinkle with the remaining thyme.

***

(If using a slowcooker, cook the bacon, onion and sugar on the stovetop, stirring in the beer to scrape up any browned bits. Transfer to a slow cooker with the remaining ingredients. Cook on low until the beef and parsnips are tender, about 6 1/2 hours.)

***

I took the pot out of the oven at about 1 hr. 15 mins. and it was done. I served it over rice pilaf, but I think a bed of small, roasted potatoes would be even better! And crusty bread to sop up the soupiness is a must!

Well, I hope that recipe sounds intriguing to some of you - I'm going to add it to my Winter Meals section in my Family Food Binder. I think a post all about Winter meals would be a great idea ... I bet we can share lots of ideas for recipes cold, dark nights. I love using seasonal foods, especially - and even Winter has its share of humble, earthly delights.

Well, the wind is still howling out there, and the Full Wolf Moon is rising in the sky ... time to get these kidlings off to bed! (Or at least some of them, the ones who keep their Mama up, that is!)

See you here again soon, my friends ... enjoy the rest of your evening!

Masterpiece Monday: Downton Abbey, 5.1

Well, my friends, Happy Monday!

Now, I wasn't sure I was going to revive my Masterpiece Monday posts because I don't know that I'll be able to catch Downton "live" each week, but as it happened, Little Bear fell asleep right before 9 p.m. so we were able to watch the episode in its entirety last night ... so here I am! I'm still processing it all, but there is clearly a lot to discuss, and I would love to know what you all thought! I jotted down a few notes of my own ...

BUT! FIRST!

I also must ask, if anyone else caught the new PBS show that aired right before DA (in my market, anyway) ...

* The Great British Baking Show *

Oh my, I loved it and am abslutely hooked! It's like all my favorite things rolled up in one show, a beautiful location - a bunting-bedecked tent set up on the grounds of a gorgeous English manor - and inside, a baking competition between 12 home bakers. Now, normally I do not care for reality shows but I am going to brave the cringe-worthy moments and unnecessary melodrama in order to follow this show. It is GORGEOUS. And inspiring. And talk about eye candy, lol!

*

Ok, but onto some DA chat ... here are my scattered, barely-caffeinated thoughts:

Tom and Miss Bunting - I don't like her! I don't like her one bit! I know she is playing a part in resurrecting Tom's (political) passions, but I simply do not like this character at all. She is rude and brash and pushy. So there. That's how I feel about that, lol.

Mary and Tony - So, hmmm. I need to remember how things ended last season (I meant to go back and re-watch before the new episodes began but that was pretty much a  pipe dream). Tony ended things with this fiance (or almost fiance?) and told Mary he'd wait for her ... but what happened with Charles? The other one (whom I actually preferred, last season anyway ... Tony is growing on me). Is Mary torn between the two of them or just not ready to commit to a new man after Matthew? It does seem as if they foreshadowed a physical relationship beginning between Tony and Mary very soon which will surely complicate things! (Especially if Papa finds out!)

Isobel and Mr. Merton/Dr. Clarkson - This is a cute triangle (quadrangle?) with Lady Violet working her own meddling magic to make things happen for all interested parties. I remember being disappointed when Isobel originally spurned the Doctor's advances ... but I'm wondering if she might be more receptive now?

Jimmy - Well it looks like the scamp might be out of a job! Caught with that woman for whom he once worked (and by whom he was relentlessly pursued). Of course, I couldn't help noting - rather irritably because, really, fair's fair - though I'm not fan of Jimmy's - that Lord Grantham once nearly dallied with a maid himself, if we all recall season one (or two?). I still haven't forgiven him for that! He really can be such a hypocrite.

Baxter - So she finally confessed! Was it what you expected? I was not expecting thievery! There's something more there, though ... And once again Thomas worms his way out of a bad situation and solidifies his place with the family. (After saving Edith from the fire, which, admittedly, was quite couragous of him.)

Edith and Marigold - Oh my goodness, I just love that name, Marigold! It's a tricky situation to be sure, but I'm wondering ... is there something happening between her and the farmer, or was the wife off-base? She doesn't know the true connection, of course. (Though he figured it out as we all knew he would.) And what was that mysterious book about? The one Gregson left in the Downton library? Was that a clue of some sort?

Daisy - She wants to improve her mind so she can run the Masen farm more responsibly, so that's a good thing. But it's sad that she feels so badly about herself (yet again). I hope this character finds some happiness and strength in this series. I'd love for her to experience a true romance as much as I hope she comes more into her own as a woman and valuable member of the Grantham household and the village as a whole.

***

Ok, I think this is all I have time for at the moment ... my own household is stirring. I'm down here in the kitchen preparing the breakfast and while there are no politely ringing bells, I am shouting up the stairs for certain older children to get their sleepy selves moving! There's trash and recyling to get in order and lessons to get on with today!

So if you have time, please drop me a note and let me know what you thought about the first episode of Downton's new season as well as if you caught the Great British Baking Show ... my new Anglophile obsession. ;)

Have yourselves a great Monday, and see you here again very soon ...

p.s. Thank you all for your very kind comments about my planner ... I'll be popping into that post a bit later today to chat more with you all about that. :)

My 2015 Planner (Living the Seasons)

Happy Weekend, my friends!

In tonight's post I am finally going to show you my newly made weekly planner, and in a follow-up post I will show you the rest of my planning tools and how the new planner will (hopefully) fit into the overall planning repertoire. Such as it is.

(This post is about planning in case you weren't sure, lol.)

But to be honest, I'm a bit shy about showing you now, because it's really a very simple thing. Like, super simple. It is though, all hand-drawn because ... well, I'm just that persnickity. And so it took me a bit longer than usual to pull it all together. And if the hand-drawing part wasn't enough, I also have a toddler in the house ... and a few more boys plus a husband ... and a couple of cats ... and there was that little thing called Christmas that happened ... ;)

Anyhoo! It's a weekly planner - because I really look at my time in increments of *this week* and all that applies to that framework of time. How busy will we be? When are we in/when are we out? What special events are we noting/observing/celebrating perhaps? What will our Sunday dinner be? What learning themes are we working around? What's happening at Church this week? What household projects am I tackling?

And now for the breakdown ...

1. Planner Cover: a pretty piece of scrapbook paper seen above, plain and simple. (I've since attached a label as seen in the top photos.) I declined the plastic cover sheet offered by Staples when I had the binding done, just as I always do. "But it's free," the Staples associate said, eyebrows raised. Well, that plastic just doesn't sit right with me, so I guess I'll have to take my chances.

2. Planner Paper: Ok, bear with me now ... I used all Staples-brand, loose-leaf, college-ruled paper. (I told you this was nothing fancy!) I have been journaling on this particular paper for a long time and it just feels good when I write on it. (Paper-and-pen enthusiasts will know what I mean.) It's very smooth, the lines are light and I'm very comfortable with it, so when I was getting my planner started I thought, why not use my regular ol' loose-leaf? So what if there are holes along the edges? I can overlook that. (I'm pretty sure.) And it took the coil binding just fine.

3. Title Page: "Living the Seasons ~ at Home * in Nature * with Faith ~ a weekly planner for 2015" Now, I've never named my planner before, but as I've mentioned, I'm trying to planning to going to write a book this year and I'm hoping this planner will provide something of an outline for my writing.

(You see how simple this all is? Just regular pencil on everyday paper ... I was tempted to try using colored pens or pencils ... maybe washi tape ... and get a little more creative with it, but I held off. I hope I will add my own random flourishes through the seasons as inspiration strikes.)

4. Emergency and Personal Information - I didn't include a photo of this page for privacy reasons, but this is on the backside of the title page, and includes numbers I need to know and remember (for myself or someone else should they need it). Allergy information, and the like.

5. Months of the Year Overview: (Shown above.) Basically, this is an outline of the major events of the 12 months of the year. Things like birthdays, feast days, Sacraments, full moons, major sporting events (the ones we care about) and daylight savings time, etc.

6. Weeks of the Year Overview: This might seem redundant, but it helps me to see each week listed out this way. It's a two-page spread with one line for each week, Jan-Jun on the left-hand page and Jul-Dec on the right. With this overview I can see at a glance (and maybe underline or highlight in some way) the specific events we will focus on, and this will give shape to my weekly themes. (eg. 1/19-2/25 snowflakes and shortbread)

7. Monthly Appointment Calendars: Because I envision myself taking this planner out and about with me, I'll need these calendars when making appointments at the doctor, dentist, hairdresser, etc.

*By the way, I used an engineering ruler to make all the grids, columns and rows, etc. (My dad is a structural engineer and I've always preferred this style ruler.) It seems like a lot of work - but while it is time-consuming, it's not hard at all. It's actually quite rhythmic.

8. Looking Ahead to 2016: Notes for that year ... any big plans or events or hopes (academic activities, career goals, home/garden projects, travel plans, etc.)

9. Weekly Goals/Routine: An overview of how I wish to use each section in the weekly planning page: of note, theme, suppers, to-do, at home, in nature, with faith, blog, $ log, intentions

10. Around the Home ~ Monthly Projects: I have a monthly cleaning schedule for myself this year - I've divided the house by rooms/zones and assigned walls to weeks. That sounds strange, I know, but I will explain more in a future post. (January is assigned the Master Bedroom and I begin with one wall a week ... hoping to complete the circuit of the house by Christmas, 2015!) I have it typed out on my phone (written during nursing/naptimes!) and will transcribe the schedule here on this page.

11. The Months & Weeks of the Year: And here we are at last at the heart of the planner! Each month has a pretty vintage paper divider (and I might eventually add a tab), a sheet for a monthly letter from myself to ... well, myself, lol. About homey, domestic, garden and parish matters and such. And then there are two planning pages per week which I have shown below ...

*Note: I've already changed this part a bit - instead of that chatty letter, I am using this sheet for general notes for the month. For example, "Visit New England Aquarium" in March and "Attend backyard chickens seminar at local co-op" in April. The "domestic letter" is being moved to another spot ...

The February divider page:

The April divider page (back side) and the April, 2015 domestic letter page:

The weekly planning sheet for Week #14 (March 30 - April 5):

The planning sections I created are: of note (special days/events) * theme (tea/craft) * suppers * to-do * at home * in nature * with faith * blog * $ log * notes * intentions (prayer). (This is the sheet I used to staple to the front of my file folders.)

The week-at-a-glance agenda:

I modeled this planner set-up after a Payne planner I've used off and on through the years - and though I liked it, it always left me wanting something a little more personal. I have space all around for notes and quotes, scribbles and remembrances ... and the space at the bottom of each column is for daily chores and reminders (eg. clean bedrooms (M), clean bathrooms (T), etc.).

The weekly review:

(Sorry this picture isn't so great!) The final page in each week's section is a review page with a section for each of my four boys, where I can jot down notes about their week. Lessons/activities/things they said or did. The college boy's section is the small spot at the bottom since I'll probably have the least to say about him!

(Ok, true confession - I only finished drawing the pages up through May so far. But all the pages and sheets for the rest of the year are bound in there ... they just need a little pencil work and they'll be ready to go. I will get them done soon as I like to plan ahead as much as possible.)

***

Now, the last section of the planner is just an extra bunch of sheets for notes and then at the very back I have a piece of tagboard to make the planner sturdy:

(Fyi, I bought a package of tagboard for a couple of dollars at the Paper Source.)

Here's a look at all the divider pages - each month has such a pretty page with floral/seasonal images on front and then old-fashioned text on the back as seen here ...

 On New Year's Day, I brought my (mostly) done planner to Staples where a very nice associate bound it for me for all of $4. (I always choose coil over comb binding.) It wasn't the first time I had a planner bound here but I am always a little shy about doing so because well, some people just don't get it. Not that anyone's ever said anything to me, but I sometimes wonder what on earth they are thinking as they see all my scribbles and goals and designs. But what was kind of neat was this woman happened to be an avid letter writer (she thought I might be making a journal) who has pen pals all over the world. She said I had given her an idea to have her letters (all hand-written and many pages long) bound in this way, as keepsakes. I was very glad to have given her an idea and support a fellow (sister?) paper-crafter!

(I also left thinking ... could I write and bind my own book ... and then sell it online? Hmmm. Totally getting away from myself now ... and the subject at hand!)

 

So there you have it, my friends - everything you ever wanted to know about my new weekly planner - and then some! (Though if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask.) I've only had it a few days, but so far I LOVE IT. The planner lies flat and the paper is smooth and the pages turn comfortably ... it looks and works like a regular spiral-bound notebook, only I hand selected the pages myself. Most of all, I'm hoping it helps me keep up with my busy household while truly savoring the seasons as they pass ... :)

 *❤*

I'll wrap up now - I've kept you so long! But I thank you as always for joining me and wish you all a pleasant evening and a happy Sunday tomorrow. Take care of yourselves and your loved ones ... and I'll see you here again very soon!

A Cozy Day + New Calendars!

Happy January, my friends! I hope your new year is off to a great start!

First off ... did you remember to say "Rabbit, rabbit" yesterday morning? I did - just barely - at 12:14 a.m., having been awoken by Little Bear - who had been woken by fireworks going off somewhere nearby! And also, have you noticed your first bird of the year yet? Tradition says the first one you see in the new year will be "your" bird for the year. I saw a robin on the way to Mass, and I'm quite pleased with that. :)

Speaking of Mass, here I am with a sleepy Crackerjack, just pulling into the church parking lot. It was hard getting up and going but we were very glad we made it.

(Quick story: Just before Mass begun we were asked to bring up the gifts, something we've never done before! I had just finished praying my request that God help me grow more fully in faith and become more involved in my church. A lovely sign, don't you think?)

On our way home, we stopped at a local Staples where I had my new weekly planner all bound up nice and neatly! I am just sooo happy with it and will be showing you all what it looks like and how I organized it in my very next post. I know I keep saying that and I honestly don't mean to be a tease ... I just need to find some quality "snap-sit-and-write" time! "Snap" being the picture- taking part of the process. :)

*

"There's nothing like staying home for real comfort." ~ Jane Austen

Oh, Jane - we are of like minds! Our New Year's was a quiet, homey day ...

This stuff might not look very appetizing but let me tell you, it smelled so incredible! It is a concoction of milk and cream and spices and marshmallow that cooked on low for a few hours and became this ...

(Disregard the mess surrounding the mugs, please - we had a bit of a whipped cream mishap!)

This is Spiced White Hot Chocolate - a recipe I found on (where else?) Pinterest. It is almost like a warm eggnog (the nutmeg is predominant) and just so rich and creamy ... very indulgent. I knew I wanted to make a white treat in honor of the Jan. 1st Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Served in blue mugs, natch. :)

Bill hung my new wall calendar - my hope is it will be a "family central" kind of calendar.

 (And it's awfully pretty to look at!)

And because I am a nut for calendars, I also have this pretty engangement calendar set up on the kitchen counter ...

As well as this page-a-day calendar I found in my stocking ...

 

A daily dose of forgotten English and folklore - should be fun!

Here's a peek at the January page divider in my planner - love this vintage style.

And below are last year's domestic journal pages, a calendar of sorts as my notes and clippings are quite seasonal, all stored away in a binder ...

 And here are a couple more pictures from our quiet (relatively speaking) New Year's Day ...

 

 Earlybird asked for a "selfie" and I love it when he's ready to smile for the camera!

Pretty blue mug, creamy white hot comfort ... just a dash of cinnamon on top!

 I asked the boys to watch this movie with me (sweetening the deal with that hot chocolate!) because it's one of my all-time favorites and they'd never seen it.

Love spending time with my boys - the youngers and olders!

A beautiful sunset to end a lovely first day of the year.

Well my friends, I hope you all had a nice New Year's, and that 2015 is kind to you and your loved ones. Enjoy your Friday and I'll see you here again very soon!

(p.s. Are we all excited for a new season of Downton Sunday night???)