Joanne Heim

Books I read (almost) every year

There are books I read again and again. And then again. Most I read every single year--and have for years.

They're more than books, more than words on a page. They are friends. If you know what I mean, I'm guessing you have some books like this too--and I'd love to hear what they are. ::hint, hint:: If not, just think about a movie you watch over and over. It's kind of like that, but kind of different too.

So off the top of my head, here's what I read again and again, almost every year.

Fiction:

The Little House on the Prairie books
All of the Anne of Green Gables books
All of the Chronicles of Narnia
The Harry Potter series
The Lord of the Rings trilogy 
Hinds' Feet on High Places (this one I've read three times since July!)
Mountains of Spices 
The Mitford series of books
The Secret Garden 

Non-fiction:

Living Prayer by Robert Benson
Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle
The Holy Wild by Mark Buchanan
Kingdom of Love by Hannah Hurnard (again, twice since July)
Winged Life by Hannah Hurnard
The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan

And of course there are Advent devotionals and Lenten devotionals that I read each year as well. 

I'm pretty sure almost all of these can be found in my Amazon shop.

Comments about knitting and a few thoughts from Madeleine L'Engle

Thank you so much for your comments on my last post about my knitting gone awry and life lessons learned from it. I love getting your comments. Love, love, love them. I don't always respond to each and every one--especially as homeschooling is really at the minimum a part time job and I don't have nearly as much bloggy time as I used to.

All that to say, I love them. Getting feedback from you makes this feel like a conversation rather than me just sitting at my desk and typing words on my computer.

I mentioned the other night on Twitter that I was headed to bed to read (again!) Madeleine L'Engle's book Walking on Water. This is one of those books I read again and again.

In fact, I first read it when we lived in California during my year-long fast from fiction.

(Which is a whole other story I'll tell another time.)

I checked it out from the library and wanted so badly to write all over it. Instead I copied excerpts into my journal and then thought, Enough!, and promptly ordered a copy for my very own.

(Have you ever done that? Read a book from the library or a friend and just had to have a copy for yourself? Which ones? I'd love to know!)

Anyway, couple of things about this book. I know it says that it's about faith and art. And it is. But it is filled with all kinds of life wisdom for everything from parenting to marriage to friendship to creativity to reading to...well, everything.

Here are a few of the things I've underlined to whet your appetite:

I've long since stopped feeling guilty about taking being time; it's something we all need for our spiritual health, and often we don't take enough of it...When I am constantly running there is no time for being. When there is no time for being there is no time for listening.

But one does not have to understand to be obedient.

Often we forget that he has a special gift for each one of us, because we tend to weigh and measure such gifts with the coin of the world's marketplace.

Where language is weak, theology is weakened.

I have to try, but I do not have to succeed.

If we are qualified, we tend to think that we have done the job ourselves. If we are forced to accept our evident lack of qualification, then there's no danger that we will confuse God's work with our own, or God's glory with our own.

We have to be braver than we think we can be, because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are.

You get the picture. And all that's just up to page 71. Go get a copy for yourself. Preferably one you can write in. You'll be glad you did.

Another thing about this book. The hardcover version that I pictured here (the one I have) has a foreword written by Nichole Nordeman, which makes me happy. Because she was my very best friend in the whole world when we were in first and second grade. We wore matching clothes and boots to school, spent our allowance together on grade books so we could play school with our younger siblings, and sang our hearts out to The Music Machine. (Obviously, we know who sang the best!)

Life lessons from knitting

So I've been knitting this lacy pattern and totally loving it. And had just sent this picture to a friend on Twitter to show her what I was working on:

Pretty, huh?

I held it up to notice how nice and long it was getting--a good two or three feet or so--when SNAP! my knitting needle broke and the stitches started to come unravelled.

I could hardly believe it and sat on the couch, rocking back and forth, saying "oh no, oh no, oh no" over and over again under my breath, fearing the worst.

You see, this pattern is filled with all kinds of yarn overs and twists and it's not so easy to just pick up the stitches as if it were straight knitting. Some knitting stitches are easy to pick up and fix; others not so much.

I tried gluing the needle back together. I tried picking up as many stitches as I could. I tried closing my eyes and hoping that when I opened them again everything would be back the way it had been.

Didn't work.

After a deep breath, all I could do was unravel the whole thing and start all over again.

Hours of work gone in an instant.

And it seems like there's a life lesson there.

Sometimes things happen to us, other times we make deliberate choices. But consequences are there and they matter. And it takes a ridiculously short amount of time to undo something we've worked hard and taken time to create, to build.

As I rewound the yarn back into a ball from what was becoming a beautiful scarf, I realized that I want to be very careful how I live. Not as unwise, but as wise. Because unraveling is no fun at all.

Alrighty then...

It's 4:25 and I think we've had enough school for the day. Today we...

• Learned more about Commodore Perry and Japan in the 1850s
• Learned more about our muscles and how they work and tested our flexibility (Audrey is the MOST flexible)
• Talked about the difference between active and passive voice in writing
• Learned some stuff about adverbs
• Did math stuff like bar graphs and learned more about percentages
• Spelled a bunch of words
• Worked on our memory verses (ALL of Psalm 91 this week!) 
• Talked about the parable of the landowner and who all the characters represent
• Colored maps of Korea

...and I worked on my Greek homework and emptied the dishwasher and finally got warm. I think that's enough.

Tomorrow I'm headed down to the Springs to be on the radio with him and Ryan (that's some of what he does if you didn't know--Toben is the producer and cohost for Grounded Radio with Ryan Dobson). 

They're going to re-air a broadcast Toben and I did with Dr. Dobson about 10 years ago for the first half of the show, and then we'll be on the second half live.

You can listen (and watch live video) tomorrow at 10 MST. Just click on the link above. If you sign in, you can even participate in the live chat and say hello. I'd love it if you would!

***

Hope you had a great Monday and are memorizing Scripture. I totally want to be one of those people who knows (and understands!) lots of Scripture by heart. I shouldn't really be amazed--though I often am--at the ways God uses what I've learned in the past to affect my present moment.

Much, much love to you!

 

Some more crafty

I saw this pattern (it is a free pattern, but you might have to join the Lion Brand site to see it) and decided I wanted to make it. (It's the color that got me. I wear lots and lots of this color.)

I found some gray alpaca wool in my stash, doubled it, and crocheted away. It did NOT turn out to the measurements of the pattern. And does NOT look like the picture. 

But I like it anyway!

Mine was much wider than theirs, so I folded it the opposite way, added cuffs, and sewed on some cute vintage buttons from my button jar. 

I love the texture of this, and with doubled yarn, it's nice and toasty warm without being too hot.

So often when something doesn't turn out like the picture/pattern, it's a total loss and I get frustrated and decided I'm never knitting/sewing/embroidering/painting/you-name-it again! Love that this worked out. Different, but good!

(Also, my gray tee isn't quite long enough. I'd remembered seeing this tutorial once upon a time, so I cut off the bottom of a tank that was too short just before I got dressed this morning. Now I have a snug little hipster that ensures modesty when I bend over! Think I'm going to craft some for Emma. She's my little plumber and could use one or seven!)

A little bit of crafty

So I've found my crafty mojo!

::much rejoicing::

I keep my curriculum for the girls' school on a clipboard each week. What has been a totally plain and beyond boring clipboard. No more! A little paint, a little spray glue, an old map, some ribbon--and now it makes me smile!

I love maps.

(Making these is pretty simple. Paint the clipboard and let it dry. Find a map or some paper and cut it slightly larger than the surface to be covered. Spray glue on the back, fix in place. File the excess paper from the edges. Add ribbon.)

***

I've also made a couple more fabric pumpkins.

I wrote a tutorial about how to make these two years ago. So if you're new around here (or need a refresher), here it is!

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There's also a really cool [not telling what] in progress for my sister, not to mention [not telling that either] that's done. A couple of [wouldn't she like to knows?] for my mother. And some [nope, that's a secret too] for some friends.

It's going to be a handmade Christmas, which is my very favorite kind.

***

Think it's because the basement is FINALLY in order. It's much easier to craft when the table is actually clear and you can see stuff. Who knew?!

Mom and I were talking the other day about crafting spaces. And while we'd both love something out of a magazine picture, it is nice to have a big, unfinished space where it's okay to spill paint on the floor or leave a project in process laying out.

If we ever finished our basement, I'm sure my space would end up smaller than this, and somehow I seem to use every bit of this space.

***

What about you? What are you crafting these days?

Well, hello Wednesday!

Today's really our Monday despite being Wednesday. Toben and Emma were gone all weekend through late last night, so though the girls did some school stuff on their own, today's the first official day of school this week.

So we've been parked in front of the fire, reading, reading, and reading some more in preparation for all of the on their own stuff the girls will work on tomorrow morning while I go speak to the MOPS group at Cherry Hills Community Church.

My notes are highlighted and marked up just the way I like them, and I ::think:: I have an outfit all picked out. 

Then I'm going to do my darndest to get Audrey to take a nap before she and Toben head to the TobyMac concert tomorrow night. Nope, I don't think it'll work either, but I'm going to give it a shot!

Emma does not love the late nights (which it will definitely be), so she and I had planned to stay home and have a night all to ourselves. Which is good, since she came home from San Diego with a horrible cold. I'm feeding her lots of Juice Plus and cold medicine, and wiping down every hard surface she touches with antibacterial wipes.

What else is happening around here?

• I'm making chicken hero for dinner, which is like a hot open-faced chicken salad sandwich that is just yummy. 
• The fireplace has been on ALL day. Except for when Toben came in and turned it off. Then Audrey turned it right back on again.
• I got a 99 percent on my Greek midterm!
• I've been crafty--some of which I'll share, other stuff is a secret until Christmas.
• We're still in massive documentary mode around here. Audrey and I watched a National Geographic one about Siberian tigers the other night. Fascinating. At any point, in any conversation, about anything at all, you're likely to hear, "Did you know...?" from us. We are officially documentary nerds.
• Toben and Audrey are headed to church tonight to hear Ryan speak. I'd love to go, but with Emma's cold such as it is, she and I are staying home and going to bed early.
• Other than that, I could totally go for a huge, gooey caramel apple covered in dark chocolate swirls and nuts. Doesn't that sound good?

Think that's about it. Hope your evening will involve your favorite pjs and an early bedtime!

Just a quick Saturday morning hello

Just a quick Saturday morning hello. Sitting in my big comfy chair in the living room, Joey cat purring on my lap, watching the sky turn from black to a bluish gray.

Toben and Emma left a bit ago for a long weekend in San Diego. He has some meetings in Pasadena on Monday and Tuesday, she had some airline miles about to expire, so they're off to spend the weekend at the beach (Beacon's, to be exact) in Leucadia with Uncle Jim and Aunt Susan.

Having Emma go too makes me feel a little bereft. Somehow I always think of her as my baby, though she's soon going to be ten. 10! In fact, I started feeling a little bit panicky about her being gone, but then she and I talked about the memory verse we've been learning as part of Psalm 91.

"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways."

So at some point in the past hours, God has commanded his angels to guard Emma on this trip--in the plane, in the car, while she's away. And so I can rest secure, knowing that she is well protected.

Audrey and I are excited to have the next four days together. We have yet to come up with any big plans beyond babysitting the cousins this morning while my sister does a photo shoot out in Parker. Then I think we'll hit the Walmarts for some groceries--including some special fun things to eat--and then, well, who knows?!

Audrey's still sound asleep, so I think I'll head down the basement to run on the treadmill before Ava, Tyson, and Levi arrive.

What are you up to this weekend?

Let's take a walk

I love taking family walks. Somehow it always makes me think of Sunday afternoons when we lived in England. Church clothes and heels? No worries. Walk anyway.

Emma and I took an autumn walk last weekend through our neighborhood and ended up discovering new trails and leaf canopies and all sorts of lovely autumn-ness.

See?

(That's my new-to-me Betsy Johnson fur coat from the world's best thrift store.)

"Fall is my favorite of all the seasons," says Emma. Me too.

Happy fall!

 

P.S. This is post number 1,500! Pretty cool.

Midterm

My Greek midterm was last night, so once I was done I got to come home early, put on my flannel pjs, turn on the fire in my room, and crawl under the clean sheets with a book. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

I am one of those geek-y girls who doesn't mind tests or quizzes, who (dare I admit it?) actually kinda likes them. Pretty pencils, neat writing, filling in blanks, demonstrating what you've learned. I think it's fun.

I love to learn.

Whether it's about a place we're passing as we take a road trip (hello, iPhone, how I love thee for this most of all!),

how beavers build a dam from an IMAX documentary (did you know that a pair of beavers will fell more about 400 trees in a year? and that they make noise all the time? little, cute, talking noises?),

how our bodies work (I love our science books--we use lots of Usbourne books that have tons of cool internet links for almost every page),

or how a cathedral is built (it's been a while since I read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet--what a great book!)

...I love that we never have to stop learning.

I was thinking the other morning about being made in God's image, reflecting that image. And wondering if part of the way we reflect his omniscience (knowing EVERYTHING) is by delighting in learning.

What have you learned lately?
Leave a "Did you know..." comment for the rest of us!

Monday stuff

Happy Monday bloggy peeps!

I can't tell you how much nicer Mondays are without laundry and housecleaning in them. I'm so loving coming into the weekend and Monday mornings with everything in order. 

We had a great weekend around here--lots of resting, lots of documentaries on Netflix, lots of crocheting.

Not to mention a fabulous leaf-hunting walk with Emma on Saturday afternoon. We explored some new paths in the neighborhood and delighted in the season. "I love fall, Mom," she said. "It's my favorite." Me too.

(I do have some pictures, but they're on the camera in the other room and I'm happily ensconced in my chair by the fire.)

Oh! And it RAINED last night. Enough to hear it on the roof. Which I totally love a whole bunch.

So...

1. We studied Antarctica in geography last week and watched this from Netlflix last night all snuggled in bed. Wow. WOW. It's only 40 minutes long, but it was amazing. Incredible.

I tell you what...that's perseverance. Endurance. Courage. Leadership.

2. Netflix also has a bunch of National Geographic stuff on instant watch these days. I highly recommend these:

  

I think I may have discovered a new favorite film genre. 

3. While watching all these, I crocheted away. I'm making this out of some gray alpaca wool in my stash. I hope I have enough yarn--it's going to be close.

The free pattern is here, though you do have to start a free membership to access it.

4. We had friends for dinner on Saturday night--two couples and their two kids each. Twelve of us in all. Emma and I made an apple pie and a cherry pie for dessert. And while I am super loyal to apple pie, the cherry was so super yummy that I'll be making another. Soon. Really soon.

5. I caved and turned on the heat on Saturday morning. It hasn't run much, but it's on. I love the smell the first time you turn on the heat in the fall.

6. Greek midterm tomorrow night. Flashcards are my best friend.

So, what's up with you?

***

Oh, and we'll be adding verses 11 and 12 to Psalm 91 this week for Memory Monday.

My secret cleaning weapon

Emma and I spent the morning cleaning house and doing laundry yesterday. Friday is our new cleaning day, which means coming into the weekend with everything fresh and clean. I like it so much better than doing it all on Mondays.

And as we cleaned I realized that we have a cleaning theme--baking soda.

It's an ingredient in the laundry detergent I make. Here's a list of a bunch of different recipes.

I sprinkle it in the sinks, tubs, and toilets before spraying with the cleaner I use.

I use it when washing dishes that are especially hard to clean.

I even wash my hair with it (I have a love affair with hairspray and baking soda plus shampoo removes all the buildup) and my face (added to the cleanser I use it exfoliates gently). And from time to time I brush my teeth with it.

What else can baking soda do? There are all kinds of websites like this one and this one that list ideas and uses.

And let's not forget to mention how inexpensive baking soda is--much cheaper than most cleaning products out there. 

***

Do you have a secret cleaning weapon? A cheap product you can't live without? Do share!

Such a lovely thought

I've mentioned before how much I love Hind's Feet on High Places. And I love its sequel, Mountains of Spices, just as much. Not to mention Hannah Hurnard's nonfiction books, which I'm slowly working my way through. Slowly, because I am being challenged and prodded and changed. And that doesn't happen quickly.

Even the preface of the book is wonderful. Here's a taste:

Such a lovely thought. Still lovelier because it's more than a thought--it's real. Transformation. Yes, please.

Elk Fest, Memory Monday, cleaning off my camera

Get ready for a little bit of random...

We went up to Estes Park for Elk Fest on Saturday, leaving the house by about 8 and getting home just as it was getting dark. Such a fun day! We went two years ago and stayed for the weekend with some friends--and went with the same friends this weekend.

Two years ago, we saw lots more elk and lots more rain and it was lots more cold.

I love looking back to see how much the girls have grown. Though it makes me miss my pigtails.

This year, it was sunny and beautiful and we had a picnic by the river, walked around Sprague Lake (well, Emma and Alec ran around the lake), and oohed and aahed at the leaves.

While we were in town this year, the nice gal at the great coffee shop told us about a glassblowers we had to go see. So we did. And we all agreed it was one of our favorite parts of the day. While we watched, she told us all about what she was doing. Fascinating! And HOT. Makes me think about Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednigo. (I think I totally spelled those names wrong.)

On the way up, I downloaded the Hipstamatic app for my phone and played with the different options all day. Kinda fun. The sky was not nearly this ominous in real life, but it sure looks neat.

This is an elk jam. When the traffic does this inside Rocky Mountain National Park, you know it's time to get out your camera.

As fun as the effects are, sometimes you just need a picture to show what fall in Colorado really looks like!

***

Moving on...

We'll be adding the next two verses to Psalm 91 for Memory Monday this week and practicing Psalm 91:1-10. And I need to change it on the sidebar before I forget!

***

And here's some random photos from my camera, just because...

Saw this out the window the other day and it just made me so happy!

This is my Greek study buddy:

And this helps me learn--putting blank charts and such inside sheet protectors so I can write on them with a dry erase marker. It works great for learning maps and multiplication tables too. Anything you need to test again and again without wasting tons of paper. Going to use this for the girls and grammar, I think.

Okay, think that's it for today. Toben's stirring and I'm off for another cup of coffee.

Hope you had a great weekend and happy Monday!

 

Happiness is a freezer full of breakfast burritos

When we go camping altogether--my parents, us, my sister and her family, plus all of her in-laws--"Uncle" Brett always makes breakfast one morning. He's not really my girls' uncle, but we call him that anyway. He somehow knows exactly what my girls will love for Christmas, taught Audrey how to swing when she was little, and makes the best breakfast burritos ever.

In fact, they are so good, that I long for them between camping trips. And while we were at Rocky Mountain National Park earlier this summer, I asked him for the recipe. And here's what he told me.

Uncle Brett's Famous Breakfast Burritos

1 pound bulk sausage (today I used pork and bacon sausage--yum)
1 dozen eggs
1 package tater tots 
1/2 pound grated cheese (I usually use monterey jack)
1 can green chile
24 tortillas 

Cook the tater tots according to the package directions while you brown the sausage. (I cook the tots until they're nice and crispy.) IN THE SAME PAN (he said this is important!), scramble your eggs (I mix mine up with milk, salt, and pepper before pouring them in). Then add the tater tots.

Mash this together. And then add the grated cheese and green chile.

(If you don't like green chile, you will need to add something to give it some moisture, otherwise they'll be too dry. Mushroom soup works, and I'm wondering about using cream cheese for the next batch.)

Add about 1/3 cup of filling to each tortilla, rolling it up burrito style (sides in, then roll), and wrap in foil. Freeze. 

Alternatives: With chicken and apple sausage (I buy mine at Sprouts) I add cheddar cheese and then a can of cream of mushroom soup instead of the green chile. Brett also makes this with chorizo, which Toben loves, but it's not my favorite and since I'm making them, I make the kind I like!

To cook them, thaw and bake until warm. Or thaw and cook over the campfire in one of those grill basket thing-ys. Or unwrap, put the frozen burrito on a plate, defrost it in the microwave and then heat for one minute.

Breakfast perfection! Sorry, no picture of one on a plate. I ate mine too fast this morning. And I'll just go ahead and admit that the weekend Toben and the girls were gone and I was home alone, I ate one for every meal.