Welcome to Autumn 2013!

I love to decorate for autumn,

even though here in central Florida 

we don't have many 

beautiful colored leaves.

I like my autumn pretties 

to be up for a full two months

before I start decking the halls

for Christmas in early December.

I mostly used what I had, 

but added in some new-to-me items.

Let's start with the flowers above.

The plastic stem of my fake flowers 

looked a little funny in a clear vase,

so I filled the vase with autumn potpourri.

I used the leftover potpourri

in a crystal bowl from my mom's house,

with a candle in the middle.

The potpourri was $1 per bag 

at Dollar General.

Like the crystal bowl,
the outdoor flag below
is also from my mother.

After she passed away this summer,

I picked out what I wanted to take home.

She had all of her off-season
garden flags hanging neatly

in her basement storage room.
I love cardinals just like she did.

My older daughters 
made this wall hanging

for my 50th birthday last month.
Isn't it pretty?

Burlap on a frame,

with my initial painted on,

then bordered in embroidery,

and flourished with silk flowers.

Very nice!

When it comes to things I buy,

thrift is the name of the game here.

The cornucopia came from 
Salvation Army for $1.99.

 The candle holder below was $3

at another local thrift store.

It came with the two red thingies,

and a brown one in the middle

which I replaced with the votive candle.

A bookcase in the dining room 
(which doubles as our library)
features decorations that 
camouflage other items
that I need accessible 
but don't want to see.
The white ceramic dish 
holds facial tissues.
I stash a supply of 
hair brushes, combs, and such 
in the long basket underneath 
the garland of silk leaves,

My son taught me how to light candles 

by first lighting a piece of dry spaghetti,

and then using it to reach where 

a lighter or match can't go.

I originally lit the red candle on the right,

then moved it elsewhere.

Leaving it next to books and under a shelf

could have started a fire. Safety first!

Finally, since it is autumn,

I'm wearing scarves!

This one was a birthday gift 

from my friend Donna.

I'm not too skilled with fashion,

but this method is easy-peasy.

Fold the scarf in half

and lay it around your shoulders.

Take the two loose ends and draw them

through the loop on the other side,

then tighten.

Speaking of fashion,
it was also time to buy a new purse.
At Walmart, I debated between two.
The plaid one is definitely autumn!
However, I decided on the burgundy,
since it will work for the Christmas season, too.
There is something to be said for versatility.

I actually put out a lot more decorations

than you see in this blog post.

These are just my "new" items or

ones I used a different way.

I have two more complete autumn posts:

Easy Autumn Decorating on a Dime

Autumn: A Pretty Home and Yummy Food on a Budget

You will also like my new 
Autumn Breeze Haiku.

And, my other autumn links:

Thanksgiving Inspiration & Hospitality

Thankfulness: Observe, Appreciate, Express, Imitate

Give Us Grateful Hearts for Common Graces

Thankfulness?

 Our Thanksgiving Indians

Autumn Foods

Prepping Your Kitchen to Fix a Feast

Butternut-Yellow Squash Casserole

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Peach Pumpkin Muffins

Bread Pudding

Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing, Plus Redstone Cornbread with Maple Butter

Baked Oatmeal for a Crowd

Fresh Cranberries! and Serving Cranberry Sauce

Hot Chocolate for a Crowd

Holiday Wassail

Roasted Herbed Vegetables

Fall Harvest Quinoa with Butternut Squash {Vegan Recipe}

Enjoy the season!

Virginia Knowles

www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com

P.S. This time last year I was visiting family in Maryland with my oldest daughter and my two grandsons.  That's a true autumn! Take a peek at my pics!

• Apple Picking, Fritters, and Goofy Gourds
• Beauty and Diversity on an Autumn Sunday
• To Grandmother's House We Go

  

Hypothetical (Big Words)

Dear fellow mommies,

Did you ever have one of Those Shopping Trips?

Your kids bicker in the van and then decide to continue their Simmering Spat on into the produce aisle with subtle pinches and scowling looks when your back is turned.

You haven't been in the store for five minutes, and they are quietly yet subversively plotting the Overthrow of Your Sanity.

So you do the only Peaceable Yet Powerful thing you know to do. You leave the bag of peaches in the cart, and walk out with one child by the hand, trusting the others to follow closely behind. They do. They know you mean business.

You drive them home and leave them in the care of Another Adult, an older sister, say. It's for their own good. You know that. They don't. You are suddenly the Worst Mommy Ever.  

Then you drive back to Walmart, pick up the bag of peaches, and shop the aisles in peace, trying not to feel Guilty for Enjoying Yourself. You even buy yourself an impromptu present, a fuzzy soft blanket with a big bear on it. You are Mama Bear, after all, wanting the best for your cubs, ready to protect them, yet sometimes feeling a little growly yourself and trying not to roar.

You drive home, cranking up the music. You are tired, and not looking forward to Dealing with Cranky Children when you get home. You pray for grace.

When you pull into your driveway, the Most Offending Child comes bounding out to the van, apologizes for being an idiot at the store, and grabs two bags of groceries to bring inside. The Other Offending Child is already fast asleep in bed. You now believe in miracles.

So has this ever happened to you?

No?

Me neither!

This was hypothetical, of course! Hypothetical. Really.

Sweet peace and sweet peaches,
Virginia Knowles


P.S. #1: The sliced peach photo was edited with Picasa using the Ortonish feature.

P.S. #2: If you like the idea of gentle parenting, please check out my post, Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us, which has a lot of links on the topic. 

P.S. #3: This post is the third in my rather random Big Words series, the most recent of which, the sentimental Sacramental, was only posted a few hours ago. 

Sacramental (Big Words)

These tangible memories of my mother

are not just sentimental.

To me, they are almost sacramental:

symbolic of her essence and  

powerfully binding, in a good way.

It started simply as a place to display the bird figurines I brought home after my mother passed away in July.  I cleared the top shelf of one of my bedroom book cases and arranged to my heart's content.

Then the sympathy cards...

Then blanket made by church members 

while she was in the 

hospital those long weeks.

And her sewing box, 

which may also have been

my Grandma Hess's sewing box.

 Next, the vintage books.

I only brought several home this time,

but I had more from previous trips,

as well as a shelf full of my father's.

Many of the vintage books are inscribed

with the beautifully handwritten names

of my grandparents and great-grandparents.

I added their photos to the shelves today...

Charles and Mary Graves Hess

with two of their children

Coray and Olive Ransom

My great-grandmother Olive Wrislar Ransom 
and my grandmother Dorothy Ransom Hess

This pocket watch,

found in the sewing basket,

is etched with the initials OEW.

That would be Olive's.

From Mom's kitchen to mine,

the star shaped baking molds

which I've been using,

this time for blueberry muffins.

 And the mini-heart tins I gave her years ago...

And finally, in other places around the house,

the stained glass pieces,

all gifts from my mother...

The mirror, a college graduation present,

which I rehung today.

The rainbow dove, a first anniversary present

to match a window in the fellowship hall 

of the church where we were married

Nativity scene

The camellia and magnolia stained glass

There is more,

like her clothes and necklaces I've been wearing,

but that is enough to show for now.

As the months go by, I will rearrange again,

put things away from this makeshift shrine.

But I will never forget.

Her real legacy 

was her love.

My mother, Mary Graves Hess Quarrier
and my grandmother, Dorothy Ransom Hess,
in July 2013

Tributes to my Mom:

• In Memoriam: A Tribute to My Mother, Mary Quarrier
• A Eulogy is Also a Beginning
• Radiant Nurturer: Recent Photos of My Mother
• Vintage Photos of My Mother

Strength in Hymn

(all related to Mom)

• No More Night 

• His Eye is on the Sparrow
• Let There Be Peace on Earth
• Be Thou My Vision 
• For All the Faithful Women
• Sweet Hour of Prayer
• In the Garden (When the Caregiver Needs Care)

This post is the second in my new Big Words series.  The first: Sanctuary.

Grace and peace,

Virginia Knowles

www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com

Homemaking (An Index to My Blogs)

Dear friends,

I have a whole bunch of posts about homemaking on two of my blogs.  I've finally compiled an index of most of them below in several categories, and I have also created a page for them with a link at the top of this blog which I will try to keep updated with future posts.  There may be other homemaking posts currently on my blogs that I have not added to this index yet.  You can probably find them in these category tags: Homemaking at Virginia's Life and Homemaking at Come Weary Moms.

You might also like my newest post on my main blog: Twenty Years, Ten Kids, One House.

Homemaking Inspiration:

• "The Blue Bowl" and Thoughts on Making a Home
• Refresh and Renew: Quilt and Pansies
• Who is the Proverbs 31 Woman? Not Me Yet!
• Busy & Creative at Home (with links to organization blogs)
• Knowing That She Hath Wings
• "My Glorious Dishtowel" Redux and More 
• Creativity AND Order (They Aren't Mutually Exclusive!)
• Let Our Ordered Lives Confess the Beauty of Thy Peace...?

 

Room-by-Room in our Home: 

• Kitchen Organization Ideas from a Mom of 10
• Decorating and Organizing Bathroom Areas on a Budget
• Welcome to Our Living Room
• The Impulsive Decorator's Room Redo #1: The Front Hallway
• Turning Angst into a Clean Closet
• A Desk for Mom (Featuring Habitat for Humanity)
• A Space of My Own (My Desk Again)
• Not-So-Extreme Makeover: The Front of Our House

 

Season-by-Season in our Home: 

• Easy Autumn Decorating on a Dime
• Autumn: A Pretty Home and Yummy Food on a Budget
• Easy Christmas Decorating on a Dime
• Easy Spring Decorating on a Dime
• Springtime in My Front Hallway

  

Home Organization Tips: 

• First Steps to a Tidy Home / Children & Chores
• "Bin There, Done That" (Or How to Keep School Clutter from Turning You Into a Basketcase)
• Organizing First Aid Supplies, Medicines and Supplements
• One Mom's Trash is Another's Treasure
• A Place for Everything
• Household Organization: Clutter, Clothes Storage and Chores

Laundry: 

• Organizing and Laundering Your Linens
• Mt. Washmore (Laundry for a Large Family)
• Doing the Wash: Grandmother’s “Receet”
• And You Wonder What I Do All Day?
• "My Glorious Dishtowel" Redux and More 

Food:

I have a whole page of links about food and grocery shopping!    It's not always completely current, but you can find it here: Food.  You can also see entire blog posts with the tag of Food at Food Glorious Food at Virginia's Life and Food at Come Weary Moms.

  

Click away, my friends, and welcome to my home!

Virginia Knowles

www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com

Sanctuary (Big Words)

"The circumstances of my life can be so troubling.  

The outward look is not always promising.

What counts is the inward reality, 

the inner focus and perspective and gaze.

It will not happen if I do not purposefully cultivate it --

tend to it, water it, nurture it.

Here the joy, pleasure and delight are revealed.

Here is the sanctuary.

This is not necessarily a place, 

but a space I carve out 

for myself to be in God's presence.

It's a space in my heart and in my time ~ ~ 

a pause, an embrace, a calm rest.

I can carry it with me back into the fray.

Sanctuary is awareness of God's presence...

   sacred
    set apart
      serene
        sacramental
          simple
            shalom
              shield
                salvation
                  safety.

One of my daughters gave me this Psalms journal for my birthday two years ago.  It has short passages from Psalms with room on the facing page to write my own reflections.  I started using it during a particularly frazzled season of life.  Then I stopped.  I picked it up the other day and was struck by a verse with the word sanctuary in the day's passages:  

"Lift up your hands 

in the sanctuary 

and bless the Lord." 

Psalm 134:2

Sanctuary is what I wrote about, and that's what you see in this blog post.   It's another frazzled season of life with the kids starting school and me starting a new teaching job, and lots of other stuff going on, not all of it pleasant.  (Like grieving the loss of my mother.) I need sanctuary.  And that means investing the time that I don't think I have, with the God who turns a meager pile loaves and fishes into an abundant feast.  I come weary and leave refreshed. I think I'll go back and read something I wrote a while back:  Busy, Dizzy and In a Tizzy: Christian Contemplation for Moms and Other Frazzled Folks. 

You may also like the more recent entries in my Strength in Hymn series:

• His Eye is on the Sparrow
• Let There Be Peace on Earth
• Be Thou My Vision
• Sweet Hour of Prayer
• For All the Faithful Women
• Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
• Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

This is the first post in my new Big Words series!  More on that later...

Grace and peace,
Virginia Knowles
www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com