Cool sewing patterns, anyone?

I am on a search for a company that makes easy to moderate level of difficulty sewing patterns that are somewhat hip and not something that my grandma would wear. A bonus would also be if they had small petite sizes (like 4 or smaller). Anyone have any company suggestions? I look forward to the brainstorming!

Long trip home and still no satellite

Sigh, just an update and the reason why I haven't blogged in a bit. Still, no satellite internet. Sigh. Long story short, we canceled service with the company because of promising something they couldn't deliver and not showing up several times when they said they would.

We went with a new company and they were supposed to install today. They called while we were in PA to say they don't have the equipment yet. 2-3 weeks. I am not getting my hopes up but I will keep blogging in the meantime. And delight in the day when I can post pictures and download my email in a reasonable time.

We returned yesterday from our first trip back to PA since we moved in April. It was a good all around good trip but bittersweet. It was so uplifting to see family and friends and spend time laughing and hugging and visiting. But also disheartening knowing that these people are not a part of our daily life anymore. I can't just call them and get together for dinner or stop by their house on my way home from wherever. We have lots of friends with kids and it was hard to think that they won't grow up playing together. And that our godson won't grow up really knowing us.

I have not once questioned whether we made the right decision to move here. This is where we are meant to be, I am sure of that. God has good work here for all of us. But what we have left behind is significant and will never be able to be replaced. I am not always very good at keeping in touch but there are too many important relationships for me in PA to be lazy.

It did feel , however, so right to come back to the peace and quiet of our home, our woods. I love the city but this land, this house, this mountain feeds and soothes in a way concrete, buildings, and busy-ness cannot. Still settling in, still transitioning to this new place and new life.

A faster speed in less than 24 hours...

Oh the possibilities! We are getting satellite internet in less than 24 hours!! Imagine posts more often than every 10 days because that's all I have patience for, pictures (!), and now that blogger has video unloading, who knows what I might subject you to - (boring) videos of my kids doing oh-so-cute (yet still boring because they are not your kids and you don't necessarily think they are the cutest, smartest, wittiest, most creative being ever to live, unless you are their grandparents of course) everyday things like eating breakfast or sleeping. But I know you will humor me and tell me how wonderful they are anyway. Thank you!

August or Autumn

Last Thursday as the kids and I drove to playgroup, I noticed a tree whose leaves were turning yellow and orange. I thought to myself, "That's odd, that tree must have some disease to cause its leaves to turn colors already" because it is, after all, only August. Then on the way home from playgroup I saw another tree, a different kind of tree in a completely different place, with its leaves beginning to change colors! I began to worry because, after all, it is only August, people, August! Maybe a fluke? I thought. Not so much luck. Over the last week, I have noticed over 2 dozen trees whose leaves are changing! Granted, it has been colder than usual, mid to upper 50's during the day, lower 40's at night. This is crazy! I should be sweating and wearing sundresses and eating peaches. Not wearing 3 shirts, socks and shoes, and making fires in the fireplace because it is so cold at night. (I almost hate to make this joke because taking care of the environment is so important to me but...) I thought we were supposed to be having global warming, not cooling! Good things we already ordered our wood for the woodstove. Looks like we may need more than we thought!

Harvest season

I am loving this season of harvest. Living most of my life in the suburbs, I never really lived my eating life in tune with the seasons. Whatever I wanted to eat was always available in the grocery store. Over the last 7 years, I have realized the importance (and health!) of trying to live in the rhythm with, not in opposition to, nature's cycles of seasons, day and night, etc. This became especially clear to me on a 6 week backpacking course Matt and I participated in in college. You sleep when its dark and wake when its light. You eat because you are hungry and rest because your body demands it. It seems like such a simple concept but in our modern life filled with conveniences and 24-hour drive thrus it can be a profound worldview.

Anyway, this year God's rhythms are calling me to harvest. Living in a rural area where they are many farms is giving lots of opportunities and reminders to harvest now and store away for later. I love the idea of taking fruit and vegetables when they are locally in season, fresh, at the peak of ripening and freezing or canning them to enjoy in the winter. There is nothing better than eating fresh tasting sweet (and I mean summer sweet not freeze-section sweet) corn. Especially on the mountain where we have the potential to get snowed in several times in the winter.

Today I froze 3 dozen ears of corn. Not nearly enough, need about 5 dozen more. And 7 quarts of summer squash, I will probably do about 7 more. All locally grown and oh so tasty. Matt's parents (the canning and freezing gurus in my life), the kids and I will pick blueberries on Thursday to freeze as well. We do have 4 blueberry bushes in our backyard but since they need some pruning, fertilizing, and TLC, they are only producing enough for our snacking pleasure. But I am LOVING having blueberries right in our back yard. I am dedicated (Matt's says obsessed but I think that is a bit extreme :-) to picking them every day to win the battle over the birds and the bears. (We actually did have a mama bear and 3 cubs in our yard a few weeks ago! It was amazing. I will post some pics some time!)

Anyway, I praise God for this season of harvest that will provide and sustain us in a slower (and colder!) time.

Little known (to me anyway:-) New Hampshire fact

Did you know that New Hampshire has 13 (or is it 14, Jaclyn?) miles of coastline? I, for one, was unaware of this fact until I moved to MA. One of my dear friends from college is a New Hampshire resident in the beach town of Portsmouth which is how I came upon this information.

Well, the kids and I went to visit her this week and had a most wonderful vacation! We played in the park, picked blueberries, hugged, went for walks, took a slightly disastrous boat ride (I, not the kids, got sea sick :-), went to the beach, giggled, had small talk, played "restaurant" with the kids at every meal (my new trick to get Abigail to eat!), drank a beer in a bar without the kids!!, shared deep thoughts, and spent more time together than we had in years. It was lovely to be in such caring, uplifting, fun company. I have been deeply missing friends that know me well and this trip was a refreshing drink for this dry soul.

I was going to post some great pictures from our trip but after 3 failed attempts, I don't think that my "hi speed" (their sense of humor is so twisted) dial-up is not going to cooperate. Ah, maybe someday we will get real internet...

Snail's Pace

So, when the internet first came into main stream use, was dial up as slow then as it is now? I don't seem to remember waiting so long for pages to load when I was in high school. Have I just gotten used to a faster internet speed or is dial up not effective for the astronomical software changes that have occurred since I was a student at MASD? Computer friends (Kenny...), any thoughts?

Well, after a 2 month absence I am back up and blogging! We recently got internet again and I am attempting to see if the "hi speed" (HA!) dial up will be compatible with my frequent desire to blog. (Note: outlook so far - gloomy. I wrote about three-fourths of this blog on paper while I waited for the new post form page to load.)

For a brief update, we have been in our new house, the Birches, since June1st! We are fully settled in by now and enjoying it. We are on 3 acres of beautifully shaded, mostly wooded land that is bordered by the 83 acre camp, a state forest, and our nearest neighbors, who are awesome Christodora supporters and previous owners of this house, a mile up the road.
Needless to say, we are remote! We are the last house on this part of the road, which is dirt and gravel. Our true neighbors are the song birds, owls, squirrels, black bears, bobcats, deer and beavers.

The house is amazing. Two bedrooms, the kids is on the first floor, ours in the second floor loft. A floor to ceiling whole wall rough stone fireplace with raised hearth in the living/dining room, a galley kitchen not at all made for short people with a dishwasher (Woo-hoo!), all hardwood and stone tile floors, a brand new washer and dryer in the bathroom and a small 7-windowed office. Not a huge house but a lovely just-enough-house with peaceful views of the surrounding birches and maples. No basement but a small outbuilding we have the termed the cottage since we had some guests sleep in it. This house was once a ramshackle hunting type cabin that was gutted (except the fireplace) and completely redone. There is a huge deck on the back and a trail in the back yard leading to Matt's 5 minute wooded commute to work. I will send pictures once I have more time (and patience) to wait for them to load.

It is home and we feel blessed to be here. The kids love it as well. We hike almost daily and they are becoming quite rugged tykes. They can take some pretty rough falls anymore and get up like its nothing, future Everest climbers? Or Fear Factor participants (Tristan has been sampling some caterpillars lately but that's another post :-)?

Manice is going well. We are almost halfway through the summer (crazy!). Matt has had his share of crisis and problems but he is learning, directing, and developing a very good understanding of what it takes to run this program well.

As I type I realize I am exhausted. The 5:30 am wake up is catching up with me and although I have much more to say, I think I will say it better with some more sleep. Good night!