Cheese!

Yesterday my mother and I made cheese for the first time. We made Mozzarella, and the first batch turned out so well that we made two more right then! Mom made pizza for dinner with our mozzarella last night, and we had grilled cheese sandwiches with it today for lunch. It tasted delicious! I think we're hooked. :-)

Luther Quote

"I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess."
- Martin Luther

HT: A Cognizant Discourse, here

...a toad

This Week

We've had quite the exciting week! Not only was a friend moving, and other friends butchering chickens, but we had seven chicks hatched. (Some of you may have read my dad's post, "God's Hatchery", inspired by the chick's entrances to the world.)

As exciting as the little peeps are, I still think that kittens are much cuter. Someone apparently dumped these two little ones on us. It wasn't easy catching them, but they're getting used to us. We named them Penny and Nickel.

But even two adorable kittens aren't the big news this week. The big news is that Sunday evening when we got home from church our cow had calved! A pretty little heifer that Dad named Bessie.

She is doing well and is a lot of fun to feed, play with and watch.

Quotable

"If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavourable. Favourable conditions never come."

- C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

"Come on, people now, smile on your brother..."

'It is never enough to tell people simply to "be nice." They have no reason to, and they don't want to. Men and women are sinners and they need salvation, not lessons in etiquette.'
- Douglas Wilson, Black & Tan: Essays and Excursions on Slavery, Culture War, and Scripture in America

Why I'm Not Blogging...

...oh wait, I am. Never mind.

Wednesday- helped friends butcher chickens. A good time was had by all.
Thursday- picked up my beehive. I am now a (slightly overwhelmed) beekeeper. The bees appear to have settled in well and be happy.
Friday- I'm in the middle of baking for the Farmer's Market tomorrow.

So zat is all for now.

In Bloom

I took this picture of our catalpa tree this afternoon.

Sssssssssso.....

The boys caught two ring neck snakes today. According to tradition, we named them with names beginning with W. Winchester made good his escape, but we released this pretty little one (who was about 6 inches long.) These are the only type of snakes that I enjoy holding. They tend to like to wind gently around and through your fingers, and don't seem to mind being held, either.

Home Again, Home Again...

Well, I'm home, and I'm caught back up with laundry and email and snail mail and having my ankles attacked by my cat. (I am not yet caught up on weeding my garden, but on the other hand, will I ever be? Unlikely.) We had a good trip, despite road construction, and it was a wonderful priviledge to see two of my friends marry two very good men. Yes, it was a double. The sisters had two consecutive ceremonies. I was in the first, and watched the second. Both, though different, were a beautiful testament to the commitments that were made. I especially liked the use of Ruth's words, "thy people shall be my people", in both brides' vows.

I did not have the hiccups, neither did I drop my bouquet, even when picking up the hymn book and turning to the paperclipped page during the ceremony. I didn't cry during the ceremony, either, but I did tear up during one of the rehearsals. The bride and I have been friends for the last eight years, and very close for the last five, so this is quite a change.

For the first time ever, I sang "O Come, All Ye Faithful" during a wedding service. Also for the first time, there were hymn requests taken, and a blond joke from the father of the groom at the request of the bride. See, when the poor minister, doing his first double wedding in twenty some years, mislays the second set of vows you do what you can. My favorite part of the glitch was the bride and groom telling their engagement story. Neither one of them was fazed a bit by the delay, and they even enjoyed the unplanned aspects of their ceremony! The bridesmaids soldiered on through the suddenly longer ceremony in what seemed like 80 degree heat, although they ditched their shawls around the time the vows were discovered missing.

Anyway, it was a great wedding, we made it home safely, and it is good to be back.

This and That

Well, the dress is done except for needing hemmed. The sandwiches are made. The last load of laundry is in the dryer. My bags are in the Suburban. Now, the only question is...what have I forgotten to pack? Hmm.

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What makes a book a classic? Why are some old books classics and some not? Is it the merit of the story, the quality of the writing, the fame of the author? The reason I ask is that someone mentioned Wuthering Heights the other day, and I began to wonder why its considered a classic. Because when I read it several years ago, I recall that I didn't like the story at all and considered it depressing and boring in the extreme. I realize that my disliking it isn't a strong enough reason for it not to be a classic... but why are some books classics and how is that determined?

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I will be in a wedding next Saturday. I already had someone volunteer to pray specifically that I will not have hiccups during the ceremony (thank you!) but if y'all could pray generally for our safety while traveling cross country and also for a smooth event next Saturday I'd appreciate it.

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Since we'll be away from home for about a week, there is a good chance I'll be silent for that time.

What I'm Doing

On May 20th, 2006, one of my closest friends will get married. To my delight, she did me the honor of asking me to be a bridesmaid! Hopefully I won't cry or faint or have the hiccups during the ceremony. But before the ceremony I need to make the dress, and that is what I've been working on today.


I'm making an empire waisted, tea length dress with short, slightly puffed sleeves.
The picture above makes the fabric look bluer, the picture to the right makes it look more purpleish. It depends on the light. It is a lovely fabric, but rather unforgiving (seams you remove will show, and steam will ruin it!), so I was a bit nervous, but so far I haven't committed any unfixable mistakes. :-)