I'll skip F for now. G is for...

...grape juice! Bo and I just canned 12 quarts of grape juice concentrate from two bushels of Concord grapes we picked yesterday. You can read more about it here.

E is for...

Easter: We've always hidden Easter baskets and eggs for the kids, and last year we did something really fun. We tied a different-colored piece of yarn to each basket and strung them all around the house, under doors, through rooms, in and out of closets, behind furniture, changing colors part-way. The kids had to start with their end of yarn and roll it up until they found their own. It took forever!
eat: One of my very favorite things to do.
eclectic: The style of learning we utilize.
eighteen: I can't believe that my oldest will be eighteen in less than six months. Sigh.
embroidered linens: I have a small collection of these, ranging from hankies to pillowcases. Most of them I find at my favorite thrift store. I can't imagine why people would give these up!
engagement: Bo asked me to marry him at the place where we first met. It was a cold December night when he proposed and the full moon shone through the trees, creating little twinkling Christmas lights in the ring in his hand. I said yes. ;-)
England: I've never been outside of the U.S., except for high-school trips to Canada. My first choice would be England. Second would be France. Third would be Ireland.
English: My college major. I didn't graduate--got married instead.
environment: It's important to me to be a good steward of the Earth that God has entrusted to us. Christians, it seems to me, should feel that this is more important than non-Christians do, but it seems to be backwards for some reason. I try to buy locally, utilize thrift stores, use reusable items and glass when I can, avoid chemicals and generally tread softly. He has trusted me with this small thing in comparison to the eternal home He has waiting for me.
eternity: I look forward to this because I believe that all my questions will be answered and all things will become clear. How amazing that will be!
exercise: Someday, I *will* run that 5K. For now, Kim and I are trying to get back into walking after a summer hiatus.

E is for...

Eggplant. A necessary ingredient for Ratatouille. Late summer is the perfect time to make this French recipe that's experiencing a revival, thanks to Pixar's hit. There are many versions of this recipe, but I think they generally all include eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, onion and herbs. We had it for lunch yesterday with fresh-from-our-garden produce and rolls from the local bakery topped with Amish roll butter.

I also love to make eggplant parmesan, and as soon as there are a few more eggplants ready, it'll be on its way!

Growing eggplant was a big challenge for me this year. I planted two varieties, a Thai eggplant called Hmong Red Eggplant which is apparently quite rare. It was brought to the greenhouse this summer by a Thai couple and I fought away the flea beetles and colorado beetles, applying diatomaceous earth and picking off the grubs of the colorado beetles and covering the plants with floating row covers. Now I have little Thai eggplants that look like miniature pumpkins, though I'm not sure how to prepare them. If you are into Thai cuisine and would like some seeds, let me know and I'll send you a fruit...in exchange for a few recipes, of course!

And I have my purple eggplant as well, which I also fought to preserve, but now they're here and I have a lot of beautiful purple flowers covering the plants, promising me yummy eggplant dishes for the next few weeks.

D is for...

Daughters. I've been blessed and challenged by being given three incredible girls to live in my home and touch my life. It's clearly grace, because I don't deserve such a gift. They're so much smarter than I am, so much more forgiving and loving and patient. It grieves me that they will only be in my home for a short time; indeed, the seventeen years that Bard has lived under our roof has passed so quickly, and seeing Sweetheart and The Baby as they go through those years makes me thankful that I get to live it over again with each of them lest it be done too quickly.

Thank God for my daughters.

C is for...

cabin: This coming Sunday will be seven years since we first took ownership of our property and began visiting the cabin every weekend. Before long, the kids and I had taken up permanent residence there. It was a safe place for us, a retreat from the city, a promise. Before long, my dad retired and moved to the cabin as well. In October of 2001, we sold our house in the city and moved to the cabin full-time. That was four kids, three adults and two dogs living in a little cabin with gas lights, and outhouse and a tub on the porch. In 2003, we started building our house and finished it in 2004.



caffeine: If I have too much of this, or if I have it on an empty stomach, I get shaky and even ill. Still, there are times when I really need some, so I risk it. If I have a cup of coffee in the morning, I seem to run much better all day long.



calcium--because of some strange thing that happened with the weather, there wasn't enough calcium absorbed by my tomato plants, so they withered up and all but died. :-/



calico--we have two beautiful calico kitties.



camera--my darling husband and daughter bought me a Canon camera for my birthday this year. I use it often, but I don't really get to post the photos often because my computer crashed and it was the only one aside from Bo's laptop that I can use to post photos.



camouflage--Bard's favorite color.



camp--When I was in junior high, I absolutely loved summer camp and wanted to live there. I truly would have, but my parents got angry when I wasn't all that anxious to come home, so I never really got to go back.



canning--this one deserves its own post.



carbonated--Dr. Pepper is my favorite carbonated beverage.



career--I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I always thought I'd be a writer, but now I feel like the market's saturated and I don't have all that much to contribute. For now, being a mom is a decent living.



carpenter--my husband Bo was this when we first got married.



carrot--these were my favorite veggies growing up.



cartoonist--what Monet wants to be.



cast iron--lately, I have been cooking with my two cast iron skillets that I found at my favorite thrift store and I love them! I don't worry about nonstick coatings and they clean up in a jiffy. I'm on the lookout for more. Yesterday morning, I taught Houdin two things before we left for church:

--How to care for cast iron cookware
--How to make pate brise.

cats--we have too, too many. We currently have three cats who have learned how to use the dog door, so they're indoors and out. There are also several outdoor cats and today we found three kittens. No, we're not keeping them, no matter what Sweethearts says.



caterpillars--we found two Monarch caterpillars and have them in a jar with a whole wad of milkweed. Soon, they're become chyrysalis and then we'll watch them emerge as butterflies!

cattails--We have these growing in our front yard, believe it or not, along with a whole, whole, whole bunch of thistles for the the goldfinches (I hear the thistles make my neighbor angry. Whoops! Well, I do love those finches! Good thing the wind generally blows Northeast!) I've considered having that area landscaped, but I think God's doing an okay job of it all by Himself.


cell phone--I must be the only person in the world who doesn't have one. My kids don't have them, either. GASP!


chairs--I have a weakness for cool chairs. Yesterday, I bought a new one from My Favorite Thrift Store--it's a vintage upholstered rocker, cream-colored with wood trim. It was half-price, so how could I resist?

chameleon--We were given one of these and really enjoyed her for the time we had her. She sat on a ficus tree and lived on crickets and mealworms. She only had one eye, so I had to feed her by hand. I'd love to have another chameleon someday, but right now, we'll enjoy our iguana.

chaos--I was an only child, so the only chaos that ever ensued in our house was from my parents fighting (which they often did. sigh.). Now, there is always some sort of chaos going on in our house. It could be good chaos, like a house concert, or a group of friends playing together, or a meal being prepared, or a game being played. Or it could be bad chaos, like bickering siblings or a disgruntled live-in grandfather complaining about the toys in his area. I'm trying to learn to live with chaos, but it's not easy. Loud noises still make me jump, even after hearing them for 17 years.

charming--Our little village is quite charming. :-)

cheesecake --Six years ago, a friend got me hooked on making cheesecakes. About a year ago, I passed the torch to sixteen-year-old Houdin. Now he makes the cheesecakes for our houseconcerts and people rave about them. My favorite is the turtle cheesecake, but the milk chocolate cheesecake is a close second. Yum! He also makes plain as well as mint chocolate chip.

cherries--These have always been on of my favorite fruits. When I was young, I used to climb my aunt's cherry tree to get as many as I could, even though I was told over and over not to climb on it because the branches were weak. I'm still alive. Now we're growing two cherry trees on our own homestead, and though we haven't had a good crop yet, I'm looking forward to the day!

chickens--One of the first things we bought when we came to this home was chickens. At first, it was just Golden Comet layers, and now we have a whole crew of gals (along with a couple of roosters). Last year, we raised our first broilers and butchered them in the fall. It was fairly successful and we hope to do it again next year, if we can construct a better brooder than our basement!

children--"Let your children be your flowers." This was the advice of a friend of mine who listened to me lament about the fact that I didn't have the time or money to put in a flower bed. I clung to those words during that time, and now I have both children AND flowers, and children who love flowers. My daughters make the most beautiful bouquets from the flowers in our gardens. I'm surprised they can find the flowers for all the weeds!

China--Bard spent a week-and-a-half in China with her choral ensemble. She was able to sing at the Great Wall.

chlorine--I believe this is one of the world's biggest evils.

chocolate--I believe this is one of the answers to most of the world's problems. I especially love a very, very good dark chocolate, though I used to think that dark chocolate was a cruel joke.

choir--Four of my fave children are members of a very good choral group. Bard is on her 11th year in the ensemble.

Christ--my inspiration for just about everything I do.

Christian--I became a Christian when I was 16, thanks to the music of a young man who played guitar in cut-offs and a t-shirt at a festival where I, the previous year's Queen, was judge. His song changed my life.

Christianity--This is so greatly misunderstood. I wish people would really examine Christ's words instead of assuming they know what Christianity is. This includes Christians.

There are a ton of C words I want to cover, but I'm totally tired after a day of running around and canning, so I'll come back to this one...

Christmas: A time to focus on Advent, make hard candy and caramels, sugar cookies and white trash, hit the thrift stores a bit more often, and lug all the decorations from the basement. I try very, very hard not to make this a stressful time, but it always ends up with drama of some type. Still, it's always one of our favorite times of the year.

chrysalis: We collect Monarch caterpillars and watch them transform. We have about 11 of them right now, a few that have already made their chrysalis.

church: This one could get very, very verbose if I let it. Maybe I should do another post for this one, too?

cider: Every Fall, we buy gallons of fresh sweet cider from a local orchard and freeze it so that we can have when Autumn ends. When the winter winds begin to blow, we pull out a gallon and mull it on the stove.

city: A place I could never live.

classic: I'm drawn to classic things, whether it's literature, music, movies, styles of furniture, linens, whatever. Since I was in high school, I've loved to collect practical antiques and vintage clothing. It's a hobby I've confined to thrift-store shopping during this season of my life, but it's one of my hobbies that gives me the most joy.

Clover : Our pot-bellied pig.

clutter: A constant struggle.

coats: I have a fetish for these. Recently I found a black leather jacket and a black Hilary Radley swing cape at the thrift store. I can't help it. It's an addiction.

cobalt blue: My collection began with my grandmother's Vic's Vapo-Rub jar and grew from there. My husband, children, friends and family have added to it over the years. My favorite pieces are displayed in my bedroom.

colors : My favorites are dark green, burgundy, brown, black and shades of white/cream.

comparison: One of my biggest enemies.

computer: We're down to one functioning computer with internet access, and when I say "functioning," it's just barely doing that, shutting down every few minutes and unable to run the programs I use. I'm trying to scheme a way to get a new computer for schoolwork and writing.

concerts: One of our goals in building a house in the country was to have houseconcerts. Over the past two years, we've had seven concerts, have four more in the next two months and have a couple booked for 2008. Our goal is to consistently draw about 50 people per show.

constellations

content

conversations

cook

coop

cooperate

cornmeal

cosmetics

cottage cheese

cotton

couch

country

cows

crabby

crafts

Crash

cream

creative

Creator

criticism

curly

currants

curse

cute

B is for...

Babies: five of them. The first two were born in hospitals and, when I realized I didn't want to do that again, the last three were born at home with a midwife.

Back: My mom always used to complain about her back hurting, and I thought she was such a wimp. Now my back hurts, and I think I'm such a wimp.

Bacon: Is it so difficult to make bacon without nitrates? I've looked everywhere and can only find one source for good nitrate-free bacon. It's expensive, but we only buy it once in a great while for BLTs or Bacon Onion Quiche. I should just raise my own hog.

Baggage: I have too much of it.

Baggy: Growing up, I always wore baggy clothes because I thought it was modest. Now I wear baggy clothes because they fit.

Baking: It's zucchini season, so I've been baking zucchini bread and zucchini cake, which I put in the freezer for a quick breakfast as the year gets crazy. I enjoy baking most times, but it would be easier if I had central air. :-)

Balance: For years, I tried to find the balances in life--the balance between quality time with my kids and cleaning my house, the balance between creative time and productive time, the balance between that would bring more good days and fewer bad days. I've come to realize that there is no balance. Life is an ever-pendulouse ebb and flow and I must simply hang on.

Ballad: When I was a child, the most tragic songs I ever heard were, "I'll Be True to You," "Seasons in the Sun," "One Tin Soldier" and "Wildfire." I was so very much a child drawn to stories of tragedy; these songs were among my very favorites.

Ballerinas: I could gaze for hours at my little girls dancing and twirling and bowing and spinning. They don't take dance classes, but they love to perform for me. It's one of my mind's most precious scenes.

Banjo: I totally want to learn to play!

Baptism: We've been recently discussing adult baptism. Monet isn't sure he wants to be baptized, ever. Since we've been attending an Anabaptist church, the subject has come up several times. If we decide to join the church, which is the direction we're heading, it's my understanding that we're supposed to be baptized again (Bo and I). The children will wait until they're adults to choose baptism.

Barber: When I was in high school, I kind of toyed with the idea of opening a barber shop with my dad, a real, old fashioned one with a barber pole and a quartet on Saturdays and straight-razor shaves.

Barefoot: I don't go barefoot as often now as I did as a child. It was surely summer when I was allowed to run outside with my shoes off. By the end of summer, I could scamper across our gravel drive with nary a wince.

Barn: When Bard was a child, we prayed for a red barn with lots and lots of animals. Every day when I look out my kitchen window, I see a red barn that houses goats, chickens, a pot-bellied pig, a pigeon and lots of cats. I need to thank God for that more often.

Bass Guitar: Recently Bard told Monet that he really should become good at his musical instruments because then he could choose any girl he wanted. There's something disturbingly true about this. Bo is a bass player and has a wonderful, sexy singing voice, somewhere between John Mayer, Steven Curtis Chapman and Daryll Hall. Between those talents and his adorable dimples, I was head-over-heels in no time.

Bathtub: I have a big 'ol tub in my bedroom that serves as my retreat. I turn the lights low and soak, enjoying a good book or a chat with my hubby. On the cold days when I was working at the greenhouse, it kept me going to know that I could go home and plunge myself into my tub's warmth. When we were building our house, we were worried that putting that huge whirlpool tub in our room would be a mistake that we'd regret. On the contrary! It's the best thing to use when you have to toss a bunch of dirty kids into water or soak a basket of smoldering clothes from a dryer fire or bathe a flea-bitten varmint. I don't know what I'd do without indoor plumbing!

Belief: I've always, always, always believed in a higher power. When I was young, I would pray to an unknown being, asking it to solve my problems, calm my angry mother or send me a pony. It wasn't until I was older that I saw this being as God, and it wasn't until I was sixteen that I became a Christian. Every day my belief in God moves and rearranges and changes and deepens and wavers. In my adult life, I've even tried to abandon Him, but His realness always returns to me.

Belligerent: I was as a child, and now I have two boys who are as well. Pray for me.

Bickering: If there's one thing that drives me insane, it's my children bickering with each other. They say I just don't understand. I was an only child. What do they know?

Billy goat: Johnny was a cute little billy, but now he's a brute. He sticks out his tongue before he rears up, does disgusting things with his pee, makes terrible noises that sound like a human man gurgling to death, and smells like something very wrong. But I love him anyway.

Books: My favorites are Peace Like a River, The Life of Pi, The Little House series, Gone-Away Lake, The Bible (especially my Amplified Bible), Tess of the D'Urbervilles (how very tragic!), Stephen King On Writing. I have a bunch of gardening books and cookbooks and children's books. The only thing that prevents me from surrounding my whole self with books is my lack of bookcases. I even hope to write one some day.

Bread: Quite possibly my favorite food. I love to bake it and I love, love, love to eat it warm with a slab of real butter. Oh, very yes.

Breakfast: Somehow, I often miss this. I get going and hit the ground running, sometimes forgetting to fuel my body. And then I get mean. I really should remember to eat breakfast.

Buggy: We have lots of these here in Amish Country, most of them black with a big orange "slow-moving-vehicle" sign on the back. But occasionally I'll see one with no lights, no reflectors and now sign. Those are the lower order Amish and you really don't want to come upon that kind of buggy in the dark of night. It's a great contrast to the buggy we saw in town one night that boasted ground effects. No joke.

Bumblebee: When I was a kid, I used to catch these and hold them in my hand.

Burden: A huge financial burden has been lifted. Thank you, God, for your provision and for your people!

A is for...

Abode: I've worked for and dreamed about this place where I live for many years. I don't know why it is (though I'm sure there's some deep-seated explanation rooted in my childhood), but having a home--not just a house--is very important to me. I'm strongly drawn to create environments for myself and those I love. I'm happy to say that the tenuous relationship I've had with my home these past few months has been resolved, thanks to the love and generosity of amazing people, so I'm thankful for my home and for God's people.


Absent-minded: Lately I've found myself to be more forgetful than usual, losing track of what I'm doing from moment to moment, step to step. If I don't make a grocery list, I may completely forget why I'm there, and even if I remember, I may forget between the time I remember and the time it takes me to get to the right aisle, even if it's only one aisle away.


Abundance: One day I'll think I have so much and another day I'll fret over having nothing. What's up with me? The truth is that I'm blessed with an abundance of love and I have everything I need. Mostly.


Ache: My body. My hips. My neck. My head.


Acquaintances: Thank you so much, God, for the people you've brought into my life. Some people aren't quite friends yet, but I'm so glad for these acquaintances.


Acorn: I hold tight to the promise of the oak within the tiny acorn. Something I heard recently that really struck a chord with me was that as soon as an acorn sprouts, it's an oak tree. I could be one day old or one year old or one hundred years old, and it's still an oak. My home is dotted with acorns, real and represented in different forms. There's one oak tree on our property which must be about 25 or 30 years old because it just started bearing acorns a couple of years ago; my understanding is that they get acorns after 25 years. See The Sprouted Acorn.


Adolescents: There are two of these in my household. Who they are is both a mystery and a comfort to me. I find that I have so much more in common with them now, that I return to the fondness I had for them when they were very young, a fondness that got a bit muddled during the pre-teen years. That's not to say there aren't difficult moments and days; it's just to say that there's more communion now than there has been in recent years.


Afford: If I had more money, I'd buy a compressor for our central air system, a new van, a front stairway, a side patio, a back deck, a clothesline, a banjo, a dulcimer and a set of drums. I'd get good furniture (an antique table and chairs big enough for the whole family and a comfortable couch where we could all read together), I'd finish my dad's kitchen and trimwork, and I'd give lots and lots of money away to people who need much more than I do.


Affluence: I struggle with how I feel about this. Sometimes I wish I had more. Sometimes I despise it. I'm trying to learn not to covet.


Aggravated: No matter how hard I try to please my father, he never sees anything but my faults. In turn, I become more faulty as my anger overtakes me and then he has so much more to talk to his sister about during his morning phone conversations. If he had any idea how wrong he is about me and the things I do, I wonder if he'd stop tearing me to pieces with his words.


Agriculture: Can this be in someone's bones? I think it's in mine. If it can be, does it come easily? Because it doesn't for me. I'm always trying to find that ecobalance on our mini-farm, but there's always some animal or plant trying to buck my system. Will it ever work?


Air Conditioner: Don't have one. Not in my car. Not in my house. It's not so bad today, but it was earlier this week. It's the next big thing on my list that I hope to save money for. Are the dog days over?


Alec D'Urberville: I'm reading Tess of the D'Urberville's for the first time and am at the part of Alec D'Urberville's conversion. Where has Thomas Hardy been all my life?!?


Amusement: Ever been to the State Fair? This year was my first experience there and we had a pretty good time. I never would have expected a cow and calf made entirely of butter. I tasted my first fried cheese curds; saw my first freak show; watched my son lose his head at the hands of a stage magician; met Gloria Rodin, the "world's smallest woman" (a Jamaican who is actually just one of the world's smallest women) and talked to her about her conversion to Christianity while she was touring state fairs in a little people's reggae band; bought a banjo-mandolin made from a board, a cigar box, staples, linoleum tacks and banjo strings; took my adolescents to see Weird Al Yankovic live (they loved it!); and, as I do at every fair, bought maple sugar candy.


Anabaptist: We've been attending a Mennonite church for about a year and a half now and I'm reading several books about Anabaptist roots and beliefs. It's where I fit.


Ancestors: Being adopted makes me feel like I'm missing out on a heritage. I wish I knew who my real ancestors were. Yet at the same time I wonder...why does it matter?


Anger: I struggle with this a LOT.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: New book by Barbara Kingsolver that really helped nudge me closer to eating locally. I buy all of my produce from local growers now, except for what I'm growing in my own yard.

Animals: They're taking over! Goats, pet rats, cats, dogs, lizard, birds, chickens, potbellied pig. Being in the midst of flea season, I'm working very hard to do non-toxic flea control right now. Lots of laundering, vacuuming, bathing animals, combings. It's endless!

Ankle: I've always wanted a tatoo there. What prevents it? Fear and indecision.

Annoying: Fleas. Gossiping father. Judgemental people. August heat.


Antibiotics: Have only used them probably five times in our family in 18 years. Twice for strep and three times (same time--three different people) for a Christmas of pneumonia/bronchitis/sinusitis.


Antiques: I could spend all day in antique shops. See "afford" and "affluence."


April: My birth-month. One of my children share it.


Arguments: We have too many of them in this house. Are we too comfortable with each other, or are we too uncomfortable?


Armoire: Found a vintage one today at My Favorite Thrift Store. Was marked $65 but since it was Pink Tag Day and it had a pink tag, it was half-priced. Monet doesn't have a closet, so this will go to his room, as long as he takes care of it.


Armpit: What The Baby calls tattoos. I don't know why.


Artists: Love Monet, Mary Cassatt, Van Gogh and my son.


Asparagus: Fell in love with it this year and planted a whole bunch of it. Can't wait to harvest it next year!


Aspiration: I have to think about this one.


Authors: Barbara Kingsolver, Anne Tyler, Thomas Hardy, Shakespeare, Solomon, Walter Farley, James Thurber, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Charlotte Mason, William Wordsworth, C.S. Lewis, Laura Ingalls-Wilder, Anne LaMott, A. A. Milne, Elizabeth Enright, John Holt, Leif Enger, Madeleine L'Engle, the bloggers on the left.


Autumn: My favorite month. Nostalgia overcomes me when the leaves turn. A trip to the farmer's market for pumpkins and corn stalks lets me drink in the colors like a mug of mulled cider.

Encyclopedia of Me Meme

I'm going to jump-start my return to blogging (ie: cheat) by participating in Bella Dia's Encyclopedia of Me Meme. Wanna join? Just let her know!