February is coming to a close. Dennis got the kitchen window trimmed in alder after we painted the kitchen walls and ceiling a light chocolate color, with the ceiling lighter than the walls. But first, he reconfigured two soffits because we took out and moved cabinets to move the refrigerator. That meant demolition, rebuilding with sheet rock, mud, sanding-- lots of evenings worth of work.
Lately, he reconstructed the wall in the hall where the bathroom door was moved over 8 inches so that is ready to paint. He also installed the new Craftsman style door that goes from the hall into the living room. And has filled and mudded the triple-window unit in the living room and around the front door. So we are very close to being able to paint the living room and hall! We already have the paint. Then the alder the trim can go up-- it is all ready. And then the wood floor will go down!
I sent some photos of the kitchen to several people by email and thought I could put them up here, but alas, I cannot figure it out!
In other news, today I painted the sunny area near the back door at work for a studio for me to design and sew quilts when time permits. I plan to have one wall covered with flannel or something similar to be able to 'stick' fabric pieces to when designing. The other two adjoining walls of my alcove I plan to adorn with a 15 foot timeline and other items of interest or beauty to me.
Blue grass jams continue to be a pleasure to take part in. It is so welcome to have a group of people to make music with, to share old songs together and learn new ones and harmonize, encourage, enjoy! Such a super format!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
New kitchen floor and a visit from Zach
Zach came to help out with the remodel for several days last week. It was a blessing to have him here to lend his hands and muscle, as well as to celebrate Dennis' birthday.
Among many other tasks done, he helped us finish cleaning out the thinset between the tiles so we could get it grouted. Four weeks after beginning camp cooking in the living room, the stove island was reinstated in the kitchen, with his help! The table is back in the dining room! And the washer and dryer are back at work in the laundry room! All three rooms now have 18 inch porcelain tile (offwhite with taupe lowlights) set on the diagonal in malt colored grout. The floor looks great but since the room hasn't been repainted yet, the full effect awaits that task. I am still in shock from the amount of work and time it took to get the floor done, and from the change. I did not work my fingers to the bone but my fingernails were certainly worn down and nerves got a bit frayed!
Among many other tasks done, he helped us finish cleaning out the thinset between the tiles so we could get it grouted. Four weeks after beginning camp cooking in the living room, the stove island was reinstated in the kitchen, with his help! The table is back in the dining room! And the washer and dryer are back at work in the laundry room! All three rooms now have 18 inch porcelain tile (offwhite with taupe lowlights) set on the diagonal in malt colored grout. The floor looks great but since the room hasn't been repainted yet, the full effect awaits that task. I am still in shock from the amount of work and time it took to get the floor done, and from the change. I did not work my fingers to the bone but my fingernails were certainly worn down and nerves got a bit frayed!
Friday, December 28, 2012
Camp cooking in our living room
Back in '77, Dennis' aunt and uncle gave us a slim green and yellow Primus cookstove for a wedding gift. Only one of the two burners still work now but it served us in all our camping trips all these years. Now it is in use in the living room on top of a displaced cabinet next to the displaced island stove cabinet in front of the large window that looks out on the street. Across from the cooking place is our displaced refrigerator. A card table between serves for the place to eat. All we lack is water, and the food, dishes and utensils stilled stored in the kitchen. All the extra steps it takes to make a meal are good exercise during this cold, dark season!
Our old vinyl kitchen floor is gone! It was 20 to 25 years old. Now the wide open floor space is all covered with HardeeBacker board, from the dining area through the kitchen and into the laundry room.
The tile and thinset are ready, the transition piece between the wood and tile is being completed. The tile saw is about six feet from the cookstove. The days of actually laying the tile, plus drying time and the grout application will mean no trips to the kitchen for water or anything else. So we'll use paper plates and eat take out food a lot and try to have everything we need taken out of the kitchen and put in the living room.
In the meantime, the bathroom is nearing completion! The 20's chandelier is wonderful, the door step is installed in the shower, I've even bought some towels and rugs in neutral shades from ivory to taupe! The mirror frame and shelf are stunning, nearly all stained and finished. The trim work around the window really sets the tone for the room. The new alder door just has a few more finish layers to be ready to install. Pictures are getting closer, I promise!
Our old vinyl kitchen floor is gone! It was 20 to 25 years old. Now the wide open floor space is all covered with HardeeBacker board, from the dining area through the kitchen and into the laundry room.
The tile and thinset are ready, the transition piece between the wood and tile is being completed. The tile saw is about six feet from the cookstove. The days of actually laying the tile, plus drying time and the grout application will mean no trips to the kitchen for water or anything else. So we'll use paper plates and eat take out food a lot and try to have everything we need taken out of the kitchen and put in the living room.
In the meantime, the bathroom is nearing completion! The 20's chandelier is wonderful, the door step is installed in the shower, I've even bought some towels and rugs in neutral shades from ivory to taupe! The mirror frame and shelf are stunning, nearly all stained and finished. The trim work around the window really sets the tone for the room. The new alder door just has a few more finish layers to be ready to install. Pictures are getting closer, I promise!
Thursday, November 29, 2012
MRTOC: Gender Identity
"Children are born either male or female. Boys become men who can become husbands and fathers. Girls become women and may become wives and mothers." Those simple, straightforward statements, marking the up till now obvious difference between male and female, are under huge, unrelenting attack today from Hollywood movies and every other media, from Gay Rights activists, from the humanistic religion that rules our nation, from our own sin natures. Therefore, it behooves mothers raising their own children (mrtoc) to open their eyes and become part of the solution instead part of the problem.
Men and women are designed differently by our Creator. Men are designed to be provider and protector of their family. The Savior is his model, who sacrificially laid down his life in love for His Bride. Women are designed to be helpmeet to their husband, to nurture their children. The Bride of Christ is her model, faithful to submit to and glorify her Head. Together, they train up their children to know our Creator, who made us male and female. Marriage and family were God's idea to demonstrate His sacrificial love of redemption for all those who would receive Him.
A lot is at stake in being faithful to the masculine and feminine roles God ordained. For many more than 50 years now in our nation, women have been encouraged to abandon all traditional feminine roles and instead, to compete with men. This revolution left many homes without mrtoc. This "liberation" has made whole generations of women to become men in women's bodies and produced more and more men who are anti-marriage. They don't want to compete! Sex is easily available outside marriage now since feminism took over, so that gives men one more reason they needn't marry.
What's a mrtoc to do? First, make peace with your own femininity. Ask God to show you how glorious it is to be a women made in His image, for His purposes. Eve was made out of man, for man and brought to man to be his helpmeet, because he needed a helpmeet, not a competitor.
Second, ask God to show you how to honor your husband. There are a myriad of ways to show him honor, and many other ways to dishonor him. Choose to practice the honoring ways and to neglect the dishonoring ways. Honoring your husband speaks louder than any words you will ever utter. Respecting your husband says to your boys that it is very good/valuable/important to be a man, husband, father taking care of his family. It says to your girls that being cherished by your husband is the best thing in the world!
Third, don't treat your children all the same. They are not neuter, all the same because they are immature. Each boy is a young man, each girl is a young woman. Yes, they all eat dinner and have other commonalities, but they have different destinies. Don't foster their competitiveness by treating them all the same. Set back in the 1800's, there is a story called Smiling Hill Farm we read in our home school. Progress brought a beautiful coach that traveled the roads around Smiling Hill Farm with mail and passengers. Every boy in those parts wanted to grow up to become the driver of that handsome coach. Matilda, who lived at Smiling Hill Farm, said she wanted to drive it too! But she was quickly reminded that women didn't drive coaches, only men. So she changed her desire and said she wanted to marry the driver of the coach and have him take her for a ride on it every Sunday afternoon! Today, we laugh, knowing, of course, that a woman could drive a coach. She could compete with men. But how could she be a mrtoc AND compete with men at the same time? She couldn't. Mrtoc are either important and very valuable and necessary, or they are not.
I was born in 1951. Girls wore dresses and wanted to be mommies, nurses or teachers. Boys wanted to be cowboys, soldiers, doctors. Girls played with dolls, made mud pies, played house. Boys wore pants, played with weapons, cars, erector sets. Girls played with girls and boys played with boys. The fall after I graduated high school in 1969, the dress code changed to let girls wear pants. Now, in 2012, it is considered flat out wrong to teach a girl to prepare to become a mrtoc (since it takes no skill at all!), or that becoming a professional will make becoming a mrtoc unlikely, not to mention that becoming a good helpmeet would be virtually impossible as well. Of course a woman CAN become a professional. But how much chance will her daughter have of becoming a good helpmeet or a mrtoc? And how likely is it that her son will find and marry a good helpmeet or a mrtoc?
Men and women are designed differently by our Creator. Men are designed to be provider and protector of their family. The Savior is his model, who sacrificially laid down his life in love for His Bride. Women are designed to be helpmeet to their husband, to nurture their children. The Bride of Christ is her model, faithful to submit to and glorify her Head. Together, they train up their children to know our Creator, who made us male and female. Marriage and family were God's idea to demonstrate His sacrificial love of redemption for all those who would receive Him.
A lot is at stake in being faithful to the masculine and feminine roles God ordained. For many more than 50 years now in our nation, women have been encouraged to abandon all traditional feminine roles and instead, to compete with men. This revolution left many homes without mrtoc. This "liberation" has made whole generations of women to become men in women's bodies and produced more and more men who are anti-marriage. They don't want to compete! Sex is easily available outside marriage now since feminism took over, so that gives men one more reason they needn't marry.
What's a mrtoc to do? First, make peace with your own femininity. Ask God to show you how glorious it is to be a women made in His image, for His purposes. Eve was made out of man, for man and brought to man to be his helpmeet, because he needed a helpmeet, not a competitor.
Second, ask God to show you how to honor your husband. There are a myriad of ways to show him honor, and many other ways to dishonor him. Choose to practice the honoring ways and to neglect the dishonoring ways. Honoring your husband speaks louder than any words you will ever utter. Respecting your husband says to your boys that it is very good/valuable/important to be a man, husband, father taking care of his family. It says to your girls that being cherished by your husband is the best thing in the world!
Third, don't treat your children all the same. They are not neuter, all the same because they are immature. Each boy is a young man, each girl is a young woman. Yes, they all eat dinner and have other commonalities, but they have different destinies. Don't foster their competitiveness by treating them all the same. Set back in the 1800's, there is a story called Smiling Hill Farm we read in our home school. Progress brought a beautiful coach that traveled the roads around Smiling Hill Farm with mail and passengers. Every boy in those parts wanted to grow up to become the driver of that handsome coach. Matilda, who lived at Smiling Hill Farm, said she wanted to drive it too! But she was quickly reminded that women didn't drive coaches, only men. So she changed her desire and said she wanted to marry the driver of the coach and have him take her for a ride on it every Sunday afternoon! Today, we laugh, knowing, of course, that a woman could drive a coach. She could compete with men. But how could she be a mrtoc AND compete with men at the same time? She couldn't. Mrtoc are either important and very valuable and necessary, or they are not.
I was born in 1951. Girls wore dresses and wanted to be mommies, nurses or teachers. Boys wanted to be cowboys, soldiers, doctors. Girls played with dolls, made mud pies, played house. Boys wore pants, played with weapons, cars, erector sets. Girls played with girls and boys played with boys. The fall after I graduated high school in 1969, the dress code changed to let girls wear pants. Now, in 2012, it is considered flat out wrong to teach a girl to prepare to become a mrtoc (since it takes no skill at all!), or that becoming a professional will make becoming a mrtoc unlikely, not to mention that becoming a good helpmeet would be virtually impossible as well. Of course a woman CAN become a professional. But how much chance will her daughter have of becoming a good helpmeet or a mrtoc? And how likely is it that her son will find and marry a good helpmeet or a mrtoc?
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Moms Raising Their Own Children: Example & Work
While I was visiting Keith and Bethany and their children at their home in Michigan this past week, I picked up a book about the myth of being able to have a full-time/outside the home career and children too and do it all well.
The author makes the point that it has done mothers who raise their own children an insulting disservice to label them "stay at home moms". What they really are is mothers raising their own children (mrtoc), an infinitely complex, demanding, fulfilling calling and occupation that each child's mother is best suited to because no one else loves her child like she does.
Mothers who raise their own children are as much like the daycare providers or babysitters, whom children who are being raised by other than their mothers are entrusted to several hours each day, as someone you pay to come in to clean your house is like a homemaker. Keeping a child safe, warm, dry, fed and entertained is a fraction of what a mother does for her children.
For example, mothers are constantly training their children by their example to be like themselves, to value what they value, to do what they do. They are teaching them limits and giving them areas to explore in great numbers of ways, all day long. Other children who are not related to them are not there to compete for their mother's attention. No, each mother's child is the apple of her eye, and she communicates that to them all day long in a huge variety of ways. Just this one aspect of mrtoc is reason enough to only entrust your children to childcare providers for a limited time each week. But there are many other important reasons as well. Here is one big one.
Work is what we are made for. Each successful adult in life is able to work at a variety of tasks that bring satisfaction and meaning as well as provision for his life. Being able to work is a skill that makes one responsible and able to be independent. Children who grow up cared for mothers and fathers who include them in many of the daily tasks necessary to keep body and soul together gain well-being and confidence that a child who has everything done for them and is left to play all day with peers will not develop. So a mrtoc having her toddler put the forks on, dry the unbreakable cups, help her make the bed, fold the washcloths, fix the meal, dust the bookcase or help her in the grocery store is doing a far-reaching service for that child. She is teaching him/her to work and that she/he is an important part of the family, necessary to its well-being. This is the kind of self-esteem you want a child to develop. Child care providers cannot do this, it being their very job to do everything for the child!
In future posts, we'll talk about children learning male and female identity, customized training according to each child's bent, basic obedience, spiritual training, playing outdoors and other home health practices, preparation for formal learning, pitfalls, living on a budget, how cool this is or isn't and much more. The riches mothers can impart to their own children in their own homes will take your breath away! Every sacrifice that is made to make this kind of home possible for your children is worth it!
I raised my own five children in my home, starting in 1979. I'm still learning how to do the things above with my youngest son who is 17 now. I was very encouraged by the book I mentioned. It made me proud of what I had done and am still doing. And it made me want to encourage every mother I know to raise their own children!
The author makes the point that it has done mothers who raise their own children an insulting disservice to label them "stay at home moms". What they really are is mothers raising their own children (mrtoc), an infinitely complex, demanding, fulfilling calling and occupation that each child's mother is best suited to because no one else loves her child like she does.
Mothers who raise their own children are as much like the daycare providers or babysitters, whom children who are being raised by other than their mothers are entrusted to several hours each day, as someone you pay to come in to clean your house is like a homemaker. Keeping a child safe, warm, dry, fed and entertained is a fraction of what a mother does for her children.
For example, mothers are constantly training their children by their example to be like themselves, to value what they value, to do what they do. They are teaching them limits and giving them areas to explore in great numbers of ways, all day long. Other children who are not related to them are not there to compete for their mother's attention. No, each mother's child is the apple of her eye, and she communicates that to them all day long in a huge variety of ways. Just this one aspect of mrtoc is reason enough to only entrust your children to childcare providers for a limited time each week. But there are many other important reasons as well. Here is one big one.
Work is what we are made for. Each successful adult in life is able to work at a variety of tasks that bring satisfaction and meaning as well as provision for his life. Being able to work is a skill that makes one responsible and able to be independent. Children who grow up cared for mothers and fathers who include them in many of the daily tasks necessary to keep body and soul together gain well-being and confidence that a child who has everything done for them and is left to play all day with peers will not develop. So a mrtoc having her toddler put the forks on, dry the unbreakable cups, help her make the bed, fold the washcloths, fix the meal, dust the bookcase or help her in the grocery store is doing a far-reaching service for that child. She is teaching him/her to work and that she/he is an important part of the family, necessary to its well-being. This is the kind of self-esteem you want a child to develop. Child care providers cannot do this, it being their very job to do everything for the child!
In future posts, we'll talk about children learning male and female identity, customized training according to each child's bent, basic obedience, spiritual training, playing outdoors and other home health practices, preparation for formal learning, pitfalls, living on a budget, how cool this is or isn't and much more. The riches mothers can impart to their own children in their own homes will take your breath away! Every sacrifice that is made to make this kind of home possible for your children is worth it!
I raised my own five children in my home, starting in 1979. I'm still learning how to do the things above with my youngest son who is 17 now. I was very encouraged by the book I mentioned. It made me proud of what I had done and am still doing. And it made me want to encourage every mother I know to raise their own children!
Monday, October 29, 2012
The Scope of Life
Yesterday when we arrived home from church, the sun was shining and the temperature was around 65 degrees. After weeks of cool rain, this was very welcome! We took a grateful, pleasant walk around the block going west of us before making dinner. The humidifiers are up and going round the clock now, bringing our indoor humidity above 50, making our sinus passages and all our wooden musical instruments very happy.
Today, again, it was near 70 and so sunny and beautiful-- Arthur, wearing his new skinny jeans, and I walked around the block going east of us. There are several nice houses for sale in this 50-year-old neighborhood so we prayed for people to buy them that would take good care of them and love the place like we do.
I'm prepared to be gone for more than two weeks to visit my new grand babies and their families in Michigan and in Colorado Springs. At the same time I was talking to Keith this afternoon on my cell phone about him picking me up at the airport in Detroit on Wednesday, Dennis was talking on his cell phone to Paul about Annie coming to stay with him during the Sandy storm hitting the east coast this day. Tonight we talked with them about the power going off and their location being central and high enough in the city to miss the flooding. Zach and Kaley's new baby is due any day now.
After work we drove over to Pasco to pick up some rancher steaks Dennis ordered. We discovered gas for sale for the amazingly low price of $3.59, so filled up my car. We ate our steaks on TV trays while watching one of the last episodes of Monk.
Last night we finished the rest of the tile in the beautiful bathroom remodel and planned to grout it all tonight. Dennis is out getting a tool from Home Depot to clean out the unwanted cement between the tiles, as the waters submerge parts of Manhattan far away. The election is just a week away. Work at Artmil is going well.
The scope of life here today is anything but small!
Today, again, it was near 70 and so sunny and beautiful-- Arthur, wearing his new skinny jeans, and I walked around the block going east of us. There are several nice houses for sale in this 50-year-old neighborhood so we prayed for people to buy them that would take good care of them and love the place like we do.
I'm prepared to be gone for more than two weeks to visit my new grand babies and their families in Michigan and in Colorado Springs. At the same time I was talking to Keith this afternoon on my cell phone about him picking me up at the airport in Detroit on Wednesday, Dennis was talking on his cell phone to Paul about Annie coming to stay with him during the Sandy storm hitting the east coast this day. Tonight we talked with them about the power going off and their location being central and high enough in the city to miss the flooding. Zach and Kaley's new baby is due any day now.
After work we drove over to Pasco to pick up some rancher steaks Dennis ordered. We discovered gas for sale for the amazingly low price of $3.59, so filled up my car. We ate our steaks on TV trays while watching one of the last episodes of Monk.
Last night we finished the rest of the tile in the beautiful bathroom remodel and planned to grout it all tonight. Dennis is out getting a tool from Home Depot to clean out the unwanted cement between the tiles, as the waters submerge parts of Manhattan far away. The election is just a week away. Work at Artmil is going well.
The scope of life here today is anything but small!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Mowing the grass, other stuff
When my sister was here a few weeks ago, she volunteered to mow the grass, which was very overdue to be mowed in the midst of all the remodeling chores. The last time I tried to mow was many years ago, and it was more than I could do. I therefore tried to discourage her, telling her how strenuous/taxing it is to push the mower. But she did it with no problem! I then figured out that we have acquired a new mower that is self-propelled since those many years ago when it was so hard. Today I mowed both yards while Dennis sanded the bathroom walls. As soon as we paint in there, he can finish laying the tile in the shower and behind the tub, then we can grout, then we can move the tub and sink in and USE THE NEW BATHROOM!
In the meantime, fall has fell and I am getting ready to visit both families of our new grandchildren, first in Michigan, then in Colorado. I've just read the book called Wheat Belly and understand now more fully why wheat free works for me. Dennis did get the laundry room walls finished and painted yesterday, so we put up the cabinets in there before going to the symphony last night. In the second half, the symphony expertly played dramatic music from Romeo and Juliet ballet suites by Prokofiev interspersed with scenes from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet performed by students from Richland High's drama dept. I was struck by how many of the lines from the classic balcony scene are now cliches in our everyday speech. It was impressive how they could deliver those lines without cracking up!
In the meantime, fall has fell and I am getting ready to visit both families of our new grandchildren, first in Michigan, then in Colorado. I've just read the book called Wheat Belly and understand now more fully why wheat free works for me. Dennis did get the laundry room walls finished and painted yesterday, so we put up the cabinets in there before going to the symphony last night. In the second half, the symphony expertly played dramatic music from Romeo and Juliet ballet suites by Prokofiev interspersed with scenes from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet performed by students from Richland High's drama dept. I was struck by how many of the lines from the classic balcony scene are now cliches in our everyday speech. It was impressive how they could deliver those lines without cracking up!
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