Lamentations 3:22-23

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end; 

they are new every morning; 

great is your faithfulness. 

:: July 25 ::

Here we are, smack dab in the middle of the summer, with Christmas being five months from today. I'm not enjoying the summer temperatures at all. Too hot, too humid, first too dry, and now wet.

Complain, complain, complain.

Ever have one of those days? Me too, except now I've had too many in a row.

Lunch Date

It's been 61 days since I started my 30 day vegan experiment. Up until today, I've had ice cream once, and salmon (in very small amounts), mixed with pasta, twice. As I said from the beginning, it's not that I'm morally opposed to eating meat, but when I do eat it, I want to know where it's coming from. No more supermarket variety. I want real, hormone and antibiotic-free, grass-fed meat. Around here, it's difficult to come by, and so I've stayed (mostly) vegan*.

During my experiment, Verne noticed he was feeling better and better, too. I didn't anticipate this happening, but was quite pleased when he stopped complaining of stomach troubles. He never took an interest in nutrition before, but was suddenly asking more questions, and agreed that eating at small, local eateries when he was traveling was better than eating at large chain-type restaurants. Again, in our area, those are difficult to come by.

BUT! Several months back, I was on Facebook one morning, and noticed that a friend had posted a link to a restaurant about an hour from us. This restaurant features local meat that met my criteria, fresh, local vegetables, and homemade breads and desserts. He raved about the food. But an hour is kinda far...

Today, Verne surprised me by driving me that hour for a lunch date. He's discovered that not only does he feel better when he eats local foods grown "like they should be", the food tastes better, too. He wanted me to enjoy some local fare as well.

We were quite surprised that we had to wait 30 minutes in this small town in the middle of nowhere at one o'clock in the afternoon to get a table. The wait was worth it.

What did I order?

A 1/3 pound burger made from fresh, local grass fed beef, topped with locally produced cheddar, roasted garlic mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, and grilled red onion on a buttermilk roll. Oh! And homemade fries. YUM! Boy, was I stuffed.



*I've also eaten our own eggs from time to time. 

A Respectable Start

Dresden Plate made. Floss colors chosen. 

Pattern marked. 

 I've cross-stitched. I've crocheted. I've quilted. 

But this? My very first embroidery project!

Inspired by jAne

In this post, I asked what you'd been cooking. jAne mentioned a pasta salad of sorts made with orzo. It sounded delicious, and didn't threaten to heat up the kitchen, so I made my own version. 

I cooked a pound of orzo pasta, and then doused it with ice water to stop the cooking, just as jAne suggested. To the pasta I added sliced black olives, minced garlic,  olive  oil, and balsamic vinegar. From there, the entire mess went into the refrigerator. For the next several days at lunch time I measured  out one cup of orzo, and to it I added diced sweet peppers, cucumbers, halved cherry tomatoes, and sliced baby Bella mushrooms to make a BIG heaping plate of food. I sprinkled a little more balsamic vinegar on everything just before serving, and topped it with Jane's Krazy Salt. Very appropriate, dontcha think? ;-)

A New Sewing Space

Because you asked, here are some photos of the room, completely organized. I think these photos turned out well, and reflect the true color of the walls unlike the photo from the floor post. 

Because we homeschool, a table in the room is a must. I can sew while the kids work on their studies. It also comes in handy during the evenings when Verne sets his work computer up, and I can do my thing. (See his computer bag sitting there on the floor?) Together, but each working separately. We're both happy and productive! The quilt above the table is this one. 

My work space consists of three tables. One for cutting, and two for sewing. You know, in case Abigail wants to sew, or I want to have a friend join me.

Verne moved my utility board and my design wall into the room for me.

I thought the walls needed a little something else, and so I'm tackling a new project. I just cut it out yesterday.

For some reason, Lucy was skeptical of the new floor. A pink throw rug was just the thing to lure her in. She happily lays here now.

Farmhouse Floor

When we moved into this house eight years ago, Autumn immediately chose this room as hers. I have to admit, as nice as our master bedroom is, I was jealous of that window, and all of the natural light. When Autumn moved out, Abigail thought she wanted this room, but has since changed her mind. Now, it's mine! My sewing room is being moved from the back of the house to the front where the sun shines brighter. The cathedral ceiling makes the room super inviting, too. 

We replaced the worn out carpet with this wonderful wide-planked farmhouse floor, following the directions from Frugal Farmhouse Design. We couldn't be happier with it. 

Now to get all of that fabric lugged from one end of the house to the other, and organized neatly. This is not the fun part. I can't wait to sew in here. 

Menu Planning

Simple, light meals surrounded by fruit, fruit, and more fruit. It's much too hot to cook. 

Have you made anything really good lately?