Goin' Bananas!

"There is rhythm to being a farmgirl.

It is the rhythm of working hard when there is work to be done.

It is the rhythm of finding joy in the "doing" of the work.

It is also the rhythm of slowing down to enjoy each moment."

Rene Groom

I promise the below story has more to do with bananas than with Jacob's Bible:

Jacob left his Bible at church a week ago.  A family picked it up and called us, letting us know they had brought it home.  They live pretty far away, so we were wondering how to get his Bible back.  The mom (Mom #1) ended up having an appointment near the area, but we were gone for the evening.  She decided to drop off Jacob's Bible with another mutual friend and church family member (Mom #2), and that lovely lady dropped off his Bible at our home for us.  In addition to Jacob's Bible, Mom #1 blessed Mom #2 and us with a whole lot of "going" bananas.  So when we arrived home that evening, Jacob's Bible and a plastic bag of very ripe bananas were sitting on our front porch.

I knew we wouldn't use all the bananas before they went bad.  Also, I had very little time for baking this week, so I couldn't even make huge batches of banana bread (my favorite).  I had heard that bananas freeze well, so that is what I decided to do.

I peeled the bananas and cut them in half, mostly because a few of the bananas were really bad and I threw out portions of certain bananas.  I laid halves of bananas together on Glad Press 'N Seal, since I still have some left and it seals things up nicely.

I pressed the plastic around each banana section, squeezing out as much air as I could.

After each section was sealed, I placed them all into a Tupperware container, which went into our freezer.

It's not a whole lot of bananas, but they'll do for smoothies and banana bread.  We kept some of the better bananas out and made banana blueberry smoothies for the guys.  I personally can't wait for banana bread.  It is one of the very few ways I'll eat a banana; I do not like them raw in any way, shape, or form.  'Tis true!  I love love love banana bread, and I have a banana cake recipe that is out of this world.  I love banana pancakes and banana muffins, too.  But I can't stomach just peeling a banana and eating it!  I'm so glad some of these bananas are earmarked for baking!


Back to life,
Christine

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Tea Talk -- The Generation of the Upright

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

To participate, click on Ruth's button above.

I'm having...a cup of coconut black tea, in my Gibson china tea cup.  I took this photo last week because I shared tea with...

...two of my "borrowed" daughters!  I'm so glad Helen lets me "borrow" them, especially for tea.

Gabrielle, Michelle, and I sharing tea time together!

I'm feeling...fine, and less overwhelmed than last week.

On my mind...is preparing for a trip!  I'll be gone for a mere seven days, which means I'll miss Tea Talk next week (no internet where I'm going!).  Though half the time I argue with myself that I should just stay home and try to get things done, a small voice tells me I need to go.  I will have precious chunks of time to read His Word, reflect, and pray, and even just sit and relax without distraction.  I'm definitely looking forward to that part of my trip.

I leave you with...the passage of Scripture that we are memorizing together for church.  What a promise the Lord has given us!

Praise the LORD!

How blessed is the man who fears the LORD,

Who greatly delights in His commandments.

His descendants will be mighty on earth;

The generation of the upright will be blessed.

Psalm 112:1-2 NASB

Gabrielle took this shot -- looking up into my drying cayenne peppers

May He be the spice in your week!


Back to life,
Christine

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A Happy Week

Last week was a happy week.  I know this because our anniversary was September 12, and I never posted this post!  I'm finally able to breathe a little--more on that later--so I'm posting this quick post (it was already a draft) so it's not embarrassingly overdue!

Fernando and I started the week by celebrating our anniversary.  He took me out to Francesca's at the Promenade, a yummy Italian restaurant close to home.

My husband is a gentleman.  :)

No more camera that evening.  We had a lovely dinner together, shared our food and great conversation, and shared a delicious dessert of profiteroles (think cream puff filled with pistachio ice cream, mmm).  We strolled on over to Helzberg Diamonds, since I received a card for a free pair of cultured pearl earrings.  Yes, they were free!  We had fun window-shopping for a bit, then continued walking around the block and back to our car.

Later in the week, Fernando surprised me with 24 roses--one for each year of marriage.

In addition to the red roses, he brought me a smaller bouquet of orange and yellow roses for my birthday.  Needless to say, he was extravagant.

Yes, it was a happy week indeed!


Back to life,
Christine

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Some "Sage" Advice

"There is rhythm to being a farmgirl.

It is the rhythm of working hard when there is work to be done.

It is the rhythm of finding joy in the "doing" of the work.

It is also the rhythm of slowing down to enjoy each moment."

Rene Groom

Thanks to Mary's blog and a few other websites, I decided to try drying some herbs.  I had never harvested the sage in my garden before, and just let the little plant grow each year.  But the leaves were so pretty this year, I figured it would be a good first attempt at drying.

Here is a nice pile of sage, all clean and dry and ready for processing.

All I needed was some string to tie the sage in little bundles.  I may have made the bundles too large, but again, this was my first attempt.  I still have a ton of herbs to harvest in my garden!

Fernando, dear heart, hung some long, thin wood pieces in our basement "bomb shelter and food storage" area.  I tied the sage bundles to them.

A few websites instructed me to place the bundled herbs in brown paper bags, and a few gave me permission to simply hang the herbs upside down to dry.  I don't have a lot of space for hanging, so I opted for simply hanging them.  Time will tell if this method really works--sources claim it takes about two weeks to fully dry herbs.  I also learned that high-moisture herbs such as basil do not dry well, so I went ahead this week and started processing my prolific basil for freezer storage.


Back to life,
Christine

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Tea Talk -- Content With What You Have

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

To participate, click on Ruth's button above.

I'm having...a glass of iced tea once again.  It's just a little warmer and nicer out, and this may be my last glass of iced tea for a while.  I'm so glad I had lemons in the fridge!  My glass is a garage-sale find for 20 cents, and it feels nice in my grip.  I took this photo a week or so ago, right after I canned a small batch of jalapeños and homemade salsa.

I'm feeling...good after feeling a little "icky" last week.  I guess hormonal changes are normal at this stage of life!

On my mind...is helping Danny get his driver's license.  I'm getting worn down accompanying him to school three days a week.  At least I get concentrated time with Thomas (he goes with me) while he gets his schoolwork done, plus I have a little time while waiting, so I can read or work on my schedule.  Here's a shot from last week's college time.  What fun to be sitting with Thomas and see Lori's son Bryan walk by.  We had a great time chatting together before he had to go to class.

I leave you with...a quote taken from the book, Organized Simplicity, that you see in the above photo.  I have much to ponder about further simplifying my life!

We don't need to increase our goods

nearly as much as we need to scale down our wants.

Not wanting something is as good as possessing it.

Donald Horban

And a "corresponding" quote from my favorite book:

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money,

being content with what you have; for He Himself has said,

"I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you."

Hebrews 13:5 NASB

Variegated beard-tongue in my front yard garden

Back to life,
Christine

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Beauty in Autumn

"There is rhythm to being a farmgirl.

It is the rhythm of working hard when there is work to be done.

It is the rhythm of finding joy in the "doing" of the work.

It is also the rhythm of slowing down to enjoy each moment."

Rene Groom

I'm linking up with Lori's Friday Farm Girls @ Heart today.

Normally, I post my flower photos over on my photography blog, but today, I was musing on the beauty that I've seen this autumn season so far.  Even as the warmth of summer fades, veggies are harvested, and flowers begin to fade, I can find beauty in the Lord's creation.

I'm starting off at my home, below.  We have a pie-wedge yard, with the point in the back, so our very long front extends from the edge of white fence on the left all the way to the edge of the brown wood fence on the right.  There is lots of grass to mow!

Below shows one of my gardens, which the guys helped build.  I've shown it before, but it sure looks pretty this day as the sun nears its setting.

This is my new "dirt pile" garden, near the walkway to the front porch of the house.  Earlier this summer, I transplanted all these flowers from the above garden to this pile of dirt.  The Asiatic lilies have died back, but the Russian sage has bloomed in its pretty purple array.

Detail of Russian sage

I found a dianthus flower, as well as my variegated beard-tongue, still blooming in the first garden.

And in my back yard, I enjoyed spotting the fruit of my cherry tomato plant.  Most of my cherry tomatoes never made it into the house; I usually popped them into my mouth as I worked the garden.  (Shh--I didn't wash them first!)

Lori spotted this huge guy in her green peppers one afternoon.  I've never seen one bigger, and he kept turning around and looking at Lori, who was behind him!

I'm so thankful to the Lord that He gave us this season of warmth, with all of its color and beauty, for us to stop and savor up for the winter.  Just as I can my tomatoes and other vegetables, to "save up" for the long winter, I am trying to save up the warmth and beauty and color of summer to enjoy all winter long.

I'm also thankful that the Lord allowed me precious time to stop and linger over His creation.  Amid our hectic autumn schedule, He gave me peaceful moments.  Thank You, Lord, for slowing me down just a bit!


Back to life,
Christine

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Tea Talk -- Tranquil and Quiet

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

To participate, click on Ruth's button above.

Totally just for fun--the driver of this vehicle stopped at our garage sale a few weeks ago!

I'm having...black currant rooibos, bought at our farmers market from the Spice Merchant and Tea Room, in my Gibson china teacup.  Alas, I broke my Portmeirion china mug from our Vero Beach trip, so it is no more.  Why do we get emotionally attached to things?  [Well, it's gone, and enough of that, now, Christine.]

I'm feeling...better and rested after suffering stomach distress of some sort late through the night Monday, then on Tuesday.  I did have a wonderful time with Fernando on Monday; he took me out to eat for our 24th anniversary!  We had a great time together, lots of conversation as usual, and some really delicious food at Francesca's at the Promenade.  Maybe that tummy thing was something I ate, but everything was mmm, mmm, good!

On my mind...is getting some good walking shoes for winter.  I'm laughing that this is what is actually on my mind.  But I have two pairs of two-year-old shoes that make my feet hurt if I walk for any length of time.  Now that the weather has decided it was autumn, my feet have been cold.  Even with the cold, though, I haven't wanted to wear either socks or shoes!  I've been wearing ergonomic flip-flops outside, and after freezing at Danny's college Wednesday morning, I decided that good new shoes were more of a necessity than simply a desire.  Praise the Lord that our garage sale proceeds and budget money are enough to purchase a quality pair.  Soon I'll have happy feet!

I leave you with...I always try to share a passage of Scripture that has been meaningful to me recently.  Today, though, I'd like to first share a quote I read in a book I'm reading (in the photo above) called Organized Simplicity.  The quote begins the chapter regarding money being a tool, and goes like this:

There is no dignity quite so impressive,

and no independence so important,

as living within your means.

Calvin Coolidge

Though this quote speaks to finances, it also speaks to other areas of my life in which I'm "overspending:"  time, and accumulation of stuff.  Am I booking so much into my calendar that I have no time for family, friendships, or even rest?  Have I been accumulating so many things--whether physical stuff or worry/cares--that meaningful time with the Lord is crowded out with concern for other things, or taking care of/cleaning/maintaining my stuff?  These are questions I've been using to check the simplicity (or lack of) of our family's lifestyle.  Sure, we homeschool.  Sure, we're together a lot.  Sure, we've cultivated family and other relationships.  But recently, busy schedules and a realization of just how much stuff we have actually amassed has me questioning--can we simplify?  I think we can.  This book has helped so far.  :)

Now for the appropriate Scripture.  :)  This Scripture references prayer for all men, and those in authority, so that...

...so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life

in all godliness and dignity.

1 Timothy 2:2b NASB

That seems to fit with a life of simplicity, doesn't it?  I'm not only longing for it, I'm beginning to plan and work for it, too.  I'm getting excited about it.  :)

Detail of flower at my friend Patsy's home

Back to life,
Christine

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Family Date Night!

Labor Day weekend started out with a two-day multi-family garage sale in our driveway.  Temps were in the 90s and it was very humid, but we survived.  Barely.

And everyone made money!  We celebrated having a great garage sale by having a family date at Andy's on Sunday.  Isn't this a wonderful sign to see?  It beckons us to come on in and have some yum.  :)

Now this is what life is all about:  family, together, and ice cream.  A great combination.  This is tongue-in-cheek humor, of course.  And tongue-licking lips, and lip-smacking good.  :)

Sun in their eyes

Our yum-yum, waiting for us behind the window...

Fernando thinks he has to look at the camera whenever I take a picture.  Jacob is simply goofing off.

See?  Lots of fun, laughter, and yummy in our tummy.

Thomas paid for a root beer out of his own money so he could make his own root beer float.

Best brothers and buds, sharing a seat.

This is what frozen custard does to our boys.  They're pretty normal otherwise...

The more serious-but-still-slightly-goofy brother picture.

I love my family.


Back to life,
Christine

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