10:30 on a Monday mornin'.

...and I was allowed to sleep in till 9:30, viewing the nature of our weekend. :) All the goats have had their kids! We are now up to nine (?) goats so I suspect selling some of them will be in the plans for the near future.

Let's see....Daisy had Emma and Harriet...(who is not so docile as her name leads you to believe. :P)

...Dove followed suit with a great big boy they dubbed Flynn Ryder. :)

And just this morning Lizzy had a girl that is yet nameless. :) But this is to be a post of catching-up-miscellany. It has no real topic, which is why it was difficult for me to find a name for the post. :P First off, I wanted to post a picture that just about sums up my theory on the subject of the sort of chap I'd love to marry. (as far as trivialities go. :)

Because what could be better than a gentleman in blue jeans? Nothin'. :) The trip down to North Carolina was great and uneventful, though my bum requires much standing up today to counteract all the sitting down of yesterday. We drove an 1 1/2 hours to their church, then to lunch, then to A.C. Moore with Annabeth to get the ribbon and tulle Sarah and I need to make her pew-bows for the wedding, then back to the church. Then we drove to Annabeth's brother-in-law's house to drop her off and pick up Daniel, then we drove 1 1/2 hours back to the Taylors, and finally another 2+ hours home again, home again, jiggity-jig. :D But it was all worth it. I think the wedding shower was a great success and I got to see the two girls' whose hair I have been put in charge of doing for the wedding. I love doing hair and I think I'm a fair hand at it--I understand face-shapes and what styles look best with that face so that there is no looking bald or looking poodle-ish. :D I've done hair for  graduations and for a flower-girl at a wedding, but I'm looking forward to doing some bridesmaids for real. It will be so much fun.

Last but certainly not least [and I put it down here because I wanted to leave you on this note] I wanted to show you a simply wonderful song we sang in worship time at the Taylor's church yesterday. I've sung it several times there and it has blessed me every time. :)

♫"These guilty hands I raise, filthy rags are all I bring and I have come to hide beneath Your wings. These holy hands I raise, washed in the fountain of Your grace, and now I wear Your righteousness." ♫

Have a beauteous, blessed Monday, everyone! Tell me, what are your plans for the week? :)

I'm off to Bermuda...uh...North Carolina.

Daniel, Sarah, and I are off to North Carolina to visit The Abigail Taylor. Though this visit has a bit of a purpose. You see, these Darlings are getting married:

Sam and Annabeth <3

And the Darling Chap is The Abigail Taylor's brother. There is going to be a bridal shower on Sunday afternoon. We are involved a bit in the wedding so that means that every weekend for three weekends in a row, this Troublesome Trio is going to be swamping Taylordom. Yeah! We love the Taylors [and I hope the feeling's mutual ;) ] so the idea that I get to see my onliest Abigail Taylor 3 weeks outta four gives me a lovely wriggle of excitement. :) 

Why do I love Marybelle so? 

Let me count the ways...She sits on cows, for one thing. :D Something only the boldest of desperadoes does. ;)

^ She does that to her hair...and then does this so I can see the Avonlea-esque effect of the afters. :D

She's a darling she's a...a...something, she's a lamb! ;) And I can't wait to see her. :)

All set to go to the Civil War ball last year. :)

Family Portraits: Noodleblonde

You all don't know my family that well yet. Of course you have probably read my "Lovely Family" page of this blog, but a line about each person isn't sufficient for you to know them. :) Thus I am going to go through the members of the great big family God has given me, (in no particular order) and let them have their fifteen minutes of fame. After all, how can you really know me unless you know the people I'm around 24-7? It just doesn't compute.

This is the sister right below me: Sarah. Alias Noodleblonde. Alias Cece

You will know her as...Sarah or the Nocturnal Why, depending on which of our blogs you've been reading. Sarah and I have a special relationship. We are [nearly] complete opposites, and yet this is why we fit so nicely together. I tend to be a dreamer, a wisher, a hoper. Sarah tends to be practical--more concerned with figuring out how it will happen than deciding that it should happen.

She is a quiet debater, as anyone who stays up late with her will find out: Why? Why is the moon sometimes invisible at night? What direction is North? How do you know?

Which brings me to the second point. Sarah is a night-owl. She squirms when anyone mentions early bedtimes.

Sarah loves coffee (we are united in this.) and making unheard of projects like Black Forest Cake.

She's always up for a challenge and will do something just because someone doubted her ability to do it.

She always wins the no-smiling-no-blinking game.

She always wins the wish-bone tug-of-war when we make chicken or turkey.

Sarah is an excellent photographer and documents our life and God's beauty with her...her...oh yeah.  Konika Minolta. (Or something like that. :P)

I can always count on Sarah to find the best pins on Pinterest before me so that I have to re-pin all of her pins. ;)

I can always count on her to understand my random train of thought.

She can carry on a conversation with me made up (mostly) of period-drama quotes.

She anticipates my reaction to things so that I don't feel the need of reacting. ;)

She has a gift in music.

She is my Coastal-baking buddy and is not afraid to belt out songs in her man-voice so that my own  softer soprano can carry the girl-part.

She deciphers my unofficial sign-language as if she was fluent in it. (I believe she is.)

Another lesson I often learn from Sarah is that of being silent. She isn't an introvert by any means, and yet she isn't always the one talking. Sarah has a spirit of cheerfulness and gratefulness that is always inspiring to me. She's up for a challenge so whatever the trial of the moment is, we can generally count on her to roll up her sleeves and step right in. She has that gift of being still and knowing that He is God. She is the Mary in the moments where I'm feeling like Martha. She challenges me to enjoy the little things in life constantly. 

Oh. She's also good with money. So good she won't spend it. 

That's a bit of Sarah, and that's only part of why I love her so much! :) 

DIY Face-Mud Sugar Scrub!

I made face-mud last night! For Christmas my aunt made sugar-scrubs for the girls and I. They were flavored (er...scented? I always end up tasting it :P) peppermint and lavender, and I loved them to pieces. Somehow it doesn't seem right to be rubbing your face with more oil than is already there, but I consistently saw improvement in my complexion and softening of my skin. :)

But then my sugar-scrub ran out.

And then I joined Pinterest.

And then I found a picture of face-mud and it intrigued me. What was it? From the picture I assumed one simply scrounged up some sand and soil and all that and rubbed then on their face. I mean...dirt has minerals, right? Or so my train of thought chugged along. So I did a quick Google search and found out that face-mud is actually a form of sugar-scrub.

"Ohyesocourse" (pssst. That's said in a Mr. Darcy voice, you know.)

Of course once I saw how easy the project was I knew I had to make it. Face-mud is a sugar-and-coffee scrub! Oh yeah! Perfect. I love sugar and I love coffee...and I know my skin will too. ;) adelynStone has complete instructions on the making of Face-mud. You can find them here if you want the whole to-do, but I'll go on and tell you how I did it. :)

DIY Face-Mud:

• 1 cup sugar (I used brown but you can use white, natural, cane, etc.)
• 5 Tbs. ground coffee (not de-caf. The caffeine is part of the skin benefit. :)
• 1/4 cup oil (olive, canola, etc.)
• 1 tsp. peppermint extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix sugar and coffee together. Mix oil and extracts together. Add dry to wet ingredients and stir till moistened. If too soupy, add more coffee or sugar. Store in Tupperware containers.

It's that easy, and it smells divine! I used mine last night and went to bed smelling heavenly. I will warn you though, the coffee-grounds make rather a mess in the sink so be sure you rinse it out well after washing your face! This was such a fun (and cheap) project and would make an excellent gift for a coffee-loving friend. :)

It's up you New York! New York! :)

This post is in honor of two of my heart-dearest friends who are trotting off to New York City without me. ;) I hope they are going to have a fantabulous time and that they will come home and tell me oodles and oodles about this bucket-list destination of mine! :) I know Mare and Jo are going to dazzle NYC with their beauty, sophistication, and down-to-earth Virginian-ness. Have a blast, girls!

Mare and Jo are three and four from the left. :) 

♫"Start spreadin' the news...I'm leavin' today..."

"..I want to be a part of it--New York, New York..."

"These vagabond-shoes are longin' to stray..."

"...Right to the very heart of it--in old New York..."

"I wanna wake up in the city that doesn't sleep..."

"...To find I'm King of the Hill, top of the heap."

"These little-town blues are meltin' away..."

"I'll make a brand new start of it in old New York..."

"...If I can make it there I'll make it anywhere!"

"It's up to you! New York! New York!!!"♫

Little Letters: April Edition

Dear Yeast: you are hyper-active.

Dear Chocolate Chunk Cookies: Why are you so delicious? 

Dear Battle of the Bands: Paid in Full is going up against only 2 other bands--be kind and let them win. :)

Dear New York City: I know two of my best friends and visiting you, but wait for me!

Dear Broadway: I will visit you one day--you're on my bucket-list.

Dear Plot Bunny: You're a darling and I hope you'll stay on for good.

Dear Mail-Carrier: Bring something interesting, pretty please.

Dear Knock-out Roses: You're blooming again! Hallelujah--I missed you.

Dear Weather: You are behaving in a way that would astonish and charm the most dedicated mood-swinger.

Dear Portrait of a Lady: Don't turn Isabel Archer into anything...unnatural. 

Dear Eyes: I wish you weren't so fixed upon having astigmatism. It makes for a rather expensive contact-lense that I haven't had the margin to buy in 2 1/2 years. :(

Dear Levi: You are adorable. That's all.

Dear Someday-Man of Mine: I love you and I'm waiting for you. <3

Dear Sourdough-starter: You're hyper too. You and that yeast. Sheesh.

Dear Library: I wish you hadn't blocked my card. Yeah, I didn't pay the fine yet but...but...it's monetarily impossible at this moment! :D

The Sourdough Challenge!

I am in a dreadfully perverse mood recently. I don't know what it was bred of but it makes me feel rather strongly like doing strangely unaccountable things like...adopting a pair of white ducks to do paintings of, (Me, who hasn't picked up her brush in a month or two entire!) or make cheese or (and this is the point on which this whole post is orbiting...)

Make Sourdough bread.

This has a logical path. We were given some free sourdough bread and it was made with white flour. I try to avoid white flour...I really do. But Sourdough is my one weakness. I broke under the pressure of Trying Not To. ;) I cut the slices very very thinly and toasted them, buttered them, and had myself some Secret-Toast with a hot cup of tea.

"Evangeline, may I have some secret-toast-and-jam?"
"Most certainly not."
"Alright--forget the jam--just some secret toast?"

(Forgive me for quoting Nanny McPhee in a moment like this. ;) I decided I had to remedy the situation. After all, must the White-Flour-Eaters have all the sourdough? No. Never. I flatly refused. So after imibibing in the Secret-toast and tea, I betook myself to the laptop and rummaged up a Sourdough Starter Recipe.

And this is where the challenge begins. I'm starting my starter tonight. (And making it whole wheat.) Will you girls begin a starter too? It "brews" for 5-10 days and at the end of the time if you don't feel like continuing with the sourdough, just toss it--it is rather a cheap experiment anyhow! :)

The recipe I found was from a fabulous little website I just tripped over called Chickens in the Road. I think it and me are going to be good friends by-and-by. (And no, it had nothing to do with the fact that I found a recipe for Apple-lilac jelly. No indeed.)

Here, my fellow Butchers, Bakers, and Candlestick-makers, are the Brewery Instructions:

Sourdough Starter(from www.chickensintheroad.com)
1 Tbs. yeast (not rapid-rise)
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 additional cups warm water
1 Tbs. honey or sugar
Mix the yeast with the 1/2 cup warm water in a non-metal container. Mix with other ingredients and stir well. Pour into a non-metal bowl or jar. (This starter will poof and grow so provide for plenty of room for fluffery.) Cover with cheesecloth and leave on the counter for 5-10 days. Stir 2 or 3 times a day.

That's the basic recipe I found on the website and there are further instructions in The Post itself. I will be posting about the next step in 5 or 10 days so stay tuned! Will you join with me in the Sourdough Challenge? Pretty pretty please? :) Leave me a comment telling me if you are being darlings and doing this Sourdough Challenge with me! :)

A Song for your Sunday :)

This song is the beautiful, poignant prayer that my soul cries every day to my Redeemer. I love it when a song's melody matches it's subject and words, and Michael W. Smith's "Lord Have Mercy" is one of those songs for me. :) It's like a modern-day Psalm in a way.

"Lord have mercy"

Michael W. Smith

Jesus, I've forgotten the words that You have spoken

Promises that burned within my heart have now grown dim

With a doubting heart I follow the paths of earthly wisdom

Forgive me for my unbelief

Renew the fire again

Chorus

Lord have mercy

Christ have mercy 

Lord have mercy on me

I have built an altar where I worship things of men

I have taken journeys that have drawn me far from You

Now I am returning to Your mercies ever flowing

Pardon my transgressions

Help me love You again

Repeat Chorus

I have longed to know You and Your tender mercies

Like a river of forgiveness ever flowing without end

I bow my heart before You in the goodness of Your presence

Your grace forever shining

Like a beacon in the night

The Doorstep of the Ever-After

Our speaker at the Girls' Retreat covered a wide variety of topics. However her talk the first night stood out to me as my "nugget" for the weekend.

She spoke of the fact that there are many unknown things ahead in our lives. The temptation is to fear and hold fast to our own desires because we fear that God's desires are not as good as our own. We are like little children who are holding fast to our own plans and hopes and dreams because our faith is too small to see what our Father holds behind His back, waiting for us to open our arms to Him so that He can give it to us.

“God never witholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call good. God's refusals are always merciful -- "severe mercies" at times but mercies all the same. God never denies us our hearts desire except to give us something better.” -Elisabeth Elliot

She spoke of fear as an apprehension before the need has arisen. Thus we worry that God will not bring us a husband when we wouldn't exactly know what to do with him if we had one! We worry that when we do get married our husband will die and we'll  be left a widow. We worry that our house will be foreclosed on. We worry, worry, worry, worry and are left with empty hands and hearts in the end.

What is it that makes us worry so? It is from a misunderstanding of our true God. As 1 Corinthians 10:5 says, we must take "captive every thought to the obedience of Christ." We can't leave our understanding of God up to how we feel God is. We must learn to know Him from what He says of himself through His word.

With that foundation we can surely learn from the Israelites that the God who takes care of us today will take care of us tomorrow. God doesn't change like a shifting shadow. He is a constant--the beautiful Rock on which we build our faith. As I listened to Mrs. Cloudt speaking on this strain, the Lord brought to mind a piece of Ann Voskamp's 1,000 Gifts book. She writes that the very word "manna"--that miracle of the Lord to His people in the desert literally means "What is it?" And yet they gave thanks for the "What is it?" every day of those 40 years.
It put me in mind of God's plan for my life. I won't know God's plans. I mightn't even understand them half the time. And yet if I can say with my heart on my lips, "Thank you, Lord, for the what-is-it?" I have understood in part the joy to be found in Christ.

As Mrs. Cloudt says, "It is not that the trials will not come, but God will give us the strength to withstand."

We have the power of heaven and earth at our back and we shiver and shrink before the Unknown as if it were a precipice and we dangled above Hell's doorstep. We forget the palm of the Hand that cups us. We forget His mercies and His grace. We forget everything because we are so stupidly focused on the here and now. We exchange or immortal souls for mortal minds with their worries and cares.

"We must live for eternity---that life is more real than this," Mrs. Cloudt said.

And it's true. This is only the title-page of our ever-after life. It is the prelude to the real song. It is only the doorstep to the palace of Heaven. Hold fast, girls. Hold fast to Jesus Christ and His perspective on the world, and things will fall as they ought. He has not left us to fend for ourselves or beat through the briars. He has not forgotten us or ignored us. He is just waiting for us to loosen our sweaty, grimy grip on life so He can pour His blessings into our lap and sing over us.

The Child Must Learn To Spell...

I was making dinner this evening and through the din of trays sliding in and out of the oven I hear Abby filling up a pitcher of water and shouting at Churchill. (The puppy)

"What on earth are you doing?" I called to her.

She shrugged. "Just getting water for that G-O-D."

Oy vay. "What do they teach them in these schools?" Guess I need to be giving Abigail some more intensive spelling lessons...? ;)

Movie Night: Wives and Daughters

The title little lets on the subtle, sweeping drama that underlies this sweet film. I read Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters a year or two ago, so you can imagine my delight when a friend introduced me to the film version not long after. (Wives and Daughters 1999, BBC)

Molly Gibson played by Justine Waddell

Molly Gibson, sweet, unassuming, and full of a fierce loyalty to her father, lives in the little town of Hollingford with little to vex her. Her mother died when she was very young so she and her father are best friends and companions. It seems everything will continue on in its simple, happy way...that is, until the story gains a Cinderella twist.

Father and Daughter... :) So sweet.

Mr. Gibson (Bill Paterson) makes an ill-advised marriage to a foolish, silly-minded woman: Hyacinth Clare Kirkpatrick. (Francesca Annis) He thinks it a very good idea--after all, with the young men beginning to buzz around Molly, what is he to do? So he proposes to the former governess of Lord and Lady Cumnor's daughters, and life for Molly is forever changed.

In the meantime Molly has befriended the old and established family at Hamley Hall: Squire Hamley (Michael Gambon), the cheerful but ill Mrs. Hamley (Penelope Wilton) and their two sons: Osborne (Tom Hollander) and Roger Hamley (Anthony Howell). Molly is attracted to Roger for his good sense and gentleness to her during the trial of gaining a new mother. (and such a woman!) They strike up a sweet, brother-sister friendship, and Molly begins to feel the delights of being loved by such a sweet, old-blooded family. After all, Molly is a little shy and a bit of a loner herself so she and Roger who is not his mother's favorite child are a natural pair. :)

Tom Hollander as the poetry-writing Osborne Hamley

In the next few weeks Molly's sweet spirit conquers her prejudice over her father's wife, Mrs. Gibson, though the selfishness of her new mother is nearly unbearable at times, especially when it interferes with Molly's ministrations and visits to the invalid Mrs. Hamley. But there is little time to bemoan her lot--Molly is not that kind of a girl anyway--for Mrs. Gibson's daughter, Cynthia Kirkpatrick is coming home to Hollingford after being away at school for a number of years.

L-R: Mr. Gibson, Mrs. Gibson, Cynthia, and Molly

When Cynthia arrives, Molly is befuddled and a bit confused at the mixture of candidness and reserve, charm, and reticence that her new sister shows.

All of Hollingford is soon charmed by the beautiful Miss Kirkpatrick (Keeley Hawes) with her wit and vivacious spirit. She is new and unique and utterly capable of bewitching the heart and soul of the pokey old town.

Molly loves Cynthia in her unquestioning way, but there is something strange going on. A secret somewhere about. Thrown into the charming Cynthia's shadow, Molly continues loving her family, the Hamleys, and the other folk in the little English country-town.

But Molly's is not to be an entirely happy, sunny lot. She learns a secret of Osborne Hamley--a secret that could jeopardize his inheritance because of his father's prejudice and she has sworn not to tell. Her beloved Mrs. Hamley dies, widening the rift between Osborne and Squire Hamley. Cynthia is consistently charming away every suitor that comes for Molly. But the chief thorn in Molly's crown is one that she tries not to mind because of her love for both parties involved:

Roger Hamley is deeply in love with Cynthia and has proposed directly before leaving for Africa. Molly's heart is broken  but she is too generous and loving to hang onto her jealousy. She will continue loving both Roger and Cynthia while burying her own feelings.

But the horizon grows even dimmer. Cynthia does not appear to love Roger the way she ought and demands their engagement remain a secret, yet she clings to her promise of marrying him with a vengeance that little matches the way she speaks of him. It almost appears to Molly that she is marrying him as an escape from...something.

Cynthia unaccountably breaks off her engagement with Roger Hamley and tells Molly her deep secret: She has long been engaged to another man--a cruel, heartless man who "loves" her so much she has become his obsession.

Osborne Hamley dies and Molly is left with the difficult task of being the confidante of two different people with deep, complicated secrets, unable to relieve her heart by telling them to anyone else. It is up to her to bring everything back to where it ought to be, all while denying her own heart that longs for Roger as Cynthia's never could. But trouble comes knocking on Molly's door as she tries to help. Her good name and character begin to be questioned by the busy-bodies of Hollingford. Everyone begins suspecting Molly of some scandal involving the man she is trying to rid Cynthia of. Only Lady Harriet (Rosamund Pike) who has long been a patroness of little Molly Gibson believes she is innocent and does everything in her power to set things straight.

Will it all come right? Will Molly, Cynthia, Roger, and all the rest of this cast live happily ever after? I will not say. I will not promise anything, for you must be surprised. But I will tell you that everything turns out as it ought to, including the sweetest non-physical proposal you've ever seen!

Cons: I imagine there is a bit of British language in this movie, though I can't recall exactly. Osborne Hamley is seen in bed without his shirt on. Cynthia in particular wears several rather low-necked dresses. She is a bit of a flirt, as well.

Pros: This movie has a simplicity and yet complexity about it that works well with the setting of an old feudal town in the English countryside. Molly is one of the most upstanding, loveable, and truly good heroines in period drama. (Second only, perhaps, to Esther Summerson or Amy Dorrit) Her purity and innocence are refreshingly show-cased next to Cynthia's worldly-wise womanliness.
Roger and Molly's relationship (for yes, of course they get together at the end! :) is sweet, innocent, and utterly cheer-worthy.

Tears mixed with rain...so sweet!

The proposal is Mama's hands-down favorite.

Love this scene where Roger (not shown) realizes his little Molly-sister has grown up!

You will find this movie a leisurely, yet emotional drama of the complexity of family and small-town life. You will laugh, cry, cheer, and want to hurl the DVD cover at several people's heads. But I assure you, Wives and Daughters will become a beloved piece of your heart, even though it is not as showy and flashy as some of the other "great" films. :) <3

Wasps' nests, anyone? ;)

I would have included some quotes from this darling movie, but unfortunately, imdb.com had only two, and those really had very little to do with the best parts of the movie! You shall simply have to watch Wives and Daughters for yourself as soon as possible to get the full effect! :)