Thankful for Where We Live

Where we live in Virginia we are only an hour from the University of Virginia, 30 minutes from Liberty University and countless other colleges in Lynchburg. But, a little gem hidden in the woods only 15-20 minutes from our house is Sweet Briar College. Yes, 15 minutes from the house is very close for where we live!

This college is an all girls school that is hidden away in the woods and has an expansive campus, with horse stables and many hiking trails. And the locals are welcome to come and use the campus and enjoy all that is available.

We were recently able to get Faith into their dance classes. As an opportunity for their dance major students to get teaching experience, they provide dance classes. So once a week she goes to dance class for an hour and I've been able to enjoy their new indoor track that is in the building right next door.

(Forgive the quality of my phone camera, and my desire to not slow my pace.)

Although most days I love where we now live, secluded and remote, the biggest adjustment and frustration has been where we live, secluded and remote. It's the little things like enjoying the Sweet Briar Campus that make me thankful where we live.

Thank you Lord for the little things!

Things Old and New

Mike and I finally found a table for our deck that we both agreed on and it was a good price. I think it looks really good with the umbrella and chairs we already owned. We probably won't be eating Thanksgiving dinner around it, but I'm finding it is a nice place to sit with my cup of tea and lap top this morning.

Down the other end of the deck, just off the master bedroom, you can see we invested in a......... jacuzzi tub! Well for now this as close as it's gonna get!!

What can I do for Mother Mary?

When Mike and I bought our first house there was one purchase we made that was the most important, a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We bought her with as much pride as our new home and placed her in our garden on the day of the closing.

Here she is several years later in our 2nd home and looking a little worn.

I would really like to freshen her up with new paint and little cost, does anyone have any recommendations? I would really like to get her spruced up before May.

Is it worth the effort?

Hanging laundry on the clothes line? Am I saving money on the electric bill? I don't do every load, because my family really hates the towels when they've been hung on the line so I'm not really sure it helps to only do a few loads a week.

I have some friends back in New England that actually run clothes line in their basement and hang all their laundry all winter long there. They are completely convinced this is a benefit for one reason or another. Some conservationists think it is an essential way to "save the earth".

My brother-in-law is dead set against any laundry hanging out on the line. He thinks it makes your house look like a ghetto apartment. Now that we live out in the middle of no where without anyone driving by the house that isn't a real issue for me.

It does offer a schedule on the laundry chore. Instead of it being an interruption in the schedule of the day to stop and fold laundry when the dryer rings, the laundry gets hung first thing in the morning and taken down later in the day before dark.

Weigh in with your thoughts.

Catching Up & A Thankful Woman

On the home front:

In our house in CT we had lots of books. I believe most home school families do. The shelves those books occupied however were really nothing to write home about. They were purchased on the cheap, as we needed, as we expanded. It was a real hodge podge of a mess. So, when Mike and I were planning the move we believed it was just crazy to spend the money on the movers to move the bookshelves that were really of low quality. Now that we've been in our new house just over a year, the only thing really left in boxes are the thousands of books that had no home.

Our family room is finally being used as it should be and one missing link to that room were the books on bookshelves. My wonderfully creative husband bought some materials and put together an awesome book shelf. He keeps reminding me he isn't a carpenter nor does he have proper tools for such projects, but I think he did a wonderful job!

Now I will have to get to work unpacking those boxes!

In the knitting bag:

The yarn shop Woolworks in Connecticut had a store wide sale this past weekend and the store owner, and good friend, Jen allowed me to partake. I replenished my always depleting sock yarn supply. Any of my knitting readers out there should definitely consider calling her up and placing an order, the variety of yarn and prices are spectacular. Have yet to find a shop that can compare anywhere. Here is what I got:

Have another pair of socks on the needles for my sister Laura to give as a Christmas gift. These will be in the mail to her by the end of the week.

Just a footnote to these socks (pardon the pun) if you've never worked with Comfort Sock yarn from Berocco, don't hesitate. It is sooo super soft and is a great price.

A Thankful Woman:

My list of 5 things for this week:

• My husband's ability to hunt. His hobby of hunting provides our family with meat in our freezer and to feed our hungry bellies. (Wish my knitting had the same benefits.)
• My knitting. It doesn't feed any hungry bellies, but I pray it shows my love to those who receive it.
• My chickens. They give us an abundance of eggs and more hours, than I care to admit, of entertainment.
• My belief in God. Not quite sure how people without this can function in their lives.
• My love of baking and cooking meals for my family. This makes a huge part of my job that much easier.

5mart Martha Monday

Was a little more productive with my list from last week. Didn't make it to Goodwill with dad's clothes and the ironing "pile" still didn't get tackled. The good news is the "pile" only has one shirt and a lot of cloth napkins so this could be why I'm not feeling pressured to get it done. Would like to have it gone from the floor of my closet is the real reason it will be on the list again this week.

Thanks to my on line blogger friends and their words of encouragement last week! The list can't rule my life only give me a starting point. I'm learning this, thanks to you!

This week's list:

1. Bring the last bag of dad's clothes to Goodwill. (continued prayers please)
2. Tackle the ironing "pile".
3. Clean the shelf in the laundry room.
4. Make daily house keeping trips into the kid's bathroom. So, when the weekly cleaning comes I don't feel like passing out from the sight of it.
5. Write that pesky business letter I've been putting off.