Life at the Beach

I often say that my house feels like a beach house. My friend's daughter said one time that our house feels like summer, even in the winter. I live in the city, about two hours from the ocean shore.  I don't have waterfront property.  But it still feels "beachy" to me.  Yesterday was a particularly nice June day.  Temperatures were in the low 70s with mostly gentle breezes.  The winds picked up at points in the day, but overall it was simply pleasant.  Our  house faces east, so when the windows and doors are open, the breezes flow through the house.  My decor is primarily in beige, greens, and blues, which adds to the beach feeling.  It's a ranch-style house, which is similar to many of the beach cottages where my in-laws vacation in Old Lyme, Connecticut.

A few years ago, I wrote an article called "Let Them Come to the Water" that described my experiences with the ocean.  I see God in everything and everyone, but water has a particularly profound connection to our Lord. Perhaps that's my attraction to making our home feel like it's on the beach.

Today, I must bake bread and granola, make more yogurt, and gather items for a garage sale next week.  I'm working on de-cluttering, as I mentioned in my first post.  A few years ago, we stayed in a cottage at the beach I described in "Let Them Come to the Water."  I loved the simplicity of that week.  We had a kitchen with all the basic cookware and dishes.  We ate our meals on the screen-in porch.  We brought along for the week just and a handful of toys and some books to read.  And that was it!  We tidied up every day because we knew we had to leave the house in the same lovely condition in which we found it upon our arrival.  I would like our home to feel like that!  Not empty, but also not cluttered.  Just the essentials.  My desire for our home is that it be a place we and our guests meet God.  If we have too much clutter and stuff, we are lost in the clutter and easily forget to spend time with God.

Oasis in the City

For the next two weeks, Tommy, now almost 7 years old, has swim lessons at a local family-oriented pond club where we are members. The small lake is tucked away from the main road and has a small beach area.  It is our little oasis in the city.  I think of the 11-month-old in my arms, touching the ocean for the first time.  I'm glad his relationship with water is continuing and growing. Swimming is such an important skill, and being out on the water, trusting God will help us stay afloat, is a beautiful way to experience nature. 


After Tommy's swim lessons, we'll come back to our "beach house," hang the towel and suit on the line in the breeze, and come to the table for lunch.  I love the simplicity of our summer at the beach.

It's Wednesday--Why Does It Feel Like Monday?

I gave my blog a very optimistic name.  I still believe I live a pretty sweet life, but I'm grouchy today.  Feeling a little sorry for myself when nothing is actually wrong.  I'm making some progress on the house purge.  I found a buyer for an item I posted on Craig's list within 24 hours of my post.  My friend is planning a garage sale, so I'll have another venue to unload and possibly earn some cash.  Also, we have a pile of donations started for a local Head Start program.  There's hope for the laundry room project after all!

I'm realizing a few things this week.  First, although I've been wanting a summer off for the last 8 years, I'm working again. I'm overdue for a sabbatical! I really would prefer to be reworking my course for the fall and doing my summer household and garden work rather than grading essays.  However, God has a different plan for me and I need to be open to it.  I did not request to teach this summer, but I was assigned the course anyway.  I take that as a sign that it's what I need to be doing now.  The students are doing good work thus far, so reading their papers is rather pleasant.  I just seem to feel so groggy when I'm at the computer for an extended amount of time.


As part of my desire for order and a clean house, I requested a book from the library called Confessions of an Organized Homemaker by Deniece Schofield.  I read it years ago and learned a lot.  Unfortunately I slipped back into many bad, clutter-building habits in the past decade.  In addition to physical clutter, I have accumulated massive quantities of time clutter and mental clutter.  One particularly bad habit is Facebook.  I enjoy communicating with people, but I realize I "check" Facebook way more than I need to, and then I have less time available to do the things I need to do because I'm dawdling online.  I plan to limit myself to once or twice a day max and see how my other schedules improve.

Reality Check

My stress level is building.  It's raining.  It's Wednesday.  I have too much in my mind that needs to happen right now.  And I'm giving three children their standardized tests this morning.  I'm foggy-headed, so nobody is making sense to me today.  Yes, it's still a sweet life and deep inside I really am happy.  Just for this morning, a day that wasn't well-picked for testing, I'm edgy and snappy.  I hate these tests.  Tommy hasn't done them before and he isn't a confident reader, so I'm a little scared that he is going to panic and cry.  Brian doesn't generally do well on the tests, so I'm anxious about that, too.  I tend to take it all too personally--that if the scores aren't high that it's a reflection of my inability to successfully homeschool my children.

I need to stop and pray now.  I'll report back later!

Update: Brian and Elizabeth were fine.  Tommy was a train wreck in the reading section, as I suspected.  On the bright side, he seems to recognize the importance of learning to read and we will be working gently throughout the summer to develop those skills so when second grade rolls around in the fall, it shouldn't be a tear-fest.

I have the packet ready to mail in for test scores.  Although I was ready to send everyone to school back in March and April, I think we will stick with homeschooling.  I have some ideas for next year that should make homeschooling both enjoyable and productive--and sweet.

Marvelous Monday

I am starting to wonder if it's time to tell some people about this blog.  However, I'm not sure if I'm really ready for readers.  Mike is on vacation this week, and we were super productive today.  I baked four loaves of bread, as scheduled.  I almost did the regular two, but I knew that if I was going to stick with the plan, I needed to start on it today.  I'm glad I made four!  One is in the freezer, two are in the bread box, and the final loaf was fully consumed at lunch.

We did some necessary shopping--shoes and goggles for Brian.  Socks and running shorts for me.  New clothesline to replace the one we lost in the October Snowstorm.

When Mike was taking care of some of the outside chores (clearing gutters), he discovered that the roof is heaved on the north side of the house.  We had the roof replaced six years ago, so it should still be in good shape.  Mike thinks it may be from the bad snowstorm in early 2011 when so many people had problems with ice dams building up on the edge of the roofs.  The whole year was one bad weather event after another, so it could have just been the constant abuse that led to the heaved shingles.  He has to go in the attic tomorrow to make sure we haven't been taking in water.  Not fun! I'm sorry that we need to spend his vacation doing household chores, but I'm really glad I have a husband who is handy around the house and who notices the details I miss.  We have plans to get a lot of these important maintenance projects done this week.  Although it isn't rest and relaxation, it will be refreshing to know that the house is well-maintained and that the time was spent wisely.

In other news, Elizabeth and I went strawberry picking with some friends this evening.  Tomorrow will include some jam-making.  Brian and I shared information with some neighbors about the CSA Farm Share through Gardening the Community.  Then, I went (a bit late), to dance class.

In hindsight, I can hardly believe how much we packed into one day.  Tomorrow I need to spend some read-aloud time with the little boys.  We're trying to finish Little House on the Prairie, and then Tommy has requested a Magic Treehouse book about the Civil War.  I also need to work through some of Michael's work to help him work through the third quarter.  He has been particularly diligent with his work the past few weeks, so I'm confident he'll be ready for 11th Grade in the fall.

We are planning an outing for Friday--taking the children to Mystic Seaport and Mystic Aquarium.  We haven't done any trips like that in a long time, so it will be nice to get out of town and see some new sites.

I hope to have an update on the laundry room by the end of the week!

Sticking to the Plan

My husband is on vacation this coming week, but today really felt vacation-like.  The weather in New England was perfect today.  A few clouds, sunshine, low humidity.  Nice.  My daughter and I ran 4 miles before breakfast.  Then I talked to my grandma for about an hour.  I went outside to gather some ingredients for quiche, which I'd never made before.  I picked an onion, some radishes, parsley, and sage.  The quiche turned out great, and even my pickiest eater liked it.  What a pleasant surprise!  

This week I plan to continue working on the laundry room.  I didn't get a lot done the last few days, but my husband and I talked it through, and we have a plan for tackling the space and making it work for us.  The first step, as with any organizing project, is to get rid of the clutter.  We will get rid of everything we don't need, use,  or love.  

Tomorrow is the first day of scheduled bread-making.  I am looking forward to establishing a schedule and taking the chaos out of my family's days.

Come Holy Spirit!

Today, the Lord called me to humility.  This morning, while I was still in my food frustration, I delayed my morning prayers to get working on my granola-making.  Once the granola was in the oven, I read the readings of the day in the Magnificat.  For a moment, I contemplated reading the Sunday readings as well, but opted to move onto other tasks.  Then, my daughter woke up and I realized that we were out of milk.  I ran to the convenience store at the corner gas station.  The whole morning was hectic.

This evening, we went to Sunday Vigil (Saturday evening) Mass.  I am a reader for our parish, but I was scheduled for last week, so I didn't feel compelled to prepare for the readings.  Apparently the momentary contemplation during my morning prayer was inspired by the prompting of the Holy Spirit--and I brushed off the prompting.  Just a few minutes before Mass, our pastor asked me to do the readings since the scheduled reader did not show.  My nervousness at being unprepared, led to a big mistake at the beginning of the first reading.  I had to restart after asking the priest's confirmation that I was on the right page.  I calmed down a bit, but turned the page in the Lectionary, realizing only then that I also would need to read an incredibly beautiful three-page Sequence (poem) about the Body and Blood of Christ since this weekend is Corpus Christi.  In any case, I realized that I didn't listen to the promptings of the Spirit, and I was given a lesson in humility in front of a fairly packed church!  If I'd read the readings this morning, I would have been prepared this evening.  Although I didn't make additional errors, I felt rather foolish.

In spite of the embarrassing moment--or maybe as a result of it--I felt the closeness of the Lord at Mass tonight.  As I received Jesus through the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Altar, the Eucharist, I knew my Lord wants to strengthen me.  Although I am like a little child who doesn't really know what's best for her, God knows.  I just need to remember to listen.  He will guide me.  I see His Hand in my life, and I know when I listen in prayer throughout the day, He will show me the paths.

Come Holy Spirit!

Living the Sweet Catholic Life

Earthy Crunchy Granola Girl

Menu.  Grocery List.  Shop.  I have been avoiding the grocery store for the past month.  Why??  I guess part of the reason is because I'm in a cooking slump.  I love to cook, but for some reason I haven't been terribly inspired lately.  I can't seem to come up with anything good to make, and as a result, I don't have a good list for the store, so I don't want to go and buy junk.  Junk.  GMO food.  Packaged, pre-processed, high fructose corn syrup, chemical-laden food.  My kids want crackers and chips and other snackies, but I want them to eat fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds.  My friend has a connection with a woman who purchases good "ingredients" in bulk--whole wheat flour, rolled oats, nuts, cheese, raisins, etc.  We just got a big batch of bulk foods this week.  I have granola in the oven now.  A year or so ago, I was the only person in the house who ate granola regularly.  My husband would eat it sometimes.  I'd make a big batch and it would last a few weeks.  Well, a couple weeks ago, we ran out of boxed cereal and I told the children to just eat the granola.  My eldest is 15.  His serving size is double or triple mine.  In any case, what used to last almost a month is now gone in a week.  Should I cave and buy the toasted "Os" cereal, or should I simply make the weekly batch of granola, which includes rolled oats, sunflower seeds, ground flax seed, pecans, almonds, or walnuts, raisins, and coconut?  My granola is clearly superior in nutritional value.  I want my kids to be healthy.  The obvious answer is that I need to work on my schedule and be sure to keep up with the bread baking and granola making.

After the granola came out of the oven, I dropped my sons off at their work, then spent the rest of the morning helping my best friend complete her first sewing project--a lovely red floral print skirt.  When we finished, I asked for her help.  The FlyLady emphasizes the importance of meal planning to reducing CHAOS.  I have been a meal planner in "fits and starts"--sometimes I have the whole month planned out and I keep up with the shopping, then I get into the slump I mentioned earlier and I feel paralyzed at the prospect of grocery shopping and cooking.  When I've been on task, life is smooth.  I know what's for dinner before I eat breakfast.  When I don't know, "What's for Dinner?" I feel stressed and irritable.  In any case, my dear friend made a copy of the June calendar page for each of us, and we talked through the days we're busiest and need easy meals as well the days we want to make something special.  After about 20 minutes of talking about food (our favorite topic!), we had 22 menu ideas.  I left her house with a plan and felt confident about making my grocery list.  I went to the store this afternoon and stocked up with the main ingredients for all of the suppers, except perhaps for fresh produce I'll need later in the month.

My friend mentioned that I ought to also include my bread-baking days on the menu.  That would solve my lunch dilemma.  My husband tends to pack sandwiches for his lunch, and since I make our bread, I need to make sure there is bread available early in the morning.

Although some of the chores I had hoped to accomplish today will have to wait until Monday, I have a great sense of peace knowing the meals are scheduled, the food is on hand, and my friend's skirt is done!

Living the Sweet Catholic Life!

Decluttering my Domestic Church

Today I decided to start a blog.  Why?  I'm not really sure.  I went to a conference on Wednesday, June 6, about distance courses in higher education.  The keynote speaker, Paul Gillin, talked about the changing climate of Social Business.  He mentioned notable folks who have started blogs and other online ventures and receive thousands of visitors per day.  I don't know that I want that sort of attention, but I imagine I have some useful ideas that I could share with other folks out there who have similar interests or concerns.

Perhaps that is my inspiration.  Sometimes I just want to talk about the million ideas that flood my mind on a given day or share some interesting tidbit I've learned about homeschooling, teaching English to college students. gardening, cooking, cleaning, etc.

In any case, my focus for today and the summer is purging my home of unnecessary things.  I decided for the Nth time that I would declutter my home and make it a more pleasant place for my family--our Domestic Church.  So today is about that.  Usually September is the time when I feel renewed and excited about re-organizing and decluttering and getting ready for a new school year.  But this year I've decided to tackle the project over the summer.  And that's part of the inspiration here.  With four children, we've accumulated a lot of "gifts" over the years--many of which are cluttering our 3-bedroom 1000-square-foot ranch!

As homeschoolers, we need places to study and to work, and of course, to stow away our materials when they are not in use.  I look at blogs of the "organized" moms who have beautiful schoolrooms and tidy shelves and bins for each student, and I admittedly salivate.  Why can't we have that?  I'm not sure if I really want it, but I do desire the orderliness that would seemingly lead to smoother days and studious children (okay, I'm a dreamer!).

I have been a subscriber of FlyLady.com for a number of years.  I love the idea of baby steps.  I often do the daily missions.  But honestly, the whole decluttering hasn't happened.  My main living areas don't look terrible.  I can have people over and not feel too self-conscious.  However, the laundry room is a dumping ground.  My dream vision of the room is that it will be repainted to brighten the gloomy dark wood paneling.  The space includes the water heater and furnace, as well as a large cedar closet and shelves for food and tools, Christmas decorations and out of season/grow-into clothing.  Plastic totes, baby toys, lots of dusty picture frames, half-used paint cans, etc. litter the space.  I don't like it.  

Dark, scary basement

Do I really need all of these cans of paint?

The island of misfit stuff.

Intellectually, and with FlyLady's help, I totally get that one cannot organize clutter. The clutter must be eliminated. I'm embarrassed (a little) that I am displaying my clutter here.  I know, however, that the first step to a great transformation is Before Pictures!  I'm hoping to post the updates by the end of July--maybe new windows and painted walls in addition to floors that can be walked safely and items where they belong!  We'll see!  Today, I'll start with something small, and tomorrow I'll let you know what I accomplished.

In spite of the clutter, I am one of the happiest people I know, though admittedly I have days where I grumble.  In the days to come, I will share some of the secrets of my joy.  In a nutshell, the secrets aren't really secret--anyone can have them.  First, I make God the center of my life.  I struggle daily, but I know my goal is Heaven.  Second, love people where they are.  Even when they are hideously mean and do nasty things, pray for them.  Remember that they are God's beloved children.  And when you struggle, find trusted family and friends who lift you and encourage you.  If you are reading this blog, know that I will be praying for you.

God Bless,

"Living the Sweet Life"