Halloween Pizza

Halloween greetings! It is our family's tradition to have pizza and watch a movie on Halloween as we wait for trick-or-treaters. Fidget's not interested in trick or treating which is just as well for us, and because it isn't a very big holiday for me I often forget about the pizza. I end up buying a frozen cardboard one or calling a delivery place. This time Fidget and I thought ahead. 

My birthday is the week before Halloween so I grew up having Halloween parties and loving Halloween. I never thought it was scary and enjoyed all the candy I could get. But once I became a Christian, the excitement of Halloween was drained. By then I was 22 anyway, long done with dressing up to scour the neighborhood for goodies. So it's kind of sweet to see Fig cling to a tradition like this one. Several years ago we had a neighbor hang some gruesome decorations at his house and I thought any pleasant associations Fig had with the holiday were gone. But, the pizza one she hangs onto.

I fibbed a little when I said we planned ahead. We got some ingredients for it, pepperoni and mushrooms and mozzarella, but I didn't have a recipe here til about 4pm when I hit the King Arthur Flour blog. It takes about 3 hours but the deliciousness makes it well worth it. Maybe next year I'll have the recipe at hand and start thinking about it before 4pm.

Here's King Arthur's fabulous pizza recipe.

Enjoy! Happy Halloween!

Peace of Mind

Fidget and I are back from our quick trip to the Lowcountry. It was so refreshing to be out there with the oaks and the moss,

taking in all those open vistas, remembering good times and hoping to move back one day.

There's a lushness to the land that is seductive. It's so open, so unspoiled. 

 

 I can breathe out here!

In addition to virgin vistas we got to visit with friends and stay with family and loved ones. They took us to a fabulous aquarium where we enjoyed fish as well as birds.

This barn owl was a favorite. 

And the South has a charm unlike any other place. 

 

We had a leisurely time, learned some history, and Fidget had fun playing with all her cousins. I had time for knitting and Fidget ran some track and cross country with the kids. She even got to dress up as a cheetah at a Halloween party.

We didn't get any tourist trap souvenirs. But what we did come home with were 3 prize feathers courtesy of Romeo, one of our friend Linda's peacocks. 
 

So, now it's back to the tracks. The wind is whipping and rain is falling. But God's peace is with us as are sweet memories of our week at home.

Autumn Treats

Lately we've enjoyed a bunch of festivals. That means lots of ice cream, a dream for Fidget since we took her off of dairy awhile back to help tame her itching and coughs.

We've also been traveling in the Land of Cotton. Here's a cotton gin we passed. Fidget was playing with toys in the back seat and was not impressed when I remarked on it, but I had to go back and take a photo. The sight of all that cotton was breathtaking to me. It made me reflect on the hard work on which our country was founded. There's a purity and dignity, an inherent value to working the land.  I just had to stop and admire the fruits of all that labor.

Back to our travels. This week we're in South Carolina, where we spent time at a fun farm on a hot dusty day. This hill has two slides built into it. Fig and her cousins were the only kids there and they had a ball shooting down through the hill's two tunnel slides.

This place had a giant trampoline, swings, duck races, things to climb on, a corn maze and a pumpkin patch.

 Meanwhile, I've been making lots of progress on my brother in law's Christmas socks. He is stationed far away at the moment so when I get them finished I may send them early. Don't they remind you of Polish pottery?

Here's a little wash cloth I made from leftovers for a little guy's baby sweater. Since I had more of this luscious yarn I thought I'd bring him a little something else from it when I visit this week.

So our travels continue. We've only done math once this week, but who's counting?

Days of Small, Beautiful Things

Hello long lost friends! Festive fall greetings to you at long last. It's good to be back. I have been hampered by computer glitches here, making doing anything online sort of trying, and at times impossible. The Pres has done some traveling, Fidget has gotten sick, better, sick, then better again, and we have taken lots of time off to do fun things like frolic at the zoo and aquarium. Fidget made fast friends with the tiger at the zoo, who she calls Boots after the one in a favorite book, Tiger, Tiger by Lynne Reid Banks.I have to wonder: what does that tiger think, so close to her face on the other side of that thick glass? Does he just see a meal, or is he having the same spiritual experience that she is?

Besides making friends with tigers we've also made some friends at our new church's ladies' Bible study and a MomsNext group. We've tried a home schooling co-op and between the two of us Fidget and I have gotten 25 pen pals from International Pen Friends. In between all that I made a long-overdue family newsletter and started taking karate lessons with Fidget. Wow! Sounds like we're keeping busy. 

In addition to that I am still working my way through socks for my brothers in law for Christmas. Somehow I haven't gotten much done lately...I wonder why. Heh heh.

I wish I had some fantastic progress to show in some area. I admit though, lately unless it's about choosing knitting sock colors, I haven't had any thoughts about art. All that stuff I might be involved in at another house is pretty much out of my mind. I haven't had any deep revelations either. I have been trying to honestly assess, as the Bible study works through the book of James, if my faith has works or what it looks like to outsiders. I can't honestly say. But I can say I trust Jesus to do His will in me and work what is pleasing to Him. If this is my desire, I know I am praying in His will and He will answer.

Recently I was reminded of the verse which says 'Who has despised the day of small things?' (Zechariah 4:10) I love this verse. It reminds me that in all these little things, God is doing His will, His beautiful, perfect and all-encompassing will, in my life. So though I may not have socks to show for my time, I've got tigers to visit, pen pals to write, and karate chops to practice, my family to love and care for, and this precious daughter to teach. I don't have to wonder at the sense of it. God is in it all.