Have you seen a photo like this? It's my favorite third of the year. Cooler weather, blankets, sweaters, apple cider, hot coffee, soup, stews, and all the things. Hhhmmmm!! Also looking forward to fall themed movies, based on lists I have seen on Pinterest. Will probably bake first pumpkin loaf, a little later in the week.
What fall things are going on in your neck of the woods?
Once again, life brings me to the point of seeking out joy. Looking for the simple pleasures. Today, was sitting on front stoop, with coffee, listening to the rain. Stayed there, for a bit, and began to dive deep into some neglected chores. Made a healthish lunch and actually ate at the table with my husband and oldest son. Now, a couple hours later, here to revamp the blog, with the back door open, the rain still coming down, and lukewarm coffee.
This contentedness, reminded me of how neglected this blog has become (and my others, too). What started out, in August of 2014, as an almost daily entry, lately has been once a year, maybe twice.
With today’s good fall vibe feeling, changed the header to “Simply Joy”, which just feels right. As I navigate this new era in my life, will be here more often, sharing the things that bring joy in the simplicity of life.
For many years now, we've wrapped Christmas packages in brown paper. They may or may not get decorated or paper maybe brown with dots or the like. While wrapping this year, remembered using brown paper to cover my books in elementary school and it got me thinking of my Bible. The cover is in tact, but has seen better days around the edges. This morning, gave it a cover! 😊
Have also been thinking of common place books, a place to write out quotes, phrases, and general thoughts. This led to the bunny trail of writing scripture on my "new" cover. May include quotes, etc. For now, this is how my bible looks:
Quick post about 13, as it has been over 13 months since last post.
Let's talk about the good in people!
Saturday's I work at a farmers market. One of my regulars didn't have enough cash so I let her go, with treats, and she could pay the following week. She was very appreciative. The customer after her, paid her tab. I was thankful and know 1st customer will be this coming Saturday.
My neighboring vendor had a very similar experience as well with customers who don't know each other paying a bill.
Please seek out the good in people! 🥰
Thank you for taking time to read! Hope you find your own Joy!
Jennifer
Do you throw away egg shells? Or do you clean them out, dry them, and use them for plants/compost?
Me ~ I am somewhere in between. I tend to use them as a natural fertilizer, pest control, and additive to compost. Sometimes I just rinse them out and gently rub the inside to help get rid of leftover egg, rinse again and let them air dry. Sometimes, they'll get "baked" in a low temp oven, 200 - 225 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes. Either way is important because it will deter animals that like raw eggs and help prevent various things caused by raw eggs. Below are the current round of shells drying off. Ignore the major need of caulking!
Oh my goodness! Made peach sorbet this afternoon. It tastes awesome. Here's the short version of how it was made:
And here photos of my version.
Yeah, June came and went! There was a summer cold in there that dragged on forever. There was VBS at Burke Community Church. There was a lot of putzy little things getting done. That was June in a nut shell.
July is promising to be more jam packed.
Have decided, that while I look for a full time, paid job, I am deep diving into big jobs around the house and smaller, quicker fun jobs. Last week brought 5 days of purging and reorganizing our file cabinets. By Friday, the file cabinets were a little leaner and better organized. Smaller, fun jobs have been sewing, making jam, making pickles, reading, and I am sure I have missed something. These are usually posted on instagram (@jennifermbrock).
In weekend news, I have been working at a local Farmers Market for just over three months. The perks of this are: the vendor I work for is Chase Your Tail Bakery, so Charlotte has been getting her favorite treats for free, being able to hug a few friends since COVID restrictions have lifted, and reduced prices at some other vendors (our fridge and freezer are getting stock with good produce and dairy).
Peaches are coming into season and now I want to try this sorbet recipe:
https://www.aheadofthyme.com/3-ingredient-peach-sorbet/
There are a few other links to fruit deserts I want to try as well in the above link. One has watermelon and another has strawberries.
For now, that's the most current "joy". Catch ya on another day.
Strawberries from a few weeks ago. Made jam, tons of jam, and froze a lot too!
It is a rainy Monday morning, after our last child graduating high school this past Saturday (5/22/2021). Last night was the first night, in a long while I felt like I slept through and woke up feeling well rested. Didn't know it would take graduating all my children before I'd sleep well. That is something to be thankful for.
Today brings changes. The last of cleaning up from Saturday (I vegged pretty much all Sunday), writing out to do lists that are totally different than any other in many years, packaging up the last of our homeschool journey, preparing for the next era in life. Had thought I would be more nostalgic over all of what has happened, but I am more thankful for the journey and that it happened than sad that it has ended. I look forward to how my relationship with each man cub is changing and developing more of a mentor/friend relationship with them.
Here are a few photos from Saturday. We need to recreate some family photos. I'll either drop those in this post later or write again soon.
In just a few days, our youngest will be graduating high school.
It is an end of an era! Fourteen years of teaching and learning along side our boys. Surprisingly, I am cool with this. Have been mentally preparing all school year. The last few months, have been pondering what is next. Though Busy planning and prepping for graduation, have a few ideas. Most involve the arts, getting out there and practicing photography and paint.
Tell be about your passions! Would love to hear about them.
This week has been slow and fast. A very real struggle between both kinds of moments. Thank goodness for clocks, lists, and calendars. Something might have gotten dropped. | |
| This butterfly bush almost died. Managed to save it, winter it indoors, and safely transpant outside. |
