Book Review

When I was early in my home education years, I came upon a book by Karen Andreola called "A Charlotte Mason Companion" where she shared her "reflections on the gentle art of learning." These were Karen words and ideas of how to implement the principles of learning that English educator Charlotte Mason had written about. This book saved our homeschool. As I began to read living books to my children, use narration, nature study, exposed them to great art and music, my children began to learn and to thrive!

A few years ago Karen and Dean Andreola moved their family to our area. I got to know her one day in an 2 hour phone call, when she called to ask about membership in our co-op and we ended up talking and sharing our hearts about home education.

Last year, we ended up at the same church and a friendship was born. In talking with her she would mention on occassion that she was working on a new book. That book turned out to be "Lessons at Blackberry Inn - Adventures With The Gentle Art of Learning."

This is a sweet book. Karen weaves Charlotte Mason's principles into the story line as the main character Carol educates her children at home in the midst of the depression and while helping to run an Inn. However, this is not just a book about education, there is a fine story line that tells in a gentle way a family's life. When we first meet Carol in this book, she is on bed rest,due to a fall, early in a pregnancy. We find out that she has had several miscarriages, and they are being careful and cautious. The family has moved back to Carol's hometown, from a nearby city, after her mother's dear friend offers them the opportunity to help run the Inn.

I found myself thinking about the story and the characters when I was doing other things and thinking about how certain things were going to resolve. That to me is the mark of an engaging book! And while this is a "gentle" book - meaning no harsh language or violence etc...the characters do not live in a "bubble" world of perfection. They face many challenges and difficulties.

I read a reader review on Amazon.com and the reader compared it to the Mitford Series. I would agree with that from the aspect of the characters become people you like and care about.

Karen also weaves in thought provoking quotes, and Christian principles. I really enjoyed this book - the second book I have read during this summer break!

My Garden In Summer

Welcome friends! How are you enjoying this fine day? We have finally begun work on our horse barn - I can hear the sound of the skid loader in the pasture...I will need to send someone out to take pictures! Today is my Sarah's birthday and she is going to decorate a little cake later!

Her birthday party is a surprise to her so I won't spill the beans here yet. I will post about that this evening or tomorrow.

Lindsay and I have been taking some photos of the flowers in my garden this week so I wanted to share them with you.

I decided to add a photo or two of our creek...

Here is a close up of a sweet day lily. I bought it years ago because it said it was pink and I thought that would be unusal. The color is more salmon like but pretty.

This is a bloom from my black-eyed susan vine...it is blooming fine just not growing up the arch like I had hoped.

My shasta daisies...they started from two small plants and now are divided and transplanted not only in other areas of my yard, but in many other gardens as well.

Lindsay took this neat shot!

This is a pretty peach color rose, that my mom pulled out of her flower beds and gave to me! I am always a willing recipient of free plants!

This is my climber in my front flower bed...

Interesting shot of the Echinacea - purple coneflower.

This is a great shot also...
I will try to show you other garden areas here at Creekside Cottage sometime this next week.

I hope you have enjoyed your stroll through my gardens...and I didn't even charge admission!

How We Spent Our Summer Vacation

We finished school at the beginning of May, and so we are well into our "summer" break even though summer only officially began a few weeks ago. Our weather has been perfect - warm, not humid, cool in the evenings...very unusual for this time of year - we are not complaining....

We have been eating out on the deck almost every evening. Some nights we have our family Bible study out there too. The little ones listen and we let them draw or write while we read and talk about God's Word.



We have done deep cleaning, including curtains...so much light comes in through this window that during the day if the kids watch a movie they like to close them. It was a bit difficult to watch the movie on this day. They managed though.

We have been spending a lot of time without shoes! The delight of summer.

The result of so much barefootedness? Black feet! We have a huge mulberry tree and the kids love to pick the fruit...there is so much fruit that it drops everywhere and the kids walk through it...this is the result! That is mulberry juice. I am not sure his feet will ever be the same!

While spending so much time outdoors, Lindsay found this nest in the pasture...it is made entirely out of horse hair and hay string... it is a very small nest. We don't know which of the many birds around here made it but it is sweet.

The girls have been working, Tim is on 3rd shift and sleeping during the day, so that leaves the little ones and I around most of the day. Today we are going to go to Costco...maybe we'll share a frozen yogurt. It is the simple things that delight and make them happy.

Since May we have celebrated 4 family birthdays, will celebrate 1 this weekend, and one in August, we have gone to Pittsburgh for a family funeral, to Florida for a family wedding, our homeschool convention. We have offered hospitality from our home and hosted a high school graduation for Lindsay and an English Country dance.

At home we have been cleaning, playing, reading, sewing and knitting. Emily has started on some of her school work. Our niece Kaitlin is coming on Tuesday for a visit and Tim's brother and sister in law will be popping into town from West Africa on their way to meetings at the mission in Florida. I likely will start the little girls on some school work soon...but not today.

How have you been spending your summer.

Riding and Life Lessons

Lindsay took some great photos tonight. She had been riding Sandy and then let the little girls have a turn.

Rachel is a good rider and is gaining confidence every time she rides.

It is a real work out to ride bareback

I like this shot.

I love this one! Very artsy.

This is a cool shot too - aren't her hoofs pretty? She just had a visit from our friend who does our farrier work...I think we should paint her hoofs bright red or something...like a manicure!

Sarah is less confident as a rider...but she rode behind Lindsay tonight, they were even cantering. Then she rode some on her own while being led.

This is such a funny shot of her...she is quite a character!

She is learning to trust and to enjoy the process of riding. She really wants to be like her big sisters and this is one way she works at that!

After riding it was clean up and jammy time...she is sleeping now.

I really enjoy watching them grow and change and learn. It is a privilege to be apart of what God is doing in their lives.

My Daughter's Blog

I am very excited to tell you that my daughter Emily has started blogging! Go here to read her first post!

New Post At Homeschooling at Hospitality Lane

I don't often post there, but today the inspiration hit! You can find the link on my sidebar!

It is about what God taught me this year about educating my kids.

Domestic Duties....

www.allposters.com

are they a necessary evil or a delight? Maybe that is not the best way to put it, as there are some jobs to be done here at home that are not necessarily "evil" :) but are not a delight either!

As I was looking for art to put at the top of this post I came across a few "vintage" style posters that had modern sensibilities on them like "I child proofed my home, but they keep getting in" and "A clean house is a sign of a wasted life." Sad.

I was reading at Ladies Against Feminism today and there were several articles linked that mentioned that women are less happy now, inspite of feminism bringing them "freedom", than their quote "apron wearing counterparts of yesteryear."

Now any woman who keeps her home has things they like about it and things they don't like. But I know for me there is a satisfaction in making my home a warm, welcoming place for my family and for others.

Today, I am doing laundry and making chocolate chip cookies, and have done dishes and will do many more. I have planned my dinner, worked side by side with my little ones. I am planning in my head for family time after the older girls get home from work, and Tim awakens.

I love being in charge of my schedule and organizing all our activities. I love setting the table for dinner, even a simple one with real dishes, flowers from the garden, and cloth napkins.

With 7 people living in our home on a regular basis our 2 bathrooms get a real work out. I clean the main bathroom daily...sometimes several times a day! I just can't stand wet counter tops and toothpaste in the sink. It is not a huge and overwhelming thing to do, because I just do it as I come across it...

I guess this post is just to rejoice in the gift of my home and family and the duties that accompany them, and maybe just encourage you to think about your own home duties as a privilege.

A Full Heart

I have missed posting regularly. It's not that I don't have a lot to say (hee hee) it's perhaps that I have too much on my heart, and some of it I either don't know how to fully express or I can't express it because it would be gossip possibly. So I err on the side of caution.

But here are somethings occupying my heart and mind these days!

Miss Paula and Alicia are both taking blogging breaks. They are busy and they are enjoying Facebook right now. I know how hard it is to run a home and try to keep up and I completely understand where they are coming from. I just will miss keeping up with them in this way. I can and will visit them on FB but it isn't the same as blogging.

I love my blogging friends and I think, like so many women who blog or read blogs, it fills a need for fellowship with likeminded women! There is a lot of unkindness in the blogging world, I know, but I stay away from those places. Just this week I have been encouraged online by wonderful Christian women; Deby, jAne, Brenda, Tracy.

I have been following Tracy's daughter Autumn's courtship and marriage for the last year. Today I read with tears the beautiful vows this sweet young couple made to each other. It was such a blessing to me as we have a desire for our daughters and sons be able to find spouses that want to honor God the way this young couple does. Autumn and Jon's heart is very similar to our niece and now nephew's heart - that their lives be a testimony of God's grace and goodness. It makes me cringe to know that there are those even in the Christian community who would scoff at the honorable way they have conducted their lives.

There is no one right way to court etc...some believe that you must have a betrothal - I have seen them and I think they are a beautiful way to show the commitment a young couple is making. Josh and Anna Duggar had a very public courtship, and risked the world making fun of them. jAne's daughter Lizzie and Mr.Darcy have had a very honorable relationship - I say "Bravo!" to them all! I am so encouraged by these examples. We are interested in watching them because with 4 daughters and 2 sons, we know we don't want them to date. So we watch to see those who have gone before us in this way - we see what we think works - I ask lots of questions too! (thanks Tracy for your patience in answering my questions last year!)

Another thing on my mind these days is our homeschool co-op. It looks as if we will have 62 families this year. I always am filled with trepidation whenever we go over 60. I am not sure why but the dynamic gets wierd. But I am hopeful that all will be just fine this year. I love encouraging these women who give themselves so fully to their families, they don't always get the support they should from their husbands or other family members.

In addition to that our group is using a webhost for a website for our group! It is really neat but it requires me to learn more than I really wanted to know about websites!

I also am planning my parents 50th wedding anniversary party for the 25th of this month. I am almost done with the invitations. It is going to be an Open House event and then we will go to dinner with our family and 2 couples that they are good friends with! It should be a blast!

Sarah turns 7 on Saturday and wants a party...If it would be hot enough we could invite a few friends to the Grandparents pool and have a simple, easy party....

Well, I guess that is enough for now - you certainly don't need to hear my concerns about our country, nor the burden we have for our oldest son. Just pray. God is so big and so good. He has been teaching me so much over the years, and I am so thankful. Sometimes it has meant that we have traveled a path that others may think it a bit "much." But we know our hearts are right before Him - so we don't need to worry about others. We just try to keep our eyes on Him!

Thank you to all my blog friends - you are appreciated more than you know - but I will try to tell you so more often!

Independence Day

I am so thankful for those who have gone before us and fought for freedom. Here are a few interesting quote from the Founding Fathers.

Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.
John Adams

It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.
George Washington

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.

Thomas Jefferson

I hope that all Americans will remember their freedom which was purchased at a price by some....

Mount Dora

Mount Dora is a delightful, old, lakeside resort town. They have a lovely hotel and a train. They have lots of shops and two of my favorite places for refreshment.
These photos are from our lunch at The Garden Gate. It is such a pretty restaurant! It is decorated in the cottage style with lots of shabby chic touches. They have everything in white and soft colors. They used to have a shop but they have turned that section into a place to have bridal showers, tea parties and the like. We had lunch there with my friend Jane. I am sure that some people wondered if their nice lunch would be disturbed by a small boy and young girl but they behaved perfectly! Just look at Kyle's peanut butter and jelly sandwich! They had fresh fruit with it and Sarah made a face for him on his sandwich. She had grilled cheese and it looked very similar! They were so excited about their food! It was a reminder to me about how even simple things become special if you put thought into the presentation of it!


This is a plate of chicken salad! It is very good with a touch of curry in it! Everything on the plate is edible including the orchid!

This wee bird was sitting on the mantle on the wall by our table. It was so cute!

This is the mantle - the wee bird in barely noticeable on the left...everything is pretty and is soft and calm and restful.

I like the little touches of dried hydrangea and soft lights...and touches of lace everywhere!
Here is where I would show you pictures of the Windsor Rose Tea Room. It is the place I first had PG Tips tea. I really wanted to sit with the family and share a pot of tea. However, the only day they are closed is Tuesday. Guess what day we went to Mt. Dora? sigh....

I also wanted to visit a neat old bookstore there but they were out of business, and a new "old" bookstore was closed that day as well. sniff, sniff....it's ok, I am over it really I am!

It was a very hot and humid day and so after just a few hours we took ourselves back to the motel. We went to dinner with Jane and hubby Rick and then we all went swimming at the pool - even Grammy came and swam with us! So much fun!

Florida Family

Guess who was in heaven on our trip? Yes, Rachel my "itchy" arms one...she has been so eager to get her hands on her baby cousin Ethan. He was very content with her.

I love this photo.

Here Kyle meets Gretchen. She is Uncle Rick and Aunt Jane's dog. They are not actually blood kin to us, but we have been dear friends for 20 years...they are family!

Here is a goofy face of Emily, but I wanted to post a photo of Jane and the only other one we have of her on this camera card is not flattering. So I choose to risk embarrassing Emily. Sorry, honey.

Kyle and Tim at the beach...it was so scorching hot when we were in Florida that my sister in law suggested that we go to the beach in the evening...it stays light late, was still very warm out and the crowds had gone! Perfect!

The kids all loved the ocean!

I love this photo of Lindsay, even though Ethan is blurred a bit. Each of my kids has their own way with babies!

The lovely lady on the right is my mother in law! She was enjoying a big family get together the day after the wedding. The pretty lady in the black and white top is my new nephew's mom. She was delightful to get to know.

Here is big cousin Andrew - hero to all young cousins!

Sweet Melissa! Poor girl she had been so busy that day this was the first she had eaten!

Here I am reading "The Princess and The Kiss" to my Sarah and to our niece Sara.

Andrew was helping Kyle with a Leap Frog book!

These are Ginna's girls - Ginna is Tim's other sister and a favorite aunt to all her nieces and nephews.

While we were there Emily said " I forgot how much I LIKE my cousins!" We all had a grand time.

All photos taken and copywritten by Lindsay Rabe