Perfect Match, Verse to Person

My Mom....

My mom taught me that Jesus loves me from the very beginning, and all through my life.

My mom read Wynken, Blynken, & Nod to me, probably a hundred or more times, because I loved it.

My mom held my head when I was sick, and camped out on a fold-out cot next to my bed when needed.

My mom made beautifully decorated cakes, including cool, coconut-covered, "cut-up cakes" for my birthdays. 

My mom sewed me clothes, including awesome flowered, bell-bottom pants and polyester pants suits.  ;-)  Also, prom dresses and, later, quilts for my kids.

My mom shared her skills, teaching me to decorate cakes, bake, cook, sew, and pack pickles.

My mom always called on me to make ‘my specialties’ of biscuits or jam thumbprint cookies, which made me feel accomplished and helpful.

My mom took me to softball practice and watched every one of my games.

My mom gave me a cornet to join band when the director had recommended a clarinet, because it’s what she had to give…Which, consequently, put me into the brass section where I found some of my closest and truest, lifelong friends.

My mom encouraged me to try my best at everything I do.

My mom loved to sing and her beautiful voice sang lullabies, hymns, and mommy-to-child love songs.

My mom used to paint along with the man on TV when I was little.

My mom paid uncountable bills, folded infinite amounts of laundry, and cleaned, washed, cooked, and sewed without complaint.  She used to iron our tablecloths in a big press she set up in the family room, which filled the house with that hot, clean linen smell.

My mom touched so may lives and was beloved by almost everyone she met, including family, neighbors, friends, colleagues, and even the nurses and doctors who tended to her needs.

My mom made the effort.  -She learned names, introduced her family, listened and remembered about the families and interests of others.

My mom hated to ask of others, and always expressed appreciation of their efforts, even if it was their job to help her.

My mom was kind and sweet.  She was full of warmth and hugs.

My mom was strong, intelligent, and thoughtful.

My mom never swore and rarely had a negative word to say about another person.

My mom was the most devoted daughter – caring and attentive to her parents and in-laws, alike.

My mom was the most devoted wife – steadfast, loving, cheerful, and supportive.

My mom was the most devoted mom/grandma/great grandma, who loved and gave to her children, and loved whomever they loved: Friends, sweethearts, then spouses and children… and she treated them all as family.

My mom was a lady, and modeled true beauty from the inside out.  The love and grace of the Lord shined through her.

My mom said her mother was a better person and that I was a better mother.  She was so very wrong.

My mom was sure she’d live to 100.  Sadly, she was wrong about that, too.

My mom went to the Lord when He called her name this past Sunday.

My mom’s leaving left a hole in my heart and in my life, and shoes I could never hope to fill.

My mom left me, though, with a wealth of precious memories, wise teachings, and high standards to which to aspire.

I love you and miss you, Mom….so much. But I will see you again!

Yeah, What She Said...and He Said

A couple bits of wisdom I read recently that have spoken to me...  I thought you might enjoy them, too.

"When I say I am a perfectionist, what I am really doing is just giving my fear of failure a pretty label.  Perfectionist.  Instead of insecure.  Perfectionist.  Instead of fearful." 

Susan Stearns, in Crazy Tuesdays

"Youth is still where you left it, and that's where it should stay.  Anything worth taking on life's journey, you'll already have taken with you."

"Arthur," in Wedding Night: A Novel by Sophie Kinsella

Have You Met...

...William Wilberforce?

Maybe you saw the highly rated movie, Amazing Grace.  (If not, I highly recommend it.)  I know I'd heard of him before I saw it, but I didn't know anything about him.  I've learned even more from the chapter dedicated to him in 7 Men and the Secret of their Greatness.

He was, with the Lord's help (he'd be the first to give the glory to God), instrumental in the abolition of the slave trade, and then slavery in England, decades before the Civil War in the United States.  

He wasn't a Christian until he was an adult and already in Parliament.  He struggled with how to mesh his new and strong faith with his political life.  He gave up gambling and men's clubs to concentrate on God's plan for his life.  After much prayer and guidance sent by God, much of it through the amazing people he encountered in his life, he saw that he could best work for God by staying in politics. He zeroed in on 2 purposes for his life: To abolish the slave trade and reform the manners of society.

By manners, I don't mean which fork to use at dinner, but much greater issues. There were big divides in England's society of the time.  The "upper crust" of society thought the poor 'deserved' their station in life and to help them would be against what some now would refer to as 'karma.' Drinking and carousing were major sport, as were sexual exploits.  25% of women were forced into prostitution.  Extensive child labor was common. Anyone who truly believed in God and lived with any sort of faith, other than attending church on Sundays for social reasons, was looked upon as a fanatic.  

Wilberforce became a role model.  He eschewed immoral behavior, and unlike most men of his time, gave time to his family and actually played with his children.  He had a heart for anyone who was unfairly used or abused. In Parliament and other dealings in regard to his feelings about slavery, he was able to stay above the fray, respecting his opponents and understanding that the whole society, including himself, had been part of the problem.  He received grace from God, and gave it to those around him. This opened doors and helped him be heard, and resulted in great changes in England and the world.

This is just a quick recap. I have not done his life, nor the book's description of it, justice here.  

I want to remember what I learned from the life and example of William Wilberforce.  In fact, I want to know more about how he lived his faith on a daily basis, so plan to read the book, Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery.  (It was written while or after the movie was in production, but is a more comprehensive and accurate biography, not based on the movie.)

I think the way the life of Wilberforce has grabbed my attention, and the revelation I wrote about last week are related, each helping me better understand the other, and give me a new view of the purpose and/or direction of my life.

 - What I want to take away from his story is the ability to live for the Lord in every word and deed of my life, like he did.  --To do everything to the glory and honor of God. 

 - I want practice grace; to avoid judging those who don't agree with me, but show them love, with genuine regard and interest, and understand that they may not be convicted in the same areas.
                                                          
 - I want to remember that it's okay not to do EVERYthing, but to concentrate only on those things which God intended especially for me.  

As a "Jill-of-all-trades," knowing what I should choose is difficult in itself.  One thing I do know, though, is that I can let go of feeling guilty over things others may want me to do, that just aren't what I need to do right now.

Still Sad about Wolf Breaking Up with Me

For those of you not familiar with my oven saga, previous posts are here, and news of the path to my newest oven here.  I will try to make a long story short, by saying that I had 7 ovens in 5 years in our new house.  It might sound fun to try out new brands and models, but it was so frustrating.

My favorites were the Wolf E-Series ovens, which were amazing performers, but, like the Fisher & Paykel models that also baked pretty well, the porcelain coating kept coming loose, crazing, then splintering, and chipping, in the front corners of the interior.  Wolf claimed mine was an unusual situation, and after replacing my oven twice (quickly, without question, and with as little hassle as possible to me), they decided we should go our separate ways.  

That last time, there was supposedly a lot of conversation and thinking going on about my experiences

between the customer service and engineering departments to come up with an answer for me.  But they decided I baked more often and at higher heats (for pizzas) than 'the norm' who the oven was designed for (even though they agreed and assured me I was doing nothing wrong), and they could not promise an answer that would work for me, so offered a refund.  

We discussed that one of the Wolf convection-steam ovens (stainless interior) might do well on pizzas, while I used a single E-series for everything else.  The customer service person was still not sure the oven would 'stand up to my use,' but said they'd back it up if I chose to go that route.  The 2-oven combo, though, would cost almost $3000 more than the refund for my double oven, and they didn't offer to help with the difference, which, of course, wasn't required, but might've been nice.

After this, many Wolf oven owners who baked less often and at more 'normal' temperatures contacted me to say they had the same, exact problem. Additionally, very soon after I got my refund, I found out that Wolf's new line of ovens (due out in 2014) has replaceable bottoms in the oven cavities.  The engineering department had to have been working on this plan while they were 'discussing' my issues.  Does this mean they probably also knew this was a wider-spread problem, but wouldn't admit it?
  

The replaceable bottom seems like a great answer to me.  The seam between the bottom and the rest of the cavity will, perhaps, allow the metal to expand and contract without stressing the porcelain, and if there is a problem, the bottom will be much easier to replace than a whole oven.  -Less expensive for Wolf, since they won't pay as much for service and won't be junking ovens, and it's less hassle and risk to home and cabinets for the homeowner.  Win-win... except for me.

Now enter my German-engineered beast, the Gaggenau oven.  --The BMW or Mercedes of ovens, I guess you could say.  It's fit and finish is great, as was Wolf's, and it's a beaut with its big windows.

I have disappointments, though.  It is much shallower (back to front) than any of my other ovens. I can't bake as many loaves of bread at once, and can't put things like rectangular cake or lasagna pans in end-first to fit 2, side-by-side, on a rack.

The racks aren't full extension like my most-often-used racks in the Wolf. Someone on the Gardenweb Kitchen Forum said that wasn't too much of an issue with the side-opening doors, but when it comes time to flip or baste chicken pieces, for example, it means a struggle, or pulling the pans out of the oven onto the counter.  The new Gaggenau models have extension racks, but it'd cost me $800 per rack, including retrofit bracket, so I won't be adding them. 

The display screen is small, so the numbers are TINY.  The background light for it also goes out if the oven gets really hot or both ovens are on.  I'm supposed to get that looked at, but if/when fixed, the numbers for the timer will still only be 1/8" high.  On my other ovens, I could read the clock or timer from across the room.

There are still people (a majority) in our household who don't know how to operate the oven, because the controls are not at all intuitive, or similar to other ovens, so if they're not the frequent bakers, they forget from one time to the next.  There are a lot of symbols without words, unless you hit the "i" to get an explanation with each change.

I do like, that with each mode, the graphic shows which elements are on and to what extent, so it makes it easier to fine-tune a baking result.  But, like anything with lots of modes, cycles, or whatever, we have our favorites, and really don't use others at all.

These pictures show how 4 different modes utilize the top and bottom
elements...whether they use one, both, or a combination in differing amounts.
The black lines indicated use of that element at full or partial power.
For example, the top left shows the bottom element on full with
partial use of the top element, and the bottom right shows the top
element on full while the bottom element isn't used at all.  For a
convection mode, there is a small fan symbol that alights.

As the blog title says, we make pizza every Friday night, sometimes for a crowd as large as a whole school sports team.  In the Wolf, I could do 2, 15" pizzas, one in each oven, in about 8 minutes, and it took lots of pizzas in a row before the oven seemed to bake a little cooler.  Even then, it wasn't bad, just took a couple minutes more to bake a pizza.  With all the in and out, it really held its temp.

In the Gagg, first of all, we can only make 11" pizzas.  It has an expensive stone and element set up, designed to be used with a special stone baking mode, all especially for pizza and artisan bread. I expected this would be amazing, and worth buying when my old pizza stones wouldn't fit in the new oven.  

But, the fan runs during that mode, so my pizzas get done on top while the crusts are still white on the bottoms.  I finally played with times and temps enough so that I can get a (barely) acceptably done pizza, but it takes 13 minutes.  That might not sound bad, but using one cavity of the Wolf, I cooked our family 4 pizzas in 32 minutes.  With the Gagg, I cook 6 smaller pizzas in 78 minutes...so it takes approximately 2 1/2 times as long to get the same amount of food on the table. This would mean a crazy decrease in the amount of pizza I could get done for a houseful of hungry athletes, compared to what I did in an hour with the Wolf...even if I could use 2 ovens, like I did with the Wolf.

The oven and stone don't seem to retain their temp as well as I'd like after a couple of pizzas, which I find odd, since the element is constantly heating the stone. 

Of course, we bake more than pizza! I'd say it does an adequate job for most of the other tasks we do... baking breads, pies, cakes, and roasting meats.   I don't find the Gagg to be quite as even in baking as the Wolf, but it's not bad. 

It has its specialty rack-pans that slide into the oven without sitting on a rack.  Kind of cool, but odd, and there so many pieces of equipment (broiler pan, pans, racks, rotisserie unit, stone and element) to keep rotating in and out of the oven, as I don't really have room to store it all.




It has a probe, which I had in my other ovens and deem a necessity.  :-)  But with such high end oven at such a price, I was surprised that it only works in the bottom cavity. 

Whine, whine, whine.  I know this is a luxurious problem to have. The salesman (Michael Hoag, also a great help with the transition from Monogram to Wolf), the store (Albert Lee Appliance), and Gagg distributor (Echelon Home Products) were wonderful to me in finding this oven and getting parts and pieces that were missing from the clearance-priced floor model, even though they didn't have to.  I really appreciate all of their work on my behalf. -And the porcelain is till nearly pristine, so Gagg seems to have that part right.  It cleans up well after self-clean.

With every change in oven brand (3 times), I shelled out approximately $1000 more to 'do better.'  (It honestly makes me feel nauseous to think of that total.) Even though I paid significantly less than the usual selling price of approximately $8500 for my particular Gaggenau, I just don't feel it's as extraordinarily amazing as that price indicates.  

I think I wish I'd gone for an Electrolux (that infamous 2nd-guessing), and then if I liked it less, I'd at least have the satisfaction of some money back in my pocket.  What I really wish, though, is that Wolf had stuck with me, and let me know they had a probably answer to the porcelain issue in the works... :-(

I so quickly bonded to my Wolf oven(s), and we seemed to understand each other.  I got the results I wanted without hassle, and so consistently.  I have to include some caveats, but still recommend them because of their performance.  The Gagg just isn't quite the same. --Maybe it's the language barrier -   LOL.  I haven't been able to find a demo or lessons that might help us communicate better. I might not understand all it can do for me.  I'll have to keep trying.

A Revelation

The kids of some of our best friends have worked with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) for years.  Now they (with their young children) are in a foreign land, going to a university there to learn the language, while also teaching English.  They share the Lord in how they behave and serve others, and are allowed to answer questions about their lifestyle, including their Christian faith when relevant, in conversation with people they encounter... at school, at the park, or wherever. 


After we'd attended a presentation they did at church, sharing photos and telling about their typical days, I was thinking about their lives.  I thought, "How wonderful to just get up and go to school and move about the day,  enjoying encounters with people along the way, and know that in doing that, they're doing God's work."  Serving the Lord was built right into their entire life... without extra scheduling. It seemed like no work at all, and so freeing and fun.

But then it hit me.  I realized that's how we're all supposed to look at it.  No matter what we do, it's where God has us, and whatever we do in our lives is the "work" He has for us... even if it's play.  We only need to get up and embrace where we are and what we're already doing. 

I had been separating the little and everyday tasks of my life from what I would consider 'doing God's work.'  --As if I had to set aside time to do my part for God, instead of knowing my daily life IS the work He's provided me.  And I don't need to worry about it.  Just do... in contentment and joy, which is definitely helpful to my personal well-being and outlook.  It is freeing and it certainly can be fun.

This 'revelation' was quite awhile ago now, and I have to admit that although I understand and accept it, I don't really feel like I've absorbed it to the soul level so that I'm living it.  But I feel strangely content with that.  I think of it and 'chew on it' in my mind every now and then.  It's a step in the right direction, and probably just the one of the puzzle pieces, or little idea-sprouts that will grow and bring the concept to fulfillment in my life. 

.......................................................................................................................

Meanwhile... I've done it!  I've blogged 31 days in a row for the month of October!  I hope you've been able to read some of the other blogs who joined this challenge.  It's not too late to check them out. I know I will be going back to read through many posts shared by others that I've missed while writing, and trying to keep up with our life here at RHome410.

31 Days at The Nesting Place

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Wall Work

As I mentioned yesterday, we had a big stack of photos beside our bedroom chair.  Most were already framed, just waiting to hang.

I was having a Sad Sunday and needed a project to lift my spirits with this accomplishment.  I also needed to get those pictures on the wall and see an improvement in our room.

I wish I might've had some fancy secret to arranging photos to share, but I started with the wide rectangles and worked from there, trying for visual balance, adequate white space between frames, and good coverage on the wall.

It was the first time I've used a whole wall like that, and used such large scale pieces on a relatively small area.




The pictures themselves show the family members doing different things through the years. It's a fun trip down memory lane to have them up.

Prince Inventive made me this years ago.
It needs photos and glass, but it deserved to be up.
I think now that it's out of hiding, we'll be much more
likely to get it properly filled and finished.

Princess Bossy's little hand.. Age 5

31 Days at The Nesting Place

What is it about Vacation?

Our 3-day vacation spoiled me.  It made me a bit discontent with my life and surroundings.  Usually discontentment is a bad thing, but in this case, I hope it prompts me to make positive changes in our home.

First I needed to figure out what was so much nicer and more relaxing about our time in that house.  It wasn't hard.  First of all, there were no big projects hanging over our heads there, and everyone was in a good mood, because it was, after all, major play-time.  But the other thing was that the home was so clean and open... so uncluttered.  So, I came home with the resolution to do something about the clutter in our home.

I knew it would be a slow process, because our home is busy, full of people, and every room needs the work.  I didn't really realize how slow, but "slow and steady wins the race," right?  I started with our sanctuary: the master bedroom.

One thing that was impressed upon us at the Family Life's Weekend to Remember marriage conference, that we attended about a year ago, is that our bedroom should be a lovely place for us to be.   I can't say that it is.  It's not horrible, certainly, and has some lovely features, but overall, it needs improvement.  It's pretty small, and so it tends to get cluttered... We're not always fastidious with putting away our clothing, leaving out shoes, jackets, etc, and not having a system for clothes that have been worn, but don't necessarily dirty enough to need laundering.

Also, because Hubby and I have no other storage for personal belongings, and Hubby has no desk or other space, all sorts of random items collect in our bedroom, especially all flat surfaces.  Windowsills seem to serve as his desk.

I didn't think to take 'before' photos, as I was (short-sightedly) only interested in digging in, not sharing our mess, so believe it or not, any photos here are better than it was.  

We previously had Christmas decorations I'd made for Hubby's parents, but regained when they'd passed on, gathering dust on the shelf above our TV. The shelf under the TV was absolutely stuffed with DVDs and various papers, and gadgets.  

I had financial papers (never know how to organize and what to throw out) in a stack with quilting and drafting software beside my nightstand, along with books, mostly unread or in-progress.  

I always want to wait for opportunity, time, and clear space, when necessary, to do a job all at once, and get it done. Well, it took me until age 53, I guess, but I finally figured out that if I do a little bit everyday before I leave my room, I can make pretty good improvement over a week or two, then keep improving and maintaining over time... which will likely be much faster than waiting for those impossibly perfect conditions. (Emphasis = "The big point of this blog post." --Fair warning, in case you were waiting for creative "Eureka!" moment that turned this room into a luxurious oasis.  It may be coming, but not today.) 

It's still very much a work in progress...


1) I don't know what to do with Hubby's stuff, and, frankly, neither does he. 








2) I'm having trouble with duvet covers.  I like the concept, and the idea that they can be washed, changed, and replaced, but ours always seems to look unkempt.  Our long-clawed roommate shares a lot of the blame, I think.

3) Decor.  I need to think outside of the (what I fear is a very rigid) box.  Do we need a 'real bed' with a headboard?  The quilt doesn't match the bedding... Should it?  Father-in-Law's chair that means so much to Hubby... can it stay?  We definitely need to add nightstands.  My hand-me-down unit isn't doing the job.

I partially solved the problem of sparsely decorated walls, while also diminishing the stack of photos wedged in beside the chair, at least in one area.... I'll share that later.

31 Days at The Nesting Place

Monday Movie Madness

Back to my healthy breakfast:
plain Greek yogurt, almonds,
& a squirt of Blue Agave nectar

I have noticed symptoms that warn me I am 'running on empty.' - Interrupted sleep pattern, nervousness, cold all the time, feeling overwhelmed and an inability to cope.

The answers to that are always adequate rest, healthy diet, exercise... blah, blah, blah.



But another stress reliever/relaxation remedy is fun and, of course, laughter.  They don't say it's the best medicine for nothin'.

Sometimes it's OK to just take the afternoon off and watch a fun movie, like we did last Monday.  

We had a DVD left over from our weekend RedBox rental, and didn't want it to go to waste!  Besides, it's about getting into college... so educational for homeschoolers, right?  ;-)

We watched Admission.  

Admission with Tina Fey & Paul Rudd,
 plus Lily Tomlin

From the advertisements, we expected a light-hearted and silly, romantic comedy.  I think that's, perhaps, why it has mixed and, mostly, 3-star reviews on Amazon from those who expected more laughs.There were funny parts, but the characters had deeper issues and past baggage with which they struggled.  These challenges included issues revolving around parent-child relationships, life dreams, career choices, and aging, and were given due respect in the movie, I think.

It was still fun, and definitely entertaining.  I really enjoyed this movie.  A nice break from our usual routine. 


Speaking of movies, though...  Based on this weekend's experience, if you find yourself standing in front of RedBox on a Saturday night and many of the movies have been rented, like we did, and the only one that looks at all interesting is "The Host,"turn around, drive home, and play cards, read, or opt to go to bed early, like we didn't.  

The original book was written by Stephanie Meyer, the woman who wrote the Twilight series, which my kids love, and, admittedly, I am not fond, but did get sucked in when the movies were playing in our house.  The same people produced this movie.  I think it was supposed to be Sci-Fi Romance?  We all, kids included, agreed that it was not the best use of our time..  Tiresome, "hokie," and ridiculous, and I have nothing good to say about it.  Oh, wait... Prince Inventive liked the Justin-Bieberish, shiny, chrome sports cars the aliens drove.  :D

31 Days at The Nesting Place