Country Picnic

With the unfolding of spring and warmer days, picnics seem to be a natural and wonderful way to experience them.  There is something so deeply satisfying about enjoying time with those we love, surrounded by His creation, music of birdsong (maybe even a flowing stream or river) and a basket filled with delicious food. 

With so many places one can venture for a picnic, there are several elements that my family & I have found that seem to make a picnic a wonderful experience:

Picnic Basket or maybe a vintage lunchbox or suitcase. For my wedding gift, my Grammie gave me a wicker picnic basket that has endured for almost eighteen years of being carried all over the countryside.  It's hinges fixed here and there with twine or wire. We also use an ecclectic mix of other containers that make the experience fun. 

A cozy & comfortable blanket. Our family likes to use an old fabric Waverly shower-curtain (yes, a shower curtain!).  It is very soft fabric and has beautiful cabbage roses all over.  Consider anything that does well on a table or placed on the grass.   We also use other soft blankets or pretty tablecloths we have on hand.  One thing to remember (which we learned the hard way) make sure the ground is dry if picnicing on it!

Drinks.  Fun bottles or thermos' filled with lemonade or sparkling cider.  Vintage-bottled seltzers or jars with chopped berries floating in a fruited-drink mixture.  Be creative & have fun.  Old glasses or wine-glasses.  Pretty paper cups are wonderful too especially for little hands.

Plates & Utensils: There is something that I love about using real plates & utensils on a picnic. It feels more elegant possibly if one doesn't mind that they will need to be washed upon arrival back at home.  There are so many choices of adorable paper plates or plastic plates too, just make sure to anchor them well if a sudden gust of wind blows through the picnic. That happened to our family just last week at Rocky Mountain National Park, where we escaped for the afternoon.

Fresh Fruit: grapes, strawberries, cherries, orange slices, raspberries, watermelon....eaten whole or sliced into a  fruit salad.

Bread: baguettes, bread-sticks, artisian loaves, twisted rolls, pitas, focaccia, sourdough.  Wrapped in a beautiful cloth napkin, nestled in a little basket.  Maybe some olive oil & small bowl to dip torn pieces into.

Salad: Because of the drive to some picnic destinations, a cold picnic salad really works well.  Potato or pasta salad, grain salads made with quinoa, lentils, beans, barley, etc. work wonderful as well and are filling.  As a family, we will use them as the main dish and sometimes add some shredded chicken.

Dessert:  The finale to a delicious plein air meal is dessert..if there is room in our stomach! A covered tin full of frosted brownies, a homemade cake, a fruit cobbler or a lattice-crusted pie.  We sometimes will pack little vintage plates for the desserts which lends to the atmosphere of picnic elegance.


Packing some fun activities to do also makes a picnic a memorable experience.  Binoculars for viewing birds or other wildlife, horseshoes and a stake, nature sketchbooks, frisbees or other sports equipment, a good book or butterfly net.  These beckons one to stray from the picnic blanket/table and to explore the area nearby.

May we escape and slowly savor these seasons, enjoy a delicious picnic with those precious to us and marvel in the glory of His creation. 

Under His Wings,
Malinda



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Our Persuasions

Browsing the shelves of a local bookstore last January, I discovered a beautiful copy of Jane Austen's "Persuasion". Inspired by the chill and bareness of the post-holiday atmosphere, I purchased it and thus began my literary adventure. Little did I know at the time, Austen would reveal to me the immense power we either give to or bestow onto others. 

By definition, Persuation is..." the act of persuading or seeking to persuade...the state or fact of being persuaded or convinced....a deep conviction or belief.." (Webster's College Dictionary).

As I read the story, I kept thinking about life, my own convictions and how I developed them.  I also pondered the influences in my life: books, movies, sermons/ministries, music, blogs, friendships & family are some of the major persuading contributors. 

As a follower of the Most High, I attempt to filter all that I think & do through the His Word. Sometimes it requires making hard choices that may require more work or the unapproval of those I cherish.  It is not for the faint of heart.  But this I do know, it is a constant battle, but not without reward.  Our culture is evocative in it's persuation.

This past year, has been a struggle in many lives of those whom are precious to our family.  We have received phone calls in the middle of the night as well as throughout the day with lives whom are shattered.  Because my husband is a counselor, even more so.  As our family has looked at each other as the phone rings, one of us (adults) have quietly slips into another room to talk. 

Our choices are for the most part, a result of being persuaded by something or someone, whether we realize it or not.  Those choices have consequences and eventual fruitition.

This past spring, my daughter's christian homeschool theatre group preformed an adaptation of Jane Austen' "Persuasion" at a beautiful, historic theatre in the neighboring town.  The timing of it was really incredible (God-timed) for the topic had been simmering in my own soul.  It has been a catalyst of wonderful conversation with my children throughout the rythmn of our daily lives and the delving into Scripture.

As I continue this on-going pondering of my own persuation, I am aware that persuation will be an essential ingredient in the everyday building of who I am now & in the future.  To compromise & be persuaded by the vaporing values of our culture would be the undoing of all I that is important to me.  So like the watchman of fortress walls, I diligently guard whom & what persuades the wellspring of my being.


Under His Wings (...& His Persuation),
Malinda

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Road Trips

The beauty that I love about my blog is this: I write when life swells
within me and inspiration spills apon my fingertips.

It is amazing as I look back at my entries, it is a scapbook of sorts,
to the road on which I travel in life. It is beautiful and full, tiring and
breath-catching.

Most every road that I have ever traveled on, from the open prairies
of Kansas, the coastline of Martha's Vineyard to the cliffs of Kauai,
the road meandered, curved and at times veered dangerously on a
hair-pin curve.  Isn't this a picture of our lives?

Before we had children, my husband and I set out on a road trip.

Our eventual destination was to visit his family in the Bay area of
California.  From Colorado, we headed west crossing through
beautiful and rugged mountains, green valleys and then we came
to dry, grayish-brown desert.  My husband was tired and asked
if his bride would take the wheel for awhile as he climbed in the
back to take a nap. 

Now that we have a quiver-full of children, that is no longer an option.

To keep from getting bored (or crazy) I looked at the time and milege
when my sweet husband layed down in the back and thought, "I wonder
how FAR I can get on the road before he wakes up".  I know, crazy.

Because I have such a patient and merciful Lord and husband, we did not get in an accident, but I did cover ALOT of miles in the short time my husband napped. I don't reccomend this.

As I have thought about that trip, I have seen how I have done this "hurry-up-and-get-this-over-with" spill into other areas of my life.  When the Lord blessed us with each of my children, at times, I couldn't wait till they reached the age that they could (fill in the blank).  Or when we could afford to......I would have the time to.........

Could it be, that I have not been enjoying the current view out the window on the current road I travel?

One day, my preschooler will not find sheer joy in letting me hold her, count her little toes and sing to her.  One day, my teen daughters will not be borrowing my earrings and the late-night talks will be replaced with the sounds of crickets. One day, my nine-year old son will not sit on the floor and re-inact a LEGO battle scene (with noises) for me.

But TODAY, on this road, I will slow my racing thoughts and slowly savor the fleeting and precious view.


Under His Wings,

Malinda B.

The Gift of A Letter

"An inspired letter can be as riveting as a stare. It can move us to tears, spur us to action, provoke us, uplift us, touch us. Transform us.  When written from the heart, letters are dreams on paper, wishes fullfilled,  desires statified. Letters can be powerful."
                          "Gift Of A Letter" by Alexandra Stoddard

As far back as I can remember, I anticipated the mailman.  Running to the mailbox when the flag on the box was lowered, I was eager to the possibility of recieving the gift of a letter.  Not much has changed, except maybe I don't run......the neighbors might wonder.....

For my entire childhood, I never lived in the same area as my maternal grandparents. But it felt as if I knew their life.  They scripted it for me in their letters.  I learned about the elderly neighbor lady who discovered she could paint.  What my grandparents enjoyed at the weekly jaunt to their favorite resturant.  The treasures they found at a garage sale. What the young preacher preached on a church.  I was even sent sermon notes. 

I still carry them in my Bible. 

I still trace with my finger the beautiful penmanship that my grandmother had. In time, Parkinson's disease stole it away and then she would dictate her cards and letters to my grandfather.  The beauty of old love.

The enjoyment found in writing and receiving letters runs deep. 

I have found the actual process of writing to be a natural form of autobiography.  As I articulate my thoughts to the person I am writing, my experience of actually living, is made more deliberate and with more acute awareness.  I become aware of what is currently happening in our family, struggles that I might be dealing with  and specific things that have recently inspired my life, such as a good book, recipe or conversation. I narrate my life.

As I think about the person I am writing, I am able to focus on how much they mean to me, to pray for them and thank God for their life intersecting with mine.  I am able to think about what life might be like for them and the think of questions I would like to ask.

Through the years, I have organized my top desk drawer with pretty liner, pens, stamps, stickers, address labels and collected a variety of paper and notecards.  By doing so, it is easier for my children and myself to set to the enjoyment of a thank you or letter.

It's been so enjoyable to be on the look-out for pretty envelopes, cards, stationary, colored pens, stamps and return address labels.

I recently got a letter from a new friend from Oregon.  We had participated in a seed swap.  When my daughter brought in the mail the other day (I think she runs....oh how I am proud), she handed me a padded envelope.  I was a bit giddy.

Later when I had a time of quiet and brewed a cup of tea, I opened the anticipated envelope.  Inside, I found a beautiful seed packet tied in raffia and an antique, painted button.  Also enclosed was a beautiful card and letter and a little coin purse my new friend had sewn!  What joy this small token of another brought that week.  A kindred spirit I have found.

How do we set aside time for letter writing?

"Letter writing used to be the principle form of communication prior to 1876 and the introduction of the now ubiquitous telephone at America's Centennial celebration.  Often letter writing was an art form.  In today's lightning-paced, nuclear obsessed society, we are virtually starved for the individual stamp of a personally handwritten letter.  We live longer than ever before.  So what is our maddening rush?  What makes us "too busy" to send the gift of a letter to someone we care about?  We all get caught up but to busy for what?" questions Alexandra Stoddard in A Gift of a Letter.

I have been deeply pondering those words.

For me, the quiet moments woven throughtout Sunday afternoons have been ideal for me to pen someone a letter.  In those hours, our home is quietly humming with children, pets and hubby.  A wonderful time for reflection.  A perfect recipe for letter writing. 

A personal letter can be a most intimate and touching of human experiences, one to another. 

A letter is a gift signature of you.

Spring Blessings!

Malinda

The Trails We Blaze

North of where I live is the Oregon Trail. 

Two summers ago, in route to a Yellowstone camping trip with my family, we took a side turn off the beaten path to see the Oregon Trail ruts. 

Could they really still be there after over one hundred fifty years of blizzards, thunderstorms and other rugged weather?  They were.

Our family being a big fan of everything pioneer and reading the "Little House On the Prairie" series to our kids, I felt a moment of reverence amidst these wheel-marked paths. I felt choked with hot, welling tears.

How does a family endure what they did?

One thing was evident when gazing at such a scene: alot of covered wagons passed through these rolling and at times very rocky, terrian.  Again and again they came.  Some whistling as they worked their teams.  Others crying over the family and life they left behind for who knows what were to greet them ahead.

As we drove away, the children were happy and content to see some actual pioneer artifacts.  I sat in the passenger seat, watching the sea of open sky & prairie and really pondered those tracks.  Again and again they came.  Tracks being carved into the rugged prairie. From the prairie transitioned my thoughts to my own life. 

What tracks am I carving into my life? 

What makes them?

Habits. 

That's it!  What do I return time and time again to? One thing is for sure, tracks are made by the constant  returning of wheels ginding and pressing down.  Habits are of the same nature.

What has made me ponder these thoughts as of recent, is the time of year.  New Year's resolutions have been earnestly made, begun and sadly, many abandoned.

What now remains, those resolutions, have a good chance to be on their way to becoming habits.

I reflect back to my own life, I look at the habits that I have absorbed into who I am.  Ways of thinking, how I interact with others, how I manage my home and the daily rhythm with my children, the way I speak and respond to my husband, how I take care of my body, what I do to grow deeper in my faith.

This I know:

I am what I do daily.

I first form my habits; then my habits form me.

Every day I live, I am in the process of becoming.  Whether I am becoming better or worse depends on what I give myself to.

I do what I have committed to, even when I don't feel like it.

My habits are my future.  They will determine who I will be ten or thirty years from now. 

Like the Oregon Trail ruts, my habits now will effect those generations ahead of me.
Maybe one hundred and fifty years from now.


Vintage Homestead
Blessings!

Malinda

Pioneer Girl Gingersnaps

My daughters at Pioneer camp.  Not sure what my youngest
was eating.....

Several summers ago, two of my daughters had the opportunity to spend a week at Pioneer Camp.  It was held at our local museum who had relocated old log cabins onto their grounds were the girls "lived" for the camp.  Throughout the week, our girls came and were taken back in time learning the ways of pioneer women and children.

Among all their adventures, they brought home this delicious & healthy recipe that we all have been enjoying.

Pioneer Girl Gingersnaps

3/4 cup real butter
1 cup sugar (instead, we did 1/2 cup honey & 2 packets of Stevia)
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon Ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
several teaspoons of water as needed to moisten.

Cream the first three ingredients together in a large bowl.  Add the dry ingredients and mix well.  Add teaspoons of water if necessary to moisten a bit.  Make little balls (approx. 1 Tbsp. dough) and drop onto greased cookie sheet.  Take back of spoon and flatten ball.  Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 7-8 minutes.

                             Enjoy a taste of the good ol' Pioneer days!

Blessings!

Malinda

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Vintage Modern Farmgirl

How does a woman thrive today whose heart longs for the virtues and ways of living of the past?

These thoughts have been stirring in my mind for the last several years.

I am a great-grandaughter of those who settled the West.

August of this past year, I found myself on the dirt road heading to the homestead of my great-grandparents with my wonderful mom next to me and my precious children in the backseats.  Dust gathering behind my vehicle and farmland sprinkled with cattle, sunflowers and windmills, I made the journey to the homestead.

I have lots of memories of visiting as a child.  Getting up at the crack of dawn with my great uncle to gather eggs, riding on the back of an old truck as it slowly crept through the prairie throwing bales of hay to cows who gathered behind.  Listening to the coyotes howl at night, worrying about the little kittens nestled in the warmth of the old barn.

Walchle Homestead: taken by Cathy Stewart, cousin


My children have no memories of this place.  My heart feels sad that I am the last generation of my family to have these memories of a working homestead.  My uncle now is now gone, his grave on the bluffs of the small, nearby town.  His wife, in a nursing home of that small town.  They had no children.  Ironically, she lives on another bluff across from the graveyard.  My maternal grandparents and several great-aunts and uncles all buried here.  Their lives beginning and coming full circle to the hills and bluffs of the prairie.

I have farmgirl roots.  How do I keep from losing my heritage?  How do I spill these thoughts and way of living into my life and the lives of my children? 

I have experienced and enjoyed the theatre and art museums of New York City, symphony orchestras (I was a violinist) and other "modern" life.  But it has been the joy found in daily living, that I have done much soul searching.  As a teenager, I thought it too old-fashioned & a bit embarrassed.  It's funny how sometimes we reject things that we later learn is an immense treasure.

"Steadfast at home" or committed to a home-centered life is what it has been boiled down to.  Interacting with God's creation in the way I was meant to, becoming less dependent on government and big business and more dependent on our Creator.  Putting my husband, children and home first in my priorities.  Viewing my home as a place of creativity, industry and ministry.

For me, it physically began when I started wearing aprons again. 
So simple, yet as I began to think about it, I don't have any memories of my Grammie or great aunts not wearing aprons (unless they were dressed for church on Sunday).  As I get to work in my kitchen, I tie those strings around my waist and feel the heritage of those precious, hardworking and Godly women who have gone before me. 

As I studied the daily lives of the women in my family's heritage,  I began to see some areas that I could re-capture and cultivate in my own family and life.  Lots of the following ideas we have begun adding into our family's way of life.  Others, I am prayfully considering.

Things like:

growing a vegetable garden

sewing

using natural products for medicines, beauty, etc.

canning

stocking a deep pantry

soapmaking

writing letters

raising chickens

knitting

making own cleaners & laundry soap

cake decorating

nature studying/sketching

listening to sermons & radio dramas together as a family

bee keeping

making menus from scratch

planting and harvesting own orchard

reading great books aloud as a family

candle making

growing herbs for cooking, medicine & teas

grinding wheat  & baking homemade bread

What I didn't expect in doing these things was the changes that would take place in my family's hearts and relationships as we've learned to plant, harvest, can, bake, sew and mend together.  It has really brought a deep sense of joy and satisfaction. 

Can a woman of today be a Vintage Modern Farmgirl?

Yes.  She not only can, but it's a tiring, rewarding & beautiful life. She may also change the lives of those who walk in her footsteps and those around her.  The fruit has the potential to live beyond her own lifetime.

"Her children arise up, and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praiseth her.  Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all."  Proverbs 31:28-29

Homestead Blessings!

Malinda

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