I am sitting outside on the glorious, glowing first Sunday in autumn.   A fire in the fire pit keeps the coffee warm, and the sun warms my soul.  We have been at Da Camp since Friday night, arriving in the driving wind and rain and we will leave this evening in all the fall wonder.

 

 

 

 

Our weekend has been tranquil, filled with photography, bird hunting, wood cutting, long walks and fantastic conversations with each other and our frequent visitors.

 

                               

 

                      

 

 

 

 

Yesterday I tried a new Dutch Oven recipe, with chicken, potatoes, onions, South West Seasonings, sour cream, peas and bacon.   The smell floated through the woods sending our mouths watering as we patiently waited for it to finish cooking.  It was well worth the wait. 

 

 

 

A visit from the Lishinski’s help to pass the time.  We drank coffee by the fire pit while swapping hunting stories. So many people were out this weekend hiking, hunting and marveling at the changing colors.

 

                      

 

I stepped outside this morning to the sounds of the frost melting off the trees while the fog drifted above the treetops.  We quickly dressed, hopped in the car and heading down the trail. 

                    

 

 

 

Over night the leaves changed once again, adding more glow to the woods.  We got one bird, much to the dogs delight!  (Don got one last night when he went to close the bottom gate without the dogs!)  Stopping at Pete, Steve and Nikki’s camp added to the morning fun as all four dogs raced around chasing buckets, sticks and each other. 

                    

 

We headed back, taking the long route stopping to capture the glow.

                                 

 

Larry came by in the early afternoon to help cut wood, shoot his new gun and have dinner.  The guys are out now sighting in their deer guns and the dogs and I are relaxing. 

                       

                             

Have a peaceful week, getting out and enjoying Autumn's glow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still basking in the relaxation of the weekend. We had a fantastic time. Don is now on his summer schedule so we left the house shortly after 4pm, knowing a snow storm was aiming toward the camp we packed the night before. We hit the snow just before Keweenaw Bay, by the time we got to Da Camp the ground was covered


and the trees were bending low.


Matt arrived a couple hours later and we hunkered down with a warm fire, the gas lamps glowing, and the wind whipping around the trailer.





Saturday, putting the truck in all wheel drive we braved the roads and the guys took me to lovely log cabin for a hardy birthday breakfast. We were blessed by a Bald Eagle visit shortly after getting on to the main road.


After getting wood and plumbing supplies we headed back and Matt and Don spent the afternoon burying a 55 galloon drum and running the plumbing so we no longer have a bucket under the kitchen sink! Matt grilled some of his mouth water steaks for a late supper and we settled in for an evening of reading with the sounds of wolves and coyotes in the background. (we found the scat close, very close, to the trailer the next day).

Mother's Day rang in cold yet sunny with a blue sky covering us throughout the entire day. Kimi and Jackson joined us for a brunch of Don's Huevos Rancheros, so yummy!
Steve and Nikki arrived in the early afternoon,





while the guys worked on the new screen porch (more on that in another blog)


we took Jackson on a nature walk. This is the best time of year, no biting bugs (only ticks) and all the small wonders are showing off before being covered by larger vegetation.



The guys made the best chicken on the grill and Nikki served up a spectacular salad. Uncle Matt helped Jackson eat his carrots!



Jackson loves it here,




and the new chair Grandpa made for him fits perfect



Like the rest of the family he's a Tiger's fan!





Loving on Uncle Matt



Grandma's hat made a great sun blocker




and he slept very well.




In closing I wanted to share this with you, it is from Alice Walker

And so our mothers and grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see ~ or like a sealed letter they could not plainly read.

This project was way harder than I thought. My cutest shoes are the worst models!





Don's hunting boots1















These are my Great Grandma's boots and glasses (the bible goes back 5 greats to an uncle).

PROJECT 52

Week 2 of our project and the subject seems simple, however the photos just aren't what I thought they would be, I am learning to craft my art under a time frame.

I was inspired by a post on Twinkling Along about eating with children and not losing your mind. As Jackson and i rocked this afternoon I thought back to the days when we had a houseful of children and what we did to have sane mealtimes.

Before Dad arrived home from work hair was combed, faces and hands washed and clean clothes were donned if needed. Shortly after his arrival I would call out "Suppertime" a simple word that sent everyone in the Williams family heading in the same direction. Everybody knew that this meant "come now" and activities stopped right where they were. One time, however, I was tested on this, no one showed up, not even my husband, it must have been their own doings were more important. So, I sat down, said Grace, asked my self to pass the various dishes and began the meal, having a pleasant conversation with no one but me. My stunned family slowly emerged from their wide range of activities, heads hung low, "sorry Mom" said in low sad voices, gradually taking their seats. Nothing more needed to be said and it never happened again.


Food was never a big issue, I simply placed it on plates and everyone knew they had to at least take one bite of everything. I believe the conversation at the table was so lively that it didn't give any one the chance to really think about not liking the food. Every supper rule applied to anyone eating at our table. If you didn't like it, which very rarely occurred with the children but did occasionally with guests, there was always PB and J available to make for ones self. I was careful not to make things with exotic tastes (like the taste of alcohol, because I don't like that in my food either and some ethnic foods I was sure they wouldn't care for) but we always served a wide variety and had many meals prepared in our home by our friends from other cultures. Basically the motto was simple:

TODAY'S MENU
TWO CHOICES:
TAKE IT
OR
LEAVE IT!

Once seated it was pretty simple: Non utensil hand remained in the lap, napkins joined that hand, wait to eat until everyone is seated and served, ask for things to be passed, elbows only join the table after table is cleared, asked to be excused after everyone is done and say one nice thing about the meal, (if you cannot think of one. . . comment on the table settings or centerpiece). Asked to be excused and clear your place. Open mouth chewing is only acceptable if you have a cold, and teeth cleaning with fingers or tongues belong in the bathroom.

If a new item was taste tested we did a thumbs up or down to determine if it was served again. Once the children got to be about 7 years old any negative comment about dinner automatically made that person the cook for the next supper and yes, you had to follow the menu (which would secretly change to tacos because of all the chopping and prep time. ( This meal preparation was always followed by "I am so glad no one complained because this was a lot of work!!") and they never complained again.



As the children grew older it became apparent that one or the other of them had a Monopoly on the dinner conversation. So we implemented the following: the person who's "week" it was started the supper conversation under the following guidelines; you must say what you learned that day, what you did that was helpful and where you saw God in the day. In turn each person at the table did the same. All guests were advised of this before the meal and everyone had to say something. On the occasion that a college student said,"I didn't learn anything," Don or I would pipe up with, "well, we'll just call you parents and let them know they are wasting their money because you didn't learn a thing!" Amazingly they came up with something! Everyone followed good conversation skills and we all learned many new things.


During meal times the only phone calls we took were when Don was "on call." We didn't have a TV on and the dogs were laying under the table or highchairs but did not beg. (Milly sometimes falls short on this one, thanks to Don.)

If, ever, our schedules got too busy and we couldn't have 5 suppers together as a family Don and I said we would do breakfast as a family. (we didn't have to do this).




Breakfast was always eaten in shifts so that we could all make it out the door at the same time but was always eaten at the table as was lunch. To this day when everyone is home we have one big breakfast together on the weekend. When not in school, lunches were eaten in the same manner as supper.



Do I think it was worth it? Yes, I do!!! Many people have sat at our supper table and plenty of them comment on our time around the table. We have not had a complaint, in fact, we had a psychologist eating with us one night, and the next day she was the key note speaker at a conference we attended where she talked about our dinner conversations and how great that was! Our biggest complement tho is the fact that we all have great memories from around the table.
Will I do this with our grandchildren? You bet! They, like their parents, will learn to eat a simple meal of eggs and toast to an eloquent meal on the good china all while having a great time.




Statistically it has been proven that family meals at least 5 times per week help with language development, we tend to eat better as a family, older children need family mealtime, it's a vaccine against drug and alcohol abuse among many other benefits.



I know that it is difficult to do, but a simple meal together is so beneficial.