Pink Books for Pink Saturday

Good Afternoon Friends!

Boy, I'm sure loving this time of getting back to blogging! So far this month I've written five posts! FIVE! Ha! I'm on a roll! Seriously though, it's been tricky finding my groove again after years of blogging for income. I used to love sharing fun things during Blue Monday, Vintage Thingie Thursday, and Pink Saturday. As far as I know, the only of these still around is Beverly's Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound. I'll be sure to link up there today!

Even though I've not been blogging as much, I've definitely not disappeared from the internet all together. For the last few years, I've run another site called The Victorian Letter Writers Guild, where I facilitate a quarterly international ladies pen friend match up, among other things. I also started an Instagram page just for beautiful book photography. It's @readingresplendent.

I've been working on my pink books collection. It's coming along pretty nicely. It's a little difficult to find books that are all pink but I've had a lot of fun hunting!

I'm really excited to visit some of my old friends on Pink Saturday. If you're new to the fun, be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to see all the pinky goodness!

The Homemaking Party: A Very Big Pickled Asparagus Operation

Good Morning! Welcome to The Homemaking Party! 

How is everyone's social distancing going? We are starting to go a little stir crazy. Well...not me---I love being at home. But my super social kids are finding it a bit unnerving. Ha!

A local produce company who usually services the public school kitchens is selling their stock to the public at wholesale prices. I visited them last week to pick up some nice produce and have spent the last few days canning, freezing, drying, and baking it all up. Jamie and Elisha got in on the action and undertook a big pickled asparagus operation!

Making pickled asparagus is fairly simple and pretty rewarding. Pickled vegetables are healthy snacks and can be used in garnishes, hors d'oeuvres, or eaten plain. Most of our family loves it---I admit, I've not tried it! Ha!

Our favorite recipe is this one from AllRecipes.com. The kids like it better when we leave out the chili pepper flakes. Also, the store was out of dill seed this last time we made it so we used dill weed and it was just fine! 

It's been difficult to find our normal amounts and selection of groceries these last couple weeks, which just emphasizes to me the need to have a better stocked pantry and knowledge of cooking from scratch. I didn't realize how much I'd really slipped into being less and less of a traditional homemaker, especially in the kitchen, until all this corona crazy came along. It's nice to be able to hit "reset" and get back into some of the things I loved to do in my home.

Thanks for stopping by---I'm looking forward to seeing what you've got to share!

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The World Looks Different But It's Ok

Well, I finally broke down this evening.

I was doing so good keeping it all together! (or so I thought...)

I've spent the last 10 days pretty much how many other American homemakers spent theirs: taking stock of my supplies, running out for provisions, growing more and more concerned over the lack of toilet paper, and thinking about how to navigate a new normal. It's amazing the evolution that "normal" has taken in just 10 days. At least for me, I've gone from "Hmm...well this is new" to "Dear me, how strange" to "I'm not sure how to respond to this" to "Is this really happening?" to "Whoa. This is really happening."

Tonight I had just had it. I'd spent the week trying to keep everything just how it should be. Spinning all the plates. Dotting all the "i"s and crossing all the "t"s. I was trying to make things not different. Truth is---everything is different. 

For our family, things are different in a better way. My husband's job as a computer programmer within the shipping industry is a double-whammy of secure. If our world stops needing programmers or stops needing shipping/distribution, we're gonna see a MUCH bigger issue than we have now. So having Daddy working from home and having all our busy schedules erased is probably the greatest thing that could happen to us. At least for now. We are financially secure and have an abundance of all we need. (We even found toilet paper today---score!)

However, there are so so many who are struggling on all levels, and this is where my freakout came into play today. I keep thinking of things we could be doing to be a blessing to others while still abiding by the new calls for social distancing. (Well, sort of. Right now I have four teenagers over that aren't mine...but they're here enough that they might as well be mine. AND our family already breaks the 10 or less rule anyway so...) If I wasn't so worried about trying to maintain normal in my home, we could be taking time off to write letters to people we know who don't have a gaggle of housemates to share this time with. I could be writing encouraging devotionals or sharing information on my blog to help others become less dependent on this fast-paced, drive-thru satisfaction sort of world that's come to a halt. Not to mention all the things we could be doing around the house like decluttering and listing things for sale online to the whole world who have suddenly become online shoppers by default. Most of all, I would have time to look outside my happy cottage in the forest and respond to a hurting world. God is allowing things to be different right now. I want to find out why.

I've spent the last 10 days fighting so hard for normal and it's really a losing battle. The world is different now. For me, this time is a gift and a ministry opportunity. For others, this time is scary and heartbreaking and chaotic. Life looks different now. It may be for a short time---it may be the new normal. Enough has already changed for some that life will never look the same. No matter how long it lasts, I don't want to be afraid to embrace the different and see what God will do in this time. Maybe He's writing a new normal for me that will be better than anything I could ever imagine.

What is your biggest concern right now? I'd love to remember you in prayer if you'd like to comment below.

Blessings!

Sarah

Our Visit to Harvest Lane Cottage to see Mrs. Laura Lane

Hello friends! Welcome to the Homemaking Party!

Have you ever met someone and immediately felt comfortable---like you'd been friends for so long, or even family? Mrs. Laura Lane and I had been "blogging friends" for several years before finally meeting in person about three years ago. We were instant friends and have had the opportunity to get together several times since then.

Last Friday, Lynzie and I had the chance to spend the day with Mrs. Laura and her youngest daughter (who also became fast friends with Lynzie) at their Harvest Lane Cottage in SW Missouri. We shared a lovely lunch together and had a good chat. We even worked on a couple crafty projects---she knitting and me fussy cutting. The younger girls chatted up a storm and then took off for a coffee/tea run and a photo shoot in a nearby park.

Mrs. Laura made this fantastic chocolate sheet cake with homemade boiled icing. Wow---it was so delicious! Look how pretty her dishes are, too. What a special treat! 

After spending almost six hours with the Lanes, Lynzie and I headed downtown to visit our favorite antique shop in town. Mrs. Laura lives in a beautiful historic town with so many gorgeous Victorian and early Edwardian homes. We were snapping photos all up and down the streets! We love the fabulous downtown court house, the most. It's like a castle towering over the square!

I love finding bits of hidden architecture here and there. This painted tin or copper paneling peeked at me from a narrow passageway. There are so many beautiful things to see if we take the time!

Thanks so much for stopping by the Homemaking Party! I've missed my friends! 

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