Gingerbread Man Apron

We're both amazed, Gingerbread Man and I, that he ended up at the thrift store.


After all, he's a certified Master Chef. Says so in rick rack right there on the apron.


The apron which you'll find in my shop.

"Scrubbing the Tiles"

"There was something rather satisfying, she found, in scrubbing the tiles of the kitchen floor. The clean, sweet-smelling wetness, which grew as she retreated backwards from it on her knees, delighted her, and although she doubted if anyone would ever notice the result of her labors, she was content with her small reward of a job well done."

--Miss Read, No Holly for Miss Quinn

A Casual Linen Dress: Vintage Simplicity 2617

Recently I've done quite a bit of sewing with linen--since Hancock's had it for half price at the end of the summer. I love it, its beautiful drape, glossy deep colors, and drapey heavy swing.

Here's a dress for Clara from an early 50s pattern, I'd guess. Love the big collar, and the big cuffs which I had to face with a little blue and white plaid when I ran out of fabric. Why does that always happen?


I just love the freedom and elegance she exhibits in these dresses. They show off her tiny waist and she can play her cello in the graceful full skirt. She usually pairs her frock with her beloved leopard-print sneakers and looks so right that I feel the time and effort of sewing for her is so worth it.

Felix, the Senior

Giles does a brisk business in senior portraiture over the summer and I was lucky to catch him for Felix over Labor Day weekend. So here's my handsome high school senior boy.


He's on the college search now, with the guidance of the Composer. We do get all kinds of college mailings here addressed to the most hilarious variations on Felix's name--all due to his terrible hand-writing, I just know it. It looks as though he'll be heading for points north or northwest, to study ecology and biology.


And I will keep you posted!

A Thrifted Box of Recipes

At first I was drawn to the sweet turquoise design. But then I realized it was full of someone's recipe clippings! And many hand-copied recipes on cards, in beautiful script.


And my favorite feature of all? That "Tuna" has its own section heading. Check out the back right-hand corner.

Girl with a Pearl Earring

Chippy Thrifted Lamb

I knew the moment I saw this $1 lamb I'd buy it for the sitting room. My surface thought was that the black and white would go with the black and white checked floor.


Of course, when I got home, I saw that I had already hung this paint by number, and all became clear.

Little Gift Boxes

Somehow I was fully grown before I realized that people gave out favors at parties. Maybe they did it behind my back, and maybe that accounts for why I can never remember to provide them at our birthday parties.

In a fit of optimism several years ago I bought these pretty little favor boxes at Michael's. This summer I finally remembered to pull them out of the closet at Daisy's birthday. A victory of good manners.

Whoopie Pies

Bella keeps making dairy-free whoopie pies after we checked out a library book called Whoopie Pies (yes, I see the connection). And Giles keeps eating two in a row and then groaning that no one should ever eat two at once.

Sorry I don't have a recipe to share . . . but check your library!

"A Successful Housekeeper"

" 'I try to know as much as possible about every article of food and clothing that I buy, and to be sure that I am getting the very best value from Tom's money, but I don't know how to cook or sew or trim hats or embroider. I like friends and babies and outdoor exercise, but I'll confess that I don't like housework.'

'Well, Tom and the children seem to be perfectly contented and happy, and so do you. Therefore, you are a successful housekeeper.'"

--A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband: The Romance of Cookery and Housekeeping (1917), Louise Bennett Weaver

Clara in Green

A new green linen blouse from a favorite vintage pattern, and one of the silk flowers I brought home from New York.

She's grand!

Strawberry Travel Bag

I picked up the perfect beaded strawberries to show off the little travel bag I stitched from Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing, a book I can recommend only for its beautiful styling (trusting seamstresses will find themselves betrayed by its error-ridden instructions).


I had been wanting to make a bag with a shaped, zipped top and this one fit the bill. Interestingly, instead of constructing an exterior and a lining and then joining them, each panel is constructed as a self-contained unit, and then they are joined together and the seam joints are visible (though finished) on the inside. I was somewhat dubious about this method, but realized at the end that it does add extra structure to the bag.

Classic Daisy

Usual Daisy: dainty on the front side, somewhat less so in the back.

What I Did on (What Turned Out to Be) My Summer Vacation

Clara and Felix spent a month in Costa Rica studying Spanish and came back well on their way to fluency. Now Clara's enrolled at the local university in an upper-level Spanish class which will give her 16 hours of credit if she gets at least a C. Go Clara!

Giles spent his two months in New York and learned his way around backward and forward. When I went to visit he took me *everywhere* I wanted to go (hello M & J Trimming! My, that's a lot of velvet ribbon! Hello Purl! Clara sends her love!) And then he took me sailing on the Hudson River. Yes, wow.

We had many many people in and out of our home all summer. A Middle Eastern student with a complicated dental situation stayed with us for a month. Children between homes. Teens whose single parents had to travel. Sad children getting happier.

We kept on running in dreadful heat and humidity. It's like poor man's altitude training. When fall gets here, we are going to be so in shape. Who needs Kenya?

And now, here's to a new season of bearing fruit!

In Which I Answer Your Questions

How do you order your time?
I get up on the early side, have my tea, quiet reading and writing, and most mornings head out for the gym or the trail while the big girls are stirring. When I get back they are dressed and starting school. I clean up and dress, and that's about when Daisy rises. She sleeps twelve hours, so by putting her to bed around 9:30 (and enjoying a family evening together) we get a very relaxed morning with time for workouts. Then I do school with Daisy--that takes about half an hour. I use the rest of the morning for cleaning, baking, and getting starting on dinner.

Everyone stops for lunch and we clean up the kitchen. Bella is often finished with school by noon, and spends the afternoon reading, practicing voice, going for a run, baking, or whatever she likes. Clara usually works until at least 4:00, with breaks for piano and cello practice and outside play. I try to sew for an hour or so in the afternoons if I can, and I also do my minimal weeding and extra house projects, just life stuff.

I cook around 5:00, with the girls' help--I love this time together--we eat together, and just hang out in the evening.

I am very careful with my trips to town: I go for music lessons, gymnastics, and one weekly grocery trip. If I need to do an errand, I always piggyback it onto one of these (and in fact, I do the groceries during cello). It's on these trips that I run into the thrift store, at least once a week.

Listen up! This schedule works for me because I have older children who do schoolwork independently! Everyone is at a different place in their life. Just be smart and think about how to fit it together as best you can with what you have.

Do you still make breakfast every morning?
Nope, not since we started running. And Daisy sleeps too late. Most mornings we eat something baked before, though the Composer has reverted to his cereal ways, and maybe twice a week the girls or I make pancakes. Bella makes popovers, too.

How do you get so much sewing done?
I'm fast now that I've been practicing for six years. Don't be afraid to use a successful pattern over and over--that's so much faster and it's so satisfying to know there won't be fitting issues. Don't be afraid to do just a tiny bit in a session. Maybe one seam. Or thread your machine. Then come back when you can.

How do you find time for yourself?
1. Perfectionism is not your friend. The house doesn't have to be perfect for you to sit down and relax. You hear?
2. Able-bodied children should be working and helping you! There's no rule that everyone plays but mother.
3. If you have a rough schedule of when things get cleaned, you'll know that even if the toy room is a pit today, the house is "caught up" because it gets its due tomorrow. So take it easy and do something fun.

Advice for young moms?
Honey, it's different for you. Don't expect to be able to do everything during these days. These days are the most challenging parenting you'll do. Keep up with the laundry, feed your family fresh vegetables, sweep the floor when you have to, get some fresh air, and try, try, try to do a little something creative every day. You'll feel so much better.

Tell us Bella's adoption story.
The Composer and I knew we wanted to adopt from the time we married. We felt the time was right to begin the process when Clara was a baby. We used a private domestic agency, and our wait time was about five months. It was very exciting to see God's hand in that process. We brought her home when she was four weeks old. I was able to exclusively breastfeed her for seven months, having nursed Clara just hours (literally!) before getting Bella.

Being a transracial family is not an issue for us, seriously, and we live in the small-town South. Here's my one story. I had Bella in a front pack, the first week she was home, at the grocery store. Two good old boys, dressed in camo from head to toe, headed down the aisle towards me. They had a visual lock on my baby and they were clearly going to say something. I braced myself. They stopped and moved in. "What a cutie!" they said, before moving on. The end.

How did you get your children excited about Christmas trips?
I don't know. They just seemed to intuitively know that toys aren't worth much. They don't watch advertising. They love to do things, learn things, go places, and eat in nice restaurants. That seemed to do it. We do give them little things at Christmas, as well as the trip. Games and books are very nice to have on Christmas day, and something useful for the trip is always appropriate also--a suitcase, a field guide, a special outfit.

Why "The Composer"?
The Composer writes music for film, advertising, etc. He also does many other things involving film. He's very particular about his privacy, so that's all I can share!

Why did the marathon post disappear?
The Composer felt it was too much (identifying) information. But let me reiterate: I did run a marathon!!

What does Daisy do for school?
We do two to four pages of Miquon math, then she reads to me from the book of her choice, and writes a few sentences, either copying my writing, or generating her own interesting spellings. This is how I've worked with all my children. We'll continue on like this until about age 8, when we'll add some more formal schoolwork.

Do you trace your vintage patterns?
Not unless I'm making changes. If you want to trace and need to buy something to do it on, I like Swedish interfacing. It should show up on google. It's nice and sturdy, but also transparent, and it won't rip.

How do you finish a seam with bias binding?
By stitching bias binding over the inside raw edges, either both together, or each side separately. Like finishing the edge of an apron.

What blogs inspire you?
Hands down, Homeliving Helper is my favorite blog. Even if you don't agree with Lydia's conservative politics, and have a different aesthetic in decorating, her rock-solid thinking about living at home is invaluable and so helpful.

Will you put a PDF of the Helga smock in your Etsy shop?
I'd like to, but I make no promises.

Blogging: the good and the bad?
Best ever? Hearing from you all, your beautiful thanks this week. Second best? The creative discipline of approaching every day with open eyes for something to post. I also love the visual and practical record for my own use.

Worst? This experience has been entirely good. I'm quite sure I've been divinely protected from ugliness here. I think maybe eight unfriendly comments in five years (do I hear a world record?), and no repeat offenders.

Do you still work as an attorney?
No, not now. I scaled back, then quit. I have been so grateful for the decreased pressure. Especially as the boys have transitioned to other places, I found they needed a lot of access through the day that I couldn't have given if I weren't at home. It's been a tremendous, completely positive blessing.

And you know, you can leave small children with friends for a few hours on a weekday morning, but when your children have plans, things to achieve, and places to go, it's not fair to uproot all that. And I'm not leaving them alone!

And finally, will you update?
My dear friends, I look forward with great pleasure to giving you an annual update around this time, complete with pictures! If they still have blogs in the future that is 2011, and if anyone still cares!

Sugar-Cream Pie

Thank you all for serving me up such a big slice of it!

Coincidentally, I made the real thing this week, using a recipe from the current Country Living. I had never heard of this Hoosier treat, and neither had anyone at our Bible study. I couldn't have begun to imagine how luscious it is--it's seriously just made with sugar and cream, a little butter, flour, and cinnamon.

The Composer tried to get back to the pieplate in time to get a second piece. When he saw our friend Chuck taking the last, he told me later, he refrained from kicking him in the shins only because it *was* an actual Bible study meeting.

The End from the Beginning

It's hard to see the end from the beginning, yes? That's why my shrubs crowd each other, why the peonies are entirely shaded by the climbing rose . . . .

When Giles took his first picture, no one saw he'd be spending his eighteenth summer in Manhattan, making a living with a camera.

A Spanish course at home, and a bird guide, and now Felix is planning a year in South America.

Tiny beginnings, but God sees the end before the process even starts.

When I started writing here in 2005 I had no idea I would become so committed to the pleasure of sharing my vision with you all. I have found my creativity sparked every day, and I have loved sharing my projects and finds with you. I thank you all so much for reading.

Now I sense that God has something different for me, and it's time to close up shop here in this little spot I love. Because I trust Him, I am glad to follow Him. His beginnings, His endings, yes?

Now, practically: I'll leave Pleasant View Schoolhouse up indefinitely for your archive-reading pleasure. I'll keep my etsy shop up and running. And before I go I'd like to atone for my abysmal record of responding to questions. Please feel free to submit a Q in the comments and I'll try to do an A before I finish up here.

My dear readers, it's been wonderful!

Outside Time

Outside Time: sometimes hard to squeeze in (there's so much to do in the house and it's so fun!) but always a priority. It keeps us happy and well. If Clara, whose immune system is more delicately balanced, skips a day or two of Outside Time, she gets sick, just like that.

So we run, we play croquet, we sit on the porch with books, we work in the garden, we take an umbrella out in the rain. Between that, and a big bottle of hand sanitizer, we stay out of the way of trouble.

Remember Your Rhubarb

For some reason I always forget that I have purchased rhubarb and I let it go bad in the fridge.

I did remember in time this week, though, and I made a strawberry-rhubarb crisp and put it in the oven. Then I headed to gymnastics.


At the twin bridges I realized that I had forgotten to take it out of the oven. Fortunately Clara was home by the phone, and all was not lost.


If you want to try your own, here is a similar recipe. You can substitute two cups of strawberries (from the freezer. Let's use up the last of the 2009 berries now!) for half the rhubarb.

But set your timer.

Flowers by Daisy

I came home to find she had floated two Sally Holmes roses in a pressed glass bowl, for her dresser.