Throwback Thursday post... A year back... Okay, fine, or five...

Almost 5 years back...

There it was.  The gate.  The gate that never was... 

Okay, it WAS a gate and it DID have an original location - out at the front arbor... but MyMister lovingly built it too short to be functional.  So off it came and promptly stored to his chagrin.  His chagrin was not the "off it came" part, but the "promptly stored" part.  He dislikes clutter.  I seem to have a penchant for it.  Ahhh God is a funny, funny Dude with His romantic pairings, isn't He?

Here we are, Spring 2013 (sooo, this was a draft I found, collecting dust...) and today (in Fall 2017), I present...

THE GATE OF INSPIRATION IN ALL ITS GLORY!

Yep. A lot has taken place since this post was originally drafted. Not only is the back yard fully bricked, so is the front! AND with raised flower beds! Yeah. There's gonna be a whole lotta updatin' going on 'round this here blog this fall. 

I'm feeling a bit writery lately. A bit, wordy and pictury. Pretty things, nice words, feel good stuff as I sift through the not so feel good, nice or pretty parts of life. It's not that those things don't happen in our WeWyntWorld life. I just don't want to rehash what was already sucky when we experienced it, you know? I mean, really - would you rather I *not* crop the above pic on the left so that the little pile of dog poo was clearly visible? Exactly. You, too, have the analogical little piles of dog poo in your life that you have no issue cropping out of your analogical pretty garden pics.

Until next blog (much sooner than 4ish years, I swear)... ~me

Yoga v. God

There comes a time in a mom's life when she realizes she isn't just a woman on a mission, isn't just a Donna Quixote, isn't just flat crazy.  That moment of realization is a moment that I experienced in slow-motion, as if watching from a distance, and dare I say, as if I had experienced an out-of-body-not-my-mind moment... So many thoughts, so many emotions... I actually am a real person-not-just-a-crazed-mom; I am truly in this life-long commitment of parenthood for just this very fleeting moment of joy. I can see beyond the chore-dodging, schedule-stalling, fib-fashioning, homework-fussing... and see the flicker of the woman my daughter is to be in God's plan.   

We were at yoga.  All three of us.  Dad up in front, my girl at my side.  I was ready for the drama that usually ensues when she is faced with activity she doesn't want to partake in:  The eyeball rolling.  The full body drop because she is SOOOOO TIRED.  The look of pure irritation.  And yet, none of that happened.  

Instead... nothing prepared me for that one moment when I looked over and her feet were firmly planted on the yoga mat, arms open wide.  Her upper body was turned with confident posture.  Her head poised "just so" and her features were calm but determined.  Doesn't that all sound just like what her future in God's plan will be if she learns to be silent, obedient and stops to listen to Him?  

Feet firmly planted, open, confident posture, calm but determined...

I can't describe it other than to say, you CAN have a surreal yoga versus God moment.  

God wins.

Blessings in New Friendships

You know, nothing brings your home to life more than new friends coming over and exploring your place for the first time.

Last night Cap'n Jack and I cooked a regular, any time meal for some new friends from church.  The idea was healthy and easy.  Some whole wheat penne, big beautiful (ON SALE - really cheap, already shelled and deveined) shrimp from Alaska WHOOP WHOOP, roasted asparagus and sundried tomatoes.  Add a quick little side salad and it is done in 30-40 minutes!  It is honestly one of the easiest meals to toss together.  Now I have heard some people may argue that if pasta is involved it can't be healthy... I say, everything IN MODERATION.

I am a caregiver for my MamaMia who is a diabetic.  Without *some* carbs, obviously the more complex the better to slow the metabolizing of the carb so as not to spike her blood glucose, she would not be able to function.  Whole wheat pasta, paired with a healthy fat like olive oil,  some fiber and some protein and you have a perfect diabetic meal... IN MODERATION.  I do not pile on a heap of pasta, just an appropriately calculated carbohydrate serving.

However (and I always have a HOWEVER to throw in), I absolutely say that YOU DO WHAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU.  If your choices are producing a healthy body, soul and mind... THEN GO FOR IT, BABY!  That's between you and Your Maker.  :)

UPDATE: Here's the recipe from last night... 

SHRIMP PENNE TOSS

3/4c. dry whole wheat penne per person

5 large shrimp per person

1/4lb asparagus per person

3tbsp sundried tomatoes per person

granulated garlic, olive oil, butter, fresh parm, sea salt, cracked pepper

Cut up asparagus into 1"-1.5" pieces, shake on healthy dose of granulated garlic, 

sea salt & cracked pepper, coat with olive oil and toss.  Roast at 425* roughly 30 minutes.

Boil up penne to al dente in pot of water with sea salt & some olive oil.

Cook up cleaned/deveined shrimp with sundried tomatoes, olive oil (&bit of butter if needed).

Toss all together in giant bowl, add a bit more olive oil if needed, top with fresh parm!

... Oy vey, that was a lot o' preachin' goin' on from atop my own little soap box!  I had to step away from the laptop and take a garden break!  I deadheaded some snapdragons, pulled out some withering leaves from the OkieDokies (aka artichokes), rinse and fill up several waterin' holes for my feathery friends and eat my first blackberry of the season!

 There is a bumper crop shortly behind this little guy!

I find it so sweet that God "emailed" me this verse today,
in light of all things I consider blessings...  I count my garden and my friends... Twice...

James 3:17-18

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 

Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

So, the short and (unintended) long of my recap of last night... THE LADIES WERE SIMPLY AMAZING.  They were a breath of fresh air in WeWeyantsCottage, bringing to life all the little details of our Unser Ewiges Heim (Our Forever Home).  And they are all welcome here any time.  I so appreciate their kindness and new-found friendships.

Blessings to you all on this wonderful morning (oops, 33 minutes into the afternoon already!).  I will close with my facebook status from this morning "coffee, birds, HGTV and bloggin'... great way to kick off my Saturday! oh, and let's just throw in a little light reading while I'm at it... "What we need is nothing short of a kingdom revolution." ~John Burke, Soul Revolution"

I kid, I KID!

Welp, after searching the www, I found that Homemaker's Hideaway is WAY OVER DONE. So, back to the drawing board I went... and what did I come up with?  Nothing all that exciting or original.  WeWeyantsCottage.  It'll certainly do, though, because my whole life is a smattering of We, of Weyants and of our beach Cottage calm life... So there ya go, WeWeyantsCottage it is!  

What's been happening here at the Cottage?  ARTICHOKES!  They are so cool!  I bet I get to eat one this weekend as a matter of fact!  

Also at the Cottage it has been a matter of reduce, reuse, recycle... AND GLASS!  Lots and LOTS of glass!  Mason jars, apothecary jars, canisters...  I just love me some beautiful clear glass these days!  Let's see, AH YES!  STAINLESS STEEL!  OH!  And lest I forget... CAST IRON!  It has been so nice just trimming back on things, finding treasures from flea markets and such, passing on items I no longer use, making room for less but better...

And after all that going on, we headed out for the weekend with some really amazing friends to celebrate their marriage!  This was our VIEW (thanks to sniqueaway.com)...  

Isn't it amazing?  Water's Edge Inn in the sweet town of Tiburon.  Ahhhh what a wonderful weekend it was, complete with a guitarist and here's his pic...  

(I kid, I KID!)

...impromptu appetizers on the deck with lots and LOTS of laughter.  THANK YOU FRIENDS for sharing your celebration with us!

The Mother's Day weekend ahead should prove special here at the Cottage.  I pray our Heavenly Father blesses you with family and friends to celebrate with no matter your title: grandma, mom, aunt, other mother, friend... They are all blessings and honors.  I pray you all appreciate your own role where God has cast  you.

And the winner is...

Homemaker's Hideaway!

After careful deliberation and funny snorts and giggles from my fam... Hideaway won!  Here is the 2nd draft list, in no particular order, that might give you a grin...

Homemaker's Hammock
Hollering Homemaker
Homemaker's Hideaway
However Homemaker
Hooligan Homemaker
Homemaker SchmoMaker
Homemaker Hallows
Homemaker's Handbag
Havering Homemaker
Hobknocker Homemaker

I was rather fond of both However and Hollering... okay, AND SchmoMaker... But the fam really did reel me in on those. 

Next up, a new profile pic and a, a, oh a doomaflocky... what is that thing called?  Well, a little pic that replaces the orange B... Gotta find one of those, too. 

But that's for another day when I'm not so tired.  Ever have one of those nights where you wake up and check the clock to make sure you don't oversleep... EVERY. 15. MINUTES?!?!  Yeah, both Cap'n Jack and I had one of those nights last night.  So, now I am off to say my prayers - one of which will be that the antihistamine knocks me out!

Hello dear friend, it's been quite a while...

Things at the Homestead have been busy.

Well, busy in the sense that I have been creative in very few ways... yet on the go in more ways than one. 

I am a caregiver - I think I have mentioned that before.  It has been a wild ride here lately.  Between appointments, counting to ten then backward again (and sometimes, rinse and repeat), errands and taxi service - let's just say apparently God has given me an extra 8 hours a day to make it to my job, schlep kids, cook semi-family acceptable foods, tidy (Cap'n Jack does the real cleaning), ministry stuff and such, oh and sleep a bit... well, you can see where the math on a 24 hour day is really A MIRACLE. 

Thus, God must have gifted me extra hours.

However, (the however never left) HOWEVER, that is all going to change as of this weekend!  I have had a week of staycation, it rained and rejuvenated all of God's glory and now to kick off the Refreshed Me... I am going to update Homemaker's Mercantile with an updated NAME ('bout time - The Merc is sadly a memory of over a year now), and The Homemaker is back up and running!

Stay tuned!

Parmigiana di Melanzane Arrosto Pizze... oh così bene! Or so I heard...

(Roasted Eggplant Parmesan Pizza... oh so good!)

A woman on the run... wait, no. Back that up. A woman on the GO! Yes, that's much better. Wouldn't want any of you to think The Homemaker was going to show up some time on America's Most Wanted! So, yes, back to being on the run, GO.

The Girl is doing Color Guard (and pretty fab at it, if I do say so my Homemaker self!) and is there from 830a-430p. While she was off twirling flags and dancing her heart out, I doowopped over to YFC for my daily delight. I heart that place. Yes, that WAS my FB status yesterday! After working in an unusually extremely quiet office (now THAT part I didn't much like - I'm more of a hub-bub kinda girl) I headed back to the school to pick up The Girl so I could race home, prep dinner, explain step-by-step instructions to The Girl so she can go out into the world and be able to feed herself something more than drive thru...

ALERT: insert complete bunny trail here...

(When did THAT happen, by the by? Drive "thru"... Was "through" stripped of its prepositional title? Of course I had to go in search, but bottom line, "thru" won out by a sign... A dollar sign... Less letters to print on the other kind of sign. But I also found this from Grammar Girl's website which I thought was hysterical enough to merit a SOL: snort out loud:
"Wow. So in some informal instances it appears that it is OK to use thru; but I think I'd be remiss if I actually told you to go ahead and use it. My impression is that using the spelling t-h-r-u is kind of equivalent to dotting your i's with little hearts: people will know what you mean, but they'll think you aren't a very serious person. I would definitely stick with the more formal and widely accepted spelling: t-h-r-o-u-g-h." from Grammar Girl's website.")

Back on track, what was I saying? Oh, right, pizza. I decided to create a new recipe: Roasted Eggplant Parmesan Pizza! I took the Ichiban eggplants from our garden, peeled MOST of the skin away and left pretty little purple stripes, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices, tossed with sea salt and EVOO:

 

I laid them out on a Pampered Chef baking stone and roasted them for about 15 minutes, turning over once, at 450* and this is what the little dandies looked like:

 

As The Girl sat patiently and watched me lay out the rest of the ingredients:

I had her write down these instructions: 1) schmeer the zhuzhed pizza sauce (add a small can of tomato paste to the packet of pizza sauce that comes with the Boboli) over the thawed Boboli pizza crust, 2) spread some shredded mozz over the sauce, 3) lay out the roasted eggplant, 4) sprinkle the chopped up fresh basil and oregano from the kitchen garden over the eggplant, 5) top with fresh parmesan, 6) bake for 8-10 minutes... So THIS is the pic The Girl took of the masterpiece!

I mean, com'on!  That is ONE SEXY PIZZA, RIIIGGGHHT?  (and you all know The Homemaker doesn't throw around the sexy card lightly!)

So there I was at 8:03pm, listening to others speak, watching Cap'n Jack wilting with hunger and both of us are thinking of that scrumptious new recipe just waiting for us at home! We get home and the pizza stone is EMPTY.

I asked The Girl, "there ARE leftovers, right?"  "Oh yeah, in the fridge!"  I was so relieved!  Until... I see... TWO measly little pieces of pizza... sitting there... by themselves... not even leftover roasted eggplant leftovers to nibble... Of course I gifted Cap'n Jack with both pieces... Hello!  He is a grown man!  TWO little pieces?  

I had grapes.  (Right now I hear in my own personal internal movieland-world-of-a-brain the line from Dirty Dancing, "I carried a watermelon." But instead, see Baby in your mind's eye, looking awkward and irritated saying, "I had grapes?")

The Girl and MamaMia were in SO. MUCH. TROUBLE.
REALLY?! (that's another blog, but so flipping appropriate here.)  Anyhoo, I know I told some of you out there in RealLifeLand that I would purge the emotion and not bring it up again.  I fully intended to stick to that, until I came across these beautiful pics of that artwork called my new recipe.  Hopefully I will be able to duplicate it this coming weekend... AND EAT THE WHOLE THING MYSELF!