Inspired by Nature - Wednesday Hodgepodge

Ferns on Fifth

June 2013

Join us and Joyce, author of From This Side of the Pond blog for:

1. April 22nd is Earth Day. Are you inspired by nature? In what way?

I am definitely inspired by nature. It always takes me to the Creator and the awe I feel for the majesty of His creation. And when you think about it, what we see now is really just residual beauty. Imagine what it looked like before mankind's fall into sin. Someday we will know. Until then, we can praise our generous God for allowing us to live on His earth and giving us this hint of real beauty.

2. Down to earth, four corners of the earth, move heaven and earth, not have an earthly chance, or salt of the earth...which earthly idiom have you most recently encountered? Explain.

At the moment, what I can think of are some of the authors and composers I consider to be 'salt of the earth.:' C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, N.T. Wright, Francis Schaeffer, R.C. Sproul, Dorothy L. Sayers, J.S. Bach, George Frideric Handel, etc. And really, not just famous people, but anyone who works to the best of their ability to bring glory to God - whether they write, compose, wait tables, or clean houses. We're not all called to be C.S. Lewis, thank goodness.

From my cranberry bush in April

3. Share one piece of advice you might give a newly engaged couple.

It's not about the wedding. It's about the future you have together. I think sometimes people forget that the wedding is not the goal. They forget to look beyond, to how they're going to deal with real life after the ceremony. It helps not to start married life with the baggage of financial debt. You're not more married if you spend $50,000 on a wedding than if you spend $500. Be real. At your wedding, enjoy your friends and family. Make  them feel comfortable. Stop fussing.

And another thing (You knew there'd be another thing, didn't you!)  It's not all about you. It's about the commitment that you're making to one another in the presence of God and your friends and family.

An Amazing Fungus

4. When did you last engage someone to perform a job, task, service, home repair, or improvement? On a scale of 1-10 (ten being the best) how would you rate their work and/or your satisfaction with the job or service provided?

Since my husband does all the home improvements around here, I'd say it was the front porch. It is not finished yet because of time and money (Oddly, you have to have enough of both at the same moment), but it will get done eventually. What we've got so far is wonderful. Even if another stick of wood didn't get pounded on, that front porch is just a dream come true. I love to walk out there in the spring mornings and have coffee in the early morning on my new porch (when it's 60+ degrees.)  He definitely gets a 10 for the quality of work. 

Our Lone McIntosh Tree

(because the bunnies and deer finished off the new one)

5. When did you last find yourself engaged in small talk? Are you awkward or an expert or somewhere in between?

A couple nights ago at a party. It helped that I had taken a pain killer because I had a PT appointment immediately following. :-) (not that I'm advocating engaging in small talk when you're under the influence, of course). Small talk is not natural to me. I feel like life is just too short to not get right down to the things that matter.

 Happy Westby area Holsteins

6.  What was the last historic place you visited?

It's been a while, but probably the last place was Westby, Wisconsin, in the southwestern part of the state. My husband's cousin lives there. It's an old Norwegian settlement and he's an old Norwegian. :-) He's also Westby's historian. I think he knows everything there is to know about the place. Check out my sidebar for his  new blog,  'Westby Remembered.' He's got a ton of info there about Westby, a beautiful little village among the coulees and ridges of SW Wisconsin.

Misty

7. The world would be a better place if we just__________________________.

a. If we ate more cheese.

b. If we just stopped being selfish. 

c. If our government would stop being up in everybody's business all around the globe!

Jazzie

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

 Tuppence and me, planning a trip to the Lake District of England

Odds are just as good for her as they are for me at this point.

***

This post is linked to

FROM THE FARM

Check out my handcrafted, vegan soaps

Buy Any Five or more, Get One FREE

'Morning Brew'

Natural, Handcrafted Vegan Soap

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop