Domesticity

Often, I lament that I am not more domestic. When one is consistently away from home, in fact, not just away from home, but grounded inside the walls of an elementary school (no, there is no time to run out and get something for lunch, or run and get my hair cut in the middle of my work day as I remember my roommates doing in their non-public school jobs) eight to twelve hours daily, there isn't a lot of leftover time for the domestic arts. I'm already sleep deprived as it is. However, last weekend was General Conference, so I found time to borrow the electric flour mill owned by our ward in order to grind some wheat. Yes, we actually have wheat, both red and white. We also have a hand grinder, but the electric one is so much better, even if it does sound like a jet is taking off from the kitchen.

I also made bean flour. Ssh. Don't tell my husband. I use it to thicken soups. I used some of the freshly ground flour to make Cornbread Supreme and then I soaked some beans and got to making my first pot of pasta e fagioli. I had a recipe to go off, but doctored it up to my liking. And...all of the ingredients came from stuff we already had on hand. No trips to the store for this soup! Although suspicious, K ate everything without complaint and then got seconds. He said, "Wow!" A supreme compliment!

News flash! We officially have a garden plot over behind the church for the summer! Yessirree--Plot #D-25. We've been growing peas and tomatoes on our porch our whole marriage, but this is our first garden together. We'll get this Iowa boy back to his farm heritage.

And if that's not enough domesticity all at once, get this: our class made a QUILT!

Yes, I have been known to quilt, even all by myself. But it's been years and I wasn't up to this project. However, a wonderful room mother, Mrs. C., WAS up to the challenge and this is what she pieced together from the scraps the children donated. Everyone tied at least one square! It was Art Week at school and the "artist" we chose for fifth grade was "American Quilting." So there--milling my own flour, starting a garden, and quilting all in one week!

The domestic life is a good one, but I think my heart will always belong to the great outdoors. I can't help it. I HAVE to play outside. A faculty member told me on Friday afternoon that she had never been to American Fork Canyon. I gasped. I offered to take her straight there right at that very moment, but she had plans. So we went yesterday morning. She loved it! She couldn't get over it. And neither could I. I mean, will you just LOOK at Mount Timpanogos?

The ducks were putting on an Easter Parade. It was all that it should have been. It was glorious!