The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

Let’s Call it Cozy!

Good morning, friends! How are you doing with the time change this week? I was talking with a young friend this past weekend who was lamenting this season of nightfall setting earlier and the evenings being so dark and almost depressing. I told her for many years I used to dread the time change in the fall for the very same reason, but that a couple of years ago I changed my opinion of it by changing the word I used for it. I decided that instead of calling it "depressing", I would call it COZY! COZY because if it's dark and chilly outside then inside is warm and comforting with the glow of flickering candles and a crackling fire in the fireplace. A sleepy kitty totally gets this! We ... Read more

Fall Camping Weekend ’23

Good Monday morning! I'd planned to have a nice post out early this morning, but we came in from camping yesterday and I wasn't feeling my best. By last night I had a full-blown migraine and had to go to bed, so I wasn't able to work on this last night. I'm just going to quickly share a few photos and give a little detail about our weekend. So sorry for the lack of order in this post! We have a yearly tradition of camping with two other families each October. We love camping with our friends and have special memories from each year. They are all great campers and we've learned a lot of handy camping tips from them! We go to a local campground which is also a historic site by the ... Read more

October Tea and Scones: A Little Apple Inspiration

It's time for another tea and scone of the month! Actually, it's past due since October is almost over. I was traveling this week, so I had this recipe post ready to go before I left town so that I could post it while gone but I couldn't get it to post from where I was. I'm back home now and the problem is resolved! October is the time for fall festivals, so this month's pairing is inspired by the classic caramel apple! I had fun experimenting with this recipe and after a couple of tweaks, I think I have a recipe you'll love. My special taste-testers all gave it their seal of approval. I took a basic cream scone recipe and mixed in chopped apple, toffee bits, and apple pie spice. I ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday

Happy Saturday! I'm looking back at my phone photos from the week and here are a few highlights. My son and I called BINGO at the assisted living facility this week and we had a great time with our sweet friends! Everyone was in a lighthearted, cheerful mood so there was a plenty of laughing and joking around throughout the game. Afterwards we spent the rest of the afternoon shopping for fall clothes for my son. This boy is growing so fast and had grown out of his clothes! He's loves telling everyone that he's now 5 feet, 4 and 1/8 inches tall! Yes, he makes sure he gets in the 1/8th inch because he's hoping to pass his mom soon therefore, he's counting every little bit (I'm 5'5" ... Read more

Restaurant Chicken

Years ago, when our girls were little, we invited a few young families over on a summer evening for a meal around the patio. We had a pool at that house, so we told the kids they could bring their swimsuits to play in the pool while the parents visited and kept an eye on them. We grilled herbed chicken and served it with good summer side dishes. When the food was ready, we prayed and let the children eat on towels in the yard. At some point during our meal conversation, one of the kids yelled across the yard, "Mom, did you try this chicken? It tastes like it came from a restaurant!" We all had a good laugh and ever since that night, our family has referred to this chicken simply as ... Read more

Fall is Calling!

We had a fun fall weekend with a trip to the pumpkin patch Saturday afternoon! It had been very gloomy and overcast all morning at my son's soccer game, so we were thrilled to see the sun and the blue skies show up for a while that afternoon. It turned out to be a gorgeous day. This farm is a few miles down the road from us and has been such a blessing to our growing community. We've pretty much got the corn maze memorized after going there so many years but it's still fun. We walked behind a young family with a toddler who was so cute to watch. This farm also has a sunflower maze which is just beautiful! Look at the color! Blue skies and bright yellow ... Read more

An October Weekend Recap

Hello, friends! We had a great weekend so I thought I would make a little post about it today. I'm actually going to start with Thursday because I reached a fun milestone with my sourdough baking! Back in the summer when I started sourdough, I was in hopes of getting my starter and bread recipe developed enough by fall to be able to make the pretty pumpkin-shaped loaves I'd seen on Instagram. And I was even more motivated as several of you sent me some of those photos as well, encouraging me to try it. Thursday morning, I had some dough that was proofed and ready to bake (overnight in the fridge) so I decided to go for it and give it a try, and it worked! I wish I'd taken photos ... Read more

Soccer Snacks

It's Saturday morning in October which means a soccer game! I love these early fall mornings at the field with happy kids, the best families, and the aroma of soft pretzels wafting from the concession stand. We have been blessed with the best church soccer program in our little community which runs from preschool to 8th grade. The pastor of the church heads up the whole program with volunteers from the congregation. It's fantastic! Our children participate in this church program until they age out and then play on our homeschool academy team for their high school years. The moms take turns providing game snacks and today is my day! I've packed my son's favorite that he requests every ... Read more