Otters and Owls

Frugal Tip #2: Make your own Bread Crumbs

2012-01-17T08:40:00.000-06:00

This is an easy one. Take leftover bread, the heels, those 2 biscuits you didn't finish, cornbread that's too much to eat, really anything and throw it into the freezer. As you get another piece add it to the bag. You can mix all types together. It actually makes the bread crumbs better. If you have a Food Saver make a bag extra big. When you need to add pieces to it slit the bag open add and reseal. To use throw the frozen bread, no need to thaw, into a mixer or a food processor to grind up. Or you can go old school and beat it with a rolling pin or shread with your hands.
Now you no longer have to buy bread crumbs and you kept yourself from throwing out perfectly good food. I like to use mine in meatloaf! Hmmmm meatloaf.

Food Savers Are Good (Or How My Husband Was Right)

2012-01-17T08:21:00.000-06:00

One of the Christmas presents we got was a Food Saver. Now my husband is a gadget man. Being a cook and all he likes things for the kitchen especially. I however had my doubts. I try to keep things simple and stick with the basics. I'm not an organized type of person nor verry good with housekeeping. I also suck at learning to use new things and have an uncanny ability to kill electronics. And really what could a Food Saver due that I couldn't with a freezer bag and a straw?
Turns out a lot. I love this thing! It's so easy to use and fun. So far I've saved chilli that was headed to the trash, the end of bread loaves and biscuits. If you want to freeze sruff and stockpile it is worth the money!
So, yes Dear You Were Right.

Moments of the Ridiculous

2012-01-11T17:13:00.000-06:00

This morning I shaved a mole that I was scheduled to have cut out. Why? Because the thought of some lab tech having to check not just a huge mole but a hairy one to boot for cancer cells bugged me.

WTF?!

Downton Abbey is Back!!

2012-01-09T21:48:00.001-06:00

I love Downton Abbey. I came across season 1 on Netflix last winter. I thought it was a documentary. I love documentaries! For those of you who are not hip to PBS broadcasting it's the story of the people who live and work around an English estate after the turn of the century. Season 2 starts halfway thru the first world war. Not only do I love it but my husband does to. My favorite character is the Dowager Countess played by Maggie Smith. She is hilarious! This is unlike any Masterpiece Theater I have ever seen before. And I must not be alone because it won 6 Emmys. Check it out...

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/downtonabbey/

Frugal Tip #1: Make Your Own Chicken Stock

2012-01-09T21:04:00.000-06:00

Make your own chicken stock.

Save your scraps. If you cut a backbone out of a chicken or the extra parts that always come with a turkey throw them in a ziplock bag in the freezer. It takes up no room. Any veggies that are past there prime, meaning limp and not appetizing for raw eating but not moldy, throw in the bag as well. When you have a bag full and are going to be hanging around the house throw it all in a big pot add lots of water and let 'er go. You might want to add some spices and herbs. Do an online search for specific recipes. Check occasionally to be sure it didn't boil dry. You don't even need to chop anything just add whole.

It's also healthier. Store bought has lots of salt and you don't know what quality the ingredients were. It usually has some kind of preservative added too.

This is so easy but does take a little time. Try it sometime!

My Front Door

2010-10-04T09:24:00.001-05:00

Here's my front door. I currently live in an apartment but I believe it's important to have a good homecoming. So I've dressed it up for the fall season. I plan to show my door in all its changes, from seasons to seasons and hopefully to a new door of a home.

How do you dress up your door to give your family the warm fuzzies? Care to join me in the My Front Door series? Give me a yell to let me know you've joined in.

Fall has finally come to visit us this Sunday. We had clear skies, cool winds, and Princess found the first colored leaf. Hope to head for the mountains next weekend to really see some foliage.

Menu Monday

2010-10-03T17:54:00.000-05:00

Here's this weeks menu.
Here are some general notes about my meal plans: I'm sacrificing a little health to help me get back into the groove of cooking every night. Next week I'm going to incorporate more healthy choices. Crockpot meals are usually on days that we have things going on in the evenings. If "leftover" is listed in a lunch it means we will be eating whatever we had for dinner the night before.

Mondays are leftover day. Also known as clean out the fridge day. I plan to make a big Sunday dinner so there will also be leftovers from that too.
Monday- Breakfast-Cereal
   Lunch- Pot Roast Sandwiches
   Dinner-Leftovers
   Snack- Popcorn with peanuts
   To Do-Make P.B. and Oatmeal muffins and Chicken Apple Salad

Chicken Apple salad is a mix of celery, apples and grilled chicken. It's delicious and very healthy.
Tuesday-Breakfast-Muffins

Lunch- Chicken Apple Salad

Dinner- Crockpot Chili & Corn Bread

Snack- PB&J roll up

To Do-

Wednesday-Breakfast- Muffins

Lunch- Leftovers

Dinner- Chicken Parmesan Spaghetti, raw broccoli

Snack- yogurt

To Do

I'm trying a variation of The Pioneer Woman's meatloaf but I'm going to put it in the crockpot which I've also never done. So we'll see how it turns out!

Thursday-Breakfast- Muffins

Lunch- leftovers

Dinner- Crockpot Meatloaf, raw veggies

Snack- Cheese and crackers

To Do

Friday-Breakfast- Cereal

Lunch- Leftovers

Dinner- Baked fish, grilled onions, cooked carrots

Snack- Granola bar

To Do

Banana pancakes are just a banana and 2 eggs with a little cinnamon in a blender and cooked just like regular pancakes.

Saturday-Breakfast-Banana Pancakes & Bacon

Lunch- leftover meatloaf

Dinner- Out

Snack- apples and peanut butter with honey

To Do

Since we are living far away from family I've decided to start making a nice Sunday dinner for the three of us. But it will most likely occur between lunch and dinner. I also plan to have a dessert on Sunday's. It's the only day of the week that we will have a sweet.

Sunday- Breakfast-Cereal

Lunch- Chicken Pot Pie

Dinner/ Dessert on Sundays- not sure yet. We'll see what I feel like closer.

Snack- Granola bars

To Do-

Finally a Feeling of Autumn

2010-10-03T13:18:00.000-05:00

It finally feels like Autumn here and in celebrations we have a poem.

Autumn Fires by Robert Louis Stevenson

In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!

Calling All Girl Scout Alumnae

2010-10-03T08:31:00.000-05:00

Princess wanted to join Girl Scouts and the King and I thought it would be a good opportunity for her to meet friends outside of school. Since she's no longer surrounded with cousins she's been lonely. So we went to the meeting, signed up and didn't hear a word. I e-mailed the contact person and she told me that they had over a hundred girls sign up and no room in current troops for them. Parents were not signing up to be leaders. There were 15 Daisy's that needed a troop and nobody was stepping up to the plate as a troop leader. I told her if it meant the difference between the girls getting to participate or not I would do it.

There are some girls out there who may not get a troop. I'm asking that anyone who can to volunteer. You don't have to have a daughter that is in Girl Scouts. You just have to pass a background check for the girls safety. You have the opportunity to show girls where their food really comes from, teach them first aide, take them on nature walks, go bird watching, star gaze and a whole host of things I can't even think of right now.

I remember fondly my weeks at Girl Scout camp. We learned to swim, to light a fire with one match, sang songs, made friends and walked in the woods. My troop during the school year was just a social get together, we had fun but we could have learned so much. I'm excited to think of all the things I'll be able to teach the girls over the years. I know it will be a lot of work but I know it will be worth it!

Documentaries are Addictions

2010-09-28T11:00:00.001-05:00

I must vacate my apartment for I have an addiction. You can firmly blame Ken Burns and Netflix. I cannot stop watching his documentaries. He can make a snail crossing a rock interesting. I must break the habit now in it's early stages. The only way to do so is like most all addictions by removing the thing that you cannot get enough of.

I go to town.

Resurrection

2010-09-27T20:21:00.000-05:00

As no one may have noticed we've had a long absence here. I found it necessary to back away from a lot of media including my own blog.I had to decide if this blog was something I wanted to continue and have decided for now it is.

We've had a lot going on here during my time away. My husband has taken on a new role that required a move 500 miles and 3 states away. We went from having family around us constantly to not having any. My daughter went from a small private Christian school to a large public one, and we moved from a house in a small town to an apartment near a large city.

One of the biggest reasons I came back to blogging was to help keep me accountable. I realized that I have not taken any pictures of my daughter since I quite blogging in April. I also a lot more time to devote to it now and believe it will help me discover what areas in my life I would like to explore and expand. With those thoughts I have some regular weekly posts I am going to strive for.
Mondays will be Menu plans. To keep me on track for us eating at home.
Fridays will be {this moment}. (Soulemama) To keep me taking pictures.
Commonplace Collection (more about it later). To keep me thinking and reading.
Crafty Collection. To show what I'm making and keep me making.
I hope to keep it fun but not too much work.

So here's to new beginnings!

A New Pillow

2010-04-26T19:00:00.000-05:00

An embroidery project I completed recently. I love those kits that have everything in them that you need. But I am thinking about breaking out on my own for a Mother's Day project.

The Piano

2010-04-23T22:36:00.000-05:00

My husband and I have been learning about pianos off and on for about a year now. King took lessons as a child and still plays well, and I always wanted to learn. Princess has shown an interest for a few years now, but we thought she was too little. We also knew if she was going to have a chance at learning, we would have to have a piano for her to practice on at home. The plan was to buy one next year and then pay for lessons. We were planning on having to spend $1500 - $2000.

But then Saturday I walked into a yard sale being held at a local Christian high school. I didn't get to this sale till after 10am, which usually means most of the good stuff is gone.

There sat a piano with a sign on it "$100 - Delivery Extra".

"Ok", I thought. "What's wrong with? It must not play." But it looks in pretty good shape. So I go over and tap on the keys. It works! It even sounds good! I go ask the high school kids that are working the sale about it. I'm told that a piano tuner had just been out to the school, looked it over and said it was in good working order. However, the high school had five pianos and didn't need all five.

So I bought it! It's not the prettiest thing, but it only cost $120 including delivery! If the lessons go well, and Princess enjoys playing, we can trade it in on a nicer one in a few years.

It was delivered on Princess' birthday. We've all started playing. I have an adult beginner book and King is teaching Princess. Music fills my home, and I am so happy!

This is definatly at the top of my GREAT YARD SALE FINDS.

PS, I now have had 2 people ask to go yard sale-ing with me because of my find.....

A Five Year Old Princess

2010-04-22T20:59:00.027-05:00

This last week our little Princess had her 5th birthday. Every Mom says it, and every Mom feels it...."Where did the years go?" With that thought comes the next... "I will be present, I will remember, I will savor these next moments." We all feel the guilt after that rushed moment, the quick brush off because we are busy at this moment. We can never go back. We can't grasp that lost time. So, on her first day of being five all day long, I took a breath and whispered to myself..."I will remember, I will cherish, I will be present."

Princess received many wonderful gifts including a real guitar (half sized) that she is already strumming. She's making up words for the song she just wrote, "In my head Mommy."

Our piano was also delivered on her birthday. It wasn't a planned present, and the full story is another post. Needless to say our house is full of music tonight and so is my heart!

Vacation

2010-04-17T14:38:00.002-05:00

My aunt owns a wonderful farm in Northwest Arkansas. She has raised Lippizans (the white horses you see at the circus), has rental cabins that are the size of houses, chickens, wolf dogs, forests, flowers, birds and beauty. It's a restful place where you can rejuvinate and restore. It's especially close to my heart because I have spent several weeks a year there since I was 5.

Now I get to show the wonder of it all to my daughter who will be 5 soon herself. We built a frog house on a flat boulder in the middle of the creek.

Princess went horseback riding by herself. The leaves were just starting on the trees. That's my favorite color combination. The bright new leaf green against the dark brown tree limbs.

Princess got to play with my cousin. They are great friends. We did a lot of hiking, and had a lot of quiet time.

Just what I needed.

Hello, Spring!

2010-04-13T21:02:00.001-05:00

We are having a very warm spring here. It's been gorgeous! I have so much to share with you.

What have I been up to the last 3 months you ask? Well, losing 30 pounds has taken up some time!!! I feel great!

I'm down 4 sizes. None of my clothes fit. I hate to say this, but shopping for new clothes is a b***h. Especially pants. I am morally opposed to skinny leg anything and I am having trouble finding anything else. Anybody else having trouble? Instead of shorts or capris, I've picked up skirts and dresses. A blog post on dressing will be coming soon.

So here's to spring and changes and new beginnings!

The Princess Garden List

2010-01-26T11:24:00.000-06:00

This year Princess is getting her very own garden plot. I asked her what she would like to grow.....

Princess "Sunflowers, a bush with butterflys on it"
Mom "What color bush would that be?"
Princess "Purple, and a bee bush too."
Mom "What color is that one?"
Princess "Blue, Mommy. "
I have no idea what we're going to get as a bee bush. Any suggestions would be welcome.
"Daisy's, cucumbers and pickle plants"
Me "We turn cucumbers into pickles, Honey"
Princess "I know. I want little ones pickle size but not with prickles on it"
Me "OK, how about tomatoes or green beans."
Princess "No."
Me "OK, How about pumpkins."
Princess "Yes, little ones I can hold like this."

So Princess garden will have...
Butterfly bush, purple
Bee bush, blue
Daisys
Cucumbers, small pickle size
Pumpkins, jack be littles
Sunflowers
Lambs ear

2009 Changes I Made

2010-01-13T21:26:00.000-06:00

Instead of thinking about everything I had planned to do and didn't get done in 2009 I am making a list of everything I did get done.

So here goes:
-Keeping the house a little bit cleaner for a little bit more.
-Finishing the Cookbook so recipes are all together and easy to find.
-Making some of my own bath stuff. (Bath salts and sugar scrub) The rest are mostly organic.
-Make all my own cleaners for the house with the exeption of Castille soap.
-Made bread enough that I am confident in my yeast abilities.
-Started using a written budget.
-Stoppped microwaving plastic food storage containers and am phasing them out completely.
-Bought a freezer for food we grow in the garden and bulk items.
-Painted the living room, bathroom, hallway, and landing. (Ok, I need to finish some trim on the landing)
-Put a new roof on the house.

The most important thing I learned was that the changes I want to make in my life don't have to happen all at once. It doesn't have to an all or nothing deal. I can bake bread and still buy a loaf if I'm running out of time. I can make some body care items and buy the rest. Small steps, small changes will get me there.
-

Family Cookook

2010-01-10T21:01:00.001-06:00

Here is a project I have been working on for 2 years. It was the only present I gave to all the adults in the family.

I scrapbooked the covers and every one is different. I havn't really scrapbooked in nearly a year and it reawakened my love for it. By the way I did 9 of them. These are just a sample.

My family cookbook is a little different from most I've heard of. It came about when my husband and I were trying to cook a big family dinner. We had 3 cookbooks plus a recipe card out. I thought "How much easier if these were all in the same place?" So I put them all together. Don't worry I credited the original author and cookbook with each one. A lot of work went into the family recipes as well. Many of them were passed down without ingredient amounts.
And may I say what a lot of time and work went into typing those recipes. I don't have a final count of how many there were but the one inch binders were nearly full and I had to print the cookbook double sided. Most pages have 2-3 recipes on them. That's a LOT and what took so much time.
Why the 3 ring binders instead of having it bound? Well, I'm glad you asked. As you can read in the letter I really wanted people to add to it as they wanted. I wanted this cookbook to be what they reach for in good times and bad. I feel I have accomplished that.

A Snow Day!

2010-01-07T19:35:00.001-06:00

We received 3 inches of snow today! Princess has wanted to make snow angels for a month and today she got her wish.

We made some bread. We ate too much of it.
This book is a great book if you want to learn to bake. I love it because the amounts are variable and you can wing it to a certain degree. Having an aunt as a hands on teacher makes all the difference.

Snow Dog.

A Mess of News

2010-01-05T12:24:00.000-06:00

I have returned from an unanounced Christmas break. We were very busy with getting our handmade Christmas presents done. I'll post pictures soon.
My nephew decided to arive to the world a month early and 2 days before Christmas!
Then, because everything always happens at once the charging cord for my laptop had an accident. I can only get it to charge part of the time which limits my computer time. I plan to pick up a new cord this weekend and all will be well.
The plan for January is a recap of Homemade Christmas presents and then the plans and new schedules for the next year. More blogging, more sewing, and more pictures are all on the menu for the next year.
My seed porn (that's seed catalogs for non gardeners) has come in. The planning will begin in earnest soon.
House remodeling (on a budget) will also restart next week.
So, Please stop by and see what's up.
What are your plans for this year?

Christmas Plans

2009-12-13T10:14:00.001-06:00

Now on to Christmas. The days that we will be going to our various family's houses have been chosen. I stuck to the rule I set up last year - no traveling on Christmas.

So we will have at least one quiet day at home to enjoy our own decorations. Maybe we'll get some snow!? Not likely but a girl can dream right? We have also decided to go with an asian food theme. But I'll talk more about it later.

Movie Review: The Princess and the Frog

2009-12-13T10:08:00.000-06:00

Review coming soon! Hint - Princess LOVED the movie!

A Day in The Leaves

2009-11-14T20:13:00.000-06:00

Illness, Computer Problems, House Repairs, Oh My

2009-11-11T12:39:00.000-06:00

We've had a lack of blogging around here due to illness, computer problems, and house repairs. Hopefully we'll get back to our regular schedule soon. This month should offer a lot to blog about.

This month includes;

Planning a long distance Thanksgiving dinner

Family pictures

School pictures

Finishing up a cookbook

Moving a hot water heater

Roof installation

A trip to Kansas City

And some other plans I can't talk about just yet

Oh, and a knitting lesson (I'm so excited!)

Today I am home with a sick princess. I have several things I need to do:

Clean out the basement for that hot water heater move.

Sweep and mop my kitchen floor (It really needs it)

Finish the laundry (can you ever really finish?)

Work on the cookbook

Work on the thing I can't talk about

Are you yawning yet? Oh well, life can't always be glamorous.

Getting Close, Getting Ready

2009-10-28T19:25:00.000-05:00

Book Review on The Devil Wears Prada

2009-10-13T21:36:00.000-05:00

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

I picked this up at the Goodwill. I liked the movie and thought why not read it? It was very similar to the movie and went in deeper to the horribleness of Miranda and her antics. I know nothing of fashion but I do know something about horrible bosses. I've had a couple through the years. It was obvious this was written for a city, mostly New York City, person and also someone who is into high fashion. I knew none of the streets or landmarks that were mentioned or the designers. What was really funny was the fact everyone at the office thought Andrea dressed so terribly because she was wearing Banana Republic and Abercrombie. I'll tell you I have been in these stores before and was in such sticker shock that I just walked back out.

Anyway, it was a good, well written book. Not one I am keeping or planning to read again, but if you liked the movie, fashion, or bad bosses and you need a quick read pick it up.

Rag Bag

2009-10-10T22:02:00.000-05:00

I was folding my rags and trying to stack them in the cleaning closet, where they would fall over and be a mess. Then the ridiculousness of the whole thing hit me. I was trying to fold and put away rags whose lives would be lived out cleaning toilett seats and wiping up dog vomit!

So I sewed up an old fashioned rag bag. There are directions in Amanda Soule's book Handmade Home. But I just winged it since directions and me aren't fluent speakers. I wanted it to be pretty of course, cause why not? I got the material at a yard sale and the strings are from my stash.

PS: If you havn't gone to cloth rags do so! I use old t-shirts and torn towels and I have more than I could even stuff in the bag. If you use one on an exceptionally nasty job just throw it out. Even if your not into saving the environment it will certainly help save your budget. I mean have you priced a roll of Bounty lately?

Weekend Pictures

2009-10-06T11:25:00.000-05:00

Trying out the new camera.

Pears off my parents tree. The tree is so loaded that it's broken several branches. The pears are huge this year. If they havn't been sprayed in 25 years can we call them organic?

Walnuts

Buckeyes.

I'm thinking of making a wreath with them. My parents lost one of their buckeye trees this spring in a storm. The other one had a lot of the main branches broken out. We weren't sure if it would make it. It seems to be ok.

The Magic of Halloween

2009-10-01T22:28:00.000-05:00

There are two different Halloweens. There is the commercialized Chucky version with bags upon bags of processed sugar candy. Where you watch bloody thrillers and get a stomach ache from too much candy. This one revels in blood and gore. What terrible things the human mind can think up to inflict upon another! Like the Chainsaw Massacres and Saw 2.

But I choose Halloween to be a celebration of harvests, a remembrance of the past, a time to reflect upon loved ones legacy and to think about what legacy I will leave. I find it a perfect time, much better than the New Years, to do some inward reflecting. What do I want to leave behind? What do I want people to recall of me? Joy, love, laughter, creativity, knowledge? Halloween is when I align what my values are to what I am doing and where I am going. We all choose our lives. Yes, some things happen to us that we don't choose. Death of a parent at a young age, a car accident, cancer. But we can choose how we live. We can choose a life raising animals, helping children, crafting useful and beautiful items. Reflect upon what you truly want, who you truly want to be and choose that path. Don't let your steps wander on the well travelled road if it doesn't fit you.

The Halloween season to me is all about magic. The leaves turn glorious colors magically hidden all year behind the green. The frost sparkles with a magic fire.

Tonight is October 1st. The start not of fall, but of the Halloween season. The weather has finally turned here. There's a chill in the air tonight. I'm going to cuddle down on the couch with a blanket and watch my favorite movie, Practical Magic. I'm going to eat butternut squash roasted with cinnamon and butter and I'm going to think about what I need to realign this year.

Camera

2009-09-28T22:35:00.000-05:00

The new camera is in! I will hopefully be putting up more pictures in the future!!

It's the Little Things

2009-09-28T22:28:00.000-05:00

I had a revelation, a break through the other day. I had picked up a Subway and with out thinking I filled my cup with soda. I had already had a glass of tea and wanted a change. I took two sips and realized what I had done. Then the inner struggle started. Do I throw it away and waste it? Or do I drink it, after all it's just a soda? I know this sounds like a simple decision but it took a huge amount of self control.

I threw out the soda and drank water.

But it got me to thinking how hard the little things are. It's easy to decide to raise your child mindfully, but hard to put down the computer and interact. It's easy to say your going to eat healthy but hard to put down the soda. It's easy to decide to live on a budget but hard to take things out of your basket when you've gone over.

All those little things add up. So I celebrate the small decisions towards a better life and home.

1st day of Fall (OK, 2nd Day of Fall)

2009-09-23T19:47:00.004-05:00

I once read in a magazine somewhere that houses have seasons. A time of year when a house shines. It is at its most comfortable and beautiful. Well my house is a fall house. It looks great with orange pumpkins and purple mums on the porch. With a leaf wreath on the door and brown and green acorns collected in a bowl. But I think that the house is an autumn house because I am an autumn person. I love greens and browns, natural colors that calm and ground the senses. Spice flavored candles wafting apple cider smells through the house, baking quick breads and muffins and applesauce. Throwing a cardigan over a T-Shirt with my sandals. Sleeping with the windows open and a heavy blanket on the bed, cuddling up under a quilt on the couch. Every season has its perks and I usually look forward to them all but Fall is my season! Apple picking, pumpkin carving, hiking in the fall leaves. If only grey mid-winter did not come after.

A Good Note About Best Buy

2009-09-23T19:29:00.002-05:00

Well I have to retract some of what I said about Best Buy. When my husband took the camera back he simply asked if they would waive the restocking fee and they quickly said yes. I still maintain that thier return policy sucks, but they did do the right thing.

Camera Debacle (or why Best Buy Sucks!!)

2009-09-22T22:05:00.005-05:00

I haven't been too into blogging lately because my camera broke. Well this past weekend we bought a new one. We strayed from our Cannon to a Sony because all the reviews say it's better. Well it's not better for us. I was terribly disappointed in the picture quality and the zoom had settings in it that you could not override. So within a half hour of having it out of the box we decided to take it back to Best Buy. So tonight I give the King the receipt to take it back tomorrow. (It's an hour drive.) He starts reading the receipt and come to find out we will be charged a 15% restocking fee. That's over thirty dollars! And since we used a debit card and the purchase was over $250 dollars we will be sent a CHECK IN THE MAIL IN 10 DAYS!! What The Fuck! Now we have always like Best Buy the staff are knowledgeable and usually quick to help. But, from now on we will go LOOK at Best Buy, ask our questions and go BUY somewhere else, like Amazon. We all like to gripe about Wal-Mart but they at least take there crap back!

Book Review-The Gentle Art of Domesticity

2009-09-13T10:31:00.002-05:00

By Jane Brocket. This book review is really overdue. I read it several months ago when I spied it at the local library. I enjoyed reading this although I did not find it valuable enough to buy afterwards. Jane has a great voice that comes through very clearly and beautiful pictures. I didn't try any of her recipes or projects but it did give me some inspiration for my own. I also had to read it with a dictionary and I have a degree in English! Maybe it's because she's English. The quote I will take with me from this book is "It took me many years to realize that I was thoroughly domestic and only grudgingly domesticated." pg 8. Like Jane I enjoy the domestic arts of cooking, baking, sewing, and crafting. I do NOT enjoy cleaning and the general upkeep of a home and only do it to keep us from living in complete squalor. Many times I questioned myself on how some domestic arts I love and how others I loath. Am I a traditional fifties housewife or a feminist who believes my husband should do his share? How do I put both parts of myself together for a whole? Now I have the answer, I can be domestic without being domesticated. I can do the parts of keeping a home that I enjoy without sacrificing my personality. I can be a wild woman and a domestic diva without apologizing. So to Jane Brocket I say thanks! And if you ever write another book I'll certainly read that one too!

Life after Wal-Mart

2009-09-04T21:04:00.003-05:00

I live in the Midwest and that means Wal-Mart in every town. It's been this way as long as I can remember. Wal-Mart was about the only place to shop and it had everything including sewing and crafts. Recently all the Wal-Marts around have been remodeling. Most of the craft stuff and all the fabric has hit the road. At first I was really mad. I thought "Great, they come in, put everybody else out of business and then get rid fabrics." Now I was going to have to drive an hour just to get anything. You know how crappy it is to almost have a project done but run out of thread, or need a button, and realize there is no way to finish!

But something great is happening! Independent stores are coming back! They're popping up like mushrooms after the rain and are just as delightful. One locally owned store in town has quilting fabric. Another has embroidery and there is another fabric store in the next town over. The best part is you can ask these people questions and you don't have to wait forever for someone to get someone else who can cut fabric. And you know what....the prices are just the same.

Tea Cup Candles

2009-09-03T15:44:00.002-05:00

Look below in Wednesday Aug 26th posts to see the tea cup candles I made and learn how to do them. They are so easy.

This stupid thing put it out of order again. I'm sure it's a user error. Any book out there on how to use blogspot better?

Look what I scored at the thrift store!

2009-09-03T15:28:00.002-05:00

Well, you can't look because my camera broke yesterday. The King thinks he can fix it. What's up with everything breaking around here?

Anyway, I'll describe it. Last week I got 11 yards of fabric at 50 cents each! 4 were a purple plaid and 3 yards were a blue plaid. Think grunge nineties. Then I got a yard each of, blue, pink, red, and green thin wale corduroy. I don't know what I'll use it for but at 50 cents a yard I'll think of something.

Then this week I scored a bag full of embroidery thread. A large bag full for just $3.00. Which is great cause Princess is really into embroidery right now.

I got both at the Goodwill store in the town that I work in. I shop about once a week there. I'm currently looking for baskets to replace plastic storage containers. I'm a little tired of the Dorm Room Chic look we've had around here for the last seven years. It's the best place in my limited area to shop second hand at.

Do you shop second hand? What's the best place in your town?

Book Review A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children

2009-08-27T21:01:00.003-05:00

By Caroline Kennedy illurtated by Jon Muth.

I'm reading poetry to Hannah this semester. I had picked up Where the Sidewalk Ends at a used bookstore but also wanted to read some "real" poetry to her as well. I was thinking Frost would be apropriate but had nothing definite in mind when I came across A Family of Poems at the bookstore. Usually I steer clear of books with celebrity names on them but this one had wonderful poems for kids that I would never have thought of. For example Ariel's Song by Shakespeare, Who Has Seen the Wind by Christina Rossetti, The Iroquois Prayer, Psalm 23:1-6, The Tyger by Blake (Princess already knows this one) and lots, lots, more! It also has wonderful pictures. They are really captivating especially for Princess. So check this collection out!

Ballon Festival

2009-08-26T22:13:00.006-05:00

We went with some family to the balloon festival this weekend. It was unusually cool here which made it very nice.

We also went to my favorite winery. Where the owner gave us some grapes to make jelly out of. Which we did and it was lovely.

That's Princess new phrase "It was lovely". Yes it was sweet pea.

Tea Cup Candles

2009-08-26T22:00:00.009-05:00

I saw this really cute teacup candle at an antiques store. I love good smelling candles, tea, and china sets. So I had to have one. Problem was they only had one it stunk and had been partially burned. So I made my own.

Start by glueing the cup to the saucer. I used super glue because I didn't want to break out the hot glue gun.

Bought some scent, some candle wax, and some colors.

Melted it all down in a make shift double boiler.

Poured it in to the tea cup, very messily, and done! I did clean off the excess wax.

Thoughts and Upkeep

2009-08-26T13:56:00.002-05:00

A few thoughts/happenings from the summer that I haven’t shared with you…

My Mom found and gave to me a box of books from my childhood. It includes my hardcover copy of Anne of Green Gables inscribed by my grandmother. Plus lot of others like Stone Soup. Princess and I are both thrilled!

This budgeting thing is REALLY hard! I’m never gonna be able to stick to it.

King and I went to see Julie/Julia. It was good though I will admit it dropped off a little at the end. After watching it we realized that we have a copy of Baking with Julia but not Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I don’t know how this happened! My husband loves to cook and as a child would watch the Julia Child cooking shows instead of cartoons. So, I am on the lookout for it used, although it probably would have been much easier to pick up a few years ago.

I have several book reviews to do. I’m really behind. I also have a couple of crafts to show as well.

I have totally fallen off the healthy lifestyle wagon. And my pants are starting to show it.

I am almost finished with the little bathroom, finally. For such a small space its sure taking a lot of time. The hallway is painted. I’m waiting to put pictures back up till I’m done with the whole main floor. Landing walls are painted, hooks are up (squee!!), floor still needs painted but I have to evict everyone from the house to do that. I have also decided to decorate it. It’s a very small space but has big function. It’s the first room you see when you walk in and the last when you leave. I want to set a good mood. I’m thinking a tin star and some inspirational vinyl wall words. Next up is the living room. I don’t know if I’ll put up pictures. I’ve already missed the chance for before shots.

I have my fall list written and will post soon.

Here's a question to any blogger users. How do you underline?

Menu Plan for August 25-31

2009-08-26T13:24:00.004-05:00

A day late on this but my husband threw a wrench in the plans by going on a yeast free diet. When I asked him what he wanted to eat his reply was "Frozen chicken breasts and fresh or frozen vegetables."....That's a big help thanks!! So here it is...

Tues
Breakfast-leftover quiche
Lunch-leftover mac n cheese
Snack-cookies
Dinner-leftover white chili
To Do-

Boy, this was a good health day!

Weds
Breakfast-out
Lunch-out
Snack-nada
Dinner-grilled chicken, steamed broccoli, yellow rice
To Do-make grape jelly

An even better day!

Thurs
Breakfast-bagels
Lunch-leftover yellow rice and chicken
Snack-grapes and cheese
Dinner-Tuna noodle casserole, corn
To Do-

Fri
Breakfast-bagels
Lunch-leftover tuna noodle casserole
Snack-strawberries
Dinner-chicken stir fry
To Do-

Sat
Breakfast-cereal
Lunch-grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches
Snack-peaches
Dinner-chicken enchilada, chips and salsa
To Do-boil chicken

Sun
Breakfast-eggs
Lunch-Mother in laws (probably)
Snack-peach cups
Dinner-veggie soup
To Do-

Mon
Breakfast-bagels
Lunch-leftovers
Snack-muffins
Dinner-leftovers
To Do-bake muffins

Pretty plain this week. It shows this is an area I really need to work on.

Meal Plan for the week

2009-08-16T21:42:00.002-05:00

School Starts next Monday. It seems like a good time to refocus. So in an effort to eat at home I am starting my meal planning back up. I'm going to run my meal plans from Tuesday to Tuesday since Wednesday is trash day and the sale fliers come out on Monday. So here it is with one extra day...

Monday
Break: cereal
lunch: left overs
snack: left overs
Dinner: leftover Roast, corn on the cob, salad, watermelon
To Do: freeze ham, make cucumber and onion salad, make muffins

Tuesday
Break: muffins
lunch: leftover roast beef sandwiches, carrots
snack: grapes and cheese
Dinner: Crock Pot BBQ sandwiches, cooked carrots, cucs & onions, watermelon
To Do: in AM start crock pot

Wednesday
Break: muffins
lunch: ham sandwiches, carrots
snack: peanut butter and celery
Dinner: spaghetti, broccoli and dip, cucs & onions, garlic bread
To Do:

Thursday
Break: muffins
lunch: leftover spag, broccoli & dip, garlic bread
snack: grapes and cheese
Dinner: leftover BBQ and Spag
To Do: Make Quinoa salad

Friday
Break: muffins (again!)
lunch: Quinoa salad
snack: celery and peanut butter
Dinner: fried ham, quinoa salad, raw veggies
To Do:

Saturday
Break: scrambled eggs
lunch: tuna salad
snack: Zucchini squares
Dinner: Out with friends
To Do:

Sunday
Break: biscuits and jelly
lunch: Mom-in-laws
snack: fruit
Dinner: white chili, corn bread, carrots and broccoli
To Do:

Monday
Break: cereal
lunch: white chili, corn bread
snack:
Dinner: at my Mom and Dad's
To Do:

So here it is. I'm a little rusty so there's a lot of repeats cause I want to keep waste minimal.

Fall School List

2009-08-11T20:00:00.000-05:00

Princess’s school starts soon. She is in preschool and goes 3 half days a week. We send her to a Christian school where she will continue on through 8th grade. Before any one starts blasting me, let me say, we don’t have a problem with public school in general but with the local one in particular. Even my aunt who is a public school teacher for the Chicago area said, after seeing the school stats, that she wouldn’t send her own kids there.

My husband and I also know that as her parents we are responsible for her education. No school can teach our kids everything they need to know. I look at her school as a helper to us. As an only child, it gives her interaction with other kids and with adults other than family who I know are there because they love kids. It also teaches her the basics. We have to support those basics and fill in the areas that they can’t teach. So here is the fall list (I break it down to fall, spring, and summer semesters), it is a very loose lesson plan because she is only 4.

Music- listen to classical (she calls it fancy) and folk music (Mommy’s favorite). Singing folk songs. At Christmas we’ll switch to Christmas songs.
Spring semester- will probably be jazz (Daddy’s favorite) instead of folk.
Next fall she will probably start piano

Music is one area I think gets pushed to the side by most schools especially public. My ultimate goal for her is to be able to read music, play an instrument (or several) and know different music styles and composers.

Art- Draw with paint, pencil, and crayons. Also embroidery or other hand crafts.

It is another area which is often neglected. Ultimate goals are for her to develop her creativity and incorporate it into her everyday life. I also want her to have head knowledge of artists and types of art, but that will come later.

Reading- read more poetry with her along with her regular books. Learn all letters and their sounds by sight. Begin sight words.
Spring semester will start reading chapter books for memory retention.
Ultimate goal is a love of reading and introduction to all kinds of literature/books.

Writing- Write her entire name. Also work on writing all letters of the alphabet.
Ultimate goal is for her to try writing poetry, prose, thesis papers, journaling, etc.

Nature Study- Nature walks where we will explore changing leaves and press some in books learning their names as we go. We will also build fairy houses, go to the pumpkin patch, apple orchard, replace summer flowers with mums, etc.
I would like to start a nature table but we don’t have a spot for one right now. As our house renewal continues I hope to come up with one.
Spring- put up a bird feeder and learn the different names.

Physical Education-I want to get her in a dance, preferably ballet class. No, I don’t expect her to become a professional, don’t even want her to. But growing up, there was a big difference between the confidence and self esteem the girls who were in dance had and those who were not (me). Problem is the only dance studio I know of is very competition oriented, and expensive. So I have some research to do. She will be doing more walking and bike riding with me along with yoga. She loves “oga” as she calls it. Weight is something every one on both sides of the family struggles with. I want to set her upon a good path.

Life Skills- There are so many areas under life skills, and I think many parents don’t intentionally teach them. Schools do not teach them at all, so it is something parents must do! Things like budgeting, insurance, meal planning, cleaning, decorating, cooking, nutrition, dressing, etc. My own education was lacking in many of these areas, and I am still trying to play catch up. I want to intentionally teach these to Princess. But she is still young, so for fall we will be working on picking up after ourselves (toys and dishes) and setting the table at dinner.

Character Building- See the above.
Joyfulness-still working this out.

This list (and this post) seems really long. Most of these things will be taught as we are just living life together. Plus I have decided to severely limit TV. I was wiling to remove it totally but Hubby didn’t go for that. Plus, I admit I would miss HGTV a lot. But this will give us a lot more time to work with.

A Quik Trip

2009-07-28T10:54:00.002-05:00

We went on a quick trip to see my brother in Kansas City. We love Kansas City. It is one of the few cities I have been to that I would move too in a heartbeat. It has a small town feel but also has everything you could want to do. It's nothing like you would think.

Anyway, we had a good visit. I went to a quilt store in Leavenworth called Quilters Corner. We also stepped into a a bead store that was lovely. One of those places that you think "This is just what I would want my own store to be like". We also went to a Half Price Bookstore. I first went to one in Dallas. They have used and new books most of which are half price or less. I picked up a couple of craft books for cheap. Yea me!

My brother and sister-in-law also just got back from London. They brought me back an English tea pot. Royal Albert Lady Carlyle pattern. It's gorgeous. Princess got a Beafeater doll. She's thrilled. They also told us lots of funny stories about the city.

It was a good visit and we are already planning on going back for a longer one.

PS: This post is called Quik Trip cause you have to stop at one and get an ice tea on your way there.

Book Review: Butt'ry Shelf Cookbook and update

2009-07-14T10:42:00.002-05:00

I found the Butt'ry Shelf Cookbook by Mary Mason Campbell, illustrated by Tasha Tudor in my Mom's basement. I have to admit I love cookbooks from previose generations. I never make the recipes but I love the narratives. The look at peoples every day lives which food is such a big part. This one opens with an explanation of what a tradition Butt'ry was like. They were the precurser to a pantry but suppersized. With homemade ingredients stored in crocks and reused glass jars. This is where dry goods like spices, herbs,cookies, special occasion pans and etc were stored. Medicines were also kept here along with items that should not be stored in a cool root cellar.

What I learned from this book was the love and care with which food was provided to the family. Set upon beautifull platters and serving bowls, arranged to look lovely. Now I whatch Food Network and intelectually I know that looks are important when it comes to food. I will admit that I serve from pots and pans, dumping food onto plates and not taking any consideration on how it looks. It's probaby a curse from our modern living styles. Food has been cheap for my whole life and even in a low income family it was taken for granted that it would always be plentiful and easy to make. Not true a 100 years ago when everything you put into your mouth took effort and time and work. So I have decided to take more care in laying out our meals. Maybe I'll even throw a tablecloth on the table and get out some napkins!

The meal traditions tallked about in this book are delightfully old fashioned and homemade. A definite read (if your wierd like me anyway).

In updates: I am terribly behind on book reviews. If anyone out there can show me how to embedd book pictures on a sidebar so everyone can see the books like a link to amazon that would be awesome.
I had a several week period of low energy. No I Am Not Pregnant. Just hadn't been taking care of myself properly and my adrenal glands were tired. But I am feeling much better and am planning to do some painting. My little half bath first and then my living room.

"Honey, Why Do My Pickles Come From India."

2009-05-31T20:46:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago my husband looked up from the pickle jar and asks "Why are the pickles from India?"

That's right the pickles were from India. Said so right on the jar. "Product of India." Why are we importing pickles? Cucumbers overtake every backyard garden every summer here in the Midwest. You can't give the things away! Literally. Why are we shipping pickles from halfway around the world?

I am currently reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It's inspiring! As much as I love the book, I will admit I will never be able to be a locavore. I would have to give up oranges and orange juice for the rest of my foreseeable life. I know the oranges that I get are probably not even half as good as one from the grove but I still can't give them up. (I will admit to giving up supermarket out-of-season tomatoes and strawberries.) But seriously the pickles are from India! No more in my house.

In other news my Princess (who is four) shoved a Barbie shoe up her nose today. I held her arms while my husband extracted it with tweezers. Then we talked about the fact that NOTHING is suppose to go up the nose.

We tilled the garden spot today. It's a month late but we had a chilly spring and then near constant rain. I'm not overly worried. We could have 80 degree day's all the way into October. Tomorrow we will re-till and put in the plants.

Hello Out There

2009-05-26T21:22:00.002-05:00

Thank You Tonia, for giving me a push to come back.

I took an unplanned leave of absence. About a week after the last post I made I was dreading coming up with another post. And I thought "Why am I stressing myself over a blog that only has one reader. (Hi again Tonia)." So I stopped and thought. I'm not done thinking yet. I feel that a successful blog, ya know with readers, and most of the blogs I like are about a subject. Either cooking, or living simply, or homesteading, blah blah blah. But how do they only talk about one department of their lives? Or should I say screw it and use it as a journal of my thoughts? Do I want to put the energy into it to get more readers? Do I even really care about readers?

So here I am still deciding. But I do like the blog community and want to be apart of it. The other answers will come, right?

Book Review-The Creative Family

2009-03-26T20:23:00.002-05:00

The Creative Family by Amanda Soule 2008.

I love this book! In my reading journal I wrote three pages on it. Everything about it is fabulous. The quotes, the crafting ideas, all of it. Good, good, good. But the greatest thing about it is that it helps me to remember the magic and wonder of childhood. It also gives great ideas on how to increase that magic feeling for our kids.

Buy this book! I got it from the library but I am going to buy it. I already want to reread it and highligt every page.

Book Review- The American Frugal Housewife

2009-03-26T20:02:00.003-05:00

The American Frugal Housewife by Mrs. Child circa 1832. Rented from the library system.

Most of this book is worthless. In fact, I confess I didn't read it all. Most of it is cooking and household tips. But these tips are for 200 years ago. Unless you need to know how to get the most use out of a sheep's head. Then this book is for you.

But I did find some gems. The sound advice of keeping out of debt. The General Maxims for Health and her principals on hard work.

Definitely NOT a buy. If you like old household management books like I do it's worth a look from the library.

The Trees are screaming!

2009-03-26T19:44:00.002-05:00

Part of the reason we bought this house seven years ago was because the back yard was like a park. Trees and shrubs on the south side completely hid the neighbors as well as the street and the noise from it. When I came home from work last night the neighbor along with some work men were cutting down the two huge elm trees. They had already ripped out the bushes.

My heart weeps for the loss. Princess keeps asking why he took her trees. The neighbors can now look right into my windows. Today there were five birds sitting on a lone branch looking around and chirping. I realized at that moment I will no longer hear the birds chirping among the brush or see the baby's trying their wings. I look out my kitchen window but instead of seeing and smelling the honeysuckle vines I see the back of the neighbors garage. The sky is open and looks down on me malevolently. Worst of all the beautiful spring green of bright leaflets that I look forward to all year are lying in torn mounds all over his back yard.

Well, I have some news for mister tree-hater neighbor. I have already picked out a hedge that grows to be ten feet high and three feet thick with in three years of planting.

Then I'm lining it with trees!

Book Reviews

2009-03-11T22:28:00.002-05:00

I read a lot. About a lot of things. I go crazy in bookstores. There's so much to discover! I go to the sci/fi fantasy for some distant lands love, then to romance for vampire smut, then religious fiction for some Amish smut (gotta love smut)! Next stop home reference because I love housekeeping books, while I'm there lets check out the craft/hobby's to see what's a going on, stop at cookbooks for a browse. Then to standard fiction to see who's written what about Jane Austin this week, next up self help cause the book that will solve all my problems could be sitting there waiting for me. Oh and don't forget the nature section because for some reason I think I should learn to identify birds and trees and learn to field sketch. Anything else? Why yes! Magazines and the bargain books of course!

Needless to say this takes several hours and is rare that I can indulge because Princess' can only take so much "Quiet we're in a bookstore, k!" But all is not lost because I have amazon and a library connection. So it's all good right!

Any way back to the point, over the years I have often wished I could remember a title or author of something I read in the past. Sometimes I even find myself reading the same book over again, oops. So I decided to start a reading journal. My blog seemed to be a good place to put it so you all could marvel at my crazy tastes. I also decided wouldn't it be cool to keep track of all the books I read to Princes and eventually she reads to her self? When she's grown she will be able to look back over everything she has ever read. How cool is that? I'm putting hers in a little pink journal.

I just picked up the book Refuse To Choose by Barbara Sher per Tonia over at trytocatchthewind.blogspot.com recommendation. And hey! I'm not crazy!!! Book review to be posted in the future.

House Renewal

2009-03-11T22:06:00.001-05:00

I'm in the midst of a house renewal. I call it a renewal instead of remodel because we're not doing very much construction. Mostly it's paint. Wonderful, beautiful paint that can change ugly into character. Right? Please tell me that's right.

We're changing our upstairs from storage into our master bedroom. Then our old room is getting a Fairy Princess WITH POLKA DOTS, MOMMY! repaint. To become Hubby's den...No just kidding, to be Princess' bedroom. Then her old bedroom which is very small will be a play room. And ultimately I will get my house back! No more toys sitting in the living room, or family room, or kitchen, or bathroom. Then my new grown up living room will get a fresh paint and some new homemade pillows.

I was hoping to have all this done by April 18Th for Princess' birthday party. Another monkey wrench?, We have just put out feelers for a Standard Schnauzer dog. Being a rarer breed especially for the Midwest we thought it would take months if not a year to get one. But we have a 9 month old puppy with our name on it waiting for us. So now we're really on a time crunch cause these toys have got to be put up before we bring him home.

So busy, busy, busy. But it's good.

Book Review- How To Make an Amish Quilt

2009-03-09T23:46:00.003-05:00

How To Make an Amish Quilt by Rachel & Kenneth Pellman, 1989, local library

I love learning about the Amish and their way of life. I could never be Amish because I like running water and central heat, but the simplicity of their lives and the lack of stress is seductive. I think most of us in the modern world could learn a lot from them. Like turning off the TV and computer and growing some of our own food.

How To Make An Amish Quilt was nice because it gives a little background about the Amish, some general quilting instructions, and also a look at their traditional quilts. It gives details on how to construct traditional quilts, with pictures of antiques to reference, and quilting templates for the actual quilting designs.

My favorites were the simpler quilts. I am currently in the middle of a house renewall but I plan to make the Diamond In The Square and Bars in the future. The most important piece of information I learned was the use of solid colors and a variety of strong colors including black to make these quilts dynamic. This was a revelation to me! The part of quilting that I have never liked and struggled with was picking fabric. You walk over to the quilting sections at the fabric store and you see pastels with small country flower patterns. Yuck! But hello, I can use solids and in strong colors like black and red. Yeah!!!

Book Review-The Clothesline

2009-03-05T21:16:00.002-06:00

Book- The Clothesline by Rawlings & Vansteenhouse 2002

I picked this book up at the library. It's a cute book that is quite charming. A quick read, I read it in two days. It is dedicated to the pleasures of hanging laundry out to dry. It gives a few hints at the history of laundry and pictures of days gone by. It also gives a few recepis for ironing water and stain remover. I am not overly into laundry. Growing up in a modern home where my Father did more of the laundry than my Mother it was a hurry-up-and-get-it-done type thing. My mother-in-law loves doing laundry and this has always baffled me just as my lack of care has always baffled her. Reading this book gave me a small incite into why it's so important to her identity. Laundry will never be a love of mine but this book was fun to read. I don't suggest it as a retail buy but do rent it or pick it up second hand.

Missing a Friend

2009-03-04T20:10:00.004-06:00

We are back from our visit in Dallas. We had a great time visiting my friend Kathy. We relished the warm weather and spring flowers. I got to walk barefooted in green grass. It was wonderfull.

But what was the best was visiting with my friend Kathy who moved there in the fall. I have greatly missed her. She is always entertaining with her quirky and often raunchy sense of humor. She is perpetually youthfull because of it. She is also a very giving friend who always thinks about others. Visiting her was great but also bittersweet. It drove home how much I miss her.

Pictures might be coming soon. If I can fix some problems first.

I Have Returned

2009-02-21T19:51:00.002-06:00

Sorry for my long absence. I could lie and tell you I have been so busy with life I didn't have time to blog, or make up some awesome project I have worked on, or I could bore you with the truth that the weak light at this time of year makes it nearly impossible to get anything done except eating half my weight in peanut butter cake and watching Austin-like movies over and over. (The peanut butter cake was good too.) But I will not bore you.

In fact I'm not sure what to to talk about. I have finished off a new apron but in my infnite wisdom decided the pattern needed "tweaking". It will now wrap around my body twice and when you put your head trought the neck strap you have to be carefull not to rip off your ears. I am debating if I should scrap the whole thing or rework it. Next time I'll stick with the pattern. Maybe the patern makers are pattern makers for a reason huh?

Or I could tell you about my score at the Goodwill of a Charlie and Lola book, a Nature Hiking book, a new pattern for aprons, 3 snap up western shirts for my uncle, and two reading books for myself. Oh, guess I just did tell you about my finds.

We are headed to Dallas for a vacation. So it might be another week before I write. I'll think about ya'll as I'm enjoying eighty degree weather.

SAD Has Set

2009-01-20T21:13:00.002-06:00

The long dark days have set in. I want to sleep 14 hours a day. I want to eat constantly. I crave sunlight and strawberries. I have two more months of this. Two more months. TWO.

I have actually began cleaning out my upstairs. This is amazing because we have talked about doing this for 3 years. Our plan is to move our bedroom up there and move Princess into our room. Her current bedroom only fits her twin bed and one dresser. So all her toys live in the living room. It would be nice to take back the space and be able to invite people over and not have them sit on a rocking horse.

I hope this year I will be able to keep going on my projects through winter.

Sick Sucks!

2009-01-17T19:49:00.002-06:00

The chest cold thing has been going around my house. We are all hacking and tired. We have been for a week now. If we aren't better I might get us some antibiotics next week. So maybe more posting will appen soon. Hahaha hack hurt....Oh well

Sweater Purse

2009-01-07T21:42:00.002-06:00

I love Country Living magazine. The pictures, the ideas, the articles. Love it, Love it, Love it!

The "make me over" article in the January issue is for a sweater purse. You turn an old sweater into a purse. I tried it. It was super easy and cheap. For the entire instructions BUY THE MAGAZINE. I bought the sweater for $3 at a second hand shop. It didn't felt as well as I would have liked and I ended up having to do a running stitch along all the edges. But even with that it only took me 2 days of working at it sporadically. I added the closure strap and the pocket.

One of the things I thought of for next years Christmas presents was hand made bags. I think these will fit the bill quite well. People can use them for a knitting bag, to carry library books, groceries, as a real purse, lunch bags, even make a tall narrow one for wine. I can also use them as gift bags. Put a handmade candle selection, jelly, bath products, or a book in it and "here ya go".

So lets have some fun and keep those ugly, itchy sweaters out of the dump and make some handmade Christmas.

PS, My mother liked the bag so much I gave it to her. Now I'll have to make another for myself. Oh well.

Ode to January

2009-01-07T21:41:00.001-06:00

Look below for entry.

Damn thing put it in the wrong order!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goings On

2009-01-03T10:20:00.002-06:00

Here are some things I need to say to close out 2008.

2008 was NOT great!

My car is dead. I was going to have a new engine put in it but the mechanic told me it is worn out all over. I did not realize till I was told it was dead that I had an emotional tie to a car. Hubby and I bought the car new in 2003. It is the only vehicle we have ever bought new. I have lots of memories of us hopping in it on a whim and travelling where ever we had a yen to go. It is the vehicle that we brought Princess home from the hospital in. It is the vehicle we took to see relatives both in good times and in sad ones. I am sad to say goodbye ti it and turn it over to a salvage shop (read junkyard). We are looking for a late model car that has low miles. We don't want to be saddled with a $400 car payment for the next 4 years.

My house needs some major repairs. Like a roof! I also need to clear it out so there is room for us to LIVE in it. This is a daunting and scary task.

Good things have been:

This year I got a laptop. Making it possible for me to accomplish several things that I have wanted to do for a few years now. I can make my family cookbook and a heritage scrapbook that I can share with my family.

For Christmas my husband surprised me with an ipod. I have wanted one for a year now. I am trying to learn itunes. (I know everyone says it is easy and intuitive. Well not for me. But I am learning it slowly.)

My parents have stepped up to help me in ways I would never have expected.

My husband stood up for me to my mother-in-law. Also something I never though would happen.

Princess is wonderful and delights me everyday. She makes life such a joy.

So I guess 2008 was not as bad as I had thought.

I have lots of posts running around in my head. I am going to make time in the new year to write regularly. While I am being thankful I have to give Tonia (I'm sorry I don't know how to link yet) over at Try to Catch the Wind a thanks for being my first online friend.

Ode to January

2009-01-03T10:05:00.006-06:00

The days have gone by so fast I feel I cannot grasp them. Now that peaceful January has started I will be able to focus and slow down. I can't help but say that the world is ordered so perfectly. Slow January starts the new year and gives us time to get past the last year and plan out and implement the next. I know most people do this in December but December is so busy with family and all that I'm never able to think it through till January. In January I am able to concentrate only on self and changes I have made and still want to make.

I have always hated January. It's long, in my area of the country there is no snow and also no light. The days are dark, cold, and if we do get precipitation it is ice not snow. In my mind the color of January has always been dust brown with a weak greenish cast.(Not the beautiful nut brown of fall.) But in the last two years January has become a quiet time of self reflexion. As I age quiet and peace has become supremely important. So this is my theme for January. I will be posting plans, ideas and steps to implement them all through this month. So stay tuned......

Atrocities I Have Witnessed

2008-12-15T19:43:00.003-06:00

These things were seen or heard at my local Mall Friday during my lunch hour.

1) Man combing beard.- Doesn't sound to bad but was a horror to watch.

2) Store clerk peddling spa socks to a Mennonite woman. - No, she didn't buy them.

3) While waiting in line at Subway a VERY large woman behind me says "I got dis gas bubble in my stomach and I just gotta get it out!!" and then she ordered the pepper jack cheese.

Homemade Christmas Presents (for next year)

2008-12-05T23:04:00.002-06:00

Typically the only people we actually buy Christmas presents for are the four kids in the family. All adults get pseudo-presents. Like a picture of us and a tin of cookies that I made. I disagree with buying presents just to buy presents. That is not what Christmas is about. Let's face it, they don't want that crap anyway and it's just gonna clutter up their space. But now that I have joined the crafting world I've seen lots of useful and cool stuff that would make good presents and on the cheap too.

Here's a list of free or almost free ideas:

1) Homemade trail mix. Everybody loves trail mix and nobody needs the extra crap that goes into commercial mixes. It's not just nuts in there but yummy cancer causing preservatives too!

2)Homemade bath stuff. Easy to do, everybody takes baths (I hope), and there's lots of options. Salt scrubs, sugar scrubs, lotions of all kinds, shampoo, conditioner, cuticle cream, soap, massage oils, body powders, body butters, on and on.

3)Cards. Turn pictures you've taken into birthday, Christmas, get well, thank you or blank cards. Give a set of six or twelve. Everybody needs cards on occasion (hello Hallmark) make your own collection and give them as presents. With basic or free software you can add any sayings you want. Plus now all those great nature pictures you took can be shown off.

4)Quilts or blankets. I have a ton of t-shirts that have holes in the pits, are too small (but strangely they're never too big), or we just don't like. I'm going to try and make them into a patchwork quilt. I am anticipating an unusual but super soft cuddle blanket. Course traditional material works too.

5) Aprons. Just cause I love 'em and would really like to get a super girly one. (And of course if I want it so does everyone else right?)

6)Cookbook. Put all your family favorites together in one spot. Be sure to get Grandmas.

7)Heritage book. Take all those pictures of relatives and make a living family tree book.

8)Framed pictures. Put several pictures that have one dominant color in them together, or you can use black and white prints. Place into matching frames. A great use for all those nature or architecture pictures you took. Give a set to those that are redecorating or recently moved.

9)Homemade candles. Everybody loves them.

10)Recipes in a jar. I like the ones where the receiver just adds water and heats. If they have to add five more ingredients what's the point?

11)Jelly. I just learned to make jelly from scratch this summer. Store bought jelly just doesn't have the same great taste. Use local fruit at the peak of season. Nobody will turn it down.

12)Advent calenders. This is one of the few I came up with that is kid worthy as well. Sew out of cloth or if you've been blessed with woodworking skills build one.

13)Calenders. Last year we gave calenders with pictures of Princess in that month. My mother-in-law tells me at the beginning of each month how she loves it. You could also make calenders with those beautiful nature or architecture pictures you've taken.

14)Mini scrapbooks. Great for the grandparents.

15)Bags. Can be used as purses, grocery, or to carry books.

16) Dried herbs or spice mixes. Put some herbs in your garden, dry them and put then in glass bottles you've saved up from olives etc. Mix up a spice rub, apple pie spice, etc. Spice mixes and herbs are expensive to buy plus homemade is a lot fresher.

17)Baskets. Either weave them or grow bushel gourds and dry them out then add a handle. I have not tried either but will this next year.

18) Magazine subscriptions. OK this isn't handmade but everyone loves magazine day. Most subsrciptions cost ten to fifteen bucks. That's much cheaper than at the newsstand and it gets delivered to your door.

19)If you knit or crochet (I do neither) you can make a sweater, blanket, stuffed animal, even leg warmers for the eighties babe.

20)If you woodwork the ideas are endless. Tables either end, coffee, or dining, a doll house or for a boy a Star Wars ship.

21)Netflix subscription. Same reason as the magazine subscription.

22)Seeds/cuttings from your garden.

Then of course you can always bundle them together. I like the idea of baskets since you have the ability to make the basket itself. A few ideas are...

The bath basket. Put in a pumice stone and a loofah (which you can grow as well) with handmade bath fizzes, chapstick, massage oil, etc.

The kitchen basket. Put in a handmade apron, the family cookbook, spice mix, herbs, and some jelly.

The garden basket. Sew a tote, put in seeds and cutting from your own plants. Maybe add gardening gloves (catch them on clearance at the end of the season) and some hand tools.

Now you may have noticed that these ideas are for next Christmas. That's because (for me) it's too late for this year. But I am going to start a "gift box". No it's not presents I am going to regift. It's going to be where I put all the finished crafts I am plan to give. I'm going to start in January (or now) and make stuff all year. Then come October I open the box figure out what else I need for whom and still have two months to finish it up. You may all stand in awe of my forethought. Too bad about this Christmas though. Oh well, better luck next year to all on my list.

Things to be gratefull for when your broke

2008-12-03T18:55:00.002-06:00

I am a glass-half-empty person. I have slowly been learning to have a positive outlook. But holy hell is it hard! Especially now! So I wrote down things to be grateful for even when you're broke. Here goes:
PS. I took a pain pill for my back and if I am incoherent too bad.

1)Home manicures.

2) The tons of toys my daughter already owns.

3)The Internet- a free place to entertain yourself, learn great things like how to make your own laundry soap, get weather and news, and even talk and share photos with friends and relatives.

4) The multiple cleaning uses of white vinegar. Which I bought a gallon of for $1.47

5) I already own a very nice sewing machine to provide entertainment for myself. If you were a better sewer than I am it could also provide income.

6)Home cooked food. Which is the cheapest, healthiest and tastes the best.

7) Libraries

8) Appreciating what you have.

9) Less crap to take care of.

10) Homemade cleaning supplies are cheap, fun, and better for the environment. (As poverty is no excuse to have a dirty house, even though I do)

11) You take better care of what you have.

12) You appreciate your family for sticking with you in bad and good.

13) You learn the importance of self-reliance.

14) Without TV you accomplish more.

15) You learn to be resourceful.

16) You get to avoid shopping and lines and crowds.

17) You learn you can live without some things you thought necesities.

Feel free to add any of your own in comments and I will happily add it to my list.

Catching Up

2008-12-01T20:56:00.003-06:00

I have had a lot going on so blogging was a back burner item. But to give an overview....

The only vehicle we own that fits all three of us broke down. As in the engine seized up and we would have to replace the entire engine which would cost more than the car is even worth. So we are in the car market.

I hurt my back and had to make a quick visit to the doctor who gave me some lovely pills and told me to absolutely NOT pick up, push or pull anything. This is extremely hard when you have a 3 year old and a house to keep. She also wants me to get and MRI but I am putting that off for now till the future is more secure (see above).

We visited my brother in Kansas City, saw my Aunt and Uncle and enjoyed a low key Thanksgiving. The only time we went to any kind of store was Saturday to take princess to see Santa Clause. I can officially say I participated in the Buy Nothing day after Thanksgiving. Course that was due to needing to save every penny (see the above) than choosing too.

PS if my writing is a sloppy mess it's due to the muscle relaxers and pain killers.

I am working on goals and changes for next year to help us become more self sufficient. So stay tuned...

Bread Baking

2008-11-17T17:59:00.003-06:00

I'm a good cook and an excellent baker. But I have a weakness. I'm scared of yeast. Any recipe that calls for yeast I skip. It has to do with my Mom baking bread when I was a kid. You had to be quite, you couldn't walk through the house. The house would be to cold and it wouldn't rise or my parents would turn the stove on and the dough would explode.

But I love yeast bread and especially yeast rolls. So I have decided to conquer my fear of yeast. Today I tried a simple bread recipe. I am very exited to say it did rise. Half the recipe I made into rolls. (It was actually a roll recipe.) The rest I turned into two small loaves. The rolls are a little dry and thick and a tad too crusty. My husband is stuffing them in his face fast enough and says they're good. The loafs were excellent. Not dry at all. What were people thinking when they switched from the wonderful texture and full flavor of homemade bread to the packaged white bread we use today?

Off the Ass

2008-11-14T20:28:00.002-06:00

Do you ever get bogged down by everything you should be doing so that you can't do anything?

That's how I feel about my entire life right now. Maybe its part SAD disorder (dark all the damn time) or my perfectionism that keeps me from even starting a project. I have struggled with this all my life. Recently it's gotten worse. I feel like Marley wrapped up in chains and weighed down with locks.

So I am trying to focus. This weekend I am going to finish my household notebook. I am also going to clean up and rearrange the unfinished part of my basement.

Pray for me, wish me luck, send "get things done" thoughts my way. Please. Cause I'm gonna need it.

PS: My new goal is to blog twice a week.

Goals and Lists

2008-11-05T21:08:00.004-06:00

One of the reasons I started this blog was to keep myself accountable. I have great ideas and plans for all kinds of crafts, writing, gardening, recipes... lots of stuff. But I never do them. So in an effort to get my lazy ass moving I am posting some goals.

For the rest of 2008
-Finish the aprons I started
-Can fresh pumpkin
-Finish making grape jelly
-Finish scrapbooking 2008 and 2007
-Clean out my basement and turn it into a play room (I need to do this by Thanksgiving actually)
-Fix up household notebook
-Cut sugar in diet/start yoga (OK maybe we'll move this to 2009)
-Siding on end of house

For 2009
-Write family cookbook (for Christmas presents next year)
-Put heritage album together (for Christmas presents next year)
-Scrapbook, keep up with 2009
-Scrapbook 2006
-Stretch goal is to get 2005 done as well (My ultimate goal in scrapbooking has been to get back to the birth of my daughter in 05)
-Yard, it needs a lot of love
-House, redo basement, upstairs incl putting in a new bathroom, repaint all walls, kids room.
-Stretch goal is the kitchen, main bath, and guest room.(Sound like enough?)
-Make some new quilts
-Become more organic by
a)making more of my own beauty and bath products
b)grow a vegetable garden and herb garden
c)can and freeze more of our own food
-Become a better writer
-Stretch goal is to start playing violin again
-And of course the usual eat healthy, exercise, lose weight and better our finances.

Hey look my list has sub lists. I love lists.

Is It Over Yet?

2008-11-04T19:47:00.002-06:00

I've never been into politics probably because I don't believe in pushing my beliefs on others. I hate all this election crap. Usually I just ignore it but that's not been possible this year. (I tried, really I tried!)

The worst part is everybody ASKING who your going to vote for. Was I the only person who was taught it was rude to ask. Who you vote for is no ones business. That's why it's done by secret ballot. So I do not appreciate being asked who I voted for by family, friends or the grocery store checker. And I certainly don't want to hear who a total stranger voted for while waiting to buy toilet paper.

But since everyone else is doing it...(hahaha) here are my thoughts on some of the major issues.

1) Gun control. Many people I know hunt not just for sport but for food for their families. In my area the deer are so thick the sides of the roads are littered with carnage. I had two wild turkeys try to commit suicide by standing in the road and refusing to move. If you make guns illegal then only the criminals will have them. Criminals don't care if they break the law or not. It's just law abiding citizens who will be left without protection. Plus any freedom given to us in the Constitution should be left alone period.

2)I believe in a woman's right to choose. It's your decision and you have to live with it. Plus the numbers don't lie. Every year since Roe vs Wade the crime rate has dropped. Look it up!

3)Drill for oil in the US. What are in a war over? Oil. If we had our own there would be no need for the war. We need to drill for oil here so we don't have to depend on any one else. AT THE SAME TIME developing sustainable methods and reducing our need. I'd even go for a cut off date for the use of oil. Speaking of the environment do you think the middle east is concerned about environmental impact? No! By drilling ourselves we can be assured it is being done in the best possible way. 'Cause an oil spill in Iran will eventually end up polluting the shores of Oregon.

4)Gay marriage. I am a Christian (though some would say a bad one) but if two people want to sign a contract that they will love each other forever...what do I care. I'm not saying a gay couple should be allowed to get married in church. But in this country there is a separation of church and state. I for one am thankful for that. I don't want my church in my government any more than I want my government in my church. A marriage contract through the state is just a contract. Do I care if John and June enter into a business contract? No. Then why would I care if Bruce and Tom entered into a love contract.

5) Government aide. The last year I worked a full time job my husband and I payed with in a few thousand dollars of what I made in taxes. Take into account gas for work, clothes, lunches, child care and we were in the hole. (No we never hit six figures.) I am not heartless. I don't want kids starving and if you need a hand up I will help you. But the people who make it a lifestyle piss me off. Lots of times I watch someone pay for their groceries with a link card then get into a nicer car than I can afford. These aide programs train people to depend on the government when they should be teaching people self reliance.

The Candidates

I don't like either one. I don't agree with McCain on some very important issues. Obama speaks of change but hasn't made any in the state he represents. (I live in Illinois.) I also don't agree with him on some very important issues.

So who did I vote for....It's rude to ask and I'm not asking who you voted for either.

PS. I hope to never speak of politics again.

Woods Walking

2008-11-03T21:10:00.006-06:00

We went walking in the woods at my grandparents farm. Their "farm" is all timber not an actual grow crops kinda farm.

My daughter is big into leaves right now. She collects hand fulls of them. I need to start a leaf book for her.

Persimmon pickin'. Persimmons are a strange fruit. The ripe ones are Delicious. The un-ripe ones are turn your mouth inside out sour. So I don't eat them. But my family loves them and it is fun picking them off the trees.

Some wildlife.

Review: Tinker Bell

2008-10-29T20:13:00.003-05:00

Tinker Bell released Oct 28, 2008 direct to DVD.

OK, I have to confess... I love Disney. All the political crap aside, they make great movies. The animated ones are my favorites.

I also have to say...I don't get into movies. Even great movies, based on great books I love, I just don't get into.

I love this movie! I love this movie more than my daughter does. I bought this movie for her because she loves Peter Pan. She alternates pretending to be Tinker Bell and a pirate. I am now trying to get her to let me decorate her room as Pixie Hollow.

The movie tells the story of how Tinker Bell, and all fairies, come to being. Then Tinker Bell tries to become something she's not, ends up causing a disaster, and then fixes the situation by embracing her true self. The story is simple. It's suppose to be...it's for young kids. What blew me away was the characterization of the other fairies. All of them are multi dimensional. All of them are strong enough to have a movie of their own. In fact, Disney, I want to watch their movies. Make them!

The other awesome thing is the visual. The pictures (or frames or whatever you call them) are unbelievable. In fact I want a picture book of this movie (hint, hint, Christmas present). Everything in this world is related to nature. The fairy homes are flowers, the doors are pumpkin tops, the fans are oak pods. All the tiny details are fabulous.

The other reason I love this movie is how it gets kids interested in nature. It is one of those movies along the lines of The Wind in the Willows that lets kids, even grown up ones, run wild with imagination.

Not only do I have a bedroom planned but I am also thinking birthday party. We could gather up leaves, sticks, some gourds and the kids could make their own fairy houses. We could even incorporate a nature walk to gather the items into the party. There is a website where you can build your own faerie at www.disney.go.com/fairies. Each child could design their own and even dress up like them. I am already anticipating the next movie Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure due out next fall.

Lots a weekend

2008-10-26T21:06:00.004-05:00

I have to apologize to Tonia at Try To Catch The Wind. I saw on Friday that she had tagged me and I was super excited. So Thanks! But Friday was trick or treat here, and Saturday was the town's Halloween celebration with 2 parades. There is a Kiddie parade during the day and another at night. We didn't go to the night parade. We went clothes and printer shopping instead. Yeehaw! I have a wireless all in one photo printer. My husband found it for me and it's awesome. Then today we went to the park and had some family time. We also carved a pumpkin.

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My daughter is sitting next to me playing with her 'puter.

I've been tagged!

2008-10-26T18:08:00.004-05:00

Tonia at trytocatchthewind.blogspot.com tagged me. Thanks Tonia!!!

Rules:
1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 Random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you are tagged, just do it, and pass the tag along.

Here's mine!

1)I've never had a hangover. I've started on the wine at 10am but never had a hangover.

2) I didn't know that my learning problems were actually dyslexia until I was married.

3)I have always wanted to get a tattoo and still haven't.

4)My favorite fruit is wild blackberries. The ones that are small and naturally sweet. My favorite way to eat them is my grandmother's blackberry dumplings! Yum!

5) I hand-write my blogs before typing them.

6) I buy all the greeting cards I need at the beginning of each` month and then forget to send them. Then the next month I do it again.

Ok I have not been in the blog world long and I'm not sure these people even know I exist (because I do a lot of lurking and not a lot of talking) but I am going to tag people whose blogs I like to read.

dustpanalley.blogspot.com
noapropriatebehavior.blogspot.com
schmutzie.com

And anyone else who reads this. If you don't have a blog leave it on my comments. (Kathy I'm talkin to you.)

A Writer? With a little practice maybe

2008-10-23T21:37:00.002-05:00

I am a writer. Did you all know that? No probably not, not from looking at this blog anyway. But I am. I even have a bachelors degree in creative writing.

But I haven't written in years, other than lists, and lists of lists, and sub lists to the lists. (Oh my how I love lists.)

Anyway. Why have I not written in years you ask? Well, it's very hard to make a living as a writer and I am at heart a pragmatist. I have had a succession of soul sucking, but paying jobs. Then add a house, a marriage, a child, blah blah blah..... not conducive to creativity.

I am rediscovering myself. I started this blog mainly to write regularly again, get re-accustomed to computers, and play with photography, Oh and meet interesting people out there in the great big world.

So, if my writing is a little dull, or bounces from one thing to another (no not my thinking), or if verb tenses are wrong and words misspelled please remember the pen (well keyboard) and I are getting reacquainted. So Thanks!

Civil Disobediance

2008-10-22T23:14:00.003-05:00

So my Godson is a smart a boy. He's five, in Kindergarten and is reading books that are meant for second graders. He's having some behavior trouble in school. The class is learning A- is for apple, B-is for ball.

(Stupid no child left behind act. I was for it too. Sounded good on paper. In practice it's just dumming the class down to the slowest learner.)

Doesn't take a child psychologist to figure out....HE'S BORED OUT OF HIS MIND and trying to entertain himself.

Now he has gotten into trouble for spelling his answers to the teacher. When she asks him what do you do if a friend tells you to do something you know is wrong. He replies D-O-N-O-T-D-O-I-T. Spelling it all out.

It's fucking brilliant! They should give the child the Nobel prize for civil disobedience. (Yes, I know there is no such thing but there should be!)

Canning

2008-10-19T22:13:00.003-05:00

I canned 5 quarts of apple pie filling and 2 1/2 quarts of applesauce today. Do you know how much apples it takes to make applesauce? A TON! It was sixteen big apples that I cooked down and all I got was 2 1/2 quarts of applesauce. That's it.

There is a story behind the canning. But I am tired tonight so stay tuned for tommorrows entry.

Stuck!

2008-10-15T11:37:00.002-05:00

My daughter took this picture while going on vacation. (She's 3)

Today I am stuck. At home. My husbands truck has a dead battery. I have the day off so he took my car. And I am stuck at home.

I know, I know. You're thinking why do you need two cars anyway? Well, here's why. I live in a small Midwestern town. There is no bus system, there is no taxi's, there is no bike path's, there are no sidewalks. If you want to walk or bike somewhere you compete for the road with the vehicles. And they are certainly NOT going to make room for you on their road. It's a safety concern.

Really it's not bad, I just keep thinking of things I want to do. But I need supplies to do them. I want to can some applesauce but I need a jar lifter. I want to put a new cover on my household notebook but I need to get new scrapbook paper. I want to finish my apron but I need more biased tape.

Oh, well. I 'll just have to think of something else to do.
Like laundry. I really need to do some laundry.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-13T21:45:00.004-05:00

We went to the pumpkin patch on Saturday. The kids had a great time.

We went through the corn maze. It takes about an hour to go through it. It was 85 degrees so we were all hot by the end.

My Mom grew bird house gourds. She didn't plant anything else. Just those. They grew all over the dog pens. She wasn't going to do anyting with them. I decided I'm going to dry them. I found a site on the internet that gave good directions. But it takes 6 months. We'll see how it goes. Any tips would be greatly welcome.

2008 Caught Up

2008-10-11T00:48:00.003-05:00

I know it's late and I should be sleeping. But I just got home from scrapbooking and have to tell the world......I Have 2008 Pictures Caught Up!!! Yeah me! I have a large amount of 2007 done as well. My goal is to get 2007 done before 2009 gets here. (You scrapbookers will understand.)

Settings

2008-10-10T17:59:00.002-05:00

I have been working on setting up this blog and have failed to write in it.

But isn't it pretty! Both pictures were taken by me. Actually I think my husband took the yellow flower picture. We were both shooting tons of pictures at the time and it's hard to remember who took what. We were visiting relatives in Newton County Arkansas and were inspired to take nature pics by the beauty around us and by the art of Don Nelms. He has a gallery outside of Jasper Ar, I think its actually in Mt Sherman. You can see some of his work at nelmsgallery.com. Of course it's not the same as going to his gallery, which is a restored farm house with a wraparound porch and sits on the top of a mountain, and seeing his pics, which are printed on canvas and amazing in person.

Any way off to scrapbooking night and tommorrow it's the pumpkin patch and gluten free cooking.

First Off

2008-10-08T21:36:00.003-05:00

Okay here's the deal. This summer I sold a bunch of (crap) stuff that was sitting around my house and generated enough money for a laptop. So now I am trying to learn all this new gadgetry. Strange that I am learning how to use high tech stuff at the same time as I am learning homesteading stuff that was common knowledge 100 years ago. So be kind about mistakes.

I am in an apron phase right now. I hope to post pics of my projects soon. I decided to learn to sew on aprons because 1) I needed some because I am a mess when cooking 2) I thought it would be easy stuff to learn on. Of course I am not good at learning so it's been a trial in patience too.