~Snake Quilt~

When Kevin was a young man, his grandma wanted to make him a quilt. So Kevin drew up a design, and went to the fabric store with his grandma. He was really into snakes at that time *shudder*, so the quilt would be of a snake, of course!



His grandma made the quilt just the way he wanted it, and then she made it just the way she wanted it. You see, the snake is quilted as any snake should be when they are quilted, but the rest of the quilt was her domain. The cream background is filled with quilted pictures. It is truly a work of art!



The quilt is for a queen size bed. It was a labor of love!

It is on display in our living room, with several other quilts that his grandma made.

~For My Sister~

I wanted to share what I made for one of my sister's birthdays:



Her name starts with "S".



I had a lot of fun making this set for her, I hope she enjoys it!

~Ducks at the Park~

Last week I cleaned out the fridge and had a ton of stale bread and hamburger buns. I didn't want them to go completely to waste, so we went to the park and fed the ducks and geese and sea gulls. The sea gulls were so loud they hurt my ears!

It was hilarious to throw a large piece of bread towards the sea gulls and watch them all fight over it.

At one point I found myself surrounded by Canada geese. If they would have been ducks, I would have been completely fine with them, but the fact was, they were geese. And I know how mean geese can be if they want to. One of them started pecking at my leg, and that's when I shooed them farther from me.

I had a male duck eating out of my hand. If there is one animal I have a overfondness for, it is ducks. I just cannot tell you how much I love ducks. When I was growing up, my family lived on 10 acres, and we had pet ducks. Anytime I can be around ducks, I take the chance. I was thrilled to have one eating from my hand!

Incidentally I can now cross off #40 of my 101 Things in 1001 Days list.

Pictures by my sister, from her visit here a year and a half ago.

~It's a Bloggy Giveaway!~

As promised, I'm back to host a little giveaway to celebrate my 2-year blogging anniversary!

Please just post a comment to this post, and your name will be entered in the "hat". If you do not have a blog, please leave me your e-mail address so I have a way of contacting you!

What's that? Oh! You want to know what you're entering your name for?

A little zipper pouch, of course!



It has a vinyl pocket on the outside, is fully lined with green lining. It's the perfect size to keep your lip stick/gloss in, as well as those tiny little things that like to hide out in the bottom of your purse.

I will draw a name on Friday afternoon.

~Retreat~

Friday and Saturday I went with a group of ladies from my church to a retreat at Camp CoBeAc. I've never been to Camp CoBeAc, and it was exciting to drive up and see the marvelous campgrounds the Lord has blessed the camp with.

We were priveliged to hear Debi Pryde speak, besides which there was lots of yummy food, fun activities (including the zip line - and yes, I went down it!!!, and a great time of fellowship together.

Now it's back to "real" life, and tackling the pile of laundry! *Smiles*

~For Me~

I still have delicious scraps left from my fat quarter win from Sew, Mama, Sew! and I decided to make myself a zipper pouch!

Last time I went biking I seriously considered taking this wristlet out of my Etsy shop so I would have something to put my keys and phone in. But I didn't, and then later it sold.

Yesterday I made myself a wristlet:



Lined it with plaid (but didn't think to match the plaid! LOL



It matches my bike perfectly, don't you think?



Of course, I had to try it out! I hopped on my bike and took a spin. It conveniently holds my keys, phone, and camera.



I know I will get a lot of use out of this! It is the perfect size for many different purposes.

~Oldest worker in America~

Hats off to Ray Jenkins, who at 101 years old, has never retired!

Watch the video here.

~Labor Day~

Kevin had Labor Day off from work, and we spent some time doing stuff around the house. One thing Kevin did that I greatly appreciated was that he fixed the kitchen drain which was leaking.

After lunch we decided to go visit a nature preserve that isn't too far from our house. We took the 1.9 mile hike around the lake, and had a great time together.

Here are some pictures:






We saw a pair of swans (such pretty birds), geese, some unrecognizable water fowl, a beaver lodge and plenty of evidence in the surrounding forest of beavers cutting down trees, and a blue heron. The only disappointment was that the position of the trail obscured the lake for most of the hike.

It was such a nice day for a hike and we weren't bothered by pesky mosquitoes. It wasn't busy either. We only saw a few people during our hike. "A lovely time was had by all."

~Oops~

I missed my blogiversary! =) September 3, 2005, I started this blog on a whim. I've really enjoyed blogging! Two years have flown by!

Come back next Monday for a giveaway to celebrate my two-year anniversary!

~Spring Fall Cleaning~

Do you deep clean in the fall? I typically do my deep cleaning in the spring, but this spring I didn't, and I find my house in need of some serious cleaning now. I don't want to wait till next spring! My house is picked up and surface cleaned, but there are too many dust bunnies running about my house! ;-)

Next week I plan on cleaning my house "from top to bottom" and then decorating for fall. Last fall and winter we were right in the middle of home improvements, and I couldn't decorate with either my fall or Christmas decorations, so I'm really looking forward to decorating this year!

Some things I plan to do:
***Pull off the heater grates and vacuum the ducts.
***Clean out my kitchen cabinets and touch up the paint on the doors.
***Clean out the bathroom cupboards and clean under the bathtub. (One of the bonuses for having a claw foot bathtub is that you get to clean under your tub! LOL)
***Thoroughly dust and vacuum in each room.

That'll keep me busy next week!

~Redbirds and Rubies and Rainbows~

One of the goals on my 101 List is to read all the books on my bookshelf. I finally have a book finished!

Redbirds and Rubies and Rainbows by Marlene Evans is an excellent book for any Christian woman. Mrs. Evans deals with having proper attitudes, mind control, and true joy in the Christian life. She writes using many examples from her own life and those around her.

I think the lesson that stuck with me the most was that of "bronzing" good memories and not "bronzing" the bad moments in life. I have thought back to that many times since I read that, and I thought it was a whole chapter in the book. When I went to look for it just now, I had a hard time finding it, because it is only several pages in the book. My grandpa had a bronzed baby shoe and that really impressed me when I was a little girl, which perhaps is why this lesson stood out so much to me. In any case, I have been working to only "bronze" the good things. As Mrs. Evens pointed out, it is so easy to cast the bad memories in bronze and forget the good things.

I had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Evans, as well as hear her speak, at a ladies conference in California about a year before she passed away. I could see that the lessons she taught in this book were lived out until her death. Her ministry to women was remarkable.

I highly recommend this book! It is well worth the read!

~Gooseberry Patch Recipe Books~

Do you enjoy looking through recipe books? I do! Over several years, I have both purchased and received several Gooseberry Patch cookbooks.



Besides recipes, the cookbooks are full of hand-drawn art and they have little ideas sprinkled throughout for decorating and gift-giving.

I got out my Gooseberry Patch cookbooks today and set them on my coffee table. I plan on looking through them in the evenings so I can find new recipes to try.

Here is one recipe that I made twice recently. It is the perfect thing to take to picnics, gatherings, potlucks, and it makes a pretty salad for company!

My Sister's Ambrosia

8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. sugar
2 t. lemon juice
2 t. pineapple juice
2 medium bananas, sliced and quartered
14-1/2 oz. jar maraschino cherries, halved
15-1/4 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained, juice reserved
1 c. chopped nuts
16 oz. whipped topping

Blend cream cheese, sugar and juices well. Add fruit and nuts. Fold in whipped topping and refrigerate before serving.

~Felted Purse~

Ever since I've been knitting, I've wanted to make a felted purse. I found this pattern recently, (accessible if you join Knitting Daily), and kept it in mind. I bought my yarn at Hobby Lobby.

Here's the bag all knitted up, pre-felting:


Felted:


As you can see, it did shrink, but not too much. The handle could be longer, but oh well. Now I need to find a perfect button and I'm all set. Overall, I was pleased with the pattern, though it says "beginner" but doesn't really have "beginner" instructions.

~New to Etsy~

Just added tonight:

~Ketchup~

As promised, here is my ketchup recipe. I tripled this recipe, which resulted in 16 half-pints. It took me approximately 6 hours to boil down the ketchup; it takes less time if you are doing a smaller batch.

1 stick cinnamon, broken
1 tsp. whole cloves
1 tsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. celery seed
1 cup vinegar
8 pounds tomatoes
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup sugar
1 tbs. salt

Place cinnamon stick, cloves, mustard seed and celery seed in a spice bag; add to vinegar. Bring vinegar and spices to a boil; remove from heat and let stand.

Peel, core, quarter, and seed tomatoes.* Combine tomatoes, onion and cayenne pepper. Simmer until soft. Puree using a food processor or food mill. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half. Remove spice bag from vinegar. Add vinegar and salt to tomato mixture. Simmer until desired consistency.

Freezer instructions: Cool. Ladle ketchup into can-or-freeze jars or plastic freezer boxes, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Seal, label and freeze.

Canning instructions: Ladle hot ketchup into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

*If you have a food mill that removes skin and seeds, there is no need to peel and seed tomatoes.

~Friday already?~

Is today really Friday? Wow...this week has flown by!

I've been keeping busy. On Wednesday, I cleaned out the garage. I took everything out, swept and hosed the floor, and brought everything back in. Some things came back into the garage via the garbage bag, so all together, everything is much neater looking!

I've also been making ketchup. I spent four hours over the stove yesterday, stirring the pot. I went outside to greet Kevin when he came home from work, and he said I smelled like ketchup. LOL Thankfully, the ketchup is all boiled down, and ready to can. I'll be doing that later on today.

I had to do something while I was standing over the stove, so I listened to Dave Ramsey. I am so thankful that we are not steeped in debt as most of his callers are. Not too say that we've been perfect with our finances, because we haven't, but we both hate to have any debt and do everything we can to avoid it!

Well, I need to go get busy! I have a long "to do" list today! Have a great day!

~Summer Soap Celebration~

For a chance to win some delightful handmade soaps, head over to Nan's place, and check out all the giveaways she's having! The contests end today, so hurry on over!

~Computer Problems~

Ah, our computer is up and running again. I was without the computer all.day.long. I even went to the library so I could check my e-mail, but I ended up on a station that only allows 15-minute sessions. I was frustrated with the internet speed anyhow, so I didn't put my name on the waiting list for the other stations.

So now, after a whole evening of work, my husband has restored a bit of our computer. Three cheers for my hubby! *Smiles*

I can't believe how many times I thought, "Oh, I'll go look that up online" or "I need to go send a quick e-mail to __". And now that I'm online, Bloglines is down! Those of you who subscribe to blog feeds via Bloglines know the frustration of seeing their "Plumber"...tomorrow is another day! =)

******
To answer a question from Mrs. H: the clothesline holders on my house/garage were there when we bought the house. I don't know how old they are or if they could be obtained today, but I would look at a hardware store to start with. I use a regular clothesline which I had before we moved into our house. Hope this answers your questions!

******
Ketchup didn't happen today! Tomorrow!

~Mountains~

Last week was busy, and somehow I never got around to doing any laundry. I had been trying to get a load done each day, and it was working out well. But not last week! So today I went down into the basement and got started on my mountain of laundry! I got my exercise by going up and down the stairs changing loads around! It is so nice to have all the laundry done (I even ironed everything as needed!)

I also tackled a mountain of dishes. Somewhere around Thursday my dishwasher broke. Oh wait, I don't have a dishwasher...I do the dishes.

On Sunday afternoon, I went through my cabinets, fridge and freeze, and wrote down a list of everything I had in the house. Before I wrote it all out, I would have said that I didn't have much food in the house, but I have quite a bit to work with. When I wrote out my menu for this coming week, I tried to plan around what I had on hand, so that I wouldn't have to buy as many groceries this week. Then I headed out shopping.

So you see, lots of mountains got tackled today! Tomorrow I am making ketchup. I quartered, cooked, and ran the tomatoes through my food mill, and the puree is ready to go! I'm excited about the ketchup I'll get, but not necessarily excited about tending the pot while it simmers! I'll post the recipe I'm using tomorrow.

Have a great day!

~Things I've Learned about Outer Space~

According to Star Trek

1. Everyone speaks English. It's amazing, really. But it's also cool, because you can go from planet to planet and not have to worry about interpreters and miscommunication.

2. Since everyone speaks English, there has to be something that identifies your planet or colony of origin. Facial features predominately set everyone apart. But in case you might wonder, each planet/colony has a different style of clothing as well.

3. There are many rare and deadly diseases in outer space. If your ship comes in contact with one of these dreaded diseases, do not worry. The doctor will be able to save you in the nick of time. Actually, do not worry if you are a key component to the space ship. If you are not very important, be very worried. You probably won't survive.

4. If someone aboard your space ship suddenly starts acting very odd, and issuing commands unlike the norm, be prepared for him to actually be an enemy who has assumed all the characteristics of the person.

5. In outer space, it is possible to transport people to your ship. Even enemies, if you wish to communicate with them on your ship. But, if you get lost while on a mission, do not expect your ship-mates to transport you back, even if you are the captain.

6. It is possible to disappear. The proper term is "cloaking".

7. Sometimes the enemy will cause yourself or members of your ship to alter their appearance. Again, don't be overly worried, by the end of the show day you will be back to normal again.

8. Time travel is indeed possible. How, this is not made clear, but it is indeed a reality of outer space.

There you have it! The things I've learned about Outer Space according to Star Trek. *Grin* Do I watch Star Trek? No way! Unless, of course, I come through the room and it looks interesting. It helps if Kevin is eating popcorn while watching. I can sit down to eat the popcorn. That's all.

~Aprons~

Yes, I am silly enough to put up a clothesline every time I want to take a picture. Our house and garage have the nicest clothesline holders I've seen, but not exactly in a spot that I want to leave up a permanent clothesline. The clothesline that I happen to have only has about three or four extra inches beyond the span of the house and garage, and still, the little clamps hold up the line very nicely, see:



(Yuck, ignore the dirty house! LOL)

Anyhow.


Mrs. B asked me to make her two aprons. She chose the fabric from Hancock's of Paducah, and I made them for her. (I might add that this was the first time I had ordered from Hancock's of Paducah, and I was very impressed with the fabric selection they have, as well as their fast shipping!)



I just love the fabric she chose!


If you would be interested in an item I make, and would like to customize it as Mrs. B has done, please send me an e-mail, and we can work the details out!

~To UPS~

Dear UPS driver,

Please do not park in front of my house if you do not have a package for me. Even though I may not be expecting any deliveries, it is still not very nice. Why, to have my hopes up like that only to see you walk across the street...that is more than I can take. From now on, please park in front of the house you are making the delivery to!

Thank you.

~Wednesday Recap, Thursday To Do~

Yesterday I felt like I accomplished so much! I finished one apron and got the other one cut out. I would take a picture, but it is really overcast right now, so I know the picture wouldn't turn out well.

I also got my bike out and went for a little spin. Three and 19 hundredths miles, to be exact. LOL Even though it was quite warm and muggy, the breeze was blowing, so I had a nice ride. After my bike ride, I got a blanket out and sat in the back yard and knitted for a while. Actually, a very short while, because then the mugginess got to me, and I came inside.

On our way home from church last night we came through quite a bad storm. The rain was coming down so hard, we could hardly see. And people were coming at us with their high beams on, which made it doubly hard to see! We were very thankful to the Lord for bringing us through the storm safely.

Every single Wednesday as we go home from church, we see a man walking beside his bicycle, with a small grocery sack. We saw him out in the terrible storm last night, and turned around to give him a ride. But he is either deaf or he ignored us, so we didn't end up giving him a ride. It was not a pleasant night out for a walk! We don't typically give people rides, but you kind of have to figure that if you see the same person every single week, he's not out to murder, you know?

A friend is lending me her pressure canner and she picked a whole bunch of green beans from her garden for me to can. Isn't she sweet? =) That is another thing I'll be doing today!

Busy day ahead, so I'll be off! Have a wonderful day!

~This n' that~

Click here to read the funniest e-bay auction I've come across. I read the whole description to my husband last night, and we both laughed over it. HT to And So it Goes.
~*~*~*~
Sallie of A Gracious Home started a new blog called Sallie's Stack. This blog is just for the interesting links she comes across.
~*~*~*~
Wow! It has been raining here, off and on, since Saturday! The grass is so green now! We really needed all this rain!
~*~*~*~
I had so much fun with my tomatoes yesterday that I'm dreaming up more things to make with tomatoes. Spaghetti sauce and ketchup are two things I'd like to can this summer. Last summer I made three half-pints of ketchup. It is SO good, and my husband just loves it! He is anxious for me to make more this summer!
~*~*~*~
Speaking of tomatoes, I did a little online search on bushels, since I was confused on the matter. The best definition I came across was at Wikipida:

A bushel is a unit of dry volume....It is used for volumes of dry commodities, not liquids, most often in agriculture....The United States or Winchester bushel was originally defined as the volume of a cylindrical container 18½ inches in diameter and 8 inches deep (2150.420171… cu in); it is now defined as 2150.42 cubic inches exactly. It is divided into eight dry gallons, which are different from the liquid gallons with which most Americans are more familiar....There are four pecks in a bushel.

I also saw somewhere that a bushel of tomatoes would weigh approximately 53 pounds, and that it would yield 15 to 20 quarts of tomatoes. I only got 11 quarts, but I did cook them for a few minutes before canning them, so I am going to say that I got a bushel of tomatoes!
~*~*~*~
Well, I think this is enough "This n' that". Have a great day!

~Update~

Well, I got my tomatoes canned! I got 11 quarts, which I'm quite pleased with.

I chopped them, and did a hot pack, with about 1/2 tsp. salt and 2 TBS vinegar in each quart. This is the same way I put them up last year, and they worked well in recipes that called for crushed tomatoes, as well as in chili and soups.



My sewing project required a trip to the store, so I didn't get as far along as I had anticipated. However, there's always tomorrow!

~Forecast for Tuesday: Tomatoes, Pins & Needles~

Yesterday I had a great day with my friend and her teenage daughter. We chatted, had lunch, and did a little sewing project together.

After they left, I went grocery shopping. I also stopped by a produce stand, and purchased a bushel of tomatoes. (At least, I think it was a bushel. For the most part, no one in California measures produce by bushels, pints, pecks, etc., you buy produce by the pound, so while I learned in fourth grade what each measurement holds, I never had the chance to apply my knowledge, so I didn't retain it. I guess I should learn it over again, since almost every produce stand in this area does use this form of measurement.) So where was I? Oh yes, tomatoes! I bought a lot of tomatoes. ;-) I have tomato plants in my garden, but I have a feeling they aren't doing too well...and when I saw how lovely these tomatoes looked...and the price wasn't too high...I came home with them!

I plan on canning them today. Last year I canned several pints from my garden, and I used them all up early in the winter. So this year I would definitely like to put up more. That's one thing on today's "to do" list.

The other thing (here's where the pins and needles come in!) is sewing! I have a custom sewing job. I'm making two aprons, and out the yummiest, scrummiest fabric. *grin*

I'll be back later on today to post pictures of my progress! Have a great day, whatever your forecast calls for!!!

~It's Raining, It's Pouring!~

I just love rain. It has been raining since Saturday evening, and it is still going steadily. Last night during church, the windows were open, and in the brief lulls of the sermon, we could hear the rain outside. It was so pretty sounding, dripping off the roof into the rocks around the foundation of the church.

This morning, I have been dilly-dallying too much, just watching the rain! I went out to my front porch and wrote a letter, I keep looking outside to watch the rain. Mmmmmm...I just love rain! It's so deliciously dark and overcast and rainy today!

This summer has been quite dry (for a lot of people, I realize), so this rain is a welcome addition to the end of our summer!

This morning I'm having a friend over and we'll have lunch together. I haven't quite decided what I'm making for lunch, so I do need to get a move on if I'm going to be ready for my company!

Have a wonderful day!

Picture above: my flowers full of rain drops!

~Ode to the Food Chopper~

Is it possible to have an ode to Pampered Chef products two days in a row???

Yesterday we had company, and in my haste at the grocery store, I bought pineapple chunks instead of crushed pineapple. I only discovered my mistake when I opened the can. What to do? Use my food chopper to quickly make crushed pineapple! It was perfect! It wouldn't have looked any different than the canned crushed pineapple, were I to have purchased the correct can!

Something I routinely use my food chopper for is chopped nuts. I don't typically use it for vegetables, but I will on occasion. It is a helpful tool to have in my kitchen!

Image from Pampered Chef.
This post is not sponsored by Pampered Chef.

~Flowers and Tomatoes~

My flowers on the front/side of the house:


I have two cherry tomato plants, one yellow, and the other red. The yellow tomatoes are like candy. I love them!

~Cookie scoop, how I love thee!!!~

I recently baked a batch of cookies, and used my Pampered Chef cookie scoop to place the cookies on the tray. Wow, what fun! *Grin* All the cookies are *gasp* the same size! And I didn't have to get my hands in the dough!

Here is the recipe for the cookies I made:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream the above ingredients together, then stir in:
2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Stir thoroughly, then add:
1 - 12 oz. package chocolate chips
1 - 12 oz. package milk chocolate chips

Using your cookie scoop drop the dough on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350º for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

~New in my shop~

~Fabulous Cake~

One of the things on my 101 List is to make three "fabulous" desserts. Now, fabulous can indicate many different things regarding desserts, but since my dessert expertise lies in chocolate chip cookies, I think anything I try out of the ordinary will probably be fabulous in my book!

As soon as I saw Michelle's Pecan-Cream Sponge Cake recipe, I knew it was one I wanted to try! And try it, I did:



And if I do say so myself, it turned out fabulous! In order to make this cake, I had to purchase three cake pans, which added significantly to the cost. The recipe calls for coconut extract and butter extract, which of course were not in my pantry. But it was worth it! This cake is scrumptious! I will be making this cake again!

~A Child Called At~

Over the last few months, I've read different stories of parents trying (and failing - their government wouldn't allow the names they'd chosen) to name their children all sorts of unusual names. Earlier this year "4Real" was banned by the New Zealand government, and the parents instead chose the name "Superman".

I just read an article on a Chinese family wanting to name their child "@". How would you like to go through life named "@"? At least it would be easy to sign your name! LOL Click here to read about Lil' @.

~Yarn Snobbery~

When I first started knitting, I didn't know the first thing about yarn content. I vaguely knew that there were varying degrees of quality in yarn, but I had no idea how much I could fall in love with cotton and wool and bamboo!

However, as I began visiting yarn shops (and was aghast at the outrageous prices they were charging), I knew that I would never plunk down cash for expensive yarn!

But then I started reading blogs. Knitting blogs. This changed my perspective a lot. If you're going to spend hours and hours making something, shouldn't you make it with quality fibers? After all, if I were going to sew a garment or something for my home, I wouldn't use the dollar table to do so (Well, I have, and the results have been disastrous!). No, I use good quality fabric. Why shouldn't I use good quality yarn?

As I go blog-hopping about, reading about other people’s knitting and crocheting projects, I see all the gorgeous, luxurious yarns they use. They rarely talk about how expensive the yarn is. Sweaters and afghans and projects are all made with silk, cashmere, angora, wool, etc. “Oh, yes, I happened to have 50 skeins of cashmere in my stash, so I thought this would be the perfect project for it...” You know, stuff like that.

I'm here to say that nice yarn is expensive. Wonderful, luxurious yarn is break-the-bank expensive!

My yarn that I'm using for my afghan is not luxurious. It is, however, good quality! It is big enough now that I can throw it over me when it is cool in the house, and I just love how it feels! So warm and nice feeling. I'm glad that I made it out of yarn that feels nice against my skin! However, if I would have known how much yarn it would actually take to complete my afghan, I would have considered a different yarn.

So now I need to reconsider my yarn snobbishness. Is the price of great yarn worth it? Or should I settle for good yarn? I don’t know. I think I will be so much happier with the end product, than if I had made it with Red Heart Super Saver yarn. True, there are plenty of yarns that fall somewhere in the middle of these two examples. But I DO know that if anyone even thinks of throwing my finished afghan in the dryer, I will most likely die!

My afghan is not finished yet...it keeps eating up yarn! I *think* I have enough yarn now in order to finish it. We shall see!

~Happy Tuesday~

Hello! I have much to do today! Is your Tuesday just as busy?

Yesterday I discovered that I hadn't turned the calendar from July to August yet. Talk about being out of touch!

Today I have several errands, including grocery shopping, to do. Am I the only one who does not like to go grocery shopping? Well, I know I'm not the only one, because I have a friend who will commiserate with me about grocery shopping! *Smiles* I have to find that perfect time of day to go. I think that has something to do with my dislike. For the last year plus, I've been going on Saturdays, and let me tell you, that is no picnic in the park! All the sales items have been whisked off the shelves, and the store is jam-packed with everyone doing their weekly shopping. For Saturday shopping, I found the best time to go was actually dinner time! (I'm sure early morning would have bee a good option too, but I was usually sleeping in!)

Besides the grocery shopping, I'll be working around the house today. Just little things, no huge projects.

The sun is shining in my little corner of the world, I hope it is for you too! Have a blessed day!

~How Nice...~

The lovely Mrs. Wilt gave me a "Nice Matters Award." Thank you, Mrs. Wilt!

And now, I believe it is my turn to pass on the award! To be honest, I only read blogs that are encouraging and uplifting. I do believe "Nice Matters", and choose the blogs I read carefully!

I've chosen the following bloggers:
***Dawn at (4:53 am)
***Heather at A Place of Quiet Rest

***Joyce at Joyce's Ramblings
***Heather at Knit or Knot

There are many more which I could have mentioned, but I'll stick with these four. I am always encouraged and refreshed when I come away from these blogs.

~Pay it Forward Meme~

I saw this over at Sew Chic, and thought it sounded like a lot of fun!

Pay It Forward meme

I will send a handmade gift* to the first three people who leave a comment requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet, but you will receive it within 365 days. The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making a similar agreement on your blog.

I'm not sure what I will send, but it will be something handmade by me.

*The "gift" you send doesn't have to be handmade--choose your specs when you post it on your blog.

If you'd like to participate, please leave a comment with your e-mail address so I can get in touch with you.


ETA: Since three people have responded, I am closing the comments on this post. I'm really looking forward to this! =)

~Oh my, where has summer gone?~

The cicadas have taken up their day-long "singing" now. (Droning? Humming? What do cicadas do?) Being from California, I wasn't aware of cicadas at all when we first moved to Michigan. The first summer that we were here, I thought the sound was coming from the neighbor's light they had in their yard. That was the only reasonable thing I could come up with for that annoying noise! LOL

The next summer I read about them, so I realized what that sound was. It is a sound that ushers us into fall-time. Can it really be August already? We only have a few more weeks of "summer" weather left? Oh dear!

I do like fall weather, but fall weather ushers in snow and bitter cold. And snow is not something I look forward to (at least not a whole winter's worth!!!).

If you are interested in hearing a cicada, click here, or here or here, and make sure your speakers are turned up good and loud! The last sound clip specifically says it is cicadas from Michigan.

Edited to add: I can't believe it but last year to the date I posted about cicadas as well! Those cicadas must come out with precision!

~Etsy Update~

New items in my shop, just listed:

~Back to Homeschool Week~

Well, I'm not exactly a homeschooler. However, I am a homeschool graduate, so I thought I would participate in Randi's "Back to Homeschool Week", in the hopes that it would be an encouragement to the parents reading these posts. Instead of participating each day, I will address each of the topics in one post.

What led to your parent's decision to homeschool?

In the summer before 5th grade, my family moved. I had always attended Christian schools, and the area that we moved to did not have any Christian schools (that would have been close enough for us to attend). I was actually quite excited about homeschooling, because the previous two years had not been very fun for me. I'm sure I contributed to the problems, but my class was small (6 students in my grade), and there were three girls. What is it about three girls not being able to get along???

How were you homeschooled?

For the first three years, my parents schooled me through a satellite program. This worked out well for my parents because they were new to homeschooling. All the curriculum was sent to my parents, and then they sent my work back on a regular basis, and my grades were issued from them. After 7th grade, my parents decided to keep their own records and buy my curriculum directly. The problem with the satellite program was that my parents didn't have a choice in the curriculum used.

Getting out there...

My parents belonged to a homeschool group, and we went to church, had friends, and visited with family members. I never participated in sports (I wasn't interested anyhow). I took piano lessons for a bit, and when my mom's parents moved into the area, we had "sewing lessons" from my grandma every week.

Curriculum

After the afore-mentioned satellite program, my parents bought most of my curriculum from A Beka, math from Saxon.

~~~~~
School is school, and so I can't say that I loved every minute of it, but then, I'm sure that no one can say that! I feel very privileged to have been home-educated, and I'm thankful for the extra time that my parents invested in my education.

I'll leave you with my mom's quote, which I often heard when I needed to be studying, or complained about my work:

It doesn't have to be fun, it just has to be done!

~Cable Fun~

This was the gift I sent to one of my sisters for her recent birthday:


A small knit purse.

The vine running down the middle of the purse is cable work. It was different than anything that I've done before, and was both challenging and enjoyable.



I bought fabric for the lining, and then cut it too small. So, I looked around at what I had, and decided that fabric from my fat-quarter win from Sew, Mama, Sew, would work perfectly. And the little zipper pouch which I had made previously went into the purse (since the fabrics coordinated).



Pattern: from a library book
Yarn: 100% cotton, worsted weight (I think)

I enjoyed this pattern, but when I got to the end, I realized that of all the knitting I have done, I have never had to worry about seams! I did a pathetic job the first time about, and then when I was showing it to a friend, I noticed that the front panel was sewn on upside down! Of course with a hideous seaming job, and an upside down panel, there was no way I could send it to my sister...at least not that way! I took it apart, went to a trusty reference book, and tried a different method of seaming. It looked so much better the second time around! This was a great learning project for me!

~Home again, home again, jiggedy-jog~

I'm going to be a full time homemaker for a little bit here. I resigned from my job, and Friday was my last day. I did agree to work on Wednesday and Friday of next week, to fill in until the new person arrives. That will be a little funny feeling, but it will also give us a few more dollars in our bank account. *Smiles*

I am going to take a few weeks just to get caught up on everything (housework, gardening, sewing, etc.), and then I am going to look for part time work. My hat is off to the many women who work full time and get everything done. But that is not me. For the past six months or so, I have just been so overwhelmed by everything. Being away from home for 9 1/2+ hours each day makes it hard to keep up with everything!

I love being at home, and I am really looking forward to my little "vacation".

~I can't believe I forgot about this...~

I was cleaning up my online bookmarks, and I came across this link.

Remember the afghan square I submitted for a knit-along book? (Pictured at left)

Well, it landed in the afghan that was photographed for the book. Now, I won't know till I see the book if my square is actually visible in the book, but I think it is pretty neat to have a knitted square going into a book that's being published! I believe the book comes out sometime in 2008. It's a long ways off!



Bottom picture taken by Larissa at Stitch Marker.

~Buttermilk and Eggs~

One of my most favorite memories of my childhood revolves around a simple shopping trip. My family was visiting my mom’s parents, and my grandma needed some ingredients at the grocery store. She asked my grandpa to run to the store and get “butter, milk and eggs.” I got to go along with my grandpa, and as we got into the car, he said, “We’re going to trick grandma and get buttermilk and eggs!” Oh, I could hardly wait! This was going to be SOOOO fun! We, of course, got butter, milk, eggs, and buttermilk, because I’m sure that while Grandpa enjoyed a good joke, he didn’t want to have to go back out to the store!

Somehow my grandma wasn’t tricked, but it was still fun anyhow! And my grandpa and I both enjoyed a glass of buttermilk that afternoon!

Recently, there were two different bloggers who mentioned buttermilk. And of course, I had to put it down on my shopping list! I just love buttermilk, but I rarely buy it. Buttermilk is definitely an acquired taste, and thankfully (LOL) Kevin hasn’t acquired a taste for it. So that meant more for me. *Grin*

Ahhh…memories. I don’t often drink buttermilk, but when I do, I always think of my grandpa and our shopping trip!