Vintage Mother

Chicks with Their Own Tool Belts

2010-02-19T08:17:00.001-05:00

Just when you think you've experienced it all...something comes along and gives you a new lease on life. Such has been just the case for me since finding an incredible new blog called "Knock Off Wood". Merely 115 days old, this blogger is making a HUGE impact on many lives including mine!

A self-taught carpenter, Ana came to building furniture quite naturally out of simple necessity. Living in a garage while building a house with her husband (and pregnant with their first child), they naturally needed to furnish it. So Ana started building what she needed to furnish the house out of scrap materials. And so the adventure began that would bring furniture making to blog readers everywhere.

I've got to tell you, finding Ana's blog has rocked my world. As many of you may already know, my DH is in the construction industry and can tackle nearly any job necessary - and quite proficiently at that. Having always been innately curious, I've learned a lot from him by helping him over the years do everything from taking a pole barn apart to building additions and everything in between. However, the one thing I hadn't yet tackled was building furniture, despite having owned my own hand tools and a few power tools for a number of years.

That's all changed now! Since finding Knock Off Wood, I've gained the confidence to build a couple small wood projects and a huge desire to build even more. I can't quit thinking about what I can build now (I DREAM furniture making!), and I find myself heading to the lumber department at Lowe's each and every time I get a little extra money.

From the Pottery Barn catalog - $262.74 with tax and shipping for the shelf only.

My project adapted from Ana's plans at Knock Off Wood made for a mere $26.52, 10% of Pottery Barn's price!

Pottery Barn 2' shelf - $49.34 with tax and shipping.

My own made from plans at Knock Off Wood for less than $6.00!

It's been truly amazing what learning a new skill can do for you. It's been real self-confidence boost for me - a brand new perspective on life. I feel like I can tackle nearly anything now! And I'm not the only one who's been affected. Hannah, our 11yo daughter, is now designing and drawing up plans for her first wood project too. And it's all thanks to a talented, giving blogger named Ana! Go check her out... You might be surprised at what YOU'RE inspired to do!

Hope for Haiti

2010-01-17T08:36:00.001-05:00

Craft Hope is the most fabulous group of crafters I've found on the internet! I hope you'll join me in aiding their (our) effort to help the people of Haiti.

From the website: "Craft Hope is a faith-based, love inspired project designed to share handmade crafts with those less fortunate. It is our hope to combine our love for crafting and desire to help others into a project to make a difference around the world." Craft Hope puts out the call for donations, and then crafters from around the world get to work to donate their handcrafted items to those in need. It's awesome!

Here are just a couple of the projects they've tackled. In November, crafters from all over the world donated 436 quilts for homeless children in Grand Rapids, MI. In September, volunteers crafted 227 sock monkeys to benefit pint-sized burn victims at the Little Heroes Preschool Burn Camp in Sacramento, CA.

Four days ago, Craft Hope asked it's members for handcrafted items to sell to benefit Doctors Without Borders in Haiti - who as of two days ago had treated some 1500+ Haitians in tents because their own building has been so badly damaged. Craft Hope immediately opened a shop on Etsy and began listing donated craft items to raise funds. In this incredibly short amount of time, crafters have donated hundreds of items and more than $4,000. has been raised (100% of the proceeds go for relief efforts) to Doctors Without Borders!

I have donated the little "Bluebird of Paradise" (which I believe has already been sold!) that I made recently; and even if you don't enjoy making your own handcrafts yourself, I hope you'll join this wonderful effort by checking out the shop and perhaps purchasing an item to help raise relief funds. As I said, 100% of the funds go to Doctors Without Borders to help them treat the people of Haiti.

If you'd like to donate an item to the shop, go here to find out how. If you'd like to do a little shopping to benefit the people of Haiti, you'll find the shop here. Happy Shopping!

Amigurumi Part Deux

2010-01-15T17:17:00.000-05:00

On a roll here I guess...

Bluebird of Paradise - Made up from scratch - the pattern is here in my shop.

I'm not the only one on a roll, here's the horse Hannah made. This is the first pattern she's made up from entirely on her own. Not bad for eleven years old!

Amigurumi's

2010-01-14T12:00:00.004-05:00

Crocheting away the hours of January making amigurumi's.

Love this penguin pattern by Lion Brand Yarn.

A Chihuahua pattern found for free. Unfortunately the original website is no longer working, but the pattern was created by Katrina Wogoman of katcrochet.com. Just a reminder to save or print those ami patterns when you find them!

Here's our daughter's (11 yrs. old) donkey amigurumi.

Here are a couple more I did in the run-up to Christmas but couldn't show you at the time.

Well, back to work...

A Brand New Year

2010-01-05T10:15:00.002-05:00

Ten for 2010

(My ten resolutions for the new year)

Pray more.

Read the Bible daily.

Be humble, meek and a servant to others.

Love others as you love yourself.

Speak evil of no one.

Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and might.

Kind

Forgiving

Loving

Lovable

Trustworthy

Dependable

A Friend

Trusting

Consistent

Teaching

A Good Example

Loving

Patient

Encouraging

Loving

Thoughtful

A Good Example

Giving

Frugal

Do Without

Ask "Is it really necessary?"

No more "decor" items

Spend as little as possible on groceries & clothing

Keep seasonal clothes put away

Maintain clothing

Be practical

Keep only necessary items

Make good choices

Make it "pretty"

Declutter room by room

Organize - everything in its place

Minimalist

Make it easy to care for

Limit new purchases

Eat healthy food

Eliminate sugars, breads and processed

Get outside more

Less computer time

Be consistent

Make Bible most important

Insist on a regular schedule

Field trips

Make it interesting

A Year of Change

2010-01-01T07:24:00.001-05:00

So many thoughts and feelings swirling around in my head about 2009. You know how at certain ages you suddenly see very clearly how much your child has truly grown? It’s as though they’re suddenly an entirely different person than they were last year? That’s what 2009 felt like for me. And even though that did happen with a few of my children this year - it happened that way for me as well. I feel like I’m quite a different person than I was in 2008. This past year has truly aged and changed me.

I’m quite certain it all initiated as I began to grapple with the loss of my firstborn child (John, aged 23) just before the beginning of 2009. How many moments of so many days I thought of him and the seemingly nonsensical, tragic loss. How many times over and over the reality of it hit me anew as though it had just happened. How many times I pretended to myself that it hadn’t. I have been forced by life to face the reality of his death over the course of the past year; and though it threatened to consume me at times, God has been my gentle, sweet Comforter. He has given me the strength I needed to carry on when at times I feared I would lose myself in it.

Whether it was the death of my son, feeling the years of my middle-agedness or both, 2009 has wrought great change in my inner being. Though I don’t like admitting it, it has brought a certain kind of death of my former youthful ability to hope and dream without limits. No longer do I feel that exuberant enthusiasm that the world is mine on a string. It’s not all bad though. It was just a slight adjustment of my often rather extreme personality that brought me down a notch to the “normal people” setting.

What do I wish for the year 2010? I hope to take all this life experience and turn it into the most meaningful part of my life – a life most deliberately lived. I hope to get to the place I want to be for what remains of my life. I want to serve God with all my heart and no excuses. I want to be the wife, mother and grandmother that my mind’s eye has held up as my ideal. I want to jettison off all extremeness and negativity and live a simple, contented life loaded with love, food fights and fun.

And that’s my New Year’s resolution…

2009 Photo Review

2009-12-31T20:50:00.002-05:00

Here are a few photos that capture 2009 for us.

January

Family trip to Disney

Remodeling once again

February

Our new dog, Maddie

Dr. Ralph Stanley - Valentine's Day Concert

Lexie trying on wedding dresses

March

My first real attempt at cake decorating for my SIL's baby shower

Just for fun

April

Starting my parent's new deck

Lexie's wedding shower cake

May

A trip to Pensacola Beach

Lexie & Bo's Wedding

Cutting the cake I made for them

All our "Little People", though some of them are obviously quite grown now

Mom, Bo, Lexie, Dad

June

Birthday trip to NYC

July

Last of the Buff Orpington roosters

August (No photos for some reason?)

September

Amigurumi

October

November

Remodeling yet again

December

Here's to a deliberately-lived life (God willing) in 2010!

Skinny Scarf

2009-12-28T10:55:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure how I could have any energy left for crocheting after the holiday blitzkrieg, but I sat down this morning to crochet myself a skinny scarf in the colors I've been loving for nearly a year now - Vanna's Choice Baby yarn. I believe that I personally keep the local A.C. Moore craft store in business buying up all the VC Baby yarn they have.

The pragmatic part of my personality rarely lets me make anything that doesn't serve a real purpose, so crocheting a scarf that isn't at least 8" wide goes against my grain; but I love this skinny scarf purely for ornamentation. A bit too analytical perhaps...

Anyway, here's the pattern (just made it up as I went) -

Materials:

Vanna's Choice Baby yarn (worsted) 1 skein each of Aqua, Pink Poodle, Berrylicious, Duckie and Sweet Pea.

Crochet hook size I/9-5.50MM

Chain 11

SC into second chain from hook and then the remaining way across the chain stitches.

SC into each of the ten SC's. Repeat for a total of 10 rows for each color.

I did 4 repeats of all the colors I used making it 67" long.

Happy crafting!

Christmas Wrap Up

2009-12-26T10:06:00.000-05:00

Nearly like planning for a wedding....Christmas is now officially here and gone. Here's a photo wrap-up (pun fully intended!) of ours.

The Reason...

Part of the Christmas village I treasure made by my grandfather back in the 70's.

A few treasured ornaments...

Family stockings originally made by my grandmother. Since she passed away some years ago, I have the honor of making them for new members of the family.

One of three stockings I made this year for new family members.

My new Harley....little enough to actually fit under the tree!

Our daughter, Sarah, with her dog, Maddie, and the new stuffed version.

Christmas at Grandpa and Grandma's...

Just some of the Christmas crafting we did.

A major snowstorm interruption the week before Christmas, free with four day electrical outage so we could cook all our meals on the coal stove! Really, it wasn't bad (though rather ill-timed); we actually kind of had fun improvising the pioneer lifestyle.

And don't forget the church play. That's our boy, Elijah, second shepherd from the right.

Finally, this beautiful sight of the lighted three crosses up on top of a mountain charms us every time we leave our house. It's a beautiful reminder of why we celebrate.

Hope you all enjoyed a beautiful, meaningful Christmas!

Cookie Fun with the Kids

2009-12-17T14:59:00.000-05:00

Do you love these as much as I do???

(Picture from Make It and Love It blog)

Yes, these ARE real cookies you can eat! The kids will have a blast making these, and they'd make great gifts for them to give their friends. Using ordinary ingredients and some gel or paste food coloring (in the cake decorating section), you can easily whip these up for an afternoon of fun with the children. You'll find the recipe here at The Secret is in the Sauce. Enjoy!

Mad Dash to Christmas

2009-12-10T07:55:00.002-05:00

How apropos is this Christmas card? Having long been a huge fan of the ubiquitous "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster, I was tickled to find this Christmas card variation courtesy of Brocante Home's blog. What a shame I didn't discover it in time to order them before Christmas. If you'd like to order them for NEXT Christmas, you'll find them here at Colloco, at what appears to be a lovely boutique in Leek, Staffordshire, England.

Meanwhile, I'm in the mad crafting dash up to Christmas despite having gotten an earlier start than usual. Inevitably I take on more Christmas crafting projects than I can possibly handle every year until I reach a meltdown point and end up eliminating half the projects on my list. I've come to accept it as just another Christmas tradition by now.

The blogosphere has added an extra mania to my annual Christmas tradition. With a plethora of beautiful, crafty blogs out there I continue to find project after project I want to make, whilst the list grows ever larger. At some point I feel I must cut myself off for fear I'll just self implode.

In addition to the usual Christmas crafting frenzy are the stockings I simply must get made. My dear grandmother, who was the Queen of craft, began this Christmas stocking tradition for our family many years ago. Everyone in the entire extended family has one like this lovingly made by Grandma. My own is 40+ years old now! When she passed nearly seven years ago, I willingly accepted the responsibility of making any stockings for new members of the family that arrived (whether by birth or marriage).

As we've added two new members of the family this past year, one by birth and one by marriage, I'm fast at work making two more stockings. Despite all the other tasks at hand, I truly enjoy making these because I love new family members and hand sewing is for me is just so calming.

So, I must get back to work. Whatever will I do with myself once Christmas has been here and gone?

Gingerbread Man Wreath

2009-12-06T09:02:00.000-05:00

Here's another idea for holiday decorating, and this one will please the most frugal among us. Usually Martha's ideas are a little rich for my blood but not this one.

You'll find the tutorial here.

Happy Crafting!

Vintage-Look Wreath Reveal

2009-12-05T13:30:00.001-05:00

Sad as it might sound, this is actually the first wreath I've ever put together in all my 46 years. So, I hope you'll be kind to me. Tad-dah!! Here it is:

Thanks, Mom. It was fun....well, in a neurotic "I can't do random" kind of way!

Sneak Peek

2009-12-04T11:00:00.000-05:00

Remember the vintage-look ornaments my mother so graciously gave me recently? Well, I thought I'd give you a little sneak peek at the wreath I've made with them. I gotta tell you, I'm .LOVING this wreath. I just have a few finishing touches to put on it. The big reveal will be tomorrow, Lord willing. But for now...

Cookie Recipe Exchange

2009-12-04T10:23:00.003-05:00

Who hates cookies? Unlike most other types of food, my guess is you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t like cookies of one variety or another. Call them cookies, biscuits, buns or koekjes; cookies are loved the world round and have been around in one form or another since the 7th century AD.

For most people, cookies evoke pleasant memories of home and childhood. Most families have traditional cookie recipes handed down from generation to generation, many of these in America having come from the country of that family’s emigration.

To put it most bluntly, cookies are special and no more so than at Christmas time. As with many, many others, our family has its own special Christmas cookie traditions. As I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit more than usual this year, I thought perhaps it would be fun if we all share our Christmas cookie traditions and recipes. So, I’ll start with one of ours and wait for you, dear readers, to tell me some of yours which I’ll share here throughout the month of December.

Gullets

One of my favorite memories from childhood was when Grandma Hopkins would pull out her tin of Gullets at Christmas time. Though I didn’t know back then that they were called Gullets, these sweet cookies that looked like miniature waffles were indeed special because Grandma only made them once a year. In fact, I’ve never even seen them anywhere else in all my years.

Sadly, Grandma Hopkins passed away when she was just 59, and I was the tender age of twelve. It wasn’t until many years later, as a young adult, that I came to learn just how special Gullets were.

Gullets (or Galettes) are Belgian in origin, and as previously mentioned look much like a small belgian waffle. While they can be made using an electric waffle maker, the preferred method is to use a special Belgian cookie or galette iron. This unusual iron is quite difficult to find today, most families having handed theirs down from generation to generation. It looks much like two waffled surfaces hinged together at the end of a long handle and is traditionally held over the stove to “bake” the cookies.

This is a modern version sold by Fante’s Kitchen Wares Shop.

Our own gullet iron is now owned by my father. He let me borrow it to make Gullets back when I was in my twenties, but I haven’t seen it since; so simply make mine using an electric waffle iron. The recipes for these scrumptious cookies seem to vary family by family, though they contain basically the same ingredients. Here’s the recipe handed down in our family.

Grandma Hopkins’ Gullets

· 1 lb. granulated sugar
· 1 lb. butter
· 1 dozen eggs (whites beaten)
· 2 Tbs. vanilla
· 1-3/4 Cup flour
· 2 Tbs. honey

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Put a small amount of the batter on the iron and cook until golden brown. If using a gullet iron, cook over the stove burner on each side until done.

Gullets, Galettes or Gaufrettes

Quite a rich recipe for today’s diet, but I suppose cookies aren’t loved the world round for their nutritional content!

Now it’s your turn, dear readers. Send me, or leave in the comments section, your favorite cookie traditions and recipes. I can’t wait to see!

New and Unique for Christmas

2009-12-01T11:34:00.001-05:00

I'm always on the lookout for gifts that are unique. I especially LOVE personalized items (comes from never finding those cute little trinkets as a child with her name spelled properly - "Tracie"). So when I ran across these, I just had to share them with you.

Now I'm not sure if I'd give them as a gift, but they are unique and kinda cute!

Seriously, I could hardly believe my eyes - personalized paper plates for the holidays from Hallmark! Now, while a part of me thinks these are a cute holiday decor item; quite honestly there's a little bit of the frugal in me complaining that they're a blinding symbol of just how spoiled/rich we Americans are. Personalized paper plates?? I know you'll forgive me, dear readers, for letting that part of my personality slip out just a little, won't you?

We now return you to the jollity of the holiday season... If you're interested in checking these out for yourself go here. It seems most of the personalized paper plates run $10. for a package of ten plates.

Happy Shopping!

Goody Goody Gumdrop Wreath

2009-11-28T19:39:00.003-05:00

Isn't this the sweetest wreath? (Sorry, couldn't avoid the pun.) You can find the instructions to make it here at A Pretty Cool Life blog. This blog is pretty new to me, but with an awesome wreath tutorial like this, you can be sure I'll be spending a little more time there!

Happy Crafting!

2009-11-27T08:07:00.003-05:00

"Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day." ~Robert Caspar Lintner

On occasion we've had just our own little Thanksgiving celebration at home, rather than trek to the big gathering with extended family usually held at my mother's house. This year was just such an occasion. My parents decided to hit the beach this year instead of doing the big shindig at home.

Despite the fact that we were missing one son away at college and one daughter and her family, it was a most wonderful Thanksgiving day. I don't imagine many would describe hosting Thanksgiving in their home would describe it as relaxing, but that's exactly what it was for us this year.

After a little last-minute cleaning, Steve and I sat and read the newspaper for a while before putting the turkey in the roaster. Then a little more relaxing. Bo and Lexie (our newlywed daughter and son-in-law) arrived around 3, and we all sat around for a bit munching chips & salsa while we chatted.

Steve and I went back into the kitchen for about an hour and "bam" - Thanksgiving dinner! I guess cooking regularly for our large family makes turkey dinner seem like just another day in terms of actually cooking it. Of course we all stuffed ourselves, especially with the sweet potato casserole; a quick clean-up, and then we all sat down to play "The Office" DVD game.

What a wonderful, relaxed Thanksgiving it turned out to be. Not much different than many other days, except for the special observation of the holiday; but we're thankful for what we have every day and big, family dinners and fun are the norm at our house.

Steve mugging for the camera...

Hope your Thanksgiving was equally as wonderful!

Gift Tags for You

2009-11-24T15:27:00.000-05:00

I have to confess that I'm obsessed with all the adorable gift tags I've found out there in blogland, so I thought I'd add a few of my own to the mix. Despite the fact that I'm definitely an amateur in graphic design, here's my little gift to you my dear readers. Hannah (dd) and I love them, so you'll most likely see them on the gifts we'll give this year, along with a whole host of others. Enjoy!

For those who aren't familiar with how to grab these for yourself:

Right click the image, and when the box pops up - click "Save Picture As".

Flesh and Bones

2009-11-23T09:11:00.002-05:00

I'm not a poet, and I'm well aware of that; but this is how I'm feeling this morning, so I'm just going to put it out there in hope that it will help me to change. A blog, after all, should be made of more than just "fluff and fold", don't you think? My husband, Steve, is a dear, dear man whom I love with all my heart. We've been married for going on twenty-two years now, and this "poem" (if you can call it that) is for him.

If only I weren’t made of flesh and bones,
I’d be your perfect wife.

I’d never yell or even be cross
And always put you first,

I’d pick up your laundry without a word,
And never sigh about the trash

Jealousy would never darken my heart
I’d never roll my eyes

I’d be waiting at the door when you arrived
Able to express the joy in my heart

I’d have the kids behave like saints
Never interrupting once

I’d wait on you hand and foot
And never think twice

I’d wake up every morning
To prepare your breakfast from scratch

I’d never need you to call me
To reassure me all is right

I’d never ask when you’ll be home
From work each and every day

Never a word would pass my lips
That wasn’t kind in every way

I’d show you how I love you
In addition to those three little words

You’d never have an ounce of doubt
Of where my interests lie

I’d never spend a minute of time
Doing anything selfish or foolish

I’d listen with an attentive ear
To all you have to say

You’d never have to ask me twice
I’d meet your every need

I’d always look my very best
Never a hair out of place

You’d never see me idle
Thinking only of myself

I’d treat you like a king
Never want for anything

I’d make you a man
Proud of his wife

If only I weren’t made of flesh and bones
I’d be your perfect wife.

~Tracie

Vintage-Look Ornament Love

2009-11-22T17:46:00.002-05:00

You’re Mom usually knows you best, and that’s definitely the case with my own mother. She asked us over for dinner last night as they’ll be at Hilton Head over Thanksgiving. In addition to a scrumptious dinner and all the yummy appetizers they plied us with, she had some gifts for me from Michaels. She really is so thoughtful and knows me so well. Thanks, Mom.

These beautiful, bright, vintage-look ornaments that I LOVE!

And all these goodies too! She also upcycled a wreath by painting it with “snow” and gave it to me to create a wreath for my front door. Isn’t she sweet?

These are some goodies of my own I thought I’d share. The cards and button came from Café Press. Daughter Hannah drew the original owl that inspired our Christmas cards for this year. I love her passion for creating. With the help of Inkscape software, I turned her drawing into graphic images and created the cards – then printed by Café Press. The magnet was my own creation with Inkscape and says “life is good”. I couldn’t resist treating myself to something when I ordered the cards!

Finally, the thing that looks like a light bulb is actually the most adorable glass container from Hobby Lobby. I’m definitely beginning to warm up to that store!

I hope you enjoyed these as much as I do. Just had to share!

Too Cute for Christmas Topiary

2009-11-20T09:55:00.003-05:00

I think I might change the white milk glass base for something a little more elegant, but isn't this just adorable! You can find the tutorial to make your own here at the Better Homes and Gardens site. I think it goes perfectly with the beautiful ornament wreath I told you about earlier.

Happy Crafting!

Our Blessing Tree

2009-11-19T01:08:00.001-05:00

Did I ever tell you that I played the part of a Sweet Potato in our school’s Thanksgiving play? No seriously, I did! We had this teacher (who I’m sure always wanted to be an actress but settled for teaching) back in sixth grade who made everything into a lesson about creative expression. She really was a good teacher. I loved her to death and would have done anything for her – including playing a sweet potato in the school play.

Anway, my love for Thanksgiving started long before that. It seemed like such an incredibly more meaningful family holiday than any of the others. It wasn’t about rampant consumerism - which I hated about all the other holidays; it was about getting together with your extended family and sitting down to a fantastic meal. They didn’t sell strings of turkey lights so you could compete with your neighbors for the best-decorated house on the block. You didn’t have to try to impress anyone with how big you could do it up for Thanksgiving. It was just a simple, family holiday. I loved that!

It wasn’t until I had children of my own that I began to appreciate what a wonderful occasion it was for remembering all that you were blessed with. And that’s when Thanksgiving became my favorite holiday.

I don’t recall where I first heard of a Blessing Tree, but I do remember that I rushed right out to get the supplies and started one that very same week some ten-plus years ago. It’s a simple thing, really, using very basic materials which seems so fitting for the holiday.

Supplies:

• Construction paper

• Scotch tape

Now I’m sure you can figure out how to do this all on your own, but I’ll outline how we do it each year. Every year about a week before Thanksgiving, I pull out the construction paper and freehand cut a tree trunk out of black (or brown) paper. Then I tape it to the refrigerator door.

Next I grab an old cereal box (or Pop-Tart box this year) and draw then cut out a leaf shape for my pattern. I trace the leaf pattern as many times as I can on orange, yellow and red construction paper and cut them all out. I’ve learned from experience that you need to cut out many, many leaves.

Then I call the whole family in to begin. Everyone is charged with writing something on a leaf that they’re thankful for. Suddenly the room grows a little quiet as we begin thinking, writing and grabbing more and more leaves. It’s so wonderful when I hear and feel that energy in the room as we’re all writing. You’ll be amazed at how much there is to be thankful for once you get started. We almost always run out of leaves!

Everyone then tapes the leaves on and around the tree trunk on the refrigerator door. It’s as simple as that, but you’ll be surprised at the effect it has on everyone taking part. Usually, we spend time a lot of time reading all the leaves to see what others are thankful for. And I think if we didn’t run out of leaves, we’d simply cover the entire refrigerator! I usually end up spending the next days leading up to Thanksgiving dinner remembering more and more that I’m thankful for that I should have written on the leaves. How blessed I feel!

As some of our children have grown up and moved away, we try to save them some blank leaves to fill out themselves when they come home for Thanksgiving day. It always gets the conversation going as we discuss what everyone else wrote on their leaves. There are always some duplicates, but you’ll be amazed at how many different things you'll find on your tree.

I hope you’ll join our family this year in celebrating this wonderful “new” tradition with your family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas Ornaments with Kids Tutorial

2009-11-17T13:26:00.003-05:00

Yeah, it’s a tad early for thinking about Christmas; but do you want to do something fun with the kids? Okay, time to fess up – I’M the one who really likes making these Christmas ornaments! We’ve made these a few times over the years for our own Christmas tree and for gifts to others. It’s rather like that Spin-Art for kids, which I also love.

Supplies:

Clear glass Christmas bulbs
A variety of acrylic paints
A couple egg cartons

I found these at our local Hobby Lobby store in a set of twelve for $3.99, but I scored big at the 50% off sale that day. I believe you could probably find them at Michael’s or A.C. Moore or whatever your local craft store is.

Remove the ornament tops pulling out both the wire and the “lid”. Give your kids the bottles of acrylic paint, and let them squirt colors inside the bulb to their heart’s content. Twist and swirl the ornie once they have all the colors inside to be sure to cover the entire inside. You do need a bit of paint to get it to slide around and get good coverage.

Having a wash cloth or rag down helps keep the ornie from getting away from little ones as they work.

When they’ve finished getting it all swirled around, hold your ornament over the sink while the water is running (if you don’t mind washing acrylics down your drain anyway), and let the majority of the paint run down the drain. When most of it’s out, set the ornament upside down in an egg carton to let the remaining paint slowly drip out.

If you don’t drain them out a first time somewhere else, this is the kind of mess you could end up with in your egg carton!

We let ours dry for at least a couple days in the egg cartons to be extra sure they’re dry. When they are finished drying, simply put the “lid” and hanger back in. Don’t forget to keep the box they came in for storage later.

Voila!

Happy Crafting!!

My New Etsy Shop

2009-11-17T11:01:00.003-05:00

For months Steve has been ~~pestering me~~...okay, gently reminding and encouraging me, to put up my Fun Monster crochet pattern for sale. And being the lacking-in-self-confidence person that I am, I kept putting him off. Well, I've gone and done it finally.

I designed this crochet pattern myself last year during a creative spurt and made several for our children, a couple for my new nephew and even sold a couple of them. It was just something fun to do, but Steve thought I should take it a step further. I must say that my dear sister-in-law, Heather, encouraged me as well.

For anyone who crochets, this is a lot of fun to make and give away. It's a very simple pattern that's very versatile. In fact, one of the monsters that I sold was for a Valentine's Day gift for a Marshall University fan; so I made it all in green and white (Marshall's colors) and gave it a couple cheerleader's pom-poms to boot.

So, there it is Steve, out there for the whole world to see! Love you dear. Thanks for the encouragement.

You can visit my Etsy shop here to have a gander at the pattern.

Sweeeet Belt

2009-11-15T08:41:00.002-05:00

Here's an incredibly sweet project to make! This belt is made from plastic candy bags and soda bottle labels. The above belt was made using Starburst bags and Diet Orange Crush labels.

All you'll need to tackle this one is various candy bags or soda bottle labels, some of those ubiquitous plastic grocery bags, a piece of cotton canvas webbing, a little parchment or freezer paper and a couple D-rings. That's it!

Think of the possibilities....an adorable child's belt, a funky dog collar or if you're into making your own purses - colorful, durable handles. You'll find the tutorial here at Little Blue Boo's blog. A SWEET idea for Christmas gifts and a good excuse for polishing off a bag of candy! (I suppose if you're on a diet, you could just give the candy to the kids.)

Happy Crafting!

Sometimes Revenge IS the Best Medicine!

2009-11-11T16:15:00.002-05:00

I have to admit that for a lot of years I really didn’t like those yellow “Support Our Troops” ribbons it seems everyone had on their vehicles. It was really about just going along with the crowd as the latest pop trend though that made me irritated by them. I definitely support our troops – I just didn’t want to do it with a “same as everyone else’s” yellow ribbon.

But the years went by…. And suddenly one day I found myself throwing one of those magnetic ribbons up on the counter at a store. I thought, “Heck yeah! I support the troops, and I’m gonna show it.” Onto the back of the Boellner big-white-people-mover it went!

It wasn’t even four weeks before it disappeared off the back of the van. “That’s strange,” I thought. “Who’d steal one of those,” I wondered. It had a strong magnetic pull, so I was sure it hadn’t just fallen off. A couple weeks later I bought another one, though, and put it right on. “Well, we’ll just try this again”, I thought.

Take a guess what was missing this morning (on Veterans Day, no less) off the back of the van? Yup, the yellow ribbon was missing again.

Now seriously folks, I respect your right to have your own opinions and that perhaps your personal politics don’t include supporting our troops and/or the war effort; but COME ON! Someone please tell me that the Peace movement hasn’t adopted the Earth Liberation Front’s tactics for its own by breaking the law and stealing these little statements of support. Seriously, how much is that going to accomplish? Honestly! You won’t ever see me vandalizing all those Obama/Biden 08 bumper stickers that annoy me nearly every day, because this is America; and we believe in the “battlefield of ideas” as George Washington put it. We believe in the freedom of speech and expression.

(Climbing back down off the soapbox…) Not one to take it lying down, I promptly went to Walmart and bought some white shoe polish to decorate the whole vehicle with “Thank You Veterans” messages. I’ll sport my own messages on my vehicle and fly my flag, and the petty thieves can go fly a kite!

Thank a veteran today!

Tracie

Bet You Can't Guess What This Is!

2009-11-09T19:25:00.001-05:00

If you’re tired of having to recharge your cell phone every night - your answer, and a very green one at that, is finally here. Well, it’s available for pre-order anyway…

The new Personal Energy Generator from Tremont Electric, LLC is an innovative device that you stick in your bag or clip on your hip and connect to your portable, handheld device and WALK! The PEG takes the energy that your body creates from everyday walking/motion and converts it to usable power for your handheld device. How green and cool is that??

Cell phones, I-pods, digital cameras, MP3 players, and the like can all be charged using this device at the same rate as your standard wall charger – which means that if you manage to walk/move at least an hour a day, you’ll love the PEG.

If you’re interested, they’re available for pre-order at the company’s website for $149.

Happy Christmas Shopping!

Beautiful Winter Wreath Tutorial

2009-11-05T01:36:00.003-05:00

Is this not one of the most beautiful, cheerful wreathes you've ever seen? I love, love, LOVE it! All it takes to make is a wire hanger, a little hot glue and some bulbs. You'll find the instructions to make it at the blog of Eddie Ross, who's a guest designer for HGTV. Have a look around his blog while you're there, there are lots of pretty, inspiring ideas. I'm off tomorrow to go find about a hundred bulbs to make my own!

Happy Creating!

Christmas Dream List

2009-11-04T21:39:00.002-05:00

So, here's my Christmas Dream list. Naturally it's for my family, but I thought it might be interesting to post it here.

LL Bean Fleece Lined Hoodie in Peony (Size L)

LL Bean Gorillapod (Camera Tripod)

LL Bean Slope Slider

Okay, these are really for the kids, but don't they look like a LOT of fun?

LL Bean Vintage Flannel Nightgown in Red (Size L)

LL Bean Galway Jacket in Chocolate (Size L)

Lands End Swing Coat in Black (Size L)

These next four items are from Cath Kidston in the UK and are ridiculously expensive with shipping to the US, but aren't they just adorable? Hey, a girl can dream can't she?

Ironing Board Cover in Electric Flowers

Oven Mitt in Electric Flowers

Zip Up Handbag in Folk Flowers

London Box Bag

Farberware Stainless Steel 8 Quart Stock Pot

Lark Rise to Candleford DVD

200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton

English Country Interiors by Sarah North

Perfect English by Ros Byam Shaw

Easy Cottage Style by Liz Bauwens

Subscription to Popular Mechanics

Subscription to Country Living

Crochet Adorned by Linda Permann

and finally the piece de resistance:

Vintage wood sewing supply box

I know, I know - it's a huge list; but this was too much fun!

Happy Shopping!

Serious Wellie Love

2009-11-04T10:01:00.001-05:00

I'm seriously in love...

How can you NOT love these yummy Wellies that Lucy at Attic24 owns?? Having scoured the web for another pair like them (and NOT finding any), I'll have to content myself with just looking at these fab boots. Drat!

Well, there are lots and lots more wonderful Wellies out there in webland, but none quite as gorgeous as these.

Hunter RHS Tall Wellingtons in Floral Mix / White This is a major Wellie heaven, perhaps the original manufacturer's site?

and at Amazon UK you'll score such great styles as this:

and if your tastes go this way, there's even these attention-getting kind:

Striped Wellies

And if you can't swing the cost of shipping from the UK, here are a few from Amazon here in the U.S.:

Koi Wellies

Magic Carpet Wellies

Chooka Wellies

and finally for the Hello Kitty fan

Your very own Hello Kitty Wellies

Well, I think that's enough Wellie love for one day! There are probably nearly 100 styles out there, so have fun browsing for them. They seem to be most popular in the UK and Australia, not so much in the good ol' US. Sadly, with the currency conversion from pounds to dollars and the high shipping cost from the UK, they're quite out of reach for me right now.

Happy Shopping!

It's a Great Day to be Alive!

2009-11-01T07:05:00.003-05:00

Yeah, I know Thanksgiving is just short of a month away… but a blog I read recently gave me pause to think about what it is that truly makes me happy and thankful. So, to keep this short and sweet (as if! LOL)…

When I thought about what makes me happy, here’s the first thought that came to mind. No matter how undeserving (and awful!) I am - I am loved by God, my family and my friends. That’s a pretty awesome thought in and of itself. I could get through a lifetime on that alone. Don’t you agree?

Here are some of the other things, some major – some minor, that came to mind:

• Nothing starts my day off better than waking up and realizing that m’lord (Steve) is lying beside me and will be home to spend the day with us.

• Knowing that I have God’s forgiveness, because I am saved, no matter what I do.

• Snuggling up in bed for a nap with Eli.

• Making a gift for someone and thinking about them the whole time I’m making it.

• Sitting down to a homemade meal with the whole family where everyone’s talking so much you can hardly keep up with what’s being said.

• Every morning when Eli stumbles sleepily out of his room and climbs up into my lap to tell me the dream he had.

• Family game nights.

• When I’m trying to explain something to one of the kids during homeschooling time and they suddenly get it.

• Coloring in coloring books or drawing with the kids at the dining room table.

• When one of my daughters calls to ask me how to cook something.

• When one of my grandsons suddenly decides I just might be worth playing with for a while or gives me a hug.

• When Eric comes in late at night to talk to me while Steve is sleeping.

• Eating a meal made from foods grown entirely at home.

• Using my Grandma’s frosting spatula because it’s like having a part of her still here.

• Being so excited to give someone a gift that we forget dinner and have them open the gifts first instead.

• The way I feel as we’re leaving church – happy and enlightened.

• When Chase calls and randomly announces, “Candace is awesome”.

• Going for bagels every Friday morning with Steve.

I could go on and on, probably forever, but I’ll spare you my dear readers. What a pleasant way to start the day!

Washer Necklace Tutorial

2009-10-28T12:59:00.004-04:00

While I suppose I shouldn’t be giving away my secrets, especially when you find out how inexpensive these are to make, just before Christmas – I just can’t help but share this cool idea. (Cool? Doesn’t that really date me!) In addition, the instructions I’ve managed to find out there in webland are rather vague; so I thought I’d share.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Washers
• Scrapbook paper, old catalogs or magazines, etc.
• Judikins Diamond Glaze
• A small paintbrush
• Scrap cardstock
• Some old newspaper
• Black cotton cording and clasps
• Wooden beads with a large center hole

When you go to buy washers for your project (you’ll find them in the Hardware dept.), you’ll find they come in quite a variety of sizes. Initially I bought 5/8” washers and made a bunch of necklaces up. After hanging one on some cording and putting it around my neck, I decided to revise the size of the washers I’m using. They’re a tad heavy on the neck for my liking. It most likely won’t bother younger folks, and I rather like the big, chunky look; but you’ll have to decide for yourself I suppose.

Originally I used the 5/8” washer to the far left. I’ve since purchased the ½” and 3/8” to use instead for a lighter weight.

Though I’ve read that you can use Mod Podge for making these necklaces, I haven’t tried that yet for myself, so I can’t vouch for that. I found that if you do a search for “Diamond Glaze” on your favorite search engine, you’ll find lots of sites (mostly jewelry making suppliers) to purchase it. I purchased mine through Auntie’s Beads and received wonderful, fast service.

As for scrapbook papers and other papers to use for these, I just happened to have a ton of scrapbooking paper left over from the days of that craft. I did also purchase some new in some great patterns specifically for this project. I even tried using some old catalogs and magazines for these; and I found that those with very much white in the image didn’t work out very well. When I applied the Diamond Glaze to them, it turned the white in the image to a very dark, ugly color as though it soaked through. However, the catalogs with thicker paper pages worked out quite nicely.

I used an Ikea catalog and just looked for big splotches of cool color/pattern.

So, here we go:

1. Using some scrap card stock (I used a Pop-Tart box and often use cereal boxes for templates.), trace around your washer – both the inside and outside circle. Cut this out around the outside line, cutting it a little inside this line so that your template is a little smaller. Next cut out the inside circle using either scissors (leaves the inside a little jagged) or a razor-type knife.

2. Trace this card stock template onto the backs of all the various papers you’ll want to use for your necklaces. On some of these I wanted to use a very specific part of the paper (see the deer head one in the photo above.), so I traced them with a pencil on the right side of the paper and just made sure that I cut all of the pencil markings off. You could just erase the pencil markings as well. Now cut all these out, inside and outside circles.

3. Set your washers out next to each of the scrapbook paper circles you’ve made on a piece of old newspaper; and this is where you’ll need your Diamond Glaze and a small paint brush. For your first coat, squirt (very gently) a line of Diamond Glaze around on the flat side of the washer itself. Use your paint brush to spread it around (paint) the entire surface of the washer. Immediately (the glaze dries very quickly, especially if it’s a thin layer) place the paper circle on top of it and press down all around to be sure it’s in contact with the glaze and washer. This is a little messy, so you might want to have a small bowl of water nearby. Important note: Don’t let your paint brush just set out while you’re doing this or it will harden. When I’m not using it for even a second, I submerse it in a old mug we use for painting projects filled with water.

4. Do this to all of the washers you wish to make, and allow them set to dry for a few minutes. Depending on how much glaze you’ve used, a thick or a thin layer, it should just take a few minutes. You may want to move them around a little to keep any glaze that’s run down the sides from sticking it to the newspaper.

5. Once these are dry, simply paint another coat of Diamond Glaze onto the top of each of the paper circles. This is what gives them their glossy look, so the more coats you put on (drying between each coat), the shinier they’ll look.

6. Allow these to completely set up and dry for at least a couple days.

7. Cut your cording to the length that you’d like for your necklace. Fold your piece of cording in half with the two loose ends together forming a u-shape with the whole piece of cording. Insert the two loose ends through the washer and pull the washer about halfway down, then pull the loose ends through the u-shape at the bottom and pull until it’s tightly around the washer. Thread your cords through your wooden bead and push the bead all the way down as far as it will go.

8. Attach your clasps as necessary; or if you’ve made the length of the cording long enough, you can simply tie the ends together and use it as a pull-on necklace. The black cording I bought at Michael’s (Blue Moon brand) came with clasps as in the photo below.

Bend the end of the cord over a tad so that the u-shaped part is entirely between the two tabs of the clasp. This is no mean feat for my fumbly hands! Then you take needle nose pliers and fold each tab over enclosing the cord in there. Do this for each end. It will look something like this:

Voila! You’re finished.

Oops, looks like I forgot to put the bead on this one!

I hope you’ll find this tutorial (my first ever) useful. I’d love to see the necklaces you’ve made, so send me a pic if you please. If you have any questions or anything seems unclear, please leave a comment here; and I’ll try to answer as quickly as I can.

One final important thing to note: Diamond Glaze is water soluble, which is a good and bad thing. While you can't wear these necklaces in the shower, tub or for swimming; if you happen to mess one up (or just don't like how one turned out), you can simply soak them in a little warm water and then scrape it all off.

WARNING: Making these is terribly addictive! lol

Helpful Websites for this project:

The Creative Crate

Auntie's Beads

This Creative Juice (DIY channel) video on youtube.

INSPIRED!

2009-10-28T08:43:00.004-04:00

What a busy couple days so far this week. The creative adrenaline is really keeping me jumping. Oh, well I guess it could be the Java Monster… I’ve been reading so many blogs written by incredibly talented and creative ladies lately, it’s sparked lots of ideas. And with Christmas truly just around the corner, I guess I feel permission to go at it full bore.

I ran across the idea of making these washer necklaces over at The Creative Crate. Now certainly anyone who knows me knows that I couldn’t possibly pass up the opportunity to go to Lowe’s and hang out in the hardware section! Why even the Little People are saving their money now to buy washers. One washer necklace tutorial coming up…

Inspired by the beautiful view outside, I did manage to find the time to go on a photography hunt as well. I don’t know how anyone can resist being outside in this autumnal wonderland.

Granted, not everyone gets to enjoy the beauty of Almost Heaven – West Virginia; but surely it’s beautiful nearly everywhere in the northern hemisphere this time of year.

Inspired by the natural beauty, I brought along my camera (and the camera manual!) yesterday when we took Hannah for her homeschooler’s co-op classes. Ordinarily the Little People play on the lawn while I crochet away in the van, but I really wanted to figure out if I could get my camera to shoot black and white photos. Well, it didn’t take long to figure out with "Super Camera" (Canon PowerShot SX100 IS) how to make it happen. I LOVE this camera! (In fact, we love this camera so much that we own two of them.)

Go figure, it even shoots in sepia as well…

I’m amazed by the little things in life.

"Super Camera" does incredible close-up (macro) shots as well. I LOVE this feature!

Well, enough of that for now. I’m so inspired that I’m off to work on a tutorial for the washer necklaces and a post about designing your own fabric. What a beautiful day!

Chasing Big Dreams

2009-10-25T15:23:00.002-04:00

Many mothers have big dreams for their children. Most hope and dream that one day their child will become a doctor or a lawyer; or perhaps they dare even dream of him/her becoming the President of the United States. Of course it's not unreasonable for a mother to want great things for her child. Deep down in her heart what she really wants is for her son or daughter to enjoy great success as an adult.

Like most mothers I, too, have big dreams for each one of my children; but what I dream for them really doesn't have anything to do with future salary. What I have always dreamed of, since my first child was born, was that they would grow up to become adults who enjoyed a happy life - no matter what their future occupation turned out to be. I honestly didn't (and still don't) care if they grew up to pursue what our society deems a less prestigious occupation, as long as it was what they loved and what brought them great happiness.

As I watched Eric drive away today, I realized how blessed I am to have children who feel unfettered by societal pressure in pursuing their big dream. He left this afternoon to take his first big step in chasing the dream of becoming a filmmaker.

All of this is of his own making. He has gone at this with such steadfast determination since the day some years ago when he first announced his desire to become a filmmaker. From finding filmmaking friends online and learning all he could to working two jobs to earn the money for film equipment, he has pursued his dream relentlessly. I believe nothing will deter him. Despite the seeming odds, I believe with all my heart that he will achieve his goal; and though none of the credit is mine, I couldn't be more proud of him.

Good luck Eric!

Fall Behind? No Way!

2009-10-21T09:31:00.003-04:00

Wow! REAL Fall weather is finally here, and as the McD’s folks would say, “I’m lovin’ it!” (BTW, I really hate that slogan…all those handsomely paid ad people can’t come up with something a LITTLE more creative than that?)

Anyway…it’s wonderful here in Autumn-land. I get to wear my favorite black jacket once again. The new-old clothes come out of storage, and it’s like getting a whole new wardrobe. We get a change of scenery from the sea of green everywhere to the beautiful range of golds, oranges, reds and browns. Awesome! It’s snuggling up under the quilt again at night and peeling off the jacket come afternoon to feel the warm sun. I love it!

Cooking and crafting are once again inspiring me to create. It’s as though God made us with an internal clock awakening us to the new season. The domestic gene, like the nesting instinct in pregnant women, kicking into high gear once again.

So, here’s a taste of the Fall frenzy that’s made its way from my brain cells to the outside world.

This is the purse I’ve wanted to make for so long. First you crochet it with a nice wool yarn in a much bigger size than this. You toss it in the washer with hot water, a little detergent (yes, I make my own) and a little agitating action; and it does the same thing people used to do by accident when they washed their wool sweaters and shrinks(felts) up – but this time it’s quite intentional. The flowers are done the same way. Sew on a handle. Sew some cute buttons to the flower centers and voila – a brand new, handmade purse!

I finished up a cookbook project I started sometime last year for Lexie. I had 36 more recipes to type in at http://www.tastebook.com/

With two daughters grown and married, I’ve tried to give them all the recipes they loved from their childhood to take into their own homes as grown women. Katy’s was printed out on our own home computer and bound at Office Depot into a pretty respectable cookbook. Lexie’s cookbook had the advantage of one of the coolest web companies out there called Tastebook. You can go there and design your own cover, type in all your recipes, add your own photos and they’ll send you a beautiful, professionally published cookbook of your own in about a week’s time!

Easy as can be!

Speaking of last year…I finally got around to making the kitchen curtains I dreamed of last winter. I’d ordered 5 yards of this cheerful, happy fabric which was quite a splurge for me at around $50. or so - thanks to m’lord Steven who is so kind to his lady. These curtains just make the whole kitchen for me. I’m so pleased!

Doors must have been the theme this month because I also tackled two other doors in the house. The girls’ Hello Kitty bedroom now sports two chalk boards painted on the back side of their door, and the front door to the house wears a fresh coat of paint as well. Being that our little house looks much like an old English cottage, I thought it only fitting to give it a typically-British, brightly colored front door!

Well, I suppose that’s enough for now, though I’ve got many more projects to show you and even more that I’m working on. Two Christmas jewelry projects, a wall décor craft, a quilt for dear Aunt Joan and new pajamas for Eli are all in the works and/or finished. More later…

Cheerfully yours,

John

2009-10-12T09:13:00.003-04:00

I can feel it coming on... deep ...up from the depths of my soul. I push it back down. "Wait", I tell myself. What I'm waiting for, I have no idea; but I just keep shoving it back down for "another time". Something jogs a memory, a single tear threatens to spill over; but I manage to distract myself with something else to keep the torrent from coming. I know it's coming, but I tell myself that now is not the time.

Strange how the human mind works. I realized today that I what I was waiting for is tomorrow, October 13th, one year since I lost him from my physical world. The pain comes now as I type, fast and furious...threatening to wrench my heart from my body. So much pain I can't contain it any longer. It seeps from every pore in pure brokenness. The flood of tears is free at last, and I know now that I was waiting to be alone to release the pain unabated without any comforting. I don't want to be comforted. I can't be comforted. I don't want to restrain the flood for the sake of another in the awkwardness that accompanies crying in front of someone else...feeling the consciousness of making someone uncomfortable because they don't know what to say to comfort you - battling the need to release the pain with the need not to cause it in others.

No one can feel this mother's love and loss for her first-born son. No one knows that the birth of this first child was the defining moment of this woman's life. The rush of emotion that came when holding him as a newborn baby that told her that this was her life's purpose is as fresh as the pain that now empties from her body over the loss of him. My head aches with the intensity of the pain and loss. Who could ever know how much he meant to her, how he truly determined what her life would become? The seemingly simple act of giving birth brought forth not only his life but her life as well, awakening all that lie deep within her.

I grieve the loss of my son, John. Though I know that God spared him much pain and sorrow, I want him back. I want the chance to do it all over again, to do it better and more fully. I want to hold him as a little boy again and tell him how much I love him and what great things the world has in store for him. I want to do it again and protect him from all the pain he felt in this life. I want to tell him how every choice matters. I want him to come back and chase all his dreams with wreckless abandon. I want him to have the chance to feel all the joy that life offers. I want to hold his hand again and show him the wonder of this world. I want him to be happy again as he was as a little boy. I want him to know how much he meant to me and to know that he brought my life into truly being. Within mere moments of his birth how he taught me everything and all that matters in this world. I mourn the loss of his life unlived fully.

The storm slowly dies and the tears begin to subside. The human mind cannot sustain such a storm for too long. I cannot allow it to envelope me or it will render me useless to this world, to those who still count on me to help sustain them. So I pack up the pain-filled feelings and memories and put them away again. I have sheltered the storm once more...

2009-10-05T08:09:00.002-04:00

A productive weekend despite the wee bairns being so terribly ill. For the most part, we all lay in my lord's and my bed watching fantastic period movies like Martin Chuzzlewit, Cranford, Our Mutual Friend, He Knew He Was Right and The Way We Live Now. It was all Britain - all weekend, and it was quite wonderful.

But whilst I soaked in all the lucious scenery of England, I did manage to get quite a bit of crocheting done as well.

I was quite pleased with how this jam jar cover, pattern by Attic24, turned out. I think I should like a few of these sitting round the house. Just a bright spot of cheer here and there. The yarns I used are the ones I think I've been using for nearly a year now - Vanna White Baby, I keep buying more and more as I can. The colors are just so scrumptious! I went and bought 10 skeins either Thursday or Friday (as they were on sale), and after just one weekend I'm nearly out again!

It seems I'm having quite an obsession with the patterns at Attic24 lately, as I also worked on these hexagon squares whilst everyone was ill.

Seems we're over the worst with the children's seeming bout with the Swine Flu, at least all the fevers are gone and everyone seems to feel much better. Better that they all three got it at the same time and tackle it all at once rather than weeks upon weeks of poor, sick children. And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Caring for Children

2009-10-03T14:20:00.002-04:00

I've been thinking today about how we care for our children when they're ill. Something inside me just kicks in whenever one of my children has been sick, perhaps it stems from the mothering instinct; but it's caused me to consider how we treat our children generally.

Last evening about an hour or so after we tucked the kids into bed, Steve walked by the bedroom and noticed that Sarah was laying there wide awake. Presumably she couldn't sleep because she'd slept too much during the daylight hours, a side effect of her flu. So I decided to invite her into our bed to watch a movie and have popcorn with us. We all stayed up until 1a.m.!

Now ordinarily I wouldn't have done that. I would have told her what we always tell our children when they can't get to sleep, "Close your eyes and think about something really nice." But there's something about your children being ill, at least for me, that ushers in a little more tenderness and patience for them; which caused me to wonder why we don't ALWAYS treat them that way.

Oh, over the years I've had periods in my parenting when I just decided to be more lenient and have more FUN with the kids. For a long time, not all that long ago, I thought spontaneous food fights at the dinner table were a really good idea. After sweeping up the rice for nearly a week afterward (usually the food fights came about while eating Chinese!), I stopped instigating such a big mess, though they were tons of fun.

Once, years ago, Steve and I put the kids in bed on a warm summer evening. About ten minutes later we marched down the hallway shouting, "Who wants ice cream?" as banged pots and pans together rather loudly. We then loaded the kids in the car, in their pajamas, and headed to a nearby ice cream shop.

Many years before that during a party at our house, Steve and I got into a water fight outdoors which eventually led indoors with me in the bathroom hiding while Steve attempted to push open the door shoving the garden hose inside to get me. The kids laughed hysterically!

Oh, don't get me wrong. We've had great moments of spontaneous fun through the years! I just worry that sometimes in the day-to-day we're so busy "getting things done" that we forget to make special memories for them to treasure. We forget to treat them like the very special, unique, little people that they are instead of charges to be ordered about.

So, I'm going to try to keep that more in mind from now on. If I forget again, which is likely, somebody please remind me that the dishes will wait and that the long grass outside could just be considered a reforestation project! I'm off to paint pictures with the kids...

I Feel the Need!

2009-09-30T09:52:00.002-04:00

I don't know what it is about the Fall weather that just makes me itch to start indoor projects again. It's like my body has an internal clock that tells me it's time to start cooking, crafting and tearing up the house again.

The local craft store surely knows it's Fall again when they see me reappear nearly every other day (good thing they have a rewards program for every dollar spent!) after a long summer absence. Perhaps it's the years of the "back to school" drill every September that brings it out in me. Time to head indoors and face challenges.

In any case, I've been feeling the NEED to stay indoors and make things! The beautiful, cheery fabric I ordered last winter practically screamed my name last week to be made into something. The plethora of yarn in the pie safe fairly cried out to be touched and manipulated into greater things. It's like the place is haunted.

So....after doing virtually nothing all summer, in the span of the last couple weeks I sewed all the kitchen curtains, made several amigurumi, planned and began our homeschooling and tore out the windows in the dining room! Poor Steve. He probably thinks I've gone mad. Of course, you'd think after 21 years of this he'd be used to it by now. Oh well, guess he'll at least get to enjoy homecooking again...

So with this compelling need raging in my blood I headed over to the craft store and bought 10 skeins of the Vanna White Baby yarn I love. There's something so exhilerating about walking out of there with a giant bag full of yummy colored yarn! That, in conjunction with the incredibly colorful blog of Attic24, led to this.

To everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season.....

Memorial Scholarship?

2009-09-23T15:08:00.002-04:00

A thought crossed my mind this morning and seems to have taken up residence for a while. I wonder how one goes about setting up a memorial scholarship fund and how possible it would be for me to do.

The one year date since we lost John is quietly making its way closer. He's been on my mind for weeks now. I don't really want to shake all those thoughts, but it is painful. Despite knowing in my head that he's gone, sometimes the reality of it all hits me like a ton of bricks. John, my first son, is gone and never coming back. How can this be? Sometimes I really can't comprehend it. It just does't fit with my mind's eye of how things are supposed to go in life. I'm the mother. I was supposed to go first. It rips at my heart with such a vengeance that I feel like I can hardly breathe. He can't really be gone.

As a Christian with somewhat unusual beliefs, I don't really understand visiting the grave site. I've never really shared this with a lot of people. To me, the grave site is only where their physical body/remains are. The spirit of the person is in Heaven or Hell, at least that's my understanding. So, I've never really been one to place flowers and visit grave sites. It just doesn't make sense for me. I don't mean to offend anyone, it's just my own personal belief. If it comforts others, I'm all for them visiting their loved ones at cemeteries.

So, I've been thinking about translating all of this pain and sorrow into something that could bring joy to someone else. John was such a talented artist. He loved drawing, and I always encouraged him to take it a step further in pursuing it as a possible career. In fact, when he was just a young teenager, I gave him an artist's leather portfolio for his birthday. He was so talented, and I so wanted to encourage him. I told him many times after he graduated high school that he should consider going to the Art Institute.

I'm not sure why he never pursued it, but I'm thinking that perhaps a scholarship for Art majors at Marshall University would be an appropriate way to honor John. I think he might have liked that.

The Fear of Flying

2009-09-15T08:36:00.002-04:00

The fears surrounding raising children are many and varied. The first memory of The Fear was a terrible nightmare I had just weeks before my first child, John, was born. I awoke in a panic because I'd dreamt that I'd lost him somewhere and couldn't find him. Within days of his birth I was struck with the terrifying realization that *I* was responsible for teaching this tiny human being everything he'd need to know to one day become an adult. I recall questioning if I even KNEW enough to be an adult myself, let alone to be able to teach it to someone else effectively!

At some point along the way I began to relax and rely on the God-given mothering instincts I felt. I knew I'd make mistakes, but I trusted that overall I could make choices that were in the best interests of my children out of the love God gave me for them. The Fears in my head lingered in the back of my head but much more quietly.

In 1995, we began homeschooling. Though I'd been a mother for nearly eleven years by then, The Fear raised its ugly head once again and stayed for a couple years with this new experience of educating my own children. Could I do it "right"? Would they grow up to be socially maladjusted? Could I really teach them all they needed to know? Once again I had to trust my love and instincts and soldier on.

This week I taught Sarah and Eli to read. It was a wonderful moment of affirmation, one of many along the the path my motherhood has taken. Eight children and 25 years into the journey, Fear has definitely taken a back seat. Unlocking the kingdom of reading (and thereby the world of knowledge) has reminded me of the many milestones along the way. Three of my children have now survived their home education and moved on to the world of adulthood. Two have gone on to college, and passed with flying colors, the world's standards for being well-educated; but more importantly, they have all become well-adjusted, incredibly wonderful adults.

They are the kind of people I admire and truly enjoy being around. They are even better people than I could ever have hoped to be. The job of raising and educating them is finished. The Fear is only a whisper in the dark recesses of my mind every now and then. "Love conquers all!" now rings loudly in it's place.

Random Photos

2009-09-13T14:28:00.002-04:00

Jasper, progeny of our dogs Jemma and Dodger

who belongs to my brother & sister-in-law.

Ain't he sweet?

Said brother, Geoff.

Playing "cornhole" at our Labor Day cookout.

Doesn't the new deck we built look grand?

Goodbye to the Old

2009-09-13T14:17:00.002-04:00

Said goodbye to the last of the Buff Orpington chickens today. I'm a bit sorry to see them go, but it's on to bigger and better things now. The only animal left on the property, other than the wildlife, is our little Yorkshire Terrier, Maddie. This has definitely been a year of change for our family.

With Lexie marrying and moving away, Chase going off for his sophomore year at college and Eric taking on two jobs; it seems our household has shrunk to a mere five people. Seems rather odd and too quiet around here lately. Plenty of time to contemplate the direction of our lives...