Created for Good Works

Is the chicken really this good in pubs?

2012-01-30T11:17:00.000-05:00

Most of my grocery shopping these days occurs during twice weekly Gymnastics classes, so I find myself doing just what they tell you not to do - shopping while hungry, just before supper.

This is not a great idea. Publix knows this, and has chicken frying in the Deli and nice ladies cooking at their "Aprons" kiosks.

They sell a lot of fried chicken and Aprons meals ingredients that way.

As I was shopping in Publix a couple of weeks ago, I tried a sample from the Aprons kiosk. I wandered down the next aisle, taking a bite...and circled back to grab a recipe card. As I returned, the lady who had gotten a sample along with me was coming back from the other direction! It is so full of savory-sweet-tangy-spicy-rich flavor that it kinda inspires little moans of yumminess.

It's so good that my husband requested it for his birthday meal. Check it out:

Pub-Style Chicken and Caramelized Onions With Fresh Spinach

Kitty Ripple

2012-01-27T21:32:00.003-05:00

I learned to crochet a ripple using the Neat Ripple pattern from Lucy at Attic 24. I LOVE rippling!!! I love Lucy's blog - so full of color! She NEVER crochets in neutrals - it's all bright, happy, exuberant color. And yet the effect is serene.

This is the second ripple project I've done, a bright afghan for Earthgirl's room. No, it does not belong to the kitty.

Next up, I think I'll try out this even more ripply Ripples of Happiness pattern.

How being Facebook friends with teenagers can make you less cool

2012-01-26T17:02:00.000-05:00

You'd think being Facebook friends with teens would make me cool. I mean, I feel all cool inside when I get a "friend request" from the younger generation. Oooo...I'm feelin' cool...

But not only am I already NOT very cool, but being Facebook friends with some teens has made me even LESS cool.

I am hopelessly uncool. Not cool, man, not cool. That's me. I wasn't cool back when I was a teenager, so the chances of getting cooler in my 50s is pretty slim. (The chances of getting slim in my 50s is pretty slim, too).

But I'm learning.

Angsty teens often post angsty status updates. I used to sometimes worry, and maybe respond to the status.

Ha! Rolling their eyes, they type back (at least, I imagine they roll their eyes), "It's from a song." Or a poem. Yup, if you have teenager Facebook friends, be aware: they often post snippets of poetry or song lyrics as status. They do not say where the words come from, because if your FB friends are cool, they would know.

I am not cool. But here's what I'm learning to remember:

Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;
When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.

Thanks for the wisdom, Solomon.

Coping with Crochet

2012-01-24T10:29:00.000-05:00

I stayed busy in December. I was a Crafty Mama, in fact. I was not a Bloggin' Mama. The next few posts will probably feature little crafty thingies whipped up between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hmmm...maybe next year I can just re-post those posts if I get overly December-busy and unable to put words or pictures to blog...

First up, Coping with Crochet!

I use crochet to cope with waiting time when reading would take too much concentration - like at Gymnastics practice!

I love making a Super Star Baby Afghan. Mikey showed me how: Super Star Baby Afghan. I wish I'd found his videos back when I first started reteaching myself to crochet. He shows so clearly what he is doing. Of course, some of my confusion may have stemmed from misunderstood terminology. Did you know that USA crochet and UK crochet have different definitions for "single crochet" and "double crochet"? Live and learn...

The first one I made is hot pink, blue, and green, all Caron Simply Soft yarn.

The second, one made for a new great-nephew, is white, blue and green, also Caron Simply Soft yarn. You can make these any size - just keep going round and round and round until you think it's big enough or you run out of yarn. I made both these car-seat baby-lap-blanket size.

They were so much fun! As I worked on them at Gymnastics, piano lessons, Science club, they always attract attention - they are just so cute! Seeing these pictures makes me want to get another one started - maybe I'll use this week's Hobby Lobby coupon for another skein of yarn.

Returning Soon

2012-01-18T07:52:00.000-05:00

I disappeared for a month, more or less, but I will return soon!

Recycled T-shirts party

2011-12-01T14:24:00.002-05:00

This post was 2 months in the making - she has been 11 for a while!

Being a child of the 70's and a sewist (there's a reason we don't call ourselves "sewers"), I have always loved recycling denim. But these days the hottest recycled clothing trend has got to be recycling and up-cycling T-shirts.

This year for Earthgirl's 11th birthday party, we jumped into the fun with a T-shirt recycling party. She grabbed the idea from the September/October 2011 issue of American Girls magazine. You can find recycled T-shirt ideas from all over the internet. Take a look here and here, for example. I found bunches and bunches of ideas for the future - for example, I'd love to make one (or 15!) of these recycled T necklace/scarves.

Now if one is inviting 14 girls over, and 2 of your projects take a T-shirt apiece, you gotta have lots of Ts! Our big crafts, requiring a T-shirt apiece per girl, were the fringed scarf and the big T-shirt bag. We invited the girls to bring Ts with them, but knew we wanted to provide plenty.

For several weeks ahead, Earthgirl and I hit a couple of local thrift stores, one which exists to support a local church's international missions; the other to support Hospice. We like spending our $$ where they do some good works, too! We snapped up Ts at an average price of about 40 cents. We looked for colors we liked, designs we thought would look good on a bag, and the right sizes to make bags and scarves (bags can be any size, but a XXL makes a humongous bag, whereas a sturdy size small or child-size makes a nice bag, and our scarves worked best with child-sized, soft, lightweight Ts).

Recycled T-shirt Scarves:
For our scarves, the girls cut off the hem and cut across under the sleeves, leaving a wide tube of fabric. They fringe-cut both sides, then pulled on the fringes to make them curl up.

The best-looking scarves had really skinny fringe - but the trick is to cut it skinny enough, but not so skinny that it tears when you stretch it. This red scarf had the prettiest fringing of all the scarves.

The result is a fringy cowl-type scarf. If you use a T as big or bigger than your own size, the cowl can be doubled. If you use a little preschooler-size T, you get a once-around-your-neck scarf.

And then, of course, you cannot resist playing with the leftovers. Lots of braided headbands, bracelets, anklets appeared!

The scarves also double as hula skirts.

Recycled T-shirt Bags:
Our big T-bags were made simply - cut out the sleeves and along the neckline, leaving something that looks like a tank top. Check to see that it fits over your shoulder. Good. Now, if you want a plain-bottom bag, turn the T inside out, and sew up the bottom. The cutest bags were sewn with a curve. If you want a fringe-bottom bag, cut off the T's hem, and sew up the bottom, leaving a 2-3" seam. Trim the seam in to a fringe. Pull the fringes to make them curl, and you're done!

In all the excitement, I did not snap 1 picture of any girl with a bag. This one is taken weeks later.

Clean Read

2011-12-01T11:03:00.000-05:00

I read a lot. A LOT. I like mysteries and histories and mysteries set in history; sometimes I like some just regular fiction, seldom just regular romance. Some Christian fiction I like; some is just a little too sweet for my taste.

When you read a lot of fiction, you wade through a lot of language (the kind I don't use) and activities (the kind I don't do). -- And that's just the good guys!

Sometimes it is refreshing to just read something I can trust to not assault my brain with garbage surrounding a perfectly good story. One of our local libraries (the one a county away where my husband works) puts these little "Clean Read" markers on books that do not include yucky stuff. I have not checked what their criteria is. ( I just read a murder mystery that contained no bad language - is it a 'clean read"? After all, there is violence and murder. ..) But I appreciate their taking the time to identify what is not in this book.

Magic Mason Jar

2011-10-30T15:37:00.001-04:00

{edited to add: now I have tried this and it works great! I just run the blender on low speed, because somehow those whirring blades and the glass make me kind of nervous.}

I don't have a Magic Bullet or other single-serving-type blender. But I do have a ca. 1984 Hamilton Beach blender and a selection of Mason jars. actually, I think mine are mostly Ball canning jars. According to Real Simple I can use my jars on the actual blender!

This would maybe save a step of clean-up, so I think I will try it soon. Of course, I will have to think through the entry/exit - I turn the blender upside down? That save-a-step clean-up may turn into a well-the-whole-kitchen-needed-cleaning-up-anyway scenario! Whatdya think?

The old blender layered up with ingredients for Russian Tea

What homeschooling looks like today

2011-10-05T10:42:00.000-04:00

Remember those school days when you just wished you could sit in a really comfy chair with your kitty beside you? Well, that's what homeschool looks like here today:

...and just in case it seems lonely, here's a look at what homeschool looked like yesterday:

More of 17 - Big Summer Project

2011-09-26T08:51:00.000-04:00

My BIG project for this summer was to paint most of our pulled-together-from-here-there-and-hand-me-down bedroom furniture the same color - a warm, distressed black was my plan. I never listed this project on a published blog post, but it is one of the 17 projects - OK, it was one of maybe 35 projects swirling around in my head.

After
Once I started painting, I realized I did not get before pics of everything, so I'll just have to describe the "befores" for the most part.

I don't have "befores" for the 2 little chests, but the one on the left was an unfinished piece originally planned for Earthgirl's room. She now has a bigger chest of drawers (one my parents started housekeeping with over 50 years ago!), because she is a T-shirt clothes horse. The chest on the right used to be in Nanny's sewing room. It originated in the 70s, maybe even the 60s, and sported a home finish of reddish-brown stain, maybe oak?

The "before" headboard was a pickled-look finish veneer headboard. My Mama picked it up at a second-hand store for her guest house, and I traded my brass headboard for it. (The very plain very 1980s brass headboard, purchased when a store was closing, was always supposed to be for just a little while, but we slept against it for about 17 years.)

See what I mean about the furniture being second-hand-and-hand-me-down?

Headboard before:

The shelf is part of a 3-piece entertainment center, a Sauder piece, in a similar pickled look to the headboard. The entertainment center was our family Christmas gift around 1995. We put it together ourselves.

The headboard, the 2 chests of drawers, the cedar chest, and the bookshelf are painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint, in Graphite, then distressed and waxed with both dark and clear wax. The inside color of the shelves is Chateau. All the new drawer and door knobs came from Hobby Lobby, and are a purposely eclectic mix.

This chest started as an old, plain, not valuable cedar chest from Nanny's closet. Daddy says he thinks the FFA boys made it in shop and sold it as a fundraiser, maybe back in the 60s?

Cedar chest before:

The doodad on front of the cedar chest also came from Hobby Lobby.

It add a little something, doesn't it?

Ahhh...Honey, we're home!

More of 17 - Buffing the Buffet

2011-09-06T20:38:00.000-04:00

Christmas 2005

My buffet is the bottom portion of a hutch handed down from my mother-in-law. They had it made about 45 years ago, when they lived in a nice old house with hardly any storage space.

We've had it for 6 years. When we first hauled it home, we thought we'd paint or refinish it immediately, but once we put it in place, it looked OK, and we decided to live with it for awhile as is. Or as was?

I took these pics back then to show Mom how good it looked with the reindeer she gave me. Isn't he elegant? Since the hutch really had some beat-upped-ness to it, I usually kept some kind of cover on top.

Christmas 2005

But finally the time has come to make it my own, now that I have some cool Annie Sloan chalk paint that can be painted right over almost anything without stripping or priming!

I painted the buffet inside and out in Chateau Grey, a soft gray-green. ( I also painted the back in some leftover dark gray latex so that all the outer wood would be sealed. ("wood would," clever, huh?) I painted inside, too, because the hutch had lived for a few years in the basement where some flooding has occurred, and it still had a bit of that mustiness that would not go away. It's gone now!

We have 2 pieces of furniture from the sixties that have 60s-type wood paneling used as a backing and drawer sides. I guess it just made for good wood scraps.

Then the real fun began. I clear-waxed it, then dark-waxed and wiped off, waited overnight, then buffed until my shoulders hurt. I rewaxed the top just for some extra protection.

And here is my "new" buffet.

Homeschool Hooky Day 2011

2011-09-05T15:06:00.000-04:00

When Public school started up a couple of weeks ago, we celebrated the first day of school by NOT doing any school! We went with friends for pizza!

Then I taught Earthgirl's BFF (one of many BFFs) to chain stitch while Earthgirl took her piano lesson. I couldn't quite go for hooky from piano - I pay whether we are there or not. Since we waiting gals were "hooking" on our crochet hooks, I guess it was still hooky.

And there was peace sign art, because Earthgirl just loves peace signs. I did when I was her age, too! So many styles and motifs from my growing up years are back in style. Her friend just wanted to keep crocheting, and asked me to teach her to do a single crochet. I think she will be a natural!

Earthgirl is in 6th grade this year. What a blessing it is to be her teacher.

More of the 17 - Birds

2011-08-24T19:18:00.001-04:00

I've been painting away - a chest, a buffet, a chair, but the finished, buffed, and photographed projects are the little starter projects.

I decorate with birds all over the house. I think there may be a bird or birds in every room.

After I painted my first blue frame (see 1-2 posts down), I had this nervous paintbrush wanting to spread the pretty Annie Sloan Provence color paint...and I had these 4 birds. They have always travelled as two pairs. Sometimes one pair has been on the back porch while the other pair fluttered on a bookshelf. Most recently, one pair perches at my bedside while the other pair makes its home in my bathroom on the way too big "plant shelf."

Before birds:

A pair of birds in blue?...happiness!

After birds: the one on left is finished, while the one on right only had paint, and is still waiting for a coat of clear wax, then dark wax, then a rub-off and buff.

The finish, both color and texture remind me a bit of McCoy pottery.

More of 17 - Framed!

2011-08-21T20:37:00.002-04:00

This collection of empty frames have been designated to decorate the guest room. They have just been waiting for me to paint them all the same color.

The biggest one I purchased at a thrift store for a whoppin' 25 cents (notice the red crayoning in the left bottom corner). It's already seen duty as a photo framer. The others I bought at twice that price. Yup, that's $1.75-worth of frames.

I considered painting them all bright green, like my cool chair. But then I got some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Annie Sloan wax, and these seemed like the perfect starter project! I used Provence, a pretty blue-green, and antiqued them with dark wax.

I purchased my paint and wax at Alice and Jay, right in downtown Sasser, GA, which is on the way between here and my family's fame up in south Georgia. I had a great visit with them on a Monday, when they are not officially open. I contacted Alice ahead of time, and they opened up for us! I met Jay, up on a ladder, (Jay, not me) and spent quite a while with Alice, learning about applying the paint and wax. Pluto Boy got to see the old bank vault.

Alice was so helpful - opening up her paints and painting and waxing a few paint-stirring sticks so I could see what the color would do. Fun, fun, fun. I'd have taken a picture of us together, 'cause that would've been cool, but my camera was still AWOL.

As soon as we arrived at home, I was itching to start painting. One of the HUGE draws for me was the promise that I would not need to strip, sand, scuff, or prime anything beforehand. I would only sand if I wanted to distress a piece. Yay!

Love the detail in that formerly-gold frame.

After I painted the frames, I read up on recommended techniques for painting, waxing, distressing, buffing, color combos...I am indebted to many generous bloggers, including Perfectly Imperfect, Southern Institue of Faux Finishing, and Modern Country Style. If you search using terms like "distressing with Annie Sloan chalk paint," you get a kabunch of places to look. Since some of these have link-up parties devoted to Annie Sloan chalk painted peices, you can ~~waste~~ spend the entire day reading up. Thanks, everyone!

I am now an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint fan. More to come!

What's cookin' at your house?

2011-08-20T17:25:00.000-04:00

I've got some country-style ribs cooking up in the slow cooker. They are simply seasoned - splashed with a little Worcestershire sauce, and sprinkled liberally with black pepper and Soul Food Seasoning.

I first picked this up at Winn Dixie on a whim, and it has since become a family favorite. It's mostly salt, red and black pepper, garlic and paprika. We all love it on pretty much all meats, with vegetables, salads, and with one-dish meals - soups, beans-and-rice, stews, you name it.

This seasoning makes almost every food taste better. When I pull it off the shelf, I know I'm going to make whatever I am cooking work better, make it more palatable for my family.

Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

Colossians 4:6

The manner in which I use words should be just like that, too. My communications are often hurried, whiny, harsh, or flavorless. As I sprinkle the Soul Food Seasoning on tonight, I am thinking I need to remember to sprinkle my language with Soul Food Seasoning, too.

Happy Sunday

First of 17

2011-08-18T10:44:00.000-04:00

OK, maybe I did not really get 17 projects done this summer, but I did accomplish a few crafty, sewy, cook-y, painty things. Actually, by the time I toss in some sewing for friends, I may have more than 17 projects. Here are a couple of the 17-ers:

A Red Front Door!

This was our Independence Day weekend project. I have hesitated to paint the door a color (it was white) because of the glass insert with internal white blinds. I thought it might look funny. But we went for it, and I am glad. I can hardly wait for Christmas and the hanging of a bright Christmasy green and red wreath!

By the way, this door with the miniblind inserts was here when we bought the house. At first, I did not care for it - not my decorating style. But this type door is very easy to live with. I can let light in, just as much as I want, and the blinds stay clean.

...and a patriotic wreath!

I got the idea from Landee See Landee Do. I didn't like mine as well as hers, and when I looked back, I realized she had some solid color ribbon and paper, too, and it broke up the business of the patterns. But I did not want to take anything apart, and now the little fireworks wreath is growing on me.

more to come...

A Few Sounds Heard 'Round Our Household Recently

2011-08-02T12:02:00.000-04:00

* Plock *

The sound of a full bottle of olive oil shattering on the kitchen floor

* Whooeet! Whooeet! *

The sound of me whistling to call the kittycat.

* Whooeet! Whooeet! *

The sound of a mockingbird...um...calling the kittycat? Lucky for the mockingbird, the kitty has learned to ignore us both. A mockingbird in our yard once learned to mock our phone ringing. Very entertaining.

* Thoomp! Thoomp! Thoomp! *

The sound of a little gymnast practicing round-offs

* Thoomp! Thoomp! Thoomp! *

The sound of a little gymnast practicing back walk-overs - they are quieter than round-offs

This picture has no relation to the post above it, but I am just so happy to have rediscovered my camera, tucked into my crochet bag during Gymnastics camp, and wanted to show off what's left of my first 2 batches of bluberry jam.

Ouch! Ouch! Blueberry!

2011-07-20T22:04:00.000-04:00

Sorry...no pretty picture...

Growing up on the farm, we always made jam, jelly, and preserves during the summer. Blackberries, plums, figs, pears, peaches, and even watermelon rinds processed their way through the kitchen into jars and jars of homemade treats. I never remember working with blueberries, though. In fact, I'm not sure if I ever tasted a fresh blueberry until I was grown. (I think Mama planted a couple of blueberry bushes once, but if I remember correctly, they came to a sad end before yielding fruit). Now I find blueberries readily available, and love eating them on cereal, with yogurt, on salads, and in cobblers.

Today for the very first time I made blueberry jam using this recipe for blueberry jam from A Few Shortcuts. This recipe made 3 half-pints and almost 1 other pint, and it was REALLY, REALLY easy. (When I used this recipe, just to remind myself, I checked out general canning procedures at "Canning-the Musical" on Southern Plate.) Now we just have to see if one of the jars refuse to seal. That's the one we claim for home. The others can be gifts.

Yummmmmm. I'm sipping some iced tea to sooth my tongue, 'cause it was SO-ooo good that I burnt my tongue but good tasting it.

Here would be just the place to insert a picture of the little stash of jam, but my camera is AWOL. I know it 's at the bottom of one of my bags and bins of craft supplies and flotsam left over from gymnastics camp crafts, part 2, which I have not blogged about at the Sm'Arties blog because, well, no pictures. When I last saw camera, we were at the gym, the camera had escaped its little pouch, and was spotted with Mod Podge and a little paint.

Sew Helpful

2011-07-08T08:07:00.001-04:00

Amended to add: Cynthia's invisible zipper tutorial looks great - I think I will try this method next time. Thanks to Jennifer from Sewplicity for recommending it!

Sew4Home has a great post: You Asked For It - a long list of detailed sewing basics. I'll look at their invisible zipper tutorial later this evening before I attempt my second-ever invisible zipper installation. I have never thought of using an invisible zipper on a pillow, but what a cool idea.

And look at this post about sewing an invisible zipper with a facing from Colette Patterns! How cool is that? I plan to line my skirt, and may try to make this technique work to attach the lining, skirt, and zipper all in one scary step.

Here is the skirt I am working on:

Are you stalking these children?

2011-07-05T15:00:00.000-04:00

I think I will step into controversy:

Twice in one week I had a child (2 different children) inform me that someone was stalking them.

"Stalking us," that was the exact phrase.

Incident #1
In the first case, at Gymnastics Camp, on that beautiful day when we went outside and spray-tie-dyed T-shirts, a girl, a 9-year-old, I think, sidled up to me and spoke low, out of the corner of her mouth, "There's a stalker over there."

Me: "What?"
She: "There's a stalker over there. That lady is stalking us."
Me: "Where?"
She: "Over there, in the window. That lady is looking at us. She's stalking us."

OK, seriously, who taught this little girl that no adult is allowed to LOOK OUT HIS/HER OWN OFFICE WINDOW at a bunch a rowdy children who have appeared on the lawn unexpectedly without being accused of stalking?

This is what we were up to - in case the stalker wanted to know

I explained to her that this lady probably was sitting at her own desk in her own office, and heard us having fun, and since this area did not usually have a rowdy bunch of children having fun, she looked out HER OWN WINDOW to see what was going on. Then she saw us with the T-shirts and spray cans and was curious to see what we were doing. That's not stalking, looking out your own office window. I tried to limit the sarcasm in my reply, but probably failed.

Can you imagine if I had stomped up to the window and hollered, "KEEP YOUR EYES ON YOUR DESK! STOP STALKING THESE YOUNG'UNS!?"

Incident #2
Later that same week, my daughter was hanging out with a couple of friends, and one of the friends reported to me that a lady was "totally stalking us."

Me: "What? Who was stalking you?"
She: "A lady. She was stalking us."
Me: "What do you mean, stalking? What did she do?"
She: "She was looking at us."

That's all. A trio of giggly girls caught her attention, and she...the nerve of her!...LOOKED at them. She didn't keep looking. She didn't follow them. She just looked at them.

I know it is hard to balance, to teach discernment. It's easier to teach a child that no one has the right to look at you, everyone is a danger to you. It's easier to raise children to be fearful, untrusting, always scared, but, hey, at least they are safe.

Please, while we teach our children to take care, let's also teach them that adults who look at them are almost always NOT the Bogeyman.

Hero at the Next Table

2011-06-27T07:36:00.003-04:00

Friday evening we sat just one table over from a hero.

He looked just like many of the other men in the restaurant, in his early 80s, silver-haired, suntanned, wearing bermuda shorts and a polo shirt, eating and talking with five other vibrant senior citizens.

These seniors can be found all over Florida, but Friday evening we were near The Villages, where most of the residents are retired, all the landscapes are manicured, and shopping centers and grocery stores have parking places designated for golf carts.

The lady seated next to the hero, a much younger retiree, chatted with him, and, as folks do at a large table in a busy restaurant, they turned toward each other to speak, which directed their conversation in my direction. I tuned in when the lady said, "...ya know, like in Saving Private Ryan? The movie? You were there? On D-Day?"

The man answered, "In Normandy? Oh, yeah. I was there." Their conversation within my earshot continued long enough for me to hear that he was on the beach that first day, D-Day. I sat, a little awestruck. An American hero. Part of the push that won the war. So THAT'S who he was.

Yes, I know there were thousands there that day. I know that this man, and many, probably did not want to be there, but were simply following orders. He may have been no braver than soldiers who were back in the states, filing paperwork, driving trucks, casting off ropes on troop transports. They are all my heroes.

A few of them are in my family - less now than a few years ago.

Every few months lately, our community has sent off an Honor Flight. A plane full of elderly veterans and their escorts takes off early in the morning for Washington, DC, where they visit several locations, including the World War II Memorial. They are saluted as heroes everywhere they go. They fly back the same day. These flights are publicized ahead, and the community is invited to meet the returning heroes. Hundreds show up each time. Our community is patriotic like that.

The schedule has not worked for us yet, but maybe next flight, in October, will find us in the crowd forming a cheering line. Cheering the heroes.

Batty

2011-05-30T09:08:00.000-04:00

The lack of ability to comment on many blogs is making me batty. I wonder if maybe blog friends have tried to comment to me and been rebuffed. I feel like a big ol' wet blanket had been tossed over the party.

So here is another peaceful beach picture to make things better - not that I expect any comments on it. My expectations are lowered considerably.

Originally I planned to attach the straps on the ruffly skirt dress to the back, too, since it would hold the back up better. We decided to leave it halter tied for this wedding, then do the tedious adjustments to get the straps just right after we came home. but now I like the flowy scarf look of the chiffon hanging down her back, so I think we will leave then as is.

And I loved her cousin's dress - almost a 50's look, don't you think?

Ruffly-skirt dress at a beach wedding

2011-05-25T11:20:00.001-04:00

Comments and Yum

2011-05-19T22:23:00.001-04:00

In recent days I have found it impossible to comment on some Blogger blogs. (Hmm...I wonder if I can comment on my own...). Amy, I wanted to leave a comment. Crispy, I tried to say something nice. You, too, Jennifer. And Alida.

But Blogger has kept me mum. I understand there were some bigger Blogger issues a few days ago - some folks could not post at all! I did not learn this firsthand, having neglected both blogs for a few weeks. But imagine the hairpulling angst - something to say, and no way to blog it!

Yes, this blog has been greatly neglected. I toss a few thoughts or a picture in, but have been slow to complete posts. I have - gulp -39 partial posts. Some will never be posted - they are from long ago, and I have just not cleaned them out. But at least 10-15 are recent...thinklings. School is finishing up, summer is getting all planned up, travel is coming up, and I just have not finished posts lately.
But just because I want to finish this post and to leave with something good:

Go here for Brownie-covered Oreos. Serious yum.

And I don't even really like Oreos. But I like these. And I like Oreo cheescake.

Sew far...

2011-05-15T18:23:00.001-04:00

I could spend all day reading Meggiecat's links.

...but I am NOT reading her entire blog right now because I am sewing!!! I am working with ruffled fabric for the very first time.

Pretty cool, huh? This fabric did not come from the website above, but from a store in the Orlando area. We love the colors.

I wanted to do Earthgirl a dress kind of like this one, only big girl size. But she wanted something more along the lines of a ruffle-skirted sundress like her friend's dressy cream-colored sundress. So we borrowed the dressy sundress (actually, we borrowed her little sister's almost-identical dress) and I am creating something similar from looking at that dress and one of our favorite patterns.

...but first, before I cut into the not-so-inexpensive chifffon-y stuff we got for the bodice, I am making a muslin out of some cotton - it will be a sundress top.

...and there is shirring involved in the back.

I am sew crazy.

Grace and Patience

2011-04-13T08:05:00.004-04:00

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Gal. 5:22-23

It is SO easy to get frustrated with the very folks we love the most. It's easy to become aggravated at friends and family members who make poor decisions. It is easy for me to become irritated with myself. Grace and Patience - we need it.

Feminina says it so well here: Grace on the Fly. "...try to be a character you would like..."? Well said! Please, go read her whole post.

More on the Wall

2011-04-11T13:45:00.001-04:00

an update on my April 1 post

The scrapbook paper wall art, mounted on 12"x12" canvases (I trimmed the paper to about 11.5" square), with blue, green, and charcoal ink smeared around the edges

I need to put that pillow cover on the sewing list - it's still just folded on with 1 safety pin.

--and the girls have taken over the TP roll art!

Here is some of that wall art I was talking about

2011-04-09T00:18:00.000-04:00

Making TP roll art is addictive!

I cut and glued this little piece together in about 15 minutes during the tornado warnings last week.

Spray paint with a little "Hammered" and clear coat, and we are ready to hang.

Pretty good little doodad, huh?

I picked this little metal and canvas piece at Hobby Lobby's 90%-off section. The frame was scratched up. The sentiment was OK (not my fave...), but the green giraffe-skin background was probably the whole reason it never went home with anyone.

I used a brown acid-free marker to fix the metal frame, painted the canvas black, stencilled on my own sentiment, rubbed a little brown over it to age it, sprayed the canvas part with acrylic clear coat, and hung it up.

-and you can see the faux metal doodad through the open door.

17 More Projects - Part 3: More wall art

2011-04-01T09:13:00.041-04:00

Project ideas are really stacking up in my head. It would be so much fun to take a week off, just stay home and do fun projects.

I have an impressive stash of scrapbook paper, thanks to a store closure about 2 years ago. I'd prefer the store to have stayed in business : ( When it's time to make a card or do an album layout, I have the goods, and some of my prettiest papers I bought for pennies. {At the same store closing I picked up 2 reams of nice-quality 11"x17" plain white paper for $3 total, and Earthgirl, her friends, and all the Sm'Arties have been drawing, coloring, painting, and writing on it for almost 2 years here, here, here. }

I've already done a couple of pieces of scrapbook paper art, hung in the multipurpose room (office, craft, school, home theater), but I want to add some to my bedroom.

The 2 papers in the multipurpose room, mounted on 12' vinyl tiles, Mod-podged.

Scrapbook paper auditioning for the roll of wall art. Here are the 3 finalists. The floral fabric is auditioning for the role of pillow cover. I think it is a shoe-in. And imagine that headboard painted black and distressed...

Here are some places with cool ideas:

Frugal life Project's Wall Art - my original inspiration

Sew Can Do's wall art - another good use of pretty paper

Here's some more from sealed with a Kiss

and more from 31diy: easy peasy wall Art, using frames...

...which reminds me of my friend Science Geek's decor, and here . She gave me 2 pieces for Christmas:

I love the sentiment on this one. I love that she gave it to me. She's making the story of my life, too.

...and just when you think you've seen all the cool stuff your wall could take, I run across somethings like this pinwheel art. ...which reminds me of this recycled magazine gift bow from How About Orange that I intend to make one day. I've got plenty of magazines...

17 more projects, part 2

2011-03-29T07:40:00.003-04:00

I'd like to have some curlicue doodads above a few of my pictures, but don't want to spend much money on it. Well, I don't want to spend ANY money.

Here is a picture hung in my dining room with a metal curlicue doodad over it. (Were you wondering what the definition of "curlicue doodad" was?) These little toppers help the look of a rectangular picture hung under a vaulted ceiling. Like I said, I don't want to spend much on these, so I am looking at some ideas.

I just found out that curlicue is spelled with a "c" rather than a "q" - curlique. Thank you, Mr. Spelczek.

I picked up one little piece of metalwork from the 90%-off section at Hobby Lobby - my kinda price tag! The catch is that an end is broken off. I think I can recreate the end with a craft stick, Mod Podge papier mache and Rustoleum's hammered-look spray paint.

That will take care of one little picture. But I want to take care of a BIG picture, so I am looking at some DIY inspiration - a real trash-to-treasures story:

Something like this project from Suzy's sitcom. Pretty cool, huh?

Or How-To Gal's version. Her fabric wall art here is simple, and the variety is unlimited. I might have to make one of these, too.
OK, it turns out there are TP roll rescuers all over - I like those wreaths.

But now THIS TP roll art is just outrageous! - and fascinating! The tree is delicate and lovely, but the faces are a little creepy, though still fascinating.

Some scriptures I am pondering this Sunday

2011-03-27T05:43:00.000-04:00

From Proverbs 22:

1 A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor have a common bond, The LORD is the maker of them all.

***

9 He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor.

***

17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge;

18 For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, That they may be ready on your lips.

***

22 Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Or crush the afflicted at the gate;

23 For the LORD will plead their case And take the life of those who rob them.

and from James 1:

5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

and from I Timothy 6

6 But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.

7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.

8 If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

I am praying, Lord grant me the contentment to know just how rich we are, the generosity to hold possessions loosely and to give with humility, the vulnerability to be approachable, the wisdom to discern real needs, both physical and spiritual, and the willingness to help.

17 More Projects

2011-03-21T21:44:00.001-04:00

I have that whole 17 Projects vibe goin' on in my head again. I am wanting to do it myself! Today I'll show you some home decor inspirations that are calling my name. Maybe later this week I'll show you some more, including crochet and sewing. Hey, maybe I'll even get crazy and post recipe inspirations! Here is the today bunch:
We painted Earthgirl's room LAST YEAR, but have yet to add a new bedcovering, window treatment, and accessories. - We already have purchased enough polka dot fabric for a duvet or quilt top, and enough floral for pillowcases.

We found this inspiration from Hobby Lobby

The pillowcases may even get You Go Girl's posh pillowcases treatment.

I have the plainest white cabinets. I'd like to mess with them a little and give them some kind of character:
It would be a good idea to close the pantry door before taking a picture, huh?

Kitchen re-do, especially using that beadboard wallpaper.

Maybe I could beadboard the cabinet doors, then mould them? I like how they upgraded the cabinets without purchasing new cabinets:

Drab to Fab's kitchen re-do

A blog post link-up on kitchen cabinet re-do's is brewing over at Funky Junk Interiors. I'm looking forward to perusing the results - I could find some heavy-duty inspiration there!

I want something aqua, like this:

Sweet as June Aqua re-do.

or this for Flea Market Trixie

OK, that's all for today.

In case you are curious....

2011-03-17T21:31:00.000-04:00

So here is the dissection of the cow's eye.

We interrupt this Spring Break for Science Club...

2011-03-16T18:33:00.000-04:00

Happy glasses at Science Club...the better to see the cow's eye they will be dissecting soon...

Now back to Spring Break - let's make some lemon cupcakes!

Spring Break, day 2

2011-03-16T06:34:00.000-04:00

Tie-dye, biking, and playing so long in the woods that Bandaids were needed when they came home.

We dyed a pair of pink shorts, a pink tank top, and used Tulip dye in Violet (who knew I would wind up with a stash of tie-dye supplies?). Tie them up with rubber bands,

Dump them, stirring around occasionally (this big blue spoon was permanently discolored from last summer's tie dye fun),

Wait for about 15 minutes, or until you can't wait any more,

It helps if a new Justice for Girls catalog arrives,

Rinse a lot, remove the rubber bands, rinse some more, and Ta da!

For more on tie-dye, take a look at the tie-dye posts over at the Sm'Arties blog. It is a lot easier doing tie-dye with 2 10-year-olds in March than doing tie-dye with almost 50 4-16-year-olds in August!

Spring Break, day 1

2011-03-14T14:33:00.001-04:00

(Wowee, I have not posted on this blog for a MONTH! No apologies, nothing's wrong, just busy and pictures are strewn between two computers and I could not seem to get words and pictures together at the same time. I have several partial posts lined up - a couple of which went completely out of date without being finished. I didn't like them that much anyway.)

We break for Spring Break. We love getting together with friends who are normally in different schools, having fun, maybe even going places. This year we will be staying at home, and hope to see friends every day.

Today, Earthgirl has 2 friends over. They have played outside on the Greenway, watched a movie, eaten homemade pizza (I expect that soon they will be asking to make cookies...), chalked up our driveway, ridden bikes, and right now are putting on make-up and doing hair.

Is it Spring Break at your house?

My sweethearts

2011-02-12T08:45:00.000-05:00

Heart Down Under

2011-02-02T16:53:00.000-05:00

The world is so small now. What used to be an impossible gap is now bridged by electronic communications we could hardly envision when I was growing up. This morning I know what my friend in Moscow was up to last night while I was sleeping, thanks to Facebook. Thanks to blogs, I have "met" friends from all over the world, and see glimpses of their everyday life, know what they are thinking about, working on, know when their children are getting ready to go back to school.

And when I see on the news that a cyclone is roaring into their neighborhood, I pray for them.

I only know personally one young lady who now lives in Australia, but thanks to the truly worldwide web, I know several other ladies and their families.

I find I don't really know my Australia geography. In fact, I want to spell it "Austrailia." I don't know whether anyone I know of is in the path of the storm, but this storm will have a big footprint, and I feel sure they will all feel some effects. I'm praying for you, friends from Down Under.

My concept of Australian Geographical features

Comfort Food

2011-01-28T07:40:00.001-05:00

Even here in the middle of Florida we have seen some cool days and cold nights this winter. It's a great time for a bowl full of comfort!

Everything is Homemade has a yummy recipe for Un-Chicken Noodle Soup. This is a new favorite for me. When I made it, I was missing some of the specific herbs and spices, so I just used Italian seasoning and Beau Monde seasoning instead. (We just recently bought our first Beau Monde seasoning, and we have been dumping it on everything! It's yum on chicken, fish, vegetables, salad, boiled eggs, bread-and-butter, bagels-and-cream cheese...) And I did not run buy the vegetarian bouillon; I used the chicken bouillon I already had on hand. We think this would be really good with actual chicken in it, too. Hmmm...maybe I'll make some more tonight!

I just learned how to spell bouillon. I thought it was "boullion", but Mr. Spelczek underlined it, so I checked my fave online dictionary.

We love Southern Plate's Chicken and Dumplings. Hmmm...maybe I'll make this tonight!

We also love homemade chicken pot pie, topped either with Mama's dumplings, Pillsbury's pie crust, homemade biscuits (for those of you not from the US, these are NOT sweet biscuits/cookies, but Southern quick-bread biscuits), or frozen biscuits. Maybe I'll make THIS tonight.

The theme here seems to be "chicken and starch."

Reading the Whole Thing

2011-01-08T23:30:00.000-05:00

A couple of friends and I are reading through the Bible in chronological order. I've posted about this before.

Last year my friend read the whole Bible, gleaning much benefit from just digesting the whole thing. here is what she posted on Facebook:

Yeah! Finished reading the entire bible straight through! Started some time this summer. I have never just read it straight through like this before. Read random books before. It was a wonderful perspective. I read it like a novel and things are so complete when you see it that way! You really get to see God's patience, forgiveness, and love as a whole. Awesome! Time to start over and do it again! Love it!

I encouraged her to read through chronologically this time, and asked if we could kind of read along together. She liked that idea, and so did her sister.

These days we live hundreds of miles apart from each other, but we can still spur one another on to love and good deeds. Now they are probably all caught up, while I bogged down on Job and a Christmas trip. But I am keeping in site that the goal is not to just do my spiritual check-offs, but to grow closer to God.

Some reading-through resources, chronological and otherwise :

My friend found this chronological listing. It differs somewhat from my Daily Bible in Chronological Order. I am following her list this time. Much of the time, I am reading from The Message, online at Bible Gateway.com. Bible Gateway also has a few read-through-the-Bible plans. Some of the time, I am reading with my actual Bible, curled up on the sofa, usually with a cup of coffee. (OK - now it is almost 11 p.m. and I want a cup of coffee.)

My cousins, both young moms with young children, are encouraging each other. They shared this link via Facebook: The Hardest Thing to do is Open Your Bible. In that article, Molly Piper refers to another article, Bible Reading Program for Slackers& Shirkers. I appreciate these ladies and their honesty.

A few more resources:

One-Year Bible Blog

Various Bible Reading Plans

Even more Bible Reading Plans.

2010 Blog in Review

2011-01-01T22:56:00.000-05:00

Jumping in to the Blog Recap Carnival with Jo-Lynne of Musings of a Housewife.

She asked for the first line of the first post of each month. I picked and chose among the posts, and even among the sentences.

A little walk through my blog year...

January
There in the drizzly snow stood the soldier next door in uniform.

(Update: the soldier next door is no longer living next door, though his family is still there. His deployment plans changed and he is still local as of now).

February
26 Golden Rules for Writing Well cracked me up.

March
There are no lurkers at my site.

April
1985

May
Loading up with my sis-in-law,

( In memory: The friend who was in the hospital during this time passed away some weeks later after a 2+ decades fighting cancer. Later in 2010, Abby Dog, my SIL's almost -perfect Weimaraner, passed away.)

June
I am all wrapped up in trying to figure out a reversible wrap skirt.

July
I peeked over shoulders to observe what they were reading during my walk-around. Here are a few titles:

August
Amanda suggests (exhorts?) us to go to church.

September
The other day, Earthgirl asked me what my dream job would be.

October
Come see the scaredy cats and other spooky-eyed critters at the Sm'Arties blog.

November
I'm pondering how to best be a peacemaker when my friends are in conflict.

December
Remember the cape I was making for a Spanish maiden in historic St. Augustine, FL?

Some new favorite goodies this holiday season

2010-12-27T21:05:00.000-05:00

Homemade peppermint marshmallows - Who knew? In hot chocolate...ymmmm...Next I may try these.

Folding little Christmas trees - addictive.

Caron Simply Soft yarn - Feels so good running through your fingers. Read the reviews - I am not alone in this opinion.

Loops and Threads Country Loom yarn - I finished two-thirds of an afghan today. No, not kidding. I may finish the rest tonight.

Chainless foundation - These tutorials, here and here, taught me how to make a whole line of single crochets without starting with a long chain stitch. Therefore, the afghan.

The movie Tangled - The scenes featuring Maximus the horse were worth the price of admission. All over the theater I could hear adults as well as children laughing out loud. (We haven't seen Voyage of the Dawn Treader yet, but I'm sure it will be a favorite, too.)

A simple 4-in-1 cookie recipe that has been in my recipe box for years, but I never made it until this year. My favorite version: lemon flavoring with dried Craisins. The recipe originated from McCormick.

Did you discover some new favorites this Christmas?

Vanilla Butter Cookies

4 cookies from one recipe

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 t salt

Flavorings/spices(see below)

Add-ins(See below)

Preheat 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Blend in flavorings and spices. Combine salt with flour; add to creamed mixture. Stir in add-ons.

Drop by rounded teaspoons, or roll into balls. Flatten slightly with bottom of a glass dipped in flour or powdered sugar. Bake 10-12 minutes until slightly golden.

Flavorings and Add-ons:

1. Vanilla Butter: Add 1 T vanilla extract

2. Lemon: Add 2 t lemon extract plus 1-2 t. ground ginger

3. Cranberry Almond: Add 1 t. almond extract. Stir in 1/2 cup driend cranberries ("Craisin") and 1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds. (Note I skip the almond and almond flavor, and make these lemon-cranberry)

4. Chocolate Mint: Add 1 t. mint extract along with 1 T. vanilla. Add 1/2 cup cocoa to flour mixture. Stir in 2/3 cup chocolate chips (I used chocolate mint M&Ms)

December in St. Augustine, FL

2010-12-19T14:17:00.000-05:00

Remember the cape I was making for a Spanish maiden in historic St. Augustine, FL?

When we read Felicity - An American Girl, we learned that the caps they are wearing are called 'mob caps.' I don't know why.

The tall handsome British Redcoat is her brother.

When he was only about 6 years old, the first time they went as a family to an event in St. Augustine, his parents looked around and realized he was gone! Someone pointed out that their son had joined the reenactors, who motioned that it was OK. He marched along with them, very serious, having a great time. Afterward, they invited him to join them next time. He has been reenacting history ever since!

You never know when an encouraging word to a child may ignite a passion. Those men, who could have shooed away a little boy, instead welcomed him and began to build a young man who would carry on their traditions.

Our next project: gaiters! The dress white gaiters he is wearing in the picture (white button-on canvas that runs from shoes to above the knees) are loaners - he needs his own black ones and white ones. We'll be working on those in 2011, and I look forward to posting pictures in uniform.

Holidays Will Never Be the Same

2010-12-03T10:29:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving trip up to south Georgia. We enjoyed spending some time with my parents, feasting, and visiting a bit with other relatives. Then we traveled home safely on Saturday afternoon.

Our route took us through Thomasville, Georgia on U.S 19. As we approached Thomasville, we began to notice people spread out along the northbound lanes. They were all looking south. We speculated about what they were waiting for. Maybe we'll see their Christmas parade...but no, a Christmas parade wouldn't come this far out of town. We noticed they were all holding flags, some small, some large. I said, "I think this might be for a soldier."

When we stopped at an intersection, my husband rolled down the window and asked a lady waiting in the median with her flag. Yes, a local young man had died in Afghanistan, and the community was honoring his service and supporting his family, waiting for the funeral procession to arrive. She was gratified to hear that people were waiting at every intersection for the next 2 miles.

I have thought often and prayed often for the family of Army Specialist Shannon Chihuahua since then. A combat medic, he put himself in danger to help wounded comrades. Brave. Dedicated. Selfless.

Now as these holidays approach, I pray for his family. This will be their first Christmas without him. Lord, please pull them close to your heart.

Old Math Joke

2010-12-01T09:48:00.000-05:00

My good friend Science Geek posted a Cool Math Lesson today, and it reminded me of an old joke:

The young man comes home from college to his less-educated Daddy. Daddy says, "Well son, whadya learn at that fancy college you're goin' to?"

The son replies, "Pi R square!"

Daddy shout, "Ya idiot! Pie R round; cornbread R square!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T09:15:00.002-05:00

O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,

Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

For the LORD is a great God

And a great King above all gods

Psalm 95: 1-3

Vintage art courtesy of VintageHolidayCrafts.com

The Paperless Society

2010-11-23T06:15:00.000-05:00

We have health insurance through my husband's work, including access to a nice Flexible Spending Account plan whereby we contribute to the plan based on our expected costs for co-pays and other non-reimbursed medical expenses. In our case, that includes dental, orthodontic, and visual expenses we approximate. Then we submit receipts and are reimbursed the $, and realize some tax advantages. We think the plan, which is administered by a large well-known company, is mostly just...ducky.

When we have had an issue, I have always been able to work it out through their pleasant customer service reps. Since they are based near my hometown, we talk the same talk.

Just today I dealt with them on a couple of claims, one of which we worked out over the phone. You will be glad to know my October 1 payment to the orthodotist will be reimbursed at midnight tonight. Happy Thanksgiving!

They had also denied a $10 receipt because, their very helpful customer rep explained, "It's a Walmart receipt, and Walmart prints the store name on the back, so you have to copy front and back." I asked how he knew it was Walmart, and he said, "ummm...from the bar code."

Then we laughed, because though he could read from the car code that it is Walmart, he cannot pay it without seeing the printed, "Walmart."

So why do we have this technology? So much for the paperless society!

Just a little note - I have worked for the power company before, and have a good idea of how a customer can explode over program rules and requirements. I could tell my rep today feared I might blow up over the submission requirements - he was braced for impact! Part of his laughter was just plain relief that I did not give him a hard time. The rep on the phone (or the little gal doing the energy audit) has no control over POLICY, and cussing him/her out will not make the day go better for either of you. When you talk to someone who works for a large company with rules and regulations, be kind. I have never regretted speaking kindly.

Recreating history

2010-11-17T22:38:00.000-05:00

I am awash in a sea of brown fleece today, making a cape for a Spanish serving girl.

Our young friend goes to St. Augustine to take part in recreating history. I'm embarrassed to admit that though we live less than 2 hours away from this historical city, we have yet to really do a history fieldtrip to St. Augustine.

She'll have the cape at bottom right, but calf-length.

Our friend goes to St. Augustine every year to carry a lantern and be a part of history. Her brother, a re-enactor since age 6, even gets to fire a musket! Since I did a little dress-up-and-play-history when I was young, I think it is really cool. Because of the time I spent being an 1850's girl, I feel very confident about that period of history in south Georgia, at least, the everyday history of the doctor, the lady who spun cotton and wove it, the quilter, the potter, the syrup-maker, the shoemaker - I spent time in all their houses, showing them to visitors. From age 9 until I was grown, I always had a long 1850's dress or skirt.

We lit real candles on the tree in this stagecoach inn at Christmastime. Over the years, we drank wassail, hung the greens, ate the yulelog cake (I never was the one who found the good luck pea), and in spring, danced around the Maypole. I did not chase the greased pig on July 4th, though.

Thinking about what I learned through my involvement there and how it enriched my life makes me wonder where and how I can help my daughter have some of this kind of experience.

I hope to post a picture of the Spanish serving girl (a well-dressed serving girl), and maybe her brother the soldier in a few weeks.

Blessed are the peacemakers

2010-11-06T21:23:00.000-04:00

"Yes! You're both MY friends, and you're BOTH invited to My birthday party, and it's going to be a PRINCESS party!"

- quote from a little peacemaker, age 5

I'm pondering how to best be a peacemaker when my friends are in conflict. I'm not a natural at it.

Right now is a good time to ponder this, because right now I am NOT in the middle of such a conflict. But one could pop up anytime, being sinners like we are. And being a cowardly-type sinner, I am loathe to help out. I just want to duck out of the way and wait until it's over. Actually, I just don't want it to happen. But if it does, I want to be NOT involved. Can't we all just get along?

A few weeks ago, 2 little BFFs had a conflict at church; the kind that is important to little girls. The kind that ended with two little pouty friends saying to me, "She's not my friend anymore, and she's not invited to my birthday party," and "Well, she's not my friend anymore either, and she's not invited to MY party either." {DISCLAIMER: It was two little bitty girls; not Earthgirl}

Sigh. Even with little girls, I'd rather back away. But I waded in, pulled them to me, and reminded them that they have been friends for a long time - as long as they can remember, which is maybe three years. I told them that it would be sad to say things like this to each other and hurt feelings when they were such good friends.

And then I looked at their sweet, sunny friend, who was looking on with interest and concern, and said something like, "Maybe since you are friends with them both you can help them get along." She agreed with me, put her arms around both waists, and sang out the joyous promise above. What delight greeted her! Princesses were discussed, smiles beamed, and invitations by all three to all three were exchanged.

I was astonished. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God. (Matt. 5:9) I know a little girl I call daughter of God.

I wish it could be just that easy, but with adults it's always complicated. Or is it? Always? How often have I missed a chance to be the peacemaker because I feared that it was complicated? How often have I feared they might both turn on me? Maybe sometimes I could just wade in, get in the middle and be sweet, and maybe, just maybe, discover that they want to be friends more than they want to nurse their hurt feelings.

But the wisdomfrom above is firstpure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James 3:17-18

Contented

2010-10-30T14:04:00.000-04:00

But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.

I Timothy 6:5-7

This post on Ten Reasons for Contentment is so rich. Read the comments, too - they are also rich.

Scaredy Cats

2010-10-29T10:29:00.000-04:00

Come see the scaredy cats and other spooky-eyed critters at the Sm'Arties blog.

While I am working on a real post...

2010-10-26T08:22:00.000-04:00

...I want to share a link. I have a beautimous* picture as wallpaper on my desktop, shared from a blog of someone 'way more artistic and creative than I, and generous, too! I love having the little handdrawn calendar in the corner. Can I stand to let it go next week to switch to her November desktop? For some reason, I cannot link to single posts on her blog. The October 17 and 18 posts are the ones, but her whole blog delights me. Check it out!

Gennine's Art Blog

* Yes, beautimous is a real word. My Daddy said so.

Going on more Picniks

2010-10-19T21:41:00.001-04:00

Are you tired of reading about picnik yet?

Yes, I know picnic is spelled without that "k," but our picnics are Picniks! I love using picnik to edit pictures.

Now Earthgirl is using Picnik, too. She edited many of her own birthday party pictures, and had a ball.

Vignette and text

Text and border

Neon

Pencil sketch, color added back in

Ideas for using Picnik in the classroom.

Printables!

2010-10-08T08:39:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday!

FreePrintable.net offers a load of business and personal printables, from timesheets and invoices to family trees and recipe cards, to mazes and play money. I wish I had seen this printable Western Bookmark last summer during our Western theme Vacation Bible School. The paper section alone is just cool - music paper, penmanship paper, knitting graph paper, Yahtzee scorecards... Did you know there was polar graph paper?

I have noted this graph paper generator before. Stop me before I start generating graph paper again!

Do you have a source for cool printables?

Picnik, and borrowing reading glasses.

2010-09-27T22:23:00.000-04:00

I spent a lot of time last week at picnik.com, the photo-editing site I love to visit. It takes time for me, because I have so overloaded this poor old computer, that it must stop and take a breather now and then.

At Mini-co-op (still in search of a better name) last week, Mom Keisuzi thought I had hand-painted my reading glasses. She thought I looked like a real art teacher.

Nope, they came this way from Dollar Tree. I own about $8-worth of reading glasses, most of them plain. I used to own some with flowers painted on them (also from Dollar tree), and one day my favorite Sunday School teacher (the one I married) arrived at Sunday School with no reading glasses and no large-print Bible. He borrowed mine, much to the merriment of the class.

I worked 3 tax seasons at H&R Block, evenings, part time. (loved it!) It was not unusual for a customer to go through their whole tax return input with me, then at the end be unable to read their copy - "forgot my glasses" - so I have lent my little skinny metal-frame pair to maybe 1-2 dozen customers. Ya' gotta see what you're signing, on penalty of law and all that, ya' know.

I really like Picnik's 'blemish-fix' feature - you can't even see that I have healed-but-not-gone-yet fever blister right above my lip, can you?Just a little necessary improvement, or I won't post a picture.

Marble Math

2010-09-25T21:20:00.000-04:00

Todd Wilson, AKA The Familyman, shared Marble Math in a way that has stopped me in my tracks.

He has reminded me that every decision I make about how I use my time affects my family. Every wasted moment is gone. I cannot add much to what he says, except to say click on the link and read, then, if you are like me, think before wasting another moment.

Dream Job

2010-09-19T06:28:00.000-04:00

The other day, Earthgirl asked me what my dream job would be. Then she said, "I think I know.".

She was right.

I have my dream job. I'm a wife and homeschooling mama. I get to do some crafty artsy sewing-y things, and sometimes do a little technical work, self-employed. That's what I want to do. That's what I AM doing.

Sometimes, though, I forget that I am in my dream job. Sometimes I forget to thank God for my dream job, and for the husband and daughter who make it possible. Sometimes I act grumpy. I murmur and complain.

Mary Engelbreit did a piece of artwork years ago that has stuck with me. It says, "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." She attributes the quote to the very quotable Abraham Lincoln. The quote is double-edged, isn't it? There is the sunshiny, positive outlook of a woman who finds a way to take joy in whatever place she finds herself. Then there is the outlook that can grump even while living her own dream. I don't want to be viewpoint number 2 - I want to look around me and remember that I am in my dream job.

At her Birthday Pajama Party: Though she is 10 now, Mama can still pick her up

B4 and After

2010-09-12T15:54:00.000-04:00

I found this counter-height metal chair at a local church's yard sale. It was so sturdy and sat so well that I circled back around to it. I could so easily envision it in a bright shiny color, so I plunked down $5 for it and hauled it out to the minivan.

It's sitting in my newly-repainted laundry room, next to my newly-spray-painted rolling cart. The laundry room paint is a darker khaki color than it appears in the picture.

It said "Art Department" on the back in Magic Marker. I'd love to sit in it while creating art.

Now look at it! It was the favorite counter stool for Earthgirl and her friends at her birthday sleepover Friday night.

I might be...laboring on Labor Day

2010-09-06T22:01:00.000-04:00

We seem to have developed a tradition of laboring on Labor Day. Years ago, when we lived elsewhere, friends dropped by to see us on Labor Day, while they were out house-shopping. We had spent the day pulling muscadine vines out of trees, sawing overgrown limbs, trimming hedges, raking and mowing our 1/2-acre lot. They took one look at us and decided to narrow their search to houses with a postage-stamp sized yard.

Our last week was a bit disrupted by a flood in the laundry room.

I thought I'd have to buy a washer, the old one being maybe 10-12 years old, but Pluto Boy saved the day. He stayed home Friday so he could haul appliances if needed, but first he pulled the old one out to the driveway, hooked it to the hose, and tried to recreate the flood. As long as he was running water, I tossed in detergent and clothes (after all, who knew how long it would be before I'd have a working machine?), and we looked like the answer to, "You might be a redneck if...your laundry room floods, so you haul the warshin' machine out to the front yard, hook up the hose, and do your warsh as usual."

I have misplaced my camera (left it somewhere?), so I don't have a picture (Mama is probably relieved to hear that), though I'm sure it was an entertaining sight.

After 3 loads of laundry, we had no flood, so in went the machine, where it promptly flooded. PB, though, figured this one out - a hose had a split that only manifested itself when the hose was curved - YAY! Way less than $400 later, the floor is clean (6 moppings-worth of clean!) and dry, and so is all the laundry.

Well, as long as we had pulled both appliances away from the wall, it seemed like a good time to paint behind them. I have had paint for a while, just waiting for a good time. Since we were painting Earthgirl's room over the weekend, we even had brushes and rollers out.

So as long as I had already painted behind the appliances, we decided it was a good time to take the wire shelving down (and, of course, everything on the shelves) and paint the whole laundry room.

And as long as we were moving the little rolling cart out, it seemed like a good time to sweep it off and spray paint it - red!

And as long as we were painting the laundry room, it seemed like a good time to paint the base of the island in the kitchen the same color as the laundry room...

Now, mind you, the project of the Labor Day weekend was supposed to be ONLY Earthgirl's room.

Do you relax or labor on Labor Day?

She said go

2010-08-28T21:36:00.000-04:00

Amanda suggests (exhorts?) us to go to church. Yes, let's.

See ya' tomorrow. We'll be at the early service.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our ownassembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near

Hebrews 10:25

1st Day of school and Homeschool Hooky!

2010-08-26T10:31:00.000-04:00

Our local public schools got back in the swing of things Monday. We follow the public school schedule, more or less. In the past it has worked out well to be off when they are off - play days! - and on when they are on. But on the first day of school, we play hooky!

We have friends who like playing hooky, too.

Why do we play hooky? Just because we can!

So Tuesday was our first real day of school.

During our breaks, we often take time to pet our mascot.

We were hoping to avoid this...

2010-08-20T10:41:00.000-04:00

...but at least we are still smiling!

We'll see those pearly whites again in about 10 months.

Read the directions

2010-08-18T14:00:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago while we were in Orlando, we visited IKEA. Earthgirl and I had fun roaming among the IKEA-designed showrooms upstairs, and then grabbing office and kitchen goodies downstairs. We never have really spent as long as we want in IKEA. We've been twice to the store in Atlanta and twice to the one here in central Florida, but always there is a schedule to keep. It's probably just as well - I'd probably try to redo the whole house if I had more time.

We picked up 3-slot document organizers; one in steel for me, and one painted white for her. It seemed like a good tool project for her, so we grabbed screwdrivers and sat in the middle of the floor reading directions. I use the term, "reading" lightly, because the directions were all pictures. They made me think of Science Geek's recent post. I wonder if she can interpret this one?

This was such a simple project - 6 screws, screw them part-way in, then come back when all are in place and tighten. Great practice.

Here are the finished products.

Golden Week

2010-08-14T22:06:00.004-04:00

Make new friends but keep the old;

one is silver, the other gold.

We love living here. We are blessed with a comfortable house, a loving, happy, spiritual church, a supportive homeschool community, and less traffic than our everyday experience living in the Orlando area, and before that, the Atlanta area. We've been here six years now. It's silver.

Last week we spent some time with friends with whom we share a bit more history. Earthgirl and I went to our old church in the Orlando area, and spent a week with their Super Summer Singin' Funner music daycamp. I had a blast reconnecting with friends, many I've know for almost 20 years. Earthgirl endured grown-up after grown-up remembering her babyhood.

My old friends there are beyond special to me.

These friends surrounded us with love and support through YEARS of barrreness. These friends REJOICED when we learned we were expecting. Grown men cried with joy on our behalf. Then when we lost that first baby through miscarriage, these friends didn't just feel sorry for us; they MOURNED with us. They wrapped themselves around us and helped us carry a heavy burden of grief.

Then when we learned Earthgirl was coming, they rejoiced again, but like we did - carefully, praying every step of the way. And when she was born, they rejoiced and thanked God for His grace to us. Grown men cried. Again. And even now, they call her their Miracle Baby, born in the 15th year of our marriage, when we were both 40 years old. I hope will never forget the intense years we spent there, and how God gave us friends, just ordinary folks, who cared for us in an extraordinary way.

It's gold.

Proverbs 27: 10 tells us that "better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away." Our family was all a state or more away from us while we waited for Earthgirl. Our neighbors who were near stood in for them, and became our family.

Tying up Summer

2010-08-12T09:35:00.001-04:00

This has been the Summer of Tie Dye over here. I've posted 3 times about it on my Sm'Arties blog. Come over and see what we have been up to!

Greeting at Our Front Door

2010-07-31T20:15:00.000-04:00

Warning! Creepy crawly pictures follow.

Do you see her? She has chosen an unfortunate place to build her home. Each time we open and close the door, her home shakes. And when we open the door inward, she is hanging over our entry rug, which gives some of us the willies.

She's beautiful, and she made a pretty zipper for her home (see it, under her right front legs?), and we appreciate that she is grabbing bugs that want to crawl and fly in, but she simply cannot stay there.

I think she is Argiope aurantia. I understand these spiders are not particularly venomous to humans - they seldom bite, and their short fangs may not even pierce skin. Their venom is weak enough to not be a cause of concern. Mostly they just sit in their pretty webs waiting for a hapless bug to fly by. These are about the only spiders I can look at without getting the heebie-jeebies.

Our friendly front-door spider has been relocated.

right 7.0 left 4.75

2010-07-23T09:52:00.000-04:00

If the numbers above make sense to you, then you probably wear contact lenses, too.

Inspiration for this post comes from my friend Science Geek, a fellow lens-wearer.

I've worn contacts more than half my life. Now, as I grow further into my era of reading glasses (I own about $7-worth of glasses, all purchased at Dollar Tree. I also own $2-worth of sunglasses from the same source), I often wear contacts and glasses at the same time. Remember this picture? We are both wearing contact lenses.

This is the way Earthgirl often sees her parents looking at her. (Note - the sky looked just like that right out of the camera - isn't it lovely?)

I started wearing old-fashioned contact lenses in high school because glasses just bugged me. Let me tell you, you had to be dedicated to wear the original hard, non-gas-permeable contact lenses! PB switched to contacts in his mid-20's after his glasses got knocked off his face once too often in a basketball game.

Those old-fashioned hard lenses had one advantage over today's wonderful, gas-permeable, high-moisture lenses: you could pop one out and into your mouth for a quick rinse. Shhhh, don't tell the eye doc! He/She will tell you all about eye infections. I'm sure eye infections happen; I just never had one in 8 years of...well,...spit-polishing.

So, after reading SG's story, I got to thinking about contact lens-related mishaps. I've dropped lenses down drains and on the floor, but not as often as you might think. These absent-minded mistakes happen more often for me:

Polishing glasses while driving. Not a good idea. I am used to taking off my sunglasses for a quick shirt-polish on a straight-away, and tend to do the same thing absentmindedly when my contacts are out and I am wearing my glasses. This results in everything around me going BLUR. I replace them in a hurry, smears and all.

Putting both lenses in one eye. I am blinking, trying to focus my right eye, which is overcorrected, while trying to find the left lens that I think I have dropped. After 30+ YEARS of contact lens-wearing, I now know to try searching in my right eye for the left lens.

Putting the wrong lens in the wrong eye. I catch this one pretty quickly, since my right eye is way more blind than my left. I'm usually blinking my right eye, trying to focus better as I put in the left lens, then as I put in the left lens, everything starts swimming...whoa...that ain't right... PB's eyes are much closer to each other in nearsightedness, so he often runs around for awhile trying to blink a bit more clarity in before he tries switching the lens...there...that's the ticket...

Putting a lens in flipped inside out. Blink...ouch...blink...that ain't right...

All that said, I am SO thankful to live in this day when my vision can be corrected to near-20-20. Sometimes I think about what my life would have been like if I had lived a few hundred years ago. My world would have been limited to the things very close to me. My household would have to be well-organized and simple. I could still hand-sew, if I carefully placed my needle where I could find it. I would have trouble recognizing friends until they were close. I would wear a permanent squint, though I'd not see it if I glanced at a mirror. I might have many more headaches than I have now. Though I appreciate and even feel nostalgia for the olden days, I think God for all He has given us NOW.

Summer holiday weekend

2010-07-07T20:32:00.000-04:00

It doesn't get any better than this!

What they are reading

2010-07-02T06:49:00.000-04:00

Earlier this month I helped during our homeschool group's standardized testing. (Here in Florida, standardized testing is not required for homeschoolers, but is one option to meet our state's requirement to evaluate our students. This was Earthgirl's first time going through the testing process.) Seventy-five 4th-12th graders took the CAT tests in our room.

Our test coordinator encouraged the students to bring something to read in case they finished a test section before the time limit. Almost all the students finished every section with time to spare. I peeked over shoulders to observe what they were reading during my walk-around. Here are a few titles:

Bloomability
Twilight - New Moon
Twilight - a different one, I didn't see the name
Chicken Soup for the Soul
The Tale of Despereaux
Blink of an Eye
National Geographic Magazine
Treasure Island
Spiked
Only You Can Be You
Personal Journal - art and words
Dragonspell
Nancy Drew (2)
Banner in the Sky
Graphic novel, wordless cover featuring a teen girl with big, sad-looking eyes
Lord of the Rings

I was surprised that only one or two teens texted when they finished their test sections. Along with reading, some drew (Earthgirl was fascinated with artwork being drawn by a highschool boy at her table), some wrote, some decorated their namecards, and one quietly made paper airplanes, which, of course, went flying during each break.

All Wrapped Up - the results

2010-06-28T13:21:00.000-04:00

I'm happy with my wrap skirt results. The skirt turned out a bit dressier than I envisioned. Next I think I will do a simple A-line reversible wrap that will be the skirt equivalent to a pair of khaki capris.

The brown side has just a little strip of contrast fabric showing

The tan side has a whole edging of brown, partially to make it longer. I think the tan fabric may have been 44" wide, while the brown fabric was 45" wide. I like the way the tan fabric has 5 different blues/greens/blue-greens, since I have about half a dozen blue-green summer shirts, and maybe 3 winter ones, too.

A few things I learned along the way:

When you lay out a half-circle wrap skirt, you are limited in length because of accommodating the larger wrap-over waist. I'd like the skirt to be about 2 inches longer, though it is OK. I tend to prefer really long skirts - several inches below my knees, or about an inch below the scar on my left shin.

The skirt could have been longer if I had used less overwrap at the waistline. Since the skirt is half-circular, you have much more overlap at the bottom than the top. Mine laps over 12" at top, which translates to 28" at the bottom. I could have cut for a 10-inch overlap and still been OK.

I had a crisis of confidence in my interpretation of the directions, so I whipped up a little skirt for Samantha as a "muslin." It really helped me figure out what I needed to do without cutting into a big piece of fabric. Of course, now Earthgirl wants one, too.

I must say I am happy with how it turned out. Samantha is stylish.

I had to use really long ties to wrap the skirt either way, then tie on the side. (If you wrapped it to the back, then tied in middle front this would not be an issue.) When I do an A-line, I think I will use 2 buttons to close the skirt.

Why a reversible? Why a wrap? I wanted something cool and easy for summer, easy to toss on and modest. I did not want to need a slip, therefore, 2 layers of fabric. And as long as I was lining the skirt, why not take it a step further and make the lining a whole 'nother skirt?

I'd like to give credit where credit is due, but don't recall where I saw this flower idea. A fabric flower brooch is not really my style, but it is a nice cover-up for a Reebok logo. It took a strip of scrap fabric, 3 buttons, and about 7 minutes to whip together. I pinned it on with a big safety pin.

All wrapped up

2010-06-25T22:24:00.000-04:00

I am all wrapped up in trying to figure out a reversible wrap skirt. I'm using instructions for a half-circle wrap skirt from Sew What! Skirts book, but am making it a reversible skirt. Lots to think through...I've got it pretty well completed except for a binding at the bottom to attach the 2 skirts together. I plan to cut bias strips of fabric 1, that will fit over both fabric 1 and fabric 2. Maybe I won't start chopping the remainder of my fabric after 10 p.m.

Quick note on errata for the Sew What! Skirts book: If you have or borrow this book, and the instructions for the 1/2-circle wrap say to divide the waist measurement by 6, it is wrong - you divide by 3 (approximating pi). Later versions of the book correct this, I understand. I found the corrections from helpful on-line sewists.

Hey! I just realized why many persons who sew refer to themselves as "sewists" rather than "sewers."

I also just realized that this skirt, laid out on the carpet, looks a lot like my Christmas tree skirt, only in blue/green/brown calico.

Other DIY wrap skirt patterns and tutorials:

Whatshedidtoday

The Versatile Wrap from Make it Perfect

Graceful Elements

Happy Hearts at Home

--and this seemingly (seamingly?) impossible one:

The Domesticated Skirt from Sew a Straight Line

And now just for fun, go to this 2008 post from Posy Gets Cozy and read all the way, including the comments. You'll laugh! Her next newer post after this one had wrap skirts, and I found it helpful. It tells me I need to let my skirt hang overnight before joining the 2 halves at the hemline. Don't know if I can stand to wait.

I might be crafty...

2010-06-17T21:51:00.001-04:00

Kimbo over at A Girl And A Glue Gun posted a fun little list titled, "You might be crafty if..." Loved the list. I relate. I qualified under many of her items, though I am more prone to sewing than glue gunning.

Remember the 17 projects? I also still have red paint smudged on the front door from spraypainting the metal chairs.

To her list I might add this one:

You might be crafty if...

You VOLUNTEER to teach crafts at your daughter's Gymnastics camp in an un-air-conditioned gym in June in central FLORIDA during a week of record-setting high temperatures.

Excuse me - I have to go get the rest of my tie-dye supplies ready, and check on the labels soaking off the recycled glass jars, then run to JoAnn's for more Mod Podge.

Do you want to see "real"? Here is my dining room table, sporting 2 sewing projects, a scrapbooking for a friend project, and the aforementioned Gym camp crafts supplies.

Made for the Shade Revisited

2010-06-10T09:16:00.000-04:00

Earthgirl has learned how to make a picture Black & white, then color back in portions.

Empty schedule

2010-06-08T10:17:00.000-04:00

Ah, the joys of a blank day on the calendar!

Made for the Shade

2010-06-02T06:27:00.003-04:00

Red smudges decorate our white door. I cannot blame anyone but me - those fingerprints match...me. And the evidence mounts: my feet wear a misting of red paint, the spray paint can - and the poor, outmatched paint thinner can are in my laundry room. And in the garage, progress is being made toward a fresh seat in the shade for this summer.

Happy summertime, y'all.

Sepia-Toned Ephesian Journal

2010-05-30T06:58:00.002-04:00

This year I am reading Ephesians.

I know, it can be read easily in one sitting. And I have read it in one sitting.

But I am letting it sink in deeper, memorizing some of it (maybe all by December 31, but I am not requiring that of myself.) I am writing down sections in a special art journal. Each page may have a passage, or maybe just a few words, like the page that says, "MADE ALIVE IN CHRIST - it is by grace you have been saved -", or the page that says, "brought near." Other pages might have whole passages, like the one that says,"Therefore, laying aside all falsehood speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. (4:26-28)"

Putting these words in my handwriting, sometimes in all caps, sometimes cursive, sometimes calligraphy, helps me remember them. I'm a visual learner, and I picture where the info is on a page; especially if I have written it myself. (I can still squint my eyes and see certain pages from my high school Biology notebook, mid 1970's.)

This is an exercise in art, too - a bit of an art journal. I've kept it in mostly brown and golden tones. I've vacillated between calling it tea-stained or sepia-tone. One of my stamp pads is cordovan-color. I really like that one.

Some of the pages are just words; others have a little picture or a stamped border.

This little angel is my rendition of the little statuette that sits on my desk, a gift from our Sunday School class a couple of years ago, she is signing "love."

Some pages I've made tea-stained or coffee-stained. (no cream:)

Sometimes I pre-decorate the pages; other times I write, then decorate. Some pages are just plain words.

Some of the pages I like better than others.

So far, I have not decided what to do with the cover. I may adhere some pretty cloth.

It's all part of letting the Word of Christ richly dwell among me (Col. 3:16). And you.

What Was I Afraid of?

2010-05-28T15:56:00.001-04:00

I used to long to know more about art supplies. I wanted to try out real art supplies. I wondered what "pastels" were. I wondered what it would feel like to paint on real canvas.

I would look over furtively from the "craft" side of an arts and crafts store, to try to see what was in the "art" side. All those tools - what was their purpose? All those colors. All that paper...

After learning a bit of decorative painting in a class at age 15, I was able to walk boldly to the paint section, confidently picking out tubes of acrylics and oil paint, but those pastels still intimidated me. I felt sure the real artists who worked there just knew I didn't really belong.

What was I afraid of? Snooty art store staff? Didn't I know that they are in business to sell me those pastels?

After attending my first Creative Memories scrapbooking class (more than a decade ago!), I grew bold about acid-free pens and paper. Hurray! Another section of the arts store conquered.

Now, just now, as a middle-aged homeschooling Mama, I am finally losing my fear of art supplies and embracing the lay artist I could be. What has opened up the world of art for me? Homeschooling!

I've actually ventured into the art section of our library, as though I was...an artist. Here are a couple of things I found there: The Decorated Page, by Gwen Diehn, and Altered Books, Collaborative Journals, and Other Adventures in Bookmaking, by Holly Harrison.

Now I'm working on an art journal. Here is some coffee-staining in progress. More next time.

I checked out I Draw, I Paint: Colored Pencils, by Isidro Sanchez; and Earthgirl, that intrepid child artist, took it to her desk and went to work. Look at those cat eyes!

Evidently she has no fear of art supplies.

By the way, I have some oil pastels now.

a 'way too quick visit at the Peapod

2010-05-25T09:37:00.000-04:00

Earthgirl has been friends with Tally and Tissy for about 5 years now. In fact, they are 2 of her "8 best friends." When they moved so far away from here, we feared that the friendship might fade away. I remember goodbye tears. If I dwell on it too long, I'll have some goodbye tears right now. We are thrilled that the friendship has continued to blossom, even at a great distance.

2006

This year Tally and Tissy gained 2 new brothers. Now Earthgirl has 2 new friends. Last week we got to stop in for an afternoon at the Peapod, and got to meet the boys.

We love them, of course. What blessings!

Tate even played tractors with Mr. Pluto Boy

Did not notice that sippy cup when I took the picture. I was lovin' those smiles.

Notice anything funny in this picture? Look closely...

Is Ty trying to snitch a cracker?

The Bad News and the Good News

2010-05-19T07:06:00.001-04:00

My iGoogle homepage has, among other news and weather gadgets, two "Bible Verse of the Day" gadgets - one in King James Version, and one in New International Version. This morning it had these 2 verses up:

Genesis 2:17 KJV

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Ephesians 1:7 NIV

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.

Kind of sums up the gospel, don't you think?

a page from my Sepia-tone Ephesian journal

Ephesians 4: 3-1

2010-05-12T07:47:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it can be hard to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

It takes a lot of humility and gentleness.

Just when you want to lash out, you have to show forbearance in love.

But that is what it takes to walk in a manner of the calling with which we have been called.

- slightly paraphrased application of Ephesians 4: 1-3, backwards.

I appreciate all my friends and family who show forbearance to me, who treat me with humility and gentleness.

Earthgirl has a little friend who is struggling with this, as children will. Actually, she is not struggling - she is being humble and gentle; she is showing forbearance in love toward a third friend who is not always sweet to her. (note: Earthgirl has no trouble with either of these girls) As adults looking on, we want to say, "Stand up for you! Write her off!" But I think she is choosing the better way. I'm praying for them, that this sweet girl will have a sweet impact on her friend, and on us all.

These are NOT the girls mentioned.

Trying things on

2010-05-10T21:56:00.000-04:00

Last week's visit to the nice home decor store (one of my SIL and Mama's favorites) held an extra bonus for me - their clearance table had remnants of some lovely fabric that cost almost nothing. Ummm hmmm, that is yummy to me.

When I have a piece of fabric bought without a particular project in mind, I have to try it on a few places. Do you try things on?

This brown print, uneven raw edges and all, was our tablecloth for 2 meals.

This scrap with tropical print, along with this small length of fringe, may find themselves in a pillow, maybe 10" x 22" with fringe on the ends?

And this is my favorite - a soft green/ gray-blue/ cream piece that may work well as a runner on my buffet. When the Sm'Arties came over, there it was, selvedges hanging out shamelessly. The flora and fauna are very Florida-looking, don't you think?

See the ferns and butterfly?

How about this shy lizard?

Can you spot the grasshopper?

Fun Saturday

2010-05-05T21:57:00.002-04:00

Loading up with my sis-in-law,

Stopping to chat with my (now retired) 3rd grade teacher and (not at all retired) gardener extraordinaire,

Eating a hotdog outside, (and discovering the ladies room in this establishment is decorated in "Elvis"),

Plant sale,

Home decor store, Lowe's, Sear's,

Baskin and Robbins,

Another nursery for blue ajeratum and a hanging basket full of bright pink,

An errand or 2,

Pick up Krispie Kremes to take home,

A visit with a friend in hospital - and seeing that she is doing much better (PTL!),

Stopping back by to pick up the lantanas left for us by gardener extraordinaire,

Cajun food with family,

Doughnuts for dessert,

Sigh...a really good Saturday.

Pretty good haul. See the Krispie Kreme bag hanging on the left?

Wait - who's that riding along?

It's Abby. She is such a good companion.

"Is it time for ice cream now?"

May Day

2010-05-02T09:57:00.001-04:00

Paper Piano

2010-04-29T15:16:00.000-04:00

Earthgirl just read a book with a little origami in it. So she grabbed a piece of paper and made a piano.

Pretty cool, huh?

The book: Ellie McDoodle, New Kid in School, by Ruth McNally Barshaw.

Q. How are taxes like a poem?

2010-04-15T08:54:00.001-04:00

A. Both happen in April!

Last April I posted about Gregory K.'s month-long celebration of childrens' poetry. (Coincidentally, I shared a little Haiku there) This year, he is at it again! Go visit his 30 Poets/30 Days. The poems are not just fun for children. My favorites so far: Praying Mantis, Dancing Fingers, Ch-ch-ch-check, Please,and Move Out.

Gregory K. introduced me (so to speak) to Miss Rumphius. Her Reverso challenge results just blow me away. I don't think I can make any sense upside down, but these poets do.

In memory of Romeo, the potted cat of the Haiku

Silver

2010-04-08T22:22:00.000-04:00

1985

1996

1998

2000

Later in 2000

2004

2010

Here's lookin' at you - right over the reading glasses!

One Pattern; Three Dresses (so far)

2010-04-07T07:25:00.001-04:00

Last year, Earthgirl wanted a short dress she could wear over leggings. We found Simplicity 3546, and made this dress.

March 2009

I learned a few lessons about the pattern from the first version. Earthgirl is slender, so I cut the pattern about a size 8-10 length with size 6-7 width. Even so, the dress is plenty wide, and the neckline is too low and wide. She must always wear a little cami under the mini-dress. Nevertheless, we love it. In fact, some of this fabric made it's way into her lapquilt stack.

Then we made a sleeveless version for Easter/Piano Recital. (It looks even better ironed. )

April 2009

This time we pulled the dress in even a little slimmer, and cut the neck higher. I also decided to line the whole dress, preventing a whole year of sighs and whines about wearing a slip. One problem I encountered was that making the neckline that small, with no opening, makes for a tight fit pulling the dress over her head. If I make this neckline again, I'll make a little slit in back to be fastened with a loop and button.

The other tricky part of using this fabric is placing the flowers nicely. The dress just looks better with a centered flower on front bodice. The back bodice does not look as nice. I'm glad I had cut it out first and noticed that fact. A year later, this dress still fits.

This year, I made the slit-neck version for Cousin's wedding/Easter/Piano Recital/maybe other Cousin's wedding, too (we are experiencing a rash of Earthgirl's grown-up cousins getting married. We love it!)

Easter 2010

If Earthgirl had a hat like her friend, she wouldn't squint :)

Earthgirl wanted non-gathered cap sleeves for this one, so I folded up the long-sleeve pattern piece. After fiddling with last year's big flowers, I did not want that kind of situation again, but it turned out this fabric presented the same problem - there are some big flowers on it that can look kind of funny if placed badly on the front bodice. I fiddled and wiggled pattern pieces to get the top bodice pieces to have mostly the smaller motifs.

I still want to make the version with longer ruffle-edge sleeves, maybe in winter colors next fall. This has been a fun pattern. It really gets the creative juices flowing for us. We are not the only ones - check out what Creative Chicks did with this pattern.

Spring Break!

2010-04-04T22:50:00.000-04:00

Hope you have had a blessed Easter.

We are...

2010-03-23T10:02:00.000-04:00

...~~Furiously~~ happily(!) sewing.

We hope by tomorrow Earthgirl will have a new dress to wear to a wedding, Easter, and all summer. Inspired by my creative frenzy, Earthgirl is drafting an spron pattern for Samantha and Nellie.

My Own Personal Blog Rules*

2010-03-20T07:42:00.001-04:00

* subject to change often as new ones occur to me.

As my first blogging anniversary passed by, I reflected on blogging, why and how I do it, what I like and don't like in my own blog. I though I would share a few of my own personal blog rules for my own personal blog.

My Own Personal Blog Rules*

1. I won't use our actual names or location. I realize that it might be easy enough to discover these, but I do not intend to just hand over that information.

2. I strive to be much more positive than negative in my posts. My blog is nicer than I am. (Side note - I try to be more positive than negative in comments I leave on other blogs, too.)

3. No "rants." I might rant a little in person, to my friends and family, but I usually regret it. Therefore, I avoid putting "rants" out there for all to see.

4. I strive to not embarrass family and friends with my words or pictures.

5. I strive not to embarrass myself by sharing all my faults. If you know me in person, you'll find out most of them pretty soon. If not, well, you still might figure out my faults. But I don't plan to announce them all.

6. Though I embrace the opportunity to encourage with scripture and talk of spiritual things, I avoid theological and political controversy and argument in this format. There are so many other places these issues can be addressed, and I'm not that good at it.

7. My goal is to post at least twice each week. Why? Because I lose interest in blogs that have posts widely spaced. That said, it is my blog, and I am not making it a ball and chain. Sometimes a week goes by...

8. I try to catch typos before I post, and, if warranted, edit after I post. I am not offended if a friend leaves me a little heads-up about a typo. Sometimes, though, the apparent poor grammar is just a Southernism - y'all OK with that? {Quick note - I just pulled this post to correct a typo I had not seen in the very first sentence, even though I had read and reread this post at least 8 times before posting.}

9. I vet my links sufficiently to feel reasonably certain they will not offend my friends. That said, I don't avoid links to big sites that will certainly have some objectionable content (e.g., news sites, Wikipedia or Amazon), but check out the info on the specific little item to which I link, trusting the reader to know that linking to, say, Little House on the Prairie on Amazon does not mean that I endorse every book Amazon sells.

My Own Personal Blog Style Guide**

** Also very much subject to change

1. I write about different topics that interest me, and about which I know something, in hopes that they will interest my friends, and bring new friends.

2. I keep my blog relatively simple and readable. I like a pretty background, fun sidebar goodies, etc., but sometimes I become frustrated trying to find a post in a "busy" blog. I also feel headachy trying to read light-color type on a dark-color background. I avoid blog templates that have swirlies under the text. Same reason - headachy.

3. I use pictures in most posts. I like to see pictures in other blogs, so I put them in mine. A picture is worth, you know, 1000...

4. I avoid using very many pictures. I mean, my daughter is cute and we love her, but I try to not make a post with 22 pictures of her in her newest dress. Unless, of course, I am doing some sort of tutorial for making this dress.

5. I mix decent writing with conversational writing - lots of dashes, (asides), and incomplete sentences...

6. I use plenty of links. My huge list of Bookmarks was one of the reasons Crispy encouraged me to blog. I am a resource resource.

7. Re: Links - I try to avoid saying "here, here, and here," but rather give an idea of what the link is: "This pattern and this cloth." (those are not real links; just color samples)

I wonder if some of you have your own set of Blog Rules and Blog Style?

RFD

2010-03-18T05:37:00.001-04:00

I'm mailing something to my brother and sister-in-law today. I am trying to remember what their address is. No, they didn't move. They live right on the farm where I grew up in the beautiful home they built a decade ago. Their mailbox is right where it has been.

Some of my brother's 2009 crop of peanuts

In recent years, my home county, along with many other places, has changed the addresses for most of their rural residents. Instead of using an RFD (Rural Free Delivery) address, such as "Route 4, Box 72" (not their real address), residents now have official number and road addresses, such as "1472 Maytown Road" (also not their real address.) This makes it easier for emergency vehicles to find a particular house. So many folks live on smaller roads, and even little field roads, and each road had to be named. Sometimes the road is named after the family who lives there; other times after original landowners. Sometimes the road is named by the community name, or where it travels to and from. As I travel up US 27 toward home, I pass by Benevolence-Pumpkin Road, one of my all-time favorite road names.

But I do not recall whether the Post Office prefers the current or former addressing system. Doesn't matter - it's a small enough place that whichever address I use, the letter will get to them. And, of course, if either of them or my Mama should see this blog post, I could get a phone call or e-mail.

About 15 years ago, when my grandmother was over 90 years old, her home county underwent this address-updating, and the house that was older than she was got a new address. She mailed out little letters to everyone in her address book, telling us all that though she had not moved, the Post Office informed her that she had a new address. She closed the letter with, "I am so glad they let me keep my name."

Feel Free to Not Comment

2010-03-15T20:51:00.001-04:00

There are no lurkers at my site. None. If you are reading this without commenting, you are not a lurker. You are simply not commenting on this particular post.

The word "lurker" just sounds so not-nice. If I am reading a site, I may not comment for a number of reasons - no time, my computer is slow today, not wanting to add a 45th comment that says, "Cute idea. Thanks for posting," need to get back to school...dishes...laundry....but I'm not stalking anyone. I'm not a Peeping Tom. I'm just not commenting right now.

You are welcome to read without commenting! You are not obligated to give me feedback. Now, doesn't that take the pressure off? I might ask your opinion, hoping for some feedback, but I will never beg lurkers to come forward and leave a comment. Why? Because there are no lurkers on my site! There are folks who read, some of whom comment in this format.

That said, I love comments. I love to know someone has read a post and feels like saying so. I have not had much of any problem with bad comments or spam, so I don't feel I have to add a "Type this word" feature (at least, not yet), and I allow anonymous commenting so that it is easy - you don't even have to log in to anything. In fact, my very own husband comments occasionally, using "Amonymous," though he does sign his comments "PB" for Pluto Boy. So, feel free to comment. And feel free to not comment.

Sewing Seeds

2010-03-13T22:07:00.001-05:00

In the past, Randi of i have to say has invited me (along with all of Blogdom) to join her in Sewing Seeds. I have wanted to, but it just did not work out before. but this time, I was able to jump in and sew a couple of skirts for little girls in Haiti. What a blessing to send these skirts with prayers for the little girls who will wear them. I think there will be future projects for Sewing Seeds, and hope others will participate.

The skirts are lying atop my quilt backing. The little lapquilt project took a backseat to this deadline.

I made the ruffled skirt using a tutorial from Sew Mama Sew, with slight modification to the waistband, and made the pink bunny skirt sort of without a pattern - or maybe with several patterns/tutorials in my head?)

The fabrics come from the stash of quilter's fabric I bought at an estate sale. The lady who had owned these fabrics before was active in a local quilters' group that makes and gives quilts to needy families. I think she would be happy that some of her fabric is going out to bless.

Book Review: The History of the Medieval World

2010-03-03T09:07:00.005-05:00

I did not enjoy writing and presenting book reviews as a student. Why would I jump at the chance to write a book review now? Because the book is Susan Wise Bauer’s The History of the Medieval World, a 700+ page second volume of what promises to be a full history of the whole world.

Peace Hill Press and Norton gave bloggers an opportunity to look at the book in advance of its release date, and I jumped. We have enjoyed Ms. Bauer’s Story of the World series for children as well as some of her books for adults. I love her writing style and could hardly wait to see this latest massive undertaking.

And massive it is. Nope, I have not read the whole thing, but I have read 10 or so chapters, all the chapter headings, and pages at random. I will begin with a bottom-line summary: I love it. I want to buy it and read it and keep it on my bookshelf and pull it out again and again.

Each of the 85 chapters contains in its title and subtitle a little history lesson. I learned just by perusing these headings. For example,

Chapter One

One Empire, Under God

Between 312 and 330, Constantine imposes his will on the Roman Empire and gives the Christian church a hand with doctrine

I knew a little about that. The chapter reads beautifully, and I learned much more than I ever knew. But how about this one?

Chapter Fifteen

Northern Ambitions

Between 420 and 464, the Liu Song displaces the Jin, the Bei Wei of the north brew magic potions, and the first state persecution of the Buddhists begins

Who persecuted the Buddhists? The Confucians? That’s what I guessed. But no!—the emperor was part of an oddball sect of Taoists. And the magic potions? Enlightenment and eternal youth, available in a cup.

The narratives are lively, and the maps are not overwhelming. I would like to have seen more illustrations. Each chapter ends with a timeline connecting its events with events of the previous chapter and elsewhere in the world.

Like most public and private schooled U.S. students of the last generation or so, I feel fairly comfortable with U.S. history, passingly familiar with a bit of European history, and woefully lacking in the whole rest of the world’s history. I’ve been learning along with my daughter. The History of the Medieval World will be part of my life-long education.

Disclosure: Peace Hill Press is entering each Blogger who posts a review a chance in a drawing for a $100 gift certificate for Peace Hill Press. They provided access to an advance galley for this review.

Hanging on to Innocence

2010-03-01T07:42:00.001-05:00

We don't live in the country; we live in a neighborhood. We don't shop in Mayberry; we shop at Publix and Walmart. We don't attend a church full of perfect Christians; we are part of a church full of recovering sin addicts (thanks, Pastor, for that perspective). Our Homeschool group is not full of parents and children who never make a mistake and who are all more righteous than we; it is full of all flavors of Christian Homeschoolers in all kinds of places along the road of their Christian walks.

But I want to hang on to my daughter's innocence. And I want to help her be strong against the wiles of sin. And I want her to minister, and yet not be influenced.

I realize more and more that to expect my little girl to stay a little girl until she is old enough, to expect her to grow up to live a pure life, is asking her, advising her, begging her to swim upstream.

This article from Focus on the Family, along with its companion articles, encourages me with good perspective.

so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world

Philippians 2:15

Fall 2009

Extra credit for identifying the location

Write Right

2010-02-25T07:44:00.001-05:00

26 Golden Rules for Writing Well cracked me up. Hope it makes you laugh, too.

I have misused every rule there at one time or another. Sometimes I edit, edit, edit, and still leave in a glaring typo or gram-o.

Cute little pin cushion

2010-02-24T07:30:00.001-05:00

Don't Look Now has a cute little finger pin cushion how-to. Here's mine.

Hmmm...looks like I could use some hand lotion

It matches my quilt (since I only needed 1 little 3 1/2" square, and I had an extra), and only took about 10 minutes to put together. I could have done it more quickly if I had not straightened up my sewing area last weekend and hidden my needle.

Lapquilt progress

2010-02-22T10:52:00.000-05:00

I am at Week 3, though Randi is working on Week 5.

6 strips down; 14 to go...

All the strips are done, and the top two strips are sewn together.

This is really a nice, easy quilt pattern. Earthgirl asked me, "Mama, how many quilts have you made before?", and I had to admit I have never made a whole quilt. I've made a little quilt hanging, which later became a chair back. I've made quilt-top pillows, and I've worked on portions of quilts with my Mama, including a little hand-quilting with ladies from the community, but I have never made a whole quilt. This is just a lapquilt, approximately 50" x 60", but is is a real quilt. Very exciting for a crafty geek.

Filter out a few good ideas

2010-02-18T17:11:00.003-05:00

This treasure trove of ideas comes from an email forwarded from my good friend. I thought they were too good not to share. Just this morning I took a few coffee filters and the trusty ol' Windex and took care of the front door and part of the sliding glass door (the part the kitty paws repeatedly to say, "Here I am! Let me in!" Since I still have about 100 left over from a now-defunct coffeepot, I have plenty of opportunity to try out some of these ideas.

Pretty good suggestions!

Better than paper towels and a lot less expensive...

Coffee filters .... Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing even the large ones.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.

2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome... Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.
3.  Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.
4.  Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
5.  Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
6.  Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter

7. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.

8. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.

9. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.

10. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.
11. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters.
12. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease..
13. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."
14.   As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.
15. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.
16. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.
17. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.
18. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.
19.  Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.
20.  Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.
21. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.
22. Use them to sprout seeds. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.
23. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book...

24. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.

Reflecting on a Blogging Year

2010-02-11T15:33:00.000-05:00

When I first set out to blog, it was not without trepidation. I think most people are a little uncomfortable putting themselves out there, and when you publish a public weblog, you are OUT THERE. But I enjoyed reading others' blogs, and felt like I had a few words to contribute. My friend Crispy encouraged me to blog - she actually said something about it in her blog! But what would my blog, my very own place, look like?

I imagined what kind of conversations I might have with a friend. (Since I knew it was possible that the only 2 readers might be my reallife friends Crispy and Science Geek, it seemed reasonable). What would I tell a friend? I'd show her a few recent pictures, and maybe I would talk about what we are doing in our homeschool. Maybe we'd share a new recipe or talk about what we are reading. I'd say, "Oooo, I found this cool website..." Or maybe she'd tell me about some cool book or craft, and I would say, "I've got to tell _____ about that." Maybe we'd encourage each other with scripture. Perhaps I would pull out my latest sewing project. Maybe I would tell her a little about the place where I grew up.

If we were in a public place, this friend and I, say, a homeschool get-together, among our children, near the husbands, in the foyer at the Library, how would I talk? Would I want my husband to reveal my secrets or gripe about me with his friends? Would my daughter want me to reveal her struggles or to embarrass her in front of our friends? No. I don't want this PUBLIC conversation to be a place that worries my family, a place where they fear I will embarrass them. I will protect my family's dignity.

Every post on this blog is one my daughter, now 9, may read. Not all the posts are interesting to her (not like my Sm'Arties blog, which is all about children and art, and fun for her with lots of pictures of her with her friends), but all the posts are rated G. I will not use language I don't want my daughter to hear, words that might offend, talk of adult-type topics. I will protect her innocence, and your child's, too.

My guiding scripture, a snippet of which is in my blog title, continues to inform me as to how I write. This will not be the place I whine or gripe or behave unbecomingly. Often in the here and now, I might slip up, and say things I regret. But here, I have opportunity to read, reread, and rewrite posts before I publish them. I take that opportunity. I will protect your eyes, dear reader friend, from unwholesome talk.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

Now a whole year of blogging has gone by, and I have enjoyed it. I hope you readers have enjoyed it, too. If so. I'd love to hear from you. Come, be part of my conversation.