Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Today may be the first official day of summer, but Carlie has been out of school for a few weeks now.  Some of your favorite memories so far:

*Trip to the local historical reenactment town - Crossroads Village - getting to ride on the old train.  (kids were thrilled to finally ride, as it comes thru our town a few times a day and we hear it all summer long)


*Sitting in the shade under our maple trees making garden stepping stones on a hot day.  We'll be doing this again soon.

*Adoring my daughter missing her 2 front teeth up top!  Precious.


*Scavenger hunt!  The kids were up early last week and wanted to play... we came up with a hunt for them to do around the yard.  Hunted for feathers, flowers, bugs, and sticks taller than they are!  I'm planning another scavenger hunt morning already.  :)

*Realizing the bushy tree-thing in the middle of the yard is a mulberry bush!  We've been here 3 years and it was just a scrawny little stick when we moved in.  I think this is the first year it had much fruit.  Yum!

*Watching our dog, Truman, herd the chickens.  He's always been good with the girls, but we didn't know he had this particularly useful skill.  If he thinks they're wandering too far, he'll round them up and chase them to the coop.  So fun to watch!

*Having Bruce home for a few extra days.  He had a long weekend at home for Father's Day and it couldn't have been nicer.  He knocked some items off his list of house and yard work, played lots of games with the kiddos, we had some quiet time, cooked out, had s'mores, and went to a Ren Faire.  It was a full 4 days!

*Canning several batches of strawberry jam.  I love the rhythm of canning... and (bonus!) I have some Christmas gifts finished.  :)

*Watching my garden grow.

...Least favorite things of the summer...lots of migraines...Jack's horrendous allergies, doctor's orders that I am unable to go outside if it is very hot (90ish) because the heat and dehydration cause me to have contractions and lots of swelling (hoping for a cool summer!).

And just think, June isn't even over!  *sigh*  LOVE THIS.

Create

*I started the green rug last night and finished it today. 

I started on a new rag rug last night (and it would probably be finished now if I wasn't blogging).  :)  I love love love taking old fabrics and giving them new life.  I can never bring myself to throw away clothes with holes or stains...I know we won't wear them, no one will love them again if I give them to Goodwill or Salvation Army, but I cannot let them got to the dump and fill up a landfill.  Ick!  So, I save them.  Um... this sort of fabric stash starts to take over your closet, room, life... and your hubby starts to wonder why the closet is overflowing with bags of junky clothes nobody can wear and no longer believes you when you say, "I'm going to make something out of them... really!".  Yeah.  Until you throw everything in a spare corner in a barely used upstairs room and start making rag rugs.  :)

I made one for our kitchen first, then the bathroom.  Then I started making a few more.  Jack started asking why we needed more rugs.  :)  We don't.  I took them to a craft show (but it was 90 degrees out and nobody came) and put up pictures on facebook.  Two rugs sold in a 2 days on facebook!  Holy cow, I couldn't believe it.

I'm going to create things regardless.  I can't just sit here...I need to have my hands busy, to be making things.  I might be knitting a scarf (current obsession is cowls!), making a rug (to sell to support my crafting addiction), or sewing (because I recently fell in love with my sewing maching again).

We're creative beings...we're made in the image of the great Creator.  I like to repurpose old items and give them new life, purpose, and make them lovely again... that's not to far off what God does with us.  Through His amazing grace and mercy, He forgives us makes us new... getting rid of the old life and making us into something new.  And lovely.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Spring time love

What a productive Thursday!  I cleaned off the inside porch and scrubbed the floor.  It's enclosed and holds the washer/dryer, dog (when we aren't home), chest freezer and an assortment of junk.  After pitching the junk (bonus- it was garbage day!) and sweeping/vacuuming and scrubbing the floor with a combo of water, vinegar, and mint and eucalyptus oils the porch no longer smelled like dog!  Yay!  


I made 2 batches of jam, cleaned the kitchen and washed dishes approximately 7 times. I had time to sell 2 rag rugs to a friend and ooo-and-ahhhh over my new cloth diapers that arrived in the mail.  (seriously, they are the cutest things... one more reason I cannot wait for our darling little girl to be born)


The kids spent the day playing dress up...Carlie came up to me and said, "For Halloween, we should all dress up as princesses and princes and stuff."  She was wearing her green velvet renaissance princess dress (score!  $1 at Goodwill last year!).  And then she added, "But don't worry, you can just wear your hippie stuff and be a hippie queen."  hahaha... nice.... she knows me too well.