One of my favorite things about summer is being able to go sans footwear. When the weather is warm enough, I don’t even bother putting on socks until I’m getting ready to go out. When I do go out if I’m in an area where there is soft grass or sand (the beach) to walk on I’ll likely kick off my shoes and do some grounding or earthing.
It was a blessing this year that our warm weather lingered well into fall, but now that it has turned more toward winter going barefoot is no longer an option. When my feet are cold, my whole body is cold.
A couple weeks ago I took my crocheted slippers, that I’ve been wearing for the past two years, out of the closet and began wearing them. The holes that had begun forming in the bottom of each were growing a bit bigger every day and I knew it was time for some new slippers.
Last week I came across this free pattern for slipper socks and went to my sewing room in search of fabric. I found about a yard of a plush fleece, that was left over from the sweater dress I made last year, that was enough to make both the lining and the outside of the slippers.
It took but a few hours to make these slippers socks. (Below are the results.) I am thankful to have them to keep my feet toasty warm until the warm weather returns.
I think I will go through some more of my fabric stash, as I’m certain I have enough pieces to make another pair or two.
In early October my daughter sent me this message “Hey mom, I’m trying to be a bat for Halloween, but I also like the idea of having something I can wear for more than one day and I came across this shawl. What are the odds you (or I) could make something like this by late October? Just curious. Thanks!”This was what she wanted me to create.
I chuckled thinking “No way!” (First of all I don’t knit. Second it would take me way longer than a month to make something like that.) Then I smiled thinking that she must think I am some kind of ‘super woman’. LOL!
I then went online to see what I could find that might work for her. My reply to her was “That’s not much time for a crocheted shawl. The sewing pattern shirt (linked) below could be done easily. The crocheted pattern (linked) below I could do but probably not in time. Check out the links below. ” I had found this sewing pattern and this crochet pattern.
When we talked, we decided I would sew the batwing shirt for her. It was a very simple pattern and reading the tutorial that I linked above made it even easier. Here’s how it turned out.
Hello and welcome. August is upon us and I feel like I’ve been MIA (blogging action at least) for a while. It has been longer than I like to go between posts so I’m going share a hodge-podge of things that have been keeping us busy.
Dog Tails
Ruby has been with us for nearly two months now and we are all happy she’s here. When I first introduced you to Ruby I had mentioned a few things that she needed to learn. She has proven to be a quick learner. She no longer tries to get in bed with us at night and rarely puts her paws up on our chests. She is doing well with knowing that she can shoo the chickens out of the barn or off a chair, but she does not chase them for fun. The chickens are no longer afraid of her. To them she is just part of the farm family.
When we adopted Ruby from the shelter we were told that she had not been well socialized and took a while to warm up to people. While at times this may be the case, she had no problem socializing with people and other dogs when we had a family picnic at the farm.
Ruby swimming with the family.
Ruby always eager to play fetch.
Ruby playing chase with Captain and Misty.
Ruby waiting for Kara to throw the frisbee.
It took a few weeks for Ranger and Ruby to bond. At first Ranger seemed to think of Ruby as an intruder, especially when he would be getting attention from my husband or me and she would push her way in or when she would curl up on my lap as I was kicked back in my recliner (he was used to having the choice of my lap or my husbands.) But it wasn’t just our attention that Ruby sought. She worked hard to get Ranger to be her friend.
Often modeling his behavior or initiating play sessions.
She just doesn’t understand the concept of hunting.
Nowadays Ruby and Ranger spend a lot of time ruffhousing or wrestling.
Ruffhousing
Sometimes it can look and sound like they are being mean to each other, but they are just playing and having fun. They really have become good friends.
Besides ruffhousing with Ranger, Ruby’s other activity of choice is playing fetch. A ball, a frisbee, a stick – if we throw it Ruby will fetch it and bring it back to be thrown again. She is definitely a retriever.
My husband often comes home with a sore arm from throwing the ball so many times, but Ruby’s not done, after she eats, she will go get a ball and bring it to me or my husband, wanting to resume the game that was started at the farm.
Incidentally, she has also learned not to chew up her toys. In the first several weeks she chewed up several balls and other toys. Each time she would chew a hole in something we would throw it away as we didn’t want her swallowing plastic or whatever materials the toy was made out of. We began monitoring her and telling her “no chew” or “be nice” when we saw her chewing up a toy and she has since stopped destroying her toys. We do still allow her to chew up sticks.
Making Curtains
Last week, our hottest week so far this year, was a good time for me to have an inside project to work on, so when my husband suggested we needed new curtains for the kitchen and back bathroom I decided to make some. It was also perfect timing because my sister, K.C. was in town for a day, so we had lunch together then made a trip to the fabric store. 🙂
Below are the results of this project.
Kitchen curtains are opened most of the day.
But necessary to block the morning sun.
My husband and I agree – we Love the kitchen curtains! Even when they block the sun they still brighten the room.
The pattern on the bathroom curtains is honeybees and clover. 🙂
We also like the bathroom curtains just not as much as we love the kitchen curtains.
Chickens
It’s been a while since I have blogged about the chickens and quite honestly it hasn’t been our best year of raising chickens. In the spring we lost about half our flock to a fox or family of foxes. We can only assume that there was more than one because on one day we lost seven chickens in just a couple hour time frame. They were not killed on sight they were carried off by their predator(s). On a few other occasions we lost one at a time.
The fox was pretty bold. My husband yelled to chase it off a few times. It has been at least a month now since there has been any evidence of fox in the area, so think that perhaps it has raised its young and moved on.
These chickens are some of the chicks we bought this spring. Out of the 12 chicks we started with this spring we still have six of them – two black and four white. It’s too early to tell, but we suspect one of the white ones might be a rooster since it’s comb and wattles are far more developed than the rest of them. We expect the hens to start laying in August.
Garden Stuff
The gardens continue to do well. Having everything mulched heavily with straw has worked so well. Not only has it kept weeds well under control it helps the soil retain moisture making it available for the plants.
Our squash and pumpkins were planted late but they are doing well.
They are beginning to blossom and form fruit.
Melons and cucumbers were also planted late but are blossoming and forming fruit as well. We did pick our first cucumbers this week and I plan on making pickles soon.
Look at the little watermelon. So cute!
Cabbage is looking good – I’ll be making sauerkraut this year.
We’ve started picking tomatoes. I’ll probably have enough to start canning next week.
Stuffed peppers are on the upcoming menu. We have been including garden produce in our meals each day. Perhaps I’ll share some of these dishes in future posts.
So far this is the only sunflower to blossom since the deer ate the tops off of most of the plants. It is a beauty though.
Thanks for visiting. Watch for future posts on how we are eating and preserving our harvest.
It seems like each time I get together with all of my daughters they will begin reminiscing about their childhood(s). Fun or funny things that happened, favorite teachers, holidays with family, and many more topics have all been discussed as fond memories.
I am first struck by the fact that my little girls are now grown women reminiscing about childhood. (Where did the time go?) I am then delighted and most of all grateful that they have so many fond memories, and that they have each other to share them with.
Last Sunday when we had a (pre) Easter family dinner. I made a special treat knowing it would evoke memories for the girls.
Jell-O Pinwheels (click for recipe) they are a fun and yummy treat.
When the girls were in grade school it was common practice for each student to bring a special treat to share with the class on their birthday. (I’m not sure if this is done nowadays.) It was important to send a few extras so the student could take them to the office to share them with anyone working in the office that day, or perhaps take one to the counselor or another teacher that they were fond of. I always liked to send a homemade treat – cookies, cupcakes or brownies. At some point I began making Jell-O pinwheels for them to take. Apparently they were a big hit, because when I pulled them out of the refrigerator on Sunday the girls immediately began sharing memories of when I made them for their birthday treat. 🙂
Twenty-some years ago, when I was making those simple Jell-O pinwheels, I never realized that I was also creating memories that would last a lifetime.
What’s your favorite way to eat Jell-O? Do you have a Jell-O recipe you’d like to share?
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We sure did!
Before we move into the new year let’s take a look back at what kept me busy throughout the month of December.
You may remember this post back in October back in when my daughter, Lindell, saw me wearing one of the shirts, a hoodie, that I had made and decided I should make one for her. I told her “Christmas is coming”. Then when I asked my other daughters, they all decided they would like one. Each of the girls told me what color they would like, except Tina, who said “anything but pink”. Before I went fabric shopping, I decided to give them the option of having me make them a cardigan instead of the hoodie. Kara was the only one who took me up on this offer.
I also asked Tina what I should make for Jackson and Addie and she gave me some ideas.
It was toward the end of October, when I had my materials list ready, that I grabbed my sister and dragged her to the fabric store. LOL! Just kidding. If you know my sister, you’ll know she was more than happy to go to the fabric store with me. It’s one of our favorite places to spend time together.
I will say that I took some creative liberties with choosing fabrics for the girls. I didn’t want to make shirts that were just one solid color; I wanted to design one-of-a-kind garments that I thought would suit their individual style(s).
Hanna’s color choice was black, so I selected the snakeskin fabric then trimmed it in solid black.
Lindell asked for this army green, so I selected this tied dye green and white for trim.
I chose this blue print for Tina and the solid blue trim is actually sprinkled with glitter.
This shimmery stretch corduroy for Kara’s cardigan was so beautiful that I decided to use it for the entire garment.
Making these garments for the girls went pretty smoothly since I had previously made the hoodie pattern three times for myself, and I had made the cardigan pattern once before.
Then it was time to learn something new. The patterns that I selected for Jackson and Addie were both new to me and both posed some new challenges. While all of the garments were made with TLP (Tender Love and Prayer) there was probably more prayer that went into these.
For Addie, who loves to dress up, I made this dress with color blocked sleeves and a double layer skirt.
For Jackson I made this dragon hoodie.
I was so excited when Christmas finally arrived, and I could give the girls their gifts. Kara and Lindell had both told me that they were excited about getting them.
Christmas was a wonderful day – the house was filled with life, laughter and love (and food). After brunch (breakfast food for lunch) we opened gifts.
Below are a few pictures of everyone modeling my handiwork.
Beautiful Addie!
I was thrilled to see that Addie’s dress was a perfect fit. Actually, I was amazed as I watched each recipient open their gift and slip it on, that they all seemed to fit just right – answered prayers.
Jackson showing off his dragon wings.
After seeing Jackson’s dragon hoodie my daughters asked when I was going to make them each one. HaHa!
The sister picture. (Ranger photo bombed this one. LOL!)
Each time I get together with all four daughters I try to get a sister picture with the four of them together. It doesn’t happen very often nowadays. The last time we were all together was over a year ago.
Here’s a challenge for readers who don’t know our family personally: can you put the girls in order of age from left to right?
I also try to get a picture of me with the girls. This time around we were able to get Aunt Donna, my mom’s sister, in the picture and my granddaughter Addie. Four generations.
My husband doesn’t mind me saying that he is not a very good photographer. He needs to work on focusing and staging because while I wanted this picture to highlight their new Christmas clothes, I can’t help looking at those feet. LOL.
In the meantime, at least I can edit/crop the pictures to change the focus – the beauty in digital photography. No more crazy feet.
Well maybe one more look. LOL!
Thanks for visiting.
As 2021 comes to an end, we wish you a Happy New Year and a blessed year ahead. May God’s light guide your way in 2022.
Don't Eat It! Soap and Skin Care 