Harvest...Genesis 8:22

Brrrrr.

The mornings and evenings are starting to get chilly.

I enjoyed my sweater all day today.

I think it is safe to say that summer is over.

I'll miss it

I won't miss riding in my van with no air conditioning in 110 degree heat...but otherwise, I'll miss summer.

I canned some tomatoes on Sunday and I have a few more to put in the dehydrator. 

I don't think there will be many more this year as the frost has already nipped part of our valley.

Last week a patient brought me some gifts.  

Aren't they cute? Too bad they aren't toddler friendly. I'll have to find a place for them other than the dining room table where Goldilocks likes to play.

I do like pumpkins. They are pretty and practical. I found this one tonight.  

I'll enjoy its prettiness for a few weeks then I'll throw it in the oven and bake it. I bake my pumpkins whole.  I just take out the top rack in my oven and poke a few pumpkins with a fork a couple of times. I bake them at 350 for an hour or so until tender. When they are cool enough to handle I cut off the top and scoop out the seeds (season & bake for a treat) then cut and scoop the flesh. I use it right then or freeze for pumpkin soup any time of the year. Yummy and easy. My kind of baking. November 1 I'll start looking for them at a deep discount and spend a day baking pumpkins.

It is really not practical to keep a huge pumpkin on my table, though, so I was excited to see a picture on a local facebook site of a canning ring pumpkin. Cute. Fun. Easy. Cheap (free!). Toddler friendly.

After raiding my canning lid and ring drawer, I collected a few dozen rings.  I specifically looked for ones that were dented or a bit rusty. I chose to just use the golden colored ones and left the silver and white for another time.

A bit of scrap ribbon from the craft box and some cinnamon sticks from the cupboard and the pumpkins were complete.  G and Goldilocks LOVED helping gather up the rings and threading them on the ribbon.

The photos don't do them justice. I really like them and I'm thrilled at how easy and practical they are.  When the season is over they'll go right back in the drawer until next canning season...or until we make apple sauce in a few weeks.  The wonderful thing is that I won't care a bit if I have to take a pumpkin apart to use the rings and then put it back together a week later.  They were that quick and easy to do!

A time to sew...Ecclesiastes 3:7

Nothing new to add to the preservation report today! I started out the morning by having The Man drag some boxes* out of the garage. After riffling through them, I had several possibilities for the projects for the day. M had requested a case in which to carry his tiny Bible. Sacagawea desperately needed something new and summery to wear. I brought my heap of fabric inside and the kids chose their favorites.

Bible Case 1.0 is now completed.
Before it was even finished we had come up with many upgrades we wish to add, so M is going to use it for a few weeks then we'll make another with all the adjustments.
It was done by 11:00 a.m. and then I started on a skirt for Sacagawea. I used this pattern, which I had used a few years ago. After measuring Sacagawea, figuring out the piece dimensions, and cutting out the fabric, the rest went together pretty fast considering all the help I had. I did learn to turn off the sewing machine when I wasn't in direct control of the foot pedal. G found it too fascinating!

The skirt was completed just a bit ago and Sacagawea is currently twirling for M and the camera. G is joining her. He knows how much fun it is to spin oneself dizzy!

*Boxes full of supplies for "someday" when I have the time. I think I finally figured out that I'll never have more time than now!

Sorry this post is late getting up! The pictures were just uploaded this morning (7/14). Hope the pics were worth the wait!

Many books there is no end...Ecclesiastes 12:12

Books, books, books. Anyone that has been in our house knows that we have a lot of books, and that is an understatement. Last month we boxed up nine boxes of books and relocated them to the garage in anticipation of the new school books that had been ordered. Unfortunately, within a few days the empty space had been filled by books from other places around the house. Where were we going to put the new books?

Sew Crafty Friday to the rescue! We measured the other homemade shelves in the same room and figured what dimensions we would need to fit the best space we could come up with for new shelves. The kids and I went up to the big city and bought the lumber (not for the back, The Man said we had plenty of scraps in the shop for the back).

The Man and boys carefully cut, measured, and drilled last Sunday to get the shelves complete. On Monday M stained them (with my supervision). On Monday evening we brought them into the house and started loading them up with books!

Here are the new shelves that The Man and boys put together:


Here is the top:

Here is the bottom:
Once they are filled with books nobody will notice that the grain on the back is horizontal on one shelf and vertical on the other. But I'm NOT complaining. I'm just glad they are DONE and I can fill them. They are almost full already...

Sorry I've been MIA in the blogging realm. Too much to do, and not enough energy to do it all. I have two or three other posts started. I hope to have y'all caught up on our fairly non-eventful (HA!) lives before the baby comes. Speaking of the fair...it is coming up next week.

Oh, I did finally update this post with a picture of The Man's beard. Enjoy.

The flowers appear...Song of Solomon 2:12

We didn't do much crafting this week so I'm going to show the Valentines that the kids made last month. They used a lot of foam shapes and they did some cut-outs.

They traced heart-shaped cookie cutters (or some other shape) and cut them out.
Then they taped a flower seed packet ($0.10 at discount department stores) so the pretty flowers showed through.

That's it! The seeds can be planted by the recipient. They did something similar a few years ago for their grandmas for Mother's Day, and it could really be used for any type of greeting card.

Head over to Shereen's for more Sew Crafty Friday projects.

Ye shall find rest...Jeremiah 6:16

Wow! Three weeks since I've posted! I do have a lot to post about, just not enough time to post. If it wasn't for Shereen's Sew Crafty Friday, I probably wouldn't be posting now.

Here is a crocheted case I put together yesterday:

The younger kids don't have room in their violin cases for their shoulder rests, which means that they are often "lost" in the vehicle after music lessons. Friday morning practice sessions usually start off with renditions of "Oh, where is my shoulder rest?" In discussing this ongoing problem yesterday before lessons, it was decided that a little case to keep the shoulder rest in would be helpful.

I put this together out of some variegated blue yarn that we had.


Bottom: Chain 6, join, then sc 2 stitches in each stitch. I happened to use a sz. G hook for this project. Continue in this manner until the bottom is as big around as you need it. When the correct diameter is reached, simply sc in each stitch to build up the sides. After about five rows up I decided it was going too slow, so I switched to dc. When it was the height I wished it to be, I did a row of tc*, switching back to dc and sc at the end so the top would be smooth. I then made a chain long enough to use as a drawstring and wove it through the tc stitches.

That was it! If it works well enough, I might make another for the other child.

While I was making it I realized that the pattern looked familiar...almost like some blue camo pajamas the boys have.
Now they think I need to get some more yarn and make them some slippers to match their pajamas!

I'll update some more later. Maybe today (don't hold your breath), but probably next month!

*I actually don't know if I did a true triple crochet stitch or something else. It has been too long since I've crocheted anything.

Love one another...John 13:34

Here is my Sew Crafty Friday project. Not very crafty, but it’s the closest we’ve come this week!

Tomorrow we are having the monthly fellowship dinner at church. Since it is so close to Valentine’s Day, we’re taking heart-shaped sugar cookies.*
We wrote Bible verses on them about love. Last year we decorated the tables with heart-shaped paper cut-outs with the entire verse on them, but with the icing we were only able to get the text or a few words. The kids are still working on some more!

Check out Shereen's blog for some real crafty stuff!

Here are just a few of the verses that we used:
Psalm 116:1
John 14:15
John 15:13
John 15:17
1 Corinthians 2:9
1 Corinthians 13:13
Galatians 5:22-23
1 John 4:7
1 John 4:19

I have pictures for at least two other blog posts, we’ll see if I can get them up this weekend.

*By the way, does anyone have a wonderful sugar cookie recipe? I used the Better Homes & Garden cook book recipe. They're ok, but I think they could be better.

Apparel of blue...Esther 8:14

Hi! I just took a few pictures for my Sew Crafty Friday project...then the battery in my camera died. As soon as that is charged up I will put the picture of Liesl's dress here:
Finally! Here it is:

It needs ironing, threads clipped, and another snap on the back, but Sacagawea hasn't let me have it back yet. Liesl doesn't seem to mind.

I did it on the machine rather than by hand. The fabric, eyelet, and notions were all in my craft closet so I didn't need to buy anything other that pattern. I'm not quite sure if that is good or bad.

We made it safely to music lessons and back home yesterday. Whew. I almost decided not to go, but when I went out to see about putting the chains on the front wheels, M had already shoveled the snow out of the way. He really wanted to go. Fine.

We went and dropped off the van at the hospital. It took us 45 minutes to get there (usually 15-20 minutes) since we had to go really slow with the chains. Once there, the kids transferred their stuff to the truck while I scraped the 6 inches of snow off the truck's windshield that had accumulated since The Man got there in the morning. The Man saw us arrive and stood out in the ambulance bay to wave to us. Just as I got the windshield clear I could see the snow on the roof start to slide. All the snow from the roof then slid onto the windshield. I had to laugh. After I re-scraped the windshield we were on our way.

It took a bit longer than usual, and we did have to have our tires inspected at the chain check-point, but we made it there and back without incident. I drove the truck on home and The Man brought the van home this morning. He removed the chains before leaving the hospital so I'll have to go put those back on sometime.

The Man is napping. I need to go wake him up for lunch. Have a great weekend!

Cold of snow...Proverbs 25:15

Since we didn't go on our trip this week, I didn't have all that free time to work on the dress for Liesl. We did get some stuff from Freecycle, though! It isn't as great as stuff like Shannon gets, but I thought it was pretty cool. On Monday morning a lady listed 3 Knifty Knitters. I had seen them in the store and I thought the kids might enjoy them, so I asked if I could pick them up. It turned out to be 3 complete kits plus extras, so we now have over a dozen of these things in various sizes. I picked up one that looked to be about the right size for a hat for Sacagawea and carefully followed the directions. When I was done and took it off the loom I was disappointed to see it was way too small for Sacagawea. It wasn't a total loss though since it fits Liesl perfectly!

Maybe next week she will have a scarf to match! Head over to Shereen's Sew Crafty Friday for more projects.

The kids had a good time this week sledding down our back hill and building an igloo in the front yard with The Man.

The Man and M were inside putting the roof on the igloo while the other kids were shovelling in the snow.

Smoothing the snow...
Almost done...
Ack! Sacagawea is not wearing her hood! She has several, so she really didn't need the one that Liesl ended up getting, but having hats and actually wearing them are two different things! Her hair was soaked from the snow by the time she came inside for a nice, warm bath.

I did notice we had one casuality in our yard from the snow...
One broken branch.

The next day, Wednesday, The Man and J went up to the big city so The Man could look for a new suit. We looked for one on Monday when we went south, but he didn't find anything that... um...suited him. He was planning on stopping by and picking up the rest of the family to go to the mid-week service at church at 6:30 that night, but when I spoke to him on his cell at 6:20, I told him not to stop and get us since I knew he was going to be a few minutes late as it was. I didn't want him to spend the extra 10 or so minutes to travel our driveway. "I'll just take the van," I told him.

The kids all piled in the van while I looked for the snow shovel. I finally decided The Man must have taken it with him. I used a smaller shovel to clear the snow from around the tires. As I was backing the van up, I hesitated. That was it. I was stuck. M thought I should try putting on chains, but I explained that by the time I got them on, the meeting would be over. We all went back inside.

The next day I decided that it would be a good idea to go ahead and chain up the van so I could get out if I needed to.

Ta-da!

A close up...
And the other side also...
The Man came out and helped a little bit. He said it was so I could teach him how to put on chains, but I think he just wanted to help! After we got the chains on I drove the van all the way out to the road and back. Then I parked it where it would be easier to drive out if I need to. We'll be driving The Man's 4x4 until the driveway becomes more passable, but now we won't be stranded if The Man is gone.

The Dog's tracks, The Man's truck, and the van with chains...
Stay warm!

Coats and garments...Acts 9:39

Since I joined in with Shereen's Sew Crafty Friday last week, I wanted to continue on with it. However, the only project I completed was sewing buttons on a coat. I found a long leather coat at the Goodwill the same day Sacagawea found her rocking chair. It is a nice (and doesn't smell like it came from the Goodwill, if you know what I mean), but it was missing a few buttons. The total cost for the coat and new buttons was under $10, so I was excited, but not very excited about sewing on the buttons.

On New Year's Day, while the rest of the family were off skiing, I stayed home and sewed new buttons on my coat! It took about an hour to sew the four buttons on the coat through the leather. I knew it would be time-intensive, which is why it hadn't been done sooner. That's my completed project for the week, but it is not my featured Sew Crafty project.

Meet Liesl (von Trapp, of course!) She is 16, going on 17, and one of Sacagawea's new friends. Sacagawea had requested a new doll with long hair, so this doll arrived for Christmas.
Since her wardrobe was rather small, J helped me pick out a few patterns to go along with her. Sacagawea chose the dress in the upper left corner to start.

She chose the blue-flowered fabric from the scrap box and we ironed it and the pattern pieces. That's all we have done thus far. We will be out of town for some meetings most of next week. I'm planning on taking the dress along and hand-sewing it. Actually, I think it is a skirt and blouse. I'm not sure as I haven't taken a good look at the instructions yet. We'll do the pinafore, hat, and pantaloons later.

Sacagawea can practice her hand-sewing by stitching a pillow while I'm working on the dress. Head over to Shereen's to see some of the (more) crafty things other people are doing.

Skins...Genesis 3:21

I was posting a reply to my last post to answer some questions and it started taking on a life of its own. So...new post!

All the family has completed moccasins now. The sizing seems to be ok except for the big guys. M made up The Man's pair, and it fits him fine. The men's sizing on those kits is about 1 size off. It's unisex sizing, so they are accurate for women and children, men should order at least one size up. If your feet are especially wide, they'll be a bit snug also, but the should stretch ok. Sacagawea's are big on her, but we did order a size up since she's a growing girl!

Lori, we don't have a deer...we have a deer hide. Actually, we have deer hides. Why? Because The Man asks for and gets hides. He put up a sign at the Indian clinic he used to work at asking for hides. People are more than willing to give him the "leftovers" from their hunt.

He bags them up and puts them in the freezer. NOT this freezer! That is a big no-no. When we moved in here the previous occupants left an extra freezer and refrigerator/freezer in the utility room. The freezer portion of that frig was "given" to The Man. It holds all hides and other dead things until he has a chance to dissect/skin/tan. No for-human-consumption foods are kept in that freezer.

Of course there was the time he asked for and received deer brains (great for tanning the hides, so I'm told). The entire head was given to him. Apparently, it wouldn't fit in "his" freezer.

A few weeks (months?) later I was digging in the chest freezer in the garage when I came across a plastic bag. I opened it, saw the antlers, and figured out what else was in there. I dropped the bag back in the freezer and went to find The Man.

"Please remove your deer head from my freezer."

"There isn't a deer head in the freezer. It must be the bag of acorns I collected."

"No. It is a deer head. I know what a deer head looks like."

He patiently went to the freezer, opened it, and said, "OH...THAT deer head. I forgot about that one."

Ick.

How beautiful are thy feet with shoes...Song of Solomon 7:1

Shereen hosts Sew Crafty Friday over on her blog. Although I enjoy seeing some of things others are up to, I really haven't had time to do much crafting lately. Yesterday I finished putting together one of my Christmas presents, so I'd thought I'd share!

The Man needed a new pair of moccasins so he decided to make his own. He knew the kids would want to get in on the action also so he got us all some kits for Christmas. He got the "Little Scout" kits for the kids and the fringed boot for us. Mine was a little snug when I finished them this morning, but after wearing them all day, they've stretched nicely. The sizing instructions on the website don't match the sizing on the packaging, thus The Man's pair will probably be too small for him. M will grow into them soon enough, so it isn't a total loss. The Man is trying to decide if he wants to order another kit or use the deer hide in the freezer to create his pair (I'm not kidding...ick).Now I truly feel like Sacagawea's mom! Head on over to Shereen's blog to see other projects people are working on right now.