Creative Homemaker

I belong to an online email list, (which shall remain nameless so the secret remains just that.) One of the ladies/quilters there has been a wonderful contributor to the list; often sharing fun patterns and free designs, much to the delight of all who read the posts. Recently, she has been missing, she has cancer and has undergone many difficulties in her recovery. It was suggested that we send her quilt blocks.  This heart pattern is what we chose. Then someone suggested that we send her a quilt, since she won't be able to sew for a while.  I volunteered to sew the blocks together if someone else would quilt it.  The little squishies started piling up in my mailbox. :-) I loved looking at all the fabrics from other quilters' stashes. The Heart Quilt project was born. We soon overwhelmed the original list and a sister site was set up to handle to overflow. Our first quilt is finished, with another quilt on the way to another member who has experien...

Our homeschooling adventure continues on Thursday, the first of September.  We homeschooled last year, using Rod and Staff Curriculum.  It was difficult for me and I'm not sure the kids really enjoyed themselves.  I heard them stammer when people asked how they like homeschooling.  If that doesn't reflect a dislike, I'm not sure what does. This year I've done some research.  When you begin a venture not knowing what lies ahead, you often don't have many questions because you don't know what questions to ask.  But this year I feel more prepared.  I knew what they did not like and what did not fit our styles of learning and teaching. Armed with this knowledge, I embarked on a search for the curriculum that would fit us better.  I really wanted Sonlight, but the cost is prohibitive.  I had heard good things about A Beka, but it's more of a school/classroom environment, which is the reason we didn't like Rod & Staff.  I stumbled...

I was sorting through papers on my desk today, feeling insignificant, as most of it was junk mail addressed to Resident. (No one lives here by that name; I wish that the post office would get that figured out.) I walked into the front room to deposit a bunch of scrap paper in the recycle bin when the UPS truck drove up. I wasn’t expecting anything so I was surprised when he headed straight for our door, carrying not one, but two boxes just for me. (Now let me just say here, that I’ve been receiving boxes of Creative Memories donations from my friends from the Yahoo Group CMC Sharelist, to help out with the families that had their homes flooded in Centralia last month.) I assumed the boxes were more scrapbooking supplies. I was thrilled to see the return address was that of my sweet sister, Nin. I couldn’t possibly imagine what would be in it, since I already received from her the surprise of a beautiful fruit basket with a chrysanthemum at Christmas time. I opened the first one, and ...

I am dieting, so instead of my usual chocolate dessert fare, I’ve been trying to eat healthy choices. Tonight we had angel food cake with a blueberry sauce over the top. Most of the children devoured it without batting an eye. When I served Ace, my five year old son, he asked me what it was. I replied, “Angel food cake.” He inquired, “Did Angels make it?” “No," I laughed, "Angels didn’t make it, it came from the store.” This time he inquired a little more cautiously, “Is it made from Angels?”

Hey there's a cute baby contest here! I am SO entering, because I am/was (who's splitting hairs) just about the cutest baby ever. A few of me. The first one-2 years old, just look at those adorable ringlets! What is with the kewpie doll look? BTW, this is the same picnic table about which I had a terrible nightmare later in life involving a roaring lion and his midnight snack, namely, ME! Third grade, four-eyed beauty! My friend Becky and I-waiting in line for our turn at 4-H modeling at the State Fair. I won two gold ribbons; for modeling, and for sewing that stylish jumper. Sixth grade 1978, so very proud of my handiwork. I did the topstitching by myself you know.

I was prepared for the worst. I had water and gloves and tools to scrape the mud, garbage bags in which to put the broken picture frames, tables to lay out the photos. But I wasn't prepared for what I saw when I opened the first bag. I'm ahead of myself-- I was moved to volunteer with the cleanup, and came in contact with Kathryn at Daring Young Mom she referred me to a cleanup volunteer who had the photos. She came with 4 bags and 2 boxes, the bags were mostly pictures in frames, old 70's high school pictures, a black and white or two, and lots of snapshots. I was amazed to see that under an inch of gooey mud, they weren't in too bad of shape. Water really isn't an enemy to a picture, they are developed in liquids, and as long as they don't dry out in this condition, they can be cleaned and made right again. I started in on the first pile. I had glimpsed a black and white in the bag and thought I ought to start on the oldest ones first. They seemed to be the m...

My sister "Silver" and her family have decided to try an experiment—living on their food storage only, from now until Christmas. She has been very industrious to “put up” and can lots of things this summer and fall. She made this decision when she was looking at all her neat rows of canned goods. (I must admit that I sit in the garage on our swing which we brought in for the winter and admire my shelves too.) I think this is a fantastic idea! Of course that is one of the reasons why we store for the future, to use in the event of an emergency. So if we have not planned ahead and purchased everything that we need in that event, how do we know if we have been wise in our preparation? King Solomon said, in Proverbs 6:6 “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest. How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little...

I am of the opinion that birthdays stink. Oh, don’t get me wrong, birthday’s when you are 5 or 6 are terrific; balloons, streamers, presents and friends to share in the momentous occasion. But when you turn 40, the balloons have lost their helium, the streamers have gotten dusty in the attic somewhere, the presents are fewer, and the friends are busy with their own families. My birthday this year has been at best, a downer. The phone has been turned off, my cell phone is dead, my day has been busy with cleaning up kids that can’t make it to the potty, and laundry of the above-mentioned stinky clothes. I can’t even post this to my blog because the internet has been disconnected. I was told by Hubby last night, (not in these same words, but the same message), that I was halfway to dead. That is why forty is such a big milestone for some people, because most people live to be 80 or so, so when the milestone, (or headstone rather) is reached, you are “halfway there,” “reached the top ...