spinning yarn!
my spinning wheel with my lazy kate. i am plying single yarns into a two ply yarn.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
moving house...be back soon!
in case anyone has been wondering, i have been buried in moving boxes. i have so many pictures to post, so much to blog about, but, alas! i don't have internet at the "summer house" yet. and there are more boxes to move and miles to go before i sleep. so for now, i will leave you with a picture of what i would rather be doing...
spinning yarn!
my spinning wheel with my lazy kate.
i am plying single yarns into a two ply yarn.
spinning yarn! my spinning wheel with my lazy kate. i am plying single yarns into a two ply yarn.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
lessons from Little House on the Prairie
this historic stone house makes the perfect setting for the park district classes about Little House on the Prairie. it was built in 1860, about the same time that laura ingalls was living out the pioneer adventures she wrote about in her books. B has had a wonderful time with the
projects they have done: making butter, molasses snow candy (with snow saved in the freezer from this winter!), and soap. and then learning to do laundry... the old fashioned way! she thought it was great fun, although i suspect she would tire of it really soon if was not a game!
a cake of homemade soap
Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Churn on Thursday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday
laundry day
putting the clothes through the wringer
B carrying water for laundry day
scrubbing on the wash board
swing your partner! the kids had a great time learning some dance steps
and imagining pa playing his fiddle!
everyday gift: living history lessons
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
backyard wienie roast
the weather forecast for the weekend was all rain, but friday was beautiful! so we quickly put together a plan for a bonfire and wienie roast. i made gran'mom's recipe for potato salad and put baked beans in the crock pot. mark had already moved our patio furniture so we used the flatbed trailer that was parked and waiting for another load as our table. i spread a checkered tablecloth on the end.
mom and dad enjoying the "tailgate" party
i know we will have a fire pit at our new house, but still, i am feeling very nostalgic about leaving our home in few weeks (are we down to days?!). this will most likely be our last bonfire at this place that holds so many good memories. our first bonfire was in the fall of 1999. the barn was built, but no house. we came out with coolers of food, lawn chairs and blankets. C was almost 4, S only 2, and B...well, we didn't know B yet! my folks and a few other families joined us and we chatted, laughed, and enjoyed the cool fall evening. we were filled with the excitement and anticipation of building our someday home in the country. that fall bonfire would become one of my favorite traditions and it grew as we included new friends. we put boards over sawhorses in the barn to hold all of the potluck dishes. mark would take the kids on a hay rack ride through the newly harvested fields. and as it got dark, flashlights could be seen running between the trees, as the kids played flashlight tag! i can still hear the shouts and laughter.
S and B roasting their hot dogs...and one for me, too! thanks!
B with grammy and their matching pink shirts
mom and dad enjoying the "tailgate" partyi know we will have a fire pit at our new house, but still, i am feeling very nostalgic about leaving our home in few weeks (are we down to days?!). this will most likely be our last bonfire at this place that holds so many good memories. our first bonfire was in the fall of 1999. the barn was built, but no house. we came out with coolers of food, lawn chairs and blankets. C was almost 4, S only 2, and B...well, we didn't know B yet! my folks and a few other families joined us and we chatted, laughed, and enjoyed the cool fall evening. we were filled with the excitement and anticipation of building our someday home in the country. that fall bonfire would become one of my favorite traditions and it grew as we included new friends. we put boards over sawhorses in the barn to hold all of the potluck dishes. mark would take the kids on a hay rack ride through the newly harvested fields. and as it got dark, flashlights could be seen running between the trees, as the kids played flashlight tag! i can still hear the shouts and laughter.
S and B roasting their hot dogs...and one for me, too! thanks!
B with grammy and their matching pink shirtseveryday gift: hot dogs roasted on a bonfire
Monday, June 8, 2009
the library sale
i am in a little bit of trouble with mark. you see, we are moving soon. very soon. and i am supposed to be getting rid of things so we have less to pack and store.
but saturday morning at 7:25 am, i stole away to the library sale. sadly, they have closed the old main library downtown, the beautiful old library with a huge brick fireplace in the center and dark walnut curved railings down wide open staircases. the elevator was put in later. it is small, has one of those metal gates you pull closed, and clanks when it carries you between all 3 floors. the aisles between the bookshelves are so narrow that you have to turn sideways to pass another patron. but it has that wonderful feel of old books. it is an historic building and i hope they find a worthy purpose for it in the future.
well, i went to say goodbye to the old carnegie library and i came home with a few wonderful keepsakes.
this round table was in the children's department. i think it will make a perfect coffee table in the family room. it is wide, 48" across. i can just picture a rousing game of Settlers of Catan on top or a big bowl of popcorn in the center as we watch a movie. it was a steal at $10!
i have really been taking some teasing over this. i don't care, i absolutely love it. a vintage metal trash can. i only paid 50 cents for it! can't you just see it spray-painted some funky color? i plan to keep it in my laundry room so mark won't have to worry about seeing it, he never goes in there!! ;o)
the only problem with spray painting it would be covering this cool company label. have you ever heard of Yaman & Erbe Mfg. Co. of rochester, new york?
but saturday morning at 7:25 am, i stole away to the library sale. sadly, they have closed the old main library downtown, the beautiful old library with a huge brick fireplace in the center and dark walnut curved railings down wide open staircases. the elevator was put in later. it is small, has one of those metal gates you pull closed, and clanks when it carries you between all 3 floors. the aisles between the bookshelves are so narrow that you have to turn sideways to pass another patron. but it has that wonderful feel of old books. it is an historic building and i hope they find a worthy purpose for it in the future.
well, i went to say goodbye to the old carnegie library and i came home with a few wonderful keepsakes.
this round table was in the children's department. i think it will make a perfect coffee table in the family room. it is wide, 48" across. i can just picture a rousing game of Settlers of Catan on top or a big bowl of popcorn in the center as we watch a movie. it was a steal at $10!
i have really been taking some teasing over this. i don't care, i absolutely love it. a vintage metal trash can. i only paid 50 cents for it! can't you just see it spray-painted some funky color? i plan to keep it in my laundry room so mark won't have to worry about seeing it, he never goes in there!! ;o)
the only problem with spray painting it would be covering this cool company label. have you ever heard of Yaman & Erbe Mfg. Co. of rochester, new york?everyday gift: vintage treasures from the library
Friday, June 5, 2009
am empty nest
mr. and mrs. robin have an empty nest.
their hatchlings are now fledglings. i've been watching them from the front porch, the chicks leaving the nest and trying out their wings. newly found freedom! one lands clumsily on the ground and peeps for his mama, who lands not far away than flies to a nearby tree and calls. he is wary of me circling him with my camera so he takes off and flies to a pine tree, near his nest, looking for safety. meanwhile, mama and papa are hovering and watching anxiously, trying to keep track of all four of their babies. i am sure it must be nerve wracking...
although i have years to go before i experience an empty nest, i am feeling the growing pains of a teenager trying out his wings! he has informed me that he no longer needs me to tell him "lights out" at night (my night owl, pushing the boundaries and staying up well past midnight!), he doesn't see the need for his parents to supervise his activities, oh and, by the way, did we know that farm kids can get a permit to get a driver's license early?
i liked it better when he didn't challenge me so much.
but isn't the whole idea of parenting to give them wings and independence?
look mom! i can fly!
their hatchlings are now fledglings. i've been watching them from the front porch, the chicks leaving the nest and trying out their wings. newly found freedom! one lands clumsily on the ground and peeps for his mama, who lands not far away than flies to a nearby tree and calls. he is wary of me circling him with my camera so he takes off and flies to a pine tree, near his nest, looking for safety. meanwhile, mama and papa are hovering and watching anxiously, trying to keep track of all four of their babies. i am sure it must be nerve wracking...although i have years to go before i experience an empty nest, i am feeling the growing pains of a teenager trying out his wings! he has informed me that he no longer needs me to tell him "lights out" at night (my night owl, pushing the boundaries and staying up well past midnight!), he doesn't see the need for his parents to supervise his activities, oh and, by the way, did we know that farm kids can get a permit to get a driver's license early?
i liked it better when he didn't challenge me so much.
but isn't the whole idea of parenting to give them wings and independence?
Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6
.
he should go. when the time comes, he should go. and with God's help, we will have shown him the right path, following God's plan for his life. so i will try to have patience with my boy as he tries out his wings. at times he might land clumsily, but i will hover nearby and show him the safety of the tree, until he is ready fly away...
look mom! i can fly!everyday gift: giving them wings and learning to let go
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
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