Craft Basket Wednesday

Amy, over at Knit Together has been doing a "Craft Carnival" on Wednesdays and asking what other people are crafting. Well, I finally have something to add to the mix!

I made some cozies for cups that contain hot liquids! I wanted to send a quick little gift through the mail to a couple of friends who I don't see often and this was JUST the ticket. So, I worked on sewing these and made them reversible just for fun!

I then cut out some cardstock in the general shape of a cup and wrote a birthday message and a note (which I blotted out for this picture... I didn't figure you all wanted/needed to read the note! But it said something about wishing we could meet up like old times over a cup of coffee or some such thing as I miss my friends who I haven't lived nearby in over 10 years!) and slipped it inside the cozy along with a gift card for a cuppa joe at that celestial money store, if ya catch my drift! Both little cozies had the same fabric: a denim on one side and a faux leather on the other, but I opted to use different kinds of buttons for each gal - that I thought would "fit" them better.

I had fun getting back to my sewing machine for something other than a repair - and it was a quick project, too! My mom found the pattern online somewhere and mailed me a surprise copy... I can't remember where it came from, but I altered the instructions as I wasn't totally happy with the instructions.

Go visit Amy and see what she or anyone else is up to and crafting these days!

My Daybook, Entry #22

FOR TODAY
Tuesday, February 23, 2010...

Outside my window... It is just starting to get light. Overcast, 45 degrees. Rain is in the forecast for today. (I'm betting on sun this afternoon!)

I am thinking... about this year's lenten season

"Lent: the period preceding Easter that in the Christian Church is devoted to fasting, abstinence and penitence in commemoration of Christ's fasting in the wilderness. In the Western Church it runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday" - Oxford American Dictionary

I am doing several things during the lenten season this year, one of note to those who read here and wonder if/when I plan to hop over and check out your blog... after Easter sometime! I am trying very hard (and struggling at times) to limit my computer time and certainly my "blogging time." So, I continue to write here on mine to keep going a journal of our family's life, I am reading very few "old" blogs who I have been reading for quite a while and not adding any new ones to the list. It is VERY hard!! I might go take a look at a friends' newest news and there is a link to another page (that they don't fully describe even - so the curiosity is high!) and I make the choice to skip the click and not get lost in the blogosphere and the world wide web! It has been challenging for the last week... BUT, here is what I have found so far: I have more time for the "decluttering" that I have been doing to give away our excesses in order to help others. I have spent more time playing with the kids - I sat outside and colored a Hello Kitty house with Branch the other day! I have more patience to deal with the little nuances of mothering. I do not feel so tied to the ding of my computer telling me there is a new message - I still hear it and I am curious, but I don't rush over to see who is in essence knocking on the door of my screen! Basically, by limiting my computer time in general, and blog hopping specifically, I find more time to do what is important for my whole family. I wonder what ELSE I might learn before Easter!!! After Easter I hope to follow links and such in a more moderate way... and hope that this exercise in self-control will have taught me to continue to limit myself and not get sucked into the black hole of the internet - it's just like Wal-Mart... you go in for 1 or 2 things and come out wondering "how did that happen" when your cart is half full!

I am thankful for... cell phones. It is nice to be able to call Pops when he is out and about!

From the learning rooms... We had a great week last week and are well on our way this week! I am still working out the kinks of a new assignment "system" that has been working very well for the treekids!

From the kitchen... it appears that Pops got up early to eat breakfast and while at it... made a pot of chili!! Wooo Hooo!!! Pops' chili is VERY tasty! Perhaps I will make some cinnamon rolls to accompany that for tonight - might be a delicious "side" - wondering what else other people have with chili besides cornbread! I NEED to get back in the habit of laying out our meal plan, here, too. I know it was enjoyed by many - including a spaced out me! Uh, NEXT WEEK - I'll lay out a plan!! This week - winging it!

I am wearing... An olive green knit shirt, a black tiered skirt and MAKE-UP! I was up without any kids at 6:40 and got dressed, brushed my hair and teeth and put on some make-up!

I am creating... a few gifts that I will share pictures of after I send them off.

I am going... to go to the library this week - we need to return books!

I am reading... less as I focus on other things this week.

I am hoping... that Pops remembers to call the veterinary opthamologist for Bark. Her poor eye is not doing well. She must not be able to see out of it very well at all. She can no longer catch a treat if I toss it to her, she has no depth perception and also runs into things around the house.

I am hearing... the girls waking and making noise-a-plenty!

Around the house... last week's boxes of "stuff" have been dropped off... new boxes are being filled and are ready to label and then be dropped off later this week.

One of my favorite things... silly little girl dances!

A few plans for the rest of the week... library, field trip at the end of the week with a homeschool group, more decluttering the house, a trip to some thrift stores to hopefully find a little ditty to repurpose for a special little girls' birthday who is coming up next month (I gotta hurry!)

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

Aren't hummingbirds just SOO amazing to watch! The speed of their wings is just amazing. We have a book all about the hummingbird and reading about it makes the little critter even all the more amazing! This feeder (filled with orange sugar syrup this month - whoever is around chooses the color - Bud picked orange in hopes that the coloring would brighten up a bit. Like a flamingo eating shrimp, perhaps??) hangs outside the window of our laundry room. Something pretty to watch and hope for while pre-treating!

To read more daybooks or to join in the fun, head over to Peggy's.

It Floats Their Boat

Let me take you back in time for a minute...

Friday, February 19, 2010

6:00AM - Pops woke Branch up and surprised her with an outing for the two of them... a day of fishing on the river with "the guide."

8:00AM - Bud and Blossom waking up and starting their day.

9:00AM - Bud and Blossom began work on school work and other activities for the morning.

12:00PM - Break for lunch.

12:34PM - Bud asks, "Where is Branch?" I replied, "She's with Pops."

It took him 4 and 1/2 hours to notice and ask where his daily companion was? She is not usually hiding out for any length of time! She is right in the thick of things doing her school work, being my shadow, helping around the house, etc.

1:30PM (yes, an hour and a half later!) - Bud asks, "Where did Pops and Branch go?" I reply, "They went fishing."

He must be in shock because he has just spent the morning being diligent and getting his school work done and not fussing that his sister was off on a "field trip" without him! Oh, if he would have noticed sooner... my day would have been very hairy!

1:35PM - "Fishing? Why are they fishing ALL DAY?" Bud asked.

1:37PM - "Are they out on a boat?" I respond this time... "Yes, they are out on the same boat that you went on last year."

1:50PM - "When are they coming home?" I just chuckled at him and told him to finish up his work!

They had a great time. They stayed out most of the day. Branch was the only one to snag a fish... it was wild, so they had to release it. Shucks - I'd been thinking fresh grilled fillet all day!

It was "slimy" so she didn't want to touch it! She reeled this bad boy in all by herself. She worked on it for several minutes and was very pleased with herself! Our "little" Branch did a spectacular job of casting her own pole, reeling it in, and in general doing all that needed to be done while out fishing on the river. What a little fisherwoman we have!

It was an early morning, the sun was very warm as the afternoon went along, both of them got a bit of sunburn on their faces BUT Branch thoroughly enjoyed and took in her day out with Pops!

3 months, already??!?

Happy Birthday, Uncle Ikey!! In honor of your birthday, I donned a jacket (I tried to go out without one, but mom insisted... it was even in the upper 60s today. Those darn moms... and jackets.) and ball cap and went outside to play watch the big kids play.

It's a funny thing, Uncle Ikey... I don't have much hair - kind of like you, I guess - so, I have to wear hats a lot. This one is a bit big, but everyone said today that it looked "cute" even if it was a touch big. Here's the thing... when do I get to quit being "CUTE" and start being handsome or MANLY or dude-ish or something other that CUTE. How do I get past that. Got any good advice for me on this, the beginning of the second year of your third decade??

Three decades, plus? REALLY? You are that OLD already? Sheesh, and I thought I was getting up in days here, what with hittin' my 3 month party today. Oh, well... getting older they tell me is good. I'll be getting older, too.

I just gotta find me a way to get mama and pops and those big kids to call me studmuffin or maybe beefcake!