The Cinnamon Sugar Cow

This cow was originally a creamer.  There is a spout in the front and a hole behind the cow head.  It belonged to my mother.  When my oldest son was about two years old, he decided that he could put a straw in the hole and drink the milk.  Ever since that day, the cow no longer belonged to my mother!

My son adopted this cow creamer as his "special cup"  He took it home and used it for quite a long time.  Eventually he found another "special cup" and we found another use for the cow creamer.

One day I was looking for something to mix up cinnamon sugar in and also dispense it onto my son's toast.  Perfect!  The cow creamer has been used for that purpose ever since.

I can't possibly put the cinnamon sugar in anything else because then no one will be able to find it.
After all it's been in the cow creamer since 1986!

And this morning I used it to make cinnamon rolls for my husband.  It's kind of special that the grandchildren will now grow up with the Cinnamon Sugar Cow!

The clothesline

I have used a clothesline (aka solar dryer)  for my entire 57 years.  Well, my mom used it early on and then when I married and lived in a few places, I've always had access to a clothesline.


Using a clothesline is a lot more work than throwing the clothes into the dryer.  It also fades the clothes a bit (the dryer makes them loose fibers), not to mention the rough towels.

But the clothesline saves us LOTS of money every year.  In the winter I use it sometimes but mostly I use a drying rack and a wood stove.

It also satisfies my inner OCD.  I like to organize the clothes and hang them "just so"

Since I live in the country, the clothes just smell like fresh air.  Sometimes they may harbor an insect or two if I don't give them a good shake when I take them down.

There is just something about seeing a clothesline full of clean laundry swaying in the breeze.

locating my pantry part 2

I have had a few different pantry locations over the years.

We lived in a house with a teeny, tiny kitchen, but the house had a basement (in new england its called a cellar)  which was dry.  bonus!

It was a perfect place to create my pantry.  I purchased metal shelving at the home improvement store and installed it along about twenty feet of the cellar wall. The metal shelving was the cheapest option at the time, however we had to be careful about weight distribution.  All of our dry storage, canned goods, and paper products were stored here. 

 At that time I estimated that we had about 4-6 months food stored for our family of five.  It was a very good feeling.  Our stores were always being used and replenished, especially when the grocery ran sales on items we used. 

Then we moved into a house with no cellar!  Our kitchen has a lot of cabinet (in new england they are called cupboards) space and a closet.  I decided to add shelves to the closet and hung a wire shelf unit on the inside of the door.  This closet can hold a lot of stuff, but it was still too small for serious food storage.  

 I purchased a large plastic shelf unit from the home improvement store.  I think it was 4 feet wide, 2 feet deep, and had 5 shelves.  I located it in a corner of the family room and bought fabric to make a cover for it so that it would blend into the room.  That  pantry could hold a surprisingly large amount of stuff!  Not nearly as much as in the cellar pantry, but enough so I had some security in the event of an ice storm or other disruption.

When we became empty nesters, the pantry moved into a closet in a spare bedroom.  This about doubled the size of our pantry.  We are able to keep our food stored in there, paper products, and emergency water jugs.  It is not as convenient as it could be, but what's a few extra steps each day?

Since it's just the two of us we still do try to keep the pantry well stocked.  I would estimate that we could store a few months worth of food in that pantry.  

Next up:  what is in my pantry?

What's going on?

Here's what's going on in my world this week!

We are headed toward fall.  The season of green leaves is so short in northern new england.  There are already touches of yellow and red here and there in the woods on the wink.  We will still have warm weather (well, warm for us) and some humid days, but the wild sprint through summer is almost over.
When the crickets start to sing, you know it.  The stores are full of autumn and I even bought a few things myself yesterday at the Christmas Tree Shop.

Home:  I have been plugging along on some organizational things.  Mostly still getting paperwork under control and streamlined.  With the cooler weather coming I am planning on painting the master bedroom, already bought the paint.  Then this winter we will think about replacing the 18 year old carpet with new carpet.  As I have gotten older allergies have gone away and Jeff says he prefers the carpet over wood.  So this decision will be his!  We are having house guests for the next week, so I am putting off starting my big photo organization project until after Labor Day.

Work:  Things have been much better with my client.  So many things have gotten under control and it is more like it used to be.  It was a wild ride for a few months there--I almost gave up and quit--I'm glad I didn't.  I'm getting used to working the four days (20 hr)  and I won't mind picking up a little more until winter comes.

Garden:  All I am picking so far is flowers (glads and zinnias)  and green beans.  There are a few summer squash growing, but I know next year I have to hand pollinate.  cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers had a late start, and then not enough rain, but I will still get some through the next month or so.  The cucs actually look really good right now.   Picking wild black raspberries by the handful up along the driveway.  This year there is a ton of them, but there is also a wasp nest near them so it's a bit sketchy to pick!

Family:  The littles are all growing up.....sniff, sniff.....and running around like crazy.  Their favorite thing right now is to race each other across the back lawn (and I was thinking of turning it into gardens)  oh well.  They also love to go on "bear hunts"  up the trail out back.  One of our favorite books is "Going on a Bear Hunt"  Little baby girl is so cute and so snuggly, and is becoming more independent.  Looking forward to the next grandchild coming in February.

Misc:  I just purchased Horizons Preschool curriculum (alpha & omega) for Ethan to work through this year.  I will continue to put together book packets (books and activities that go along) and his parents will make sure he touches all the bases he should.  I like the Charlotte Mason method of learning using good books.  This will be a good introduction to homeschooling for his mom and dad.  I didn't home school the very early grades with my kids, but I did use the Lifepacs from A&O and I really liked them.

well, there you go!  Have a great weekend!

A letter to young mothers

disclaimer:  this is written to stay at home mothers, not career women.

Dear young mother,

Don't let your kids biggest memories of growing up be of riding in the car to this activity and that activity, this adventure and that adventure.  Kids biggest memories of growing up should center around their own backyard.

No wonder the current generation of mothers is so concerned about car seats and what not!  Their kids spend endless hours strapped into them being carted all over God's green earth!

Stay home!  That's what kids want to do!  Make your adventures happen at home and make memories at home!
Stay home!  You are paying lots of money to own a home.  Live in it, love it, embrace it, and create it!!

When all of the fun times and adventures happen away from the home, then kids will be bored at home.

Stay home!  Build forts, set up a pool & sprinkler, make cookies, do crafts, etc.  And in those quiet moments when the kids are occupied in some imaginative adventure then you should.............

Get to work!  Get your housework done in bits and pieces, but get it done!  Dishes, laundry, wiping down, sweeping up, do it daily then it won't build up.  Cook big and less often.  Make a menu and shop once a week then stay out of the stores!  Spend less money that way!

A husband who works all day deserves to come home to a restful and tidy home and a meal already prepared.  This is not 1950's nostalgia, it is still 2016 reality.

You are young, you can do it!!!  you have it in you!!! I have faith that you can do it! If you get your days into a rhythm there will be harmony.

Kids do not want to be dragged around and neither do husbands.  They want their home to be their sanctuary and it is your calling in life to make it just that.

Yours truly,

Old mother

lets ramble on......

i really want to blog more.  its not that i don't have anything to say.  i have lots to say.  some of it a lot of people don't want to hear.

i'm a square peg that doesn't even try to fit into a round hole.  screw it.

get it?

my mind works in mysterious ways.......

i can't think of anything i've been thinking about blogging about.  i need one of those little mini voice recorders so i can talk to myself.  i think of topics and usually its when i'm not near a pen paper.  i've got notes in my phone.  but my phone is way over.....

there.

so i'm just going to ramble for today.

i'm going to tell you a little about my hopes and dreams for this day (since its just 8:19 am)

i woke up at 5:30 this morning.  the time change has me off a bit.  i want to go with it.  i accomplish so much more when i get up really early.  i've been a lazy butt in the mornings lately.   it's jeff's fault.

did my bible study.  i'm in matthew 20: 1-16.  it's not about senority or time invested:  it's about God's grace.  that's it.  He is the boss and He can do whatever He wants, who are we to question God?

went on facebook for a bit....tried not to tick anyone off.  that is hard for me.  bite your tongue, karen.

cleaned up bubby's hideout.  thats what i'm calling my craft room now.  i'm a messy doer.  eventually you can't think amongst the mess, so you have to just DO IT!!!

i discovered that i could plug my kindle into the little tiny speakers the kids left behind when they all abandoned me (got married and moved out).  now i can listen to my music on pandora a lot louder down there in bubbys hideout.

i've had my second cup of coffee and breakfast.  for anyone that is interested breakfast was two whole grain toast with cottage cheese and homemade cranberry preserves.  yum!

now.....onto plans for the whole big rest of the day.
clean and straighten
pray
walk
pray
at least one hour of outdoor cleanup (garage, compost, or garden)
pray
at least two hours of wood cutting and brush piling
pray
crafting!
pray
grocery list
pray
no cooking (leftovers for dinner) yes!!!!!!!!!!!!
working on november activities for ethan.
pray

i'm going to remember this:  in all things i do i will try to glorify God.  in my thoughts, actions, deeds, words...everything i do.
i will fail.....God knows this.  And He loves me.  and He helps me.  And He won't let me just be.  He won't let me continue to fail.  He will help me over and over and over again.  Because He is just that awesome of a Father.

so..........

i will try to think of some really interesting topics because i seriously would like to blog more often.
thanks for listening to me ramble.

the truth about being a mom & wife

we have all heard these sayings over the years, and now they are pinned like crazy on pinterest.  personally i think the proliferation of these ideas is causing a lot stress and feelings of being overwhelmed in the young mothers of today.

here are a few examples:

I am not talking about having a spotless, museum quality home.  I'm talking about getting organized and making an attempt every day to keep the chaos under control.  I'm talking about making sure that your priorities each day, in addition to loving on and giving your baby/children attention, also include making sure your family has clean clothes, a clean & safe environment to play in, and at least three good meals a day.  This includes making sure your husband also has what he needs in order to go out into the world and provide for his family.  

**note:  if you are a full-time dual income family then disregard this message :)

Living in a house where just finding a clean dish or your shoes or the floor becomes an adventure is not fun.  it will overwhelm you and make you and your family unhappy.  while you think you are "making memories" instead of cleaning, all your kids will remember was how stressed out and overwhelmed mom was every morning or evening.  they will remember the yelling. they will remember the confusion and the stress.

so my advice is to disregard all of these modern messages.  THESE ARE LIES PERPETUATED BY LAZY PEOPLE!!!!!  never before in history have women left their housework undone and meals unplanned and given their children 100% attention all. day. long.   modern women, who have all of the modern advantages such as washer and dryers, crockpots and microwaves, still don't seem to be able to get their stuff done each day.  why?!!  Because they believe that its okay not to do their chores!!!!  and just play.

the following is a summary of a typical farm womans day around 1900

  This is a vague, general idea of how I spend my time; my work is so varied that it would be difficult, indeed, to describe a typical day's work.

Any bright morning in the latter part of May I am out of bed at four o'clock; next, after I have dressed and combed my hair, I start a fire in the kitchen stove, and while the stove is getting hot I go to my flower garden and gather a choice, half-blown rose and a spray of bride's wreath, and arrange them in my hair, and sweep the floors and then cook breakfast.

While the other members of the family are eating breakfast I strain away the morning's milk (for my husband milks the cows while I get breakfast), and fill my husband's dinner pail, for he will go to work on our other farm for the day.

By this time it is half-past five o'clock, my husband is gone to his work, and the stock loudly pleading to be turned into the pastures. The younger cattle, a half-dozen steers, are left in the pasture at night, and I now drive the two cows, a half-quarter mile and turn them in with the others, come back, and then there's a horse in the barn that be­longs in a field where there is no water, which I take to a spring quite a distance from the barn; bring it back and turn it into a field with the sheep, a dozen in number, which are housed at night.

The young calves are then turned out into the warm sunshine, and the stock hogs, which are kept in a pen, are clamoring for feed, and I carry a pailful of swill to them, and hasten to the house and turn out the chickens and put out feed and water for them, and it is, perhaps, 6.30 A..M.

I have not eaten breakfast yet, but that can wait; I make the beds next and straighten things up in the living room, for I dislike to have the early morning caller find my house topsy-turvy. When this is done I go to the kitchen, which also serves as a dining-room, and uncover the table, and take a mouthful of food occasionally as I pass to and fro at my work until my appetite is appeased.

By the time the work is done in the kitchen it is about 7.15 A. M., and the cool morning hours have flown, and no hoeing done in the garden yet, and the children's toilet has to be attended to and churning has to be done.

Finally the children are washed and churning done, and it is eight o'clock, and the sun getting hot, but no matter, weeds die quickly when cut down in the heat of the day, and I use the hoe to a good advantage until the din­ner hour, which is 11.30 A. M. We come in, and I comb my hair, and put fresh flowers in it, and eat a cold dinner, put out feed and water for the chickens; set a hen, perhaps, sweep the floors again; sit down and rest, and read a few moments, and it is nearly one 0' clock, and I sweep the door yard while I am waiting for the clock to strike the hour.

Harvesting wheat, 1915

I make and sow a flower bed, dig around some shrubbery, and go back to the garden to hoe until time to do the chores at night, but ere long some hogs come up to the back gate, through the wheat field, and when I go to see what is wrong I find that the cows have torn the fence down, and they, too, are in the wheat field.

With much difficulty I get them back into their own domain and repair the fence. I hoe in the garden till four o'clock; then I go into the house and get supper, and prepare some­thing for the dinner pail to-morrow; when supper is all ready it is set aside, and I pull a few hundred plants of tomato, sweet potato or cabbage for transplanting, set them in a cool, moist place where they will not wilt, and I then go after the horse, water him, and put him in the barn; call the sheep and house them, and go after the cows and milk them, feed the hogs, put down hay for three horses, and put oats and corn in their troughs, and set those plants and come in and fasten up the chickens, and it is dark. By this time it is 8 o'clock P. M.; my husband has come home, and we are eating supper; when we are through eating I make the beds ready, and the children and their father go to bed, and I wash the dishes and get things in shape to get breakfast quickly next morning.

It is now about 9 o'clock P. M., and after a short prayer I retire for the night."

i'm pretty sure that modern housewives should be able to learn a thing or two from their great-grandmothers.

Day #13 my craft room

ever since the kids married and moved out of the house i have had dreams of a craft room.  so when a room became available i moved every craft related item into that room.  some of it had been tucked in other closets, under the bed, everywhere!

mostly i keep it somewhat organized, but when i get into a crafting frenzy it can get quite messy!  this is what my craft supplies looks like right now

these are the storage units i've chosen from ikea to get this room in order

2 of these, one on either side of the one below

there will also be a smaller version of the above shelving unit on another wall to hold toys that i don't want the boys to have free access to all of the time.

also, this room will be used as a guest room.  we are going this weekend to buy a futon with a comfy mattress to put in this room.

but it will probably be fall before i get to ikea as its down south of boston and we currently have no travel plans.

Day #4 household pet peeves

These are currently my top 5 pet peeves around the house.  that would be my house or any house

1.  dishes piled up so high in the sink that you can't possible wash them without taking them all out.  if you can't wash them right away, then neatly stack them off to the side.  however, i have learned in my life that life is much easier if you just take the couple of minutes to wash a few things at a time now and then throughout the day.  btw  i've never used a dishwasher.

2.  laundry (clean or dirty) taking over the living area.  laundry is something that should be done every day. put a load in in the morning then move it to the dryer in the evening, or the reverse.  fold it and put it away or fold it and put it back in the basket and put the basket in the bedroom until you do put it away.  i tend to do laundry all week and then put it away one time.  but when we had five of us here i put it away daily.

3.  not being able to walk around barefoot in the house.  there is nothing worse than crumbs and dirt sticking to your feet!!!! yuck!!!  not to mention crawling babies and playing toddlers picking up all kinds of stuff off of the floor.  it takes 2 minutes to do a quick sweep once a day on the kitchen and run the vacuum over the carpet once a day.

4.  dirty kitchen counters.  now, i have white ones so i can see every crumb and spill.  but if you have dark ones you can't.  but just because you can't see anything does not mean its not there.  kitchen counters should be wiped down a lot!!!!!

5.  overly full trash can in the kitchen.  again, it takes 2 minutes to tie up the bag, put it out and replace it.  i'd say you should be doing that at least every other day if you have a family.


Now i will admit that i have a touch of OCD.  some would disagree with the word "touch"

it really does only take a few minutes here and there to keep your house "presentable"  i'm not talking about having a perfect, spotless home. just presentable.

i personally cannot function unless there is some semblance of order.

As a former stay at home mom i always tried to shoot for the house to look like i did accomplish something during my day. i know, i know, taking care of children is something.  but i'm old fashioned and always believed that a man should come home to an orderly home and a meal on the table. at the very least.

5-6  inches of snow in the night. We woke to a blue sky and bright sunshine. The temperature was about 25 or so today-a real heatwave! We finally got out the snowshoes and took a mile long trek through the woods out back . I haven't been spendkng nearly enough time outside this winter-its been so frigid and windy!  Tonight we are expecting another round of snow and another sunshiny day tomorrow.
Today was a stay home day, i spent some time rearranging  my kitchen cabinets a bit and jeff and i discussed some kitchen improvements that are in our future. I took care of some other odd jobs but mostly i tried to rest up.

winter doldrums ?

so, i'll start this post off with pics of my two younger grandsons.

my little charlie baby.  he is 2 1/2 weeks old and he has just stolen my heart.  he is getting adjusted to life on the outside pretty well.  ben is laid off for the winter so the three of them are enjoying just hanging out and bonding.

this is my #3 grandson, luke.  he is 3 months old now and a happy, happy, happy baby.  meghan has returned to working a few hours a week so jeff and i get to spend a few hours with him and joe (then i take joe home for more bubby time!)

i won't complain about the cold because i know the rest of the country has been cold too. especially in places that don't usually get that cold.  we haven't had any more ice and i guess we've been having a fair amount of snow. but except for a few days this month when it warmed up into the 40's and we thawed a little, its been frigid temperatures for the last 6-7 weeks at least.  i think its been the coldest winter since i've been here in maine (10 years now).

anyway, on the bright side each day is lighter and i find my mood improving and i'm not lighting up every room the way i was in december/early january.   winter has its struggles, but i still wouldn't trade living here for anything.

we've gotten into a pretty good rhythm of working (me 20 hrs & jeff 24 hrs) spending time on home projects and spending time with the kids/babies.  i want to make sure that i am a part of each ones life on a regular basis.  joe and ethan now come and spend the night once a week.  when the weather gets easier i will try to spend more time with them both one on one. i love being bubby!!!

i haven't been crafting anything lately because i am trying to organize my craft supplies.  i need to know what i have and i need to know what i need to properly store them in my new craft room.  its slow and tedious but i am slowly making my way through tote after tote.  once that is done then i have some sewing projects and lots of scrapbooking to do.

now that my daughter doesn't need me cooking meals for them, i've been cooking very little the last week or so.  i'm trying to eat a more "raw" diet so i've still got lots of prep to do, but no big, heavy meals.  i've been juicing more regularly too.  i feel like i have so much more energy when i eat this way.

until next time!

new baby!

this is my newest grandson!

meet charlie!!!!!

he is beautiful & wonderful & special & i am too overwhelmed to say much more.  

ahhhh

i can breathe for a bit until the next baby comes due in february!

i am trying to work out a schedule to make sure that i spend some time each week with each baby.  of course, charlie will get some extra because i will want to spend time with his mama!

my plan is to take joey and ethan for overnights once a week so they get some one on two attention from me.

well, its january in maine and that means a thaw and rain.  at least the warmer temps and rain have washed away the ice, but there is still a lot of winter ahead of us.

its a new year and i've purposed myself again to make it a better year weight-wise for me.  i know i've gained back some because of not watching my intake (it doesn't take much for me) and not walking as much as i should.  otherwise, physically i feel pretty good, but i've got 5 boys i'm gonna have to run after!!!

i've also set a goal to up my percentage of raw food in my daily diet.  i'm pretty good about eating the raw veggies every day, i'm not a big fruit person, but i've been juicing more and making fruit/veggie mixes.  i feel best when there are no processed foods in my diet and that i've pretty much got a handle on it.

i've been cooking A LOT lately because julie was on bedrest for a couple weeks before charlie came.  i cooked so much last week that i fed us and the 3 other families!!!!  boy were they happy to get my food deliveries!

eating more raw food cuts down on the cooking but there is still prep involved in a lot of things if you are going to be creative to ward off boredom.

i'm still working the 2 longs days each week, and as much as i'd rather not work at all, i do like that i have the extra money to spend on my babies and help the kids out when i see a need.

in the crafting dept. i haven't decided what my next projects will be.  i know i will be starting charlies scrapbook and updating joeys.  i can't do it for everyone, so at least for now i did my first grandson, and my daughters first child.  we will see how it goes from there!

i am planning on making my own deodorant and shampoo.  those two things are so full of badness that i can't ignore anymore!  gonna give it a try--hey, i'm not picky!

i've been trying to focus on my bible study more.  right now i'm working through a book called "finding calm in life's chaos" or something like that.  ehhh, its ok.  i have gleaned some very useful stuff from it so far, but it is not captivating at all.  

i've also just started working my way through the book of job.  now, i'm a fearful person.  i worry a lot about what hasn't happened. i gotta stop that!  why, oh why, would i pick that book?  don't know, just feel compelled.  

i'm also trying to be continuously in prayer.  i've worked on it for years and i finally feel like i have gotten into a rythmn. i don't have to set aside a time to do "it"  i just need to talk to God, He's always there!

well, thats whats going on here on the wink!

busy, busy, busy

life has been very busy, but i am trying to keep it diverse so i don't burn out or get bored.  (as if that could happen!)

working on lots of baby projects for julie & bens little charlie who hopefully will arrive by the end of the year.

these are my most recent sewing projects. passy clips and bags to hold the pacifiers and keep them clean.

a repurposing project. this was our coffee table-it had a lid and was basically a big box for storing stuff. we turned it on its side and moved the legs and added a shelf.  cheery paint job and its all set for the playroom.

working on next years woodpile.  its been a struggle this year to find the time to work on it with all the other happenings around here.  we still manage to spend an hour or two a week, and we will see how far we get before the snow comes.

new grandson lukas is doing wonderfully! and everyone else is too.  we've been keeping joe overnight on mondays and we love it and so does he--makes me very happy.

jeff had a bad cold a couple of weeks ago and now i've got it.  i'm trying to keep going but taking it easy at the same time.  drinking tons of water, herbal tea, using apple cider vinegar, honey and cinnamon, juicing, and thinking positive!!!!

more sewing projects this week--teething rail cover & then start a hippo mobile.  it feels good to be completing these creative projects.

projects

the leaves are a little past peak and falling. this great pond mountain in orland maine-just a few miles from my house-one of my favorite views.  i got to go hiking with my client there this week. he loves to take photos

i made this to hang over my grandsons crib.  he is expected to arrive jan 5th, but they tell her he is already a big baby and he may come early.  i told her not to believe them  ;)

i finished this fleece tied blanket for ethan.  the boys each need their own warm blanket for me to keep here

and this one is for joe, i'm going to work on it today

 

i feel good that i've been able to accomplish these projects in the past week & started to clean up my garden & we also got the garage cleaned up so we can start parking in it again for the winter.

 

mornings here are cold, but no hard freeze yet.  i don't think we've had but a couple of frosty mornings so far on the wink.  the days have been around 60 degrees for the most part and sunny--no rain for the past week!

 

 

down day

no worries! i'm happy!  this has been my only day in the past week to just stay home and i'm finding it hard to just sit down!!!!

i went on a trip down to mass. to go to IKEA with a friend. we had an awesome time and came back with her entire car filled with my stuff.  she promised next time she would fill it with her stuff too!
this was a long awaited spending spree that jeff agreed i should go on.  i ticked off tons of items from my wish list.  it was all about me (for a change)

.....however,


i did buy these cute little blue chairs to go with a little white table i got from ikea a few years ago--perfect for the boys

its a warm, muggy day today. probably the last one we will have this season. fall is upon us. its been a pretty wet summer and i haven't ventured up to my chair in the woods. i did today but the mosquitos are still pretty bad. so i came back down to the yard and let the dragonflies protect me from the bugs.  i even had my bug zapper, but there were just too many of them buggers!

 i haven't done my "ings" in a while, so here you go

 

listening:  leaves rustling, crickets chirping, logging trucks rumbling

eating:  nothing

drinking: water

wearing:  blue sweats, white & blue tee with butterlies & sneaks

feeling:  okay. not too anxious or worried.  restless

weather:  nice early fall day, slight breeze, blue sky, warm and humid

wanting:  to shower, i feel buggy and sweaty from my walk

needing:  to focus more on most important tasks

thinking:  about what to make for dinner, i haven't been shopping too much lately for food

seeing:  the woods beginning to yellow, maples reddening, sheets flapping on the line; pink & red, my home sweet home

enjoying:  being home today

what i'm up to

crafting

a diaper wreath for the baby shower. i'm also working on a 3 tier diaper cake and little diaper babies to put in a basket.

we chicken sat for the neighbors over the weekend and this is one of the eggs (on the right, the one on the left is a grocery store large egg)

ouch!

the eggs were really good. i really need to get off my a** and get chickens

i'm going on a shopping trip this weekend down to massachusetts with a friend.  we are going to IKEA!!!!!!! can you tell i'm excited.  its a five hour drive so we are staying overnight. then we will shop our way back home through kittery and portland.  i've not been away from jeff in a really long time so i'm feeling excited and nervous at the same time. but it will be good to get away from things for a bit. 

anyway.....

otherwise all the pregnant ladies are doing great. and something else we've been waiting on for a while finally happened........

jeff turned 55 in august and his UPS pension started!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  first check came this week. we are still so amazed by it.  he worked there for 17 years and now they will pay him for the rest of his life.  its not tons of money by most people standards, but it doubles our income. sigh.......the teamsters union is good for something ;)

end of august already?

well i'm not going to lament that summer is over (or almost over) because we still have weeks of summer left.  but the goldenrod is blooming in full force and the crickets are chirping away and the sun is at that slightly tilted angle that makes the light look a little bit lazy.  the garden is winding down, but the cherry tomatoes are finally ripening! do i want to say that the colors in the leaves are already changing?  walking out back and along the driveway the early signs of fall are definitely there.  and the wood splitting is going full swing

 

grampa giving joey his first lesson in splitting and stacking

 

 



we had a new furnace installed this summer and we switched from oil to propane.  its a high efficiency forced hot air unit.  it should cost us way less to run, plus no worries about the oil line freezing up in the winter, or ever having to clean up an oil spill. nice!  so this winter we are hoping to not rely on the wood as much as we have been, but we'll still keep a couple cords ready.  once jeff is done splitting this wood (the trees were cut last fall and have been drying) then we will start cutting trees for next winters wood.  we plan on cutting less and i've got my eye on quite a few that are casting early morning shade on my garden, then we'll go further out back and pick up where we left off last year.

this summer ethan turned one and we had a party at his house.  "batman" was the theme and i went a bit crazy with pinterest projects! but it was fun and i love to create

this summer also saw joey turn two and we also relied heavily on pinterest for decoration and activity ideas for his "art" party.

now i'm throwing myself into planning for my daughter julies baby shower.  i've got all my ideas pinned and i'll be shopping tomorrow for all i need to make the decorations.  i'm trying to keep it simple, that's hard for me, but i've already been accepting offers of help--so thats a great improvement for me!


well, i have today all to myself and i want to make the most of it, but i also want to just "be" and enjoy this summer day.  here in maine summer doesn't end until the snow flies!

being positive

always moving forward.
trying to be positive
life is what YOU make it
not what others try to make it for you.

there!

august in downeast maine is usually one of the top 3 months of the year. bugs are usually gone, sunny days, cool nights.  its been a wet summer so far, wetter than normal but not horribly dreary. and i'm still getting bit by black flies and mosquitos.

it is a beautiful morning here after a cold night.  i think it got down into the upper 40's.  but its supposed to be around 80 today.  i have no where i need to go today, and for that i am thankful.

breakfast is done, jeffs gone to work, laundry is started and some vacuuming done. now i'm enjoying my 2nd cup of coffee.

i guess i'm sticking with this blog being a glimpse into my life.  someone might wonder what its like to live in a double wide on six acres in the middle of the woods somewhere along the coast of maine. they also might be curious how others are coping/enjoying having an empty nest and enjoying their ever-growing families.

what are we doing? what are we cooking? what are we crafting?  some of us may still be in the midst of homeschooling, others finished, and others like me planning the schooling of the next generation.

i guess this blogs about sharing. 

i'm curious about what its like to live in other parts of this great country.  i like to find out what other like - minded people are up to.  and i like having a connection with others that i can't have any other way.  i've made some really good friends (on xanga) that mean the world to me, and i've never even met them.  someday i hope to!

anyway, if you are just happening upon this blog, welcome!!!  i'm going to try to be upbeat and optimistic from this point on. however, i am human, and at times have my trials and need to get it out, so that may happen too!

if you are an old friend, thanks for caring and reading my blog. i'm trying to keep up with others blogs, the ones on blogspot are easier than the ones on wordpress, and i'm gone from xanga altogether.

gotta go! lots of stuff on my to do list today : organize and clean cabinets in the mud room, walk minimally two miles, weed my garden and see whats ready to be picked today, and do some crafting; right now i'm working on my daughters baby shower invitations.

have a great day!

closed

i closed down my xanga site today.
i know it will just be a matter of adjusting for a few weeks and then this blog will feel like home.
there were so many people who couldn't understand leaving xanga altogether.
i guess those are the kind of people who like to keep a car for 20 years or more.
i kinda get tired of my car around the ten year mark and yearn for something new.
so if i only do that with blogs and cars i think i'll be okay

downeast maine has been a bit cloudy and a bit showery the past few days with highs in the low 70's.
today feels to be a bit more warm and humid, forecast is for sun/clouds/showers/80's.

my daughter in love, sarah, went for her first ultrasound yesterday and all is well. due date is 2nd half of february, but with ethan she was 2 weeks early.

that makes all three girls expecting at the same time.  just the thought of that is exhausting to me. but i am over the moon and ready to take on the challenge of being bubby to five bundles of joy!  i am as hands-on a grandma as i can be without actually moving in with them all!!! 

that means a lot of money on gas (thankfully they all live within a couple miles of each other and thats just 14 miles away) 

and a lot of time spent in the car (my best praise time is in the car ,by the way, listening to k-love radio)

and a lot of time cleaning (because i'm ocd and can't help myself, and they don't mind, so i've just decided to go with it)

honestly though, we are only 2 years new to this empty nest thing and i've got to find the time to devote more to my relationship with jeff (30 years and going strong)  or we stand to get lost in grandchildren the same way we lost ourselves in the kids while they were growing up.  definitely going to work on that!!!

*working through Hosea in my bible study.  really random, relevant stuff there!
*cooking-planning lots of yummy stuff for ethans party on saturday--i'll share when i do a birthday post
*crafting--taking a little break this week between doing for ethans party and starting for joeys 2nd and julie's baby shower.
*cleaning--with the weather flip flopping we were getting some ants in the house. especially during the real hot weather last week, so i deep cleaned the floor and cabinets and sprayed in a few spots. now they are gone.  ants are just a reminder to keep a cleaner house.

blessings from downeast maine!!!!

cooking

luncheon salad bar:  basic veggie salad with romaine lettuce, shredded or sliced carrots, sliced red pepper, sliced radishes, and sliced sweet onion.

in small bowls arranged on a platter: dry cranberries, sunflower seeds, pecans, bacon bits, black beans, shredded cheese, french fried onions, cooked chicken breast cut or sliced and hard boiled eggs

have an assortment of salad dressings

fruit platter of whatever is in season or on sale at the market.

cleaning/organizing

price book: i've been working on compiling a rough price book that i hope to make into a nice permanent one.

i took a plain composition notebook and decorated the cover and made quick category dividers. when i make a permanent one these may change. the categories vary from dairy to veggies, to automotive, etc...

each time i shop i slip my receipt into the book and then here and there when i have time i enter each item. store name, item, size, price, price per oz. or lb, etc.

then when i shop i can take it with me so i can compare prices and make wiser choices.

i put my name and phone # inside the front cover.

crafting

a local store called marden's surplus and salvage has a large fabric dept. i found elephant print baby quilt panels and fabric there. i purchased both the pink and the blue. i'm working on completing them both and when my son and daughter in law find out whether the baby is boy or girl i will give them the appropriate one and hang on to the other.

planning

finishing the quilts
continuing to organize and purge paperwork
begin to work on projects for the boys birthdays coming up this summer

praying

praying for my xanga friends. some i've been online friends with for a very long time. some are new friends.  it's a wonderful community of people and i'm thankful for them.