Covid testing and crafting

Over the weekend I seem to have come down with a cold .... which is of no surprise to me as it seems to have been making the rounds (from what I read on Facebook, which we all know is the gospel, lol).  Now, here is the kicker .... I had been off work for 3 days (in which time the cold made its appearance), yesterday I phoned my manager and explained to them that I had a cold and asked what my next step should be as I was scheduled to work the next day.  Turns out, I can't return to work until I have had a covid test and it comes back negative.  I scheduled a time to get my test done (today) and it looks like I will be quarantined for 10 days .... less if the test comes back negative and my symptoms go away.

On the home front, though, I have managed to weave 9 dishcloths on my rigid heddle loom and I've gotten 1 winter sock done for Sunshine .... she's 2 1/2 and I have yet to make her a thick pair of winter socks.  For the winter socks, I always use Berroco Vintage but my local yarn store was sold out when I went to buy some so I ended up getting Estelle Worsted instead, it's 50% acrylic 40% wool and 10% nylon and I hope that this yarn will be as warm as the Berroco has been.

On another crafting note, my nephew and his wife are expecting their first child in December so I'm working on getting my floor loom warped to make a baby blanket for them .... it's very slow going as I run out of energy pretty quickly right now (because of this cold).  But, it will hopefully be warped very soon and then I can start weaving on it.  I've chosen a self striping purple that has very long colour changes, which are also gradient changes rather than sudden ones.  I'll try and post some pictures of it once I get going on it.

Well, I better sign off now .... my dog is wanting to come in from outside.  Hope you all have a blessed day.

Dusting off the blog

 For some reason, I decided to check out my blog ..... it's been several years since I had posted and thought that maybe I would dust it off and start posting again.  I'm not sure how dedicated I will be to keeping it updated, but thought it might be fun to start it up again.

For those of you that have read our blog before, you may remember that when I started blogging our children were homeschooled ... they have grown and moved out and we now have 2 Grandchildren.

My crafting is still going strong and has actually expanded .... I have my own floor loom that I am weaving baby blankets on.  This year, my sewing machine (an old Viking that we found at a Thrift Store and converted to a treadle as the motor was shot on it) has even been put in to the work force as I have been making many, many, many face masks for myself and my coworkers.  My rigid heddle loom that I had for so long finally wore out so we bought a new one .... I'm really not loving this new loom & after much discussion with my Husband, we have decided to dismantle it so that we can use parts from it to make me a new 2 shaft loom (hopefully it turns out as well in real life as it is in my head, lol).

Today is a very cold morning .... last I checked it was -20C, it's been a long time since it's been this cold in October.  I'm very thankful that I get to stay in where it is warm ..... think I'll put on a pot of soup in the slow cooker and maybe make some biscuits to go with it for supper.

The little town where we live recently opened a used bookstore .... it's a cute little place that has a coffee bar in it, places to sit & visit and they have started up a Knit Night there (I haven't had the chance to go to that, but I am planning on attending).  On one of our numerous visits I discovered that they have a bunch of the classics, which have been on my reading list for a very long time .... I managed to buy several and am looking forward to reading them:  The Call of the Wild, The Scarlet Letter, The Picture of Dorian Gray, A Journey to The Center of The Earth, Gulliver's Travels, Frankenstein, and A Tale of Two Cities.

Hope you all have a blessed day and that you stay warm.

bit of an update

Well, it's been quite a while since I've posted an update on what's been going on around here .... first off, one major change that's happened for me is I'm no longer working at the Drug Store - yep, it's true ... after 9 years of working there, I've finally decided to move on.  Since the Doctors left our small town, business has slowed right down at the drug store, so, after much discussion and prayer I put in an application at Wal-Mart - at first, I didn't think I was going to get hired, but, after a few weeks I received a phone call and they hired me.  It's been a lot of fun working there, I get waaaayyyyyyy more hours than I was getting at the drug store & there is room for advancement (which there wasn't at the drug store).

Let's see, what else has been happening ..... oh, yes, Josh got his drivers license this year and also purchased his own vehicle - he's loving the freedom that this provides him.  Charlotte also got her learners license, so, we'll be having her practice driving the vehicles now (she's really keen on learning to drive a standard).

As many of you know, I've been hoping to get myself a 4 heddle table weaving loom - Don was checking out kijiji a few months ago and he found one & they only wanted $50 for it!!!!!!  The gentleman that sold it had bought it for his wife 6 years ago and she never got in to weaving ..... it had been stored for all that time, so, she was a little (okay a lot) dirty, but she looks really, really good now.  ˚Ü˚

Earlier this year we joined a group called Knight Haven - the description for the group is "an affordable way to time travel" ..... I take pictures for the group while Don, Josh & Charlotte do the battling (they use foam covered swords that have a fiberglass core) - some of the members wear chainmail, some wear leather armour and some wear plate armour .... but, they all have an excellent time battling each other as Normans/Celts/and Vikings.  ˚Ü˚

Okay, that's a little sad ..... that's all I can think of, lol - well, I leave it at that for now & update more when I can remember more, lol.  ˚Ü˚

December in review

Well, this has been an eventful month for us .... it started out with Charlotte running her baby toe into a folded up lawn chair (she was racing the dog through the house and rammed her foot into the chair - I told her it was a good thing she didn't hit the piano (which the chair was leaning against) because the piano wouldn't have moved), anyway, the Dr. wasn't sure if she had fractured or dislocated her toe .... she was on crutches for a week when we found out that she had just severely bruised her toe.  Thankfully she's doing just fine now & hardly has any pain in her toe.

Last week all of us were sooooooooo sick - Josh ended up taking a week off of work because of it .... I missed 1 shift at the drug store and spent 2 days in bed (literally) because of it.  We all still have a cough from this cold & both Charlotte and I ended up on antibiotics because of it - hoping that we'll be pretty much done with this sickness by the time Christmas gets here.

Both of my jobs are going really well, and, even though it's taken me a bit to get used to working two jobs & still homeschool the kids - it's been a really fun challenge .... I think they even appreciate having me home on my days off, now, lol.

Right now, Don & the kids are enjoying the annual hay ride that some of our really good friends host (this is their third year doing it) - they start at the Church and drive through town singing carols, afterwards, they head into the Church basement and enjoy amazing fellowship while drinking hot beverages & eating homemade treats that some of the congregation members bring.  I didn't end up going tonight, I didn't really feel that getting chilled would be the best thing for me right now ..... we made sure that Don and the kids were thoroughly bundled up before they headed out, though.

Well, off to go & work on knitting some more mittens - have a great evening, everyone.  ˚Ü˚

Let the building begin

We've been talking about doing this for a while, now .... and this week it's finally happening - we're building a fence between our yard and our neighbours.  Hopefully that old saying about good fences make good neighbours is going to prove true .... don't get me wrong - our neighbours are very nice people ...... they just don't understand that the term "property line" applies to them, as well & they keep coming over to our side of the property to trim trees, mow part of the lawn, etc.

This week, Don booked off from work so that we could get started on the fence ..... I think it's going to be a bit slow going, especially since it's just Don & Josh that are doing all the work - they're very capable workers, but, it would go faster if there were a few more guys helping out, know what I mean.  ˚Ü˚

Don digging a post hole

Josh using the sledgehammer to pound the new fence post

Depressing news

Yesterday, I had the kids take a large blue recycle bag and fill it up with yarn - several ladies (along with myself) have been asked to knit slippers for the Ronald McDonald House.  I told them that I would be happy to help out & asked if they needed any yarn for this project - Marg told me that if I could spare some, that would be great - the sad thing is ..... with taking out that one large blue recycle bag, full of yarn - it didn't even make a dent on my stash (guess that's what happens when you're gifted a half-ton truck full of yarn ::sighs::).

Tonight, I received some depressing news (at least what I would class as depressing) ..... our school board has only been "officially" in this school year a couple of weeks, and already, we're being told "you're getting a new facilitator" ::sighs::  Now, normally, this wouldn't be a disturbing thing - friends of ours have had the same facilitator since they started with our school board (and they're excited about the change) .... us, on the other hand - we've been with this school board for 5 years (well, this is our fifth year with them) and we're on our 4th facilitator.

Reading that last paragraph makes it sound like we're a difficult family .... we're not - we've just had some bad luck with the facilitators that work for this school board:  our first one went on maternity leave half way through the year; our second one finished up the first year, then went on maternity leave half way through the second year; our third facilitator (who was actually our first facilitator) finished up the second year and almost all of our third year; our third year was mostly our first facilitator, but she went on maternity leave so we were given back to our second facilitator, & she didn't have time to take on a whole bunch of new families, so, we were given to our third facilitator (this was all within a two week period) & she assured us that she would not be going on maternity leave as she was past the child bearing age, lol; our fourth year was with our third facilitator; and two weeks into our fifth school year (two weeks for the school board, we've been back at it since August 13th) & we are being given to our fourth facilitator.  ::sighs::

Maybe I'm just tired of being passed around to different facilitators, but, it would be soooooooooooooo nice, if we could have a facilitator that stuck with their families ..... I'll definitely be praying that this one can, hopefully, be with us until Charlotte finishes school - only 4 more years to go.

Major Blonde Moment

Yesterday, I took Charlotte to piano lessons ..... I love taking her there because it is a solid half hour of uninterrupted knitting time (much like swimming lessons), lol.  However, yesterday I experienced a major blonde moment (and yes, I can say that, since I am blonde, lol) - I'm planning on making her a pair of socks to wear at dance class, but, when I went to cast on for these socks ...... I drew a total blank at how to do the long tail cast on!!!!!!!

The long tail cast on is one that I use on a regular basis (for the past 4 or 5 year, at least), it is a great stretchy cast on - which is perfect for the cuffs of socks, wristbands .... anything that needs to have a stretchy opening, really.

I sat there, during piano lessons, and kept trying and trying to figure it out, but finally had to admit defeat and use the cable cast on (mainly so that the yarn that was pulled out wouldn't get all tangled up).  Today, however, I sat down at the computer, brought up You Tube, to relearn how to do the long tail cast on - which was funny because, as soon as I sat down to do it this morning, my hands took over and quickly cast on the required number of stitches (without me even thinking about it) ::shakes head::  Well, now that they are cast on, it shouldn't take long to get them done.

Have a blessed day, everyone.  ˚Ü˚

First post of the New Year

Is it just me, or did 2011 simply fly by ...... it seemed like it was a very fast year, and many things happened in our lives (some good, some not so good, and one really huge weight was lifted off my shoulders).  It always seems to me like a new year is a new beginning ..... not that it is, it just feels that way - kind of like a clean slate, know what I mean?  I guess that's why people make resolutions - trying to develop new habits, good habits, to herald in the new beginning of a new year.

In keeping with a post I wrote, a couple of entries ago, I'm going to try my hardest to only use up stash yarn in my handcrafting ..... and, I think I'm off to a pretty good start.  Each year, we make Christmas gifts for each other, as well as for friends and family - now, not everyone that we give gifts to receive a homemade gift ..... some people either don't appreciate them, or don't like the fact that they were homemade (they can't put a dollar value on it) - so, those people receive store bought items.

I have already made my Christmas gift list - with room for adding items, as they crop up, throughout the year .... and I've been able to cross off two of the gifts that were listed, because I already finished them - and I used stash yarn to make them.  ˚Ü˚  The downside is that I can't post pictures of what I made, in case this post is read by the recipients .... it's quite exciting to already see progress being made on my list.

Sickness seems to have touched our home ..... Charlotte had a throat infection, Don has a cold, and Josh woke up today with an upset stomach - as for me, I've been very tired lately.  But, on the plus side ..... it looks like my asthma is finally getting under control.  At the beginning of December (or close to it), my asthma flared up and went, totally, out of control - I was having to use both my regular inhaler as well as my steroid inhaler, and it still wasn't in control.  Soooooo, I went to see the Dr. and he prescribed a different inhaler to see how it worked - the good news is that it is working, the bad news (or should I say, annoying news) is that I have to use it every single day now (cutting back a little bit every 7 days, as long as I have no asthmatic symptoms).

Also, since the snow has fallen, farmers have been burning brush/bales/old buildings (they don't need burning permits when there is snow on the ground - at least that's what I've been told), and it's wreaking havoc on my voice ..... drive through some smoke and my voice is gone.  It's getting really, really annoying ....... but, I suppose it could be worse, right.

On a final note - since the beginning of this year, I have started reading my Daily Walk Bible ...... it has the Bible set up for daily reading.  I like reading through the Bible this way ..... it helps me stay on track with it.  Well, off to make some lunch for the kids - have a great day.  ˚Ü˚

An Early New Years Resolution ... or maybe a really late one

This is probably the earliest I have ever decided on something that I want to do for the New Year (or maybe it's really, really late for the last one, lol).

Yesterday Don, Josh & I sorted through the half-ton truck of yarn that we were gifted back in October - it looked like we were moving .... and it turns out that I need more of the big Rubbermaid containers to completely store it properly (we sorted them by colour and then labeled the containers, to, hopefully, make it easier to find the yarn I'm looking for).  Charlotte told me that I could easily start a yarn store with the amount of yarn that is now in our house, lol.

My hope is that we will be able to use some of this yarn to make hats and mittens to send to Afghanistan - I have heard that it gets terribly cold there during the winter season .... we're just waiting to hear back from our contact there to see if it is okay for us to send the items to her.

Anyway, back to my resolution ..... my resolution, for the New Year (but starting now), is that I will only use yarn from my stash when I make projects (the only exception will be if a pattern calls for something that is not in my stash .... like wool for felted mittens, for example).  I find it waaaayyyyyyyy to easy to just head down to the local Wal-Mart and buy some yarn for a project, without checking to see if I have what I need already - this should fit in quite nicely with my "Living Simpler" effort - I'll keep you posted on how I do in this venture.  ˚Ü˚

Lots of goings on around here

It dawned on me, the other day, that I hadn't updated my blog for a really long time - been busy working on Christmas presents/knitting orders/and playing on Facebook.

Lots of things have been happening in our lives, since I last posted ...... and while I can't quite remember all of them, I'll give you a few highlights, lol

• I had recently gone to the eye doctor and discovered that my eyes have not changed in 3 years - that was very exciting news to me ...... to bad my frames could not have stayed in as good of shape, lol, yep, I needed to get new frames (which are definitely taking getting used to).
• we purchased a "new to us" vehicle and Don is now driving our car back and forth to work, which means that our 3/4 ton truck is parked - this isn't a bad thing, especially since it was costing sooooooo much to fill it (it's a diesel).
• Joshua finished crocheting his afghan that he started a few years ago as a school art project (I'll post a picture at the end of this entry) - it is now on his bed, keeping him snuggly warm on these cold (and soon to get colder) nights.
• there has been a cold running rampant through our household and everyone in our family has caught it - not a really huge deal for most, but it has played havoc with my breathing and my voice .... having the farmers (in our area) burning everything they can because it has snowed hasn't helped either.
• this week, I'm getting a taste of what it is like to work full-time ...... one of my coworkers had a death in their family (her mother-in-law passed away) and I'm filling in for her - it's really making me appreciate my usual 2 days a week shift.
• school is carrying on, as usual, for us .... we have had a bit of a hiccup in this years educational journey, but it's getting worked out.  ˚Ü˚
• Charlotte has been continuing with her piano lessons and has been improving by leaps & bounds ..... tonight, at Choir practice, her instructor (who is also one of the Choir leaders in our Church) handed her some music with Christmas songs to practice (because she feels Charlotte is ready for this step).  ˚Ü˚
• next week, our homeschool support group is going to a ceramics place and the kids will be painting up some items (most of them are doing this for Christmas presents) - it will be wonderful to get together with this group again, they are soooooo very supportive and fun to be around.  ˚Ü˚
• tonight, I experimented for supper ..... I diced and fried up some chicken, added some diced potatoes, threw in some frozen corn and peas, mixed in a couple cans of mushroom soup and then poured a pizza crust (which is actually a batter) over top, and, put it in the oven to bake.  It turned out really well, much better than I figured it would, lol ..... Charlotte has requested that we tweak the crust part when I make this again, though.  I think, on the whole, it was a success .... everyone seemed to like it.  ˚Ü˚
• in June, we journeyed to another province and visited my oldest brother, his wife and their oldest son - we took my Mom out with us and had a wonderful time ...... the scenery is absolutely breathtaking where he lives - definitely want to go back for another visit.  ˚Ü˚

Okay, I think that's it .... at least, that's all I can think of, for now - I'll try and post a better entry, the next time I update.  ˚Ü˚

Here is the picture of Josh with his completed afghan ..... he's getting close to 6' tall and when he holds it up, it covers his entire body (including his head):

trying something new

Well, it's finally happened .... we had to come up with a better system for getting the kids to do what we asked them to do.  When we would give them a list of what we wanted them to do, they would do one or two of the items (sometimes only getting it partially done) and then going and playing or reading.

Over supper tonight, it was discussed that the kids would need to earn their free-time (I'm sure you can picture the horrified looks on my childrens faces, lol) ..... I would do up some Job Sheets and then, once everything was completed on it (fully, not partially) they would have free-time.  I can see a bunch of you looking at your monitors going "Duh!!!!!!!!  That's a no-brainer", lol .... well, sometimes it takes me a bit to catch on to things.  The things we've tried in the past haven't worked, so we're praying that these Job Sheets will be the answer ...... we are at least hoping that this will help them to develop the habit of completing their tasks, before they go and do the things that they want to do.

something amazing has happened

Back in 2003, when we first started homeschooling, we were told that it was the biggest mistake that we could ever make and that it would do more harm than good for Josh.  When we first started homeschooling, Joshua would not go up to people and talk to them ..... in fact, he tried to avoid all contact with people that he didn't know.

Fast forward six months from when we first started homeschooling ..... his teachers & aides, that he had in public school couldn't get over the change in him - he was more outgoing and much more confident in himself .... he still wasn't totally comfortable going up and chatting with people he didn't know, but it was getting better.

Fast forward to the present .... Joshua is doing Work Experience at one of the stores in our small town - there are many people in this town that will go up to him and chat with him (many who he doesn't know) and he will have a conversation with them.  If a customer comes into the store and doesn't know where something is, Josh will go up to them and ask them if he can help them find what they are looking for (many of them are people he doesn't know).

Yesterday, one of the regular customers (at the store where I work) came in and told me that since Josh has been working at this store, he actually gets help in locating items there (he told me that it was a rare thing to happen at that store, before Josh started there).

So, now, when I think back to when we first started our homeschooling journey & remember what all those naysayers said ...... I can't help but wonder:  who was it the biggest mistake for?????????

a little catching up

Well, it's been over a month since I have posted on my blog - things have been very, very busy for us this past while:
- Charlotte has been babysitting
- I'm working 2 days a week now, instead of just one
- swimming lessons were started (last one is this Friday)
- Josh has been getting ready to write his PAT's (part of one has already been written)
- the annual spring cattle drive at our friends place
- lots of stuff on the computer to get Josh ready for summer school and getting his work experience stuff all set up
- a little remodeling in our RV (Don took the shower out of it and put in a counter top with a sink in it, instead)

But, in the midst of all the busyness of the past month, there are days when our lives slow down and we are blessed to be able to spend time as a family ..... these are usually Sunday's for us, as we don't use any electronics that day (if it uses a monitor, we don't use it).

Yesterday was no exception ...... yes, our morning and early afternoon were busy (we went to Church, Charlotte and I were singing in the Choir, we were also doing Coffee and Greeting yesterday (providing snack for after Church fellowship and greeting people that came to Church - shaking their hands, saying good morning, and giving them a bulletin), after clean-up from coffee was done, we raced home so that Charlotte and I could go and babysit for some friends of ours .... we then came home and spent time as a family).  The evening, however, was fantastic ..... the kids and I were in the livingroom, discussing school stuff for our next school year (figuring out what curriculum to use, and getting our school schedule figured out, too) and Don was in the kitchen installing a new microwave for us.  Our livingroom and kitchen are open to each other, so it was very easy for all of us to discuss school/share thoughts about what we'd like to see happen for the next school year/talk about interesting things we had recently seen/share about what Church that day/etc.  We also worked on some handcrafts while we visited and just spent time together as a family - it was such a wonderful end to the day ...... I love when God blesses us with these little nuggets of family time.  ˚Ü˚

Charlotte turns 13

Well, it is official ..... I now have two teenagers in the house, lol.  ˚Ü˚

Earlier this month we decided (as a family) that we needed to simplify the kids birthdays - it was starting to get out of control ...... buy this, take all the kids (ours and their guests) here, do this, etc., etc., etc.  So, what we decided is that they were allowed to invite one friend over and we would spend the day here, the birthday person chooses the supper meal and what they want for dessert (birthday cake/pie/jello/etc.).

We were all very pleased with how it turned out .... Charlotte invited Gina over (she wanted to invite a friend over for Josh, so that he would have someone to hang out with, but we said 'No' to that).  Her friend arrived at 2:00, they played for a bit, Charlotte opened presents and then they hung out in the family room (her friend was getting over a cold).  For supper, Charlotte chose sweet n' sour beef with rice and raw veggies .... for dessert, she made up some Jello with Cool Whip (it separates into layers) and butterscotch pudding for her guest (she doesn't like Jello).  After supper and dishes were done, we participated in Earth Hour and then Gina's parents came to pick her up and have tea with us.  It was a fantastic day and no one got stressed out from it ..... hope this plan is as successful when Josh's birthday rolls around.  ˚Ü˚

The skipping rope that I knit and felted for Charlotte - she absolutely loves it.  ˚Ü˚

Gift card to Greenhawk so she can get a riding helmet (from Gina).

T-shirt that matches Gina's (Gina's is blue instead of red).

Claddagh ring that we got for Charlotte.  ˚Ü˚

A Build-A-Bear (she also got some clothes and footwear with it) from Gina.

Knock-off Pandora bracelet with horse charms on it (from Josh).

Earrings that Josh gave her.

Season 3 of Heartland from Don ..... she was sooooooo excited to get this one (she already has the first 2 seasons of it).

MIA

Well, it seems like a long time since I have updated my blog .... things have been going not to bad around our little acreage - both the kids have been keeping busy with their school work, I had my hours increased at the store I work at (went from 1 day a week to two) and Don has been enjoying the work he's been doing at his job.  ˚Ü˚

For the past few months I have been having trouble with my voice leaving, for no reason .... at the urging of our Pastoral Nurse, I finally broke down and went to see the Doctor.  The best guess that he could come up with was that I had cysts on my vocal cords ..... these, he said, were being caused by the use of my steroid inhaler (which I only use when I have a cold).  He recommended that I stop using that particular inhaler (I'm still using my regular inhaler) to see if my voice would come back after not using it.  Great news, it has .... however, I still have a scratchy feeling at the base of my throat and no amount of coughing takes it away.  I'll have to talk to him about that - he may refer me to a specialist, after all.

It was also discovered, at my Dr. appointment that I have high blood pressure - he put me on some medicine for that, sent me for some tests and I go back on Thursday for the results of them ..... I'm not really sure what kinds of questions I should be asking him about this - I know that I do want to find out if I can eventually get off of this medication .... not that it's reacting with me, it's actually working quite well for me.  I'm just not the type of person that likes to take pills all the time, no matter how small they are.  ˚Ü˚

Things on the knitting front are going quite well ..... I recently had a knitting order for elf stocking looking legwarmers - today I finished seaming them together and I think they turned out quite well (sorry for the poor picture - I took this with my phone and it doesn't have the best quality):

 

Even my darling daughter likes them .... she has requested a pair, lol.  I told her that if I make her a pair, they won't be striped like these ones are - I'll either use self-striping yarn or a solid colour for them.  ˚Ü˚

I had made a mistake on my cape and had to rip it out - progress is going okay on it .... actually, I really need to sit down and be more intentional about working on it.  Part of it, though, is that I've been working on one of the accessories that go with the cape .... the pattern is for a tam, but, since I don't look good in those, I'm converting it to a neckwarmer (or cowl) - I'm really loving how it is turning out, so far ..... the only differences with it are (1) changed the needle size to a 6 mm, instead of a 4 mm and 5 mm, (2) changed the cast on number to 140, rather than 96, and (3) instead of doing the decreases for the crown of the tam, I'll simply keep knitting in pattern and finish off in ribbing.  I'll try to remember to post pictures of it when it is done.  ˚Ü˚

What does Simple Living mean to you?

I have been reading a lot, lately, about simple living .... one lady brought up the question, "What does Simple Living mean to you?".  Well I've been pondering this and pondering it and I think I may have a bit of an idea now.

Years ago, before Josh was GF, I did the majority of our baking from scratch - it really wasn't an uncommon sight to see homemade bread in the breadbox and homemade cookies in the cookie jar ..... however, I have found, since Josh was put on a GF diet, I don't do near the baking that I used to.  This isn't his fault, either, being GF was not something that he (or any of us) would have chosen for him.  I just know that when I make a batch of regular cookies, I need to make a batch of GF ones as well - and a lot of the time, I just don't have the energy to make that many different batches in one day.  As I type this and read, at the same time, I realize how silly that is .... the regular cookies I make make about 5 dozen cookies - sooooooo, theoretically, I could make one batch one day and a GF batch the next day.

Josh makes his own GF bread, so really, there isn't anything hindering me from making a batch of regular bread for us (I know your nodding your head, Hon, lol) - this is even easier now that we have a new bread machine for Josh (the one we bought at Value Village, almost, 5 years ago (for $20) finally died yesterday).  The bread that I used to make, made at least 6 loaves - that's if I didn't make any buns or cinnamon buns with the dough.  I know that everyone in our household would be much happier with homemade bread, rather than having to buy bread all the time.  For the most part, I'm home everyday (except on the weekends), so really, there is no excuse for me not to be doing this (seriously, Hon - quite nodding your head, lol) ..... plus, I need to teach Charlotte how to make bread, as well.  ˚Ü˚

Simple living - to me, means living with less "stuff" .... I mean, really, do I seriously need 3 can openers in that drawer over there???????  Simple living - for us, as a family, also means that we need to all be on board with getting rid of certain things (OMGoodness - why are there soooooo many flippers in this drawer??????????).  It isn't just in the kitchen that we need to downsize, practically, every room in our house could use an overhaul - they really don't make trailers with enough storage space ..... or maybe they do and we just try and store more than the required limit in it, lol.

Simple living - to me, also means simpler gift giving ..... really thinking about the person you are giving a gift to and making it for them, instead of rushing down to Wal-Mart and buying the first thing you see, justifying it with "I ran out of time and this was the best I could do".  For the past two years, we have made Christmas presents for each other ..... it has been wonderful to see the creativity in our children grow in these two years.  This year we are planning on making gifts again, and while we still do buy the kids some things .... I'd really like to see less of that happening in the coming years (certain things will need to be bought - like the items we have bought them every Christmas since they were born - I cannot reproduce those).  We know one family (that actually just lives in the neighbouring town from us) only give homemade gifts (even when their kids go to birthday parties) and they request homemade gifts from friends and family members that come for birthday parties ..... I think that is a really neat idea.  Last year, we started a Christmas Wish List on a chalkboard (thank you so much, Pam, for that chalkboard) .... on this board, we list anything that we would like for Christmas (we can also use this list for birthday presents, as well) - it doesn't matter if it is something that we've seen in the stores, we put it on the list.  For example, one time, Josh put "weapons" on his list .... Charlotte made him a wooden shield and Don made him a wooden war hammer.

Recently, I have started spinning some wool into working yarn for myself ..... this was something that I've wanted to do for quite some time and my brother helped me out with this - he gave me numerous bags of wool (both in batts and in pencil roving) and I am now getting lots of experience with spinning, plying and setting the twist of the wool.  Now, granted, there are some things that I do need to buy for my spinning wheel - mainly because I'm not sure that my Husband can make the things that I need for it (namely a larger flyer and bigger bobbins).  He has, though, made me an adjustable Niddy Noddy and a WPI device - both are extremely useful in my new hobby.  Is it easier to just run down to the local Fields or Wal-Mart or Micheal's and buy the yarn already in balls - you bet it is .... but, I think the projects that I spin the wool for will mean a bit more to me, knowing how much work, actually, went into creating it.

So, care to share?????  What does Simple Living mean to you?

Update & a recipe

Well, we are all still down with this cold - thankfully, I'm the only one that's lost their voice from it ..... with as chatty as my kids are, losing their voice would be very hard on them, lol.

On the knitting front, I've got 15 items ready for the Sale - I know, last post said I had 14 ..... not a really big increase, right, lol.  I've put the Sale knitting on hold for a bit while I knit up a pair of mitts for a friend of mine - they are double knit reversible mitts (twice as thick and both sides are the right side ˚Ü˚).  The yarn I'm using is thicker than the usual worsted weight that I normally use, the first mitt is done and it is sooooooooo nice - I really, really need to make myself a pair of these (I even have the wool to do them up in).

I've been meaning to share this particular recipe with you all - I made it for Christmas day (didn't put the pecans in, though, because we couldn't find any) ..... it was a real gamble because my kids don't normally like these kinds of salads, but they both enjoyed this one and have requested that I make it every Christmas:

Pink Lady Salad

1 8 oz carton Cottage Cheese
1 container of Cool Whip topping. thawed
1 3oz box Jell-o, Strawberry flavor
1 cup flake Coconut
1 small can Crushed Pineapple, drained
1/2 cup chopped Pecans

Stir strawberry jello into Topping. Add cottage cheese and pineapple. Then add the coconut and pecans. chill before serving.

Another thing that I wanted to tell you about was our Church Service on Boxing Day - there was 11 of us there (that included our Pastor and her husband), Josh and Charlotte were the only kids there.  We decided to move down to the basement for this Service, so, we all grabbed a bunch of Hymnals and Psalters and headed downstairs.  Once there, a few of us moved some tables together, we went and grabbed some coffee and snacks and then came back to the tables for our Service.  It was the most amazing Service I have ever experienced - as our Pastor was sharing her sermon, we would stop and talk about it & share our thoughts on a particular piece that she had read, she would keep us on track and gently bring us back as she shared more from her sermon.  When we would sing hymns, one of the ladies would get up from the table, go over to the piano and while she played, we would sing.  It was a wonderful way to have Church and I would dearly love to participate in this format again ..... it actually reminded me of how friends of ours have church - they meet in each others homes, discuss passages from the Bible, share in wonderful discussions, pray and sing with each other and then share in a potluck meal together (I may have forgotten some of the things that they do, it's been a while since we've been able to join them).

Knitting like crazy

A few years ago (well, probably more than a few) a friend of mine suggested that I do up a bunch of knitting and have a Christmas Craft sale - we were originally thinking of having this in our home (kind of an open-house thing), but now, we are thinking of seeing if I can get a table when our town has it's Christmas Farmers Market thing (it's not really a Farmers Market, there are people who sell Watkins, home decor, etc., as well as some crafters there).

So, I have been knitting like crazy and now have 14 items to sell at this event (if I can't get a table for this event, I'll probably have an open house thing ..... or end up with a lot of knitted items, lol).  It's kind of fun to find patterns for things to sell .... although, I think my friends are getting a little tired of me asking them what items that they look for at a handcraft sale - basically trying to figure out what kinds of items to make.

I'm also planning on doing up some sewing and maybe some weaving, too - haven't completely decided about the weaving, though.  Charlotte is also planning on doing up some crafts to sell, as well ..... and I think Don is going to be doing up a few items, as well (not sure if they will be woodworking or metalwork).  ˚Ü˚

On the downside of things, I have another cold ..... I'm getting really annoyed with this, it's been once a month that I've been getting sick (although, I was healthy for all of November, last year, lol) - I'm thinking that I need to start taking vitamins or something.  This cold has been really bad, though, it's mostly in my head (that sounds funny, lol) and the cold medication I've been taking has, barely, been taking the edge off of the headaches from it.  On the plus side, I've been getting lots of rest and watching lots of movies (I find it hard to read a book while I'm laying down, so I haven't been doing much reading).

Hay ride and Caroling

Last night we went on a hay ride around our small town, singing Christmas carols as we went.  A friend of ours hooked up a trailer behind his truck, put some hay bales on it, strung some Christmas lights, set up his stereo on the trailer and came into town to pick everyone up at the Church.

It was really neat to see how many turned out for this event ... the trailer was full, bells and tambourines were passed out, blankets were put on the kids (and some of the adults - I brought a hot water bottle with me, lol) and off we went.  As we were driving around town, we would call out "Merry Christmas" to anyone that we passed, people (that were in their vehicles) would honk their horns and wave at us.  I think the funniest part of the evening was when we were passed by a gentleman out for his evening jog ..... as he was going by the trailer, I commented to him "either you're running really fast, or we're going really slow", to which he replied "you're going really slow" and then he gave a burst of speed and passed both the trailer and truck, lol.

After we had made a couple passes through the town, we headed back to the Church for a time of fellowship .... this gave the adults a chance to visit, while they warmed up, and the kids a chance to go and burn off some energy outside (they had been sitting or about an hour, lol).  Many families brought some treats to go with our hot chocolate, hot apple cider or coffee - lots of traditional holiday baking was to be had (butter tarts, shortbread, etc.) and some regular type baking like chocolate chip cookies (which the kids dove right into, lol).  Only one thing was a cause for concern, one of the gentleman ended up not feeling well (we were told he had food poisoning), but even this was a positive as we were all able to witness the caring and generosity among this family of believers ..... everyone was asking to see how they could help, vehicles were offered (in case this particular family had no vehicle with them to take their loved one home - the owners of the vehicles said that they would pick the vehicle up at a later time).

As the evening drew to a close, everything was cleaned up, "Merry Christmas" was called out to everyone, hugs were given (there are a lot of really good huggers at our Church, lol) and everyone was asking when they would get to see each other again.  Definitely a great evening ...... and from what I hear, there is already talk of doing it again next year.  ˚Ü˚

Christmas Party

Last night, Don and I went to my staff Christmas Party at the Legion.  My boss bought tickets (for the whole staff) to the Laugh Shop - it was a hilarious evening, as the crowd was entertained by 3 comedians (one of them was even a guest on the Tonight Show ..... can't for the life of me remember his name, though, lol).  I, honestly, can not remember the last time that I laughed as hard as I did last night .... however, the comedians were not the only wonderful part of the evening, we were also treated to a buffet dinner and dessert (there was turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, salad, veggies & buns ..... there were too many desserts to mention, though).  ˚Ü˚