Intimidation

.Over the past few weeks I've been building a stash of knitted creations and I've been trying various patterns to work on personal creativity. I've been doing this with the hope of starting up and Etsy shop where we'd (my mother and I) sell sewn/knitted creations and a couple baked goods that we've perfected over the years. I've been browsing Etsy to get a feel for the standard on there. WHOA!!!!!!....intimidation may possibly win. These women are SERIOUS!!!....and super super super talented. I just want to pay for my hobby and make a few extra dollars to stash for special occasions. But going up along side some of these shops that are selling the same type things is way intimidating! What is a girl to do? Local craft fairs, yes. Perfect my craft, yes. Do it anyway?.....

Weekend Project #3

November 20-22:

I'm always looking for quick knit cute hats for my kiddos. I've found one!!!....or two. This book is chuck full of patterns I will be working on in the very near future!

 

I had to include the bottom two to capture and share the personality of my Yvette (age 2).

My Relief

My relief after two weeks of sickness and quarantine, snotty noses, medicine bottles, late nights, early mornings, and loads of coffee........

...my mother's slush...something I never thought I'd openly share, though she has said it is NO SECRET. So here goes...I hope it brings you as much "happiness" as it has brought me. ;-)

Diane's Famous Slush
7-9 Lipton Tea bags (brewed for 30+ minutes in 2c. boiling water)
1 can frozen Orange Juice concentrate
1 can frozen Lemonade concentrate
2c. brandy
5c. water (in addition to the 2c used for brewing)
*mix together in an ice cream pale...throw in the freezer and you'll have delicious slush in 24 hours.
*scoop into glass and pour your preferred citrus soda on top (7-up, Sprite, Fresca, Squirt, Sierra Mist, etc)
*I like to stir it a couple times as it is freezing so things don't settle....

Weekend Project #2

November 13-15:

We received news of a new arrival in our circle of friends. This is what I decided to do...

I've made these before, but the orange one turned out so cute I had to move onto the green. Super fast knit...super cute gift.

You can find One Skein Wonders and the yarn on Amazon.com.

I'm Back WITH Posts...

I'm back and I have a lot to post about...new recipes I've tried, projects I've completed, projects I'm working on, and funny pics to share....

STAY TUNED!!!!

.....there will be an influx of posts.....

Inspiration Gardens

We have been approached by a local church community to help in a wonderful ministry that they offer. Inspiration Gardens is a project that sponsors an annual community wide FREE Thanksgiving Dinner with locally grown produce from garden plots which have been donated. They also donate what isn't set aside to be used for the Thanksgiving Dinner to the local food shelf. How beautiful is that?! Living in a farming community and being among those who appreciate and value all that is home grown is wonderful. We have whole hearted accepted the invitation to participate. Next spring approximately 3/4 acre of our land will be used for this purpose. We couldn't think of a better use for it!!!!...and are completely honored to be able to help in such beautiful program. Thank you Inspiration Church!

Adios!...

Day 16 of sickness is sending us OUT OF HERE!. We've cleaned and sanitized and are just about packed. I'm taking the kids to my parents house for the weekend. Perhaps a change of environment and some seriously fresh air will help.
Here's hoping!....

Overwhelmed...

Just when I thought we were done with the sickness....or at least on the mend, ALL of the kids spike fevers again. Half of Saturday and all day Sunday was spent chasing them around trying to catch their boogies before their sleeves do, doing mounds of laundry (this is only the clothes....upstairs is a pile of bedding), and trying to figure meals out so I don't have to go into town to buy food. UGH! I've got a mess to get on top of before it gets worse. And wouldn't you know the weather decides to perk up today, so instead of staying in and cleaning, the kids and I are going OUTSIDE for some much needed fresh air! Do you think the laundry will do itself?....it could possibly be dirty enough to stand up. ;-)

Happy Cleaning.....maybe later.....

Weekend Project #1...

My first attempt at cabling is proving successful AND fun. It is a little bit putzier than I thought it would be but I think it is only because I tend to knit pretty tightly. The finished piece will be a vintage style "flapper hat". I'll try to post the pattern...I'm using one out of a magazine...

p.s. the pattern isn't free, you gotta buy the magazine Interweave Knits Weekend 2009 for  Provence Cloche

Love Affair...

I have a love affair with my coffee maker. I was never a big coffee drinker until I became a parent. Surprise surprise. And now I can't seem to get enough! Okay....I CAN function without coffee. I DON'T twitch or shut down without it. I have been known to get an occasional headache if I don't get at least one cup a day. But seriously, of all the addictions to choose from these days, I think a 3-cup-a-day coffee addiction is pretty reasonable.
ANYWAY.....
After almost 6 years of service, our good old $30 Mr. Coffee coffee maker found his way to the "get rid of" box. It still worked, but it was seriously on it's last days. Because both my husband and I love our coffee in the morning, we vowed to "invest" in a better coffee maker. And we decided that in honor of our love for freshly ground, freshly brewed coffee (yes, we could possibly be turning into coffee snobs), we'd purchase a grind and brew.
Best decision ever!
I love this thing!
LOVE!

My Treasures...

I walked out to get the mail yesterday. It had been a few days since we've gotten it at this point as we've all been plagued with nasty sickness this past week. As I'm going through the pile I see bills, junk mail, a magazine (for my husband), the weekly shopper, and a couple birthday cards for the kids. Towards the end of the pile I found one card from my mother and another from my grandmother. "Hmmm...I wonder what this is about," I thought. I opened each one only to find a wonderful "thinking of you" letter. I initially thought perhaps they were in cahootz in doing this, but later found out not. I think that maybe I just needed these this week. A note from the woman who raised me and the woman who raised her. How much more warm and fuzzy and taken care of could it get for me?! Needless to say it made my day.....it made my WEEK!.....heck, 2 personal "love" letters in one week could very well hold me over for MONTHS!!!

Thanks Mom!....I love you Nana!!!

p.s. these are for you

What's In A Name...

Ever since I can remember I've had this obsession with unique stationary, thoughtfully written and made cards, one-of-a-kind journals, cool notebooks, writing pens, etc. I own TONS of (empty) journals, all bought with the intent to fill them with thoughts, stories, and little treasures. I've always thought there is something truly personal, terribly intimate, and absolutely timeless about a handwritten letter, daily journal entries, or simply drawings, poems, song lyrics, clippings, etc that are put into a book and stamped with someone's name. In a way it immortalizes a person's character and personality and at the same time makes a person so vulnerable and exposed. Such is art....and what a lost art it all is.

For too long I have wanted some sort of functional and creative outlet. Something that isn't too massive of a project. Something I can work on and continually change or develop. And something that I can finish with a sense of accomplishment and with the hope of offering someone else some happiness or joy.

"Preserving Love" is my means of sharing what I love the most: caring for my family. I am fortunate enough to be able to stay home with our children and make a home for my husband. Even though my perfection in this wavers and is darn near embarrassing most days, my pride in this grows daily. There has always been a rooted desire in me to learn more about canning, cooking with whole foods, growing and using what we can from the garden, reusing/re-purposing things, and basically making life simpler, healthier, and better. My hope in "Preserving Love" is to remind people of a time when life was not so fast paced, disposable, and revolved around the immediate. That this IS attainable.

The simpler life.