Grainy Season and Christmas Trees

I fully intended to do a 'weekending' post with pictures from our busy weekend...but here it is practically FRIDAY and I haven't posted once. 

And before I go further, I must apologize in advance for the grainy pictures.  This will probably be status quo for the rest of winter when I hibernate indoors and I have no access to sunshine.  :-(



The craft show on Saturday bombed with my calendars getting nary a glance except by one very interesting fellow who travels the world taking nekkid pictures for Calvin Klein and GQ, who just happened to be shopping with this wife.  He gave me his business card- but it had a naked picture on it and made me squirm a bit just having it in my wallet...so I threw it out like a proper prude.  :-)  I did manage to visit with my sister and have time to start/finish a Christmas present and have seven hours of time in which I did not have to chase down any children.  Considering these things, it was a success.



Last Thursday, Matt's parents took Corynn and Andrew to NEW YORK CITY and the Radio City Music Hall to see a Christmas show.  I have never been to NYC and I have always WANTED to see a show, so yeah- slightly jealous there.  Saturday night we ate our dinner while going through all the photos on the camera that the children had taken.  Plenty of them were of the Greyhound carpet or the back of peoples' heads...and most were blurred by excited fingers.  But it was fun anyway.



 
 

On Sunday after church we had our annual tree-trimming party, in which we drank the first eggnog of the season and ate all snacks for dinner.  (AKA junk.)  The menu consisted of chocolate covered popcorn, rye dip and bread, mozzerella sticks and jello jigglers.  Judah had NO IDEA what the jello was all about at first, but when he tried it, the whole bowl was gone within minutes.  I didn't go all crazy with the snacks this year like I do sometimes (for several reasons) and we all really missed our once-a-year Little Smokies.  (Note to Self: Don't forget the Smokies.)  We all felt sick that night but that won't stop us from doing it next year too.  (Insanity.)
 
 


 

I think the tree we got (the cheapest one available!) is the most beautiful one we have ever had.  Perfectly shaped with not a bare spot in sight.  Long, elegant needles that tickle instead of poke.  Just the perfect height so nothing needed to be trimmed from top OR bottom.  JUST RIGHT.  

Monday I went to the chiropractor for the first time ever.  (Ouch.)  Tuesday Corynn went to the dentist.  Wednesday I went to the post office to mail calendars.  Today I took the children down the hill to an elderly home-bound neighbor who had asked that the children come over to make fudge with her. (To make fudge?!  BY ALL MEANS!)



I do not prefer days in which things are scheduled and harried and on-the-go.  I especially do not like  WEEKS like that.  In fact, I rather like to avoid busyness, in general.  I'll be glad when this week is over.



The house has (as is often the case when things are busy and fast-paced and on-the-go) gotten messy and cluttered-feeling again so I spent yesterday afternoon listening to several debates on youtube while I made the master bedroom spic and span.  Having one room immaculate will allow me a calm space where I can retreat until I get the rest of the house tidy.   Makes my brain seem less cluttered too.  Plenty more rooms to go before we host Christmas Eve here!  :-)  
 

After I worked all afternoon on cleaning the room, I couldn't help but admire the floor.  Oh- how infrequently the floor in our bedroom is bare!   When I went to bed that night, I took an extra long glance at the room in all its' tidy glory- so I would remember that short, but oh, so sweet, moment when something felt DONE. 

A big pet peeve of mine is when Matt throws his PJ's on the floor by the bed.  Every. Single. Day.

But lookie what I found today when I went to put clean socks away: 



Awwwww.  He loves me.

Finances on Friday

 

Some financial efforts for the week:

 In addition to the typical money savers (like saving ziploc bags and hanging clothes...)

* Matt and I had our "budget meeting" on Sunday night.  (That sounds so dorky.)  It was nice to talk about our finances together instead of me just doing my thing.  The big change is that we will work together on writing out any unbudgeted expenses on a running list to see just exactly where the 'excess' money is going each month.    Sometimes it feels like you are just treading water- until you see in list form all the things you have spent things on...those things are easy to forget, leaving you wonder WHY DON'T WE HAVE ANY MONEY?!?  ;-)  It was impressive to see the list of financial things we have accomplished this year due to our scrimping.  I am glad we had the meeting and I look forward to the next one!  It was kinda date-ish, in a stay-home-and-talk-about-money sort of way.  ;-)

*  I went out the Saturday after Thanksgiving to get several turkeys at a post-holiday discount and couldn't FIND ANY for less than .88 a pound.  So I didn't get any.  That was a big disappointment for me because I had hoped to buy three or so.  Now .88 per pound is still cheaper than most meats~ just not as impressive a deal as I usually like to get.  (Last year I got three turkeys for .29 a pound!)  NOW I regret not getting a few anyway.  I was being greedy.  As of now, I only stocked up on ONE turkey @ .49 a pound (on my big grocery trip last week~with a $25 minimum, or I would have gotten more.).  I still hold out hope for turkey/ham discounts after Christmas- but if the lowest I can get at that point is .88 cents a pound, I guess I will just go for it.

* Made a dollhouse pillow for a Christmas gift using only items I had on hand.  I thought I had stuffing on hand and I didn't.  For some stuffing, I washed a bed pillow that was so flat no one used it anymore, unstuffed it, fluffed up the stuffing and used that to stuff the dollhouse pillow. Cost for stuffing= FREE!  Cost for pillow- FREE!

* crocheted a cowl for a Christmas present using yarn I had on hand.  (total cost: FREE!)

* Ordered two Christmas presents online and got free shipping.

* Since our printer is (still!) broken, I had to order our Christmas pictures for cards.  Price shopped around on the web and used a promo code and site-to-store free shipping to get the cheapest rate.

*  Ordered a cd from seedsfamilyworship and used a coupon code for 20% off. This company is fabulous!  They artistically and skillfully set scripture verses to music.  It is really incredible- fun, catchy and addictive- music.  And each order comes with two identical cd's- one to keep and one to give away! I downloaded a free song a few weeks ago and the children listened a few times and I have been hearing them sing it ever since!  The other day I figured if they loved the freebie that much, it would be worth it to get ourselves a cd.
(The 20% off sale code is Story2013 and should be good until December 9th...if you are interested.)

* Started up an Etsy shoppe. This, by the way, was one of my 2013 goals! (Thank you for everyone who has checked it out and for those of you who have purchased something!  I am so thrilled with your purchases!  Thank you!) 

* Read my free copy of Imprimis...put out by Hillsdale College.  Subscriptions to this newsletter are free.  An interesting article this month!  



* Organized, cleaned, labeled and inventoried the spice cupboard.

* Made homemade taco seasoning. (Thanks for the recipe, Terri!)

And for the bad~

* I was disappointed to have quite a bit of food go bad on me this week.  I really, REALLY hate it when that happens because, in my mind, it is essentially burning up money.  One large zucchini, a winter squash, half a loaf of homemade bread that fell behind something in the cupboard, half a cup of tomato paste, and about 8 bananas that I intended to make banana bread with but never got around to it before it was too late.  (Usually I just throw the bananas in the freezer but my intentions were to make them immediately.)  I try very hard to not let things like that happen.  Just as I consider every step  toward saving money (no matter how small) a great success, every small waste that could have been prevented is a big disappointment.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This weekend will be a busy one!  

Tomorrow I am doing a craft show with my sister- the first one in YEARS- which will leave me busy from 7:30-4:00.  This means tonight I will have plenty to do in preparation for that!  One thing I absolutely HAVE to do is find a yarn project (or two) to bring with me to work on while I am there.  

There is nothing worse than sitting in a chair all day not doing a thing.

 Then, if all goes well on Sunday, I am hoping to get our Christmas tree and have our Trim the Tree party.

What are your plans for the weekend?  Any frugal accomplishments you want to share?  Any handmade gifts being made lately? 

Have a great weekend!

Little Bits

This picture was taken BEFORE I put our flannel sheets on the bed.  Flannel sheets make everything right with the world.

Matt has a bit of a project that he is working on.  He borrowed his Dad's trailer and got some gravel from down by the creek to tidy up the back of the barn.  

This is what it looked this past summer~ (under the junk on the ground lies the remnant of a concrete silo that Matt had to break apart and move.

As you can see, it is a far cry from what it once was! 

Matt has plans to build an 'addition' to this spot, an overhang where he can store equipment out of the weather.  You'll be seeing that soon enough, if I know my man the way I think I do.

Andrew set up a cow museum.  He is obsessed.

 Then Corynn set up a horse museum.  She is not as obsessed about horses as Andrew is about cows, but you wouldn't know it from this picture.

Speaking of obsessed....

Have you ever tried making a galette without parchment paper?   I had big plans for serving a rustic apple galette with a brown butter caramel sauce for some company and then it totally flopped 15 minutes before they arrived.  I quickly tossed the apples in a pan and made apple crisp instead. 

 Maybe a galette will be in my future- but I will have to be smart enough to do the crust right on the pan next time.  (duh.)

We have a no-feet-on-the-table policy in this house.  Corynn must not have got the memo.

One Saturday morning breakfast,  I served cinnamon apple oatmeal.  This led to a discussion on cereal grains and what constitutes them, which led to a whiteboard presentation of grasses and what constitutes them, which led to mono and dicotyledons and what exactly they are which led to the dissection of an apple and a seed 'helicopter'.

Matt's contribution to our home learning. 

On Thanksgiving, the girls asked to have curls in their hair.  Then they asked me to as well.  Here we are, all curlified.  

Yarn Along~ (and a few Handmade gifts)

Christmas-making has begun in full force.  Nothing as motivating to get things started than four voices that chime the countdown each day. 

"Only 21 days left", says they.

"Slow down!  Slow down!"  says I.  

And not slow down to Christmas.  Just slow down to life in general.  What happened to those long, drawn out days of my childhood? The feeling of never ending summertimes?  Empty days?  No one told me that I would lose those when I got older.  (Or if they did, I wasn't listening.)  All of the sudden I am a wife and have four children who enjoy the very same long, drawn out days that I can't seem to find............................

Sorry. 

Back to Christmas. Where was I?  21 days... yes, that was it.

The gift-making has begun in earnest. 

For some time now, my fingers have been fumbling through knitting projects.  I was trying so long to knit that my crocheting went by the wayside.  Then, a friend had a baby and, given my procrastinating nature, I knew I had to get a baby gift started or I never would.  I picked out some yarn from my stash and a crochet hook and I sat down.  When I got back up, VOILA!, a finished product.  Well, let me just say it has been FOR.EVER. since I had a project that could be done in one sitting!  It was joyous!  It was liberating!  And I decided right then and there that any handmade yarny gifts this Christmas would be CROCHETED. 

How fun it has been to realize how quickly I can crochet something up, after so long of knitting so sloooowly. 
 

My most current project is a brightly colored cowl featuring all the 'favorite' colors of the children.  It is a gift but I can't say for who.  ;-)  I am shooting for one similar to this.  I hope to finish it up tonight. 

Meanwhile, I am reading French Kids Eat Everything and getting a culture lesson~ the French, it seems, thinks we Americans are pretty repulsive individuals.  I can't say I disagree with them, in some respects.  It has been interesting to read, though I will say I can relate more to the French than to the author.

A few other recently finished handmade gifts o' yarn:

Baby Pixie hat.  The colors are pastel yellowish green and grey.  I was hoping the colors would be subtle but still boyish- though on the Heidi doll it does look kinda girly.  :-/  (That's it.  I need a newborn to model things!)  I found the button in my button tin and it was absolutely perfect.  It had glimmers of color equal to both shades of yarn when angled just so. 

Adele' is taking her job of holding the doll still VERY SERIOUSLY.  (sweetness.)

Cowboy booties.  If ever I have another 'cowboy', I am definitely making a pair of these to keep!  

 The Super Chunky Cowl wasn't quite as chunky as I thought it would be, but I was just using Lion Brand Homespun (something I had on hand) versus an extra chunky yarn which made a difference. 

Even so, I think the recipient will like it. 

Oh~ and lookie, lookie who has been busy with her own crochet hook!  

(Does my heart proud!)

~ The Small Things Yarn Along ~

I DID IT! (And it's for sale!)

Well, an important thing happened to me last night.  I could act all cool and non-nonchalant about it (that WOULD be the professional thing to do...) but that's not really me.  I mean, if I am feeling like this: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  then I am gonna look like this:

 

(Whether I want to or not.)  

(Not, by the way, would be the obvious choice.)

SO- what's got me so enthusiastic, you ask?

Well.  I got a cardboard box delivered to my door last night and in it was....

....drumroll, please....

wall calendars!  With MY photographs in them!  

 

The fact is, while I love photography and would love to have my own photography business some day, having four smallish kiddos does seem to pose a problem for me in this season I am in.  (Can you say...childcare?!)  So I got to thinking...and with the encouragement of quite a few people (even some of you!  Thank you for that!) I decided to try to sell some of the photos I am able to take, even surrounded by children.  

This is Adele's favorite month.

This is Corynn's favorite month.

All this to say.... I have started an Etsy shoppe where I will begin to sell a few of my photographs along with a few other handmade things throughout the year.  One of the prospects I am especially excited about is a yearly wall calendar~ so that is where I began.  The 2014 calendar theme is Blooms and Bugs (You all know how much I love those!) and each picture is taken right here at Hopestead...mostly in my flower circle. Also in the shop are postcard sets...some of you are already familiar with those. ;-)

What does next month hold?!?!

Probably a little something like one of these!

 If you are interested in checking out (or ordering!) the 2014 Bugs and Blooms wall calendar, you can see them here.  Remember- quantities are limited (After all, I didn't want to fork over too much money on an experiment that might totally bomb!)

Postcards can be found here. 

Okay.  I admit it.  I only posted this picture because I love my girls' dimples. 

What the hey.  

Maybe my photos might tickle someones' fancy. And if not...well then, I guess I have all my Christmas shopping done!  ;-)

Miss Giggly (Adele's 5th Birthday)

Adele' was all giggles on her birthday.  She giggled when we sang her awake.  She giggled when she was sung to on the telephone by the grandma's.  She giggled when she got a card in the mail and when our neighbor down the road popped over to give her four quarters and a birthday card.  She giggled when she ate french toast, when she asked to wear one of my necklaces for the day, when she saw her peacock cake and when she was crowned princess by her big sister.

I hope I never forget the sound of that little girl giggle.

 

(To make the crown:  Take a measured piece of lace and brush it with ModPodge.  Let dry.  Repeat two more times.  When hardened, hot glue it in a circle.  We spray painted it because we happened to have gold spray paint and Corynn glued jewels on the top because we happened to have those too but the plain white crown was beautiful too!)