What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Monday, June 19, 2006

Fluffernutter

There is nothing like homemade jam, fresh peas, whoopie pies, animal antics, and plants! That is what our Saturday consisted of.

Gary and Linda (my in-laws) came to visit us this weekend and brought with them a truckload of treasure. Lumber from their sawmill, a pull-out couch, and an heirloom nightstand/dresser. Much of the lumber has already been used as Matt and Gary built Dutchie a doghouse on Saturday. The rest will go towards making a swing set for the ever patient Corynn (and the ever uninterested Panda).

I am hoping to make a cover or FIND a cover for the pull-out couch. As wonderful as it is to have a fold-up bed-the appearance leaves much to be desired. Hopefully, in time, I can dress it up. Cover that hideous pea green with a floral print-add a few throw pillows and we will be golden! :-) Unless I find something at a sale, I might HAVE to make it because you KNOW I am NOT spending the full price on a sofa cover. Have you ever priced those things?!?! OUTRAGEOUS!

While the men were slaving away for pooch, Linda and I (with chillin’s in tow) hit the road! We went to a local antique store (I will be going back for some vintage hankies and perhaps a hat-they were so CLASSY!) I saw some cobalt blue jars (Old Milk of Magnesia jars) at the store for $9.00 a piece. I thought that was funny because I bought four jars at a garage sale for $3.00 for ALL. Neato. I love looking them on my windowsill and can’t wait to fill them with bright yellow sunflowers!

We also stopped at an Amish roadside stand where we picked up some peas and some whoopie pies and asked for directions to the local Amish greenhouse, our next destination. It was a WONDERFUL place with lush plants (surprising knowing that it is the end of the greenhouse season, really!) and animals EVERYWHERE. We saw deer (they raised them), horses, chickens, goats and bunnies. What we DIDN’T see were cows or pigs. Perhaps they were in the barn. I counted seven children-all barefoot. That is not to say there weren’t more. Some were playing in the sandbox, some were feeding the animals, and others were working the greenhouse. I saw the Mammi and Dawdi head to their dawdihaus next door. I saw their BEAUTIFUL, IMMACULATE, and HUGE garden lined with petunias and marigolds. And as we left, they were hooking up the horse to go spread manure. Oh, how I wish I could have taken pictures but it wouldn’t have been respectful (and very insensitive) to their beliefs. It really is a shame though. I would love to photograph the quaintness, the serenity, and the peace of the Amish. I imagine it must be tiring for them though, everyone wanting to photograph them as if they were a sideshow.

This past week I finished making nine jars of strawberry freezer jam. Since our freezer is TINY and I need to use the room wisely, all other jams and jellies will have to be canned. Hopefully, part of our tax money in the spring will go to a big ole freezer!!!

This week I hope to finish organizing my craft room. It has been in disarray for far too long. Sunday evening I wanted to put my feet up and embroider but decided against it because by the time I would FIND all the supplies and get started, the night would be over. Soon. Very soon I will have no distractions. (Well, if you don’t count a whimpering babe and an overactive two-going-on-twelve year old.)

I am getting some SUPER-DEE-DUPER deals at the grocery store this week, which gave me the silly notion to feature a “deal of the week” on my blog. Every week I will post my best ‘deal’. I know-kind of silly. But hey-that’s me!

The sky is about to open up and I love a good ‘summer’ storm. Hurrah for buckets of rain saving me from hauling buckets of water. A thirsty garden no more!

This week I will start the virtual tour of our house that I have been promising for so long... We will do one room (or area) every day which will mean that by the end of the week (or close) we will be done. Hope you enjoy the tour but for a REAL one, you will have to visit! So-for today, we look at the OUTSIDE!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

For the slipcover.......check Value City in Altoona or Big Lots. They often carry them. I have a slipcover from Value City and I am thinking I paid in the 20 to 30 dollar range when they are on sale. Still not cheap but if you look at how much they are other places def. cheaper there.

I will look forward to the virtual tour of your home. When we start to paint the rest of the house I will do the same.
Have a great week!
Jennifer

Michelle said...

Also look on EBay... I bought slipcovers for my couch and loveseat (SureFit brand) on there for about $30 each. It sure beats $70+ each! I would think it'd be easier to buy one than to fiddle making one as you have to sew it just right so it fits nicely, but that is just me! :P hehe

I enjoy the photos of your house. It looks so peaceful in your yard. Our garden is growing a lot, too. Our beans are going crazy, and we see little shoots of corn, cucumbers and squash poking up. My lettuce (a leaf lettuce mix) looks SO yummy... I just want to go out there, sit down and eat it all, but Dave wants to save seeds so I have to leave some in the garden (rats!)

Dave is also priming the long porch on the front of our house, so soon it will be painted and I can hang my baskets with pink and lilac impatiens in them up! I am so excited for it to look nice! I know people understand we just moved in there and are busy with kids, but I am so eager to get it painted and have it look nice to people that drive by!!

Paula said...

CanI just say once again how I envy you!! (I know I should be content, but I so long for the life you are living right now! - Prayerfully it won't be long though. We have found the PERFECT house for us and are praying and waiting on the Lord. Please pray. The house is only TURLY perfect if it is in God's will for us. Waiting on Him is so hard!)
Also, I noticed that launrdy line didn't have any clothes on the lower line!! LOL!! =^)

Rebecca said...

Jen~ It is HANDY having a local friend! You can tell me all the places near me! hehehe I look forward to your pictures.

Michelle~ Don't worry-you have done a TREMENDOUS amount to your house ALREADY! You ALWAYS have your hands into something and EVERYONE can see it! Post pictures after the porch is done-it will look so nice! I love your porch.

P~HaHa you stinkpot! You have the observations of my husband-you don't miss a thing! Actually, the grandparents were here this weekend and so hanging clothes was the LAST thing she wanted to do-and I don't blame her! But she does enjoy it any other time. I will have to post a picture of her hanging them with me-but that would require Matt to be home from work. we'll see what I can do about that. I did learn SOMETHING though and THAT is, Corynn couldn't hang them with the squeeze kind of clothespins that I use. She didn't have the strength to open it in just one hand but she had to use the other hand to hold the fabric. Thankfully, her grandma had brought some old fashioned kinds (the ones you just push over the fabric) and she is able to do that.

Carmichael Family said...

Sounds like you had a full weekend! I have always been fascinated by the Amish...but of course you're right, to take pictures would have been disrespectful. I can't wait to see the house tour!

Paula said...

:D tee-hee. I told you I LOVE that clothesline! I know that garage sales sometimes have those older clothespins, but you can also order them from Lehman's (do a serch for the web page). I would love to order EVERYTHING from their catalog!!!

betsy said...

I am sure you are a much better seamstress than I...I once tried to make a sofa cover for an older couch of ours, and let me just say it did not turn out well at all...alas, the couch looked much better without the cover than with it!
Freezer jam sounds so fun and practical! How do you make it? And don't worry, I haven't forgotten the recipe for spaghetti sauce...I just haven't had the chance to write it out yet.