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

Tuesday, October 09, 2018

Crafting On...

 



I discovered recently that we have five baby doll cradles.  FIVE.  A bit excessive, wouldn't you say?  Several have sentimental value- one was built for me when I was a girl.  One was built by Grandpa for the girls.  One was redone for the girls by Uncle Bob.  Two are super nice but have no sentimental value whatsoever.  I don't know if I will save the sentimental ones for grown up girls to take with them for their children.  Should I store them in the Granary for a dozen or so more years?  I dunno.   Maybe we will get down to one someday-but for now, at the very least, I ought to be able to say goodbye to the non-sentimental ones.  

After some investigative recon work, I discovered my niece happened to not have a doll cradle (and many poor babies without a place to lay their heads!) so for her birthday, I stitched up a bedding set to go with one of the cradles.  Her birthday theme was mermaids- and wouldn't you know I had mermaid flannel packed up somewhere with a bunch of other flannel scraps?  One down....

The crafting going on this week is of the costume variety.  Halloween is coming up fast and we happen to be doing a whole family theme-which means two extra costumes to work on!  For the first time, probably in my lifetime, I am working on costumes before the The.Night.Before.  With several overnight house guests and a church together all noted on the calendar for the week of Halloween, I think it might best to maybe not wait to the last minute.  Besides, I can't help but still hope for this being a whirlwind month of change, one that will leave me breathless, speechless and will end with   every ounce of my time and energy being consumed by the busy bliss of new babies.  One can hope.  

And if not, I guess it will just be the most relaxing Halloween ever.  

The yarn project is a  hat for Ineke that will work for her costume- it isn't exactly right but I would rather knit her a hat she can wear all season for warmth and be slightly off for her costume than have an exactly right costume that she never wears again.  

Reading:  I recently finished Godric (which I loved!) but my mind and heart have been spread pretty thin these days so I haven't been drawn to open up any particular book.  It's as if my brain is too full to add anything else.  I just got The Old Man and the Sea by Hemmingway from the library.  I haven't cracked it open yet.  Maybe I will find the gumption this week.  I am occasionally listening to Pride and Prejudice on audiobook.   I just love the language in that book.   

Thursday, October 04, 2018

(Never) Too many Luaus


Do you know what I discovered this summer?  If you happen upon a few old circus party decorations in your cupboard and decide to host the Newman family reunion with a Luau theme....people will bring MORE luau decorations with them when they come.   With MORE decorations, you might as well host ANOTHER luau for the Cantrell family reunion.    And then THEY might bring some stuff and maybe leave a bunch of lei's instead of taking them home as favors so....it would only make sense to use those things AGAIN a few weeks later for the big homeschooling party you are throwing for the children.

Right now, I am totally sick of luau decorations.

 I fully intended to donate every last one of them right after the party- but then I think, if I already have all the decorations...maybe I should save them for next years' parade float.  And then- well, who knows what the next big party theme could come from a few years down the road when I open the box with pink flamingos...  

Hoarding has its' benefits.  









Luau #1:  Newman Reunion (minus Kelly who left too early for the picture! Sorry Kelly!)

Lots of decorations magically appeared after this one.  Ineke ate corn on the cob for the first time by herself.  Homemade pina coladas and grilled pineapple!










Awwww....look at that cute, productive little garden!  Before it turned into a weedy swamp monster a month later.





Luau #2: Cantrell family 'reunion' with the added perk of an adopted Grandma Barb!  

Luau #2 boasted of the Most Ginormous Bubbles We've Ever Seen (thanks Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Mary!) and finished off with a BANG!



Luau #3: A Back to Homeschooling Luau

The invitation guestlist was 64+ people but a few could make it.  At peak, there were about 53 people, I think but I never got a picture of them.  :-(  Too bad- it's a handsome lot.  I made over 22 pounds of sloppy joe ahead of time (thank goodness we recently butchered a cow!) and bought 80 hotdog buns.  Of course, kids were so busy playing and hanging out- we ate from the leftovers for about a week.  I still have some in the freezer, in fact.

There were bonafide games at this luau- and a tidal wave photo booth.  (I had the fabric stored from handmedowns.  Yes, another perk of hoarding.)  And oodles of silliness. 

It was great.




It always helps when you have extremely talented friends who get right in the spirit of things.  (Thank you Owen Girls!)






Sorry Malachi and Martha- my camera is broke!  I blame it on that!





Cadence looks all lovely and Ineke is shoving her face.  That sounds about right.
 


The party remnants: 

a few decorations more than the first porch picture!


And we end with the little surfer girl on the Sweet Tiki Tea....

Aloha!