More Hoppes Homestead Photographs

More photos from our day with the Hoppes Family!

A Very Nice Day

The girls and I visited our friends at the Hoppes Homestead yesterday. So much fun! They have four new baby goats, lots of chickens, rabbits, and a big fenced-in yard. I knew the girls had fun because they were dirty and tired at the end of the day.

By the way, Kim cans the BEST pickles! Maybe she'll post the recipe on her blog some day!

Making Friends

I've been trying to make friends with the serger again. (I would say "MY" serger, but it actually belongs to my mom--although I don't think she's ever used it!)

Since buying the new sewing/embroidery machine, I've known that I really need get the serger out and see if I can get it working again. Something went wrong with it about FOUR YEARS ago! I was trying to change the thread color from white to red. The tension was then off. The loops were off. I read the instruction book trying to re-thread it. Nothing was working. I put it aside and covered it up. It's sat there, lonely and unused, for a long, long time.

Last weekend I blew the dust off, uncovered it, and tried again. It worked! I've been serging up a storm. It's been mostly used for finishing seams on dresses for the girls. I've done a little sewing with it too. I just keep talking nicely to it....and apologizing for neglecting it for so long.

Obituary

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend by the name of Common Sense who has been with us for many years.

No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valued lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge). His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition! It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, spilled it in her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone

(This is from the Internet.)

Breaking Free!

Yesterday I did a photo shoot for a friend of mine who has started a ministry called "Breaking Free Women's Ministries". They minister at the local jails, providing a Bible study, prayer, and support after the women are released. They are currently working on a big fundraiser in hopes of opening a halfway house in the county.

The shoot was a lot of fun! They haven't even seen the photos yet, and I'm still in the process of editing them. Wish I could do things like this more often.

Tag! I'm It!

Cyndi tagged me today! Here goes!

1. What was I doing ten years ago? I was living in Jasonville, Indiana and was working as a dental assistant for a company that provided services to nursing homes. A LOT of traveling was involved. Rick and I hadn't even met yet.

2. Five things on my to-do list today. Do a photo shoot for a friend of mine, start editing process of the photos, work on figuring out how to use my embroidery machine, take the girls outside to play, watch Survivor.

3. Snacks I enjoy? Popcorn, chocolate, nuts, BBQ Pringles, apples with peanut butter.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire. Have college/trust funds for my children and my neices and nephews. Start several scholarships for homeschoolers' needs. Fund my business with things it needs. Pay off the house. Pay off my parents' house. Pay off my siblings' houses. Give millions to the church. Do Random Acts of Kindness that are anonymous--like Oprah's The Big Give.

5. Three bad habits. Too much of the snacks listed in #3. Staying in my pajamas all day. Letting the girls stay in their pajamas all day.

6. Five places I have lived. Bloomington, IN; Jasonville, IN; Indianapolis, IN; Carlisle, IN; Short Hills, NJ. Yes, New Jersey.

I'm tagging anyone who wants to play! Be sure to let me know so I can visit your blog! Be sure to visit Cyndi's blog also!

Wordless Wednesday

For more Wordless Wednesday go to www.wordlesswednesday.com.

She Bringeth Her Food from Afar

She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar

Proverbs 31:14

Katie and I made our monthly shopping trek to "the city" yesterday. It usually takes us all day, and we make it a fun day together. It's a learning experience for Katie. We talk about everything we see. We compare prices (as much as she understands it), pray for guidance before we go into a store, look at the ads, and practice good habits like courtesy towards everyone.

At CVS I spent a net of just over $3.00 and got $38 worth of products we use. That also included $7.00 for mouth medicine that Katie needed and we usually don't buy. We used coupons combined with sales and the ECBs we'd accumulated. Not bad!

Kroger went really well too. Rick LOVES seafood and they had some crablegs that are normally $28 marked down to $10 so that was my first item. We also got 6 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal that were on sale for $1.99 and I had a coupon for $2 off EACH BOX making them free! (We'll eat a lot of that, but some will be donated also.) We found milk marked down to $2/gallon and bought 3 of those for the freezer. Two cake mixes were for my mom and were on sale also. All together, I spent $28 and saved over $40. It's like I bought the crablegs and got the rest for free!

We also stopped at the meat market, Aldi's, Walgreens, GFS, the bread store, Wal-Mart (where I used $14.50 in coupons), and the Farmer's Market. Other than adding in a few fresh fruits and veggies in a few weeks, we're set for the month!

Our excitement for the day happened while I was having some fabric cut at Jo-Ann's. My cell phone rang and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Hello

Rick: You've gotta come home. Audrey has a BEAD stuck in her nose!

Me: What? Are you serious???

Rick: Of course I'm serious. Come home soon!

(At this point, I'm trying not to laugh. The woman who was cutting the fabric was giving me the oddest looks..... Keep in mind that I was at least 25 minutes from home! I get my fabric cut and hurry to the register.) The phone rings again....

Me: Yes?????

Rick: I got the bead out. You can finish your shopping. I'm throwing away every bead in this house!

Me: You got the bead out???? She has no bead in her nose???

(At this point, the cashier starts giggling and I can't help but laugh too!)

Rick and I hang up and I finish my errands. When I got home, Rick had indeed thrown out every bead he could find. (Katie and I love beads.) Knowing Audrey, she'll just find something else....like a bean, or a piece of cat food, or a small toy.

Karate, anyone???

10
The questions for this quiz are hilarious! You can click on the box to take the quiz yourself.
(Not that I would ever, ever, ever take on 5-year-olds for any reason....)

Wordless Wednesday

For more Wordless Wednesday, go to www.wordlesswednesday.com.

Summer Jammies

I made Audrey some new summer jammies this weekend. I cut them out for Katie, well, two years ago!

Technically, they're "lounge wear" since the fabric is cotton and not flame resistant. I'm sure she'll wear them to bed.

The pattern for the top originally had a curved hem. I started pressing the hem up to sew it, but curved hems are a pain. So I just chopped it off straight! Problem solved! Now, of course, it's a little short...but she's only wearing it to bed.

She was standing over the heating vent when I took the photos. It's too cold here for summer jammies today! The blowing heat made her look like one of those models in front of a fan.

Please disregard the unmatched socks. :-)

The Easter Cactus?

Our Christmas cactus started blooming in the fall and is still going strong! Lovely, isn't it?

Easy-to-Do Rag Quilt

I made the girls a quick rag quilt for their dolls from some scraps I had in my sewing room. You can view the tutorial here. It was very easy to make and would be a great gift for any little girl. The hardest thing about this quilt was finding scraps that hadn't been prewashed. Using new fabrics would, of course, solve that problem

This quilt would be simple to make larger for a baby, or even larger for an older child or adult.

Vintage Patterns Made New

Am I the only person who thinks that low-rise pants are a bad idea for kids (not to mention adults)? Katie is very tall for her age, and has virtually no waistline. Every pair of pants fall down on her hips, even when the waist is tight enough. You can see her behind when she's playing and it looks like she's a wanna-be rapper.

I had a thought about vintage patterns. We didn't wear low-rise pants when I was a child, so I looked and easily found a pattern on eBay. The date was 1977.

Now for some fabric..... I love to re-purpose items, and that's how a tablecloth from the clearance aisle at Wal-Mart became a pair of children's pants. It's a nice denim fabric--not too heavy, and not too thin. I think it was around $3 for the HUGH tablecloth so I'm sure I'll be able to get some more items from it.

Back to the pants. The waist actually comes up to her waistline. They aren't skin-tight like a lot of jeans are these days. (I don't like skin-tight for adults, not to mention for little girls.) Katie says they're very comfortable.

We may be switching to all dresses in the near future. Until that happens, this will be the pattern I use for Miss Katie's pants.

Mittens at 30 Weeks

I went with my sister, Sharon, her husband (Don), her two sons (Kyle and Adam, my nephews), my mom, and Katie (my daughter who is 4) to my sister's 4D Ultrasound. She's a few days shy of 30 weeks.

Sharon drank orange juice on the way so Maggie (or "Mittens" as she's so fondly known) would be active. And, boy, was she ever active!

Maggie had her hands in front of her face for a lot of the ultrasound. If it wasn't her hands, it was part of the umbilical cord laying on her nose that would block her face. At one time, you could see her tiny hands grasping her BIG foot! Well, it looked big compared to her hand! She had one eye open and was looking around. Then she started hiccuping! You could see everything on the huge screen. You could see the parts of the umbilical cord, the chambers of her beating heart, and her perfect little spine.

Psalm 139:13-16
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

I've Been Tagged!

Melissa has tagged me for the "5 (Useless) Things about Me" meme. Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself with pictures.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

(or you can let them find out reading your blog!--I just added that part! :))

Hmmmm.......5 things.....Here goes.....

1. I can't stand to hear anyone sneeze--myself included. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.
2. Speaking of fingernails, I used to be a BAD nail-biter, and then quit cold turkey. My nails got so long that they CURVED and no one would believe they were real.
3. I was once offered an outrageous amount of money to pose nude for a photo grad student at I.U. He kept telling me that it was my backside that he was interested in and no one would know it was me. (By the way, I didn't do it.)
4. Creative ideas swirl around in my mind 24/7--yes, even when I'm asleep. Sometimes the ideas keep me from sleeping.
5. I can eat popcorn every day--and usually do.

I'm tagging
Cyndi at Modern Christian Homestead
Kathy at Highlights from Higher Ground
Rick at Musings of a Vast Right-Winger
Kim at Hoppes Homestead (even though someone else recently tagged her)
and anyone else who would like to post!

The Great Toy Experiment of 2008

Saturday night was stressful around here. The girls had every single toy on their bedroom floor--or on the livingroom floor.

After spending at least 45 minutes trying to get them to start picking things up, I told them that when the timer goes off in 15 minutes, anything that was still out was MINE!

(I did this a few weeks ago and about 25% of their toys went into time-out. They earned them back by picking up things that were left out over the next few days.)

The timer went off and nothing, I mean NOTHING had been done. I was right there with them for the entire 15 minutes and short of me putting a toy in their hand and leading them to the toybox, nothing was working. In fact, that really didn't work either because I couldn't get up and walk for them.

It was turning into a test of wills.

So, anyway, the timer went off. I started dragging the toy box into their closet then tossing everything on top of it. Now they wanted to help! They thought it was fun to toss toys into the toybox that was now in a different spot. I took everything except the stuffed animals on their beds and the books that were on the shelf.

Now it's Tuesday. They've spent a lot of time coloring, making "caves" with blankets draped over the bunkbeds, playing with the stuffed animals, reading books, and making their own fun. They haven't fought any less, but they haven't fought more either.

Know what? I don't think they really miss the toys at all. Sure, they played with them when they could go from one to the next, scattering pieces and parts along the way.....but overall, I don't think they care.

Pretty soon I'm going to have to deal with the toys in the closet. I can't get in there to find their shoes, or get any of their drawers open. I'm not ready to toss all the toys completely.

What would you do?

Etsy and Embroidery

More items have been listed in my Etsy shoppe. I've been experimenting with the photography aspect, trying to come up with just the right "photo recipe" for my handmade accessories. What do you think of the photos?

On another note, I recently purchased an embroidery machine! It's still in the box, waiting to be tested. Today is the day! Hope to post photos from my experiments later in the week. (It's also a sewing machine, so I'll probably learn how that part works first, then move on to embroidery.)

EBay Listing...and, no, it's not mine!

Ebay is raising fees. Well, technically, they're lowering insertion fees, while upping the final value fees. This means they get more money from the sellers, while trying to seem like they're charging less.

Many people, myself included, who sell handmade items on eBay are planning a boycott from February 18-25. I know, it will be a drop in eBay's bucket, but at least we can say we tried to do something.

Here's a link to an eBay listing that tells all about it!

If you buy or sell on eBay, please think about joining the boycot.