Summer Projects

I just finished the final stitches on 'Land of the Free.' Well, I have not decided where my initials will go. If I were clever, I would try to frame it in this wreath that has been hanging under my mantel.
This design is the perfect size, by the way. It is small, but includes several specialty stitches.

If you can get a hold of a copy of "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady," I know you will be inspired. I have seen this book on several homeschool blogs where the ladies display a page of this book for the children to look at during the day. This is the a facsimile of a 1906 natural journal with paintings, verses, and records of things seen each day of the year.

Here is an update on my ongoing Pantry Project. So far, I have cleared out all my seasonal candles, potting soil, and Mod Podge to make room for all these glass jars from W@l-M@rt and T@rget. My plan is to have super-cute matching labels for each jar. I am also eyeing more baskets to keep paper products, grab-and-go snacks, etc.

This is my training ground for The Ultimate Organizing Project - The Craft Closet!

Baby Steps! ;)

Dance Shoes, Stitching Blues, and Other News

The other news first: My dining room looks as scrupulously clean as it will ever be. I just wanted to document that. What is not pictured is the odd assortment of jumbled items I removed from the table. I still don't quite know what to do with that.

The roses on the table were tokens from my parents for my two ballerinas. Buttercup danced three numbers in each of two performances, and Nutmeg danced 6 in 2 and 8 in 2 others. I think. My body, mind, and spirit are still trying to recover. What with the costumes, shoes, drama, hair glue, drama, fast food, and did I mention DRAMA, I am still trying to process the weekend. Here are a few pictures. Just know that I could make this an extremely long recital post, but I am saving room for some stitching.

And this is the piece that has given me the stitching blues. This lovely design is the reason I have not stitched in weeks. (besides the fact that I had a nasty incident with the food processor blade last weekend.) I started with a new skein of Sea Spray and it is too green. It just makes me feel sick for some reason. I have become paralyzed and unable to work on any project now.

Surely I will get to a needlework shop before the end of summer. Surely they will have a slightly less green Sea Spray. Surely this will not be the end of my stitching life. (Surely I will be more careful around the food processor in the future.)

Saturday

Happy Saturday! This is the sunniest, windiest day ever! I have never seen such wind without a tornado watch. It was not the best day for yard work, but it had to be done. I came in an hour ago with dirt in every pore! Jerry and Buttercup are still out there. I feel a bit guilty inside watching 'I Love Lucy' with Nutmeg, but I will get over it. ;) I need to put some more work into Susan Rambo. I am starting to wonder why I started such a huge project!

This is a picture of our front room. It is supposed to be a dining room, but we decided to use it as a library. We had a quick family tidy-up this morning, and I am very pleased with this room. Ursa is pleased with it also! This is her favorite room. In the evenings, we say family prayers in this room. Ursa always comes in for prayers and nuzzles us. Our cat Merlin, The Heart of Darkness, also comes in while we say prayers- he plants himself between us and our home altar and cleans his nether region - vigorously. Jerry and I think it is good training for the children to learn to pray amid distractions! ;)

I hope you all enjoy your weekends!

Around the homestead...

I am a homebody.

Seriously.

I spend a whole lot of time driving little girls to their activities, and then reward myself by piddling and footling around my house. My cross stitch corner is a rather messy area in the family room. On my left, is one of the two larger bookshelves in the room. I painstakingly arrange the books in a sort of chronological order. Louisiana Man strongly disagrees with my 'system,' but since I am the one who constantly re-shelves the books... The second photo shows the shelf at my eye level where I tend to stash things I have looked at or need to look at.

I have several friends who ask me (often, repeatedly, constantly) why I don't just get rid of the books after I finish them. Finish them? Who can say they have 'finished' the works of Shakespeare or Jane Austen? Can one plumb the depths of Homer? Can one drain the cup of Thomas Hardy and cast the 'finished' book in the give away pile? Why would anyone ask an English Major why they keep 'old' books? Seriously?
Last night we played a game of Lego Minotaurus. Surely this is much more important than going out to the mall or a movie. Childhood summer memories should be full of game nights with thunderstorms and popsicles, although cleaning Buttercup's popsicle off the Lego board was tricky.
Here is some stitching progress. Although I always travel with my stitching basket, I am most comfortable stitching in my own home with the lamps I am used to. I always feel self-conscious about leaving bits of thread behind me at someone else's home or business.
I potter around in my garden several times a day. This year I decided to let the various cucurbita vines ramble at will. Here they are taking over what was some okra and both a leaf mold pile and last year's compost pile. They are so glossy and strong, I will leave them be.

This buxom beauty is 'Cuostralee.' This is the largest tomato in my garden right now, and I wanted to document it before those nasty hornworms and blister beetles are tempted.

Home improvement projects around here are sometimes few and far between, but I finally have a towel bar for the main floor bathroom. She-Girl the Barbarian, I mean Buttercup, delicately wrenched it from the wall. I found a black fleur-de-lis towel bar at Ho&&y Lo$$y, and I spray painted it cream. I hope Louisiana Man can hang it up today.

Buttercup's room needs some attention. I know her room has gotten out of hand because she is trying to take over the family room with her games. Well, at least it proved to be a good opportunity to showcase some of my grandmother's afghans.

So you see, there is more than enough to keep me engaged here. The trick is finding time for this stay-at-home, homeschooling mother to actually stay home!

Halloween Tree

Well, I finished some of my halloween ornaments. Do not enlarge this picture! I do not want you to see the bumps and ridges and strings of glue - yes I used my glue gun. I know that is probably terrible, but leaving them sitting in the basket because I cannot find the correct glue is terrible too! I wonder what will happen when my real life black cat discovers this tree of hanging wonders? Hmm....

Crafty Pumpkin

What woman can be bored as long as her trusty glue gun is by her side? The children were really disappointed. They want to squish their hands around in stinky pumpkin guts. Maybe in a week or two!

I do have a picture to put in that other frame. I just cannot find it.

P.O.O.P.I.E. People Opposing Objectionable Pretend Plants In (the) Environment

Okay, Nester. I know I have transgressed good taste many times. And I looked around, and I found fake ivy in my home. But it's in an URN! Does that cancel out the faux pas?

 

And I do not know what I was thinking here. But I needed something to fill this space above the front door.

 

What do you think? Is it hopeless?