I can see the light.....

It's been a long time coming! After getting a few opinions on what to do about my neck I have finally decided to have a procedure called a vertebroplasy. Basically the doctor will place a needle in my vertebrae and fill it will cement . I am praying this will relieve my symptoms! I am SO ready to get off this roller-coaster ride and have things back to normal again. Oh...the things we take for granted! This will be my final post before we go on a long road trip at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. I have yet to be nervous about the procedure just hopeful that all goes as planned. The kids are just plain old excited to be staying at a hotel that has not only a pool but a hot tub....lol. They too will be happy to have their Momma back....not the one that has to lay down every couple hours to relieve the pain because every medication out there seems to make her sick.

I will end this part of my post with a quote I read last night in Oprah's magazine. I thought it was perfect for my circumstance.

"I know for sure that in every challenging experience there's an opportunity to grow, enhance your life, or learn something invaluable about yourself. Every challenge can make you stronger if you allow it."~Oprah

Flower Girl was home sick all week with a fever. By Friday she was a little antsy so I taught her to sew by hand. It took her about 5 minutes and she was sewing better then I. It kept her busy for a while and she loved it. I have a few more projects lined up for her. Since I did not pay much attention to Home Ec I'd like to learn really sew again right along with her. I may ask my neighbor's sister to give us some mini lessons after I pull out my dusty old sewing machine. She has been mentoring me through crocheting. That has been an entertaining experience. I am on my second dishcloth, my first came out the shape of a triangle...lol. If all works out with my circumstance I have even considered homeschooling in the future. It is something I have always been interested in and FG recently asked if she could do it next year. Country Boy says he wants no part of it....lol. I am sure it would not take long before he changed his mind but maybe not. I believe it is important for the child to want to do it rather than be forced into it. I have time to reconsider but for now I am educating myself of the possibilities. A few questions for the homeschooling folks that follow my blog.... do you follow a curriculum, if so what one do you use? I am interested in a nature based curriculum, potentially one you could correspond with sending in papers to be graded and such. Any thoughts on this? Hoping to go to a conference in the next month or two before committing to this crazy endeavor.

Snowflakes

Last year I hoped to make these with the kids. This year we finally did! It was a fun, fairly quick & easy project. Only supplies needed: popsicle sticks, hot glue, and paint. My inspiration you wonder.....Craftynest. LOTS of great ideas. Here is the link for a how-to for this craft if your interested.

Learning new skills

Last weekend my neighbor came over in attempts to teach FG and I how to crochet.
What started out as a dishcloth quickly became a bracelet.

And here is my sorry attempt. Doesn't look much better and I have been working on it ever since that day. I am having difficulty figuring out how to hold my hands. I have un-did, redid.....just a tad bit frustrated. Patience is NOT one of my finer qualities. In addition my rascally cats got their paws on it. Let's just say, it is NOT pretty! I am headed over to the neighbors right now for a little remediation.
Wish me luck ;)

Working Hard

The kids have depleted their stash of cash and have been trying to come up with a few ways to build it back up. They made up a bunch of braided dog toys in hopes to sell them this holiday season. So for all you LOCALS with dogs.... the kids are selling braided fleece dog toys for $2.00 each. Call or send us a message and they will even deliver. Yes, Flower Girl is standing on my kitchen table. My mother would flip out if she saw her now. Ha, we like to break the rules ;)

We just don't hand the kids cash. They get allowance only if they earn it and that does not include the basics such as picking up after themselves and cleaning their rooms weekly. That is just expected! Maine Man & I both have good work ethic and we feel that it is important trait to pass on to our children. To make money you must first earn it!
Next week I'll be posting on their next adventure to make a little cash this holiday season. This one is going to take a little help from MM & I but I think it will be a fun adventure.
Stay tuned.....

Winter Blues

Come this time of year I am really missing going out in the back yard and picking some fresh greens for dinner.

So I throw some seeds (alfalfa, broccoli) in my bioset, add a little water...

and I have sprouts to put on my store bought greens and to top sandwiches with.

I bought this a year or two? ago from Johnny's for right around $16. Well worth it! They are up to $20 now or they have a kit that goes for $30 that comes with several types of sprout seeds.

Just a thought....they are not for everyone. I bought 2 of these for my two besties and I've yet to hear of either of them ever using it.

What can I say? So I'm easily excited. In Maine the winters are long and we all have our things we do to help us cope. I have been drooling though seed catalogs and will soon be placing an order and cooking lots. This time of year I could easily convert this blog to a cooking blog and really just enjoying the laziness of winter! Warm wood stove fires burning, playing games with the kids, reading good books, lounging with my laptop and I must admit I've even watched some tv.

What are some things you do to get through the winter blues?

A few links to end with (for my recall and you of course)

Giant Craft Stick Snow Flakes at Crafty Nest - going to make these with the kids sometime soon.

Parmesan Garlic Popcorn from Tammy's Recipes - tasty popcorn the whole family loved, will make again.

Making Lacto Fermented Mayonnaise by Cheeseslave - add to my "I want" to make list.

Homemade Earring Hanger

I'll start to by giving credits to my friend Mary for the original idea. She made me an earring rack several years back. I've used it every day since! So I decided to experiment and make a couple of my own. Since they came out ok I plan to make a few for Christmas presents.
My daughter & I put the above two together. We went to a thrift store to pick up the frames then over to the hardware store to buy black fiberglass screening. (84ft for $6)
Then we stapled the screening onto the back. Easy, inexpensive, useful project.

The above rack now holds my earrings (picture is a little sideways...oops!)
If you click on the picture it will enlarge. Most of the earrings were also made by Mary.

Crafty lady, isn't she?

This is Flower Girl's. Pretty funky earrings for a 7 year old. Trust me, she is not allowed to wear some of them in public.

I will end this post with a couple random links I'd like to refer back to and for you to explore if you desire.

Making liquid soap - I'd love to give a try at this sometime. I am going to attempt making bar soap soon, I've done it once before.

Blueberry Gateau - made this recipe the other day..... yummy!

Homemade Christmas Presents

After flipping through the pictures of my camera and coming across this one I was thinking someone must want a duck for Christmas.....dead or alive. Joking, love these Muscovies despite their occasional naughtiness. Had to chase a bunch of them of the neighbors driveway the other day. We caused quite a scene stopping traffic and all.



So I was calculating the other day, 5 more paychecks until Christmas...YIKES!!!

Gotta get a move on! Last year I made lots of goodies and I have dug through my archives and posted links below in case anyone is interested...fun to get ideas from others. Hopefully starting next weekend, myself and 3 others will be getting together every 2 weeks for Christmas crafting, cocktails, and snacks. I am psyched to see what we come up with!! I will have posts to follow up our meeting for others who are interested in making goodies for the holiday. There is NOTHING like a homemade present!


HERE ARE SOME CRAFTING LINKS FROM POSTS I DID LAST HOLIDAY SEASON:

~ Wreath Making & Making Vanilla Extract

~Soap Making

~ No sew fleece blankets

~ Earring Making

~ Body/Linen spray & Bath Salts

WHAT ARE YOU ALL MAKING FOR CHRISTMAS? IF YOU HAVE SOME LINKS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS I'D LOVE TO HAVE SOME NEW IDEAS.

Flower People Cards

One late night I was doing a little web surfing and I came across a craft blog titled Make and Takes and found a post on how to make these crafty cards. She credited the Crafty Crow as the original blog to post. I encourage anyone who likes to do these kind of projects with there kiddos or grandkids to click on the above links. They both have lots of GREAT ideas! So........with the end of school year, Father's Day, and birthdays, and thank you cards in need we made some of our own flower people.

A little appreciation goes a long way. We could have bought cards and stuffed them with gift cards but instead we made cards and filled pots full of flowers for the kids teachers and their bus driver. Gifts from the heart that don't break the bank.

Angie's Gourd Bowls

Angie at Children in the Corn made these AWESOME gourd bowls and I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this tutorial! She guest posted at Women Not Dabling. Check out her post here. I couldn't resist and had to share this with the world and I wanted it in my archives as well so I could easily refer to it the fall. I CANNOT wait to grow and make these along with some of the birdhouses she made. What great Christmas presents!

MM has been doing some research on meat bunnies and he would like to get some in the spring. Here is a video we found tonight on how to butcher them if your interested in watching, much easier then butchering chickens.

It has been REAL cold in Maine and is suppose to drop to 40 below zero up in Aroostook County tonight...glad I am a ways from there!

Wreath Making

Gather your supplies. Wire, wire cutters, brush cutters, and bases for the wreath. I have a bunch that I bought years ago that I reuse year after year. Much easier than making it on a metal clothes hanger. When we go tipping we cut the tips off the tree at about 6 inches.
Stack 4-5 and start wrapping with wire.
Then move down a bit, overlapping and wrap your next. Note that pink braclet I'm wearing, story behind it to follow in a future post.
Easy! Done in just a few minutes. Decorate to you liking. I keep it simple with just a bow but this year I added a few battery powered lights we had in our decoration box.
Looks better with the lights off but I had to use my night mode so you could see.
I have made wreaths for over 10 years. Every Christmas it was a tradition that I made my grandparents one along with a few other friends and relatives. They were always so grateful! After they died (still a tender topic for me even though it's been a few years) I only make a couple up. I guess I just lost my enthusiasm about them. I made one other wreath for the "horse people" as MM calls them in trade for several loads of manure John loaded onto the tractor a few weeks back.

I finally broke down and bought some vodka and made some vanilla extract. I wanted to start by making a small batch. I used 1/3 of a fifth of vodka, 2 vanilla beans (cut an half with seed scraped out and placed in jar in addition to beans). In 2 months it will be ready....another first.

No Sew Blankets

Isn't she sweet? My niece turned 1 last week and Luke and I made her a "no sew" blanket.
Good thing it did not require sewing because my friend Mary has had my sewing machine for the last 8 years or so because of my lack of patience to operate the darn thing. I know where it is if I ever develop any patience (highly unlikely). I made the kids a bigger version of these blankets 2 years ago and they may be getting a couple new ones shortly but we will keep that hush, hush for now. I learned how to do this from my c0-worker Pam and to refresh my memory this time around I did a Google search and there are a couple good sites with pictures.

Supplies needed:

~2 pieces of fleece, one plain colored and the other with a pattern
(2 yards of each)

~ good pair of scissors - I bought some new ones and they are now in hiding from the kids

~ 4" square cut out of cardboard

You will need a big area to work. The above blanket is only made out of 1 yard because she is just a little tike so I was able to make it on the table but the 2 yard blankets I make on the floor.


Step 1 : Lay fabric out wrong sides facing together.

Step 2 : Using the cardboard as a measuring tool cut a 4" square out of all 4 corners.

Step 3: Pick a side to start with. Fold back material to that 4 " depth and go down sides cutting 1" strips (I just eyeball it, this blanket is very forgiving). I cut all 4 sides before knotting.

Even the kitties love these blankets!

Get the idea?

WARNING: Injuries may occur in the making of this blanket!
See those band aids on my boys thumb? Fleece burn from knotting.

Step 4: Start knotting the 1" strips.

There you have it!
1 no-sew blanket. Total cost $9.50
Everyone loves them, GREAT GIFT for ALL AGES!!

P.S. I am way behind on comments I will catch up shortly I promise!
Upcoming post on wreath making.

Making Earrings 101 & GIVEAWAY

Supplies needed: sterling silver hooks, sterling head pins, sterling silver balls, needle nose pliers,
small wire cutters, glass beads.

I order all my silver products from Fire Mountain
Sometimes I get beads from there but I get most of them through local craft stores.

1st step : gather your supplies

2nd step: Assemble to your liking. I often use this pattern but there are tons of variations. I sometimes photocopy peoples earring, cut pictures out of magazines, or just peak around the www for ideas.

3rd step: Cut your head pin. Length is crucial and curl the wire. (I suggest practice with cheap stainless head pins) See the video of Maine Man doing this below. He helps me with this too, aren't I spoiled to have such an all around man? He does everything from slaughtering the chickens, laundry, and yes helping me make earrings.
That always drives my buddy Mary crazy because she does her own cutting and curling. She's just jealous! ;)

While I am talking about Mary she is the one who deserves ALL credit for this post as she was the one who introduced me to this. She is the "Martha" of earring making. She has 2 kilns and does all kinds of fancy stuff with fused and dichroic glass. Here's a picture of us a couple years ago when she got married. We go WAY BACK, we've been best friends for 20 years. I was the rebel kid that moved next door. She is more like a sister and let me tell you I had some dirt of her in that diary that went up in flames.
Ain't she cute? The bitch, I mean my buddy still gets carded. That ceased years ago for me.

When I am making earrings I often use an egg carton to put them into after they are assembled just to keep parts together and earring pairs matched up.




This is an earring I have from years ago that I saved. I want to make a pair using silver. I just bought some beads similar to. I just need some wire to wrap with.


These are a real easy pair to make, just add a hook. I bought the pewter fish pieces through fire mountain. They could be yours just leave a comment and let me know which one is your first choice and I'll mail them to you if you get picked.

These are already spoken for but I am going to the craft store this morning to get some more and as soon as my Fire Mountain order arrives with my headpins I'll mail you out a pair if you prefer these. I made these for a friend at work and she wore them ALL the time and says she got tons of compliments until she lost one. She begged me to make her another one "All I want for Christmas is..." is really how she put it and of course Santa came through. If these are the earrings you choose you will get them but there will be a delay. I am a woman of my word!

Choose from the 2 pair of earring just above, leave a comment with your e-mail or check back in to see if your the lucky one.
Giveaway deadline.....THANKSGIVING EVE at Midnight! Off to my nieces 1st birthday party!

Change of Season

Winter is sneaking upon us and this darn time change is a drag! I find by 4pm I am racing around to get my night time chores done so I do not have to do them via flashlight. John is in the process of wiring the shed and the barn, there is hope. We have been here for 2 years come January but we still have SO much to do! When we bought the farm it was literally most peoples worst nightmare. For us it was our ONLY chance of getting some of the things we wanted: lots of land, a farm house, barn, and couple farm ponds. The bathroom was 4 walls, 2 windows, and a tub, and that IS IT! No sink, no toilet. John, my brother Steve, and a hired friend had to sheetrock the ENTIRE house: 3 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, halls, kitchen, and 2 bathrooms. Followed by LOTS of mudding, sanding, and painting. They laid birch flooring through most of the downstairs and did lots of plumbing and electrical work. Most of that was done in one month prior to us moving in when John was on school break. We could have never accomplished such an INSANE goal if it hadn't been for all the HARD work and LONG hours STEVE and JOHN put in and from the help of our friends. THANK YOU again Steve...I know you are one of my faithful SILENT (only on-line) readers.
Although we are always puting around on a projects...my recent task I must complete is painting the wood room's floor, I painted the walls barn yard red and I LOVE it!
Next is TRIM and half walls for my kitchen. John swears to me it will be done by the holidays and I am assuming Christmas because Thanksgiving is just around the corner and there is NO site of pine boards and polyurethane. I figure if I get this in writing he may accomplish this....I swear it is ALL I want for Christmas!!!!
I am afraid until John gets a deer My Maine Man WILL NOT put on his carpenter belt. So PLEASE send out some good vibes, cyber prayers, ANYTHING so this Great White Hunter can Get er' done because I WANT my HUSBAND BACK and of course a little finish work. :)

Boy, I really got side tracked, that's the ADD kickin' in. Back to this darn time change.... After chores, dinner, helping the kids with their homework I am just about done for the night. Ready to cuddle up in bed with a book, my lap top, and well of course, My Maine Man. I must stop the madness because I have lots of projects, gifts to make, etc. and there are not many more days left.

Real soon I will have a post on making earrings , constructing a wreath, and making a no-sew blanket. I will also have my 1st GIVEAWAY so stay tuned. I promise you all the projects are REAL easy, there is no Martha living here on the farm!

Rock painting anyone? This kept the kids entertained for hours while I made my first time ever pumpkin puree that my blogging friend Angie posted about here. Silly me never knew that you could cook any pumpkin. I always thought they had to be special baking pumpkins.