Brrrrrr

It was cold this morning~~~ok, so it wasn't that cold, but it sure felt like fall! No a/c all day and open windows and doors!

I am out of batteries for my camera. Too bad, cause I could have gotten so many good pictures over the last couple of days. I thought I would pull a couple of my old favorites of the grandkids to share. They spent the night with me last night. I had not seen them in a good 2 weeks. Yesterday they all moved back home. It was a great day! I love this pic of TJ....he was 2. This is what he looked like when I introduced you all to him 3 years ago over at Pieces From Me.
He starts kindergarten next week. *sigh* I can not imagine. He seems so little to me, yet. No, he is not going to be homeschooled. Bud and Rachel do not hold my same convictions, and I accept that, as I should. I pray a covering over him everyday! I kissed his little face a zillion times and cuddled him for a good 15 minutes this morning. It was heaven! (He is not a big cuddler)
Emerson was so much fun to play with. She is a chatterbox, who now calls me Ga-ma instead of SpongeBob.....finally!! This is my all time favorite pic of her.....
She picked me a handful of dandelions and said, "Here ya go" as plain as day. She loves to wear my shoes. I got some cuddle time in with her too. ;)
While I was looking for these pictures, I saw this pic of Sweetheart....my heart skips a beat whenever I look at it!Makes me wanna kiss em! 31 years of marriage and I am still head over heels....Those who knew us in high school are still reeling at the pairing. Who woulda thunk it? God did!!!

It has been a busy Monday. Charlotte made banana bread and I made a wonderful dinner. Steak, fried potatoes and onions and a nice green salad with tomatoes and green peppers from our garden. I am going to make my own salad dressing again and found a great recipe for my own homemade mayo. I will start my own homemade buttermilk again too. Homemade Ranch dressing is the best!!!

I am working diligently on the Hidden Star quilt. I laid it out to see where I was and my family was shocked at just how large a quilt it is. I am not even halfway finished. UGH! I will persevere!

Thanks for checking in! I am going to go kiss that Sweetheart! Have a blessed week!

Projects

There are many projects going on at our house. I have spent a couple of days planning out our new school year. There is a huge difference between 6th and 7th grade and the load will be a bit heavier for Charlotte. She is excited. She chose a Bible elective called "Christian Growth". I think it was a good choice. We could both use it!

Charlotte finished her dish towel.Pretty good job for a first try. I had her pull out many stitches, but she has the idea now that there is no such thing as a stitch being too small. Her new project is another one I laid aside a couple of years ago. It is one of my favorites. A Threadbare design with the saying "Hugs From Grandma Warm the Heart"Charlotte did most of the purple flower and all of the yellow one. She started the bow, but looking at this picture, it will need to be ripped out. Stitches are too big. She never complains or whines about it. She wants it to be good. This will be a panel to a bag I have planned.

I bought a new project from Acorn Quilts the other day. I have never bought a panel before and decided to give it a try. Forgive the wrinkles....it kinda feels like cheating, but I liked the panel so much I wanted it. Not sure what I will do with it yet, but I got the pumpkin fabric to coordinate. I am still quilting the Hidden Star and will be SO happy to get it done. The stencils for TJ's sailboats came and are just waiting for me.

Our laundry soap project was a success. We filled our empty Purex bottle this morning and Charlotte did all her laundry. There was not even a dent in the 5 gallon bucket!I made the mailbox a project last week.Who does that look like???? It is darling and looks so much like Sass I could not pass it up.

Sassy has a new favorite spot in the house.She loves that chair!

Still working on that "Brokenness" project. Learning much about myself and the things I have let into my life that must go, and what to replace those things with. Life is never-ending like that. Change is always necessary in some way. I am also starting to work on the "outside" of myself too. The whole package needs an overhaul from the inside, out. Whew!

Have a blessed weekend!!!

Making Laundry Soap

Today was laundry soap makin day! I got my Granny Clampett goin on, as my "distant-cousin-John" said...now if that ain't hillbilly I don't know what is!!!

Let's make soap......

Here is what you need:

1 bar of soap ( I used Fels Naptha )

1 cup washing soda (NOT BAKING SODA)

1/2 cup Borax

5 gallon container with a lid

few drops of essential oil if desired

(You can use Dove, Ivory, or Castile's soap bar if you can not find Fels Naptha. Woodman's carries it in my town.)

Here is what you do:

1. Grate the bar of soap

It will look like something you put on your tacos!2. Melt the soap in 4 cups of water~keep stirring until meltedWe used a whisk. I think it works better than a wooden spoon, but if you do not have a whisk, a spoon would do.3. Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full with hot water

4. Add melted mixture, soda, and borax. Getting a toothless wonder to do this step adds to the hillbilly of it all! If you do not have a toothless wonder, you can do this step yourself.

5. Fill to the top with more hot water

6. Stir~let sit for 24 hours then stir again.

Add any scents the next day once it is thickened. I love the Lavender-Vanilla scent, but there are so many to choose from.

This makes 5 gallons of Laundry soap for $2-4 depending on the cost of your soap bar! It is so easy and fast. It took us about 15 minutes!
It will thicken up the next day. Stir each day for about a week, but you can use it after 24 hours. For top loaders, use 5/8 cup. For front loaders use 1/4 cup.

This is NOT my own recipe. It is all over the place. It is even the recipe the Duggars use and if you google "Laundry Soap Recipes" this one will come up every time.

So next week we will make Lye Soap out by the cement pond.....iffen I had one. Really, we will be making Lye Soap next week and will share that cold process with you all....or should I say, Y'all. It was impossible to get lye around here, and I don't have the knowledge to make my own with ash, so we had to order it online.

Hope Y'all had a heapin helpin of my hospitality....sit a spell, take your shoes off. Y'all come back now, ya hear?

The "Library"

Remember last week, I did this to my entryway? Well I changed it again. It didn't thrill me anyway. Now it looks like this.....It looks better in person. I am much happier with it this way.

This morning a strong storm blew in and the skies were so dark it looked like night. Instead of heading to church in the pouring rain (which we should have done!), we decided to move things around. That is always dangerous. We have a formal living room that is not very large. It is stuffed full of furniture and is wasted space. We never use it. Sweetheart calls it "The Old Lady Room". He is right....it looks like a room belonging to an old Grandma.It is one of the first rooms seen as you enter my house and can not be closed off, so I really want it to look nice, but I also want it to be functional. I would have LOVED to have it be my studio, but Sweetheart has nixed that idea countless times....I keep trying. We knew it needed to be thinned out, furniture wise. The piano would stay, but everything else went. My thought was, of course, a school room. I knew Sweetheart would not go for that....unleeeeeess.....I called it a "Library". He went for it!!! Manipulation??? NO WAY! Just a change of title. He thinks it will be a wonderful place for the children to do their school work.
We moved the piano to the big wall....there is nothing else there. Eventually one end will hold a large bookcase. We put a small table with a lamp and 2 hard backed chairs in front of the window. On the other wall there is a hutch (from my bedroom) which will house all the kids school supplies and workbooks underneath.
It won't be long before that hutch is moved down and a small table and 2 chairs stand between it and the lamp. Yard sales, here I come!!!
All this was accomplished with the help of my oldest....thank you Bud!!....and only 2 injuries!!! It sure feels alot more open and de-cluttered. On top of that, I can get rid of the curtains and paint the room any color I want. I think all the Libby Quilts will go on the big wall over the piano. Any color suggestions for a classroom library??? Green is out....Sweetheart banned me from more green. Guess I can't paint it any color I want......
Here is a Sunday funny, that is not really all that funny if you think about it!

Picture Potpourri

Things have been busy here. I made needle books last night for my hand quilting class on Saturday. I love to send my students home with a little giftie. I put a basting needle and a hand quilting between in each book. I love my needle book....Do you have a favorite needle book? Show it on your blog!

TJ spent Monday night at grandma's house. He ate his "giant pancake" in the morning while Sassy sat on the stool next to him watching him eat every bite!Zach lost one of those $10 teeth! The other one is hanging by a thread. I do not "do" loose teeth. I get the creeps from them!!!Charlotte is working on embroidering a towel.She really enjoys it.Zach tried it for a half a minute!I really think it is a craft that Charlotte will carry on with for years to come. We watched the West Ladies Soap Making DVD and both kids want to try it. I think some of our family and friends may be getting homemade soaps for Christmas!!!! I am certain these DVD's are available through Netflix too....so worth watching.

My sewing room was a HUGE mess again and the computer desk was a bit trashed too. Not a perfect cleaning job, but enough to make it feel orderly again.I will leave you with a couple of vintage pics of my first born. He has been on my mind a lot the past few days. Just a Mama's call to pray, so I do. He was such a joy and the light of my life during these years.By his first birthday, he had been though 2 surgeries to repair a cleft lip and palate. A total of 4 surgeries and you would never know! Such a trooper he was! He still is!!!! What an incredible Daddy and MAN he has become.His family moves back home next weekend. God is faithful!

Be blessed!

Photo Booth Pics

Remember the old photo booths??? 4 pictures for 50 cents. That was a lot....you could get a pack of cigarettes for 50 cents back then! I found these while cleaning out a drawer the other day. I thought I would share that first one cause we look kinda cute! Long hair looked good on me (I am on the left at age 15). My friend Lori and I posed nicely and looked respectable. Then again we had lots of fun in those photo booths over the years!!!! One last photo booth picture.....my mother, who knew exactly how to master the photo booth!!!!!