Wishing For Pine Needles

Flour Sack Friday: Line-Dry Laundry

Lately, I have been inspired to try something different around here.  (When I say "around here," I mean around this neighborhood that happens to have a rather stuffy "no clothesline" rule.) 

But guess what?  We're line-drying our laundry anyway!

We've gotten around this pesky little HOA rule by simply using our deck and camping chairs.

At first, the thought of lying out each and every piece of our laundry seemed incredibly time-consuming as opposed to throwing it all in the dryer.  But now, with my daughters at work by my side, I have come to enjoy this process of thoughtfully hanging the clothes that keep us warm and dry, and that we are blessed to have.

I've found statistics that the cost of operating an electric clothes dryer is approximately $130-$150 per year for family of 5...soon to be 6!  While this doesn't seem like an exorbitant amount of money in one whole year, it does add up.  Just think....we spend about $3000 per twenty years of dryer use. 

Although this endeavor is experimental for us, I'm pleased to say that it's going quite well.  I love the fresh outdoor smell on our clothes and the awesome stain-removal power of the sun.  Our next step?  Researching indoor air-drying for when the weather turns cold and investing in some drying racks!

Summer Crafting: Mason Jar Sewing Kits

On a recent, very hot day we stayed inside to make a birthday present for a special friend of Rylen's.  This little friend is apparently quite crafty herself, so Rylen thought a new sewing kit would make the perfect gift.

Then Marianne decided she wanted to make one for herself, so a-crafting we went!

Pretty cute, huh?

We put some notions inside the jar and off it went to the birthday girl!

**You can find a tutorial for this fun and easy project here.  We added buttons to the sides of the jars for added cute-ness.  (I would recommend using Tacky Glue for this because it dries clear.)**

Oh, and we have another up and coming young crafter in our midst who wasn't quite up for making a sewing kit, but who sure is good at watercolors!

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Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

It's A Girl!

We've known for a while now.....since June 3rd to be exact.  After having not known the gender ahead of time with our last two (of three), we decided that this time we really wanted to know.  All of us. 

Only Hans complained the slightest bit.  He had been planning for a brother, you see.  But that only lasted a couple of minutes (thankfully) and he quickly joined the ranks of the rest of us who are just plain excited about this baby girl.

So preparations are officially underway.....room swapping and repainting and a wee bit of baby girl sewing!  (I made this dress in just a couple of days using the very simple McCall's 8574.) 

The sweet giraffe fabric was a gift from this gal, and the star and moon shelf was a barn sale find for $2.  It still needs a bit of polishing, but I think it will be a darling addition to this baby girl's room. 

So we're having fun here, and quite certain that there are few things better in life than prepaing for a new baby!

 

Flour Sack Friday - Frugal Garden Fixes

Now that I'm getting back into the swing of regular posts, I thought today would be the perfect day to bring back Flour Sack Fridays!

And, hear me now, they will be coming back in full force.  In fact, in many coming posts to this blog the emphasis will be placed on our efforts to live as intentionally frugal as possible.  This concept has always been in our family in various ways, shapes, and forms, but now we plan to "step it up a notch!"

There are lots of good reasons for this (one being that we will soon have another sweet mouth to feed) and the other is that it can be just plain more fun and interesting to live this kind of life!  I have found that I am always at my most inspired and creative when we have set goals, both financial and lifestyle, that we're working toward.

So, without further ado,  our humble little vegetable garden will be launching the new and improved Flour Sack Friday!

My four little tomato plants are doing quite well.  (Yay!)  The bed rails were sawed and laid by yours truly from an old board I found in the garage.  Our stakes were generously provided by the many pine trees that live (rent-free) in our backyard. 

I spent about $8 on the four plants.

We returned from our vacation only to find our little pepper and cucumber bed overrun with grass.  I was not too surprised, since this is the first year we've planted in this bed.  I was contemplating getting some garden plastic at the hardware store to kill the grass, when my neighbor suggested using newspaper and rocks.  It's what her grandmother used to do, she said.

And do you know what?  It's worked like a charm.  The cucumbers are lovely but the peppers, sadly, are not.  But even if I get  four peppers out of them, it will still pay for the $6 I spent on the plants!

I spent $6 on the cucumbers, and I can already feel in my blood that we will get a fabulous return on our cucumber investment.

And the basil?  Well...there is nothing spectacularly frugal about this one....I just thought it was a very nice picture of basil. :)  (We did buy it from a fundraiser, though, if that counts!)

All in all, I am pleased to predict that our little harvest will be quite bountiful for just about $20!

The Rest of the South

My photo journal would not be complete without including the last two days of our trip South...

and a stop at Dollywood!

An amusement park, the beach, camping, and numerous pools...I'd say these kiddos thouroughly enjoyed this little southern get-a-way!  (As did their parents, who I might add slept extremely well upon returning home.....:)

Happy mid-week to you!

Camping in the South....A Photo Journal

We recently took a week-long road trip through the Southern states of which five nights were spent camping in Myrtle Beach.  (Yes, I have gotten many raised eyebrows....camping when you're five months pregnant????......well, sure!)

And although Myrtle Beach has just about anything and everything to do for the tourist, this crew of mine was happy to spend most all of our time at the campground or the beach.  Aside from some sunburns, a jellyfish sting, and a very short-lived stomach bug, we had a fabulous time with beautiful weather and lots of water!

(Where have your summer travels taken you?)

My Two in the Middle

It has been an interesting week, in many ways, with our fearless leader away at camp.  For one, I miss her dearly!   And for another,  it has left my youngsters only each other to play with.  And this is a new dynamic to us. 

Although this middle girl of mine truly does adore her brother, she still clearly sees her big sister as the superior playmate.  After all, young Hans does have the habitual tendency of "wrecking everything."

But this week, I have watched Marianne play and interact quite patiently with her little brother and it warms my heart that my two-in-the-middle are developing their own, unique and special relationship. (I guess maybe this type of camaraderie happens when one has no choice!)

(As for Hans....well he likewise adores his sister and seems to be quite pleased to be her only built-in playmate for the week!)

Happy Weekend to You!

 

Our Little Camper

It is hard to believe that my baby girl (who was just born yesterday by the way) is off to camp!  Yes, that's right - six nights, seven days without her mama.  She was so excited and brave and ready-to-go.

Yep, while I was blinking back tears behind my sunglasses, my big girl was all smiles.

My prayers are with her...that she would have a wonderful time growing in her faith and forming new friendships.  And by the looks of this girl, something tells me she will have no problem!

Have fun sweet Rylen!  Mama misses you!

 

An Announcement

Around here, blogging has quite obviously taken a back seat to the hustle and bustle of a growing family.  And I do mean growing!

This fall we will be growing by two tiny feet, two tiny hands, a fuzzy little head, and a precious brand new soul.

And as for the rest of us....we're happily enjoying these long, lazy days of summer.  We do appreciate the e-mails and even phone calls from our concerned friends and readers who wondered what on earth happened to us during our longer-than-expected blogging hiatus.

I'm happy to say we're doing just fine and couldn't be more excited for the arrival of this little one!

Basic Baby Hat pattern by Heirloom Stitches