Looking Forward to an Organized Life - Time-Wise Anyway

Today in the New York Times, I am mentioned and quoted in an article about spinning your pet's hair after they have crossed over the rainbow bridge.  https://www.instagram.com/p/B7hJZsOpq-0/
I am honored to have been included.  It is a way for me to help people cope with the loss of a beloved pet and create something they can have for a long time.


On another note, it is getting really cold!  I love winter, especially if it snows. It is time for sweaters, hot cocoa, and soups.  However, in Crossville, we don't get much snow.  When it does, it is certainly celebrated!  By me, anyway!  If there is a threat of snow, all of the bread and milk is quickly snatched up at the grocery.  I often wonder why that is.  I remember growing up, going to the grocery and all of the bread and milk being gone when it snowed.  Maybe people yearn to make bread pudding!  lol  Anyway, it still holds true today.  Is this a Southern thing?

I am working on making a schedule for spinning pet hair.  It is hard to treat it like a job, when I love to do it.  However, one can become burnt out.  Sometimes I really crave dyeing some wool, spinning it, and then knit something.  But, when I have 7 pounds of hair to spin with more hair coming, I feel like I can't spin anything else.  If I looked at it like a job, then I would only work certain hours and then I would be off for the day.  Then I can spin, knit, dye with no guilt!  It is tough to work from home.  I have a fabulous studio out back, but it is not insulated, so it takes a lot to heat it in the winter.  I generally move all of my spinning to the living room.  So, family life goes on all around me.  I see laundry to fold, dishes to wash, floors to sweep, etc. and I feel like I should be cleaning and being a good keeper of my home.  Today, it hit me!  Set a work schedule, then I can have time to clean, play and do the fun, fibery things I love to do.  Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE what I do.  I thank God that I can make money doing something I love doing.  I am grateful that I can work in the comfort of my home.  I just need to be more organized.  So, my son came up with an excellent schedule for me.  I had one set up and he reminded me of my nap time.  lol  I nap for about 15-20 minutes at 2.  Not everyday, but nearly.  I have my little power nap so I can carry on through the evening hours.  Now my naptime is built in.  Keeping it real!  I will let you know how this works.  Do any of you have these same issues?

Sunday is a great day for me to blog, so I will probably start doing this on a regular basis.  I will be a little more creative in my writing.  I love to write and used to do it all the time.  Now, I just teach writing to high schoolers.

I look forward to my new organized life!  Any suggestions or advice is welcome!  What has worked for you?

Take care and have a blessed week!

Kim

God Is So Good!!

Well, let's see....
My son no longer has Chrone's Disease.
After forever - I no longer snore.
Toothache gone and tooth is in the process of being restored.
My other son healed from the beginning stages of MS.
A friend has been healed from Parkinson's Disease.
Another friend healed from head numbness.
Another friend received healing on her sprained ankle.

And, I am not talking about waiting for this - these healings happened immediately upon receipt.

God is pouring out His healing and miracles in these last days!!  Praise God!  He is alive and well in 2015 and still in control!

Everything else pales in comparison, news wise, but still going to share!

I am in the process of spinning my first ever sock yarn.  I hope to finish this week while on a break from school.  I also have 2 Ashland Bay rovings to spin - Merino and silk!  Yummy!

I am still working on the Messenger Bag and the quilt.  More on the bag than the quilt.  I am going to start my dad's yarn for his sweater this week.  I also hope to have it on needles by Saturday! 

I want to leave you with a recipe for a very simple cobbler.  I thought everyone knew this recipe, but I served it at our life group and several had not heard of it, so here it is!

1 cup of sugar ( I used one cup of xylitol and a pinch of stevia)
1 cup of self-rising flour ( If you don't have self-rising, use regular flour with 1 1/2 t. of baking powder and 1/2 t. salt.)
3/4 cup of juice from fruit or milk

Melt 1 stick of butter in your casserole dish.  When butter is melted, all fruit of choice.  I used frozen peaches on my last one.  Then pour the above mixture over the fruit.  bake for 30 minutes or until done.  Serve with ice cream or sweetened condensed milk drizzled over the top.

Enjoy!

Plans and Projects

“Spring is the time of plans and projects.” 
― Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

Where to start!  The last freeze has ended and my yard is alive!  We have not lived here during spring, so I am waiting with anticipation as all the green wakes up in my flower beds.  I know there is one Iris and some lilies.  My maple tree is happily full of leaves.  The birds are singing.  But none have decided to make our birdhouse their home - yet!  I planted tomatoes and some Iris bulbs that I had forgotten about.  They had started sprouting in a bag on my porch.  So, I put them around the edge of the lake.  I have a box of heirloom seeds in the freezer.  My goal this next week is to plant them in pots and put them on the side of our home that gets sun.  Pots will allow me to move them around to the sunniest spot.  Not sure where that will be as we live in the woods!  But, our new neighbor has cut down a lot of trees, so hopefully that will help.  I will post pictures!  It is nighttime, or I would include some pics now!  Anyway...

We have been enjoying our meals on the screened in porch.  We have also had school out there.  The kids love it.  This afternoon, I was working on spinning my first sock yarn on the porch.  My plan is that it will be self-striping.  The trick will be to match up the colorways on the plys.

I have been watching a great knitting/craft  podcast - MandoCrafts.  She is into all kinds of crafts and her podcast is very organized.  She has different segments - What I Have Learned, Finished Projects, Works In Progress, Upcoming Events, etc.  And she has such a wonderful attitude.  She , Amanda Manus, has inspired me to work on projects for myself and family.  I have had such a hard time working on my projects.  I tend to spend that time on my ETSY shop.  Anyway, I have pulled out cross stitch, a quilting project, I finished my daughter's sweater, working on a messenger bag which has been on the needles awhile, and I have cast on a hat for my new niece, Viola, who will arrive in September.  I owe her a big thank you, so thank you, Amanda (MandoBug)!  Now to tackle my dad's Irish clan sweater!!  That will really be something.  Over 3 years!!  It is the monkey on my back!  I must restart it!  Here is MandoBug's Blog - http://mandobugcrafts.blogspot.com/.  Check it out.  You will love it!

Grace's Sweater
My niece's hat and a sweater will be in this same colorway.  I was about 10 yards short of enough yarn so I bought another skein.  I found the one I knew I had purchased with the original, so now I have plenty of this colorway!  What is this colorway?  It is Universal Yarns Classic Shades in Cool Blazes Colorway.

My Messenger Bag.  This was a free pattern from Craft Passion.  I goofed this up, but I think I can still make it work!  No way was I ripping out all of this work!

My Quilt Project - This is a set of 12 blocks called Butterfly Garden by Black Cat Creations.  I was in this block of the month club at a local quilting shop.  This was our first block.  The others are still neatly tucked in their packages, waiting to be colored!  You color each one with crayon.  Then set it with an iron.  Then you embroider around the pictures.  It will be beautiful when I finish.  I had intended to to this for my sister, Karen, who loved, loved loved flowers.  Unfortunately, she is with Jesus now and never even knew about this quilt.  It is hard to work on for that reason, but Amanda has inspired me to get it out again.

So, it is night and I have to help Ben finish a paper for composition.  Until next time, may God bless you richly!

Kim

Experiments

Cute!  And my favorite theme - coffee!

I just saw this on a post on FB.  http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/apronevangelism.htm.  Do you mean that if I dress up like June Cleaver, my children will respond to me differently in a good way??  For $11.97, I can get a cute apron, potholder and dish towel at WalMart.  Where has this info been all my life??  Don't think that I'm not going to Wally World today and pick one up.  For $12.00 I can afford to experiment.  The comments on the FB post lead one to believe that it, does indeed, work.  I will definitely let you know the results! 

I am going to learn to write knitting patterns!  It is a direction I have been wanting to go in for awhile, but just no time.  Now that I have a renewed motivation for my shop, I think this is a good addition.  My hubby is also wanting to get back to weaving, so I will carry some of his creations also!  In the meantime, I am at 185 items in my shop!!!  15 more to go!!  Another experiment.  Once you have 200 listings, your traffic is supposed to really increase.  I will let you know about that also!  Here are a few new additions:


I am spinning some beautiful purple right now for my hubby to weave a clutch purse on the Knitter's Loom.  I can't wait!  I need to dye some emerald green to go with it.  Maybe today! 

I am going to drag out my frozen turkey today.  I discovered a fantastic way to prepare a frozen turkey thanks to my procrastination.  I was supposed to take turkey to our homeschool group Thanksgiving dinner.  Well, of course, I still had the turkey in the freezer the day before!  So, what to do?  I was going to have to carve it all on a platter to take to the group, which I hate carving.  So, the thought came to me to just stick the frozen turkey into my huge post and just boil it!  I did and the results were a very juicy turkey that just feel off the bone!  It was fantastic.  I pulled the big pieces apart and put them in a 9x13 casserole dish and covered it with it's juices.  It stayed so moist!  Love, love this.  It wouldn't work if you were going for the golden roasted look of the whole turkey on a platter, but if you are going for the practical side of things, this is a great way!  You can't get the organs out until it cooks a bit, but the bag they are in is in tact after an hour or so of boiling.  It takes around 2-3 hours, depending on the size of the turkey.  Try it, you may like it!

God Bless you on this cold Tuesday!
Kim
 

Autumn is Officially Here and So Are All Things Apple and Pumpkin!

I cannot stress enough how much I love the Fall!!  Especially for one suffering from hot flashes, the cool, crisp air is a blessing from my precious Lord!  On that note, I am enjoying a cuppa of my homemade pumpkin coffee.  Yummy!  I simply put my favorite coffee, Chock Full Of Nuts, into my brewing basket.  To that I add about a teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 t. cloves, nutmeg, and ginger, with just a pinch of allspice.  I mix that around and voila!  Pumpkin Coffee!  Once that is poured into my favorite mug, I will often add sweetened condensed milk.  Wow!  So delicious!  This is to be savored sitting in a comfy chair, curled up under an afghan, with a good book in the peace and quiet.  Nice!

I have been busy dyeing roving and knitting swatches of my yarns for my shop.  Getting ready for the fall/winter selling season.  You never know what a yarn will look like when it's knit or crocheted.  Hopefully this will help.

Last evening, I discovered, what I think, is a wonderful Science website, Physics4kids .  They also have Geography4kids, Biology4kids, Chemistry4kids, and a link to a really good math site - Rader's NUMBERNUT.  My sweet hubby wants me to start teaching some serious science to our 4th grader, Ben.  So, we are going to start Physics.  Just a basic class - nothing too involved, but he wants Ben to have a general knowledge of motion, matter, speed of light, etc.  I am pretty convinced , right now, that I am definitely am going to go for DVD courses in science when he gets older.  I was pretty good in Biology, Earth Science and basic Physics, but to get an in depth education in Chemistry and Physics will require DVD teaching!

As far a our organic, healthy way of eating, it's coming along.  The trouble is leaving home.  When we go to anyone's home or church for meals, it's tough, mentally, to stay the course!  However, we are doing much better than we were a year ago.  Now,I am going to be forced to stick within my $60.00/week budget!  I will post my menu for this coming week, along with my grocery list.  Then, I'll let you know how I did staying in my budget.  I love the challenge!

Hi All!  Gracie slept all night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Which means I DID TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Thank you, Lord!

Just finished my first winter yarn, Hot Chocolate on a Snowy Day http://www.etsy.com/listing/82464489/hot-chocolate-on-a-snowy-day-handspun .  It was great fun to do.  This will make an awesome scarf.  I may do it myself if it doesn't sell by the time I am finished with all my other projects!  Still working on my Enterlac scarf.  Hope to have that done in the next couple of weeks.  Going to spin a new winter yarn, Winter Bliss, today.

My oldest daughter, Jessica, was up Sunday.  She started 2 knitting projects while here!  I'm going to create a super knitter yet!  She is working on a Waterfall Scarf and a sweater.  I can't wait to see them finished!

I read recently that the biggest budget buster for families is wasted food.  How much food do you throw out every week, or in my case, every month.  UCK.  Stuff gets shoved back to the depths of the fridge and stays there until it liquifies.  I am a huge food waster.  So, this is something that is going to end now.  I believe that wasting our food is a sin.  Everytime I throw something out, I feel conviction.  I ask the Lord to provide and He does, then I pitch it!  Yikes!  I'm so sorry, Lord!  Help me to be a better steward of all the blessings you have given to me. 

I was reading a favorite blog of mine -  Raising Homemakers .  She had lots of good info on preparing frugal meals.  During the Depression Era, the US Food Administration came up with these guidelines which still apply, or should apply, today:

The US Food Administration advised about food:

1. Buy it with thought
2. Cook it with care
3. Serve just enough
4. Save what will keep
5. Eat what will spoil
6. Home grown is best

Here are a few Depression Era recipes.  These were in public pamphlets so are in the public domain. 

POTATO AND CHEESE SOUP

2 cups cooked diced potatoes
2 cups water in which potatoes were cooked
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons onion juice
2 tablespoons fat
3 tablespoons flour
1½ teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
¼ cup grated cheese

Dice potatoes and cook slowly until very tender. Rub through strainer, using potato and the 2 cups of water. Melt fat, add dry ingredients and gradually add the liquids and onion juice. When ready to serve, sprinkle parsley and cheese over top.

This is a favorite of ours.  I add broccoli a lot of the time, along with lots of grated cheese added to the soup to make it cheesy and delicious!  All of our family love this!

RICE WITH CORN AND CHEESE IN BROWN SAUCE

½ cup rice
1 cup cheese
1 cup corn
1½ cup milk
¼ cup fat
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Melt fat until brown. Add flour and seasonings. Heat until brown. Add milk gradually. When at boiling point add other ingredients. Place in baking dish and bake 45 minutes.

Serve with fruit or a dessert and bread and butter.

We haven't tried this one, but it sounds good!  This may just be dinner tonight!

Soups are always good for frugal meals.  The challenge is preparing healthy meals in addition to being cost conscious.  I will post some more of these recipes in later posts.

Now, I've got to get Ben going,  We are going to spend the day at the park.  One of the advantages of homeschooling is that you can have school anywhere!  And what better incentive for doing good work and having good attitudes than the knowledge that a wonderful playground is in your future!  So, today we will have "parkschool", a picnic, and get some spinning and knitting in also!

Have a blessed Tuesday!

Kim

We're Still Here!

A lot has happened since my last post.  We had my sister's funeral, which went very well.  Karen left a lot of people with a lot of good memories.  Her smile was such a blessing to so many.  She struggled with her RA with dignity and humor.  She was close to the Lord and I know she is with Him now.  I love you, Ka, and miss you terribly.  I'll see you soon!  (soon being a relative term - earthly time compared to eternity.  I don't want anyone jumping to any conclusions). 

Anyway, Gracie had her surgery.  She did great!  She sounds like Donald Duck, but the doctor assured me that would go away as the swelling goes down.  So, far, 1 week, 1 day later, she still sounds like Donald Duck.  As Karen would say, "greaaaat".  lol  Gracie is so precious.  She went to church last night and was just raising her hands during praise and worship and praising her Lord.  I thank God for such a blessing and the opportunity to be her mom.  God has blessed me with 4 wonderful children.  All successful and all pretty much well behaved - as far as I know anyway.  Ignorance is bliss in a lot of areas! 

I am back in my shop today!  Had a very good day!  Met lots of neat folks,  Gracie actually sold some of her artwork to some very kind ladies from Carthage.  I have finished spinning some Golden Retriever hair for a customer and started knitting it into a heart pillow today.  It's going to be very pretty.  Reminds me a lot of Angora hair.  Has a beautiful halo to it. 

Of course, my fun project of all time is the Enterlac scarf!  I love knitting it!  And people's reactions to it are so fun!  I should finish it up within the next week or two.  Can't decide whether to keep it, sell it, or gift it!

I received my "bling" to spin with my handspun!  Stay tuned for some beautiful sparkly yarns!!  I can't wait to get started!

I received a lot of Concord grapes in Tuesday.  Luckily, my mom told me I could just stick them in the freezer until I am ready to deal with them.  That was good news!!  So, they went from the box, to the Ziplock to the freezer.  Some are in the frige for munching.  I love them!  Also, canned 10 jars of peaches.  Yummy!    Added a bit of cinnamon to mine.

Enough for now! 

Take care and have a blessed day!

Kim

www.etsy.com/shop/kjhines6065
www.facebook.com/simplyhomespun

Life Is Not Settled Just Yet!

Getting back in the groove of homeschool after a couple of hetic weeks after the passing of my sister, Karen.  Her service was Sunday and was absolutely beautiful, thanks in no small part to Rhonda Treaster and Pastor Warren.  2 hours before service, none of the videos or slide show would work.  Pastor Warren to the rescue!!  He's my hero!!!  

I'm preparing to leave for Vanderbilt Children's hospital tomorrow morning for Gracie's surgery.  I am preparing the special orders I have received and tying up loose ends.  I'm taking my Joy wheel with me to make some new yarn for my shop and 3 knitting projects, perhaps 4.  So, I will be keeping busy.  Gracie and I will be by ourselves a lot of the time as Gene is going to be working and visiting along.  I will be stuck in the hospital with nothing to do but spin, knit, read and play with my precious daughter!  I am looking forward to it, I have to say.   That is provided, of course, all goes well with Grace's surgery.  I have no reason to think that it won't.   God has her in His hand, that is for certain.

I sold my Mardi Gras Madness yarn over the weekend!  That was the yarn from you know where that I spun with beads.  Am I going to do that again???  Probably, but not now.  It was pretty, when all was said and done.

                 
My sweet inlaws are going to be here taking care of Ben while I am gone and will be holding down Simply Homespun!  So, come on out and visit.  Sorghum season is in full swing in Muddy Pond - lots to do in addition to visiting our shop.

Keep prayers coming for Gracie!

Kim

What A Blessed Day!

The shop is open and very busy!  I have met the coolest ladies today.  And boy, have I learned a lot!  I love fiber artisans!

Well, here is my sock!  Do you see what I did wrong?  Or did I start a new style??  Hmmmm....

(In case you didn't notice, the toe is sideways.  I can't seem to just twist my toes sideways.)  Should I make the mate to match?? 

My inlaws are here and I am loving it!  They are so great.  They bring the island sunshine with them into our home.

I am starting a Christmas Ornament Knitting Club on Saturdays at Simply Homespun on Saturdays from 2 to 4.  We will be knitting a different Christmas ornament each week.  The class is $15.00 and includes all supplies.  We will be meeting every Saturday from now until the weekend before Christmas.  Come and join in the fun!! 

Homeschool group starts back on the 19th of this month!  I am teaching a drop spindle class.  I really excited about it.  We are going to make a drop spindle then learn to spin  on it!  Because we meet on Fridays, my shop hours are changing to:
Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 9 - 5
Friday from 2 -7

I have found an excellent source for weaving yarn, so look for that to be added to our product line shortly!  Gene is going to have 10 fits when he sees the selection!  He is almost finished warping for the dogwood placemats!  I can't wait!

Meat loaf, homegrown beans, homegrown potatoes and homemade bread for dinner!!!  Yum Yum!  Just from cutting back on water usage, my water bill was $30.00 less than last month!  By turning off lights in rooms we aren't using and washing in mostly cold water, our kilowatt hours were cut almost by half from last year in the same month!

Good Morning from Muddy Pond!

We sort of started school today!  I have been wanting to create a lapbook for some time now, so, I found a website that is excellent for this.  It is based on unit studies, so we are doing Stellaluna and learning all about bats!  http://www.homeschoolshare.com/stellaluna.php

I have such a long to do list today!  I want to warp my knitter's loom for my rug, make homemade granola, make bread, clean house, catch up laundry and ...
Creating a blog - not on my list!  

Ashford Knitter's Loom

Soon to be a rug!

I found an excellent recipe for homemade granola that doesn't use dry milk!  I will let you know how it goes.    http://familyfun.go.com/christmas/christmas-recipes/gifts-from-the-kitchen/christmas-mixes/crunchy-homemade-granola-684950   I am also leaving out the wheat germ as I don't have any right now!  The kids love cereal, but as we are cutting back, I am going to attempt and make our own all natural cereal.  I spent 28.00 yesterday on groceries for the week.  And we should be eating pretty well.  Of course, I will be utilizing the 1000 potatoes we dug from the garden!  Tonight - Shepherd's Pie.  


God is good and we are going to rejoice and be glad in this day!


Kim