Kairos—“a right, opportune, or supreme moment in which something special and unique happens”
If you are so inclined, share a link to your “Kairos Moment” in the comment section. I hope you all have a blessed weekend!
homemaker
Join Me
If you are looking for something to do this evening, join me at the Rockford Holistic Moms Network Meeting tonight at Just Goods in Rockford at 7 PM. I will be presenting at tonight’s meeting, and I would love to see some of you there! At tonight’s meeting, I will be discussing the ways in which my family has tried to create a “Suburban Homestead” of sorts, and how we try to create a means of food security for our family. It is sure to be a wonderful night. For more detailed information, visit our chapter Facebook page.
Holistic Moms Network is “a non-profit organization connecting parents who are interested in holistic health and green living. We encourage moms to trust their instincts, parent from the heart, use their innate sense of what is best for their children, live in balance with the Earth, and learn about the pros and cons of all healthcare and parenting options.
No matter where you are on your parenting or holistic living journey, you are welcome at HMN! We are a diverse and open-minded community, a place where your choices are respected and where you can learn and become informed! “
I hope to see you there!
Drawing Fun
Ever since our February trip to the Northwoods, and my visit to this fabulous antique mall, I have had some lovely vintage fabric sitting on my shelf, just begging to be fashioned into some type of lovely.
Inspired by the “Felt Pencil Roll” in The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule, I made some adjustments to the pattern and created a lovely crayon/colored pencil roll for a brand new “Big Sister” friend of ours.
Spring Break Baby
We just wrapped up Spring Break, and what an adventure it was. We first traveled to Madison, Wisconsin where we visited with family, celebrated and gave thanks over yummy food, and even squeezed in a bit of pool time. We then ventured back to the Northwoods for some quiet time with my husband’s grandparents. Nature in all her glory surrounded us up there. We were lucky enough to see a bald eagle and many, many, many deer. Oh my.
We returned home to lawns completely cleared of snow, a garden in desperate need of some TLC, and four whole days of break remaining! So, we strapped on our new garden boots and set to work. I had forgotten how much I missed being outside…just “in” it…you know. It was just fabulous.
I hope this Monday has been wonderful for all of you so far, and may you all have a lovely week!
Kairos
Kairos—“a right, opportune, or supreme moment in which something special and unique happens”
If you are so inclined, share a link to your “Kairos Moment” in the comment section. I hope you all have a blessed weekend!
A Bit More
We had so much fun dyeing Easter eggs over the weekend, I decided to hop on the natural dye agent train and go for a real ride. I had one skein of wool left after I finished making the woolens in this post, and a few left over beets from dyeing eggs. I decided I would try to dye the wool yarn. Here’s what I did…
Put the following ingredients in a large stainless steel pot:
4 large beets, peeled and chopped
16 cups water
4 cups white vinegar
Bring the ingredients to a boil. Let it slow boil for about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the yarn. (I tied off the skein a bit more too. I didn’t want it to get tangled while it “cooked.”)
Then remove the pot from the heat, cover and let it rest overnight. (Yes, just leave those beets in there…It’s fine.) Rinse the yarn 2-3 times in luke warm water.
Allow to dry completely on a drying rack.
Just Go With It
Yes, it is March 27th. Yes, it is Spring. Yes, we are completely snow-covered and freezing. I’ve decided I need to move to the positive of this situation instead of dwelling on the negative. So, woolens it is. Why not sit under a quilt, with a mug of steaming hot coffee and crochet with a bit of lovely wool. And that’s just what I did.
The yarn is from this farm in Wisconsin. They can be found at the weekly farmers’ market in Madison, and they normally have their yarn for sale at their booth. (If you have never visited the Dane County Farmers’ Market, you must go! It is absolutely amazing…no matter the season…it’s year round and awesome!)
This is me embracing the frigid March temps. I’m just going with it.
Al Naturale
Another of my favorite days is right around the corner. Sure, it is snowing outside as I write this, and the temperature last night dipped well below freezing, but no matter. Easter is just a few short days away.
Our house is always abustle with baking and crafts at this time of year, but our most favorite of all activities we find ourselves immersed in is dyeing those lovely little Easter eggs. For the second year now, we have opted to use natural dyeing agents to dye our eggs, and let me tell you…If you have never dyed eggs this way, you must try it! The entire process leads to a day full of fun, and this year we were even glad to find ourselves in our toasty kitchen from all that steam the pots were kicking off. I mean it was twenty-five degrees outside. Oh my.
There are many resources out there with a bunch of great ideas for natural dyeing agents. The book we used this year was Keeping Chickens: All You Need to Know to Care for a Happy, Healthy Flock by Ashley English.
One recommendation I would give is to try to find organic white eggs to use with these natural dyeing agents. These are sometimes difficult to find, as it took me driving to three different stores before I could find some, but it is well worth it. Last year we dyed organic brown eggs and the colors did not pop as much as they did this year.
Just to give you a frame of reference, starting with the yellow egg and moving clockwise…yellow (turmeric), violet (cranberries), brown (coffee grounds), pink (beets), bluish violet (blueberries and blackberries).
At This Moment
At this moment I am…
~admiring our naturally-dyed Easter eggs we made yesterday. More on this in tomorrow’s post 🙂
~cleaning up the disaster that is my kitchen. A weekend full of projects and crafts has left it looking a bit unfortunate.
~enjoying a quiet morning chat with my oldest, who decided to get up before 6 o’clock this morning. I cherish these early-morning times with her so.
~perusing The Pioneer Woman website for some recipe ideas for tonight’s dinner.
~flipping through this book for some natural project ideas for the girls.
~waiting for the ground to thaw so I can get out into the garden. As of now, the garden is still completely snow covered. Oh my.
~filled with anticipation because I have a lot of fun posts to share with all of you this week!
~wishing you a wonderful week!
Kairos
Kairos—“a right, opportune, or supreme moment in which something special and unique happens”
“Let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment.”
~Pope Francis I
Making of a Home 