mama

Yummy Yummy Yarn

/ makingofahome / 3 Comments

On our trip to the Northwoods, Mom had to have some fun too.  I made my way into town to visit my favorite spot:  The Knitter’s Nook.  This quaint shop is housed in a petite white residence, just off the main drag in town.  It is owned by the most lovely of couples, and the yarn in their shop is exquisite!  All fibers are naturally derived, no acrylic yarn here.  This shop is an absolute tactile experience.  I spent the first twenty minutes of my time in the shop just feeling the various fibers they had to offer.

After spending a bit too much time in the shop (my husband was supervising both girls and their two cousins in a toy store..oh my 🙂 ), I emerged with my spoils.  Lamb’s wool, Alpacha, and a wool/bamboo blend, all in the most beautiful of colors. I spent the rest of the trip curled up on the back porch crocheting. Perfection.

The Squirrel Whisperer

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When we peer out the windows of our home in northern Illinois we see cardinals, blue jays, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits and the occasional turkey, but every time we make the trek up to the Northwoods, the concentration of wildlife, only four short hours north of us, never ceases to amaze me.  The area is literally crawling with critters, and let me tell you…my girls LOVE it!

On this particular trip, my five year old became especially fond of the squirrels.  Any time we were indoors, I found her standing at the front entry way of my husband’s grandparent’s home.  She would settle into her post at the door and just wait.  As soon as she spotted a squirrel in the distance, she would tap on the door and make a little clicking sound with her tiny mouth.  This is when the magic happened:  A minimum of five squirrels would come running up the front steps, place their bitty hands on the iron frame of the door and wait.  Then my daughter would open the door just enough to slip a few peanuts through the gap, and the squirrels would grab the nut and scurry away with treasure in hand.  Amazing.

This went on for four days.  Morning.  Noon.  Night.

Love.

Generational Wealth

/ makingofahome / 7 Comments

As I sit here to write this post, I am not thinking of generational wealth in the form of monetary currency passed down from one generation to the next.  Instead, I am pondering the wealth of knowledge, the wealth of history, and the wealth of love that is exchanged when multiple generations of a family spend quality time with one another.

This past week my family was fortunate enough to spend many days up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin with my husband’s grandparents.  While on the trip my girls were able to hike and fish with their great-grandfather, cook and feed the wild life with their great-grandmother, and ramble about the woods with their second cousins.  There truly was a great deal of “wealth” passed from one generation to the next on this short vacation.

Humbled

/ makingofahome / 2 Comments

Last week I was incredibly humbled, surprised and excited when Becky from Clover and Thyme honored me with a Versatile Blogger Award!  Thank you so very much Becky for this wonderful honor!  Being new to this whole blogging world, your recognition really brightened my day and reaffirmed why I do what I do.  Thank you.

If you get a chance, be sure to stop by Becky’s blog.  It is a joy to read!

So here are the Rules for Versatile Blogger Award according to their site:

  •  Thank the person who gave you this award.
  •  Include a link to their blog.
  •  Next, select  blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly. ( I would add, pick blogs or bloggers that are excellent!)
  •  Nominate those bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award — you might include a link to your post nominating them, or to the Versatile Blogger Blog.
  •  Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

As I said earlier, I am still very new to this whole blogging world, so I am just beginning to explore all of the wonderful blogs that are out there.  Here are the blogs that I follow regularly and I would like to award with the Versatile Blogger Award.  Thank you all for what you do!

Amanda Blake Soule at SouleMama.  I have been following this blog for nearly a year now and it is utterly amazing!  Her posts vary from crafting to homesteading and everything in between.  I also have many of her books which also contain fabulous project ideas for moms and kids alike.

Ashley English at Small Measure.  I found this blog a few weeks ago via SouleMama and it too is just fabulous!  I especially like the amazing recipes she includes in many of her posts.  Yum!

Paola at Love and Cupcakes.  This is a wonderful blog featuring wonderful recipes.  I especially love the desserts that can be found on this site 🙂

Scott and Kim at Aquaponic Family.  This is a great site about an at-home aquaponic system.  It is full of great information!

And here are a few interesting tidbits about me: 1.  I could live on cheese and desserts alone.  2.  I enjoy reading the classics (must be that English teacher in me 🙂  3.  I fell in love with photography when I was a senior in high school when my parents gave me my first Canon Rebel for a graduation present.  4.  I just saw The Hunger Games and LOVED it!  (The books were of course fabulous as well!)  5.  I have been taking on a more active role in my husband’s fitness company and I have been greatly enjoying it.  6.  My girls and I have been enthralled with the Junie B. Jones book series these days.  She is a hoot!  7.  We just returned from a great trip and I cannot wait to share some of our experiences with you!

Have a wonderful week!

Reading and Soapmaking and Gardening, Oh My!

/ makingofahome / 6 Comments

Last week my husband was in a very minor (thank goodness!) fender bender, so I had to bring the car in this week to get repaired.  This left the girls and I without a vehicle for two days and I must admit that it was a wonderful couple of days!

While sequestered we had the most marvelous of times!  We read a ton, made a few more kinds of soap, and worked a great deal in the garden.  It was wonderful to know how much fun we could have, without ever leaving the comfort of our little home.

 

Diggin’ In

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This week the girls and I have been out working in the garden planting beets, carrots and lettuce.  We are trying some different heirloom varieties this year, so we are all excited to see how they work out.  We have ordered all of our seeds from The Seed Savers Exchange the past two years and have been thrilled with the results!

For beets we planted Early Blood Turnip and Detroit Dark Red

For carrots we planted Dragon (This one we have planted in the past and my girls love it because the outside of the carrot is a deep purple and the inside of the vegetable is a brilliant orange!) and St. Valery.

For lettuce this year we ordered the Seed Savers Heirloom Lettuce Collection which contains Amish Deer Tongue, Bronze Arrowhead, Crisp Mint, Forellenschuss, Red Velvet, and Susan’s Red Bib.

(A quick side note on “Gardener Number 2″…She is currently only wearing dresses because she said that jeans are not “girl clothes” 🙂  This summer should get quite interesting with all of the gardening this gal loves to do.  Love her.)