4 Sweet Sisters

Okay, I said I wouldn't be here. but here I am! I found a new to me blog that I'm sew excited about!!!!;) Click here for some really cute and usable gift ideas. I've got sew many Christmas ideas just swimming through my head. In fact! Here's a simple and Frugal one! ( I'll post on Frugal Friday). Anyhoooo . What makes it sew frugal you may be asking?? Well, this is left over quilted fabric from the little chickadees bedroom. The quilts were for full/queen size beds. So I cut (you don't know how hard that was to do to a brand new to me quilts) and hemmed the side facing the wall leaving the pretty scallop to dangle over the bed skirt (i guess i should post some pics of that project- but i still have a couple of things to finish up). Then I used a heavy duty grosgrain ribbon for color and durability. Some simple straight stitching ( don't look at my imperfections) and I have a wonderful pool/swim team/ beach bag for all those big,bulky towels! I'm s...

Just stopped by to let you know I'm taking a bit of a break... Some days just getting done what really needs my attention is all I can do. Anyone else like me? We've been busy working in our little garden, setting up a new pantry, getting ready for a garage sale, putting another school year to bed and trying out a new spelling curriculum. Besides other things! So hopefully I'll have a bit more zip in my step and be back later this week! blessings, julie

Oh Happy Day! Yes it's Frugal Friday........but even better than that today Superman and I celebrate 16 wonderfully fun, crazy, happy, at times rough, creative years of Marriage! I said to him last night that it seems like it should be a big one, like 20 or something.We plan on spending a great unplanned weekend together. We may even get to sleep in!!! Back to Frugality! Did you know that Home Depot is selling Ferry Morse seed packets for 1/2 price this week. Out gardening season is just about over down here, but I picked up all my seeds for fall. I hope to try again and start from seed in the house during mid summer. I had a disappointing time of it last year and ended up having to buy a bunch of grower veg packs;( You have you choice of organic, regular and even seed tapes. I'm trying the carrot tapes and such. I just hate thinning out all the those beautiful little plants! Here's what I'm using to keep my seeds stored in. I'll place this in the fridge. I used t...

It's another WFMW post. Click on WE ARE THAT FAMILY for a whole bunch of useful tips! As I stated above mine is hanging onions. I arrived home from a meeting last night to find School Girl and Superman hanging them so nicely in our garage. This freaked Urban Girl out who stated that this is only okay to do if we lived in the country, but not for us suburb folks! A couple of books I read said to hag them so the skins could dry. I know someone is laughing out there because we have probably got it all wrong?? Help if your laughing- I'll gladly take constructive advice! As you can see by the pics the onions didn't exactly bulb. I've never been able to get them to do it. I MUST be planting them wrong?? Again, any advice? Well, they are still somewhat usable. When the tips are young I pull a bunch for cooking and use the green parts for dehydrating. Great for soups and such. I think I've mentioned it somewhere before? Anyhoo... It Works For Me, and I didn't h...

Cross 1 more thing off the list of things that "I never do". Amanda over at Encouragement Along the Way has tagged me. So I'll give it a try, don't blame me if you find it boring........ 8Things I Look Forward To: 1. Our 16th Wedding Anniversary 2. A Very Frugal Romantic Weekend 3. Sewing with my girls 4. A summer break 5. Fitting into my old clothes 6. Having grand babies! 7. Relaxing with my Man 8. Giggling with my Girls 8Things I Did Yesterday: 1. Made 6 gallons of laundry soap 2. Weeded and planted some flower beds 3. Florida Notebooks 4. 1/2 of the laundry 5. Edit photos 6. Stuck to food plan 7. Cleaned out the yucky, gunky rain barrel 8. Had a coffee shake! 8Things I Wish I Could Do: 1. Lose all the weight I need to in 6 months (overnight would freak me out!) 2. Move to the country, near mountains 3. Dance all night long with Superman 4. Save and give more 5. Start a family business 6. Have our house be debt free 7. Spend unlimited time in My Father's Word....

I've: Made tea! -Planted pumpkins -weeded and planted calendula -drained (into the garden) & clean out rain barrel -exercised the chickens -found, uploaded, and ordered Fl notebook photos -have girls cleaning school room -started laundry -woke at 6:30 am -quiet time (i think i need more) Whew! Here's what I did on Saturday! Yup. I canned my own apple pie filling. Go here to 4 Reluctant Entertainers. I never would have tried this if she hadn't made it look so good! It was pretty simple and we had a huge surplus of apples. I would do a couple of things differently next time. 1. Add a bit more sugar 2. Not fill my cans so full! No we can make apple pie any old time w/o as much work. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. julie

Things I like to get back or accomplish this week. - Get up at 6:30 - Writing/Scripture - Bake Bread - Clean my bathroom (yikes!!! :0) - Finish Florida notebooks - Hair cut - Clean out School Room (I'm CONSTANTLY doing this) - De clutter craft room -Laundry -Get ready for our anniversary! -Organize portfolios and school work for storage -Continue food plan -Plus all the other stuff that comes and I'm forgetting! Do you have anything big planned this week? julie

Frugal Friday We've been involved in a couple of unit studies this year where we have had many fun, free and interesting field trips. This one pictured below was to our County Dump. I'll admit my favorite part was riding around on the air conditioned bus, but truthfully I learned so much. Did you know that many counties/cities recycle paint? While we were at the dump I was able to pick up two 2/3 gallons (of very expensive & fresh) blue paint. (My younger chickadees have been wanting their room redone in blue) So this was perfect timing. All the other moms were either cheering me on , or just thinking I'd lost my mind! I did have to add white (which I had on hand ) to bring down the color a bit ( now, I know why someone got rid of it). It was one of those colors that gets much darker as it dries. But it still turned out great. We also received bunkbeds that we modified a bit and painted white. Country Blue and White, I'll post more on the makeover when I'm t...

Has anyone ever tried Pomona fruit pectin? I usually use Sure Jell Low Sugar but I can't find it locally. I've tried the Ball No Sugar but my stores seem to be out of it also....Hmmm. I live in suburbia and I can't find pectin! Any help on different types like Pomona etc would be appreciated. I think I'm going to have to order online. I'm also having trouble getting lids. Help! I need a bit of advice on pectin. julie

Today's installment of Works For Me Wednesday: Storing Fresh Eggs, but first School Girl asked that I show her Star Wars eggs! L to R: Princess Leah, Jabba , Darth Vador , Luke, Hansolo , C3PO, R2D2, and Chubakka . On to today's subject. We just bought our first store eggs for dying. It's been almost 5 months since I' ve had to do this. So needless to say my store egg cartons were shot and we were starting to lose eggs on the floor. What a mess! So here's what I came up with. They are deli meat keepers from Tupperware and come with egg trays! Each box holds 24 eggs and are they sturdy. They are also easy to clean and help me keep track of what needs to be used first. Here's what I do: The orange container is for freshly laid eggs. Eggs go into this container, but they don't come out until the at least 1 tray from the gray container is empty. I then slide the trays forward in the gray container to make room for a tray from the orange container to go in ...

Just stopping in to say, "i've gone a bit mad and torn almost every room apart!" Gotta get back to it. I just want it all cleaned up, sorted out, put in it's proper place, put in sale pile, put in give pile and kicked to the curb! Get cleaning Ladies!!!! We've had a couple of new additions over the last week! This little one was born Palm Sunday... And this one was born this morning. We have a pecked hole in another egg and expect a new chick tonight. The Silkies are getting a bit testy with us! Aren't they cute? Okay, now get to cleaning! julie

It's finally that time of year again, when the strawberry farms open their fields to all us pickers! We headed to Plant City on probably the last cool day we will have for quite awhile. The temp was 70 degrees. Perfect weather for bringing in the berries. Before we started we sat down to a great picnic lunch of apple butter and pb sandwiches. Here's Grammy showing us the proper way to partake of a Teddy Gram. She makes them look soooo good. She's also a computer geek and likes a good adventure! Superman and Urban Girl (sporting her Country Girl cap) washing up after lunch. Farm Girl and School Girl hanging around, ready to get this show started. Farm Girl and her younger sister (the Little Chef) come for the all you can eat strawberries and horses. The fields... Not as good as they looked last year due to nematodes , but there are still strawberries out there! The chickadees eating strawberry twizzlers and being sisters. Do they count as strawberries? Now we're ...

Have you seen these? If not head over to www.bekerella.com ! She makes the best and I think it's her idea! Such creativity. Seriously. These bunnies and chicks were a bit more difficult than I thought. Then throw in perfectionism rearing its ugly head, which made for a not so fun project... Just keeping it "real" folks... Here's the problem we (I) encountered. 1) ME! 2) The chocolate would crack after it dried. Leaving you with a bunny or chick with a cracked back or face! 3) They also did a bit of sweating. It's been very humid here, so I don't know if they are a good Florida food craft??? Here's what my girls said (and yes they forgave me for my attitude), "OOOOh, there so cute!" "I could eat them all, who cares about cracks!" I plan on trying these again with the chickadees after I get some more tips. Any suggestions for cracking chocolate? Bakerella, do you make house calls? I'd love to hear from you all! Blessings, julie

Remember when I said, " Nobody always does it this or that way?" Well I wasn't kidding! This are NO were near are normal diet of delicious organic and raw foods! But the sure are Yummy and Cute! Chocolate Covered Peeps Waaaay to easy to make and very frugal if: you by them on sale or with your ECBs. I wouldn't suggest stocking up for next year( although I doubt they'll go bad- hee hee hee). You can stock up on the dipping chocolate! I did and a little secret "always" put some really good chocolate chips into the dipping chocolate for extra flavor! Basically warm up the chocolate, dip peeps and dry! These are going to field day with us today! I think 1 per child is enough and Moms won't be freaking out:) I do plan on putting them on a nicer platter, but truthfully I don't think the children will mind? Also they are super fast to make, 15 minutes for 30! Check out more great Frugal Friday ideas over at www . lifeasmom . com Also check out this r...

Bread dough that can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and pulled out and baked fresh as you need it! That Works for Me! AND..... You don't have to knead it!! That really works for me! I was taking a breather this weekend and perusing a bunch of magazines that had been sent our way. I came across a FABULOUS recipe for French Boule . Artisian bread (you know that fancy stuff from the bakery). It was in an old Mother Earth News Magazine. I headed straight to the kitchen. I mixed together: 6cups warm water 3 tablespoons yeast 3 tabalespoons sea salt 13 cups of whole wheat flour (you can use unbleached white or all purpose- you may even get a better rise than I get with WW flour) You'll also need corn meal and a pizza stone for baking. I mixed it all together really well. You can use a mixer if you want, but by hand works. DO NOT KNEAD!!!! Let rise in a loosely covered bowl for 2 to 5 hours. I do about 2 1/2. Transfer bread to a covered bowl/dish for store in fridge. *...