Happy Homemaker Monday - April 10, 2017

Family Corner

The weather.....is misting this morning when I let the dogs out. Yesterday, there was thunder in the distance and rain in the afternoon.

Right now I am....having the start of a migraine. Took 800 mg of Ibuprofen and am hoping that it nips it in the bud. Otherwise, it is going to be a very long day.

Thinking....about how good it feels to get rid of 11 bags of recycling since the beginning of April thanks to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge I'm doing. It's all photocopies and clippings that I had filed. I'm going through each homeschooling file and keeping what I want and will use in the next year. What I don't need, I'm recycling. It is creating so much extra space in my home office.

Example of what I'm doing this month.

Above: Files that begin with "E."

Below: After going through them,

the files on the left are what I'm keeping and

the bag on the right will be papers I'm recycling.

So far, I have done eight posts:

A is for Alphabets and Alphabet Books
Bears, Bread, Books, and Bodies
Cats, Character, and Chinese Inventions
Death, Deer, and Discovery Gardens
Earth Day, Easter, and Etiquette
Forests, Foxes, and Frogs
Games, Gardening, and Grains
Hermit Crabs, Health, and Homeschooling

Reading... Winsome Womanhood by Margaret Sangster. The book was written in 1900 and the MN-LINK system had it! I am so grateful for MN-LINK because it allows anyone in Minnesota to order books from any library in the state - some are public and some are colleges. Very rarely do I need to purchase a book since at least one library carries what I want to read.

I had never heard the word Winsome used before so I looked it up. It means "generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence."

It is written for "women, with a wish and hope that it may prove suggestive and helpful to the girl in her teens, who faces so many problems, and stands before an unknown future, to the older woman bearing the responsibilities of middle life, and to her whose outlook is toward the setting sun."

As I was flipping through the book, a quote stood out about the value and "power of womanhood as exhibited in....the doing the little things which alone lie within...reach":

The blessing of her quiet life

Fell on us like the dew.

I immediately thought of my Mom. So many little things she did during her years as a stay at home mom/homemaker that we subtly knew were happening and were nourished by. Yet, she never won awards or was well-known for these things that made our life such a happy one growing up.

On my TV.....the last thing I watched on t.v. was Grey's Anatomy and Scandal on Thursday evening.

Favorite blog post last week (mine or other)....Spirit Cloth combines quilting and embroidery in an artistic way. I enjoyed seeing her latest work with embroidered stars that have a square center and eight triangular points.

Source

Something fun to share....after the 4-H state wildlife project bowl competition in Sauk Rapids, we went to St. Cloud to attend a pow wow. The colors of the outfits were so vibrant; and beadwork was very intricate and beautiful.

Sophia and Olivia both want to go to more pow wows, so I've been checking to see what other ones are within relatively close driving distance to our home.

Blog hopping (newly discovered blog)....Through the A to Z Challenge, I came across Earlier Years. There have been interesting stories of growing up on a farm in the 1950s and 1960s. Besides the good memories, it also gives a glimpse into the hard work required by farming.

On the menu for this week....aren't determined yet since we have some leftovers I'd prefer to use up first before making new food.

Monday - Leftovers of Blue Apron's Parmesan-Crusted Chicken with Creamy Fettuccine and Roasted Broccoli. The family meals (which are supposed to serve 4) end up making enough food for 7-8 servings for our family which is great. Lots of leftovers.

Tuesday - The rest of the chicken with fettuccine and/or grilled cheese sandwiches.

Wednesday - Pork roast with baked potatoes.

Thursday - Something with hamburger

Friday - Leftovers.

Saturday - Bratwurst.

Sunday - Easter dinner.

On my to do list....in addition to homeschooling:

Monday -  Sophia has an appointment with the optometrist. She's been having lots of headaches so I'm thinking her eyes have changed again...which means new contacts and glasses. Volunteer at the humane society doing cat socialization. Olivia has her weekly gymnastics lesson also in the afternoon. While she is there, pick up taxes from the accountant.

Tuesday - Homeschool co-op for both the girls and a longer harp lesson for Sophia as she prepares to record a CD. Get supplies for making about 12 welcome baskets for the nursing home (an activity we're leading next Monday).

These were the welcome baskets that

we made with the seniors back in July 2016.

They are given to new residents

when they enter the nursing home.

Wednesday - Dentist appointments in the morning; and Mary B. here for several hours in the afternoon.

Thursday - No appointments or lessons! A full day at home to catch up on whatever we need to do!

Friday - Olivia has a gymnastics lesson. No speech for her this week since it's Good Friday. In the afternoon, we volunteer again at the humane society. Sophia plays the harp for the dogs and cats while Olivia and I pet them. We find that animals that are stressed and anxious benefit the most from the one-on-one time.

Saturday - Depending on the weather, go to a state park that we haven't been to and have a picnic Afterwards, go to United Noodles to get some exotic fruit for Sophia's 4-H project about fruit. Her focus is on fruit that are common in Asian countries, but rare (or not grown) in the U.S.

Dragon Fruit is one of the fruits Sophia wants to try.

Source

Sunday - Easter. Looking forward to dinner with my sister and brother, and their families.

In the craft basket....I took the two projects I've been working on to the state Project Bowl this past weekend. Having time between competitions gave me just what I needed to finish doing all the blanket-stitching around the Christmas table runner. It's a relief to have that done.

Also sewed the opening on the northwoods flannel quilt. Now I just need to put yarn ties on it. There are 9 ties per horizontal row and 12 ties vertically - so 108 yarn ties. It secures all three layers together (the quilt front, batting, and backing).

Looking forward to this week....seeing my brother and sister. I haven't seen my brother since Christmas, so I'm particularly looking forward to seeing how he is doing and spending time with him. It's good for us "kids" to get together now that both our parents are no longer with us. This is the second Easter without our Mom and sixth Easter without our Dad.

Looking around the house....there's quite a bit of work that I want to do this week in terms of cleaning. Going through the files for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge has taken a lot of time. Yet, one of my goals has been to declutter and organize the household this year. It will all come together...it's just a matter of time.

From the camera....this was Saturday morning's sunrise. We were driving from St. Cloud to Sauk Rapids around 7:00 a.m. The entire sky was painted with shades of yellow, oranges, pinks ,and lavenders.

Also linked to:

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth