Happy Homemaker Monday - May 15, 2017

Family Corner

The weather.....was hot this weekend - in the upper 70s. This week, however, there is rain or thunderstorms forecasted for almost every day.

Right now I am....listening to the wren sing in the pine tree by the bedroom. I love hearing its song each morning and throughout the day.

Thinking....how much fun I had this past weekend at the Shepherd's Harvest with Sophia and Olivia. On Saturday, I brought another family from our 4-H club to the event; and on Sunday we met my sister there for a while.

My sister likes llamas.

This one was a friendly one she enjoyed seeing.

Reading...finally finished Winsome Womanhood. Haven't started reading anything new yet.

Favorite blog post last week....it's not so much a single blog post as it is a Pinterest board with links to various resources on the internet (including blogs) that tie into the Further Up and Further In curriculum that Olivia will be using next year for part of her English homeschool class.

She wants to read the entire Chronicles of Narnia series and this unit study curriculum has a lot of hands-on ideas for bringing the stories to life. The Pinterest board I found has a lot of great links that will be helpful in the coming school year.

Something fun to share....last week the blossoms on the crab apple tree were brilliant. May 9th was the day they first came out and were so vivid.

By the end of the week, the petals already were falling from the tree and the blossoms had turned more of a very pale pastel color.

How quickly the colors change in nature; and each day a new palette of colors is revealed. 

On the menu for this week....still need to figure out some details on the menu plan.

Monday - something quick since we will only have about 20 minutes to eat between Olivia's gymnastics and the recording session for Sophia's CD. Maybe a chicken patty sandwich.

Tuesday - Blue Apron meal.

Wednesday - pork roast in the slow cooker.

Thursday - camping. Not sure what to do since it looks like it may rain. We need to bring a dinner if it isn't raining and we can cook over an open fire as well as one that we could make inside (maybe a slow cooker recipe that we start at home and finish in the camper cabin).

Friday - Blue Apron meal.

Saturday - leftovers.

Sunday - leftovers.

On my to do list....

This week, in addition to homeschooling, there are these activities:

Monday - pick up roses for the Ladies Tea at the nursing home, errands (Dollar Tree and Office Max), volunteer at the nursing home with the Ladies Tea, take Olivia to gymnastics, grocery shopping while Olivia is at gymnastics, and take Sophia to a three-hour recording session for her CD.

Tuesday - Homeschool co-op for both the girls; and a harp lesson for Sophia. Go to the doctor after I drop off the girls at home.

Wednesday -  Curriculum sale in the morning and Mary B. here in the afternoon. Window washers also in the afternoon.

Thursday - Camping at a state park.

Friday - Camping at a state park and then pick up transplants, seeds, and gardening supplies.

Saturday - Harp practice. Plant flowers, vegetables, herbs, and more strawberry plants. Transplant perennials and work on some of the flower gardens.

Sunday - Sophia plays the harp at both services. Continue working on gardens and cleaning the house. If the weather is better, have a picnic in the backyard.

In the craft basket....had a fun time at the Shepherd's Harvest learning two new skills: Saori weaving and bracelet making using tin wire, a colored cord, and leather.

The Saori weaving I had a lot of fun with. It was great using a variety of different colors and textures of yarn, roving, colored fleece, and bits of fabric.

I've been looking for a way to create memory gifts of my parents for my sister, brother, and I as well as my parents' grandchildren (9 of them). I could see Saori weaving as being a good way to use fabric that belonged to my parents - combine some of their clothing with complementary yarn and roving - to create something functional.

Olivia took the class with me and did a completely different type of weaving that turned out beautifully:

She used one color for the weft (black). The warp was already set up for her in a variety of blues. Because we came early to the class, we had the pick of the looms which was nice.

For those living in or near Minnesota, Saori Studio Fun is the company that did the classes. They go around and do Saori weaving classes throughout the metro area as well as host weaving days/retreats at their home. Going to a class is a great way to be introduced to this type of weaving without investing in the equipment. (Though it is quite tempting after how much fun we had at the class!)

The other class I took this weekend was a Sami-inspired bracelet. I learned how to do a four-ply braid using tin thread and a colored cord. Once the braid was completed, it needed to be sewn onto leather, a button attached, and then a leather-braided button clasp attached.

It was interesting to see how varying the cord and tin thread could result in completely different looks for the bracelet. Below is Sophia's bracelet that used the same braiding technique, but she ordered the tin thread and cord differently.

It was a more complicated way to braid even though the process is the same.

Sophia really enjoyed this class and wants to make more bracelets in different patterns. Olivia enjoyed the weaving class a lot more than the bracelet-making class. So, it was interesting to see how each one is different in terms of what they like to work with and create.

Looking forward to this week....going camping - even though it might rain. We have both a yurt and camper cabin reserved. The yurt doesn't have electricity, so I wanted to have a back-up plan in case it was too hot and we needed a fan and/or the girls preferred sleeping in a camper cabin.

I'm excited to see what the yurt is like - and to be able to spend time at the state park hiking, relaxing, and spending time with a couple of other families.

Looking around the house....my goal is to have the house Spring-cleaned by Memorial Day. I have a lot of work left to go if I'm going to reach that goal. It looks like much of the cleaning will be happening next week since this week has quite a few activities already planned.

From the camera...at the Shepherd's Harvest there were a variety of sheep. This one had four horns. I've never seen a sheep with that many horns.

We also saw yaks - including a baby one - at the event which was interesting. They have a very unusual sound they make when "talking" with one another.

Also linked to:

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth