Our Classroom 6 am school days

One of my favorite things we have done in Daily Seminary class is illustrating the people and taping them on the wall in family tree/generations, showing contemporaries, how Book of Mormon prophets are related, who was a king or a king-wanna-be, who murdered whom, who was good, who was bad, who repented:

I gave them a paper with the index description of each man and let them draw a face.

With the snow and the freezing temperatures there have been many delayed school openings, which cancels our early morning class.  I have missed the students!  Looking forward to Monday morning!

Happy Valentine's Day to Your Hands (and His) a Little Early While it is SO COLD OUTSIDE!

My mom blogged about their smitten and I was intrigued!  Fantastic idea:  a mitten that allows you to hold hands with your sweetheart (or a young child) and stay warm, skin contact without having to switch back and forth between coat pockets...Perfect for walks in the cold!

Here is my hack:  Take a knit hat, inside it out, and from the top sew 2.5 inch smooth U shape, zig-zag because it is knit and you don't want it to fray.  Sew back and forth several rounds.  I tried increasing zig width, decreasing stitch length, using a variety to make sure it is good and stitched, secure and won't unravel when you do the next step:  CUT

Tried the straight cut, seemed to work fine.

Also tried a more key-hole shape and then CUT like this:

...which did not seem to make much difference.  I would recommend applique zig-zag stitch heart or other personalized decoration BEFORE you inside out and make center seam.

And write your name on at least one so you don't give them all away!

Coming in the mail soon to you, my Utah children.  There is one in there for Aunt Becca & Chris, too.  Thanks to Deborah for discovering this cool idea!

John's right arm in gray, me with my left hand in couple glove while taking picture.

Temple Today & Banner for Sam

Quick trip to the temple after my 5 hour seminary in-service meeting-teaching us how to be better teachers.

Helping Sam with banner for Icicle boyscout camp:  the free city banners came clean with 91% rubbing alcohol, washed off ink and made permanent markers perfect for new message!

Handmade & Changes (with Soundtrack)

I trimmed the rosemary bush back so it wasn't hanging over the walkway (it's an evergreen!) and tucked the trimmings into a wreath to hang on back porch.

John welded a metal valentine for me 20 years ago.  I love the rusted patina.  (I want to paint this back porch light black when spring +50' weather returns).

Early this morning I told husband-love-of-my-life that when I am trying to relax & go to sleep I go through the rooms in our home and think of what I want to change...He doesn't think that sounds very relaxing.  To him that is terrifying--this from my super supportive of my-arts & crafting explosions husband.  Not that I am making more things for him to do, but the CHANGE doesn't sound like fun to him. "Things are fine how they are now!"

He voiced the legitimate concern of stumbling around banging into things even with the lights on.  He likes things the way they are--and I am constantly wondering how they would look with changes.  I said I would love to live in a different house each week.  It would kill him.  We are opposite on the spectrum of decorating-change-environment.  It would kill me to decorate things once and live with them unchanged for 20+ years.  I like the way homes can evolve, change, variety and interest keeping pace with the events in our lives.

When I look through our home interior/exterior environment there are some keepers, things I absolutely love and wouldn't want to ever change.  Only a very few.  But there are more experiments, projects I have learned skills by making decorating mistakes, experimented, left undone or changed almost too soon for any witnesses to get used to it and I would eagerly change given the right resource, discovery at a thrift store, gifting from rich uncle, career change, or honestly a move.

I told him I was ready to re-paint the living room ceiling (a constellation/nebula/cosmos thing) and he said it had only been since the summer since I made a big X and shaded it to look like a peaked ceiling.  But I've been adding violets and orchid colors to the  living room (to try out color of the year Radiant Orchid) and want to include the ceiling...Yea, I know.  I accept that I can't afford to buy new rug/accent chairs/couch, but I can change the paint with paint I already have!

He wonders why I make more work for myself.  Why, out of my 8 siblings, I seem to do it more than any of them (any challengers on that?  Ha!)  Not a race/contest, but it was a funny thought.   Then we talked about the opposites-attract break-down of how different my parents are from each other, how in-laws change siblings.

Is it a budgeting/money issue?  If I had all the funds available to make a room "perfect" would I do it and leave it as it was???

My "Fiddler On the Roof" if I were a rich woman song goes like this:

If I were a rich woman,
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
All day long I'd paint and decorate....

I'd build an open-concept great room with windows
Kitchen island-plenty seating
A new gabled roof with stained black floors below
There would be accent chairs, conversation pits
Sofas and a separate music room
Entry way and mudroom (not for show)

I'd fill my yard with landscaped concrete creations
Peonies, hydrangeas real
Walkways, benches, redbuds, more ivy green
Party patio hammock and fire pit
Entertaining would be relaxing here!

If I were a rich woman, (we would pay off the house, pay off all student loans, water-proof basement, get a new mattress, make sure the kids had everything they needed, new water heater/furnace, roof, new energy efficient windows, then and only then fun things...like skylights, moving the floor-pipe-water-heater units, build columns between kitchen/living room to support load bearing wall, open-up staircase, add 2 sets French doors, new kitchen counter tops, new washer & dryer, upstairs pantry, punch through door from garage to kitchen with connecting mudroom, wallpaper (drool), and BUY A NEW COUCH, not at the thrift store!)

Fun game to play, but now it is time to count my blessings.  I know everyone has lists like this.  We don't gamble, so we don't play the "When I win the lottery..." game.

But the "How would I spend disposable funds on decorating game" entertains me.  And doesn't really put me to sleep!  I want to get up and make something beautiful!  Or change things to see what it would look like.  Not to make stumbling blocks for my family.  Just to see the possibilities.  And maybe then, I will move it back for fun to the old way.

Temple, Family look-alike, Wool dyed with Kool-Aid, City Banners

We stopped here on way down to cousin baptisms last Saturday.  Misty rainy day.

Strong family resemblance:  uncle & nephew.  Same hair color...

Wool carpet before $10 thrift store score!

After $5.00 worth of lime-green and blueberry Kool-Aid.  I need another sunny day to heat set this outside.  Right now the color still comes off on my fingers, so I know it would make the bottom of our feet blue.  Yes, saw it on Pin-Trist.  But I've been thinking about over-dyed wool rugs for a year or so...

What to do with many, many de-commissioned city banners? (We picked up the last batch today.)

Cut & staple around a canvas!

Sam being sill at  neurology pediatric appointment.  The paper border looks like it would make a nice quilt pattern.

Max &  John at Sam's choral concert Tuesday evening.

How Many Photos Do You Have to Take to Get One Perfect Couple Shot???

The lighting, the angles, the nose weirdness, the wrinkles, the tricky shadows, the swing set coming out of my head...These are all selfies, my arm held out trying to aim at our faces and then John trying.  These are all cropped down to bring the focus to our faces.  Favorites, #1-7?  Becca & Debs:  I regretfully forgot to do the chicken neck thing.

I CHALLENGE YOU TO TAKE  MORE COUPLE PHOTOS! 

Crochet Wire Necklaces, Cousins, Inside Out Smore Brownies

I've been having way too much fun making crocheted-wire necklaces with buttons, pearls, felted wool beads

Double Cousin baptism!

Proof that I met one of my favorite authors! (World Con in the 80's)

I saw this recipe on Pin-trist: inside out s'more brownies.  I used marshmallow cream instead of mini marshmallows and added chocolate chips to center layer.  Tasty.

10 Things in 10 Years vs Resolutions for 2014

One of the fantastic talks last Sunday at Church compared core life improvement goals with basic Gospel Goals:  Sleep, Exercise, Order & Nutrition line up with Prayer, Scripture, Service, and Church activity.  These act as a springboard for other good habits as we master the basics.

 

One of my sisters chooses a word each year to focus on or a phrase.  

 

When I was making a black-out curtain last week for the guest room I asked John what one word he would want as an affirmation/encouragement for me to see every time I walk into the room (sewing room).  He suggested "RELAX."

 

After a phone conversation with my mom about this new year and the extended family hard things/trials/difficulties we agreed  "endure it well" is a good motto for the year.

 

Mom-by-Marriage Sandy shared with me her 7 Things in 7 Years goals/decisions/lifestyle plan.  Instead of working on just one thing, she picked 7 things that she wanted to be better at within the next 7 years, and if they don't get done, then she has 6 years to work on all 7.  I liked the idea of progressing and working towards who she wants to be and giving herself a break if one thing doesn't get done to NOT GIVE UP!

 

So today on January 1st, 2014 I've been making lists.  Here is my working outline list...Specific activities/goals fall under each of these 10 areas

 

During the next decade I want growth in:

1. Family Ties & Unity/Harmony

2. Spirituality & Faith

3. Intellectual Learning

4. Skills & Expertise

5. Creative Outlets

6. Emotional Resilience

7. Physical Strength

8. Social Hostess Friend

9. Organization & Simplifying

10. Big Picture Politics & Making a Difference USING MIGHT/influence 

Always time for a kiss!

We met my sister at Luray Caverns and went on a healthy hike to see waterfalls.  Good cousin times!

We watched family movies and the ratio of children vs parents left us wanting more photos of the adults!  Reminder to young parents: take MOM & DAD photos, not just photos of the kids!

Beautiful Suzanna!

Our school teacher daughter in a one-room school doorway.

Sam & Stewart playing checkers outside Shenandoah History museum.

 Will I quilt this year?!  More quilts fall under creative outlet, so YES!  I don't need to change the title of my blog!