This past Saturday we went to the Jefferson Patterson Park in Calvert County for a two-hour presentation called Native Shelters. We learned how to build an igloo (using styrofoam bricks), build a bark longhouse (in the background of the above picture) and build a teepee (tipi). It was fun. Only two families showed up, so it was very hands-on.

I tried to get a picture of the bark pieces that had been soaked and flattened. I wanted you to see how large the bark was. We will be going back to the park on October 17th for the American Indian Festival that we enjoyed so much last year. If you can, put this event on your calendar. The cost is $3/person or $10/car...very reasonable. There are many hands-on activities for your children. The best part is that the weather should be a lot cooler than last year's August event.

Another event to mark on your calendar is Patuxent River Appreciation Days, known locally as PRAD days. The dates are October 9-11. The Calvert Marine Museum will be open to the public for free. This is always a wonderful time to enjoy the many exhibits and activities.

This past week I bought this heavy (17#) king-size duvet at the thrift shop for $2. It had a rip in it...probably why it was so cheap. So I had fun cutting all the seams off and now I have 6 piles of denim for my quilt squares.
I figured this much denim would cost me $30 to buy at Joanns Fabrics! My stash of denim is growing nicely. All I need is time to cut and sew. Someday!

Ruthie is having a good time on my treadle machine. I'm not sure why she bothers with a sling. She abandoned the ace bandage "wrap" earlier in the week. Oh well. It isn't until I see her pictures that I realize the effect Ruthie's steroids had on her. Her face still looks puffy.
This should probably be "What do country children with no TV do for fun ~ Part 3"! Lizzie is skinning a copperhead. After months of searching, we finally found one on our road. I was able to neatly run over its head...keeping the body intact. I was very nervous watching Lizzie skin it since it is impossible to tell if the snake is pregnant until the babies pop out. Yikes! I guess that's what James Dobson means when he says parenting isn't for cowards!

Mike got lots of car maintenance done this weekend, plus he redid the brakes on my van. Runs like a dream now.

I still haven't bought a sewing machine. I was sick of shopping after my one trip. I HATE to shop. I would make a great military gal...just issue me whatever I need!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend also. Many blessings ~ Kathie

Now that the hummingbirds have left to go south, my impatiens are looking beautiful. For some reason, the little hummers like to pull the leaves off my flowers. Mike made this log planter for me years ago. It's definitely my favorite planter.

Last week I bought this greenhouse at the thrift shop for $3. Ruthie immediately filled up some trays and planted lots of lettuce and watercress.

Everything is doing well. If the nighttime temps fall below 50, I will probably bring it in at night. Hopefully we still have a few weeks yet.

Every day Ruthie sprays the plants with water. It's one of the few things she can do with her arm in a sling.

Poor Ranger has grown up quickly. She's outgrown the brown rock dish on my porch table.

And my planter that she used to enjoy sleeping in?

Well, Sarah gave me a beautiful pot of Chrysanthemums that fit perfectly in that planter. We got a good laugh watching Ranger trying to scoot in next to the flowers.

This is a better view of the planter.
A few weeks ago I bought a large container of this beef base from BJs. I was curious as to how it would taste. The website for the manufacturer says this about it:

"Seasoned paste concentrates, free of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. Made from freshly roasted lean primal cuts of USDA inspected beef."

So how does it taste? Very good! Doesn't have the fake taste of your typical bouillion. This past Sunday I tried it in our roast beef gravy...yummy! Then later on I diced the leftover roast beef and made a large pot of soup, using 2 tablespoons of the base. Another yummy! My family definitely noticed the difference and agreed it was a good difference. So give it a try.

But before you think this is some kind of health food, let me assure you, this is another food to use in moderation. This base contains partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oil, sugar, and caramel color. The beef base is dairyfree, but the chicken base has dairy. Minor also makes an All Natural Beef Base...but BJs doesn't sell it.

One last note about this beef base: The website states that this product contains MSG; however, there is no MSG listed in the ingredients' list.

For those of you who live locally, the Trinity Parish Thrift Shop on Route 231 in Hughesville has jeans for $1/pair. That's a great deal for around here. Click on the name for directions. The hours are Wed, Fri, and Sat, 9-1 pm.

Tomorrow is our last day of babysitting. This week has given me lots of opportunities to teach my youngest children about mothering little ones...things like why we don't use disposable diapers, why we snuggle babies instead of leaving them in carseats, etc. Ruthie said she can't wait to have lots of babies. Hurray!

Tonight we are eating like kings thanks to Grandaddy! He brought over two large pots of soup...one is Veggie Steak, the other is Chicken Veggie. Delicious! The bread has just come out of the oven and smells heavenly. Time to eat!

The weather is crisp today. The goats love the dried leaves. Sure makes for easy feeding!

Many blessings ~ Kathie

Green Baby Design.com

My sister-in-law Natalie has started a new website called http://www.greenbabydesign.com/ that sells beautiful artwork using recycled and salvaged materials...and a lot of artistic talent! Natalie has a double degree in art history and architecture...and it shows in her products.I think a key feature in Natalie's products is her "down to earth" style with just the right amount of decor. Natalie's home reflects this style, too. When I first walked into her home, I was thinking, "Oh no, we've got to be careful...this place is beautiful!" It only took a few minutes to realize this was a beautiful home that was meant to be lived in. No expensive breakables or easy to smudge furniture. Just comfy living. If this is your style, then Green Baby Design is your place to shop.
Natalie is also branching out with aprons, totes, and other art. Isn't this apron adorable?!
What a nice sturdy tote. I also appreciate Natalie's knack for thinking out of the box. A little funkiness, sometimes a little whimsy. Her straight and narrow sister in law must make her crazy!
Well, since this is my blog, I get to choose a favorite:-) I like this alphabet wall art. It is made from salvaged wood flooring (I guess it's handy having a hubby in construction!) and best of all...it has a groove running along the top to post photos. Isn't that a great idea! Pretty handy way to quickly update photos.

So take a look at her website, then keep her in mind for birthdays, baby showers, and new moms. I think folks enjoy "feel good" gifts that are green and recycled. My only complaint about Natalie's website is...there are no pics of darling Abigail!

We're off again to babysitting. We'll be home by noon, so plenty of time for school and practicing this afternoon. Enjoy this weather and the beautiful scenery. The leaves are just starting to turn yellow.

Many blessings ~ Kathie

Part two of "How do country boys with no tv have fun?" Allen made a hovercraft! This is Maggie trying it out. Very impressive!

The hovercraft only rises about 4" off the ground, but Allen had to put a board behind it so it wouldn't take off like it tried to do.

This hovercraft is powered by my $10 leaf blower that I bought off eBay. One of my Top Ten Best Buys on eBay.

I took this closeup showing the plastic "skirt" underneath. That's what traps the air and lifts it up.

Allen is excited about his success. So what is Allen researching nowadays? He's been given permission to build an observation hive in our living room. I can hardly wait!

I found two pictures online of some other fun projects. When I was at the flea market this past Saturday, I saw boxes and boxes of old books that would make good headboards.

And I think this project is nice. I am always recycling jeans into quilt squares, but I never knew how to recycle those waistbands. Now I know!

We don't have to leave until 10:30 am this morning, so I am enjoying the leisurely start. Our family is helping Maggie's therapist with babysitting this week...and it's taking all our free time.

Maggie's chiropractor has put her on a glutenfree diet since there is a connection between gluten (wheat) and inflammation. So now she is dairyfree, eggfree, and glutenfree. Wow! No fun...but Maggie doesn't seem to mind. She sees it as a fun challenge. Some fun. My husband was on a wheatfree diet for 12 years before learning it was his thyroid that was causing the allergic reaction (severe sinus congestion). As soon as he started his thyroid meds (synthroid), his "allergy" went away. I think a dairy and egg free diet is a piece of cake compared to glutenfree!

Ruthie made a wonderful chicken dinner last night to honor my birthday from Sunday...since we were gone most of the day. I still haven't opened my cards, so maybe I'll do that tonight...even though we have to babysit until 7 pm. We'll see!

Have a good day. Many blessings ~ Kathie

My family had a wonderful time at the St. Mary's County Fair this past Friday. They enjoyed all the exhibits. The above winning pumpkin weighed 452 lbs. That's a lot of pumpkin seeds!

If you read my last post, you know that we were concerned about loud rock music at the fair. We are pleased to say that the only time my family heard any was when they were sitting at the tractor pull...but even then it was faint. Of course, the area with the carnival rides had music blasting...but our family didn't do the rides.
My family talked most about the horse pull. It was actually scary for them since they understood how dangerous it was. The last time I went to a tractor pull, the horses bolted. And those are huge draft horses.

This watermelon was the winning cake. Isn't it beautiful!

Naturally Anna enjoyed all the quilts.

Anna took this picture for me because last year I taught a quilting class to mothers and daughters at another church. I cut out nine patch blocks for them to sew. So it was fun to see one of the blocks show up as a pillow...and win first place!
More quilting projects.

How about this huge weaving loom?! I'd hate to have to thread all those heddles!

Ruthie loved the covered wagon. Someday I hope to take our family back to Texas...and we'll have to go to a western county fair (Texas has more than 200 counties).

I enjoyed studying this picture of a 1900s kitchen. I would love to try living in a similiar kitchen...for a month or so. I guess it depends what the scenery looked like outside my sink window!

The Clydesdales were a big hit. Mike was more impressed with the 18-wheeler that is used to haul them. They sure are beautiful!

My children were impressed with the small children who had huge farm animals. Watch your feet!

Last pic from the fair...the chainsaw exhibit. My mil gave us one of these in 1989. I enjoyed it...but one day it split down the middle, so we tossed it onto the burn pile. My bil was given an eagle...and it is still standing.

Thank you for all the emails and facebook messages for my birthday yesterday. I was gone most of the day...and still haven't opened my birthday cards! Anna and Lizzie had a piano recital...actually it was a hymnfest featuring traditional hymns. It was lovely. When we walked in, the organ was playing. That gave the evening a sacred atmosphere. It was also nice that some of the teachers played and sang. My daughters' perfect performances reminded me of how thankful I am for their gifts and talents. Thank you, Lord.

I'm off and running. I have many errands today...dr's appt, violin lessons, piano lessons, voice lessons, babysitting, so I am trusting in the Lord that I won't goof up and forget something. I read Psalm 104 this morning. What a wonderful Psalm to lift your spirits. Verse 33 says, "I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being." Our family sang in church yesterday morning called, "I'm in the Saviour's Hand." We are indeed.

Many blessings ~ Kathie

PS ~ I am again behind in answering my emails. Hopefully I will have time on Tuesday to catch up. Thanks for putting up with me!

Wow, we are getting a lot done around here today! Allen blew the porch, Ruthie planted seeds, all the stakes got pulled out of the garden, the hummingbird feeders got washed and put away, and just lots of little odds and ends chores. The windows are open and the weather is perfect.

A few weeks ago, I bought three wrought iron hangers that hang 15" off the porch, and screwed them onto the side of my porch. I was desperate to keep the birdseed off my porch. It worked! I bought these hangers at True Value in Leonardtown for $19.95/each. I have not been able to find the 15" hangers online, so it was worth it for me to pay that price.

The top picture shows my platform feeder for my mourning doves. They love it! Actually...all the birds love it. The second picture shows my heavy steel bird feeder. I was pleased that my new hangers have no problem with my heavy bird feeders.

Our local BJs store sells a Chex Mix that is delicious...but expensive. I have tried duplicating the recipe, but had a hard time finding the little pretzel balls. I finally found them online at Walmart. Our local superstore Walmart doesn't sell them, but when we visited Mom's in VA last week, we found them! And they are delicious! These are not pretzels that you would eat in place of other pretzels...they are $3.45 for 20 oz. But for a party dish they are perfect.

To see if your Walmart carries these, click here. The great thing about these pretzel balls is that they have a kosher rating of pareve...meaning no dairy!

I bought a set of cast iron kitty hangers (they are identical but face each other) for 50 cents at the thrift shop. This morning Allen screwed them to the porch posts. As soon as I buy some black screws, I will have Allen screw those instead. Thanks, Allen! Now we have a place to hang the leashes.

I hope you are having a good day too. Mike is taking Anna, Allen, Lizzie, and Ruthie to the county fair today. We have not gone for more than a decade because the last time we went, the rock music was audible over the entire fair. However, we have talked to folks who say they don't remember hearing it except near the rides. So we are sending out our group of discerners to see if they can enjoy the exhibits without being exposed to the offensive music. I'll let you know how that turns out. I am going to stay home and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Many blessings ~ Kathie

Where does the time fly to?! It seems like it's always Thursday before I can post here. This week we stopped at a wagon on the roadside, and bought a bushel of sweet potatoes for $15. They are huge. So far we've made sourdough sweet potato dinner rolls and a sweet potato coffee cake...and eaten lots of baked sweet potatoes. I'm not a huge fan of this veggie, but my children love them.
Our paw paw tree is finally ripe. Paw paw trees are actually the largest edible fruit indigenous to our continent! I've heard so much about missionaries eating them that I figured they were native to South America. Anyhow, the paw paw is a large berry that tastes like a mix of banana and mango. Yummy! I don't like mangos, but I do like paw paws.

This week my 24 year old Viking sewing maching (the 990) finally kicked the bucket. So many little things are wrong with it that it would be unwise to spend any money getting it fixed. Boo hoo. Mike bought my machine in Hong Kong, and brought it home on the ship (the USS Carl Vinson...an aircraft carrier). What a wonderful surprise that was!

It is a terrible thing for me to be without a working sewing machine. It is like not having a Bible or a toothbrush. I feel so strongly about having a sewing machine that I even have a treadle machine that I bought during the Y2K scare. Anyhow, I've narrowed down my search for a replacement machine to two machines. Either the Babylock Quilter's Choice (pictured above), or one of the Viking Sapphire series machines (pictured below). If you have opinions on either of these machines, please leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you.

I wanted to stay with the Viking (Husqvarna) because I thought I could use my same accessories, but that isn't true. Viking has enlarged their feet so that none of my accessories would work. Bummer.

The one requirement I have is that I need my new machine to do a rolled hem. This is the hem that you find on linens and tablecloths. I make a lot of basket linings for holiday gifts that require this special hem. Unfortunately, the Babylocks don't have this feature, but all the Vikings do. But I really like the way the Babylock works. I also like the Babylock dealer, whereas the Viking dealer is a deadbeat. Decisions, decisions!

I'll let you know which machine I end up with.

Thank you all who have been praying for Ruthie. The orthopedic dr said she definitely broke her upper humorous (arm), and maybe her elbow (tricky to tell). Nevertheless, the treatment is the same...immobilize the arm and keep it in a sling that is wrapped next to the body. Ruthie (and I) are already tired of it. Five more weeks to go!
For those of you who enjoy listening to conservative christian bluegrass (meaning music that follows biblical principles), try the new CD from the Stewart Family. You can listen to samples on their website. I found this CD while looking for the sheet music to one of their songs, This Blessed Old Book. Didn't find the music, but I sure bought their CD!

So much to enjoy...the weather, my family, my salvation, my health, and my God. What a wonderful way to live. Many blessings ~ Kathie