Friday Read and Write: Baker Book House

Since I had some extra gas in my car today I went and took a trip to a local Christian book store.  I was specifically excited to go there because I had read online that they had an actual Teen/YA section in the store and I wanted to check it out.

I was a little disappointed upon arrival.  The YA (fiction) section was only 4 x 8.  But still it is a young adult section in a Christian book store.  Some of the titles did look good and it was refreshing not to have to look at a bunch of covers with Amish or Pioneer Women on them.  I haven't read a lot of Christian fiction as of late because nothing ever looked interesting... just the same ol', same ol'. But even the Adult fiction looked like it had some options. (Though Amish and 1800's romance abound.) Perhaps Christian publishing is finally maturing like the music scene has.

If I would have had the $$ to purchase a book, I would have chosen Aquifer by Jonathan Friesen. It is dystopian and I think I've mention that is my current reading trend.  The Lost Books series by Ted Dekker also sounded good as well as the River of Time series by Lisa T. Bergren.  It definitely pays to go to a Christian Books store for a bit more variety then the Christian section in Barnes and Noble.

Let's hope the Christian Publishing Industry (and typical reader) is finally branching out and wanting a bit more.

Curious what do you read?  What genres and do you read Christian, secular or a mix?  YA or adult?

Grandparents, Shopping & Beestings!

Grandparents:

 

Mom and Dad Schuh

We said goodbye to my parents today.  They headed toward home this morning.  I always love when they come and I hate it when they leave.  I love living in Michigan except for being so far from family.  The spot where they parked their trailer looks sadly empty.  Sigh. 

 The entire clan posing for the camera (set up on the BBQ)

 Closer pic with me at the camera... the way I prefer it!

 The kids... do they look hot and sweaty?  We all were... it was right before we finally got a storm to cool things down.

 

Shopping:

I made two discoveries while out shopping today.  1. If you are looking for flip-flops and/or sandals now is the time to buy.  All the stores are clearing out their summer stuff in order to make room for fall items.  My pair of dress flip-flops (yes, I said dress flip-flops- I might be a redneck.) broke a couple of days ago necessitating replacement.  I found a great pair for $8- 1/2 off. I am pleased.  I was willing to spend up to $15. 2.Sadly, it is cheaper to buy full length pajama pants at Old Navy and Sears and cut them to the needed length (long shorts) instead of sewing your own.  My daughter needed some summer sleepwear and she didn't want the short shorts or full length pants that most stores have.  She was willing (and able) to sew some but the fabric she wanted was $6 a yard (which is actually not that expensive as far as fabric goes) and she needed around 3 yards.  Hmmm... $18 to sew or $10/$12 dollars premade.  For pajamas we'll go with the latter but it is still hard for me to buy something new and then cut it up.  It seems wrong, just like buying jeans with the holes already in them.

 

Beestings:

It would appear that some type of stinging bee-like creatures have made a nest in the ground in my red lettuce.  I was picking tonight and felt a prick.  I thought maybe it was a thorny weed I had brushed against but while inspecting the injury (on my lower leg) I noticed "bees" flying around the area.  Ahhh... I've been stung.  The pain was not very strong at first but boy did that pain level rise.  I had to call harvesting to an end and rush inside to tend to it.  Thank goodness for plain old baking soda and water paste.  It may look funky on my leg but the relief was almost instantaneous.

 

What home-remedies do you use for bee-stings?

Virtuous Scrapbooking frustrations and Homestead learning tools

Here are my beautiful maidens. If you have been reading my blog recently you know that I've been leading a Bible Study on Raising Maidens of Virtue using Stacy McDonald's book by the same name. Using a suggestion at the back of the book we also have been scrapbooking the lessons.

I am not a scrapper booker. While it is fun, I just don't find it as relaxing as other crafts because the lay out and creativeness just doesn't come naturally to me. I worry too much about if my pictures are in the right place and if I've done the best layout I could. I've checked out books on scrapbooking from the library and the time and creativity people put into their pages is just amazing. I can come up with great quilt designs with no problem but for some reason scrap booking is just not my creative forte'. Any whoo how... I am trying to put together pages that go with the theme of each lesson. The pictures are easy enough to take and print out but finding the right embellishments is a bit frustrating.

I went to look for some tonight at a local scrap store. (A little local one, not a national chain craft store.) I wanted stickers that show modest fashion. Yes, I was naive enough to think that this little store in the Bible belt of Michigan, that is closed Sundays and plays Christian music over their sound system, might just have something in that category. At least something historical or even with a Parisian twist. Nope. I also wanted something that celebrated Godly feminity. Ahhh... nope. I mean I did find a few things that passed but they were more of a make do kind of thing and not what I really wanted. Most of the stuff in the store spoke worldly messages showing women as party going, shop happy, girlfriend celebrating, self-centered vixens. The girl selections were either cutesy ponies and lollipops or hot pink zebra designs shouting the virtues of rock star glam. I know this is what most people want and that the store is in the business to sell things but surely there are other people like me out there that desire something else. Can someone point me in the direction of a scrapbooking supplier/designer that caters to home-centered, Proverbs 31 women?


It was a relief to come home to the mailbox after scrapbook shopping to find some good rural reading and homestead how-to learning.

We have a free subscription to Living the Country Life and that came today. (John snatched it up to read first.)

Also our little local power company sends out a free country type magazine every month. That came today.

And at the Grocery store I noticed the new edition of Mary Jane's Farm was out, so I came home with it. Like I don't have enough reading. Mary Jane's Farm is a fun magazine to read with beautiful pictures but it does have a feminist bent to it. I get it to spur my homestead creativity (I like pretty and functional) and I filter out the "woman power" mumbo-jumbo. Contrary to public opinion these days life's not "all about me."

Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels this way!

Gotta love other people's junk

Garage sale season is so much fun. We scored at a neighbor's sale. I went over just for the heck of it on Thursday. (I'm a Nosie Nellie who always has to check out the neighbor's stuff.) I came home with two white ceramic mugs and a floor puzzle. ($2) Then the kids went over with their money and found three beanie babies. ($.30) Friday I sent the DH over to look at the bikes they had. We came home with one men's and one woman's bike. ($20) Today we went over to get a sprinkler they had and came home not only with it but with a beanbag and digital camera too. ($7 for all).

I'm very pleased with our purchases. I've been on the look out for a camera for my 13 year-old daughter for at least a year and we've been mulling over purchasing bikes for DH and I since October. If I had paid retail prices for everything we'd have spent around $350 so I think $30 was a darn good deal.

Works For Me Wednesday- Green Bananas

For some reason my local Costco sells bananas that are greener than a leprechaun on St. Patty's Day. My simple solution: put them in a plastic bag with an apple. It makes a great homeschool science experiment too. The gases given off the ripe apple cause the bananas to ripen. Go figure! Works for me! Tip: Don't store ripe bananas near apples or you'll be making banana bread pretty darn quick!

Works For Me Wednesday is sponsered by www.rocksinmydryer.net

Little Lady Reagan

Being a proper lady is serious business- but who needs shoes?

Just let me grab my baby!


I'm ready for my close up!

I'm ready to go shopping!

Little ones sure do like to imitate grown ups. I forget how much they like to watch and follow.

Seven is spending the summer learning to sew

My oldest is thrilled to be signed up for four sewing classes this summer. She will be learning to make pillowcases, a back pack, a tote bag, and a skirt! Plus she is excited to start learning to quilt. (I will be teaching her that.) We have picked up all her supplies and fabric and she even got her very own sewing tote. (Actually it's a scrapbookers supply case but she liked it and it fits her supplies quite well. Her fabric stash is tiny, currently- give her time!)

I hope she learns her lessons well enough to start a sewing business of some sort. She is already dangerous at the fabric store- oohhing and aahhing at all the fabric choices and planning things she can make for family and friends. She'll need $$ to support her habit. Did I mention she already (at 11 1/2) wants a pink VW bug of her own. You sew girl! (Cause Mom and Dad can't afford 5- currently- used cars for kids let alone be buying new custom vehicles.

Whew! What a busy week!

Of course, being the END OF MAY we are still having frost warnings! Sigh.

A trip to the local nursery to replace my dead tomato plants

So much color... I could have spent soooo... much $$$

Practical purchases

Andi learning to plant- "Mom, why can't we just go to the store and buy our food?"

A look at my itty bitty little garden... it's a start!

My neighbors told me Tuesday night that they were doing a garage sale this weekend (Thurs., Fri., Sat.) so if I wanted to put anything out/have my own, it would be a good time. Sigh... I was no where near ready. I had some stuff put aside but I knew I had so much more to find and pull out. To make it more stressfull... I absolutely had to weed and plant in my vege garden on Wed. Finally about 4:00 on Wed. I was ready to start cleaning out the garage (which was where a good portion of garage sale items would come from). Luckily the neighborhood kids love a good garage cleaning. (I actually just think they are curious to see other people's stuff.) I had lots of helpers. I was able to get a good start on it and find enough stuff to make setting up a sale worthwhile.


On Thursday we set up and since my DH had the day off, he continued cleaning the garage while I manned the sale. He would bring out boxes to me and I would go through them to find more sale items. It worked well and we have a much nicer looking garage. Unfortunately, today it is raining so I don't know if the sale will happen today, but we'll be back at it tomorrow.

Local CSA's

After reading Crystal's frugal friday blog post on CSA's. ( Crystal's Blog -http://www.biblicalwomanhood.com/ ) I was intrigued enough to investigate my local area for Community Sustained Agriculture. I found two local farms that offer programs. Mud Lake Farm in Hudsonville and Trillium Haven Farm in Jenison.

For those readers unfamiliar with CSA programs, it is, essentially, buying a piece of the farm. For a set fee you get a specified amount of the farms bounty. (Usually weekly.) Some CSA's have you work on the farm, others just have you pick up your share. The benefits for you are locally produced, FRESH food. Usually the produce is picked the same day you pick it up. A lot of CSA's are organic farmers but even if they aren't you are still getting a better quality/fresher product then in a grocery store. Buying a share in a CSA also helps your local farmer, giving them the capital needed to run the farm.

If you are in the Grand Rapids area, check out http://www.trilliumhavenfarm.com/ . Their shares for the 2008 season are already sold out but they offer a great number of value added incentives for their share holders. You might want to get in line for 2009. They have an on-farm store that is open on Saturdays and participate in the Fulton Street Farmer's market in downtown Grand Rapids. They offer a wide variety of vegetables and herbs.

Also in my area, http://www.mudlakefarm.com/ . They are primarily lettuce growers (a wide variety)but have a few other offerings as well. They grow hydroponic lettuce and it is available year round.

I plan to make trips to both farms and check out their operations! There are other CSA's in the Western area of Michigan. (And across the country.) These are just the two that are closest to me. Check out www.localharvest.org/csa/ and find some in your area. Support your local farmer!

More on Candy Making

Can you guess what the pregnant lady is eating for breakfast as she types this? Ha... bet you can't... refried beans with lots of extra cheese and pinapple juice. Scared yet?

Continuing on with info from my new candy making book:

If you let caramels stand for 24 hours before cutting them it will make them less sticky and easier to cut. I can't imagine my family letting candy sit untouched for 24 hours.

Divinity, nougat and marshmellow are all classified as similar candies.

Homemade marshmellow creme is known as "mazetta" or "frappe"

There is a recipe called "Snicks" in the book which resembles a snickers bar. Uhmm... I am so gonna be trying that one! There is also a Mounds candy bar like recipe. I suppose you could add almonds if you are an Almond Joy person.

I have already ordered flip flop shaped lollipop molds to make lollipops for DD2's pool birthday party this June. All that is required for the recipe is corn syrup, water, sugar, flavoring and color. (And lollipop sticks if desired.)

The DH has two and half weeks of vacation coming. Little does he know that pulling taffy is on my agenda.

For those of you with frequent chocolate attacks: there is a great microwave no-fail fudge recipe. 14 ounces of sweet condensed milk, 12 ounces chocolate chips, pinch of salt, teaspoon of vanilla, nuts if desired. Microwave milk, chips and salt for two minutes (on half power), stir in vanilla and nuts, pur into greased pan, refridge until firm.

Tomorrow we'll have a little talk on chocolate, chocolate like substances and perhaps marzipan.

If I have piqued your interest in Candymaking (the book) or candymaking the subject, look for Ruth Kendrick and Pauline Atkinson's book: Candymaking. I found mine at Barnes and Noble and it is available on line as well.

A great source of supplies and ingredients is: http://www.countrykitchensweetart.com/ . They are based out of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Perfect for us Midwesterners.

Hodge Podge Day

Well, yesterday I had quite the list to accomplish. I must say, I got everything crossed off of it except for the cupcake baking/decorating and the stitchery. I could have done the stitchery but I opted to flip through the items I purchased at the bookstore yesterday.

I purchased the current issue of Mother Earth News. ( I hate the name of the mag. but the info is always good.) I didn't actually read the articles last night and I'm hoping I get to today. There is an article on finding your dream homestead and some info on finding "free" land. There is also info on growing food in containers. (Great for me since I can't plant an in-ground garden where we currently are.) And lastly a guide to growing lettuce. I love lettuce. It is the one vege I can't live with out. The one article I did read was on dandilions and how to grow, harvest and eat them. I stand by dandilions as a defender of them. My husband sees them as weeds; I see them as useful plants. I don't eat them currently as there are plenty of other options for "greens" in our local. (Greens the husband will not gag at.) But if there comes a day, when food is scarce, I'm going to be picking those "weeds".

My other purchase was "Candymaking" by Ruth A. Kendrick and Pauline H. Atkinson. Again, I only skimmed the book but I'm anxious to put in a more thorough reading. My eldest has already picked out some recipes to try: cream cheese mints and sugared popcorn. (Oh, and lollipops.) I'm more interested in the jellied candies, cherry cordials and butter mints. I'll review the book in the future when I've spent a little more time with it.

Today's to-do list features:

1. Basic house pick up

2. Dishes and laundry work

3. A run to Costco to pick up new glasses for myself and DD1. Order glasses for DD2. (Of course they called to say the glasses had arrived after I was home from errands yesterday.)

4. School (We're starting a study of Medieval Europe.)

5. Cupcakes

6. Stichery or read or write

Of course meals and DH's work lunch must be made too. Lest you all think I'm super-pregnant woman... this would be an ideal day of accomplishments. It doesn't mean it will happen. Yesterday I felt really good. Today, I'm feeling kind of blah.

Happy Valentine's Day

Hey all!

Hope this day finds you happy and celebrating with your loved ones. The kids have enjoyed their cards and candy and I enjoyed having breakfast in bed from the DH. He unexpectedly ended up having today off and surprised me. It was quite nice. I also surprised him with a gift.

Let me tell you, it has been a long time since I have shopped for sexy lingerie. (Like, since before we had kids- Eleven years +.) I had a small budget so I started with my local discount retailer (Meijer) and also Target. What I found there were $20 items that looked cheap and raunchy. Okay, off to Victoria's Secret. They had nice items and a good selection but $50 is more then I can spend right now. (Especially on something that is going to spend more time on the floor then on me.) So, since I was at the mall, I checked out Kohl's and Penney's. I was pleasantly surprised. They had a few nice pieces which at regular price ($35) was still more then I wanted to spend but they had them on sale. I walked out of the store (Kohl's) with just what I needed for $18. Less then the discount stores. The piece was nicely made and sexy but not trashy. So for all of you who need something like this in the future- skip the low priced stores and the high priced stores and go for a mid-priced store's sale. Enjoy!

Return at last

Thought I'd post a scary picture of me for lack of anything else more appropriate for my ramblings today.

It's been a tough few weeks for the Lewis family. It was 1 1/2 weeks to 2 weeks of sickness by the time we all got through it and then last week was spent catching up on school, chores, laundry. Whew! I'm finally getting the last of the "sick" blankets washed, the house is finally clean again, school is back in and now I can get back to blogging.

I didn't think I had much to say but when I started writing it all down in a list I found I had way too much. I'll probably be doing a couple of posts a day to catch up.

First... I did take a look for sugar/creamers at Target and at the mall. I didn't find anything our style a Target. (They had japanese styles and soda fountain types.) I did find the perfect thing at Restoration Hardware. Unfortunately, the stacking glass container was priced at $69. Can you imagine the DH's face if I had made that purchase? I did not make this purchase. Who has that kind of money to spend on a clear, glass jar? I have clear glass jars at home that are much bigger and cost much less. (The DH said they'd be too heavy if I used them for cream and sugar.)

Pottery Barn had a few choices but I passed on those hoping to find something more creative. Though I must admit, the prices weren't too bad. They had a cute $5 one but I need two, one for sugar, one for creamer and they didn't come in two different colors to differentiate the sugar from creamer. I will look at the local grocery/everything store (Meijer) today when I'm doing my grocery shopping. I also need to take a look at thrift stores and antique stores but I haven't had time to squeeze those stops into my schedule.

I know there is something out there for not much $, I just have to locate it. I know that the proper items will "speak" to me if they are the ones. However, it is just a sugar and creamer dispenser so it isn't too high on the priority list.

Higher on the list is fixing the mail box. It has been slowly falling apart and two days ago the wind and snow storm that swept through finally got it. It is in two pieces... the post and the box. I did a quick fix today while digging a path for the mail truck. I piled snow up around it to keep it in place. LOL! Isn't that terrible. I hope my DH can get to it soon. Even though the snow is clear from it, I'm not sure how stable it is for delivery. Our deliverer is very picky... too much snow in front of the box and no delivery, the college kids next door park to close to it- no delivery... falling off the post- assumption of possible no delivery. We shall see.

Time for a new system!

The DH has requested a change from the Costco size sugar and creamer. He has grown weary of dishing out of such large containers. So I'd like to know what you all use that is both efficient yet pretty. The DH would be happy with Tupperware but I have gained approval to look for "prettier" options first.

Target Clearance Racks

Note the ninja turtle slippers that go so well with the dress...LOL!

Note the "poser" in the background!

If you are in the need for children's clothes or clothes for yourself or spouse, Target (at least my local store) has rack after rack of clothing on discount every things from 30% to 75% off. I managed to find outfits for all four kids for under $26 total. At 2 pieces each that averages $3.25 per item. Not bad for new clothing. I was pleased. Got to love it when it's the dead of winter and they are clearing out winter clothes to make room for spring wear. I need to remember to never buy clothes at the start of a season. Wait till mid-season and they'll be much cheaper!

New Store Discovery

I have discovered a new store and a new line of clothing. The store is Steve and Barry's and the line is Bitten by Sara Jessica Parker. Steve and Barry's sells affordable clothing for the entire family. It's like a cheaper Old Navy. Bitten does not have any thing over $20: jeans, coats, shoes, etc.

I went to check it out. (Go online to find a store near you.) The entire store was on sale with nothing over $8.98. They called it "Winter Clearance". I got a cute, new, stylish pair of jeans for $8.98 from the Bitten Line.

I don't know how they will wear. It might be worth it to pay a bit more for a longer lasting jean but we shall see. The price was good but they are made overseas- a trade-off. I will go back in a couple of months. I'm hoping to find cute, modest, everyday skirts or dresses for affordable prices. Spring tends to be the best season to look for skirts and dresses.