Goals

While Ed is away, I have a few goals:

1. Sew A LOT. Or at least cut out a lot of my projects so I can simply go from project to project without stopping to cut out new patterns which is my least favorite part of sewing.

2. Do the bare minimum of cooking, cleaning and housework. I went to the grocery yesterday and purchased many many lean cuisine meals.

3. Spend some time with family in Kentucky..

So, that's it sweet and simple. So far, I have finished one and a half dresses and one and a half skirts for the girls. I must be developing some ADD b/c normally I would never dream of starting a new project before you finish a prior one, but once I got the pattern for the Handmade dress, I stopped cold in my tracks, pushed the second skirt aside (which only needs to be hemmed- I can do that anytime, right)and set to cutting out the dress. I finished it yesterday and have the second one halfway finished as of now. Maybe I'll finish it today? The girls and I are going to later church today, but I still better sign off for now. Hope everyone has a wonderful Lord's Day. P.S. Ed arrived safely in Kenya yesterday.

Something New

So, this weekend my husband cooked a wonderful meal from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and we had some dear friends over to share in the bounty. I have had a desire for a while to try making homemade bread, but I had not purued this interest until recently. Why, you ask? I wasn't sure I wanted to buy a breadmaking machine mostly due to cost and space concerns in our kitchen. But, a friend from our homeschooling group shared her story about these 2 books: Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day & Healthy Bread in 5 minutes a day. I got them from Amazon along with the platic container(s) you see in the fridge. It really is simple. You mix up the ingredients- no kneading involved, tear off a portion of the dough, let it rise and bake it when you want fresh bread. I have only made a couple of the recipes, but it is tasty. My contribution to the weekend meal was a freshly baked French Boule of bread. Doing it this way is also economical- costing a fraction of what healthy bread costs in the store. I have made whole wheat sandwich bread as well.

The Tulips are included in the blog just because they are pretty in the dining room. The other pic is of my dear friends, Kristy and Debby. It's the only picture we took that night. I had intended to take more of the actual meal, but my camera batteries went dead.

So, what else is going on around here? Ed leaves for 16 days in Kenya on Friday. Please pray for the medical team as they travel and minister to the physical and spiritual needs of the children and their families in Kijabe. I am back to sewing smaller things for the girls, and I've just purchased some adorable new patterns from the Handmade Dress and landed some clearance boutique fabric from Chez Ami (some for only $3 per yard). I just couldn't resist. I hope to sew a lot while Ed is gone, and we plan to make a trip to Kentucky to see all our relatives there- which is including a trip to Louisville to see my brother and sister who live there. I have not been to Louisville in at least 10 years- maybe I've been once since finishing grad school at U of L. Anywho, Jenna is up now and ready to be "breakfast helper" so I need to go.

Ahh..I love a project once it's finished

Well, since I don't blog very regularly, no one will probably even see these, but I finished my drapes. They took about 5 or 6 weeks of sewing in my spare time. It was not difficult, but it was a LOT of fabric to deal with. They are triple pinch pleated and lined. I had to cut them out on my kitchen floor. Now, I am ready to sew simple little skirts and jumpers for the girls with no more than a couple yards of fabric per project. And, also I need a bedskirt for our bed because I keep stashing plastic packers/containers under it. It started out just being one and now maybe four or five so it's time to get on the custom bedskirt.

We just finished half of our Spring semester with Classical Conversations (our homeschooling group). The kids had a grand time playing fun games today. It's great to see all they have learned and very encouraging, too. We have company coming over the weekend and a fun dinner party planned for Saturday night. I hope to get some good pics to post later. Also, I've fallen in love with a new book. Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day! Simply wonderful bread. I'll post more on that later.