Marmee's Moonlit Meadow

A new beginning

2008-02-26T11:28:00.003-06:00

We have a new addition to our spinning wheel "collection". This is the Fidelis.
We got this wheel for people to be able to learn to spin. We thought it would be a great teaching tool.
The bobbins are pretty cool looking....
Why do we need spinning wheels we don't plan on using ourselves??? Jump on over here and see.
I will be posting at the new blog almost exclusively now. Come on over!!

Miraculous Miranda!!

2008-02-25T13:48:00.009-06:00

Oh my gosh, ya'll!!! I am so in love with my new bag!
I made just a few modifications to her, so she can be my knitting bag. I left out the closure with velcro, because velcro eats yarn, and few other modifications I noted below.
Be sure and check out all the cool bags that Lazy Girl has on her site. They are an easy sew and very efficient.
So. here are some pics.

I quilted her myself, with just a criss cross
pattern on my machine.
Really simple and actually the longest process of the whole thing.
I used some really stiff interfacing, no batting.

Another modification I made was to put the stiff interfacing in the pockets, because I knew I was going to be using them alot and I made one pocket on one side big enough to hold a knitting book.
I also used the straps from the Gracie handbag instead of the straps that are with this pattern.

So, here is my little Miranda. I love her and look forward to sharing many knitting projects with her!!

Fun stuff

2008-02-21T06:40:00.001-06:00

You Are 81% Creative

You are an incredibly creative person. For you, there are no bounds or limits to your creativity.

Your next creation could be something very great... Or at least very cool!

How Creative Are You?

Changes

2008-02-20T19:41:00.010-06:00

We have a craft room,Ladies and Gentleman, in all it's deliciousness. That is fibery, fabricy goodness.
I had to show you this really cool thing I decided to do to organize my sewing patterns.
We cut file folders down and separated the patterns by type and children or adult. Pretty cool, huh? This is one of the kids baskets.

This is my finished sewing area, complete with a cork board to hang my pattern in progress. I have always wanted one of these, I am so impressed with me...lol! Greg made this desk and the shelves look just like they were made to fit here.

He did a great job with this area and with the cabinets we use for our fiber prep.

Ashley is doing quality control on the cabinets, lol. She is really getting into the whole drum carder thing. Go see.

Here is a final shot of the whole area, the table behind Ashley got swung to the wall and is for me to cut my fabric on. It is tall enough not to hurt my back and I hung a bit of leftover cork next to it, to hold my fabric scissors.

The table in front of the window is for Ashley's beading and next to that is a bit of this and that, beading and yarn and stuff.

I also have an antique drying rack where Ashley dries her yarn and fiber that she dyes.

That concludes this tour, and now I can go and create!!

Right now, I am going to go and knit and watch my daughter play a game with her brother in Hawaii....isn't the internet wonderful?

Happy Valentines Day

2008-02-13T08:52:00.000-06:00

I got this for my baby Ashley for Valentines Day. All my children have come with this sign around their necks! What can I say?

Fiber to finished swatch

2008-02-13T08:43:00.001-06:00

Well, while we are waiting on Daddy to move cabinets and shelving, we got in a mood to create. You know, it is so funny how when you move something you haven't touched in a while, it suddenly seems like you absolutely have to touch it now!! The kids were that way when we moved the books in the library. All day after we finished shelving them, the kids were absorbed in the "new" books they had found. LOL
Ashley and I were that way when we moved our carder this past weekend. We had already dyed some fiber and it turned out when we were at a stand still with organizing,
we just had to see how well the fiber blended up.

Then, we couldn't, actually, I should say, I couldn't wait to spin it.

After I had spun it, it just turned out that it was

a perfect opportunity to do a little "tutorial" that we had been wanting to do, for people who have a hard time plying from a center pull ball. I wanted you all to see how easy it is and in fact, I really did have it all plied in about 15 minutes from the time I started. The bummer was that when we went to load the video, it said our file was too big. So we have to learn how to get our videos onto blogger, but we will, so don't give up!

I don't usually spin small amounts of fiber anymore, so have not plied from a ball in a really long time. I can feel that if Ashley keeps this up (of course she will, she is now selling it!) I am in for more small amounts of spinning.

After our little camera moment, I put it on the niddy noddy to make a skein.

Then I knitted up a small swatch to see what it would look like in a garment.

I really love this color blend. It ends up being kind of like a denim. Something about spinning a color blend, as opposed to dying a blended yarn, is that there is a depth of color that can not be achieved any other way. I just love spinning.

Chaos or organizing?

2008-02-10T13:31:00.000-06:00

This is a craft room update for all my loyal followers....lol. I am sure you have been dying to know what I have been doing with my craft room and here are the pictures of today's busyness...
We brought down all the "toteable" stuff. Daddy is going to have to bring down our cabinets and move some custom shelving that goes over the desk that I am going to use as my sewing desk, but, at least all that we can move without Daddy is down here now.

It feels like we have not made much progress....but maybe we have.

I am just going to say that this is not where everything is going to stay, it just happens to be where little hands placed it.

Ashley confiscated the window for her bead work.

I am now in the process of looking for a second hand hide-a-bed for this room.

We decided that it was a bit of overload to leave a bed in here, as we are not expecting company until June and then again in December.

This is what I call the closet pass-through. It goes to the bathroom and has 2 small closets in it, one on each side. This closet on the left has my fabric and patterns and the one on the right has knitting books, needles and extra fabric, so far lol.

When will I learn?

2008-02-08T07:30:00.000-06:00

So, where have I been? I have been in re-arranging mode for the past week, and I am warning you, it isn't over! LOL Those words make my children visually shudder....ha.
I have been trying to rethink how we use the house, and after living here for a little over a year, I think I have it now!
I have moved the dining room table into the sunroom, so that the first thing you see when you come in is this:

I love my Willow Tree figurines, my family has helped my collect them over the years. I like seeing my quilts and the other things that make my heart sing.And here is my darling Wilson wheel with and old apron, quilts and embroidered tea towels.

and then I moved our "playroom" stuff into the "library". We all like it better. We opened up the doorway between the rooms and it is alot more open feeling.

I have begun to move the boys out of the downstairs room and put them upstairs and take the craft stuff out of the upstairs and move it downstairs. This is just the beginning, but I am leaving the bed in there, so that it can still function as a guest room when needed. Ashley's beading stuff will be in here and all the skein winding, spinning stuff and all my sewing stuff, so we have to call it the craft room!

I have an urgent need to finish the craft room ASAP, and here it is! I can't wait to make this bag. I discovered Lazy Girl's blog and was instantly enamored!

Oh yeah, and I have not been idle with the knitting either!! I do have a confession to make to blogland.......I am a circular knitter.......Whew! There, it is said. I can no longer deny it. I can not even bear to knit a bit in flat...I was going to try, Diane, you know I was. But, I couldn't do it. I just couldn't.
I finally got my pattern for the Fletcher sweater and cast on for it. This is what I had in about 3 or 4 hours of work. I know that it looks blue, but this is the delicious handspun yarn I made from my birthday fiber Ashley got me at Copper Moose. This is being worked in the round...lol, duh, and has 14" of knitting finished. That means the front and back both have 14" done.When I looked at that, compared to the pitiful 4" I had done on just the back of the little sweater I was knitting out of Ashley's hand-dyed.....I couldn't help myself. I swear, I was just looking at it one minute, and the next minute it was totally ripped out. It was like an out of body experience! Knowing the lovely knitting audience that I surround myself with, I don't want to offend. But, come on guys....14" vs. 4'????? I guess I will always be paddling upstream, I mean I am a continental knitter, after all. LOL
I really shouldn't say that I didn't learn anything from this, I did learn to knit back backwards (why didn't I realize then that I would not be able to knit flat???) and I did learn that my particular lot in life will be constantly converting patterns to circular. Okay...well, I guess I better go learn to design sweaters for myself!

I heart my sweater

2008-02-01T14:20:00.000-06:00

Here are pictures of what happened to the little cedar handspun, hand-dyed shawl after you last saw it.

I took it upstairs
after a little wash and spin and Ashley helped me pin it out.

Then I wore it last night.

I got my pattern in the mail for my Fletcher sweater from Noro (again....sheesh, just don't ask!) and have now cast on for the long awaited sweater for myself.

This is the sweater I have waited to make from the 3 lbs of roving that Ashley got me for my birthday and I patiently (not)spun up....

So, here is my Valentines picture of this sweet little darlin....Oh and by the way, just for my knitting group's information...;), I have converted this to be knit in the round....don't want to do too many seams in my lifetime.

Knitting by the second

2008-01-29T16:26:00.000-06:00

I finished my shawl, and yes, thank you, that was my own handspun and hand dyed merino. I love it and am now moving on to blocking it. I will post those pics soon.
On the needles at present, is a cute little cardigan from Garnstudio. The radically different thing about this cardigan is that it is being made with Ashley's new yarn. Yeah, Ashley Megan is starting her own line of yarn. I am using the Bamboo/Merino and I have to say I love it. I love her colorway and the yarn itself. We weren't sure how this would knit up, so I boldly volunteered to knit something...lol.
This is knitting up so well. It is soft and shiny and drapes oh so well.
The other radically different thing about this cardigan is that I am learning to knit back backwards. This is so fun. I am so proud of myself. Strictly for you, dear reader, I had Ashley time me on this little cardigan back (yes, Diane, I am making it in pieces!). Here are the results:
I knit one row of 124 stitches in 2.37 minutes, I purled in 4.13 minutes and I knit back backwards in 6.4 minutes.
I dont' even want to think about the time I have put into.....oh never mind, LOL.
Ashley is going to be selling her yarn, and very reasonably too, I might add. Rush over to her blog and you can see all the pretty colors!!

This is the WIP that started it all!

2008-01-21T07:03:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of the Tasha Tudor shawl that I am working on. I wanted to get a picture of the lace I had chosen to go on it. I thought, well, before I sit down and post this picture, Iwill go and get a cup of coffee..........and that is what caused the previous post.

Tables or????

2008-01-21T06:38:00.000-06:00

I went to put my coffee down yesterday morning and found there was no room on the table. I moved to put it on another table close by and that was when it dawned on me! The tables in my house have become....ummm, I don't know, baskets maybe?!
Underneath all that Playmobil is a coffee table. I remember it well. I think it matches my couch.

This table is next to the couch, so that if you wanted, you could place a drink (or whatever!!!) beside you. Perfect logic, right? Wrong!

The really cool part about what you put on a table is that almost all of it can stack, and stack and stack....to infinity.

You would think that because my dining room table is in another room, like perhaps, I don't know, let's call it the....dining room, that this disease might not have extended itself this far. ha

The thing about this is, I can justify almost all of the stuff that is on this table. The placemat is out because the kids were quizzing each other on presidents. (Cool, huh? I didn't even ask them to) The file is out because someone was filing their artwork. The swift and yarn winder is there because Ashley has been skeining her dyed yarn. Go see! Now, never mind that I have a craft room upstairs. What part of UPstairs are you not understanding??? That is lightyears away, silly!
The part I don't understand is WHY IS IT ALL STILL THERE?

A little bit about me....

2008-01-20T11:13:00.000-06:00

Sometime around Christmas, my friend Veronica (hi), said something kind of off-handedly that has stuck with me. I was so taken aback (in a good way) and it has really made me think.
So, are you ready yet? lol She asked me about something in my house, and to be quite honest, I don't even remember what she asked me about, but anyway when I told her about it, she replied "I knew it had to mean something, or else it wouldn't be here".
Gosh, I never thought of it that way before, I honestly never did. Then, I got to looking around and sure enough, Veronica was right. I know I am not telling this very well, so I will show you what I mean.
Last post, I had my dining room curtains on display behind the girls. My curtains are made out of old quilt blocks that I found. I love them because they are so full of life.

My particular fav is the one that says Mother,

but this one is also cool. Sorry the picture is so fuzzy, but it says Ovada Kenum 1936. Awesome, huh?

These blocks are all hand done, I had to trim every single one of them to be square. And just in case my Aunt Mel is looking, I had a dickens of a time making this whole affair be square, obviously...lol....actually, don't even look Aunt Mel! Anyway, the quilt blocks are awesome and so when it came time to hang them, they couldn't just go on any old curtain rod! Greg made me a rod out of an old slat from a rope bed that we had in the workshop, I love it. He is good to me.

Around the corner is my apron hanger. It is a piece of an old horse yoke and old door knobs. I love it too!! And my aprons have a special place in my heart. They are all vintage, except for the new one I got Kelsey for her birthday last year.

I have ads out of really old magazines up above the aprons.

Kelsey's apron is underneath the one on the right side.

Lastly, we have my Christmas present from Greg this year. The cabinet.
This doesn't have any particular significance, except that I love it...lol. It has behind it, an old ladder I bought at a garage sale many years ago, that holds quilts that I rotate from time to time.

So, that is my little bit about me. I do like for things to mean something, to carry some significance and I do love my friend Veronica for being so nice. Thank you Veronica!
My next post is going to be on the subject of tables. What are they for anyway????

Lots of firsts!!

2008-01-13T10:31:00.000-06:00

Well, this post is going to be full of lots of firsts.....

First of all, pun intended,lol, is the girls. Kels and Boo. They decided their Lego creation was a first prize article and so they gave themselves this first prize ribbon. It says...."Perfect job, first prize"
Now, how is that for confidence?

See my curtains? I just love them. I got these quilt squares out of an old Hoosier cabinet Greg and I got in Alabama years ago. It was supposed to be a friendship quilt, where they embroider their own names and sometimes a date. One or two of them have a 1930's date sewn on. Cool, huh? And Greg made my curtain rod out of an old rope bed slat we found in the attic of the workshop when we moved here. More coolness, huh?

The second first is that I am doing the Tasha Tudor shawl...finally, and I am doing it with my own handdyed handspun. I very rarely make anything for myself, but to get to do it with my own handspun and then to dye it this gorgeous cedar, is a biggie for this marmee!

And the third first is that for the first time, Kelsey Belle, is doing a marmee KAL (knit-along). It was so cute to see her sitting next to me, doing what I was doing...and well, I might add! Her project is knitted just as well as any I have seen, and she is only 9. I am expecting big things out of this little knitting prodigy!

So, I leave you with this darling photo of my shawl, with my baby's shawl she is knitting (her gauge is twice mine!) and my knitting partner Bisou. Tres Bien, Suzanne?

PS. One last first, I took my first french lesson from Suzanne this week. I sat in on the class for my littles and learned I am not very good at pronunciation.....I am not beat though!! I will persevere. LOL

Something's happened!! Something wonderful!

2008-01-06T16:30:00.001-06:00

Anthony Tye and my little Aubrey Nicole are engaged!! She came flying into my bedroom yesterday morning to tell me that the previous night, at midnight, he had taken her out under the stars and proposed. Can all the women out there collectively say "Awwwww"? LOL
Then, she showed me her ring and I am putting a picture of it up here so that her sister-in-law in Hawaii can see.....

This is for you, sweet Murray!

So, our lives are changing once again. We added our sweet little Murray,our French croquette, almost a year ago and now we add an Australian. As Murray would say, "We are 12 now" and in truth our family will only keep growing from here on out.

Thinking of that, I had Anthony take a picture of our family and it seems so small without Jared and Murray in there....almost like there is a hole by where Levi is standing.
This picture is the only one out of three that the boys actually had real smile(read that as not a smile out of a cereal box, kind of pasted on looking)
I think it is a disease that boys get between the ages of 7 and ummmm, well, about ummmm, 14, where they forget how to let their faces go naturally into a smile and have to force the little expression. UUUgggghhhh. But, we did get one picture and here it is:
Now, you may remember that I finished spinning my beautiful black fiber and have put it up in skeins and washed it. I was so proud of myself. Then, reality set in and my life being, well, my life.......I went to get the pattern for the sweater that I wanted to make with said fiber, and guess what???
Oh yeah baby.....not to be found. I even offered a reward for it....no dice. But, I did get to sort through my patterns and touch all my yarn and look at fiber still waiting to be spun, LOL.
When I was looking I ran across a piece of roving that I had taken to my Tuesday night knitting group to show the before and after of the roving and finished yarn.
I can prove I found this little piece of roving because, when it was time for Aubrey and Anthony to leave for Nashville, I wanted one or two more pictures of my baby and and Anthony obliged....and being that he isn't part of the family yet, he didn't say anything about the fact that I had a small sampling of the fiber on my elbow......sheesh, you should have heard me laugh when I got the pictures off the camera. In all future showings of this picture, it will be cropped. But, my life is real and really out there now!!
So, here is that picture and one of Bisou the spinning dog.

All over but the shoutin'

2007-12-30T09:19:00.000-06:00

Well, Christmas has come and gone....and I seem to be no worse for the wear, lol.

I did finish Bobby's Prairie Tunic and got her to model it for me before I blocked it, so forgive the smashed appearance of the little thing!

Here is the front with it's two little lace patterns and the back with one little lace pattern. I must admit that the "straps" were way too easy, it was twisted cord and I got Greg to help me (bless his heart!! what a guy!). It seemed like cheating, but it turned out so awesome. I love it and will do it again any chance I get!!

I have the best models in the world!

I have been pretty sick for the last 2 or 3 days and I have missed a few things I had planned for a while, I was bummed about that, but on the high side of it all, I was able to spin two bobbins of the birthday fiber from Copper Moose and ply 3 bobbins full. Oh man, I can not wait to knit this stuff up!! It spins like melted butter in my hands and I love the flashes of color.
Here is how much I have left of the 3# bump that Ashley got me for my birthday, I think it is about 1 # now. Here are my accomplishments: 4 skeins of unwashed fiber, begging for the twist to be set. I thought I had the pattern picked out for my first ever sweater for me, but now I am rethinking it. I think I want to do a Norwegian pullover...hmmm, decisions, decisions. But, the good thing about spinning is that you have ample time to think and plan while you spin. Now, if I could just figure out how to read all the books that I can't find on CD while I spin, that would be just dandy!!
I am also thinking over my New Years Resolutions.....so, I must go now, my brain is on overload!

Christmas is only 3 days away

2007-12-22T09:10:00.000-06:00

And I am almost done with my Christmas knitting!! I only have about 4 more inches on Aubreys little tank. I think it is going to be so cute.

The next picture of this, will be on the model, I promise!!

The other pair of socks that I am working on, in Fabel's garnstudio is this close.....

These are for "Him who can not be named" and have a few more hours worth of work on them. I anticipate them being done by tonight.

On another note, I just had to show you these tea towels I found at a consignment store the other day. Way too cute.

Spreading Christmas Cheer

2007-12-13T08:56:00.000-06:00

I just had to share what I got the other night. I had gone to our Tuesday night knitting group and when Ashley and I came home, Mallory handed this to me:

I thought it was so entirely cute and darling that I just had to share it. Here is the sight that greeted me when I opened it. What else did you expect??? It said "reaf" LOL!!!!

Of daughters and blessings

2007-12-09T17:56:00.000-06:00

Being the marmee of eight is pretty much a full time job. Quite frankly, at this time in my life, it is requiring everything I have. I wanted to share the really cool parts of my life with you today.

This is going to be the lovely sight that greets me for the next month. My precious oldest daughter Ashley,seated at the puzzle table putting together our annual Christmas puzzle.
There is just something about seeing one of your daughters doing what you used to love doing, that gives you this little cozy feeling inside. The Christmas puzzle is a tradition that has been passed down since I was a child. I used to love doing the puzzles. Now, it is passed down to the children around here, that is not to say that I don't stop by and put the occasional piece in, mind you. But moms have resposibilities that keep them from just sitting at the table like they used to do.
Having Ashley Megan is like having a Christmas present that I get to unwrap every morning of every day. I get such delight from having her around. What is it about a child? There is a little of me in her that I can see way down deep, but what she has done with it, is what is the really cool part. She loves Jane Austen, and I grew up loving Jane Austen also, but she uses quotes from her books and makes the stories come alive in the little kids imaginations. She is the reason that every New Years we watch the 6 hour version of Pride and Prejudice. She takes the ordinary things that I do or did and makes them all magical and mystical. I loved Sherlock Holmes as a child and grew to love mysteries of all kinds. She is also a mystery fan, and we have seen every one of the Jeremy Brett versions of Sherlock Holmes, and any others that are fit to see. She just makes life so interesting. She and I share 2 hobbies, spinning and knitting. We get a lot of enjoyment out of bouncing ideas and, grin, design improvements (mistakes) off of each other.She shares my love of teaching and has taken on most of the homeschooling.I am so happy to have her.
Having Aubrey Nicole is like having a contagious giggle in a jar that you can open anytime you want. Aubrey is a ray of sunshine that can not be dimmed. She is such a vivacious little piece of life. I love to have Aubrey around because I know that she will always make me smile, but in the event that I am not smiling, she is always concerned and nurtures me very nicely. Aubrey took a different part of me and grew it really, really big and it touched the sky in her. She is a charmer from the word go and loves life and people and theater. She is responsible for overseeing the laundry and loves to bake the deserts in our life. Aubrey has widened my horizons and made me grow in very unexpected areas of my life, I really will miss her. I lose her to Australia in January for 3 months. I really don't want to think about it, but I did mention to her last week that it was going to be so quiet, read that as tame, around here without her.
These are my oldest daughters, the two parts of my life that I am so very lucky or blessed to have. I will share about my 3 other little female sunbeams in a different post. Oh, and of course, little Bailey, who is never far from Ashley. Sugar loves you Bailey!!!

What dolls!!

2007-12-09T17:27:00.000-06:00

I have been up to my eyeballs in doll everything for the last week. 18" dolls to be exact. I will say here for posterity that
I hate to sew doll clothes. I love how happy it makes my children and I love to see the doll in the clothes, but the process of making a garment with such small parts is horrible. Yuck, yuck, yuck!!! Here is the collection by RoLynn (LOL). Look hard and fast, because I will never, ever, ever (until I forget and get talked into it) do this again. OH, I do have to say, that my darling little Ashley Megan cut out the outfits, which is the reason that they all got finished! By the way, I did not knit that cute little sweater, it just slipped into the picture.

Here are my three live dolls with a pajama set for them and their dolls that I found at Vision Forum, thank Yahweh!!!! I was so happy to see that someone made an affordable set that I scarfed it up right away. The girls absolutely loved this surprise.

Christmas in Kentucky

2007-12-03T07:13:00.000-06:00

Here is my latest knitting project, Aubreys little prairie tunic(scroll almost all the way to the bottom). Darling, isn't it? And here is what I have done....I have converted it to be knitted in the round, just not enough time to do it back and forth.

..Of course, I will have to do it back and forth once I get to the top, but sheesh, why torture myself? lol
And here is the latest pair of socks that I decided I had to get on the needles last night before going to bed. They are for a particular person that can not be named at the present holiday time.
Don't you just love my new little lamb? His name is Simon and I got him at the Shaker Museum's Christmas Festival, here in Auburn, KY.

We have a before and after of our Christmas tree this year. This is our first year to decorate it this way, it is a natural looking tree and I just fell in love once we got it all done!!
So, without further ado....before

and after!!!!!!!!!

I couldn't put anything glitzy next to that awesome new mantle, now could I?

I also put a bird's nest in the tree that Levi found abandoned last week.

Our stockings have been hung with care, but not on the chimney, as we have way too many stockings to hang!!
I had to make new stockings this year because we are decorating differently and the little girls embroidered all the names themselves.

I am so proud of them. They did a bang up job!

Everyone is in the Christmas spirit around here.

Bailey is modeling a 2 part ensemble, the collar part of which was promptly relieved of one of it's little pom-poms. Shouldn't have left it on so long, I guess. But we did get a picture of the original outfit, lol.

And Mallory was just sure that Champ would want to model the hat.
I was not quite so sure, but I did take the picture. Is it possible that I see a snarl?

Last, but not least, after reading my friend June's blog, I have decided to do the Pay-it-forward exchange.
Since I have so many blessings, I am going to bless someone else!!

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

The only drawback is that you have to have a blog to participate. I hate to exclude any of you, but that's the deal. So, go ahead and leave a comment and I get back with you, if you want to participate.

Merry Christmas to All!!

Real knowledge

2007-11-10T07:26:00.000-06:00

You know you can take IQ tests to find out how smart you are, and just revel in the scores, but the real test is when a nine year old asks you the the 10 million dollar question.

In this case, I am peacefully checking my reader to see what all you really interesting people have to say, lol, and I happen to overhear my little Kelsey Belle ask her daddy this question;
"Daddy, in On Top of Spaghetti, is it under the door or out the door?" Now that, my friends, is where real knowledge hangs...first of all, just because my children have been singing it over and over, doesn't mean that Daddy has brushed up on it, ha! And second of all, does Daddy remember a song he probably hasn't sung since the last batch of kiddos were springing up??? Drumroll please!!!
Yes, yes he does. And just to prove that he does, he adds what I call a bit of "Daddy logic". His response is, "Out the door, Kelsey, because meatballs are too big to roll under it". Well, duh.

I'm naked, and I ain't wearin' no leaves neither!!

2007-11-09T06:47:00.000-06:00

My poor tree has lost it's leaves, bless it's heart,
it is kind of hard to see but the tree is surrounded with leaves!

Winter has arrived, like a lion, and poor little fall didn't even have a chance to make an appearance!

Have you ever seen this depicted in a cartoon?

You know, when one minute all the leaves are on the trees and the next they have all fallen to the ground?

That really happened to us this week, it was so funny that I had to take a picture of it.
The leaves all fell in one day on a mystery tree here on our land. If anyone has any idea what kind of tree this is, please leave me a comment!! We would love to know.

I did get a shot of one of the really big leaves and the "nuts "that it puts out.

We love this tree, it is one of the big ones and so majestic looking, even without it's huge leaves.
It posts guard over the little apple trees, lending it's height and width as guard against intruders.

I have a darling picture of Bobby to prove my point about winter, she was out mowing in 50 degree weather this week.

If you click on the picture and get a close up, you may be able to see her gloves and hat and coat. It looked so cute, I just had to take this.

So, now that November is here, we are doing our "production knitting" as Ashley coins it!! LOL It is down and dirty in this household now! Oh my gosh, I just looked at my knitting queue and I have so totally finished some of those projects!! I need to get my blog tech to change it for me!! I am finishing Uncle Paul's socks, as he is leaving tomorrow at zero dark thirty, and have a little thing to sew for Jared and Murrays package to send to Hawaii. That has to go into the post in the next week, to get there for her birthday, on the 21st and arrive before they leave for France for Christmas,which I think is the 30th of November, to visit her mother and extended family.

I am trying to do my Christmas things( like make all the cookies and stuff) this month as Anthony, Bobby's boyfriend, will be here in the first part of December for 2 or so weeks, and we want to share our holiday with him. Of course, it won't be the same without the last minute pressure, lol! We will do our best to fake it though.

So, life goes on here in the meadow and I will be sure and get some more photos of it. I will leave you with a picture that shows you what can happen if you leave the camera laying around for just anyone to snap a moment in time!
Yes, it is staged, yes, they are both silly gooses, and yes, I have 10 or so more, just as silly as this one. The only one with a shred of dignity here is Bailey, the sheltie, and she does look so cute, doesn't she?? I will tell you right now, I am going to get killed for this, but it will be so worth it, LOL!! If you don't see a post this weekend, you will know what happened........

We have a winner!

2007-11-04T10:16:00.000-06:00

Congratulations, Michelle O!! You won my little giveaway. I hope you are able to post pictures of what you make with the yarn. Thank you, all you sweet little contest enterers, that left comments. How nice of you to take the time. It was so much fun to do this, I will have to do it again.

Life is hectic around here right now, which shouldn't surprise anyone...LOL

I will make a post with a picture or two soon.

Fall Y'all Give Away!!

2007-10-29T08:58:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my meadow...
This is my very first giveaway and I am so excited!!! I first heard about this from a cute little blog called Rocks in my dryer. There is a catalog of all the blogs participating here.

You are supposed to give away something that is unique to you and so I have chosen to give some handspun alpaca and some handspun merino and a book called Slip-Stitch knitting by Roxana Bartlett.

Here's how to enter:

1. Leave a comment below.

2. In your comment, just tell me why you're interested in that particular prize.

3. Please make sure to leave your correct email address and your blog address (if you have one, if not just make sure I have your email address so I can contact you if you win).

4. You must be willing to send me your snail mail address, if you are a winner.

5. Winners will be notified by email on Monday, November 5th after 5pm PT. Please get back to me with your snail mail address by Wednesday, November 7th or I will have to draw an alternate winner.

6. I am happy to ship to US and Canada.

The best of luck to all! :)

What color is the kitchen today, Marmee??

2007-10-26T21:39:00.001-05:00

Not everyone gets to hear that comment in their lifetime, do they?? I have been doing some heavy duty painting...when I paint, my house suffers, my family suffers (having to listen to me gripe about how much I hate to paint) and the well-being of the my universe suffers. So, if I have to suffer, I thought I would let you suffer right along with me. Aren't I nice?

When my brother comes, my life goes right out the window..and here is the proof!! LOL

I decided to paint my kitchen brownish and pickle or white wash over it on the bead board to add a little pizazz. Good grief, what a load of work. Well, the green I had (that I loved, I might add) didn't match my new tile, and since I can't change the tile, I changed the paint! Oh my gosh, I am not sure I can face that room in the morning. Hey, wait, I get to leave tomorrow for a small respite to go and pick up the fireplace insert that we purchased off of Ebay. Wow, I can't wait to see that put in. I am going to save the pics of my new rustic mantle for when I show you my new insert put in to the fireplace.

Paul wants to use the bead board I have left over to go behind the stove, which is fine, except that we have to pull the stove out again and that sucker is heavy...oh yeah, and I had to paint those little babes and they are out in the workshop, waiting to be cut. So, even though it may look like I worked hard in these photos, remember the 4 pieces I painted out in the shop also!!!
Did I mention I hate painting?

There's someone here I don't recognize

2007-10-24T17:15:00.000-05:00

There is someone new here at my house that I just don't seem to recognize....funny thing, it just happens to be me!
My friend Suzanne, recommended her hairdresser and I took her up on it. Seems everyone that has cut my hair in the past has totally misunderstood how to cut my hair. Now, I understand what it means to get your money's worth. This young man really knows his stuff!! I love the way my hair looks and I have it on good authority that it makes me look 13 years younger! LOL
I don't know why 13...oh well. I would take 13 months really. grin..
So, without further ado, here is Bisou helping me model my new do:

Redbeard is aboard!!

2007-10-24T07:49:00.000-05:00

Paul got here on Sunday and man, was it the big stir!! He is officially "Redbeard the pirate". The kids just love their uncle Paul, can you tell?

So, after this big entrance, we had a flood of baby pirates. And, what is a pirate without a mean face?

Even poor little Champ had to get in on the dress up attempts. Here he is with a hat that goes to Bailey's outfit.

Ashley has a cute post in mind and I don't want to steal her pictures, so go h ere and see Bailey as a pirate wench.

We got a little wild with our Halloween candy and I couldn't resist this photo op of Bobby.
How cute is that little mug anyway?? With those eyes she won't need glasses anyway...lol.

I got the cutest wash cloth from June the other day, and just had to post this picture, although it really tells on me. I think I just might have been in need of a new wash cloth, what do you think? LOL

And, last, but not least, here is a picture of Champ getting settled into his new environment...lol...this is his very own cat tree and it sits right in front of a big window with a view of 3 birdfeeders....simply cat heaven, in my opinion!!

I was talking about the cat, Peggy!! LOL

2007-10-18T09:04:00.001-05:00

I wanted to include this picture here for you Peggy. Poor thing, she thought the last post was about one of my children...lol.
So, there he is....his name is now officially................
Champ...after Gene Autry's horse
Tiger...after the golfer we all avidly follow around here
Bite-Bite...after the fact that he loves to eat
Mew...after Suzanne
and his last middle, or sorta middle name is
Broken Tail.....which is true, poor thing, it is broken in two places and I think it got some of it taken off the end, which makes him a champ in my book anyway.
He is the absolute most affectionate cat I have ever, ever had. I am in love.

I found a recipient for my candy apples
that pneuma gave me the other day. This was started by Hootin' Anni and the idea is to send this treat to a blogger you don't know who you think deserves a treat.
I happened on a darling little blog by arianie, that I really think deserves this! So, have a really great day sweetheart. Here are some virtual candy apples to go with those gorgeous cupcakes!!

I just have one last picture to show you. Here is what I woke up to day before yesterday. Aubrey had finally gotten the laptop she won at work and gave to me for my birthday...She set it up when she came in from work in the wee hours and had bows all over it and a sign flashing on it saying I love you. How darling is that?? And no, you can't have her!
Then Ashley diligently spent all day yesterday setting up and transferring all my files and pictures, bless her heart. What darlings I have...so thoughtful, and sweet.

Stop the press!!!

2007-10-17T10:25:00.000-05:00

Well, I just found out that our darling little girl is actually a fixed little boy....I must admit here, publically, how embarrassed I am...lol. NOT This is great, except that...well, I must go and call the vet now.....so, this is how egg on your face feels....she said, grinning sheepishly!!
Oh and the name is now in question, LOL

Catching up

2007-10-17T06:56:00.000-05:00

Look at this absolutely darling little virtual treat that my new friend pneuma gave us! I was so grateful and surprised. Thank you darlin'! I see the beginnings of a wonderful friendship. This was the first time that Ashley and I have had our blogs put on someone else's blog that we did not know. We were so proud. lol
Now, on to life at our house and knitting as we know it. Let's see, where to begin.....
Let's begin with our new addition. Yes, we have expanded our "little" family yet again, lol. This time we were adopted. Here is our new little girl. Her official name is ....Lazy Kate Bite-Bite Mew Broken Tail, but we will call her Kate for short. The bite-bite is because she likes to eat and the broken tail part is because she does have her tail broken in two places and the mew part is....well, probably obvious. Thank you Suzanne for all your help!! She is so sweet and we are in love. She found us on our walk and led us home, so she is an official Thornton now.

Here is a gorgeous bouquetthat the girls picked for me yesterday.They had so much fun, I told them to pick any flowers that they wanted to pick and this is the reallypretty result.

Now on to knitting!! Here is the beginning of Mackenzie's Christmas tomten. It is so mindless, I love it. The fuzzy stuff kinda gets to ya, but I am switching soon, so all will be well. ;)
I started my first pair of toe-up socks for my baby brother. He should be here next week and I hope he will be surprised. I have never knitted him anything and he has seen the socks fly around here...on the needles that is, lol. So he knows the love that goes into every pair. I didn't know until I loaded this silly picture that you can't even see the pattern of the socks, well, squeak! Oh well, I guess you will have to wait for more progress, LOL.
Last, but not least, here is a picture of my most manly Chihuahua, Bisou, in his new camo scarf. I have got to knit this little man a sweater soon.

Now, I am going to sit down!

2007-10-08T16:31:00.000-05:00

Well, well. I did it. I baked 127 berry pecan muffins and 200ish oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not too bad huh?

I just had to show you how darling my dog is!!!!

2007-10-07T18:49:00.000-05:00

I think I need another freezer!!

2007-10-07T18:21:00.000-05:00

Well, we were busy today!!
We did some bulk cooking, which we haven't done since before we moved, so at least a year.
I love this concept, but the actual process is both encumbering and awkward, at least at first.
One thing is for sure, and that is that you need to have a plan...lol....or at least have someone with you that does.
So, here are a few pics of the process.

So, as you can see, this is quite a process!! It requires all hands on deck. Daddy got out of it this time, as he was laying tile in the new master bathroom. This is totally allowable...;)
Let's see, here is a list of the bounty for today.

1. Chili

2. Spaghetti Sauce

3. Chicken vegetable soup

4. Meatloaf casseroles

5. Chicken broth and pieces for Chicken and Dumplings

Here is a picture of some of us with the fruit of our hands!

I would have made more, but I am afraid I wouldn't have enough room in my freezer.
Tomorrow we make 10 dozen muffins and 20 dozen oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
So, what should I make for dinner tonight? LOL I am leaning towards popcorn!!

Thank goodness I took a picture of this!!

2007-10-04T20:15:00.000-05:00

This picture is for you Suzanne!!

This is a picture of my big refrigerator...(yes, I have 2, one big and one regular size) BG and AC. That would be before groceries and after cleaning, lol. Or, as my baby brother would say lqtm, laughing quietly to myself. I love that, good one Paul!

So, now I have this preserved for posterity. A picture to prove that one day, at one small moment in time, I had a clean refrigerator. Hooray.

These are a few of my favorite things...

2007-10-01T12:22:00.000-05:00

I love this time of year. There is just something about it, isn't there?? I mean even the breeze brings feelings that you just don't get any other time of year.
Here is a picture of one of the things I love, simply love. Having my screen doors open is like a little piece of heaven to me. Hearing all the sounds of fall, breathing in the breezes and smells of fall, I can't help myself. I love it!
This is the time of year that I spend most of my time outside. I discover my gardens again and watch life from the front porch swing and the swing by the new playground.
I take my knitting with me and we have a grand old time.

Speaking of knitting, I thought you might want to see my progress on Ashley's socks. These are the Undulating Rib socks from the Interweave Press book Favorite Socks.
She loves the colors and she says she loves the pattern, but Marmee is just a wee bit intimidated by knitting for the master....lol.
I must admit that the mindless knitting on the back of these socks is what I live for at the moment, grin...
I do love this yarn, it is Fabel yarn and I got it from Ram Wools.
So, a work in progress that is almost finished is another thing I just love. Something about being over the half way hump is so gratifying, isn't it?

Anyone that knows me, knows that one of my all time favorite things is having my family all around me. Today, that very thing happened for almost half a day. The only exception to the happiness was that Daddy is in Texas on a business trip for the week, so he wasn't here and of course, we don't get to have Bubba and Murray until sometime in 2009...(at least, I think that is right)

Here is Mackenzie and Levi playing a word game and Mallory and Kelsey are doing Playmobil. On the other side of the room is Ashley and Aubrey doing important computer things and in the other corner Zachariah is doing picture match. This is everybody in about a 20 minute time frame. We are all doing different things now, and that is the beauty of our lifestyle.
Right now, Mackenzie is coloring state workpages, Levi is doing spelling with a Twist and Shout. Zach is using the interactive globe that our Fairy Godmother Maryanne got us last Christmas (she is also responsible for the Playmobil I mentioned earlier and lots of things I have not even come close to crediting her for...thank you, thank you, thank you!) Kelsey is doing her music flash cards and peeking at Mallory doing her math game on the computer. Ashley is knitting on her new sock project while ever so patiently helping Mallory with math. Bobby has gone to work and I am going to go put spaghetti on the stove for lunch, as soon as I am done here.

Central Auditory Processing Disorder, Learning delays, ADD, ADHD and a few other things have given us quite a challenge in our learning process. I have taken 20 years of homeschooling knowledge and "morphed" it to achieve our present style. It works for us, we may not learn as quickly as they say we should - but who are they anyway? The one thing that stood out almost immediately for us, was the total lack of ability to pretend. This is common with our mix of challenges, but it was sad and a little hard to deal with at first.
Maryanne was so wonderful with our Playmobil toys, this launched something totally new for us into the land of Pretend. We are now into dress-up like never before. Role playing is going well and now group participation is the norm. These are amazing breakthroughs and ones I was not sure we would ever see.

I will leave you with our particular little miracle that I love and never tire of seeing. Dress-up!

Sneaking up on me!!! Darn it!

2007-10-01T07:43:00.000-05:00

Okay, there it is........That is what is sneaking up on me.
Christmas!
I wanted to make all my gifts this year. What a stupid idea...lol.
I saw on one of my email groups the other day that it was only 87 days until Christmas. Now, wasn't that a particularly cruel thing to do to a person? I ask you. Just cruel....
So, now I am in panic mode. Here's why:
I have 10 people in my family to make gifts for....
The knitting part of 2 of the gifts for 2 of the little girls is done, but the ends of the yarn are not woven in. I am knitting all the little girls a sweater and making each of them skirts to match their sweaters.
I am knitting the little boys each a sweater. I am knitting Ashley a pair of socks (which are almost done) and she picked out a quilt she wants me to make. I am knitting Aubrey a summer top to take to Australia and I am knitting Jared and Anthony something small (one of those is almost done) OH MY GOSH!!!!! I am breaking out in a sweat just thinking about this and typing it is making it seem like an impossibility.
So, this means my spinning wheels and I must part company for a while....sniff, sniff....while all my focus is on Christmas.
I wanted to make new decorations, like stockings, etc...but looking at my list, I better forget it this year, LOL.
Oh yeah, and don't forget the plans for my friends and my husband and, and, and, and........
I either need another pot of coffee or another bottle of wine.....hmmmm, I will think on it.

Arrgghhh me hearties!!!!

2007-09-26T11:02:00.001-05:00

I wanted to post pictures of the completed playground. I am so sorry I forgot to do this. I really didn't realize the diversity of people that I have read my blog. I love it!!

I wish you all would post a comment every once in a while to let me know you dropped by!

Didn't we do a great job? The kids love it.

Just wanted to give you all a small glimpse into my little corner of cyberspace. This is what I see when I am on the computer, exploring your little corner of cyberspace.

Spinning chihuahua and knitting (and almost knitting) kids

2007-09-25T14:24:00.000-05:00

Ashley took this picture when I got up to get a drink last night. Here is my little 7 month old chihuahua, Bisou, being the faithful spinning dog that he is. I decided to spin camel in the playroom and I set up my Lendrum double treadle in there. Good grief, I have not spun anything with a short staple length in a really long time, and the camel down I am spinning is a very short staple length. I think it is about an inch. Can you all say, very long time?LOL I feel like a beginner here, and it has been about 12 years!! Isn't that right Patricia? Anyway, close to that and I have spun Merino and Merino blends for a really long time now. Let's see, Merino blends, at 5-6 inches or Camel at 1 inch....yes, dear friends, my little feeties are pedaling to beat the band! Not really, but it is so funny to go from the Lendrum to the Reeves. Like going from a moped to an SUV. LOL

Well, today was our homeschool co-op. We are getting our morning routine down pretty good now, and I am proud of the kids. They all have their own backpack and are responsible for their own music book, prechemistry book and knitting. We got some shots of the really cool kids in our knitting class. We have 4 boys and 4 girls. They all pretty much have the knit stitch down (except Levi...poor guy) and we are moving on to the purl stitch next week. I am going to have to take some Tylenol before I try to teach Levi. ;) We all get along really well in our class and we have a good time. Lots and lots of talking occurs here.....I am sure you can imagine!!
They are all doing so well, I anticipated a whole class full of "Levi's" and we only have one, the genuine article. LOL He would probably be just fine, except that he gets so caught up with what is being said that he looks up from his knitting at crucial times, really crucial times, like when he is pulling a stitch off or through...sheesh, and then he doesn't have the foggiest idea what is going on. This morning, he handed me his knitting to be corrected at least 10 times, probably more, I just don't count. I did tell him to focus about 1o times, any correlation, I wonder? lol I asked him if he would like to lay down his knitting and try again, maybe, say in a year?, but no, he wants to learn. I ask this twice and am convinced that he is not going to let me off the hook...inward groan....and proceed to tell him he will have to practice every day. He walks away with a smile on his face and I am still sitting here wondering what I have just done to my peace of mind..........I will keep you updated, wink!

Dot com way of life....lol

2007-09-23T18:45:00.000-05:00

Here is the cutest little thing that happened to me on Thursday. My youngest, Mallory, 8 years old, was perusing the antiques in one of the buildings we were going through and her eyes happened to alight upon an old typewriter. She turned to me and asked me if she could type www.mylittlepony.com on it....Isn't that the cutest thing?

That began a lesson on typewriters and typing pools as a way of life for many young girls long, long ago.

The best part was the hands-on type of museum we were in allowed us to see if the typewriter actually worked. Lo, and behold....the ribbon still had ink! Wonder of wonders....I helped them all type their names on a piece of paper out of my planner and they thought that was the most awesome thing!!

I love the way homeschooling works!! What I love the most is that our way of life is learning, it is not sectioned off into a specific time of day or certain days of the week. Every part of our life is a learning opportunity. Check out Ashley's blog, she has the most darling little explanation of how we school.
Speaking of Ashley...she is our chief photographer and she does the most awesome job of capturing our life. I just have to show you her expertise. Here is a shot of a few of the desks that were behind us when we were typing on the typewriter, she saw it for the photo opportunity that it was.

A little cookin' , a little spinning and a little history...isn't that what life is all about??

2007-09-21T09:32:00.000-05:00

We had a little cold snap the other day and it spurred me right into fall cooking mode! I set about my morning making breakfast (cheese onion biscuits) and while I was using the oven, I decided to bake bread and I already had soup on for lunch. This is a pretty typical day for me, but as I had everything gathered up in one spot, it occured to me that you all might wonder sometimes how it goes in this household...so here is a picture of what was going on. The bread is rising, just so you know...lol...and I made veggie beef soup from day old brisket and veggies, man, was it yummy.

On another note, I have gotten a chance to spin some of my birthday fiber, and I am in love!
This color is almost electric, it is called mountain magic, and I totally believe it. It is spinning up like warm butter in my hands. I used my new woolee winder and had 2 bobbins full in 2 days! Golly, was I impressed with myself, she said grinning widely, and I got almost 640 yards. I wanted to do a gauge swatch immediately, but my wise daughter Ashley, said no....lol. So, I am finishing up the 3 pound bump I got in the mail, and then....
I had a crazy idea that I brought up to a spinning friend of mine yesterday, and she gave the go ahead, so I am going to start a brand new fiber on a different wheel in a different room of my house. Can you see where this is going? LOL I am actually going to work on fiber for 2 different projects at the same time, while I am in fact knitting on 2 different projects!! Can you believe it?? Wow, what a stretch for me!

We got an opportunity to go on our first field trip this year. We went on Thursday and had such a learning experience. We learned about the importance of coal mining in Kentucky. It was fascinating. Here are a few shots from the trip. I am saving the most darling thing for a post all it's own.
This is a picture of our club on the front porch of the Duncan Cultural Center in Greenville, Ky about an hour away from our house. It was built in 1912 by William Duncan and the wood work was totally awesome. The floors are inlaid and gorgeous! There have been countless antiques donated to the center, and there just happened to be a walking wheel donated that was in the basement part of the tour. As our family was passing by, the tour guide asked Zachariah (my 10 year old) if he knew what it was, lol, and he looked puzzled and replied "A spinning wheel" in a tone of voice that implied an "of course!" should have been on the end of his sentence, lol.
We went from the Duncan Center to Paradise Park, which has a few building they have brought in from the early 1900s. Here is an old log cabin that we thought was really cool! Can you believe how big the kids are getting?
Here is another cute shot Ashley got while we were there. The old jail cell from Central City is there and the kids took advantage of it! Don't I have the cutest kids??

Busy week!!

2007-09-17T06:48:00.000-05:00

This last week, as well as other every week of my life (LOL), has been busy. Getting used to a new schedule is always something interesting in the Thornton household, but we have added two new things to the mix, not just one....this means uncharted territory....watch out! Now that we have homeschool co-op on Tuesdays and adding bowling in Bowling Green (I know a few of you will get a kick out of that one) it seems like my plate is full to overflowing.
The great part of being busy is having those nanoseconds when you realize you aren't....for example, I had a chance to sit down and grab my knitting on Friday and when I did, the kids went out to be pirates, go figure...lol (it's pirates everything these days, what with a real pirate ship in the backyard!) In the course of playing, said pirates became thirsty and sent in the wee one for drinks. Here is what that clever little ship's mate came up with for a drink tray!
Who would ever think of keeping the styrofoam from the new dvd player for just such a reason?
Certainly not her mother, who had thrown it away....just not far enough, lol.
Here is a shot from our Thursday trip to Nashville, to return some shoes. This is for Paul, it is taken in the Rainforest Cafe. A very kind young lady had pity on us and took this shot. Usually we have one or more of us missing from the photo, but this time we got all 7 of us, cool, huh?

I got a chance to do some spinning over the weekend. Greg was gracious enough to watch the kids and do outside stuff and let Ashley and I bask in the greatness of Tiger. I mean, come on, did any of you guys see what great shots he made? I am so happy he got the chance to be the first one to win the FedEx cup, the only disappointment, if you could even call it that, was the fact that he didn't kiss it, and they had been advertising all over the golf channel that it had never been kissed. But, all in all, we had a wonderful time cheering Tiger on, and I am so happy Steve Stricker made it to second in the cup standings also, way to go Steve!! I will admit it got a little loud at times while we were watching this weekend. I had to laugh to myself, and I mentioned to Ashley that my grandparents would be laughing at me if they could have heard me talking to the tv, I remember them doing that with golf too, lol.

Anyway, Bisou enjoyed the spinning time, and here is proof! He has such a perfect name, I can not help but kiss him, he is so cute!!

I also just have to post the picture of what my dear friend Patricia and her precious mother gave me for my birthday. I got the package in the mail Saturday and I opened it to find these lovely handmade (by Patricia herself) boxes. Aren't they something? The little item in the middle is a magnetic bookmark. Thank you both.

Well, that is a bit about last week, heading into this week is looking just about the same. Well, we don't have a trip to Nashville, but we did join the Junior Historical Society of Kentucky and we have a field trip on Thursday to Powderly, Kentucky. We are learning about an old mining town, and I can't wait, sounds like fun, huh? Wish you were here to go with us! We might even bring our drink tray....no, probably not, lol.

Finished Kelsey's Tomten, Bowling,Kitchen before and after....

2007-09-13T07:25:00.000-05:00

Wow, seems like alot has happened lately! I finished Kelsey's Tomten jacket, here it is in all it's glory. I added a tassel, which she adores!
We went to watch Daddy bowl for the first time last night! He was on a roll, lol, and it was a lot of fun to watch him. The littles had all brought something from home to do....except for Levi, which turned out alright, because I let them all have 50 cents to get something out of the vending machines...(a first for my clan!) and he got a parachute guy, and that kept the boys busy all night. The girls chose this disgusting snotty feeling ring stretchy thing, that if their Marmee would have been with them.....well, just let it be known that Sissy is totally responsible, and just let me say one more time...eewwwww, gross! Well, to be perfectly fair, Mackenzie got a ring, because in her words "I wanted something that would last"....sensible girl. Aubrey was able to join us for a while, and we saw this guy there that looked so much like Anthony, her boyfriend in Australia. We spent a good bit of time trying to get a picture of him, without him knowing...lol...that was fun. So, anyway, here is a sneak peek at our night out.

Now, I just wanted to post a picture of the before and after of my kitchen. Mostly for myself, to see what I have accomplished in a year. So, here is a picture of the house on our last run-through, before we had purchased it:

We took that wall out that you see on the left, which was a laundry room, and put the stove in there, turned and revamped the island, took out the sink and stove top and added tile and slate with a hole to a trash can underneath (awesome, huh?) and we put tile on the countertops, stripped the wallpaper and put bead board on the walls, which we antiqued, took out the appliance garage on the left of the sink, to make way for the dirty dishes we have after meals, which just wouldn't fit before. We took out the desk and cabinets that you can't see that are to the left of the island and put 5 shelves that hold my dishes and pots and bowls, hung 2 ceiling fans,oh yeah, and we did a ceiling treatment, put up 2 beams, one out of my dad's old barn, and pulled up the stuff on the floor and stained and polyeurethaned the floor. My gosh, this makes me need another cup of coffee just to write this, LOL.
So, having said all that, here is a picture I took yesterday. And I wanted to say thank you to all who made this kitchen possible, Maria and Dennis, Paul, Danny, Dad, Ashley, and my husband Greg.

Of school and birthdays and life......

2007-09-11T13:39:00.000-05:00

Well, homeschool co-op has officially begun! Marmee and Sissy are teaching knitting class (guess who forgot the camera? but remembered yarn...lol) and the kiddos are taking music theory and pre-chemistry. Here is a tell-tale sign that we are learning....3 of us are knitting and two of us are reading our new music theory books. I love it when learning is a natural outcome and not something you have to force on a child....said the smug mother...lol.
Now, I debated whether or not to let you all in on my birthday booty, but I just can NOT keep it to myself! It was the most wonderful birthday ever.
I will let you see how my family blessed me with...no, wait, showered me with gifts.
First, I got a woolee winder for my Reeves wheel, and the circumference on my Reeves wheel is so totally awesome at 93-94" versus my double treadle Lendrum, which comes in at 60". So, mass production here I come...LOL...probably not, it seems you also need something called time. Well, I will see. In the meantime, here is a picture of my new bobbin filling with my birthday fiber that I got at Coppermoose, it is called mountain magic and it is positively magical to spin!! I wish I had better lighting, this picture doesn't do the fiber justice, for sure. I already have this earmarked for the Noro sweater I want to make, it is called "Fletcher" and I am so excited to do this!! So, stay tuned for more on this two step project...first I have to finish spinning the fiber and all I have so far is what you see, lol. You might have to remember this for a while.......sorry.

The next thing I opened was this absolutely enchanting pendant. It is the most exquisite little fairy with a background of stars and a half moon.

The last thing I opened was a three-fold gift. It was 3 pieces of handmade pottery from the Renaissance Fair in Tennessee back in May.
Long time to hold on to a gift, huh? They deserve special recognition for that I think. I am terrible about getting a gift early, I immediately want to give it......sigh. So, I totally admire anyone that can do that. Although, to be fair to myself, I am starting early on Christmas gifts, and I do have a few made so far and have not given them away, so I guess I have gotten better. Anyway, here is this gorgeous bread platter and the two pitchers. So, I had a very wonderful birthday. One of the really cool parts of my birthday was the cards I got from my friends. I am so happy that I have acquired such a valuable resource-people that I treasure. Moving really makes you realize the people that you keep with you in your heart. It also helps you to realize how wonderful it is to find new people that welcome you and make you feel like you are a part of something again. The knitting group that Ashley and I joined in the spring, has been a lifeline for me. I am sure that they didn't realize what they were doing, but they were like a glass of cool water to a very thirsty person. I appreciate every one of them. They have all reached out to me and to Ashley and we are beginning to feel like we really are home again. Thank you all.

So, life goes on in the Thornton household. We are happy and we are together. That is really all that matters.

Back to "Abby-normal" soon! and early birthday present

2007-08-31T07:32:00.000-05:00

Well, life on my farm is not kinda laid back at the moment, far from it!! We are working really hard on what was supposed to be a simple straight line sorta playground. That all ended when my brother's overactive imagination kicked in! The deal with my baby brother is that he has the skills to add to the imagination, and so we now have a pirate ship in our backyard, equipped with a ship's wheel, telescope, anchor that raises and lowers. The bow of our ship, which Uncle Paul named Sparrow Spirit, can hold 5 small bodies and we have a crows nest and a rope walkway thing up to the crow's nest and we are not done yet! I think he dreams about it at night, LOL. Here is Daddy helping Uncle Paul, thank goodness for Daddy's muscles, Marmee 's muscles were really tired that night!
The most awesome thing happened the other day, it was so Kentucky! I was going out to my pitifully overgrown garden,( who wants to weed in 102 degrees anyway?) and caught a turkey hen having lunch with her two little chicks. Here they are, aren't they darling? I would share anytime to see that.
Ashley got me the most wonderful birthday present and it has arrived!! I couldn't care less that it is a week or so early, I am in love! This is a merino blend from Coppermoose called Mountain magic and it is so very magical! I can not wait to get my hands on this most awesome, gorgeous, beckoning stuff. Doesn't my daughter love me???

Wow!! Change is in the air!!

2007-08-28T10:54:00.000-05:00

After all the magic with my aforementioned closet happened, my loverly baby brother overheard Ashley and I cussing and discussing the furniture arrangement options for my living room and came up with this really amazing, out of the box idea (I just love those!!). You see, when I purchased the living room furniture, it was for the idea that the living room was going to be in the converted garage. That idea was busted when the old garage was made into my new bedroom. The furniture was then crowded into what is now my living room. Now, for an ordinary family, this would not be a problem. But, my living room furniture consists of 2 full couches and 2 love seats. I really mean crowded...lol. Well, Mr Incredible Remodeler man fixed my problem. Within hours of mentioning the idea, we had assembled and in place, a 16" pedestal for one of the couches, stained the same color as the floor and holding a couch. Stadium seating anyone???? Of course, the older part of my family is now mentioning wireless speakers, grin.

In my spare time, I have been knitting my little Aubrey, her birthday present. Her birthday is tomorrow and she will be 21...sniff, sniff...anyway, she gets cold at work and mentioned she would like a scarf to keep warm. Enter Super Marmee!! I took the hint and ran with it. This is a cotton yarn by Symphonia. It seemed like it took up the whole bed when I blocked it, but I think the little pattern turned out nicely. It was a scarf from the "Little book of Scarves".

I am now knitting on a pair of Christmas socks, for Ashley for Christmas. That little darlin is as busy as a bee nowadays, go on over to her blog and check it out!!She has even started another blog about unschooling. What a doll!

Closet update

2007-08-28T10:11:00.000-05:00

I am so excited!! Yesterday, things started coming together....yeah, that's right, they really did!
My closet got the long awaited poles and was painted with the very last coat. Then, I had to initiate it with a few hanging clothes....it still has to dry. I have been moving clothes this morning, but have only finished with Greg's shirts so far :) Notice my lonely tank top on my side of the closet? But, isn't it awesome? Don't you wish
you were me? LOL Check out the shoe shelf at the end of the video!

Kitchen update

2007-08-21T14:49:00.002-05:00

Okay, we are on to the island! Here is a picture of the now infamous Paul Thomas Russell, remodeler extraordinaire!!! We are figuring out tile placement...what fun!!That piece of granite he is leaning on is so awesome that I got a close up of it, check it out! And the tiles leaning on it are slate, awesome, huh? My brother is so cool.
Here is a little project that is in the works, we are going to transform this standing shelf unit into a built in corner shelf unit. Wait for it.........;)

Coming out of the closet...so to speak

2007-08-20T07:03:00.000-05:00

Well, today we finish the closet and start on the kitchen, or at least that is what Paul says. We are supposed to caulk it first thing and then off to the kitchen and then back to paint it tonight. Hope that is the way it works, my clothes miss me. What a royal pain to walk from one end of the house to another wrapped in a towel....because you forgot to get your clothes before you stepped into the shower, oops!!
Thought I would just tell you how much I love my baby brother (I love you too, Jim, wink) He made me shoe racks for under my long hanging stuff. How sweet is that? Anybody ever seen the movie "Overboard", with Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn? Well, Paul is building this awesome closet alot like that one, he just keeps adding more cool stuff, I love it!!
Here it is in all it's unpainted glory:You can see the shelves for the shoes on the lower right. This is standing in the bathroom, looking into the closet. My shelves are on the far left, then the door to the bedroom, then Greg's shelves. I got my chance at Paul's radial arm saw yesterday, man, you gotta love power tools!!
It was 100 degrees here yesterday, so we added to our keep-cool armada, here is the crew cooling down

Picture this!!

2007-08-19T11:45:00.000-05:00

Okay, got some camera time on a Sunday morning and I am going to try to document this crazy ride we have been on the last few weeks.
First of all, I want to show you my long anticipated closet.
This is my side of the closet, anxiously awaiting shelves and rods!Here is my lovely little brother putting in the shelving supports for the other side of my closet. He is right in front of the bathroom door. I am standing in Greg's closet taking the picture and the door to the bedroom is in the left of that shot.

This picture is of Greg's closet, standing in the doorway from my bedroom. He gets 2 windows....
So, that was how we left it couple of days ago...this was this morning before we started working on it.
Again, I am standing it the doorway from my bedroom and I wanted to show how much my brother loves me. He made my closet rod shorter than my husband's by about 6 inches, isn't that nice?? You can see Greg's rod support in the upper left of the picture and my support on the other side of the wall just lower than his. I also have two half rods on the opposite wall.
Here is the final shot of the closet for today. We are just about to nail these shelves down. I am so excited to have this much storage!! How fortunate am I?

Oh, I also wanted to show you how we have been spending our spare time. Paul was trying out the new slip and slide. He is really good at it, too. So, that is a little piece of my life...
This last picture is of Greg and Paul working on a two man post hole digger for the swingset/playground we are putting in. I tried to help Greg earlier in the day, but there just was not enough of me to make a difference...ha. So, Paul threw his weight around and got the job done. Thanks Uncle Paul!!!!

Time flies!!

2007-08-19T06:39:00.000-05:00

Good grief! I have been so busy....
Well, my brother is back (yes, hard to believe it) and so my house is torn up again...lol...but I am so excited about it.
My closet is getting shelves, and rods. My kitchen is getting a new bar, with a granite cutting board and tile countertop and the rest of my counters are getting tile. I am getting a dish shelf in the kitchen and we are doing a neato stucco finish on the ceiling in the kitchen. This weekend we are building a swingset/playground and all this is being done in record-breaking heat with the air conditioner out!
Well, reading back through that it does sound like I have been busy. I hope to post pictures soon.
I miss real life and hope to see it soon also!

Since I have the camera out.....

2007-08-06T08:04:00.001-05:00

Thought I would give you a peek at my WIP (works in progress for all you non-knitters).
Here is the pinwheel with arms now...just waiting patiently for me to stop painting and weave in the tails and add a button. It was done in Di.ve butterfly, and with much bulkier yarn than I am used to using....I must admit here, that bulkier is wonderful when you have a small time crunch, she said with a really big smile! And that, by the way, is a horrible picture. I will have to get Mallory dear to model it for me.

And this is the beginnings of the tomten for little Kelsey Belle. Her favorite color is red, can you tell? This is interesting yarn too, same bulkiness (is that a word??)about 4.5 stitches to the inch.
It is self striping like you see, which I like. The yarn is Madil fusion. This should be another quick project...gosh, Christmas is coming, ya know!

Oh yes, I can not forget the new sock yarn I got in the mail last week! It is Garnstudio Fabel, a self-striping yarn that my knitting friend Peggy, turned me on to. She is knitting the most gorgeous pair of jaywalkers with hers!!
Here it is, for your delictation and delight: These should make delectably wonderful socks and I cant wait. Of course, I need to watch out for sheetrock dust and paint, but shouldn't be too much of a problem..lol.
Well, thanks for listening to my ramblings. I am in love with life today and everything is perfect in my little universe.
Knit on!

Almost there!

2007-08-06T06:54:00.000-05:00

Well, the moment you have all been waiting for has arrived. Pictures....yep, pictures of what all this fuss has been about. Of course, this little remodel is still a work in progress, but I am happy to report that we have put the first coat of paint on the bedroom!
This picture shows the opening Danny aka "son of Hercules" cut into the side of the old garage to put the patio door into. Danny is standing in the new closet and through the closet is the bathroom.
Here is the closet...Greg's is on the left and mine is on the right. Paul is going to put the shelving in when he comes back....and we are counting the days, little brother!! wink...I just love the way we set this up, when you walk into the closets and turn around toward the room, there will be shelving to house all the folding clothes and shoes...awesome, huh??

This is the view of the bathroom from my closet, the vanity on this side is Gregs. I overpainted the cabinets in here last night with black, and I must say how awesome it looks. I just love it. The mirrors are black and it will go so well with it all. I am painting it a light green in here, which will really make the black stuff "pop" as my dear friend Maria says.
Here is the other side of the bathroom. This is a steam shower, one of life's little luxuries that I hope never to be without again. My husband is the generator installer and of course, Paul and Danny are the miracle workers. What a combination. We got this shower and the Anderson patio door in my new bedroom at the Habitat for Humanity Restore. What a big blessing, let me tell you!
We bought the door for 100.00 and we found out when we went to get a door knob that the door was at least 1800.00 new! Wow, so the funny part is, the knob will end up costing us more than the door. Wait, that isn't so funny, now that I think about it.
So, I will be posting the efforts of our weekend's work soon. Greg and Ashley and I put the first coat of paint on and Aubrey provided the encouragement and kept the dog out of the paint tray. Thank you Aubrey. The three of us commented on how much fun it was to do it together. I just love family, makes it so awesome to be alive. The littles have been so much help.
I finished Mallory's pinwheel sweater last night as we watched Tiger win at the Bridgestone Invitational. That was so sweet!! All I have left to do is weave in the yarn tails. Now on to the tomten for Kelsey.

This really did happen...a mothering time warp

2007-08-02T11:15:00.000-05:00

Well, usually, I am the kind of mother that tries to joke and laugh with my kids, to work with them and encourage them....or at least I like to think I am, LOL. But this morning, I warped and it was so funny when Ashley called my attention to it.
I can see my vegetable garden from my kitchen window, and I had asked the boys to go and pick squash while I cooked breakfast....I should have realized the flaw in my plan right there! But no.
So, Levi (my 9 year old) is casually strolling along the squash row, every once in a while touching a leaf and letting his big brother do most of the squash picking. I thought that I needed to give him a bit of positive encouragement, so when I saw him finally find a squash, I yell out to him that he was doing a good job and keep up the good work. That might have worked, if I would not have looked out the window again in about 5 minutes. By this time, I had already had a conversation with myself in my head about how I needed to work with Levi on his work ethic, but, of course, this conversation was only with myself....and my daughter, Ashley, who was sitting at the bar, didn't hear any of this. So, when I finished with myself, somewhere between the hashbrowns and the eggs, I glanced out the window again....Oh, fateful moment!
I then proceeded to yell out the window "Levi, get your bottom away from the cherry tomatoes and over to the squash!"
Ashley started to laugh a bit uncontrollably and when I inquired as to why she was laughing, she said one minute I am saying to Levi, good job and the next yelling, get over and pick that gull durn squash!
So, there you have it, I entered the "mothering time warp" and it was all perfectly logical to me, I just didn't bother to let anyone else in on it!

Reflections of a remodeling victim

2007-07-27T06:47:00.000-05:00

Hi there! Yes, I am sure it is hard to believe I am surviving, but here is proof that I am making it.
I have to admit though, I am not coming through this unscathed...lol....
There is just something about remodeling that gets in my blood. Is it the promise of organization, or an easier lifestyle? (say yes, please!!!!) Anyway, whatever it is, I am in the midst of the fever.
Poor Paul (my unsuspecting little brother helping me) every time he thinks he has it straight on what I am doing, I add to my list. I mean, who can resist? Really! Wow, the stuff he is doing is so cool, it just naturally makes me think, well, wouldn't it be cool if..........
So, now he has a list so long that I think he is planning on making a return trip in October....lol....I have simply overwhelmed him and his friend Danny, I am sure of it.
I will be posting pics soon, all I ask is that you understand that everything is topsy turvy around here, so the before pictures I must warn you that the rooms are a "tad bit" messy.....awww, what the heck, I live a real life, right? And I can always claim the 7 kids at home excuse,
So, now I have all the the stuff out of my pantries and have rice boxes balanced on my exercise equipment and cleaning supplies behind my couch. You should hear it around dinner time....it goes something like this. "So-and-so-child, please get me the suchandsuch, I think it is under the desk, or it could be behind the exercise bike" And thank goodness, I got that Ab-lounger or I would not have anyplace for the potato chips!
Well, such is life here at Serenity Star Farm, for at least another week. Then, perhaps the shell shock will have worn off and life can settle down.....sheesh, who am I kidding? But, at least I will have some awesome stuff to show for it!

Okay, is it remodeling or rethinking??

2007-07-25T06:31:00.001-05:00

So, here I sit, amidst the chaos of all my stuff being in another place other than where it USED to belong. I am wondering, what was wrong with me that I thought where I put it all was just fine???
How could I have been so stupid and disorganized to think that where I had it was the height of organization? LOL
Now I see that the washer and dryer should have been 6 feet to the left, of course, but what was wrong with me that I didn't see that before? Gosh, this gets me to thinking about what else is going on in my life that I am just not seeing.....
Okay, I am remodeling a garage and making a bedroom with a bathroom and a laundry room set off that with additional shelving, the hallway just lost a coat closet to the big refrigerator, which looks so awesome, just like it is supposed to be there and is much closer to the kitchen, and the kitchen is getting a face lift and some shelving. I am putting a loft of sorts into the girls room for my darling Ashley, which should be so cool for her.
This means that I will have some painting and touch up to do. Did I mention that my little brother is doing the hard work for me? So this is really kind of a homespun job, I am getting involved a bit...lol....much to my brother's chagrin...and I must admit, to mine too, at times!!
So, I am rethinking my life, not just my floor plan. What goes next, or what should I reposition or add on to or repaint. Getting older is rough, isn't it?
As I was telling June last night, I now have (take a deep breath) 3 projects on the needles. Yes, you read right, 3! I have the Lotus blossom tank almost finished, the pinwheel is waiting for more yarn to do the sleeves (that thing went so fast!) and now I am starting a tomten jacket for Kelsey. Wow, can you say progress? I am a bit impressed with myself, but reserving judgement until they are all finished objects waiting for Christmas paper. Oh my gosh, I hope I can find them at Christmas! I better go figure out where I will hide all my knitting booty.

Why, oh why?

2007-07-19T06:59:00.000-05:00

Okay, today I have a few questions.....The first one is why is it that weeds grow faster than flowers in my garden? I am looking out on a garden that could possibly be mistaken for a weed patch by the unsuspecting passerby and wondering this small question.....
Second, why do you have to make a bigger mess to clean up or organize an already overwhelming mess? This principle reigns supreme in my household...it is really funny to see my little girls, 12,9,8, when I decide to go upstairs. They all get this look of horror on their faces, and say, "our room might be a little messy, Marmee" and yes, they do call me Marmee ( how cute is that?) Of course, they are not cleaning or organizing their room (they are in a state of denial) but I am talking about my cleaning style...lol...if that is what you call it!
Third, why is it that when you find the knitting pattern you love, and get to the yarn store, it is a chore to find the yarn that you want in the price range you can live with...i.e. possibly justify to your husband...lol...and when you find the yarn you love, it is a chore to find just the right pattern for it? Inevitably, you think to yourself, "I should have gotten the pattern first...or I should have gotten the yarn first!! Does this happen to anyone else, or is it just me?
And, last but not least, how come the ratio of how much food a child spills right down the front of their shirt is directly proportionate to the public exposure said child will receive when there is no way they can change that shirt...or blouse?
Well, hope you enjoyed those little musings. Today is the first day of 2 weeks of remodeling, a bittersweet thing in my experience. It, too, is another thing that gets messier before it gets better. So, we will be eating sheetrock dust on our cereal, for one more time in our lives and I will be saying...just close your eyes and pretend it is sugar kids....lol. Happy Wednesday!

A breakthrough for Marmee!

2007-07-14T06:09:00.000-05:00

Well, I did it!! Thank you for the encouragement Peggy and June! And thanks for the jumpstart, little Ashley.
It is official, I now have 2 projects in my knitting basket at the same time, and wool on my wheel. Can life get any better? LOL
I found the cutest little pinwheel sweater idea that I am going to use for Mallory's Christmas present. I am making the little girls all sweaters and matching skirts, btw.I plan on making this with some bright multicolored wool, the kind that knits up "splotchy" with no patterning to the yarn.
The down side of choosing another project while you have one on your needles, is that you are focused on one thing...i.e.knitting, and when you look up to discover the perfect pattern, oh darn, not enough of the color yarn you want. So, .....................road trip!! And the drawback to that, is that my LYS is 40 minutes away.
So, there you have it, the ups and downs as I see it.

What is the deal??????

2007-07-12T06:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, I just have to know....what could possibly motivate an otherwise reasonably sane woman who has pounds of unspun roving at her side and a knitting project sitting next to her chair, to wander the internet looking at knitting patterns? What causes me to do this? It isn't like I am bored and need something to do, for goodness sake! I am sitting here looking at my basket of fluffy roving next to my sweet little Lendrum, just waiting for me to sit down and spend some time with them. I am spinning every day now ( and loving it, fyi) and have such a sense of purpose for the fluff, I mean wool...grin. Oh, and it is not like I am looking for a pattern to knit for my proposed Christmas presents, whose yarn is already decided and sitting so beautifully in a basket in my living room, calling my name. Oh, no, that would be way too reasonable and practical.....lol
The pattern that has caught my eye is a sweater for me!!! Now, when in the daylights am I going to fit this in???
Oh, what the heck, I am throwing caution and practicality to the wind, bring on the internet, bring on the pattern!!! I am woman enough for this......(I think)
Here is my temptation.....Simply Noro pattern, isn't it to die for?? I mean really, don't you want to add it to your project queue??Oh, yes,one more thing, of course, I want to spin for it!! ROFL So, what is the deal anyway?

I think I am really happy

2007-07-11T07:10:00.000-05:00

Here are two of my most favorite sights to behold. Not necessarily in the order of priority, lol.
First, is my handspun, plied and drying.....what a fulfilling sight!! It is an absolute ahhhhh moment, don't you think? All that time invested and now the return.....totally enough to make you believe in a god....lol And there is little Bisou, holding down the rest of the Merino for me....I still have a tad bit left to spin...haha

The next wonderful thing to see is my littlies playing happily.....
Who could ask for more? Here are Levi (9) and Mallory (8) having a grand tea party at the bar in the kitchen, bless em.

When I am surrounded by sights like this and have the love of a really great man, how can I help but have a happy heart?

Knitting and plying in progress

2007-07-06T13:49:00.000-05:00

I am so close to being done with this adorable little top. It is getting down to the wire now....I am on the downhill run.....The lace has turned out so gorgeous.
Today, I start on the tour de fleece. I am spinning for a Christmas project....wish I could say more, but the recipient might read this, so my lips are sealed. But, I will say that I am plying 2 bobbins full of lovely merino as we speak. I just love to spin....it gives me that same wonderful feeling of peace that hanging out clothes does.....it makes me go outside of myself and reach the flow of grace where everything is calm and peaceful and beautiful. Ahhhhh, I am missing my wheel already, lol.
I am only spinning for one gift this year, and I have the yarn for 5 sweaters that each of the littles has requested, pouring over my knitting books for hours.....(Levi wanted one with a crusaders cross for a really long time, but has instead decided on an aran....lol) I can't say anymore, oh, except that Aubrey picked out her gift too. This year, she wants a cute little tank with lace, as she is leaving me right after Christmas to go to Australia for 3 months, where it is summer then. Everyone else's gifts are surprises...at least, I think....wink, wink.
I have the most darling and intriguing friend, Peggy, who has the absolutely astounding ability to have more than one knitting project going at a time. She is amazing, check out her blog. But, anyway, she has inspired me to start a project to take out and one to work on here at home. I have avoided this in the past because I never wanted to neglect a project, I wanted to finish one before starting another....but I have so much to do knit-wise, that I see her wisdom. Thank you Peggy!
So, now I am off to my wheel and figuring out what new project to start......don't you just love it??

My Fourth of July gift

2007-07-06T13:43:00.000-05:00

Greg blessed me with the most wonderful clothesline. Here is my morning's work....maybe by afternoon I will have filled it up!! It is so big, I love it. What can compare to the time spent hanging out clothes? I love listening to the birds and contemplating life while I am hanging out the laundry.
I should have world peace figured out soon....or at least what I want to spin for next! LOL

Fairy gardens and vegetable gardens

2007-07-06T10:11:00.000-05:00

I love plants....think I got that from my mother.....anyway, I have some really nice gardens now and I wanted to share them with you. They are a work in progress and continually reminding me that I take too many breaks...lol. But I wanted to share them with you and let you see into my little corner of the world.

This is my fairy's corner of the garden, she lights up at night, isn't she darling?
Here is my vegetable garden, this year we have all heirloom seeds. We have 84 tomato plants and 3 rows of beans. The last picture is of my painted lady beans, they have red flowers, arent they lovely? They are a dried bean. The middle picture is my front porch, with my hanging baskets of sweet potato vine (thank you Maria, love those things....)
Anyway, welcome to my little gardens. I am going out to them today and I am excited to harvest all the new and different kinds of "ordinary" vegetables that were so ordinary in days gone by.

What an inspiration!

2007-07-06T08:48:00.000-05:00

It is an absolutely beautiful day here in Southern Kentucky! The birds are singing this morning and my children are smiling and laughing and happy to be alive.
I live with a constant source of inspiration to be more than I am. My children are each an inspiration to a different part of my life. Yahweh knew I would need lots of inspiration, so...8 kids! LOL
Ashley inspires me to be sweeter and more understanding , Jared inspires me to go for anything I think is worthwhile, Marie inspires me to see beauty all around me and nurture it, Aubrey inspires me to stand up for and believe in myself (Anthony inspires me to reach for things I may not have even considered before (he isn't one of my children yet...but soon! ;) love ya man!), Mackenzie inspires me to look for the hidden things in people,because there is so much more to her than meets the eye, Zachariah inspires me to see with eyes that envision what could happen, because he is always wanting to fix the problem, Levi inspires me to believe the impossible, because someday he is going to invent a machine to cause it to happen, Kelsey inspires me to never put people in a box, because she has always come out of hers, and last but not least, Mallory inspires me to believe in the power of happiness, who else ALWAYS wakes up with a smile and a giggle?
Thank you children for all you do for me.......I am a much better person because of you all!!

I love holidays

2007-06-29T06:47:00.001-05:00

Man, are we looking forward to the 4th of July!!!!!

The kids have made it one of my favorite holidays. Sams sells fireworks here and we bought a big variety packof them. This is our first year to buy really big ones and the kids can't wait. We have them in the laundry room ( Greg says they should to be stored away from humidity) and they go out there and stare at the pictures of the fireworks on the package. (Like that is anything close to accurate...not!) and Levi came in and said, "Hey Marmee, did you know that some of the fireworks have glow in the dark fuses?" How awesome is that? Of course, I could probably ask him about any of the fireworks and he could tell my the name of it and what it is supposed to do!
We will tie dye shirts again this year, I guess it is tradition now. In this family, it really only takes one time of anything to make a tradition, but I like this one. The big girls really take care of everything and when you do the dying it is like Christmas when you undo it all, because they all turn out differently. I am going to try to get Greg in on it this year, he really needs a tie dye shirt...LOL Anyway, I think it is the only holiday that we have where we have something tangible to take away from the day. Something that we can touch and feel the fun and wonderfulness of the day and being together and making memories! So, the countdown is on here at the Thornton household. Hang on to your hats!

Churchill was a smart guy!

2007-06-29T06:05:00.000-05:00

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. Winston Churchill

I received this quote today in one of my emails. It is really a cute little email list by the Generous Wife....http://www.the-generous-wife.com/. It really made me stop and think! This applies to me so much as a mother and wife. I have the option every day to choose whether I give or get. Actually, I think if I give, it pretty much insures that I get, not that that is my intent, but it just happens. Kinda like Yahweh is just watching and waiting to reward a good choice. I want to make my life a life of giving...

Here's some Total Momsense

2007-06-28T10:27:00.001-05:00

Work in Progress

2007-06-26T15:54:00.000-05:00

This is the lovely little top I am making. It is called the Lotus Blossom Tank. I got the pattern for free when I subscribed to Knitting Daily at http://www.knittingdaily.com/.

I just love it and I am knitting it up in a gorgeous coral cotton. I have been working on it when the kids and I watch educational TV at lunch and when we listen at night to our book on CD. Right now, we are all listening to A Series of Unfortunate Events, and it is a bit hard to concentrate on both, so my knitting could probably go faster and I will have a chance to find out soon. We are on book 11th of a series of 13 books. They are awesome and the kids love them.

I took a picture of Bisou, my 4 month old long haired Chihuahua modeling what I have knitted so far. Isn't he just darling? The top isn't bad either! He is a great knitting companion, he and Lacy, my short haired Chi,( she is 3 years old)usually help me model almost everything I make.

Too Many Loves

2007-06-22T17:11:00.000-05:00

Today is one of those days where you sit and wonder, what should I do today? Now, normally, that would not be a problem, except that I have too many loves!
What I mean is, I love to do too many things. For instance, I think to myself, I think I will spin, but the second I do that, the thought pops into my mind that I need to finish the lovely little top I have on my needles at the present moment. Then, of course, I have all those tempting books I checked out of the library last week, and I could listen to a book on cd, while I knit on my top....but when I had one of the littles find the cd player, the headphones were no where to be found, so that shelved that idea. And I need to make more bread, we are down to one loaf, but that would mean firing up the oven in the middle of the day, bad idea....oh, wait, I know! I have that pattern that Ashley got me for Christmas for that cute swing top I want to make to go with my jeans, but I never did pick out any fabric for that, did I?
So, here I sit, typing my first blog entry, thinking I really need a schedule, and why in the world do I put myself through all the "enjoyment" of hobbies!! LOL