And so it begins again...

...another year of homeschooling for the Creamer kids. It's our ninth year to be exact! This year's main focus is going to be learning about the beginnings our of country and the intent (and documents) of our founding fathers. There are great historical lessons to be learned there as well as studies in character and moral development. Our goal is to instill moral ethics based not only on our religious beliefs, but also on strength of character and knowledge of the rights and privileges granted to us by our forefathers.
I hoping for a great year!
Best wishes and prayers for our other homeschooling friends and families!

Yarn Lurve

I am currently LOVING Peaches & Creme 100% cotton worsted weight yarn!
The colors, the textures, the feel of it on the loom is wonderful.
I find myself making dozens and dozens of washcloths and dishcloths...

eventually I'll branch out into something else....

...or not!

SQUEEEEEEEL!

The Commercial Pattern Archive is having a FREE week this week!

Over 48,000 vintage pattern records with images of the pattern designs and small scale pattern pieces dating from 1868 - 2000 will be free to everyone for one week starting
Wednesday August 19 through Tuesday August 25.

To login use the username: "guest" and the password: "pattern"
Select Instructions for directions to get started.

You can print any of the vintage patterns from the originals.
Check it out!

The end of summer...

Despite the 98+ degree temps daily, I can feel this season coming to a close.

The garden is spent with the exception of my pepper and eggplant plants who LOVE the hot Texas summer! It finally got weeded and I cut back all my tomato plants. I'm hoping they'll grow back and give me another harvest before the end of November. I am hoping this because of the heirloom varieties I planted. Each of the base stalks were very thick and healthy and had lots of new growth up top. I can't find anything on the internet about regrowth after cutting them back.
If they don't grow back, that's fine. We've got plenty saved up in the freezer and lots more seeds for next year.

The little birds have eaten the last of the sunflowers.
Just empty hulls and dried heads remain.

And trips to the pool are getting fewer and fewer. There's too much to do with work and getting ready for a new school year. But I still love the sight of beach towels and swim suits drying in the sun!

Yeah, I'm definitely ready for this season to move on!
Bring on the Fall....and cooler temperatures....PLEASE?

Got Herbs?

Medicinal herbs, that is.

I thought I'd have to wait a good two years before harvesting herbs from my medicinal garden. I was sure surprised to see these pretty little feverfew flowers blooming this weekend!

There are no more than a handful right now but I'm still tempted to dry them (and some of the leaves) then make a tea from them the next time I have a really bad headache!
Also, bees and bugs won't go near this stuff, so I'm thinking of steeping some in the sun and putting the liquid into spritzer bottles for some non-toxic insect repellant.

Read more about this amazing herb HERE!

Menu Plan Monday

My weekend went waaaayyy too fast! I haven't done any shoppin or planning for this week's meals! I'm so thankful for the summer harvest in our freezer. This week's meals are all about using up freezer and pantry surplus!

Monday: Spaghetti squash with homemade tomato sauce and artisan bread. I'll just put out the freezer packs of squash and sauce to defrost, and make a quick batch of artisan bread for the fridge before going to work. Doug can heat all of this up with a little parm. cheese and pull off a hunk of dough for bread about an hour before I get home!

Tuesday: Roasted chicken and wild rice. I buy whole roaster chickens when on sale and put them in the freezer. I'll season two of them before heading out to work and Doug can pop them in the oven during the day. I have some packages of wild rice (also on sale) in the pantry that we'll cook up with some organic chicken stock.

Wednesday: Black eyed peas and corn bread. I ALWAYS have a surplus of dried beans on hand! I'll soak these the night before and put them in the crock pot with a ham hock from the freezer.

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner. We have too many eggs in the fridge that need to be used up! I'll scramble them up and make some fluffy homemade biscuits and serve with homemade fig preserves.

Friday: Split pea soup. Again, lots of dried beans and peas in the pantry! I have a nice pack of split peas that can cook in the crock all day long. Will serve with artisan bread and butter.

Saturday: I think we'll order pizza and rent a movie for the kids and Doug and I will go on a date! It will be a busy week and we deserve a little time for just us!

Sunday: Baked potato bar. I have some large baking potatoes in the pantry that need to be used up. Will top with butter, cheese, and keifer sour cream...and whatever else we can find in the fridge!

You know, looking back over this I realize that I won't have to do any shopping this week! It pays to stock up when you find sales!

Crafty crap I want to make...

Wine Bottle Torches

Yoda Hat

Stitching Little Hands

Vertical Vegetables

Freezer Paper Stenciled T-Shirts

Alphabet Magnets

Hand Carved Stamps

Succulent Tea Party

...all of this AND plan for my Fall garden!

Sunflowers

They are a thing of beauty, aren't they?

I LOVE growing sunflowers in the summer time!
I especially love the gigantic Mammoth variety of sunflower. The stalks grow over 12 feet tall and have magnificent blooms that attract ladybugs and other beneficials to the garden. I let my seed heads dry on the stalks this year and I absolutely luuuurrrrvvvve how they turned out!

I'm thinking of taking some and making a dried arrangement for the house.
The others will get strung up with wire and hung from trees or laid out on picnic/patio tables for our sweet cardinals and rotten birdfeed stealing squirrels to enjoy.

There will be time for all of that later...

...because right now I'm going to have a cup of tea and enjoy the last fruits of summer.

Making your own relish

I love a good relish on a hot dog or sandwich!

Every Friday we make tuna salad for lunch and I just happened to look at the ingredients on the jar of relish...HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP was on the label!
Really? Why the need to put that crap in relish?
So I had a thought about chopping up some of my lactofermented bread and butter pickles to use instead.

I wish I had thought of it sooner! This relish was awesome!

The relish tasted very fresh and added great flavor to the tuna because of the honey/vinegar/onion combo in it. It was a great way to sneak in probiotics and remove another avenue of HFCS into our diets.
If you've made some bread & butter pickles this year with your excess cukes, I highly recommend running them through the processor for your own relish. If not, run down to your local farmer's market for cucumbers and local honey and make a batch or twelve today!

Here's the recipe for a wonderful lactofermented b&b pickle/relish....

your gut will thank you!

Rebatching soap

Ever wonder what to do with all those little scraps of soap? Rebatch them!
My very very favorite type of soap is a wonderful little handmade goat's milk soap. It's difficult to use once it's just a sliver, but too precious to throw away, so I saved them up along with other bar soap scraps to make whole new bars.

Only use REAL soap! "Beauty bars" like Dove are not real soap and won't work for this process.

Grate your soap scraps and put into a crock pot. Pour in 1/8th to 1/4 cup of milk (the cream from raw milk works beautifully!) and a teaspoon of olive or coconut oil. Let the mixture melt over about an hour. Add essential oils and any ingredients you like:

green tea
oatmeal thats been run through the food processor
dried rose petals
lavender
dried rosemary
cinnamon
...the possibilities are endless and the experimentation is fun!

Then pour into molds and leave overnight. Don't do like I did with my first batch and not spray the molds with a quick release spray (Pam also works!). Allow the soaps to cure once out of the mold for about a week. The longer they cure the better they lather!

I'm really loving my vanilla bean hand soaps!
Plus, the boys are a little more eager to wash up with something we've made ourselves, and anything that leads to more handwashing is a good thing!

Here's the green tea and spearmint soap I made for the boy's bathroom...
I just hope they don't try to eat it!

Meal Plan Monday

My 'make-ahead' meal planning is really working for our family!
It has been a real help to Doug who is home with the kids all day (AND trying to run a full time business)! It's so nice not to have to worry about what's for dinner. Plus, after a long day at the hospital, it is VERY nice to be able to come home and eat a hot meal with the family...and left overs make for great lunches the next day!

Monday: Cabbage Rolls. I'll make these up Sunday night before going to bed and put them in the crock pot. All Doug has to do is put them on to cook that morning when he gets up...and maybe make a salad to go with it!

Tuesday: Spinach Lasagna. This is a very easy make ahead dish when using the no-cook noodles. I'll assemble this before going to work and Doug can pop it in the oven about an hour before I get home.

Wednesday: Shredded BBQ Pork Sandwiches. A pork roast will go into the crock pot with a bottle of really good sauce to cook low and slow all day long! Will serve with a little pasta salad.

Thursday: Chicken Fajitas. Meat for this meal was cooked on Saturday so all Doug has to do is heat and serve with all the fixings.

Friday: DINNER OUT!

Saturday: Homemade Pizza. Doug has a wedding to shoot so it will be just me and the kids. They love making their own individual pizzas using artisan bread.

Sunday: Baked Ziti and Homemade Garlic Bread. Will use some homemade sauce from the freezer for this quick dish.

We've created a monster!

Little Miss Abby was found occupying my side of the bed this evening...

I know what you're thinking girls...

...but he's MINE...all mine!

IRONY...

The kids are on the floor and the dog is on the couch!

Space Center Houston

The boys wanted to go to Space Center Houston last week...so we went!
If you're ever in the area, you can get $5 discount coupons at McDonald's
AND another $3 off if you purchase online!