Southern Girl Musings

I have spent the majority of the day outside tilling the land for our garden. Yes, my arms, legs and back are sore but I know that it was work that will have a nice payoff for our family.

From childhood, I have had a love/hate relationship with the outdoors. I love the beach but not necessarily the woods, at least not after the age of 12. I share all of this because I think I have been outside more in the past few weeks than I have been during the last 7 years of marriage.

I finally was able to snap some pics the other day, so enjoy!

There are lots of flowers but right now, the azaleas are the only bloomers.

This is one of my favorite things in the house. There are lots of favorites, but this stone fireplace is just naturally beautiful.

I leave you with another item that is naturally beautiful.

My hiatus is over!! Moving is definitely not for the faint of heart and being without phone/internet is also not for the faint of heart.

It is pouring down raining and I have no pics to share in this post but we are getting settled in. Our new move has cost me my craft room so I am still trying to carve out some space but the trade-offs were well worth it.

The sun is scheduled to return on Thursday, so I hope to have some pics then especially of my magnolia tree before she loses all of her purple glory. I have been outdoors more than I can recall over the last 7 years of marriage. I was up on Saturday and out pruning the hydrangeas in the front yard before 8 a.m. Hubby and I are still discussing where the garden will go and I am adjusting to living on well and septic.

Our new home is only about 10 minutes from our old home but truly night and day in terms of suburban versus rural and remote versus close proximity. Combine those things with the ever increasing price of gas and I think twice about the trips that I make to ensure that I cover all that needs to be covered while I am out.

The kids are more than happy as they run and play all day. The next few days will be interesting due to the weather and Mommy not fully knowing where all of the craft related items are located.

I hope to catch up with each of you soon as I have missed ya’ll; however, I will be more like the tortoise than the hare as I continue to settle in and get myself together.

Peace and Blessings!!!

Oooh, I tell ya…I have missed ya’ll. I am just peeking in as it is getting late and I need to get some rest as there is much on my to do list.

I deeply appreciate the comments that have been made and the emails to check on me. Life is good but we are in the process of moving and that has taken on a life of its own. Closing is scheduled for next Wednesday (continued prayers are still appreciated) and I was in denial that I could continue doing some things like crafting but the reality is that I have had to quickly get out of denial.

The Princess has really taken to reading and what a joy considering I remember the days of internal screaming. Of course, the Prince is trying to keep up with her so the two of them go off together and read. You gotta love it!!

Here is our life in pictures:

The Prince wanted a sandwich the other day and I realized that we didn’t have any bread, problem solved.

We went to Baltimore and went to the circus with some other homeschoolers:

Our home church had a Resurrection Egg Hunt in the backyard:

And we have been packing:

I will be around sporadically at best for the next few weeks but will be back with lots to share and show.

Be blessed!!!!

That is what my life has seemed like lately. Thanks to all that did the spice quiz, fun wasn’t it? I promise that comments via email are on their way, I have just not had enough hours in my day, kwim!

I feel as though I am bursting at the seams, but I will start with some things that I have done:

Journal for a swap

More bread

I think daylight savings time has also messed with my internal clock as I feel off kilter a bit. I have not been blown away by some of the swaps that I have received so after I finish up what I am signed up for, that is taking a definite break. Additionally, I find that I am always making for swaps and never making for myself. That ain’t good!

Hubby and I heard from our realtor, the house we put an offer on in January after much back and forth, we have all come to agreement. Thanks for your prayers and now we need to find a suitable renter for our home. We have several prospects so continued prayers are appreciated. The new place has 2 acres, so I will get to be in touch with my inner farm girl. I won’t even begin to think about packing up our home, so yes I am in denial but need to get out of it soon.

All in all life is good and I won’t complain. This Sunday the Princess will celebrate 5 years since her liver transplant and while we are celebrating, we know that there is another family that is reminded of their loss. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us, so love and live today or in the words of Tim McGraw - live like you were dying. Peace!

Sara at The Learning Umbrella had this and of course what better way to liven up a dreary day than with a quiz….

You Are Cilantro

The bad news is that there are some people who can’t stand you. The good news is that most people love you more than anything else in the world. You are distinct, unusual, fresh, and very controversial. And you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Germ swapping is no fun!!! Hubby’s sickness continued to grow worse to the point that he has pretty much been a third child in the house. I sent him to the guest room but it was 1 day too late as I was sick (again) the last few days. However, I wasn’t able to lay in the bed like hubby because you know there was cooking, cleaning, schooling, and a host of other things to do around the house. He is on some antibiotics that have kicked in and he was able to go to class tonight and prayerfully he will go to work tomorrow.

I did try my hand at bookmaking for a swap and needless to say, I liked it, I really really liked it. I made an accordion book and also a book with a Japanese binding.

This is the front and back cover of the accordion book.

Here is the Japanese bound book.

I also had a real-life Raverly meet-up on Saturday. Pics can be found at Trish’s site. Here is my mom as taken by the Princess.

Confession time - I couldn’t make bread. I know, I know, some of you are just shocked but yes it is true, yeast and I never really liked each other. The other day, I made some turkey meatballs and when I looked at the long list of ingredients in my breadcrumbs, I was quite sad. Add this to the rising cost of bread, I thought that I would once again try my hand at bread making. Randi had a recipe and it looked pretty easy so I gave it a shot. Here is my first loafbaby after her 2nd rising, prior to the oven. I must admit that I was nervous because I think I should have kneaded the dough more so I did a little extra kneading in between the 1st and 2nd rise, thankfully, the dough was forgiving.

These are post baking photos, I did use 1/2 white flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour.

Three will be more bread making in my future!!!

There has been some making of stuff around these here parts by me and the Princess. She was in a swap for those little paper mache boxes and she had a set of sisters and these are her creations:

She received a really cute box from Bean’s daughter yesterday, but I don’t have a pic just yet. Bean makes some lovely items and you can purchase them in her Etsy store.

I was in an altered journal swap and my partner liked butterflies and paper crafts. I had too much fun with the mod podge and I am ready to go mod podge something else.

I was also in a creative felt pin cushion swap and it was fun to think about pin cushions in a different way. My partner is also from Maryland and since we are known for the blue crab, here he is:

I also made another pin cushion for her, I have a better pic but I guess I didn’t upload it:

I have lots more to do for other swaps and getting sick did not help my cause in the least bit.

Martha is having a 5 week Easter workshop if you are in need of some Easter crafting ideas.

She shows how to make some cute Easter egg cards -

and some cute bunny garland -

Happy making!!!

Thank you for all of the kind words while I have been a bit under the weather. I have been feeling better but when you are away from the blogosphere, you have so much to say that it can be paralyzing trying to make reentry, maybe it’s just me.

My throat is not 100% but it is better. The kids have some phlegm that needs to be coughed up but trying to explain that concept to little people, well let’s just say I wish it could be just sucked out. Hubby is feeling better but he always burns the candle at both ends.

I finally climbed Mt. Washmore but it is still a bit more climbing that I need to do.

So, what has been going on, you ask…last week we woke up to a mini ice storm. So here are some pics:

Last Saturday we went to a birthday party at ESPNZone in Washington, DC for our greatnephew (is that a word). He turned 7 and the kids had a lot of fun.

There has been some crafting going on but that will be another post.

I’m sick. I thought my Mommy supergenes would keep me from contracting whatever hubby and the kids had but my cape has to be hung up for a moment as my throat is killing me and I have the most difficult time swallowing and the body aches are coming. Thankfully the kids can actually do most of their work on their own so they are moving full steam ahead. Lest you think they were angels, the are testing their dear sick mom.

I am moving slowly today and my bloglines unreads are rising dramatically. I will catch up soon.

Hope your Wednesday is germ free!

So much to share, I just don’t know where to start….

Inspiration abounds nowadays and it feels good. We took a quick overnighter to my parent’s house and it was great as it allowed hubby to rest as he and the kids are now showing signs of colds. Thankfully they are not showing signs of the nasty flu that is going around. I found a nice pattern on Ravelry for a diagonal dishcloth.

We came home today to some mail packages. Talk about excited…first, there was an unexpected surprise from Anna at Sew Good Sew Far. I participated in her Pay It Forward and out of the blue today, came this cute pincushion.

I received a lovely swap from my partner on Swap-bot. She is from Belgium and the swap was for magazines and hot drinks. She sent me some lovely mags and oh the chocolate, I didn’t even photograph that because I didn’t want to make ya’ll jealous.

The magazines are Japanese crafting and French, crafting is an international language.

Aren’t these aprons too cute!

Tomorrow is the big race and I am hoping that my boy wins and wins big!! Can you say, start your engines!