Two Kid Schoolhouse
Consumable gifts Nov. 23, 2007
The reason my last post included scented candles as something to resist this Christmas is simple: I have received a lot of scented candles as hostess gifts, and we can't use them. Allergies in the family make most scented candles unbearable for some of us. So, I end up giving most of them away.
Some gift items I like to give to hostesses, or have been happy to receive:
a small potted plant
a box of tea, coffee, or hot cocoa mix
a bottle of wine (sparkling cider for nondrinkers)
some homemade sweet bread, wrapped ready to freeze - mini loaves are great
a small ornament for the tree - if appropriate
local farmstand jams, jellies, honey...
coffeehouse syrups for Italian sodas and espresso drinks
One year someone gave me a little pot of pansies. They brightened my kitchen windowsill for a few weeks, then I planted them outside. If I thought about it, I'd bet that cost less than a dollar, but boy it sure was a nice gift. I remember it and the giver after at least 3 years. The only reason I mention money is because hostess gifts can really stress people out if they have a small gift budget. I don't live like the frugal ladies, stashing thrift-store finds all year long. I don't have the space, the initiative, or the kids to go thrifting and stashing. (I don't like to torture my boy any more than necessary.)
Some homemade gifts we've seen in craft books or on the internet: felted soap scrubs, bath salts, glycerin soaps, lip balm...
Most people appreciate some good chocolate. Make mine dark, please! Of course you have to know if that's appropriate for the recipient. But if it's someone you don't know - for example, at your husband's (or your) work colleague's open house - most anything will work because they can pass it on if they don't like it. In my experience, an alcoholic beverage would be the only thing that could offend.
What other consumable gifts have you enjoyed giving or receiving? |
Comments (
1
) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
Christmas magazines Sep. 29, 2007
It's the season - Christmas magazines are all over the grocery store checkstands. I am always so attracted to them. But at $5.99 a pop for some, they are a little pricey. It burns me up a bit to think of how much money the publishers are getting for all that ad space, yet they still charge such a high price for the mag. But, in years past, it didn't stop me.
Last year I went through my collection of Christmas magazines and pulled out all the projects and ideas I could ever think of implementing. I tried to think ahead to my little E and what she might like. It was amazing how little I actually pulled out. I put it all in a binder in sheet protectors.
Now when I am tempted by this year's magazines, I have my book all ready. It's already out; not because I'm ready for Christmas projects but because I get itchy looking at the magazines on the racks.
I might get the Family Circle Christmas issue again this year though. In my experience (and to my taste) they seem to give the most bang for the buck. BH&G is always so beautiful but I find little to actually use there. It's a pleasure to look through the magazine, but there's not so much real content, and it seems like things repeat. How many different ideas for a mantel swag can there be, anyway? I am also looking forward to the winter issue of Seasonal Delights. Since I don't have a color printer I won't be keeping any of those beautiful pages in my binder. I'll have to start my online collection this year. |
Comments (
4
) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
Small things that bring happiness Sep. 23, 2007
Sometimes a very small thing can bring big happiness. Or big convenience. Or both.
I've complained a lot about the kitchen in my new house. The sink setup is pretty dippy. It's a double sink, but both are small and they occupy a corner. And, there is little counter space (8.3 linear feet - I measured - in 4 separate chunks) which doesn't leave much room for my drainer. Even with a dishwasher I do a lot of handwashing, and since I hate to dry dishes, I like my drainer. It was a dilemma - counter space, or drainer?
Enter a small thing that brought much happiness: my $3.99 "double sink drainer." This little wonder has made dishwashing and food prep much easier. It also helps my kitchen look nicer because the draining dishes are somewhat hidden in the sink, not in full view on the counter.
I never knew such a thing existed before I discovered I needed one!
What small thing has brought you happiness? Or convenience? Or both? It doesn't have to be something you bought. But I bet we all have some small thing that has made life easier or more pleasant in one way or another. |
Comments (
1
) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
Reusing dryer lint? Sep. 11, 2007
A few weeks ago I picked up a book on frugal living from the library. It didn't seem to be very well edited; there was a lot of repetition in it. For example, twice within the first couple of chapters the author assured the readers that this wasn't one of those frugal living books that talked about reusing dryer lint. I guess I should have been relieved to read that. But I was just curious: for what purpose do people reuse dryer lint? And, if they are reusing it, for what purpose did they use it the first time?
I'm afraid I didn't get far enough into the book to learn the answers. If anyone reuses, or just uses, their dryer lint, please enlighten me. I'd love to know what I'm missing out on. I just throw my dryer lint away. |
Comments (
4
) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
Do you live in a too-small house? Aug. 30, 2007
I'm looking for websites/blogs/books etc on creative ways to make space in a small house. Preferably using no money! I am feeling very challenged with fitting into our new house. It is about 1/2 the size of our old one! We've managed to get the kids and the furniture in (though one rocking chair should have been left behind, I think) but I need storage solutions. Or even just empathy!
C'mon, leave me a comment. I know people like me are out there! |
Comments (
1
) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
Post like these get me all fired up... Aug. 11, 2007
to simplify, to make my home look nicer, to be more frugal, more creative in my homeschooling. To be more deliberate, instead of always haphazard. To be more joyful. I don't actually do any of those things, but they make me want to.
Making home the best place to be from Life Along the Homeschooling Journey.
Living Well on Less... with Kids from Like Merchant Ships.
Simple Daily Journaling from Eyes of Wonder.
Be it Ever so Humble, There's no Place Like Home from Dishpan Dribble.
Abundant Provision from Falling Like Rain.
Right now we're still tripping over boxes and trying to find homes for things. Downsizing to about half the space is. um, challenging. We left a lot of furniture behind; in our old house there is a separate little bedroom away from all the others; it's now called Miss Havisham's room and it contains the antiques and other funky furniture that we knew wouldn't fit here. I'm thankful to have the place for it, even though I miss some of my - my mother's! - things. Well, maybe we will have them again, if we go back to that house, or a bigger house in the future. Now, it's time to get this house in order and make it a place we enjoy...
Today I told a friend of mine that I hadn't had much time to read blogs. Well, I wasn't lying... I just made some time today! |
Comments (
0
) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
Movable kitchen island Aug. 4, 2007
Jo Ann had a great idea for my new, storage-challenged kitchen - a movable island. This just might work and I am practicing for it now. In the middle of my little kitchen there are 2 packing boxes and a stack of cardboard waiting for Wednesday recycling day. As I move around my "island" I am seeing how it would work to have something real there. It just might work!
|
Comments (
0
) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
Pluses and minuses Aug. 1, 2007
Most things in life have pluses and minuses. Most every choice we make has a cost of some kind. Inspired by my recent move and this post of Kerri's, I've been trying to look more closely at the pluses than the minuses in my life.
For example, my new kitchen. I didn't realize that I had a palace kitchen in my old house. I knew it was big, and nice, but I didn't realize how much so till I moved in here. This is the smallest and cruddiest kitchen I have ever tried to cook in. Except, maybe, in a vacation cabin, though I haven't spent much time in vacation cabins. There are two sets of cabinets, both cheap and flimsy, and they don't match. Some of the cupboard doors look as though they had been chewed on by an animal. If I have my drain board up on the counter (which is my habit because I hate drying dishes), I have no space to cook. Truly, no space.
Somehow, I missed these flaws when I looked at this house in February. Oh, I knew about the ugly lime green countertops and backsplashes, but such things are relatively easy and cheap to change. But how did I not notice the chew marks? Or the fact that the corner sink setup is designed to get water all over the floor? I figure I am either really unobservant and looked too quickly, or God blinded me to because this was the house I am supposed to live in.
But... just to the right of the refrigerator there is a nice french door that goes out to my lovely, shady backyard. It's a really nice yard. My yard in Oregon was bigger, and more fun for the kids, but this yard... there are no mole holes in it! None! The grass is smooth and soft; we can walk around in bare feet. My old yard was bumpy from the mole holes and full of crabgrass, with no shade. Now I have shade trees and a nice spot for the hammock, and some pretty hostas in the corners. There is space for more plantings. We can easily eat outside now. In our other house, the backyard was not easily accessible. How can that be, you ask? You go out a door, and you're outside, right? If you had ever been in my house, you'd know what I mean. In order to eat outside, we had to sit on a hot, exposed-to-the-road deck or on the back porch. The back porch was shady in the evenings, but to get there from the kitchen we had to walk downstairs and through another room. That doesn't sound so bad but when you're trying to get food, utensils, etc. to the picnic table... it's not worth the hassle. Here, we are steps away from dinner outside. Or breakfast, as we are doing this morning before it gets too hot.
Of course with less space in the kitchen, there is less to clean!
For the past 3 mornings I have gone, alone, for walks. This has been a dream of mine for a long time. My new neighborhood is made up of quiet streets with pretty houses that are interesting to look at. I wander and ponder, thinking of inexpensive ways to personalize the front of our house. Wondering if flower beds in front would be worth the work, or if there's another way I can inject color. My old house was on a busy, windy, narrow-in-places road that was not so pleasant for walking. Walking is my favorite form of exercise, and I need more of it. During the move, I lost 10 pounds. All that packing, loading, unloading, stress... now I need to keep the weight off (and lose some more). Starting the new habit of walking will help.
When I looked out most windows in my old house, I couldn't see any other houses, just trees.... it was beautiful. But here I see pretty houses with flowers and green lawns. I see the homes of sweet older ladies who have already befriended us. We lost some privacy, but are gaining some friends.
I know more pluses and minuses will come up. But now I have to make cinnamon toast and get back out onto the shady back porch and read some more of Mathilda to my children. |
Comments (
2
) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
Repeat after me: right sides together Feb. 10, 2007
I've known how to sew since I was about 10 years old. In high school and beyond, I made many of my own garments. I am not a great seamstress, but I know the basics. Or at least I did.
I've been trying to make a top for my little E for some weeks. It's pretty simple except for the neckline. The instructions are clear but they baffled me. After sewing the front facing to the front, slash to the seam and then turn. I kept wondering how this would work out. The word "slash" made me nervous.
I kept looking it over to make sure all was well. I stitched the seam. Looked it over again. Time to slash. OK, do it.
The second I had completed the slash I realized why I had been so hesitant. The sewing was fine. But the pinning! I'd forgotten one of the first rules of sewing: right sides together!
After I stopped crying and calling myself an idiot, I found that the stiches ripped out easily and cleanly. I repinned. Rechecked. Restitched. Trimmed and turned and pressed. It worked!
Repeat after me: right sides together. |
Comments (
3
) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
Dreams do come true Nov. 16, 2006
This morning I wrote about last night's dream that my kitchen counters were completely clear of clutter (nice alliteration, huh?). But this morning they were so bad that in order to find C's cellphone when he was leaving for work, he had to call it and dig for it under some papers.
That was after I read Psalm 94 and this jumped out at me:
8Understand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
9He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
OK, it just seemed to me like it was related, somehow.
Well tonight I made my dream come true. My counters are wonderfully clear of junk and there is actually space to work! If the kids and I go through with our plan to try a new dessert recipe tomorrow, we will be able to do it without fear of knocking something off the counter!
But the weekend is coming... so it will take a lot of effort to keep it this way...
|
Comments (
1
) :: Post A Comment! :: Permanent Link
|
|
|
|
About Me |
|
Musings of a slacker homeschool Mom
|
|
|
|
