He Might Be Right!

Making Stuff

I've been busy! I feel like I've accomplished some things this week.

This is quite easily one of the easiest projects out there...All you need is a pair of sharp scissors and fabric. You can use old clothing, old sheets, felted wool....really anything works..except 100% polyester. I've found it curls. Here, again, is a great link.

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And I've been making bunnies. I ordered something off ETSY, and the seller sent me one as gift! Immediately I started making them for the kids and their friends. It's a great use of scrappy fabric, and you instead of stuffing them, you can leave the bottom open and have a puppet!

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This really surprised me. Amelia is 5 and check it out:

A momma bird with her babies on a sunny day!
I'm impressed!

Have a great weekend! ~Karen

Timeless wisdom of Fred Rogers

"Imagine what our real neighborhoods would be like, if each of us offered as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person.

One kind word has a wonderful way of turning into many."

~Fred Rogers

You can sign up for the monthly quote too. Go here.

A New Pet & An Old Toy

Miles was being so secretive the other day. He was running around all excited. Finally he told me he could show me his new pets' cage! New pet? No, not another one!

This is one I can live with! It's a puppet!
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Kevin found his old gameboy!

I made it a bag.

The best part is how cheap the games are. Maybe that is because it is a decade old? Who knows...but, it is good fun. Miles likes all the beeping sounds.
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Have a good week!
Come back for more fun & I promise to keep my gloating (about health care and whatever else I can come up with) to a minimum....
~Karen

Yo, Sara Palin...That hope & change is working....

For the first time in our nation's history, Congress has passed comprehensive health care reform!!!

Yes, we can!
~Karen

Garden Planning: Indoors and Out

Here is the NEW vegetable garden. I am so excited! Last years' garden is going to be acorn squash and butternut squash ONLY ! Oh my! I can hardly wait. I will have delicious home grown squash year round. Nothing is better than curried squash. You can store both of these for months after cutting them from the vine. I have stored for more than 3 months before. Last year we had great yields but could have had more if there hadn't been so many other vegetables around it.
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Um....Pretty sure Gordon is a girl. Looks like he's nesting to me?
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Look here:

Fun air plants!! Rocks, charcoal, and air plants. Remember to mist daily.

Here is a mossy mess. I love it. Amelia painted that rock red for Father's Day one year.

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We've definitely got the SPRING bug!
Enjoy the weekend!
~Karen

Spring, Flying Gerbils, and Monkey Fighting

Is it possible to have run out of things to blog about? Probably not, but I don't feel creative or interesting today. I am tired.
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I made these kitchen towels to bring in SPRING. Then it got down in the 50's and required a wee bit of heat in the house. Spring is such a tease in southern Indiana. I do see signs of Spring in the flower garden! I know ...eventually...it will be here to stay!
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Gordon, the gerbil, bit me. It was kind of my fault. Amelia wanted me to make him a costume. I thought a cape would be easiest. If you have a cape, you must fly. SO, Amelia terrified the little guy, and then handed him off to me....and I got bit. It hurts. I guess it was kind of my fault. Lesson learned: Never make your gerbil a cape.
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~Karen

Crochet & Films

I know. I know. It is scrap-tacular! I definitely look forward to using up all future scrappy yarn for another one like this. I hope my friend likes it. If she sends me a thank you card, I will go to her house and take back the blanket. Seriously. I am having some guilt over the cards I should have sent this person and others....Oh my. I was raised to thank a person properly.
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We watched Food, Inc last night. They aren't kidding when they say you'll never look at food the same way again. I knew a lot about the movie because PBS recently ran a show about the film and the filmmaker. I highly recommend it. It is so sad how the American farm is now ran by corporations....and they don't always have our best interest in mind.



Your local library should have it! Get it today.

Art, Plants, Pets, and Torture

Miles drew me! I love it. I look kinda mad in this picture. You don't want to know what the lines are. If you muuust know I will email you, but otherwise you are better off not knowing. Trust me on this one.
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I know there is a night time function on my camera, but I couldn't find it, so I had to use flash. Miles has had horrible nightmares lately....Ralphie starting sleeping with him, and they have ended. It's nice having the dog out of our bed too. :)
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We have a new baby:

A pineapple plant!
I hope it likes loud drumming. ;)

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Gordon, the gerbil, being tortured by toddlers:

Notice the pictures are blurry? Yeah, they move him around a lot.

I think one of them said "OHHHH. He's so cuuuuute."
I do agree, but I wonder why the heck he doesn't bite the kids. I am glad he doesn't. If I was that gerbil, I would have definite anger issues. I would be letting Mimi know I hate "flying" around the house high in the air!

~Karen

Giving Back to Barbie

I think I've mentioned the naked Barbie phenomenon? Yeah. My Goodwill only carries naked ones. So, to give Barbie back some dignity, if that is even possible, I have launched a clothing line.

With ric rac trim, it is all the rage.
I predict this will spread to women across the world....
Let me know your measurements and your favorite ric rac color!
~Karen

Gerbils, Spring, Repurposing & Other Randomness

Here's Gordon in his plastic ball. He has the run of the house in this thing. Yesterday Amelia told me I am Gordon's grandma! OUCH! :)
Oh, I have a tip for all the future gerbil owners out there: Use a dab of petroleum jelly on the tip of the water bottle and this will prevent lots of leakage. I cleaned that cage twice and even bought another bottle before someone shared this gem with me....
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Spring is here. I think it will rain most of the week, but that's okay. I am glad to see winter is over. Now we can start planning the garden. We are more than doubling it this year.
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This was a crib skirt! What a waste! I took it apart and made pillows. The kids really like them.
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Miles is sad his sister is at school. He is handling it better this week. He doesn't want to play. He said he wanted "alone time."
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And finally....

I love these old metal hot plates...but, they are heavy. So, I've started hanging them up in easy to grab places. And I discovered they are....

magnetic! Sweet! Now I can stick a recipe there without getting it all dirty!

Have a great week!
~Karen

I'm not dead yet!

We got a new dryer. The directions have sat on the counter for about a week or so. Kevin pointed this part out, and told me to just read this part and I'd be okay. Oh my....

Scrappy Yarn Project

I always have little balls of scrappy yarn around. It's rarely enough for an entire project. So, without a plan I decided to make a blanket using all the scrappy yarn. As you can see there is no specific color scheme. It really is about using all that yarn. Now I have about 100 more rows to go....and then we will have a nice sofa throw. The pattern I used is for a dishcloth, and it is here. I took that pattern and made it bigger.

Is it Friday yet? I am tired!
~Karen

Crafting & Preschool

Miles has been having nightmares lately. Did I mention they occur around 3 am? Yeah. So, we have tried everything from reasoning with him to books that deal with this topic. Nothing has worked. SO, I borrowed an idea from fiction books...Meet the invisibility cloak:
One side is a soft cotton, while the other side is flannel.

The idea of a cloak that makes you invisible is an old one. I told Moe the blanket will say "bye bye" to nightmares. For some reason, it worked. He sleeps in his bed, and doesn't come in ours at 3 am. He is quite pleased that I made it especially for him. It makes me happy to see it being treasured.
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I FINALLY finished the rug.

I am pleased with it. I am more pleased to be done! I think I will go back to smaller ones. Kevin calculated how many stitches it took. I don't want to know. I know it took tooooo many!
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Mimi started preschool today, and she loved it. She said she enjoyed her time away from Moe and me. :) I think she was ready for the break. I was surprised how hard it was on Moe. He cried for his sister, and talked about how much he missed her. When we picked her up he hugged her three times. It was sweet. He told her it was horrible without her. I guess I am not much fun? I will try harder tomorrow!

Have a great week!
~Karen