craftymommavt's Xanga

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:17:42 GMT

Thinking about dusting off the old blog......and continuing the saga.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 23:25:32 GMT

We have a new addition to our family. Meet Beasley Bunny.

We've had him almost a week now and he is sweet and lovely and frisky and fun.

He is ten weeks old and now weighs between 7 and 8 lbs. He is of the Flemish Giant breed, rabbits that grow up to be 18-20lbs.

Here's a pic I snagged of a grown up Giant Flemish.

Yup, they get to be BIG!!!!

Sunday, August 08, 2010

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 15:36:10 GMT

Well, since it is the weekend, I bet I can handle two blogs in a row!

One of our big projects this summer was to finish our kayak trailer before we went camping. I got the frame last summer at a yard sale for $30. In the late spring, my dad offered to take the frame and fix the wiring harness, get the tail lights working and to clean, grease and repack the wheel bearings. About two weeks before camping, I was registering the trailer, getting a trailer hitch put on my car and then we started making the body and kayak frame for the trailer.

Here's the before shot.

Here's the trailer with the box made and the uprights on which to strap the kayaks.

Nature Boy wanted the trailer to look "natural" so I let him pick some stain at Lowe's and he stained most of the pieces himself. We cheated too, and got one of the stains and polyurethane all-in-one stuff....But it made the process go much faster!

And here is the trailer packed with camping gear in the bottom and the kayaks on the top.

Not too shabby, eh? It was actually wonderful as it was easy peasy to load up the kayaks.

Now, I had never driven with a trailer before. And we really only finished the trailer the day before we left for camping, so I had trailer driving baptism by fire. It went fine, but I can't back it up very well yet! Luckily, it is light enough that we can unhitch it from the car to move it around! And I am sure I will get more practice at maneuvering it.

And speaking of camping, the butterfly on yesterday's blog was one we saw at our campsite. We had never seen that kind of butterfly (the campground was about two hours south of where we live, likely it's too cold up here) before. It is a Red-spotted purple.

K...gotta run, lunch is ready. I'll try to blog at least once during the week!

Saturday, August 07, 2010

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 20:09:01 GMT

Okay, okay....When three people ask about my blog within four days, I guess it means its time to get back on the horse!

Summer has been very busy around here. I am still getting used to this whole working full-time thing. It is still an adjustment! Do you know, it will be a year at the end of this month that I've been working!!! The time sure goes fast when your weekdays are busy!

So, the biggest news around here is that we have found a house. We had been looking since April and not finding much on the market that met our criteria. The houses we did look at needed lots of work ($$) to be nice. They were all move in ready, but needed big fixes done asap (like roof, repairing pipes that had frozen, new septic systems, etc). In the first week or so of July, our realtor found a house that she thought we would like....And we love it!!!

The house has tenants in it right now (the daughter of the owner) so we won't be able to move in until later this fall...But we have a contract on it, we've had it inspected, we've got a commitment from our mortgage company for it.....Things are moving along!

The house is located off a dirt road off a side road about 5 miles from where we live now. It is on 3.6 acres of land, woods (pine trees), small yard, and meadow. The house actually comes with 5 acres, there is a long and narrow jog across the street where the property continues down to a stream.

The house is set back and private and it is so quiet! But, it is about two minutes from a general store and really no further than we already travel than where we are now.

And yes, I do have pictures.

The house.

The woods and meadow (the meadow is down hill from the house).

And though it was hazy the day we were taking pictures, there are some very nice views of the foothills at the bottom of the mountain.

So, now we are just biding our time....We drive by the house about once a week to "visit" it.....We can't wait to move in. Keep your fingers crossed that it all works out for us!!

Okay, so about blogging. A wise woman pointed out to me this week that I don't have to blog every day, I could blog a few times a week. I think I will try this. And I've got a bit of catching up to do, so I won't be at a loss for things to chat about!!!!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Wed, 26 May 2010 23:03:20 GMT

It's a bento blog today. (So, those of you on Facebook may have seen these pics before.) Plus a word about our weather.

I'll start with the weather....HOT! Okay, isn't it May? And isn't this Vermont? And don't you think three days of 90 degree temps is a bit much? Well, I sure do. I am meltingly hot. The heat just zaps the energy out of me. Luckily, I am not cranky. (I think it is true, I think NB and dh would concur.) Luckily, we are supposed to have some normal temperatures over the weekend. I. Can't. Wait.

So, you likely recall my recent bento find. I must say, I am sooo loving my bento. It is great for portion control, but honestly, it is just plain fun to pack and have little bits of good food.

Here's what I have been packing over the last week or so.

Strawberries, dried cherries, cous cous salad, snap peas, sliced turkey.

Leftover potato salad, snap peas, teddy grahams and sunbutter on cinnamon raisin bread.

Teddy grahams, snap peas, strawberry yogurt, apple slices, peanut butter and one coconut marshmallow (you are right spinner_mom...so yummy!)

Sliced turkey with pepper jack cheese, snap peas, strawberry yogurt, carrot slaw and my HK container with sweet vidalia onion for the slaw.

Yum!!!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Mon, 17 May 2010 19:15:52 GMT

K.....I know it was weeks ago...But I have pictures of those baby shoes to share.

You may recall I started them when I was working on the bibs.

Yes, now you remember!

And the shoes in progress:

And finished:

(How about that picture...That's when I was about to wrap them and then realized I hadn't snapped a picture yet!)

So, they were totally fun to make and I will definitely make them again. A lot of people squeeed over them at the baby shower. And I had encouragement to make and sell the bibs and shoes.

I do love to sew! And baby things are so much fun to sew.....Luckily, there is another baby due in the fall at work. I will get a chance to do some more sewing.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Sun, 16 May 2010 23:46:11 GMT

We had quite the day today. Just busy....though I even got in a nap. As a matter of fact, I slept longer than I expected and thus am wide awake now, when I should be making my way to bed. However, my wakefulness is your gain....I will blog.

We are nearly done our chicken coop. I know, I know....you thought it was finished last summer. But dh built the nesting box bump-out (it is made so you can access the nests from outside the coop) in the winter and at that time we just put in some cardboard boxes for them to lay in. Today, dh put in 5 gallon buckets for nesting boxes. He cut off most of the bottom of the buckets and then we laid them on their sides. The chickens go in the top opening of the bucket and we can reach in through the bottom to get the eggs. Mind you, this is while the bucket is on its side, so top and bottom are really front end and back end.

Now, I just have to put some white trim on the coop and it will be done to my satisfaction.

I also got out the mower and did the first mow down by the coop. Some of the grass was pushing knee high (amazing how in some places the grass grows so lush) so I had to mow it into submission.

I have pictures of my lunch for tomorrow. I am loving the Bento box and enjoy the fun of putting it all together each evening. It actually makes me think more about what I am eating and I think I make better choices because of that. Also, because it takes some time to prepare, I make it the night before, so no last minute scrambling in the morning to make my lunch.

Here's tomorrow's lunch.

In the box that is layered on the bottom of the bento, I have my yogurt (blueberry), a slice of turkey cut in two pieces, and cous cous salad (So, yummy! From the Hannaford deli, you should try it!). You can see, I have the silicone baking cups to hold the yogurt and cous cous.

The box that is the top layer has strawberries. (Kinda obvious, I know).

The boxes go together like this.....Snap the lid on the bottom box.

It has a groove around the edge so the top box will set nicely on it. Then I snap on its top.

Next, is the cover. This fits over the top and comes down the sides. There is an elastic band that goes around the whole thing to keep it together.

And then I have a tidy little bundle waiting in the fridge until morning.

For those of you who know me, you can see that this totally obsessive way of packing a lunch is right up my alley....little containers, planned food, tidy packaging....Squee!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Tue, 11 May 2010 23:01:34 GMT

Okay, okay....You point out my empty blog and yes, I will fill it. (You know who you are.)

Today, I will talk about Bento Boxes.

Bento Boxes are small lunch boxes that are used in Japan. I have long been attracted to Bento Boxes, but never had the courage to order one online (because I couldn't touch it and be sure I liked it). I certainly had never seen any in stores around here either. I did one time see some lovely tiffins....But never a bento box. Until Sunday.

Sunday, as we were trying to multi-task after church, dh and I ran to Border's which is only a half block away from church. (NB was still in his Religous Ed class as it gets out 15 minutes after church ends). We needed to pick up a book for NB for school...But since we were there, I wandered past all the cute little cosmetic cases and pencils cases and laminated fabric bags....If you ever go in Borders, I think you know what I am referring to.

I stumbled across.....A bento box. An inexpensive one at that! I drooled on it a bit, and dh whisked it out of my hands with a "Happy Mother's Day." And so the bento came home with us.

Here it is.:

So, it is two oblong containers, one shallow, one deeper with lids. Then there is a lid that covers it all and a strap to hold it together.

Here's a pic to give you an idea of what the containers look like.

My box doesn't actually have dividers, so I am using silicone baking cups for dividers. I even cut one down to custom fit the height of my short box.

And here is what it looks like all strapped together.

Now, some folks get all fancy with packing their bentos...But I just pack them for lunch. They are small lunches, but I find them just the right size for work.

Monday, I packed 1.5 hard boiled eggs with salt and pepper, strawberries and some applesauce. Today, I had carrots and celery sticks with peanutbutter, yogurt, banana chips and one square of chocolate. Tomorrow, I have packed yogurt, cucumber sticks with vidalia onion dressing and a sunbutter sandwich on raisin bread (quartered so I could fit the bread in the bento.)

I am quite satisfied with this tidy little box system for my lunches!!!!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:34:47 GMT

I have had so much fun sewing the past two days!

But first of all....It's snowing! Yup, that's right. We have had heavy wet snow coming down since first thing this morning. As of right now, I'd say we have 5". We are due for 6"-12". Honestly, I don't mind...It is pretty and likely our last real snow of the season. And it won't be here long....We are forecast to have highs of 69 in just a few days.

So, I have pictures today. You remember the fabrics I got for the baby gifts?

Since I ditched the burp cloth idea, I decided to make bibs and baby shoes. I got some PUL at Joann's to back the bibs and for backing pockets I put on the bibs.

I found the sweetest ribbon at Joann's that matched the bibs perfectly. I ran it along the top of the pockets and used the ribbon for ties.

I made five coordinating bibs.

I think they came out very cute and have a sort of "boutique" kind of look to them. I love the fabrics.

I also have been working on baby shoes....But I'll save that for another day.

I have to say, I am feeling quite relaxed and recharged. I have had five days off in a row and it has been delicious. I have had time to sew, enjoy my family, draw, clean, putter.....It's been nice. I do at times miss the whole sahm gig as I really enjoy keeping house and home.

Oh! Speaking of which!!!! (Not really, but the polar opposite: being a working mom). We got our commitment letter from our bank for our mortgage!!! Now, we can start house hunting in earnest. (Mind you, we already have a realtor and have driven past a dozen houses or so....) We hope to be in a new home by late summer.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:25:02 GMT

You thought I was lapsing again, didn't you? Really, I just get busy and it stretches into days of busyness. I didn't mean to let it go so long, I even uploaded pictures late last week to blog, but again...The busyness kicked in.

Yesterday was a wonderful day. It was mild and breezy and sunny. We took our kites out after lunch and spent two hours flying them. My kite went so high! (I have the longest kite string). Nature Boy's went high too.....I got him one of the cheapo plastic kites from the grocery store. My experience is that those cheap kites fly very well...And his sure did! I used to fly kites a lot as a kid and have good luck with kites. So much fun!

I also started sewing up the baby gifts as the shower is on Friday. I gave up on the burp cloth idea because the Gerber diapers I got were just terrible quality and I didn't want to put time and effort into a project with cheap quality base fabric, iykwim! So, instead I made bibs. Which reminds me....

JOANN'S NOW SELLS PUL!!!!!! (Yes, it should be shouted from the rooftops so everyone knows!) I am so happy.....I wish they'd carried it sooner, but better late than never. It is 58" wide, $10/yard (grab those 50% coupons!) and comes in a variety of pastels, blue, pink, green, aqua, as well as white. I will say, it is fussy to sew with as it is both sticky and stretchy, but I am very happy with how the bibs came out.

Today, I am working on baby shoes and I must say, I have one done and it is tooooo cute!!!! Yes, I will have pictures, but they are on the camera and not on the computer yet.

I do however have pictures of Nature Boy's squabs. So exciting!

Both the parents have been sitting on the nest.

We took one away and look.....Peeking out from under Mom, a squab!

Peel Mom away, and.......Squabs!

I believe I took those pics on Thursday. Yesterday, we peeked at the squabs again and they have doubled in size and have lots of feathers coming in. I am always amazed at how fast birds grow.