Light yourself a candle

The end has come..
A week or so before Ollie was born, I was supposed to be on bed rest. I was utterly convinced that my life was over, and that I would have no time to do anything that I wanted to anymore. So, I became a candle making factory. I poured, melted, and waited for days. I used old candles, hemp wicks, coffee mugs, and 2 or 3 molds I picked up from garage sales, including the turtles pictured above. That was almost 6 years ago, and everyone I give gifts to has gotten at least-usually more-candles over the years. I burn them. And, they are just now dwindling to the last few ones. I only have a couple of the these homemade candles left. I used an old crock pot and pot and let the wax melt and simmer, then poured, let them dry, then topped them off, then waited. I have kept all of the candle making materials, so who knows, maybe we'll do it again soon, but dear friends, you may not find them in your Christmas baskets next year.

Oh the history books tell it

One of our projects from this week included making our own ink from blueberries, vinegar, and salt. We then used our new quill pens to write on scrolls or parchment. We are reading Harry Potter, so the kids thought this was very cool, but quills are also used historically, of course, too.

This led Ollie to want to write in cursive.. Great little project. I found these pens and recipes for ink for only $3 at our local historical mansion gift shop. They have several great, inexpensive toys like: wooden jump ropes, ring tosses, pick-up sticks, yo-yos, excavation kits, etc, -all for less than $5 each.

Love that country pie

Our homeschool adventure for the week was to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Evan got to go with us, and we spent the entire time in the old country part of the museum.

A car with guns..

Elvis's gold piano...

Lester Flatt's guitar..

Bill Monroe's mandolin...

And, Eli's favorite, a bear, shot by Hank Williams, Jr. Eli spent some time checking out the bear's butt...

And then over to the Schemerhorn where these two gentlemen demonstrated the difference in a fiddle and a violin...A great day in Music City, USA.

Please tell her thanks a lot

So speaking of Christmas and all, I love thank you notes. I love hand written notes or cards of any kind. My grandmother did, too, and was often the first one to send Christmas cards. Now, I'm not that good, but I did inherit all of her old cards - boxes and boxes of them. They are all from the 80's and below. Some do not have envelopes and most, if not all were probably purchased at garage sales. I have a drawer full of postcards organized by states in ziplock baggies. I hope to write each card in my lifetime..I will never buy another card or envelope, but I will continue to send them for years and years. Thanks again, Sunny, for a wonderful legacy of friendship and family. (And, thanks, Mom for making me write them all of those years...)

He says, "Your wife", I say, "She's busy in the kitchen cookin'."

Here is a pretty typical picture of me. In qreat-grandmother's quilted house coat in kitchen, cooking. Even when friends come to visit, I tend to hang out in my kitchen. This was "Christmas" night with my family and the following are only a few of the many highlights.

Magnolia leaves painted together at our morning art projects done at the beach during Thanksgiving, framed and gifted.

My first quilt.. My grandmother pieced it before dying, and after years of trying to pay someone to finish it, I with a little help from my friends, finished it for mom.

Blue sock monkey and oceanic pop-up book..

And plenty of drinks, eats, and love..

If you're lookin' to get silly

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program for a scene from Mary Poppins..

My head tells me it's time to make a change

I tend to get very rejuvenated at the close of an old year. I love the new year and the symbolic renewal it evokes in me. I know all of the right things to do and the right ways to live, and I've tried desperately to incorporate lots of healthy habits into my daily routine, though I have had a hard time making them stick.
I can read all about them, agree, get pumped up, but soon revert to my old ways. So this year, I wrote my own "self help" book.
I have incorporated all of my own priorities in an order that I know I can handle. I have made a basic checklist, and hope to stick to it finally as I now own it and it is personal.
I have also made it obtainable for me and my family.
This first week, I am adopting exercise into my daily routine. I started on Tuesday of last week, and have either jogged or taken a bike ride four whole times. I am extremely proud of this and feel great, having ever loved these two activities but as of late have put them at the end of my priorities. I have done it even though it has been 20 degrees even! Yay!
I have also spent time each morning reading the Bible and praying. My goals for self improvement are simple and obvious, but for some reason I have let them slip. I am concentrating on mind, body, and spirit.
Wish me luck, and I may keep you up to date on how good I feel :)
Good luck to you in your resolutions and may you grow and change every day.