breathing, changing, and knitting

I truly have not meant to leave this blog without any posts for almost a month now.  But between the laptop needing a new power cord and the PC being in a not-so-easy-to-concentrate-so-you-can-blog spot…well, blog posting has become a hard thing to fit into my days. 

But I think that’s been a good thing.  The computer issues have caused me to focus more on things going on in our lives.  Instead of ignoring issues in my life, I’ve had to think on them. 

And with that thinking, pondering, praying has come changing…

That’s a whole other post that I may or may not write but…we shall see…

In addition to changing, there’s also been breathing and knitting!

 The lavender yarn pieces at the top are my first attempts at learning to knit. {smile}

A mom (and friend) of mine with grown children has known that I’ve been quite the frazzled mom lately.  She had been reading this book and brought it to me one night at church.  As she placed it into my hands she said, “This book made me think of you.”  I’ve not made it far into the book but so far it is like a fresh breath of air into my life. 

The first few chapters are about  slowing down and not hurrying.  And I’ve been doing just that.  Slowing down.  Not hurrying.  Savoring.  Realizing that life does not have to be high speed. 

Simply breathing.  Breathing in life.  Breathing in the blessings.

And I’m most definitely not doing it perfectly.  Sometimes I allow that frazzled mom to sneak in again.  Oh, how that steals my joy!  But then a reminder ( I think of it as a note from God) comes in the form of a text, a Facebook post, or a word from my children or a friend, and I breathe in and out.  And with each breath, I slow down again.

Even though I’ve not read the whole book yet, I highly recommend it based on what my friend has said and what I’ve read so far.  (See link at bottom of post for info on the book)

While I was in thinking mode these past few weeks, I’ve decided to make a “life list”.  (More on that soon)  One thing I put on my life list was learning to knit.  I’ve always wanted to learn this.  Quite some time back, I bought this book:

 

But I could not figure out this knitting thing.  I could not even get cast on (and you don’t knit if you don’t cast on).  No offense to the book either.  Now that I have learned some of the basics, the book makes perfect sense to me and I have used it to learn other knitting techniques.

So how did I finally learn to knit?

The wonderful world of Youtube!

I will write a post later and link to the videos that helped me.  However, a simple search will turn up a ton of useful information.

Right now on the needles:  a dishcloth… my first project!  It’s a little wonky in places but I’m learning as I go!  And if you ever need time to think and meditate on life’s blessings – knit a dishcloth!  {smile} 

So that’s what has been going on lately…besides the normal home schooling, washing dishes, folding clothes, etc. 

And reading…and breathing…

And if you are a mom juggling life and feel like you’re running on empty (ooo, me, me, me…) and you’d like to read something to help you slow down, grow spiritually, and make more room for God, then I recommend this book:

**Amazon does not appear to have this book in stock.  However, the link above will take you to a description of the book and some other sellers. **

See y’all soon!  Adriane

Resources for city homesteaders {and people who love to garden}

It is amazing that there is such a growing movement towards people becoming city homesteaders.  I love to open magazines and see pictures of other urban gardens or find new blogs about the same.  It is wonderful to see others taking this journey with us! 

Maybe you’re interested in learning more about city homesteading or gardening a bit in your city home.  I’d like to share some books that have helped me along on this journey.  (Click on the book to learn more about the book.)

The Backyard Homestead

I love that this book shows illustrations of how to lay out a backyard homestead on various sized lots.  This book gets pulled out each year when I’m looking for information on various vegetables and pruning brambles & grapes.

 

 

Little House in the Suburbs

This is a new to me book and I absolutely love it.  The authors (who have a blog by the same name) have humorous writing styles and include pictures of their gardens.  Have I mentioned how I love pictures of gardens? {smile}  This book has inspired me to do more towards self-sufficiency (more on that later, I’m sure) and has given me some new ideas to try around our city farm. 

Carrots Love Tomatoes

My friend, Salinda, had gotten this book and after asking her many questions about companion planting, I decided to get it myself.  Because of this book, I’ve planted onions, strawberries, and lettuces in one small space.  (A lot of food in a small space)  I’ve also been planting my green beans with my strawberries.  I’m interested to see how it all turns out. 

Square Foot Gardening

I love gardens planted in rows but we just don’t have the space for it.  We can plant so much more in our little squares because we plant intensively.  This book tells you how to do that.  (And I really do like the visual appeal of the tidy little garden boxes.)

 

A Chicken in Every Yard

I’ve not gotten very far into this book but so far am loving what I read.  The kids and I have enjoyed reading about the different breeds of chickens and finding out that we made good choices (or probably just got lucky) in our choices of chickens last year.    David said that he wished that we had this book last year because it contains very detailed plans for building a chicken coop. 

Weekend Homesteader ebook

I have been reading these very affordable (99 cent) ebooks on my Kindle.  Don’t let the price fool you.  These ebooks are a wealth of information.  I referred back to one just this weekend as we worked with our raspberry and blackberry bushes. 

 

Do you have any books that you love to refer to as you work on your city homestead or in your garden?

The Snowy Day~

Evan and Abby have been reading The Snowy Day.  We live in the deep south so it is unusual for us to get snow.  Every year, we decorate our windows with snow flakes.

In the past, we have even made some snow.  See our post about our snow activities here.

I was very surprised and thankful that we did not have to make snow this year because God blessed us with this:

SNOW!

But we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make edible snowflakes.

To make, simply fold a flour tortilla into fourths and cut as you would a paper snowflake.

Fry in a little oil for a short while.  (They burn easily.) 

Then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

For lapbooking printables for The Snowy Day, visit this link at Homeschoolshare.

Apple Fun ~

One of our autumn themes has been

Apples!

Here are some of our apple fun activities ~

Apple Songs (click here for link)

 

a is for apple (click here for link)

Apple pie play dough (click here for link)

{Just make sure that you can find your food coloring so your play dough is actually apple colored!  Notice the color of our play dough…}

Apple prints

{to make an apple banner}

 

Some great apple themed books to read:

 

Apple Picking Time  by Michele Benoit Slawson

An Apple a Day by Melvin Berger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We love books ~

 ~Hopefully this chaos will lead to order in our home library~

We have a lot of books in our home.  I love books.  One of my favorite places to visit is the library.  And I’m very serious about that statement.  I love the library!  :) 

 

This week, I am in the middle of organizing our home library and school books.  I am hoping that this work before school will lead to me being able to find our books throughout the school year a bit easier. 

 

I will share some of our favorite books this year…both children’s literature and books for mom.  Right now I am reading some books that I try to reread at the beginning of the school year.  These books inspire me as a homeschool mom. 

 

I found A Charlotte Mason Companion last year and loved it. 

It is a great book for those who are interested in educating using a Charlotte Mason-style philosophy.  I find this book encouraging and informative.  I am reading it before the school year  begins to remind me of ways to educate my children in a Charlotte Mason style.  Reading it has excited me for the beginning of this school year! 

 

 

 

 

 

Another book that I love to read is Educating the WholeHearted Child. 

I love to use real books in our school and this book shows me that I can do just that.  The author Sally Clarkson has written many great books.  She has a blog here  and a website here too.  I saw on Amazon where there will be a new version of this book released in January. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A friend gave me this book years ago.  I go back to One Hundred and One More Devotions for Homeschool Moms again and again.  It seems to help me to read of other homeschool moms and their successes & struggles.  This seems to keep me going on those particularly tough days. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are three books that I am reading right now.  Do you have any books that you read to inspire you as a homeschool mom or get you ready for the new school year?