Boys

Tea Cozies

I posted awhile back on Tea Cozies, those delightful things that help to keep your teapot warm as you sip cup after cup snuggled under a throw by the fireplace with a good book...I digress. Anyway, I was asked the other day if I had a pattern for one of the cozies I pictured. I don't. But I've taken some pictures that hopefully will help anyone interested in making one.

Essentially, the cozy is simply two rectangles with elastic at the bottom and a ribbon drawn through at the top.

The rectangles are about nine inches by thirteen inches. They lightly filled with batting for insulation and are finsihed nicely so that the cozy is reversible.

The two rectangles are placed together with the wide side going horizontal to fit around the teapot. They are attached at the bottom with a thin bit of elastic.

The ribbon is threaded through a stiched channel about two inches from the top and pulls like a drawstring to tighten the cozy onto the pot.


The sides are left open. The teapot handle goes through one side and the spout through the out. Just tip it over and pour it out! This type of cozy is designed to remain on the pot as you pour. A nice touch, but do be careful if you have a teapot that drips as you pour as it will end up all in the cozy. (Guess you could use a dripper sipper!) My cozy is stained around the bottom from drips.

Here is a picture of the tea cozy I sewed last night. It just sits on the pot and is removed when you pour your tea.

Let me just say that again, "Here is a picture of the tea cozy I sewed last night." (Happy Dance!)

I am SOOOOO excited about this cozy. You'd have to know how much I have avoided sewing in the past to truly appreciate this monumental event. Let's put it this way: I cut out this, stuffed it, and hand stitched (poorly) most of it, um, two years ago, but never finished it until last night. I finally got my grandmother's sewing machine set up and the courage to use it. Yep. It took just about fifteen minutes, plus TWO YEARS to finish this. I went back over most of what I had done by hand and then finished it up.

Here's a peek at the inside.

It is lined with a plain fabric and stuffed with batting to help keep my tea warm. Hmmm...maybe I should put the kettle on, make a pot of tea and put this baby to use! Can you tell I'm excited?!? Woohoo! After all, January is National Hot Tea Month. Let's celebrate!

Dawn has a fun twist on the whole tea cozy idea with her darling little coffee cozies. I do enjoy a good cup of coffee as well. Wonder how long it would take me to make one of those. Oh, and do check out the link to the coffee corset cozies. Those are a hoot!

Can you believe it, Joanne? I am sewing!!! You've inspired me. (Good thing this was small. Seven years for a quilt is fine, two for a tea cozy is utterly ridiculous!)

WWJB?

I was off visiting at Holly's and saw her post asking for favorite Jane Austen Quotes. Too fun! Once I typed mine into her comment box, I thought I might as well make it a posting myself. Besides, I could probably keep on going and would have liked to add a few longer quotes that I love from Persuasion, but didn't want to take up her entire comment section...


This will do for now as I am off to get ready to join Joanne at the House of Commons for an early lunch and tea.



Do feel free to add your own favorite quotations in the comments as well!



"Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition." (S&S)


"A woman especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can." (NA)


"It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies, could they be made to understand how little the heart of man is affected by what is costly or new in their attire; how little it is biased by the texture of their muslin, and how insusceptible of peculiar tenderness towards the spotted, the sprigged, the mull, or the jackonet. Woman is fine for her own satisfaction alone. No man will admire her the more, no woman will like her the better for it. Neatness and fashion are enough for the former, and a something of shabbiness or impropriety will be most endearing to the latter. But not one of these grave reflections troubled the tranquillity of Catherine." (NA)


"Better to be without sense, than misapply it as you do." (Emma)




and of course----


"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." (P&P)

Note: Edited to add links. There are some more fun quotes in the Comments-check them out!

Also, the above graphic was found here.

Fun Project

Being creative has been pretty much on the back burner these last few months. Gee, I don't know why. ("Any ideas, Dumpling?") Somehow little and big boys, laundry and meals must come first. ("Didn't I just make dinner last night?" and "Didn't I just wash that?" are constant mental refrains.)

However, I snatched a little time a few evenings ago to put together these cards for my Mom and my Aunt Linda. Amazing what you can do with a cereal box, scrapbooking supplies and some really cute pictures. I had so much fun making these and was so jazzed at having created something from start to finish that I had trouble falling asleep myself by the time I was done with them.

They are not identical, but both contain very similar elements. My Mom and Aunt have traveled a lot together in the last several years including multiple trips to Venice and at least one trip to Paris. So I chose to add little snippets to represent their travels. I included a copy of a page from my 1883 Peterson's Magazine that contained a wonderful article on Venice. I only had one Eiffel Tower piece, so I cut it vertically and posted half on each card, as shown in the picture above. I then glued on some little buttons from my collection to add a final touch.

Buttons seem to appear in almost all my crafts. I don't know why, but they just seem "right" somehow. I seem to think something's not done without a few little buttons here and there. Maybe it just adds a little extra dimension to it all.

I've been eyeing my kitchen curtains that I sewed some vintage crocheted lace on before Christmas. I think they might need a few buttons too, just to finish them off. It's felt like they are missing something. Hmm...

I sent the cards off with my Mom as she was heading back East this week for work and to see Linda. I hope they like them! It's somewhat intimidating to make something for someone who is soooo talented like my Aunt. She really is amazing. See what I mean?

I wanted to do a little something more than just a normal thank you card for the beautiful teacup and saucer she suprised me with recently. It's the teacup at the top of the page. I love it's flower shape. Behind it is the creamer and sugar bowl set that she gave me a few years ago. She's talented and very sweet!

Blogging in the Kitchen

Isn't Sweetheart wonderful? I'm actually blogging from the kitchen right now watching the boys play together. How fun! I'll be able to pop in a lot more often now. (Pumpkin is having his Bunny kiss Dumpling. He sure loves his little brother!) Sweetheart wired the house up so that I've got interenet access in a bunch of spots, as well as video and audio and a bunch of other cool techie stuff I don't worry about.) Thanks Honey!

It's so cold outside today, even though it's twice as warm as yesterday. You can take the girl out of the desert, but she'll just freeze in the mountains! We're all here trying to keep snugglely warm.

We had MOPS this morning, which was nice. Due to the schools' schedules around here, we haven't met since before Christmas. It was nice to visit with other people over three feet tall. I'd baked a big batch of scones to take. I stuffed them with the most delicious strawberries, wrapped them in a cheery red gingham cloth with the little oven tile to keep them warm. I filled a little dish with lemon curd and tucked it all safely in a basket. Which I promptly left right next to the door. *sigh* Well, they made a delightful addition to Pumpkin's and my lunch anyway.

Hmm, now that I've mentioned them, I'm thinking it's time to brew up a delicious pot of Earl Grey and have a little Tea for Me time. Well, me and Pumpkin and Dumpling...

Hope you're having a lovely afternoon wherever you are! What are you enjoying?

Posts

Hmm...A few quiet moments...Thinking of blogging...Reading some of your blogs...Not much to write...All's quiet...Deciding not to write, but to go drink my tea...Much love to you all...Now, go brew yourself a cuppa and join me~

Sweet Day

Today is Sweetheart's Birthday. What a blessing he is to me, and the boys. Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. I love you.

We went for a drive this morning to the mountains and stopped at a lake we had visited on our Honeymoon. Pumpkin enjoyed watching the skaters. Maybe next winter, we can join them.

Note to Aunt Carey--That's the hat I made for Pumpkin. I'll post a better picture of it tomorrow.

Simplicity

Sweetheart and I were talking a few weeks ago on one of those rare weekend afternoons when the boys were both napping at the same time. We started talking about how much we love one another, the boys, and our lives in general. Yet, we were both troubled and worn out with trying to deal with all the stuff in our lives.

Since I quit teaching to stay home, our schedules have definitely lightened up. I am no longer running around around the clock. It's great. We really simplified that area of our lives.

However, over the years the amount of things in our home has only increased. It wasn't such a big deal when it was just us living here. We had the main living areas, plus the unfinished basement, a guest room, a loft for Sweetheart's office, and an extra bedroom for my office/craft room.

Well, we changed the guest room to the nursery and combined my office with the new guest room. Then we had someone else move in for a few months, which eliminated that room. So all my stuff landed in the basement. Then I got that room back for awhile, which was nice, but we were left with all that person's stuff as well. Guess we'll store her stuff in the basement. Next, we needed my room for Pumpkin as Dumpling was on the way. We rearranged the loft to move all my stuff into it along with all the stuff Sweetheart had in there, which was a lot already. More stuff to the basement.

Instead of getting rid of things along the way, we just got more tubs to put it all in. Well, there became no more room for tubs. We were constantly shoving tubs all around to get to the things we wanted.

We won't talk about the garage. That's a real sore spot.

Anyway, here we are after being married almost ten years. Two people who no longer own stuff, but are owned by our stuff. It's ridiculous! And it is all coming between us.

It was a wonderful conversation. Hard, but needed. There are a lot of emotions tied to the things. Crazy, isn't it? My hardest thing is to part with stuff other people have given me. I don't want to hurt their feelings. Or, good memories are attached to things.

Sweetheart's dilemma is more about the cost of things and what they are worth. He's bought a lot of stuff over the years to resale. What he has been able to sell he usually makes money off of. Sometimes a lot of money, but not everything sells, at least not quickly. Or, not as quickly as his wife would like.

Well, we decided we no longer want to live like this. We don't want the boys to grow up thinking that they should hold on to everything and that hoarding things is ok. Plus, we want to have room to enjoy the things we have. We want to have more free time, not wasting time fixing things, selling things or buying things, just because.

So, we had the first big purge just before Christmas. Now, Salvation Army is swinging on by tomorrow for more. There's still a ways to go, but we're making progress.

That conversation became a whole life evaluation. I'd been getting all of these emails telling me to boycott this store for this reason, that store for another reason. Often, if I wanted to follow all the emails they would have just cancelled each other out! What a mess.

Yes, I want to be conscientious about where we spend our money. I don't want to be supporting corporations that give money to causes I am utterly opposed to. Over the years we have stopped buying a lot of products for that very reason. It's hard to know a lot of times who is supporting what, but we've tried to pay attention.

Well, we're still discussing what to do about all of that mess and don't have a lot of answers yet. One of the things that we are doing is trying to just buy less overall. Over the next few months, we will be researching more about different companies and be making more changes I'm sure.

As we talked about what to buy and not buy the conversation turned to the types of things we use around the house. Since becoming pregnant the first time, I have changed my mind about the cleaners that I use regularly. The smells of all the chemical cleaners have really bothered me since I was first pregnant. I've tried a few different things along the way, but really haven't figured out a good solution. Switching to some of the Mrs. Meyer's Cleaners has helped, but there are still a lot of chemicals we use everyday, almost without thinking.

I've been researching alternative cleaners online and have found some good recipes out there that I've started substituting. I'm pleased with what I've changed so far, but hope to eradicate the rest of them over the next few months as well. Some things I'm using up, some I'm just throwing out. Did you know you can make your own dishwashing detergents and laundry detergents? I'll probably be posting directions as I try more things out, if anyone is interested.

And what about all the chemicals in our personal care products? You should have seen the huge bag of stuff I tossed just from under my bathroom cabinet. Really, how many bottles of hair products do I need? My hair always looks the same no matter what I put on it, so why not just use the simplest stuff? Once those things are gone, I might not even replace them.

Well, since the chemicals are on their way out, what about the food we eat? I make most things for scratch, but really, what is all that junk in the meat we buy? Do I want to eat stuff that contains ingredients I can't even pronounce? No. So, I'm buying more natural meats now. I'll let you know how tomorrow night's bison meat turns out!

I'm searching for a local farm/CSA to join, too. We're also planning to better utilize our garden and back yard starting this spring for our own organic fruits and vegetables. We were circleling items as a wish list in the gardening catalog last night at dinnertime. It's time to start composting, too.

It's been interesting with the just changes we've started making already. Living simply, isn't so simple any more. Hopefully, once we figure out how to make/get the things we need it will get easier. Some of these things are interesting though, as so many of the "natural" things are brands that support some things we don't want to have any part of. It's not as easy as I'd hoped. We're not giving up though, since we've just begun this new journey.

The cost of the organic foods is a lot higher than regular, but hopefully, since I'm buying less junk, the costs will end up the same overall. Plus, I've spent a lot on cleaners for the home and on personal care products and most of the do it yourself recipes are actually a lot cheaper.
I wrote in my Everything Book my goals the other day:

*Honor Christ--above all!
*Live Simply
*Be Healthy
*Be Wise Financially

Breaking it down looked like this:

For Me:
Devote more time to studying Christ's words and incorparating them into my daily life.
Love others more; be a better wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend.

For Home:
More natural cleaners, soaps and personal products
Make what we can
More natural foods-organic, not processed, locally grown

I'll Need To:
Get up early for devotions
Begin exercising again
Change shopping habits
Garden and compost
Learn to preserve foods
Get a grain mill
Learn to sew
Research creating the things we need

***
I've been thinking to myself that I'd rather be known for what I am for, not what I am against.

I am for reaching out to others, for showing Christ's love, for serving.

I am for loving my family and expressing that love through our home.

I want to be a wise steward of all that I have been blessed with.

I want to take care of the body I have been given, to strengthen it for the work I have been given.

I want to raise children to love the Lord and those around them, not to be sucked up into the unthinking consumerism that surrounds us everyday.

I want to love.

I want to sleep.

(I just looked at the clock and realized that it's passed my bedtime. Blessings to you all!)

What We Do On Snowy Days

I'd love for Pumpkin to get to go out and play in the snow.

However, this means Mommy and Dumpling also have to go out in the snow.

Obviously, not the best plan. Dumpling agrees.

***

What to do?

Bring the snow inside, of course!

Figuring I have to mop the floors anyway

and Pumpkin needs to change out of his jammies,

this is our solution.

Snowman. Giraffe.

Little boy having fun.

Worth some cold puddles on the floor any day!

Misc.

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for stopping by to visit. I've been abysmal lately about responding to comments as well as commenting on your blogs. I wish I could say that that will change, but it'll probably be a bit before I am able to. As life is with two little monkeys running around, my computer time is really limited these days.

I think Dumpling is doing better overall as far as his personal routines and sleeping habits, but they don't always mesh with Pumpkin's. Plus, Dumpling is teething, big time. Drool everywhere. Ugh. Everything in sight goes in his mouth and everything is constantly wet. Anyway...

Please know that I love reading your comments and usually pop over to your blogs, even if I'm just kind of lurking around these days. I am inspired by so many of you and the beauty you are striving to fill your worlds with. The creativity and love is amazing. I just wish you all lived nearby so we could hang out and have tea, or coffee.

Sweetheart and I went out for breakfast together this morning. (Thanks Grandma!) It was so nice to just sit a visit with each other and not be running around. Breakfast out is one of my favorite things. I don't know why, maybe because it feels like such a luxury. We had a great time just hanging out together. We talked about our plans for transitioning into our new life together.

It's hard, because I want everything to be done, and done now. But it took years to get into this mess so it will take some time to get out of it. Along with our broad goals of simplification come some concrete ones including ones about the foods that we eat. I love to cook and bake, but I'd like us to have a more natural diet with more organic and less processed foods. I know, I do bake almost everything from scratch and we rarely buy packaged food products, but we'd like to switch over to better meats, produce and grains. To that end, we've been researching automatic grain mills. I'd REALLY like to hear what some of you may be using. What brands/types have you found to work the best?

Also, and try not to faint Joanne, I actually been sewing a few things. Not great, mind you, and it's still all by hand so far, but I did make Pumpkin a hat and a scarf yesterday. Pictures soon! This is a big change for me. I'm planning to take down our Christmas tree tonight and tomorrow and then set up the sewing machine. Ack! It's time to conquer the Bernina!!! Wish me luck.

I'm also still planning to write more on why we are making the changes we are. Part of it is to help me to clarify and set some ideas down to think about. Some of the changes are huge, so not so much, but all require thought and planning, or they won't happen at all. Praying...

Thank you again for your sweet comments and thoughts as we journey together in life.

~Kimberly

Our Journey to Simplicity

110 Hangers. Sweetheart counted. Actually, it would have been more like 115-120, but a few I just threw out.

These mark the beginnings of our efforts to simplify our lives. Each empty hanger represents an item of clothing that was donated to the Salvation Army. Never mind how many things weren't on hangers, we didn't try to count all those. All I know is that the closets and drawers have so much more space in them now and the Salvation Army does a wonderful job of picking up massive, and I mean massive, piles of stuff left out for them to take away. We also ended up with about 20 empty Rubbermaid tubs that had been filled with stuff.

How did this happen? Things were just bought a few items at a time, many from the thrift stores, over the last almost 10 years of marriage. It's added up to a lot. Sweetheart and I had a wonderful discussion one night that led to the beginnings of the purge. And it's just the beginning. I wish we were at the end, but we're not. We off-loaded a ton of stuff, but there is still so much to go through and get rid of.

We were discussing our desire to lead a simpler life, a discussion we've had before, but this time it's been different. No one is upset, or feeling dumped on. We're both in this together and trying to get through it together. In fact, Sweetheart is downstairs going through two tubs of papers, sorting what needs to be kept, and what needs to be shredded. I'm just taking a break, but will go through one more drawer before going to sleep tonight.

I've not been posting as much in the last few weeks, as I am often trying to weed through things after the boys go to sleep. We did take off some time for Christmas and family gatherings, but are now trying to hit it hard again. It's a process. I need to remind myself of that as I get discouraged that there is still so much to do.

It's funny. If you came to our home a month ago and came back today, you probably wouldn't see much of a change, except that you can now hang your coat up in the coat closet. The regular rooms haven't been cluttered up. It's been the closets and the basement. It's amazing how much you can store in a basement.

But, I do know there is a difference. I'm thrilled with how much is gone, just from my kitchen cupboards. Most of the stuff that we've given away hasn't even been that hard to do this time. I think it's because our hearts and attitudes have changed. However, I think I'll be going back through the kitchen a few more times to see what else needs to find a new home. Now it's getting harder. Guess the fun has just begun!

I'll be posting as I can about some of the changes we're making and why. I am excited about them. It'll be good, hard, but good. Keep us in your prayers.