Edie's Book is Here

I think that just about every blogger in this blogosphere knows Edie from Life in Grace.  If you don't~then don't delay~ You must hop over to her blog and check it out.  Just don't plan to do anything else for the next 6 hours because you will not be able to leave.  Through her amazing blog Edie's genuine heart shines through.

You will not be able to tear yourself away.

Edie bakes her own bread, decorates with flair, cooks the most amazing recipes from scratch, homeschools her daughters, reads classical literature that will make you grit your teeth, and she shares her heart.  

click on the above picture to buy Edie's book

I stumbled on Edie's blog in early 2009.  I just couldn't get enough.  I spent hours reading and rereading her posts.  She had me hook, line, and sinker from the very start.

Her southern hospitality and grace shine through in her writing.  She's witty, funny, beautiful, intelligent.

She painted a striped bathroom, chase chickens, and pluck weeds all while wearing True Religion jeans and sporting a Mac smokey eye.  

But above all this, she genuinely has a heart that reflects the love of Christ.  She shares her struggles, and her days are not perfect.  This is what draws me in more and more.

A couple of years ago, Edie lost her house in a house fire.  She lost everything except her dear family.  Through her blog we all journeyed through the rebuilding project with Edie.  She was not only rebuilding a house but a home for her family and in this difficult time God brought beauty from ashes in their lives.

She has now written an ebook to share with us tips on how to love our dear ones more, how to make time in our lives for what truly matters, and how to open our hearts and homes to those who need God's love here in this fallen world.  

I hope you take the time to go meet Edie if you are not familiar with her yet.  You will not be disappointed.

Random Gibberish

On my nightstand:

I am loving this book and I've just started.  It draws you in from the very first page. It is not a book you can read quickly.  You will be compelled to reread words, sentences and paragraphs over and over again, so they may penetrate and sink into your soul.  I can not say enough about this amazing book.  Ann's writing is riveting.  

 One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp

Following Ann's book I have this on my list.  It is a recommendation from one of Ann's posts. 

 This has been on my to read list for some time.  I am hoping to fit it in this summer.

 I have been reading this off and on~trying to finish is before the new school year.  There are so many amazing ideas in this book.  Love it.

 This one is for my daughter~she would like me to sew her some skirts. She has a hard time finding skirts that are not too short or too long.  So she is enlisting my help.  She has more confidence in my sewing ability than I do.

 I am not a big fan of fleece but this book may change my mind.  It has some great patterns and ideas.  I requested it from our library but I'm not sure if I will give fleece a try.  

I made this for my hubby for Father's Day.  He loves Snickers.  I first saw it on Pinterest.  I do not have an account but it doesn't keep me from visiting.  I haven't jumped into the Pinterest pool because I do not have a Twitter or Facebook account.  I know~you all think I'm living under a rock but I have my reasons.  One of them is that I do not want to be sucked into the internet and not live.  I could definitely see that happening with me.  So for now I just peek in.

 I want to share a little more of my son's art work.  He works on his drawings everyday and he has new projects all the time.  He designates different sketch books for different interests.  

This is a picture he drew of a Sonic video game character.

Pencil first then outlined with marker.

 A scene from the Smallville tv show.

 Some layouts for one of his Sonic comic books.  He has written and illustrated quite a few of his own.  We have sent one in to Archie comics.  He doesn't like to send his original copies away so now I must email them to the company.

 Recently, he has started drawing portraits.  I am completely amazed by the talent he has.  He has had some formal art lessons but not in depth.  He is self taught.  He is also legally blind in his right eye.  It is so astounding that he can do such a impressive job.  This portrait is a singer from the band Metric, which he loves.  He drew it while watching a video of them singing.

Thank you for letting me brag. I am a proud mama of two amazing kids, who are both bigger than me. Although they've grown they'll always be my babies in my heart.

In The Rain

In the past two and a half weeks this is all we see-dreariness.  It has rained on and off and we have only been blessed with one sunny day since Mother's Day.  

 It downpours and stops but the sun does not come to visit.  I am in need of sunshine.  I am feeling very deprived.  I may be suffering from vitamin D deficiency from all the lack of sunshine.

With all the rain these girls have been spending long days in the house.  They are not very pretty smelling and are in desperate need of a bath.  If only the sun would come out and play. Not only is it consistently cloudy and raining, the temps have been in the 40's and 50's.

Longing for fresh air.  I want to open the windows and let the freshness fill our house and drive the stinky doggy smell away.  You can live with it in the winter but when spring time arrives you want/need sunshine and fresh spring air. 

For now I must resort to lighting these through out the house in hopes of driving away the wet, stinky dog smell.  

In the second photo you can see, to the left, the dog shed with a fenced kennel and covered roof.  This was intended for the dogs to live.  When Skylar and Petie came to live with us, they would stay out there together but since Petie has passed away Skylar does not want to be there by herself and we don't want her by herself either.  We tried to put our beagle in the house with her and it did not work out well.  Our beagle does not like other dogs very much.  She wants people.  So now we have this large area we are not sure what to do with yet.  When we go out Skylar (black and white) husky has to stay in the dog shed because if not, she tears up our house.  It is hard to train her because she is 7 and things haven't been consistent in her life.  Besides she is stubborn.  I think we need a dog whisperer.

What I would really like to be doing is gardening.  I worked on preparing our garden right before Mother's Day.  I had every intention to get the plants in the ground shortly after that but the weather has not cooperating.  Last Friday, our only sunny day, I headed to our local farm to purchase our plants.  The dear farmer said I needed to babysit the plants this week because of the rain and cool temps.  

I am itching to get out there and dig in the dirt.  For now I am enjoying these books:

I want to plant a large herb garden with our veggies this year.  Our front flower beds are in need of cleaning out and a lot of work.  They were sadly neglected last year with the kitchen remodel.  I am hoping to have them all pretty as soon as this bother some rain stops.

I have also finished this:

It is incredibly soft.  I love the pattern but it is wider than I usually like.  If I use this pattern again I will probably cut it down to only one strawberry pattern per row.  The pattern did say gauge was not important but I would prefer a narrower scarf.  For this one I left it this way because it is different from any of the others I have.  I will be warm and comfy and look amazing with a bright, large flower pin.

Convention Time

This past weekend my daughter and I were here.  The convention is always a great time of encouragement and inspiration.  It helps to give me the needed energy to finish the school year strong.  This year I am so thrilled with all that we have accomplished.  One of our weakest areas is geography.  This year we have completed a couple of different geography books and it has gone well.  This is something that I do with both of the kids at the same time.  Geography is the same all around.  We have had fun with it.

There were some amazing speakers at the convention this year.  I attended many of the sessions and purchased cd's for the ones that I couldn't attend.  One of my favorite speakers was Diane Craft.  She was spectacular.  As I sat there listening to her speak, it seemed like she was describing  my son.  He was diagnosed with amblyopia, lazy eye, when he was in third grade.  It was too late to correct it.  His brain had completely shut that eye off.  We did not know he had lazy eye because his eye looked normal and he had depth perception.  Usually, the pupil will fall to the inside of the eye.  The eye doctor thinks it is amazing that he has depth perception because most kids with amblyopia do not.  This has affected his learning.  Listening to Diane Craft speak was so encouraging.  She shared many techniques and tips to help him to improve his writing, math and reading.  I now have some reading to do to equip me with a better understanding of what is happening while he struggles to learn.  I am excited to have these tools and knowledge to help him.  I would not have known about it without attending the convention.  I am so thankful that I was able to.

Jim Stobaugh was another amazing speaker.  He is very knowledgeable and I wish I could write faster as I was trying to take in everything he had to say.  Our daughter used his British Literature curriculum last year.  It was challenging but the vast amount of classics that he covers was well worth it.  

I usually attend the convention with my daughter.  We have a good time together.  We drive up together of Friday morning, fill up on some Starbucks and then head to the convention.  We are fortunate to have everything we need close to the convention center.  Once we arrive I park in the parking garage and do not have to drive again until we head home.  We enjoy staying together overnight.  She is a great help as I choose the best curriculum.  Last year, she was able to choose most of her own curriculum.  This is her senior year and I will miss her next year.  It won't be the same.

As our daughter heads off to college I feel a bit of sadness.  We have enjoyed homeschooling.  Watching her grow and her accomplishments over the last few years has been exciting.  I am thrilled that she is focused and looking forward to college but will miss her here with us each day.  It will give me more time to focus on our son and his needs.  I am looking forward to it.  Homeschooling is a blessing.  We have our difficult moments but we work through them.  It is such a gift to have the opportunity to do this.

Spring Days

I have been among the missing this week in blog land.  I wasn't feeling well, trying to fight off a migraine.  I am feeling much better now.  

The end of our homeschool year is approaching quickly.  We have been plugging away and little by little, we are reaching the end of our school books.  The kids always enjoy that. This is my daughter's last year of homeschooling.  She will be graduating in June and attending a local state college in the fall. She is hoping to become a registered nurse, specializing in surgery.  Next year it will be just my son and I. It will feel strange not to have her here with us.  

These are some of the things we are currently working on and there is more.  This is what I could gather up and they weren't using at the moment.

At the end of this month I will be attending our local homeschool convention.  It is a time a look forward to each year.  It gives me the encouragement to finish this school year strong and the inspiration to start planning what we will be accomplishing in the next school year.

 

 This is my current crochet project.  I found the yarn on clearance for $2 at AC Moore.  I couldn't resist.  It is bamboo and so soft. I am using it to make a light scarf, just perfect for spring here.  The temps are still in the 50's, rarely 60's and some 40's.  

 This is the pattern I am using.  It looks different with the bamboo yarn.  I would love to learn the process that is used to transform bamboo into yarn.

I am enjoying the days with sunshine. The warmth of the sun is invigorating.  It makes me want to get outside and work in our garden.  I am looking forward to a large harvest this year.  I missed the garden last year. 

Savoring the quiet, rainy days at home before the hustle of summer fun. 

Dreaming of plans for a deck or patio.

Perusing magazines and books for inspiration.

What are your spring plans and dreams?

I hope you are enjoying sunshine and warm spring days.

Linking to:

Turn the Page Tuesday

I first heard about Bloodroot from Edie at Life In Grace.  She has the most amazing reading list and I often choose books from her list to read myself.  When she recommended this book I knew it was a must read.  

Bloodroot is the first novel from author Amy Greene.  It is a family saga taking  place on Bloodroot Mountain in East Tennessee.  The story begins with two narrators setting the stage for the perplexing story ahead.  Spanning four generations, this book takes us through the lives of its characters.  Each one narrating a section, giving their own perspective of the events that occur throughout.  The characters are complicated, perplexing, and at times, dark.  As the story unfolds we find that the characters' lives are all entwined.  They have each played in a part in the others lives.  

This is a book that you can't put down. Once you begin reading, it captures you.  When you are not reading you are thinking of what will happen next in the story.  Truly an amazing book that captures the struggles of Appalachian life, family life, nature versus nurture.  It is highly recommended.

Linking to Turn the Page Tuesday at Some of a Kind.

A Girl Can Dream

My kitchen is a room that we have not improved since we have moved in. We know what we would like to do but can't seem to get started on it. The back door opens up to our kitchen and this entry way gets very messy with the dog, shoes, mail, and a few extras we can't quite remember how they got there.

As many times as we have considered what we would do to the kitchen we didn't know how to address the area at the back door. I have seen some beautiful entry ways but this area in our home has three doors-the back door, the door to the basement and a small pantry. We do not have room for a bench and hooks and all the other beautiful things that I have found.

I borrowed this great book from the library and fell in love with all the innovative and creative ideas in it. I was totally in love.

My absolute favorite and an answer to our backdoor problem was right there in the middle of this beautiful book.

Isn't it perfect??!!

This was a cabinet that was purchased and the bottom shoe rack was built onto it.
I am hoping to find a cabinet that is similar and will work in our entryway. Sometimes all it takes is one perfect piece to get you on a roll to a perfect room redo.

Turn The Page Tuesday

Adrienne at http://someofakind.blogspot.com/ hosts Turn the Page Tuesday. I love going over her recent reads and choosing which I would like to add to my future to read list. This month I really had my heart set on reading a book Adrienne reviewed here. The book that caught my attention in that post was Letters of a Portuguese Nun. It has been on hold on my library card for a couple of weeks now but I still do not have it. It was very disappointing but I hope to read it soon. I love history and I am Portuguese. Two of the reasons why I look forward to reading it.

This month has been a busy one and I have had a lot of reading and preparing to do for homeschool. This has left me with somewhat less time than I like for some pleasure reading. This past month I have been reading Going Rogue by Sarah Palin. I admit that in the beginning I didn't know if I would be able to make it through the book. It seemed to be missing Sarah's personality. It was a bit dry and almost forced. Once I got past the first 100 pages or so I did begin to enjoy it more. At this part the book was more of what I expected for it. She is a truly strong and passionate person. She was thrust into the presidential campaign to breath new life into it but then was stifled every time she tried. She, along with her family and friends, were ruthlessly criticized by the media. Never given a chance to truly defend themselves because of an agenda that was to be fulfilled.

Reading the book solidified what I already knew: There are big problems in our political system. The attacks made against a person are only to detract from what a potentially excellent candidate he/she may be if only given the chance.

I enjoyed learning more about Sarah and her family and hearing her side of the story without a media spin on it.

Bliss Weekend

This New England girl would have loved a trip to Blissdom but with all that happened at the end of last year I knew that I would not be able to make it.  Maybe 2011~ I will be dreaming of joining all the great bloggers, meeting them IRL for the first time.  It would be great.

Although I was not able to attend we did enjoy a blissful and productive weekend here.  We were able to do some shopping for things our new puppies needed.  We bought great harnesses and a double leash and took them for a walk.  They were so happy to see us and loved every minute of it.  We spoiled them with some gourmet doggie cookies, which they loved.  We can't wait until the ground isn't frozen and we can start fencing.  Once that is set we will bring them to live with us.

I finished the two scarves for Craft Hope project 6.  They will be on their way tomorrow.  

This is the first scarf.  It was crocheted with a crossed double crochet stitch.

They requested some scarves that can be for young men also.  I love this ribbed patterned.  This is also crocheted.  Now my son wants me to make one for him.

I found this great yarn at Joanne's and fell in love with it.  I love this neutral color and how very soft it is.  Organic is a plus.  I am working on a ribbed scarf for myself.

We spent some time at the library and I just couldn't choose which books I loved most.  I left with a great big stack.  This always happens when I go to the library.  I chose these amazing crochet books.   I can't wait to pick some projects.  It is hard to choose because there are so many great ones.

Couldn't pass this up.  More about it in another post.

I love making bread!!!  It is so wholesome and I enjoy every step of the process.  Taking a freshly baked loaf of bread out of the oven on a cold winter day is so comforting.  This great book jumped out at me from the shelf.  It is filled with great information and pictures.

Dreaming and planning my garden for this year.  This is a must read and own.  It's on my list of must have books.  Such great information and pictures.

Love this book.  The Farm Chicks are the best.

What could be better during these cold days and nights.  Snuggling up, staying warm and cuddling with some great books.  Crocheting a bit here and there and definitely a latte to help keep me warm.

Turn the Page Tuesday

Adrienne at Some of a Kind hosts Turn the Page Tuesday.  This month I am posting about some Homecrafting mysteries that I found by accident.  I saw the title, Lye in Wait, in a forum about soap making and I thought it would be a book on soap-making.  I quickly looked it up at the library and found the whole set.  I was quickly immersed in the story and the characters lives.   I have enjoyed reading through all three books in this series.  They are quick reads and I find that I relate to the main characters in the story.  These three titles are just the beginning of the series.  A new book is expected out in the spring of 2010 and I am looking forward to it.  

Lye in Wait is the first book in the series.  We are introduced to the lives of the main character Sophie Mae Reynolds, her best friend-whom she lives with, and the detective.  Sophie Mae finds her handyman, Walter, dead in her basement workroom.  She becomes entangled in the details of what is believed to be his suicide.  In the end it all works out and there are a few twists and turns along the way.

Heaven Preserve Us is the next book in the series.  Sophie Mae volunteers to answer a crisis hotline and immediately things begin to take a strange turn when she receives a strange phone call from someone who wants to do more than ask for help and the director of the center dies mysteriously.  Was it just an accident?  Will anyone investigate what really happened?  You will be surprised by the peculiar events surrounding this mystery.

The last book in the series thus far is Spin a Wicked Web.  Sophie Mae becomes a part of a crafters co-op.  The new love in her life is spinning.  Things are all well until Sophie Mae finds her fellow co-op member strangled to death with her very first skein of yarn.  Sophie Mae's presence at the scene of yet another dead body raises questions.  The co-op members seem to all have a secret, it takes a little unraveling of clues to find the murderer.  Sophie Mae is once again in the middle of this case.  The usual twists and turns are present in this mystery.  This was my favorite of the three books.  I enjoyed the many details included in each of the books, but especially the domestic details.  Spinning yarn, raising chickens, making soap, living more sustainably are all things that resonate with me.

I hope you have a chance to enjoy this great series.

There are more books out there that I would love to read and haven't had the chance.  I love to share the books I have read and enjoyed.  Looking through everyones' reading lists is so much fun.

Turn the Page Tuesday

I know that it is technically not Tuesday anymore.  I have wanted to join my friend Adrienne in Turn the Page...Tuesday for some time and then Tuesday comes and it completely slips my mind.  Well, I have decided to put this post up Tuesday or not. LOL ~  This is been a crazy and busy last couple of weeks with so many errands, classes and appointments.  Please forgive my tardiness.

I have chosen the book March by Geraldine Brooks for my post.  Geraldine Brooks has taken the character of the absent father, Mr. March from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women and written his story.  It follows Mr. March while he is helping the Union cause through the first, grim year of the Civil War.  The author turned to the letters and journals of Bronson Alcott to give Mr. March his voice throughout this book. 

Through the story you will read of the difficulties Mr. March, an idealist and philosopher, encounters when trying to reconcile the tragedies and injustices of war with his own beliefs.  He is challenged when the lines between right and wrong, good and evil were suddenly blurred.  Making the right choice for each person and each situation became quite different and reconciling himself to this leaves him a broken and haunted man.  

You can find out more about this extraordinary novel at Geraldine Brooks website.  If you have a chance to read it please leave me a comment letting me know what you thought of it.  It is one of my favorite, recent reads.