Alive and Kicking

It's been a tiring period.  Munchkin and I got sick with something that took us out for over a week.  And it still doesn't want to let go.  Today was only the second day that he spent any time playing outside in because he was so worn out.  But things have been getting done.

I got the first set of jar cozies completely done.  And one of the moms in the home school group saw my snack bags when we went to a group event.  She is teaching sewing this coming year and liked the idea of the bags for one of their projects.  We had an interesting discussion about sewing.  And of course, my son was determined to get as many hugs as he could.  He really likes this mom.  She accepts him as he is completely.  He's missed the regular interaction that he was getting during swim time.  This year he'll be going to Co Op, swim time, and swimming lessons.

Then I moved on to getting canning done.  Do to the generosity of others, and the rain for my garden, I suddenly have a flood of cucumbers to process.  So two versions of pickle relish are done.  The rest will be sliced/diced and spiced then put in the dehydrator.  They make good salad toppings and snacks.  And the pickle relish recipes used up all the spare onions and peppers that have been floating around.  Now I just have to process the tomatoes and jalapenos.  Salsa anyone?

I've spent a chunk of time ripping seams out of some old clothes from my folks.  The material will be used to make hand towels/cleaning clothes for various uses around the house.  I've still got about a bagful to go.  Then I'll rewash everything and get to work with the serger.  It's costing me time, but since I can't afford to purchase the material to make these items I'll spend the time.

I spent a day rearranging the dining room.  There's still some things to be done but most of the big things are done.  There is now a low shelf for all the homeschooling things which helped clear my dining room table off.  My idea to put the table directly in front of the window didn't work, but with the things rearranged it's easy to reach the curtains and open them fully now.  That has made a big difference.  I'll work on the rest in between canning and laundry this week.

I finally had a reason to go to the new Kroger store.  And I'm glad I did.  This one is only 20 minutes or so from the house so it's reasonable to reach.  (Before you wonder - even though I live in a small town if I want decent prices every store is at least 20 minutes from me, even Wal-Mart.)  I've been in the few Kroger stores that are within an hours reach and haven't been impressed at all so I wasn't expecting much.  I got a big surprise.  This store had an amazing selection of the items I need for my son's diet.  If they carried four more items I wouldn't have to visit Earth Fare but once every three months or so.  As it is, I will start using them as a regular store for some things.

And I spent quite a few days prepping our homeschool stuff for the coming year.  I got annoyed at myself at one point because I thought I had printed everything for the first 30 lessons only to discover that I had missed a lot.  I'm using a free curriculum that uses older materials for lesson plans.  I spent some time entering altered lesson plans into the online schedule tracker.  Right now I'm thirty lesson plans out on all subjects, further on some.  The plan is that I will take time each Sunday to add another ten lesson plans to each subject and pulling together the material for them.  For me the bonus is that I don't have to worry about last minute things unless I want to.  If there is something I need to order or make, I will have a few weeks to do so before the lesson comes up.  For day to day stuff, it will already be in the file and all I have to do is grab it each morning.

And last, but definitely not least, I got lucky at the thrift store again.  More fabrics at really good prices.  I'll be making more towels and other projects, including making a new backpack for my son.  Of course, I still have to sit down and plan out the new backpack, and disassemble the old one for a pattern.  But I'm tired of having to buy new ones every year because the seams rip out, so this time I'll make it and reinforce it properly.  I also got 3 chalkboard slates.  They are nice ones with the full handwriting lines meant for teaching at Pre-K and K levels.  So I'll be able to use them to help my son with learning to write.  And I splurged on a purple lava lamp for kiddo.  I'm so glad that this thrift does regular 50% off sales or I wouldn't be able to afford much at all.

Well, it's time to go.  I've got more to do before I can rest tonight.  I'm hoping to post more frequently again now that I'm not fighting whatever bug it was that got us.  I hope things are going well for you all.