if you think i'm wierd just say so::part three

Part three...farming, fibers, and fabric. Oh yes, you heard me. I understand that this may be too much for just one post, but I thought I'd condense my weirdness so as not to make you think that I am actually weird. So let's start with farming, shall we? Now, I didn't grow up on a farm, but my grandparents have a beautiful farm and I spent many a summer there during my childhood. When I was young I loved it. The chickens, the dogs, the creek, tractor rides, veggie picking, the black snakes--okay, maybe not the snakes, but that's one reason to love the dogs, and and the cows, the stinky, adorable, velvety-nosed, mooing cows. Of course, as I got older I lost the appreciation for the farm. Being a teenager in the city didn't mesh well with spending time at the farm. I regret that now, of course, but at the time I just didn't want to be there. My grandmother knew so much...and still does...sewing (mostly without patterns), crocheting, gardening, canning, playing the piano, playing scrabble. My grandfather, the farmer, the driver of the tractor, the handler of the cows, sower and reaper of acres and acres of crops. There is so much I could have learned from them both while I was young and I didn't. But now, oh, now that I have children and have become disenchanted with city life, I long for a simpler life. A life that takes me back to the farm. Any farm. I don't want a huge farm. It wouldn't even have to qualify as a farm...a few gorgeous acres would do just fine. I want to garden in a big way so that I can do some canning to provide food for my family that we grew on our own land, in our own dirt, and was harvested with our own hands. Food that's good and fresh and can be enjoyed year-round. Some chickens would be nice, too.

(miss O age 3 helping grandma gather eggs)

I love fresh eggs, fresh brown eggs. My grandma had chickens for as long as I can remember. I love their low, long and drawn out clucking. I love the smell of sweet feed. I know with chickens comes the coop which will need to be cleaned out. I am well aware. I also want goats. Yes, you heard me, goats. Not cows so much, although I do love them, but they are considerably more work, require more land, and well, I'd have a hard time taking them to a butcher. I have wanted goats for a long time though. I have a vivid memory of a coloring book I had when I was little. A Holly Hobby-ish book, I believe, and one of the pictures was of a little girl in a buggy being pulled by two goats. Right then and there I wanted goats. Why? Well, 30 years ago it was because they were cute but now not only are they cute, they provide milk which we can drink or I can use to make cheese or soap. With a family full of lactose intolerance and sensitive skin it just makes sense to me. Maybe even an angora goat or two just for their lovely yarn potential. But now, that takes me into my new found love of fibers. Last fall I learned how to crochet and just a few weeks ago I learned how to knit. Knitting makes my brain hurt sometimes because I have to use both hands, but it is getting easier and I enjoy it. Going into a store that sells a variety of yarns is really amazing. Angora, alpaca, silk, bamboo, wool, cotton...the textures and sheen, the smoothness and softness. I mean, come on! It is so hard to choose. Thankfully my grandma has given me a ton of yarn to feed my new want for yarn. I have so many projects in my mind and several in progress. At the end of the day when the girls are in bed it is nice to relax and crochet or knit. It's quiet and relaxing.

(Shadow attacking the needles)

Something about that repetitive motion is soothing...until the cat sees the yarn moving around or hears the clicking of the needles then I have to fight him off until he gives in a curls up beside the skein of yarn to sleep. Okay, now the fabric. If you know me at all you know that it is hard to resist fabric. I do enjoy sewing and over the past year or so I have gained much more confidence in my sewing skills. I love to sew things for my girls and occasionally for myself. I enjoy sewing gifts for family and friends as well. However, as of late the sewing has come to a stand still. With homeschooling in full swing it is hard to squeeze in any sewing time and when there is time to sew I'd rather use that time to be with my girls playing or reading or something...not sitting at the machine. I can't sew while they're in bed at night because the machine is too loud. So my machine sits patiently waiting for the next project. I have some projects on my list that the girls can help me with, so when the time comes and the sewing machine is up and running it will be something that we can do together. Okay, so even though my sewing machine is resting I still love fabric. My mom and my grandma feed that obsession so there is never a lack of fabric. I am still trying to use up my stash before I actually purchase any new fabric but at the rate my suppliers feed my habit I will never need to go to the fabric store again! Unless I need more thread, of course...but that's another story.
So there you go. I love to sew which makes me love fabric, I love yummy yarn fibers so I learned to crochet and knit to justify my want of yarn, and I want to live off the land and have goats and chickens so farm living is the life for me. I want my children to appreciate hard work and to be hard workers. I want them to know where their food comes from and how to grow it themselves. I want them to appreciate and love all things handmade because handmade things are special and made with love. I want them to grow and make and appreciate and learn. I want them to sow and tend and harvest. I want them to feed and nurture and love. I want them to see in me these qualities and I want them to follow. Don't get me wrong, I love modern conveniences and life in the 21st century. However, family, homegrown, fresh, and handmade are words that I want intertwined in our vocabulary, our lives. So I'm a little weird, it's okay...

Have a great weekend. xo ANG

if you think i'm weird just say so::part two

Part two...homeschooling. Whether you just rolled your eyes at me or let out a sympathetic sigh, I know you have an opinion on the subject. I chose this topic not only because homeschooling is a big part of our lives here in the Clothesline household but also because some people think I'm weird and they don't know how to express it. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind being weird, people thinking I'm weird, or even being told that I'm weird. I'm used to not being like everyone else and I'm okay with that. It's when people don't say what they're thinking or don't ask questions so they can form a more well-rounded opinion that bothers me. A recent encounter at a fall festival is fresh in my mind so the pictures in this post are relevant. We did have a nice time together as a family and everyone that was dressed in period clothing was very kind and excited about what they were sharing with us.

As we made our way around the grounds enjoying special moments together learning about a way of life that is hard to even comprehend sometimes we gained a greater appreciation for the modern conveniences that we so often take for granted. Then we happened upon the much anticipated jumpy things. Of course we let the girls get in a jump off some energy. As Tim and i stood there watching them bounce around, a nice lady, a volunteer in the colonial children's games section, came over and began chatting with us. She commented on the girls lovely behavior and how much fun they were having. I looked from her to girls then back to her again as we chatted for a few minutes. She was very kind and talkative as we were the only ones over there at the time. Then came the first question..."What grades are your girls in?" My response...second grade and kindergarten. She said a few other things then asked the second question..."So where do your girls go to school?" My response...I homeschool them. I was looking up at the girls jumping around when I answered her and when there was no response I turned to look at her thinking she didn't hear me (I know, silly me) and she was gone! She had walked away without another word! Huh? Suddenly I was of no interest to her.

I get it if you don't like the idea of homeschooling, don't agree with homeschooling, or think I'm a kook for homeschooling but common courtesy would be nice. Wrap up a conversation instead of sneaking away while I look at my children. Make a comment or ask a question...something. But to walk away without another word? That was a first for me. A very disappointing, shocking first for me. I've had my share of unsupportive people make negative comments and I am as informative and excited about homeschooling as I can be so that they understand what I am doing and why. And you know what? I am tired of feeling like I have to defend myself as a mother, a wife, and a teacher. Tim and I made this decision together in the best interest of our children. We believe that this is what we are supposed to be doing. Now don't get me wrong, for every person that doesn't get it, there are probably 10 that do. I have an amazing group of friends that are supportive and encouraging and are a wealth of knowledge and know-how. Priceless, I tell you , priceless. So whether or not you agree with homeschooling or whether you think I'm weird or not just say so. Don't be afraid to disagree but ask questions and find out more so you at least know what you're disagreeing with.

To end on a more cheerful note, I must share another encounter that we had. A few minutes later, when the girls were done jumping, we made our way over to a beekeeper. We just finished up our studies on honeybees and all of the benefits of honey so we were pretty excited to see some things firsthand. As we looked at a live brood searching for the queen the beekeeper came over and started sharing information and asking questions. He was very impressed that my girls knew so much about bees and were excited to learn more. Miss O told him that we just finished studying bees. With a big smile he asked where they went to school. I told him that I homeschooled and he was so thrilled. That's great! he said. Then he looked at Tim and said "So you're a homeschool dad...so am I!" His genuine enthusiasm was very refreshing. No, I don't expect everyone to be enthusiastic about homeschooling, but common courtesy would be nice, no? So go ahead, leave a comment(good or bad), ask a question, tell me I'm weird if that's what you think. But please say something...don't just walk away.

if you think i'm weird just say so::part one

the pictures are completely unrelated to the post but entirely too cute not to share

Part one...yes, I've got other weird things to share, but we'll start off with the topic of germs.

Okay, so I'm a little weird...but not as much as you think....I think. Since here in Virginia the virus that no one wants is spreading like crazy and the regular old flu season is upon us we here in the Clothesline household have a general "shoes off at the door" rule. It's not new here. Even before we had kids we adhered to the rule. It all started when we lived in Hawaii. Everyone took their shoes off before entering the house or at least left them in the pile by the front door. I suppose that was partly a Japanese tradition and one that never really crossed my mind. It was just the right thing to do. So after we moved back to the mainland the habit just remained.

Oh sure, it's a handy rule to have when it's rainy or muddy outside because it saves your floors and carpets from becoming filthy or wet. However, since having children and being more aware of then crawling and playing on the floor, the "shoes off at the door" rule makes even more sense to me. Just think about it for a minute. You've been out, let's say at a grocery store or your favorite shopping destination. What have you stepped in, stepped on, or walked through? Do you know? Did you go into the public restroom? Yeah, eeeww. Have you been at school or work all day? How about to the public library or even to the gym? Talk about the germs. Sure your shoes may look clean but really, not so much. Then you go home and walk around your house depositing who-knows-what on your floors and in your carpets. Okay, so having a husband who works in the mental health field and who is also surrounded and bombarded with numerous germs every day has made me more aware and quite frankly, weird about germs. I don't know about you, but I'd rather err on the side of weird...especially during flu season.

So if I come to your house and take off my shoes, sure you may think I'm a little weird, but at least I left the germs and the dirt at the door. And just so you know, I am not alone. Regina wrote a little post about it here. Of course, she managed to make some cute slippers to wear around the house. I haven't done that yet...but they sure are cute. Maybe I should add those to my list.

So what do you think? If you think I'm weird, just say so. What's the shoe protocol in your home? Please feel free to share any helpful tips and suggestions. I'm just trying to do what I can to keep my family healthy and my home clean. Anything you have to add will certainly be appreciated. Happy Wednesday! xoANG

enough with the screaming monkey already!

Yep, I actually said that. It's the first time and almost certainly the last time that I will say such a funny exclamatory sentence. But in the spirit of doing, saying, cooking, building, or sewing something for the the first time let me take a moment to entertain you with a list of firsts so far in this new year...with a little explanation, of course.

First, the title of this post...words that I never knew would fly out of my mouth in such a ridiculous combination, yet they did. Which, by the way, made everyone in the house stop what they were doing and look at me with surprise. The reason...Miss E got a new toy, a little learning laptop, which is fabulous and fun and educational. However the character that she interacts with is a monkey that says and does silly things to keep it interesting. What she quickly learned, after finding the volume control, was that if you continually push the mouse buttons the monkey will "scream" over and over and over and over. You see, I'm not crazy, and I usually have a very high tolerance for noise producing toys, especially educational ones, but coupled with the volume set on ear-drum-bursting loud...I had heard enough. Hence the "enough with the screaming monkey already" statement.

Second, after looking through this fabulous list I have already printed 5 tutorials, made and gifted one, cut out the material for 6 of these, and am eager to schlep up to the attic (on a much warmer day so I don't freeze up there) and retrieve some of my most favorite fabrics that I have horded and used very sparingly since I bought them when we lived on Molokai. I tell you what, living in Hawaii really lends itself to acquiring some fabulous, colorful, local fabrics. Anyway, cutting, planning, sewing, and especially a willingness to use some of my Hawaiian fabrics this early in the year with excited anticipation...definitely firsts for me.

Third, I love to try new recipes. Using a recipe from this book I made the most wonderful coconut macaroons that I have ever had. Mind you, I made them for Tim really because they are gluten free and there aren't many treats that are gluten free, affordable, and delicious. Seriously people, they taste just like coconut cream pie. Just.Like.It. Very difficult to resist, have no idea how many calories and fat are in them, but I made them small so we, I mean he, can enjoy them. Also, I made a stew called Winter Squash and White Bean Stew from this book and it just didn't work out for me. My in-laws ate it and said it was good. Tim ate it and said it was good...he even said he'd eat it again because he like that it was different. I ate it and my taste buds were confused. I love me some butternut squash. I also loved everything else that was in it. The problem? It had cinnamon in it. The smell was throwing me off. I was expecting something quite savory but the cinnamon was weirding me out. It wasn't a bad stew, in fact we ate it all, but the smell confused my senses. I don't like to be confused...especially when I'm eating.
Oh, there are a few other firsts that I have probably forgotten, but I'm pleased with my start to the year and I hope that you are pleased with yours as well.

i might be...

...a redneck if I use a fishing tackle box...

...as my sewing basket.

Let me explain, ya'll...I used to do a lot of hand quilting when I lived on Moloka'i so I had a small sewing bag with just the essentials so it was easy to take with me where ever I went. Well, now that we're back here on the mainland and I am doing more and more regular sewing I was accumulating more thread, needles, notions for varying projects and they were all spread out among several little bags or piles in the closet. Ugh! It was difficult to find anything because I had to go on my own little scavenger hunt before the onset of each sewing adventure. So I decided it was time to invest in a sewing basket. I looked at several different sewing baskets that were cute, but they didn't seem to have enough compartmentalized storage or open space underneath for bigger items like rotary cutters and scissors. So then I thought ...hmmm....what to do? what to do? Oh, I know, maybe I could re-purpose Tim's tackle box. It has lots of little compartments and expands when you open it. But I couldn't take his tackle box, plus, it probably has a fishy odor...eeewwwww. So off to Walmart I went. And to my delight there were many choices with lots of storage, and they were so.much.cheaper. Albeit, tackle boxes aren't meant to be cute, because, after all, they aren't meant to be...they're for fisherman for crying out loud! However, since the ever so popular cuteness-outweighs-functional rule only applies to fabulous shoes I thought that I could certainly use a tackle box. Oh man, was I right! I love having all of my sewing stuff in one place. Having to organize all of my stuff really helped me get rid of unnecessary, old, broken, things that I saved for some long forgotten reason. Ahhhhh...organization, little compartments, a place for everything and everything in it's place. My only regret is that I didn't get a bigger one! So go ahead, judge me. Call me a redneck. Call me crazy. Laugh at my silly little tackle sewing box. I don't mind at all. Really I don't. I {heart} my box. If you've got any ingenious ways to decorate it or cover it to make it more, well, me, then bring it on. I'm certainly open to any and all suggestions that may or may not include sarcasm. :o)

lessons from a cockroach

I know, I know, call me crazy! Go ahead, it won't hurt my feelings, I'm tough...besides, I can't hear you anyway. So, let me explain. First, I do not have a roach problem. Second, yes, I think they're gross. Especially the ones that we had to coexist with on Moloka'i. They were affectionately referred to as 747s if that helps you understand how big they were...and yes, they could fly. Eewww, that gives me the heebee-geebees just thinking about it. I digress. Third, I got this great book at the library on the "new books" shelf. I had to get it. The title grabbed my attention and the illustrations were fabulous. I'm a sucker for great illustrations. The title of the book is Martina the Beautiful Cockroach-A Cuban Folktale by Carmen Agra Deedy...illustrations by Michael Austin. In this folktale Martine Cucaracha (*hee hee*) is ready to choose a husband and her Cuban grandmother offers some bizarre advice. The Coffee Test. Upon the arrival of each suitor (there were many because she was so beautiful) Martina was to accidentally spill hot coffee on their shoes. The suitor's reaction to her in his anger would prove how he would end up treating her as a wife. Needless to say, after many suitors failed the coffee test she eventually found a wonderful husband in an unexpected place...and he also had a Cuban grandmother, so he spilled coffee on her shoes first! :o) Such a simple story, enjoyed by both of my girls, but with threads of profound truth woven into each suitor's character. Crazy, I know, but I really enjoyed this book even thought the main characters were cockroaches. And if you've got kids that love to read or love to be read to, you should check out this book. Plus, since Miss O is always pretending to get married it led to a great discussion about how husbands should treat their wives and how wives should treat their husbands. I know she's only 5 years old, but when the opportunity arises to instill Godly principles of marriage, I'm all over it!

random thoughts

1)I love that when Little Miss E talks about our great finds at the beach she says "she-shells" every single time.







2)I love that Little Miss O wants to keep our back yard caterpillars happy by making them playgrounds out of sticks and leaves every time she finds one. Please excuse the peeling paint on the foundation..but the caterpillar seemed to love it...look closely, you'll find him.
3)Yippee for David Cook winning American Idol!

4)Call me crazy, but my favorite Dollar Spot(at Target) find was my dandelion-digger-upper. I think it's called a weeder, but whatever you call it, it's so great....and it has a pink handle. Okay, listen. I don't like dandelions growing in my yard and the only way to get rid of them is to dig them up by the root. So when they first start coming out in the spring, my girls and I go on a 'lion hunt every day. I am happy to say, that in spite of my craziness, my lawn is dandelion free!

5)My mom gave me some beautiful petunias for Mother's Day. Thanks Mama! I love them, they are so pretty. My only problem is the container they came in matches them perfectly so I have a hard time taking them out to put them in a flower pot. Clever marketing really. Who wouldn't want beautiful flowers in a container that is exactly the same color....oh, Mr. Marketing Man...you think you have us all figured out, don't you?

good news, bad news

Okay, it's been a little crazy around here. I haven't had an uninterrupted minute to sit and write on this blog. So here I am, and I've been interrupted twice already, but I'm going to go for it anyway.
Let's start with the good news....
good: My beautiful little pink Singer sewing machine is working! I took it to the sewing machine fixer-upper guy but he charges more to fix it than my machine is actually worth so I couldn't do it. He did take a look at it and tell me what he thought needed cleaning...I cleaned it and it works :o) Thanks Mr. Sewing Machine Fixer-Upper Man.
Go ahead, call me crazy...I know I had a perfectly logical reason to get a new machine, with an agreeable husband to boot, but if I could fix it and not spend any money, then I was all over it!
good: My mom took off from school and came to play with us. What fun!..









She made the girls some super-cute dresses for the beach...oh, so cute. She also took us to Walmart and bought some irresistible fabric so I could make the girls some quick and easy sun dresses (now that my machine is working). She also bought me a cute shirt. Thanks, Mama.
good: I got the girls new matching bathing suits.

I know, I always match them if at all possible, but I actually chose similar but not matching suits and they wanted their suits to be exactly the same. If they had it my size I'd be all over it because they are so cute. The girls really enjoyed the dressing room experience at Target...and hopefully all the other customers within a 50 yard radius enjoyed it too. At least it wasn't me trying on clothes this time, because if the girls are with me in a dressing room they make the most embarrassing comments as loud as possible...it's never a good feeling to hear people in other dressing rooms giggle while your trying on dresses/bathing suits/pants...you get the idea.
good: We only have three more days til we go to the beach...woo hoo! Move over people, I've got a shovel and a pail and I know how to use them!
good: My wonderful, mostly patient, perfectionist of a husband painted the bathroom over the weekend. Oh man, it is so pretty. He let me choose the color...periwinkle. I absolutely love it. I have to paint the trim, but that will happen after our vacation and I promise to try to be a perfectionist just like him. Now I just need to come up with a fabulous word to put on the wall. You know, like those cute wall art things like "family" or "love", but I need a great word for my bathroom.
Okay, now here's the bad news.
bad: We had a frost warning last night. Seriously people, May starts tomorrow, why is it so cold? I'm so glad I haven't planted my tomatoes yet. I hope our sunflowers survived the night...I'll check on them when we leave to go to the library.
bad: Our Walmart is eliminating the fabric department :o( It just doesn't make sense to me. We have no Piece Goods anymore, we have no Rainbow Bay Crafts and Fabrics anymore, we've never had a Hancock Fabrics. Now all we have left is Joann Fabrics (which is fabulous, but not always affordable) and two specialty quilting fabric stores (also fabulous in selection, but not price, not at all price). I guess I'll have to use up the material that I already have before I can justify purchasing any more.

Well, I am glad to say that the good certainly outweighs the bad.
The sun is shining so it should warm up, and at this very moment my girls are playing nicely together. Miss E is making Miss O into a pizza. What? Ever read the book Pete's a Pizza? It's really cute and that would explain the rolling of the dough and the game pieces as pepperonis. How fun!

say hello to my little friends

What a wonderful, warm day we had yesterday. It was laundry day, and as you know by now, when it's warm and sunny I really enjoy laundry day. It's the whole clothesline thing...go ahead call me crazy. Anyway, since we were outside for most of the day we found our first caterpillars!Yippee! Aren't they cute? Miss O named hers Princess, Miss E named hers Fluffy. They had such fun with the caterpillars. Thankfully we have a bug jar to keep them in and as the day progressed they found more...so I think we have 7 or 8 now. Miss O thought they might want to have fun instead of just sitting in the bug jar, so she made a caterpillar playground out of sticks for them. They seemed to enjoy it :o)

There will be more to come. We'll be working on our pictographs today. Thanks to all who told us your favorite fruits. We have lots of data to work with. So now I'm off to have more fun with graphing! It's not just the math teacher in me that thinks graphing is fun. Really! You should try it again...I mean really, when was the last time you made a graph? Go ahead, choose a topic, collect some data, then create your graph. It'll be fun!

library fun

Well, we went to the library today for storytime. It is something that we look forward to each week. As I mentioned before, we really do have the best children's librarians in the world. Right before we walked out the door though, my dear friend Theresa called and asked us to meet her and her four little ones at the neighborhood park after storytime. Oh, what a great time we had. FYI:Play dates are just as important and fun for the mom as they are for the kids. We haven't been able to play with these friends since before Christmas. I know, it's so crazy! If my kids were sick, hers were healthy, and if mine were healthy, hers were sick. And so it went week after week. Finally, a nice warm day and six healthy kids between us...I just wish I had taken my camera. I need to just keep it with me all the time. I'll need a bigger cute purse...oohhh, shopping time---or maybe a smaller camera....hmmmm. Decisions Decisions.



Anyway, back to the library stuff. Sometimes I do things that are a little crazy, I know it's hard to imagine, but it's in the genes. I usually have a pretty good *and* logical reason for my craziness, so it's okay. Let me explain...every time we go to the library and get a whole new mountain of books I always lay them out and spray them, front and back, with Lysol. Yes, to kill the germs. I love our library, but they can't control how many snot-faced, germ-spewing kids come in and touch, cough on, and sneeze on the books. So before the girls can curl up with a pile of new books I spray them. Here's what it looks like.
Go ahead, call me crazy. No really, go ahead, I don't mind, I can't hear you through the blog page. Okay so my logic is...kill the germs now and avoid the next cold, virus, flu, etc. I think it works pretty good...and besides it can't hurt, right?