I Could Smell You Coming From a Mile Away and Other Home Adventures

The Mountain Men had a great weekend of shooting and throwing and sittin' around the fire. I told my Beloved that I knew they were home just by the smell. :) But they didn't return empty handed.

The spoils included a powder horn, walking stick,  tomahawk, a gun sling, pistol cleaner, knives, sheepskin, cookware, and even trinkets for the girls.

Back at the fort, we forced ourselves to have tea and scones, read together, clean, and create. I would never describe myself as creative, and yet, I'm thankful for that God-given desire to make things.

We started first with the essential childhood ingredient....play dough. Don't you love this pink bubble gum color?

Here's our favorite inedible version. 

(Because surely you've eaten the peanut butter kind. :))

2 c. flour

2 c. water

1 c. salt

2 T. veg. oil

1 T. cream of tartar

Mix together and cook over low heat. Remove from pan and knead on wax paper. This keeps for quite awhile when kept in a container.

We also indulged in our favorite scone recipe. My lovely Emma set out my grandmother's sugar bowl and creamer. I've been thinking of giving these away as I try to eliminate "stuff," but now I'm glad I haven't. They were an elegant touch to our table, and I loved my daughter's enthusiasm for using them.

We managed to fit in some laughter, too.

While many are well into their new school year, we're on break, preparing to start in October. I immersed myself in Binder Bliss and managed to get six done. Only three more to go! Little Clairesy saw the excitement of her siblings when I was done with their binders, and now she wants one, too.

Last, but definitely not least, I gave my calendar area a makeover.

This is my brain tacked to a wall.

Here's my new improved brain, and I LOVE IT! Those pockets are perfect for dry erase markers. So, I have a calendar in the upper left corner. I keep the week's recipes in the pocket to the right.  In the middle section are the directions to my house (so the children have it if they ever need to explain it to someone...) as well as phone numbers. The large pocket is for anything outgoing, such as mail or papers to give to someone.  The small pocket to the right holds the dry erase marker and two pens.  Then there are four bottom folder areas. I use one for grocery sale papers, and the other three I'm still working on.

My cousin is responsible for telling me about this genius of an idea. You can read more about it at her Thirty One page.  This wasn't cheap, but it was worth every cent, and even my sons are impressed with my new brain.

Ok, so surely one of these things qualifies me to link up with Petra's World of Work Wednesday. 

I'm tired now.

With love,