Friday, July 30, 2010

settling in

We have had a nice, slow-paced week just settling in after my trip. I'm not a "good" or seasoned traveler so the whole experience was a bit stressful (think "driving in Boston"), so we've just been super mellow this week. I'm a huge homebody anyway, so picking up these homely rhythms suits me perfectly.

What we've been up to:
:: making fairy villages with the boys (that's what we did first thing, first morning I was back)
:: sending snail mail and boy-made pictures to Faith at BU
:: hanging load after load of laundry out on the line (my love affair with the laundry line has not diminished. If anything, it has intensified! I am the biggest geek ever.)
:: doing the first baking project since the trip (breadsticks). Most likely we'll follow it up today with my favorite healthy cookie.
:: picking flowers and making little bouquets.
:: using lots of produce from the garden (made this recipe last night--so good!)
:: making jam (plum was finished before the trip. Now we are onto nectarine--my favorite! The thing about home grown fruit is that when it is ready it is now or never! Thus late-night jam making when I'd rather be sleeping. More jam tonight).
:: getting back to my Flylady routines. I am loving her system so much! Yesterday I started working on my Flylady notebook (what she calls the "control journal"). I'm a notebook person, so this is fun for me.
:: getting back into sewing a little bit.
{fairy village}
{inside a fairy house}
{I asked him to pick a pretty napkin to cover the bread dough for rising. I loved his selection!}
{herbs from our garden. Ken always grows pots of herbs along with all the fruit trees and vegetables. Awesome, he is.}
{Rolling the dough. Dieter really enjoyed the process but didn't eat the results. Oh well!}
{Cheesy breadsticks. Inspired by this recipe, although we ended up doing our own thing.}
{log cabin squares for a table runner like Soulemama's}

Looking forward to more of the same this weekend. What have you been up to??

6 comments:

Andrea said...

Sounds perfect (and driving in Boston? Yikes!!)! The log cabin squares look gorgeous. The late-night jam-making is crazy, though, isn't it? I'm taking receipt of 20 lbs of blueberries the day before we leave for a weekend camping trip. Aaaaahhh!!

Mary Beth said...

Oh my, that is exactly what I try to avoid (major canning projects right before a trip. That is why we missed out on our apricot harvest this year). Have fun camping! Sounds delightful.

Jules said...

Hi, Mary Beth! I am new to your blog but have found myself addicted over the past few days and am feverishly catching up with your posts. I am an avid knitter and love sewing too and have just got back into sewing recently as a way of being creative for my little family. It's a kind of therapy for the life with a child with Type 1 diabetes. I am finding it very useful and your blog has given me so many great ideas. You are generous with your knowledge and I thank you for that.
Rest assured I will be here to comment again, now that I am done lurking...
Oh, the oven bell just rang. Choc chip cookies are done ...

Faith said...

Hi mom. I would agree with the point about you being the biggest geek ever, but that's why we love ya! The boys fairy village is awesome. I'll have to figure out where to pick up mail so that I can see these fabled boy drawings.
love, faith

HereWeGoAJen said...

I love the fairy village! The quilt squares are fantastic too.

Gift of Green said...

Hi Mary Beth,

The favorite "trick" of mine from Boston is the right hand turn from the left hand lane. A classic!!

Well, I've hauled out the $100 Singer sewing machine from the closet, found the manual, threaded a bobbin, and now need to find my seam ripper. Need a beginners project now.

How cute is it that Faith commented on your post. Hi Faith!