That’s me!

So when a home schooling friend offered me over 1000 home school books and resources for FREE – I was almost giddy!

So what does one do with boxes and boxes and boxes of books?

First you spend hours pouring through every box, touching each and every book and resource. This takes hours because you get distracting and start reading them.

Then you make big piles of the books that you cannot live without and try to fit them on your already full bookshelves.

Meanwhile – your children are also going through each and every box, touching each and every book  and also have large piles of books that they cannot live without – because you trained them from a young age to love books – especially when they are free.

Then you take the many, many, many boxes of books that still remain – and lay them all out neatly in the basement. All over the basement – as in – you must rearrange the basement to make room for them all.
Then you call your homeschooling friends and invite them over for a book party – an “everything is free so please fill as many boxes as you wish and take them to live at your house” book party.

Would you believe they went through each and every box and touched each and every resource and made big piles of books that they just could not live without?

And then their children did the same thing.

After a wonderful afternoon  they took their boxes of books and stuffed in the van with all the children and are probably – right at this very minute – trying to fit them on already full bookshelves.

How do I know this?

Because I’m a bibliophile. It’s what we do.

This year’s program takes place in Bible times – which means we needed period costumes for all the kids.

Dagmar decided it was time to retire the motley collection of plaid bathrobes that had served as costumes for several decades – and step things up a little.

But that wasn’t going to be cheap. Have you seen fabric prices lately?!

There was no way we were spending hundreds of dollars on costumes that would be used once a year for a couple of hours – especially when they are children in the world going to bed hungry tonight!

It was time to get creative!

We did find a great costume pattern with multiple looks and sizes on sale at Michael’s – then we started the hunt for material. Trust me – we left no stone unturned!

We raided Nana Shirley’s cupboards which yielded a few nice pieces and some great trims! Lorine, our resident seamstress at church, also found us some good stuff.

Then we started shopping garage sales, thrift stores and bargain bins.
Our best bargain? The plain white cotton sheet. They were cheap and pretty easy to find – and a little Rit dye turned them into whatever colored we needed!

A shiny plaid piece from a garage sale made a great costume for King Herod, especially when topped with a vest made from a fake red velvet bed spread we found for a dollar at the local thrift store!

The shepherds were really fun! A ratty old blanket turned into a great vest and an old bathroom rug with a hole in the middle became a sheepskin to throw over a shoulder.

We used sheets, blankets, table cloths, curtains, table runners and even bed skirts to find the material we needed.

When she ran out of trims, Dagmar started used contrasting threads and played with the fancy stitches on the sewing machine to finish off the edges.

Aunt Julie came for a weekend to help her sew and put the finishing touches on everything.

The final result?

Some great looking and versatile costumes for a little bit of money.

And that works for me!

I’ve linked this post with Works For Me Wednesday at We Are That Family.

I am not a Black Friday shopper.

I don’t do crowds. I don’t like to wait in lines.

My idea of Christmas shopping look a little more like this -

My favorite Christmas music on the CD player…

A mug of creamy rich hot chocolate with whipped cream…

…and my laptop!  It’s amazing the deals you can find on-line while sitting at home  – fuzzy slippers optional. 

Happy shopping everybody!

But not me.

A turkey can be one of the best meat values around – if you watch for the low price and stock up.

From now till Christmas grocery stores will be having some great turkey prices, and I’ve been filling the freezer.

I found it works well to put them in a row at the very bottom of my chest freezer since I don’t use them often. They are out of the way there and help push everything else closer to the top.

I just have one of the kids hold my ankles when I go in for one!

Often during the winter months we will roast one for a meal, complete with potatoes and stuffing. Then we take the leftover meat off the bones and put them in bags in the freezer to use in a variety of casseroles in the weeks to come.

(Did you know that you can substitute cooked turkey for any casserole that calls for cooked chicken?)

The bones will be put in the crock pot on low with celery, carrots, onions, water, and sage leaves to cook into the most amazing broth.

Just thinking about that turkey broth in a turkey-noodle soup is making my mouth water!

Other turkeys we will smoke or do a “mock-smoke” and use for sandwiches. It’s a great, inexpensive way to feed a large group of people.

I know it won’t work for everybody – but stocking up on cheap turkey now sure works well for me!

I’ve linked this post up with Works for Me Wednesday at We are That Family.

I don’t know why it’s been hard to buzz this kid. His older brothers routinely got a buzz the end of May every year until they were old to just say no.

But Buddy – we’d cut short – but never buzz.

This year though – he asked me once again after a week of extreme heat and humidity. The ticks were terrible and I had spent several minutes every night checking his head for the tiny varmints.

I caved.

We got him all set up outside with the clippers before  I realized that I had never given a buzz cut before. Jan’s dad, a retired Air Force colonel, is our usual barber and not only does a wonderful job , but saves us lots of money.

But Buddy had complete trust in me – or else he was desperate.

A few anxious minutes later – Buddy was buzzed.

He grinned from ear to ear.

Mom cried.

His sisters told him it was cute and every time he walked past them they would rub his head – which annoyed the kid so much that in desperation he resorted to…

…2 hats and a hoodie.

Hmmm… now tell me son, how does a buzz cut keep you cool in the heat when you keep it so well covered?!

We left our very brave husbands home with all the kids – except one – Annie.

Annie to go because there was just one seat left in the van – and she was the only little one who wasn’ t muddy yet.

I’m not sure how excited she was to go an adventure with her aunts – but she was a good sport and soon learned that Auntie Melinda’s thrift stores are quite a bit different then the ones in the big city where she lives!

As soon as we walked into the Mission Possible Thrift Store Annie spotted the row of baby dolls perched right at her level on the shelves. She made a beeline for them exclaiming, “BABIES!”

Every lady in the shop stopped what they doing and said “Ohhh…how precious!”

From that moment on she had the run of the store.

She hugged baby dolls for awhile, then moved on to scarves. After she found a silky pink one and wrapped it around her neck, she moved on with Nana to the other side of the store where she discovered shoes.

Annie loves shoes. Really loves shoes.  Especially shoes that are too big.

She was in her element!

She would try on a pair of shoes and parade around the clothes rack carrying a dolly and wearing her pretty pink scarf.

The other shoppers smiled.

Her favorite pairs were a pair of fuzzy red slippers and a metallic silver heel.

At one point I overheard her say to Nana,” I think you should buy these pretty shoes Nana.”

Nana replied, “Oh my, those are very pretty Annie, but I just don’t have any metallic silver dresses to wear them with.”

Nana did however buy the fuzzy red slippers and Auntie Melinda bought her the pretty pink scarf.

So she left the store with a few treasures of her own and several new admirers.

She and I sat on the courthouse steps across the street eating pretzels while the other gals finished up.

When they joined us in a few minutes they were exclaiming about the great prices and their sweet finds.

I just smiled and said, “You just can’t beat a small town thrift store for great deals.”

And I’m sure Annie would add, “And lots of fun!”

Projects!

Mom has been playing games with the kids, at the sewing machine with Angel Girl making quilt squares for a 4H quilt and playing in the kitchen with Dagmar and I.

I wish you could be here for tea time – we’re having fresh cinnamon swirls!

Meanwhile – we locked Dad in the bathroom.

Not really. But he has been finishing up a project that I’m very excited about!

When you’re dealing with an older house, you walk a fine line between renovating and remodeling, between character and function.

And you save everything – like the cabinet doors from the built-in cupboards we ripped out of the kitchen.

Our downstairs bathroom is built under the stair steps, giving it some unique angles.  My Dad studied the lay-out for awhile and came up with a plan to build a big storage closet under the stairs using 2 of the doors.

Then he tucked a linen closet for towels in another of the angles using a smaller door.

Finally, he built a medicine cabinet right into the wall of the bathroom – and used another door.

It took a while for me to get the doors and the trim stripped, sanded, stained, and varnished. Then we had to wait for the snow to let up for Dad to get down here again to install everything.

But the wait was worth it! We now have a built in medicine cabinet, a deep and functional storage area and a linen closet that are beautiful and new to the house – but look as if they have always been there!

The best part is that we not only saved the character – but we added function!

Happy!  Happy!  Happy! 

]]> http://www.bluejeansandcottontees.com/making-the-old-new-again/feed/ 4 http://www.bluejeansandcottontees.com/black-friday-preparations/ http://www.bluejeansandcottontees.com/black-friday-preparations/#comments Fri, 26 Nov 2010 16:23:21 +0000 Country Gal http://www.bluejeansandcottontees.com/?p=4481

I hope all you Black Friday Shoppers out there were armed and ready for the fray this morning.

May you come home victorious!

Cartoon courtesy of cartoonaday.com

I love browsing through the ladies magazines and clipping recipes to try. (Dagmar and I have feasted at lunch this week on Chicken Panzanella Salad, Tomato Basil Salad, and Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches!)

Normally I will quickly pass over the beauty hints  (I think it’s too late for me anyway!) but one article caught my eye – “Help for Your Curly Hair”.

I quickly flipped the magazine open.

I was blessed with naturally curly hair. At least it’s a blessing 9 months of the year. The other 3 months it is -well – not such a blessing.

Can you say “frizz”? How about “frazzled”? Does “Bozo the Clown” give you a mental picture?

Now – finally – in just 5 short paragraphs I will learn what will kept my curly locks tamed all summer long!!

I know you’re just as excited as me – are you ready for the secret?

It’s product. Lots of product. Expensive product.

Silicone shampoo – $32
Hydrating Conditioner – $4
Anti-Frizz Cream – $4
Serum – $8
Sunscreen – $22

Now – I don’t like math very well – but if I added this up right it would cost me $70 to keep my hair from frizzing.

$70!!!

Do you have any idea how much chocolate I could buy with $70?!

Not to mention thrift store clothes and sale groceries!?

That’s a far cry from the $.99 family size bottle of Suave I normally use.

So, with my deepest respects to the “experts” who contributed to the story – I think I will stick to my tried and true method of frizz reduction.

It’s called a pony tail.

Simple. Fast. Effective.

But most importantly cheap.

]]> http://www.bluejeansandcottontees.com/help-for-curly-hair/feed/ 3 http://www.bluejeansandcottontees.com/a-green-thumb-revived/ http://www.bluejeansandcottontees.com/a-green-thumb-revived/#comments Wed, 06 Oct 2010 19:53:40 +0000 Country Gal http://www.bluejeansandcottontees.com/?p=4059 When my former college roommate visited a few years ago, she commented on my lack of house plants.

She reminded me that in college I always had plants with me. Every fall I would haul them to our dorm room and every spring haul them back home.

Somehow over the years I have lost my green thumb.  All of my nurturing skills went into my children and little by little the plants died off.

I’m rather embarrassed to admit this – but they were replaced by -  plastic plants. I know they can be tacky but I still needed some green in my life – especially during those long cold winters.

Now that we’re in the new house with this amazing sun room that is screaming for some live plants  – and the children are older – I’m feeling like it might be time to try it again.  I even asked my mom to start a few plants for me.

Then we went to a garage sale on Saturday and the lady was selling these.

Beautiful, healthy, large plants – for a buck a piece!

Yes! I paid a dollar each for these beauties!

Including 2 big luscious ferns that fit right as if they had always lived here.

I feel like I got a part of myself back.

But the big question remains – can I keep them alive? (Mom- go ahead and start those plants – I may need a back-up plan!)

Once a green thumb is neglected, can it be revived?

Stay tuned!