To the Hilt

Today's Sewing Projects

Today, I finally got to do some sewing again.  I made a new baby ring sling for carrying Micah in.  I had some moss green linen fabric that I had originally bought to make a dress with.  The fabric was a perfect weight of linen to make the baby sling from as it is strong enough to hold Micah securely, yet light weight enough to not be too warm in the summer.  The sling instructions came from Sweet Things Baby Slings website.  Leah, the owner, used to make and sell baby slings as a home business but as of May, 2008, she has closed her business and began offering her sling instructions on the webpage for free.  She has instructions for making and using both the ring sling and the pouch type.  The ring sling took very little time for me to make.  I serged all the edges before hemming them.  Leah's instructions were very easy to follow and I now have a new sling for Micah that I can't wait to try out tomorrow.

Another sewing project was making a stack of new diaper soakers.  A while ago, I had been given an interesting diaper soaker.  Made of a doubled layer of terry cloth, the soaker was shaped like a cloth diaper buyt without elastic or closures.  The soaker had an additional rectangular piece or doubled terry cloth with rounded corners that was sewn down the center of the soaker to give additional absorbancy.  I love this soaker over any other type I have used.  I wrap it onto Micah, then wrap a diaper cover over top.  At night, I can use it inside of another diaper to give extra absorbancy as a night diaper.  Using the serger, I was able to sew up a stack of these soakers in very little time.  The one change that I made to the soaker was the way the extra layer was sewn in.  On the original one that I was given, the extra soaker layer was stitched down the middle with a single line of stitching that went down the length from one short end to the other.  When I dry this soaker in the dryer, it takes more than one full cycle to dry it thoroughly.  To solve that problem of drying time, I instead stitch the extra soaker across the short end at the back of the diaper only.  This makes a "flap" that will allow the soaker to dry faster, whether it be in the dryer or hung out on the clothesline.

Tomorrow, I hope to get some more sewing finished.  It seems that the list of clothing and other sewing projects never ends when you sew for your family.  I love it!

Middle daughter is debating job? school? both????

Our middle daughter is debating over a job offer and college or just straight college.   For all our girls we offer them a full ride to college , books , all cost, a car, gas, medical & car insurance , spending money , we do it all like we do now.  The only difference is they have to live at home while they go to school, or board at a far school.  They car work part time where dad and I agree they can for mad money, but they are just to focus on school.   Well, Shayna has a great job offer starting off at $10 -$12 an hour with insurance, 401k, retirement and more.  She will still live at home and we will support her still, minus medical insurance ( she has to be in school for 12 units for ours to cover her) and she can go to college at night.

Shayna wants to open a cafe.  So she would be going to school for that and her art as well as her veterinary.  So now she has a choice to make this job where she could just keep advancing year after year and school or just straight school and open her cafe and sell her art there.  The veterinary is just because she is good at it and loves it(she already has college classes in this from high school) , and well it is good to fall back on if she ever needed to.

We tell her what ever she decides is fine, we will support her 100%.

We are praying over this to see what God has to say.

P.s. the joke on dad went good I will tell you all about Mr. Grump Gills (the fish's name)and dad later , also about his wife they are trying to talk us into buying!!!  Some times I wonder if they are Moses, every needs a mate!     LOL.  Help me!!!

God Bless all, mj

2008 Perseid Meteor Showers are coming!

Mark your calendar: The 2008 Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12th and it should be a good show.

"The time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday, August 12th," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center. "There should be plenty of meteors--perhaps one or two every minute."

The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is far away, currently located beyond the orbit of Uranus, a trail of debris from the comet stretches all the way back to Earth. Crossing the trail in August, Earth will be pelted by specks of comet dust hitting the atmosphere at 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a flimsy speck of dust makes a vivid streak of light when it disintegrates--a meteor! Because, Swift-Tuttle's meteors streak out of the constellation Perseus, they are called "Perseids."

(Note: In the narrative that follows, all times are local. For instance, 9:00 pm means 9:00 pm in your time zone, where you live. )

Serious meteor hunters will begin their watch early, on Monday evening, August 11th, around 9 pm when Perseus first rises in the northeast. This is the time to look for Perseid Earthgrazers--meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond.

"Earthgrazers are long, slow and colorful; they are among the most beautiful of meteors," says Cooke. He cautions that an hour of watching may net only a few of these at most, but seeing even one can make the whole night worthwhile.

A warm summer night. Bright meteors skipping overhead. And the peak is yet to come. What could be better?

The answer lies halfway up the southern sky: Jupiter and the gibbous Moon converge on August 11th and 12th for a close encounter in the constellation Sagittarius: sky map. It's a grand sight visible even from light-polluted cities.

For a while the beautiful Moon will interfere with the Perseids, lunar glare wiping out all but the brightest meteors. Yin-yang. The situation reverses itself at 2 am on Tuesday morning, August 12th, when the Moon sets and leaves behind a dark sky for the Perseids. The shower will surge into the darkness, peppering the sky with dozens and perhaps hundreds of meteors until dawn.

Above: The eastern sky viewed during the hours before sunrise on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008.

For maximum effect, "get away from city lights," Cooke advises. The brightest Perseids can be seen from cities, he allows, but the greater flurry of faint, delicate meteors is visible only from the countryside. (Scouts, this is a good time to go camping.)

The Perseids are coming. Enjoy the show!

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Stupid pigs ate my chickens

Ok...what do you do with pigs that eat chicken?

I know the obvious...put them in the freezer. But, in this instance, that isn't the best answer, although I am seriously pondering learning the butchering trade right now!  UGH!

Our new pigs, those pregnant sows we picked Saturday, they ate 2 of my laying hens.  Didn't have a chance-- just attacked them and then proceeded to pull them apart like some warped game of tug-o-war or something.

Our chickens have their home in the barn, and a nice, fenced yard.  I have 3, however, who are definitely roamers.  If we clip their wings any further, they won't have but a bare bone frame over on that side, yet they still manage to climb that fence and roam the yard.  They have a route...they ceck out the goats and puppies for a day or so, even roost in the puppy pen with them.  No one has ever cared (athough those blasted puppies have enjoyed playing with the younger pullets....and have killed a handful of them as well).

But, the pigs...they are in the other side of the barn, along the outside pens.  The chickens go through the horse lot there into the timber to wander.  A couple ended up in the pigs confinement and well....tug-o-war time.

I can break those puppies of playing tag with my chickens, but what do you do with a pig who has a taste for chicken now?  It rather worries me that the children don't typically think much of getting into the barn, and they help with the feeding and such.  As far as I'm concerned, these are dangerous pigs.  You know, around here, the standard was that when the Revenue men cam poking around and causing trouble, you just tossed them into the pig pen and let the hogs have them.  Nothing left to dispose of.

Now I have pigs that have shown a very dangerous side to themselves.  I'm not really interested in the additions to the freezer menu anymore, no matter how wonderful the other tastes.

Crochet Wash cloths

Lately I have been crocheting wash cloths.  I love using them.  They are soft, yet have just enough texture to gently exfoliate the skin.  Normally, I make the square/rectangular ones.  They seem to be the standard type that most people like.  Last night I made a round one with a ruffled edging.  It looks really cute.  I may go ahead and make up more like it to see if they will sell also.

I started thinking about all the baby weight yarn that I have.  Today, I am making some cloths from the baby weight yarn to use for our little one.  I think it would work great not only as a wash cloth but also for baby wipes. 

This is opening up another whole area of possibilities for earning a little income from home.  I have already been sewing some things to sell.  These little cloths however are going to be a nice addition to the inventory I have on hand.

Kidney update..

well i talked to the doctors office again today. I found out that my kidney is only working at less than 20% and  will never work at more than that. We are going to try to save it..

The doctor said that he is going to try to only go in four times to get the stone all out. That means more time under however less stress on me and my kidney.  He also said there is a chance we could start all this and the kidney die and have to be removed.

So with that being said please keep us in your prayers. I am praying for the outcome to happen quicker than what he is expecting so that i can go back to work and take care of my children..

I pray that each of you are doing well

glenda