This is the start; "Hey Mum, I'm pregnant!"
This is a before the reno picture of my kitchen as you can see the walls are closed in and you can't see the living room from the kitchen stove.
Marty the head carpenter has knocked down the walls
Let there be light, no more pass through into the dining room, no more wall to close me into the kitchen and I now have a great bar for you to sit, eat and shoot the breeze.
It's been a great summer so far but a busy one too. House Reno's, traveling, camping, fishing trips, gardening, and lots and lots of company but also a whole lotta fun. Not much time for crafts or computers but then I've always considered that something to do in the winter months anyway. It's usually about that time your rushing around figuring out what your going to make for Christmas presents. I haven't started canning this year. I'm waiting for the tomatoes to ripen. I still have enough apricot jam to do me for a couple of years yet. My son is not like our daughter use to be; this kid is a picker eater and he eats like a bird in comparison. Kristopher likes blackberry jam and those kinds of berries are great for picking and freezing to turn into jam later in the not so busy fall and winter months when school is back.
Maybe now that I'm older and wiser (no laughing); I've decided that I would much rather swim in the pool all day with my son and enjoy his company and a lotta laughs, before he turns into one of those dreadful teenagers. Kids grow up too fast and before you know it their living their own lives. Yes I know this from experience, been there, done one already.
I use to can anything and everything but now I only grow what we eat the most and or use the most in a can. I think as you get older your eating habits change a lot. We pretty much traded in our beef eating for chicken dishes and a lot more fresh vegetables; I never did care for canned corn or carrots. I still have things in my canning cupboard that should have been thrown out years ago, even a pint jar of pickled beets will last in my fridge for years these days.
I still love to garden though, who doesn't love the scent of a tomato plant or every morning with a coffee in hand, walking out to see just what has changed overnight. To me it's a beautiful sight as though your opening a new Christmas present every day.
I finally get to post the fresh eggs sign I made. This was a Christmas gift for my sister Kansas. Her favorite crafts from me are the ones that hang on the wall, because shelf-sitters get lost and collect dust.
If you have a glue gun and a few minutes time these ornaments make your tree look festive and your gift baskets special. My sister Kansas and I made a whole bunch of these last year for last minute basket fillers. All you need are some round plastic Christmas balls, store bought doilies, scraps of ribbon, silk or dried flowers and we used little plastic pearl garland for a hanger. If your a crafter like me, no doubt you will pretty well have everything on hand. Check out your Christmas isle at your local discount store for those dollar cardboard's full of flowers, bows, and bags of cheap Christmas ornaments; they work great I think both of us agreed that the gold balls looked the best.
Here is a quick and easy craft anyone can make. My Christmas tree is made out of a store bought tomato cage turned upside down. To get the cage ready before you add garland and such you have to gather the wire that sticks into the ground into a point for the top of the tree, I used wire to hold them together, I then ran wire in between the circles of the cage diagonally to give the cage a little more rounded look for the garland to attach to. All I did was wrap Christmas lights around it and then added green and gold garland. I also found gold beaded garland with little fake Christmas lights on it and added this to the tree. I like the traditional green tree but if your Christmas decor is silver, etc. then let your imagination run wild. I like to add little christmas decorations too. My son loves to have any Christmas tree up, the earlier the better. We use wood to heat our house and putting up our big tree has to wait for at least a week before Christmas because it's just to warm and dry.
I just finished this cutie. He's about 12" tall and I have him hanging up in my living room. He can either be a wall or door hanging. I must be on a snowman kick this year. His arms, nose, button and snowflake are cut out separately from 1/8" birch and the snowman and sign are cut out of 1/4" pine; some paint and scrap material for the scarf and bow, and a little bit of wire to attach the snowman to the sign and for a hanger. I love adding to my collections of ornaments every year; who needs Hallmark when you own a band saw. 
