Pretties

For our activity with the youth last week, we made some fun necklaces:

These were as easy as trimming out scrapbook paper, gluing the paper to a glass tile, then adding a chain and some trinkets. Fun, right?

Shed No Tears

So, we've been up to our regular autumn shenanigans harvesting and preserving our harvests. I experimented with potatoes in my garden and then experimented with onions in my preserving. We're just all about experimenting, it turns out.

I prefer using dehydrated onions in my cooking but they can be super pricey. I go through them so quickly that it gets pretty expensive. Well, this year, enough was enough, so I planted more onions than usual intending to dry them, which was a gamble because I've never tried it before.

Well, my friends, my gamble paid off. It was a big success, and I'll be doing this from now on:

Do you want to hear my trick for not crying while dicing dozens of onions? I wore Kirk's swimming goggles, and they worked great. (Sorry, no pictures to share of that memorable moment!) Have you tried anything new lately and gotten successful results?

Around Here

It's been a while since the last post but that doesn't mean things have slowed down around here. Spending time harvesting our garden, planting some end-of-season things (in hopes of a better crop than we got in the spring), and getting the rest of our garden and yard happy for autumn has taken a lot of our hours of late:

I experimented this year by planting some potatoes from our pantry to see if they would grow as well as seed potatoes. I was happily surprised that I actually got results but don't think I'll try it again for several reasons. It was worth a shot, though, and now I'm glad I know...the curiosity probably would have killed me.

Discus

Here's another drawing I've been working on:

It's not my favorite figure drawing I've done, but sometimes when it comes to drawing, I get to count some sketches as practices. That way, I can chalk it all up under 'progression.' Thanks skinny little discus man, for letting me practice on you so that I can do much much better on the next one. (And I'm sorry your head is so big and poofy.)

Are you doing anything that you're counting as a practice lately?

Personal Logos

Here's a little decoration I stitched up for the baby's room:

I'll let her come up with her own logo when she's big enough, but since she's still a pipsqueak and probably doesn't care, this is what she gets for now.

I've made dozens of logos for myself throughout the years, including a sassy bat signal, a dancing leprechaun, a dorky cow and a skull with a bow, just to name a few favorites. I'd sign off on all my notes and letters with my logo somewhere, and would sometimes replace my name with the appointed icon. My logo frequently changed depending on my interests, but I have an aunt who has signed off on every one of her notes and letters with the same image ever since I can remember.

Have you ever given yourself a logo? Do you change it out or does it stay the same? Care to share?

Peaches Galore

We're up to our necks in peaches around here, but they are so delicious, that it's a very scrumptious torture. Death by peaches? Maybe. Is that really a bad thing? Not if we have bottled, dried, and frozen peaches to enjoy for a whole year:

One day, our floors will not be sticky, but today is not that day. Until then, we will be gobbling up as many fresh peaches as we can before the harvest season is over. Nom nom nom...

Preserving food seems to be making a comeback. Do you preserve fruits and veggies too?

Birthday Babes

Our favorite sister-in-law recently celebrated her birthday, so we took some pictures:

Isn't she gorgeous? She is just as beautiful on the inside and we love her so much!