Fun Weekend

Thanks to Aaron (hubby) we got ourselves out of the house on Saturday for a beautiful leaf-peeping drive! When the kids were younger, we did this more often, but have gotten away from taking fun drives. We ended up driving up Rt. 8 through the Berkshires and into Otis, MA. Then we picked up Rt. 7, stopped in Sheffield, MA at Sheffield Pottery, and bought a great crock for mums on our front porch. We also found a great garden place for mums and gourds, and I didn't write down the name..grrr! I hate when I do that because it really is a great place, and pretty near Stockbridge, MA, I'm sure. Stockbridge is a wonderful place to visit, and was mobbed on Saturday! Usually we drive through on off-peak times, and you can see the part of Main Street that Norman Rockwell painted.


I need to look up the lake we first stopped at, then the quarry. The quarry was very cool! It's still got a lot of the equipment that was used at the quarry, and lots of hiking trails. It's called Becket's Quarry, and was just beautiful! I chickened out on hiking all the way around, but Aaron decided to crawl up on a "grout" pile (I learned that at the quarry....lol) to prove how beautiful a view it was from there!

We got home a bit late, cooked up a quick dinner, then collapsed! I swear, some days I feel older than others..lol Sunday Aaron had to work for a few hours, and I replanted the mums, and decorated the front door. Gotta take a picture tomorrow. I've got my third hooking class to teach tomorrow night, and I think I'm going to backtrack a bit. The next class needs to be more organized on my side, and I'm going to remedy some of what I've glossed over tomorrow night. I really want the gals in my class to enjoy hooking, and want to hook more! Of course, I have to reign myself in a bit! Not everybody loves hooking as much as I do! lol

Two Posts in One Day!!

I was reading one of my favorite blogs, and her post for today really hit home. Lori at NotForgotten Farm
wrote about how she can really see how the economy "issues" are affecting everybody. I have noticed that our malls, grocery stores, and gas stations are emptier than usual, and people are really thinking over purchases that aren't needs. I know I do! As I said in today's post number one, my gifts this year will be mostly hand made. My garden did really well, and I've got a few things canned for the winter. Of course, there will be NO shortage of zucchini! :o) Plans for next years garden is already in the works, and it will be planted heavily toward canning and freezing. My job hunt is ongoing, but luckily, hubby still has a job, and we can make do, or do without...as our ancestors have always done.

Lori has some great ideas on saving money, and I've thought of a few more.
1. Buy bulk when meat is on sale. You can make double of whatever is for dinner, and freeze the extra for another night.
2. Surf on line for coupons, but only for items you normally buy.
3. If you are lucky enough to live in town, walk, walk, walk! Health benefits and saving gas!

Let me know any tips you have!!

WOOHOO! Hooking again!

Fall is here, and I've finally finished a rug! Ok, well a table runner, but it's all in prim colors, with tulips and bluebirds, and I just love it! I've listed it on Ebay, and a part of me wants to keep it! lol But, I've kept the pattern, and might just start offering patterns on monks cloth on my Etsy.

The rug hooking class I'm teaching has already had two classes, and I really think that everybody is enjoying the learning process. Rug hooking is an art of practice, practice, practice, and as long as you keep that in mind while learning, you will really have fun with it. I like art that you can do to your taste and doesn't have a bunch of rules to follow! Doesn't sound much like a teacher, does it? :o) Oh well, guess I'm a rebel at heart! Since this is my first time at teaching a hooking class, I've already started tweaking the "curriculum" for the next one. More organized, less flying by the seat of my pants..lol

I've started on birthday/Christmas presents, and it's going pretty well. Our November is full of birthdays, and it just runs into birthdays and Christmas in December, so we have to be quite organized. Since I'm not working yet, it'll be presents on a budget, but most of my family and friends like handmade stuff...lucky for me and my budget! Aaron also pulled out the garden, and set up a little fall vignette with the sleigh as a backdrop and pumpkins and mums. He really is much better at the putting together of items than I am. I just get the stuff, and he decorates! He claims he's "getting in touch with his feminine side"...lol We actually ran the pellet stove for a few nights this week, but it'll be back in the upper 60's and lower 70's for the weekend, so we got a break from using the pellets. I couldn't believe how much more expensive they are this year, and harder to get! We managed to get two tons, but will need two more in the next month to get us through the winter. Last year three tons just didn't quite make it, so we're planning on four this year.

I'm back to making a birthday present. Later today, I'll be posting some beautiful dyed by me wools for rug hooking/penny rugs on my Etsy shop as well as a pattern or two. Take a look if you get a chance!!

Falls' Here!

The air at night is crisp, the days shorter, and my poor tomato plants are shivering in their beds! lol I absolutely LOVE this time of year! I've already done one fall rug and have one more on the frame, and we're planning a fun halloween!! This summer was one of a few struggles, one being my certification to teach high school. I had to take one more class plus a very tough certification test. I passed both!! Gotta say it...Yah me! lol Hopefully this new certification will open up more opportunities to teach, and I can finally get on with teaching. Besides needing another paycheck, I feel as though teaching is what I should be doing, and I have alot to offer the kids that will pass through my classroom.

Since that hurdle has been conquered, I am back to rug hooking, and am even going to teach a rug hooking class starting September 30 at the continuing ed classes at the high school. I spoke with the director a couple of weeks ago, and she said my class was practically full!! Now that's exciting! This coming week is going to be a flurry of getting supplies and information packets ready for my class as well as putting items into my new Etsy shop. Ebay is just costing me too much when I actually sell something, and I really feel the need to distance myself from it.

I'm heading back to my rug frame to finish my current rug as well as draw up some patterns for the Etsy shop, so head over by using the link to the right of the posts and check it out!!

Na-

A wonderful lesson for everybody!

This link came to me through an e-mail I received tonight. You've probably seen it seeing as that I'm usually a day late and a dollar short when it comes to these neat vids! lol If you've got a few minutes, check out the vid, I'm sure you'll be impressed.

No rug hooking...lotsa studying!

After finishing a commissioned runner.....HI KAREN!! I had to put away the wool and hook for studying. I am really missing hooking, and have about a thousand ideas for rugs running through my head, but since I have to take a teaching certification test on July 26, studying takes a front seat. I am certified to teach kindergarten through sixth grade, but after passing this test, I will be able to teach history, social studies, geography, political science, psychology, sociology, and economics in grades seven through twelve. Hopefully this will mean a permanent classroom this fall...fingers crossed!

Our garden is growing like crazy! Right now zucchini is really in season, and I've canned twelve pints of zucchini relish, and baked four loaves of zucchini bread, and still have zucchini in the kitchen and ripening on the vine. While I loooove all this fresh veggie coming from the garden, it's a touch vegetable to do alot with. Our cucumbers are flowering, and there's lots of green tomatoes on the vine, so it's just a matter of time and we'll have lots more! Hubby has done a great job keeping the weeds down, and hasn't yet complained about the zucchini crowding the kitchen table at dinner time...snicker!



Here's a few veggie garden pics. We also splurged on a new kayak when a local outdoor shop had a great sale on kayak packages, and have already gone out once. I fell in love with kayaking when we went to the Outer Banks on vacation a couple of summers ago, and kayaked with a guide on the Alligator River. No alligators, but our daughter and I sharing a double person kayak was hilarious! We have such similar personalities that both of us kept trying to steer....in opposite directions! Going in circles doesn't do much for following the guide and group!

Hubby on the new kayak!


Me and my Dagger (kayak!) Lifejackets don't
do much for the figure...lol

Finally finished!

Flowers in an urn

I have finally finished my latest rug, and while it's not huge, there's a ton of beautiful muted spring colors all through out it. Color planning isn't one of my strong points, so it takes me a little while longer to get it just right! It was great fun to hook, and is an adaptation of a square from a Boston Album quilt that I just love! If you click on the link above, it will take you to the rug's Ebay page.

I will have another post today after I finish homework from the history class I'm taking to earn a cross-certification in teaching. I do love rug hooking, but teaching is something I feel I need to do, and this new certification will help me widen my job pool!