Knitting: Finished Projects

With this amount of snow and below-freezing temps we have been experiencing, the *best* thing to do with any free time is to get some knitting projects done (as I find that when the weather is nice, I don't knit near as much). 

I knit this hat with two strands of yarn....one blue strand and one purple. I love how it turned out. The yarn was thinner so the two strands together helped bulk the hat up. I made this as a gift for a friend's little girl...

I whipped this zig-zag dish cloth up in a couple days....

A baby boy hat for a family member's upcoming baby shower (I also used two strands of yarn to knit this up)...

A chicken sweater I knit (my first ever....it wasn't a difficult knit really....but the pattern I used wasn't really clear so I had to tear some stitches out a few times)...

What projects have you been working on lately? Any great knitting patterns you are interested to share with me? :)

Have a great weekend!
Cheerfully,
Katy

Photos: Simple Happenings

Just a few photos of what has been going on in our neck of the woods lately...

Egg salad, made from fresh eggs from our chickens (they are laying pretty well for these cold temps! We just have to collect the eggs before they freeze!)...

Jaxson reading "Swiss Family Robinson" to Daddy (He has finished that book now and is now reading "Journey to the Center of the Earth" with me)...

Xavier is reading "Peter Pan"...

Madelyn made homemade applesauce all on her own...

I didn't eat any (since I don't eat sugar) but the rest of the family said it tasted great! Madelyn was over-joyed!

An evening of banjo practicing and chess playing (notice Madelyn is multi-tasking....knitting while she plays chess!! haha! That's my girl!)...

Snickerdoodle cookies...

Ruthie (isn't she the sweetest?)...

Chris, when he has time, has been working on putting up the insulation in the addition...

Washing oil lamp globes...

I've been schooling the children, deep cleaning some areas, organizing, doing normal housework, teaching spin, knitting (which I will share projects from in my next post), babysitting, and attending our homeschool co-op. I am soooo looking forward to spring weather! I hope it arrives sooooon!

What have you been up to lately?

Thanks for dropping by!!

Kindly,
Katy

Thinking Spring: Seeds

What better way to get over the winter blues than to start planning your garden? That's what I am doing! We have gotten our seeds, in the past, from many different places. (We love looking through seed catalogs, don't you?) This year, a friend recommended a place with non-GMO, organic seeds. I thought it sounded pretty great so I looked into it!

SeedsNow is a company that offers raw, un-treated seeds! We just ordered the sampler packs and found them to fill what we needed at great prices! I also love the resealable plastic bags they come in! How perfect! Much better than paper seed holders! I can use them over and over!

Look at this....a little personalization on my receipt (which I thought was super-sweet)...

When your seeds arrive in the mail, they come with a guide to starting your seeds. There is also a *cheat sheet* for 99 cents that helps you know how to space things (I got that too...thought it would be good to have!)...

My receipt of the things we ordered...

This is *not* an advertisement post. I just wanted to share with you where we got our seeds this year and recommend them to you as well! I didn't get paid or even asked to write this post (although I do earn a little commission if you purchase seeds using my referral link: SeedsNow!

I would love to hear what you are planning for your garden this year! I am *so* over winter! How 'bout you?

Cheerfully,
Katy

Indoor Busyness

When it's white, dreadfully cold (below zero), and *frightful* outside...(although all you snow lovers would probably call it *delightful*, huh?) it's a great time to get busy doing things *in*side! So, I have done some painting in the kitchen (we have plaster walls that aren't beautiful...one day I would love to redo my whole kitchen but for now, I do the best with what I have!). The color of paint I used is called *cottage white*. It's softer and warmer than just bright white! 

I would love to set up a good command center here...but I'm just not sure *how* want to do it yet...

As you can see, I'm attempting to warm up my kitchen...as the stark red and white is just not my preference (but I am truly grateful to *have* a kitchen and for all the Lord provides)...

Stella is doing well. She's such a sweetie...quick to start purring, playful, and loving. She likes to be playful at night...which drives the children bonkers...hehe!

 I am reading (among other things) The Gospel-Driven Life by Michael Horton. It's a *great* book. It is theologically sound and not difficult to read. I highly recommend it! A beautiful truth from the book....

"Yet the wonder of the cross is that the same God whose holy character requires justice also paid the price himself. Now that is love!" 

I've been teaching spin class a lot lately...which I really enjoy! I have lost 12 lbs. already this year from keeping track of my food intake and getting lots of exercise. I look forward to nicer weather so that I can run, mow the lawn and be active outside! 

I am looking forward to working in the garden too! I ordered my seeds and they arrived today! They are organic, non-gmo seeds from SeedsNow. A friend ordered from there last year and liked them....so recommended their site to others. We're going to give them a try! I love to see things grow! new life is a beautiful thing! 

Housework keeps me busy as well. The children help with the chores...but you know that as Mama Hen, I am in charge of making sure all gets done properly. ;) Is it strange that I enjoy doing housework *much* more in the nicer days of spring and summer? Inside work just seems more pleasant when you can open the windows and enjoy the breeze and hear the laughter of the children playing outside. Winter sees me struggling to balance cabin fever and feelings of coziness. Although I *desire* to just feel cozy and snug at home, I can often find myself feeling quite stir-crazy! This home-body is feeling too home-bound! Crazy, isn't it? ;)

Jaxson, along with the boy we babysit three days a week, were examining some different slides with Jax's microscope...

My Xavier...

I've been working on a new knitting project in my free time...

Mornings see us busy with our studies...

And finally, a few photos of my desk. I took some time to organize it better and tidy it up a bit...

As you can see, the weather outside is frightful...but inside is so delightful (you sang that as you read it...didn't you?)! We're keeping busy and praying winter ends soon. With these extreme cold temperatures (-25*F at times) I am hoping it will decrease the number of ticks we have around when spring arrives. I shudder even thinking of the ticks....ick!

As I dream of spring, green grass, flowers, gardening, sunshine and warmer temperatures ~ I will continue to praise God in the midst of the winter storms. It's not hard to praise Him...but *is* quite difficult to be content with all that white stuff flying around outside! ;)

How's your weather? What have you been filling your days with? I pray it is all done to the glory of God! Have a great rest of your week!

Warmly,
Katy

A Simple, Joy-Filled Valentine's Day

Chris and I don't really *do* anything for each other on Valentine's Day. We didn't buy special gifts or anything like that. He worked on putting insulation in our addition which made me *quite* happy! Our children decided we needed to *do* something for V-day so they put together a "romantic evening".

The lit candles, played music, made us "how well do you know your spouse" questionaires, had a "draw your spouse" contest, riddles, snacks and more!

Madelyn dressed up for the event...

She played some hymns on the piano for us to enjoy as well...

Jaxson was there too!

Xavier...

My valentine...

The evening was full of laughter as we filled out the questionaire. It was fun....we both did well but I certainly *must* brag that I won that contest! We drew pictures of each other but Chris didn't want me to post a photo because he said the picture he drew was too terrible! Hahaha!

I found it incredibly sweet that our children were bound and determined to make us have a special day together (since we didn't do so ourselves). They are so thoughtful!

We are home from church today as our church (and many in our area) has cancelled services today. That hasn't happened before since we have attended there but due to extreme cold our pastor and the church board determined it was terribly dangerous to have people out in that. Right now, our thermometer says it is -9* outside (and the forecast says we may be having -30* wind gusts)! Brr! I am glad to be hunkering down inside today. Our pastor encouraged us all to take this time to have family worship at home...prayer, singing, reading of the Scriptures etc. We will definitely be doing that!

I hope you have enjoyed your Valentine's Day....even if it was just like any other day! I pray that wherever you are, you are warm! My husband, brave, sweet soul that he is, goes out to tend the outdoor wood stove for us so we can stay warm and cozy inside! Oh, how thankful I am for him!

Thank you for visiting me today!
Until next time, Lord willing,

Katy