{ Crocheting again and homemaking }

I picked up my crochet bag, grabbed a hook and just started working.  It flowed so effortlessly, the yarn slipping between my fingers, the hook methodically working.  Into the next stitch, yarn over, pull through, into next stitch, yarn over, pull through.....and so it went.

Before I knew it, I had 8 squares in front of me.  

It honestly baffled me at first, because if you remember one of my previous posts, I was struggling with crochet.  For some reason it was intricately connected to Marley and his passing inadvertently put up a blockage towards this hobby.  

 

As I have worked through my feelings the past few months, I am starting to feel a lot of that dissipating, and I'm once again beginning to enjoy the things I was most struggling with.

 

Being able to crochet right now, is huge for me.  HUGE!!!

 

 

One of my favorite crochet squares to make, is the Filet Crochet Starburst Square.  It's quick, it's easy and it's so pretty, as well as being the perfect square to use up yarn from your stash.

I wasn't quite sure what to make with them, then I remembered the Crochet Mood Blanket from 2014.  It was so much fun to make and it's one of the blankets that I ended up selling, I think a year later.  So I don't have one in my home anymore, and I would love to.

 

I am once again using the Flat Braid Joining Method which gives this beautiful effect.  Honestly, it's the best project for me right now as I ease back into crocheting.  It's working up quickly which as you know, if you crochet, or knit, there's nothing like a project that you can see right away.  I love crochet alongs, and I love big blankets but they are time consuming and take a while to see it coming together.

 

 

I also made a few faux wasp nests.  I know a few of you were asking for the pattern, I actually found it on Youtube, but it's basically just an increase circle, building the sides up then decreasing.  Couldn't be any easier.  Here is the video I followed.

 

Still haven't hung them up as we've been dealing with insane winds lately.  By the way, what is with the winds, is anyone else noticing that they seem so much more intense and crazy the past year or two?  

I'm hoping they slow down a bit soon, then I can hang these up without worrying that they'll fly away.

Last Friday I went to pick up my grocery order.  It's getting harder to shop and get everything we need, without blowing our food budget.  I was quite taken aback by spending over $300 and those were the bags I got.  I didn't even get much meat at all because it's either too expensive or Walmart is always out of stock.

With that in mind, we are more determined than ever to really grow a big garden this year, lots of veggies that we will consume, and also have enough to give family, friends and neighbors if needed.

We've already started our seeds, and some are growing quite beautifully.  I don't think I'm ready to get the strawberries in the ground though, not yet, so I'm monitoring them inside.  They need at least 6 hours of sun or direct light, and for some reason they have been loving my bedroom window.

I open my windows and set them on the windowsill until late afternoon, then move them to a shelf.  So far, it is working.

The rest of the seedlings are on this shelf, in my foyer. It is still too windy to put them out on the back porch.

I also grabbed two rose bushes that were 50% off.  They still need to go in the ground, but I am thinking I may pot them first.  I'm very indecisive on what to do, so if you have any suggestions for rose bushes, let me know.

The one I picked up practically dead, at Lowe's, a few years ago, is in my back garden and it is beautiful.  It has tripled in size and just produces the most gorgeous pink roses, matter of fact it is already growing new leaves and getting ready to bloom.

I would like to maybe plant the rose bushes near it as well, but need to give the yard a good clean before hand.

 

Decisions, decisions.

 

Inside, I've been focused on making as much as I can, instead of buying.  One thing I always do, is bake bread for sandwiches, but I've also been making french bread for pizzas, toast, subs and so on.  The recipe I use is very simple, and the bread always comes out perfect.  

I use my bread machine, which makes it easier so that I can keep going with the rest of my chores, while it works on the dough.  Then I shape it, set it to rise and bake it.

The recipe is not yet on the food blog, I'm going to try and get it up today before I need to run an errand this afternoon.  Be sure to bookmark it, because I think you'll really enjoy this one.

And speaking of bread machines, mine is about to go out.  I've had it for so many years, at least 15 and it's been amazing, but it's making a weird noise, like the motor is about to give out.  I think I need to purchase another, so I'll be saving some money for that.  If you have bread machine and it's a good one, please let me know in the comments down below.

I mentioned a few posts back about the antique parlor table we were given, that belonged to my husband's uncle's mom.  This is it down below.  It's solid wood, you know, like good furniture, not the nonsense they make nowadays with cheap wood that falls apart.

It is also an antique which means big and clunky, but we love it, and don't have any plans to get rid of it anytime soon.

The days just go by, they flow from one to the other, and it's up to us to figure out what we are doing and how we want our lives to go.  

Every morning brings new mercies, right?

I feel that we are living in tumultuous times, things seem so out of touch with reality, and it's up to us to protect our families and our homes.  So we can either choose to surround ourselves with drama and let that chaos of the world into our souls, or we can take charge, hold on to the Lord's word, and live each day fully.  

I've never wanted more to go back to simpler times, than I do now.  To work off the land, to bake bread, and putter around my house, read the Bible, pray, watch good family shows and read books.

I think it's time for us to stand together as homemakers, and to keep the home fires burning, so to speak.  To encourage others to stay in the word, to love their homes and their families, to cling on to their morals and values.  There's so much darkness in our world, and we are charged with bringing light  and being the light, not just for us but for others too.

Whatever I post here on my blog, is and always has been, about my day to day life.  But if that encourages anyone, if it brings joy or a smile to someone's face, or even if it just for a moment allows one single reader to forget the worries and craziness, and for the time they're here reading, they see goodness, family, simple homemaking......then that is all I can ask for.

I don't know why I felt I had to say all that, but I'm sure it is meant for someone out there.

 

 

 

Well my friends, I'm going to get my dishwasher emptied out, load it with breakfast dishes, and start my laundry, before I continue with my crochet.

 

I hope you all have a blessed Thursday, and whatever you do, do it with a happy heart and always for God's glory.

♥♥♥