Last week...

• We picked 13 lbs of blueberries. My freezer is now awash in them.
• We finished snake-sitting. The pleas for a snake of our own have already begun.
• We bought a new (to us) van. A twelve-seater, it has enough room for us, our junk, and some friends. I can now spend time intimidating other drivers on the road with this beast. Not really - I try to be a polite driver. But we have started referring to the old van as "the little van".
• We got to look after a couple of my friends' daughters for a couple days while she had surgery. We were so blessed to serve this family that has so kindly and faithfully served us for so long. And my kids loved having some extra playmates for a couple days. There were tears when they went home...
• We got to hang out with some excellent couples. One evening went particularly late - I remember looking at the clock and thinking, "It is sooo late, but I don't want the evening to end, so I'll just keep quiet and hope no one else notices." That happens rarely, but it's so fun when it does.
• I've had a growing awareness that the summer is almost half gone (!), I have about six weeks left until this baby arrives (!!), and I have done no planning for next year. I have all of my supplies (I think), but no plan for how to use them. So, I anticipate spending more time this week looking through my materials and coming up with a game plan. That may mean you hear less from me over the next few days, but don't worry - "it's just a break". "It's not you, it's me." "I really need some time to focus on my 'career' right now." "I hope we can still be friends." Really.

Gayner family summer

This is what it's looking like: 



Crazy Hat Day at Summer Blast, our church's VBS program

Chillin' on the deck while assorted children play with their favorite water toy (in lieu of a pool)E

Enjoying the very first cucumber from the garden this year, and knowing there's more to come

                                                              Getting in plenty of playtime outside

How's your summer looking?

Baby Knitting - In Threes (again)

I mentioned earlier that I had cast on another In Threes to use up the other skein of that lovely Malabrigo yarn - well, here it is!

 Not the best pictures, as it's still on the blocking board, plus a busted camera means my iPhone camera is my only option. I should have a go at running some of these photos through Instagram or something interesting. Maybe one day.

I may or may not be somewhat addicted to baby/kid/little thing knitting. It's so nice to have something to show for your efforts in a short period of time. I still want to get into something that requires more of an investment, but using up small amounts of yarn and finishing some comissioned items before winter (ahem) seems to be where it's at for the moment...Maybe if I finish my other projects soon, I can justify my big project, right?

May I remind you how lame I am?

Because I am lame, and you need to know that to explain why I get so excited about little things. Like taking something not very pretty and making it (I think) prettier. Take this notebook, for instance:

I've used these notebooks for sometime now as my daily to do list and general notetaking. I call it my brain, and it goes almost everywhere with me. But it's not pretty. Granted, coloring in all the white speckles is fun. but that wasn't really doing it for me anymore. So, I went to my sewing room, found some fabric in my stash that would do the job, and came up with this:

At first, the cover was plain, and I liked it well enough, but it lacked umph. Also, I was regularly getting confused between the front and back, top and bottom (lame, I know), so one of Martha Stewart's cute little stencils came to the rescue. I traced the little birdy to some card, used it as a template to cut out some more scrap fabric, ironed on some fusible interfacing to give it some backbone, and stitched it on.

And now, I'm happy. I may at some point in the future add some extra visual interest (like a branch for birdy to perch upon), but for now it makes me happy. I consider it a mark of good character that it takes so little to make one happy - wouldn't you agree?

We have a guest

A little over a week ago, we welcomed at temporary guest to stay with us. Fred has been a very pleasant guest to have in our home, making no mess, being very easy to get along with, need very little attention and being overall a rather fascinating fellow. Oh, and Fred's a ball python.

Fred's family is enjoying a wonderful cross-country road trip, and it's been so nice looking after him while they're gone. The kids all love him and are keen to keep his tank misted, and even Toby (the least snake-interested of the lot of us) finds him utterly fascinating.

Fred eats only once a week, and Friday was the day. The kids had been eagerly anticipating it, and Tobes wanted to witness the event before he left for work, so we woke them up this morning with the rally cry, "It's Feed Fred Friday!" That got them moving.

Once the frozen mouse (otherwise known as "breakfast") was thawed, Fred was removed from his home, placed in his feeding container, and provided his meal. Being a constrictor, it didn't take long before he coiled around it and got down to the business of getting it in his belly. I thought it was going to be pretty gross, but actually, like most of what Fred does, was just downright fascinating.

We get to enjoy Fred for another week before his family returns to claim him. After that, I fully expect to be petitioned to get a snake of our own, and perhaps some other caged critters (Abi has been interested in getting a mouse for years). And I gotta say, it won't take much to convince me - Fred has been an ideal pet: he doesn't shed, bark, get underfoot, or leap up at guests. He's been pretty easy to care for, not very expensive, and it's much easier to have someone look after your contained pet when vacations roll around. Any thoughts (like how we must be nuts)?

Does anyone else have some weird and wonderful pet experiences to share?

Link Love

• Even if you don't sponsor a Compassion child, you can still write to one!
• I'll be making note of these ideas in my yard sale-ing this summer...
• These bookmarks are so cute and perfect for the kids to make on their own. And what (homeschooling) family doesn't need more bookmarks??
• The dark side of the blogs we don't see.  Yes.
• I wanted to start this before I found out I was pregnant, but I'm totally gonna do it after baby!

An 8th Birthday

Anna's 8th birthday was Saturday. We spent her day:

Making a fuss of her and enjoying her goofy faces

 Playing at the beach

 Eating cake - she approved

There were also presents and a wedding (without power!) thrown in for good measure.

By all accounts, a good day.

In which you cast a vote

So, after all the baby and kid knitting I've been doing, I'd like to work on a larger project - namely, one for me. With a baby due to be born in time for autumn, I'm thinking I'd like to do a new cardigan, one that buttons at the top but not the bottom, that would work well for a few months of winter nursing. However, I'm having decision-making problems (I'll put it down to pregnancy brain and leave it at that), and I'd like your help! Cast your vote for my next project, won't you?

First, we have the Rocky Coast Cardigan. By far the most ambitious project on my list, it's also one of the prettiest.

Anything with the word Effortless in the name has to be good. Not sure if this style would suit me, though - any thoughts?

 Coraline is another nice, subtle yet interestingly-yoked cardi.

 Peasy has been on my list for a while and I love the lace work across the front.

 Audrey in Unst is pretty and simple. I'd have the flexibility to button all the way or only the top, but I think I'd need to lengthen the body a bit - the cropped look doesn't tend to suit me.

 Honey. Love the cables - not too little, not too much.

 Finally, it's Celery. I really like the texture of knitting one direction, then knitting the other way for the edge.

Personal favorites, please, with reasons why for bonus points!

I've been bitten...

...by the organizing bug.

I'm totally blaming Pinterest, by the way (isn't it great to have something else to blame?) Why do people have to share such clever ideas? And yet I'm so happy they do...

So, here are some of the ideas I'm hoping to implement this week (or next, or sometime I have energy and before the baby comes):

This would have been so helpful that (one!) time we were pulled over - couldn't find anything in the messy glove box!

 I don't think I'll do it exactly like this, but I am inspired - currently the bed linens are tossed onto high shelves with great hopes they won't fall on anyone's head.

 This would be great in both my bathroom and the kids' bathrooms, leaving shelf space for "pretty things".

 Now, I don't think I'll go this far in the car, but again - inspirational. I love how it's all there, but in the trunk, away from nosy hands. Didn't know hands could be nosy, huh? I assure you, it's possible.

 I might be most excited about this one. I am so weary of traipsing up and down the stairs looking for various school/craft tools and stashing them on random shelves or dark and dusty nooks because they don't have a decent home. Finally, homes for the homeless supplies!

All these ideas and more are on my Pinterest board - none of them have I been clever enough to come up with myself!

I know there are others out there getting their homes/school supplies/lives sorted out this summer. What are some good ideas you've come across?

Reading - 50 People Every Christian Should Know

This book has been sitting on my bedside for a while, and I've rather enjoyed picking it up and slowly working my way through it:

Basically a set of mini-biographies, 50 People...was a faith-building and easy-to-read collection perfect for reading shortly before you drop off each night. The chapters are pretty short, though I think Moody was an exception - not surprisingly, since the author was also a former pastor at Moody Church. As well as chronicling the basics of each saint and their ministry, he also helpfully lists any books they authored that (he felt ) might be of special interest to the reader.
I love the little anecdotes or quotes that really put flesh on these godly men and women: Samuel Chadwick contending for the true gospel, "Until you have got a gospel that works - shut up! This is not an age for twiddling your thumbs!"; of William Borden, "The sight of that young millionaire kneeling with his arm around a 'bum' in the Yale Hope Mission (impressed a visitor to America)"; a young Fanny Crosby wrote of her math lessons, "I loathe, abhor, it makes me sick, To hear the word Arithmetic!"
One thing that I particularly noted throughout was how hard these amazing people worked! Some were college and seminary educated, some were working 12 hour shifts at a cotton mill (followed by several more hours of study), but every one of them worked to a degree that is unlikely to be seen today. From Katherine Von Bora to J.C. Ryle, Charles Spurgeon to William Culbertson, they poured out their lives to the people God gave them to serve, and considered it an honor to do so.
My one reservation is that there were so many people included that by the time I got halfway through, I could no longer remember the distinctiveness of each individual. I met some new folks, learned some new names, but probably would have remembered them each a little better if I read about 25 of them, rather than 50. But thankfully, the book now lives on my shelf, where I can happily consult it for memory refreshers.