Upcoming Projects--They Never End!

Not much going on at the moment, but a lot coming in the future!  One very exciting development is that we got our new countertops.  I'll post pictures as we venture into the uncharted territory of trying to install them ourselves.  The hubs and I will attempt to replace the two small pieces around the stove, and my mom and stepdad will help us with the long section and plumbing in a few weeks.  Very exciting!
 
Cast iron pot
I mentioned a little cast-iron pot that I found at an antiques store while up in Michigan for the Fourth of July celebration a while back.  I love this little cauldron, and have been dying to find the time to make it pretty and like new again.  I even bought the Krylon months ago.  Now that the weather has cooled, I can attempt to remove the rust and give it a fresh coat of black paint, and then use it for decorating!  It's been sitting on the kitchen table since July, just waiting for its beauty appointment.

  
Recipe binder
With all of the reorganizing that I did a while ago in the kitchen, I decided to reorganize my favorite recipes into a new binder, which is taking longer than I expected, but the fact that I don't work on it every night might have something to do with that.  I'll eventually have all of my favorite, tried-and-true recipes in one convenient place, which will be a great help for meal planning.

New dress
I need to make a new dress for the McKinnis House programs.  I found a fabric that I absolutely fell in love with online at The Dressmaker's Shop, a great store for finding all sorts of reproduction fabrics.  I will alter the pattern that I designed to create my current dress, adding a few fancier elements to the dress, but still keeping it appropriate for the 1847 time period.  I think that is one of the things that I've really enjoyed about my volunteer time with this home--in-depth learning of how my ancestors lived.  I've picked up a lot, but there is still a lot I'd like to learn.

My new fabric--seems patriotic for a time of war!

My current dress--time to make a new one.  Pay no attention to the dog with human teeth on the door.

Cute little bottles!
I found these adorable little bottles at a garage sale a few weeks ago, and now I wish I had purchased all five or six that they had, instead of just a pair!  The are little pint bottles, which I'd never seen before, and I plan to use as little decorative bottles around the house.  They are from a local dairy that, as far as I can tell, closed up shop a long time ago.  Wouldn't it be neat to still have milkmen bring all of your dairy needs to your door?  I think it would be!

Christmas mantle cover
I am planning on making a mantle cover for our heater/fireplace in our living room this year.  I've already sketched out a design, now I just need to find the fabrics.  I plan to make it look like a patchwork quilt using squares of festive Christmas fabric.  I need something to cover the wood and protect the finish from all of the items that I like to set out for decorating, so darn, I guess I'll just have to be crafty. :)


New items for SFT
Speaking of crafty, have you stopped by The Sunflower Tree for fall decor?  I've added some cute little primitive pumpkins that are completely hand-sewn, and I'm making more.  I'd love for you to stop by!

Switch over to WordPress
And finally, I am likely going to be switching my blog over to WordPress sometime in the near future.  I've found Blogger quite easy to work with, but it's also plagued with small bugs and issues that have become increasingly frustrating over time.  So, after a lot of consideration, I've decided it's time to change.  If in the off chance that you have this blog bookmarked, you'll just need to change your bookmark, and I'll be sure to let you know once the WordPress blog is up and running.  I'll still post the link on Facebook for people to check out.  It'll have a more grown-up look, and in the long run, should be easier to manage.  Because I plan on doing this forever. Oh yes.

Owl Corner--Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl-photo from Wikipedia

The Great Horned owl lives all across the United States, in to Canada, and down through Mexico.  It can also be found in parts of South America!  It is a large species, and is well-known for the appearance of horns on its head, which actually are just tufts of feathers and do not aid in hearing whatsoever.  They prefer to prey on rabbits and hares, and are also known to include rodents, skunk, raccoons (!), many types of birds, including other owls (with the exception of the Snowy Owl), reptiles that range from snakes to small alligators, and have been known to carry away small dogs and cats.  That's quite a list, and it's not even half of what is listed!  They can carry prey that weighs two to three times their body weight.  When breeding, they will lay a clutch of 2-4 eggs, and will defend their nest with incredible aggressiveness, often continuing to attack the intruder until they die.  They tend to live a long time in the wild, up to thirteen years, and have been know to live thirty years in captivity.  This is by far the most common owl in North America, and everyone knows their call by the "whoooo-whooo" sound. 
Information comes from allaboutbirds.org and owlpages.com.

I tend to be a very task-oriented person (as you might be able to tell).  I enjoy making lists and crossing things off as I accomplish each item.  That's not a bad thing; in fact, if there weren't task-oriented folks in the world, I highly doubt that anything would get done in any timely fashion!  The problem is that it's easy to get too wrapped up in getting things done and not focusing on what is more important--relationships.  The story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42 is a great example of task-oriented vs. people-oriented: "Now as they were traveling along, He [Jesus] entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."  I hate to admit it, but more times than not, I am Martha.  I struggle to not be focused on having a task to accomplish.  It feels good to accomplish something, but not nearly as good as it feels to have a real relationship with the Lord Himself, and all of those little tasks can really interfere with that relationship.