Thursday, June 30, 2011

Homemade Swiffer Pads!

Back when I was exploring homemade cleaning products, a friend shared that she crocheted her own Swiffer covers! I finally chose a pattern from Ravelry and got started!

So far, I've made two and have one more on the needles. The pattern looks fancy but is really quite simple! And does it work? It probably works as well as an ordinary Swiffer pad in that it does a good job with dust but doesn't pick up bigger crumbs. I haven't tried it wet yet, so we'll have to wait and see!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Yay for Garage Sales!

Garage sale-ing has been what my mom and I do together for years. No one else in the immediate family seems to like them as much as we do. When we were in New York recently, we went out once for a short time, but I still found some fun things!

This fun cast-iron piece, to match the loose bird theme in our living room,


and some new books for Gemma!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Doggie Biscuits!



Aren't they adorable? We made them recently. Aanndd, Harvey loves them. ;-)

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Precious Two

I hope and pray that Gemma will grow up to be as intelligent, selfless, Christ-loving, and multi-talented as my Grandma, her Great-Grandma Smith.


And I hope that when Gemma is old enough to understand and remember, she will still get to know her Great-Grandma. <3

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Gemma's first Memorial Day



in the Grease Pit with Daddy



Memorial Day is undoubtably the most celebrated holiday in the life of the little church in NY where both John and I grew up. Every year, they have a big picnic, invite friends from all over, and seek to have a Christ-centered remembrance service to honor our war dead.



Neither John nor I have missed a picnic since childhood! And now Gemma Grace is a part of the tradition, too. :) She may even be the first baby admitted into the "Grease Pit" ever! Leading the Grease Pit crew is one of the highlights of my dad's entire year, and now Gemma's daddy and Uncle Derek are faithful members of the few without fear of fire who gather each year to serve hotdogs and hamburgers and reap the intangible rewards of their service. ;) My part over the past several years has been adding calligraphed inscriptions to the simple plywood award plaques Dad gives out every year. I suppose you'd have to know him personally to understand just how thrilled he gets by this semi-serious, semi-military yearly leadership role.







I look forward to the yearly recreational softball game. Sweet John even packed me my Greenfield All-stars cap from 1998! So much has changed since then, as evidenced by how sore I'm now feeling after only a few innings of fielding, batting, and base-running! I need to get back into shape.




To the servicemen (and women) who defend our freedom as Americans without recognition every day of the year, we thank you.