Old Homestead Tales

The Treasure adores these books, 

as we discovered when we found an ancient copy of

The Mallards and Their Neighbors

a few months ago, while visiting my dad.

My momma was (and still is) an avid reader,

and it is a joy to go back to my childhood home

and pick up books from her shelves that I loved way back when 

and share them now with our Treasure.

I don't remember reading the Mallards book when I was growing up,

so it was a fun read for me too.

The Treasure begged me to see if I could find the rest of the books in the series,

and I was fortunate to learn they are in print again.....

so she recieved the set for her birthday recently.

These read-alouds are a great supplement for Nature Study,

as they give the reader much information about each creature in story form.

The Bluebirds and Their Neighbors (1930) will encourage you to watch for God's creatures around your own home. These "Old Homestead" animals may very well live near you too. Sharpen your awareness of neighborhood animals through laughing Robin Red & Tattler Jay.

The Mallards and Their Neighbors makes learning about nature fun. The author, Neil Wayne Northey, describes the wonders of wildlife around the pond in a simple, understandable way. Character lessons are taught throughout each chapter. Elementary students through adults will enjoy this story of the life cycle of mallards and their friends.

Neil Wayne Northey continues to teach us principles of right living in his book, "Paddletail the Beaver and His Neighbors." The animals around Wildwood Pond are more timid, but help us learn to be open and caring, and show good manners, no matter where we live. God can teach us about ourselves through studying His works of nature.

"Wild Creatures in Winter" introduces animals that live on the Old Homestead during the wintertime. These creatures teach us to practice thriftiness and to work now and be prepared for the future. Most of all we can learn that God made the animals and loves them just as He loves us.

In "Wild Animals of Africa" Neil Wayne Northey, author of "Old Homestead Tales", brings the animals on the Broad Plain to life. Some of these creatures are strange looking, act strange, and eat strange food! We may meet strange and different people. The author advises us not to judge too soon by what we see and hear. Many lessons can be learned from God's animal creation.

Author isNeil Wayne Northey,

and the best price I was able to find is HERE.

A Comment Form Trial

For you sweet blog readers who have tried and tried 

(unsuccessfully)

to leave comments here...

I have added Disqus on a trial basis 

as my new comment form.

Give it a try so I can know if it works or.....not.

Thank you kindly,

Missuz C

A Dome Home

Street-side view of the Dome home.

We enjoy perusing unusual housing alternatives and

recently had opportunity to attend an open-house featuring 

a monolithic dome home.

The cost of this type housing is about the same as traditional stick & frame,

but because the insulation is on the interior of the home, 

it boasts a higher energy-efficiency.

(Edit!!!---the man informs me that I was too busy ooohing and ahhh-ing

at the decor and taking photos to pay close enough attention

to the construction details..... ;D.....

So here is the corrected version: 

The interior of the dome is concrete,

and the high-R-rating rigid insulation covers the outside.

This enables the concrete mass of the home 

to collect heat and maintain it so that even if power goes out,

interior heat is lost very very gradually.

This also results in very low utility bills.)

The shape of the home is reported to be exceptionally stable

in turbulence such as hurricanes or tornadoes as well,

which makes it an attractive option for some folks.

Enjoy the photo tour...

Entrance door to dome house, with carport on right.
I like how the carport does double duty as a patio
for outdoor hospitality.

Living and Kitchen half of the home.
The entry door and  Dining area is to the left, just out of camera-shot.

Dining Area

Kitchen

Another Kitchen shot

From Kitchen end, looking into Living area.
Entry door is on right, dining area is even further right,
once again out of camera-view.

Bedroom side.
There is a large walk-in closet out of view to the right.

Bedroom side looking into the bathroom.
Note the white frame above the doorway:
access to attic storage space.

Looking into bathroom: unseen on R is toilet and laundry stack;
on L is shower/tub unit.
The yellow wall shelf is removable to expose the hot water heater.

Shower side of the bathroom.
There is an extra sink in the bedroom area.

Toilet and washer/dryer stack in bathroom.

For more images and information on Monolithic Dome homes,

check out the link HERE.

How to Make a Simple Knitting Journal

Another organizing project I've been wanting to accomplish 

for far too long is a knitting journal.....a book to keep/record:

*skein labels & garment care instructions

*pattern notes and changes

*yarn swatches

*needle sizes used

*photos of completed projects

*stitch directions

*lists of projects I have stash in hand for

I know you can purchase pre-made knitting journals,

but I'm a free spirit and wanted to make my own and 

not be limited by someone else's pre-printed parameters...

Neither did I want to spend much.....

nor wait long.....

Fortunately, I ran across a post at 

Homespun Living by Deb, and one of her photos

(fourth photo down on this post)

made my creative juices flow.....

(Thanks, Deb!)

And here is my result: quick, simple, inexpensive

free knitting journal instructions.

Take a 94 cent composition book, in your favorite color,

 from your favorite discount store, 

and while you're there, pick up some cardstock to match your book.

Do a Google Search for graphics of your choice...

I think I typed in "free sheep clip art."

(Or just go here to find the graphic I used.)

Grab you favorite image and copy and paste it into a document,

play with the size, add a font you like,

then print it out onto cardstock.

Cut and trim to your heart's content,

(I layered mine because I liked the look)

then glue it on the cover.

I considered decopauge-ing the cover, 

but went with clear contact plastic instead.

(Applied after I took these photos...)

And there you have it.....

200 or so pages to doodle away in till the ewe's come home.....

all for a couple of bucks.

No pun intended.

:D

Looking for Color

We went for a short road-trip last weekend,

hoping to view some autumn glory,

but we were a few days too early.

The foliage has just this week hit its peak.

It was fun to soak up the rich colors while running some errands yesterday.

Love, love, love how the rain intensifies the colors!

Hope you are squeezing the last drops of goodness

out of autumn wherever you are!