A great time with family and friends...

I thank God for the beautiful weather. Yesterday, we went to Potato Hill Farm in Augusta, KY where we had lunch, featuring breads and sweets baked by my dear friend, Charlotte. Charlotte has become quite the baker and started up Pony Express Bread...read a bit more about it here. Friends, music, singing, sitting by an outdoor fireplace, sunshine, a river, green grass, 15 chickens and 2 donkeys. Olivia woke up and asked me this morning, "Are they going to do it again today?" She said she can't wait to go back again. We drove down the "double A highway" there and then, rode on a $5 ferry across the Ohio River on the way back home, taking Route 52 the rest of the way to Cincinnati.

Almond Windmill cookies and Nutella....yum!!!

Earlier this week, my sister brought over some of these scrumptious Almond Windmill Cookies from Trader Joe's...and suggested topping them with Nutella...so, when we had some friends over yesterday for dinner, guess what we ate for dessert?
What a great combination!I sewed a pennant banner...
But I sewed them inside out, then turned them out, so they won't fray at the edges...and I used a thick ribbon instead of bias tape, just folded it over and sewed it atop of each pennant. A little more durable this way, so I can wash it and reuse it over and over...A friend gave us this sweet gift as a thank you, for letting them have our National Park Pass, (which we bought in June for $80 and is good for 2 families for a year). We used it to get into Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park and Arches National Park. Our friends went to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado last month.

These are seeds they saved from their garden, dried and will use again next year...that's something that's very special, since nowadays, there are so many hybrid vegetables out there. So, next year, we'll have these heirloom Calypso Shell beans (right), Buran peppers (middle), and Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans growing in our backyard!

YARN along...a tiny shawl!

So I heard a little bird needed a shawl...it must be tiny. What do you think?Follow others on their YARN along...here on Ginny's blog, Small things. There, you'll see what a lot of other women are making with yarn (knit or crochet) and reading...
I got Half the Sky (non-fiction, stories gathered by Nicholas D. Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn) from the library, a really dramatic book about women who are treated so poorly in other countries, and how they can turn around their lives (with help from us). It a hard book to read as it's sad to hear what women have to endure...I thank God I was born in America and have a voice. I'm also reading Christmas Train (fiction, by David Baldacci).Hannah saw this doll (which is very much like the American Girl dolls, which are $100 and I think it's unreasonably priced) for sale at Target, and didn't have enough money. The next day, Olivia, however, woke up asking if she could go to Target, she had enough money to buy that doll...and said "I want to buy it for her." It made me so proud...her generosity. She gave it to her, just wanted to see her sister happy.
It's fall here...and you might miss a beautiful tree in a day...there was a maple tree with fire red leaves, the very next day, they'd all fallen off. It's the best time of year for hikes. I love being outdoors...it's not too hot nor too cold. How is fall where you are?

"Tweet" handmade birds for sale!

I'm ready to share with you what I've been working on this past week. That's stage 1...and below, stage 2:Go have a look at my etsy shop:
www.etsy.com/people/homemadegoodness
I'll be adding more very soon! I'm selling them for $9 each.

And how are our birds? The chickens are doing well. Rob has worked all week (when not at work) on the chicken coop. It's almost done. My sister and her girls came over just to meet the chickens...and we ended up getting the hammock out and having a fun time together.
Here are some beautiful earrings from Barberry & Lace. Just $9. They're having a $100 giveaway! And 10% off available immediately. I think I might get some Christmas gifts from them.
Another sweet giveaway from Gussy Sews!

a giveaway - Gussy Sews

Okay, this really really inspires me! I've got to sew a bit more.
So... go check out her shop:
http://www.shopgussy.com/
And then enter this $75 giveaway to her shop:
http://www.littlemissmomma.com/2011/10/gussy-sews-75-giveaway.html AND
http://blogs.babble.com/being-pregnant/2011/10/10/gussy-sews-diaper-bag-giveaway/
I would like the cotton candy tote the best. Think about what you might want to give or get (tell your husband) for Christmas...these are way better than Vera Bradley, as they are made right here in the USA!

P.S. Although I haven't been sewing, I've been crafting lately...papier mache birds! I can't wait to share once I've finished...I do love our chickens!

will you give these girls a welcome?

2 hens today joined our family today...meet Nutmeg and Clementine!!!

Nutmeg is a Rhode Island Red and seems to have made herself at home already. Clementine is an Ameraucana, and a bit more shy. We hope to be collecting eggs from them, eventually. As for now, they are sweet little pets.

Sick days...

Olivia has been sick the past few days. She ran a fever of 102 and now has fever blisters or cold sores on her lips! It makes it hard for her to eat. She's been using a straw to drink, even used a straw to eat tomato soup... It's really fall here...the trees started changing color here in Ohio. It's also Canadian Thanksgiving today. My sister, Mary, and her husband live in Ottawa, Canada. My other sister and her son, Isaac, came over and we baked cookies. To make this orange frosting, I used just 2 ingredients:

• carrot juice and

• confectioner's sugar

Isn't it a lovely color? Happy fall to you.

FREE card

In promoting my own etsy shop, I decided to give you a free card (it's also a bit of advertising for me):Just click on it to get a big version, right click to save it...then print it out on an 8.5 x 11" paper, fold and color (might be fun for a child, but I also really love using my Prismacolor colored pencils). I use a sepia toned Faber-Castell fine tipped permanent pen, which is made in Germany to draw.

Feel free to print off several for yourself, but please do not try to sell them. Just write a note to a friend the old-fashioned way. Sometimes that's more meaningful than an email, especially if you color it in yourself! And go check out what I have for sale...let your friends know about it and I will gladly accept custom orders. Thanks!

Yarn along...a wedding gift!

I crocheted six coasters to give to Ephraim and Joanna as part of their wedding gift, using up the Noro yarn with other wool and cotton yarns. Want to see more of Ginny's Yarn Along?The trip to Maine was wonderful...and as my daughter Hannah put it: "It feels like we're already home." There were so many sweet and loving people there.

"Dance, O Isaiah, for the Virgin bore a Son,
Emmanuel, He is both God and Man, and Orient is His name,
magnifying him, we call the Virgin blessed.

The Holy Martyrs, who fought the good fight and have received your crown,

entreat ye the Lord to have mercy on our souls.

Glory be to Thee, Christ the God,

Boast of the Apostles, Joy of the Martyrs,

whose preaching is the consubstantial Trinity."