Feature Friday

So, recently I joined the SheTeam on etsy for homeschooling Etsians. One of my team members, Suzanne, has the cutest knitted animals I have ever seen. I just had to share her shop. Well, shops. There are two. One is downinthemeadow
The other is littlemeadowbabies
This is my favorite one. Her animals look so great photographed in the grass.

Here are some other beautiful things from her shop.





To find more great SheTeam shops on Etsy just search for sheteam in the Etsy search box.

Pumpkin Bread

Fall is a great time to do some baking. This recipe is one of our family favorites. It is from my old Pillsbury Kitchens Family Cookbook. The flavor of quick breads improve with time, so it will taste even better the day after it's baked. It never lasts more than a day or two here though.

Pumpkin Bread

15 or 16 oz. can (2 cups) pumpkin
3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger

Heat oven to 350*F. Grease (not oil) and flour bottoms only of two 9x5 or 8x4 inch loaf pans. In large bowl, blend first five ingredients. Beat 1 minute at medium speed. Add remaining ingredients; blend at low speed until moistened. Beat 1 minute at medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350*F for 60 to 75 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely.

*You may need to cover with foil if it starts getting too brown.

Felting Wool?

Is there such a thing as CADD? Crafting Attention Deficit Disorder. If there is, I surely have it. As soon as I've made a few of something I am wandering off to do something new (to me). The latest thing I am going to try is wool felting. I have been reading and I've been to the thrift store and found some nice old wool sweaters to try it with. I like the idea of upcycling stuff and trying a new craft. I'm still not clear about the right terms. Is it felting or fulling? I don't know and I guess it doesn't really matter. So, I am going to try felting these old sweaters and making something really cool out of them. We'll see how that goes. If I make anything that is showable, I will post some pictures.

Before I go, I want to leave some links. This one has some nice projects for felted wool.
http://www.woolcrafting.com/using-felted-wool.html
http://www.craftstylish.com/item/28190/how-to-make-a-machine-embroidered-felted-wool-tote

Natural Flu Prevention

The topic of H1N1 vaccination is hot right now. It seems that lots of people are not sure or have decided not to get it. And I've heard some information that says the flu shot can be ineffective at preventing the flu. So, I have been reading up on some natural flu prevention strategies for our family and thought I'd share some of them with you.


Of course, most of you know about vitamin C, covering coughs and sneezes, proper hand washing and staying home if you're sick. But did you know that vitamin D deficiency is thought to be a reason we get so many colds and flu in the winter? And that supplementing with vitamin D could be a good flu preventive? Here's a video explaining a little about that.
Another thing we are doing this winter is using elderberry. It has been shown to prevent the flu virus from invading cells and replicating. Here and here are some links with information for elderberries.
If you do end up getting sick the homeopathic medicine Oscillococcinum is a popular choice for a lot of people. It is supposed to be taken at the first sign of illness and is said to reduce the duration and severity of flu symptoms.
There are too many things to mention in this article or it would be a mile long. But I will link you to some things so that you can find some information yourself. Two books that are very helpful in finding natural remedies for various diseases are Prescription for Natural Cures and Prescription for Nutritional Healing. They can usually be found in a public library or at Amazon or another bookstore.
A good place to look for vitamins and herbs and such is www.vitacost.com Their prices are low and shipping is one set price.
So, if you've decided against the H1N1 vaccine and even if you haven't these are some things you could try. I am not giving medical advice here. These are just some things we are doing this winter. And you should always do some reading and research things for yourself. So, take care and wash those hands.

Gift Set Giveaway

This month Naturally Comfy will be giving away one of these gift sets. This giveaway is for Naturally Comfy newsletter subscribers. All you have to do to enter is sign up for the Naturally Comfy Newsletter. That's easy enough! The winner will be drawn Friday, November 13, 2009. The winner will pick the set of their choice.

Riley Festival Fun

We spent two days last weekend at a local craft festival. The Riley festival, named for James Whitcomb Riley, is one of our family's favorite things to do in the fall. Riley was the Hoosier Poet who grew up in the town of Greenfield. My kids always save up their money to spend there, although they never spend much. We just enjoy looking around and sampling the food. We usually find a few things we can't live without. The kids also love playing games. We did find a member of TheInCrowdTeam (the Etsy Indiana Street Team) with a booth there. TwoSeaSideBabes has great hats that seemed to be selling well. My granddaughter got her face painted both days we went.





I think my 12 year old has outgrown it, she didn't get hers painted this time. She did like the chili cheese fries though. They were so messy to eat, but great.


We had a worry session on the first day. The wee one kept hearing that this or that car would be towed if not moved and was worried sick that our car would be towed away.

Her mom, my daughter, had to call the friend whose parking lot we were in to reassure her the car was parked legally and was safe.


The second day granddaughter got to get her shape balloon she was so looking forward to.


And wee ones little brother had his own kind of fun. He spent the day in his stroller taking his socks off. He probably didn't even notice all the ladies that kept walking by and mentioning how cold his feet must be. It was chilly and windy but his feet were as warm as toast.

I will leave you with some quotes by James Whitcomb Riley and a bit of trivia.

Continuous, unflagging effort, persistence and determination will win. Let not the man be discouraged who has these.
James Whitcomb Riley

When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.
James Whitcomb Riley

When you awaken some morning and hear that somebody or other has been discovered, you can put it down as a fact that he discovered himself years ago - since that time he has been toiling, working, and striving to make himself worthy of general discovery.
James Whitcomb Riley

Ever wonder where Little Orphan Annie or Raggedy Ann came from? Take a look.

Back to Blogging

Well, school is underway and so is fall. We have spent the month of September getting our school year started and trying to get into a routine again. Now that it's going I can hopefully get back to more regular blogging. I have been working on some fall things for my Etsy shop. I just listed a couple today and will have more later this week.
Don't forget to sign up for the Naturally Comfy Newsletter here. I am planning a giveaway or two in the next few weeks for my newsletter subscribers.
See you next time.