green Christmas

As I was wrapping Christmas gifts yesterday, I was thinking about how much paper must be thrown away this time of year. I’m sure there’s a statistic out there to impress and shame us all. All I really have to do is observe our own family Christmas gift openings to understand how much waste is [...]

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looking back

Just for fun, I went back and read my post from this day, two years ago. Ever done that?
Here it is.
I talked about having my Christmas shopping all done, little Ellery-to-be kicking in my belly, and gave a fun update of what newly-two Maya was doing and saying.
I've been blogging for 2.75 years now! [...]

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maya, age four

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hat patterns – knit two!

Knitters, hookers (those who crochet, that is), and sewists, take note:
Head Huggers, a site devoted to collecting hats for cancer patients, has a ton of great hat patterns! The patterns are free for anyone to see. Make one to send in to the organization and one for yourself. I’m always looking for great, simple hat [...]

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make your own leather soft-soled shoes!

Finally, a free pattern and tutorial for soft-soled shoes! I’m totally thrifting for old leather purses/shoes/jackets once the new year hits. Of course, I’ll post pictures of little shoe-clad feet, if it all works out. ;o)
Thanks to Ann for the link.
ETA: Another option is this pattern for only $5 – and she sells patterns for [...]

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He's coming!

Have you ever read a hymn? And discovered, for the first time, the meaning of the words? We used to have hymn expositions during our weekly large group meetings of IVCF in college. It changed the way I think about hymns, and certainly affected the gusto with which I sing them.
I challenge you read this [...]

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a long evening drive and a polar bear morning

Two things I’m remembering as I thaw out.

Last night, the girls and I left at 4:30 p.m. to join Jason at his staff party. This drive is normally 30 minutes to an hour depending on traffic. We arrived at…7:00! Rush hour, the first big snow, and the Steelers game formed a might triumvirate that, strangely, [...]

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praying

Heart-wrenchingly sad. I was so hoping he'd be found alive.

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clean water

Wa-hoo! We can stop lugging home gallons of purified water from various grocery stores!
Thanks to the generous help of my parents (who started my love affair with clean, pure water), we were finally able to buy and install a zero-waste reverse osmosis water purification system. I clearly remember the day my dad installed our [...]

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pizza recipe share

What we at for supper tonight:
Romaine Salad with Sprouted LentilsMaya's Favorite DressingHomemade Pizza
What's your favorite pizza dough recipe?Let's share and learn!
Here's a link to the one I use. I make it once, and it makes enough pizza for four on one night, with enough extra dough to make calzones and pizzas and little bread loaves [...]

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