Retaining Heat During an Emergency

I've been wanting to be better prepared in keeping the house warm in case of an emergency.  Our main floor is pretty open with a lot of open doorways, so I've wanted to section off the family room with the fireplace and the kitchen.

I thought it might be smart to buy some foam board and cut it to fit in the doorways.  Shortly after purchasing the foam board, I went to a neighborhood class on emergency light and heat.  The instructors suggested taping those space blankets in your doorways. Duh!  That would have been a lot easier and cheaper than foam board!  Oh well, but I do think these will do a better job.

We had enough for solid pieces in some of the doorways.

But others I had to piece together.  It was easiest to cut with a utility knife like you're cutting sheetrock.

We're storing them in our garage suspended against the wall near the ceiling.

American Girl Doll Clothes

We broke down and got our 6 year old daughter an American Girl doll for Christmas.  It's so not like me to get all faddish, but we did go all out and got her the NEW Caroline from 1812.  She has pretty blond ringlets and Regency clothes, so how could I resist? Of course I wanted to sew her some clothes, so I, of course again, searched for some FREE patterns online and found a few.  I also thought the fantastic Sense & Sensibility e-pattern was a deal ($6.95 and I love Jennie Chancey), but haven't made anything from it yet!

I got this FREE pattern from My Cup Overflows and modified the neckline.  Also, instead of making a bodice and a skirt for a dress like the pattern says, I just carried down the bodice lines into the skirt to make this nightgown.  It was really fast.  I made it on Christmas.

I also used the above pattern to make this little dress.  I need a ribbon for a sash and wish I'd made the dress a bit longer, but now I know!  I don't really like the shape of the skirt for the bodice either and wish I'd made it fuller and gathered.  The neck is also a little big.  I used piping left over from one of my pioneer dresses.  Glad I didn't throw that away.  I made the entire dress by hand while I watched shows on Netflix (The Artist & From Time to Time).

My mom also made the below dress from a pattern she had from when my sister was a little girl.  I'm afraid we might just have too much fun sewing.  We'd better save any new dresses for birthday presents!

12 Days of Christmas

This year we thought it would be fun to do the 12 Days of Christmas for some neighbors.  Growing up we did it quite often, but it was the first time with our little family.  Our 9-year old was great at ditching the stuff at the doorsteps.  I didn't get pictures of everything, but here's what we did.  It's a little silly, and we didn't leave any notes, but it was fun.

1.  Stuck a bird from the dollar store on a can of pears.

2.  A plastic bath turtle on 2 Dove chocolate bars.  (Well, one family got the turtle.  I thought I bought two, but one ended up being an alligator, and I thought an alligator on the Dove bars would be especially confusing.)

3.  2 cans of chickHEN noodle soup and some homemade FRENCH bread total of 3 things, right?

4.  4 notepads with bird stickers on them.

5. Gold pineapple rings.

6. Half dozen eggs.

7.  An assortment on bath things (shower cap, bath gel, scrubbies, etc.).  The receiver is the swan.

8. Boxes of milk.

9. We numbered 9 ladies on the princess things.

10. Things that leap/bounce.  We thought of the Grasshopper cookies later.

11. Things that look like pipes/that you could blow.

12. Drums from the Dollar Store.

Plus an 8x10 of this 12 Days Tree with a message from us on the back.  We delivered the drums and the picture and sang "The 12 Days of Christmas" from 12 down, NOT the whole song!

Little Christmas Tablecloths

I made these little tablecloths for my MIL for her b-day in early December; although, she didn't get them until Christmas!  One is for a 2 x 4 table, the other for a card table.  I should have made them just a little longer.

Eat Like a Pilgrim

I just found these pictures on our camera and wanted to share them for a future Thanksgiving activity!  We went to Eat Like a Pilgrim at Thanksgiving Point in November.  It was a bit pricey, but really fun!  It would be pretty easy to do an "Eat Like a Pilgrim" on your own.

We ate at long tables and sat on benches.  We used a knife and a spoon.  We draped our gigantic napkins over our shoulders.  We had corn mush, yam mush/pudding, salad with vinegar and oil in separate containers, sourdough bread with butter, apple cider (diluted) turkey, pork, and the choice of duck, eel, or clams.  We could also try hard tack (like thick saltines) and parched corn (corn nuts). The kosher salt was in a bowl to sprinkle on your food.

 There were people on the stage telling us how to eat and doing other fun things like going "hunting" to get more food for the party.  Before the dinner, there were games to play, and after, there was dancing.  

That is my eel.  It was very fishy.  Well, it was Uncle Mark's eel, he gave it to me when he'd had enough.  The duck was quite good, though.  I wouldn't touch the slimy clams! 

The "Indians" bid us farewell.

Peace, Joy, and Love Bird Ornaments

Last year I saw the most darling bird ornaments at Chocolate on My Cranium and knew I had to make them this year.  They are turning out GREAT!!  Thanks, Chocolate!

She put the names of Christ on the birds, which I intended to, until I realized my birds were too small!  Oh well.

Craft Blogs

I think this is my favorite one . . . EVER.