Is it September already? We are already 3 days into the month? Oops! Looks like I am behind in getting my August update posted.
I really thought I was starting out strong and then a stomach bug hit and I basically lost over a week with trying to get everyone, myself included, back to normal. It was rough and I feel like I still haven’t been able to get my groove back.
Really, I can’t complain, though. The sickness was temporary and we have much to be thankful for, even the busy days of school, cross country meets, etc.
My Family
At the beginning of the month we were able to take a trip to the state fair.
It was a wonderful day and we had so much fun looking at Julia’s projects (She got blue ribbons on both her sewing and her child development.), riding rides, and just enjoying the atmosphere.
To save money I packed a lunch and we ate at our vehicle. It was a fun and frugal way to enjoy lunch.
A few days after our state fair fun my big kids and husband started school again.
I’m not sure how I could be old enough to have a Junior in high school. I remember being a Junior and it doesn’t seem like it was that long ago. 🙂
The kids are in 11th, 7th, 5th, and 3rd grades this year. Janna still has another year at home with me, and I am thankful for that.
They have all been doing well this year so far. Well, except for missing a few days for a nasty stomach bug we passed around in spite of my efforts to prevent it from spreading.
Overall, August was a pretty good month in spite of the sickness and busyness of school.
What I’m Working On
Last month I only completed one sewing project, an apron made out of bib overalls.
A friend from church asked me to make an apron for her daughter’s birthday from a pair of her husband’s old bib overalls. I told her I would give it a whirl.
She loved the end result and sometime soon I hope to share a tutorial with you soon for how I made the apron.
I did quite a bit of canning in August. Usually when I use my juicer (affiliate link) I get tomato juice everywhere. In an effort to cut down on the mess I decided to try to use some aluminum foil as a shield.
It worked pretty well, but the foil did fall a couple of times. In the picture above I was using the salsa attachment.
Since the tomatoes were really juicy I used a colander to strain out the excess juice so I wouldn’t have watery salsa. I saved the juice and cooked it down and made pizza sauce out of it.
I also canned some green beans and potatoes in addition to salsa and pizza sauce. I am hoping to finish canning all of the green beans I froze and more tomatoes this month.
If you have wondered why I haven’t shared any garden updates the past month or so it is because my garden is full of weeds from neglect on my part. Plus, raccoons ate my corn and my tomatoes died. Not a good year for some crops, but others did well like my cucumbers and zucchini.
What I’m Reading
Since I spent a week trying to get my family healthy again, and recover myself, I had sat more than usual. I decided to start reading some classic novels and I have to say that I have thoroughly been enjoying reading again.
I used to be such an avid reader, but haven’t read for the fun of it for many years. Mostly I have read for informational purposes which is good, but not the same.
In August I read Pride & Prejudice and Jane Eyre. (affiliate links) I simply adore both of these books even though they have quite different settings and moods. I am a sucker for a good romance novel, especially those from centuries gone by.
My Favorite Picture
Having older siblings involved in sports and other activities means that Joseph and Janna get to be involved, too.
Last week they made their own fun while waiting to watch Julia run by rolling down the hill they are sitting so sweetly at the top of in the picture above.
It really is fun having teenagers and little ones at the same time. There is never a dull moment.
On the Blog
Well, I had intended to write several more posts than I actually published last month. There are several in my draft folder, but real life (and that nasty stomach bug) trumped post writing. Here are the posts I did manage to write in August.
Well, that about does it for August 2015. To keep up with me until next month’s update head over to Instagram where I have been sharing all sorts of random pictures. Also, be sure to follow me on Pinterest and Facebook while you’re at it.
What were you into in August?
I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer to show what I’m into lately!
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