A bit of this, a bit of that, and a house flood

K's knit doll shawl


It's been quite a week here (and it's only Wednesday!) Our washing machine flooded our house earlier in the week. Well, not the whole house. Thanks to K's attentiveness and the quick response of all my children, the water only flooded our laundry room, kitchen and that dark room between the kitchen and living room that I mentioned before. My heroes! Despite the inconvenience of it all, I was so happy to see all of us work together so well in a stressful situation like that.

We have had the washer about ten years and have been having issues with it ripping our clothes (yes, even the handmades) for a long time now so I think it's time to replace it. Of course my vacuum also decided to break but I think having clean clothes is slightly more important. Then again dirty carpet is not something I particularly enjoy either, but our budget can only afford one or the other at the moment. I have been asking my friends for their advice on front loading washers. I don't want to risk it with another top loader, even if that means I won't be able to felt wool projects, (granted I could just go to the Laundromat for that.) So far, the general consensus seems to be to avoid GE and Whirlpool might be a good choice. Do any of you have a front loader you love? We had one in the hotel we lived in when we first moved here and loved it. I need to contact them to see what one it was.

K has been in quite the creative mood as of late. She keeps telling me she wants to learn more and more new things. She found my Rose Windows book and asked if it was something she could try. I haven't made them in years, not since my Waldorf kindergarten teacher friend taught me back in Virginia. K must have been around one at the time. I looked over the book and found a simple design for her to make, and once she got started, she couldn't stop. The first one she made was a gift for C and then she made one for Little L and myself. I have a feeling that isn't the last of them. She even made flowers with the leftover bits of tissue paper.

We somehow ended up with half the neighborhood kids in our house yesterday (what can I say? They love our toys! ) and as I was cooking dinner one of them asked what I was making. I told her that it felt like a breakfast for dinner kind of a night so I was making tofu scrambler and strawberry pancakes. She asked if she could try the pancake batter. I told her yes and when she did she obviously didn't like it, which I expected because we don't use any sweeteners in the batter and they are whole wheat. I explained to her that the maple syrup we pour on top makes them so sweet, that it's like you're eating a dessert. She then gave me a very puzzled look and said, "Maple syrup??? Does that taste like trees? Ick!" Oh how she made me laugh with that comment. Her mama called her back to her house before I could offer her any, but I think I need to share the maple goodness with her in the very near future.

p.s - K found the verse you see hanging above our kitchen sink (in the picture of Little L) and thought it was a good thing to see when she didn't feel like doing dishes. It reads:

Thank God for dirty dishes,
They have a take to tell.
While other folks go hungry,
We're eating very well.
With home, and health, and happiness,
We have no need to fuss.
For, by this stack of evidence,
God's been good to us!

A bit of this, a bit of that, and a house flood