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Another day, another stream! 😀 We are drowning our sorrows from missing Grandpa (who is now with my brother in Northern Ireland) by hanging out with our East Coast cousins at Jerusalem Mill. The Gunpowder River is the perfect temperature right here! #salmonandsouvlakiexplores #jerusalemmill #gunpowderstateparkAdventures with Grandpa, Day 6 (7/15/18): We always like taking Grandpa to the farmers’ market and this year we ventured to the overwhelmingly gigantic @baltimorefarmersmarket under 83. We found the world’s largest blackberries and a bunch of great produce too. In the evening, Pappou came for a crab feast (crabs from @conradscrabsseafoodmarket) , and it was fun to have both grandfathers together. We decided Grandpa’s final dinner in Maryland should be quintessentially Maryland-ish. 😉 Don’t kick me out of Baltimore for this, but I don’t really like picking crabs. So I just ate a little bit that Pappou handed me. 😀 #baltimore #judgefest18 #crabfeast101, 102, 104: I made it work! After lots of un-sewing, having a brilliant idea while buying Velcro @joann_stores (obviously buy the adhesive backed kind and then no need to glue), and a bit of ignoring the very guest who will see this for at least a few hours today before he flies out, I’ve sewn my cabinet curtain! We bought this little cabinet @secondchanceinc over two years ago, loving its function in our little half-bath but not the scallops at the top (see 2nd pic for the before). I purchased that fabric, @carolynfriedlander, explicitly for this project and have been hoarding it ever since. I’m so glad it’s finally in use. Now the cabinet is both beautiful and useful, a great way to bring some closure to my #100usefulbeautifuldays project. #salmonandsouvlakisews #100dayprojectAdventures with Grandpa, Day 4 (7/14/18): blueberry picking at Hybridoma, play dough creating (with the day’s peach harvest for company) and bike shows in the heat. A great day! #judgefest18 #salmonandsouvlakiexplores #hybridomafarmAdventures with Grandpa, Day 3 (Friday, 7/13/18): We spent a fairly laid-back day at home and in the late afternoon, headed to Hammerman Beach (part of Gunpowder State Park) to introduce Grandpa to the joys of river swimming when the water actually feels warm and enjoyable for swimming. 😉 I didn’t manage to take many pictures of this lovely night but I hope the one that I did take manages to convey how much fun we had. Three other families joined us and it was lovely to spend an evening on the beach with my friends while our kids gloried in water play. Baltimore friends, Hammerman is so great in the evening. It’s our favorite time to go there! Swipe over to see the osprey that nests in the middle of the parking lot. We also saw a blue heron eating a fish! #gunpowderstatepark #hammermanbeach #judgefest18 #salmonandsouvlakiexploresAdventures with Grandpa, Day 2 (7/12/18): Having mostly recovered from jet leg, we headed to the Inner Harbor to explore the historic ships (@historicshipsinbaltimore) and visit Nik at his new office. First, we went on the USS Torsk, a submarine that sunk the final ships in the war in the Pacific in World War II. We spent a long time in the sub, reading almost every sign, and I was pleasantly surprised by how willing my fairly young kids were to patiently listen and learn. We hung out in the kitchen/dining room for quite a while, looking at the pictures and talking. Which song would you have chosen from the jukebox? 😉 After the sub, we ate lunch with Nik on the balcony of his office. Not a bad view (from 2 balconies)! 😀 Finally, we explored the USS Constellation, a sloop-of-war from the Civil War. It was awesome but we were pretty worn out by the time we got there, as evidenced by the single picture I took on deck. 😉(Nik’s office building is just behind Ellie in the last picture) . . . We bought the 4-ship pass so we’ll explore the other two ships later this year.) #baltimore #ilovebaltimore #salmonandsouvlakiexplores #usstorsk #ussconstellation #judgefest18Adventures with Grandpa, Day 1 (Wednesday, 7/11/18): Grandpa flew in Tuesday evening and on Wednesday, we let him recover from jet leg in the morning and then in the afternoon, we introduced him to the joys of stream walking (our very most favorite summer activity). We go to great lengths in Alaska to keep our feet dry because who wants to have wet, cold feet? But when it’s over 90, cold feet in a stream is a glorious experience! We love the stream at Cromwell Valley! And swipe all the way to the last picture to see the little moth that I picked out of the stream, expecting it to be dead. It hung out on my hand for a couple minutes drying out and then flew away! #cromwellvalleypark #judgefest18 #salmonandsouvlakiexplores #streamwalking #getoutside98-100: I made it! This is my last project for my #100usefulbeautifuldays project. I do have to laugh at myself though because I had a grand finale planned for myself but in the end I made a cutting error and this thing is two inches too short. 😩😂 So, I don’t have a final product to show you but at least I have begun making a cover for the front of the cabinet in our guest bathroom, something I’ve been intending to make for over two years. The fabric is in the same fabric line as the #carkaihexie curtain that I made for it last summer. I am determined to get this finished this week before my dad leaves. I want that guest bathroom actually finished and a guest to enjoy it! 😉 I’ll be back sometime in the next week or two with some wrapup thoughts on my first #100dayproject. For now, I’m just glad to say that I made it through! #salmonandsouvlakisews92-93: Presenting...my Wildabon dress! 🌸🍃 I found this fairly boring but extremely comfortable dress @gap for under $10 a few weeks ago and inspired by @suzyquilts #bohemiangardenquilt dress, I decided to embellish it. I used templates from the #wildabonquilt pattern by @carolynfriedlander and @leahduncan but fused them on and then zigzag stitched, rather than doing hand appliqué. Thanks to my children for the photo session! (I’ll let you guess which one was taken by the 5-year-old. 😉) Swipe over to the last picture to see how Ellie and I coordinated on Saturday. 😍 . . . #100usefulbeautifuldays #salmonandsouvlakisews #carolynfriedlander #baltimoremqg #charmcitysewcial #secretpajamas61, 92: One of my goals for my #100usefulbeautifuldays project was to get houseplants for every room in our house. I’m primarily concerned with indoor air purification but also for the lovely feeling plants bring to a room (i.e. usefulness and beauty!). I did manage to at least buy two plants! One is a streptocarpella (in the African violet family) and the other is a dracaena. I still need to repot them and find their place on the house but for now, I’m enjoying them on our dining room table amongst our peach harvest! 😀 #salmonandsouvlakigardens #100dayproject94, 97: I finished my second bathmat! I like this version much better. It’s a little bit bigger and I like that it preserves more of the original bathmat texture. Swipe over to see how the original bathmat design doesn’t allow it to stay flat. I’m not sure why anyone thought it would be a good idea to bind the edges like that! 🤷♀️I’m glad I had a good idea to fix them. 😉 #100dayproject #100usefulbeautifuldays #salmonandsouvlakisews80-81, 84, 95-96, 98: My basement is as done as it’s going to get with my #100usefulbeautifuldays project (and for the next couple months at least). The first picture is actually of my beautifully empty garage. On Monday, I paid a company to come haul away a whole bunch of trash, most of which came out of our basement, including a lot of construction debris from two years ago. The third picture is the best before pic I could find. In between those two pictures is my last video tour for those of you who have been faithfully following along. 😀 Watch to the end to see my new sink and toilet! #100dayprojectCategories
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Category Archives: cleaning
My Life, Under New Management
Two weeks ago, I went to a workshop led by one of the founders of Agile Learning Centers (ALC). The workshop was focused on learning how to use agile management tools in support of self-directed learning. I’m in the process … Continue reading
Posted in cleaning, cooking, house/neighborhood, reflecting
2 Comments
A New Thanksgiving Tradition
We certainly have some Thanksgiving traditions in our family. I always make these pumpkin orange rolls, of course we eat cranbrosia, and we (for three years running now) braise our turkey for the most incredibly delicious and moist turkey you’ve … Continue reading
Misappropriation of Party Planning and Preparation Time
Last Saturday afternoon, I had the fun of hosting a bridal open house (like a shower only with no presents involved) for one of my best friends. I had allocated the day before (Friday) for house cleaning and food preparation, … Continue reading
Posted in cleaning, friends, gardening
6 Comments
Folding Laundry (shades of “Journal of Best Practices”)
Here’s how I like to fold laundry, in my ideal world. First, I sort it into piles – Ellie, Mark, Nik, Laura, bath towels, sheets, kitchen (wash clothes, towels), napkins, etc. (I didn’t do this initial step until I had … Continue reading
Life Hack: Make Your Clean Space Attractive Enough to Motivate You to Keep It That Way
I love how our dining room table looks when it’s clean. Chairs pushed in and totally clear of clutter The vase was a Christmas present from Nik’s brother and sister-in-law. I love the structural beauty of it so I leave … Continue reading
Posted in cleaning, useful beautiful
5 Comments
KIOS: Grooming, Part 4: In Praise of Infrequent Flushing
This post is part of my series, “Kickin’ It Old Skool: Why and How We Are Old-Fashioned” or KIOS for short. If you’re new to the series, please read my disclaimer before continuing on. I’m keeping a table of contents … Continue reading
When Principles Meet Nostalgia
Nik and I have some fairly strong convictions on what kind of toys we want to have in our house. I blogged about this more extensively in this post. Specifically, we decided that we didn’t want to have any plastic … Continue reading
Posted in cleaning, Ellie, parenting, useful beautiful
8 Comments
