Dumpster Diving IKEA Curtains

Some neighbors moved and threw a ton of stuff away. I couldn't bring myself to dig through their trash last night in the dark.  Eew.   

Today, I wondered over to their trash can under the pretence of walking my dog. I covertly let my dog smell around while I took a quick "nosey" peek at their lives in a can.  It's really sad actually.  With the housing market collapse in Florida, people are abandoning their homes, possessions, pets, etc.     

I found IKEA curtains and a rod.  Since we just moved, I have a dozen new windows and I need curtains pretty badly. 

The set is a sheer, soft cream with a large brown flower and a touch of lavender. They are a discontinued IKEA pattern.  I've already washed and hung them in my daughter's room because her room is brown and pink.  If she's happy with them, I'm happy.  Yay for free!

Here is a darker picture without the flash.  They are sheer so with the sun shining through, it gives the room a breezy, light feeling.  (The quilt is a Cinnamon Pink and Brown "Turning 20 Again")

I'm fairly confident, when God talks about virtuous women, He did include providing for our families, via the neighbors trash can, although, Lord willing, on rare occasion.  Thankfully, we don't have to do this on a regular basis.  BUT, finding "free" on the side of the road for our home and family, is awfully exciting at times.  And I am grateful.

What have you found free lately?  I hope you'll share and continue the conversation in the comments below.  Please follow our blog and get to know us better.  I'm anxious to meet you!  :)  

Be blessed and Be a blessing! 

Vintage Fire-King Polka Dot Mug

Am I the only one who loses her coffee cup everyday? 

Several times a day? 

Ah-Ha~!

There it is!

Am I the only one who daily drinks cold coffee because the cup is set down some where and 30 minutes (or hours) later, it is found. 

I can't remember the last time I had hot coffee. 

This is my favorite mug, a thrifted and much treasured 

aqua polka dot Fire King mug. 

Wish I could find more of it. I think aqua is my favorite color.

Coffee tastes best in cups we love the most, right?  :)  Yum!

Do you have a favorite coffee cup?

I thought it looked so pretty here, found, in front of the Bougainvillea.  Beauty is all around us, if we just stop, take a deep breath and soak it all in. 

Be kind.

Be a blessing.

Homeschool Science and Insect Collecting

My Grandpa, George Woodruff, was a Biology professor at Harding for decades.  All of his children and grandchildren were blessed with a love for science. 

I have a very hard time killing healthy insects.  Most of my butterflies have been found on their death bed, or they were dead already.  A good place to find flying insects is the grill of your vehicle.  I try to capture only the weak and dying and let the healthy finish their given work in the environment.  Any where there are big outside lights, a parking lot, a little league sports game or your front porch, is another good place to hunt.

I put my live insects in a zip lock bag and place it in the freezer. A biologist friend of mine said it was a painless death. I hope she’s right. :(  I started keeping zip lock bags with me at all times.  I go prepared as you never know when you'll find an awesome bug. :)  I started coating our foam board with diatomaceous earth because a few of my most beautiful moths were eaten by microscopic somethings.  Why couldn’t they eat one of my ugly bugs? Grrrrrrrr.... 

Another sad thing I noticed was beautiful, gorgeous dragonflies do not keep their color after drying.  Oh, how I love dragonflies.  

You can buy tiny pins at a science supply company.  Fat pins crush your insects. You need a tiny, thin, sharp pin. Then do the research, identify and label.  

One thing I haven’t figured out yet is how to preserve a big fat juicy bug.  They are going to smell as they decompose. I’ve learned to leave 5 inch grasshoppers alone because it wasn’t worth it. Ick! I wonder if we can put them in salt and make mummies out of them.  Hmmmmm....more research 

I have some pictures of some other things we’ve collected. The little white stone things were actual kidney stones out of a dog. Gross!!! Those are sharks teeth we found on the beach.  We have tons of fossils too. 

I just want to encourage you to collect gross things.  Many parents can be creeped out, but your kids.....especially your boys....will love it.  Speaking of gross, we LOVED this game, The Totally Gross Game.  And this was a yucky, gross, and thoroughly interesting book too: Yuck! The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty.  I can't say they are pleasant, but they were fun and educational.  I like things which make my son laugh, where he can learn without knowing he is learning.   What kinds of flora, fauna or "gross" things do your children collect?  Do you have any ideas or comments? I hope you'll follow our blogging journey.  We look forward to sharing with you.    Be blessed.  Be kind. Choose Joy. 

Economics Lesson and a Bake Sale

We had our own little family bake sale at our homeschool co-op.  My kids made a killin'.  They learned about running a small business, hard work, profit, expenses, etc.     

Notice in the first picture, there is a muffin missing? My son stole a muffin and I made him pay me .5o cents.  haha. Not really, but I did explain to him, we can't eat too much more profit. 

Grandma Johnson's Scones, from All Recipes were one of the best sellers.  Oh my gosh, so good!!!  I linked the recipe we used.  Really! Try it. So perfectly, perfect. Not too dry. Not too wet. A perfect scone.

RISE babies RISE!!!  These Cinnamon Rolls III were the BOMB!!! I loved this recipe because it was so easy to make the dough in the bread maker.  Very easy to prepare homemade and so delicious.  

Below is my 12 year old son Jonah with the finished product, trying his best not to breathe pathogens onto the product.  He sold one pan for $5.00 then the rest of the rolls, he sold for $1.00 a piece.

They ended up profiting over $20.00. We could have made more, but my son kept dipping into our earnings to buy a piece of pizza and a drink from our competition. I was mad, because he had a tuna fish sandwich in the car. I guess Tuna isn't as marketable as pizza.

 Supply and demand, I guess. *sigh*

Which would you make? The scones? The cinnamon rolls?  Both?
I hope you'll leave a comment and share.

Please follow along on our blogging adventure too.  We love new (and old) friends. :)

Be a Blessing!