Cute alphabet animals
Every ones favorite Mickey Mouse
Owls sitting on branches
And I finally finished putting the binding on five quilts.
Some of these quilts have been waiting over a year to be finished!
Yikes!!
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
Friday, December 21, 2012
A Snow Day Beaver
I made three young girl dresses today.
Cute alphabet animals
Every ones favorite Mickey Mouse
Owls sitting on branches
And I finally finished putting the binding on five quilts.
Some of these quilts have been waiting over a year to be finished!
Yikes!!
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
Cute alphabet animals
Every ones favorite Mickey Mouse
Owls sitting on branches
And I finally finished putting the binding on five quilts.
Some of these quilts have been waiting over a year to be finished!
Yikes!!
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
A Random Look
This morning's Dried Plum Sticky Buns
Very good.
Just a side note: No matter how tempting it is to snack on dried plums (aka: prunes but dried plums just sounds better) as you make the buns limit yourself to just a couple. Trust me on that...
What happens when I leave my camera unattended on the dining room table.
Grant took this picture of Joyce yesterday.
Who knew that this fun,innocent lava lamp would cause many nights of nightmares for an eight year old.
I guess it does kind-of resemble a trapped monster trying to get out.
A gift a friend gave us on Sunday.
I love it!
A word search.
A sweet little girl and I were married today.
Sorry for informing you in such an impersonal way but sometimes life happens so fast and one just needs to live in the moment.
Gifts would be appreciated...
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
Very good.
Just a side note: No matter how tempting it is to snack on dried plums (aka: prunes but dried plums just sounds better) as you make the buns limit yourself to just a couple. Trust me on that...
What happens when I leave my camera unattended on the dining room table.
Grant took this picture of Joyce yesterday.
Who knew that this fun,innocent lava lamp would cause many nights of nightmares for an eight year old.
I guess it does kind-of resemble a trapped monster trying to get out.
A gift a friend gave us on Sunday.
I love it!
A word search.
A sweet little girl and I were married today.
Sorry for informing you in such an impersonal way but sometimes life happens so fast and one just needs to live in the moment.
Gifts would be appreciated...
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
A Little Helper
I made biscuits and gravy for breakfast yesterday.
I had an eager little helper.
I did not have a regular biscuit cutter so I used some cookie cutters instead. I could have just used a glass or cup as a round biscuit cutter but shapes were more fun. Lily was all on board for that!
Um...as you see the meat part of our biscuits and gravy was a little lacking and the fluffy element of the biscuits was (or is it were?) missing but no one complained!
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
I had an eager little helper.
I did not have a regular biscuit cutter so I used some cookie cutters instead. I could have just used a glass or cup as a round biscuit cutter but shapes were more fun. Lily was all on board for that!
Um...as you see the meat part of our biscuits and gravy was a little lacking and the fluffy element of the biscuits was (or is it were?) missing but no one complained!
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Improvising Tina Style
I call it 'improvise cooking Tina style' and it is usually how meals are created around here.
We very rarely have all the correct ingredients that a recipe calls for.
I am getting very good at knowing how to fudge with some recipes.
Yesterday it was pancakes frugal style!
Feeds 17 people
6 cups of flour
3 tablespoons of baking powder
1/2 tablespoon of salt
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup melted butter
6 eggs
6 cups of water
1/3 cup white vinegar
Mix the dry ingredients together then add the water,eggs, and melted butter. Mix well.
add the vinegar and stir well. Let the batter set for a bit before cooking on a hot griddle that has a nice coating of melted shortening on it.
What makes this a frugal pancake recipe?
See no need for any milk. If you actually had milk, which we usually do not,just exchange the milk for the water. Maybe you have powdered milk? Add about 1/3 cup powdered milk with the dry ingredients for every cup of water you add.
If you do not have vinegar just leave it out.
Only 5 eggs? Then just use what you have adding more water or milk to make the batter the thickness you desire.
Only have a half of a cup of butter or none at all? Use melted shortening or a combo of shortening, butter,and oil but probably just not all oil.
Add more or less white sugar or a combo of white sugar and brown sugar. You really can not fail.
We did not even have syrup so we used powdered sugar instead. At times I have made syrup by heating to a boil brown sugar or white sugar with water. I have even boiled jelly and some water for a bit for a treat. We have even used straight corn syrup.
They might not be your Perkins variety or like the ones your mother made,or even 'politacly correct' health wise but they are frugal, tasty, and when cooking for a large family, perfect.
P.S. Our church passed on to us a ton of little cute pre-packed butter dabs which we really appreciate!
They made our pancakes look fancy.
A side note: If,say,we ended up not having any butter to mix up our pancake batter I would have just opened up a lot of the pre-packed butter dabs and used them. See 'improvise cooking Tina style' is not a hard thing once you get used to it.
But then again, company usually does not happen to drop by during meal times...
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
We very rarely have all the correct ingredients that a recipe calls for.
I am getting very good at knowing how to fudge with some recipes.
Yesterday it was pancakes frugal style!
Feeds 17 people
6 cups of flour
3 tablespoons of baking powder
1/2 tablespoon of salt
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup melted butter
6 eggs
6 cups of water
1/3 cup white vinegar
Mix the dry ingredients together then add the water,eggs, and melted butter. Mix well.
add the vinegar and stir well. Let the batter set for a bit before cooking on a hot griddle that has a nice coating of melted shortening on it.
What makes this a frugal pancake recipe?
See no need for any milk. If you actually had milk, which we usually do not,just exchange the milk for the water. Maybe you have powdered milk? Add about 1/3 cup powdered milk with the dry ingredients for every cup of water you add.
If you do not have vinegar just leave it out.
Only 5 eggs? Then just use what you have adding more water or milk to make the batter the thickness you desire.
Only have a half of a cup of butter or none at all? Use melted shortening or a combo of shortening, butter,and oil but probably just not all oil.
Add more or less white sugar or a combo of white sugar and brown sugar. You really can not fail.
We did not even have syrup so we used powdered sugar instead. At times I have made syrup by heating to a boil brown sugar or white sugar with water. I have even boiled jelly and some water for a bit for a treat. We have even used straight corn syrup.
They might not be your Perkins variety or like the ones your mother made,or even 'politacly correct' health wise but they are frugal, tasty, and when cooking for a large family, perfect.
P.S. Our church passed on to us a ton of little cute pre-packed butter dabs which we really appreciate!
They made our pancakes look fancy.
A side note: If,say,we ended up not having any butter to mix up our pancake batter I would have just opened up a lot of the pre-packed butter dabs and used them. See 'improvise cooking Tina style' is not a hard thing once you get used to it.
But then again, company usually does not happen to drop by during meal times...
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
Monday, December 17, 2012
Children's Christmas Program
Yesterday morning was the church's children's Christmas program.
Josh, Odell, Ekie, Naomi, and Anya worked real hard memorizing their lines and practicing the last few weeks.
I was so very excited to watch.
Although I tried, this was about the only picture that turned out well.
You can see Josh, Naomi, Ekie, and Anya. Odell was just to the right in the picture but was cut off.
Great job kids!
On the way into church to watch the play, I took this cute picture of Joel, Lily, and Grace in the church lobby by the pretty tree.
A sweet sibling moment.
After church Grant is entertaining Lily and Joel watching videos with his notepad.
Enjoy your week!
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
Josh, Odell, Ekie, Naomi, and Anya worked real hard memorizing their lines and practicing the last few weeks.
I was so very excited to watch.
Although I tried, this was about the only picture that turned out well.
You can see Josh, Naomi, Ekie, and Anya. Odell was just to the right in the picture but was cut off.
Great job kids!
On the way into church to watch the play, I took this cute picture of Joel, Lily, and Grace in the church lobby by the pretty tree.
A sweet sibling moment.
After church Grant is entertaining Lily and Joel watching videos with his notepad.
Enjoy your week!
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
Highlights
Once again our caroling party was a blast!
Thank you to all who took the time to stop by and help us sing and eat!
The carolers assembling
There was a lot of great food to eat!
and a lot of conversation.
This really was a fun time!
Thank you everyone!!
See you next year!!
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
Thank you to all who took the time to stop by and help us sing and eat!
The carolers assembling
There was a lot of great food to eat!
and a lot of conversation.
This really was a fun time!
Thank you everyone!!
See you next year!!
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
Friday, December 14, 2012
Curtains and Bedrooms
Over the last few years we have been working on painting the attic bedrooms.
Things are starting to look real good.
Grant brought home some beautiful fabric from Ghana so I made curtains for his bedroom.
I kind of made them a tad shorter than I wanted. Some child cut up my measuring tape so I only had inches 22-60 left to work with.
Although, for the rest of the population that would not prove to be a problem, my mind was having a hard time measuring correctly.
The fabric is beautiful and was so fun to work with!
Josh and I painted Grant's room a light brown since he had new curtains.
As you can see Grant is a bare minimalist when it comes to room decor.
That is just fine. There is less to clean that way!
Once upon a time Josh shared a bedroom with Josiah, Cyrus, and Nolan down on the second floor but thought the little attic alcove would be just perfect for his own private bedroom space.
I agree.
He uses his space well.
I guess 18 year old young ladies (aka: Elena) do not need to clean their rooms...
Patches the cat does not seem to mind the mess,though.
Alan's bedroom.
He painted it black and dark green.
His room is usually pretty clean so the mess you see is not a common sight.
We just need to:
paint the attic hallway.
On our 'if we ever win the lottery' wish list would be to replace the windows and bring better heat and electricity up there.
and Elena dreams of her own bathroom...
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
Things are starting to look real good.
Grant brought home some beautiful fabric from Ghana so I made curtains for his bedroom.
I kind of made them a tad shorter than I wanted. Some child cut up my measuring tape so I only had inches 22-60 left to work with.
Although, for the rest of the population that would not prove to be a problem, my mind was having a hard time measuring correctly.
The fabric is beautiful and was so fun to work with!
Josh and I painted Grant's room a light brown since he had new curtains.
As you can see Grant is a bare minimalist when it comes to room decor.
That is just fine. There is less to clean that way!
Once upon a time Josh shared a bedroom with Josiah, Cyrus, and Nolan down on the second floor but thought the little attic alcove would be just perfect for his own private bedroom space.
I agree.
He uses his space well.
I guess 18 year old young ladies (aka: Elena) do not need to clean their rooms...
Patches the cat does not seem to mind the mess,though.
Alan's bedroom.
He painted it black and dark green.
His room is usually pretty clean so the mess you see is not a common sight.
We just need to:
paint the attic hallway.
On our 'if we ever win the lottery' wish list would be to replace the windows and bring better heat and electricity up there.
and Elena dreams of her own bathroom...
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
You Are Invited!
You and your family are invited to:
The 7th Annual Frye Caroling Party!
When: Sunday, December 16th, 2012
Time: 2:00 pm
Where: The Frye House
What to bring: A favorite Christmas treat to share,
warm clothing (we will be outside for some of the time),
Bring the
whole family! :)
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Silver Lining?
"Good morning, Pooh Bear," said Eeyore gloomily.
"If it is a good morning," he said. "Which I doubt," said he.
"Why, what's the matter?"
"Nothing, Pooh Bear, nothing. We can't all, and some of us don't. That's all there is to it."
"Can't all what?" said Pooh, rubbing his nose.
"Gaiety. Song-and-dance. Here we go round the mulberry bush."
I apologize for my blog shut down for a few weeks.
I really could not decide if I should keep my blog up so I disabled it for a bit.
I had had a few very discouraging weeks.
I am not the person I thought I would be at this stage in my life.
I am not the person I want to be.
I am tired.
I am frustrated with myself.
I am frustrated with my life.
I am frustrated with EVERYTHING!
I feel stuck in a rut with no strength to get out.
~Sigh~
This middle age stuff is just so hard.
No matter how hard I fight, stamp my feet and refuse to face it, my life is plowing forward.
Can someone make it stop!
I want a do-over.
I was being very pout-ish and fussy because well...
Sometimes...well...Jeff and I do not get along.
I think we know each other less now than we did 19 years ago.
Sometimes...well...the weaknesses of the kids are too much for me to face
and the conflicts come like a rapid fire machine gun.
Sometimes...well...I can not see beyond my own weaknesses.
I feel sort-of alone.
I am not the most sought after person in the blog world.
Or the Etsy world,either.
Ha ha.
What a discouraging post!
So where is the silver lining, you ask?
How did I turn the corner to realize that the sun was shining this whole time and it was me just walking around with my eyes closed?
You are waiting for the happily ever after part?
Hm...
Well...
Um...
God is not afraid to point out areas in my life that need to change, thought patterns that need to shift, behaviors that need to be abandoned.
God is not afraid to call things for what they are. God has the perfect combination of firm mixed with gentleness. I like that about God.
God knows that sometimes hope and hard work go hand in hand.
And God knows me!
"Praise the Lord,
for he has shown me his
unfailing love.
He kept me safe when my city (mind) was under attack.
In sudden fear I had cried out,
"I have been cut off from the Lord!"
But you heard my cry for mercy
and answered my call for help.
Psalm 31:21-22
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
"If it is a good morning," he said. "Which I doubt," said he.
"Why, what's the matter?"
"Nothing, Pooh Bear, nothing. We can't all, and some of us don't. That's all there is to it."
"Can't all what?" said Pooh, rubbing his nose.
"Gaiety. Song-and-dance. Here we go round the mulberry bush."
I apologize for my blog shut down for a few weeks.
I really could not decide if I should keep my blog up so I disabled it for a bit.
I had had a few very discouraging weeks.
I am not the person I thought I would be at this stage in my life.
I am not the person I want to be.
I am tired.
I am frustrated with myself.
I am frustrated with my life.
I am frustrated with EVERYTHING!
I feel stuck in a rut with no strength to get out.
~Sigh~
This middle age stuff is just so hard.
No matter how hard I fight, stamp my feet and refuse to face it, my life is plowing forward.
Can someone make it stop!
I want a do-over.
I was being very pout-ish and fussy because well...
Sometimes...well...Jeff and I do not get along.
I think we know each other less now than we did 19 years ago.
Sometimes...well...the weaknesses of the kids are too much for me to face
and the conflicts come like a rapid fire machine gun.
Sometimes...well...I can not see beyond my own weaknesses.
I feel sort-of alone.
I am not the most sought after person in the blog world.
Or the Etsy world,either.
Ha ha.
What a discouraging post!
So where is the silver lining, you ask?
How did I turn the corner to realize that the sun was shining this whole time and it was me just walking around with my eyes closed?
You are waiting for the happily ever after part?
Hm...
Well...
Um...
God is not afraid to point out areas in my life that need to change, thought patterns that need to shift, behaviors that need to be abandoned.
God is not afraid to call things for what they are. God has the perfect combination of firm mixed with gentleness. I like that about God.
God knows that sometimes hope and hard work go hand in hand.
And God knows me!
"Praise the Lord,
for he has shown me his
unfailing love.
He kept me safe when my city (mind) was under attack.
In sudden fear I had cried out,
"I have been cut off from the Lord!"
But you heard my cry for mercy
and answered my call for help.
Psalm 31:21-22
Warmly, A Dragonfrye Mommy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)