Where to find the August Freebies, What I've been Reading, New Book Releases For August, Christmas Planning Progress, What's in The Garden, Recipes, what was on my craft desk in the past month... and other random things.
August Holidays & Crafting Themes:
- Back To School
- Sunflowers
On our personal calendar in August, I have a baby shower, and 3 birthdays, to make cards for. Our twins turn 30 this year, which seems impossible! I need to think about the September birthdays and get a head start on those two, I should be working on birthdays a full month in advance... We all know I'll actually make the cards at the absolute last possible second, but I SHOULD be working on them a month in advance. :-)
August Freebies:
- Find the Free This Month Only list here
- And don't forget to check the facebook page each morning for my daily post of free fonts and free svgs. :-)
August Summits:
- Upcycling Summit August 14th- 18th
- Back To School Workshop August 18th & 19th
- Card Stash Challenge August 28th - Sept 1st
What I Read In July:
I've been reading a lot of.. mediocre, books this summer. Not horrible - not great. Just.. slightly disappointing, but mostly due to my own inflated expectations.
I've had The Dutch House on my to read list for years. I finally read it, and I have no idea what all of the fuss was about. It was ok. But at the end, I was left wondering what the point was. Perhaps that's because my normal preferred genre is mysteries. :-)
The Invisible Husband Of Frick Island good. It was different, and interesting enough. But nothing I'd go out of my way to recommend.
Be Frank With Me.. well, this one is definitely my own fault. I had this loaded on my phone to read and for some reason I thought this was about Frank Sinatra. It most definitely is not. But it's mildly interesting fiction. If you loved the Dutch House, I think you'd also really like this one.
I read a couple of Jana Deleon's Miss Fortune Series - light, funny, I enjoy these.
Buried Giant was the surprise for me. My niece mentioned loving everything Ishiguro writes, and she typically has great taste in books, so I tried the first one I saw available by him, not knowing that this is NOT AT ALL his typical book. I don't even know how to describe this, and I truly should have hated it. It started out as a sort of fairy tale vibe, and by the end it had echoes of canterbury's tales... it was bizarre, and has plot holes and all sorts of problems. And yet, I liked this very much. The author has a way with words that made me skim over the problems that would normally ruin such a book for me. I look forward to reading his more "typical" books.
New Book Releases I'm Looking Forward To In August:
I know nothing about the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, other than it is a murder mystery set in Chicken Hill, a real place in Pottstown Pa. Chicken Hill was a "Company town" for those employed at the Setauket Rubber Company.
I haven't read many thrillers this year - at least not good ones - so I'm looking forward to the latest by Lisa Jewell, and hoping it is a gripping, unputdownable read.
And the latest in the Will Trent Series, which I don't actually need to read yet, because I have not read the REST of the series. But the series is on my to read list.
Garden & Recipes:
I never did do anything with the swiss chard, the pigs got loose and ate most of it. I have a lemon thyme that has such a great flavor - I need to find recipes to use it! I know of a lemon thyme shortbread recipe I want to try, and a lemon thyme sauce for on chicken, and a lemon thyme lemonade...
Zucchini Noodles in Peanut Sauce - a Summer favorite
The coneflowers will needed divided either late fall, or early spring...
This is the last photo of Peabody's 2022 tail. In late July he begins losing his feathers, by the end of August he will have shed his entire tail, and will start the process of growing a new one for next springs breeding season.
Butterflies have been enjoying the overgrown and chaotic flower beds this year. :-)
On The Farm:
I have a post here on the blog about sweet corn season, mostly for our customers, but it tells you more about what we grow, and what we recommend for preserving it.
https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2017/09/all-about-sweet-corn-season.html
The vet will be out this month to check the cows and see who is pregnant - any who are not pregnant, after the bull has been here for 3 months, will likely never breed, and will then be sold for beef. We'll have them checked now, because we don't want to feed a cow all winter if it is destined to be beef. I know, it's harsh - but that's the reality.
Christmas Planning Progress:
I got my Christmas planner set up and started in July. Now I just need to look at it every Thursday, and work on some of those plans!
My goals this month include deciding on a cookie tray/box and getting them cut, Finishing the snowman ornaments that have been half done for 6 months now, and starting gift tags and thank you notes.
New [to me] Products I Love:
The Electric Kettle I finally bought, after heating water on my stove for the first 3 months of switching to the french press. It took me so long mostly because I did not want a black plastic kettle sitting on my counters. This retro looking one is my compromise. 🙂 It is much faster than using the stove. And if I forget about it, it shuts itself off, unlike the kettle on my stove... https://amzn.to/47fGg2p
The 50 Ounce French Press I bought for family dinners - https://amzn.to/3Ku2AeE
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On My Desk In July:
My Flowerfest Bouquet. The event is over, and the svgs are no longer free, but I included links to some possible free alternatives if you didn't download the svgs during the event
One of the kids crafts my 3 year old grandson and I made in July was this bird with moving wings. Pull on his legs, and his wings flap.
The first of the travel game boards on acrylic. When I'm done, hopefully, there will be or 5 of these in a bag with dry erase markers and a cloth for cleaning them off. The bags I ordered are too small - the acrylic boards fit, but there's not much room for markers and a cloth. I MIGHT be able to make them work... we'll see. And I want to sand the corners of these, I think I can round them off a bit with sandpaper. They aren't terribly sharp, but I'd prefer them to be a bit more smooth.
These are the ones I ordered: https://amzn.to/3Q7x4ae
I used regular vinyl, mirrored on the back, for these.
Interestingly, I had some of the paper stick to the back of my vinyl -some of the backing didn't peel off smoothly. My vinyl is old - but I don't think that's the problem, I think it's because that room got very warm recently, when the compressor for our central air went out. We have portable air conditioner units in the main rooms temporarily, but I don't have one in this room - and it's been in the 90s this week. Had I thought about it, I would have moved the vinyl out of here, but it never crossed my mind. It will be interesting to see if it's all of my vinyl that was effected, or if maybe it really just is that these colors are too old?
I also finished these Santa Count Downs for the grandkids. All are cut, assembled, and ready to be handed out/mailed out in November.
Free svg:
Bookmarks, using the free svg from:
(I LOVE these!)
This banner is actually last years project, but I got the tutorial on the blog in July...
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