Ten-minute no-sew recycled t-shirt bag!

Here is a very cool craft.   Cool because it's simple, makes use of something everyone has hanging the house, AND the end product is a very useful item.  Kids will love to make their own special T-Shirt Bag.  And I'm thinking this might even be a fun actvitiy for a moms' night out.  I can't wait to suggest it.

Lee Meredith at leethal.net has a great tutorial that will walk you through making your own bags.  Here are my first attempts at making my own cool t-shirt bags:

I can't wait to make some more!

UNSINKABLE by Abby Sunderland and Lynn Vincent

Unsinkable is a story co-authored by Abby Sunderland and Lynn Vincent about Abby's attempt to be the youngest female to sail solo around the world.  The attempt failed, but success was measured in other ways.

Unsinkable gives the reader an inside glimpse into the Sunderland family starting with the earliest days when the family (which included the four oldest Sunderland children) sailed for three years in and out of exotic places - living and learning about worlds few of us even have the opportunity to read about. This background, as well as Lawrence Sunderland's background as a seasoned sailor and shipwright, is essential to understanding how and why setting a goal of doing a solo sail around the world would even occur to his16 year-old daughter.

I will admit, this land-lover had a hard time comprehending how any modern 16 year-old could be capable (physically, mentally and emotionally) of making such goal a reality, but before I was half-way through the book I began to understand that this was no average 16 year-old - no average modern-day girl, for that matter. And the Sunderlands are no average family. On the other hand, I have a feeling they are very comfortable people and, in a sense, just every day folk that I'd enjoy getting to know.

Unsinkable is an engaging book filled with adventure and information about the sailing world as well as answers to why Lawrence and Marianne Sunderland not only allowed, but made provision for their daughter to attempt her goal of sailing solo around the world. While knowing nothing of sailing and the kind of life the Sunderlands lead, I came away from my reading of this book with an appreciation of their lifestyle, certainly; and at least a modicum of understanding how and why Abby entertained such a dream.

I wholeheartedly recommend Unsinkable to anyone who is curious about this story.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Graduation Time!

One Open House and Two Graduations in one week!    Whew! 

Middle Son graduated from high school in a lovely ceremony planned by fellow homeschool moms and the graduates. 

Oldest son graduated from college with honors from Taylor University.

Where has the time gone?

It seems like just yesterday they were little boys.

The Story of the Bible by Larry Stone

Do not be deceived into thinking this 96-page book is lightweight - in size or content.   This beautiful oversized hardback book gives a broad, if not deep, overview of the history of the Bible.

The first part of the book is devoted to the history of the ancient manuscripts that supported the Hebrew scriptures in the time of Christ and explain why the authenticity of our current scriptures can be trusted.  The author does an admirable job of attempting to explain all of this to the lay reader, but going into much depth is, quite honestly, impossible in such a cursory overview. And I'll admit, it got confusing at times.

Next, the book covers the early church and the narrative tone flows more naturally.   It offers a chronological telling of many important persons and events and the impact scriptures had from early Christendom through the Reformation, all the way into the 20th Century. Again, coverage was not extremely deep, but it is an interesting read and admirable in its breadth. 

A wonderful component of this book is the additional 23 pull-out pages that are stored in strong vellum pockets throughout.  These  loose pages provide many examples of ancient Bibles and manuscripts.  As a home-educator, I can see that these would be a great aid to the student in seeing how painstaking it was to reproduce Bibles and manuscripts in long ago times.  These illustrations also provide beautiful examples of illuminated manuscripts.  The fact that these illustrations are loose and can be used separate from the book makes them a great resource that can be used for a variety of purposes.

A serious student of this subject will need something more academic and thorough to adequately cover the subject of the history of the Bible, but this is a lovely book to have available to read and browse at one's leisure.  It is a great resource to share with students if one is covering this topic or any of the time periods discussed in the book and wanting to discuss the relevancy of scripture to what was going on in the world at that time.  If this is one's first exposure to the history of the Bible, one will likely come away curious for more in-depth study; and that alone makes this a worthwhile read.

The Story of the Bible is not a difficult read, but it is not simple either.  How could it be simple to cover such a topic that spans several millennia and innumerable political upheavals and world events?  I recommend the book as a resource for educators of religious studies and also for someone wanting a cursory overview of the subject of the Bible and early church history in an attractive coffee-table type book.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Just button it up, why don't cha?

I made several of these scarves at Christmas time (two just like the one pictured - made out of a wool yarn, and one out of a soft acrylic, and another out of an acrylic and alpaca blend). They were easy to make and were hits with their intended recipients, though no one in my immediate family will wear one for some reason (outside of modeling it, anyway).

Don't quite understand my guys' aversion to it as this is the most comfortable and stay-where-you-put-it scarf I've ever seen. I don't think they understand how cool these scarves are and how cool they'd be wearing them.  

They are so cool, I've been wishing I had made one for myself while I was at it.  Hmmmm....maybe it's the fact that I think they are cool is why they don't. 


Life is cruel that way.

I'd start one for myself, but I have a feeling winter's about over around here.  

Hey, can't blame a girl for hoping can ya'?