Month: September 2017

Organizing My Yarn Stash

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yarn stash title

This weekend I decided it was time to try and organize my yarn stash.  As an avid knitter and crocheter, I have my fair share of yarn.  Some new and soft still in it’s lovely paper wrapper.  Some old and vintage of questionable ingredients.  Some still in tight skeins, some random small hand wound balls, some half used falling apart skeins.

craft roomMy craft area isn’t very large, and lacks storage.  Most of my yarn stash lives in totes stacked against the wall.  As I use my yarn in projects, I tend to leave the remains all around my house.  Stuffing them into one over full dresser drawer in the craft room when I clean up.

Every few months, I take the time to pull out my totes and try to make some semblance of the yarn stash and WIPs (Works In Process).

yarn stash

This year I discovered a wonderful new tool for organizing my yarn stash!  The YazyCraft Ball Winder turned out to be a real lifesaver!  For under $15 with my prime membership, I had an amazing little tool to help me organize my yarn stash.

Not only was it super easy to use, it quickly made yarn cakes that stored nicely and didn’t make my hand cramp from rolling all the yarn balls!

yazycraft 1

I had a couple of complete skeins that had been damaged in storage that needed to be rewound.  Before the ball winder, I would have spent a good amount of time hand winding the yarn into manageable yarn balls.  With the ball winder, I was able to wind an entire skein into four lovely cakes in less than ten minutes.

yazy one skein

A gallon zipper baggy holds the cakes nice and neat with their band so I know what I have and can match if needed.  Larger batches of yarn or in progress projects fit nicely in 2 gallon zipper bags.

Have you seen the multi-color yarn cakes in the stores?  Such pretty combinations just ready to go for a crafty project.  With my ball winder and my scrap yarns, I can make my own multi-color cakes.  I was so excited to see how this one came out!

multicolor yarn ball

I am excited to use all those tiny balls of scrap yarn to make my own multi-color yarn cakes.    Nothing goes to waste!

Plus, is there anything prettier than a freshly wound yarn cake?

yarnball

*This post contains sponsored links from www.amazon.com.  I was not paid to do this post or review of the YazyCraft Ball Winder .  However, if you use the link to purchase I will receive a small compensation.  Thanks for checking it out and helping to support my bloggy habits!*

Black and White Photo Challenge

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Last weekend a friend posted a fun challenge on Facebook.  Take one photo each day in black and white for one week.  No people, no selfies, and no explanation for the photos.  I’ve really enjoyed the process.  I decided that I would set an alarm on my phone for 5pm each day.  Then take a picture of whatever was in front of me.

Head over to instagram to check out my photos in the series.  I’d love to see more people join in the fun.  I’m using the hashtag #blackandwhitephoto.

BW Week Challenge title.jpg

Family Cleaning Day

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Each weekend, our family goes in a lot of different different directions.  Sometimes we are rushing to get the trailer loaded for a weekend trip.   Sometimes it’s all about grocery shopping and errands out of town.  One thing that doesn’t usually get skipped is a family cleaning session.

The beauty of having teenagers is that I can assign each person a room or area and have the whole house clean in less than an hour.  Even on weeks when we don’t do much more than the minimum all week, I know we can have the house clean in a morning.

What weekend event do you do each weekend?

family cleaning

Dinner And A Movie

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dinner and a movie

Ever since we bought our trailer, I have wanted to watch this epic film.  I love Lucille Ball in everything I’ve seen.  Her special brand of slapstick just tickles me.  I had seen bits and pieces of this movie, but never the whole thing.  It took me a few months before I finally ordered it off Amazon.  It arrived a few days later and we were ready for dinner and a movie.

Hubby and I decided to have a night in.  I cooked some pork chops, kernel corn, and fried apples.  We settled in together to watch “The Long Long Trailer”.  Oh my!  I laughed until I cried.  Hubby and I kept looking at each other and commenting about our own adventures on the many road trips over the years.  My favorite scene is when Taci is trying to cook dinner while they are mired in the mud.  As the eggs slide right off the frying pan, I remember all the times I ended up cooking dinner in the rain while we tent camped.

Bonus recipe!

My great grandmother used to cook fried apples every single night.  I stayed with my great grandparents for a couple weeks when I was fifteen.  She cooked the same thing every night.  Each person got a fried chicken thigh, about half a cup of mashed potatoes with pan gravy, and half a fried apple.  I got real tired of that dinner.  When they both passed away later that same year, I actually missed the fried apples.  Thankfully, while I was there, she showed me her recipe.

You will need:

apples (I prefer more tart apples for this, but any will work)
cinnamon
sugar
butter

 

fried apples peel

Peel, core, and slice the apples.  I like to use my fruit peeler because it peels, slices and cores the apples all at once.

fried apples rings

I cut each spiral cut apple in half for bite sized apple slices.

fried apples sliceStart to fry the apples in a frying pan with some melted butter over medium heat.

fried apples spiceSprinkle the apple slices with cinnamon and sugar.

Stir frequently while the apples slowly fry over the medium heat.  You want to cook them until they are just starting to become translucent, but don’t turn into apple sauce.  They are a wonderful side dish for pork chops, or just a lovely snack for fun.

*This post contains sponsored links from www.amazon.com.  I was not paid to do this post or review of the The Long Long Trailer .  However, if you use the link to purchase I will receive a small compensation.  Thanks for checking it out and helping to support my bloggy habits!*

Destination: Thousand Trails Chehalis

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thousand mini golf title

When we bought Bessie, our new travel trailer, we received a one year membership to Thousand Trails.  Normally, this membership would cost us $565!  Because we live and purchased in the northwest region, we have 18 campgrounds available to us to try out.  We decided to start with the one that was closest to home and we were not disappointed!  We started with Thousand Trails Chehalis.

I love that we can be camping, but still have almost a resort feel.  There are lots of trails, two pools (one family, one adults only), basket ball courts, tennis courts, volleyball courts, lots of trails, two lodges to gather at, a small store, plus so much more!  There is a mini-golf course, though the last time we went, it was closed for repairs.

thousand pool

Their campsites are mostly partial hook up, though there are a few that are full hook up.  There are several dump stations on site, if you aren’t able to score one of the full hook up spots.  The entire place is nice and clean.  All the rangers and staff have been very welcoming.

If you have a membership, I definitely recommend this campground.  I know we have been enjoying it multiple weekends this summer!

thousand site