Feeling very homemakery...

 The morning started with a ride on Pete.  The men and I gathered up the cows and calves and sorted the ones we needed to bring in to breed.  After that, I got on the riding mower and did some mowing around the barn that was really bugging me.  I want things to look nice -- like somebody cares -- you know?  It's not perfect; it's not a perfect-looking barnyard, but it looks neat and trimmed now.  After that I cleaned up and spent the rest of my day around the house doing homemakery type things.

First I tied on my pink gingham apron and got a big batch of bread going in my mixer.  While that was mixing, I started washing and cutting up some fresh strawberries that I found on sale at the local grocery store yesterday.  Just $1.38 a quart!  Jam was the order of the day.  Jam and bread, that is.  I set the bowl of bread dough out on a chair on the porch where the hot 98 degree weather would surely give me a good rise on my bread.  And it did!

 Before I go on, I wanted to show you my new kitchen rugs.  I am so happy with them. I have been hunting and hunting for just the right thing, and I finally found them on Etsy here.  The price was reasonable, especially considering the size (25 x 58"), and I just love the style -- rustic country kitchen.  The rugs are made of scraps, mainly denim, so they are tough and washable.  I like the red stripes on each end.

Back to my day.  I didn't sew this cute little pillowcase dress today, but I did make it yesterday afternoon.  It was such fun and very simple to make as you can see.  Our little Peach is 4 years old today and this was one of her gifts from me along with a drawstring bag with a small notebook and fat pencil inside and her very own watering can so she can water the flower pots with Mama.

I spent some time watering and weeding my veggie patch and hung out a load of work clothes on the clothesline.  There is just something about hanging out the laundry that feels very satisfying to me.  It's an ordinary thing, but I only have a few good months of outdoor drying weather so I enjoy it while I have it.  The baby robins were hopping about the backyard while I worked.  They are so adorable with their spotted breasts and their friendly ways.

 

Here was the result of the jam making and bread baking.  One of the loaves of bread wouldn't slip out of the pan and so I had to take to it with a butter knife all around the edges and still, I left the bottom crust in the pan and split the whole loaf in two.  Ah well, we will slather it up with butter and a big glob of strawberry jam and eat it all the same!  I hope you had some happy homemakery moments today.

 “The woman who makes a sweet, beautiful home, filling it with love and prayer and purity, is doing something better than anything else her hands could find to do beneath the skies.”
― J.R. Miller, Home-Making