Sunday, August 30, 2009

August Almanac


Home Sweet Home
in August
Yes, well, um I'm still here. I guess I still consider myself a "blogger" even though I haven't been around in a while. Things have been pretty hectic here at Comfort Cottage during the month of August. Things usually are.

I promised an August almanac report last month. At the time I thought, "Well, what do I do in August?" HA!! Let me tell you, I just suffered from a little bout of amnesia. I now am recovered of my faculties and can give you a good report for your almanac.

Mrs. Sharp, whom I referenced last month, suggests using the slow and unfilled days for taking short family day-trips. I thought this to be a dandy idea (still being in my amnesia state) and proposed the idea to Mr. Wonderful. I figured if we worked it carefully; packing picnic lunches and not going too far abroad, we could conceivably & frugally take at least three day-trips in the month of August. Well, my excited proposal was met with a not-so-excited response. Needless to say, the day trips didn't happen. Mr. Wonderful sort of prefers staying close to home.

The next suggestion Mrs. Sharp gives is 'Preserving the Summer's Harvest'. Well, let me tell you this was about the time my amnesia left me. Oh yeah! NOW I remember. Every August for most of my adult life has been spent canning what Mr. Wonderful likes to stay home and produce. Now, don't get me wrong. I enjoy savoring the season's bounty by seeing all those colorful, beautiful, and full canning jars sitting in rows on the counter. I just had sort of forgotten about that when I planned all my other summer projects.

Summer projects are projects that generally must be preformed in that season because I am not teaching in our homeschool and because the weather is condusive. I did complete many of these and canning, too.
For the entire month of August I have been wrapping up many projects and trying to get ready for another school year. I would say that my almanac for August would include at the very least preserving, projects, & school planning. Even one of those is enough to fill the month. I hope you found your ideas for this month. I think for next August, I have decided to try my hand at completing more of my special projects during the school year. I hope to do this by scheduling a little time each day to work on just projects. I figure I can use my husband's shop for furniture painting and refinishing that I usually do outside. Most other projects involve decorating and improvement projects. If I can do this, then hopefully there won't be so many things crowding August. Maybe, just maybe, I can spend some time this year educating Mr. Wonderful to the splendors of day-trips. ;)
Here is another of my favorite almanacs. It was written by Karey Swann. It went around in the homeschool catalogs several years ago. She is evidently a really neat person. She catalogs alot of her 'neatness' here. The majority of the book is recipes for healthy eating and ponderings relating to home, family, and school. But, my favorite part is in the back. She gives us short descriptions of what makes each month unique in her family. I've gotten some good ideas from her.
I don't know if you can buy this new anymore. I am sure it would be available online somewhere.
Well, good to visit again. Hope to post more often as the summer busyness closes and is replaced by the busyness of the school year. :)hee-hee