No, silly dears – sunspots aren’t the reason I’ve not posted in a month!  Noooo, I’ve been a busy little munakins, you see.

Since last we chatted I’ve cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and then cleaned some more.  And whilst I was cleaning away, the thought occurred to your little munakins that perhaps the Mister and I ought not to have quite so much stuff, as it would make cleaning the homestead much easier.  Did you read an article called “Meet the Johnsons – Zero-Waste Home” in Sunset Magazine a while ago?  Here’s a link to the article’s photos (Sunset doesn’t appear to offer the article itself on its website).  The gist of the article was simple: a woman decided that her family had too much stuff and that she’d had enough of it.  I don’t think we could ever get down to the level of serene cleanliness that the Johnsons attained, but oooooh, don’t I wish we could?  That being said, I am happy to report that the Houseproud homestead not only appears to be its normal neat-and-tidy self, it actually is neat-and-tidy.  Mostly.  There are a few pockets of stubborn resistance, but more on that later – I have a series of posts in mind that discuss the gentle art of scrubbing the hodge from your home.  Trust me when I say that you’ll be mildly amused and potentially surprised by some of the tricks I’ll be relaying.

But it hasn’t been only cleaning and tidying ’round the clock here at the homestead.  When I haven’t been cleaning, I’ve been making things.  Yes, it’s true:  I can report that I’ve spent more time sewing in the last month than I’ve spent cooking, and that’s saying a lot, as anyone who knows me can attest.  And what sewing projects have I worked on?

I’ve made many totes (my Marketing Tote is almost perfect, and I’m working on another tote, one that I call the Picnic Tote); I’ve made a sweet little elephant print pillow as a gift for Edna Louise; I’ve made square scarves form myself and others; and I’ve made emergency wardrobe fixes.  I’ve got all sorts of sewing projects to talk with you about in future posts.  Foremost on my mind is a post that will attempt to convince you lovely readers that the sewing of napkins is worth the bother.  Oooooh, you really must trust me on this, my pets:  learning to make napkins (with mitered corners, no less) is a gateway drug for sewing bliss.  You’ll see, you’ll see …

Anyway, what else have I been up to in the last month?  Let’s see … I’ve been on walks with the Mister and hikes with Mum-of-Mine and with Edna Louise.  The Mister and I hosted a cocktail party for Michael-Michael-Michael and Edna Louise, and an Easter picnic for M-o-M and Edna Louise.  I spent a LOVELY few days helping my favorite California farmers (Vern and Sandy) plan and throw a benefit picnic at their farm in Sonoma county, and have started to finalize my plans to visit my favorite Montana farmers (hello, Jim und Tina!) this summer.  M-o-M and I have finalized our trip to  Yosemite this autumn and are starting to plan our trip to Glacier next summer.  (Mind you, my travel plans ain’t jack compared to that which the Mister’s mum, Mutti, has got planned.  That woman’s amazing, peoples.)

What else?  Well, I’ve started a new volunteer gig for St. Vincent de Paul – Alameda County in April.  In addition to my regular volunteer gig as a once-a-week assistant to SVdP – Alameda Co’s Executive Directer, I also volunteer now at Redux on Tuesdays as a Jill-of-All-Trades and as a Treasure Hunter.  Oh, I’ve been up to sooooo much mischief, you just couldn’t believe!  (Parenthetical:  If only some of that mischief had involved sending timely birthday greetings to my extended family.  Unfortunately, I am batting ZERO on the ol’ birthday card front this year.  So sorry, my lovely little nieces and nephews!  Your auntie munakins feels very contrite.)  And while most of the things I’ve listed above have craft and food projects associated with them, you’ll have to wait for ’em, as I’ve run out of time to put ’em in tonight’s post.  I have some lovely cold carrot soup to slurp up and a Butte hotel room to book, as well as a husband to whom I ought to pay some attention.  Take care, my dears, until we chat again.  I PROMISE that I won’t take another month to post, really I won’t!  With much fondness, your little munakins.