It’s been four weeks since I put a “Friday File” up. Between my sickness, the children’s sickness, and rural internet not working March was just not a good month for my blog. I’m hoping now that we are all better to get back into the swing of things because I have so many things I want to share on this blog.

Over the past month I’ve started learning a couple of new skills. For a long time I’ve wanted to learn how to weave. In fact, about a year ago I bought a weaving kit for my girls with the thought that it could be for me too. Well, all the instructions were in French. I couldn’t find English instructions for the kit anywhere on the internet. So we set it aside.

A few weeks ago I got it out and decided to just wing it on my own. Of course, I understand the general principal of weaving so with a little help from YouTube I was able to make a decent square about 10″ square. My plan is to weave several of these and sew them together as a rug. I still have an ultimate goal of someday weaving an entire rug as one piece. In the meantime, I’m happy that I’ve been able to get a little bit of weaving started.

Then several years ago I read about a process called “oven canning” or “dry canning”. This is a way of canning dry goods like rice, grains, pasta, etc., and extending their shelf life. We’ve been having a small problem with mice so, again, thanks to the wonders of YouTube I have been dry canning our rice. It’s not hard and makes me feel productive.

And in case you’re interested here’s the YouTube video that I used.

The weather is slowly warming up although next week is supposed to be a cold snap. I’m enjoying being able to send my little ones outside to run their wiggles out. We had a hard end to our winter with a lot of sickness so we’re enjoying getting outside for some fresh air.

While I was sick I spent a little extra time pinning. I found a lot of things that I would like to try. Here are a few.

I need a special dessert for a scrapbooking party. I think this version of S’mores would be perfect.

S’mores Bites

I want to make a pretty cover for my new sewing machine, and I love the pockets on this one.

Sewing Machine Cover

This post is bang on how to help a friend in crisis.

Six Ways to Be There for a Friend in Crisis

Check out this sweet grandma realizing her dream at 98 years of age.