Random Stuff

Here's some stuff I've decided to share but none of it is really enough for a full on blog post by itself... so today, you get this week's odd random collection.

NAPPING KITTY ORNAMENT

I saw something sort of like this on Pinterest a couple of months ago and when it led to a pattern for purchase, I decided I could probably knock it off.  I did. It's not an exact replica but it's close.  I'm happy with it and so I present you my version of a Napping Kitty Christmas Ornament!

To make your own, ch 4 and sl st in first st to form a circle.  Round 1: Ch 1 and make 11 sc in circle, join with sl st. Round 2: Ch 1 and make 2 sc in each st except the last one that would complete the round.  In this st, ch 2, hdc, dc, *ch 2 and join in first ch (this makes an ear)*, 3 dc repeat *  *, dc, hdc, ch 2 and join with sl st. Round 3: Pull loop from sl st through to front  of kitty at appx 3 o'clock position and ch 2, sc in first sc of Round 2 and in each st until you come to the kitty's head, sl st to join.  Form a loop to hang ornament and tuck tails (no pun intended) neatly.  I used a G hook and the Sugar & Spice cotton yarn to make this cute calico.

VINEGAR CAKE

Kitchen Dog was showing his skills off today.  He went to the kitchen with Jason's Mom while she was putting some icing on a Vinegar Cake and bumped her elbow when she was adding powdered sugar to the bowl.  He proudly sported this look for a couple of hours before the sugar worked it's way off his face...

But back to the Vinegar Cake.  She told me it was a recipe from the WWII-era when things like flour, sugar, eggs and butter were rationed.  This is a way to have a cake without butter or eggs.  I was a little skeptical that the vinegar taste would come through and be a little weird, but the cake is really very good.

And it's been discovered.  A simple search on Pinterest found the recipe posted on sorts of websites and blogs under names like Crazy Cake, Wacky Cake and Depression Cake.  Rather than retype it yet again here, I'll just provide you with a link to someone else's recipe.

But seriously... look it up and give this cake a try!

FROSTBURG DOG PARK

Jason had some time today to run around and show me Mount Savage, Frostburg, Cumberland and some other adjacent towns in Maryland.  We took the boys to the dog park in Frostburg.  It's not anything spectacular, just a big fenced in open area where they could run off some excess energy.  Kind of plain but it does the job. And oh boy!  Did they take advantage of a chance to run freely!!

Lightning made an escape.  And Jason took off in a hot pursuit that would make ol' Rosco P. Coltrane proud and got a successful capture.  Coming back to where I was waiting by the gate he took a shortcut on a dirt access road that looked rather like an old rail line had been pulled up, someplace it was probably never intended he should be, and got stuck when the front driver's side tire broke through the ice on a massive pothole and dropped about 15 inches.  Sigh.

When it proved to be somewhat rather less than easy to get unstuck, he walked Lightning down to me and I put him inside the park where Jack was waiting on him with great anxiety. Then I walked across the grass to see if I could help, even if it was just to add some weight (don't think it let alone say anything!) to the back of the vehicle to help it gain traction.  That plan didn't work.  Bigger sigh.


Before long a nice man came along and offered to pull us out.  Not before someone else passing the dog park saw my 'unattended dogs,' decided they'd been abandoned and called the police though...  The officer was nice and found our explanation of what happened satisfactory and left with a hearty chuckle and wishes for a Merry Christmas.  Whew!

Yes, folks, this is how my life goes.  You seriously cannot make this stuff up!!

Crocheted Wreath Ornament

November and the first half of December found me ill and not doing a heck of a lot.  Not sure if it was a strange cold or if I've developed an allergy to something but I had horrid post nasal drip that kept my throat irritated and me coughing.  I coughed so hard I broke a rib!  It was rainy most of this time and when the weather started to dry up I started to feel better.  Christmas Eve the rainy weather returned and so did the post nasal drip and cough...

One little thing I did, though, was make these wreath ornaments for several of my friends as a Christmas remembrance.  There are a few similar ones floating around the internet.  Well, actually I remember seeing them from before the internet was such a big deal... but mine is a bit different than any I've seen before.

Crocheted Wreath Ornament

All rounds in light sage green with a red bow and hanger.

Directions:  Ch 4, join with a sl st to form a ring.
Round 1:Ch 3 (counts as first dc).  Dc 19 into ring, join to beginning ch 3 w/sl st.

Round 2: Working in FRONT loop only, *ch 3 sc in next st.*  Repeat *  * in remaining 18 sts. Join to back loop in first st w/sl st.

Round 3: Working in BACK loop only, *ch 4 sc in next st.*  Repeat *  * in remaining 18 sts.  Join w/sl st.

Using a coordinating color, weave a thread around the tops of dc from Round 1 and tie a bow at either top or bottom of wreath as desired.  Trim thread ends.  Tie a loop to the back of the wreath for a hanger if using as a tree ornament or use a small safety pin to attach to your coat lapel.

Try using different shades of yarn.  Use shade 1 for rounds 1 and 2 and a coordinating shade for round 3.  For example, light and medium green with red for the bow and hanger.  Or white for rounds 1 and 2, light blue for round 3 and dark blue for the bow and hanger.

Have fun making your own or message me if you'd like to purchase some for Christmas 2016! $1 each or $10/dozen + shipping.

For My New Master Suite

As I'm preparing to move, I find myself deciding on what pieces of this life to take and which to cast off.  That's true of mental and emotional stuff as well as the stuff of daily life that you can put your hands on and, to borrow one of my Mom's phrases, "feel the fabric."  There are items from each and every room that I'm choosing to retain or to repair and repurpose to go with new items I'm adding to the mix.

In the Master Suite, I'm retaining the color of blue that we'd started with to decorate in that room.  I'm going to tone it down to a lighter shades of that blue but I am keeping the blue.  Also the furniture, the one set of sheets that actually fits that bed, the soap dish/dispenser/toothbrush holder set, some funky little knobs to hang towels, and the outer shower curtain and rings to hold it up on the bar.  I have bath poof that's the right colors and I found cotton yarn on clearance at Walmart a couple of weeks ago that also matches and I've been making myself some luxury washcloths.

It's those washcloths I want to show you today.

If you want some for yourself, they are really very simple to make.  You only need to know how to crochet a chain (ch) and a single crochet (sc) and use a slip stitch (slst) to connect it all together.  These are the very most basic stitches and the first you will learn if you take a crochet class or get a "teach yourself how" book.  So this is a great beginner project because you use basic techniques and can quickly complete something that's both pretty and useful!

Select a 100% cotton yarn and either an F or G hook to work with.  The brand of yarn I used is Peaches & Cream.  To start, make a loop and pull a thread up through for the first stitch.  Ch 33.  In the 3rd ch from the hook, sc once then ch two, skip over the next two ch from your beginning row and sc in the 3rd ch from the hook.  Repeat this sc one, ch two process back to your beginning loop.  You should end up with a sc in the last ch.  Ch two and turn. Sc in the ch two space you made in the previous row, ch two.  Repeat across row, and for each of the next 23 rows until you have a square.

To make the edge, ch 1 and sc 3 (to turn the corner) then sc in each stitch along the edge - be sure to put 3 sc in each corner to maintain the square shape.  Connect to first sc with a slst.  Ch 1 and sc through both loops of the first st of the previous round, ch 3 and then sl st together to form a picot, sc in each of the next two sts and then make another picot.  Continue around entire edge of washcloth.  Slst together and tie off.  Use a yarn needle to tuck threads into work.

That's it!

After a couple of these, you can almost make them in your sleep.  It's that simple.

But aren't they pretty?

And you can machine wash them with like colors in a gentle cycle so the care is also very simple.  Many people use this pattern (and many others) for dish cloths in the kitchen but they are soft enough to use in the shower and even on your face.  My friend's daughter, who is a professional nail artist, uses them with the spa treatment for a pedicure to rave reviews.

These are the colors, plus a cheery apple green, I will echo with towels and bedding and curtains and artwork to make a little sanctuary for myself that's bright and happy and cheerful.

Prayer Beads?

A couple of weeks ago I went to a garage sale where an older gentleman was selling the last of his wife's jewelry as she had passed away a year or so ago and they had no children to take it.  I picked up a little packet of unusual beads for $1.  When I got home and unpackaged them for a closer look, they were part of a necklace or possibly a crucifix since there is a copper cross attached to the one end.  The strand is broken but there's a good number of beads and I've been pondering what to do with them ever since.

My first thought was some kind of art display for these oh-so-bare walls.  But how to accomplish that?  Then a friend suggested stringing them for a bookmark in my Bible.  I'm still uncertain if I want to do that but I do like the idea of being able to touch them because they have such a unique feel when you hold them in your hands that's both pleasant and disturbing.  I like the elements of irony and contrast and surprise in jewelry and decor.

Besides the cross, there are 8 of these skulls.  Each is approximately the size of my small fingernail and they are VERY primitively carved.  No two are the same and some barely resemble a skull while others look very much like one.  The material feels like polished bone or possibly ivory.  There's probably a simple way to tell the difference and I'll feel silly for questioning it once I find out...  The other beads are a little smaller than pony beads and either dark brown or black glass.

When I came to the cross, I was stumped.  Why would skulls be part of a religious item?  Turns out I was again woefully undereducated.  Skulls have a long history of symbolism in religious art as a reminder of the transitory nature of our life here on earth and the certainty of our physical death.  Very old paintings of saints such as Mary Magdalene, Jerome and St. Francis of Assisi often included a depiction of them meditating over a skull.  Some pictures of Jesus' crucifixion show a skull over the cross presumably as a reminder that He could not rise again and offer us resurrection and salvation without first experiencing death.  And more than a few religions have been known to keep a human skull on the premises for their members to use as an aid to meditation.  It seems a little macabre to me considering the squeaky-clean image of a very nice father-figure God most of modern Christianity holds but a Google search shows that skull prayer beads are pretty widely available today and appeal to a variety of faiths.

This description for a set of Buddhist mala beads was interesting:  "...Buddhists integrated Tibetan skull images into malas to represent the brevity of life and the restrictions of human understanding.  Skull-shaped mala beads help chanters [consider] the inevitability of fatality and the requirement of accepting lives filled with empathy."  (Source: http://www.slideshare.net/panoramicnun5041/what-is-the-meaning-of-skull-prayer-beads).

I find it fascinating when looking at world religions just how much we all have in common.  And this is another example... that our earthly life is short and, while we don't understand everything we are here to do, we are to be compassionate and helpful to others on this journey.

While the idea of using the beads in meditation is appealing, a Rosary is not part of my faith's tradition and it's not something that feels comfortable to me to introduce into my personal spirituality.  (I really know very little about Rosaries beyond they are an aid to repetitive prayer.  My most simple explanation is that each bead is like a place marker to keep you focused on the part of the prayer you are reciting.)  And I'm not really sure what to do with the cross as, again, that's not part of my faith. Mormons choose to focus on the ministry of the risen Christ and the promises of eternal life and see the cross as an instrument of death... a common method of executing criminals in that part of human history.  It's not pretty and pleasant to consider, and it shouldn't be... but could it possibly be more painful to bear than what He experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane when taking our sins caused blood to pour from his body like sweat?

So... if you had these beads, what would you do with them?

Buh... buh... buh...BLING!

I always wanted a monogrammed something but had this silly idea that you had to have 3 initials to make it work.  You know those classic frilly lettered pieces with your first and middle initials to each side and a bigger letter for your last name in the middle... but I didn't get a middle name when I was born so I only had 2 initials and that made the whole thing sort of lopsided and weird.  Now that I've given up on the idea of ever getting that third initial for a really classic monogram, I'm being more liberal and creative in my interpretation of what that means.

Here's my very first monogram!

I kind of love it... I don't know if I love it more because it's such an unusual creation for me (I'm not all that into bling or an ultra-feminine girly girl by any means!) or if the appeal is the family history that's wrapped up in it.  I used 6 of my Grandma Clarke's broaches and a rhinestone belt buckle and some silver earrings that were my Mom's and buttons that one or both of them cut off old clothes.  When that wasn't enough to cover the wooden letter, I supplemented with some extra buttons from clothes of my own and buttons and rhinestones I purchased.

The base is a 5-inch pressed wood letter from the oh-so-glamorous Walmart.  I spray painted it with some brushed nickle paint left over from updating the cabinet hinges in the kitchen.  And then came the fun part:  arranging all those pieces and hot gluing them down.  It was kind of like putting together a glittery puzzle!

And it was really really fun to do!!

Once I finish it off with a sheer black ribbon bow to hang it from, the final display spot will be nestled amongst a collection of black & white family photos in a variety of styles and sizes of black frames along the stairwell walls going to the basement family room.

I had so much fun with the monogram that I'm gathering materials to make a 3X magnifying mirror for my future master bath.  I've kind of settled on yellow gold, old pearls, white (or clear) rhinestones and a couple of shades of aquamarine blue for the color theme.  That will be such an unexpected and romantic little touch in the room!

Also in process... opening an Etsy store where I'll be offering both monograms and picture frames/mirrors for sale along with some other fun hand-crafted items.

Welcome Home Wreath

Awhile back I was thrilled to think that maybe I'd inherited my Great Grandpa Burton's poetry writing gene when I wrote a little poem called Welcome to My Home.  All along my intent was to frame it in a $1 store frame that was decorated with flowers and ribbons to make a wreath-type decoration for my future front door.

Except that I couldn't find flowers and ribbons that I like...

And so I ended up making the flowers from fabric and ribbon.  That was kind of an adventure!

Directions here.  Scroll down about 1/3
of the way to find the round pouf variation.

I made these round poufs, 2 from blue plaid fabrics and 1 from a golden yellow print.  For future reference, choose a fabric that is colored similarly on both sides.  The yellow has a definite front and back and since both show when you fold the circles you can see the pale and not so attractive back of the fabric on that flower.

Directions here.

I also made 3 of these 2-layered stars from a deep golden yellow satin ribbon that also makes up the middle layer of loops in my bow.  The website is in what I think might be Russian but I was able to follow the diagram successfully.  Because it's what I had, I used 5 iridescent large-sized seed beads in the center.

And finally, I made 5 flowers from the same sheer ivory ribbon as in the bow by cutting about a 9-inch length and running a gathering stitch along one edge.  Pulled tight, it looks like a pleated circle.  The same iridescent seed beads make up the centers.

I printed the poem in a pretty font on ivory cardstock using navy blue ink and slipped it into the frame after carefully cleaning the glass. Then the flowers were arranged and hot glued to the frame with some leaves cut from a spray of red berries I picked up after Christmas to finish another project.  The bow is a mix of the yellow and ivory ribbon with long tails tied in a half-knot at the end.  At some point, I may try to tuck in either some fine ribbon or flowers in a deep denim-y blue just to pick up that color a little more.

Now to pull me together and get that future front door/entryway...

Welcome To My Home

I wrote a short poem today.  Well, actually bits and pieces of it have been floating around in my head for a couple of weeks, but today is the day I got all the parts down on paper and decided it said what I wanted it to say.  And actually I'm kind of proud of it!  One of my great grandfathers was a superb poet and I always wanted to have inherited a latent poetry gene...  Maybe I got lucky and that wish came true?

Welcome To My Home

Welcome to my humble little home!

It’s not fancy, just some sticks and stone.

It’s known poverty and a bit of wealth,

And sheltered me through sickness and in health.

I've filled it with thoughts and people and things I love

As I begged for God’s blessings from above.

I’ve tried to learn from the bad to simply enjoy the good

And found it’s not about could, or should, or would…

But taking whatsoever I do have and sharing,

That is the best way to show my caring.

So come on in - you're fine just as you are

Friends always welcome from both near and far!!

My plan is to print it in a pretty font and put it in a $1 store frame that I've decorated with flowers and ribbons and such to make a rectangular wreath for my front door.  I think it's the perfect accompaniment to my 2015 goals, don't you?

Greeting Card Organizer & Storage

Ok... so this is one of those projects where you're going to smack yourself side the head and ask "Why didn't I think of that?"

I started by making a template for the dividers out of copy paper.  I cut about
1-inch off the long side and then cut that in half and then cut out for my tab
and finally, just because I like it that way, rounded the top corners.

Then I made my list of what kinds of cards I am mostly likely to send and
would want to keep in my new organizer.  (In the end I left off Valentines
Day... I may do some but they can take up space in the Other/Misc area.)
And I did make the tab for Stamps/Stickers/Labels to keep a ready supply
of those items and thus, hopefully, increase the chance I will actually become
one of those people who are thoughtful enough to send greeting cards.

Next, I cut the amount of tabs I needed from cardstock.  This shows how
I cut 2 from each sheet of paper.

Using my handy dandy Dymo label maker, I put labels on each tab.  Now
you'll set these aside until you're ready to put them in the pretty new box.

I used the box from our horrifyingly bad habit of noshing on Mrs. Freshley's
Original Jumbo Honey Buns.  It's approximately the size of a men's shoe box;
a little shorter maybe but about the same width and depth.  I used this box
because it's what I had and part of the idea behind my project was to use
stuff that would otherwise be thrown away to make something that's both
beautiful and useful.

I measured (mostly by laying the box on top and wrapping it around) how
much contact paper I needed to cover the outside of the box and trimmed
away the excess at each corner so I didn't have a lot of bulk from the
unneeded extra material.  I love the grid on the back to help me cut straight
lines and keep the paper square to the box!

This shows how I oriented the box on top of the ConTac paper.  Then I very
carefully peeled off the backing on just that little tab that's going to wrap up
and cover the words "Jumbo Honey Bun."

After that tab is finger pressed into place.  From here I tore the backing off
down the center and did the same to the other end.  Then I worked it off the
side pieces and put them in place.  ConTac paper is somewhat forgiving and
will allow you to move it a few times while straightening and smoothing.  I
just wish I'd had better color and pattern choices... not really grooving on
the green.  Hopefully it will blend when I get it in on that open shelf in
the finished room!

I also covered the inside of my box.  Same process of measure, cut, carefully
peel the backing away and work slowly so to get smooth results.

With a little time and patience...

Put the tabs in... and now I just need to go find all those stray cards.  You
know, the extras from every holiday that you save thinking you'll use them
next year when that package is just 2 short and then you can't ever find them
again and buy even more?  I got some of those tucked away here and there.

Now see... wasn't that just a crazy easy way to make something pretty and organized for the office/hobby room/woman cave?  And since the box was destined for the recycle bin and it was just a few sheets of paper I already had on hand and some labels, also from materials on hand (you could write them, too, if you have pretty handwriting) my only cost was the $5.35 for a roll of ConTac paper.  And there's plenty of it to cover several more boxes for the open shelving that I have planned for that room.  How coordinated, huh?  Now if I just loved the color and pattern...

You could also use this same idea in your pantry - and I have every intention of doing so - to organize those little mix packets.  The ones you have for ranch dressing, taco seasoning, onion soup mix, chili seasoning, chicken gravy... yeah, that kind of stuff.  I admit I have them and use them because it's something convenient and shelf stable.  Right now they are scattered all over my cabinets.  Wouldn't this be a better way to contain that clutter?  And, hey, I might even find what I want already here and not just go mindlessly buy another one!!

The Making of a Medallion

The finished medallion.  It's gracing the wall above the toilet in our hall
 bathroom.  I'm happy to get something in there decor-wise because the
walls have been bare-nekked for way too long!

Step 1:  Choose your paper.  I chose to get an old book with yellowed
pages that I could cut apart.  I got this study guide for smart kids who
want to get into a prep school and hang out with other smart kids for
$2 at Goodwill.  You could also use magazine pages, copy paper, craft
paper...  just about any paper you like that has enough body to hold a
cone shape.

Step 2:  Tear out pages.  I didn't really count, but I'm guessing I used
somewhere round about 50 pages.  I made sure I had text printed on
both sides because I wanted that look but you can tailor that to your
own personal tastes.

Step 3:  Cut the pages down to squares.  I used the full width so I just had
to trim about 1 1/2 inches from the bottom to make a square.   If you want
smaller cones, cut smaller squares.  It's that simple... and really, there are no
hard and fast rules.

Step 4:  Cut a disk from cardboard.  I had a big piece of clean corrugated
cardboard that had been used as packing to protect the top of our kitchen
table during shipping when we bought it last summer so that is what I used.
I wanted a finished medallion that was about 24" so I started with a 12-inch
circle - exactly size of our dinner plates!  It was nice having something easy
to trace... And a box cutter or exacto knife would have been a better choice
to cut it out, but Derek took that from the toolbox for something a few days
ago and didn't put it back.  And I decided to just fight it out with the craft
scissors instead of hunting down the box cutter.  It was hard on my fingers
and didn't give me nice crisp edges, so I'd say it's probably not the best bit
of strategic thought I've ever had to go with the scissors on this.

Step 5a:  You're going to need a way to hang it on the wall when you're done
and I've found it's easiest (on you and the medallion) to add a loop of yarn
now.  Just use a yarn needle and punch through.  If you want to be all fancy
schmancy you could use ribbon or picture wire or maybe you have an even
better idea?

Step 5b:  The hanging loop is on the other side and the ends are poking out
here.  I tied these off in a secure knot and then hot glued them down as flat
as I could.

Step 5c:  Cover the side with the glued down knots with some of the paper
you'll be using for the cones.  Trim the paper flush with the disk (I hadn't
done this yet when I snapped the picture). This has ended up being a not-
really-necessary step both times I've made a medallion but I do it anyway,
just in case.  My thought was I didn't want bits of cardboard to show
through any gaps in the cones when I glued them down.  Plus I think it
helps secure the hanging loop.

Step 6:  Now you're going to get back to all those square pieces you cut and
form them into cones.  Secure on both edges with a bit of glue.  The first few
always seem very awkward to me but then I get the hang of it again and it goes
not just faster but I get a more consistent shape.

Step 7:  Glue the cones down to the disk starting with the outside row.  Like
I said, I wanted to finish at 24-inches so I cut a disk that was 12 and glued
the cones down so that 6-inches extended past the cardboard all the way
around.  Don't worry about the little spaces between them.  They will be
filled in when you put the next rows on.  This is part way through row 1.
(Note:  I used hot glue for this whole project.  I think it is the best choice
to be able to hold everything together quickly.  But realize that when they
named it hot glue they meant HOT glue.  It will burn you!  Possibly
severely. So be very careful!!  And keep your kids away while you
are working on this project.)

And this is part way through row 2.  See the gaps filling in?  Just keep adding
cones in concentric circular rows.  Pull the edge of the cones inward slightly
with each new round. To do that you'll need to start trimming off the pointy
end of each cone after row 2 and finally in the center, just nestle them in in
whatever direction you can fit them.

And that's how I ended up with this!

Mama's Sewing Box

I guess it's sort of a shared childhood memory among people my age for mom's to have used an old cookie tin to store sewing supplies.  Seems that lots of us remember anticipating a cookie and opening the tin to find needles and thread and such.  This is the top my mom's sewing supply tin... a tradition I've chosen to keep alive.  Around the sides it's got the lines of a poem:

Monday's child is fair of face.

Tuesday's child is full of grace.

Wednesday's child is full of woe.

Thursday's child has far to go.

Friday's child is loving and giving.

Saturday's child works hard for a living.

The child that is born on the Sabbath Day,

Is bonny, blythe, good and gay.

Inside there are the treasures...

Many of the smaller items are inside little tins of their own.  There are old tins that once held tea bags.  Some plastic containers that might have been filled with pins.  Even some tiny pieces of tupperware.  And there are at least a dozen pair of scissors that, guessing from their different sizes and shapes, were manufactured for different purposes.

The one tea tin contains the plastic circles used to make pompoms that are even and perfectly round.  Lot's of them!  More, actually, than it looks like in the picture...

And from way back in the day before plastic eggs were widely available at Easter, there are a couple of metal ones.  One of them is home to an assortment of needle threaders.

I've always thought this was the neatest little measuring tape!  Isn't the detail on the case pretty?

Some of the other containers contain pins and needles.  Some of the needles have eyes that are so small I can't even see them and some are so large you could easily thread rug yarn.  And there are pins so tiny I don't even know what they're for and others that have what looks like a glass bead on the top and still more than are heavy and long to hold fabric on the frames for quilting.

In the years it's been mine, I've added some of my own things to the collection like the little embroidery hoop you can see in a couple of the pictures.  I think it was old when I found it in a thrift store 25 years ago because it's made differently than the wooden hoops of today.  It doesn't have the little screw like piece on the outer ring but utilizes a spring to hold your fabric tight between that and the inner ring.

And I've added my collection of surgical implements.  I'm not even sure exactly what names belong to all of them anymore but have found them handy things to have every now and again.  The hemostats (is that what those scissor-shaped pieces that pinch are?) do a great job pulling a needle through a heavy quilt or doll face when it gets stuck and nearly impossible to handle with just my fingers!  And those long tweezer-like things have been great to pick out tiny stitches on a cross-stitch more than once.  Those 3 pieces came from a suture kit once when I needed to have my hand sewn up after a knife slip in the kitchen.  The one farthest right is a staple remover our vet recently gave me when I thought I'd give it a try to remove the staples from Lightning's leg.  Couldn't get Derek to hold him still for me so I didn't do it, but that was the original plan.

Oh Martha...

Martha, Martha, Martha...

(I bet in your mind you said that like the old Brady Bunch lament of Marsha, Marsha, Marsha... I know I did!)

Thanks to 5MinutesforMom.com for the image/
screenshot of Martha Stewart's interview segment.
You can listen to it here, if you'd like.

Dear Martha,

I'm a blogger.  Of sorts.  Not a very famous one, but I do write and share blog posts all the same.  And you're right...  I'm not a trained editor.  I'm just an average person trying to make my way in the world as best I can.  I claim no special expertise in anything but being me.

I don't have the privilege of hiring expert decorators when I furnish my home.  I pick out the furniture and paint and accessories myself because they are things I like.  Usually a room comes together in layers over a long period of time not in a matter of days like a professional would do it.  And mostly I think I do a pretty decent job.  My colors match, or anyway coordinate, pretty good.  The furniture is comfortable and usually the decorations come with interesting stories.  It's enough that my family and friends and I are happy to be in the room.  And for me that's the point of having it - sharing it with other people who are just as real and average as me.  None of us care, truthfully, that the decor will never be featured in Better Homes & Gardens or on an HGTV segment.

And I don't have formal training as a chef from some hoity toity culinary institute.  While I sort of covet those amazing knife skills I'd gain with that kind of training, I wouldn't trade the lessons in running a kitchen I received from my mom to get them.  And I've never poisoned anyone with what I've fed them!  In fact, I get a lot of compliments on my cooking.  Lots of my average people family and friends seem to think I cook quite well.  And on those occasions when I don't?  Well, they have no problems telling me that either.  You see, the test kitchen that's meaningful to me is my own family dinner table.

And you know what?  The last art class I took was [a deep departure from my Business major] Fashion Illustration in college probably a good 20 years ago.  So I guess it's safe to say I have no real expertise with arts and crafts either.  But mind blowingly... I do them!  And quite often successfully enough that I want to share a picture, sans any training in photography, as sort of a brag about it with my friends.

I also did not attend Divinity School, so I can't claim any special religious expertise beyond daily communion with my Father in Heaven and time spent in the scriptures.  I have no degree in Psychology so advice and commentary on the human condition fall outside my realm of expertise, too.

And to go even further, I have no special training in writing.  Sure, I got good grades in my public school English classes (composition and grammar and sentence structure were part of basic English back in the day) but that's pretty much where it ended.  I just happen to like words.  I like how they feel rolling off my tongue, or I guess fingertips since I'm sitting here typing this out.

I guess this leaves me pretty unqualified to write a blog where such topics are discussed!  But I do it anyway.

And I'm not going to stop.

Doing and writing and sharing about my life make me happy.  It keeps me sane.  Or maybe I should say, it keeps me less insane.  Blogging is my therapy; my release from everything that would become a demon to torment my nights.  And if that's not ok with you Martha, I can live with it.

There was a time when I looked at you as a role model; someone to emulate and study because of your own uncommon rise to success.  You were a fashion model and then a stock broker by trade, correct?  Ironic how that worked out...  I don't seem to remember reading where you found the expertise to start your catering business or to build it into the empire that is Martha Stewart Living.  Where did you get to be an expert about decorating or cooking or crafting or how to compose an enticing photo?  When did you get the training to be an editor or social media guru?  I'm wondering if perhaps you're no expert either?

And that's an oddly comforting thought.

It's Starting to Look a Lot Like... Halloween!

Several years ago I had a wild hair and decided I needed some Halloween decorations.  That's kind of a funny thing since, to me, it's not all that big of a deal for a holiday... and it's not something my family ever made into a major celebratory event.

Yeah, I went trick-or-treating as a kid.  Usually as a ghost.  But hey... it was Idaho and often there was a foot of snow on the ground for Halloween and a sheet is something that fit pretty easily over a heavy coat and a few layers of pants!

Otherwise the clearest memory of Halloween I have is from about 5 years ago when I answered the door expecting to see some little kids out for an evening of candy collecting and found a taller-than-me grim reaper announcing "I'm here for your soul!"  I have to admit that was not the greeting I was expecting and it kind of made me pause for a moment or two...

So I don't know why I decided to get decorations.  Maybe the leftovers after the holiday were especially cute that year?  Anyway, I have a few things.  And low and behold, the plastic storage tub where they get stored made it onto the moving truck with the Christmas decorations when I moved.  And that turned out to be a fortuitous thing since Halloween is one of Derek's favorites.  He likes the spooky fantasy motif and it's one of the few holidays that Americans do actually decorate for as part of the celebrations.  He's been out of town the past few days and as a surprise I started hauling stuff out and even crafting a couple of new items so there'll be something cheery to greet him when he gets home tomorrow evening.

Here's a little peek!

 I have these on the front porch for now.  Even if the ghosts, which will light up with a little battery power, stay in place I think we'll replace the bucket with a real jack-o-lantern.  Then I can take it inside to hold candy...

 The jack-o-lanterns also light up.  The big one in the center plugs in so the kitchen table where I've got it setup now is probably not the best place for it.  The outlet is right over the dog dishes (they are infamous little chewers who gnaw on anything they can get into their mouths!) and it doesn't work.  We haven't figured out why yet.

 I put a couple of little towels on the oven door to brighten things up in the kitchen.

This is 33 cents worth of paper plates cut up and strung together with some yarn...  I think I'll find a black marker to redo his eyes and give him a gaping mouth and get a little tape to hold his arms and legs in a more interesting shape.  He's silly, but cute!

There is a template you can print and use to cut the plates here or do like me and just free cut them by looking at the picture.

I bought a pack of 45 plates for $1.  They are the cheap, flimsy, little plates that you really don't want to eat from but they work perfectly for these kinds of kid-friendly craft projects.  This nearly adult-sized skeleton takes 15 plates.  And yes, if you are making a lot of them you can buy a bigger quantity and they are even cheaper -- I saw 100 plates for $2 at Dollar General.

I also like that the cost makes him expendable.  I don't need to worry about protecting him from the weather and trying to save him for another year.  If he gets trashed it's no big deal!

This is my other big project...

I put little pictures in each of the 9 panes of the carport door.  I had thought about using markers to 'paint' something on clear contact paper but ultimately decided I was too lazy to do all that.  What I used is little treat bags that are about the size that would hold a smallish popcorn ball.  I just cut them apart (as you can see below) and used the picture on the front for this and kept the clear purple backs for another project that hasn't quite all come together yet.

This would also be a cute idea to display kids' artwork.

All I did was cut clear contact paper to fit the panes, center my 'art' on it and press onto the glass.  The easiest way I found to center the pictures was to only partially peel the contact paper back, lay the picture on the backing and then carefully lay the clear part back over it.  Mine are mylar and the static between them and the contact paper and backing was insane!  I solved that by using a sponge to moisten the back of the picture a bit.  That killed the static and made it cling in place while I pulled the contact paper back up.

Cutting the bags apart.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!  It's a fun and cheery greeting to arrive home to!!

Can hardly wait to see what Derek adds to our decorations over the next few days!

Why I Talk To Strangers

Probably more than 20 years ago I dated a man named Larry for a short while who, in retrospect, was the most unlikely of matches. He was, and I assume still is, very nice, kind, serious, committed to his beliefs and a professional musician who'd been raised in New York City.  Some of the differences in our outlooks on life,Larry attributed to his big city sensibilities.  The one that bothered me to the point of seeing it as near insurmountable problem is that I talk to everyone and he felt no trust for, or desire to converse with, unknown people who walked by on the street. One time we drove from Salt Lake City down to Arches National Park in south central Utah and, of course... got a little off course somewhere along the road.  A little off I-15 we found a small town, probably Price, and as he parked to study the map (no GPS back in the old days!) I rolled down the window and asked the man walking by for directions.

Oh. My. Goodness!!  I got an earful about that!  Larry told me not to talk to people I don't know because you never knew which one was going to be a rapist or murderer.  He was sincerely concerned that my actions were going to get us mugged.  As a small town native, I was perfectly comfortable and felt safe striking up a conversation in this environment.  It was surely a lesson in perspective.  For the rest of the time we saw each other I tried to be respectful of his wishes but... well, lets just say I wasn't always successful in keeping my mouth shut.  And I still talk to strangers everywhere I go to this day.

Just today I had the most wonderful conversation at Hobby Lobby with a woman named Randy.

If you had any idea how many needles and crochet hooks I have... you'd understand my amusement at the irony of finding myself on that isle.  But the ones I've had forever are packed away and I don't know which box.  It seemed so much easier and sensible to just spend the $3.50-ish so I could make a birthday present for my sister-in-law-to-be than to spend hours, maybe days, dragging boxes out of the storage room and sorting through them.  So... that's why I was at Hobby Lobby this beautiful Saturday morning.  Randy was already on the same isle looking at yarn needles when I walked up and she seemed to be having a really rough time deciding what size she needed.  I was standing back patiently waiting my turn to pick up the package I'd decided on.

Photo credit:  www.redletterwords.com

After a few minutes, she turned to me and asked "Do you know anything about quilting?"

Quilting is not really my crafting forte but I do know the basics.  My mom, aunts, both grandmas and I'd guess all the great-grandmas quilted so I've been around quilts up on the frames since I was a small child.  I've even helped with a few of those quilts.  Figuring I could possibly say something semi-intelligent about the subject, I asked her what she was making.  And Randy went on to describe the most amazing project the ladies' auxiliary at her church does on (I think) a regular ongoing basis.

They make prayer quilts for a local hospital.  Each quilt is personalized with the recipient's name.  That's done with a fusible pellon type product and then embroidery thread or worsted weight yarn is pulled through on a grid.  If you're a quilt person, you probably recognize this is how you "tie a quilt" to attach the back and batting to the top.  But the neat thing they were doing was just putting the threads in place at this stage.  Then the quilts were placed over the banister in their church's sanctuary and as people pass by they say a prayer for that person to be healed or comforted or whatever and knot one of the ties.  I LOVE the idea of making a personal investment like that!

Randy went on to tell me a little bit about her church and to invite me to their quilting activity held the 2nd Saturday morning and every Wednesday evening of the month.  She also shared a bit of her personal conversion and walk with Jesus.  I walked away with a new friend and her phone number and... I might just go quilting one of these Saturdays.  After I figure out where Buford is and how to get there.

Now Randy practices a different faith than I do...  but I was so impressed with her courage to express her faith and invite others to participate in such a simple and everyday situation.  So many times I've been in church meetings listening to everyone say how uncomfortable they were with sharing the gospel.  And feeling that sick gnawing in the pit of my own stomach.  The fear that someone won't like us is almost overwhelming.  Today's encounter showed me just how easy, and fun, it could be to put  "every member a missionary' into practice.  Now if you are a Mormon it's likely you've also had that phrase strike the same terror in your heart.  But see just how easy and natural it can be?