Today In My Life.. 02/28/2013

Today is:  February 28, 2013

I got up this morning:  around 6 or so to take the dogs outside.  What a joy they are!  I don't think I have mentioned Sam and Katie.  They love to get us up in the morning.  ;)

This is Katie.. She weighs 4 pounds and is all lady.  This is Sam.  He weighs 10 pounds of all boy!

I am hearing:  a small cacophony of sounds as Sam barks at someone walking by,  the heater is softly blowing warm air, the tinkle of glass as my sweet DH is getting his cup of coffee.....

I am thinking:  or not..lol  This is one of those mornings where my brain goes ADHD...lol  but I must get another cup of coffee.. brb...

As I look out the window:  the sun is shining at last.  The forsythia down the street is in full bloom and is absolutely lovely.  Forsythia has a wonderful meaning for me.  When I was 18 and living in Okmulgee, OK  my kitchen sink had a window over it.  Each morning doing the breakfast dishes I would look out that window.  We had a 13 month old son and a brand new baby in December.  It seemed that winter would never end and one morning in February  I looked out that window and there it was... a huge, huge spray of the most brilliant yellow blossoms looking back at me through that window.  I remember I could hear Jim playing in the living room and Phil cooing in his bed... I hear those wonderful sounds and see that window every time I see a forsythia.. 

I am thankful for:  my sweet DH who tolerates all of my hobbies... Today the dining room table is quite covered with watercolor stuff... and stuff... I think he wouldn't say a word until he found himself walking thru nothing but a tiny walkway in the house..lol  I must say that I appreciate him more and more.  I love him very much.

The current book is:  one that I got for my Kindle.  It's a freebie from Amazon and I'm finding it quite good..    Sacred Treason by James Forrester.  This is the first book of a trilogy, and I'm reasonably sure the other 2 won't be free..lol 

The family:  is growing..

And may I introduce (drum roll please!)  my first great granddaughter Elaina.... She is such a little beauty.  I only wish that we lived closer so we could cuddle her more often.. ;)

We are looking forward to welcoming another great grandchild  in May.  This one will be a grandson and I cannot wait.. :)  I had best get started on his christening gift.. ;)

Creatively:  there hasn't been much happening this week.  I have started  naalbinding  a simple scarf using the Oslo stitch.

I wanted a soft flowing scarf this time so I used a wool/silk yarn that I bought from a friend of mine.  It is hand spun and I love it.  Using the small needle instead of my naalbinding needle seems to let me hold my stitches smaller.. I don't know why that is since my thumb doesn't change sized regardless the size of the needle...lol 

Plans for the rest of the week:  had best hurry since this is Thursday..lol  I will continue naalbinding on the scarf in the evenings and I will try to get the other view of the old rusted delivery truck done.  Every time I decide I will paint something always comes up.. what's up with that? 

Free pattern for the week:  Over at Fabric Follies Two there is the cutest baby hat pattern.  Very easy and warm for the little one.  I'm sure I will be making several of these.. ;)

Hopefully the weather here in North Texas will warm up a bit during the day.  The nights for the next few days will be very cold, but eventually Spring will be here.. ;) 

Have a wonderful day.. :) 

Watercolors...Inspired by Rose Ann Hayes

 I guess seeing all the wonderful art that Aunt Betty brought to the Ingram Arts Show kinda made me want to try my hand at it.  So I began to look at some of the YouTube tutorials on watercolor and decided to give it a go.. ;)  These are definitely beginner's work, but I find it fun to do.  Since my back and hip make it difficult to spin sometimes, this is the perfect substitute.

 

 These three pics are efforts to try to paint glass container and water.. as well as the flowers.  They were inspired by the beautiful work of Rose Ann Hayes and if you click Here you can go to her galleries and see the beauty that she can capture on paper. 

These three florals will be hung above our guest room bed. 







This little miniature and the poppies below are 2x3 inches in size and were done for my daughter who is building her own miniature house. 









The sun has shown it's face this morning..for the first time in a couple of days.  It's going to be a warm day and possibly a little rain. I noticed that my forsythia has tiny leaves and many buds on it.. ask me if that makes me happy!!  This will be the first year for it and I'm so looking forward to it blooming...

I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Whole Wheat Peasant Bread.. yum yum

I was wandering around the web the other day and found the coolest recipe for the easiest yeast bread I have ever seen.  The web site is a recipe blog called Alexandra's Kitchen.  The recipe is HERE for her wonderful Peasant Bread.  I used her recipe almost exactly to make the first batch..

Oh my... was it wonderful.  Of course I had to eat all of it myself.  While I love the look after cooking them in bowls, the slices were not the right size for my toaster, so I had to toast whatever I wanted in a skillet.. Can't say I minded that either.. ;)

Since my DH is diabetic,  I set about trying to make it using whole wheat flour.  I used 3 cups of whole wheat flour to 1 cup of all purpose flour.  Amazing.. not a problem at all.  It rose up so light and fluffy I was surprised.

I decided to use mini loaves so I could freeze what we were not going to eat right away.  It turns out that he can eat them when I slice the mini loaves into 10 slices.  The slices are just big enough for a lunch sandwich and make wonderful toast..

For the sandwiches, I sliced the loaves lengthwise... perfect....

The weather is just on the coolish side this morning with lots of fog and mist.  It's one of those days you read about in your favorite English novel.. ;) 

Hope all is well with you and yours.. ;)
Hugs...

Wonderful Surprise!

Our phone rang yesterday afternoon... What a wonderful surprise!

Grandson Jeff has just finished basic training in the Air Force and I am so proud of him.  Had a lovely visit and was just wishing it could have been longer.. ;)

Handmade Journal Handy..

Back in 2006 I decided to try my hand at making my own book.  I have since learned that this is not the "exact" way to do it, but I love my little book just the same.

 As I was gathering things to take to the Ingram Art Show I came across this little book and decided to take it with me.  What a wonderful thing that turned out to be!

It occurred to me that several of my relatives that I had not seen in a while were there and this was the perfect time to have them write in my book.

 Signing the poems that they wrote.. ;)  The bird is taken from a photo of Squirt that Aunt Edna sent me..  Didn't quite get it, but the gist is there...lol
 (You may have noticed that the poem is scrambled.  This is to protect their intellectual property.. )

 When I put this book together I wanted to put things that were special to me into it... like this poem written by my Aunt Betty.  I thought I wanted things to be perfect and then somehow they didn't come out as perfect as I thought I wanted them to be.  Now as I look back thru the pages, they are exactly as I wanted them to be.  I would encourage everyone to make their own little book and put in it whatever they find special to themselves in it..

Now I realize it doesn't have to be perfect or perfectly thought out... it just has to be you.  Mine is just a collection of little ditties that I thought were good.  There's a notation that my first great grand daughter was expected.. another for the day that she was born.  Now there will be another notation about my first great grandson that will be born in May.  Another about my oldest son making the Dean's Honor Roll in college.  So many things...

And the opportunity to have my family write in my book was just too good to be true. 

Another good thing from the Ingram Arts and Crafts Show... ;)

Have a wonderful day....

Hello again...

It's Tuesday morning here in North Texas.  A little cool, but not bad.  Supposed to up in the 50s and 60s today so I'll take that happily.. ;)  

To catch up a little bit on the news... The Ingram Art Show in Tupelo, OK  was a big success.  I was really surprised by the turnout.  Here are a few.. a very few... of the photos I took.  It would take a book to show all the wonderful talent that was there.

Left and right in the photo are my Aunt Sue and Aunt Betty.  In the center is my dad's first cousin Lorene.  What a fun time!  Aunt Sue is a professional long arm quilter and does beautiful work.. and as you can see, she also crochets and makes adorable baby things.   Aunt Betty does all the lovely paintings in the background.   Like this one:

I love this watercolor.  It makes me feel that peace inside that only the earth, trees and birds can give.  The Texas bricks are collector's items that she paints.  The Texas bricks are no longer made so the ones that are in existence now are the only ones that will ever be...

This is my Uncle Bobby.  He and Aunt Betty are twins.  And they both have enough talent individually for 4 people, so together they could open their own shop.. ;)   Bobby is a "whittler"... All of the planes, guns  jewelry boxes, portraits that you see here were whittled by Uncle Bobby.  Most are to scale.  He has been written about in newspapers and journals.  He is amazing.  And I'm not prejudiced... ;)

This is my cousin Deanna.  Not only does she play the violin and guitar, she is also an artist. 

It was a wonderful day.  There is so much more I could say and show, but then this post would take a week to load.. ;)  More later.. ;)

Have a good day.. 
Hugs...

Pinky Has A Brain...Free Recipe for Home Made Starch

I'm trying to finish up all the projects and get everything packed up for the Show tomorrow.  In the process of gathering up the doilies I found that some needed some quick work.  I tried the sugar syrup thing a few days ago and Boy! What. A. Mess. I. Made!  Will try that again when I have more time..;o)

I remember going with my grandmother to the laundromat when I was a little girl and the lady there would ask her if she needed starch...which of course she always did..  That lady would mix up some mystery concoction on the stove at the back of the laundry..(wringer washers..;o)  .. and voila'.. starch. 

Today I thought about that and did a quick google search... Here is what I found..  A wonderful, easy recipe for home made starch.. Can be made a quickly as boiling water.  Pinkyhasabrain.com  ... wonderful site for all the old home made recipes used for cleaning..and etc..

Have a great day!

1st Annual Ingram Arts and Crafts

I have mentioned the 1st Annual Ingram Arts and Crafts Show to be held in Tupelo, OK on September 22, 2012 on my other blog Fabric Follies Two.  I'm a little late getting it up over here and I apologize for that.  It's been a busy month.

I love to weave.  Whether it's with my own hand spun or not, there's just something soothing about the rhythm and the immediate gratification that comes with something that comes together so beautifully and quickly.  This is the beginning of an envelope purse that I put together a couple of weeks ago.

This is how it turned out.. ;o)

These beaded stilettos are an exceptional tool when doing hand sewing.  It was very useful when making the coin purse below.

This fabric for this coin purse was at one time a sheet on our bed.. ;o)  I tore the 1/2 inch strips and then wove them onto a pocket weaving board (see photo in header), embroidered the ribbon rose grouping, sewed the back onto it and then cut and mounted it into the coin purse frame.

 These are hand spun embroidery threads.. most of them hand dyed using kool aid as the dye agent.

 Hand spun yarns, hand felted fabric.  All hand dyed or natural fiber.

 This needle book is made using hand spun.. on a spindle.. yarn, hand woven, hand spun and dyed embroidery yarn, hand felted fabric inside.  The only part not hand made is the cotton lining and sewing machine thread used to sew it in.

 Yarn, yarn and more yarn.. ;o)

These hand spun yarns were Rit dyed.  This was my first foray into the acid dyes.

There will be much more at the Show..  My Uncle Bobby is the most amazing "whittler" you have ever seen... He will be showing his planes and guns..  My Aunt Betty is a wonderful artist.  There will be other art projects shown also.. If you are near .. we would love to have you!

Free Clipart .. Stars of Angels

I've suddenly developed an interest in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...
Hope you enjoy this.. ;o)

Vegetable Stand

We found a Vegetable Stand here in town and decided to go see what was up with it.  Drove across town and found packing crates strung around fruits and veggies.  The fruits and veggies had been freighted in just like any of the stores.  But they did have some peaches that looked fair, some overripe strawberries and some .. ta da...banana peppers!  I seldom find banana peppers in our stores.

I looked online for recipes, but they all called for sugar or for making large batches of pickled peppers.  So, I made my own recipe.  I used:  1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar, 1tsp salt, 2 tsp pickling spice, and 1 clove garlic.  In a couple of weeks we'll see if I like them or not.  ;o)

 

 The peaches are in a freezer bag and freezing.  The strawberries were not good enough to eat fresh, so they were cooked down in a medium syrup for about 30 minutes then poured through a sieve.  The strawberries have been wonderful on toast and the syrup is waiting for me to find something to put it on..lol  But I did taste it with a spoon and it is seriously wonderful ...

Now... with all that being said.. my SDH and I have begun using Atkins Shakes and have seriously started dieting.  So... ;o( ... no more strawberry syrup...

Anyway, this is late July and August is just around the corner.  Let me tell you the joys of Iced Coffee!... ;o)

Have a wonderful day...