There is a voice calling to me from the fridge. It's a subtle little voice, but at this moment it feels like it's screaming at me. Neatly wrapped in sparkly silver aluminum foil is part of a cranberry orange loaf of quick bread. I made it yesterday to quell my hubbie's insatiable sweet tooth. Answer me this. How does a man that wears dentures have a sweet tooth? I think with his pretty white pain free mouth full of teeth, his sweet tooth has actually grown. Before his teeth hurt him so badly he hesitated when faced with the thought of the pain more sugar would cause him. At any rate I baked a loaf of sweet quick bread and filled it with homemade cranberry preserves. I had a slice with tea this morning and was surprised at just how moist and yummy it was. So now the memory of its soft sweet goodness is making my tummy growl for another morsel or three of its homemade tastiness. It's nothing but a craving, but how vocal can one craving be? Pretty loud that's for sure. I'm planning on a snack in another twenty minutes. I'll make a cup go decaf vanilla chai latte and indulge Missy Craving with her heart's desire. Better get busy so I don't partake before my snack time.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Growing!
It's wild to rediscover a love for something you learned years ago, but I'm right in the middle of such a rediscovery! I've crocheted since I was very young, my grandmother taught me the basics. I then added to what she taught me at the YMCA IN Sheridan, Wyoming in the 70s. Just recently I heard the term, "entrelac" in reference to knitting. I have a friend that is very accomplished in knitting. She resolved to master this mysterious "entrelac" in her chosen art form. As I searched the Internet for pictures of this type of knitting I discovered that it can be done using crochet as well. My curiosity bloomed from those tiny seeds of words she shared to an all out love this beautiful kind of needlework. Below is my latest project in all it's rainbow glory. Thanks Kath!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Finished Project
Here is the finished placemat I made using entrelac crochet. Love it. You'll love it too if you crochet. Again, go to YouTube and search for "entrelac crochet tutorial", you'll be thrilled with the end results. I sure am.
A New Thing
I haven't crocheted for quite a while, but after learning how to do entrelac crochet (a form of Tunisian crochet) I'm "Hooked". PUN INTENDED
I can't tell you how addicting this lovely form of crochet is, but will tell you that you can go to YouTube and search for "entrelac crochet tutorials" and learn exactly how it is done.
Below are a couple of projects I'm working on; a pillow and an afghan. I'm about to go buy more yard for the afghan as I have no idea how much it will take. I've used 12 different skeins (with leftovers for smaller projects), but I want to complete rounds in single colors and it takes a new skein to make the round. Loving it.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Creature Comforts
The weather here in West Texas is less than desirable today. Normally the thought of frigid weather (it's 12 degrees here mixed with a coating of the white stuff) and snow stirs up thoughts of holidays and family. Why is it that in February it brings dread and loathing? At any rate my decision for the day was to stay inside and keep warm. It's one of those, "comfort yourself dear" days. So far this morning I've taken my time and savored everything I've done. I had my normal morning conversation and devotional with a dear friend. I've had my obligatory cup of caffeinated black currant tea to shake the proverbial cobwebs from my brain. I read ten or so pages (while snuggled deep within the covers of my bed WITH the electric blanket on) of a new favorite novel. I've even indulged myself in a steamy hot shower ending with the wearing of a new item of clothing carefully pared with boots, a wonderful zippered sweater and denim vest. All of these things are creature comforts to me. I don't often pamper myself, but today I'm all alone with my dogs and have no schedule or "must dos" on my daily "to do list". Sure there are things I "could do" and maybe even "should do", but they are taking a back seat to the "love your neighbor AS THYSELF" list.
As I get older my list has changed. My "creature comfort" in earlier times might have been sleep in, but time is so important to me these days. I am learning to count seconds and use them like Ebenezer Scrooge might use a tube of toothpaste. I get every little bit out of them, I even use a "butter knife" to squish the goodness out of my day.
One of my favorite things to do when I take the time is write. Not like the curriculum I'm working on that is "need to" thing, but free flowing from my heart like this blog. It's funny how I have a need to connect with other people, but I do. My husband looks at my need to share words with others like I am an alien when I do. He loves to write, but writing is for him and nobody else. We are different in many ways, that's for sure.
I'm a social moth. I say moth because butterfly is so cliche. Perhaps hubby is right when he refers to my need to connect as rather dangerous. Like a moth driven to the flame, I am driven to write for others to read. The only difference is that I don't need accolades or acceptance of my writing. I just need a format and hope I have an audience. I have a favorite blogger that emails me her penned thoughts once a week. She doesn't give her readers the option to reply, she simply gives them the opportunity to read her work. She is a published author so her words are appreciated and heeded, but she stops short of having too many "critical reviews"! I like her style.
What else will I do today? What else comforts me? Well I made a second cup of hot tea, non caffeinated peach. I have a pattern for a toboggan (a winter snugly hat) I might crochet. I might make some "handmade" greeting cards. Chances are good I'll meander through the latest and greatest on Pinterest. I love the eye candy appeal of Pinterest. A day like today begs for soup and grilled cheese. I could even bake some cookies. No I better not. I'm in the mood to eat them if I bake them.
A creature comfort day is a day where I am in control. How many of us love being in control? How seldom are we truly in control? The grandfather clock just chimed 9:00AM and I'm ok with it. I'm filling every moment with good things that make me feel loved, cared for, and even happy. I may pay for all this with a wave of guilt come tomorrow, but it will be worth it all. Of that I am sure.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
As I get older my list has changed. My "creature comfort" in earlier times might have been sleep in, but time is so important to me these days. I am learning to count seconds and use them like Ebenezer Scrooge might use a tube of toothpaste. I get every little bit out of them, I even use a "butter knife" to squish the goodness out of my day.
One of my favorite things to do when I take the time is write. Not like the curriculum I'm working on that is "need to" thing, but free flowing from my heart like this blog. It's funny how I have a need to connect with other people, but I do. My husband looks at my need to share words with others like I am an alien when I do. He loves to write, but writing is for him and nobody else. We are different in many ways, that's for sure.
I'm a social moth. I say moth because butterfly is so cliche. Perhaps hubby is right when he refers to my need to connect as rather dangerous. Like a moth driven to the flame, I am driven to write for others to read. The only difference is that I don't need accolades or acceptance of my writing. I just need a format and hope I have an audience. I have a favorite blogger that emails me her penned thoughts once a week. She doesn't give her readers the option to reply, she simply gives them the opportunity to read her work. She is a published author so her words are appreciated and heeded, but she stops short of having too many "critical reviews"! I like her style.
What else will I do today? What else comforts me? Well I made a second cup of hot tea, non caffeinated peach. I have a pattern for a toboggan (a winter snugly hat) I might crochet. I might make some "handmade" greeting cards. Chances are good I'll meander through the latest and greatest on Pinterest. I love the eye candy appeal of Pinterest. A day like today begs for soup and grilled cheese. I could even bake some cookies. No I better not. I'm in the mood to eat them if I bake them.
A creature comfort day is a day where I am in control. How many of us love being in control? How seldom are we truly in control? The grandfather clock just chimed 9:00AM and I'm ok with it. I'm filling every moment with good things that make me feel loved, cared for, and even happy. I may pay for all this with a wave of guilt come tomorrow, but it will be worth it all. Of that I am sure.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Getting Crafty
I'm an artsy fartsy gal. I really enjoy opportunities to create things that enhance the lives of those I love and the environment we share. To me well made homemade is special. It's easy to walk into a store, pick up an item and pay for it. It's not so easy to dedicate time and talent to make things. Of course there are some things that one simply can't make that enhance life. The iPad I'm using to write and post this blog is a store bought goodie. I can also appreciate such things as one who uses them regularly.
Today I finished three of four homemade projects. I made twelve snowmen ornaments from tea lights, six "faux" marshmallow snowmen ornaments, and two jingle bell garlands. The fourth project is a gift so I won't post what it is as its intended recipient sometimes reads this blog. It's fulfilling to design, start, work on and complete projects. For this reason I don't typically start long projects so I can be sure to complete the work I start. I don't like finding unfinished projects that have been sitting in drawers forever. I do have an afghan in the works, but it's one that uses scrap yarn so it is a work in progress.
I really enjoy homemade gifts, I also love getting art from friends and family. I have pictures painted and drawn by my grandchildren, my niece and close friends. I love seeing them hang on my fridge, my walls and in scrapbooks. It's like having a very personal art gallery. When I'm alone for long stretches of time, I can look at the art in my home and warm memories can fill the void that solitude can bring.
I know people who turn their noses up on homemade things. I'm not sure I will ever understand why, but they do. Not everyone can draw, crochet, knit, or create something from nothing. I could knit if I were so inclined, but choose not to as I have too many irons in my fires already. I have a friend who is very gifted with knitting. A gift from her is very special to me. I've known her so long that I knew her before she could knit. I've watched her go from novice to master of her art. She makes socks and lace! Both require skill to complete. She fills her spare time creating patterns for other knitters! That is mastery. That is the art of crafting.
I have more projects waiting in the wings, but for now I'm crafting a blog about crafting. Writing is very satisfying to me. To be able to take words and create mental images and feelings is powerful. To even reach and entertain an audience of one is wondrous. It's time to get in gear and get crafty.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Today I finished three of four homemade projects. I made twelve snowmen ornaments from tea lights, six "faux" marshmallow snowmen ornaments, and two jingle bell garlands. The fourth project is a gift so I won't post what it is as its intended recipient sometimes reads this blog. It's fulfilling to design, start, work on and complete projects. For this reason I don't typically start long projects so I can be sure to complete the work I start. I don't like finding unfinished projects that have been sitting in drawers forever. I do have an afghan in the works, but it's one that uses scrap yarn so it is a work in progress.
I really enjoy homemade gifts, I also love getting art from friends and family. I have pictures painted and drawn by my grandchildren, my niece and close friends. I love seeing them hang on my fridge, my walls and in scrapbooks. It's like having a very personal art gallery. When I'm alone for long stretches of time, I can look at the art in my home and warm memories can fill the void that solitude can bring.
I know people who turn their noses up on homemade things. I'm not sure I will ever understand why, but they do. Not everyone can draw, crochet, knit, or create something from nothing. I could knit if I were so inclined, but choose not to as I have too many irons in my fires already. I have a friend who is very gifted with knitting. A gift from her is very special to me. I've known her so long that I knew her before she could knit. I've watched her go from novice to master of her art. She makes socks and lace! Both require skill to complete. She fills her spare time creating patterns for other knitters! That is mastery. That is the art of crafting.
I have more projects waiting in the wings, but for now I'm crafting a blog about crafting. Writing is very satisfying to me. To be able to take words and create mental images and feelings is powerful. To even reach and entertain an audience of one is wondrous. It's time to get in gear and get crafty.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Monday, November 18, 2013
Something Old, Something New...
I've been remarried 18 days and life is as weird as it could be. I keep looking for something familiar with little to no success. Talking to a good friend (also a widow) who has been remarried for two years I'm fast learning that familiar is not to be had. It's all about making new traditions and wearing "new shoes". She keeps using analogies like, "leaving the familiar comforts of the sunny beach, and heading out to deep waters". I'm not a fan of swimming to start with, so the idea of leaving the safety of the beach to tread water in the deep sea makes my throat tighten. Now mind you, I love my new husband and I did ask God for someone different from my late husband, but does he have to be SO different?
I foolishly thought we would meld together seamlessly and easily. After all we are experienced at marriage. Between the two of us we have 68 years of experience. What a cruel trick assumption has played on the newly remarried bride I have become.
We are both accustomed to doing things certain ways. We are both VERY accustomed to doing things certain ways and having spouses that did things certain ways. How odd that we must learn new ways of doing things, and relearn the art of choosing battles and compromises.
The 34 years of marriage experience I went into this adventure with has eased many aspects of my new life. I already knew I would have to compromise, it's part of marriage. I already knew that some things just aren't worth fighting over to begin with. The difficult part in all of this preparation is that my new husband has totally different ideas of what is vital and what is superfluous. I'm quiet a great deal these days. I don't want to be drawn into arguments, I do want to learn all I can from observation of my husband. No matter how much one knows about a person going into a marriage, the final "I do" changes its participants.
Life is short and I know it just a little too well to begin with. Losing my husband to sudden death from a coronary changed my outlook. For this reason I'm not looking at my destination so much, but at how to enjoy the journey. The journey has lots of pot holes, detours and rough places, but I'm not traveling it alone any more. I loved being married the first time. Why else would I have ever considered a second go at it? I have someone to give to. I have someone to share things with. I have someone to blame. Yes, we blame our spouses as a protective mechanism. "I can't do this or that. My husband will be home and he has plans". He is my instant out. I have someone to hold and to be held by. I have a man who loves to talk and to share similar likes. He also has things he enjoys that are completely foreign. I'm back in school as far as learning to work with someone new. I thought I'd be in junior high (at the very least). It seems I'm back in kindergarten.
I've just barely begun this adventure. I didn't have anything traditional at my civil wedding service. Thankfully the woman Justice of the Peace was a believer and she invoked God and even had us say the Lord's Prayer at our nuptials. I guess I'll be looking for something borrowed and something blue to finish out my very unconventional marriage. Perhaps I'll skip that as well, wouldn't want to be too predictable!
I've been remarried 18 days and life is as weird as it could be. I keep looking for something familiar with little to no success. Talking to a good friend (also a widow) who has been remarried for two years I'm fast learning that familiar is not to be had. It's all about making new traditions and wearing "new shoes". She keeps using analogies like, "leaving the familiar comforts of the sunny beach, and heading out to deep waters". I'm not a fan of swimming to start with, so the idea of leaving the safety of the beach to tread water in the deep sea makes my throat tighten. Now mind you, I love my new husband and I did ask God for someone different from my late husband, but does he have to be SO different?
I foolishly thought we would meld together seamlessly and easily. After all we are experienced at marriage. Between the two of us we have 68 years of experience. What a cruel trick assumption has played on the newly remarried bride I have become.
We are both accustomed to doing things certain ways. We are both VERY accustomed to doing things certain ways and having spouses that did things certain ways. How odd that we must learn new ways of doing things, and relearn the art of choosing battles and compromises.
The 34 years of marriage experience I went into this adventure with has eased many aspects of my new life. I already knew I would have to compromise, it's part of marriage. I already knew that some things just aren't worth fighting over to begin with. The difficult part in all of this preparation is that my new husband has totally different ideas of what is vital and what is superfluous. I'm quiet a great deal these days. I don't want to be drawn into arguments, I do want to learn all I can from observation of my husband. No matter how much one knows about a person going into a marriage, the final "I do" changes its participants.
Life is short and I know it just a little too well to begin with. Losing my husband to sudden death from a coronary changed my outlook. For this reason I'm not looking at my destination so much, but at how to enjoy the journey. The journey has lots of pot holes, detours and rough places, but I'm not traveling it alone any more. I loved being married the first time. Why else would I have ever considered a second go at it? I have someone to give to. I have someone to share things with. I have someone to blame. Yes, we blame our spouses as a protective mechanism. "I can't do this or that. My husband will be home and he has plans". He is my instant out. I have someone to hold and to be held by. I have a man who loves to talk and to share similar likes. He also has things he enjoys that are completely foreign. I'm back in school as far as learning to work with someone new. I thought I'd be in junior high (at the very least). It seems I'm back in kindergarten.
I've just barely begun this adventure. I didn't have anything traditional at my civil wedding service. Thankfully the woman Justice of the Peace was a believer and she invoked God and even had us say the Lord's Prayer at our nuptials. I guess I'll be looking for something borrowed and something blue to finish out my very unconventional marriage. Perhaps I'll skip that as well, wouldn't want to be too predictable!
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