Monthly Archives: January 2017

2017
01/05

Category:
farming
food
Knitting
Life

COMMENTS:
2 Comments »

Zigzagular socks #1 and a menu

img_0007a

Zigzagular socks from Prairie Girl Designs is my first bit of knitting this year.  I really don’t need another project, but I don’t have any boms in the knitting world.   I finish each one I start for fear I’ll forget where I am in the pattern or even how to do the pattern.  Plus this is one of the knitting projects I have on my list for this year.    Even though I had trouble with the last Knitpicks yarn, I’m giving them another try because I have it.   I will have to call them tomorrow because uncharacteristically they have not contacted me back.   It may have something to do with the season and their sales.

I could get so much more done if I could just stay home.  Today, I went to get more posts for the fence. Then the hole driller was acting up, so I got to take that to the repair shop and ask them about it and I was supposed to get some brackets to hold the cross bars by the gates, but will do that tomorrow after gym.  Oh, and I have to exchange 4 of the posts because they didn’t pass inspection here.

img_0005a

Menu

All of this makes it very difficult to get anything done.   So I asked my DH to please make a menu of what he would like to eat.   This is what he wrote.   When I questioned him about lack of variety, he said he thought I just wanted him to write down what he would eat if he had to cook.   So now we know!   But then he has salad on his list, so he must have looked in the refrigerator and found that I had some made.   And he can make oatmeal, dish granola if it’s already made, open soups, microwave potatoes.   Looks like he won’t starve if I give up cooking.   That’s something to think about.

2017
01/04

Category:
Life

COMMENTS:
1 Comment »

Phone woes

img_160-jpgThe man at AT&T spent about an hour trying to determine what was wrong with my phone.   He put a new sim card in and hooked it up to a machine that reads what your phone has been doing.   However, he could not make it work, so sent me another 15 minutes down the road to the Apple repair shop.

img_161-jpg
As you can see, they are very busy – all the time.   They did squeeze me in about half an hour after I arrived because AT&T had called and we had an appointment.   After a very long intensive look inside the phone, they decided to wipe it clean and download the operating system again.    Then we had to wait more time for everything to download back onto the phone.  Now the phone part works again and I can call and receive calls.   There are still several apps that have to be reinstalled.    I left home at 9.30 for AT&T and left this store at 2.30 – 5 hours so far for phone repair today.

No photo here, but then I went to Joann’s and get this:     It is January and the minimum wage has taken effect.  JoAnn’s has cut their employee hours way back, so where there were three clerks, there is now one.     I took a number at the “cutting” table.   There were 12 people in front of me with one cutting clerk.

Clerk:   “No. 71”   71 steps up and she has a nice visit while having a yard of fabric cut.

Clerk:   “No. 72”  waits, calls again and waits again, then goes to loud-speaker and says “would #72 come to the cutting table”   Then she waits – not working – just waiting.   Finally, she calls #73 and visits with her while cutting and beyond.    This went on and some of the people left.  But she still went through the calling and waiting game.     I had #81 and I needed that yard of fabric or I would have been one that left.

Now to check out of the store.   Here there are 13 people in line and one cashier.   No one left this line,  but this clerk hustled and moved people through the line.  So a 10 minute trip took 50 minutes here.    I got home for supper.

And this is the story of where my quilting time goes.   I hope the rest of the items on my phone work.  They will, won’t they?

clerk:

2017
01/03

Category:
Life

COMMENTS:
Comments Closed

The Valentine pillow with ribbon roses

img_0159I only put this off 10 years and now I know why.   I have never made flowers with wired ribbon before and there must be tricks that I don’t know.   I went to Joann’s to get some more ribbon with wire and they were out of the sizes and colors I need, so back to the original (I’m assuming) plan that I find a fine wire and sew it to the ribbon I do have.  However, I forgot to look for the wire while I was there.  I still need to put filling in the pillow before I start putting the flowers on it.

However, while I was at Joann’s they had the fabric I need for my next embroidery project at 60% off +another 20% off that.   So instead of $10/yard, I paid 3.20.   That made up for what they didn’t have.

And just for fun today, my sim card in the phone went bad, so no phone calls in or out.   Tomorrow I get to go to about 1/2 hour drive each way to get that taken care of.  I have no idea what they cost.  Funny thing is that there was a time, it wouldn’t have mattered.  Oh, how dependent we get on devices.   We don’t even have a land line.  So tomorrow will consist of gym, grocery shopping, and going to the phone store.   That should take a good amount of time.  But this year, I have promised myself not to sweat the time.   God gives me the same as He gives you and I just have to figure out where the time is best spent.

2017
01/02

Category:
Life
quilts

COMMENTS:
4 Comments »

One monthly goal

img_0155

This month I am linking up to One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts.  It is difficult to choose only one, but this quilt won.   It needs to be quilted, bound and labeled.   So that is January’s goal.  So stay tuned as I try to get this done.

2017
01/02

Category:
Life
Sewing

COMMENTS:
Comments Closed

A pretty valentine pillow

 

img_0156sMy first project this year is this pretty valentine pillow which is stretching my comfort zone.  I purchased the fabric and ribbons in Jan 2007 to make for my mil, and then it didn’t happen.   So ten years later, seems an appropriate time to get it done.

Today we worked on fencing (photos tomorrow if I remember)  and then DD and family came over for a visit.    We always love to see them.   The 13 year old is now taller than I am and his brother will be in 2 years.  DH was showing them how to play cribbage, so now they went home to really learn the game and will be back in 3.5 weeks to win a few rounds.

 

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR! a time for scheduling

HAPPY NEW YEARimg_0148sToday I finished scheduling the lists of what I really wanted to get done in 2017.   There are more things, but I knew there were too many to realistically get done.   I settled for a dozen in each category.   Then I spent the rest of the day putting together a kit for each item.

img_0149sThis is 12 pair of socks with the pattern and yarn in each.   The list is under “Construction” at the top

img_0150sThis is the fish quilt and the bear paw, both time consuming and needling many parts.

img_0151sThese boxes hold the other 10 quilts and the 1/2 of the sewing projects.    DH wanted to know how I managed to get 10 quilts in there, but the batting is not in there and that makes the difference.

I did not fair so well on the embroidery projects.  I have two projects with the designs copied onto a jump stick, but I still need to find the fabric I purchased for the one and I need to purchase 3 fat quarters for the other one.

img_0153sOver the past few days, I have been making these chia seed crackers.    So we’ve been enjoying munching these during the day.   Vary the vegetable and the seasonings for fun.

  • 2 cups chia seed
  • 1 large onion
  • 3-4 stalks celery
  • 2 carrots
  • 1/2 red pepper
  • 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (I used shredded)
  • 3 med garlic cloves
  • 1/2 bunch parsley
  • braggs or soy sauce to taste
  • 1 cup water
  1. Mix all in blender or food processor.   Let set 8-12 hours the optionally you can add 1/2 cup soaked sunflower seeds which I don’t think I’ll add next time.   Spread thinly on the plastic trays or parchment paper in the dehydrator and start checking them after 10 hours.

  2. The original recipe that I took off from was from Lorraine Godsoe in the book Raw Inspiration by Lisa Montgomery.    There are several good cracker/bread type receipes in this ook