Just have a minute for a quick commercial break here ~~~~ I will be presenting this sweet little muffin tomorrow on The Humble Arts! Be sure and check out all the new items that our wonderful artists will be offering. This little gal comes with her own little quilty, buttoned heart and a special lil tag that says "Kiss". I have also been busy thinking of Spring with a few little treats that will make you hop for joy! Stay tuned!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
My Mom's a great cook. Seriously good. Growing up in the Great Depression she learned to be frugal. She still is. She knew how to make a recipe without wasting one ingredient. She knew which recipes to double so that there would be enough for seconds AND some to be frozen. Friday night was our tv dinner night. When I was a little girl, she would save those aluminum tv dinner trays and re-use them for our own homemade frozen dinners. That was of course before the age of microwaves. We always loved those special dinners. We would stand in front of the Frigedaire and peruse the offerings as if we were in the grocers. There was spaghetti with two meatballs, meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy and if we were lucky creamed corn! Succulent roast beef, fried chicken, fried catfish, you name it, Mom's freezer was always a bounty of yummy delicacies. She still makes her own tv dinners, although always thoroughly modern and up with the times, she now saves her microwavables to keep the leftovers in. Yesterday as I was making spaghetti, I was reminded of this as I was carefully saving some meatballs for the freezer. Thanks Mom for being a great teacher. Betty Crocker would be proud.
SLAP! oops, wrong one. It should be TAG. I have been tagged - thank you, Flora, so now I must share 5 things about myself that you didn't know. This is difficult since my life is an open book . . . okay, here goes:
1.) I like to read children's books. I like good lessons with a happy ending. Sort of like the way the real world should be. 2.) I like to drink my coffee black. 3.) I have half of the dialogue to the movie Friday memorized. And even some Dave Chappelle skits. Don't ask ME why, ask Sarah. 4.) In 1985 I met Cary Grant and he read a poem to me. sigh. Even for an older gent with white hair and wrinkles, he still had game. 5.) I can sing the hymn "Love Lifted Me" in Japanese.
Okay folksies, that's it for me. I am supposed to tag some others here and truly, I cannot think of anyone I know that hasn't already been tagged recently. But hey, if you want to tickle your gray cells with this, feel free to tag yourself. This was harder than I thought. I really had to think!!!!
The weather outside if frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since there's not place to go, I think I will sew. Here is a little bit of a tease of what I have been whiling away the hours with. Y'all know that I am wild with vintage anything. Sew much more to do to finish up a few little goodies for The Humble Arts February Issue.
While that snow was only a few inches, it is now gone. sigh. We are rooting for a big one yet this season; we generally only get ice. That is NO FUN! Hard to do anything but snuggle when the power is out because the lines are down! Knock on wood, we haven't had any power outage this year!
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke . Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
S * Ask the individual to SMILE.
T * Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. It is sunny out today)
R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS. If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
New Sign of a Stroke
Stick out Your Tongue
NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue.. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other , that is also an indication of a stroke.
Atlanta Georgia is getting snow this week. That doesn't happen very often. In fact, the last time I remember it making headlines was in 1984. In 1984, I was living in Atlanta Georgia. I was a single mom - recently abandoned by my husband, with a 18 month old, a three year old and found out I was preggers. hoo boy. That'll get your attention. For ONE MONTH, every Friday night before Sarah was born, I was in false labor. Now, both of my boys had been preemies and I had prayed in earnest for a full term child. The night before Sarah was born, I repented of that prayer request. Anyway, I was showing up at Grady Hospital every Friday night for a month and the same nurse/midwife was on shift each time. Giving me the once over, she would place her hands on her hips and firmly say,
"Girl, that child ain't ready to be born yet! You go on home now and walk, walk, walk!"
Each Friday evening I would take my Braxton Hicks and go back home. The morning of her birth, I woke up just knowing in my heart that this was the day. I took a nice warm bath, shaved my legs and arms, slathered on the body lotion and even put on makeup. To cinch it, I went to the grocery store with the boys and walked, walked, walked. When I couldn't walk much more, I brought the laden buggy to the front of the store and told the cashier,
"I am sorry that I can't stay for you to ring these up. I am going to have my baby now".
Outside it was SNOWING. And I mean it was SNOWING. People were leaving their cars in the middle of the road and walking. It was SNOWING that hard. I drove myself to The Grady and deposited my sons at the day care center. (In retrospect, I think that was pretty advanced care giving in 1984 - I had never known of a hospital to have a nursery facility before). Anyway, I dropped the boys off at the center, went up to the maternity wing. The nurse/midwife saw me walking toward her with my pitiful little satchel in my hand. With pursed lips and hands on her hips, she cocked her head while looking at me. With the firmest voice I could summon I announced,
"I am not going home".
She straightened up, big toothy grin on her face and said,
"I do believe that this is the time".
Sarah was born less than 15 minutes later, on a gurney in a closet where the doctors kept their scrubs. You see, it was record day at The Grady. More women were giving birth and in labor than any other day in the history of the hospital. Some say it was the barometer, thermometer, the snow, the ice. However, I knew in my heart that those women could no longer obey that stern nurse and go home to walk. Women were lying on the floor, writhing in labor. I kid you not. The delivery room was loaded. There was no room at the Inn. I knew in my heart that I was going to have a girl. I also knew that she would keep me humble. But, I knew how to take care of little boys. They are easy to clean, everything hangs out, you know? Little boys loved their mommies and want to grow up and marry them. Little girls have a way of being a mirror of their mommies and I didn't want my daughter to grow up and make the same mistakes that I did. Isn't it grand that God always knows what is best. Face, I know you are reading this. I put this Village People video on just for YOU. To the rest of y'all, can you dig it? I am a great success. I have a daughter that likes happy music like me, her feet dance while she cleans and we can be bop along in the car together. We laugh at the same jokes, even when we forget the punchline. Thanks Lord. I needed that. Sarah Rachel, that is. Happy Birthday, baby girl. Today is all about YOU!
(click the music in the right column off to really enjoy this video!)
We heat our house with a woodstove. It is by choice since our home has electric baseboard heat. My Daddy was a welder back in the day. He made some beautiful and useful things. Like the clothesline in the backyard that will be standing long after I am gone! And the woodstove in the basement of my home. Now, for those with tender senstive eyes, I know it is an eyesore. Not a pretty picture for sure. I have toyed with the idea during off season to paint a mural etc behind it; just never have gotten around to it. I am the official fire builder. I like making the fire up. My mom was also the fire maker in their home until they converted to oil heat a few years back. Daddy taught us how to "lay" a fire out so that it gets breathing room and doesn't need much tending until it is time for another log. It is a muti functional woodstove. It was made large enough and designed to be cooked on as well. There have been times when I have had to use it for several days in a row when the power was out. I got pretty good at gauging my cooking. And since I sew and create in the basement, I am always cozy warm, with a pot of hot steaming herbal scented water wafting through the house. This morning was COLD - especially after the spring like weather we experienced this past week. I like my seasons to be on time! I am not wanting a repeat of last winter when it was cold, warm, cold, warm and then a HARD FREEZE at easter which killed all my blueberries blossoms and other pretties. I have already started planning my veggie patch for this year and thinking of what to put where in the annual and perennial department. I had promised myself that I would put out more bulbs this year but never got around to that; I am wondering if it is too late to put some bulbs in pots for some spring color. I have forced bulbs before, just never did them in a pot so late in the season. I will leave you with this cozy picture of the fire in the stove. Can't you smell the smoke from the chimney, curling up and out? That is one of my favorite comfort scents.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Thank you Cookie! My dear friend of the past many years has gifted me with this wonderful award. Cookie of Rolling River Prims has given me the honor of being one of her "daily doses". I got a giggle because I always think of a dose as some medicine you take whether you like it or not. Like when I was a kid, my Daddy would give us a yearly "belly washing" - a concoction of nasty tasty stuff to clean out our innards. Yuck. He was always say, "Take your dose real fast in one swallow." I can't say that I looked forward to that. So, with my mind doing word refreshing, I am looking at this as a positive thing, Cook! I would like to steal from her page what the founder of this award has said about the recipients:
Ok, so let me tell you a little about this award (in her words)...
"This little award is called The Daily Dose - and here is all the important infoto tell you what it is about and where it came from. This is a tribute to all the blogs that you've discovered that you can't possibly live without. They make you laugh, cry, think and feel connected every time you read a post. They give you a thrill as you see them loading into your browser and you get an equally satisfying thrill when you see that they have commented on your blog".
From Xandra: creator, The Daily Dose Award.
I'd like to pass this honor along to some cherished blog friends. In a cyber world ... I often gravitate to these places for my "daily dose" ... because these particular women share bits and pieces of themselves that I just can't seem to live without. I sit in the morning with my hot cuppa Joe and stop by my "friends" to get caught up ... perhaps even a little "wrapped up" in their lives. ;)
After reading this, being the mush I am, I got all warm and gooey inside. I will pass this onto a few gals that I just have to get a "dose" of. Drum roll please . . .
Amy Abundant Curiosities DonnaMade in Heaven Betty Shesewspretty Cathy Tadpolesandteacups I see others that I would like to nominate but I got beat to the punch. You know who you are. You know that you are My Daily Dose! Running late as usual. Have a great day folksies!
Is it the second week of January already? Wow. Since I have so many things I would like to accomplish this year for myself regarding decor, this morning I sat down to make some little coasters. That lead to a towel. I found this pattern at allpeoplequilt.com. Since I am having blogging issues with anchors, just suffice to say you can put: http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/ideas/index.html in your browser and get there. Do you see a lot of black trim in my work? Don't know why that is drawing me lately. Although I have made in the past some neat granny squares with black trim years ago. I really do like the way it sets off the vintage color and Aunt Grace fabrics I have been using. Anyhow, I went to projects. Not that I lack for any stimulation from visuals here at home. Just like surfing the www. I found the appliques in their project section easy and fun looking. Since I am all about fun, it follows that it has to be easy to be fun. See how my mind works? So, I got these little goodies done. Now onto bigger projects, like finishing up some more of those cute little paper pieced blocks from last week.
already starting the new year with fabric spread out everywhere, snippets of thread sticking to my britches, watching Dinah the marvelous kitty curl up on my wools . . . now that my dear folksies, is JOY! I have been able to spend just a few moments so far this year sewing. I love to sew. I love to create. I am planning on doing more of the same this year. For Christmas, my sweet daughter gave me a book that I have been lusting for. It is by Carol Doak and is on paper piecing. Paper piecing is my secret passion. I have DOZENS, literally DOZENS of UFO's in drawers, totes, just waiting for me to find their mates. Here are the latest ones I have started on this week from the book Sarah gave me:
the block has no name, just a number in the book. I am making it very scrappy as you can see. I have more scraps than anything. Love to mix stuff up. Literally! Unlike my granny before me, I don't use too many older clothes in my quilting, although I do shop the thrifts for special and faded cottons. Hard to find all cotton these days even in the thrifts. I am not sure just what I will create with these. These blocks are 4". I will need a LOT more to really do anything with them. Not sure, but I do like this little pattern.
Now for those of you who think I have completely forgotten and disrespected you because I haven't mentioned the drawing from BEFORE Christmas, let me assure you, my son did pull the winning name from a basket. I just had to find that little piece of paper. If you could see my desk at the moment you would tell me to PUT THE COFFEE DOWN. to which I would reply - No one's going anywhere until I get my second cup of coffee. Really, friends, as much as I love the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I am glad to sweep them away for a while. I am still discovering little things that I forgot to wrap. I like the fact that I am already ahead for this next year. Hey, I have to think positive, right?! So, Kat Fasano, be on the lookout for an email from me.
Also, would love for y'all to go and visit -The Humble Arts - www.thehumblearts.com - Our January issue has started; already things getting sold out! We upload each Monday, so be sure and check back this next Monday. Perhaps if I can remember, I will remind you then!
Well, today was the beginning of 2008. I betcha you want to know just what I did today. Remember back a bit ago when I said I longed for a boring life. Well, today was that kind of day, sort of. I slept in - but I stayed up until it was almost dawn - you sister boomers know all about those nights. Be honest. It's a New Year, so don't start it out by fibbing. We all have those nights where we either (a) cannot sleep or (b) wake up, hear the hubs snoring and since we love them, we decide to let them live despite the fact that WE CAN'T SLEEP with all that racket! So, we get up to do what Lady Boomers do in the middle of the night. Laundry, Sudoku, upload webpage pages, read blogs, whatever. Okay, so now you know what I did last night. After I was awake and had the caffeine monster fed, I began my New Years Dinner. I am not certain about traditions where you live, but, in my region, it is a BIG tradition to have greens - fresh, frozen, canned, however you can get them - and they can be collards, turnips, or mixed greens. Okay, so we always have greens, a fresh big pot of black eyed peas, cornbread and we are supposed to have hog jowls. We-eee-lll, I don't do hog jowls. I have et them and have cooked them. I prefer my pork in alternate ways. Today it was with a Smithfield Pork Roast. So, here was my dinner menu: Pork Roast Fresh Apple Sauce Black eyed Peas cooked with fat back and onions Mixed Greens also cooked with onions, vinegar and a pinch of sugar. A piping hot skillet of corn bread - with lots of BUTTER.
A delicacy that we'uns look forward to all season. I tell you, it is soooooo good it makes you want to jump up and slap your granny. Not that we don't eat like this throughout the rest of the year, but New Years Day - Wellsir, that's tradition. The Greens you eat represent the amount of money you will receive this year. Always a good idea to eat more than your eyes can see. The Black eyed Peas are for the good luck you will have this year. Another reason to eat with your eyes bigger than your belly. The pork or hog jowls, represent Health. My Daddy always said that if you start out eating as a poor man, you will enjoy the good health that a rich man doesn't. Daddy always has a saying!
Do y'all have traditional dinners in your neck of the woods?
