Complete Randomness

I can't believe it's been a whole week without a new post here. Sorry to those of you who've taken the time to stop by and have found that I've been MIA. So now you'll be forced to endure a blog post of complete randomness (sp?) because I guess that's been my week.

The things you learn on Facebook. Yes, I've succumbed to the monster that's taking over the cyber world. It is almost as time draining as blog hopping but with a shorter attention span required. But I did learn that the Oklahoma niece is a fan of this tea. So while at the grocery this morning I found Stash's Pomegranate Raspberry Green Tea. I understand her obsession. This is my new favorite too! For the rest of you in the Monday Losers with Sharon, this is my tip of the week. A little green tea is good for you and can help ward off the snacking urge. (Note the Breville one cup coffee brewer which we love. It works great for a quick cup of hot water for tea too.) Have you heard about the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day? Just one word - yummy! The dough is mixed with only four simple ingredients and kept in a container the refrigerator until you are ready to bake. I've yet to master the technique to form the perfect loaf but who cares what it looks like, right? Next time I'll try the recipe that has more whole grains since we don't eat a lot of white foods any more.
D continues to stack up the kitchen cabinet doors. Beamer loves to go in the workshop and check on the progress.
He's even gotten some of the doors stained. The beautiful grain lines of the quarter-sawn oak are even more apparent with a little stain. The doors (and the kitchen) will be a Mission/Arts and Crafts style. We finally decided on door hardware this week so hopefully will have that to show soon. The first bid we got for counter tops was pretty scary so the search is still on. I'd like to have quartz (Silestone or similar) or granite.
I've been in the sewing room too. I completed this Bunny Hill Jelly Bag using a portion of Tula Pink jelly roll and there's a knitting project in the works too. I'm having a good time with that one - but that's all I can say right now! A little progress has been made on the nursery bedding. More to come on that in the future.

So that is my random Monday post. Oh - yes before I forget, Miss Sharon, I did lose .5 this past week! A completely undeserved surprise when warm, fragrant, yummy white bread has been resting on my kitchen counter next to a tub of butter and calling my name!

More Photos Next Time - I Promise

I wasn't a very enthusiastic photographer this past weekend. Saturday morning, D worked on the deck for awhile. One day it will be completed. All that is left to do is the last few steps and enclose the sides of the stairs. However, we'll probably be short some of the material so another trip to the building supply store will be necessary. I promise there will be photos to show that we've finally completed something! Work has had D out of town off and on and now he's battling a sinus infection so the time devoted to home improvement projects has been compromised.

B, E and I will hosting a baby shower in MO for J and grandbaby #1. All the invitations are in the mail and we've been busy with "secret" plans! B was in charge of the invites. They turned out pretty cute! I promise lots of photos of the shower too! It will be time for it before you know it. Grandbaby #1 will be here before we know it too! We're ALL getting excited. Motorcycle rides for the past weekend included a trip up to Huber Farms for fresh picked strawberries. But D's sinuses began to feel better as we rode, so we ended up traveling several dozen extra miles. Next time I'll put on extra sunscreen just in case we add more miles to the trip! With on special plans for Father's Day (kids either working or out of town) we decided to travel up to French Lick and over to Jasper, IN. We had heard about a popular German restaurant there and thought it would make a nice stop for lunch on Father's Day. But, when we got there, they were closed on Sunday! Can you imagine a restaurant being closed on one of the most popular days for eating out! So we found a little deli type cafe and had sandwiches. No food photos, sorry. In fact the only photos I took on the trip were of Patoka Lake as we drove by. It was a pretty day for a drive though!
I'll leave you with a photo of one of my secret projects from a couple of weeks ago. It has been mailed off to its new home with the birthday niece. If she hasn't received it yet, well, I guess the surprise is spoiled :( I used the Mary Englebreit fabrics from Moda and the purse pattern is from Pink Sand Beach Design. This is the third bag I've made from this pattern, but I still don't have one for myself!

Have a good week everyone! Better photos next post, I promise!

Life Changes - Happy and Sad

When one Christmas present changes your life, I'm sure most of you would not think that it would be the latest electronic gadget. But I've moved up to the 21st century with the rest of the geeks (I say that with love!) in this family, though I'm the first one to get the Apple iphone! So now my reading time has been filled with browsing through the iphone for Dummies book and attempting to update and organize my calendar, photos, music, addresses and lots of other cool stuff. I've become a little obsessive about checking my email even when I'm at the grocery store, shopping or coming out of aerobic or pilates class. I hope I can get that new addiction under control but right now it's just kinda fun! Who knows - maybe someday I'll learn mobile blogging! I've just got to learn to get my fingertips in the exact spot on that virtual keyboard. You all may wish I'd never gotten this new gadget!

The next two photos were taken on the camera in the iphone. The quality isn't quite as good as the photos from my little Kodak V550, but pretty darn good for a phone.

Beamer didn't realize I had a camera right in his face as he was waking up from one of his many naps on his current favorite spot on the back of the couch. Just like the rest of us - that cat needs some exercise! (Check out my new avatar on the sidebar. I'm really enjoying my new pilates classes but sadly, Beamer does not come along. And sadly, I don't really look like that - yet!)

This photo is of some fabric I'm in the process of assembling into a casual rag type quilt for a throw for the bed. Something the cat can sleep on and not leave a furry indention on our nice bedspread.

One of my projects before Christmas was to make aprons for E, B, J, C and P. I'm not sure if they really appreciated them or not but it was fun to put the fabrics together into something other than a quilt and they went together pretty quick once I got going. Looking on some quilt websites, there are some cute patterns out there and aprons seem to be making a come back. I remember my very first completed sewing project in 4-H club was an apron. We didn't have a wide selection of fabrics to pick from back then in our little town but as I recall, I was pretty proud of myself and the completed project. That apron is probably still around somewhere!

I hate to end on such a sad note, but I lost one of my cousins this week to cancer. I didn't really get to know Bill until we were both adults, but we enjoyed getting together occasionally when we all lived in Colorado and later Wisconsin. Early last spring B and A stopped by on their way to Florida. They taught us how to play Mexican Train Dominos late into the evening then the next day we toured the Bourbon Heritage Center near Bardstown, Kentucky. This added to many other nice memories of Bill. He'll be missed by everyone who knew him.