Sew Crafty Friday

I had this button-down shirt I had worn for a few years. When I took it out of the attic, I noticed there were tears in it. I think something caught it in the wash--maybe a broken zipper? Anyway, I put it on my mannequin to see if I could rescue it. Unfortunately, the tears were in such places as they couldn't be hidden by appliques. And I couldn't cut the shirt for a new shirt. So...I took the biggest piece, which is the back, and cut two rectangles from it. Then I appliqued two maple leaves on it to hide the tears. The dark red one is fleece. The peachy one is leftover fabric from a blouse I made earlier this year. And the red lace? Cut from the neckline of a t-shirt that no longer fits! It measures about 12 x 16 inches. I haven't stuffed it yet. And I might use dimensional paint to make the veins in the leaves...if I get ambitious.
I hope you like my recycled fall pillow! Check out more goodies at "Waiting for Him" (see my sidebar) and join in "Sew Crafty Friday"!

Seven Things Meme

Susie Q over at Rabbit Run Cottage tagged anyone who wants to play for a meme that lists 7 things no one knew about you.

Maybe some of you do know these things, but here goes:

1. I am afraid of spiders and falling down stairs. The other day at work, there was a wolf spider with a HUGE web blocking my way in...so I had to hunt around Dr. A's property until I found something (a hoe, I think) to knock the web out of the way. I will never kill a spider outside--it is their territory--but I sure ain't gonna walk into a web that is 3 feet across with a BIG, GIGANTIC KILLER SPIDER in the middle! (Don't laugh, but I did apologize to it for destroying its beautiful web.)
Stairs...I had to walk down the scariest, highest, steepest cement stairs five days a week for several years, between college and work. It was the way to get down from the raised railroad platform to the street. I never got used to it. If it snowed, I'd get off at the previous station, which was street level, and walk the extra half mile...rather than walk down icy or snowy steps. I learned from a Charlie Brown cartoon that it's called "Climbakaphobia," which I am certain I did not spell right.

2. I went to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City for college. My gym class was bowling in Madison Square Garden. I started out in Fashion Design but couldn't cut it. Damn, I hated draping mannequins (it's how you start when you want to turn a drawing into a real garment)! I switched from Fashion Design to Advertising and Communications and went from a C- student to a dean's list student. Guess I'm better at writing than fashion design.

3. My first job was as an editor on a children's wear trade magazine, Earnshaw's Review. I loved that job! I got to see the cutest kids' outfits and write about them. I was often taken to lunch at wonderful restaurants I could never have afforded otherwise.

4. I think a lot of you know that I write, but did you know my first 12 novels were in the horror/supernatural genre? Wow, I'd love to write a scary book again, but they don't seem to sell like they did back in the 80s. It was a LOT easier to sell a book back then, IMHO. I feel sorry for new kids starting out today. My first book, btw, was influenced by "The Amityville Horror." I had read a two-page spread in the Long Island Press about this house in Amityville that was haunted. So I was inspired to write the first book I ever published. It's called "Ghost House," if you want to know. None of my books are in print now, but sometimes they show up at garage sales or in libraries. Or on eBay.
Once, one of my bils read a book by me and said to my sister..."and I thought (she) was such a nice person!" Well, heck...I AM a nice person! In fact, this list might tell you I'm not only nice, but utterly boring. I just like a good scary book. (I don't like bloody horror movies with no real purpose except to be icky and gorey, though.)

5. I am most proud, though, of the 13th, 14th and 15th books I wrote. They are for middle-grade readers under the collective title "Journey to America." They are about immigrant children, from Ireland, Poland and Cambodia. Alas, like the horror market, the historical children's fiction market also died down. Some of you might remember how the "Dear America" series took up shelves and shelves in bookstores. You are lucky if you can find them now. Forget about my books...although I know they are in a lot of libraries.

6. You can tell by my screen name that I love animals, but did you know I've kept rats as pets? They are the sweetest, cleanest, most loving caged animals on earth. I would give a child a rat way before I'd give her a hamster. Hamsters are nasty and they bite. Rats do NOT bite...unless you stick your finger in their cage and they think it's a tasty treat, LOL!
PS, speaking of animals, my silly animal dream is to have an alpaca farm one day. That is...if I could find someone to hire for the shearing, LOL!

7. My favorite actor is Vincent D'Onofrio. I'm into Vincent the way Susie Q is into Brian Dennehy. Both of them ruggedly handsome in their own unusual ways. I'm with Susie Q--who needs a pretty boy when you have Brian and Vincent?

I'm sorry if I bored you all. Later, I'll post my Sew Crafty Friday project!

Works for Me Wednesday

Want to know a way to use less printer ink? Next time you want to print out only part of a page, highlight what you want to print (just left-click and hold the button down as you drag over the desired passage). Then, when the "print" box pops up, look at the "Print Range" box in the lower left. Click the button next to "selection," then click 'print.' Now your printer will only print what you highlighted.

I learned this the hard way a while back. Clicked on 'print' and came back to find the darn printer had done up roughly 30 pages.


Oh, and don't forget...if you don't need a nice copy, use the 'quick print' option under preferences!

I haven't participated in Works for Me Wednesday in a while, mostly because I'm in awe of the brilliant tips found there each week. You want to see some great ideas? Pay a visit:
http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/

Looking for a site I lost

Edited: Thanks for the help! Maggie reminded me...it was ebates! Thanks, Maggie!

Okay, a few months ago I switched computers. In the process, I 'lost' some things. Including the name of a rewards site. You know the kind I mean...you click there first, then you click on the site where you want to buy something, and the first site keeps track and gives you a percentage of what you spent? For the life of me, I can't remember what this was called. The only reason I remembered it at all is because I just checked out "Works for Me Wednesday" over at "Rocks in my Dryer" and someone mentioned a rewards site. Can anyone give me some names? I'm sure I'll recognize it when I see it. I know I have something in that account, and with Christmas coming up, I can use it!
Thanks for any help!

Yummy dinner tonight

I'm sitting here savoring Moo Shu Pork, one of my favorite Chinese dishes. And I didn't even have to go out for it. I had a pork tenderloin in the fridge that I'd thawed out last week, but couldn't use. (Being sick one day threw my whole menu off.) So instead of the roast I had planned, I cut it up and browned it, then put it back in the freezer. Today, it came out and was mixed with spices and store bought cole slaw mix. The recipe goes together really fast, and tastes amazing. I think the recipe originates with Taste of Home, which tells you it is user-friendly.

In case you never heard of it, imagine tender, shredded pork with chopped vegetables in an oriental style sauce, all served in a warm tortilla. (They use some kind of pancake in Chinese restaurants, but a flour tortilla does the trick.) I actually got the tortillas at Trader Joe's last night. I had tried the handmade tortillas from there a while back and swore I'd never get the supermarket kind again. So soft and yummy!

Moo Shu comes in many varieties. You could substitute chicken...or maybe some of that leftover turkey you're going to have in a month or two. Take a look at the recipe and adapt it to use up some of your leftovers. I promise...try it, you'll like it!

Farmstands

Mike and I like to take a ride out on the island to hit the farmstands at least once a year. But I have to tell you, it ain't what it used to be. There were a lot more farms when I was first married 27 years ago. They've been closed down one by one to make room for more strip malls or housing developments. Considering how ridiculous property tax is around here, half a wonder the old mom and pop farms have closed.

But there are still a few. The kind I like are the smaller, more family-operated ones. I'd rather buy my locally grown corn and tomatoes from a little guy just trying to make a few bucks than from the huge place across the street (complete with hay rides, a corn maze a pick-your-own pumpkins).

I used to have a farmstand within walking distance of my house, but they sold the property about a year ago. There are many scrapbook pages about pumpkin picking there each year! Places change, people and businesses come and go...but sometimes I wish they wouldn't.

Today I bought corn, tomatoes, cucumbers and the most delicious macoun apple...my favorite! I bought a little scarecrow and a net pumpkin on a stick. Both were very reasonably priced and now decorate my front yard. I passed on the candy apples. I love those, but you don't know when they were made. They could be smushy on the inside and sticky on the outside. I plan to make some soon, anyway. I'm still planning on caramel apples, but somehow I keep forgetting to buy the caramels, LOL!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend, and enjoys the holiday tomorrow!

I won a prize!

First, be sure to scroll down for "Sew Crafty Friday."


Second...I won a prize! I won one of the Day Four prizes from "Blackberry Creek," Susan's blog! It is the prettiest fabric. I know I'm going to get a lot of use out of it. Thanks so much, Susan! I never* win anything, so this has really made my day!

There are a collection of hand-dyed fat quarters in the most gorgeous colors! And a half yard of really cute gardening fabric! Hmmmm...maybe I'll make myself a gardening apron. It might inspire me to finally plant all those danged bulbs I bought. We'll see! All I know is, I'll have a lot of fun with these!



*Well, okay--once I won a 3 foot tall chocolate Easter bunny. But that was so long ago that it was about the same size as my youngest son was back then...and now he is about 5' 8" tall. Honestly, I don't think I'd want to win a 5' 8" tall chocolate Easter bunny!

Thanks again, Susan!

Sew Crafty Friday: Blouse

One thing I love about "Sew Crafty Friday," over at Shereen's Blog, "Waiting for Him" (see sidebar), is that it forces me to work on things that might otherwise hang undone for ages. Trust me on this, I have a LOT of WIPs that hang for ages. But today, I actually finished this blouse!

It is Simplicitly 6715. There are several versions of this top, and pants, too. I like it because there are no buttons or zippers to deal with. I had to alter it a bit because the sleeves were too long and the bust fell in totally the wrong place for my figure. The mannequin made changing the darts quite easy. But all in all, a very easy pattern that I certainly plan to use again.

The lace is from my grandmother's collection. I think I got the fabric at Joanne's.

Don't forget to visit Shereen's blog for more goodies! More important, show something off! Anything 'crafty,' whether it be crochet, embroidery, a scrapbook page...or even the way you decorated for Halloween!

So glad I planned ahead this week

As you know, yesterday I cooked up some ground beef and made two different recipes, which then went into the freezer. I don't do the total OAMC (once a month cooking) thing because I actually like to cook, and I really don't want to have it all done in one Sunday afternoon. Still, to have a few 'ready' meals in the freezer is a great thing.
Today--well, very early this morning--I woke up with one of those killer sinus headaches, a stomach ache and general icky-feelingness. You know what I'm talking about...nothing you take helps. Although I'm feeling better now, I'm really tired. Waaaay too tired to make dinner.
So...I am very, very glad that I had taken meat out of the freezer for this week last Saturday, including a brown sugar meatloaf. Yesterday, while on my cooking spree, I prepared filling for stuffed mushrooms. So, tired as I was, I had a nice dinner ready to go tonight. I just popped the meatloaf in the oven, cleaned and stuffed the mushrooms, and now we're eating a pretty good dinner.
Vegetables are just leftover broccoli au gratin from last night.

So...make your life easier and think ahead. Don't just make up a menu plan...take that meat out of the freezer! While last night was meatless (mac & cheese), tonight was the meatloaf, and we'll be having some kind of pork tenderloin and an Oven stuffer. With Italian style cauliflower, whichever night I want to make it, LOL!

Nicer stuff

If you want to read a vent, scroll down. I was griping about people knocking on your door asking for donations...for things you don't really know about.

But on a better note...I'm doing the freeze ahead thing in the kitchen today. I had bought some ground beef this weekend and I went on line to find some recipes to play with.

I ended up making up one of my own:

"Beef for Enchiladas"
Brown ground beef
Mix in a can of Campbell's Pepper Jack Cheese Soup
Mix in what is left of an opened thing of cream cheese...which would go bad if no one used it. I tend to forget about cream cheese, hiding there in the back of the cheese drawer...

So...this will go into the freezer for use another day in enchiladas. I could make the whole enchilada casserole ahead of time...but I'm working with what I have on hand today, and I don't have tortillas. And just having the ground beef part of it done is half the battle, isn't it?

And a second recipe:

Sloppy Joe Casserole

Brown ground beef with some onion flakes, or real onions (I don't have any on hand.) Mix in a little brown sugar, ketchup, bbq sauce and mustard. I'm not measuring anything. I think this will be a good way to use up some opened bottles of BBQ sauce.

I'll freeze this and later on, I'll mix it with macs or put biscuits on top of it, or something. We'll see. My husband doesn't like sloppy joes because they are...can you guess?...'sloppy.' But something you eat with a knife and fork should be fine.

For the record, we're having macaroni and cheese for dinner. Homemade mac & cheese...and the secret ingredient is a bit of Jarlsberg cheese mixed into the cheddar. Mmmmmmmmm....

Venting a bit today

Those annoying solicitious phone calls are bad enough, but when they come to your door...

Twice this summer, we got finagled into buying magazines for some organization or another. They all start the same way, "I'm just meeting people in the neighborhood to collect points." Yeah, right. By now, though, I can spot anyone with an i.d. tag a mile away. (BTW, I really did get the magazines. I probably overpaid for them big time. But how do you say 'no' after a kid talks to you for twenty minutes?)

So today, these two kids ring my bell. I see the i.d. card. UH-OH. I just came right out and said, 'are you selling magazines?' (Because the next line was going to be, I don't need any more.)

No, he was 'collecting points for a trip abroad.'

Oh, my gosh, get a new line, okay? I can't even afford to take my family out to dinner, and I'm supposed to support some kid who wants to go abroad as part of some organization I have never heard of? And how do points pay for a trip? There's money involved here, somewhere.

BUT...there are other, better ways to get it than begging from strangers! (And it really is begging, isn't it?)

Have a car wash!
Do a bake sale!
Sponsor a crafts fair!
Heck...back in high school, we had something called "Donkey Basketball" that was a great fundraiser!

Hey, sell magazines...but be honest and up front about it!

I said. "NO." I said, "I'm sorry, I can't help you." And I walked away. I was not rude, but I was assertive. I can be the most generous person you've ever met, but dang, I want to really, really know where my money is going. I don't have the time to sit and really look at the card they hand you. For all I know, it says something like: "This is a con, but most people don't read the fine print." Okay, it probably doesn't say that. But then again, who knows?

I'll stick to charities I know and trust, thank you very much.

And for the record...I don't think young people should be going door-to-door in this day and age. Except on Halloween, and only in groups or with a parent!

Sunday sewing stuff

Today I pinned, but did not yet cut out, a tunic top and a jacket for myself. The tunic is in a lavender floral print and the jacket is in burgundy gabardine. I had used my mannequin to alter the patterns to fit me. What I did not do with the jacket, yet, is alter the facings. I have to make the front jacket darts, first...because in the original pattern, the facing has no darts. So now I have to figure out how to change it.

I think I'm going to stick to less structured garments in the future. Maybe that's why I like sewing for kids so much...fewer darts, LOL!

I also cut out the front and back of a knit top for myself. I altered a pattern with a scoop neckline to make a sweetheart neckline. The fabric I had on hand must be something I bought for a short-sleeved top, because, alas, there isn't enough for long sleeves. But...I'm going to look for a lacy knit fabric and make an overlay for the bodice and lacy sleeves.

I almost bought lacy knit fabric from a company on line. The price was quite reasonable, until I got to the shipping. Someone please tell me, why do they base shipping charges on price and not on weight? I didn't order the fabric after all, because the shipping was almost as much as the fabric itself! I'll wait and check out Joanne's next time my husband and I drive to the South Shore. (It's an hour trip from here, and I despise driving. So I only go when he does--we hit Joanne's, have dinner at a chicken place or IHOP, and then go on to Big Lots.)

Anyone start decorating for Halloween yet? I put out my Halloween kitty cats, so far. Looking at this photo, I just realized the plush kitty in the middle is blocking the view of the metal kitty behind him.

Holiday decorating frugalness: five of these cats were cheaply bought at garage sales!

Sew Crafty Friday: Lunch tote

Melody the cat checks out a pattern I made by tracing around one of those 3-part lunch plates.

My daughter likes to take her lunch to work whenever possible. I joke that sometimes I feel I pack lunch more for her now, at her age of 22, than I did when she was little. It's a good way to use up leftovers!

I've been wanting to make a nicer way for her to take lunch than putting everything in a plastic grocery bag. A regularly shaped, rectangular, lunch sack wouldn't work because some days she uses one of those covered plastic plates with 3 sections.

So I traced the plate for the bottom of the bag, adding an extra inch all around--a half inch for seam allowance and a half inch for ease.

Then I measured the circumference and cut a rectangle that long, by about 10 inches high. I made a tube out of this piece, which I then sewed to the base.

I made two pieces like this...one for the lining. I sewed them together. After turning them right side out, I topstitched along the edge, leaving a small opening. I stitched another line parallel to the first, about a half inch away--again, leaving an opening. I threaded a ribbon through the channel to make a draw string bag.

Here is the finished product:

Okay, now hop on over to "Waiting for Him" (see my links list) for more "Sew Crafty Friday" fun!

Girly stuff in a boy's world

I'm living in a testosterone world today. Actually, with a husband and four sons, that's every day...but today more than most. As just about any teenaged boy in America could tell you, today was the day that "Halo 3" was released. My son Nick has been anticipating this for almost a year. I reserved a copy for him back in November. We've had a countdown clock on my desktop, and all I have been hearing is "you won't forget to pick it up, will you"? I went to get it after work. Geesh, the thing came in this huge box with a lifesize replica of "Master Chief's" helmet.

Nicky has liked Halo from day one, and even dressed up as Master Chief for Halloween a few years back. That was an interesting costume to make! (We left out the helmet, thank goodness. I'm not that talented, LOL!)

So, anyway, I needed a touch of girliness today and worked on one of my 17,000 projects. Here is a shot of the collar of a little pair of PJs I'm making...

Garage Sale Bonanza

Wow, did I get lucky with garage sales today! They've been pretty paltry around here this past summer. But today...I must have found eight... plus a church sale! Church sales are the best!

Here is my take:

Plastic snowman snack tray

Christmas basket lined with pretty fabric

A pretty tin that probably once held cookies

A real, but broken, cell phone for the kids at work to play with--and it was only 50 cents. I'll have to write 'toy' on it, or people will think someone dropped it, LOL!

Large metal bunny and egg wreath for next Easter

A humongous oval tray with a Thanksgiving turkey on it--it's plastic but hey, it cost me 15 cents

A pretty gold wire Christmas basket (same garage sale as the turkey platter--for a nickel!)

A big bag of foamie dragonflies and butterflies for crafting

A little stuffed black Halloween kitty cat

A Halloween puppy and a Halloween kitten dressed in pumpkin costumes...all knit!

One of those magic hanger things that let's you hang 5 items in a small space

A 3-ring binder photo album, still in original wrap

A roll of green velvety ribbon

Some little cars for the kids at work

A pasta drying rack

A really nice metal folding table

A meat fork with a red plastic handle

A black Kitchenaid spatula (I dropped my red one without knowing it and my ferrets used it as a chew toy)

And the best thing of all:

A French Tea Set in it's own little cute carrying case. I almost didn't ask the price because I was sure it would be out of my range. I couldn't believe it when the girl said $2!!!

And the original price tag was still on it...for $74!!!!!! The little cardboard things are menus, and the napkins are cloth!

So, what did this great bonanza cost me? Well...I had 11 single dollars when I left home this morning, and came back with 2. Allowing for some quarters, I probably spent less than $12!

Yep, I'm feelin' pretty happy now!

17,000 WIPS

Well, not really. More like 17. I realized I had a lot of things that need to be worked on, and maybe even finished. But, like bills that need to be paid but are forgotten if you don't keep them in one place, I would see my projects in a sort of peripheral vision...kind of floating vaguely in my mind. Do you know what I mean? You're aware that things need to be done, but nothing in particular comes into focus.

So yesterday I made lists of what I need to finish. Putting things in lists helps my poor left brain wrap around what needs to be done. That's so my right brain can get to having fun! And trust me, I'm so right-brain dominant I could live with half my mind, LOL!

I've posted about "My Ta-Da Lists" before. I love that site. I used it to make my list yesterday. Actually, at least 17 lists...one for each project. So, for instance, under "Lavendar PJs," I listed each individual step needed to finish them.

With a list that is broken down into the smallest parts, you suddenly realize there are a lot of things that can be done and gotten out of the way rather quickly. I had already handsewn the zipper in (it's a baby sleeper), so it was just a matter of sewing it in for real. Took just a few minutes...a job that's been hanging in my closet for weeks.

I have a friend who refuses to start a new project unless an old one is finished. What is the fun of that????

BTW...all the tests from my procedure came out benign. They were looking for some virus with a weird name...something pilosis? Well, I don't have it. What I do have is the damned hiatal hernia. So I'd appreciate any info on dealing with that, because it's really, really not fun. Thanks!

Sew Crafty Friday: Knitting

I'm sorry this picture isn't more clear.

I'm not much of a knitter, but when Becka sent me the softest yarn ever in my ShoeBox Swap Box http://sortafrugal.blogspot.com/, I decided to break out the knitting needles to make myself a scarf.

I don't know if you can see the change in stitching a few rows up. It's been so long since I did anything that I don't know what the different patterns are called. Stockinette? Garter? But it was such a pain in the dupa to switch from purling to knitting every row that I decided to just stick with knitting. When I get closer to the end, I'll suffer through a few rows of purling/knitting so it matches. I'm making this short, because I don't like long scarves, anyway. It's going pretty fast, since it's also narrow.

The only thing that I don't like is that the knitting needles are too long and hit the sides of my chair...so I have to sit in the middle of the couch. Do they make short knitting needles?

Please visit "Waiting for Him" (over there in my blog links list) for more crafty yumminess. Better yet, would it kill you to post over there? Come on, we all want to see how creative you are! (Yeah, I'm pushy. And I'm selfish, too--I love to drool over other people's creativity!)

Oh, the indignity!

I mean, really...being a Pineapple or a Prisoner was bad enough...but a lobster? Poor Shadow!



http://sortafrugal.blogspot.com/2006/09/pineapple-puppy.html
http://sortafrugal.blogspot.com/2006/11/halloween-puppy.html

Seriously, though, this dog loves to dress up. Whenever we bring home a new article of clothing for him, he gets really excited. His tail wags so much you can hardly see it. I think he loves the extra attention...as if he doesn't get enough already!

I'm back!

I'm back! They took me in almost right away. I tell you, anesthetic is weird. You feel all ditzy at first then BOOM, your are out like a light. Next thing you know, you are in recovery. I can remember talking to Mike but I don't really know what I was saying.

Okay, so this is what Dr. G found. I have a lot of irritation in my stomach, and he's pretty sure that's caused by the aspirin I take on a regular basis because of my bad sacroiliac joint. So damn, no more aspirin for my back. He suggested I talk to my doctor about going on Celebrex. I have a hiatal hernia. He found a polyp that he removed. He also took some samples to do biopsies, which I'll hear about in a few weeks.

I knew damned well the aspirin, even coated aspirin, was causing me trouble. It sure would be nice if they made meds with no side effects! Especially OTC stuff! I mean, really, these days they say even Tylenol can cause liver damage.

My throat is so sore and my mouth is dry as the dessert. They gave me some gingerale. It didn't help much. Now I'm trying to eat half a sandwich and drinking grape soda. I'm having a hard time choking the sandwich down. The funny thing is that I'm really not hungry at all, so I Gave half to my son and some of my half to the dog. And I thought I'd be starving after fasting since midnight!

So, Dr. G did find something. And my hopes that it was nothing terribly serious seem to have been heard. I'm not even going to think of the biopsy thing. Why borrow trouble? I'm sure it's just routine.

I can't drive today and I can't drink. Gee, shucks, I guess I can't drive over to the liquor store!

BTW, we're having pizza for dinner. I'm going to spend this day relaxing. What a great excuse to do my crafts and veg in front of the computer!

Thanks for thinking about me this morning!

Endiscopy today

I'm going in for my endiscopy in about an hour. I hope they find something...at least, something that's fixable. Nobody wants to hear bad news. But I especially don't want to hear, "we can't see anything. Now you have to do this..."

I hate these damned tests. The worst part to me is fasting. I'm one of those types who has to eat every few hours.

I would have been allowed clear liquids up to 4 hours before the procedure, but I scheduled it for the morning so that would have meant having soup or Italian ice prior to 6:30 a.m., LOL! I stayed up late last night so I could eat something just before midnight, so I didn't wake up until about 9 a.m. Frankly, if my back wasn't killing me I wouldn't be doing too bad. I'm starting to feel a little hungry, but I can deal with it at this point.

In case you don't know, an endiscopy is when they stick a tube down your throat with a camera at the end and look inside your stomach. You have to be asleep for it, which is why I'm fasting. My husband will be driving me.

I will post later on about what the doctor found. For the record, he's the one who found tears in my stomach that were making me deathly ill about 3 years ago...when 2 other doctors and the hospital found nothing. So I really trust him to get to the bottom of this.