picture book without words

 

 The live story was really, really fun.

I'll let you make up your own.

 

I miss you!

waste not .. want not

I shared this little scene of what I consider bliss in May.

We were at Kamp Kipa and I had a few minutes to enjoy the peace while crocheting.

 

 

She is done!!

My color scheme had a reason.

My bathroom shower curtain has equal amount of teal and brown in it,

and lately I am adoring the color teal.

 

Some extra white sheets in the laundry room became differing shades of teal

using Rit Dye. I didn't get the dark color I wanted in the first go around.

Maybe because I didn't have the patience to stir the hot bucket of color changing

fabric and maybe because I didn't put enough liquid dye in to begin with.

So, I plunked some of the dyed strips back in the dye bucket and went for round #2.

Worked fabulous!

 

 

I've done round rugs and oval rugs, but never a straight rug.

I know I learned something.

I tore parts of this out and redid them several times trying to get the edges to stay in a line.

A straight line.

 

When I was done, I realized what I had done and could have just disassembled and started over.

 

The leftover strips became uneven, slightly fraying knotted fringe along both edges.

It may fray to the point of crazy when it goes through the wash a few times,

or it may fray to softness.

We shall see!



 

One end of the rug, the side closest to the commode, is a bit narrower than the other.

I started out with single crochet and did the rest double.

The stitches are probably a wee bit tighter on the single end.

 

So, I placed the narrower end where your feet sit.

If you're spending a lot of time just sitting, contemplating and critiquing the rug ....

it will look even.



Next time I'll try something different!

 

Something like 2 unused worthless sheets later ...

my laundry room is rid of extra stuff and I have something adorable (in my estimation)

and sure to last long after I've given up on the color teal!

 

In case you're thinking you don't have time for this kind of stuff, you probably do.

The cutting and the dying may take a few moments of your time,

but once that is done ... you can sit and visit while you work your crochet hook.

The only problem with this project, unlike yarn, is that I don't dare take it in the car.

I have little pieces of threads everywhere.

Enough that I still have some hanging around and I've vacuumed furniture and used the lint roller.



finding fifty: cottage cheese

I don't eat cottage cheese plain.
Ever.
That stuff just looks scary enough to have me running the other way.
Like it has some serious resemblance to my thighs lately and that is just too disgusting.

However, when I was in Alaska recently I had the yummiest pancakes.
The recipe is a Trim Healthy Mama recipe that included cottage cheese.
I don't do THM.
I sort of tried.
I got as far as taping up some E and S menu type things on the inside of my cupboard doors for a while before I finally took them down.

When I came home, I actually looked at the container of cottage cheese.
Shucks, but that stuff is full of protein, and as I'd spent some time trying to curb the carbs in my life, why not play with some cottage cheese.
Part of this getting older thing is realizing that you just play around with and find the things that work for you.
There is no carbon copy anything that works for every single woman.
I don't care what the latest diet fad or eating plan says.
Especially when I have less willpower than an ant.

So, I started with some Starbucks Refresher.
I couldn't find anything else in the house.
I made the 16 oz drink in a bottle and tucked it in the fridge to dole out one shake at a time.

 

My strawberries are usually frozen in the Costco bag. I'm lazy that way.

I plunk some in a bowl and nuke 'em a bit.

 

 

Cottage cheese. I can't believe I buy it in big containers now. Really strange.

I throw in about a cup of that.

 



 

And as long as I was in the freezer, and there happened to be a bit of ice cream in there, why not add an itty bitty scoop of that as well?!

 

Send it whirling into a frothy concoction ....



 

and grab the bag of peach slices (thank you dear neighbors for inviting me to pick off your peach tree!) ...

 

 

and drop some of those into the mix.

I don't count, I just drop in whatever looks good.

Since the peaches are all gone ... I'm using whatever berries I have around here.

 

A bit more whizzing and whirring and voila!
You have a protein rich drink that tastes a bit like an orange creamsicle.

And if your household is like mine ....

they'll all be disgusted and you won't have to share.

In my really rough estimate, you're taking in (minus the dollop of ice cream):

Carbs 36g
Sugars 35g
Dietary Fiber 4g
Fat 5g
Protein 25g

I should probably throw in some spinach next time.

wordless on a wednesday

quiet weekend with bullet

It was a quieter weekend around these parts ... at least for me.

Fred came to town and the guys have been busy running around doing all kinds of boy things.
I've been home doing girl things. (grins!!)
The girls have been here with grandkidlets some days and other folks some evenings, but many hours of quiet for me.

Actually, Friday I didn't have a bit of gumption to do anything. Was rather disappointing. I had extra days off last week so it threw my whole world off kilter!

Other than being quiet ... I was also home to make sure our new family member behaved.

She hasn't done too bad!

 Excuse the goober eye. It was doing fine all day ... until I took out the camera. Of course.

We found out she was coming to us last Monday and let me tell you, we were nervous.
We've had over a year of being able to just leave the house and not worry at all about who was being left behind. We could run away for the weekend and not think twice about having someone take care of the pet.

Not only have we not had a pet, we have not had a puppy in forever and a hundred years.
Although she certainly has an interest in getting into some things ... overall so far so good.

I think she likes the taste of Thieves Household Cleaner 'cuz the window gets a bit of lickin'.

I've been looked at like I'm a cruel human being, but she is an outside dog. She has been outside her entire life (all 18 weeks of it) and it is going to stay that way. We put in misters on the patio but that just drenches all the humans and probably doesn't do much for the four legged creature. Sure feels good once in a while tho'.

And then there is the pool. I bought it for the little kids, but yesterday I threw Bullet in it. She was rather slow about the investigation process so I sort of helped her along. She loves it! She's in there frequently through the day playing and cooling off. It works!

So between paying attention to the little lady, I've finished a few projects today!
Share coming later this week!

Updated correction: She is naughty. Middle. Of. The. Night. Naughty. Pillow ripping naughty.
She might have to learn to love a crate.

finding fifty

Several years ago this fall, Jari and I were at a camp working in the kitchen. Another couple, a few years older than us, was there and we were sitting around visiting that first evening. I don't even remember where the conversation led us but we hit on all kinds of subjects. For instance, preparing dinner and our lack of motivation to do just that. And, most importantly, the fact that we no longer cared. The guys could fend for themselves sometimes and it wouldn't hurt anyone. The other woman looked at me and said, "Are you fifty? You sound like it!"

I was intrigued. After that weekend, I came home and hit up google. What is fifty? What does fifty sound like? What comes with fifty that someone else could see it in me? Even if I wasn't there yet!

Google didn't have any answers for me.

Lately, I've thoroughly enjoyed reading a dear friend's posts on Facebook as she spends her nights of insomnia writing about life. Talk about good laughs. I don't have her ability to write, nor do I have her witty sense of humor, but I started thinking about this fifty thing.

It is a whole new kind of life.

Seriously.

Like who thought hot flashes could be so much fun? I almost wanted to buy one of those fans you can hang on a rope around your neck and call it a new piece of jewelry. I'm not even close to being a fashion guru so wouldn't have a clue that it isn't a stylish thing! Alas, someone helped me out in that department and saved me the embarrassment of showing my fanning self in public.

I am very fortunate to not have any serious health issues, but what the dickens made me all of a sudden start thinking about the things I was putting in my mouth? It didn't matter before! How did taste buds all of a sudden decide that asparagus is about to die for?  And when will beets acquire the same level of delicacy?

I never wore shorts to town when I was growing up. True statement. I would wear shorts at home and change into jeans if I headed to the whopping metropolis of Virginia. I should have worn them while I could. Because exercise is still not in my vocabulary. Kind of the same situation as the beets. I keep hoping waiting. Like, seriously, do my legs have to resemble the stuff I put in my smoothie?

I've been eating some weird things lately. Scary enough to my family that they won't touch them. While that isn't all bad ... I do enjoy when I have salted licorice in the cupboard and I'm free to enjoy it all ... there might be a few of you out there that might give some of my goofy ideas a whirl and enjoy them.

There are probably a few more things I can think, but that's good for starters.

No weekly photography challenge has my attention this year. Life has sort of quieted down a bit for a blink or two. So, I'm thinking it is time to ramp it up a bit or I'm going to take a trip to the SAS Fabric store and I probably don't need that. In fact, just this week I was keeping a tight hold on my steering wheel as I passed the Indian School Road exit. It was tough ... but I managed to keep my car from veering off to the exit lane.

Fridays at 430 Breezy Lane are going to see me finding fifty. I'm not joining the Red Hat Society or anything, but I might just come up with a little more attitude. Even the thought makes me nervous and weak kneed. Some weeks you might get something healthy coming your way. Other times it might be a very healthy dose of decadent chocolate that you probably won't want to live without. Some days it might be a rant, because I think I'm almost the age when I can get away with it. Maybe a link to a goal I hope to accomplish before the decade is over and out. Perhaps something useful that has helped me in my life.  Maybe my feet will be soaking in the ocean. Or maybe just a random thing off Pinterest that I would have scoffed at ten years ago. My challenge, at least the rest of this year of turning fifty, is to share. Aren't you just excited?!!

Maybe I'll even get that wacky fellow fifty friend of mine to share a thought or two with all of us.

Now I've got your attention!!

Happy Independence Day!

wordy wednesday

So ... we are ambling around the house .. just the two of us.
We have kids visiting.
We have grandbabies visiting.
But after a long day at work, it ain't all bad to just sit.
My feet have been howling lately after wearing a lead apron at work all day.
Sitting is good.

So ... the house is quiet.
Last week, on Wednesday, Jari commented on how the dishes just don't seem to accumulate.
Maybe I told him that it would help if I actually cooked something.
I don't remember.
I do know that I can clean the kitchen and it stays that way.
Clean and kitchen in the same sentence?
Maybe I'll have to admit what Alyx did for me last Friday. Later.

So ... the house is empty.
That means that for the first time in 28 years or so we sleep with the bedroom door open.
I shut the hall light off awhile ago, but this is a whole new thing.
Air can circulate!
It is quite a miracle.

And if you lock the front door ...
you can take a shower with the bathroom door open to let out steam in this heat entrenched summer we are enduring.
There are kids who have keys, but I figure if the front door is locked and they just pop on over ...
they deserve what they get.

Did I start off talking about sitting?
Back to that.
I did some sitting this week, and being as my laptop was perched in a convenient position I started editing and organizing photos.
2015 is done up to date!
That includes all photos from my phone.
I do crazy things like label most photos with the date they're taken.
They sometimes end up in other folders that don't have dates on them and then I sort of have a clue.
Now I need to start going backwards in time!

This particular one made me chuckle. Out. Loud.

I think he had a clue what was coming!

Enjoy the rest of your week and the new month! Happy July!