Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Tell Me Tuesday: Week 5


Welcome to Tell Me Tuesday.....First off the title is a bit deceiving.....it really is not about you telling me anything.... but answering a question truthfully and maybe telling yourself a little something you had not thought about.

I'd love for you to join me each week, and copy the question onto your blog and answer the question....and link back here. I am sure it will be interesting how there will be many different answers to the same question.....and hopefully give each of us something to think about as this new year progresses. My thought is so many people (including myself) are looking for some answers to various things. I have a feeling that the answers are inside needing to be jiggled loose and maybe a question posed a certain way will have a cause and effect in a good way. We will see how it goes! I have committed to this once a week for the whole year of 2012. I'd love for you to take the challenge with me!

I am keeping the rules simple...I'd love to watch this grow as the year goes on.

1. Grab the button on the sidebar if you like so others can find this new writing experience each week.

2. Once you link in, visit the person who linked in before you and leave them a comment. It would be great to visit and leave comments for as many as you can. But at least try and leave the person ahead of you in the link a comment of support.

3. Please link back to my blog and mention Tell Me Tuesday somewhere in your POST. That is it....easy.

Most of all, look at this writing experience with an open mind. Sometimes the questions will be hard...and require some thought. That is a good thing. Other times it will be easy. You can add photos, or whatever you like to your post. It is about you after all. ~ Thanks for joining me.....I hope you enjoy this each week.


Week Five Question:

What is there too much of in the world???

_________________________________________

This week, there are so many things that would fit this question but the very first thing that popped into my mind was there is way too much litter in the world.


When you take a drive in your car, a walk in the park or spend any time at all looking around the landscape in which you live, there is letter in every direction. People all over the world has trashed this planet with everything from cigarette butts to broken appliances and everything in between.

I often wonder what it would be like if everyone decided to take control of this situation and clean up all of the trash that is strewn about our lands?  I can only imagine it would be a difficult job in disposing of all that trash at once. Litter has taken over everywhere and every clean surface of the globe. It is shameful really.

What about you?? How would you answer this question.......the possibilities are endless really and hard to pick just one.


Monday, January 30, 2012

One Fine Blessing: February Birthday's For Seniors

Coloradolady

I have sent out the email list for February. Please check your emails for the names and addresses of the seniors Birthdays for February. If you'd like to join in celebrating seniors, please email me at onefineblessing (at) yahoo.com

This month Annie will be 100 years old! She is bedridden but has a sharp wit. The lady submitted her name said they go see her from our church every Sunday for over a year now. I think she would be surprised--maybe she'll even get enough cards to match her years?! How wonderful would it be to know she received 100 cards for this special Birthday!!!

The second birthday is for Wanda. She was on the list from my friend who originally started the Birthday cards for seniors. Since my friend passed away last year, I am sure she is not expecting any cards at all. This would be so fun to surprise her for her 83rd Birthday!!!

All the mailing information is in the emails. If you are not signed up, please let me know and I will add you if you like. You can catch up on exactly what "One Fine Blessing" is under the labels in my sidebar! It is a wonderful way to do a little bit for others that has a huge impact!!! It is just about sending a birthday card and maybe a dollar bill inside to help out a senior citizen who many times are alone and struggling. Thank you all who take the time each month to send a little cheer!

Two Words I Never Hear Are " Hey Girl......"

Would you believe it if I told you that sometimes  a lot of times I am faced with a bit of resistance when it comes to getting my husband to implement an idea of mine? It is true. Sadly.

A few days ago, Lane my quilting friend talked about quilting tools. He shared his fantastic idea about using a pill bottle to hold bent pins to keep them off the floor where they don't belong. I seem to have that problem too and yesterday I asked my husband to drill a hole in the top of a pill bottle.

I got twenty questions on that one little request as to why I needed that and what I wanted it for.....all for a little hole. It was almost like he thought I'd gone completely over the edge this time with this request.

Well....since my husband certainly does not have Ryan Gosling's "Hey Girl" attitude I had to explain.

I quickly asked him if he enjoyed stepping on my SHARP quilting pins barefoot? Did he enjoy screeching in pain when it happened???

In no time....I had a functional quilting tool with a hole drilled in the top! In fact this happened so quickly I was rather impressed!

Now....if other matters could be handled as quickly as this one I'd be a happy camper!!

For whatever reason I still get a lot of flack from my husband and son when it comes to holding my quilts up for photos.....lots of complaining to the fact I take too much time doing the photography.

I sure would like to get a few "Hey Girl....." around here once in a while....things would run so much more smoothly if I did! What about you?? Do you have a Ryan Gosling Hey Girl at your house?? Wait.....don't answer that.....I am going to pretend we are all in the same boat!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Vintage Thingie Thursday: Vintage Dog Finds

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a really good time each and every week!!!
If you are new to this party, please take the time to
read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so please make sure you follow the instructions. Please only ONE link per week. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies on display that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

I came across a new thrift store in town last week, I remember seeing it advertise on television but did not remember where it was, luckily I stumbled upon it all on my own. I did not find too much, but I did find this little Scottie dog ash tray.

It is white and although it has a few burn marks on the bottom, it is still cute to me! By the way, I do not smoke and no one in my home smokes, these types of ash trays just appeal to me. I have another one very similar but it has a bird on it. I thought I had showed you guys that one before, but could not find the link.

I think this is so sweet....look at that little guy.

Now, I found this at a antique store close to my house. The lady said it was a ash tray, but I don't know about that. It just does not look like a ash tray to me. No matter, I bought it because of the two little dachshunds.

It does have a little open tray in front, maybe for change. I loved this one especially because it had two doxies. Sure wish I could find something that had THREE doxies on it!! Now that would be a find!!

Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday!! Have a great week!!


Creole Chicken Recipe

This is one of my favorite recipes and one I keep as a "go to" because it is just so darn good and so easy. This recipe belonged to my good friend, Patti's mother and it is really one of my favorites.

My two children went to Catholic school all the way through eighth grade and one year we put a school cookbook together as a fundraiser. I have to say that all the recipes I have tried that were submitted by my friend's mother are amazing, and I can only imagine how wonderful of a cook she was. This one is one of my favorites. Be sure to read the end of this post as how I use this same recipe in different ways....it is a keeper!


Creole Chicken

You will need:

 1 onion chopped 
2 to 3 lbs, chicken pieces
2 to 3 cups water
1 1/2 Tablespoon chili powder ( sometimes I use a bit more, personal preference)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
4 Tablespoons flour
*1 Tablespoon curry powder (optional, not in original recipe, but I add this to mine)




How to:

Saute onion and chicken pieces in a small amount of oil on medium heat.


Saute until the chicken starts to brown and the onions are looking clear, takes about 4-5 minutes tops. ( you will see that I always use an electric skillet for this dish, it is just my way of doing it, but stove top is fine too)


Cover with water and add the seasonings. Stir well. simmer on low.


Cook until chicken is done. I let mine simmer about 20 to 30 minutes.


Mix flour with approximately 1/4 cup of water  until smooth. Add to the chicken to thicken the gravy. Let simmer a couple of minutes until it thickens.

Get out your vintage serving dishes, in my case vintage restaurant ware and serve over white or brown rice. This is very low in calories and if using brown rice, even a better option if you are watching your calorie intake. Nutritional information for chicken, excluding rice: Per serving: calories: 194, carbohydrates: 7, protein: 32, fat: 4. Serves 6


Other options:

You can use all chicken breast instead of the chicken pieces. Also, if you have left over fried chicken and you have folks at your house that does not like leftovers...ahem....well, use this same recipe. You would saute the onions first, add the left over fried chicken and follow the rest of the recipe, of course the cook time is not as long because the chicken is already done. Just simmer in the spices for flavor for about 20 minutes....it turns a few pieces of left over chicken into a whole new meal. Now, if you use left over fried chicken...please keep in mind the nutritional information above will certainly not be the same!!  I have to get creative around here because I have a husband that is not too keen on leftovers at all! This is why this recipe is one of my "go-to" recipes!! It is really good, really easy....and I just love it!!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Tell Me Tuesday: Week Four - On Memories


Welcome to Tell Me Tuesday.....First off the title is a bit deceiving.....it really is not about you telling me anything.... but answering a question truthfully and maybe telling yourself a little something you had not thought about.

I'd love for you to join me each week, and copy the question onto your blog and answer the question....and link back here. I am sure it will be interesting how there will be many different answers to the same question.....and hopefully give each of us something to think about as this new year progresses. My thought is so many people (including myself) are looking for some answers to various things. I have a feeling that the answers are inside needing to be jiggled loose and maybe a question posed a certain way will have a cause and effect in a good way. We will see how it goes! I have committed to this once a week for the whole year of 2012. I'd love for you to take the challenge with me!

I am keeping the rules simple...I'd love to watch this grow as the year goes on.

1. Grab the button on the sidebar if you like so others can find this new writing experience each week.

2. Once you link in, visit the person who linked in before you and leave them a comment. It would be great to visit and leave comments for as many as you can. But at least try and leave the person ahead of you in the link a comment of support.

3. Please link back to my blog and mention Tell Me Tuesday somewhere in your POST. That is it....easy.

Most of all, look at this writing experience with an open mind. Sometimes the questions will be hard...and require some thought. That is a good thing. Other times it will be easy. You can add photos, or whatever you like to your post. It is about you after all. ~ Thanks for joining me.....I hope you enjoy this each week.


Week Four Question:

Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never to be able to make new ones?

_________________________________________

Oh. My. Goodness. This question for me had so many variables when I first read it. I could answer one way if I was sure of this or that. Likewise, I would answer the other way if certain things were a given and sure thing. However, that is not how the question read so without adding any variables to the question, and just reading it for what it is was hard for me to answer. Hard.



But after a little soul searching If I was posed the question "Would I rather lose all of my old memories or never be able to make new ones", I'd have to say I would opt to lose all the old ones. I sorta like the option of starting with a blank slate.

There is an understanding that in losing all the old ones would mean losing all the good memories along with the bad. I'd really hate to lose any of my good memories, especially the ones of my children and of all the things and people I love. But in losing those memories, all the bad memories would be erased as well.

Sometimes, I think the bad memories are a hindrance for me. They are always just under the surface as a reminder of a failure, bad decision or a reminder of things I could have done differently and certainly should have. The fear of making bad decisions is a constant light that flashes in my brain and draws from the fall out of mistakes made in the past. It is a crippling thing for me.

In knowing those would be gone from my memory bank, and new memories would be what I had to draw from, maybe now that I am older the new memories would be made with better choices. And assuming my family would still be here we could make new memories. I suppose in a perfect world that would be so.

Then as I type this out the thought comes to mind, without all the old experiences in my memory bank, who's to say I would not make the same mistakes again?? I am sure I will be thinking about this one today. For me, it really stopped me in my tracks and gave me something to think about. Interesting.



Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Vintage Thingie Thursday: Surley This Won't Be A Habit

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a really good time each and every week!!!
If you are new to this party, please take the time to
read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so please make sure you follow the instructions. Please only ONE link per week. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies on display that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

You guys are not going to believe this...why?  Well...because I don't really believe it myself. So, if I don't believe it, how can I expect you to??? Remember the post from the very first Vintage Thingie Thursday for the new year?? The post about that adorable china plate? The one in which I had never, ever seen the pattern before? The one that I said in all my treasure hunting, I had never seen a single piece from this china set?? Yea....that one!.......are you sitting down?????

Look what I happened to find today. Yes...TODAY.....at half price day at Goodwill. Now mind you I was at a different Goodwill than the one I found the plate but still.....it was there. ( the jug is in perfect condition, the photo looks like it is damaged, but that is the sheet it is sitting on)

I usually for the past few months have just bypassed the half price day because it is such stressful time. So many people and if you get there early, the people are wrapped around the store waiting to get in. Then it is like what you would imagine it to be like at a bank if they announced they were giving away free money....it is a frenzy!! So I have just avoided it. But today,  I made the stop today in the afternoon. In all honesty, I almost did not even stop as I figured everything was already gone.

But this was sitting right on the shelf like it was waiting on me! I even think this jug let out a sigh of relief that I had finally made it there and picked it up....I kid.....I was the one letting out a sigh that no one else had gotten their hands on it during the morning rush....and seriously....why had not one person wanted this?

The price was marked $8.00 and I only paid $4.00 for this wonderful piece. Tell me what are the chances of that happening? I am still stunned!! Maybe with a little patience and more Goodwill shopping, the rest of these darling china pieces will show up on the shelves!! But in all actuality, I don't believe this will become a habit of being able to post about finding new pieces...surely this was just a fluke.....but I am going to stay hopeful!

(I had a post all ready for today, but it will have to wait until next week...this one really took me back a bit so I could not wait to share.)

Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday!!!


Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Postage Stamp Quilt 2012 Charm Swap & Challenge

You may have noticed the button on my sidebar about the Postage Stamp Quilt Swap going on this year....I know you don't want to miss this one!

 Many of you will remember my Begging Quilt Project that I finally finished last year, well at least the top is finished.  All of this was inspired by Mary at The Curious Quilter.

This year, Mary is hosting several swaps of these little charms and the first opportunity to sigh up for the first swapping ends January 18th. I am sure after you see some of the wonderful things that can be created out of these little pieces of fabric...you will want to run...as fast as you can and sign up too!!

Mary has lots of things planned, along with tutorials, giveaways, encouragement and of course swaps several times this year to start your collection and getting a good variety of fabrics quick and easy.

My Begging Quilt project - Started Fall of 2009 - top finished Summer of 2010
Here is my finished top. This is a king size and it is oh, so special!!! You can read about this one by clicking Begging Quilt on my sidebar.

This fantastic quilt is another example of what you can create with these little charms.....Oh. I love it!!!
You can read about this one here

I could not find the link for this one...I saved it in my folder for inspiration. If it is yours, let me know and I will gladly add the link. UPDATE: Here is the link to this lovely quilt!!

How about this one!! Oh, so pretty. You can read about this one  here

This is another favorite of mine too. So many options for these little pieces. Go
here to read about this one.

This one is a serious contender for this year. I have a lot of blues and greens, so I may incorporate those colors into a similar quilt. I just love this. I found this beauty here

 Look at this one with the sashings and cornerstone blocks.....Oh, this one makes my heart sing.

 Here are some vintage examples of what can be done with small postage stamp charms....I love the scrappy goodness of them.

 This is a beauty too!! I need lots of time to make these....and if I had that I'd make every one of them!!

 Beautiful....love this one too!!

And of course, this one reminds me of quilts from my childhood....oh, snuggling in this type of quilt is really the best!!

So...if you are like me and are super inspired, hop on over to see Mary and sign up for the swaps that will be taking place this year!!  The first one sign up ends Wed. Jan. 18th.....like right away!!!
 What a super fun way to get more varieties if you are trying to save for a quilt like this. And trust me, there is nothing more fun that getting a package in the mail of these little gems!! It is like Christmas all over again!

Tell Me Tuesday: Week Three Question: Most Important Lesson


Welcome to Tell Me Tuesday.....First off the title is a bit deceiving.....it really is not about you telling me anything.... but answering a question truthfully and maybe telling yourself a little something you had not thought about.

I'd love for you to join me each week, and copy the question onto your blog and answer the question....and link back here. I am sure it will be interesting how there will be many different answers to the same question.....and hopefully give each of us something to think about as this new year progresses. My thought is so many people (including myself) are looking for some answers to various things. I have a feeling that the answers are inside needing to be jiggled loose and maybe a question posed a certain way will have a cause and effect in a good way. We will see how it goes! I have committed to this once a week for the whole year of 2012. I'd love for you to take the challenge with me!

I am keeping the rules simple...I'd love to watch this grow as the year goes on.

1. Grab the button on the sidebar if you like so others can find this new writing experience each week.

2. Once you link in, visit the person who linked in before you and leave them a comment. It would be great to visit and leave comments for as many as you can. But at least try and leave the person ahead of you in the link a comment of support.

3. Please link back to my blog and mention Tell Me Tuesday somewhere in your POST. That is it....easy.

Most of all, look at this writing experience with an open mind. Sometimes the questions will be hard...and require some thought. That is a good thing. Other times it will be easy. ( This week...I think is easy....but I can not promise that each week ) You can add photos, or whatever you like to your post. It is about you after all. ~ Thanks for joining me.....I hope you enjoy this each week.


Week Three Question:

What is the most important lesson you learned in the past year?

_________________________________________

This one is not an easy one for me to answer...and I have sat here thinking and trying to remember something grand that would apply from this past year.....so I walked away for a few minutes.....and came back to the computer determined to decide between two things that come to mind. I have to choose one....which is the most important for ME??........23 minutes later...here goes.....

The most important lesson I learned this past year is that truly grand things can be done with little effort. I have been blessed by doing something small and unexpected for others, many times being for people I don't even know or may never know in all actuality. 

The Senior Birthday cards that we do here each month is a wonderful example of doing something so small but the impact is monumental. It is a feel good feeling to be able to bring a smile to someone's face even if you never see that smile. It is knowing you have made a difference even in a small way.

Sometimes, it is as simple as paying for the person's order behind you in a drive thru line at a fast food restaurant. I have done that a few times when I see it is a senior or for a young person who looks like a college student. I don't wait to see their reaction...I just do it believing there was a reason and don't question. In doing that, driving away leaves me with a feeling that I matter....even in that instant I was maybe able to turn someones day around.

I know it is hard to feel appreciated lots of times by the people around us. Maybe not any fault of theirs, but sometimes, I know for many, the thoughts and feeling are there no matter. For me, I have worked through that frustration and hurt by doing small things for others and knowing there is nothing expected in return. It has been a liberating feeling during the past year as I put this into practice. I choose to focus on the positive things I could do and let all the other negative feelings go.

The lesson was really easy.....unexpected small acts of kindness have a huge impact  for others as well as myself in an unexpected way.....and that is a great lesson to learn and be aware of.

****This was not easy to write.....it is hard to pinpoint one thing and one thing only....at least it was for me.....good luck as you think on this question.....I hope you join me today!




Monday, January 16, 2012

First Quilt for 2012 ~ Design Wall Monday

When New Years day rolled in, I was busy cutting, sewing and putting together the Orca Bay quilt by Bonnie Hunter. With Christmas and all the holiday happenings, I was behind on that mystery quilt. So I was making good progress when a turn of events halted all my progress and it has been sitting in my sewing room ever since.

The first week in January was a tragic one for someone I know and their family. Suddenly, when saying how sorry I was just did not sound like enough and almost seemed empty in some way to me. Nor the fact when offering to help in any way I could (and mean it) but at the same time know your help won't be asked for, it certainly left me with a funny feeling.

So...I decided to do the only thing I felt I could do to really let these folks know that I understand their tragic loss and how very sorry I really am, no matter if it sounded rather small (to me) at the time.

This is what is on my design wall today, almost ready to stitch together and add the borders. I searched through my saved images of quilts I liked, and found this one. I remember when I saved the picture, I did so so I could find the pattern, but alas, no pattern was found so I did what I usually do, just look at the photo and figure it out.

There will a be a string pieced border and then one more with the tan and scrap pieces. All the blocks are made and ready to be removed from the wall and labeled, then sewn together.

The top row that is missing from the photos is right here on the floor, along with the last bottom rows and the far right row. This was a lot more cutting and sewing sashings than I originally thought. But, I like this one and I bet I will make one more of these before long. I am wanting to finish this one up this week to get it quilted so I can go back to Orca Bay that is staring me in the face begging to be put together. Soon.....very soon! I just realized how off the coloring in this room is with these pictures.I moved my design wall from my sewing room temporarily and I can sure tell the difference in these photos...guess I will be fixing that little problem soon.

Does that ever happen to you? Start something then get derailed and a new project opens up and the old one gets shoved to the side?? Or is that just what happens to me?? Have a great Monday...I am off to get this one off the design wall and start sewing!!

Today, I am linking in with Design Wall Monday with Judy....there are really a lot of great quilts there which offers a lot of inspiration!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...