The Week in Review

I was so busy this week with work and stuff, that there's only one post for today and I only wrote it last night.

I think this was all the sewing I did all week -- one postcard, and I already gave it away.Here's the detail of the ribbon border.My garden is making progress although I still don't think the pepper plant will make it. I have 4-5 small squashes and one tomato cooking out in the 95-degree heat. But they seem to like it. (Unlike me.)

Here's a new "sandwich" I've been making and enjoying for the last week or so. I start with a tortilla (130 calories) spread with onion-and-chive cream cheese (35 calories per tablespoon, but I doubt if I use that much -- it's spread pretty thin).Then I add lettuce (negligible calories!) and roasted red pepper (about 20 calories).I missed photographing the next step, but I cover the entire top of the tortilla with four very thin slices of deli lunch meat (40 calories) and 1/2 slice of Swiss cheese that doesn't cover the entire top (about 70 calories). Then I roll it up* and cut it into two or more pieces. The smaller pieces make cute little pinwheels.Yummy, filling, and under 300 calories!
*Note: Spritzing both sides of the tortilla with water and letting it sit between two paper towels for 10-15 minutes will allow it to roll without tearing.

Finally, a week ago we were on our way to the assisted living facility where my in-laws live when James spotted a purple desk chair sitting out as part of a yard sale. I've wanted a chair for the sewing room but haven't found the right thing at the right price (cheap). We stopped, and I went and checked out the chair. It seem to be stable and intact. The main problem was that the fabric part was really, really stained and dirty. I inspected the way the chair was put together and determined that it would be possible to replace the fabric, so I inquired as to the price. $5.00. When I offered the lady a $10 bill or four $1 bills, she took the four ones and the chair came home with us. This week as I was measuring the seat and back for new fabric, it occurred to me to try and clean the chair first. If it didn't come clean, there was nothing lost but a little time and effort. I wish I had taken a "before" picture. Here is the "after." I'm not buying new fabric.

Heart Sewn

Until fairly recently, I had never heard of Etsy. It's similar to Ebay, but it's only for handmade crafts, vintage items, and craft supplies. I have been making and giving away baby bibs for years, and everyone always remarks, "You should sell these." So now I am. You can find my Etsy store here, or at HeartSewn.etsy.com. I have about 50 bibs made up, but I'm listing a few every other day or so because the default sort for searches is "Most Recently Listed." I may also list some of the fabric postcards I've been making.

Thanks and kudos go to my young friend, Liz, who created my Etsy shop banner from these pictures I sent her. This is a hand-painted recipe box that was given to me as a wedding gift by my (then) pastor's wife almost 35 years ago! It's stuffed full of 3x5 recipe cards that are just about as stained and worn as the box!

Garden Update

My small garden is coming along. We had to put up a bunny fence after it was apparent that something larger than an insect had been eating the pepper leaves. The plant didn't look well, but it is now starting to put out some new leaves, so hopefully it will recover. I didn't intend to pick this pepper (not planning to pickle it either) so soon, but when I touched it, it fell off, so here it is... my first fruit of the garden. The next picture will give you an idea of the actual size.




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Impressive, huh?

The Winning Ticket

Shortly before I went to Tampa, I visited a used bookstore three miles or so from home. It was the first time I'd been there. They mostly have paperbacks and mostly current fiction or classics. I did find three or four books of interest. While there, I filled out a slip to win a $20 gift certificate. The owner called me on Monday to tell me that I'd won! It's not quite as big a prize as I won last August, but I'll take it anyway.

I Learned a New Word

I bought something from the Kroger deli and learned that the container was microwaveable and ovenable to 400 degrees. I didn't know that ovenable was a word. (The spell-check feature in Blogger doesn't know it either.)

Sewing Update

I finally got around to cutting out the jacket that I told you about a few weeks ago. It's nice to have a long dining room table. I figured I'd better hop to it before summer is over because if this project gets put away for winter, it could never see the light of day again.The selvage edge is actually sewn. It's hard to tell from this photo, but there's a tiny stitch running through the scalloped edge. (It also is not a good color representation -- the bottom photo is truer to the actual color.) I used my "muslin" to determine the length of the short sleeve I wanted, and then took the sample jacket apart and used the "muslin" for my pattern. I decided to use this scalloped edge for the finished hem of the sleeve. Since I prewashed and dried the fabric, I'm pretty sure that it won't ever come unraveled, and I think it will add a nice touch. (And save me one step -- hemming the sleeves!)

OCD Kicks in Again

This is my very favorite lotion. (It's actually called "Body Cream" and I like it better than the lotion because it feels less sticky.)
I have to get every last speck possible out of any tubes, cans, or bottles of anything. Here's my lotion solution.No, it's not a smaller tube. This is what it looks like when I need to use it.Yep, I cut it in half so that I can get the last little bit left at both ends of the tube. It's not like I don't have more. When Bath & Body Works discontinued this fragrance (Don't you hate that?!), I bought everything I could at 75% off. So I've got about six or seven more tubes waiting when this one is finished. And I mean really finished.

A Summertime Cat

Here's my newest cat that Phillip gave me for Mother's Day. Watermelon, anyone?

I think they make an ointment for this type of problem.

Tampa Trip - Baseball

I had a great time in Tampa last weekend visiting Phillip. After he picked me up at the airport, we killed a little time and then headed to Tropicana Field where the Tampa Bay Rays play. I didn't know anything about the team and didn't care too much who won the game, but I love baseball and the opportunity to see a different major league park. The week before I went, my first surprise was to learn that it's a domed stadium. Here's what it looks like from the road. It really does have a tilted roof.This really cool tiled walkway leads up to the main entrance where the startling line-ups are posted.The first thing that caught my attention inside was this water fountain alcove.This view as well as the game confirmed what I already knew: I don't like indoor baseball on astroturf.There's a "petting tank" of sting rays in right centerfield. The back side of the tank is accessible in a children's area. Phillip says it's the only major league live mascot that's in mortal danger from homeruns!The ceiling -- the roofline is higher behind home plate where there are several decks of seating and lower in the outfield where there is no upper deck.Before the game started, Phillip and I were able to walk all the way around the stadium. It seems very small compared to Turner Field. We had to laugh at the so-called "Party Deck" in the outfield. My picture was too fuzzy to use, but there are disco balls hanging in the concourse area, and the only "party-goers" we saw were at least 70 years old. We didn't stay 'til the end, but Tampa won the game, and it was fun.

Tampa Trip - Aquarium

Tampa has a nice aquarium and we spent an enjoyable morning there.JellyfishSeahorses

Lime? Jello

I'm making a jello recipe that will be for tonight's dessert. It uses four different colors of jello, so I checked my pantry to see what I might already have on hand. Since I already had green, I bought red, blue, and purple. If the recipe turns out well, I'll share. Otherwise, you'll just have to wonder.

When I began to make the jello, I took a closer look at what I thought was lime jello. Limited Edition? Jello?

Here's what it actually is.

Gee, the kids are coming. Can I legally serve margarita jello to preschoolers? And maybe I should have kept the package intact. After all, most Limited Edition things tend to increase in value as time goes by. There went my kids' inheritance.

Still a Good Thing

One of my early posts when I first started blogging was about a pet comb called the Furminator. My high praise for this product has not changed, nor has Blinky's enthusiasm for it.

Kaleidoscopes Squares

Kaleidoscope Squares were next on my list of Intrigued-Gotta-Try-This. First, I started with a fabric with a large-scale print. This fabric is left from a pair of pajamas I made for Phillip when he was a teenager. I think he's still wearing the pants!I cut four identical six-inch squares.Then the squares are cut into triangles. Then, four of the identical triangles are put back together to make four different squares. See if you can make heads or tails out of this:
Yikes! Who knew that this one would form a swastika? I think that it will mostly disappear when the seams are sewn.This one is pretty while laid out, but unfortunately the orange center is going to disappear into the seam.Here's Blinky watching while I chain stitch the pieces. Looks like a length of pennants.Here's what I did with the finished squares -- more postcards.