Thankful Gratitudes & Swedish Chefs

I was struggling with gratitude and the whole count your blessings thing on Monday and Tuesday morning when a lovely customer came in Tuesday around noon and gifted me with a PIF pound of Pecans.

She remembered my dream from last year and totally made my day - this year.
I was focusing on the wrong angle to this holiday and I was reminded, gently, what it is all about.

Someone facebooked me the Swedish Chef from the Muppets cooking that turkey and I am sharing with you. Get your silliness on.

Video 1:


Video 2:


& Video 3:



PIF = Pay It Forward.

Smart Charging Pocket

My sewing for the day.
Today is laundry day. I am busy getting ready to host Thanksgiving here so things need to be baked. Rolls - check. Coconut Macaroons - Done. Pie Crusts - ready in freezer to roll out Wednesday night to make Pumpkin Pies - yes.

November is home of Handmade Holidays over at SewMamaSew.
Today's projects are for the techy (techie?) people in your life.
Saw this - had to make one.

Normally my phone - which has to be charged every night(!) sits on the edge of my island. If you want to bake something, get the toaster out, or make waffles, one is always juggling for space with my phone. This smarty pants phone doesn't take kindly to batter dripping on it or (gasp!) water nearby.

 

Sometimes the cord slithers onto the floor where I live in fear someone with size 10 shoes will flatten the end.  
I didn't have another solution until today.

Coolest thing. Sewed up in twenty minutes flat.
Jet fabric was from my free spoonflower fat quarter I got over Labor Day weekend.

Inner fabric is from Finlayson in Turku, Finland.
I did not hoard these fabrics.
So there.

Now, on to the Butternut Squash Soup.

The Ding Dongs Have Died

Did you hear the news?
Hostess - who makes Twinkies as well as Ding Dongs, has filed bankruptcy.
Rather than work it out with the union, the hedge fund owners have decided not to duke it out with the union.
18,000 jobs lost.

My grandma always kept a box of ding dongs in her freezer for when we visited. To this day, my siblings and I can inhale foil wrapped frozen ding dongs all day long.
Well - not really - I have serious food sensitivities - so my days as a ding dong eater are past.

In the last few years the oddball Hostess offerings were getting  more difficult to find. For a while, Target was stocking Ding dongs.

So Hostess investors will sell off the recipe and image rights to the highest bidder and some dork will try to re-create the Ding Dong.
It won't be the same.

Anyone else have an Hostess memory?

Monster High Doll Bed

My finnish friend's daughter loves Monster High Dolls.
At first, when I was planning my trip this summer, I was thinking why  couldn't she be happy with a barbie? These Monster High dolls are more expensive. And where do you find them? I'm totally out of the toy shopping loop.

But then you start looking at M.H.D.'s and realize they are cooler than they sound. They come with all sorts of very small accessories - the kind that mom's curse the world over.
But to a little girl playing, these tiny items make the experience. The M.H.D.'s come with a story.

My friend tucked some american dollars in my pocket as I left to travel home for some christmas cheer. Sure enough, her annigirl asked for Rebecca and Venus McFlytrap. Oddly enough, these two dolls are sold as a pair - everywhere.
I spent some research time on ebay and found them going for $60 plus shipping. Further research found them at Walmart - ship to store- for $40 for the pair and no shipping costs.

Annigirl also wanted some furniture.

 I bought one Coffee Cafe set at Target but decided to make her a bed.
For my bed, I used a narrow shoebox. I turned the sides under and glued them. Then I used batting and vinyl 'leather' to  make the headboard and endboard. I thought about bringing the 'leather' up over the siderails but decided that was overkill.
I used the same black 'leather' for the mattress and pillow.
This embroidered sheet is screen door fabric.  I was looking for some animal print fake fur and stumbled across this soft screening.
I decided that it had that monster-ish texture and embroidered some plants on it - sort of a coverlet/sheet. Venus McFlytrap riffs a bit off the Little Shop of Horrors.
I saw a custom bed made for Miss Venus with plants twining up the bed posts on etsy.

Cool, but this leather bed is way cooler as it can be used for any of the eleven dolls miss annigirl already has. (plus two = 13 --- wait, there's one more Coffee Bean doll =14)
Ebay and Etsy customers take these accessories for these dolls very seriously - if you are looking for an idea to sell.

 

My "leather mattress" can be taken out to be used as a futon thingy.

I finally found some 'ermine'.
Not sure where the animal print is hiding in my fabric jungle (lol).

Close-up of Venus & Rebecca.

I have figured out two boxes is cheaper to send than one.
I need to run by Joann's tomorrow night for some drawstring cord for a string backpack I made for her son. I am also waiting on my finnish friend's 'last requests'.
She should get the packages well in time for Christmas.

Painting Of The Boys

I commissioned a painting of my dogs as a family Christmas present.
The artist , Sandra Spencer, has sent me two 'proofs'.
I can't decide.

Will you cast your vote? Help me out?








Comment below: numerous uno(1) or dos(2).
Gracias for your input.

Rusty on the left (nearly 11). Rocket on the right (passed away last fall)

Flying Near Sunset

It's been awhile since we have flown at sunset. I forget the lighting is so much better than in the hazy afternoon.
Such a fantastic Indian Summer day. I believe we hit 65'- perfectly warm enough for the last flight of the year. We won't be flying the stearman again until late April.

 Look at these sunrays. Gorgeous display.
The sky was all big dark cloud layers north and towards the coast range - where I imagine it is drizzling by the look of those clouds. 

Down south by Salem and towards the cascade foothills it was all clear. It appeared that my friends on the other side of the cascades (redmond girl- hey you!) had a beautifully clear day as we could see Mt. Jefferson with no clouds wrapped around it's peak.

The farmers have tilled all of their fields in preparation for the winter rains.

The leaves on the trees and nursery plants are all turning -- providing gorgeous reds, yellows and oranges in contrast to the cloudy skies.

 A perfect end to Laundry Day.

Space can be at a premium with three airplanes in the hangar. Stearman with wings off for storage is behind our flying stearman. J-5 cub is in pieces -- everywhere.

Laundry Day

 My Sunday turned out to be dry and warm .  Our Indian Summer continues.
This plane flew in to visit. My husband bought a project just like this one so they were talking J-5 stuff.

Photos to share:

Fall colors in this bed. We had some 'almost frosts' which toasted the hostas in the foreground. The others are still going strong with one re-blooming.

 Garden Nasturciums came back from the almost frost with a vengeance.

 Dahlias still going strong.

 Blueberry plants all turning color. The next wind will make the leaves disappear.

 Rusty with his marrow bone. He can see me in the garden and the guys in the hangar. All of his peoples must remain in his view.

 The million dollar question? Will my butternut squash ripen in time???

 The almost frost nailed half of the leaves. If they can make it until Thanksgiving, that's when we get a good frost around here. Please ripen. I want butternut squash soup for Thanksgiving dinner.

 My pajama pants I sewed last sunday (raining). Very comfortable cotton knit.

 Pocket detail. I made adjustments to my PJ pattern to include this pocket. No bulky seam layers with just a single layer to add to the front piece to make the pocket. All sewing done with my serger and coverstitch machines.

Made  two small apple pies for hubby today. Trying to talk him into flying today. Definitely our last chance before weather turns warm again in the spring.

But we just paid bills - including those high property taxes we get for living in Canbyland.
Avgas is pricey.

Slow cooking a roast this afternoon and maybe I will work on my Japanese sewing projects.
During lunch at work, I am doing yoga on Tuesday and Thursdays (Lilia's Yoga and you DVD) and reading and sewing the other two lunch hours. Sometimes I go for a walk if it's not too windy (hello hair) or rainy.  Trying my best to take breaks and not succeeding.
The stress at work has plateaued and it is what it is. Especially through Christmas.

The being two steps behind at work is actually helpful to me sticking to eating well and taking care of myself. I am not making poor food choices as often -because I cannot afford to deal with the reactions. Working six days a week forces me to be vigilant about my health and in a weird twisted way, 50 hrs/wk is good for me.
Being busy takes away the focus on how sick I am. There's a lot to be said to just 'ignoring' my auto-immune issues and moving forward.

I promised myself I would get a better attitude about this work situation on or before Nov. 1 and having a deadline to find something positive in it (or else!) caused me to come up with positives.

I am learning new programs constantly and my efficiency at work is at an all-time high.
On laundry day, I make sure my laundry is done for the week (duh) and also something like soup or a chicken has been cooked for easy meals for the week.

I took advantage of the dry day today to pull my tomato plants for the year and spread lime on the garden soil. I also turned over the big weeds. I plan to spread some compost this fall also but not today. Putting the garden to bed.

My liquid vitamin B complex has come through in more regulated energy throughout the day - especially at the nap-time hour. I utilize more of the vitamins in this liquid form.

My voodoo-hippee doctor is now offering Saturday hours of which I am taking advantage of to keep my energy paths open and flowing positively. This is all part of taking care of myself.   'cause when I am feeling good, I tend to be a positive person. The negativity is directly related to not feeling well or not dealing with overwhelming stress well.

The safety issues with my older parents have all been accomplished and they are good to go until we re-assess in the Springtime.

Thanksgiving is around the corner and I'm having it at my house as this is less stressful in my family dynamics. The plus side? We get all the turkey smells lingering at my house. Feel good smells.