Sunflowers Are A Sign

The garden is entering it's glory. I'll have enough tomatoes by this weekend to start canning them. I'm pretty simple - stewed tomatoes are simple and easy and QUICK. I use pint jars so if someone needs two cups of tomatoes for a recipe, we're good.

I tried really hard with the garden this year. A big plus is that my family crisis's got moved to the back burner. The forced overtime at work is still difficult, so free time is at a premium. 

I decided to try not blogging to free up some time. Well that was a fail. Pretty soon the photos pile up and I start hiding from dealing with them. Then my iphone told me I'd reached a cloud limit. Well, actually, it sounded like apple was threatening me. Solution was to deal with photos.

By blogging a little bit instead of a lot.

I don't keep most of these photos. I do have files set up on my desktop for Flowers, Family and what I've made. This makes it easier to transfer to the external hard drive. Still hiding, but a little more organized. The rest of the photos are deleted.

Wendy's Wish Salvia

The grapes are turning colors

I have this week off work. I'm trying a liver cleanse (2 -3 weeks) in an effort to get some relief from the SIBO bloating and inflammation. I was ready for some quiet to concentrate on this particular diet. I'm only on day five, so it's too soon to have an idea if it's helpful.

I already eat a very restrictive diet because of the Leaky Gut/auto-immune responses. This time, I am giving up chocolate (and sugar)for three weeks  and meat for the next five days. Vegetarian is not something I've tried as I'm allergic to some veggies and getting enough protein to get through the long work day is difficult.

But I don't have to work so I timed this part to coincide with days off.
I use chocolate for stress and for extra calories to get through my work days. I had wanted to try something like this for a while but... yeah.

In sewing news, I made another pair of work shorts. My red ribbon (fair!) blue shorts from last year are getting a tad faded and worn. All that blue thread on blue fabric makes my eyes twitch with all the top-stitching involved.

I will say, this new pair probably won't win a ribbon for even top-stitching. And I mixed up my pockets (six!). I put the side pocket on the back side. NO worries - not ripping that off - because the pocket flap on the side seam pocket mostly fit.

 After sewing miles of topstitching, I was ready for some fun sewing. These are my favorite M&M's, Peanut Butter. But have you tried the new coffee flavored ones? A customer brought in some he found at Walgreen's and they were pretty tasty. I had just started this diet so I ate two and passed the packet off to my co-worker with strict instructions not to show them to me.

Anyway - you just cut apart the bag and sew it  back together with some lining fabric and a zipper. Cute little pouches already destined to two nephews and one lucky friend.

 I pondered for a while on how much to charge for these in my etsy store but I'm not sure I would ever sell one. I sell my other zippy's for $18 - 22 dollars. Would you pay $20 for this small snack-size pouch? It will hold coins, other small stuff, two regular small packets of m&m's.

When I don't think I can get enough for my time or trouble, I gift my makes. Crazy attitude.

But do you know how long it took me to get to charging $18? Here in Canby, I'd be lucky to sell a small zippy bag for two bucks.

 I used the backs too with their UPC codes.

Inside is the bottom of the bag stitched on as a 'label'.

Sunflowers just mean summer is coming to a close and autumn beginning. You can already see the leaves turning.
It's hot here this week but the nights cool down fast - another sign.

I've got a long list of things to do this week, but I'm concentrating on sewing in the morning and listing on etsy in the hotter afternoons.
I still need to finish digging my potatoes and another basil snip and dry.
I am also trying to re-organize my stuff. Mostly with the thought of not looking at it where it got laid down with good intentions.

For this liver cleanse, I am also concentrating on eating more to keep certain cravings at bay. I've had many conversations with my docs about eating more to actually lose weight. I am relying entirely too much on chocolate so I am hopeful I can get that energy craving to a back burner. I don't eat sugar as a rule except in chocolate.

Happy End of Summer thoughts to you.

Easter Basket

I needed a fast gift for Easter.
To hold all the candy.

I turned to my clothesline and 45 minutes later  --Ta Da!
Very satisfying craft.

 I went with pink and purple threads. I wanted the basket to be big enough to hold the candy and tried a racetrack oval for the bottom with success.

I switched out thread and bobbins several times to get the striping and then I wanted the beefy handles at the end - utilizing three rows of clothesline. 

I use my wonder clips to mark the start and end of the handles and eyeball it to make sure they are evenly sized. For this, I find using the white/natural color thread to be useful. If you make one handle super gigantic, it's easy to sew it down more to match without anyone knowing.

I finished it with a swirl and hand-tacked the swirl down. Very nice work.

  We are taking easter dinner over to the sister who is deeply depressed. We're trying for a group - en masse - all six of us - effect.  No pressure - just doing what you do - on Easter.

This will be supportive without being threatening.

I've got a spiral ham and scalloped potatoes in the oven warming up. A pretty tablecloth and napkins, some flowers, and some easter candy for the nephew. 

My pretty tulips despite the daily drizzle. We're all whining about no sun here. Although, I am glad we are not moving house in the daily drizzle (Like someone I know) and this type of winter weather only comes around every ten years or so.

Happy Easter everyone. 

 

 

 
 

Birthday Fabric

Can you ever have enough fabric?

'My ORE' -upper right. 'Seattle, WA' lower left.

Sewing themed embroidery transfer

These are from Boersma's in McMinnville.

I was recently asked to sew something involving solids. The gal at the fabric store says my version of solids is tone on tone. You can see that in the blue and gray yarn-dyed fabric above. Straight solids are so boring. These will look like solids from afar, but up close, they will have hidden depths.

Plus, I'm becoming a fan of Yoko Saito, designer of japanese taupe patchworks.
Third photo is of infamous hotels which happened to say 'ORE', SEATTLE, WA, & Japan twice - perfect for fussy cutting.
Half is going to japanese friend.

Last photo is of sewing embroidery theme transfers. On sale in the basement.

Pencil Girl and I started our day in the parking lot of Beavertown's Mill End Store.
I had purchased this pattern and fabric on a Craftsy sale two years ago (!) and still had not sewn it up. Pencil Girl offered to tissue fit for me.
In the parking lot.
Very helpful figuring out if I needed an FBA (full bust adj.) or darts or ???
Now I'm all set to cut out my fabric and sew.
{no bets; got 7 weeks of vacation coverage = 12-hr split work days + overtime ahead of me.}
Afterwards, we went inside to find a knit and stretch lace for her pattern review once a month sewing challenge.
She's making a t-shirt with lace over the shoulder part.
I seriously do not know how people shop for fabric online. We touched every piece in that store several times trying to find something that coordinated.

Selfie of us with our j. garden hats.

Is this the seed packet Janine told me to buy - which is all in Japanese?  leaves smell like cinnamon and lemon?

Mill End happens to be next door to Uwajimaya - japanese grocery.
A favorite of mine - there is a book store that sells gifts in the RH back corner.

Pencil Girl gave me this tea set. A coaster and a drawstring bag to hold tea bags. Cute, cute, cute.

We had lunch at Olive Garden, had a truffle at Moonstruck Chocolates and visited a luscious yarn store where we saw muskox yarn at $95/skein.

Teresa's sister brought back some yarn with possum from New Zealand.
I just wonder who gets to gather the hair!

All in all, a very nice birthday, anniversary, and mom's day weekend.

I found this little Moda birdie fabric for Janine at Mill End. Whenever I manage to send off her package.  . . . .

Tomorrow , I've got some baby back ribs planned with some yard work before it starts raining on monday.

September is GONE!

September sure zipped on by.
Thanks to the Rural Mail Carrier Mail Count, begging people to mail stuff to me, I received two packages as well as several letters.
I received other packages but they were the boring vitamins & fabric purchases that I made.
These were from friends.

The first one, I did not expect at all. All I did was comment how lovely the table topper turned out and the following week, it was in my hands!
My Japanese/Oregon friend, Crafty Tokyo Mama, loves to sew too and is constantly making the most amazing creations. I love the blues in this. She was fiddling around with matching fabric on the center motif as she could only make it whole by sewing the half motifs together. Her seams are perfect and one would never know about the seam if she hadn't of said something.

My before photo was boring cream - lamp and knitted doily.
One rarely sees a knitted doily but the sister of a neighbor makes them.
It can find another home because I am loving the blue fabrics that Crafty Tokyo Mama chose.

My second package arrived from a finnish friend when I confessed to withdrawal symptoms of Salmiakki. Salmiakki is a particular finnish taste for salted licorice. The Fazer Salmiakki bar is salted licorice encased in chocolate. Rather addicting. And if you can't read finnish then there are probably no calories or anything that I am terribly allergic to. lol.

I did not buy enough to bring home while traveling there this summer. Most of my haul went to neighbors who watched the dog, the kids, and other deserving people.
The Fazerina bar is truffle filled chocolate. The geisha bar which contains hazelnuts also contains wheat.

I have a stash to keep me happy for a few months.



My work situation grew another mile in the good & bad categories. I am now in charge of my office which, unfortunately,  curtails my other life. Big grumble there. However, it will be good for me as I will be learning lots of new government rules to confound you with. The other flip side is that 60 man-hours per week is being pushed onto me at 45 hours per week. The pressure of being hung out to dry is pretty fun too.

I do have a much better boss now. She's going into Portland on a detail assignment that is perfect for her but that leaves me with no help.

This is my Saturday haul from the garden. All of my potatoes are now dug and more tomatoes picked. Hubby is going to try making V-8 juice.

I can't eat Tomatoes (nightshade veggie), although I can usually tolerate the occasional one. I suspect it is because my garden tomatoes are not genetically altered. In any case, we still have stewed tomatoes from last year and because of my new-found workload, I had decided to let the tomatoes go.

But "Waste not, Want not" hubby decided to make the V-8 juice.
Tomatoes were picked over a week ago.

Which sat there.

Probably moldering - hence the newly picked tomatoes which were next to the potatoes.

This project is threatening to suck me in big time but I am holding firm.
Hubby has watched me can but never participated. He is already knee-deep into his amazing whining act of, "I need help." (double whine).

Part of my marriage behavior is to help my husband but he returns the favor rarely and seems not to value my help enough to respect my available time. To keep me sane while I am trying to learn new jobs at the paying job and retain some time for me, I need to get better at saying, "NO".


I have a work sewing friend who is also trying to understand the mid-life depression her hubby has sunk under so I made a card for her this morning.
Basically it was a red fabric heart sewn  onto my stationary with a note written, "Sewing is necessary to keep the insanity at bay. Knitting & Crochet count."

I mailed it today as a little pick me up note while she is going through a rough patch. She's working 12 hr. days whilst hubby is unemployed. Working long hours leaves practically no time for her creativity to help keep her on an even keel.

Sewing certainly keeps me sane.




*** As far as the Rural Mail Carrier Mail count goes, it ended today. Results should be in next week. My carrier, who is a total jewel, did great with only his letter count decreased. Everything else is up.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

June.     Oregon.     Hood Strawberries.

Because I couldn't resist.


My second child is graduating college tomorrow.
We're having a tailgate party prior to the pat-downs and the looks-like-it-might-take-awhile graduation ceremony.
First Lady Michelle Obama is speaking.

My son is graduating.
Both my children have earned college degrees. I am unbelievably proud.
This was my hope.
To have it realized brings me to tears.


I am bringing Strawberry Shortcake. The Hood Strawberries are cut and sugared. The chocolate covered strawberries have their beautiful coats on. I still need to make the shortcakes. It's all coming together.

Gluten Free White Birthday Cake

Bakery Girl's Gluten Free White Cake

1 cup Butter
1 Cup Sugar
4 Eggs & 1 Yolk
3/4 tsp Hazelnut Extract
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/3 Cup Millet Flour
2/3 Cup Sorghum Flour
1/3 Cup Tapioca or Potato Starch
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp  Salt

Preheat oven to 350'.
Grease & Flour cake pans. I used 2x 8" pans.

Mix all flours, bak. pwd. & salt. Set aside.

Beat butter with electric mixer until light & fluffy.

Add sugar, beat again for several minutes until light & fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating 2 minutes after each egg.

Add extracts.

Fold flour mixture carefully so as to not lose the light softness that you spent several minutes mixing in.

Pour into/ fold into  prepared cake pans and smooth surface as best as you can.

Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out shiny but not sticky - around 18 - 20 minutes. (I needed 22 minutes -- 8" pans?)

Remove from pans after about 10 minutes and let cool.

Because of the double extracts, this smells devine out of the oven. Mmm.
Be sure to beat and beat some more. Goal is to incorporate lots of air into this batter.

When queried, the birthday girl requested chocolate frosting. I made a simple buttercream.
Loose measurements are:

1/3 cup softened butter beaten with mixer.
Add two cups of Powdered sugar and beat so butter sticks to sugar.
Add about 1 capful from the jug of milk (~ tbsp)
Add 1 -2 squares of unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled a bit.
Add several Tbsps of powdered cocoa.
Add 1 capful of milk again until it starts looking like frosting.
Add up to two cups more of powdered sugar
Maybe another capful of milk

To spreading consistency. Finger licking is necessary.

And then - because I don't stock birthday candles or other decorations anymore, be creative for the decorations.
I had little valentine colored sprinkles that made the chocolate pop. Cute.
You could also utilize some flag toothpicks by glueing a triangle of paper to the tips as a flag.

And here was the best deal: Gluten-free baking (whatever your reasons) is done well by the combination of select & certain flours. Of which you buy the entire bag from Bob's Red Mill and because you infrequently bake (my health problems go beyond gluten), you are stuck with the remainder - all these bags piled into the fruit drawer of your fridge. I asked for and got nicely, the precise amount of flours direct from bakery girl. Beyond helpful to me.

A moist, light cake.

Technically, the extracts are in an alcohol (grain) base. Feel free to substitute but be mindful of the liquid replacement value.
Those specialty bags of flour store longer in the fridge.
Since the butter has salt in it, I added just a sprinkle.
I had minimal problems eating this cake. Two slices over two days.