Domesticity Revisited

I was asked to post pictures of my sewing machine, so here they are. Notice the TV to the right.



And this is the spinach quiche I made last week. It looked great on top but the pie crust wasn't completely done in the center. If I had left it in longer, the top crust would have burned. My oven is sort of crappy.

Domesticity

Here are some things I did over the weekend that have been unusually domestic for yours truly:

• Set up my sewing machine (finally!)
  Last weekend, I decided to clear out some of the stuff in the back bedroom. It had basically been turned in to a junk room where we put all of the stuff we have no place for. I finally got tired of not being able to walk through it, so I started throwing out things and consolidating boxes. I cleared off some of the junk on a little dressing table that is a family heirloom and Sunday, I decided to set up my sewing machine on that table. I got it all set up, threaded (I had forgotten how to do it and was glad the manual was in the box) and even sewed a little something but it turned out kind of bad. In my defense, I wasn't using a pattern, so I didn't cut the fabric even, which made the stitches not parallel. Oh, well, it wasn't too bad for being the first time to sew in 15 years!
  
  Then yesterday while I was at work, MK hooked up a TV for me in that room. We have this thing that mounts it to the wall, so it is to the right of my sewing table. The antenna isn't hooked up yet, but I can still watch DVDs whenever I'm sewing or doing a craft project. I'm glad that room is slowly becoming useful.
  
  Here are some projects I'd like to do eventually (I'm ambitious)
  -Square-Bottomed Canvas Bucket (to hold living room junk/clutter)
  -Hip Mama Diaper Bag (to give as baby shower gifts)
  -Coffee Cozy (to give as miscellaneous gifts or for myself)
  -Camera Cozy (for gifts)
  -Beautiful Tote Bag (for myself)
  

• Made shrimp dip
  I was looking through recipe books trying to find some light summer meals since I haven't had much of an appetite lately (this is a good thing!) when I came across a shrimp dip recipe. It looked easy and I decided to try it so we'd have something to snack on. I will list the recipe if you are interested:
  
  Shrimp Dip
  4-1/2 oz. can tiny shrimp, drained and rinsed
  8 0z package of cream cheese, softened
  1/4 cup of sour cream
  1 package dry Italian dressing
  2 tbsp lemon juice
  
  All you do is mix all the ingredients together. I suggest you make sure the cream cheese is very soft because when I made mine, the cream cheese was very hard to mix with the other ingredients and it basically pulverized my shrimp. You might want to mix everything minus the shrimp together and then add the shrimp at the end. Chill in the fridge for 3 hours before serving. Serve with crackers or pita chips. Enjoy!
  
  
• Played nurse (sorta)
  Well, I thought I had some others but I guess that was it. On a different note, MK has sciatica. We are treating it with anti-inflammatories and arthritis pain medication. It seems to be helping and I read that it will most likely go away in 2-3 weeks.
  
  

Hooray for creativity and domesticity!!!

What I Did This Week

I haven't painted a mural for two or three years now, and I remember why. It's very demanding. I love the creation process, but by the middle of the job, I'm very ready to be finished. I've also discovered that even though regular craft paint is non-toxic and water based, I have developed a physical reaction to it. I've had a headache and stuffy nose the entire time I've been working on my latest commission. So, unless it's someone very special, or something I desperately want to do, I will decline most future requests.

I did two rooms for a former co-worker. I love her dearly and miss being with her. She has a little boy and this is what we painted for his room.


She also has a baby girl, and this is what we added for her.


I can tell I'm getting too old to be crawling around on the floor trying to paint details on a wall. My body is yelling at me. But, I'm glad I did it, and am reasonably pleased with the result.

shirt sleeves to yoga capris - CraftStylish

I just realized that I never posted this:

shirt sleeves to yoga capris - CraftStylish

Posted using ShareThis

Kreativ Blogger tag from LeLe.

Ok, I'll do it.

The Rules:
As an award recipient, I am asking you to do the following:
List seven things that you love and then pass the award on to seven bloggers that you love! Be sure to tag them and let them know they have won. You can copy the picture of the award and paste it on your sideboard letting the whole world know...you are Kreativ!

1. Gardening. I'm in the process of redoing my front flower beds. I want something that is low maintenance, but I can add a splash of something new every Spring. It gives me a peace to be in the dirt and work towards creating something that will be pretty.

2. Reading. I love historical fiction with some romance thrown in. And I love fantasy/sci-fi. I also love to look at home decorating and craft magazines.

3. Painting. I've been trying to do a few things that I might be able to sell. Christmas stockings and such. I've been considering trying to make my own garden flags and I have a frame that needs an original painting. Still trying to decide just what to put in it.

4. Sewing. I have been thinking about creating some personalized items. Also thinking about getting back into cross stitching. When I had small children, I made probably half of their clothes. Especially LeLe. One Easter I made a frilly lavender dress for her, and a jumpsuit for Jared. I even painted on that for him.


This one was cross stitched.



I just finished hemming three pairs of pants for SR's great aunt who in Crown Point, an assisted living facility. At one time, I did this sort of thing for friends, and a little extra dough, but I'm not so crazy about that idea these days.

5. Cooking. I didn't used to like this much. But now that I have plenty of time and I'm not rushed, I actually enjoy cooking. Especially for a special occasion. LeLe's birthday is Monday. Woo hoo. Gonna try something new for that, Chicken Alfredo. Wish me luck.

6. Organization. I dislike clutter. I remember that years ago, when my kids were small, the house was full of little knick knacks. Some I bought, most I made. It was hard to dust and you couldn't really apreciate what was there, because there was just too much. Now I'm more of a "Less is more" person and you can actually see what I do have. I also have a hard time functioning in a space that is not clear and organized. Even when I was working, I would get all antsy and uptight if my workspace was unorganized.

6. Keeping a neat/clean house. I suppose this goes along with #6. I'm not the neat freak some people seem to think, but I do love a nice looking place that is not dirty. I wouldn't say I actually enjoy housework, but I love the results of a day of cleaning.

I'm a Kreativ Blogger!

Thanks so much to Laura over at Lulu Land for the Kreativ Blogger award!

The Rules:

As an award recipient, I am asking you to do the following:

List seven things that you love and then pass the award on to seven bloggers that you love! Be sure to tag them and let them know they have won. You can copy the picture of the award and paste it on your sideboard letting the whole world know...you are Kreativ!

Here are my seven things...

1. Teaching Sunday School
   I really do love it. The girls are starting to open up to me more and more each week and I get a sense of peace because I'm following God's call.
   
   
2. Getting paid for a skill other than my job
   A friend from high school recently paid me a generous amount for editing her dissertation proposal. It's nice to be able to offer a service and get paid in return, especially if it's something you enjoy doing. And often, you learn in the process!
   
   
3. Music
   Music makes me happy, whether its Classical, 80s, Grunge, College Rock, or Hymns. I love it all and the past few days I've been listening to a combination of Vivaldi, David Bowie, Falco, Radiohead, Muse, and the Twilight Score; I definitely have eclectic taste. I played for a wedding this past weekend and the flautist and I played an awesome version of "Be Thou My Vision" in addition to "The Doxology" and "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring/Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee." And we played "Canon in D" with flute, violin, and piano. It was beautiful.
   
   
4. Traveling
   Going to the mountains tomorrow and I can't wait. We're even debating on whether or not we should leave tonight and stay in a cheap motel because we're so excited to leave! I'm even excited to go to Wal-mart to pick out the stuff we need for the trip...that's saying a lot because I HATE Wal-mart!!!
   
   
5. Netflix
   MK and I recently subscribed to Netflix. We have the one-DVD-at-a-time plan, but it's great. Often, we don't have enough time to watch a movie and when you rent them and run out of time, it's your loss. You can send Netflix back whenever you want! Before we got signed up for Netflix, we were also enjoying Redbox, which only charges $1 per night. So, if you run out of time, you'll only be charged an extra $1 rather than upwards of $3 for a late fee. And the great thing about Netflix is all the weirdo independent movies we want to see that we just can't justify renting! They even have TV shows, which is great because we don't have satellite anymore. AND they have lots of BBC series available that wouldn't even be available on BBC American even if we did have satellite.
   
   
6. Click2Mail.com
   I stumbled upon this awesome service when I went to the postal service website to research post cards for an upcoming sorority mail-out. Imagine my delight when they suggested this link, which is a way to send out direct mail without touching paper or stamps! I was able to design the postcard for a meeting annoucement, upload my Excel spreadsheet mailing list, and they do all the work by printing and sending them out. Easy as pie and soooooo time-saving! It didn't cost much extra...maybe a few cents per mailing for the processing fee, but when you think about all the time you save in addition to the paper you would have to purchase anyway, it's a steal.
   
   
7. Crystal Light
   Thank God for Crystal Light! I am dieting and this stuff is helping me to drink plenty of water. My favorite so far is the pomegranate lemonade. Tasty!

So, I'm tagging the following seven awesome, "kreativ" bloggers in no particular order:

Erin

Sooz

Mom

Les

Chelle (since you haven't posted in foreva!)

Jennie (see Chelle...haha)

Sarah

Quiet

It's been a very quiet time for me. I'm able to enjoy God's beautiful world, and His peace. I've been watching the birds in my backyard a lot. The squirrels try to steal the seeds, and I have to run them off every morning. I got some shots this morning though, of some of the more colorful visitors to my feeders.


Quite the showman eh? He seems to be posing for me.



Blue Jays are very quick, and I was able to get this just after he left the feeder. Looks like he's doing a little grooming.




This gentleman visits rarely. I've only seen him twice this winter, and Steve has seen him one other time.

My chickadees have disappeared. I don't know if it is because I ran out of their favorite sunflower seeds, or they have simply moved on. But I miss them.

I also tried my hand at doing a little close up of the jonquils that are surprisingly still blooming.


I've been doing a bit of painting as well, since I now have time...