Jar of Salad

I stumbled across something on a blog that, I kid you not, has become life-changing for us.  We are huge fans of salad, but so many times when I buy all the veggies that we like some of them, especially the lettuce, seems to go bad before we eat it all.  And with all the negative press that prepackaged bags of salad get I’m just  not as excited about buying them as I used to.

This is it – Jar O’ Salad!  I’m not going to put all the steps here as it’s not my idea, but hop over to the Salad In A Jar blog and see how she does it.

 

Basically I buy the lettuce we like, wash it, spin and put it in jars sealed with the Food Saver about once a week now and we are good to go.  I used wide-mouth quart size jars for “salad for two” and the wide-mouth pint size jars for salad jars that I can grab and eat for lunch.

Because I’m only messing with the cleaning and prep work once a week we don’t have lettuce going bad.  And the healthy benefit is that it is so easy to reach in the fridge and grab of jar for dinner.

By the way, the photo of the single jar up above?  That lettuce is 8 days old in that jar.  We ate it for dinner that night and it’s just as good as the day I sealed it.

 

* Linking to Works For Me Wednesday

Cable Baby Blanket

The baby blessings are all around and that means quite a few knitted baby blankets.  The wonderful thing is that there are so many beautiful patterns and yarns to try, so every blanket will be unique and fun to knit.

 

This blanket was knit for a dear friend’s daughter’s baby boy.  He isn’t due for a couple of weeks yet, but he did try to make an early appearance.  I guess he just can’t wait to get here and meet his new family!  Fortunately he changed his mind.  :)

 

The pattern is the Cable Blanket from the Debbie Bliss book Simply Baby.  This is one of the very few times I’ve bought a knitting pattern book with really the intention of only knitting one pattern.  But the knit and purl cable really struck me and once you fall in love with a pattern there’s not much else you can do.

 

I used Knit Picks Shine Sport yarn and the color is Hydrangea.  I *love* this yarn – it knits up so soft and has great stitch definition.  Really there is only one negatives to the yarn - the fact that it comes 110 yard/50 gram balls which means there are a lot of ends to weave in.   But the finished product is so wonderful that it’s worth it.

Now to wait patiently for him to get here so I can get a picture of him with his blanket.   Prayers are with the family as we wait. 

 

* Linking to Get Your Craft On, Toot Your Horn Tuesday, Take A Look Tuesday, Topsy Turvy Tuesday, We Did It Wednesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday

Sunsets From God

We were able to spend some time this weekend at the lake – just the two of us and the dog and our daughter.  Because the weather was mostly overcast and rainy it turned into a very relaxing respite from a busy week.  Even though we didn’t do much in the way of ordinary lake activities, we did have a great time together.

Saturday night we did take the boat out and while we were at the gas dock I looked across and saw the restaurant.  It’s on the 2nd level and the 1st level is just support for it to float.  Now interesting, to us anyway, the lake flooded in 2007 and this restaurant was under water.  When you go in now there is a line high up by the ceiling – on the 2nd level mind you – that shows how high the water got.  They rebuilt and it’s become quite a hub on the lake.

 

With the fall weather here we opted to sit outside on the patio while we had dinner.  It was so enjoyable to watch the boats below us and the waitress was telling us stories of some of the things she’d seen on the water.  :)

 

After dinner we headed home, seeing some of the boats coming in for the night.

 

And as we were riding in the boat, Lynne’ and I up at the very front to fully appreciate the incredible sunset, well to be honest we were a bit overcome.

The colors of the sunset were beyond stunning.  Lynne’ turned to me and said “Sometimes when you see something like this, you know that God has done this purely for us to enjoy.  And this is a perfect example of what the word awesome truly means.”

I couldn’t agree with her more.  Thank you Father for all the awesome things you give us to see and enjoy.  And may we never lose the wonderment and enjoyment of your creations.

 

* Linking to Spiritual Sundays

Friday’s Fave Five #107

I have been Snoopy Dancing all morning because it’s Friday!  Most definitely I do not want to wish my life away or for it to go any faster than it already does, but I’m also most definitely looking forward to the weekend.  :)  Check out more Friday’s Fave Five or join in – it’s fun!

1. Mentorship Class at Church – This class is turning in to so much more than what I originally thought it would be and that is so great!  Learning about modernistic and post-modernistic society, philosophers and the reasons why people think and believe the way they do.  Our pastor has a PhD and taking this class is really challenging my mental capacity in a good way!  Equally as good as the class is the great conversation that Keith and I have on the way home.  I sure do love that man.  :)

2. French Vanilla Coconut Milk Creamer by So Delicious – I switched to this creamer some time back and absolutely LOVE IT!  There’s no fat, no sodium, no cholesterol, low carbs, low calories and tastes FANTASTIC!  I have really struggled with my coffee creamer as I know the major brand name I used was so bad for me.  But I love, love, love my coffee and couldn’t find anything good to replace it until I found this.  Now I’m happy as a clam and loving my coffee again!  It really is the little things….

3. The birds are back!  I decided to save some money and buy the store brand of bird seed at the major big box retailer and they were so not impressed that they left me to find greener pastures.  We went to the store the other night just for the purpose of getting the kind I used to use and now I have the Disney scene in my yard again with all the happy birds and squirrels.  Note to self – apparently generic is not good enough for the birds around here.

4. My Beloved and my family – I received a sort of blow this week regarding some health things (not quite ready to fully share yet) and my heart is just so full from the love of my husband.  Sometimes when he looks at me with those big eyes and then kisses me – even after being married for 30 years I still swoon.  His support and love mean the world to me.  And along those lines – I’ve been amazed and blessed by all the support from my family this week.  It’s so much easier to face things when you are not alone.

5. Fall Colors and Flavors – It is *finally* cooling off in Texas and while that is good and bad (I really will miss summer fun), I’m ready for it.  I love the colors of fall, the fall decorations, pumpkin anything (especially coffee – hoping my coffee “supplier” has the new pumpkin K-cups!), fall purses, sweaters, boots – just fabulous!

Brooklyn Loves Gymnastics!

I kinda sorta borrowed this photo from my daughter-in-law’s Facebook.  Because seriously, when I saw this it made me smile so big.  Hard to believe that at 3 years old she already seems so big to me.  And my word does she ever love her gymnastics class!

This little girl makes her grandma smile and love her more and more each day.  :)

A Gathered Zippered Clutch for the Opera

So as I’m getting ready for us to go see The Blue Man Group it hits me that I really don’t want to mess with my purse.  In addition to worrying about where it is I have a little problem with setting my purse on the floor after seeing a special on 20/20 or one of those shows – I just can’t do it now that I know about all the germs.  The problem though is that there are things that I simply need to carry with me!

Then I remembered seeing the Gathered Zippered Clutch all over the blogs right now and decided Bingo! – there’s my answer!

 

I pulled from my fabric stash everything except the zipper, which required a quick trip up to Hancock Fabrics.

 

I followed the Gathered Clutch Tutorial and couldn’t be happier with the instructions or with how it turned out.

 

There were no instructions on how to add the strap, so I actually had to wing it, which is something I’m not the best at.  In case anybody needs measurements for it, I cut the fabric for my strap 3” tall x 13” wide and sewed it in at the very end when sewing the sides together.

Some notes and thoughts:

• I only had lightweight fusible interfacing here and it definitely needs the medium weight to make it more sturdy
• I didn’t add the divider pocket or card holders, then saw afterwards that she says if you don’t have either of those to add fleece or canvas to make it more sturdy.
• Really for my needs – Lip Ivo, ibuprofen, cuticle cream – I didn’t need a clutch quite this big, so the next one I make will probably be smaller.  Personal choice.  :)
• This was the first sewing project I’ve done since starting the room rearranging in our house and it took far longer to find all the necessary tools than to do the sewing.  I do see how this could be completed in a bit over an hour if you are set up.

A last note on the fabric – I was thrilled to actually use some fabric I had on hand, though I admit it sometimes scares me to cut into my fabrics.  I do love these fabrics and I know that once I cut into them they are gone – isn’t that silly?  But now that I’ve done it I’m so tickled with actually using what I had that I know I might be on a roll now.

 

This is what I cut into and I’ll bet I’ve had it for probably 10 years (and yes, I know the fabric is dated, but I still love it).  At around that time I used to belong to a fat quarter club from somewhere online that would send a coordinated packet of 8 fat quarters once a month or every other month.  I probably did it for a year and every one of those packets is beautiful – and I have no idea where they are from.  So any fabric sellers out there take note – be sure to put your company name and url on your tags so we can return and buy more!  :)

 

** Linking to Get Your Craft On, Show Off Your Stuff Sewing and Crafts, I’m Lovin’ It, Show and Share Day, Sew and Tell, Get Your Craft On

The Blue Man Group

Last night was truly unique for us – we went to see The Blue Man Group live!  The coolest part of the whole deal was that I won tickets to the show from one of our local media outlets!  We were very surprised when we picked up the tickets to discover that the price would have been $90 a seat.  Unreal.

We started the evening with dinner out naturally, then headed to … get this! … the opera house for the show!  Truly a beautiful venue both inside and out.

While I was talking to mom about where we were headed  I discovered that she didn’t know who The Blue Man Group was, so I decided to add a video about them.  It was a very high energy show and we enjoyed it thoroughly.

Mission Crafts Ministry and Blueberry Pound Cake

Last night was such a special night in our ministry at church because the lady that led the mission trip to Peru came to talk with us.  You might recall that we knit 73 scarves that went on the trip as gifts for the kids, interpreters and teachers.  It was wonderful to have her come back and tell us how much those gifts were enjoyed and to tell us a little bit more about what is happening there.  We have a trip twice a year and are firming up plans for what to take for Christmas gifts now.

And I gave a little teaser about the Blueberry Pound Cake and it took until yesterday when I made it again to take to church to finally remember to get it up on the blog!  It really is quite tasty and easy to do, so be sure to take advantage of the fresh blueberries before they all disappear from the store shelves.

 

Paula Deen’s Blueberry Pound Cake

1 stick butter
1/4 c vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 heaping cup fresh blueberries, tossed in flour so they don't sink (though you can see that mine still did!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.  Cream butter and shortening, add sugar a little at a time until well mixed.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each egg.  Add dry ingredients to mixer alternately with milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.  Mix in vanilla, then gently fold in blueberries.  Pour in to a greased and floured 9x5 loaf pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

 

** Linking to Tasty Tuesday

Easy Peasy Squares Blanket

I still am amazed when I realize that not only does my son have a daughter, but my nephew is having children as well.  I remember these two boys being so young and playing and running outside together.  They would come inside so sweaty and laughing and talking fast about the fun they had.  Now they get to be on the other side of things and watch their children do the same things.

My nephew’s 2nd son was born recently, little Keith, named after my brother-in-law.  I don’t have pictures of him yet, but hoping I will soon.  They live halfway across the country from us, so we’re relying heavily on computers for things like that.

 

 

I knit a blanket for little Keith and am thrilled with how it turned out.  The pattern officially is the Easy Peasy Squares Blanket by Kelly McCraw, but I used the changes made by Wool Winder on Ravelry.  In fact, I loved the blanket she did so much that mine is exactly the same, even down to the yarn – although I did get crazy bold and choose my own color. 

The yarn is Baby Bee Hushabye Solid (Hobby Lobby) and this is the Surfmommy color.  It is the most unique feeling yarn and has a very interesting twist to it.  Love the stitch definition and will gladly do this blanket again and again.  And of course my personal requirement on baby blankets is that the yarn be washer/dryer safe as new mom’s have plenty of other things to worry about and shouldn’t have to hand wash and dry flat.  :)

I highly recommend this pattern and yarn – it’s a great project for TV watching and I think it turned out quite nice.

 

 

** Linking to Weekend Wrapup Party, Saturday Night Special, Check Me Out Saturday, Under The Table and Dreaming

Friday’s Fave Five #105

 

Time to list our favorites from the week! Check with Susanne at Living To Tell The Story for more links – always uplifting.  :)

 

I have been enjoying myself immensely this week with crafting and surfing and just living life.  Sometimes weeks just come together so perfectly and this was one of them.  I found a link to this card generator on a blog and it was fun to play with, so that’s why you see it instead of my deep, thoughtful regular Friday post.  ;)  Oh how I kid…..

One last note, after all the rain, flood and tornadoes of this week today has risen with a glorious sunny day.  We are forecast some mid- and upper-90’s for the next week, so even though my heart and head say pumpkin and candy corn, my feet still say flip flops.  And that’s ok.  :)

Mentorship Class and Tornadoes

Last night was the first night of our much anticipated Mentorship 101 class at church.  It’s being led by our Pastor and Keith and I are both taking it. 

Pastor started us off by sharing how many years ago he was led to start teaching people to be mentors and gave a great personal story.  He then asked us all to introduce ourselves and share why we were there.

It struck me again as I listened to the many, varied stories how everybody is living lives that we just don’t know.  I’ve always tried hard to remember the saying “don’t criticize until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes” because it is so true.  Everybody is going through something and it was just amazing to hear why each person felt it was so important to be there. 

We did our introductions and Pastor did a brief overview and even with that short agenda we ran late.  I am so looking forward to the weeks to come.

And I’ll tell you, it was looking for a bit like we wouldn’t be able to go to class after all.  We were at home glued to the TV watching live  reports of tornadoes forming all over the DFW area.  Modern technology is a site to behold and all day long we heard about flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine, then the tornadoes started.  I think I heard this morning that we had 8 tornadoes touch down across the area last evening and we hesitated to leave for church as there was one fairly close to our church.  In the end we went and of course had no problem.

I did find a brief clip on YouTube if you are into weather phenomenon like what I am.  I can’t really explain why I love this stuff, but I do.  :)

Labor Day With Family!

We had a two day lake weekend with the kids and enjoyed every minute.  Unfortunately Lynne’ had other plans with friends and wasn’t there and you know how mama’s always like to have their ducks in a row!  :)  It’s all good and honestly I’m happy that she’s off having a wonderful time.

In the meantime, we had a house full of people and lots of smiles.  This grandma had some quality time with her favorite 3 year old.

We did a little movie watching and Cars always makes me laugh.  Look at her right hand – she’s holding on to a blue truck that she got in her Sonic meal.  That truck was having a lot of fun doing some of the things she saw on the screen.

And a friend of mine rightfully pointed out that really I wasn’t watching a movie with Brooklyn.  From the looks of this photo I was mostly watching Brooklyn watch a movie.  And really – that suits me just fine.  :)

 

Then we started getting ready to go out on the boat and do some swimming.  She has her swimsuit on under her cover-up and was dancing and bouncing so much I finally told her to “FREEZE!”  And she did.  :)

 

She knows the rule about 3 year olds and grandmas must have their life jacket on in the boat at all times, so she decided to try and hurry us along a bit.  We did go back afterwards and remove the cover-up from underneath, but it does show how very excited she was about this venture.

So hard to believe that summer is essentially over.  It was a great year and now I’m looking forward to all that fall has to offer!

Friday’s Fave Five #104

Happy, Happy Friday y’all!  I’m looking forward to a great 3 day weekend and get to see my kids – does it get any better than that???  :)  Hop on over to Susanne’s Living To Tell The Story to see many more Friday’s Fave Five….and let’s accentuate the positive!

1. Obviously number 1 on my list is getting to be with all my family last weekend for my sister-in-law’s birthday.  Always enjoy seeing everybody and spending time together.  We also pretty much ate out most meals and that made for some good times.  :)

2. Cooler Weather!!!   I absolutely adore summer, but the lovely rainfall and windy morning is music to my soul.  Really we are so blessed to have the 4 seasons and see all the unique things that comes along with each one of them.  There are things to love about each season and I wouldn’t change a thing.

3. Knitting – intense knitting!  I’ve been working on a baby blanket for a friend’s daughter that is due in October, but would set it aside for other projects that came up.  Well…the baby shower came in the mail and I have a little over a week to get this finished now – eek!  LOL!  Fortunately I have a very understanding husband and he is happy to join me on the sofa and watch tv while I knit away.  I do think I should finish in time, but it will take some superhero knitting to get it done!  :)

4. Speaking of knitting, the Dallas Handknitters Guild starts up again next week and the program for the fall is a lace shawl by none other than The Knitting Fairy!  Alissa is a lot of fun and I always enjoy spending time with her, so I’m looking forward to this.

5. I have found myself going on walks with the dog in the evenings again now that the over 100 degree weather is gone.  This is something that I really enjoy as it rather soothes my soul to walk along together.  It’s nice to stop and chat with neighbors along the way or just walk in the quiet and listen to the words God whispers to me.  And in that quiet the words sometimes come in the form of flowers or butterflies or such and I find that my day to day life is filled with such business that I sometimes miss the words.  The walks slow me down to listen.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”  Psalm 46:10