Little things can make a difference

 

Sometimes it is just little things that can make you smile.  This is still a work in progress, but I swapped the position of my mixer and my counter top oven.  Overall they both take up about the same amount of space.  Of course in the process of moving things you find lots of little treasures you didn't know fell down behind... and the oven in its previous place made it difficult to get to things in the corner, and I think the air space at each end of the little oven was semi restricted, which means possibly it will run more efficiently and safer operation.  Besides the hook rack for the other beaters for the mixer are now right behind the mixer.  If you look close you will see the banana at one corner of the oven... the banana hook got moved to the other end when I started juggling things around down there.

Now it took just one look at the other end of the counter and I knew I had to make more changes.  I got more inspiration when I spotted two coffee canisters sitting way up on top of the cupboards.  I brought them down and dusted them off, gave them a good wash, and filled them with coffee beans.  Followed by moving the coffee pot and grinder... they needed to move to a new spot.  I did some juggling around, but came up with a pretty awesome new setup for that end of the counter.  At least much better from my perspective.  

When you have a limited amount of counter space, things can get crowded sometimes.  I threw a bunch of stuff away also... I'm getting really good on throwing stuff away.  I'm from the old-school, "I better hang onto this cause I am sure I will need it later"... for something.  It was quite invigorating to actually throw some things in the trash basket.

A thousand words...

"A picture is worth a thousand words" came to mind when I reviewed this picture after I took it.  There may not be that many words here... but it is possible, if you were curious enough.  Butters still isn't quite sure why things got moved around, but she is adjusting quite well.

The other day I moved some things around to remove a furniture obstacle in the path to a nearby doorway.  This was previously kind of a music corner, but arranged slightly different. There was another shelf stand in the corner and the top of that stand was one of the kitties favorite spots.  At first I didn't have the table topper on the corner of the piano after the move, but that was the topper from their perch on the previous corner stand... as soon as I put that back, it kind of looked like a good napping spot had returned, although the second picture is the other kitty who snatched the opportunity to try it out first.  The picture with Sugar is not very clear, but you can see that she enjoys this new napping spot.

There is a big star under the red mat on the bench, and on the side a couple trains, and a glimpse of the mini quilts on the corners. Earl Scruggs is an old time favorite. The blinds are left partially raised for viewing spots for Butters and Sugar.  Did you notice the puzzles? Oh, and the golf balls...

I could expand on most of these, and I might come close to a thousand words, but even without words, I enjoy looking at these pictures... they make me smile.

A Gem Exposed... finally

One of my favorite small quilts, otherwise known as a wall hanging, has been mostly hidden in a corner behind my serger for at least a couple years.  I have almost all of my walls filled with something, and available wall space is almost non-existent.  Raggedy and her little buddies are sitting on a box, and she is tethered to the wall so the kitties cannot pull her off the table.

A couple of days ago I decided to organize things in my sewing room a little differently.  My sewing room isn't that small, I actually have 4 sewing machines set up all the time as well as a cutting table and an ironing station.  Problem is I have lots of tools, accessories, quite a quantity of thread and did I say I have some fabric.  Every nook and cranny is occupied.  In my attempt to shuffle things around I thought about this colorful quilt that is quite beautiful... what if I could only see the whole thing.

I came up with considering to hang it on the door, but the door would not be easy to nail or screw something into, besides Ron might not think it was a good plan if I was going to pound nails into it.  

I first found a pant hanger with clips, but when I tried to close the door it wasn't going to happen.  So I retreated to my big comfortable chair that sits almost in the middle of the room.  It has a swivel base and I can turn and view the whole room from one place.  As I sat there surveying the situation, I looked over and saw two over-the-door hangers sitting in the top of the mesh bag hanging on the back of the door.  It was like they were put there with the intent of being ready for just this project.

I got busy and stitched a hanging sleeve on the top backside of the quilt, retrieved a dowel from the garage, and just like that I had my magnificent quilt in total, plain view every time I enter my sewing room.

Now I do have to leave the door closed when I am not in the sewing room because my kitties are treasure hunters and when they are unsupervised they can get into some things they should not.  One never knows what might be hauled down the stairs.  As a result, not only will I see this quilt every time I go in, but the door is always open when I am in there, so I can look up and enjoy its beauty whenever I choose.  It's a quilt that makes me smile when I look at it.

Some of the details that were hidden at the bottom in its previous location.  

 

OCC & Butters get my attention

 

I've been busy making shorts for the last couple of days.  I still have 10 more to make.  These are easy shorts to make from t-shirts.  I don't use elastic in the waistbands, but instead I use a t-shirt strip for a tied waist.   I secure the tie with a couple stitches in the center back of the waistband. 

These are for Operation Christmas Child boxes and the shorts are for the little guys.  I like to use up as much of a t-shirt as possible... the drawstring bags on the right are for the little guys also.  It's a size they can handle to carry some of their little treasures, made from the sleeve of a t-shirt.  

Did I say that my serger makes the process come together very quickly and it also makes a nice finished seam.  One of the benefits of the serger for these little bags is I did not have to cut beforehand... the serger cuts as it sews.  Because it is the sleeve of a t-shirt, the hem on the sleeve is the channel for the drawstring.  I just need to make two small slits on either side of the seam.  It is on one leg of the shorts and the tiger is very cute.  It isn't often that I can find a shirt with a logo or design I can use on a pair of shorts, but the little tiger seemed perfect for this project.

Butters is keeping close watch on what is going on.  I can always count on having company while I am at work.  It's not so bad when she is on the other side of the sewing machine, but she often likes to get between the machine and my face.  Fortunately she only persists for a couple minutes before she retreats to her little basket by the window at the other end of the sewing machine.

Blood Moon - Not!

 A few days ago there was talk about a blood moon and I was all prepared to go out and see what a blood moon might look like.  Earlier in the day a friend had said she hoped the clouds would clear so she could get a good view.  

When I first went out there were lots of clouds around, but it looked like a good possibility that they would be moving on shortly.  I waited a little while and sure enough, pretty soon the moon started to come out from behind the clouds.  I could see just the slightest hint of a golden glow, but it was minimal, and definitely not close to being red.  

The more the moon came out, the bigger it appeared and it did finally escape all the clouds... but still no red. Still pretty cool to see the moon when it looks so big.  I had not actually done any research ahead of time on the times, etc., but I decided to go inside and look it up on my computer.  Turns out there was no place in all of the US that got to see any of the eclipse.  So this is my record of the blood moon that I wasn't meant to see.  

That green spot is a reflection or something in my phone camera... so no UFO.  My phone typically takes pretty good pictures, but I have not mastered night photos yet.

Mandarin Beef & Mushrooms w/zoodles

 It doesn't look too fancy, and it really isn't, but this is a good one.  Ron is on a very limited diet, and in reality, this probably should not have made it to our table based on the label of the Mandarin sauce.  The sauce is loaded with sodium and 14g of sugar per serving.  I'm not going to just ignore that info, but he has been very good about all these changes in his diet.  Almost everything he used to eat is now on his no-no list.  So now and then we grab a treat.

I do lots of searching for recipes I can make that would be appealing for him, and especially that he might actually enjoy.  It is sometimes hard to know what is going to be okay.  Yesterday he had a good quality hamburger.  Salt is not one of his restrictions, but no one should use too much salt.  I had put some steak seasoning on the burger and a little salt.  He said the burger was good, but it was a little dry.  Well, I told him if he would have just put a big juicy slice of tomato on top with some mayo, it would have been awesome... of course he does not, even on a good day, ever choose to eat a raw tomato.  Then I had bought some frozen green beans that had garlic and butter on them.  It was a good name brand, so I expected it would be a good side.  He took a bite and asked what are these... when I said string beans he tells me they were more like chew sticks and pushed them aside.  I will give him that they were a little on the tough side, but I ate all of my beans.

Anyhow the picture is Mandarin Beef & Mushrooms.  Outside of needing to have a spiralizer for the zucchini, which I do have, this was a super easy recipe, 5 ingredients (6 if you count the oil you start with), that turned out extra good... and extra extra good because Ron gave it a thumbs up.

You sauté the minced garlic first, then add the thinly sliced steak till brown, then chopped mushrooms, and last the zucchini.  When all is done to your preference, you remove it from the heat and add the Mandarin sauce.  If you want the actual recipe, let me know and I will send it to you.

Freshness Rings

 I am sure there are many, if not most, that have not heard about Freshness Rings.  This is one of my newest additions to my kitchen supplies.  These rings are awesome.  I use half a lemon every morning and I used to get a piece of plastic wrap to put on the other half.  This ring keeps the cut edge moist and almost as good as the first morning.  The membrane that the fruit sits on is quite flexible and the size of the lemon makes no difference, including when there is a pointy stem end.  They are like little drums.  

The apple in this picture has been in the fridge for a couple days without rubbing any lemon on it to stop it from browning.  My avocados do start to turn a little brown after a couple of days, but none of the fruit appears to dry out.  Of course I don't usually leave an avocado in there more than the next day.  

This is the 4th ring... it is orange and it currently has an onion in it that I forgot was in the fridge.  The onion looks like I just put it in there yesterday.

I bought my Freshness Rings on Amazon