Tidbits

There was a nice surprise waiting for me today....

"Amy Barickman's Vintage Notions."

I can't remember where I heard about this book, but when I did,
I moseyed over to Amazon and placed an order. I had a little wait until the release date, and once it rolled around, my book was here.

I haven't had a chance to sit and peruse it thoroughly yet, but just look at the inside cover....

I think I'm going to love it....there's so many wonderful things in this book....

If you love sewing, homemaking and anything vintage, this book is for you!!

There are stories, recipes, and some good advice.

And who couldn't use a "thimbleful of youthfulness?"


Now, in other news...

If you are a "weight watcher" you may have gotten the
recipe for the muffins made with a cake mix and one can of pumpkin.

Well, here in Michigan, we are experiencing a shortage of canned pumpkin.
So at the grocery store the other day, I got a brilliant idea. Ok..........a pretty good idea.
I thought about the similarities between pumpkin pie and sweet potatoe pie and Voila.........I picked up a few sweet potatoes.....cooked them up and mashed them to make the muffins. They were delicious, and I couldn't really tell any difference.

But this little sweetie says, "Sweet potato pie?.......
.......I don't think so."

Are My Ducks In A Row?

Of course not.
I only dream of having all my ducks in a row.

I'm cleaning out my craft stuff...
and any other stuff I get my hands on.

Simplifying is hard work....there's tough decisions to be made.
What to keep, what to put in the garage sale....
will I miss this or that?
Will I ever finish this or that?
Yes, I tell myself, I must finish something.

So, here's a glimpse of the first project I plan to pick up and complete.
A baby blanket done in entrelac. This is my virgin entrelac project, started about two years ago. It's been so long since I worked on it, I can't remember if I found it difficult.
I don't think so, though.

I've had a pretty productive day, which really perks me up.
I worked for 7 hours.
I came home and made sure all was well here and then....
Headed to get groceries (we were almost Mother Hubbard conditions here)
Came home, put it away.....
Cooked chicken and dumplings for some of us, and....
chicken salad for the rest (yep, we got some picky people here).
The chicken and dumplings came out pretty good, by the way.

After dinner, I went down to get the baby blanket out of the stash and decided to....
Hem a top I recently got on clearance and just needed shortening....
Then, I worked on a summer dress that's been sitting down there for, oh, a couple of years...
And finally, I came back up here to tell you all about it.

My life is so boring.

Around the House

Good eve to all....

Changing schedules and my mom's condition
dictate that my "off hours" are pretty much keeping me at home.

I am a gal that likes to gad, so it's an ongoing adjustment.
In an effort to keep my chin up, I did some baking today.

These bars are super sweet and very chewy!
Give them a try and let me know if you like 'em!

Paula Deen's Gooey Cake

Cake:
1 yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 16 oz. box powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cake mix, egg and butter and mix well with electric mixer. Pat mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. Prepare filling: beat cream cheese til smooth; add eggs, vanilla, butter and beat together. Next, add powered sugar and mix well. Spread over cake batter and bake 40-50 minutes, until not quite set (hence the gooey part). **

**I let the filling get golden brown and set. If you want your filling to ooze a little, bake less time and not quite so golden.

*********
I need to revisit the little baby shoes I made.....just for a minute.
A friend at work needed a little something to take
to her cousin's new baby girl. I offered up a pair of the shoes
and my friend thought they would fit her needs to a "t."

A few days ago, I happened onto some little baby socks
I had stashed in the sewing room.
So, with a little rayon crochet thread and some of that extra time,
the booties were ready to go.
Hope Baby Isabella likes them as much as my friend Barb did!

As I read back over my post, a hint of
self-pity could be detected.
Either that or I sound a little martyr-ish (that's not even a word).

Neither one makes me very proud of myself.
All I can say is, I'm working on it.
Believe me, I'm still counting my blessings....of
which there are too many to name.

Now, so I don't sink too far in the doldrums,
I'm heading off to change my stuff into my new
"hipster."

Have a perfectly lovely weekend!!!