Fridge Cover Love!

Last installment of the fridge covers.....it kind of sums up my feelings for fridge covers...

LOVE!

Bliss on the Fridge!

"Bliss" on a fridge cover!

Love Birds!

One more installment of the fridge art.  Love Birds!

Show some love today!

Find Junk...Make Stuff!

What started as a "Wear-Ever Aluminum Jack-Frosters" in a former life has now taken on a new life.  Obviously, they were the cover to some type of fridge container....but, they just seemed to have a wonderful foundation for a fun little piece of quirky art.  I have been so excited to work on them...and luckily had to sit at a few volleyball practices (which equates time to do some much needed needle work) and finally finished these little goodies.  Kinda cute....I think?

Find junk....make stuff!  My motto for the week!!

Heart!

"Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will."

-A.W. Tozer

Have a great day...think happy thoughts...pray for people in need!

Handkerchief Scarf....Flag!

"I do this for myself because I am my own fatherland,

and my handkerchief is my flag."

-Reinhold Messner

OK, I've been a little consumed with my nose as of late.  Which made me think of all the colorful...beautiful...vintagy handkerchiefs I have jammed into a drawer.

I love the one's with an "A"...and the 50's colored ones...most any of them call my name.  They make me think of another time.  I'm not sure when that time was...for I don't believe I've ever seen anyone reach into their purse and pull out a handkerchief to use.  Have you? 

The thoughts of actually doing it... and even more freekishly, using it... put my head into a germ infested freak-a-zoid moment that makes my lysol hand sanitizer scream out calling my name and bellowing, "stop the madness."    I'm sure it would be perfectly fine to acutually use the handkerchief for its purpose...but, just the idea of that "stuff" on the beautiful, soft colorful fabric...then stuffing it back in my purse....then retrieving it again at home....and eventually washing it...just seems like too much! 

Can you imagine what the "Moms" of 2010 would say if you acutally used a handkerchief?  Would you be turned into the Hazardous Disease Patrol? Would you need to enter the Witness Protection Program for "People Who Do Not Cough Into Their Elbow" and/or "Folks Who Do Not Dispose Of Their Post Nasal Drip With Appropriate Earth Friendly Bio-Degradable Paper"?  There has to be another purpose for handkerchiefs! The enormity of the shame is becoming illogical in my mind.

Thus, the creative process begins...
1.  gather handkerchiefs of like colors properly washed and santized
2.  sew end to end
3.  wrap around neck like a scarf
4.  say, "oh really?" when the 87 year old spunky, spitfire, lassy in the grocery line says, "I used to have a handkerchief just like that"
5.  think in head while continuing to converse with spunky, spitfire lassy in the grocery line, "this could very well be your handkerchief...but, we will never know for according to my 385 episodes of various CSI shows I've seen since my latest sinus issue, your DNA should be long gone when I soaked these babies in the bleach and water mixture to remove all remains of a former life."
6.  walk away satisfied that my new scarf has made its mark (no pun intended) on the fashion world.

I wear my handkerchief as a flag of honor!

How Grating!

"I think they should call a cheese grater by its real name....a sponge ruiner."

-Mitch Hedberg

This was a Christmas gift.....and I just love it. Everyone by now knows, my culinary skills are quite minimal....doing any food preparation chores are incredibly painful to me....all of this nicely saying, I hate to cook!  But, this grater made me smile.  I feel certain putting the death grip on the head and torso of this quaint little kitchen helper will make grating cheese 200% more fun.  Because, even I know freshly grated cheese is better than pre-grated cheese in a bag.  Thank you Paula!

Flown From The Nest!

I feel like I've flown from the nest.....I felt a sinus infection was definitely plaguing my day...but, I just couldn't get better...finally broke down and stopped at a walk-in clinic...she told me I had a touch of pneumonia...eeeek!  No wonder I felt so bad.  Needless to say, a little antibiotic...some kind of puffy thing I breathe....a buffet of cough medicines...and I am on the mend.  Mucho to show real soon!!!!!  Have a great day!

Calling Artsy Chattanooga Women!

Just a thought...I would like to gather a group of artsy types for a fun luncheon in Chattanooga.  Anyone want to come?  Just leave a comment/email and I will access the interest!  

Blizzard of 2010!

We are just burrowing out of the first Blizzard of 2010!  Yes, in our fair city and demographic location of the United States....SNOW is somewhat rare.  We love it...we can't get enough of it (really our cap is about 3-5 inches)...we boost the economic food industries (i.e. groceries, carry-out pizza)...and we snuggle into our homes like a bear for winter.  Snow is such a rare occasion we drum roll the event just like it was a ga-zillion little rock stars.  We take oodles of photos....and dream of making snow cream (operative word being "dream", for the snow is so minimal, a thimble of snow would certainly contain dirt)...and we thoroughly enjoy the occasion just as if it were a long lost friend coming home.

Reality of our snow....

1.  It is unfortunately not even considered a "snow day", it only lasts about 15 hours.

2.  Everyone anxiously awaits the arrival of the fluffy flakes with school and business closings, and grocery shopping.

3.  I too, was found in aisle 5 of my local grocer with three other women all staring at the canned beans shelves and wondering if baked beans would be good in chili....for all appropriate chili beans had been purchased...there must have been a sea of chili made on Thursday night.

4.  My daughter immediately grabbed the trash can lid to sled down the driveway, only to have the pebble stone grind the handle off of it.

5.   Our puppy resorts to relieving herself on the front porch for fear of getting her feet cold.

6.  My area was predicted to to receive 1-2 inches...in reality it was barely a dusting.  

I love snow....or maybe I love snow for one day....for within 24 hours, we were eating dinner at Macarroni Grill.

FYI:

We found chili beans at the Quick Mart gas station.  We had chili!

This is it....the Blizzard of 2010!

Tin Dishes!

"The best time to plan a book

 is while you are doing the dishes."

-Agatha Christie

Right before Christmas my daughter and I made the annual pilgrimage to our favorite antique mall....and there nestled in a zip lock bag gracefully laying on a pile of torn up cutter quilts, was this perfect little pile of tin, toy dishes!  Nothing makes my heart pitter patter more than juvenile dishes.  They screamed, "buy me....make many things with us....and you could plan a page for a book".   New year....new goals.....new things to write....Agatha was right!

Pickles!

Just had to share one of my cooking (really it was just food assemblage) gifts I made this year. 

FYI:  I am a horrible food chemist....cooking to me is like learning to ride a bicycle every day of the year.  There is no logic...innate knowledge...Paula Dean instincts in my being that benefit the art of cooking.

So...fast forward to Christmas 2009!  I love PICKLES!  My friend is a great cook...even has a cooking show on television....and mentioned this recipe to me.  Ran home immediately and slapped on an apron and declared this would be one of my offerings of handmade goods for this holiday season!

Found the recipe online....did exactly how it described....waited patiently for three days....and taste tested the first homemade pickle by Alexa, and it was.....(small drum roll)....great! 

Simple recipe  (actually food assemblage):

get a large jar of koshed whole dill pickles
drain the juice
slice the dill pickles into half-inch pieces
layer back in the original jar
inbetween layers put 3-4 slices of pickled jalepeno slices
pour 2 tablespoons of apple vinegar in jar
pour 2 cups of sugar in jar (shake as you pour to make sure it goes all the way to the bottom
shake occasionally for one hour
place in fridge for three days, shaking occationally

Taste....done!   Eesy...peesy!

I officially am now declared a cook by my family! They feel I make more edible food if I don't involve heat!