Got Apples?

I sure do. Lots of 'em too. Since I seem to be on a sewing break I decided to bake ... and I'm soooo glad I did. I made these apple muffins from Linaloo. Oh my. They are some kinda good. I made two batches actually. I only made one change - I used 1/2 cup flour and a 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. Fast. Easy. Delicious. The recipe didn't say to peel the apples, so I didn't. We could all use a little extra fiber ;-)

I used my heart muffin molds again. They are a bear to clean but they make the boys happy. "I want the yellow muffin ... no no ... I mean the blue heart muffin." What we will do to get our kids to eat!

DH (who left work early because he pulled a muscle in his back - nothing like getting old) and our contractor have each sampled and loved them. Now the real test will be after nap time. Some how I don't think I'll have a hard time getting the boys to eat these ... "I want the orange one AND the red one" is likely what I'll hear ;-)

Thanks so much for the non-itchy / crafting break wishes ... I guess we all are in need of a little TLC sometimes. So ... go on now ... get your apples and get to baking. You'll be glad you did!

Itchin

Some how my sewing mojo got up and left. Maybe it got fried with the computer. I'm still on the dinosaur ... wishing I had updated my 'blogs I visit' section because my feeds are on the other computer. I can't print, no access to my pictures, and I am just dying to know what some of you have been up to. I know ... there are way worse things in life than taking a blogging break (what I cannot imagine - he he).

As for the sewing drought, I think that has more to do with the projects I have still whispering to each other each time I enter my office. They keep getting louder and louder ... I'm turning a deaf ear. I did work on my elephants a bit. I can't stand hand sewing and you can tell I don't get much practice. One turned out ok, one not so ok, and the other is still awaiting it's fate. sigh.


I have finished something though ... actually two things. Loving Frank and Diary of a Provincial Lady. Two totally different books. Great reads. I'll save my oh so insightful reviews for another post ;-) I've now picked up a copy of Alice In Wonderland that I found years ago at a book fair (printed in 1946). The illustrations are so cool. When I am out of the computer dark ages I'll scan a few to share.


I like to keep my blog a happy place, fairly stress free ... a place to babble about sewing, reading, my kiddos. Well. I have listed several reasons above why one would be itchin' ... lack of sewing mojo, frustration with looming projects, and lack of great skill when it comes to hand sewing ... enough, I know! It's almost too much! But, I must go on. Yesterday it was beautiful. We had to get outdoors. We'd been cooped up due to rain too long. We lasted about 30 minutes. The vampires (mosquito's) were out in force. I coated everyone in bug spray and they still were chomping. After I smashed two on Henry's face and then John's we had to concede. Indoors we came. I probably have ten bites in the most obscure places ... the upper back of my neck, my elbow, the actual heel of my foot. It's ridiculous. Ladies, I am a itchin'!

In Cucina Con Adrienne

Translation ... In the kitchen with Adrienne (or so the Italian search I did says!).


Remember these. Well, I had a plan all along ... it just took me a few days to get organized. I have wanted to make home made pasta sauce for some time; every summer actually but never did it. I was afraid of 'waisting' the tomatoes. Never mind that we are giving them away at the speed of light and watching the ones we could not eat decompose on our window sill.


Then I saw Joy's post about her tomato dilemma that I decided it was time to act. Or boil, ice, peel, chop, and simmer.

Here's what I did:

I peeled the tomatoes (I think I had about 7 med to large ones) and removed the seeds (follow directions here). I didn't squeeze too much juice out - just a bit, removed the seeds and cut out the 'tough' parts. I sauteed a medium size onion and a lot of fresh garlic (the Some of a Kind household feels you can never have too much of either) in some olive oil. When tender, I added the tomatoes, fresh basil and parsley (chopped - and again, the S.O.A.K. household can't have too much of these either). I cooked it on as low as I could keep my gas flame a flickerin' until it had simmered into a sauce.

This made just enough (about 27 ounces) but it wasn't ... hmm ... saucy enough. Perfect for a large pasta dinner with plenty of sauce to slop up with bread but it needed more 'juice'. Any suggestions. I have more tomatoes on the sill awaiting a fate yet to be determined ...

Deliziosi!

(Still operating from the old computer ... I just happened to have this post saved. Hope you have a great weekend!)

The Mother-Thing-A-Ma-Jig

You know. That thing in your computer - the mother load ... I mean the mother board. Yea. That thing. It went kaput. I am operating from the dinosaur of a computer we gave the kids to mess around with.

No pics and slow as molasses but I can check email. I can't wait to get back to reading your blogs and in touch with my 'virtual' world.

It is amazing (and embarrassing) what I have accomplished with out being connected. Hmmm ... maybe this forced break is a good thing ;-) Until the 'mother' is fixed ... toodles ~

Fort Building 101

Find cheap labor.

Pay them in chocolate.

And while you are relaxing ...

Be mindful of the little people.

Note to self - metal chairs hurt when knocked over (I have the bruise to prove it). Revisit blueprints for backyard fort. Rebuild with objects that are stationary and/or soft. sigh.

The Girls

I am making an assumption here ... I have all female readers. If there happen to be any male readers, you might just want to skip this post.


After a 4 year hiatus I finally returned to the gym. It's making my life that much crazier but I feel sooo much better. During the hiatus, I would get a great walking routine going and then something crazy would happen like a rash of hurricanes to break my rhythm, a heat wave, or just down right laziness took over. Then I got pregnant again (another excuse to 'rest') and little John came along and I couldn't mess with that morning nap. I was the queen of excuses when it came down to why I couldn't get out there and walk.


Not any more. The switch is on. I got some new sneakers and a new 'contraption'. I cannot stand it when 'the girls' are squeezed into being just 'a girl'. It's so uncomfortable. Hot. Sweaty. Gross. Just forget about trying to get 'the contraption' on much less off once you are soaked to the core from a good work out. Well, no more ladies. 'The girls' can stay where they belong and you can remove 'the contraption' with out scissors, the assistance of a stranger in a locker room, or just waiting until your DH gets home. Let me introduce you to my new best friend: The Maia sports bra by Moving Comfort. Amazing. Comfortable. No one is forced to 'talk' to each other anymore if you know what I mean.




So go. Run. Get yourself a few. It will make you want to exercise! Ok - wait, don't run until you actually have the Maia on ... 'the girls' might get a little shaken up.

PS - order one cup size smaller - that seems to help keep everyone in place ;-)

All God's Creatures

Seem to gather in our yard ...

Great

Small

Stinky

I've mentioned our apple tree before ... Don't sit under the apple tree, with anyone else but me ... anyone else but me ... ". Ok - well maybe I won't sing that to the skunk.

Soap Saga

Some of you may remember this post about my first batch of homemade laundry detergent. Well, I'm on my third batch now and I'm not feeling so green ... more like seeing red. After having done too many loads to count, I am finding stains that didn't come out in the wash that would have normally come out had I used a store bought detergent. I am using more Shout than I care to and spend more time than before inspecting every piece of clothing. For those of you who are new to this blog, I have two very messy little boys. Somethings gotta give - and it's not going to be the hugs and kisses! How could you turn these two munchkins away?





Does anyone have any suggestions or had the similar problem? I've hated to go commercial again but my time vs saving the planet had to call a truce (and a run to the store for some Gain!)

When you have monkey's that like to do this:

You're bound to have lots of ground in dirt!

I'd love to hear your thoughts ~

One Down

Too many to go to count ... I finished one of the totes yesterday afternoon. This was one of those half finished projects that had been sitting around since last November. Good grief! I didn't realize that I had put it off that long until I was typing this. Nothing like a blog to keep you honest. Speaking of which ... I looooved your comments. You guys had me laughing and feeling much better about the list I shared (and the list that didn't make it). I too have pants/shirts/buttons that have been waiting several season to be tended to. sigh.

Any-who ... on to the celebratory pictures of the first project I got to cross of my list ...

Fabric Amy Butler Lotus - Pocket: Sky Temple Garland / Bag : Full Moon Dot Slate

I added a little loop to hang the tote where the plastic bags hang. I usually use the self check out and my tote never stays in place. Each time I make these I modify the original instructions. So far I've switched the curve of the pocket to face up (so you can use the pocket), added a loop, and sewn the side seams together with a french seam. Why the french seam? I had a great knack for burning my fingers when ironing the seams the other way. This was soooo much easier not to mention less painful ;-)

I have at least two more to make and I plan on making a few more changes. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I really do love these totes. I makes giving my money away to big conglomerate grocers and super centers at little less painful. My wallet might be a lot lighter on the way out but my loot looks tote-ally awesome.

Land Of Unfinished Projects

That is what my sewing room has become. It's quite comical in a warped sorta way. I am greeted every day by stacks of fabric, some of it with pins still in it, pieces of paper with 'lists' and how-to's only to have to move them out of my way to work on something else. Something has gotta give. I've decided that September is my month to finish what I started. I know I will probably have a few quick projects to keep me 'entertained' but my goal is to finish some grocery totes, the office curtains, the playroom roman shades, and hand sew closed few softies. Some of these have been hanging over my head (or not - if we're talkin' curtains!) for some time ... too long.

Got. to. be. free. of. unfinished. stuff.

I know, who am I kidding. It's a vicious cycle. Start five, finish one. sigh.

Maybe I need to call in reinforcements. I heard there was a sewing super hero in town.



On second thought ... help a gal feel better won't ya? What's in your sewing room waiting for you?

So Sassy!

And hip! I got my apron from my swap partner this past weekend and it is sooo cool. I love it! Kristi based my apron on the Lilly apron from Tall Mouse. She is so talented ~ she made it from the picture ... she didn't even have a pattern! How cool is that.

The apron is a beautiful soft corduroy from her stash. If I was Kristi I would have had a hard time parting with this yard of fabric!

Check out this sweet pocket.

Swaps are cool. Kristi rocks. Sew on girl. Sew on.

Maybe next week I'll get some sewing done. I have been hearing these faint cries coming from my office/sewing room. I had thought maybe we had squirrels (again) ... nope (thankfully). Just my sewing machine searching for some love. I'm coming baby. I'm coming.

Finding Beauty

I'm sure the majority of us have a September 11th story. Who we were with (or not), what we were doing, where we were, and who we knew that some how was affected personally. I know I do. DH and I were engaged and our wedding was in 2 1/2 months. I was at work when I heard the news. I sat glued to public radio in between my appointments that day trying to find out what was going on. Everything was so confusing. My grandparents were on a plane that had left from Newark early that morning. My soon to be DH was in a federal building in Atlanta, Ga. I could not reach anyone on the phone. I had no idea whether or not my grandparents were on one of the planes that had crashed. I have close friends in Manhattan. The majority of my family live just outside of NYC and lots of friends in the northern Virginia (Pentagon) area. It was a heart wrenching time. I can remember breaking down in tears towards the end of the day in one of my appointments. I had to excuse myself and get my boss. At that point I still had not spoken with anyone in my family to confirm the well being of my grandparents (I wasn't aware that the planes were cross country flights). DH didn't make it home until 3 days later. There were no rental cars to be found. He had to ride the train (overnight) standing 8 hours to get home; but he didn't care. He just wanted to be home. I'll never forget the relief I felt when I picked him up at the train station.


Such a sad time for so many, for our country, for the world. I thought I would share a few pictures that I find to be beautiful. I hope you do to.

~ Purple skies ~

~ Big old trees ~

~Bulbs I forgot I planted ~

I hope you are able to find some beauty not just today but every day.

Summer Reading Spree

So I kinda get going on something and well ... keep going. You might have noticed that already (snicker); I'm a feast or famine kinda gal. When I finish a really good book I am then compelled to pick up another book - literally as soon as I've finished the last one. Here are some of the books I read back to back this summer:


The Shack - If you haven't read it. Do. I passed it on to my MIL and when she's done I plan on reading it again. Yup. It's that good.


The Year of Pleasures - after reading The Shack I needed something that didn't require a lot of mental energy. I have always enjoyed books by this author and this was no exception. Easy, fast, and enjoyable.


An Old Fashioned Girl - This was one of my Grammy's books. The pages are yellowed and delicate but the physical book overall is in great condition. I so want to be more like Polly. Such a great lead character and so well written - truly timeless.



Leaving Cold Sassy - If you've never read Cold Sassy Tree, you need to. Then you can follow it up with Leaving Cold Sassy. I loved Cold Sassy Tree and was excited when I stumpled upon LCS in a used book store. Sadly, the author, Olive Ann Burns, died of cancer and was unable to finish LCS. The first half of the books is what Burns had written along with her notes for completing the book. The second half is a tribute to her extrordiary life. Both books are a good vacation read.

I am currently reading Loving Frank. I had a really good friend post college who was from Wisconsin and loved Frank Lloyd Wright's work. She had several replicas of his stained glass windows ~ my first true introduction to his talent. I'm still a small town conservative girl who likes antiques and water color paintings, but with that said, I certainly can appreciate talent when I see it. This book is a peek inside his creative mind and life told from his mistresses perspective. Interesting read thus far.


When I read, I love to curl up in a comfy chair and have a hot cup of tea. Thanks to all of your wonderful recommendations (see comments here) I have a hard time choosing which one to brew ~

As I was watching my tea diffuse I couldn't help it - I had to get my camera. I am such a blogger.

Slow And Steady

That's what if feels like knitting this scarf.

I actually have made even more progress since I took this picture. I'm giving my self until Christmas to finish it. I only have 28 more inches to go ... Maybe I should give myself until Valentines day ;-)

For those of you who knit and crochet (first I am envious and secondly really impressed) I have a question for you ... do you find one goes faster than the other? I am so slow! I know practice helps but I can't help but wonder if I would pick up crocheting faster. I'm so impatient that I don't know if this ol' dog can learn another trick though. I have these day dreams of knitting for our whole family ... hats, gloves, sweaters ... yeah right. A gal can hope!

When The Rain Comes

Ahhh ... our parched yard finally got some relief this weekend.

But our gutters needed an emergency cleaning.

John and I watched the big boys while they worked.

He would have much preferred to have been outside. It's hard being a little fella sometimes.

The title of the post comes from a song by Third Day ~ it's such a beautiful tune. I discovered this band because of a video that Henry has - the band was just awesome and I actually watched the credits to figure out who they were! Call me crazy but I'm glad I did (these are great little videos BTW). You can check the song out here.

Apples, Pears, Paint (& A Swap! but that doesn't really rhyme)

Well, it finally happened late Thursday night. I was able to finish an apron. I just love this fabric by Alexander Henry.

I decided to make this apron a little girly by adding some ribbon to the pockets. The ribbon is from a baby blanket that a friend had knitted for Henry. Once he was able to undo the ribbon from the blanket I stashed it away for a rainy day ... or apron - ha!

I don't think I had mentioned that we finally got our foyer painted ... I love the color - Benjamin Moore - Crimson. It's such a warm and feel good color. We had pained our dinning room Crimson first and liked it so much we decided to paint our foyer the same. So glad we did. It definitely makes us happy. If you care to take a peek at what it looked like before look here. Typical to this house we had two layers of wall paper; one of which had been painted over. Have I ever mentioned that the ceilings are wall paper painted over? That will not a project we will tackle for a really, really, really long time. As Henry would say 'I think we will have to save a gazillion of dollars' for that one. Of coarse he is usually referring to something Spiderman or Backyardigans ... it's all relative, right?

I forgot to mention a little magazine swap that I signed up for that you might be interested in. Lisa from Periwinkle is hosting it and the details are here. And those who have signed up so far are here. It seems like such a neat idea - the deadline to sign up is midnight Sept. 7th. (she's on the other side of the Atlantic so be aware of the time difference). Hope you have a great weekend!

They're Like Rabbits ...

One big, two big, three big tomatoes,

four big, five big, six big tomatoes,
seven big, eight big, nine big tomatoes,

ten [whoppin'] tomatoes on the sill ...

Growing Pains

Yesterday was the first day of school for John (ever), and for Henry (after a summer break). They say a picture speaks a thousand words ...

That's pretty much sums up our morning. So much for glorious 'first day of school' pictures. There were many tears (me too - having someone pry your baby off of you so you can get out the door definitely hurt my heart). No worries though - John was fine after 5 minutes; it took me a little longer and 5 stores to recover. I wish I could say the retail therapy was for me but it wasn't. I was on a quest to find matching book bags. And they couldn't be just any book bags - they had to be rolling book bags. Part of the tears shed from John involved Henry's rolling back pack and lunch box ...

All is well in Some of a Kind land now ... did I say 5 stores later ... and as for John's tears, no one had to pry him away today. He cried for 2 minutes ... progress!

Speaking of progress - I promise these are the last pics of my bathroom until it is finished.

I know it's a wreck but it already somehow feels cleaner! Off to fold laundry ... one day I will see my sewing machine again ~

His Future's So Bright

He's gotta wear shades.

** Glasses provided by Mr. Potato Head himself **

Under Construction

Well my fellow bloggers, something that DH and I have been waiting for the past 4 years is now becoming a reality. New bathrooms! Can I hear a hallelujah?! I'm sure I've mentioned in the past that our house (which we love) is 75 years old ... one of our toilets is the original johhny! As for the other two ... well, one was leaking onto our floor and rocked when you sat on it and the other would keep running if you didn't catch the handle just right ~ our water bills are awful not to mention the fact that in our two full baths we had no means for ventilation ... mold is a serious issue (not to mention just down right disgusting). It was time to renovate. When Perk (our contractor) left on Friday he left with our worst offender ... the rocking, leaking, smelly toilet. I should warn you that the pictures have the offender (mold) in them.


This bathroom was added on to the original house but we aren't sure when ... the 1940's or 1950's we think. I'm sad to see the floor go but it is sooo gross. Even DH can't get it to sparkle with the ol' on your hands and knees scrubbing. Thankfully we have awesome cast iron tubs; they just need to be reglazed because they are stained. This bathroom is getting a new floor, toilet, sink, a mac-daddy-if-you-get-too-close-you-will-be-sucked-out ventilation system, and the tub area retiled.

Believe it or not ... I cleaned this tub a few days before this picture - that is how bad the offender is. Do you like our shower rod/shelf? Ha! This morning was our last shower in here ... bye bye nastiness ... today is demolition day!

My posting may be sporadic because we will be spending a lot of time out of the house to stay out of their way ~ napping elsewhere which means no access to computer or sewing machine. Most posts will probably bore you to death and lack any craftiness ... the sacrifices we must make ;-)