HodgePodge Wednesday

A few things that are drafted to post with pics, but Coggie's blog reminded me of HodgePodge Wednesdays... I used to do Monday MeMes, but this will work. All to get back to blogging... I love blogs, love blogging... so why is this hard?

1. It's that most wonderful time of the year...tax season! Do you complete your own returns or farm that job out to the professionals?

Totally outsource tax prep... peace of mind is more than worth paying someone to do it!!

2. This next question comes from Kansas Bob...he posed it in his response to something I asked in an earlier Wednesday post and I asked him if I could add it to the Hodgepodge some day. Today's the day....
Which do you think has changed you more-love or pain?

Hmmm... tough call. As a christian, ultimately it's God's love that has changed my life more than anything. But when I think of experiences that have shaped me, they are usually a blending of pain and love (as those we love are the ones that can hurt (and heal) us the most!)

3. Tangerine Tango has been named color of the year for 2012. Your thoughts? Would I find this color anywhere in your house? How about in your closet? If not, will you be adding this color to your life in some way in 2012? If you're not sure what tangerine tango looks like click here.

I'm not a big fan of orange... but I do love little pops of the bright orange and yellows to make other colors really 'zing' even more.

4. Are you a collector? What do you collect and does it get admired, used, and/or dusted regularly?

Hmmm... i have a collection of Bobbsey Twin books. Overwhelming collection of yarn and craft materials - and these all get used and admired daily!! The books... they probably need dusting.

5. February is National Heart Month...besides a green salad what is one tasty heart healthy dish you like to prepare?

I don't cook much, but steamed veggies are a staple. I love fish, but don't really prepare it very often... on my list to do more of that in 2012.

6. When was the last time you had car trouble?

Well - my last car trouble wasn't really the car, but the CD changer. Disc got stuck, dealership had to replace the whole system (that was in October!) and I'm still waiting for them to send me the CDs that were in the system back (which they apparently are supposed to do). I wouldn't be that concerned since I have all my CDs on my iPod, but these were CDs from a library audio book and although they've allowed me to renew more than the standard allowance, but it's getting a bit crazy.

7. Have you been more demanding on yourself lately or less? Is that a good trend?

Less. It's good in that I'm more relaxed, but I really do need to amp up the motivation...

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My random thought is that I just made a crockpot of shredded taco chicken... how many things can I make with it this week before I'm sick of it??? And can I do it without going to the grocery store again?

And I think I want to watch this week's Downton Abbey again tonight.

How's that for random?

Zebra Chair

After publishing the last post... I don't think I posted on the chair

I did last summer... she was beat up, filthy, chipped and the bottom was covered in packing tape (who knows why??). I got her for $10 at a junk store and figured she was perfect to try my hand at a makeover.


Distressed ivory paint and some brown and ivory zebra print - LOVE her!

Bailey says "I'm practicing for my photo shoot...

(and clearly I need to spend more time to remember how blogger works with photos and the html code!)

At least he's cute!

New Year, New "Resolutions"

Hmmm... well Jan is well on it's way to being over... I want to blog, but somehow doesn't quite happen. But I've been busy with small projects around the house... and learning some new art styles (more on that later).

Two small projects:

Wrapping paper storage...

I saw this on a blog somewhere (bad blogger, no credit to give!) - it's using kitchen bars from IKEA and curtain clips (also IKEA) to hang wrapping paper.

This is the inside of the cupboard under the stairs... PERFECT!

I'll pretend the remaining mess in the cupboard isn't visible ;-)

And then... this little chair was a beat up birch wood with a filthy seat... some fresh paint and pretty damask and this will be great behind the 'craft desk.'

Here's also my studio (to-be... I have yet to actually create anything in it but a mess!) - aka 'back room' or 'garage room' (since it's behind the garage).

I've started arranging and sorting things more times than I can count. But since this pic was taken, a large bookcase has been evicted from my bedroom and replace the tiny bookcase near the Yarn Hutch. Perfect and has 2 shelves of patterns and technique books and the rest chock full of art and collage supplies!

Ok.... it's a post. Not a a very interesting one, but a post...

Letters from Camp

Bailey stays w/ friends when I travel (lucky him, and grateful me!) and their home is referred to as "Camp." He loves them and going to their house. When I say "Do you want to go to camp?" he jumps up, turns in circles and jumps/pushes against me until we're going out the door...

Sometimes I get letters from camp:

Dear Moma,
I have a new calling and role in my life. Before, I thought I was created to keep the squirrels away. But now I know that I was made for so much more! I have the artists call in me. I am on the cutting edge of interior decorating and design. Let me explain. The other day L had this big machine out. I think I may have seen one like it at home but I am not sure. And I am certain that if I have seen it at L's house, it has been so long that it is like a new machine. Anyway, she gets this machine out and turns it on. It makes a big noise and she starts moving it all over the floors. At first it was totally boring watching her but then she moved onto the carpet in the living room. I felt my spirit come alive! She moved the big wand over the carpet and made it smooth and I came after it making designs. My feet are amazing! You would think that they would move in an orderly manner but no, they pounce all over. The carpet was amazing. Such random designs by my paws. I was thinking of calling my new business, "Paws by Design". We can talk about it when you come home. I think L appreciated the art work because she kept wanting more. When I did a design, she moved her wand over it and made it smooth for me to design on again. She understands the artist's soul, the need to keep creating. Sigh, such satisfaction.

That boy came over today. He's getting better. Today he offered to share his little men with me and didn't take any of my toys. I tried to maintain my artist's aloof manner. Eventually he crawled under the table and called it a fort. I wasn't even tempted to crawl under the table with him. I think I am maturing. But then again...

You should have seen this one. L was sitting on a stool with her legs stretched out. She knew I wanted to come up but kept shooing me away telling me there was no room. Now, I understand that she is vertically challenged and no matter what chair she sits on her legs are never at a perpendicular angle, especially on those stools. So, imagine her surprise after shooing me away when I came sneaking in and then took a flying leap and landed on her pathetic excuse for a lap! Score! She wrapped her arms around me she was so surprised. I knew I could get her attention away from that boy.

Today I went for a walk with the boy. He holds onto my leash but L holds on the the back end. We only went to the end of the street and back. I am hoping for an evening walk with B and a "real" walk with L in the morning if the rain stops. I hope you are having fun with your new friends. I miss you but camp is fun.

xoxo Bailey

P.S. I am eating like a good boy.
xoxo

and then:

Dear Moma,
I have given this some thought and I think I would like to change my name. Just hear me out. Names usually communicate something about the person/dog if you must. Bailey is cute. I do look like that stuff you and L like to drink but here's the thing. It's just not me. When I meet other dogs and tell them my name is Bailey, well, I don't think I get the respect I should get. So here is what I would like to change it to. Mr. Fer Ocious. My friends could call me Fer and my close acquaintances could call me Ocious. But those who don't know me, or to those to whom you would like to introduce to me, Mr. Ocious. Don't you like the sound? Imagine calling me in the backyard, "Hey! Ocious! bring that ball to me." I think it has quite a ring to it. Please consider this. I am getting older now and Bailey doesn't sound all that, well, ferocious.

xoxo Your loving son,
Fer

P.S. L was much better on the walk today.

Love this...

So I'm not doing very well at 'revive-the-blog' - too many partially finished things not ready for posting.

But... this is so worth watching.... again and again and again. LOVE it!

New York re-cap

I met E & C in NY for a girls' theater-filled weekend!!!

The weather alternated between gorgeous and rainy, but it just didn't matter... we weren't trying to go shopping or sight-seeing, just a weekend together on Broadway!

Our first show was The Addams Family... And I'm glad we had discounted tickets because the show was a dud! The music was forgettable and the show was boring. Brooke Shields was Morticia, and the young woman playing Wednesday great! My entire familiarity of The Addams Family is the music with the "snap, snap" - but I don't think it would have been any better even if it were more familiar!

I can't stop raving about How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying!! Daniel Radcliffe was phenomenal! Hard to believe he's so young, so wealthy and so committed to theater that he's performing on Broadway in such a draining role. I'm not sure what surprised me more - his height (just 5'4" or 5'5") or how well he danced!



E wanted to hang out with the groupies near the exit and I captured a fleeting, blurry shot of him as he got into the limo...


The final show of the weekend was Priscilla - Queen of the Desert. Definitely NOT a family show with a story of drag queens, but it was a fun, silly tone, had fantastic costumes and an actual plotline with character development!

It wasn't ALL theater.. first a return glimpse of Times Square before the rain...



And a stop at the rebuilding of the World Trade Center and emerging memorial...


And finally...as a Project Runway fan... I had to visit Mood Fabrics!! E&C were able to get tickets to Book of Mormon and I didn't mind about not getting a 3rd ticket because I really didn't want to see it. So I happily entertained myself with fabrics and then a much-appreciated hour at a coffee shop.



A GREAT weekend and without a computer and email it really felt like a much longer break!

Enjoy the day!

Bailey had a great time at "Camp A" but still says:
Momma - don't leave. I can provide all the drama you want around here!!

Happiness!!

'nuff said...

Must find this!

Saw these fantastic carpet tiles as a 'sneak peek' of a FLOR Fall 2011 design
(thanks to Poppytalk's post here)

These would be so great for my craft space!

Enjoy the day!

JavaNut

My favorite lamps... at long last!

A LONG time ago I saw a really cool lamp at Anthropologie. LOVED it! It was a stack of cups and saucers. It was me. LOVED it! It was $200. LOVED it! But not the price tag for something that immediately prompted my inner DIY-er "I could do that..."

I collected a bunch of pieces from thrift stores and Goodwill (and my cabinet!), got a lamp kit and the drillbit the 'tool man' suggested. It took me an incredibly long hour to drill through one saucer and it didn't create a clean hole. Project tabled...

I was link-hopping one day and found Mandy of Vintage Revivals. She recreated my lamp AND wrote a great tutorial on how she did it. So a couple of false starts later... I got my lamp!!

Forgive the phone photos... camera was charging and in my 'just do it' frame of mind, I grabbed the phone. The guest room colors are really hard to photograph well, so now I have the phone camera as another excuse for poor photos. And I'm still looking for lamp shades... trying to find some that I can thrift and re-make, but not successful. But here they are in the guest room... still LOVE THEM!!!

The large cup on the right next gets filled with toiletries when guests are here, and if they're lucky, flowers in the pitcher. If I'd made an effort for good photos, maybe I would have "staged" that too ;-)

When I finished, my friend immediately wanted one... so I continued my stalking of the nearby Goodwill. Numerous trips later had a good collection of yellow/blue... the saucer under the small yellow cup has a cute pattern, too. (and again... still working on finding the right shade).

Check out Mandy's tutorial and detailed photos... and thanks to her for making it easy!

Enjoy the day!

JavaNut

Freeze your shoes!

I really avoid buying shoes that aren't comfortable, but if I ever have shoes that are too tight - here's a fix. I never would have thought of this...

Who knew??

This year's garden has been a bit of a bust... possibly strange weather pattern this summer, but mostly just from neglect.

Tomatoes are always my priority and I've got 7 or 8 plants... woefully unproductive. Just enough to keep me eating them... no bumper crop, no overflowing basket, and very sadly no roasted cherry tomato bruschetta! Or tomato bread salad. sniff.

Even the zucchini has been perfectly manageable!

I planted lettuce for the first time. It stayed healthy, but didn't exactly grow so I wasn't sure if I picked some of the leaves if/how it would keep growing. Then I forgot about it.

If you've ever wondered what happens... I totally cracked up when I turned the corner and saw these! Then I left them to see just exactly what would happen. They grew another 10 inches or so, flowered at the top, and then fell over. (I had also turned off their water supply as that seemed a bit irresponsible!). So not exactly my intention, but I was entertained!

(I do plan on trying lettuce again and WILL remember that I've planted it. Probably.)

Back to blogging...

Back to blogging... I've been contemplating this for a while, and clearly this is a case of the longer you wait, the easier it is to wait longer! But I love the blogosphere so here's the 'just do it' post.

Significant contribution to my loooonnnnng hiatus was a long battle with tendinitis in my left wrist... therefore no knitting and less computer time. Second contribution was switching to a Mac was a less-than-pleasant process and I still find anything to do with photos a challenge. But months of therapy and then surgery late 2010 solved the wrist problem, and I'm just adjusting to the Mac. So... I'm back!

And since this was originally a knitting blog... a summary of my pitiful

output of 2010 until the tendinitis hit... pics aren't the best, and the resolution of the mosaic-maker-tool-thingy is even worse, but it's about all these projects warrant!

I do love the little gnome guys, though... Alan Dart is brilliant designer of knit toys. I NEVER would have considered knitting toys until I saw some of his patterns... totally cute! I dare you to look at his patterns and resist. Some people pay CRAZY prices on eBay for out of print ones that can't be re-released because of copyright laws...

I obviously failed the "10 Shawls in 2010" Ravelry group challenge, but jumped right in for the "11 Shawls in 2011" and had those all completed several months ago (and then some!).

So I'll leave this blogging re-entry post with another mosaic of those shawls...

I've discovered a surprising affinity with some Stephen West's designs - brilliant in their simplicity and use of color. I love knitting lace, but for out & about and the office, his ClockWork (gray/cream stripe, and multi/cream stripe) are incredibly wearable!

Mosaics done with the the aptly named Mosaic Maker from Big Huge Labs using my flickr pics.

Enjoy the day!

- JavaNut

(phew! I did it!)

Bailey says: I'd rather be going somewhere...

brownies, and chips, and cookies, oh my!

Before turning this into a random food oriented blog (garden, prepared, and then today), I have had other things going on (sadly... still no knitting).

Garage sales have been a focus of recent weekends, and I've been partially successful on my hunt, along with a few unplanned treasures. This weekend was a good one!

First up - pair of lamps. These were a bargain for $5/pr and will be perfect in the guest bedroom after a good cleaning. Of course I have a different project-in-progress for lamps for that room, but I couldn't pass these up and the other ones might not actually come to fruition.

A fun game board... the top glass has checkers to cover the backgammon board, and the drawer includes dominoes and cribbage. I'll need to get more little bits to use for checkers pieces, but already have a good idea. I may paint and distress the wood box as it's certainly seen better days, but this is a good addition to the game cupboard!

And a $10 bread machine. My bread machine didn't survive the move-storage-move process, so I'll have fun with this one.

The major purchase of the weekend will appear in a make-over post one of these days...

But instead of installing shelves or working on the headboard, I make Pillow Cookies. Not an intuitive name in my opinion, but essentially a brownie surrounded by chocolate chip cookie. YUM!

If I were to make these again, I'd go for a thicker cookie dough. This was REALLY moist and soft, so chilling the dough was critical, but made for a flat cookie with a bulge where the brownie bite was. And as Bakerella says, you will need to cover the cookies for further cooking when the tops start to get brown.

And they are HUGE! This plate is 7 3/4" across!

For the full recipe and much more enticing pictures, click here.

Temptation on so many levels...

Happy, Happy -

JavaNut

grown-up "Mac 'n Cheese'

I enjoy cooking, but as a household of one, I rarely actually cook. Grocery shopping after work is torture so I often "assemble" instead of cook.

This is my stand by for 'the last resort' and I call it grown up's Mac 'n Cheese. I'm not sure the nutritional value compared to Kraft, but at least it's not neon orange!!

After a long, hot day it was definitely time for a meal of last resort. And tonight's add -ins were broccoli and sundried tomatoes...

Slowly growing...

I've been slowing making progress on various house projects... always slower and later than expected, but progress nonetheless. But none are in the state of completion, so a more interesting project for "in-progress" is the veggie garden!

I was very late in planting anything in my new raised beds... partly because of my crazy travel all spring, and partly because we had such icky weather. And I kept the garden to the basics since it's all an experiment for these boxes. They get some sun, but not a lot... although I think they get more than I realized. So we'll see how everything goes this year and I'll have a much better plan next year.

The tomatoes are growing... but just starting to see some little yellow flowers. I have some heirloom (large and cherry-size), some "sweet 100s" (my favorite cherry tomotoes) and some "regular" but I can't remember which variety.

A baby cuke!

And the first beans I've ever planted... bush beans that apparently don't need to be staked!

Bailey is more interested in barking at the neighbors' dog than what's growing!

Thrifting...

In my search for some 'bargains' for some new spaces, I've been hitting thrift stores and garage sales. The perfect piece of furniture has eluded me so far, but I have collected another 6 pair of jeans at about $1.50 each. My stash is about 17 pairs now... more than enough for the lap-quilts I have in mind. I may not have furniture yet, but I'm on my way with accessories!

I pulled out the ones I'd collected before - and all have been washed, bleached (color-safe!), dried and are ready for cutting up. Not sure when I'll actually get around to them, but they're ready!

MediLeaf

A new establishment I drive by on my way home every day...

Apologies for bad photo, but from iPhone (I was at a stoplight, not driving!)

MediLeaf

Medical Cannibas Cooperative

Lofty Logic...

I went to local home/building store to see if they had replacement cushions for my patio set. For years I always kept them inside when not in use (the cushions, not the furniture), but they're now pretty icky.

I was also thinking about more patio furniture since I now basically have 2 patios in my backyard. I have no idea what I want (table and chairs, or sofa and coffee table, or maybe a swing?). But when walking by I saw this set that was 70% off and was really quite comfy.

The 70% pretty much confirmed my opinion though.

I pushed the nearby button and amazingly someone came over almost immediately. But they don't have it in stock.

Me: Is it available at another location?

Him: There aren't in stock in any of the bay area stores.

Me: Can I order it online and pay for delivery?

Him: No, it will just walk you through the process and then say there aren't any available.

Me: Will you have more in stock?

Him: No, they've discontinued this line.

Me: Can I buy the floor model?

Him: No, they won't sell that until the end of the season.

Me: But you won't have any available.

Him: I know

Me: So you're going to have the floor model indicating that you sell something that won't ever be available?

Him: yes

I didn't like any of their cushions either.

Laughter always helps...

Ok... I had a post about what a challenging day/week/month it's been.

Work is kicking my butt and there is mold/mildew/something in the floor of the new addition which is more than annoying.

So some days it's just all about the shoes! And I have some really cute ones. Brown heels with leopard print on the toes. Brown leather straps across the leopard print. Don't you want to see them? Of course I can't find my camera cable...

I'm a recent fan of The Pioneer Woman - she cracks me up (seriously - read her story of her romance with hubby, Marlboro Man) and had a post about a woman's shows - pink patent leather, but subdued with jeans. So I wore my new shoes with jeans to work today - whatever it takes to create some internal attitude, right?

But for my immediate laughter, Bailey's got a new thing... if I pause the TiVo and leave the room, he barks at the TV incessantly. He thinks there's someone trying to come in through the "window." He cracks me up...

Reading List

The Big Read was floating around blogland for a while, but now that it's slowed down I figured I might as well peruse the list and see how I rate. I'm not really sure what the criteria was for a book to make it on the list, but I've left it as I copied it.

Instructions:

Bold the books you've read...

Italicize the ones you intend to read...

Underline the ones you loved...

Ok - I only bolded the ones I read and didn't feel like going back thru the list again... But I am happy to report that the Needham High School English Department apparently served me pretty well as a significant portion of these were high school assignments. Any my book club has a pretty good track record against this list.... although I'm not sure if that's any kind of measurement. We just have fun...

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible (ok, not cover to cover)
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare (okay - not complete!)
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Bailey says: I liked reading Pride & Prejudice, Momma, but it would be easier if I had a haircut!