Ambitions

I went to a friend's wedding reception recently.  Another person at this event, a stranger who knew some people that I also knew, we got into a conversation which somehow boiled down to work.  And this person basically asked me the adult equivalent of "What did I want to be when I grew up."  At the time I shrugged it off and changed the subject.

Now that a couple of days have gone by, I ponder the same question again.  Why is the answer always career driven?  Even in high school my clever response generally was some sort of beach bum.  Today more likely a professional quilter or the more common housewife.  What if we took this question in a whole other direction?  What if our ambition wasn't tied to a competitive job and high paying salary?  Perhaps other options could not only be more obtainable, but also more fulfilling: charitable, kind-hearted, good listener,  reliable, responsible, honest, hard working.  Why can't we just aspire to be a good person?

Holiday Treats

As my cat has stolen my blanket and I'll probably find it wedged under some piece of furniture in a few days time, I'm off to plan for the ever approaching Christmas Day.  If you're planning at the last minute like me (every year I try to get my act together and it never happens) or looking to supplement your already existing plans, here's a couple ideas from one of my favorite blogs Southern Plate:

25 Free and Inexpensive Christmas ideas: http://www.southernplate.com/2014/11/25-free-inexpensive-ways-to-have-the-best-christmas-ever.html

Favorite Christmas Candies: http://www.southernplate.com/2014/12/favorite-christmas-candies.html

Warmth

I love Christmas decorations.  We went to a wedding yesterday and had to drive past the mall on our way home.  A perfect excuse to stop and admire the decor whilst staying warm indoors. 

It seems that yesterday was just Thanksgiving and now it's almost Christmas.  Where does the time go?  Well, other than work and sleep it seems I've been spending a good portion of my time watching holiday specials or quilting. 

Anyone else working on Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt?  Details here: http://quiltville.blogspot.com/p/grand-illusion-mystery.html

It's slow going for me as I'm also working on a Christmas quilt, just finished knitting a hat, and have yet to win the lotto so I can be a full-time housewife.

Preparing to give thanks

With Thanksgiving approaching ever closer on the horizon, this is the time I sit back and plan out my menu for this holiday.  Here's what I'm looking at so far:

Slow Cooker Turkey Breast

Green Bean Casserole

Apple Sausage Stuffing

I like mixing old favorites, with new ideas.  Making turkey in a crockpot is new to me and seems really convenient.  And my stuffing usually comes from a box.   I'm living a little dangerously this year.

A Mystery to Look Forward to

The talented Bonnie Hunter has posted the introduction to her winter quilt mystery here:

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2014/10/surprise-quiltville-winter-mystery.html

I've only picked up the paint chips so far.  Still have to match it up to fabric. 

Harvest

When I moved into my house over the winter, I had it set in my mind that I wanted a vegetable garden.  Well, that ended up being only zucchini and tomatoes this year, but something is better than nothing.  And while the zucchini crop has been kind of disappointing, the tomatoes have done rather well.  To the point that I wasn't totally sure what to do with them.  And then I found a recipe for this:

Tomato Mozzarella Melts

As I didn't really want to run out to the store, I made a few alterations.  Used cheddar instead of mozzarella and baby tomatoes instead of larger ones.

They were awesome.

Autumn

And the end of sandal season.  I've had to switch to sneakers.

But at least it's much quieter to walk now.

And with the changing of the leaves, starts apple picking season.  Hubby and I went this past weekend. 

The weather was perfect and the scenery at the orchard matched it.

It was so perfect that we lost track of how many apples we picked and ended up with loads extra. I've spent the last couple days baking pies and cake, freezing apple pie filling and applesauce.  But I love this time of year.

A little hobby of mine

Earlier this year, my husband and I bought a house and moved and all that.  One of the spare rooms became my Sewing Room, which was so welcome after spending years and years in small one bedroom apartments (which required hiding my materials from the cats in plastic bins and closets).

Now that I have so much more space, I got this idea into my head of getting a table with a treadle base from a sewing machine.  One of those re-purposed table things.  And I could put my not so old sewing machine on it and away I'd go.  Well, when I went to pick up the table to bring it home, the sewing machine from the original cabinet came with it for free.  I couldn't leave it behind, they were going to throw it out.  So that's how the vintage sewing machine collection started.

Here's a couple of my beauties:

Good evening folks!

Last week, I got a promotion at work.  So that's kept me a little bit busier than usual trying to remember all this new stuff.  But I've still found a little spare time to do some knitting:

It's made out of sock yarn.  I wouldn't exactly call this a fast project, but the pattern is easy to remember and it's kept me busy while watching TV in the evening.  The pattern is available here on Ravelry:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/old-shale-scarf

Getting to know me

Here's a list of fours:

Movies I could watch over and over:
Marie Antoinette
Lilo & Stitch
Flash Gordon
The Matrix

TV Shows I watch (though I don't have cable television, so they aren't all current):
Doctor Who (current BBC series)
The Walking Dead
The Office
Game of Thrones

Favorite Foods:
Quesadillas
Steak
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Dark Chocolate

Favorite Colors:
Navy Blue
Turquoise
Bright Orange
Dark Green

Places I'd love to be now:
Disney World
On the Beach
Having a picnic with my hubby
Running through the sprinkler

Hello

Welcome to my small corner of the internet.  I'm an office worker by day and a housewife the rest of the time.  Not counting my day job, I spend the majority of my time doing housework and trying to find time for my various arts and crafts.  Thanks for stopping by!