Miserable vs. Rewarding

Last night I sat down to start the first few stitches of my quilt and discovered that I had lost my thimble! A thimble is very important piece of equipment for quilting and I just could not start without one. My loving husband, floored that I did not have a spare, jokingly asked if he could make me one out of Duck Tape. His face registered surprise when I immediately took him up on the offer. He had me run and find a button to give it some strength in the end and set to work. It worked great! I went through a couple of them, and each new one got better and better. I really was amazed, the duck tape thimble worked well and was really comfortable. See how resourceful you can get when you really want to quilt!

Scripture Cover

A few weeks ago I did a post about my first adventures on Pinterest.
I found a book cover and really wanted to make it for my scriptures. I got a new set for my birthday and wanted to keep them nice from the start.  I really liked this tutorial and found the pattern quite easy to follow. I added my own flap so that it would close around front, just to protect the pages and little more. It really was simple and easy and a fun day project.
Go to her website if you would like to craft this yourself. ~By Small Means~

Tucson AZ Gem and Mineral Show

It is sad to say it,  but I have never been to the Tucson Gem and Mineral show. I never knew much about it. But yesterday and friend brought me out of my obscurity and took me to the gem show. I am still a novice in understanding it facets, I guess there are different areas set up around town, some that cost money to enter, some you can't bring kids, but the one I went to was free. It was more like a local bazaar than a gem show. It was set up in the parking lot of the Kino Sports complex and said they would be there through the 12th of Feb. We saw a lot of neat handmade wood working and home decor. There were really neat carved furniture and beautiful paintings.

My friend had mostly gone to get the jewelry. It was very inexpensive but well made, and I found several pieces that I liked very much. They had most of the bracelets and necklaces 1/2 off and all of their sterling silver too. The most expensive piece that I liked was thirteen dollars. I did find this bracelet that I really like for $4.00, I thought it was a bargain!

Tell me if you decide to go, I would want to catch a ride and go again!

My Low Carb Book

Spring Graden

 I thought I would let you in on my secret. My goal this year is to be one step ahead of my husbands questions with the garden. Throughout our marriage he has definitely been the back bone of the garden. I'm out there helping for sure, but it never has been my first priority. He has expressed on many occasions that he would love to see me excel at gardening as my mother, and his mother did before me. 

So I am going to give it a whirl. I hope that as the year goes on I can post happy pictures of a flourishing garden.  This is what I have started so far.  Broccoli and Alyssums have sprouted first and tomorrow I plant tomatoes, cauliflower, and bell peppers. 

Last Years Garden

It looks so pretty when the plants are all young. Last year was our first season in our home, and with that came not knowing where the sun really will shine. Also the bugs took their toll, on our tomatoes, I think out of 10 plants we ate 6 -8 tomatoes. Those big, green, tomato horn worms are nasty. We pulled them off by the dozens. This year it will be better. I will fight a stronger fight. We did get a great crop of watermelon. We planted to plants and got 8 large watermelon. I had never seen them grow so well.

The Joy of Pinterest

   

    Over the holidays I heard from many a sister in law that I needed to get acquainted with pinterest. I know about Pinterest from my sister's wedding planning, she used it all the time and was able to send and save pictures she liked. So now that the holidays are over and I'm back to normal schedule I've found the time to get on and look at what is available on Pinterest.

I have looked only a little and I am amazed. So far I've looked up ideas for:

Family Home Evening Charts,

                                                                  ~ simple as that~



Family Tree Pictures,

                                                             ~Legacy Family Trees~


Scripture covers,

                                                              ~By Small Means~





Scripture Tote,

                                                                 ~I Still Love You~

I'm so excited to have this new resorce. How did I get along without it? 

Thank you, Thank you to those sisters who have gotten me hooked!

Christmas Cookies

I have never made an assortment of holiday goodies; most of the time I make a batch of Carmel Corn to give friends and neighbors. This year I thought I would be different and make cookies. I must say that my vice is cookies; cakes and candy I can pass up, but cookies make me want to change my eating habits. So all in all I gave into my craving and found some delicious looking cookies.  I have found a wonderful website called Your Homebased Mom I have really liked the things she cooks. I found other recipes that have turned out really good and the recipes are explained very easily. So on her website I picked

Peppermint Melting Moments

photo from yourhomebasedmom

I have eaten about one a day, and that is way to many for me, but they are so good!

I also thought I would  find one made with chocolate. Always good idea to add chocolate to round out any goodie plate. So I found these fabulous looking homemade Oreos.

Smitten Kitchen

photo from smitten kitchen

They were super easy to make. I found it would be the best to stick the batter in a pastry bag and pump out small blots. The middle frosting is really good to. 

Now we need to find time to deliver these plate of cookies before we eat them all.