Missing My Muse

There is a part of me that would love to blame my lack of posting on the disappearance of my Muse, or maybe I could explain it as my Muse left when my husband retired and she felt her services were no longer needed among the talk and laughter and coffee drinking that goes on in a house with a happy retired couple. There may be some truth to that, my life has gotten crowded, not a bad thing, I just don't have much time for thinking...

My bowl painting has continued. 

One of the bowls I designed and painted for the
Tarrant Area Food Bank
on display at the Empty Bowls Event 2014.

More bowls from the 2014 Empty Bowls Event.  The green
bowl at the top and the striped bowls are "my" dog dishes. 

And I am still painting in the house. 

Will this madness ever end?  You make one little change,
which leads to another little change, then another, and...

I enjoy visiting with my family and friends. I get a little crazy when they tell me they follow my blog - they know what I'm doing and I have no clue what's going on in their life - they read my blog... They are too busy to tell me what they are up to.  I'm not too bitter. 

I'm still reading blogs - o.k., some days I'm so busy I just look at the pictures... Just wanted to say a word of thanks to all you clever bloggers out there. Thanks! ... And if you should spot my Muse somewhere out in this great, big world, maybe you could tell her she's welcome to come home anytime.


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Something New for the New Year

My resolution for this year:  Drink more water.

That's it. My one big change for the year.  Suzanne at ColoradoLady is starting a new Tuesday series "Tell Me Tuesday" and today she's asked the question:

WHAT IS YOUR NUMBER ONE GOAL FOR THE NEXT SIX MONTHS?

Number one for me is drink more water.  I sometimes get to the end of the day and think, "I'm thirsty."  Sure, I try to catch up on a day's worth of water in those last few hours before I head off to bed, but that's not an ideal solution.  So I am looking for ways to drink water through out the day. 

Oh, Suzanne, how can I have just one main goal?  Maybe next week I can just write about one thing but honestly, there's another thing or two I need to do.  Like exercise regularly.  And .....(how can I tell you this?!)....

I am also going to limit my blogging time.  I have to, you all are good - and good to me.  I could get lost in this fun little adventure called blogging. 

I've been entertained and inspired. Sometime last week I saw beautiful mercury glass candle holders, candles, and Epsom salt and loved that look.  Thanks to Dixie at French Lique.  My own version of this is a candle in a jelly jar with kosher salt - and quite REDNECK now that I see it in a picture. 

The salt looks a bit like snow and in this jar the candle seems brighter.
This is no where near Dixie's beautiful candles, but still it gives me warmth and comfort.

In December, I won some fabric by participating in the "Occupy Your Quilt Room" event.  Thank you Barbara at Cat Patches - I won second place - the Moda Little Apples Charm pack.  Not only does Barbara inspire me to quilt, she also gives me fabric!

Thank you, Barbara!

Blogging is like treasure hunting.  I discovered Cat Patches "Occupy Your Quilt Room" contest on the blog Count it *all* JOY!   Now I'm getting to know Denise, inspiring quilter and blogger.  The night I entered the contest something inside me said "if you win anything - share with her."  So when I learned of my win, I contacted her and  explained that we were in this together.  So Denise and I are sharing this one.  She came up with the Pattern - (Little Bluebell: Pillow Talk Swap 6) and our completion date is the first week of March 2012.

And where did I first see Count it *all* JOY?  I don't remember.  I guess she left a comment on a blog I read and I saw the word JOY and had to check it out. 

I do know that all of this started with  ColoradoLady - Suzanne has a little bit of everything on her blog.   She has her vintage link party on Thursdays - see button on the right (the one with the little bird) - maybe that's what got me following all these other blogs.

Now I have to set a timer so I don't spend too much time blogging, because there's lots of stuff I want to do. I see blogging as a good thing, and I'm only spending an hour or so doing this every day. But that adds up, and I have to ask myself WHAT'S THE BEST USE OF MY TIME RIGHT NOW? So YOU tell me:  How do you find the time to blog and live?


And, for the record, how did I learn about Suzanne's blog?  From my friend, Patti - no link - Patti's a friend in the real world.  She's into all kinds of clever, fun, inspiring stuff.  One day Patti was walking with me and talking about our friend, Suzanne, and when she got home she sent me a link ....  And since then I don't think I've walked with Patti one day.  How horrible is that?  So add exercise with a friend at least once a week to that list of things I'm going to do in the next six months.




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Pumpkins - Part II

First off:  Happy Blog Day to me.  A year ago I sat down with my new laptop and wondered - how hard can writing a blog be?  Of course it was more than six months before my next post.  Like anything new, you have to make room for it in your life - I gave up bit of TV, life is better, blogs seem more real than TV.  There has to be some kind of payoff and for me - it's you.  Also, it keeps my children happy that I'm sharing my thoughts with someone besides them.

I'm celebrating this occasion with (what else?) cookies.

Do you like pumpkin bread?  Here's the recipe of one of my favorite autumn cookies. They have the taste and texture of pumpkin bread. 

Pumpkin Bread Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 F.

2 1/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

-------------------------------------------Sift and set aside.

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar

-------------------------------------------Beat until creamy. Add

1  15 oz. can pumpkin

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

-----------------------------Mix well.

-----------------------------Gradually beat in flour mixture.

It's more like cake batter than cookie dough.

-----------------------------Stir in

2 cups semi-sweet "mini" chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts (I use pecan)

I stir in the chocolate chips and nuts by hand - no mixer - just gently fold them in.

Scoop out a rounded tablespoon of the dough (I use my 1 inch ice cream scoop makes the dough nice and round) and drop onto greased cookie sheet (I use parchment paper to line my cookie sheets - easy clean up and no sticking).

This scoop makes my cookie making so easy - helps to keep all my cookies the same size.  Usually cookies sink down and get flat but this cookie bakes in the shape that you put it on the cookie sheet.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 375. Cool on wire rack.

Top (left) going in the oven.  Bottom (right) just came out.

They taste best after 12 hours of cooling. But they are pretty good warm.  

I'm trying to show you the texture of the cookies.  They are like little pumpkin breads.

I'm off to learn new things, meet new people, save the planet, you know, the usual stuff - I'll tell you all about it in another post.

Life vs. Blog, for me life always wins

Happy Tuesday!  Last week in September and here I am going in 20 different directions and happy as I can be. 

First off, I am knee deep in wedding preparations.  My daughter and the love of her life have found each other and so a marriage is in the making.  Wedding in two months - yes, I am almost busier than a one armed paper hanger. 

Still working on my sewing room.  The bookcases went in without a problem and with almost an inch to spare.

They may not get painted, but they will get dusted.  Lots more to do, no time to stop...

I did a bit of shopping yesterday.  Here are a few things that followed me home...

I hope to be decorating with the pumpkins soon.  The raffia has a --- WAIT A MINUTE !  Where did the chocolate come from???    Sure, I know where it's going...

But wait, there's more...

A little something that I ordered from an Etsy shop arrived in yesterday's mail - that's all I can say now, it's the start of a gift.  Christmas is coming, hope it's not rushing on my account.

Last and best, gifts from my Mom.  From her garden and kitchen to our table.  Life is good.

Fig Preserves and Salsa

I hope you have wonderful plans for this week - it is the last week of September.  God bless your adventures and if something really good happens - enjoy it.  Live in that moment and make the most of it.  You can write your blog another day, never miss the opportunity to live.

Always,
cJoy

Brain Trust

I have been a little slow in discovering the world of blogging.  Like CDs and DVDs, I thought this was just a fad and nothing was happening here that I would find interesting.  I was wrong, again.  Now I'm having to set the kitchen timer to remind myself to get busy in the real world and stop blogging - which for me is a bit of writing about my adventures and lots of reading about your adventures. 

My husband asked me if my blog was all real or was it more like that Christmas movie I sometimes make him watch.  Have you seen "Christmas in Connecticut" from 1945 - starring Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan?

Photo from http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4263680256/tt0037595

It's the house and how it's decorated, and the clothes Ms. Stanwyck wears, that capture my imagination, but the storyline is as current as today.  Someone making a living on pictures and stories of a beautiful, but imaginary, life.

I assured my husband my blog is real, he even gets a copy emailed to him so he can follow along.  I also explained to him that some of the blogs I follow have inspired me to change things in our home  (guest room coming along nicely, plus organizing and painting the garage, and I now do a much better job of dusting - just in case I decide to take a picture or two around the house). 

To all of you telling real life stories, sharing your adventures with me (and, my favorite, commenting on my blog and emailing me) I just want to say 'THANK YOU.'   You give me a taste of life in other parts of the world, make me feel like we're all in this together, and remind me that life is what you make it.  Some of you make life wonderful with stories and pictures, some of you are teaching me something every time I visit your site, and some of you are, let's be honest, nothing but house porn.  (I discussed my slight addiction to house porn on June 14, I may have to expand my definition to include garden porn.)

I recently discovered a blog that could change my life (well, it might cause me to stop cleaning altogether and just stare at beautiful houses all day long).  I've even gone so far as to add her button (Hooked on Houses) to my blog.  If you already know about this site be proud of me, I found it on my own when I was looking for a picture of one the houses from the movie "The Holiday."  Once you've looked at her wonderful site - with pictures of beautiful houses, houses currently for sale, and houses from movies and TV - please visit with me again and tell me what you think. 

cJoy

P.S.  Please note:  I received no compensation for sharing this information with you, I just like to look at houses.  Also, I couldn't figure out how to put her blog in the "blogs I follow" section - so the button seemed the best way for me to keep up with another favorite.  Face it, I know enough about computers and blogging to be dangerous - but only to myself (I'll be careful).  I've learned so much from you, but I still have a lot to learn.  Thanks for stopping by.   



Carrying On...

From a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to Charles Willson Peale, August 20, 1811 -

...I am still devoted to the garden. But though an old man, I am but a young gardener.

Your application to whatever you are engaged in I know to be incessant. But Sundays and rainy days are always days of writing for the farmer.

Think of me sometimes when you have your pen in hand, and give me information of your health and occupations; and be always assured of my great esteem and respect.

Check out http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl211.htm  if you'd like to read the entire letter or other letters by President Jefferson. 

Years ago I heard his garden quote ("though an old man, I am but a young gardener") and it floated into my brain sometime yesterday so I googled what I could remember of it and Jefferson's entire letter collection popped up.  This particular letter is almost 200 years old, yet it could have been written by any of us and the ideas and thoughts could be our own. Reading this letter was like stumbling across a new blog, now I'd like to read another and perhaps 'follow' him. What else did he have to say about gardening?

I don't remember a time in my life when someone was not concerned about their garden -  vegetable plot, flowerbed, corn, cotton or soybean crop, window box, or hanging basket.  As a child I thought all the vegetable gardens were Dad's and all the flower gardens were Mom's.  I'm pretty sure Mom worked in both gardens, I just don't remember Dad working in the flower beds.

My dad left us with one of his best gardens ever -  the harvest so far includes tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and blueberries.  This week my mom is canning salsa, she's already put up lots of stewed tomatoes.  Her freezer is full of blueberries and now she's giving away blueberries to everyone who stops in for a visit. 

My dad turned 79 this past March.  He enjoyed gardening, not just for the end product, I think he enjoyed trying to 'trick' nature.  He planted way too early every year, there was always a killing frost after his first (sometimes second and third) planting.  Still he planted.  The last few years he had been creating a blueberry patch.  A few plants added every year, spaced just right so you have plenty of room to pick the berries and not hurt the plants.  On a slight hill, so you can stand in front and pick from the lower branches then go behind the plant and easily pick the berries on the top of the plant.  Also, his berry garden can be seen from the kitchen window, so he could see the deer when they came by for a quick meal (sometimes he would stand and watch - they are beautiful - sometimes he would step outside and make noise to scare them away). 

My love of gardening is just one of the many things I learned from my parents.  Everywhere they called home Dad planted a vegetable garden, Mom planted flowers,  and the world was made a little prettier thanks to my parents. 

I want to leave the world a better place - prettier and more comfortable - and I plan to do it all with a bit of humor.  I've returned to my Texas home with a sense of urgency to weed my garden and give away the treasures and/or junk that I no longer use.  I'm finishing that baby quilt and getting my guest room in order.  I want to visit with people and share ideas.  I'm going to do some traveling.  I'm going to spend more time with my mom and my family.   I don't want to waste a minute of this life God has given me. 

What are your plans for the future?  Today, next week, next year....

Evening Primrose, Mom's flower garden, July 2011