AMANDA'S BASKETS: STORM PREPARATIONS

Thursday, October 1, 2015

STORM PREPARATIONS

I did get out this morning and ran a few errands...full tank of gas in Lady J, picked up some cash and did a bit of shopping for important things like...diet coke and coffee!!! Oh, and some batteries and a new flashlight.

This morning the path of Joaquin wasn't very set but this afternoon it looks like it may just brush by the coast leaving lots of water, surf and a fair bit of wind but not making landfall here which is just fine with me.

I found out that if it does change and make landfall here abouts, my area is one that has to vacate...thus the full tank of gas and some cash. Should be interesting with cats and birds in the car at the same time. Noah????

It has been cold all day, quite breezy and very overcast...what sun? I've been wearing a heavy sweatshirt all day.

And with it being so cold, I immediately went into my fall mode of cooking. Fresh picnics were on sale so I have one in the oven along with some winter squash. Instead of potatoes, my favorite go-to starch, I made some rice.

Next, pea soup. I would have made it earlier but I wanted a ham hock to season the soup. Sometimes I make it without any pork but it's going to be cold and rainy and I wanted a really rich, full-flavored soup this time.

I also need to make some more bread. Finally ran out of bread today. And some cookies. Maybe another type of dessert...I told you I was in my fall mode of cooking.

Yesterday's relaxing day included finishing up my latest mystery book. The State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy, the first in the White House Chef Mystery Series. It has some great recipes including Henry's Famous Hashbrowns and Broiled Grapefruit. I also finished rereading Lloyd Geering's book Reimagining God. And no, it's definitely not fiction.

I have all of the block I created at the workshop last Friday sewed down. I'm in the process of adding embellishments like buttons and beads. I thought about ribbon but decided that the ribbon would be a bit much.

The workshop was titled 'Zen Stitching' and it really is a meditation type of stitching...very relaxing. Not sure how relaxing it will be when I begin adding beads though...I'll let you know tomorrow. And I will share a photo of the completed block.

I hope wherever you are, things are going well, the weather isn't treating you too badly and that you've had an enjoyable day. Don't forget, football tonight.

Thanks for visiting...
Talk to you tomorrow...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

MAGAZINE IDEAS

(New) One article in the Farmer's Almanac 2024 is a list of trends. One I knew about is the trend to downsize in just about every area. Another trend that I was surprised about was called ''The Human Library' which offers people on loan to talk about specific subjects. Finally, more folks are adding pets to their family and as a result, stores are adding more pet food, toys and medication to their offerings. There's also a nice garden article which suggests mixing vegetables and flowers together for success.

RECIPE IDEAS

Have you every made Cherry Dump Cake. It calls for 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling (21 ounces), a white cake mix, 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted & 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a 9 by 13 pan, spread both cans of cherry pie filling. Add the melted butter to the cake mix and break apart the resulting mixture and crumble it evenly over the pie filling. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Fast, easy and very delicious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if you want to establish better habits, then decide what habit you want to work on. Again, try an easier one first for that good feeling of success. Let's consider more exercise. Start small. Don't try to run a marathon right away. Set the amount of time, the type of exercise and when to do it to begin making sure that it is within your reach. If it works for you each week add a bit more. Walking is one of the best ways to get good overall movement but there are many exercise videos on YouTube of varying lengths and difficulty to check out. Change your exercise routines to eliminate getting bored. For hardcore exercise with weights, give yourself a day in-between to recover. Even on days you would rather not exercise, do it and see if you feel better. It takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. Just think 66 days to establish a good habit for a lifetime. Sounds like a good thing to me...how about you?