AMANDA'S BASKETS: HOLDING ON TO MYSTERY & WORKS IN PROGRESS

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

HOLDING ON TO MYSTERY & WORKS IN PROGRESS

HOLDING ON TO MYSTERY

I love flowers! I think most folks enjoy them but I love them. The fact that from a seed planted in dirt or a cutting rooted in water can produce beautiful creations is a mystery to me. Yes, I do know all the botany and chemistry behind it and I can explain the process. But when I look at a tiny seed in my hand and then the results, well, the best word that I can use to describe my feelings is mystery. A big, beautiful, wonderful mystery.

How many of you look at something and think, well, I can explain it factually but it's still a mystery to me? Sometimes it's better to hold on to the mystery of life...at least to hold it in tandem with the reality.

Yes, mystery of the unknown can lead to uncomfortable feelings. But mystery of the known, well, that can lead to feelings of understanding beyond...beyond to that warmth of gratitude, of joy, of happiness. So, next time you look at something, like a flower, for instance, that makes you smile, think of it as a gift of mystery for you to enjoy.

WORKS IN PROGRESS

When I reorganized my studio I found a couple WIP's and I thought that I would either have to abandon or finish them. The first one is easy...

All that's needed here is some quilting. It's all pinned up with the backing and batting waiting for me to practice my machine quilting. It's a little busy, especially the sky, but I like it.

The second piece is questionable...

It's a fussy cut abstract flower arrangement. One of the problems is the background. It's not cotton. It's polyester and I don't think that quilting it will work. The flowers are sewn on, though, so maybe it would work. If nothing else, it could be another practice piece for machine quilting. I'll let you know what I decide...

Well, tomorrow is Thursday which means a trip to the restaurant in the Bronx. The weather turned warm today and tomorrow it will be in the 60's. And Lady J has already been moved to a Friday spot, so I think I will leave early tomorrow and enjoy lunch with the students.

Thanks for stopping in...

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?