AMANDA'S BASKETS: JOSE COMING FOR A VISIT, NOTEBOOKS AND THE DOLLHOUSE COTTAGE!

Monday, September 18, 2017

JOSE COMING FOR A VISIT, NOTEBOOKS AND THE DOLLHOUSE COTTAGE!

Flowers were blooming in abundance all over today as I walked to and back from the subway. I went into the city today to meet with the Auspicious Stitches Group. They decided to go through their stash of supplies. In the end I think they kept most of the supplies but organized so it was easy to find things.

I have to say that the humidity was really high...and my bones let me know. The remnants of Jose are visiting us beginning tomorrow so there's going to be a lot of rain, coastal flooding, high seas and wind.

I stopped in to The Flying Tiger Store (I absolutely love this store!) because I needed an umbrella (I left my other one in Lady J) and I knew they had quality ones for very little money. Of course, I picked up a few notebooks. One of my weaknesses is notebooks. All kinds. Put them on sale and I have a hard time resisting. One look at my notebook container and you will understand my weakness! I couldn't resist this one for only a couple bucks...

My youngest son is flying back from a vacation in New Orleans. I hope he makes it before the weather is really bad which, if the forecast is right, he should well before the worst of it hits.

So this past weekend I enjoyed watching football...college on Saturday and NFL on Sunday. When I say I watch, I really am doing something else...like surfing, or sewing, or crocheting, etc...but listening to the announcers. Although when the crowd yells, I will look up, especially at the replays.

I guess listening to football puts me in a frame of mind that lets me relax and do things that I want to do...can't ever remember paying bills while watching/listening to football!! I did work on my dollhouse cottage. I am finally working on the bedroom. Here's the bed and the bedsit at the end of the bed...

Today was the first day of getting back into a more normal routine including exercise, walking, working on specific projects, etc. One major improvement I need to make is my photography so I have been reading lots of information on taking good pictures for ebooks as well as for Etsy. I think I need to make a special photography box and line it with super white paper...or white felt. Not sure which will be best. One will bounce light and the other will absorb it. I may need both.

Well, it's time to put my youngest son's birds (cockatiels) to bed...as well as my parakeets.
Thanks for stopping by...
Talk to you later...

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?