AMANDA'S BASKETS: TIME and WEAVING DONE

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

TIME and WEAVING DONE

Today, I've been thinking a lot about how time seems to fly away when the pressing duties of homemaking (adult children no longer live at home) or a job (retired) disappear. Wide open time slots but this time I am responsible for filling up those time slots.

It's probably because of the Julia Cameron book that I am working through (on my second week of the 30 day challenge) where she deals specifically with retired folks. But, I was thinking about how much more I accomplished when the kids were young and at home and I did have a job.

I remember one sociologist musing that the time to accomplish a task adjusts to the amount of time one has to do it. In that case, I guess I am the world's slowest at doing anything because I have so much time to do it.

How about you? Do you find that time seems to slip away unnoticed because you are spending so much time accomplishing chores that used to take you a few moments. Now, if I am spending my time on a creative venture or project, that's one thing. But when it takes me a hour to do dishes...oh my, something has gone awry.

One thing this book has given me is the gift (yes, it is a gift) of organizing my days. I do yoga, I walk a minimum of a mile, many days lots more, I meditate, I spend less time on household things. And that frees me up to read, write and create.

The other thing I do which probably helps is that I turn off the tv and radio, except for music. I am a political junkie and could spend all day watching news channels. I still get a dose of it in the morning, early, at noon and then in the evening. But all day, no more. And I have found that my creative juices and accomplishments have increased several fold. Guess that's what happens with this administration...wears one down considerably.

I did finish my weaving. Photos not too great but the weaving looks wonderful...

I love the jumble of the fabric beads. It reminds one that even living one's life fully, there are many complex issues tugging all the time.

I picked up the wood to make a heddle for the loom. Can't wait to make it and see if the weaving process is a little more even, and faster.

That's all for now, folks...
Thanks for stopping in...
(Foggy out, I can hear the foghorn!)
Talk with 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?