AMANDA'S BASKETS: I'M BACK AND EXPERIMENTING WITH MY ZONES!

Monday, April 29, 2019

I'M BACK AND EXPERIMENTING WITH MY ZONES!

Isn't that a beautiful dandelion? I took it outside this afternoon. The temperature is almost 60 and the sun is shining. A gorgeous day to be outside. Course that all changes very soon as rain is forecast for the rest of the week!

So my trip up to Maine really was fast. Two stops on the way. One was my favorite place to visit in New Hampshire.

I'll share the fat quarter collections I purchased tomorrow. None of the pictures of fabric turned out...oh well...I will get the hang of it soon.

We got there, had a very late dinner...at Ken's of course...

...slept a couple hours, visited with my friends for a couple hours and then turned around and headed for home. No stops on the way back, except for gas.

So I didn't have any time to take pictures. The piles of snow lying around were kind of disheartening anyway. Spring is really late in New Hampshire and Maine.

I recovered on Friday (Sorry about not posting.) And the weekend went by in a blur, of sorts. I did watch some Tiny House Nation (Love the idea of a tiny house! Surprised? Remember I toured the nation for two years in a 19 foot travel trailer!) And, of course, one of my favorites, Call of the Midwife.

So today, I am back into my routine of morning pages and exercises plus everything else, including posting on my blog. While I was cleaning up the kitchen I found a new series to watch on Acorn. The New Ms Fisher's Mysteries! I loved the Australian series and so far this one looks like a winner. The star is playing the niece of the original and late Ms. Fisher.

My Crafter's Devotional theme this morning was stepping out of your comfort zone. There are times when I do that really well but there are even more times when I stay in my safe zone.

Stepping out was driving into the city on my own (driving not the problem) and finding a parking garage for my truck (that was the problem).

Stepping out was visiting the local quilt shop and talking with the owner. (I'm not very good at that!)

Stepping out was ripping out the Delicate Arch on my southwestern scene and looking for something else to put in it's place (I am thinking of 'Landscape Arch.)

But for the most part I seem to stay in my safe zone...although that may really change when I assume the presidency of the Empire Quilt Guild!!

I mostly like to live in my safe zone. But lately, I have been thinking that I have taken up residency there far too long. So, this weekend I began looking for things to do on my Artist's Date besides visiting thrift stores.

A few things have turned up including a Tea Room (in the local area) and a couple galleries. Plus there are places back in New England that I want to visit on a regular basis...even overnight. Still want to meet a blogger in Maine whom I follow. And I have other friends in Maine that I want to visit.

I just have to motivate myself to get out of my studio and out of my safe zone. What about you? Are you a safe zone dweller or do you get out of your way and get out? Think about it. Leaving the safe zone occasionally can be very exciting!

Thanks for dropping in...
See 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?