Great Start To A Day!

 This morning we got up early to go to the temple.  We needed to leave by around 6:30.  I was a little late on that one.  When I came downstairs I dropped my temple bag on the floor just inside the garage door.  Instantly the screaming alarm went off startling me completely.  I stepped over to the alarm box and disarmed the alarm. I notice a note that "in Zone 6 there was a Glass Break".  Oh, for crying out loud.  I just dropped my bag.

Fifteen minutes later I was walking out the garage door with my bag and our lunches in my arms and here came to beautiful men in blue up the driveway, though in this case it was a young woman in blue and a young man in blue.  Instantly I knew that the alarm company had called them.  I apologized and thanked them for coming.  I showed them that I had just dropped my bag on the floor--a "premium vinyl plank" floor as it happens.  The nice lady policeman said that some alarms are very sensitive.  Yes they are!  They wished us a good day and departed within five minutes.  I hope they will come again if they get the word.

This is the offending bag!  Dear One suggested I not drop the bag again.  He is really very nice to make a suggestion like that.  It is one I will try to observe...!

Busy Monday, Including Sewing Projects!

 This morning as I was immersed in Scripture study, there was a quote that caught my attention.

This is the quote, and it is a LONG one!  The speaker was Elder Ronald Rasband from a General Conference in Salt Lake City in 2017.

"Fourth, we must act on the first prompting.

"Remember the words of Nephi. “I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. Nevertheless,” he said, “I went forth.”

"And so must we. We must be confident in our first promptings. Sometimes we rationalize; we wonder if we are feeling a spiritual impression or if it is just our own thoughts. When we begin to second-guess, even third-guess, our feelings—and we all have—we are dismissing the Spirit; we are questioning divine counsel. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that if you will listen to the first promptings, you will get it right nine times out of ten.

"Now a caution: don’t expect fireworks because you responded to the Holy Ghost. Remember, you are about the work of the still, small voice.

"While serving as a mission president in New York City, I was with some of our missionaries in a restaurant in the Bronx. A young family came in and sat near us. They appeared golden for the gospel. I watched our missionaries as they continued to visit with me, then noticed as the family concluded their meal and slipped out the door. Then I said, “Elders, there’s a lesson here today. You saw a lovely family come into this restaurant. What should we have done?”

"One of the elders spoke up quickly: “I thought about getting up and going over to talk to them. I felt the nudge, but I didn’t respond.”

"“Elders,” I said, “we must always act on our first prompting. That nudge you felt was the Holy Ghost!”

"First promptings are pure inspiration from heaven. When they confirm or testify to us, we need to recognize them for what they are and never let them slip past. So often, it is the Spirit inspiring us to reach out to someone in need, family and friends in particular. “Thus … the still small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things,” points us to opportunities to teach the gospel, to bear testimony of the Restoration and Jesus Christ, to offer support and concern, and to rescue one of God’s precious children.

"Think of it as being what is called a first responder. In most communities the first responders to a tragedy, disaster, or calamity are firefighters, police officers, paramedics. They arrive with lights flashing, and may I add, we are so incredibly grateful for them. The Lord’s way is less obvious but requires just as immediate a response. The Lord knows the needs of all His children—and He knows who is prepared to help. If we let the Lord know in our morning prayers that we are ready, He will call on us to respond. If we respond, He will call on us time and time again and we will find ourselves on what President Monson calls “the Lord’s errand.” We will become spiritual first responders bringing help from on high."

As I was reading this a thought came into my mind.  I decided it was the still small voice trying to help me have a good day and become productive.  As a result, I leaped out of my chair when I was done studying, put on clothes and socks and shoes, and headed out on foot to the closest store to get some milk.  I had two options and found milk at the closest store!  Within an hour I was home again and got some yogurt started in the Instant Pot.  This was just regular milk, not ultra-pasteurized.  It looks like it worked. It is now chilling in the refrigerator.  One productive item from the To Do list I make each day in my electronic journal (I use Day One and love it!).  That made me happy.

The second productive  item from my whispered list-- Today was the day to make a zippered bag for a small knitting project.  I ended up making three.  All of them are not that great, but they are all small bags and they do have zippers and "handles" on each of them.

The sunflower bag was first, then blue, then floral.  They all have issues but they all work.  

The third bag was more or less from this reel.  I made some of my own changes--mainly I did a French seam at the ends instead of sewing on strips of fabric to enclose the seams.

Making these bags makes me want to figure out a good bag. I used fat quarters for these, though the floral bag came from two half-yard cuts so I made my own fat quarters.

Friday Fiber Tales!

 After spinning last week at the Revolutionary War Park in Camden, I took up the challenge to spin more regularly.

About half of the singles on this bobbin was spun today:

If you enlarge the photo so you can see better, you will see that I am currently a pitiful spinner.  Even so, I am having a good time and am learning lots.  This is the fiber I purchased at Hobby Lobby,  some a month or more ago and some on Monday when they were having their clearance sale.  I am kicking myself as I write this because I was there at the store again today and failed to check if they had marked down any more of their wool.  Oh well. I do have enough.

So, one thing I think I learned is that I need to treat this fiber the way experienced knitters treat their beautiful expensive fiber braids.

Here is this photo you can see the little fiber nests I made today.  I pulled apart the fiber vertically to make these nests.  This way there is way less likelihood of me making big globs of fiber in the singles.  Less likelihood, but not a certainty!!

You can also see that, despite my best intentions, the hoe out/clean out job is progressing VERY slowly.  

Back to the fiber/yarn:  my plan is to fill this colored bobbin entirely then ply it with a bobbin of white fiber I prepared back in the old days in Vermont when a kind farmer in Thetford Center offered the fleeces from his shearing one year.  I accepted, skirted, scoured, and sent the fleece to Sallie's Fen in Barrington, NH for her to turn it into roving.  That roving is beautiful and spins like a dream.  I have a completely fully bobbin ready for plying.

What will you do with that two-ply yarn you ask?  Well, I do have a plan.  Andrea Mowry has a lot of Traveler patterns.  I plan to knit her Traveler Shawl with this yarn.  I need at least 1000 yards.  I will almost certainly need more than two bobbins of colored singles.  News breaks as they occur!

Blueberry Plants

 Over the past five years we have planted blueberries four times. The first three years the plants did not make it through the summer.  Our fault entirely.  Did not know how to grow blueberries.  Got advice from many sources and tried again.  Last year we did a lot of work amending the soil and watering and fertilizing etc following the recommendations of the nursery where we bought them.  Last fall, same story:  nothing but sticks.  I decided not to yank up the dead plants just in case they miraculously resurrected.

Early this spring I went down to look at the spot where they had died.  Nothing.  Last month I went down again and found a few green leaves on two of the plants...of course it was the plants who no longer had their name tags on so I do not know what varieties they are...but there are green leaves.  Last week they still had a few green leaves but did not look like much.

Today: 

Okay, they don't look like much but you can see there are green leaves.  I have renewed hope in raising blueberries right here!

Anyone with suggestions?  They are welcome.  I do know I should pull up all the dead grass...

Strange thing: The Ants!

 When I get out of the car sometimes the cable that goes to my phone inadvertently gets dropped on the ground and the car door shuts with the cable hanging outside.  Well, that happened today.

When I got back to the car I saw the cable lying on the ground as I came around the back. I kicked myself mentally for not checking four hours ago when I got out of the car. When I got up to the door I REALLY kicked myself! Because, you ask, well, the end of the cable was lying on a crack in the pavement and zillions of ants were crawling up and down the cable. In case you did not already know this: ants are very small and the little space between the cable and the door was enough to let them move inside the car!!!

What did I do? The first thing was I pulled my skirt up high so as not to get ants crawling on me immediately then reached inside the car and I unplugged the cable from the USB port and laid the cable across the shrubs beside the car then started pulling it through to try to strip off the ants. Only a little successful.

There was a roll of paper towels in the trunk so I pulled one off and wiped down the cable. Did not kill the ants but got them off that cable.

It turns out there were many ants inside the car!  I got out the spray bottle of glass cleaner from the same box in the trunk and sprayed the heck out of the floor and mat on the driver’s side.  They were still moving!  SO…I took a handful of paper towels and scrubbed along the floor.  I expect there are still living moving ants in the car but I had to sit down, since I used up all my energy walking off my lunch at nearly 90 degrees…just before returning to the any fiasco.

Now I am sitting in the driver’s seat with my skirt up above my knees hoping the combination of efforts will have discouraged the ants enough to leave me alone.

If you look closely you can see one ant about in the middle of the photo. It would have been much more impressive if I had snapped the picture while the cable was still connected to the car and the army was running in and out of the car.  Hopefully there will not be a ‘next time’ but if so, I will get a shot of them at that point.

Sometimes You Just Luck Out...In A Positive Way

 Last week I saw a YouTube channel of a young woman who was a spinner and a knitter.  She mentioned that Hobby Lobby in her town had been having a deep discount on some discontinued colors of yarn.  I knew that this is the week that Hobby Lobby has yarn on sale for 30% off (this happens every other week.  On the off week [next week] the fabric is 40% off.  Good things to know if you want to plan your purchases to save the most money...). I thought I would check it  out.

So yesterday morning after a doctor appointment I dropped in at Hobby Lobby. 

 Let me back up one or two steps...  On Saturday last I went to the Revolutionary War Park in Camden where there was going to be a group of spinners spinning.  They had invited me to attend.  I did attend and did enjoy spinning...though it was a bit hard using new-to-me fiber.  

The other spinner who came, and who helped me with my spinning, mentioned that there was some yarn at Hobby Lobby that one of the spinners in her group used to do a lot of spinning.  It is a roving "yarn" called Showstopper, and while it is only 15% wool, it is good fiber to practice spinning.  I thought I would see if there was any at Hobby Lobby.  THERE WAS!  And it was $2.74 for 10 ounces as opposed to the regular  $10.99.  I bought five skeins!  I think by the end of the time I finish spinning this fiber that I will know a lot more about spinning.  Hobby Lobby also had four bags of actual wool fiber that originally cost $7.99 but went for $1.62 yesterday.  I was pleased since it was the very fiber I was having difficulty spinning.  More of it meant I could learn more on how to spin that type of wool fiber.

So, here is a word to the wise...not necessarily spinners but anyone who wants to see if there is clearance yarn.  Better check out Hobby Lobby this week.  Maybe earlier than later in the week.  Most of these discounted fibers had already been purchased. I felt fortunate to purchase what I did.

Munchie Monday: Blackberry Cobbler

 The other day I stopped at the Dorr Farms booth at the Farmers' Market.  They had big beautiful baskets of fresh blackberries.  Remembering that Dear One LOVES blackberry shortcake, I picked up a basket.

Instead of shortcake, this is what I made:

Blackberry Cobbler. from The Chunky Chef

This is the recipe from The Chunky Chef.  Below it is what I actually did...

COBBLER

• 24 oz fresh blackberries
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (optional but recommended)
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• 3/4 cup water

TOPPING

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter, grated or finely cubed
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup cold buttermilk

Instructions

• Grease an 8 inch square baking dish.
  
• In a large saucepan, combine the blackberries, sugar, and cinnamon. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil.
  
• Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into fruit mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2-5 minutes or until thickened.
  
• Pour into prepared baking dish.
  
• For topping, in a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or two forks until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  
• Stir in buttermilk just until moistened. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto hot berry mixture.
  
• Bake, uncovered, at 350F for 30-35 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden brown. Serve warm, with whipped topping or ice cream if desired.
  

Notes

1. Buttermilk amount will vary from individual to individual.  You want the dough to be moist enough to hold together when pinched between a few fingers, but not moist enough that it's wet.
2. For a thicker cobbler, combine blackberries, sugar, 1 Tbsp of cornstarch and cinnamon and stir well in baking dish.  Let sit for 15-20 minutes, so they can soften a little and produce a little bit of a syrupy liquid on the bottom of the dish.  Add topping and bake as directed.

WHAT I DID--

In the bottom of an 8 inch square glass baking dish I spread 1 cup sugar then a thick layer of blackberries   and left them for 10 minutes.  Nothing seemed to be happening so I started smashing the berries up with the back of a spoon then sprinkled on a few shakes of cinnamon and left them again.

Leaving the berries alone for a while I got out a nice glass bowl and poured in  1.5 cups of self-rising flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking SODA , and 1 Tablespoon sugar and mixed well.  Taking out our box grater I grated 1 stick on cold butter into the dry ingredients then mixed in with a fork until you could not really see the chunks of butter.  Into that mess I poured 1/2 cup buttermilk and stirred.  It did not seem to be enough liquid so I poured more in and stirred it until it seemed right.  In this case, I was planning to drop the batter on top of the berries so it was a little wetter than The Chunky Chef suggested.

Ater putting  9 big globs of batter on top of the berries I then spread the batter to the edges of the pan then baked for 30 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven.  After checking, I decided to let the cobbler cook some more...about 5 more minutes.

The reason I was letting the cobbler cook longer is that the berry juice was just barely coming up through the biscuits on top. I wanted more indication that they were cooked.

Looking back through the recipe I realize I did not use any corn starch.  That might have been a good thing to do--add the corn starch.  I did not do the cooked blackberries method but followed the bit in the Notes.  Still, it was a wonderful cobbler.  Fortunately, we were able to share some with friends so we did not eat it all ourselves.

We served this with whipped cream on top.  Because of all the sugar in the recipe, I did NOT sweeten the whipped cream when I beat it.  SOMEONE in the family said we should ALWAYS have sweetened whipped cream...!  Well, we shall see.