I am sorely tempted to turn them into garter stitch miters but know that the gauge, thus size of the squares, will be different, so, so far, I have restrained myself....
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Mission Knitting: Afghan Growing Again
Recently I started working on the mission afghan again. I have decided to make it 7 squares by 9 squares then extend it by using up other leftover yarn. This is what it looks like today:
I am sorely tempted to turn them into garter stitch miters but know that the gauge, thus size of the squares, will be different, so, so far, I have restrained myself....
I am sorely tempted to turn them into garter stitch miters but know that the gauge, thus size of the squares, will be different, so, so far, I have restrained myself....
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Paper Crafting: Thick Envelopes/Boxes with Envelope Punch Board
One of the senior sisters came into the office. She spoke of wanting to deliver encouraging notes to some of our missionaries. Immediately I thought of the Envelope Punch Board. Because she wanted to enclose a little treat I thought of thick envelopes/boxes. Went to YouTube and found some great videos on how to do it.
France Martin (Frenchie) had a good one that is great for making any size thick envelope you want. I had watched several other videos which were all good but Frenchie tells how to measure if your card is any size.
For these that were for 3 by 5.5 inch cards, I cut the paper (in this case some really pretty 110# card stock that I found for 50% off at Joann just last night!) 8.5 by 8.5 inches. With the envelope punch board I lined up the first edge (I put the paper in white side up to make the score lines more easily visible) with the 2 7/8 inch mark on the punch board, then punched and scored. Next I slid the paper one inch to the left to the 3 7/8 inch mark and punched and scored again.
Now you just treat the paper like you do any envelope: rotate 90 degrees, line up the first score line then punch and score. Do this for every score line, two per side. When this is done, you can corner-round one or all corners with the corner-rounder on the punch board. I did not happen to do this.
With the paper scored and punched there is the matter of a couple of cuts and a couple of "corner squares" to be cut out. These cuts are on the long side of the paper/envelope. You are making little tabs on one side of the envelope which you will glue down. On the opposite side you will cut out the little squares that were created when you made the score lines.
Using the bone folder, fold along all the score lines. I have now done the folding both before and after making the cuts. I don't think it matters which you do.
Time to glue. If you have the red sticky tape that Frenchie recommends, I would use it. If you don't have any red sticky tape that Frenchie recommends, I suggest getting some! Using a glue stick did not work. Using wet glue was kind of a pain. Well, more than kind of a pain, but it did work. Eventually.
I am positive that I have purchased some of that red sticky tape since arriving here, but I cannot tell you where it is. It is just possible that it got thrown out with the bag it came in. At least, that is what I imagine. Not that I am such a great organizer that I would know where it is, BUT Dear One did bring me a chest of drawers from the storage garage to use for my crafty/painty/fun stuff storage. I even labeled the drawers--color, cutting, attaching, other stuff. It should be easy to find things there. Especially since I have begun acquiring shoe boxes from the Dollar Tree to put stuff in inside the drawers. Still...no red sticky tape. I foresee another trip to Joann or Michaels in the near future. They welcome me by name. No. They really don't but they might as well. I recognize the check out ladies for sure.
France Martin (Frenchie) had a good one that is great for making any size thick envelope you want. I had watched several other videos which were all good but Frenchie tells how to measure if your card is any size.
For these that were for 3 by 5.5 inch cards, I cut the paper (in this case some really pretty 110# card stock that I found for 50% off at Joann just last night!) 8.5 by 8.5 inches. With the envelope punch board I lined up the first edge (I put the paper in white side up to make the score lines more easily visible) with the 2 7/8 inch mark on the punch board, then punched and scored. Next I slid the paper one inch to the left to the 3 7/8 inch mark and punched and scored again.
Now you just treat the paper like you do any envelope: rotate 90 degrees, line up the first score line then punch and score. Do this for every score line, two per side. When this is done, you can corner-round one or all corners with the corner-rounder on the punch board. I did not happen to do this.
With the paper scored and punched there is the matter of a couple of cuts and a couple of "corner squares" to be cut out. These cuts are on the long side of the paper/envelope. You are making little tabs on one side of the envelope which you will glue down. On the opposite side you will cut out the little squares that were created when you made the score lines.
Using the bone folder, fold along all the score lines. I have now done the folding both before and after making the cuts. I don't think it matters which you do.
Time to glue. If you have the red sticky tape that Frenchie recommends, I would use it. If you don't have any red sticky tape that Frenchie recommends, I suggest getting some! Using a glue stick did not work. Using wet glue was kind of a pain. Well, more than kind of a pain, but it did work. Eventually.
I am positive that I have purchased some of that red sticky tape since arriving here, but I cannot tell you where it is. It is just possible that it got thrown out with the bag it came in. At least, that is what I imagine. Not that I am such a great organizer that I would know where it is, BUT Dear One did bring me a chest of drawers from the storage garage to use for my crafty/painty/fun stuff storage. I even labeled the drawers--color, cutting, attaching, other stuff. It should be easy to find things there. Especially since I have begun acquiring shoe boxes from the Dollar Tree to put stuff in inside the drawers. Still...no red sticky tape. I foresee another trip to Joann or Michaels in the near future. They welcome me by name. No. They really don't but they might as well. I recognize the check out ladies for sure.
Sorry this is so blurry. PS The heart must be from the Paint 3D software...I did not put it there. You can more or less see that these envelopes are thick..almost 1/2 inch thick. You can see that I have glued down some mini candy bars to the card. An encouraging note will be written on the card before they are hand-delivered to their recipients.
Monday, May 28, 2018
Munchie Monday: Spiralizing Again! Quick and Easy Zoodles with Sauce
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| Brieftons 7-blade Spiralizer, bad picture |
The first thing I made was zoodles! The second thing was potatoes spiralized and fried in deep fat, well, shallow fat, really, for Dear One. I had just made potato chips in the microwave and did not feel the need to eat delicious fatty salty potato strips. Well, only a few...
My recipe was simple:
Spiralize 1 small sweet onion. Put it in a saucepan with one-half cup water and turn on the heat to medium.
Spiralize 2 small (6-inch, skinny) zucchinis and stir them into the onions. Stir and cook until the onion is cooked, perhaps five minutes.
Add 1 Tablespoon hoisin sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons Kirkland Non-salt Seasoning, and stir well.
Add a few scraps of baked chicken and stir well. Eat it all up yourself. Well, Dear One did not want to eat zoodles this time so I just threw in some chicken that has been aging in the refrigerator.
Tasted darned good.
Friday, May 25, 2018
Food Friday: Quick and Easy Snack - Seaweed and Rice!
When we first arrived in the mission, that very first day we went to Costco to get a blanket and sheets for our bed. There I saw some seaweed snacks and thought instantly of the wonderful seaweed snacks that Sasha served. I loved those. Well, we bought the giant package of seaweed snacks at Costco. They were not the same. Disappointing.
Recently a dad came by the mission office with a huge open box of things for his son who is serving here. He had the same seaweed snacks. I asked if his son liked them. He said that he loved them! He takes one sheet and picks up a little bit of steamed rice, pops it into his mouth and is in heaven.
So I tried it. HE WAS RIGHT!!! So good. (You can see this is an office snack. I did share some with others in the office. NOT Dear One, who objects to this. It amazes me the things he doesn't like, or doesn't want to try. I only don't like watermelon, well, melons in general, I think. If it is food, I can eat it. Sadly.)
Recently a dad came by the mission office with a huge open box of things for his son who is serving here. He had the same seaweed snacks. I asked if his son liked them. He said that he loved them! He takes one sheet and picks up a little bit of steamed rice, pops it into his mouth and is in heaven.
So I tried it. HE WAS RIGHT!!! So good. (You can see this is an office snack. I did share some with others in the office. NOT Dear One, who objects to this. It amazes me the things he doesn't like, or doesn't want to try. I only don't like watermelon, well, melons in general, I think. If it is food, I can eat it. Sadly.)
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Life is Fleeting
Thank you for reading these posts. It makes me happy to know that you are there. I love you all for the support you give us by your thoughts and prayers and comments. It is a huge blessing to me and to us.
A short story today: we have been visiting a wonderful family in our ward. We stopped in to drop off a Mother's Day card and found that Sister D was in the hospital for a blood transfusion. This was surprising. Brother D said she was going to be fine, just that she was very anemic for some reason. We thought about her and prayed for her during the week.
This weekend we stopped in after Church. She met us at the door and invited us in. When we had seated ourselves she told us that on Monday morning, the day after Mother's Day, while she was in the hospital preparing to be picked up, Brother D had died. What a shock! To everyone. It turns out that for some time he had been taking two types of insulin. He had a blood sugar incident and needed insulin. This time he had made a mistake on the one he took. He had time enough to write a little note to tell Sister D about it before he slipped into a coma, and subsequently died. A shock to all.
There are so many messages one can take away from this tragedy. Probably the most important one is that we need to make each day count. We do not know what day will be our last day in mortality.
A short story today: we have been visiting a wonderful family in our ward. We stopped in to drop off a Mother's Day card and found that Sister D was in the hospital for a blood transfusion. This was surprising. Brother D said she was going to be fine, just that she was very anemic for some reason. We thought about her and prayed for her during the week.
This weekend we stopped in after Church. She met us at the door and invited us in. When we had seated ourselves she told us that on Monday morning, the day after Mother's Day, while she was in the hospital preparing to be picked up, Brother D had died. What a shock! To everyone. It turns out that for some time he had been taking two types of insulin. He had a blood sugar incident and needed insulin. This time he had made a mistake on the one he took. He had time enough to write a little note to tell Sister D about it before he slipped into a coma, and subsequently died. A shock to all.
There are so many messages one can take away from this tragedy. Probably the most important one is that we need to make each day count. We do not know what day will be our last day in mortality.
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Another Card
Elder and Sister J reached 44 years together this week. I was going to make a pretty little cake and bring it to the office. Since everyone seems to be trying to get back to the original sylph-like form that may or may not have been a stage in life, I decided to make a card instead.
This is the card. First I embossed it then I painted the embossing. After that I spattered it. I like spatters. Inside I used some StazOn ink and stamped the cute little lovebirds. Finally, I painted them with some cheap watercolor crayons an art teacher talked me into buying after a Michaels class. I had tried them once and turned my nose up, but now I tried again. They worked out ok.
To put the card together, I made a little mat that was about an eighth inch larger than the painting which gave about 1/16 inch all around...barely visible but still there.
These little guys were on the inside of the card, more or less in this situation. It was a fun card to make.
This is the card. First I embossed it then I painted the embossing. After that I spattered it. I like spatters. Inside I used some StazOn ink and stamped the cute little lovebirds. Finally, I painted them with some cheap watercolor crayons an art teacher talked me into buying after a Michaels class. I had tried them once and turned my nose up, but now I tried again. They worked out ok.
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| Sorry. I cannot figure out how to stand it up correctly. The grass is supposed to be at the bottom. Sorry. Again. |
These little guys were on the inside of the card, more or less in this situation. It was a fun card to make.
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Food Bonus: Kale Chips in Microwave!
On the weekend I saw a video about making kale chips in the microwave. Sadly, I did not keep track of the source BUT if I had, I would have told you to go watch the source. Instead, this is what I did.
First thing, always with vegetables and fruit, WASH the kale, then dry it thoroughly. Using about 3 stems of kale per serving (also per cooking try), strip the kale leaves from the stem. Break into large-ish pieces. Put them into a large bowl. Dribble on 1 teaspoon (yes, teaspoon) of olive oil and toss well with your clean hands. When all the kale is shiny, indicating a little dab of oil on it, sprinkle on some coarse salt, some granulated garlic, and a SMALL amount of chili powder. Toss again with your hands. (Lick your fingers before going on. You might need to add a little more garlic or chili powder. In my case, I thought it was perfect. Dear One thought the end result was a little high on the spice.)
On a large microwave-safe place, place a piece of parchment paper. Spread out the kale leaves on it, keeping the overlap to a minimum. Start heating on high for 3 minutes. Check the kale. Move it around a little bit on the paper. Cook for 3 more minutes. Check again. Repeat one more time. By then the chips might be done. If absolutely necessary, give them one more minute, then pull them out of the microwave and let cool, if you have the will power. These are nice and green and tasty and crisp.
The only advantage of baking them in the regular oven is that you can do more at once. These turned our really well. Dear One even enjoyed them, though he turned up his nose when I placed the plate on his lap.
First thing, always with vegetables and fruit, WASH the kale, then dry it thoroughly. Using about 3 stems of kale per serving (also per cooking try), strip the kale leaves from the stem. Break into large-ish pieces. Put them into a large bowl. Dribble on 1 teaspoon (yes, teaspoon) of olive oil and toss well with your clean hands. When all the kale is shiny, indicating a little dab of oil on it, sprinkle on some coarse salt, some granulated garlic, and a SMALL amount of chili powder. Toss again with your hands. (Lick your fingers before going on. You might need to add a little more garlic or chili powder. In my case, I thought it was perfect. Dear One thought the end result was a little high on the spice.)
On a large microwave-safe place, place a piece of parchment paper. Spread out the kale leaves on it, keeping the overlap to a minimum. Start heating on high for 3 minutes. Check the kale. Move it around a little bit on the paper. Cook for 3 more minutes. Check again. Repeat one more time. By then the chips might be done. If absolutely necessary, give them one more minute, then pull them out of the microwave and let cool, if you have the will power. These are nice and green and tasty and crisp.
The only advantage of baking them in the regular oven is that you can do more at once. These turned our really well. Dear One even enjoyed them, though he turned up his nose when I placed the plate on his lap.
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