What I Did Over My Spring and Summer "Staycation"

2020! What a year so far! I keep waiting for spring to come and then I realize it is almost fall! So far, I have not come down with Covid-19. I have stayed in most of the time and when I had to get out, I wore a mask! I've washed my hands until they are even more wrinkly than before, but wrinkles are inevitable anyway.

So.....what have I done? (other than making masks, baking bread, and living through a master and guest bath remodel)

I made a quilt for my granddaughter who is a university freshman this year! 

I ordered fabric on June 3 to make a quilt for my grandson in the colors he requested, but so far everything I ordered is backordered. 

We had a small tornado and a little over a FOOT of hail! (Some areas nearby got 2 feet!) This is a picture the next day. Besides losing this and another large oak tree, most of our plants were stripped of leaves. The roads were so covered with leaves, you couldn't see where to drive. Our roof was destroyed also. 

Besides the weather and all that goes with that, my husband and I have had a great time cooking together! We cook something different every Friday. These are puffy tacos, a San Antonio specialty. The masa is shaped into tortillas and fried immediately. Usually tortillas are cooked first on a griddle. 

My husband uses a sous vide to make his tender, delicious steaks! After the sous vide, he browns the outside in butter. Lately we are cooking something old (an old favorite recipe) and something new (that we've never tried before!). It has been SO much fun! 

We've enjoyed gorgeous sunsets causes first by the Sahara dust that sweeps all the way across the Atlantic ocean to Texas and beyond. Then more caused by the tragic California wildfires. 

All that to say, we're making the most of a bad situation. I can't imagine being isolated with anyone more fun and wonderful than my husband! (We had our 50th wedding anniversary July 31st. We celebrated at home alone. We had great plans that included our grown kids, but maybe we'll do that next year.)

Stay safe everyone! 

Going Green with Red!

Note: This posted originally in 2012!  You can use this little tutorial to make a lipstick blotter to save on tissue and toilet paper!!!
Who would have thought we would be worrying about that in this day and age!

   

         Lipstick Blotter Towel

My husband's Aunt Rubye was an extraordinary seamstress. She had a career embroidering monograms for Neiman Marcus at one time! She shared with me the little embroidery design of the two birds with the word "Lip Stick" in between them. When I asked about it, she said that during World War II, tissues and toilet paper were at a premium and they didn't waste them by using them to blot lipstick! They made little red towels to blot their lips on! 
  Here I'm going to give you a simple tutorial for making your own!
(Of course, if you embroider, you can just hem a red cloth and embroider near the bottom.) This is such a simple project, many of you will not need a tutorial, but I have several followers who are new to sewing. I do have a little tip in there that even the more experienced might appreciate, so glance through it for that. If you're new to sewing, this is EASY! You can do it!

1. Cut two pieces for the front and the back (I'll call these A). Also cut a coordinating strip for the bottom (B) and if you want to add trim, cut that too. The size is not crucial. You can make it any size you want. My red strips are 7" x 13" and my bottom strips are 7" x 3". The trim is cut 7" long each.

2. HERE'S THE TIP! If you will use a glue stick to stick the trim where you want it, sewing it into the seam will be SO much easier! The trim I am using is so narrow, I have dropped it down so that only the top of it is on the 1/4" seam line. If your trim is wider, you can just glue it flush with the raw edge.

3. Place each A piece right sides together with a B piece, sandwiching the trim in between the two. Sew a 1/4" seam to connect the two.

4. Press each sewn piece, turning the seam upward so the trim will lay flat.

5. Put the two pieces right sides together. Pay attention to match the seams at the sides for the borders.

6. Sew all the way around, leaving a gap at the top that is about 2" to 3" wide. Turn the piece right side out through this gap. (I like to cut the points off the corners first to reduce the bulk, but be sure you don't cut across the seam when you do this!) Push the corners out with a long skewer or some other tool. Press and hand sew the gap closed. You're finished! Wasn't that easy?

Now you can feel like you're doing your part to save that paper!!

Staying Home!

 Sugarplum is quite the helper these days!

While we're "sheltering in place" here in the Texas hill country, she's helping me choose fabrics for masks. 

These are going to be used by the seafood department of a local grocery store.

I've also been baking a lot of bread! (For Christmas, my husband gave me an Ankarsrum mixer from Sweden!

In the meantime, Sugarplum is taking this sheltering-in to heart and she's reluctant to get out of bed in the morning! Who can blame her? She's snuggled up in a quilt!

Stay safe and well! Tomorrow I have an old tutorial that will help you save toilet paper! Curious? Come back tomorrow!