More to Do

As I'm actually writing this post on October 20th I hope by the time it publishes our county will have repaired the partially collapsed road near our house. While it's closed we are forced to drive many miles out of the way just to run our usual errands. Only we still have another month of hurricane season, and two more storms were named yesterday, and things here in the country generally move at a snail's pace, so I'm not optimistic.

Losing the use of just one road is a bit of a preview of a much worse disaster, and what that might force us to do. If we couldn't drive to get what we needed how could we run errands, and what we could carry back and forth? I see us riding bikes and using backpacks, which at our age wouldn't be fun, but is still doable. My guy still rides his bike around the neighborhood for exercise, while I use my stationary bike. The nearest town is five minutes by car; that would be twenty minutes one way by bike in optimal conditions -- assuming we could get to town without interference.

Folks here are mostly good church goers who believe a lot of conspiracy theories and are armed to the teeth. It might could get dicey out there.

I'm grateful that I did create a second/emergency pantry, and new ways to store water, but I have more thinking to do, and new preparations to make. Just in case.

Fish or Cut Bait

As of October 19th (the date I'm writing this post) this is how my Art Quilter's Bingo card stands. I've stamped eight spaces, and at the moment I'm trying to decide which one I should next attempt with a project. My quilting pals have suggested thrift upcycle and add words. I'm thinking of embroidering a little poem of mine on something:

What bliss
to be a fish
all rainbow hues
no need for shoes

Maybe on a slow stitched fish-shaped piece (or with a big, pretty fish in the background)?

Something like this; just not black.

The problem right now is my hands. At the moment I'm in a neutral place with my arthritis. in that it's not getting better, but it's not getting worse. I don't want to push myself to hand-stitch too much right now so I don't cause another flare-up. So if I try this, I will have to go slow.

Wishing You

Doesn't seem like there is much to be grateful for this year, until you consider the daily miracle of those we love in our lives. No matter how dark and hateful and horrible the world becomes, I always have a reason to be thankful on this day. I hope you do, too.

Happy Thanksgiving from Valerean.

What I Do Want

Since I griped yesterday about the holiday gifts I don't want, here are:

Ten Things I Do Want for Christmas

Coffee: I have all the tea I can possibly drink for the next year, but I actually don't have much coffee. I don't need a big package of it, as I drink only two cups per day. If you can find an interesting variety for cheap, I'd love to try it.

DVD Movie or Show: I love historicals, mysteries and nonfiction documentaries about history. You don't have to buy this one, either, if you have a movie or show on DVD you're done watching, pass it along to me.

Holiday Book Date: Here's the easiest gift ever. Go to a thrift or used book store, buy any book that you think I'd enjoy reading (the cheaper the better), wrap it in plain brown paper and write "Blind Christmas Date" on the outside. If you can't afford a used book, give me one you already own.

One Yard of Fabric: This is a gift I often exchange with quilter friends during the holidays: 36" of fabric in the color and/or print of your choice. It's another easy gift to thrift; just go to the bedding section of the store and look through the sheets. At my Goodwill they usually run about $2 to $5. My only request is that you make sure it's cotton or linen.

Ornament: There's always room on my Christmas tree for another ornament. Love the homemade variety especially.

Plant: We have a little garden in which we grow herbs and veggies; anything that grows in our zone (9b) is welcome. I don't keep plants in the house because of the pups, but I have some on my porches if you'd rather go for a decorative plant.

Photo Brag Book: If you have some cool pics to share from the past year, a vacation, or things you've accomplished, get a little album from the dollar store and fill it with pics. If you can't afford prints, print out your pics on a home color printer. Bonus points for add little captions to the pics to tell me their backstory.

Seeds: Another nice thing for our garden. We love green beans, cucumber, carrots, lettuces, melons and peppers of the not-so-hot variety.

Something Written: I love letters, poems, songs, stories or whatever you want to share with me. Bonus points for handwriting this gift.

Sugarfree treats: Anything made with stevia is welcome (I do love Russell Stover stevia-based candies, and Vortmann's sugarfree cookies.) Sucralose is okay, too. I prefer not to eat anything with asparteme in it.

Image credit: Yevhen Buzuk from Pixabay

Gift No-Nos

I'm going to try to make or thrift all of my Christmas gifts this year, but I know my family will go out shopping for new stuff. I am always grateful for any gift, but I think this year I will first give them a list of:

Ten Things I Do Not Want for Christmas

Anything Containing Sugar and/or Carbs: I will be immediately giving them to someone else because hello, you've forgotten than I'm a diabetic again.

Exotic Teas: I do love trying new things, especially as hot beverages in winter are nice. However, I'm still working my way through 2023 Christmas's and 2024 birthday's teas. Let me finish those first.

Fuzzy Holiday Throws: I actually like these cheap minky-like throws, which are super soft and definitely warm. Problem is I own about five right now and three are Christmas or winter prints.

Jewelry: I wear a bracelet every day to remind me which hand is weaker at the moment. I have about a hundred of them, too. Occasionally I'll wear some stud earrings, but I already own about two hundred pairs of those. So please, no more jewelry.

Pajamas: You never remember my size, so I always have to exchange them. Also, sleeping in fake satin just makes me sweat all night.

Purses: This year I thrifted a lot of Vera Bradley bags that will keep me in purses probably until I die.

Slippers: I have duck feet, and they pinch my toes, and the ones without heels are annoying. I'd rather wear socks. P.S., I own enough socks, too.

Supplements: I am trying to reduce the amount of vitamin and herbal supplements that I take because swallowing pills makes me gag, and I think it's healthier to get them from food. Help me out here.

Things Related to My Dogs: I love my two Sheltie boys; they bring joy into every day for me. I also get a lot of Sheltie-themed gifts (calendars, socks, Christmas ornaments, etc.) so I have plenty to remind me of them. I know I'll be getting a Sheltie wall calendar for my home office this year because my guy believes I love looking at strange dogs all day. Honestly, I'm just not a dog-themed gift lover.

And finally:

New Gifts of Any Kind: This past year I've successfully thrifted almost everything I bought for myself (books, clothes, shoes, fabric, yarn, thread, etc.) When I bought new it was on sale (good strong white thread) or my way of showing support for an independent business (books from that lovely indy book shop in Winter Garden.) I am trying to reuse and recycle with whatever I need because that's doing my part for the planet. While I really do appreciate the sentiments behind any gift, bottom line, I'd appreciate them more if they weren't new.

Christmas tree and presents image credit (the text is my doing): Pexels from Pixabay

Thrifted Sneakers

Back in April I thrifted these New Balance sneakers, new with tags, for $9.99. They retail for $130.00, so I was quite happy to land such a bargain.

I walk at least two miles a day every day with the pups. We also go out and walk malls, antique shops and thrift stores, which can add another one to three miles day. Here's what all that walking did to the sneakers, which are now coming apart from their soles. I probably walk in the rain with them at least three or four times a month. Also, the ground here is perpetually wet, and I have to walk through a lot of mud and across some roads when I take the dogs for their walks, which is the reason my shoes wear out so fast.

If I had paid retail for these sneakers I'd be upset. But ten bucks seems to be about what they're worth, so okay. Time to thrift another pair of walking sneakers.

Back in October I bid on this pair of Champion sneakers listed at $8.99, with a max bid of $9.00. I wanted to get my next pair even cheaper than the first, and because I am very hard on sneakers I looked for a sturdier pair this time. I also won them for $8.99! They retail for $65.00.

Moments in the Storm

On the night Hurricane Milton roared into our little town I was sitting and making fabric yoyos at the kitchen table. We have a rechargeable LED lightbulb in the fixture over it that comes on when the power goes out, and I was in the center back area of the house, which is basically the safest spot unless we're dealing with a tornado.

My guy was exhausted from doing our last-minute preps, and the storm had jogged further south, so he decided to go to bed. I tried to nap on the couch but I couldn't relax. Every so often I'd take my flashlight and use it to try to see what was happening outside. That's the worst part of having a hurricane at night -- when the power goes down, the world goes dark and combined with the rain and wind you just can't see anything.

A few times I opened the back porch door a few inches to look outside. The sound of the wind (even for someone deaf like me) was horrendous, and it kept trying to fling the door out of my hands. This tree, which lost a few branches that night, was completely bent over to the left as the back of the eyewall winds, the worst of the night, hit us. It's a tree we think is about a hundred and fifty years old, btw, and has been through dozens of storms, but I've never seen it do that.

We've lived through a lot of hurricanes over the years. I've always thought that the three that came consecutively back in 2004 were the hardest to endure, as they forced us to live without power for almost a month during the hottest weather that summer. Trying to deal with that and two young kids who didn't understand why the power wasn't coming back on was a slog. In terms of what happened to this house Hurricane Irma did way more damage back by tearing off roof shingles and siding along with massive tree damage in 2017.

When I looked out into the storm on the night Milton came through, however, at the very worst moment it was the same for me as staring into the proverbial abyss. Had the hurricane just been a little bit stronger, I could see the force of the storm tearing our home apart, or causing it to collapse on top of us. That hellish potential was all right there, not ten feet away from me. It left me quite shaken.

We will go through more storms; living here it's inevitable. We will keep learning from our experiences, prepare well and do what we can to ensure our safety. Yet never again will I assume we're safe. Not after this one.

Journals

For use as holiday gifts I thrifted a lot of journals, which arrived while Katherine was visiting. There are ten altogether.

All are in like-new condition with no missing pages. Three are still in the store shrink wrap.

I might keep this story inspiration card deck and prompt book for myself. All the cards are there, and I'm curious to see if it helps with the writing I do for practice.

This guided journal is nice, too. I'd value the lot at $50.00 resale value; I got everything for $9.99. Savings: $40.01.

Copy Cat Cheaper

I don't like many frozen foods, but there were a few from Stouffer's that I liked in the old days, like Grandma's Chicken and Vegetable Rice Bake. It actually did remind me of a rice casserole my grandmother used to make. It now costs almost $15.00 for a large size, and I'm not paying that, especially as the quality of the ingredients Stouffer's uses has gone so far downhill. So I decided to see if I could find a copy-cat recipe and make my own version (there is a copy-cat recipe online for basically anything, I've discovered.)

This recipe came pretty close. It maybe cost four dollars for me to make. I did tweak it by using cream of chicken instead of cream of mushroom, as that's what I preferred, and canned peas and carrots instead of frozen. I also used only about half the chicken in the recipe, as we're trying to cut down on the amount of meat in our meals. It was tasty, although not an exact copy (a bit dry, and it had a slightly different flavor.) I also think there is too much panko in the recipe; about half would work better. Still, the texture was spot-on and it looked almost identical to the frozen entree. Anyway, I'm going to make it again in the future and do a few more tweaks to see if I can get it closer.

Pay Attention

Last month I went out one morning to walk the dogs. Usually I cut across our front yard to get to the road, but fortunately this morning I was paying attention to my surroundings. Do you see what I saw?

Yep. Spider web. It may seem small, but the anchoring threads stretched out for ten feet from top to bottom.

I did not get close enough to get a decent shot of the spider, but from the spikes around its body I'll guess it was a crab spider. They are venomous, but their tiny bite is pretty harmless (like a bee sting.)

You can see how tiny it is here in the cropped version of the previous pic. It's a little smaller than the diameter of a pencil eraser. I did not mess with it. All spiders are enormously helpful in controlling the local pest population. I am going to keep an eye out every morning when I walk the dogs, though. :)

My Kind of Bread

One thing I really miss as a diabetic is bread. I can have regular bread as a treat now and then, but it takes a while now for me to work off the carbs. I have tried different keto breads, most of which are tasteless, and all of which are super expensive. That's why I've been on the hunt for a simple diabetic-friendly bread I can make in one small loaf for myself. This recipe has worked out to be the best of all the ones I've tried, including the 90 second microwave bread I've been making up until finding this recipe.

Some tweaks: I use egg beaters instead of 5 eggs, and I opted for the baking powder version so I could avoid the vinegar. As a result my bread has a definite eggy taste to it, and didn't brown as much. I don't mind this, but if you're not a fan of the taste of eggs you should pass.

It does not have the same texture as regular bread -- it's more like a cake texture -- and it's quite a bit heavier, so slicing it thin is a good idea. Despite that it really helps me resist temptation, especially at breakfast or when I have soup and want some toast. I also like that my version has no cholesterol.

County Quilt Show

My favorite quilt "Even in the Shadows" by Lynne Raborn from this year's county quilt show. To see the other quilts in the show, go to the album I've posted online here.

My Guy's Thrift

Here's the bundle of fabric my guy thrifted for me. There are eighteen different fabrics and all but three are over a yard in length. They're a nice mix of apparel and quilting fabrics, with one canvas print, a pretty flannel and a couple of synthetics. Everything is odor and soil free. I have immediate plans for the pink polka dot, the blue and green geometric, the autumn leaf and the bakery prints, but I'm going to try to use up the entire bundle by the end of the year (more on that in another post.)

The original owner home sewed five valance curtains out of this cute juvenile print.

This plush piece is super soft, and just the right size to make into a pillow cover I need.

Whoever these fabrics belonged to made their own clothing; there's an unfinished tunic in a light peach waffle fabric that I might try to finish and wear.

I added up the lengths and the bundle is 22.57 yards total, which at $14.99 works out to .66 per yard. If I'd had to buy the fabrics I needed from JoAnn I would have paid a lot more. At $5.00 per yard resale value would be $112.87. Savings: $97.88

Let Me Outlet

Along with thrifting my guy and I have been shopping at outlets and big lot/remainder stores like Ollie's, which is where I bought everything in this post.

Laundry detergent has become a big ticket item for us, and I've even changed how often I do the wash in order to make bigger loads and conserve detergent. This Gain is different from the original scent I use, but we sniffed it and didn't mind it, so we brought it home for $13.99. Even with my 5% discount I pay $15.19 for the same size at Target. That's a savings of just $1.20, but hey, every little bit helps.

Will I pay $32.00 for any hardcover novel? Nope. Will I pay $4.99 for a remaindered $32.00 hardcover novel that I've wanted to read for a while? You're darn right I will.

I have been collecting recipes off the internet for years now, and I've kept them in a plain black binder that has seen better days. Also, it has no splash guard, so when I cook I have to put it on the other counter across from where I'm working or risking dribbling on the recipes. Lo and behold, I found a large recipe binder that comes with printed tab dividers, pages I can print out recipes on, a note pad, three magnets and not one but two splash guards, all for $9.99.

I love outletting!

Gifted, Not Bought

My guy has gotten into thrifting with me, and last month took me on a little shopping spree which he also paid for, so I did not spend a dime for this lovely 9" cast iron grill pan, which will be great when I want to make salmon or paninnis.

It's in new condition, and it's a Lodge, so it was definitely worth $9.99.

Although I vowed not to buy any more fabric, I did see a bundle that had three different fabrics I needed for holiday projects. My guy talked me into getting it, and since he was paying, I caved in.

I'll do a separate post on the fabric once I measure it, but it was also worth the $14.99 price tag.

I stopped buying new clothes a few years back, and some of my worn-out t-shirts became a quilt over the summer, so I picked out three cotton shirts in new condition that I can wear through fall. From left to right the prices were $5.99, $4.19 and $4.19.

I also selected a few more shorts; all of these were $5.99 each.

I really don't need them, but I wanted shorts to go with my new shirts. Also, could I resist getting a pair of Elle black bermuda shorts for six bucks when they retail for $30.00 used? Nope.

That Time Again

As summer ended back in September we took a trip out to the farm to get some fresh produce and admire the arrival of pumpkin season.

I've mentioned often that I'm not a fan of pumpkin or any kind of squash, at least for eating. Seeing all the bright colors and different sizes of these seasonal beauties makes me hate fall a little less, though.

It was pretty crowded that day, which made it tough to get some pics without people in them. That made me happy, too. I love seeing our community supporting the local farmers.

Moving On

By the time this post publishes we'll have about a month left of fall. Halloween will be over, and Thanksgiving will arrive in two weeks. Mom and Dad's birthdays have passed for another year. Katherine might be still visiting us and attending some friends' wedding, but she'll have to return to Hawaii soon.

This is when my life slows down every year. If I was able to stick to my work schedule, then I turned in the last project of the year yesterday. The rest of 2024 will be spent on planning the projects for 2025 and possibly getting a jump on the first in December. Sadly I won't be participating in that November novel writing month event (I'm not mentioning the organization again, either), which I actually had planned to do. Not that it matters to anyone but me, but a full boycott is the only way I can protest how sketchy and unethical they've become. I have about six and a half weeks before this post publishes; that's how far ahead I am on writing for the blog.

I don't hate the holidays anymore, thanks to two miracles that happened last year. That said, in this stage of life I need to find new traditions and ways to close out fall and welcome winter and all its festivities. I expect my guy and I will be out and about quite a bit more as we love to walk in cooler weather. We've become antique mall and junk shop fans. We also start hiking again this time of year. I hope to see some of my nieces and nephews for the holidays, but if it's just me and my guy that's fine, too.

The seasons roll on, and so must I. Not a bad thing at all.

Warn Me Not

I haven't read Karen Marie Moning in many years, so when I saw she had a new release out, The House at Watch Hill, I decided to invest. I was hoping for a haunted house book, but it's a witch book that seems to be a spin off from her highlander and Fever series. Since I've read a couple of books from both -- the Fever series was pretty good -- I figured okay, give it a try.

The premise: Zo Grey is out job hunting when she has a frightening psychic episode that later turns out to be her sharing her terminally-ill mother's gruesome death in a house fire meant to kill both of them. She then learns she has inherited a house and more in Louisiana. Since she's penniless and facing a mountain of medical debt, Zo goes to collect her inheritance, and discovers a small town rife with secrets, an elaborate network of witches and lots of mysteries, all of which revolve around her and her massive, multi-million-dollar inheritance.

Technically it was a well-written story, as to be expected from a veteran pro author. It does seem to be influenced by Anne Rice's Mayfair series, and the Meredith Gentry books by Laurell K. Hamilton, but there are some original elements that prevent it from being a knock-off of either. It's not a doorstopper like many of the author's books back in her heyday; I managed to read it in about a week. The problems are what kept me from finishing it in a day

Problems: plenty. I didn't care for the angry feminist slant and the sexist condescending manner in which all the men in the book were depicted; both seemed excessive (I like male characters and have great affection for my own, so I have a personal bias here.) There are a lot of parallels with the characters from this book and the Fever series, particularly the protagonist and what I assume to be her future love interest. I know there are authors who making careers telling the same story over and over; I'm not a fan of them. The strangeness of the protagonist's given name is never explained properly or even spelled the same way consistently, which was sloppy editing. The book packs a lot of world building in 365 pages, and while I appreciated most of it (and how it sets up the book to be the first of a series) at points I became frustrated with the endless descriptions of things that really have no bearing on the story.

The main issue for me was the near constant foreshadowing and warning the reader from the protagonist/narrator. It's basically on every other page. That kind of thing can be from a heavy-handed editor insisting on letting the reader in on what's coming, but given the sloppiness elsewhere I'll guess it was the author's choice. Anyway, when you do too much foreshadowing and warning the big dark moment falls flat. Which it did in this book.

If you Like Karen Marie Moning then you'll probably enjoy this novel. Although I appreciate some of the author's previous works, I really didn't care for this one.

Treasure Chest

Be careful what you thrift for is my new mantra. I bid on and won this storage chest of sewing supplies, which I wanted to use for my own needles and sewing things. It arrived leaking pins, beads and buttons, with several drawers jammed by the same. I spent an entire day unloading it, sorting out the contents, and then unsticking the drawers. To my relief nothing was broken or permanently damaged by the poor packing job. Let's look inside some of the drawers while I tell you about it.

The original owner knew what was good thread, and kept a colorful supply of Sulky and Gütermann on hand. These spools run between $1.24 to $3.99 depending on the type of thread.

Like me the maker also saved old thread, bought thread on sale and otherwise practiced thrifty purchasing. There might be a few spools in this drawer that belonged to an older family member, as they date back to the 70's.

Lots of buttons. The little collection was mostly for repair purposes, and extra buttons saved from new garments, but there were also three cute Christmas decorative buttons.

Rubber thimbles, all well-used and actually pretty comfortable. Two are large enough for a thumb. I might have to reuse these while I can still hand sew.

The original owner's made-by tags, and some Girl Scout patches. Did you know I was a Girl Scout? Yep.

There were laces, piping and even a big zipper that I sorted through, all still usable.

Binding and seam ribbon, still wound around their original holders. I like how this maker saved every little bit of supplies.

The straight pins I collected and bagged, about a thousand of them. There were also machine needles for a Bernina, and a 7" hand sewing needle that was for sashiko or maybe big stitch, and a dozen enamel pins that the original owner had saved over the years from church and different organizations (I have a collection of those, too.) It was like seeing a mirror of my sewing habits in this maker's supplies -- a bit chaotic, thrifty, and obviously cherished.

I paid $24.00 for this chest, which was a decent price for it. I'm not going to put a resale price on it or its contents. I will try to reuse as much of the supplies as I can, and once I empty the chest I'll store my own supplies in it. There's no better way to preserve and pass along this bit of sewing history.