Tuna Rant!

I made some tuna salad for lunch today.  I have been noticing that our tuna seems to have a more "fishy" smell and taste lately, so I did some label reading.  We have sort of prided ourselves on buying quality white albacore tuna..My husband seems to think the oil pack is best for some reason and really has to hunt for it and will buy 10 cans at a time when he finds it.  Wrong thing to do.  Find out that the oil sort of counters the natural good oil of the tuna and when you drain it you drain away the good oil too.  When I read the ingredients I was a little shocked.  Here it is.
White Tuna, soybean oil, water, vegetable broth, salt, pyrophosphate.  Contains fish (tuna), soy>   OMG

Just when you think you are doing something healthy.  All the additives is to add volume for weight so you get less tuna.  Also most brands cook the tuna first so they can de-bone it easier then when they put it in the can it gets cooked again.  We probably get very little nutritional value from our "heart healthy" tuna.   I found most of this info by looking for it on Google.  They suggest you look for tuna that is line and hook caught and the ingredients simply says Tuna.  So I guess I will start reading the labels a little better.

Next rant will be about fabric softener! Perhaps I should do that now as it sort of ties in with the tuna.
While doing laundry today (yes I wash cloths on Sunday and even hang them on my clothesline) I noticed that there was a dark ring around the washing machine tub right at the water level line.  So I ran some hot water in the tub and got my trusty comet out to scrub it.  Well it wouldn't touch it.  So I rubbed it with my finger and found it to be sort of sticky and oily at the same time.  Ended up using fingernail polish remover on a little scrubby and it came right off.  So I got to thinking how when I put Downey into the washer it is hard to rinse the little cup out.  Bingo, my Ah, Ha, moment.  It was residue in my washer from using Downey.  So I Googled this too and found out what the ingredients in fabric softener are and was amazed.  Someday we are going to wake up and realize how we are poisoning our bodies and country with the chemicals that are so widely used in everything.  And there is a substance in there that binds with the fabric to make it soft, then all the perfume is to cover the smell of the first thing.  Uggg    An alternative is a little white vinegar in the rinse water.  Think I will give that a try.  Found some other natural things that might be worth a try.

I sound like the comedy character Earl Pitts.  If you haven't heard him on the radio, Google his name and watch a you tube video of him    He always cracks me up and most of the time his ranting is actually right on.  He always ends with the words, "Wake up Uhmerika"

So all I have to say is Wake Up  Uhmerika"!

To much STUFF!

If you ever heard George Carlin's rant about our "stuff" you will know where I am coming from.  Perhaps its just getting older that we start wondering about all the "stuff" we have.  Just look around!  We start off with very little, maybe a few hand me downs from family to get started.  Then we spend years buying things to make us comfortable or happy.  Then family keeps giving us their stuff or they die and leave a whole box car load of crap.  Stuff has sentimental value for us too.  I can look up right now and see three framed counted cross stitch pictures that my older sister did years ago.  She is dead now so of course I can't get rid of them, sentimental huh? 

But sometimes doesn't it get heavy on the back and soul?  How many dishes, pots, and pans do we really need.  If you are like me you end up using the same two or three 99% of the time.  And look in the closet.  The items closest to the front are the ones I wear the most, so that means over half in there haven't been worn in a loooooong time. 

I have been watching this series on TV called Tiny Homes.  It really has my attention.  I look around at my furniture and realize I could get rid of most of it and not really care.  Do I think I could live in a tiny home.  Your bet! Alone!!!!!  LOL  Not with anyone but I could do it if and when I find myself alone. 

Can you imagine the freedom you would feel to walk in and just have one comfy chair to sit in.  Walk over to the kitchen area and open cabinet to see just enough dishes to last a couple meals, not a whole china cabinet full, plus 3 cabinets full.  Again we use the same few over and over from habit or its really all we need.

Maybe that's what it boils down to  "What we need"  Of course I would have to keep my shop to keep all my weaving and sewing "stuff"  but that would be OK, wouldn't it??

The lost art of blogging

What has happened to our favorite bloggers?  Me included.  I find I haven't posted on here since March for crying out loud!  Maybe with FB now and we can't blow our nose without announcing it to everyone, we just don't take time to sit down and write anything thoughtful or meaningful.  Then life sometimes gets in the way and there is so much going on that its hard to make sense of it all. 

I have been cleaning out "stuff" from my computer today and must have had 30 blog sites that I saved.  Deleted most and when I clicked on some to wonder why I saved them, found they hadn't posted anything in 2 years or the site was closed down. 

So I now vow to start blogging again, even though it is most likely just for me, and that is OK.

I have a second blog linked to this one about my book store.  Mostly I have posted my newspaper column on it and now am a slacker on that.  Sorry big brother, you are the only one who said they liked to read it.  I am planning to pretty much close my book store out after 9 1/2 years.  Have been selling down and tearing out shelf units since last Nov.  Gradually moving most of my weaving in here and plan to have a private weaving studio here.  Not sure about maintaining  my business license.  So checking with smarter folks to help me decide what to do with that.

So on this cheery note from yours truely here is a picture for my own entertainment if nothing else.

Anyone there? "NO"

Hope I can type without laughing out loud!  Just got a phone call from one of those automated deals.  He starts off with Hi, I am Jason and since you recently stayed in one of our resorts (NOT) you qualify for 4 free nites at Orlando Florida and all you have to do is rent a car from (some company).  Now may I ask you a few questions to see if you qualify?  I say "NO"  Thanks, first are you over 21?  I say "NO"  Thanks do you have a Credit card in good standing?  I say "NO".  Well it looks like you don't quallify for our offer, thank you, have a good day.  Laughing out loud by now!

I get these calls almost weekly, and used to just hang up, now I stay on to see if they have an opt out option.  Some do, but don't know if it does any good.  Some when its an actual person on the phone I ask them to take my name off their list, and they rudely just hang up before I get the word "list" out of my mouth.  Well I know its a crappy job for you but don't be rude,  I wasn't.

Any way, most of the time if the call is from some area code I don't recognize I just click it to voicemail.  Figure if its a real person that actually needs to talk to me they will leave a message.  Never happens.

We did have a time share for about 15 years and it was nothing but a money pit.  Actually had to pay them money for "recording" fees when we signed it back to them.  No way you can sell this crap, couldn't even give it away.  Oh well live and learn,  it is a big relief to be rid of it.

Will end with a quote from Will Rogers:  Good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement.

Old Friends

Held a weaving workshop yesterday and as women do we got to talking.  The topic of friends came up and we all decided that in the process of moving about the country as I have you end up with few "good" friends.  We meet many people who become friends but our "old" friends are the ones that we share a history and life experiences with.  You just can't get that with new friends.  We can tell each other stories about our past and family, but there is nothing like that girlfriend that you shared a bed with at sleep overs, rode the school bus with, and went thru first boyfriend experiences with.  We were young and free to speculate about the world and think about what we would do when we "grew up"  Then the years slip away and you may not see each other for years at a time but eventually you are able to reconnect and instantly the years melt away and you just click like you did many years.  You understand each other even though by now you may have differences if political or religious matters.  What REALLY matters is that you are still friends after all these years.  You can still talk about the silly things that you went thru and also the heartaches and blessings you have had.  So here's to Old Friends and I hope there are many in your life as I feel blessed to have a few and if they stumble upon this I hope they see themselves and know that their presence in my life has probably helped make me who I am today and maybe in some small way I contributed to you also.  I found the lyrics to a song that Dolly Parden and Kenney Rogers did called You Can't Make Old Friends and copied part of them here.

What will I do when you are gone?


Who's gonna tell me the truth?

Who's gonna finish the stories I start,

The way you always do?



When somebody knocks at the door,

Someone new walks in.

I will smile and shake their hands,

but you can't make old friends.



You and me, will be together again.

Cause we both know, we will still be old friends.



You can't make old friends

Not the way we have always been.

Always looking for something!

Was recently looking at some blog sites that I have not visited in quite a while and found a common thread.  That others have had the same lack of time or desire to blog after years of posting their thoughts and lives.  I wonder if part of it is the social media that we all dabble with now.  We are just flooded with so much "stuff".  

Have been wanting to write another blog titled "I Am"  I did that several years ago and enjoyed putting some thought into deciding what kind of things make us who we are today.  We have so many things that influence who we become and I have decided that no matter how old we are we are still a work in progress. 

One thing I highly recommend is to not wait for that right "moment" when you think your life will be just right and you can experience something you have been waiting for like happiness, wholeness, or self satisfaction.  Ain't gonna happen!  There is no right moment when it will all fall into place.  At least that is what I think. 

Have you ever put something in a safe place then can't remember where that safe place is?  It is so frustrating.  I have been looking for my old cell phone for several weeks now.  I try very hard to put a picture in my mind of where and when I saw it last.  I tried a little of this visualization once when I wanted to find something and it actually worked.  Well not this time.  Very frustrating.  Now I can't help myself, I keep looking!

I wonder if its my computer or if others have trouble with this blogger site?  I have difficulty navigating when I am typing.  Can only go forward or back space.  Can not move the cursor.  Now I can only load pictures that I have on my phone,  It won't let me pull them from my computer files.  Feel the computer has a block on it for some reason.  Well this little laptop is over 7 years old so is almost a dinosaur. 

Added a picture of my loom with a rug in progress.  I have made 25 rugs this winter.  Think I will be ready for Farmers Market this year. 

OK I feel I am back in the saddle so maybe I can get some thoughts on here again.  I have read some very good books lately.  My column for book reviews can be found on my other site that is linked to this one.  Till next time: Blessed are the cracked, for the let the light in!

This is nuts

Wow can't believe it has been so darn long since I posted anything on here.  So will try to catch up a little and post a few pictures.  Last fall I decided to tear out some book cases here in my little book store and expand my limited space to include a weaving studio.  So with books surrounding my weaving space I have accomplished just that.  I have one floor loom and two table top looms set up and have been teaching weaving classes.  I really enjoy the one on one instructions.  Two at most.  I provide everything and will do 4 hour weaving class or all day to instruct how to set up the loom and prepare fabric, then weave.  They get to take home what ever they wove.  Its been alot of fun.  Here are some pictures.

Well after about 5 tries, I can't upload my pictures today, so maybe another time. 

Also wanted to mention that over Thanksgiving I made a trip back up to Iowa and bought a nice floor loom from my friend.  I just love it and will post some pictures of it too one of these days.

I guess one of my reasons for not posting much this past year is that sometimes when there is so much you would like to say, you end up at a loss for words at all.  I try not to be one of these people who have to document every scratch or sniffle for all to have to read about.  But have had a close family member with a life altering disease and it does make you put things into perspective.  But I am also learning that I have to take care of myself or I won't be there to take care of others.  And it isn't all physical care that I am talking about.  Maybe the mental care is more important so here I sit between a rock and a hard place.  I am private enough that out of respect to family I will not discuss it here, but just want to say that I have a heavy heart much of the time, so find it hard to spend my time blogging.  Perhaps if I really had an anonymous  blog that no one I knew read I might do that and it would be good for me.  Oh, well enough for today.  Maybe I can make this site load pictures next time.  

Can't believe this blog is 10 years old!!  That may be a record.  So its just nuts that I don't take a minute and keep this up more often

Thought for the day":  Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light!

My latest "saved from the scrap heap" project

My sister came by a few weeks ago and was headed to the thrift store with some things she was clearing out.  In the middle was this old "retro" stool.  She bought it at a garage sale last year but didn't do anything with it.  Was missing one of the rubber feet. The vinyl seat had been mended with red plastic tape and the crome legs were spotty with rust.  But the plastic back was so neat and just needed a good cleaning.  So here is the before:

Next was the scrubbing and painting:

I then recovered the old seat and put it all back together!

Total cost for paint and new rubber feet was about 8$  Have it sitting at the end of an isle of books and have had one customer use it, plus I had my sister sit on it the other day on my little back steps at the store while I cut her hair.  LOL  we had several folks go by the alley and throw off their caps and asked to be next.  Can't get away with anything in this little town!

Thought for the day:Where ever you go, there you are


Just call me "the recycle queen"

When I look at somethin that has been discarded I tend to see a new use for it.  Usually it involves tools and paint.  Here is a "table" that I found being thrown out after someone had their garage sale this spring.  Originally it hung from the ceiling of a kitchen in an older house.  Hard to believe.  But imagine just lifting it straight up and attaching it to the ceiling over a big island.  It had florecent lights in it and pot hooks.
Here is a before pic:

I had to buy the piece of plywoodthat was put on it to make the top.  It was sanded along with the whole unit, then the painting started:

As you can see I moved it into my book store to work on it.  In the next photo you can see the final work.  It makes a good display table in my store and a place to stack my hand woven rugs that are for sale.

I ended up tacking tennis balls that were cut in half on those lower corners to keep someone from whacking their legs.  Have to admit I was the first victim!  You can see my upside down stool also that I think I mentioned before.  Put wheels on it and shelves on the rungs, painted it pink and there you have a display cart. 

Money

http://themindunleashed.org/2014/04/money-form-social-control-americans-debt-slaves.html

This is not a happy feel good site but maybe a wake up call to what is happening to our country.  Take it or leave it, thats up to you. 

Old Soul

Sometimes when you have to much to say you end up being unable to say anything.  Ever feel that way.  So much going on that I don't feel comfortable laying out here.  Just know that life gives us many lessons along the way and we need to be paying attention to our daily bits of happiness that we are given.  We need to learn to see something beautiful everyday of our life, even if it is just a tree in bloom or the smell of fresh turned soil in the flower garden. Take note and give thanks as there are no guarentees in life.  Seems that most of us have to have a few years of gray in our hair to finally realize that.  How much time is wasted in our younger years with worry about everything and competing to see who is right or wrong. 

I am a firm believer that some of us have old souls and some are new.  The new souls just never get it.  Its all about them at this stage and they never see the rainbows or delicate pansy. In their next life they will be better.  I think that is our progression to learn and then learn again. Sometimes it is our job to assist someone else along their path and that becomes our path.  That makes sense to me. That helps me to accept why life is so hard for some people and others seem to breeze thru life like they have a silver spoon in their mouth. I don't think they "get it". 

“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment.”


― Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

New Singer in the family!

About a month ago I bought this old Singer cabinet from my sister in law.  I had been looking for one for over a year.  This picture is after I cleaned and painted the metal work and had stripped the cabinet.  I next appled a wood conditioner, then a wood finish that was a clear stain and sealer.  After rubbing this in well and drying I applied 2 coats of clear polyurethane clear gloss.

The sewing machine belonged to my mother in law and in inherited it when she passed away.  It was purchased by her in the 50's and had been converted to electric.  I took it to a repair man and he removed the motor, cleaned it and sold me a new belt.  Now this old 1918 model Red Eye has been converted back to original.  So I am one happy camper and since I haven't "treddled" since I was 18 years old, I have to practice a little.  This will be a keeper for sure.  

My Denim has multiple uses

This is my second denim quilt.  It is my keeper for myself.

If you have a good eye you can see the patter that I had going here.  I used 3 shades of denim, all new this time.  Will add the other denim one I made out of recycled denim that I gave to my daughter last year. The pockets are regular jean pockets of assorted sizes and shades.

This one was fun to make as I could just use my imaginationa dn do what I wanted.  The reddish designs are a chenille technique.

By cutting fabric on the bias and layering 3 or 4 layers, lay out your design and sew down the center.  Then take a stiff brush if you don't have a chenille brush and as you brush the fibers you get the color and fuzzy look.  these were actually the same colors but it looks different depending on how you layer it. Could be used to put fun things on kids cloths or tote bags.

A little of this and a little of that

My denim quilt I started a year ago and just finished.

Still struggling with Blogger.  Won't let me navigate around as I type, and won't let me load but one picture at a time.

I am browsing for a new computer,  this one is about 5 or 6 years old and thinking I want one of those tablets, or something along that line.  Just don't know what would be best for me.  So that is my goal for the first of the year.  Would love to hear what others are using and if they like them. I like the idea of the one that snaps apart and key board is separate.  Could just take the touch pad computer with me and light weight.

Hope this year brings blessings to all my blogger friends.  Looking for some for my family as well.
Happy New Year!

Winter is here

Boy I have gotten lost in the shuffle here.  Also I see that the blogger.com is still acting up for me.  Won't let me move my curser once I start typing, other that I can back space.  So if I want to change something back very far, I am out of luck. Will attach one of our winter pictures, although I can't match Mad City Mikes pictures for sure.  We just got our first snow of the year, about 4 to 5 inches.  Enough to make the roads, especially back streets a little slick to get about.  So just staying home, but I think hubby is having Walmart withdrawals so I see a trip in the morning, so might as well make up a list.



Where have I been?

Guess there are several reasons why I haven't blogged much lately.  One being that my blogger dashboard here is giving me fits.  Won't let me in to type unless I change my alignment of type then won't let me back in to correct.  Weird.  Maybe it will fix itself like my YouTube volume thing did. 
Also I didn't bring my computer to my store with me this last month and I have been more productive in my sewing and weaving.
Guess I want to tell my thoughts a little about all this electronic stuff that we are so addicted to.  I just finished reading a book by Jeffery Deavers, called The Broken Window.  It is about a huge data collection company that has a bad guy working for them.  He goes into alot of details that really should be scaring the pants off of us. Did you know that you leave an electronic trail everytime you use any piece of electronics? Not to mention your credit and debit cards and all the automated E-Z passes for your car and hundreds of other things.  Unless you buy something with cash someone can collect the data of such things as what you buy and when.  Did you ever wonder why alot of stores want your zip code even when you pay cash???  Data collected us fed into huge computers and then sorted to be sold to companies that do marketing to target certain demographics to sell their products. 
Another HUGE pet peave of mine is all the prescription medicines that are marketed to us on TV?  But I digress and that is another topic for future use.
So am I nuts to think we are being Watched??  Do you do FaceBook?  Wonder how that copany is making so much money??  I think alot of it is in this very same tracking us and selling our information to companies to market us.  You know all that crap that we see on FB that "reminds" us to be sure to share with our friends,  of course some of them are so darn "cute" we cant resist. (I have been guilty myself)  or the receipt looks just to dang good to not share.  Why do you think that language is in there to "share it so you will have it on your site to save"  Duh!!!!  We are dribbling cookies everywhere we go on the computer.  Thats probably why my poor little 6 year old laptop is having a hard time getting around.
So I don't know for a fact how much of this blather is really true or if I am just being paranoid but it is food for thought.  We are being lead down a trail that is taking away our individual rights and liberities and that is probably another post.

So aren't you glad I am back??

I will leave this with a picture of my little Random flower garden that I planted last spring to cover up roots of a tree that we had to take down due to our May snow storm damage.  I have plans to plant some more stuff in the spring and see where it goes.



Free Apples!

Pure unadulterated apple sauce!  Thats how I like it.  Had about a bushel of apples, I think Granny Smith, given to me so I cooked up 2 kettles and when finished had one kettle full.  Made 6 quarts to freeze.  I just quarter and cut the core out and cook them till soft and run thru my food mill.  Very little waste and minimal effort.  I add a little cinnamon but sugar not needed.  Had to make a batch of apple crisp while I was into it.  The sauce will taste good this winter.  now I still have half a box left! 

My Random Garden

Awhile back I posted a picture of this stump.  It was what was left of a huge tree

This picture is of it last summer, the pretty one in the center.  Our May snow storm took one whole side of the tree down. Anyway, I decided instead of trying to dig all the roots out or paying to have them grubbed out, I would plant some ground cover around the roots.  One thing led to another and now I have my Random Garden that is taking on a life of its own.  I will take a picture this week and update this, as I have several things blooming and bought a couple Russian Sage plants that were on sale to give it some more life.  Next spring plan to plant that bank in creeping phlox.  Hubby keeps wanting to help but I think I have made it pretty clear that this is MY spot to play with and everyone else is to stay out!  I think he got the message.  We have very different ideas on gardening so I pretty much leave him alone to do what he wants with the tomato plants and watering the shrubs and such.
Hey a girl has to have her space!



No politics on my blog!

I just deleted my last post.  It was a political deal about ObamaCare that I thought was very good, but I have decided that I don't want to make my blog a place to share political views.  Thats not what I wanted here, so if anyone is looking for that sort of blog you will have to move on.  I have a good friend that I had to unfriend on FB because there were numerous spiteful things on there daily about our government.  Enough said!

So it will be back to boring stuff like what I am doing and thinking.  LOL  That won't take long to read.  Actually I usually have a lot to say but usually keep it to myself to keep peace with everyone.  Does that make me a peacemaker?  I have been accused of being the "keeper of secrets"  by a niece.  I think that is true.  I know stuff about several people that I would never share.

So unless you want to hear about my plugged up ears or pain in my thumbs, I better stop for today and be back when I have something smart to say.



Junk Mail

I am sure many know someone who is a junk mail magnet.  We have one that lives in our house, (its my 89 year old sister in law)  She answers these questionnaires that she gets plus donates to various organizations, most of them political.  She thinks she will understand everything and save the world.  Then when she gets 15 pieces of mail a day (I am not kidding), she groans that she doesn't know why they keep sending her stuff.  She spreads it all out on the table and reads every bit of it.  She brought me one that she wanted me to read the small print on the back, and said, she guessed she wouldn't donate to them any more.  It was a breast cancer research place.  On the back it has to release the facts of where the money goes.  Last year they raised almost 12 million dollars, with 63.5% of it going to FUND RAISING, 4.2% to administration, and 29.6 % to education and a lousy 2.66% to research programs. 
I have a feeling these statistics are average for most of the places looking for your money. 

If I had my way all her junk would go in the trash but she is of sound mind and it sure gives her something to do.  Then all the "stuff" they send usually gets mailed back to the sender.  Like little sewing kits for the soldiers,  they are sent to her then she can return them with her donation so they can be sent to the soldiers.  All they really want is her money.  Who knows if they send the kits on or not. I got tickled a couple weeks ago Huckabee got bumped from his Sat. night slot as there was some major news event going on.  She did get to watch him Sun. but she was going to call FOX and complain to them because she had made donations to them and it was like they would be taking her advice for their programing.

When I have asked her about why she reads all of the stuff, she just says it was sent to her and she needs to read everything.  There is often money in the envelopes too and she feels guilty if she keeps any of it so it usually is sent back along with another survey.

What really worries me is that I know these are all the work of high paid marketing people and often they are doing a demographic thing that focus on the elderly.

Shoot we probably should have an 89 year old grandma running the country, they know more about what is going on than the average 30 year old.