Becoming Self Reliant - Part 1

 I was fortunate to have a mom who was willing to teach me whatever I wanted to learn. I know it probably annoyed my sister to death as Mom always tried to include her in whatever I was interested in, whether it was crocheting, embroidery, cooking or art, but Joanne was more interested in playing outside and running with her friends. That wasn't my cup of tea so I spent a lot of time with Mom, learning domestic diva skills.
It's been fun to see a resurgence in hand made and hand crafted clothing, jewelry, aprons, and the re-purpose, re-cycle, re-use movement. I grew up with folks that naturally thought that way, but we lost those skills somewhere along the way.

The LDS church recently put out a publication "Daughters in My Kingdom" a veritable jewel of wisdom and knowledge, designed to enhance what we women do best. On page 51 of this publication there is a side note box with tips on becoming self-reliant. In light of the turmoil going on today in the world I was drawn to what is listed in the box. So today I'm going to tackle the first tip which is "Learning to love work and avoid idleness".
Vacation versus being home and working, most would say no contest there, but have you ever noticed and perhaps it's my type A personality, that when on vacation, sitting around gets old quickly. Okay, I might be the only one here....lol. Really though, it's okay to take a break from work, but there is a pervasive thought that being a domestic diva and all that goes with that is boring and just not fun. Having raised a few children myself, or dealt with them in our home, I can attest to how hard it can be sometimes. I think though, we tend to dwell on the negative and not look at the positives, such as hugs and kisses from little ones, having the opportunity to be creative in the kitchen, decorate our homes the way we like, create something uniquely us. I love how so many young moms are getting into sewing and knitting and crocheting, and how many folks are discovering the joy of raising a garden and eating the fruits of their labors. It's refreshing to see all the DYI shows on TV and publications in the stores on raising farm animals, making cheese and bread and so on. There are other ways to take the work we do and make it enjoyable, like having a purpose when we cook, perhaps adding extra ingredients to take an extra casserole to a sick friend, or as in the case of the collar you see above, bring joy to the receiver of a hand made gift. My mother-in-law loves to watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune as well as Who Want's to Be a Millionaire so I sit with her at night and crochet. She loved the yarn I was using to make this, which for me was a test of my skills, so it became a gift for her. I can't just sit and watch TV unless I have a bowl of popcorn or something to occupy my hands, and popcorn 5 nights a week would not be a good idea as much as I love it. Mom lost her husband recently so sitting with her is the least I can do, and since she doesn't see well enough to do most things we understand her need to keep her mind active by the shows she watches.  Learning to love work is not as hard as it seems, and avoiding idleness can help us find what we didn't know we could do, as well as bring joy to someone else.

A Perfect Wedding Gift

 Wedding season is zooming towards us, especially with such an early spring showing up. As the wedding invitations roll in there are  items you can buy that most folks don't think about.

Pair this dish with some lovely bath soaps and you have a lovely and personal gift for anyone on your list. To find this and other like it stop by my Simply Sheryl's ETSY

Breakfast by Candlelight

A power outage created an opportunity for breakfast by candlelight! The lights went out about 8 last night, and were still out when we woke up this morning. Sooooo we decided to pull out the peanut butter and bread, and low and behold there was a box of chocolate bars Kent picked up at Costco. Along with some yummy Clementines we had a marvelous breakfast. The real kicker was that the lights came on in the middle of the feast so I nuked the bread with chocolate and peanut butter for a few seconds and then had a melty yummy treat with my orange slices. You won't find me eating chocolate much, but it sure sounded like a good idea, and was! We were reminded that we didn't have an emergency heat source or way to cook in case the power stayed out, so now we are planning  for that, but luckily it's been rather nice, and we had plenty of easy to prep food that needs no cooking. Something to think about....

Primitives and Vintage Collectibls on ebay....

 A vintage Heller Hostess Ware Canister set in need of a loving home : EBAY

A large wooden cheese box is available here: EBAY

Cottage Chic with a Northwoods Flare....

I fell in love with the saucer as soon as I spotted it! I love all things related to a mountain scene, tall Ponderosa Pines, a breeze whispering through their branches, the sweet scent of warm sap. Soooo I couldn't resist getting the saucer and turning it into a pedestal dish. I can see this in a northwoods or western themed bathroom, or perhaps being used as a cufflink holder, for earrings, whatever. It stands about 5 inches tall and can be found at Simply Sheryl's Etsy

Foodie Friday- Warming up with Split Pea & Ham Soup

 The other morning we woke up to this, 6 inches of white fluff after a night of blowing snow at almost whiteout conditions. Two days prior the temps had been at 66 degrees, sheesh! I just happened to bring a bag of split peas to my mother-in-laws', already knowing that it would cool down for a day or two, so I was able to satisfy my hankering for split pea and ham soup. We had an over abundance of ham left over from the funeral, and gave away as much as possible, fed the troops with more, and still had a bit to use up. I waited a week as I didn't want us to suffer from ham overload, we already have enough hams in our family.

Here's a recipe I created from browsing other recipes and reaching into my memory bank of watching my mom and stepmom, both excellent cooks. I had to make a substitution or two as my mother-in-law doesn't keep much in the way of herbs and spices around. It's easy and quick to get started. I must say, this came out sooooo yummy and is the perfect comfort food on a cold and stormy day. Serve with crusty french bread, fresh fruit and you have a meal to live for!

SPLIT PEA & HAM SOUP

2 cups dried split peas, sorted and rinsed

1 ham bone, if available

2 cups diced ham - use good quality ham, not the cheap stuff

1 medium onion, diced

2 large peeled and coin sliced carrots, quartering the larger coins

3 stalks of celery, diced

2-3 tablespoons of EVOO or extra virgin olive oil

1 quart chicken stock + 1 quart water

1 teaspoon each thyme, tarragon or mint, lemon pepper

1 bay leaf

2 dashes cayenne pepper  and a dash of seasoning salt if needed 

In a large soup pot over medium heat add olive oil and veggies, cook until tender. Add ham and bone and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to a simmer and let soup bubble gently until the peas break down, about an hour or so. The soup should be somewhat thick when stirred, but not gloppy, yes that's a word. :-) Taste to see if you need any seasonings, and serve with warm bread and fresh fruit. Serves 6-8. Enjoy!

A Walk Down Memory Lane - Up-cycled Bleach Bottle Tote

 I have been wanting to do this since I took up crocheting again while watching TV with the folks at night. When I was about 12 or 13, Teri you might remember this, Mom taught a couple of 4-H classes in Joseph, Oregon.

 One of them was using bleach bottles to make totes out of. I couldn't remember how we did them exactly, as far as the stitching count, but I worked it out to where the top is not larger than the bottom in width. After I cut the top off as high as I could go, there's an actual ridge in the bottle you can use as a guide. Scissors work great after getting the hole started, I punched holes around the top edge, leaving about a quarter of an inch border on top. I then did a single crochet stitch in each hole, alternating between one and two stitches per hole. At the end of each row I slip stitched into the first stitch of each row and chained 2 for HDC and 3 for DC stitches, which I alternated rows of.  There's no hard and fast rule on how many rows to make, you decide how you want the tote to look.

I then made a crocheted draw string handle to match as I didn't have ribbon or fabric available. I also added the large crocheted flower and leaves. Can you see the possibilities with this idea? Next time you are thinking of tossing out a laundry detergent or bleach bottle, even a large juice bottle, why not give this a try.