Rayen

When last I posted about my February tote for the calendar project I was futzing around with the patchwork. I finally did go with this idea of traditionally stacking and sewing the fabric pieces. I also had to resort to using the sewing machine on a few bad nights when my fingers locked up too much to do hand work. I finally got the patchwork completed. It's not pretty, but it's done. I'm using the solver, copper and gold metallic threads I picked up at the quilt show last year to feather stitch the seams, as that's the easiest embroidery stitch I know. I don't want to attempt any beading on this go, so once that's done I'll be ready to assemble the tote.

Since I've learned it's almost impossible not to spend money (although I'm still trying to avoid that whenever I can), I'm changing my tactics to spend as little as possible. Since food is our biggest expense every month, I'm competitively shopping at three different supermarkets and beefing up my emergency pantry. The latter I need to do anyway in preparation for hurricane season, but it helps. I cook at home nearly every night now, and make judicious use of leftovers. We eat well, although beef is out of my budget for the most part. My guy and our nephew eat about twice the amount of food I do, so I'm cooking recipes for basically five. By avoiding convenience foods and purchasing whole foods instead I'm spending about $130.00 or less per week at the market, keeping us at about $500.00 per month for food. I am thrifting or buying at the dollar store everything I can these days: books, cleaners, clothes, certain foods (when they're cheaper...

I was able to watch three episodes of the c-drama Boss & Me before I finally had to call it quits. Here's the description of the series I copied from Wikipedia: "Feng Teng (Hans Zhang) is a rich heir and the president of a giant conglomerate. He has a younger sister, Feng Yue, with a very rare blood type. Therefore, he recruits Shan Shan (Zhao Liying), who shares the same blood type as Feng Yue, into the company to be a blood donor. Interesting anecdotes occur when Feng Teng intentionally tries to fatten up Shan Shan, who loves eating. As Feng Teng gets to know Shan Shan, he discovers her innocence and kind heart beyond her clumsy nature, and falls in love with her." Aside from the fact that someone thought it was fine to view a woman as a blood bank and a farm animal, the character of Shan Shan is depicted as the most clueless and mind-numbingly idiotic female of all time. She constantly loses touch with reality as she cheers herself on, and this is in almost ...

I bid on three different quilts at the thrift auction that I wanted but only for the price I was willing to pay, aka wannabuts. How did that go? Another bidder took interest in this green quilt I liked, so I wasn't sure if I'd get it. I finally won it with my max bid of $20.14. This skillfully made quilt had unusual colors, which appealed to me enough to bid ten bucks on it. Alas, I was quickly outbid, and then a last-minute sniper war ensued. The winning bid was $74.88. The colors of this vivid quilt were what convinced me to bid $9.99 for it -- and I won it for that price! I'm very happy I got two of the three quilts I wanted at the right price. That's a real streak of luck. :)

I thrifted for $2.99 a copy of Anna Black's A Year of Living Mindfully , which intrigued me the moment I picked it up. I got into slow stitch as a mindful practice, and I'd love to apply that to the rest of what I do. This is a guide with weekly activities and practices to weave mindfulness into your everyday life. Nothing looks too difficult for me to manage, so I thought I'd give it a go for the next 52 weeks. If nothing else I can figure out how and where to work on myself to become more mindful. I really appreciated this sentence in the boxed paragraph at the end of the introduction: "If at any time a practice feels difficult or brings up strong feelings, please just stop." You don't see that kind of practical advice very often in how-to guides. It struck me as very respectful toward the individual, so she's not coming from that horrid place of group-think. She shows caring for each person and what makes them unique. I'll re...

I'm presently bidding on three different quilts at the thrift auction; I want to use these for my home office and the pups' crates -- but only if I can get them for the price I'm willing to pay, aka wannabuts. :) I liked this green quilt from the moment I saw it, but I may not win it due to another bidder taking interest. This is a very skillfully made quilt, and I like the unusual colors. If I can get it for the minimum bid I'd be quite happy to own it. The colors of this vivid quilt just jumped off my computer screen. It's really neat -- as long as the price is right. Stay tuned to the blog to find out if I win any of these quilts.