Rayen

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.

How lucky have I been with my thrifts lately? These Women's Sketchers D'Lites Fresh Start sneakers are wide fit, my size, in white (the color I most like for sneakers) and almost brand new; from the faint soiling on the soles they must have been worn once and returned to the store. They retail for $75.00; I paid $8.99. This miniature kit was an open box, but happily included all the parts to make it. The kit retails for $21.79; I thrifted it for $12.99. My small lot of yarn included multiples of I love this yarn in white, gold and chestnut, which alone retail for $4.99 a skein. Altogether the lot totals $61.15 retail; I got it for $8.99. Bottom line: when you can get $157.94 worth of goods for just $30.97 it's always great luck. :)

I'm mostly posting about my thrifts over on the crochet blog, but since I've been having a lot of good luck with thrifting at the online auction lately I thought I'd do a post here. My old walking Sketchers are starting to wear thin at the soles, so I found this pair of Women's Sketchers D'Lites Fresh Start. This small lot of yarn included multiples in three colors, which I'm always on the lookout for these days. The fun thing is that almost all the yarn is in colors I need for one of my bucket list crochet projects . I regularly search for miniature kits as gifts for a family member who loves them, and this one was an open box but contained everything needed to make the little house. Stop by tomorrow to see what everything is worth, and how much I saved by thrifting them.

I was looking through my photo archives for quilting projects I did last year, and one of my favorites is the one I made from a vintage embroidered napkin and a doallar-fifty bag of thrifted fabric scraps. I didn't plan it and the way it came together was almost magical (it also helped that it was small.) The quilt I made for Halloween also made me quite happy. It's probably one of the last of my hand-quilted pieces, but I'm glad I made it. Halloween really boosted my spirits last year, especially with all the fun projects I made. My mini-quilt calendar project of 2025 at times grew difficult, especially during the nights when my arthritis was giving me a fit, but I managed to finish it and I'm very happy with the results, mixed as they are. To be honest, I am struggling with this year's calendar project, making one quilted tote per month, and looking back on what I managed last year helps quite a bit. It's reassuring in a way nothing else can b...

I started watching the first season of the medical romance k-drama Hospital Playlist but stopped when it triggered some bad memories of my own experiences; although I like romance it's hard for me to watch any medical-centered drama for those reasons. I did like the cast and the story, however, so I eventually I got over myself, went back and watched both seasons on Netflix. The series follows and the professional and personal lives of five very young-looking physicians in their forties; four men and one woman, all of whom work at the same hospital. They're all brilliant doctors, of course, but they also have fairly significant issues in their personal lives (one is divorced with a child, one is divorced with a domineering snooty mother, two are romantic disasters for different reasons and one is actually thinking about becoming a priest.) The thing that makes this series different is that the doctors have been friends since college, and have the kind of group relationsh...