Sewing Projects for December

15.  More Receiving Blankets

I fell in love with this penguin Christmas fabric and made this receiving blanket for my new nephew Gideon.
I also loved the frog fabric.  This one went to a co-worker of my daughter's.

16.  Knitted Baby Socks

I just love knitting these things... especially if the yarn is patterned.  Its always a mystery as to how the sock will turn out.

17.  Large Purse

This was a Christmas gift for my sister-in-law, Rebeka.  It is large enough to double as a diaper bag if she wishes, but not baby enough to look like one.

18.  Sugar Loaf Purses / Bags

I made two of these cute purses / Cosmetic Bags for Gifts... one to match Rebeka's purse, and the other as a Birthday gift for my neice.  I filled it with a package of Skittles, some Skittles flavoured Lip Smackers, some small Toblerone chocolates and a gift card.  What fun!  She loved the fabric.

19.  Baby Slippers

I came across a free pattern on the internet to make these baby slippers.  I had fun making them for my new nephew, Gideon.  I made a size 0 which just fits snuggly if he has thin socks on.  I will be making him another pair in a larger size.  Note to self... make at least a size 1 for newborn gifts.

I've reached my Decluttering Goal of 50 bags but the job's not Done!

Today, with the 3 us tackling the basement for 1 1/2 hours we were able to rid ourselves of 5 bags of garbage and 3 boxes of stuff for Habbitat For Humanity.  Steve dismantled his model railroad... smashed it to smithereens!  We also got rid of old painting supplies, some counter top laminate and old tools, nuts, screws, bolts, etc.

The thing is, now I've already gone past my goal of 50 bags of stuff, but the decluttering is only about 1/2 done.  Now I have to rethink this one... double or nothing?... well double it anyway... aim for 100 bags decluttered... sounds like a good idea... after all I don't turn 50 for another 2 1/2 years!


Reached my goal of 50 bags today!
Decluttered 53 bags so far ... now aiming for 100!

Yea! We're Going to Vegas!

On Monday night, my husband I had a "meeting" to book our next vacation.  He still has some vacation time to use up and while we wanted to go somewhere warmer, we weren't enthused about going to the Caribbean during hurricane season.  We both have always wanted to see the lights of Vegas (hey, I grew up in a small northern city far from any big cities) and marvel at the wonder of the Grand Canyon.  Now it looks like we will do both.

I must admit that I'm a little nervous about it all.  Neither of us have been in an airplane since our Honeymoon 23 1/2 years ago.  Now we have booked flights with a stopover both ways (4 flights in all!).  Up until now, I've always booked our hotels through Expedia mostly.  This time we were booking flights, hotel rooms, car rental, theatre tickets (Phantom of the Opera), travel and medical insurance all at once!  It was a little overwhelming to say in the least!  It actually was quite easy to do on Expedia, but I am still a little anxious and second guessing myself...  I'm usually more slower paced and methodical when it comes to vacation planning.  We plan to leave in a couple of weeks!  Yikes!... I mean Yea!  I think.

More New Foods

5.  Shanghai Bok Choy and Baby Bok Choy

Our family tried Baby Bok Choy about a year ago and loved it!!!  This time when I went grocery shopping, I bought Shanghai Bok Choy.  We loved this one also!  I can't say if I noticed a difference between the two, but both are great!  This is the recipe that I use.

2 lbs Bok Choy
1 cup chopped bacon
2 cloves garlic
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb sliced leeks
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Clean and prepare the bok choy.  Set aside in two groups, leaves and stems.  (If you cook bok choy too long it becomes bitter.  The leaves cook faster than the stems, so I remove the stems and slice them like matchsticks.)

2.  In a wok or large skillet, over medium heat add olive oil, chopped garlic, mushrooms, leeks and bacon.

3.  When the leeks and mushrooms are about half cooked, add the bok choy stems.  Cook for 2 min.

4.  Add bok choy leaves and cook for another 2 min.  (avoid over cooking the bok choy).

5.  Season with pepper and salt to taste.

Serve as a side with rice or rice vermicelli if desired.


6.  Fennel and Anise

As far as I can tell, there isn't really any difference between these two.  But we love them both.  This vegetable has a mild licorice flavour which is really great in a stir fry.  I have also found many recipes for fennel on allrecipes.com.  One of the best is "Baked Rigatoni with Italian Sausage and Fennel".

Making Progress

Now we're actually able to move around in 2 out of 3 rooms in the basement.  Our progress is clearly visible.  On Saturday we spent another hour down in the dungeon and removed another 10 bags of stuff... 3 garbage bags, boxes of religious books of my Dad's, old sports equipment, some unused craft items, bag of clothes, boots... etc.  Why on earth do we hold on to that stuff???  It's amazing me at how quickly we can actually get rid of it if we don't allow our emotions to get in the way.  Anyway, more of it is gone and I feel soooo much better!

Decluttered 46 bags so far ... aiming for 50!