Little Things

There is nothing, Sir, too little for so little a creature as man. It is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as little misery and as much happiness as possible. (Samuel Johnson)

Moss roses blooming so prettily.

One tiny butterfly fluttering about.

And my latest crochet project -- teeny little baskets, perfect for holding a few chocolates.

Welcome October!

Happy weekend wishes!

It's About Time

In May, I joined Nathalie Thompson at An Artist's Legacy for Tea on Tuesday. At the time, she was having a giveaway and planned to choose two winners that would be announced the following week.

Turns out, she had no way of getting in touch with winner #2 and my name was chosen as the runner up. I don't usually join giveaways because the mail system here is very unreliable and very corrupt.

Case in point: Nathalie mailed the envelope to me on June 10th and I just received it today. Her card says: If you are reading this then it means that my cards made it through customs. Yippee!


Yes, Nathalie, they finally arrived. Both card designs were a limited run and were created by her in a workshop while she worked at Hallmark Cards.

Thank you so much Nathalie! I'm glad your cards finally made it. Wouldn't it be interesting to know what this one envelope has been through in the past 3-1/2 months?

I hope you are all having a terrific Thursday. Our weekend has begun, so it's a double Yippee over here. Best wishes and blessings, Tammy

Lagging

Over the weekend I crocheted a Grandma All Round and Grandma Heart from patterns found at The Royal Sisters.

Two flowers from a pattern found at Happy in Red.

My favorite doily pattern from Crochet Galore that really does only take 30 minutes to make.

A dishcloth from the new cotton I bought on Saturday.

And another jar cover.

When my kids try to play Xbox and the internet connection is slow, they complain about "lagging". Sometimes I feel like I am lagging in real life. There are days that I get home from school and I don't want to do a thing. Actually, I want to do many things, but because I feel so scattered, I can't decide where to start, so I do nothing at all.

Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing. Lao Tzu (Chinese taoist Philosopher, founder of Taoism; 600 BC-531 BC)

Ever have days like that?

Meatless Monday: Soup or Salad

Two of my favorites!

Spicy Corn and Lentil Chowder

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add 7 oz of lentils; reduce heat and simmer for about 12 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.

In same saucepan, add 2 TBS of olive oil and saute 3 cloves of minced garlic; 1 small onion chopped; 1 pinch of red pepper flakes; 1 tsp of ground cardamom; and 1 tsp of ground cumin, just until onion is soft, about 3 minutes.

Add lentils back to the pot, plus 2 cups of vege stock, 1-1/2 cups of coconut milk; and 1 can of creamed corn. Bring to the boil then simmer 10 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup of chopped coriander and serve with vegetable spring rolls.

Yellow Rice and Black Bean Salad

Heat 1/4 cup vegetable broth. Add 2 minced garlic cloves and cook for 2 minutes. Add 12 oz of vege broth, 1 cup uncooked brown rice, and 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes. Pour in 1/2 cup of water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes or until rice is tender. Fluff rice with fork and place in bowl. Add 1 can of black beans, 2 diced bell peppers, and one medium chopped onion. In a small bowl combine 2 TBS of lime juice, 1 tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 TBS of olive oil and 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro. Whisk together and drizzle over rice mixture.

Great served cold or at room temperature with diced avocado.

This morning my balcony was a frenzy of feasting. Doves and sparrows all enjoying a bit of breakfast before the heat of the day set in.

Those little nimble musicians of the air, that warble forth their curious ditties, with which nature hath furnished them to the shame of art. (Izaak Walton, English biographer & fishing author (1593 - 1683)





I hope your week is off to a great start. Peace & blessings, Tammy

Gifts of the Day

Big fluffy clouds are such a welcome sight around here since we don't get them during the hot summer months.

High humidity, however, is not a good thing when you are trying to capture the setting sun. My camera immediately fogged over the minute I walked outside this evening.

Hubby thinks I am nuts running out to the balcony morning, noon and night with camera in hand. But all those clouds give the sun's rays something to bounce off of so there is always such a lovely glow in the sky just before dusk. I told him I am enjoying God's gifts and being grateful.

Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees. ~Victor Hugo

Jingles is enjoying the change in the weather too.

Half the time I can't even get her out of that dang pot. (My poor moss roses.)

I hope that you are enjoying lovely weather and a beautiful day in your little corner of the world. Friendship blessings, Tammy

Friday Fruits and Finding Fall

On Friday, hubby likes to go grocery shopping early in the morning. He always comes home with lots of fruit that I immediately wash up and place in bowls on the dining table. I figure if everyone can see it, they are more likely to eat it.







That means the fruit we already had needs to be used in other ways, so I made a banana cake.

And an apple berry crisp.

The great thing about a crisp is you can throw any kinda fruit together and the topping doesn't have to be in exact measurements.
Plus, if you crisp it up a little too much, it still tastes great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I received an sms from our local craft store that said "Happy News! Arrived huge shipment of knitting yarns and Catania cotton." I don't really need any new yarn, but I decided to head over to check out the selection and came home with some in Fall-like colors.

Our daytime temps are still hot. It's 108 right now and a bit humid, but our night time temperatures are getting better. According to the weather report, our low tonight will be 79. That must be when I am sleeping because I haven't felt it yet.

Hope you are having a super Saturday! I'm off to whip up a few dishcloths. Happy Fall! Friendship blessings, Tammy

Good Friday Morning!

I used to love night best but the older I get the more treasures and hope and joy I find in mornings. ~Terri Guillemets

Enjoying quiet time before the day begins.

No real plans for the day. Mostly hanging out.

Just the way I like it. Wishing you all a fabulous Friday. Friendship blessings, Tammy

Hello Everyone!

I hope all is well with you. Our internet at home has not been working the past couple of days. Not quite sure why, but very frustrating to say the least.

Our weather has gone from very hot to very humid and, according to weather reports, will be like this through Saturday.

Jingles and I have not watered plants since Monday. I figure they are getting their fair share of moisture with the humidity.

Heavy cloud cover rolled in overnight.

Did you know that the air has to be a little dirty for clouds to form? We had some dust in the sky yesterday, so mix that with the humidity, and you have an overcast sky.

Although our high today was 106, it didn't feel quite so bad since the sun was not beaming down on us.

I've managed a bit of crocheting, a bit of cleaning and a lot of just trying to keep up each and every day. Hope you are having a great week so far. One more day of school and then it is the weekend for us. How I love the weekends! Peace and blessings, Tammy

Meatless Monday and Day Two

You know how sometimes you want breakfast food for dinner? Foul (prounounced "oo" not "ow") medammes is a popular Middle Eastern dish that is prepared for breakfast but can really be eaten at any time of day. Cooked fava beans and chickpeas are roughly mashed and seasoned with salt, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil.

Then topped with chopped tomatoes, onions and parsley. I like to eat it with slices of green pepper. And, of course, hot pita bread is a part of most Arab meals.

I appreciate all the comments on yesterday's post with regard to housework. A friend gave me a plaque that says "A clean house is the sign of a wasted life."
On day two of the routine, I will just do a bit of dusting in the kids bedroom.

And then it will be time to don pajamas and do some crafting. Just doing a little bit of both each day will certainly help to keep me sane.

Hope your week has gotten off to a great start. Best wishes and blessings, Tammy

Getting into a Routine

Over the weekend I read a post by Lucy at Attic24 entitled Routine. She voiced exactly what I have been feeling about housework. I keep saying I will get into a routine so I can keep up but so far that hasn't happened. Housework is not on my list of "favorite things to do".

My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance. ~Author Unknown

I need a schedule. Besides the daily upkeep, I plan to tackle a room or two each day of the week. Today I started with my bedroom. My plan was to work for about an hour but next thing I knew, it was 7 pm and nearly 4 hours had gone by. Why is there always so much to do?

There is no daily chore so trivial that it cannot be made important by skipping it two days running. ~Robert Brault

I'm hoping that as I get into a routine, the chores will be easier to tackle. Crafting and crocheting have been on the back burner these past two weeks so that has got to change.

No matter how small the project, I need to be creative every day.

I've got a plan. Now I've just got to stick to it. Wish me luck!

Hope your day is a good one! Best wishes and blessings, Tammy

Changes

Many around the world are welcoming cooler temperatures and the changing of the seasons. Over here leaves are falling because they are drying up; we are still just trying to stay cool.

With the hot weather, I can't even begin to think about Fall, but I did feel the need to change something so rearranged my living room a bit. Whenever I do that, my family always says it looked better the way it was before, but they will get used to it in time.

Jingles enjoys Saturdays when it is time to change the bedding. Who doesn't love fresh, clean sheets?

Of course, it is hard to finish the chore when she decides to take a bath ...

and a nap.

Your cat may never have to hunt farther than the kitchen counter for its supper nor face a predator more fierce than the vacuum cleaner. ~Barbara L. Diamond

This is my current outside kitty. The broom is her bed.

Hubby doesn't understand why cats keep finding their way to me. He thinks it is only because I feed them but she has now taken up residency right outside our door. What you can't see is that the skin on her whole right side is exposed. I don't know how she is still alive. She won't go outside to the bathroom so I have a bit of a clean up every day in the stairwell. No doubt she is here to rest and to have some sort of shelter from the heat. If I could catch her, I would take her to the vet although I am sure he would put her to sleep. It's hard to know what to do. I put food and water for her and talk to her. Not much else I can do since she is not trusting enough to let me approach her. What would you do?

Hope you are having a beautiful day wherever you are, whatever you are doing. Best wishes and blessings, Tammy