I have been knitting, I just haven't posted pictures until now. Of the four projects, one was a gift I completed, two were gifts I have yet to complete, and one I started to match a new outfit I bought for myself. I really should make it a point to finish these by Christmas, because by the time Christmas morning arrives, I feel as if all the adrenaline that has kept me going until then has left the night before with Santa's sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. As of now I really have no ambition whatsoever to finish these projects. In fact, two of the projects I've been carrying around in my purse and the only thing they've been good for is the needles to stab me once in a while because they poke out so much. You can tell they've been well-traveled by the nasty almost-knot the yarn for the slippers have. Where I can, I've linked the pattern with the picture.

Twilight Socks by chickenbetty (Ravelry)

One Row Handspun Scarf by Stephanie Pearl McPhee

Drink cozy from the book Knitting With Balls

Aunt Maggie's Slippers by Bev A. Qualheim

Donny wished me a Happy Birthday!

Ok, so it's more like I received an email from Donny and "all of us at Donny.com" but it's his voice and I can pretend, can't I?

Not too much in the way of crafting right now. Too busy getting ready for the 25th. I am attempting to make some socks as a Christmas gift, but it works with three different colors and I am just not a three-color-sock person. I do have all of my cards sent out. Here is a version of one of our Christmas cards.

That's it for now. Once this Christmas rush is over I'll be ready to scrapbook those holiday pix!

Big Box Stores? Your choice, but really.....

This is my real job. I can't call it a nine-to-five job, or my forty-hours-a-week job. This is my part time job. It's one I've had for eleven years. It's a paint store. It is a locally, family owned paint store. In fact, it is my family. We are not Home Depot, nor would we ever, ever strive to be. Our philosophy is simple: We care. We don't have fancy decorations, top of the line sales equipment, no orange aprons for us, but if you've been in the store more than once or twice, we can usually remember you. More than likely I will remember what you painted and what color of paint you got. We've color matched everything from a weed to a pair of underwear.

As more and more big box stores move in, we feel the crunch. In these hard times with the economy being what it is, we feel it even harder. People complain about the bad service they receive at these big box stores, yet they continue to go there. Why? Our prices are competetive, our salespeople are knowledgeable. I have seen so many small stores close recently. At what price? Remember pharmacies that actually remembered you? Remember the butcher at the grocery store who was a real man (or woman) that gave you a piece of bologna when you were a kid? If this trend of the big stores monopolizing the market continues, soon our only option will be the big box stores. We will become just a number to them. You can choose. Take a stand and choose to shop small - at small stores, that is. This holiday season remember the little guys. The locally owned shops are going to get my business this year. Take a stand. Or take a number.

*

*

I've learned to never just pick out a color and mixing up the paint without that customer seeing it first. A customer came in this week asking me to help him pick out a "tan" color. I was thinking of something like these:

He landed up picking this as his tan:

Quite a difference!

Christmas Time's a'coming!

I've got more pictures to post, but wanted to update my blog with this picture. I've been busy making Christmas cards, and these are the latest. I'll post then when they are all done, but need to get our family pictures taken first - that happens on Tuesday.

Today my daughter showed me these shoes she made. I love them! It's these kinds of things that make me glad that although my mind may be cluttered and chaotic, there is just enough creativity in it that I can pass on to my children. Of course, having a craft room full of fun things like ribbon and glitter never hurts either!

Reno Cropapalooza 2008

What an awesome time we had at the Cropapalooza! It was held last weekend at Lawlor Events Center in Reno. I arrived around 8:30 on Saturday morning to help set up a little. Then classes kept me busy until later in the afternoon. For some reason I wasn't planning on being so busy that day, but I loved it. I took classes from Technique Tuesday, Fiskars, and Bazzill. In the Technique Tuesday class we worked with the Tile Toppers, made a 12x12 page and a card. In the Fiskars class we made a 12x12 page layout using the Ultra ShapeXpress. We got to use Bazzill's In Stitch'z products in their class, making a 12x12 page and a card. Now I know what to do with that prepunched Bazzill paper. These teachers did such a wonderful job. That's the thing I really love about classes - getting to sample all of these products and try out new ideas. Good for them, of course I want one of everything!
Just the classes would have been good enough for me, but they also offered make and takes. In addition to make and takes being offered by these three companies, Crate Paper also had a make and take for us to do.

All good things must come to an end, so Sunday I packed up my stuff and came back down to real life. I hadn't seen my family much all weekend so it was good to spend the afternoon/evening with them.

I left Cropapalooza with an armful of projects and free goodies. I saw old friends, met new friends and realized that for me, scrapbooking is therapy. Unfortunately, it doesn't cure the common cold, which is what I now have.

I'll leave you with pictures of the most fun I've had in a while. Enjoy!

Showing off our pages that Mary from Technique Tuesday taught us

Amy and I with Joey from Bazzill paper

Showing off Bazzill's make and take

Angela Daniels from Fiskars (Fiskateer #9!)

\

Two-sided photo frame (a covered canvas board - cute idea!) from the Fiskars class

Another Fiskars project - we used the Ultra Shape Xpress 5ool 5o cut the waves

Tami, you rock! - Shut the front door!

I love making these buttons. Too bad I jammed up the machine.

Pieces of Flair

Heidi, I mean Angela Witch. She made this costume, isn't it too cute?!

Goodies from Fiskars

Making my recipe swap pages. I almost have them finished. I used the idea from the Bazzill make and take project

Table B - my table

Kathy and Crissy - a HUGE part of Cropapalooza. We love you two!

Amy and Lisa showing off their "What Would Tonna Do" button. Don't even ask me.

Ok, after scrapbooking for two days, you get a little loopy

The tenth already, where does the time go? Today was a scrapbook club get-together. We played with Diamond Glaze. These are two of the projects we worked on. The punches leaves are filled with Diamond Glaze, let dry, then put in the freezer for about five minutes or so. Then when they are taken out and still cold, crack them to give them an aged look, or in this case, to give the leaves veins. Very cool, and looks even better on a larger leaf.

My favorite time of the year is fast approaching. I even played Christmas music yesterday, much to the chagrin of my family. At least I kept it limited to the craft room and not the whole house. A little secret: If your family hates Christmas music when it's not December, play it and see how fast they scatter. A great way to get some crafting done! Made a couple of cards yesterday using the Missy B Designs sets. Love these stamps. They come on a sheet of rubber ready to mount, and I finally got around to mounting on the cushiony stuff.

Shake Your Booty!

We figured we'd have a good time at this concert, but you just never know how it's going to be until you are there. Lee Ann and I had gone to will call to get our tickets earlier, and then when we headed back to go into the concert room, I saw a friend I had met through scrapbooking. She does something with the sales of the tickets, and I'm sure I'm not giving her job enough credit here in the description. Anyways, she looks at the tickets we have, does some magic work on the keyboard, and voila! - we now have Section D, which is the center row, 6th row! Aren't we special! Thank you so much, Bev!!!!

Lee Ann and I next to the stage

So now we're in our seats waiting for the show to start, and I am wondering why there are so many "old" people here. We certainly haven't aged, why do all these old people want to see KC and the Sunshine Band?? I don't know about other people, but I think it's so funny that I get so excited over seeing a band now that I used to like decades of years ago. Trying to capture our youth, I suppose. Whatever it was, it was fun! KC had a cold, we felt so sorry for him. Poor guy was coughing, and just didn't look too well. But we still loved the show. Lots of booty shaking going on up there on stage. There were people at the front of the stage shaking his hand as he was singing, but I'm thinking, ummmm, I really don't think I want to go up there to shake a sick person's hand, entertainer or no. He did joke about being sick, had thrown a towel out to the audience and told them to please "wash it in hot water" before using it, or selling it on Ebay. Yep, pretty good time.

The Band

KC and the Sunshine Band, at the Silver Legacy, Reno

September 12, 2008

One of many costume changes

The guy still boogies, just a little slower these days (aren't we all!)

I'm going!

Last night I talked to my friend whom I hadn't talked to in a while, and she mentioned that KC and the Sunshine Band was going to be performing tonight. Spur of the moment we decided to get tickets. So in about an hour and a half I will be driving to her house and we'll be on our way to the Silver Legacy to see KC and the Sunshine Band!!! I'm off to shake my booty.....

A couple of projects I'm working on or have finished. I am working on making a sweater, and it's actually for me. I usually only make socks or scarves for myself. I've told myself not to buy any more yarn until at least the sweater is finished. I've got to finish these UFO's up!

My cousin gave this to me to see if I could duplicate it. So far I've cast on the top and have knit the white cuff.

My "Wicked" sweater. Only have a few more inches of the body left, and then to finish the sleeves.

Dishcloth for a friend of ours who is on a mission. A Christmas present is done!

Socks being knit with our hand-dyed with koolaid yarn.

TVP - What is it?

TVP stands for textured vegetable protein. Here is the Definition: Texture vegetable protein, TVP for short, is a high-fiber, high-protein meat substitute made from soy flour and available in a variety of flavored and unflavored varieties, as well as different sizes, from large chunks to small flakes. Because it is a dehydrated product, TVP needs to be reconstituted in hot water for about ten minutes or in the cooking process before eaten.

I had never heard of TVP until a few years ago when I took cooking classes through my church. I got excited about it, because it could replace ground beef/turkey/chicken in some recipes, but I never really played or cooked with it except in soups. I went grocery shopping yesterday and found TVP in the bulk section of the store and bought some, and used it for last night's dinner. Here is the recipe I used:

SPICY BEEF WITH NOODLES

2 lb. ground beef (I used half ground turkey and 1 cup tvp)

2 T salad oil (I used 1 T)

1 c. chopped onion (I omitted)

1/2 c. minced green pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. canned tomatoes, drained (I used one)

1 c. whole kernel corn, drained

1/4 c. tomato paste
2 tsp. sald (I used about 1/2 tsp.)

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. allspice (this gives it a unique flavor)

3/4 c. grated cheddar cheese

1/2 c. pitted black olives, sliced

1 lb. pkg. noodles

Put oil in heavy skillet and saute onion, green pepper and garlic until tender. Add beef and brown slowly (I added the TVP after the ground turkey was cooked). Add tomatoes, corn, and tomato paste to mixture. Season with sale, pepper, oregano and allspice. Simmer about 2 minutes. Stir in olives and cheddar cheese. Cook noodles according to pkg. directions. Place noodles on large heated platter and spoon mixture over all. 6-8 servings.

I used one cup of the TVP and had quite a big left over. My kids didn't even ask what I cooked - they just assumed it was hamburger! And at 1.68 per pound of this stuff, I'm thinking I'll be adding more to my recipes and keep my food budget down.

Do you have any good tvp recipes? If so, comment away and share!