When green and frugality meet a Ralph Lauren sheet, part two

Additional visual perspectives:

When green and frugality meet a Ralph Lauren sheet.

This full size sheet was at one point, along with its identical twin, in their existence, a duvet cover for Erica's down comforter.  She changed the decor of her room and these sheets sat folded and alone in a darkened closet.  They were recently discovered, separated by a human with a seam ripper and one's existence was repurposed into three useful and decorative new human items:  an ironing board cover,a culinary apron, and a re-useable bag for STUFF.  Yes, its true.  It all started with the ugly ironing board cover previously owned by the household.   All the ones for purchase in the store just did not appeal to me.  Boring really.  Let's face it, if you must iron, at least let the idea of opening up the board should  be a joyful event instead of just thinking of  it for was it is, ironing.  Yes, some people do enjoy the event.  I admit, there is instant gratification of seeing the wrinkles disappear before your eyes.  However, to begin the entire process of ironing can be all the more unenjoyable if you are first greeted with something  pleasing to your eye.  There was a lot of extra threads left from the Ralph print that I could not waste it.  So, next was  to create a pretty apron to nicely compliment my love to create great foods to share and eat.  My current Williams-Sonoma model is a nice shade of my favorite color blue, but let me admit, it is not pretty. The new model has a nice kangaroo pocket embellished with a very chic ruffle to hold a dish cloth for wiping my hands.   This is a great convenience.  Still, too many threads left to waste after this item.  Then I remember in the September '08 issue of Body and Soul magazine, there were directions for turning a pillow case into a re-useable bag.  You can see how this connection was made: sheet, pillowcase. Of course, I had to make a pillowcase out of the leftover threads, only to cut it and shape it into its new repurposed state.  If nothing else, the meeting of green, frugality and Ralph gave me SOMETHING to blog about.  This keeps the creativity, typing, computer and writing skills up.  Plus, it is FUN,  as stated as my original intention for keeping a blog in the first place!

Having fun in Chicago

We are in Chicago. The weather is crisp, sunny and beautiful. We went to the Chicago Historical Museum today. We were going to venture to the Shedd Aquarium, but the best inhabitants were "On Vacation". Another good thing about the internet is checking the latest news and info on most attractions in the city. We looked this morning and found that the Dolphins and Belugas were on vacation in Mystic, CT while their homes were being renovated!! So we moved onto Plan B. We (Adam was the exception. He really did enjoy it but won't let on that he is) were pleasantly surprised to get in FREE today, President's Day. A few dead presidents were there to help celebrate: Lincoln and his significant other Mary, George and Martha, Teddy and Thomas the J man. Very entertaining and they were all in character Very fun day. We came back to hotel to eat leftover Giordano's deep dish pizza. Yum. Then off to the pool for the clan while I go out and shop a little. It is best to shop when you know you have enough stuff and do not need anything. The evening is wide open. Looks like we may go to the top of the Sears Tower. It is a grand, clear day and sunset is at 5:23 today. It would be great to catch a glimpse of it at that time......

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Today is Valentine's Day.  This is one of  a few cards I made to give this year.  The picture does not show the embossed hearts nor the cut out glossy embossed little heart with the gemstone.  I guess this is where a HD camera would work better in place of its older cousin.  Anyway, this also marks the first attempt to post a card I made like so many other people out there in the blogishere.  Or is it blogoshpere? I guess the word has not made it into the dictionaries as of yet.  Maybe by the end of the year it will be entered into Old Oxford's or Webster's great books.  Anyway,  here's to another Valentine's  Day.  Oh, by the way, we here in Troy were given about an inch of newly fallen snow.  Wow, Happy Valentine's Day.

Baking for Valentine's Day

I made cut out butter cookies for Valentine's Day tomorrow.  This is a great recipe to make.  The cookies consistently turn out the same every time I make them.  16 years to be exact.  I found the recipe in my first year of subscribing to "Martha Stewart Living" magazine.  

2 cups butter

2 cups sugar

2 TBS vanilla

4 eggs

6 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients, incorporate well.  Divide dough into thirds and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill for 3 hours or overnight.  Roll out one portion at a time and cut with desired shapes.  Bake on parchment lined cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes at 350*.

Cool and decorate as desired.  Store in airtight container.

Going to Chicago.....

We are going to Chicago this Sunday for a few days.  Hoping to have a few days away to relax while the kids are on winter break from school.  It is always nice to go to that city.  So much to do: museums, aquarium, planetarium, shopping and relaxing.

The cookies and the snowman with Oreo eyes.

The Oreoes give the S Man a good look.  However, that can't be said of the others in the family shot.  I tried to hold the camera up to take a group photo but it was difficult to do:  too much space around the S Man and I could not see what the camera saw.  I tried.

The cookies turned out great.  S Man loved being on his own private lake!  Alas, he is gone now.  He is somewhere with his buddy Frosty and his remains have been sent to the fish that never came to visit.

Not a black hole in the earth....

Not a black hole in the earth but a hole in the ice on the pond.  Arvo and Adam were ice fishing for the big bass that likes to tease them during the summer months.  The two of them packed a lunch of pizza and a ham sandwich with some chips and cookies and they picnicked just like in the summer.  The great part about fishing on a winter day instead of a summer day is mosquitoes are not part of the scene.  Unfortunately they did not get a single bite that day.  The day was not a loss because it was absolutely a gorgeous day to be outside.  The sun was out, the sky was blue and it smelled like warmth.  Adam lost patience for the fish and went about building a snowman.  Perfect packable conditions; the best we had since the flakes began to fall.Where were Erica and I?  We were baking cookies of course.  Great tasting oatmeal, chocolate chip raisin.  Then we came outside to see if they fell in the water.  Not a chance.  The ice was 18 inches thick.  No wonder a fish did not surface.  With that much ice surface radiating cold, even if it tried, it would slow it down and freeze it.  Erica and I went for a glorious walk and left the two of them to further try their patience.   

January thaw in February.

Spring seems to be on everyone's mind this weekend.  Adam rode his bike yesterday, Arvo tired to cross country ski at Stoney but it was slow and difficult, and Erica and I took a long walk and actually got very hot.  It smelled like spring,  This photo was taken at the Plymouth Ice Festival on January 17th.  The ice carver must have had notions of spring in mind when he/she set out to create this.  There is no doubt by now this ice formation is in its original liquid form.

Skating on the pond while the snowshoes walked.

Snowshoe prints in the snow

Arvo, Adam and Erica were skating on the pond while I ventured off onto the golf course on very COLD day.  It was again very sunny, but boy it was chilly.  It is very surreal to be on a golf course in the middle of winter with no other living thing around.   It brings on a feeling of peace and tranquility, especially when you know it is temporary and you will soon be inside your warm and loving house!

Beautiful sunset on a winter's day.

This was a gorgeous end to a sunny winter afternoon.  I have the honor of witnessing this from our kitchen widow every winter day that gives us sun.  Sometimes the colors contain a radiant hue of pink mixed with the golds! This day it happened to be very cold: 17* for the high.  This is a little fuzzy because the glass was spotted from the outside.  The spring cleaning will have to wait  a while longer.....

Snowshoeing outing

Arvo and I are here for a photo while we were snowshoeing in the woods at the end of our street.  There was 1 1/2 feet of snow.  We saw little signs of life out there,  Poor squirrels, I kept wondering what they do for food.  We eventually saw a hawk soaring above, probably thinking he could use us for a food source.  Good thing he thought we were too large to conquer.  Or maybe he thought we were deranged for being out in the deep snow.  Later on the path we did hear a very large woodpecker.  Or so we thought it was large.  Arvo finally found it among all the trees way at the top of, we gathered by the sound, a dead species.  The vibration it made as it hit the trunk would create envy in a regae band!  Awesome sound.  Great snowshoe jaunt.

They bloomed,,,,

The narcissus bulbs bloomed.  They were quite beautiful to look at, especially with the dramatic contrast of having the foot and a half snow looming out the window.  Oh, I see I still have a Santa sitting in our living room.  Funny, he is a part of the room when you are in it, yet in the small lens of the camera, he looms large and very red!  He must be put away.