For hands and minds...

Keeping the hands busy...

(Have these two blankets sewn together)

Now have these crocheted squares to make into a blanket...

 

But have decided to do 2 rows around each square of this variegated green/blue yarn I had...

 (will make the blanket that bit bigger)

 

These will all go to Mission Without Borders who will be coming to speak at my church 1st November.

 

Keeping the mind busy...

 

Picked up this interesting little book at the library Out On A Limb by Jennie Beal Counts.  Helped me realise that most times our passions and desires are not opposed to God's plans for us!!

 

And am half way through Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (love the way she writes!!).  Don't think I'll ever be a writer of fiction, but it is interesting to read about the process writer's go through...with some glimpses into life (and all its humour) along the way :))

 

And then hope to start Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. 

 

Not into fiction at the moment.  Seem to be in need of books to stimulate my mind!  Don't know if it's working :)))

Picked up this little book (Who Moved My Cheese?) from the library yesterday (after being recommended by my friend Debbie) and read it in about an hour...

I am a person who doesn't like (or handle well) change.  I do get there in the end...but it takes me awhile :)

This is the summary page of the points in the book (but read the whole thing if you can...it's a sweet little story)...

I have no problems up to point 3, but that's when things start to get tricky and I slow down...

Points 4 and 5 can take me years to work through (not always...but sometimes...)...

Points 6 and 7??  Still working on those...  I have trouble with the 'enjoy'  word...  :)))


And to finish on...

Read these in Bird by Bird...

"Don't look at your feet to see if you are doing it right.  Just Dance". (p112)

and this...

"I get up.  I walk.  I fall down.  Meanwhile, I keep dancing". (p130)

Good thoughts to live by wouldn't you say??

 

xx

 

PS - linking this post with Ginny for Yarn Along!

 

And...all is growing well, so... I've removed The Bucket :)))

Bucket Head

Had my hair cut recently.  It's very short!!  So until it grows a bit...


I'm wearing a bucket on my head...

I remove the bucket in the privacy of my own home :))

And while I'm waiting...

I found my English piecing flowers I'd been working on...how many years ago??

 

We did a fabric swap on a snail mail group I'm part of and this was what I decided to do with my pieces of fabric from each of the ladies.

 

Maybe I should finish them...

 

 Maybe...

And using up yarn scraps to crochet granny squares...

And almost finished the highly recommended Quiet. Will then start Bird by Bird...

 

If you'd like to see what others are crafting and reading, go to Ginny's Yarn Along blog 

 

xx

 

 

Icelandic Dark Rye Bread (Dökkt Rúgbrauð)

Made this bread yesterday...

Here's the recipe...

(if you click on recipe it should enlarge it enough for you to read)

Couldn't get dark rye flour so just used regular (un-dark??) but when cooked it turned out quite dark in colour anyway. 

 

 Didn't have butter milk so substituted 2 cups milk and 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice as suggested on THIS site. 

 Interesting that it says..." When baking soda is combined with the lactic acids of buttermilk, the acid neutralizes the metallic taste of sodium carbonate."

The 200' is Fahrenheit!  I cooked at about 100' Celsius.

 

The bread is really good!!!

 

The recipe is printed HERE (if you can't read it from the copy above).

 

And you can read the full article the recipe is from HERE.

 

Njóta!

 

xx

Good to look at...and good to eat!!

This is the good to look at part...

Signs of spring here in Deloraine!!

 

Beautiful spring weather...except that the north easterly winds play havoc with my migraines :(((

And this is the good to eat part...

Made this Goats' Cheese and Roasted Veg Portobello Mushrooms bake.  It was delicious (and nutritious!!)

(yummo!!)

(served with toasted sourdough and lashings of butter...maybe not so healthy !?!)

I used sweet potato instead of the butternut pumpkin, and added some cumin. Didn't have black onion seed, but used freshly ground peppercorns and sea salt.

Also a sprinkling of fresh herbs from the garden (parsley, lemon thyme, rosemary), and didn't cook the goats' cheese, but added on serving.  I will certainly make it again!

Here's the recipe!

(hope you can read it...saved me typing it out!)

 

 

Home made chicken soup for lunch today :))

 

xx

Still and Quiet

Joining Ginny for Yarn Along again!

Still working on the edging for this blanket for charity...

And reading Quiet. 

 

Very good!

 

  Lots of insightful, interesting, and challenging facts and thoughts on/for introverts. 

 

So...if you're an introvert like me (or even if you're not)...read it!! 

 

It's not just extroverts that change the world :)))

 

A few quotes from the book...

 

“Introverts, in contrast, may have strong social skills and enjoy parties and business meetings, but after a while wish they were home in their pajamas. They prefer to devote their social energies to close friends, colleagues, and family. They listen more than they talk, think before they speak, and often feel as if they express themselves better in writing than in conversation. They tend to dislike conflict. Many have a horror of small talk, but enjoy deep discussions.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

 

“So stay true to your own nature. If you like to do things in a slow and steady way, don't let others make you feel as if you have to race. If you enjoy depth, don't force yourself to seek breadth. If you prefer single-tasking to multi-tasking, stick to your guns. Being relatively unmoved by rewards gives you the incalculable power to go your own way.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

 

“It's not that there is no small talk...It's that it comes not at the beginning of conversations but at the end...Sensitive people...'enjoy small talk only after they've gone deep' says Strickland. 'When sensitive people are in environments that nurture their authenticity, they laugh and chitchat just as much as anyone else.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

 

“Indeed, your biggest challenge may be to fully harness your strengths. You may be so busy trying to appear like a zestful, reward-sensitive extrovert that you undervalue your own talents, or feel underestimated by those around you. But when you’re focused on a project that you care about, you probably find that your energy is boundless.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

 

 

Ok...I think that's enough :))

 

xx

More...

Joining Ginny for Yarn Along again this week!

Finally got this single bed blanket together and the crocheted edging done...

So that's one single bed blanket and one cot blanket to be mailed off to KOGO.

And the paler coloured blanket on top is a lap size blanket that we will keep on hand for when needed by some-one from our church or community...

 

 

I cannot accept credit for all the knitted squares (that goes to the ladies in the knitting group), I'm just the finisher off-er-er...get to sew them all together and crochet the edging :)))

 

 (will start on the edging for this one this afternoon)

I can take credit for these knitted strips...that will be sewn together (eventually) to make a blanket...

 (only two more 80 inch strips to go!!!!)

 

 

 

Finished reading Learning to Walk in the Dark, the third Barbara Brown Taylor book I have read recently.  All highly recommended!!

 

And for a change of pace I'm reading a Hakan Nesser scandi crime fiction book.  I do like his style of writing and the quirky characters, and it makes an interesting change, but probably not a genre I would read regularly...

 

 

Spring is finally starting to show signs, with bulbs flowering, trees blossoming, and the ducks on the river getting decidedly frisky :)))

 

xx

Create and Enjoy

Had the knitting ladies here this morning for our monthly charity knitting group get together.  Knitting beanies, squares for blankets, and I worked on getting this lap blanket together...

I had started this a while ago (the square centre piece) and my friend Debbie finished it off for me by adding extra top and bottom to make it a single bed size.  I still need to crochet an edging around it...

Recently finished this book.  A very interesting and informative read...

Been listening to these CD's from Cedar Springs Youth.  A follow on from my time at the Mennonite wedding and once again hearing their beautiful singing...

And have started this book.  Another one by Barbara Brown Taylor.  Good...as usual...

 

 

More than enough to keep me busy :))

 

Check out Ginny's Yarn Along posts to see what others are creating and reading...

 

Hope your week is going well!

 

xx