Parmesan Crisps

Two weeks ago, on our trip to the coast, we stopped at Whole Foods on our way through Portland. There's not a Whole Foods store in Spokane (our local "big city"), so I wanted to see what they might have in the way of crackers or snacks that fit in with the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle.

My favorite find was a container of Parmesan Crisps. Lyle wasn't sure he would like them, but I was pretty sure I would. They were pretty spendy at $6.00 for a 3.5-ounce package, but I went ahead and got them. We tried them as soon as we got back in the car. I love them because they are crisp and salty like a chip, but high protein instead of carbs. And they have a very rich flavor so I usually only want 1 or 2 at a time. It turned out that Lyle likes them, too, but we didn't go back and get more because they were so expensive.

Guess what? I figured out how to make them myself! 

This may be the easiest "recipe" ever... and they taste just like the ones we bought. I promise.

Here's how to do it:

1. Put a square of parchment paper on a plate.
2. Make four little piles of parmesan on the paper (about a tablespoonful in each pile).
3. Microwave on high for 1 minute.
4. Let cool.

 Can you believe how easy that is?

And a huge savings!

This container that cost $6.00? I was able to refill it with the same amount of product for 80 cents.

Unbelievable.

I should go into business.

My Special Find

Back in the 'nineties, when Victorian-style decor was popular, I subscribed to a crochet magazine that featured patterns for doilies and other similar lacy things. (And just so we're clear, I do mean the 1990s... because I guess Victorian decor was popular the first time around in the 1890s, wasn't it?) I still enjoy crocheting doilies and include a few in my home decor even now, though I don't have one draped over the back of every chair and every other available surface.

One issue of the magazine, in the fall of 1995, featured these beautiful lace parasols. I wanted to try my hand at making one so bad, but alas, I had no parasol frame.

The magazine gave this not-so-helpful advice:

"One of our readers was rummaging in her attic and came across a couple of old umbrellas. The fabric had practically disintegrated but the frames were still in excellent condition. At this point, she had an ingenious idea. She removed the failed fabric and replaced it with a crocheted pattern. Result: several stunning new parasols. How about that?"

Isn't that lovely for her? I directly went and rummaged in my attic, too, but unearthed no old umbrellas, disintegrated or otherwise. Reading further:

"Actually, the problem here is twofold. First, you have to find a suitable umbrella frame. This you can do by digging deep in your own closets (or attic, if you have one). By looking in dark corners of antique stores or visiting flea markets. You could also spot your special find in store carrying Oriental objects. Chinese-style umbrellas often have wooden frames covered with easily removable painted oilcloth."

So... I've been stuck on Step 1 of The Problem for these 17 years. I've had several different attics and closets during that time. Dark corners of antique stores and flea markets have yielded nothing. (Though, admittedly, I haven't been looking all that hard.)

This past Saturday afternoon Laura and I decided to make the rounds of the thrift stores here in town, just to see what we could find. As we were parking in front of one of the stores, I noticed this "beauty" in the window. I immediately remembered my crochet pattern, so I was eager to examine it more closely.

It's covered in paper, not oilcloth, but yes, it would be easily removable, being already torn in a few places. And how 'bout that little square of yellow fabric in the middle? Very odd.

"That wouldn't keep you very dry," Laura mused.

"No," I explained, "it's for shade from the sun." And then I told her what I had in mind for it. Now that this kind of decor is out of vogue, I'm not sure what I would do with a lacy parasol, once I finished it. Come to think of it, I'm not sure what I thought I would do with it, back in the day. Hang it from the ceiling? I have no idea!

"Use it for a photography prop, of course," Laura suggested. She and her friends love to do portrait shoots of each other.

Great idea! But is it affordable? I didn't want to spend a whole lot on a project that I may or may not get around to ever finishing.

The price tag was a modest 99 cents! And then when I got up to check out, the special for the day was 75% off, so I got "my special find" for a quarter. How about that?

So I'm ready to take on the Step 2 of The Problem:

"And now we come to the second half of the problem. Unless you get very lucky, chances are your frame will not match the frame in our patterns (the number and length of rods will probably not be the same). That may mean serious adjustment of the pattern. So a word of advice is in order: leave the parasols to the experts! If you are a beginner or improver, have a go at the fan for a nostalgic touch."

Having been crocheting avidly since I was about 12, I do consider myself an expert. Whether or not I'm up for this challenge remains to be seen. I'll keep you posted.

Which of the two parasols do you think I should attempt?

The Antique Buggy

Imagine, if you will, a young mommy in the late 1960s out for a walk with her baby. In your mind, what does that baby stroller look like? Maybe bright and plasticky, with shiny chrome metal bars and such? Yeah, me, too. (Go ahead. Google "baby stroller 1960s" and you'll see what I mean.)

Whatever you had pictured, it was probably not this, huh?

 Believe it or not, that picture was taken in 1966... and the dimpled little charmer? Yep, that's me!

You see, by nature and of necessity, my mother has always been quite frugal. When she needed a stroller for her firstborn baby, she and Dad went to the auction house to look for a bargain.

Alas, there were no strollers to be found. The only thing available was an antique wicker baby buggy circa 1925. Since it was forty years old and so shabby, they were able to get it for $10. Mother declared she liked it better than a stroller anyway, so they brought it home... and plopped me in it for many a happy walk.

I think I remember Mother telling how she used it to cart her wash from their apartment to the laundry room on the premises. She would set me in the back, and put the basket of clothes in the front.

 It was a very generous buggy. Plenty of room for two happy tots. In the picture above, aunt Rachel and I are considering how I should scoot over and make room for her.

See there? This arrangement works out nicely!

 Here I'm sharing with my twin cousins. The girl twin gets to ride in the buggy with me, while the boy twin demonstrates his strong muscles by "pushing" us. I wonder how far he managed to get us on the grassy surface. Looks like some wise adult had probably lifted the buggy over off the sidewalk to slow his progress. Runaway babies would not be good.

 And then, a year or so later, we had twins of our own! Girl twins. So Mommy pushed the baby sisters in the buggy while I pulled a wagon for the puppy to ride in. I wonder how far we got with that set-up? Looks to me like that puppy required a good deal of cuddling and not so much riding in the wagon.

 Not quite two years after that we got a baby brother, and he had his turn in the buggy. Some teens from our church came by to help with the little ones, and took us all for a walk. I remember we girls had strict instructions to hold on to the buggy and not let go.

Regrettably, I couldn't find a picture of my youngest brother in the buggy... because yes, the following year, there was still another baby. Probably we didn't have a camera, or maybe couldn't afford film for the camera, during his buggy-riding days.

After that, the buggy went into storage for many years.

And then, in the 1990s, my mother got it out again. By then it was too wobbly and delicate to be used in any practical way, but it made a perfect photo prop for those grandbabies!

My firstborn baby...

...and then my second one...

...followed by nine cousins over the next few years.

Mother finally relinquished the buggy to my care not too long ago. I am very happy to have it in my living room. We've had a "family" of porcelain dolls cuddled together in it for awhile. I think I'd like to put something different in it now. I'm not sure what, but I'll think of something.

So, for this week's Vintage Thingy Thursday, that's the story of the second half of the life of my antique wicker baby buggy. I'd be very curious to know the stories it could tell of the first half of its life, wouldn't you?

The Junkyard

Anywhere he goes, I'm happy to tag along. And sometimes we end up in the most interesting places. This morning he agreed to take me garage-saling... but he also "invited" me to go to Pull'n'Save with him afterwards. [Pull'n'Save is like a morgue for cars and trucks who have died but still have useful organs that can be transplanted. Just where I always wanted to spend a hot summer afternoon.]

To my disappointment we didn't find much at the garage sales. That's just the way it goes sometimes. As we headed to the junkyard I asked him, "Are you sure they'll let me go back there with you, since I have on a skirt and sandals?"

"Well, they might look at you funny," he told me. Yeah. That's what I wanted to hear. "What'd you wear sandals for, anyway?"

"Um. Because it's summer?" Seriously? He had to ask? I always wear sandals in the summer. That is, when I'm not going barefoot. But I don't go barefoot to "town."

"So... back them looking at me funny... should I wait out in the car for you?"

"Well, I might need you to hold something for me. And I don't care if they look at you funny," was his reply.

All righty then.

A few months ago he had taken our daughter along, and they carded her to make sure she was over 18 before they would let her go back in the salvage yard. She didn't have her driver's license along, so they quizzed her as to what year she was born... and finally, reluctantly, took her word for it that she was actually 19. Funny they didn't card me today. I'm sure I don't look a day over 16.

 As we headed out across the lot, I whipped out my handy phone camera and starting snapping pictures.

"What are you taking pictures for?" he wanted to know.

"Because I'm a blogger, of course," I reminded him.

He just rolled his eyes.

He tried to show me the kind of mirror he was looking for.

"Kinda like this. But not," he explains. "It needs a little slidey bar across the top here."

 So I toddled along looking at mirrors on trucks. This guy's mirrors are already gone... but doesn't he look like quite a character? 'Mater's cousin, maybe. I like him.

 This is what an engine looks like that caught on fire. I wonder if there really is something salvageable there. Must be, or they wouldn't keep it there, I guess.

 I like this little old lady, too. I bet she could tell some stories of when her kids were young and she shuttled 'em around to school and soccer practice and scouts. Her kids are probably about my age or older now, since she's a 1970 model. These long ol' station wagons were what moms drove in the era before mini vans.

It was a lot of fun, visiting the junkyard. Not something I would want to do every day. Or even every week. Still, hanging out with my guy is always fun. Like a date. Only better, 'cause I get to go home with him, too.

But we didn't find the mirror he was looking for. Too bad.

Midnight Adventure

We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home. (And, yes, Farrah, Thanksgiving Day was my birthday.) It turned out to be one of the times where it didn't work out for us to go anywhere or have anyone over, so it was just our immediate family. Still, we have our children and our health and far more blessings than we deserve, so we have much to be thankful for. (Oh, yes. And my dear friend Farrah. She's a blessing, too. In case you don't know why I'm mentioning Farrah, you'll have to read her comments on my last post.)

The girls wanted to fix a nice turkey dinner with all the trimmings, including 3 kinds of pie! So we enjoyed our dinner. We also watched the Macy's parade, played a game of Life, took naps, and just generally relaxed and enjoyed each other's company.

Then Mama had a not-so-bright idea that the rest of the family readily agreed to. In retrospect I should have just kept my mouth shut. But no. I had gotten a sale flyer in the mail that Kohl's would be open at midnight Thanksgiving night and they had coats for 70% off. Both girls and Lyle were needing coats. I also noticed that my favorite coffee kiosk was going to be open all night. So wouldn't it be a fun family adventure, I thought, to go out at midnight and get coffee or cocoa then make a quick Kohl's run before heading home to bed? Surely most of the Black Friday shoppers would wait until morning to hit the stores. I didn't figure very many people would be crazy enough to go out in the middle of the night.

Boy, was I wrong.

As we passed Target I was utterly shocked to see that the parking lot was full-to-overflowing and the line at the door stretched along the building and all the way down the side of the parking lot. Traffic on the highway was like a major ballgame had just got out or something. Best Buy was the same scenario. I was ready to turn around and go home right then. I couldn't believe it when we got to Kohl's and found the same thing going on there.

I did refuse to stand in line to get in the store, so we waited in the warm car until the doors opened and then went in the door where the line wasn't. Oh, the pushing and shoving and snatching and grabbing... and wall-to-wall people! It was a mad house. We made our way to the men's coat department and spent some time deciding on a coat for Lyle-- then to the women's coat department and deliberated over the choices for the girls.

Let's just take our time, I thought, and let the crowd thin out a bit before we try to check out. Again, I was so very wrong. By the time we had made our selections and were more than ready to go, the checkout lines had stretched to the back of the store on both sides (2 lines, one for each side of the store, with 6 cashiers each) and the lines met in the middle of the back of the store.

Lyle and the girls got in line and I went to look at socks "real quick." Even in the sock department people were pushing and shoving to get through. I was standing about a foot away from a rack of socks examining the display when a young man elbowed his way through between me and the rack. I was just appalled at the lack of common courtesy. At least the other people pushed through behind me and most said, "Excuse me."

I chose my socks and went to get in line with my family. We sent the girls on out to the car where they could be comfortable while we waited. By the time we got the check stand we had waited in line for a full hour.

I was so traumatized!

We got what we went after at a really good price-- and I can now say that I've experienced Black Friday shopping.

But. Never again!

Summer Saturdays

The past 2 or 3 summers I have managed to convince the Man of the Place that a fun "date" is to take me garage-saling on Saturday mornings. We pick out the "Saturday only" garage sales listed in the Nickel's Worth, he programs Rhoda (our GPS), we stop at the ATM and then our favorite coffee kiosk, and we're off. Some weeks we find very little. Other weeks we spend our full "allowance" (usually $40-$60). It doesn't really matter. It's just fun.

Yesterday was our first garage sale expedition for this summer. As we waited for our coffee, he asked me, "What are we looking for?" Umm... well... I'm not really sure. I'll know it when I see it. But... umm... clothes, if we can find any that fit... and umm... well, you know, pretty vintage dishes and stuff. Can't you imagine how excited the man is to set off on a shopping trip with such a vague list? He kinda smirked at me, but good-naturedly followed Rhoda to our first "destination" (that's what she calls Garage Sales).

It turned out to be a good day for bargains. We got a nice 2-person swing for the backyard (like a porch swing, only on a stand), a vintage floor lamp for the family room, some books, games, and puzzles for Becky, some jeans, hand-towels, and a nice purse-- all for less than $50.

But my favorite find?

This sweet vintage plate and three pretty hankies for a grand total of $1.25!

This is what I'm really looking for at garage sales. Just a wee bit of vintage loveliness to add to my "parlor" decor. I love finding just a bit at a time like this, because then it doesn't cost very much, plus I don't end up with more stuff than I know what to do with.

Want to read about more garage sale finds? Visit the Garage Sale Treasures meme @ My Life on a Taffy Pull.

Recycled Apron

My mother made this cute apron for Becky out of an old pair of jeans. I don't really have a story to tell about it. I just thought you'd like to see it!

Campfire Fuel

We don't heat with wood at home, but we do love a good fire when we're camping. So Lyle keeps an eye on Craig's List for bargains on firewood. Last weekend he found a deal on "mill ends."

 We loaded up the back of the pickup with short pieces of 2x4s. Then we packed it into paper boxes. It packed nicely because it was boards and not logs. That will make it more convenient to load up to take camping, too. We ended up with 38 boxes full!

It's probably not the kind of wood you would want to burn slowly in your wood stove, but for camping it will be great. It will be fun to sit around the fire on crisp mountain summer evenings and take turns tossing the small-ish pieces in.

Campfire popcorn, s'mores, coffee in the percolator, conversation by starlight... Is it camping season yet?

Thinking Outside the Box

After I posted about the nice pickup topper we got a couple of weeks ago, I tried driving with the thing on. It was dark and rainy the first time, and with droplets of water on the back window I couldn't see to back up. Driving the truck without the topper makes me nervous enough, because it just feels so big to me, so it really scared me to not be able to see what was behind me. I decided it would probably be okay in the daylight, though, especially if it wasn't raining. Well... not so much if the roads are muddy... and the next day I had to drive on muddy roads which obliterated the back window even worse.

I asked Lyle if it would be possible to leave the topper off except for trips when we needed the cargo space. The only problem with that suggestion was where to store the topper. We supposedly have a "two-car" garage, but that just means that there's room to walk beside the truck when it's parked in there. I can't imagine how you could ever get two real vehicles in at once, but in any case, we have shelves along one wall and a workbench along the other, so not a lot of room for extra storage.

Lyle suggested we could hang the topper from the rafters. I laughed at him. But turns out-- he was serious! He researched how to do it (online, of course), went to Lowe's for a few things, then spent last Saturday "putzing" in the garage again... and voila!

I'm just so impressed with how clever he is!

My Funny Valentine

Lyle and I have never been inclined to let the calendar dictate when we express our love to each other. Sometimes we do observe holidays. Other times we just let them slip quietly by.

Finances are tight this year, and our work schedules are pretty full right now, so we didn't make any special plans or exchange gifts for Valentines. Lyle needed to work yesterday evening and Laura had a babysitting job. Becky and I went to the print shop to hang out with Lyle and pitch in where we could. We finished the job about 8:30 so I suggested we could "celebrate" Valentines by getting an ice cream treat at Sonic.

Wouldn't you know it? Sonic was closed by the time we got there. (What's up with it closing before 9:00 p.m.? No idea!) We quickly formulated Plan B and stopped at Wal-Mart to get some ice cream to take home.

As we passed the greeting card aisle we talked about how we hadn't bought cards for each other.

"Hey! I know! We could pick out cards and then just pass them to each other to read!" I suggested.

I stood in front of the "Cards for Husband" section and Lyle began perusing cards from the "Cards for Wife" section. They were, of course, right next to each other. First we picked out sweetly sentimental cards.

After two or three of those, my oh-so-romantic man said, "Okay. That's about all I can stand of that mush!"

"But they're sweet!" I protested. (He has actually been known to buy me mushy cards before. He just won't admit it.) I think he just didn't want to be that sappy in public. Because, you know, Wal-Mart is a happenin' place at 9:00 on Valentine's night!

So we switched to funny cards. We stood there for five minutes or so, passing cards back and forth, and cracking up laughing. Then we decided we better go home before the ice cream melted.

Being married to the love of my life makes every day Valentine's Day!

Crochet Fun

 I recently snagged this "loverly" collection of close to 200 afghan patterns at a thrift store. It's one of those build-a-binder collections, where you subscribe and get so many patterns a month to put in your binder. There are sections for antique styles (my favorites!), mile-a-minute, granny squares, quilt-inspired, geometric, afghans for babies and kids, and more! I have enjoyed poring over the pictures, trying to decide on my favorites. I like the "antique" patterns best. Ahhh... if I just had all the time in the world to crochet... and an unlimited supply of yarn...

 One pattern in particular caught my eye... well, two actually... Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam. They made me think of my Aunt 'Lene. Earlier this year she finished a Sunbonnet Sue quilt that my grandma had started. Since then she's made several other quilts, which she posts about on her blog, Meditations and Memories. I happen to know that Aunt 'Lene crochets, too, so I think I'm going to mail these two patterns to her and see what she can make of them. I think it would be cute to make one afghan with blocks from both patterns. Whaddya think, Aunt 'Lene? Up for a little blog challenge from your "favorite" niece? I bet some of your little great-grand-young'n's would like this throw!

Truck Repairs

This is the story of the job that consumed our entire holiday weekend.

One day last week Lyle noticed something wonky going on with the steering of his truck. After further research he determined that it was time to do some front-end work before we set off on our trips in June. Memorial Day weekend was supposed to be cool and rainy anyway (not good camping weather), so that seemed the ideal time to get this "little job" taken care. Actually, he knew this wasn't going to be a little job, but if we had known at the out-set that his unseen partner was going to be Murphy... you know, of Murphy's Law?... I think we would have been highly tempted to just take the truck to the nearest dealer and trade it in!

Lyle is a skilled mechanic but it is not what he does for a living so he doesn't have a full range of auto-shop tools at his fingertips. He made a list of the parts and tools he thought he would need for the job and diligently went on "hunting and gathering" trips to the various "man stores" in the evenings last week. He knew it was likely to be an all-day job, and he didn't want to have to waste time on Saturday running after parts. His plan was to get it done on Saturday, and then be able to relax the rest of the weekend.

I know very little about auto mechanics myself, so I can't describe to you the work that needed to be done and the problems he ran into.

However, every step along the way it seemed he needed another tool he didn't have. You see, a 1-ton truck has really BIG parts... and after 100,000+ miles they don't want to come apart!

I tried to be the "gopher girl" but it got to the point where he didn't know what to tell me to get... so in spite of his best planning, he spent 2 1/2 hours driving all over Spokane looking for tools. Tools that ended up not working, or breaking...

By 8:30pm on Saturday it was obvious that there was no way he could finish the job that day. But the truck was up on jacks with a wheel off and it was sticking half out of the garage. We were concerned that someone might just stroll into the garage during the night and take who-knows-what. We live in a pretty safe neighborhood so that scenario was not likely, but still, we didn't like to leave the garage open all night. Lyle thought maybe he could just sleep on a cot in the garage that night. I had a "better" idea! I built a "security gate" of whatever rattly clutter I found laying around the garage... a couple of dollies, a folding table, a rack, a couple of brooms and rakes... and then I bungie-corded it all together on either side of the truck. Yes, I know, any half-wit could move the stuff and get in, but they would make an awful lot of racket doing it and it would wake us up. We laughed at our high security measures, but it did make us feel better!

On Sunday Lyle rounded up a couple more tools, but mostly he observed a day of rest. Early Monday morning he was back at. This u-joint was the main "problem child"... no amount of penetrating oil, banging, or pressure from the hydraulic press would loosen the parts.

Finally, Lyle took a grinder to it, to separate the part he was replacing. Having it in pieces made it easier to bang it apart, but it still took all the strength of the hydraulic press and several mighty blows of the hammer.

We were so relieved to finally begin to make progress... and by 9:00p.m. last night the truck was back together and running smoothly. We took down our "security gate" and thanked God for His help in getting us back on the road!

A Convuluted Lesson in Frugality

I'm not a brand snob. Really, I'm not. My mother is the queen of frugality, and I have learned well from her. (Ask me later about the frozen watermelon! I'll have to save that story for another blog post.)

But, yes, those are Nike swishes on my new tennies. I feel a little guilty about that, but maybe if I blog about it, I'll get over it. My husband has a love-hate relationship with the frugal nature of my character... and he talked me into getting these cute brown Nikes... but, no, I won't blame it on him.
Truth be told, I'm learning that some things are worth the extra money. I've always considered price first (and I still do) but cheaper is not always better.

For example, did you know that "high fructose corn syrup" is not only a cheap sweetener, it's also a preservative? I have been reading up on the controversy between HFCS and natural sugar, and I discovered that a lot of foods have HFCS added just because it extends the shelf life. So I've been reading labels more carefully. The cheap brand of chili beans had HFCS in it, and the name-brand didn't. Guess which one had more calories? I still buy a lot of off-brand groceries... but not without comparing ingredients.

But I digress. You wanted to hear about my Nikes, didn't you? Well... first, I have to tell you about my new coffee pot. It ties in. Really it does. (The groceries don't... but the coffee pot does!)

A few months ago, I was on a quest to make a great cup of coffee. My friend, Laura, recommended a particular coffee pot. When we were together this summer she fixed a pot of coffee so I could try it, and told me it was available at Kohl's. It made great coffee! The only drawback? It was $100, which seemed a little spendy to me for a coffee pot. Needless to say, I didn't run right out and buy one.

When we got home from our trip, I noticed we had accumulated quite a few "thank you" points on our credit card from all the traveling we did this summer... plane tickets to my grandmother's funeral, besides our road trip, etc. As I was browsing the gift site to see what I could get with my points, I noticed they had gift cards for Kohl's. And I had enough points to get the coffee pot! So that's what I did. I still felt a little guilty about spending that much "money" for a coffee pot... but it was somewhat easier because it was "free" money. (Okay. It's really not free, but you know what I mean.) As I was paying for the coffee pot, the cashier gave me a $30 gift certificate to use in Kohl's the next week. Apparently they were running a promotion where you would earn a certain amount of store credit depending on how much you spent.

In the meantime, I was needing new tennis shoes. I have been trying to get back into the habit of exercising, and my 10-year-old Reeboks are just about worn out. The Reebok outlet in our area went out of business awhile back, so I thought I would just get some cheap athletic shoes from Wal-Mart. They had the cutest white cheerleader shoes, with little sparkly colored tabs that slid into a pocket on the side to match your team's colors or whatever. Yes, I'm way too old (not to mention uncoordinated) to be a cheerleader... but I thought they would be good workout shoes. I just had on flip-flops that day so I didn't want to try them on in the store. I just grabbed a box in my size, thinking I could take them back if they didn't fit. After I got home with them my daughter opened them up to look at them and said, "Mom, did you know you got 2 right shoes... in 2 different sizes?" Of course I didn't know that! So I had to take them back after all. This time I made sure I had a matching pair! Unfortunately, they turned out to be uncomfortable. They didn't bend right with my foot. And I took them back again and didn't get more at Wal-Mart.

So when I got the extra $30 at Kohl's, I decided to see if I could find some tennies that fit there. They had a much wider selection than Wal-Mart, and lots of name brands. Lyle's the one who spotted the brown pair of Nikes. They were $45... but with my $30 off coupon, I got them for $15... which is cheaper than the cheap cheerleader shoes at Wal-Mart! See?

I'm lovin' my new tennies... and my new coffee pot! I'm glad I didn't have to pay full price for either one... but, to be honest, I kinda think it would have been worth it, even if I had.

I'm curious. What items do you insist on a particular brand?

In search of a perfect cup of coffee...

I'm on a mission. I'm trying to discover the very best coffee for making at home and drinking black.

To be honest, I could indulge in Starbucks' Caramel Macchiatos every day but neither my waistline nor my pocketbook are agreeable to that idea.

I do enjoy a good cup of black coffee, but I find I'm getting pickier as to what I consider "good." I've heard rave reviews about Dunkin Donuts coffee, so I bought a pound and tried it. It was okay, but I didn't think it was all that outstanding. I really couldn't tell much difference between that and Folgers. I saw Eight O'Clock coffee at the grocery store and vaguely remember my dad drinking that brand years ago, so I tried that. Same thing. Just okay.

I wonder if I'm not getting the "right" roast? I have no idea whether I prefer light roast or dark roast. I just know what I like when I taste it!

Maybe I need to get a coffee grinder and buy whole bean coffee? Does that make a difference in the taste? Is percolated coffee better, or different, than drip coffee?

Coffee drinkers, help me out here! What brand do you prefer? Do you buy ground coffee or the whole beans? What kind of coffee maker do you use? Do you add anything to your coffee or do you drink it black? Do you like flavored coffee?

So many options!

Making hairpin lace

Vintage needlework fascinates me. I enjoy a wide variety of hand crafts, and I'm always eager to learn something new. Last summer friend of mine (an older lady) taught me how to make hairpin lace. She even had an extra hairpin fork that she gave me. It was a larger one, though, the size to use with yarn to make an afghan or shawl. I was interested in trying to make actual lace but I hadn't seen any smaller hairpin forks for sale anywhere. It seems to be a pretty obscure and obsolete craft.

I was very excited to come across a 1.5" fork at a thrift store a few weeks ago. I even had an old Workbasket magazine with a pattern for a hairpin lace doily, so I wasted no time in trying it out!
I'm still working on the doily. I think I misread the instructions for the edging or something. In any case, I need to take it out and try again.

In the meantime, I found patterns online for a bookmark... and a lace edging. They are still pretty chunky for lace, as I used bedspread weight cotton thread, but until I find a smaller hairpin fork I think that's probably going to be the finest lace I can make.
It's really not very hard to make. Not nearly as tricky as tatting. But, of course, I'm an experienced crocheter so that probably makes a difference.

I've been surprised, though, at how hard patterns are to find. I did a search online and most of the patterns were for shawls. I would love to find a book of different edging patterns... so I'll be on the look-out!

Thrifty China

I like watching for odd pieces of pretty vintage china at garage sales and thrift stores. I'm somewhat frugal when it comes to collectibles, so I don't collect anything expensive or very valuable. Just cheap pieces that I like.

A few weeks ago I found 2 large soup bowls with a gold-filigree-on-dark-green border that I thought were pretty. They are a very practical size so I was happy to get them for $1 each.

This past weekend I found a similar saucer for 75 cents. As I was buying it I thought about how fun it would be if it happened to match the 2 bowls. I had to laugh at myself when I got home! The saucer had a red border... and I had completely forgotten that the bowls were green!

But they look pretty together, don't they?
I also got this red transferware saucer at the same garage sale for 75 cents. Actually, I'm not sure that it's a saucer. It's probably a bread plate, but it's the size of a saucer.
Then I stacked them all together with another bowl and a lidless sugar bowl that I had added to my collection last summer.
I use my pretty dishes occasionally... but mostly I just enjoy looking at them.