Shoofly Revisited

I completed this baby quilt and sent it to its happy home in January.

I am bringing sewing back into my life again.

It feels good and boy am I rusty and ready.

What are you up to today?

Happy New Year!
It still counts even if it is the end of January!

I have read so many people’s resolutions for this New Year that I am a bit overwhelmed as all of them are so inspiring.

Since I have so many interests (the good and the bad of that) I have created daily and weekly routine lists to remind me. It’s really helpful. I work on things little by little at fifteen minute increments at least. Once I get started I usually take off. It’s the remembering to get started that I forget way too often.

I do a lot everyday but when I compare myself to others I feel like I haven’t accomplished a thing. Don’t worry I only use this as a motivational tool. Comparing myself to anyone is a lose-lose if I take it seriously. Everyone is doing just fine, all is perfect.

Tomorrow my new classes begin. I am excited and nervous. I am taking Statistics, Macroeconomics, and History of Homosexuality in the Western Civilization.  I am looking forward to diving in. More ginkgo please!

Another thing I am focusing on is creating a stockpile of things I make: potholders, wallhangings, dolls, toys, quilts, pillows, wine bags to name a few.

I may add cookies to that list.

Seems like regular work hasn’t found me yet so I am taking the bull by its horns. If I build it, they will come.  Online store to follow.

So since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, what plans are in store for you? Send a few words my way. I love hearing from you and it keeps me boosted  through these Winter months.

As ever,

~Kate

Kate’s Aqaurian Black Bean Soup

I call it Aquarian because Aquarians tend to be connect dots in unusually beautiful ways. Their thinking is always outside of the box and once understood, a whole new world is open for the adventurous ones.

In cooking my mother would call this style “hodge-podge” thrown ingredients together and enjoy. I tend to read a few recipes and draw from them. That is how this soup came about. Now for the ingredients I used this time around. Have fun experimenting! One more thing…I generally use organic and local products.

1 package Hot Italian Sausage (I used McKenzie’s 6 or 8 in package)
2 cans Black Beans (15 oz)
1 can Diced Tomatoes (15 oz)
1 box Chicken Broth (24 to 36 oz)
1 Butternut Squash (peeled and cut into 1 to 2 inch cubes or snowflakes)
1 Sweet Onion (diced in whatever fashion you like)
2 stalks Celery (same as above)
2 cloves Fresh Garlic (minced) (to taste)
Fresh Parsley (chopped) (to taste)
1 tsp. dried Cumin

Brown the sausage. Remove and slice into pieces. Return to pan. Add onions, celery to combine flavors.
I use a crockpot so I put the sausage, onion, and celery mixture in first. Add the butternut squash, tomatoes, chicken broth. Give it a stir. Then add garlic and cumin. Add parsley to taste. Some for garnish.

I let in cook over night on low.

Viola, and bon appetit!

Adventures in Stitching

I didn’t end up attending the pastry demo instead I stayed home and worked on the final exam that is due next Tuesday. I am looking forward to a shift in my studies. I am still not taking all the courses I would like to however I am taking courses that I need to meet degree requirements. All is as it needs to be. I am most excited about next semester as I am taking Nutrition, History of Homosexuality in the Western Civilization, and Statistics. Should prove to be an interesting semester. I imagine I will be inspired to write some good essays. I plan to submit whatever I do write to the appropriate publications. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

This morning I met up with my best pals to stitch n bitch. It only took us ten years to do it, but what the heck. It was nice to be working on my commissioned quilt for KES and have folks to talk with and music to listen to as we compared notes. One was working on a hat that I thought looked like a section of a sweater for a youngster. The other was creating a scrubbie with “plarn”. She is obsessed with her new love “plarn”. Today she showed me how to create it from plastic bags. Very simple, very good reuse of recyclables. I am now a proud owner and guinea pig to her latest creation “the plarn scrubbie”. One side regular soft cotton yarn, the other side plarn which is a combo of plastic bag yarn and regular cotton yarn. Washing dishes will never be the same! I am honored.
When I finished tying my quilt I decided to play with my DPJ blocks in hopes to decide on a layout pattern. More on that project some other time.
After my session of stitch n bitch I met up with a young woman who asked me to create some things out of her favorite baby clothes of her first born daughter. Sweet family. I am inspired and excited though I will need to curb that until finals are over. I think.

Monday I have Saturday on my mind

Throughout my life I have serendipitous moments

Most recent one is hearing Gisene Bullock-Prado pitch her new book Confections of a Closet Master Baker on VPR. I never heard of her.  Had she not mentioned her signature pastry I may have missed finding this gem of a book as well as a new friend of kindred spirit. She is living one of my dreams. I feel like I know her.

Again this is something that happens often for me.

Needless to say I immediately went to the local bookstore and purchased it. Well, that isn’t completely true my partner was  visiting me from Boston that day. As soon as he drove in  I exclaimed that I had the perfect present he could buy me, like right now. He listens well. We were off to the bookstore. I spotted an elephant puppet that I fell in love with as we were standing in line waiting to pay for the book. Needless to say “she” came home with me. Gisene now lives amongst my other stuffed animals.

I finished the book yesterday and felt pumped yet lost and lonely as my coffee clutch with my new friend ended. What was I to do?

Luckily I am an avid tweeter and discovered that there is a book tour going on. I missed a few but luckily there is one two hours away this Saturday.

I am going as I want to buy a copy of the book for a friend and ask for a signature to keep my vision going. I see at this one that there will be a demonstration so that is an extra bonus.

Crazy? Not in my eyes.

After a race it’s hard to slow down and why should I?

November was my month to dedicate to writing like a mad woman. Mad as in “out of sane”. Course in my mind what is that anyway? The points between sane and insane are just matters of opinion if you ask me.

After I came in over the finish line of fifty thousand words I literally felt like I had been running. It was time to cool down. I’ve had a day to reflect on meeting my goal. All I can say is it felt GREAT to see WINNER pop up on my word count bar. It’s the color purple besides everything so I am one happy camper. I am surprised how much energy it gave me. There is something behind validation that of late has been very important to me.

Last year when I was laid off from my beloved job in a culinary school that was my home away from home I noticed an underlying anger. The feeling of “not good enough” was sitting on my shoulder in spite of the stressed fact by the president that it had nothing to do with “me” it was all about finances. I walked out from the private office thinking “Hell yeah, of course it had nothing to do with me knowing that I was one of the best at what I did”. As I drove away along the icy roads towards home the hell yeah turned into WTF? Again, I am laid off?

The next day I went to VSAC and applied for a grant after having a conversation with the folks at VDOL. I made my goal.  I enrolled in the local community college and am taking classes towards my goal of reaching a Bachelor’s Degree. It’s been interesting learning the ropes of what it means to be in college. I have enjoyed the classes so far. Next Fall I will be working completely on courses towards completing my degree. I still haven’t completely decided which major I will choose. I was advised to just pick one and change it if I need to. At first I chose Business as it seems the most practical however I am leaning toward Professional Studies so that the credits I have can be applied. It will evolve as I do. I am done worrying about it.

Innovation comes from having too little money

I don’t know about you but when I need something and there is no money to *buy* it, I find a way to make it happen. Of course it depends on what it is I need. Often it seems when I desire some thing I am motivated to work a little harder and save until I get it. Once I have put my energy toward having it. Viola! It appears.
My mother always said if you want something bad enough you will find a way to do it.
Often at times like these my creative side comes to the front, which of course I love. I wonder why it hides its clever head until moments I am truly in need? I would like it *out* more personally. What a complex character I am.
Here is an example of what I am talking about. I needed my bed higher. Futon on the floor just wasn’t working for me. I came up with the plan to get crates and two pieces of half inch plywood. For very little expense, viola, I had what I needed.
An entrepreneur that I draw from often is Gary Vaynerchuk. His story is told on his WLTV site. He has plenty of money but in his heart he needs/wants to own the Jets. That is his desire. To do that he needs lots of money so does he sit and mope? No. He is building an empire around his experience with wine and his ever-growing knowledge of branding, marketing, and social networking. Yes, I love Gary’s energy, there needs to be a few more to spread around as far as I am concerned. That’s another topic I’ll ramble on another time – “A chateau, a vineyard and a Frenchman”
As ever,
~Kate

Starting Over

I just “restarted” my blog. It is with the hope and desire to prove to myself that I exist. I just discovered Janice Lowry yesterday and already her energy is passing through my very existence. My mother passed away this summer. When she died I felt the serge of energy as well.

I believe that I am in tune with their artistic spirits. I believe that they are sharing their energy toward keeping art alive. I feel blessed in my discovery.

As JL said in this video clip when talking about her diaries “I’m a little sneaky”. http://www.pintangle.com/journal/2009/11/13/janice-lowry.html

Make new freinds but keep the old.

I am moving forward with this energy. Thank you Janice and as always thank you Mom.

I breathe in
I breathe out
Courage

As ever,
~Kate

What are you doing today?

Greetings!

I am excited to say that there are only four weeks of classes left for this semester. I have been blessed with time to concentrate on them and know that I need to buckle down and get real to make my living situation work. (a.k.a. make money to survive).

I have been revisiting my old interests that have been on the back burner for way too long. I want them back into my life on a more regular basis and one way of doing that is talking about it. The other is checking out blogs done by people who are like minded. Yesterday I was reading my favorite blog for many years now, she always posts things of interest to me. Her interests and life are either things I have done or things I want to do more of. Anyway when I watched this video of a collage artist Janice Lowry, my breath was taken away. She lived one of my dreams. I have examples of shadow boxes that I loved making. I’ve diaries and journals since I was seven years old. I am inspired to work with more visuals. I would love to see this collection some day. I liked that she had a studio. I put that on the top of my list of things I need to bring light to my creative world. A studio of my own. I don’t think this should be a privilege though in this day and age it seems like it is. I humbly ask the universe to provide for me as I really want to prove to myself that I am more than I am. A studio and a good kitchen and a place to hang my hat. Help me focus on this idea if you don’t mind. Add a dog, a vineyard, and a good business partner and I think I am set for awhile.

Here’s is the blog site am referring to. http://www.pintangle.com/journal/2009/11/13/janice-lowry.html

I am pleased she existed. I intend to discover more about her just as I did when I revisiting Julia Child a few years ago. That adventure led me to so many more interesting people. I suspect after more investigating that Janice Lowry’s lifestyle will do much the same in terms of information and inspiration. I do not lack inspiration, I do lack discipline and motivation to jump into things I like doing. Discovering my block is where I am at now. I intend to start my blog up again and will let you know when that comes to life.

Looking forward to honoring my mom with a great gobble gobble Thanksgiving meal. Would love to hear your favorite dish or recipe or experience just because. Know that you are welcome to drop by if you are in the neighborhood.

As ever,
-Kate

I am participating in NaNoWriMo again this year. Goal is to write 50K. It’s great fun and incentive to focus on one theme for a novel. I decided to add a little more to my own donation this year by asking people to sponsor me in fundraising for this great program. Here’s the link – Just click on “Sponsor me” to donate to NaNoWriMo’s writing program — http://www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage?ID=1891&AID=777&PID=104672

word of the week

Word of the Week

• Learn a quirky German word each week.
  • Word of the Week