Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Today I started baking for the concession at Cranberry Hall on Friday night. I went grocery shopping first thing this morning and found cookie and loaf mixes so that immediately made my life easier. I had a recipe for Coconut Pineapple Loaf that I wanted to try so when I got home I decided it would be the first thing into the oven.

I have had Mum’s Sunbeam MixMaster for several years; Christy had it before me and it is the only mixer I remember Mum using. I’m not sure how old that makes it, but it has definitely had many years of use. Over the time I’ve had it I have had trouble keeping the power cord attached and there was a small part of the electric cord that I wasn’t certain was safe (although it always worked). One of the beaters was rather bent out of shape, but it worked so I didn’t worry. One of the glass mixing bowls had already been replaced with a stainless steel bowl, or was it the other way around?

Today as I went to do my mixing I had trouble getting one of the beaters to click into place but it didn’t fall completely out and it seemed to be okay once I started using it. Just as I finished mixing, the beaters stopped and I wasn’t able to eject them. Pat eventually got the beaters out but one of them still didn’t insert properly so we decided it was time for a new mixer. It just happened that Canadian Tire had them on special so we went right out and got a lovely new one.

I still had a bundt cake (from Mum’s Recipe book) that I wanted to make so it gave me a chance to try out the new machine. It looks lovely and works fine; there are some adjustments I need to make in my processes though. I was adding dry ingredients into the mix and the power setting was too high and I had dry ingredients all over the counter and myself. Starting at the stir speed worked much better. I should have learned my lesson from the first mess but when I added the eggs (one at a time, luckily) the first one popped right out of the mixing bowl. I guess the stir setting should be used for everything that is being added.

We saw the pour attachment while we were shopping but I said that I didn’t think I needed a pouring spout as I’d have to use a spatula to scrape the bowl anyway. Apparently the pour attachment is actually called a Pouring Shield and “fits on top of the bowl to prevent ingredients from splattering”. I think I’ll go back and get one.

For now Mum’s mixer is sitting on the floor of the laundry room awaiting disposal of some kind; I think I’m going to have trouble getting rid of it even though I have saved both of her mixing bowls.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

I had everything ready for the bee this morning but it just didn’t happen. I was awake about 2 AM with a headache and it took me almost an hour to go back to sleep. Around five the crows outside were raising quite a ruckus but when I got up to see what they might be upset about I couldn’t see anything; they were certainly raising and lowering their voices in unison and, had it not been five in the morning, I might have been more impressed. Shortly after they calmed down I heard a loon, which is always a welcome sound no matter what time of day or night. When my alarm went off at seven I wasn’t ready to get up; I lay there for about fifteen minutes and decided I’d get up, have my coffee and I’d probably feel better. The few minutes that I managed to stay up left me feeling even worse so I went back to bed and slept until noon.

I haven’t had a bad headache for awhile but it was likely triggered by allergies. The worst time for me is Spring and, although I don’t see any cottonwoods shedding, I know there is lots of other stuff in the air. There were quite a few women at the Retreat who were fighting allergies; if I get another headache relatively soon I’ll try some allergy pills.

I’ve puttered around this afternoon and accomplished very little. I had a bit of cutting to do for the project I worked on yesterday so I finished a portion of that. I planned to drop a card in the mail this morning but since that didn’t happen I got a few more ready for the mail tomorrow. The show that Pat is presenting on the weekend is already sold out (70 tickets) so I’ll have to make a few extra treats for the Concession. I haven’t even figured out what I’ll make, let alone getting a list together.

Since no cards were done at the bee today I’d better get started on at least one of them now.

Monday, April 24, 2017

I went to bed early last night and had a good sleep so I was ready to start fresh today. I haven’t accomplished a lot but I often don’t on a Monday.

I generally start my Monday by planning my week. One of the bloggers I follow had a chart for keeping track of various things that I should be doing on a regular basis but don’t seem to get at. I made a few adjustments to that chart today and printed off a few goals for the week ahead. One of those goals is some scrap management and I outdid myself in that category today. When I was getting ready for the retreat I emptied a couple of bins of scraps into bags and took them with me. This morning I sorted all those scraps into manageable bits – some were cut down into strips and squares, some were put into individual bags based on their colour. I have a basin for scraps sitting on my cutting table (the basin I bought at the garage sale a few weeks ago); as I’m cutting during the week the scraps go in there and I usually deal with them on Mondays. Even my basin has been cleared out so I can check off that goal for the week.

I created a couple of other categories that, at least for this month, are linked. I have a category for cards where I add the cards I need to do, as well as a Tuesday project category that I pretty much fill with cards. I have the patterns and fabrics picked for two cards, as well as a plan for three more. I cut the extra borders I need for for the quilt I worked on at the retreat and that will be the first thing I do tomorrow at the bee.

My Work-In-Progress category could stretch to pages, but I’m only adding one thing at a time to it. I hope this will help me focus on finishing something during my sewing time at home. I’m currently working on a rather new project that is a gift for someone so I can’t spill the beans just yet.

Now, back to it!

Sunday, April 23, 2017

I had a wonderful time at the Retreat, but I’m exhausted. I didn’t sleep well on Friday night, although the accommodations were fine and I even had my own little room in a cabin that slept 10 but we only put five into. At 2 AM I was still awake so wandered outside to the porta-potty (no bathroom inside the cabin) but that didn’t help; at 3 AM I put on an extra sweater thinking maybe I was cold (although I didn’t feel cold). I was awake again at 6 AM but stayed in bed as I knew the coffee wouldn’t be ready until seven. Last night I slept much better and tonight I may fall asleep before my head hits the pillow.

Last retreat I was heads-down busy with Christmas cards and didn’t participate in the Friday Night Project, which usually takes me Friday night and at least a part of Saturday morning to finish. Not only did I participate this year but I finished it on Friday night.

I finished off four cards (which I can’t show you yet), but only two Leader and Ender blocks.

One of the UFO’s I took was this Block of the Month from last year at the Guild. I made good progress but I’m not sure how much I like it. There are still some borders to add and, I must admit, seeing it in a photograph looks better to me than when I lay it out. Definitely not my colours. Are they yours?

NOTE TO SELF: Next year don’t pack so darned much stuff.