Month: September 2010

Kid’s clothing week challenge.

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It’s Kid’s Clothes Week Challenge over here this week. I really was going to give it a go, but here is it Tuesday and I haven’t done a thing. I did bake cupcakes for Rebecca’s birthday last night, so that’s something nice and productive and thoughtful, right? And tonight I ordered some kid’s clothes from Land’s End (I got her the jacket she’s been asking for for months), so while I didn’t make anything, I did get her some clothes and that counts for a wee bit of something, right?
I’m going to go with that. And tomorrow I will try again to make something. After all, tomorrow is another day.

For Jed.

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I’m a big believer in divine intervention.

Months ago, Jed’s mother and sister announced the Jedediah Thomas Smith Memorial Luncheon with all proceeds to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund to help conquer pediatric cancer. Sadly, Jed lost his battle with pediatric cancer last January and Kristin & Savannah are holding this in honor of what would have been his 13th birthday. I wanted to do something to help and told them I’d donate something for the silent auction. It’s being held Saturday, October 2.

I have since then considered many ideas for this donation and in typical me fashion, have put them off time & time again. I’ve had all summer, but of course waited until the very last minute to sew anything. Worse, I confused the day I needed to have my item to Savannah. Sweet thing that she is, she said it was fine, she knew I would come through. (It was pre-Labor Day for those wondering.)

I promised myself I’d do it this weekend. I’m tired of it hanging over my head, I feel like I can’t get anything else done until I do this one. I spent yesterday canning oodles of tomatoes so today was it. IT.

First I had to clean up my cutting table. Instead of just moving the piles that had accumulated (mostly clothes that I have a bad habit of just throwing there), I folded and sorted and put them away. In the process, several quarters, Jed’s signature means of communicating, came flying out at me. OKAY, I got it I muttered to myself. Got the space cleared and got to work. I had the radio on and considered coming downstairs to get some new music. “Some Black Keys would be good, I’ll just run down and grab some to listen to” I thought to myself. Bingo! The Black Keys came on the radio. I figured Jed was politely trying to tell me to stop farting around and just get it done. So I did.
I knocked it out in about an hour. I realized I should just keep it simple, so I used some Laura Ashley purple toile I still have from making our master bedroom window treatments. It’s nice, durable fabric. And tomorrow I will mail it to Savannah, finally.

For more information on the luncheon or the Four Diamonds Fund, check out Savannah’s blog. In my humble defense though, it took months of putting this off and a missed deadline to really figure out what I thought would do well at the silent auction. Don’t you want one of these? I do think it turned out well if I say so myself.

It’s all one big experiment.

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A friend gave me two of these ground cherry tomatillo plants. Not only have I never grown them before, I’ve never even heard of them, let alone tried them.

The first salsa I made with them was so-so. The second? Could have used alot more hot pepper. But I did notice they have a natural sweetness to them – similar to a mango. So, today’s experiment is to use them in a mango salsa recipe instead of the mango. I think it will be pretty tasty. Here’s hoping…

I look at gardening as an experiment. I try something and see what works. Growing different vegetables leads to experimenting in the kitchen – another favorite thing to do. It’s all just one great big experiment really.