Learn Something New -- Days 8, 9, 10 and 11

I got a bit behind on my Learn Something New Every Day class with Shimelle. Here are my layout for those days.

8. I'm sure you have all curled up on the sofa for an afternoon nap, and then the phone rings.

9. I am grateful for many things in my life, and one of these days I will make a gratitude journal. In the meantime, here are some things that are important to me now.

10. My mother knew how to do just about anything, and what she didn't know her sisters did. I was taught by the best.

11. No explanation is needed for today.

Learn Something New -- Day 7

How do people find a balance in their life? I often wonder about this because I try to do too much of the things I enjoy and (probably) not enough of the things I should be doing. For instance: I have two areas of creativity in my life that I could do every minute of every day--digital scrapbooking and knitting socks.

I sometimes get up in the morning and start either knitting or am on the computer right after I eat breakfast and clear away the dishes. Sometimes I start before I get a shower (ewwww.) It seems time gets away from me and the dust keeps building up. I resent that I have to waste time dusting when I could be playing.

Anyway, here is my layout for Day 7 trying to come to grips with my addiction.

Learn Something New -- Day 6

It seems we have been talking for so long about building our retirement home but it still hasn't happened. We've had the land in South Carolina since 2008 but one thing after another happened that prevented us from building. Then the housing market collapsed and the economy tanked.

This will happen for us, we've just have to learn patience while waiting. Maybe next year.

Learn Something New -- Day 5

I've never been a very good cook, but in the last year I have been able to make meals that are tasty and mostly appetizing looking. A little bit at a time, I am adding to my recipe collection and we're eating better. It is a learning process I am going through that will probably never end.

The photo in the layout is not my own, it is by Jose Picayo from Epicurious's Roast Turkey breast with potatoes and green beans. It is a place holder for a photo of my own meal that I haven't cooked or photographed yet.

Finished Socks!

It seemed to take forever but I finally finished the socks for my husband. The cuff is probably not as long as it should be, but I didn't think I had enough yarn to do another pattern section. My husband is thrilled and I am happy to get these socks off my needles and start another pair for me!

The pattern is from Wendy Johnson's Toe-up Socks in a Box and is called: "i heart toe-up socks."

Learn Something New -- Day 4

I love going to our local farmer's market because there is so much to see and so many goodies to buy. In addition to fresh fruits and vegetables, there is also an animal auction and a flea market -- I am particularly fond of flea markets. Anyway, even though there was no animal auction today, they did have a pen filled with goats. I stepped in close to the pen to photograph the goats with a bag filled with pretzels hanging down from my arm. While I was trying to get a good photo, the goat was trying to eat through the bag to get to the pretzels. Since feeding the animals is discouraged, I quickly pulled the bag away and snapped this photo. The goat definitely had a look of disappointment all over his face.

Big Picture Idea Festival -- Prize!!!

Big Picture had a free class that ran from August 15 to August 26 of this year. Each day a different instructor came up with a word for which we had to create a page about our own experience with that word.

I'd never won a prize before and almost fell off my chair when I read the email notifying me I had won. My layout for the word Nest won a prize package from Jenni Bowlin Studio. It was a wonderful prize package full of really neat papers, acrylic stamps, and embellishments. I adore every bit of the prize package and can't wait to experiment with them.

Here's a photo of the prize package:

And here's the layout of Nest:

Learn Something New -- Day 3

I walk. I walk a lot. Every Day. I frequently have to buy new walking shoes. Recently, I decided to calculate just how often I buy new walking shoes. My shoes should last me for about 500 miles (that's what an article on the internet said.) I figure I walk about 40 miles per week times that by 12.5 and it comes out to 500 miles. Well, perhaps my walking shoes should last that long but most times, depending on the weather, I have to buy them more often. Rain, snow, and icy roads take a real toll on walking shoes. So I figured I buy new walking shoes about every 6 months. I sure hope Easy Spirit Shoes don't go out of business!

Learn Something New -- Day 2

I was in the mood for baking and found a really easy recipe for Peach Cobbler. I also had on hand quite a bit of peaches. The only thing I did not have was regular milk. I have lactose intolerance so I drink soy milk. I found a couple of comments on Google that soy milk could be used in place of regular milk so I gave it a try. The Peach Cobbler sure smelled good while baking and we could barely wait to try it when it came out of the oven. When it cooled enough to eat, we dug in and it tasted just as good as it smelled.

So...you can use soy milk in place of regular for Peach Cobbler--at least in the recipe I have. And, that's what I learned today.

Learn Something New -- Day 1

I'm doing another Shimelle class. Love her classes and I actually finished the last one--Explore. Hopefully, I'll finish this one because I didn't last year! I am making a 5x7 album and have completed the first page but not the cover yet. I am using Ali Edwards's Travel/Memory templates and changed the title and numbers. I hope that was OK, if not the digital police will probably come and get me. I am not crediting the template as my own, but as Ali's.

Here's my first page:

Big Idea Festival -- Part II

As promised, here are the rest of my word layouts for Big Idea Festival. I really like the format used to make the layouts. I kept it pretty simple with just a bit of journaling, a photo, and a couple of embellishments.

Since there were only 12 words, I am thinking about adding 8 more pages for a total of 20. That will make a nice size album. Now to come up with some words of my own!

Big Idea Festival

I've been doing the Big Picture's Big Idea Festival Word a Day class and having lots of fun doing it. I started late on Friday and did catch up for the weekend. Below are the first six layouts I did and will finish up the other six sometime later this week.

I wish I was a more consistent blogger. Some people just have the knack of remembering to blog a bit each day, but I guess that isn't me. I won't even say I'll try to do better in the future because that isn't going to happen.

Explore Class -- Color Layout

While we were visiting our friend, Wilson, in March of 2011, several of his buddies brought their show cars down to Myrtle Beach for exhibition at a local car show. You would have to see the cars in person to realize how good the paint jobs are on the cars. There must be at least 15 layers of paint slabbed onto these cars, and they are just beautiful.

As soon as they drove their cars into Wilson's development, neighbors started looking out their windows and doors to see these beauties. The cars were soon surrounded by people announcing how they used to have cars like these. Some of them were disappointed the cars did not have their original engines but it probably would have been difficult for them to drive from Maryland to South Carolina with original equipment.

The interior is just as sweet as the exterior in these cars. They are a pleasure to look at and a pleasure to drive--so the owners said. Although I am not a car buff, I can appreciate the beauty of these cars and am happy I was there to see them.

This layout was done entirely digitally. Our assignment for this part of the class was to pile all our leftover scrap papers onto a table and pick out colors that were pleasing to the eye and the photo. Because I don't have paper supplies, I used my Picassa program to pick out various papers and embellishments.

Our Backyard Woodland

I am sometimes astounded by what suddenly appears in our backyard. We've had almost a herd of deer arrive, a family of skunks, ground hogs, quail, ducks, hawks, owls, and now the latest is a family of wild turkeys--at least I think that's what they are.

Just as we were sitting down to eat dinner, my hubby called me to the kitchen window and there at the bird feeder was a family of wild turkeys. I went out the front door and traveled to the back yard. I tried to get as close to them as I could without scaring them away. I did manage to snap a few photos, one of which is below.

Today, he called me again and sure enough the family of wild turkeys had come back to feed. As they were walking up from the woods, the crows and squirrels who were already feeding ran away. It was almost as though they were frightened of what the mother turkey would do if they didn't let her family feed.

If they come back, I hope I get a better photo of them.

Explor Class -- Color

Our task in today's lesson is all about color and how we decide which colors to use. First, I answered a number of questions about color choices.

Then I chose a photograph my sister sent me a while ago. I don't know the artist or even who took the original photo. My sister found it on the internet so I can't give credit to the artist.




I particularly like cows but this photo is very strange to me. It's been just sitting there waiting to give me a clue on how to do a layout using it. The photo only has a few colors in it but they are intense, moody and slightly threatening to me. The photo gives me a feeling of unease. To reduce the feelings I get from this photograph, I might use colors like softer colors like turquoise, and a grungy orange or yellow. Tell me what you think?

I enjoy using colors and trying different ones that I probably would never use if I didn't have a color wheel next to me!

Explore class -- Video 2

After watching Shimelle's second video, I tried to put into practice some of her suggestions. I really like the idea of clustering and think it adds a great deal to the layouts.

I did a layout I've been meaning to do for quite a while. Here is the back story--we met up at a restaurant with my brother and his wife for his birthday last year. The restaurant was in the Lancaster area smack dab in the middle of Pennsylvania Dutch country where the food is good and plentiful. Before we went into the restaurant, I gave my brother a gift bag containing his birthday gift (a hand knitted scarf for the cold winters we have here.) When we walked in the waitresses wanted to know if it was his birthday. When he replied that it was indeed his birthday, they said he would get a free lunch. Well, that just made his day. They made a really big fuss over him (what man would not love that?) However, they did not sing Happy Birthday to him for which I was sorry, I would have loved to see him blush.

At last, here is the digital layout I did...

Explore Class -- Crafting with Photos

I am totally enjoying this class so far. There is so much variety in the prompts Shimelle gives us to do. For example, today we are altering photos with words, lines, doodles, or anything else we want to do to enhance the photo.

I did an example using a TTV (Taken Through the Viewfinder) filter that I downloaded from Flickr and is credited to Miles Davis (Smiley).

The second photo is a rose from my garden. I drew a frame inside the border and added the word Lovely (in Scriptina font) to enhance it a bit.

Wish I had more time to play today but I have several appointments.

Explore Class -- Memory Sparks

Today's prompt suggests you make a list of things you could write about if you wanted to. I thought about it all morning and these are subjects that popped into my head.

Some things I could write about if I wanted to...

1. Conversations I used to have with my dad. He died when I was 24 but I still remember those talks.

2. The time I stole some peaches from the back yard of the meanest kid in the neighborhood. I didn't know it was his house. He caught me doing the stealing and whipped by butt all the way to my house with a branch from the same tree.

3. Giving birth to our daughter. In those days we didn't do it natural—we had drugs to take away the pain! I probably missed seeing the miracle of birth but those drugs were sure powerful.

4. All the different jobs I had during my 45 years of working. How independent I was about those jobs. If someone said something to me I didn't like, I'd just walk out. I figured, if you scare me by yelling, I'll show you how it feels to have me walk out and leave you in a lurch. Of course, that was only in my early years of working. I grew up and stopped doing that! Although, in later years there were times...

5. What true friendship is all about. There is quite a difference between acquaintances and friends. Took me years to find out that little gem.

Explore Class -- Observation

Prompt 6 is all about observing the things around that you never seem to really see. All the inanimate objects that we use every day and are taken for granted. So I have been taking photos of these things. I imagine I'll look back on them in future years and wonder why I took these particular photos. However, they are part of my life now and should be recorded as such.

I've had that bed quilt for years. It should probably be replaced but it is so comfortable to sleep under. To prolong its life, I keep on patching the seams back together whenever they rip and show signs of wear.

The computer station is old but the computer itself is fairly new--as is the printer. These can stay around for a few more years (I hope!) It's amazing how much time I spend at the computer--reading emails, checking out favorite blogs, writing short stories, doing research, etc. I bet I spend more time at my computer now that I am retired than I did when I was still working.

The chair. I hadn't realized how shabby it is getting until I took the photo. I suppose that is going to be replaced soon. I watch TV in this chair, read, knit, and do crossword puzzles. The chair is a swivel and is low to the ground so my feet actually touch the floor. That's a problem short people have...our feet often swing in the air instead of being in contact with the floor.

I did take lots more photos of things around but these three are a good representation. Next time, I'll try to have people in the photos!

Explore Class -- Getting Creative

This class is going to be difficult for me because all of my paper supplies are packed away in preparation for our long awaited move. No, we're not there yet. The house is not sold but packing can't be left to the last minute.

So, this layout was done in PhotoShop Elements in a real hurry because we are going out to dinner soon and I wanted to do it before we left so I can relax later.

Enough excuses...I very much like photographing the flowers in our garden and especially the roses. Getting close up to them, and smelling the wonderful scent, makes the photographs more memorable to me.

Here is how I got creative for Prompt 5--

Explore Class -- Perfection

I met my best friend in 1976 when we moved to Chalfont. She lived two doors down and it was an immediate friendship. We have been there for each other every day through joys and sorrows. It was and still is a perfect friendship only now there is a slight imperfection. My friend suffered two brain aneurisms a year apart. Each required brain surgery. She now speaks a bit slower and walks quite funny. It really doesn't matter to either of us. We still laugh and cry with each other and are always there in times of need.

We see and talk with each other on a daily basis. Right now, I am helping her do her family's genealogy and she's doing just fine with it. I'm good with the computer researching and she's got beautiful handwriting to fill in the family tree charts.

Perfection, apparently, is in the eye of the beholder.

Explore Class -- Map

Well, here I am again--two postings in one day. It's sort of catch-up time since I had to wait for my postcard to return from mailing it yesterday.

Now I am posting about the map project. This was interesting for me because I am devoting this Explore class to my hometown. We've lived in this town since 1976 and will soon be leaving it for another state. In one way I am sad but then again I am happy to be starting a new chapter in our lives. That chapter is retirement! We're moving to a place that has a more temperate climate. Pennsylvania winters can be so harsh and my old bones really need warmth.

So here is my map project. I used a journaling template by Ali Edwards and replaced the words on it to read just Traveling.

Explore Class -- Postcard

For this session I created my own postcard showing a favorite sculpture. The sculpture of a small boy reading sits outside our local library. Every time I pass it, I think of when I was a small child who loved sitting in the library for hours reading books and choosing which ones to check out to take home with me.

Here is the front of my postcard...

...and here is the back side.

The postcard got a little mangled at the Post Office but I think I did a pretty good job in gluing it back together.

New Class with Shimelle -- Explore -- Day 1

I resisted taking this class for about a minute! I love taking Shimelle's classes even though I have several that aren't yet finished. I will finished them--just not right now.

Anyway, in this class I am exploring the summer in Chalfont. I live in such a sweet little town that it deserves further exploration. For the first class, I designed the cover I'm using for playbook. Since my Bind-it-All is already packed away in preparation for our move, I've used binder rings to hold the playbook together.

It's a bit plain but that's because all my scrapping papers and stuff are also packed! I will probably be adding to the cover when I pick up some more goodies.

Our first assignment was to take a self-photo. Like many of you, I am the photo taker in the family so there aren't too many photos of me. This self-portrait was taken in the bathroom mirror and I planned it so the camera would hide most of my face. I may be a fool but I am not stupid. Bad hair day, etc.

I still have to write the Note to Self abut the self-photo, but I have to save something for later tonight! Here's what I wrote:

It is my sincere intention to complete this class so that I have all my memories of Chalfont for when we move.

Hey—Look What I Did!!!

I have been searching for a sock pattern that really fits me, and I found one!  I joined in the Ravelry group Knitters Brewing Co. Knit Along doing the toe-up Straight Up Sock.  I knew right after completing the toe of this sock that it was going to fit me perfectly.  It is nice and snug with no lumps over the toes to bother me. 
I knit the socks on a 40” circular needle using a Magic Loop (knitters will know what that is.)  Love the color and the fit. 
Here are a few photos of the finished product:
The color is Sorority Party Pink.  The top photo is the true color of the socks.  The bottom photo has too much sunlight shining on it so the color looks washed out a bit.


I think I’ll get started and cast on another color.  They knit up so quickly I may have a finished pair to show off next week.

Mystery Sock Knit-Along—Family Jewels

Now I know why the knit-along is called Family Jewels—it’s because of the nifty heart bead provided in the kit.  Also, notice the repeated knitted hearts where the bead is inserted and also along the cuff.  I just love this pattern.

So, in the end, the socks  don’t fit me.  They are huge!  The knit-along didn’t come with a small size to knit so I had to do the medium because of the number of stitches in the pattern.  I know they will fit my best friend so I’m not worried about it.  I had a great time learning new stitches and techniques.  I can now knit socks from the toe up, two at a time, on one circular needle using the Magic Loop method.  No more second sock syndrome for me.  They will both be finished at the same time.
I started another pair of just plain socks using the methods I learned during this knit-along.  Once I develop the perfect fitting sock for me I doubt if I will ever go back to knitting socks on 5 double point needles again.  Magic Loop is the way to go!

Another Winter Storm

The past couple of days, it seems as if one storm after another is hitting us.  I have to admit it does look beautiful but it's becoming a plain nuisance.  Not only that, but it's heavy and wet and really difficult for the snow blower to get through it.

Another storm is expected to hit this weekend.  I wonder if the weather gods know this is the last winter we will be spending here in the north?  I sincerely hope we don't bring the winter weather with us when we move south later this year!

Just a few photos to give you an idea of what we got: