Hello dears. I was very opinionated last week, and you all were kind enough to not only read but comment. Thank you. Even if you disagreed you did so nicely. And each of you explained your own reasons which all had good merits. Opinions are just like everything else. Everyone has one and some are different. That's what makes the world go round, right?
This week I am not sharing opinions. I am sharing the things I haven't started or having started haven't finished. I suspect that every one of us has projects around the house that they keep meaning to do and some they keep meaning to finish. So, I thought I'd share some of my things that I am hopeful I will tackle here in 2025.
I'll start with the things I haven't finished. Remember the quilt I started way back in 201-? I can't even remember when. It's been that long. I t was an ambitious sort of quilt especially for a first one. Well, it's about four feet square. I've never finished it. I'll tell you why. I ran into a sticky troubling spot, and I just lay it aside but that wasn't the only reason. I found, as I sewed, that I mightily disliked the colors I'd chosen. A LOT.
I can't make up my mind now if I want to finish it or simply donate it and what fabric I had on hand.
But that wasn't the only one I started. I began making pinwheels in red, white and blue fabrics. They are not hard to make though they are small. I've no idea if once they are all made, I would even have enough to make a runner for the table or a doll quilt. But that too is still unfinished. Of the two projects the pinwheels interest me more than the quilt.
Both projects nag at me, especially this time of year when I seem to have more time on my hands.
And then I wanted to embroider. I bought books with lovely patterns, was given some beautiful things and then lucked into a hoarder's stash of embroidery floss at Mama's when I was sorting out that house. The thread has filled a very large embroidery thread holder. I've made a few stitches but nothing major. I used to love to embroider just haven't taken it up seriously in years.
However, given the time I've had on my hands these past two weeks, I could easily do embroidery projects or sew pinwheels or set aside an afternoon a week to attend to sewing, period.
I confess also that I have yet to attempt to can anything even once with that pressure canner. I watch a vlogger/blogger who usually sends out routine emails and she's certainly made it look simple enough. Why haven't I even tried? I know my hesitancy is nonsensical because these canners are far safer than what I grew up using (and occasionally blowing up). And blowing up the others caused me no damage at all.
I was absolutely going to start using that canner last year about this time. Did I? No, not at all. And that silly expensive canner is sitting in the cabinet mocking me with the space it takes up.
You know what else I haven't done? I haven't used the pasta making attachment to my mixer once. Not even once. I've watched another vlogger use it and it works quite well especially for sheets or spaghetti or wider noodles but nope, haven't touched it not even once. No excuses except that I just haven't.
And there's the water bath canner that I seldom pull out to use. I have at least used it a few times...
For years I've wanted to learn to make fudge the old-fashioned way, the way that Grandmother did with butter and sugar and canned milk and cocoa. Do I attempt it? Nope. Haven't in years upon years because I failed twice trying it. Boo hoo! I failed. So what?!
Soooooo...What am I gonna do about it? Am I just going to continue to do nothing? Or do I truly want to learn these skills?
I am loathe to say to anyone that this week/this month I shall absolutely do all of these things. The truth is I haven't thus far and there's good reason to believe that I might very well continue to put them off until the end of time. Part of what puts me off those things is feeling unsure of my ability.
Here's what I know about my 'ability'.
I didn't make bread for years because my first attempts failed. And then after wishing for 30 years that I could make homemade bread; I started making a sour dough bread. A friend gave me starter to begin. Now, I did not make the sort of bread that Lisa at Farmhouse on Boone has written an entire book about. I didn't stretch and fold and use bannetons, but I did make sour dough bread and used discard to make other items without anyone guiding me. And without worrying about what I might be doing wrong!
That encouraged me later, after my starter died a hard death, to try my hand at making bread by hand. It turned out fine! Now I use a bread machine to mix and raise my dough, but I make bread one or two times a week. We eat almost exclusively homemade loaf bread here in my home now, because I stopped fretting and just got started DOING.
I didn't know how to recover a chair, but I took a very sturdy but terribly worn old chair and tacked fabric to it with nails, for goodness' sake. We used that chair for five years or more. Then one day I said, 'I can do better than that', and I made a slipcover for it. Since then, I've made lined curtains, another slipcover, and pillow covers. And no one has ever looked at any of those things and said, "Professionally done?" but neither have they looked at them and said, "Just did it yourself, huh?"
I guess what I'm saying is that instead of letting fear or whatever anxiety it might be hold me back from doing any of these things, why don't I lean on my old successes in doing what I didn't know how to do and finding I could and just get busy?
Again, I'm not saying to anyone that I will because so far, I haven't, and I hate to make myself out anymore a liar than I have already.
In my bid to do things 'better', I have been trying hard to up my dressing game. I've been rather happy with the results thus far and felt I looked rather nice. I was rewarded by someone at church as well as a salesclerk in a store complimenting me. It's been such a simple thing too. It's just been a matter of watching a couple of shorts on Instagram and noting how they were styling clothing.
For instance, the day I was complimented by the salesclerk, I was wearing a white long sleeved button down blouse with a blue denim jeans jacket. I wore black jeans and white tennis shoes. Sounds super simple doesn't it? And it was! I'd learned watching the videos that for a more modern profile I should pull the collar and cuffs of the blouses out over the collar and cuffs of the jacket. I added a simple beaded necklace. The white blouse was a good bit longer than the jeans jacket but the overall look was up to date. Yet every piece in and of itself was a classic piece.
On the way home that afternoon, I realized that a white t-shirt and a lightweight three-quarter sleeve pink cardigan, and a pink ball cap would create a similar simple classic look with the black jeans and white tennis' shoes. I even have a pink purse that matches the sweater. Paired with the same necklace I was wearing this week the outfit would look just right for a cool Spring day.
I've been having lots of fun playing in my closet. One stylist suggested that what really stymies us is that we feel overwhelmed when we stand before our closet. She said she always starts with a closet edit for her customers. She removes everything that they don't like, doesn't fit, or isn't in season. What's left is exactly what they've been wearing and then she helps them accessorize and pair things in different ways. It was very enlightening. I tried the same in my own closet and just moved some summer-y things into a dresser drawer and voila! I paired up every single thing left in the closet and realized that while I might want something new (and I did make two purchases for winter wear), for the most part I don't NEED anything new.
Of course, I love to play in my closets anyway and to pair up outfits. I just get burned out in summer when it's so doggone hot. Layers are so much more difficult to even think of wearing in summer heat...that's the truth. But I'm going to try to keep this up and maybe by summer I'll have a load of ideas for warmer weather.
By the way, one thing another stylist said was to check Pinterest for outfit ideas...Well I'm glad to hear I was on the right track with that idea! I seldom have the exact same piece or pieces, but I do get ideas of color combinations I mightn't have thought of before or how something I have might have is similar and could work in a different way than I'd been wearing it. I'm telling you there are so many helps that are truly helpful and not pushing you to buy, buy, buy but to use what you already have.
Because it's the new year (for a few more days, and then it's February and we all know that nothing is new by then), I've been scanning the 'frugal experts' ideas for saving money. No kidding, of four articles read in the past twenty-four hours, THREE of them suggested giving up meat and one of those also suggested stop buying fresh produce and just buy frozen...I'm unimpressed. It's true that meat is expensive but honestly, I have no plans to give it up. Nutritionally speaking meat is a good source of complete amino acids, Vitamins B and D3. Our protein needs increase as we get older, too.
Even in light of this latest bird flu epidemic which has taken eggs off several store shelves and may affect our chicken supplies (I couldn't find anything definitive about that so can't say for certain, but chickens are chickens whether they lay eggs or are raised for meat). Oh, and just in case you haven't heard now there is a 'swine flu' that is going about, and it's expected it will take a toll on the pork industry.
It looks as though we'll just keep adjusting the budget and strangling the purse with those purse strings. And when all of this is over there will be something else again because that is the way it seems to go. I smell my bread and my clock is about to time me out for getting it from the oven, so here I shall end my conversation for this week.
Talk to you all later!
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