Gratitude

2013 is FINALLY over.  That's one thing to be thankful for.

In all seriousness, I have had a LOT to be thankful for this year.

• God...because He's made all this possible.
• Love...because it makes my world go 'round.
• My family...because they make it all worth it.
• My friends...because they know I'm crazy and love me anyway.
• My brother...because we're anomalies together.
• My cat, Timber...because she's my snuggle bug.
• My home...it's where magic happens.
• My freedom...without it, everything else wouldn't be so amazing.
• Coffee...because without it, I couldn't appreciate anything else.
• My vocabulary...because it's sexy and I worked hard for it.
• My computer...I'd honestly be lost without it.
• My Kindle...because my house is too small for all the books I love.
• Pinterest...because I love to be inspired.
• Google...because I love checking my facts.
• The Dollar Tree...because saving money is awesome.
• Amazon...because spending money is awesome too.
• Hastings...because Chai Lattes don't make themselves.
• Sushi...it's THAT important.
• Indian Food...Lamb Curry & Garlic Naan.  Yes please.
• The Olive Bar at Fred Meyer...makes my tastebuds happy.
• Tea...because it's wonderful.
• John Williams & Hans Zimmer...I love you guys.
• Pandora...because I love my music my way.
• Audible...because sometimes I want to read while I'm working on something (or driving).
• Snow...because hot flashes suck.
• Heat tape...because frozen pipes suck even more.
• Hot showers...no explanation needed.
• Pajama pants...because comfort is one of my favorite things.
• Slippers...because shoes and cold feet suck.
• Red Tail Sangria...because it's delightful.
• Hard Ciders...because adults need juice too.
• Apple Ice Wine...because it's amazing.
• My tastebuds...because I thought I had lost them forever.
• Dr. Perez & his team...for saving my life.
• The nurses on the 4th floor at St. Luke...for taking such good care of me.
• My neighbor...because he's like a grandpa to me.
• Electric pencil sharpeners...I can get back to writing just that much faster.
• Crayons...for making me feel like a kid.
• My church...for reminding me I have a lot to be thankful for, to slow down, and give thanks.

I know some of it might seem silly, but it's all true.  This year, I'm going to do my best to remember to be more thankful and present...to appreciate to the little moments that make it all worth it.

Happy New Year.

The Great Pumpkin Carving

Besides getting fancied up in some weird clothes and toted around by my grandparents to be oohed & aahed over by their friends, carving a pumpkin with Papa and Grandma is one of my earliest memories of Halloween.  You can put up all the decorations you want, watch scary movies until your brain melts, and plan your costume to perfection...NOTHING starts the season for me like carving a pumpkin.

I've collected a nice pile of inspiration and how-to's for you to get you moving.  When in doubt, refer back over to my post Eye of Newt, and Toe of Frog... for some seasonal libations to keep you going.

Please drink and carve responsibly.

Let's get you started:

eHow's Quick Guide to Pumpkin Carving

Using Cookie Cutters to decorate your pumpkin.  

There's also a step-by-step tutorial on how to carve a pumpkin.

A whole slew of patterns and ideas to make your pumpkins shine:

Printable Pumpkin Carving Patterns

Halloween Pumpkin Carving Patterns Free Stencils, Templates, Patterns and Ideas

Pumpkin Masters

Halloween Pumpkins

Pumpkin Pile

Halloween is JUST Around the Corner

30 Badass Pumpkin Carving Ideas

37 New Ways to Decorate Your Halloween Pumpkins

31 Halloween Pumpkin Carving Ideas

Taking it to the next level:

Fanged Pumpkins

Henna Pumpkins

How To Create Jack-O-Lantern Halloween Fog / Bubbly Fog

20 Unique Pumpkin Carving Ideas

Winding it up:

For all you pumpkin carvers...waste not, want not.

Having a festive way to keep your drinks cold NEVER sucks.

Tomorrow is looking like Graveyard detail...woohoo!

Halloween Tablescapes

Yesterday we touched on the idea of a Halloween party (see the invitation links).

Today, we're going to talk making the table setting, or in this case, the tablescape, look amazing.

I know that a lot of them seem incredibly busy looking.  They are.  Those are mostly for parties where not a whole lot of time is going to be spent sitting around the table.  Busy it up, folks.

Also...I'm just as cheap as the rest of you, and I probably have even less storage space now than you do, so not only is it all about the Dollar Tree and the Day-After sales, it's about repurposing and scavenging.  You'd be surprised what you can manage when you get creative.

REALLY simple to do this one.  Just fill your jar with red colored water and toss in a whole head of cauliflower you've cut the stem off of.  Easy peasy.

All those wine bottles (or in the case of my household, wine AND rum bottles) you've gone through in the last [few] month[s]...PERFECT candleholders.  Just soak off the labels and stick in a candle (save your stubs for this...waste not, want not).

Elegant and simple.

A few rubber rats, a nifty skull (I found one I love over at Big Lots), a few miniature white pumpkins, some offset candles, slightly tarnished silver pieces, and a black lace tablecloth (pay attention to thrift stores...or just buy a length of lace at a fabric store)...I'm liking this one.

The bar is open.

Talk about a conversation piece.

This photo is linked to Alderberry Hill, but the blog post itself is gone.  I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this looks like a pizza pan, a few candlesticks and an old bundt cake pan glued together and spray painted black, loaded with fall foliage and various miscellaneous Halloween accessories.  Sky's the limit with this one.  This could be awesome in the middle of the table, or made larger to look welcome people at your front door.

I like her style.

Those skulls looks like Mercury glass, but you can always use silver spray paint.  Big Lots, thrift stores,  Ross, and yard sales are good places to find garish candlesticks that are in desperate need of black spray paint.

Goodwill tea set and some black paint.

A Lush VAMPIRE-Style Dinner Party

I promise I've sent you to the right link.  You just need to scroll down a bit.

And then there's the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink look.

Go crazy.  Have fun.  We're never too old for any of it.

Tomorrow, we'll talk cocktails.  Because, let's face it...we probably could use one [of each] by now.

All-Purpose Cleaner

Alright.

Raise your hand if you have a place to call home.

Keep your hand up if you like to keep your space clean.

Again, keep that hand in the air if you're tired of having to tote around a bucket of expensive, chemical filled, should-work-better-considering-how-much-it-costs cleaners.

One more time if you'd like me to tell you about a SUPER inexpensive, reasonably natural, works-crazy-good, all-purpose cleaner.

Yes?

Righty-o.

First off...gather your ingredients.

All THREE of them.

White vinegar
BLUE Dawn dish soap
Dollar Store spray bottle*

*That spray bottle counts as an ingredient seeing as how all the other spray bottles I tried (Walmart, Fred Meyer, Winco, Auto Zone, etc) clogged up because of the soap.  Dollar Store stands up and takes it like a champ.

Now...let's do this.

Pour roughly 2 cups of your white vinegar into a microwave safe cup (I use a measuring cup) and nuke for 2 minutes.

Pour the vinegar that is now roughly the same temperature as the center of the sun into your spray bottle.

Drizzle in your [BLUE] Dawn dish soap, stopping to swirl (not shake) the bottle until it is roughly the same blue as a clean swimming pool.

That's it.

You only have to nuke the vinegar when you add it to the bottle  This is so the Dawn will bond with it instead of kicking around on the bottom of the bottle.  (Note:  you don't have to wait until the bottle is empty to refill.  If I see I'm a little low, I'll add to it right then.)

This stuff is awesome  I use it on counters, the stovetop, in the fridge, on the floor (I use a Shark, so this stuff is gnarly), on walls (doesn't seem to damage paint, and I don't have wallpaper), and in the bathroom.  The only places I don't use it on are the toilet bowls and wood surfaces.  Other than that...game on.

Warning:  I don't recommend using this in small, enclosed spaces (like a bathroom) when the mix is fresh and still warm.  The vinegar fumes can be a little overwhelming.

That said...I'll take it over store bought chemicals ANYDAY.

Life in the Non-Smoking Section

I haven't had a cigarette now for FIVE WEEKS.  After smoking for over a decade, that's no mean feat.

I was always an outdoor smoker, though.  My house in Joshua Tree has an amazing patio that I had set up into an outdoor living room of sorts where I would spend hours everyday, usually with a cigarette in hand.  My home here in Idaho has a lovely deck that I have likewise turned into a very comfortable living space where I have spent countless hours...also with a cigarette in hand.

I was worried when I got out of the hospital (where I had gone a solid week without nicotine of any kind) that I wouldn't be able to enjoy my outdoor space as much because it might be a trigger.  I've been delighted to find that what was once my smoking place has become one of my creative spaces instead.  I spend hours out here curled up on the futon (I am right now) writing these posts out longhand on a legal pad clipped to an old clipboard I've had since grade school, working on my book, reading other blogs, perusing my Kindle, working on a blanket, or simply enjoying a cup of coffee or a bottle of cider.

(I actually only miss smoking when I first get behind the wheel.  That's when I REALLY want a cigarette.)

My brain tells me that I do miss smoking.  My tastebuds tell me that this is a lie.  Either way, I'm just happy I can enjoy my old smoking space without a cigarette firmly in hand.

And that makes life even better...

Tying Knots

So yesterday, I decided to teach myself how to knit.  One Sheepish Girl is partly to blame for this (her contribution to Artful Blogging was brilliant and utterly relatable).  Pinterest is responsible for the rest of it.  I got tired of seeing awesome needlework and being excited about it, only to discover that it's knit and not crochet.

Bugger.

So...I took myself down to Walmart and picked up a set of size 8 aluminum knitting needs and a skein of yarn I knew Nina would like (my first real crochet project was a scarf...might as well keep up the tradition).  I then found an awesome tutorial video over at Knitting Help (thanks again to One Sheepish Girl for suggesting online videos), and a few hours later, I could do a long-tail cast on like a pro.  Turning it into a second row took a little more time and a lot more patience (at one point, I said to hell with it and went back to the blanket I'm crocheting for Gavin), but I figured it out...finally.

Making progress on Nina's scarf.

Getting it to the third row...THAT took until this morning when I watched some more of the video.  I could not figure out why my first stitch either looked like crap or just unraveled on me.  God bless the instructor and her slip stitch.  I've now got six rows (little victories) and Nina is excited about having a scarf.  So excited in fact, that she asked if I would teach her how to knit.  So now she's making a hat on a loom (it's knitting...sort of).  I got her started with practice yarn to see if she likes what she's doing and so if it got COMPLETELY messed up, we wouldn't be out yarn.  She knows once she finishes the hat, she'll get AWESOME yarn.

Nina learning how to loom knit.  

Hooray for the sounds of happy silence.