Substance of Living

Do you remember playing with homemade dough when you were little?  Oh my gosh, my middle sister and I would sit at the kitchen table for hours playing with our dough.  Mom would put a few drops of food coloring so we would have colored dough - like the kind that was available in the stores.  We would use cookie cutters, make our own shapes, blend the colors together to make another color.  We sometimes even saved our creations.  Searching (falling down the rabbit hole) Pinterest one day, I came across  this recipe By Oleander and Palm.  Aren't her ornaments gorgeous in their simplicity? She puts her designs in the oven to dry.  I read in another blog that you can also air dry them.  So I did; and I used this recipe that uses cinnamon !  Oh, they smell heavenly! I used cookie cutters on hand.  Here's the kicker.... patience was my friend.  It took about a week for the dough to thoroughly dry.  I started them out overnight in the oven with a damp paper towel.  I did th

Let's dig into our psyches this month and see if we can answer some tough questions.  Some of the questions are of a moral nature while others are more personal.   What would you do if you opened your mailbox to see your adoptive child on a "Have You Seen This Child" flyer?  In Lisa Scottoline's book Look Again , investigative reporter Ellen Gleeson is faced with such a dilemma. Look Again written by Lisa Scottoline Beautiful, modern Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, live a life of bliss in 1937 Shanghai until their father gambles away their wealth. "To repay his debts, he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from Los Angeles to find Chinese brides. As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, from the Chinese countryside to the shores of America. Though inseparable best friends, the sisters also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. Along the way they make terribl

I have begun challenging myself to make things that I see on the internet.  This project is a crochet baby blanket video by Jayda in Stitches .  I'm a beginner at crochet and have been following Jayda for awhile.  Her videos are so clear and easy to follow that I thought I'd give this a try. My "baby blanket" is more of a table cover - think a great big placemat.  The reason for this is because my yarn and needle was different from hers. Unfortunately, I threw away the yarn label.  I do remember that it was baby weight and it had a picture of a baby in a sweater.  The color is an off-white, maybe ecru. Completed project Up close My borderwork Jayda shows step-by-step how to make this in her video.  If you know how to read patterns (I'm not there yet), you can find her written pattern here . I'm so happy with this that I actually have it out and we use it daily! Have a Great Day!!! Marie Tweet this Post P.S., Your