Well, it is 29° F or -1.6C. So nothing is growing. But I have mint, basil, oregano, and chives growing in the east window sill, and they are thriving. I use them every week in cooking. So that is a very step for me...keeping plants alive inside the house, and something edible no less. It had inspired me for next year. I may try green onions and parsley in pots next winter too.

Santa Baby is awful, bottom of the pit awful. But running a close 2nd for annoying is Feliz Navidad which is played on the local radio station approximately every.third.song. or so it seems. Then for creepy, Baby It's Cold Outside. Yes, it is catchy. But it should probably be used in an 8th grade class on human sexuality called, "This is NOT what consent looks like" and, "If she is making every kind of excuse in the book to get away from you and you keep arguing, then you are acting like a predator, let go of her arm, give her her coat, call her a cab, and stop being a creepy jerk!"

This right here. It is next to impossible to get others, and in my experience especially family and church others, to respect parents' wishes.

This is government enforced slavery. Threatening to mass fire people for standing up for basic human rights thus leaving them in peril to provide food and shelter for their families, and taking away their health insurance in a country without universal healthcare is economic slavery. This is the language that needs to be used by national media outlets. NPR, CNN, ABC, AP, Reuters, CBS, when are they going to man up and call a spade a spade? I feel like maybe we are going to have to have protests, huge, massive protests and there is going to have to be some sort of slogan that catches fire that brings the issue into specific relief. I have no idea how to start something like this. If someone could think of the slogan, I would at least start using it on social media platforms, in emails and phone calls to politicians. I am drafting a letter to the editor of our local newspaper. However, it is a tiny news outlet, maybe a circulation of 2000-3000 people. I have my doubts that it will be published. They deal almost exclusively with local, very very local news - township level stuff - and the owner is quite risk averse to publishing anything deemed controversial. There are freight train depots and an Amtrak depot south of us in another county. I could try sending it to the newspaper there.

Thanks! I quilted it that way so up close the "birch" bark looks that way. I plucked up the batting just a little with a needle after I pinned the center of the quilt before I pinned the borders, and tried to be really careful and accurate so the "puffing" was only in that border. Then when I smoothed and pulled the borders out (by hand, I do not have room for stretcher bars), I allowed just a hint of give in that border, pinned heavily, and then stretched the outer borders flat. Stitch in the ditch around all the seams then held the texture in place. Hard to say how many washings it will take before the batting matte back down. I hope it doesn't look bad after that. It is a gift for our soon to be daughter in law. The binding will be a bit more flat and uniform when I get it ironed. I took the photos immediately after putting in the last stitch.

This breaks my heart. I don't know what to say. I wish I could help. Does anyone here want to start a rumble? I am in a "show up at a rail yard some place and protest bad enough to get national attention" mood. But without some sort of organized effort, I don't think it would be successful. I have words for the senate, and they are four letter and tell them what they can do with themselves.

Done. Thank you MBM (Modeled by Mark) for assisting with the photos. And sorry everyone, my phone really did a poor job taking pics. The quilt is actually really pretty.

I am so sorry! Our Dd is a success story of recovering from long covid. But it was NOT easy. We are talking about modified bed rest for nearly six months, anti-inflammatory diet strictly observed, as much natural sunlight as possible to help with cell stimulation and full spectrum light bulbs all through the house, mega vitamins, turmeric (again to help with inflammation), B12 injections which her physician said showed some possible role in recovery from coronaviruses and helps with sleep quality, and doing pretty much nothing physical which meant that I practically raised my grandsons and ran her household for five months with occasional respites from my wonderful husband and sons when they could manage time off work. So essentially, I was exhausted by the end of October since I am perpetually anemic. But I am glad I did it! (She still refers to me as her personal Army General. I was draconian about not letting her do anything.) I hope you find help.

I think I hate all the politicians. Feudalism. The Lords have spoken, the Serfs are expected to bow the knee and accept their lot in life.

This. And frankly, some times the files lie. You'd be surprised how often key information is NOT written down because workers know there is zero chance of finding a placement if it is included. Sadly, this is how our country rolls because the people in charge do not want to fund the kind of support parents will need in order to have a hope of success parenting and bonding with severely traumatized children. A nation this wealthy and this is the situation.... Eyes wide open and well informed is the only way to make it work. My heart breaks for these two children. 😢

No, woman, you are a goddess! Anyone who can make that lovely frock from a sheet is my hero. I bow the knee. 👏👏👏

Does anyone know anyone at Dateline? We need some prime time news org to tackle this issue. Though it is fruitless to call the office of my representative, a woman whose brain with no grasp of reality and the temperament of a rabid dog on a good day, I will do it anyway, and once again express my opinion to Senators Stabenow and Peters just in case there is anything they could inspire congress to do.

That would explain me sitting over here in Michigan ripping on a quilt with a pair of seam rippers that I am certain must have come from a dollar store!!! 😂😂😂

My best desserts have always been recipes from old Danish cookbooks. This is one of my favorites, written by a Danish American back in the 60's so it uses imperial measurements. That said, my best results are often from converting to metric, and weighing ingredients. Much more accurate and especially for pastry work. https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/wonderful-wonderful-danish-cooking-a-double-cookbook-of-500-danish-recipes-baking-from-coffee-cakes-to-pastries-to-torten-and-dining-from/8729148/item/24222090/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrtyP3Z7Z-wIVIW1vBB3QkABzEAQYAiABEgKOaPD_BwE#idiq=24222090&edition=8762533 I think there is an episode of Great British Baking that featured macarons. Season 2 if memory serves.

I wish I could come sew with you. I would have had similar problems picking up apparel sewing were it not for the fact that I grew up with a mother who could sew ANYTHING, and had this natural born teacher thing going on so she constantly explained terms and techniques to me even though at the time, I was entirely consumed with my music and thought she was nuts! Thankfully, I had some sort of osmosis learning thing so that when I decided to take up sewing and wanted to tackle monstrous things like those epic Daisy Kingdom dresses back in the early 90's for my daughter and we lived 2500 miles away, I could manage it off the ancient Greek that was the language of those patterns or make a quick phone call for brief insight. My mom went to a tracked high school where students could choose a track option as early as 7th grade. She had been sewing in 4H by then for a couple of years with excellent instruction, and loved it..since she liked to cook and lived in a poor family where household management and budgeting skills would have been super handy, she decided to take the Home EC track. She had basic cooking, kitchen management, budgeting, and sewing for two years, and then they kicked it into HIGH gear. She had people from the apparel industry who were brought in for part of the instruction as well as professional chefs and restaurant owners. By the time she left high school, she was designing clothes and making her own patterns. She made my wedding gown. I showed her a picture of my dream dress, a $3500 dress back in 1987, and nothing my family could have afforded nor would I have been willing to ask for it even if they could. She said no problem but she wanted to take me to some bridal stores to try on several dresses of similar cut/bodice/skirt just to make sure I liked how an approximation would look on me. She took a notebook, made some notes and quick drawings, then went home, spent time really studying the photo, brought out tissue paper, created the necessary patterns, and bought fabric. My gown was an absolutely perfect knock off of that $3500 gown. Not only that, but the pearls on the commercial gown were glued on, and my mother hand tacked them down. Over 1000 seed pearls. Legendary! So I want you to know that having lived in the shadow of such a woman, I understand how daunting apparel sewing can be to the novice. I am sorry about those pj pants. You would be surprised how often this is the outcome on the very first try. I don't know what pattern you are using, therefore, I have no idea what the instructions say. BUT, when I do pj and lounge pants for my guys, after I cut out the legs and sew up the lower seam, if memory serves, I turn one pant leg inside out, tuck it into the other pant leg so right sides are together, and then sew the semi-circle crotch seam together. So this would be the seam that brings the right and left side together and runs down the center from the belly button around the crotch and up to the center back. Does that make sense to you? Meanwhile, feel better! You are doing great! I have twice today sewn a piece of binding onto the quilt from THE WRONG SIDE! Twice. I finally just got it off the second time and sewn on correctly. I should be hand tacking it down, posting a picture here, and declaring victory while cutting for the next quilt (I have seven to make by Christmas and only two done, plus this one almost done), due to delays in fabric getting here which left me at a standstill. But instead of forging forward, I am having a coffee with Baileys, and sulking about my error and waste of time. I will put a Christmas movie in tonight and finish do the handwork. Yes, quilt patterns makes sense. Quilts are pure mathematics. A bunch of geometry, a little algebra, and VOILA a perfectly sensible item. Apparel sewing is some sort of nerdy, artsy, Picasso, Pollack thing that we mere mortals will never understand like the gods and goddesses like Melissa and my mom!!! 😁

Wednesday was a bust. Mark has bronchitis and all he wanted was cough drops and spicy soup. I made a large pot of Hot and Sour soup with a pot of rice and we ate on that all day long. Really not a spectacular amount of calories, and apart from the diced green onion we like to put on top, not a day loaded in veggies. I think he at two tangelos. Today, he's feeling a little better. He didn't want breakfast though so I didn't make anything. Lunch - we have some chopped, roasted chicken breast left over from a previous dinner that I had popped into the freezer. We are having that with steamed broccoli and baked potatoes. Tonight - I am making roast Brussels sprouts, green beans, salads, and more of the roast chicken breast which we will eat cold on top of the salads. I am too busy quilting - and making a hash of it so I have ripped two seams out today - to even think about having a snack! Tonight will be the same because I have two quilts to hand tack the binding on while watching movies. This makes slightly sad because I love to have parmesan popcorn during a good movie. My hope is to splurge for that tomorrow night and watch Scrooge or some other holiday film.

I wish I was shocked at what the House passed. However, I am not. I absolutely loathe politicians in this country. I fear that the only way forward is for them to quit. They can't strike. But no legislations was passed to lock them in and try to force them to work. No-one should have to lose their employment in order to receive even basic human rights and decency. That said, I think they have to do is because there is no other way forward. If they quit and begin applying for jobs elsewhere, hopefully more decent employers will pick them up. Unable to operate and losing millions a day while congress and the president sh!t bricks because there rich bitch friends are less rich than the day before and the rest of the country goes into a panic because something they wanted or needed isn't coming to their state any time soon is the only way forward. This is unconscionable. If railroaders in Michigan start demonstrating, I am absolutely planning on joining them.

Lovely, K! Beautiful job!

I win that were true. But the bulk of Americans, I suspect, really do not care as long as their own lives keep humming along. Panem et circenses.

Heart, you are doing so well! I am very impressed. My advice is don't rush into anything, and just casually date and enjoy your freedom. Have fun. You were shackled to a very nasty person for so long. Now is the time to wallow in making all your own decisions, and focusing on yourself and finding joy. Dating can be fun, and I hope you enjoy it.

I am so happy that your celebrant worked out! Love the photo. 💜

Breakfast: Omelets with spinach, red pepper, mushrooms, and green onions. Lunch: Bean enchilada in corn tortillas with homemade salsa and greens. Dinner: Meatless spaghetti with parmesan and large Caesar salads with pepperocinis.

Okay, Ktgrok, I looked at it, and I really think this might be the one. I am going to order it! It's on you now! 😁😉

That looks really interesting too! Thanks

Thanks for the tip! I will go take a look at it.