Handmade Holidays

This holiday season, whether you celebrate Christmas, secular Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Festivus, take the Handmade Pledge!

Oh there ain't no bugs on me!

Darling Husband and Dearest Wife are flu-free! 

Take *that* you nasty virus!

Clearly the cure is to be found laying on the sofa and watching movies together. 

Before and After

Take that garage sale chair!

This wingback chair is really well built. Everything but the (dusty rose linen. Ack!) fabric was in great shape. I temporarily recovered it with some fabric from Target. I don't have a sewing machine in The Nona, so it's just stapled, pinned and hand sewn for now. I think that will work for a few months or so. The two (same garage sale) arm chairs are orange. They will eventually be changed, but we thought the print was a nice way to go. It makes the chairs seem a lot less 1970s than it was before.

Whoa Baby!

Oh my goodness, it's been nearly two months since I last posted something on this blog! I'd hate to see how badly my other inter-webs projects have been suffering!

What have we been up to lately? Well, nothing too exciting... except being married. It's pretty exciting, actually. B. and I are pretty good at this newlywed thing. We're big fans. Huge fans. 

Thank you notes, getting to know the Winona area, visits from In-Laws, getting the flu, and re-adjusting to working in a cafe while trying to find a new job have been the name of the game from my end. B. is no slouch on his end either. He's been working hard and taught several units in one of his grad courses.

My etsy/handmade business was going pretty well... until I was informed that the name was already taken. So I need to find another name, register a domain, and other such business stuff. 

Last but certainly not least... I am participating in a local craft fair! Eeep! I am so excited! 

Check it out!

Handmade Neighborhood

Heath, assurance.

We are Americans. We consider ourselves one of, in not the most, developed nation on the planet. We are as much a nation as we are an idea. We should be ashamed if just one man, woman or child dies from lack of adequate care within our borders. We should be ashamed that an illness that we are able to treat, an injury we can heal, claims any life. That you would declare one person more deserving of health than another speaks to an evil, a disease of the soul, that should be addressed. It is unacceptable and unjust. 

If someone is ill, and we are able to cure, heal, help or comfort them, we should. We should want to. Medical professionals should not be in the healing arts for money. They should do their job because it is their calling, because it is their life’s work. 

For the elderly, the chronically ill, the poor, the young, and all other uninsured Americans, we need to change. And soon. 

Dear Paul Newman,

Dear Paul Newman,

Your Sockarooni Sauce is marvelous. In addition to Butch Cassiday and the Sundance Kid, Cool Hand Luke and Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, this should be included among your great achievements. 

Sockarooni + any pasta + any veggie + a little grated cheese = oh goodness! 

It's expensive at the local supermarket and at the co-op, but cheap at Target. Go figure. 

Just don't mention it to my grandmother. She might not forgive me for using jarred sauce. 

xo

Me

Delicious.

Today was my first foray to the local Farmers' Market. At seven thirty this morning. It. Was.Wonderful. 

Seven-thirty was completely worth it. I was one of the first people there. I wish I had brought my camera! It was colorful, well organized, beautiful, and all the offerings were spectacular. 

There are about fifteen or so vendors, but each of them offer a staggering array of items. I stopped at a bakery stand, and found that it is the baker whose bread I buy at the food co-op! I purchased a few orange-chocolate-pecan scones for breakfast tomorrow. I skipped the Amish pies, local honey, cut flowers and homemade jams. A girl needs to stick to her budget, right? But I hit the jackpot when it came to produce! The haul included:

• 2 zucchini
• 2 yellow squash
• about two pounds of patty pan and other squashes
• a japanese zucchini
• 3 small heirloom eggplants
• a pint of blackberries
• a large bundle of basil
• a pint of heirloom grape-sized tomatoes
• a pound of heirloom tomatoes
• half a pound of spinach
• half a pound of green beans

I also discovered a fruit heretofore unknown by me... the ground cherry!

 It looks a little like a super tiny tomatillo. It's yellow, sweet and just lovely. 

I rounded out my groceries with some cereal, yogurt, bulk almond dish soap, crackers, bananas, bulk vegetable farfalle, and bulk hummus mix. I did all our shopping for less than fifty bucks! And we will be good for at least a week... until the next Farmers' Market!

Halfway only counts in relay races.

Sometimes you meet your significant other halfway. You do your part, they do their part, and you make it there together. Compromise and communication don't make things equal in every situation. Understanding is about more than one-for-one trades. Sometimes, you have to go the whole way. Sometimes your s. o. has to go the whole way. You will still get there together.

Well, Blow Me Down

We had a very exciting day! Brendan's staff had a scavenger hunt...one of the things to scavenge was a photo with me. We also had his staff at the apartment for some pizza while they did a little work. In even MORE exciting news, there was a tornado a town or two over. It was supposed to hit Winona at 5.15 pm. Thankfully, no tornado touched down here. 

Over the weekend, my sister Mary came to visit! I was completely surprised. I actually thought Brendan was getting us a puppy, or a fish or something. I opened the door, and it was my little Newsome! We took her to see the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and we saw Julie and Julia at the little movie theater. It was wonderful to see her. I missed her so much and was feeling so homesick. Brendan arranged it, and kept it secret. He is the sweetest husband ever. 

He was at Dunrovin for a few days last week, and that should be the last time he has to leave for an extended period for awhile. He is going to have an incredibly busy few weeks coming up. Students move in, and the year starts in earnest. Before we know it, summer will be over and it will be Halloween!

Until next time!

The Nona... Part Deux

I'm trying to be better about this blogging business, so please bear with us. 

Things we have accomplished:

1. All the laundry is finally done. (The moving truck leaked, and quite a few textile items got wet. Every thing we washed in the laundry here smelled funny, and the washing machines left rust on some of our things. We had to find another laundromat.)

2. The kitchen, bathrooms, closets and den/office are finished. ALL the books are off of the floor! Yay!

3. We made a few improvements here and there: a new showerhead; some organization and storage solutions; a bar in the kitchen with baskets that hang; two small cabinets forming a little sideboard in the dining area; etc.

4. B has been getting tons of work done.

5. K has been looking for work and obsessively organizing and re-organizing things.

6. Twin Cities Ikea trip number 2!

7. Spending lots of time together, just hanging out. Things are going to get pretty crazy in the next few weeks, so we are just trying to enjoy this quiet(er) time as much as we can.

8. Wedding Thank You notes!

9. Matilda (the car) needed a new battery. As much as we don't like Wal-Mart, we really like that we can buy the battery and they put it in. Total time... about fifteen minutes. 

Also good news... no rattlesnakes. Wahoo!