Week 4 Domestic Library and Pineapple Passion

What book have you read in the past which still holds an emotional connection for you? In what way?

Can you suggest any novels which nurture a 'domestic' culture?

Has today's study inspired you to read any of the titles Jane has listed as her read and re-read favourites?

 

I have always loved Charlotte's Web.  Every time I see a copy I purchase it.  One can never have too many books or copies of their favorites.  I also love The Harbinger and try to read it annually.  The Shack has become a favorite as well.  I love murder mysteries and special ops books (Vince Flynn and Brad Thor).  I have a ton of historical books about America and how we got to where we are now.  

 

My father gave me my love of books, he read all the time and I always had a bookshelf of books.  We had the library at school and during the summer we would go to the library every week.  I never was one to take naps but if I laid down with a book then I did not have to nap.  Too me it was a joy to have the house quiet while my mom and brother napped and I could read to my heart's content.  My mom has a picture of me on my potty chair reading a book, guess I have always read almost since birth.

 

When I was in 2nd grade I read 100 of these blue hard bound books that were autobiographies of famous people.  It was my goal. I guess some would say I was a weird kid because I lived to read. I still do pretty much. My house is full of books.  They take me where no mode of transportation can.  

 

I am not one of those Jane Austen, Downtown Abbey, Little House on the Prairie types of reader. I don't know that I have what I would call a domestic culture novel in my house. There is not a book on the author's list that I would read because they are not the type of books that interest me.  

The author loves pineapple so much that she made a Carmen Miranda type of tea cozy which is pretty cool.  My father's favorite cake is pineapple upside cake.  Every year for his birthday and Father's Day he gets one. He will be 95 in a couple of weeks so I have the supplies and recipe all ready to go.  The cake really need to be made in a cast iron skillet so the butter and brown sugar get that great crust that clings to the pineapple slices. 

Week 3 What Do You See Around You?

This week lets each be inspired to "see" what is around us and how it can inspire our own creativity.

To PONDER...

What do you regularly observe in life that triggers your creativity?

Has this week's study encouraged you to 'see' art differently?

What did you like about the three paintings Jane chose to focus on?

What creative afternoon ideas can you suggest for children (of varying ages)?

I have bird feeders on the deck and in the front yard. I love to watch the birds and wish they would all stay all year but alas I have the Juncos in Winter and the Hummingbirds in Spring/Summer. The rest of the year I have the rest of the usuals: Sparrows, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Doves, Starlings, Woodpeckers, Tufted Titmouse, Wrens, Finches, Grackles, and an occasional Hawk swoops in.

I often take pictures of my flowers, the birds, and sunrises and sunsets. While I don't paint they would inspire me if I did. I used to get a lot of catalogs and I would go through them and tear out pictures of things I wanted to make or recipes to try or just to hang on the frig for awhile.

I don't know that the birds trigger my creativity but I do enjoy watching them. They can be so comical and I have to wonder how they withstand the heat and cold.

The pages we read this week had some art work of women mostly knitting. The one picture had them all sitting around a room and just knitting alone. One of the reasons I love my 3 knit groups is that we visit and get to know each other and share our lives. I have been known to walk up to strangers and ask to take a picture of a knitted or crocheted item to go home to see if I can re-create it. Every week someone brings in a pattern that we all want to make and so we get the yarn and create our own version sometimes making some changes.

My neighbor kids love to finger paint, so I always keep cheap white construction paper and finger paint for them. A couple years ago on of them made the cutest snowman, their imagination runs wild mixing colors and thinking of what to paint. We also make popsicles in the summer and can't wait to eat them. The Dollar Tree store creates juices to make things as well with their packages of beads, etc.

I have to admit I spend a LOT of time on Pinterest. I used my Boards as file folders for ideas. When I need some ideas to make something I go there first. Sometimes nothing catches my eye and other times after an hour I have added lots of ideas to my bulletin boards. My niece has a board of things she wants me to make her and it grows almost daily at times.

The sun is out today. It is an inspiration to get up and get things done which I have had a very productive day. We have so many days/weeks here in the Winter without sun that it gets depressing and you just want to do nothing. Today I am taking advantage of the sun even though we have ice and snow and it is cold, I got a lot done.

Test Run

I am hosting one of my knit groups next Sunday.  I went looking for a recipe using pears. I love them especially the red ones.  I found this recipe.  I have never made anything with mascarpone before.  The smell while it was cooking was like the smell of butter baking.  The cake was very light and is best eaten right out of the oven. It is not really sweet at all but does need a bit of whip cream (the real stuff not that Cool Whip crap) or some vanilla ice cream.  It is definitely a keeper and will be making it next week.  I think instead of the sliced pears on top I will put some almonds on there.  It is a heavy but light cake.  It is very rich you don't need a very big piece. 

Recipe is here:  https://anitalianinmykitchen.com/pear-cake/

Be Yourself

Vincas

I have never grown Vincas before.  When I was looking for some flowers to put in pots this past Spring I came across them and thought why not give them a try.  They apparently love the heat and sun because they never waivered during our heat wave and dry summer.  I did water them daily which I am sure helped.  They were too pretty to let go when it got cold so I brought them in thinking I could keep them for a couple of weeks. Nope the little things are just blooming like crazy and growing so much that they need a bigger pot.  I saved some of the little seeds that have fallen on the floor and will plant them to see if I can get patch started this Spring.  They provide a bit of Spring to this cold snowy winter day.  Aren't they pretty?

Week 2 The Art of Gentle Domesticity

What crafts or creative domestic activities did you pursue when you were young?

Have you continued with them?

Is there one or more that fell by the wayside but which you'd like to try again?

What inspired you in our study this week?

 

 

 

We are beginning our study of the book this week.  The introduction is all about how the women's movement told us we were to give up our domestic activities such as knitting, baking, gardening, embroidery, cross stitch, sewing, etc.  WHY?  I love doing these things, I don't want nor am I giving them up until I die.  Why can't I work outside the home AND do all these things as well.  I feel blessed that my parents taught me how to be self-sufficient.  My dad taught me to change a tire, sheet-rock, paint, garden, wire, plumb for gas, etc. and gave me my love of books. My mother taught me to cook, bake, do laundry, embroidery, sew, iron, etc.  My paternal grandmother taught me to knit and crochet.  I taught myself to cross stitch.  

When I was 4 my paternal grandmother taught me to knit and crochet because they are skills she thought I might need someday.  Boy was she ever right.  I knit a lot more than I crochet and I would love to take her to the yarn stores today.  She sat me on the floor in front of her because she was left handed and taught me.  

When cross stitch seemed to be a booming craft I picked it up. I tried needlepoint but never really got into it.  I tired of cross stitch because you can't wear it and it is not really functional and how many cross stitch items do I really need?  I do still cross stitch once in a while and am currently working on 12 Christmas villages. 

I never really cared to learn to quilt. Too many pieces and too much perfection in making all those pieces and corners line up.  Then there is the whole quilting of that large piece of fabric. Nope not for me. 

 

I took a tatting class at the library, or I should say I started it but my mother had a heart attack and had to drop out.  They have never had the class again and it is something I would like to learn, I have a couple of books and there are some you tubes out there, so maybe I will try that again.

 

I am not an artist, I can't draw a stick figure. My niece talked me into one of these paint nites and boy was it fun.  We have attended 2 so far and have a cardinal one scheduled for next week. I have bought some canvasses from Hobby Lobby and thought I might make some and hang around the house.  

I discovered on one vacation when I was in High School I am allergic to the sun. If I am outside in the sun over a couple of hours I break in water blisters and boy do they itch.  So knowing how to do several crafts and my love of reading keeps me busy when I can not go outside.  In the summer I am up at 6 (normal for me) and do my yard work so that when the sun comes up over the houses across the street I can go inside.  I do my "chores" and at noon when I sit down for lunch, I quit for the day and do what I want which includes some type of craft work.  I try to read every night before I retire for the day.

 

Don't let anyone tell you can't do something because it does not meet the "cause."  You do what you want and have fun.

Snow Part 2

The neighbor girls made a snowman, he is so cute, and much taller than the little girl who lives there.  Not much prettier than the stark red of a cardinal against the stark white of snow.

First 2019 Snow

It has been snowing since noon yesterday, often big flakes.  Not sure when it will stop but any minute would be fine with me. When I got up this morning it was a bit dark and the pictures are kind of cool with the street lights on.  I have to admit these are beautiful but it does not make me like snow or winter any more.  The city came by and plowed and made a mess of things.  Since they plowed we have added another inch or two with more on the way.  I think the whole state has closed down due to this storm. 

Banniversary

March marks the banning of so many conservatives off of Ravelry.  What you say; it is a knitting website, well beware fellow knitters when you enter that world for it is only left friendly.  I wont go into the crapstorm that happened 10 years but suffice it to say the site is not 1st amendment friendly unless you lean left.  There is a lot of vile, crude, etc stuff that goes on there and you should be careful where you let your children go.

One of my friends on FB created a Build the Wall Hat. It is free and many of the quiet righties loved it but then the word go out and here come the left.  SO for now the hat is deemed racist by pajama boy and here we go again.  There is nothing racist about building the wall, have you seen the Vatican, have you seen Obama's DC house, have you seen Clintons house, Pelosi's house, etc. They all have walls around them.  The main reason we have a gov is to keep the country and it's citizens safe.

We don't have the money to take care of takers, we have enough of those already, we need legal immigrants who can help support the country.  The only reason the left wants the illegals is because they are going to allow them to vote illegally and they will vote democrat and we will never have a Republican POTUS or Congress again.  It is their way of controlling and ruining the country.

I dont believe any political stuff should be on Ravelry based on what happens but since it is there, both sides should be able to have their patterns there.  There is  a button to hid any pattern you don't want to see. I use it a lot to block lefty patterns, but I don't go running to pajama boy about it, not that it would do any good, I would be the one being banned.  So just put your big girl panties on and block the pattern from your view and move on. But you can't because you just can't live with the fact that Trump is your President too.

I am so over the left and their hate, where is my safe space, it sure isn't on Ravelry.

The Gentle Art of Domesticity

I follow a blog http://www.elefantz.com/ who is a christian woman living on the other side of the world.  Her blog is full of embroidered items that make a home more beautiful and homey.  She shares her life, her recipes, her patterns and her belief and stumbles in God.  Reading her blog is very calming which brings me to this blog post.

She has often referred to a book The Gentle Art of Domesticity.  Being raised in the femi-nazi era women were told to put their house-making skills to the side because after all we should be going after men only jobs.  Really why couldn't I do both.  As a child I learned to knit, crochet, embroider, cross stitch, and sew.  As a person with outside allergies my time outside was limited so i filled my time with projects and books. 

Don't even get me started on how much time I spend on Pinterest, my boards have become my file cabinets full of ideas.  I had an Amazon gift card so I decided to purchase a copy of the book especially since on her blog this year we are working our way through the book.  I received my copy this week.  Yesterday I read through the first chapter and I so identified with the author.  I can't wait to work our way through the book and make my house more domesticated with my craftwork.  Being retired I thought I would have more time to devote to my crafts but somehow others things keep taking my time. This year I am taking time for myself and working on my crafts, after all all those craft items in the basement won't make theirselves. 

If you want to join along subscribe to her blog and work through the book with us. She also has a Facebook page and her patterns are being moved from Craftsy to Etsy. 

Purple Socks on a Plane

I am probably the last person who knits socks to make the Socks on a Plane pattern.  Last year I did not make one single pair of socks and I needed to cast on a pair, so I thought I might as well.  Somewhere along the line i made 2 right socks and I am not frogging the left one. I did use the After Thought Heel.  So my first pair of socks and first project completed for 2019.  Yarn is Bella Dulce Yarns.  Never used it before but it was a nice yarn to work with, a bit of stretch to it as well.  Love the color.