It was a sheet...now it's yarn

I finally found a pattern that my brother and sister-in-law would "allow" me to crochet for them.  It's a cat nest, or a cat poof...so of course I was ready to get started on it asap!  The poof doesn't use "yarn" it calls for fabric scrap yarn.  Click the picture to go to her site.

Today was an adventure in making my own scrap yarn.  After a mostly failed attempt to do it at my house because the dogs thought they should lay on it, or that it was time to play because I was on the floor I packed it all up and headed to my parents house, and their dog free wood floors.

After removing the hemmed edges, and ripping out the top hem cause that added almost a foot of extra fabric, we trimmed an edge so we had a straight edge to start.

The cat, liked the scrap edge.

Fortunately she didn't disturb us as we lined up the edges and started cutting!

And balling the yarn

I had no idea how to make a sheet a continuous strand of yarn and I'm so thankful for the "interwebs" because I found a fabulous blog that gave excellent and clear instructions to make this yarn.  It took the better part of today to get two sheets cut and rolled into balls.  So the cat nest will have to wait for another day.

Maybe tomorrow.

What defines you?

There are a few things in life that I know to be true, God loves me, I am addicted to crochet, cooking makes me happy, I will never be “skinny”…but, I am the new beautiful. Who defines beautiful? Lately in the news there has been a lot of talk about Photoshop, and how it has destroyed the mental ideal in all people.  Men women and children are brainwashed into thinking that you are only beautiful, or should only be seen as beautiful if you are perfect.  There has also been a movement about redefining beauty, I’m gonna get on that bus and ride it till the end.

I know I am not perfect!  My hair is sometimes impossible to control, I’m in my mid 30’s and I still get zits, I squint when I smile for pictures, I (gasp) also sometimes have a double chin.  I’m not quite 5’5” and I’m closer to 150lbs than the 120lbs that is printed on my license. My body isn’t perfect.  But I am the new 

beautiful.  The things that make me different are the things that make me unique.  For years, I have felt that I wasn’t pretty, despite what my mom says.  But hey, my mom has always told me that I’m beautiful.  My husband thinks I’m beautiful, and sexy. But he’s my husband; he’d better think that I am!  What about the rest of the world?  If I went to the beach in a bikini would I be that girl, the one that gets the “why is she wearing that” look? These are the thoughts that go through my mind when I’m getting dressed every day, and why I sometimes change my outfit 5 times.  My husband thinks it’s funny.

Some Men want to see a woman with impossible curves large breasts and perfect skin, guess what guys, she doesn’t exist!  At least not like you see in glossy magazines, sure the model is real, but what you see in print has been digitally enhanced for your viewing pleasure, just like movies, “the Hollywood.”  Young girls watch shows like America’s Next Top Model (and I do to) and think I won’t be pretty/accepted/happy unless I look like them.  I stopped watching ANTM when they called a gal “plus size” who was slightly more curvy than the sticks next to her.  That is not plus sized. That is healthy.  I’m not knocking the stick thin gals, as long as they aren’t starving themselves to look like that. There are also shows out there that poke fun at people for looking less than perfect. “Fashion Police” is the worst of them; I also used to watch that show, but the nastier they got the less funny it became. Making fun of celebrities is just as bad as making fun of the girl with the pigtails in hand me down clothes.  It’s bullying plain and simple.

The antithesis to “the Hollywood” comes from recent posts seen online like Lizzie Velasquez. Or the brave teenager who talks about the harassment at her high school, her story can be seen at causewecool.tumbler.com.  Another empowering story is at Unlooker.com because weand that is EVERYONE reading this, can redefine beautiful.  If you are on Instagram, post your selfie, and don’t forget to #redefine_beautiful let’s all get together and make a statement to the world!

A NEW, New Year's Tradition

There is a recipe in my family, from my dad's side of the family. Ham Bone Soup. I can't think of a time I didn't just absolutely love this milk based soup...so after Christmas, with the leftover spiral ham, I have decided to start the tradition of having Ham Bone Soup to welcome in the new year.  Of course this year it's a few days after the actual new year, but it's all good.  It's cold outside, and this is a perfect day for this simple and delicious soup!

Summer Savory is the only spice in this soup.  

I keep it on hand strictly for this recipe. 

No other uses for me, yet...  

It was a bit difficult to find a few years ago, but I found it with the help of my parents. The cost is on the higher side as far as seasonings go, but it is well worth it as nothing compares, or can be substituted.

When I use the word recipe for this particular meal, it really is more of a list of stuff, with no real measurements.  But that's all good, it makes this an easy recipe to follow exactly.  Which I'm not gonna do because the only recipe I follow exactly is when baking, and I'm not baking.

To start this soup you need a ham bone, with meat on it of course.

The flavors from the ham and bone will be the flavors of the soup.  My ham is of course from Christmas, and I did a copycat recipe for Honeybaked ham.  Turned out goooooood. So carefully cut the chunks of meat away from the bone, and chunk them up, put them in your soup pot with the hambone.

Then cover the ham pieces and hambone with water, and this is when you get a spice bag or fill your own teabag and put the summer savory in the bag.

Toss that on top and bring it to a boil.  This is going to simmer for a good length of time.  Because you want to make sure all of the marrow, and other goodness found in the ham bone has had a chance to seep out and into the water and ham pieces.

While the yumminess is boiling (don't leave it on high, just let it simmer) it's time to dice up the rest of the soup ingredients!  So two can's of Green beans (I'm a cheater I know, but fresh is sooo hard to find this time of year) some carrots and some potatoes. 

A few weeks ago my MIL made a potato soup that had bacon and browned onions.  So I'm gonna add some bacon browned onions to this soup, at least this time around.

Peel and cube the potatoes, and the carrots.  Plop them in a bowl of cold water because you won't add these until a half hour before you are ready to eat.

Then cut up the bacon fat, and render that out in a skillet, remove the chunks of fat and then add the onions.

A half hour before you are ready to eat, fish out the bone and finish removing whatever meat was stuck to it.  Put the bones back in the water then toss the potatoes and carrots in.  These will take about 20 minutes to cook.

Then drain off about half of the water, and remove the savory bag.

Add the onions, and green beans (drained), then add milk to give the liquid volume you desire.  This needs to sit on low heat until warmed up.  Trust me you don't want to boil the milk. Yuck!

Serve warm and enjoy!