FUN FIBERS DAY

My dear friend Beth is getting married today. At the last minute we were not able to get away for 3 days, so this post is not about Missouri wedding no. 2.
I guess I'll wear the red plaid dress to Jenn's wedding in October.

Instead I spent Sunday with my fibers friends (aka some of The Book Babes). This is the 3rd time one of our gatherings fell on someone's birthday, so we had a pot-luck lunch, cake + talked a lot.
(Since I was saying "fibers friends" my boy wanted to know if we ate bran muffins)

Socks were the main topic of the day.
(this is my friend Sissy's project)

Some of Claudia's yarn stash.

I am not at sock level so I learned how to knit a simple ribbed hat.

I LOVE MY BREAD MAKER

For several years I have been buying Ezekiel sprouted grain bread, but when the price of a loaf rose to over $5.00 I had to think of an alternative.

It was around this time that I was reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle + in a footnote Steven Hopp raved about his bread maker. He recommended finding a basic recipe that you can use as a base to create all kinds of wonderful breads. Through buying in bulk, it cost him .50 for a loaf of homemade bread.

I shopped around for a bread maker + really could not justify buying one for $80.00 to off-set the $2.00 cost increase of a loaf of bread. Yeah, I know, it would pay off over time, but that would be 40 loaves later! As luck would have it, I found one at a yard sale for $5.00 (I have since seen 2 more at yard sales for less than $10.00).

I researched some basic whole wheat recipes + had some real duds (questioning my decision at this point). I went to the store + looked at the side of good quality flower packages for a bread machine specific recipe.

From a the side of a bag of Arrowhead Mills flower
I found + modified this recipe:

1 cup warm water
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
1 egg
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flower
1 cup mixture of oats + ground flax seeds
1 tsp salt
1 package active dry yeast

bake on shortest cycle (mine has a "Whole Wheat Light" cycle)

Most bread machines found at yard sales won't have instruction booklets + THE ORDER YOU PUT THE INGREDIENTS IN IS VERY IMPORTANT. I found this basic rule (I don't remember the website, so I can't give them credit) wet/ dry/ yeast. It takes 5 min (if that) to put in all the ingredients + 4 hours later I have a wonderful loaf of yummy homemade bread + the house smells SO good.

( a slice topped with avocado + chopped tomatoes + basil from my garden)

I have not figured out the total cost of each loaf, but I do know that it's more than .50. I need to check out some local resources for wheat in bulk, but for now I'm buying Bob's Red Mill whole wheat flower + ground flax seeds or King Arthur Flower (a certified B corporation), 2 readily available, good quality brands.

~ENJOY~

BIG WEEK DAY CHANGE

Tuesday I am relocating to my company's office on the town square, which means my work commute will be a .4 mi (.6 km) walk! Best of all, this is something I can do year round.

My current commute is 9.2 mi. round trip, but I drive 18.4 mi. a day since I come home for lunch. I've been riding my bike on Mondays (my 1/2 day) but I can't do this in Winter.

It's strange to think that a year ago I was commuting 73 miles a day
(365 mi. a week, 1460 mi. a month, 17,520 mi. a year).

As for the job, it's the same one I've had for the past year.

I want to call my insurance company to see if I can get my rate reduced since the miles driven to work will total ZERO.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN TOUCHED THIS SHIRT

Pardon me while I totally spaz-out on Bruce, but at 58 he is still performing 3+ hour kick ass Rock & Roll shows. By the end I had no voice, my ears were ringing, I was a little dizzy from screaming Bruuuuuuuce for hours + I was drenched in sweat. It was the most fun I have had, well... probably since we saw him 5 years ago.

My co-worker's boyfriend was one of the limo drivers for the band + after the show Bruce handed them all t-shirts with their tips. Knowing what a huge fan I was, he gave his t-shirt to me. Funny thing is it was the same t-shirt I talked myself out of buying at the concert.

I will say that I was extremely jealous of the 10(ish)-yr-old girl who got to live out my Courtney Cox fantasy of being pulled up on stage. She was pulled up to sing Spirit in the Night + she knew all the words.

Set list for August 21, 2008
Nashville, Tennessee. Sommet Center

Out In The Street
Radio Nowhere
No Surrender
Lonesome Day
Spirit In The Night
Good Rockin' Tonight
Growin' Up
I'm Going Down
Held Up Without A Gun
Loose Ends
Youngstown
Murder Incorporated
She's The One
The Promised Land
Mary's Place
Walk The Line/ I'm On Fire
The Rising
Last To Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands

Girls In Their Summer Clothes
Thunder Road
Born To Run
I Fought The Law
Rosalita
American Land
Dancing In The Dark

It's funny because most people who know me are generally surprised when I tell them that I'm a huge Bruce Springsteeen fan.

MY FAVORITE WAY TO TRAVEL

We had to go out of town unexpectedly
+ mostly drove on back roads.

Ruby is the first car I've owned with cruise control
+ after a few long trips I no longer think that
evil spirits are trying to take over my car when I use it.

******************************************************
Bruuuuuuce concert tomorrow night,
then I'll have to share that BIG CHANGE
I mentioned a couple weeks ago.
It actually happens next week.

.

I love the messages on the Yogi Tea bags.

EXCUSES, EXCUSES

My boy pointed out that I have a craft blog, but have not had a craft post in awhile. My excuse it that it's summer + there are far too many things to do outside.

We met-up with The Music City Paddlers + went on a
canoe/ kayak trip 10 minutes from our house.

I have become addicted to night-time bike rides.
(We tend to end up by the train tracks + if we are lucky a train comes by)

We are enjoying the first tomatoes from the garden
+ everything else about our house.
(We found this plaster chicken at a junk shop in Kentucky)

There are some good LALA dex things in the works, demo opportunities + fall studio tours. I keep saying I'll do it, but it looks like I'll have to spend some time indoors + get back to work. Straightening up the studio is the first order of business!

I've added a few vintage items to my Etsy shop.

THE POST IN WHICH I PROVE MY CO-WORKERS RIGHT

I went on a short bike ride with some friends yesterday evening + when we got to the town square my stomach absolutely turned. There was a big musical event yesterday + from the look of it, some area business gave out promotional bottles of water. Each label had the words "please recycle" on them, but the problem was there were no recycling bins provided for people to have this option. The result was plastic bottles everywhere!

After our ride I drove down to the square with my recycling bins loaded in my car + proceeded to do what I could to pick-up the bottles. I know I did not even make a dent.

I cannot tell you how angry I was during this process. Not only was there so much solid waste created by this event, but most of the water bottles still had water in them + several of them had never even been opened! Having grown up in Southern California, I know how valuable a resource water is + here was all this water thrown away (literally!) in the trash.

What I plan on doing about this is contacting our city waste department + talking to them about setting out recycling bins at future events. I'll see how far I get + if need be, I have many friends who are passionate about environmental + community causes + will elicit their help.

My boy thinks I should send a letter + the above photo to the businesses who paid for advertisement on these water bottles.

As for proving my co-workers right, going down to the town square at 7:00 pm on a Sunday, with my recycling bins, to pick-up plastic bottles is EXACTLY the type of behavior they expect from me. I couldn't be happier to meet their expectations.

NOT QUITE EVERYTHING IN IT'S PLACE

It's August, but it feels like Fall.
The days seem to pass in a blink of an eye.
For the moment we have 2 sofas in the living room.
*
We had another yard sale yesterday + got rid of more, more, more.
Now we have less stuff.
*
A big change is scheduled for next week.
It will simplify my life even more.
*

MISSOURI WEDDING NO. 1, DAY 2

Sunday morning we picked up the infamous sofa (more on that later) + headed to a great little part of St. Louis called The Del Mar Loop. Senior Garmin routed us downtown, through the Anheuser Bush bottling plant.

We went to Vintage Vinyl, but my boy was too overwhelmed, so we went to lunch. Lots of great vintage clothing shops + The CRAFT Alliance, which sells pottery made by Susan Smith, whom I got to know at the last TACA show.

Some eye candy for Ambika + Erin, who are both in the market for a bike + Mariss, who might need an upgrade...
Perhaps a $600.00 Electra Cruiser ladies?

I think I have gone 2+ years of blogging without revealing that I have a crush on Bob Costas.

And there was lots of L-O-V-E on The Loop.

A quick bathroom break + a chance to prevent the spread of disease...

... then we headed back across The Mississippi River to Kentucky + home to Tennessee.

Missouri wedding no. 2 is Beth's wedding, over Labor Day weekend.

MISSOURI WEDDING NO. 1, DAY 1

We went to my boy's nephew's wedding in a small town,
just south of St Louis.

The reception was at The Eagle Club
(I think it's like The Elk's Lodge).

I found out that it only takes 3 Bud Lights for me to feel
comfortable enough to dance to Nelly's "Hot in Herre."

Our prom photo.

WEDDING DRESSES

We have 2 weddings to attend in Missouri this month + I thought this would mean scouring thrifts shops for dresses. AH! Then I remembered that I already have a couple vintage dresses for such occasions.

I'll wear the black 60's dress to the wedding this weekend. It's an evening wedding, completely appropriate.

I'll save the plaid 80's Bill Blass dress for Beth's wedding later this month.

Now to find a 3rd dress for Jenn's wedding in October...

We're off to Missouri for a family wedding + to pick up THE SOFA!!!!!!!