FQ Pillowcases Coming in....

Dorcas

Fat Quarter Challenge

Raise your hand if you love to buy Fat Quarters..... not only do I love to buy them, but I am drawn to them... not only am I drawn to them, but I don't want to cut into one after I get it home! I collect them, sort them, show them, arrange them...rearrange them, dream about projects, & think, "Someday, when I have enough I will make something...." I may buy a FQ just because it reminds me of someone..... dh would like these, daughter would like this pile, I can't live without this stack, these remind of Ma on Little House on the Prairie, etc., etc., etc. I never run out of reasons to justify buying FQs or clever ways to organize them... my dh & girls even put them in my stocking...lol! I have FQ Fever so bad that sometimes, I even make my own FQs! I know that may be hard to believe, but it is so true! I confess. I count & multiply Fat Quarters like a fabric Queen Midas. "Only will I use them if I can find a project worthy." I think I have found such a pattern at the Quiltershome Magazine site! It is too good not to share. Follow this link & scroll 1/2-way down the page & find a cute, cute, free Fat Quarter pillowcase pattern..... it takes 4 FQs to make one pillowcase. http://quiltershomemag.com/freepattern/ I challenge you... make one, send a pic to me at jdahmen@ckt.net & I will post it on the blog with your first name.

You must promise to only use FQs from your stash......HAaaaaaaaa! Who will know!

Clothesline Communication Obsolete

Modern technology has created numerous moral dilemmas....... for instance, communication started getting way too invasive when telephones became commonplace in American homes. Everyone started asking outright, "What are you doing?" The art of lying immediately took hold!
I don't know about you, but if I'm sitting on the couch watching Gone with the Wind for the umpteenth time in my pajamas & eating chocolate ice cream out of the carton, that question just rubs me the wrong way..... what am I to do? Do I lie, try to make it sound better than it is, tell the truth, jump up & get busy, so that reality changes....? There in lies the social dilemma.
Did you know that the modern washer & dryer set has caused the most invasive confusion? It has rendered backyard clotheslines obsolete. Nosey neighbors, private eyes & mother-in-laws can no longer be in the know quietly.....they now have to ask............

At one time, the activity of a household could be judged, with some accuracy, by what was hanging on the clothesline .....what a family's activities were, what the head of the household did for a living, how many kids were on board, etc., etc......it was all hung out to dry for the world to see! A line of drying clothes was a damp array that told of occupations, hobbies, children, shopping habits (you know, fancy panties or plain...) , troubles & joys. (It was even used by the Underground Railroad to post hidden messages.) Well, all of that is gone forever.....it has been replaced with My Space, My Page, My Blog, My Internet Diary..... if technology is so advanced, why can't there be a virtual, holographic clothesline projected into each & every backyard...... we could all just program in messages for the neighborhood without ever leaving our keyboards! We could start rumors, sway opinions, stretch the facts....oh wait, we can still do that......never mind!

Speedy, Snack Bag Totes

To make these, you will need: plain potholders with the loops at the top (Some dept. stores sell these generic potholders 2/a $.), any sorts of embellishments or none, 6 snack-size baggies per tote, pieces of ribbon or bias tape, & buttons with a shanks.

The picture is self-explanatory on constructing these handy little totes.

Let your imagination go wild..... I have even used my embroidery machine to put professional-looking names on them.

They can be used for pills, sewing kits, crayons, art supplies, candies, money, tiny tools, fishing items, etc. These can be made masculine or feminine...

What great stocking stuffers they could be!

Can you cry under water?

The Dole Nutrition Institute just came out with the results of an expensive study. They claim, as fact, that 94% of the rats tested prefer sugar over coccaine... http://www.dolenutrition.com/currentissue.aspx?nlid=1126

I don't know how this proves much of anything, but........ "Maybe," I say, "rats just have their heads on straight. Maybe, they know the emotionally-healing-value of having a Snicker Bar for lunch just once, instead of choosing a salad. Maybe, they understand, the fine art of Eating Dessert First!"

Can you cry under water? I don't know, but I have shed many a tear in the shower, & it wasn't because I got soap in my eye.

I was just so busy being a wife, mom, school teacher, etc., etc. that there was no time penciled-in for crying, so I learned the skill of speed-crying.

First, you have to let everything that's gone wrong since the last time you cried pile up in no particular order. Next, when the water hits your face, cry like there's no tomorrow.... if anyone hears you, it will sound like singing. When the shower is over, dry off & step out as if nothing has happened.

Speed-crying is therapeutic... it gives no time for prioritizing... no time to list from the worst to least.... no pity-party in other words. You just cry & go!

Figuring out all of the particulars can be dangerous.... you might actually find something to be depressed about.... non-prioritizing, speed-crying is definitely the way to go.
Prioritizing, in general, ages a person. Babies focus on eating & comfort... Teenagers focus on image & entertainment... Adults focus on paychecks & responsibilities... Retirees tend to focus on health & summing up an era... in other words, every stage of life has its own priorities that define us. Knowing this gives power over aging... "I am is now dictated by how I set my priorities each day."

Hey! This explains mid-life crisis! One day, someone wakes up & is unhappy with their priorities....

You want to be 16 again..... rethink your day! Make fun in the sun the priority.... not whether your bed is made or not.... lol! Take a day off from being a grown-up.

I have sugestions for the committee choosing the next 3 RAT TESTS:

For starters, see how many rats prefer pushing a little beachball around as opposed to running on a tiny mouse treadmill ... second, hold their faces under water & step on their toes to see if they actually can cry under water... third, after telling them that their cheese supply is low, their mouse hole has been plastered over, a new cat is in the house, & their youngest is missing, observe them to see what percentage cry now or wait for the shower....

there's a good chance that the speed-cryers are still smiling & have

Snicker Bars on their breath!