Saturday Miscellany

Tea Cup Pin Cushion

I saw the pattern for a patchwork tea cup shaped pin cushion in a Japanese quilting magazine (Quilts Japan, I believe) I had borrowed from the library.  All the instructions were in Japanese and I don't know to read Japanese, however, there was a diagram of the pieces with measurements which were easy enough to read and I figured it out from there.

 I used scrap pieces of fabric I had, without any particular color combination or design in mind.  I was just trying out the pattern.  The pieces were rather small and it was a bit fiddly to make, but didn't take a long time to do. 

When my daughter saw it, she liked it, and asked if she could have it as her pin cushion.  Of course I said yes, and she took it to Berkeley with her.  I took a picture of it when I went up there this time, so I could show it!

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On Thursday night, when my aunt and cousin visited, cousin brought me another bag of groceries!

More Groceries!

A loaf of cinnamon raisin bread, a jar of peanut butter and strawberry jam, two boxes of fruit cups (no added sugar diced peaches).  Such abundance!  My cupboards are over-flowing!

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My "Dr. Seuss Plant", which used to have two new branches sprouting and looked like this:

Dr. Seuss Plant: How it used to be

 Suffered a bit of a mishap when it was being moved into the 3rd bedroom before our trip to Berkeley and back to the living room on our return home:

How it Looks Now

The smaller new branch broke off!  Only the strong survive!

Another Look from a Different Angle

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I needed a card to send to a friend's daughter who is getting married next weekend.  I was invited to the wedding, but I can't make it because I don't want to risk getting exposed again so soon after the graduation (it's another evening outdoor reception).  Rather than buying a card, I decided to make one, using card stock and scrapbooking paper I had on hand:

Homemade Card

I enclosed a gift inside and handed it to the letter carrier, this morning.

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Daughter went to a Renaissance Fair with 3 of her friends, this morning.  One of her friends bought a special costume to wear to the Fair.  Daughter put an outfit together from items she had in her closet and saved herself the expense of a special costume.  This is just one example of how she has learned to be frugal.  She had the option of buying herself a costume, but she didn't see the need for it.  The money she saved more than made up for any lack of authenticity in her outfit.

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Last night, I couldn't fall asleep until 3:30 a.m. (the last time I checked the clock).  I was up at 5:30 a.m. this morning, even though I stayed in bed until almost 7:00 a.m., trying to see if I could fall asleep again.  At 7:00 a.m., I got up, said my morning devotions, fed the cats (Dancer and outdoor strays) and made myself a cup of tea.  I made myself a list of things to do today, but don't feel very energetic after just 2 hours of sleep, last night.  Maybe I'll take a nap this afternoon.

Had a banana and a raisin bun for breakfast and, later, a ground beef filled bread roll from the freezer for my lunch.  A snickerdoodle cookie for dessert!  Leftover roast chicken, mashed potatoes with freshly steamed carrots for dinner, I think.

My aunt called and we had a long chat about this and that.  :)  

Today, I am grateful for:

- Cousin's gift of more groceries.
- Daughter is having a fun day with friends.
- She was able to put together a frugal outfit.
- I was able to make a card using what I had.
- A phone call from aunt.

Hope you are having a lovely day, today.