How About That?

Your Brain is Green

Of all the brain types, yours has the most balance. You are able to see all sides to most problems and are a good problem solver. You need time to work out your thoughts, but you don't get stuck in bad thinking patterns. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about the future, philosophy, and relationships (both personal and intellectual).

What Color Is Your Brain?

Buy Nothing Day

Today is Buy Nothing Day, a day near and dear to most advocates of a simpler existence. I've posted about my thoughts on Knitnana, but I just added a link to an amazon.com book search on the subject of voluntary simplicity. You'll find it in my sidebar here, at the end of all those "Commitments" I've listed.

I am feeling more and more, that following the principles of Voluntary Simplicity is a fulfilling way to live. I tend (like most folks) to slip up on my path now and again (I'm completely addicted to collecting - yarn, fabric, books).

I've reduced my afflictions somewhat over the years. Now, in the checkout lines, when I see magazines I'd love to get (yes, I had a serious addiction to magazines!), I allow myself to pick one up and flip through it. I've seen so many by this point in my life, I can usually say, "Been here, done this." And I put it down. On the off chance that there really IS something new, I promise to go to the library and check it out there.

Which frankly, I seldom get to do - books are rarely a problem anymore, either - I moved one time too many! (Those boxes are heavy!) I do borrow books from the library rather than buy them now.

The only exception to my "no books or magazines" rule now, are those relating to knitting. And the magazines don't jump in my cart unless the patterns between their covers aren't trendy.

I constantly re-evaluate my level of "enough." It helps to have determined how many hours of my life I have to work to buy something. Your Money or Your Life helped me figure this part out. It's not what you think your hourly payrate is. *wink*

Making Lemonade?

If you're like me, nowadays you almost hate to turn on the news. There's so much that puts me in a depressed state so quickly....And I'm determined to keep my mood as upbeat as humanly possible. Things are downright scary: unrest all over, war, struggle, toys recalled, fuel prices rising, the market see-sawing, the dollar losing strength against foreign currencies, oil spills, global warming, the demise of the polar bear?

Still, it's all got me to thinking of the old "saw" that I grew up with (as I had a Depression Era Mom) - "Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without!" My mom was the ultimate tightwad...by virtue of necessity.

I especially got to thinking in those terms today...I'd done laundry and washed this lovely acrylic blanket (I do like these, because as someone with fibromyalgia, they're so warm and so lightweight - anything heavy actually HURTS!). It's soft, it's warm...but it makes me completely crazy. The ribbon trim frays every single time I wash it and the fraying comes off in long nylon threads. JUST TRY to break them! You can't without cutting yourself. So today, when this one came out of the dryer, I spent awhile cutting off the threads. But what was worse, the ribbon had completely detached itself on one side. So...in true "tightwad" behavior, I mended!
Does ANYONE do this sort of thing anymore?

And that got me to thinking of finally organizing all my recycling - which is now in the back of my Forester waiting for the trip chaining I've been trying to do religiously, for more than a year.

I didn't take a photo of the recycling. *wink*

Mom also taught me to make lemonade. Especially when you're being handed lemons. Lemonade isn't just something inexpensive to drink. It makes me smile. It reminds me of the good things...

And I guess that's what we need to be doing more of right now. The good, simple things...
:)

One of Those Days...

I've had one of those days where things don't want to go smoothly, and if it can happen it will - the rotten things - family misunderstandings, kitty squabbles, a broken camera, a sensitivity to the change of seasons that leads to physical discomfort and general tiredness, having to do things at least 3 times to get them right...If I didn't know better, I'd say there was a time change in there somewhere (ooops! Wait, there was!)
*wink*

I did get something accomplished, which is always a huge thing in Nana Sadie Rose-dom:

I sometimes get asked about the claim that every Nana Sadie Rose bag is an original and I thought I'd show you an example of that. The bags above (ignore, if you can, the middle one) on the right and left of the photo, are the same exterior fabric. (It's a batik that is almost completely gone...out of print, sadly.) But you'll notice that the bags don't look anything alike. I'm careful in my creations, making sure that there is variation in every bag, so no two are the same, yet so many people love the same exterior fabrics, that I can't just make ONE of each! (Another case in point is Michelle Meow - the pink fabric with the Siamese cat in Paris - an outstanding print that almost everyone loves!)

I decided to get a little creative in the kitchen tonight, too. Below is a photo of the results...I'll get it right before long!
A Roasted Sweet Potato & Apple dish, first I sprayed the pan with olive oil spray, then I chopped up the main ingredients, tossed on a handful of chopped walnuts, sprinkled on the Pumpkin Pie spice and grated fresh ginger over the top. Then a touch of sugar, a couple of dots of margarine and about 1/4 cup of water...spray again with the olive oil spray...

I baked it in the toaster/convection oven for about an hour (at first, uncovered, then I put the "broiler" pan that came with the T.O. upside down over it to protect it). (The instructions say NOT to use aluminum foil! So I haven't found a good alternative yet)

I'll play around with it again, but I think it's good. It could use a bit more of spices...I know, "sprinkles" doesn't convey how much I used, but "to taste" isn't much better, now, is it? lolol