Chatbug Karen

I have spent two days making these little, itty, bitty bags! LOL Let me tell you something. It is hard to make small things. My mom made Barbie doll clothes for my sisters and me when we were little. I do not know how she did it! It is hard to turn little things right side out. It is tough to sew in straight lines when you are tugging at a small piece of fabric. Thank goodness for safety products . I might have sliced my finger off if not for the guard on my Olfa cutter. I nicked myself and that was bad enough. I had to put a bandage on my finger. That made it even harder to hold on to small pieces of fabric. I admire people who make small purses and other handmade items. What ever they charge, it is worth every penny!

I have barely had time to post of late. That is because I have been sewing! I love to make bags and quilts.

I have been trying different ways to promote my bags and I totally forgot I had signed up to use Silkfair. Silkfair is a wonderful website based on selling handmade items. They even have a forum where crafters can talk about what works for them. However, just like using apidexin when dieting, selling sites won’t work if you don’t use them! So, I am off to add some things I have made, like this huge grocery bag, to my Silkfair account.

The theme for today’s Heads or Tails is Cause.

A cause that is dear to my heart is the funding for researching a cure for cancer, particularly, Breast Cancer.
Another wonderful organization is Women for Women International.

The Carried Away Team, of which I am a member, (a blogging community of makers of handmade bags and purses), is supporting Women for Women International. This organization supports women in war-torn regions with financial and emotional aid, job-skills training, rights education and small business assistance so they can rebuild their lives.

Carried Away is holding a giveaway called Change Purses for Change. It is the hope of the team, to raise awareness for this great cause. Check it out and enter the giveaway.

Take a look at the beautiful purses you have a chance to win:

For more Heads or Tails participants, go to the link by clicking on the picture of the coffee mug.

This morning, I read an article that shows how some push themselves to beat the odds. A couple in Falls Church, VA always knew that something was not right with their daughter. She didn’t have cerebral palsy nor did she have downs syndrome. They could not figure out why their daughter, Mack, fell behind when doing things their other children did at certain mile stones. No amount of probing, or DNA testing was able to give them answers.

Nearly ten years ago, Dr. Jordan Grafman, chief of the Cognitive Neuroscience Section at the National Institutes of Health, finally diagnosed the problem.

An MRI scan revealed she was missing nearly half of the left side of her brain. While it was clear Mack has some problems, Grafman said he and the family were shocked by the extent of the damage.

How did Mack cope? It seems, her brain rewired itself.

Mack has fairly normal language abilities, certainly basic language abilities, she can construct a sentence, she can understand instructions, she can find words when she’s talking, but actually she has some trouble in some aspects of visual-spatial processing,” said Grafman. The human brain is the center of the human nervous system and is a highly complex organ.

My husband loves to fire up his smoker and cook for an army. The smell of smoked meat waifs through our neighborhood. It is a wonderful aroma. Yesterday, he cooked two whole chickens, a pork shoulder and a boneless pork loin. We had friends over to help us eat the boneless pork loin. They may need to help me with my ellipticals if he keeps this up! I do love it when he cooks but I can pack on the weight from eating all he makes.

Today was another day of eating. One of our local churches offers a potato bake once a month. Not only do we fill our plates with baked potatoes and all the toppings; we eat from an array of salads and desserts.

Here is the recipe for a salad that I have decided is one of my favorites:

I am not sure of the exact recipe that the lady at the church uses but this one from Paula Deen sounds close.

Almond Broccoli Salad

Ingredients

* 6 cups small broccoli florets
* 1/2 cup chopped celery
* 1/2 cup raisins
* 10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
* 3 green onions, sliced
* 2/3 cup mayonnaise
* 1/4 cup honey
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
* 1 (3.75-ounce) package honey roasted sliced almonds

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine first 5 ingredients.

In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, honey, and lemon juice. Pour over broccoli mixture, tossing gently to coat. Stir in almonds just before serving.

October 14, 1964 – Martin Luther King Jr was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Now, that was a man who deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.

I thought that I was doing my body good by walking on the treadmill and using my Kettlebell faithfully. It seems that my right leg is getting a better workout from pushing down on the sewing machine pedal!

I am learning to play Farkle and think I have the scoring part down now. I have trouble counting my points and carrying a conversation. I am Farkle challenged.

White carpet and dogs do not mix well.

This week’s question on Four Foods on Friday is a great one! Thanks Val for making me think about ice cream! That is my weakness. LOL

You’re making an ice cream sundae. What four ingredients do you want in it.

1. hard vanilla bean ice cream
2. warm hot fudge
3. whip cream
4. brownie

Now, I am off to find the best appetite suppressant! LOL

Join us at Four Foods on Friday by clicking on the banner. It is fun!

If you are like me, you hold the remote while watching television. Why is that? Because, the commercial are so loud that they grate on my nerves. Once I hit that mute button, it is amazing how quickly my blood pressure goes down. I don’t care if you are watching one of the most expensive plasma tvs on the market. It is annoying.

There is an article in AOL’s money and finance site, Daily Finance, that addresses the problem. I read the article a few times and I still don’t know if any legislation will make a difference. The article states that the volume cannot be any louder than the loudest portion of the show it accompanies.

The fight against excessive commercial volume has two fronts, legislative and technological. The first line of defense on the legal side is the Federal Communications Commission, which mandates that commercials can be no louder than the loudest parts of the programming they accompany.

Is there not a decimal accounting for loudness? My radio has a meter that shows me when I am increasing the volume. Why can’t television commercials be set at a certain decimal level?

This week at Heads or Tails, the theme is “build.” Make any kind of post using any form of the word “Build.”

When I think of build, I think of the amount of effort the artists put into making sand art. They spend all that time only to have it wash away. I am sure they get enjoyment from their work. Why else would they do it? Here are some examples of sand art.

Oh, and if you have time, take a look at my latest project in the post below. Tell me if you think the colors are too dark, please.

What a difference a day makes! It was so cold yesterday that I thought we missed fall and went right into winter. Thank goodness the sun came out today and it was much more like fall. We mowed the yard and cut down some of the flowers that had dried up for this year. I emptied the bird feeders and put them away for the winter. I hope the birds have flown south.

As I promised, here is a picture of the table runner I made.

Closeup of the topper so you can see the fishing flies.

I am also making one for our house. After laying the unfinished topper on our coffee table, I thought it looked small. I decided to add borders. Adding borders after quilting the topper is a bit like using acne treatment after eating a greasy hamburger. It is difficult but I think it will be worth the extra effort.