Goodbye September - Hello Homemade Bread !!!

My last post of September 2011 - I already have created my October header picture and will be back posting tomorrow.  I am so glad that super-sizzling summer is behind us and some cooler temperatures have arrived.  Now I feel like I can cook and bake again without having to worry about overheating the house - to say nothing of the baker. 

I love making bread, so as soon as it started cooling down, out came the flour and yeast.  Baking bread is one of my favorite Fall and Winter things to do (though this year I intend to perfect my biscuit making - good biscuits have eluded me so far).  Baking bread is actually a lot simpler than it sounds, once you get the proper "feel" of the dough down. 

Bring on the butter !!!

Blessings,

Kat

A Simple Pleasure - It's Just Like Christmas

Sometimes, it doesn't take much to make me happy - like coming home and seeing this in the mail -

My Quilting Arts magazine!!!  It feels just like Christmas when this magazine arrives.  This is one of only two magazines that I still subscribe to.  Two of my other favorites have been taken out of publication - Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion and Claire Murray's La Vie Claire - I really miss these.  When QA comes in - no matter what day of the week, I make myself some tea (iced in the summer, hot in the winter), sit down and just absorb everything in the mag.  I am never disappointed.


In search of more of these SIMPLE pleasures -
Blessings,

Kat
Thanks to Kev - he knew I was having a very tiring day at work and called to tell me it had arrived - perked me right up!  He loves me, he really loves me!!  :)

Time - Where Does It Go?

This weekend was another busy one - again!  I know I am the one who allows it to be so busy - car show, Fall projects, weeding, shopping, cleaning and a wonderful surprise birthday party!  I am not complaining about doing any of it (especially the party - it was great!!!).  I am, however, frustrated that I tried to do all of it - at the expense of other things I had really wanted to do.  I didn't even do my Gratitude Sunday blog.  :(   Why does this keep happening?

So, tonight I did a time budget.  I started with the number of hours I have available on the weekend (assume 2 days - 48 hours).  Then I conservatively started subtracting hours for all the typical "necessities" that must be done each weekend.

+ 48 hours   -   WOW, sounds like a lot!!!
- 16 hours for sleep (yep, still need those 8 hrs per night)
- 4 hours for ramp down to fall asleep (journal, miscellaneous, read, and it takes me a while to fall asleep - I started to say 2, but it really is more like 4)
- 2 hours to wake up and get moving    -  DOWN to 26 hours
- 4 hours for meals (either cooking, eating out, making tea or bread, etc.)
- 4 hours kitty and bird time (litter, food and playtime for kitties, seeds and water for birds)
- 4 hours of chores (dishes, laundry, basic cleaning, etc.) - DOWN to 14 hours
- 2 hours blog time
- 4 hours nap/rest time (it is the weekend, after all - once again, it really does take me a long time for my body AND mind to relax enough to sleep or rest)  -  DOWN to 8 hours
- 4 hours for a trip into town for shopping or the bookstore or whatever (which happens once every weekend)

So, 2 hours a day "FREE" - for gardening, car shows, parties, stitching, watching football, decorating house, talking with sisters on the phone, going for a drive, reading my favorite blogs.  Really?  Is that all?  No wonder it is hard to be creative on the weekend!  No wonder I have trouble with Monday coming but not feeling relaxed and ready to tackle the work week with gusto!!!!

I think I need to reprioritize and be more creative with my time!
(I think I need to start with my blog - less writing and more pics!)

Here is another hint at my Fall decorating - 6 days and counting for my self-imposed deadline to finish my living room "remodel".

Spend your time wisely -
Blessings,
Kat

 

Zentangles - The What, Where, When, Why and How

A year ago or so I learned about zentangles - very simply defined as a form of doodling.  I realized I had always done some form of them (in a very simplistic way) during slow meetings or long conferences or overly long phone calls, etc.  But zentangles have become a craze. 

Zentangles are images created using repetitive patterns.  It has been shown that drawing repetitive patterns has a positive effect on the well-being of a person by shifting focus away from problems and putting the person in a meditative state, as they almost mindlessly draw and "paint" a picture.  Zentangles can range from very simple drawings of an object (as the exercise below shows you) to a true work of art.

There are books on zentangles - check out Amazon.  There are websites and blogs on zentangles and gobs of pictures - check out Google or Flickr - just type in "zentangle" - it is amazing.  Type in "owl zentangle" and drawings of owls done as a zentangle will come up.  There are even zentangle newsletters online that show new zentangle patterns (the tangle of the month) and zentangle YouTube videos that are "how-to" pieces.

Doing zentangles actually help calm me down after a stressful day or keep me from getting too antsy or bored during slow times.  They are fun to fiddle with on a break at work.  Anything repetitive can be quite relaxing - allowing the brain to rest or contemplate something else (I suggest giving the brain a break) - just let the pen flow and let the mind drift as you draw without having to really concentrate.

Zentangles can be quite easy.  Draw a simple picture of something - either freehand or by tracing the basic outline of a picture - using a pencil.  I chose a pumpkin for this example.

Then, on each section of the object in the picture, use a pen of some type to fill the section in using a repetitive pattern.  In one section, do all circles.  In another, do all dashes.  Stressing about what to use for a pattern? - look through the images available on the internet to spur ideas.  Most zentangles are done with all black ink - however, I like color.  My favorite pens are the new Sharpie Pens that don't bleed (so that I can use them in my art journal without wasting the back of the page) - however, they do not come in a lot of different colors - yet.  Regular fine point Sharpies come in a big variety of colors now, but do bleed through all but the thickest of paper.  Really, any pen will do.

 

Once all sections are filled in, I have seen two ways to finish off the zentangle.  First (and probably least common now), erase the pencil lines leaving the "ghost" image of the line separating two different patterned sections.  Nowadays, most zentangles seem to have the sections outlined, sometimes with varying widths to give more depth to the zentangle.  I do outline mine with a thicker black pen - this "technique" goes back to my Crayola coloring days when I would color something softly then outline it with a darker (harder) line.  Whatever is relaxing and appealing to you is what works best.

One leaf section has my name.  :)

Without black outline

With black outline

Decided I really liked my finished pumpkin, so here it is framed and added to my Fall-decorated table.

Happy Zentangling -
Blessings,
Kat

Need a Good Book?

I think I have mentioned at least one of these books before, but these are two of my biggest motivators to learn to live a simpler life.  When I feel myself slipping back into a frenzied lifestyle, I check them out again at the library and reread them or at least the relevant parts of them for the time.  I finally realized (after I almost highlighted in one of the library's copies - eeek!) that I really needed my own copies.  I do much better at retaining ideas when I can color-code and notate and dog-ear. So, I ordered them and they arrived today.  Out comes the highlighter..

The first one is Abundant Simplicity - Discovering the Unhurried Rhythms of Grace by Jan Johnson.  The second one is from clutter to clarity - simplifying life from the inside out by Nancy Twigg.  Both books focus on uncluttering the mind and lifestyle as a necessary step before one can unclutter the material things that can overwhelm or dominate one's life. 

Enjoy a cup of hot tea and a good book -
Blessings,
Kat

Take a Break or Your Body Will Take One For You

As I mentioned Saturday, last week was hectic.  To top it off, I went into the weekend thinking I could do everything - Fall decorating, quilting, house chores, shopping, you name it.  Then midday Sunday, I hit a wall - physically, mentally and emotionally. The sinus problem I was having turned into an infection and the enthusiasm for all I was getting done faltered and fled.  What had gone wrong?  I mean, I was cranking last week and this weekend.  I was being PRODUCTIVE.  My body knows when it needs a break and it took one!

Enter the Productivity Paradox!!!  (If I could hum the tune to The Twilight Zone on this blog, I would do it right now - do DO DO do, do DO DO do - does that work?)  The Productivity Paradox concept was popularized by MIT Professor of Management Erik Brynjolfsson (huh?) in 1993.  Well, to put it SIMPLY (in KatSpeak), it means that you feel like you have to be constantly producing something in order to feel like you are not just wasting your precious time.

Monday, I was home from work, running a fever with a severe sinus headache, and I STILL felt like I should be doing something - ANYTHING to feel like I wasn't wasting this day!!!  So I tried reading (ha! - like that was going to work with fever and a headache).  Then I turned to listening to a CD book I had picked up at the library - One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life by Kerry & Chris Shook.  This is not your typical "if you only had one month to live, what would you do?" book.  It is more about living in the moment than having a bucket list (though a new RED 2012 Roush Stage 3 Mustang would be tempting, but I digress).  

For those who don't know what a 2012 Roush Stage 3 is - this is the baby!
(courtesy of the Roush Performance web page)

And what did the Shooks just happen to be talking about when I started listening?  That you CANNOT be productive all the time - you need to take a Sabbath (a day or an hour or ten minutes here and there) that you spend quietly and unbusily (KatSpeak again) in meditation or in soul-searching or in just BEING.  

And it hit me - KABAM ! - this last week I got so caught up in the "doing" that I quit writing in my journal, I quit sitting by the table watching the birds, I quit stitching at night, I quit reading my inspirational books, I quit talking to God (I was too BUSY to talk to God !!!! Oooops!!!! That is a BIGGY, isn't it?!).

Well, that is all part of the reason for this blog and for what I am trying to do at this time in my life - as I say, I am searching for TRUE contentment through SIMPLE LIVING.  Running around being "productive" in the sense of getting gobs of stuff done is NOT truly being "productive" in accomplishing LIFE itself.  I may take many wrong turns or be driven off the path many times, but I am really HAPPY that I am becoming more aware of this "problem" earlier (or Someone is doing it for me) and that I can start to better enjoy life through those Sabbath times more often.  

The last of my flowers from my poor garden.

Have a Productivity Paradox free day -

Blessings,

Kat

Gratitude Sunday - Our House is a Very, Very Fine House

When I complain about it on Saturday, it goes on Gratitude Sunday !!!

I Have an Idea - Oh Fall - You Bad Season!

Wow!  What a week!  It was tough.  Really no time to really relax or stitch or anything.  Work, eat, barely sleep, work, eat, barely sleep.  Well, it is now the weekend and I needed something to pick me up and relax me at the same time.  So, break out the Fall decorations!!!  But, the Fall decorations got me so excited, I have decided to do a little redecorating in the living room - give it a small, updated, more stylish, but homey look-and-feel.  So, off to the store I went this morning with my coupons and snagged some good deals.  I will just give you a teaser until I am able to get the "new" living room done. 

I am excited !!!  May take a few days (a week, maybe two?) before you see the results, but I will post some of my other Fall decor pics before then. (of course, here I go again - taking on a decor update instead of SIMPLY making a couple of new decorations - I think this is what I am supposed to stop doing in my life, but gosh I love Fall - just gets my creative/crafty juices flowing!)

We actually had 1/2" of amazing RAIN yesterday.  I was in meetings all day, but my heart sang just knowing it was raining.  We had a London-like evening - misty, low clouds, cool.  Gave the whole place a moody, spooky Fall feel.

 

Could not help adding the pumpkin.


I really love this season!!!
Blessings,
Kat

Just Look at that Sky !!!

There are some days when "simple" simply eludes me.  A non-stop, fast-paced, high-tech, energy-zapping, overwhelming, why-does-everything-have-to-be-so-complicated kind of day.  I get so wrapped up in doing all my "important" stuff that I do not take breaks, do not eat a snack to keep my blood sugar up, do not take a lunch break, do not come out of my office.  Sometimes I even SKIP lunch altogether because I am so busy that I "forget". 

But my search for SIMPLE LIVING has led me to slowly discover "little" things that help to calm my mind and my body when days like this happen.  I simply look up.  Looking at the sky, day or night, has become a daily routine for me - after all, it is hard to miss it and is quite plentiful - you just have to get used to looking at it - really looking at it - to let it do its wondrous healing.  

Ever notice how BIG a clear sky really is?  It is HUGE!  And clouds?  They are AMAZING - even mesmerizing - with their different shapes and types and movements and shadows.  Rainy days? - go out, look up and let the rain wash away your stress and worries and tiredness (I say - to heck with the makeup!).  I admit, even a threatening sky has the power over me to force the so-called "important" stuff to the back recesses of my mind.  (OK, I admit, living in Oklahoma there is a certain "anxiety" that creeps up when the skies are threatening - what with the tornadoes and everything - but you do have to admit that they make you forget all that other stuff!  But that is not the point of my little blog here.)

Sunrises are worth the few extra minutes of sleeping in to get up and see when you can.  Sunsets are worth the wait as the sky slowly colors and then darkens into night.  

And the nighttime sky - oh my! - what a true gift we have been given.  The stars, the moon, comets, meteor showers, the planets, the Milky Way!!!  If you live in a city - take the time to drive out away from the lights and view the nighttime sky in all its glory.  Take a blanket out, lie down and take it all in!

Yep, in those sky-filled moments, my "important" stuff becomes a lot less significant, the really important "stuff" becomes clear and present, and my heart and soul open up and praise God for the SKY.

Simply Heavenly !!!!

Blessings,

Kat

Favorite sky viewing locations:  White Sands New Mexico, Death Valley California, Grand Canyon Arizona, Natural Bridges National Monument Utah, anywhere there are mountains, anywhere there are no mountains, Newalla Oklahoma :)

Gratitude Sunday - 9/11 10 Years Later

And Jesus Wept  ...  OKC National Memorial

Finally... Fall...

I just can't stand it anymore.  The temps have cooled down to a "Fall-ish" 85 to 89 degrees during the day (OK - remember, while that may be summer temps for some, that is 20 deg cooler than our highs just two weeks ago and all summer - 3 months - long).  Leaves are turning colors (OK - they just dried up over the summer as a defense mechanism against the extreme heat).  

I officially declare that early Fall has arrived in Oklahoma - Fall is by far my favorite season.  I try not to rush this season by starting to take all my Fall stuff out in July or August or March (ha!).  You can't appreciate things if you have too much of them.  But it is time now.  The other sure sign that Fall is arriving?

YES! - the Fall issues of magazines are arriving in the book stores and candy corn can be found at most stores.  

So, I was inspired to start on my Fall quilts.  Here is just a tease of the hand-dyed Autumn Leaf quilt ... pulled it off the UFO shelf to see what was left to do on it.  It WILL be completed this month!

And I pulled out fabrics for my Autumn Wreath quilt and started cutting the circles out.  

This week, the boxes of Fall decorations and quilts come out and I start to decorate.

I SIMPLY love Fall...

Blessings,

Kat

Sleep Eluded Me...

It has been a busy week at work - especially the last three days.  Non-stop brain power - full throttle exhaustion.  Last night, I could not sleep - as it often happens, my mind goes into overdrive and won't let my tired body settle down and rest.  But instead of sitting or laying there worrying about not sleeping and about what will be going on the next day at work, I got up at 3am, made myself some Chamomile Tea, and sat in the recliner slowly doing some simple hand embroidery - until about an hour later when I was so relaxed, I fell right to sleep.  When I woke up this morning, the embroidery hoop was on my chest (luckily with the needle still in it) and my half-finished tea was on the wood chest next to the couch (luckily it wasn't spilled on me OR my hand embroidery).  

Now that is my SIMPLE cure for insomnia!

Blessings,

Kat

What is SIMPLE anyway?

I want to live a simpler life!  What a buzz phrase in today's crazy world.  But what does SIMPLE mean anyway?  Does it really represent what I am trying to achieve? 

Merriam Webster's online dictionary has the following definitions for SIMPLE:

1.  free from guile - INNOCENT

2.  free from vanity, ostentation, display - MODEST

3.  of humble origin or modest position

4.  lacking knowledge or expertise - NAIVE

5.  constituting a basic element - FUNDAMENTAL

6.  free from elaboration or figuration

7.  not subdivided

8.  not limited or restricted - UNCONDITIONAL

9.  readily understood or performed

Synonyms - plain, unadorned, undecorated, unembellished, unornamented, unvarnished

Interesting - I think many of these "definitive" definitions can be misinterpreted or misused to describe things that I think are not that "simple" to define (ha!).  I think that something someone else considers complex may be simple to me.  And something complex to me may be simple to someone else.

Would this flower be considered SIMPLE?

By definition, some may say it is not free from ostentation (look at the bright colors and the detail of the veins) or readily understood (what does it take for this flower to grow and survive) or free from guile (a flower often used to "repair" a relationship or encourage someone to feel better).  It definitely may not be considered unadorned or unornamented with its bright red highlights and its showy center.  

But to me, it is simply beautiful.

Blessings,

Kat

Relaxing Sunday (uh, Monday)

Not that I don't appreciate a holiday, but it really does play havoc with my inner clock - even just the one added day this weekend.  I guess I tend to think I have extra time, so I can get a LOT of extra things done.  Wrong!!!  

And of course with the cold front coming in Saturday and our temps dropping to a nice Autumn-like range, I felt invigorated - invincible - insane.  I was a whirlwind of activity and ideas Saturday (and, yes, even Sunday since it also felt like Saturday with being off Monday).  I became a crazy woman thinking about all the Fall projects I would like to do (and all the handmade Christmas gifts I could make - but I will save that for another blog). 

Whooooaaaa!!!  Put on the brakes, put the car in park and turn off the ignition.  I do this every year, and THIS year is supposed to be different. So, I made a thoughful, much-less-than-previous-years LIST for my Fall projects, and even PRIORITIZED them, because I just can't do it all.  (Quick, get the smelling salts for my hubby!  OK - he came to, but is wondering who I am and what I did with his wife.)

So just to prove it to you (and me!!!) - here is a sneak peak at my list and pics of the two patterns for the quilt projects at the top of my list...

Designed by Nancy Halvorsen from her book Bittersweet

So, you can see that even though I am SIMPLIFYING my life, I still have my work cut out for me.  However, I will get done what I get done and not worry about the rest (oops, my hubby just passed out again).

Off to some relaxing hand stitching as usual on a Sunday (uh, I mean Monday) night...
Blessings,
Kat

Grateful Sunday - A Blog Beginning

What a Difference a Few Days Make...

It is done !!!  My QUILT ROOM is clean and organized (as long as you don't ask me to open the closet door - ha!).  Here are some pics.  I no longer have an excuse NOT to be quilting in it any more (except for maybe not finding stuff because it is now organized???). 




Design Wall with awesome Anna Maria Horner fabric waiting for a bright idea!

I am embarassed to admit this, but I am embarassed how much fabric I have.  Quilters have a saying "The quilter that dies with the most fabric, wins!"  I look at it all and see a time in my life when I had no time or energy to quilt, so I bought fabric instead - it was easier and at least I felt I was doing something.  Not anymore.  All that material is now a challenge to me - it is saying "Use me now!".

If I make the quilts SIMPLE, I may be able to use most of the fabric in my lifetime!!!  Of course, that is, if I don't buy any more.  (Oh, now that is really FUNNY!)

Blessings - Don't let that fabric go to waste!!!
Kat