Purple Haze, Cardigan and Shoes

I love the colour purple and while out shopping one day a few months ago with Jennifer, our second daughter, I came across this lovely yarn and contrasting multi coloured yarn in a large store called The Warehouse.

When I had finished the last knitted garments I set out looking for a pattern to knit a cardy for our grand daughter Evelyn.

I couldn't find anything I wanted so I ended up using basic instructions from an old pattern and adapting what I wanted to do with my design into the pattern.

Because it is acrylic rather than wool it is a light yarn in weight, so there is more quantity in the ball. I had leftovers so then I set out to find and adapt another old pattern to make the little bootee shoes.

The yarn was Knitwise pricewise 
'Hero' - Purple Blossom as the main colour and
'Hero Tones' - Lilac Mist for the contrast.

And the buttons...came from my button container.

Folding a Fitted Sheet

I had ladies homegroup here yesterday and while the last ladies were leaving I was folding up the washing that had been airing on our clothes horse by the fire.
I suddenly noticed that the ladies were looking at me.
"What?" I asked.
"I'm just watching what you are doing", said one lady.
"Me too", said another.
"I'm folding a sheet!" was my reply.
"We know but its a fitted sheet". they both agreed.
These ladies were over 60 years old and I looked at them, "Don't you know how to fold a fitted sheet?" I asked
"No" they both replied and proceeded to share how they bundle them into the cupboard or just put them straight on to the bed.

So I wondered how many other people don't know how to fold a fitted sheet.

I have always looked at it like a flat sheet using the same principles as folding a sheet then just working the gathered edges into it.

Pic 1.

 Pic 2.

Step 1.
Fold in half across the width matching the seams of the gathered corners at both top ends. I push them out from under the top corners so they are even and flat. (a bit like pushing the edges out if you have turned a pillow sli[p inside out; sort of have it sit flat
(first pic)



Have the gathered edges all around the sheet match together and fold them into the middle. (see the second pic)



I can do this just standing but you should try it on a flat surface to learn it.

Pic 3.

Step 2.
Fold in half again, bringing one side over to the other. (This would be like folding the sheet in half lengthwise after the first fold on a flat sheet)
(see third pic)

Pic 4.

  Pic 4 shows the sheet after the second fold with the gathered edges all facing inside so you can no longer see them.

Pic 5

Step 3.
Fold the top edge down one third. Make sure it is the 'thick' end so this is all folded in when the folding is finished. (see pic 5)

Pic 6,

Step 4.
Fold the bottom edge up and over to the top edge
(pic 6)

Pic 7

    Step 5.
    Fold in half.

Pic 8

See not too hard at all!!!

The Book Depository

Yesterday in the mail I received three books I had ordered through The Book Depository .
It is a site in the United Kingdom that has most books at a fraction of the price I would normally pay and it is free delivery all around the world.
I got The Hiding Place,Tramp for the Lord and In My Father's House all written by Corrie ten Boom.
I had borrowed the Hiding Place from our Church Library and liked it so much I wanted to keep it for myself as I know I will reread it and lend it out. There are a couple of quotes in her book that I wanted to highlight too. I also wanted the set of the three Corrie wrote about her life, so to speak.

They cost £7.19 each which converted was $NZ15.20. To purchase the book in a shop in New Zealand it would have been $NZ 29.99, so buying them through this site was nearly half price plus the free delivery so saving petrol. It took 9 days from when I ordered on line for them to arrive in my letterbox each individually packed in a bubble wrap packet and I also got a free bookmark.

I will probably get a lot more books through them as I found them a superb site and service.
Now to get reading some more.

Mumsey's Corned Pasta

I have discovered that those in my family left at home don't like cold corned beef. So what do you do with the left over meat as it usually lasts at least one or two days after the first day of serving it.
Last night my poor hubby had a terrible migraine and didn't want to eat much at all so on a night like that we have pasta and he has a cup of soup.
"Aha" I thought, I will use the corned beef in a recipe I saw Jamie Oliver once do with bacon.
This photo might not look as tasty as it was because the batteries were flat in the camera and by the time they were charged up the dish was cold. But the cherubs in our house said it was nice, ate all theirs and I actually enjoyed it cold!!

500 gr penne Pasta
1 onion finely chopped
1 cup shredded corned beef
2 Tbsp Tomato paste
125 mls cream

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water to which you have added a couple of drops of oil and about ½ tsp salt.
Don’t use a lot of salt as the corned beef is salted.
While this is cooking lightly fry the chopped onion in about a tsp of butter. When that has softened, add the shredded corned beef and fry until it is “dried” slightly.
Add the tomato past and stir through bring to a hot heat.
Turn off the heat and add the cream and mix thoroughly.
Drain the pasta and then stir through the meat sauce.
Serve hot with sliced avocado as a topping.
This actually tastes nice cold too.

Banana and Coconut Loaf

Do you have bananas that go brown because no-one else seems to want to eat them once they start to change colour. I find a big banana cake doesn’t get eaten here and sometimes I want something a bit different to muffins.
This is a nice loaf with coconut and can be made like a cake with icing or sliced like a loaf.

Banana and Coconut Loaf

2 large eggs
60gr of butter
2/3 cup soft brown sugar
2 large ripe bananas (mashed)
1 ½ cups self raising flour
1/3 cup desiccated coconut.

Topping:
1 cup icing sugar
4 tsp lemon juice
25gr butter
3 Tblsp desiccated coconut

Soften the butter and then beat with the brown sugar until smooth.
Add the eggs and beat again until smooth.
I often add a couple of tablespoons of the measured flour to go in the cake etc, to stop it from curdling.
Beat in the mashed banana until smooth.
Sift over the flour and then fold in with the coconut.
Spoon the mixture into a greased and lined loaf tin and level the surface.
Bake for 40 minutes or until a warm skewer inserted comes out clean at 180ºC.
Turn out onto a rack and leave to cool completely.
Topping:
Blend together the softened butter, lemon juice and enough icing sugar to make a spreadable icing and add the coconut. Spread over loaf.

You can omit the icing and cut the loaf into slices and butter them.
It can also be sliced and toasted after a few days if it has not been eaten and started to get a bit hard.

I Received a Parcel Today

When I got home from work and lunch with a friend there was a parcel on the door step all the way from Australia. My friend who had visited recently had meant to give it to me when she visited but had left behind, so she thought, but it was in fact in her husbands suitcase.
She sent it to me once she got home and added to it all the New Zealand money pooled together she and her family had left over from their holidays.

It was a beautiful journey with the Footsteps In The Sand poem in the front and plenty of pages for me to journal as I do. All the pages have the picture on the front but in a very light tone so like a background.

And also a lovely Parker pen.

I am building up the plants down the driveway garden and so I am going to use the money to buy two plants as special reminders of our friendship. She knows the garden sop she will also 'see' what I am doing with the gift.









I will be getting the climbing red rose Dublin Bay to grown along the fence.

Also a sweet smelling small bloom camellia - Cinnamon Cindy







I feel so blessed by this friend and our friendship but also that we both know the real love of God and especially in the words of the poem.

Footprints

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from His life. For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to Him and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.

This really bothered Him and He questioned the LORD about it. LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.

The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.

In her Shoes - the Movie

Having read the book, In her Shoes, I thought I would get the DVD of the movie out and watch it.
It was an ok sort of a movie and if I hadn't have read the book it would have been good, but I was a bit disappointed.
A whole section of the book was missing from the movie.

In the book, after Maggie is kicked out of Rose's apartment for 'having it off' with Rose's boyfriend, Maggie travels by train and ends up, in Maggie's way, living at a College campus free of charge. There she sleeps in the back of the library where there is a toilet, gets free meals from the cafe and reads old books that are stored in the room she sleeps in. Maggie has struggled with a reading disability, dyslexia, and this is part of Maggie turning a corner in her life.  She also sneaks into poetry lectures and learns the appreciation of poetry. She also is asked by a male to act in a play he has written. She gets a cleaning/carer job for a blind lady she becomes very friendly with, which is where she escapes when finially the guy she 'seduced', when she first got into the Campus, discoveres her and threatens her.
Then, she goes to her grandmother who has been searching on the net for some time to find her two grand-daughters. At first Maggie is very reclusive and hardly talks to her Grandmother as she is half waiting for the moment when her Grandmother, like the rest of the people in Maggie's world, turns her out again.
And this is over a few months.
Rose is establishing her dog walking, personal errand business and her relationship with Simon. In fact there is one section in the book where Rose is trying on Wedding gowns that was very humorous, and even my youngest wanted me to let her know when that bit was on. But it wasn't.

In the movie, Maggie goes straight to her grandmother's, and 'the-learning-appreciation-of poetry' happens when she works in the care unit at a hospital and one of the blind patients asks her to read poetry to him.

Perhaps they wanted to condense the movie but I feel the time at the campus is part of the character of Maggie and omitting it reduces the extremes she will go to, to try to get on in life on her own.
As an extra on the DVD there is a bit about the filming and parts of an interview with Jennifer Weiner, the auther of the book, who has praise for the movie so she must have not thought it was necessary.

I have come to realise that it is better to read a book first and then watch the movie as a stand alone story so as not to be disappointed.