In the spirit of anti-procrastination....

I have finally found solutions to a number of things around my living space which have been bugging me for quite some time. For starters...witness my new "closet" --an Ikea rolling rack special



This is to replace my previous free-standing, plastic framed closet which was really not comfortable with all the weight of my clothes and had developed a distinct, rather precarious lean much of time...even after adding lifts to the front of it and counter-balancing weights to the back of it.


I also discovered those picture hanging strips to use in place of nails and have been happily walking around my space hanging up all the pictures and posters that have been sitting around along the walls and on my shelf waiting for me to get around to hanging them..... So nice to have them up on the walls!

Add to that the two boxes of paper recyclables and one box of give away items I finally carted out to the car and drove to their respective delivery points (they've only been sitting, waiting to go, for two months now), my space is feeling a little lighter and a little more like it is breathing easier.

In which a lonely blog gets a face lift

So today was the big day this poor little neglected blog got a face lift and a new name. The real trick, of course, will be for it to find itself a regular recipient of new blog posts. It is a new year after all. Anything could happen.

Knitterly progress on my with a twist scarf...




Hmm.... I think I've been hitting the Winnie the Pooh books a bit too heavy. Reading those sentences back in my head, they had a horribly butchered British sounding accent about them.

Foods to Eat Before You Die

Food blogs being one of my current passions, I came across a fascinating list of top 5 favorite foods put together by - surprise - food bloggers. While I don't have my own top five list, it got me to thinking about foods I associate with good memories. Things like melt-in-your-mouth French bread straight out of the oven, Graeter's black raspberry chip ice cream while walking with friends in the park on a hot summer day, homemade Cincinnati chili, sweet corn boiled and on the table dripping with butter and salt within 15 minutes of being picked from the garden, a piece of Dutch baby drizzled with lemon juice and powdered sugar, warm chocolate chip cookies and a glass of cold milk, a slice of serbian spinach roll..... the list could go on. The recipe that comes to mind to put in this blog entry, however, is one I associate with Christmas. A season still far, far away thankfully. I am not ready for the snow just yet, although a break in the heat would be nice. It's a cake made with dates that improves with aging. This means, I don't care how good you think it is straight out of the oven, wait a few days!!! It will only take once, and you'll be a convert for life.

Grandma Mary's Date Cake

1 c. dates, seeded & chopped
1 c. boiling water
1 tsp. soda
1 c. sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 c. butter (scant)
1 c. English walnuts, chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 c. white flour, unbleached

Combine dates, boiling water, and soda. Work to a paste and cool. (May allow to stand overnight.)
Cream butter and sugar; add eggs, vanilla, and date mixture. Mix well.
Stir in flour and salt, beating until well mixed.
Stir in walnuts.
Bake at 325 F for 45 min in 8"x8" square pan.
Cool, then cut into squares.
Roll the squares in confectioner's sugar.
Note- Aging a few days improves the flavor. May need to re-roll the squares in confectioner's sugar a second time before serving.

A little color

A bracelet knit from black elastic and turquoise beads.