Art doesn't sell too well at CCB but there sometimes I have to fill a big space in my booth. I personally like this oil painting so if it doesn't sell I will add it to my collection or take is up to my son's house. 

I haven't been able to actually see a super bloom but it's on my list. This is the closest I'll get for now. :) 
 

Wool Roving Score at Savers

 One of the project on my list of things to do is felting. I have everything but the wool roving. It's a little to $$$ to buy new so I've been searching for it at the thrift stores. I popped into Savers today (senior discount day) to pick up a few puzzles. I'm dog sitting this week so I do puzzles to make sure they have all the pieces before I sell them off. I normally don't buy things at Savers if the box has been torn open. Not sure why people do this. Since all I really wanted was the roving, it didn't matter if everything else was  in the box. Turns out the only thing missing was the needle. So for $2.50 I have a nice selection of earthy colors to practice with.  

When you have nothing to wear moment

I haven't been to a funeral in a long long time. Many families are doing private services at the burial. When I was growing up I think I went to more funerals than I did going to church. That's just the way it was back in the day. 

I don't wear a lot of black so I didn't have anything appropriate to wear. I also realized I didn't even have a pair of black pants. I'm a denim shirt and shorts type of person. I wasn't too surprised I didn't find anything at HD as there's not a lot in plus sizes. I went to Savers (they have a bigger inventory) and with time running out (only had two hours) had to find something I didn't have to alter too much. I only found one pair of pants that were the correct length but way too big. Not being able to try anything on I had to go bigger. Took in the waist a few inches as I knew my jacket would cover the make shift dart in the back. I did have this light jacket and a silk top stash away in my closet. The reason for the rush was I got the wrong date in my head and thought I had a few more days. 

Carol Kennedy Artwork

I was checking out the halloween bin at the store as I was chatting with another volunteer who was working on the jewelry. She needs help in looking for hallmarks on the gold and silver jewelry. 

As I pulled out the big halloween bin that is next to jewelry, right on top was this primitive artwork. I flipped it over to see if it was handmade. To my surprise it was made by a dear friend Carol Kennedy! She made amazing primitive artwork and was also an antique dealer. I have a few of her Santa dolls so I will add this to my collection. Carol passed away a few years ago and sadly her inventory was tossed away. Long sad story about that but I won't go into it. Will focus on the positive and how lucky I was to find this. 

 

Tomatoe Sauce with Butter and Onion - Food 52

Recipe by Marcella Hazan on the cover

 I went to get the ingredients to make a famous tomato sauce that is very simple. Can of tomatoes from Italy and one onion. That is all I got. I heard about it from several sources so it made it on to my list of must try. 

I was asked if I found everything I wanted. I said yes and that I don't impulse buy anymore. The checker was a little surprised by that. With the high cost of food and all the recalls happening with prepared foods, I'm much more selective. I did check out the gluten free cupcakes but I was just window shopping. :) I do pick up one thing when I'm at Costco that's not on my shopping list. In my area they carry a lot of Asian foods I haven't every tried. I only go there maybe once a month for gas so it's never over the top. 

Recipe:

Can of Italy tomatoes (that's important) 

Butter (a lot of it)

Half an onion (not chopped up)

That's it. Then whatever pasta you want and grated cheese. 

 

Waffle Potatoes?

Late last night (I'm a night owl) I saw a Youtube on making waffle potatoes. I did have a small bag of potatoes that are headed to the compost heap so if there was one that hadn't sprouted I would give it a try. I'm not a potato person but my grandsons are.  So I thought if this works, it would be a fun breakfast idea for them. Well it sort of work but it makes a hot mess of the waffle maker. I think pan fried is faster and make a crispier hash brown. This is a past for me. 

 

Cyanotype and watercolor experiment

I thought why not try and do some sun printing (cyanotype) over a watercolor. Yes, the first red flag would be that watercolor paint reactivates when it gets wet. Found that out on my first try. I thought if I was fast enough on the rinse cycle it wouldn't be a problem. That theory sort of worked. I'm also not sure if the watercolor paint that got on to the brush and then into the sun solution did anything to change the chemical reaction. I didn't notice anything but I'm a newbie to all this. 

What does work are watercolors that stain the paper - reds and oranges. They don't easily wash away. You also have to towel dry the paper quickly after the final rinse. Water can't drip or puddle on the paper at all or you'll have a hot mess. 

I also experimented splattering on some paint over the prints and that worked out very well. 

Now I just have to decide what to do with it all. :)

 

Another Surprise!

When I saw this I didn't think is was that old. I did a quick google search just to get the name of the pattern. Found out it was made from 1940's thru 1960's. Being that old I wondered if it would glow. To my surprise it does! It's called Chintz by Fostoria. It doesn't have a high resale value but it was a nice surprise! 

Can't be in two place type of day

Saturday was auction day at the local auction house in Sunnyvale. Since I'm dog sitting I wasn't able to make it as I can't leave Russell home alone for to long. I also didn't want to leave an absentee bid as they start too high. 

I really want to see if I could get this vintage (glows green) crystal ink well stand. Super cool piece but a limited resale market. All the junk lots have  high opening bids so I would have to be there to see just how high. There was also this small folding table that would have been cool to get if I could have attended. I think I'll stop by on Sunday and see if these lots sold and if they haven't, I'll make an offer. 

 

"Fabulous Felt" Project First Round

Pattern From Fabulous Felt by Corinne Lapierre

I worked on the Halloween banner while dog sitting. The lighting isn't good for these old eyes but I plugged along anyways. 

I first tried just doing a single layer of felt but it wasn't turning out too well. I finally did what the author said to do and doubled everything. Yes, it worked out much better. 

My blanket stitch is still wonky and it shows but I got pretty good at making french knots. 

Now I have to decide if I want to make a whole big banner of these. Thinking maybe I'll use my sewing machine but I sort of like the rustic handmade look. :)
 

"Fabulous Felt" by Corinne Lapierre

I'm dog babysitting this week so I rounded up several crafting books from the library. It's just for a few days so I don't want to haul a lot of my crafting supplies over. 

This book "Fabulous Felt" by Corinne Lapierre is very fun and has a lot of ideas I want to try.  I've started coping out some of the patterns and added everything to my list of projects. I think doing a garland of witch's clothes for Halloween will be fun. The chicken egg cosies is just too funny not to try and make. It's way too late for Easter but I'll still give it a try anyways.

Big Store Project Done!

Doing any project at the thrift store involves a lot of spinning wheels. This display cabinet was donated for us to use and not sell. The store of course would not have taken such a big piece otherwise. Some very old metal shelves that had seen better days (you can see the lines) had to be unbolted and tossed out. That required a work order with Pacific Clinic. The next task was telling the volunteer that her section was being moved. She doesn't like change and yells a lot about everything. Moving everything off the old shelves and finding a new home for everything while customers were in the store was also a challenge. I was motivated to help get the project done as having this big piece in the backroom was getting in my way during intake. I think it turned out nice and shows off many items I didn't know the store had!

Where's the snow? 2026

One of our plans was to have Henk learn to ski but the snow didn't hang around long enough for that to happen. We did go running around and Henk had a snowball fight with Uncle Chad. I was in charge of make the amino. 

You can see the lack of snow and it was very icy.  It was still nice to finally to use his green snowsuit. 

We also went to all 4 thrift stores in town to find a coat rack.  It's surprising for such a small town how many there are. Of course prices are high and not much of a selections but there's really no other shopping around. Specialty stores of course but those are for the tourists. During snow season online and mail service is at a stand still. 
 

Finally Got The Art Hung

I got these vintage photos in custom made frames at auction several months ago. My son has a huge bare wall at his place. I finally made the drive up to deliver and hang them. The wall still needs a few more things to balance it all out.

The other thing I needed done was being able to download photos to my blog. I had no idea why it wasn't working but everything went haywire after I update my computer and iphone.

I was a little nervous driving up but the heat wave melt most of the snow. The ski slopes are closing down a month early. 
 

Strawberry Coffee

I still can't figure out how to add my photos to my blog. Waiting until I find someone with more tech savvy to help me out.  So my blog will be a little boring. 

This morning I'm getting ready for a visit from my grandson and daughter. Stock the house with food and make the house baby proof. I spent last week stashing boxes of all my crafting projects up in the attic. 

I did try the new coffee hack of adding freeze dried strawberries to your coffee. I give that a 👎.  Not sure why anyone thought this was a good idea. Good thing my grandson likes strawberries. 

Really hate software updates!

 

I found out why I was getting blurring images with I was trying to emboss on velvet. Using a stamp mounted on wood will make the image move. Since almost all my red rubber stamps are the old fashion wood mounted, I'm limited on what I can use. As I was doing some tidying up of my craft supplies, I found a very old unmounted set. It worked out very well!  

I really hate when you have to update your computers and they friggin change everything. Like why? I can't add photos to my blog anymore so I have to do a work around, which took me days to figure out. I know someone who's a techie could figure it out but until I find that person I'm going old school. Cut & Paste. 

Comfort Food 2026

One of my comfort foods is fried rice. 
 I usually make it when it's time to clean out my refrigerator and use up all the little bits of veggies. I'm getting much better at not leaving that one little piece of broccoli or cucumber. I wonder why we feel the need to save one little piece? It's not like you can really do anything with it other than watch it wilt away in the bottom of your refrigerator. 

Yes, I picked up another cookbook. Since a lot of recipes I like are from Food 52, I thought I would check it out. In researching who this company was, I found out that American Test Kitchens just purchased it at auction. I'm glad that I found an older copy because I don't have high hopes that ATK will do anything for the brand.

 

Accidental Surprise

I went to Savers on Thursday to drop off and do a little picking. It wasn't senior discount day so it wasn't too busy. I still ended up with a cart full of stuff!

I did find a small pressed glass bowl (sorry no picture, I already have it at CCB) and it had a purple tinge to it. I didn't have my UV light so I gamble ($1.99) it was uranium glass. Got it home and it turned out to be just plain glass. What did surprise me was my measuring cup I use to make my coffee. It was sitting on the counter when I was testing the bowl. It blew up bright green when my UV flashlight passed over it. All this time I thought it was a reproduction! 
 

Tea Leaf Salad Update 2026

This attempt at making a tea leaf salad was way better than last time I tried. It's good but I think I need to add more garlic. It just needs a little more punch of flavor.

The tomatoes are from my garden. Yes my little cherry tomato plant lasted this long. The cold weather we had a few weeks ago finally did it in. I think it may reseed so fingers crossed it will grow again. I will make this recipe again and add the things that fit my taste palette.

Sun Printing 101

Today I did a little more experimenting with sun printing. 

They said if it wasn't really sunny, it would just have to be exposed longer. It was a little overcast this morning and it was a hot failure. Really need bright light to make it work. 

I know you can sun print on fabric so I gave it try when the sun came out. That turned out ok except you can't hang the fabric to dry. The star fish started to bleed and when I realized this was a problem it was too late. The fern one turned out so much better. The next step is to wash the fabric and see what happens. 

 

Tea Leaf Salad 2026

Year ago I went to a Burmese restaurant and everyone said to try the tea leaf salad. Sadly that mom and pop restaurant didn't survive the pandemic. I like it so much I tried to make it home. I wasn't successful at all. 

Now fast forward and when a good friend took me out for lunch to a new Burmese restaurant we of course got the tea leaf salad.  It inspired me to research authentic recipes. Many recipes are dumb down to what you can find in main stream markets. Living in the Bay Area that's not a problem most of the time. I did have a heck of time finding Sencha loose leaf tea. I'm not sure because of the tariffs or it's not something that sells well. I remember seeing it in the store back in the day. Sure miss Imhara's produce! 

I picked this recipe from Food 52 (recommended by a food group) because you have to ferment the dressing for two days. That to me just seemed right to get that extra layer of flavor. It tastes great right out of the blender so we'll see what fermenting does. 

 

Shadow Box Project 2026

One of the many projects I'm working on. This is a gift to one of my daughter's best friends from college. She flew out to Holland to help celebrate her birthday. They both love to travel and this is one of my favorite photo. All the parts for this project sat for weeks on my crafting table waiting for me to decide. 

I'm planning on doing shadow box project with the boys but this one is an adult version. 
 

Waffle Maker Bust

This looked like a good idea for a waffle maker but it was a hot mess. Totally understand why it was discontinued!  

It does make a really thick waffle but getting the right amount into the pan is the hard part. If you measure incorrectly you either get an over flow (which is very hard to clean up) or just a partial waffle with brunt edges. I was using my gluten free ube pancake mix so I give it a little slack for that.  I'm not a waffle pancake fan so I only have the Trader Joe's ube pancake mix because it's a favorite of the boys and Posey. Yes I make the dog pancakes for her snack time. 

It's going back to the thrift store or maybe the recycle bin. 

 

Should I or shouldn't I

I was thinking it would be fun to do hot pot meals when the boys are here. I know my daughter would love it and I think the boys are old enough for it to be safe. Now that Costco has all the fixings it's doable without all the prep. 
I found this noodle pot that is made to heat up fast and stay hot. Normally I don't buy electrical things at thrift stores as you never sure if they work correctly. This one was very clean and didn't look like it was used very much. I think I walked around for about 30 minutes trying to talk myself into getting it. With the 30% senior discount it came to $7.75. And it does work very well. Going to do a test run at some point. 

Cyanotype or Sun Printing

 

This has been on my creative bucket list for a while now. It's also been a project I want to do with the boys when they come to visit this summer. 

I've had all the parts but never the space to be able to practice. Half of the process needs darkness and the other half needs really bright sunlight. They caution you it will be messy but I found it wasn't so bad so long as I took my time, worn gloves and had everything ready. Following the weather reports is part of the process too. Not so important in California except during a rain storm. :)  In bright sunlight it takes just a few minutes, like as soon as  UV light hits the paper fast. I'm going to try this with my UV flashlight just because I have one. :) 

Another thing I didn't know was there is a very short shelf life to the solution once it's been mixed and added to the paper. So again you have to pre plan what you're going to do. In between storms I did a few test runs and it was amazing how fast or slow the process was depending on how bright the sun was. 

My next goal is to try this technique on clothes!

Ski Week Snow 2026

A husky enjoying the snow

I'm not a snow person, not at all.  I'm scheduled to dog sit this week for a family that was planning on going up to Tahoe during ski week. Not sure how the conversation started but I asked my son who works at a ski resort how safe it was to drive up this week with all the storms passing over California. He basically said not a good idea.  He then sent a list of things the family would have to be prepared to do if they didn't take his advice. He topped it off with this picture of his friend's dog. The deck was cleared at 9:00 am and by 3:00 pm this is what it looked like. Don't worry, that's a husky and he loves the snow. Three feet of snow in less than 24 hours, which I guess is a lot. Remember I don't talk snow. The family did decide to cancel going to Tahoe and are making alternate vacation plans. Wise choice. 
 

Take It Easy Studio Creative Ideas

 

I've been watching "Take It Easy Studio" YouTube videos. I thought I would give her embossing on velvet with rubber stamps a try. My first stop was to FabMo to pick up some free samples. Not knowing what type of velvet she was using, I picked up several types. This sample is 100% cotton and it sort of worked. Everything came out a little blurry but I'm sure that's user error. The temperature of the iron could be the issue too. She uses a little travel iron which I know I have somewhere. The only warning is to keep the iron moving to avoid melting the stamp. I'm going to try and use some metal die cuts and see if that works too. 

One thing I really like about Take It Easy Studio is she's using old things from her stash. It's inspiring for all of us to use what we have! 

Shadow Box Project 2026

One of the project I'm working for when the boys come out to visit this summer is to make shadow box dioramas with photo backgrounds. We will be up in Tahoe and out in nature so I'm guessing there will be a lot of pinecone and rock collecting.

I've been picking up shadow boxes when I find them at the thrift store. A few weeks ago I was at my local Goodwill then a big shipment of shadow box frames were put out. I was a little too late as another woman loaded her cart up with all of them. Anyway I have this one and I thought I would make a nice gift for my daughter's best friend. She flew over to celebrate my daughter's birthday and go sightseeing like they did in college. I love this photo and I had the little dutch houses already in my collection. I now have to decide if I should do all three houses or just one. What do you think?

Citrus Peel Mushrooms Part 2

Started the painting part of my citrus peel mushroom project. Not too sure if I went a little over board with the white spots both in size and amount. 

I picked up a bag full of little benches at Savers to add to the display. 

Had to think of what I would use as a base as wood slices are just too $$$. Yes these are things that keep me up at night. I have a lot of driftwood for another project but then I remember the big wood pile on the side of my studio. Back when you could have an open fire pit, the guys stocked up. I'm sure it's been there for years. Once things dry up I'll sift through the rack.
 

Can't believe everything on YouTube

There was a YouTube posted by a young guy (that should have been my first red flag) who said by soaking these Japanese cookies in greek yogurt it will taste like cheesecake. They have been sold out at my local market for a while but I finally got them. Not sure if this guy knows what a real cheesecake should taste like but this wasn't it. The cookies themselves aren't that good either. 

Reminds me when I worked in a doctor's office. Patient came with severe eye irritation. She had just had a baby and her eye lashes had fallen out. Not sure if her pregnancy caused that or not. She saw a YouTube video about putting lavender oil on your eye lids to help your lashes to grow. I couldn't say anything but all I could think of is where did you think that oil was going to go when it warmed up?

New Arts Store in Town - Blick

I was so thrilled to learn that we finally got an art store in San Jose! I went to check it out as almost everyone else in the store was doing. Lots of smiling faces as we went down each aisle. One of my projects on my long list of projects is to do sun printing or cyanotype. I've gathered up all the supplies except the chemicals. Hopefully I get good enough that the boys can do some printing this summer. 

I also picked up some new lino cutting blades, which I've been procrastinating in buying. Have to support the store!

Life of a reseller 2026 - Oversize

$13.45

On my last trip to the Goodwill stores I picked up this oversized cloche jar. In the reselling world oversized or mini are the best. Unusual sizes sell really well. This one is 18" tall and hand blown. I was a little nervous that it would have a chip being so big. It was hard to inspected because it was big and heavy. I paid $13.45 which is a little more than I would normal do. It will take time to sell so as a reseller I have to decide if it's worth tying up my money. 
 

"The Korean Vegan" Cookbook by Joanne Lee Molinaro

They say don't go grocery shopping when your'e hungry. I've been following Joanne Lee Molinaro YouTube videos more for her legal talks than her vegan recipes, she's a trail lawyer. Her cookbook "The Korean Vegan" is still too new so way too expensive to buy now. Luckily for me the Cupertino library has 12 copies. I've been wanting to make miso soup with all the trimmings for a while now. I was thinking I should just stop in Trader Joe's and pick up some up. Then it just dawned on me that I live in Asian market central with the library right in the middle of all of them.  Why would I buy premade miso when I can get the real stuff. There are so many miso options now days that I couldn't decided which one to get. Finally I went with the one from my childhood. Plan to research what all those other fancy brands and why they cost so much more. There are also a dozen different types of tofu. That was a little easier as there is one company I won't buy and yes it's for political reasons. My one impulse buys on this trip was getting a mix box of mushrooms, something I would normally not get. I know it cost more to buy this way but cooking for one it just made more sense. Have to say my miso, mushroom and tofu soup turned out super good!

I'm not vegan and Korean food in my mind revolves around meat. The photos in the book are very moody and rustic, a style I really like. The recipes are simple enough especially if you live in an area with an Asian market on every corner. It's making me branch out on my spices as I learn more about them. One thing I like about my favorite cookbooks is the backstory to a recipe, the family connection and this cookbook delivers all that. 

 So with meat prices going through the roof, this vegan cookbook came just in time. :) 

Life of a Reseller 2026

I've been checking out the Goodwills more often now that the boys will be here for the summer. I'm looking for toys and crafts for them. With so many other grandmothers at HD it's had to get to the good stuff before it's snatched up. :)

Target dumps a lot of their unsold items to Goodwill. Since I'm boycotting Target (it's been over a year now) I found several craft kits that I think the boys will have fun with. What got me going down the rabbit hole was this moss kit. One of my crafting projects it make a mushroom diorama out of dried lemon peels. I need moss for the ground covering but it's so $$$ at Michaels. This kit which also has a shadow box frame (other project for the boys) and FIVE bags of moss for just $3.00! Hoping the other Goodwills have some of these. kits, I made the rounds. As I was leaving one Goodwill, a fresh cart came out. I saw the faint purple tinge on this vase. Clear glass is a hard sell unless it's vintage uranium glass. Still not a huge profit margin. I hoped I wasn't wrong in thinking it was uranium glass. The design was interesting enough to take the chance for $3.45.  Not sure you can see it in the picture but I did confirm what it was once I got into my car. Yes, I pack my UV flashlight. 

Happy Birthday!

The girls (my daughter and her best friend from collage) are off touring around Europe for her birthday. They did this about 20 years ago during their collage days. How time flies!
 

Dogs Everywhere!

Posey, (the chocolate lab) is babysitting her country cousins Annie and Lillie. They live out on 5 acres in the country so very use to running around a lot! 

Its too sweet that the black and white dog is named Annie. Makes me think of my Annie when I call her. Lillie is a mix breed but looks exactly like my Annie's best friend Bergie, who was a French bird dog. They were best friends and if it wasn't for Bergie's parents kindness I wouldn't have be able to keep Annie after my divorce. It's a sad but grateful walk down memory lane. 
 

Boycott Projects

 I'm supporting the "Ice Out" boycott today. With so many projects in the pipe line, it will be no problem being home all day. For the past month I've been drying limes, lemons and oranges. I had a little sticker shock on the spices, which because of the tariffs are super $$$. I couldn't decide how to package my simmer pot spices when I found out how $$$ bags at Michael's are.  As I was heading home I passed the dollar store so I stopped in just to see. The exact same party bags were only $1.25 compared to $7.99 at Michael's. I bagged up 40 simmer pot spices before I ran out of cloves. It's passed the holiday season so we'll have to see how well they do. 

I no longer shop at Target, shop on Amazon or Home Depot. I voted NO to keeping Zuckerberg on the board and not longer post on Facebook or whatever he calls it now. Deleted Spotify

Lovin' Spoonful - Do You Believe In Magic

I recently sold a crate full of albums from the 70's and 80". Came from an estate clean out. I don't even know how many were in the crate but it was a lot. Maybe 100? When I did a quick flip through to take a few pictures to post, this album popped up. My very favorite song is "do you believe in magic" by the Lovin' Spoonful. I remember hearing the song for the very first time on TV during slumber party. I think it was a sign I should at least keep this one. Since I don't have a record player I will at some point frame it. 

"New study shows the most popular female hobby 

is drinking coffee and doing nothing" 

This is a hobby I can get behind! :)

Picker's Luck Strikes Again!

For several months I've been collecting or should I say they find me, miniatures. Things really too small to have in my booth at Cottage Crafts. I was sad that the two random printers cabinet drawers I had sold. Fast forward to now a year later. I walked into the back room at CCB and I saw two drawers. To my surprise they had my vendor number! They had been moved to the backroom during a front window display change. Stored under the stairs so totally forgotten about. My daughter asked me months ago to find one for the boys growing rock collection. Buying them one the open market is $$$ because they are hard to find. I had originally priced them very low so that would sell fast, which is why I thought they had. Now I have one for the boys and one for me!

 

Year around tomatoes 2026

Last year I bought a very sickly cherry tomato plant. It was the last one left at Ace hardware. There is one corner of the house that is perfect for tomatoes. Warm and protected from the wind. For that past year I've been burying my compost directly in the ground to build up the health of the soil. It had been neglected for years. 

My tomato plant is so big and bushy that I didn't see all the tomatoes on it. Not bad for the middle of January!

Picker's luck hits again!

 

A few weeks ago my daughter said she wanted to make a mother's ring. Pearl and sapphires are the boys birthday stones. Plus a diamond which is her husband's birthday stone.

For the past few months I've been working with two guys who buy gold and silver. With the market going nuts, I've been referring them to a lot of friends!

When they have gold jewelry to melt down they remove the stone which is then sold to a jeweler. The only gem I've never had in my collection is sapphires. I asked that they let me know if they come across some. Doesn't have to be big as my daughter's design for her ring would be a band. They found some earrings that checked off all the boxes. I'm not sure if my daughter will want to change the earrings into a ring because it has everything she wanted, so I also purchased the earrings that were just sapphires. These earrings would be easier to take apart. 

 

Yes I brought bags of dirt

 

I'm slowly building my raised garden beds at my place. I really wanted to get these bags of dirt at Costco but lifting them into my already filled cart wasn't going to happen. Good thing Matt is going to Costco sometime this week. He has the muscle mass to lift these suckers into his truck. :) 

I don't think I'll have a successful garden this year as it's still a work in progress but it's getting there!

Latest binge foods from Costco - 2026

I'm so glad that Costco and Trader Joe's aren't on the boycott list! 

I go to Costco about once a month, mainly for the gas and the basics. I don't go down each aisle as I know I will pick up something I don't really need. I do allow myself one impulse buy when it comes to food. With the California cold weather (anything in 40's is winter for us) I've been craving soup. My daughter is great at making soups something she didn't learn from me. :)

Going out to eat is so outrageously expensive that spending a little more for something I can make at home is worth. I really like the brand bibigo. I didn't know at the time that the spicy mushroom soup and dumplings are something they recommend combining. Looking forward to making it after I finish all my leftovers in the refrigerator.  My other splurge was the seaweed and salt chip, another favorite. The Costco size bag cost the same as a small bag at the Asian store. Do I really need to eat that many chips, no I don't but I'll enjoy it anyways!
 

Vintage Matchboxes Collections

Last month I picked up a tub full of matchboxes. The dad had a hobby of covering the walls in the garage with matchbox covers. I thought a crafter would be interested in the ones that didn't make it to the wall. Since everything I put in my booth has to be tagged, it wasn't practical to tag all of them. Not knowing anything about match box collecting, I decided to lump them together. I've been in search of a big glass jar ever since. In slowly cleaning out my death pile in the garage I found one! I'm slowly getting the garage cleaned out to make more room for the home gym that's in there. The gym area is useable but it would be nice if I didn't have to step over things to get to the weights and bike.