Breadfruit Pancake Mix - Pass

I finally got around to making this pancake mix one of my cousins gave me. It calls for milk which I never have in my house unless the boys are here. So it's been several months.

I'm cat sitting for the next 3 weeks but I go home every morning to shower and make breakfast. It's much easier and faster. I drive by a Trader Joes on my way home. My daughter is asking for me to stock up on the small trader joe bags. It's still a hot item in Europe so reselling them is her side hustle. I've had the best luck in finding them when the store opens at 8:00 am. I really didn't need anything today but I didn't want to waste a visit when there was no bags. So I picked up some real whole milk and bananas. TJ bananas are better than Costco for ripening. 

This mix wasn't all that good but Posey really liked it. She's a chocolate lab and she just likes eating so she can't give an honest review. :) Next up is the Costco mochi pancake mix which also calls for milk. 

 

Harry Potter Audio Book Score

I'm a big fan of the Harry Potter audio books read by Jim Dale. The earlier books are hard to find on CDs as they were all done on cassette tape. Most of the time when they do come up for auction or at the thrift stores they are priced way too high, almost full retail. 

Thinking I was going to get out bid on MaxSold, as the last ones went for big bucks. I bid $4 and then totally forgot about it. Well got the notice my $4.00 bid won! Happy to add to my collection and someday I'll get all of them. :) 

It's rose season

Yellow roses are my favorite rose. It was a nice surprise when I went out to the backyard at the frenchies house. Not a lot of green landscaping but there is a very tall yellow rose bush in full bloom. 

Taking the dogs for a walk twice a day in a very old neighborhood with well established and maintained landscaping is a treat. All the roses are in full bloom. 
 

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.