PB&J

Assuming you like them, when was the last time you had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? It's been a fairly long time for me. This isn't a typical pb&j because it uses Adam's peanut butter and Lingonberry jam from IKEA (great stuff). It's also on locally made whole grain bread, soft, but not too soft. Yum.

I had a few errands to run today, and while at JoAnn's I found out something really irritating. Maybe it's because I'm an artist/crafter, but it's also because I hate to see a waste of materials. Especially a blatant waste of materials.

While I was having some fabric cut, the clerk and I were talking about the scissors she was using. She reached in to the garbage and pulled out a small piece of fabric and told me to try them. After I did, I asked her if the fabric was going back in the garbage, and she looked at me and said 'don't even ask me, I can't give it to you'. She told me that any small pieces of fabric that they decide can't be sold are thrown away. I told her that's such a waste and that they should give it to SCRAP (school and community reuse action project), and she told me that worse, they throw unopened patterns away. They have to mark them as unsalable and toss them.

I told her I was going to write a letter, but honestly, I have no idea who'd I write the letter to.

Not only does all of that stuff end up in the landfill, which just irritates me, but perfectly good patterns and scrap fabric (and sometimes more than scrap fabric) are being wasted! Someone could actually use that stuff!

Who on earth decides these things? And why can't they give it to charity and take a tax write-off? I just don't understand.

I am just appalled (can you tell? lol).

Oregon Lavender Festival

This past weekend was the Oregon Lavender Festival. I had heard of the event before, but always found out about it long after it was over. Thanks to an article in a recent issue of Country Gardens magazine I managed to find out in advance.


I knew that lavender was grown here, but had no idea that there were so many farms. We visited the three closest to home, and that's just a fraction. Honestly, pretty as lavender is, three farms is enough for one outing. Perhaps next year we'll visit some of the other areas to see what they have to offer.

If you live here, and you've never had the chance, definitely check out the festival. Some of the farms are open only for the festival duration, which is one weekend in July. Others have longer hours that go through the summer months. No matter where you live in Oregon, chances are there's a lavender farm near you. ;-)


Of course during our drive we passed several garage sales. I twitched, but haven't stopped at a garage sale seriously in years. I finally had to ask hubby (who was driving) to turn around and go back to a couple of them. I don't stop unless they're relatively large sales, which both of these were. I found a few goodies, with the first one already selling for half price at 3 pm on Saturday. Yay for me! I got a few linens, a couple of sewing patterns, and some junk jewelry to repurpose. And I saw, but did not buy, a vintage hair dryer that was the exact one I used to sit under as a little girl. I've never seen another one, and there it was, staring me in the face. Seeing it brought back such a flood of memories....The woman selling it tried really hard to get me to buy it, and it would have been $2.50, but what on earth would I do with it? lol

At the second sale I got a box of billiard balls. Yes, you read that right, billiard balls. An entire set, in the box, made in Belgium. What am I doing to do with them you ask? Alter them of course. lol Stay tuned for future developments......


And this house....It was just down the block from the second sale...I love old houses, and when I saw this I started to drool. lol Hubby took one of the real estate fact sheets out of the box and promptly told me to 'fall out of love'. This is what half a million dollars looks like in a small town in Oregon folks...And this isn't even an old house, it's a 'reproduction' built in 2005. Pretty, but not the real deal. If I pay that kind of money it had better be a historic house!

Prices are high all across the state, but this kind of shocked us. A nice enough yard, but no serious property, and for the price, actually a pretty small house, though I've never felt that 2000 sq ft was small (I live in smaller).

Postcard Friendship Friday

I just discovered the Vintage Postcards blog today. What a fun site, and every Friday is Postcard Friendship Friday, where participants can join in and have fun sharing....

any type of postcard, a photo of a mailbox, mailman, a stamp image, postcard altered art, or simply a photo of something that you find 'Postcard Perfect' etc etc etc!

I'd like to share this postcard of Crater Lake, Oregon (click to enlarge). This image is a part of a postcard booklet (does anyone remember those?), dated 1937.

Hair scrunchies....

Do you remember those? I used to wear them all the time, and honestly, had they not become so hard to find I probably would have continued. It never dawned on me to try and make my own....Well, dawned on me maybe, but I still never tried.

Last week I did a google search for hair scrunchies and could not believe how many tutorials I came across. Who knew there could be so many for something so simple?

Making them doesn't really require a tutorial (even for a non-sewer like me), just a strip of fabric and some elastic, but I figured it couldn't hurt to read someone elses instructions either.

This is my first scrunchie, cut and made from a bandana. There are a couple of things I'll do slightly different with the second one, but all in all it turned out well.


To view the tutorial that I used visit eHow.

Now, believe it or not I'm cutting out a skirt pattern! lol

Blueberries....

Our first picking of blues. There won't be as many this year, as we did some corrective pruning of the bushes, but there will still be plenty for fresh eating and freezing. It will actually be nice not to be inundated with berries. With fourteen bushes, some years we have so many that we're giving them away as fast as they can ripen.

The bushes were here when we moved in, and I have to say, it was nice to have something ready and established to benefit from that first year. I'm not sure what the previous residents were thinking putting in quite that many, but in the years when they over produce it's nice to share with friends and family.

I made a chicken dish last night that was fantastic! Though I did have a little trouble with the sauce because I don't own a small food chopper (I have the big guns - an 11-cup Cuisinart, blender, and an immersion blender) and with such a small amount of sauce I just did the best I could. Though the consistency of the sauce wasn't as smooth as it's probably supposed to be (like pesto), it still worked. The meal was quick to make (and will be even quicker the second time around) and I'll definitely make it again soon.

It's one of those recipes that I've had in my 'try someday' file for a long time. Now it will graduate to my 'favorites' file.

Chimichurri Chicken
Start to Finish: 20 minutes

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3 Tbsp. cooking oil
12 oz. fresh young green beans
3/4 cup packed Italian parsley
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, halved
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 lemon, peel and juice

1. Brush chicken with 1 tablespoon of the oil; sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. On charcoal grill, cook chicken on rack directly over medium coals for 12 to 15 minutes or until no longer pink, turning once halfway through grilling time.

2. Place beans in microwave-safe 1-1/2-quart dish. Add 1 tablespoon water. Cover with vented plastic wrap. Cook on high 3 minutes; drain. (beans can also be cooked in a pan of boiling water, or steamed)

3. For Chimichurri sauce, in small food processor bowl combine parsley, the remaining oil, the vinegar, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and red pepper. Process until nearly smooth. Serve chicken and beans topped with Chimichurri sauce, lemon peel, and juice.

Makes 4 servings.

The night before I made this potato corn chowder, which I served with BLT's. Yum.


Homestyle Cheddar-Potato Soup

3/4 cup carrot, diced
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
Salt
Pepper
4 cups chicken broth or veggie broth
3 cups potato, peeled and diced
1 cup corn

Saute carrot in 1 tbs. butter. Add broth, potatoes and seasoning. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes. While the soup is cooking make cheese sauce (recipe below).

Cheese Sauce:

3 tbs butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

Melt butter. Add flour, cook while stirring constantly for a minute. Slowly add milk and whisk until smooth. Add cheese, stir until it’s completely melted. Add to soup base.

Serve