Tackle It Tuesday


I like little projects with big visible results.  This was a big project with little visible results, but it's a huge relief to have it done!

 
                    For Christmas this year, I made Dan a pretty cool, if I do say so myself, Steelers quilt, with photos on it from all the years we took the kids out to training camp, games, etc.  


After I completed this, I started a pair of pajama pants for me to wear Christmas day (I'm 6ft tall.  Pajama pants seems to all be made for women 5'7" and under) , but I barely got them started and my sewing machine just stopped working.  It will not pick up the bobbin thread.  No matter what I did.  No matter how many new needles I tried.

When I mentioned this to my husband, and told him what a pain it will be to have this machine fixed, he told me to go ahead and buy a new (but not fancy) machine.  Ok.  Then a week later he went to the attic to put some Christmas decorations away, and came down with my old machine, which I forgot I had.  He showed it to me and asked if it would work for me, and, frugally minded wife that I am, I looked at it and said "No, it's dirty".  

Seriously, HOW did that machine get so cruddy in our attic?  I am 100% positive it didn't look like that when I sent it up there..  it came down filthy and disgusting!  I stuck it under my sewing desk to deal with later.

Because this was now an unused area, with a few items to be mended, it was of course an ideal place for clutter.  My children went all out to help with this endeavor.  When I cleaned this area today, I found pocket knives, change, a bottle of glue, and all sorts of little odds and ends.  There was a pair of pajama pants here I thought the boys needed mended, but when I looked  at them I found they were just a pair no one felt like carrying upstairs and putting away.  

Then, to add to the general disorder, at some point someone got in that cabinet (that is the office supply cabinet over my machine) and when they shut the door they knocked down and broke the thread holder that hangs there.  The thread must have rolled all over, because it was a tangled mess on that rack.   (I have more thread storage in the drawers)

I switched the machines around today, moping quite a bit when I remembered that the old machine doesn't have all the fancy features the non working one has.  But then I plugged it in, and threaded it (WITHOUT the needle threader that I so love on the non working one) and the most amazing thing happened..  

It worked.  It didn't beep at me.  (this one doesn't beep at all)  It didn't stop every 50 or so stitches.  It didn't demand a new needle every 15 minutes.  The bobbin didn't make a screeching grinding noise out of the blue (the noise that would make you jump out of your seat it was so sudden and loud)  It just sewed.  Nice, even stitches.  

It is not fancy. Some of the plastic is yellowed from age.  It's not cool old like my old 1940's machine that is so pretty (but hard to get parts for these days)  But it WORKS!

I got all of my mending caught up, and even finished my Christmas pajama pants.  Which I am wearing as I type this, even though my children have rolled their eyes and reminded me "Christmas is over, Mom."  :-)

Now maybe I can finally get the slipcovers made for the living room chairs...







The Ox Makes The Crib Dirty, But it's Worth It.

Where no oxen are, the crib is clean:
but much increase is by the strength of the ox
.~ Proverbs 14:4, KJV


I downloaded this book (booklet?)  this while it was free this month: 



 It's short, and VERY basic.  I think it would be a great read for a new, or struggling homemaker..  but for someone who cooks and cleans regularly,  nothing really new here.   

The most thought provoking part of it for me was when I asked on my fb page how often everyone typically cleans their fridge, and found that I was pretty much alone in emptying it and cleaning it out every single week.   Every.  Single. Week.  


 I started wondering if I just make myself work (back to the stay at home mom guilt trip..  should I get a "real" job?  Am I just making busy work for myself here at home to justify being home?) but then I settled into the realization that I cook 3 meals a day, in a home with FOUR teenagers, 3 of them growing boys, and a variety of drop ins..  Nineteen meals (I only cook once on Sundays)  a week for 6+ people, plus baking, and that is a LOT of food in and out of the pantry, fridge, and freezer each week.  We don't eat pre-made or boxed foods, and we rarely eat out..  that means more work not only in the preparing of the food, but also in the storage and cleaning of the food storage areas.  

Then last night I was reading The Good Wife's Guide: Embracing Your Role as a Help Meet by Darlene Schacht and at the beginning of the chapter was this verse:

Where no oxen are, the crib is clean:
but much increase is by the strength of the ox
.~ Proverbs 14:4, KJV

The NLT Says:

Without oxen a stable stays clean, 


but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.

It's not about oxen, it's not about teenagers..  it's the principle.  Life that is full will be messy.  
Put that way, I'm ok with the extra work of cleaning my fridge every single week.  Our lives are full - overflowing - and I am so, so thankful for this season of life.  I wouldn't change it for anything - not even for a clean crib.  :-)


Books To Read In 2013

Updated Feb 1st

My pinterest board of books read in 2013
http://pinterest.com/htruck/100-books-in-2013/


2013 Reading Challenge
My main goal for reading in 2013 is to read BETTER books. Last year I read so much that was just filler and fluff..  which I am ok with, but at the end of the year there were not many that had made any real impact on me.

Some of the books on my to read list for 2013 Include:

  1. The Anatomists Apprentice by Tessa Harris
  2. Lady Almina & The Real Downton Abbey
  3. The Feast Nearby by Robin Mather
  4. The Orphanmaster by Jean Zimmerman
  5. Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
  6. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
  7. Cleaning House: A Mom's 12 Month Experiment to Rid Her House Of Entitlement
  8. Becoming Fearless by Michelle Aguilar
  9. The Hero's Guide To Saving The Universe by Christopher Healey
  10. Let. It. Go. by Karen Ehman
  11. Unglued by Lysa Terkeurst
  12. What happens when Women Say Yes To God by Lysa Terkeurst
  13. 21 Days To A More Disciplined Life - Crystal Paine
  14. Confessions Of A Teenage Sleuth by Chealsea Cain
  15. Cross Roads by William Paul Young
  16. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim
  17. The Death Of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell
  18. A Year Of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie WAS on my to read list, but I just saw it was an Oprah Book Club Choice, so I deleted it.  I never like anything Oprah likes to read!

DeliberateReader
12 months, 24 books from my own bookshelves.
4. Confessions of a Teen Sleuth   5. The Shoemakers Wife   6. The Good Wife's Guide
7.                                                     8.                                         9.
10.                                                  11.                                       12.
13.                                                  14.                                       15.
16.                                                  17.                                       18.
19.                                                  20.                                       21.
22.                                                  23.                                       24.

This one is a bit more challenging - read books ONLY from my to read pile, through April!  I'm not sure how I will do with this one....



Foodies Read 2013
The Foodies Read
Sous-Chef: 9 to 13 books

1.                                                     2.                                         3.
4.                                                     5.                                         6.
7.                                                     8.




Grab the Reading Challenge Button
I want to concentrate on reading all of the Hercules Poirot books that I have not yet read.  

Blue were read in 2012, Maroon were read in 2013, Black are not yet read:

The Mysterious Affair at Styles        Murder on the Links     Poirot Investigates  
   The Murder of Roger Ackroyd        The Big Four     The Mystery of the Blue Train 
Peril at End House      Lord Edgeware Dies   Murder on the Orient Express 
Three Act Tragedy     Death in the Clouds      The A.B.C. Murders  Cards on the Table 
Murder in Mesopotamia      Death on the Nile  Dumb Witness  Murder in the Mews  
Appointment with Death     Hercule Poirot's Christmas  One, Two, Buckle My Shoe 
Sad Cypress      Evil Under the Sun    Five Little Pigs      The Hollow   
The Labours of Hercules     Taken at the Flood      Mrs. McGinty's Dead   After the Funeral 
Hickory, Dickory, Dock      Dead Man's Folly      Cat Among the Pigeons      The Clocks 
Third Girl   Hallowe'en Party    Elephants Can Remember   Poirot's Early Cases    Curtain 

Non Poirot Mysteries:
1.                                                     2.                                         3.
4.                                                     5.                                         6.
7.                                                     8.                                         9.
10.                                                  11.                                       12.
13.                                                  14.                                       15.
16.                                                  17.                                       18.
19.                                                  20.                                       21.
22.                                                  23.                                       24.

Isn't this cool?  I almost didn't join, because of that row on the right..  then I thought, why not reread books from my childhood?  Little House on the Prairie, or some Nancy Drew...
http://readinginwinter.com/2012/12/08/challenge-anne-kristilyns-2013-book-bingo-reading-challenge/  (This will probably need it's own post, I think tracking it here with the others might be too insane.  We'll see!)


I have been wanting to read some of these from my daughters to read pile, so this is a great challenge for me this year..  I am setting my goal at Inspired.
1.                                                     2.                                         3.
4.                                                     5.                                         6.







(I read almost ALL ebooks last year..  I think I only read 2 or 4 "physical" books.  I have several on my currently reading list at goodreads...  because I always have my phone with me to read an ebook, but I rarely carry an extra book with me.  So this challenge should be pretty easy for me, and I expect to go way past 50...)

1.Happier At Home by Rubin        2. Getting It Together by Pratt       3. Not A Fan by Idleman
4.My So Called Life As A Proverbs 31 Wife by Horn     5.Confessions of A Teen Sleuth                                         6.The Shoemakers Wife
7.                                                     8.                                         9.
10.                                                  11.                                       12.
13.                                                  14.                                       15.
16.                                                  17.                                       18.
19.                                                  20.                                       21.
22.                                                  23.                                       24.
25                                                   26                                        27
28                                                   29                                        30
31                                                   32                                        33
34                                                   35                                        36
37                                                   38                                        39
40                                                   41                                        42
43                                                   44                                        45    
46                                                   47                                        48
49                                                   50



2013 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge hosted by The Book Vixen
For this challenge, the goal is to read more books than you read in 2012. I only read 89 books last year, 

January - 8 books read


my read shelf:
Heather Truckenmiller's book recommendations, liked quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists (read shelf)


Reading Challenge Addict

My Favorite Reads of 2012


See All Of My Book Themed Posts Here: 

Overall I feel like the books I read in 2012 were just not that memorable. That is why one of my resolutions for 2013 is not to read more books, but to read better books.


Gripping, Hard to Put Down



I did not know this was a series when I started it..  and I was NOT happy that I did not have the sequel!  I am looking forward to reading the next two in this series in 2013.


Just Fun To Read

A year on ladybug farm is the first of three books, and they are all charming, fun, reads.  Great summer reading!

I don't know what made me choose this one, and I know I didn't expect to like it nearly as much as I did. Tigers in Red Weather: A Novel

Free At Amazon, and it is really a fun read!

Another of my absolute favorites from 2012.

I Felt Like I Learned Something

This was one of my favorite reads in 2012.  The Dirty Life is about their personal journey starting a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).

Wish I Had Not Wasted My Time

So hard to believe this was by the same author as the Harry Potter books.  This was tedious to read,and I wish I had not been so determined to finish it - it was not worth finishing.

From my GoodReads Review: "There were parts of this book I could honestly relate to. Many of the symptoms of her ADHD, or "how her brain works", were achingly familiar to me. But those tidbits were hidden in so much junk and disaster (not funny disaster - more like "grow up already" disaster) that I found myself trying to distance myself even from the parts I could relate to. It's her life, her story, and she has a right to tell it.. I just really wish I had not wasted my time reading it"

------------------------------------------------------------------
Summer Reading
a list of books I read in the summer of 2012, sorted by star rating.


Christmas Reads

This year I sorted all sorts of Christmas themed books into a to read pile for the  month of December.  It was fun! It enabled me to sample a bunch of different authors, and inspired me to add a bunch of Agatha Christie to my to read list for 2013.


Instead of posting free books here on my blog, since they are usually limited time offerings, I now post them on my facebook page.  You can see them by liking Fields Of Heather here: https://www.facebook.com/fieldsofheatherblog




Ten Books That Made Me Think in 2011  - http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2012/09/top-10-tuesday-books-that-made-you-think.html

Mushroom Ravioli

(That icing bag needs to be replaced..  it has seen better days!)

My goal is to make something with this pasta attachment every week...  for now, Thursday nights are pasta nights on our menu.  Last week I made Mushroom Ravioli - and it was REALLY good!  Easy too!  

This is the recipe I used for "inspiration".  http://www.marthastewart.com/317919/mushroom-ravioli  I only used portabella mushrooms, and for the seasoning I used an Italian mix, garlic, salt and pepper.  That recipe gave me an idea of how much cheese to use, which is what I really needed to know.  I did use both ricotta and parmesan.

For the pasta I used a basic egg dough.  I want to start using more whole wheat flour, and maybe other types, but I wanted to start with something I knew we would like, for now.

4 eggs
3.5 cups of flour
1Tbsp water
1 tsp salt

You can see pics of the process for making the pasta here:

I ran the pasta at a 4.  5 was just a little too thin for me. I used the width it came out at (see top strip on the photo above) and it made HUGE raviolli.  It was fine that way, but next time I will cut the strip in half longwise.

On the second strip from the top (pic above) you can see the filling on the dough.  I used an icing bag from a cake decorating class I took two years ago.

The 3rd strip down shows the pasta folded over the filling.  First I used a pastry brush and some water around all the edges, and between the dollops of filling.  Then I folded the dough over, and used the sides of my hands to flatten it between the filling.  around the edges I used a fork to seal it together.  Then I cut between the dollops of filling, and "finished" the side edges with the fork, to end up with the pieces you see in the bottom row of the photo.

It did not take long to cook - fresh pasta cooks fast!


       Mixitup