A Few Thoughts and a Link Roundup

I have been busy changing my template within Blogger to include threaded and numbered comments. It is not as simple as clicking on a button within Blogger to include this feature. My template is my own with the help of external software and it is all in code. But, I think I have it now as it appears the numbering system is working and comments are threaded; but, I have yet to test the reply (threaded) button out. If any of you do test this out, please let me know if it blows up! Thank you in advance!

I have not had the time to go through the garage conversion pictures to post a DIY update; so, that will be coming later. Instead, today I am posting a few links I have been saving. Confession: I started saving links in WORD several weeks ago and then I accidentally overwrote those links with a cut and paste recipe from facebook and then saved it absentmindedly. So, I had to start all over again about a week ago. Sheesh.

In the meantime, I will be busy from here on out due to the fact that the weekend is here and a holiday is approaching. It will soon be Thanksgiving here in the states. If you do not hear from me within the next week or so, you know why. I hope all of you will have a great weekend and a wonderful week! For those of you who live in the states, be safe at this holiday time!

• Crafting, Sewing, Quilting
• Inattentive Quilting: A Cautionary Tale

  There is a 100 Things Every Quilter Should Do list. How about a list of things quilters should NOT do such as this (at the above link)? I thank God I have never done this. My mother was a fabulous seamstress and, as far as I know, she has never done this. However, her own Mother has done this and lived with it for the rest of her life.

• Extended Sewing Bobbin Holder

  An IKEA hack using skinny straws.

• Free Craftsy class: Piece, Patch, Quilt: Basic Quiltmaking skills

• Organization
• Free Printable Calendar for 2014

  Monthly Calendar you can use in a binder. Perfect for die hard Flyladies who use a notebook for their routines and more. FYI: I am no longer a diehard Flylady. However, I am still into routines and flying along with chores.

• Photography
• Start to See Photographically in Six Easy Steps

We are living in a time of unlimited free shutter clicks. This is both an advantage, and a disadvantage for you as a photographer. On one hand, the learning curve is faster, easier and definitely a lot cheaper. On the other hand, many photographers have a tendency to shoot without taking much care in their composition and rely on the occasional lucky shot.

Stop shooting randomly and start photographing with intent. Before you click that shutter, ask yourself: “What do I want to convey? What story do I want to tell?” There are many ways to achieve this, here are few easy steps to help you step up your game, no matter what camera or lens you use.

• Landscaping and Gardening
• Why Prairies Matter and Lawns Don’t

The carelessness of the American people’s obsessive compulsion for such silly and lowly turfgrass goals extends far beyond the failure they are set up for in regards to their quest for the unsustainable and unattainable “perfect lawn”. As noted before, lawns are suicidal – we are poisoning ourselves, our children, and our water for something that is wholly obtuse and unneeded. Why not be productive and grow a garden instead?

• Food and Holiday
• Thanksgivukkah

  A rare convergence of the American holiday of Thanksgiving and the first day of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah on November 28, 2013. The last time this happened was 1888 and the next time will be in the year of 79811 (providing the Jewish calendar does not change). Here is an article in Chicago Tribune about this: Thanksgivukkah 101.

Wordy Wednesday {Pantry}

After Dan read my last post on the pantry, he said I should have included a picture with the shelves stocked. I was like no way! Who wants to show off the mess? But, in the face of keeping it real, I decided to take a picture today and post it. Don't judge.

Can goods are in the back behind the swinging door. The swinging door currently holds our snacks and chips. This may change in the future. Baking goods, cereal, drinks, and whatnot are on the right. And, of course, you've seen the messy storage bag organization on the door.

So far, I am loving the changes!

Macro Monday {Fluffy Seeds}

On the first of November, I was outside with Dan messing around. I believe this was during the time work on the garage conversion was halfway done and I was out there taking a few pictures of the progress. In the midst of taking pictures, I looked down and discovered this:

{To see a larger image, go here.}

Needless to say, I was puzzled. I initially thought it was clumps of fur that a dog or some critter had lost due to an injury or such. I called Dan over because I was not sure about exploring what this was and he is braver, much braver, than I. In the meantime, I switched to using my macro (lens).

By the way, I had to shield these from the harsh sun with my own body or otherwise they would look like this:

{To see a larger image, go here.}

I kept this image because I thought it was a cool looking macro in spite of the strands looking like nylon and fake. Anyway, Dan was helping me out by holding seeds for me. This is what the seed really looked like:

{To see a larger image, go here.}

After pawing and digging around in the ground, much to our amazement, this was found underneath the clusters of seeds:

{To see a larger image, go here.}

The fluffy seed dispersal system.

This is fairly big -- about three to four inches in length. I have absolutely no clue to what this plant is. I have already used up my bandwidth allocation for this period; so, I did not go deep into research. Hopefully, someone else can identify this for me.

Once pictures were taken, we put it back in the ground where it was found. I have always been the one who tries to leave nature alone with the exception of the Black Widows.

Edited to Add: Dan found out that they are milkweed seeds. When I learned of this, I immediately went out to see if I can find some seeds to plant and found a total of seven! Hurray! I now will need to seek how and where to plant them here not to mention protecting them. The Monarch Butterflies relies upon these for a source of food AND a place of laying their eggs. To read more about this, go here.

DIY (Remodeling) Pantry II

I last left off with this post.

All the shelves went up. I realize that the vertical bar over the shelves looks odd; but, there is a reason for the piece. Wednesday’s post was a continuation of the work for the pantry. The next three pictures show exactly what it is.

It’s a swinging pantry shelf / cabinet door!

This completes the pantry. We do have a tiny cupboard to make to hide the brooms and mops along with some baseboard work. But, other than those things, the pantry is finished. To be honest, nothing ever really gets finish. Or, does it? It seems like there is always something minor that never gets completed. *sigh*

Wordy Wednesday {DIY Sneak Peek}

What could this possibly be?