The Crafty Survivor: But We Dont Do it That Way ! Thanksgiving Dinner

The Crafty Survivor: But We Dont Do it That Way ! Thanksgiving Dinner: I love mashed potatoes and it has always been a favorite dish at our Thanksgiving dinners. This year, I volunteered to make them.  Since I h...

But We Dont Do it That Way ! Thanksgiving Dinner

I love mashed potatoes and it has always been a favorite dish at our Thanksgiving dinners. This year, I volunteered to make them.  Since I have MS, fibromyalgia, arthritis and  few other things including being pressed for time, I have decided to do things differently.  gasp!  Im not going to peel them. triple gasp!!!

 When it becomes hard to do your normal activities find a different way of doing them.

 Use your slow cooker.  Put a rack in the bottom or use crushed balls of aluminum foil.

 Fill with clean potatoes and add about 1/2inch of water. That is one half inch of water, not 1/2 full!  Put on the lid and cook on high or (250 degrees) until the potatoes are very well done.

 The skins will slip right off or you may leave them on but that's NOT our traditional way . LOL   Let them cool a bit before removing the skins and proceed  with YOUR usual mashed potato recipe .

 

I'll Have a Blue Christmas

Christmas Eve is almost here. That is the day I am supposed to have everything decorated, food cooked, gifts wrapped and be ready to spend the day with family.  Why couldn't my knee have waited another 2 days before it went out??  The gifts are not wrapped. At least the shopping is finished, thanks to my husband.  We are almost finished moving into our smaller house. Unfortunately, the renovating is not done and the dining room and kitchen are still covered with boxes, bags of who knows what.  I did enough decorating.  Im happy with that.   It feels so much better lying down than it does trying to hobble around and find a place for everything. Im stressed. Who am I kidding? Im exhausted.  Ive over worked my body with the moving, downsizing and renovating.  Everything ended up being a bigger job than even I thought it would be.  All I want to do is rest and enjoy the reason for the Christmas season, the birth of Jesus.  Rest is so important if you have fibromyalgia , MS, arthritis or some other chronic pain disease. It seems like everyone, including the medical community, always put the emphasis on exercise, exercise, exercise. There has to be a balance.  There has to be time for you to rest.  Drs ask "What kind of exercise you do?"  They should also ask "What do you do for fun?  Do you get to rest everyday?"  Well I have not had enough of either lately.  Its through no fault of my own.  Just doing what I had to do, like all other women.  I hope you get to rest for Christmas and enjoy time with family and friends.

Organize the Pantry

Glass jars are excellent for long term food storage.  I like the gallon size with the wide mouth opening. I can easily scoop out the beans or rice. Make sure all of your beans, rice are bug free before you put them into a dry jar.
Any dampness inside the jar can cause molding.

Make a Christmas Tree

Downsizing presented yet another problem for me.  My large 9ft Christmas tree wouldn't fit into my smaller house.  I sold the tree but didn't get enough money to buy another tree I liked soooo..... I made my own tree!

It wasn't hard to do. All you need is some thin wood, glue, nails, wire or twine and green garland.  The tree is flat on the back to be hung onto a wall or into a corner as mine is.


Since we were renovating our house we had lots of wood scraps so I didn't need to buy anything.  I decided on the overall size and shape of tree to fit my space.  I used an 8ft piece of flat wood, maybe 1/2 inch thick. Looked good. Decided on the width of the branches and attached them onto the board with wood glue and small nails.  Size and shape is up to you.

When I was satisfied with the arrangement I spray painted the tree green. You can use whatever color you wish.  It will show thru the branches a bit.

 

 

 

 

Wrap and glue the trunk area in burlap, jute twine or leave it as is.

 

 

I purchased some green garland from a thrift store and used some I already had.  I don't recommend using glue to attach the garland to the tree base.  Use a flexible wire, twist ties or I used nylon fishing line, the black kind.

I cut the line into short lengths and wrapped and tied the garland.

 

 

 

 

Go back and forth with the garland until you reach the top.  When done, fluff and make adjustments.  Decide how to attach the tree to your wall.  I put some nails into the wall and used the same line to wrap around the tree and the nails.  Now its almost cat proof !  You could also use a large picture hanger.  Decorate anyway you wish.  Lights can be left on the tree when it is stored away.

 

 

Malone House Creations

Not my BAG!!!!!

Like a lot of women, I love bags, purses, wallets, pouches.  I love to make them, I love to take them, I love to buy them...well, you get the picture and I have quite a collection of them.  Lately, with all the downsizing, moving, renovating and STRESS, I have had trouble keeping up with my belongings.  I have always changed bags with the occasion, according to my outfit or if Im carrying books or needlework.  I may need a small bag or maybe a large bag.  If I change from a large bag to a small bag, I dont transfer all the contents to the smaller bag.  Having multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia is quite a challenge.  With all of the bag changing I have been 'loosing' too many items.  My husband doesn't understand why I cant find my keys or glasses. I don't understand why my new house keys ended up in my makeup bag either.  So the time has come to give up the bag habit, at least until I am done with the downsizing and the move is complete.  Its going to be tough!  Im going to put all of the bags out of site in a closet I don't use and only keep 2 in my personal closet.  Well, maybe I should keep 3  ;)

Is Downsizing a Good Idea for You?

I know it was a good idea for me. Preparing to leave a large house for a small 'cottage' has been quite a challenge.  How do you dispose of 39 years of memories?  Ive discovered that some of those past memories were very important to me at the time.  Now years later, they don't carry the importance they once did.  Im taking an objective look at everything in my possession. Will it be important to someone else in the future?  Will they be glad I saved this or will they just be mad because they are having to clean out a lot of things they consider junk?  Well those things are very hard to decide.  Im trying to condense the items I think will be appreciated in the future.  Grouping them together and labeling them is the best way to preserve them.  Clasp envelopes are a good way to store papers from your kids childhood.  Some say store a copy on the computer, but there is just something special about holding my first grade paper, written about a field trip, in my hand. I also have a souvenir from the trip. I think they would look nice in a frame. I can imagine the item being on display in an antique shop 50 years from now.  That depends on how important my kids think it is ;)

Some Day Never Came

I had a great wooden chair in the basement for years.  The plan was to put a nice bottom in it....someday.  That day never came so I painted it two shades of blue and put in a hardware cloth (wire) bottom.  All it needs is some landscaping cloth , dirt, and small flower pots.  Trailing vines will go around the sides and some pretty annuals in the middle.  Someday.

Vintage Romantic Look Recycle Project

My latest recycle project.  I used items on hand and paid about .50 for the  two wire baskets.

Spring Where Are You?

I know Spring cant be far away.  Hubby celebrated a birthday ( one of those with a zero ) and the trees and ornamentals are in bloom but its still COLD.
Our 39 th wedding anniversary is soon. Yes I know you shouldnt get married when you are 2 !  Lots of experiences packed into those years and lots of good times. 

NOT the Next Great Baker !

No Im not a cake decorator but I like to play one for birthdays.  After watching a whole season of The Next Great Baker you think I would have improved a bit.  Well maybe I did.  The cake looks smoother and more level than usual.  Im sure its the fault of my this old house and the uneven floors.  Yeah.  That has to be it.  Why did my shakey Multiple Sclerosis hands have to come back this week?  The 'Happy Birthday' is squiggley.  The more I tried to fix it the worse it looked.  We should have bought the 15 candles instead of the 1 and 5.  They could have hidden a multitude of mistakes :)
No picture?  No way!!  Lets hope it tastes good.

Sneaky Moms, Healthy Family

Picky teen, picky husband, picky me.  We all need to eat healthy but....
A great way to add healthy fresh fruit to the diet is with a smoothie.   We all know that.  Fruit is better than a pastry.  Its low calorie, nutritional etc.  Getting the guys in my family to actually drink one is the hard part.  Some times I dont feel like making one for myself.  The answer is to have the fruit prepped or frozen.  Ask them if they would like a fruit 'drink' and when they hesitate, grab the ingredients and throw them into the blender.  Mix and done.  Hand them the drink and make them feel guilty if they dont drink it.  Works for me.
Here are the ingredients I used today.

Fresh pineapple, strawberries, peeled fresh orange, frozen bananas.

  Always grate the zest from an orange before peeling it ( the orange part not the white part) .  Dry the zest at room temperature then store it in an airtight container until you need to add some extra flavor to a cookie recipe.

Add 1 teaspoon of honey if desired a bit of coconut and a smidgen of the orange zest.  Whirl in your blender.  Mine was a little dry so I added a small amount of pomegranate juice and mixed again.  You can add any fruits you like or have on hand.  Yum!  I really like these but if your family is hesitant,serve it up  in a non see thru cup ( a sippy cup :)   One taste and they will change their minds.

Moms have to be sneaky like that.

Crocheting Again

Im so happy to be crocheting again!  The carpal tunnel, MS, fibro (sigh) or whatever it was, has improved.  I crocheted a sleeveless sweater from a Lion Brand yarn, Vannas Choice in 403 Barley. No pattern was used but I have seen several that are similiar to mine.   I love the softness and the warm brown color. I added a removeable vintage button and loop to the cowl neck.  This will be one of my favorites Im sure.

No Hugs Please!

A hug is a good thing. Right? Well not if its associated with Multiple Sclerosis.  I dont know who named it MS Hug but they certainly dont feel what I do!  The hug for me is more of a kick in the chest kind of feeling that lasts for minutes or up to an hour.  I call it the Demon Grip.  I have experienced it a few times in years past before I was diagnosed.  Was in the hospital twice.  Ignorant dr gave me a GI cocktail.  Well I guess it worked because I threw it up and got some relief from the terrible spasm.  That is what the hug/grip is.  A terrible muscle spasm that can make you feel like you are having a heart attack.  I recovered in a few hours but now I am feeling like crap.  I suppose this is a flare.  Hard to tell the difference between 'normal' life for me and a flare these days.  I will rest today.  Try to not talk to anyone.  Maybe find a movie in my collection.   Crafting is out.

Make a Plan or Wing it?

Im the kind of person who likes to plan everything in advance, well in advance.  That doesnt happen much anymore.  Life with MS and fibro means not knowing how you will feel from one day to the next. Sometimes it means not knowing from morning to evening.  Things have gotten more predictable and stable for me now. I know that shopping will have to be a one store, as quickly as possible trip.  My Hubs does most of the grocery shopping now.  He makes way more trips to the store than he should but I really appreciate it.  Lifting a huge bag of cat litter to the cart, to the trunk and then up my stairs is just too much for me.  Oh those steps!
The Kits keep me company.  Ive heard having one will lower your blood pressure.  I dont see how, considering mine are either constantly begging for food or getting into trouble.

A New Year The Same Me

Christmas is over.  The decorations were taken down as quickly as possible. I reconfigured the storage situation.  Most of them are no longer stored in the attic. They will be easier to retrieve next season.  New Years resolutions?  I dont make them anymore.  I only strive to do my best but I did realize the need to schedule some rest time everyday.  This will be harder than resolving to get organized this year !  I normally do all I can until I am ready to fall out...then I rest.  With Multiple Sclerosis and Fibromyalgia you should NEVER over do.  Do as I say not as I do :)   In order to get more rest I have to be better organized.  Wardrobe needs to be simplified, clutter must be removed. Ugh.  Why cant you do one thing without doing a dozen more?  Ok. I will do my best.  Simple, uncluttered, probably not but I will get more rest.

Christmas in the Kitchen

The Lord blessed my friend with a large crop of pecans and she shared some with me.  Thanks Janice!  Pecan pie ?  Maybe but first I put up my final Christmas decoration.
I had bought a garland from the Habitat Restore months ago.  It was about $1, maybe less.  I had purchased some of those red satin balls at a yard sale.  I never intended to use them on the tree :)  Pretty Christmas ribbon was bought last year at a discount price.  I cut off 2 sections of the green garland with some snips.  I began laying some decorations I already had on top of each piece of garland.  Since I had no wire to attatch them I used some black fishing line.  Wrapped it around each item like I would have wire. It worked well and didnt show from the front.

Since I was going to hang this on my cabinet doors I added a long length of red ribbon to the backside of the top of the garland bundle.  I wrapped the line around it also.

I brought the ribbon to the inside of the cabinet door and tied it to an upside down hook.  I used the removeable kind.  You could also use a nail or tape.
A quick job finished.  Cost almost nothing and I have garland left over to decorate the mailbox. Maybe this is not the final decoration?   Pecan pies first or maybe that yummy apple pie thing Mama used to make.

My Favorite Gift Wraps

For some reason I was in the Christmas spirit around September.  I found wrapping paper and ribbon for cheap.  Some very pretty plaid wall paper was less than $1 at the local Habitat store and I found a roll of tulle decorating ribbon on clearance at Hobby Lobby.  I dont remember if I had a specific project in mind.  I liked the subtle gold sparkle and it has been useful for other projects too.

The wrapping has begun.  Even a clutz like me can make a bow from wire edged ribbon. You dont need a tutorial for these if you can tie your shoes.  A simple bow looks pretty if you add curling ribbon of different colors.   I find the curling ribbon is easier to secure to the package than the organdy ribbons.  I pull a few strings to the back of the wire edged ribbon bow and tape securely to the package.  If the ribbon gets crushed before Christmas you can easily reshape it. If you are on a tight budget you can even reuse the wire edge ribbon next year.   Just retie the bow and add new curling ribbon .  You can staple the bows to the top of a gift bag but be sure there are no sharp edges to the staple.  I decided to tie mine around the bag handle after cutting my finger on one.

I cant put these under my tree before Christmas because my cats manage to tear off the bows .  :)  Look for different colored ribbons on clearance racks and start a collection to decorate your packages year round.

Home Cooking and Common Sense

I always thought it was 'cheating' to buy store bought foods to take to family gatherings.  Being from the South, the Land of Home Cookin, I felt it was necessary to knock myself out cooking all week before Christmas or Thanksgiving.  The house had to be clean. The decorations had to be done a certain way.  blah blah  Now the reality is shortcuts are necessary.  Shopping trips are shortened and I dont have the patience for crowds.  MS and Fibromyalgia can take the fun out of a lot of events if you or others expect too much.  Thanks to Pinterest, I have discovered the 'poke cakes'.  Today I am making Coconut Cakes.  They will be divided into 2 disposable cake pans with lids and.....put into the freezer!  Freezing ahead of time is something I never did because fresh is always better but this recipe is great for freezing.  I did a test run.  It was as good as fresh baked when taken from the freezer a month later. 

Coconut Poke Cake

Mix your favorite yellow cake mix , I like Ginger Evans brand, following directions on the box. If the mix only calls for 2 eggs add an extra one.  Pour into 2, 8" disposable cake pans.  Bake as directed.
Remove from oven when done and immediately poke it full of holes. I used the handle of a large spoon.

Mix one regular size box of instant vanilla pudding according to the directions. Add 1/2 teaspoon of coconut flavoring.  I used Watkins brand.  Only mix the pudding until it is slightly thickening.  Pour immediately into the 2 cakes. Tap the bottom of the pans lightly so the pudding will sink into the holes.

Sprinkle with sweetened flake coconut.  Spread whipped topping over the top and finish with lots more coconut.  About 1  1/2 cups for the 2 cakes.

Add the plastic tops and dont forget to label. Pop in the freezer. Thaw a day ahead in the fridge.  2, 8" cakes will travel better than one large cake in these aluminum pans.  Use your imagination for other flavors.  My family has been impressed with these cakes and so easy to make.

Christmas Flowers

Some pink camellias to decorate my mantel.