Sitting Pretty

     A few years back I was given this wonderful glider. It's been well-used and enjoyed and the cushion covers showed that fact! Nevertheless, it sat in the corner of my living room so needing a new cover. This last Thanksgiving as I was busily preparing my home for a crowd of about 30 for Turkey Day, I kept thinking, What am I going to cover those glider cushions with? They need something! I had enthusiastic fantasies of recovering both cushions with the material I used for my curtain valances in my back room. I wanted to "blend" my rooms together using the beautiful fabric I purchased years ago. I kept putting the project off because I had never tried anything so ambitious before.
     And then the irrestistable urge hit. Crazily, on Wednesay I set out to work recovring the chair cushions thinking, Why not?! Sure enough, as God was so gracious and helpful to me, I did get the chair recovered in time. The chair turned out passable for Thanksgiving, but it's taken till way past Valentines Day to redo and finish the rest of it. It still isn't perfect, but it was my first attempt, I've learned a couple of things, and I'm satisfied overall. Besides, I have many more sewing projects to start!

Needs some loving....

This top part was harder than the bottom!

I was pleased with how this bottom cushion turned out

All done!

The Pleasures of Industriousness

     I had a very productive day in my kitchen and garden. I had a  couple of sick kids who slept on and off all morning long. This was not a bad thing overall. While their bodies were healing, I was making a batch of whole wheat pita bread to go with the hummous I whipped up. I used some fragrant, bright yellow lemons from my tree in the hummous that added so much pungent flavor. I was also working on two loaves of french bread that were quite scrumptious with some brie, gouda, and fontina cheeses that I bought yesterday from Trader Joe's. I had read that soft cheeses are good for intestinal health and we've been having some issues with that lately. Plus, they are delicious cheeses! Especially the smoked gouda - one of my favorites. Speaking of cheese, I'm aiming to use up some mascarpone cheese from Christmas (a sweet, creamy cream cheese popular in Italian cooking and tiramisu) in a pasta dish that I'll use my chinese snow peas in, some shelled peas I picked from my garden, and some tiny bell peppers that are still growing in my yard. Such faithful cuties, those baby bells of mine.
     While making a sandwich from the french bread I made, Elena asked if we had any tomoatoes. We did! I had seen a half dozen or so growing outside on my back fence. They were incredibe tasting!
     My little ones have perked up and oh what pleasure to feed them tasty, wholesome, home-grown and homemade food!

the leftovers