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Thank you so much for all your sympathy regarding my lasagne faux pas. It appears I’m not alone with my memory problems LOL! I had a few requests for the recipe, so I’ve posted it in my recipe section — you can find it here.

I’m very excited — today was my last day of work until Monday, November 26th. WooHoo – a 10-day break! I’m hoping to make the best use of my time and fill my days with cleaning, sewing, baking, and shopping. NOT in that order. Must get started on Christmas sewing and shopping. And I’m really hoping to have a day where I can sit down at the computer and go through some pictures. I’m pretty good at taking the time to take pictures, but I don’t take the time to get them printed and I’m several events behind. MeMum has been so good to keep albums for the kids over the years, and she’s been requesting copies of my pictures for the last year. Must Do That, but it won’t be easy — whenever I sit down at the computer, your blogs call me!

If the mail service will cooperate, I’ll soon have a few sewing items to show you. In the meantime, I hope you all have a great weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

Pictured: SweetiePie and TheFirstChild enjoying a pretty fall day.

I’ve been thinking about Inspiration a lot lately. Especially as it gets closer to the holidays. There’s inspiration everywhere you turn in blogland and I know it will only intensify as Christmas approaches. A few links I enjoyed today:

• Old School Acres is making yoyos. I know they’ve been around but I never get tired of them and I haven’t had a chance to make any yet.
• Sarah pointed out an old how-to link for making bottle brush trees in different colors. Very cool.
• And Karen Russell was just extra inspiring to me today. I loved what she had to say about “Lasts”.

So, in a pay-it-forward sort of way, I humbly offer my brand of inspiration:

Last night I made my Lazy Day Overnight Lasagne. It’s easy-peasy — made the day ahead and you don’t have to cook the regular lasagne noodles — they soften from the moisture in the meat sauce. After you assemble the layers, you let it cool, then refrigerate it until the next night, when you sprinkle it with lots of cheese and pop it in the oven. Here it is, right before it goes into the refrigerator:

The inspiration?

• I hope to inspire you to plan your meals to make mealtime on hectic nights much easier.
• I hope to inspire you to make homemade, aka, cook from scratch.
• I REALLY hope to inspire you to remember to put the lasagne into the refrigerator before you go to bed so it doesn’t sit out on the counter all night.

Smooth Move, ExLax!

XOXO,
Anna

Nicole, at Sister’s Choice Quilts has asked “What’s on Your Bed?” Here’s what’s on my bed:

TheEmptyNestChild is always on my bed. I normally have an off-white matelasee coverlet on my bed, but since tubby, hairy ol’ Scruff lounges on my bed, I have the backside of an old tied quilt on the bed to protect the coverlet from all his hair and general dirtiness. Currently, something outside of the window has caught Scruff’s attention, so he couldn’t be bothered to pose for you.

Anyway, I do have a real quilt under the coverlet that is probably more what Nicole had in mind. Many years ago, TheManoftheHouse, MyDadLovesMeBestSister, and Junie and I were all shopping in Shipshewana at Yoder’s. They had a big raffle quilt hanging on the wall and TheManoftheHouse really liked it. Since he actually commented on it and expressed an interest in quilting, I thought I should make one for him. The four of us had a good time carrying bolts of solid fabrics up to that quilt, trying to match the colors. It’s very Amish-looking.

Kind of makes you sick, huh? That was the idea — the colors should blend into each other a little and make you think you have blurry vision. It’s not really my kind of quilt, but he likes it and it keeps us warm.
Kim, hello Ki-i-im?! Are you out there? The Pioneer Woman has come to your rescue this week and has a post just for you on her cooking blog! She’s added a secret ingredient that should be the answer to your prayers! ;-)
XOXO,
Anna

I’ve been tagged by the lovely Jade to do the crafty meme. Go check out Jade’s fun answers to this meme, then come back here so I can put you to sleep!

1. When did you start to create and make craft?

I learned how to do most of the things I love to do when I was a little girl. Embroidery was probably first at around age 7 or 8. Then, I probably learned how to sew, knit and crochet when I was between 8 and 11 or 12. MeMum gets all the credit for my sewing skills — she has the patience of a saint!

I remember the first little article of clothing I ever made — it was a little wrap-around dress. Does anybody remember those? It was the perfect project for a beginning sewer — cut out a dress front, dress back, then two side pieces that were really more like 1/3 of a front and 1/3 of a back. Then sew the side-back to the front, the front to the back, then the back to the side-front. It made one long piece with three armholes. Then put bias binding around all the raw edges — that’s it! No set in sleeves, pockets, zippers, or anything complicated. When you put it on, you would put your left arm through the 1st armhole, your right arm through the 2nd armhole, and your left arm through the third armhole. The dress overlapped on the left arm. It’s really hard to explain but it was cute and spelled instant success for an impatient little seamstress. And was I ever impatient! There were many ripped out zippers and seams accompanied by SCA-reaming fits in the early days. Practice makes perfect though, and nowadays, ripping out is a breeze with nary a tear! I dabbled in lots of other crafy things back then too — anyone remember raffia flowers done on the little looms? Or the big tissue paper flowers that Martha has taken to the bank these days?

I also learned several things from my aunt when we would visit her. She taught my cousins and I decopage and gold leafing. And for my 14th birthday, she gave me a cake decorating set that I still use today. She taught me the basics of decorating cakes. Tole painting came when I was in college, smocking was shortly before the birth of TheFirstChild, and quilting while I was on maternity leave with TheSecondChild.

2. Why did you start creating?

I have no idea. Maybe because I was bored? Probably because I had a very talented mother and aunt who were so willing to teach me whatever I wanted to learn. We moved a lot when I was growing up, so I was the loner type of kid. My sewing machine was my friend! It’s not as dismal as it sounds — there were friends here and there, but really, I was happier when I was making something. Making new friends every few years was a lot of work — sewing was much easier! And now, the irony of it all is, that all this crafty stuff has made the best friendships possible! I have non-crafty friends, but it’s not quite the same — I think you all know just what I mean.

3. Why do you create?

I think I’m obsessed. Or maybe that’s possessed (it is that haunting time of year after all.) I really can’t imagine a life without making stuff. Sometimes I wonder what my non-crafty friends who don’t really have any hobbies do all day. And they probably wonder why I can’t stop making “that crap”! But, I really enjoy it and I can’t stop. It drives TheManoftheHouse crazy that I can’t just sit and watch TV without something in my hands. But, after almost 30 years, I think he’s finally giving up.
4. What do you create?

I make mostly clothes and bags and gifts that can be sewn. And I knit here and there and make an occasional quilt or papercraft..

5. Has this changed since you began crafting?

Nope. When I was growing up most of my time was spent sewing. I would knit and crochet and do other things, but not as much. That’s still the way it is today.

The pictures are a few Halloween things around here. I took the first picture this afternoon around 4:00. The sky was so dark and brooding, the picture doesn’t really do it justice.

Hope you’re having a good weekend!
XOXO,
Anna

Edited to add:  Oops!  I forgot to tag someone for this meme — how ’bout the first three commenters (not counting Nicollette, who has already been tagged) — so that means Lucy, Connie and Sarah!  I’m really interested to read their answers!

Warning: Long Post Ahead!
In the past several weeks, I’ve been tagged for several memes. First off, Joni gave me the You Make Me Smile Award and tagged me for the 6 facts meme.

Thanks Joni! You’re a sweetheart, and you certainly make me smile too. ALOT! In addition, Sarah Jayne tagged me for the four things meme. (And I have this nagging feeling that someone else tagged me during the New York week, but I can’t remember…so if that’s true, I’m sorry that I’ve forgotten!) I’m going to cheat a little and combine the two memes, hoping you can find 6 facts among the 4 things!

4 jobs I’ve had:

• Kentucky Fried Chicken.
• Cheeseborough Ponds Perfume Factory assembly line – I worked on the line putting atomizers in the bottles right after the perfume had been put into the bottles. Sometimes the machines would jam up and perfume would spill on the floor – my shoes, and therefore my closet, smelled great!
• And engraver in a clock repair shop.
• A test administrator giving GED and CLEP tests.

4 films I could watch over and over:

• The Full Monty
• Top Gun
• Life is Beautiful
• Milk Money

4 TV shows I watch:

• Lost
• Two and a Half Men
• Boston Legal
• Jeopardy

4 places I have lived:

• Lancaster, California
• Huntsville, Alabama
• Hanau, Germany
• Manti, Utah

4 favorite foods:

• Kim! Don’t Look! – Mashed Potatoes.
• Prime Rib.
• MeMum’s pot roast with carrots and potatoes.
• MeMum’s three layer chocolate cake.

4 favorite colors:

• Blue
• Red
• Purple
• Everything else! What would our world be without color???

4 places I’d love to be right now:

• Scotland
• England
• Wales
• Maine

4 names I love but could/would not use for my children:

• Elizabeth
• Bronwyn
• Liam
• Return – which sounds totally goofy, but it’s a family name. The story goes that my g-g-g-grandfather (Richard) asked my g-g-g-grandmother to marry him and she said no. He moved to another town, but before he left, he told her if she changed her mind, to send him a letter. Before long, he received a note with only two words: Return Richard. So, they named their firstborn Return Richard. And he named his firstborn Return Richard. And he named his firsborn Return LaVar (my grandpa.) Grandpa hated his name and didn’t pass it on. It didn’t occur to me until my boys were older, but I really wish I’d given one of them the name Return for a middle name ‘cause I love family names (and if I’d had a usable maiden name, that would have been used too.) Anyway, my boys are probably breathing a sigh of relief now!

4 people I’d love to tag with this Meme: (I’m tagging people in my Mother’s of Two Boys Club ;-). Except, off hand, I can only think of two, so I’m extending it to mother’s of three boys. If you hate meme’s, please ignore me! ;-) )

• Sharon at RedGeraniumCottage
• Karen at MyYellowFarmhouse
• Cathy at Miss Marzie
• Karen at Rohanknitter

And speaking of Rohanknitter, she tagged me for the book meme:

Hardcover or paperback, and why? Hardcover, although the book industry is certainly making some beautiful paperbacks these days.

If I were to own a book shop , I would call it…. Hmmm, it would probably be something corny like “Once Upon a Time…”

My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is… I don’t know that I really have a “favorite” quote. But while we’re talking about books in the crafy blog world, here’s a quote that I think is funny:

Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking. – Albert Einstein

The author (alive or deceased) I would love to have lunch with would be… Wallace Stegner, Thomas Hardy, The Brontes, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Beatrix Potter, Ayn Rand…in the interest of bedtime, I think I should stop now.

If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except for the SASsurvival guide, it would be… hmmm, how hard is this one? I think it would be something big that I would like to read but think I’ll never have time – Canterbury Tales? War and Peace???

I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that… would allow me to read in my sleep. I might actually make it through my booklist before I die!

The smell of an old book reminds me of… Hyde Brothers – the really cool used book store here in town.

If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be… gosh, that’s hard. All the heroines I’ve loved have gone through something awful and I don’t think I’d really want that??? E.g., Tess in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. For a non-tragic choice, how ‘bout Dagny in Atlas Shrugged?

The most overestimated book of all times is… ummmm, maybe One Hundred Years of Solitude, or as I fondly call it, One Hundred Years of Hell. I also completely agree with Rohanknitter about The DaVinci Code!

I hate it when a book … again, I’ll agree with Rohanknitter – I hate it when sex scenes are thrown in and they’re not relevant to the story. I’ve had a theory for about 15 years in my book group – when we’re reading a book that has sex scenes that add nothing to the story, it’s almost always written by a man! LOL

And now to tag for the book meme — my source for all things word related, Isabelle. And I’m awarding all five of the ladies I’ve tagged with the You Make Me Smile award because they do make me smile (as do all the blogs I read) and as a reward for tagging them.
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I’ve certainly said enough for now!
XOXO,
Anna

P.S. The skeletons were the pleasant surprise I found when I went downtown this weekend. Who knew they decorated for Halloween???