A Must Read Book

One of my must read books is being made into a movie, but before it happens you should read "Eat, Pray, Love: One woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia" by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Elizabeth is a very engaging writer and takes us through her post-divorce journey to wholeness. In Italy it's about the food, her flat mate and Italian language classes and her Italian tutor.

In India Elizabeth goes to a remote Ashram to try to understand her life and soul. Elizabeth goes into what life is like at the Ashram and the people she meets. By the time she leaves India she is well on her way on her new post divorce life.

In Indonesia, Elizabeth learns she does have power over her own universe and life. Elizabeth also learns to love again.

This is a unique book and the people Elizabeth meets along the way are awesome and teach her little life lessons along the way. I urge you to read the book before the movie comes out. It will have you laughing and crying and wishing that you could meet these people and make them apart of your life.

I have included a link to Amazon.com if you would like to buy the book on line, and use this link on the upper right corner of my web page, I will get a small commission.

Read this wonderful book and enjoy your families.

Low Fat Green Beans Almondine

I try not to use a lot of extra fat in my cooking and have finally come up with a low fat version that my husband likes. You can not be totally fat free because the almonds have some fat, but you will find no other fat in this recipe. Since we eat a large amount of vegetables in our house I feel this is a recipe for 2 to 3 people, however I am sure that it will serve more if you don't cover half of your plate with vegetables.

I cheated and used my steamer. It was fast and easy to do and would be a great recipe to let the children help assemble.

1 pound of fresh green beans rinsed and trimmed
8 ounces of fresh whole mushrooms cleaned and quartered
1/2 cup of sliced almonds, the slivers work the best

Layer the steamer tray as follows: the bottom layers should be the green beans , then spread the mushrooms evenly over the green beans. Finally sprinkle the almond slivers evenly over the top. I set my steamer for 10 minutes. Your green beans almondine are now ready to serve. There will be a large burst of steam when you open the steamer so do not let the children do this.

My husband did note that after dinner it was hard to get all the almond slivers out of the steam tray, but because the dish tasted good I should make it again and he would clean the tray out.

I use an Aroma Steamer, and have included a link to Amazon.com for the rice cooker and steamer that I use.

Cell Phone Courtesy

I would like to comment on cell phone courtesy for just a moment. We are told not to talk and drive, well I think it should also be applied to pushing a shopping cart.

This rant was brought about by more than several near misses at Costco today. Also by cell phone users blocking aisles while they are busy talking.

Please think about what you are doing.

Please think about what you are saying, we don't care what your ex wore to the party or whom they went with.

Please remember that is a small world, if it is meant to be a private conversation, have it at home where no one can ease drop.

Please don't glare at the person you just ran into with your shopping cart or worse yet car, because you can not walk, talk and drive at the same time. Multi tasking is very bad for you.

Please don't feel you have to talk on the phone all the way through a meal at a restaurant, we go out to have a good time and for some quite time. It's OK to answer the phone and then move outside to finish the call.

It is really OK to not answer a text message and talk to the people you are out with, after all you are out with them and not the people on the other end of the phone.

I know that this is an uber connected generation with children as young as 5 saying that their lives will be ruined with out the prerequisite cell phone. With cell phones, as with all things in life manners are a must.

If you disagree with this please remember the rules that my house lives by.
1. Mom is always right.
2. If mom is wrong see rule number 1.

My rule of thumb on this is to make this the type of world you would like to live in. We are all in this together. Have a wonderful day and enjoy your families.

My Art Fire Studio

I have been thinking about my Art Fire Studio http://www.tinyurl.com/handmadebysheri a lot lately. I still have not had one sale. So maybe it is time to take some things out and put others in.

For fall and winter I was thinking about adding some wool scarfs. I hope with the weather getting colder they might be useful in other parts of the country. I got a good deal on some nice bulky Cascade wool at a tag sale so I can do a bunch an list them for about $10.00 each and still make some money.

I was also thinking about a line of semi home made felted purses and tote bags. I would knit the blanks and the buyer can decorate and felt as they please. This will give the busy person a chance to say I made it myself.

So look for the changes to come soon. If there is something in my Studio that you like get ti now before i start de-listing items.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your families.

A Short poem

Fall's Here
The wind is
Playing with
The trees.



It was a late start day for Eric today, so it was warmer as we waited at the bus stop for the bus. The first sound Eric heard was the wind blowing through the trees, I think he liked the sound of it, because he was smiling. so the above poem is dedicated to Eric.

Good-Bye Summer

Today is the first day off Autumn, a chill is in the air. It was under 80 degrees when I put Eric on the bus today, I stepped outside and had to run in to get a shawl for my shoulders. I am not one of those cold weather people, when it gets below 80 I cringe and below 70 well lets just say that I am counting the days to late spring and summer.

I know this is where the gaffes will start from those in colder climates where 80 degrees is a hot day, but I live in the desert and a slew of 100 degree plus days is what I love, It does not have to be record breaking shut down the airport hot, just above 100 is all I ask for.

For all you planning to visit Tucson this winter, I will be the one that has layers of clothing on, while those of you from colder climates will be walking around in shorts. Now really shorts in winter what are you thinking? I don't even wear shorts in summer.

So you will find me for the next 8 months or so cringing and under layers of clothing...maybe I should just hibernate for the fall and winter, but I don't think the house will run well with out me.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy the first day of Fall.

Tucson Wool Festival

It's that time of year again, Unique Designs by Kathy is hosting the 5th annual Tucson Wool Festival. The big day is Saturday, October 17, 2009, from 9 am to 3 pm. It is a great event for the entire family. The event is stroller and wheelchair friendly if you don't mind a bit of rough terrain and four wheeling it, I know because I have pushed 80 pounds of boy along with 180 pounds of wheelchair at past events.

Did I mention that the Tucson Wool Festival is FREE. This would be a good group outing for your group or school. Your can tour a real working ranch, Kathy gives a great tour and her animals are friendly. Kathy will have a prize drawing and I can not wait for the sheep to shawl event.

Kathy does a wonderful job of spinning yarn too. The yarn Kathy spun up and I knit into a shawl is still in use 4 1/2 years later. So be sure to check out Kathy's shop on the ranch for hand spun yarn, fibre to spin and very nice hand work done by Kathy too.

Kathy wrote out an elegant description, so in the interest of doing the event justice I will plagiarize her description of the event.

"Tour a working fiber farm and meet our llamas, angora goats, Shetland, Jacob, Border Leicester and Rambouillet sheep and angora rabbits. Their luxurious fibres are used in spinning, felting, weaving and knitting to create lovely and natural apparel and decorative work. Try your hand at a workshop or visit a selection of unique fiber artists from across the southwest. Of course, knitters and crocheters are welcome to lend a hand to the "Freeform Community sheep to shawl" event."

As of today there is still time to volunteer, call Kathy. Kathy also has some space left for vendors, to set up a vending spot for hand crafted items only, so if you spin, raise your own fibre animals or create your own hand made crafting supplies give Kathy a call at (520) 572-3758. or e-mail her at jmarckathy@aol.com or check out her web site at http://www.uniquedesignsbykathy.com

It is fairly easy to get to Kathy's ranch. From the I-10, Exit Cortaro Farms & travel east to Thornydale, north past Linda Vista to Palo Seco. This is a small dirt road just past some apartments. Turn left and the Ranch is first on the right. From Tucson if you are not taking the freeway take Ina to Thornydale and go north past Linda Vista to Palo Seco. Turn left and the ranch is on the right hand side. There is plenty of street parking, just be sure to pull all the way off the road.

This is a must go to event for fibre people and a good outing for children, there are not many working ranches left in Tucson. I hope to see you there.

A Salute to Spinners Everywhere

I tried my hand at spinning yesterday at the guild meeting. I would like to say that I was a total flop. The only 2 things I was good at was breaking the yarn and over winding the yarn back into the batt. Hands that are good at knitting are not necessarily good at spinning. Although Helga was kind and said that it took a while to learn and when hands are flared with arthritis it is not a good time to start to learn to spin.

I would say with out a doubt that all the spinners jobs are safe, I will not be joining your ranks any time soon. I would love to say that I could sit and watch someone spin for hours, I find that very relaxing. You are all wonderful artists. Thank you all for reviving the hand spun yarn movement.

I hope that this does not exclude me from buying all the hand spun yarn I would like. I do like unique and one of a kind items.

Pina Colada Chicken

I have had a request for my Pina Colada Chicken. This is a fast and easy recipe and I always serve it on a bed of brown rice.

1 pound of Chicken breasts
1 large can of crushed Dole Pineapple in its own juice
1 can of Coconut milk ( you can use the light version if you like)
1 cup of Bakers Coconut
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
non stick cooking spray

In my heart shaped Le Creuset casserole dish, I spray the casserole dish and top with non stick cooking spray.

Rinse the chicken and place in the casserole dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drain the Dole Pineapple into a glass. Pour the coconut milk over the chicken, then add the drained pineapple and sprinkle the coconut on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Clean the sink out with your favorite bleach cleaner.

Start the rice about 1 cup of cooked rice per person. Add ice to the drained juice and enjoy your treat.

Serve with salad

This recipe serves 4. There are no Vegan or Vegetarian options for this recipe.

I have not received compensation for either Bakers Coconut or the Dole corporation. As usual these are the brands I use.

Welch's Harvest of Help to Feed America

Welch's: Harvest of Help

This is an easy way to help other people, just click once a day. No need to register. just click.

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Parenting

A lot of people feel that they have to jump through a lot of hoops to make their child the perfect child, They try many different methods and buy tons of parenting books. Now I am not saying that some guidance is not necessary. But my children's first Pediatrician Dr. Fricker told me early on to pick only one book and not to be a slave to that book because each child is different. To that end I will not tell you what book that I have on my bookshelf, but will instead give my humble opinion on what you need to do as a parent to raise a happy healthy child.



The number one job of a parent is to raise happy children who find their own way to make the world a better place. No more, no less.



The first step in developing a happy child is for the child to know that they are wanted and are an important part of your life. The easiest way to get a smile from your child is to tell them that they were planned or in the case of an unexpected child is to tell them that it was part of Gd's plan and he pick the right parents for your child. With the adopted child this can be easier with the child being told that they are special because you picked them out.



The second step is to develop a sense of community for your child. Explaining that being part of that community involves rules and a certain set of standards. This does involve teaching a child that they can not have everything that they want and that no means no. This will lead to frustration on the part of the parent and child, with the child throwing the occasional temper tantrum. I let the tantrum run its course and then talked to my children when they were calmer.

Discipline comes in to the equation too. Discipline is a way to integrate a child into society, by teaching them what society excepts from them and what they can expect in return. Discipline does not mean that a belt has to be pulled out for each infraction. I found the best way to discipline my children is to walk up to them and whisper in their ear what they are doing wrong and in the case of my eldest is to ask her what corrective action she is going to take to resolve the problem. With my youngest he requires more direction so I tell him what I would like him to do.



Also it is important to realize that each child is different. Not every child will grow up to be the President of a large company or the United States, those jobs are very limited and not everyone is suited for those jobs. There are literally hundreds of different jobs that need to be done each day to make this world function and they all require different skill sets. It is your job as a parent to help your child find their own way. Some children might show artistic tendencies. While others excel in math or science. This is where you can let your child lead the way, and no it does not mean letting children abandon school. School teaches a very real set of skills that are necessary for your child to grow into a fully functioning adult.

The job of parenting is a very difficult one with no instruction manual is issued when the child is born. It is instead a learning experience for you and your child. Please feel free to ignore the latest study and go with your gut feelings. If in doubt ask someone you consider a great parent and ask your questions, but don't be surprised that after the basics are answered they often say you have to learn to go with the flow.

Rules of My House

OK so this is not the most novel blog title. Of course we all know the standard rules of the house:

Rule number

1: Mom is always right. Rule number 2: If mom happens to be wrong, please refer to rule number 1.



These rules are geared more toward people who come into my house to take care of my son. These rules are in no particular order, but are all equally important. They are all a result of past incidents that have occurred in our home.



1. Please do not rearrange my furniture, I put it where it is because I like it there. You have not come in as a decorator.

2. Please do not encourage bad behavior in my son. We really like decorum in the house, and good manners are a large part of that.

3. Please do not laugh at bad behavior in my son for you own amusement. If you want amusement go to a movie on your own time.

4. Unless you have a lot of prior experience with children like my son do not tell me I am doing my job wrong, or am not using his equipment right. The doctors and the therapists have the last word on how we do many of these things.

5. I have been doing this job for over 19 years, I think I know what I am doing by now. And No, I really don't care how other parents run their houses or take care of their children. My concern is my son.

6. It is fine to discuss religion with me, but you will not bring religion up with my son. He knows where we come from and that is all that is important to us as a family. Your job is to care for his body, we will take care of his soul.

7. If there is any eyrping or other bodily messes occurrence while you are working with my son, it is your job to clean it up. Please do not leave the mess for later, the next shift or I will have to clean it up.

8. You might be working with my son, but You are a guest in my house, please show some courtesy towards my family.

9. This is not a zoo please do not feel you have to stare at us for hours on end.

10 My purse is not your personal ATM, If you need money go to your employer or family.

11. If you get your self into debt it is not my responsibility to get you out of debt.

12. My house is not your shopping mall, If you need makeup, kitchen items, religious articles, or anything else, ask your parents, or go shopping.

13. If you decide to skip your mood altering prescription drugs, please feel free to skip work that day, I really don't need to deal with your break from reality or anger management issues.

14. Please do not treat my son like a brick. He may not be able to talk to or see you, but he has feelings and a great sense of humor.

15. If you are sick Please, Please, Please do not come to work. When you get my son sick, it leads to long days and nights caring for a sick son. I have noticed that in the past you have not volunteered to stay up all night with him.

On the other hand there are things I don't mind at all.

1. You may fold and put away my sons laundry any time you want.

2. You may straighten and dust his room any time you want.

3. If his shelves are in a jumble please feel free to organize them, this is not one of my strong points.

4. You may talk to him all you like, he really will listen. Did I mention he has a great sense of humor and likes girls and music.

5. The following things always need to be done, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, straighting his bathroom.

Please do not miss construe this to mean that we don't like you, the opposite is true. Just remember that your place of business is our home and refuge. That we like everyone else, likes down time and family time.

Thank you for reading my rant. Please feel free to pass this along to other families who use care givers on a regular basis.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your families.

My Version of Chili

This is my lazy version of chili, this recipe is easy to do. If however; your are a chili fan who will go to great lengths to find the perfect chili, this recipe is not for you. In other words if your are a chili purest go to the next recipe. For the rest of the world this is an easy dish to prepare.

2 pounds of stew meat
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 onion chopped
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1-28 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes in its own juice
1 cup of water
2 teaspoons of The Spice Hunter Salt Free Chili Powder Blend
2-16 ounces cans of kidney beans drained and rinsed
1 pound of frozen white corn
Non stick cooking spray

In a large Le Creuset pot, spray the bottom and sides with the non stick cooking spray. Add the stew meat, salt and pepper and brown the meat over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion and saute for a few minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Add the canned tomatoes, water, chili powder, drained beans and the pound of frozen white corn. Bring to a slow boil and then turn the flame to medium low and simmer for a minimum of 2 hours, the longer the better. Check to pot every 15 to 20 minutes to stir and make sure that you have enough chili broth so that the chili does not burn. After one hour of cooking tasted the chili broth and adjust the seasonings to your liking.

Serve with warm corn bread. It is not our custom, but you may add cheese to the top of the chili after it has been ladled into the bowl.

I have also made this recipe with diced chicken or turkey, for poultry I would cut the chili powder in half.

I have not made this recipe to accommodate vegans or vegetarians.

If your store does not carry The Spice Hunter Salt Free Chili powder blend go to www.thespicehunter.com for where to buy locally. Amazon does carry The Spice Hunter Chili Powder but it does come in a six pack.

I am not being paid to promote The Spice Hunter Salt Free Chili Blend. This just happens to be the one that my family likes. Like wise I am not being paid to promote the Le Creuset Pots, I just love them and wish I could afford a full set.

Improvising a Casserole Dish

It occurred to me yesterday when I was on the phone with Teri that a lot of people born in the last 25 years or so have not had mandatory cooking classes in middle school or high school, so I though I would write about improvising if you don't have the called for casserole dish.

To improvise a casserole pan is one of the easiest things to do. Most of you basic cooking sets will come with either a rectangular or square cake pan or a bread pan. And you should have aluminum foil as on of your kitchen basics.

Line your pan with the foil, shinny side down. added your ingredients and seal your pan with another layer of foil shinny side down. Make sure that your seal is very tight or you might run out of cooking liquids and end up with a very dry or burnt dish.

For metal pans you can use the the temperature called for in the recipe. For glass baking pans DO NOT put the oven temperature above 325 degrees Fahrenheit and give it a longer time to cook.

If you have any specific question on improvising just leave a note in the comment section and I will address the issue to the best of my abilities.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your families.

In Memory of Jarrad

In memory of Eric's friend Jarrad I will be donating 10% of all sales from http://www.tinyurl.com/handmadebysheri to the Tucson JCC Special Needs program till 9/8/2009.

Both Jarrad and Eric have enjoyed the Tucson JCC Special Needs Programs through out the years. I can think of no better way to honor Jarrad then to make a donation in his memory to a program that he loved so much.

If you would like to make a donation in Jarrad's honor you can send a check to:

Tucson JCC
Special Needs Programing
3800 East River Road
Tucson Arizona, 85718

This is a non-profit group and government funding has been reduced for special needs programing this year due to state budget constraints.

Mohave Mango Salsa Chicken

This is what I am cooking for dinner tonight.

Mohave Mango Salsa Chicken Tacos

2 chicken breasts skinned and boned
1/2 cup of Goldwater's Mohave Mango Salsa
1/2 Cup of water
a pinch of salt and pepper
Corn tortillas
shredded lettuce
2 tomatoes diced
1 Avocado diced

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. 1 hour before dinner spray the inside and cover of a 2 quart Le Creuset casserole with non-stick cooking spray. Rinse the chicken breasts and place in the casserole. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the water and put the salsa on top of the chicken breasts. Cover and cook for 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Once the chicken is in the oven clean the sink and any counter space used with your bleach solution of preference.

Wash and shred the lettuce and place in the fridge. Wash and dice the tomatoes and place in the fridge. Dice the avocado right before serving so it does not brown.

When the chicken has finished cooking very thinly slice or shred the chicken and place back in the casserole dish and cover. Dice the avocado and leave the pit in the bowl. Heat the corn tortillas 2 at a time in a fry pan on medium heat, turn once just till warm, be sure not to burn them.

On a plate assemble the salsa chicken taco's by placing the tortillas on the plate. Add the chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and avocado, for a spicier taco you may add extra salsa.

Serve with rice and/or beans.

This recipe will make 8 to 10 taco's.

The Vegan option is even faster to make, just dice the vegetables, heat the tortillas and cover with vegetables and add a dollop of salsa on top.

For the vegetarian option just skip the meat, dice the vegetables, heat the tortillas , cover with vegetables, cheese and a dollop of salsa on top.

For those of you that are not lucky enough to have an A.J.'s Fine Foods near your home, the salsa can be bought on line. Please go to http://www.goldwaters.com/ .

I am not being paid to endorse the Goldwater's Salsa, this is just a family favorite. Likewise I am not being paid to endorse A.J.'sFine Foods, it happens to be close to my house and have a lot of products that are not available elsewhere in Tucson.

The Friday Pattern -Wash Cloths and Beyond

This was the most wanted pattern by new knitters on Friday.

The pattern is for a wash cloth for new knitters this is a perfect pattern to leap off from. Use the needle size recommended by your yarn of choice. I like Lilly "Sugar and Cream" or Lion Brand cotton for dish cloths, but feel free to use any cotton you like.

Cast on 2

Row 1 knit one (K1), yarn over (YO), knit one (k1)

Row 2 knit one (K1), yarn over (YO), knit (K) till the end of the row.

Repeat row 2 till your wash cloth measures 10 inches up the diagonal side.

Row 3 knit 1 (k1), knit 2 together (k2tog), knit (K) till the end of the row.

When you have 2 stitches left on the needle bind off (BO).

Weave in the ends.


The abbreviations in the brackets are like the ones you would see in a typical knitting pattern. The pattern would look like this in in a typical book.

CO2

Row 1 K1, yo, K1

Row 2 K1, yo, K till the end of the row

Repeat row 2 till the diagonal measure is 10"

Row 3 K1, k2tog, k till the end of the row.

repeat row 3 till you have 2 stitches left on the needle.

BO and weave in ends

The thing I like about this basic pattern is that it can be grown into different projects by just adding a little more knitting. I like to use cable needles when knitting blankets, the weight is distributed more evenly and does not get as heavy as if knit on straight needles.

For a preemie blanket knit till the diagonal is 20-26 inches long. I would use a soft washable yarn with NO metal threads in it. The nurses in the NICU's generally do not like wool because it tends to felt when washed and is not quite suitable for their smaller charges.

For a full term baby blanket knit till the diagonal is 36". Use any yarn you like. If it is meant to be a show only blanket the yarn does not matter, if however, you want a usable blanket make sure that the yarn is machine wash and dry able.

To make different size blankets make 9 (3 blocks by 3 blocks)to 30 (5 blocks across by 6 blocks long) wash cloth size squares and sew them together. This is a good way to use left over yarn. Once the squares are sewn together a a small crochet trim to bring the project together.

If you have any questions please feel free to leave me a comment with your e-mail and I will answer to the best of my ability. Have fun knitting and see where the yarn will take you.

Have a wonderful day.

My First Pattern

I am writing my very first pattern to sell on my web site. I only have 4 more skeins to knit. This is my I can knit in my sleep shawl that everyone seems to like and want the pattern to. I guess that I will have a lot of time to work on it since Eric was sent home sick from school. I can't believe that school has been in secession less than 2 weeks and that he is already sick.

I hope to use his sick days more productively this year, but round the clock child care seems a bit tyring at times. The bright side of the whole Eric being sick is that I have lots of patterns to write, lots of items to knit in my queue, and yarn everywhere...did I mention that yarn was one of my addictions?

Well on to child care and knitting.

Have a great day and enjoy your families.

Yet Another Red Pot Recipe

This is my families favorite chicken soup. This is a basic recipe that you can change up with the addition of matzo balls, dumplings or noodles or a combination of noodles and dumplings or matzo balls.

1 whole chicken ,washed in cold water.
1 teaspoon salt
water to cover chicken
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 pounds of carrots peeled and sliced
1 large celery sliced, this will be about 7-8 cups
1 onion diced

In a large pot add cleaned chicken and salt. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Skim the pot of any junk that comes to the top, this should take about 30 minutes. While you are waiting for the chicken to boil now is an excellent time to scrub down your sink with your favorite bleach cleanser. It is important to clean the sink and the surrounding area before you chop the vegetables.

Once the chicken is not making any more junk and the broth has been skimmed clear, Add all the vegetables at once and add the pepper. Turn the stove to medium low and and simmer at least 2 hours.

After about 2 hours I carefully pull the chicken from the pot and de-bone the chicken, this is the process where the skin is pulled off and the bones are taken out of the chicken. Smaller pieces of chicken are tossed right back in the pot, I tend to dice the larger pieces before they are put back in the pot.

If you are going to add dumplings this is the point where you add them. For a quick dumpling just use a regular biscuit recipe and spoon into the boiling broth and turn down the temperature and simmer for about 20 minutes. For and even faster dumpling just get your favorite ready to use biscuits and layer them on the top of the broth and simmer for about 20 minutes.

I usually make the noodles separately and keep them separate from the soup. Since everyone has their own noodle preference I let everyone scoop their own noodles and then add the soup. The only exception to this would be alphabet noodles which just taste better when they have more time in the broth.

The soup is ready to serve. I usually serve this with bread and margarine.

Enjoy this soup recipe and add your families favorite vegetables to the soup to make it your own.

Unfortunately I have no vegan or vegetarian options for this soup.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your families.

Eric's Milk Shake

Eric has a new favorite dinner. I know he likes it because he makes happy sounds, makes nice mommy and takes my hand to rub his tummy to show me how good it feels.

Eric's Shake

1 Banana
1 cup vanilla soy ice cream
1/4 cup of nut butter ( The current favorites are Macadamia and cashew, and will do peanut butter in a pinch)
Soy milk to top off the container.

In a large Magic bullet cup add the ingredients in the following order: Banana, soy ice cream, nut butter and fill to 1/4 inch from the top with soy milk. Blend till smooth.

This is the vegan recipe. You can use regular ice cream and milk if you don't have any allergies to cows milk.

A Wonderful Day

I always find it interesting how I always have a wonderful day after Eric gets better. Friday was no exception. I did not even mind that my day would be cut short, the air conditioning was out on the bus, so I let Eric ride to school because it was still fairly cool. When he got out of school it was about 100 degrees outside which would equal an oven in the bus, no we do not want to do heat stroke again, once was one more time than was absolutely necessary.

It was a small but great group at knitting Friday. I finished one of my unfinished objects. Well not all the way finished but the knitting is done and I did not want to weave in the ends Friday. This morning I wove in the ends and listed it on Art Fire. Because of the 50% off sale this week the current cost $65.00 is only the cost of the yarn, no labor included. The price will go up Tuesday. John liked the blanket, but said that even selling it for the price of the yarn the blanket was still too pricey. I am hoping that if people want to support the handmade movement and the made in the USA movement the they would be willing to pay a little bit more for a nice handmade blanket. check it out at http://www.tinyurl.com/handmadebysheri ,I guess that only time will tell.

I was thankful that Wii did not forget me, and that I had a great workout. One of the few that have lasted 30 minutes since December. The real test will be tomorrow, to see if I can do 30 minutes again.

Have a wonderful day an enjoy the time with your families.

A Quick Poll

I am running a quick poll today.

Would you like to see more recipes on my blog Yes or No?

Please use the comment space below.

Thanks for your help and any other comments would be helpful too.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your families.

Another Red Pot Recipe

Eric is home sick today, he pick up heaven only knows what at that giant perti dish called school. So in honor of Eric being sick I will give you a very easy red pot recipe. By the way this is what my husband is getting for dinner tonight.

Brisket

1 Brisket
1 package of Lipton's onion soup mix
4 cups of water
non stick cooking spray.

Spray the red pot with non-stick cooking spray. Add the brisket and 4 cups of water. Sprinkle the onion soup over the brisket. Place in the oven and cook at 350 degrees for 3 to 4 hours.

Serve on soft rolls with a salad or vegetable sticks for a complete meal.

The only problem I have every encountered with this recipe is that the meat gets so tender that it is almost impossible to slice sometimes, and we just have to scoop the meat out of the pan.

Please let me know how you like the brisket.

I am sorry to say that there is no vegan or vegetarian alternatives to this recipe.

Please have a wonderful day and enjoy your families.

L1 Sale

Hi All,

I am having an L1 sale in honor of Teri's 1st week of Law School. Everything will be 50% off for the next week.

Check out www.tinyurl.com/handmadebysheri

My Red Pot Soup Recipe

You may have noticed that I put a large Le Creuset pot in my Amazon favorites box. So I will give you an easy recipe to go along with it.

1 to 2 pounds of stew meat or chicken cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
1 package of Streits dry soup mix any flavor
1 pound of frozen mixed vegetables
any vegetables just hang around in the fridge, diced in 1'' cubes

In the Le Creuset pot add the olive oil and meat, season with salt and pepper. Brown meat till well browned and no pink showing.

Add 5 cups of water and bring to a boil. skim the pot of any crud that bubbles to the top. Add the large bag with the main ingredients and simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes. Add the seasoning bag and simmer for 15 more minutes.

Add the frozen mixed vegetables and any other handy vegetables and simmer about 1 hour more. I usually pile the vegetables to with in a 1/2 inch of the top and cover. At this point I stir about every 10 to 15 minutes and then after an hour put the pot on low check the broth level and stirring every 10 to 15 minutes.

I like to cook this soup for 2 to 4 hours, the more time it has on low the better.

For the Vegan option just leave the meat and the olive oil out.

This soup taste even better reheated.

Please try this and enjoy.

Things are going well

I have to say that despite my back being flakier than a croissant, meaning I never know when I will be able to move or I will get stuck, things are going very well.

Teri Has finished her L1 orientation. She has even been teaching Microsoft Word a bit of Latin. She has acquired a mentor and is keeping pace with her reading. I think that this has been an overall great week for Teri.

Eric managed to make it through the first week of school with out missing a day, and has come home very happy both days. Our school district believes in easing the kids into the school year slowly by always starting on a Thursday.

I have managed to get a lot of knitting done and have almost finished another blanket. I hope that this blanket will be the second one I finish this week. I will be showing my work at a small festival hosted by a local pre-school Sunday evening. It will be nice to have some feed back on my work. I hope that I come home with less than I leave with.

John and I managed to find time for a date yesterday. We went to the 10 am showing of District 9, the CMG was fantastic, it was worth going to just for the CMG. Then off to lunch at Micha's one of our favorite restaurants on the south side of town.

We saw more movies today. Eric and I saw The Time Travelers Wife and John saw GI Joe, when we came home we had an Amazon rental, She is Just Not That into You. John said that GI Joe was good and would have like to see it in 3-D. the other 2 movies were fair.

Please have a wonderful day, and may your to do list take a break for the weekend.

Movment

I just knew that my back was going out yesterday, sometimes I could move and bend sometimes I could not. I woke up today and have lost my bend. I have to get Eric ready to start school tomorrow and have too much to do for my back to go out.



I have miss placed part of the nebulizer set that I send to school, I can not remember where I put the extra masks, now If I were a nebulizer mask where would I be hiding? I still have not put everything back in its place since we did the remodel and finished 3 months ago.



Today will be devoted to getting Eric ready for school tomorrow. Everything will land on the table till it is packed and ready to leave the house. I can not wait for school to start, there is a little more time in my day since I do not have to drive both ways. I wonder if the Wii remembers who I am?



I finished one lap blanket on Monday and will try to get it listed this week and am working on another, since the temperature has dropped to the low 100's it is time to bring out the light weight cotton blankets.

Have a wonderful day and may your chore list be shorter than mine.

I did finish the audio version of Sophie Kinsella's new book, Twenties Girl . It is the summer must read. Since it is mid August You might want to save this book for the first day of school when you can take some me time. This book is suitable for older children to listen to, although being classic chick-lit you might not get you other half to listen to it.

The book goes into the details of Lara Lington's adventures with her recently departed Great Aunt Sadie. Aunt Sadie is looking for the necklace that her parents gave her as a young woman in the 1920's. Lara's search for the perfect man, will it be the long time boy friend or the intriguing American Consultant? Lara is also trying to run a viable business with a flaky friend who has run off on holiday. Will Lara survive her business partners exploits?

Lara's family has its own issues and personality clashes and not everything is as it seems on the surface of things. I do like the way Lara interacts with her family and I love the end results of her efforts.

This book does scream sequel and I would not mind following Lara for a few more books. Ms. Kinsella can we please have a few more books about Lara?

The twists and turns in the book will keep your attention and at 6 1/2 hours it is not a very long book. If you decide to rip this book to your MP3 player be prepared to take about 25 hours to down load. This was my only problem with the book. My suggestion would be to listen to the disks in the car and only rip it if you want to take it out for a run.

In the effort to keep this an honest and ethical blog, I would like to tell you that my husband bought the book for my daughter and I because we adore Sophie Kinsella's books and he did not want us to be disappointed if it was not available locally on the day it came out. No one is paying me to review this book, If however you decide to buy the book after reading this review and use the link on the left corner of my blog to Amazon I will get a commission from Amazon.

Have a wonderful day and if you decide to read Twenties Girl I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Alpaca Farm Girl » Alpaca Yarn Giveaway

Yes you heard it here Alpaca Farm girl is having a giveaway.

Check this link www.alpacafarmgirl.com .

Alpaca Farm Girl » Alpaca Yarn Giveaway: "For the Alpaca Bunny Smackdown, we are giving away a skein of white royal baby alpaca yarn. This yarn was home-grown on our farm. Made from the fiber of our alpacas, Earth Angel, who won a Blue Ribbon in the National Spin-off Competition, and her son, Bishop, who was a Champion herdsire. The skein is a natural white in color, 16 WPI. The skein is approximately 200 yds and weighs 4.0 oz.
Alpaca fiber is prized worldwide due to its luxurious fineness. Alpaca is very light, warm, and has a nice handle. Alpaca also lacks the lanolin that wool has, making it wearable for those allergic to wool. This yarn can also be purchased in our Etsy shop. This yarn Giveaway made possible by the alpacas at Fairhope Alpacas!"

Teri is Off

This morning after a week of packing we loaded Teri's car to the brim and then some. It is a good thing that dad decided to leave his lap top at home, there would not have been room. They did stop at Carl's Jr for lunch and had to stop at 3 Boarder Patrol check points all with in California. That seems a bit much. They have arrived safely at their first stop on there journey and rumor has it that they will be having dinner at Cozumel's across from the hotel. The food is just wonderful.

At Teri's law school I am wondering if they will think that we are divorced , since we usually play tag team with Eric with one parent staying home and the other going with Teri. I went to the first event and John is doing the drop off and move in. Not to mention a long 2 day car trip so Teri will have her car there if she needs it.

Teri and John are off to a good adventure, they have never done a father daughter solo trip before. But I think that they will have a good time. This will also give John a chance to see what he is paying for, for the next 3 years. I hope that they do not freeze as they head up the coast, it has been a steady diet of 100+ degree days here.

Eric on the other hand spent the morning pouting, figuring that if he pouted long enough that Teri and John would turn right around and come home. When that did not work he decided to have a fun day at camp.

I on the other hand relaxed and spent some time cleaning, the house was very quite so I went after the first pile I saw and moved on to the next. I found time to book appointments and merge Eric's school calendar with mine. Of course there was time to knit and will be time to knit tonight too.

I am thinking of immersing myself in chicklet,movies, books and Tivo till Sunday. Not to mention going out with the girls while Eric is in camp.

Yes I do miss Teri, but if I keep busy enough I should be able to handle this stage of life with grace. After all I have spent the last 22 years getting Teri ready for this day, I should be ready too.

Have a wonderful day.

Teri

This is Teri's last weekend at home before she heads off to law school Tuesday. I have been knitting and crocheting like crazy so she will have a touch of home when she is gone. I know that this is totally irrational but the knitting will continue and I will mail what I don't finish by Tuesday morning. She is also moving to a colder climate and I will be able to knit sweaters for her( but only if I use super wash as per Teri), something that she did not need much of in Tucson.

I will not have a completely empty nest,Eric is still at home, but as daughters go, I think I got the best daughter possible. The house will lack just a little spark when she leaves and it will be a long time till winter break. I will miss our long talks into the evening after the guys went to bed, those can never be replaced or duplicated. I feel so lucky that she included me in her life so much and valued my opinion.

We got a taste of the empty nest when Teri went to England for a semester, but we knew that she was going to be home for at least a year when she got home. This time is different. We know that she will come home for visits and we will visit her if Eric's health permits. But it is just not the same. After law school she will study for the bar and enter the work force, vacations and visits will become shorter.

I am very happy that we prepared her well for life on her own. Teri has been packing all week and has her first shopping list with coupons complete. Teri went through a rite of passage today and got her own Safeway Discount Card, this seems to be a rite of passage among Teri and her friends. For someone who went through the rites of passages in the late 70's this seems like a strange ritual, but it is so new millennium.

I am going to enjoy every last minute I can with Teri and try not to cry on Tuesday morning.

Eric

Eric's room is closer to looking more like a hospital room than ever. Yesterday we got the new suction machine. It is not that I wanted a suction machine but in order to get nursing respite when Eric is really sick, I needed to have a suction machine in the house. I hope that Eric does not get sick any time soon, in his healthy state his needs are high enough. One a healthy day his care needs take 6 to 8 hours per day.

I know that I have a creative bent but I can not figure out how to decorate the suction machine with out destroying it or impeding its functionality. It is a rental so it has to go back when we are done with it. The same goes with the IV pole. I wish that manufactures would realize that these things go into homes to and we do not like institutional gray. Can't they come up with one covered in say Sesame Street friends? If you my dear readers have any ideas please let me know.

Today Eric is having a good day, so he is off to camp and I get to go to do errands and a Tucson Police Department training. This means that I talk about what it is like to be Eric's mom and what I would like the police to be aware of when they come into contact with Eric. I will also include my usual plea to ticket people who park in handicapped parking places without a permit. After all there are not many places I can deploy the ramp on my car.

I wish you a fantastic day and a short to-do list.

The Adventures of the Purple Skirt

Today is a typical Friday, except that I wore my purple skirt. I usually only wear this skirt on weekends. It is a very lovely skirt, with a big twirl and buttons down the front. I absolutely do not know why I wore today except it said wear me please. It was just so polite and leaped into my hands. So what could I do except to indulge the skirt.

Taking Eric to camp involves using a 4 point tie down system for his wheelchair, which involves crawling around the back of the van on hands and knees to make sure that everything is ratcheted down in place. Think of those straps that they use in moving van except on the floor of the car. Once we get to camp the process is reversed, crawling around to release the straps.

Today after I dropped Eric off at camp I was lucky enough to meet the Friday Fun Knitters at the Foothills Mall food court. It was drink refill time. As I was getting up to get my refill a friend noticed that there was a tear in my skirt, but it should be easy to fix because it was on a seam line.

After a lunch with Nancy and Natalie, it was time to get back to the reality of chores.

Unbeknown to me I picked the skirt eating cart at the supermarket. The wheels would leap out and grab my skirt, and being busy shopping without my list and trying to remember what we needed, I can honestly say that I did not notice till my skirt was being pulled off by the cart. I must of had to untangle my skirt from the cart at least a dozen times. I know that it was quite amusing to the other shoppers. You would think that they would have something on the wheels to prevent them from eating skirts. By the time I got home I could not face what new damage had been inflected on the purple skirt and promptly threw it in the laundry. My day of reckoning will come soon enough. This is the second skirt that has bit the dust do to be attacked by Eric's wheelchair this season.

So the moral of this story has to be that now, no matter how much a pretty skirt says wear me during the week instead of the weekend and you know you will be doing chores, you must be firm with the skirt and tell it no.

Another Bake Sale

The Young Adults at the JCC Camp Taglit will be holding another bake sale tomorrow from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. For those of you who would like to help, please stop by the JCC and buy some lemonade or baked goods, or just make a donation. The Special Needs Young Adults are raising money for the Hope Animal Shelter in Tucson.

The campers will also be collecting the following items Trader Joe's Wet dog and cat food, Feline Pine Cat Litter, Flat sheets, Blankets, Bath Rugs, hard dog toys, mice for the cats, brushes, combs and love gloves, small kitten size litter boxes and of course cash.

You will also find and even larger basket of hand knit and crocheted items than last time, my husband John loves to get hand knit items out of the house. Everything in the basket will also go to help the Hope Animal Shelter. So If you are on a diet this is a good way to help these great kids raise money for a good cause. Did I mention that you can also start your holiday shopping early this way.

The JCC is located at the corner of River and Dodge. As long as you are stopping by for the fund raiser, take a tour and see what the center has to offer you and your family. It is a great place for family center activities we have been members for 15 years.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

A New Book

Just in time for the summer drool-drums a new Sophie Kinsella book is hitting the market. It is called Twenties Girl, and if it is anything like her previous books it should leave me in stitches. As soon as I get the audio book in my hot little hands and listen to it I will write a review of it. For those of you who are already fans of Ms. Kinsella's books I have added a direct link to the book on Amazon, and the pre-order price is less expensive than the Target price. And more great news, for those of you who love your kindles you can also down load a copy Tuesday.

On a different note I will be frogging the purple shawl for about 5 rows, I started the ending boarder too soon. Rip-it, rip-it..No I did not use a life line and it is going to be a pain, but it is the process and the finished product that count.

I wish everyone a wonderful day.

Wednesday - The Most Wonderful Day

For a day that started of achy and grouchy it turned into the most wonderful day. I got a tweet very early in the morning from Melissa at http://www.NeoKnits@blogspot.com That through a random number generator,I had won a free copy of the Bliss Shawlette. What a wonderful pattern. I can not wait for the projects in my basket to get finished so I can start the new pattern. Please take a minute to stop by Melissa's blog and check out her wonderful patterns. These patterns are wonderful, they would make a great addition to your knitting line up or if you are a local yarn shop owner, these pattern will cause the yarn and patterns to fly out of your doors.

The next delight came in the mail from http://PhatFibres@Blogspot.com I had won one of her many contests featuring independent fiber artists. The yarn came from A shop on esty called my 8 kids It is a super wash yarn called Blue Monday. The coloring is simply wonderful. It was well over 100 degrees and humid due to the season, but the yarn is so soft and cuddly that it stayed on my shoulder all afternoon. I would like to know her secret to being a mom of 8, running an on-line studio and dyeing such beautiful yarn and fiber. I personally have trouble keeping up with 2 kids. By the way the yarn is back on my shoulder. I think it is going to have to be a shawl. I am in love with this yarn.

I was so happy with all this it almost did not matter that on day 1 of my 12 day sale of 10% off everything in the shop I did not have one sale. Everything in my shop will be 10% off till July 26 at 11:59 p.m. There is a link on the side of my blog to my Art Fire Studio.

I also did more deep cleaning yesterday, I hope that by next week that the dinning room will finally be cleared of all the junk that got moved in during construction. It would have been done by now, except that I am in a zenning mood and am de-cluttering the house. I have another Bookmans and Goodwill run for Teri to do. I will really miss her help when she goes off to law school.

Speaking of Teri going off to law school , she has bought the most wonderful sheet set for her dorm room. She has really learned about household things like sheets even if she did not let on.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

!2 days of X-Mas Sale

please visit my Art Fire Studio for the 12 day of X-Mas sale. Everything will be 10% off.You can find me at http://www.artfire.com/users/Handmade~by~Sheri

Friends

Everyone should have a friend like Justin. Justin is Eric's friend at camp. Justin has gone from a shy boy to a great advocate. Take today for instance, I made a big time mommy boo boo. When I packed Eric's lunch for today I forgot to check to see if there were any extensions and syringes in Eric's lunch pail. Just to clarify Eric has a mickey button( better know as a g-tube) which goes right to the tummy, we don't fool around with food, we send it straight to where it is suppose to go.

I got the panic call that there was no tube or syringes, so Teri gathered the supplies and I my purse,pod, knitting and headed off to camp with the supplies. Eric's camp councilor was happy for the supplies, Justin on the other hand told me to "be more careful next time and don't ever forget it again" He said I was not doing my job right. I needed to take better care of his friend.

There are other times that Justin will tell me about Eric's day or what supplies I need to bring to camp for the current fundraising effort. I am so glad that Justin is in Eric's life. Justin will go far. Some day I hope to see him on the Governor's Council for Developmental Disabilities as a Self Advocate. I can also see him answering questions and providing training to public servants on how to handle the disabled.

Thank You Justin for being a wonderful part of Eric's life. And for the rest of the world please look beyond the physical and learn to look at the person. I know that if you meet Justin you will know just what I mean.

Christmas In July

This Wednesday July 15, I will be having a special one day only promotion in my Art Fire Studio, http://www.artfire.com/users/Handmade~by~Sheri. Just mention Christmas in July in the promotions box and I will refund 10% of your total purchase, not including the shipping and handling charges. Since I have heard that Pay-Pal will not allow discounts with out manual intervention, I will credit your Pay-Pal account the discounted amount.

Don't worry if the shop gets empty during the day, I will add more items as space permits, but if you have been eyeing something I would suggest that you shop early. The sale starts on July 15th at 12:01 a.m. and runs to 11:59 p.m.

This is the perfect time to start your holiday shopping, you have 3 days to make your lists and go to my one day sale on the 15th.

Feel free to drop hints to your loved ones if you want something special that you think would make a nice gift.

Busy Days and Nights

It has been a busy time around here. I am trying to keep up, but i am sure that you know how that goes. Work in minus work done equals a lot of work left to do. I guess that goes along with my wonderful job title, Mom. What kind of a job title is that? Does it really pay anything? What are the hours like? What do I do?

Dinner Tuesday was one of those throw together affairs, frozen vegan ravioli with a sauce of canned mushrooms,olives, garbanzo beans and a jar of sauce dumped in a pan and warmed up, with frozen green beans. John and Teri graciously cleaned up the kitchen after I used all those pots and pans. I don't know how I used so many, they just seemed to land on the stove.

Being a mom is like being a handyman, you have to be able to do anything on a moments notice, and I do mean anything. Tuesday night Eric was having a bad night, he was uncomfortable, wanted to eat, did not want to eat, wanted his position changed, wanted hugs, wanted to be left alone. This went on till 3:30 am. John let me sleep in to 6:30 and then I had to get up and dressed in case the painters came.You would think that after a night like that he would want to stay home and sleep, but no it was the round trip drive to camp. He had the audacity to be happy and cheerful Wednesday morning. Not much got done on Wednesday, I swear that there was not enough caffeine in the world to keep me awake and productive. But laundry and cleaning got done anyway. When I went to pick up Eric at camp he was happy to see me and did not take a nap at all, I guess that comes from being 19.

I have to admit that on Wednesday I did go to the store and buy 1 skein of yarn for and order, I was going to get 2 skeins, but they got in the new Simply Knitting Magazine that I love. In my tired haze convinced myself that I could do the socks with 2 colors that is the extra pattern leaflet in the back of the magazine. I did go again on Thursday because I found another coupon on line, the yarn is for an order of 8 kitchen washcloths and it is in a color that I don't have. I really don't have every color know to man. I know that it is hard to believe. But I have managed to finish 2 and have the 3rd in progress. It is just the type of order that a muddled brain fogged mind can handle.

Teri is starting to request all her favorite dinners before she leaves for law school in about a month. I said this was fine as long as she did the shopping. Last night was Tamale pie with peach pie for desert, we forgot to put together the salads so I really can not call it a square meal, but there was lots of pie.

Eric had a fairly good night Wednesday, he was only up for 30 minutes about 3 am with leg cramps and positioning problems. His timing was great since that was about the time my body decided it had had enough and needed Tylenol and stretching.

Eric was happy to go to camp today, they are going to see Ice Age 3. I one the other hand have cleared my brain fog, run the dishwasher and did 2 out of 4 loads of laundry. In the summer I stop doing laundry when the temperature hits 100 degrees, it is now 102 at noon. The good thing about summer is that the clothes dry on the line very fast. I should be able to put these away by 3ish. Roomba was tired so I got Teri to vacuum the den. I will empty the dishwasher after lunch. I guess it is also time to figure out what is for dinner.

As you have probably guessed that this job lacks monetary payment and has extremely long hours, but the hugs make it all worth while. Do I wish I could have an 8 to 5 job-yes. Will I have one in the near future - no. After all there are bills to pay, laundry to do, meals to make, taking care of Eric, shopping to do, the house to clean and the odd appointment to get to. If I am having a really good week I just might get to have lunch with a friend or 2 or even go meet a friend to knit.

Help Teri

My daughter Teri has entered a photo contest to help earn some money for law school.

Teri needs as many votes as possible, please click on this link and vote for her picture. http://www.brickfish.com/Pages/PhotosAlbums/PhotoView.aspx?qsi=14790195. Please feel free to pass this link to your e-mail or twitter list, you can vote more than once a day.

Thanks for all your help.

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Yesterday was a recovery day for me since Eric spent most of the night awake. I will blog later today when I am more awake, in the meantime feel free to check out my Art Fire Studio. Let me know what you think should be included. Have a wonderful day.

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It has been a busy day, but I have managed to add more to my Art Fire Studio. Please stop by.

Just Wondering....

After lunch out we dropped John off at the house and went to Bookman's. If you are ever in Arizona this is a place that you have to go to, they have 3 stores in Tucson, 1 in Flagstaff and some in Phoenix. They have everything the heart could desire and always have "new" things. Bookman's has used books and magazines, a great kids section in all the stores, odds and ends and even a rare book section. Bookman's is the largest used book seller in Arizona and we have store credit to burn so I let the kids go wild. Eric and Teri pick out some new to them music. and I found a cute little green jar with strawberries on top that I am going to clean up and stuff to the brim with scrbies for my Art Fire shop tomorrow. Time to make a lot of scrubies. Teri agreed with me that this will make a nice gift when it is finished.

When we went to Michael's to find more stuffing for Teri's mogo I just had to look at the price of the yarn. I did show great restraint and did not bring any more home. After surfing through various shops it leaves me a little perplexed as to how someone can offer items for sale in their shops for less than it would cost me to buy the yarn.

Teri and I had a discussion on economics on the way home. We debated if the average crafter values their time, yes I know that I will never make minimum wage selling handmade items, but is it necessary to sell at a loss to have sales? As a stay at home mom I know that I am worth a lot of money for the work that I do that is unpaid, it is just part of the job and making the world a better place. On the other hand as a small business owner I know that I can not stay in business if I sell things for less then they cost to make. I also have to include overhead expenses and I would like to make a little money to help Teri out with grad school expenses. There are plenty of places to buy cheap, but if you want locally handmade it is going to cost more, I can't compete with Walmart, Target, Kohl's or the local dollar store.

Please leave your comments on this, I want to know if I am the only one who feels this way.

Thank You

I would just like to thank all the members of our military and their families past and present for the great gift of freedom that you have given to all of us. Just as people always tell me its a hard job to be a parent of a special needs child and not everyone could do it. I feel the same way about your jobs.

So as we celebrate this day of freedom in the United States, just remember that you really are appreciated by the great majority of us. Thank you very much for all that you do for us.

Happy 4th of July everyone. May freedom continue to ring here and around the world.

Yesterdays Adventure with Eric

We left for the out patient surgery appointment at 11:15 am for a 12 pm appointment. The doctors office told us to go to the northeast outpatient surgery entrance. So Teri and I went to the first door that had a sign that said NE Outpatient surgery entrance. When we found the registration desk Eric's name was not on the list and the receptionist told us that this was for unit 600 outpatient surgery. and that Eric's appointment was at the NE outpatient surgery entrance in the middle of the building. Our first thought was what the heck was unit 600 as if we were suppose to know. Our second thought was why would anyone give 2 different entrances the same name? I will ponder that at a latter time or maybe not.

Well there was the usual paper work and waiting. The as usual we were moved to another room for more paper work and waiting. They had to find another anaesthesiologist because the one that they had scheduled was stuck somewhere else. I have to say that I really like Mark the fill in, he had a great bedside manor and got the IV in in one shot on a kid with very small veins. Thank you very much Mark.

While I was with Eric getting the IV, I sent Teri and John to get lunch, they do an excellent job of getting meals, they can handle a hospital cafeteria with the best of them. We figured that Eric would be done soon after we were done eating a leisurely lunch, boy were we wrong. Mark finally came out and said that everything went well and that Eric was in recovery. Dr.LaCorte the dentist said that there were only a couple of fillings, Eric's teeth were clean and now had a nice shine and it looked like there was room for all the wisdom teeth to come in with no problems.

Eric seemed to be in recovery for a long time. I had not only had lunch but was ready to add another skein of yarn to the purple what ever it is going to be in progress. They finally said the we could come back at about 3 p.m. to see him. Eric was so mad at me, but he was recovering nicely. John got Eric dressed and we headed home about 3:30.

Eric was so mad at us that it cost us 2 country music Cd's and a brand new Elmo before he would talk with us. I would like to thank Kayla, Eric's afternoon aide for her help with Eric after a long day. John and Teri whom made a great dinner.

Eric had an uneventful night with no wild eyrps and woke up in a wonderful mood. Well it is time to start the laundry. Have a great day everyone.

Our Adventure

Today is the day for Eric's out patient dental surgery. There is a lot to get done before we leave today. If we get to come home I will blog about today,tonight. If we get to spend the night at the "Club" ie TMC peds ward I will tell you about our adventures in dentistry at a later date.

So I am going to pack for the contingency of staying and hope it is for not. After all there is yarn to pack,knitting mags, clothes and toiletries for me. Eric must have his special Project Linus blanket, the one he got when he was 5. I would like to thank that quilter from long ago, you have made a lasting positive impact on Eric's life. Then there is the current favorite Elmo and pods to find. Pod casts to down load.

It is time to get caffeinated and busy.

Hi My Name is Sheri and I...

Hi my name is Sheri and I am addicted to yarn. You are probably saying to yourselves that all knitters have yarn so what's the big deal. How can someone be addicted to yarn, after all you can't eat it or drink it. Yarn has no calories. Yarn is pretty and soft and comes in so many different colors. This addiction comes from not the yarn it self but the quantities that I have amassed over the past 5 years.

I have yarn stored in my closet, ok so 4 roll aways, a couple of bags and 1- 96 quart container of yarn and all my knitting needles aren't that bad. I have also over taken the entire shelve in the hall closet. There are a couple of baskets with works in progress and 8 - 96 quart boxes and a bag in the garage. This is all the yarn that I am willing to admitting to. There is some more in nooks and crannies that I have forgotten about.

I am sure that if I did not buy another skein of yarn for the next year or 3 I might be able to get it down to a reasonable level of yarn. It's not that I don't knit enough, I carry my knitting every where I go. Doctors appointment's with Eric, lunch with friends, to the mall, in the movies,at night in front of the tv, I think you are beginning to get the picture. I knit every where, all the time. I even keep an emergency stash of yarn in one of my glove compartments of my car.

I can't bare to part with all my yarn until after I have played with it. I find yarn relaxing. I have been known to fall asleep while knitting. John prefers that I knit while he drives, he says I am less of a back seat driver that way.

I do some charity knitting, but a lot of charities want everything made from acrylic yarn, which is not an option for me. Something in the acrylic causes my skin to peel off and I don't like that at all.

So My solution has been to open an on-line store at Art Fire to try to sell what I knit. So far my shop which I opened May 28, 2009 has not had a sale. I have taken the advice of other knitters and on-line shop owners and have re-photographed everything. I have added value sets and have a range of prices. So now it is up to you my dear readers to help me over come this addiction by shopping and letting your friends know about the site. http://www.artfire.com/users/Handmade~by~Sheri .

Art Fire Shop

I have been told by a couple of people that my Art Fire Shop has photos to dark to see the hand knits well. So I have started to replace some of the photos. Please tell me what you think. Thanks to Maggie D. also Loongirl, and ArtFireJohn on Twitter for there help and suggestions.

As I said in my first blog and on-line store, that this is a learning experience for me so all the help and comments are helpful. So with this in mind please tell me what you think. Keep in mind that not all the items have been updated yet.

My shop is at www.artfire.com/users/Handmade~by~Sheri .

Have a wonderful day.

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