One complaint I have about The Homestead is the fact that my bedroom faces the busy street I live on. I'm a light sleeper, so the first year was rough. One day I figured out that if I have a box fan sitting in front of the window that faces the street, it makes enough noise to drown out the traffic sounds that start around 5am and often continue until well after 11 -- especially in summer months! So, I keep the fan on at night year-round... and sleep so much better!About a year ago, I had to buy a new fan. Several months ago, the fan knob cracked. It made it difficult to turn the fan on and off! Do you think the manufacturer sells replacement knobs?? No.
I almost pulled over to the side of a street the other day because I saw a fan in the trash, lol. Left to my own devices, I had a brainstorm idea when I woke up last Friday.
Tape! At first I thought of scotch tape.
Then I thought, "Duct Tape... it fixes everything!!!"
COOKING
Remember that zucchini my Dad gave me last week? The one he picked up at a roadside stand? It was huge. I like to stirfry zucchini, but this one was much too large for a stirfry meal. What to do? What to do? The BF and I decided to make zucchini bread. After shredding what we needed, there's still enough to fry up some medallions!
We baked up 4 mini loaves plus a full size loaf that was about an inch and a half tall, lol. Half with crumb topping and half without. Quite tasty! Unfortunately, we
I decided to use the self-cleaning feature of my oven. I've never used it before. Have you? It made the entire house STINK! My eyes were watering. I looked in the oven at one point and the stuff was on fire! Is that normal? The fire went out within 15 seconds, but still it *was* disconcerning.
STITCHY STUFF
I participated in a surprise mailart exchange. The stitcher was able to choose the theme for the exchange. I received word the mailart I stitched arrived at its new home. Here's what I sent:
The inside lining of the envelope is the same pink as the trim.
Surprise Mailart for Connie in WV
Design: Bluebird Welcome
Designer: Erynne Chard
Fabric: 22ct Hand-dyed Hardanger (dyed by moi!)
Fibers: DMC
Embellishments: Ribbons and Buttons
I also finished Part 5 of Fleurs et Papillons. One part left to go!
Until next time...
43 comments:
Great idea for fixing your fan knob..Fleurs et Papillons is very pretty
Our weather is cooler too Meari and I love it!
The zucchini bread looks fabulous; I love any kind of breads. I think Banana is my favorite, though......
Your sampler looks beautiful; I love the colors you chose! Won't be long and it will be a finish!!!!
Hugs,
Sue
Goodness, I forgot to comment on your mailart!! This piece is stunning. Such a delicate piece and beautiful fabric and colors. I am sure your partner just loved it!
Hugs,
Sue
Wow Meari I would never have thought of duct tape. Just let's hope I can remember it the next time something breaks. That bread looks really delicious.
Your stitching looks amazing as always! I see that you have many ways on how to use zucchini! I am sure the bread was great, but not great about the mess it made in the oven. Have a great week!
Yep, duct tape fixes everything!! The zucchini bread looks yummy. Fleurs is beautiful and so is your mailart.
Hi Meari -
Funny you should mention Duct Tape, it came up in the sermon at church yesterday. Apparently, our minister won't leave home without it.
The bread makes me long for fall and all the lovely smells of baking bread.
It normal for the oven to light up in self cleaning mode. did you take out all the big chunks before you turned it on? That usually minimizes flame up.
Have a great day.
CJ
LOL love the duct tape story. I think it can fix everything. Love your mail art exchange. One day.....
I love the way you were able to fix your fan's knob! :o) I sleep with a fan year round too, and have since I was a child. The noise is so soothing to me.
Your zucchini bread looks awesome. That must have been one humongous zucchini if you made all that bread and still had some left to fry! LOL
I love your mail art! It is gorgeous! And Fleurs et Papillions is so pretty. :o)
I really love your stitching so much...
And yummy bread :)
Love Xxx
Tummy looking bread! Great stitching progress, to. Love the little buttons on your mailart. Skip cute!
Duct tape is amazing stuff, glad you were able to fix the fan knob. Zucchini bread, YUM, had banana bread the other day but haven't had zucchini in a while. Your stitching is amazing, especially the mail art, so much work for something that will go through the system.
The zucchini bread looks so tempting !! Love the envelope you made ....your stitching is gorgeous. What a clever way to fix your fan !
ooOoo Meari! I love the mail art. I have wanted to do it for years. I am confused on it though. How do you go about mailing it? Do they get upset at the post office?
I had to laugh about the duct tape bit because we fix a lot of things around here with it! It's so handy!!
Cool! You made mailart! I've seen this type of finish on French and Hungarian blogs. Seems to be popular in Europe. I love your mail art! You finished it beautifully!
Gorgeous mail art and fabric dying Meari. Thanks for sharing.
Debi
Duck tape, Zuccini Bread, Mail Art. You never cease to amaze me. Seriously - love your blog.
Meari,
I always enjoy our - love the mailart!
Maybe you could ask Santa to bring you some fancy duct tape I saw at Michael's - think of the possibilities!
Tara
Great idea indeed, duct tape!! The bread looks delicious, especially the crumb topped
Love the mail art, you are soo good at it. Have fallen in love with Fleurs. You really get some unusual designs to work on :)
Love your stitching and the bread looks scrummy, but not quite sure what zucchini is.Is it the same as courgette?
The mailart looks spectacular! Love how you put on the buttons for the fasteners.
You make the best mail art Meari! You do some of the best finishing in the business :) Congrats on fixing your fan too (and on the cheap!)...small changes like that can make a big difference in the quality of life.
--shaunterria--ca11i0pe.blogspot.com
Oh Meari
That mailart is gorgeous, really, really perfect, I love it.
I think it going to wrong address :) just remember to sent next to me :)
Your WIP looks so beautiful too
Tinna
Meari,
My first reaction would be to throw it away. I like your idea and would never had thought about duct tape. Thanks for sharing.
We love having a fun running especially in the hottest part of the summers here. We also use smaller ones during the winter for the background noise.
The zucchini bread looks delicious. Sorry to hear about the oven cleaning. It's to bad that duct tape couldn't help.(I know that wasn't right to say but I couldn't resist.)
Your Mailart is so gorgeous. I love the pink you used on the outside and inside. Nicely done!
Have a great week Meari!
Your mailart is cute, Meari!
I've never used the self-cleaning feature on my ovens, because I always assumed that's what it would do. I know it gets REALLY REALLY hot, so I assumed it would simply burn up all of the mess. And that idea scared me. So I use the Easy Off oven cleaner, now that they make a non-toxic one. The original was really bad.
Karin in CA
I sleep with a fan all year long to keep out the noise of the traffic.
You bread looks yummy. I love your mailart and you are making great progress on Fleurs.
Marl
Uhh...I used duct to semi fix the kitchen faucet last week! LOL It was a last resort for a sense of security until DH got home. He looked at the faucet and just shook his head...oh well! Plumbing is not in my book of tricks so I did what I could to solve the problem. LOVE the mailart and Fleurs looks like it will be finished soon. The bread looks soo yummy! I never thought about putting crumble on the top...good one!
Just look at how crafty you are!!! Way 2 go Duct Tape!!!!!!!
Your bread looks Yummy!!!
Love, Love Love the mailart! Bluebirds are one of my favorite birds!!!!
Karen
Oh! Your mailart turned out gorgeous!
the mail-art is gorgeous. Fleur et Papillons will be so beautiful!
I made zucchini muffins last week too. I can't get enough zucchini. If you get more, you can always freeze it for use later. Grate it for breads or dice/slice it for cooking.
Your stitching is awesome, as always. The mail art is gorgeous. It amazes me that they get to where they need to go.
I stopped by your blog today. The way you write puts a smile on my face!...thanks, lol.
And I want some zuccini bread with the crumbles!...nummy.
Beth
California
Left-brain used the self-cleaning feature once. OMG, it was horrible, and it takes forever. Never again. I was afraid to say anything when he did it, because I thought he was cooking something wretched for dinner and didn't want to hurt his feelings.
Your stitching is gorgeous!
You're right Meari duct tape fixes everything! Love the stitching the mailart is really pretty.
Mary Louise
LOL @ the duck tape! So true.
Your stitching is lovely as usual; the bluebirds are adorable, and your SAL is super pretty!
Re: the oven - we had the same disturbing experience with Grandma's last year. She bought her new oven specifically for the self-cleaning feature, but ended up having to clean it with oven spray after the fire! Says she'll never use it again, and I don't blame her, because it took three days of open windows to get rid of the stench. Yuck!
Glad you were able to fix your fan knob with the duct tape!! Your Zucchini Bread looks good. Haven't made that in a while so will have to make some soon. Your WIP and the mail art are beautiful!!!!
Betty in AZ (ILCS)
We must be living weirdly similar lives, Meari--my fan broke this weekend (unfixable, though) and I also made zucchini bread! Didn't stitch anything nearly as pretty as your mail art, though :)
Hope you're having a great week so far!
Gotta love 'duck' tape :) my mom used some of the fancy printed stuff to cover one of those plastic drawer storage units she got cheap at a yard sale..it looks great! I bought some to do the same thing..will add some pep to the boring things (white white white). I love the bread..I need to make some... Cute mail art!
Aw, this was a really nice post. In idea I would like to put in writing like this additionally – taking time and actual effort to make a very good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and by no means seem to get something done.
If we had a ceiling fan in our current house, I'd sleep with it on year round too! I don't like a box fan on in the winter though... moving air is good, just not so much of it, lol!
Your zucchini bread looks delicious! Zucchini casserole is pretty yummy and a good way to use up a substantially sized one, haha.
How does one get a stamp to stay on the cloth!! I can just see myself STITCHING the stamp in place, hahah.
Meari -
Duct tape does fix anything! Your stitching looks great!
Marge
I have duct tape holding the plastic covering over my handle of my curling iron. The curling iron is almost new and the handle broke. NOT going to buy a new one just for that!Stitching looks great too. Sorry about your store closing, guess you'll be doing more online shopping!
Duct Tape is amazing! The mail art is beautiful!
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