A week of High hopes and Accomplishments.

  

I was hoping that by the time I wrote this the high hopes would be more like good new. Instead I am getting a lesson in patients .  A lesson I need often because I can be a bit restless when I should just chill and let life take its course.

    I set out this week to get a whole lot of different things done and off my mind. I went to bed Sunday with the full intention of waking up Monday morning and starting to clear away all the stuff that has been worrying me and keeping me from sleeping. 

   I started with the simple things, like getting together every last thing I would need to accomplish my goals. So Monday was hunting and gathering in the morning. I got all my shopping done as locally as I could get so I could get home by lunch and get into the sewing room.

  I had 24 quilt blocks made and ready to be made into potholders. I needed to layer the tops with the heat protective material and the back material into a sandwich and quilt stitch them together. It took me all afternoon and into the early evening but I got them all done. All that was left was to bind them and add a hoop for hanging, and that would wait for the morning. 

     Tuesday I went straight to the sewing room and started attaching the binding to all 24 potholders. By noon I was done, with only the finishing hand sewing left to do. Then I was on to another project that I bit off without thinking if I could chew it or not. 

       Easter is coming and I had to do something fun. There won't be any egg dying or hunting and the Easter Bunny passes by this house now, so I like to make a little of my own fun. I decided that making Easter baskets of homemade soaps, bath salts and oils would be the perfect gift and easy enough to do. Soap making, even the simple melt and pour method is satisfying as well as a good deal of fun. The end results are pretty and sweet smelling too. A few baskets is no big deal right? Well 18 baskets is mind boggling more difficult than I thought. It was still an enjoyable endeavor and the end results, made all the trips to the store, hunting for jars, labels, oils and other ingredients completely worth it.

      PS, Making soap and other bath products is no less expensive than buying them already made.It is nice to know what is in your products and somehow so much nicer using them.

   Tuesday evening found me on the couch with 24 potholders sitting next to me a spool of thread and needle. All those bindings had to be tacked down and that has to be done by hand for a neat looking finish. Movie marathon on TV a large soda and I was set for the night. Midnight came and I happily found my bed with 18 completed baskets on my kitchen table and 24 potholders sitting on my sewing table ready to be delivered. I slept well Tuesday night knowing I had just knocked 2 of my biggest mind consuming projects out of the park.

   I woke up early Wednesday morning well rested but dreading what I was sure was going to be a long and painful morning on the phone. I was pleasantly surprised and happy to be wrong on both counts. Today is the day I am finally going to bite the bullet and talk to Social Security.

  Calling before 9 AM was a good tip someone had given me. My wait time was less than 20 minutes and the person that answered was very competent, knowing just what I would need and going about it taking care of it with little or no fanfare. I don't know about you but I dislike those calls where they have to tell you every little step they make, and make more small talk than is actually polite , I am like " come on just do it already, I am going to be 90 before you finish the dang sentence." I now have the appointment I need and the worry about getting it all done in the time line provided without getting penalties is over. Thanks to a young women named Ashley it was a quick, painless, and pleasant phone call.

    Next on the list was Russo's and my potholders.

     Russo's is a local farm market and the place I hope to sell the potholder to. This is my high hope. It isn't the biggest dream ever but it is a good dream. I don't want or expect to get rich but it would be nice to see my work for sale in a store . At this moment in time my potholders are at the market but the owner is extremely busy getting the market open for the season and getting ready for a busy spring/ Easter weekend that I haven't heard from her yet. Hence my lesson in patients. Bill my all time biggest supporter says I did some great work and that she will love them all, I can only hope he is right. Yes as soon as I know I will be letting you know and posting pictures of my work in an actual store.

   Earlier in the week I ordered a DVD for working out. Body Groove. It is the best work out for me. Easy to do holds my interest and actually works. We have a gym and work out room here in the community and I have been trying to get other ladies to join me in the workout room to work with this DVD and have finally decided it matters not if there are 5 of us 2 of us or just me, I just have to go and do it. Wednesday Night was my night, with or without friends I was going. Donna was able to make it so I wasn't alone. It felt so good to move, to grunt, to sweat, to breath hard, I had forgotten how much I actually enjoy exercise. I went home feeling lighter in mind body and soul. It won't be hard to get back there again.

  It is Thursday now and every goal I set out to get done this week is completed. I feel like I can take the rest of the week off. After I cleaned up the sewing room and straightened the house I did take today off. I went shopping for nothing but the fun of it. Shoes and a dress later I came home relaxed and happy.

Tomorrow I will get the prep work done for our early family Easter dinner on Saturday. I only need to make a side dish and a cake, but dinner is early on Saturday so making what I can Friday will make things easier all the way around. The gym and the workout room are calling me back and I plan to heed the call, alone if I have to. Then it is Bingo night and hopes of winning a pot or two.

  Saturday I'll finish up my side dish, frost the cake and pack 18 Easter baskets in the car and enjoy my Sister In Laws hospitality as well as the company of family.I am planning on making the crazy cake we all love and instead of the peanut butter frosting I am going to use a chocolate frosting recipe I found. Bill just eats it by the spoonful no cake needed. 

     This is a cake I made last week using the frosting.This time it will be a chocolate cake. Here is the frosting recipe, with a few changes that I put in the notes.

https://www.copymethat.com/r/jgKpq6dGb/perfectly-chocolate-chocolate-frosting/

 And this is the cake I am going to make

https://www.copymethat.com/r/kLYuBFdQ2/crazy-cake/. 

   Sunday, I am putting my feet up and watching all my favorite movies all day. I am not even sure I will get out of my jammies. One thing is for sure I will be smiling.

High hopes and Accomplishments is absolutely correct  

                     Happy Easter!