Quotes to laugh or think about . . .

Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles."
-- Frank Lloyd Wright

"If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your style."
-- Quentin Crisp

"I don't really trust a sane person."
-- Lyle Alzado

A site of interest . . .

Now, I'm speaking soley from an unbiased viewpoint here, but you should check out the following: www.recipescramble.com It is called The Recipe Ranch and it has an unusual but fun way of approaching the subject of cooking/baking. Make sure you go to the blog, too. I think the writer did a great job for a first web page. Oh, yeah . . . That part about the unbiased viewpoint? Forget it! The new web page was done by my daughter! : - )

Tax season . . .

The world just goes too fast for me! I tried Turbo Tax for filing our returns this year. It is rather intense as they seriously ask you every little question that might pertain to your income, etc. I finally got to an ending point and e-filed our returns. This morning, I got the news that while the State of California has accepted our return, as filed, the IRS did not. I can understand the State of California having no problem as it doesn't look like they are interested in actually refunding overpayment of taxes this year. I have yet to check on what the IRS requires for final acceptance of our return. Poor IRS! Whatever they may be concerned about, may be minimal as I forgot a substantial tuition deduction and can now refile with that in place. The IRS is going to be sorry they asked.

Anyway, this is still too fast for me! Other years when the IRS might have had a question, it was six or eight weeks before we found out and another six or eight weeks before any refund was forthcoming. In less than eight hours, we knew. Amazing but kind of scary world. I'm going to close the shades . . . just in case any tax authorities are looking in my window!

Safety thoughts . . .

As we gradually approach Spring, we notice more and more of our favorite fruits and melons coming into season. Living in California, however, many of them are available year round . . . at a price! Believe it or not, there are some safety concerns that you might not take into consideration.

I use to have a friend that made fun of me because we thoroughly washed our watermelon with dish soap and water before taking that first cut. She said that if the knife was clean, what was the problem. If the rind is dirty, the knife slices right through, spreading any possible germs across the edible portion. Melons grow in dirt, people with unwashed hands handle the melons, the melons are touched by prospective buyers . . . My husband and I got a massive stomach upset, one summer, after eating watermelon. It was years before we could even look at one so, yes, now we wash our melons and don't care who laughs!

Bagged salad greens can cause a problem, too. They do claim the lettuce or whatever is washed three times, but . . . A great investment is an expensive salad spinner. You put in your greens, spash them with vinegar, rinse, and spin. We also add a peroxide rinse just to make sure. The only thing we want to survive on our salad is the salad dressing!

We take precautions because we like to eat healthy and it is frustrating to get sick from eating food that is supposed to be good for you!

Productive quilting . . .

I like the days when the fabric stash works with the creative ideas running through your mind. I hate it when I look at my rather abundant collection of fabric and feel like I can't start a project without yet another trip to the fabric store!

Today, it all went together and I had the time and inclination to piece two quilts: one a pretty, girl-type pattern and the other one, a definitely boy sort of baby quilt. Both of them used picture fabric.

I hit the jackpot when I find good-quality fabric with a great picture print on it. Once it hits my sewing table, the fabric doesn't always go into the quilt the way it arrived. Scrap quilts are my favorite and picture fabric works well with that concept.

I usually begin my scrap quilting with six-inch squares of pre-shrunk muslim. I cut out a picture from the chosen fabric, place it at an angle on the muslim and proceed to add strips of contrasting fabric as the whim takes me. The muslim provides a good foundation for the square. After the square is finished and trimmed, I add one or two borders, depending on how big the finished square needs to be for the project.

An afternoon of sewing was a nice beginning to Lent. You can do a lot of thinking when you sew and send out a few prayers as your mind touches on various occasions or friends who might need them. My favorite way to multi-task!

Defender of the Faith??

While in line at the grocery store, the pre-schooler in front of us asked my pre-schooler "Why is your forehead dirty?" "It's not dirt, it's my ashes" answered my son. "Why do you have ashes, does your dad smoke?" "No! It's because I'm a catholic and it's cool!" The little girl turns to her mother and asks, can we be catholics too!

Great deals in quilting fabric . . .

I'm always on the hunt for interesting, unique, or inexpensive quilting fabric. In my Internet wanderings, I came across this one: http://www.marshalldrygoods.com/. Marshall's Dry Goods keeps their prices below four dollars a yard. They also list the fabric according to designer or manufacturer. My best purchase, last year, was a 'bundle' of blends fabrics. Blends are the lightly marbled fabric in unpatterned colors that are good for quilt backs, borders, or accents in a fabric. Not only did I get an exceptional deal, it is great to not have to worry about having the right color on hand.