WEE-PEATS Children's Consignment Event

The WEE-PEATS CHILDREN'S CONSIGNMENT EVENT is staged a couple times a year by two very enterprising women whose children outgrew their beautiful clothes while the clothes still looked brand new. They knew that other families would be able to make good use of these barely used clothes and WEE-PEATS was born.

www.weepeats.net

The event is very much looked forward to by local moms who form a line (queue) that looks like it goes on for miles while they wait expectantly to get in to the sale.

The sale features quality, "gently used" clothing, books, toys, DVD's games, etc. for the wee ones. New this year: vendors who cater to just moms and families, called MOMMY MARKETPLACE.

I'm bringing my beaded socks. Picture below. These make a smashing baby shower gift for a mom that is expecting a baby girl. Another use is to put them atop the gift wrap as a package embellishment when you pay a home visit to a new baby, Christening gifts, too. I always made them for my many nieces First Communions, embellishing their white socks with pearls and tiny rosettes. They were always the "belle of the ball".

I need to pack up my wares now and toddle on over the where the event will be held to deliver my consignment.

CREATIVE BLOCK

Amazingly, sitting in my office a few minutes ago, I was thinking – today is the day to post on my blog and I have absolutely nothing to talk about. I just gave in to that thought and planned to open the castteam blog blitz without a post from me.


To keep myself from becoming insanely bored today, I brought a magazine to work with me. I brought the magazine because yesterday I completed the crochet project I had been working on and hoped the magazine would stave off this expected “twiddling of my thumbs”.

The magazine I brought to work with me is the latest issue of CLOTH PAPER SCISSORS. In the midst of reading an interview of an etsian – Chad Alice Hagen – her response to a question about what to expect next from her, was………”Only my cat knows. I find that the biggest thing that stops my creativity is trying to figure out what is going to happen next”.

                                         https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChadAliceHagen


Voila! that one little sentence sent the idea for a post into my brain as if it were an arrow. I find it totally amazing how faithfully this happens, without any help from me. It looks like these mind pictures come out of the blue, when you’re least expecting them, when you don’t have anything to write them down with, surprisingly, unplanned. Zoom, there it is in your mind’s eye. To prevent it from evaporating, I will usually write on anything handy – a napkin, a receipt from the bank, whatever.

Therefore, the thought that there would be no blog post from me today was hasty. The arrow hit its mark again –an idea – out of the blue.

As I’m sitting here, looking at the computer screen and typing into Microsoft word – I’m thinking - I could go on forever on this subject. It is so full of life. Yet seems bigger than life. I am so thankful that the One I worship and serve is
                                                  THE C-R-E-A-T-O-R.

While reading CLOTH PAPER SCISSORS, I came across an article about another etsian. Here's a piece of her inspiration and the link to her shop.

                                              https://www.etsy.com/shop/dearhazel

Is your experience, with inspiration, the same or different?

GIRLZ DAY - APRIL 5TH - VIDLER'S

Last Friday was a GIRLZ DAY for my friends and I. Reason: no school – spring break – everyone’s in Myrtle Beach. One girlfriend is a school bus monitor and she had the whole week off. Other friend has only Fridays off. Hence, our GIRLZ DAY was scheduled for Friday, April 5^th.

It was a beautiful, sunny day to take a drive through the countryside. Our plan was to drive west from Rochester to the little town of East Aurora. That town boasts an old fashioned 5 and 10 cent store. I would say they carry just about everything. Kitchen goods, craft items, floral shop, tchotzkes galore. And  one  floor up:  tons of  toys, make-up, old fashioned candy (all candies you used to buy for a penny on your way to school in the dark ages). They have garden stuff, books, paper and stationary, pet things, wall art, candles and décor items, purses, jackets, jewelry, greeting cards. I’m sure that’s just a partial list which I recall in my mental walk through the store.

http://www.vidlers5and10.com/

Before we ever made landfall at Vidler’s, we drove through beautiful countryside. Hills, valleys, farms, windmills. It’s a 90 minute drive from Rochester. I understand it’s also a 90 minute drive from Toronto, so if you live there, it’s worth the trip.

Of course, when we arrived in East Aurora, we were starving. So the first stop was at Charlie’s Diner for a lovely lunch.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g47619-d835154-Reviews-Charlie_s_Diner-East_Aurora_New_York.html

Now we are armed up with nutritional fortitude for our foray into Vidler’s. Oh, I tell you, it’s no end of fun. I bought a small ladle (which I needed), crochet thread, a figurine, old fashioned candy, hand cream packets to use as thank you gifts in my etsy orders, sink strainer, microwave plastic food cover, and calendars. I trust I didn’t forget anything that was in my bag.  I could’ve bought so much more if $$$$$ was no object. I saw a purse I loved and didn’t buy because I already have one like it (but I would’ve liked to have that one too)

Here’s some pictures of what Vidler’s looks like inside. Don’t be surprised that it looks so messy. Don’t you remember how Kresge’s and Woolworth’s looked in the old days? With tons of cheap make-up just laying flat in huge heaps on the counters, and glass separators between the types of items.  Wide wooden board floors, stairs (no elevators or escalators). Aisles squished close together. The 5 and 10 was BASIC.

All in all, it was a lovely day. The kind beautiful memories are made of.

BIRTHDAY PARTY IN A BOX

Today, I want to tell you about a co-operative effort some people from my etsy street team (cast or Christian Artists Street Team) are formulating. It is still in it’s formative stages at the moment but developing nicely. It was actually conceived when a couple team members wanted to support each other. This “teamwork” mushroomed and developed into what we see happening here.

One of our members took the lead and orchestrated this great collaboration. She is a potter  ……. and among other beautiful objects of art, she makes teapots. Here is her shop:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/inHIShandsart

An idea that began with a tiny little teapot for a little girl’s Happy Birthday Tea Party has blossomed into what is now called BIRTHDAY PARTY IN A BOX.

The premise is to provide for the party planner (usually Mom ) everything needed for a spectacular birthday party for the little Birthday Girl.

A miniature, hand thrown teapot plus four tiny cups would be made by …….

https://www.etsy.com/listing/112911479/miniature-teapot-doll-sized-handmade?ref=shop_home_active

All BPIAB offerings would come in sets of four except for the tea set, of which there will be but one - for the Birthday Girl. The tea set will be made up in  party theme.  It might be butterflies or ballet or horses, etc.

Available for the party planner to put in her Birthday Box would be  matching paper ware – Birthday Card for the Birthday Girl,  invitations, thank you notes, place cards, banner and gift bags, all from the shops of our paper artists and all with the party’s theme.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/EllieMarieDesigns

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CardsbyJeweleighaB

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MYSAVIOR?ref=si_shop

http://www.etsy.com/shop/witsenddesign

Fabric artists (sewers) will co-ordinate with the same fabric for napkins, placemats, doll dresses, and embellished apron blanks for the party craft activity.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DonnaDesigned

http://www.sammysgrammy.etsy.com/

A sugar art cake topper following the party theme.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetpeasugarart

 Party favors provided by………………….

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ourlittlecharmedlife

And, finally, a personalized teaspoon for the guests to stir their tea with and eat their Birthday Cake.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SilverSpoonful

We are excited by our team effort of BIRTHDAY PARTY IN A BOX. What do you think?

FRIDAY GIRLZ DAY OUT

Friday past was a nasty looking day. Not the kind of day you'd want to go out and have a little fun on. But you have to take your "sun shine" where you find it. My dear friend Patty has Friday's off from work and she wanted to book this day for a "girlz day out".

We started with lunch at an old stand-by restaurant on our favorite Rochester street - Park Avenue. We lunched at Hogan's Hideaway. It really is hidden away. You can see the storefront from Park Avenue but it goes way back into the lot. And there's almost no parking. The restaurant is squeezed into the tiniest parcel of land with very little room left to accommodate a parking lot.

Even though we arrived before noon, the tiny parking lot was already filled. The parking attendant directed me into a spot along a wall made by the building next door. I was actually parking in the driveway which was two way and hopefully no cars would be wanting to enter while one was trying to leave. That would be a catastrophe - but that's why they have a parking attendant.

The inside of Hogans Hideaway is cozy, with lots of little rooms. We sat in a booth. You can see the outside edge of one at the bottom left on this picture. Both of us had the exact same lunch. Not on purpose. We just happen to both like the same things. We had a crabcake sandwich with remoulade and sweet potato fries and ice tea to drink. This was the best iced tea ever. (I drink ice tea all year long)

After lunch, we went next door (not the building my car was squashed up against - but on the other side of Hogan's) to the Parkleigh. It is our favorite haunt. Again, the Parkleigh  is in an old building and was once a pharmacy. It, too, has lots of rooms. Each room at the Parkleigh has a specific ambience. I'm going to let you discover it yourselves by clicking on the dots on the store map at the bottom right on this link.

http://www.parkleigh.com/store/store_tour.php

The Parkleigh is like an idea factory for me. In my etsy shop, you'll probably soon see items inspired by this visit.

I did purchase a pair of earrings and a cello bag of mixed nuts at the candy counter.

When Patty and I parted, she handed me a bag with a "this is for you" and a wave. I didn't look inside until after I arrived home. Inside, I found several books I had loaned her. All by the same author who is now my favorite author. (In my next post, I'll tell you how I discovered her). Her name is Adriana Trigiani. Besides the books she returned, there was a gift book in there for me............................a cookbook by Adriana Trigiani ! I have given it a place of honor in my kitchen. I have a plexiglass cookbook stand and Adriana is ensconced right behind that plexiglass she she doesn't get splashed.

DO BEETS REALLY TASTE LIKE DIRT?

Today my CAST-teammates discussed BEETS. All ways to cook them (boil or roast), ways to peel them (before or after they're cooked) , ways to use them (in Australia, sliced on a hamburger), fresh versus canned. Make borscht, or salad, or a side dish. Eat the green beet tops or not (if they're young and tender).

On and on went the BEET discussion. It was generally agreed that beets do taste like dirt. I guess that means people like the taste of dirt. How does one acquire a taste for dirt? My thought is they ate lots and lots of mud pies out in the back yard when they were children.

I remember one of my sisters making meatballs from mud and serving them up for the playmates to dine on.

When my granddaughter was in kindergarten, she came home from school one day - all thrilled because she had made mud pies that day in school and she brought a huge piece of paper, with the recipe on it, home with her. She announced proudly when she showed it to me - "here's my "masterpiece".

Grammie's reaction: what a charming malapropism !  Sometimes the wrong word says it so much better than the right one.

She got "masterpiece" and "recipe" all discombobulated. . They do sound very much alike. Say them out loud and you'll see.

I'm wondering if she likes beets, being they taste so much like her mud pies. I'll have to ask her.

Yummy Crepe Breakfast - Lunch - or Dessert

I had company for dinner a week or so ago and made homemade manicotti for the main course. For this recipe, you don't use the store bought manicotti pasta that's sold in a box. You make very light crepes - which I will include the recipe for - then fill them with the ricotta mixture, cover them with homemade sauce and bake for about an hour. But that is another dinner. Today, we'll be talking about the crepes. I had some left over from the manicotti project. And because of that,  I invented the recipe in the title.

I took a couple of the left over crepes, heated them in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then slathered them with Nutella, layered sliced bananas and strawberries covering one half of the crepe. Folded over the crepe and drizzled chocolate sauce over the top.

I ate them just like this (the dessert format).  But for breakfast and/or lunch, you could spread a layer of yogurt over the Nutella before you layer on the fruit.

Crepe Recipe: Makes about 25
5 room temperature eggs - 1 cup of flour - 1 cup of lukewarm water. Mix ingredients together with a wire whisk in a 1 quart vessel.
Oil a small cast iron skillet or a small (8") teflon coated frying pan. Wipe the oil around the pan with a paper towel. Heat the pan on medium heat. My ancient recipe says to use a whiskey glass (1 oz.) to measure the batter into the pan  but you can use a ladle or spoon - remembering that you want a very small amount of batter in the pan because the crepe should be very thin. Quickly, twirl the pan to get the batter spread around on the bottom to make a round shaped crepe. It just takes a few minutes to cook side one. Turn crepe over to cook side two (this side takes even less time than side one.

As the crepes are finished, pile them one on top of the other on a plate. When you're finished making crepes, you can wrap the whole pile in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. They freeze well. Divide them up in serving sized batches to freeze.