White Chocolate Popcorn

This week is going to be one busy week. With all sorts of deadlines facing me, I know I won't have any piddlin' time, so I'm giving you one of my favorite recipes. It's quick and delicious and, I'm sure, good for you. Ha! It's a great gift idea. I learned of this when my friend Debby gave me a beautiful Christmas apothecary jar filled with White Chocolate Popcorn a couple of Christmases ago. Not only was the jar spectacular, but the contents were delicious, too.

I made a batch today and have packaged it in little cello bags tied with ribbons. I thought I'd photograph the steps so you can see how easy it is. Okay, here we go.

You'll need the following: a bag of white chocolate chips, 6 small, single serving packages (or 3 large packages) of microwave popcorn, and a large bowl. Pop all the corn and place in the bowl. Melt the chocolate. (I use the microwave for about a minute, then check it after 20 second intervals, but an absolutely foolproof method is with a heating pad. Just place it on the pad and fold it over for about 30 minutes. It's perfectly melted every time and no chance of scorching it.)

Pour the melted chocolate over the popped corn and stir with a big spoon. Just stir and stir. Although you may feel you're not getting it covered, you are. Then turn it out on to a piece of parchment and let it air dry to allow the chocolate to harden. Break it apart and package. It's so easy and delicious.

Here's wishing you a good week. I'll be back when time allows!

Storing Stuff

When you have as much stuff as I've accumulated over the past 25 years, you have no choice but to organize it. About six months ago, it finally got to me and I had to de-clutter. Click on these photos to enlarge and see the "after" and be glad I've spared you the "before." You may be thinking that it's still pretty cluttered, but believe me when I say it could be much worse.

The wire shelves on the left are deep so they hold lots of books and organizers. These came from Office Depot and were not expensive.

The picture on the right shows my ribbon racks. Those are rain gutters from Home Depot, sprayed black and screwed to the wall. It keeps my ribbon in view but neat and tidy.

The little drawers on the left of the ribbon racks are from Ikea (you see them everywhere), again sprayed black and labeled with a chalk marker. I like knowing what's in every little drawer without having to search. I have about 50 of those little drawers and they hide all the little things. The cabinet below is an old file cabinet that belonged at one time to a retired insurance man and and it held legal-size insurance files. It's very deep and holds a ton of stuff.

Once when St. Wayne and I were having a serious discussion about our finances, he was explaining where I needed to go to find insurance information, investments, and all those important things one would need if ever faced with the sudden demise of one's spouse. After all his instructions, all I could offer was, "Should I die first and you need them, the extensive collection of hole punches is in the insurance cabinet, far right side, third drawer down."

It's definitely the down side of being a one-woman show in business for yourself...that pesky subject of lack of benefits. Sometimes, at my age, I wonder if I should have gotten a real job years ago so that I could now enjoy a great big fat retirement package. But, then, I sit real still till that thought passes. And then I get up and open a drawer with adorable little hang tags or pull open the box that houses my vast assortment of watercolors, and I begin to piddle...

Piddlin' Place

My favorite place to piddle is my studio...because that's where all my stuff happens to be. Working from home is a great pleasure and I feel very fortunate to be able to do that. But it does present its own set of problems. I've learned over time, that you have to set boundaries, or it can consume you 24/7. So I have french doors that I close when the shop is not open. I can't even hear the phone ring from other parts of the house.

My studio used to be an unused living room off the entryway. And because of its location, I really try to keep it tidy and presentable to anyone walking in my door.

I keep pretty regular hours...Tuesday through Friday, 9ish to 4ish. Mondays I play cards with the girls and do domestic things. I try to be available to my customers during my regular hours unless I'm running to the printer or I'm invited to lunch. Or Target's having a good sale...

The tour starts off at my computer desk. I bought the desk top at Ikea and put it atop filing cabinets. I ordered the center organizer from Ballard's Designs and then my clever and handy husband, St. Wayne, built the rest. We designed it to optimize the space of the desktop and provide spots for all my necessities.

The shelves above give me a world of storage. I love anything wire, so I use lots of antique gym baskets to store stuff and I am such a freak I had to cover my books up there with wrapping paper. It just looks prettier. Nothing uglier than a phone book.

Overall, I'm happy with this set up. It's functional and not too hard on the eyes. In the next part of the tour I'll show you where I keep my stuff...stay tuned...

Granddaddy's Hearts

My grandparents moved in next door when I was five years old. Much to my mother's chagrin, I might add. Who wants her in-laws within rock-throwing distance? But I was in heaven. I was the only granddaughter for eleven years and Grandmomma doted on me. She handmade everything in my wardrobe...every dress I wore had lots of ruffles and bows and puffy sleeves. (That could be exactly why you'll never find me in a dress today!)

And what a perfect set up it was for a picky eater. Come suppertime, if I didn't like what Fern was serving at the family table, I'd wander down the path to Grandmomma's and check out what was cooking on her stove. Nine times out of ten, I'd like her selection better.

In my mother's defense, I can now understand why it was hard on her, but I couldn't understand at the time. In looking back, I remember a picture window suddenly appearing in my grandparents' kitchen. Not that it was a particularly good look for the kitchen, but it made it much easier for them to know what was going on at our house. As time went by, the path between the houses seemed to grow shorter. As they became elderly, they spent more time at our house and we spent more time at theirs.

Some of my favorite memories involve Sunday evenings on their big porch with my aunts, uncles, and cousins dropping by. I always looked most forward to my Aunt Rita showing up in her big car with a big bag of Dilly Bars from the Dairy Queen. I just couldn't believe that she and Uncle Ed had so much money they could afford to treat everybody to a Dilly Bar! Man...I wanted to be that rich when I grew up.

My Granddaddy was a much loved character. He always made us laugh and we could hear him sneeze from our house. He had an accident as a teenager that left him with a broken hip. One leg was much shorter than the other and left him in chronic pain. I never knew this until he was gone...all I knew was that he wore really funny looking shoes and walked with a terrible limp. He was a marble man who worked for The Vermont Marble Company in Dallas. He would spend hours in his garage making things like bookends and lamps with leftovers from the factory.

The picture above shows six little hearts I've had for years that he made. The interesting thing about these little works of art is that he used the end of a safety pin to fashion a jump ring so they could be worn on a chain. I've always loved these hearts and thought everybody in the family had an assortment of these. In talking with my cousin Sandy the other day, I've discovered they don't. So I'm offering these to my fellow Luther Girls...sister Joyce, and cousins Sandy, Tina, Diane, and Madeline. So let me hear from you girls...first come, first choice. They range in size from an inch to an inch and a half.

I think Granddaddy would be proud to know I'm sharing the fruits of his talent...here's to family memories of a simpler time!

Mail Art Continued

Oops! I didn't get to finish what I wanted to say. Sorry about that. So where was I?

Oh yes...get out your water colors and add a little sizzle to your summer scene. And who says the stamp has to go in the upper right hand corner? It's going to get to where it's going if you put the right amount of postage on it...so just put it anywhere you think it fits.

So give the mailman or mailwoman a thrill with your artwork. And I'll bet the recipient will tear into your envelope before the rest of the mail, too.

Have fun with your mail!

Mail Art

Dress your mail for summer. Never send a dull and boring envelope again. By using a waterproof marker to draw...I like Micron Pigma permanent pens from Michael's...

you can embellish your envelope with your own brand of fun.

As you can see, you can produce a fun masterpiece using nothing but squiggle, circles, and dots and then you're ready for the next step...

Get

Getting the Kinks Out

Thank you all for the emails I've gotten. For some reason, you can't comment in the regular way. I'll have to ask my consultant what we can do to fix that. So in the meantime, if you have something to say, please do. You'll just have to email me at the address in my profile.

Your notes were all so encouraging! I appreciate that. What would I do without all of you dear peeps of mine?! And now I have another fear looming in the background...what if all I want to do is blog? That's what I'm really afraid of. And blogging won't give me spending money...won't pay the bills...

I'm really looking forward to the interaction of this blog. Since closing my store front and moving to my home studio, I have to admit I'm lonely. I really miss having you drop by and chat or running into you at the place next door. Even though I love being here at the house, I do miss getting out because of all of you I encountered everyday. And I miss people working with me. I miss birthday celebrations (not to mention the cakes!) and just interaction with somebody besides Martha Stewart and Oprah...you know Oprah is always my four o'clock appointment. So thanks for being out there and thanks for letting me know you're out there.

I've also been told I need to be sassier. And I agree...I warned you it was a little dry. It will pick up as I go along, I'm sure. A new book called "Blogging for Bliss" by Tara Frey just came out and I got it yesterday. It has all sorts of tips and suggestions from other online bloggers that have me excited about this whole thing. That book's really gotten me pumped up!

I want to give you an excuse to PLAY! I want you to find time everyday for a little joy. And for me, joy is getting my "stuff" out and just playing. Whether it's a pan of watercolors (and they can be from the grocery store for a couple of bucks) or a new recipe or a note to a friend...just find a little while to escape and piddle. You have my permission...now give yourself permission!

Also I want to let you know that you can click on the photos in this blog and they will enlarge so you an see the detail. Like how dirty my kitchen table is...or the fingerprints on my fridge...you know, important stuff like that.

So thank you, thank you...it's like a conversation and I really want you to feel free to jump in with me!

Bordering on Boredom

We remodeled our kitchen last Spring. One of my favorite changes was a wallpaper border that I painted over with chalkboard paint. I'd grown a little bored with the chickens encircling the eating area...although they were pretty cute perched in different little chairs...I figured enough already!

Being a calligrapher, I bought a chalk marker from my local craft store and lettered different quotes all the way around the room. The chalk marker requires a little elbow grease to remove, but it's much smoother to apply and stays. You can actually rub against it, and unlike chalk, it won't smudge.

I change the quotes when the mood strikes and even do little drawings from time to time. It's always a topic of conversation with dinner guests and my friends and family contribute food-related quotes in the hope of seeing theirs on the wall.

Does Anybody Outgrow It?

Does anybody love getting a birthday card with money in it more than I do? I love that. On St. Wayne's last birthday, our friend Cathie sent him a birthday card with a gift card to the Marble Slab. It was so much fun! It was affordable for anybody, and a really fun treat for us...of course I wormed my way into celebrating with him.

Here's a little card I sent today with a $20 bill in it to my nephew. Not much, but hey, a cheap thrill is still a cheap thrill. I love the new stamps available right now and hopefully you can see it's stacked letters spelling "celebrate."

Now if you're reading this and saying, "she never sends me a $20 bill in a birthday card," I have a really hard time keeping up with birthdays. But I could surprise you someday, just don't expect it and we're good. Just don't depend on it, either.

Go to the post office and pick out your stamps and decorate that envelope to match. Just piddle around with and you might be surprised what you'll come up with.

Many Thanks

I have to say "thanks" to Colleen. She's my technologically advanced friend who knows how to do everything, especially those things pertaining to computers. And believe me when I say, if not for her, you wouldn't be reading this blog right now.



Little did I know how much I'd learn from her when I sat down across from her in study hall in 1964. She was wearing the coolest shade of nail polish of anybody in school. And when I asked her the name of the shade and she said, "Coffee," I knew she was sophisticated. The rest of us girls picked out colors like "Candy Stripes" and "Pouting Pink"...but not the new girl from the big city...no siree...she was naturally drawn to names like "Coffee."


We've been through lots together in the past 45 years...boyfriends, weddings, divorces and near divorces, baby boys, deaths of our parents, life's ups and downs in general. I've always been able to count on her...she's always there when I need her. She one of the most unselfish people I've ever known. And I appeciate her...and our friendship. Thanks Colleen!

Piddlin'...an Art Form

I've been a piddler for as long as I can remember. The nature of my business for the past 25 years, producing custom invitations, has always presented lots of deadlines. To keep my sanity, when I can, I steal away a little time to piddle.

Piddlin' was learned at a very young age and I admit I've become quite good at it. And I take great pride in it. I can waste time like you wouldn't believe and have such a good time doing so. The purpose of this blog is to encourage you to piddle and enjoy the process.

I'll be back to share some ideas for playin' and piddlin'...so stay tuned!