Put your lipstick on before you sew

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I grew up learning how to knit, bake, and sew. Not necessarily in that order. My grandma taught me how to knit, my mom (and 4-H) taught me how to bake and sew. I also often baked with my grandma. I have so many memories of screwing something up while knitting and getting frustrated. Baking was much easier. It might not have come out perfectly but it was usually at least edible. Sewing on the other hand often drove me crazy. My mom had this old singer sewing machine. (Image from Google). My sister would have to confirm if this was the same model, if it is not, then it is at least close. Making a bobbin and then threading that thing was horribly frustrating. I remember many times throwing the bobbin across the room.

When I started my handbag business in my twenties, my mom was not around to get me through using her old Singer. So I got rid of it, and instead purchased a Bernina, and rarely do I have a problem using it. It got me through 5 years of my business, with many very late nights and early mornings, just me and the Bernina.

So when I found this hilarious advice from a 1949 Singer Sewing manual I could not stop laughing. “Have your hair in order, powder and lipstick put on.” Never, ever in my life have I put on lipstick before sewing. I am not even sure if I put any lipstick on for my wedding day. The only mental preparation I needed before using that old Singer was to not throw it across the room. Maybe that is why they made them so heavy.

“If you are constantly fearful that a visitor will drop in or your husband will come home and you will not look neatly put together, you will not enjoy your sewing as you should.”

I am at a loss for words. Actually no I am not. Chris often sees me in my pajamas all day on a Saturday. He might softly mention that it might be good to take a shower, but he often sees me at my worst, and he has only seen me with lipstick a handful of times in our 12+ years together. My how the world has changed in the last 65 years. I will have to get my hands on a 2015 Singer Sewing manual so I can be inspired by their advice and all the things I should do before I start to sew.

Annoying loud dates next to you.

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The last few times that Chris and I have gone out to eat (whether at a nice restaurant or a quick happy hour), the party sitting next to us has been obnoxious. Usually what happens is we are sitting there enjoying our dinner and partway through a new party sits next to us. At first it is fine. It is like a blind date, you are not sure what to expect. Will they be soft-spoken or annoy the crap out of you?

Lately, they have annoyed the crap out of me. Mostly when they are loud. I do not need to hear your life story. For example, just before the New Year, we went out to one of our favorite restaurants and partway through a man and woman came and sat right next to us (yet there were other open tables). The woman was obnoxious (to say the least). We could not help but listen to their conversation as it was so loud we could barely hear each other talk. I thought it was the strangest date. She seemed much older than the man she was with and he kept saying, “No, eat what you want. I am not hungry.” Which made me think maybe he could not afford dinner? At the very last minutes before they leave we learn that he is the son, and she is the mom. Wow. Very shocked after hearing so much of their conversation, and yet putting all the pieces together it actually made sense.

Another time, a few months ago, we had an amazing night out. The food was great, but the group that sat next to us near the end of the meal was beyond rude. Gratefully, we were almost done with dessert and, as soon as we could pay, we got the hell out of there. If they had not shown up we might have stayed a while longer. We did not let it ruin our evening, but I sure cannot forget the high-pitched sound of that woman on her birthday.

I do often wonder how much self-knowledge people have about themselves. I know at times alcohol can play a part in the volume of someone’s voice, yet sometimes I think that people are just all around obnoxious. They have no knowledge that they are yelling and that other restaurant guests around them are giving them death looks. The hard part for me is that all I want to do is go off on them, but what good would that do? If I was not so frustrated I might actually say with poise: “Could you keep it down, I am sitting two feet from my husband and I cannot hear him, yet I know all about the amount of wine you drank at your book club last night and how much your friend hates his brother. However, I cannot hear my husband as we brainstorm about redoing our backyard.”

If we could only be more aware of our surroundings, those around us, and how we show up in the world. Ah, what we learn from the parties that sit next to us in a restaurant… never a dull moment.

Who will win?

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Each year Doritos has a contest for the best ad to air during the Super Bowl. (See my blog last year for the “Finger Cleaner.”) Individuals can submit their own Doritos ad and Doritos will select 10 finalists that are put up for a vote leading up to the Super Bowl. Think American Idol meets chips. While I am a lime chip girl, and rarely eat Doritos, I am always curious about what clever idea someone will come up with each year. I always have a good laugh. My favorite finalist this year is “Selfish Sneezers.” Maybe because it is spot on for what a bunch of guys would do in order to make sure no one touches their stash.

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“Middle Seat” is a close second. Can you believe that first prize in the contest is a job at Universal Pictures plus $1,000,000? Does that make you want to start your Doritos video for next year?

Random recipe: Pumpkin + Sage + Goat Cheese Fettuccine

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I am a sucker for goat cheese, pumpkin, and sage. I found a recipe that combines all three things. We tried it. Amazing taste, with just a few tweaks. First, I hate having a heavy meal where I feel like I ate a brick a few hours later. There are three things I would change about this recipe:

  1. Use spaghetti or a small round pasta (such as a Campanelle) in place of the Fettuccine. The Fettuccine is too thick and heavy that it makes you dread continuing. When I eat pasta I want to crave it and ask Chris if there is more. Next time we make this recipe it will be with a lighter pasta.
  2. The sauce was too thick, so make it a bit more liquid by adding more heavy cream. Trust me on this.
  3. Last thing. Forget the last step to add the fried sage. It didn’t do anything for me. There is already sage cooked into the sauce. The extra on top is not needed.

This recipe is not hard. Chris said it takes just as long to boil the pasta as it does to put the sauce together. 15 minutes max (just as the recipe says).

Pumpkin Goat Cheese Fettuccine Alfredo with Crispy Fried Sage [Closet Cooking]

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes Servings: 2

A quick and easy creamy goat cheese pumpkin alfredo with crispy fried sage.

6 ounces pasta
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
4 ounces goat cheese
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
1 tablespoon sage, sliced thinly
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter
1 handful sage leaves

  1. Cook the pasta as directed on the package.
  2. Melt the butter in pan over medium heat, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
  3. Add the cream, pumpkin puree, goat cheese, parmesan, sage and pumpkin pie spice and simmer until the cheese has melted.
  4. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat, let it turn a light brown, add the sage and fry until crispy.
  6. Serve hot over the pasta garnished with more parmesan and crispy fried sage.

The voice inside of you…

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I have always been a fan of Shel Silverstein.

Little did I know as a kid that Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout was a hoarder, but somehow she scared me enough to take the garbage out. Even when taking the garbage out at our house meant opening up a peach colored wooden long trunk outside our maintenance shed that sometimes was home to raccoons. If you were not careful when you took the garbage out and you opened the lid you would see two eyes and grey, black, and white fur looking back at you. Who knew taking the garbage out was such a scary thing.

So when I was reminded the other day of the poem: “The Voice” by Shel Silverstein it brought back memories:

The Voice

There is a voice inside of you
That whispers all day long,
“I feel this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong.”
No teacher, preacher, parent, friend
Or wise man can decide
What’s right for you–just listen to
The voice that speaks inside.

I only wish it was more popular to little children (girls especially). We all should teach kids early on how to listen to their own voice, so it does not take them so long to find it. It took me until I was in my early twenties in college. If I had parents, teachers, and family find unique ways to teach me that no one can decide what is right for me, I might have found that strong voice earlier.

Just as it might be hard for adults to continue to find their voice, it can be even harder for kids (but it does not have to be). We all need to listen more. We need to be quiet more. The voice inside you is there.