Day 331 of 365

I love bargains. And I love coming home and finding that bargains have arrived in the mail.

I've been spending a couple days with my daughter and haven't been home. When I got home I had three packages waiting for me. The first two packages were used books I purchased to do research on some children's books. $30 in books for eight dollars. But my third package was the best deal of all - a new purse from Coldwater Creek. I paid $14. The purse was originally $70. (Talk about exciting!)

Also exciting was the run my daughter and I made to another store. We ran across some gardening things at 50% off the last marked clearance price. We always like using a systemic product on our roses, but it is usually so expensive we might only do one or two treatments a year. With the 50% deal, I made off like a bandit. Our rose garden should look pretty darn spectacular this year.

I imagine checking out with a cart full like this you might think I would be someone who:
A: is a hoarder.
B: doesn't care about the environment.
C: is obsessive about a rose garden.

Obsessive about a rose garden is the right answer.

Day 330 of 365

I don't have a Costco card and never have. My mom has a Costco card. My daughter has one, too. (They lived together so they're on the same membership. I think that's how that works.)

I don't know much about Costco. I know they sell items in big sizes. I know some people swear by them. But that's about it.

But I learned more today. I visited my daughter and we went to Costco. Unfortunately, I was the one whose cash was being used. Being used and being spent quickly, mostly on fruits and veggies. It was quite an experience watching folks buy huge boxes and bags of snacks and sweets. (The pies particularly looked mighty tasty.) I was quite proud of myself for not partaking in the huge unhealthy food purchases. $75 in fruits and veggies was plenty for me. Even with my daughter and I splitting the produce, my refrigerator is pretty well full.

I did enjoy one sweet purchase. I ran out to the only Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in Boise. If you've been reading my blog, you know my obsession with the apples. I bought (and ate) a Butterfinger one. Although I certainly could have had my choice of many.

Day 329 of 365

Like eating a cloud.

An expression I never heard before, but one that came out of my husband's mouth last night.

We have this Mexican restaurant in town, Alejandra's. It's a small place tucked into the long stucco building that houses an auto repair shop, a Mexican store, the post office, the senior citizen center, and the hardware store. Right there on main street, the building is probably as old as the town. We're talking old, with each business getting its own little hole. When people talk about hole-in-the-wall places, I think of this Mexican restaurant. It has only been around a few years, but it's our go-to place for Mexican food. Great food at reasonable prices.

Great food and great specials my husband likes, particularly on Tuesdays. He loves their tacos and on Tuesday is all-you-can-eat tacos. Last night he again enjoyed the delicious all-you-can-eat tacos with rice and beans that cost something like $7.99. He was in heaven.

He has an obsession with the tacos, but an even bigger obsession with their rice. He's not a big rice fan, particularly of Spanish rice. But he loves the rice at Alejandra's. Every single time we're there he raves about the rice. So after he paid the bill and we were getting ready to go, he leaves the table. Not out the door, not to the restroom. To the kitchen.

He went to the kitchen to talk to the gal who makes the rice. Wanted to know how she did it. Told her how delicious it was. And told her it was like eating a cloud. I kind of think I know what he meant, but the poor gal with the broken English may not have understood.

I don't know about rice being like a cloud, but I am starting to think my head is in the clouds with all the quilt blocks I keep putting together...

Sew Quick and Easy Potholders - Day 328 of 365, Tutorial Tuesday

I'm not sure how and why I started these tutorials, but now that I'm many months into them it's getting more difficult to try and come up with something creative every week. And then there are those days I don't feel well enough to talk to anyone and it's difficult to keep the cheeriness in my voice on a video.

I'm not sure if the cheeriness is there today, but something else is - a background noise.

I usually plan on filming the tutorials ahead of time. Every Thursday I tell myself I'll film, and I don't. Then it becomes Friday when I'm sure I'll get it done. Friday usually goes by and when Saturday or Sunday rolls around I start to feel a bit panicky.

But I get it done. Typically it is when laundry is running in the washer and my hubby is downstairs watching TV. I'll call down to him, letting him know I'm filming the tutorial and will be closing the sewing room door. That leaves me alone with no noises but the loud wall clock, ticking away.

Except this time. I tried to raise my voice over the noise. It didn't work. I tried to repeat things more than once, hoping I could bypass the noise coming from right outside the sewing room door, but it was no use.

Looking for something else? Check out some of my other kitchen sewing and crafting projects!

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After some major editing, the little bawl baby (AKA kitty cat) can still be heard about two minutes into the video. You can find the step-by-step how to tutorial for the quick and easy quilted potholder sewing project here: