Getting better

So, after waaaay too much anxiety, insomnia, and evil allergies I am feeling a lot better. Cam cheered me up this morning, so I'm no longer anxious (and trying to stay that way), the allergies seem to be on the decline (although I would really like to find my pills), and I figure 2 out of 3 aint bad. Insomnia is one of those gifts that my family likes to pass from one generation to another. thankooooo so much! My family has many wonderful genetic gifts, the more interesting of which I have inherited in force. Most of which I plan to pass on to my children. mwahahaha.

I made lasagna! Out of scraps of food; once the lasagna is gone we have: boxes and boxes of pasta. Think we can make it through August without buying groceries? Do ya? Here's hoping!!!! :) I got hired for the PACT camp this year, so hooray for almost a week of free food and money-making! I'm hoping I get the check by September, so we can actually buy our books...positive! staying positive! Shiranne is coming back soon! I am going to watch movies with her! hoooraaay! This is her in Israel; she is lovely and beautiful and awesome and I wish we were closely related.

Lasagna Primavera (ok, it's summer, big deal)

1 can whole tomatoes
1 fresh tomato
2 spoonfulls minced garlic
1/2 pkg frozen spinach
1 bunch chopped celery
1 small bag of baby carrots, chopped
1 can mushrooms, drained
Olive Oil
salt
1 box lasagna noodles
Mozzarella Cheese

Throw all the ingredients excepts the noodles and cheese in a large pot and cook on high until vegetables are soft. sprinkle bottom of lasagna pan with olive oil, and cover with a layer of noodles. Spoon half of the vegetable mixture over the noodles, cover with a layer of cheese. Cover with more noodles, the rest of the vegetable mixture, and another layer of cheese. Bake at 350 until top is browned. Good served hot; microwaves pretty well (but the carrots get sweet after microwaving).

SewRetro : the polka-dot pea coat.

I made a coat for the SewRetro challenge this month; I used the same pattern my grandmother used for my mom's coat back in 1970. Because I only had about 2 yards of the green fabric, which is also vintage form the 70's, I shortened the pattern by about 8 inches, so it hits at the upper thigh instead of above the knee. I decided to fully line it with a very light polka-dot cotton, which meant I had to make up the lining pattern as the original only calls for lining the front. I eliminated one of the outside pockets and made the remaining one and inside pocket (instead of a pouch pocket). I also put two pockets on the inside front because the lining fabric was so long :). I will probably add at last one more button to the front, so the left flap stays smooth, but I may go ahead and do the full set of buttons the pattern calls for. This was my first time making buttonholes, and I did it by hand as my machine does not have a buttonhole anything. What surprised me was how big the coat turned out. I had to make quite a few darts, which is odd because the original coat just barely fits me. I guess grandma likes to make really WIDE seams. I'm pretty excited about it, and it should last through until winter hits.

Productive

Yesterday I finally finished my sky and water quilt (which is fabulous, btw). I had to sew up a bunch of spots that had ripped before backing and quilting it, but I finished! Cam and I also jarred some cherries, and made a lot of jam, both cherry-plum and straight cherry. We got a 'new' desk, so we put the old one in the guest room as a desk/dresser deal, which makes me really happy (now people can actually visit long-term and not live out of a suitcase). I also decided to keep the bed frame we picked up from Shiranne; I have to buy bolts for it, and a few other replacement parts, but I like it a lot more than the current frame in there which we will be garage-selling. We're also selling the futon (once I replace the bolt that was bent) and a few other things we helped clear out of Shiranne's place. Now I need to put away all the crap we brought from Gilroy (the last of my things, hooray!!!) so that it isn't crap but rather mostly manageable somehow useful 'things'. Organization does wonders, believe you me. Then I can get back to sewing up some more projects, and hopefully at least cutting out the vintage piece for this month. I have to drive back to Gilroy tomorrow, blech, so I won't be very productive until after Sunday. Japanese study time, indeeeeed.
I love food netwoooooork. YAY.

Cherry-Plum Jam
4 bags of cherries
2 bags of plums
1 packet pectin
Pit the plums and cherries. Put them through the blender, add pectin and heat, boiling, until it has cooked down to the point that it is already 10:30 pm and you want to go to bed. In a pot of boiling water dip the jars and lids and set on a flat surface. Fill jars with jam up to 1/4" from the top of the jar. Close tightly and place whole jar back into boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove, cool, and put away. For cherry jam, simply omit the plums (which I did, because I was tired of waiting for the cherry-plum jam to cook down, so I dumped the rest of the cherries in another pot and cooked it seperately).
edit: My recipe came out pretty tart. I like tart. If you don't, add lots and lots of sugar. :)

Cherries
Pit cherries. Sterilize jars in boiling water immediately before packing with cherries. Pour in to jar boiling water, covering cherries and filling up to 1/4" from the surface. Close jar tightly, place in boiling water for 2 minutes, and remove. Done! yay!