Sea Salt Soap, Quilting and Pizza!

SEA SALT SOAP ~

Last month I played hooky and made up a batch of Raspberry Lemonade Sea Salt Soap. I used coarse Dead Sea Salts and fine Pacific Sea Salt in this batch ~ along with colloidal oatmeal. The oils used were Sunflower, Castor, Jojoba, Palm & Coconut. Butters used were Shea, Cocoa and Mango. Then I swirled with ultramarine pink.

Well ~ it’s ready to be used and I put it up on my Etsy shop ~ RASPBERRY LEMONDADE SEA SALT SOAP.

SPLIT RAIL FENCE QUILT ~

Continued working on the Spilt Rail Fence quilt…it’s definitely alotta pink. LOL! Not something I would make for myself…not even sure why I had that material in my stash! Hmmm…wonder if I have fabric gremlins? Trading out my Civil War repos with hot pink?! I get up at 4:30 am now, so I don’t have a lot of time to stay up like I used to. For some odd reason I’m pooped out by 9:30 pm. LOL! It’s going to take a while to finish these quilts, me thinks! Here is what I did last night ~ four 12.5″ blocks then sewn together. I’m using 6 different 2.5″ fabric strips for this quilt.

PIZZA! ~

Ok…even though I’ve lost a lot of weight (63 pounds and more to go!)…I love pizza. And I’m able to indulge myself at BLACK ROCK PIZZA in Sparks, NV. It is THE BEST pizza I’ve ever had. Very original pizzas, and great customer service. Thanks Stephanie and Juan Carlos!

Black Rock is owned by Linda & Dave Winchester and they’re there every day (at least every day we are there…and we go at least once a week). ALL PIZZAS (30+) are thin crust with either Multi Grain or Sweet Italian…I love the multi grain crust. There are many sauces ~ Pesto, Olive Oil/Garlic, BBQ, Spicy Sicilian, Thai, Hot Wing, Ricotta White.

My favorites are the veggie Planet X (Ricotta White Sauce, Fresh Garlic, Spinch, Roma Tomatoes, Asiago Cheese) ~ Wild Wings (Buffalo Sauce, Buffalo Chicken, Celery, Jalapenos, Gorgonzola Cheese) ~ Sage Brush (Olive/Garlic Sauce, Turkey Sausage, Sage, Lemon Juice, Fresh Garlic, Romano cheese) ~ Stone Boy (Pesto Sauce, Basque Chorizo, Roasted Red Peppers, Sun dried tomatoes, red onions, gorgonzola cheese) ~ Carlin Trend (Pesto Sauce, Sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, asiago cheese and sliced almonds) ~ Razorback (BBQ’d smoked pulled pork shoulder and green onions) and the Poker Brown (Thai peanut sauce, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, smoked red onion, green onions, celery, red bell pepper topped with habanero jack cheese and oriental noodles!). I also love the Pale Face (Olive/Garlic sauce, fresh chopped garlic, pine nuts with gorgonzola and provolone cheese)…but I had gallstones and this one made my stones go crazy. Luckily that sucker was pulled last October so now I can eat it again. I’d stay away from this one if you do have gallstones! LOL!

The sandwiches are to die for too! Great salads ~ and I’m in love with the Gorgonzola Dressing. They should market that stuff! Starters are tasty ~ Rattlesteaks (Thin strips of Sirloin Steak, marinated in Buttermilk, Seasoned, cooked crisp, drizzled with Chipotle Sauce) ~ Sawtooth Knobs (Mushrooms filled with ham, fresh garlic, cream cheese, jalapeños, onions; all distinctively flavored in BRP’s smoker) ~ Tumbleweeds (Artichokes tumbled through seasoned breading, served with marinara, ranch, gorgonzola or balsamic vinaigrette).

Made you hungry yet? If you live here in Reno or Sparks ~ there is no excuse why you haven’t given them a try yet. You’ll be hooked on the first visit. If you’re coming into town ~ they are at 2855 N. McCarran Blvd, Sparks, NV 89431.

Blue Oyster Cult & the Rest of the Weekend

Had a pretty good weekend, even if the flipping Washoe Zephyrs tried to blow us off of the road. I really, really, really hate the winds…I don’t mind a breeze…hate the winds, especially those over 40 mph. Grrrrr….

Hit the garage sales and found a few things for $4 total ~ including a 1999 Daisy Longaberger Basket for $1! Also picked up a tube of thin copper sheeting, wooden copper tools, a metal fishing box and a nice size trowel.

GO GO GODZILLA!

My husband was a little bummed that he didn’t get to go to the Van Halen concert that was in town last week…so he asked me to buy tickets for Blue Oyster Cult that was playing at Harrah’s Tahoe on Saturday. For less than the price of one Van Halen ticket I got two for BOC ~ really enjoyed the concert. They played the 3 main songs that the radio stations play (it’s amazing that a band can be 30+ years old and radio stations think that people only want to listen to 3 of their songs)…along with other great songs. Loved Eric Bloom & Buck Dharma…Jules Radino on the drums was a lot of fun to watch ~ he and the bass player (not sure of his name…Eric said he played with Ozzie, Whitesnake and some other band that totally escapes me at the moment) made my heart have an irregular beat a few times, me thinks. LOL! Richie Castellano was pretty good too. Solos were excellent ~ music sounded great, crowd was good mixture of ages. I enjoyed myself.

Taken with my cell phone…so not the best picture.

The ride up to Tahoe was AWFUL! Damn winds…my hands and shoulders were killing me when we finally got up to Harrahs. And they didn’t die down when we drove home! On top of that it started to snow. Oy! I hate springtime in Nevada.

Spent more time out in the front yard planting and digging up plants then planting them elsewhere. Last year I planted two Russian sage near some iris’ ~ they’re getting too big for the area so I dug them up and planted them near the weeping cherry tree. Had a quote of $550 to take out the rest of the junipers in the NE corner of our property. Hmmm…I may tackle some of it myself again. Even though I said never again. (I lied!)

Cut 2-1/2″ strips for a couple of quilts for the Odyssey Healthcare hospice in Gulfport, MS…dug through my fabric stash and found some purples/green/tans for one quilt and hot pinks/pink for another. Will have to dig out some blues too. I’m going to just do a Split Rail type of quilt.

Cut 2-1/2 inch strips ~ color off somewhat.

Finished Blocks ~ true to color. BIG SIGH! Ok guys…Better? :-p

I was in a Spring Exchange with my Crafters’ Cafe Ebay group…received two paintings done by Nana (Betty) ~ I absolutely love thistles.

Sewing Sunset’s Mississippi Hospice Volunteer Work

Going to steal part of my friend’s post on her blog today so we can get her message out to as many people as possible.   One should get in touch with the director of the program, as you will have to fill out a volunteer packet (log your hours) before starting.

From Sewing Sunsets ~

As you know, I always encourage readers of this blog to share their talents and skills with others, and today’s post is about sewing for others, and in this case, almost literally sewing a sunset by volunteering to sew for people who are experiencing those final sunset days of life.  A couple of days ago, I received a request from someone who manages volunteers for a hospice in Mississippi. She was looking for volunteers to sew for her hospice patients and was asking me for resources. I will be sewing for this hospice, Odyssey Healthcare (www.odsyhealth.com ) as well as continuing to sew for Mission of Hope (www.missionofhope.org ). I would like to encourage you to sew simple projects for this hospice, or perhaps one like it in your area. Although my dad was never put on hospice care before he died, I had the opportunity to watch the hospice staff as they visited other patients in the nursing home, and I was always impressed with their unique ability to bring smiles to people who were in situations where all they wanted to do was cry. I think that people who are directly involved in hospice work must be very special people indeed.

Anyone who sews, knits, crochets, or quilts can volunteer to donate simple projects. Blankets, pillows, pillowcases, adult bibs, crafts, and quilts are all acceptable.  Apparently, there are no restrictions and any donations will be used, with nothing going to waste.

If you should decide to volunteer to sew, knit, quilt, or crochet for this worthy cause, here is the contact information

TClark@odsyhealth.com or 228-297-5976

(I would suggest that initial contact be made via e-mail or phone because there are a few guidelines that must be followed.)

The mailing address is : Tiffany Clark, Manager of Volunteer Services, Odyssey Healthcare, 9414 Three Rivers Road, Suite 3, Gulfport, MS 39503

I hope that some of the readers of this blog will consider sharing sewing, quilting, crocheting, or knitting skills, even if it’s just one time. You might play a small part in making someone’s final sunset just a little bit easier, and after they have passed through that final sunset, the blanket or pillow that you made might bring some comfort to the family left behind.   At first, they might see through tears, but eventually, they will be able to look at a project that someone sewed or quilted, and remember happier times with their loved ones. The tears may still come, but with each passing day, it may become just a little bit easier to smile through those tears. Wouldn’t it be a great feeling to know that perhaps by creating just one simple project, you might play a part in bringing a small measure of comfort to someone?

Today, I hope to sew.

Happy Sewing!

www.sewseamless.com

Lap quilts, blankets, adult bibs, hankies, totes, small purses/clutch bags, greeting cards, lip balms, lotions, soap, hats, socks…if you can make it, they can use it!