Goodbye Junk, Hello Clean Linen Closet

The 366 purge continues.

(One item for every day of the year.)

This weekend I sorted through more of the holiday decor boxes 

and totally emptied and re-organized the hall linen closet.

More old junky stuff leaving this house.

Picking up where I left off: 

225.  Horrible shiny pink dress from the 80's  

(WHY did I still have this big-shouldered-monstrosity in my closet? LOL!!)

226.   Blue sandals that are too big for me

227.  Scented lotion that just isn't my favorite

228-240.  lots of Easter bunnies and other holiday decor (13)

241- 242.   Holiday door wreaths (2)

243-244.    Blankets  (2)

245-246.  the last of the twin sheet sets  (2)

247- 258.   Decorative towels (12)

 259- 281.   Old towels, hand towels, washrags (23)

282-283.  Water proof mats (2)

These are now G. O. N. E. 

The old towels will go directly to a local pet rescue shelter. 

And I only have 83 items to go to reach my goal by the end of the year. 

 How are you doing with your decluttering and clearing out?  

My sheet sets are folded and placed inside a matching pillowcase

to make changing beds easy. 

These days all our beds are queens, so I don't have to keep sizes separated.

I ended up with a whole empty shelf that I used for extra blankets. 

And there is still  more than enough here for just the two of us and the occasional kid or guest.

See the towels tied with ribbon and placed on a top shelf?

Now the guest towels won't get mixed in with the ones we use every day
and I can keep them looking fresh and pretty.

A close up on a stack of beautifully embroidered pillowcases. 

Yes, they get used regularly on all the beds at our house. 

So glad to have this closet neat and clean again.


* * * * *
If' you'd like to join in the 366 Challenge to rid your house of unwanted items,
let me know and I'll add your name to the list here.
And see my sidebar for all my past 366 Challenge posts.

Land Of Make Believe

A couple of years back I wrote a post about some of the paperdoll cards 

in Hallmark's "From the Land Of Make Believe" collection.  

But I neglected to update when I finally found the last doll.

 Here they are.

All 16 cards and the album to store them in.

We are missing a feather or two and a couple of sequins,

But those imperfections don't detract from the cuteness factor.

The dolls in this collection are:
1. Little Bo Peep
2. Cinderella
3. Mary Quite Contrary
4. Mary Had A Little Lamb
5. Little Red Riding Hood
6. Little Miss Muffet
7. Tommy Tucker
8. Little Boy Blue
9. My Pretty Maid
10. Little Girl With A Little Curl
11. The Queen of Hearts
12. Bobby Shaftoe
13. Little Polly Flinders
14.  Curly Locks
15 Polly Put The Kettle On
16. Peter Piper

 Vivian Trillow Smith (VIV)  illustrated each of the

 nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters in 1947 for Hallmark Cards.

I just love her work!  She is one of my favorite paperdoll artists.

The children who received these sweet cards

would have enjoyed the little stories printed on the inside as well.

I have another one of her paperdoll card collections to share with you 

next week, so be sure to check back.


* * * * *
Click here to see more of my paper dolls.

Tomato, Spinach and Gruyere Puff-Pastry Tart

I'm trying to use up more of the wonderful farm fresh tomatoes 

that were given to me by a friend.  

So, inspired by recipes I found here and here, 

I created my own version of a tomato and cheese puff-pastry tart.

Prepare: 

 Unfold a thawed piece of puff pastry onto a baking sheet.  

Lightly score the edge, about 1/2 inch in from the edge. 

Prick the center of the puff pastry with a fork.  Set aside.

Seed and rough chop 2-3 tomatoes.

Rough chop several spinach leaves.

Rough chop fresh basil, rosemary, and oregano leaves.

Mix tomatoes, spinach and herbs in a bowl with a splash of olive oil, 

a tiny bit of minced onion and cracked black pepper.  Set aside.

Shred Gruyere or Mozzarella cheese. 

(I used both: Gruy for the bottom layer and a bit of Mozz for the top.)

Assemble:

Sprinkle a big handful of the cheese onto the center of the puff pastry.

Next, spoon on the tomato-spinach-herb mix.

Top with a bit more cheese. 

Bake:

Put in a 400 oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden on the edges. 

Cut into 4 pieces and serve.

Oh my goodness!

Your taste buds and tummy will be very happy.

Notes about this recipe:

Switch out any of the veggies, cheese or herbs for your favorites.  

Gruyere is really creamy and wonderful though, so I hope you try it.

Even after removing the tomato seeds, the center of the crust did get a bit soggy.

It tasted good anyway.

Farm Fresh Tomato Sandwich

This was my lunch today.

A tomato from a friend's farm garden,

sliced onto whole wheat bread 

and garnished with basil from my yard. 

Add some ranch dressing and fresh cracked pepper and viola!! 

 Oh so good!

What was on the menu at your house? 

Cool Aqua

Aqua.  Water.   Blue.   Ice.   Lagoon.  Green.   Shade.

I'm just trying to focus my mind on cool things.

Cuz the sun is blazin' hot outside.   Again.


* * *
The heart shaped bowl on the left is by Kansas potter, Shawn Voth.
The planter in the back is Shawnee "Flower And Fern".
And the pot on the right was made by my sister, "Sunshine", in high school.

My Little Sewing/Crafting Space

 I want to do a quick share of my little creative space.

I get to use half of our home-office to house my sewing table
(a huge old vintage wooden office desk with really deep drawers),
ironing board, quilting fabrics and all my crafting supplies.
I don't craft for a living, so for me this is more than enough.

I enjoy doing lots of things:

 Sewing, embroidery, quilting, crocheting, origami, quilling, and card making.

I also love to make holiday ornaments using felt, beads, and vintage buttons and trims.

I have enough books and patterns to keep me busy for  25 years!

For storage I like to use: glass jars,  tins and tool boxes,
vintage planters,  fabric covered boxes, baskets and the occasional toy.

I still have a few things stored in plastic, but am moving away from that when possible.

My space is still evolving, but it lets me get the job done.

Here is a picture from last fall, when I was working on Christmas projects.

So,  where do you create?

Happy Weekend!

Have a very happy weekend, everybody!   

Perfect Day For Blue

Today really seems like a perfect day for blue.

Hmmmm.....actually every day is a perfect day for anything blue at my house.  :-)

Hope you are having a perfect day, too, in any color you like.  

* * *

 Isn't this a wonderful tea-cozy?  

It was knit by fellow blogger, Liz, at Shortbread and Ginger.

I love it!

PS- It just rained!!!
Maybe my crispy fried grass will turn green again
and the poor parched trees will stop dropping their leaves.

Light Through The Windows

"If God created shadows, it was to better emphasize the light."

-Pope John XXIII

All photos were taken inside Holy Trinity, Weston Mo.  

A beautiful little church, built high up on a hill 100 years ago.  (1912.)

Big Blue Cheese Lady

I almost forgot to show you

what I picked up at the Polish Pottery shop:

The big blue Cheese Lady on the left.  

As you can see, she has settled in and made friends

with the smaller ladies I already had. 

I love their cute little faces!

Sorry I haven't been around to visit you lately.

I'll do my best to catch up next week.

Right now I have kids at home!!  

And all of you fellow empty-nesters know how special that is! 

:-)

Hope you had a wonderful 4th!