More on quilts

A dear friend volunteers once a month to sew quilts for the Lutheran World Relief Program. Since i have had several donations of free fabric in the last few months, I volunteered to make several quilt tops from remnants. The patterns I used are Amish Bars, Patchwork, and Variegated Round the World. I am also donating the fabric for the backings of 8 to 10 quilts. I have 8 finished and will probably round it out to 10. I shopped at Habitat for Humanity Restore in Oak Ridge, TN on Saturday and purchased 4 "comforter covers" which amounts to 2 full sheets each for $1.00, so 50 cents per quilt. I plan to go back to the store this week 8-2021 and buy more of these. All are mauve in color. Will post a photos soon. I was unsure of the size at the time so I just bought 4, but the size is perfect and the price is right.

More Quilts I Have Sewn to Donate to Lutheran World Relief

More Quilts Made to Donate to Homeless and Lutheran World Relief

Making Quilts to Donate to Lutheran World Relief

A friend of mine participates in an on-going project to make quilts to donate to Lutheran World Refief. Quilts are given to area homeless and some are sent to Africa, Haita, and other areas in need. I'm using scraps of fabric and enjoying planning some designs.

How To Lose Weight and Keep It Off

To make a huge change in the area of losing weight, each person will have to develop coping skills. There is no “one size fits all,” but we can learn and grow from sharing ideas. Visualize a castle—like in Game of Thrones. In the olden days, in order to remain secure, rich folks built castles including fortresses. They chose a mountain or the highest section of land available. They cleared all trees and shrubs from the land for miles around so they could see the enemies approaching. They posted guards to constantly watch for enemies. They also surrounded their fortresses with moats and placed snakes and sharp instruments in the water just in case enemies did get that far, this provided another barrier. They used a draw bridge and posted soldiers and guards in towers all around their property. They built their castles in levels and had massive doors that could be locked from the inside on all levels. They had fake walls and hidden exits. I think you get the metaphor. In order to be successful, we must develop our own fortresses. All weight loss begins with THOUGHTS. All overeating or poor food choices begin with THOUGHTS. Therefore, our first line of defense must be our thoughts. It will come as no shock to you that researchers will tell us folks who are successful at weight loss have mastered their thoughts and the best time to stop a poor food choice is at the level of when we first are tempted or think about eating some items we know we do not need or want to eat. I tell people that I have trained myself to even yell out loudly; “STOP!” when I am tempted or even begin to think about cherry pie or blackberry cobbler. STOP…because the more I allow myself to think about it, the nearer I will come to giving in. We are not strong enough to let ourselves continually get tempted…IF we go the next step and keep thinking about cherry pie (or pick a food), next thing we know, we will be at the store looking in the pie case. We have another opportunity at that point to stop, but if we keep doing this to ourselves, we might finally give in and each time we give in, we are more likely to give in. It only takes a few days and we are off the plan and headed for disaster. So, I made up a list of my defenses---I created my own fortress as I recommend each person can do for him/herself. 1. Yell “Stop” at the first thought of a food not allowed on the Keto Food Plan. 2. Ask myself if I am truly hungry. If I have eaten within the last 3 to 4 hours, I am not truly hungry. 3. Wait to eat. I make myself wait an hour or until I have completed some project like crocheting to the end of the next row or mopping a room. We often put off going to the bathroom, so we can put off eating. 4. Using slogans and sayings can be helpful. “I am stronger than a cookie,” “Food is not the boss of me,” “Stay calm and keto on,” “Food is not the answer to this question,” and “Nothing tastes as good as being slim feels.” 5. Watching YouTube and viewing the success of others. 6. Weighing myself every day first thing in the morning and writing the weight in my journal. 7. Reviewing/reading literature. 8. Trying different recipes. 9. Trying on garments and thinking about the sizes. I used to be a 16-18 headed to a 20-22. Now I am a 6. I do not want to go back to the big girl sizes. Food is not worth the joy of wearing size 6s. 10. Dressing in various fashion trends and looking at self in the mirror. 11. Get busy with a craft like sewing, gardening, painting, playing piano, or thrift shopping. 12. Be kind to yourself. Buy the best foods you can eat and enjoy. Never think about the foods you can eat, but rejoice in all the choices you can enjoy. Well, obviously, I can go on and on. The point is that I use all these techniques to REPLACE food. We have to replace the time we used to spend with food with new activities. **********************************************

New Way to Earn Money--Reseller in Poshmark

Reselling On Poshmark I probably would have never decided to become a reseller on the on-line store known as Poshmark had it not been for the lockdown. I found myself at home with my favorite hobby of thrift shopping stopped. I did continue to haul away yard sale items from a friend who was backlogged with items she could not store; mostly clothing. My son built a long rod for hanging clothing on our carport as there were too may items to keep stacked in boxes. We gave away tons of clothing, but were left with alot. With my long-time hobby of watching thrift shoppers on-line on YouTube, I had learned many things about how they used the application for the on-line store called Poshmark. I decided to study how to use this app and decided to list the clothing i had leftover which turned out to be 415 items. After I had posted 100 items, things began to sell and I kept going. Along the last few months I have learned a lot about business and customers and human behavior as well as having sold about 300 items which earned me about $5,000. Never fear, I paid taxes on the earnings through last December and will pay again this year. Would you pay an extra $500 to earn $5,000? I did and was happy about it. Selling on Poshmark is not easy and if I had had to buy the items I've sold, I would not have earned much of a profit. Here is my advice to anyone who is thinking of starting your own closet--that's the term they use for the items you plan to sell. First, as with all endeavors, you need to begin by studying the rules and regulations and preparing yourself to learn. NEVER go shopping for items to sell before you have a clear understanding of what is likely to sell and what won't. Do not believe people who are trying to get you to join Poshmark. It may not be for you. It is NOT a part-time job. You must work EVERY day. The app requires that you "share" your closet and the closet of others every day. You must do this to keep selling. There are also very strict rules about shipping. Once an items sells, you have to get it in the mail. You can't take a few days off and leave this unattended. When you work for yourself, you rarely have a vacation. NEVER spend on items to resell. You will lose money. You have no idea what sells and what prices are best. It may take you a year to get a grasp of this, so do not go into debt thinking you will earn big dollars. The resellers on-line who are trying to get you to try Poshmark are not making as much as they claim. They do not have to tell you the truth, and even if they show you some page they say is real, it may not be. They are making money when you watch their videos and they will say and do anything to get more subscribers. Do not pay for advice. Use the Poshmark site and read thousands of comments. Check real facts. Over 30 million resellers are selling on line. That is a lot of competition for you and your little closet. Many resellers get items at Goodwill bins for pennies, you probably can't. Most thrift stores are aware of resellers and have raised prices so they will earn the profit and not resellers. So, be careful. Even though resellers have their prices listed, you do not know how much the items sold for and how much of that was earnings. Poshmark takes the first $3 of all sales and 20% of anything over $15. You also pay sales tax which is taken out before you get your payment. People can return the items, and once an item is returned, it is difficult to sell it as it is marked as already sold and returned. In other words, there are numerous ways you will not earn money. My favorite rule at Poshmark is BUYERS PAY THE SHIPPING FEES (unless the package weighs more than 5 pounds). In order to sell an item, it MUST be clean and cannot have odors. You must also know what it cost new; this requires research which takes time. You must make photos so you need a phone or camera and the skills of how to upload. You have to write a description and make photos of any flaws or rips or tears. Again, this takes time. Once an item sells, you have to ship it within 3 days or get a bad rating. IF you get too many bad ratings, customers won't shop with you. Any package can only weigh 5 pounds or you pay for extra shipping which can run $7 for the next pound and any amount of ounces is considered a pound. You can lose all profit and own Poshmark money on an item if you don't watch it. Customers can bundle items so they save shipping fees. Some will try to bundle 4 or more items knowing that you will be stuck with shipping fees. IF you don't know the rule, you lose. This is why studying is important. You need a system for storage and this requires space an organizational skills. You MUST have a bank account and a credit card since this is how you get paid and is required by the company. You have to name your closet and have the skills to use a program on the computer to upload photos and design your site. Many names used are something like Judi3455488 or made2sell4546, in other words gibberish. You cannot do Poshmark without a printer that works in your home and an e mail address to your phone or desk top. You will be sent a label to an e mail address and without that label, you can't sell. Pricing is important. You will readily know if you priced a item too low as it will sell within one minute of being listed. You cannot raise a price once an item sells. You will also know if you have it priced too high as customers will tell you. Other resellers who know the value of items will buy from you if they see that they can buy low and resell for more. Again, it will take you a lot of time to learn these tricks. Once an item is delivered, the customer has 3 days to reject or accept. They are supposed to give you a rating and that is when your money get released to the Posh app. You have to go on-line and redeem the payments. If a customer does not give you a rating, the money is released in a few days, but it is not a quick payment kind of thing. You are, generally, waiting on payments for items you shipped last week. Do I recommend you become a reseller, yes and no. Do not get into this thinking you can quit your day job. Study, learn, be ready to deal with crooks and cheaters. Give it a few months and see how you like it. Do NOT go into debt and do not spend and shop before you learn more. The Post Office provides you with free shipping supplies. So long as you print the label and attach it to the envelope they give you or put it in a box if it is too large for an envelope, the USPS will mail it for you. My best advice is for you to study and learn. Set a reasonable goal for sales. Do NOT spend and do not shop. Do not dive in head first. You do not need a bunch of new gadgets and machines. Take baby steps and see how it goes. Tip: name brands sell best. Nike is the number 1 seller, anything with Michael Jordan on it, and Adidas as well as Tommy Hilfiger also could sell well. This does not mean you will sell these things. Remember, there is a of competition. Don't even try to sell sizes small and medium. IF you do buy an item of clothing to sell, stick to L, XL and 2X. Most folks go up a size when they purchase used clothing. Good luck. This top might sell for $9; earning would be about $4.

Why did i take a break from posting on my blog?

I apologize for seemingly taking a break from posting on my blog. However, there was a glitch or problem in the computer program and my items, especially photos, were not uploading. Thankfully, this has been repaired and I'll get back to my regular schedule. This has been an overly busy time for me. Our long-time dog, 12 year old Achilles, became very sick with tumors about a year ago. We, sadly, watched as he developed more and more. At one point, he got a large, inoperable tumor in his nasal cavaity, and that was the beginning of the end for him. We did everything we could, but the vet said there was no hope. We kept him happy, gave him plenty of cheese, his favorite treat, and hugged and talked to him until the end. He was assisted to go to sleep and went to final rest on July 14. We continue to grieve for him, but are full of happy memories. We gave him a great life; so no regrets. I've continued with my numerous hobbies this summer. Gardening has taken been the main focus as keeping plants alive is important in this heat. I've attended the Plant Swap both in May and August and added numerous, fabulous plants. My iris and lilies were gorgeous this year as were all the other plants I've gotten for free at the East Tennessee Plant Swap. I was able to grow several tomato plants by consistently hauling water to them in a raised bed. I've had one to two cups yield in tomatoes for about a month how. There is nothing better in this world than picking cherry tomatoes on the vine and popping them into your mouth. Such joy when you bite down and get that rush of flavor. Another hobby that keeps me busy is hauling away yard sale leftovers for one of my friends who hosts yard sales to supplement her income. She does really well and gets the merchandise she sells by hauling away estate sales from others. This hobby is fun for my family and friends as we search those boxes and bins containing everything from lamps to toys to clothing to tools and more, more, more. This last time two maple chairs ala 1970s were included in the mix. I sewed a new pillow cover for one and gave it to a man who just moved to an empty apartment and sewed a cover for the other one and kept it. See photo As always when I get a van full of things, I call various friends who come over and search through and keep what they want and can use. I also set aside most of the vases which I donated to Random Acts of Flowers, a local agency that repurposes flowers from various other places and fashions bouquets for the sick. Another way I donate yard sale items is by giving sheets, pillow cases, towels, and spreads to the local animal shelter to use for bedding for the animals so they don't have to sleep on a cold concrete floor. Lamps and small furniture go to a lady who works for an agency that helps women who are victims of domestic violence get set up for housekeeping in a new apartment. Not only do I donate furniture to them, but also clothing, dishes, housewares, and more. My son is one of the first ones to go through the donations and he takes what he wants and can use. During this year he has gotten 18 pairs of bluejeans that he needs to wear to work, 80 tee shirts he wears when relaxing at home, and 8 navy blue, fleece jackets perfect to wear to work as he is a butcher and is often inside the meat cooler. He also enjoys getting tools and a variety of household products keeping us from having to shop and spend on items such as paint, bug spray, cleaning supplies, and toys for our dogs. All in all this is a great activity. We are doing a favor for a friend and she is definitely gracious to us. We have donated items to her to sell as well, so both sides feel like we are even. My main, life-long hobby of sewing also takes up a lot of my time. I have made and sold 40 quilts this year. Most are made from recycled denim blue jeans, skirts, dresses, and more. The size of the quilts is limited to about 68" x 72"due to selling on-line on Poshmark,where there is a 5 pound shipping limit. I've also made a few quilts using flannel and denim. I also sell clothing, afghans, and a few shoes. Most of these items are donated to me from friends and the lady's yard sale leftovers. I've made myself a few dresses from donated fabric and also made pillows and did sew 11 dog beds to donate to the animal shelter. Everything I can't give to someone who needs it is donated to a local agency that sells items in order to buy food to feed the needy. I prefer to give to agencies that do not have administration costs that pays out high salaries. By the time I do these hobbies and keep housework done, I am exhausted. LOL

Pit Bulldogs Kill 2 Adults in Newport, Tennessee

Pit Bulldogs Kill 2 Adults in Newport, Tennessee Martha Rose Woodward Never in our wildest nightmares could we imagine being mauled and bitten to death by dogs within sight of our own homes. This frightening experience not only happened to one man in Cocky County, Tennessee in April 2021, but also to a woman living near the same address in July 2021. Cocke County, Tennessee is located in far Eastern Tennessee bordering North Carolina and is very rural. The population of the entire county is currently approximately 36,000. Newport, the county seat, has 7,000 residents. Although these tragic events were horrid enough on their own, the way the media and the local investigators handled the cases came under suspicion. Possibly the controversies erupted because when the second death was announced most people living the Metropolitan Knoxville Area had not heard about the first death. The center of the complaints contained information that the same dogs, said to be “old, big pit bulldogs” were handled by a trainer and had more than likely killed both people. Why the Cocke County Sheriff’s Department had not removed and destroyed the dogs is under severe scrutiny. The extent of the injuries to Tony Ahrens, 52, are not readily available. He was found dead near his home and “had apparently been partially eaten by animals.” Amber Mills, 29, was found by area residents and taken to a hospital. Both of her arms were “…barely attached to her torso, and one leg was mostly chewed off,” said Regina Jozefek, her aunt. Just after the date of the second incident, the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office posted the following short press release. It was reposted on a Cocke County Life Facebook page. Labeled as Cocke County Sheriff Office PRESS RELEASE July 17, 2021 at 12:57 PM: “The Cocke County Sheriff’s Office and as a request of our agency the TBI has been requested to assist our agency only and we are currently investigating an assault that occurred near Jimtown Road on July 12, 2021. A similar incident occurred on the same road on April 1, 2021 that resulted in the death of Tony Ahrens. Due to this being an active investigation, other names and specific details are not being released. Officers are working diligently, collecting evidence and statements. If anyone has information that will assist, please contact the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division at 423-623-6004. You can remain anonymous. From the Cocke County Life Facebook page: 7/19/21: Woman Killed by Pack of Dogs Cocke County, TN - A 29-year old woman died after being viciously attacked by a pack of dogs near the intersection of Jimtown Road and Carnation Way. This is the second fatal animal attack in the same area in four months. On April 1, Tony Allen Ahrens, 52-years old, was also found dead in the area. His body appeared to have been partially devoured by an animal, reported the Citizen Tribune. Police have since been sitting on that case. Now a young woman is also dead. A comment in the Cocke County Life Facebook group, sums up the horrific scenario. "I'm sorry but had appropriate action been taken with the first incident there wouldn't be have been a need for the public to take action and speak out about what is going on! Everyone has the freedom of speech … Maybe these posts will save another life because I see NOTHING from authorities that states the public is safe and these dogs have been removed from this man or put down!" Another commenter stated that the dogs' owner is a trainer. "He is a trainer it's obviously he trained them dogs that particular way this is the second time a person lost they life yes he is guilty because he knew what he was doing when he trained them dogs [sic]." A sheriff’s office spokesperson declined to comment when asked if investigators believed the animals involved in the attacks belonged to anyone and if they planned to press charges, reports WATE-TV. It took the family members of Amber Miller, who was attacked on July 12 and died six days later, speaking to the media in order for the public to learn more information about these two deaths. Next, in response to the outrage, the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office posted the following post: Labeled Cocky County Sheriff Office lh: “considering the amount of false and misleading information of the animals attacks, we ask that the public just listen to what law enforcement releases to the public. Individuals are making assumptions and non facts of this investigation and will not provide accurate information. These families need closure and respect. The investigation on both attacks is under a strong investigation and long hours are worked each day. The more we put out to the public could devastate the case. We will release as much as we can when feasible but we will not release anything that could jeopardize this case. The first case is not closed and was under an investigation and still ongoing. Autopsy results are not complete ad can only be released to next of kin. Once the case is resolved ad completed, then we will release all facts of the investigation to the public. As of now anyone that has any information that is relevant to either case is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 423-623-6004. Facebook and social media is not the contact place. We need a phone call or approach to our detective division. Thank you for your understanding and we hope to have these resolved as soon as possible. As law enforcement officers we must abide by all laws and case laws to work cases. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all families of the victims.” These posts were clearly not enough for the public who are demanding the dogs be found and put down. The following comments reflect the general outrage: Richard Buffalin on July 19, 2021 at 11:08 pm said: “This is a law enforcement failure of epic proportions.” This calls for individual enforcement of personal safety. Local governments refuse to provide for removal of dangerous animals. We see dangerous canines lunging at their fences and we hear them growling at passers by. At any instant, they can be loose on the public street. Local law is flagrantly opposed to the safety of the innocent citizen on the street.” Boni on July 19, 2021 at 11:11 pm said: “A trainer didn’t “train them that way” in all likelihood no matter what some pit cultist or anybody else wants to claim. It’s more likely he overestimated his ability to “train out” genetic aggression. He was also highly negligent in not euthanizing the dog/s immediately after the first attack. And the police negligence in this? This is beyond shocking. If I’m not mistaken there were three ‘Mauled to death by pitbull’ stories, just today. This is carnage on a massive scale. When you’re safer swimming in a shark tank or playing with massive cats and alligators in sanctuaries than hanging out with a dog–something is seriously amiss with that breed of dog.”

Dehydrating or Baking Tomatoes; What a Great Treat

Dehydrated or Baked Tomatoes by Martha Rose Woodward Now is the time in Tennessee when fresh tomatoes are abundant. One of the biggest rewards for gardening is to pick then eat where you stand the fresh, cherry tomatoes straight off the vine. Tomatoes are the only vegetable I even attempt to grow because I only eat 20 grams or less of carbohydrates per day. Luckily for me, tomatoes are on the list of allowable foods on the Ketogenic Food Plan because along beside onions, tomatoes are my favorite food. This year I discovered dehydrated and or baked tomatoes and I have prepared these almost every day. I am wondering how I lived to be 72 years old and had never known the tasteful delights of tomatoes prepared in this way. I am happy I happened to watch a video of a lady in Arkansas who demonstrated how she dehydrated and baked tomatoes to feed her 5 sons. Dehydrated and or baked tomatoes are a far more healthy choice for humans than sugary and high calories foods. There is absolutely no excuse for my lack of knowledge about dehydrating foods as I was given a dehydrator 2 years ago for a Christmas gift. It is sat on a counter in my kitchen patiently waiting for me to put it to use. There are several ways to dry tomatoes. The recipes I learned on YouTube are easy to follow. First, if you do not have a dehydrator, you can simply bake tomatoes. I used several techniques suggested to me in order to come up with the outcome I preferred. If you are interested in learning how to make a great, healthy, low-cost snack, the following two methods are what I have used with much success. First, to prepare tomatoes for dehydrating and also for baking, the directions are the same. Wash the tomatoes and slice into the size thicknesses you prefer. I make some slices very thin and other about l/2 inch in width. Of course, the thinner slices cook faster, so you will have to adjust the cooking times. Using a rack that comes with the dehydrator or a flat pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil, place the slices on the rack or pan. For baking, start the oven at 425 degrees and place the pans on the top rack. Bake for about 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 250 degrees or even lower. Bake for 3 to 4 hours checking after 2 hours. You will need to notice the way the slices appear to be losing their moisture. After the tomatoes look to be in the condition you prefer, turn off the heat and leave the pan in the oven until all heat is gone. For dehydrating, you will not need to use paper or foil, the racks are made for air to circulate. For dehydrating, set the machine for the temperature of about 165 degrees and time for 3 to 5 hours. If you want a more chewy result, cook longer, if you prefer to leave some of the juice in the slices, cook for a shorter period. That is all there is to it. Prepare yourself for a fabulous taste. Dried tomatoes need to be stored in air tight containers in the fridge and will keep for months. Enjoy.

New Puppy at Our House

July 12 was a grand day at my house. We adopted a new puppy from the Knox County Animal Shelter. My son named him Spartacus due to his behavior during encounters at 7 pounds verses our full-grown dogs. He's quite a little warrior. Curr Mountain is his breed. He's black with brown face, legs, and other spots. We could not have gotten a better puppy. After reading how to potty train a dog to always go outside, I learned that being consistent, using the same words for the deeds, and lots of praise are the keys to teaching a dog to do his business in the yard and not on the carpet. I dedicated myself to taking him outside and saying, "Pee pee," over and over and "Poopie" over and over. He only had 3 small peeing accidents inside the house and, after three weeks, he appeared to be totally trained. I continue to be consistent with him, too. I claimed victory when I missed him one day and found him using the potty in the yard witout my coaxing. What a good puppy! Spartacus is very smart and must be entertained at all times. However, he finds ways to amuse himself. I also trained him to take naps in my bed. My son bought him a set of steps so he can get in my bed. At first, he could barely climb up those steps, but now that he has grown, he does just fine. I am amazed at how he puts himself to bed when he gets ready for a nap. I have never seen a puppy do this before. He simply walks up those steps and wallows in the bed until he falls into a deep sleep without prodding from me. All in all, we could not have found a better puppy. His latest accomplishment is to sit or lay at my feet while I work on the computer or sew. I look forward to many years of joy with our new, little pal.