Silly Question

I have been taking online surveys for several years now. I enjoy the process most of the time and I get a bit of yarn money or Etsy fees money by doing this. Not a lot of yarn or Etsy fee money but enough.One question comes up rather often the just leaves me scratching my head. It is "How do you feel about this company?" 

The answers can be given different ways depending on how the survey was set up. Sometimes it is on a 1 to 10 scale and sometime a slider along a line that you can move closer or farther from a heart. To me the silly part is the fact that they think I might have an emotional connection to a corporation even though the Supreme Court equated them with people. Being a customer does not mean I love you. It means that you have a product or service for me to buy at a price I am willing to pay. Does a business really need more than my money?

I hope I am not so strange that I am the only one who thinks this way. Come on, let me know I am not alone.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

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Get An Apron, Silly!

I have come to the great conclusion that I need an apron. Why? Well because I wear a lot of t shirts and I cook every day. I am tired of having grease spot all over my shirts. The spots take some work to get out and sometimes all I can do it relegate the shirt to the "don't wear this one out of the house" pile or throw it away. I could have saved a lot of clothes over the years by just wearing and apron. 

I could make one myself but my fabrics and sewing machine aren't here where I am staying during the current pandemic. I do like the idea of supporting other artisans too. I found a cute one on Amazon Handmade. (disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate). I'll be looking on Etsy and Zazzle too. But today check out this one.

Soft, layered apron made from recycled cotton saris come in an array of traditional Indian patterns and colors. Handmade with traditional kantha embroidery. Each is unique, colors and patterns vary. Machine wash cold, line dry. Size: 31"l x 23"w.

 

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A Recent Reread

I read Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale many years ago. I was too young and naive then to understand how a society could end up how it did in this novel. I am older now, not sure I can say wiser but definitely older now.

When I first read this book I was a young wife. I was having children and getting used to being a Navy wife. Politics and the structure of society was beyond what I cared about. My eyes are more opened now. The, to use two of his favorite words, disgusting disaster of the current presidency has changed my view of the country I call home. The backdrop of inequality in the areas of education, health, housing and economics, and the rise of the born again Christian right and their desire to deny a woman and her doctor the right to make choices are in stark contrast to the county that I thought I raised in. That county took on great ideas like going to the moon, the Voting Rights Act and Medicare and made things happen. I didn't think we were perfect but I felt a sense of always striving to become the best of ourselves. Today we add in the lack of federal support for its citizens during the current pandemic on top of all the other troubles and it makes it hard for me to hope for a better day at all.

Like The Handmaid's Tale without a happily ever after ending I find myself unsure anymore that there are happy endings. I could give you a laundry list of worries and complaints but I won't. I will spend today recentering myself with the good news that I am safe and secure, my family is healthy and well so far and I can use the power of my vote to try and be a part of a better America.

  The ad above is an affiliate link to a book I recently read on my Kindle. I get a small commission if you click and make a purchase on Amazon.

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The Kitchen Counter Podcast

I love podcasts. Really. All types of people come right to me with stories, news, information and tips. Some of these during this pandemic keep me informed and save my sanity, some bring the lives of others to me in a way that can leave me in tears or smiling for the rest of the day. I think podcasts are a great way to have a background to your day without have a television on. I can take a walk or do chores or even write a blog post and take a friendly voice along with me. I even have some that are great to fall asleep to.

I use Podcast Addict for my subscriptions and right now I have 81 on my list but not all of them are active. If a podcast ends I don't unsubscribe I just leave it on my list to listen to again if I am in the mood.

Today I want to give a shout out to The Kitchen Counter Podcast hosted by Roger. This podcast has topics and formats including interviews, shows about specific types of cooking and information about tools useful for everyday home cooking. I think I come away from each show having picked up something new and useful to me. 

The purpose of the show is to encourage more home cooking which is an idea I wholeheartedly agree with. I have always thought of fixing food as a way to give a gift to those I am feeding. Although I like eating in restaurants sometimes it is just not the same as bringing people around your table and seeing them enjoy things from your own kitchen. 

If you would like to check out the show you can start with a search on your favorite podcast app. Roger is also available on the KitchenCounterPodcast.com website. You can find links to a private FaceBook group and a twitter account there. Links are there to email Roger or sign up for an email newletter too.

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Maskup Jackson Hole

My little mountain town welcomes the world every summer. This summer we are paying a great price for that. We were at zero new cases for more than a week. That was until the big parks, Grand Teton and Yellowstone, reopened to the world. The latest news is that one of my favorite places to eat had someone covid positive in their dining room last Friday night. We weren't there at that time but it means so many could have been exposed. We are having new cases diagnosed everyday. My safe little place is not so safe right now.

I am hoping that more people take wearing masks more seriously. I know some will and some won't but I can hope, right?

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A Dream About Yarn

I guess I dream about as much as most people. I seem to do most things in my life in the range usually described as average. What I rarely do is wake up and remember what I dreamt about. One night recently I did remember though.

In my dream I was in a yarn shop with my mother and my husband. The shop in my dream reminded me of a store I used to love going to called Super Yarn Mart. Anyone remember those stores? They went out of business before knitting became cool again and I really miss them. Anyway back to my dream, shopping for yarn with these two was stressful in the dream and it would be in real life too. My mother who is 86 and confused sometimes was looking for something to do. She doesn't knit or crochet but does know how to do embroidery and needlepoint which this shop had. I was trying to lead her towards things I thought would interest her but nothing impressed her. All the while I was trying to browse yarn for myself and any time I paused to pet something soft and pretty, you yarn lovers know what I mean, my husband would say "Buy it!" That's irritating because we all know you have to see all of the yarn and then think about what you want to make and have the yarn tell you what it wants to be and find yarn that works for both those ideas. (Just me?) I woke up before I got yarn for myself or got my mother settled on what kind of project she wanted to do.

Move forward a couple days. Jim was getting ready for work and I was going through my email. I get newsletters from Yarnspirations, Lion Brand, Knit Picks, Webs and Herschnner's and was reading one of them when he glanced at my tablet screen. Guess what he said? Yes it was "Yarn? Buy it!"

That sounds lovely and supportive however I am on a major crusade to work down my stash of yarn and fabrics. I feel good about how I am or was doing too. It has been more that a year since I bought any new yarn, that is until last week. Walmart got me with Summer Nights by Lion Brand. Four skeins came home with me. I want to make some of my veggie/market bags with it. I have made and sold those bags with plain crochet thread. I think the bling in the Summer Nights Yarn along with the pretty colors will make them stand out from the competition on Etsy whenever I get to reopen my shop once our settled retired life starts. Current thinking is that may happen next June. 

With yarn and projects on my mind browsing Zazzle for cute things was so easy! Below are affiliate links to some of the cuteness amazing artists there have to offer. 

It's yarn // The answer is yarn Postcard
by DraCat_Design

You Can Never Have Too Much Yarn Funny Knitting Magnet
by koncepts

Yarn Tote Bag
by Daisy_Cottage_Shop

Knitting Yarn Balls Colorful 3 Ring Binder
by stdjura

Yarn, Greeting card, Note card for knitters
by FiberFunPublishing

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July 15th National I Love Horses Day

So yesterday I told you about National Mac n Cheese day. I did make exactly that for dinner. Jim came home and said he wasn't hungry. That lasted til I told him I was making mac n cheese. Not out of a box but homemade with a white sauce and cheese added, baked in the oven topped with seasoned bread crumbs. He even had seconds! While eating his first serving he asked why the color was different. I told him that I had used whole wheat macaroni instead of the typical white flour pasta. He liked it so I am filing that preference away in my mind for future menus. I like whole wheat pasta and now I know that he does too I will make changes in how I shop for pasta from now on.

Moving on to today. It is National I Love Horses Day. Really who doesn't? I never rode more than a couple times in my life but looking at such beautiful animals can bring on such warm, happy feelings. I'll be looking at Zazzle for horsey things to share on twitter. Find me on twitter here @cozyatoz. I hope I find some things that my followers enjoy and share. I haven't made a penny of commission being a Zazzle affiliate but I have hope.

If you want to know all the day, week and month celebrations follow @NationalDayCal on twitter. Here is today's post about horses.

It has been often repeated, "If you love your job, you never have to go to work a day in your life." For all you horse lovers out there, here are 14 Interesting Equine Careers - Enjoy!https://t.co/4fAtkWHEBP pic.twitter.com/D8s5OwQ8LN

— NationalDayCalendar (@NationalDayCal) July 15, 2020

Of course Unsplash.com has many, many beautiful pictures of horses and so much more! Unspash is a great resource for pictures of just about anything for free use. You might start by taking a look at the work of  Ivana Cajina. Use the links below the handsome creature looking at you.

Photo by Ivana Cajina on Unsplash

Use the links just above this line to check out Ivana and Unsplash!

Be prepared to spend a lot of time browsing all the eye candy you find.

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