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From Darkness to Light–Fancy Way of Saying We Changed a Closet Light Fixture
My husband loves that I am doing my “Beckie Lives and Learns” blog, etc. “Why?” you may wonder. My husband is very handy and likes to tinker around and fix things. I am now a much more captive and willing audience. He knows that I am now willing to try to understand and learn what he is doing (as opposed to just walking away to do something else). This afternoon, we (term used loosely–I held a flashlight, watched, and listened) changed the light fixture in my bedroom closet because it would no longer stay on. I was ready to learn how to do what I envisioned would be a fairly…
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Making Natural Body Products
Back in January, I placed a post on a community Facebook page (see prev post). Shortly afterward, I received a message from Laurie; she offered to show me how to make some natural products. I was so excited! I have always wanted to try making natural body products, but I have never had all of the supplies necessary to do so. Laurie is also someone I had never met before, so I was looking forward to meeting another member of my community. (The suburb in which I live is small enough that you feel as though you know a decent number of people but realize that there are many you…
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Time to Try and Taste Tomatillos
My introduction to tomatillos.
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Vegan Lasagna–SO GOOD!!
Last week I made dinner. Ok, it was a little more than that. Actually, it was a lot more than that. In response to my initial invitation/request on my “Beckie Lives and Learns” Facebook page to have people help me on my “living and learning” quest, one of my childhood friends replied and invited me to join her to prepare a healthy vegan dish. (I had seen enough on Facebook to know that there was no way that I was going to pass this up!) The plan was to prepare vegan lasagna. I was thrilled! (I am a vegetarian. The rest of my family are carnivores. Making a delicious vegan…
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Glass Etching–Final Product Looked Great Despite Being a First Attempt!
Thank you to my friend, Sue, who introduced me to the world of glass etching! I have known Sue for a few years via my local Community Arts Center. She has been part of the staff of several community theater productions in which my daughter has performed. (I gladly embraced the role of “stage mom”–a supportive one; not a pushy one.) Sue responded to my original request on Facebook in which I asked members of my community to teach me something new, and she gets the honor of being the first to join me for a one-on-one session! (Congrats, Sue! : ) ) I arrived at her home, and she…
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Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Frequently, cooking in my kitchen is a lot like the television show “Chopped”–I see what is in the fridge or in the pantry and just go from there. I can’t say that what I make is any good (I usually like it; the rest of my family is upset that I did not follow a specific recipe. Happily, though, no one in my house is withering away to nothing.) Something unusual, though, happened recently–I found a recipe and actually had all of the ingredients on hand! I receive produce every few weeks from “Imperfect Produce” (I will write about that at a future time) and had received some of the…
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3D Printing for Us Common Folk
Taking advantage of my wonderful local library, I attended a class titled “Intro to 3D Printing.” This is how it was described on the library website: “Learn to create a small object using ready-to-print files or custom Tinkercad files and the library’s 3D printers.” (Yes, my area libraries now have 3D printers–very cool!) This was a fun introduction to 3D printing. Most of the class involved working on the website Tinkercad. This is a free and easy-to-use website for making 3D printable items. Whether or not you have access to a 3D printer, it is still something entertaining to check out. The site is www.tinkercad.com. You can create your account,…
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Million Dollar Quartet
I love musical theater! I love professional musical theater! I love community musical theater! I recently had the experience of seeing musical history come to life before my very eyes and ears! I recently saw a local professional production of “Million Dollar Quartet.” For those who don’t know, this show is inspired by what happened on December 4, 1956–Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley were together at Sun Records in Memphis for what would be one of the best jam sessions ever! (This really happened!) I didn’t just see but rather experienced this performance at the Marriott Theater in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Certainly, some musicals are great…
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Yogurt Drops
Now that I have officially “put myself out there” with a blog, I am more inspired to try new things on a more frequent basis. When I don’t have time for a large project or have any formal activity planned, I figure that I can just look up a “life hack” and see how well it works. I recently found a life hack on Pinterest (1000lifehacks.com). This is what it said: “Spoon some yogurt into a plastic bag. Poke a small hole in the bottom and squeeze small dots onto a cookie sheet. Freeze for an hour. A great healthy snack.” This seemed easy enough to try. I filled my…
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A-hem, Part 2
I am glad to say that all worked out well in the saga of my attempt to hem trousers using HeatnBond. I promised an update, so here you go! Because my husband is very handy and wanted to make sure that I did not ruin the iron (I did not take offense to this), he lead the iron cleaning task. As mentioned in my earlier “A-hem” post, we found instructions for cleaning the melted on adhesive off of the iron via the product website. (Thanks, Mom, for the fabric softener sheets that we needed! Mom to the rescue!) Take home point: if you have a problem, check the product website!…
If it's not illegal, immoral, or blatantly stupid, I am willing to give it a try!
