Monday, April 12, 2010

Makes me happy Monday #5

Hi everyone, another Monday is upon us already. Let me start off with sharing a picture of spring "springing".  The shopping area of our city has tons of these trees planted all over and they are all in full bloom...just beautiful!!
 I kept busy all weekend with work and projects, but more about that in a bit.  Toady is Makes me Happy Monday, and what is it today that is making me happy? Simplicity :cD  Let me explain...we have a video game system here, and a couple days ago a friend of mine tried to get me to join in. Now mind you I have nothing against video games necessarily, but I enjoy puzzle games and the like.  My friend on the other hand enjoys RPGs and this is what he was playing.  "Here, check this out. Give this a try." he said as he handed me a controller. He went through how everything works, what the million buttons and triggers and bumpers did. I was completely lost, but thought what the heck, I'll give it a try. Well, after two failed attempts and many "What are you doing?"s, Where are you?"s, and "That's not the right button."s I handed back the controller and said he could have it. That's his thing, what makes him happy. "Just give me something sweet and simple" I told him, "that's what makes me happy"  I sometimes think society today overcomplicates so much, or we lose out on some of the joy of simple everyday things due to modern convience.  One example that comes to mind is the simple pleasure of a from scratch meal or baked goods.  Cooking is not really that hard, give most people a recipe and they can make something. But in today's day and age, so many will just say they can't cook and grab quick frozen dinners or fast food.  For me there is something soothing about taking raw ingredients and turning them into something delicious. And while frozed dinners are ok, they just don't compare to something made from scratch (in my opinion anyway.) Same can be said for my sewing and knitting. Yes, you can buy a quilt or sweater or handbag, but I get so much happiness from working with a simple pair of knitting needles and yarn, or fabirc and thread. I sometimes wish I could go back in time and live when things were not so complicated. I've often thought it would be refreshing to live the simple Amish lifestyle for just a little bit. Enjoying the outdoors, the rewards of hard work well done, home made meals, simple games and hobbies in the spare time you have without the distractions of blaring radios, blinking lights, glowing tvs and the rush rush rush of life in a mid-sized city. I am, however, "stuck" in a more modern world, if you will, so I have learned to find a lot happiness in my own life by learning to enjoy the simple things. So making me happy today is the time I get to enjoy those simple things :cD
      I have made a lot of progress on my cable bag. I have the bag done and seemed together. I have the lining cut and ready to go so I should be able to get it done here tonight.

I love how its turned out.  The knitted bag brings back memories of when I was little, and I think it has a little bit of a retro feel to it, so I chose a kind of retro fabric to line it with. I also bought a lovely chocolate brown to go with the Amy Butler fabrics, and I have most of the peices cut.  Have I ever mentioned I'm not fond of templates? Well, just in case I haven't, I'm not, but the quilt I am making uses them so I am trudging thorough the cutting the blocks by hand thing. I can't complain too much though, because I have laid out the peices I have cut so far, and just looking at it is making me giddy!

Well, I am taking off here. The mouselings and I are going to go watch How to Train Your Dragon. Sould be lots of fun. Then I am hoping to squeeze in some crafting time after they turn in for the night.  Hope you all have a happy Monday. Warmest country wishes!!

Country Mouse

3 comments:

Bev C said...

Oh I have to agree with you on this posting. I will join you at the Amish community. Have fun for the rest of the week. Happy days.
Bev.xoxo

julieQ said...

I too love to create a fresh cooked meal from scratch...loved this post!

QuiltedSimple said...

I have always said I could go Amish - if I could take a shower every day:) where did you get your bag pattern? I really like it
kris