granny square pillowcase no. 2/3

Hi everyone! 

Today I´d like to blog on the latest project I did the last three weeks.

Finally (!!!), both granny square pillowcases nr. 2 and nr. 3 are now done 

and I was relieved. These two are part of a set of three, intended for 

our  2 new sofas that  have olive green color... The first granny

 was posted a couple of weeks back and you may  see it here. 

Here, I´m sharing the 2nd pillowcase, the 3rd one will be posted

 on the next blog.

I have ordered these yarns in August of last year without a particular 

project in mind...but since we got the new  sofas in Spain, I thougth  of 

making pillowcases to decorate the plain sofas with vibrant 

colored pillowcases... I was thinking of crocheting while watching films

 in the evenings.. so the granny square pillowcases were born.

clasic granny square motif

28 square pieces were tediously made

then attached to the edge of the center part

the small squares were sewn to the edge of the center part. 

Then single stitches were done on the edge to "frame"

the design.

picots were added to give it a lacey look and it´s now done!!!

Wishing you a good start of the week!

Pork Tenderloin Steak

At home, I serve steaks on weekends if  I´m able to get the meat from my discounter supermarket on my Friday food shopping. Aldi has quality meat and sometimes I get lucky to buy discounted steaks at very reasonable price. The thing is, meat at Aldi are usually discounted on Thursdays & Fridays just before weekend comes, and so one has to get early to be able to get some. 


Over the weekend, I have more time to prepare the meals properly , no hurry, no rush...just slow slow slow cooking and not looking at the clock :-). So here is what I did when I had the chance to have one prepared for lunch.

Pork Tenderloin Steak

This is a 2-minute steak fried in heavy skillet with olive oil. I simply brush all sides of the meat with soya sauce and fry it  in a hot heavy skillet with 2 tbsp of olive oil for 2 minutes til all sides were golden brown... remove and place on a platter, keep warm until served.

Then I make the gravy out of the pan dripping by heating the 1/2 knorr beef cube, add 1/2 tbsp soya sauce+ 1 tsp of green whole pepper, mix until the cube crumbls then I add 1 cup water, 1 tbsp creme fraiche, reduce the heat and boil once more.

To make the gravy thicker, I add 1 tbsp. cornflour diluted in 1/3 water , let it boil, reduce heat and lastly, season with salt & green pepper... (adjust seasoning according to your taste..)

To serve: Place the steak on a plate, season with salt and ground black pepper, add the fresh salad as well as the gravy in a saucier and serve with fried potatoes or rice. Serve hot.

Bon Appetit!

Hope you´re enjoying your weekend!

of roses and other chores.....

It was hectic last weekend, you know... the usual chores that 

working wives do at home... Friday is always my food shopping day,

 Saturday, my cooking day & house cleaning. 

 All those dustings and the laundry and ...and ...and... that

 seemed never to end....

 I cook in advance, freeze the cooked food,  so I never have to worry

 what to have for lunch or  dinner during weekdays... Anyway, 

last weekend, I was multi-tasking,  cooked 4 different 

food  at the same time and in between FBing.

I somehow managed the cooking and even the food were 

that tasty ( according to hubby who is my tester :-)...

I´ve dried these roses a couple of months ago and last weekend,

 I gave it a go for a creation... I chose red bunch of roses as well as pink ones, 

 The red as it looked like, turned into dark pink or lila.

 I used dried florist sponge, cut the stems of the roses to the

 proper size, fitted the stems to sponge and let it stand firm.

 There was no green moss in our area, so I recycled dried materials 

 that looked like dried twigs, only finer,  to hide the inner life of

 my creation.

 It came with the boquet we got for

 my mom-in law, ...it fitted perfectly to the roses,  hiding the florist

 sponge.  Lastly, the stems  were tied with a natural fiber band..

so, I got everlasting roses now and I feel good!

I am still amazed at how the poinsettia this season survived this long 

since it first bloomed last November. Amazing isn´t it?.

 Well, the  leaves  are gone now and in a few days, I´ll be
cutting  the branches  ( if I may call them branches!? ) to prepare
the plant for Spring.

Then, there are these tulip bulbs I planted last Fall. I´m anxious

 to see them flower... 

During my food shopping, saw the first strawberries of  the season,

 and they came from Spain. I got a few for the fruit salad.

I have mixed fruits available in our supermarket.... strawberries, 

bananas, apples, blueberries, clementines were cut into bite sizes  (diced)

 then,  I squeezed 2 oranges adding the  juice to marinate  the salad for 

30 minutes adjusting the sweetness and added 1 tbsp of stevia powder

 ( sugar substitute)..

 I stored the rest  of the salad in glass jars 

with snap-on lid  and refrigerated  them for later consumption.

You may mixed the quantity of fruits as much as you like provided you

 also use enough juice to marinate them.

It was a very busy week,  but it always feels wonderful when  you have
achieved to finish the chores and relax a bit and even  become
 creative over the weekend.

Hope your Wednesday will be fancy and nice.

Enjoy it!

Granny square pillowcase - 1/3

I started this project last weekend, working on each of the 16 squares

 everyday. One square is done for about 15 minutes, I did some during train rides, but mostly while watching tv...

I have 2 new sofas to decorate and both are olive green.

And so,  I decided I will make colorful pillowcases and this is one

of those.

The squares were easily made and each of the 4 rounds has 

a different color..

I decided I would have a white border for all to give

a lighter look.. I hand sew ( not crocheted)each piece ..

....then added the border in red and white...

I added the red border picking up some of the reds in the squares.

.....then I added the white to give a neutral frame...

Lastly, I used cotton fabric for the backside..

...and that´s it, finally finished today!

Happy Weekend !

Til next,

Mercy

nothing but a spanish fireplace - part 1

Spain is a popular destination for fun, sun and the sea for most Europeans. A lot of people  come to Spain to escape cold Central & Northern Europe.

Though Spain´s temperature is milder than the rest of the  continent, it can also be very cold there at nights  particularly when you live up in the mountain.

Most houses in the campo/countryside have a fireplace which is either in form of an open fire, a cast iron stove or  built-in with bricks. This is a necessity for every farmer living in remote mountain areas that aren´t covered by electricity. 

In modern times, solar panels are a great help for those  who cannot afford to get electrical connections. Obtaining  electricity by installing  thousands of cables  from one mountain to another  is very expensive....

Spain, due to its warm climate is the most ideal place to have those solar panels because  it has  plenty of sun almost all year-round.

Speaking of fireplace, we´ve been wanting 

to install one in spanish style. 

 So, when 

a local  chimney store made  rebajas/sale recently,  we snapped one of their window 

displays and we finally got the fireplace  we 

wanted at 50% off its original price.

 It´s design is very simple.. yet, it fits perfectly to what we have in mind.

Once delivered, we commissioned our spanish neighbour Tomas to install the base.....He is a mason by trade but he is a multi tasker too, doing plumbing as well as electrical works, gardening and many other things. So it´s very handy to have him as he lives nearby . 

He mounted the base of the fireplace that included the stone  in the corner of the living room just the way we wanted it to be.

Olive woods are popularly used by the locals for heating...they are in abundance in Andalucia as farmers grow olives mostly because the trees need little water compared to the avocados. 

Cut olive firewood (branches) could pick-up a price between  70-80 Euros per cubic meter and the supply could last longer say  for a month, depending on how long you set your  heating requirements. 

Well, our fireplace is now done and the first heating had been tested (above photo). We are absolutely satisfied with its function. As for now,   we are just waiting for our chance to have the next vacation, and we´re looking forward to find the perfect tiles to 

decorate the hood ...

.... and hopefully  that  would be sooner.

Thank you for reading this blog!!!

Til next, 

Mercy

DIY - Vintage Lamp rewired

Vintage lamps are one of my weaknesses. I can´t resist getting it if I see one. I rewire them when needed, make new shades or buy new ones that matches the base and style.

Some of those I found over the years aren´t that really old.. The styles of the base vary...I´d get which ever comes my way provided it´s pleasing to my eyes and its price would usually be almost a give-away.

I ´ve just rewired the vintage lampbase above... The original wire was very old and the switch went on strike and failed to function. I didn´t have a lamp cable in gold color, so in the meantime, I temporarily used a white one which was a surplus of Ikea´s art light that I had cut and saved some 8 years ago.

I guess not much people dare to buy old lamps at the fleamarket knowing they would have to have them rewired which could cost a lot more than the price of a new one. Well, rewiring isn´t really that complicated if you go deeper into this trade...

I´m fond of hoarding spare parts from different lamps, only throw what is necessary...and so today afternoon, I´ve put one to good use and it didn´t cost me anything to rewire this one, the golden  colored wire to match the brass will come soon.

In the meantime, the lamp is working and that´s the most important thing!

My Fleamarket Finds - Candlesticks & Sconces

The visits to the fleamarket in Vienna led to my collecting

 a few candlesticks and sconces. I have been on the lookout for those that 
are made of metal and black painted ones that look rustic and

 have a spanish flair in them.

Included in my collection are also a few made of glass, ceramics,

 brass and wood.  I love using them as decor items, they give

 the room  that cozy and lived-in feeling and they didn´t cost
 that much... 

Power failure is common in Spain during the winter months especially

 after heavy storms. As these candle holders look rustic and country,
  they fit the andalucian lifestyle, so I brought all of them along
 to Spain  for decoration as well as use them there. 
Candles are  my alternative  light whenever we experience
 power failure.

When a strong storm hit Spain on Christmas day, there was
 a power breakdown in our area and we didn´t have electricity

 for 1 whole day, that was when those candlesticks were

 put to  good use for we needed a lot of candles to light-up the house.

 I have neglected refurbishing the black metals since  I got them...
and so it was time to give all a new look  with a coat of paint.
First, they were sanded, then cleaned with  damp cloth, dried  
and have  been given a coat of matt paint.
 One coat of a clear paint was enough to finish it off. 

And they were all ready to use when the big storm came on Christmas day !