Restoring what you like

Remember when you were a kid and your mom tried a new recipe or food you werent familiar with and you didnt want to try it? They usually said something like "how do you know you wont like it if you dont try it". It took me years to get my hubby to try something other than sweet and sour chicken off the chinese menu. When you take the time to restore an old home or a piece of furniture you have to know what you like or you are not going to like the finished product. Same goes for you if you are in a stage of life where so many things have changed and you need to change as well. You are going to have to try new things to see what you actually like.

I could give you a whole list of things I dont like. We can tend to become negative in life and only focus on those things. So finding things that interest us can be hard. We also tend to stay in our comfort zone. I am actually not a great seamstress. I like sewing and tend to stick with simplicity but I still try new things and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt and thats okay.

One of the things that brings me joy is repurposing things. One the things that drives my hubby crazy is having to make the things I want to change into other things so that I dont get electrocuted or cut off one of my fingers or arms.

These are a few of my favorite things, The teapot I thought about getting rid of because I never used it but my sister saw on Pinterest where you could put your yarn in it, only if the lid is big enough,  and use it to keep your yarn safe. This only works if you can sit it on a table while knitting. I will not use this when I am knitting in bed or something. The tape measure is something I remember always playing with that my dad had. We have numerous retractable tape measures but I like this fold out one the best and I keep it on a shelf as decoration and I always know where it is. The lamp. I bought this mason jar full of buttons and found the lid a few years later to turn one into a lamp. The collander lamp shade was an idea I had later. It makes a neat star pattern on the ceiling in the evening when we use it.

The hubby and I are on a new kick of cooking on the wood stove as you can probably guess. This weekend we tried a rustic bread. It was ok but we are looking for a new recipe for this weekend. Since its been so cold we thought that it would be wise to use the heat from the stove to cook on and save some electricity. Its always fun to have a partner in crime. It doesnt have to be a hubby and cooking on a stove, I have a friend that I like to garage sale with. You have friends you meet for lunch. Be creative.

I wont post the bread recipe until we find one that we really like but this tortellini soup. In the picture from top left its reheating the dutch oven, letting the dough rise, putting the dough in the dutch oven and letting it rise before baking and then end product which I seemed to crop out of the picture! Maybe I should learn a few photography techniques.

8 oz of tortellini, we use cheese stuffed
16oz jar or homemade spaghetti sauce
4 cups of vegetable stock

Put all ingredients in a pot, heat on medium heat until pasta is cooked. Top with cheese.

Seriously, how easy is that?