Happy Friday as we welcome the last week of July.

The week has had the rug pulled out from under it a bit which is, sadly, going to push back our trip to Michigan… until October. I am trying to stay focused on the positive but there is not much positive in any of this… my ex has had a recurrence of a TIA incident that seems more severe than the last ones, he has had two deaths in his family, and his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. So a reshuffle of my schedule is happening and I am looking for the silver lining…or trying to look for it.

I have been thinking about what to post about today, but my brain is not offering any brilliant suggestions. But… then it occurred to me that YOU all had some great questions recently and I thought that the answers to these would be a great way to close out the week. (thanks to the question askers and to Carole and Kym for planting this questioning seed!)

So…I have answers to your questions!

Maureen asked:

How do you have time to read?? So jealous. Sadly my reading has seriously declined now that I’ve taken up knitting. I have not mastered knitting while reading but I can knit while watching podcasts/TV. 🙂

Dear Maureen! First…WELCOME to the world of knitting! Yes, it is the best “time-suck” on the planet… well, besides reading that is! I don’t know anything about your local library… but I am extremely fortunate to live in Allegheny County PA. Why is that a good thing… The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh! I am so fortunate that they have a vast array of audio books to borrow… and I borrow LOTS of audio books. You see…knitting and reading are the best things to do together…and listening to a book allows me to knit. Listening to a book also makes the mundane tasks of daily life more palatable as well! I hope this tip will help you increase your reading as you knit!

Vera asked this:

“Looks like you’ve had another great week Kat (except maybe for that middle book…LOL). I just love your Moon Coasters – so pretty. What did you use in the center of them (for filling)? Or is it just the fabric stitched together? In either case, they are lovely.

Now, I answered Vera via email… but it occurred to me that you all might be wondering the same thing. I used a couple of scraps of cotton batting left over from some placemats I made. I inserted the batting after I stitched the side seams. I also think a piece of cotton flannel would have worked equally well (maybe even better if you do not want any “loft” in your coaster.)

and this:

“Looks like you have some fun and interesting projects for the week. The cocktail sounds interesting, but I’m not sure about the condensed milk part of it…I know it’s only a half oz or so, but man I dislike that stuff so much!!!

I love this question because I despise sweetened condensed milk as well… but there is a magical thing about it…it doesn’t curdle when you combine it with lime juice. Half and half or heavy cream will curdle… instantly, so they are non-starters for this cocktail. But still… I was skeptical of how this would taste, but even using just a couple of teaspoons of the condensed milk gives the drink the creaminess needed to counter the tang of the lime. Do not fear the condensed milk in cocktails! (at least in small quantities!)

Finally, Bonny shared this comment that I thought was necessary to talk about:

I love your coasters and think they might be too pretty to place glasses on that will drip condensation on them! I’ve never read Beach Music, but am keeping it in my mind as a possible listen when things calm down here a bit. I think I’ll give Matthew a pass. 🙂

This…. we all need to break free of not using things that are too pretty. I am right in this camp… It’s too pretty, it will get stained…But if not now….when? Last year in my Year of Intentional Living I realized that life is short (and boy did this week put an exclamation point on that!) It makes me feel good to use a simple little coaster that I made. It tells me I am worthy. It says that I think that making things a little nicer is a very good thing.

So yes… I make things to use them in my daily life. And I celebrate that fact! I hope you do too!

That is all I have for this week… I will be back on Monday to share my July update on my word! Have a good weekend everyone!

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