Goddess in the Groove

06/19/2025

Y’all know I love an estate sale. That’s what I do as a hobby, to destress, and to buy all my Christmas presents. I always find cool things, but sometimes, I find things I LOVE. I’m not kidding, sometimes I find things and bond with the previous owners so tight as if we had been drinking wine together for years. This Bernini 1260 is one of those cases. Her name is Dixie. I named her for Dixie McBride, who was the quilter extraordinaire who owned this fabulous queen before me. We have little chats when I’m sewing because I have learned so much since I’ve had this machine. I swear it’s divine intervention..

Dixie comes with a whole damn story of Law of Attraction, but IG won’t let me write that much. When I walked into the estate sale, it was on a Sunday about 30 minutes before they were closing. She was priced at $800. Since the universe was holding her for me, the seller agreed to $300, and I sent my daughter off to the ATM while I check Dixie. I even had to fight off some woman who was trying to take her from me while I was waiting for my daughter to get back. I also didn’t realize what I bought until I got home, and I also realized I was missing a bunch of pieces.

But all of that doesn’t matter, I would buy her again in a heartbeat. I’ve been finding the pieces on eBay because she’s a vintage beauty, and we have been learning things. We have been making things. 👍 I’m actually going to put my other sewing machine up for sale if anyone local is interested.

The lesson of all this: trust your gut and stretch your budget when necessary 😎 Do you have a juicy estate sale story? Dish!

06/03/2025

I learned a long time ago that when I can’t sleep, I should get up. Instead of rolling around and trying to solve the world in my brain, I get up and do something. Today, I am bottling plum vodka. These are two batches from last summer. No worries, I have a few more..

I thought it’d be fun to show you the differences. Every batch turns out completely different. Depends on the plums, the vodka, the herbs I add sometimes, and the time. I found some batches a few months ago when I cleaned out the pantry that were from 2010. They are deep and strong, and will be enjoyed over the summer. These are both from last summer about a month apart. The first batch is super sweet, which is not my thing, but a lot of people love it so this will definitely be a few bottles for friends. The second batch I thankfully made in a half gallon jar. I added cloves to it and it is delicious. Not too sweet, and a little tzing from the clothes

The nice thing is that mandatory taste testing helps with insomnia 🤩. Happy brewing, witches, and sleep well.❤️

05/18/2025

These two photos are not quite 4 weeks apart. I call this the dinosaur stage. 😂

🐣

05/11/2025

So I have been living that gluten-free life for a little over 30 days. I still have a long ways to go to hit 90 days which is the challenge I made myself. Gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, and no red meat. I am even limiting alcohol.

Those of you who know me well are probably shaking your heads aghast. Literally everything that sustains me is in that last paragraph. Since many of these foods can be inflammatory, I’m trying to see if eliminating them will help with my nerve pain.

I have tried various brands of gluten-free pasta, and quite frankly, they are horrible. So I decided to experiment today of making my own with one of those “ just replace it” gluten-free flours. I already had to use two more eggs and from my regular recipe because that stuff is dry as the desert. As you can see the pasta would have not made it through my pasta machine. But even cutting it let me know immediately that this is not going to work. But I was not going to waste all those eggs either, so I made a little cubes😂.

Is it horrible? No. Is it wonderful? No. And yes, I did put pecorino on that because I was depressed. I cheat every once in a while with a little bit of hard cheese.🙄

honestly, my little cubes still tasted better than most of that gluten-free pasta I’ve had in the last month. I might try to add some spices and herbs to the next batch and see what happens. They’ll be fine soaked in a fine sauce or some soup.

Send me strength

P.S. I have found gluten-free beer that is not bad, and sugar-free wine that I actually enjoy. A girl needs a little support.😎

04/23/2025

04/17/2025

Frankfurter grüne Soße is a traditional meal where I come from, and it is served often and in many ways. But the one day we will always have it, even though we are not religious people, is the Thursday before Easter. It’s an old tradition. The seven traditional herbs could be found along the fields or the roadways, so even the peasants were the poorest were able to gather them. Potatoes were accessible, and so were eggs. It is told that if you eat this the Thursday before Easter, the rest of the year will be healthy and abundant for you. (the sauce smells fresh like spring. My cells feel healthier already.😂).

Unfortunately, I did not have all seven of the traditional herbs, but what I did find in my garden is borage, parsley, sorrel, dandelion, and chives. And happy eggs from my friends🥚. also, just a sidenote: most of these herbs are considered weeds.😎

Health and abundance to you all!

In Frankfurt, you can buy the seven herbs in a packet at the market.. Here are the traditional herbs if you want to try this yourself :
Petersilie
Schnittlauch
Sauerampfer
Borretsch
Kresse
Kerbel
Pimpinelle

04/03/2025

Max was listed at the shelter as a shepherd mix. I found out he was a Carolina Dog, which I had never heard of before, when I posted a picture of him and remarked about his giant ears. A lady who has CDs contacted me, and our whole world changed. Max is from Costa Mesa and has probably not seen a wild Field in his whole life. But somewhere deep inside the wild dog lives, and he comes out every once in a while. His tail kinks when he is hunting or sees a threat. He is super loyal and has adjusted to my lifestyle. He loves his pack and will protect them no matter what. Not great with other dogs, but loves humans. Not all humans. The more I learned about this breed, the sadder I was that he was neutered. From what I can see, he is still pretty pure and now I want lots of Carolina dogs around me as I grow older.. BTW, if you want to see a Carolina dog in action, watch the movie PREY.

03/31/2025

I am on the sourdough journey. This is the first time I have actually been successful getting a viable starter going. These two breads are a one bake apart. The lighter one is older, and the darker one is the one I just made last night. Same starter, same recipe? I’m not 100% sure because I was too lazy to search for the recipe so I did it from my brain.😂.

Here is a question for the sourdough mavens out there: what makes one bread fluffy and holey, and the other one more dense? Is it the rising time? The darker one looks prettier, and I actually threw some water in the oven at the end when it was browning so the crust is super crunchy, but it feels more dry.

both of them are super yummy, and between my ancient grain flour and the sourdough process, they are not creating that metallic reaction. I normally get from bread here in the US.

🍞

03/19/2025

Today’s morning pep talk to get up and move, brought to you by Max. 💪

03/07/2025

I am definitely too old for all nighters. There’s going to be some maintenance due before I walk out of the house today.

I’ve been trying for a week or so to heal this wound Max had on his neck. Yesterday afternoon I took a look at it and knew it was time to go to the vet. It turns out Max had a bacterial infection living rent free on his neck😳.

Max gets so anxious when going to the vet, so I had to give him trazodone an hour or so before his appointment. But I think it really kicked in for him later in the evening because then he just started following me around. He did not want to be alone. So the two of us did a very uncomfortable allnighter of waking up and sleeping on the couch

But look at him this morning! Many hundred 💰 later, he is feeling so much better, and is back to his naughty self.

02/25/2025

For Max, sitting in the sun without being a maniac, while I have a cup of tea, is dog training👍

02/24/2025

Happy 23rd BIRTHDAY to my “baby” 😇.

still keeping me on my toes 😂.