Golden Circle Tour, Iceland

It's Wanderlust Wednesday! Today we're talking about the Golden Circle Tour in Iceland.

“The problem with driving around Iceland is that you’re basically confronted by a new soul-enriching, breath-taking, life-affirming natural sight every five goddamn minutes. It’s totally exhausting.” 
― Stephen Markley, Tales of Iceland or "Running with the Huldufólk in the Permanent Daylight"

Being the travel planner/booker/arranger/idea person in my family, a cruise is actually the best chance I get at having a vacation. My work is done ahead of time and the ship does the rest. But there are times we like doing land vacations.

Iceland is one of those places. While cruise ships do go to Iceland, those voyages are expensive. And I'm cheap. So when the price over Thanksgiving Break dropped to bargain basement prices, we jumped on it.

Thank goodness. We soaked in the Blue Lagoon. Spent time in the cafes and restaurants in Reykjavik, saw the Northern Lights, and took a Golden Circle tour.

It was full day tour around Iceland's Golden Circle.
We checked out Crater Kerid where the blue water contrasted with the red and green walls.

We climbed hundreds of icy wooden steps to get great views of the Gullfoss Waterfall. We've heard new steps have since been installed.

Got sprayed by the Strokkur geyser. They don't rope those things off like they do in the US. Get too close and you'll get wet.

 Got to hang with some Icelandic horses. I called this one Tina Turner.

 Made a stop at Þingvellir National Park.

Which one thing was the best? Well, all of them.

As we saw the sunset over Greenland on our flight home, we knew we'd have to get there someday, too.

Make a Garden Apron - Tutorial Tuesday

For today's Tutorial Tuesday we are making this quick and easy gardening apron. Not a gardener? Turn it into a sewing apron, teacher apron, or a gift for someone else. It's a simple project great for anytime of year!

Makes an apron measuring approx. 11” x 21”

For this project you will need:

• 2 pieces of contrasting fabric, each measuring 18" x 22". Directional fabric not recommended. 
• 17½ ” x 21½” midweight iron-on interfacing
• 3” x 75” fabric for the waistband
• Fabric clips or pins
• Iron
• Sewing machine
• Matching thread
• Marking pencil or painter's tape
• Always helpful for sewing: rotary cutter, cutting ruler, cutting mat, scissors

Disclosure: Deb's Days is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you sewing and crafting content.

Now available in my Etsy shop as a digital download with the written directions, step-by-step photos, and link to the tutorial video. 

Looking for more storage ideas? Check out these other projects!

Otherwise, you can just view the gardening apron tutorial right here:

Sunday Sew-In

“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.” 
― David Allen

My thoughts are running rampant. Actually, not so much thoughts but ideas for projects. It seems Sunday Sew-In days have become Sunday ideas day. Ideas and measuring and figuring patterns and cutting fabric days.

Now I have another whole slew of projects to get going on.

Cruise Ship Onboard Medical Center

It's Cruise Ship Saturday! Today we're talking about the Onboard Medical Center.

“Each patient carries his own doctor inside him.” 
― Norman Cousins, Anatomy of an Illness

Cruise ships have medical centers for urgent and not-so-urgent needs. The number of staff depends on the number of passengers and crew, with a larger ship having multiple doctors and nurses. The medical center typically has office hours with access to emergency services outside the scheduled hours. Services range from dispersing medications to cleaning wounds to running blood tests to taking x-rays. There may also be an intensive care room as well as a space to conduct surgery. (Performing surgery on a moving ship is not ideal so if it can be delayed it will.)

Medical treatment is not free. It will be billed to your stateroom account and you will be responsible for the payment and claim submission to your insurance company. Shipboard doctors are usually general practitioners so you may be referred to a specialist in an upcoming port for further consultation. Off-ship services aren’t billed to the shipboard account but are paid in cash up front to the onshore provider.

There is no guarantee your health insurance policy will cover the cost, but purchased travel insurance may be able to offset the expense of medical visits. It only takes one incident to realize the additional few dollars for insurance on a 10-night cruise is well worth the peace of mind to be had when sitting in an orthopedic surgeon’s office in Aruba instead of on the beach.

Not a beach.

The Friday 15

I'm gonna pop some tags
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket
I - I - I'm hunting, looking for a come-up
This is f****** awesome
~Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Thrift Shop 

I had twenty dollars in my pocket when I went to the thrift store today. I only spent $2.43 of it. Big spender, I am. When you're working on getting rid of things it doesn't make sense spending money on new stuff. But I needed a couple of supplies for some new tutorials and the thrift store is my go-to place for them.

Even though I brought in a couple new supplies (which will be turned around and sent back out after the tutorial) I did get another 15 things to go out the door:
Sold one item on eBay this week.
Donating 14 totally random things.
That makes 15.

But I'd rather post a picture of one of my little kitties instead of my pile of 15. The kitties started with me when they weighed four ounces each and now they are both are weighing in at just over one pound. They are so fun and cute.

Say hello to Cami.

Reykjavik, Iceland

It's Wanderlust Wednesday! Today we're talking about Reykjavik, Iceland.

Our suitcase that was taken from the Blue Lagoon in Iceland wasn't our first luggage mishap of the year. On the way back from our Spring Break trip it had made it's way from LAX to Puerto Vallarta instead of heading home with us to Boise. Got it back. Then it gets taken in Iceland at Thanksgiving? (We did eventually get it back. We weren't stranded in Iceland without clothes for the entire week. Yay!)

That's good because we needed our stuff. We had places to go and things to do.

Loved the minimalism in the hotel room. 

Found some yogurt and snacks in the airport store. Loved, loved, loved both.

Tasty hot dogs and delicious hot chocolate in Reykjavik.

The city was preparing for Christmas. I could even drop off a letter for the Icelandic Santa if I wanted to.


The best view of all comes if you climb to the top of this...

Where you can look out the top windows and see this...

 Beautiful Reykjavik.

How to Sew a Coffee Sleeve - Tutorial Tuesday

NOTE: THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN UPDATED TO USE AN ELASTIC HAIRTIE AND BUTTON INSTEAD.

I'm not a coffee drinker. Never have been and never will be. But hubby? Oh, yeah. While he loves his coffee, he has sensitive fingertips. He can't stand holding anything hot for long. So you'd think I would have made today's tutorial for him, right? I'm not sure he'll be thrilled with the fabric used so I guess not. But maybe, if he's good, I'll make him his own. But is it called a coffee sleeve or a cozy? Not a clue.

For this project you will need:

•  main fabric
•  lining fabric 
•  cotton batting
•  elastic hair tie
• button 
• Marking pencil
• Pins or Clover Wonder Clips
• Iron
• Sewing machine
• Matching thread
• Rotary cutter
• Cutting ruler
• Cutting mat
• Template from here

Disclosure: Deb's Days is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you new sewing and crafting content.

An updated pattern - made with a button and hair tie instead - is now available in my Etsy shop as a digital download with the written directions, step-by-step photos, and printable template. Click to get your copy today!

Looking for a coaster for your coffee cup instead? Check out some of my other projects!

You can find the step-by-step how to tutorial for the homemade fabric coffee sleeve sewing project here:

Sew-In Sunday

“A person who is interrupted while performing a task takes 50% more time to complete it and make 50% more errors.” 
― David Brooks

I was thinking about this today. Every day - even on Sundays - I go to "work". I go into the sewing room, shut the door, and put on my headphones. Some days I work on figuring out measurements for patterns. Some days I film tutorials. Some days I get things listed on eBay. Some days I narrate the Cruising with Confidence book. (It's going to be on Audible soon. So exciting!) Some days I write. And sometimes those things all happen on the same day. Yes, it's a 40+ hour a week job.

Hubby is pretty good about leaving me alone. He knows I will leave for work by 9:00 a.m. and will come out for a yogurt around noon. Then I head back to work until Dr. Phil comes on at 3:00. At 4:00 hubby heads for a nap and I head back to work until about 6:30 p.m. Now with the baby kitties my work schedule is all over the place. It seems to take a lot more focus to work on a project. It took me what seemed like forever to figure out measurements for my next projects.

 Even one of the kitties got tired and gave up.

Safety at Sea

It's Cruise Ship Saturday! Today we're talking about Safety at Sea.

“You're never perfectly safe. No human being on Earth ever is or ever was. To live is to risk your life, your heart, everything.” 
― Rick Yancey, The Last Star

Every time I hear about another person falling overboard from a cruise ship I think one thing. Stupid people. While sometimes the waters are rough, they aren't rough enough to throw you overboard. Still, you do have to be careful when on a ship.

Remember, you are on a moving vessel. Stabilization systems reduce the movement felt but do not eliminate it entirely. Walking is relatively easy when the ship is gently rocking but becomes much more difficult when the ship is really rocking. Watch your balance and be prepared to grab a handrail. Most certainly hold onto handrails when using the stairs during rough seas and be very careful when walking on wet decks. Even with rubber soled shoes a moving ship can be slippery. Being docked in port is no guarantee of absolute safety on deck. As careful as I am about walking I still slipped and fell on my bum after a rainstorm - while the ship was docked.

Other things unique to a cruise ship:

• Raised thresholds are everywhere. At the cabin bathroom and ship restrooms, at the doors to the exterior of the ship, at a cabin’s balcony, and at the fireproof doors in the hallways. Be extra careful crossing the thresholds as they may require a higher step.
• Cruise ship railings are 48” high. You can’t accidentally fall over with a railing that height unless you really try. Never sit on the side rails of the ship and don’t hold anyone, including children, up there either.
• Cruise ships have cameras everywhere. Unless you are inside the cabin you are probably being filmed. So be good.

Excerpt from Cruising with Confidence, 2nd Edition.

Seeing a view like this is worth the small risk.

The Friday 15

“You sell off the kingdom piece by piece and trade it for a horse that will take you anywhere.” 
― Colin Wright, My Exile Lifestyle

Maybe that should be my eBay mantra. Sell off my junk and use it to buy my way onto a cruise ship. Maybe.

• eBay did well this week with five things sent off.
• Kiddo and I went through our duplicate pictures from the last 30 years. Shredded several hundred photos.
• I went through more fabrics and decided to discard the smaller boards I used to wrap the fabric. 100 boards are going away.
• A metal zipper, six plastic Easter eggs, and a leftover tutorial project are leaving.

Technically that's more than 15. Yay!