An Unusual but Delicious Salad, More Jewelry and Some Help with Laundry

Hi everyone.  I want to start right off by telling you about a fantastic salad that may sound slightly unusual but it is delicious. 

I read about a similar salad several years ago and played around with the ingredients, adding and deleting components and came up with this.  Cook some bow tie pasta(any shape you have would work).  Drain it well and rinse with cold water.  Drain again and put it in a large bowl.  Add chunks of Swiss cheese, cantaloupe melon, and ham.  I took a ham steak that was fully cooked and cut it up so it the chunks would have substance.  I don't think deli ham would work.   If you have leftovers from a nice ham dinner, you are in business!  After tossing the pasta and other ingredients, add poppy seed dressing to taste.  I like it swimming in it.  Also, when you refrigerate the salad, it will soak the dressing up, so you may have to add even more later.  There you have it-easy and oh so good.  I took this to a potluck and there was none left at the end of dinner.  Let me know if you like it if you try it. 

On to my jewelry for the week.  I purchased a watch face and many interchangeable stretchy bands a while back.  Now that I am making jewelry like a madwoman, I had to increase my wardrobe of watchbands.  This one was as easy as it gets.  While in JoAnn Fabric store, I saw these beads already laid out for me.  The cats absolutely sold me.  I just put them on stretch cord, crimped the ends and added lobster claw clasps to each end.  Isn't it cute?  I am so big on personalizing accessories to my taste.  I love it when I find a craft that lets me do that. 

 The last thing I wanted to share are these cool dryer balls I made with info from Leslie at Seasoned Homemaker .  They were inexpensive and easy to make.  I love anything that makes laundry day better and cheaper so I was all in.  I do find that these make my drying time less so that is a good thing!  When I am taking my laundry out of the dryer, one will get hung up in a pant leg or fitted sheet and will fall on the floor when I shake the clothes into the  laundry basket.  You can't imagine how my cat goes crazy trying to get to it before I can corral it back into the dryer for the next load.  She thinks it has to be one of her toys and that I have stolen it!

I hope you all have a great week.  I am trying to get some things done around the house.  I tend to be kind of "unstructured" when I am off for Summer vacation.  I stay up way too late, I sleep in until 8, I stay in my robe until 11.  Generally, I am like a teenager!  I need to start getting a little more done.  That is my job for this week:to complete a to-do list.  Wish me luck!  Take care.  Nancy