Yet Another XCrazy Blog

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes…..

2012-01-25T19:05:00.001-05:00

Sorry about the lack of post-age. I’ve been helping out at the barn a LOT due to the barn owner’s rotator cuff surgery at the beginning of November. She’s started P.T., but it’ll be while before she’s ready to toss 20+ bales of hay down from the loft.

The other lady helping out is there a lot, too, so I feel compelled to stay as long as she’s there, plus she’s riding one of the retired horses, and asks several times a week if I’ll ride with her. So instead of my usual in-and-out in 90 minutes or less on any given evening, I’m there 2-1/2 hours or more, plus cleaning stalls for about 2 hours three mornings a week. By the time the weekend comes around, I just want to sack out on the couch. Blech. Plus my computer has been slow- I think I have to start taking old stuff off…

Anyway, I came across the soup thru this link from Edgar’s blog. I think it’s the best soup I’ve ever made- it was really hard to stop at one bowl! My recipe below is a tiny bit tweaked from the original, mainly by substituting turkey for beef.

Pasta E Fagioli Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey (or Shady Brook Farms 20.8 oz. package)
1 small onion, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannellini beans (or white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
1 (26 oz.) carton beef broth (or 3 cups)
1 jar (25 oz.) spaghetti sauce (I used about ¾ of jar)
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley (I used fresh because I had it on hand)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup uncooked ditalini pasta (or your favorite pasta shape)
Salt, to taste (about ½ tbsp. kosher salt)

Directions:

Brown meat in a large skillet; drain excess fat & discard. Add to crock pot.
Drain & rinse both types of beans, and add to crock pot.
Add all other ingredients, except pasta, to crock pot and stir to combine.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 4-5 hours.
My crock pot was too small (YIKES!) so I used a French oven (6-quart, I think), and cooked in the oven at 275 degrees for about 4 hours.
During the last 30 minutes of cooking time, add the pasta & stir.

You may want to have an additional can of broth on hand- the pasta will continue to absorb liquid as it sits leftover in the refrigerator. When you re-heat the soup, stir in a little additional broth.

Just a Quickie….

2012-01-17T19:44:00.001-05:00

Here’s my latest progress on Beacon House:

I finished that window, started the (rein)deer, and started filling in all that snow. And realized that there is a whole middle section of chart-age between this sheet and the right side sheet. I’m starting to implement floss-saving measures now, even though I have the called-for amounts of skeins. I think it uses less floss to stitch large swathes of color (like the snow) at an angle, rather than horizontal line back & forth. You don’t have to carry over to the beginning of the new stitch as far: at an angle, if you end your stitch correctly, you only have to go up or down one stitch to start the next. Try it!

I made these babies for stitching last week:

Joanne Chang’s Carrot Cake Cupcakes, from her “Flour” cookbook. (This was to satisfy a craving for cream cheese frosting- %^P)

We were also introduced to Deborah’s new puppy, Stella. Such a sweet little thing! She didn’t even make a peep! and soooo soft! Nothing like a new puppy and a cupcake to make a night of friends and stitching just about perfect!

F***ing Brilliant!

2012-01-13T18:33:00.001-05:00

You may not know, but I'm a huge Florida 'Gators fan. My younger brother is an alum- class of '85. It was because of him (so goes the legend) that a lot of rules regarding frat parties were instituted. I wear my 'Gators ball cap every morning, with pride, on my walks and at the barn. And I especially love me some Tim Tebow. I've watched him his whole time at Florida, rejoiced at his Bowl wins & championships- I think he's an exceptional role model for today's kids who aspire to any kind of organized athletic teams. I as happy he was picked up by Denver, although Bill Belicheck spent a lot of time with him before the draft, so I kind of got my hopes up that he’d be on the Patriots.

Tomorrow night, Tebow and the Broncos take on the New England Patriots- my favorite NFL team. I'm torn as to who I want to win. I guess I'll be happy whatever the outcome %^P

A Face book friend posted this video from Jimmy Fallon. It is absolutely hysterical!

Thursday Stitching Update…

2012-01-05T20:10:00.001-05:00

Beacon House progress:

My piece of yellow floss ran out with one row to go. I also don’t think the individual snowflakes show up very well as the Smyrna crosses that they are. I used one strand of floss for those because they were just a hot mess with 2 strands.

I obviously didn’t finish this for my barn owner:

But this year I’m planning *SNORT* (we’ll see how that goes!!) to stitch an ornament a month again.

Jane brought these delicious peanut-butter brownie bites:

The peanut butter was low fat, so these were virtually health food! We all had several- yummy!

Off to my couch-TTFN!

Fact: Three out of Four Cats Hate Christmas Hats

2011-12-28T13:41:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T18:12:00.000-05:00

I’m pooped! But I had to share that my wicked awesome daughter got me a Keurig “Elite” coffee maker and a ton of assorted accessories! I’m so excited- I can’t wait to try it tomorrow am.

I hope everyone has had a marvelous day with family and/or friends. Thanks for visiting and all the wonderful comments you leave- I truly appreciate them all!

(Image from the Green Mountain Coffee website)

I made an apron for her:

It’s reversible- “evil” side and “good” side.

I also finished this pillow, and made a second:

I have to get a bigger form for the top pillow.

I made this for Michelle at the barn:

“Barn Yard” by Bent Creek I think. Here’s the back and a 3/4 side shot to show the thickness:

The horse I tried to emulate Molly, the horse Michelle rides. She’s a chestnut Appaloosa, although the only white spot is low on her belly on the left side, and she has two white socks on the rear.

Off to the couch for me. Merry Christmas and good night!

Almost there…

2011-12-23T18:08:00.001-05:00

I finished this for my barn owner:

Here’s the backing fabric:

I think my obligatory cooking is done. I made this:

- a cheesecake for Tom. It came out perfect!

These:

Almond Poppy Seed Breads from Our Best Bites

and this, from Joanne of Thursday Stitching group:

White Chocolate Popcorn with Craisins. So easy! Pop 3 bags of salted-only microwave popcorn. Pour into a huge bowl. Melt one 12 –oz. bag of white chocolate chips- 2 to 2-1/2 minutes on high at 30 second intervals should do it, stirring each interval. Pour chocolate over popcorn and mix to coat evenly. Add one 5-oz bag of craisins and mix again. Spread out on baking sheets to set for an hour or so if you’re packing it up for gifts or start eating- your done! I melted about a 1/4 cup of semisweet chips (the same microwave method) and drizzled that over the spread out popcorn.

Tomorrow I have to brine my turkey, and make cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning, and a batch of chocolate chip cookies because I’m out. Almost all those cookies I made last weekend are gone. I’ve gone thru 5 lbs of sugar, a dozen eggs, and 3 lbs of butter. So far.

Time to wash dishes and have supper and finish another stitchy gift.

Why do I do this to myself???

2011-12-19T23:30:00.000-05:00

Every year!! Craft projects right up to the last minute! One down, 5 more to go (that I can think of right now):

Meet LaLa:

The pattern came from Riley Blake Designs, but I realized on my way to work this morning that her pattern is for a two-legged elephant. What 2-year-old wants a two-legged elephant????

So flying by the seat of my pants, I made my own gusset for the belly. While I can now see where my gusset design went awry, it does allow for LaLa (as opposed to Layla) to stand upright on her own. So I suppose I’m somewhat successful.

Five different types of cookies have been baked, a batch of chili on Saturday and a batch of beef stew on Sunday. My feet are killing me! Two batches of baklava, some white chocolate & craisin popcorn, a cheesecake, and possibly almond poppy seed loaves left to do. Plus the craft projects….

Time is Getting away from me….

2011-12-13T20:32:00.000-05:00

We had our annual Stitching group Christmas party last Thursday. We went to an Italian restaurant called The Chateau. I had a combo plate of chicken parm, fried ravioli, and a meatball. It was so yummy I ate almost all of it! Then we went to Jeanne’s house for dessert. I wish I hadn’t eaten 2 slices of Scali bread!

Joanne had brought Cupcake Charlie’s (of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars!)

Berry Champagne flavor and Chocolate Candy Cane:

Jeanne baked the Pecan Tassies in the foreground- so delicious!

She also baked Surprise Cookies; they are in the back beyond the plate of tassies.

Here’s Deborah, of Cranberry Samplings, taking my picture while I took hers. Check out her latest blog post for more of our merry shenanigans.

Jeanne pulled out all the stops when it came to decorating her house. Just get a look at her Christmas Village display:

Two tables’ worth! Her husband wires all the houses so it’s entirely lit. It’s just stunning.

Here’s a view across the kitchen island back towards the breakfast area:

And this is so cute- it’s a glass block filled with mini lights. Jeanne changes the adornment for each holiday throughout the year.

Here’s the tree:

It’s actually very straight, despite the photo. I promise it’s NOT because I was drinking! I wish I could decorate my tree like this. It seems it’s a skill I was born without. My tree always looks like I threw the ornaments on from across the room.

An Anna-Lea (?) doll- a lamb knitting a sweater!

Jeanne gave me 2 wonderful gifts- I can’t wait to use them both:

magnetic measuring spoons

And Joanne Chang’s cookbook “Flour”

I want to make EVERYTHING in this book! The recipes look easy, with in-your-cupboard-already ingredients. Plus a lot of the recipes have a stop-here-and-refrigerate-for-when-you-have-more-time-to-finish steps. Awesome for those of us who have places to go & things to do every day after work.

If you click on the pictures they should enlarge.

Thanks to Jeanne and Joanne for a fantastic evening!

HaHa! Another video!

2011-12-13T13:40:00.000-05:00

I didn’t have my sound on (at work- shhh!) so I don’t know how noisy this is. I found it on this blog, which looks interesting. It was a Blogger Blog-of-Note back in November.

Impressions of a Night Before Christmas…

2011-12-10T16:26:00.001-05:00

Yet Another Give-Away!

2011-12-10T15:38:00.001-05:00

Nancy at Victoria Motto Sampler Shoppe must have gone temporarily insane- too many candy canes or too much eggnog - she's having ANOTHER give-away! Click here to enter!
Drawing is Christmas Day. For those of you who just celebrate generic "Holiday", that would be December 25th.

Give Away Alert!!!

2011-12-07T19:11:00.000-05:00

Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe is having a give away of her beautiful hand-dyed floss.

But you’re not suppose to enter so that I may win! (Just kidding!!!)

Hurry- drawing is December 17th- just in time for Christmas!

Ummm…that’s …..interesting?

2011-12-06T12:53:00.001-05:00

from Etsy:

Anatomical Heart Cross stitch

TGIF..

2011-12-02T18:48:00.001-05:00

for lack of a better post title.

I stitched on Beacon House yesterday:

As you can see, I finished the main portion of the house, and started the roof. This design tickles my soul- I’m very happy to work on it.

I also worked a tad on the CaHRH ornament:

It’s not very much, is it? It’s hard to tell, but it’s over one…

For supper tonight I had the anti-turkey:

For a store-bought freezer pizza, this one wasn’t bad- rising crust with 3 meats: pepperoni, Italian sausage, and Canadian bacon. Plus having the oven on warmed my house a bit!

At Last!!!

2011-11-30T19:14:00.000-05:00

Last day of NaBloPoMo!

last turkey sandwich:

That’s on Portuguese bread, with a light smear of mayo, some cranberry sauce, some Havarti cheese and a bit of stuffing for the flavor, toasted.

Last bowl of soup:

With carrots, onions, celery and corn and fresh thyme, and egg noodles. (actually I still have a least a bowl left).

I didn’t have the soup with the sandwich- they were separate meals.

I managed to post every day, and one day I even made two posts! Congratulations to all my fellow NaBlo-wers (as Stitch Bitch calls us!)

And thanks to all who visited and put up with some very lame writing, and special thanks to all the encouraging comments!

And I’d like to thank the academy….oh! wrong acceptance speech!

I’m SO done!

And she stitched….

2011-11-29T20:39:00.001-05:00

More Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow Square 10.

An hour’s worth of work listening to my forgotten Spotify playlist. Fun!

Celebrities in Stitches….

2011-11-28T12:45:00.000-05:00

taken to a whole new level:

Totally Severe

Time Flies….

2011-11-27T18:40:00.001-05:00

When you’re putting up Christmas lights on a deadline. I’d show a picture except I started off with a partial outage on one string, and I had to plan the layout of my 3 strands along my gutter so that the bad section would be at the easiest place to take down when (if) I get the replacement strand. I had to go out to a last minute birthday party invitation, so I plugged everything in, admired my 2-3/4 strings of lights on my way out, and when I came home, a second strand had a partial outage. Before I started hanging these up, I literally unplugged every bulb in the bad 3-foot section and tested with a spare. I found one bulb with a bad filament, and replaced that too, but to no avail. The futility of trying to find the bad bulb is making me think I should just get new lights, possibly just a straight string, rather than the icicle type I have now. Do you know that not all icicle lights look the same when lit? So I may as well start fresh with a new look. ~~Or maybe I should just skip it.~~ I could get LED’s- energy efficient! Or colored lights!

Anyway, I got this chart when I was shopping the other day:

I have to research alternate color combinations. The called-for threads are GAST “Currant” and “Blue Spruce”, not that you can tell by the model picture, which seems faded. I think I want at least some gold in there, if not blues and violets and emerald green. I don’t intend to start it anytime soon, so I have time to decide.

Five More Days...

2011-11-26T18:21:00.001-05:00

I mean posts, before I can hop off this bus to crazy town. I didn’t even make it thru one episode of Hawaii Five-O last night before I crashed. I never even saw who done it. I’ll try to stay awake for more tonight- I have the last episode of Fringe, several CSI’s, a Glee or 2, and a bunch of Prime Suspects. I have to get it all under control before The Closer starts Monday. I LOVE that show!

Absolutely stellar weather today in Massachusetts- about 63 degrees, partly sunny, little to no breeze. I went for a little ride on Axe this afternoon around the barn property. We can open all the gates and 2-1/2 laps around all the paddocks is about 40 minutes. it’s like a mini trail ride without going on the trails.

I didn’t get to my x-mas lights- tomorrow is supposed to be marvelous too. Barn chores this morning as well as tomorrow morning, plus seeing Bob, and a couple of household chores. I gave Bob most of my apple pie- the chocolate cake is wreaking havoc with my waistline, but I’m NOT giving it up!

Mom’s birthday is today- HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

Black Friday….

2011-11-25T19:02:00.001-05:00

No, I didn’t go shopping. I did go to work for the morning. Came home, walked Chicken numerous times and watched a couple of episodes of ‘Kitchen Impossible” starring Coni Spinster’s hunk of a specimen of a man, Robert Irvine, went to the barn to help bring in the ponies, whereupon I learned it was a good day to not do barn chores in the morning due to feisty horse and pony. Then I came home, turned on the computer, went back out to the supermarket in search of another Marvel frozen turkey to stick in the freezer for Christmas, found an unfamiliar substitute, which I did not buy, then came home and just finished re-heating leftovers. Now to sit in front of the TV and watch all the shows I’ve been too tired to watch for the last 3 weeks.

TTFN

Happy Thanksgiving Again!

2011-11-24T17:11:00.001-05:00

Here’s my de-luscious bird:

It came out perfect, if I do say so myself.

Dinner for one:

I packed up about half of everything for Bob, who had day-surgery yesterday on his elbow & didn’t feel up to traveling.

Dessert (round one):

Sorry about the smudges- I had to roll the slice upright. But it tasted good!

Happy leftovers!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T15:23:00.000-05:00

Google Turkey doodle

Click on the picture and it re-mixes itself.

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes…

2011-11-23T18:19:00.001-05:00

This makes a great weekend breakfast treat (hint for those who have house guests this weekend!)

Cinnamon Swirled Bread (for the bread machine)

Makes one 4” x 9” loaf

BREAD:

1 egg plus enough water to equal 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons
1 teaspoon salt
1 TBSP plus 1 tsp sugar
6 TBSP butter, softened
3 cups bread flour
1 tsp yeast (bread machine or quick active dry)

FILLING:

¼ cup butter, softened
½ cup Demerara sugar (you can substitute brown sugar) mixed with
2 tsp cinnamon

Place all ingredients for bread in bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select “Dough” cycle. When machine cycle ends, turn out dough onto lightly floured surface and cover with a clean towel and rest for 10 minutes.
Then gently roll dough to approximately 9” x 15”. Spread with ¼ cup of softened butter leaving a ½” margin clean around the perimeter.
Sprinkle evenly with cinnamon sugar. Roll dough tightly into a log 9” wide, pinching along ending seam to close.
Place log into greased 4” x 9” loaf pan, gently tucking in ends as necessary, seam-side down.
Cover with clean towel, and let rise about 1 hour in warm, draft-free space, until dough reaches top of pan or is roughly doubled in size.
Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Top should be golden brown, and bottom should sound hollow when tapped, or get an instant read thermometer which should read 190 to 200 degrees to be done.

Never write an obligatory post when you’re tired..

2011-11-22T20:39:00.000-05:00

Because you get what happened yesterday. I apologize.

So my chocolate cake is baked and cooling; my brine is boiled and also cooling. Tomorrow I have to do stalls in the morning, then bake a flat apple pie, cook the squash OH! and brine the turkey stupid! And bake a loaf of oatmeal bread for some good leftover turkey sandwiches. And then clean my house to an inch of its life in case Bob & his son come up for dinner instead of me schlepping it down to them. I’ll be making this stuffing too. At some point, maybe I’ll have time to stitch.

Excuse me while I go get a paper towel to wipe the snort off my monitor.

Complaint Department…

2011-11-21T19:51:00.000-05:00

If you don’t like whining & complaining, then don’t continue reading:

Google mail needs a filter to sort by senders so one may delete en masse.

Verizon needs to treat their 25+ year customers a little bit better. Why do new customers get the good deals and existing customers get bubkiss?

People walking their big dogs need to pick up after them when they defecate on my lawn. My dog doesn’t poop on your lawn. One of these days I’ll follow you home so I can return your dog’s poop.

What’s with the rash of telemarketers calling & texting my cellphone- which has been on the Do Not Call Registry since day one???

My local supermarket, Hannafords, needs to stop raising prices every single week. Their own brand English muffins, have gone from 99 cents (for as long as I can remember) up to $1.59 just last week. And they are out of their brand peanut butter, too.

The tattoo guy needs to stop living in his store.

Airlines need to quit it with the fees. A story on the news this morning said they’ve made billions-with-a-“B” on fees this past year (what do they think they are- oil companies??)

Seriously, the Occupiers need to go home. And stay there. I fail to see what political agenda they are trying to serve by pooping on police cars. When you start yelling at little kids walking to school, or preventing waitresses from getting to their jobs, while letting Michael Fatso Moore get away with insisting he’s “not in the 1%”, you’re not helping your “cause”.

And hey FLOTUS: if I want to eat a cheeseburger with mayo and salt on it, it’s none of your business. I don’t bitch at you when you stuff your face with Kobe beef and lobster, on MY dime.

And now that I’ve regressed to political sniping, it’s time to call it a day.

God will this month EVER end……..

Abstract Art?

2011-11-20T18:17:00.000-05:00

I started this today:

On 30ct. linen over one, I’m stitching Square 10 from Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow as an ornament.

Call me crazy….

Maybe elves will sneak into my house at night to finish this for me? What attracts elves- candy canes, maple syrup and what else? I’ll have to dig out my Elf DVD.

Spring Chicken

2011-11-19T17:12:00.000-05:00

Chicken got a much needed grooming earlier this month.
Hairy Chickie:

Groomed Chickie:

TGIF….

2011-11-18T18:54:00.001-05:00

the only part about moving my computer back into the computer room is not having this next to me while I blog:

Please pardon the kitty scratches on my couch.

Under Construction…

2011-11-17T20:47:00.000-05:00

More Beacon House tonight:

We had a full house at Joanne’s tonight- everyone showed up despite the rainy cold weather. We made plans for our Christmas party: we’re going to an Italian restaurant called The Chateau. It’s supposed to be fabulous- I can’t wait!

After discussion with Linda (no blog) and Deborah, I’m going to keep the 2 trees I’ve already stitched and stitch a mix of the correct colors & incorrect for the following 4 trees.

Chicken was glad to see me when I got home.

Delilah I’m not too sure:

What a puff ball!

Wicked Wednesday Wrecipes

2011-11-16T19:05:00.000-05:00

Do you remember Vanilla Cupcakes for 2? Here’s the chocolate cake for one (well, 2). The cake is a bit brownie-like, but it has peanut butter cream filling!

From Picky Palate:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake for Two

1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon milk
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray 2 mini bundt pans with non stick cooking spray . Or you can recycle a 12.5 ounce can, such as the type cooked chicken comes in, washed & dried thoroughly.

2. Place flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, baking soda, egg, oil and vanilla into a large mixing bowl. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals until smooth. Pour into bowl and mix all ingredients until well combined.

3. Divide batter between prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until baked through. Check with a toothpick for moist crumbs. Let cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan by flipping over firmly. Let cool completely then cut in half lengthwise.

4. Place peanut butter, powdered sugar and milk into a small bowl and mix until smooth. If mixture suddenly turns dry, add a bit more milk. Spread over bottom cake and place second cake on top.

5. Place chocolate chips in microwave safe bowl and melt in 30 second intervals until smooth. Place butter and powdered sugar in small bowl, mixing to combine and add melted chocolate, mixing until combined. Spread evenly over cake and top with sprinkles if desired.

Please pardon my deficient frosting skillz.

And the inside:

My peanut butter filling needed that tiny bit more milk.

But it sure tasted good!

I'm not losing my mind completely...

2011-11-15T10:38:00.001-05:00

I DID write a post about a movie Ellen Page from Juno was making, called "Stitch & Bitch"!
Here's the link back to my old post: Is Our Hobby Making The Big Time?

Did this movie ever get finished? Any one know...?

Potluck…

2011-11-14T19:44:00.001-05:00

I’m sitting here trying to think of something even remotely entertaining to write about, and I remembered that I had posted a long time ago about a movie that featured cross stitching. Did it have the Juno actress in it?

Anyway, I googled “cross stitch in movies” and found this:

“The Cross-Stitch”

Has anyone seen this? Where have I seen the actress before- “Desperate Housewives”, maybe?

Then there is this: “Outlander”, a novel by Diana Gabaldon, originally published in the UK as “Cross Stitch”. This I found interesting, as I had found a copy of this book at the recycling center (the Dump Library), and thoroughly enjoyed it. I believe there is at least 2 sequels, but i haven’t searched those out .

Then there are the web sites that generate designs for sale that I kind of think may break some copywrite rules, but while this site may do the same, they actually have a list of “Movies to Stitch By”, which they define as “great movies that show women stitching”.

There’s this story about pixelated people, movie characters specifically. I think Miss Anna over at Stitch Bitch, gave a link last week to Martha Stewart’s craft site for a story called “Family Portraits Cross Stitching”. Anna even gave the PDF link for the templates- these could be use to make cute Xmas gifts!

OK- the dog wants to lick my hand, so I have to go now. Plus dishes & lunch making. ACCHH!! 7:44 already???!!!

Home Building…

2011-11-13T18:23:00.001-05:00

To kill some time before I went back to the barn this afternoon to bring in & feed the ponies, I put on the Cowboys game today, which got switched to the Steelers game, and did some stitching :

As you can see, I started the house. I’m going to think about the trees a bit more. I got a comment from Anna to just keep going with this combination, and another each from NatalyK and Linda (no blog) suggesting to go with a correct/incorrect combo. I like the combination in the photo in the magazine- the dark green trees with light spots. I may wait to stitch a tree on the opposite side to see how it looks.
And that’s all she wrote.

A Wall..

2011-11-12T17:41:00.001-05:00

Day 12 of NaBloPoMo, and I got nuthin’!

So I googled “stitching”, and got this link: Stylist Home

which led to this one: The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge

which led to this one: Sally Hewitt

And there’s really no need to go any further than that.

But if you must, go back to The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge, and

check out the eight links on that page.

11-11-11

2011-11-11T18:21:00.001-05:00

In honor of Veteran’s Day, i would like to thank all present and former members of the military, as well as all deceased members, and their families, for their sacrifice on behalf of our country.

It’s been a while since I splurged on this:

I’ve been working on plans for a pizza shop at the Hanover Mall for the past 2 days- it must be subliminal!

The only way to make it perfect would be an icy cold Budweiser, but since my house is a chilly 63 degrees, I’m opting for a fire in the wood stove, and a glass of water.

Plus I have to get up early and shovel horse poop. No liquor for me!

PS:

did anyone hear from Coni Spinster Stitcher today? She was concerned about superstitions about today’s date….

Beacon House – HELP!

2011-11-10T17:53:00.000-05:00

I worked a bit on it today, I had my day off due to horse shoes and a dentist appointment.

I added a friend for the first little guy and a dog for them to play with. I also reached the bottom border on the left.

Here’s where your help comes in: I don’t remember why, but I went looking for Beacon House chart errors the other day, and came back to Carol’s blog, who I remembered had started the piece and found floss errors, in addition to the HUGE fabric size error. I wish I had refreshed my memory about a month ago because one of the floss errors was those trees: they should be stitched in the darker green with lighter green “dots”- reversed colors from what I did (as called-for by the floss/symbol guide).

There is one more tree on this side below the boys, and 3 trees on the right side of the piece. Should I correct the colors on the 3rd tree, left, and stitch the corresponding color combinations on the right, or keep this combination for the left side all 3 trees and do the correct combo on the right or continue with combo on the 3rd tree as well as the right side? Mind you I really don’t want to unstitch both of those trees!

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes

2011-11-09T17:37:00.000-05:00

Here’s something different:

Chorizo & White Bean Soup

1 package dry white beans (about 2 cups)(I used Great Northern White beans)
8 oz. ground chorizo sausage
1 medium onion, chopped to ¼” dice
1 large carrot, chopped to ¼” dice
1 large celery rib, chopped to ¼” dice
1 cup water plus up to 2 additional cups of water
four - 14 oz. cans chicken low sodium broth
one – 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
¼ cup flat Italian parsley, minced
1 box frozen, chopped spinach
salt & pepper to taste

Place the dry beans in a large pot and cover with water 3 inches above beans. Soak overnight or up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse thoroughly before using.
In a large stock pot cook chorizo without browning, breaking it up into little pieces.
Push the chorizo to one side of pot, add a splash of olive oil, and then the onion, carrots and celery. Cook until the onion turns translucent, but not browned.
Add the 1 cup of water, chicken broth, diced tomatoes and their juice, bay leaves, parsley and rinsed soaked beans. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for one hour, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Skim off any foam that collects on the surface.
Meanwhile, defrost box of spinach and squeeze excess liquid out.
Add 1-1/2 cups water, bring back to a simmer and cook for one more hour, until the beans are soft. At this point, add the drained spinach.Continue to stir occasionally.
If the beans are not done, add ½ cup more water and cook an additional 15 minutes.
When beans are done to your taste, adjust level of liquid and add up to ½ cup more water. Adjust seasonings with salt & pepper.
Serve with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and a chunk of crusty bread.

I’m a Twit I guess….

2011-11-08T19:43:00.000-05:00

Can someone explain Twitter to me? I’ve had an account for over a year. I think I established it for a coupon deal site. (Which doesn’t even make posts anymore!) I follow about 40 people/groups/entities and four even follow me back (yikes!) I've made a total of 48 tweets. I mostly find it annoying.
I just _ don’t _ get _ it.
How do I view, or is it even possible to follow, a conversation between one of my follow-ees and someone else? It’s so frustrating trying to understand what people are talking about when there’s only one side of the conversation. (Unlike Facebook, which I mostly understand) What’s the deal with the “#” sign and the “@” sign? Not that I ever would, but how do you post pictures? How do you view things that are recommended by newscasters: “Follow on Twitter…etc.”
Why is this Twitter thing so popular???

What’s Next?

2011-11-07T17:53:00.000-05:00

My fingers are starting to itch for Christmas designs. I picked out the following designs for my own pleasure, as well as some gifts:

Top: “Peace & Quiet” by Erica Michaels and “Joy Sampler” by Lizzie Kate

2nd row: “Merry Ho Ho” and “Winter Sampler” by LK, “Barnyard” by Bent Creek

3rd row: “Sleigh Ride” by BK and “Sweet Nothings” by JBW Designs

Bottom row: “Think Snow” by The Sweetheart Tree and “The Holly Berry Sampler” by Bent Creek

“Barnyard” I’m going to stitch for a barn person. I can personalize the horse to look like her own. I think I want to do “Sweet Nothings” for my barn owner, or maybe one of the squares from “Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow”. She gave me that chart a couple of years ago. I think I want to start that next as my BAP, when I get Garden Grew done.

Back to the Garden…

2011-11-06T17:04:00.000-05:00

Here’s the rest of my progress on Garden grew:

Day 2 above

Day 3 above. This leaves me at page 20, the last page. There is a flower that spans from page 19, but I think when I pick this up again, I’ll start at Page 20 and work to the left. OH! and I have to stitch a spider web & spider in the left inner corner of the arbor. I’m still trying to find a blending filament to use.

Well!

2011-11-05T20:34:00.000-04:00

Talk about a waste of natural (or otherwise) resources, not to mention what were probably very expensive wedding gifts.

I’m talking about the girl with the fat ass that married the currently unemployed basketball player 72+ days ago and filed for divorce this week.

Let’s mock her, shall we? The following link will take you to a calculator that figures out how long you have been married in “Kardashians”, a unit of measure that represents 72 days of marriage. For instance, I’ve been dating Bob for 68.61 Kardashians.

Kardashian Calculator

Look What I found….

2011-11-04T19:18:00.000-04:00

at my local supermarket:

It didn’t seem to have the crumb topping as advertised, and it was kind of sweet (even for me), but for $1.89, I can’t complain too much.

Of course, the next time I go to shop, it’ll cost $2.09, because they raise their prices every week since the Stop & Shop closed.

Bastards!

Winter….

2011-11-03T19:15:00.000-04:00

at Beacon ~~Hill~~ House. I don’t know why I want to use “Hill”.
Anyway, not much progress to show:

I had stitched over 3 threads with Oatmeal in the band of snow to the right of the little man. Then I switched to the Light Khaki for a row or 2. Last Thursday, when I resumed stitching, I caught the error as I stitched underneath the little man to meet up with the errant section, and saw I was off. I spent half of my time un-doing, and re-stitched the bad row. (Between bites of that delicious cupcake!)
So what you see is about the same as the previous picture….*sigh*

The Return of Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes!

2011-11-02T19:17:00.000-04:00

In honor of fulfilling another day of NaBloPoMo, I am re-instituting WWW. I hope you’ll enjoy!

I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen a couple of years ago. I tried it by halving the filling and making mini cheesecakes, and they were fabulous for gift-giving.

I made a large one for a party my local rabble-rowser group was having last month. I altered a few things to my tastes. Keep this one handy for the holidays:

Cappuccino Fudge Cheesecake
Via Smitten Kitchen:Adapted from Bon Appétit, February 2002

Crust
one 9-ounce box chocolate wafer cookies or 9 ounces of chocolate graham-y bears
1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
7 tablespoons hot melted unsalted butter

Ganache
1 1/2 cups heavy or whipping cream
20 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup Kahlúa or other coffee-flavored liqueur

Filling
three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or coffee crystals
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons mild-flavored (light) molasses
3 large eggs

Topping
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Make crust: Finely grind cookies and brown sugar in processor. Add butter and process until crumbs begin to stick together, scraping down bowl occasionally, about 1 minute. Transfer crumbs to 9-inch-diameter spring form pan with 3-inch-high sides. Wrap plastic wrap around fingers and press crumb mixture firmly up sides to within 1/2 inch of top edge, then over bottom of pan.

Make ganache: Bring cream to simmer in large saucepan. Remove from heat; add chocolate and Kahlúa. Whisk until chocolate is melted and ganache is smooth. Pour 2 cups ganache over bottom of crust. Freeze until ganache layer is firm, about 30 minutes. Reserve remaining ganache; cover and let stand at room temperature to use later for decorating.

Make filling: Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°F. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until blended. Scrape down bowl, making sure you get to the bottom. Beat in flour. Stir rum, espresso powder, vanilla, and molasses in small bowl until instant coffee dissolves; beat into cream cheese mixture. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl between each addition.

Pour filling over cold ganache in crust — it will go nearly all of the way to the top. Place cheesecake on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until top is brown, puffed and cracked at edges, and the center two inches moves only slightly when pan is gently shaken, about one hour. Transfer cheesecake to rack. Cool 15 minutes while preparing topping (top of cheesecake will fall slightly, making room for topping). Maintain oven temperature.

Make topping: Whisk sour cream, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl to blend. Pour topping over hot cheesecake, spreading to cover filling completely. Bake until topping is set, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer cheesecake to rack. Refrigerate hot cheesecake on rack until cool, about three hours.

Run small sharp knife between crust and pan sides to loosen cake; release pan sides. Transfer cheesecake to platter. Spoon reserved ganache into pastry bag fitted with small star tip. Decorate top of cake with piped stars and/or lattice. Chill until lattice is firm, at least 6 hours.

Do ahead: Cake is best made a day ahead, so the flavors have time to settle. The cake also takes enough time to make that it’s best not to rush through it the day you want to serve it. It can be made up to four days ahead. Wrap loosely in foil, forming dome over lattice; keep chilled.

My poor decorating skills! At least the flavor made up for its appearance!

First Day….

2011-11-01T18:41:00.001-04:00

of NaBloPoMo. I must be completely insane!
I survived my barn sitting- 10 days of dark mornings and not-early evenings. I ended up going to work everyday, as I’m not sure anymore if I have paid vacation days, and was up by 5:15 on the weekdays and 6:15 on the weekends. There were several mornings I had to get up at 3:30 to let the dogs out because one had been having “tummy trouble” prior to my stint, and I was afraid of having to clean poop out of carpets. So as soon as I heard whining, I was up in a flash. Luckily, no accidents!
I made great progress on Garden Grew- I have just one page left.
Here’s where I left off:

Here’s after my first day:

Since I have 30 days to fill, you’ll have to wait for subsequent pictures!

I would like to enlist your help:

2011-10-31T18:23:00.001-04:00

The daughter entered her dog in a costume contest at work. If you are on Facebook, please vote for Morgan:

Click here.

Morgan came with her name when Em helped a friend out by taking her; since then, she has remarked how much she resembles Dobby from Harry Potter. She was almost considering re-naming her, but the name “Morgan” has stuck.

NaBloPoMo starts tomorrow. I’m still debating whether to join or not….

I’m Back….

2011-10-30T18:41:00.001-04:00

and almost done with this:

I have one page left to do. More when I can keep my eyes awake…

Sublime….

2011-10-28T09:58:00.001-04:00

A strawberry champagne cupcake from Cupcake Charlies!

Thanks Joanne!

2 More!

2011-10-24T11:18:00.002-04:00

Two more readers looking for "frowny face": Dallas Texas the day after my post, and London England yesterday.

What the???

2011-10-19T19:43:00.000-04:00

So my Feed-jit traffic feed shows how some of my readers arrive at my blog, either directly, or from another blog, or thru a google search. For some reason, I've had numerous hits-I want to say I'm getting close to 10 in the past month- from people searching for "frowny face" ?????
People from around the world, no less. Just when I think it's a fluke, another one pops up.
What's with THAT???!!!

Nappy Time…

2011-10-09T15:32:00.001-04:00

More Stitching…

2011-10-08T13:27:00.001-04:00

Progress on Beacon House:

The second tree took less time to stitch than the first. There is actually 3 different flosses for the snow: GAST “Oatmeal”, WDW “Light Khaki” & WDW “Snowflake”. The bottom of the piece is about 20 stitches below the bottom of the lower tree trunk.

I’ve been fighting off a sinus thing for 2, closer to 3 weeks now. It seems every other day I’m headachy and nauseous. It’s been very tiresome; I have to force myself to get up to walk in the morning , and I’ve been skipping riding in the evening (although I managed to ride twice in the past 3 days). My lawn is seriously overgrown- I HAVE to take care of it today, and all I want to do is take a nap.

Blech.

A Request for a Recipe!

2011-10-03T20:36:00.001-04:00

Catherine wanted to know how I made the Lime Cream Cheese Frosting for my vanilla cake. Here you are, Catherine:

Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
4 TBSP softened butter
1 (1 lb. Box) confectioners sugar (4 cups?)
zest from 1 lime
2 TBSP lime juice (or from 1 lime, whichever is less)

In a large mixing bowl, whip butter and cream cheese together with a hand-held mixer. Gradually beat in the confectioners sugar until thoroughly combined and smooth. Beat in the zest and juice.

Yield: enough to generously frost a 9 x 13 sheet cake, with extra leftover for a few cupcakes.

Like these:

Heaven:

For the Birds…

2011-10-01T15:31:00.001-04:00

Here’s Beacon House, after stitching Thursday:

And a little closer, for those of you who may want to critique my proficiency at stitching:

I’m enjoying my time with this piece, although I don’t seem to be progressing very quickly. Maybe it’s all the double-checking the chart so often? The difference between this photo and last post’s is about 3 hours of stitching time.

I’m picking up some Chinese for dinner with Bob at rehab.

We had one day (yesterday) of “dry” (as in not-humid”) air, and today we’re back in the soup. I’m really getting tired of feeling like a grease-ball and having the frizzy hair-do!

Long Time No See….

2011-09-29T20:27:00.000-04:00

Hi there! I’ve been rather busy these past 2-3 weeks: one of the guacamoles has temporarily returned, my hours at work got cut back by one day (YIKES!), but I’ve been able to scrape some side job work to help make up the difference and I’ve been riding 2-3 days each week (fun!), plus walking weekdays at 5:30 am for 2 miles. I had my best friend’s husband’s 50th birthday party one Saturday, then a town group had a reunion of sorts the next.

Plus here in SE Massachusetts, it’s been as humid as I don’t-know-what, for what seems like weeks. I’m thinking we should be calling ourselves the Northern Bayou. Really- my salt jar has water in it, and all my envelopes are stuck closed!

Here’s my progress on Beacon House as of this morning:

That tree is all Algerian Eyelets, but they’re not too difficult or time consuming to do. I stitched more this evening at Jeanne’s, but it’s so dark by the time I got home I’ll have to take a picture another day.

I took today as my day off, because Axe was having her shoes done today. Later, at my side job, my boss called with the news that one of the smaller big jobs we were waiting on was finally given the go-ahead-YAY! They want their plans in a month, so hopefully I’ll be back to my full hours soon, and this means the banks are lending again, and our big big jobs will be starting soon too.

Two Saturdays ago, we had our first reunion of my Rabble-Rowser group and I made these 2 desserts:

A Cappuccino Fudge Cheesecake and

A Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lime Cream cheese frosting-Yum!

I also made a pan of Chorizo/Rice Casserole- very easy but so delicious I made another pan later in the week for myself. I’ll try to post that recipe soon. If anyone wants either cake recipe just leave a comment and I’ll post those too.

I haven’t even been turning my computer on some days- it’s back in my living room again, and I’m spent by the time I can sit down in the evening, and usually I opt for the couch.

Back to work tomorrow- it doesn’t take much of a disruption to my schedule to make me forget which day it is!

It’s Not Much…..

2011-09-16T19:16:00.000-04:00

but it’s some progress:

On Beacon House. One little man done.

Never Forget…

2011-09-11T09:26:00.001-04:00

And more…

2011-09-07T15:51:00.000-04:00

Another project bag:

This will fit my Beacon House scroll frame which is about 20” wide, as well as the set I did Quaker Halloween on, which was 28”.

Here’s the inside, showing the pocket to hold my chart/flosses, etc.:

Here’s Delilah kitty, checking that bag of floss out for any escapees:

All sorts of things…

2011-09-06T19:28:00.001-04:00

My first stitches in ”Winter at Beacon House”:

Some quilt-piecing:

This will be a pillow top for Emily. I just noticed a mistake on the lower right- I must have reversed a row.

This is a pin cushion. The stuffing was difficult to insert evenly, but I put it together in about 1/2 an hour. The pattern was on Moda Bake Shop. I still need to put pom-poms on the tips.

Lastly, a new neighbor outside my (very dirty window screen):

A little closer:

I was prompted to look out by the nibbling noises I was hearing- he’s a very noisy eater!

Various & Sundry...

2011-09-03T14:06:00.000-04:00

Bear with me: I'm trying the new blogger interface.
Here is, or actually, ARE, update photos of "Hilltop Seasons". I found a progress picture I never posted:

I also kitted up and mounted my fabric for "Winter at Beacon House":

You'll notice all the floss. I just bought the 2 baggies of threads, having forgotten the previously-purchased threads. Well, I kind of remembered them, but when I couldn't locate them in my completely disorganized house, I assumed I had thought about, but never bought them. And you know what they say about "assume". I'm going to blame my now-departed roommates, seeing as they aren't here to defend themselves.

So I am sitting here, inside, because i am procrastinating about finishing tidying up my yard. I have the pile of branches near my horse trailer still to pick up, and then I have to mow.

I did, however, make it outside. I brought 3 huge bags of old clothes to the recycling bins, stuff that had been sitting in my bedroom for literally years (because I knew if I actually got rid of them, someone would decide they absolutely needed something from those bags.) The recycling center has a wasp problem in one of the bins: I got a sting on my forearm. I'm sure I made quite the spectacle of myself in front of all my fellow townies with my hopping around and flailing of arms. But, that's what I'm here on this earth for: to make the rest of you all seem normal in comparison!

So let's see if blogger has fixed it's pitiful spell checker.....

Why yes! How delightful! It highlights, then offers suggestions! I'm impressed! Now where are the tags...

…or Not so Much…

2011-08-29T11:25:00.001-04:00

I survived intact. My willow trees (the bane of my existence!) each lost about a third of their branches. My lights were out most of the day; I had an hour and a half late afternoon where they came on & re-cooled the refrigerator/freezer, and then went out again. They were back on for Sunday night football.

I even tried to stitch, but it was so dim in my living room, I gave up. So I kind of snoozed on the couch all day, which was hard to do with all the cracking branches I was hearing, on top of not being a good nap-per.

Here are some pictures:

Amazingly, nothing hit the house or car. I’ve been snapping branches all morning, making piles of fronds, kindling, and chain-saw material. If nothing else, willow trees are easy to take care of by hand.

Armageddon!

2011-08-27T10:59:00.000-04:00

Just got the first showers from Irene. It’s been hazy/foggy/cloudy all morning. And VERY humid.

Here was the supermarket last night:

No bread except an orphan loaf or 2 of pumpernickel! Sandwich “flats”, bagels, English muffins and hamburger & hot dog buns was all that was left.

I am officially batten-ed down.

Thank You!

2011-08-22T20:14:00.000-04:00

Thanks for all the nice comments- I appreciate them immensely!

Snoopy Dancin’ Time…..

2011-08-21T18:54:00.001-04:00

Behold:

“A Quaker Halloween Sampler” by Cherished Stitches

on 40ct. ivory linen with Thread Gatherers’ Silk ‘N Colors of my choosing

I will have to do some snipping of hanging chads on the back, but it is done. I looked back & my first post about this was March 30, 2010. I did enjoy every minute of this one, though., even though I screwed up the bottom. Here’s my fix:

I also threw in a couple of more bats and an extra cat in some of the unintended large voids.

I imagine I’ll find a couple of missed stitches when I do my snipping.

I just received my fabric for “Winter at Beacon House” from the Jan/Feb Just Cross Stitch magazine. I have to get my floss- there is a large quantity of floss required for that one, 5 skeins of the white, 4 of the oatmeal, 3 of the sea blue and reds, etc., plus all the individual skeins. I also have my eye on starting Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow, which I received as a Christmas gift 2 years ago. I have the fabric for that one too, and I have all the DMCs, and I think I bought the required multiple skeins of ice blue over dyed. I also need to get back to Hilltop Seasons. That’s been collecting dust in my bag….

White Chocolate Chip and Toasted Pecan Butterscotch Blondies

2011-08-11T21:44:00.001-04:00

I came across these today on Tastespotting. They were a hit at stitching. I substituted semi-sweet chips for the white (that’s what I had on the shelf), and was able to whip them up fast! I got home at 4:30, and was out the door by 5:10 to Jeanne’s house!

A Recipe Trifecta!

2011-08-03T17:38:00.002-04:00

It all starts with this salad dressing by Our Best Bites: Greek Salad Dressing & Marinade

You will see that the recipe calls for freshly squeezed lemon juice; before you squeeze, grate the zest of one of the lemons into a large mixing bowl and set aside for the Orzo Salad. Then proceed to make the dressing in a blender as directed. My other alterations to this recipe were to use only 2 garlic cloves, and to reserve about a third of the called-for amount of feta. I blended as directed, then added the reserved cheese, and pulsed to obtain a chunky consistency.

Greek Orzo Salad

1 cup of orzo pasta
zest of one lemon
2 scallions, chopped finely
½ cup grape tomatoes, quartered
½ cup frozen peas
salt & pepper
1/3 to ½ cup Greek Salad Dressing
¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Cook orzo as directed, adding frozen peas in the last 5 minutes. Rinse in cold water to halt cooking, and drain well. Dump into large mixing bowl.

Add remaining ingredients, and toss to mix well. Season as desired with salt & pepper. Refrigerate for 3 hours to combine flavors.

Greek Chicken Burgers

1 egg, beaten
2 scallions, chopped finely
2 TBSP garlic-&-herb-marinated sun-dried tomatoes, minced
½ cup bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
¼ cup Greek Salad Dressing
One package ground chicken (20 oz?)

Beat egg in bottom of large mixing bowl.
Add remaining ingredients except chicken and mix thoroughly. Add chicken, and gently combine completely.
Lay out a piece of waxed paper on counter, and divide mixture into 5 patties, about ½” thick.
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Spray with vegetable spray. Add patties, and fry for 5-1/2 minutes each side.
Alternatively, heat a Forman Grill to medium high heat, and cook patties for about 6 minutes total.

Serve with or without buns.

Enjoy!

Just Try Not to Smile…

2011-07-31T14:18:00.001-04:00

at the end of this story! From ABC-News:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/humpback-whale-saved-tangled-net-14195095

Bizarro…

2011-07-26T13:56:00.001-04:00

Corn Chex sampler:

http://jgklausner.com/work/cereal-sampler

Garden Growing by Leaps & Bounds..

2011-07-20T18:19:00.001-04:00

I finished a ten-day stint barn-sitting, and I’m trying to get back to my normal routine. Chicken was at my BF’s for the 10 days, and was spoiled rotten; so much so that I think she’s unhappy at being home!

Here is my Garden Grew progress. I am now 3/4 done!

I have created a fix for my Quaker Halloween and installed an A/C in my downstairs office (formerly the kids’ room) in preparation for the Hotter-Than-Hades Heatwave Tour coming to a town near you soon. Chicken demanded that at the very least. She also wanted dropped eggs on toast for breakfast and a medium rare rib eye for supper, too.

Yeah, right….

Big Ooops!

2011-07-17T19:24:00.000-04:00

Current progress on Quaker Halloween:

If you’re familiar with this design, you may be able to figure out my HUGE mistake. I think I can alter the last half medallion along the bottom edge, so that I won’t have to rip out a whole bunch of stuff….

...and Turtles! Oh my!

2011-07-12T20:02:00.003-04:00

This was crossing the road the other morning on my way to pick up Em for work. It was as big as a hub cap!

Lions & Tigers & …

2011-07-06T20:32:00.002-04:00

From the New Bedford Standard Times Online:

Bear sighting in Lakeville

By Curt Brown

cbrown@s-t.com

July 05, 2011 12:00 AM

LAKEVILLE — A bear was spotted Sunday morning swimming across Pocksha Pond.

Nancy E. Yeatts, environmental manager of the Assawompsett Pond Complex, said Monday that two fishermen spotted the bear as the animal was swimming across the pond from Betty's Neck to the opposite shore.

She said the fishermen couldn't discern any other details about the bear because it was in the water.

Yeatts, a former Lakeville selectman, also said there were numerous bear sightings on Highland Road in the town within the last week.

"It's traveling," she said, adding a bear can travel about 15 miles per day.

She said people have described the animal as a small black bear and the speculation is that it has either lost a parent or a mate.

A spokesman for the Massachusetts Environmental Police said Monday there was also a sighting in Wareham. He said environmental police officers responded but didn't find the bear.

There have been numerous bear sightings in recent weeks in Southeastern Massachusetts, according to authorities.

State police at the Middleboro barracks said Sunday they received several calls June 30 reporting a bear on the ramp from Route 44 to Route 24 in Raynham. The bear was seen walking along the edge of the road, then ran into the woods, according to state police.

There was also a sighting June 26 off Route 24 between Freetown and Berkley, according to state police in Dartmouth.

Recent bear sightings in the region date back to the first report June 19 when a bear climbed a tree in an Attleboro neighborhood.

The bear, which was a male and weighed about 110 pounds according to published reports, drew a crowd of spectators and a response by Attleboro and environmental police officers.

A black bear was also spotted on North Walker Street in Taunton on June 21. The bear was seen at other locations in Taunton on that day before wandering into the woods.

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-03T20:49:00.001-04:00

Even Axe got patriotic:

Sorry about the thumb.

My legs are past the point of hurting after i ride- now they just feel “exercised-exhausted”, like after a gym work-out. I still don’t have the confidence yet to canter though.

Religious Humor…

2011-06-23T12:29:00.001-04:00

From my Twitter feed (I hope this links works!)

http://tithenai.tumblr.com/post/3215186237/two-churches-located-across-the-street-from-each-other

Welcome to Crazy Town…

2011-06-21T21:02:00.001-04:00

So Em trashed her ankle while falling off her horse going on 3 weeks ago. She found out today after 3 doctors, 2 sets of X-rays, an MRI and a CT scan that her heel bone is broken and she tore a (the?) ligament on the front of her foot/ankle. So no riding for her for 6-8 weeks (ouch for me) nor driving either for at least the foreseeable future. Which means lots of running around for me.

Anyway, here is more Garden Grew progress:

Friday I got numb-butt:

All day to do this one basket (to the right of the trellis):

Saturday involved helping the patient, so with little actual stitching time available, I finished the basket on a previously finished flower, plus had to add the badger. I didn’t take another overall shot after completing the little guy, but he’ll be adjacent to the basket of flowers above & to the right of the “all-day basket” in the photo up top.

Here’s the latest on Quaker Halloween:

I’m going to miss working on this one; it’s a ton o’ fun!

A well deserved finish to my weekend…

2011-06-19T21:01:00.000-04:00

more to come, stitching related…

Other progress…

2011-06-14T18:54:00.001-04:00

I’ve been remiss on posting my other stitchy progress:

I’ve now reached the bottom pages of Quaker Halloween.

Hilltop Seasons:

This quadrant is “Spring”.

My other progress:

One more glass to go!

And then…..

2011-06-11T17:34:00.000-04:00

I just got my computer back in my computer room, aka the kids’ bedroom for the past 2 years.

And obviously, it works. YAY!

Now on to re-arranging the living room, aka the computer’s home-away-from-home. First, I have to go take care of Axe. Miss Em’s ankle is toast.

As Promised…

2011-06-04T18:44:00.000-04:00

here is progress on Garden Grew:

Friday:

Close-up. I added blending filament.

Saturday:

Sunday:

And Monday:

I have now reached the last page for almost 3/4 done!

D’Oh!

2011-06-02T19:34:00.002-04:00

-nuts! Friday, June 3rd is National Donuts Day! Get your free donut from Dunkin Donuts!

(You have to buy a beverage)

I’m Dancing as Fast As i Can…

2011-06-01T21:24:00.000-04:00

I’m back from a 4-1/2 day stint of barn sitting. The 2 guacamoles have moved!!! YAY!!! Now I have to try to get my house clean and back in some sense of order, plus mow the lawn. That damn fertilizer I applied 13 years ago is still making my grass grow too fast! I did a lot of stitching, but I’ll save that for another day (soon- I promise!)

Here are my lilac bushes; it was hard to get photos between all the rainy spells we had.

The big, dark purple bush out front:

The mini, paler one on the side:

Here’s Huey, the African Gray Parrot:

He keeps me fully entertained. He even sang what sounded like a pirate song!

Here’s Axe napping under a tree on one of the hot days we had:

Here’s a nice site:

2011-05-24T09:29:00.001-04:00

http://www.monet2010.com/

Follow-up to Previous…

2011-05-23T12:20:00.001-04:00

Well?

2011-05-21T19:10:00.001-04:00

So much for the End-of-the-World. Good thing I didn’t go crazy with the old credit card yesterday.

Too Cool!

2011-05-19T08:51:00.000-04:00

From the “How Do They Do That?” files;

I came across this link from Etsy.

Some X’s…

2011-05-14T17:00:00.001-04:00

Quaker Halloween:

As you can see, I now have dangling threads on both sides. A close-up of the wee spider below left of Mr.. Squirrel:

And a tiny, boring bit of progress on Hilltop Seasons:

I needed some spring color for motivation.

AAAAWWWWWEEEEE!!

2011-05-12T19:12:00.000-04:00

Too cute for words!

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes

2011-05-11T17:35:00.002-04:00

Hey! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

I saw this recipe about a month ago, and since I’m on my third week of nightly walks and limiting snacks, thought, “What a great idea! Cupcakes for 2! Better than 12 on my fat ass!”

Here’s the link to the original recipe from Bakergirl. You’ll note that her recipe actually makes TWO cupcakes, using only the egg white. Since I’m a cheap Yankee beyotch, I doubled the amounts to utilize the whole egg because I can’t stand to throw out a perfectly good egg yolk. For some reason, her baking time was also way off from mine. Here is MY version, with revisions to make 5 cupcakes (a more realistic amount for two people, if I do say so myself!)

Vanilla Cupcakes for 2

(makes 5!)

1 egg
¼ cup sugar
4 TBSP butter, melted and cooled
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond or butter flavoring
½ cup flour
½ tsp baking powder
scant ¼ tsp salt
3 TBSP milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 5 liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk egg and sugar until combined. Add in vanilla and melted butter and stir until mixed.
In separate small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, & salt, then add to egg/sugar mixture. Stir until smooth, then stir in milk.
Divide between the lined cupcake wells.
Bake for 15-19 minutes, or until tops are pale golden brown and tester comes out clean.

Cool completely, and frost as desired.

Things…

2011-05-10T19:44:00.000-04:00

Here are my Mother’s Day presents:

From Finale, a dessert restaurant in Boston:

Both cakes were boxed like this; this is a wee little luscious cheesecake with a sliver of white chocolate imprinted with the name “Finale”, and a huge blackberry.

The next cake was 3 layers of chocolate cake, with alternating layers of white and milk chocolate filling- oh so decadent! Also topped with a namesake white chocolate wafer, another marbled piece of chocolate wafer, and a strawberry.

And NO! I did NOT eat them both on the same day!!

Here are dogwood photos:

I have some dead-branch-trimming to do, plus try to kill bittersweet vine and wild rose climbing up thru it.

Probably next week will be the lilac bush photos.

TTFN

Spring has Sprung….

2011-05-04T18:57:00.000-04:00

Finally!

My crab apple decided to bloom a couple of days ago. I took pictures yesterday evening, not the most ideal time, I realize, but with rain on the way for today, i wanted yearly pix before the blossoms were washed away. The aroma! I think it’s a combination of lily of the valley and lilac- it’s intoxicating!

I realized as I was uploading these photos from my camera, that I never even created an “April 2011” photo file- I didn’t take any pictures! I hope my blogging irregularities will come to an end soon!

You can thank me later….

2011-04-27T18:38:00.001-04:00

You know the Cracker Candy recipe everyone knows and loves so well???

Meet Cracker Candy on Crack.

Your hips will curse me, but you’re welcome!

Look at these….

2011-04-26T18:22:00.002-04:00

From the Silver Needle, i love all these charts by Kate Hoyle, from Amanda Loverseed’s artwork.

But I especially heart this one. Expensive, though…

*Edit-

that "one" would be "Whispers on Wings", about the ninth paragraph down. The image doesn't seem to want to come thru.

Bollocks!

2011-04-22T08:06:00.002-04:00

That was also said in a British accent. (What can I say, I'm on a roll!)
I turned my heat off about 2 weeks ago with the weather getting slightly warmer, and to conserve my 5/8 of a tank of oil until fall, when hopefully, and I'm not holding my breath, the prices might be lower. I know I turned it back on last weekend for a couple of days when the temps dipped low, and all seemed well. But this morning I turned it on, and nuttin' honey.
So I need to put a call in to my oil burner guy. I was hoping to do that in another month, but now is as good a time as any, I suppose!
Luckily I have my firewood.

I say….

2011-04-21T18:52:00.001-04:00

That was in a British accent, in case you couldn’t tell.

For those of you who knit (not I), here’s a good one:

Story from CNN.

Sunday Stitch Wrap-up….

2011-04-17T19:21:00.001-04:00

Quaker Halloween (previously):

Thursday:

Sunday:

Sunday close-up

Garden Grew (previously):

Friday:

Friday close-up:

Saturday & Sunday efforts:

The white lattice is a bitch. Count, re-count, unstitch, re-stitch. But that’s what we like to do for fun.

Giveaway Alert!

2011-04-13T19:27:00.002-04:00

Through the wonders of stitchy bloggerland, check out this blog and the awesome giveaway she's having: Cross Stitch and Cupcakes

PS:

This blog contains a music player widget, so turn down your sound if you're at work!

If it’s Tuesday, it must be….

2011-04-12T19:11:00.000-04:00

ummm… the day before Wednesday?

Well germs and boys (as Mrs.. Ahearn, my 4th grade math teacher would say), I manage to finish the stitching part of this:

Onwards to the BEADZZZZ!!!!!

Speaking of all that glitters, here are my options for finishing up my Heart in Hand Wee Santa:

The chart calls for 2 “wee” gold buttons with holes on either side of the hat, and 2 “wee” black buttons with holes under the candlestick.

My last foray to Joanne’s led me to find the Christmas-y Bag O’ Buttons and the Black & White Bag O’ Buttons , plus the tiny back-attached buttons in both shiny black & gold, and then I remembered I have a heat-set jewel gun-thing, hence the golden “jewels”. I have to pull out my other jewels to see if I have something dark. Or maybe go with the gold jewels on the hat and black buttons on the coat.

In other news, Delilah got her ovaries confiscated. She’s seems better today than yesterday.

Cool beans!

2011-04-11T11:48:00.003-04:00

I hope this works; it’s an eagle nest live stream web camera. There’s a 30 second commercial to slog thru, then the feed starts:

Live TV by Ustream

Here's the URL for more viewing options and info: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/3064708

Fun Things….

2011-04-10T19:47:00.001-04:00

Here’s my tiny bit of proof that I stitched:

I just had to add the moon, so I can keep it right side up, don’tcha know.

I’m having a slight reprieve from what-shall-not-be-mentioned, so today, I made this:

An envelope for my Garden Grew frame, which is 36” wide. I’m so happy to not have to use plastic bags anymore- I had to use 2, over the top and over the bottom. Here’s a couple more shots:

The inside pocket is above, and proof that it fits below:

I still have the supplies to make 2 more envelopes for my 24” wide scroll frame, and maybe a spare 24” wide one. I have a lot of wide projects in my stash.