All Requests Honored

One of the Thursday night stitching bitches asked for my Flat Apple Pie recipe. Since I probably won't be posting tomorrow, here's my chance:

Flat Apple Pie

1 Pillsbury Pie Crust or store brand
4 tart apples (I like MacIntosh)
juice of ½ lemon
¼ cup granulated sugar
3 TBSP flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 Tablespoon butter

Topping:
¼ cup butter
¼ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup flour
3 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Prepare topping first: cut butter into sugar & flour until it resembles fine crumbs; stir in walnuts; set aside. (this is most easily done in a food processor)
On flat baking sheet or pizza stone, lay out pie crust flat.
Fold in outer edge by about 1/8” all the way around, then in again all the way around, crimping/fluting edge as you go, until it’s about ¼” high.
Peel and slice apples 1/8” thick into large bowl, toss with lemon juice to prevent browning as you’re peeling. Toss with granulated sugar, flour & spices until coated. Arrange slices in concentric circles on prepared crust, starting at outer edge and working towards center. Repeat with additional layers as necessary until all apples are used, but try to keep height of pie consistent, about ½” to ¾” high.
Dot with butter, then carefully sprinkle evenly with topping, so that all slices are covered completely to edge. (This crumb layer will seem thick). Gently press down on top of topping with flat (clean) hands, to compress everything together, being careful not to disturb your creation.
Bake for 30 minutes or until topping starts to turn golden and apples are bubbly and feel soft when pierced with sharp knife. Cool as desired, but loosen bottom of crust from pan while warm if juices seeped under during baking.

-----------------------------------------------

Thanks to Linda & Sue for their hints on where to find flax seed. Your help is much appreciated!

See you all later this week!

Two More Days...

Can you tell I'm so over NaBloPoMo? Scintillating writing this is not.

The icicle lights are hung, the wreath is on the front door. I have a major house cleaning due imminently.

Does anyone know where I can purchase flax seed (just flax seed- not a mix of seed) and/or buckwheat hulls?

No flax seed at the pet food store. Forgot to ask about the hulls.

I got most of the dried mud off you-know-who's blanket. Her waterproof one is covered now. Every day is a day at the Spa for her!

Leftovers

Is this month over yet???
No shopping for me, I had other plans that took all day. Got home around 3:30; walked Chiclet, then went to ride the Axe. She was good for me. SHe did, however, have a grand roll in the mud. Her blanket was differnt than yesterday and I thought "well maybe it got too warm here, plus this one is waterproof and it was raining to day." When we went out the back to the indoor, I saw her other turn out blanket. It's supposed to be blue and green, but was almost entirely mud covered. Jodi had hung it up over the fence to dry.
No one in the supermarket- that was a bonus.

Give Thanks...

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. I hope you all enjoyed good food, good company, good weather and good traveling.

Bob came hours earlier than I expected, so I never even got the house cleaned. He did help with preparing the stock  for the gravy, though; and when I came back from a coffee run, Chickie greeted me at my door like this:

 

Isn't that cute? It's like a Christmas turtleneck!

Later, after the tryptophan kicked in:

You thought I was kidding when I said she crawls up my nostrils??!!!

My reward for doing all the dishes:

Flat Apple Pie with vanilla ice cream!

Remind me to post my recipe for Slow Cooker Stuffing- when I went looking for how I did it last year, I realized I never followed thru on posting as promised last year. I was very pleased with how it turned out. Emily called & said the peanut butter filled cupcakes were good, but the filling kind of overpowered the cake - the cake was good, and the filling was good, but they kind of didn't work together. I'm thinking I'll have to hunt for a different type of chocolate cake recipe.

Off to snooze on the couch.

Thank you to all my new in-person and virtual friends!

Are we there yet?

Stitching post:

Toil & trouble:

On to page 2!

Ornament:

"To Thee, A Very Merry" by Bright Needle designs

on 32 ct. ivory Jobelan w/ threads from stash (WDW, GAST) over one

I've run out of energy; I still have to bake my Flat Apple Pie, and I should make my dinner rolls and clean my house. I had to drive daughter o'mine up to Braintree to catch the T back to Boston because we just missed the 6:00 train and the next didn't leave until 9:30. So 2 hours in the car, in heavy traffic, has done me in.

I have a sink full of large mixing bowls. I've tried a twist on my cupcakes- I filled some chocolate ones with a peanut butter cream, then frosted with chocolate icing. I can't wait for Em to tell me how they came out.

She had a great ride on her horse tonight. They have such a bond, and Axe goes so well for her. I suck.

Yer stoopit!

Yeah, I know, I should have saved that second post yesterday for today's extravaganza. But then I couldn't post this:

You have to look at CakeWrecks today- the Thanksgiving edition is up. Take a look at this "turkey" of a cake.

It'll make you spew Pepsi out your nostrils I tell you!

My boss basically said to have a nap today while he meets with another set of doctors to settle on their office layout. Yay me!

Horse Related

By the way: Jessica Springsteen won the Maclay Finals. Yes, she of the Boss's daughter Jessica Springsteen.

Here's another story.

Family Favorites

Here's a recipe I make for every holiday:

We call them "Green Brownies", but we're weird like that. Hershey's calls them "Chocolate Mint Dessert". I think I cut this out of an old Family Circle or Woman's Day magazine. The original recipe calls for a whole layer of chocolate topping. I cut it down to a drizzle and I think it's just right.

Green Brownies

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine
• 4 eggs
• 1-1/2 cup chocolate syrup

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9"x 13" pan with cooking spray. In large mixer bowl combine all the above ingredients until smooth. Pour into prepared pan; bake 25 to 30 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Cool completely in pan. You could do this the day before & refrigerate until ready to frost. Frost with:

Mint Butter Cream Frosting

• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine
• 1 TBSP water
• 1/2 to 3/4 tsp mint extract
• 3 drops green food color

In small bowl, combine all ingredients and beat until smooth. Top cake layer to edges. Then decorate with:

Chocolate Drizzle

• 2 TBSP butter or margarine
• 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Microwave on medium for 20 seconds at a time in a small micro-wavable cup or bowl, stirring with a fork each interval, until chips are completely melted and combined with butter. Pour into a small zipper baggie, and cut about 1/8" off corner. Drizzle your brownies back & forth, in a decorative manner. Chill in refrig until ready to eat. Cut into small squares, about 1-1/2" square. These are unexpectedly rich and satisfying, so little is the way to go.

These are good cold, room temperature, and even frozen! (For those who store leftovers in the freezer to minimize snacking- yeah- riiiight!)

OT: Stitching Related..

Daily Jigsaw is a photo of a thread display; play to your heart's content.

Enter Post Title Here

We're scraping the bottom of the barrel tonight, folks!

I gathered my courage and every warm piece of clothing I could find and went over to actually saddle up & ride the beast. I'm sorry- a week ago we were over 60 degrees; the past two mornings were in the upper teens/low twenties, not rising much above thirty for the day's high. And the wind! The wind chill has been in the single digits! I know I'm needing a little cheese with this whine, but really, a little more gradual change, please! For me and the furry beasts! Anyway, thanks to Sue over at Liv'N Laf, for shaming me into getting off my ass and pulling on the 3 turtlenecks, fleece vest, long johns and high socks, and hooded sweatshirt. They had to get the crane lift out to put me in the saddle because I couldn't move, but I did it!

She was good, and appreciated that I didn't spend too much time brushing her- she's so ticklish! - because, well she has two blankets on and couldn't get herself dirty!

I came home, and made up the wood stove so I can torch it off when I finally sit down to watch "24: Redemption" on FOX at 8:00 pm TONIGHT. Don't forget! Has everyone else been missing Jack Bauer?  I can hear that clock beep/ticking...

For Informational Purposes only:

I found on a horse related forum a link to a new Google..thing..service..feature...something..

Life Magazine Photo Archive

Here's a story about the launch. It says that " Along with displaying the images online, Google said they can be printed for free as long as they are not being used to make money. Life's parent company, Time Warner, however, plans to sell high-resolution prints of the work though Qoop.com."

Lots of horse related ones- you have to use the search feature. Then I think you could click on associated tags to narrow what you're looking for.

It'll be a big time waster for sure.

That is all.

This will have to suffice...

for tonight:

Progress on Toil & Trouble:

After I finish that tree, I'm on to the second page. Other than that, I'm feeling a cold or something not right coming on. I need to start my wood stove and get to bed.

TTFN

Next to Nothing...

It'll be a bloody miracle if this post is successful. I would have a progress photo of Toil & Trouble, except that I am running that dastardly Norton system scan, yet again, on Emily's side of the computer, because one of her files contains a t.r.o.j.a.n. (Trying to avoid random google word search hits). I am literally clicking a function button, then having to walk away to the next room to do something else out of utter frustration at the slowness of my computer. By the time I come back, my request has occured.
I also made the mistake of calling to see if my car might possibly be ready tomorrow, so i won't have to keep the rental thru the weekend. Uh, no way. The appraisal came in absurdly low (which was my assessment, but I haven't had body work done by a shop). The shop is seeking a "supplemental" payment to cover the labor costs of removing the head liner to bang out the dents in the roof. The dents are too deep to just fill with Bondo, they have to be pulled so a thinner application can be applied, otherwise the filled spots will probably crack and pop off in the cold, or if the metal flexes at all. Which was why I thought it would be at least $2000 to fix prpoerly, and the body shop guy agreed. But they have to wait for a re-appraisal before they can do anything.
And on the way home tonight I had to drive by a fully-engulfed truck. Believe me when I tell you I was shouting at the cars in front of me to "step on it!!!!" instead of gawk at the inferno one lane away. I was afraid it was going to blow up just as I went by, but I made it, thankfully. I was surprised the state trooper was letting people drive by; the other time I happened upon a car fire, they shut down both sides of a 3-lane highway (3 on each side).
Well, see you on the other side if this posts. I will take photos tomorrow.

I got Nuthin'

Darn this National Blog Posting Month!
Let's see:
Axe was good tonight; a little stiff but hse got better (I hate my tyoing skills- I'm NOT fixing that) as I rode.
It was frikkin' freezing.
I really feel jinxed driving anything, much less a rental.
I bought my 15 lb Marvel frozen turkey tonight.
I finally started Christmas shopping. Things shall be lean this year.
I thought I had come up with a good scheme for the doctor's offices at the mill in Lawrence (see yesterday); then my boss said we need another small office PLUS 2 - 10'x15' rooms for vascular and ultrasound. Thanks. Nothing like shoe-horning 25 lbs of shit into a 12 lb bag.
I'm done for the night. I think I'm about to venture off down the road of potty-mouth.
TTFN

Demotivated

Having spent the day with my boss in an old mill in Lawrence, right on the banks of the Merrimack River, and the trama of having to use a rental car for the rest of the week (car damage being fixed), and bringing Chicklet to the vet for her annual shots, I totally ran out of ambition to ride. Plus it twas ccccoooolllldddd!!!! My body hasn't acclimated yet. I went up to see the Axinator, and shove two tubes of wormer down her throat. This horse SO loves me.

Bonus: my first & second time thru the Big Dig Tunnel and over the Lenny Zakim Bridge. I really need to use these highways as much as I can before they start charging tolls. I mean, I've paid for them with my taxes all ready, right?

From the Boss Benz: Going to Lawrence:

Coming back from Lawrence:

Let's Try that Again Redux:

And two frikkin' tries to try to post that blog entry- 15 frikkin' minutes!!!!!!

Let's Try that Again

Mini- rant about Norton Internet Security: it totally sucks every system resource available while it's scanning the system!!!!

I had to make two attempts to upload photos off my camera, then two attempts to start Windows Live Writer, two attempts to open my Task manager to see what was causing problems...................

All right rant over.

Photos:

A minute amount of progress- the gray (?) star and a length of floss in the unfinished tree. Next:

Sorry about the blurry: too close and too dark.

ARRRRGGGG! Every thing is taking SOOOOOOOOO long to do!!!!!!!!!

Another Day, Another Post...

So my BF has gone totally insane. He came yesterday morning with this:

That's a HIGH CHAIR. And yes, that's Chicken eating her marshmallows in a HIGH CHAIR!!!!

He says its so she can be at our height while we eat Thanksgiving dinner.

"Did you say turkey and gravy?"

Yes, I KNOW she's a dog.

Apparently, because HE doesn't know she's a dog, SHE doesn't know she's a dog.

Does any one know Cesar Milan's phone number? I have a dog that needs rehabilitation and a BF that needs training.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch:

Pretty girl- before the mud.

My Hidden Compulsion

Shockwave's Daily Jigsaw

Gotta play it- EVERY DAY. I've even gotten back out of bed and turned the computer back on to play.

You can choose degree of difficulty. When it's an oval shape, usually on Mondays, I pick a medium high (150 piece or the next size up). The other days I always do the 150 piece. Once, recently, the 150 piece was flawed- pieces didn't match and not all were there (very odd bug- only time it's happened to me), so I picked the next more difficult. I typically finish in the top 100, a lot of times in the top 50. Once, I was even first! I'm not a "Premium" (paying) member, so I don't get any recognition.

 

So now you all know another dark, dirty secret about me. Don't let the white coats take me away! (Ha ha, hee, hee, ho, ho; to the funny farm....)

Six Random Things About ME..ME..ME..

Is that too narcissistic?

Anna, over at StitchBitch, tagged me for Six random Things. Way to go Anna, takes care of another day's post. You bitch. (That's tongue-in-cheek sarcastic in case you don't know me!!)

The rules are as follows:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

OOOO.. my FIRST meme!

1. This is the VERY first time I've been tagged! (Take that!)
2. I can't type worth a damn- I backspace more than forward ...space...er...type.
3. I've been working for my boss for over 26 years! And I still love my job!
4. I went thru a cigar smoking stage about 10 years ago when my brother lived in Spain and could mail me Cubanos! My favorites were Partegas and MonteCristos.
5. I sleep with a light on.
6. My half-uncle went to the South Pole with Admiral Bird in the 30's. He was the radio operator.

OK- here's the hard part- picking some victims! This is why I absolutely HATE chain letters! (Random fact #7?) I will pick blogs on which I've left comments or have left comments on mine:

1. Anna at Cookie Madness
2. Edgar at Blacksheep's Bit of the Web
3. On The Bit at Horse and a Half
4. Jennifer at Running With Scissors
5. Vonna at The Twisted Stitcher
6. Glenna at Eye of the Needle

Nothing Much...

Just a T&T update:

Witch has a face now.

I'll have a big 'to-do" tomorrow!

Craving...

MMMMMMMChocolate.....................

This is a problem.

Phew!

Apparently, Puppy Cam doesn't stream 24/7. I started yesterday afternoon and I didn't have access in the evening- it just displayed black screen. This morning at work it showed a still photo, possibly of Mommy Dog (Shiba Inu maybe?) As of right now, 1:26pm Eastern Standard Time, puppies are live! So maybe it stops later in the afternoon EST and resumes late morning EST. I have no idea from whence the feed streams.

So, if you don't get the feed, try the link at different times.

That is all.

AAACCCKKKK!!

Puppy Cam doesn't work at home!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope it's still up and everyone else can see....:^(

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE CUTE:

I don't know where she gets these things, but courtesy of Em, you HAVE to watch this:

******WARNING****** not safe for work- only because you won't get anything done:

 

Puppy cam

What Time is It?

Seriously- I dozed about 45 minutes on the couch last night, woke up around 10:00, and was pissed because I thought it was Sunday night and had forgotten to do my laundry. Haven't really shaken off that feeling all day.

Chicken was adament about digging in the couch cushions, though. She was doing that last week, and I pulled a cushion off to look for her "toy", to no avail. I told her she was seeing things and to put a sock in it.

Today, I pulled off 2 cushions and even got a flashlight. Doncha know, she buried a dog bone in there! God only knows when. She's such a persistent little bugger!

Who- me???

Every Witch Way..

In my deep despair over my car's damage I neglected to post my  T&T progress yesterday:

This had a bonus though- I could save it for today's NaBloPoMo entry.

I just give up....

left work today to go home. There's a branch on the ground beside my car, which wasn't there in the morning. It's about 3" in diameter, and about 10 feet long, with lots of smaller branches at the top. My car is covered in small broken twigs & leaves. Oh and there's a nice dent in the edge of the roof next to the windshiled, plus another bigger one on the piece of car between the roof and the door. Lucky me. I call my boss to get directions on how to use his fancy-dancy camera, becuase it doesn;t seem to be focusing. I end up taking about 30 shots becuase I can't tell if they're in focus. My boss says I can claim thru his homeowner's insurance. It's getting dark, it's Friday night and I want to go home.

I get to the barn and Axe is COVERED in mud everywhere not covered by her sheet. Her sheet is damp with mud. She rides good though.
At the gas station, under their bright lights, I see abrasions on my left front fender where the branch must have slid off. Based on the scrape on my rear bumper (which I also DID NOT cause!) this is going to cost upwards of $2000 to fix, I bet.
ANd I don't have any cold beer.
Sucks to be me.

Good Times...

at Stitch & Bitch tonight. Carol brought a scrumptious 7-layer bar and Joanne brought a cheese& cracker assortment - dinner and dessert! Yummy! Thanks ladies!

Toil & Trouble update:

Chickpea looking for some cheeeeeeeeze:

As requested, another Bumblebee Tuna pic with his silly "dad" Luke:

*****Edited to add: Luke needs to do some laundry.

Hey! What's That???!!!

Today I had the day off to meet the blacksmith. I had a few moments of free time, so I finished this off:

"Bell Ornament" by Jeanette Douglas Designs

JCS Xmas Ornament Preview 08

32 ct. natural linen

DMC threads

I don't know, but I lost interest in this one really fast, despite its small size. Maybe it's those nearly invisible half crosses over one in the background.

So I started this after Em came home & saved me from having to ride the horse this afternoon:

It's "To Thee, A Very Merry" by Bright Needle Designs from the JCS 2008 Xmas Ornament issue. 32 ct ivory jobelan w/ WDW & GAST threads over one.

S&B resumes tomorrow- back to Toil & Trouble.

Almost Forgot....

to write for NaBloPoMo. I had even shut down.

Well, I have no excuses tonight to NOT stitch- there is absolutely nothing on TV. The thoughts of watching blow-by-blow election coverage makes me ill- I'm too tense about the outcome. I just want to wake up in the morning & hear the news.

Axe was good tonight- she did have a sinking stride at the trot once, then was fine. I've been trying to have a good 45-minute workout every other day with her, with 20 minute days in between. I've been trying to practice bending and collection at the walk. I think it's helping with her balance- she doesn't feel like she's going to tip over around the corners as much when we canter.

Nothing else is circling in my brain to write down. SO that's it for tonight.

Cutest Puppy photo in the World:

Meet Rico, Tuna's best friend.

Nothing Much

to report. I helped a friend out this afternoon; I was blowing and swatting away fruit flies all afternoon, as I have for the past couple of weekends there. He finally asks "How do I get rid of fruit flies? I've killed half a dozen for each of the last few days." He also admitted that he has floaters in his eyes and sometimes can't tell between floaters and flies. I suggested he make sure he has no fruit remains in any trash baskets (he's an avid fruit eater) and he insisted he always wraps up any fruit remains in a bag.  Little voice inside my head: UUUMMM... not last week you didn't!.  So I said to pour bleach or some other pesticide down his sink- the flies seems to be emanating from there.

I slept like crap last night- and I was SO looking forward to my extra hour! I fell sound asleep on the couch for about 2 hours. I went up stairs & watched the last hour of SNL. I just love David Cook- I have to get his album. Then I tossed & turned for what seemed like all night. Finally, as the sun came up, and I was feeling like I could sleep in all morning, the dog needed to go out, so that ended THAT!

I made this this morning:

Cook's Illustrated New York Crumb Cake. They should call it "UUMMMMM Cake".

 

 

 

I checked on Axe after i got home. Seeing as I was tired &  hungry, and the temp was dropping like a stone (I tell you- my typos befuddle spell-check- it has no clue what I'm trying to type so I end up fixing them as I go!), I opted not to ride. She was very crabby with me yesterday and as I put on her girth, she bit me on my side under my arm. I has a jacket, a sweatshirt & a teeshirt on, so as of this morning it's just a couple of bruises. When I looked last night, there was no bruise, but there was a TICK,of all things. And I even recall when it attached itself to my side: when I was changing my shirt to ride, I had felt a sharp itch. So I'm keeping my eye on it for the bull's eye. The tick was either a youngster brown tick or a large deer tick. Too in-between to tell for sure.

Chicken looking for some supper:

Sometimes she gets right under my feet, and I think she's trying to trip me to make me drop my food. Sneaky little doggy!

 

 

Here's someone having WAY too much fun:

That's Tuna the dog dressed in a bumble bee costume. HAR HAR! "BUMBLEBEE TUNA"!  That's Em's idea! Brilliant! Chicken was just a couch potato, like me.

Very little stitching, unfortunately. Hopefully, this week will allow for some time.

It's November 1st!

Time for NaBloPoMo! That's National Blog Posting Month, in case you didn't know. I'm under strict contract with NaBlPoMo to post EVERY SINGLE FRIKKIN' day this month. Hey!
I saw those eyes roll!!!
So here' s my first post this month. I did pretty well last year.
I'll be riding lateer after Bob leasves. OMG! I am so making so many typos!
Tonight is "Get Back my Hour of Sleep Night"- my favorite night of the year!
However, Chickie doesn't recognize Daylight Savings. I'll be up at the crack of darkness to give her a walk.
Well, I must save some of my witty comments for later in the month.
TTFN