First things first!

Today is ordinarily Craft Day but that depends on if there's laundry to do or food to prepare and then there's the daily chores and the girls meds and food and water and going out every 10 minutes...I tell you.....it reminds me of when my children were small and I would fix breakfast for everyone and I wouldn't even be done washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen and it was time for lunch!
That's the way it is here with the 'elder dog care' and cleaning up their 'messes'.  But God love them and it won't be long until someone is cleaning up my 'messes' most probably! LOL!
 I wanted to finish a little quilt top I had made.  I found my batting but could not find the backing fabric! After searching for about 20 minutes I decided God had other plans for me and I decided it was to plan my garden and get my seed order ready. I went through my entire Baker Heirloom Seed catalog but only highlighted.....I'll have to go back and refine my 'wants'.

I got my seeds out that I have and found some 'greens' seeds that I didn't know I had........although Arugula is not my favorite...it is bitter but 'waste not want not'!

Earlier in the day I made some spaghetti/pasta sauce for some spaghetti squash I have.........it simmered for quite awhile.............

and then since it makes about 8 cups I decided to freeze 4 cups............so I froze 2 bags each with 2 cups in them...........

So then I put the rest in a glass jar I had...........but..............

the remainder of the sauce ended up being about 1 1/2 cups....huh?  Oh well, I can always defrost the other if need be...........I'll have to check the recipe again...I could have sworn it said it made 8 cups.

I also made some tuna salad for lunch and had with some saltines...

 It warmed up quite a bit today and was in the 50's I imagine..............Nitty enjoyed sitting out in the sun...............

it still wasn't warm enough for Annie.........she stayed inside with me............

So, that was my Craft Day....I 'crafted' alright but I have no quilt to show for it! LOL!
Enjoy your evening!
Happy Trails!!!

Heat's on!

It wasn't too bad last night.  This house is really well insulated and the fact that it stayed above freezing helped too.  I had a fire going in the fireplace.........

and I have wall heaters in both bathrooms but I would never leave them going unattended for very long.  I called the HVAC people at 7:00 a.m. this morning and he was here by 8:00 but I did tell them I wasn't happy about not receiving a call back last night.  That was their after hours phone number and I called at 4:30 p.m.....really people?  Today wasn't as productive as I would have liked but I was just glad I had heat again.  It was the 'igniter' which isn't an expensive part so I hope the bill isn't too high.

Remember the cookies my daughter got me at Christmas in my Advent gifts........here they are.........

 Well, you know what a copycat I am so, I looked for a recipe and found this one from the New York Times and it was spot on!  It is a 'roll out' cookie which I really don't like to mess with.  I made the dough and shaped it into logs and put them in the freezer.  I took one out after about 30 minutes and sliced it up..........

It filled one cookie sheet which was just right for me.  I forgot to take a picture after they came out of the oven as I was in a hurry to taste them.  They aren't as cute as Annas but they taste the same and that is the bottom line for me! LOL!
Oh, here's the picture of the 3rd bookcase...............not sure this method is working for me but we'll see.

It got to 50 today and 60's this weekend so I think the 'cold snap' is over.  I have Adjuga(sp?) (a weed or a flower depending on your perspective) blooming in my yard and the daffodils are up about 3 inches......crazy!
I hope you all warm up this weekend unless you are somewhere where you are warm enough! LOL!
Happy Trails!!! 

I think I am slowing down with the cold temps!

As a matter of fact....I just realized my furnace isn't working!  I've called them but knowing how things work around here I expect to spend a cold night.  There's electric but no heat.  It was working all day but I noticed it was getting a bit chilly. I thought it was just because the sun went down....lol!  Here I was praying for everyone's furnaces to keep working up North.  Still, better me than them as it going to stay above freezing tonight for the first time in a week or more....34 F....I am the lucky one!
So, yesterday I made sourdough English muffin dough that needed to proof so I made them this morning.........I keep my starter and the dough for the muffins on top of my frig as it is the warmest place in my kitchen........

  The dough looked really good....this is the best starter I have ever had..............

Unfortunately I made them too big but I'll get better with practice.  I used coconut oil for the first time and it doesn't make things taste like coconut but imparts a really delicious flavor along with the sour dough.........

They don't look like much but they are delicious.....hopefully I will improve my sourdough skills with time but so far everything has tasted wonderful.....much more flavorful than my regular dough products.....I'm hooked on sour dough for sure! 

I cleaned another bookcase out too for Konmari and took a picture but it didn't show up.....the leprechauns must be playing havoc with me today!
At least I have electric but no electric blanket.....maybe a heating pad will help.  Nitty has the electric heater out in the garage and I'm not taking that away from her.  I guess I'd better go make a fire in the fireplace as there hasn't been a call back yet. 
Take care and I pray none of your furnaces or ac go out!
Happy Trails!!!

My Grove Collaborative order arrived!!!

I am so excited...beautiful products and healthy for me and my girls.  First, I said I was going to glass containers and here's my first one............in a lovely periwinkle color....they have a silicon bottom and they come in different colors so you can tell if it's your glass cleaner or your counter top cleaner or whatever............

The girl's' (the canine elders) got these 2 items for their own personal spa day..........a dry shampoo in oatmeal mango and a nose and pad moisturizer.....

They had this set of Mrs. Meyers products on sale in the Iowa Pine scent which I love!  Hand soap, dish soap and counter top cleaner.  The white stoneware tray they're sitting on was a free gift!

Some of you can get this locally but I can't so I ordered it from Grove............Method liquid dish soap with a handy pump and a refill in the Clementine fragrance.......... 

and last but not least some free hand cream in bergamont orange fragrance and Bert's Bee's tinted lip balm which was not free. 

I've been sleeping in lately which has messed with my work schedule around here but thank goodness I was up early this morning and rested.  I think sometimes you need extra rest if you're fighting something off.  If we don't get sick then how do we know?  I did get another bookcase cleared yesterday and laundry and washed my hair but it was not the most productive day.  Today I took the car in and had the oil changed, picked up a couple things at the grocers and right now there are potatoes boiling for mashed potatoes, a meatloaf in the oven and green beans heating up.  I hope you had a wonderful day and for most of us.....stay warm!

Happy Trails!!!

YOP Week #31

Finishes:
1)  Ben's Bear's Hat - it's off in the mail to him!  I used Knit Pick's Mighty Stitch worsted weight yarn which comes in lots of colors and has a little wool in it but you can still wash and dry in the machine. The pattern is the Bankhead on Ravelry.  I cannot remember if it was a pay for pattern or not but it is a good one.  The brim gets a little tedious but it is really a nice pattern and very easy to memorize.

2)  This was Our Happy CAL Place project for this week and I love it!  I'll be making these for all my kleenix boxes around the house and maybe for gifts too?  What a great way to use up little scraps of yarn.  I'm thinking of making one of those magic balls with the small scraps and seeing how that works.  It uses worsted weight and the pattern is free on Our Happy CAL Place if you join in.  I need to post my shawl and my tissue box over there!  This was fun and the pattern was very easy to follow as it was a tutorial with pictures.

3)  The Falling Leaves Scarf is finally done...I needed to block it but I knew if I called it a 'finish' before blocking it would never get blocked....I know me!  I use those children's alphabet squares for blocking mats.  I got them at Good Will for $4.00 ....S C O R E !!!

 3 finishes in one week?  I think that is probably a first for me!

 WIPs (works in progress): 
1)  I did work on the monthly Our Happy CAL place shawl...I keep forgetting to put in a progress keeper.  It is slow going now that it is bigger.  I'll just make it as big as the yarn lasts.

2)I'm working on a a very old WIP that actually got frogged................but I am a better knitter now and enjoying it much more............plus I am using wooden needles instead of metal which were too slippery for me.........

After washing the shawl which wasn't dirty I used the water to wash some socks.......I threw in some Unstoppables and my whole house smells fresh and clean (and trust me it isn't LOL!).  BTW I got that orange plastic bucket specifically for washing woolens.  It was $1 at the Dollar Tree.  Do you use sock blockers for your socks or just lay them out?  Which is better?  

TOP 10 WIP's:

1) DONE - Falling Leaves scarf - needs blocking
2)  Pickle Dish
3)  America x-stitch - done but needs finishing
4)  Amy's Frido Kahlo basket (July birthday) - done but needs to be sewn together
5)  Pin's embroidery
6)  Heart bookmark for V-Day - done but needs backing
7)  Toe-up socks
8)  DONE - Ben's hat
9)  Multnomah shawl
10. C2C blanket for Grayson (July birthday) 
11. (breaking the rules already!) Granny Triangle shawl for Our Happy CAL Place January CAL
12. DONE - Granny tissue box cover

NEW STARTS: none this week except the tissue box cover which is done already but I might start another one....so fun and practical!


 Finishes so far in 2018-19: 
1.  4th of July cross stitch pillow/ornie
2.  Hitchhiker shawl
3.  Felici Hibiscus self-striping socks
4.  Felted wool loafer slippers with leather soles for me Sam
5.  washcloth (extra large) and back scrubber for Christmas or birthday for SIL
6.   Iowa Hawkeye hats for Sam and Grayson
7.  Techniques learned so far this year: a) knit cast on, b) reading a knitting chart, c) lace work, d) inserting and using a lifeline e) charting a graphghan
8.   dishcloth(s)...I need to count them
9. Cubs hat for Uriah
10. 12 days of Christmas Advent gifts
11. Cowl for Ben
12. Cowl for Tracy
13. Cowl for Natalie
14.  # 2018 Collectible ornaments for the grands
15.  Cowl for me or gift basket
16.  11 scrubbies for gift basket
17.  1 pot handle cover for gift basket
18.  Ben's Bear's hat
19.  Falling Leaves Scarf
20.  Tissue Box Cover

I need to get my socks out this week hopefully.  I'll see how many WIPs I have going....usually 3 per week is all I can manage to work on.....but I get to pick which ones! LOL!

Please stop by and see all the other fantastic projects that other  YOP'ers are working on.
Happy Trails!!!