Spingtime...second installment!

Yes siree....it truly is Springtime here, take a look if you don't believe me!

 

This Bradford Pear tree was hit by lightning twice that I know of then lost branches due to wind but every Spring it blossoms and gives a beautiful show regardless!  In fact, I like it's free-form shape better than the
"perfect" ones they use for landscaping.

I put the camera in "closeup" mode but it doesn't seem to work but look at the sweet flowers in the background with their perfect pink centers.  These are the Bradford Pear flowers.  This is not an edible pear tree but it does get pretty little brownish green fruits in the Fall that I use for decorating.  

Hurray!  Storm clouds are  moving in!  We need rain badly!

 Even the woods are "greening up"!

So, it's official!  I'm glad I took these pictures yesterday as it is raining today but no threat of severe weather  so far (whew!) just a nice rain and an occasional thunder.  I'm happy for the rain as we have been in high fire danger for a week or more and there have been some fires in AR but not near us, thank goodness!  With the high winds we had these last few days it would have been impossible to contain a fire if one started.   I am pretty much surrounded by woods here so you can see my concern!  But the rains came and I am grateful!  Happy Springtime!

Cleaning and creating seems to be the order of the day..........

I've been cleaning more than usual lately....not that I shouldn't but it does seem to be in my genes more so at this particular time of year.  I think it is so I will be free to go outside and do yard work soon! LOL!  Double-duty in the summer time!  I cleaned bathrooms yesterday and even scrubbed the floors on my hands and knees...actually I sat down...the knees can't handle it anymore unless I have knee pads on.  Yep, I do have some great Black and Decker knee pads if I need them.  A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!
I also made a nice dinner of chicken with rice and turnip greens which I love.  My favorite are mustard greens but not seasoned just butter and salt.  I was going to fix bacon wrapped chicken breasts in the crock pot.  A great sounding recipe from Aunt Nubby's Kitchen.  She's a retired teacher who has the greatest cooking blog!  I didn't have the right ingredients though and I didn't want to go to the store so I made do with what I had.  It was good but I definitely want to try the crock pot recipe with bacon...I LOVE bacon!

I take little breaks during my "work" and either visit blogs or sit and knit.  I've been knitting quite a bit lately and really pleased with my progress and proficiency as I still consider myself a novice.  Here's my scarf I started last week.  I've finished one skein of 2 so I guess I'm halfway done.  The picture looks like it's narrower at the far end but it's not.  It's an illusion, like a picture of railroad tracks that seem to get narrower and closer together the farther down the track you look....really!

 I love the Noro transition yarns that change color auto-magically without me having to do a thing.  It's like a surprise when you're knitting to see it changing colors.  That's all for now...signing off as I have to go to recycling today and Wal-Mart before the 2 days of rain and storms they're predicting!  Have a great day....I'll be visiting you all when I get back from the store as Wal-Mart shopping makes me too tired to do anything else! LOL!

In the days before Pinterest...........

Before Pinterest came along I used to make "dream boards" and actually still do especially for things that are very important to me and that I need to be reminded of constantly so that I can keep them in the forefront of my life's priorities.  Below is an example which hangs on my closet door in my bedroom that I see every time I go in there which is definitely multiple times a day. 

 

Sorry for the "ripples" but it was done with a glue stick which is not the best...and it's been hanging here for a few years now.  I would use ModPodge now and get a bigger piece of cardboard or posterboard.

This is only one segment of my "dreams" but this woman, Pinky was determined to find her home in the country and that is my goal too.  Her decorating was right up my alley especially the kitchen as I do not want the standard cupboards they offer today.  I really want an old kitchen with more furniture than cupboards. 

And she portioned off a corner of her "living room" for a library corner and table and chairs.  I love the colors in that room....orange walls and dark green trim....edgy!  Love it!  But she also dilineated that space and across the room on the other side of the door it's a different color....like teachers separate their classrooms into different activity centers.

The screened in porch above is wonderful and used just like another room when weather permits.  These are all important to me...screened in porch, hardwood floors (no carpeting allowed!),2 story, basement, fireplace or wood burning stove, beautiful views of countryside, ability to see sunrises and sunsets, acreage to raise some animals and garden..........

Above is the bathroom with light streaming in (love big windows with lots of light coming in but cute curtains to pull closed when it's cold or stormy out to make it feel cozy) and a claw foot tub which I've always wanted.  I think my colors would be a bit brighter; I'm not really a pastel kinda gal....bright and bold is more my style, vintage and cottage would best describe me with a little primitive or lodge thrown in for good measure! LOL!  

  So, now that there's Pinterest.....I better get busy making some more "Dream Boards".  If you need an invite to Pinterest just let me know.  Maybe they've changed but when I got into it you had to be invited not because it's a snobby thing but so they could be prepared  for the amount of people logging on without anyone feeling response time issues.  Inspiration overload!  Now, if they could just find a way to motivate me as much as they inspire me!  

Made these over the weekend......addictive!

Okay, so it doesn't look like much here but let me tell you......if you want an easy, fast delicious dessert here's your answer!  It's really a cross between a cookie and candy but who's quibbling?

I got this recipe on All Recipes where I almost always go as they are rated, reviewed and you can change the quantity if you want plus they have nutritional information which, in this case, you  may not want to look at.
Here's the recipe:

 

Servings  (Help)

USMetricCalculate

Original Recipe Yield 1 cookie sheetful

 

Ingredients

• 4 ounces saltine crackers
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer.
3. In a saucepan combine the sugar and the butter. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Immediately pour over saltines and spread t cover crackers completely.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts. Cool completely and break into pieces.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 150 | Total Fat: 10.2g | Cholesterol: 14mg

t 

I used my big cookie sheet and I covered it in foil and then put parchment paper on top of that for non-stick and easy cleanup and it was.

I just noticed the amount it makes.....35....thank goodness I shared some of those calories with my friends yesterday!  Whew!

The Good, the Bad, and the REALLY Ugly..............

Okay...which part do you want to know first?  I'll start with the bad, then I'll go to the ugly and end on a positive note with the good.  I was just humming along with my washing machine this morning and getting ready to post and I was in my Window's Calendar trying to find something and I had 2 versions of calendars...I think I tried to separate work tasks from home tasks once upon a time so I thought I would delete one.  Well, I did and I deleted the WRONG one , of course....that's the bad.  I thought, no problem, I back up my computer all the time and I'll just restore it.  So, many hours later I discovered  that everything BUT Window's Calendar gets backed up!  I told you it got UGLY!  All my passwords, recipes, organizational lists, DIY instructs, MY ENTIRE LIFE was in that calendar.  So, life as I knew it, is now gone.  I did get my clothes on the line, I haven't screamed or cried or even said a swear word.  I think I'm still in shock and using my brain to think of all the things that I lost and trying to quick remember all those passwords.  I may still "crash and burn" later....probably have to buy a pack of cigs and make a Black Bart to get through this but get through it I will!
Meanwhile...before that all happened I got my Amazon package in the mail.  Amazon.com to me is like the supply plane landing after 6 months of being isolated in the frozen North.  Okay, so I exaggerate a little but that's what it feels like to me!  So here's what I got from "my supply plane" via UPS...........

BTW...this is the GOOD part if you hadn't gathered that already.   Add to that cover that I will install a reliable Calendar software on my computer....a normal one that isn't "backup resistant".

Now this is my kind of book, in fact it sounds a lot like my life!  If you can't read the cover it says "How I lost my job, buried a marriage, and found my way by keeping chickens, foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating locally (all on forty dollars a week).  It sounds like my life up until the chicken part....that's where I'm headed now!  I'm sort of in-between and have been for several years! LOL!

Okay, Mary Engelbreit...need I say more?  You see I had to order my printer ink which put me into the category of FREE shipping, don't ya know, so I had to take advantage of that!  This particular book was used and really cheap!  I'm thinking that with all the ebooks that the regular old paper ones are getting very inexpensive. There are also many books you can't get in an ebook. 

 

Okay, "the girls"...Nitty and Annie, twisted my arm for this one.  Poor Nitty scratches all the time and sheds so much I could vacuum daily!  They get Pedigree food but I can't afford to go much higher and I'm still learning that there are things in the foods that dogs shouldn't have so no wonder she's itching!  I researched and found this book and it looks good and was 5 stars so hopefully I will be able to help my Nitty girl to stop itching and me to stop vacuuming so much.  But wait!  That's not all!

 

I love me a good thunderstorm and on Amazon you can listen to clips of them.  This one has loons too which I love and it's in the wilderness and REAL...not some guy in the corner rattling foil!  This is great for when I'm doing handwork but need to concentrate and can't watch t.v.  Bring it on!

This is my 3rd pedometer!  The first one I got was a cheapo and I lost it....it was a "clip-on". The second one wasn't accurate at all...hiked 3 miles and it said I had gone 948 steps....NOT!  So, as usual, I researched them thoroughly this time and this one was reasonable priced, attaches to your shoe....what a novel idea! So, I'm trying it again.  I know I need to walk 3000 steps minimum but some days I think I do this around the house and yard and hikng 3 miles every day tires me out so I have no energy to do my work around here.  There's got to be a happy medium somewhere...right? 

 

I saved the best, or should I say most relevant, for last especially considering what happened (sniff, sniff) this morning to my Calendar of Life.....this package wasn't supposed to arrive until the 6th but maybe my angels saw what happened this morning and knew I would need these books NOW.  Thank goodness someone is watching over me because as you can see I could mess up a one-car funeral procession!  BTW, I'm still contemplating the cigs and a few Black Barts!

ThriftyThursday..........

I've been noticing how some bloggers have special posts for certain days and I can see where that comes in handy for organizing your posts so I'm thinking I  might start that...TODAY! No time like the present!  Thursday will now be my Thrift store purchases or any bargain I think suitable for posting or maybe even helpful hints for being thrifty.  I'd call it Bargain something but there is no day that starts with "B"....I might be limiting myself here but for now we'll run with it.

Of course, having been at The Frugal Fox consignment store didn't hurt when she had things at 35% off in the last days.  I snarfed up a lot of things I'd had my eye on!  This red bench was one of them.  I haven't cleaned it up yet or even found a place for it yet but that's okay....I will!

This was a picture I got at Wally World and no, I wasn't looking for a picture but I "fell in love" with it and of course rationalized why I needed it and it was on the "bargain" aisle...need I say more?

This is another "treasure" from the sale at "the Fox"....a Willie Ray folk art "thingamagig"...of course a casting from their original wood carved ones.  I love their pieces but have never owned one...you know, practical me...what use does it have?  None really but I love the Willie Ray story as they were a product of the 60's I think and were a young couple maybe even living off the grid but they were determined to make it with their own 2 hands and make it they did!  I may not have all the facts straight on this as I read about them years ago but that's what stuck with me.  I think they're old now...like me! LOL!

And finally these 3 treasures ....2 crocheted placemat size doilies and a little red box with some really strange looking birds and a gold star painted on it.  Oh, did I tell you I'm a sucker for anything with stars on it.  there's more but since the Fox is now closed I'll have to string this out awhile until I find another "source" for bargains and thrifting.  I've got a few leads but they all involve gasoline and lots of it! 

P.S.  Okay....just realized IT"S FRIDAY TODAY!!!!  Oh boy.........someone please help me! LOL!

The house that Sam built....or "one thing leads to another"....

(Don't ask me what all this white space is....I tried to get rid of it and it would not go away!  Hello?  Google?  What are you doing now?)
It all started innocently enough with me wanting to start using up my freezer contents before gardening season was upon us.  So, I had the turkey "carcass" from Christmas in several freezer bags and decided that would be good for turkey soup so I defrosted it.

It made LOTS of broth too.......that's my biggest bowl!

I sauteed "the trinity", carrots, onions and celery in butter and cut all the meat off the bones and chopped it.  I had 3  piles; bones for the garbage, skin for the "girls" and meat for the soup.  

This is a great soup and wonderful recipe that I got from the All Recipes website and it's called After Thanksgiving Turkey Soup by Valorie Walker.  The only problem is it takes time and it makes LOTS of soup!

That is my largest stockpot!  Okay...now remember how I said I wanted to start clearing out my freezer to get ready for the gardening season?  Okay, here's my freezer, AFTER I took the turkey out.

 Okay....so now I have about 2-4 quarts of soup at least 3/4's of which needs to be frozen and where the heck am I going to put it?  Then I remembered seeing a blog the other day where she organized her freezer and separated things into plastic bins which were grouped such as meat, vegetables etc so things wouldn't get lost in the "freezer abyss".  Great idea!  So, while the soup was cooling I ran to town and got some plastic bins and came home and took everything out of my freezer and organized it into the bins.  Only I couldn't get all the bins into my freezer.  It's just like a shopping cart....you know how you can get it all in there but then when they bag it up you have all you can do to get it back into that same cart.  It's the same principle with my freezer.  But look at it now..........

How did I do it you ask?  Well, actually, it was very simple.....I broke down and went out to the garage and plugged in the chest freezer out there that I hadn't been using!  Brilliant, I say!  Brilliant!

You didn't REALLY think I was going to get 3-4 quarts of soup into that freezer in the before picture, did you?  I know...we were both hoping but it just wasn't going to happen.  I had unplugged the chest freezer a few years back when I lost $1000.00 worth of food during our ice storm and I had a $1000.00 deductible on my house insurance...naturally!  So, I had decided that I wouldn't use it and after cleaning it out I unplugged it.  After all, it's just me!  How much food do I need to freeze.  Well...as it turns out....quite a bit!

I thought of inviting people over for dinner but then I would have to clean the house really well and after the freezer incident I was really afraid of where that might lead!  

Being productive or so it seems.......

Martha Stewart used to say that a good day was one in which you  1)learned something new,  2) you made something delicious and  3) you created something with your hands.  By George, I think she's got something there!  Yesterday was just such a day.  I did the normal stuff but I also  1) made bread AND ate it warm with my breakfast.

 

2) I learned several things yesterday and one was that there is a product that will soften my dried up Sculpey clay and it's made by Sculpey and I can get that and MORE Sculpey all on Amazon. 

 Also, I am reading a very good book about the Amish and then there was a special on PBS last night including the very authors that wrote the book I'm reading.  I have learned more than I ever knew about the Amish and their religion, culture and history and it is very interesting. 

3)  I started knitting a new scarf in a new pattern called a basket weave which is basically cast on 20 stitches, knit 5, purl 5, knit 5, purl 5 for 10 rows and then the opposite; purl 5, knit 5, purl 5, knit 5 for the next 10 rows.  I am using 2 skeins of Noro Kureyon but you can use any worsted weight yarn (the author said so...not me) and I am using 10.5 U.S. needle size.  It is called the Magic Scarf from Crazy Aunt Purl's book (Laurie Perry), Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair.  She also recommends a hearty Shiraz with it but since I didn't have any I sipped some green tea instead.

 

I'm thinking Martha has the right idea and I may just have to keep doing this every day....it's all about balance.  Have a delicious, creative and learning filled day! 

Great day yesterday.......and today so far too!

I had a few errands to run yesterday.  I don't like to get the car out of the garage unless there are at least 3 things I need to do in town.  So, I needed to pick up a prescription, go to the library and stop at Jimmy and Bobby's (mechanics) and make an appointment to bring my SUV in for service.  I picked up the prescription which was only $2.00...yes, there is a GOD!  I went to J&B's and they said they'd already changed the oil and if the light hadn't come on for service I was good to go...cost...$0.00...I think I'm on a roll here!  Then I went to the library and picked up a couple books that were recommended by one of my blogger friends.  I got the first book in the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series "One for the Money" which is now a movie.  I got the 2nd book in the Debbie Macomber Blossom Street series,  "A Good Yarn" and I found a new series (I hope) of Patchwork Mysteries called Family Patterns by Kristin Ekhardt.  I started reading it last night and it is GOOD!  It has a big old Victorian Mansion and is being renovated by a young family and they find a secret passageway...okay....they had me there!  Give me a secret passageway in a book and I am all yours as a reader!  I mean REALLY?  Who doesn't LOVE a secret passageway?  If I ever write a book...it will have a secret passageway in it...guaranteed!  I told you I had a great day!

Springtime in the Ozarks........

     I know it isn't officially Spring yet but tell Mother Nature that and see where it gets you!  I took yesterday "off" from blogging and I may do that every Sunday...I'm really wanting to take that "day of rest" thing seriously!

But I didn't just "lay around" although my allergies wanted me too...sniff, sniff.  I hung out clothes to dry yesterday as it was in the 70's and I planted some pansies the other day that are still trying to get over transplant shock.  I have 2 planter boxes on my front porch that I put the pansies in.  Here's the rest of my front porch decorating.

The plant in the basket is not real but after all winter I needed some "green" fast so I'm faking it for now.

The same with the front door decoration.  I was tired of wreaths after the holidays so I decided to hang a basket and those were some marked down fake berries/plants of some kind.

And then of course, I had to go out and pick some of the "sunshine" flowers (daffodils) and bring some of that sunshine inside!  Hope your Monday is sunny too!

Finishing up a few things around here...........

I did get the oven mitts felted last night and they are definitely smaller!  The directions told me to put them in a pillowcase and throw them in with another load or some jeans or tennis balls to agitate them and felt.  It also called for hot water.  Well,  they're bright red and would bleed so I didn't want to use a good pillowcase so I put them in a flannel drawstring bag and threw them in with a load of darks.  It worked and they felted for sure.  The only problem was they also stuck to themselves and it was like they were glued together and you couldn't get your hand in them.  So, after much tugging and pulling I got them separated and could get my hand and thumb inside.  I straightened them out and left them to air dry overnight.  But all that tugging did leave some wrinkles and weak spots, I think. I'm not sure they're really thick enough to use them as oven mitts at least not if you were having to hold onto something really hot for very long but we'll see and I'll let you know.  I want them to work so badly because I think they would make great gifts and you could stripe them like the original pattern and make different colors or use those transitional yarns that change colors.  Time will tell and then I'll tell you!  Here's a picture of the mitts that inspired me, aren't they just too cute?  You can get this free pattern and SO MUCH MORE on The Purl Bee.  They have knitting, crocheting, quilting, sewing, embroidery and more.  Check it out it's a wonderful site and sight!

Aren't they darling?  So cute and perfect (above).....now here's mine before I felted:

And after I felted:

There you have it folks!  They don't look much like the "inspiration" mitts but of course, they were knitted by a "professional" and it is pretty obvious that I am still a novice!  But onward and upward and tonight I start a new project....I'm actually back tracking.....from the book that gave me my knitting start........

 

I've posted this book before and it is one of the funniest books I've ever read...she's a stitch in more ways than one!  She also has a website under her alias of "Crazy Aunt Purl" and yarn "recipes" in the book.  I've made the first 2; Beginner Scarf #1 and Beginner Scarf #2....that first scarf was my best work so far...I think I'm regressing.  The second scarf was made using a very troubling "fancy" yarn that cost 2 arms and 3 legs!  But the yarn was gorgeous!  I would have been better off just leaving it in the skein to look at because after it was knitted up it wasn't that pretty.  So, the next pattern on my way to "knitting mastery" is called "The Magic Scarf".  I have the yarn because I have started this scarf and torn it out a few times but I am a more proficient knitter now...RIGHT???  Ok, don't answer that but I am determined to master The Magic Scarf!  It's called magic because you knit 5 purl 5 for 10 rows and then you switch to purl 5 knit 5 for 10 rows and it looks like a basket weave pattern.  My problem is...my mind wanders and I forget to stop knitting and start purling and back then I really thought I could watch television AND knit! LOL!  Boy was I wrong!  I could if it was all knitting but how often does that happen?  So, this is what separates the Women from the Girls in knitting.  REAL knitters can watch t.v. , carry on conversations and multitask while knitting.  I am a novice because I have to go to a safe room with no distractions or noises of any kind before I can emerge with anything that even resembles a knitted item.  In the book by Laurie, she drinks wine while knitting.  I haven't tried that yet but it seemed to help her!

I also finished a book I've been reading....

This is a used copy and I ordered it from Amazon  as it's no longer in print.  It was written in 1963 and tells about a young married couple who leave their professional lives in Boston and head out to live off the land in the Canadian wilderness.  I adore books about self-sufficiency.  He's not the greatest writer but it's a good read for sure.  He wrote 4 other books that I will be looking for too.  Have a great weekend and don't forget to tune in again for the adventure of Sam and The Magic Scarf!

FInished knitting my oven mitts!!!!!! Finally!

I spent the day finishing up my second oven mitt of the pair I've been knitting.  I still have to felt them in the washer so I'll post that later or tomorrow.  They're HUGE right now!

 

 So what will I knit next?  Well, it won't be my favorite owl yet.........isn't she a beaut!  Ashley made this one and it is my goal to make one...some day.  It is a PurlSoho pattern and free but you have to be a better knitter than I am!  That owl is SO soft too.

 Here's some more yarn at the shop....she carries Cascade yarn in various types but mostly natural fibers which is fine with me since I rarely use anything else.  YUM!!!  Look at all those luscious colors!