Rhubarb Bread and a gift in the mail! Woo Hoo!

I made a couple loaves of rhubarb bread and took one to the neighbor.  I wanted to make rhubarb jam but I think I may have to wait until some more grows! LOL!  Here's the recipe if you're so inclined.  You can use frozen rhubarb if you don't have fresh and you don't even have to thaw it out!

RHUBARB BREAD:
Mix in order:
1 1/2 C brown sugar
2/3 C oil
1 egg
1 C sour milk (you can make sour  milk by putting 1 T of white vinegar or lemon juice into a 1 C measuring cup and adding enough milk to make 1 C then let it sit for 15 minutes)
Sift together:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 C flour
Add the sifted flour to the above mixture and then add (mixing in between):
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C chopped rhubarb
1/2 C chopped nuts
TOPPING: (this goes on BEFORE you bake it):
mix together until crumbly
1/2 C white sugar
1 Tbs soft butter
Sprinkle the topping evenly over the loaves before baking
Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes in 2 greased loaf pans or 3 small loaf pans

I got a package in the mail yesterday that I've been expecting as you see I won a drawing over at Michael's
Inspired By Charm  Oh, I do love his blog!  I loved it even before I won the drawing....honest!

   I opened it to discover this...........

 

which I opened to discover this............

which I opened to discover THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isn't it beautiful?????????????  I'm not a big jewelry person but I do adore this!!!!!!!!  This is my type of jewelry for sure!  I'd never heard of Troll Beads...I know, I must live under a rock but I fell in love the minute I saw it!  I can LOVE this type of jewelry and you can add beads to it.  I think I will every year on my birthday.  Although I love the simplicity of it as is.  I've already visited their website looking at all the different beads you can get.  Take a look at Troll Beads.

Thank you Michael SO MUCH for having your amazing drawing and to Troll Beads for making such beautiful jewelry!  I am so blessed to be the recipient!  I hope you're all having an AMAZING Friday too!  I get a gift every time some one leaves a comment here.  Thank you all! 

Thursday...............these are TOO CUTE!!!!!!

Yes, once again, instead of doing my housework (Ha! Ha!) I was out strolling the internet....AGAIN!  Surprise, surprise! LOL!  But I came upon this wonderful gal that crochets the cutest darn things and has tutorials for FREE!  She's amazing!  Her website is Annaboo's House and she has three versions of this cute crocheted little critter and she has wonderful instructions for all 3 of them.  Above is the kitty........ and below is the monkey.............

and finally the dolly................

I just LOVE them!  Now, I know some of you are going to be thinking...."didn't she say she was going to finish an old project before she starts a new one?" ........and you are exactly right except for one little "gotcha".   I am finishing my wool applique quilt..........BTW......here's some progress.......

See?  I finished all the blanket stitching and now I have some embroidery to do on it.  There are also embellishments that go on the blocks but that will be done after it is quilted which makes it easier for the machine quilter and the machine!  Since this block is almost done I need to plan the next one and get out my wools and see if there are any colors I need to dye.     
But that is in the category of wool applique.  If you remember, in the category of crochet, I just finished the Ripple blanket/throw.  What does that mean?  It means I get to start a new crochet project!!!!!  Yay!  Hurrah!  You see there are THE CATEGORIES......and they are 1) crochet 2) knitting 3) wool applique 4) sewing 5) quilting and 6) embroidery which would include crewel, cross stitch, needlepoint, and any other kind of embroidery.   So, you see, I didn't break any rules and I was SAVED by the CATEGORIES!!!!!  You didn't REALLY think I could only work on one project at a time, did you?  Heavens no!  LOL!
But I need to order some cotton yarn which the dolls above are stitched  with.  I'll keep you informed with "up to the minute" progress reports so stay tuned!  Thanks for your comments, encouragement and inspiration....y'all keep me going!

I was on a roll yesterday...........

I finally finished the family room yesterday.  It's been an ongoing project because I was also going through a lot of paperwork and my desk and books etc.  This room is where I spend most of my time.  Just about everything but bathing and cooking takes place in this room therefore it's hard to stay on top of it and keep it organized.  But finally yesterday I even got to the point where I could cut the magnetic strips to lay down for Edna's "boundaries (my robotic vacuum) and I "let that pony run"!  That Edna is a whiz and I do love her so!  If you're wondering what's on the telly....it's The Walton's!  They are my dream family!  I love that show.

I was on the internet and the phone yesterday more than normal.   I needed to order candles before it gets too hot to mail them.  I'm almost out so I ordered a bunch.  I love McCalls and then I found some called Aunt Sadie which had some interesting scents like fresh cut grass so I had to order that!  I like candle scents to match the seasons like I do decorating and cooking as much as possible.  I think the seasons are God's way of keeping us from getting bored and complacent.  It works for me!

I also had some problems with my insurance as my rheumatologist had not called them back and they could not get a hold of him.  I'm concerned now as he is from Syria and the last time I talked to him (before all the turmoil there) he was trying to get the rest of his family over here.  I have to call today and I am so afraid of what might have happened to him and his family.  He went back about every 3 months.  It's a small country and there are few there that this horrific violence hasn't touched.  I still find it hard to believe that we and the rest of the world allow these awful things to take place.  I don't understand all the "how or why" but I do know that killing innocent people is WRONG.  Maybe more people need to watch The Waltons.  I know...I shouldn't complain but try to do something but I'm older and sick and back in the day I DID do something; I marched for Women's rights and equal pay, I participated in fighting for black rights and equality, all peacefully.  But now it's time for the next generation to take the baton and I pray they do because I'm tired and disappointed and sometimes it almost looks like we've regressed.      
I apologize that this post is not very "uplifting" but as The Queen says....."Keep calm and carry on!".  Have a great day!

Monday musing about a great organizational tool!

Can you tell what this is?  Have you ever seen one before?  It's a product I love almost as much as my Edna (my NEATO robotic vacuum).  It is made by Discgear and it hold discs.  Simple but amazing.  They have all kinds of models but this particular one holds 50 discs and has an album that will hold the disc paper covers so you still have all your information.  This is not a new technology as I remember phone listings like this when I was a child but it's new for holding discs.  When you press the button it opens like this and very gently I might add.....

 Can you see at the top that one disc is being held up?  Where ever the lower lever is positioned is what disc will be picked out for you to take....it practically hands it to you.   Below is a slim drawer that pulls out from underneath and it holds a paper copy of all your discs and where they're located in the Discgear holder.

 You can write them in manually or..........

 you can use their software to fill in and then print a copy for your drawer.

I apologize for the pc screen photos but that's as good as I could get.  Suffice it to say, there are all sorts of categories and drop down menus to organize your discs any way you want.  I thought I would use this one for pc software discs and educational discs.  I'll be buying another one for music and one for movies.   

 You can print this out and put it in that drawer underneath your Discgear and it will also get backed up on my pc when I do my weekly backup.   They come in all different sizes and colors.  This model holds 50, it's plastic made to look like burlwood and it comes with the album (which of course I couldn't seem to lay my hands on now that I'm blogging about it...dang!) and the software.  They have a website www.discgear.com although I had a hard time with this link in blogger I was able to use the same address and access it from Google search....whatever.

They have bigger models, ones without albums to go with and other colors and styles. I happened to get mine through QVC when they had it as a special value.  Not only do i love the fact that I finally have a way to organize all my discs but it also protects them from getting scratched, lost and I can get rid of all those plastic cases they come in which saves lots of room.  They take up much less space in the discgear than they do in those cases.   I always like to hear from REAL people who get a product they love and so I try to do the same here and spread the word about a great organizational tool! Hope you're having a marvelous Monday!

Time to take a Sunday spin aound the country................

This is our first stop.............Nancy Jo's house in New York state.  Nancy Jo was the first blog I ever knew about I think and she introduced me to the wonderful world of blogging through getting to know her on Mary Jane's Farm chat room.  Nancy Jo has a knack for decorating and all things "homey".  Look at that porch!  Don't you just want to walk up there and sit down?  I wish she was my next door neighbor!  And I know she'd serve us some good coffee and something sweet as she's always baking up goodies.
Nancy Jo also collects buttons and don't we all LOVE us some buttons!  She has LOTS of them! 

On top of that, she's always having drawings where you can win wonderful vintage things that she generously gives away!  Look at that cute stuff!  This was her most recent one.

...

 In addition, she's an excellent needlewoman and embroiders beautiful linens, towels, pillows and pictures.  Here's just a sample.........

 Did I mention she's a thrift store junky too?  She's an expert at that and gets the best bargains of anyone I've ever known!  She also has a knack for displaying her items beautifully throughout her lovely home.  

 

Nancy Jo also has many beautiful antiques she's inherited from both sides of her family and her heritage runs way back....I think her relatives were here before the pilgrims but I could be wrong.  Please stop by and visit her.  You will be inspired by her talent and ability to make a house a home.

Next stop is..........some Mennonite girlfriends  I made...........

These gals are amazing!  It's all about home cooking and many recipes that have been passed down for generations.  They even have their own published cookbook (in the center above) which you can get on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.  They're also always coming up with new recipes too like this Tuscan soup recipe which is just like the one at Olive Garden!  YUM!

  
Or how about these salt and pepper chicken wings............just in time for grilling season!

 Some rhubarb chantilly cream pie for dessert?  Oh be still my growling tummy! Their blog is done as a group with each one taking turns each day for a post.  They also have posts on cooking for a crowd with recipes scaled for that and tips on their favorite kitchen tools, etc. 

On Sundays they always have a post called "Bread for the Journey" which is always inspiring and meant to give you spiritual sustenance for the coming week.

These gals are not only great cooks but wonderful women who "walk their talk" and it is always a delight to visit them and see what they've been cooking up!  Thanks gals for all you do!

Next is Jennifer from Town and Country Living.  I came across Jennifer and discovered she lived in an area where I had spent many years, in the Fox River Valley in Northern Illinois.  Come to find out, her husband went to school with my sister-in-law!  Small world this blogging community!  Jennifer is pure delight!  She lives in a beautiful area and shares her love of homes and heritage with us like her recent visit to a neighboring town where she took photos of beautiful old homes like this one................  

 Did I  mention she's a fabulous decorator too?  Her home and decorating skills rival some of the best magazines out there!  Who needs to subscribe to magazines when you have blogs like hers?

Jennifer is also a "makeover" artist as evidenced by this sweet piece she redid.  How precious is that?  I swear, there isn't anything this gal can't do!  She made those curtains too.....of course! LOL!

 

 And for the "feast de resistance"...how about her bathroom?  I can't stand it!  I have always wanted a claw foot tub and I don't think you could surpass this one!  Of course she did the blue cupboard on the right....need you even ask? LOL!     

Thank you to all my inspiring friends that we visited today.....now if I could only get my act together and absorb some of their talent!  Have a great and inspiring Sunday everyone!  Thank you to all of you who stop by and comment.  It means the world to me! 

Picked up my wool applique again..........

This is the center block of my felted wool applique quilt.  I made a resolution this year..well, I've probably made it for several years.  The resolution was to not start a new project until I finished an old one or as we like to call it in the business....a UFO (Unfinished Object).  I also have divided my "crafts" into sewing, crochet, knitting and quilting and needlework which would include handwork such as my applique and embroidery.  I just finished my crocheted ripple blanket so according to the rules I have set down for myself,  I could have started a new crochet project.   Instead I chose to do some handwork/needlework and finish an "old" project that I put down...a UFO.   So, in front of God and the entire blogging community, I hereby promise to finish this folk art quilt before I start any other handwork  or needlework.  There, I said it! Oh boy...that wasn't easy! 
There is the center block and 12 surrounding blocks plus 4 appliqued and embroidered borders.  I have completed the center block and 8 surrounding blocks so I have 4 more blocks and the borders remaining.
Some of you may remember me having posted about these blocks awhile ago.

And block #8 that I am presently working on..........

Hope you're having a great Friday and are planning on having a wonderful weekend!  What are you working on?

Book Reviews!

I was a bit under the weather yesterday so I didn't blog or do much of anything else either.  But I did finish 2 books I'd been reading so I didn't sleep the whole day away. Thank goodness or I would have been up all night!

 

This is a big book, 434 pages but I still did not want it to end.  Peter Jenkins is the best darn travel/adventure writer I've ever read and I highly recommend this book if you like that genre.  His books read like novels and I get lost in his tales and feel like I've actually experienced it myself.  His books are the closest thing to being there you will ever read!  I've read quite a few books on Alaska but this one was the best.  Plus, he goes places and does things that you wouldn't probably do even if you went there.  First of all, you wouldn't know some of these places/events existed and secondly even if you did you might not want to be that brave!  There are pictures in the book too but not enough in my estimation.  It's an exhilarating read!  

This is one of my favorite mystery writers for a plain old fun read with murder but not gore.  I can read her right before I go to sleep and not have bad dreams.  M.C. Beaton lives in the English Cotswolds where her character Agatha Raisin now resides after retiring from her own public relations firm.  This is the first book in the series and Agatha is quite the character.  I thoroughly enjoy English mysteries of this type and Ms. Beaton has another series from when she lived in Scotland featuring Constable Hamish Macbeth but I haven't read any of those.  This was an enjoyable read.  I already have the next book too.  I'm off to make up for laying around yesterday! LOL!  Hope you're enjoying your Thursday....the last day of May 2012! 

Terrific Tuesday! So far so good anyway...........

 The other day when I went to the Dollar store and got my flags I also spied these bowls on sale for $1 each!
Of course I grabbed them up!  I actually needed bowls.

 There are 4; 2 red and 2 green.   That's all they had or I would have bought a few  more!  They all look the same from the outside it's just the inside that's a different color and they are dishwasher and microwave safe and ceramic/pottery.  I love them!  If you like them, go to your local Dollar General store and see if they have them....quick!

 

 I also got this cannister on sale but it was $5 but it is a cannister with a sealing lid that clamps and of course I love stripes of different colors and dots and color period!  There was only one of these left so I had to grab it! A woman in line asked me where I got those and I had to tell her there were none left.  You can go to other Dollar General stores though and try and find the same thing if your local store is out.  I've done that before. 

  

 I finally picked some of my hydrangea.  They are all different colors so the soil must be acidic AND alkaline in spots.  I can't remember which is which but if you want blue/purple you add one and if you want the pinker variety you add the other.  You can actually do it all for one bush too as that is all I have.   You place some of one fertilizer on one side of the bush and the other on the other side.  I actually wanted all blue but I like the variety now that I have it and of course I'll be drying them too.

 I bought the plants below a while back and have been meaning to plant them up as I've had this idea for awhile.  They are Mandevilla plants and are an annual but sometimes down here annuals are perennials but we'll see.  They're a flowering vine so I ran some cord from the little tiny trellis that came with the plant and around my outdoor garage lights and back down to the plant.   I took some of the vines and wound them around the cord.

 There's one on each side of my garage door.  You can see the cord if you look closely.  I'll show you pictures as they progress...hopefully and climb up the cord.  I just hope the cord doesn't break!  They're already flowering and I'm experimenting with the green pots as I'm thinking I like the green as an accent color to the orange brick.  I'd even like lime green for my front door! Woo Hoo!  I have experimented with colors on trim and I like the trim dark brown but then I tried tan and orange for some pops of color on doors and it really didn't do anything for me but I am liking lime green!  Those pots aren't exactly lime but they're close!

I had a wonderful Memorial Day and I hope you did too.  I just need to perfect my grilling skills as I don't think I used enough charcoal and it took forever to cook the chicken.  I didn't eat until 9:00 p.m.!  But it was definitely worth the wait and I "rolled" into bed! LOL! I'm not a great cook but I had some great recipes!  Have yourself a "terrific Tuesday" too!

Happy Memorial Day..........

And much appreciation to those who have kept us safe and free so we can celebrate it in their honor!

 Have a safe and happy weekend!

No spin today...prepping for tomorrow..........

I apologize for not having my usual "visiting" day but I am prepping for tomorrow and have more to do today than  my usual light chores on a Sunday.  Am I having company you ask?  No, it's me and the girls but I heard once that you should give yourself what you don't get from others and I have always designed my life that way.  I would invite people over but that would mean I would have to REALLY gussie up the house and I don't have that much energy to entertain like that any more.  But I do make the holidays special for myself as I spend them alone.  So, this Memorial Day I have planned my meal (food is ALWAYS a big part of my celebrations) of barbecued chicken on the grill, potato salad and baked beans with strawberry shortcake for dessert.  I went to the Dollar store yesterday and bought some flags in different sizes and I decorated outside and made the little "vignette" above for my kitchen table.  I will be cooking today and doing some planting and gardening as this was always the weekend I put the garden in up North.  Tomorrow I will have the food ready and will have picked out a new handwork project by then and will plop myself down to watch "marathons" on INSP of all my favorite shows...Wind At My Back and The Walton's and Little House on the Priaire.  It's very hot here so you can really only go out early or late to work outside as there are heat warnings so it's actually a good day to stay inside in the ac.  These marathons are 4 hours straight of each show.  I'm not sure I can sit still for that long but regardless, I never do that, so it will be a special treat for me to just sit and do needlework and/or crochet and watch my favorite shows.  What are your plans for Memorial Day?