Friday

 Here's a collage of last year...February 2014................

I mailed a birthday present (long overdue) to my SIL and I forgot to take a picture but I decorated the outside of the box with flags and cupcakes and Happy Birthday banners.  It was really festive!  It includes some Italian bread sticks, a Grit bread magazine (he bakes bread), homemade Spanish Olive Oil Tortas (he spent year in Spain during college) , and an Arkansas Razorback pen (he's an Iowa Hawkeye fan but you can't find any of that down here! LOL).  I hope he likes it.  Who doesn't love to get a package in the mail?

Here are the tortas I made.  I buy 4 for $5.00 of Inez Rosales Spanish Olive Oil Orange/Anise Tortas (imported from Spain) when I go to Mountain Home about once or twice a year.  It's a real treat so I researched how I could make them from scratch myself.  They're not that difficult and they're good but not as good as Inez's.  I'll keep experimenting.  These particular ones are baked and actually it's a healthy dessert with little sugar or fat.  They are great with a cup of tea or coffee.

The weather has been nice (in the 50's) so I've been out in the garage....cleaning.  I bought a big package of dry wall hooks that accommodate 3 different weights and started hanging things on the garage walls.  The dry wall hooks are curved and you just turn them until they pierce the drywall and they curve up into the wall and you're left with a strong hook.  I got mine at Wal-Mart....where else?

It's amazing how organized you can get when you get things off the floor.  I also filled a garbage can with "trash".  It felt good to get out there and organize things but I still have more to do....it's a big garage!  I'll probably get rid of that big old coal shovel too as it is heavy and I cannot see myself ever using it for anything.  I'll be having a garage sale this Spring for sure!
After the warm weather we got a dusting of snow and it turned colder but now it's supposed to be in the 60's tomorrow and near 70 on Sunday...more outside work!

Notice the green among the snow?  There are dandelions out there too.  Nothing ever really dies here.
The birds are really enjoying the seed and today I bought plain black sunflower seeds and a suet package.  There doesn't seem to be a lot of variety in birds though.  Mostly cardinals, a bluejay occasionally, sparrows and that brown bird ...a thrush?

I hope you are enjoying the weekend which just began!  Happy Trails!

Modem problems....

Yesterday and the day before and probably today, I've been having modem problems.  I will probably have to get a new one but for now I have a "get around" but it takes time.  I also tried (unsuccessfully) to make a collage using Picnik but had to go back to Picasa.  So there is a collage from January 2014.  A little crafting, a little cooking and a little cozy but not nearly the collages I've seen with dozens of finished projects.
Before I had my modem problems and needed to post my YOPs on Sunday  I had mentioned a trip to Wal-mart.  Not exciting except to me as they are carrying more and more organic and non-GMO and naturally raised foods.

The prices are also getting more reasonable.  That bag of carrots was only .92 cents.  I was doing my Happy Dance!

Eggs were one of the first organic products they carried.

This is the closest I can get on meat....no antibiotics or hormones which also means that they are not raised in crowded unsanitary conditions which was the reason they were using antibiotics in the first place.  So, that is progress.
 I asked the butcher that was out there and he said this was the closest to organic they had at the moment.  He also told me about this great sale and that if I froze it gently and then took it out and sliced it before it was too frozen; I could get 7 or 8  center cut pork chops out of it!  Deal!

The day before I go to the store I usually clean out my frig and use up whatever leftovers are in there.  The 3 best meals to use up leftovers (depending on the type) are scrambled eggs, pizza and soup.  I had leftover green onions and radishes and some cooked bacon so scrambled eggs seemed appropriate.  I make my scrambled eggs in a buttered pie dish in the microwave.  They turn out fluffy and moist that way.  I have also found that using cream or half and half makes them even yummier!

I also (finally) made some natural dog treats for the girls.  These are blueberry and so far they've never complained or turned up their noses at them! LOL!

The circles are for Nitty and the little hearts are for Annie.
Here's the recipe if you're interested.  I got all my flours from Amazon.  This was from Martha Stewart's employee's Mother, lest we give Martha any more credit than she deserves.  Most dogs have a problem with wheat and my Nitty tends to be very allergic getting a monthly shot and no beef or wheat in her diet.  Thus, the search for natural treat recipes. 

·         ieldMakes about 30

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Ingredients

·         1 1/2 cups oat flour

·         2 1/2 cups quinoa flour

·         3/4 cup flax meal

·         1/2 cup frozen, organic, unsweetened blueberries

·         1/4 cup olive oil

·         1 large egg

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper; set aside.

2.      In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients with 1 cup water to form a dough. Roll out mixture between two sheets of plastic wrap to 1/4-inch thick; remove plastic wrap and cut out biscuits with a 3 1/2-inch bone-shaped cookie cutter. Reroll scraps and continue cutting out biscuits.

3.      Space biscuits 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes until nicely browned and firm.

4.      Transfer biscuits to a wire rack. Turn off oven and place biscuits on wire rack in oven overnight. Remove from oven and store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

Happy Trails!























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YOP Week #31

The end of the week got a little crazy but here I am...fighting off a cold in my eyes and my head but it hasn't gotten me down yet just slowed me up a bit.
I finished the wash cloth and it went to it's recipient, Carol, at the bank, who was retiring.  I wrapped it up with a little bar of handmade soap.  I think she liked it.  It was knitted and she doesn't knit so I thought she might appreciate it.  I also finished another cowl.  I wove in the ends on this one.....

and then started and finished this one.........

I like these  much better than turtlenecks for keeping my neck warm and they don't "choke" me like some turtlenecks which are too tight.  I'll be making a wardrobe of these! LOL!
I'll be trying some other patterns too but this one is so easy!
This is how it looks on the ends though as it is a circle.........but it's not noticeable when you have it wrapped around your neck.

I finished this book too and it was great! Funny and entertaining and great Vermont cheese recipes in the back.  I'll be trying some of those! It was her first book but I hope it wasn't her last.
  She and her family left the mid west and moved to their dream state of Vermont and bought a country store...non-fiction for sure....no one could make that stuff up! LOL!

I also got my favorite seed catalog in the mail.....Baker Seeds in Mansfield, Missouri...I'll be dreaming and then ordering............

I'm off to go curl up and knit and watch the  Superbowl........GO SEAHAWKS!
I'll catch up with everyone this week....promise! LOL!
Happy Trails!

Miscellaneous Wednesday........

I cannot keep to a schedule of any kind it seems so when and what I blog about will pretty much always be up for grabs. I tried having a "schedule" to my blogs but it just doesn't work for me.
Yesterday, Sue, The Book Fairy, stopped by and look what she brought me!
11 DVDs of Cirque Du Soleil.....she's loaning them to me and I would never make it to Vegas to see them so this might be interesting.....I don't really like to watch much as I'm usually too busy doing some kind of handwork.  I think that's why I like to "listen" to t.v. programs where I won't miss anything. We'll see how this goes.  

She did bring me a "listening" cd that looks right up my alley..........

and a book I can't wait to start......

Last but not least she brought me this big, beautiful book on papercrafts.........

I started reading it last night as I have wanted to delve into this but most people assume you already have scrap booked or made cards and I haven't!  I don't know the first thing about it so this should be fun!
Sue stayed and had a cup of tea and told me about what she's been working on....a string quilt!  I'd never heard of them so I asked her to explain and give a little demo.  Later I went on the internet and realized this is the perfect quilt for those of us who cannot throw away the tiniest scraps!  Talk about "waste not, want not" and re-purposing and so pretty!  Take a look..............this is from Millies Quilting   using 1930's fabrics.  I really like this one.
 
This one from Craftsy uses more modern fabrics and I like it too.


BTW, when I tested the link to Craftsy, I noticed they are having a S A L E   65% off of yarns, fabrics, and classes.  Just sayin'!
I also received this birthday gift from QVC in the mail.  I was shocked as I'm not a regular shopper but I did buy a few things for the grands for Christmas.  It is a really nice bag too!

 It's that waterproof nylon, faux leather and it zips closed!  Thank you QVC!  (Most "free" bags are not anything you really want to be seen in public with but this one is really nice!).  
Today I went to Walmart, did laundry, and that's about it.  Tomorrow I'll show you what I got at Walmart...exciting, huh?
Happy Trails!

YOP Week #30

I'm having a great weekend and I hope you are too!  Last night I was "flipping" channels waiting for Lawrence Welk to be over so I could watch Father Brown and the Saturday night PBS shows and what to my wondering eyes should appear but my all-time favorite movie...Green Fried Tomatoes but that's not all!  After that it was Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, another favorite!  I laughed, I cried and never did turn the channel to PBS.
I actually have made quite a bit of progress this week too.  I'm knitting a basket weave cloth as my "stash" of wash cloths is gone!  I'm loving this pattern!

 Over the holidays I fell behind in my 'preemie" hats so........I'm back at it.  The bag has July, August, September and October.  I'm almost finished with November so as you can see, I have some catching up to do!

I finally got all the bookmarks blocked too...........I tried using my cutting mat as I thought I saw someone do that but the pins would not stay in very well so I gave up on that method and went back to my old stand by....towels

I also decided to use Mary Ellen's Best Press instead of water as it's scented and it also has "flake-free" starch in it.  It worked great!  It's expensive so I only use it when I'm quilting.

I usually don't take a "day off"; my schedule is pretty much the same regardless of weekends as I'm retired.  But I can be a tireless taskmaster with myself and yesterday it seemed like God was calling me to relax and enjoy so I did!  The girls and I took a hike as it was a beautiful day here and when I came home I "kicked back" and watched all the Saturday gardening and cooking shows on PBS and crocheted a YOP that has been on my list since year #2....a cowl.  I didn't like the original pattern I had chosen but I found another on You Tube by Love 4 Nails.  She has lots of patterns out there and this one is so easy and enjoyable!  I'm already half way done doing the 10 row but you can also do a 20 row one too.  I know these will be on the 2015 Christmas Gift list for sure!  Are cowls for guys too?  I definitely want to make more of these.  I'll search for "guy" patterns but if any of you have any suggestions I would appreciate it!

 My blogging friend Betsy sent me a lovely baby blanket crochet pattern that I had commented on that she had made and in the package she included a Scentsy!  Thank you so much Betsy for the pattern and the Scentsy.  I love them...they have the best "smells"!  Now, I need to clean my car so I can hang it in there. LOL!

I'm trying to use up my old acrylic yarn and wanted to do a solid granny square blanket with all different colors.  I tried a few free patterns but they were not written very well but finally I found a winner that worked for me.  I think they may need to be blocked though or not.  Do any of you block your granny squares?

I didn't blog my Friday Night Sew-In yesterday as my daughter called and people always come before projects and we tend to talk quite a while (if the kids will let us...lol).  I am making place mats for my son, Benjamin....yes a very belated birthday present.  I did manage to get the material ironed and was getting ready to cut when she called.

Oh well, they'll get done eventually!  Hopefully before his next birthday! LOL!

I've been trying to find things cleaning and organizing my craft supplies and ran across this old cross stitch project that is almost done! What is it with me that I get to the end and not finish things?  No more!  I will be finishing it if I can find the pattern now.....hmmmm...maybe that's the reason I didn't finish in the first place?

This year is different though....I can feel it.  I'm healthier and feel more energetic than I have in quite awhile and I don't want to waste that energy or motivation! BTW, it was the bookmarks that did my wrist in....it's all better now so no more filet crochet for me for awhile! :)
I hope you are enjoying your weekend!  Happy Trails......

Fun Friday!!!

Fun Friday is going to be where I share new websites, blogs, products, "pins" that I have come upon in the past week that I think you might enjoy.  So here we go.........

#1 - Decorating and so much more by Priscilla

She is decorator extraordinaire.  Many of you probably already follow her but I am always late to the party.  She had such beautiful Christmas decor and ideas and she's also been stitching up some gorgeous cross stitch patterns...take a look and please stop by her blog and she's on Pinterest too.  I want to do her seasonal cross stitch displays.  Great idea using magnets and she just switches things out depending on the season.

           #2 - Crochet Pattern compliments of Love 4 Nails
 I also ran across a crocheted cowl pattern on someone's blog (can't remember now) but the pattern was on Love 4 Nails on You Tube and she is just darling!  She's great at tutorials and I now know why it's called Love 4 Nails....she has some gorgeous ones!  The link will take you right to the tutorial.  I couldn't post a picture but the link will and she has 2 versions;  a wider one and a narrower one.  They are fast and easy from what I've heard and I've been wanting to make a cowl.

#3 - Sedef of Down Grapevine Lane  She lives with her husband and 2 beautiful children in South Australia.  She is so talented and her latest creation is this darling bookmark and she gives full instructions and a material list on how to make one.  She has been featured in Homespun magazine which is a great magazine published "down under".   If you're lucky enough to be near a Barnes & Noble, I have been known to pick them up there occasionally.  The Aussies have great magazines for sewing and crafting.  I definitely plan on making some of these!  The only thing I need though are eyelets and an eyelet punch.  It's already on my Amazon Craft Wish List! LOL!  Thank you Sedef!  Please visit her blog and she's on Pinterest.  She has so many cute crocheted items too that are just precious....what a talent!

 #4 - Is Jessica over at Cutesy Crafts  She has over 3,000 followers so she must be pretty good!  She has quite a variety of interests too.  I thought this was cute.......this was how she told her audience she was pregnant.........darn straight!

#5 - Last, but in no way least, are 2 sites for prizes and giveaways! One is Maureen Cracknell who quilts beautiful quilts and other fabric related items and has a fabric giveaway every Friday! 

and one of my "favs" for a long time now, Susan B. Anderson 
She's a wonderful knitter, teacher and pattern designer who is having a Shawl KAL (knit along) and if you sign up you get a discount on her shawl patterns PLUS there will be prizes throughout and at the end if you finish by the deadline which is March 1, I think there is another prize.  There's a Ravelry Group for it and I can't decide plus I don't really have the yarn for it but I want to so badly....I must make a decision tonight!  She just posted it yesterday and there is no starting date but you must use one of her posted patterns.  Read the rules!

If I join I will make this one......it was a hard choice though! 

Let me know if you do any of the above activities and whether or not you are having fun on Fun Friday!!!!
Oh and let us not forget it's        

I think there may be multiples of these but this is the one I am participating in at Heidi's and there are prizes there too.  Please go to her site to read the rules and please join us!  I have to go get my supplies ready for tonight.....trust me. there's nothing on t.v. anyway! LOL!
Happy Trails!

Lovely weather the other day...snow tomorrow!

It was just gorgeous for several days here (67 F) but no more...they are predicting snow tomorrow but from what I can see it will probably go South of here.  Whatever happens it won't last as Monday is supposed to 56 F. But on these gorgeous days, the girls and I have been walking...........

Some things never freeze here.......

like mosses..........

and there are some birds here that don't go South that I wish would..............

vultures........they're huge and you have to be careful when they fly over you for obvious reasons........

I'm not sure what the difference is between the red beaked and the not red beaked....male/female? 

Oh! A baby long needle pine!  We have lots of cedars here so it's nice to see a different variety..........

It was really nice to have the sun shining down on us as we walked..........

And sparkling off the water...........there were people out in their boats too which was nice to see.

Now tomorrow is supposed to be cold and snowy which is fine with me.  I like variety! LOL!
Happy Trails!