Hot here again!

I got out and mowed yesterday before the rains coming this weekend and yesterday was nice and cloudy but today....Whew!  It's 90 or near there and the humidity is up again.  So glad I mowed yesterday!
I used my furniture polish again too.....look at this one.........

I was so thrilled by the look of it I didn't take a total after picture but as you can see it really made a difference.

I've been cooking up some "grub".....yesterday was lentil and ham soup.  I had leftover ham but no bone so I went to the store and they had "smoked pork hocks" so I froze a few and used one to put in the soup.  Evidently they use these a lot in the South.  It was yummy and very filling and healthy too.  I made cornbread to go with it.  This was when it just started cooking.  Here's the recipe

This morning I made scrambled eggs and threw in some banana peppers and chopped up tomatoes from my little garden.  I always take a picture before it's cooked and then forget to take one after....I guess I'm too hungry to bother and want to get right to the eating part! LOL!

Pretty colorful it was and very tasty....again a healthy dish.

Fall/Winter is coming as the spiders are making webs like crazy around the outside of the house and trying to get inside too!  This one was eating a moth for breakfast.  YUCH!  It looks like the black widows that love to hang out by my front door but I didn't want to get close enough to identify it.

I had my knitting book out and I thought maybe Miss Peeps was trying to read but right after I took this picture she attacked it and ripped it!  I think she's teething....she'll gnaw on whatever is available!  But not my books....shame on Miss Peeps!  I had put the yarn up but I didn't think I needed to worry about the book.....WRONG!

Speaking of knitting, I have 2 squares done of 42 for the "scrapghan" blanket I'm working on.  There are 15 felted wool squares, 15 crocheted squares and 12 knitted squares.  The squares are working out to be about 9" x 9".  Each block is a different pattern which makes it interesting and I'm learning some new designs.  The first was a plain garter stitch....all knit which makes it look like all purl to me.

The next was stockinette; which is knit a row, purl a row.  Now this looks like knitting to me...........
but it does curl up..........

The next one is a diamond stitch which is fun to make but you have to pay attention....no t.v. watching for this block!  Can you see the diamond pattern starting to emerge?  It's hard to see with the navy blue yarn.

I need to sit down and make my Christmas list....so far it's just in my head and that's pretty scary!
Tonight starts Grey's Anatomy but with Derek gone.....(after all summer I'm still not over it), I can't imagine that the show will be as good as before.  The whole show was based on them as a couple, their careers, their home and children!  Oh, don't get me started!  As for the 13th season of Dancing With the Stars?  Bring it on!  It started Monday and there are some great people on there.  Bindy from Australia who's Dad was the alligator whisperer and who died....she's 18 now!  Where have the years gone?  Paula Deen is on and one of the guys from the threesome that took down the terrorist on the Paris train.  Plus, I forget his name, but he's a crazy old guy with white hair and I mean "crazy"!  Everyone treats him like he's normal but I don't see anything "normal" about him.  The poor gal that has him as a partner is already having to fight him off.  He's disgusting!  Anyway, that's my Fall t.v. roundup along with college football.  The NFL is almost non-existent on regular t.v. since they can get "the big bucks" from the cable networks.  It's okay as the college games are more exciting anyway.   What are you watching this Fall?
Happy Trails!

Pins that REALLY work!!!!

I have been working hard around here or hardly working....some days it's hard to tell but last week I came upon some really good Pinterest pins that WORKED!  I've tried to stop pinning and start doing so here are the results.........

#1 - I bought 2 Le Creuset pans for about $2.50 each at a church bazaar several years ago.  They were both dark brown inside from something having burned in them.  I thought for $5.00 I could try and get them clean.  Well, I tried everything....SOS pads, steel wool but nothing worked.  They were "clean" but the burn marks were still there..........see?  I still used them because God knows it wasn't coming off......

I saw a gal had pinned that she had NEW ceramic coated cast iron and had made strawberry jam in it and it burned on the bottom and she couldn't get it off.  Hers wasn't nearly as bad as mine but she paid "the big bucks" and I was only out $5.00 plus I still used them they just weren't "pretty" like hers.  She said she put about an inch of water and and a scoop of Oxiclean in her pan and brought it to a boil.  She said she let it boil for a bit making sure it didn't boil away.    

What she didn't mention is that it quickly starts foaming and will go right over the edge if you're not watching it.  It wasn't on the burner very long before this happened and I wanted it to boil longer so I kept scooping the foam out and turned the burner down.  I added more water and more Oxiclean so I probably did 3 "episodes" of the cleaning ritual.

I was getting tired so I quit and thought that was enough and it looked like some stuff had come off as the water was dirty.  I dumped it and put it in the dishwasher but I could tell there were still some spots........

but when I took it out of the dishwasher....lo and behold!

It's not perfect but "it came a long way baby"!  This is for ceramic coated cast iron.  I'm not sure what it would do on anything else and let's face it.........I had nothing to lose!

#2 -  Homemade Glass Cleaner -  I have been making my own for awhile now and here is the recipe I use which works fine for me.  1/4 C of vinegar, 1/4 C of rubbing alcohol, 1 T of cornstarch and 2 C warm water.  You need to shake it up each time you use it but I don't mind.  But then there was a pin I had that talked about a woman who had asked her husband to wash the windows and he went to the automotive store and bought Rain-X which is for car windows to allow the water to sheet off of the windows when you're driving.  Well, he used it on all their windows and she said their windows stayed clean for a long, long time!  Now, I have not tried Rain-X on my car or house windows but I plan on getting one can and trying it.  I know people who use it on their car windows and love it but I have not tried it personally simply because I am guessing it is fairly expensive but I have not priced it at all.  I'm going to try it but I may not be able to afford to do all my windows at once but what a great idea if it works!  Let me know if you try it before I do.

#3 - Homemade Furniture Polish - This was a pin I just tried and I love it!  I wish I would have taken a before but I really didn't think it would be that obvious but it was.....I have one little picture before I got carried away............btw it is 1 C vinegar and 1/2 C olive oil and again you will need to shake it before spraying on your furniture or on a rag each time.  See that dull triangle on the left?  That was where I had not used it yet.

  I went through about 4 or 5 rags and they all looked like this when I was done............

I was amazed at the filth dirt that came off.  The wood really looked so pretty afterwards and it felt clean too.  The pinner did say that you should test it on a spot first although I didn't because none of my furniture is highly varnished and it looked a lot like what she was using it on....old wooden baseboards, doors and trim in her older home.  All my furniture is "old" and none has a highly varnished surface.  I've used sprays in the past and Murphy's Oil Soap and this did a great job and there was no scrubbing.

And last but not least a treat I made for my daughter when she was here as she loves Sonic's Cherry Limeade

This is a really tasty "hack"...you take 1/4 of a lime and slice into 2 pieces.   In the bottom of a glass you put 2 maraschino cherries and one of the lime slices.  Then you add crushed ice (I just used regular), Sprite and 3 T of the maraschino cherry juice and the other lime slice.  TaDa!  She loved it and so do I!  Unfortunately, you will run out of the cherry juice before you run out of the cherries so I bought some grenadine but not sure if that will be the same.  I'll let you know.  The other pins are on my CLEANING board and the last one is on my LIQUID REFRESHMENT board as there are other people to credit with these pins.  Enjoy! 

Happy Trails!

Sunny Saturday........

I can't believe I haven't blogged since Wednesday? It's been wonderfully busy here with Fall having arrived.  It's breezy, cool, sunny, and crisp.  There's also sneezing, watery eyes, and lots of blowing of the proboscis!  But it is worth every kleenix!
These are pictures I took of the clouds the evening the cold front moved in and brought Fall.......... 

 They were rolling like a pot of boiling water!  So beautiful!

 Thursday was Walmart and Friday I spent recovering from Thursday! LOL!  But it really was "pumpkin everything" and I was thrilled................I did some "harvesting" of my own..........

 these are cute "little" cans of pumpkin just perfect for those pumpkin lattes!

 It's all good.........

 and when I got home guess what was in my mailbox?  Life is good...very good......

Happy Trails!

Wet Wednesday!

But it brought cool temps so I'm not complaining!

Yesterday was still hot so I stayed in and did some "organizing".  Yarns specifically...

I made labels for bins and tags for bags..

I do have a "stash" of yarn which I didn't have 3 years ago......how did that happen?

I sorted the yarns by weight and fiber content; bulky, worsted, sport weight and then also by cotton, wool, and acrylic.   I've learned more about fibers too since those years ago.

I used bags I already had for WIP's.  The yarn and the pattern are together and the needles/hooks if they are attached to the project.  They hang from hangers in my crafts/guest room closet.  I 'm not finished yet but I figure when I run out of bags that should indicate that I need not start any more projects! LOL!  There are 2 closets in that room; one for sewing and one for yarns.

Hopefully this will save time when I am looking for my projects.  Everything will be together in one bag and the needles, hooks and supporting tools will be in one container instead of being in various places.  Usually, I do "divide and conquer" but that's to put things in their rightful rooms but after that it is grouping likes with likes.

While I was rooting through organizing things I found a FINISHED item!  I guess I actually do finish things occasionally and then I let them "ripen" in a bag for several years.  What's up with that?  But I was thrilled and just in time for Fall.  It is a punch needle design and not sure what I'm going to do with it.  It was my first punch needle project.  It's a great way to use up floss as it uses quite a bit of it.  There are kits out there too.  I think I got this out of a Needl' Love pattern book but don't quote me.
Any suggestions?  I was thinking a box topper but I would need a round box.  I'll keep you informed.

Remember how I said I wanted to do "homemade" decorations for the various yearly holidays?  Well, guess what I found and I didn't spend a cent!  Two patterns I had previously purchased just perfect for Fall............a table mat.............

and a wall hanging............I was so excited!  Still am! LOL!

Now, you'd think with all those WIP's in bags and patterns and gifts to make for Christmas that I wouldn't dare start a new project....well, you'd be wrong.......I cast on another project....but in my defense...I tend to do that when I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.....go figure...I know it makes no sense whatsoever but there it is.....at least I'm using yarn I already have.  Right?

 I hope you are having good weather where ever you are and that you enjoyed your day.
Happy Trails!

Moving right along!

 Yesterday, I thought I  might get some sewing in but it was not meant to be but I did get to talk to my daughter longer than usual which is so enjoyable.  I also talked to Grayson as he was excited to tell me about pre-school which he started last week.  I did get some ironing done though and listened to The House at Riverton which is very enjoyable and a well done audio book.

I found more fabric for a project I'm planning.  I needed more blues and I found some pretty ones I forgot I had.

I also found a real surprise that I had forgotten about.  I had gotten a plastic bag full of what I thought were fabric scraps at the Thrift Store and I "uncovered" them yesterday and pulled them out and they are hand stitched quilt squares!  I paid $1.79 for the bag of them!  What a treasure!  I'll post more after I press them as they were all squished together. 

 Fall is coming!!!!  I'm so excited!  By Saturday there will be cooler temps and rain tonight and tomorrow......cozy knitting, quilting, crocheting, fireplace, cocoa, soup weather is coming!  And as they say "pumpkin everything"! LOL!

 Leaves are starting to fall, my sugar maple is starting to turn color...........

We still have lots of blooming going on though.............

The mums are starting to come alive...........

My monkey grass is blooming.............

daisies.......(the above picture was of zinnias)

The vines are loaded with tomatoes...........

and even my garlic chives are blooming............

Enjoy the anticipation!   Happy Trails!