So much going on............

 I literally have had to drop everything and go out and get work done as the rains just keep coming!  Memorial Day I mowed and it rained that night and has continued then yesterday I finally got out and got some laundry on the line and some painting outside done.  The bench is done and the old rusty chair is primed.

 This morning I made dog treat dough and cooked up one tray full of apple cheddar dog biscuits.......

This is the first time I've tried this recipe and I ended up adding about 5 T of water not 3 and next time I will bake for 25 minutes not 30 as they stated.  They got  a little brown.  The rest of the dough I double wrapped in plastic wrap and put in a Lock n' Lock container for later.  I had lots to do today!

Here's the recipe...........

Ingredients

• 2 cups barley flour
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1/3 cup shredded cheddar
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

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 and about 3 tablespoons 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.

I owe an apology to one of my dearest blogging friends....Betsy from the Simple Life of a Queen (she's on my sidebar)......in my little mind I thought I had posted about her gift to me and yet in reality I hadn't.  Do you ever do that?  Think about something and your mind checks it off your mental list as if you really did it?  I am so sorry Betsy and all of you will understand why when I show you the most generous gift she sent to me...........little balls of sock yarn for making a Cozy Memories blanket which is all over the knitting podcasts and Ravelry.  I had mentioned I wanted to start one but didn't have much sock yarn since I haven't made that many socks and Betsy picked right up on it and sent me all those pretty yarns!  Thank you, Betsy......you are a Queen!

  I remember what happened now too.....I had it on my kitchen table to take a picture of and Miss Peeps got on the table and into that bag of yarn and I was so mad, angry, ready to banish her from the kingdom distraught that I put the yarn in the guest bedroom and put Miss Peeps in "timeout" on the porch and promptly forgot all about it!  There was also a death in the family last week that was on my mind and there were phone calls and conversations.  It was my ex-MIL and my children's grandmother.  She was 92 and had a good life and did not linger or suffer so that was a blessing but another piece of your history dies with each person.  This woman knew me from the time I was 16 years old.  All you can do is celebrate the good memories you have of that person but there is still grieving.  So, again, I apologize to you Betsy and thank you again so very much! (Those are sock yarns right?  I just want to make sure before I start the blanket)

 The magnolia trees are blooming and they are HUGE blooms some are more than 6 inches across.......they have a strong scent and one flower will perfume an entire room!  

I'm on the gusset of my 2nd sock and I'm joining some sock KAL's that are on Ravelry.  There are several where you can win prizes.  Bakery Bears, Fawn Knits, Knit Girls, Grocery Girls and Pinfeathers and Purls just in case you're interested.

I also received a treasure in the mail that I had ordered and it did not disappoint!  

I'm almost done reading it and it just arrived this morning!  These 2 are so inspiring and talented and like me they have multiple interests.  I've also finished a few other books but this post is already too long so I'll save them for tomorrow.
Happy Trails!

My baby is a year old!

Here she was when I heard her "mewing" outside my window a year ago in May..............

 it took a long time before she would trust me and I finally got her into the house.....she had the biggest blue eyes............

she stayed on the porch away from the other animals in "quaranteen" until she was old enough to have her shots..........she was only about 4 weeks in the first picture......
 These are pictures I took through the glass door unto the porch and once she had a steady supply of food and water she had some energy and was a blur!

 she would fall asleep on the rocker on the porch after she exhausted herself from playing.....

 or wherever she "crashed"...legs stretched out for all that growing she was doing...........

 After she had all her shots she got to come into the house for good.............and her eyes were now green.  The reason I was able to get such good pictures of her was she watched me everywhere I went and still does.  I think she bonded with me as her Mom big time!

 To this day if I take a bath when I come out she is right there waiting for me....she will even call me when she wakes up from a nap and I tell her where I am and she comes running......she wants to make sure I'm still there I guess...............

We've had our trials and they're not over yet.  She likes tipping over garbages and then getting into them, there's not anything she can't jump to or climb up and I have finally put both cats on the porch at night so I can sleep!  But she's part of our family now and like it or not we're all stuck with each other! LOL!
Here she is with her big sister, Grace.............Happy Birthday Miss Peeps!  We love you!

Happy Trails!

YOP Week #48

I think it's week 48 but not sure..only 4 more weeks  until the new season!  Well, I'm moving along on some projects and at least have the categories for the new year.
My Canadiana socks are definitely coming along and I'm about ready to do the foot.  I'm certainly knitting faster than I used to and not so much starting over like there was in the beginning of my learning curve.  I'm actually on the green stripe now since this picture was taken.

Yesterday and today are the first sunny, dry days we've had in about a week so I have clothes hanging out on the line as tonight and maybe tomorrow there is more rain.....and I need to mow too!  I need a hired hand is what I need! LOL!
This is my 2nd Frida's Flower Basket square and it's not done yet.

The gift I was working on had to be delayed while I ordered some supplies and I am also stopped in my progress for my Maybelle Flower Blanket as I ran out of yarn so I have to order that.
I have no pillow form to fit the Happy Hooky pillow and there was none at Wal-Mart that would fit so I guess I will make one out of muslin or something or maybe buy a piece of foam to use as fiberfill tends to lump and bump when I use it for pillows.....we'll see.
There was a new antique store that opened in town so I had to check it out.........
I got a quilt top for $5.00..............
vintage for sure............

and some fabric for $3.00/yard.............

I'm almost done reading Ann Budd's Sock book and I started reading Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears book.  Great advice in both books and I will be making socks this year from Ann's book for sure.

I hope you are having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and stay safe if you are traveling!
HappyTrails!

Storming and cozy and there's power!

The only unfortunate part is that the satellite is out and I might miss the Dancing With The Stars finale!  Oh no!  I can watch the rerun on Roku tomorrow though and at least I have power as dinner is cooking on the stove and in the oven!  Ed Debevic's pot roast (recipe from his restaurant in Chicago and SO good!) , brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes with gravy but I got a late start and it won't be ready until 8:00 p.m.   I am drooling right now!
I did laundry Sunday and Monday because I knew "the rains" were coming and then yesterday I went to Walmart and I'm glad I did!  It is stormin' Norman..thunder, lightening and pouring rain.  I love it as long as no one gets hurt.
My books came from Thrift Books today before the rain started although they mail them in a plastic bag.  Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear  is the 4th book in the Maisie Dobbs series.

I'm so glad I ordered this, the 2nd Harry Potter book because I'm almost done with the first one.

 

This book is a "classic" by Elizabeth Zimmerman a master knitter....her books are out of print now but I am looking forward to reading it.

 Sunday I planted flowers in my old trough.

The hydrangea has blooms beginning and I bet they are doing a happy dance with all this rain.  They don't call them hydrangeas for nothing!

 I bought herbs and some pepper and tomato plants when I was at Wal-Mart

and some paint and painting supplies.............

 I also took down the hummer feeder and I am replacing it with this impatience plant as it is under the eaves and a Northern exposure. 

I also got some seeds

Also....miracle of miracles.....look at my matching socks!  I couldn't believe it!  They line up perfectly!  The knitting angels must have been working overtime!  I'm so happy!

Dancing with the Stars finale is tonight.....I love them all....I wish they could all win and I loved Wanya and really thought he would be a winner.....but they are all winners in my book!  And Tom Percheron is too funny!  Happy Trails!

At last............wet paint drying!

Finally!  I got some paint on the wall.....well actually this is the ceiling............

but here's a wall.............it will need 2 coats....what doesn't?  But I love the color so far.  This is an entryway closet that is directly across from my front door and is not really needed so I took off the doors and decided to make it a little entryway alcove instead.  Those are shelf brackets and the shelf will most probably go back in but then probably a mirror and a little piece of furniture.

So, more painting today and............when I was looking for grout sealer the other day at Walmart (which they didn't have or I didn't find) I ran across this handy item....hopefully.  The bristles are sturdier than what I've been using.
 More grout cleaning is in my future!

Seeing progress, albeit small, is motivating.  Also, Duck Tape came out with their brand of Washi Tape which has been sorely ignored in this country.  The Brits have had it for forever! 

 Little owls.....how cute are they?  Have a great Saturday!
Sunny here and getting to 76 today....clothesline weather.
Happy Trails!
 

Slacker week............

 I just couldn't seem to get any traction this week.  I was busy but it was just maintenance and no real progress on anything I really wanted to get done.  I did laundry, cooked, baked, paid some bills and that was about it.  It rained most of the week too and was chilly.  Maybe I went into hibernation mode.  I did finish this book, the 3rd in the Ladybug Farm series.  I really enjoy this series.  The 4th book wasn't available on Thrift Books and Amazon wanted $13.00 so I guess I'll wait until Thrift Books gets it in.

So, I started over with the Harry Potter books and boy did I forget a lot!  I'm enjoying it more this time.  After I read this first book I will watch the first movie and so on and so on.

I also finished the audio tape of The Beardstown Ladie's Common Sense Investment Guide but there is so much good information and resources in it that I need the book.  Plus, right as I got to the end the tape broke so there won't be any re-listening to it.

I'm still reading this one and trying to pick up some organizational tips for storing crafts and supplies.  There are quite a few but some are pretty pricey looking or requiring a custom remodel!  Many of the rooms are from professional craft people that make their living doing these things. I bought this book a while back but now I would just go on Pinterest for ideas.

 Reading another National Geographic and I learn so much from these magazines.....I'm an armchair traveler.  I got them all free at our library.  Such beautiful photography too.

 I started knitting the 2nd sock of my Canadiana Hudson Bay socks and actually I finished the cuff and was several inches down on the leg when I realized that the colors weren't showing up and the other sock had 2 stripes by that point.  I sat and thought and realized that I should have evenly split the skein at the beginning of making the socks and that the colors were probably at the other end of the ball.  So, I frogged it all and rewound the ball and..................

 VOILA!  There are the colors.....so I will start over now.  Still not sure if they will line up exactly but that's not that important to me.  I need to not use a long tail cast on when trying to match colors or else make the cast on the exact same length for both socks.   The more I knit the more I learn!

I finally sewed up my Happy Hooky pillow using needle and yarn and doing an overcast stitch with right sides together and going under the 2 loops on each side.  It's a little twisted but I'm hoping the pillow form will take care of that or at least it won't be so noticeable.

I found some buttons at Walmart that look perfect for it but I'll wait until I get a pillow form in it before I decide on placement.

I also worked on my Maybelle flowers..........squaring them up............
Of all the flowers I've ever crocheted, I think these are my favorite!  I have all the yellow done, 1 more brown to do, 3 of the dark rose color and then 4 of each of the top 3.  Then there's the joining.  I'm really enjoying this project.

 

 I hope you had a good week and I will be doing my usual "catchup" with all of you!  Enjoy your weekend!  Happy Trails!