Saturday Summary.......

Yesterday was errands so I went to the vet to pick up the girls Vetprofin.  While there I asked to speak to Dr. Mills and I asked her if there was anything I needed to look out for when it comes to the girls.  I don't want them suffering at all but animals can be so stoic that you don't know until it's really bad.  I wanted a 'heads up' as they are both 14 1/2 years old now.  I told her I monitor their drinking, eating and the peeing and pooping too!  She said they sound fine but that the biggest thing is they will just stop eating and then you know.  I was glad I talked to her. 
Then I went on to Walmart.  I got some more seeds, a black oil paint marker for my plant markers and another corned beef! I had only cooked half the vegetables so I thought.....I'll just fix it again.  The vegetables taste so wonderful when cooked with the corned beef or at least in it's juice.  There's nothing like it so I'll be making that tomorrow.
I worked on my Fall Friday but you can see that and my Stars and Stripes Saturday cross stitch tomorrow on the YOP post.
Mostly today I mulched and cleaned a bit of the garage...........my sons moved these rocks over here and I can't move them so I guess I will make a little rock garden...no plants just mulch and maybe a statue or yard decoration.   I have more mulch to 'deliver' but I'm making it deep to crowd out the weeds.  This mulch is Scott's Best and it is not supposed to bleach out in the sun!  Wouldn't that be great?  I'll keep an eye on it!  I got it at Lowes so unless Walmart carries it I will have to go to Mountain Home to get it.

   In the garage I filled 3 little boxes full of car 'stuff' I will never use........de-icer, oil, engine lubricant etc.  all my step-father's things.  I'll take them to B&J's Monday and see if they want any of it and if not if I could pay them to dispose of it as they have that license or pickup service.  I hope I can get rid of it.

In the morning, in order to fuel myself, I made a frittata.  I have been wanting to make one ever since I got my cast iron skillet....actually it was one of the reasons I wanted a cast iron skillet.  For the frittata you have to have a pan that can go from the burner to the oven.

 I found a neat chart.........it's pinned on my Breakfast board on Pinterest.  You follow the basics and then can add other items depending on what type you want.  I basically wanted a 'leftover' frittata so I added red onion, some fresh organic spinach I wilted with the onion, some leftover already fried bacon broken up into small pieces and some feta cheese.  It was fantastic and I have enough for 3 more breakfasts!

It was a good day!  Now, for a chicken salad sandwich and some slice and bake cookies and I'm off to Podcast Land for the evening along with some hexies! 
Happy Trails!!!

Great productive day and treasures!!!

Look what I received via Royal Mail from Liz at Highland Heffalump blog...........sea glass progress and/or  stitch markers!  Sea glass from across the sea as she lives in the U.K.!  She offered these on YOP for just the price of the postage which was SO worth it!  Thank you, Liz!   I love them  especially since I can't find my other ones!  This is what happens when I 'organize'...I can't find anything! LOL! 

It was a beautiful day here....60's (F) and sunny so I got outside and planted peas in my old horse trough!

It has some trellises in there and bird netting and hydrangea sticks on the sides to hold the netting.  It may not be pretty but I hope it works!
I also finally ordered floss today and started a Spring cross stitch for my new Seasonal Sundays which will have the 4 seasons and Merry Monday will be Christmas cross stitch. Thursday is a 'blank' day for me to 'kit up' projects and order needed supplies.

 So cute and fun to do.  I found some 14 ct light green Aida from 'back in the day' and I am trying to use what I have.  I cut the fabric to size and zigzagged the edges on my sewing machine and got it started.....too fun...I had a hard time putting it down!  It's a free pattern on my Spring board on Pinterest and is by Glory Bee Designs.  The link is here
I also prepped my fabric for my Pickle Dish hexies............so that's ready for tonight's handwork.

I got my chicken salad made and went to the library to renew my books and see if they had any Boxcar Children books but no they didn't.  I also stopped by the market to get celery for the chicken salad.  That was pretty much my day but I feel good about it and there was much less yawning today! LOL!
Here' s my Nitty girl watching over me as I planted the peas.....she's my guardian angel.........

  Happy Trails!!!

The first Day of Spring!!!

 " Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it."  -  Ralph Waldo Emerson

I need to read this to myself every day....and several times! LOL!  I was slow and sleepy today.  I think it was the rain.  Rainy days make me want to curl up under a blanket with a cup of tea and a good book but alas....I had seeds to plant!  I got some planted and I'm still planning as I go.  I can't believe I used to garden....it feels like I've forgotten everything.  Although, in my defense I was in another gardening zone at that time so starting dates and frost dates are all mixed up in my head.  I have to write it all down and then do the math.  I planted 4 types of tomatoes:  Brandywine, Red Cherry, San Marzano and Cherokee Purple.  They are all organic  heirloom.  I planted 5 plants of each but only put one seed in each little planter hole.  Should I have put more?  Maybe 3?  I can add more tomorrow.  I put it on top of the refrigerator for warmth as I don't have grow lights.  Do I need grow lights if I'm starting my own seeds?

 I marked the craft sticks and then forgot I had the plastic greenhouse cover to go over the tray....duh...so I cut out holes for the markers....it worked.

 I found an old (1995) gardening journal that I never used and although the days don't coincide with the dates I will use it to keep track of my gardening.

I did work on the button-eyed cat cross stitch ....I love the look but I can't wait until this project is done and I never have to work on 40 count linen again....ever!  That's what my eyes look like after stitching on it awhile! LOL!  I'm probably going to use buttons for the eyes but decided to stitch them anyway in case it shows behind the buttons.

Oh, I finished the first Boxcar Children book.....I might be able to make my Goodreads Challenge this year with these books! LOL!  But I did enjoy it....sweet story!
Happy Spring and Happy Trails!!!

Turkey Tuesday and Irish Apple cake finally!

Beautiful day here in the Ozarks.  I wanted to get outside but again I was behind on other commitments I'd made to myself.  One being the Irish Apple Cake............this is before it went in the oven.  I had to 'jury rig' my spring form pan because the bottom is missing....I lined it with parchment paper and set it inside a metal tart pan...it worked fine...........

This is after it came out..............it looked great but the proof is in the taste............

after taking it out of the pan..................it's a  heavy, rustic style cake with lots of apples in it and not too sweet.....my kind of dessert!

I made the custard sauce and even though I tempered it I think I cooked it too long.  I stirred it the whole time but for some reason it curdled.  I did use Almond Milk but they say you can use it just like milk in recipes.  I also was very careful to 'temper' the eggs with a bit of hot milk before mixing them together.  It seemed fine but 4 minutes as the recipe stated might be a bit long for my burner.    It looks terrible but it tastes just fine.  But I would like to refine my custard making skills as it doesn't look too appetizing to have curdled custard sauce  on your cake....but that didn't stop me from eating a piece with a hot cup of tea!  What a treat!  I will be making this again! Next time I  may get whole milk just to be on the safe side!

I did other chores today but the cake took most of my afternoon. 

My grandson Sam, is reading The Boxcar Children series....I think there are 19 original and then ghost writers have added at least hundred more.  I had never heard of them but it sounded like a wonderful series that I would enjoy so I downloaded the first book and started reading it.....I love it!  I  guess I'm a kid at heart.

I also did some cross stitch on my Tuesday Turkey...........

BTW...if you want the recipe for the Irish Apple Cake you can get it here
Happy Trails!!!

Monday....what can I say?

I didn't get much done today....I still haven't made the Irish Apple Cake although I did grease and flour the pan....baby steps! There were just a lot of little things to attend to today.......like cut up the melon I bought...........these are the seeds.  I was wondering.....can I plant these?  Does anyone know?  Why buy seeds if these would work............

I needed to de-bone the chicken I had last week.............just enough left to make some chicken salad tomorrow....

Then all the bones went in the freezer to make bone broth in my Instant Pot.  I need to look up how many bones would make it worthwhile.

 Then I went shopping......online........I needed some sock yarn and I had been eyeing this for quite some time..........Knit Pick's Hawthorne Speckled fingering yarn in the Blueberry Speckle colorway.  I think I should make the Blueberry Waffles sock pattern with it...a match made in heaven!  This yarn is on sale right now too and comes in many other pretty colors.

I was on their site perusing some of their patterns and printed off a few free ones.  I also found some others and after finding 3 or 4 that I liked and discovering they were all from the same book....I bought the book............they had an ebook which was cheaper but I like the hard cover or paperback for patterns......it's too fiddly on my tablet.  So, I have treasures to look forward to!

It was Monthly Monday so I worked on my Hawk Run Hollow January on my 'breaks'.  I also spent time on 123 Stitch and Everything Cross Stitch looking at patterns and floss.  I didn't buy anything....yet!  But I need  to start getting ready for Stitch Mania in May and then before you know it YOP 2019-2020 will be here in July!  What fun to plan and purchase.  I hope you had a great St. Patrick's Day.  I did.....my meal was wonderful and I got to work on some handwork during the day while the dinner cooked and gave off a wonderful aroma.
Happy Trails!!!

YOP Week #38

Finishes:
Are you kidding?  Moi?  I did 'finish' the toe-up socks as in "I am DONE with them".....for now at least....I will be frogging and ordering some new sock yarn as I don't want to work with that yarn right now.   The heel turn was fine after all but then I messed up the heel flap.  

WIPs (works in progress): 
1) I got about 2 more rows done on the pink C2C blanket. It's a slow boat to China now and one color can be pretty boring after awhile

2) I worked on Hawk Run Hollow January some more...really enjoying this one............

 3)  I finally picked out my fabrics for the next pickle dish and need to cut them so I can work on them in the evening.

 5) I also worked on the primitive Santa last Sunday...........It should be done by next week.....I just noticed that "santa" is wearing heels and a dress...Huh?  Santa in drag?  Does Mrs. Claus know about this?

6)  I started a new patriotic project as I could not find the pattern for the current one...........this took a good part of the day yesterday as I cut the fabric to size, zig zagged the edges on my machine and started cross stitching.  Only to discover that it was going to be too big for the fabric! Yikes!  I had forgotten to recalculate for 18 count instead of the 28 count that the pattern referred to.  So.......I had to start all over.  Thank goodness I had more fabric!  I finally got some thread thrown on there!

Miscellaneous:
I did take 3 classes from The Prairie Homesteader but after that there were none available for some reason.  I wondered if it was the blizzard they got and I know she said they lost power.  Oh well, I enjoyed what I learned and I can research the rest on my own.  She has a cookbook out which I may purchase.
This week I have to order some floss and yarn for socks.  I am using DMC and trying to match up but I need floss desperately......especially the "fancy floss"!  Ooh la la!
I hope you are having  a nice St. Patrick's Day if you celebrate.  I do and I have the corned beef simmering away on the stove.  The whole house smells wonderful!  I have to go peel the vegetables now and if I get the Irish Apple cake made it will be a miracle!  May the luck of the Irish be with you!

TOP 10 (or more) WIP's:

1)  Pickle Dish
2)  Stars and Stripes Saturday - America x-stitch - done but needs finishing
3)  Amy's Frido Kahlo basket (July birthday) - done but needs to be sewn together
4)  Pin's embroidery
5)  socks
6)  C2C blanket for Grayson (July birthday) 
7)  Monthly Monday - HRH January
8)  Witchy Wednesday - Button-Eyed Cat
9)  Fall Friday - Pumpkin Spice Farm
10)  Santa Sunday -Old St. Nick
11.  Turkey Thursday
12.  Seasonal Sunday too - Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall)  I am ordering these

 Finishes so far in 2018-19: 
1.  4th of July cross stitch pillow/ornie
2.  Hitchhiker shawl
3.  Felici Hibiscus self-striping socks
4.  Felted wool loafer slippers with leather soles for me Sam
5.  washcloth (extra large) and back scrubber for Christmas or birthday for SIL
6.   Iowa Hawkeye hats for Sam and Grayson
7.  Techniques learned so far this year: a) knit cast on, b) reading a knitting chart, c) lace work, d) inserting and using a lifeline e) charting a graphghan
8.   dishcloth(s)...I need to count them
9. Cubs hat for Uriah
10. 12 days of Christmas Advent gifts
11. Cowl for Ben
12. Cowl for Tracy
13. Cowl for Natalie
14.  # 2018 Collectible ornaments for the grands
15.  Cowl for me or gift basket
16.  11 scrubbies for gift basket
17.  1 pot handle cover for gift basket
18.  Ben's Bear's hat
19.  Falling Leaves Scarf
20.  Tissue Box Cover - 5 of them!
21.  Granny Square Shawl



Please stop by and see all the other fantastic projects that other  YOP'ers are working on.
Happy Trails!!!

St. Patrick's Day Eve!!!

I washed up all the fresh veggies and fruits I bought yesterday.  There was so much in the produce department I wanted to buy but I wouldn't be able to eat it all before it spoiled.  There were artichokes and asparagus and there were probably strawberries from Florida but I didn't even look!  You could just tell it was all so fresh.  Here's what I did get.........seedless red grapes.....I've been snacking on them all afternoon........so good!

Some kind of 'new' melon...I thought it was just a cantalope...I'll like it as I love melons of all types.........

radishes and a cucumber that's in the frig along with some organic avocados (another first at Walmart)

 These radishes had all their leafy green tops but I trimmed them up for salads........

and of course the apples for the Irish Apple cake which did not get made today.......

 Instead I went outside it was so gorgeous and prepped my seed tray which took more time than you can imagine............the seed starting mix is so light that you have to keep pushing it into the little holes for the seeds and then water and leave it and then go back (tomorrow) and see if it has sunken.  I have watered in the past and it just bubbles up and goes all over the soil is so light....lots of vermiculite.  Back in the day I used to make my own and maybe I'll get to that point again but for now I just want to get some seeds going.  I know I'm already late. 

I'm already with craft sticks to mark them and my seeds...although I know have more somewhere....I just saw them...now if I can only remember where?

I know I've shown this before....a gal I order from up in Iowa sells these for around $10 I think?  Anyway, it is the nuts for misting plants and perfect for the seed starting mix as it doesn't drown it or blow it all over the place. Her website is here

She uses it for ironing and quilting but also tea dyeing which I didn't think of!  Plus, yarn dyeing.....oh, the possibilites are endless!  I love mine and I may order another one.  You can read more about it on her website.   She's a great gal and her customer service is awesome!

That's all for today...I'm going to force myself to do my 5 minute pickup and 15 minute de-clutter and then it is supper and relax and watch Priscilla and Chelsea's podcast!  Exciting huh?  It is for me and all the excitement I need or want! LOL!
Happy Trails!!!

I am a tired buckaroo!

I got up at 2:30 a.m. this morning so I am fading fast now at 5:30 p.m.  But I was able to get some priorities done today.  I paid a few bills, did some laundry, cleaned the frig and went grocery shopping.  I got all the ingredients for corned beef and cabbage for St, Patty's Day!  My favorite meal in the whole wide world!  There's the corned beef, cabbage, carrots, rutabaga, turnips and potaoes....yummo!  

sss

I researched traditional Irish desserts and found an apple cake recipe with custard sauce so that is what I am making for dessert.   I'm Irish but I don't have a big sweet tooth and I don't remember having many desserts growing up.  But I do like a little something with a cup of tea in the evening.  The recipe only called for 4 apples but the bag of apples was cheaper than buying 4 individually!

The great thing about getting up so early was that I was able to get the kitchen cleaned up and the frig cleaned before I went to the store.  It's so nice to be able to put things away knowing where it all is and that you've rid the area of 'past their prime' foods.  It gives you more room for one thing!

 I always mean to do that but it doesn't always happen.....today it did and I was a happy camper!

Oh!!!  News alert!  News alert!  Did you know that Walmart now carries organic meat?  No organic chickens yet but they had all cuts of beef...grass fed and lamb and there might have been some pork there too.  I was so excited!  I just got a pound of hamburger as I'm trying to clear out the freezer.  I was thinking I was going to have to order online and I still might.  The Butcher Box has all organic and bone in chicken parts and whole chickens and grass fed organic meat and wild caught fish of all kinds.  I haven't checked the price yet but it's a subscription service.

 

I got all the groceries put away and did some de-cluttering and tonight I'm going to do some cross stitch.  What are you up to tonight?  I try to watch a movie on Friday nights.  Last week I watched a favorite of mine.....The Magic or Ordinary Days......it's on You Tube.   

Happy Trails!!! 

Sunny, windy, warm and blossoming!

Some of the plants got a little beaten down in the heavy rain we had after they started opening up but they're perking back up..........

These are the tiger lilies coming up.........I rarely see blooms as the deer love them!

There are Asian lilies in the front yard and the deer don't get that close to the house so they usually bloom and they smell wonderful.......
Everything is budding out................

See the Bradford Pear buds getting ready to flower?

and the clematis has come alive..........

Today, I actually sat down and worked on 2019 Goals..........I know, a bit late but in reading the budgeting book and also Prairie Homestead podcast......they both were talking about setting goals.  Now, when I had my career and family I was the biggest goal setter you ever saw but when I retired I figured why bother?  Well, actually it's more important that ever now as I am on 'the short list' for time left on this planet and I still have things I want to accomplish.  Truth be told it feels like I'm spinning my wheels.  So to have 2 incidences where Goal setting was front and center....well, I don't believe in coincidence so I sat down today and got serious!  They need to be fine tuned but they are specific and measurable and I also learned that along with budgeting your money, you also need to budget your time.  It seems pretty obvious but when you're retired it's like 'la-la land' and you pretty much think there's always tomorrow.....but there might not be!  So, I  have got to get busy and get things accomplished so I CAN sit back and enjoy my retirement without all this stuff weighing me down physically and mentally.

 Excuse the notes at the top...when I hear or see something that I want to look into further I write notes at the top of my journal pages.  Anyway, I feel better now that I have them and an action plan to boot.  Now if I could only be infused with extra energy to get it all done! LOL!
My socks bit the dust yesterday....the toe up socks.... so to 'cleanse my palate' of the bad taste in my mouth.........I started on a dishcloth....easy and satisfying after my bitter defeat by the socks!

My sidekick,  Grace kept me company.......she does not get into my yarn...just Miss Peeps.  To think she almost died and now is so healthy........I am so grateful!  She's a sweetheart.

I hope the wind dies down where you are and the sun comes out and the snow melts to reveal GREEN! 
Happy Trails!!!