daily yarns 'n more

and the answer is...

A Grist Stone.

We saw this when we were in San Antonio last January, this was actually found at the Alamo when we toured it.  Isn't it just so pretty?  Wouldn't it be cool to have one of these things in your garden?  I thought I'd google them and after seeing the prices of these babies, I'll just admire my photo ;) 

I know I haven't been around on the blog or visiting, but all is good and I'm doing good.  I've been busy sewing {can't wait to show you but that has to wait}, the sewing room is coming along, the drywall is all up and I picked out the paint and the flooring.  In between working on the room {which I'll admit, Jim is doing all of the work (smile), I'm sorry I didn't take before pictures of the project}, and sewing, as I posted previously we skipped to Michigan to see our newest grandson.  I absolutely loved this shot.

I've been meaning to show you my homemade vanilla that I made a few months back.  I've been too busy to do any baking, and I can't wait to use it.

I gave my kitchen aide away when we lived in Illinois, because Mr started making bread and got a Bosch mixer, so I started using that instead.  I recently got it back and didn't want it sitting on the counter collecting dust while not in use.  So, I dug into my fabric stash and came out with some fabric to make a cover.  I didn't have quite enough fabric of any one kind, so I added the third color which is actually supposed to be a pocket, I decided not to make it a pocket.  I found the cute download for the kitchen aide pattern on line which really added to the cover.

Like I said all is good here, just so busy.  I hope to visit Y'All later while watching the Hawks play tonight.

Have a wonderful day on this cold, rainy Friday!

 

 

snow bunnies, potatoes and google reader

I bought this cute bunny pincushion pattern from Thimbleanna's shop when we lived back in Illinois, and I just got around to making it now.  I have no idea if I put the front paws on correctly, but I really don't care I'm happy how it turned out.  I'm not going to use it as a pincushion, I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for, maybe it'll be my little mascot when I go on quilt retreats.

I love hamburgers on the grill and we grilled out on a Sunday during a Blackhawks game.  I made The Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes to go with the burgers.  Mine sure didn't look anything like hers but they sure tasted good.

Changing the subject.

I absolutely can't believe it.  Google Reader is closing.  I found out over at Sandra's blog yesterday, then when I went on my Google Reader there was a message that popped up.  When I first started blogging I used Bloglines, then that closed and I went to Google Reader.  But Sandra was so kind to do the leg work for us.  I think I'm going to go with Feedly.  I've been checking it out and I think I'm going to like it.

Next month I will have been blogging for 6 years, and so much has come and gone in the blog world since I started way back in 2007, that I just roll with the punches.

Have an awesome kind of day :)

 

what's happening

Tomorrow I head out for a quilt retreat, I'll be gone until Sunday.  My sewing projects and equipment are all packed up and ready to go.  I'm really excited to go and hope to get a lot of my UFO's done.

We still have snow on the ground and it's supposed to snow on Thursday afternoon and have accumulations up to 6-8 inches.  I'm glad I won't be traveling in the bad weather.

Sugaring hasn't started yet, it looks like it might be the first part of March.

Pasty was on the menu for this week and I ground up a venison roast and used that instead of ground beef, and it tasted very good.

I saw this idea for a curtain in the Country Sampler January 2013 issue.  It was really advertising for a wire basket and rug panel and the curtain was in the picture.  I loved the look and found some brown checked fabric that I thought would look great.

I added the tie higher up than what the photo showed, to put the curtain down is easy as pie, just untie the tie.

I'm slowly decorating our home here.  I have ideas, and one at a time I'm adding them to our home.  I love our log home, decorating it is a lot different than your traditional home is, it's not easy adding shelves or pictures and I have to be choosy with what and where I put things.

I hope Y'All have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend, I'll catch you next week when I get back.

 

i've got some winners

The winner of the Flea Market Style magazine is.....Ramona from Ramona's Home Place.  Send me your snail mail Ramona and I'll get it out ASAP.

Another winner is the Onion Straws from The Pioneer Woman that I had made for dinner tonight.  It sure seems like I'm turning into a food blog :)

The third winner today is the BLACKHAWKS!!!!!  Yeah Hawks!!!

{source}

If you don't know already, I am a BIG hockey fan, my husband played hockey, my sons played hockey, and I love watching it.  I have been a Blackhawks fan since I was a young girl, and even tho I can't watch Jim or my sons play anymore, I can still enjoy my Blackhawks.  This shot was from last year when Jim and I went to a game with one of our sons and daughter-in-law.

I guess all in all it was a winner of a day.  I hope Y'all had a wonderful weekend and are relaxing and gearing up for another week to come around.  It's been cold here and no signs of sugaring yet, I am anxiously waiting to hear that first "ping" sound in the bucket.

 

it twas a wonderful day

Wow, does fresh vanilla smell good, and my van smelled good all the way home from town today.  I bought the last of the vanilla beans from the co-op in town, I was so happy, now I could start making my vanilla.

I took a break this afternoon and looked at a few magazines.  I love these magazines, Flea Market Style, Vintage Style and Romantic Country Flea Market Style, I love getting neat decorating ideas.

I have to tell you about one of the dishes that was on my menu for the week.  I told you I sometimes switch up the menu, this one was on for Friday but I made it today.  It was Trisha's Chicken Pie and it was WONDERFUL!!!  I did add some frozen peas to it and made her Daddy's Biscuits to go along with it, though I didn't really have to because the biscuit on top was so good.  It helped to have the extra biscuit to sop up the creamy liquid from the pie...YUM!  This dish was an easy dish to make.

I love ending my day like this and now I'll put my feet up and join my husband to watch our beloved Chicago Blackhawks play.

Y'All have a wonderful night....Go HAWKS!!!!!

 

texas pecan pie

We stopped on our way home from Texas to have dinner with friends who live in Atlanta Texas.  On our arrival at their place we were greeted with canned goods and two zip lock bags full of pecans, along with the recipe to make the pie.  We already tried a jar of the canned pinto beans and they were great!

The pecan pie was delicious, and with a dollop of whip cream on it, it tasted even more delicious.

It's been a lazy day today and I love days like this.  Watching a movie and just enjoying the day without feeling guilty about not doing anything.

It is after all Sunday, isn't it supposed to be that way? :

 

i love to bake :: i love to cook

When the weather is bad.

Cook books for Christmas...YES!

The Trisha Yearwood cookbook I got from my sister and brought it down here.  The bottom one is a really cool book from our son and daughter-in-law, it's 101 canning and pickling recipes, that we both can't wait to try them.

Blue cheese dressing...It can be made to be lower calorie by using fat-free ingredients, made from my new Trisha Yearwood cook book.  I couldn't find a link to this recipe, but if you want it let me know.

With or without tomatoes and bacon?  What do you think?  This dressing tasted so good I served it for lunch AND dinner.

French breakfast puffs...also made to have less calories and not as much butter as Ree uses...from The Pioneer Woman's cook book.

Fresh ground cardamon added instead of nutmeg...A+

If the rainy weather keeps up, we'll see what else I come up with to make.

 

hot soup on a snowy winter day

Do you go on Pinterest and pin a lot of delicious looking recipes but never make them?  I do, that is until now.  I've decided to make one recipe a week of the recipes that I have pinned on Pinterest.  Waiting for the snow to hit I thought that this Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup would hit the spot.  I also made seasoned tortilla strips to put on top.  I've only had chicken tortilla soup once so I really couldn't compare the soup I made to any other.  This recipe was very tasty and I plan to make it again.  I just love soup on a cold winter day.

Well, it came and we're all set.  I had filled the feeders yesterday, I figured that if I'm filling my cupboards with food I couldn't forget to fill the cupboards of my feathered friends.

And, I'm so glad I didn't forget.

Jim out plowing trying to keep up with the snow drifts in the driveway.  Our driveway is quite long and will drift over, our youngest the first winter here got stuck and I do mean stuck, where she slid off and we had to dig her out.

I feel so safe and warm here in our little cabin.  I hope Y'All are safe and sound.

 

the-weeks-end

While Jim was out hunting I was putting a lining in the felted bag I had made back in 2009.  I love this bag and only use it in the fall/winter months, but hated that I had to dig for everything, and never could find anything in it, my keys, phone, a pen, whatever it was I was looking for I could never find.  So...I decided to add a lining to it, but I didn't want to go out and buy fabric, so I dug into my fabric scraps, and found that the fabric that I had made the apron for my daughter-in-law with was pretty much the only scrap fabric that would look the best.  I love it!

Also this weekend I made The Pioneer Woman's Fried Mozzarella, these were very good, and I was pretty surprised that I actually got them looking (almost) like hers :)

I just had to take a photo of Jim heading off to the deer stand in the afternoon.  Nothing yet so far, but we're hoping.

I also made lots and lots of cookies that I will be donating to an event that is happening in town over the Thanksgiving holidays.

Whew, I'm tired from such a busy weekend.

How about you, how was your weekend?  Was it busy or relaxing?

 

who doesn't love cupcakes

They're so cute and small and just the right size.  I've been really, really, loving them, and I've been really, really, loving making them.  I've been having a lot of fun decorating them but I really need to take a decorating class, even if it's just for fun.  I pretty much have been winging it when I've been decorating them.

Since we both can't eat all of them, and we both shouldn't eat all of the cupcakes I've been making, I boxed some up to give to the neighbors and Jim brought some to a widowed man who has been helping him.  Jim said the cupcakes made his eyes light up.  I just hope there were still lit after he ate one...(lol)

May I offer you one?