Scotty's Place

Love This Site

2009-12-21T22:52:00.002-06:00

I found another great site to browse and surf all day (or night in my case tonight). It's Apartment Therapy, and I love it. Check it, friends. Some of the ideas just blow my mind. Love it!

You're welcome!

More Pretties

2009-12-21T15:26:00.003-06:00

S'mo Flowers

I'm making a pillow. Only four more to go! Of course, then I have to crochet the last round behind them to make each one into a square, and then I have to crochet them all together, and then -- it'll be a few days.

Sue inspired me to make some butterflies today. I made this one and a lavender one. I learned how HERE, same as her. It was easy and fun. Thanks, Sue!

Family Gold

2009-12-21T09:18:00.003-06:00

These little apricot pies are like pure gold in my family.

My mother makes them on special occasions, usually Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. They take her all day to make since she has to make so many of them. If she doesn't make enough for everybody to have at least one while we're there AND some to take home, the fight is on!

Did you notice Eli's little face in that picture above? I cracked up when I uploaded the pictures and saw that. Hee-hee. He's hoping I'll inadvertently drop some of the pie. That's the only way he's going to get any! (He really does manage to get in nearly every photo I take, doesn't he? Such a camera hound.)

Mmm...look at that golden center and the flakey crust!

Can you see the sugar on top and the bits of sugary goodness that have fallen off on my hands? SO GOOD! These little pies are baked, not fried. They are so soft and perfect. Don't you wish you could have one for breakfast too? Well, you can't! Because they're mine, all mine! I'm warning you...you'll draw back a nub if you touch one!

Flower Power

2009-12-18T10:47:00.004-06:00

These are the flowers I made yesterday...

There's nothing else going on. I guess I'll make more flowers today. I can't find anything else I want to do. I have SO MUCH scrap yarn still, I really need to make another scrap blanket of some kind. I may just HAVE to do another ripple. Wouldn't that be awful? ;)

I have lots of purples and blues, and those two colors do look good together. Hmm...I'll have to think on that a while longer.

I'm going to go hide in my bedroom with the dogs while the rest of my house gets cleaned. I had to cancel her last time because I was sick, so my house really needs a good cleaning.

Hope y'all have a nice Friday. Later.

A Fun Place

2009-12-17T18:04:00.002-06:00

Whenever I go HERE, I can look and look and look at all of the cool rooms all day. I love looking at them!

I hope you do too. Don't say I'm not a giver, cuz I'm giving you this. It's a fun gift too! Have fun.

Coo-Coo for Handmade Garland

2009-12-17T10:16:00.003-06:00

My latest obsession is homemade garland. Ever since I made the crochet stars and crochet snowflakes, I want more! I've seen some really pretty handmade garland on etsy and on other people's blogs lately. My home, backyard, and front door will soon be dripping with garland. Ha-ha.

Yo-yos from Backyardprims

I bought these fabric yo-yos this morning, plus some other colors AND some already sewn into a garland.

Here are some pretty crochet flowers that could be used as garland:

Crochet flowers from Foxtailcreek Studio's etsy shop.

It's so fun to surf around and look at all the different kinds. I must control myself from buying them all up.

Compost Cookies

2009-12-16T20:53:00.003-06:00

Sounds kinda gross, huh?

I made these cookies this afternoon and they are delicious and unique. They've got that salty-sweet thing going on. I heard about this cookie from Anderson Cooper. (Love him!) He's been talking about them for three days since he's been sitting in for Regis on Live with Regis & Kelly. He gets them at a bakery in New York, but I went online and found a copycat recipe.

Compost Cookies
Makes approx. 30 good-sized cookies

1 stick butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons dry, used coffee grounds
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup roughly crushed potato chips
1/2 cup roughly crushed pretzels
1/2 cup roughly crushed Fritos
1/2 cup peanut butter or butterscotch chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, egg, coffee grounds, and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, combine the rest of ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together with the creamed ingredient until evenly distributed.
Scoop approx 2 Tbsp of batter and drop two inches apart onto a cookie sheet. Press dough down slightly with the palm of your hand.
Bake at 350º for 10-11 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Note: I used one cup of chocolate chips instead of half chocolate and half peanut butter or butterscotch because that’s all I had.

You Shut-Up!

2009-12-16T10:03:00.008-06:00

I got every bit of my Christmas shopping done yesterday and took Eli to be groomed while I shopped.

Eli gets really car sick so I was a little worried about him throwing up all over himself after getting all groomed and pretty. He did throw up on the way there and threw up immediately upon getting in the car when leaving the groomer's. I hadn't even started the car! Evidently the car ride and groomer experience (his first) was hard on him. He was sick most of yesterday after coming home with diarrhea, not eating, and throwing up. Poor thing. He seemed happy while he was there though. The groomer said he was happy the whole time. I even paid extra for the "express" grooming so he wouldn't have to be left in a kennel waiting. He was only there an hour.

Anyway, he looked nice and clean and smelled so good. I didn't like the haircut, however....AT ALL. It's all jagged and uneven. AND I told her NOT to cut his ear hair at all, so what did she do? Take a wild guess. SHE CUT HIS EAR HAIR!! Stupid-ass!

Eli is hacked up and I'm hacked off.

I think he looks much better when I do the grooming myself. He wasn't as fluffy as when I do it, and I don't hack off any ear hair. Papillons are supposed to have long ear hair! I could go on a really long rant here, but I won't. You're very welcome. BUT YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO CUT A PAPILLON'S EAR HAIR DAMMIT! DUH!!!

Okay, sorry.

So let's look at another cutie pie to get our minds off of that, shall we?

So I was carrying an armload of toiletries I bought at Target yesterday through the house and into our bathroom. While traversing the baby gate that keeps the dogs out of our bedroom and bathroom during the day, I fell. With no hands to brace my fall because they were full of deoderant, hairspray, 12 bars of soap, and various and sundry other items, most of my weight hit directly on my left knee and I plowed my head into the sideboard of our bed. Ouch.

The dogs could not get to me because of the gate, so they just stood there barking and whining as I lay on the floor trying to figure out what just happened. Just the day before I had a cussing fit because of that babe gate and always stumbling when I try to step over it. "We're getting too old to have an obstacle course in our house!" Okay, that's not exactly what I said. There were several obscene adjectives thrown in that sentence that I didn't mention.

My knee seems to be fine, albeit bruised and slightly sore.

And then I immediately came out of the bathroom and had to clean up a pile of liquid poop on the living room floor. Did I mention Eli was sick yesterday?

I didn't crochet one stitch again yesterday. I did look through some patterns trying to figure out what I wanted to do next, but that's it on the crochet front.

I have some work to finish and then I'm going to bake some cookies. I'll share the recipe if they turn out well.Have I complained lately about how fat I am? Well, then...I'M FAT! It's really bugging me. Obviously not enough to NOT make cookies and eat them though. Whatever. Shut-up.

I've also been a HUGE BITCH lately. I just feel irritated. Whatever. Shut-up.

Bye, my friends.

Oh, I forgot...

Shut-up! I know I'm fat and bitchy! You don't think it's the "BIG M" do you? No way. Shut-up.

2009-12-15T09:41:00.004-06:00

I did a bit of cleaning yesterday, and when I say a "bit" that's what I mean. I cleaned out this sideboard and moved it to a different spot. It belonged to my grandmother and a few other family members before I took custody of it.

It had become so stuffed with crap I had to do something. It was a mixture of all of my photo albums, photo boxes, framed photos, and just loose photos. I also had some glassware in there -- flower vases, a cookie jar, and various pieces of carnival glass.

Anyway, it's all cleaned up and neatly put back. Now I just need to do the same thing with a few other pieces of furniture that have become storage places for all my junk. I don't particularly like the spot where I moved it, but I didn't like it in the other spot either.

I told Barnaby that we really needed to consider having a garage sale. There's plenty of things I need to get rid of to get this place in shape. I'm quite sure I blew my wad of energy for awhile though. Ha-ha. An hour or two of cleaning and I'm over it.

I didn't crochet a single stitch yesterday. I had crocheted three rows of a new ripple blanket the day before, but I've decided I don't like the ripple pattern I used and I'm going to frog it and start another one. I hate when that happens, but I'd rather start over than spend so much time on something I don't really like, even if it's not for me.

We are going to have our family Christmas get-together next Sunday afternoon. I have several things I plan to make food-wise. A big crockpot of BBQ meatballs, some fudge, a big casserole dish of hot bean dip that I tried making this weekend and was great, and I don't know what else yet.

We plan to do white elephant gifts again. We've been doing that the last few years and it seems to work out well and is fun and easy. If you don't know what that is, you can Google it and read about it.

Guess I'd better get my butt in gear and get out of the house today. I need to run a few errands. Ugh. If I think about it too much I won't go, so no thinking, Pam! Just do it!

Y'all have a good one. Bye.

Ripple Pillow

2009-12-12T13:54:00.004-06:00

Man, I'm a posting fool today!

But I HAD to show you my finished ripple pillow:

I like it.

Scottish Shortbread

2009-12-12T12:00:00.005-06:00

I had to jump on and make another post today to tell you about the most wonderful cookies!!

I was reading Suburban Hooker's blog last night and saw this recipe and decided to try it this morning. The link to the recipe in her blog is not working (last time I checked this morning) so use this one: Scottish Shortbread Cookies It was fun to read everything written by the author about making this recipe.

I just made half a batch in a 9" x 9" pan, but now I wish I had made a whole batch. I only had one cup of cornstarch anyway so I couldn't have made the whole recipe if I'd wanted to without running to the store first.

Just for your reference, this is how the "dough" should look when you're finished mixing it and put it in the pan. I used my hands to mix it and pat it down in the pan. (This picture is before it's patted down)

These are the most wonderful, delicate, delightful things to eat. I know that sounds dorky to use those words, but it's true! You've GOT to try them. I insist.

Fun, Fun, FUN!

2009-12-12T10:38:00.004-06:00

I was super-excited when I got this in the mail yesterday:

It's the package from my swap partner over at For the Love of Crochet-Along! It came all the way from Australia...

And I laughed out loud when I read the contents on the label and "vegemite" was listed! Ha! I had to get a picture of that.

And I was not disappointed when I looked inside at all the goodies my partner had sent me...

Three potholders and a dishcloth

A little stuffed koala bear

Two skeins of wool yarn

1 roll of purple thread

A crochet hook for using with thread

Two very pretty bookmarks crocheted in thread

Several handmade cards made by her special needs students at the school where she teaches

Two pineapple doily patterns

One goodie recipe

A DVD of The Man from Snowy River

And, of course, the vegemite!

Here's a close-up of the vegemite bottle. I actually had some on toast for breakfast and it wasn't bad at all! I was surprised at the very dark color of it. I don't know why I expected it to be light in color and look kind of like hummus, but it didn't at all. Its taste was salty, but not really much flavor beyond that. Kathy had told me in her card how to eat it -- lightly spread on a piece of buttered toast.

And this was the last item I took out of the box...a cup towel.

Thank you so much, Kathy! I loved every bit of it!

I can't wait until the first time vegemite comes up in conversation or I hear that song by Men at Work. Now I can pipe up and say, have any of YOU had a vegemite sandwich?? Well, I HAVE!!

Okay, it was toast, but still.

Pants on Fire?

2009-12-11T10:13:00.004-06:00

I made this cute little-bitty bird and snowman yesterday. Aren't they darling? The pattern link for a similar snowman is in my sidebar.

I worked on some ripply goodness last night. Can't wait to show it to you when I'm finished with it...just not sure when that will be. It depends on how diligent I am about working on it, but I'd say within the next few days.

Here is a sandwich Barnaby had for dinner last night made with The Garden Bell's Italian Beef Recipe. It was delicious. He had more than one of these. I sauteed onions to go with it, but my green pepper was mushy so I tossed it in the garbage. I had Italian peppers on mine instead, and Barnaby had jalapenos. Num-num.

I was so worried all day yesterday while the beef was cooking in the crock pot that I wasn't going to like it. It smelled awful to me. I fretted and fretted over whether I should lie and tell Kate I loved it even though I didn't, or just telling her the truth if I hated it. Come to pass, I didn't have to worry at all because it was delicious! Ha-ha. I'm always borrowing trouble and worrying about things that never come to pass.

What would y'all have done if you had tried a recipe someone gave you and you hated it and knew they were going to ask you about it? (I had already opened my big mouth and blogged about the fact I was making it.)

(Just so you know, I had decided I was going to tell a white lie and tell you we liked it, Kate!)

But I promise I'm NOT lying when I say that it was delicious and I'll definitely make it again and again. My pants are not on fire. Can you really ruin a roast anyway? I don't think so unless it's just plain spoiled to begin with. Whatever. I just freaked out about nothing. Welcome to my world!

2009-12-10T10:29:00.002-06:00

I went up into the attic a little earlier this morning and got down the Christmas decoration boxes. I'm happy to report I got them down without incident. I should have waited until Barnaby got home tonight, but I'd been forgetting to ask him to help me get them down so just decided to do it. I'm so glad I didn't bust my ass or break anything.

Anywho...this is the little lighted Christmas Village that my sister got me three or four years ago. She got it at Target after Christmas when they were really discounted and she couldn't pass them up. I think she bought all they had and gave one to my mom, one to me, and kept one for herself. It's my favorite Christmas decoration. The lights are all twinkly and change colors.

I also put up a double-strand of red lights across the mantle and down the sides. I'm thinking that's all I'll put out this year. I'm just not a big Christmas person.

Anyway, just wanted to share it with y'all. Ta-ta.

Finally, Italian Beef

2009-12-10T08:47:00.004-06:00

Nothing terribly interesting is happening in these parts lately. Sorry about the boring posts, but at least you're getting something, huh?

I managed to get a roast in the crockpot this morning...only because Barnaby was sweet enough to go to the store before he went to work this morning and get the beef broth. I had planned to make it yesterday, but when I went to get the beef broth, all I had was chicken.

I'm making Kate's Italian Beef. I've been wanting to make it ever since I saw her post about it.

It's 23 degrees outside right now. Now that's cold! Needless to say, I have no plans to leave the house today.

Y'all have a good one.

Snowflakes & Molasses Bars

2009-12-09T09:43:00.006-06:00

Crocheted Snowflake Garland

I got the pattern for the snowflakes made with regular worsted weight yarn HERE. It's really easy and quick. I didn't use their method for making the garland. I just crocheted a chain of 42 and then started adding in the snowflakes with a single crochet, ch 14, add another with a sc, ch 14, until I'd used up all my snowflakes, and ended with another 42 chains. I used Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn.

I made these bars yesterday. It's really a cake so I don't know why they call it bars, but whatever...they're really fantastic if you like that deep, dark, earthy flavor of molasses like I do. I think the coffee in the recipe is the secret ingredient that makes these super-delicious.

This recipe came from my MIL, Bonnie, in Wisconsin. When she read my post about the Ginger Cookies and how well Barnaby liked them, she emailed me and send me this recipe which was a favorite of his as a kid. Thanks, Bonnie!

Changes I made to the recipe:

*I used butter instead of shortening.

*I used regular molasses. I've never heard of "light" before.

*I left out the cloves.

*I used a cream cheese frosting instead of a plain powdered sugar frosting after the bars had cooled completely.

Frosted Molasses Bars

1/2 C. shortening
1/2 C. sugar
1 well-beaten egg
1/2 C. light molasses
1/2 C. hot water
1-1/2 C. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. instant coffee
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves

Thoroughly cream shortening & sugar; add egg & molasses; mix well. Add hot water. Add sifted dry ingredients & beat til smooth. Pour into greased 13 x 9 pan & bake at 350 degrees F for 25 mins. While warm, frost w/powdered sugar frosting.

Happy Birfday Sister!

2009-12-07T12:09:00.003-06:00

Hope you have a wonderful day!

*************************************

My hands have not been idle whilst I've been sick. There's much more than this that can't be shown because they're gifts.

Also, I haven't forgotten about revealing my big project and pattern for you. I just haven't been able to go over to my mom's and get it or take pictures of it because of these germs running amok in my body. Maybe another couple of days or so and I'll be able to.

Bye!

Ginger Cookies

2009-12-07T09:37:00.004-06:00

I felt well enough yesterday to make these cookies. They're really good.

I usually make ginger snaps or molasses cookies about once a year, but I've never found a recipe I liked well enough to keep. I'll be keeping this one. Barnaby raved, and he never raves about anything that's not chocolate!

Ginger Cookies

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter (1 ½ sticks), softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup sugar & ¾ tsp cinnamon, mixed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a mixing bowl and sift with a whisk. Set aside.

Beat the butter with an electric mixer until creamy; add in sugar, egg, and molasses and beat until well combined. With a spoon, mix in flour mixture half at a time until a soft dough forms.

Pinch off small amounts of dough and roll into 1-inch balls, roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture, and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Tops will be cracked. Cool completely on a wire rack.

****************************

I'm feeling much better today. Thanks to all for your get well wishes. I think I'm on the upswing now.

Sickie's Food & Drink

2009-12-04T16:24:00.003-06:00

My staples the last three days. The unopened Michael Buble' CDs is an indication that I haven't even felt well enough to open and listen at all.

The Lipton Noodle Soup is wonderful. But you do need to doctor it up with more noodles. I prefer angel hair pasta and lots of it. You can also chop up some garlic in it if you are so inclined. It tastes so good.

Then there's Earl Grey Tea when I want something hot, O.J., and CranApple juice. I usually prefer CranGrape, but I wanted something different. The ginger ale is not in the picture, but I've been drinking it too. Usually I drink half juice and half ginger ale in my glass of ice...always lots of ice in my drink please. And that includes milk.

My roasted garlic toast. I used 8 cloves on those three little pieces of french bread toast. It was really good.

To roast the garlic: I cut the top off of the root-end of the head of garlic, poured a little olive oil over it, and wrapped it up in aluminum foil. Baked at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes on a cookie sheet. When it's cool enough to handle, squeeze the individual cloves and the mushy roasted garlic goodness will come right out onto your toast. It's not as strong as raw garlic but has the best flavor.

A cookbook I ordered along with the Michael Buble' CDs the other day. I haven't cracked it open yet either.

Don't look too close at my dirty house. I'm sick! OMG, my hearth is really dirty. It really shows up in these pictures. I can't even see it in person.

My dogs were all hanging out at the fireplace this morning when I first started it. It was cold. They're waiting to be fed too.

I used the flash so they all had red robot eyes in these pictures. I tried to fix it, but I just managed to make them look creepy if you look too close.

Still Sick

2009-12-04T09:37:00.002-06:00

All the garlic did was give me horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible gas. Did I mention it was horrible?

Home Remedy

2009-12-03T09:42:00.004-06:00

I'm roasting a head of garlic in the oven as I type this. I'm going to eat as much as I can schmeared on some toast. Looking for home remedies, that's the first thing I saw. But maybe I'm supposed to eat it raw? I don't know, but I'm roasting mine.

I'm pretty sure I've just got a cold, even though I rarely get colds. I always swear it's the dogs that keep me from getting colds. They don't get the human cold virus, ya know. I believe their kisses keep me from it. I must not be getting enough love lately.

Fletcher is really the only kissie dog out of the five. Eli will give you kisses, but only kiss your eyes...weirdo. Sammi will give you kisses, but only if you ask her to -- same with Phoebe. And Abbey has always acted like YOU'RE the one who is gross to kiss and will just barely lick you with a look of distaste on her face. That is, unless she wants something. Then she'll be a little more forthright with it. Mr. Man, Fletcher, will kiss the first layer of skin off your face if you let him.

"Fletcher! Get in here and give your momma a kiss. You've been a slacker!"

If anybody wants to give me their home remedy for a cold, please do. And I mean besides the usual chicken soup and vitamin C. Everyone knows those two home remedies.

That just reminded me that I dreamed I was making tea with my rosemary plant last night. Well, now isn't that interesting? Maybe that was a message "from beyond" and I should try that. I think I'll Google it first and see what the Big Brain has to say.

I've gotta go blow my nose. Bye.

Edited to add: From www.teacuppa.com:

Rosemary Tea
Rosemary Tea increases circulation and slightly raises the blood pressure warming the body from the inside out. Internally Rosemary Tea stimulates the liver and digestion, promotes blood circulation, tones up the blood vessels, invigorates, and increases your awareness. Use Rosemary Tea as a mouthwash for bad breath.

2009-12-02T12:41:00.002-06:00

Yep, I'm sick. Red splotches on my throat and stuffy sinuses. I just got up for the second time, but I'm going back to bed.

Surprise!

2009-12-02T08:56:00.003-06:00

I woke up to two surprises this morning.

1. My throat was sore and swollen. Please no! I'm hoping I just snored or something and it will go away after I have my warm coffee. Yes, that's what will happen.

2. I opened the back door to let the dogs out and my mouth dropped open. It snowed! Surprise, Mr. Weatherman! They all said it wasn't going to get this far east...wrong! I know they are all so disappointed that they didn't get to use their Arctic Blast graphics and sinister music. I tell you guys every winter how they do that when they think it's going to snow. You'd think the world was coming to an end. Anyway, it snowed. It's all supposed to turn to rain for the rest of the day and just be wet and cold.

Big whoop. But it is highly unusual around these parts.

Barstool Cover, Etc.

2009-12-01T20:49:00.003-06:00

You-know-who managed to sneak into another picture...

I haven't painted the stool yet (heh-heh), but here's the seat cover I made. My next ripple is going to be mainly aqua and red too. It's come to my attention that these are the new IT colors, and I'm diggin' them. Does anybody even say that anymore? Pammy Sue, the 1960's called and they want their catch words back.

After my post with the picture of the neat bed, my sister sent me a link with a bunch of outrageous beds. Go check them out HERE. Ridiculous, but cool!

I've got a slammin' headache. I'm gonna go take some Tylenol and crash.

Why am I talking like that?? It's like I'm suddenly in an Austin Powers movie or something.

Peace-out, Dudes.

Power Breakfast

2009-12-01T10:48:00.003-06:00

I love my hot Grapenuts on cold mornings. And did you know there are 6 grams of protein in each serving (1/2 cup)? Once you add the 1/2 cup of milk, you're looking at 10 grams of protein. And it's filling and full of fiber at 7 grams. The Grapenuts soak up the milk and puff up and get soft and it sits in your tummy all nice and warm and comfort food-like. Grapenuts are really good in yogurt too.

No, Post is not paying me to say any of that.

I need to get out today and run some errands, but I really don't want to! I need to take a package to the post office and get it mailed and go to the bank and make a deposit, and while I'm out I should stop by the grocery store for a few staples. I'd love to take Eli to the groomer and get him professionally groomed too.

I should just stop thinking about it and just go in there and put my tennis shoes on and go get it done.

I'm still sitting here.

Okay, bye.