Wonderfully Sew Knit

3 Batches of Jam and 3 & 1/2 gal. bags of Frozen Strawberries

2009-07-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

When it comes to canning I’m not that thrilled…yes, I love the home preserved food…but I don’t really have a canner. I have this…

…it’s a make shift canner…and it works…but I get burnt all the time because there isn’t a basket…I use a large mesh colander to keep the jars off the bottom…anyway, since there isn’t a basket I can only fit 6 - ½ pints in at a time…it takes forever to can anything.

So with that scary pot above and 5 cups of strawberry puree.

Plus 7 cups of sugar and one box of Pectin...

...mixed all together

You get strawberry jam... but only 1/3 of this. You have to to that two more time to get all this jam!

I was just finishing up my second batch of the jam and my brother walked in with this!!!! I can't tell you how thrilled I am. *doing a happy dance*

This is the last of the strawberries getting ready to be frozen.

I'm truly thankful for my new canner and all this free produce!

Look Out Freezer Here We Come!

2009-07-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

My brother and I went to my favorite “store” today and came home with three flats of strawberries and two boxes of butternut squash…for free! I spent $1.39 on the granola bars. My table isn't big enough to take pictures of all the boxes of strawberries and squash...so you only get to see one. :o)

I’ll be making strawberry jam and ice cream with the strawberries. Yummy!

I’m not sure what I’ll do with all the squash…I guess I’ll be freezing most of it. It will be easy to make a puree with about a 1/3 of it. Then chunks with the rest. Rich likes chunks of butternut squash in roasted veggies…roasted with other veggies and in pie is the only way Rich will eat squash.

Of course I'll be cooking some to eat right now. I was thinking about making these...

Apple Squash Crisp

Butternut Squash Soup

Roasted Veggies

Garlicky Baked Butternut Squash

Desert Tortoise

2009-07-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

We found a Desert Tortoise this weekend just walking down our street. We live right across the street from the zoo and these just wander around there...we think it escaped. LOL We took it to Mt. Lemon...just at the base (before all the nice trees and such) there is an old concentration camp that we like to take the girls to when they get the gimmies…which hardly ever happens because they are such great kids…...anyway after doing some reading it looks like that would be the perfect habitat.

Here she (yep, we found out how to tell if it's boy or girl) is in her new home. Near a brook...lots of desert and rocks...plus lots of shade trees...AND far away from the road. :o)
If you want to more about the Desert Tortoise this site is great!

Happy Independance Day!

2009-07-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

Clear Play DVD Player

2009-07-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

I saw this on House Of Whimsy's blog and now I want one! It would make watching movies with the girls so much easier!!! The DVD player is about $80 and there is a monthly fee of about $8...but I think it might be worth it. :o)

Do you have one of these? If you do...please leave a comment and tell me what you think of it.

Pizza and Cupcakes

2009-06-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

Mmmm...Homemade pizza! I don't think any other pizza comes close to homemade. I used this recipe for dough and sauce. I added garlic and fresh basil to the sauce and my family loved it.

This one didn’t have jalapeños on it…but it was devoured just the same. :o)

His and Hers cupcakes. Chocolate with peanut butter frosting and extra mini marshmallows for my husband. Chocolate with raspberry glaze and mini white chocolate stars for me. :o)

Transformers Movie A Sad Disappointment

2009-06-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

Rich and I went to see the new Transformers movie on Saturday. I must say I was disappointed. The plot was great and the actors were the same as in the last movie…but I could have done without all the pointless animal sex and butt shots. (I would say I loved the movie otherwise) They didn’t give or add anything to the movie…really they brought the whole thing down to a level that makes me ashamed that I went to see it.

I had a hard time focusing at some points because the whole theater was full of kids (what were their parents thinking???) Maybe I’m over protective…but my kids won’t be seeing this new one…just like they couldn’t see the last one. Humans are only kids for a short time…we are adults much longer…why speed up the process by exposing them to unnecessary garbage.

End of rant. :o)

Lack of Crafting…

2009-06-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

I can honestly say that I am going stir crazy from lack of creating. This is what I was doing when I sliced ½ my finger tip off.

I was cutting a vintage sheet into strips to crochet a rug for my kitchen. I was cutting quickly and not paying attention.

I think I’m almost ready to start crocheting…I just have to keep my finger out of the way.

Since I wasn’t able sew, knit, crochet, cut, quilt (I’m still not sure I can, but I’m going to try today) none of that good stuff that makes my day as fun as it can be, I’ve been cooking, baking, and canning. I made one batch of plum jelly which I gave away. My family wanted some for us to eat so I made another batch…

…plus a batch of Cranberry Raspberry Plum jam!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

Another Room Re-do

2009-06-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

It’s hard to type so I have to make this short. Here are pictures of Youngest’ Daughter’s room. We did a re-do for her too…because she was so good about sharing with her sister. :o) Again I don’t have before pictures…but not because I couldn’t find them…it’s because I’m too embarrassed to show them. LOL

The paint color is off in this photo. :-/ It's a little too light.

This color is more like the real color...but it's a little too dark.

This color on is right on. :o) (She gets a TV too...for the same reasons.)

And this is why I’m having a hard time typing…

Please be REALLY careful when you use a rotary cutter…so you don’t loose part of your finger like I did!!! I don't know how long I'll be wrapped up like this. The ER doc said it would take about 5 months to heal...since there was nothing they could do for it.

I don't think I'll be crafting/sewing much...or blogging a great deal. BUT I'll try. :o)

Oldest Daughter’s “New” Room! aka She Gets Her Room Back So We Did a Make Over!

2009-06-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

We finished Oldest Daughter’s room today! It looks great…if I do say so myself.

I said I would do before and after pictures but the room has been changed twice in one year and I can’t seem to find any pictures from when it was Oldest Daughter’s room before my nephew moved in. (I didn’t want to take any of how she left it looking before she left) Here is a picture of Rich and Nephew painting Oldest Daughter’s room…they are painting it so Nephew isn’t sleeping in a “girl” room.

In this picture you can see Oldest Daughter’s room color…lime green…and Nephew’s new room color.

Well Nephew isn’t going to be living with us this year. He is going to be living with my brother (not his father)…so Oldest Daughter gets her room back forever...this is what it looks like now…she hasn’t seen it because we did it while she and her sister have been at sleep away camp. :o) I’m sure she’ll love it! (She gets a TV in her room for the first time ever...now that she is older she's so busy she never watches anything...so I don't have to wory about her sitting there all day doing nothing but watching TV)

View #1

Close up of bookcase.

View #2

Close up of bed.

There you have it. :o)

Sleep Away Camp ~Part Two~

2009-06-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

The dying of the hair! It must be done because I said we would…so…we did.

My friend Lisa came over a dyed Oldest Love’s hair pink…just the tips though…so it can be cut before school starts. (Some Christian schools frown on things like this...but sheesh...it's just hair!)

She also did little bits of Youngest Love’s hair blue. Youngest Love wishes we had done more of her hair…but it’s layered and it was either a little or a lot. Rich and I didn’t want a lot.

She did my hair too! Just the underside…you really can’t see it unless I lift my hair or flip it.

What do you think???

Sleep Away Camp~Room Make Overs

2009-06-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

Today we are getting Oldest and Youngest ready for sleep away camp. They leave tomorrow at 10:30 and will be back on Friday night. This will be the longest time either of the girls has been away from Rich or myself…I’m not sure what we are going to do with ourselves when we have down time. I don't know that we will have much though...

While the girls are at camp we are going to re-do their bedrooms…both will be surprised when they get back because neither of them know we are doing it. I’ve all ready made the curtains for Oldest’s room…I’ll be making Youngest’s curtains after Oldest’s room is done. We plan to have both rooms done by Wednesday night…I hope we can do it!

I’ll post before and after pictures…but for now I’ll leave you with just a hint of what we are doing. I bought 4 sets of these dots in the colors we need…NOT yellow and green.

Hmmm...

2009-06-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

Today was grocery shopping day. I hate grocery shopping!!! So for most of the day (yep, it takes me most of the day) I was driving, choosing, buying, loading, driving, un-loading, putting away. ICK!!!!

After all that grocery stuff was done I needed to preserve some plum jelly. It went well considering I don’t have a canner…or a food mill…I had to make a canner out of a huge pot and some other stuff. The odd thing…1/2 of the jelly set up just fine, the other 1/2 hasn't set yet and they are from the same batch. :-/

I love love love Starbucks Maple Oat Scones. Unfortunately all of the Starbucks (with-in ten miles of my home) have stopped serving them. Needless to say I was thrilled to find this recipe for them! I made some this evening. I haven't had one yet but I'll be having one for breakfast.

Did you notice the pink plate the scone is sitting on??? I went to a secondhand store today to look for old sheets (I want to make a rug). I didn't find any sheets but I did find a set of 10 pink plates. :o)

2009-06-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

I really need one of these…

My mom had one when I was growing up and we used it when ever we made apple sauce or jelly (not jam because it has bits in it). It made things so easy and I didn’t even know it. After mashing two batches of cooked plums by hand in my mesh colander with a spoonula I think my mother’s old food mill would be a wonderful thing to have in my kitchen.

Free Food

2009-06-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

I love going to Value Foods…they always have the best “giveaway” food stuffs. Today I spent $3.50 and got all this!

2 bags of split peas
1 bag of Bear shaped cookies
6 loaves of bread
50 pounds of plums (about 1/3 had gone bad so I ended up with about 35 lbs)

What am I going to do with all those plums? Some we will eat now, some I'll freeze for smoothies, some I'll bake with. :o)

Plum Recipes

Plum and Cinnamon Crumble

Plum Puffs (Reminds me of Anne of Green Gables)

Plum & Coconut Cake

Spicy Roasted Plums

Vanilla Plum Jam

Plum Sorbet With Sloe Gin (I'm going use coconut rum instead)

A Piece of the Garland

2009-06-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago I mentioned a I was working on a project that could NOT be finished because the patterns weren't all finished...well E at CreativeBreathing has them all up and ready. She is also having a giveaway! She is giving away a garland she made. Here is the snowflake I made for my garland using her creative ideas. :o)

Sunday Crafting

2009-06-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some things I worked on yesterday.

I made this table runner for the table in my family room. :o) Thanks to a tutorial on Moda's Bake Shop . I didn't actually follow the tutorial...I just kind of went with it. (I also made it longer...I thought theirs was just too short.) It sure was easy and quick.

This is a close up. I just love the fabric. It's Timeless Treasures "Love A Tree" in parchment.

After that I started to make myself a skirt...it's almost done...I just need to go get a zipper. I'm using "Petal Party" by Michael Miller in spring. (Please ignore all the crap in the back yard...Rich has been working a lot...so the yard has kind of been let go)

I had enough fabric left over to make a matching purse.

I've started to put together my button tree...I have put on about 1/2 the buttons I have. I still need more light pink and cream color buttons...but they'll show up somehow. Okay, I'm off to work on a yellow and brown quilt...have a good one!

The Projects That CAN Be Finished. :o)

2009-06-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

First, I finished a pillowcase dress for my friend Lisa’s granddaughter! (Started yesterday before I knew I didn't have the right color ribbon...finished yesterday)

Second, I finished this bag! (Started yesterday before I knew I didn't have a zipper...finished yesterday)Third, I finished the quilt. :o) It is now in it’s new home on the chair in my room. Yippy! (I started this on Friday and finished it on Saturday (yesterday) and I have three very sore fingertips)

All Finished.

The back...this isn't the best picture but it'll have to do.

The fourth project I’m working on can’t be finished just yet. I’m waiting for all the patterns to be posted…I think there are two more. Plus I’m waiting for Rich to print out (@ his work) the newest posted patterns. I do have the candy cane, deer, mouse, and tree done though! Are you wondering what I’m talking about? Check this out! All in all I got a ton of crafting/sewing done yesterday...I can't believe how much. LOL

The Projects That Can't Be Finished

2009-06-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

I’m a "one project at a time" kind of girl. I start something and finish it before I move onto something else.

This week I have started 4 projects…I thought I had all the things for each project…but I didn’t. I didn’t want to take the girls to the fabric and crafts stores with me…I just need a little kid free break…I’ll be going and getting what I need today after Rich gets home.

Here is a picture of one of the things I started. The quilt pattern is called Stacked Coins. I’ve got the backing ready, the binding waiting, and the pattern I’m going to follow drawn on the quilt top…but NO batting. It should be finished sometime in the next week. :o) Hooray!!!! The top measures 40X49…I know odd size…but I wanted something for my room…to go on a chair in there. (Click on picture to make larger)

Slinky

2009-06-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

"Some people are like Slinkys. Not really good for anything, but they bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs. "

(Found somewhere on the 'net :o) )

This is my 103-rd post...I didn't even know I hit 100. Yay me!!

What kind of cake am I?

2009-06-02T21:19:00.001-07:00

Apparently I’m Strawberry Cake

Fresh, sassy, and romantic.

You're a total flirt, who never would turn down a sugary treat.

Occasionally you're a bit moody - but you usually stay sweet!

What Kind of Cake Are You?

Baking

2009-06-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made S’more Bars from the Christmas Pantry cookbook. They are so good…I cut them into about and 1-1/2 inch bars and they are just right for a sweet treat with coffee or tea.

I can’t give you the recipe because of the copyright…but I can show you the ingredients. :o)

Put all together!

Baked...so fluffy and light!

Cut and ready to eat. :o)

Oh! I also made Lemon Coconut Muffins for breakfast today…yummy!

Swaps

2009-06-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

I have sadly been ignoring my blog so I am going to try to make myself post everyday. We all know that it will never happen…but it’s worth a shot. Since I couldn’t think of anything to post about today I thought I’d post about my last two swaps.

On flickr I belong to a “closed” group called Just for You FQs. It is a group of us that have been swapping together for two years. We all send great packages and never flake…trust and love of FQs is what that group is all about.. The last swap was a “Spring” swap.

This is what I sent…

This is what I received. My partner was right on when she sent me yellow. The day before it came I organized all my FQs and I didn’t have one single yellow…how odd is that! I can't wait to use that yarn

This swap was a “Choose Your Color” swap…these are always fun because you get to send and receive a package that is all one color. It is also with a private group of swappers...but this group is on Swap-bot.

My partner chose brown.

I chose pink. I loved it all.

Before and After

2009-05-31T14:06:00.001-07:00

Because my wonderful and thoughtful friend Lisa bought me this espresso maker ...

...for my birthday I got the urge to re-do my kitchen. With A LOT of help from my husband we now have a fabulous “new” kitchen!

(Click on any picture to make it larger for easier viewing)
+
+
Before

After

Before

After

BeforeAfter

After .5

Before

After (These look off center but they aren't...it the crappy way I took the photo)

Here are a couple of the details.

These salt and pepper shakers sit on the table now and I got them at Target for about $5.

My oldest was through with her bulletin board so I grabbed it for the kitchen. I painted it pink and white and tied bits of fabric to pom pom fringe to make the garland that goes across the top. Instead of push pins I'm using pins I bought from Pinks and Needles .

I made six of these to go around the hutch. (They look much better in person) I added some vinyl decals between the pictures on both sides of the hutch.

I hope you enjoyed this look into my kitchen. :o)