never eat again...

Hello!
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Ours was nice. We went to Maggianos - holy cow!!! We have never been to a restaurant for Thanksgiving! They had a special menu everything was served family style on big plates. There was enough food for 4 people on each plate!!  The meal started with bruschetta, then they had us pick two salads. We got to pick two meals - turkey with stuffing and ham with mashed sweet potatoes, two pasta dishes - ziti and ravioli, two sides - creamed spinach and garlic mashed potatoes, two desserts - pumpkin cheesecake and apple crostini. O  M  G the food was so good!! It was all you could eat while there and you got to take the stuff off your table home - we left with THREE bags of leftovers!!!  Scott made a pumpkin pie. Our new stove has this silly feature that we are not used to - when you change the oven temp you have to hit start again or it wont change the temp! Scott baked his pie at 425 for an hour - it was still good!! The crust got a little dark but surprisingly the pie was OK!!  Here is a picture of the braid I made - frosted!!

I asked Scott if he remembered when the tradition started - he says his mom made it one year and I made it a tradition. I'll have to ask her because I was sure it was a tradition he brought with him! I started making ours when we lived in Alaska because it cost to much to mail us one! So this year I made one for each kid and mailed them - $17 each. Ryder got his no problem but not Taylor. I am super irritated because hers got sent back as undeliverable. I have mailed stuff to her before but I double - triple checked the address. According to tracking the postal person only had it 3 hours and then sent it back. We mailed it from a UPS store and so they checked the address as well - however, our return address is the apartment address but I didn't even look at it because I never expected it to be returned. Sooooo I had to call the postal service to have them catch it and I am having them check to see why it was returned in the first place. You can't call the local post office - all of the numbers are busy and I think I can see why. *grumble grumble*
We were going to go to the movies last night but we were so full that I was sure there would be napping - we are going to go today when Scott gets off work (I came to work with him today hee hee) I was a terrible person yesterday - I am all for shops being closed on the holidays and say I wont shop but then I ate at a restaurant and on the way home I saw a Micheals and it was open!! I made Scott stop (I know I KNOW!!  I'm the devil) I had run out of fiber fill for my sheep pillows (ugh I thought I was tired of stitching them - making them into 18 pillows uhhhhhhh) I ended up buying cute baskets for the pillows - a laundry basket - fiber fill and some thread! I don't really feel bad about it - I just hope they are getting great pay for coming in.
Speaking of pillows - here they are. I am now stitching the next sheep *sigh*

set one

set two

Three more to make (per basket) I can hardly wait!! They turned out cute though (just don't look close... each and EVERY one is crooked - seriously)
This week I finally got the entry painted and most of the banister stripped of paint - that was a disaster btw! That stripper goes everywhere and it's caustic. I even thought I had lost the cat because I had to open the front door because of the smell. I wont do that again. I thought I would get the fireplace room painted but I sure didn't (short week) maybe next week! I did iron every single one of Scott's shirts. The apartment made them all stink so I had to wash them. He likes them hung up so they don't shrink and lose color. The new washer spins those clothes around so much that they come out SUPER wrinkled and almost dry. I thought I could get all of them done in an hour or so - took 7 - SEVEN hours of ironing!!! At least it's done - funny part is I don't want him wearing any of them now ha!
The box I was painting last week - got it painted and distressed - that was so much fun!!

loooove it

I used a fork to make x's and dots

I really love the way it turned out!!! I can't wait to make the stitched pieces that go in it!!
It's almost my blog one year anniversary. I was thinking of doing a give-away of one of these ....

needle holder

 and one of these....

ornament the size of a quarter too

 Last time I did a give-away I only had two people interested - one of them a co-worker - so I said I wouldn't do it again. This may be a better give-away though - what do you think? Would any of you be interested in winning one of these (imperfectly made) fun items?
I hope you have delicious leftovers to munch on and lovely stitchey things to make!! Thanks for stopping by Ü!!

Just a note

to say Happy Thanksgiving!! Hope you have a wonderful day.
 Scott and I are going to Maggianos for dinner and a movie. I made the annual cardamom braid and Scott will bake a pumpkin pie.  We will miss our families but we will have a good day together!!

Thanks for stopping by - gobble gobble!

more about my son...

Here are the links on the Doritos page - please give him 5 stars!!! Thanks!! 
video one
video two

my son

Good morning!

My son made a commercial for the Super Bowl - He is trying to win the Doritos commercial contest
Commercial
Thanks for stopping by!!

Fun things!!

Hello!
So, as you know I have working on this house for months - ok just a month but it feels like months!! This week I was going to finish painting a room and work on that dang ol' banister. Well, I scraped away at the banister most of the day Tuesday and decided that I was done with that ( for now). I cleaned the house Monday - wow what a job! Who knew that could take all day? I figured I would be done in no time - wrong!! I was dusting my bedroom furniture with a toothbrush and I wondered where my life had gone awry Ü . I decided that since my craft room is mostly together, it was time for fun!! Here is what I have done...

I cut some felt and pinned the first 8 (well it's actually 16!!!). Getting them straight is a PAIN!!! I even ironed them - and measured and I am still sure half of them are crooked grrrrrr

 I put some ink on these two to make the sheep show up more but it's so dark in the craft room and I was being real careful not to over ink it that you really can't tell. I may have to do it again - in the kitchen so I can see. Got the idea from Marly at Samplers and Santas!

 Starting painting the box for Casting a Spell by Blackbird Designs Has anyone made this? Any idea what cut fabric to get so I can do them all? I'm so excited to make this - great finish idea!!

 

I posted this finish awhile ago - I finally stuffed it and sewed the buttons on - cute! 

 

 

I sewed the bee charms onto the bunnies  - I finished these back in July (I think) I bought the kit but then made 5 or 6 of them. the charms were a beast to locate - finally found them in Zionsville IN!! I had packed the bunnies - but found them and now they are done!!  

 

Orchard Valley Quilting Bee by Little House Needleworks

I am going to finish the thin brown border that is started there and then work on sheep. I need to sew them to the felt, sew the hearts to the backs

 and blanket stitch the pillows together. I have the next sheep here so I need to stitch it. Friday - after turkey day I should be able to order the next sheep. I am glad I made these - they are so cute. I am sorry that I made two sets and I won't be joining a year long series for a long time - if ever again. I think it really cut down on the amount of projects I got done. So now I have a basket full of  "to do" patterns.
Last night I made rolls - "fast and fluffy parmesan herb rolls" from Yammie's Noshery. Yammie has a cute blog with some delicious recipes - she even has gluten free recipes. The rolls were fast - easy and delicious!  Plus they make your kitchen smell heavenly!!

before baking

after baking - mmmm

Thanks for stopping by - hope you have a crafty day!!

Stormy weather....

Good morning folks!
Wow those storms were scary!! We had the TV on all day - watching them move toward us. We got lucky though and they split - going to the North and South of us - just barely!! We had one small section go right over so we did get some high wind and rain but no tornadoes.  I feel awful for the towns that got hit! So scary!! I can say - again - that with the troubles we had with this house to start I am glad to say that in a storm - this place is sturdy!! The wind doesn't whistle at the windows or doors! You can hardly hear the storm raging outside!
This weekend we unpacked a bunch of stuff - place is starting to look like a home. Scott touched up my ceiling smudges - looks fabulous!! Whole upstairs painting is done!! He also edged the entry - in a few days it can be taped and I can finish that paint job!! I can't wait for him to hang some pictures!! So exciting to see it finally coming together. Today I am cleaning and then I am taking the afternoon off - and stitching!! Scott will be home later because he has a big meeting - owners coming in from Canada and US GM coming up from North Carolina for a staff meeting - and dinner.
Speaking of dinner - the other night I made Thai Chicken Coconut Soup - a recipe I got from Sunset magazine. It is wonderful!! I did have some trouble though - this town is not a culinary hot spot so I could not get actual lemongrass stalks or chili paste. I used ....

instead of chili paste - added by the person eating it so it wouldn't be too spicy

this was the only way I could buy the lemongrass

delicious!!

I buy the ginger in the tube and keep it in the freezer - only needs to set out on counter for a few minutes to be able to use it and it lasts until you've used the last bit! Recipe calls for you to put chunks of each in so I used about a tablespoon of the lemongrass and a little less of the ginger. I added jasmine rice - since I was using it as a meal. Usually I  pay close attention to a recipe's fat content - I must have lost my mind - I used the regular canned coconut milk. It was delicious but much more fat than it needed to be - light coconut milk would have been fine. I also used chicken thighs - also more fat than breasts - so I could have done better on the fat content. I regret nothing!!  Maybe next week we will have it again with it lightened up - and I will see if it is still delicious. As for cooking with fish sauce - yes it stinks and yes it is very fishy but it is NOT either of those things when added to a recipe. I was wary of it when I first had to use it, but I gave it a try and I don't have an issue with it !!
I joined a blog called "Little House Needleworks Showcase and Stitch Along Place"  wow that's a mouthful! This weekend they had a WIP stitch weekend and then people are to post what they accomplished.

Of course I didn't get to work on it much with all the housework we did but there it is. That scalloped border makes me crazy. I ran out of 3777 Walmart does have some DMC but not that number - I looked at two stores!! Luckily we went to Hobby Lobby  - then it dawned on me.... I live at least 30 - 40 minutes from a craft store - WHAT!!!!???? House goes on the market tomorrow - HA!! 
I had to run into Martinsville last week to file that tax thing I blogged about.... this little town sure is cute!!

library

post office - still has the old boxes!

decorated for Christmas!

Well, I guess I better get to cleaning so I can listen to a book and stitch - and drink tea!! Oh that sounds lovely!! Hope you all have a crazy-weather-free day!!

Craft room!

Howdy folks,
I have been unpacking. I finally got the kitchen done - unless another box appears. I worked on the craft room. Here it is before...

 and in between....

one side

other side

I say in between because this isn't a real "after" picture because the walls are bare. See the boxes under the table - all decorations. Problem is - I need Scott to help me. He has the Martha Stewart touch! When I decorate - everything is mismatched and crooked. He just has the knack for putting stuff together. Which means it waits until he has time boooo!!! He is gone about 12 hours a day. On the weekends we have been painting and moving. This weekend he has towel racks to put up and stuff that is more important than a craft room (or so some people think HA) The pictures I take just don't do the wall color justice!!
Next week after I clean the house I think I will start working on the banisters again. I need to get the paint off of it.

 Then I will finish painting the fireplace room. Then there is the wood floor in the fireplace room - they sprayed the walls and so there is paint all over the floor along the wall. I told Scott it would be easier with two people but he has to work so I will manage it. Unless, of course, if I get a stupid job. I was looking at the state website for jobs - mostly to see what kinds of things I could apply for next year (and partly because the house repairs cost more than we had planned on and more money would be - well it's always good. Plus, state jobs have insurance) There was one job that sort of fits my experience - interviewing offenders, taking fingerprints and mug shots and entering them in some state data base. I can do that. It's a third of what I was making in Colorado but it's Indiana and it's days - no weekends or holidays. State police dispatch only makes $5 more an hour - it's night and weekends. I hadn't wanted to start work until next year - but will this job be available then? I will never get any projects done at this rate.
Remember that apple cake I made - and I over-bought on apples? I made another one - lordy that is a good cake!! Mom's Fresh Apple Cake  - so good!! I had made a lighter version of pumpkin cream cheese bread - don't do it people!! It was real rubbery - because of the amount of eggs in it.I still have one of those in the freezer - I hope the kids like it when they are here in December!! Last night I made "no bean turkey and sweet potato chili" from Skinny Taste. We hadn't had it before. I'm not a fan of ground turkey so I used organic low fat beef. I really liked it - Scott said it was "different"  he took it for lunch - so I guess it's not a bad different!! I served it with light sour cream and cheese - mmm! I liked it!
WOW I just looked outside and saw a male and female Cardinal - it's the first time I've seen them at this house. There are so many different birds here - I may need a bird book!!
I'm off to run into town - I'm going to go get a library card, file some tax thing that is exclusive to this state in regards to buying a house (or blah blah blah as I heard it ha ha) then I need some groceries.
Have a good weekend folks - thanks for stopping by!

bread basket

Good morning -
I am unpacking more kitchen stuff - I'm not sure what I ever needed all this junk for.... I came across a bread basket. I decided about 10 years ago that I just had to have one! I think I've used it 3 times since then. I love it - I stitched pieces for it and matched the fabric that would go under the rolls. Wanna see?

even found a perfect basket

I love it!! We don't have bread with very many meals. I might have to start though - so I can use this fun thing!! Anybody else have a bread basket? Do you use it?

infested!!

Yep - we have ourselves an infestation.....of ladybugs!! I have never seen such a thing!! So I looked it up on the internet. It would seem that the insects are attracted to light-colored structures with southern, sunny exposures that are on a hillside in wooded areas.

There it is - on a hill, in the woods, light-colored and faces SE. One woman says she has to use a snow shovel to get them out - we don't have them that bad!! They are all over the outside and quite a few have found their way in. The windows in this house are the nifty ones that can open top or bottom. Not surprisingly, the other tenants did not take care of them and they are missing all the things that make them work right. So the top left (oddly enough - it's the same corner on all of the windows) droops and ladybugs can just waltz right in!! Scott fixed several of the windows yesterday. Until we can either make them work the way they are suppose to - or just replace all the windows - we have to just put a screw under the upper window to keep it from sliding down. They don't lay eggs or destroy anything so it's not a terrible thing but still. I guess there are ladybug houses you can get to try and lure them into that in the yard - may have to do that!
Scott and I think it's neat how the English name their houses - we have always wanted to. In the last house we could never come up with a name that suited the house. We raked leaves, drank some warm apple cider and came up with......

Ravenwood.

 I think it suits the house. Plus, I can say - in a snooty voice - when are you coming to Ravenwood? hee hee that's fun. I think we should all name our homes. I tried to get Scott to agree to Ladybug Manor haaa but I like Ravenwood better!

This weekend Scott got up on the roof and cleaned out the gutters - he said they were just packed with leaves!! We raked around the house. The yard is so big and the leaves are not done falling so we didn't do it all!

working hard

you can see where we raked

just the top of the driveway!!

 Saturday we finally got all our stuff out of the garage and into the house - into the appropriate rooms! I thought the headboard was heavy - the dresser was a monster!! Raking didn't make me as sore as I expected - either I wasn't working hard enough orrrr (and this is the one I would like to believe) three weeks of hard labor has paid off and I just can't be more sore! Ü We got to park both our cars in the garage YAY!! It's suppose to snow any day now so it was just in time!! We still have to unpack all these boxes.
This morning I had to take some time to cut my hair, bleach my teeth, tweeze, mani/pedi, tint my eyelashes - I was starting to resemble a mountain hermit!! As I get older - the amount of hairs on me....well, I think we are evolving INTO apes - not evolved from apes HAHA Ü  I am sure I am 5 lbs lighter.
I did get to do some stitching this weekend - took two hours to put the border on and 30 minutes to remove it. I had put the first row of stitches on backwards - grrr Who would have noticed if one set of stitches went a different direction? me.
Well, I guess I have a box or two to unpack - the sooner I get the dumb kitchen done the sooner I get to the craft room - YAY!!
Thanks for stopping by - hope you have an apple cidery day!! mmmm apple cider!! 

This and That

Hello-
Hope everyone is enjoying the fall leaves!! We are suppose to get snow Tuesday - finally! Scott bought a huge rake to rake our huge lawn. I am starting to feel scared whenever he says " I like (fill in word here)" painting for instance - and now raking. All the things he likes bring soreness to me.

 Yesterday I moved a ton of boxes into the house - all our stuff is either in the basement or in the two-car garage - I cleaned out one car worth of boxes. When I took a box to the basement I tried to bring up a box that was down there but didn't belong - ugh!! When Scott came home we moved the rest of the entertainment center into the living room. Isn't it funny how much smaller a room looks with furniture? Even getting carpet made it smaller - because there was no more echo I guess. The other thing we did (that I am quite impressed with us about) is move the headboard to the bedroom.

Looks small in the picture but that is a king-size bed. The movers said they could not get the headboard up the stairs unless it was taken apart. They were getting paid by the hour so we said we would take it apart ourselves - apart it can't be that heavy. Scott tried to take it apart last night - that thing is built to last!! The pieces fit into one another and they must have glued them on the inside as well as several screws on the outside because we could not get it apart! So.... we turned it upside down - put a bathroom rug on the arch - rubber side toward the wood and moved that monster up the stairs. It weighs 200lbs I am sure of it - it is like picking up a person. An unbending person. (we rock) We scuffed up the paint a little - but who doesn't mind painting more (UGH) Ü I can't believe we got it up there!! If we would have gotten halfway up and it wouldn't fit I don't know what we would have done!! We have decided that if we sell this house - it comes with a bed!!  I crocheted the blanket a few years ago- I used two strands of yarn - one strand being black. It's so heavy and warm that we can not sleep under it, we fold it back at night!! The wood and the blanket are a little darker in real life - damn phone camera!!  
This morning Mo was looking outside. There was a squirrel out there - Mo jumped at the window.

he has lost some weight!

 Most surprising - the squirrel jumped back and hit the window!! Then stuck it's little paws on the sill and looked in the house!! Mo made a funny little noise - they were nose to nose (thank goodness for the glass) It was hilarious!! Mo has a nemesis!!
The change in the weather makes me want to cook comfort foods. I made a roast. I used Scott's brand new (got it for his birthday) Dutch oven - Scott says it's the best roast I have ever made!!

I made rolls too!

My Gram used to make the best roast. She used an electric skillet -  I have been striving to make a roast like hers for years. It's been more than 15 years since I've had hers so I'm sure it has reached taste status that isn't realistic but I can try.
I also tried a new recipe - Edgar over at Blacksheep's Bit of the Web posted a recipe for "Mom's Fresh Apple Cake" holy wow is it good!! The link will take you to the blog page with the recipe. I used Honeycrisp. As usual I over-bought!! It calls for 4 cups of diced apple -I thought one apple per cup - these were huge apples - so I got 6 to be safe. I didn't even use two whole ones - big apples!! So if you decide to make it I would get two huge, or 3 medium or  4 small - plus an extra to be safe (see, I just can't help it!!)

One Thanksgiving 20 years ago I was in charge of bringing mashed potatoes - well, I had some crazy notion that it was a pound per person. I'm not sure why Scott let me make that many - maybe because I was pregnant with Ryder and not to be toyed with Ü ha ha but we ate mashed potatoes for weeks - WEEKS people!!
I have a WIP to show you!! I've been working on it a week - as much as I can anyway. It's Orchard Valley Quilting Bee by Little House Needleworks (it's the last one on that page)

Coming along nicely!! I am enjoying working on it!
I just finished the first book to the Outlander series.**SPOILER ALERT** read no further if you don't want to know about the book!!!
 I listen to books on tape - I love to read but I love to stitch too so listening to books on disc makes it so I can do both. Sadly, I have to also download the ebook from my library because sometimes you will get a disc that skips and you have to have that back up - if you don't it's frustrating. Unfortunately when I start reading I usually end up reading for much longer than planned (I do love to read) Scott bought me a Kindle before he moved to Indiana so we could skype - love that thing for reading books!! Anyway - back to Outlander,  I'm not sure I love these books - I don't like books that use rape. I don't think it needs to be in any book - I don't think that it adds to the story. I realize that the time she is writing about it was prevalent but still.  This was male on male - which the era the book is written in - would not have happened the way she laid it out. And the whipping incident involving Jamie and Claire - stop pandering. This is one of the reasons Game of Thrones was so awesome - no pandering - and closer to reality - hard to explain  - I like books written about old times to be fairly accurate in the way people behave - you can throw in dragons, zombies and time travelers but I don't believe late 1700's Jamie Fraser would have said anything about being the lowest common denominator - just saying.   Time travel aside - a lot of the things in the book are unrealistic Yeah, yeah, it's just a story - a long one at that. I don't give up easily though and I got on the library site and requested the rest of the series on audio - I picked up some this week. Funny thing is they split some in two (because they have 30-40 discs each) but I ended up with part two of two of the books!!  Book 2 - Dragonfly in Amber came to me all in one so no worries on the others - by the time I get to them I will have them loaded. I use a Sansa player - love that thing! I will "read" the second book and if I don't love it then I will just delete these - if I love it then I have them all ready to go!! I am on Goodreads -so I read the reviews - before checking out a book. It's funny that so many women love Jamie Fraser. Well, of course they do. He is a young, strapping, redheaded warrior in a kilt but most importantly  - he is written by a woman. The other men in the book are truer to what men of the era are like. Also, Gelie? Why would a woman from the 60's go back and give up her life for a cause that has nothing to do with her - plus she already knows how history works out and she would have to know that in a small town and being a woman she could not have changed history. I'm done - Thanks for listening to my rant!! If you want a good book to read - The Book Thief or the Game of Thrones series or Crooked Letter Crooked Letter, or the Falvia De Luce series, or The Graveyard Book, or Wildwood Dancing  - oh there are so many. You could friend me on Goodreads  I think my name is on my profile - or email me.Ü
Well, I KNOW I have to go unpack and clean the kitchen and so I better get busy!
Thanks for stopping by - hope you have a wonderful no headboard moving day!!

PS Welcome to my newest follower - I want to put the kettle on and get to stitching!!  

PSS I just realized that the cat picture shows my sad wood floor that needs the paint from the last guy cleaned off and the walls that still need brown paint put in between the slats.... The picture of the brown is pretty accurate colorwise!