Creative Juices

Remember these.... Well this is all that is left...

After searching in my stash for a pattern that would utilize the half yard of floral print and the fat quarter of purple tone on tone I gave up and drew up my own pattern. My partner had also included a 12" zipper and the pendant that you see in the picture.What I came up with is a bag thats about 12" wide and 8" tall with a flat bottom so that it will stand on it's own. It has 2 pockets on the outside and inside it has 3 pockets on one side of the bag for things you don't want to dig too hard for when you are standing in line somewhere. The pendant that was sent seemed a little heavy to add to the zipper tab so I created a one of a kind zipper pull using beads from my jewelry making stash. The pendant was then turned into a key bob.

Cats!

Yesterday I went to World Market to buy a couple bags of coffee since it was double coffee points day. While browsing around I came across these adorable Miso bowls and had to have them - why? BECAUSE... they have adorable cats on them. I'm actually planning to use them when I am doing bead work as they are perfect for running a needle around to gather beads. So they have a purpose so they had to come home with me. The best part was they were half off their original price.

This morning Nick asked to be let out (Tesla is strictly indoors as he looses his mind outside)and as soon as Nick got to the edge of the stoop a Mocking bird began to torment the daylights out of him. Scott had just left for work but called on the cell phone for me to open the door so Tesla could watch the "show". I captured the outcome with one cat in, one out and the Mocking bird being itself on the rail.

Tuesday? All ready?

I want my Monday back - after I posted the give-a-way and cooked up the mustard greens that I had picked I got so incredibly sleepy and ended up sleeping ALL day! Seriously - how am I supposed to get anything done sleeping like that. Scott said that the heat was probably getting to me. I woke up long enough to bag up the cooked greens; clean up the kitchen and fix Scott a plate of left overs and then I was out again. Perhaps today I will put some music on like - Prince or The Bangles - Something to keep me moving.

A Monday Give-a-way

I'm going through stuff like crazy for the upcoming yard sale; which I am moving to August 14th - National Yard Sale day according to Better Homes and Gardens. And I came across this paisley print sewing basket by Debbie Mumm and thought that it would make a nice give-a-way on here. I'm also including a tin that contains 3 spools of Guiterman thread (white, red and black) and a retractable measuring tape with little Scottie dogs on it. For a chance to win all you have to do is leave a comment on this post... THATS IT! I will ship this anywhere.

I will draw a name the day before my yard sale so you have until August 13th to leave a comment.

Fig Lemon Jam

Day before yesterday I went over to my Mother-in-laws' and picked a bucket of figs and put them in the refrigerator. Yesterday I just had too much else going on with household chores to get to making the jam with the figs so they sat in the refrigerator until today. The title of this post is a link to the recipe that I used from Cooks.com ( I LOVE THIS WEBSITE).



Last night we went to our friend Robin's house for dinner. Her 2 wiener dogs did their best to entertain us. They are so cute! Dinner was wonderful and it was so nice to see Robin again.

Uncle Jessie was down from Greenville as he had an appointment at the VA at the Eye Clinic. He was able to get some visual aids to help him read things more easily.

We stopped by Julia's (Mother-in-laws) before we went out to Robin's so that Scott could look over some probate papers for Jessie. Jessie will need to get a lawyer to look them over and witness his signature on all of them. He was so tickled that he got treated so well out at the VA and we told him that he is something they cherish (as much as we do) - a World War II Vet - RED CARPET all the way.

Mexican Chocolate Cake

I'm not sure where I got this recipe or I would definitely give FULL credit to whomever came up with it as it is DELICIOUS!

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 pound unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, plus more for greasing pan
3/4 cup whole milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the chocolate chips and butter with the milk until smooth, stirring occassionally.

Pour the warm chocolate mixture over the flour mixture. Stir until smooth. Add the eggs. Stir until smooth.

Butter the inside of a medium loaf pan (8x4 inches). Pour the batter into the pan. Bake at 350* for 50 to 60 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Do NOT over bake. Cool the cake on a wire rack for about 30 minutes, then run a knife around the outer edges of the cake, making sure to run the tip along the bottom of the pan. Tip the cake out of the pan and cool completely on the rack. Slice and serve at room temperature with a scoop of ice cream, if desired. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

BECKY'S NOTES!>>>>> I tried baking this in one of my loaf pans and it ran over in my oven so I now bake in an oval casserole dish that I have since my loaf pans are not quite deep enough. And I am keeping my eye out for a little larger loaf pan for future tries.

I am planning to drizzle this cake with melted white chocolate today and will post a picture later. We like the fact that this makes a smaller cake than most cake recipes. And Scott wants me to try adding hot peppers to one sometime as the sweet chocolate and heat from the peppers would make it extra yummy. ENJOY!

Sorry no pictures - it's all gone!

I'm Back!

I've been doing a bit of sewing and watching the flowers bloom the past couple days and reading. It's been ever so long since I read a trashy novel so I figured it was about time to pick one up at the library. Just finished reading A Cottage by the Sea by: Ciji Ware. It was an intriguing story and I enjoyed reading it.

I also watched a couple episodes of Wire in the blood on Hulu. It is quite "dark" and Scott says it's too dark for him but I love shows like that - Crime Dramas.

All in all today was just a goof off day for me and I think that I needed it.

OK... back to the sewing...














I received the fabric and notions for the small bag swap that I am in with my on-line quilting group. Now to get my creative juices going... Should be interesting. I also made some "square in a square blocks" for another swap that I am in with the same group. I think I will uses the ones that I get in return to make a table runner or topper. It will be a scrappy project as everyone is just sending what they want; there is no color scheme assigned to this swap - perhaps next time there will be. We have so many wonderful swaps planned for this year.




Flowers...






















I just had to take another photo of the white hydrangea (supposed to turn shades of pink as the blooms age) this is the first time since I planted it that I've actually been home enough to enjoy it from start to finish.

The Lantana by the lamp post is just starting to put on it's show and the butterflies and the hummingbirds absolutely adore it. I would plant an entire hedgerow with this stuff if I could.

The yellow squash flower is on our "mystery squash" vine that came up volunteer. Perhaps I will post a picture of the strangely shaped fruit that it is producing; I've never seen anything quite like it before.

And the white flower is a "Rose of Sharon" that I got in an on-line plant swap years ago. I have several colors but so far this year only the white one has bloomed.

Mail... I got such a lovely surprise from my Mom - a box full of brown fabrics for my quilt stash. OH SUCH LOVELY FABRICS! And such a wonderful loving note too...

And an EXTRA bonus surprise... A NOTE FROM ABBY ! I drew and colored a picture for her today and mailed it out so she will get a letter from Aunt Bec in the mail this weekend.

Deep Cleaning and Yard Sale Prepping

I decided this morning that I would start tackling this house one closet/cabinet/room at a time; bagging stuff up to donate (clothes) and marking stuff for a yard sale that I will have on July 31rst. I want to get rid of about 1/3 of our "stuff"- possibly more. It's just STUFF taking up room that I have to clean around. I'd rather see someone else get use from it. Today I got through the linen closet, the coat closet and the entry... Looks pretty good if I do say so myself. Tesla decided that the linen closet was now "his room"; poor thing doesn't realize that the vacuum has to go in that spot. Tomorrow I will tackle the other closet in the hall-way - Holiday decorations. UGH! I think I will get rid of everything that isn't Halloween or Christmas. I don't really decorate for the others anymore since Greg is a grown man - not that he isn't wild enough to appreciate the decorations. He is such a cut-up and would play along for Mom's sake. But I'm just NOT that into decorating. I would love to have a Halloween party this year but who knows where we will be or what our circumstances will be then either.

Here is what I have ready for the yard sale (CHEST not included)...

I went to walk by the river by myself this morning before it got dreadfully hot. Saw this dead fish and had to stop and wonder how it came to it's end. It was over a foot long... I'm not really sure what kind of fish that it is but I'm sure Scott will let me know. I thought this vine looked interesting on this tree right on the bank of the river... I also saw one of the families of Geese that have made the Congaree their home this year..

Time to get dinner made.... NOTE TO SELF! DO NOT PUT A PAN TO BOIL AND THEN DO A BLOG POST! I sure hope I can get the melted aluminum off that burner when it cools and the stink out of this house before we have to go to sleep tonight.

Misc...

I had to move patches and a pocket on Greg's Camo uniform before this weekends drill. He has gotten so broad in the shoulders that he got orders to buy a new top. So Mom was called to action to move all the patches.



It's been a bit of a downer week so last night Scott and I drove up to the 10 acres that we have for sale. I don't know if that helped or made us feel worse because we have it for sale. But on the way home we saw quite a site and I made Scott stop so that I could take a few pictures. This field of sunflowers was OUTSTANDING; a simple reminder that there is still beauty and growth all around us and life goes on in it's continuing cycles. So life will go on no matter what comes our way and we will also grow from this experience.

I was finally able to get the better picture of Samantha's babies quilt off the little camera... I gave the quilt to her last night and she loved it.

PURTY POSIES

This morning I mowed our yard and it looks a lot better. Amelia (dog) was SO HAPPY! She loves it when I mow the yard; she will bark and bark with joy as I'm pulling the mower out of the shed. She hates it when the grass gets so long but with all the rain its been difficult to find a time to mow when it was dry enough. As I was mowing I was seeing things in bloom and these were the two that caught my eye the most.

The pink crepe myrtles are in our back yard and they are so beautiful. The white is a hydrangea that I planted on the right side of the yard right after we moved in.






And after working so hard what should I do....
Tesla says naps are nice!

Baby Quilt Completed

I finished this yesterday and have it boxed up and ready for Greg to take to his friend the next time he goes over to visit. I think it turned out quite lovely and I am hoping that she will enjoy it for many years.

Chicken Chow Mein - FROM SCRATCH!

This is another recipe that I got from my Mother-in-law (she IS an EXCELLENT cook)...

CHICKEN CHOW MEIN

Brown Lightly in 2 Tablespoons hot butter:

4 Tbsp. minced onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms

Add and Simmer 15 minutes:

1 1/2 Cups Shredded cooked chicken (I've also used turkey for something different right after Thanksgiving)

1 cup diced celery

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp. sugar

Blend and stir into meat mixture:

1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Dissolved in:

3 Tbsp. COLD water

Cook until slightly thickened and clear.
Serve over hot rice with chow mein noodles.

We've Reduced our asking price....

http://www.exitrec.com/homes/8147467/SC/Winnsboro/TBD-Old-Douglas-Road-29180/

We have lowered our asking price for our 10 acres in Fairfield County to $54,500. This is BEAUTIFUL property with several wonderful home sites. Neighbors are near but not right in your face.

I hate Nights like that!

I just hate nights like the one I just had - one strange dream after another. I'll have to catch a nap today to make up for not getting much sleep last night.

This morning I am hoping to get our lawn mowed before it rains again as it is getting quite long. I might get it done but I have my doubts as it's looking quite like it's going to rain early today. And today's forecast:

"TODAY PARTLY SUNNY. PATCHY FOG THIS MORNING. A CHANCE OF
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 90S.
SOUTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH. CHANCE OF RAIN 50 PERCENT".

So I guess that I will see if it dries off enough this morning so that I can mow before it rains again. I know Amelia (dog) would appreciate it immensely.

Scott has a wicked sore throat and drainage and my head is stuffed up - I think we may have head colds to top the weird night off. I'm hoping that whatever it is passes quickly.

I started cutting 4" squares for a Fall Table Topper project and then decided to cut one whole width of each color into 4" squares so that I can make other projects utilizing 4" squares. It just made more sense than storing a short 4" wide strip. So I cut and cut... these 38 singles is all I needed for the project the rest are my "spare squares" for future projects.
I then stacked my "extras" - makes a pretty "cake" don't you think. I'm going to keep my eyes open for more browns and rusts for my stash as I don't have much in those two color ranges. I went ahead and made up the Fall table topper and am thinking about appliquéing some Fall leaves in the borders before I quilt it.

I'm also finally getting around to sewing the binding down on the purple and green baby quilt. As I finally found a pair of the 1.25+ reading glasses and it has made a world of a difference in my hand sewing abilities. This getting toward 50 thing is for the birds when it comes to energy and eye site.

Pictures I took with Dad's camera

The last time I was up to my folks place I had left my camera at home so I borrowed Dad's to take these photos. I forgot to upload them to my lap top while there and so today Dad emailed them to me. The floral and fungi were amazing and of course I had to walk up to visit Uncle Lenny and Uncle George on their places and Uncle George's horses had to come and say hello. The horse in the back ground has a mean streak a mile long and wide.