No finish Friday!

 I am sure I am not the only one who had less time to work on projects the past week. With the holiday and Bill being home, we were out and about, more than in.

One thing I did do was, make a new recipe. This is Pineapple corn bread and it is delicious. It will be a nice bread to make for the holidays, maybe Easter. The recipe is from our local mill, the only corn meal I like. You can find the recipe and more, at  Kenyon Grist Mill.

The recipe calls for a half cup of crushed pineapple and a half cup of jam, but I just put in a whole cup or small can of crushed pineapple.

We did a lot of rides to the ocean and salt water ponds, so we saw lots of birds this week. One day we actually spotted a Red-tailed hawk, sitting in a tree next to Dunkin donuts. He wasn't. happy with having his photo taken. The one in the smaller photo, we saw in a farm field.

As we were driving down a back road, another Hawk flew in front of us, luckily we didn't hit him. He had just caught his dinner and of course when we stopped, he flew back across the street. So, I stood in the road to catch a shot.

We had a lot of days out, so I cannot remember the order of all of them, so I will show you some of my favorites.

This Great Egret was in the pond area and closer than usual, so I was able to shoot from the window, so he wouldn't fly away.

And then I noticed in the far distance, a blob on a pole, this is what I saw. Not too bad for a long range shot. Someday I will find a Kingfisher, that is closer and doesn't fly away.

We also had good luck with the smaller birds, some at the bird sanctuary and at the ocean area. Yellow romped warblers in both areas.

This Mockingbird was happy to pose for me. 

And I was lucky enough to spot a flock of Horned larks in the parking lot area, so I was able to shoot them from the truck, but they still move around so fast, they are hard to get clear shots.

Another day we stopped at another beach and it was still closed, the storms did a lot of damage and carried sand across the roads. Now it is mostly cleared and people have been cleaning the clutter on the beaches. I was able to spot the local Kingfisher in the pond.

From there, we went to Galilee to see if the seals were in, but not that day. We did catch some fishing boats coming in with their hauls. You can always tell when they have catch aboard, the seagulls are a dead giveaway.

And one came in behind this one.

And on the last day of holiday, we went to the island. We went to the lighthouse and I took a short walk around the cliffs. In one spot I was able to catch A group of Common Eiders that were closer to the cliffs.

And mixed in with this group, was a group of Surf Scoters. It was definitely a busy week, but nice to get out and enjoy the birds in our area. It seems we have snow and rain coming, our area is more rain prone. I am looking forward to a little more snow this year. I got the kids snow boards and last year, I got a few sleds to use when they come here and they have been sitting in storage. 

I hope you all stay warm and safe with the storm coming through and can enjoy some time outside to enjoy time in nature.

Friday finishes and Freebie! - Plus a Holiday recipe!

I have been busy this week, a great way to keep my mind and hands busy while I finish off the last of the flu. My first piece is the second of the set from Blueberry Backroads. I colored this one with pencils, but it didn't pop, so I used my ink markers and love how that looks. I will recolor the first one, as well.

The second piece I finished is a stocking with a design from Cheri's Friendship group on Facebook. The design is free and another member did a design on a stocking and gave us the template to copy. She had machine sewed her stocking and I left the seam allowance on mine, so a little fatter, but it is nice for those wider design elements. The stocking measures 10".

I also tested some recipes, this one is my new favorite. It is Sweet Potato flat bread and so easy to make and only two ingredients. I was doubtful that it would work, but it does and it is delicious. Today I made up some apple - pineapple jam and it went great with them. For Thanksgiving I plan on making small ones and using cranberry and fruits to go with them. It stays moist in a sealed container, so you can make it ahead and just reheat before dinner.

And for Friday's freebie, a cute little reindeer. I found the photo at another foreign site and no pattern, so I did up my own. The wools I used were not as dense as I thought, but they still came out nicely. I will definitely make more of these, great to hand out or add to gifts. These are about 4 1/2 x 3 1/2.

And here is the design that I used. You can add your own buttons, different appliqués and colors. I hope you have fun, making your own. Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday finishes, finds and food!

I decided this week that I will be posting on Fridays only, unless we do something special on the weekends. Then I will bore you with photos of our adventures and the kids, on Mondays. I have so many projects that are in the works and ones the I want to start, that I want to concentrate my time, working on those and having more time to visit blogs.

This week I decided to paint some more rocks. I haven't done it in a while and it usually takes me a week to finish them. So, I kept these simple and did them free hand, so they may not be perfect or art works, but I think people will enjoy finding them and hopefully put a smile on their face.

If you don't know about my facebook group, it is for people who like to make things and hide them for others to find. It doesn't have to be rocks, it can be any item and the purpose is to make others happy, nothing else. We need to spread a little joy in the world. If you would like to join my facebook group, DSmiles4miles, you can read more on what it is about and join in on the fun.

I was also able to get to the dog beach, for a few days. Bean loves it and Bill gets in some exercise by swimming in the bay. I get to do lots of walking, while I look for glass. I found a few nice pieces and a lot of craft glass. The junk glass I am putting aside to give to a friend who does art pieces and stained glass. I did have a couple of nice, large chunks, but I met a girl who was looking for any glass and I took most of it, lol. I gave her a couple of the nice large ones.

After eating pancakes for a few days, I got hungry for meat and potatoes. I make healthy pancakes with whole wheat, bananas and blueberries, then I top it with apple, pineapple jelly, that I make, no sugar added. Tonight I couldn't decide whether I wanted apple burgers or pepper burgers, so I made both. I think I found a winner. I cut up one red and one green pepper, small onion and a grated apple. I add a little butter to cook it in. Then I mix that into the hamburger with a cup of bread crumbs and an egg. You bake these in the oven, I did mine at 380 degrees, till they brown on one side, then turn and cook. They come out moist and taste delicious. They don't hold together too well, so I am still working on the recipe, but well worth trying it. It tastes good and healthy way to have a hamburger. I had scalloped potatoes with it and for Bill's, I made his with healthy butter and his fake salt.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Bill is rebuilding his sister's porch. I have no problem helping her, but I think it is way too much work for him and my son to do, and Bill is on blood thinners, so working with power tools is not my idea of a smart thing to be doing. So, I will be home, stressing and keeping busy so I don't sit around, thinking of all the things that can go wrong;)

Twelve Days of Christmas: My Day!

I hope you have been following the Twelve Days of Christmas, each day there is a new tutorial or free pattern that you can make, just in time for Christmas. Thank you to Wendy for hosting the hop and all of the ladies who are participating. You can follow along each day by clicking on the banner.

I love to work with wool and I know most of you, love wool as well. I also love doing pieces with inspirational words and I think Joy is one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy my project and make one for yourselves to remember to keep Joy in your hearts, each and every day, this season.

I have given instructions, if anything seems confusing or you have a question, you can email me, anytime. The bells are about 5" long, but you can make them any size by enlarging or reducing the design.

This is  closer photo of the bells, the garland goes across my windows, with more bells and ties.

Have fun with the pattern, instructions are a guideline of how I made mine, but you can change it to suit your likes.

Instructions:

Materials:

Wool

floss

red berries (Beads, buttons or french knot.)

Rusty bell

2” styrofoam ball.

Red and green homespun 1/4” strips

Jute

Clothespins

Bells:

Cut out 3 bells, 3 bell backs, letters, candle, 2 leaves. Sew on the appliques with a blanket stitch.

Attach berries

Sew back and front with a blanket stitch, starting at the bottom and when you come around to the end, attach the bell with the same thread.

Balls:

Cut strips from the green homespun and wrap them around the styrofoam ball, until it is covered. Take a red piece and wrap it around the ball, twist around at the bottom and come around the opposite side, tie into a tight bow, leaving a few inches of the tail, to hang from the clothespin. 

You can buy pre-stained clothespins or soak them in walnut ink to age them. You can also have fun and paint them in christmas colors.

To make the garland, take a piece of homespun and a piece of jute and twist them together. Add  red ties if you like to fill in the spaces, and you can add larger rusty bells, as well. The length depends on how much you add to your garland and the size of your window, or area that you hang from.

Pattern Pieces:

Another fun thing to do for Christmas is baking treats that everyone will love. I have made these for years, they are great for parties and your guests who come to visit. They melt in your mouth and I haven't met anyone who didn't love them.

I hope you enjoyed visiting today and don't forget to follow along each day.

Friday Finish and Food!

I have been collecting needle felting supplies for a while now and decided it was time to try something. I have done some felting on flat surfaces but I love the little animals that people make and wanted to do some myself, but have been afraid to try. I decided I had to just jump in and try, even if I messed it up, to see if I could do it.

I thought a simple bird would be a good place to start, and I found a nice tutorial on the web at Joe and Cheryl. There are steps missing, so I just looked at the photos and figured it out as I went along. I wasn't trying to do an exact copy, just follow the basic steps and I don't have any good dark colors in my stash, so I ended up using some strands of black wool for a variation. I also didn't have the right sized eye, so I just stuck some roving into the eye area, I can add a nice eye later.

Nothing fancy, but I really had fun trying and learned some things along the way and how to attach the pieces and shape a bit. Now that I got over my fear of trying, I will try some more pieces and take my time on them. Not too bad for my first piece.

I should know better than to shop when I am hungry. I had to stop at the health food store and they had apple sauce with apricot and no added ingredients so I had to get some. It tasted fine, but way too much for me to eat before it spoils. So, I decided to make applesauce cake and found a great recipe on the at Mr. Food for Amish applesauce cake. I didn't add sugar or spice since I can't have those, but I added two mashed bananas to sweeten it a bit and it actually tasted good. I am always trying to find good snack cake recipes for snacks when we travel or paddle and I think this one is a winner.

Friday, Felines and Food!

It has been a long week and I had quite a few downs, but the last few days, I had more ups, so hoping for more improvement in the days to come.

Today was cooking day, I had things I had to cook. The veggies are coming in too fast and the kids need to come and take some off my hands. Today I made Summer Squash Puffs. I use this recipe, but I just use corn meal, not a mix, comes out the same. They are really addicting too, I ate an awful lot of them;) I make a double batch, so I have lots for me and Bill to munch on, they make great snacks, hot or cold.



I planted bean seeds, way too many and now I have way too many beans, so today was snapping and cooking. I presoak them the day before. It takes about 6 hours to cook them, so not a slow process, but well worth the effort, fresh beans taste so good. Hopefully my daughter will come over this weekend and take some off my hands, I let her have the cooked ones. No way is she going to spend all day cooking;) Now I wish I had kept my canning supplies, would be nice to have some garden veggies this winter.



Then I went out to see if I had tomatoes, just a few and not the best looking. Lots of rain this week, not enough sun and cooler nights, is not helping. I love fresh stewed tomato sauce. Of course I noticed I had a ton of cucumbers and another squash, like I need more. I have a container of pickled cucumber slices already. I use lemon juice instead of vinegar and some chopped garlic, fresh dill weed and oil. Great snack, side dish or as a topping on your salad.



I was putting away laundry and as you can see, Moki loves socks. He likes it when I throw them, so he can play catch and slobber all over them.



And here is the cat's favorite scratching post, haha. My camera has a flash feature that goes on when the light is low. It throws off little red dashs that were going across the rug and Izzy loves chasing red lights. I only have a few little things to sew onto my ark and then I will add details to the animals, then add a backing. I will add more stitches when I have the batting in, to define certain parts of the animals.

Flat Bread and Bubble Baths

Tonight I made one of my favorite meals and thought I would share it with you. I have food allergies, so if you are on a yeast free diet, this bread is perfect for you. It is so simple and perfect to wrap around your favorite fillings.

Add 2 cups of white flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 cup warm water and 1/8 cup oil. Flours can be different, so if it is too moist, add a bit more flour. You want the dough to be soft and more moist than dry, but not a wet moist. Make your balls, about 2" round. I roll my dough in whole wheat flour, it gives the bread a nutty taste, but you can use white flour. Roll the dough out and move around to make it as round as possible. Roll it till it is paper thin, or you can make it a little thicker, you can experiment to see what you like best. Heat a skillet, I use setting 5 on my gas stove, about 1 above a medium setting. Throw you rolled bread into the pan and when bubbles form on the top, turn it over. It cooks quick and you want it slightly browned, but soft.

I make these up and fill them with a mix of chicken, onions, various peppers, including hot and sometimes tomatoes. You can also use them for tuna or any sandwich filling that you like. I refrigerate the extras and the next day, I heat them up for a few secs in a pan and they are like you just made them.





We are getting lots of snow today, so I thought it would be a good night for a hot bubble bath. Well, in this house that means the gang has to join me, I have no privacy or peace, lol. Casey loves bubbles, and he loves to eat them, and Dora loves to get in on the fun too. They do the funniest things, but of course, trying to take pictures while in a tub of water, is not easy. These are the best ones I could get. Casey makes a lot of weird faces;)