And a Wintery Happy New Year to All!

We were under a blizzard warning yesterday and it did snow! Here's the Christmas tree on our front porch (and no, it wasn't flocked before):


Looking out the front door:


Looking out our bedroom window:


Today it's lightly snowing and it's so very beautiful outside! We're heading into deep freeze temperatures now, with a current temperature of 19.

We here at the Resort hope you are warm and cozy, and we send our best wishes for a blessed new year to you all!

Happy Memories

Christmas Day has come and gone, and a wonderful day it was. Ann, Eric and the boys arrived at noon on Christmas Eve, bringing in presents and their bags to stay for a few days. The boys enjoyed the hot tub while the rest of us started preparing for Christmas dinner and finishing up a little shopping.

We had a lovely communion service at church at seven, and after visiting, we got home just in time to put the boys to bed (however, not to sleep!). The grownups were tired and headed for bed soon after. Around four, I woke up to thumps and bumps, which continued for a while. Finally I got up, crossed the hall to the boys' room, and noticed dim light showing through the slight opening of the almost closed door. I opened the door and found Keaton on the floor in front of the night light, going through his stocking, and Cameron on his bed with his reading headlamp on, going through his! I laughed, and went back to bed. Finally all was quiet and I went back to sleep.

We all were up by eight (apparently the middle of the night stocking adventure had helped the boys to sleep in) and had a wonderful time opening presents. Breakfast followed and then we "hopped to" in the kitchen in anticipation of the arrival of my parents, Bruder Bear, and Kirsten and JR. Karen is down with their daughter, getting to know little Grant, and Bruder Bear isn't able to go until next week.

Our house was full with eleven around the table for our dinner of ham with all the trimmings. So wonderful to have four generations eating and sharing together! We were stuffed after dinner, so we held off on the pies and cookies until later as we visited and games were played. Bless Kirsten and JR's hearts as they went to work in the kitchen and cleaned up so beautifully and efficiently! When I thanked JR for his work, he said, "Well, you did all the work to cook everything!" Bruder Bear, those are some great kids you've got!

After a trip over to Ann and Eric's to see the almost finished remodeling, Bruder Bear drove the five of them back to Mom and Dad's and we came home to more hot-tubbing and falling in a heap on the sofas. What a wonderful day!!

Bruder Bear and me, Christmas 1955:


Yes, I've got Tiny Tears on my lap, and apparently I also got another doll, the blond one sitting in the suitcase. John is wearing his Davy Crocket pants, and of course that's a toy gun he's holding. He did love his "six-guns!"

And this Christmas:


One of us got a lot taller!!

Merry Christmas!

The pies are made, the rolls are baked, the potato casserole is in the frig, and the little boys are in bed (but not asleep!). Christmas is upon us.

And most importantly, it's the birthday of Jesus.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10

Thoughts on Becoming a Great Aunt

My brother became a grandfather today. His older daughter, the one who made me an aunt for the first time, had a little boy this morning. Bruder Bear called me from the Dallas airport where he was catching a flight home after doing some audits for the company he works for. His first grandchild. I'm so happy for him. He's going to be a wonderful grandpa, just as he's always been the best brother.

When he called, his first words were, "Hello, Great Aunt!" We knew this little guy would be born today, but I was still surprised to get the call so early. What a great start to the day!

I've been a grammy for over eleven years, but something about being a great aunt sounds, ummm, old. Just the term sounds old. I remember growing up with my paternal grandmother's brother and sister living close by. We just called them Uncle Bevil and Aunt Eupha (they hailed from Missouri by birth--hence the unusual names) and they were two generations removed and always seemed old to me. Truth was, they were younger than I am now!!! And now I'm a great!


Welcome to the family, Grant Ragan! You are surrounded by so much love!

I Won...and the Story Behind It

Candace, over at Squash House Quilts, had a give-away the other day and I won! She asked her readers to comment with a favorite Christmas memory and I knew immediately what I'd share. Here's my "winning" comment:

Some friends made us a beautiful gingerbread house when our kids were little (two and three), and I proudly set it in a place of honor in the living room. Imagine my surprise when I got up the next morning and went to admire it and it was gone. Everything!! Even the cardboard it was displayed on. Then I noticed a trail of crumbs on the floor. I began to follow them and they led to the bathroom trash where I found only the cardboard and the paper cones that had been icing covered trees. My adorable children had been in bed when the gift arrived, gotten up and found it, and had eaten it all up!!!

When I found out I had won, I sent her a follow-up to the story:

You asked if they got a tummy ache, and amazingly, they did not! I still can't believe they ate everything. The husband is the one who brought it to our house, and I hadn't even thanked the wife since it all happened so fast. I knew I had to call her and thank her, and I didn't know what to say. I finally called and told her what had happened (I should tell you this was my husband's boss and his wife) and I was amazed and relieved when she burst out laughing and couldn't stop! Several years later they gave each couple in their department another one (though not so detailed) at a party, and brought ours out last with a wire cage around it and an old lamp cord attached to it!!! An "electric fence" for ours! Oh my did we all laugh. And that one made our son sick when he ate it with permission. Go figure. He must have lost his immunity on the first one!

So, what did I win?


A bag of Mary Ellen's Best Press in every scent (I love Best Press!) and Moda's Lumiere de Noel by French General!!! And a candy cane. :-) Thank you so much, Candace!! I love everything!

Christmas 1955

I was in the first grade and six years old the Christmas of 1955. We lived in a small duplex downtown and my brother was three.

In our town, Christmas officially began the Saturday after Thanksgiving. As I remember, the decorations which were strung across Main Street were put up Friday by men in town (probably some service group such as the Lions Club). Santa came on Saturday and it seemed that everyone in the area was in town to watch and gather in the bags of candy which were distributed. A stand was erected on an empty corner lot, and there, every Saturday until Christmas drawings were held to win prizes donated by town merchants.

I've mentioned before that I got a new doll each Christmas. This year, 1955, the most popular dolls were Betsy Wetsy and Tiny Tears. Both came with bottles which, when filled with water, could actually be "fed" to the dolls. They could then cry (small holes at the corners of their eyes) and wet their diapers. Every little six-year-old girl's dream!

At this stage of my life, I can't remember which was which, but my parents got me one doll, and I won the other one!! Oh, the bliss!!

Here I am, my new riches spread before me on the table:


I'm wearing my new Christmas pj's from Grandma Hansen. I can still remember them--they were salmon pink and white gingham flannel and instead of long pants, they had bloomer bottoms. I loved them!

Small Town Christmas Memories

In my last post I mentioned that shopping was rather limited in the small town I grew up in. Actually, that's not entirely true.

I remember Christmas shopping at the hardware store that had china and a gift shop. And I remember the dry goods store which had clothes and fabric. I mentioned the Rexall Drug that last post and they too had a gift shop as well as a toy department. Snyder's usually filled the bill for shopping for the guys, and of course the dry goods did, also.

So shopping in the '50's and the '60's while somewhat limited, seemed to work, especially on the small budget my younger brother and I worked with. The memories I'm thinking of right now probably began in the late '50's and progress to the mid '60's. Our meager budgets were augmented by a ten dollar each donation from Mom and Dad, supposedly for our chores for the year. (We received no allowance.) John and I often went together to purchase presents for our parents and I remember purchasing some pretty glasses for Mom at the hardware store which matched some glassware she already had.

As I mentioned, our town was small. Very small. And it was the same town our dad and paternal grandmother had grown up in. From the time we were school age, John and I were able to travel the town freely; we pretty much knew who lived in each house, and everyone knew us. Therefore, we were allowed to go downtown on our own to shop. I remember one year when John, he was probably about seven or eight, bought Dad a steel brush for cleaning tools. He purchased it at the Western Auto where they didn't wrap. (Thinking on it now, I'm sure it wasn't a store where gifts were often purchased.) As we continued our shopping, we wound up at Snyder's. They wrapped, so John asked them if they'd wrap the brush for dad. They did. Ahhh, the joys of small town life. :-)

Speaking of John and wrapping, another favorite memory of mine is a Christmas in the same time frame when he handed me a box and asked me to wrap it. Then he said, "Don't open it! It's yours."

December Memories

My favorite month of the year is here and it's bringing back lots of memories of Decembers past. Must be the snow and the Christmas music.

It's been a while since I've gotten a doll for every Christmas, but about fifteen years ago Dan did buy me Samantha, an American Girl doll. I still love dolls and have a display case of them in the basement. And I still love sewing for dolls. Since I have no granddaughters, I sew for my own dolls which include some from my childhood as well as some I've purchased for myself.

When I reached high school age, my best friends and I exchanged presents among ourselves. Shopping in our little town was limited, but there was a Rexall Drug which had a gift section and a large selection of perfumes and accompanying powders, etc. One Christmas I remember getting Revlon's Aquamarine soap and powder, and probably perfume. The powder was unique in that the powder itself was in a squeezable handle topped with an aquamarine colored powder-puff ball. Wish I had it now! :-)

My friends and I, in our quest to be young adults, even began exchanging Christmas cards. I loved reading the cards my family received every year, and couldn't wait to begin sending my own. I can't remember whether we actually mailed the cards to each other, or whether we exchanged them at school. I still love getting Christmas cards and for that reason, continue to send them out.

Right now I can still see the handwriting on cards my parents received every year from a couple named Ray and Mae. Ray always sent the cards. I never met him, but Dad knew him from the war where they both served in the 101st Airborne Division. Ray had been a medic and I remember Dad thought Ray was one of the bravest men he knew because he jumped without a gun, only his packs to help others. (Ray always held a piece of paper under his writing to help him keep his lines straight and thus his cards were very distinctive.)

Meanwhile, I began my Christmas baking yesterday. Two batches of shortbread cookies, stamped with Rycraft cookie stamps.


Here's my mixer churning away on a batch. The little paper on the front left has recipes for the cookies and came with two stamps from Matt, Christmas 1990. I know because I wrote on the paper. I wish I did that sort of thing more often.

Here are some cookies, stamped and ready for the oven. These designs are the ones Matt gave me.


That was twenty years ago and he was in high school. But the memories come back every Christmas when I made the cookies.

Cozy Day, Fun Day

As I began to empty the dishwasher this morning, I realized it would be a good day to swap out the everyday dishes for our Christmas dishes. Everything was clean, making it the perfect time.

I've had Christmas dishes for close to twenty-five years. In our old house, they were stored in boxes in the cubby underneath the stairs, but in this house their home is in a wonderful set of cupboards at the end of the main floor hall. It's just a few simple trips (well, maybe more than a few) up and down the hall to swap. No unboxing the Christmas dishes and boxing up the everyday dishes. Love it!

As I was moving the dishes, I noticed a few other things so I began to replace candles and a few wall items. That led to the closet in the boys' room where I hang seasonal wall quilts. Down with the autumn wall hangings and up with the Christmas ones.

I have yet to begin opening my many boxes of Christmas decorations, so it's just a hint of Christmas so far. But with what's out, a few lighted candles, and Christmas music on my iPod, it's looking like Christmas is on its way. A fitting start to the advent season.


We have about eight inches of snow and an amazing forecast for 100% probability of snow in the next thirty-six hours. It was an absolutely gorgeous day with some blue sky above the snowy landscape and the perfect time for meatloaf, baked potatoes and baked squash for supper. Yum!

Saturday, Sewing Day!

Yes, I made it into my sewing room today although I almost missed it. While getting some new rolls of TP out of the hall closet upstairs, I realized my hand was wet where I was touching the paper wrapper. Oops! I felt around, and sure enough, there were drips coming down a pipe that travels up through the floors. It's part of an old radon detection system that was in the house when we bought it. I put in a call to Dan who was again at Eric and Ann's to give him the bad news.

He got home within half an hour and thankfully, no roof leak, just some snow that blew down the vent and melted. He did some preventative work in the attic and just left to go back to Ann's.

Since he didn't have to go up a ladder and onto the roof, I was able to go to my sewing room and work on the project I'd just started when I made my discovery. Here's my completed project. I stitched out the design several days ago, and promised to show what I did with it when I came up with a plan.


And here's a closeup of the embroidery design which came from the November free CD that Bernina offered this year.


I've never done a pillow with this type of edge before, but the design didn't seem to want my usual ruffle around it, and a plain knife edge didn't seem the thing, either. The whole pillow is out of my usual color comfort zone, but I like it. I don't know how it will go with my other pillows and decorations, but then maybe it's supposed to be a gift for someone. :-)

Friday, Baking Day

Dan was helping Eric on their remodeling work today and I had every intention of sewing. But then I remembered that I would need to have a meal ready for Sunday for a couple at church who just had a new baby. They live about thirty miles away, so the plan is for several of us to have meals ready for them in the church freezer so they can just take them home and eat them as needed.

I decided I'd get some cookies made today and then make up a casserole tomorrow. So to the kitchen I went and began a batch of chocolate chippers. As I was baking them, I thought about how good the rolls I'd made for Thanksgiving had tasted, and how some more would be tasty with the split pea soup I had in the frig from several nights ago. Hmmm...

I washed up the mixer bowl and beater, ran the dishwasher, and decided that yes indeed, I would make up another batch of rolls. Back to the mixer, out with flour, yeast, eggs, and oil. Oh how I love my KitchenAid mixer! I dumped the dough out on the counter and gave it a few kneads for good measure and set it to rise.

I finished up some wash, put on my boots and coat, got the mail and retrieved the garbage can (garbage day), made some tea and sat down with the mail and a book. I woke myself up a little while later (smile) and punched down the dough, formed the rolls, let them rise again, and finally popped them in the oven. Dan got home just as I was taking them out. Is there a better smell than freshly baked bread?

So now it's evening. I didn't get near my sewing room, but I have a pile of rolls on the counter and we'll enjoy them tomorrow.


And now the big question: Will I make it to my sewing room tomorrow?? Stay tuned!

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. We here at the resort are giving thanks to God for his many blessings to us.

My pies are made, the rolls are rising, and the salad is just needing to be mixed, then we're off to Ann and Eric's for a meal with friends and family.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting
Give thanks to the God of gods,
For his lovingkindness is everlasting
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindnes is everlasting.

--Psalm 136:1-3

Blessings on you all!

Thankful for a Winter Wonderland

My favorite time of the year is here. The addition of a winter storm has made the beginning perfect.


The picture above is of our back yard taken from the deck, and the one below was taken from the front porch.


The snow is still falling and weather.com says it will continue until tomorrow morning when the temperature will fall to a high of 13. I heard on the television that it's been twenty years since we've had such weather at this time of year.

My iPod is attached to its docking station with Mannheim Steamroller Christmas albums playing, and a sugar cookie scented candle is burning in the kitchen. We went to the grocery store over the weekend and stocked up on holiday staples, so I'm set to make pies, rolls, and a salad to take to Ann and Eric's for Thanksgiving. They are having all of Eric's family in for the day and we've been invited to join them. My parents are driving to Lewiston with a friend to enjoy the wonderful buffet at Meriwether's at the Red Lion. It's a holiday tradition they really enjoy.

The basement wood stove is blasting away adding to the cozy day here at the resort. When I finish this, I'm planning to go down to my sewing room and work on a Christmas project I started last night. What have I been working on lately, you ask?

This runner was quick and fun, made with Moda's Fruitcake by Basic Grey fabric. The pattern is from Gudrun Erla's book, Fast and Furious Holiday.


Another fun project I've been working on has been candle wraps. I've made smaller ones, but this is a large one I made using a current free design from the Bernina site.


I'm currently stitching out a 10" square wreath in machine embroidery. When I decide what I'm going to do with it and then do it, I'll post a picture.

As we approach Thanksgiving, we send wishes for a blessed Thanksgiving day with those you love. God is good!

Home Again

We're home after being gone for almost two weeks. A trip to Colorado to help our son and his family move into their new home in their new town. We had a wonderful time. And hopefully we were of help. :-)

We opened many boxes and unwrapped many items. All seemed to have survived their trip across the country from Virginia. Amy was happy to begin finding things that have been in storage since June; however, the packers seemed to have their own method for loading the boxes: cookie jar lid found, but no cookie jar; pots, but no lids (Amy did announce during a phone conversation on Saturday that they had finally been found!); baseball bats and a tennis racket on top of silk flower arrangements. Hmmm...

The weather was incredible. We spent a Saturday afternoon in 80 degree heat, slathering on sunscreen, watching grandson Ryan play soccer while in the distance the peaks of the Rockies were white with snow. Most spectators were wearing shots. Amazing!

Here's our number eleven, on the field:


Matt behind the boxes in the kitchen:


And one of Amy making a cup of Russian Tea on a much colder day with rain and snow coming down (note the cookie jar lid to the right!):


Our trip down was accompanied by perfect weather--sunshine and beautiful fall days. Our trip back was quite different. Snow as we left and up into Wyoming. The roads were terrible and we lost four hours because of delays caused by accidents. Gratefully, we were not involved in any of them. We finally arrived at Bruder Bear's house fourteen hours and fifteen minutes after our early morning departure. What a welcome treat to settle down in front of their fireplace and just relax and visit. In fact, it was so wonderful, we stayed an extra day and night. (Thanks again for your hospitality, Bruder!)

And now we're home. The weather has changed and it's cold and wet outside. The wind is whistling down the fireplace chimney and I can hear the wind chimes ringing. We're thankful for a trip filled with time with our wonderful family. We are blessed.

Pressure Cooking

Several of my faithful readers have some questions regarding pressure cooking, so I'm going to do a little info-mercial. :-)

I thank two blog friends for encouraging me to get a pressure cooker and then to actually use it. CJ of Created by CJ and Judy of Patchwork Times often wrote of using theirs, and when I began to ask them questions they offered a lot of help and encouragement.

Dan bought me my six-quart Fagor brand cooker two years ago for Christmas. It was one of two brands available here in our town, and it looked the best. True confession: it took me a year to use it. Yes, I was buffaloed. I finally got brave and tried it around Christmas last year. Dan later told me he had been sorely tempted to wrap it up and give it to me again!!

Here's a picture of mine sitting on my stove top:


It's nowhere near the size of my canning pressure cooker. And you can buy four-quart cookers. My blog friend CJ has several sizes and loves her four-quart.

The pressure cooker my mom had when I was growing up had a "jiggler" on the top that rattled all the while the cooker was under pressure. Today's pressure cookers are called second generation, or new generation, and have no jigglers. They are remarkably quiet and very easy to use. I could kick myself for taking so long to use mine.

Here's a picture of the top of mine:


The dial at the top can be set to no pressure, low pressure, or high pressure. Further down the handle you can see a small yellow dot that is the presssure indicator which pops up when pressure has been reached. To the right of the indicator is the slider which locks the lid closed. As you can see, pretty easy to run.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I bought Lorna Sass's book, Pressure Perfect. CJ recommended Lorna Sass to me and this book and another of hers in particular. Lorna is a pressure cooking guru and is almost single-handedly responsible for the pressure cooking revival that is starting to take place. If you google her, you'll find she has several websites and a number of videos you can watch.

I'm very much a novice at pressure cooking, but I love being able to create wonderful bean soups in a fraction of the time. Would that I had known about this when I was teaching! There are hundreds of recipes I still need to try and I look forward to learning more. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately?) for you, dear readers, you'll probably hear about them.

Soup, Soup, Soup

When the weather turns to fall, I'm always drawn to my kitchen. I'm not much of a summer cook, but cooler weather brings out all my cooking instincts. Meatloaf and baked potatoes, soups and bread, crock pot meals, I'm even thinking about food before lunch! As in planning ahead! Trust me on this, I don't plan ahead in the summer--all of a sudden it'll be four o'clock and I'm forced to think, "What's for dinner?!?" Barbecues are us.

I found a recipe a week or so ago for a crock pot minestrone and decided to give it a try. It made a huge pot and we really liked it. I used Elk stew meat and it was nice and tender, easily cut with a spoon.


It's not a pretty soup, but it was quite tasty, especially sprinkled with shredded Italian cheese (mozzarella and parmesan). I got the recipe here.

And by the way, the split pea soup I made earlier this week was fantastic. The recipe came from Pressure Perfect by Lorna Sass.

Cozy

After a long, beautiful, warm fall, we seem to have come to a turning point. The wind has howled today, the rain has beaten against the windows, and there's snow on the mountain. But then, it is the 25th of October.

Dan was in the woods all day, and as the weather got stormier, I decided it would be a good day for soup and bread. I worked up the last loaf of the current batch of artisan bread dough and baked it, then I got some ham from the freezer and some dried peas from the pantry. My pressure cooker made short work of a big pot of soup and we're set for dinner tonight and tomorrow. Dan just got home, and we'll eat when he emerges from the nice warm tub.

Tomorrow, since dinner is in the bag (or pot, to be more accurate), I plan to spend the day in my sewing room. I did lots of little chores around the house including changing the sheets on our bed, so I'm certain I deserve a fun day. :-)

My last two projects have been table runners. One was for a new lady at church who lost all her possessions in a strange series of events. She worked overseas for a few years and had her things in storage. She arranged for her bank to make the necessary payments to the storage facility, but for unknown reasons, they stopped after a year. The storage facility then sold her possessions at auction for non-payment. Imagine coming back home to find everything you own is gone. And you don't even have the money! Many people have pitched in to provide Patty with new things, and she has been overwhelmed. My little part was this runner for her new table.



It was my first attempt at invisible, turned applique and I'll definitely try it again. Patty loved it and yes, she cried when I gave it to her. Such a small thing, but I pray it will help in some tiny way to make up for the loss of so many precious things from her past.

Seen Through My Bedroom Window

I was making our bed yesterday and on my way past our window, a series of sounds caught my attention. I looked down into the back of some shrubs and there were quail. Lots of quail. They seems to be coming out of the bushes in pairs, hopping up on the limbs, and then hopping down and moving along. I ran for my camera and snapped some photos through the window.


Can you see the gorgeous male and his sweet little wifey next to him?

We have many quail here at the resort and I love watching them. They trundle through our yard at various times, always a large group, usually in single line formation. And there's always one or two who seem to have trouble keeping up with the group. I always think they must have been sight-seeing and lost track of time. It makes me giggle as I watch them scurry, their top-knots bobbing away as their little feet hurry to catch up.

Signs of the Season

We've been either very lazy or very busy around here. The busy days lead to the lazy days! Dan checked the green beans on Monday and lo and behold, we had more! Out came the carefully put away canner and back to work we went. It froze that night, so we know we're done now. That, and he pulled up the plants as he picked!! My nice neat basement pantry is really looking stocked now.

I changed out some wall quilts and here's one of my favorites, made years ago. It's a "herky jerky" pattern, done by "hand", not machine embroidery.


Amazingly, we still have some beautiful roses climbing below our deck:


And the scarecrow has made his yearly appearance on the front porch.


Hope your fall is arriving with all its brilliance. Enjoy!

A Cozy Sunday Night

Fall seems to have settled back in today after a week of rather warm weather. I canned the last of the green beans yesterday and today we got some sprinkles of rain. I think canning is over for the year.

Dan went out with a friend after church to look at some land the friend is in the process of purchasing and to cut some wood. A tree had blown down near the fence line and they cut it up after running the survey lines and finding a section marker. I stayed home and took a nap! Yeah, as usual, Dan was out being busy and I was resting easy. :-)

When I roused myself from the sofa where I'd been curled up under the quilt daughter-in-law Amy made us last Christmas, I decided we'd have leftover soup for supper. I got the last of some artisan bread dough out of the fridge and shaped a loaf. I love that it's fall and time for cozy food again.

The bread turned out perfectly. I've figured out the best temperature and time for my oven. The towel is one I made using a Mary Mulari machine applique design. Isn't it perfect for fall?

The soup is an easy one I found in Paula Deen's magazine (September/October 2009) and it's very yummy.

Paula Deen's Black Bean Soup

• Five slices bacon, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 14-oz cans of black beans, drained (I used 50% less sodium)
• 2 14-oz cans chicken broth (I used reduced sodium)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

In medium Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium high heat until it begins to brown. Add onion and garlic; cook for 3 to 4 minutes until onion is tender. Add beans, broth, cumin and chili powder. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

In container of a blender, spoon half of soup and process until almost smooth. Return processed mixture to Dutch oven and stir to combine. Paula suggests garnishing with sour cream and chives. I did not. (And I also did not use onions because they don't like me.)

I told Dan that if I ate this soup and bread at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant somewhere I'd be singing its praises to friends. Yes, dinner was that good. :-)

Goin' Green...

Beans, that is! The weather has been warm and we have green beans!! I just finished canning sixteen pints of the little critters and I'm so happy. :-) I spent the morning snapping them and as I progressed, I realized we had quite a few.


I loaded the first eight jars and knew we were in business when the collander was still plenty full.


Here's the first canner load, waiting for the pressure to drop so I can add the second batch.


And here are the jars, all lined up and done. As I've written this, I've been listening to the ping of jars sealing. What a sweet sound!


And more good news: there are more baby beans growing, and the weather is supposed to stay warm! Ping!

Reporting In

It's Monday again and I'm heading out in a few minutes, but thought I'd do a little updating.

Here are dresses eleven and twelve for the Little Dresses for Africa. I had so much fun making them!


Here'a picture of the color on my favorite tree in our yard. It's right outside our bedroom window and each fall the leaves amaze me.


And I finished the downstairs pantry!


Happy Monday to you all!

Order, Order!!

When we bought this house I was thrilled to have a pantry in the kitchen. And, joy upon joy, there was another right below it in the laundry room!! It took me a while to fill up the kitchen one, so the one in the laundry room became a catch-all for assorted this and that. A few years ago, I attempted to sort it out and make better use of it. Oh. My. I ended up calling Ann and she volunteered to come help. Together we sorted and tossed and there were even empty shelves when we were done.

Fast-forward a few years until today.


See any empty space? Me neither. And you should know that the shelves continue behind the wall on either side of the doors. So, the time had come to do something. There had been too many trips to Costco and indiscriminate stashing. I wasn't even sure what was in there! After lunch I screwed up my courage and began. I'm not done, but I have conquered fhe dreaded start and I now have all the food sorted and arranged.


There are still piles all over the laundry room and out in the hall. Stuff to be tossed or given away, Christmas wrap, etc., that really needs a new home. (I might have mentioned to Dan that I need some new shelves built...) I'm probably done for today, but tomorrow I'll be already started and hopefully energized to finish.

Monday, Monday...

Another week gone. It was a lovely, rather quiet one, and I'm grateful for the down time. Dan was gone most of last week on a forestry tour north of here, so I enjoyed puttering around the house and in my sewing room. I'm still working on the Little Dresses for Africa project and just completed my twelfth dress. Our total over at church is well over one hundred now. Some sweet little girls are going to be very happy in a little while.

Remember the fall table topper of my last post? I made a pillow to match! Those turnover packs have tons of triangles in them!! And a small confession: I finally purchased the Bernina ruffler. The generic one I bought years ago (and finally used last Christmas!) just didn't do it. The difference is rather like comparing one of those little can openers that come in C-rations to my wonderful pampered chef one. No comparison!! Here's the pillow:


The ruffle is perfect. I'm in love with a new toy.

Dan got home Friday night, spent Saturday helping at the Boy Scout Camp north of here, and Cameron and Keaton came to spend Saturday night with us while Eric took Ann on a date. We had a great time with the boys. They got out Dan's Lionel train set and added some "new" pieces now that they're older. Dan got that train for Christmas when he was eight, and it's been through him, his much younger brother, our son Matt, and now our grandsons. Close to sixty years old and still running!

Ann had her ultra sound last Wednesday and we're getting a new little boy! We love our little men!! We are looking forward to meeting this one about January 19th. Time to start stitching blue. :-)

Sunshine, Shade, Sprinklers, and Some Stitchin'

This fall weather has been so perfect, I find myself loving every minute. It's energizing! Yesterday, after church, I told Dan it was way too beautiful to spend any time indoors, so we took some chairs out under the cherry trees and spent a leisurely hour reading and visiting. Here's where we were:


It was shady and perfect. Then Dan kept noticing dead limbs in the trees so he got his little pruning saw and went to work. I attacked some nearby weeds, and before we knew it we were hard at work and enjoying every minute. That is until the sprinkler system started up! I happened to be standing right over one sprinkler head and I wish someone had a video of me when it went off!! Needless to say, we were done for the day. :-)

Our poor garden. We had such a wet early summer, and Dan was so busy, we didn't get it planted until July. Yup, July. It's looking really good right now, and we're hoping this perfect weather lasts another couple weeks so we can harvest green beans and squash. Here's a picture of the beans. If you look closely, you'll see a sweet little bean waiting to be picked.


I mentioned in a previous post that I've been working on some samples for the shop. Every fall Bernina's OESD design company puts out some special CD's which are free with a qualifying purchase. They have traditionally been free-standing lace ornaments and this year's first one is no exception. I stitched out three of the designs and they are quite lovely. I also stitched a design (non lace) from the second CD onto a tea towel I made into an apron. Here's a view:


The snowflake is 3-D and here's a closeup of it:


I'm looking forward to making some more. Oh, and I made a new litle fall topper for the coffee table using Sandy Gervais' Gobble Gobble turnovers. I've become a real fan of simple little toppers for a splash of seasonal color.


Have I mentioned lately how much I love my 830 and my Handi-Quilter? I do!

Just Poppin' In

It's a dark and almost dreary day here at the resort. Dan is off working and I've been puttering away here and there. I'm working on some things in my sewing room for the shop and in a little bit I'll start a soup in my pressure cooker (thanks for helping inspire me to get it, CJ). Fifteen bean soup with elk German sausage, thank you for asking. :-)

Meanwhile, here's a picture of our front porch sporting some of it's fall finery. Later, closer to October, we'll add a bale of hay and a scarecrow. And some Indian corn.

Some of our houses haven't had a front porch. I love having one again!

Hope you're all having a great day. I'm off to the kitchen now.

My Life as a Cookie Baker

Yes, it's true. My alter ego is Cookie Baker and has been for quite some time. When I was growing up, my mom was a great cook, but she wasn't a baker. If she made a dessert, it was usually something "gooey" like Dump Cake, or Strawberry Angel Delight, or Cherry Cha Cha. All, I readily admit, loved and eaten by me. Right down to the last lick.

But I had this dream of a house, a kitchen, and a cookie jar that was always full. I think I was about eighteen and working when I first started my cookie-making ways. My first cookbook was one entitled Desserts by The Garden Club, published in 1967. (I am amused right now because I pulled it off the shelf to be certain of the title, and when I opened it for further information, the committee members names are listed. They are all Mrs. (insert man's first and last name). No Chris Miller, no Susan Smith, just Mrs. Somebody. I had completely forgotten about those days when married women had no name of their own.)

Forgive me. I digress. Anyway, the only section of that entire cookbook that I've used is the cookie section, and I still use it. I baked cookies and took them to work. I even used them to send to a former co-worker and began a long distance romance that lasted two years. Cookies. Powerful potions!

A few years later, I met my Sweetie and confess to using my cookie baking skills to help reel him in. Turns out, his mom never made cookies (she made pies), and he dreamed of a home with a full cookie jar. Talk about made for each other!!

Our first house was a tiny 8' x 35' trailer equipped with a small gas stove and oven. I swear that the best cookies I ever made were in that gas oven. I think it had just the perfect temperature and humidity for them. We sold that trailer in 1973 and thus began my quest to recapture those perfectly baked cookies. I tinkered with recipes, added and subtracted ingredients, and still never quite got to those perfect cookies of the gas oven. My cookies were good, but I knew the difference.

Several years ago I was eating a cookie made for me by one of my student's mother. It was perfect!! The next time I saw the mom, I grilled her for her secret. Gas oven? No. Where did the recipe come from? Back of the bag. I tried it. Didn't work. Back to the mom. More questioning resulted in the secret: real butter. So back to my recipes. I began using half margarine and half real butter. Voila!!! My cookies were back!

And Kathy, to answer your question as to why I use margarine, butter, and shortening in the previous cookies recipe? Laziness. The original recipe called for 2/3 cup shortening, 2/3 cup margarine. I hated having to cut two cubes of margarine into 1/3 cup chunks to get the 2/3, and the same with the butter. So, 1/2 cup butter (one cube), and 1/2 cup margarine (one cube) and 1/3 cup shortening was the easiest way. Still added up to 4/3 cup of um, fat. :-)

I wish I had kept a total of the cookies I've made over the years, but I'm certain I could fill this whole house with them were they all to be gathered into one space and time. I have a glass canister I purchased for fifteen cents from a neighbor twenty some years ago and it's a rare day that there are no cookies in it.

Oh, and my daughter used to raise a little money for herself in high school by selling the cookies I'd put in her lunch. She knew there were more at home.

Those Cookies...

Kathy and Hallie both remarked on the cookies several posts back so I'm sharing the recipe. Daughter Ann shared it with me--it was one of Eric's grandmother's recipes and it's definitely a keeper.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mix thoroughly:

• 2/3 cup margarine
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Sift and stir in:

• 3 3/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Stir in:

• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter chips

Bake at 375 for 12 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen cookies using the medium Pampered Chef cookie scoop.

Note: I make a change in the shortening: I use 1/2 cup real butter, 1/2 cup margarine, and 1/3 cup shortening. I usually freeze most of the cookies and put some out each day, but nevertheless, they stay "soft" (as opposed to crisp) even if left in the cookie jar for several days.

As to the cookie scoop, for years I poo-pooed the idea of using one. Finally Ann convinced me it was the way to go and I bought one. Oh my! If you don't own one, GO GET ONE! They are so worth it. She also sold me on the large one for muffins and it too is more than worth it. Some of the best money I've ever spent. And now my commercial ends. :-)

Enjoy the cookies!

Weather Update: It's Fall!

For the last few years, it seems that fall has arrived before the end of August. This year is no exception. The high today? Sixty-two degrees. It's cold in the morning and last night was a very good snuggle-under-the-covers night. I love it! Fall is my favorite time of the year. The cool weather, the colors, soup and muffin dinners, steaming cups of tea, the approaching holidays--what's not to love?

Last Friday was a busy day as we packed up grandson Ryan and drove to Spokane to meet Matt and Amy at the airport and have a bite to eat with them before they all headed back to Colorado. Ann, Cameron and Keaton drove up, too, so they could see Matt who had flown directly into Seattle for the cruise. Ann had saved my birthday present because, it turned out, it was from both her and Matt. So there in the parking lot near the airport I opened my gifts. A pilgrim set designed by Jim Shore, whose work I love.

This beautiful pilgrim lady is from Ann:


And this one is from Matt:


Actually, I think the name of the set is something like "Bounty of Harvest", and so I have set them out on the dining room table to celebrate the arrival of fall. I love how they look and more than that, I love those two wonderful blessings who gave them to me!


Welcome, fall!