Christmas...in February

I used to do a lot of counted cross stitching.  Then as time went on and I started having less energy when I got home from teaching, things began to fall by the wayside, and cross stitching was one.  A few weeks before last Christmas, something spurred me to dig into a basket and pull out a tin I knew contained little cards for St. Nicholas type Santas.  And there I found one in process, started I don't know when.  I decided it would be a good TV project and began to stitch again.  

Counted cross stitch is another area where I prefer primitive type projects, and a company called The Prairie Schooler was the source of my favorite St. Nicholas designs.  They published a card every year with a new design and somewhere back in the '90's, I chanced upon them and began collecting. I don't have them all, but I have quite a few!

I have several framed that I have used for probably at least twenty Christmases, but in the tin I also found two completed St. Nick's in addition to the one I began working on.  They are the two on the bottom and I finished the top one today.

I've discovered two things.  My eyes are older!!  I need to use reading glasses and take out my contacts.  If I do that, the stitching is easy; if I don't, not so much.  And the fabric I use, 18 count Davos in khaki, is proving very hard to  find.  I have enough for one more, but there are all those others!  I've found one source on line, but I've not taken the plunge yet.  Scratch that.  With Dan's blessing, I just ordered a yard.  A very expensive yard.  

Merry Christmas!  ♥

A Short Ponder

Every year as part of my Christmas presents, Dan buys me a Mary Engelbreit page-a-day calendar.  I enjoy looking at each day's art and often there is a quote of some kind.  Yesterday's art (which I just read due to yesterday's busy schedule) showed a woman with huge, startled eyes reading a newspaper and the quote was: "If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed."  It was attributed to Mark Twain.  When I read it, I laughed out loud.  It's so true!  Anytime I know anything about an article in the paper, I can usually find at least one major error, and often more.  

So my question (ponder) is, why do we ever believe what we read in the paper??  ♥

The Sun is Shining!

I know it's still February, but having blue sky and sunshine today has been a wonderful harbinger of spring.  Caveat:  it's cold!  But it is sunny!  

I've been doing a little hand stitching.  When we were at Bruder Bear's last fall, I made my yearly stop at a wonderful quilt shop in a neighboring town and was attracted to several primitive framed stitcheries.  I tend more to classic decorating items, but I do like a smattering of primitive decorations.  I bought two patterns and settled in to stitch one out several weeks ago.  The process was rather new to me because I had to trace the design on my Osnaburg fabric and it was a learning experience.  I was thankful Dan had made me a light box years ago--it was the perfect thing to use.

The little project is still in progess as a frame needs to be made by my handi-man, who is otherwise engaged with a bathroom remodel, so the picture below just shows the stitched fabric laying on a piece of batting with the buttons in position to be stitched on later.

The pattern was actually created by a lady who works at the quilt shop and she also makes the buttons.  Talk about a crafty lady!  I bought another of her patterns and look forward to starting on it. The colored parts are done with chalk, but I think I will applique with wool instead.  

The pieces of felted wool in the photo were gifts from Ann a few years ago and I think the red will be perfect for the mittens and scarf and the blue for the mug.  Now we'll see if I can be clever enough to do this!

I left my last post with a paragraph about our friend Steve.  We were able to spend a few minutes with him on Friday morning the 12th, and then on Valentine's morning he left us for a new life free from the cancer that had ravaged his body.  We and so many others miss him but rest in the assurance that we'll meet again.

Lifting a coffee cup to you, Steve!  Your super power was indeed love.  ♥

Happy Valentine's Eve...and Other Stuff

Here we are, almost half way through February, and tomorrow is Valentine's Day. The only room where I have Valentine's decorations is the dining room.  I did add a thing or two this year, though. On the table is this little setting:

The hearts on a stick in the vase were a gift from Daniel last year.  He bought them on the day we spent together while Ann took her friend Dayna on a round of doctors and hospitals.  Every time I look at those four hearts, I smile.  And I'm smiling, too, because Dayna's latest MRI showed further shrinkage of her brain tumor and a PET scan showed no active cancer cells!  Her doctor told her she's in uncharted territory and gave her three weeks off of her chemo.  She's enjoying renewed energy and a trip to Mexico with her sisters and mom as I type.  

I liked the leaves I made for the knob of the china hutch last fall so much that I was inspired to stitch out a Mary Engelbreit heart for this season.  Such a simple addition sure adds a lot:

Here's a bigger view of the whole hutch including a candle with a seasonal wrap:

Several years ago I created a banner for the embroidery club I taught at the quilt shop.  There's no mantle over our fireplace to place it under, and I couldn't figure out where else to put the banner, so I'm embarrassed to say I never put it up. This year I had an idea and it worked--under the dining room window:

Here's a longer range view showing the banner, the table, and the ultimate Valentine's decorating essential, a bowl of appropriately colored Peanut M&Ms:

Meanwhile, our hearts have been heavy this week as our friend, Steve, seems to be losing his battle with cancer. Steve, just a few years older than our kids, has been a good buddy of Dan's, is one of the pastors at our church, and with his wife, Tina, has provided us and many others, with an end of the holidays party known as Italian New Year's for a number of years.  As a couple, they have touched many lives near and far. We and hundreds of others are in prayer for this family that includes two young sons.  ♥

More Kitchen Stuff

About a thousand years ago, or not (but sometimes it seems that way), I was on my way home from college for Christmas break.  A friend from high school days drove me as far as some friends' house and dropped me off so I could spend the evening with them before they drove me the rest of the way home.  Actually, I remember the year, 1969, because one of the things I had with me was a pink satin formal (which my high school friend, Bob, called my "gown" as he carefully moved it into and out of his car) and I know that the only time I wore it was to the Navy Ball in December of 1969.  But I digress...

My friend, Maggie, had dinner waiting when I arrived and it was my first taste of cabbage rolls. They were delicious!  Maggie graciously typed out the recipe for me and a few years later, when I was married, I made her recipe numerous times to rave reviews by all tasters. The recipe takes a while to put together, however, and it was left to languish in my recipe box all the years I was teaching.  I needed speedier suppers.

Lately I've been seeing various bloggers and Facebook friends mention "Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls." Basically, cabbage roll ingredients but the cabbage is just chopped and added to the meat and sauce.  I actually remembered to buy a cabbage when I was at the store yesterday, and tonight was the night to experiment.  I googled Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls and looked at several recipes and then had a thought: make it using Maggie's recipe.  Amazingly, I found it in my recipe box, typed out on a yellow 3 x 5 note card.  I made a few changes; I used uncooked rice and used some chicken broth I had open in the fridge to add extra liquid for the rice to cook.

It was a success!!  Dan loved it and so did I.  I made it virtually salt free for me, so Dan added a little at the table.  Here's a picture of our leftovers for another night.

And here's the recipe:

Maggie's Cabbage Rolls--Deconstructed

 1 small head of cabbage, chopped

1 pound lean ground beef

3 8-oz cans of salt free tomato sauce

2 T brown sugar

2 T vinegar

1/2 cup uncooked white rice

1 cup salt free chicken broth

Brown ground beef in 4-Qt Dutch oven, adding pepper and salt and a dash of Montreal Steak Seasoning. Mix tomato sauce, brown sugar and vinegar together. Add uncooked rice to ground beef and stir.  Add chopped cabbage and pour sauce over and stir well.  Add chicken broth, 1/2 cup at a time and stir well.  Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes six generous servings. ♥

EDITED to add a photo of me about the same time. And yes, I still wear my hair the same way!

The photo was taken at a park in Spokane when my roommate, her boyfriend (who took the picture) and my Navy ball date and I drove up to spend the day.  I guess it was about a thousand years ago! ♥♥

What's Happening in the Resort Kitchen?

It's been a while since I had a food related blog.  Over the holidays I was busy in the kitchen but most of my efforts were directed toward Christmas: cookies, breads, and of course the holiday dinner itself. My everyday cooking was just to get food on the table: edible and norishing, but very basic. 

Now that the holidays are behind us (or long ahead of us!), I've been having lots of fun with our everyday meals. The electric pressure cooker has been getting a workout (more on that later) and other lovely vessels have made appearances.  First up is this beautiful cinnamon Staub 4-Qt Dutch oven I fell prey to last fall.  

It was on a terrific sale at King Arthur Flour and I couldn't resist.  I made a yummy elk stew in it.  It's supposed to be excellent for baking artisan bread, but I have yet to test that.  Soon, though!

Next up is another beauty.  A stoneware roaster from Pamper Chef that was a gift a few years ago from my adorable daughter.  

It makes the most incredibly delicious scalloped potatoes!  I used up the last of the Easter ham (found in the back of the freezer) and made short work of the potatoes with a mandoline.  We all know I'm a potato lover, and these made me swoon over their yumminess. The recipe is an old one from my trusty red plaid BH&G wedding present cookbook.  

I've been drinking my coffee from a fun new mug that was part of my Christmas from Ann and family. (For someone who never drank coffee until she was thirty-five years old, I've certainly made up for it since.)  The mug is a Pioneer Woman design.  Love the polkadots and the sunny yellow base.

Green Mountain Coffee has a seasonal selection called Pumpkin Spice that I've been enjoying since the first of December.  With Creme Brulee creamer, it's like pumpkin pie in a cup! A few weeks ago I swooped up five more boxes on closeout so I'm set for a while longer.  

And onto the pressure cooker.  It's gotten a good workout since the new year began including more yogurt, cheesecake, steamed butternut squash, and some very yummy baked beans.  While I still love and use my stovetop pressure cooker, I love that I can chop up a squash, program the cooker, and let it go while I work on the rest of dinner without a worry.  Did just that last night while I made turkey enchiladas which are somewhat labor intensive since I make the sauce from scratch.  No boilovers! ♥

What's Going On at the Resort?

Well, actually, nothing! As is evidenced by the Christmas wallpaper still here on the blog.  However, the entire house is still decorated for Christmas and probably will be for at least another week, so the wallpaper stays.  :-)

We still have snow although none of it is new.  It makes the days brighter and we love that.  We often call January Janu-dreary so the white is much appreciated. And we wouldn't object to some more.

Don't know if I've mentioned that Dan, with son-in-law Eric's help, got the shower stall installed over Thanksgiving.  They also got the new sheetrock up around it. Over the next few weeks Dan got it taped and mudded and finally textured.  After Christmas he got it primed and painted.  Now we await our shower door which seems to be lost in limbo-land somewhere.  Hmm, I need to call about that again.  

I'm pondering my next sewing project.  I've been digging through my quilting books and have seen many things I'd like to make; deciding is the next step.  

First up, however, is the laundry.  The excitement never ends here.  ♥