Lavender Ridge Farms

Pat and I went to Lavender Ridge Farm on Saturday.  We picked lavender, drank lavender iced tea and lavender iced lemonade and bought lavender plants... along with some others.. ;o)  What a wonderful day. 

Well, it's Monday one more time.  ;o)   Have sewing to do.  Will finally be able to get back to my patiently waiting (almost) purse... 

It will have a very large red button on the pocket.  I've been trying to make it have over the head straps... but I think that will not work.  ;o(    Anyway, we'll see.  More on this project later.. ;o)

I hope your Monday is the beginning of a week that you will look back on with fondness.. ;o)
Have a good day...

Today In My Life

Today is:  Tuesday, June 5, 2012

I got up this morning:  after dreaming about Michael Kitchen... Can't imagine how that would happen, especially with our penchant for watching every movie or television program we can find that has Michael Kitchen in it.. ;o)  We have just finished watching The Hanging Gale .  This is a BBC television special that is absolutely wonderful...about the Irish Potato Famine.  Tea at Trianon  speaks about this BBC special.  Michael Kitchen portrays the Land Agent.  It is a wonderful, gritty and heartbreaking movie...

As I look out the window:  the trees are waving at me.  There is a strong wind blowing in a storm that we are supposed to have this evening.  But the view through the screen on the back porch is still lovely... ;o)

 I have to say that seeing these lovely roses bloom over and over all year is such a pleasure. 

I am thinking:   that I should have remembered all those crocks that my grandmother had on her cabinet.  I can still see her taking her knives and gently running them over the tops of those crocks.  I guess I never really thought about the fact that she was sharpening her knives... until I came across a pinterest site that shows how you can do the same thing with you ceramic cups! 

By holding the knife at a 30° angle and gently running the blade over the unglazed part of the bottom of the cup... voila'.. sharp knife!  I do soooo with I had known about this long ago.  All those years of complaining about dull knives would have never happened...lol

Today I am thankful for: the sounds of the birds chirping away out the back door.  I have painted some small birdhouse and will be trying to get some wrens to come visit us.. ;o)

Plans for the rest of the week:  include Dr., Dr., Dr., ... but that is a relatively good thing... I hope.  I have been having surgical injections for pain in my back and am in the the third round now...  And are they wonderful! 

Creatively:   I have so many projects going that the pics will have to wait until tomorrow.  ;o) 

A happy thought:    Everyone needs a little fairy dust .. ;o)  Hope you have LOTS in your day!

Canned Oranges... Yum, Yum!

Today is:  Thursday, March 1, 2012

I got up this morning:  after listening to the sounds of trucks whining by since around 4:30 am... What's up with that?

I was dreaming of a great little place to sit and talk, eat a bit.. great ambiance with a water feature filled with something that looked a lot like bamboo...  Youngest son John was there (there were several of us)  and he was ordering paper bags full of olives.. We would talk a while and I looked down and saw the most adorable, hefty looking frog sitting on my leg and just looking up at me.. Everywhere I went in the little deli I would find a little frog just sitting and looking at me.. ;o)
I looked it up this morning in my book of "Dreams" and found that dreaming of frogs means you will have a pleasant and even-tempered friend as your confidant and counselor.. ;o)  Love that part..

Dreaming of your own child denotes cheerfulness and the merry voices of neighbors and children.

Eating the olives with a merry band of friends foretells favorable results in business, and delightful surprises.. ;o)

I've had this book for years and every now and then it's just fun to go thru it.  I really can't see that much of it has come true, but it all sounds really nice today.. ;o)

As I look out my windows:  the sun is shining and today the weather man says we will have temps in the low 80s... wow.. It will be a lovely day for our Red River Fiber Arts meeting this afternoon, but I have to wonder what will happen to the lovely pear trees that are all in bloom when we have that usual hard freeze around Easter.. ;o/

I am thinking:  that I have way too much stuff..hmmpfh  I think it's more of an organization problem than really having too much of a good thing.

Creatively: it's been a busy couple of weeks.  I have this quilt top started and need to finish up.

 This quilt has been tied and is ready for the binding... that I am hand drawing and coloring in.. This seems to be taking more time than I had anticipated..lol  This one is for our soon-to-arrive  Great-Grandbaby. 

 I've been stuck in Pinterest ever since I first found it.. ;o/   But... I did find the coolest little quick pattern for DIY little baskets.  Here's the one I made...You can find the templates and tutorials at Craft Passion.com

 Today I am thankful for:  creative and fun friends... They keep a healing and healthy smile on my face.  This is include those on the net who share their activities and thoughts through their own blogs and pop over here to share mine.. ;o)

Plans for the rest of the week:  include doing a little more thrift store shopping.  I found these lovely egg coddlers in perfect condition (Royal Worcester Porcelain)  at one little shop here in town.  Too much fun to wander around and find hidden treasures..

  Something I'm happy about: .... In Arizona the oranges, lemons and grapefruit all ripen in December.  When our son bought his house in a suburb of Phoenix, they were lucky enough (or was it planned?? ;o)  to have several orange, lemon and grapefruit trees growing in the back yard.  This pleases me no end because he sends me some!  ;o)

Did you know that it is remarkably easy to can oranges?  Amazing.. and so luscious!
 Here's the website that shows how to do this... CLICK HERE!

Well... I think I should stop here before this becomes a book!  I hope everyone has a lovely day.  Spend at least a part of the day either talking to or visiting with a friend.. ;o)

Very Low Carb Muffins

I'm always on the look out for recipes that I can use for my sweet DH since he is diabetic and is very careful what he eats.  These muffins are perfect!  Easy to put together, bakes quickly... and here's the recipe.. ;o)

 Low Carb Muffins

Heat oven to 350 °F

Butter or spray with baking spray a 6 cup muffin  pan

Dry ingredients:

3/4 cups almond meal  (9 net carbs)
1 ½  tsp. baking powder (3 carbs)
1 ½  Tbsp. cinnamon (1.7 net carbs)
½ tsp. salt ( 0 )

The recipe I found calls for 3 packets of Splenda.  My DH has an allergy to all the artificial sweeteners, so he requested that I leave out all the sweeteners.  You may not have this problem.

Other ingredients:

3 eggs, beaten  ( 0 )
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil ( 0 )
1 dash pure vanilla extract  ( 0 )
1 cup chopped nuts .. I use either pecans or walnuts  ( 4.65 net carbs)

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.  Mix in beaten eggs, oil, and vanilla well.  Add the nuts and stir until blended. Pour batter into each muffin cup, dividing evenly.   Bake at 350° for 25 minutes until golden brown.  ( NOTE:  Not all ovens are the same.  My oven bakes them in 10 to 12 minutes.. Don't ask me why!   So I would suggest keeping an eye on them and when the look a little dry on top, test them with a knife to see if it comes out clean and if it does, take them out. )  I seldom let them cool more than a minute or two.  I use Pam Baking Spray or Baker's Joy on my pan and they just pop out.  I cool them on a paper plate.  Then I store them in a large ziploc.. but they don't last long.. The midnight strolls of my sweet DH see to that.. ;o)

They are quite good served with whipped cream.  We sometimes put them in a bowl and pour Silk Vanilla Soy milk over them.  Wonderful!

When I add the carbs and divide them by 6 ... I come up with a net carb of 3.06 carbs per muffin.
Even with the addition of 2 Tbsp. of granulated sugar ( 33.06 carb)... after dividing it all out into 6 muffins there will still only be 6 carb in each muffin.  I think I will make a batch using the sugar for me.. ;o)

My husband loves them.  They fill a big hole in snack department.. ;o)

Looks like we're going to have more rain this afternoon and while I am totally tired of all the dreary day blues that I get when there is no sun for a while... we really need the rain.  So.. I will turn on every light in the house and enjoy it.. ;o)

Have a great day..

And How Time Flies....

I haven't died... I promise...

But I have found a "new" way to fix eggs..

These are called  1) baked eggs, 2)shirred eggs, 3) sheared eggs... and I love them.  This was yesterday's breakfast.  Chopped up ham in the bottom of a Pam sprayed individual oval baking dish.  I used this one..

After the Pam... chopped deli ham, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped onion,  2 eggs beaten, more cheddar cheese,  tomato slices... baked in a 350° oven for 15 minutes or until knife stuck in center comes out clean.  My goodness.. so wonderful..

Today I put (pre-cooked)bacon and cheese on the bottom, two eggs (not beaten) , more cheddar cheese and had it with the last of my guacamole  and one piece of toast...  yum yum

I have been dieting a bit again.  Have lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks... I'm sure it's just water weight, so we'll see what the next 3 weeks do...

Life has been busy, but no more than usual.  I have had pain injections for my back in the last 6 weeks and am amazed at the way they help!   Dr. Amhan says they will wear off and this will be an ongoing thing...but I DON'T MIND  how many times I have to go back!  This is great!

I hope you have a great day.. and I'll be back sooner.. ;o)

 Looks like almost 2 months have flown by since I've posted.. I'm sorry it's been so long!
In October we had some wonderful friends visit from New Jersey.  We had planned to take them to downtown McKinney and wander all the antique and rare book shops, but they had to leave early.  Maybe next time.. ;o)

 I decided to try once again .. sigh ... to do a houndstooth weave on my Kromski rigid heddle loom.  This time I actually got it..lol  This only makes the 3rd time I've tried.. I love it.  And once I figured out the warp it was super easy. 

This is the finished scarf.  I used my fringe twister that I bought at  Leef's  for the first time.  It really surprised me how much easier it was to make the fringe.  










It's amazing that Thanksgiving is almost here. 
We've been having rain for last couple of days, but we've had cool enough weather over the last month that using our fireplace has been a treat.

I'm hoping you will have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with comfort and warmth. ;o)  

September 2006... Crocheted Slipper Patterns

I was wandering back through my old Fabric Follies blog from September of 2006 and came across a pattern that I have used several times over the years. It bears re-posting since it's coming soon...ta da... the Holiday Season!

These easy and quick house slippers are a great stocking stuffer.  They are called Abi's Slippers and the crocheted pattern for them is on her website.. Crotiques.com .  Hers do not show a tie, but I found that with the kind of yarn that I used the slippers were a little too stretchy and required a little help to stay on my feet. (Never let it be said that I would just crochet them a little big...;o)

I found another pattern in my look back to 2006.  It's one that I came up with in an effort to re-do some slippers that I had years ago.  I'm not sure it's exactly the same, but I liked them anyway.  Here's the original blog post from September 2006.  And here's the pattern.  (This pair is truly ugly, but I got that Homespun yarn at the thrift store...tons of it for about $2.00 and I thought I would never get it all used up. ;o)

Well...that's my "Blast from the Past" for today.. ;o)  I think I'll start doing this more often just to see what's been happening over the years..

Have a wonderful day.  They say our 100° days will be back soon, so I'm going to enjoy these cooler days while I can.. ;o)

This Day In My Life.... September 8, 2011

Today is: Thursday...  September 8, 2011

I got up this morning:  wondering why in the world I spent half the night dreaming about spinning cotton...!!  Could it be the Akha and Tahkli lessons (wonderful, by the way) that  Pat and I took at Apple Leef Farm?  If you ever have a chance you should absolutely stop by and visit with Leef and Les.  Look around the shop.. you'll be glad you did.

This is the Akha and Indian punis that I just love.  This has become my go-to project for taking with me almost everywhere I go.

As I look out my windows:  I am loving this respite from 2 months of upper 90s but mostly 100-111° days.  It's 63° out there right now and we are loving life..;o)  Grass fires all over the state have taken their toll, including several smaller ones around here. (One burned 1,000 acres .. another burned 3,000 acres).  I suppose this is not much when you consider that the fire around Bastrop, TX  killed 2 people, burned nearly 800 homes and blackened 45 square miles (33,000 acres).  NOAA says that in some areas of Texas it would take 20 inches of rain in one day to stop the drought.  ;o(  Surely this Long Hot Summer will end soon.

I am thinking:  that I have an almost free week coming up next week.  A very good time to get some arranging done around the house.  I'm thinking that would be a good thing.. ;o)

One thing I've learned over the past week:  is that if you keep a pad and pencil at hand beside you're chair when you're trying an original knitting pattern.... it's really easy to write it down row by row as you are doing it... instead of trying to go back and figure out what you did when you decide the pattern is one you want to keep... duh  ;o)

This is the pattern that taught me ..lol  These are wristlets that go with the Old Shale scarf I knitted.  The free pattern for these wristlets will be on Fabric Follies Two in a day or two.

Creatively:  this last month has been one of overwhelming thought processes...lol  A Tahkli, Akha, and Charkha class, a Card Weaving class, and an Intermediate Spinning Class all in one month..  wow... a lot to absorb.. ;o)   But fun.. thanks to Leef Bloomenstiel at Apple Leef Farm.   No more classes for a while.  Must spend some time practicing the 1/2 of what was taught that I actually remember.. lol  Thank goodness Leef gives lots of good handouts!   And nothing makes these more fun than going with a friend.. Thanks, Pat.

Things I am thankful for:  my sweet DH who supports all of my interests and never says a word.. ;o)  Except to really enjoy it with me... I love you, honey.

Plans for the rest of the week:  do NOT include more classes.. ;o)  Must get some things done around the house.  Sooo looking forward to visits from special friends this fall. ;o)

I'm hungry.. ;o)  Time to get around and fix some breakfast.  And... speakin' of... I'll put up my try at making granola in a couple of days.. turns out really good..;o)

Have a wonderful day... and don't forget that hugs will make you live longer...!!  ;o)

Today in My Life... July 11, 2011

 








Today is:  Wednesday, July 11, 2011

I got up this morning:  early.  4am.  It's not that I mind getting up early... it's that 10am letdown and sleepy that gets me. 

As I look out my window:  the sprinklers are sprinkling.  There's a street light on our corner and the water makes all the plants out front glisten like tiny stars.  Pretty enough to go sit out and watch... but it's already 82°F out there at 5:30am....

I am hearing:  my sweet DH wandering around the kitchen getting coffee and asking me why I was up so early... ;o)

I am thinking: that the air conditioning in our new house is wonderful...but I'll be right back...after I've slipped on the shawl that Karen made for me!  Cool on my back this morning!



 One thing I've learned over the past week:  is just how much fun it is to share brownies and cups of tea with friends.  This is not a new learning experience.. ;o) .. it's just that it's been such a long time since I've been able to that it SEEMS like a new one... ;o)  Hopefully all the major hubbub with the move is about over... ;o) 

 



 Creatively: I've learned a bit this week.  You don't have to use vinegar to set the dye for Kool Aid (unless you are worried about the blues being colorfast).  Kool Aid has citric acid already in it ... therefore it will be colorfast without any other additive.  And... I feel totally set free now that I've dyed roving in the microwave and it didn't come out a felted hot pad.  Thanks, Pat, for all the tips last Friday. 

Things I am thankful for:  Visits from sons John and Phil over the 4th of July... Life can't get any better than that... ;o)


Plans for the rest of the week:  include (finally) the installation of the storm doors today... yes! this morning!...yayyyy!  
And the RRFA meeting on Thursday.  Really glad that Mercy may be able to continue coming even tho she's moving. 

It's hot.  And doesn't look there's much chance for any change in temps for a while.  Not even into August yet and the temps are now what the usual high for the year is... ;o/

But... the grass is green, the sky is blue, the flowers bloom and it is a lovely day.  Hope yours is too... ;o)

Today In My Life... May 8, 2011

Today is:  Mother's Day... May 8, 2011

I got up this morning:  at 4:30am, made coffee and emptied the dishwasher.  Normal stuff.  Turn on the computers, listen to the clock tick.  The peace of the morning makes me wish for an all day early morning... ;o)  Just normal stuff... a gift.

As I look out my window:  the sun is just lifting over the horizon.  It's 6:10am.  I look out over the backyard and the meadow and think of how I have loved just gazing down there...the trees, the flowers, the squirrels, the birds.  I'm glad I've taken pictures over the years....

I am hearing: very little traffic this morning.  It's Sunday.  An occasional car or truck.  But mostly just sounds of the thoughts rolling around in my head.  Some good, some bad....  just normal stuff.. ;o)

I am thinking:  that it's very nice to have a friend who knows that she is cared about even when things become hectic in life and there is not always the time or frame of mind for a call... or a visit...

The one thing I've learned over the past week:   is this.... If you pack all of your dishes, pots and pans there will ALWAYS be a snag and instead of a couple of days...it will be another 2 weeks before you can move...

Creatively:  I have been at a stand still... My creativity is just buried so far behind thoughts of my children and the move that I found myself back to knitting garter stitch dishcloths last night.  Could not concentrate on any pattern enough to make it work, so the dishcloths were a life saver.. ;o)

Plans for the rest of the week:  include 3 days of chiropractic visits.. and here I have to give a plug to Dr. Ryan Knight of Denison, TX..  The pain in my back and shoulders is so much less that I can actually breathe now and make it through the day.
Note to self:  Must buy shelf paper by the mile... and soon...

A shout out and huge THANK YOU... to Amber DeHay  for all the help packing and carrying boxes.  And speaking of Amber.. pop over to her blog Knit My World  and take a look at her new pattern for a knitted scarf to match the lovely wrist warmers I had the pleasure of test knitting..









Today is Mother's Day.  I cannot think of any mother I know that is perfect.. or even the perfect mom.  But the thing about Moms is this... They have a perfect love ... Happy Mother's Day!