A Day of Rest, Well, Sort of.......

Yes, I was raised that Sunday was a day of rest. And for the most part, it is in our household. However, today, hubby surprised me with a date to the movies, and the movie we saw was "Edge of Darkness". I have always been a Mel Gibson fan, and every time in the past when he had a new movie coming out, we always saw it that first night. Things are a bit different now, so we waited for the early show, since the prices are less. All I am going to say about the movie, besides it being great, was that it is an intense movie. Then, we headed home for lunch and some more stitching on my part. I need to take some pictures, except for one of the projects, I cannot show. It is my BFF's birthday present, and since she reads my blog, that will have to wait. I will take some pictures this week. I also have been checking for fruit trees to plant. We are hoping to plant 3 in our backyard, and move around some of the containers of plants we have to a better spot. We walked around our yard, front and back discussing this, and even making a little map for us to use. We will see how this works for us, since this is the first time we have ever done this. We even got to spend some time with our son, who seems to spend more time at his girlfriends house than ours, but that is life, and sadly, we are getting use to this. Tomorrow, report day for me, hopefully, it will go fast! Because, this Saturday is Kim's class at BP&HH, and I of course signed up for it, and cannot wait for it!! I am not sure if there are any openings but you can always call BP and ask. Until then, have a great night, back to watching the Grammys!

Their BACK!!!!!

I am sorry if this is "TMI", but it would explain why I am writing this at this time. It's been a couple of months since I have had hot flashes, but it seems they are starting up again, and with a vengeance!! Instead of fighting them, I am coping with them, and that means a BIG glass of ice water, and reading blogs! Gran had her first Time for Tea at BP, and she let me know it went well. I wanted to join her, but it was month end. I did almost stop by on my way home from Sutter County, but felt I should head on down to Elk Grove since I still had time in the day and continue my visits to clients. I will be joining her next month! I did come home and fix a cuppa for me, it did the trick, it just wasn't as fun as being with other stitchers! My plans for this week-end, well, my mom's car needs new brakes, so I am following her to my son's work, and he is putting new brakes on for her, and instead of her waiting there, we are going out to breakfast at Mimi's, our favorite place! Then I need to get home to work on an extra project that Gran gave us, (as always, this is an optional assignment, I got the disclaimer in for ya Gran!!!) of making a book cover out of fabric, but drawing on it a "Crazy Quilt" design, and use different embroidery stitches, no embellishments or fabric, just our stitches. I am not sure what size, but I think it is a wonderful idea, and what a great way to practice our stitches and make a sample of them! I am thinking of making my the size of an average paperback book. I was thinking a journal, but since I would have to go buy a journal instead of using whats on hand, I will probably make due with an simple paperback book. It would make my current read a little more interesting that just a plain paperback book, don't ya think? What are you plans for this week-end! Happy stitching to all!!

Guess Who's Back??

Guess who is back on blogspot? Gran!!! She threw in the towel. Check her out at www.knotyladies.blogspot.com. Not much has gotten done around here, work is calling, its month's end, so a little busy. Can't wait for the week-end. I did do some clearing out last night, and hubby and I are trying to figure out why we have 7 yellow pages for the same town??? Are they like rabbits, and they multiply when left alone in the cabinet? We really do not use them that much, we usually use the Internet, it is much more faster and up to date. Our recycling can is going to be very heavy this week, thank goodness they use an arm on the truck to empty the bins! Well, off to work I go, have a great Thursday!!

Month End

It is getting towards Month's end, which for me is a very busy time with my job. Loans need to get funded so the car dealers get their money before they close out their books for the month. It is a little hairy/carry, however, it means I am still employed. I may complain and gripe but I am thankful to have my job! I have been stitching most nights, and I am almost finished with my next block of the Gail Pan design I am working on. There are 4 blocks in all, and each block is a garden scene. I am really excited to see it coming together, which in turn, helps motivates me to getting the stitching done faster! I am hoping to finish the last of the flowers in the wheelbarrow tonight, so I can start on the 3rd block. I will see about getting some pictures to post for you. This will have to be a short note, need to hit the road. Hope you all have a wonderful "Hump" day, and remember, Friday is only 2 days away, then its the week-end!!! YIPEE!!!!

Those Darn Computers!!

Our computer has been on the fritz lately, so I am using my work laptop. I just hope what ever the issue is with our personal computer is, won't happen to my work laptop. Our girl's night out Friday was a blast! Colleen, her daughter Kylie( 9yrs old), Kim and Shirley and myself met at a Starbucks by Colleen, and just chatted and had coffee, or tea, and some yummy cookies that Kim brought us from their dinner outing. It was so nice, and low key, a perfect way to start off the week-end. Saturday, I didn't do much, except I cleaned house in the morning, and took 2 naps, due to a nasty sinus headache. I'm surprised that the Weather Channel didn't call me regarding the barometric pressure in our area!! Sunday, I played with Paulette at BP & HH. It was good hanging out with Paulette, she is such a talented quilter, and I really did learn a lot just in those 4 short hours. I came home and stitched the night away. I have been getting more sleep lately. Hubby says its because I am getting older! I worked out of my house today as usual, except, no time to take out for stitching, darn! However I did find a really quick and easy recipe for the crock pot that I made today for dinner, and it is really good! I had my official taste tester try it, AKA-my mum! It's called Cowboy Dinner.
Brown 1 1/2 lbs ground beef, (I used ground turkey breast), drain.
Place 1 medium onion chopped in the bottom of your crock pot, layer the drained ground meat on top. Slice 6 medium potatoes, layer on top of meat, sprinkle 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 can of kidney beans, 1 can of tomato soup and and sprinkle 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. I also added 1 can of diced tomatoes with peppers/green chilies. Delish!! Perfect for our cold raining evening that we have. That's all for now, hope everyone is doing well!

Who is this woman?

No, this is not me, although I may feel like her expression! After another rainy day out making client calls, I came home, cold and wet! I immediately put the tea kettle on, changed into sweats, and had a nice, hot cup of Earl Gray tea! I felt so much better. I dried off Orca and brought him in, and he promptly went in our bedroom onto his blanket at the foot of our bed, and so I went in there also. I figured, I needed to go through some fabric for a project I was doing. I picked out the fabric, and turned the TV on to see what was TIVO'd that I might want to watch, well, of course, Mrs. Potter was the perfect ticket. So off to the kitchen I went to make another cup of tea, but since I was watching Mrs. Potter, I decided to have a cup of Typhoo tea, at least its British. After awhile, I must have fallen asleep, because I felt a wet sniffy nose in my face, which meant someone needed to go outside, so I took Orca out and went back to kitchen to decide what to make for dinner. Hmmm, Salisbury Steak and Noodles Romanoff. In other words, hand patted patties with Beefy Onion dry soup mix added, and egg noodles, sour cream, garlic and Parmesan cheese. Perfect for a cold, wet winter night. Now, the kitchen is cleaned up, and I am sitting down to stitch. Here's wishing everyone a warm winter's night!!

PS-Tomorrow night is Girl's Night out with Gran, Kim and Colleen, I can not wait!!!!

Another Stormy Day

Yes, we had another stormy day in Northern California day. I had a car sale starting, so I had to get up and at them early. My poor Honda was dicey all over the freeway, but I took it slow and got to where I needed to. The dealership already had several of their palm trees uprooted from the fierce winds, and as I was leaving, one narrowly missed the back end of my Accord. I hurried up and finished my client visits, and got home, where it was safe and warm. It sure felt good, so I made a cup of tea, and warmed up. Made some quick lunch, soup, and worked on some reports for work. I most likely will not be posting until Saturday. I have another car sale starting tomorrow, so I will be busy with that, however, Friday night is Girl's night outwith Gran, Kim and Colleen, so I will most definitely have a post either late Friday or Saturday morning. I hope everyone is safe and dry out there. Until then, tootles!

Blossom's New Design

As some of you may know, I am in love with all designers from Australia. One of my favorite, Jenny Reynolds, has a daughter, Blossom, and she is now a designer also. I posted a sneak peek at her new design, which you can purchase on Etsy. Both are amazing designers, and I am so tickled that Blossom is following in her mother's footsteps. We have Knot-y Ladies tonight, and it was my turned to bring treats along with another lady. I made Mrs.Root's Snickedoodles, and Sandra made potato chip cookies. We were really spoiled! I so enjoy my group, it is more like a sewing circle of good friends. We laugh and cry and share our thoughts and troubles. It is great therapy and cheaper too!;-) Friday night, Kim, Gran, Colleen and I are getting together for girl chat. I can not wait. Colleen and I are really excited, and hope that the week goes by really fast. If we could, we would fast forward to Friday! I will let you know how it goes. For now, I am off to do some more stitching before slumber. I did not get any sewing done, our power was off and on all day to the wind, but I had the fireplace going and I was stitching, so not all lost! Have a great Tuesday everyone!!

What I Didn't Do

What I didn't do was sew today, why? I watched my team, Dallas lose to the Vikings, I then took a nap, 4 hours long!!! I normally don't take naps, but it was raining, windy and cool, and my body decided that it was perfect for a nap. I did however, made homemade blueberry/streusel muffins, delish!, homemade hash browns;(I normally use frozen from the Schwan's), then I made bean and ham soup and cornbread. I am cooking a lot more from scratch, and the only difference I found is it is about the same time, I just dirty a lot more bowls and pans in the process. I also did get my UFO bin out and sorted out the things I am going to sew tomorrow. I will be home all by myself, so I should be able to get some sewing done. I am making Snickerdoodles for Knot-y Ladies class which is tomorrow night. Colleen and I so look forward to this class. It is the best therapy in the world, and we have such a great group. And our fearless leader, well that go with out saying, Gran is the best! I seems that the wind and rain is going to be with us here in Northern California all week. I just wish I could stay home all week, its funny how much sewing I can get done when its rainy. I did take some time to view some blogs that participated in the Friday Night Sew, and wow, you ladies are so talented!! Well, the tea kettle is whistling, so I need to make my tea and make plans for tomorrow. Hugs to all!!

Friday Night Sew

Well, after a very long day. filled with a lot of driving and stuck in traffic due to a big rig's load too big to go under the bridge, 247 miles later, I am finally home. I am exhausted. A hot bath put me in a better mood, or at least a relaxed one. Dinner, pancakes and bacon, perfect for a winter's night. After dinner, I sat down, and then realized it was sew night. Well, I will have a sew Saturday, I think I am going to relax, fix a cup of tea and get myself mentally ready for tomorrow and my hot date with my lonely Bernina. Of course I am with you in spirit and thought, and I can't wait to see all of the inspirational projects everyone completed. I am sure everyone had a grand time. Tootles!!

A Lucky Gal I Am!

Life gets us down sometimes, and its during these times I am so forever grateful for my friends. They are there for me, thru thick and thin, non judgemental, extremely supported, with a smile and a hug. They cheer me up when I am down, and I frankly do not know what I would do with out them. Kim, Shirley, Colleen, Lindy, and Carol, I just want to say thank you. Thank you all for always being there when I need you the most. I will never forget you or your friendship. You all are the best!! I love ya'll! Hugs!

Setting My Agenda

I had to go to my corporate office today to drop off some paperwork, so those who know me that when that happens, I automatically head over to BP & HH. Lindy was freshly back from the gift show in Atlanta, so I had to go say hi. She looked pretty rested considering it was in the teens there! I had to see if she had any Schnibbles in stock, and she just had the one I already had, but she said she can order which ever ones I wanted. We caught up real quick, and talked about some shop samples, and then back to work I went. As I was driving, I was thinking about my agenda for this week-end. Hmmm, Saturday, hmmm, I think Colleen and I are going to try to get together and get some stitching done, and I have a hot date with my Bernina. I will have to take a short break on Sunday, since the Cowboys are playing Minnesota in the play offs, but I can stitch during the game, and then on Monday, since I am off, me and my Bernina will hook up again. I just need to decide what pattern. It will most likely be Houseboat-Schnibbles, and I will either use my L'Amore charm pack or a mixture of some other charm packs I have. I am getting excited about sewing and quilting again. I am not sure if I am participating in the Friday Night Sew, but I will be with everyone in spirit. I can't wait to see how creative everyone is! Have you thought about your week-end plans yet?

Looking Frward to the Week-End

Here in Northern California, we had a rainy day. We also had some bits of the sun through the clouds, and some more rain. We are suppose to get more rain tomorrow. It is days like these, I will I could stay home and sew, but for now, I cannot. However, with this Monday being a holiday, I will be sewing, not stitching, (sorry Gran :-() ). I am going to attempt a Schnibbles pattern. I love those patterns, and after viewing what Kim, http://www.kimsbigquiltingadventure.blogspot.com) made in one night, I figured I could do the same over 3 days. If not a Schnibbles, then maybe a table runner out of a charm pack of L'Amour. I could be playing in the dirt, getting ready for spring, but somehow, my Bernina is calling my name. It has been a lonely, long winter for my poor sewing machine. It must feel like it has been cast aside for something else. Only to be dusted off when a pair of pants needed to be hemmed. Yes, I think my poor sewing machine deserves some much needed one on one time, so I will oblige willingly and I hope that it soon will feel the love that it gives to me!! What are you plans for this long week-end?

One of Those Days!

Have you ever had one of those days, that you head is forever spinning around, faster and faster, until you can't even think straight? You are filled to the brim with information that you need to do you job, changes, new polices and procedures, new reports, setting new goals for 2010, making sure increase are in there even though you are sure certain areas cannot be achieved, no matter what. You head straight to the office, your boss calls you and tells you she will be 45 minutes late, and you skipped breakfast for fear of traffic and you being late, then being in the meeting until 3:40 pm before you are able to break to the canteen for a Diet Pepsi and bag a Chex Mix. Welcome to my Monday. I am not asking for pity or sympathy, but I thank you for letting me vent. My only bright spot was meting my BFF, Colleen on the way home and exchanging patterns and magazines. Her bright and smiling face always cheers me up, not to mention the hug she gave me. I am so very thankful for her friendship. Now, off to bed for some much needed slumber, and to rest my poor, old tired eyes. Rest well, my friends!!

Clairification

Just to answer a couple of reader's question, the Snickerdoodle recipe calls for soft shortening, it is referring to plain old Crisco. Hope all enjoy!!

Mrs. Root's Snickerdoodles

I have been chatting back and forth with Kady at http://stoneyhillcabin.blogspot.com. She was talking about the pressure she felt having to keep up with all of the holiday baking that her Aunt had done in the past. She mentioned that she will be only making 3 types of cookies next Christmas. I was in the same position a couple of years ago, and I started only to make 4 types of cookies each year, Spritz, Russian Tea Cakes, Sugar Cutouts, and Snickerdoodles. I was explaining to Kady that Snickerdoodles are my signature cookie. I also mentioned to her that I use Mrs. Root's recipe. I have tried a dozen or so recipes, and I always come back to Mrs. Root's. Who is Mrs. Root? She was a member of the church I grew up in , down in Southern California. She was a wonderful seamstress, cook and baker. She raised 4 kids, and her husband owned his own towing service/vw repair business. Mr. Root was a deacon in our church, and Mrs. Root was my Sunday School teacher for many, many years. She also has a beautiful singing voice. But the one thing that stood out for her was her beautiful Red hair! Our college/career group was planning a trip to Hawaii to participate in the Waikiki Beach ministries, and for a fundraiser, we put together a church cookbook and sold them. I proudly still have mine today and use it often. Anyway, enough rambling. I told Kady I would share Mrs. Root's recipe on my blog, so here you go. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family and I do. I always double the batch!

Snickerdoodles
Cream 1 cup of soft shortening with 1 1/2 cups of sugar, add 2 eggs, 2 3/4 cups flour, 2 tsp cream of tartar, 1 tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp salt. Mix together, pinch off balls. Have ready 2 tsp sugar, 3 tsp cinnamon mixed together. Roll ball into cinnamon mixture and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

A Book to Read

While reading through MaryJanes Farm, I came across an article that somewhat reviewed a book. Now, I am not a big reader, only because my eyes give out on me, (I have old eyes!). I have to make a choice, stitch or read, and well, those who know me know which one I choose, stitch! Anyway, this book looked interesting, so I thought what the heck. I went online to the library website for Sac County, and located the book at the EG Library. The name of the book is "Not Buying It, My Year Without Shopping", by Judith Levine. The book has been out for a couple of years, and I remember hearing her interviewed on the Today show a few years back. She and her husband made a decision to try this experiment of not buy anything except bare essentials, food that cannot be grown or made from scratch, food and medicine for their cat that had diabetes, tp-not the expensive stuff either! So-o-o, I went to the library and checked out the book. I have only read about 30 pages, but so far, I am really intrigued with it! Now, about the library. How long has it been since anyone has been to their local library? For me, it has been about 7-8 months. Hubby and I use to go every Monday night, before dinner. Of course, that is when our son, (who is a month away from turning 23!) was a child. His school asked the families to sign up for 1 night of no tv, dedicated to reading as a family. You could each read a book silently, but they wanted the kids to read 20 minutes, and out loud, so of course, we did sign up. Hubby was a little concern about his football game being missed, but we would change the night to Tuesday, just during football season, then back to Monday. It was a good way of starting off the week. Let me tell you, libraries has changed! Yes their still are nice, soft spoken people to help you, but you check your book out yourself! It is all by computers! It was kind of trippy for me, I felt out of place. The library was packed, I was in the "adult" section upstairs, only because they separate the children from the adults, not for the reason you might be thinking, (Kim, this includes you!!!) I looked around, and I finally found someone who worked there and asked for help. She looked a little surprised at me, until I explained to her I was from Galt, and she said, oh, they are changing the libraries one at a time. Oh-h-h! So off I go with my book. I also forgot about the smell of books in the library. It's not a bad smell, but a good smell. Well, I need to go to work, but I will let you know more about the book as I read more of it. Have a great Friday!

Farmgirls!

I was clearing out my stash of magazines, when I can across a stack of Mary Janes Farm. I started re-reading all of them, and thought, these are so right for 2010! We are trying to simplify and declutter our lives and homes, and this is the exact premise of the magazine! Lindy at BP&HH also sales this magazine, and it seems to always be flying off the shelf, literally! While reading through the Dec. 2009 issue, I came across their club/group of Mary Jane's Farmgirl Sisterhood. I thought, what a great idea, so I signed up. I am excited about this new chapter. The neat thing is you can work on merit badges, just like when I was in Girl Scouts, ( I was in GS from Brownies to Seniors!). I love the idea of simplifying my life and making due with what I have and not add to the stuff I already have. If you get a chance to read this magazine, I strongly recommend it! I am also slowly but surely going through my stash, and trying to make the decision if I have not used it or made plans or have future plans, meaning in the next 12-18 months of using the fabric in a planned project, it goes! We shall see how this works! As for now, I am tired, and I need to get some sleep. Sleep well, my friends, and dream sweet dreams!

PS- Remember, "One kind word can warm three Winter months." - Japanese Proverb

In Mourning!

Tonight's blog will be brief, due to the fact that I am in mourning. Why? Not because of a death of a love one, thank goodness, but because my beloved Horned Frogs of TCU lost to Boise State. I have been a Horned Frog fan since I was a little girl. My dad has always been a fan of TCU, and he shared his passion of them with me. I always wanted to attend TCU, but the out of state tuition was just way too much for me to handle. So, I cheered for their football team, along beside my dad. Since tonight was the first time they had made it to a bowl game in 30+ years, I called my dad and he would call me back, so we could share in the excitement and disappointment together over the phone. He lives in Lancaster, about 5 hours away. I talk to him often, and miss not being closer to him, but very glad to know he is only a phone call away! I was a daddy's girl and my parents divorce was very hard on me, but I survived, just like everyone else who had to go through the same thing as I. So tonight, when I go to sleep, I will dream that my Horned Frogs won, and I was there in person cheering on the sideline. Sweet Dreams Everyone!

Road Trip #2

Yesterday, Lucy and Ethel and Lucy's mom went on a road trip to Berkeley, Alameda and Livermore. We got up bright and early, hit Starbucks for fuel up and off the Bay Area. Colleen found a shop called Stone Mountain Daughter & Fabrics in Berkeley, so off we went. Well, I have never been to Berkeley, and I saw a lot of it! It was so pretty, the old, large homes, the UC campus, People Park, and Stone Mountain Daughter & Fabrics. I mentioned I was looking for buttons to complete my wheel barrow stitch project, and they carried a ton of buttons, a whole wall in fact. They did have a lot of buttons, but not what I was looking for. However, I found some wonderful fabric, including some Organic Cotton, (we are in Berkeley after all!), It was perfect for future stitching projects! They also had a lot of clearance fabric, which I think Colleen cleaned them out! J/K! Then off we were to find a used book store she heard of, but when we were not sure where they were, she called, good thing, the woman who answered gave us directions, then told us not to come, they were closed. Go figure! Then the adventure really started, I had the GPS going and well, lets say my left is not Colleen's left! After we straightened out my left and right, we shot through the Webster Tube to Alameda to Needle in the Haystack. I have previously written about the store, and it did not disappoint us at all. I found the buttons I needed, and Colleen found the floss she needed. We stopped at Togos for a quick bite, then off to Livermore to In Between Stitches. They have moved to 1st Street, which is just across the parking lot from where they use to be. It is a very cute shop. After I did some damage there, we came home, and I am glad, because I was exhausted. We did have so much fun, and her mom had a blast! Now, I need to get some much needed sleep, and hope I don't wake up in the middle of the night wide awake! Tootles!!

Exhausted

I will post details of Lucy and Ethel plus 1 adventures tomorrow, for tonight, I am pooped!!
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

2010 Dreaming

This morning, while drinking my morning tea, I did what I normally do every New Year Morning. I browse through the Burbee Gardening catalog. This is something I have done for the last 15 years. Why? Well, you see, I have a love for large dogs, who have me wrapped around their little pinky on the paw, so my gardening is limited to containers, with all of their hiding places to "season" their treats/bones. Orca somehow just loves it when the tomatoes and peppers come to ripen, and he feels he needs a snack, and they are gone! He even eats the rosehips off of my rose bushes!! How could you deny a face like that! So I continue to browse through gardening catalogs, and usually order 1-2 new items to plant each January. I love working in the yard and garden, it really helps me to relax, just like stitching. And the rewards are so great, the beauty when they bloom and neighbors walk by and tell me how pretty my yard and flower beds look. I love to cut the flowers and deliver them to my neighbors, and to my mom's neighbors. They just beam with excitement, and that it is worth it all! I can't wait to start puttering in my yard, but until then, I will dream of an English cottage garden, pretending to be in Lake County, with Peter Rabbit! What a great way to start off a new year! What are your dreams for 2010?