New Year's Eve 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!! Oh, wait. Still a few more hours till then. :)

Tonight We had King Crab to eat for dinner. Yummmmm I've never had this before; but, when Renae (friend from work) mentioned that was what she was having... and then told me how easy it is to fix... well, I called Tom and he wanted to try it too!! (of course he already knew what crab tasted like.. silly me) :) That is ok we sure enjoyed it. As you can see by the picture, all that is left is the shells and the claws. hee hee hee.

It was very simple. 2 pounds of King Crab. Large Pot with about 1" of water and a dash of Vinegar (to help with the fishy smell), Cook for 15 minutes after water comes to a boil. Melt some Butter and eat. How easy is that! Note to self: Do This Again Next Year!!! Also suggested was to use scissors to open the shells and this worked great. We also had Brocholli and bread/rolls. I am so full...Groan But, we may have ice cream later, it will depends on how hungry we are. **evil grin**

I haven't had time to sew much. I've been enjoying Jocelyn being home, and talking with my son, Chester. And, of course, going back to work put a bit of a crimp in my sewing time. I did sew a few more pinwheels and have to draw the lines on the rest of the light squares so that I can sew up the rest of the half square triangles. Maybe tomorrow. But there are quite a few NYE Mysteries going on. I will have to check them out first.

Before I sign off, Happy New Year Everyone!!!!

Design Wall Monday

I'm excited about the progress of my Spinning Top! I have just been working it one block at a time. This is working better than trying to sew all the half square triangles at once and then make the blocks. It is slowing me down and consequently I am more accurate! (always a plus, don't you know! )

Please go check out Judys site: http://www.patchworktimes.com/ and see what everyone else is working on.

Spinning Top

Here is my version of Judy's Top. Ok, ok, I only have a tiny bit done, but it is a start! I am going to bust alot of stash this year and I think that this is a great way to start. I have lot of cutsie or busy fabric and I want to bust alot of that and my older fabric.

Here is this information about Judy's top http://www.patchworktimes.com/page/2/

I have cut 16 squares of the yellow frog fabric. I have a tad bit left. But I am not cutting into it until I see where it might be used, because this is all I have of the fabric. I have the same fabric in Blue... somewhere... Maybe it can be used with this or maybe not. Depends on whether I find the fabric in good time or not. Must bust stash, must quilt top, must finish tops!! New chant for 2010. Hmm ok, have to sign off, my hands are shaking for some reason. Hugs, Trish

Snowy Christmas

Ok, reporting on Christmas a few days late, but here it is :)

The tree looked great this year, Yes, it did have packages under it, but this is after all was unwrapped. Chester went to Maryland with a good friend and his family. Jocelyn was able to come home! And, we've had a snowy Christmas this year!

Tom is busy pushing snow around!!

Here are more pictures of him and his snowplow!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Taco Wheels

I was trying to create my own recipe. It was fun, but didnt' turn out like I imagined in my head or my tastebuds! I took frozen bread dough, one loaf. Let it rise, then spread it out into a HUGE rectangle. I never imagined it would be this large! Then spread pre-cooked ground beef onto the dough, spread out some salsa, and finally covered it with cheese. Rolled it up. I swear it seemed to take on a life of its own. Finally ended up with two large rolls. I sliced these and put them on a cookie sheet and baked them at 350 till the bread was done. I forgot to take a picture at the end, but I need to work on it some more. There was too much grease/liquid and it made the dough soggy on the bottom. Either too much cheese (is that possible?) or the salsa was too liquid. Hmm not sure which. I'll keep on working on it.

Chicken Curry Casserole

I can't believe that I was able to get the casserole made tonight. We DID have to wait until almost 7:30 to eat, but it was done! Here is a picture of it. Can you tell that I like casseroles that have cheese on top?

Chicken Curry Casserole

2-3C Water

Whole Chicken, discard innerds

2 chicken bullion cubes

5-7 buds of Garlic - Hit Bud to loosen Skin - Finely Chopped

8 oz. or more Grated Cheddar Cheese

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

8 oz. Sour Cream

1 Rounded tsp Curry Powder

Brocholi - Steamed I used 1 Bundle from the Grocery Store

Boil Chicken in water with Bullion & garlic for 1-1.5 hrs, till tender. Cool and take meat off the bones and place meat in a mixing bowl. Then add the Cream of Mushroom Soup, Sour Cream and Curry Powder and Mix Well.

Place steamed brocholi on the bottom of a buttered casserole dish, then pour the Chicken & Sauce mixture over the top. Bake 350 for 30-45 Minutes. Take out and put the grated cheese on the top and bake 5-10 minutes more until the cheese melts.

I usually throw out the Liquid left over from the chicken. I guess you could save it and use it for something else if you wanted.

I hope you try this recipe out and let me know how you like it. Hugs!

Haircut Day

Before shot. Yeah, I know goofy picture!

As you can see, My hair has been long for a couple of years. I am finally getting it cut and searched the internet to find a hairstyle that I liked. Copied the picture and took it and had it cut. Yeah!! I am very excited about it. Now, I just hope that I can make it look as great as Shanna did!

Better. Why didn't I think of taking it this way before I cut my hair. Now, I have to remember to wear earings tomorrow and maybe *gasp* even makeup!

I am working on dinner as we speak. I have three Pheasants steaming and then I will try to make a casserole for dinner tonight. If I run out of time, I will have to fix it for tomorrow night and just scrounge around for something for tonight. Recipe later, if I can fix it and take pics tonight. I still have the Scarry Quilting Halloween Wallhanging to work on to.

Scarry Quilting

Here it is, the moment We've all been waiting for... Ok, ok, the moment I've been waiting for!! *evil grin* I have machine quilted this wall hanging and it is completely quilted.. and yes, it is quite scarry! Which Goes right along with the Halloween theme of the top. Yep, first time free motion quilting and it definitely shows. I suspected it would be as "bad" as it turned out. Well, I must admit that it is a little bit better than I feared it would be :) and so that is why I didn't mind the halloween top being my first choice. I really need to have the quilt top at the same level as the machine because it was very difficult to keep quilting when the top was dragging the opposite direction I was sewing in. Also when I had to move my hands to quilt at a different spot the drag would make the sewing go crazy directions as well.

. So Here is a close up of some of the "scarry" parts. But Every time one sews it is a learning experience. So this will stay this way and be a great reminder of what I need to improve on for the next quilt! The other delima I had was if I should try to quilt in rows, which is how I started, I tried one row and did one loop in each block and then became more adventurous and had multiple loops in each block (whick I liked better) I still did it in rows, but I figured out to wind around a bit more and tried to overlap into another row some. But unfortunately didn't figure this out until the very end. Ah well. Now to bind it! I am thinking about getting some orange binding or black. Or maybe just checking out what old binding I may have and just connect some of this together and put it on "as is". But first, I'd best get some housework done and dinner planned! More later. Hgus

Design Wall Monday

Ok, Something new up on the wall. This is a top that I have had stored somewhere. My goal is to get it machine quilted with swirlies.. I think.. Just trying to get it done and then bind it and call it Done!!! I wan't to get this done this week. Let's see if I can complete my own challenge!

I have chosen a backing fabric that makes no sense to the front halloween design, but it is some of my oldest fabric and I am 1. Using it up and 2. Getting it out of my stash!

Show Use Your Stash

Judy at http://www.patchworktimes.com/ has challenged her readers to Show Off our Stash. No fair cleaning or straightening up, though. hee hee hee... She didn't realize that I had already started doing this in August. But I took some pictures and never put them into my blog so I can do so now :)

What a messy sewing area in the basement.

This is some of my stash in Chester's Bedroom.

Oh my, where would he sleep? As I wrote in August, Chester TOLD me to turn his room into my sewing room. I didn't fuss tooooo much! If you slip on over to August 27, 2009 you can see how I was able to pull his room together and get alot of stash organized. But... not completely, there is always room for improvement!

Tubs and containers with "newer" fabric. Done after room was painted and sorted out.

Over by the Closet door. I have hanging tags on certain drawers. These have the contents written on the labels. This way I know where to place specific things! This has been helpful!

This is the closet. Yep, it definitely needs to care and attention.
and well, this is the other side of the closet. The tubs have scraps cut and labeled.

Underbed storage tubs with fabric in it.
This is my daughter's closet. More fabric!

Oh My Goodness. Looky here. Yep, More Fabric!! I sure hope that is the end of my stash pictures! Yes, I have sorted these cabinets but it was done back in August, and have been playing with the fabric upstairs since then.

Yes, I am joining in and will be keeping track of my messy stash. Everyone is right, keeping track where others can see and help you hold yourself accountable will be a good thing for me!

Join in, if you dare!!

Design Wall and Flower Garden

My flowers are looking great!
I want to be sure and plant these same flowers again next year!!

So, lots of pics to help me remember what I did this year. I have to keep them watered better and then maybe the pesky moles won't come back. I saw some activity again last night. Darn them.

This is what is on my Design wall. I created this many, many years ago. I just purchased an inexpensive flannel backed table cloth and nailed it to the paneling, being sure to place the nails in the groves so they don't leave obvious holes in the paneling. Notice that it is starting to tear at the one corner. :(

This will be the location for a second design wall. I purchased another flannel backed tablecloth from a yard sale (only .25) but I am going to put grommets at the top and then nail it to the wall. Hopefully this will eliminate the tearing. If this work, I will Reverse the other tablecloth and add grommets to it too.

Today I am home sick. Have been fighting allergies for about a week. Lost my voice, which has never happened before, boy do I sound WEIRD!! After getting medicine in me, I finally feel like working on something and not just sitting and sleeping.

Gardens

I finally went out in the daylight and took fresh pictures of the garden, Yeah. Now you can see the 'weed control units' better!













What is on my design wall. This :O) I saw the block and drew it out on graph paper. However, finding the graph paper was a challenge. Since creating the Sewing Room I've tried to have a "place" for often needed items; but, the items used every so often are a struggle. I did notice that I go to the dresser to find the graph paper but it isn't there... now, finally, the lightbulb went on and I made a label "Graph Paper" (imagine how much thought went into THAT label), tied it to the drawer handle. Found the tablet of graph paper, finally, and when done with the tablet I put it in the drawer!! ok, not rocket science, but if I can find it three months from now when I really want to chart out a block I'll know where it is :) Mission accomplished :) Pic? oh yeah :)

Model clothes? ME????

I haven't had much to type about. Going to work and coming home, basically. But had fun today at work. Was asked a couple of days ago to 'model' an outfit. Yeah.... right.. me??? Haa Haa Haa. Maybe if I loose alot of weight, they apply the makeup and do my hair...then well, maybe that would be a yes. Then, THE BOSS, comes up and asks. Nope, nope, nope. I am NOT going to do this. I have to wear my own shoes, I say. Why? well, that is another story. Well, you can do that. Ok, that means I have to wear my owns pants, too. Ok, he says, just a top, you can do that, can't you?? nope, nope, nope. "come on, he says, lets just go look at the clothes... and so for some odd reason, I go. Sigh. I say, ok, I'll look, but you have to pick the clothes out. (thinking he would so forget it. nope, nope, nope. HE says OK)... drat, drat, drat.

Well, he wanders around and asks. What don't you normall wear.. I say dressy clothes. He pulls out an orange jacket and a brown knit top. Eww.. I don't know. Orange???? Try it on, he says.
Ok... but I make sure that there are two other women to give me Their Honest Opinion!!! Hmmmm. Well... I kinda like it. So I end up modeling this.. and I think I will go back at next payday and get the outfit. Yep, me.. buying a new set of clothes. WOW... hmm should I tell him that he did good or not????

Well, off the feed the animals. Hugs, Trish

Cooler weather is here!! Yeah :) I went out to the garden again Last Sunday and pulled weeds and on Wednesday I brought home a lot of boxes. Why you ask? I'll tell you. I used these to smoosh down the tall grass. My new weed control method. I open the boxes up and lay them out. I had planned on doing this at a rather leisure pace but I found out that we are going to get thunderstorms tomorrow and having it rain on the boxes keeps them soggy enough that they stay put and don't blow around. Here are some pictures. It was almost dark so they aren't the best but I wanted to get these onto the blog today.

I also moved the two tarps around and replaced them with boxes so that the tarps covered a larger area. Notice the cow watching!

See how pretty the petunia are looking mixed with the veggies. And the last picture is what my garden should look like. All cleaned up.. lol. I was able to pick some hot peppers and a few tomatoes and even some red raspberries. Yum.

I finally have the house put back together. I am now waiting for Tom to get home so I can show off what I have accoplished!!! I cleaned up and then have been relaxing.

Watched the new Hannah Montana movie.. loved it! and then a few hours later watched Mama Mia. Good movie, I didn't know what it was really about before watching it. I think this is a movie you can watch often and see different things each time.

I think I'll call the kids and talk to them. Hugs

As I mentioned last time, here is a picture of the veggie garden with the flower mixed in with the tomatoes and peppers. Truly a great way to brighten up the garden!

Here is a quilt and a pillow that I have sewn for a baby shower. A friend at work did all the counted cross-stitch.

I decided to do some major work on the house for my week off. Painting and turning Chester's bedroom into my sewing room was first on my list. My house was painted a peach color when we first moved in... more than 20 years ago. So this next picture is the peach paint with a sample of the new tan paint. I had to do this on one bathroom wall. I had every intention of painting part of the bedroom wall and stopping and taking a picture to show the diffence but was so excited with how the color was turning out that I just kept going until the whole wall was painted.

Cute little paint patch!

Here is one wall all painted. Is it just great!!

I enjoyed the color so much that I had to paint over the stark white of the grout. This is a HUGE improvement. I painted the grout white quite a few years ago.

Here is the fireplace from a distance. Yes, I know I still have to paint the bottom part. BUT... I still have lots to do and now I know how this will turn out, I can work on it one day after work.

My neighbor, Phyllis, came over the see how the work was progressing and helped me to rearrange the livingroom. I just love this new placement. the couch is at a slight angle and we changed the end table for this small chest. What a huge difference. I can't believe that this small change even makes the room feel wider. :)

Here is the back of the couch. We placed these few items back here and this is what you see when you walk in the front door. I just keep going back into this room and sitting down and admiring my 'new' livingroom.

This is why I can't just stop working. Here is some of what I have pulled from the livingroom and the bedroom. I should have taken a picture of all the stuff I hauled into Jocelyn's bedroom too!

Notice the kitchen and the trash piled up. I haven't touched all of that either. I just keep adding to it!

But now I can start to pull things together. The blue shelves are going out of this room. And this is the Computer wall :)

Here is my sewing center. I have the blue table in the back to support the quilt tops and when I need more floor space, the sewing table folds up and tucks away under the other table.

Here is the last wall. The 4th wall is my design wall. Nothing changed there. I am so pleased with this wall. I hauled the dresser up at 11pm last night and after dusting all the pieces off I finally went to bed. The Boxes on top hold various quilt accessories and I have the labeled with hanging tags. And these plastic boxes are multifunctional. I laid the boxes on their front and then packed them full and when you stand them up... ta da... storage and display at the same time. Two hold UFO tops and two hold selections of my newest fabric.

Oh my, will you look at all that TRASH!!! Well, there is still a trash can behind the box. I have now hauled it all out and the floor is now clean. Well, I do have to vacuum it tomorrow.

I do wish I had kept a log of what I did daily instead of at the end. But I think this still a good example of what I have been doing during my "summer vacation". LOL see ya.