Winter Morning

Thought I would share a few snapshots from this morning. I've had these seed catalogs waiting for me to go through and order from. It's on my To Do List for today.
Ginger isn't quite as smitten with Oliver as Oliver is with Ginger. She was hissing at my poor baby... He just wanted to play a little!
Can you see my little sweetie-pie in the snow? He blends in quite a bit. Misty is much more tolerant of Oliver's playfulness.
The kiddoes are enjoying all kinds of winter-time fun, including taking a spin on the snow-mobile.
The trees are tapped! We haven't had any sap running through yet, but once we have a few warm days and then a few cold ones, the sap will be running freely! I can't wait for home-made maple syrup. Mmmmm...

It's Been a Long Time...

since I made a blog post. Life seems so full and busy and the days just ramble by. We've had a lot of snow here in the northeast and it's been a lovely winter. I'm a born and bred New Englander and it just wouldn't be winter without a blanket of fluffy snow.
My beautiful friend brought me a ray of sunshine the other night; a pretty yellow Kalanchoe. It's gracing my bedroom windowsill and brings a ray of sunshine into my room even during a cloudy afternoon!
Recently my three younger daughters had a wonderful time playing in the snow with their friend, Bernadette. It was cold but you wouldn't know it watching the girls play.
Let's see, what else has been going on? Ah, yes... Gary and I went out to dinner Saturday night with our neighbors from our old neighborhood. I haven't seen them in nearly fifteen years! You know you have a special bond when you can pick up right where you left off after all those years. I miss them so much. I hope we can keep in touch as we shared so many ups and downs of life together. It was so much fun hearing about their children and seeing pictures of little boys in my minds eye grow to strong, vibrant young men that they are today. What a gift to see that! For dessert I made a Fiddler On the Roof Cake with Marshmallow-Chocolate Frosting from the Cakemix Doctor.

During these cold winter nights I have enjoyed making the Biscuit Blanket. I used Peaches and Cream cotton yarn. The pattern is so pretty and once I got on to how to make the pattern stitch (which took me a bit to understand!) it was smooth sailing and a very enjoyable knit. I'll be sure to use it to put my warm biscuits in!
I've also been keeping up with Little Miss Shabby's Birdie Stitches Block of the Month. This is the January Block and...
this is the block for February. Are they cute or what? I'm using a Moda Layer Cake (can't remember the name) for the edge and Kona Cotton in beige for the center block. You can join the free Block of the Month, too. I'm really enjoying this one!
I hope you are staying warm and drinking in all this beautiful season has to offer. Keeping warm by the woodstove at night, taking brisk walks during the day and soaking in the sunshine and blue skies; it's all good!

BOSH, Bread, and More Scarves!

I recently purchased a BOSH Mixer from Marmeedear and have used it twice so far. The first thing I made was cinnamon buns. They were so good. I made the batter the evening before and baked them the following morning. What a nice breakfast! Today I made bread; five loaves plus rolls. I could have made six loaves but opted for some buns. The bowl of the mixer doesn't look huge but it holds a ridiculous amount of flour and making six loaves of bread at one time was a snap. I waited a couple years to make this purchase, but I believe it is well worth it and will pay itself back within a year.

Here is the bread dough straight from the mixer. I was just patting it into a round blob to let it sit on the cookie sheet to rise.

As you can see, it did rise quite a bit. I watched a Youtube video of Martha from Marmeedear making bread. The next time I bake bread, which I think will be next week, I will use her recipe from her book, "The Bread Box". I learned several things watching her Youtube video, Marmees Breadmarket, on how to successfully make Whole Wheat bread. I've been baking bread on and off for quite a few years but it was a struggle using smaller mixers. So I'm anxiously waiting to get my new cookbook as her bread seems much lighter and moister than mine. I'm always up for learning new things!

This is the finished product. It was deliciously good hot out of the oven! It browned nicely and I swiped butter over the top. We should be set for bread for the next few days. Looks like lunch tomorrow will be freshly made soup and bread!

Kaleigh recently made this pretty little scarf for a two year old little girl. Her mama saw one that Kaleigh made for the lady's nephew and wanted one for her daughter. Kaleigh crocheted a little edge on it too. She is going to do a post on her blog later today where you can find her free pattern. Please give her a visit if you'd like over here at Pixxie Sparkles, her blog, and enjoy the free pattern. She used Lamb's Pride yarn in Rosy Velvet.

This is another scarf I made out of the Red Heart Curly Q yarn. I blogged about it in an earlier post. I made this one for my friend's birthday. She works at an elementary school and stands outside during recess. I thought this would keep her a bit warmer. This is the third one I've made, Kaleigh made one for my mom and I have one more skein left to make myself a scarf. I really like the pattern because it fits nicely in your jacket without being too long, has the hole in the middle and the yarn is very soft.

I'll be back for another post soon, as I'd like to show you my completed block from LittleMissShabby free BOM. It's really, really cute!

Wintery Day & A Baby Cardigan

So what do you think of my new blog look? Kaleigh helped me this afternoon (O.K., more than helped me!) giving my blog a facelift. I added a few new things to my sidebar, including an e-mail feed! I've subscribed to many blogs using the feature and I really like it.
I recently made a baby cardigan sweater for my cousin who just had her first baby. We visited them last week and he was as cute as a button. I'm sure the blue hat and sweater will look extra cute on him as he has beautiful blue eyes! The pattern was free from my local yarn store. I used 100 Purewool yarn from my stash. It is my very favorite every day wool. It's soft as butter and a pleasure to knit with.

We were in for some wintery weather today, so after doing school with the kiddoes I decided to make homemade sausage. I have never done so before. I used half ground turkey and half ground pork along with spices. I joined Homemakersmentor and it was one of our lessons to make sausage and/or salami from scratch. So far I have been really happy with this program and group. If you love homemaking and would like to continue your skills give it a visit and click around and see if it's for you. We are having sausage, sour dough bisquits and broccoli for dinner. Should be ready in a few minutes!

Ohhh... and guess what the UPS man brought me today? A BOSCH Mixer from Marmeedear! I bought a grain mill from Martha a couple of years ago and really wanted a BOSCH Mixer so I can make six loaves of bread at a time, among other things! A big investment, yes, but one I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of.

Kierra and Oliver in the morning. He fits right in with the family! Hope you're having a wonderful week. I've got so much more to share; I'll be back soon!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you! I hope your Christmas was spent with those you love! Our Christmas was very nice but we all missed my dad so very much. Not seeing his sparkling blue eyes and beautiful smile, especially during this special season, made the holiday a little difficult. But as he would say... "life goes on..." so we carried on.
Meet Oliver, my new puppy! He's a bichon frese and as cute as a button! I got him three days after Christmas! Gary sure surprised me as he's always the one telling the rest of us we can't have any more pets. Oliver seems to get into lots of puppy-trouble, too, but he's very cuddley so it's O.K.

I finally have a cross-stitch finish to show. Wish I got a shot of the back and sides though, as it finished up beautifully. The pattern is Sugar Plum Fairy by Country Cottage Needleworks.

I used the same threads as in the directions. I wanted to finish it just like the picture on the pattern so I went to TheTwistedStitcher blog and followed Vonna's tutorial on how to finish a "Cube". Vonna's directions are clear as can be and all her finishes are awesome!

I'm off now to do a bit of stitching and watch Andy Griffith with Cassidy. Although I've seen those shows many, many times, I never tire of them. Hope your night is spent in an equally satisfying way!

Merry Christmas

A blessed and joyous Christmas Season to you and yours...

Advent is a Special Time

Christmas is nearly here and I have to say it is getting a bit exciting, isn't it? It really is a magical time of year. The waiting has taken on a new meaning to me this year. Our priest gave a wonderful homily at the beginning of advent explaining that it is a time of waiting. Waiting in line at the post office, waiting at more stop lights as traffic increases, waiting in line at the stores and of course, waiting for the birth of our Savior. How true... He encouraged us to use that time of waiting in a different way than we may have had previously. He told us to take a few minutes and pray, enjoy the wait. I thought that would be a bit challenging for me as I tend to be a Type A personality. I'm always moving; even when I'm sitting, I'm moving. My mind is always thinking of more than one thing at a time. So yes, it was challenging.. but I gave it a whirl. I am so happy I did. I am learning to wait PATIENTLY! And it's GOOD! I even LIKE it! I am waiting in line patiently, saying a little prayer for one need or another or for someone in line that looks like they need one (and who doesn't?). I have said many prayers of thanks; when I see someone that can't walk very good, thankful that I can walk, when I see an expectant mother, how grateful I am to have my own family and hope she enjoys the same with hers, how grateful I am to see a new day, the sunshine or the cold on my skin because I am able to breathe in the cold air outside, and on and on... I encourage you to give it a try. It's a practice I hope to carry with me beyond this wonderful season of advent.

We've been busy cookie and candy making... some for a cookie/candy swap and some just because it's a fun tradition. We've also made pieogre too, as we do every year.

And of course, I've been getting in some last minute gift-knitting. This is a ruffle scarf I made in a couple evenings. I saw it in my local yarn store made in a variagated yarn. Oh, so pretty. I made this one for Corey's fiance in a beautiful shade of purple. The yarn is Cascade Yarns Baby Alpaca Chunky. It's deliciously soft. I'd like to make one for myself so maybe after the New Year I'll settle in and make another.

I still have a couple more things on the needle... I'll keep you posted of my progress. I hope you, too, are enjoying this special time of waiting.