Crazy weeds!

  Check out these crazy cool weeds we found on our property this afternoon.  The picture doesn't really show the detail  as well as I had hoped.  The tops of the weeds are a little fuzzy circle!   We also gathered up pine cones to use for fall decorating!

Darth Vader Netbook case

  Here is the Netbook case that I made for my son-in-law this morning .  I was talking to my mom on the phone at the same time.  Which I might add didn't work very well at all!  After making two that turned out totally wrong I finally got it right!  LOL!  Next time I will not be trying to talk and figure out a new project at the same time!  However it did turn out great after all the mess-ups!  

pizza dough recipe

  1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
  1 package (.25 -ounce) dry active-yeast
  2 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or flour of your choice)
  1 teaspoon sugar
  1 teaspoon salt
  2 tablespoons sunflower oil (or oil of your choice)
Place water in a small bowl and stir in yeast.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  In a large bowl,whisk together 2 1/2 cups of flour,sugar and salt.  Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture and sunflower oil.  Stir until dough comes together and forms a ball.  Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead for 5 minutes,adding as much of the remaining 1/4 cup flour as needed.  Form into a disk and pace in a bowl that has been lightly coated with sunflower oil.  Turn disk over and cover bowl with press-n-seal (plastic wrap)  Allow to rise for 2 hours in a warm place.
  Punch dough down and remove from bowl.  Roll out (or hand toss) into the desired diameter.  Top with your favorite pizza toppings and bake!
Makes 8 servings
Prep-Time 10 minutes
Rise 2 hours

Weekends Rock!

  Well here it is Friday again!  Today was a beautiful fall day.  The temp was up in the sixty's,which was very nice.  Came home at lunch and opened the curtains so that the house would warm up this afternoon! 
  Hopefully I will be able to spend time sewing this weekend :)
  Have a wonderful weekend!

Fresh Baked Whole Wheat Bread & other goodies too!

  Sunday was a baking day!  And it was a perfect day for it to,windy and cold.  I started out the day with some Pumpkin muffins with a praline topping!  Very yummy indeed!  Although they turned out quite dense the flavor is perfect.  So this recipe definitely calls for some tweaking the next time!
  Next came the pie pumpkins that had to be baked so the pulp could be frozen for future pumpkin pies!  Since my son won't be here for Thanksgiving this year,some had to be preserved. So that when he graduates from Boot Camp and comes home there will be pumpkin for his Favorite kind of pie. :)
  Then came the Whole Wheat Bread.  One of my favorites!  There's nothing quite like a slice of home made bread hot from the oven.  And bread is so expensive these days,at least for the good,or healthy loafs.  I added some honey and also some sunflower seeds.  Absolutely delicious!  
  Then after dinner was done came the Oatmeal raisin cookies,my favorite cookie.  I have been searching high and low for a recipe that comes out chewy.  This is the closest one yet!  Since moving here to Colorado my Oatmeal cookies have all turned out hard and crunchy.  Which I Don't like at all!  But I'm getting close.
  If anyone has a recipe they would like to share I would be happy to give it a whirl!  Whew!!!  What a day.

John Deer Tractor Bag/purse

  Today has been a very productive day,at least in my sewing room it was!  LOL! Can't say it was anywhere else around the house.  Made a nice John Deer bag,that can be used for a shopping bag,or a purse!  It is lined and has two pockets on the inside.  One on the back inside and one on the side inside.  Both pockets are from blue jeans.  One is from a adult size pair of jeans and the other one is from a child's pair of jeans.
  Also made another bag from a Blue jean Mini-Skirt.  This bag is also lined,but it only has one pocket.  Which is on the inside at the back.  Next  on the agenda were two Eeyore fleece pillows,which are finished except for sewing closed the opening used for stuffing them.  And lastly three sets of kitchen hand towels are embellished and ready to be listed on eBay!  Wow what a day!
                                                   

Bling Blinging!

LOL!  Well after spending most of the afternoon stocking Glitter Ornaments at work I am definitely Blinging!  With glitter that is,from head to toe.  Now I sparkle like a diamond :)  And this is just the beginning, because we are a long way off from Christmas yet!
 The only draw back is that after a while all that glitter starts to itch.  Oh well I guess that comes with the territory!

Fall walks

  Well no cooking tonight.  Just lots of yummy leftovers!  However A nice after dinner walk was definitely the ticket!  I just love all of the fall colors,and the sunset was exceptionally pretty tonight! 

Baked Chicken,Long grain & wild rice

  That's whats for dinner!  At least at our house it is. :)  So the pie was delicious as always!  And such a treat at this time of year.  Dinner tonight was also primo.  Not the fair of Emeril,but great home cooking just the same!  So with the left over juice from the blackberries I made some muffins this evening.  Not quite the same as making the muffins with whole blackberries.  However they turned out pretty good.  :)  But then,I have a habit of twisting recipes to my own taste and liking!
  It is raining here this evening.  Which means if it doesn't continue through the night there will most likely be frost on the windshield in the morning.  Time to pull out the scraper.

Blackberry cream pie

  Here it is fresh from the oven!  Another beautiful hot, berry and cream pie!  Can't wait to slice a piece and sink my teeth into it.
9 in. pie - 1 pie crust
4- cups blackberrys
2/3 cup sugar
4 Tbl. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup heavy cream
  Mix all ingredients in a medium size bowl.  Pour into a 9 inch pie shell/crust.  Bake at 400 degrees for 35-45 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool on a rack until pie dish feels cool to touch.
  You can use a store bought pie shell or make your own (which I do).
   Pie crust
1 1/4 cup flour
2 Tbl cold butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 ice water
  In processor or bowl mix flour,salt,butter,and shortening,until crumbs are pea size.  Then add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time,until dough forms a ball.  Remove and roll out to desired size,then place in pie pan.

Taste of Fall

Well its been a while since I had some time to post!  We have been busy getting all of the usual fall chores done.  This weekend we have been putting plastic on the windows.  As the mornings and evenings have been quite chilly as of late.  We have had frost 3 out of 5 mornings this last week.  Brrrr winter is around the corner.  When the work is done today it will be time to make some cookies!  
  Since it is pumpkin season I am thinking pumpkin,macadamia,spice cookies or as I like to call them PMS cookies! :)  If time permits there will also be a blackberry and cream pie!  This summer blackberry's were canned for this reason!  This pie never lasts long around here!
  Hope everyone is enjoying the wonderful fall colors and harvest!

sew,sew,sew

Finally had some time to spend in my sewing room today! Yay! :)  Worked on embellishing some hand towels that have been sitting in the fabric closet for some time now.  Was able to complete 6 of them in between doing the laundry and other weekend house work.  Also took pictures of things that I need to get listed in my eBay store.  So all in all today was a very productive day!

TGIF!!!

  Thank God and our troops for our Independence and Freedom :)  This is a great place to live!
Received a letter from boot camp!!! Made my whole week! :)  It seems like a whole lot longer than 25 days since he left.  He is having fun (believe it or not!) enjoying the martial arts training,and the obstacle courses!  So now I won't worry quite so much about him!