Cooking

Wilbur who is always at the ready to help me in the kitchen.












Spunky watched from his kitty station across the kitchen...



















while I fixed one of the recipes on Smitten Kitchen for roasted tomatoes and garlic and tried it out for the second time. I was going to take the pics the first time but ate them instead.

I started by placing the grape tomatoes sliced in half in a bowl along with the garlic cloves and tossed them with oil (i'm too messy to drizzle directly onto tomatoes and it came out more like dumping on my first try).

The placing them on the stone I added salt, greek spices and popped them into the oven to bake on 250 for 2 hours.






















When they were done I mixed some of them with artichoke hearts, a little balsamic vinegar, little olive oil and feta cheese and put them on cheese bread I had gotten from Panera and broiled them in the oven (again the first fruits were eaten without the gratuitous picture...maybe next time).













Charlotte licking her chops for a handout.

The Magical Drawer

Okay maybe the drawer isn't magical but it truly is a wonder how Spunky can get himself in the drawer when it's full of stuff. The dresser is full of envelopes, etc and I left it open much to Spunky's delight. He loves drawers. He helped himself into the drawer, turned around and hung out for awhile acting as if this was his special place and he belonged there. He can even hide in the back so no one even knows he's in there at all. Silly kitty. Where does your kitteh hang out???

Premium Dardos Award

We received this award from Happy...THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

“Com o Prêmio Dardos, se reconhecem os valores que cada blogueiro mostra cada dia em seu empenho por transmitir valores culturais, éticos, literários, pessoais etc. que, em suma, demonstram sua criatividade através do pensamento vivo que permanece intacto entre suas letras e suas palavras.“Este selo implica duas regras:a primeira, linkar o blog do qual recebeu o prêmio. A segunda – escolher blogs para entregar o prêmio.

"With the Premium Dardos, recognize the values that each blogger shows each day in commitment to transmit cultural values, ethical, literary, personal etc. that, in short, demonstrate their creativity by alive thinking that remains intact from their letters and words. "

We would like to pass it on to: Mindy, Jacqui, Gnat , Channon & Firefly.

DOT LOL Post

see more puppies

One Down One To Go

Finished one of the Seaside socks tonight! I really enjoy working on socks in between projects or sometimes instead of other projects. They are fairly quick and small enough as a take a long project. Patterns are generally short enough repeats that you can chat and hang out with friends without messing up patterns and having to rip back mistakes (much easier for me to mess up in public on a shawl than a sock). The cuff on this one is a little higher than I prefer so this may wind up a Christmas present. :)

1/2 way point of 30 days

I can't begin to tell you how much money I have saved by not buying yarn but I'm pretty sure however much it was, I spent it at the gas station gouging this weekend. Thankfully I had it to spend. Anyway, I have not bought a single skein of yarn, hank of fiber or any quilting fabric or notion for myself! I did buy 2 sets of dpn's that I needed when I was in Aiken for Aiken's Makin which was right around the corner from Barbara Sue Brodie. I needed the needles and since both of our local in Augusta shops have closed I justified the expenditure by saying I was already there in Aiken anyway and wouldn't be back anytime soon. No reason to make a special trip just for knitting needles now is there?? Besides had I waited and ordered them on the internets I would have bought yarn too just so I could justify the shipping costs. See how my mind works???

ps I did buy material for the OA division of the boy scouts but that was for costumes as a mercy mission that has to be finished by this Friday so it doesn't count either. Pictures later when I'm done.

15 Years

Well my friend, Jacqui tagged me with this little task of looking back on one's life and what have you learned (well that's the way I"m going to approach it anyway) in the last 15 years.

Think back on the last 15 years of your life. What would you tell someone that you haven’t seen or talked to for 15 years? How would you sum up your life? You get 10 bullet points. A list of 10 things to summarize about you. At the end of your list, tag 5 more people and send on the love…

well here goes....
In the last 15 years I have learned that:

• I am NOT as smart as I was 15 years ago and I do not know as much as I thought I did back then.
• Getting divorced will not solve all my problems and make me happy. Unless you are having the snot beat out of you, keep trying and go to counseling and keep trying and suck it up because no one is going to make you be happy.
  
• The new man/husband in your life will not necessarily be better (well hopefully he will) but he will be different and the same all at the same time. Men are men. They are not going to fulfill our dreams, be the reason for our existence or solve all of our problems. They are our partners and they are not perfect (neither are we) and we will struggle through life, challenges and daily drudgeries hopefully together. If you are not happy with yourself you won't find fulfillment in someone else. Work on you first and the rest will fall in place.
  
• Getting a second chance at raising children and not making the same mistakes you made before is possible, however, you will make new mistakes to take the place of the previous mistakes. Count on it. It will happen. I know this for sure.
  
• I do not love the gray hairs, wrinkles or the 'parts' that are not in the same place on my body that they were 15 years ago. However I have come to accept them and realize that I worked very hard for them. I have lived a life full of fun, excitement, love, mistakes, problems, etc. Those hairs, wrinkles and fallen parts are all part of that experience and although I sometimes think I would change them (and would if I could) I realize that they are all part of who I have become.
• Parents are not your enemy. (This should probably be #1)
  
• You are never too old to learn a new hobby. In the last 9 years since being in Georgia, I have learned to quilt, sew on a machine, and knit and I'm pretty good at it.
• Anyone can change if they want to bad enough. I am one who has and it can be done.
  
• Children are great. Life would not be the same to me without them. Children will stretch you and grow you in directions you never thought possible. They will challenge and delight you. They will make you question your sanity, frequently. They will love you without restraint (unless they are mad and then they will hate you with the same fervor).
• Grandchildren are better. They are God's way of letting you laugh at your children as they deal with the same things that drove you crazy about them. You get to be the good guy this time. You can be the one who is fun and playful and has time for the little guys instead of being too busy cleaning something to deal with them. You can also send them home. God is sooo cool!!

I have no idea who to tag but if you read this and would like to participate let me know so I can see what exactly you have learned in the last 15 years....

Really Cool Cooking Site

I've found a wonderful cooking site with absolutely delightful recipes on it called the Smitten Kitchen. Step by step photos are included and the photography is great too. Unfortunately I don't know how I found it but I'm sure it was linked through one of the knit/ravelry/dog sites I peruse on a daily basis. The first of her recipes I tried was the one for her slow-roasted tomatoes and as she said they were to die for good! The second recipe was for her rosemary flat bread which even the kids liked. Tonight I'm going to try her white bean stew and I'll make some flat bread to go with it. If you enjoy cooking without going to a tremendous amount of time or trouble and like trying new things this is the site for you. If you also like vegetarian recipes she has a lot of those too and most of the meat recipes could be altered. The basis is for a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables in season along with a lot of comfort food recipes. Check her out, you won't be sorry!!

Woo Hoo We Got An Award!!!

Carol from Charli & Me has bestowed this award to Wilbur, Charlotte & me for our postings on doggie stuff. Thank you so much Carol for this wonderful honor!!

Charlotte was not taking the whole crown wearing with the same appreciation that Wilbur did.



















Wilbur on the other hand looks very regal in his crown don't you think?

Progress

This is the 1st of the Seaside socks I'm working on. Since I don't like really tall socks, I omitted 2 rounds on the cuff. KnitPicks Memories is the yarn that is being used and I love working with it!

Finished Waterloose Socks

Last night I finished my pair of Waterloose Socks which were done in Zitron Trekking (XXL) color #100. I just love these!!

PHQ 20th ANNIVERSARY

Saturday was spent at Pieceful Hearts Quilters 20th Anniversary Guild meeting which was held in Belvedere, SC.

Installation of new officers was held along with guild member show and tell, feature program and of course eating!!

We have a lot of very talented members and here are some of the quilts and things that have been made.

Quilting Bits & Pieces

Our own Jennifer asked her aunt, Eula Lang and her quilt shop partners, Christina Dearmond & Kaye Spitzli to do the program for our 20th Anniversary meeting.






These lovely ladies own Quilting Bits & Pieces Quilt Shop in Eudora, KS. In addition they also have a pattern company called Of One Mind with the following patterns they have designed.



They did a marvelous trunk show and shared the stories that made each of the quilts they brought. The pictures in no way show the real beauty of the quilts but you can get an idea of the size and design of each.











Be sure and check out their shop and their pattern websites and if you live nearby Eudora, stop in and tell them you heard of them through the Pieceful Hearts Quilters in South Carolina/Georgia!!