Busy Day!

We knew we wanted to get a lot of projects done this weekend, but didn't really think we'd get so much done. One of my Christmas gifts from Hubby was a pot rack. It was made by the Pennsylvania Amish, along with the hooks. We've been trying to figure out the best way to hang it. We talked about possible solutions for about two days, and had to adjust our plans when we discovered how the house was built. I'm pretty sure there aren't many studs or rafters that are consistently measured. We ended up having to drill into the narrow side of a rafter to hang the pot rack, but it worked out beautifully.


I'm not sure where the inspiration came from, but I got a bug to make an apron. There seems to be an ensuing comeback for the apron, and I want to be on this bandwagon. However, I have almost no idea how to use a sewing machine, and I usually just use very crude stitches. It works, but it's not pretty. So, I cheated. I used the heat & bond tape for the hems. The fabric is vintage from a collection my mom had. Most of the fabrics are from the 70's. Classic.





















We're going to look into taking sewing classes and acquiring a second sewing machine for future projects, and possible income!

We did some work in the garden and should have lots of onions, leeks, rosemary, basil, and chives.

My take on the Eclipse

When I joined the show, it was still fairly cloudy. They were low clouds that looked like you could almost reach up and fan them out of the way. The moon was about 70 or 80% covered with a glowing edge, and a deep rusty hue. This was the first eclipse that I remembered to watch; I usually forget until a few days later. The clouds did finally blow off to the northeast, and I was able to get an unadulterated view of the moon and several bright stars for about 20 minutes.

It's too bad there won't be another one for two years.

Congratulations to Jenny and Dan! And welcome to Sara Belle!

Cool Stuff, Exciting News

I'm awake because there's a total lunar eclipse tonight, and I'm outside watching that.

I'm also awake waiting on news about Jenny's new baby! Any minute now!!

Not very nice

I had my first two spam hits on the last post. I know I don't get a bazillion comments, or even 4 or 5, but I enabled the word verification.

The comments were something like this See here from a couple of not-so-real blogs. They had profile names, and the blog had a link, but the link was a .exe and did bad virus stuff. Luckily, I got to see my antivirus knock it out in about 4 seconds. So worth it.

Don't these people have anything better to do? What could you possibly get out of doing something so malicious? They should use their powers for good instead of evil.

Little Pretties

I meant to post these last week. I was along for a ride to a gas station and spotted these little lovelies...

A few good things

about my 5pm westward drive home...

Yummy

I was really hankering for some dessert, so I whipped this up in the kitchen (pun intended!)

Quick Parfaits for Two

1 package of your favorite pudding flavor
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups skim milk (for the dieters)
2 Graham crackers
Whipped Cream (fat-free for the dieters)

Mix pudding and milk. Using less than the 2 cups will make the pudding set faster, so mix faster. This will also make the pudding thicker. While the pudding is setting in the fridge, crush all but 1/2 a graham cracker. After the pudding sets, sprinkle some of the crumbs in the bottom of a pretty sangria glass or parfait glass. There should be enough for three layers, so use a tallish glass. Spoon in two or three tablespoons of the pudding, add a good helping of crumbs, top that with two or three tablespoons of the whipped cream. Repeat. Repeat. The last layer should be a dollop of whipped cream, sprinkle crumbs, and garnish each parfait with 1/4 of a graham cracker.

Using the skim milk and fat-free whipped cream, there is only a bit of naughty in the graham cracker. Helpful for Hubby's strict diet. I would have taken pictures, but we ate them too fast.

Enjoy!

Nature's Art

A few pictures from the last few days. Sorry about the cars.






It was 73 today. Seventy. Three.