Ghosts of Christmas Past....

Thank goodness we've come a long way since then..... whew.....

Have a happy day everybuddy.....

I hope you have a fun tree to enjoy ...

and some yummies...

some chocolates ...goes without saying really....

.

Merry Christmas !!!

Hey, just a darn minute here.  Does anybody remember these little lights being this tangly last year?..huh...do ya?

Well, they weren't... Im sure of it.... so who played with them besides us?


Merry Christmas everybody.....

.... and...... here's to a healthy, happy 2011.....

let's make it a fun one!


.

Don't panic!!

I know there is very little time left and some folks get so caught up in the whole festive season hype....   Of course, it's only my humble opinion...but, I'm sure they just try to do too much.  Sometimes simple ..or at least simpler... is better.  Really.

It's all gotten so commercial hasn't it?  Maybe it's time to mutiny or rebel... just do it a whole new way.  Or... go back to the old ways.... well, at least some of the old ways.  They weren't all great...

Here's a suggestion, for what it's worth.  If you still plan to do some special baking... make it "special".   Do one fabulous thing instead of a lot of "stuff". Trim it or plate it in grand style...and that could be it.  How about Cranberry Coffee Cake?















If you want a great seasonal loaf... try Eggnog Christmas Loaf with Buttered Rum Glaze.  Can't go wrong with that one! A fancy plate.. a bit of gold ribbon.. a few ornaments...and just the loaf itself...they'll be drooling.  It is droolworthy. And... make a few more after Christmas with the leftover 'nog... double wrap and freeze for oh,.. say... July?  YUMMY !!  I love Christmas in July.  Can't believe I can't find a photo of one of the lovely loaves...  I'll look again tomorrow.....

Press somebody into helping with cute Chocolate covered maraschino cherry cookies...  cuties... they are a bit fiddly for one person, but, still not all that bad.....however, with another pair of hands... a snap.  Again... they look so special...  and worth the effort.  Everybody will be impressed.... it happens every year.  Look how cute.

And... biscotti.  For some reason, everybody thinks it is difficult to make.  Not so.  Even though I, myself, had a few hiccups this past week with my baking... biscotti is still a special and yet an easy biscuit to make.  Decorate by dipping into chocolate... drizzling with chocolate... sprinkling with nuts... and the combinations of ingredients is endless.  I have a few on the other blog...but, you could always just go to food.com and type in biscotti.  You'll be flooded with recipes!  Tomorrow I'd like to get some pistachio/cranberry biscotti done.  But...I also want  to do a bit of grocery shopping...and try on a blouse I saw the other day..oh... and do my treadmill.. so... eh... maybe the biscotti won't get done tomorrow.  There's still Friday...   and, I do have at least one eggnog loaf in the freezer........

Oh, my ... these just look so plain beside the other goodies... okay..then... scratch these for this year....

Is Mars in retrograde?

I've heard that description before... maybe it has to do with baking woes.   Or is there some other wonky planet alignment?  Maybe my Biodex is in a downward swing.  Whatever's happening.... the kitchen disasters..or near-disasters have continued throughout the past few days.  Maybe I'm just losing it...or... well, who knows....

Actually, I (and Mr. BumbleVee too) "eated" a lot of cookies.   He always rubs his hands in glee... and has a big grin... cuz he knows it means more for him.  Cheeky!   There I was ...baking second batches. Because they were not quite right.  The edges of some biscotti refused to cut nicely.  There was some breakage..or there was crumbling.  And...I want perfect when I send them, darn it!

This is definitely not the norm.  I bake.  A lot.  And... not much goes wrong ...usually.  Well, sure there is the odd thing that happens, but not like this.  Read that in a very whiny voice.... .

This week, I have had nothing but "blog fodder"...   I could get miles of written word out of my "happenings"  in the kitchen.. ....sigh...
everything from trying to use butter that was too firm and whacking myself out trying to whisk the lumpiness into something smooth.... to not being able to get white chocolate to drizzle...hmmmm..... all of which, of course, I've done previously.  Many times.

Oh, well, suffice to say... finally, today, I am finished with my planned baking that I am sending to my sister.  It's become a tradition.  She doesn't like to bake very much and still has a bit of trouble with staying focused as far as wordy recipes are concerned.  Most of you that are regulars know that she fell years ago... about 9 years now I think....on an icy parking lot.  Knocked herself out cold; sustained a terrible concussion. There was and still is some residual brain damage.  If you meet her you would never know because she has clawed back most of her former self.......almost single handedly I might add.  Nobody in or outside of her family helped much at all. But, there are some things that still elude her or make her feel nauseous ... and baking from recipes is one of them...  plus she wanders away from the kitchen and things happen then for sure.  There have been a lot of ruined pans and things burned to a crisp on her stove in the past few years... and a lot of fire alarms and worried cats.  She has decided it is safer not to bake... or cook much at all as a matter of fact.

The past week... she is definitely not in her kitchen.  She is stuck on the couch or wandering around in pain and frustration.  She fell and broke her wrist and finally after a week of waiting... they have placed a cast on it.  They had just cleared their steep driveway with the tractor...the blade left glare ice...and two steps onto the ice ... down she went.  Well, of course, after all the agony of the first few years after her concussion... all she could think of was.."don't hit my head!!" .. and out flew both hands to prevent that from happening.  She said as quick as it happened...that was still her first thought.  She also knew that the second she threw out her hands... she was going to be in big trouble. She was; it broke straight across the second it hit the ground.  Damn!!

So...I love to bake...always have and love to send her some.  I'll be off to the Greyhound soon to get her package away.  The Speedy Doggie as Mum used to call Greyhound... her favourite mode of transport in the day.

Update:::  Aaacckkk!!  I knew it GP!  Something is definitely not quite right.  

hahah...of course, I don't know much about any of it...although I do find it interesting if I read up on some aspect of it.  Once I even had my horoscope chart done... many moons ago... 

..and look at this... an excerpt from the info regarding the retrograde phase of Mercury.

"Mercury is all about mental clarity and the power of the mind, so when Mercury is retrograde these intellectual characteristics tend to be less acute than usual, as the critical faculties are dimmed. Make sure you pay attention to the small print!"

There we have it..... is it even worse if I'm a Capricorn?...cuz...I am..... 

Nuts!!

Literally... and figuratively .....

When a recipe says roast nuts in a 350F oven for 15 minutes...and alarm bells go off??.... listen to your alarms!

This is where the first batch ended up...

If it looks like a garbage can... that's because it is.
Walnut halves are like gold.  A big bag was $14.99....on sale.  Oooooooooohhh.... that burns me almost as much as it did the darn nuts.

I was going along so well too.... this is how amazing they were just after I added a splash of my real Quebec Maple Syrup from a friend of a relative.... just brought all the way across the country.  Wasted Maple Syrup is an absolute crime!!  Anybody who has ever had the real thing will tell you that. Then...a generous grinding of lovely black pepper.  These are spicy glazed nuts. Mmmm... well, they would have been mmmm...

... but, then... the recipe called for putting them in the oven.  So.. I set my timer for 12 minutes..not even the required 15... but... too late..... they were already past tasting burned when I grabbed for the baking sheet.  There were some "french words" as somebody used to say..... who was that now?  I forget.  Anyway.....it was disheartening to say the least because it was just the beginning of my plan for an amazing salad for supper.

Onward.... second batch.  Never quit when you are behind.

You can bet your bottom hard earned dollar that I was watching like a hawk this time around..... my eyes were glued to that oven.  Don't even walk out of the kitchen.... cuz you know how fast nuts can be ruined!

Ahhhhhh.... that's more like it.  I had the oven at just over 300F this time...and it only took about 6 to 8 minutes really.... ....

Then....I poached my lovely pear.  In wine and cinnamon infused syrup....

It was a thing of beauty.... well....to my eyes at least it was.  It stayed firm... soaked up the wonderful flavours...and was absolutely the nicest pear I have ever seen or eaten.  Including the creation by the chef at the restaurant where I first had this salad... and now... I've copied it to the best of my recollection.

Pear and Goat Cheese Salad with Glazed Walnuts......

I used some peppered goat cheese and instead of just crumbling on the bits...I wanted to figure out a way to cut the soft cheese into rounds.  Looked on Google...and found a few suggestions.  Love Google.

Dental floss.  Yep.  You can saw it across it if you like...as in the video I saw... but, if you just lay it under the roll of cheese...then draw up each side of the floss and cross them over each other...it slices straight through the cheese as easy as can be.   Even very thin slices come away so cleanly it is amazing. I did put the cheese roll in the freezer for just a few minutes (watch that too... you don't want to ruin a lovely little log of cheese) .. so that I could cut away the packaging without damaging the roll.  Why can't they make it easier to get the roll of cheese neatly out of the packaging material?

A vinaigrette with a few tablespoons of the poaching syrup finished it off. YUM....

Take that Chef Kevin....

Clay didn't appeal ...

..the other day when I had a bit of time to play.  So, instead...I stitched up some bear bits and pieces. Remember the little furry face?  These are the rest of the story.... although, even her/his face is not yet finished.

Oh.... and ... have some lovely warm beverage at hand.  This is not as quick for me as it is for some folks....

Usually I hand stitch my bears as they aren't very big.  My largest stitched mohair and other fabric bears would be about 8 inches....  they go down to about 2 inches.  My needle felted guys are usually under 2 or just up to 3 max....

There are several ways to hold the pieces securely in position while stitching.  My preference is alligator clips ... probably because that's the way I was shown when I did my first little bear.  You know how it goes... we do what we are comfortable with...and it seems it's often the way we learn to do something that remains most comfortable for us.  Some people like to baste the two pieces using blanket stitch, or whip stitching... and then go back over it with a secure backstitch.

Here's my way.  A porcupine.  Hahahha.... this is the body.  It is pretty tricky to stitch up a piece with this many clips hanging off it...even by hand... but, it definitely keeps the pieces from sliding around and then... either puckering or the whole piece being twisted when you finish.

I may give basting a try on the next bear I do on the machine. If I do another.  We'll see how this little guy works out first.   I can see basting perhaps being a little easier all 'round.  Although...if you remove a couple for the first stitches....and just go slowly.. removing each clip as the toe of the foot touches it or just before ... things work out okay.  I am not a quick stitcher anyway...so, no biggy for me.  Maggi likes to whiz along...so she pins hers and when she isn't using my machine...says she even stitches over the pins. Ohhhh..... she's brave.  I tried that once and sproinnggg!  'Busted needle'.  My first try going over a pin.  Forget it.

Seeing as this is about a 6 inch bear....I thought I'd give it a go on the machine.  Of course, it's been so long since I used my machine that I had to look up how to put thread on a bobbin...and then..page 15...how to thread the darn thing.  It was already threaded because Maggi was here not that long ago and she did it properly of course.... she sews .. a LOT.   But, I had to change colours... and...   I'm just not that much into sewing...yet.  Probably not going to happen at this late stage in my life ..... oh, well.... it seems to be stitching properly.  So..off I went.  Wooohooo...it is a lot of fun when I get going.  I just hesitate so darn much at the simple "trying" of some things.... only some things though.  Other things?...I'm the fist guy on the block ... even I can't figure me out at all.  Don't even try.

Oh, hey! and..... don't forget to pick the "fur" out of the seams on the wrong sides before turning the pieces.  If you leave it caught in the seams you will have undesirable shorter tufts all along a seam.  Not very professional looking.  It might not be quite as noticeable to the average viewer, especially on a bear with long scraggly fur...but....I would notice ... and not be all that pleased with myself.

And... one other thing..... on the machine...I get going along and forget to stop in time, so all of a sudden...I have a hole remaining that is just too tiny.   I got to use the seam picker thingy two times.  You need a hole just a bit larger than this to get a finger and needle nosed pliers inside the body to attach joints and limbs....  not much larger....but, just a tad.  Unpick... reinforce the ends of the stitching a second time.  Pick out scraggly fur caught in the seams...turn the body... Voila.... bear bits ready to play with and...now... stitch on the foot pads.  I'm too chicken to try those on the machine.

It's a beautiful blue sky day....  going up to an amazing +8C or so.... I'll sit at the kitchen table in the lovely warm sun and stitch on the foot pads today...

playing with clay

Finally I'm getting around to making some arms and legs for my funny little dolly I began waaaay back... can't even rermember when...

She is my take on Black Eyed Suzi's well known dolls...

Having made only a few things using paper clay, it is mostly still a learning experience.  The head and face seemed a lot easier than the spindly legs and arms.

I used a piece of wire wrapped with tin foil to give it a bit of shape and something to begin to attach clay.  It sure is a fiddly job...and they look pretty rustic so far...but, it is a start and should be easier to add more clay when dried... then some sanding and shaping and hopefully...a "voila" !  moment.

 I'll keep you posted Dear Diary.... lol....

I'm not sure about sizes.... I'm just a hit and miss kinda gal most of the time.  It's why it takes me soooo long to do everything.
I made the tiny foot first, but then thought it looked a tad small for the body and the length of the leg.  So... second leg is larger overall.  Today I'll place all the limbs near the body and check for size...then... make a second leg ...  in what I deem to be an appropriate size for her.

Not to worry about all the lumpiness... when I add more clay... it can all be smoothed over... and don't forget...sanding.  One thing about this clay...it sands wonderfully... and easily.

How do you like my ingenious drying rack? hahahhah......

I'll have to move things around today...I need to use that mixer....

Sunny Sunday....

Here's a quick little fun thing for you to whip up at a moment's notice .... when you crave some chocolate.... or want to nibble something sweet and don't have any other goodies on hand.  Simple, quick and very effective....

It is actually called 5 Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug...and, sure, you can do it that way...but, a few extra minutes and it is so much better than the rubbery, mediocre, microwave version.

I love little ramekins.... as a matter fact...I have a "thing" about them.  I have a whole drawer full of them...and hardly ever use them.  But, I see some I think are cute...and have to buy them.  These are my latest ... chocolate coloured outside and creamy white on the inside.  Too deep for this tiny amount of cake-y stuff....but... I wanted to see how they looked.  I'm thinking they may even take the full amount in one ramekin seeing as they are larger than most of the others.  Next time I'll double the recipe...and make us a full one each!  But... really... I only need a few mouthfuls to satisfy the chocolate craving.  Well... I do when I remember that it takes about 6 hours on the treadmill to burn it off.. hahahhahha.....

here's the explanation

Sheila, of PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary.... rescues and takes in strays of all sorts.(it isn't just donkeys at her place for sure!)  This is just one more in the never ending line of poor unfortunates.  However... once they get to Sheila's place...    they are definitely not unfortunate any more! They get all the love and spoiling the volunteers can muster.  Laurel is one of those very special ladies.... 


Here is the blurb I copied from Sheaffer's blog to let you know the story...


"Shadow the goat, now renamed VanaRose, made clear to Laurel the volunteer that her ears were feeling the chill and so Laurel has made her several sets of ear covers, in varying thicknesses so she can weather the winter chill in comfort. They match her tartan winter blanket, giving her a stylish air not usually seen outside the larger fashion houses."


Imagine somebody making such a cute outfit for a rescued goat..... I just love it.  I don't know Laurel...but, sure wish I could meet her in person some day.  She must be a special lady indeed..... and... what a sense of humour!


Every time I see that picture of the goat I just have to laugh....

Wordless Wednesday..

http://sheafferdonkey.blogspot.com/

Whine, and ye shall receive ....

... sorry to sound a bit whiney guys.... but, also, thanks for the commiserations and the hugs....

Blog buddies are the best.  Kind of like family; even better in some ways.  They don't expect anything of us ... which is also good...because some days we don't do anything.  Other days ... if we feel a bit down, and say so out loud...we're buoyed by their kindness and caring... it's just nice.  And, I wanna say "thanks".

My Mom used to say "a burden shared is a burden halved" ...  (she was a very clever lady) ..  but, even  if not quite halved, at least it seems less of a burden sometimes just to say a thing out loud doesn't it?  Get it out there and be done with it.  I'm thinking it's sort of cathartic even though I'm sure some folks think I'm just a complainer.

This morning I woke up, rolled to the edge of the bed and sat up.  Hey!!  No yelping from the rib pain!  Woooohooooo !!  something good happened overnight.  Not that they are perfect yet...but, a huge step in the right direction.

It's a beautiful sunny day...brilliant blue sky... sparkling snow all around..... a lovely wintery day.  I'm starting to feel so much better.  My wrist is great...my foot works again...and now the ribs...

Look out.... In a few days, I'll be dangerous!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And....I can even sit still long enough to stitch a bit.

Yes.... these are just test eyes Maggi. ( I might as well admit to it...cuz she will ask. )
I take a photo of my little guys and fail to admit that they are not really finished.  Can you believe I even have some still sitting with backs open and eyes not firmly inserted?  Sigh....yep.  It's true.  I'm such a procrastinator.  She tells me I should have a week of just finishing things...... yeh, sure, okay.... ....I know... ..it would be a good thing.  But...somehow, once I have them assembled and take their photo?..unless they are sold or going to live in "a good home"... they usually get put in a spot in the curio or a cabinet ..with other little guys...and they don't ever get totally finished.  Wonder what a shrink would read into that one?  The 'fear of finishing' springs to mind....seems to me I've read about that somewhere before ....hahhaha... oh, never mind.

Onward.

Let me show you "test eyes" for those who are not familiar with them.

They are little eyes on stick pins.  You can easily test various sizes to see which you like best in your bears and animals.  I even use them for test noses.  They come in various sizes... this is the collection of smallest.

Chocolate brown was my first choice for inner ears and paw and foot pads...but, when I held it beside the fur, it just seemed to disappear.  So, instead, I found a lovely cinnamon coloured soft cashmere in my pile of goodies...

His ears...

Turned...

They seem a bit large.... and when I left them rounded when pinned, he looked like a scratty little mouse.  Poor guy.  I just laughed and re-arranged them.  Now...he looks like Rachel's little dog....

.. but....I think he's pretty cute.  Yes...the ears are just pinned on too, Maggi.  They may change... but, I like to leave him on the table for a day or so to check him out every so often.  I hate to hurry this part. I move the eyes closer and further apart and use larger and perhaps even smaller test eyes... before I begin to finish the head.  The nose is a pin too...so I can change sizes and check which I like best before I begin to embroider his real nose.  I can continue with his other bits and pieces in the meantime...and get more of a feel for how I want him to look overall.  If I find an hour in between baking biscotti and making supper and running a few errands...I'll stitch up at least the body today...

yoyo'ing .....

See what I mean?

Two days ago we were the second coldest anywhere in the world .... so "they" say...whoever "they" might be ......

..... and, today....look how warm it is already this morning.... and still climbing....

already warmer than "they" said. Those "they" again ..... and they sure as heck don't always seem to know of what "they" speak.  Must be a Chinook wind blowing out there. ..... oh, look...at 37 kph.... yep.... it's blowing alright.... sun is shining now too..

Must go out and brush off the foot of snow still on the van... and the rest of the ice can melt.... we love our Chinooks... although, it is tough on the foliage.  Trees and shrubs can't always figure out what is happening....

I'll be sweeping gently and carefully ..seeing as I wrecked something in my ribs the other day.  After shovelling a ton of snow, I bent over to poke some leaves out of the downspout  ... perhaps at an odd angle...and something in my ribs went "proinnnggg"!  It was on fire and I coudn't even move for about 30 seconds.  Man...I feel like the walking wounded.  Anyway... it was just getting so I could breathe a bit easier and I was sitting on the couch, sort of massaging..no..I was more like caressing the area..and all of a sudden... "proinngg"! yet again.  What the heck is happening?  I couldn't sit, stand, or lie down it hurt so much... and I was gasping for air trying to stand up.  You would hardly think broken...and yet... one wonders....

No point in going to the doctor... they don't do anything for ribs anyway.  If there is a break...they just give you pain killers and send you home to wait it out for 6 weeks or so.  Oh, after taking plenty of xrays.  If it is torn tissue... same thing... wait.. til it feels okay and then do some light stretching and strengthening when you can.  PLus...they want to take more x-rays...and I don't want any more this year... I already had some a few times for my hand... for my teeth... which is another story and I had a tooth extracted yesterday after many visits and many second opinions...and many $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ .... plus a scare about having any dental work done when a person is taking Actonel...  it's been an annoying several months really.  Totally off-putting in the motivation and creation department...but... now... I think I have it mostly under control.

The ribs feel pretty good today, but, I did get some good drugs for jaw pain in case...and they totally work on the ribs.  Hardly feel 'em at all this morning.  Wheeee......    I did the ice packing of my jaw...and so far..no swelling at all.  If the clot stays in the socket and healing begins... I will be fine.  If it pops out; a dry socket and infection occurs..well...I'll probably be taking them.  If you've ever had a dry socket you know what I'm talking about.  But., so far,  so good.  Having worked as a dental assistant for 18 years...I know the ropes and the possibilities... which isn't always a good thing...but, at least it helps in the "doing the right thing" department as far as healing goes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


And... my friend Maggi came to play on Monday...

we cut out a bear!  Finally...I'm going to do something....

look how cute.  He will be a fluffy guy... about 6 inches.... here is a side head piece.... just a second...that looks like a dog I know!

It's officially winter..

For me it always begins with cold weather and snow... and it has been snowing since Monday.  And... it is cold. ( -15C right now.)

It began innocently enough.... a few inches of heavy wet stuff ... pretty on the red branches of the barberry ... still plenty of colour on them because we have had such a nice long autumn.

I love how they droop so gracefully under the weight...

The spirea also still have plenty of colourful leaves...

I shovelled for over an hour... ooooh.... heavy and wet and it was sticking to my scoop... I almost threw my arms out of the sockets with every scoopful. We have a long expanse of city sidewalk because we live on a corner lot... and I got fed up with that half way up the side of the house.
I was resting on the shovel handle, grinning at a huge flock of geese trading places in their formation as they flew over .... ... I love the geese.  They were honking away and doing all sorts of weird maneuvers and then, all of a sudden, they were in a perfect V.
 I was thinking how clever they were.

And... all of a sudden.. I, too, had a bright idea and thought how clever was I !  Marched myself straight back to the garage and found some silicone spray.  Sprayed it all over the scoop shovel and went back out there.  It worked like a charm!  Snow slid right off every time instead of clinging to it.  Whew.... that made things a lot easier.  When it is wet like that it is the worst to shovel...it sticks in huge blobs and is just too heavy to shove or to throw.  It's also the worst to drive on.  It fills the cleats of the best winter tires and makes it like driving on slicks.... there were hundreds of driving accidents in the past few days. And..it's still snowing..... my van is sitting in the driveway covered in snow...and it can just stay there.  It doesn't get around well enough to chance it.  If I need to shop or have an appointment...I'll just wait til Greg gets home.. and use the 4 wheel drive ....

Yesterday... it was this deep.  The squirrel who buried his peanuts in this pot will be tunneling through about 8 inches of snow to find his stash..if he remembers where he put it.  Personally, I think it is just instinct for them and they immediately forget where they put things. I'll be digging up peanuts in the spring when I turn over the dirt before planting my pots.

Elmo decided we could measure .... and, apparently it's only 7 inches...

my calibrated eyeball was off by an inch...

....as soon as I finish my second coffee....I'll be out there...shovelling.

... ...... ..... Jingles Bells anyone? ..... Now I'm thinking my Christmas Cactus knew exactly what time of year it is....no wonder it bloomed.

Waaaay early...

I bought a new Christmas Cactus this year.  I'm a sucker for some of the little plants, placed perfectly, just inside the door at my local Safeway.  They know how to lure us in.... I always have to stop and look at the new little guys.  The new pots...the vases.... all of them perfectly positioned, just to have me do exactly that.  Mostly I just look...but...the odd time...I have to take one home.  It's more like a plant orphanage....

It was loaded with buds.  And now...this thing has been in bloom for a week already!  I think somehow they must force them to bloom early in order to get them on sale soon enough to sell all of them....but, by Christmas... of course, all the blooms are gone.  I wish they would bloom on and on...til Christmas.
I wonder what date they will bloom next year?

The past few years... my older cactus bloomed on or about American Thanksgiving....but, this year?  .... wha' hoppen'??  somebody is very confused.  Maybe the weather? maybe I just overwatered even a tiny smidgen? .. maybe it got less hours of daylight and thought it was later in the year already?  Who knows......

Anyway.... this was my older cactus... last week.....

This week it is in full bloom...well, all the blooms that are going to open because some buds just die on the tips of the leaves and never do open.  I can't upload the photos I took this morning....my USB cable is ..."at the office" ... somebody else is using my camera.

My old one never gets buds on the short pieces of stem that stick straight up out of the pot so it makes me nervous to nip off any of the longer stems ...... this new guy has tons of buds and blooms on all the short stalks....  more investigation is necessary..... the mystery continues....

My animals...

Well, sad truth is....I don't really have any (except for my hand made variety).  For various reasons.

But...I love them just the same and like to work towards helping out where I can.

You have all seen my little donkeys on the sidebar and you know I love cats too.. but, look at these guys who arrived by mail the other day.  Designed by Elle, who has a unique style with animals... please go see her creations.

This is a set of cards she designed for Greyhound Rescue West of England ....   a group dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming of abused and abandoned greyhounds.  It's a great way to help out and also to get a beautiful set of cards designed by somebody I "know".  Not personally...but, from Flickr... where I've been looking at her art for a long time now.

I love the detail.... the whimsy and humour.....  her special love for animals is so apparent  .....

I don't know if there are any left as they always sell out pretty quickly...but, if you're interested..check out their site.

Found 'em!!

If ever you want to find something.... or need to know something...or even if you are just curious about this or that....  ask your bloggy buddies.  Somebody always knows... or knows somebody else who does ....   it's like belonging to an exclusive group .... a little Private Eye club all our own.

The other day I wondered if anybody had seen Christmas light bulb cookie cutters...and got a few sites and suggestions within hours.... thanks ladies!

I let my fingers do the walking because my foot is still causing me to hobble and just darn well hurts too much to go very far. ...  but, I found them and then...just had to go to one shop.  Michael's.  I didn't expect this great set either... the lady on the phone said she could only find smaller cutters even though she did say a bulb was in the set.. ...but, this is the whole set.  Perfect.

Since I had already tossed the weekend flyers, I had to dig through the paper bin... but I did manage to find my 40% coupon... and off I went.  I love a bargain.

There are 2 and 4 inch sizes of each of the shapes...  I can hardly wait to make mittens (even if I don't know how to knit!) ... and light bulbs...

Murphy's Law...

Or, perhaps it's Mrs. Murphy's Law.  I bet she had lots of kitchen disasters... and, after all, it did occur in the kitchen.  Let's face it... mostly the k-room is the domain of women. Okay... I'm not saying my mister didn't come to my rescue for the past month.... and, he did an amazing job of showing me up totally.  But, you know...usually.... (although, I do have to qualify that too I guess ... because it seems like cooking is quickly becoming a thing of the past with some and being reprised by others in special blogs and writings...  .. another of those "lost arts" I guess .... )  Actually, come to think on it.... I only know one woman in my real life circle who likes to cook or bake anymore. (it's only my blog buddies right now who love creating in their kitchens)   I can't believe how many women lately have stated right out loud that they don't and won't cook.  Shocking to me.  I love my own cooking.  I prefer knowing exactly what goes into MY food, thank you very much.  I've spent some time in restaurant kitchens....ick... no wonder I cook.

Ennyway........ back to the story....
Before I had the surgery on my wrist.... I did a lot of baking so I could freeze a few things because I knew I wouldn't be able to bake for several weeks.

The prune plums...or Italian plums as they are sometimes called.... were just arriving at the stores.  Darn it.  Obviously I wasn't thinking clearly ... why didn't I just buy a box of them and cut and freeze them?  Darn it again.  Now...they are long gone ... and......

I only managed to make up one batch. But, since the recipe was large enough for two loaves, I decided to use my bread baking pans.  Bad idea.  It's not that they are bad pans... they are great for bread......but, just that for these particular loaves...they didn't do the job.  Even buttered and floured....this is what happened!  I have no idea why.












I was ticked.  Mr. BV on the other hand, was overjoyed.  With a wicked grin he said.... "Well, I guess this means they're all ours!" ....   Me, with a totally disappointed look.... "Absolutely". ...

We scraped out the bottom chunks and put them into dessert dishes and had them with frozen yogurt while they were still warm.  I have to say they were very yummy.  It is a great recipe.... it just didn't look very wonderful on this particular day.

I expect perfect bottoms....every single time!   Like this Eggnog Loaf I made the other day.... yes....it's already in the stores...... look....a perfect bottom.  Glass loaf pan.

I've baked for years...and rarely does something like this happen!

Oooooooo!!!


Note to self::::::::      next time.... use trusty glass loaf pans.

got any cooking disasters to share? .....