Am I a glutton for punishment?

      Maybe.  Why do I say this?  Because I've decided to work again on a HAED (Heaven and Earth Designs) .  I have so many and I know I won't be able to finish them all before I die but I can at least start on one.   The owl that I was working on pissed me off.  I made a mistake and didn't realize it until I was well past it and couldn't, or didn't want to, go back and unstitch 90% of what I had done.  That turned me off of cross stitch, except for the blackwork, and now it is time to back into it.  I still didn't feel like I wanted to go back to the Owl or other charts that I had started but only stitched around 100 stitches into it.  I will pull out those stitches and packed the fabric and chart away for another time.  THEN I ran across the pattern that called to me.  It is called Battle.  Here it is.

     It will be quite awhile before I finish it but that is ok.  I've seldom finished projects on time.  I supposed I will have to change my thinking since I ended up finished my 2023 Blackwork SAL.  Well I finished the stitching but not anything else.  It will take me a bit to figure out what I want to do with it.  I'm not in a hurry.

     This week, after Christmas, I dug out a lot of UFOs and wrote them down so I can work on them a little at a time.  I'm not sure if I will work a full month on a particular UFO or just a couple of weeks and then change it up?  We'll see how it goes.  I'll let you know.

     It's time for me to sign off and get to bed.  I hope you all have a good wee and a Hapyy New Year.

     Until next time...relax.

Getting to the end of 2023

      Can you believe it?  2023 is almost ended and 2024 is right around the corner.  So what do I have to report?  Not everything I probably should but my mind is a little chaotic right now so let's see what I DO remember.

     I've been busy making up Dan's snack box.  It is finally finished and I will probably give it to him on Saturday.  That is only one day early but since he is picking me up to go with him to Tennessee on Saturday to meet up with some friends, I think I will give it to him then. He will have leftovers to handle on Sunday so this will be a better plan...I think.

     The snack box consists of:

A pint of homemade cocoa mix

A 2 liter of butterscotch steamer

1 quart of egg nog

1 chicken cream cheese ball

     The recipe for the chicken cream cheese ball:

 2 blocks cream cheese

1 packet ranch seasoning

1 drained can of chicken ( or leftover chicken chopped up – however much you want to add)

Combine all into a ball (or be lazy like me and just put it in a bowl) You can also top the cheese ball with chopped nuts if you wish.

Chocolate cake mix cookies

peanut butter cookies

fruit cake (the size they sell that is like a rectangle

2 cans of oysters - he loves these and then lets the cats lick out the cans when he is done.  LOL

Some thin mints

1 small tine of chocolate hazelnut pirollin

a box of crackers

A 3 musketeers bar

and oreos.

     I also have some finishes craft wise.  I finished my 2023 black work and am collecting the materials to start the 2024 stitch a long.

    I put a picture of it on my last not that long ago so just scroll down and you'll see it.      I received n the mail a box from Ann L. the other day and it was fun to go through.  She had a craft box which had a lot of doodads in it.  Everything from buttons to hooks and other things I'm not sure what they are but I'll have fun figuring it out.  

    The white circles you see are smaller containers that have beads in them.  I pulled them out from another area and eventually will open them up and put in the box so I can recycle those small containers. 

     That's about it.  I feel like Santa.  I'm making a list and checking it twice to keep on schedule.  The biggest challenge I have today  is going to be how to finish an in the hoop cross stitch ornament.  The stitching is done but I've never made anything like an ornament.  So now I "have" to watch YouTube videos to see how it is done...or find one I can understand.  I'll post a picture after I know the recipient has received it.  Hehehe.

   I'm off to do my research.  I hope you all have a great day and an even better holiday.

A finish and other things...

 Ok.  This will be a short post since it is my busy time of year.  I'm sure it is your busy time also.  I am happy to report that I have finished my 2023 Blackwork SAL!  Yes, you read that right.  I finished the stitching.  It's not put together or anything because I'm not sure if it will be a pillow or wall hanging or whatever. 

Because you are all so supportive of me, I'll even show you the back.  It's not pretty but in actuality, it is better than most I've done.  Nobody else should see it so that is fine also.  :)

Since this seems to be a picture day, let me include some more.  I have been so blessed this month by friends who have sent me goodies.  Let me share some of the pictures with you.

First up is a gift from my friend Susan.  See those two new needle minders I get to add to my collection?  I just LOVE the idea of a needle minder in the shape of embroidery floss.  She knows me so well!

Speaking of knowing me, another friend sent me a box full of goodies.  What I am showing you is not all of it!  I can't believe Ann took the time to wrap everything up.  She made one mistake though.  She didn't put a note that says do not open until Xmas so I went ahead and opened up all those small packages.

Ann drew this herself and I think she picked out the perfect frame for it.  Her artwork is improving each day.

Also in the bx was a cute sewing kit.  I really liked that it had a hard case to it so it should be good to carry around.

Isn't this a cute candle?  I just love candles and it has been a pain not to light it up yet.  I know I could but I'm trying to save it until Christmas day.

And no stocking is complete without a selection of goodies.  I might be able to resist lighting up the candle right now, but I couldn't resist eating the cookies and most of the bag of marshmallows.  LOL.

There was some fabric and other things in the box but I might share them with you another day.  Speaking of sharing, did I show you the block I sent for the December exchange?  If so, then sorry to posting it twice.  I'm sure you'll forgive me.  :)   

I thought this was a good block for December.  I have to now sign off and get back to work on the things that I still need to mail out.  I hope everybody has a great day!

Food updates

      Today is a mixed topic post.  Not surprising since my mind is being pulled into all sorts of different directions.  Besides waking up to the pilot light being out on my gas heater, today hasn't been too bad.  Let's talk about food first.  

     Dan took me to Commodities today and that will probably be the last time I go there for quite awhile.  They have changed (?) their rules for it.  Now, I'm not one to normally grip and complain but perhaps this time I'll just say I am disgruntled.  I know this is "extra" for for me to supplement.  That is good.  When your food budget after bills are paid is around $40 for the month, you have a tendency to look forward to Commodity day (government quarterly) and Food Pantry day.  What did I get in the Commodity box today?  1 bag of rice, 1 jar of peanut butter, 2 cans of tomato sauce, 1 can of kidney beans, and 1 can of vegetable soup.  Now that will go a long way if one is careful.  That is ok.  The part that has me thinking that I might not do Commodity for 2024 is this.  Now they have a rule that says if you go to your local pantry in the same month you go to Commodity, you can't duplicate what you get.  In other words, if you get peanut butter from Commodity, you can't get it from the Food Pantry.  So I'll just go to Food Pantry once a month and see how that works out.  

     Anyway, I made some Cool Whip Cookies and gave Dan a sample.  He likes them and said I could make them again.  So nice of him, right?  LOL.  So since he came in (he always carries in my groceries and unpacks them for me), I gave him a container of the 4 ingredient cheeseball.  I don't make them into balls since it is just him and me so they also fit into my Rubbermaid containers quite nicely.  Did I give you this recipe?  If not here it is:

2 blocks cream cheese (softened)

1 packet ranch seasoning

1 drained can of chicken (or cut up chicken...see the next paragraph for what I did)

- mix all together and let sit in fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.  If doing for company or in a ball shape, you can also roll it in chopped pecans.

     I changed it up just a little bit.  I didn't use a can of chicken since I had some rotisserie chicken I had deboned. I chopped up what I had left of that and used it.  I would say it was probably 1 1/2 cups.  that's just a guess.  I just added enough cut up chicken until it looked right.  I ate mine with crackers.  I gave Dan some and he says it is great and I can totally make it again.  We were also talking about how I think it would be good if it had a little bit of a kick.  If nothing else some black pepper.  Another idea might be a little bit of hot sauce mixed in or just serve on the side if you didn't want to turn your cream cheese a pink color?  

     Now for the Cool Whip Cookies.  Dan didn't go into the stores with me.  He opted to sit in the car and eat the Cool Whip Cookies.  Needless t say they are on the Dan approval  list.  Can't complain though.  It only had three ingredients.

1 box of cake mix (whatever flavor you want - I used Devil's food)

8 oz. of Cool Whip - thawed

1 egg (lightly beaten)

Powdered sugar to roll them in - optional

- Mix all together and drop on parchment lined cookie sheet.  I used an ice cream scoop  so the cookies turned out kind of large and only made a dozen.  Nobody was complaining though.  I didn't roll them in sugar but after they came out (and cooled off for a bit so I could move them), I sprinkled some powdered sugar on them.  

- Bake for 10-12 minutes in an 350F oven.

     I put them in a zip lock bag after they cooled down, and they stayed nice and moist that way.  I have around 6 in the freezer for Dan's snack box and I will probably make him more before Christmas.

     Another recipe that I made this week was Barn Raising Soup.  This came from my friend Connie so thank you Connie.  Instead of making this in the slow cooker, I made it stovetop since I had some chicken already cooked up that I could use.  Here is the recipe:

1 TBSP olive oil

1 cup diced onion

3 cups chicken broth

2 tsp garlic powder

1 TBSP chili powder

1 TBSP cumin

1 can (14.5) stewed tomatoes (I used petite diced)

3/4 cup Pace picante sauce (I use Great Value Salsa)

1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 - 1 3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken - cooked and deboned (I used what I had left of deli rotisserie chicken)

- sauté onions in olive oil

- add broth, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, tomatoes, picante sauce, pinto beans, and chicken.

- cover on low for 4-6 hours (in crock pot)

     I let it simmer on the stove for around 3 hours.   I was busy doing something else but it turned out ok since it gave everything a nice time to meet each other.  I had a couple of bowls of it before putting the rest in bags and put in the freezer.  It has a little bit of a kick so adjust spices to your level of heat.

     I hope everybody has a great day and try to stay warm.

Welcome to December!

 Wow, December is already here.  I've been busy with projects and will post some of them later in the month.  In the meantime, I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving.  Are you thinking already about what to make for Christmas?  I've had a habit of giving homemade things at Christmas and that usually means quilt, cross stitch, or food related.  Do you have all your food figured out?  Food was on my mind today since it was Food Pantry day.  I was given some meat which was totally great but I was surprised at how little canned food was in the box.  One can of sliced carrots.  I know that there were a couple of other cans of things but no green beans or corn which was surprising.  Also no rice and only a small box of macaroni noodles.  Not much, right?  Still that will be put to good use.  

One of the meats that I got was a small rotisserie chicken. I took off the meat from the bones and put the carcass in a pan with some onions and celery tops (after cutting up the ribbed celery).  Some spices and before I knew it, I had some nicely flavored chicken broth.  Tomorrow I will go through the bones and separate the chicken from the bones.  

I also made some Taco Spaghetti.  I made it a little spicier than normal but some sour cream on top put it into a nice spice level.  I will put it in some freezer bags tomorrow.  It is in the fridge tonight to finish cooling off.

Speaking of cooking.  Here are some recipes and tips for you.

This was a typical cream cheese, mayo, bacon, and ranch dressing dip.

Just some recipes I found on Facebook.

It's soup season.  This sounded good.

Do you know that Flour can go bad?  Do you know how long it lasts?

This recipe had me at Peppermint and Oreo. 

But after all of that, I think we need a little something to wash it all down with.

I will be making a new recipe this weekend or next week.  It is only two ingredients and if it turns out ok, it will be part of Dan's Christmas snack box.  Can you guess the ingredients?  I will give you a hint that it is a cookie.

Anyway, that's it for this report.  Have fun!

Change of Decor

      Thanksgiving is over and now time turns to Winter and Christmas.  Thanksgiving was good.  Dan came over and took most of the leftovers home with him.  I didn't actually give him a choice, I just packed it up and gave it to him.  LOL.

     When I talked to him yesterday, he mentioned that the Butterscotch Steamer could be given to him again.  Yes, I gave him the leftovers of that also.  He used it in his coffee yesterday and I think he is hooked on it now.  Besides the 4 cups of milk, there isn't a lot of other ingredients.  Did I share that with you before?  If not here it is....

*********

Butterscotch Steamer

4 cups milk

2 TBSP salted Butter

1/4 cup brown sugar - firmly packed

Cinnamon for garish

Heat milk in a pot over medium low heat.  Once the milk is hot, remove from heat.

Stir in butter and brown sugar until butter is milted and brown sugar dissolves.  Add to cup and sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.  Serve hot.

**********

     It was a nice break after eating a HUGE ham steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, green beans with onions and bacon, and dinner rolls.  After serving the Steamers, I heated up the apple pie, topped it with ice cream, and put in a movie.  We watched Golda.  That was a little bit different from what I was expecting but it was good.  Not one that I would buy (I rented it from Vudu) to keep in my library, but I was happy to watch it with Dan and here his input on different actions.

     The next day, after finishing up the dishes, it was time to take down Thanksgiving decor and put up Winter/Christmas decor.   Today (Saturday, 11.25.23) I finished putting up my switch over.  It seems appropriate since it is one month until Christmas.  :)  Are you ready for pictures?  Here they are!

     I decided to add in my mittens since I couldn't find anything else I was working on that fit.  As you can see from the ironing board, the eagle and dragon were too big for that space.  I think it fits.  :)

     That's about it for this time.  All my friends that came out to hang up on the walls, as well as myself,  wish you a safe and delightful day!

PS:  I also have my little picture that Ann sent me on my desk but my desk is too crowded.  You can see the tree in the frame in a previous post.

Look what I got!!!!!

      This week has already been a bit challenging for me but my spirits were lifted up by Ann today.  I received a box in the mail and it had a bunch of crafting stuff in it.  Look at this little Christmas tree picture she made me!  Thanks Ann!  

I have it sitting on my computer table so I get to look at it a lot.  Isn't it cute?  I also received a lot of other things.  Here are some pictures of SOME of the stuff.

Some Georgia Bonesteel templates

I have two of these little banners.  I might do something for the SCA with them.  Not sure yet.

I might try to figure out how to make this for a bag for me to use with my SCA outfits.

I have a lot of circles that I need to make sometime.  I might use these for it.  :)

     Oops.  I forgot to take a picture of the bookmark she sent me.  She has been making bookmarks and now I have one.  It will come in handy as I look through some of the magazines she included.  Maybe I'll remember for the next post.  LOL.

     I also received my November block from my block Exchange partner.  I like it.  What do you think?  

I wonder how they will all look together.  :) 

That is it for this little update.  I hope everybody has a great day and a safe Thanksgiving.

Tis the Season to be Crazy - Part 2

 Remember that list that I did?  I'm making progress on it.  Of course I am also getting sidetracked when I look for things but eventually it will get all caught up.

I got my December calendar marked up with dates and events that I know.

I'm part way through my gaming posts to catch up so I'm happy with that progress.

The Penguin wall hanging is just waiting for me to match DMC Floss.  That is scheduled for tomorrow.

I'm stitching down the December block.  The group notice for signing up for the December exchange just got posted so I'm in good shape for that.

I think I will send out an ornament that I already have done to Norma.  I just have to finish making it.  I have to put on the back and a loop on it then it can go in the mail.

My blackwork is coming along.  I caught up and am starting to work on the border again.  No hurry on that since we're not finished with all the squares yet.

My shredding is pretty much done for this week.  My bag for it to go in is about 3/4 full.

I think I did a pretty good job of catching up.  I do need to pick out some fabric for Fat Cat Pattern Southern Gentleman.  I'm not sure  I have enough background fabric for the whole thing.  The size of the blocks is 15"so it does take a bit of fabric.  Maybe I can find 2 or 3 fabrics that I can mix throughout the wall hanging so it won't take as much of one fabric.  When I figure it out, I'll let you know.

It is almost 11 p.m. so it is time for me to get off the computer and rest my eyes.  I hope everybody has a good week!

Update on black work

 As promised, here is my update on my Blackwork.  I decided not to wait until I do part 2 on my updates.  :)

My schedule is to get two more blocks done by Wednesday when two more blocks should be released.  If I get back on track, I'll work more on the border.

Tis the Season to go crazy! - Part 1

 The holiday season is upon us and , like most people, I'm going  a little crazy with the "to do" list.  On top of that, my allergies kicked in and it is soooo hard to do anything when your head is all stuffed up.  This week, however, my head finally cleared and I was able to get back to figuring out what I needed to do. 

THE LIST (and listed not in any particular order):

- Mark December calendar

- Catch up on RPOL (gaming related site for those who don't know it)

- Work on Penguin Wall Hanging 

- Work on December block exchange

- Work on what to send to Norma (winner of drawing that was done on Facebook).

- Do blog posts about:

     - food

    - what working on

    - blackwork (three blocks behind)

- Shredding

- Other

That's quite a list right?  To make it worse, some of those items are more detailed then what it looks like on paper.  I did manage to mark off a couple of those marked off the list.   

Obviously I'm working on the blog posts today.  LOL.  I haven't posted much about the food portion of my blog lately,  Do I have a legit reason for that?  Not really.  Just normal life stuff.  I did make some new recipes and shared the food with Dan.  Have I mentioned how funny it is to be on the phone with him as he is eating the food I gave him?  This last time his comments only consisted of moans, and licking of lips, and scraping of the bowl.  Over the years of knowing him, I finally have figured out one thing.  I need to be blunt and finally just ask "do I make this again or not".  In this case, the answer to that was YES.  It did take a couple of minutes to get the yes because I just got the sounds of him eating it.

What did I make?  I made Crockpot Bourbon Chicken.  I made it using chicken broth instead of bourbon but it is delicious.  Here is the recipe.

Crockpot Bourbon Chicken

Ingredients

- 2 pounds bonesless skinless chicken thighs

- salt and pepper to taste

- 1/3 cup bourbon, whiskey, apple juice, or chicken bro

- 3/4 cup brown sugar

- 3/4 cup soy sauce

- 2 cloves minced garlic

- 2 tablespoons cornstarch

- 3 tablespoons cold water

Directions

1.  Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and place in bottom of crockpot.

2.  In medium bowl add brown sugar, soy sauce, and garlic.

3.  Stir well to combine and pour over chicken in crockpot.

4.  Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or on high for 3 hours.

5.  In a small bowl, add cornstarch and water and whisk until well combined.

6.  Whisk cornstarch slurry in the sauce 30 minutes before chicken is done.  This will thicken the sauce.

7.  Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.

As stated before, I didn't use the liquor but instead used chicken broth that I made up from bouillon.  I also didn't have chicken thighs but just used chicken breasts.  What surprised me was how much sauce/liquid was in it.  Sooooo, I took that VERY and YUMMY sauce and mixed it into the rice I had made.  It turned out great.  The chicken had nice flavor but the real success is, in my opinion, the true star.  It is sweet (brown sugar after all) but the soy sauce cuts it back to a nice level.  I will make this again but next time I will probably shred the chicken after it is cooked and mix it directly into the sauce as well as mix rice into it.  It will make it sort of like a sweet chicken fried rice.

Also on the cooking front, is my Thanksgiving menu.  I have finalized it now.  Our Thanksgiving meal will be:

Ham steaks

stove top dressing

mashed potatoes and gravy

green beans with onions and bacon

   and for dessert - crustless pumpkin pie

I have until the end of the November to figure out our Christmas menu.  I only get to the grocery store once or twice a month so I have learned to think way ahead for things like holiday menus.  That also gives me time to change things up.  So far our Christmas menu is:

Pork roast

scalloped corn casserole

potatoes of some sort and probably another vegetable

and something for dessert

That is it for Part 1.  I will post Part 2 once a couple of pictures show up in my email.  I hope you all have a great day.  Today is also Veteran's Day so I wish all Vets out there a safe day (some do not handle today well due to memories, etc.) and can enjoy it.  A big shout out to all my military friends - past, present, and any future ones - a big HUG and Thank you for your service.  We might not tell you that enough but for me, you are the best!  

Lots of choices and Prep Work

 Whew!  I'm tired.  Today was a day to dig through my fabric stash and look for fabrics for a couple of projects.  One is the December block swap.  I have it fused down but not stitched yet.

Then I have newest Christmas wall hanging.  It is called Be Merry and Bright

I have the tree all stitched down. 

Next up is the penguins.  This is roughly how it will look.  

I haven't finished fusing the penguins down so it might change up a little bit.  We'll see.  After that it will be time to figure out the fabrics for the lettering.  I've seen pictures of people who have finished up the wall hanging and there was a wide variety of options.  Some made the letters in two different colors, some changed up the colors for every letter, and some just did it with all one color.  I'm not sure which option I will use.

I know that some of you have asked me about my Blackwork.  I haven't finished this weeks but here is an updated pix for you.  Sorry it is not that great of a pix but you will get the idea.

Are you ready for some cute pictures?  I've been on an otter kick lately and these pictures are so cute.  At least I think they are.  Have fun and I hope it puts a smile on your face.

Have to love hugs, right?

I'm tired now and as I look over at the clock I see it is about 2 p.m.  That seems to be around the time each day that I end up running out of steam.  

Oops!

Before I go, I found some other things that I wanted to share.  Isn't this a cute pattern?  I might have enough materials on hand to do it.  Not sure yet.

This is such a great idea for kids or for a holiday breakfast!

Remember: