Weekend

My weekend started with a used book sale on Saturday, held by the friends of the library in a former furniture showroom. Lots and lots of books, luckily I was out hunting for knitting and other craft books and did not pay too much attention to all the others. ;) I had some money left from selling dishcloths at the yard sale and it was burning a hole in my pocket (I paid for my books with quarters). I was a good girl and bought only two books, a Christmas book with lots of lovely craft projects and yummy recipes and a day book that sounded interesting.

After the book sale we met with friends for lunch at a Chinese restaurant, a late birthday celebration for Del. The food there is really good and since it is an all-you-can-eat buffet we all came away a little stuffed.

We did our grocery shopping and also stopped at two thrift stores. I always wanted one of these and I found this one at the thrift store for $1.99, I hope it will fit. I don't want to try it on before I wash it.

And here are this weekend's penguins. The little glass pendant was a gift, the other one is an ornament for the Christmas tree and is actually a bell and I found the wrapping paper at the dollar store.

Today we went to church, had lunch and in about an hour we will head out to watch the Veteran's Day parade on Main Street.

Apart from having a horrible headache and sinus problems it was a pretty good weekend. I bought one of these rub-on headache medication sticks and I hope it will help, I hate taking pills. Del will be off on Tuesday and we plan to clean up the vegetable garden and rake the front yard (our maples are now bare so I hope it will be the last big raking for this year).

I leave you with a picture of Miss Kitty in her new favorite sleeping spot, her own little hammock (I had problems with getting the laundry dry outside and hung it on the rack in the bedroom, now I have problems with taking it down because she is so cozy in there and she sleeps there all night).

Happy Birthday Del!

Today is my husband's birthday. Yesterday I made two of these, one for us and one for him to take to work to share with his co-workers. It is a simple fudge cake with orange flavored ganache icing, yum yum. We will have ours tonight for dessert. I am going to cook him a special surprise dinner and maybe I will even have his gift finished when he comes home. ;)

More Penguins

Penguins

Every year around this time I manage to add a few more items to my penguin collection. This Saturday I found placemats and a candy jar. :)

Fall Colors

Taken this morning, the sugar maples in our front yard.

Happy Halloween!

Knit One Save One

My contribution to this year's Knit One Save One campaign from Save the Children.

Handmade Gifts

Giveaway Winner

Well, not too many people wanted my petal dishcloth, but we have a winner.

Congratulations, your dishcloth will be on its way to you soon.

Some Finished Knits

I finally got around to take some photos of the dark shawl. I took out into the garden, hoping the natural light would bring out the true color of the yarn, but it did not. I also took a new photo of the green shawl which I have not yet given to it's intended recipient (long story, don't ask).

And yesterday I tried the pattern for a mug cozy, generously made available by Deb at homespun living. I like how they turned out and may just have to make a few for Christmas presents this year.

A Quick Giveaway

In honor of my 400th blog post I am giving away this new dishcloth that I made yesterday. If you would like to play please leave a comment on this post. I will draw a winner on Wednesday morning.

If you would like to make one yourself the pattern can be found here.

New Tools and Miss Kitty Too

I treated myself to a set of bamboo knitting needles and I am glad I did. I like them, they are smooth and light. I got 12 pairs in 12 different sizes and I could not wait to try them. It looks like Miss Kitty likes them too.

The pictures were taken before she found out that we had to take her to the vet for her rabies booster shot. I hate having to hunt her down and stuff her into the carrier and so does she. But she was a good girl and got a lot of treats when we came back. Good thing is that, if she stays healthy she does not have to go back for another one for 3 years.

We had a new stray cat at our door this morning, poor thing was hungry like a wolf. I feed it and then noticed that obviously it had chased off the resident garden cat. I found her in the yard across the street. Luckily she came back with me. I do wish I could just take her in but I would not want to do this to Miss Kitty, she deserves a peaceful life after her big adventure.

Rainy Day

Friday was a rainy day, the kind that Miss Kitty hates and that makes you feel thankful for being able to stay inside. Here is what my day looked like.

Beans in the crockpot for dinner.

Freshly baked bread to go with them.

Banana bread for dessert.

Miss Kitty enjoying my table topper. :)

New dishcloths.

A nearly finished project.

A new project on the needles.

A Day in My Life - October 14, 2008

We got up at 6 am as usual and the first thing we did was put flea treatment on Miss Kitty who had been scratching herself silly again. This of course means that she won't be talking with me for the rest of the day.
I started the coffee, packed Del's lunch, made breakfast and fed the outside cat - all that in 12 minutes, amazing what you can do when not quite awake yet. :)
After breakfast I powered up Del's computer, yes, mine is gone for good, attempting to repair it would cost as much as a new one and it is 8 years old. So I guess I'll be saving my egg-money until I can afford a new one.
Saw Del off at 7 am, checked my emails, read my favorite blogs and checked out the website with the Austrian news (to be again reminded why I no longer live there).
Around a quarter to eight I put a load of laundry into the washer, while it was washing I tidied the living room, washed dishes and cleaned the bathroom and Miss Kitty's litter box.
Then I pulled out some fabric for a Christmas gift I am going to start soon, but I can't show it here.
Hung the laundry and took some pictures from around the yard and of our brilliant October sky.

With most of the chores done I settled down with my morning tea for some reading. I decided to re-read one of my favorite books "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon. I read it a long time ago in German and really enjoyed it.

Well, once I got myself re-acquainted with the characters and immersed myself in the story I did not come back out for a while. :) After a couple of hours spent reading I had lunch and then I worked on another dishcloth. A lady in our church had given me a bag of cotton yarn and asked me to make her some dishcloths. I have three done and I am now working on #4.

I am now going to take the laundry down and fold it, then it is time to start dinner which will be pasta with gorgonzola sauce and a mixed salad with balsamico dressing.
And we will very likely end the day watching a hockey game on TV.

Spice Cake with Caramel Icing - Recipe

I have been asked to share the recipe for the cake I made this week, so here it goes.

Spice Cake recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
(I added a hand full of chopped walnuts)

In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Add buttermilk or sour milk, margarine or butter, shortening and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed till combined. Beat 2 minutes on high speed. Add eggs and beat 2 minutes more.
Pour batter into a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or till a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 12 servings.

The Caramel Icing is from a book called Southern Heirloom Cooking that was given to me as a gift upon my arrival in the New World. ;)

1/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups sifted powdered sugar

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add brown sugar and cook over low heat for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk and continue stirring until the mixture returns to a boil. Remove from heat and cool. Add powdered sugar and mix to the right consistency for spreading. Spread over cake.

Dig in and enjoy. :)

Fall in the Kitchen

With the weather getting cooler I felt like doing some seasonal cooking and baking. Last week I made a pumpkin bread,


this week a spice cake with caramel icing

and last night we had butternut squash soup with bacon and cheesy garlic toast for dinner.

Tonight we will have a 4 bean chili and corn muffins.

In the Garden

October roses, the little garden cat and the last of the vegetables.

Computer Problems

It looks like my 8 year old computer has called it quits. This morning when I tried to open a program it had a problem and after I restarted it did not come up anymore.
For now I am using my husbands computer to check email, read my favorite blogs and update my own.
The strange thing is that I don't even feel bad about losing all the files I had, lots of craft projects, photos and of course all my email addresses and bookmarks. I try to look at the bright side of a life with limited computer access: a spotlessly clean house, perfectly cooked meals and lots of finished craft projects (and obviously a lot of black humor). ;)