Monday Morning in the Garden

It has been a while since we had such a beautiful sunny morning. I just had to take advantage of it while hanging laundry.

Weekend

Saturday was cool and rainy, perfect for working on indoor projects. We fall cleaned the bedroom. It involved a lot of vacuuming and dusting and moving of stuff. Since it also doubles as my sewing room there are lots of storage totes with fabrics under the big worktable and the bed. Everything got moved out of the room, the floor was thoroughly cleaned, all the furniture was dusted and polished and all the stuffed animals got a vacuum bath, even the mattress came out of the bed for a good vacuuming and then got freshened up with the help of baking soda. Three of our cats are not afraid of the noisy blue thing and helped us with the cleaning. The others were hiding out in the porch. By lunchtime we were almost finished and we took a well earned pizza break.

After lunch we put everything back into the room. Because we worked so hard we treated ourselves with a nice big slice of this in the afternoon.

It is a spice cake with caramel icing, very yummy, but I do not make it very often, the icing is so sweet it knocks your socks off, but once or twice a year it is just fine.

Sunday morning I organized my craft cabinet which was in dire need of a makeover. I had recently just crammed everything into it that I wanted to keep away from the cats and it was a mess. I organized the projects that need working on in baggies and baskets and now I have a better idea of exactly how many WIPs are hiding in there. Plenty of stuff to do in Winter. In the afternoon we had more cake and watched movies on Amazon. It was a good weekend.

I have a busy day ahead of me today, I am a tad behind with making the birthday gifts for the kitties and their birthday is tomorrow, there is also laundry to be done since the forecast said it would be dry weather for most of the week.
I hope your weekend was a good one too!

Recipes

I was asked to share my recipes for the ginger ale and the pumpkin bread, so here it goes.

For the fresh ginger ale I use this recipe HERE.

And here is my pumpkin bread recipe, it is from a cookbook but I changed a few things.

Pumpkin Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, add pumpkin, milk, eggs and butter.
Beat with electric mixer on low until combined, then on high speed for about 2 minutes until nice and smooth. Stir in raisins. You can also add 1/2 cup of chopped nuts but I never do.
Pour batter into a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 - 65 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.
The recipe says to wrap and store overnight before slicing but I think they are joking, who can resist tucking into it immediately? I even tried it when still slightly warm and it was delicious, it is nice and moist.

Enjoy!

Now I am off to mix up a batch of pumpkin pie spice and bake a spice cake for the weekend. I love Fall cooking and baking!

Feline Friday

Let sleeping cats lie.

Productive Day

 I finished fall cleaning the kitchen today. Then I roasted peanuts, made ginger ale, started a new batch of vanilla essence and baked a pumpkin bread. Now I am going to start a new crochet project, fingerless mitts for myself. The temperature never reached 70 today, I think Fall is coming closer. I hope to spend the next two days finishing the birthday gifts for the kitties and on Saturday we are going to deep clean the bedroom, mattress and all, oh what joy (but necessary).

Anniversary

 It has been 8 years today since we moved to NC. A lot has happened in that time, some good, some not so good and some really bad stuff, but we are still here and we do not regret the move.
If anyone is interested in reading the story of our move and our first year here, I have a journal I started when we made the decision to move, you can find it HERE.

A Day in My Life

My day almost began way too early at 2:30 in the morning, when Mr. Leo decided he wanted to play and attacked my feet. I was able to convince him that it would be much better for him to go back to sleep or to find one of the other cats to play with. I went back to sleep and then my day started officially around 7 a.m., which was more to my liking.
We had a breakfast fit for a king, freshly baked pumpkin muffins with apple butter, bacon, eggs, fruits, coffee and orange juice.

After breakfast I read through some blogs I always visit on the weekend and checked into some other websites. The weather was nice and cool and even our house is finally cooling off a bit. I was able to work some more on my crochet project, which will become a kimono-style cardigan to wear around the house. I use a rather hairy yarn and that is the reason I crochet rather than knit with it, much easier to find my place again if I have to undo something.

After a late lunch of pork chops, onion-tomato-squash stir fry and potatoes, we had homemade chocolate ice cream for dessert, made with coconut milk, and in the afternoon we watched "Das Boot", which made me feel a tad claustrophobic and I needed to step out into the garden for a breath of fresh air or two. The movie is 3.5 hours long but it does not feel that long at all.

After a fight with my computer, the camera software and the cat insisting on lying on the keyboard, I was finally able to get onto my blog. Now I am going to fix a light dinner and then we will watch some more stuff for the rest of the evening (probably "Torchwood").

Sundays are usually quiet around here and may seem a bit boring, but that's how we like it.

Feline Friday

Weekend

It was a 'working' weekend. Del had to work half a day in Greensboro on Saturday and I cleaned behind the stove. It was not as bad as I had thought, just dust and cobwebs. I had already deep cleaned the stove itself on Friday.

The weather was pleasant but the house is still rather warm. I wish it could retain some of that warmth for Winter. I started a new crochet project to keep my hands busy when Del is around, my other yarn projects are the kind he cannot see until they are finished. It is nothing special, just something to help keep me warm this Winter.

Sunday was spent watching movies and playing with the kitties. I have a strict rule - no housekeeping on Sundays (unless it has been raining all week and I need some laundry done urgently, but that rarely happens). This week I will continue to deep clean the kitchen, I want it finished by Friday.

Feline Friday

One box, two cats, our biggest - Mr. Jackie, and our smallest - MamaCat.

This and that

Goodness, that week has gone by in a hurry. I cleaned and I sewed and I made plans. I started fall cleaning which this year includes areas that don't get cleaned very often, like behind furniture and inside cupboards, cabinets and drawers. I also cleaned the blinds at the back door and found it much easier than I expected. I soaked them in the tub and then gently rubbed them with a cloth. I am sewing birthday gifts for the cats, September is cat birthday month at our house. Holiday plans are getting under way.
The weather was pleasant and the cats were livelier than they are when it is hot. So much to do, so much fun. Our long weekend was relaxing and quiet and full of food. Here is some of it. Lemon cupcakes with blueberries, homemade buns, made into burgers.

I discovered that there is nothing wrong with my camera after all. The battery re-charger has died and that is why the batteries did not work properly. Now I am back to using regular ones and taking pictures again.
I find myself a little disappointed with our farmer's market this year. There are more people selling baked goods and less farmers. The prices have gone up and the produce does not look all that good which is probably the fault of the weather. I am buying a lot less than in previous years, mainly meat and eggs and fruits. I so need to get a vegetable garden going again!

Well, hello there September!

The promise of Fall is just around the corner, the nights are cool, the mornings dark and the leaves are slowly changing color, we made it through Summer.

In September I hope to -

- start fall cleaning.
- catch up on all the projects that got sidelined by the summer heat.
- ease myself into fall cooking and baking.
- start to prepare my house for the coming seasons.
- read more.
- listen to a lot of music.
- spend some quality time with the furry ones, grooming and loving.
- buy different kind of produce at the farmer's market.

Feline Friday

Our pretty Miss Precious.

Feline Friday

Mr. Frankie

Weekend

This weekend

- I watched "Don Carlos" live from the Salzburger Festspiele, a real treat for my eyes and ears.
- we bought the first apples at the farmer's market.
- I baked a Peach-Berry-Buckle and bread.
- I finished a book and did a bit of knitting.
- it rained a lot.
- we left the fans off for the first time in several months.
- I got my blanket back out.
- I wore long sleeves again.
- we watched a lot of British mystery shows on Amazon.
- was quiet and relaxing, just as I like it.

Now vacation is over and it is time to get the house back in order and establish a bit of a daily routine again.

Feline Friday

Three of our five girls, Brownie, MamaCat and Maggie. Brownie has been with us the longest, she showed up soon after we moved into the house but it took her a long time to trust us and to finally move in with us. She is a very sweet girl and happy to be a house cat. Maggie is one of our 'kittens'.

A Day in My Life

Today is my 51st birthday and Del is home from work all week so it was not a usual Thursday. It started with sleeping in and fresh donuts for breakfast (because I was not in the mood to bake myself a cake).

Then I opened my birthday mail, I got some nice cards and a lovely present from a friend - a handmade over the sofa arm sewing caddy, lots of little tools and some pretty green cotton yarn. From another friend I got an Amazon gift card. I checked my emails and FB account - more birthday wishes from friends and family.

Lunch was MSG free Chinese takeout, I had hot and sour soup, crab rangoon and vegetable lo mein, yummy and there is plenty left for tomorrow.

The afternoon was spent watching old James Bond movies, slurping iced coffee and finishing off the donuts.
The temperature was in the 70s all day which made for a nice cool house and I even had cold feet. The cats were livelier than they have been in a long time, enjoying the cooler temperatures as well.

Feline Friday

Our MamaCat, she got her name when she brought us 4 kittens in 2009. She had carried them up the stairs and into the mudroom. She is the cutest and sweetest cat and I am so glad she chose to live with us.

Fall Feelings

The mornings are cool and dark and damp. The days are getting noticeably shorter and not as hot as they were just a couple of weeks ago. We survived summer without A/C and had the lowest electricity usage ever for this time of the year.
The first fall feelings are beginning to stir. The urge to sort and purge, to clean the house from top to bottom, to make things again. I am starting to look for fall and winter recipes. The first apples and winter squash are appearing on the farmer's market, my favorite season is just around the corner.

Feline Friday

The perch on the pantry window is quickly becoming a favorite spot for some of our cats. Here are Leo and Jackie.

August

For some reason this week I kept feeling like it was much later in the year already. The weather has cooled down a lot, the mornings are dark again and I keep seeing leaves turning yellow. I am grateful for the lower temperatures and our house has finally cooled down a bit too. I have a huge mountain of things that need folding, ironing and putting away and I can finally tackle that.

I also have some lovely new sock yarn that I traded for some eyelash yarn with a lady on Ravelry and I can't wait to get started on some new socks in fall colors.

I will also start something new on my blog in August, something I did 5 years ago with Little Jenny Wren and that I enjoyed a lot. One day every month, more precisely on the 15th of each month, I will write a blog post about my whole day, everything I did and did not do and whatever else happened that day. I picked the 15th because it happens to be my birthday this month.

I have postponed my summer sewing project because it involves a lot of hand sewing and my fingers are not cooperating when it is so warm, but the patterns are printed, the fabrics chosen and soon it will begin. 

Weekend

The weather was cool and damp and we spent some time bustling around the house. We cleaned out Del's closet and found a whole bunch of pants he has shrunk out of, some of them still had the tags on. Some big guy will get lucky at the thrift store. We also gave away a still nice jacket that is now several sizes too big for him.
Because of all the rain and humidity we have some problems with mold around the house. I needed to move the laundry hamper from where it was and I have not yet found a new spot for it, so for now it gets kind of pushed around from room to room and with a little luck and a bit of cooperation from the weather it will be empty soon (for a glorious five minutes or so) anyway.
I started reading "The Source" by J. A. Michener and discovered that my eyes are not happy with the very small print. Geez, getting old is not for sissies. ;-)
I also had an unfortunate accident in which I got my foot caught in the fan cable and tore off half the nail on my big toe, luckily no blood and not very painful.
A friend of mine directed me to a website (and FB page) - Vintage Vienna - with old pictures of Vienna and I spent quite some time there on Sunday morning, taking a stroll down memory lane (which is not always a pleasant trip).
We had pizza for lunch on Saturday and I baked bread again. I really miss having a garden and I am making plans for a new beginning next year or maybe a little bit for fall planting, we'll see.

Feline Friday

I was so busy all day around the house, taking advantage of the lower temperatures, that I almost forgot about Feline Friday. So without much further delay, here is my boy Jack enjoying the cool breeze on the pantry window.

No new projects yet, it was too hot for anything this week.

Feline Friday

Best buddies.

Or maybe not?

Knitting

Have you ever done a 'MY-YN' project? A friend's daughter fell in love with this yarn and because she does not knit she asked if somebody would be willing to do a 'my-yn - my yarn - your needles' with her and I decided that it sounded like fun. The yarn is 100 % cashmere and is lovely to work with, the pattern is the Rick-Rack-Scarf by Purl Soho, much easier to do than it looked at first. I am almost finished with it and as soon as it comes off the needles I am going to start a brand new Summer sewing project. Stay tuned.

In other news: The weather forecast calls for a heat index of 100 this week so I am going to take it easy, no baking, no housework, cold dinners and a mandatory nap for myself and the furry ones (as if they need to be told to take a nap). Did I mention that our A/C is not working?

'Cool' Weekend

Oh yeah, the temperatures were down and I slept really well for the first time in quite a while. The cats were livelier too and ate more. I have noticed that they eat a lot less in hot weather than they do when it is really cold. In Winter I had to buy an extra bag of cat food every other shopping weekend, now I can skip one instead.

I took advantage of the cooler temperatures on Saturday and baked bread and scones and made pizza for lunch.

I took Sunday off from all housework except cooking 'whatever' stew for lunch. Beef stew with whatever else I can find to put into, this time it was potatoes, carrots, beans and lots of different spices and herbs, it was good.
I spent some time looking around blog world to see what other people are up to and came across this BOM which looks very nice and very work intensive. The patterns are in German. Wo die Liebe hinfaellt.
I found some nice blogs from fellow Austrian quilters and crafters as well. Lots of ideas and inspiration out there.
Del mowed and weeded and now the back yard looks a little less like jungle and a little more like a garden again..
The next few days are supposed to get very hot again, yikes. I just hope they will be dry so I can work off my laundry back log.
Hope you all had a nice weekend.