Our Newest Addition

I have been in New Mexico visiting with family and friends.  A very special family member arrived on Feb. 6th.

Dreaming of Angels

Her name is Rebeka Raey, and she is a red headed little darling.

Sisters watching over sister. 

I truly love being a grandmother (Mimi).

Something I've always wanted but..........

never thought I should buy because it was expensive.  It's a 24 Qt. canner.   It is Big.  I've had my eye on one at WM for over a year now.  The price for the largest one at WM was $64.00 and it was only a 16 Qt.  I found this one on sale at Tractor Supply for 49.99.   I'm so tickled to have one now. 

24 Qt. Canner

I have always shied away from using a canner because they could be potentially dangerous if not used correctly.  I also have a Ball Blue Book of Preserving.  It contains 124 pages of canning information and recipes.  So I'm feeling somewhat liberated. 

I like using the water bath method too but there are somethings I think I'll need a canner for. 

Do you use a canner?

Bird Brain Designs

Bird Brain Designs  is having a giveaway so check it out.

National Peanut Butter Day

I love everything peanut butter.   Cookies, sandwiches, cake, smoothies and with a spoon.  So in honor of PB
check this out.
National Peanut Butter Day Recipes - Peanut Butter Recipes - Delish.com

What my B. wants my B. gets

Today is B.'s birthday.   So I thought I would make him a coconut cream pie rather than a cake.  We like pies better anyway.  First, I needed to make a pie crust.

I like to make pie crusts and I just happen to have a very good recipe that makes 2-3 crusts.  And I thought I would share it with all of you.   And I thought I'd do a tutorial while giving you the recipe.  This is not a family recipe.  I found the recipe on Food.net.

These are the ingredients:

3 C. flour
1 t. salt
1 C. crisco shortening
1 egg yoke      save the white for a meringue
1 T. vinegar
5 T. water
4 sheets wax paper


Directions:


1.  In a mixing bowl, combine flour, salt and crisco.  Cut crisco into the flour with a pastry blender

Crumbly pastry

     or fork until mixture is crumbly.

2.  In a small dish, add yoke, vinegar and water; blend well with a fork.  Add liquid to flour mixture and blend well with a fork until dough is thoroughly incorporated then use your hands to work it

together to form a ball.  Divide the dough in half to make 2 balls.  Place one ball between 2 sheets of waxed paper and roll it out with a rolling pin; rolling it a little larger than the size of the pie pan.  Remove the top piece of waxed paper and then gently flip over the dough onto the pie pan. 

Trim excess dough off.  Repeat with second half of dough or freeze.  Bake according to pie recipes.

YUM YUM!!

4.  NOTE:    You can get 3 pie crusts out of this depending on how thin you roll your crust out.  I like a thicker crust. 


The coconut pie was delish!!   Happy Birthday B.!!

Another Baby Quilt

I wasn't going to make another baby quilt but when I saw this fabric
I caved in and bought it for our little Rebecca, who may be here a
little earlier than expected.  I haven't finished it yet but I'll get it done

in a couple of days.   The first photo just doesn't tell much about the fabric.
The second is much better.  It's a simple pattern using 4 colors and there are 4
pieces to each block.  It was a lot of fun.

These are  some blocks I made a couple of years ago.  I love the colors combination and I'm happy with the blocks.  So why haven't I put them all together and made them into a quilt???   I don't know!  I drag them out and look at them every so often and then put them back into the fabric box.   Maybe I really don't like them after all??


Do you have unfinished quilts lurking in your home?

Warm Weather

Jan. 16, 2012

Here in central eastern Oklahoma , a January day is not a normal day with
temps at 70 degrees. Yesterday the temp was 67 degrees.  Normally B.
and I are bundled up like a couple of eskimos when we head out which
is typical for this time of year. 

B. spent most of the afternoon outside working on the boat.  If this lasts much
longer our fruit trees will be blooming.  That's not good.  ughhhhhhh!

Is this the resolute of EL NINO OR NINYA ??  Global Warming??   Some
atmospheric episode we don't know anything about??  Or is MOTHER
NATURE messin around with our minds??  I tend to think the latter my friends. 

I wonder what tomorrow will bring.