Bring on the snow, I'm ready!

Brrrrr, it may be still winter and bitter cold, my project for this week however has a Spring theme to it. Last week when we had our little snow storm I sat snuggled up with Cleo and my lap top looking for fabric. I knew what I wanted, was just having a hard time finding it, and don't you just hate that! Kind of like when you have money burning a whole in your pocket and you go shopping and come home empty handed. I have a new runner design in my mind and now all I needed were the right fabrics. I'm really really picky about my fabric combinations, cause if I'm not happy with my choices I won't like the finished product and neither will you.

Well I spent a long time on line and this is what I finally came up with, which arrived in my mail box today and I'm so excited! I think I did good don't you? We are expecting winter storm #2 tomorrow, and I know I will be happy as a clam, I've got my fabric and a bag of chocolate, bring on that snow!

Christmas is finally out of here, all gone and tucked in to the basement for another year and

Valentines Day will be here before you know it. I heart this little holiday. The reds, pinks, glitter, sweet little cards, candy hearts and chocolate confections, whats not to love besides your sweeties.

I don't have many Valentine themed decorations though, how about you? So decorating for me is pretty easy, I have my sweet Valentine Muffy Bear and some vintage cards, and that's all I'm setting out. Because.... I have REALLY BIG plans for V day this year EEEKS.... More on that next month :)

Have a wonderful week, stay warm and happy!

An ABC weekend

Monday, Monday, the weekend flew by so fast and mine was nice, how was yours?

I had a sewing finish, which always makes you feel like something good was accomplished!

A is for the new "March Annie" block, now stitched and in pattern form. You can find her on my web site if interested. For those of you that like to know the floss colors I used, they are as follows: #989, #3051, #601, #839, #899, #778, #168, #435, #758, #937 and #817.

B is for Bunco! Saturday evening Jerry and I went to couples Bunco, twice a year we allow our Hubbies to join in on our girlie fun. Our host and hostess provided a smorgasbord of wonderful food. Add lots of laughter and some good conversation, a purrrfect little evening out!

As you can see by my score card I had lots of wins, most wins for the night... whooohooo. Nine dollars came home with me and 9 dollars with Hubby who had the last Bunco, we cleaned them out! I think I'll treat myself to a nice little lunch out this week... yum, I'm already thinking of where to go.

Sunday was a cold day here with our first snowfall, I finished taking all the ornaments off the tree. We sadly watched the Chiefs loose in the play offs. C is for chicken and comfort food needed after that sad loss. I made my boys one of their favorites: Vermont Chicken Pie. Here is the recipe if you would like to give it a whirl!

5 Tablespoons butter

1/3 Cup flour

3 Cups chicken stock

1/4 tsp each of white pepper and thyme

salt to taste

4 cups cooked chicken meat cut into bite sized pieces

3 tablespoons dry sherry

2 to 2-1/2 cup Bisquick

2/3 cup milk

Melt butter in a large pot, whisk in flour and cook over medium heat 5 minutes whisking constantly. Gradually add chicken stock...keep whisking! Simmer 20 minutes until gravy is thick stirring occasionally. Add pepper, thyme and salt. Add chicken and simmer until heated through. Stir in sherry, you can have a little sip if you'd like. Pour in to a 2 quart casserole.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Beat 2 cups Bisquick and milk, adding more Bisquick if necessary to make a manageable dough. Turn onto a floured board, need until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Roll out large enough to fully cover top of chicken in casserole. Cut to fit. Use scraps to make a design for top of crust. Bake until golden brown.. 10-12 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.

Our temps are hovering in the single digits, winter is here! A good time to stay locked inside with my sewing, snuggle with my kitty and stay warm, enjoy your week!

A Flash From The Past

Last week I received a very nice email from a customer who had purchased some of my patterns. Shari mentioned in her email she had made the "Calendar Cats" quilt from my book some time ago and has it hanging in her school library for all to enjoy. I asked if she would take a picture so I could see her finished project which she graciously took the time to do.

The quilt was from my first book with Leisure Arts which has been out of print for several years now. What fun this book was to do, totally influenced by the antics of a very young Cleo, I had a blast designing the blocks.

Shari's quilt brought back a flood of memories. I enjoyed seeing the fabric choices and my gosh it just makes me SMILE. I also love the fact that she has shared her darling quilt with her library, such a great idea don't you think! Thanks so much for sharing Shari, you really made my day, and Cleo's too :)

Welcome 2011

Welcome 2011 and Happy New Years Day!

Did you do something exciting last night or hang out at home? We chose to ring in the New Year here, with friends... what better way to welcome the New Year. I set my table with the Christmas dishes one last time. Jerry braved the 9 degree weather to cook our steaks on the grill while the rest of us were all nice and toasty inside.

Dinner was followed by my signature dessert, which I usually make for Christmas but for some reason did not this year. And I had bought these adorable Santas which were screaming to be used.

Brownie Trifle, always a hit, simple to make but so delish. Part of the fun of making it for me is decorating the inside or top of the dish with a unique little candy decoration. Here you can see I lined the inside of my compote dish with those cute Santas and tinted the cool whip with a drop of food coloring. The bowl part of my dish is frosted, otherwise you could see all the pretty layers better, I'm sure you get the idea though. And everyone wanted a Santa :)

After dinner we played some cards, then made it to see the ball drop in Times Square, 11:00 our time, so we cheated and celebrated early.

Today all the Christmas goodies are being stacked on my kitchen counters, ready to be toted up. I have a nice crock pot of chili simmering away, yum, it smells pretty good in here!

I even have a little time to stitch today, life is good!