Thursday

Today is the first day that I did not add anything to the tree since I started. It's been raining so much today, that I didn't have it in me. So, I finished the socks that have been on the needles far too long. I usually knock out a pair of socks in less than a week. 

Not these. They've been lingering for at least a month, if not more. The yarn is Berocco Comfort. It's super soft. They're for me, so I don't mind modeling them. When using self striping yarn, I like to go matchy-matchy.  The stripe width on the second sock was not a perfect match, so I did a bit of fiddling (taking out about 6" of yarn) at the end to make them come out.

Garden report: My husband wanted to have some raspberry and blackberry bushes for the fenced in portion of our yard. At the end of our property, there are some blackberries, but the deer get to them faster then we can pick them. So, he ordered some starter plants online. They took forever to get here. The tracker online said that they were stuck in a warehouse in Ohio for over a week. When they finally came yesterday, they were a bit disappointing. He planted them, but he also dug up one of the plants from the back of the property.

Here's what came in by FedEx:

Pretty sure that we're not going to get any big bounty from these this year!

Now, here's the one from the back of the yard:

Looks a little more promising. We'll see...

Tonight I made a dessert. It's an old Weight Watchers recipe that I used to make a lot. You dump an Angel Food box mix in a bowl with a can of crushed pineapples and fold it together until it's batter and put it in a 9X13" pan.  Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes. You can put cool whip on it or do what we did and add coconut gelato. Yeah, kind of defeats the whole WW thing when you do that. But we had it in the freezer, and what's better than pineapple and coconut, eh?

See you tomorrow!

Wednesday

Today's pattern for the tree is full of holes. Literally and figuratively. I placed some yarn-overs on some of the rows, creating holes.

Each hole row is staggered, but you really can't tell once it's stretched on the tree. The other problem? I picked a branch that was too fat. I had to do a little stitching to pull it, making the underside look like a corset. Not my best work.

All this, while bending over and sewing underneath the low branch. I wonderful sight for the neighbors, I'm sure. But it's on, and it's not coming off now!

From the comments, I see that many of you like lemon, too. Here's the recipe that I used for the Lemon Brownies...

Right Here

They're baked in an 8X8 pan. They don't make a lot, but they're so good.

Today, I made a bread that is so perfect and so crunchy-on-the-outside-chewy-on-the-inside delicious, that I amazed myself. When my husband came back from his motorcycle ride, it had come out of the oven and cooled a bit. We went into the kitchen and ate a slice with butter (his with jam). We just stood there smiling. Yes. That good.  And so easy! No kneading, readers! Here's the recipe:

BEST BREAD EVER

I suggest that you watch her video. She shows you exactly what to do. For someone like me who has never baked bread, this was perfect.

Knitters, did any of you get the LYS Breathe and Hope shawl pattern from Casapinka? She is helping out local yarn shops with giving the pattern for free if you buy the yarn locally. 

I ordered the original colors that were specifically for the pattern from a yarn shop not so far from me. The dyer is also local.  These colors are out of my comfort zone for a garment, but I do like them and need a change from the jewel tones that I usually knit.

Tomorrow: Sticks come by FedEx.

Tuesday

Today started out with a grocery run. We were there before 7 a.m. and got everything we wanted. There were some areas that were sparse, but for the most part, they were pretty well stocked. I do find it telling that two places that had bare shelves were the chocolate and ice cream areas. Hmmmm....sounds about right. 

Today is a chevron day....

And last night, I made lemon brownies. No chocolate. Just lemony goodness in the shape and texture of brownies. And with a lemon glaze. I am salivating as I write. Yes, they were very lemony!!

I went by the recipe and not my instincts, and the glaze was too runny. I needed to add some more confectioner's sugar. But the husband did not complain, and said that they were wonderful. Such a sweet tooth, that man has. 

Tonight, I'm making bread and letting it proof overnight. A Facebook friend posted a super easy recipe with 4 ingredients, so I'm going to try it. It will be my first time baking bread.

Wish me luck!

Monday

I follow Vickie Howell on Facebook, and she has a live feed on Mondays called Ask Me Monday. Today, she was right on the mark with something that I could incorporate on to the tree. 

Here's a link: click here

And here's how I knit it up for the tree..

It stretched out a bit on the tree, so here's a close-up of the stitch..

This May Flower Stitch would look really nice on the bottom of a sweater, or a baby blanket. It's not hard at all, and I think that it really adds a nice touch to stockinette.

My celery stalk is finally starting to sprout. Granted, it's just a minuscule sprout, but it is sprouting!

I had to move some of the cucumbers out of the planter, because they've gotten too tall. They were bumping up on the clear lid to the planter. Hopefully, I can keep these guys going without them getting too "leggy".

Have a good evening! See you tomorrow!

Sunday

Not much to report today. It was drizzly and dull all day long. We managed to get in a walk without getting too wet, and Reggie got his ya-yas out.

Today's addition. Some bright stripes.

I was thinking about how I miss the simple act of walking through a produce section and really looking at all the fresh fruits and vegetables. These days, I grab a few bananas and maybe an apple or two and a bag of carrots and move on and away from people. It made me think of an experience that I had a few years ago.

My daughter married a man in the special effects industry. Shortly after they were married, he got a job in England and they lived there for about four years. I was lucky enough to go visit them four times. One of my favorite places to visit was in London. It was an open air market called Borough Market. It was not only a feast for the stomach, but a feast for the eyes. I took some pictures back in 2015...

I have never had a better strawberry than the ones that I had from this market. And I've never since seen artichokes the size of bowling balls! The baked goods were marvelous. I brought back some olive oil that was amazing, too.  

One day, we'll all linger in the produce aisle again, and study the fresh offerings. I hope that these pictures lifted you up a little today. They reminded me of a wonderful faraway place and a great memory. My daughter and son-in-law now live in Southern California and have two children. Things have changed, but I will never forget my trips to the U.K.

Saturday

I must admit that I am running out of leftover yarn from past projects. It's what I use for yarn bombing the tree. So, I ended up ordering some cheap yarn online in some bright and cheery colors. It came today, and I'm pleased with the colors. 

And here's the new addition:

Seedling report: the cucumbers have sprouted after just a few days after planting! 

Here's another picture from my kitchen. It's a cow that I bought years ago at a craft fair. She used to sit on top of my refrigerator. When we remodeled, we both didn't want to get rid of her. So she sits on the counter next to the refrigerator now. 

Have a great weekend, readers!

Friday

First, here's the newest addition. I have to remind myself to do this sometimes. Today was a blah day. Rain, cold, not a lot of outside time. But I have a place to live and food to eat, so I must remember to be grateful and happy.

We replenished the fence peanuts today, and had several visitors after the rain. This little guy just sat for a while and rested. I don't know if he ate too much, or was just taking a break.

The Rose of Sharon that we transplanted is doing well. Leaves are sprouting, and the branches are spreading out a bit.

And lastly, here are a few pictures of my kitchen. When I moved into this house, the kitchen and dining room were two adjoining rooms with a doorway. The kitchen was stuck in time. The fridge was a copper color, and the dishwasher had to be wheeled up to the sink and attached to the faucet. The linoleum was orange and yellow. It did have one upgrade/remodel, but it was never the kitchen that I really wanted. So this year, we knocked down the wall between the two rooms, and moved the sink to under the window (that's how I got such a great picture of Mr. Squirrel). The whole room was gutted and we started over. Here is the kitchen that I always wanted...

That's it. My little place of solitude. Do you have a part of your home that's your place of solitude and peace?

Thursday?

Could it be Thursday? Seems like this week is going fast. Here's today's addition to the yarn bomb tree. A little spring color.

I was in the shed this afternoon, and found a little visitor that used to be by my pond. I took him out and put him back on the the rocks by the pond.

He'll have to do until the real frogs return. I built the pond because of my fondness for frogs. It truly is a case of "If you build it, they will come". I have never gotten any tadpoles or frogs for my pond. They somehow find my pond on their own every year. It's been cold here, so they are slow to return this spring. Here's a picture from last year...

Three of my beauties. See them all? I just love them.

Tonight was chili and cornbread. I like to use a cast iron skillet to bake the cornbread. And I use my Grandmother's old LustreWare pot to cook the chili. The recipe that I like is THIS ONE.  I add a TBSP of sugar and a can of plum tomatoes torn up by hand. Other than that, no other changes to this recipe.

Lastly, I received a wonderful gift in the mail today! I was telling a friend about my lack of yeast and how the stores don't have any, and she mailed me some! 

Score! What a nice surprise. Now, I must motivate and read up on how to bake bread. 

See you tomorrow!

Wednesday

Today's yarn addition brings back memories of Fruit Stripe gum. One of my favorites when I was a kid. "yipes! Stripes! Fruit Stripe Gum!"

Today, I planted some seeds. I marked what's what, so hopefully they'll start sprouting. I have coleus for the planters, two kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers and some wild flowers. I put them in the front room where we get a lot of sun. As you can see, this sun spot is a popular place for one little Boston terrier.

I've set aside some other containers and egg cartons for more seeds. I may do them later. 

Lastly, some of you were so kind as to compliment me on my kitchen. I've been in this old house for decades. I have lived with a kitchen and dining room which were not ideal in my eyes. Blogger doesn't like the video that I took of my kitchen. I have an older video too, of the "before" kitchen. Can't seem to post that one, either. So, I'll try to take a few pictures and post them another day.

Have a good night!

Tuesday

Today we got up early and went to a small grocery store. They had flour and sugar, and I bought some for my baking addiction. No yeast, though. My baking powder also came via Amazon. I had made some from cream of tartar and baking soda, but it's nice to have the real deal. As far as yeast, I might substitute and make a sourdough starter if I can get up the energy and courage.

Today is just a color day for the tree. Here are a few fuller pictures of the tree as well..

Robin's egg blue for today.

I wound some yarn for a future project today. A two-color shawl. 

The yarns are from two local dyers. The one on the left is from Wullenstudio, colorway is Purple Haze. The one on the right is from Shalimar Yarns, colorway is Gold Rush. Both have been living in the stash here for years.

By the way, if you are ever in the market for a ball winder and swift to wind your yarn into these neat little cakes, I highly recommend this company....

I have bought cheaper ones, and found that they are just that. Cheap. This company makes such sturdy products. Well worth the money!

Tomorrow- A tour of my kitchen.