I'll be back.........2015

Okay..............we've been away too long. See you in 2015 with lots of living to do.

From the heart........the S&B girls

Inspiration...........yup, that's how this story started. A few months ago, I watched a local program that highlighted a Manchester, N.H. women who had recently completed assembling a bundle for a soon-to-be-mom, who could use a helping hand. I can't recall exactly how many she had made but, believe me it was in the thousands.I have a group of friends who meet every Tuesday to Stitch or Bitch at their leisure and as I related the story, we thought............We can do at least one gift basket for a new mom in need of a helping hand.

So I bought a large container and thought I'd see what we could do to fill it.

 My friends didn't disappoint me......handmade sweaters,booties,helpful books, onesies,warm mittens for mom.......

 Our oh so talented seamstress Gisele made baby sacks with matching receiving blankets

and of course, matching burp cloths. How cute is that!!!
 Bubble rompers,holiday wear............

                                             a little intro to Minnie Mouse

Newborn hat teething ring handmade washcloths baby shampoo and baby lotion, wipes,gift card from Target for diapers or whatever mom needs Coffee cozy to help keep her morning coffee warm. We all know it will be a while before she can have that coffee in one sitting.

A few more outfits to grow on

not to mention the never enough sleepwear

Now the basket is full............and ready to go.

Of course, can't forget much love from all who participated in giving someone a helping hand.

It's Bittyful Friday

 PATIENTLY I WAIT AND WATCH...............

 SOON A DROPLET OF LIFE SAVING LIQUID COMES THROUGH THE MAGIC HOLE.........

ONCE MORE I HAVE BEEN SAVED FROM NEAR DEATH AND SURVIVE ONE MORE DAY ALL BECAUSE OF MY AMAZING FORAGING SKILLS........

YES, BITTY IS STILL RULING THE ROOST

CAN YOU SEE ME NOW..........................ARE YOU SURE?? I thought I had a great hiding place.

my Tuesday night girls

We are still meeting every Tuesday evening............much has happened this year.

Sue,our senior knitter is 91 and recently took a fall leaving her with a broken hip. We are all hoping that her surgery will be successful.......

New patterns are always on the table so.......placing yarn orders is often an important part of the evening.Socks are still high on the priority list this year and a washable yarn from Knit Picks is a favorite.

Of course ,our Margie is always coming in with a finished project or 2 and everyone says........."Oh, maybe I'll try that next time" Here she made leg warmers for the grandchildren. Or maybe it was nieces.I forget because I'm telling you ,she has several finished projects to show and tell every week. Hard to keep up with her.  Well, I'd better get to my knitting......need to get past the casting on stage..........Chuckled the Hobbit

POUTINE TWICE BAKED POTATO.......YUM!

While looking for something a little different to tantalize the taste buds I came upon this recipe in the February edition of Food and Wine.OMG....... I think I just found a family favorite.I can't really call them super easy but, I was able to make a batch and stick them in the freezer before the last bake.

Bake 6 potatoes till tender .......when cool enough to handle, empty out the shells and rice the potato. I didn't have a ricer so I just gave them a good mashing.
MIX TOGETHER:
          6 TBLS OF BUTTER
          1 CUP OF WARM MILK
           1/2 CUP OF SOUR CREAM
           3 OZ GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE
           1 TBLS OF DIJON MUSTARD
           1/2 CUP THINLY SLICED CHIVES
And add to mashed potato. Fill your potato shells and make a deep indentation in the potato.Fill this with gravy.

You can use your favorite gravy recipe or use the following
2 TBLS BUTTER
melt butter and add
2 TBLS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
cook till golden brown,add
2 CUPS CHICKEN STOCK
1 TBLS VEAL DEMIGLACE
1/2 TEAS EACH CHOPPED SAGE AND THYME
cook till thickened........about 15 min
 This can be made up to 3 days ahead...Stir in
1 TBLS LEMON JUICE
1 TBLS HEAVY CREAM
 Right about now, it's looking pretty good,but, don't stop there.

 Top the gravy with diced cooked bacon..................

 top that with grated Mozzarella.then bake at 350 degrees for about 30 min.

When ready to serve add a dollop of sour cream and fried potato skins that you have saved when you cut the top of the baked potato to empty.Serve with a salad and I assure you it will satisfy any hungry man.
While the potato was baking I cut the skins in bite size pieces and fried them up in a little oil using a heavy skillet........sprinkling them with a little sea salt gave them just the right seasoning. I just stuck them all over the top of the potato and my husband was in awe of homemade potato chips.We put 3 in the freezer to have later...............Is it later  yet?...................said the Hobbit

Getting back to the blog............again.

 I know I keep trying to be faithful to my blog....But the lure of the outside world keeps distracting me. Hopefully this is the real thing. First, I started to Facebook............I'm sure this is a wonderful thing for many but, to me it is like living life with the "Flight of the Bumblebees" playing in the background. I need mellow and time to focus on my thoughts.I will continue to check in on my Facebook people but, my heart belongs here,where I can form a complete sentence and not wait for someone to "like" it.

 The past few months daughter Sarah has been doing a seminar of sorts on the process of creating dance.She has been explaining the different elements ,dynamics,repertoire and interpretation of the process.










Audience involvement is how each event was completed...........as you can see a good time was had by all.

Her dancers are beautiful and devoted to their profession..............maybe someday you too will have a chance to see them..........said the hobbit

It's Bittyful Friday

Sitting at the dining room table..............Shhhhh, I don't want them to know I'm here.

Finally......back to the Farmer's Market

Do you have a Farmers Market?Here in New Hampshire we are lucky enough to have one going on 52 weeks a year. Hard to believe that just a few short years ago , the thought of going to the market meant your local grocery store.Our area has managed to make supporting our local farmers and crafter something that can happen every weekend

Look at this place just filled to the gills with stuff I really need

Not only that,but, they are there to help you with gardening questions , information on composting, local yarn,freshly made cheeses, desserts, breads and even handmade chocolates.In the summer everyone has their own local Farmers Market ,however, come winter it's like a traveling show.You get to met Farmers and crafters from surrounding communities that you didn't even know were out there. 

This week I purchased freshly roasted coffee from a roaster in Newmarket.........they will even ship your coffee to you if you want. This time I was happy to run into them at the Market and picked up my purchase there. They even knew my name.............how cool is that.

Potatoes, baby spinach...........just picked and homemade apple cider doughnuts for the ride home I know, I just had to taste while setting up my purchases for a photo shoot. They are yummy! Good thing Riverside is not next door.Their Farm is in Berwick Maine. Sounds far but, only 15 miles from my house.

I made Lamb stew for my "soup People" Isn't it amazing that I could get it raised and even ground just the way I needed. Riverslea farm is in Epping NH and also about 15 miles from my home.

Needing soap this week but, unable to get to my usual supplier, I could rest assure that Jesta Farms would give me a product that would satisfy my needs.All these farms are within an easy drive from my home BUT, all are in different directions. I was able to do one stop shopping and meet and great friends at the same time.

Pretty neat ..............said the hobbit

It's bittyful Friday

HOBBIT IS THINKING "SPRING CLEANING AND I FIND MYSELF IN THIS BOX. WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS MEANS?

Busy week with the family

The girl cousins in my family started getting together a few years back.Such fun. Visits are always too short and we so enjoy seeing each other. Plenty to catch up on but, I think we are still working on the late 50's early 60's I know,I know. What can I say we like to go into detail.

Manage to find time to have lunch with Aaron always a great time.

And now we are getting ready to gather my husbands clan for a Chowder Fest. Daughter Renee is the mastermind for this one.......June 28th is the date and it will be fun to see how many will be getting together. Hubby is a little older that I so I best get brushed up on my 1940's stories.....

Just kidding ...........said the Hobbit

Different but, still the same

Meet Sue,originally from the Province of Quebec and Gisele who came to us from France.

Sue is 90 years young and she and her good friend Gisele come to knitting just about every Tuesday. With a little prodding they sometimes tell us tales of their youth.We just love them. Recently Sue's family decided she needed to be moved to assisted living as there are some area in her life that need watching over. Of course, we only see her once a week and felt.......can this be? Maybe they're rushing such a move. But, of course it was their decision and certainly a good one. Our fear was that we would no longer see her on Tuesday evening.Silly us!!!

Sue still comes every Tuesday and still brings her bright smile with her.She is currently making squares to add to a lap blanket for senior citizens.....we are all so happy that .....really things are still the same.

Speaking of still the same.....Cindy S. was knitting a sweater on a Tuesday and the following week ,,,,,,sure enough, she was wearing it.Nothing different here.LOL

Beautiful design and looks marvelous on her........don"t you think?.......asked the Hobbit

It's Bittyful Friday

I found this teeny weeny ball of white yarn........can you see it. I chewed it and put my spit on it so that everyone would know it was mine and Hobbit still took it away from me .....go figure?

How do you start the day?

Finally February is over and out. This is the time of year that I get really motivated. The most dreary part is over,and my mind can start planning and dreaming of what comes next. Gardening, fun in the sun, discovering new local people and places, spring cleaning. Well, maybe not so much with the cleaning but, I do manage to tweek at least one area in my home that will help me improve my gardening skills and crafts.It's also when I seem to pay the closest attention to breakfast. With all these plans running around in my head I don't want to run out of gas.

So, this is what gives me the best start for my day. Today I started with several tablespoons of my Apple Spice Butter. I absolutely feel in love with fruit butters this year and since they contain very little sugar they must be healthy.....right. Then I top the butter with Greek Yogurt

Cover it all with a generous handful of my homemade granola.This batch used up the last of my dehydrated apples. Then, I drizzle it all with local honey. Definitely a great way to start the day. What gives you the best start to the day?.............said the hobbit

It's Bittyful Friday

DEAR LORD, PLEASE KEEP THE SNOW AWAY FROM MY HOME NEXT WEEK...........I PROMISE I'LL BEHAVE AND DO GOOD DEEDS...........DEAL?

More attempts at candy

So happy I didn't attempt this before the holidays........I found this recipe HERE

I thought ............how hard can it be to make jelly drops? I got my ingredients together. 

4 SHEETS OR ENVELOPES OF GELATIN

2 CUPS SUGAR

1/2 CUP WATER

JUICE OF A LEMON

 ZEST OF AN ORANGE

2 DROPS YELLOW FOOD COLORING

Sheets of gelatin weren't available at my grocers so I got the envelopes. These had to be bloomed in 1/2 cup water Now this could have be my FIRST mistake. Was this an additional 1/2 cup water? Or was I to use the 1/2 cup in the recipe? After deciding to play it by ear and see if more liquid was needed as I went along I bloomed the gelatin and found it to look like a white hockey puck............pretty solid .

While that was going on I choose a bright orange to zest. This was for color so I found the prettiest one at the market.

Zested away ..............

Stopped for a healthy snack



brought my sugar and additional 1/2 cup water to a boil...added my gelatin and continued to cook an additional 15 minutes ....stirring constantly as suggested.When thickened I added the zest  and lemon juice,poured it into the parchment lined pan and waited for it to cool.Hers was a beautiful shade of yellow.........looking more like gold then the deep dark amber color I got...............where did I go wrong?

She mentioned several times her need for perfection in making these for giving and although I too feel that need...............

A good coating of 10x sugar and a pat on the back for going where I had never gone before quickly erased any self thrashing I might have attempted. So......not very pretty but, 

darn tasty and that's why I like being in the kitchen by myself ...........said the hobbit