Sunday........What a beautifful day

 I can't even tell how bad this corner of the cellar was before I started. Canning has become a regular happening in this house and like everything else if you don"t keep your eye on it.,soon you have a monster in your midst.

So everything got pulled off the shelve .......did a bit of vacuuming and wiping clean and then started the chore of choosing what stays and what goes.

 Finally decided on dehydrator and special bottles and canning books on the top shelf. Canning jars on the second shelf and that left 2 shelves empty..........

What have we here .............ah yes, my soup supplies. Emptied boxes, consolidated bags and casserole to-go pans and can you believe it????

Corner #1 of the cellar looking pretty good. ................Started the day with mass at 7:15 am whew!! Did my chores and then Trader Joe's was calling my name. At least that's what hubby said .......so off we went to enjoy a beautiful day . It feels better knowing we made some progress on cleaning up the house.
This week garden is first priority..........................'That's the plan.........said the hobbit

IT'S BITTYFUL FRIDAY

JUST TRYING TO DO A LITTLE CLEANUP AND THEY HAD TO SNAP A PICTURE.GOOD THING SHE DIDN'T GET MY FACE.........I HADN'T PUT MY MAKEUP ON!!!

Marching on with my RESOLUTION !!

So many recipes marked for "must try" What was I thinking !!So this year I have resolved to go through the list and make or eliminate. Here we have a recipe that should go in the make if you plan on feeding an  army recipe...........Appears to be just the right size for a family of four however when I finished baking I could have passed it door to door and, still have leftovers.

I dutifully buttered my 9x9 pan............seems like a small cake. Then I was told to line the pan with parchment paper leaving a 2 inch overhang on all size. Seemed like a waste of butter but, when making a recipe for the first time I think it should be followed as close to the letter as possible.

Then I sifted  2 3/4 CUPS OF FLOUR      
                     2 3/4 TEASPOON BAKING POWDER
                     1 1/2 TEASPOON GROUND CINNAMON
                     1 TEASPOON FINE SALT
IN A BOWL BEAT
1 1/2  OF BUTTER
1 1/2 CUPS BROWN SUGAR
till fluffy add
3 EGGS 1 AT A TIME AND
1 1/2 TEASPOONS OF VANILLA

I actually beat my eggs and added them all at once.

Once the mix looked fluffy enough I added
THE FLOUR MIX
1 1/4 CUPS OF UNSWEETENED APPLESAUCE
Beginning and ended with the flour.

Then I put it all in my 9x9 pan and placed
2 CORED PEELED AND THINLY SLICED GRANNY SMITH APPLES ON THE TOP
Into the oven it went at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or till a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs on it. I found those instructions a bit over the edge but......it's a Martha recipe and she tends to be extremely precise with her details. I think she is an amazing women but, I won't be walking in her shoes anytime soon.As Popeye would say "I am who I am"
But wait it's not over yet.........

While cake is cooking boil down
1 1/4 CUP APPLE CIDER
1/4 CUP BROWN SUGAR
Till about 50% evaporated.
Leave cake in pan to cool and after about 20 minutes brush this glaze on the cake allowing it to seep into the cake I have to confess it may have been 45 min before I got back to the cake. It looked marvelous when completed......all shiny and screaming "IT'S FALL........LET'S CELEBRATE"  They say this has 9 servings but, really we probably had 3 slices to there 1. It was extremely dense and several of those servings were accompanied with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.  MMMMM

ALAS,no matter witch way you look at it, this recipe will not be repeated for everyday eating. Since everyone seems to be watching there diets so closely around here I thought that 525 CALORIES,17 g OF FAT,6 g OF PROTEIN 88 g OF CARBS AND 2 LONELY g OF FIBER  PER SERVING was something we could probably do without. That and the fact that it took most of the day to make however, in it's defense sharing with my community 

made a lot of people very happy.........................said the hobbit

IT'S Sunday What's Happening.

AFTER A WEEK OF TRAGEDY IN BOSTON KEEPING BUSY DOING THE MUNDANE  TASK OF  WASHING WOOLEN SWEATERS..............

PACKING AWAY FLANNEL SHEETS AND WINTER JAMMIES AND THANKING GOD TO BE ALIVE.

IT'S BITTYFUL FRIDAY

This is how I sit when Hobbit wants to knit..............it's all about me.

kiss your babies today

IT'S SUNDAY....WHAT'S HAPPENING

Coming down from the cellar stairs for a breath of air. Still hoping to make some kind of progress up there. Still looks the same to me.My brother is playing with his bagpiper friends today so,he will be stopping by to tell me about the 11 new lambs that were born on his farm.......looks like I won't be able to work on it all day as planned......so sad.

 This project could be a long one. April 20th is "shredding day" at my credit union. That means you bring all sorts of paper "stuff" in boxes and you can watch them shred the contents to smithereens.....very  satisfying!!

Of course not as much fun as walking along one of our beaches. Another week should make this a real possibility..............said the hobbit

It's the little things

Funny thing happened in March...........Cindy S and I both got the knit it little bug.

My little bunnies were found on the KNIT PICKS It's a great way to use up your bits and pieces of yarn. I embroidered the face. They used plastic safety eyes but, I couldn't figure out how those little eyes would be safe for my little ones. I used filler for the body.............they suggested plastic pellets. Really? These people obviously don't have little ones.The children loved them so, it made it worthwhile. the smallest one is 3 1/2 inches and they increase 1/2 inch each. Started from the bottom till they are tall enough then change yarn to knit a face. Everything is knit in the round.......even the ears and the removeable hat.Think I just might have to make a few more.

And now or Cindy S. She made these cute and funny flamingos as part of a Cancer Awareness project. I just had to giggle when I saw this little guy. He just sort of makes you feel good.

 Doesn't he ? .............asked the hobbit

IT'S BITTYFUL FRIDAY

HOBBITS IN THE GARDEN AND I'VE GOT MY NOSE TO THE GRIND OVER HERE............AND YOU?

Needles are still knocking

I've been a bit slacking with my news about my !knitting group but, they haven't 

New projects are being started every week...........I can't keep up with them I'm still in the attic finding the past..........quite the trip.

One that really amazed me was a pair of gloves done by CindyS. This is so far down on my to do list.But she whipped them up in no time at all.

Check out the detail on the back. Amazing isn't it. Some lucky person got these as a gift. 

New to our group is Deb. She got the bug to try doing socks This is her first attempt!!!Teeny tiny cables run up and down her leg. Great first pair don't you think? She is currently busy making socks for everyone on her Christmas list.Very lucky people ................said the hobbit

IT'S SUNDAY..............WHAT'S HAPPENING??

 Today I am taking a journey into the past ..............Climbing up these stairs will take me to a room where my children put all the things they didn't have the heart to throw away.

With four grown children ...........there are many "I can't throw this away" items.

 All have been warned that I'm making this journey.

So.......with garbage bag in hand, the journey begins. Wish me luck !

IT'S BITTYFUL FRIDAY

SUMMER IS COMING ............I'M RIDING THE WAVE !!!!

pushing the envelop with something new

All my sewing friends should get a chuckle out of this. January is the time we start to plan our Christmas gifts. Why you say? Because every year the goal is to do all the gifts from our own little hands. After awhile I start to think they will cringe if mom knits them one more pair of socks or winter hat so I'm trying to push the envelope and do something different. This was suppose to get done for Christmas 2012 but, my sewing curve is pretty steep.

I was determined to make something for the children and by golly it was going to have nice clean french seams. I cut and pinned my fabric and looked and envisioned the next step. THEN, I unpinned and turned the fabric and re pinned..........well you get the idea. I just couldn't do this with so much pressure (from me) to get it done on time. I decided it would be the first project done for 2013.

Finally I mastered the french seam.........breath a heavy sigh of relief.

But, I wanted to be able to put bias tape on this project also.........January passed.............there went February and still I hadn't finished the project. Finally in March I thought "this is it ...I need to do this!!"Again with the pin and unpin and sewing and ripping out AUGGG!! From the time I bought the fabric to the time I pressed and put it away for giving was 5 MONTHS!!!!!

WHO KNEW MAKING A PILLOW CASE WOULD TAKE SOOOO  LONG.  I'd better get back to my sewing machine. I have one more to make and Christmas is almost here........said the hobbit