A Taste Of Spring

This year has been colder the average. We've only hit average temperatures a few times this winter. This past weekend was a real treat. Saturday's high was close to 60* and Sunday's high was 68*! I opened all the windows and we all enjoyed a weekend outside in the sunshine.

Well, Lucky and Oscar decided to sunbathe from inside the house. Is it weird that my cat outweighs my dog by about 3 times?

Yesterday we all ate lunch outside.

Evan took a quick rest with Oscar.

Later that afternoon, I took advantage of the thawed soil by digging the last of our potatoes. I had given up on my garden this year but I wondered if the potatoes were still okay.

Digging up the potato patch had me excited for spring gardening. Jon helped dig after a while.

The kids shouted each time they saw a potato. Do we know how to have fun or what?

We got quite a few potatoes from our neglected row. Most were pretty tiny. I'll have to look up ways to fertilize potatoes this year. Some potatoes were munched on by...whatever lives under my garden beds. There were a few rotten potatoes too. Considering that I abandoned them, I was happy with what we ended up with.

I roasted half last night for dinner. I slightly undercooked them and I had too much oil in the pan so they weren't great. I'm going to try for better results with the other half soon.

Today we're back to a high of 40*. I'm glad for the fresh air and sunshine we enjoyed over the weekend. That might have to hold us for the next couple months.

Tender Cranberry-Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

I made these wonderful cookies over Christmas and I couldn't stop eating them. They're chewy, sweet, nutty, tart.... all things I love in cookies rolled into one.

Tender Cranberry-Raisin Oatmeal Cookies (adapted from King Arthur Flour.com) (dairy-free substitutions in blue)

3/4 cup butter (Earth Balance)
1/4 cup lard (or shortening)
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose)
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats

Preheat your oven to 350*. Lightly grease (or line with parchment paper) two baking sheets.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, lard, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, salt, vanilla, beating until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; then add the syrup. Stir in the fruit and nuts, then the flour, beating gently until well combined. Add the oats last, making sure they're well distributed.

Scoop the dough by Tbsp's full onto the baking sheets leaving about 2" between cookies. Bake cookies until they're barely set on top- about 12-14 minutes. Leave them on the cookie sheet for a minute or two then transfer them to a cooling sheet to cool completely. Makes ~30 cookies.


I'm excited to add this recipe to the great list at "Sweets for a Saturday"!

Heavy Duty Mittens

A few days before we went to Pennsylvania for Christmas, I rushed to knit the kids super warm mittens. I had a skein of "The Purled Llama" Yarn "Toro" Bulky (Super Bulky?) wool yarn. It's thick and fluffy.

I used the Family Mittens pattern and used the small size for Evan and the medium size for Charlotte. I made the cuffs longer so they could be tucked into their coats and avoid the "cold wrist" problem. When I washed them, I added lanolin to the water to help increase their waterproofness.

These mittens were a huge success. The children have played out in the snow for quite a while with these on and their hands are as warm as can be when they come in. The only issue with the wool is that the snow sticks to the mittens. I would take their mittens off of their hands and then have to beat the snow off of the mittens by banging them together.... the mittens, not the children. But as long as the mittens kept their hands warm and dry, snow stuck to them isn't a big deal.

Silly Putty Is Non-Toxic

Last week Evan went to bed with Silly Putty, unbeknownst to us. In the morning I saw evidence of the silly putty without seeing the majority of it. Evan told me he didn't put it in his mouth but I still did a quick google check to be sure Silly Putty was non-toxic just in case. It is non-toxic luckily. I figured that if he did eat it, it hopefully would pass in the next day or two.

When I was helping Evan to get dressed a little later that morning, he looked down and then I saw it.....


a wad of Silly Putty in his hair. After I laughed, I took a picture. I carefully trimmed it out of his hair with surprisingly little damage to his "stick-uppy" prone hair. I was glad to find it even if it was in his hair. We later found the other half of the silly putty stuck in his blankets but luckily I was able to get it off without much trouble.

So, Evan was right. He didn't put the Silly Putty in his mouth. :)

My Cure For Cabin Fever

Every year about this time I start to feel the walls closing in around me. My house begins to feel old, messy, and shabby. I have the strong desire to repaint every room and completely redo each room's decor. Our tight budget keeps me from acting on those redecorating whims. There is something I've found that helps and it doesn't cost me a penny....spring winter cleaning. I take a room, clean out every corner, closet, and hidey hole, throw out or donate anything we no longer use and give the whole room a thorough cleaning.

Yesterday it was the kitchen's turn for a makeover. I cleaned out the cabinets a few weeks ago so it only took 3 hours to make my kitchen feel fresh and new. So, now that the kitchen is "company clean", I thought I'd give you a bit of a kitchen tour. Don't worry, it won't take long... my kitchen is small.

Here's the view looking into the dining/living room. To the right of the sink is the "chicken bucket" where we collect food scraps to be given to my mom's chickens. To the left of the sink is my Cinderella mug with my beloved fine-point markers that NO CHILD is allowed to touch. My children love to make dots with their markers rendering them blunt. I love to use colored markers to make my many, many lists more colorful. Blunt markers drive me nuts. So, this mug is only for Momma. Brightly colored, sharp-pointed markers... another one of my cures for cabin fever.

"Rainbow Fish" the female beta lives on the half-wall above the sink. She's really Charlotte's fish but after cleaning her out one day, I set her bowl on the half-wall and Charlotte hasn't cared that I've left her there. I'm so glad she doesn't mind. I love watching her swim while I'm at the sink. She swims over to the glass and watches me. Did you know that fish know people as individuals? Once I learned this, she became more of a pet to me then just a pretty fish in a bowl. I like to think she is happy to see me each morning but it probably has to do with the food in my hand.

If you turn clockwise, you'll see the stove wall. I'm glad to have a smooth-top stove because it acts as extra counter space since it's in short supply in this kitchen. I hung up a copper gingerbread man cookie cutter I bought at Williams-Sonoma this past Christmas. I like him above the stove.

Perched on top of the cabinets, next to the applesauce, sits the Wicked Witch Of the West. My Aunt Linda gave me her cookie jar. Jon has seen the musical "Wicked" twice now and his marching band had a "Wicked" themed show a few years ago. Evan and Charlotte love the music from from the show so Elphaba makes a fun addition to our kitchen.

If you turn again clockwise, you'll see our window wall. I hope one day to put a few cabinets along this wall to allow for more storage and counter space.

I love my chick salts in their little nesting boxes.

My Aunt Linda also gave me a roller washboard that she found at a thrift store years ago. It's a Mother Hubbard Roller Washboard. They were produced until 1935 when washing machines became popular. This roller design made washing much easier apparently. I hung it with the back facing out because I love to read the instructions on the back. The first two lines read, "Place tub high enough for operator to stand erect. Back aches are unnecessary." I don't know.... Just the thought of using a washboard gives me a back ache!

If you turn once more clockwise, you'll see the final side of our kitchen. Believe it or not, this is what the fridge looks like after it's been cleaned off. I sort through the art work about once a month or so and only keep the really special things. This is what has been created in the past week or two. The countertop to the right of the fridge is where I keep my stack of printed out recipes and my cookbooks. This counter also serves as our office space.... sorting out bills, mail, Jon's "empty his pockets when he gets home" basket, etc. It's a counter that gets messy fast so I was excited to take a picture of it while you could still see the countertop.

Our pantry is the door to the right and you can't see the small closet to the left of the fridge where we keep the cat box and pet supplies.

So, that's it. That's my kitchen. It's where I spend a good portion of my day. Now I can go into the kitchen and take a deep breath. The walls of the kitchen no longer feel as though they're closing in. I feel a little lighter and it makes winter seem a little more pleasant. I had good timing too with another winter storm brewing for the South. Yikes!

2nd Annual "Must Love Knitting" Weekend

This past weekend, my sister and I went to my Aunt Linda's house for our second annual Knitting weekend. We had such fun last year and we couldn't wait to go back. Since we've chosen the MLK holiday weekend to have our getaways, we've given a second meaning to the initials..... Must Love Knitting Weekend.

On Saturday, after having delicious beef and veggie soup for lunch, we went to visit my Grandma at the nursing home. She was having a good day and seemed to enjoy our visit. I was glad to get to see her.

Saturday afternoon was the Steelers first playoff game and they were playing the Ravens. I was so relieved that Linda and Katie didn't mind watching the game. I'm a huge Steelers fan and it doesn't get better then a playoff game against a big rival while having home-field advantage!


We got ready for the game. I brought along t-shirts, terrible towels, and my Troy Polamalu action figure. I did knit during the game but only between plays.

Aunt Linda even knit something in yellow and requested a black puppy just for the Steelers game. Wait, she just happened to be knitting Grandma a yellow blanket and Guiding Eyes picked out the puppy for her? Nah, I think it was fate!


My Troy Palomalu action figure sat on the couch behind us so he could see the game. Katie topped his head with a mini hat she knit for a Christmas ornament. It was a bit big but it had to fit over his helmet and all of that hair. During half-time we made pizza. Katie brought the supplies and the pizzas were GREAT! The pizzas must have been good luck because the Steelers played great football in the second half and won the game! Yay! Go Steelers!



Sunday was a great, relaxing day. We knit and watched the Food Network in the morning. Aunt Linda set up a great "Knitgating" spread of food for lunch. Linda's friends, Joanne and Debbie, came over to knit.

Joanne, Debbie, and Aunt Linda all cleaned out their stashes. I can't believe how generous they were. Katie and I took home amazing yarn. I've been going to sleep thinking about yarn and waking up dreaming of the yarn and what I can make with it.
Below is the yarn that came home with me!! I still can't believe it. We feel like the luckiest girls in the world!!!







We got to play with Linda's puppy, Joe. She is a puppy raiser for Guiding Eyes. Hopefully one day Joe will be a seeing eye dog.

It was cute to watch him play with this empty soda bottle. It kept him busy for quite a while.

We also got to visit with our Aunt Theresa, Deb, Aunt Sue, and Uncle Joe. It was great to see them all.

It was a fantastic weekend full of family, friends, knitting, and relaxing. It doesn't get much better!

Some Reading On My Favorite Subject

I'm a huge fan of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka. The Yarn Harlot. For Christmas, I bought myself quite a few of her books. So, now I can knit during the day and read about knitting before I go to sleep at night. Sounds good to me!

Cabinet Before and Afters

I have a pretty small kitchen with limited storage space. Most of the time it doesn't bother me. I get creative with work space and the stove top doubles as counter top. But lately I have noticed a problem with the bottom cabinets. They had gotten a bit out of hand. We only have 4 bottom cabinets and we tend to just stack clean pots and pans, close the door quickly, and hope for the best.
This is the before shot of my bakeware cabinets. After cleaning it out and getting rid of anything I haven't used in the past year or two, here is the after of that same cabinet. Much better!

This is a before picture of my deep cabinet that has been named "Bob". I had to name this cabinet because as Jon would unload the dishwasher, he would hold up a random item not knowing where it belonged. I would try to tell him what cabinet it went under but finally it became easier to give this cabinet a name. So, Bob it was.... and still is. It's a cabinet that quickly becomes a place to stash anything that can't fit anywhere else. Here is Bob with his face lift. I cleaned out the cabinet and filled a large box with all of the things I never use. Bob says he's never felt so good.

Diagonal Rib Wrap

I haven't knit anything for myself in a very long time. I've been having a great time knitting gifts for Christmas presents and knitting warm things for my kiddos.

I found 5 skeins of Cascade Yarns Lana Grande, 100% Peruvian Highland Wool, color 6012, in my stash and set off to figure out what it was meant to be. I found the pattern for the Misti Diagonal Rib Wrap on Ravelry. I've never done diagonal rib before but I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. I just kept track of what row I was on and I only made one mistake but hopefully I'll be the only one to notice. I used size 13 needles and used up every bit of that yarn. I finished with only a few yards left.

I blocked the wrap wider instead of longer. I wanted the warm wrap to reach from shoulder to hip and didn't mind if it didn't hang down in front much. It's long enough to cross over my chest.

I am really happy with the way it turned out. It's cozy and warm... just perfect for this time of year.

Snow Days

Jon took this picture of Charlotte running around in the backyard when it started to snow Saturday morning. We only got a dusting. That storm missed us by a lot.

The storm coming up from the South on Monday did not miss us. They called off school on Monday in anticipation of the storm. I still worked since they made it a teacher work day. Charlotte was excited to stay home with her daycare buddies.

Tuesday morning we woke up to about an inch of snow and a layer of ice on top. The patio was a skating rink. The snow that had fallen on the slightly warmer patio had melted and refrozen to make the ice even thicker. They closed schools completely for Tuesday.

The birds have been very busy.

There's a waiting line for this feeder. Maybe these are the Three Musketeers of the Gold Finch world.

Here's a video of one of 4 busy feeders in our yard. Jon's playing piano in the background. He didn't know I was taking a video but it worked out well to give the video a soundtrack.

Here's our driveway in front of the cars.

The ice broken on our doormat.

Jon went out mid-day to scrape the cars off and shovel the driveway the best he could.

The road was a skating rink. We saw only a handful of cars brave the road. We haven't seen a snow plow or salt truck.

I got a lot done during our day off yesterday.

I spent an hour organizing my knitting bags, finished projects, and yarn.

I made 9 batches of spaghetti sauce for my brother to bring home with him when he comes for a visit later in the month.

On Monday I made a huge batch of chicken/turkey stock with carcasses of the last few birds we roasted that I had in the freezer. After the stock cooled in the fridge overnight, yesterday I put the stock in containers and froze it.

Last night I used some of the stock to make a big pot of turkey and veggie soup. I made some dinner rolls to go with it.

It was a great way to end a chilly, productive day.

We have off school again today due to icy roads. I'm not sure I feel quite as productive today. I think today's plans include knitting while watching some TV, catching up on some blogging, and maybe baking some cookies.

Prepared For Some Serious Baking

My mom got an email from King Arthur Flour's website just before Christmas with a sale on quart sized bottles of vanilla. It was a great sale so we each bought a quart. It's wonderful quality and smells amazing. It works out to about half of what I pay for real vanilla from the store.

Now I'm ready for some serious baking!

Another Christmas Post

Santa brought the kids hammock chairs for Christmas this year. Luckily Grandpa could hang them for us when he came over Christmas day.

They take up a good bit of space in their rooms but they really love them. It looks so relaxing that it makes me want to hang some in the living room. Who knows, in our next house I just may do that.

For Christmas, I bought myself replacement kitchen gear that had seen better days. I'm not sure why I let my kitchen equipment get this bad. I use it almost daily but I can't usually bring myself to spend money on better stuff. So, for Christmas, I treated myself to some upgrades.

We were given the cookie sheet on the left as a wedding gift.... 7 1/2 years ago. It has quite a "patina" on it. I bought 2 half sheet pans to add to the line up. The funny thing is that I still use the old pans along with the new. They're still perfectly good pans... just not as pretty as the new ones.

I've owned the cutting board on the left for about 5 years. It should have been in the trash LONG ago. It went in the garbage as soon as I took this picture. The new cutting board is so nice and is non-slip, which I love.

I've been using the same 2 paring knives for 8 years. They're dull and sharpening them seems to do no good anymore. I've replaced them with Farberware knives.....

and this pretty green paring knife that Jon bought me from Williams-Sonoma.

Jon also bought me this egg rings. They're fun to use to make eggs the perfect shape for sandwiches.

This griddle was a present from my daycare family. I LOVE it! I didn't realize how much of a difference it would make. I can now make 6-7 pancakes at a time instead of 2-3 in a pan. It's definitely one of my favorite presents from this year.

My sister and her husband came to visit over New Year's. David is sleeping in the background of this picture. Katie made Evan and Charlotte's presents. Evan got these adorable rocket ships.

Charlotte got this beautiful crown. (the piggy bank is from Papa and Lisa)

Katie also made them rice warmer bags that I forgot to take a picture of. Katie blogged about them here. They're soft, cloth bags with rice inside. When you microwave the bags for 1 minute, they get wonderfully warm. The kids have taken them to bed with them each night. I snuck Evan's today to warm myself after running errands. I think I'll have to make one for myself.

Katie and David brought the doggies. Scooter's not in this picture but he came along too. They were very good boys.

When we were over at Mom and Mark's house, Katie went to put Mom's bird back in his cage. He didn't want to climb onto her finger so he flew onto the top of the Christmas tree. He makes a lovely tree topper, doesn't he?

The last day that Katie and David were here, I took them to Mega Thrift since they were having a 50% clothing sale. While Katie looked through tops, I found these awesome Rubbermaid storage containers for $1.99 each.. except the bowl that was $.99. I'm so excited to find large containers since I used to have to use multiple containers to store large batches of goodies. The bowl is an exact match of one I already have and love. It's the best bowl to mix large batches of bread dough in. I was so excited to find it's twin.

Cooking and baking is a lot of fun for me and these new "toys" make it even better!