A Great Giveaway From a Friend of a Friend!

I love finding ladies who love doing some of the same things I love because we have so much we can teach each other, encourage each other, and just chit chat - literally any time of the day or night!  We share so many things - our children and grandchildren, our homes and gardens, our hobbies, health issues, our dreams.  We laugh and pray and cry with each other.

One of the greatest things about blogging is meeting new friends!  I've been blessed this week by meeting new friends, friends of friends, and learning more about them!  Marjie, of "She Who Stamps & Scraps" is someone I met this morning.  She has a great giveaway and she'd like others to know about it, too.  I met Marjie through another new friend, Cindy Adkins, who created this Halloween Giveaway blog button for her.One of the things I'm still learning about is linking, so please link Marjie's blog here if you'd to enter the giveaway.

Enjoy the last day of October, because I don't know about you, but when November 1st rolls around, it seems as though the last two months of the year fly by!

Blessings, Donna

Two of My Favorite Things!

I love cooking and baking!  I always have.  I also do most everything from scratch.  When I learned I was allergic to egg yolks, molds (which includes mushrooms, fermented sauces and the like,) and have terrible reactions to preservatives, along with my Sweeties allergy to beef and his being very lactose intolerant (not even able to cook with milk or cream) over 10 years ago, I have written many of my own recipes for the foods we love and enjoy eating the most.  And yes, it makes going out to eat very difficult!

This year I was introduced to baking sour dough bread by our oldest son.  Since then, I haven't bought a loaf of bread, except one loaf of Rye (when mine didn't come out right!) and hamburger buns on occasion.

Here's what I wanted to share!!!

Beautiful Burger Buns (KAF recipe)

These are made with a recipe from King Arthur Flour (an employee owned corporation) and they came out fantabulous!!!  The only change I made was I used 2 egg whites and discarded the yolks.  I will be making these buns a lot for hamburgers and sandwiches.  I may try making them in to sandwich rolls next time - mmmm.  They were so soft and light, but not full of air holes like the store brand.

Another of my, well our, favorite things is watching  hummingbirds fly around our yard.  We have two feeders up from April until the cold sets in here, usually between October and November.  We feed hundreds of birds going through a minimum of 1/2 gallon of sugar water every day! 

My sweetie replaced my camera today and I took a couple of quick photos this evening of our birds.  I'd love to share with you how clear this came out!  I will be taking many, many more in the next couple of weeks as we are coming to the end of our bird season.  This is through our living room window, and it is tinted for the sun - but I was so excited they were coming out so clearly. 

I will get out and watch them from my bedroom patio next week - we're supposed to get some rain in a few days and we literally have 50 or more birds trying to feed at any one time.  We bought feeders that allow birds to stop and perch while they feed, and when it's raining or very foggy, they will sit 2 to a perch and share, with others waiting their turns sitting on the fence rails, the bushes, atop of the poles and just flying around to have a drink of nectar.

Thank you for taking a look at my bread and our birds!  I wish you a very blessed Sunday!

Blessings, Donna

I Love Crocheting!

And, I love crocheting afghans.  I try to make a different one each time, this way everyone receives something a bit different.  As I was making this one, my grandson would tell me, "My favorite color is green, Grandma.  Did you know that!?"  All the while he thought it was for someone else.

I finished this during the month of October, last year.  His birthday is in November - and it came and went with no gift of an afghan. 

Christmas came around, and usually we buy the kids clothes, so when he picked this box up and began to shake it, "yup," he thought, "clothes..."

He was quite surprised when his nice, toasty warm, favorite color afghan was in the Macy's clothes box! 

This was a very simple Granny Square stitched in a rectangle.  I think the original pattern was from Red Heart, and in different shades of blues.  If you're interested in making one, send a quick message and I can you simple pattern instructions!  Really easy peasy!

This is our Grandson Jeff, who turns 18 in just a couple of weeks!  Where does time go so fast!  It seems we just held him in our arms at the hospital when he was born!  Ahh, time!

Have a blessing weekend!
Donna

Love Blooms in Grandma's Garden

I love making cards and scrapbook layouts.  My sweet daughter introduced me to making cards and scrapping several years back when she became a consultant with one of the big home sales stamping companies.  And we've come a long way baby!  It use to be we cut the paper and slapped on some embellishments and wrote on the card.  Then, stamps - love the cling on stamps with the acrylic blocks you can see through!  A rainbow of inks, pads and pens, now sprays and paints, glitter and embossing mediums - we have just about everything!  I say "just about" because every time I think we have it all, something new comes out!

I love my Cricut Expression! When these machines came out it, endless possibilities came with it - but let's just do a bit of show and tell.  There are some marvelous teachers who have blogs for all of our hobbies.  My favorites are the hobbies I love to do - crocheting, polymer clay, sewing, card making and scrapping ...

2 pages for the boys

I was fortunate enough to win a prize from Monique Griffin designs ~ a two 12"x12" page layout kit called "In Bloom."

2 pages for the girls

The kit included all of the paper, embellishments and directions for use with my Cricut and A Child's Year cartridge (not included in kit.)
I prefer using 9"x9" books, so I did a bit of extra cutting and came up with a few changes (which I shared with Monique.)  There was more than enough of everything to make the four 9x9 pages instead of two 12x12's.

Thanks for taking a peak!  What ever your hobby is, there are so many wonderful ladies willing to share their talents with us!

It's a great time to start making our Christmas Cards!  Or are you like me and wait until the last minute!?  I have promised myself and my sweetie I'm going to start right away!  I'll post when I do!

Blessings,
Donna

Happy Birthday to - - - -

During the last three or so months of the year, we celebrate the birthdays of all of our grandchildren, beginning with our oldest grandson Ryan, who turned 21 around the end of September.  October is Elise, now 9, Isaac, turned 11, and today, my sweetie's special day.  November brings both my son, Jeffrey, and grandson, Jeffrey, who will be 18.  December will be our youngest granddaughter's, Leila, 6th birthday just a bit before we celebrate the birth of our precious Lord, Jesus.

I had the opportunity to spend several days with my youngest three last week and we had so much fun.

Isaac's wish came true for his birthday!   He received the latest Apple device that has all of the latest and greatest apps.  Mom made him this really cool cake when Dad took him and a group of his friends out to dinner and a show "Real Steel," a robot movie.

My Daughter in law is very creative at making the cupcake cakes and decorated cup cakes.  This was actually made from box mix to finished cake in less than 4 hours.  Not bad at all!  The picture doesn't do the cake decorating any justice!  Here's a better photo - -

OK - This is a bit better!  The kids were really surprised when they came home from the movie and saw the robot.  Actually, I think all they really saw at this point was more SUGAR!!!  And, did they leave the tray shaking!!!  One little cupcake was all that was left after they were finished!

The week before Elise celebrated with a sleepover with several friends and they all decorated their own cupcakes.  All of the girls had so much fun creating their own "signature designs!"

So, this year we had the two eldest turn 21 and 18 - both milestone birthdays, and the three youngest 11, 9 and soon to be 6.  Time flies by ~ so whether you are celebrating children's or your grandchildren birthdays, be sure to have a great time and enjoy the memories.

Many blessings and best wishes to all having birthdays,
Donna

Cranberry Orange Bread (no egg yolks)

One of our favorite sweet breads during the holidays is my Cranberry Orange Bread.  It took me countless attempts to get this recipe darn near perfect!  I'm talking a couple of years, honestly.  No yolks is the reason.  Since I'm allergic to egg yolks, baking can be a problem.  Without boring you to no end, just believe me when I say, "It is finally fit for a King!"  At least my King, and Princes, and Princesses!

I serve this all year when we have the desire, but during the holidays it's a must!  We have it for company, give it as gifts with homemade jams, or just because.  I love scratch cooking and baking, so for me, it's no big deal to get a loaf of bread going!  I love, love, love cooking and baking!

I'm taking a couple of loaves to my little wee ones when I visit later this week.  Kids love this bread, little kids, big kids, all kids!  It's as yummy as it looks here - big, scrumptious, juicy cranberries, orange zest and pulp in the juice - it's so good just like this, or with a little butter, or cream cheese - oh my - mmmmm, really good!

Like I said it took many years and lots of failed attempts, but I finally got it down, and I'd love to share it with you!

Cranberry Orange Bread
2 cups flour **                             1 cup orange juice*
1 cup oats                                   1 Tbsp orange zest
1 cup sugar                                 1/3 cup oil
1/2 tsp baking soda                      4 egg whites
1/2 tsp baking powder                  1 cup chopped
1/2 tsp salt                                      cranberries***
***If you cannot find any fresh, or don't have any frozen on hand, purchase the dried ones (I've used Ocean Spray brand) and soak them for about an hour or so in warm water.  Drain, chop and use as above. 
Measure a heaping cup of whole berries, frozen or fresh, and rinse - leave in colander until noted below. 
Also - do not thaw frozen berries before rinsing and chopping or they will become a soggy, red mess.
**I use bread flour or King Arthur All Purpose flour.
*I use 1 orange for zest and juice, then fill the cup with regular orange juice.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour bottom of one standard loaf pan or 4 mini loaf pans.

In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients together and mix well.

In a smaller bowl, whisk egg whites.  Add orange juice, zest and oil, and whisk all together.
Add wet ingredients to large bowl of dry ingredients, and stir until well mixed.
Set aside and chop berries in food processor (or chopper if you don't have a food processor) until berries are chopped NOT MINCED.  Add directly to bowl and fold in gently, but thoroughly.  Dough should not be red, just see berries mixed, so don't over mix.
Pour in to pan(s) and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes (45 to 50 minutes for mini pans.)
Allow to cool for 15 minutes in pan, turn out and continue cooling. 
Slice, serve and mmm mmmm enjoy!!

A chunk of Heaven!!!

Just a side note - - - when cranberries come in to the supermarkets, I buy bags and bags of them, and throw them directly in to the freezer.  Don't wash them before hand, don't take them out of the bag, don't put a second bag around them.  Just as you buy them from the grower, they are made to go directly into the freezer, if so desired.  And, do I ever!  Usually 10 bags, if I can find that many!  How long do they last - well I've heard tell that it's that magical one year, like most things.  But this year, I am using my 2009 berries.  I had to make mine last as long as I could because last year my supermarket didn't get many in, and the restaurants got in before I did and well - I have really had to stretch mine.


Fresh cranberries are only available for a few short weeks a year.  Then they are gone again until the following year.  The reason?  Well, besides being the time of year for harvesting them, most are purchased by large companies who dry them, and/or mix them in to the yummy granola and cereal products we love so much, which quite honestly leave precious few for us who love to cook with them fresh, not dried.

Please, if you have any questions, just send me an email, or leave a message hear and I'll do my best to answer.  Cooking is such a joy, so don't struggle with something and get discouraged!

I'd love to know if you've tried this, so drop a note!

Many blessings,
Donna


**My recipes are published, so please respect my hard work with any I list and don't take credit as your own.

Horse Tote and a Kitty Cat Pillow

I finished two small projects today for my little granddaughters.  During my last visit with them we ran off to JoAnn's and were able to spend a couple of hours.  Never enough time when it comes to looking at craft items, is there?  Nope - there isn't!  I went in originally to find some material for myself, and had my little wee one with me.  She loves to look at all of the material with me, too.  Then sister joined us and we ended up finding material for projects for them.  Now that's a real surprise, right!?

Elise loves horses and is taking riding lessons, which even includes caring for the horses.  She not only has her time riding the horse each week, but on one of her days, she is to groom and care for the horse. 

Sweet thing that she is, she always remembers to take her horse a treat.  Last time I visited, she took an apple!  So, when I asked what she wanted me to make for her, she asked for a tote bag, to put her riding shoes, maybe a sweater, treats for the horse.  So, this is what I came up with.  No pattern, none needed really.   I made a double pocket on the front, completely lined and padded.  I really wanted it to be nice and strong, yet comfy for her, and washable!

Leila on the other hand wanted to have kitties.  "What would you like Grandma to make with the kitties on it?"  Very matter of fact as she walked towards the cutting counter, "A pillow!"  Well, that was easy!  Even had a spare pillow form at home that fit the bill!

I sat down yesterday and got the pillow finished, and today - the tote.  I know they will love them. 

"My little sweethearts"

Blessings, Donna

Introducing - - -

My friends, you've asked before about my wonderful sweetie, who dislikes having his picture taken more than anyone else I know and usually will not smile to the camera -

- well, while out picking tomatoes (we planted tomatoes and peppers right under our family room window) I decided to snap a few!  This one is taken through the screen, sorry for the lines through it, but this next one shows his

wonderful smile, while showing off his tomatoes!  He went on picking, filling up about a quarter of this basket and now I'm off to search for a salsa recipe I can use to can these gems!

So my friends, this is Don!  The love of my life, my sweetheart, my best friend ~

Blessings, Donna

How I Keep My Yarn Orgainzed

I've had friends ask how I keep my yarn and hooks organized, so here are a few of the ways I have found work for me.  I love yarn, all kinds, colors, fibers, and they just seem to propagate in my closet!  So I have found large, clear plastic bins or recycled heavy plastic bags (like the ones they use when you buy new sheets or blankets) are an excellent choice for me.

This way I can see exactly what's in which bin or bag, and it keeps yucky odors from getting in to the fibers.  

I try to separate yarns by types -

Acrylic 4 ply, any colors; Chenille; Simply Soft; HomeSpun; Cotton - which is in the smaller bags here, and so on.  I have found this easier for me.  I don't know how many times, when I kept them in big plastic store bags, I'd start opening bags for a project and had yarn everywhere and still didn't find what I needed and went out and bought more (like that's such a terrible thing - he he he!) only to put it away after using what I needed and found what I couldn't find when I needed it.  

I found larger pencil boxes the children use are  perfectly sized for my crochet hooks, holding all of them along with my small scissors, row markers and needles.  I keep my round knitters in their bag, knitting needles in a large empty pretzel barrel, and voila - organized!   At least enough for me!

 I'm blessed with closet space - not too much because I'm always running out of room, but enough.  So, using half of this closet for yarn (the other half is my paper and photos I'll show in a separate post) it's about 51/2 feet of storage, works great for two large bins lengthwise, side by side, stacked 3 and 4 high.  I use paper handled or cloth bags for WIP's.

So, this is how I have found I can live with my yarn - rather, my family can live with me and my yarn!

Continued blessings,
Donna

An Oval Petal Pillow

After sharing the round Blooming Flower Cushion I crocheted using the pattern by Lucy at Attic24 I decided to change it up a bit and make an oval one!

As with the round cushion, the edges are a bit wavy, leaving room for a pillow cushion being quite rounded. 

Thank you Lucy for the inspiration to try something on my own!  This one was a ton of fun, I guess because I would sit in bed watching TV in the evenings, and wonder if it would even turn out or not - and I think it did!

Lucy, at Attic24 is amazing, and if you enjoy crocheting, check her blog.   I think you will love her work!

Hope October is filled with lots of good things for all of you!  The weather is changing, which means some Fall colors added to our landscaped mountains, cooler weather (I'm glad to have 70's and 80's after a Summer of 90's and 100's) and its getting closer to my favorite time of year - Christmas!!!  I love everything about the season!  I will be posting more about Christmas in the coming weeks!

May you find love and joy in everything you do, everyone you meet, and everything you see!

Blessings to all of you! 
Donna

Great Yardsale Find!

WOW!!  I love to go out early Saturday mornings and see what treasures there might be at Estate and Garage Sales. 

One Saturday this summer I came across a young woman who was selling a ton of Grandma's hand me downs she had no use nor desire to keep.  As I looked through some old coats, picked up old buttons (why do we have to buy those old buttons??) I commented on a beautiful old couch that was definitely from the early 1900's she thought she might sell for $15 dollars.  If I'd had the room for it, I would have bought it - but I don't.  I did let her know it was worth a lot more.  I haven't seen a couch from that era in that great of condition, hand carved wood all along the back, the arms, and the claw feet.  Original fabric that was in quite good condition since it was about 100 years old.  She knew it was worth a lot more, but she'd just picked it up from storage, and needed the money badly. 

Seeing I really liked old treasures, she went back in to the garage and brought this stole out ~ I had already picked up a few things and she was a really nice young woman in a very bad position.  I told her things were temporary and would get better.  She sold this to me for $3 - THREE DOLLARS - and yes, it is real, all hand sewn, and gorgeous condition!  A friend is coming down from San Francisco and will be taking it up to a furrier for an appraisal.  It is beautiful!  She said she wanted it to go to someone who would appreciate it.  So sweet.

I have also been blessed with some beautiful glass pieces, punch bowl sets, snack sets and tea cups this summer.  My buddy and I went out today and only found a bit - I picked up some beautiful glass snack trays. 

Have you been treasure hunting lately?  I'd love to hear about your treasures!

Many blessings, Donna

Galaxy Stitch Scarf

When my friend, Stitch of Love, first posted the beautiful Galaxy Stitch Scarf for her dear Uncle, I knew I wanted to make one.  It was a new stitch for me, although I have been crocheting for many years.

My daughter in law received one I made for her birthday in February in a pattern I made up (can't get the photo to load, so I need to take another one!)  My son, who never asks for anything, said jokingly under his breath, "wish someone would make me a scarf." So, you know I just had to do it!  I made it and then before actually giving it to him, asked if he would like it longer - long story short - it's about 8 feet long.  He wanted to wear it doubled over and through the middle.

This is a beautiful stitch, and I used Caron Simply Soft yarn, so this is really soft and warm.  Happy Birthday, Albert!  A little late, but it is as long as two scarves!

I used this You Tube video from Teresa.  This woman is absolutely the best teacher by far for crocheting, knitting, beginner, intermediate, advanced, left hand and right hand. She is amazing.  If you love crocheting or knitting, please check her out.  A-MA-ZING!!!

Thanks for taking a peek.  God bless!
Donna

Laura Bush ~ An Evening To Remember

My son, Albert, invited me to hear Laura Bush, our gracious former First Lady Lady, at West Hills Community College in Lemoore, California.  This new arena, and campus, is only 5 minutes from their home and was very comfortable.  We had great seats, and honestly saw her up close and personal.

Mrs. Bush has a wonderful sense of humor and looks just as beautiful as she did in the White House.  She spoke of her work, the first National Book Festival, launched at the Library of Congress on the Saturday, just a few days prior to September 11, 2001;  how the events of 9-11-01 changed the everything for President Bush and his presidency, their lives in the White House, our lives as every day citizens of a country that had been brutally violated by terrorism; and the work she is doing in her current role as Honorary Ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade.

Mrs. Bush also talked about her work with breast cancer awareness, now including cervical cancer testing and treatment, both here and around the world.

Time to say good evening to one of my favorite First Ladies.  It looks as though she is looking right at us saying, "Good Bye!"

After leaving the program, we met up with Karla and the children and had a yummy dinner.  Thank you, Son, for a wonderful, and very memorable, evening.

Blessings,
Donna

Fresh Zucchini Bread (with no egg yolks)

Mmmm - for me, there's nothing tastier than home made, fresh, sweet bread right out of the oven!  One of my favorites is my own recipe for Zucchini Bread, yolk-less of course! 

Having food allergies means you do a lot of scratch cooking and baking.  We have a few in our household and so I have learned to bake and cook eliminating egg yolks, molds (like mushrooms and any foods that are fermented, which are many), beef (yes, cow!!) and fresh milk.  You can usually get around the kitchen pretty good eliminating the listed foods, until you come to the egg yolks.  It's very difficult to bake fresh cookies, sweet breads, cakes, etc, because the proteins in the yolk help these items in the rising, texture and flavor.

I love to cook, so for me, working around these problems is not a big deal.  But it has been a lot of trial and error, well worth trial and error!  he he he!  I'm listing the recipe below, and hope you will try it.

Zucchini Bread  
3 egg whites                                            3 cups flour**
1 cup oil                                                 1 tsp baking powder
2 cups sugar                                           1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla                                            1 tsp salt
4 cups grated zucchini*                           3 tsp cinnamon

*Wash zucchini, DO NOT PEEL, do not seed unless you have giant zucchinis from your garden (you'll know what I mean if you grew them yourself!)  Course grate zucchini and squeeze out excess liquid.
**I use bread flour or King Arthur All Purpose flour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour 2 standard bread pans (or 6 mini pans.)
Sift all dry ingredients together in small bowl and set aside.
Beat egg whites, oil, sugar and vanilla together.
Stir in zucchini, now add all dry ingredients and blend well.
Evenly distribute into 2 bread pans, bake for 60 to 75 minutes.  Remove from oven when inserted knife comes out clean (a few crumbs are OK.)  Cool for 10 minutes in pan, turn out on cooling rack.

Serve warm or cool.  Freezes extremely well.

Let me know if you have any questions.  This is great bread and hopefully some of you will try it!


Many blessings,
Donna


**My recipes are published, so please respect my hard work with any I list and don't take credit as your own.

Blooming Flower Pillow

This beautiful pattern in another I found on Attic 24.  Lucy is a marvelous teacher of our happy crochet hooks!  Her patterns are very easy to follow, lots of photos throughout the project, and a grand sense of humor!

Here is my take on the Blooming Flower Cushion (Pillow - for me) to be happily displayed on the children's guest bed, along with the Hexagon Afghan, also one of Lucy's patterns!

I love the way the colors pop on the petals.  I will be sewing the pillow form and stuffing it, attaching the back side, later this week.

Lucy is great at reminding all of us who are in the US to exchange the UK terms with American. I've tried patterns before and become very frustrated and completely wasted time crocheting a pattern and not having it come out correctly because of this.  It's great of Lucy to remind us and give us the various stitches to use.  The back side of the pillow uses the same color variations, only no ruffles, just double crochet throughout the entire back side until the last, joining row. 

This has been another great project to use up left over yarn.  I only have a bit of this left, so I'd better get to crocheting some new projects!

Thank you, Lucy, for another great pattern!
Continued blessings, all!
Donna

 

Grandparents Day with My Wee Ones

Hi Everyone!  It's so nice to be back and writing again online!  I pray you've all been wonderful and busy!  I have been doing a lot of crocheting and hope to post some photos of my latest projects early next week!

On September 9th, my granddaughter, Elise, invited me to school with her to have lunch and a presentation for Grandparents Day.  I was so glad I was able to attend this year.

My son and I went to the school to watch each class sing a song to the grandparents who were able to attend and then eat lunch with them in the grass courtyard area.  Of course, they all sang like Angels (don't we all think our children do?)  Along with Elise, her older brother, Isaac, and younger sister, Leila, dad and I ate Pepperoni Pizza, and I received hand made cards from the kids.

Being a grandparent is high on my list of what I am most grateful for in my life.  To have five wonderful grandchildren is such a blessing.  My daughter has two handsome sons, Ryan who will be 21 in just a few days, and Jeffrey who will be 18 in a couple of short months.  I have been blessed to have all of them relatively close and watch them grow up and spend time with them.  Of course, it's never enough time.

Isaac on the far left, Leila in the middle and Elise standing on my right.  It was a very hot day and thank goodness we found a nice cool tree to sit under.

Thank you for making Grandma feel so special!  I love you all so much!

Thanks for taking a peak at my wee ones!

Many blessings,
Donna