The dream list

Here is a picture of garden rug #3 in progress……I’m feeling rather lost on this one…..

 

However, I’m going to make myself charge on so I can finish it, and then hopefully finish this….

I started this penny rug probably 3 yrs ago and it’s been sitting in a bag waiting to be completed…..I think I will stitch it onto some plum colored wool and make it into a pillow…..want to have this finished by the end of February, in time for spring…..

Ahhh, the promise of blank linen…..just waiting to have something drawn up….these pieces will be made into runners…..

2 Down, 1 to Go!

Last night I finished my 2nd garden rug.  Kind of embarrassing at how long it’s taken me to get through this project, but I have to remember, it’s the journey, not how fast you get there that counts!

I haven’t posted about the garden rugs in a while…..there are three of them all together…..the third one is about 1/2 hooked and I’d like to get that finished in time to take all 3 of them to the hook-in at Lenexa, KS which is at the end of February.

My husband, Kenny, drew out the patterns, so I want them to be really good…..maybe that has given me a bit of anxiety, but now that I have the 2nd one done it’s given me fuel to go ahead and tackle number 3 with a bit more gusto!

Garden Rug #2

 

Binding around that little stem that sticks out at the bottom right was tedious! I used bias quilt binding tape to bind this rug and a very small diameter cording.

The tendrils for the leaves were fun to make…..just a simple chain stitch.

 

I hooked some areas of the rug higher to make it more textural and give it more interest.

I also added felted beads…..

As well as some little stuffed bleeding hearts……

My goal for January is to have rug #3 completely hooked……off I go!

Lonnie

On his perch looking for squirrels or rabbits or whatever he might be able to chase or bark at. These pics were taken last week by Kenny.

This one is a keeper

Tonight I made “Beef Cheddar and Potato Pie” from Rachel Ray.  We get her magazine, as well as gobs of other magazines, and Kenny is always tearing out recipes that he thinks we should try.

I rifled through them this morning and saw that I had most everything that the recipe called for.  Plus, it was a good excuse to use up those last few carrots and potatoes in the crisper…you know the ones….use them today or you’ll have to throw them out tomorrow!

Here is the recipe as it appears on Rachel’s website…..off to the side I’ll tell you what substitutions I made.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef (1 pound happy ground beef and 1 pound happy bison stew meat*)
• 2 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (3 carrots, but they were kind of wimpy looking)
• 1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 2 stalks celery, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped (2 cloves…I love my garlic)
• 1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (2 medium potatoes)
• 1/2 cup dark beer (1/2 cup of some odd lager beer that was in the fridge)
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (the left-over cheese from the “Beer Cheese Toast” that I made HERE)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed but cold (1 Pillsbury pie crust for the bottom and puff pastry on the top)
• 1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

*happy meat is meat from the farmers market that is grass fed and leads a humane life until it ends up on our plates

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a skillet, combine the beef, carrots, onion, celery, garlic and potato and cook, breaking up the meat, over medium-high heat until the beef is cooked through and some liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Lower the heat to medium, add the beer and cook for 10 minutes. Add the cheese, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Let cool.

2. On a floured surface, roll 1 puff pastry sheet into a 12-inch round. Place in a 10-inch skillet or deep pie dish. Roll the remaining puff pastry sheet into an 11-inch round. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat mixture to the skillet. Lightly brush the edge of the crust with some of the egg wash, then place the second sheet on top. Press the edges to seal, then trim to a 1/2-inch edge.

3. Place the pie on a baking sheet. Brush the top with more of the egg wash and cut an "X" into the pastry. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bake for 45 minutes, tenting with foil if the crust darkens too quickly. Transfer to a rack to cool for 15 minutes.

Veggies all chopped and diced….

Cooking the veggies and meat….

Meat is all cooked and now I’ve added the beer…..mmmm….foamy!

This is the left-over “Kentucky Beer Cheese” there was just a little more than a cup.

I just plopped it in with the salt and pepper and stirred it around until it got melty.

Okay, now I’m totally stoked….I get to make this in my new cast iron skillet that I got for Christmas!

Added the filling…..

Then, I put it in the fridge and covered it with some plastic wrap while we took the dogs for their evening walk.

Once we got home, I took it back out and covered it with the puff pastry…..I didn’t roll mine out into a circle….I just layed it on top and then pinched off the corners and smushed them in where there were holes around the edge….I kind of fly by the seat of my pants like that! Then I brushed it with the egg wash and sprinkled it with salt and pepper…..oh yeah, I made an “x” in the middle so it could vent.

Here it is out of the oven…..

Doesn’t it look yummy?

Enjoy! This is just one of those great comfort food dishes!

If it’s not working….change it!

If it’s not working….change it!

I’m such a believer in this saying.  Yesterday, as I was on another organizing binge, I thought about how Kenny and I are always bi**hing about how we can never see all of the canned goods in our pantry because it is too deep and the shelves don’t pull out.  Well, some of the shelves pull out, but not the ones where we store the canned items.  The shelves are really deep, so once canned items get in “the back” they have a hard time resurfacing…..not only is this frustrating, but we keep buying items that we don’t need, but we don’t KNOW that because they are back in the black hole.

SO, yesterday I decided to change things up…..I had a few options…..

• call the cabinet people and order some pull out shelves for the canned goods (expensive….that’s why we didn’t go this route in the first place)
• move the canned goods to the shelves that pull out (then we’d have the same problem with the chips/crackers/etc that are stored on those shelves)
• move the canned goods to the lazy-susan where the mixing bowls and pitchers are stored
• keep everything the same and keep bit**ing about it

I choose option number 3

 

Yes, I’d have to get a chair everytime I wanted to get something from the top shelf or dig further back on the other shelves…..so, while reorganizing, I tried to put things we used the least often on the top shelf.

 

 

 

Is there something in your life that is just “not working”?  Does it drive you crazy?  Is there anything you can do to change it?

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.

~Maya Angelou~

Choices

I’m learning….or perhaps realizing…that life is a series of choices.

This year I’m making choices that make me happy.

Last night I chose going to the gym and then coming home and walking the dogs as it was getting dark and then savoring the delicious chili that Kenny had made when he got home from work, rather than going to the library to rug hook. By doing this I was able to savor these wonderful parts of my day that I really look forward to, rather than getting home and being a hag and being all “hurry up…we’ve got to walk the dogs and do this and do that because I have to be here or there at this certain time”.  It was nice to come home and enjoy the walk at the park and then have a cocktail with yummy chili and then curl up and watch “The Fashion Show” and really luxuriate in the moment.

 

Work has been slow, so I’ve chosen to take a couple of vacation days and be at home rather than sitting at work with little to do.

This morning I’m choosing to have a healthy breakfast and some coffee while I get caught up with my favorite blogs.

Then I’m going to put on some clothes that make me happy

let's have some FUN :)) by ♡ Pakiz Fletcher ♡ featuring flat sneakers

and organize a few things that have gotten out of control (laundry, my closet, hooking room, my car).  I’m finding that when I have things a bit more organized it makes me feel really peaceful

….it’s nice to open a cabinet and have glasses that match or clothes that are organized by color rather than having to dig to find everything…..this has been a long journey for me and it continues to be a journey for sure!

I read an article the other day about “enough-ism”

I feel like I have everything I need….don’t get me wrong, I still like to shop, but it’s easier for me to get rid of things in my life that aren’t working or that I’m not using. I don’t feel the need to “hold on” to lots of “stuff”.

Then, from the same website where I read about enough-ism, low and behold they have an article about “being-ness”, that I’m sharing with you here.

The questions that I hear most after the holidays are:

1.       What did you get?

2.       Where did you go?

3.       What did you do?

It seems to me that our current economy is fed by our answers to these 3 questions:

“I got all the stuff that I saw advertised that I believed that I had to have;” “I went to Tahiti to escape the winter weather and to acquire a nice golden tan that all my colleagues would be envious of;”  “I did as many water sports as I could and saw as many sights as possible so that I would have some great photos to post on my Facebook page.”

Hmmmm.  Was this all really for me or was it just out of my “need” to keep up with the Joneses? Who are the Joneses anyway and why should they have anything to do with how we present ourselves to the world?

What if we were to take a step back for a moment and explore our “being-ness” – who we are and how we “be” in the world.  If for only a moment we could not be doing something, not thinking about what we are going to do next, what we are going to buy next, what we are going to consume next.  But to just be with who we are.

What would it be like if each of us were to truly “be” with our authentic selves in each moment?  To “be” without any regard to what the Joneses are doing or thinking about us.  Would we entertain the same desires? Would we wear the same clothes? Would we drive the same cars?  Would we hang out with the same friends?  Would we work the same jobs?  Would we discover that we have fewer needs?  And if we discovered that we had fewer needs, could we work less hours?  And if we all consumed less (due to fewer needs) and worked less hours, might this lead to a more balanced economy?

Just something to think about,

Tammy