Getting Ready for a Sew In

I am participating in the Friday Night Sew In this week so I had Hubs bring up my machine from my cold work room so I could set myself up in the warmer part of the house. 

I am sure I could get this project done tomorrow evening but I am going to pick up my youngest grandsons when I get out of work tomorrow which puts a new spin on things.  I was expecting them to spend Saturday night but my middle daughter called this afternoon and asked that I switch the nights because they have something to do on Friday but not Saturday.  Whats a grandma to do?  Well say yes of course!  So I am jump starting my sewing this evening so after the boys hit the sheets tomorrow night I will still be able to finish things up.

I need to get back at it soon though, so have a wonderful evening!  Blessings!

O is for Orpington

I have three Buff Orpington hens in the hen house.  They are a pretty gold color and mostly friendly, one more then the other two.  They are also a broody type of hen and when I go out to collect eggs I usually find at least one of them setting on a clutch of eggs. It takes a lot to scoot them off so I can grab the eggs.  Sometimes we can hear them squawking at us all the way back to the house. They look like very fat chickens but their feathers are loose making them appear to be heavier.

These pictures were taken from the outside of the hen house.  Hubs built a small door that opens up on all four boxes so we can just collect from the outside. 

Joining up with the gang over at Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday.

Have a great evening!  Blessings!

Some Snow and a Recipe

Hi all!  It seems the weather has started to act like it is truly Michigan that we live in.  It has been a strange winter to be sure watching the snow fly in the southern states and not get much here.  We have two ponds and we need the snow so they are up and overflowing next spring.  We actually water our garden from one, if it goes dry we are going to have to either move the garden from the back acres (I would not mind) or get the well re-dug (we have a second well on the back acres) new tip or something so our gas pump will pump the water out.  Do I love snow, not really but it sure helps make everything green around here.

Our drive, did not get picture before hubs plowed.

Where our back yard changes to the woods.

Such a cute little tree, we have a lot of these on our property.

The hen house where the ladies are staying warm.

 Want to share another recipe from my Light Cooking cook book.  This has been our favorite by far.

Hubs plate was prettier than mine because I had to hack my fillet up and take a real portion.

 Baja Fish and Rice Bake

3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons vegetable oil  (I use grape seed oils from Wildtree, I have a friend that sells these natural foods.)
1/2 cup uncooked rice
3 1/2 cups (two 14 1/2 ounce cans) Contadina Stewed Tomatoes, cut up, with juice (I used 1 quart of my home canned tomatoes)
1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (I used 1/4 we like some hot in our food)
1 pound fish fillets (any firm white fish) 
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (I did not use)
Lemon slices (optional and I did not use these either)

Cook and stir onion, celery and garlic in hot oil in large skillet over medium heat until vegetables are tender.  Add rice; cook and stir about 5 minutes or until rice browns slightly.  Add tomatoes with juice, lemon pepper, salt and ground red pepper.  Place fish fillets on bottom of 12X7 1/2X2-inch baking dish.  Spoon rice mixture over fish.  Cover with foil; bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until rice is tender and fish flakes with fork.  Allow to stand 5 minutes before serving (or as long as it take you to take a picture for your blog post) giggle.  Sprinkle with parsley.  Garnish with lemon slices, if desired.  Makes 6 servings Calories 241 

Enjoy!  Blessings!

Cutting Fabric

Today I have cut the fabric I need to put the last border on the quilt I have been trying to finish up.

There are 90 strips cut in hopes of finishing this quilt top on Friday while I participate in Handmade by Heidi's Friday Night Sew In.  If you want to sew along with all of us go to http://handmadebyheidi.blogspot.com/2011/01/january-friday-night-sew-in-signups.html  and sign up to play along.  Hope to see you there!  Blessings!

Sunday Praise

Since my word this year is finish, I decided to look up all the references I could find in my study Bible.  Thought I would share some over the next few weeks.

Acts 20:24
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

Saturday Doings

The day started off slow.  Had coffee with hubs, talked on the phone with my best friend and then with one of my daughters both conversations were very enjoyable.  Then I had to do the dreaded job of grocery shopping.  Since I am buying more produce I had to drive further to shop because the produce at our local small town grocery has been going bad rather quickly. 

I do have one finish to share.  A couple of winters ago I participated in a mystery crochet along that was being held on an Internet group.  I ended up with a caplet that I was going to send to hubs grandmother that was in a nursing home at the time.  She passed away before I got it sent to her so it has been stuffed in the closet that I just cleaned out this week.  I washed it and added a button to it, now I just need to find a home for it.

I also pressed all the fabric I plan on using on the next border around THE quilt.  I am using what I have left from the butterfly appliques and I bought some fat quarters to add more golden yellows to it.  I'll be measuring and cutting tomorrow.

 I have another recipe to share with you from the Light Cooking cook book.  Hubs made burgers for us this evening.  Beef for him and a turkey burger for me.  I made this light potato salad made with nonfat yogurt.  It really was good and hubs liked it also.

My plate with one of those new skinny buns.

Hubs plate, probably two servings here!

 Chilled Potatoes in Creamy Herb Sauce

4 red new potatoes, unpeeled and scrubbed
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 1/2 cups Dannon plain nonfat or lowfat yogurt
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons sliced green onion
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash white pepper
In a medium saucepan bring small amount of water to a boil.  Add potatoes; cook, covered, 25 to 30 minutes or until tender.  Drain and cool.  Slice and place in a large bowl.  Toss with peas and bell pepper.  Add yogurt, parsley green onion, basil, salt and white pepper.  Toss gently to coat. Cover; chill until ready to serve. 8 servings  100 calories 0 g Fat
I took what looked like 1/8 of the recipe because the recipe was for 8.  It really was a lot for 100 calories. 
So far this cookbook is batting 100.

Hard to believe the day is pretty much over.  Going to sit and crochet a while.  Good night all!  Blessings!

Something on the Needles

Since I am a beginner knitter I decided I should get something back on the needles so I improve and do not feel like I am learning all over months from now.  I had to take the yarn and needles to my daughters home yesterday and get casting on lessons again.  This is the same shawl pattern I used to make for my best friends birthday present. This one will either be a birthday or Mothers day gift if I do not get it done on time for the birthday.  I was able to get the border done this evening but it is really something I want to be able to pick up and work on in the mornings while I am having my coffee and watching the news before going to work.   I have found that I can use the long needles easier than the circular ones and I can actually knit quicker.

Last week was my first week of the diet and I started out at 154.4 and weighed in at 152.4 on Friday.  Today I got back on the scale and my weight was 150 pounds even.  I lost a little over 2 more pounds this week and that gives me the encouragement I need to continue.  If I loose 2 pounds a week I certainly can meet my weight goal by April 1st.  I hope you will not get tired of hearing about the weight loss but it helps if I am telling someone besides hubs how it is going and hopefully you all will help me stay accountable. 

I have a list a mile long of things I need to work on this weekend.  I hope to get some fabric cut for the next border on the quilt, some crocheting done and maybe tackle cleaning out another closet or cupboard.  I know the weekend will not be long enough.  I wish you all a great weekend!  Blessings!

Cooking Light

Cooking Light is somewhat of a challenge for me.  I have not done it often over the years and my dear hubs does not need to eat light food.  Tall and slim that would be a good description of the man.  He can eat anything and quite a bit of it.  The man could eat pizza every day and be very happy.  I like to cook and bake so dieting is so not easy for me.  This week I have gotten a bit weary of salads and light Progresso soups so I got out this huge cookbook that hubs bought as a gift for me years ago.  Humm, was that a hint?  Sure took me a long time to take it if it was.  Here is the book.  Do not know if it is still in print or not.

And this is what I picked to try this week along with the recipe.

No-Fuss Tuna Quiche
1 unbaked 9 inch deep dish pastry shell
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk
3 extra large eggs (from our hen house of coarse)
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped drained pimiento (I forgot to pick them up at the store)
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (6 1/8 ounces) Tuna, drained and flaked
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded low-fat Cheddar cheese
8 spears (4 inches each) broccoli

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Bake pastry shell for 5 minutes;  remove to rack to cool.  Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.  For filling, in large bowl whisk together milk and eggs.  Stir in onions, pimiento, basil and salt.  Fold in tuna and cheese.  Pour into prebaked pastry shell.  Bake at 325 degree F. for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan steam broccoli spears over simmering water for 5 minutes.  Drain:  set aside.  After 30 minutes baking time, arrange broccoli spears, spoke-fashion, over quiche.  Bake 25 to 35 minutes more or until a knife inserted 2 inches from center comes out clean.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Cut into 8 wedges, centering a broccoli spear in each wedge.
8 servings
226 Calories
10 g Fat

Tomorrow is weight in day for me.  I'll let you know how I did this week when I post tomorrow.  Good night friends!  Blessings!

New

Hi friends.  The New Year always brings with it the need for change.  For me it is about getting more organized and cleaning out the old to make room for the new.  I am hoping for a lot of change this year.  As I have mentioned in a previous post I am trying to lose 20 pounds by the first of April.  I know we all make the resolution to lose weight every year but this year I have picked a number and a date and I am planning to be true to myself this year.  I've also listed that my word for the year is finish.  I plan on finishing a ton of projects that I have started and that have needed finished for a long time.  And today I started the clean up and clean out, with our coat closet.  This is a closet that I throw things in that we are not using any longer but think someone else may want or need them.

 I really pulled a lot out and moved it all to the back door and decided I would take a picture to show you how much you can throw in one closet in three years and just forget about.  That is how long we have lived here.  It has all been moved to the car, books are going to a library sale, the bags of cloths and the rest to Goodwill.  Out with the old in with the new.  New hopes, new friends, new ideas, new outlook on life, the list goes on.
Linking up with:     

Work in Progress and More to Come

When I got home from work today I was just not in the mood to think about the quilt dilemma.  Read about that here.  I have decided what to do but it means sitting down and doing the math, for me that takes some time.  So I sat at my computer and brought up Netflix, watched a movie and worked on this afghan.  This one is a gift for one of my Grandsons birthday in April.  Trying not to start anything new unless it is a gift.   Trying.

While I was crocheting hubs brought in the mail.  The yarn I ordered to make Barbie cloths for my grand daughters came.  These are going to be gifts for next Christmas.  I even bought a Rubbermaid box to keep the cloths together as I finish them.

 Can you believe the size of the box they packed this in?  This is all I ordered, there was nothing else in it.  Do you think this is their way of collecting more postage or do they only keep one size box in supply?  Seemed very silly to me.  There are some stencils in there also.  I have a couple of old projects that I have had sitting around for a while.  I was planning on doing some decorative painting on them (yes I can do that and have) but it takes time and I have overwhelmed myself with all these things sitting around waiting to be done.  So I ordered some stencils.  Lets just say I should have read the size on the description because at least one is way too large. 
Today I was visiting The Bee Lady and she is linking up with The Clip Cafe's work in progress link up and asked us to join her.  I should have taken pictures of more of my WIP but there is always next week.
Have a great evening!  Blessings!

http://theclipcafeblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-wonderful-wip.html