VIRGO

Money Box - great present!

2011-01-01T11:32:00.000-08:00

I'm always looking for unique gifts to give....and sometimes I just can't think of the right thing..but EVERYONE loves money. This is a great way to give money, as it adds an element of excitement to the gift. I made a few of these for Christmas presents this year....and to begin you just need to go to the bank and ask for brand new dollar bills. Tape the ends of each of the bills together, then roll them up - make a Pull Here tab and tape onto the dollars. Secure in place while you are preparing your box. Cut a slit in the box slightly larger in length then the bills and wide enough so they can slide out easy. Secure the money roll in the box and slide the tab through the slit. Wrap the gift, and it is ready for giving.

Vintage Postcards

2010-12-28T04:07:00.000-08:00

In the early 1970's a friend of our family gave these vintage postcards to my Mother - as she was moving and didn't want to pack the "junk". Back then I thought the cards were great...and had forgotten about them, until 10 years ago when I found them at my mother's house tucked away. Since she no longer wanted the "junk" - I took the cards, and I just love them. I generally pull them out around this time of year (I guess because they are New Year's cards) and just love looking at them....they bring you back to a simplier time. Some of the actual writing on the backs have faded, and it's funny to read 1/1/83 - which is actually 1883 not 1993! They were all given to the same family -mainly Arthur giving them to his mom. Enjoy them, I have more to post - but don't think I can add anymore of the photos.

IN A PICKLE....

2010-08-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

CANNING...... spent a good part of my weekend peeling, chopping & slicing, as I was fortunate to get a bunch of tomatoes, which I turned into Zesty Salsa & Tomato Sauce. Since cucumbers are so inexpensive this time of the year.....purchased alot to make Dill Pickles and Bread & Butter Pickles. I also made 6 pints of Peach Jam. The mangos at our local market were so ripe I couldn't resist, so I made Mango/Banana bread....which was my first time, but was quite happy with the result....could be my new favorite! I even reserved some mashed mango to make mango butter.

LAKE GEORGE Vacation - August 2010

2010-08-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

Just returned from a vacation in Lake George (Hague NY) with two of my neighbor friends, Patty & Barbara. What a relaxing week.....we spent so many hours either sitting on this dock or floating/swimming in the lake. Some days we went to the dock at 10 a.m. and did not return up the hill to the house until 4 p.m. I read three books, and just had the best time.

One of the things we really enjoyed this week - was every morning while we sat out on the house deck drinking coffee....we would read dairies from 1910-1950 -which were written by Pat's husband Smitty's aunt. This woman had written in her dairy every day during that period of time....they were short little highlights of the day, scattered with historic moments. We were mesmorized by them. By weeks end we added the author and her friends ....as if they were people we actually knew. Life was so simple back then.......they baked pies, gardened, made quilts (wow.....I still do that!). We plan to research where each of the people mentioned in the diaries lived (Three Bridges, NJ) - so we can make a map and drive to each of the homes, as she would always say she either went up or down to their house. The week was not only relaxing, but took us back into time.

BLUEBERRIES!

2010-07-03T03:10:00.001-07:00

Ray and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather on Friday to head to Solebury Orchards above Lahaska to do some blueberry/raspberry picking. My goal is to make blueberry jam, and do some blueberry baking this weekend. We hoped to fill 4 quarts of berries, but Ray found a great spot for picking in fields and we couldn't resist filling the extra 3 quart containers we were reserving for raspberries. After we filled all 7 we headed back to pay for them, and pick up more containers for our raspberries, but were told that the raspberries were pretty much picked over....so we decided to pass on that. Today begins my blueberry jam making session.....along with some blueberry crumb muffins which I will be sharing with my neighbors. I think I'll freeze some also, so I've have them for future baking needs. (The two tomatoes in the picture are our first tomatoes from our gardens).

Preserving Party

2010-06-15T17:04:00.001-07:00

I was one of the lucky people who was eligible to have a http://www.houseparty.com/ - Preserving Party. Ball products supplied us with a complete set of products for our canning needs - check out their website at http://www.freshpreserving.com/ . Included was Stainless Steel waterbath canner; Ball discovering canning kit, boxes of pectin, four dozen 8 oz ball jars, cloth grocery bags!

We spent the day making Zesty Salsa and Pepper Jelly (see attached recipe page). The outcome was great tasting salsa. We even had enough to taste! Everyone went home with 3 jars of Salsa and 1 jar of the pepper jelly. I never had pepper jelly, but am told my Martha that it is a treat mixed with cream cheese, with scoopers, it is also good on cracker with brie. Can't wait to try it!

I think preserving/canning has become my new obsession!!! Watch for additional posts of my preserving.

Sunday JAM Session

2010-06-01T04:48:00.000-07:00

I qualified for a House Party (http://www.houseparty.com/) - Ball Preserving Party, which I'll be hosting with my daughter-in-law Martha on June 13th. I was sent all the goodies for making preserves...and I just couldn't help myself to begin early. (I had to check the items out to make sure they worked!) So out I went to purchase lots of strawberries, and then didn't stop at that and also bought some blackberries & raspberries.

The end product was 7 jars of Strawberry Jam, and 2 1/2 jars of Blackberry/Raspberry Jam.

At the House Party we will be making salsa & pepper jelly. Stay tuned. The free products I received for use at the party were......bathing pot with all utensils needed, coupons to purchase four free cases of ball jars, two recipe books, tote bags for each of our guests, along with many coupons for Ball products. Below are the photos from my day.

Pouring the Strawberry Jam into the jars.

Straining the seeds from the Blackberry/Raspberry Jam

All the jam jars in their bath.

The finished product!!!

A Trip down Memory Lane....

2010-05-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Ray and I attended the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby on Trenton Avenue, in the Kensington section of Philadlephia. I was really looking forward to the Derby and Art Fest....but mostly looking forward to viewing the home of my late Aunt Bella (the same home my father grew up in). During my childhood we spent many a day at her hojme, and the house always intrigued me. My Aunt Bella had it furnished Victorian style and I thought it was the biggest house I fondly remember spending time in the brick backyard sitting at her wrought iron ice cream parlor style table, and watching her tend her rose bushes. She also was a great cook and always made some goodies for us. Many an hour were spent inside the house at her Secretary Desk ....drawing and coloring. I also remember sitting on the front porch - as there was a stable across the street (and there still is)...the horses would clip clop down the cobblestone street (which is still a cobblestone street!). Such great memories!

I wanted to take a picture of the house as it stands now...and was ready with photos (see attached), so I could explain to the new owners (if they happened to be outside) - why I was taking photos. Turns out they were sitting on their porch...because I lost my nerve, Ray went up to them and asked if he could take a photo. We explained why, and it turns out the couple who currently owne the house purchased it from my Aunt (he was a single guy at the time of purchase. My aunt babysat him when he was a youngster. The next door neighbor's were also out and knew my family too. It turns out he is renovating the home...and he invited us inside. I can't begin to tell you how emotional I was...it was quite nostalgic ....and to save embarrassment I suppressed my sobbing! I walked through the house (but I really wanted to run from room to room..l.but I contained myself)....taking it all in. I was MUCH smaller then I remembered (I suppose the last time I was in there was before it was sold in the late 70's). The old fireplace was intact as was the brick backyard. The front garden had since been replaced with brick. The one thing that I treasured the most about the house was the wrought iron fence n the front, but unfortunately that was replaced by a chain link fence...boo.

I thought how much I would love to own this house...but it is going to be listed for $200,000! (anyone want to give me a loan?). I'm posting photos below (of my paternal grandmother in front of the house, and ones taken yesterday), but I'm sure it will not mean the same to you. But for me.....WHAT A FABULOUS DAY!!! And to top off the day, we got to see the Kensington Kinectic Sculpture Derby ....which was a blast!!!!

Sewing - Gift Certificate holders

2009-12-22T16:01:00.001-08:00

I had several gift certificates to give this year, and just handing them the envelope, just wasn't doing it for me. I was given alot of unique fabric pieces, that I was trying to find a use for.......so I decided to make my own Gift Certificate holders. These can be used for anything after the gift certificate is used. A co-worker suggested that I make them as coupon holders.

Christmas Ornaments

2009-12-22T15:47:00.001-08:00

Every year - although not a big lover of the Christmas Holiday...I feel the need to make an ornament to give to friends/neighbors/co-workers. I begin checking out sites in the summer finding the right one to make. I always like to see others ideas, and most times duplicate them, or add my own twist to it. This year I found a great ornament, that I just had to make! They were very time consuming, but worth the time. Because they took so long, I began to whittle down my "give to" list......as I could be making them until next Christmas.

ROWENTA House Party

2009-12-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

I joined up to be a host for HOUSE PARTY (http://www.houseparty.com/) - and was chosen to have Rowenta Steam Iron party. I just need to invite 8-10 guest to come over, and test out the new Rowenta Iron/Steamer. The item was shipped to me two week prior to the event, so I could test it out myself prior to the launching. Well the day of the event (December 5th) we had some ice & snow come our way, and due to some of my guest traveling from a distance, my party attendance was basically limited to my neighbors. Regardless we had a good time. Each guest brought a few items to be ironed, and went home with neatly pressed clothing, that they put in their complimentary Rowenta garmet bag. I had lots of food & drinks too.....so we had a good time!

Since I work with some of the people who were unable to attend, I plan on taking the iron/steamer to work this week, and we can try it out during lunch! We'll have our own mini party......might even take some of the leftover appetizers too.

T-shirt Quilt

2009-11-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

For a number of years now - my son Colin has been talking about having me convert his old team/band/dear to his heart T-shirts he no longer wears, into a T-Shirt Quilt. Finally this past weekend, he was able to sort out the shirts and deciding which ones to incorporate into the quilt. I cut all the squares to 14 x 14" - and will (once my layout is complete) have a 2" strip between each square. Not sure what material that will be, nor do I know about what to have for the backing. Perhaps I'll use the coordinating back of the t-shirt for the back too! This is a work in progress. Stay tuned.....

Apple Enchiladas

2009-08-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

Made these for a dinner with went to last night.......they were delicious and we served them with vanilla ice cream.....think we all but licked our plates.

Apple Enchilada Dessert
"Apples rolled in flour tortillas. VERY delicious, easy and fast to make.

INGREDIENTS
1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling
6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup margarine
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Spoon fruit evenly onto all tortillas, sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down on lightly greased 8x8 baking pan.
Bring margarine, sugars and water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly for 3 minutes.
Pour sauce evenly over tortillas; sprinkle with extra cinnamon on top if desired. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Makes 6 large tortillas; may be cut in half to serve 12.

Happy with her Quilt

2009-08-11T15:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a shot of Erin with her 6th Birthday Quilt.

Quilt for Erin Rose's 6th Birthday

2009-08-06T16:41:00.000-07:00

Ray's granddaughter (my step-granddaughter) Erin turns 6 years old this Saturday. She is the sweetest girl, who deserved a very special quilt. She has some of these colors in her room, so I pulled them all together for this quilt. I began the cutting/layout on Friday and by Monday night it was completed.

Finished Monkey Quilt

2009-06-09T16:48:00.001-07:00

Here is the finished Monkey Quilt -all ready for gift giving......now onto the next quilt!

Baby Quilt ----- monkey style!

2009-04-27T17:54:00.001-07:00

An long time friend of my son's....is having a baby! She meant alot to me over the years, and I want to celebrate with her, by making a special baby quilt! On her baby registry I saw she had several items with monkeys on it, so I just had to incorporate monkeys into the theme.

I was happy with the color choices - and have posted the patterns. I'll add step by step photos along the way. Going to tie this quilt off, as the backing is a soft fuzzy fabric, and thought it would be nicer to have it that way. I'm excited to get it started, and have a layout in mind.

Ultimate Chocolate Frosted Brownies

2009-04-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

I made a batch of these to donate to the Bake Sale at work. Hope they sell.....or I should say I hope I don't eat them all before I donate them.

Ultimate Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup butter , melted (and divided)
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Butter Cream Frosting (see recipe below)

Makes 36 brownies. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9x2 inch baking pan.
Stir together cocoa and baking soda in large bowl; stir in 1/3 cup butter. Add boiling water; stir until mixture thickens. Stir in sugar, eggs and remaining 1/3 cup butter, stir until smooth. Add flour, vanilla and salt; blend completely. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes until brownies begin to pull away from side of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Meanwhile, prepare One Bowl Butter Cream frosting. Frost brownies. Optional: sprinkle with additional chocolate chips. Cut into squares.

Chocolate Indulgence Day

2009-03-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

To get everyone out of the winter doldrums and into the excitement of spring....I hosted a Chocolate Indulgence Day today! Basically it was an excuse to get my friends together and eat chocolate. I also had a friend who is a massage therapist come to give chair massages....and we did chocolate hand scrub/massages. It was a fun day.

The menu included:

Chocolate cups filled with chocolate/raspberry mousse

Chocolate covered strawberries

Chocolate layer cake with chocolate icing & white chocolat

Chocolate flourless torte

Triple chocolate brownies

Boston Cream Pie

Chocolate Turtle cheesecake

Chocolate Pizza (sugar cookie topped with chocolate & candies)

Chocolate Punch

Godiva Chocolate Liquer

I believe everyone's chocolate cravings were satisfied!!

RECIPES: Yummy Chocolate Hand Scrub

3 tablespoons of Cocoa Powder
1 cup Light Brown Sugar

1 teaspooon of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of oil (your choice - I used Olive oil)

Mix the first 3 ingredients together in a bowl. Then start adding the oil gradually, mixing as you go, until you get the consistency of a thick paste. Fill a jar and you are ready to go:

TO USE: Apply it to moist hands, rub in a circular motion and rinse well. You'll be left with smooth, soft, great smelling hands!

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

6 ozs bittersweet chocolate (chopped)

2 oz unsweetened chocolate (chopped)

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

4 large eggs

1 cup flour

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a metal bowl, set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt bittersweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate with butter stirring until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and let cool till lukewarm. Stir in the sugar and vanilla and add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in the salt and flour just till combined, then add chocolate chips. Pour batter into well-buttered and floured 13 x 9 inch baking pan, smooth the top and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes of until tester comes ouwt with crumbs adhering to it. Let cool completely in pan on rack and cut into 24 bars.

CHOCOLATE CHIP cookies

2009-02-27T14:13:00.000-08:00

Made chocolate chip cookies the other night --and thought I'd post my recipe for them. I made the cookies for my friend Elaine at work for a celebration. I received the recipe many years ago from a friend Carol Monahan! The difference in these cookies is the shortening.

ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Crisco shortening

2/3 cup Butter (softened)

1 cup Sugar

1 cup Brown Sugar (packed)

2 Eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

3 cups Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Salt

1 12 oz bag Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream shortening, butter and sugars. Then mix in eggs & vanilla extract until fluffy. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking soda & salt, then gradually mix into the wet mixture. Once all blended, add in the chocolate chips.

I like making large cookies (6 to a baking sheet) so they require 13-14 minutes of baking. However, if you prefer smaller size cookie - bake for 11 minutes.

When the world gives you tomatoes........

2008-09-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

make sauce, gazpacho and tomato soup!!!!! I had the opportunity yesterday to go to a huge garden to pick roma tomatoes and a few other varieties......look how much I was able to pick! I spent hours peeling the tomatoes, seeding, pureeing, making sauce, freezing these tomatoes for many other meals in the winter time!

Flower Power

2008-08-18T16:40:00.001-07:00

We had friends over for dinner the other night - and not only did they bring a great salad - but this wonderful artistic floral arrangement. And to top it off - all of the flowers were grown in her own garden. Check out the long flowing strings of flowers cascading over the side. Pretty amazing huh? I have to look up the flowers.

Karen's Quilt

2008-07-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

Here is the quilt I'm making for my friend Karen. We have been friends since we were 5 years old, and she often have "girlfriend" trips to her mountain house, so I wanted to make a quilt for that house. Heading there in a few weeks, so I'd better get working on finishing it. This is only the front. I'm going to put a border around and a plain material backing.

A Quilt for Martha

2008-06-11T03:01:00.000-07:00

I created this quilt in 24 hrs - as I wanted my daughter in law to have a nice bed quilt while she was recovering from multiple injuries in a Rehabilation Center. I hope that it brings comfort and love to her!

APRONS

2008-04-29T16:57:00.001-07:00

Here is my lastest project - aprons. Got the idea, as Martha bought me an apron last year from Anthropologie, and I wanted to make some for friends. Found alot of fabric at a garage sale this weekend, which I made the blue/brown print one from. The other is made from a vintage tablecover. I plan on making more! Put your order in.

Quilted Harris & another!

2008-04-15T17:47:00.001-07:00

Here is the completed quilt for Colin & Martha - to be delivered on Saturday! (1st photo) - then this is the layout for the quilt for our bedroom - the binding will be a light blue design (yet to be purchased).

Front of quilt - complete

2008-04-07T04:53:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post the front of the quilt as it is complete. Next step is to add the backing, batting & finish the quilt. Colin & Martha saw it yesterday and liked it!!! I forgot to take the measurements, but will post those alittle later.

SMILES

2008-02-25T04:13:00.001-08:00

We were in a silly mood yesterday - and taking a photo to cheer up our friend Debbie who is recovery from surgery - so I'd post and make your day! Hope I brought a smile to your face!

ICE CABIN - Road trip!

2008-02-17T06:38:00.001-08:00

Ray, Peter, Cliff & I went to see the Ice Cabin in Tafton PA yesterday. It is the creation of Mark Crothermel who owns Ice Works and also runs Buehler's Idlewild where we vacation. It was an incredible creation. You should check out their website (http://www.crystalcabinfever.com/).

The cabin was complete with a ice bed, vanity, table & chairs, fireplace with extra logs, table with pitcher & bowl and all the luxuries of home, along with a porch.

There was even a slide (and let me tell you they went down there fast!!!). We also watched an ice sculpting demo where the girl created a cupid with arrow right before our eyes (1/2 to do). It was so cold inside there, we actually had to go outside to get warm!