My Byrd House

Wash Cloths

2012-01-16T08:24:00.005-06:00

Will insert photo here in the morning... promise!

A dear friend in my Quilt Guild has been knitting up these wash cloths for years. She says they are great therapy and help you unwind after work. She is right... I don't work outside the home much but I do work here.... Quite a bit. And knitting while I am watching a movie with the kids, waiting on an appointment, etc. does help me de-stress. I also don't sit still very well and it is nice to have something "to show" for your down time.

Now, I am not very good at knitting. I have been mostly self taught... meaning... I didn't learn as a little girl like all my big sisters did. I didn't pick up needles until I had at least three little kids and was dieing to make something lovely and yarn-y for my kids. Well that was a disaster. After a couple more years, I decided to give it a try again. By then Harry Potter was a huge interest in my Son's life and I decided to make him a scarf. As it turns out, that is a great place to start. I learned how to knit in the round which just so happens to knit and purl itself as you go round and round for dozens of rows. What it taught me was how to loosen up my stitches (I tend to put too much tension into my work) AND it helped to learn to see what the stitches were supposed to look like. I learned how to count rows and such. I learned what it looked like if I got things backwards. I also found a book and a couple of DVDs along the way at our local library that really helped me "wrap" my head around the whole knitting concept.
Knitting for Dummies is my favorite beginner book. The picture instructions are amazingly detailed so it is easy to follow right along as you turn the pages. The DVDs I found were, The Art of Knitting and I Can't Believe I'm Knitting! In Motion: Beginner, and my favorite (demonstrated by an amazing 6 year old boy) The Art of Knitting 4 Kids. I watched these over and over and finally got the hang of what I was doing, I even managed to teach my oldest daughter how to knit without needing my help. That was great.
So.... Here is the pattern for making these wash cloths. After working on scarves this is pretty easy and the pattern isn't hard to keep in your head. I love the mindlessness of simple knitting. The rhythm is very soothing.

I am going to link to different tutorials all along the way so you can watch someone else do the stitches, and so you can see several other people knit and get to know their sites. The Internet is such a wealth of information, posted there by very generous people.

For this tutorial you will need to know how to

Bind Off

Simple Knit Wash Cloth

Supplies:
Cotton Yarn - Peaches and Cream seems to be a leading brand. ( I used white yarn that I hand dyed.)
Size 6 to 8 knitting needles

Instructions:

Cast on 4 stitches

Row 1 : Knit 4 (this link includes an additional way to cast on)

Row 2: Knit 2, Yarn Over (YO), Knit across the row.

Repeat row 2 until you have 44 stitches on your needle.

Now you will decrease.

Row 3: Knit 1, Knit 2 together, Yarn Over, Knit 2 together, knit to the end of the row.

Repeat this until you have 4 stitches left on the needle.

Bind off the last 4 stitches leaving about a 6 inch tail.

Take a yarn needle or a crochet hook and weave the loose ends into the washcloth and trim the ends.

Pear Pie

2011-12-28T10:46:00.004-06:00

I crave this pie (OK I crave lots of pie but I really do love this one!)

I first had this pie at my Brother's house in Spring City Utah. My sister-in-law, Lee, is an amazing cook and shared this recipe with me 20 years ago. The beauty of this pie is that it can be made with fresh or bottled pears.

Lee's Open Face Pear Pie
9" pastry shell
4 medium pears*
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar (we cut this to 1/2 cup)
1/4 cups flour
3 eggs
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp ground mace**

Directions:
Peel, halve and core the pears.
Brush w/lemon juice.
Place pears cut side down in pie shell w/narrow ends toward center.
Cream together butter & sugar.
Beat in flour, eggs, vanilla and salt.
Pour over pears, sprinkle lightly w/mace.
Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes and cool.

* Can use bottled or canned pear half (or even chunks, as long as you have 4 pears worth.)
**Can substitute nutmeg for mace

Last Minute Apron Tutorial

2011-12-24T08:17:00.003-06:00

I have dusted off my Apron Tutorial writing skills and whipped up a Last Minute Apron (& Stocking) Tutorial for my blog world friends. It is actually featured over on Apronista. So... I will just post a link here for you.

Enjoy!
P.S. I got my lovely Dishtowels at one of my favorite quilt shops (in Historic Carthage Mo.), Block by Block which is run by my dear friend Amy. Go check out her on-line store!

2011-11-09T13:43:00.003-06:00

Shawnee's Secret Santa Swap

My dear friend Shawnee is doing another one of her lovely swaps. It has been ages since I had time to participate in one and this one just looks like so much fun.

If you are interested in checking it out...

Go here!

As part of the swap, I am required to answer these questions for my partner.

So here goes...

What are your hobbies?

I like to sew, quilt, read and cook.
What are your favorite colors?

I love bright colors, especially reds. I love vintage 1930's and 40's colors.
Do you collect anything?

I collect salt and pepper shakers, old plates, quilting fabric, cookie jars
Are you allergic to any fibers or animals?

No
Do you have any pets?

We have dogs and cats (outdoor animals)
Coffee, Tea, or Chocolate?

NO to coffee and tea, but I do love chocolate!
What do you like to read?

I love Anne Perry, Robin McKinley, but best of all Jane Austen, and the Bronte sisters...
Do you prefer Cookies or Candies as a sweet?

I love both so either is fine!
What is your favorite holiday treat?

Actually cheese ball... but I love fudge, peanut brittle, divinity... OK I like it all.
Describe your favorite holiday tradition.

Everyday in December, I read Christmas stories with my children. We look forward to this all year. It is a special family time we have and I love it! They are great stories about the spirit of Christmas and doing and sharing with others.
Did you believe in Santa as a child?

YES! I hid behind the tree one year to catch him and woke to find the presents there around me.
When do you open presents?

We get to open Pajamas on Christmas Eve, we get stockings in the morning and the presents after a big family breakfast.
Do you put up a tree and when? If not, how do you celebrate?

We put it up the weekend after Thanksgiving.
Does your tree have a theme?

The theme for our tree is... handmade. My mother makes an ornament for each grandchild each year and that is what goes on our tree, along with things the kids and I have made for each other. There are a few store bought ones that have come along the way too.
What has been your favorite gift to give? to receive?
My favorite gift to give is the Pajamas I make for my kids each year. I try to design new ones every year to two. That is fun too.

My favorite to receive? how can I answer that? Gifts given with love are the very best!

Canned Pears 1920's Style

2011-10-07T10:15:00.002-05:00

This has not been my year for produce. Late spring, chickens, and 6 weeks of over 100 deg temps and no rain pretty much put an end to everything in the garden. :(

I did get my hands of 2 bushels of pears. They are wonderful and we canned some of them. It feels wonderful to have them on the pantry shelf, 42 Quarts and 14 pints. Happy Dance!

You might notice in the photo that I have skins on my pears.... Well... a few years ago I was canning my first batch of pears ever. I was peeling the pears and hating life. I didn't have time for that much fuss. My mom came in and heard me grumbling and said....

"Your Dad always liked them with the skins on."

Me: "What!? Can you do that?"

Mom: "Of course! That is how your Grandma Lucile always did them and it was the only way your dad liked them."

That was all I needed to hear. I stopped peeling the pears right then and there and have loved it. We tried a batch really quick to makes sure we liked it and found that they tasted better than the pears without the skins on. The skins have so much flavor and when you can them, the flavor is "infused" into the pears. If you don't, the skins do slide off easily after canning.

Why 1920's?.... well my dad was born in the 1920's and this is how his mom canned then and through the great depression.

Here is my recipe for canned pears.

Canned Pears 1920's Style

about 3 pears per jar

Extra Lite syrup - 5 1/2 cups water, 1 1/4 (1.25)cups sugar - bring to a boil

Wash pears.

Cut up pears and fill your jars to 1 inch from the top.

Pour boiling extra light syrup over the pears leaving 1 inch head space.

Soften the lids in boiled water.

Wipe the rim of the jars with a clean paper towel, place the lids on and put on the screw bands and finger tighten (that means you don't crank them down).

Process in a steam canner (or water bath) according to your altitude. For me in Southern Missouri I process for 35 minutes for quarts.

Let the jars sit in the canner for 10 minutes with the heat off and then remove and cool on a dish towel for 24 hours.

Remove the screw bands, wipe the jars clean (sometimes there is sticky syrup on them) and put away without the bands on them. Why?? (I asked that this summer.) Because.... it is easier to see that the seals are still good... and... the bands won't rust on you and cement themselves to the jars. Makes life much easier when you go to open the jars.

Secret Sneaky Sloppy Joes

2011-10-06T19:53:00.005-05:00

This is my all time favorite Sloppy Joe recipe. I got it from my sister Jeanne. She has the most amazing, wicked cooking skills of all my sister.... (don't tell the other 5).....
What makes this recipe so sneaky and secretive is.... It is chock full of cabbage. Seriously! And when you mix the sauce into it... it can look a lot like shredded beef.

Secret Sneaky Sloppy Joes

2 pounds ground beef
1/4 head chopped or shredded cabbage (I usually double this)
1 onion diced
2/3 green pepper diced
1/2 bottle of ketchup (how big is that ?? I use a large bottle)
2 stalks celery chopped
6 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp Vinegar
2 Tbsp mustard
2 Cloves garlic
1 Tbsp liquid smoke (optional)

Brown the beef. Add the vegetables and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure it isn't sticking and burning.
Serve on buns or sliced bread and enjoy.

Outdoor Cooking Experiments

2011-05-16T08:27:00.002-05:00

I think Facebook has taken a toll on my blogging. Sorry!
Recently we have been experimenting with some simple outdoor cooking methods.
We have made Penny alcohol stoves. They need some more experimenting and perfecting to get them to work well for us. We are also working on Buddy Burners. And this week, we made a Hobo stove. I hope to put some more detailed instructions of how to make them with your family. Here is a picture of ours. We fixed bacon and eggs with it and it worked but we discovered there are some kinks to work out still. I hope to be bosting some tutorials with what we have learned.

Jeddie's Fabulous Fish Sticks

2011-02-22T09:33:00.002-06:00

The idea for this recipe came from my little boy's Sesame Street Cookbook. Oscar has a great fish stick recipe in there and we adapted it to what we had on hand.

Jeddie's Fabulous Fish Sticks

Fish Fillets - cut into strips (talapia, cod, and orange roughy are good)
milk
flour
bread crumbs
seasoning mix (we like Mrs. Dash Table Blend)
pepper
butter

Cut your fish into eatable strips (what ever size you like).
Set out 4 pie tins or deep plates
-In the first one put milk
-In the second put flour
-In the third put the bread crumbs and the seasonings (I started with 1 cup crumbs and about 1 tsp seasoning and had to keep adding but we use lots of fish). Pour the melted butter (about 1/4 cup) over the crumbs and mix together.

Dip the fish pieces in this order
1-milk
2- flour
3- milk (quickly so it doesn't get soggy)
4- Bread crumbs, seasoning, and butter mix

Then put them on a baking sheet.

Bake at 450 deg F for 10 to 15 minutes depending on how thick the fish is.
They are done when the fish fakes apart with a fork. We noticed that the fish looked a little "soft" when the timer went off but that it firmed up as it rested a little on the tray. Test it with a fork.
Serve with your favorite sauce.
Ours is store bought tar tar sauce. I know I should be making my own but I haven't found and remembered a recipe I like yet.
We are open to suggestions. :o)

Another great cookbook to use with children is Kid's Favorites Made Healthy.

Soap Winner!

2011-02-13T23:21:00.003-06:00

Thank you to all that stopped by and left a comment.

The winner of my soap giveaway is....

Schneiderbären said...
Danke für das schöne Candy, Deine Seifen sind einfach super.

Liebe Grüße
Claudia

She gets to pick out 10 scents and I will send them off her way.

Sorry to those of you that didn't win. Thank you for checking out my Etsy shop and giving it some LOVE. :o) You are wonderful.

I will have another fabulous giveaway from my shop in another week or two so come back and check soon.

Friday Give Away! - Soap Samples

2011-02-11T11:11:00.004-06:00

I have been snowed in for almost 2 weeks with my five kids. I am ready for something fun today!

(we actually got a lot more snow than this, this was the first little bit of snow)

So .... to break the the monotony I am doing a little give away.

I have chosen to give one of my Sample Size bar packages. These bars are 1/4 the size of my regular bars. It gives you a chance to try several of the soaps with having to break the bank to check them out.

This Sample Pack is for 10 bars of your choice.

If you are picked as the winner, you get to pick the 10 sample size bars I send you.

And YES it is open to international bloggers.

I will take comments all day today and will pick a winner Saturday night/Sunday morning.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment.

To get an extra entry, go to my etsy shop and favorite it and come back and tell me what soaps you like.

To get 5 extra entries, post the giveaway on your blog (or facebook page) today and come back and leave a link to your blog.

Oort Clouds - A Snow Dying Tutorial

2011-02-08T09:55:00.004-06:00

300 posts!! I can't believe it and here is another tutorial.

Welcome the the Blizzard of 2011. I have lived here in Southwest Missouri for over 25 years and have never seen snow like this. We got 20 inches of snow last week and it is still here. Amazing. The funny thing about Missouri weather is that it changes all the time. Just over a week ago we had temperatures in the 60's and 70's. The kids were wearing shorts outside. Then 3 days later we were in the middle of the biggest blizzard I have seen since I was a little girl. (maybe not even then)
We cancel school here when there is 1 inch of snow. We are on our second week of NO SCHOOL (except for the one kid doing home school, poor kid just keeps plugging away at his work).
With so much snow at hand and no prospect of it melting for a week, we decided to give Snow Dying a dry. I have seen fabrics labeled as "Snow Dyed" at quilt shows for years but never had enough of the white stuff to give it a try. Well now I got my wish. Happy day!!!

The procedure is very simple and so much fun to watch.

1. Prepare your fabric for dying by soaking it in Soda Ash solution (1/2 cup salt, 1/3 cup soda ash, and 1 gallon hot water). Soak the fabric for 30 minutes. The fabric has to be 100% cotton and pre-washed to strip off any finishes. Squeeze out the fabric.

2. Scrunch up the fabric in the bottom of a tub. You can fold it too.

3. Pack the tubs with snow.

4. Sprinkle dyes right on the snow. I use Dharma Trading Co for my dye supplies.

5. Watch the snow melt. This will take a while unless you have a very well heated room. I used my laundry room which has no heat to it. So.... The next morning the snow wasn't that melted. I moved them to the kitchen and them started melting pretty quickly.

6. Finally rinse them out under running water until the water is mostly clear. Then wash them in a top loading machine with synthrapol detergent. If you can't get this, you can use some Dawn dish detergent (about 1 tbsp for a full load).
I washed mine twice, the second washing was in my front loader machine on sanitize with my regular detergent. Then dry them.

Here are some close ups of some of the fun bits.

My daughter thinks they look like Oort Clouds. I think she is right. :o)

I think the browns are my favorites. That could just be because they are warm colors and it is so cold this week.

TIPS:
The thing I found to make the most difference was using "mixed" colors not pure primary colors. As mixed color dyes move through the snow and the fabric, they separate and move at their own speeds. This results in the best coloring on your fabric with the most crackles and fissures on the cloth. I love it!! I can't wait to try it with some serous greens and yellows. Only problem is what to do with the fabric now. Sad thing is they will most likely just end up as soap wrappers. I use my own hand dyed fabrics for my soap wrappings.

I think the colors are so much more vibrant because I used dye powder directly on the snow instead of dye solutions. This makes the colors more intense.

Next tries might include putting the fabrics or a rack instead of in tubs so the water drains away. Will see what affect that has. :o)

My Own Towel

2011-02-07T11:08:00.004-06:00

With a vain attempt at order..... we made some personalized towels this week. The theory is that if you have your OWN towel, then you will be responsible for it, not leave it on the floor (because Mom WILL know it is YOURS).
At any rate the kids love them and maybe that alone will help them to take care of them. I love new towels too. I let the kids pick out their towels which gave them some ownership in the project which is always a good thing. :o)

Here is the quick and dirty tutorial to personalized towels.

1- Print out (or draw) your initials. Very Fat, Chunky letters do a better job of showing up and showing off fun fabrics. Be sure to reverse the letters or they will end up backwards on the towels.

2 - Trace the letter onto the paper side of "Lite Heat 'n Bond" (my fusible web product of choice).

3 - Cut out around the letters, leaving a boarder of paper around the letter.

4 - Iron the letter the back side of your fun fabric. (follow the fusible web instructions)

5 - Cut out the letter on the lines and position it on the towel and iron in place (follow package instructions again).

6 - Stitch around the letter using a zig-zag or satin stitch.

7 - Add a tab for easy hanging (optional).

These make great party favors for kid's parties or birthday gifts. Use a picture like a crown, shield, car, cat, etc. and have a stack ready for spur of the moment birthday gifts for your kid's friends.

Crumpets For Me!

2011-01-11T09:49:00.003-06:00

I love reading books that have great food descriptions in them. I love food and it is one of the details I love to see in the background of a story. Growing up I read many English literature books and was always interested in what the people had for "tea". I was especially interested in crumpets since I had never seen or had them before. I imagined all kinds of cookies, cakes and such when I heard the word. I was very disappointed when I finally had one and found that they were like English muffins. Not one of my favorites.

Then I was reading one of Anne Perry's William Monk books. In it Hester was snatching a precious moment to herself and got to eat a hot crumpet with her tea. This was a rare treat for her. She described the crumpet with it's crispness and softness and the hot, melted butter that was in danger of running down her elbows if she didn't hold it just right and eat it quickly enough. I was sold on crumpets right there.

Now, after some searching, I have found a recipe that I like and I can enjoy a crumpet to myself (or with my kids). I hold it just right and eat it quickly to prevent the pool of melted butter from dripping on my hand and running down to my elbow.
I did have to do some searching.

The first recipe I found to way too much time, 3 hours from start to first crumpet.

Sorry!

When I want a crumpet I want it now not at next meal time.

Then I found the baking powder versions and was so excited.

However, I found that many of these sacrificed flavor and many of them tasted like flour paste. That is NOT good eats.
I have found some medium ground though.

I found some recipes that use both yeast and baking powder.

The time is cut down to 15 minutes and the flavor is fabulous.

I have found that those that call for eggs taste the very best.
So.....

Here is my recipe for crumpet, whole wheat crumpets no less.

(white flour can be substituted or mixed half and half with the wheat.)

Miss Lucy's

Whole Wheat Crumpets

4 cups flour

(whole wheat, white, or a mix of both)
3 cups hot water
2 tsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp baking powder
6 eggs
9 Tbsp Non-instant powdered milk (1 cup instant)
2 Tbsp oil or melted butter

In the hot water (not too hot or you will kill the yeast) add the sugar, eggs, oil and yeast. Mix well and set aside.
In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, salt and powdered milk.
Add to the water mixture and mix well.
Let the mixture stand for 15 minutes.

Prepare your griddle or large frying pan by heating it on medium for several minutes.
Oil your crumpet rings. I do this by pouring some oil into a small bowl and dipping or rolling the rings in the oil to coat. Set the rings on the hot griddle for a few seconds before adding the batter.
When the time is up, add a scoop of batter to each oiled ring. The rings should be half filled.
Cook at medium heat until the edges start to look "dry" and they have holes in them.

Remove the rings with tongs or pliers.

Flip the crumpets and bake on the other side.
Serve hot with butter and jam.

Enjoy!

** Hot milk can be substituted for the hot water and powdered milk. (It is winter here now and fresh milk is not as abundant as it is in the summertime. We don't buy milk from sthe store, only the dairy.)

Sneaker Saver Tip

2011-01-06T09:33:00.002-06:00

Yay for a new year. I am hoping to post some more tips and tutorials this year. Here's to hoping.

Does anyone in your house have a very loved but very stinky pair of old (or new) sneakers? Well someone at my has does or did I should say. One of my kids has had the stinkiest shoes and it doesn't seem to matter what we do they just stink. I have washed them, soaked them, treated them and nothing worked.
Then I found a scribbled note in one of my many folders of random info. It was for a stinky shoe treatment that is all natural. Yay! for my random note taking. So here is the recipe I found:

Sneaker Saver
1 small box baking soda (doesn't really matter what size)
several drops of Eucalyptus Essential oil (I would maybe use 1/2 tsp per pound of soda)

Directions.
Mix the baking soda and essential oil in a bag or container with a lid. Mix well and let it sit for a couple of days. This lets the oil get evenly distributed through the soda. Shake every now and then to make sure it is mixed.
Pour some of the baking soda mix into the bottom of the shoes to cover the bottom. Let it sit for a day or two. Then dump it out and check the shoes. If they don't smell sweet enough for you, do it again. One reluctant pair of shoes I tried it on took two treatments. You will be amazed at how scent free they become.
Enjoy!

Soap Pot

2010-12-12T15:20:00.007-06:00

We have been super busy here making up several batches of new soap. It smells so yummy in the soap room.

To celebrate the holiday season we are offering 2 free bars of soap for every order of 10 or more bars at our Etsy Shop

Byrd Bath Soaps

The sale will run to the end of December 2010 while quantities last.

All our soaps are 4.5 to 5 oz.

Here is the list of scents we have in the shop now. Hurry and get yours while they last. These make great small gift for family and friends and office parties. They fit perfectly into stocking for stocking stuffers.

Scents Available are:

Only Essential Oils:

Haunted Autumn Evening

Lavender

Licorice

Mint Magic

Morning Bliss (citronella, lemon, Lavender and Cedar)

Spiced Forest

Rosemary Mint

Tea Tree Special

**********************************

Fragrance Oils:

Coffee (kitchen soap)

Gingerbread Spice Cake

Grandma's Kitchen

Grapefruit & Ginger

Hell's Angel Food Cake

Honeysuckle

Huckleberry

Jake the Snake & Zeek the Freak (long story)

Lemon Tart

Love Muffin

Peppercorn

Pineapple

Plumeria

Raspberry Cordial

Red Clover Tea

Rose Petals

Spearmint & Eucalyptus

Spiced Fig

Strawberry

Sweetgrass

Tropical Fun

Vanilla Cream

Welcome Home

Wild Mint and Ivy

*******

Twilight Inspired soaps

And you can always get

Plain Lye Soap

just like grandma used to make.

Best stain stick ever!

Cherry "Cinnamon" Rolls

2010-10-28T09:18:00.003-05:00

My fall sewing has ended and my Christmas sewing is just beginning..... But for right now I am free to blog a few tasty things. This is a recipe I experimented with for my friend Tracy. Every now and then we have to have a bun (cinnamon roll) and a cup of tea (rooibos tea), and de-stress and the regroup. I need it as much as she does. (I hope she needs it as bad as I do).
I wanted to try something different the other day and I had seen a Cherry roll at a local tea shop and had to give it a try. I used my regular cinnamon roll dough recipe (whole wheat) and added my own home canned cherry pie filling (recipe to come). It was fabulous! So here is what I did.

Cherry Rolls

Dough:
2 Tbsp dry yeast
6 Cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp Gluten
2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp (non-instant) dry milk (1 cup instant)
1/2 cup instant potato flakes
2 Tbsp lecithin (optional)
2 cups hot water
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 eggs

Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the honey, eggs, milk, salt, lemon juice, butter, potato flakes, and lecithin and 1/2 the flour. (mix the gluten with the flour or it will clump). Beat well and let rise. Add the remaining flour and kneed for 8-10 minutes. Let rise for 1 hour.

Filling:
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
1 can cherry pie filling

Mix honey and butter together.

Roll out the dough into a large rectangle. Spread with honey and butter mixture. Top this with cherry pie filling.
Roll into a "classic cinnamon roll". Cut with dental floss or a heavy thread. Makes 12 very large or 24 small cinnamon rolls. Place on a buttered pan or cookie sheet, cover and let rise for 20 minutes.
Bake at 375 deg F for 18-20 minutes.

Frosting
1/4 cup butter
4 oz cream cheese
2 cups (maybe a bit more) Powdered sugar
vanilla extract
Milk if needed

Mix the butter and cheese together. Add the sugar and vanilla. Whip into frosting. Add more sugar or milk if needed.
Frost the rolls when the come out of the oven, this melts the frosting all over the place and it is gooey, sweet and warm.
Heaven!

Tips and Tricks I have learned:
*non-instant powdered milk is tricky to work with. If you don't mix it in just right, it clumps. I have found that you either need to whisk it in carefully (not something I ever remember) OR mix it with your flour. This spreads it out and there is no clumping. The same goes for the gluten. It clumps something terrible, however, mixed with the flour there is no problem.
*Oven proofing - I have found that if I "proof" or raise my cut rolls in the oven, they get much bigger and fluffier. This is quite an accomplishment with 100% whole wheat. What I do is heat the oven to 200 deg. F and then TURN IT OFF. While that is heating, I boil a kettle of water. When the rolls are cut and in the pan, I our the boiling water into a baking dish in the oven and slip my rolls right in there. I let that set for 20 minutes. I remove the rolls and the water, heat the oven to temperature and bake as usually. The buns get really big. Because of this, I space them well on the pan so they are NOT touching when I put them in, they will be when I pull them out to bake.

These rolls are "proofed" and ready to bake.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-27T19:48:00.004-05:00

This year we have:

Sushi, Sally (nightmare before Christmas), The cleverest Witch, A princess, and Toothless

We had fun, nearly sewed my fingers together. It is so worth it to see them have so much fun designing them.

Yarn Dyetorial

2010-10-25T12:33:00.003-05:00

Isn't that lovely?!

Step two of my Yarn Experiments was to dye the yarn.

So...... Here is a quick tute of what I did for this project.

First I put the yarn into hanks of about 2 oz each (weight).

Then I got them wet with water and squeezed as much out as I could.

Then I mixed up my dye concentrates (remember I told you how to do this HERE.)

After I mixed the concentrates. I mixed them to the desired colors (just had fun really mixing). I mixed enough to make 1/2 cup of the mixtures. Then I added enough water to that to make 1 cup.

Then I poured the mixed and diluted dye over the wet hanks of yarn. I put two together at a time so I would have about 4 oz of each color I mixed.

Let that sit for 15-20 minutes.

Then Add 1 cup of prepared Soda Ash Solution (instructions found HERE).

Let this sit for 1 hour to over night.

Then rinse in running water until the water squeezed from the yarn runs clear.

Line dry for several hours. I did bring some in because it was starting to rain (fall in Missouri is mostly rain or the threat thereof.) I put it in the dryer on "delicate" setting and it dried all right. It got a bit fluffy but that made it feel so soft and wonderful.

Now to do my project with it!

New Projects

2010-10-12T13:19:00.004-05:00

With Fall and Winter coming now I am in the mood to start a new project. Not some "I'll be done in ten minutes" kind of project but one that will take me weeks and maybe months. I am pretty excited about this one. Maybe I will even post a tutorial or two along the way and it progresses.
At any rate, I am going to enjoy this and by blogging it, MAYBE, I will be able to keep the ADD factors in check and actually finish it. We will see.
Here is the first picture.

It actually took me all day to put this yarn into hanks. Horrors. I had no idea how long it would take or that it would make the muscles in my arm pit hurt either. :o) Now I have 3 or so shopping bags full of these loopy hanks of yarn, ready for step 2.

Dyetorial - Basic Scrunched Folds

2010-10-12T12:31:00.005-05:00

Yay for blogging one a month. I am sorry. I meant to get these out a lot sooner but Fall is turning out to be just as busy if not more so than summer was.

At any rate, here is your first "Hands On" Tie Dye tutorial.

The Quicky Basic Scrunch Fold

This is the fastest and easiest way to "tie dye" a shirt or piece of fabric.

Instructions:

1. Start with a 100% cotton shirt of your choice.

Wash it with sinthrapol (just a cap full) to get any residue off your fabric. I do this with everything I am going to dye to make sure there is NOTHING on the surface of the fabric that will inter fear with the dying process.

Do not dry the shirt, leave in damp.

2. Lay the shirt out flat on a clean work surface.

3. Starting along the bottom edge of the shirt, walk your fingers up the shirt, scrunching it together into random pleats as you go up the shirt.

4. Tie the shirt together. You may also use rubber bands or small zip ties if you like. You just want to tightly secure the shirt in its random pleats and folds.

5. Soak the Shirt in your soda ash solution for about 5 minutes. Squeeze as much of the solution out as you can.

6. Place the shirt back on your clean and now plastic covered surface. Apply the dye colors of your choice in what ever order you choose to BOTH sides of your shirt lump.

Be as bold or concervative as you wish with your color combinations. The shirt will look like a real mess. That is the point. Don't be shy about squirting that dye in there. If you don't, you will have lots of white showing in the shrits.

Remember that with tie dye, you get what you get. It is always a suprise.

7. Put the drippy dyed shirt bundle in a plastic bag and let it sit for up to 24 hours. I have found that you need to let it set for a minimum of 3 hours. So experiment and see what you like. 24 hours is a safe starting point.

8. Now you will rinse the shirt bundle out in cool running water. This is safe to do outdoors but the dye will stain anything it comes in contact with. It will eventially face so don't worry about permanent dammage to sidewalks and such.

9. Cut the strings and open. Now you will need to wash the shrit with Sinthrapol again to make sure all the excess dye is discharged from the shirt. I wash these in the washing machine with 2-4 Tablespoons of Sythrapol per load.

Dry on the line or in the dryer.

In future washings, take care what you wash the dyed items with. Some excess dye (usually blue and sometimes red) will still discharge for several washings.

I have also used DAWN dish soap in place of the synthrapol with satisfactory results.

Here is the same process with just fabric yardage.

You can use just about any 100% cotton BUT watch out for antying that has permanent press treatments on it, as this will not hold the dye well and will result in pastel colors. This is great if that is what you are going for, however it is a big dissapointment if you were going for Bright vibrant colors.

So there you have it. Your first REAL dyetorial. There are several more folding and dying techniques to come and hopefully I will have the time to post them all over the next few weeks.

Enjoy!

Dyetorial - Dye Solutions

2010-09-09T07:49:00.003-05:00

Now that you have your list of "Ingredients" you need to dye fabric, I need to give you the recipes. I am putting them here so you can have a quick reference and I won't have to list them over and over and over ..... again. :o)

First off I am listing the recommended reading.

Color by Accident: Low-Water Immersion Dyeing by Ann Johnston

This book has taught me a lot about how dye moves through fabric and has helped me develop my own recipes for dye. There are many other dye books out here you can get but this one is a great starting point. It really helps you wrap your head around dye concepts.

Now for your basic recipes. I start with dye concentrates from which I mix all my colors. Then I add water when I put them in the bottle.

Dye solution:
- this is what you mix your dyes in it is urea water and it helps the dye move through the fabric. You will not have good results if you leave this out.

1 cup water

2 Tbsp Urea

1-2 tsp dye powder (darker colors like black may need more but I have been happy with 2)

Use warm water to dissolve the urea first. ( The urea will lower the water temperature while dissolving.)
Add the dye powder and mix thoroughly (it likes to clump so it requires a lot of stirring to make sure it is all dissolved and not just sticking to the spoon or cup). **Do Not dissolve the dye in water over 95 deg. F. because it will seriously reduce the reactivity (sticking ability to the fibers) of the dye. NOT a good thing.
Makes 1 cup + dye concentrate. For most at home projects (a couple of shirt or yards of fabric) you will need a lot less of each concentrate so adjust the recipe accordingly.

How long will this last?
It is said that it will last up to 1 week at room temperature and longer if refrigerated. I however haven't had much luck with it lasting more than a day or so. I sadly found the colors to be dull after 2 days. So it is better to make less and have to mix up a bit more than to make more and waste it. Sad day!

What colors to mix?
I use lemon yellow, fuchsia red, turquoise, and better black. I usually need 2 of the yellow to 1 each of the red and blue. I also use about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of the black so make a lot less of that.

Now What ?

I have given you recipes for concentrates. You are going to want to dilute these. I mix these half and half with water. BUT First! I mix the colors. I mix them right in the squeeze bottle and then add an equal amount of water. (Basically I fill the bottle half full with color and then fill the rest with plain water. )

Mixing Colors
When I am dying I usually the the muse take over and do colors by my mood. However there are some basics that I do.
I love fuchsia and turquoise but sometimes I want a true red and a true blue.
To get this here is what I do.
True Blue = 7 parts turquoise and 1 part fuchsia
True Red = 7 parts fuchsia and 1 part yellow

Now for the other colors - well I wing them, but here is what I have found. I swirl what I am mixing in the bottle (before I add the extra water) and try a drop on a white paper towel (the really fluffy ones work best) and see if I like what it does.
Orange - mostly yellow with a bit of fuchsia. I swirl the bottle and will test a drop to see if I like it
Vermilion - more like 3/4 yellow to 1/4 fuchsia maybe a bit more
lime green - mostly yellow and a little bit of turquoise till you like it
grass green - mostly yellow with a bit more turquoise
Purple - about 3/4 turquoise and 1/4 fuchsia but test it and see what you like
Wine - about 3/4 fuchsia and about 1/4 turquoise and test
Golden yellow - almost all lemon yellow with a few drops of fuchsia - this is a warmer yellow
Pink - mostly water (might want to use plain urea water here) and a few drops to 1 tsp fuchsia or your true red
Light Blue - same as for pink but use the turquoise or true blue

The Magic of ADDING BLACK
-adding black to any color you make turns it into a jewel tone. It is lovely to see what it does.
Add it to your:
- reds and you have wine, Burgundy, and maroons
-Blues and you get peacock, teal, and such - gorgeous colors
-Greens and you get emeralds and some mosses

Moss and Earthy Greens - experiment here but adding golden yellow instead of lemon yellow makes more mossy, earthy greens. So.... try adding a drop or two a few of red to your greens. The results are really gorgeous.

Browns -- These are hard to predict. I just mess with oranges and blues or greens and reds to get a color I like. I have ordered brown dye right from dharma trading co. and loved them. I have tried chocolate brown and golden brown and love the fun of them both when mixed with other colors like yellows, oranges, reds and even greens.

Dye Fixer
I almost forgot but this is just as important as the rest.
9 Tbsp Soda Ash
1 gallon water

Mix the soda ash in hot water till dissolved. This is used either before or after the dye is applied to your fabric. Without this chemical your dye WON'T work. In the tutorials to come, I will tell you how to use this solution for each project.
This will keep for a very long time. In fact, I have never had it go bad.

Dyetorial - Tye Dye Tutorials

2010-09-08T11:05:00.003-05:00

I love to Dye fabric, shirts, what ever. I would like to start sharing some of these techniques I have used over the last 20 years of dye sessions I have had with my family and friends.

Supplies:

I get my dye supplies from Dharma Trading Co. I trust them and have been getting my shirts, fabrics, dyes, and dye chemicals from them for well over 20 years. They are easy to work with and prompt in their shipping. They also have lots of helpful ideas.
If you have never dyed before I suggest you get yourself a starter kit, here. It has everything you need to get started and has step by step instructions for mixing and using your dyes. It is a very thorough and affordable way to get started.

What I use:
My favorite dye colors are
Procion Fiber Reactive Dyes
I recommend starting with the 4 basic colors. These are the pure colors from which all other colors are mixed.
They are:
Lemon Yellow
Fuchsia Red
Turquoise
Better Black
Later I will post a chart for mixing that I use and maybe it will help you too.

Chemicals you need:
Urea - makes water wetter so it goes into the fabric better and takes the dye with it.
Soda Ash - Dye Fixer - kills the dye and permanently bonds the color to the fibers of the fabric
Synthrapol - Dye suspender (?) It catches the used dye and gets it out of the wash when washing out the dyed shirts - this comes with a heave duty warning so please read before choosing to buy - I have used Dawn dish soap in a pinch and it works too but results may vary.

Equipment:
Mixing cups, spoons, etc...
Squirt bottles - I have found these to be a must and these here last for years
Top loading washing machine - front loaders don't have enough water - if you don't have one, find a friend that does and will let you use it, Make them a Shirt in return. :o)
Plastic sheeting to cover you work surface
GLOVES - A must for your hands. This stuff is messy and makes explanations in public less awkward.
Dust mask - a must when mixing the dye - you don't want that stuff up your nose, it isn't toxic but exposure can make you allergic and hey that would be tragic! No dye would make me a very sad girl and maybe you too.

Well I have to run off to Girl's Day out. I will start posting Dytorials tomorrow!

Meet Mortimer

2010-09-07T21:03:00.003-05:00

I have a little turtle.... um I mean tortoise*.....

I NEEDED to make a tortoise the other day and so I did.
My little boy took off with him and named him Thomas. Thomas is his new snugly buddy at bed time and his run through the muck friend during the day. (Shout Hurray for Totally Washable toys!)

Then I had to make a smaller one. I wanted one to have in my sewing room. I NEEDED my own.

Meet Mortimer. He is a very quiet little friend and just the right size to sit on my self.
I couldn't then just make one so I made a couple of each and had some fun in the yard with them.

First Thomas found a friend. Her name is Tiffany.
Now.....

Mortimer now has a sister named Matilda.

We have a whole little Tortoise family.

And they are off on the own grand adventures... maybe to meet the Hare family.

You can make Mortimer and his whole family yourself.

The new PDF pattern is available at my Etsy Shop.

Yes Your Blueness!

2010-08-04T09:19:00.003-05:00

I haven't just been cooking this summer. I just haven't been taking and processing photos of the other things we have been doing. I have been to a couple of really fabulous yard sales and flea markets. Here are a few of the finds I have done something with.

I found this Buffet at a local City Wide yard sale. I got it for $50. It was it really bad shape. It had been left out on a porch for years in the rain and had been chewed by some animal. So... We sanded it down and painted it this lovely aqua blue color.

I found these quilt squares at the flea market. The colors chosen are simply fabulous. Don't know what I will do with them (am open to ideas), but for now I will enjoy they colorfulness.

This project wasn't exactly a yard sale or flea market find. My Bro-in-law, works in a custodial position and, as such, comes across discarded items and shares them. Well a couple of years ago he got a ton (I mean ton!) and gave them to everyone he knew. We had about a dozen. They were great because a.) they were free, b.) they were sturdy, and c.) they were stack able. Well they also had a down side. They were covered in a loosely woven brown cloth. This was not so great with lots of little kids. After a few months they looked like they were covered in yarsh because of spilled food. They were not easy to clean.

Well this summer I was going to burn them and then I thought maybe I could cover them with something very kid friendly, cute and easy to clean..... Oil Cloth. Now, a few coats of white paint later, and some very fun fabrics from etsy, and I have a set of very fun kitchen chairs.

Here are a few more. Sorry I can't give you better pictures. The kitchen is being re-done right now.

Cheezy Onion Rolls

2010-08-02T13:32:00.002-05:00

Holy Macaroni! These are so tasty. I have to share.

My sister shared this recipe with us and it is now a new favorite. Will be subbing my roll dough recipe so I can make this Whole Wheat ASAP!

Cheezy Onion Rolls

Filling
1/3 cup dried minced onions
1/3 cup hot water
1 tablespoon Pizza Seasoning
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese powder (can sub Parmesan cheese if you don't have powdered cheese)
1 tablespoon soft butter

Dough
1 large egg
3/4 cup warm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 tablespoons soft butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Dry Milk
2 to 3 tablespoons shredded mozzarella or Parmesan cheese

Directions:
To make the filling:
Soak the minced onions in 1/3 cup hot water while making the dough.
Stir in the Pizza Seasoning, cheese powder, and butter just before you're ready to shape the dough.

To make the dough:
Whisk together the egg and warm water.
Add the yeast, butter, salt, flour, and dry milk.
Stir to combine, then knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides; cover it and let the dough rise until it's doubled in bulk.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface.
Roll the dough into an 18" x 10" rectangle.
Spread with the onion mixture, leaving 1" free of filling
Roll the dough into a log, pinching the seam closed.
Cut the log into 12 slices using string or dental floss.
Place the rolls on a greased baking sheet, leaving about 1" between them.
Cover and allow to rise for until puffy.
Sprinkle with additional cheese, if desired.
Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the rolls for 22 to 26 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Yield: 12 rolls.

Blueberry Cheesecake Pie

2010-07-21T09:40:00.003-05:00

OK this is my favorite blueberry recipe. It is the recipe that makes me excited about blueberry season every year. It is also the dirtiest recipe card in the box. So.... you know that means it is the best one! I don't remember where we found this one but it is now a family tradition. We get this treat once every year.

Blueberry Cheesecake Pie

2 (8 oz pkg) Cream cheese (room temperature)
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
3 large eggs
Blueberries (at least 4 cups)
Graham Cracker Crust (recipe below or use a purchased crust)
Glaze
Whipped Cream

Crust - Mix 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs, 1 Tbsp sugar. Butter a 9" pie pan generously. Press crumbs on bottom and sides.

Let cream cheese stand at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours Then beat with rind until creamy. Add sugar and beat, add eggs one at a time. Beat for 5 minutes until smooth and creamy. Fold in 1 cup blueberries. Pour into the crumb lined pan.
Bake at 350 deg. F for 30 minutes or until set. Cool
Top with 1 pint fresh berries. Spoon Glaze over the top and garnish with whipped cream.

Glaze:
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
dash of salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup blue berries
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add berries and water, bring to a boil, stirring. Cook, stirring for a few minutes or until thickened and clear. Strain and add lemon juice. Cool.

Variation:
Top pie with 1 to 1 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 pint blueberries.

Strawberry Glace Pie

2010-07-10T10:02:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the "not posting"ness going on here. I got shingles and life had to slow down in a big way quick to get better.
Now I am less stressed, spot free, and ready to post some more fun that has been going on in the background.

This is my favorite fresh berry pie recipe. My mom has made it for years. It is now comfort food for me. It is great with any berry. I have made it with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries.

Strawberry Glace Pie

Baked 9" pie shell
1 1/2 quarts strawberries
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp corn starch
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp butter
1 Cup whipping cream, whipped
2 Tbsp powdered sugar (optional)
3 oz cream cheese (room temp.)
1 Tbsp milk

*Wash, hull, and drain berries. Mash enough of them to make 1 cup.
*Combine sugar and cornstarch. Add crushed berries and water. Cook over med heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Mixture will be thickened and translucent. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Cool.
*Mix the cream cheese with the milk and spread in the bottom of the pie shell.
*Place whole berries in pie shell with points up. Pour cooled berry mixture over the berries and chill for at least 2 hours.
*Serve topped with whipped cream sweetened with the powdered sugar if desired. Garnish with extra berries.
Enjoy!

My Best Friend

2010-06-17T21:23:00.001-05:00

On this day, fifteen years ago,

I married by best friend.

He is still my best friend.

Fresh Blueberry Muffins

2010-06-17T10:51:00.003-05:00

I promised I would share some of my favorite Blueberry Recipes with you while we are enjoying our own fresh blueberries.

Blueberry Muffins

1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup + 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 425 deg F. Butter muffin tins.
Combine dry ingredients, except 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar, in a bowl and blend well.
In a separate bowl, toss 1 Tbsp of the dry stuff with the blueberries and set aside.
After butter has cooled slightly, stir in milk, eggs and vanilla. Blend well.
Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and stir until well moistened. Stir in berries.
Spoon batter into muffin tins. Sprinkle tops with reserved sugar.
Bake 15 min until golden brown. Let muffins stand 5 minutes before removing from tins.

Enjoy.

There are a few more lovely Blueberry recipes to come, IF, I can get pictures of them before my family snarfs them all.

It's in the Pudding

2010-06-09T22:04:00.004-05:00

I have to say that pudding is my favorite treat of all time. My dad used to make cooked pudding for us when I was little. He would make it when we were all getting ready for dinner and would put it in a little dish in front of your plate at dinner. If you finished dinner quickly, your pudding was still warm (which meant that you most likely liked dinner.) If you didn't finish your dinner, you didn't get the pudding. I loved my dad's pudding, so I tried to finish my dinner. He made vanilla, chocolate, coconut, and banana. Often he would put a blob of jelly in the middle of the hot pudding. It would melt and run into the cracks of the surface of the pudding. I loved that!

Well now I make pudding for my children. They like it hot and cold and anywhere in between.
Sunday afternoon we were all wanting a treat and none of the usuals really sounded like they would do. Then we thought of good old vanilla pudding and we knew that was just the thing.

The recipe I use now is a combination of my dad's quickly recipe and my mom's cream pie filling recipe she got from her mom. It has all the flavor and texture I want in a pudding and the speed of my dad's "get it done" kind of cooking.

So for our Sunday evening treat we had vanilla pudding with fresh straberries, blueberries, and sliced banana. It was heaven!

Vanilla Pudding
5 egg yolks
3 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar OR 1/4 to 1/3 cup agave nectar (love it!)
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp butter (option - I usually forget to add this)

I put the milk and egg yolks in the blender and blend well. This makes it so you don't have to strain the hot pudding for "egg boogers" later. Pour this into a good heavy sauce pan. Then add the sugar, salt, and corn starch. Mix well with a whisk. Turn on to med to med-hi heat on your stove top and cook, stirring constantly until it thickens. Remove from heat and add the butter if you are using it. Then add the vanilla extract. Serve now or pour it into a covered dish and cool in the fridge.

Blueberries for Me

2010-05-24T17:45:00.003-05:00

I am so excited I can't stand it! I have my very OWN blueberry bushes. I have always wanted them but never thought I would get to have them. Last fall a blueberry farm near us when out of business and sold off all their mature bushes for $10 each. I got myself 6 lovely bushes. I am so happy. I would have bought more but these weighed a ton and were hard to get home. I can't wait till June when they are ripe.

Breakfast Shakes

2010-05-18T07:45:00.005-05:00

Here is another quicky breakfast we fix here for the kids. It is nutritious and delicious so kids say YES! and so does mom. My kids actually like to fix these as after school snacks when they get home.

We have several that we make.

My kids make them in our regular old blender that we have had for YEARS. It works fine. Sometimes the ice isn't all crushed but they don't seem to mind. When I make the milkshakes I now use my high power blender. I have a Health Master. I have liked it so far but don't recommend it to anyone. There are too many potential problems. I am already smelling the "hot machine" smell when I use for anything difficult which is what they advertise it for. If I had the purchase to make again I would get a Blendtec home blender. I have a friend that has had one for a long time and loves it and it still works beautifully. I wish I had been told that this was a better buy. I would have saved the $$ and bought this one instead. Hind sight. Oh well! On to the shakes. The advantage of the high power blenders is that they work way faster and I can blend up things in them that I can't in a blender, such as nuts and grains which add health benefits to my kids food.

Banana Milk Shake

1 cup milk

1 whole banana

2 Tbsp Peanut butter

1 Tbsp cocoa powder (I think we actually use a lot more than this) ☺

2 Tbsp whey protein powder (I don't do soy but you can if you like)

1 cup ice

Sweetener of your choice (we use honey, agave syrup, sucanant, or stevia depending on what is on hand)

1 tsp vanilla

Put everything in the blender and blend like mad until it is smooth.

This makes enough for 2 kids. In the big blender I will double or triple this recipe for the whole family.

Orange Julius

1 cup milk

1 cup carrot juice (originally called for water but hey I slip in veggies where I can. )

1 cup ice

6 oz orange juice concentrate (half a regular can)

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp whey protein powder

Sweetener to taste - with the carrot juice in there it doesn't take much and again we try to use healthier choices like agave syrup

Put everything in the blender and blend like mad until it is all smooth and yummy.

In the big blender I skip the carrot juice and just put in 2 raw carrots for this recipe. For the whole family I double this recipe in the big blender and blend the carrots and liquids first before adding the ice. It does a great job of liquefying the carrots.

Berry Smoothie

1 cup milk or orange juice or plain sweetened yogurt

1 cup frozen berries ( or frozen fruit mix)

sweetener if needed (or sometime we just add a banana and that is plenty sweet)

Put in blender and blend like mad till it is as smooth as you like.

Big blender berry smoothie

2 1/2 cups milk, Orange juice, or plain sweetened yogurt (or a mix of any of the three)

1/2 cup old fashion oats

handful of nuts

2 Tbsp flax seed - ground

1/4 cup whey protein powder

2 tsp vanilla

Blend this till smooth

Add

1 banana

2+ cups frozen berries of your choice - we like to buy the big bags of mixed fruit with strawberries, mango, pineapple, peaches and grapes.

If you think it needs sweetening, you can add a squirt or two of agave nectar or another sweetener you like.

This takes the higher power blender to get the oats and nuts blended enough to be able take. The kids and I really love this. It really fills you up and lasts all morning.

I have tried adding the flax seed, oats and nuts to all the above recipes and we like the addition. It does change the texture though.

I got the idea for this recipe from my friend Vea. Go check out her blog for more ideas for great food and money saving tips.

Simple Breakfast

2010-05-05T21:56:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you but that looks really yummy to me. I picked the idea for this breakfast up from an old diet book I found. It is just fruit, cottage cheese and nuts. It fills me up and keeps me going all morning. With the fruit, I have enough carbs to get my brain going. With the cottage cheese, I have enough protein to keep be going. With the nuts, I have enough good oils to make me feel satisfied. I love it. You can substitute what ever fruit you like with the cottage cheese. I have used strawberries, grapes, melon, and pears. I love them all but the pears are my favorite right now.

Simple Breakfast

1 cup cut up fruit

3/4 cup low fat cottage cheese

a handful of nuts (not roasted, raw)

Give it a try, you will love it!

Carb Plan

2010-05-04T09:45:00.007-05:00

My dear blogging friends,

I have something I need to share and maybe by doing so I can encourage myself to stick to it.

Since having my five little Byrds, I have had a really hard time keeping weight off. Due to metabolic problems that are a part of life with Thyroid disease, I just can't seem to keep it off. However there are some things that seem to help.

I exercise everyday for at least 20 minutes and my calorie burn goal (set by my Dr) is 300 calories per day.

I also try to watch what I eat. We already use whole grains; honey, sucanat, and stevia instead of sugar; we also eat fresh fruits and vegetables and have a garden. Still weight is an issue for me. I have found though that a carbohydrate monitoring diet helps. I can't have a very low carb or no carb diet or I get sick because of hypoglycemia. That isn't fun and I get really grouchy.

A few years ago my SIL gave me a print out of a diabetic diet she was using and liked. I gave it a try and have loved it. When I use it, I lose weight, don't get hungry, and generally feel better.

So I am posting this carb plan PDF version of it HERE.

Please remember that I am NO Doctor and that you should consult your physician before starting any new diet or exercise plan.

This is just something that has worked for me.

Here is how it works. It breaks down the food you eat into Carbohydrate (carbs), Proteins (meats), and fats. All three are necessary for your body function.

One diabetic serving of Carbs is 15 grams of carbohydrates. Each meal and snack lists the number of carbs you can have. It also gives you a limited list of foods and the number of carbs they have.

The thing I love about this plan is that it educated me enough that I could start planning my own meals with things that I love in the amounts that I can have. The first thing I noticed was that some of the foods I had been eating were not so great for me. When I ate my carb quota of them, I was still starving.

I also learned that 1 cup of raw vegetables has 5 grams carbs so that meant that I can eat 3 cups of vegetables which equals 15 carbs or 1 Carb choice in the plan. Well that fills me up and I love them! That also usually left me 2 Carb choices for that meal that I could fill in with all kinds of things that I wanted to eat. I could even "afford" to have a cookie or small dessert now and then.

I grew with the plan and went to several websites to learn the "carb" amounts for ingredients I used often. That way I could tweak my own recipes so they were better for me and I could regulate the portions to comply with the diet.

I have also incorporated several South Beach Diet ideas into what I am fixing. Kalyn's Kitchen is a great place to get recipes and ideas for low carb recipes that work well in any diet.

Whew, that was a lot of typing. Can you tell I feel strongly about this?

Anyway my friends, I wanted to share this tool with you. Maybe it will help you in your quest for a healthier life style.

**Note**
This diet is set for a preganant or lactating woman. For my regular diet I just cut back on the fat and carbs some or have 3 cups of veggies be one of two carb choices at a meal. That gives you lots of food, lots of fiber, still has carbs for good blood sugar levels, fills me up .... etc.

From My Files

2010-04-13T12:54:00.003-05:00

This is a shot of some of my recipe files. These folders are almost 30 years worth of recipe collecting and perfecting. There are some serious treasures in here. Problem is the recipes don't always make it back into their folders and the folders don't always make it back into their box.

One of the reasons I share so many recipes on this blog is to ensure that some of the best of these recipes are not lost.

Here is one of my children's favorites. It is simple to make, requires few ingredients, and always makes them happy.

Donburi is basically Japanese fast food. It consists of a bowl of hot, sticky rice and some meat, eggs, or vegetables on top. This particular recipe only has eggs and onions but any veggies could be added for more nutrition and flavor.

Tama Tama Donburi (egg bound onions)

1 onion sliced

1 cup water

1 tsp hondashi (fish soup stock flavoring)

1/2 tsp salt

4 Tbsp Soy Sauce

2 Tbsp Mirin + 1 tsp

4 eggs lightly beaten

Put everything but the eggs into a pan and boil till the onions are translucent.

Pour the eggs over the onions in a thin stream. Cook just until the eggs are set. DO NOT STIR.

Remove from heat and serve over rice.

Variation:

Add any chopped veggies to the onions you like such as carrots, celery, broccoli, etc.

Hollandaise Happiness

2010-04-11T14:54:00.003-05:00

I have to admit that I haven't always loved this sauce. As a child I didn't trust it but knew that something had to be up because of the fuss the adults made about it. I have had it in many forms, some of which I think must be aberrations. (nasty things)

I have now made it a few times myself with varied success. This past week though I found a fast, and fabulous recipe for it. It is made in the blender. Here is the recipe.

Fast & Fabulous Hollandaise Sauce

3 egg yolks
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Salt
Dash of hot sauce
1/2 cup melted butter

Blend the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and hot sauce in the blender. Melt the butter and bring to a boil on the stove top. You want to boil it until it start to brown (like an light tan) this starts to caramelize the flavor of the butter and really opens it up.
Turn on the blender with your egg mixture in it. Start gradually pouring the boiling butter into the running blender in a steady stream. It will thicken quickly.
Serve immediately with your steamed vegetables or on eggs Benedict. (that sounds so yummy, I might have to get some fixing for that tomorrow!)
Enjoy!!

If that doesn't "feel" cooked enough for you, you can place it in a double boiler over hot water. You really have to watch it though. It can curdle which isn't cool. (you can fix that though by adding a table spoon of boiling water to it and mixing it well.
You have to serve this immediately. It is not something that is meant to last a long time so fix it very last before serving your food.

Dad's Amazing Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

2010-04-07T08:52:00.004-05:00

Among the many things my dad was amazing at, cooking was one of the most interesting. He tried to be a shiterein cook. However, he didn't always achieve the desired results and some of his more famous dishes were "frope stew", and "last trip to Tulsa" (if you have ever tried to navigate from East to West through Tulsa you would understand). However, when he did get it right, he got it right and I would make him write it down before he forgot. My favorite things that he cooked were his hot pudding, rice pudding, Spanish rice, chop suey, Dad's old rashioned oatmeal cookies (my kid's favorite too), instant fudge, whole wheat bread, blender madness, and fresh strawberry ice cream. The ice cream became an institution of it's own. In it's day it was pretty much expected at all family and church put luck gatherings.
Well with the plethora of strawberries DH purchased for me this past week, I HAD to break out the old recipe and introduce my children to it. I am also going to share it with you because I promised some nieces and nephews that I would post it so they too could carry on Grandpa's tradition. (my mother also made this ice cream and I highly suspect her influence in the recipe)

My Dad's Amazing Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream
(OCB)
3 pints fresh strawberries
1 (3 oz) pkg. strawberry gelatin
1/2 cup hot water
3/4 cup lemon juice (fresh, frozen or bottled)
1/2 (6 oz) can can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 quart milk
1 pint half and half
1 pint heavy cream
3 1/4 cup sugar

Clean and wash the strawberries and whirl in blender until liquid. Strain out the seeds if desired. Dissolve the gelatin in hot water, then combine with the remaining ingredients. Freeze in a 6 quart ice cream freezer according to manufacturers directions. Pack to ripen. Serve the same day.
You can also use fresh black berries and raspberries and substitute raspberry jello for the strawberry jello.
To pack the ice cream, remove the dasher, put the lid on and cork it. Then pack more ice around the ice cream canister and wrap blankets around the whole bucket. It is a long wait but so worth it in the end.
My mom and dad would bring this to church socials at the creek with their hand cranked ice cream machine. People would take turns churning while the meal was being prepared and people gathered. Then it would be packed and ripening while we ate and played. Then at the end of the social my dad would break out the ice cream and it was divine.
I have taken this mix and frozen it it solid and then cut it into chunks and sent it through my champion juicer and have instant soft serve ice cream for my family. They love it! I think the flavor it the best when you make ice cream immediately but the frozen stuff was still the best strawberry ice cream ever!
Enjoy!

Strawberry Sale

2010-04-05T15:34:00.003-05:00

So my local Stuff Mart had strawberries on sale this past week for $1.50 per quart. That is way better that $3.99 or worse so I told my Honey to pick me up a lot so I could re-stock the freezer with the kids favorite jam. Well ...... He DID! I brought home 22 pounds of strawberries. Yikes. That is a ton. So I spent the next day making said jam. I put up 56 pints of freezer jam. It is fabulous.

I would post a recipe BUT freezer jam is a tricky beast. You have to follow the recipe on the box exactly or you DON'T get jam and jells. You get runny stuff. Great on ice cream but not great in a sandwich.
However, I will post some tips I have learned over time in making jam.
*Freezer jam is the easiest jam ever. You just mash the fruit, add the sugar, add the pectin and wait and you have scrumptious jam.
*Measure, Measure, Measure. It is very important to measure your jam ingredients precisely. Freezer jam is a science, not an art. That means to measure exactly don't guess and dash. That makes it something that anyone can do. Not talent required. :o)
One pound (or quart) of strawberries will make about 3 pints of jam. We usually freeze it in half pints because that is enough for one meal (usually).
There are several kinds of pectin on the market. The kinds I have tried and liked are Sure*Jell, Ball, and Certo.

Canned Turkey

2010-04-01T18:59:00.003-05:00

Looks kinda like some really odd science lab specimen doesn't it?! I have to tell you the truth, that I had a hard time using home canned meat the first time I canned some. However, when I finally did try it, I was blown away by the flavor and the quality. It was wonderful. My kids prefer home canned turkey or chicken to tuna any day. We use it in casseroles, sandwiches, meat pies and pasties. We love it!

When I get a screaming deal on meat I try to snatch up as much as I can and then can it. Winter and Spring are the best times to do the meat because it is cold outside and you aren't going to kill yourself with the heat of the pressure canner.

To can mean you HAVE TO use a pressure canner. Steam and water canning isn't safe.

What I do to can meat is .... cut it from the bone if there is a bone, and cube the meat. Then I pack it raw into clean pint or quart jars. Then I add salt, 1 teaspoon per quart and 1/2 teaspoon per pint. I do not add any liquid. Then I add new lids and rings and pressure can it according to the weight and time for the canner I have. Each type of canner is a little different and you have to check out the instructions for your canner. I have the rocker kind and love it.

You can also pre cook your meat. I wasn't sure about that at first but learned that if you pre cook your meat even for a few minutes. This keeps the meat from shrinking while you are pressure canning it. This is great but when you are canning 100+ pounds of meat at a time, time is the key and I don't have time to pre-cook the meat. When you pre-cook the meat you do have to add liquid. The liquid you see in these jars is just the natural juices from the meat. It is like liquid gold in your recipes.

If you haven't given canning meat a try, you should. It is a wonderful addition to your home storage pantry and a way to control what is in the food your family is eating. This week I was able to put up 63 pints and 19 quarts of turkey breast. I am so thrilled to have this in my pantry again. We have sorely missed it. My old children were pretty excited to see it. They remember it from when they were really little. I actually had 2 pints that didn't seal and they were pretty happy to make "turkey fish" sandwiches with it.

Canvolution 2010

2010-03-30T21:27:00.003-05:00

Whether canning is the new trend or not it is something I have always loved to do.

My mom started me (and all my siblings) early. We would shell walnuts, pit cherries, mash berries, etc...... It was a family thing and we did it together from planting, to picking, to storing, to enjoying. Seriously, nothing beats home canned peaches or strawberry freezer jam.
One of my NEW favorite blogs is Everyday Food Storage. This girl has it going on. Back in January she did a spot on her local TV about the trend of canning this year. I love the idea of a Canvolution. I am posting this button on my side bar and will start listing what I am canning. I want to keep a record this year of what I have stored for my family. I am recording things I can. I would love to see what you are canning too. And don't forget to go check out Crystal's blog and get some great food storage and canning tips.
Now is the time to be planting your garden and getting ready by gathering supplies, jars, lids, sugar, salt, etc when they go on sale or when you can afford to slip an extra in here and there. I will also try to post recipes for some of my canning treats as I go along.
Check out My Square Foot Garden for simple gardening ideas. This girls gardening abilities are amazing. She has only been at it for 4 years and has done amazing things and taught so many people so much. She has two new e books that really help you get started. Yes I ran out and got both of them and am impressed. I have read them and recommend them to anyone interested in starting a garden but isn't sure where to start.

Paddle

2010-02-28T10:22:00.003-06:00

I think I am in love!

My friend has just started an Etsy shop selling hand crafted, wooden cooking utensils. He has been in carpentry for about 20 years now and specializes in gorgeous custom cabinets. Now he has started this side business of making utensils. I am trying to talk him into starting up a dutch oven cooking blog. He and his wife are dutch oven pros and I think they really should share some of that info in blogdom. I have only used my dutch oven a few times because, honestly, it intimidates me. I would love some tutorials for dutch oven basics and them maybe some of the fabulously awesome things you can cook with them.
He mainly makes dutch oven tools right now (which are simply marvelous I might add).

Now I need to let you in on a little secret part of my life. I made fudge. Big deal you say? I made fudge from my grandmother's recipe which is over 100 years old. This is old school fudge like you get from specialty candy houses that is made on marble slabs and cooked slowly and carefully to the right temperature which is reached when it smells right, sounds right and does the right thing when dropped into cold water. Thermometers are for novices. Then you cool this pot of chocolaty goodness and poor it onto a large marble slab. You cool it there and then start stirring it and forcing the sugar crystal to for in a very delicate pattern.
The resulting fudge is pure indulgence. I think it should be a sin it is so good but am really glad it isn't or I would be is so much trouble.
I have been making this fudge for 20 years now since I was in my early teens. I have used many different tools in that time. Each tool offering different qualities but none really doing the job like I had hopped. I have made a kind of quest of finding the perfect fudge making tool and have finally found it. I asked my friend if he could come up with a fudge paddle (not telling him how much was riding on this attempt). I gave him a few details about how the fudge is made, what tools I had used in the past, some of the disappointing features of them all and some of their finer points. He asked a few questions and went to work. That afternoon he dropped off this beauty.

Russell Custom Utensils

I have to admit I was skeptical at first. It is HUGE. It measures 5 1/4 inches wide and almost 24 inches tall. I think the largest utensil I had used in fudge making was just over 12 inches tall. This also has an angled blade. I had only ever used straight bladed tools. Well I got a chance yesterday afternoon to give it a try. I usually only make this fudge at Christmas (for obvious consumption reasons). I have to say again....

I am in Love!

If asked right now what one kitchen tool I would save in a house fire, it would be this one! It is everything I have ever looked for in a potential fudge paddle. The angled blade makes it much easier to scrap and fold the fudge. The long handle made it easier for me to reach the whole batch of fudge without having to over extend my reach. Love that. Also, the handle is very long and curved on the end making easy to swivel back and forth so I can stir and scrape the fudge from the right or left. That was an unexpected bonus. Thanks you!! Love that feature.

My oldest son watched me as I made the fudge (he usually does). He commented on how much quicker the fudge turning went and that the new paddle seemed so much easier for me to use. I thought that was cool that he noticed the difference.

Here are some shots of the paddle at work.

This makes making fudge so easy I just might have to start selling it in my etsy shop. What do you think?

Sorry this recipe is very old and has been in the family for a couple of generations and I am not at liberty to divulge the recipe yet.

Sorry!

Soap, Soap, Soap!

2010-02-13T15:14:00.011-06:00

I have been really busy making batch after batch of soap these past few weeks.

I am listing here each kind that I make, a brief description, and whether they are in stock or not. There will also be links to the shop so you can buy them there if you so desire. I will constantly edit this post to keep the list current to available soaps.

All Byrd Bath Soaps are made completely from scratch in small batches to ensure the highest quality and attention to detail.

All Bars average a generous 4.5 oz.

Our products contain no detergents, fillers, or lather boosters, no formaldehyde, and no parabens - just naturally-good, skin-loving ingredients.

My soaps may be purchased through my Etsy Shop, My Byrd Nest
I have tried to keep my prices as low as possible. Hand made soaps are not cheap. Due to the quality ingredients and the personal time involved in all the steps along they way, making soap is expenseive. However, I didn't want to make a product I couldn't afford to buy myself. So my prices are slightly below market value. You as my cyber friends get to take advantage of that fact and take part in the savings. The costs for the raw materials does keep going up. I will try my best to keep my prices down.

Here is my current price list:

Single Bars = $3.50 each
10 Bars = $32.50 (that's $3.25 each)
20 Bars = $60.00 (that's $3.00 each)
30 Bars = $82.50 (that's $2.75 each)

When you order a bulk bar listing, you just tell me which of the soaps listed below you would like while quantities last. You can even conact me and get a bulk of one kind if you like. I can also make special listing in the shop for you if you want more than 1 and less than 10.

Soap List:

Almond Scrub

This soap has a deliciously strong almond scent. It also contains corn meal which is a great exfoliante for hands and feet.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, corn meal, and almond fragrance oil.

Apple

This smells so wonderful. It reminds one of being in an apple orchard on a crisp fall day picking apples and enjoying the good life. I have searched high and low for just a scent and here it is. I think you will enjoy it too.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, greed oxide for colorant, and apple fragrance oil.

Bella (a Twilight soap)

Yes this soap is in honor of Miss Bella Swan of the Twilight books. Bella is described as very floral smell, like lavender . . . or freesia. And Edward has noted "It's mouthwatering." This is a fragrance blend created by one of my favorite soap supply companies and I love it. Bella fragrance has notes of rose, iris, violet, and soft musk. Sexy, but also fresh and innocent. If you haven't tried the Twilight series yet, it is a great escape, a very good read.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, ultramarine colorant, and Bella fragrance oil.

Black Cherry

This is a fun, light, candy scent. If you are into that sort of thing, you will love this soap.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, pink and black pigments, and Black Cherry fragrance oil.

Cantaloupe

Fresh, delicious cantaloupe. This scent is dead on. I love it!

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, paprika for color, and Cantaloupe fragrance oil.

Coconut Lime

I love this soap, creamy and tart at the same time. It smells so yummy and refreshing. This is a great good morning soap and a great soap for after a long day at work. I think you will find you love it too.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, greed oxide for colorant, and coconut and lime fragrance oils.

Coffee/Kitchen Soap

If I could eat a soap it would be this one. It smells so good I want to just take a nibble. It smells like coffee caramel goodness. This soap has grounds in it which are abrasive so this is a hand, and not really a body soap. The coffee grounds also have an Oder eliminating ability. This makes it a great kitchen soap to get rid of cooking smells from your hands from onions, garlic and much more.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, freshly ground coffee beans, and Cappuccino Brule fragrance oil.

Country Heather

This soap's scent is a lovely green floral, not to heavy like some Heathers can be. I love it and think you will too!

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, oxide and ultramarine colorants, and Country Heather fragrance oil.

Cucumber

This is NOT a Melon blend Cucumber scent. It smells like fresh sliced cucumbers with just a hint of sweetness. NO MELON.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, paprika for color, and Cucumber fragrance oil.

Desert Sage

This soap is very nostalgic for me. It reminds me of my childhood and playing in the sagebrush in the Utah Desert. It is a blend of sage and cedar. I should call it Green Jacket Soap but only my siblings would get the reference. :o)

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, ultramarine and herbs for color, Cedar essential oil and Desert Sage fragrance oil.

Edward

Yes I couldn't leave dear Edward out. Edward is described in the book as smelling like honey, lilacs and sunshine. The Edward inspired fragrance I chose is fresh, clean, and sexy. They added a bit of vanilla, heliotrope, dry wood, and grapefruit. This is a young and sporty type scent, very masculine. It is a definitely a guy scent BUT one that you wouldn't mind enjoying in the shower ladies.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, body glitter, and Edward fragrance oil.

English Ivy

This soap has a lovely "green" plant smell. Very nice and very refreshing.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, green oxide for color, and English Ivy fragrance oil.

Facial Blend

This IS my favorite soap. It is the bar I reach for the most. It has been called "Energy" here before. We are listing as a facial bar though because it is very good for your skin. It contains green French clay, lavender, peppermint, tea tree, and patchouli essential oils. These are all anti bacterial and great for your skin. There is also French clay in this soap which is great for oily skin making it a great facial bar.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, green oxide for color, green French clay, lavender, tea tree, peppermint, and patchouli essential oils.

Fudge Berry Brownie

This smells good enough to bite. My kids think it smells like a tootsie pop. This is my own blend of chocolate and berry fragrance oils. Pretty much everyone loves this scent.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, cocoa powder for color, and Chocolate and Blackberry fragrance oil.

Gardener's Soap

This has a bug repelling yet gardener delighting blend of essential oils, including lemon grass, citronella, tea tree, lavender and several more. It also contains corn meal for a mild scrubbing effect.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, cornmeal, a special blend of essential oils.

Georgia Peach

This is a very different peach scent. It doesn't smell like candy or soda pop. It has a real green plant kind of smell. I will not be replacing our Peach Nectar scent but just might make it to the permanent line-up

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, pink and yellow pigment for color, and Georgia Peach fragrance oil.

Harvest Festival

Whether it is fall or not this is wonderful homey soap scent. Every time you sniff this soap you will smell something different; apple, citrus, spice and pumpkin notes meld into this fabulous fall blend!

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, grated white soap, red and yellow pigment for color, and All Hallows Eve fragrance oil.

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle is another one of my favorite floral fragrances. This one is dead on in my book (or close enough). We have honeysuckle vines in our backyard and my little girl took one whiff of this soap and said "hey that smells like those pretty honeysuckle flowers in the back yard." That was good enough for me.
Why purple?? Long story..... just say I grabbed the wrong bottle of scent so the color is perfect for Huckleberry soap but the scent is perfect for Honeysuckle. Either way it smells divine.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, grated white soap, pink and black pigment for color, and Honeysuckle fragrance oil.

Huckleberry

At long last, I have found a berry scent that not only smells great BUT also works in cold process soap. Berry scents are just really hard to make soap with but this one works and it smells wonderful. If you are berry fan you will love this soap.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, pink and black pigment for color, and Huckleberry fragrance oil.

Jacob Black

Jake the Snake and Zeek the Freak

Ok unless you grew up anywhere near my dad you won't know these two old cowpokes. When I was a little girl my dad would come home from work, lay down on the living room floor and put an arm out for me and my little brother to rest our heads on. Then he would tell us the most marvelous stories about these two crusty old cowboys. There were so many things he could have done with his time but he chose to spend it telling stories to two little kids. We loved those stories and still do.Why did I name this soap after them?? Because, to me it smells like the Southern desert, tumble weeds, willows at the waterhole, and soft yet rugged scent cowboy cologne.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, dill weed for color, and Pinion Pine and Sage Brush fragrance oil.

Lavender

This is simply pure lavender goodness. It is so calming and soothing to the soul. It is the perfect end to any day. And a peaceful way to start your morning.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, lavender buds, ultramarine blue for color, and Lavender essential oil.

Lavender Mint

This soap is made with a refreshing blend of Lavender, Spearmint, and Peppermint Essential Oils.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, lavender buds, ultramarine blue for color, and Lavender, Peppermint, and Spearmint essential oils.

Lemon Zest

Licorice/Anise/Fisherman Soap

Why three names? Because people call this soap by those three names. It is just pure soap with poppy seeds and Anise Essential Oil. Why Fisherman's soap? Because this scent masks human scent and is attractive to fish so fishermen swear by it. As for me it smells like the best, most mouth watering black licorice ever. If licorice is your thing, you will LOVE this soap!

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, poppy seeds, and Anise essential oil.

Lilac

This soap is very nostalgic for me. It reminds me of my childhood and playing in the lilac bushes in my mother's front yard. The bushes were so large you could play under them with your dolls. This scent is dead on in my opinion. I think you will like it if you are a lilac fan. I have search high and low to find one that was a good match.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, lavender pigment for color, and Lilac fragrance oil.

Lily of the Valley

This scent is almost dead on for Lily of the Valley which happens to be my favorite flower. It is a delicate flower with powerful scent which is amazing. If you are a fan of this flower you will love this soap!

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, white pigment for color, and Lily of the Valley fragrance oil.

Mint Lemonade

Sweet, tart and refreshing. Isn't that was you expect from a good lemonade? This soap scent delivers just that. I can't get enough of this one. I know I would love it and I do and I know you will too. Spoil yourself silly with a bar just for you.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, dill weed, yellow oxide for color, and Jordan's Mint Lemonade fragrance oil.

Mint Magic

This has be one of our all time favorite soaps. I think it is the first scent we started blending ourselves. It is a lovely mix of peppermint, spearmint and a dash of wintergreen. It smells lovely and bright. A real pick-me-up.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, lavender buds, green oxide for color, Peppermint, Spearmint, and Wintergreen essential oils.

Morning Bliss

This is a special batch of soap made with a special bunch of girls at my church. They picked the scent name and the add-ins. The scent is a lovely blend of lemon, cintronella, lavender and cedar. It has such a bright citrus scent with the earthiness of the cedar and the mellowness of the lavender. I think they gave the soap a wonderful smell.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occuring glycerine, calendula blossoms, yellow oxide for color, Lavender, Lemon, Citronella, and Cedar essenial oils.

Oak Leaves & Acorns

This bar has a wonderful fall smell. There is a warm amber musk scent with high fruit notes and the scent of warm earth. It smells like a fall festival and crunching leaves.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, paprika, yellow and red for color, and Oak Leaves and Acorns fragrance oil.

Pan Dulce

This soap was inspired by my favorite Mexican pan dulce, Pan de los Muertos or Bread of the dead. This bread has a heavely blend of orange rind and anise seeds and is sometimes topped with a vanilla glaze. The soap version has a wonderfully swirling blend of Anise and orange essential oils and a hint of vanilla fragrance oil. It is a real treat and smells good enough to bite.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerine, yellow and red oxide for color, Anise and Orange essential oils, and vanilla fragrance oil.

Pineapple

Smells like a wonderful pineapple treat. Very mellow scent.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, yellow oxide for color, and Pineapple fragrance oil.

Plumeria

This is secented with a fragrance oil. It smells so wonderfully sweet and flowery. It is not a heavy perfumish flower. Very soothing.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, lavender pigment for color, and Plumeria fragrance oil.

Red Clover Tea

This is a wonderfully bright fruity scent.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, dill weed, pink pigment for color, and Red Clover Tea fragrance oil.

Rosemary Mint

This is a unique batch of soap. In making the batch it decided it didn't want to fallow the normal path of soapmaking SO.... I rebatched it (melted it back down and re-poured it.) As a result it marbled it'self and has very interesting swirls of color. The scent is very light and a wonderful earthy mint which is a blend of Peppermint, Spearmint, and Rosemary essential oils

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, grated mint magic soap, Rosemary, Spearmint and Peppermint essential oils.

Spiced Forest

This is a lovely blend of Pine needle, Fir Needle, Orange and Clove Essential oils. It smells just like Christmas to me, like real pine trees and pomader balls. I think you will love it. It is very soothing and refreshing and nostalgic.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, green oxide for colorant, grated orange mint soap, Fir needle, Pine needle, Orange, and Clove essential ols.

Spearmint & Eucalyptus

This is a fragrance oil NOT and essential oil blend. It has a bright clean smell. Rather masculine. Great for guys.

I have to share a story with you about this scent. My mother is now 80 years old. She grew up in Berkley California during WWII. As a little girl she had a huge Eucalyptus bush in her front yard near the sidewalk. When I made this soap and let her smell it. She said it smelled just like the bush in her front yard. Then she told me delightful stories about her life there in that lovely house in 1940's Berkley. Isn't it interesting what memories scents can bring. I hope some of these soap scents can bring back happy memories for you too. For me it is the Lily of the Valley soap. That was my grandmother's favorite flower and we grew them in our yard and I would pick them with my mother to put on my Grandmonther's grave each spring.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, dill weed, pink pigment for color, and Red Clover Tea fragrance oil.

Strawberry

This is a very soft creamy strawberry candy scented soap. I love it. Reminds me of the candy counter when I was little. This scent is very soft, not bold at all.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occuring glycerin, pink pigment for color, and Strawberry fragrance oil.

Sweetgrass

This smells like new mown hay. It is so lovely and fresh. A very nostalgic scent.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurrng glycerin, dill weed, and Sweetgrass fragrance oil.

Tea Tree Special
(yes this is the same bar as the Facial bar just under it's other name).

This IS my favorite soap. It is the bar I reach for the most. It has been called "Energy" here before. We are listing as a facial bar though because it is very good for your skin. It contains green French clay, lavender, peppermint, tea tree, and pachouli essential oils. These are all anti bacterial and great for your skin.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurrng glycerin, green oxyide for color, green French clay, lavender, tea tree, peppermint, and patchouli essential oils.

Tihitian Vanilla

This rich, dark and fragrant soap is Natural Soap Goodness. It is made with fresh goat's milk, oats and a sprinkle of cinnamon. The Fragrance oil used is Tahitian vanilla and it is a lovely rich heavy vanilla scent. There is also a small ammount of Cinnamon Essential oil added.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurrng glycerin, goat milk, oatmeal, Tihitian vanilla fragrance oil, and cinnamon essential oil.

Tropical Fun

The scent is actually called Sex on the Beach but I thought it smelled like Hawaiian Punch, very fruity.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurrng glycerin, paprika for color, Sex on the Beach fragrance oil.

Vanilla Creme

This soap has a warm, delicious, and simple Vanilla fragrance. It has no colorants added and is just the natural color of soap.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, Vanilla Cream fragrance oil.

Volturi

White Tea & Ginger

This beautiful white soap is scented with white tea and ginger fragrance oil. This is my sister's favorite scent so I scanned the net looking for it to make soap and am so happy I did. It smelles divine, a very etherial floral scent. It also reminds me of her everytime I smell it and that is always a happy thing.

Ingredients: food grade saponified oils of coconut, olive, canola, and soy, naturally occurring glycerin, White Tea & Ginger fragrance oil.

Dad Cooks

2010-02-08T17:03:00.003-06:00

My dear hubby has been trying very hard to lend a hand here and there lately. He is being really very sweet about it all. He can actually cook fairly well but doesn't always take the time to follow directions. So..... he asked me to come up with some quickie meals that he can fix without having to think too much so they can happen rather quickly, and rather painlessly for all involved. So.... Here is one of the meals I gave him to do and he loves it. It is fast, easy, and best of all tasty. It is as simple as hamburger helper but with ten times the flavor.

Dad's Quickie Pasta Dish
(sorry the about the pictures in advance, he wouldn't hold still and I was sick)

Ingredients:
Ground meat (optional)
Veggies (if you have them and what you like)
Pasta (about 1 pound of what ever noodle you have)
Pasta Sauce (what ever kind you like about 1 large can or jar)
Water
Cheese (also optional and what ever kind you like and have on hand)

1. Cook your meat (beef or pork) in a skillet with some oil, salt, pepper and what ever veggies you like to add. Cook until meat is browned and veggies are "done" to your liking.

Veggies we like to chop and add:
Onions
Peppers
Carrots
Celery
Mushrooms
Garlic

2. Add a large can of your favorite spaghetti sauce. Stir in. DH likes Hunts Original and so do we. It works. Sometimes we add 2 because we feel like it. It is that easy and that low tech.

3. Add a can (or jar) full of water and stir in well. Sometimes we add an extra half can of water if it looks a little dry.

4. Pour in your favorite noodles. We have tried several noodles in this and we like Radiatore and Rigatoni. They grab sauce and yummy bit and hold onto them.

5. Adjust your water and sauce levels to taste here. You want it to be pretty soupy but not as thin as soup.

6. Now put the lid on and cook till the noodles are done. That should take anywhere from 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching.

7. When the noodles are done, sprinkle the top with grated cheese (slices also work), put the lid back on, and take it to the table. While it sits, waiting for you to get everyone there and ready, it will melt the cheese.

And there you have it, an instant family favorite with salad and fruit. I also love it because it means I get a night off when I am running to community meetings, sewing my fingers together for a customer, or just plain sick in bed (do mom's really ever get sick days?)

Concoctions - Cold and Flu Tea

2010-01-27T14:23:00.007-06:00

This last week I have been hit with the worst case of the flu I have had in years. I can tell you it is pretty vile stuff. I wanted to share something that I have used though that has helped speed recovery this and several other illnesses my family has had.
Since my husband lost his job a year ago, insurance has been a luxury we couldn't afford. I realized without it how much I had taken it for granted and how often we had just "run" to the Doctor for colds and flu with the kids. I have had to rely on older remedies to keep my family "healthy" this past year so that we could save the $$ for when we REALLY needed to go to the Dr. I wanted to share some of the things I have picked up that really help.
I have had to come up with a set of "herbal remedies" that make up my families first aid kit. It is where we now turn for help first when we get hurt or feel ill.
I came up with this mixture over time actually and started putting the four ingredients together to help with different ailments. After much research from herbalist friends, on-line resources, and books from the library, this is the first thing that I put in my first aid kit.

Cold and Flu Tea

1 part Red Raspberry leaves
1 part Red Clover blossoms
1 part peppermint leaves
1 part rooibos tea

For a pot of tea (about 1 quart) I put in 2 teaspoons each. I usually add an extra teaspoon of peppermint for flavor.

Boil water. Pour over loose leaves in a teapot or jar and steep for 5-15 minutes. Strain. Serve hot or cold, with or without honey. Honey is also very soothing when you are sick and has it's own anti bacterial properties. (don't give honey to a child under 2 years of age, but you knew that already).

This is great for sore throats, caughs, aches, chills, and general feelings of being un-well. I even took this for stomach flu this week and it really helped settle my system and get me back to normal.

Now .... Why these four?? I will tell you.
Red Raspberry leaves are very high in minerals and have anti-viral properties. It is great for women to take because it really works hard for the reproductive system, keeping it healthy, clean, and working properly. I won't do without this herb on the shelf anymore. The anti-viral properties of this herb make it perfect for when you "think" you are getting sick; when you feel that scratchy feeling at the back of your throat but aren't quite sick yet. Tea made from this has prevented more cold for me than I can count. The only draw back is that red raspberry leaves to taste yummy. They aren't nasty by a long shot but kinda like boiled hay. So.... I add other herbs to make it tastier.
Red Clover is a blood purifier. This is great at anytime. (You do need to check with your health care provider though because it has blood thinning properties as well, that is not a problem for me or my family so we use it.) The blood purifying properties help you "clean up" the gunk you have in your system from being sick. This also helps remove toxins from your blood which helps your liver function better.
*** True story*****
When my oldest daughter "Miss Sunshine" was born she cried all the time. I thought she had colic for 8 months. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't but she sure seemed mad a lot. By the time she was 2 she would get so angry she would try to hurt me pretty violently.

(Seriously same child same day! some 10 years ago. BTW that face on the left was not a sad, tired, or scared face, it was MAD. It actually makes me really sad to see that angry face because there was nothing we could to to help her and it was so upsetting to see her so unhappy. Nothing soothed her. You had to ride out the storm. )
I wasn't so worried about me but she had a 3 year old brother and a baby sister at the time that I needed to protect. I took her to the Dr and he said that she was perfectly normal and just a spunky little girl and I should celebrate that fact. What!?! I was not satisfied with that so I went to a new herbalist in my area that changed my life forever. She did some testing on little " Miss Sunshine" and said that her little liver wasn't processing toxins as well as it should and that the build up in her system was making daily frustrations more than she could bare. She recommended the red clover for her in a tincture form every day. We did that. It wasn't an over night change but within 30 days I saw a different little girl. She was still the spunky little girl we love that could see the funny in everything and bring sunshine to our home BUT the angry bursts were gone. When her "life" would walk by and push her buttons, she could grunt and walk off without reacting. It was wonderful. I also found that when I took the red clover that I could "cope" with "life situations" better. ****
Red Clover also tastes like boiled hay, not yummy but not bitter so I add things to make it taste better.
Peppermint tastes yummy. That was one of the number one reasons for adding it. It also has medicinal properties. It helps sooth the digestive system, calm the body during stress, helps with breathing and many more. Knowing it is good for me is great but since I was little I just loved how it tastes. (being honest).
Rooibos -- What can't this stuff do?! I had a hard time finding anything about it at first and then I found a couple of links here and here that told me all kinds of wonderful information about it. I knew it was tasty but now it is a must have daily drink for me. The reason I add it to the cold and flu recipe is because it is natures sport's drink. It is high in natural minerals and salts and helps return balance to a stressed system. It also helps sooth the system which is great for helping you get to sleep when you don't feel well.

Where do I get these marvelous herbs?? I get some of them from my local health food store BUT mostly I get them from Monetary Bay Herb Company. I have liked the quality I get from them. I can get organic for a reasonable price. They packaging is marvelous too making for easy storage.
I hope this has been helpful for you. I will share some more concoctions and remedies this year and hope they can help bring some health benefits to you and yours.

Please remember that you should not use these remedies in place of seeing a real Health Care specialist in case of serious illness. I am not prescribing anything for you just sharing what I have learned.

Enjoy!

Sawdust Emergency Candle Tutorial

2010-01-16T15:36:00.005-06:00

Hello lovelies! I have another preparedness tutorial to share with you. This is for a long burning light and heat source for times when the power is out. I was thrilled to have this and wanted to share it with all of you. I got this information from my friend Vea. Her blog is all about provident living. It is fabulous!

Emergency Candles

Supplies

Sawdust and or wood shavings

Wax - paraffin or old candle ends

Empty Juice Cans (46 oz)

Proportions

6 cups loose sawdust

12 oz (1 1/2 cups) melted wax

(we actually measured it by 1 1/2 cans of sawdust)

Directions:

Melt the wax in some kind of double boiler arrangement over boiling water. We used a large pot with a large bowl on top. You DO NOT want the wax melting in something over direct heat of any kind, the chances of a fire are too great.

Pour over sawdust and mix well.
When it is cool enough to touch you can mix it with your hands.

Pack the wax/sawdust mixture tightly into the can within 1 inch from the top. You really want to pack it down hard and tight. The instructions called for a wick for lighting the candle. We packed in around it all the way to the top of the candle. Trim the wick.
(Idea here...... The wick is only used for the first lighting and I am not sure it is even needed there. For the next one I make I am going to stick a birthday candle in the top layer of the candle so that maybe 1/2 inch of it is sticking out for lighting.)

To burn the candle

***********SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY************

Keep out of reach of small children.

Have the candle on a flat, secure surface.

Protect surface with an trivet or pan to keep from melting your counter top.

Keep a lid or tin close by for extinguishing the candle. DO NOT BLOW IT OUT! You will at least singe your face and hair if not start a fire!

Light the wick and step back and watch it take off. (you might want to test your first burning outside, away from the house.)

Enjoy the large amounts of heat produced.

You put the candle out by putting a metal lid or something flat over the top for a few seconds. Warning it will smoke a lot when you put it out so you might want to remove it outside quickly.

For the next burning you just drop a lit match on the surface and it takes off. (I really think you could do that to start with but just for the sake of following rules, I included the wick.)

You may have noticed the holes punched in mine. Those are not necessary for a heat candle. I added those because I was told you can cook on one of these. Problem.... The wholes are for air, flame or something and when I put the pan of water on top of this, the flame went out within seconds. Not cool. So I will be looking for ideas to make this work. The selling point on the candle for me was that I could cook on it in an emergency and I plan on doing that so I will be experimenting until I come up with a way to make that work. :o) Then I will share the info with you.

A candle this size should heat a 9x12 foot room and keep it from freezing for about 10 hours. I have not tested this yet though. That is what I gathered from people who had made them.

I really want to make a smaller version of this and use it to cook food or heat water for our 72-hour kits. This is something my older children should be able to use themselves during an emergency situation.

Miss Reynold's Always Fail Brownies

2010-01-09T12:00:00.004-06:00

This recipe has been staring me in the face for 20 years now. Miss Reynold's was one of my favorite high school teachers and became a very dear friend. She made the brownies for one of our Student Council meetings once and I begged for the recipe. I slipped it into my small recipe collection at the time and always vowed that one day I would make them. Well I finally did.

They were everything I remembered them to be and since I made them with my children on a particularly cold snow day this week, it was even more fun and special.
Miss Reynold's was my freshman English teacher and later my Student Council sponsor. She introduced me to Anne of Green Gables and completely changed my life. Thank you Miss Reynolds. ☺

Sorry there are no step by step pictures but you were lucky there was one left to take a photo of. These were gone pretty fast!

Miss Reynold's Always Fail Brownies

1 box German Chocolate Cake Mix

1 cup chopped nuts

1/3 cup evaporated milk (or regular milk if that is all you have)

3/4 cup butter

1 (14 oz) package Caramels (about 50 of them) (*or make your own when you get everything in the pan and discover someone ate the caramels without tellin' you!)

1/3 cup Evaporated milk (again whole milk works)

1 cup chocolate chips

Melt caramels and 1/3 cup milk. Keep warm.

Combine cake mix, butter, nuts, and 1/3 cup milk.

Press half of this into the bottom of a greased 9"x13" pan.

Bake at 350 deg F for 6 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips all over.

Next pour the hot caramel over all.

Crumble the remaining batter over the caramel.

Return to oven and bake for 16 minutes.

Cool well before cutting. (This is the hardest part! We had to put ours in the freezer to speed the process up.)

** We got to the melt caramel part (after we had the cake part ready) and discovered that SOMEONE!! had eaten the caramels I THOUGHT were in the pantry. We were NOT going to be cheated out of our "Miss Reynold's Never Fail Brownies". So...... we made our own batch of caramel from scratch. Yes we are that crazy. So here is my mom's caramels recipe and it is TO DIE FOR! I used half the recipe in the brownies and poured the rest into a 9" cake pan and saved them for later.

Mom's Like See's Caramels

That Won't Stick To Your Teeth

3 cups white sugar

3 cups cream (or evaporated milk)

1 1/3 cup white corn syrup

1 cup butter

16 level Tbsp flour

1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, syrup and 1 1/2 cups cream. Bring to a boil Add the remaining cream very slowly, so it doesn't stop boiling. Cook to the soft ball stage. (this will take a long time).

Combine the melted butter and the flour, 1 Tbsp at a time, add to the boiling mixture, stirring constantly until it forms a hard ball when tested in cold water.

(Hardness of the ball is determined by how hard you want the caramels to be.)

Add the vanilla and nuts if desired. Pour in a buttered pan.

(An 8" square pan makes candy about 1 1/2" thick. A 9 x 13" pan might be better.)

When cool, cut into squares.

(My mom and I like this recipe with a pinch or two of salt. Candy without salt has a flat taste. The salt compliments the flavor of the butter and cream. Give it a try!)

Wood Stove Cleaning Tip

2010-01-03T14:09:00.004-06:00

My wood stove and my mother's wood stove both have glass windows. I love them because you can see the bright fire burning in them and it makes it that much more warm and toasty. However, it doesn't take them long to get dark from creosote (the black stuff from burning wood). My children and I have tried several different cleaning products and devises with minimal luck.

Well the other day, as I was kneeling down to scrub the window again, I could hear my dad in the back of my head say "dirt cleans dirt kid." So I gave it a try.

Here is what I did.

I took an old wash cloth and got it wet.

Then I dipped the wash cloth in some old ashes from the stove.

Then I scrubbed the window with the wet ashes and cloth.

Then I rinsed out the wash cloth and wiped the window clean.
It was that simple and in less than a minute I had a shinny clean window. We were again able to enjoy a bright fire.

Fire Starter Tutorial

2010-01-01T17:24:00.005-06:00

Happy New Year! My pretties!

I wanted to share a quick money saving tute with you to start the year off right. 2009 was a lean year for us. DH lost his job in January and had a hard time getting into his new job. It made for a very tight year. Things are a bit better but still very tight. I know that many of my readers have gone through or are going through the same situation. Well I have picked up a few little tips over the years to help make do and thought I would start a "Frugal Tutorials" spot here on the blog where I can share them with you.

My house has been heated with only electricity for most of our married life. Christmas 2008 we were able to put in a wood stove (used, but new to us and in great shape). Well it has really saved on our electric bills. We do live on a heavily wooded farm and have lots of wood to clean up from ice storms and tornadoes here so we have a free supply of wood. Just lets say that the wood stove has nearly cut my winter electric bill in half and that is a good thing.

I am a very lucky girl and had a great dad that made sure I knew how to build a good fire. It was kinda a pride thing. I was always tickled when I could build a fire in the wood stove as well as he could in the same amount of time. I love getting a wood fire started and trying to do the whole thing with just one match (another pride thing). Well some mornings I just don't have time for that and need to get the house warmed up quick for the kids. I remembered an old cub scout trick of making your own fire starter from things found in the house. It also saves some items from the landfill.

So..... here is my money and time saving tute for you.

Quick Fire Starters

Supplies

Dryer lint

Paper egg cartons (NOT the foam kind)

old candles

Instructions.

1. Pack the cups of the egg carton with the lint.

2. Place the old candles in the top of a double boiler (can be made from a metal bowel over a pan of boiling water.) Melt the candles over a water bath.

3. Pour the melted wax over the lint filled egg carton. I pour once let it set for a few seconds and pour again to make sure I really filled them and let the lint soak up the wax. Set them aside to cool completely.

4. You're done! You have a dozen (or more) quick little fire starters and you made them all from things you had around your house that were ready to be thrown in the trash.

How to Use Them

1. Place a fire starter in the middle of your wood stove.

2. Put your small kindling around it. (I use refuse lumber from construction projects and take a few mintues to cup them up with my hatchet into little pieces. ) Then place small pieces of wood around that. Place the wood in a Teepee, that is one of the easiest fire starting shapes.

3. Light our starter and shut the door and watch. Your fire should take off quickly and burn well. The wax give you a nice little flame long enough to start the bigger wood on fire.

Here is my little fire after about 20 minutes.

Warm, toasty, and cheery.

These little starters are great to have in your preparedness equipment too incase you have ice storms and have too cook over a fire to feed your family for over a week. :o)

Enjoy!

Crab Salad

2009-12-17T13:29:00.002-06:00

Confession: I post recipes here because I lose things and there are some recipes that I am lost without. This is one of them. I have spent days looking for this recipe so I could take it to my Quilt Guild's Christmas Party tonight and FINALLY found it. So..... I am posting this recipe here so I will be able to find it next time I want it AND because it is so fabulous I want to share it with my readers too.

I got this from my daughter's best friend's mom. She has lost an amazing amount of weight in the past few years and when I asked her what her secret was, she said it was a handful of recipes that she loved, that were good for her, and safe to eat (meaning you aren't going to hurt any diet by eating them). They also have a good balance of fats and proteins which fill you up and leave you feeling satisfied. Combined with smart carbs, you have a great meal.

So..... Here is the fabulous crab salad recipe.

Jill's Crab Salad

1 cup imitation crab meat chunked
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1 cup cottage cheese
vinegar (a dash to taste)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix together and enjoy.
This is great with veggies, crackers, and a slice of fresh bread and a cup of V8 juice.

Puppy Pouches

2009-12-01T22:10:00.004-06:00

I wanted to share a fabulous Etsy Find with you!!

This is Rover.

I am afraid he is my favorite. I know you shouldn't have them, But I do. I wouldn't mind if this puppy followed me home!

Here is another that isn't in the shop yet.

How do I have access to such a photo you ask?

Well the Etsy Shop owner just so happens to be my fabulous Big Brother Sam.

He has wicked sweet leather working skill and an incredible talent for creating these fabulous bags/pouches. I am sure his wife might have something to do with the creative design though.

They were married in Japan and lived there for 10 years before moving onto the farm here next door to me and my little family. It has been great for the last few years to have cousins right next door. His sons helped my poor lonely boy have instant brothers before his own brother was born. My girls have been there to balance out life for his one daughter.

One last treat for you.

"Olivia"

Now head on over to Sam's Etsy Shop "Sam Hill" and send some etsy love.

How do you send Etsy love you ask?

You go to Etsy and log in or sign up if you haven't already, and then check out his shop and favorite it with a little red heart. Better yet, you actually buy one of his pouches.

Hey I will go one more, if you buy one of his pouches and tell him that Lucy sent you, I will include a bar of my fabulous soap with the pouch for free! You can't beat that.

Now run over there before my big sisters swoop down and snatch them up. You have a running start because some of them are techno challenged and can't even log into Etsy yet. hee hee but I didn't tell you that. HA!

Thanks Givings Past

2009-11-24T11:36:00.004-06:00

I was digging though some old treasures this week and stumbled on an old book of my mothers that was printed in 1905. It is "The Economical Cook Book" by Mrs Sara T. Paul. Click on the link and you can see the whole book yourself. You can see it here too. You can buy it here.

I love this description of the book!

This is an illustration from the book of the "Ideal" Kitchen. I love it!

In case you can't read it, here is what is says.

"The two views show a model kitchen arranged for convenience, for health, and economy. The floor covered with oil cloth for tiles, the walls papered or painted, plumbling easily accessible, pantries and cupboards ample -- range of the latest pattern, and sinks with hot and cold water."

In looking through this treasure of a book, I found this recipe for Roast Turkey and thought I would share it with you. It is interesting to see how things have changed, and how they haven't in the last 100+ years.

Roast Turkey

"Singe the turkey with burning paper, pick out all the pinfeathers, wash it clean and wipe it dry; then draw out the entrails, and wash the inside of the bird with several waters; prepare a filling as follows: bread-crumbs sufficient to fill it loosely (it should never be packed in any kind of poultry or birds), season with half a teaspoon of sweet basil, one of sweet marjoram, and onion chopped very fine and stewed for five minutes in a quarter pound of butter, which pour over; pepper and salt, and if convenient two dozen oysters chopped fine, fill the bird with this, reserving a little to put in where the craw came from, put the ends of the legs through the opening you made when you drew it, letting the joint come just through the vent, turn the wings back and run a skewer across through them, securing it with a string, skewer the legs in the same way, season the outside of the turkey with pepper and salt, dust with flour, and place in a dripping-pan, pour round it a cup of water. If the turkey is a very large one it will require three hours, one of ten pounds will roast in two hours, and a small one in an hour and a half; baste it frequently. For the gravey, when you first draw the turkey, put the liver, gizzard, end of the wings, and place the neck, and the heart into a stew-pan, with half a large onion cut in two, pepper and salt, cover with cold water and simmer for several hours; when perfectly tender, take out he liver and gizzard, chop the latter and put it back, rub the liver to a smooth paste with the yolk of a hard boiled egg and a piece of butter as large as a walnut, moisten with some of the broth, add a heaping tablespoon of flour, stir this into the sauce-pan, boil up once, when you dish the turkey, pour the contents of the sauce-pan into the dripping-pan, stir it round until brown, pour a few spoonful over the turkey after you have removed the skewers and strings, and serve the rest in a gravy-boat."

Isn't that wonderful!! This is how my grandmother cooked and I would hear directions like this from my mother as I grew up. I love it when recipes aren't bound by measurements and lists of detailed instructions.

This book was found in the attic of the cabin where my parents lived when they were a young married couple. My mom thinks it belonged to her mother-in-law or more than likely my dad's maternal grandmother . We will never know! It is a treasure though and I think I will see how much of this I can try this year.

I would like to take a minute to tell you my peeps that I am thankful for you and your comments and the friendships that have sprung up for me here through this wonderful medium of blogging. I hope each of you has a wonderful week and if you are celebrating Thanks Giving, I hope you have a lovely time with family and friends, remembering the many things you have to be thankful for.

Love, Mama Byrd

Baked French Toast

2009-11-18T19:45:00.002-06:00

My dear friend Suzanne fixed this for our Quilt Guild Retreat this past month. It was Fabulous! I use that word a lot but it really was.
My children love French toast and so do I. I may post how they make that but here is how we adapted Suzanne's recipe and made it our own.

4-6 sliced of whole wheat bread cubed or torn in chunks
1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese (optional)
6 eggs
1 cup milk
sprinkle of cinnamon and/or nutmeg
pinch of salt
brown sugar or Sucanat

Butter a 9"x9" baking dish
Place half the cubed bread in the dish.
Cut the cream cheese over the bread.
Cover with remaining bread cubes.
Mix eggs, milk, salt, and cinnamon or nutmeg together in a blender.
Pour over bread.
Sprinkle the top of the bread mixture with Sucanat or brown sugar.
Cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate overnight.
In he morning, preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
Bake for 45 - 60 minutes.
Serve warm with maple syrup, powdered sugar or just the way it is.

Scented Play Dough Tutorial

2009-11-15T19:12:00.004-06:00

Play dough was one of my favorite things to play with when I was a little girl and I love making it for my children now. I love how home made dough feels. It is so smooth and has the right texture. I loved helping her make it over the stove and then helping her kneed in the color when it was done. I loved the feel of warm fresh play dough. It was so wonderfully soothing.
As a little kid, I had to attend many meetings and some night classes with my mom. She would pack a baggy of play dough and I knew that I was in for a treat for hours. I loved making sculptures and had all kinds of stories running in my head as I sat on the floor next to her or at the back of the room with a chair seat as the stage for my pretend play.

Well here is the recipe I use now for my kids. I switched over to scented dough several years ago. The one thing I hate about play dough is what it smelled like after a couple of kids had played with it. Now the dough has a nice fruity scent.
I bet you could also use essential oils and have herbal scented play dough. I might have to try that with lavender. Hmmmm.... Any way this is the recipe that always works for me.

Scented Play Dough
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
2 pkg fruit flavored drink mix (without the sugar)
1 Tbsp Alum
3 Tbsp oil
1/2 cup flour
2 cups boiling water

Directions:

Add flour, salt, flavoring, alum, and oil into a large mixing bowl.

Add the boiling water ....

.... and stir.

Add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour if needed ....

..... and kneed by hand .....

..... until smooth, soft and definitely not sticky.

Now Play!

Ozark Christmas Stockings

2009-10-23T19:03:00.003-05:00

I know it is still early BUT in true anti procrastination spirit of the Holidays, I am posting my stocking selection now rather than the week before Christmas.

I have a collection of Old Quilt Stockings that I have made. These are made from an old quilt top I rescued from an antique mall here. Sadly the shop is no longer there.

The quilt top was hand made by someone with less than perfect quilting skills however, it was packed with charm and I was delighted with the effort and hard work that had been put into each stitch. The poor top had also suffered some damage so I rescued the top and turned it into a set of Christmas stockings. There were 14 in all but there are only 10 left in the shop.

I also have some stockings made with some rescued and re purposed hand made lace.

Go check it out at

My Byrd Nest

Suzanne's Stuffed Peppers

2009-10-22T18:55:00.004-05:00

This is one of my favorite, vintage recipes. I owe it all to one of my dearest friends, Suzanne. When I was a teen I used to babysit on a regular basis for several families I knew. Suzanne's was one of them. I got to watch her two boys. Suzanne is a great mom and a great teacher. She almost always had dinner in the fridge and I would just fix it up for the kids while she was at work or night school. The foods she had were always wonderful and the introduced me to new flavors that have become some of my favorites. This recipe was one of them. I had never cared much for cooked peppers (what kid does) but I would try anything once and I wasn't going to set a bad example for her kids so I tried it, loved it, and have craved it ever since.

So here is the lovely recipe she shared with me.

Stuffed Peppers

1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
3/4 cup of crushed crackers
1/2 can tomato sauce
garlic to taste
onion fresh or dried to taste
salt & pepper
red pepper if you like bite

Mix together by hand, don't over work.
Stuff bell peppers,
add Ketchup on top, and
bake for about 1 hr. 350. enjoy!
I added little strips of bacon to the top because there was some in the fridge.

It was as good as I remembered and my kids gobbled it up.
THANK YOU Suzanne for sharing the recipe. Sometimes you need comfort food and this is it for me.

Blogger's Quit Festival - Fall 2009

2009-10-16T19:00:00.005-05:00

I know I am getting in on the last day of this BUT I just found out about it this afternoon. So here I am entering and am so thrilled that something like this is going on. Park City Girl hostessing her second Blogger Quilt Festival and there are, currently, over six hundred folks participating. How it works is quilters all over the world post a blog post about a quilt or maybe two that they have. It can be a quilt you made or were given or even picked up somewhere. BUT you have to tell the story. So here is MY quilt and MY story and I have to tell you, I love it!

This is my wedding quilt.

It was made for me by my mother, and was quilted by my best friend Vea.

The quilt it self is full of stories.

The center panel is a representation of my family.

The seven stars in the sky are me a and my six sisters. It represents the constellation Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. We are seven sisters and if you will notice in the constellation, there are six of them bunched together and one a little way off but still part of the group. Well my six older sisters are much closer in age than I am but we are all still together.

The swans represent my six brothers. They also represent the six brothers from the fairy tale, The Six Swans. In the story six sons of a king are turned into swans by their evil step mother. They only way to break the spell is for their sister to to make them each a shirt from asters. You will have to go read the story to find out how it all works out. ☺ It was one of my favorite stories my mother told me when I was little. I loved the little sister and wanted to be as loving and giving as she was. (You will have to ask my brothers if I even remotely measure up.) I never made them shirts but I do remember making pants for one of them. I did make them all cookies though. The six swans with their heads held high represent my brothers and the six with their head bent are my brothers-in-law. Clever isn't it?

The row of girls around the outside edge represents the song "I dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls".

This song had special meaning for me. It was my favorite song growing up in the late 80's and early 90's, It was one of my mother's favorite songs in the 40's, and it was one of my grandmother's favorites in the 1910's. It is now my own daughters' favorite song today.

It is a pretty special song for me.

I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls

With vassals and serfs at my side,

And of all who assembled within those walls

That I was the hope and the pride.

I had riches all too great to count

And a high ancestral name.

But I also dreamt which pleased me most

That you loved me still the same,

That you loved me

You loved me still the same,

That you loved me

You loved me still the same.

I dreamt that suitors sought my hand,

That knights upon bended knee

And with vows no maidens heart could withstand,

They pledged their faith to me.

And I dreamt that one of that noble host

Came forth my hand to claim.

But I also dreamt which charmed me most

That you loved me still the same

That you loved me

You loved me still the same,

That you loved me

You loved me still the same.

The square blocks around the girls are actually a block called marble floor. I thought that was pretty cool. My mom made sure that each princess had her own spot on the dance floor.

I love the detail that the quilting added to the princesses. They are now Fairy Princesses.

Oh and for you Quilters out there these ladies are NOT paper pieced. She pieced every single girl. My mom really hates paper piecing.

In some of the "marble halls" she quilted castles. I love it!

The back of the quilt is even significant because I love hand dyed fabrics and have been dying them myself since I was in high school some 20 years ago.

So there you go. That is my quilt and my story. I hope if you have a quilt and a story you will share it too.

Happy Blogiversary Giveaway!

2009-10-12T20:43:00.002-05:00

Holy Cow. I have been blogging for three years this month. I can't believe it. Time flies and I have had a lot of fun. I went back today to look at my first post and it was about some lovely Halloween Costumes I made for my girls with some help from my lovely friend Michelle.

Well to celebrate my anniversary I would like to give away a child's corset set.

That would be :

1 child size corset

1 child size skirt

1 child size blouse

(I will have a picture up here ASAP of the outfit)

Here is how you win......

Leave a comment here telling me what you have enjoyed about my blog in the past three years (even in you just found me today) -1 entry
Post about my giveaway on your blog, face book, or twitter page and invite your friends to come see my lovely blog and giveaway - 3 more entries (but you have to come back here and let me know so I can give you credit
Go and buy something from My Byrd Nest or Sexy Apron Day -Get 10 extra entries

The Giveaway ends at midnight Central time on October 25th. The winner will be announced on Monday morning October 26th, 2009.

This is my chance to say a big Thank You! to my wonderful blogging friends that have entered my life through my blog. Some of you have become very dear friends!

THANK YOU!

By The Way -- If you are thinking .... How do I get such a lovey costume for myself???

Answer....

Go to Michelle's site and check out what she makes. She has an Etsy, Artfire, and Ebay shop.

I'm a Loozer!

2009-10-07T14:25:00.002-05:00

If you were my swap partner and you got this apron.....

...... would you truthfully say that it was better off LATE than never??

Yes I am a late swapper. I will not tell you which swap it is for because my partner would know and because then you would know how big a LOOZER I am. Life jumped up and BIT me this summer and fall and things are not happening as I had hoped.

The apron was very fun to make and I think should be sized up so some of us chubby chickas can wear it too. What do you think?? yes that means I am asking for comments.....

Soap Giveaway!

2009-10-07T10:21:00.002-05:00

The wonderful Mindy at Apron Girls is hosting a giveaway for my soap!!! It is a furoshiki 4-pack of my soaps (your choice). So hop, skip or jump on over to Apron Girls and Check it out!!

Passionately Pink Apron Swap is Here!

2009-10-02T08:30:00.002-05:00

Shawnee and I are once again sponsoring an apron swap. This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to celebrate and promote this great cause we are hosting a

Passionately Pink

Apron Swap

Everyone knows someone that has been affected by breast cancer - a friend, co-worker, neighbor, sister, mother or even more personal. The Purpose for this swap is to raise awareness and help support the cause of breast cancer research. For more information and to join in this wonderful swap, please go to our swap blog for details.

Coming Soon .....

2009-10-01T08:24:00.002-05:00

HERE

Sugar Pie Dollies

2009-09-29T17:12:00.003-05:00

I have some new little friends to share with you.

In my spare time I have been creating some more little friends. These little Dollies are for you. You can pick one up at My Byrd Nest.

We are calling these new dolls, Sugar Pie Dollies. They are homespun and sweet as pie and waiting to come visit you or a little girl you know. They have perfect manners and love tea parties, sleepovers, walks in the woods and keeping special secrets.

Meet the new Sugar Pie Dollies.

Aileen

Miss Aileen is just "a wee bit Scottish." Her dress is a sweet homespun plaid and she is wearing long bloomers. She is a hard working little farm girl with lovely copper colored pigtails. She is looking for a new home and a new set of friends.

********************************************************

Gracie

Is a sweet little 1930's country girl with golden pigtails. She is always happy ready to help. She has clear blue eyes and sweet little smile. She loves to have stories read to her and is the best of listeners. She loves to bake cookies and gather the eggs from her chicken coop. She can't wait to go home with a new little (or big) friend and share secrets and giggles.

****************************************************************

Kirstin

Miss Kirstin is a Swedish Dairy Maid from Minnesota. She has a slight accent and can sing like and angel. Her hair is golden yellow and is put up in two little buns. So cute! She is sweet and wholesome like like the sunshine and sweet air on her farm. She can't wait to meet her new family and share many fun adventures with them.

Maid of Honor Cupcakes

2009-09-22T08:09:00.003-05:00

I don't know where I had been hiding but this is an old treat that I had never tasted before. My dear friend Cheridyn and her sweet mama Lauralie shared this old time treat with our girls at a recent Girls Activity Day. Cheridyn shared a story about her great Grandmother Lucille Rawlins and shared this tasty treat that she used to make for her family each Christmas. I was lucky enough to know Lucille and she was a wonderfully sweet lady. She was always very pleasant and had a great sense of humor. She was really old when I knew her and I was only 12 or so. I remember her always being busy doing something.

This treat is a very old one. According to the story (as I remember it) this treat was a real Luxury for Lucille to make. It required using precious sugar which was rationed during WWII. It also has raspberry Jam in it which was a real Luxury because the berries were dear and because it required so much sugar to make it.

Here is the recipe as we got it.
Pie crust - from scratch, mix or ready made from the store.
Cake batter - from scratch or from a box (use a yellow or white cake)
Raspberry jam
Frosting - from scratch or a can

Directions:
Roll out your pie crust and cut out circles ( you can use a large glass or I use my biscuit cutter that is just under 3" in diameter)
Place the circle of pie crust in the bottoms of your greased muffin tins.
Place a small spoonful of Jam in the center of each pie crust.
Mix up your cake batter and pour some over the pie crust and jam. Fill the tins 2/3 full.
Bake at 350 deg F for about 20 minutes.
When they have cooled, remove them from the pan and frost them.
You can add half a maraschino cherry on top for fun.

These are really easy and so tasty. You can put any kind of jam inside these and I was thinking that raspberry jam with a lovely piece of chocolate on top of that baked in there. It could be something wonderful!

Basic Muffins

2009-09-19T16:25:00.002-05:00

I just found this recipe and have to share it. It is so fast and easy and tastes fabulous. I have been looking for a recipe like this for a long time. Something that I can use for breakfast or dinner when we are out of bread but the meal screams for a tasty piece of bread to go with what ever we are eating. The recipe can be dressed up with additions if you want to also.

Whole Wheat Muffins

2/3 cup brown sugar (can use less)
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup sour milk (add 1 tbsp vinegar to a 1 cup measuring cup and then fill with the milk, OR you can use buttermilk.)
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups whole wheat flour (fresh if you can get it)

Blend the sugar and butter, stir in egg. Add the other ingredients and mix. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 375-400 deg. F. for 15 minutes.
Makes about 12 muffins.

You can add 1 cup dried fruit (raisins, dates, apples, etc.) to the batter.
You can also add grated cheddar cheese to the batter.
These are great plain with just butter.
They go well with soups on a cold fall or winter night.
Are you drooling yet? Go make some. You will have hot, delicious, and healthful muffins in about 30 minutes.

Breakfast Meal Plan

2009-09-17T08:36:00.003-05:00

Those of you that know me well know that organization is my bain. I am about as scattered as you can get (at least I hope no one is more scattered than I am.) This past month I had a brilliant thought that might just save me some confusion and stress in the morning. With 5 little and now big Byrds to get up and ready in the morning I can't face my kitchen stove at 7:00 a.m. in a panic thinking "what do I feed them this morning??" I don't have time for that. So I have taken a leaf from the books of several organizational gurus and have set up a weekly Breakfast plan. Each day of the week has a set aside breakfast so I know the day before what I will be fixing for breakfast. It is making life so much easier for me and there is a lot less parental stress before the bus gets here. I planned the week according to our time and mood constraints.

If you want to do it too look at:

What is easiest for you to do in no time flat?
What are you willing to eat? (that sounds weird but if you can't deal with cereal than don't think of it as an option)
What can you fix in advance to make breakfast a snap (ie. freezing and warming up stuff)
What can your family help do when time permits? (Saturday or Sunday morning traditions that everyone participates in, learning great self help skills)

So with that in mind here is what I came up with:

Sunday - Cereal/granola (busiest day of the week for me with church so we need a no stress breakfast)
Monday - Cereal/Granola (we are all dead heads on Monday so we can slide into our day without too much stress.)
Tuesday - Toast and Cocoa - (this changes according to what is on hand, homemade whole wheat bread, muffins, bagels, cinnamon rolls, etc. and from scratch cocoa or homemade mix cocoa)
Wednesday - Oatmeal
Thursday - Biscuits, eggs, sausage
Friday - Eggs and Toast
Saturday - Pancakes, waffles, or something fun like that

Now each of these meals has many variations. I might stick muffins in place of biscuits, or we might have biscuits and sausage gravy instead of eggs. The egg and toast day could be any kind of bread (bagels, muffins, etc) and any way of fixing eggs (boiled, scrambled, fried, toad in the hole, etc.) The oatmeal is always from scratch with old fashion oats and we add things we have fresh on had to it.

I have lots of different recipes I use and have posted many of them here under good food and breakfast.

Tatting

2009-09-11T18:10:00.003-05:00

I found a new obsession.

(Like I need one!)

I picked up a tatting needle several years ago and have meant to give it a try, well now I have. My good friend Robbie at Bittersweet Quilt Store showed me how to use it again. It was addicting.

After looking at a couple of tutorials on the net I figured out how to do some of the basics. It was a lot of fun and didn't take too long. I thought I would pass along the links and let you get obsessed if you choose. hee hee Sorry!

Here is the tutorial I used. Actually she has a written tute and a video tute of the same thing. Watching, reading, doing and watching again really helped. It really wasn't hard once you the the rhythm down. You have to check out her Etsy shop.

Here is a link to a place you can get supplies. The needles are hard to find.

Soap Day

2009-09-07T11:40:00.005-05:00

August afforded some much needed time to make soap. I have finally had a chance to re-stock my sad soap supply.

This is all 100% natural, hand-made, Lye Soap Goodness.

If you have never given your skin the treat of a bath with good old fashion lye soap, you have been really missing out.

I got started making lye soap about 12 years ago when my daughter Sarah was born. Her soft sweet baby skin was so sensitive we couldn't you any commercial soaps or detergents or even wet wipes on her. She would break out in a bright red lumpy rash.

So my friend Vea taught me how to make my own soap and we have been making our own soap and laundry soap ever since.

Lye soap is PH balanced very similarly to your skin so it is very gentle on your skin. It takes away the dirt and germs without drying your skin out like commercial soaps.

During the soap making process, you take a weak acid (the oils used are fatty acids) and a strong base (the lye) and mix them together. When measure properly there is a chemical reaction that converts the lye and oils into new product = soap and glycerin molecules.

The soap does a great job of cleaning you while the glycerin moisturizes your skin.

Commercial soaps remove the glycerin and then re-package it in lotions to help sooth your skin that is dry from using the commercial soap. Tricky huh!?!

There have also been studies done of lye soap and have found it to have better anti-bacterial properties that the liquid soaps without the harsh chemicals that are bad for you. Lye soap seams to repel the germs better and longer.

Another interesting thing we have noticed with our own use of the lye soap, is that the bugs around here (namely chiggers and ticks) don't like it and you get less bug bites, and when you do get bites, they seem to heal up faster with the use of lye soap.

We have also had a lot of success in treating our poison Ivy with the scrubby Oatmeal soap. My husband gets Poison Ivy really badly and now only uses the oatmeal soap. When he knows he has been exposed to the plant, he comes in and takes a cool shower with the lye soap which helps close the pores and removes the poison ivy oils. This usually prevents the rash. If that fails though and he gets a rash, he scrubs it with the oatmeal soap which opens up all the blisters quickly and dries them out and the rash is usually gone in a couple of days instead of lingering for weeks. He hasn't had to take the steroids in years now. He used to puff all up and look like a lava monster before he broke down and gave the soap a try.

We also use the soap for laundry. The plain lye soap bar works great as a stain stick. You just get the stained clothing wet with warm water and scrub the stain with the soap and wash as usual. It takes out most stains. My husband got out mud from my daughter's brand new white and rainbow striped leggings once. He had allowed her to scoot around the garden in them while he was working one day (I was not at home) and to my horror on returning home they were covered with our lovely red brown dirt. He scrubbed those pants with a bar of plain lye soap and washed them and they came out white with bright rainbow stripes. He was so lucky!

We also grate up the soap and make our own laundry soap. It works great for getting the cloths clean and costs so much less than commercial soaps and is better for you and the environment.

Oh..... one more thing. Lice don't like lavender soap. That was a wonderful find with three daughters. We wash their hair with bar soap and rinse it with a little lemon juice in water and they have soft, clean, sweet smelling hair, free from lice and the chemicals in shampoo.

Have I convinced you yet? Hee hee

Sorry, I love hand made soaps and love to share the wonderful information I have learned about it with others.

If you would like to get some of my soap for yourself, check out my Etsy shop.

My Little Byrd House

****edited to add the list of scents for convenience *****

Oak Leaves & Acorns

Orange Mint

Goat's Milk and Oatmeal

Morning Bliss (citronella, lemon, Lavender and Cedar)

Mint Magic

Facial Blend (Peppermint, Lavender, Tea Tree, and Patchouli)

Lavender

Peach Nectar

Gardener's Blend (citronella, lemongrass, lavender, etc)

Spearmint & Eucalyptus

Basil Lime

Red Clover Tea

Rosebud

Desert Sage

Plumeria

Cucumber

Sweetgrass

Fudge Berry Brownies

Almond Biscotti Scrub

Tropical Fun

Pineapple

and

Plain Old Lye Soap

Rescued Orphan Blocks

2009-09-01T10:23:00.006-05:00

My Little Byrd Nest

I have been "Rescuing" Orphaned quilt blocks and vintage fabrics for several years now from all over South West Missouri. I have to say I have a pretty descent collection now. I love seeing quilt blocks made by other women. It is interesting to see the ones that don't make the cut and end up in odd boxes and drawers because they just don't fit in. Some of these blocks are odd sizes, not square, won't lay flat, made with odd color combinations, have glaring mistakes, or are damaged in some way. I love the snap shot of human nature captured in their tiny stitches. I believe that these blocks should all be given a life and should be enjoyed. I have taken several orphaned blocks that I have found and even made myself and given them a home and a purpose in quited Handbags. Here are some of the bag collections I have finished.

These are made from vintage blocks and my collection of vintage fabrics. These fabrics date from the 1930's feed sacks to 1960's wild, bright, prints.

These are made from my hand dyed fabrics and some orphan blocks of my own that just didn't make it into a finished project.

These are a set of five chicken blocks that I made last year but never worked into a project. They are sashed and backed with fabrics from my 20 year stash of homespun fabrics gathered from many of my favorite quilt shops.

Bag backs.

This set was made from a couple of vintage table cloths in need of rescue and re-purpose. They are lined with 1930's reproduction fabrics.

I love these wild fabrics. The colors and patterns are fabulous!

**Sorry this one is Sold**

This poor block is made from lovely fabrics but the poor thing just wouldn't lay flat and didn't have a single straight edge. I love the prints I had to mix with it.

You can find these bags at my Etsy Shop

My Little Byrd Nest.

Harbingers of Fall

2009-08-22T12:39:00.004-05:00

It has been the coolest Summer that I can remember in 20+ years of living her is Missouri. We had one week or so of really hot humid weather. The rest of the time has been very tolerable.
Well now we are starting to get the tale tale signs of Fall. The little trees in the fence rows are turning orange and red and that never happens till the first of October or late September at the earliest. Makes me wonder if we are going to have an early winter too.

Here are some shots of life here in the MO Zone this month.

My brother Sam planted a bunch of seeds I bought a couple of years ago. Well the grew!

I can't wait. I can smell baked squash with butter and salt, pumpkin custard, pie, bread, and muffins. I think our skin is going to turn orange from all the pupkinness that is going to happen around here.

The garden as also yielded a bumper crop of Zucchini this Summer, as usual, so I looked up some recipes and made a tasty zucchini quiche. I used Joyful Adobe's recipe and added some onion and ham.

We have had the most rain this summer that I can remember in 20 years. This is a picture that my 10 year old daughter took after a big storm last week.

With all the rain this year it has been the year of Frog and Toad. We have seen at least 100 of these this summer. Who knows how many we didn't see around the house.

This is another of Caroline's photographs.

School started this month too.

Isn't that Cherry Red truck of my neighbor's the sweetest ride ever! He used to have it painted yellow with purple trim. It looked pretty fabulous then but now I have to admit that my heart skips a beat when I see that truck.

With school back in full swing come early breakfasts and home lunches. These are our favorite breakfast muffins. They are banana oatmeal muffins. They are super tasty and they fill you up. We have set a breakfast schedule for the week to help cut down on the chaos in the morning. I have a hard time thinking of what to fix and so now each day of the week has an assigned breakfast to help us cope with the morning rush. Muffins is one of them. I will have to post the schedule for you and the recipes that go with it. There are several things that I bake and freeze in advance to make the week run smoothly. It is really helping us get a good start to the day and get on our way on time.

Miss Jane

2009-07-24T13:03:00.005-05:00

I find it interesting how characteristics of my children are finding their way into the dolls I am finishing up for them.
Today I finished up Miss Jane for my third daughter Hannah. Hannah came bouncing into the kitchen with the unfinished doll this morning and informed me that her doll is named Jane after Jane Eyre. Hannah has never watched the movies (nor will she till she reads the book herself). She knows it is my favorite book of all time thought and knows that anything I love that much has to simply be wonderful.

Miss Jane is perfect from her wispy yellow hair to her dainty little linen bloomers.

She also came with a lovely white petticoat trimmed with lace.

Her bright blue eyes match those of her mistress and sparkle with humor and affection.

I have to show you a Jane Eyre treasure we found while emptying my mother's house for her.

Marvelous isn't it!

1907 edition

This book was given to my Grandmother on her 18th birthday in 1913 by her favorite "Cousin Aunt".

Effie Cooper Russell was the first cousin of my Great Grandmother, Zina B Cannon. Effie's mother died when she was a baby and her mother asked that little Effie be raised by her sister Mary Turpin Bennion. Zina B was older than Effie and was raised like her little sister. The family always lovingly called her "Aunt Effie". She never had any children.

I can only imagine what delight my grandmother, Zina Lenore Cannon Wood, took in reading this wonderful book for the first time. The volume is falling apart and is held together by some very old tape.

I can't wait till Miss Hannah and her sisters are old enough read Jane Eyre themselves.

Adeliza

2009-07-23T20:08:00.003-05:00

A young lady came into our lives this afternoon

with a hand full of luck,

a heart full of hope,

flaming red hair, and a tiny smile.

Miss Adeliza totally and completely won our hearts.

She came with real linen pantaloons,

and with her apron

ready to lend a helping hand and get the work done.

It didn't take long before our tall dark and handsome friend noticed her.

Who can resist a handlebar mustache.

He dismounted long enough to make her acquaintance and then rode off into the sunset with his trusty steed.

Will he come visit again?

Her little heart flutters.

(Yes I have finished one more UFO!)

Ol' JEB

2009-07-20T21:55:00.004-05:00

I finished another UFO in my sewing room. I made dolls for my kids about a year and a half ago and didn't get around to making them cloths. Well today I finished one.

I figured I would start with the youngest and work my way up.

I asked Bubby if he wanted a doll?

YES

What kind?

A Boy

Did he want a pirate, cowboy or something else?

COWBOY!

What do cowboys wear?

Yellow shirts, blue pants and hats

He kept running in and out checking on the progress. He really enjoyed the details.

You gotta have a pocket of a hanky.

He couldn't wait for me to finish but insisted on a horse for Ol' JEB to ride. Then he had to show me how it all works.

WooHoo another guilt project finished and one happy boy to boot!

Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe

2009-07-10T17:24:00.005-05:00

Oh in Honor or National Ice Cream Month in July, I am adding my hot fudge sauce to the plethora or recipes out there in blogdom.

Last night for our big family gathering I bought buckets of vanilla ice cream and wanted to try the Magic Shell recipe at Skip To My Lou. It looks so lovely and chocolaty BUT last night I needed the Hot Fudge Sauce to do what Hot Fudge sauce can do and I wasn't sure it Magic shell would cut it so I fell back on my old favorite. hee hee So here it is so you can celebrate National Ice Cream Month for your self.

Aunt Lucy's Hot Fudge Sauce

1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 (5 oz can) of evaporated milk (can use whole milk if you have to)
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Boil the butter, sugar and milk together for about 6 to 8 minutes. Watch it so it doesn't boil over. That is the worst mess ever and a very sad waste.
Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips and stir till smooth.
Enjoy!

If there are any leftovers, store in an air tight container in the fridge.

*** Variation ***

I like to add about 1/4 cup peanut butter to the sauce right before I add the chocolate chips. That is most tasty on vanilla ice cream, let me tell you!!!

Some of my friends and family have asked for this recipe and so I am posting it here. Well you can't post without a picture so I had to dish some up this afternoon so there would be a picture and you don't put your best stoneware bowls your big brother makes for you in the freezer. SO..... I had to take one for the team and eat it. I wanted you to know how much I DO sacrifice for you, my loyal peeps.

Great Grandma's Raisin Loaf

2009-06-27T08:44:00.005-05:00

This is the only recipe I have the belonged to my Father's Mother. My Bennion cousins talk about her great cooking but my older siblings didn't. They grew up with my grandma Wood and she was a most excellent cook. So the recipes I have are hers.

I found this little treasure when I was digging through a recipe file my mom was getting rid of. It is written in my mother's hand writing and she said she must have copied it when she first was married.

Raisin Loaf

Boil for 15 minutes:

1 1/4 pkg of raisins (I think a package was a pound)

2 cups sugar

3 1/2 Cup water

Add 1 Cup Shortening (I used butter or lard) while mixture is still hot.

When cool add:

3 eggs well beaten.

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 heaping sieve flour (you gotta love measurements like that - it is 5+ cups) (you can use white or wheat flour)

Bake 1 1/2 hours in a moderate oven 325 deg in loaf tins.

ENJOY!

This loaf is very yummy (If you like cooked raisins). Even my husband, who hates quick breads like banana bread and zucchini bread, loved this bread.

Sour Cream Lemon Pie

2009-06-25T10:03:00.003-05:00

One of Bryan's favorite pies is Lemon Pie. (I never noticed before that I treat pie names like proper names. Aren't they?) Well I can't eat much Lemon pie because it has so much sugar in it, it makes me sick. It tastes great but is overwhelming, and I am not a fan of meringue. When I was little my brother worked for Marie Calender's and would bring home leftover pies all the time. I discovered that meringue was NOT whipped cream and that it was made from eggs and that grossed me out. I haven't liked it since.
This pie recipe is one that I picked up while living with my brother Joe and his wife Lee. It is a favorite of mine now. It is sweet and sour, lemony and creamy. It is just heaven on a plate I'm telling you!

Sour Cream Lemon Pie

1 Cup sugar

3 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp grated lemon rind

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1 Cup Sour Cream

1 9" baked pie shell (you can use regular pie crust or I bet it would be great with a graham cracker crust)

1 Cup Whipping cream

Combine, sugar, cornstarch, lemon rind, lemon juice, egg yolks, and milk in a heavy saucepan or double boiler. Cook over medium heat until thick. Stir in butter and cool mixture to room temp. Stir in the sour cream and pour into prepared pie shell. Cover with whipped cream and garnish with lemon twists. Store in the refrigerator.

ENJOY!

Sorry there isn't a better picture. I snapped that quick before dinner the other day and there wasn't a scrap left to take pictures of when dinner was done.

Sewing Room Makeover

2009-06-21T22:30:00.003-05:00

I know it has been a few months since I promised to post monthly updates to my sewing room. Well..... I had some crazy busy sewing projects going on in there with birthdays, pattern design, ren fest sewing and quilt guild.

This past week my husband "decided" to help me with the sewing room.
You have already seen the before picture......

We have been redoing our side of the house (my mom lives on the other side in a gorgeous new home.) However, our budget died in January when my husband lost his job and we went for months trying to squeeze by on our savings until he got a job again. We we are almost in job land, (the postal service isn't the fastest at finalizing jobs). But our house still needs the changes and so we have had to rethink what we wanted to do. IE... the floors we have gone from considering hardwood to tile, to carpet to just painting the concrete and living the simple life. :o)
I grew up with the simple life and I am happy to have that in my blood and we are going back to it with our children. Life isn't all about getting gain and living in a magazine styled home. If you think about it your best memories aren't about money or possessions or furnishings, they are about family, love, and time spent enjoying simple things.
So I looked at my sewing room and thought about what I could do for less than $100 to improve the place. The flooring had to go. I had shag carpet put in there and the room used to be my children's bedroom. Well with 12 years of kids crawling, puking, dribbling food and who knows what else on it it was a little skanked out! Also the surface of the carpet had become like Velcro with all the years of washing and vacuuming. That does not make the best flooring for a sewing room. All the treads and scraps stuck to the carpet, NASTY! It was a vacuuming nightmare.

See what I mean?!? SKANKED!
So we decided to rip out the carpet and paint the concrete underneath. I had a painted floor in my room growing up and actually loved my simple country room.
So here is what we did.

Monday we emptied the room.

This is when we made a lovely discovery. Due to a very weathered backdoor we had water damage in the interior wall and now have Black mold damage in that room. We had to get that all cleaned up and sealed. Lucky for us it was a very tiny bit of damage.

Tuesday - Saturday I spent painting. The colors I picked were aqua, warm white and red. So with about $65 worth of paint, the room got a sweet makeover.

I am loving the closet. I want to put some of my selves in there (I know "Happy thought, selves in the closet". If you don't get that reference then you need to watch more Jane Austen.)

I was worried about the floor color. It is very bold but I love it. Red is my favorite color after all.

Interesting discovery, due to the placement of the closet, this room has marvelous acoustics and is really fun to sing in. My husband even noticed it. I used to sing all the time and haven't for a long time. He caught me singing in there as I painted and commented that it reminded him of when he met me 17 years ago. I worked in the deli/bakery of the grocery store he worked at and at night when I was cleaning the place up I used to sing all the time to make the work go faster for myself. He kinda liked hearing my voice across the store. He wanted to know who the new girl was that had the laugh that would float across the store to the meat shop where he worked. (We just celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary this week so those memories are kinda on the surface right now.) I wasn't like the other girls he had met. I guess he liked that. hee hee

All I have left to do now is put in the baseboard trim which I need to learn how to cut and my Friend Jill's husband is helping me trim out the window with a wide sill. I can't wait. It will be lovely and white.
It is amazing how exciting a new coat of paint make the simplest things.
Tomorrow I get to start the arduous task of sorting through the stuff that was in there and putting back what I want to keep.
I am teaching my oldest children how to weave some rugs and will let them use up the fabric I don't want to see come back into the room.

Oh I do need to put curtains up. Any Ideas?? I want something very vintage. It needs to keep the light out of my eyes. That room gets a lot of morning sun and I can only sew early in the morning before the kids get up or late at night after they go to bed.
I want the light to fill the room but not hit me right in the eyes.
And the rule is CHEAP FIX. I want something that isn't going to be really expensive. I don't ask for much do I? :o)

Muskogee Ren Fair Fun - Picture Heavy

2009-05-31T18:42:00.008-05:00

We finally got to go to a Renaissance Fair. Muskogee Oklahoma is only 2 1/2 hours away from us so we were able to make that festival. It was worth the ride in the car with five kids and the fee to get in. We were able to go on Memorial day because we only get National holidays off. Lucky for us it was a Monday too. We had so much fun and decided that this would be our Memorial Day gig for a while.

Here are the obligatory Family photos.

Sorry you say cheese and these boys start hamming it up!

Sting gave him courage!

They had a children's land where it was totally kid oriented. They kids loved it!

They had a pony ride that the girls and bubby just loved.

Just look at that face. He was in little boy heaven. I wish I could have heard what he was thinking. His eyes were so big all day with all the knights, pirates, and real armor everywhere.

The archery booth was a big hit too.

Man I wish my corset fit like that! She also had pretty good aim. I was impressed.

The bow string was so tight he couldn't pull it back so bubby decided to just chuck his arrow over the barrier at the target.

There were three times Joe lost his cool guy face; at the archery booth, at the armor shop, and at the knife shop. It was so funny watching him battling being 13 and being in such a groovy place.

Isn't that a total Lucy Pevensie face?!? She was dangerous though because she would get distracted by us and turn to look and accidental let arrows fly in our direction. SCARY!

Bubby picked these up right after we got there. Everywhere we went he had to have them in his hands and would hold them up every time we passed a knight just to show he was one of them. It was so fun to watch his face. One of the shop owners just about died laughing watching him eye a knight's sword. His eyes were so big and his mouth was wide open. He had only seen things like this in movies. He was so thrilled to find out they were "REAL". Oh to be three again!

The place was covered with beautiful ladies!

Even their dad got in on the fun. He actually enjoyed the "Nerd" Fest. Hmmmm.... Somehow going to Ren Fest wasn't as dump as someone had once thought. hee hee hee

I had a lot of fun too but lucky for us all I was behind the camera. It was bad enough that we saw pound of giggly flesh there that day. Mine was not necessary to see. :o)

I do have to give a plug for the best corset shop ever. Our friends Michelle and Jill were there all month with the Damsel in this Dress corset shop. Check them out. Their stuff is fabulous.

Pirate Pants Tutorial (a.k.a. bandana Pants)

2009-05-30T19:16:00.003-05:00

Here is a quick and dirty tutorial for making summer pants for your kids. Once you have be basic concept you can make these for just about anyone and just about any size. I will give some info on that at the end of the Tute.

My kids love these pants and wear them all summer. I have found that they fit about a large 3T to about a size 10 or so. My 11 (almost 12) year old can still wear hers but she is super skinny.

Materials

2 large bandanas (smaller ones would make pants for a toddler)
Thread.

Construction

1. Place two bandanas right sides together.

2. Fold them in half and just out a J shaped piece from one outside corner. The J size I use for most children is about 3" by 9". I came up with that number by measuring their crotch from the top of their bum to their belly button and then dividing that number in half and added a couple of inches. I placed the measuring tape on the fabric in a J shape and evened it up and decided that was my J shape. (sorry not very scientific but it works for me).

I had a little pirate waiting for the pants. Tutorials take oh so long when you are 6 and are waiting for some hot new pants to run around in.

3. Take each leg piece now and fold it in half with right sides together and sew up the inside seams. Since the bandanas are already hemmed you just need to make sure you keep that edge even.

4. Turn one leg right side out and slip it "inside" the other leg. Stitch the crotch seam.

5. Turn down the waist about 1 1/2" and press. Sew a casing 1" from the outside edge. Leave an opening to run the elastic in. Sew another casing 1/2" from top edge leaving a hole for the elastic in the same place as the first. Run two pieces of elastic through and secure them and finish off the seam. (measure around the waist and cut the elastic to fit. You can "test the elastic first around them and see how snug you want it.)

You are done!!! One Happy Pirate. These shorts will fit from mid calf to the knee depending on how tall your child is. They are long pants for my 3 year old and shorts for my 11 year old.

You can also make these pants with just fabric if you don't have bandannas. Two fat quarters make pants for a little kid. You can also make these for larger people by using yardage. You want to measure around the widest part and divide that by 2 and add four or five inches. That is how wide each piece of fabric needs to be to go around the waist, hips and legs of a larger person.
Play with the measurements and see what you come up with. You will need to finish the top edge of the pants with a zig-zag or serger and will have to help the pants.

Have fun and please post your pictures in the " Sewing with Mama Byrd Tutorials" flickr group.

Neapolitan Skirt PDF Ready

2009-05-23T18:00:00.004-05:00

It's Done!!! Can you tell I am excited?!

The PDF file pattern is finished and ready for sale at my Etsy Shop.

My Byrd Nest

I have also finished up some skirts that are for sale at the shop right now.

Let's Bake a Sunshine Cake

2009-05-19T08:28:00.004-05:00

We have had an exceptionally wet spring this year here in MO.

We had almost 3 weeks of rainy weather and very little sunshine. So last week we decided to bake a Sunshine cake to encourage the sun to come out so we can work outside in the garden.
I occasionally go over to Aunt Ruthie's Sugar Pie Farmhouse. I enjoy her music play list. It features songs I heard on old movies growing up or songs my dad used to sing, play or listen to. One of the songs she plays is Sunshine Cake featuring Frank Sinatra with Paula Kelly. Well the words have been stuck in my head and I had to find out if there was a "Sunshine Cake" recipe. Well there is, or I should say are. I found hundreds from vintage cookbooks to Food Network.
A traditional Sunshine cake seems to be type of sponge cake. They all seem to involve Oranges and or lemons. So I searched around and came up with a version we wanted to try and here it is.

Mama Byrd's Sunshine Cake Recipe

6 eggs (farm fresh of course), room temperature
1/2 cup cold water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp orange juice
2 Tbsp orange zest
2 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 C cake flour, sifted **
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Pre-heat oven to 325* F.
Separate eggs, putting whites in a large mixing bowl and yolks in another large mixing bowl. Beat egg yolks until light and foamy. Slowly add the water. Gradually beat in the sugar, vanilla, lemon and orange juice and zests. Beat until pale and thick in texture (about 7 minutes). Sift flour again with the salt and baking powder. Return to sifter and fold the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture, sifting in a little at a time.
Beat egg whites until foamy. Add a pinch of salt and the cream of tartar. Beat until they form glossy peaks.
Pour the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream over the entire surface of the egg whites, gently cutting and folding with a rubber spatula. Make sure you have them completely folded in.
Pour into a 10" round tube pan with a removable bottom (angel food cake pan). Be sure to remove air pockets.
Bake for 1 hour.
Invert on a rack and let cool in the pan for 1 1/2 hours.
Remove from pan and Ice.

This cake doesn't need much dressing but here is what we put on ours.

Orange Icing

Powdered sugar
orange juice
orange zest

Sorry I didn't measure this, I never do. I took about 2 cups of powdered sugar, poured a couple of Tbsp. of orange juice in and some finely chopped zest and stirred adding juice if needed until I hand a runny Icing. I drizzled that over the cake .

Enjoy!

** I don't have cake flour, never have and most likely never will. :o) However I do know how to make a good substitute. I mixed 1 1/3 C all purpose flour with 1/4 cup corn starch. It worked just fine.
I also discovered that my baking powder was missing that morning so I made a substitute with 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp corn starch. It works great too.

The morning after baking the cake my great nieces Gwenny and Renata and Julia came to spend the day. Jeddie has big sisters so he knows that when girls get together they have tea parties. He saw the cake in the kitchen and pointed to it and said that the girls needed a tea party. He helped me set it up and called them in for herbal tea, cucumber sandwiches, Sunshine cake and fresh fruit. I think they had some fun. They all helped fix up a plate to trot over to grandma's house next door.

Neapolitan Skirt

2009-05-02T21:08:00.005-05:00

Thanks to a bug my friend Michelle put in my head a few days ago, I came up with a nifty thrifty, easy peasy skirt pattern to make multi sized, double sided skirts for my girls. The pattern makes skirts from size 6 mos to girls size 14 or larger if you wanted.

Here are the first three I made.

Side 1

Side 2

I am working up the instructions this weekend with illustrations and am seeking out some handy dandy pattern testers to see if someone else can follow my instructions.
It really is so simple to make, just 3 or 4 steps and you have a lovey, sturdy, double sided skirt with no hem. I really hate sewing hems and gathering.

I would love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment.

*** Edited*****
The Neapolitan Skirt Pattern is for sale in my Etsy Shops Here and Here.

Tessa Bloomers and Matching Bag Giveaway!!!

2009-04-24T13:47:00.002-05:00

The lovely ladies at Marie-Madeline Studios are giving away a pair of their new Tessa Bloomers and a matching bag.

You just have to go to their blog and follow their directions to leave a post and get counted. (be sure to mention that you came from here and that Lucy sent you so I can get an extra point.) :o)
You can also buy this pattern at their Etsy Shop.

Busy Bee Club Apron Swap

2009-04-23T19:18:00.000-05:00

I will not be running a new swap here until June. If you are looking for another swap to join you can BUZZ on over to the Sassy/Flirty Apron Swap Blog and join Lucy and Shawnee in the Busy Bee Club Garden Apron Swap Club.

Green - Jeans Apron - Tutorial

2009-04-20T09:03:00.006-05:00

Yes I have another jeans apron tutorial. This one is by request of my 13 year old son. He wanted a new apron. It had to be durable and boy friendly. So here is yet another Jeans Apron tutorial. Yes I know that make 4 of them now.
I very much believe in the Depression Era adage of -
"Use it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
And Do without."
My mother had this hanging on the wall of our home when I was growing up. I love writing tutorial for re purposing found objects.
Well on to the tutorial.

Materials List

1 pair of old Jeans.
Straps - can be heavy twill tape, wide ribbon, fabric sewn, or even left over strips from the jeans.
Snaps, buttons, or something to make it it adjustable.
Thread

Sewing Instructions

Take the jeans and cut them off at the top of the leg. (just below all the pockets. Save the pockets for the pockets on your apron.

Cut the leg of the pants open along the outside seam or the one that is not the flat fell seam. What is that? Here is a picture of the flat fell seam. DON"T CUT THAT ONE.

Lay this leg out flat on your cutting surface. The cuff or bottom of the pant leg will be the top of your apron. For an adult or large child size apron, you will want to use as much of the length of the leg as possible. For a child's apron you can measure down from the hem of the leg how far you want the apron to be long.

You will notice if you are using the whole pant leg that the middle seam of the leg will not lie flat. Where the seam meets the crotch of the pants it is tapered and usually I just cut above it so I don't have to deal with it. Well this time I wanted a little more length to the apron and since they are short legged jeans, I had to use that bit of the pants. So I cut the seam a few inches up until it would lie flat.

Be sure to cut the side that goes under the seam.

Then slide one cut side under the seam so that the piece of fabric will lay flat. pin in place.

Stitch it in place, following the stitching lines of the jeans' seam.

I use gray or light blue thread when sewing on jeans because it becomes invisible. That way you can stitch right over existing seams and it doesn't show at all.

Trim the extra fabric.

Now you will want to trim up the apron.

You will find that one side of the pant leg is wider than the other. I try to even them up.

Next you will want to add an arm curve to the bib of the apron.

I cut my "J" shape at about 2 inches by about 8 inches. For yourself you can hold it up to yourself and see where you want it to hit you.

You could stop here but we wanted an apron that wrapped farther around. So we took the other leg of the jeans and cut it open on both seams giving me two pieces. I cut two equal pieces to fit the side of the apron front. The length and width were determined by the front I had already prepared and the width of the pant leg I was using.

Sew the side pieces in place. I finished this seam off on the serger so it wouldn't ravel. I do recommend at least finishing it with a zigzag stitch.

For the pocket of the apron I cut off one of the hip pockets of the jeans I used. I cut around the outside edge of the pockets and then cut off the inside fabric as well but left the pocket seams intact. I placed the pocket where I wanted it and stitched it in place with gray thread. I followed the stitching on the pocket seam. Again my stitching was invisible.

Now you will want to finish off the seams of this apron. Because this is for my son and he wants to wear it out in the woods while digging around and exploring the pond I chose not to spend too much time fussing about the outside edge. I stitched around the whole edge of the apron with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. I then clipped all but the top seam with my scissors.

Then I washed and dried the apron to "rag" the edge.
You could also finish of the edges with bias binding tape that you purchase from the store or make yourself. You can also fold the edges under but be warned that this gets very bulky with jeans.
For the ties I stitched two lengths of heavy twill tape at the shoulder and crossed them over the back.

Because this apron is for my growing boy I figured I had better make it adjustable. So I put snaps at the back corners of the apron and on the bottom edges of the straps.

If you are making this apron for yourself or someone that is not likely to grown anymore, you can just stitch the straps in place. I chose this style of straps because there is no tying and you can just slip it over your head and are ready to go.
If you don't have snaps you can sew a button hole in the apron and sew buttons on the straps.
If you prefer traditional ties you can sew ties at the neck and the corners of the apron sides and tie the traditionally. This IS your apron so make it the way you like.

Here is my finished apron.

You can doll the apron up with some rick-rack or a ruffle of fabulous fabric or a colorful patch to cover some hole in the jeans. :o) I can't wait to see what varriations you come up with.

Suzi Homemaker Apron Giveaway

2009-04-18T16:18:00.002-05:00

The fabulous ladies at Suzi Homeaker AU are sponsoring a Hostess Apron Giveaway at Sassy Apron Swap.

You get entries by leaving comments and it is open to Everyone. So go check it out. You have till Tuesday, April 21.

They create very HOT vintage Aprons.

Happy Easters

2009-04-11T20:39:00.001-05:00

Happy Easter

To all my peeps.

From my little peeps.

Marilyn's Oatmeal Cake - Birthday Post

2009-04-08T07:54:00.004-05:00

My oldest boy turned 13 this week. I have to say the thing I love most about my boy is his simplicity. He loves simple things. He didn't ask for anything for his birthday. He got some money and wanted to go to the flea market to find some old treasures. He had a ball just looking at old junk and finding "the groovy" in it. When I pressed him for something he wanted he said that a jar of pickles all to himself would be about the coolest thing ever. (he has 4 younger siblings and the thought of possession of food only for himself was pretty tempting). So his sisters got him a jar of pickles and promises not to snitch them, and a jar of Nutella all to himself. He thought that was a real treat.
That is what I mean the boy loves the simple life. Nothing makes him happier that free time out in the woods in our backyard. We asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday and all he said was that he wanted an apple pie. So his little sister made him one. We did get out of him that he does like the oatmeal cake recipe I got from my mom. So we made that. Here is the fabulous cake recipe. It has to date back to at least the 1950's if not before. It is pretty fabulous.

Marilyn's Oatmeal Cake

(You know when you find an old recipe that looks like this, you have found a real treasure. Recipes only look that beat up when they have been made about 1000 times.)

Pour 1 1/2 cup boiling water over
1 cup oatmeal
Let stand

Cream and add to cooled oatmeal
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs

Mix well.
Blend in:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Pour into a greased pan and bake at 375 deg. F for 35 minutes.

Frosting:
Mix:
6 Tbsp Butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canned milk (any milk will do, even cream)
1/2 tsp vanilla
Cook till thick (10 minutes) and add 1/2 cup coconut and 1/2 cup nuts. Beat until it can be spread.

(I followed those directions and it separated on me and the butter came out, so I added about 3/4 cup powdered sugar and it fluffed up into the yummiest frosting ever. )

(I also increased the amount of the nuts and coconut to 1 cup each)

Gock's Frocks Giveaway

2009-03-30T19:36:00.003-05:00

If you don't know about Gock's Frocks you have been missing out!!! Kristen of Gock's Frocks is a very talented clothing designer. She artfully uses the many bold and beautiful fabrics available now to create unique children's clothing (and now adult skirts too!). My friends Vea, Jill and Michelle put me onto her site months ago. Her dresses inspired the gifts I made for my three girls this Christmas. Her color use is so exciting.

Anyway she is having a give away open now to April 13th. She will pick three lucky winners. :o) So run on over there and check out her blog and her two etsy shops,
Gock's Frocks and Betty's Closet.

Fintess Challenge

2009-03-30T08:59:00.002-05:00

Ok so it is now the end of March. What happened to my New Years resolution to lose 30 pounds by now?? What ever!
Well my friend Shawnee told me about the fitness challenge over at Abby's A Feathered Nest. She has started a Fitness challenge instead of an Apron Swap. What a fabulous idea. :o) I would love to drop those 30+ pounds so I could wear the new apron patterns I have just cooked up without having to size MY OWN patterns up to fit ME. I just made the cutest blue apron from my Tea for Two apron swap partner and I doesn't fit me! Sad days! I have to adjust the pattern to make myself one. Anyway, if you are interested in playing in Abby's Challenge, she is still taking entrants. You just don't get as much time as the rest of us. :o) Go to her blog and check it out. $$ is involved. Winner takes all.