A Fun Weekend...

The Birthday Girl

I had a great weekend! Did I do any canning? Nope. Did I do any stitching? Again, nope. I did, however, attend a Birthday party for a certain six year old great niece. 

I'm not cleared to drive yet, so Handsome manned the wheel to drop me off at the party. Once there, I met up with my sister, Jan, and we enjoyed our family until it was time to leave. We had made arrangements before I got there that she would drive me back home, in spite of the fact that she lives about a half hour in the opposite direction from the party. We chatted and visited all the way home, and then she turned around and went back north.

I was extremely grateful that she made it possible for me to attend the party, and spend a little time with family.

I hardly saw the kiddos, as their Mom and Dad had installed a bounce house and swimming pool in the back yard. I only saw the Birthday girl when she came in to eat dinner and blow out the candles on her cake. Her sister and brother never did come in while I was there! They were having waaaaay too much fun.

Eldest and Youngest

Yesterday, I heard from my little brother. He was going to be in the area (he lives about an hour and a half away), so he came to spend a little time with his eldest sibling. We don't get to see much of each other, so Handsome and I really enjoyed his visit.

Beyond that, I spent time resting, doing my pt exercises, taking an occasional nap, and spending time with my dear husband. Canning and needlework will be there all week, and I'll certainly get all my work done, but it was a holiday weekend, so I went on break. I'm glad I did, too.

I hope everyone had a restful or equally fun time with family and/or friends. Sometimes we just need to kick out of gear and enjoy our wonderful lives. That's exactly what I did. See you tomorrow.

Oh, and Happy September!

Ready For Relish...

While I've been receiving lovely zucchini recently, I couldn't start making our favorite relish until I located locally grown green (and/or red) peppers. When I contacted local growers, I was told that they didn't have many because the growing season wasn't conducive to a large crop this year. As I need peppers, I had to keep looking.

Two days ago, I found someone in the next county who was advertising hers for 75¢ each. I asked her if she had about twenty five of them, and she told me she would check her garden after work. Later that day she contacted me to tell me she did have that many, but some were a little deformed. I asked her, taking that into account, how much would she charge me if I took all of them. She replied, $12.00. I jumped.

After my physical therapy appointment yesterday - I got to 124º bend, by the way!!!  - Handsome drove us to this lady's home where the peppers were waiting on her porch for us. They're gorgeous, and I've yet to find one of those "deformed" ones. This basket is full, and I now have what I need to make the zucchini pepper relish. That's what I'll be doing today.

A few of you mentioned my cow image yesterday when I shared it on Facebook. I got it at Hobby Lobby last year, and only just put it up recently. I looks a lot different in this daylight photograph than in yesterday's post, which I took under artificial light. I'm rather fond of it myself. HobLob still has lots of farmhouse images, which I really love. Problem is we just don't have the wall space. It's probably just as well. sigh

We don't have anything planned for this weekend, so Handsome will help me with this project, and then we'll take it easy. Enjoy your holiday weekend, friends. 

Getting Back To The Studio...

Now, I can finally focus on my great-great niece's Birthday gift. Talk about an "extended Birthday"! I'm teaching this young lady the concept without even planning for it! lol

So, I thought you might like to see the process for this project. I began with paper and pencil, drawing out my idea for the little shoulder bag I'm going to make for her. I'll be using cork fabric for this project, and of course, I have all the colors in stock to tackle this bag.

I decided this puppy face should have a spot around his/her eye like the old Spanky and Our Gang pup. Then, I thought, "Well, wouldn't it be cute if its tongue was hanging out, too?". Sure it would!

I haven't decided on all the colors yet, but I'm leaning toward natural for the main body, Rust for the spot and ears, black for the eyes and a red tongue. I'll add the muzzle and eye highlights by machine.

When I thought about the back of the bag, what could be more appropriate than to add a fluffy tail? hee hee  My drawings have extra lines and the shape is a bit wonky, but I'll even that all up when I draw the final pattern prior to cutting. 

I'll add a 1/4" seam allowance, and this bag will have a 1" gusset all the way around. It will have a top zipper, rings and a rolled shoulder strap so my niece can wear it as a shoulder or cross body bag.

What do you think so far? I'll take photos of my cutting and sewing as I go, and who knows? Maybe I'll turn it into a pattern for others to make their own, too.

Handsome is doing really well, and so glad to be back home. (So are we!) I'll make sure he rests through the holiday weekend, but I'll be sewing, canning applesauce, and picking up more tomatoes and peppers to do more canning. I'm happiest when my husband is near by, and I'm busy.  This plan should serve me well.

I hope you have a great weekend. Stop by to see what I've accomplished, or just catch up after the holidays. I'll be here when you get time.

Gonna Have To Face It...

 

I'm addicted to this. I said I was going to stitch yesterday, but I had to run to Sam's Club to return a Fitbit Luxe I purchased last week. I loved it, but the darn thing wouldn't take a charge. I decided to continue wearing the Charge 2 I have (even though it's a bit larger), and just get a refund.

While I was at there, though, I decided to take a little tour through their meat section. I saw chicken thighs at a ridiculous price. As I'd been reading all about raw canning meats, I came across using thighs or legs (bone in), and that I could even add seasonings, I bought two packages, amounting to about twelve pounds of meat.

 

 

 

$1.38 per pound for chicken thighs! I had to skin and remove the extra fat, but the bones were allowed. I put up the five wide-mouth pint jars with the Mexican seasoning (one package), and then canned the rest without seasoning. (My cookbook even had recipes for spice blends for chicken, as well as for other meats.)

 

 

This package yielded two quarts, plus one wide-mouth pint of chicken with only water. As the chicken cooked in the pressure canner, it also created a lovely broth that I can choose to use when it's time to consume the meat. Of course, I'll remove the bones, too, but this could be used to make a chicken noodle soup this fall, or perhaps used in a casserole or white chicken chili. The possibilities will be endless. I do think it's pretty cool, though, that spending less than $17 was turned into six or seven meals for two. All I'll have to do is add the sides. That's a win in my book.

 

I really am going to stitch today. My long-time friend, Laura is coming to visit today, and we'll get caught up over a cup of tea. Then, I plan to spend the rest of the holiday weekend needle dancing. I intend to have some progress photographs to share when we visit again after the holiday.

Happy Labor Day Weekend.

Stay safe!