Some Detective Work.......

I found the project I'm taking with me to Georgia. It's a pattern I bought from posie gets cozy. It's called the Daisy Chain Alphabet. I'm in love!!!! My daughter Carlye and her husband Matt bought me  a ticket for my birthday to come back for 10 days. I'm soooooo excited.

 Since moving the couch over by the counter we have had a bit of a problem.
One of our wiener dogs climbs up onto the counter and looks around for anything even remotely edible.

Paw prints

 I decided the other day that I was going to find out just who the culprit is. So I sprinkled flour all over the counter top and went to take a shower.

 When I came out NOTHING..... Three innocent looking weens sleeping peacefully on the floor in front of the fireplace....... Then I had to run to the high school to pay for Allison's cap and gown. Yep she graduating this June... My baby.......

 The above pictures are what I found when I came home. YES!!!!! Someone was busted.... I finally was going to know which of the little brats was guilty... I checked every ones feet for flour bits.....

AND FOUND NONE....... I still don't know who it is. I'm guessing it's Bailey, the little girl on the left. Don't by any means let their cuteness fool you.... They are sneaky!!! Thank you so much for coming by to visit my little blog. It really means a lot to me!!!
Blessings, Sue

Nothing clever comes to mind...

Time has once again gotten away from me. While my perspective has been a bit off of late, everything else seems to have kept right on keepin on. I'll do a quick update.

February has come, bringing with it much sunshine and warm breezes.

And allergies.

Rain is in the forecast, however and I am ready!!!

 I did some much needed sugar cookie therapy.

 Hearts and pink piggies.... yum

 Snoozin and treats..... treats and snoozin....

 MY POTATOES CAME UP!!!! I didn't think they were going to do anything at all. Charlie had even brought me a dried up little seed potato that she captured, so I assumed they were all dead. But nope..... First time growing potatoes... yay

I baked some really yummy muffins from a recipe out of my new 1947 Better Homes and Gardens cookbook I found at the swap meet. I am left asking myself, Why I try to come up with new and improved baked treats? and the saying If it ain't broke... don't fix it...

I'm really not sure why I have never thought to buy a primrose for the window!!! I am amazed at it's beauty.

 A bit of retail therapy while buying necessaries. I found this little fountain for $9 and my violets are enjoying it as well.

 My mint is doing extremely well in the bay window. I have had to pinch it back twice already and not an aphid in sight.

 We had a noisy and happy slumber party here. It was fun....

OK that about does it. I can relax now.... Sorry for the gap... It's not that I don't think about writing on here all the time.
Blessings, Sue

A Blustery Saturday

I told myself last night that I could sleep in this morning. Ha that was the first mistake. It never happens for me like that. As soon as I have "permission" I'm suddenly wide awake at the first hint of light. WIDE AWAKE. Stumble out..... make coffee and stand in the bay window, trying to make sense of it all.

 I LOVE the rain. Always have, always will.

 While checking over my mint, which is doing great by the way. No aphids and lots of tiny new leaves budding out. Did I tell you about my mint. I don't think so. I was looking for spearmint which I found and also picked up some apple mint and chocolate mint. mmmmmmmmmm they smell delightful. I'm keeping them inside for now and will probably send them out as spring arrives........ Anyway while standing there sipping coffee I decided to try a new recipe I found on pinterest. Baked Doughnuts.

I lit a log and whipped up the dough....

 Tucked it in and went to do my Bible study. I let it rise for about an hour or so...( until I was done)

 Rolled out the dough on lightly floured parchment paper. I don't have a donut cutter.

 So I used a glass

And for the hole I used a lid to.... of all things..... fish tank water neutralizer.. hahahhaahahahahah

 Worked like a charm. Perfect size. My daughter says it's "redneck" I say it"s inventive. hahaha

 I again let them rise for about 1/2 hour and baked them for 8, maybe 9 minutes.

 I made up some maple glaze by using about 3 Tablespoons of butter softened and around 1 to 11/2 cups sifted powdered sugar. I mixed it with 1 teaspoon maple extract in the food processor then put it into a bowl and started adding milk 1 teaspoon at a time until it was still rather thick. Frosting consistency. While still hot, I took the doughnuts right off the pan with tongs and dipped them into the frosting. It thins out quite a bit, the butter making it melty.

 And just as soon as the first one was on the cooling rack it was snatched up and eaten by my taste tester.... Who gave it  so many thumbs up I had to hurry and get the camera so I could take pictures before they disappeared.

 Aren't they BEEEEYUUUUTEEEEFULLLLLLL. Some of the holes sorta closed up while baking making it look as though they have bellybuttons.

But this one turned out perfect.. When I turned it over, sure enough, there was MY NAME written right on the bottom.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I definitely recommend this recipe. Baking them makes a big difference in taste as well as the yucky mess of frying them. Plus you can eat 2 or 3 and not feel bloated and grumpy the way doughnuts usually make me feel.
Baked Doughnuts

11/3 cup warm milk
1 TBS yeast
2TBS butter melted
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
5 cups flour
pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
1 tsp. salt

Mix up dough. Let rise til double. Roll out about 1/2 thick and cut into 2 to 3 inch circles. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and remove center hole. Let rise again until oven heats to 375* Bake for 8 to 10 minutes,j ust until slightly brown on bottom. DO NOT over cook.
Either dip in 1/2 c melted butter and roll into sugar cinnamon mixture or make up some glaze like I did above. This makes about 11/2 to 2 dozen plus the holes.
Eat warm right from oven if you can. SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOD
If you have questions just comment and I can write back.
Snugly blessings, Sue

Things that make me smile....

 Carlye sent me a few more pictures of my beloved granddaughter. This is her at 5 months, Bath time. I put this picture as my desktop and it makes me smile, literally, every single time I see it. I think I will have it framed and hang it somewhere that my eye lands on often.

 I have been a bit dis com bobble at ted of late. Can't put my finger on anything exactly. But just feeling a bit mentally out of sorts. We are going through changes here with Seth retiring in just a few more shifts and then we'll be fixing up our home of almost 30 years to make the big move to
Georgia. I am excited, happy, apprehensive, and other feelings I can't put words to.

This morning I decided to try a recipe I found on pinterest. Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Loaf. We were NOT disappointed. They are delicious. You can find the recipe by going to my pinterest board and clicking on the recipe board  or.... I will just post it here in a few days. It made me feel REALLY good to use my own homemade yogurt and fresh eggs from my hens. The yolks are so yellow they are almost orange and this is exactly the color the muffins came out!!!

 As a little girl I always loved to color and draw. As a big girl I paint, dye yarn and fibers , embroider, knit and crochet and sew to get my color fixes.It relaxes me. It sooths my soul. I have been stitching up a storm while waiting for Allison. It's kinda like big girl coloring . hahahah I am going to do a series of little girls. This is the first one.

 Took a trip to Koby's this last weekend while Daddy stayed home and watched football. Just us girls. I had so much fun!!! It was cloudy and cool and I loved it. It felt  like it would begin raining any minute. I found some of the most amazing books. I took my little cart on wheels to carry them all this time. I used to use it all the time when Allison and I home schooled and we would hit up the curriculum fairs. It makes life and your arms lot better!!! hahahahaha I have made it a goal to pay only a dollar a book and sometimes it works. I got all my books for just $1 each. YES!!!!

 One of the books I got is a facsimile of The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady 1906. It was printed in 1977, the year I graduated high school. It is beautiful. She began each month with a bit of a lesson in what the month is named for and the days that stand out. She continues on with beautiful watercolor and

 hand written desciptions of all sorts of birds, plants, etc.

 She includes poetry appropriate for the month and writes a brief statement of the weather and where she walked and things she saw each day.  LOVE.....

 Another treasure is Garden Flowers. This too was published in the 70"s. 1973 to be exact. It begins with a story called The Hundred Flowers (a Chinese Tale), translated by Grace Jackman. I haven't gotten the opportunity to read it yet but its high on my list.

 It is filled with prints of Engravings by several artists. Each picture has a description and where the plant originated from. About a page long.

 These are definitely frame worthy.

 I am thinking that when I get into and begin decorating my new home I just may do that. They are so pretty. I have a really hard time thinking about tearing a page out of a book but when I looked this book up I found that someone was actually selling each page for $14. hmmmmm got me to thinking is all.

 I am forever infatuated with readers. When I was a little girl I was so excited to be able to read. I remember my readers from grade school and if I am ever fortunate enough to actually find one, I'm going to grab it up so fast.....

 This one is really cool. It's from Rand McNally and company. Of course. It is printed in 1935.

 This little page just touches my heart.  It's kinda how I imagine my little hens and I. hahahahahahaha

 The illustrations are priceless.

I am smitten.

 I finished off my afternoon by giving  two of my shamrocks a hair cut. I was very UN pleasantly surprised when, while having my coffee in the in the bay window this morning I found APHIDS inhabiting them. WHAT THE HECK???? How did they get in here.

I checked all the others but these were the only two that had them.  Hopefully this takes care of the issue. I'll keep a close eye on them. The other two are looking rather shabby as the cats decided to havew a fight right over the top of them. I'm babying them as well for awhile.

I also decided to transplant and give fresh soil to my poor little African violets. They have been so neglected lately I feel guilty showing you their picture. The poor dears. Hopefully they will get healthy and happy again and give me a few blooms. I moved things around so they are in their favorite spot again.
This ended up being a pretty wordy post for one that has just popped its way into being as I typed.  Thank you for stopping by.
Many Blessings, Sue