Thursday, October 31, 2013

...Happy Halloween...

...I was thinking when we got the scary witch out of the Halloween bin that she has definitely seen better days...there are lots of bits of tape on her...and some tears and white spots...
...Scout and I made her just from a piece of black posterboard when he was 2...so she's getting on in age...

...I got the pattern from a MSL magazine...but a quick search and I found it online...Martha Stewart Witch Silhouette project...
...just look at the scary shadow she casts in the night...

...it's funny...but I don't think we'll be making a new one...I think we'll just keep taping up the old one...

...and that's Jack's little silhouette beneath the witch...HA!
...Wishing you a very Happy Halloween!...

...and a funny (or not so funny - as the case may actually be...) addendum...the deer must have been hungry last night...the beautiful jack-o-lanterns were destroyed last night...

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

...a simple (very southern) vegan breakfast...

...when I was growing up this was something my Daddy often had for breakfast...although he usually used molasses and we usually use sorghum syrup...I think basically molasses is made from cane and sorghum syrup is made from sorghum...

...the wikipedia article even says...'Sorghum syrup and hot biscuits are a traditional breakfast in the Southern United States.'...
...so (after you've made your biscuits)...you just mix some sorghum syrup and some Earth Balance...
...stir it up until it's creamy...
...and then slather it on your hot 'buttermilk' biscuit...recipe here...(sorry the photos are all so dark...it's 6 AM - next week it'll be brighter...HA!)...

~Have a lovely day!...

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

...pumpkin Carving at home....

...after the pumpkin carving fun at Church...it was time to do some carving at home...
...A² was not able to go with us to pick out the pumpkins...but she was there for the carving...
...the pumpkin patch was so pretty...
...with all of the pumpkins in neat rows...
...we chose a fat round one...
...and a taller thinner one...
...and brought them home...
...A² chose a Happy pattern for her pumpkin...
...and Scout found a Hunger Games pattern for his pumpkin...Mocking Jay pattern here...
...lots of little bits to carve out...
...but it turned out great!...
...they both did...
...a little bit later with a candle inside...
...the Mocking Jay lit up too...
...then A² helped Scout with his costume for a Halloween party...

...so that was a pretty full day...all good though...

~Have a lovely day!

Monday, October 28, 2013

...Pumpkin Carving...

...immediately after I left the Alzheimer's Walk, Saturday...I went to Church for the Family Pumpkin Carving Event...
...we spread plastic tablecloths over the floor and taped them down...
...and the kids got busy with their designs...
...OK...is anyone else having a problem with Blogger turning their photos?...these pictures are definitely portrait and not landscape in any other viewer...I can't figure it out...

...well...obviously I did figure it out...I went into Picasa (where blogger stores its photos)...and rotated them there...still...that was weird and a lot of trouble...
...I love the little tongue stuck out for this hard work with the knife...it requires a lot of concentration...
...the icky part...
...we gave everyone a tray to put the 'pumpkin brains' in...
...the awards...borrowing a page from my Cub Scout Pinewood Derby days...I created an award for every possible type of pumpkin...no one would go home un-awarded...
...the judging...
...one of the happy winners...
...then it was outside for the seed spitting contest...which for some reason I was having trouble saying...I kept saying 'speed sitting' for some reason...I'm thinking next year we just need to have a contest to see who can sit down the faster...
...but I loved that I captured the seed mid-air on this spit...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!

Saturday, October 26, 2013

...the walk to end Alzheimer's...

...I was downtown bright and early for the walk to end Alzheimer's...
...of course I was not alone...
...we set up our "Pray in Purple" tables...
...and people milled around donning purple t-shirts and getting ready for the walk...there was a skateboard and roller derby contingent nearby...that was fun to watch...
...then we got our flowers...and labeled them...

...the weather was perfect...last year's walk here...

~Have a lovely day!

Friday, October 25, 2013

Vegan Vinaigrette à la Crème...over at the Vegan Version

...I made a super easy vegan dip à la Julia Child...
...it's a Vegan Vinaigrette à la Crème...and all of the details are over at The Vegan Version...
...very delicious...

~Have a lovely day!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

...Thrifty Thursday...

...I stopped in the thrift store the other day...not dropping anything off...and not really looking for anything either...but I found this sweet little glass egg...my MIL collects these and has a lot of them in porcelain...she also collects depression glass...

...I'll have to see if she already has this one...she may have...it's dated 1977 and is by Avon...and I know she has several Avon eggs...

...in the meantime...doesn't it look sweet sitting on the windowsill above the sink...

...what's your latest thrift store find?...

~Have a lovely day!

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

...W.I.P. Wednesday...making bobbins...

...not a lot of progress on the secret socks...mainly because I've frogged twice already (I'll tell you all about it when the socks are done and gifted)...and now I've decided to change colours where there is no colourwork on the pattern...
...and for changing colours...you need bobbins...so I got some heavy cardstock...some box lid or something from the recycle bin...and made a pattern...
...cut them out and wound on some thread...
...and away we go...with try #3 for these socks...

...what's the most number of times you've frogged and then continued with the project anyway?...

...in other news it's really chilly here...high today only 45° F...they were calling for a bit of snow tonight...but I didn't see any in the forecast this morning...

~Have a lovely warm day...

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

...refinishing cabinet handles...again...

...a little over a year ago...I repainted the hardware for our kitchen cabinets...you can read all about it here...
...and over the course of the year...with normal use...the finish had begun to wear a little...
...so I took them all off again...well not all of them...exactly six of them did not need refinishing...you know some cabinets you just don't open all that often...and scrubbed them all nice and clean...
...I left the cabinet door slightly ajar as there are magnets that hold them closed and they're more difficult to open without handles than I would have thought...

...and I left the hinges in place as they showed no sign of wear at all...
...scrubbed clean...
...let dry completely...water and spray paint do not mix...
...I followed the same routine as before...and even had the same domino effect a couple of times...HA!
...but in the end...all sides got another dusting of stainless steel...it was a lot faster without all of the hinges and screws...
...and when they were dry we put them all back on the doors...knowing we'll get at least another year's wear out of them...maybe even longer this time...

~Have a lovely day!