I Love Autumn!!

First.........  it's been a long time since I posted and I am truly sorry for that!!  But I am still alive and I've been doing projects............ Like these:

These are a couple blocks from The Fatquarter Shop's Mystery Block of the Month.  I signed myself up when I signed my mother-in-law up!! 

Camo Bear Paw quilt I made for my boss when he turned 50.....

He loved it.   Mr. Inspiring asked if I HAD to give it to Mr. Boss.  Guess that means Mr. Inspiring is next.

And this weekend, I've been working on this:

Crock Pot Apple Butter

We've had this wonderful apple tree in our back yard and never really did much with it.  It only bears fruit every couple of years.  Last time, our neighbor made some absolutely delicious apple butter.  So this year, when apples started showing up, I decided that I was going to make apple butter.

mmmmmmmmmmm   The house smells wonderful!!

I'm happy to share my recipe - - Just let me know!!!


Happy Fall, Ya'll!!

Hugs ~~ Suz

Spring '12 Blogger's Quilt Festival

It's time!!  And I'm excited!!  Here is my entry to the Spring 2012 Blogger's Quilt Festival!

This is my very first quilt that I made.  And..... I donated it.... To our local Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Dinner and Auction.

I used any fabric I could find that had an association with breast cancer awareness.  I also added some filler fabrics to get it balanced out.

The picture above is the quilt - done!!  The picture below is right before I put the border on it.  I guess I didn't take a picture of the full quilt when it was done, just shots of it laying on chairs.  What was I thinking?

So I need to share some things with you.  The reason I made it?  Well, my dad and my brother both passed away from Multiple Myeloma, three years apart.  I figure if I can help raise money for cancer treatment and cure, for any kind of cancer, that might help lead to treatment and cure for other cancer, like Multiple Myeloma ~ right? 

The thing that I feared most about doing this quilt was quilting it.  The thought of hand quilting just...... scared me.  It would take me forever, right?  Nope, it actually went very quickly and hand quilting it was my favorite part!!  I just stitched around every square and rectangle about 1/4" from the seam.  I loved doing it!!



I love the back, too!!

Ok - - one BIG thing I learned was TAKE TONS OF PICTURES!!  And just when you think you have enough - - take more!!!

You can go see all the entries to the festival here, at Amy's Creative Side!

Happy Quilting!

Hugs ~~ Suz



Carpet Cleaning - NOT For the Faint of Heart!

If you have a squeemish tummy, please don't read this post.  Graphic pictures!!


Ok - - You've been warned......

We took Lucy to the shed yesterday and apparently she ingested something that didn't quite agree with her.  Mr. Inspiring and I have not figured it out, but.....  she's still not feeling 100% yet.

Last night she threw up in our bedroom 4 times.  Not all at once, mind you, but through out the night.  I don't know about you, but I don't clean those kinds of messes up so well in the middle of the night.  I do what I think is good enough and then go back to sleep with the plan to take care of it in the morning.

Well, (remember you were warned) I have never seen a mess like this come from a human or a feline.  Actually, I've not seen it at all............. EVER.   Dark, almost black ooze.......  weird.......

Here's a picture of the worst spot. 

At this point, we had wiped up all that we could and sprayed carpet cleaner on it and let it soak in.  Then I vacuumed it.

Well, thank God for Pinterest!!  And for Jillee!!!  This is Jillee's blog!  I was very skeptical!!

Ammonia, hot water, a spray bottle, cotton towels and a steam iron.......... Really??

In your spray bottle, mix equal amounts of ammonia and hot water.  Spray your stain.  Cover with the cotton towel, and steam iron it.  Press down and really get the steam in there, but, it does stink......  so try not to breathe in the steam.  Yuck!!

Jillee says you don't need to scrub, but I found that after I sprayed it, before I steamed it, if I worked the solution in with a scrub brush, it did even better!!

Still steaming.........

Getting lighter..........

Just about gone!!!  Actually, at this point I stopped.  It's still damp.  I want to try it again in a day or too, but I wanted to see how it looks dry.

There you have it!!  Thank you, Jillee!! 

Hugs ~~ Suz

 

The Kitchen Sink!!

I know - - Right?  Two posts in one weekend after such a long absence!!  Cool!!!

I didn't exactly come clean with ya'll yesterday.......  part of my absence has been due to Pinterest.....  I admit it......  I'm ssooo addicted!!  BUT  Admitting your addiction is the first step, right??

On thing I've pinned is a home made soap scum remover (you can see the pin here!!)  The recipe is one cup of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of liquid soap (I used Dawn), a few drops of essential oil (I used Young Living Peppermint oil in my bathroom and Young Living Thieves oil in my kitchen), and some water.  That's it!!!

Ok, here's my kitchen sink before:

Ok, I know - - GROSS - - right?  That's a combination of tea and coffee and soda.  YUCK!!

Here are my ingredients:

Mix them together to make a paste:  (first picture is without the water aded yet)

(After I added a little water and stirred)

I plopped some down in the sink, and spread it around using a scrub brush.  (Here's during)

And here's the after!!



Ok, here's the before shot again:

Mr. Inspiring just commented that it looks like we got a new sink today!!

(I also tried it on my glass top stove and it worked like a dream there, too!!)

Thank you http://www.marthastewart.com/!!  And Pinterest!!!

Thanks for visiting!!!  Let me know how this works for you, too!!

Hugs ~~ Suz

I'm sharing at these awesome parties:



Still Alive!!

Hi, Ya'll ~~ I'm checking in to let you know that I am still alive and as onery as ever!! It's been a busy Spring and I have so sucked at keeping posts updated on my blog.

The shed - Pa Pa's House according to our grandson - is finished and wonderful!! We've had a party out there the last 2 weekends and have had so much fun. The first party was a going away party for Son #1. His work is sending him to EGYPT for at least 2 months and this momma ain't too happy about it....... I'd feel MUCH better if he were going to Canada!! But it is a good opportunity for him and he will make good money so............ I don't have too much say in it. That means that grandson and I will be doing some serious bonding!! Cody leaves Monday. :-( But - - in searching for that silver lining that helps me make it through these kinds of things, I'm thinking that his being in Egypt just MIGHT cause me to stress just enough to lose some poundage??? Like maybe 10 - 15 lbs???

 Party #2 was a surprise birthday party for one of our good friends. We had been planning it for nearly 3 months and he didn't have a clue! We are all very proud of ourselves for pulling it off!!

Sad note - Mr. Inspiring's grandma passed away at the end of March. To me, she was the epitomy (sp??) of God's Grace. I never heard a cross word come from her. She ALWAYS expressed how thankful she was for everything she'd ever been given. She appreciated everything anyone ever did for her. She loved life. She loved her family. She loved her friends. She loved our Lord. She's in Heaven now and is our family Guardian Angel. She is dancing and singing with Grandpa and Mr. Inspiring's daddy. She has no more pain and is not suffering from Altzheimer's/Dimentia any longer. She is beautiful and peaceful and helping our Father ready Heaven for the rest of us. Until we meet again, Grandma Ruthie....... xoxoxoxo

I've been hand quilting - stitch in the ditch - my red quilt and I'm finding it is a rather crazy task. The backing that I chose is red fabric with small white print. It's hard to see my stitches and I've caught myself quilting parts that I've already quilted..... I don't think I'll stitch in the ditch again. It's driving me crazy.

Well - - that's what's been going on, in a nutshell..... What have you guys been up to?? Hugs ~~ Suz

Italian Cream Cake - Soo Yummy!!

This past Friday, Grandpa Inspiring turned 82.  Saturday we had a birthday dinner in his honor. 

I did something pretty risky!! 

I tried a new cake recipe - and it was DELISH!!

Incredibly Delicious Italian Cream Cake

Cake Ingredients:
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cut shortening (I used Crisco butter flavored sticks)
2 cups granulated (white) sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cut butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp light cream (I used half n half)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease three 9-inch round cake pans with spray and then flour the pans. 

In a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the buttermilk, set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.  Mix in the eggs, buttermilk mixture, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup coconut, baking powder and flower.  Stir until just combined.  Pour into prepared cake pans.

Bake for 30 mins, or until golden brown and cake tests done.  Allow to cool in pans 5 minutes then turn onto wire racks and LET COOL COMPLETELY.

To make frosting:  In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla and powdered sugar.  beat until light and fluffy.  Mix in a small amount of cream to attain the desired consistency.  Stir in nuts and coconut.  Spread between layers and on top and side of cooled cake.

When I made this Saturday, I didn't allow it to cool enough.  I mean, it wasn't hot by any means, but... it wasn't completely cool.  So I put it together, and to keep it from sliding, I put tooth picks in it.

That didn't help.

The frosting slid around in the car........  kind of oozed......  So I had to fix it.  I did and it was ok...

Actually, it was very yummy and Grandpa loved it. 

There was only about 1/4 of the cake left.  Saturday night, when we got home, I put it in the fridge.  Sunday, it was even better!!! 

I found this recipe here!  The website is From Karen's Kitchen and she has TONS of cake recipes.  Actually, she's got all kinds of recipes!!



I'm definitely going to visit her again!!

Let me know if you try this or any of her other recipes!!

Have a great day!!

Hugs ~~ Suz

I'm linking here:

WHAT Was I Thinking?????

To sum that question up?   Easy!!   I WASN'T!!

Never again will I be able to enjoy the simple pleasure of having Pizza Hut delivery pizza.  I will never again be able to call Mr. Inspiring and tell him I want Dominoes........  I will never again get to enjoy having hot fresh pizza delivered to my door.

I ruined it and it's nobody's fault but my own......  

So here's how it happened.........   Thursday night, Ms. C and I were discussing what we'd like to have for supper Friday.........  I mentioned I was in the mood for home made pizza........  I usually got one of those Martha White pizza crust mixes that you add a half cup of water to the mix, knead it for a bit and then voila, you have a 'fresh' pizza crust.............  Who knew that HOME MADE pizza crust was as easy as that?  And that it tastes SO MUCH BETTER than anyhing else???  Not me!!  Friday afternoon, I got a wild hair up my....    and decided to look for home made crust recipes online.  They didn't look too hard.....

Well, I went to the grocery store after work and got the necessary ingredients.  When I got home, instead of pulling up recipes on the internet, I pulled out one of my Taste of Home cookbooks. 

OHHH   EEMMMMM  GGEEEEEEE

mmmmmmmmmmmm      AAHHH-Mazing!!!

AAHHH-mazing Pizza Crust

2 pkgs (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast
2 2/3 cups warm water (110 - 115 degrees) divided
4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
6 1/2 - 7 cups all purpose flour

In a medium bowl, empty both yeast packages and add sugar and salt.  Add 2/3 cup of the warm water and stir to disolve.  Add 1Tablespoon olive oil.  Let sit for about 5 minutes so the yeast gets good and 'frothy'.  Then add 2 more Tablespoons olive oil and the rest of the water.  Stir to mix. 

Transfer mixture to bowl for stand mixer and using your dough hook, mix 5 cups of the all purpose flour.  Beat til smooth.  Add enough of the remaining flower to form a soft dough.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and eleastic, about 6 - 8 minutes.   Grease a large bowl with the remaining olive oil.  Place dough in greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and then a towl.  Place in a warm area of your kitchen to rise until doubled - about 1 hour. 

Punch down and divide.  Roll out with rolling pin.  Transfer dough to pans and form an edge all the way around.  Spread out pizza sauce and top with your favorite ingredients and cheese.   Bake in 425 oven for approximately 25 minutes.


** Notes....  My first batch of this dough, I divided it into 3 portions.  I made 3 pizzas using 1 large Pampered Chef round stone and 2 of the rectangular Pampered Chef Stones.  The edges puffed up and were chewy.  The edges would have been excellent to stuff with cheese    I divided my second batch of this dough into 4 portions.  I put each portion into a zip top bag and put them in the freezer.  This morning I got out 2 of the portions  and put them into a greased 9 x 13 cake pan.  I warmed my oven up to 200 dgrees and when it reached that temperature, I turned it off.  I put the pan the dough was in into the oven with a bowl of water that I had just boiled.  Fast thaw and it was awsome.  The dough was stickier than when I first made it so I turned it out onto a floured surface and kneaded it again.  I made 2 pizzas, one on the big round stone and one on one of the rectangle stones. 

Also - - please know that you can not knead bread dough too much.  Dough loves to be kneaded (don't we all??? *wink* *wink*) 

Here's what ingredients I used for the pizza you see in the picture.

Cheap off-brand pizza sauce spread all over
pieces of Provolone cheese spread all over
pieces of thin sliced ham
browned ground beef (I added salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano when I browned it)
browned bulk sausage
pepperoni
chopped onion
chopped green pepper
covered with shredded mozzerella cheese

And that is how I ruined my chances of ever having pizza delivered to my house ever again.........

So now I'm going to have to find a recipe for Domino's Chocolate Lava Crunch Cakes because I don't believe I'll be able to not have them in my life...........

Hope ya'll had a wonderful weekend!!  Mr. Inspiring is really enjoying himself everytime he reminds me that he doesn't have to work tomorrow and I do..........

Hugs ~~ Suz

I'm Linking to these Parties:

Linky Party Hop!!!

Cheri from It's So Very Cheri is hosting a blog hop ~~ but it isn't just any 'ol blog hop!!

IT'S A LINKY PARTY BLOG HOP!!

Thank you, Cheri!!!



Many of you have probably already heard that

GOOGLE Friend Connect will go away

on Feb 29 for any one that is not with blogspot

but rumor has it that it is being completely phased out for everyone soon

BUT

there is good news

There is a NEW awesome tool–Linky Followers

It has so many amazing features (that GFC never had). If you have not signed up you should. (yes you can have both.) I love the new tool so much and want everyone to enjoy all the new features.

…and did I tell you its super easy and FREE!

What better way to celebrate a fun new blogging tool than to have a party

so break out your poodle skirt and saddle back shoes cuz’ we’re having a LINKY FOLLOWER PARTY HOP

RULES:

1. you MUST have the LINKY FOLLOWERS tool on your site to participate.

If you see that your link has been deleted you need to add the LINKY FOLLOWER tool to your site and then come back over and re-enter your link
{You can have both the LINKY FOLLOWERS & GFC on your site but you must have the LINKY FOLLOWERS tool to participate in this party hop.}

2. You MUST follow the person who has the party on their site as a thank you.

3. Just add your blog button to the LINKY PARTY below.

4.Then grab the BLOG HOP code

You will find the code right under the Linky Party where it says CLICK HERE TO ENTER–
just under that it says: WHAT IS A BLOG HOP? GET THE CODE HERE
Click on GET THE CODE HERE and enter it into a post on your site.
You can grab the party button code in the FOOTER at Its So Very Cheri
You can grab info from my post if it helps you with your post.

5. Then you follow other bloggers–(as many as you want)
–leave each one of the blogs that you follow a comment letting them know you are following them and ask them to follow you back.

If you want to add the BLOG HOP to your own site you will get lots of new followers–(see rule #2)
Its So Very Cheri has and will continue to visit every entry-I try to leave comments but this party has had so many entries and in order to get to everyone I had to change things around. I will come by to make sure you have the Linky Follower tool and follow you. If I mess up and forget to come over and follow you please leave me a comment and I will come back over to do so. You will see my button in your list of followers.

…So do ya want to go Cruisin’?

I plan on HOPPING from BLOG to BLOG to follow everyone who follows me.

If you would like to participate in a fun PIN party head over to the DIY Club and enter the monthly PINNING Party.
This is a Blog Hop!

Out With the Old!!

I didn't Post this!!  Why not???    Who knows??  I think I'm still suffering from my ADD......  And since we haven't had much of winter weather ...... YET..... I'm pretty sure I've got Spring Fever, too!!!

Anywho.....  We changed out our front door a couple of weeks ago and I love it!!

The original door was a steel door that I did a faux wood grain on 6 years ago or so....  I did a great job, but unfortunately, when we installed the door, we only installed the door and used the old casing and hinges and stuff..... and over the years, the screws stripped out, the door caught on kinds of stuff, you had to lift the door up to close it right..  it was a mess.......

Oh, yeah - - did I mention that because I didn't SEAL it, it faded???  I promise, when I first did it, it looked great. 

So Mr. Inspiring and I purchased a new door to install, and this one INCLUDED the casing.  And I volunteered to do the faux wood grain again...  AND I sealed it!

He just had to learn how to install it.  And discovered that YouTube is a wonderful avenue to learn by, not to just watch stupid videos!!

And now that I've gotten this far in this post, I realize that I don't have a picture of the door actually INSTALLED....    See what I mean??  ADD/Spring Fever - - I'm so sure of it!!! 

Anyway - - the door went in very well.  I used my cricut and cut out house numbers out of vinyl.  My neighbor across the street sent me a text message the next day  "Suz - - I LOVE your new door!!"  I said, "THANK YOU!!  I do, too!!"

Faux wood graining is very easy!!  My biggest tip on it tho:  Make sure you are using the correct stain for your application.  I accidentally got gel stain instead of regular stain, and it worked, but it took FOREVER to set/dry......  Regular stain works much better.    The faux wood tool is really cool!  Your local hardware store/paint store should carry the tool.    You paint the stain on the door, and then run the tool through it, rocking it as you go.  Play with it!  You can achieve very realistic effects! 

Thanks for stopping by!  And I promise I'll try to post more often this month!! 

Oh yeah - - Mr. Inspiring took the old door to the curb for the trash to pick up.  Later that day, when I went to stand out in the yard and admire the new door, I saw the old door laying by the curb, all by itself, looking so lonely............  and I walked out to it, staring at the oval window...... with the pretty leaded glass that catches the light and sparkles like crazy....  and Mr. Inspiring saw me looking at it..... and I guess I must get kind of a glazed over look on my face when my mind starts creating things...............  because he came out with a screwdriver, and without a word............ removed the glass from the door and put it in the garage.....   He's learning!!!!   And I just love him so much!!   I am one lucky girl!!!

Hugs ~~ Suz

Things I'm Working On Today!

Ok -- I sooo meant to be doing better about posting more.....  and I really did  get a good start  - - almost 2 weeks ago....

And then..............


I got sick.

With a NASTY cold

And was in bed ALL weekend last weekend.  And I slept ALL weekend last weekend......  But I'm much better now............  Yay, me!!

Today is a cold, dreary, gray day.  So, I've started boiling my chicken with onions and celery to make some yummy home made chicken n dumplins.....  Oh Yeah!!  It's a perfect day for yummy, comfort food like that!!!

Quilt Status:

I've got my blocks done for my red and white quilt.  I need to square them up and sew 'em together!!

I'm thinking I'm going to really love this one and I'm so glad I'm making it for me!!! 

Recently I bought a Lil Twister so I can make a twisted block quilt.  I decided to use the fabrice I purchase about 4 years ago.  It's fabric from the ovarian cancer collection and I had planned on making a rag quilt with it.  Well, I never did that. 

So I cut 5" squares out of my fat quarters and I need to sew them together so I can twister them!!    And if it all turns out, I will probably donate it to the Relay for Life in April.....

Now I need to figure out how I want to arrange the fabric so I can twister with them!

But before I get to all this.....  I'm hanging out with my little man (grandson) and we're watching Cars!!

I love weekends!!  What are YOU doing this weekend??

Hugs ~~ Suz

I'm Partying here: