Create

Sometimes I just need to be reminded.

Up.

It has been a beautiful day here in Ga.

Especially when you look up.

Faded Forest and a Little Peek

A little while ago I was reading Karla's blog and swooned over her bleached and dyed Christmas trees. I had to try this myself so yesterday my daughter and I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a few packages of cheap-o bottle brush trees. I could not wait to get home!




I mixed up a batch of bleach and water (1 part bleach to 2 parts water) in an old milk jug. I cut the top off, leaving the handle for support, so I could dip the trees in. It was fascinating to watch as the very green trees turned color. Some of them I only left in a tiny little bit, just to fade the green and others I left in until all of their color had been stripped. A quick bath under the tap and they were done. I mixed up a batch of teal dye and dipped a few of the trees. The green trees were left as is and the others I dipped into a cocoa brown dye. They turned out beautifully, as you can see.



On Thanksgiving Day all of the women will gather in my craft room to create a something using these trees. They may be glittered, adorned or left plain but, whatever happens to them, the trees will be much prettier than they were originally. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures to show you the end result!
Now for the sneak peek! Tina from the Garden Goose and I are swap partners for the Small Town Living garland swap. I can't wait to see what she made for me! She is one very clever girl! Here is a portion of the garland that I made for Tina:

That's all you get because I don't want to totally spoil the surprise.

When I Was Very Young

While my mother was in Massachusetts visiting her sister, my dad took the opportunity to go through old family photos and random negatives. A few of those negatives were of my brother and me. I had them printed up and I got them today.
It looks as though I may have been about four years old, which would have made my brother two at the time. We are only sixteen months apart.

I can tell that these were taken in the summer, as my birthday is in June. I don't remember this party. I wish I did.

But I'm pretty sure that I was excited about it as you can see from this photo. My mother is inside the door probably telling my dad to hurry and take the picture.

My brother Donald and I on the swing set in our back yard. Can you see the fence behind us? I fell over that little fence when I was six and broke my arm. I was trying to catch a ball. When I stood up and straightened my arm out, the bone came shooting out. I spent a week in the hospital. Now that I remember. I don't eat minestrone soup because of that stay. Who feeds minestrone soup to a child who is ill? Mean nurses, that's who!

My brother turned fifty last month and I will be framing up a few shots of him when he was small and sending them to him. He knows something is coming, just not what.

I think he is going to be very surprised! There is nothing like looking back at your childhood when you have reached the half-way point of your life. It keeps you young.

Pumpkin Patch Pins

I made these for the women from church that I visit teach.

They were oh, sew easy to make!

Aren't they cute?

Sloppy Joes and Bitty Biscuits

I made Sloppy Joes for dinner last night and, because I forgot to buy hamburger buns, I served them on tiny baking powder biscuits. They were delicious, if I do say so myself. Hmm, I think I will. What is it about tiny food that makes me happy? I don't know.

Anyway, I'm sharing the recipe with you just in case you want to make tiny food for your family. I'm sure they will appreciate it!

Sloppy Joes

1 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, or 1/4 of a large one, diced small

1 green pepper, diced small

2 cloves minced garlic

Sauce-

2- 15 oz. cans tomato sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup plus 1 T brown sugar

1 tsp. chili powder

1 T Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all sauce ingredients in a pan and heat through to blend flavors.

In a large skillet, brown ground beef with onions and peppers. Want more flavor to your meat? Allow it to caramelize a bit. Go on, I'll wait.............................................................

Done? Okay. Now add the garlic and saute gently until the garlic permeates the meat, maybe three minutes. Don't burn the garlic. There is nothing that can rescue burnt garlic. Trust me.

Pour 1/2 of the sauce over the meat and heat through. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Why only 1/2? Because you are going to allow the other half to cool and put it in the freezer for the next time you want sloppy joes! Smart, huh?

Bitty Biscuits-

You could make your biscuits from a baking mix but, really, it isn't all that hard to make your own. This is my favorite recipe for baking powder biscuits, from The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook by Christopher Kimball. They are yummy!

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

4 T chilled butter, not margarine, cut into 1 T increments

3 T chilled shortening

2/3- 3/4 cup buttermilk

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine flour, salt, baking powder and soda in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse twice to mix.

Add butter, one piece at a time, and pulse once after each addition. Add shortening and pulse 6 more times, or until mixture looks like coarse meal.

Place mixture in a mixing bowl and slowly fold in the buttermilk with a spatula or wooden spoon. When dough begins to hold together, turn out onto a floured surface. You might need a little more or a little less of the buttermilk.

Roll or pat (my preference) dough to 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a 2-inch biscuit cutter, being careful not to twist the cutter. You want those puppies to rise!

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, turning the baking sheet around once halfway through.

This recipe will make 16 2-inch biscuits, perfect for a family dinner! Want to pump them up? Add 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese. You will probably have to add a little more buttermilk if you do.

So, there you have it- Sloppy Joes with Bitty Biscuits. Nothing tastes better on a chilly Autumn night.

A Sweet Giveaway at Fiona and Twig!

Anne from Fiona and Twig (fab name!) is giving away -a $25 Anthropologie gift certificate and an autographed copy of the most amazing book- The Find by Stan Williams. Oh, be still my heart!
Head on over and follow Anne's blog for a chance to win. Or not. I don't mind if you want to let me have all the chances. ;)