Spanakopitas

Mini spinach pies in phyllo dough.... This was the only one left by the time I thought to take a picture. I have been wanting to make these for a while. I got the spinach to make them, phyllo dough... and ricotta cheese, mozarella.... When I got the cookbook out I didn't actually need all those ingredients. (I think they may have tasted better with them, though; now after eating them...) The recipe I used was similar to this one. Where I used to work every now and then I would do appetizers & cocktails. The spinach pies were sooo good. (We weren't supposed to eat the food, shhh....) When you stand out in the foyer smelling and staring at them all night, though (and you're starving since you didn't have dinner!) it is almost impossible. (Everyone did it, anyway... You just had to know who not to get caught by...) They threw away all the excess anyway (that was what really burned me...). If there was any extra special cookies or anything, you couldn't take them home for your kids, they just threw them away rather than have employees 'steal' the food.... Anyway!!! Don't know how I got off on that subject....

I have been wanting to make some jam thumbprints, too. I don't like nuts in my cookies, though. I have been trying to look for a recipe without nuts. Someday this week I'll probably make some with the kids. Here are some beautiful cookies on a tray. (Hope you weren't hungry....) Her recipe has nuts, too, though... Here's one recipe with no nuts. (No picture though.) Here's another one with no nuts. And a picture. Not as pretty as the first link, but... Hope you have a nice weekend.

Moon Cakes

I am reading a book I got from the library, take one big guess what the title is... :P Moon Cakes by Andrea Louie. I just like to look at the cover and title of the book. If it looks like I will like it, I then proceed to read the inside cover.... Well I started reading this book and at first I just could not get into it. But, I kept reading it.... And finally kind of started liking it. She talks about moon cakes. I didn't know these were a real thing. (I have never been outside of the U.S...) This is what they look like. If you scroll to the right, you can see the moon cake presses she made them with. Here are a few recipes for mooncakes: at aboutdotcom, dltk or something.., Spices of Life blog (this is the same person who took the picture in first link)~ I think this is the one I printed out.... If you google you could probably find a recipe you like. I went to an Asian Market today. I was hoping to find some moon cakes or a press. But I didn't see either. We have a China town near here I will have to have my husband take me there soon so I can look for Moon Cakes. Maybe they are only available during the Moon Festival.... I don't know. If I find any, I'll be sure to take a picture of them and share them here. :)

Go Speed Racer!

I have no interest whatsoever in this movie, especially since Susan Sarandon is in it!? (What is up with that?) You can watch a preview/trailer of it here, if you want... I was just curious what Speed Racer looked like. The kids kept saying, 'Speed Racer is white, Mom'... Well it isn't exactly 'Speed Racer', but it's a cool little race car that Nutsaboucrochet13 let me be a tester for! It should be up in her Etsy store soon. (I like her bowling set, too.)

Here he is~ already racing! He wasted no time finding the track. :P The little guy pops out, and his helmet comes off. The wheels rotate, too. They don't really *spin*, but I think the whole car is pretty cool beans! Thanks again for letting me test it for you!

Wild Burros Crossing!

When we first moved here, we saw these signs on the roads out of town... I never thought I'd actually see one, though! Well, Sunday afternoon, we did! And more than one. They were on the side of the road, down off the highway. So we turned around and drove back there to see them.

Aren't they cute!!? They're so cool looking. Look at the little black one. He (or she?) was the coolest one. Also the shyest one, the rest just stood there and looked at us. The black one would walk away then look back. I took these pictures with my phone, so they are even more blurry (or as blurry, maybe?) than my regular camera...

I always thought I would see burros somewhere like by the Mexican border, maybe. I guess we are not too far from it, here. I think maybe the burros are used to humans. Which isn't a good thing, probably. The one in this picture just stood there and stared at us for a while before going up on the hill. He probably would have come over to our car had we offered him food. (Which we didn't...) Well I thought I would share these with you. Hope you are all having a good week. :)

It's Done! FINALLY....

One big FO done. This rectangle granny ghan I started.... hmmm.... way back in I don't even know when. I posted about it back in March of '07, and it was quite aways along.... I started it for my Father In Law, and now we'll have to mail it to him... unless we go back to Michigan, any time soon.... It measures 54 inches wide X 64.5 inches long. Wow. I crocheted the last light blue stripe until I knew I couldn't go another whole way around (not enough yarn left). Then, I wanted to at least end it off with one row of dark blue. That's about all I had enough for, anyway. So there she is folks. I have to weave in a few more ends, wash and block (does anyone block afghans?) it.... Maybe I won't block it. Now to finish my Navajo afghan, Central Park Hoodie, Chevron Granny sweater.... I did work on my Central Park Hoodie today. I also need to crochet or knit a sweater set for my sister who is due in October. I am waiting to find out what *it* is, though; first. :) Have a Great Weekend everyone!

Another Lighthouse Bookmark Pattern

I just finished this bookmark recently. I don't know if any of you saw/remember my black and white bookmark I made (years ago....).... I made a revised version, to look like Cape Palliser lighthouse, in New Zealand. It's kind of a mixture between that one, and one I found a picture of in Germany. (Links to see them both are on same page as revised pattern.) Just thought I'd share. :) Hope all is well with everyone and you're having a nice Monday. (As nice as a Monday can be, eh?) :P

Some Non-Crochet Stuff I Have Been Doing Lately...

Paper stuff. My other big hobby.... When I get in the mood. I have been making cards. I got in the mood the other day, (actually this is the second card I did, the first one is below...) Me and my five year old make cards together. (Mostly, I "help" him, and then I finish mine when he is gone from the table...) He loves to do it. I think I've opened up a can of worms, though. Now he wants to make cards every day. And all of my cards are gone.... I'll have to get some more. Otherwise, it's a folded up piece of printer paper for him. (Which I would rather he use, anyway.) I should have taken some pictures of his cards. One is in an envelope, to be sent... Long story.... I could have sent it by now, but he stamped all over the front of the envelope (I told him not to, but.... he's only five...) The other one he made is a cactus (blue :P) one, like mine. :D Oh, I got the idea to make this one from a book from the library, Simply Beautiful Greeting Cards, by Heidi Boyd..

Here is my lame attempt at a lighthouse greeting card. I don't think this one is quite done yet. I want to do more to it, but don't know what.... I don't know why these pictures are so blurry again. They weren't, in my camera.... Grrr. This is the only lighthouse stamp I own. I got it when we went up north in Michigan, at a little drug store, I think. I remember being surprised to see a stamp there. Anyway. It's the Round Island Lighthouse. You can see it on route the ferry to Mackinac Island. I found this site about the Round Island Lighthouse~ which is very informative, I have it in my favorites. :P I have liked lighthouses forever. Just get more interested in them off and on... Lately as you can see, is an "on" time... :D I just finished crocheting one of my lighthouse bookmarks. I looked at a bunch of lighthouse pictures, and revised my pattern a little. I will post a picture and revised instructions on my pattern blog after I block and take a good picture of the bookmark. This is only the second one I have ever made of these. Hmm. Anyway, while I was looking at lighthouse pictures, I added a few links to the bookmark pattern page. Lighthouses that look somewhat like my bookmark. ? (kind of?)

And this is a very bad picture of (a very bad drawing.... :P) I drew a lighthouse. (Insert blushing embarrassed smiley here....) I thought I would post it, anyway. Maybe if you click on it you can see it better. I found directions online on 'how to draw a lighthouse'. I have never been an artist, I will tell you right now. (In case you couldn't tell yourself...) But I got in the mood to draw! (Strange...) My brother is the artist in the family. I always *tried* to draw when I was younger, but gave up after a couple feeble attempts. Our middle son is the artist in our family. Our oldest can draw pretty good, too (if it is a Star Trek ship.... :P) The five year old likes to draw... time will tell.