Memorial Day Weekend

I hope you all had a nice Memorial Day Weekend.  I made some red, white and blue strawberries. :)  I found them on Pinterest. 

I had so many blueberries left over. And I knew they wouldn't get eaten. So...   I made blueberry muffins. Lemon Blueberry Muffins. With streusel topping.    These will definitely get eaten.  

Cooling on the rack.   I think I have only made blueberry muffins one other time in my whole life. I don't know why. They aren't hard to make. The streusel topping is kind of a pain. But...   They are yummy.

I used a recipe in this book. The streusel topping I found online, and just added to the muffins before baking.

We went on a road trip for Memorial Day Weekend. (Sunday.)  I wanted to go somewhere that was in remembrance of those who have served. And there are a lot of Civil War sites in Tennessee...     So. We went to the top of Lookout Mountain. I thought that the Fort (Chickamauga) was there. But the fort is in Georgia.  This was the battlefield site for "The Battle Above the Clouds."  It was still really cool. A lot to see and do. There were at least two museums, lots of gift shops, an incline, and Ruby Falls.  We only went to the top of Lookout Mountain.  I took lots more pictures. But here are a few.   This is just a castle entrance to Point Park. As far as I know, it's just for looks.

Entrance sign..

A monument. I did not read ths sign...   

Lots of cannons.  

Me and hubby..

I finally got some post cards too.  I have not been able to find many post cards here, at all.  Not sure if there are many people who are interested in battlefield post cards....   But.  It is around Memorial Day. So... :P  

Butterscotch Cookies

 I am posting this here, because it is one of those recipes I use a lot. And almost thought I lost the recipe this morning (but found it- whew).  It isn't anything special, but I make them all the time- because that's usually all the ingredients I have to make cookies with. And everyone loves them. "What kind of cookies are these?"..   "Um, just butterscotch." I haven't been able to find the recipe online, and when I asked my Mom where she got the recipe (I know she's the one who gave it to me- if she didn't give it to me then it was my Grandma), she said she had no idea..    Oh, and I usually double the recipe. Because it only makes like one pan of cookies. I also roll the dough into walnut sized balls before putting on the baking sheet. So here it is:

Butterscotch Cookies

1/2 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
`1 1/3 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter in saucepan. (I pour the butter into a mixing bowl after it is melted.) Add sugar mix well. Add egg and beat til light.  In a separate bowl mix flour and baking soda. Add to egg mix. Add vanilla. Mix.   Chill dough for at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 375*.  Bake 7-10 minutes on ungreased cookie sheets. Remove at once.

(I usually bake them eight minutes.)

Graduation Day

Graduation Day finally came; on May 16th. A week ago today, my baby graduated. :D  

Here he is with his diploma. :)  I am so proud of him!!

Family picture outside. What? Eli is actually smiling? My brother said, "Say 'Money"". That got a smile out of him.

A picture with my Mom and stepdad. It was chilly, so that's why my Mom and I look a little strange...  (Like we're cold.) :P

All the graduates. There 577 seniors graduating, if I remember correctly.

Sitting.

I only had my family who lives here over, for a small party.  I asked Eli if he had any new friends here he would like to inivite. "No."    :(

An extra table. Which we did use...

My cake. O.o    My cake decorating skills are seriously non-existant. Thank goodness I had enough leftover letters from birthday cakes...    I did buy that cake container.  It also has an insert for cupcakes, and mini-cupcakes.

Chocolate chip cookies I made, and "Diploma" Cookies I decorated. I saw those on Pinterest. 

Eli cutting his cake.  For some reason I felt like I was at a wedding for a second there... :P

Duke LOVED the cousins!! He especially loved Gavin and (poor Gavin) would not stop jumping on him and giving him kisses.  :P  I thought it was adorable. But I knew it was starting to bother Gavin. So I made Duke get down.  Here he is trying to get Gavin's ear. (He has a thing with ears/kisses.)

Here he is trying to get Summer, too. :P

:)    

Eli said "I don't need another blanket."   :(    I told him later, "Do you know why I made you this blanket?" (Shakes his head no..)  "Well, someday you will have a place of your own. With a couch. Where you want to take a nap. And you're going to want a blanket to take a nap with...."  :P  Then he smiled, and said "Thank you."  

I have had some things to post about, I was just waiting for the recipient to receive them. :D   I have been getting into knitting dishcloths lately again. I don't know why. Probably cuz I need a mindless project that is relaxing...   So I knitted my favorite dishcloth, the Idiot's Dishcloth.  In purple variegated, because the person I was sending it to commented purples were her favorite color on Ravelry.  I didn't think I would have enough to finish this, but I did with a little left over.  This is also my favorite dishcloth to wash dishes with. I don't know why.

I noticed Duke laying under the table so I had to take a picture. :P

This is a KAL dishcloth, it's the Scrap Buster dishcloth.

I printed out a favorite poem of mine, and laminated it. I wrapped it up with the dishcloths.  When I used to clean houses, one of my clients had this poem in their kitchen. I loved it.  I have one in my kitchen now, too. Since I am not artistic (and I wanted to send this out yesterday), I printed one out I found online.  

I also made her a bee-lated birthday card.  I have been (for some reason) wanting to do lettering. Like I need another hobby. But, this would go with card making (especially if you don't have a stamp with a sentiment you want to say, or one that goes with a design you have in mind..)  This lettering is from one of my card making magazines. And it shows you how to do the flowering too (that is as artistic as I get, lol).  I was really racking my brain to try and come up with a purple card that would go with a bee.   After googling, I found a couple and ended up with this...

I also lettered the envelope for a card I was sending another pen pal.

I sent her this Four Corners Dishcloth, and a few Earl Grey tea bags. I bought them for the Write-A-Friend swap; and since I do not like Earl Grey I then had a whole box of it...    I am going to send the original person I bought it for, the rest of it. I just didn't want to send a whole box instead of a bubble mailer. So...   Otherwise I would have just sent the whole box..

Yesterday I got a letter back from the person I sent the birthday goodies to (with the Dirty  Dishes Poem); she sent me this bookmark. :D  I'm going to laminate it, and use it in my new book I got from the library.  

And, I finished Eli's afghan last night. Yay...   :)   Nothing big, just a blankie.   I still have some ends to weave in.

I was wondering if anyone wanted to clean my house for me?....   (Sigh...)  I feel like all I do is clean, but it's never clean!! Arrrrgggh!!  I am getting stressed about the graduation party.  I also have to cook.  Thank goodness it's just my family, or I would probably not be able to take it.  I am not an entertainer.  (Sigh..)

Two weeks from today, my baby Eli is graduating...   :)