What I Did All Day Yesterday..

Yesterday I made some Pineapple Upside Down Cake. (Doesn't look very yummy does it??... ) I had bought a can of crushed pineapple because I had some plain yogurt I used for the sauce, for homemade gyros. I don't know if I ever posted those.. Well I asked my husband if he thought he would eat this if it had fruit in it. (He loves fruit on the bottom yogurts.) I like yogurt, but I can't eat it (although once in a while I do), because I'm lactose intolerant. Anyway he said it would taste good with some crushed pineapple. Sooo.. Yesterday I mixed some into some of the plain yogurt, and thought "What am I going to do with the rest of this?" I immediately thought "Pineapple Upside Down Cake". Never mind that I already made homemade egg and cheese biscuits for breakfast, and still had to make dinner. (What am I? Part Amish?...)  :P  Well when you have hungry boys and they have friends over, you need food. And since they ate all the "good stuff", now I have to bake. 

I made the cake from scratch, too. The recipe called for Cake Flour. I don't have any cake flour. I was just going to use regular flour. But then I wondered if there would be a substitute. So I googled it and found one: How to Make Cake Flour.  I have never made pineapple upside down cake before. 

It turned out pretty yummy. Even though it doesn't look very yummy. :P   What do the boys do when I made a super yummy dessert I worked all afternoon on? Inhale it...  O.o  Lol

This was what I made for breakfast. Homemade egg and cheese biscuits. I had seen something like this somewhere. Maybe on Pinterest? I didn't feel like looking it up. I thought, "I could just make the biscuits, then make the eggs like an omelette, and use the biscuit cutter to make the eggs and cheese all the same size..."    I for the longest time said I am not joining Pinterest. I didn't even know what it was when I first heard about it. Then when someone told me, I thought "How stupid is that? You 'pin' something to a board? What a waste of time..'"  Lol!! Guess who is HOOKED now?... ME. They have a lot of the cutest ideas on there. I found a lot of new recipes to try there, too. 

Baby Bunny Basket #1 Is Done..

I don't know how I finished this today, but I did. I feel like I have been cooking all day long; doing the dishes, cooking, doing the dishes...  Eli has a friend over night. I will save that for another post. I started this bunny basket last year, when I got the Crochet World issue in the mail. I was going to make it to send to two of the little kids (well, one is not so little any more-she's one grade below Eli, so she's a Freshman in high school now).  Well I never did finish them. I don't know why. Probably cuz that's just me.  I had to order the plastic canvas hearts through the mail. I don't remember where I got them from. Probably Mary Maxim or maybe JoAnns. I don't know. I tried some other plastic canvas hearts from a local yarn store here; but they weren't the right kind, and wouldn't work for the ears. Maybe that's why I didn't finish these. I did have one ear done (this one). Maybe I just did the one, even though I wasn't going to make it in time for Easter. Well, I am hoping to get them both done for this Easter. I have everything on the couch, so as soon as I'm done posting this, I'm going to work on it and watch a movie.   My only real issues with this pattern were, in the magazine it looked like the inside of the basket was crocheted, but the pattern does not say to make two baskets. I was confused. I didn't really feel like punching holes into the plastic container (I used a Hummus container from Walmart.) So... I used an H hook and crocheted a second basket, and worked through both of them to join the white trim on.  I'm tired.. so I hope that makes sense. :P  

Easter is Coming...

Someone on facebook posted about these bunny baskets, in the 2012 Feb issue of Crochet World. I said "Oh I have at least two of those started from last year~~ *Somewhere*..."  Today I thought, "I'm going to see if I can find those baskets.."  I could send them to the little kids I send things to on Pine Ridge. (They were who I started them for.) I started buying hummus for the containers for these baskets. :P  I should get some more. It's good with carrot sticks. Which I need to start eating. :/

I also found these Easter things I bought last year. I should look to see if I have anything else. I have been trying to get organized (well, more than I am). I watched an episodeof Hoarders the other night and it really freaked me out. I thought "Oh. My. God. My craft room is not far behind some of these people!".. With moving so many times the last few years, I've gotten kind of to the point where; Um... I'm just not as organized as I used to be. :/

Guess  who came to stay with "Grandma and Grandpa" a couple weeks ago? :D  Bailey!!... I call her Bay Leaf. She's our oldest son and daughter-in-law's puppy. They went to California for an extended weekend, and I said we would watch her. Look at them both, so cute and innocent...  "We'll be good, we promise..." (That'll be the day..)  Bailey actually isn't the problem. It's Jetta.  Speaking of problems with Jetta...  She had been snapping her collar the last couple of weeks. She has just recently been running off TEARING out the back door as soon as I hook her up, barking and growling at the neighbor dogs.  ??  I don't know what the deal is. The dogs have been there all along... I don't know why she just started doing this. She broke a collar just after Bailey left. Then this morning, I went to let her back in, and all I see is the tie out chain, with her collar connected to it, laying on the pavement. I thought "Oh Crap!!". (We don't have a fence, and we live on a busy road..)Then I looked up and saw her standing there, waiting for me to let her in.  Just now I let her out and she totally broke her collar again! UGH!!  I don't know what I am going to do about her...  I have her harness, I guess I will hook her up to that. 

Jetta had competition competing for the bed and blankie, while Bailey was here...   She was taking a nap with Grandpa. :P

It was Nevada week, or Nevada reading week, or something; last week? Well, recently anyway.. I can't keep up. Every day was something. I forget what each day was. But Wednesday was "Wacky Wednesday". Eon wore his clothes all backwards, even his backpack. Lol. He said he was the only one who did that. (Maybe the only one in his class.) 

Newborn Pinafore

This has been done being crocheted for a while, I just needed to sew some buttons on the back. I bought some little tights to send with it, too. I wanted to crochet some little Mary Janes, or a headband to go with it. But I didn't even have enough for a headband. So..  I crocheted a little flower to put onto a barrette. Then I had enough to do another one, so I sewed that on to the front of the dress. I should send these all out so they can be there in time for Easter, maybe, huh? :)  The pattern is the Angel Wings Pinafore pattern. I was doing a search on Ravelry, and all the cutest little dresses IMO were that pattern. :)   

Food!

I tried a couple new recipes. Actually, one yesterday; and one today. I have been wanting to make/try some Kerapok Lekor for a while now. One of my pen pals wrote to me about it and said it is her favorite. I was literally talking to the letter as I was reading it.. "Oh, that sounds good. I want to try it."  Lol  So, I googled it. I found a couple blogs with recipes, but 1. I could not find Mackerel ANYWHERE. 2. I could not find Tapioca Flour anywhere, either.  Then, I found an "American Version". Woo Hoo! I had a little bit of a problem getting it to all stick together in order to make a log to cut. I even put more tuna fish in. (Two of the little tuna pouches that are 2.6 ounces, each; so total 5.2 ounces of tuna fish, I used?) It still wouldn't all clump together. So... I took it all out and put it back in the bowl, and added one egg. So... I probably totally changed the whole recipe. But..   

Here is the little patties before frying..  

..and after. Mine don't look anything like hers. :/ But, they did taste good. :)  

I couldn't find any chili sauce that looked good to me. (I do not like hot sauce, anyway.)  So... I got some Chipolte Sauce. Lol.  I thought they were pretty good.  Here is a blog with Keropok Lekor made with Mackerel and Tapioca Flour. Here is the blog with the American Version, that I tried. 

And here is the new recipe I tried for breakfast this morning. Mini German Pancakes, with Triple Berry Sauce. Hers look so much prettier. :(  I think she used a special pan. I just used muffin tins. (Which is what the recipe said to do..) They are yummy. A little time consuming, if you make the Triple Berry Sauce.  The link for that is on her blog, too. My computer must be having issues, because every time I tried to click on her link, it wouldn't work. But then I did a google search for Triple Berry Sauce, and her blog (with the original link that I tried to click on) came up.  Weird..  Anyway, if you do make these- I didn't take the one pan out right at fifteen minutes, and they did get a little over done. They will still look "liquid-y" on top, but don't let that fool you. They also fall a little after you take them out. I opened the oven and was like "What? How am I going to put the berry sauce in those?"..  Lol  But they do fall a little to make little "cups".  :)

I'm Still Here..

... See? I am crocheting, too. Even though I have been neglecting my blog. This is a dress and headband I finished. It's becoming an obssession with me to crochet dresses lately. I don't know why, when I am surrounded by boys/men! Maybe that is why. Lol. I made another set about a year ago, almost. I just love how this one worked up. It's "Peruvian Print" by Red Heart. I wanted to get a pair of leggings, or tights, to go with it. I did get a pair of leggings for the other dress (linked), but I couldn't find any in an 18 month size to go with this dress. I'm sending this to Pine Ridge. I have also finished (and bought a package of tights to go with) another dress, in a 0-3 month size. The Angel Wings Pinafore, which is so similar to this pattern. I just need to sew the buttons on that, and take a picture...  I don't know if I will have enough yarn to make a matching headband for that one. I don't have much yarn left of that color and I was using stash yarn that someone gave me. (6th picture down.. Lol) Sooo...  

..Anyway. Here's another picture you can see a little more clearly. The dress pattern is the Girl's Lace Pinafore by Bernat. That was the Ravelry link .. Sigh... Hopefully this link will work to the actual pdf?:    Girls Lace Pinafore   If not, you can go to the Bernat site and do a search. :)The headband pattern is the Genius Headband pattern (free Ravelry download), with the flower from this pattern.  I don't know why I did that (combine two patterns); but that's me so.. :P

Oh, and I have been knitting, too. :D  A knitted "vest" I finished for Knit-A-Square. It looks more like a tank top to me, but..  I did it for the February Pattern of the Month, along with the car and plane squares I finished. 

And, a slipper (it's the Ruby's Slipper pattern) I am going to attempt to try and make into a pink bunny slipper? I don't know if it will work... Maybe I will just end up with some all pink slippers. Yesterday I went to Walmart to get another skein of the pink yarn, and some Banquet chicken fingers dinners, because Eli ate the last one that Eon wanted. :( That was all I bought. Two dinners, one skein of yarn. I got all the way home and in the house and realized I didn't have the yarn. GRRRRR!!! I guess it's just as much my fault as it is the cashiers, but... So irritating. So I went all the way back to get it (again).

And here is a picture of an afghan I have been working on (The Eye Dazzler afghan pattern-from Annie's Attic- a scrap yarn pattern club I was in before). It's just kind of on the couch and I work on it when I watch tv... Jetta thinks it is hers. :/ I keep trying to get her off of it, but she will get in the weirdest positions just to "claim" it. Strange dog... Lol  I will definitely be washing it, before I send it. I had to do that with Evan's afghan, too. (She tried claiming that, too.. Last picture in that post.)

A Boring Post About Plants..

Remember how we dug up the rose bushes to plant these? (Second picture down in that post..) Well guess what won't go away? Lol...  Rose bushes. Three baby shoots are growing up in there. One..

Two...

And three.  I dug them all up...

..and put them in here. There was a cactus in here. Sheesh. I hope  another cactus baby doesn't come up next year. ;)  I haven't decided what to do with these yet. I might plant them somewhere else in the yard. Or see if someone wants them.

See all the baby pine trees growing under this big one?..  I have been wanting to dig them all up and put them in pots, and re-plant them in different spots in the yard. I have done two so far since we've lived here.

Well over the weekend I did the rest. We had a really nice day one day, and I just did it with whatever pots I had in the garage. I just wanted to get it done. There were 11 little trees growing! Some I planted two or three in one pot.  

This is the first one I potted. It just grew like crazy since I've put it in this pot! I want to plant this one somewhere in the yard, once it gets warm enough. I want to get some kind of wire "fence" to put around it, first. I would like to plant them all along the back edge of our yard. I think I'd have enough to do one side and the back. The other side is fenced, from our one neighbor. So that side I don't care about. :)  

Here is the other one I potted. It's grown, too. But not like the first one. You can see them when I first put them in these pots, here.  That dragon tree we planted, and the two flowers, all died. We are wondering if the Lime Tree is going to make it, too..   Can't grow anything here. :(  You can see why I'm so happy when something does well. :p

Here are some more crochet projects I've finished recently. A couple more hat and scarf sets for Pine Ridge, for the Jan/Feb Challenge for Pass Creek Elderly center.  The hat pattern is the Reversible Strands Hat pattern. The scarf pattern I used is here: Crochet Ribbed Scarf.  I used an I hook and chained 220, for the scarf.

Different colors. Trying to use up what I have in my stash. Now I just have to mail these out. 

I also have been doing a "Transportation Challenge", for Knit-A-Square  for the month of February. The car applique pattern was free, I found it here: Car Applique.  I thought it was so cute! 

And, I did an airplane, too. Airplane Applique.  I did not buy this pattern, I confess. I looked at the picture and guesstimated.  

Look what I got in the mail over the weekend, from Melissa at EEROP. :D  It was a little giftie (although it's not so little) for participating in one of the Challenges. Or the Ravelympics. I don't remember. I said she didn't have to send me anything, but it was nice of her to do. Thank you, Melissa! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Look what I woke up to this morning.. Aaaaaaw!  I love my husband. 

We didn't buy any valentines or anything for any of Eons' friends. The teacher said "If you want to bring in a Valentine for anyone, you have to bring one for everyone." Which kind of makes sense, then no one gets left out. But Eon said he didn't want to. Which was a good thing, since we are low on cash this week. :(
At the bus stop this morning, he started talking about cupcakes a girl had brought in for her birthday. "They were the best cupcakes ever." Me -> "What flavor were they?"  Eon -> "Chocolate. With chocolate frosting."  Me -> "Did her mom make them?" ... Lol  You should have heard him going on about those cupcakes. (He is such a Prystup- going on and on about food, Lol!!)  Well then I said "Do you want me to make some cupcakes just for us, today?"
I had bought a cupcake "kit" for a little stick-in for a package I sent out earlier this month, and I kept thinking "I should have gotten one for us, too."  So today I did.   

Here they all are. I made 24. But I ate one. :D  I had to taste test it! Tee Hee...   I made the cupcakes from scratch. Betty Crocker's Best Chocolate Cake Recipe. I baked them for about 20 minutes.  I obviously bought the frosting. It was cheaper than buying sprinkles and frosting. (Or even just buying sprinkles!) How come there is more than enough frosting, but not enough sprinkles?  Oh well. I'm sure they will still get eaten.   Besides us, Eli is having a friend over tonight. So..  :)  

Sewing

I've been doing some sewing lately..  We got a new bedspread set a few months ago (because we got a new bed/bedrom outfit, after 20 years of marriage Lol).  Well a couple weeks or so after we got it, I tried to wash it. This happened. :(  It's way too big for our washer. I had been meaning to try and fix it, because there is no way I'm going to waste more money buying a new one.

There is also two holes on the back side..

I measured past the hole, then cut out a piece of black fabric (it doesn't match but who cares?); folded down about 1/4 inch around the edges and ironed them flat, then pinned it on the bedspread.

Then I sewed it, by hand..  Took me a couple of hours (or less?). I wasn't really timing myself. I sat there and watched tv while I did it, so..  :)    You can't really even tell. Unless you get up right next to it and look. Now I just need to do the backside (maybe this weekend, who knows..) And then I can take it up to the laundry mat and wash it. :P

I also sewed a couple of pillowcases that kinda sorta match our bedspread.  We were in need of extra pillowcases, so I looked through my fabric to find something.  I actually had a paisley print I wanted to do but when I got everything out to actually sew it, I realized I didn't have enough of that. So I used a different fabric I did have enough of for the nine inch piece.. 

I think it looks better than the paisley print would have, with our bedspread. :)  I had enough fabric for two more pillowcases, too. I might make those for Evan and Jayce. Then I will have made pillowcases for all my kids. ;P

I also made some for my kids I sponsor on Pine Ridge. This one is for the little boy. I think he is 7 years old now. It's a crayon (Crayola, actually) fabric. I wanted to make them "Valentine Day" pillowcases, but Walmart doesn't have much selection for boys- for Valentines Day, anyway. Plus I wanted them to be able to use them all the time. So..

I picked this fabric out thinking the girls could use it anyday, too; maybe. I did two of this pillowcase, actually. I send things to two teenage girls.   I already bought some St. Patricks Day fabric, too. Lol. I'm going to be making pillowcases for every holiday. :P  They're fun to make. I think I posted a link on my blog here somewhere for the video tutorial I used for these, but I have no idea where it is, so..  Here it is again: Easy Tube Pillow Case Tutorial. Have fun!

My Baby Got Married...

...and now I have a daughter. :D  Having had all boys, I always said "Well... Someday I will get a daughter." :)  They were married on January 18th. 

The rings

Our new family photo :)

The wedding cake (it was red velvet cake).

And the wine glasses (even though both the Bride and Groom are too young to drink legally). Someone in the Brides family crocheted them. So pretty. :)