WIP's and Jam

After the batch of baby boys that came in the spring, it seems that the girls are making and entrance this fall. I have several projects for these babies as well as some gifts that I am working on. This has been great sense it is a 115 and to hot to even be in the pool. The water was 94 degrees and that is even to warm for me.



I got into the habit of making jam at the end of the school year so I could give jars to my children’s teachers with a little note that said, “Thank-you Berry Much”. Well I don’t have kids in school but I try and make jam to replenish my shelves and in the process I give some to my neighbors. This last week I set about making raspberry jam and was able to give a jar with the DVD “Between Heaven and Earth” that answers questions that the community might have with the Temple being built in our area.

Crochet and Cookies

I make these bookmarks to stick in birthday cards for friends and VT. A friend wanted to know how to make them so I recently showed her how. This is a simple pattern that I came up with to use my scraps of thread from other projects.
Shell Bookmark

Crochet cotton
No. 6 – 7 size hook

Chain 10
Row 1: DC in 3rd chain from hook. DC twice more. Chain 1 in same space and do 3 more DC. Chain 3. DC in 2nd space from end. DC twice more in same space, Chain 1, 3 DC to make shell. Chain 2 and turn.
Row 2: Work 3 DC in the Chain 1 space, Chain 1 and work 3 more DC in space. Chain 1, SC around the chain 3, Chain 1. Work 3 DC in the Chain 1 of the shell, Chain 1, 3 DC in same space. Chain 2, Turn.

Repeat these 2 rows for 21 rows. (Ending with row 1.) Fasten off and tie in ends. Weave ribbon through the eyelets in the center.



Today I made these yummy cookies for a funeral. I love that they are crisp but chewy and are one of my favorites.

Coconut Crisp Cookies

½ cup butter or margarine
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup rolled oats/quick oats
1 cup flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¾ tsp. salt
1 cup coconut

Cream butter. Add sugars gradually. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Add flour, baking powder, soda, salt and nutmeg. Stir in oats and coconut. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cooking sheet. Bake at 350 degree oven for 12 – 15 minutes.

Vacation--Part 2 and a Little Stitching

World War II Momorial


Mount Vernon


My sister Sharon.

Ric and I took a quick trip to Washington DC to visit Marissa. The purpose was to accompany her to the Temple. We got to see family and meet some of her friends while she has been living in Virginia. Even though it was brief, we will schedule a return trip to see more of the sites.

Fortunately while traveling I had a lot of time to knit or read. I worked on the dish cloths because they were transportable. I noticed that my gauge changed with the circular needles I used on the plane or I was more relaxed. LOL

Vacation--Part 1 Big Lake

Ric and I were invited to go camping with Kel and Ash on Saturday the 19th to the 22nd. Ric has been camping but this is my first trip sense living here in Arizona. We used to camp a lot while we lived in Washington. We would take the kids and tent camp and then we worked up to our tent trailer, then on to our cabin on Lake Kachess. Thanks to their great care we had a great time at Big Lake. Kel and the kids caught fish, hiked, and generally had a great time in the mountains. Peach Cobbler in a dutch oven, s'mores, and dinners cooked on the fire were yummy. We brought Rusty and he loved all the attention. I enjoyed the drive and the scenery coming down the Beeline Highway. Now that I remember what camping is like, we are looking forward to more trips with the kids.

Another Recipe and A Little Knitting

Another Recipe
Yesterday I wanted to bring cookies to RS to share with the ladies. It needed to be something that I could promote food storage. This recipe is one of my favorites because it is quick, doesn’t need an oven to heat up the house and it has chocolate as one of the ingredients.

Mountain Bar Cookies
½ cup butter/margarine
½ cup cocoa
½ cup milk
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix above ingredients into a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in ½ cup peanut butter, ½ coconut (optional), and 3 cups quick oats. Drop on wax paper to cool.
(I usually double this recipe.)



A Little Knitting
While watching the FIFA World Cup soccer matches I have been doing a little knitting. These are a fun and easy knit that I can do will watching some great soccer. The Patterns include, my Southwest Rib stitch, the Basket weave stitch, the Waffle stitch, the Interrupted Rib stitch from my perpetual calendar and Anita's Broken Rib pattern.

Ashley called and asked me to make another “I Spy” for Payton. It seems that Hailee doesn’t want to share the one I had made for the family.

English Muffins

At our house we like English Muffins. They are great for snacks, breakfast and our favorite is to make English Muffin Pizzas. Many years ago when I was first married I got a recipe from a friend and made them up. I could not find that recipe but found this one on the All recipe site. They turned out great and were not very hard to do. I think this will be a new favorite.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/English-Muffins/Detail.aspx

English Muffins
By: Linda Pinda

Original Recipe Yield 18 muffins (approximately)

Ingredients
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/4 cup melted shortening
• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the milk, yeast mixture, shortening and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add salt and rest of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise.
3. Punch down. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or empty tuna can. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.
4. Heat greased griddle. Cook muffins on griddle about 10 minutes on each side on medium heat. Keep baked muffins in a warm oven until all have been cooked. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage. To use, split and toast. Great with orange butter, or cream cheese and jam.
(They didn't take all of the 10 minutes on each side so watch them as they might burn.)

A Productive Weekend

Thursday Ric and I attended Hailee's Kindergarten promotion. We enjoyed seeing Hailee and her classmates as they received their certificates. Hailee wants to be a Veterinarian when she grows up. Ashley brought the canopies so we were saved from being in the sun for part of the morning.





On Saturday, Sevrine and Colleen wanted to climb Thunderbird Mountain. We tagged along. I hadn’t hiked this for about 8 years. I wasn’t as sore or stiff as I thought I would be. It was nice to see out over the valley and see all the changes in the landscape.







With the NCAA super regional softball tournament on and NASCAR, I got a lot of stitching done. I completed the two projects from the earlier post. I also did some frogging on the “Williams” lace. After looking at the picture I posted on Thursday, I noticed that the second “I” looked odd. I realized I had added a couple of stitches and I needed to fix the mistake. I got the lace redone and in the mail on schedule. So here are the finished projects for the Month of May.