Easter Saturday... 2016

bunny in time-out

We had our family pre-Easter dinner yesterday evening. Unfortunately our 3 year old grand daughter hadn't had a nap and was 'acting out' a bit. But she compensated rather well and said that the bunny was being bad and had to have a time-out. We thought this was very astute of her as the bunny kept throwing his food and utensils, so definitely needed a time-out. She used her dad's old high chair for this. Don't know if this was indicative of anything since we kept it for use for the grand kids, but she never wanted to use it herself. I think she is a 'free spirit' and doesn't like to be confined.

For dinner we had baked ham, mashed potatoes, potato salad, green salad, baked beans, cinnamon apples, and sweet corn spoonbread. For dessert we had a favorite family pudding dessert that has a baked crust and the chocolate chip cookie pie that I gave the recipe for in an earlier post. Most of the evening was spent sitting and talking around the table. Great family time!

And on another note: 

I found this cat cartoon on Deb's blog, "Just Cats"... and had to re-post it. 

Reminds me so much of Julie's attitude towards our kitchen counter:

"My counter..."

Well, that's about my news for today. I'll leave you with a picture of the bunny and the bear who sit on my mom's old recliner waiting for grand daughter to come over and take them on an adventure. I think this time bear was glad he didn't get *time-out*!

bunny and bear

(...and if you're wondering where the cats are during all this... well, when everyones over, it gets to be a bit too much for them. So they are hiding safely away in our bedroom. If not, it's possible that some would join us at the table and others would definitely be joining bunny in his time-out.)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Was making this pie Sunday morning as a test for an Easter dessert and had to share the recipe. It's so-oo easy and really good!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Ingredients

o    1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie pastry

o    2 large eggs

o    1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour

o    1⁄2 cup granulated sugar

o    1⁄2 cup brown sugar, packed

o    3⁄4 cup butter, softened

o    1 cup Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips

o    1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Instructions

1.       Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2.       Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy and     pale in color. Beat in flour, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in butter until combined.

3.       Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into pie shell. The mixture will be thick.

4.       Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. You may want to make a foil tent over the pie towards the end so the crust doesn't brown too much. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

The weather is beautiful today... 55 F and sunny!  Just came back from running errands and with all the flowers blooming, it really does look like Spring (except for the bit of chill in the air). However, I do still have a  "Merry Christmas" sign on our front door. Don't have one for Spring or Easter yet, so I hate to take it down and leave the space bare.  But I will keep looking...

Tux in front window

If you look closely, you can see me taking the picture in the reflection... also look close again (over my shoulder) and you can see DH removing groceries from the car.

Happy St. Pat's Day 2016

Happy St. Pat's day to all of you!  My maiden name is O'Regan, so we do have an Irish heritage. My grandfather brought his wife and children here from England, but his father or grandfather was originally from Ireland. One day I will do the Ancestry DNA testing to see if it can pinpoint an area in Ireland. I've done a little genealogy, but have never been able to find "where" in Ireland his family came from.... just generalities stemming from his surname.
It would be interesting to know.

Now... my quilted valences (which I made to go with the quilt my dear friend made for my birthday a while back) are finally finished and up!  Here's a pic:

We made them for our master bedroom, but since the cats spend so much of their time on our bed, we put the new quilt and valence up in the upstairs guest bedroom. Cats are gated off from the upstairs.  

Oh... another interesting fact (well, not that interesting to anyone but us):  As of the Ides of March, 2016, we have been in Texas for exactly 45 years!  Of course New Orleans will always be our home, but we do love Texas!

Now on to "Chickens":

I am fond of chickens. And I love to see chickens on blogs. Another blogger, KathyB has a blog called "Spot on Cedar Pond" and one of her blogs is devoted to "Just Chickens". Check out her Silkies, Frizzles, and Sizzles, etc. Adorable!

Here's 2 pics I took from her site... (Kathy, I hope you don't mind?)

Frizzles are my favorite. So absolutely adorable.

And here are my clay aga chickens - the 3 tiny ones, fired and done!

These are the only chickens my cats (inside and out) will allow.

And lastly, I'm going to post a pic of the quilted cat scratch chair protector that I made to keep Ghost from tearing up our armchair. It's not exactly good looking (as I made it from scrap fabric), but so far it seems to be doing the job. We saw her sniffing at it the other day, but she didn't scratch. Even if she does, it has 2 layers of batting, so it should give the chair a little protection. I plan to take it off when company comes over, but later (if this works), I could make one of fabric that goes better in that room and then it could just stay on all the time. 

Well, that's all I have for today. 

Have a great St. Patrick's Day Everyone! 

back on the wheel...

throwing white clay on black bat...

I was at the pottery studio yesterday. Haven't thrown much lately due to hand-building and critter sculpting. But today I had a little time while waiting for glaze to dry, so I threw a few pieces on the wheel. This particular one was the bottom saucer for a 'kitchen counter sponge holder'. It will have a smaller bowl in the middle with holes in it to drain the water into the saucer... and the saucer will have a spout to pour out the water. Usable? I don't know... but a cute idea.  

Anyway, the only reason that I took that top picture at this stage was because the white clay on the black bat made a kind of artsy effect. I'm not artsy (more functional)... but thought this was interesting.

kitchen sponge holder - greenware stage

waiting for greenware to dry enough to punch holes

Small baking dish glazed and ready for oxidation kiln

and...

large baking dish - finished product

close-up of speckled buff clay

This baking dish should have been thicker, but is still usable. I used speckled buff clay which gives those little brown specs you see. 

Had some left over pieces of slab from baking dish, so I made this rustic water bowl for the cats...

I started this post yesterday, but now it's Sunday morning... and Spring Break starts this week for Dallas. We thought all the Texas schools had the same Spring Break... (I'm almost sure they did last year), but apparently not. Seems some had the break last week (which was a shame as it rained almost all week). Those who have it this week should have better weather. 

Anyway, I *came up with an idea* last night that I plan to follow through this week. It's to make a quilted chair protector. Sound strange? Well, if you have cats with claws, you will understand. We have 2 large armchairs in front of our fireplace. One of our cats (Ghost) who never climbs and up to the last year or so, never scratched anything - suddenly took to scratching the back of one of the chairs. Up to now, I couldn't think of what to do to stop this behavior. If  I catch her, and shout "no!" she will stop... but of course I don't always catch her. 

My idea is to make a long strip of quilted fabric that can wrap completely around the bottom 10 inches of the chair and Velcro together. Don't know how or if this will work, but decided it was worth a try. Let me know what you think? Crazy idea?? 

That's my news for today. I will close with a heart shaped log cabin style pattern for a quilt that I like - but looks a little difficult and definitely not the pattern I will use for the chair protector.

cute
(wouldn't this make a darling quilt for a little girl's room?)

Have a wonderful week! 

traveling feet...

traveling feet...

Thinking about traveling to the Hill Country to visit daughter and her family. This pic was probably taken last time we were on the road.  My legs are short so it's easy to stretch them out onto the dashboard. 

I actually like traveling by car... more relaxing than by plane... but then you have to balance relaxing vs time saved. I do like flying. It's definitely not the act of flying that's the problem. It's all the hassle about security and cancellations, etc.  And I'm the type of traveler that loves to stop if something interesting pops up along the way, or perhaps to have a cup of coffee, or a few pit stops...

Love spending time with family of course, but also enjoy the Hill Country scenery, SIL's home garden, as well as their horses, cats, dogs, chickens, and turtles! Fun!!  

taken from front porch

chicken coup

chickens

horses

dogs

garden

Some of these are old pics, but my photos got messed up this morning... either by something I did or they upgraded themselves?? Not sure, but having a little trouble getting around the photo site. So I used what I could find.

And I may not be able to be on this computer very long. The sky is dark here and the weathermen are forecasting rain and severe weather (possible tornadoes) for the next day or so. If it gets too bad, I will have to shutdown. Hopefully they will be wrong... and we'll just get a little rain...

If you read my last post on My Mulberry Days, you will know that I've been a bit pensive lately... over thinking things... never a good thing. But I've decided to put it aside and "Let go and Let God" (as the saying goes). 

Easter is almost upon us and I really like Easter... for so many reasons that I won't go into here. But obviously the world seems to renew itself in the Spring... and that alone is worth celebrating. 

Here are some of my Easter decorations (that you've probably seen before):

and I'm just finished some Easter quilted hot pads...

They are not pot holders as I didn't put in the heat resistant fabric, but they have 2 layers of batting, so they should work as hot pads.

Guess that's it for today... Happy Monday! 

no kitty pics today...

Sorry... no *cute kitty pics or clay critters* today. Had a moment of melancholy that I shared on my other blog (My Mulberry Days) if you're interested. 

If not, hopefully *cute...* will return soon.