Running Stitch

The weekend was extremely chilly as promised 7 degrees in town, we ventured out each day on exploring adventures. Wandering up and town valley and the into the Canyons. Still trying to get a good grasp of the area we live in. There is so much to see here, and you can see, it often feels, forever.

After a weekend of Aquariams, librariers, hidden mountain towns and of course more sledding. We settled into Sunday afternoon, with some cookies. Always an adventure in itself, we had dinosaurs, rocket ships, guitars, snowflakes and turtles and the infamous snail whale. (we just can’t decide which animal it looks like more)

And I broke out my new cookie cutters and made some thimbles and spools. (thanks Kelli Oliver George) I had big plans to decorate them, but unfortunately I ate them all hot out of the oven.

It was a pretty good weekend.

*Animal Crackers (in my soup)

Yesterday, I had had it. Had it with the grey skies dumping rain on us. Rain, Rain, Rain. Grey, Grey, Grey. Blech.  I feel like Summer is teasing us, taunting us with its sun/rain/drizzle/grey cloud repertoire.  On top of it we are out of jam. Well we are out of the jam the kids will eat. We still have plenty of plum rhubarb, because apparently this is not good? Too tart?  I don’t know.  I love the plum rhubarb, but it tends to mold when I open it because I’m the only one who eats it and apparently I don’t eat that much jam.

And while I love the rhubarb/plum.  Strawberry is my favorite. My most favorite jam. It’s true,  and I save it the longest for the Grey times when we need the color and spark of Strawberry.  The time for strawberry jamming has come and gone (mid May to June) but the strawberries have yet to show up on flats at the farmer’s market, the local U-picks have yet to open. And as usual The Burrow’s own strawberries, lack…..berries or even blooms.

I know it looks like there is sun in this picture, but it is a lie. Lie. Lie. It rained, rained, rained after I took this picture.

But behold! The freezer! It yieldeth 2 quarts of  frozen berries.  Even those who love to jam like me, get a little tired in the jamming months of jamming and I have found from year to year that jamming during the Grey time is just what I need to lift my spirits so freezing a few quarts of strawberries is a go to move.  And so it did yesterday.  I dug through the canning shelves, full of empty jars this time of year, for my favorite jam jars, and got to work.

Colors!  Ruby Red, so pretty, and yummy looking and the bubbles are warming me up as I write this in a house in the Valley where I still have the heat on! The heat!  sigh.  But look warm, and pretty and oh so tasty.  I was even able to convince someone else to help me in the endeavor with some new labels (card stock and crayon   high-tech labels).

Pretty labels for our jam, although I’m not sure how long we will need the labels, as we have already popped the first of the five jars open for toast and sandwiches today.  But look another picture of warm water, oh to be a jam jar in a warm bubbling bath.  I’m almost warm…nope. Still wearing my uggs and sweatpants and sweatshirt, with the heater on! But then, I do have five glorious jars of strawberry jam on my shelves now.

Okay I have four jars on my shelf, and one in the fridge.  Yummy! and almost Warm.

*Strawberry Fields forever-The Beatles

Look. Cookies! Chocolate!

Success!

For weeks, months really, I have been baking up flat paper thin cookies. Why? Is it my oven? Is the baking powder dead? Every time? No! What is the problem.

I tried different recipes, different oven temperatures, different times. More baking soda, less baking soda, less butter, then lesser, um butter.

I was met with flat, sometimes uncooked cookies.

Enter, depression.

I mean who can’t cook Chocolate Chip cookies. They are the stable of every Mama’s arsenal.

Failure. Depression. Disappointed boys.

Finally I tried beating them by hand. The cookies. Not the Children. And for the first time in months, I have cookies that look like cookies.

Apparently using my Kitchenaid was too much for the ingredients, and it keeeeeled them. Dead. So dead that not even the oven could raise them.

Okay, now I’m making zombie cookies. Weird.

What are your favorite cookies? Why because I want to make sure I’m prepared when you come over that’s why!

C is for cookie-The Clumsy Lovers

We are going to start off easy on the first day of Advent, The first day of December (we are even a few hours early, yay us!).

I may have alluded to The Man’s obsession with my Pioneer Woman cooks cookbook, Once or twice.

Seriously this is a great place to start. We have ordered four copies just to give as gifts this season. And No, he doesn’t get his own copy, he is going to have to continue to share mine, but if you could help me figure out how to get him invited to the Pioneer Woman’s Lodge that would be great. Afterall he’s cute and likes horse and hors d’oeuvres. A little play on words there. Ha! I’m cute too!

But anyway. Not only does the Pioneer Woman’s cookbook make a great gift, it’s like a gift in a gift. Often at the holidays I will whip up a half batch of the Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls, which I downloaded long ago via her website, before she even had a book.

It looks like she first posted this in 2007. I have taken her up on the advice an have made plates and plates of cinnamon rolls (the recipe makes about 7 pie plates of cinnamon rolls/I usually cut it in half) to deliver to neighbors on frosty holiday mornings. Sometimes I even sprinkle crushed candy canes on top. You know ‘cuz it is all Christmasy and stuff.

I love this cookbook, just as I loved the blog, each page is full of easy step by step picture directions, so you know just what you are supposed to be seeing and doing. It’s like the Half blood Prince’s guide to cooking for the cooking challenged.

I have yet to have anyone turn down my cinnamon rolls, especially not my boys. And while I’m shamelessly plugging the Pioneer Woman’s cookbook, because I love her, do you know her? could you introduce us? I really am plugging the gift of time. Don’t underestimate the gift of your time. Time to make cinnamon rolls for your little ones, your not so little ones, the neighbors down the street or the ones you always meant to introduce yourself to.

Cinnamon Rolls for the win! And they are biodegradable!!

Do Re Mi-Julie Andrews

There are still frozen piles of snow and ice around the neighborhood, though my boys have done their best to smash all remaining piles to smithereens.

The wintery backdrop slowly melted away over the course of the holidays but was still here in force on Thanksgiving lending a magical quality to being warmly gathered around the Turkey. I know. I love the snow. I can’t help it. I just do. And now the boys are old enough to enjoy playing in it long after I have given up, or hobbled inside possibly injured by over enthusiastic sledding. Either one.

But I digress, our Thanksgiving, while close to home (conveniently we live next door to the in laws) was still spent in a flurry of early morning baking and cooking. Even the smallest of elves help make bread in the kitchen. Although he is most adept at make A Mess.

While we live next door to His Family, My Family lives far far away. A five hour plane ride, which my littlest was willing to take to see his Uncle Bill and Aunt Wois because he wuvs them sooo much! He had to settle for video chatting with them this year. Pictured above, one of my sisters in Philadelphia, and one in Seattle. I give you video chat as one more way technology is bringing us closer to our friends and family this holiday season. (We were only able to chat with one person at a time, thus the two laptops, that at one point were pointed towards each other with a child’s head in between.)

By mid afternoon we seemed to have it all under control, and there may have even been a small amount of napping. I KNOW!! I feel like a cheater! Napping on Thanksgiving. I’ll have you know though that I made the bread and the sweet potato pie, along with helping the six year old with his pumpkin pie.

Around four we wandered next door, in multiple trips, because there just weren’t enough reliable hands to carry my three dishes, along with The Man’s stuffed jalapenos (yum!) courtesy of the Pioneer Woman Cooks (he may or may not sleep with that book). Random side note, did you know that Ree Drummond has her own Wikipedia blurbage? I know! She is so famous now. Also apparently her tractor heels to wagon wheels book has been bought by Columbia? Crazy pants. This whole bloggy ride. The downside, is she’ll probably never have me over now since there are a million of us who love her now.

The man made some other dishes too, like asparagus, but frankly the jalapenos burned the memory of most of the meal right out of my mouth! They are that good.

Afterward my six year old rendered this drawing describing exactly how we all felt.

He very nicely put it on the fridge, I’m not sure if it is a warning or what.

Winter Wonderland-Anyone you want

And on the third day of kindergarten? We attempted to move on.

Look something shiny!

This weekend’s haul: 16 quarts of apple pie filling. ooooooh apple pie filling.

(tricky outdoor recipe holder)

We still have three left from last year, not because we didn’t eat and enjoy but because, helllooooo Washington state of the apple!

This year our tree Henry produced more apples than we could count. Up from last years count of 17! Bob is still struggling, it was not his year. Maybe next year.

Next year we may actually get to use our apple basket! I have wanted one of these for awhile but only bought my own this year. It makes us able to reach all those apples (on our trees and others) as well as our plum tree.

Our plum tree! This is the first year that we were able to harvest the plum tree. The plum tree is old and tall and I can’t ever seem to remember we have it and then all the plums are on the ground. I have had grand notions of hanging a net beneath the tree to catch plums but the apple basket was just the ticket this year. And this weekend in addition to last weekends plum jam take I made a batch of plum sauce. I used the recipe in the good old Blue book of preserves book. Next time I’m going to try this in the slow cooker (note to self) as it took a looong, hot, time to cook down. Hot.

And the blackberries? We have not yet begun to can blackberry jam. Though we have had two three cobblers and lots of snacking. We’re lucky if we get any berries into the house, with this guy and tow.

Something to do while brudder is away. Brudder is not a fan of blackberries.

Blackberry, Plum and Rhubarb/Plum Jam. Check.

Days, maybe weeks…but let’s say days. Days before I left for our East Coast trip the lists began. List of things to bring, clothes, bathing suits, books to read, projects to work on. Lists of things to do before we left, pay the bills, take out the garbage, return the library books.

Lists of snacks for the plane (the plane where they don’t even have working water in the bathroom, hello wet wipes!) activities to bring for the plane. And Vodka to bring for the plane to spike their juice with.

Not really. The boys are getting better at five hour plane rides each year. Moo colored and created yet another Scooby Doo adventure book and Wah continuously kicked the grumpy teenager who reclined all the way into my three year old’s lap. Karma. It’s gonna getcha.

Also, on the list, this bag, because my son needed something to carry his extra clothes in (No extra clothes guarantees plane/juice catastrophe or worse pooptasterfy-sadly I speak from experience). These are the list items that drive my husband to the crazy place, because he doesn’t see the need. He would pack everything (and has) in garbage bags if he could (I object).

Included on my lists was don’t burn the house down, something I struggle with each week. Thankfully we have over active smoke detectors although my eyes worked just fine for detecting the flames. FLAMES! I created with my cherry pie last week. Fresh Cherries! from a friend’s tree. Burning a hole in my oven.

Surprisingly the cherry pie tasted fine. Added Oven cleaner to list of things to get.

We have a hard December of cookie baking ahead of us, what with all our cookie exchanges and gingerbread house parties. So last night we had a ‘warm up’ run to grease our creaky cookie decorating skillz.

The Forest for the Tree

Mr. Angry Eyes

Mr. Mayonnaise (this was a series)

Mr. Somewhat Confused

Mr. No longer Appearing in this picture

I’ll be updating the Thrown and Sewn Etsy shop tomorrow with a few new goodies, both pottery and SOME ACTUAL SEWING! JUMP BACK.

Here is a little preview.

It’s Murray! The Christmas Owl.

Summer is not over! It’s not I tell you! The fact that I’m bundled in my sweaters sipping tea till much pass noon, Means nothing!

Oh sure I love Fall, but if it’s fall then Summer is over and I still have Five Baby Quilts to finish. Five? That’s right I’ve finished a third Quilt. Thursday is Lunch Buddy day and today I presented her with her baby’s, born in May (ahem) quilt.

Take that quilt off the UFO list!

While it’s true that I have never actually finished a quilt before a baby is born, now I’ve decided not to even bother starting one. This summer I’ve found my inspiration in the actual births. It seem that once I see the babes or see pictures and hear their birth stories and their excited new parents I become inspired with the exact quilt I want to make.

And speaking of inspiring check out this post at Turkey Feathers and the accompanying pictures of Sweet Annie’s Quilt. It is so beautiful. Of course I find Vicki is always inspiring, just this week I was inspired to make this dinner, (basically cheese bread and steamed goodies from the garden)

based on this picture.

It was good. Thanks Vicki!