I'm Back.
Oh, don't you just hate all the laundry after a trip?
That's what I've been up to since my return.
And grocery shopping.
Being gone a week I pretty much cleaned
out the fridge before we left.

Boy, do I have some great news to share.
I'm going to be a Grandma AGAIN!!!
My youngest son and his wife are
expecting #3 end of June.

Before we left for St Louis Papa and I
spent a few days with the grandbabies.
Here's our sweet boy showing off the Pilgrim hat
he made at pre-school.

Doesn't she look like a little angel?
Don't be fooled!
The little stinker gets into everything!
Here she is helping her mama fill the dishwasher.

Mike's sister and her sweet hubby.
Our Thanksgiving host & hostess.
We had such a wonderful visit.
It's hard to see her cute apron.

Fall in MO

The weather was perfect for traveling.

Thanks for stopping in to check on me.
I tried a new recipe
Country Chicken & Biscuits
will share it with you next post.

Have you started your Christmas decorating?
I've not opened a box.
Yet.
It's on my to-do list.

"A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue,
but the parent of all the other virtue"
Cicero

The History of APRONS

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

Send this to those who would know, and love, the story about Grandma's aprons. Or it can be a good history lesson for those that have no idea how the apron played a part in our lives.

REMEMBER:
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.
Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how
many germs were on that apron.
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron ..... but Love !!

This was an email sent by a friend in Las Vegas.
I have no idea who the author is.
If you know, please leave a comment
and I will give credit where credit is due.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving
and like we sang in Sunday School......

"Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your many blessings
See what God hath done"

Kathie picked me up bright and early on Thursday morning.
We were ready for some eye candy & shopping!
The weather was cool, putting everyone in a festive mood.

Did I say EVERYONE?
My goodness, the parking lot (corn field) was full of cars when we arrived.
Full!
Hey wait, we wanted to be FIRST!

Look at this cute trunk by the front door.
The plants are still alive.
Hardy buggers I'd say.

WELCOME, COME ON IN!

And here's Caroline, our hostess.
Look at that warm greeting.

The barn was buzzing with excitement.
Oh Look......
hundreds of decorated trees.
Okay, maybe not hundreds, but enough to make
me want to go home and put my tree up.

This had to be my most favorite tree of all.
Spice cans, muffin tins, white twinkle lights.
But the crowning glory is the
tree topper!

Can you believe a Mason jar could be sooooo cute?

DUST IS A COUNTRY COLLECTABLE!

Plenty of wooden boxes.
Where does Caroline find these treasures?

Beautiful vignettes everywhere.

Love the green table!
And adorable ice skates with pines and berries.

There is so much to see
you have make 2 or 3 rounds to see it all.
Just like Disneyland!

I hope you enjoyed our trip to
The Apple Butter House.
Maybe you can go with us next year?

Don’t forget
National Tie One On Day
is next Wednesday!

Gobble-Gobble

Recipes & Bargains

Remember when I posted the link to the Quilter's Daily Deal?

Have you checked it out yet?

Well, here is the best deal of all.......FREE!

Yep, just the $5.00 postage.

Friday's Deal.

There are 80 triangles in this pack.

Cute 1930-40 reproduction looking prints.

I couldn't believe FREE!

I purchased 3 Mary Engelbriet's "The Caroler"

charm packs for $3.99 each. Such deals!

I was in a cooking mood this weekend!

And when I'm "in the mood" I have to take advantage.

The house smelled wonderful all weekend.

Friends came for dinner and almost had to take a nap before they left.
All of these recipes came from the

Sugar Pie Farm House recipe forum.

You have to check it out......those ladies can cook!
The Pecan Pie Bars taste just like Pecan Pie.

Only easier to make.

It's a Paula Deen recipe so you know it's gotta be good.

Don't ya just LOVE the recipe cards?

They're by scrapbook designers Orchard & Broome

from the Jessica Sprague website.

If your wanting to learn digi-scrapbooking

Jessica is one of the best.

She has tons of FREE (there's that word again)

tutorials with step by step instructions.

There are 4 cute-cute designs in the

Bleecker St. collection.
This style may be a little light for the blog.

If your looking for bargains check out your local

Hobby Lobby.
All of the Fall merchandise is 80% off.
And it's not even Thanksgiving yet!
Most of the Christmas treasures were 50% off.
I picked up some beautiful gift wrap & matching tags.

I bought these 2 plates for $2.00 each.
Will look great filled with cookies for hostess gifts.

Hubby and I are going to St. Louis for Thanksgiving.
To visit family and friends.
I have so much to be thankful for this year.
Mainly, that it's almost over! Ha-ha.
We're going to stop at 2 Quilt Shops on the way down.
Both are in the latest edition of the "Quilt Sampler" magazine.
My camera will be smokin.

This darling fabric is from JoAnn's.
Aren't the cupcakes just the cutest?
I made 2 "Tie One On Day" aprons out of it.
One with pink, the other brown, polka dot waist band & ties.
I also added a small pocket with white rick rack trim.

This print is my new favorite.
So bright and cheery.
Have you made your apron yet?

I can't wait till Thursday.
Girlfriends day out.
We're going to the Holiday Sale at the
"Apple Butter House" a large barn filled with treasures.

I can always seem to find something
I can't live without there.

Sorry I'm so long winded.
Didn't realize I had so much to share.

Gobble-Gobble
Hugs

Put the "give" back in Thanksgiving

“Women clad in aprons have traditionally prepared the Thanksgiving meal,

and it is within our historical linkage to share our bounty.”

Four years ago, I noticed that Thanksgiving was talked about

in terms more commonly associated with stress, than joy.

I remembered my mother’s absolute love of Thanksgiving,

as a day more than anything else of sharing and gratefulness.

So I created National Tie One On Day™ as an annual opportunity

to return the “give” to Thanksgiving by sharing our good fortune

with someone in need of a kind gesture.

National Tie One On Day™ has nothing to do with purchasing

anything special or even driving!

Participation is simple.

On the day before Thanksgiving, November 25th this year,

pause in the preparation of your own meal,

wrap a loaf of bread or other baked good in an apron,

tuck a prayer or note of encouragement in the pocket,

and tie one on…an apron, of course!

and deliver the wrapped bundle to someone without your bounty…

a neighbor, friend or family member in need of physical or spiritual sustenance,

a bit of recognition or just a kind word.

I know it to be true that whether you live in a high rise apartment building

or on a quiet block,

no matter which direction you walk out of your own front door,

someone deserving of a gesture of kindness is close by.

National Tie One On Day™ is a win-win, for the participant and the receiver. By embracing National Tie One On Day™, you will make someone else’s day brighter.

EllynAnne Geisel

A chance to use up all those fat quarters you've collected!

Each apron takes 1 fat quarter and 1/2 yard fabric.

Here are 2 aprons I made yesterday afternoon.

QUICK and EASY!

It takes approximately one hour to make.

Yep, An Apron In A hour!

Wanted to show how the ties wrapped around and tied in front.
Unfortunately, my modeling days are over.

I don't think my bar stools do it justice!

It's all about the fabric with this pattern!

Here is the link to the FREE

Apron In A Hour Tutorial

Jona's Blog is Stop Staring and Start Sewing

Stop in and say "HI".

************************************************

“Give us this day our daily bread isn’t just a prayer,

The words are also a reminder that to have more

than daily bread is to be blessed.”

EllynAnne Geisel.

Let's help put the "give" back in Thanksgiving.

The Perfect Cookie

The last 2 times I've baked cookies they turned out horrible!

Flat, runny, crispy.

I made them the same old way.

For the life of me I didn't know what the heck I was doing wrong.

I thought for sure, I'd lost my "cookie touch".

And Christmas is coming!

I posted a cry for help on the Sugar Pie Farmhouse recipe forum.

Boy, did the sistas have some great ideas.

Here are a few I'd like to share.

A couple things that have helped me in making cookies: start with chilled butter.

A professional chef once told me that the little flour molecules

need to surround each little butter molecule in order for the cookies to "fluff."

So if your butter is too soft, the flour will mix too thoroughly

INTO the butter and not surround it.

Hence flat cookies.

Also, I have better luck when I chill the dough,

even for just a couple minutes, before baking.

And I also seem to have better luck (at least with choc. chip cookies)

by adding an extra 1/4 c. flour to whatever the recipe calls for.

The mixture ends up a bit more crumbly

(sometimes I have to use my hands to finish incorporating all the ingredients),

but it seems to help.

Lynn

From Terri in Ohio

Just a tip about the butter...make sure it is pliable, but not too soft.

Mushy butter makes for mushy cookies! LOL!

I also chill the remaining batter in the fridge

while waiting for the next batch....that seems to help.

Karen....over beating cookie dough will cause cookies to go flat.

Another thing to be careful of is if a cookie recipe calls for eggs,

watch what size you're using.

If a recipe calls for a medium egg and you're using large or x-tra large,

that makes a HUGE difference....and vice versa
Vivian Lee

I heard that if your baking soda or baking powder is to old,

it can make for some flat cookies too.

I do believe I heard that from one of my older aunts.
Tina

I took all the above advise.

Checked my oven temperature.

Used a new & improved cookie scoop to keep the cookies uniformed in size.

Fresh baking soda & other ingredients.

I read on The Martha S. blog to blend flour & other dry ingredients with a whisk.

But most importantly......

I controlled myself with my Kitchenaid mixer.

It's just so dang easy to use

I think I over beat my dough.

And as you can see from the pictures below my cookies turned out beautiful!

Cranberry Hootiecreeks (what a name!)

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup softened butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)


Directions
1. Combine flour, baking soda and salt.
2 Cream butter, then add sugars, eggs & vanilla.
3 Mix in flour mixture & oats, then cranberries, chips & nuts.
4 Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet.
5 Bake at 350 for 8-10 min. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Recipe from SPFH "Terri in Ohio"

And this is my old stand by chocolate chip.
The grandkids favorite.

Speaking of an old stand by, check out this pattern.

Better yet, check the price....85 cents.

Can you imagine how old it is?

I'm going to my Sew Whats group tomorrow and I thought

I'd work on a couple aprons. This is my favorite pattern.

Quick, easy. I change the pocket to all the way across.

Perfect for the National Tie One On Day!

And last, but not least, I mailed out the books & aprons on Wednesday!
Should be there on by Saturday.

Opps, almost forgot to mention my last Dr. appointment on Wednesday.

All is well. Finally.

Try the cranberry cookie recipe..... you won't be disappointed!