Please Vote for Mikey!!!

Mikey has been offering free tutorials and advice to crocheters on his blog, facebook and youtube. He's in the running for the "On the Rise" award on Youtube. If you wouldn't mind, would you go to this Youtube page and vote for Mikey? When you're at the youtube blog page, look toward the upper right hand side of the page to see the voting gizmo. I included this short video to give you a glimpse at Mikey's vibrant personality that makes his tutorials so inspiring.  Thanks so very much.

Two on Tuesday (17 July 2012)

1. Antidepressants-- Guess this is kind of weird, but antidepressants are a wonderful thing. I wish that so many people weren't against them. We have to go to a graveside service today for an elderly gentleman who committed suicide. Maybe if he would have had the right meds he'd still be with us.

2. Coupons--I had a coupon for any free Oscar Mayer product that I could use on any product up to $9. I bought the thick sliced bacon and we had some great BLTs last night.

What I've Been Up To...

The other day when I told you I was making and canning tomato sauce, it smelled so good, that I decided to use some of it that night and make spaghetti so my daily yield wasn't as much as originally expected--2 quarts and 2 half-pints.  Here's what I got.

When I date them, I only put the year, some people put the entire date but tomato sauce is one of the quickest items to get used up so I don't worry about it.

Spent some more time on the baby blanket/afghan. Here's the update:

I know, it's a bit on the colorful side.  :) Still don't know who this is going to. Anyway, this is it for now. Have a great week. Hugs...

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (16 July 2012)

Some of you may be old enough to remember hanging plants that were very popular back in the 70s. Here's a pattern to crochet your own plant hanger. This is a nice pattern not only to use in your house but it would be nice to hang plants outside too.

It's Time to Can Tomatoes

Today I have started canning tomatoes. I have a pot simmering on the stove and it smells wonderful!

My sauce is adapted from Presto's manual that comes with pressure canners. It is available online here. The difference between what I do and the manual calls for is that I do not peel the tomatoes.

TOMATO SAUCE

Wash tomatoes and cut off stems and bad spots. I leave the skin on and whirl in the food processor until liquid. Then strain with a fine mesh strainer to get all the seeds out.

Heat in large saucepan or pot until sauce reaches desired consistency—cooked about half way down. Just before your sauce is finished cooking, give your jars an inspection and then a good hot rinse—I use my dishwasher for this. This is also a good time to read the directions that come with your seals and get ready to use them.

For quarts--add 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice. For pints-- add 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice.

Pour hot sauce in clean, hot canning jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Adjust jar lids. Using a nonmetallic utensil, slowly mix the sauce and lemon juice in the jars trying to get all air bubbles out.

Pressure canning: Process at 10 pounds pressure, pints and quarts

15 minutes.

More Pressure Canners

WIP Wednesday (11 July 2012)

It's going to be a baby blanket when it's finished. I'm working on this in between other things. I finished a "surprise" last night but since it is a surprise for someone I can't show it to you just yet. Also finished an afghan except for weaving in the ends so when I get that done I'll show it to you. Anyway, here's the baby blankie--

The center squares are from this pattern. These squares are a pain in the patootie to make difficult because there are many, many ends to weave in. I'm also using a traditional granny square and a solid granny in this. No plans on who to give this to yet but I'll find someone.

I'm linking this up to the following sites. You can visit them and see some great things and link your project up to them too.

• Ambassador Crochet WIP Wednesday
• Tami's Amis WIP Wednesday
• Yarn Along
• Hooking on Hump Day
• What You Doing Wednesday

Have fun everyone and stay cool!

Crochet Patterns for Kindle

I Like These...

Last week when I went to the PX I picked up a copy of Crochet! magazine. There are 2 afghan patterns in there that I am heads over heels for. One is a single color afghan that is very plain but the edging/border is so pretty and it makes the afghan into something special.

From: Gormley, Ellen. "Serene Meadow." Crochet!, Summer 2012, 70-71, 94.

The next one may be at the top of my afghan making list (unless, par for course, I change my mind again). I have enough neutral browns, tans and tweeds in my stash to make this.

From: White, Shari. "Summertime Blues." Crochet!, Summer 2012, 68-69, 93-94.

Okay, that's all I wanted to share with you today. I actually put this together ahead of time so I had a post for today!

Two on Tuesday (10 July 2012)

Two more things I like--

1. The cooler temperatures of spring and fall
2. The good feeling when someone likes what I crochet for them

A Cautionary Tale

I received this in an email and thought it funny but at the same time a lesson to be heeded.

Old Butch

John was in the fertilized egg business.

He had several hundred young layers (hens), called 'pullets,'

and ten roosters to fertilize the eggs.

He kept records, and any rooster not performing went into the

soup pot and was replaced.

This took a lot of time, so he bought some tiny bells and

attached them to his roosters.

Each bell had a different tone, so he could tell from a distance,

which rooster was performing.

Now, he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report

by just listening to the bells.

John's favorite rooster, old Butch, was a very fine specimen,

but this morning he noticed old Butch's bell hadn't rung at all!

When he went to investigate, he saw the other roosters were

busy chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing, but the pullets, hearing

the roosters coming, would run for cover.

To John's amazement, old Butch had his bell in his beak, so it

couldn't ring.

He'd sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next one.

John was so proud of old Butch, he entered him in the

Saint Lawrence County Fair and he became an overnight

sensation among the judges.

The result was the judges not only awarded old Butch the

"No Bell Piece Prize," but they also awarded him the

"Pulletsurprise" as well.

Clearly old Butch was a politician in the making. Who else but

a politician could figure out how to win two of the most coveted

awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the

unsuspecting populace and screwing them when they weren't

paying attention.

Vote carefully this fall, the bells are not always audible.

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (09 July 2012)

Before you know it, Christmas will be knocking on our doors. Today's link is for a cute pillow designed to look like a Christmas present. This is a nice size project to work on during these hot summer days. Here's the link and I hope you enjoy.

I Did Some Pot and Pan Rattling Yesterday

When I go in the kitchen to cook, dh says I "rattle the pots and pans." Yesterday, I wanted to figure out what do do with a package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8 or 9). I pondered this for a bit and decided on a big chicken pot pie. So, not being a Julia Child clone, I hied myself to the store and bought 2 pie crusts.

Note:  I didn't use any "measurements" so I can only give you an idea of what I did.

I simmered the thighs in a bit of water (water to the top of chicken but not covering) to which I added a couple chicken bullion cubes. I turned the meat over a few times as it cooked. When the meat was cooked through, I cubed it and put it back in the water/bullion.

Then I mixed the following items in with the chicken

• handful of green beans from the garden
• handful of frozen peas
• a bit of frozen corn
• bits of green onion
• can of mushroom stems and pieces
• can of potatoes cubed

It didn't look right so I whipped up a batch of "convenience" country gravy (2 cups) and mixed it with everything else in the pan. I still needed to simmer the concoction down a bit because it was a little thin.

Because of the salt in the bullion cubes, onions and the seasoning in the gravy mix, I didn't add any additional seasonings.

After the filling was thickened up a bit, I poured it in a store-bought pie crust. Oops! I made too much filling so I filled the other pie crust. Now I needed tops to my pot pies so I made the homemade pie crust from my old Betty Crocket Cook Book. I put the tops on the pot pies and baked at 425 for about 30 minutes. My picky husband loved it and he's not much of a chicken-eater!

Lesson learned--it really isn't hard to make pie crust so no need to spend the extra to buy it.

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend and staying cool. 

Hugs...

Added: Hubby just asked if we could have the leftovers tonight for supper. That's okay with me!

Good Morning Everyone!

And there is yet ANOTHER giveaway. This time it is for a Knook. I've seen these kits and thought it  might be interesting to learn but haven't bought one yet because I still have to break out the butterfly looms I bought a few years ago when they were deeply discounted to around $1 each. I do want to give this a try though. Maybe we should have a try a new technique with yarn day here in blog world. Hmm, that's not a bad idea. Anyway, we're talking Knook and not butterfly looms so for your chance to win one, head on over to this page at AllFreeKnitting.

Good luck my friends and I hope one of you/us wins. Stay cool...

More Knook Stuff

Go here to win 2 hanks of reclaimed cotton yarn. Good luck to all my friends in blogger world. I hope one of you win!!!

I Am--

Wishing Everyone

A Safe and Happy 4th of July

WIP Wednesday (04 July 2012)

Getting there--

Go to this page and see some more WIP.

Heat Must Be Getting to Me

I follow a couple blogs and today 2 kind ladies posted refreshing sounding recipes for  warm weather lasagna and salad. Of course, both are made of ice cream so they might not be the most nutritious meal you can have but they do sound good in this heat wave we're having. Check out these recipes and the blogs they're on and find some great recipes and crochet work.

Stay cool....

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (02 July 2012)

Here is a cute pattern for a retro looking poodle. This is a small enough project to work on when summer's heat kicks in. I'm having to work on the afghan inside because it is just too darned hot to have it on my lap on the patio even with the ceiling fans on out there. This would be cute to give to someone into the 50s look. Have fun and a great week.

Things Are Heating Up!

Are any of you experiencing a heat wave like we are? Not only is it hot, but it's sticky too! Here's a look at the temperature at our house yesterday. Remember, this is on our shaded patio with the ceiling fans running there. Oh, it's supposed to get up to 105 today!

How do you beat the heat? I make sure there are lots of cool drinks such as caffeine free sodas, ice tea and water to keep us hydrated. We stay inside and avoid swimming during the "heat of the day." We do take a dip in the cool times of the day to avoid sunburn--don't forget sunscreen too.

Keep cool my friends and have a wonderful weekend!

More Inside-Outside Thermometers

You Have a Chance to Win "Unexpected Afghans" Book

The Crochet Dude is having a giveaway! Go to this page and enter for your chance to win Robyn Chacula's new book (digital copy) Unexpected Afghans. Good luck!

Recycled Silk Yarn Giveaway!

All Free Crochet Afghan Patterns is having a giveaway for Lux Adventure Collection Recycled Yarn. It is made of 100% mulberry silk from recycled silk saris. Go ahead and get your entry in quick. I hope that someone I know wins it! Good luck and let me know if you win.