Savory and Sweet Saturday - Does it make you hungry?

Can you believe that it is the end of the month?  Although we have been getting some warm weather, we all know that Fall has arrived because of the leaves changing.  I have a few photos to share but at the same time I have some recent food pictures that will make your mouth watery or maybe not, depends on what type of food would usually make you hungry. After seeing all the food pictures, I decided to post my Autumn photos for another post.

Oat honey nut bread - Jeff's 4th bread making hobby

Baked snapper with salsa on top, quinoa and brown rice with steamed sweet pea pods.

We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant in Enderby, BC during our Sunday drive.

Steamed lobster, shrimp and sausage boil with rice and peas.

On Wednesday night, I made some Almond Joy Cookies and for the first time, tried making the Impossible Coconut Rum Pie.  I forgot to take photos before I tasted a small slice of the pie.  Here's what it looks after.

Tedious Thursday - Embroidery and more

It has been a while since I have done a very detailed design on a small banner/flag.  After completing my own Halloween flag, I started doing one for my daughter's sister in law.  She has 4 children so I made one with four little pumpkins. Although it was not embroidered, there was still a lot of detail for the design combined with a bit of stitching.  Then she asked if I would make her daughter a small flag for her room.  She provided me with an idea and I did something very similar.  While doing the design I realized that I have to learn new type of stitching for some of the flowers and leaves.  There were late nights where I would still be doing the stitching because I wanted to see the end result.  Sometimes my neck would hurt as I am looking down for the most part.  In order to give my neck a break, I decided to finish up all the left over plastic cups that I use to make the pin cushion cupcakes. There are many other projects that I have to complete and now I have organized them in baskets and included some sort of a design on paper. Anyway, it's time to show what I have completed.

Turquoise Tuesday - Just because

Someone finally noticed by cell phone holder.  I was not trying to get a compliment or trying to promote my handy sewing items, but it feels good to have someone actually admire and like what I have done.  I met this young lady at one of my classes and she really like the idea of having a case for your cell phone.  She asked me first where I got it and when I told her I had made it, she wanted to know what else I make.  I shared her a couple more items in my purse that I use.  My card holder and coupon/cash fabric wallet.  I also told her about the very interesting but so useful Potato Bag which I now call Potato/Corn bag.  It makes the fluffiest potato and the crispiest corn via the good old Microwave.  So this past weekend I decided to make her a set with her favorite color - Turquoise.  I will give to her this week after our last class.  It will be a good advertisement for the items that I make  She can pass my card and hopefully I will get some other young ladies or women to order some items.  For this year since I am new to the neighborhood, I was planning to have a Ladies night with some drinks and snacks and try to sell some of the sewing items that I have made so far.  Although I need to make a few more interesting items for this years early Christmas bazaar.  Maybe everyone who has something to sell can bring them also.  I almost forgot, I already have an order to fill for one of my neighbors.  She wants her own summer flag for her backyard.

Satisfied Saturday - Happy bread

It's all about the freshness of the bread, right. Today's post is all about bread, satisfaction and happiness.  In one of my previous post, I am sure I have mentioned about Jeff taking up a new hobby or is it a skill.  Anyway, after his first lesson on bread making with Dennis, he thought of checking out how much bread machine cost.  While I was golfing, he started checking out some of the stores and wouldn't you know he finds a bread machine for $15.00.

That's right, it was cheap and the great part, it's appears to be hardly used because the plastic cover on the control pads was still intact.  As soon as he got it home, he cleaned it thoroughly and the next day he was searching for recipes for this type of machine.  The first bread he made, half white half whole wheat cranberry, raisin and nut bread.  It was yummy so yummy, we had to try it with just butter after it came out of the machine.  Next bread was just a simply white bread since we were having spaghetti that night, we wanted some garlic bread.  The bread was so fluffy, no really so FLUFFY.  We had a friend over helping Jeff with the BBQ that he just bought and he tried it as well.  We couldn't stop pulling some pieces from the top of the bread.  The only bad thing about all the goodness and yumminess - is this an actual word,  well, it's that we will soon gain weight with all this starchy food.  But the benefit of it is that we know what goes in the bread and that we will have fresh ones when we need them.  It takes a total of 4 hours for Jeff to make it.  Check it out and let me know if you did not started getting hungry.

Cranberry, Raisin and nut bread - from the machine

Jeff's first home made bread from scratch - a lot of kneeding

Oh so FLUFFY - regular white bread recipe from the machine - very similar to TEXAS toast.

Trick or Treat Thursday - A new creation

A little too early, one would say but when you are retired, you can be so organized and get everything ready before the actual event, right?  When I realized that I did not have a flag for the particular holiday/event, I looked over some of my fabric scrap and found what I needed to make a Halloween flag.  It did not take me long once I had the idea and started making in an afternoon last Thursday.  Now I will just wait after the Canadian Thanksgiving to pass then I can hang my new Trick or Treat flag.  Now I just realized that I needed a Thanksgiving flag or maybe I can just use the same flag for the month of October.  Maybe this will be my next project for the winter.  If you have been following my flag I am sure that you have seen my collection.  So far I have one for Christmas, Valentines, Easter, Summer, Fall, Winter, Halloween and one more (Lady Bug) for that not so specific holiday.

For our front yard flag which I will start using by October 1.

This is for the B family from Ontario.

Treasure Tuesday - Bargain Hunting is my thing

It's all about searching for the right thing, being there at the right time and of course paying as little as possible for whatever item you require.  Although there are some things you have to just suck it up and pay for whatever price it is, because of their quality and life time warranty - is there such a thing?  Anyway, I am pleased that we found a few neat stores that are bargain like but not dollar store.  There's a couple we found in town and we have been lucky to find items that we needed for the home.  I like checking out stores that are different from what we were used to in San Jose.  Although I have to admit that there's a lot of my favorites back in the are we use to live and the bargains I can get there are even better.  But now that we are here, I need to switch over to what is available to us.  We are still just getting things as we go shopping and we find something at almost every store we go.  I know I can get some items in the more expensive store, but we have already been spending bigger items and so I have to keep things lower for items that are not as important.  It's getting closer and closer to finishing the decoration and much needed furnishings.  Here's some of the things we found. 

• Blender for $6  - Jeff will use it for blending his compost
• Bread Machine $ 15 - almost new and this is Jeff's new hobby, making bread
• Wire tool .50 cents - for my crafts
• Fabric flowers - for any arrangements for the home
• Warm wrap - for my during the cold temperatures day or night
• Wooden vase - a special size for that corner in the hallway
• Piano bench - repainted the legs and reupholstered the seat

Stitching Sunday - Back to sewing

Since we move to our new home,  I am pleased to announce I now have my own room that is used for crafting, painting, sewing, blogging, filling papers, not to forget ironing whatever it is that I want to keep busy with.  One of the great benefit is that I do not have a basket of ironing items.  When I do our laundry, I take the clothes that needs pressing in this room and I do them after folding the laundry.  It is also nice to have my sewing machine always ready for whatever it is that I need to sew and or repair.  Can you imagine if I had to take the drapes that we bought for the dining room to a seamstress, the cost of just shortening them. I am not sure how much it cost now a days for stuff like that.  Even hemming pants or any taking in a few inches for a dress, etc.  We also needed new curtains for the RV.  Jeff knows I am a little creative and can do this.  I took down the old own and unstitched the part for hanging the drapes.  There was a good sale of drapes at Fabricland and it happens that the color we needed was the one on sale.  I bought one panel and divided in half in order to have one for the right and one for the left window of the RV.  Last Monday night, I made a couple of hand towels, one for our guest room and the other for a friend who is San Jose Sharks fan. We also did a little bit of our own headboard for our bed using the idea from one of the room in our home in San Jose.  I am guessing by now, you know I have been busy.

Not the greatest photo, but this is on the driver's side window.  The material is perfect to provide privacy.

Since we still do not have night stand the frames are just temporarily hung.

A hand towel or a golf towel for a very good friend and golf buddy.