Kitty planter

Momma has had a planter like this for as long as I can remember....it belonged to her mother and I always loved it! So I ordered myself one off ebay not long ago. I love having it around. ;)

I got a GREAT present from Momma & Daddy for Christmas...I think this was my favorite gift this Christmas. She got all of her daughters a copy of the hardback Betty Crocker cookbook that she always used. It is so used (and loved) that it is falling apart. I think everyone of us loved that book, so we were all thrilled that we got a copy! She was pretty sneaky buying them up this summer and keeping it a secret! She said it was hard to find 4 just alike that were in good condition! I have it setting on my table on the display thing she got us so I can see it every day. :)

Have you recovered from the holidays??

LOL! As much fun as the holidays are, it takes a lot out of you, doesn't it? It took me all weekend to get rested up!! Jackson stayed with me on Monday--you can see that he & Bilbo get along well! The other kitties pretty much stay out of the living room while he's here, but Bilbo will come in and visit with him sometimes. Jackson has a hard time saying Bilbo, so he just yells "Abo!" at the top of his lungs when he wants to see him. You can probably imagine Bilbo doesn't come running when he yells, but he does still come to see him when he feels like it. :)

 

We tried bringing in a pot of catnip this year to see if we could keep it growing through the winter. We set it outside when its warm, but Sookie discovered it pretty quickly! At least it made a cute picture!!

 

I'm trying to get caught up on work now that I've spent so much time away from the computer. Think I'll be listing some new patterns this week, so check my website at the end of the week and I'll post a picture & link here when they are on my site.

 

I'm excited that I have some gas logs on the way to go in my office. Its been cold here and I've been using a little electric heater so far. Those logs are going to get me & Rusty WARM!!! Besides that, they will look pretty too!

 

 

Some of my favorite Christmas Ornaments

Thought I'd share just a few of my favorite ornaments. (There's not enough room to share them all!) I have a lot from different artists--from swaps, some I bought and some were gifts. I love them all--each one is unique!

This is just one of many ornaments I have from Helena at Snowpond Primitives

I bought this one from Penny McAllister at Christmas Village last year

This is a glass bead garland I bought at Big Lots one year...I only bought 2 short strands and now I wish I had gotten them all! I've looked for some more for the past few years with no luck!

  
This one is from Annette at Huckleberry Arts -- a little painted gourd!

Got this one at a neat place called Eddie's in Henagar, AL. He decorates his shop for Christmas every year. I missed going last year--need to go this year! Well....I could do this all day. These are just a VERY FEW of my favorites!

 

 
 

The Tempting Christmas Tree

Strawberry has been so good about leaving the tree alone....until the past few days! You can see here he just sits there with the ornaments touching his head until he can't take it anymore. ha! I'm not sure, but I think he tries to use the needles of the tree as dental floss. Hopefully my tree will make it until Christmas. I stopped using tinsel of any kind after I got my kitties. I don't use tinsel garland or those little icicle things. I think my tree looks just as good and I don't have to worry about the kitties eating it. (Just in case you don't know....it can be very bad if your pet eats one. Just ask Pumpkin, who ate a string once. It wasn't good...it can make them sick just like a string or other foreign object....dogggies too!)

Magnolia in Create & Decorate!

Check out my new project in Create & Decorate magazine...this is Magnolia. She's in the February 2010 issue. If you can't get a copy, you can click here to buy it. Also have some snowman noses here .... hoping to have even more Snowman making supplies soon!

I put up my Christmas trees and decorated for Christmas before Thanksgiving got here. That's the first time I've ever done that! I didn't mean to wait so long to share pictures of it! I put up two trees--one in my living room and one in my bathroom. If the cats weren't so curious about them, I'd have one in every room! They can't be in the rooms with the trees unless I'm in there--they climb the tree, knock off ornaments and chew on the limbs. Sookie has even tried to carry off a few of my ornaments! Jackson enjoys the trees too-- as soon as he gets to my house he points at one tree and says "lights on". When I get that one lit, he runs to the one in the bathroom and says, "lights on!" Then any other Christmas decorations that light up have to be turned on too!

  Also wanted to share a yummy new recipe for brussels sprouts!

Creamy Brussels Sprouts

Nonstick Cooking Spray

1 medium onion, quartered & thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 T. butter

2 lbs Brussels sprouts, trimmed & halved (or green beans, trimmed)

1 t. snipped fresh thyme or 1/4 t. dried thyme, crushed

3/4 c. chicken broth

3/4 c. whipping cream

1/2 c.  shredded parmesan cheese

1/4 t. salt

1/8 t. ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly coat baking dish with cooking spray.

2. In a skillet, cook onion & garlic in butter over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until softened. Stir in brussels sprouts and thyme. Cook 4 minutes or until onions start to brown. Add broth & bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until broth is nearly evaporated. Add whipping cream. Cook 4 minutes, or until mixture begins to thicken. Transfer to baking dish. Stir in half the cheese, all the salt & pepper. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

3. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until brussels sprouts are tender. Makes 8-10 servings.

Elvis

I'm sad to say that Elvis died Thursday morning. I have no idea what happened to him.....but I'll miss him a lot! He was born here in the attic above my bedroom. He would have been 5 this spring and he spent his whole five years here! Its a hard thing to lose a kitty so young and so unexpectedly. I'll miss having him to greet me when I come home or go outside....or hear him running around on the roof. It will take a while to stop looking for him when I go outside......

Road Trip to Paint Rock Valley

My husband and I took a drive down to Paint Rock Valley when the leaves started to change so I could take some pics. I didn't get a lot--my batteries went dead and we ended up driving all the way to Tennessee to get more so it started to get dark on the way home. I did get a few good ones to share with you....its such a pretty place!

Notice I'm putting some Christmas music on here for you to enjoy--if you prefer not to listen to it, look for the link to my playlist at the top left side and you can turn it off there. But I hope you enjoy it!  And enjoy my pics below.

Cotton Field.....

   

Meet Owen!

This is Owen...he's been hanging around my house for a while and I've been dying to pet him. You can see why--he's so pretty! I assume he and the other tabby here (Luke) are littermates because they showed up at the same time, are about the same size, etc. Luke let me pet him a while ago, but Owen has been really scared. Lately he's been coming to eat with the other kitties every night and he  sleeps in the front yard now. He finally decided I could pet him, after he gave me a good swat to keep me in line! He's still scared, but doesn't he look like a big teddy bear? Like you could pick him up and snuggle with him? Maybe one day....maybe after visit with the vet coming up soon..... ;)

Hope y'all all had a good Thanksgiving! I ate too much. Besides that, it was a good one. We ate at Momma & Daddy's house and had way too much food. But I like to eat cold leftovers the next day (and the next, and the next....) We took a lemon pie to my husband's parents' and ate some of that with them. Of course I  wasn't hungry, but I ate a piece anyway! We stayed there late--it was fun to catch up and not be in a hurry!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving....and don't eat too much!  

Scenes from Scottsboro

Here are some pics I took a few weeks ago while I was driving home. The sunset was so pretty--I love this time of day! The first one was taken in Powell, the other two are in Scottsboro, right before you cross the B.B. Comer bridge. I love the views here--I try to keep my camera with me to take pics while I'm out. You never know what you might see!!!

Today's my day to babysit....

I always look forward to Mondays--that's the day I babysit my nephew, Jackson. Last week we went to K-mart and looked at Christmas decorations and he thought it was a Christmas Wonderland! lol! We had to listen to every dancing Santa and check out every aisle about 3 times while he yelled "ho, ho! ho ho!" Then when we left, he cried and kept saying, "ho, ho....ho, so". I promised him he'd be seeing lots more Christmas decorations soon. I put my trees up Sunday, so he can come over and see those. I left Sookie in the room for about 30 seconds and when I came back, she already had an ornament down and was running off with it. And Pumpkin still can't leave it alone, so they can't go in the rooms with trees unless I'm there to supervise!

Recycle!

I'm always trying to find new uses for old stuff around here...that's why I had to laugh when I saw Little Bit sleeping inside this old flour bin! I guess she's doing the same thing we are....

Trip to Kentucky

 
  These are some pics from a recent road trip to Kentucky...my husband bought a bunch of old post office boxes (really cool!) so I rode with him to pick  them up. We had a blow out on the way, but it was still a fun trip. Standing on the interstate to change the tire wasn't so good, but besides that it was fun...enjoy the pics!

 

Carving Jack-o-Lanterns

We finally carved our jack-o-lanterns last night! Mine is the classic looking one on the left and my husband's is the one on the right with one eye! While we were carving, I roasted the seeds and they were yummy! I had 1½ c. of seeds, so you can adjust your recipe accordingly. Be sure to wash the seeds, remove any stringy pulp and pat dry. Mix seeds with 1/4 c. melted butter, ½ t. garlic salt, ½ t. onion salt, a dash of paprika and a dash of chili powder. Mix well, spread in a large casserole dish or cookie sheet and bake at 300 for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until roasted. We could barely wait for them to cool!

I have some new patterns, new doll hair, glitter, etc. on my supply site! Click here to see my newest stuff. I have Pee Wee the cat (pictured)...he's so funny, don't you think? I have Pineapple Annie & Sissy the cat--they were recently featured in Create & Decorate magazine. Then there's Snowflake the Snowgirl. I don't have any finished stuff listed lately, but I'm working on a lot of paperclay things now. I like to let them dry a long time, to be sure they won't crack, so it will be a while before they're done. I'm planning to go to a show in May, so they are for that show. Trying to get started early this time. :)

I haven't really started much Christmas stuff--anyone else working on anything Christmas-ey or for the holidays? I have all this cool new glitter that I'm dying to try on some Christmas projects. I even have a new Christmas CD to listen to while I'm working on them. But I just can't make myself listen to that CD until after Halloween. ;) Sometimes I do listen to Christmas music during the year to inspire me, but I just can't do it too close to Halloween. Its my favorite holiday so I want to enjoy it all I can! But I'd love to hear what y'all all have planned for the holidays. What about your menus? Planning those yet? You know I always love a new good recipe if any of you want to share! (Hint!)

 

Brrrr....its gettin' cold!!

Hey, Strangers! I've been pretty busy--cooking, canning, going to the beach working....etc, etc. etc. I was talking to my friend,

Helena

this morning about how long its been since I blogged. Shame on ME!

For some reason, when the weather starts to cool off, I love to cook and do stuff around the house. The other night I made one of my favorite cold weather recipes, White Chicken Chili. I toasted some sourdough bread and poured the chili over it and it was SO good! I promised Helena I'd post the recipe....

White Chicken Chili

4 T. olive oil, divided

3 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½" pieces

1 T. ground chipotle chile pepper (I couldn't find this--left it out and it was fine)

2½ t. ground cumin

1½ t. salt

1 t. ground coriander

1/4 t. ground red pepper

1½ c. chopped yellow onion

3/4 c. chopped pablano pepper

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded & minced

2 T. minced garlic

4 bay leaves

1 quart chicken broth

2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chiles

2 (16 oz) cans canellini beans

2 (16 oz) cans navy beans

4 c. grated monterey jack

1 c. sour cream

Heat 2 T. olive oil over med-high heat. Add chicken, chili pepper, cumin, salt, coriander, ground red pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, 8-10 minutes or until browned. Remove to bowl. In same pan, heat remaining olive oil. Add onion, pablano, jalapeno, garlic & bay leaves. Cook 4-5 minutes, until tender. Add reserved chicken, broth, green chiles. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans. Cook 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove & discard bay leaves. Add grated cheese and sour cream, stirring until cheese is melted.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Pumpkin Patch with 2 of my sisters, brother-in-law & nephew. We had a good time even though we missed the ones that didn't get to go! My pumpkin is still sitting out there waiting to be carved. Maybe I'll carve it this weekend! I finally ordered Hocus Pocus so I can watch it before Halloween. I planned on dressing up as one of the Sanderson sisters for our party this year, but we decided not to have one this year. I guess I have a head start on next year's costume!

 

Losing teeth...

No, I'm not losing my teeth...but CJ lost a couple! I took him to the vet yesterday because of some problems with his gums/teeth & to get his shots. He had broken off one tooth and that one had to be pulled. Then he had a baby tooth that never fell out and another came in beside it, so that one was pulled too! He got his vaccines and guess he had a reaction to that....he had a fever today and wouldn't eat. He got some prednisone through the day and he is finally eating and feeling better. Of course I worried about him until he was better! ;) I took THREE cats to the vet yesterday...41 lbs of cats! That was a big job, but at least I can check those 3 off my list!

This Saturday we had a birthday party for all the August birthdays (Daddy, my sisters Ranee & Lisa and my nephew's girlfriend!). We went to the park to take pics--Jackson had a ball, as you can see from the big grin on his face! We should all be more like him--I think he has fun where ever he goes...

I have some big changes coming to The Cat's  Pyjamas soon. Will be carrying some brand new stuff--I can't wait to get it all on the site! And tonight is my night to create--haven't had much time for that lately. I took a nap today so I could stay up late and make some stuff!!

Broken toe???

Well, I have to tell you how clumsy I am! I ran out of gas a few days ago (I have an excuse--something is wrong with the gauge!). Momma picked me up and I put the gas in the van. I went back to her car to get my purse and my tea and when I stepping onto the pavement to get back in the van, somehow I ran into the pavement where it is raised. I FELL onto the pavement, which scared me to death because cars were flying by! After I realized I wasn't going to get hit by a car, I realized I fell right on my knees and elbows. But the worst part was my toe. I'm guessing it is fractured and now its all swollen and turning black around my toenail with a split in my nail about halfway down. Yes, I am clumsy...I got it from my Momma. ha! Anyway.....this is the chicken I baked from the recipe in my new "Prairie Girl Guide" book. I soaked it about 6 hours in salt water (1 c. salt per gallon of water). Then brushed it with butter, lots of pepper. I just made a stuffing from a box (like stovetop stuffing) and put some veggies I had on hand in the pan during the last hour of baking. (potatoes, onions, carrots, bell pepper) It was SO good! I had chicken salad for a few days which was even better. (shredded chicken, chopped seedless grapes, nuts--chopped apples would be good in it too). I'm sure I'll be using this recipe again & again.  I bought myself a fancy new Paula Deen roasting pan, so I'll have to make good use of it!

This is one of the new kitties hanging around. There are 2, both brown tabbies so I assumed they are brothers and named them Luke & Owen. This is Luke--he's really friendly now that he has decided I'm okay. Owen still isn't too sure about me. I have no idea where they came from--don't' know if they wandered down here from up the road where there are lots of cats or if someone dropped them off? One of my outside kitties, Cricket, had 3 kittens when she came here and I was never able to catch them. 2 were brown tabbies, but I really can't imagine they would be the same cats since Luke is so friendly but you never know! Wherever they came from, they look like they are planning to stay, so I guess they'll get to visit with Doc pretty soon.

 

 

Canning & Canning & Canning....

I guess today turned out pretty good! I got up early and got started on my tomato preserves, now they have to sit for 12-18 hours. Think those are really going to be good! Then I canned a bunch of crushed tomatoes and had a bowl of fresh tomato soup for lunch. Yum! In the past few weeks I've done a lot of canning, even though I didn't grow a  garden this year. Daddy has shared a lot with me, especially tomatoes! I've canned vegetable soup (my favorite in the winter), watermelon jelly, pickled watermelon rinds (better than they sound!), corn relish and some tomato and apple chutney. My watermelon jelly is more like syrup, so I'll be re-making it tomorrow when I work on the tomato preserves. I got a neat little book--The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life by Jennifer Worick. It has 50 projects and I thought it might be fun to just start at the beginning and do all the projects, or at least most of them. So first is brining an baking a turkey-since its just me and my husband, I baked a chicken. Its cooking now--will share pics and how good it turned out later on.

 Jackson is enjoying the tomatoes and other stuff out of the garden too. ha! Daddy brought me a big bag of tomatoes to the store and he loves to poke his little fingers in them and take bites out of them. I can't blame him-- you can't get much better than a fresh tomato!

Back out of Hiding...

Yep, I'm back! Its been a while--its easy for me to get side-tracked and forget to blog sometimes! I've been busy canning, working on graphics, new patterns, etc. Then I had to get sick in between and had to lie around for about a week. I guess it wasn't so bad--got a lot of reading done! I'll be filling you in on what I've done this week, but wanted to be SURE I got a kitty picture on here for you to enjoy! This is Frasier....some of you might remember that he came here a little over a year ago. He was a rescue from a shelter and we were all sure he was feral, but he has surprised us all and he's just a big baby. His new favorite sleeping spot is the empty birdbath next to my studio. I guess he likes it because he gets a belly rub every time I walk to and  from my studio! ;)

 

Gandhi & Mr. Spock

This is the "skinny kitty" I took to the shelter a few months ago. He has put on weight and looks like a different cat. His FUR is even a different color now! I'm considering bringing him home to see how he gets along with Rusty in my studio. He is healthy now but he's still waiting to be adopted and I hate the thought of him having to stay in that cage all day. So as soon as I have some free time I'm going to bring him home and see how he & Rusty get along. Notice his extra toes on his front paws!! Oh, I almost forgot...his name is Gandhi! The vet named him that because he was so skinny!

  I took Mr. Spock to the vet last week and found out he is probably in the early stages of renal failure. He is on medication and a special diet and is supposed to stay the day at the vet's office next month. He's my oldest kitty--we got him not long after my husband and I started dating! He's about 14 years old and has always been healthy, other than being overweight. At one time he weighed 18.5 lbs! Now he's down to 14 but he's still a big boy. I'm keeping a close eye on him and enjoying my time with him. He's been a part of my life for so long!!

Look for me in Create & Decorate...

Here are my latest projects in Create & Decorate magazine...Sissy & Pineapple Annie! Would love to hear what you think about them! Its the August 2009 issue-pick up a copy and try them out. They're really easy and there are more good projects in there too.  And don't forget to enter the contest if you haven't already....scroll down to the previous post after reading this one, or click here!

I've been thinking of getting some chickens for my yard for a long time. I ordered several books and have been looking into it. Any of you have anything to share about chickens? :) You would think I'd know since my Daddy is a chicken farmer, but I guess chickens in your yard is a lot different. I just want a few and I'm sure they'll be pets as much as anything, but I want them for the eggs and to control the ticks & mosquitoes. I'm checking with the city before I do anything--I could just imagine myself getting attached to some baby chicks then finding out  I have to get rid of them!! I really need a farm, I think but I'll just have to practice here until I can get a bigger place! There's no telling what kinds of animals I'd have if I had a big farm!!! ha!!

$4 e-patterns & mousepad giveaway!

Happy Friday, y'all! I'm giving away one of these Cat's Pyjamas mousepads! To enter, just post a reply to this post. Tell me your favorite pattern of mine or a project you've created from one of my patterns....Be sure to enter your CORRECT email address when you post because I will be emailing the winner. You get one entry per day and I'll draw from all the entries on the last day of the month. And as a bonus, after you enter, you will get to purchase one epattern for only $4! After you entry, I'll email you to let you know how to take advantage of it.

We'll be working on my studio this weekend, I hope! We started putting some fence posts in the ground tonight. We got 2 in the ground before it got too dark. But we only have one small section, so that shouldn't take too long. The list is still really long--lots to do before this fall and I'm not so sure if I can make it by my deadline or not! Keep your fingers crossed for me because I'd love to be able to open by then!! The picture on the left is of our pond last year. The plants have really started to fill in now. I planted some bamboo and bleeding hearts since then. The fence will be to the left of the pond. We planted some fringe flower bushes in front of it and I think I'll put some roses and some kind of ivy or something to cover the fence. I guess I like my privacy! ;)