A Thank You Gift

This quilt is a thank you gift for my mechanic's dog Maggie. The idea came from the quilt I made for Jonathan's dog Rani who uses her quilt all the time.
I love how soft this animal fur is but the price is pretty high so I mix it with corduroy; the two work very well together. Now I have another item checked off my "to do" list.

Chicken Killer

We have had the worst luck this year with various creatures killing our chickens.

Here is the latest varmint; we caught him by using a can of tuna as bait.

Now perhaps our chickens will have a peaceful night.

No Ordinary Grilled Cheese

Grilled cheese made with homemade white bread and cheddar cheese.It's simply Divine!

Homemade Breakfast Sausage

Today I dug out the book Encyclopedia of Country Living;So I could make homemade sausage with a large package of pork ribs I had in the freezer.

Just look at this price...$5.04 for just over 5-pounds; what a deal!

My spices consisted of salt, sage and black pepper; all mixed together and set to the side.

Next I rinsed the ribs and placed them in a pan to drain while I began cutting off the bones.

Once the bones are cut off I rinsed the meat a second time; I do not like having small slivers of bone in my sausage. Next I layered the meat slices in a pan and sprinkle the seasoning on each piece.

I like to add the seasoning before grinding so the flavor is well mixed.

As I began cooking a few patties I realized my sausage didn't have enough fat mixed in the meat; so I ended up lean sausage.However, the sausage tasted great and not dry like I had expected. In fact, the sausage had a very nice "meaty" taste to it.

Plain Pork Sausage

10 pounds fresh pork

5 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons sage

2 tablespoons black pepper

I cut this recipe in half and it made a very nice amount of sausage.

Sewing Projects

My sewing room has been buzzing with activity as I begin working on a long list of sewing projects; one project was the making of several little pillows. They looked so cute all attached together that I almost hung them on the wall like a banner.

This year I am trying to tackle my projects early.

But I have a feeling my sewing list will be growing longer as Christmas gets closer.

Potato Soup Restaurant Style

Thanks to the Internet I was able to make one of our favorite soups, Zuppa Toscana, at home for a fraction of the price.
And because I bake we were able to have fresh baked bread sticks too.

Yum, yum it was almost as good as what is served at Olive Garden.

I'm betting the leftovers will be even better!

Fall Roadtrip

Last week Elizabeth and I took an unexpected and very last minute road trip.
We visited the Alamo;

And the zoo.

We visited friends who took us to Corpus Christi; I love how downtown sits right on the water.

After Corpus Christi we all headed to Padre Island to play in the water;

And search for sand dollars and shells.

Near the end of our road trip we visited family and celebrated my great-nephew's first birthday.

Fall is the perfect time to have a road trip......it's not too hot and it's not too cold.