Always Learning

 Until earlier this year I always thought you had to add water to a crock pot when cooking. How did I go so long without knowing water isn't always needed?

My mom is the one who told me about cooking in a crock pot without water; she also suggested adding paprika to your meat so it has color when it's finished cooking.

 I slow cooked a chicken all night without water and then removed all the meat from the bones.

Next I added to the broth already in the crock some celery, onions and garlic; plus the bones, skin and fat. 

Covered it all in water and slow cooked it all day. 

By evening I had some of the best broth which was then used for barley chicken soup.

A Refashioned Blouse

After making Elizabeth's tiered skirt I realized she didn't have a blouse to go with it. I searched Target and Wal-Mart for a plain brown t-shirt but had no luck. So when I spotted a woman's brown blouse at a garage sale for 1-dollar I promptly purchased it.

 The neckline was way too low so I took a piece of the leftover skirt fabric and stitched it into the neck opening.

 Next I cut about 4-inches from the sleeve and 2-inches from the bottom and then proceeded to sew a zig zag stitch over the edge while slightly pulling the fabric which gives you a cute curled hem. I learned this trick from my mom.

 Now Elizabeth has a nice blouse for her skirt.

 She is pretty happy with what I was able to do with the blouse.

I just love how everything turned out; a true one of a kind skirt set.

Some Skirts for Elizabeth

Over the summer I began to notice Elizabeth's skirts and dresses were getting too short.

 I like for her to dress modest and prefer her skirts and dresses to hang below the knee.

So I made her two new skirts and have already picked out enough fabric for a third skirt. She of course is thrilled to be getting some new clothes. 

It's fun sewing for my kids just like my mom sewed for all of us kids when we were growing up.

Humm...I Wonder

Today as I was making some whole wheat dinner rolls I began wondering...

How whole wheat cinnamon rolls would taste... 

 So I made just a small pan full...

And they smelled so good and looked so tasty...but they just didn't taste right. Sometimes there is no substitute for white flour!

What We Have Growing in the Flower Beds

 We didn't have time this year for a garden but I wanted to plant at least a few favorites. Fresh pumpkin was on the top of my list so I could make pumpkin bread.

I was very late planting our few pumpkin plants so I am hoping there is enough time for them to ripen.

 We love fresh cucumbers as much as fresh tomatoes.

 Thankfully our cucumber plants didn't die like the tomato plants did.

I sure missed my garden this year, hopefully next year we will have a nice one.

Oh Happy Day

We have been without a clothesline since our move; but today all that changed.

I was so happy to finally have a clothesline once again that I promptly washed sheets so I could test it out!

A Before...During...and After

Recently we made time to focus on two large dead trees that needed to be cut down before a branch fell on someone.

I was both relieved and sad to see the trees go. 

 We now have a very big empty space where the trees once stood.

And two nice stacks of logs to be used in the future.

I'm dreaming of roasting marshmallows in the fireplace.