not exactly paper dolls

I have mentioned here before, and shown photos, of how my friend Carol, cuts figures from paper doll printed fabric to make "paper" dolls.

I thought she had a great idea, and since my mother is a paper doll collector, I wanted to try Carol's technique to make a set of the fabric paper dolls for her.

First, you rough cut around the dolls and clothes....

Next, using a hot iron, press the dolls to a stiff fusible interfacing...using freezer paper in between your iron and the fusible so it doesn't stick to the iron....

And iron fusible fleece to the backs of the clothes...using the freezer paper again.

Then, all that's left to do is to cut out all the dolls and clothes.  I had actually taken this project along with me on vacation - thinking I would do the scissor work in the hotel rooms each night, but the lighting was never good enough to do such precise trimming.

There were 4 dolls, 16 outfits and 16 hats.

I wanted to give them to my mother for her birthday, but I didn't have them finished in time.

Aren't they the cutest things?

I was going to sew a little pouch to store them in also, but then I saw this plastic envelope at W-mart.    

It's the perfect size and will keep them nice and flat.

I think she likes them....

Belated Happy Birthday, Mother!

While I was there for a visit, I noticed that she had gone back to the store and buy that turquoise cow creamer to add to her collection...

It looks like her shelf is pretty full, so the herd is probably complete.

habanero hot sauce

The garden veggies are about played out. There are a few tomatoes left on the vines, and a couple of stunted looking squash.
So, I was surprised when we got home from our trip saw this monster in the garden!

It's one of those Armenian cucumbers. I must have been overlooking it even before we left on the trip. Surely it didn't get that big in a week!

It was seedy in the middle but otherwise tasted fine.

The only other thing in the garden is a single habanero pepper plant that keeps producing. We really bought it by accident...we were meaning to get a jalapeno plant.

The habaneros are just too hot - hard to use in cooking  

I had to try to use them in something , so I made some hot sauce using this recipe...

Belizean Style Habanero Sauce

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup chopped carrots

2 cups water

10 habaneros, seeded and chopped

3 T lime juice

3 T white vinegar

1 t.  salt

Simmer together the onion, garlic and carrots until tender.

Be sure to wear gloves when cleaning and chopping those habaneros!

In a blender, add habaneros, lime juice, vinegar and salt.

Pour in the cooked veggies, liquid and all. Blend until smooth.

Pour in clean jars, allow to cool and store in the fridge.

Definitely not our favorite hot sauce.  It's has heat but not much flavor.  I stirred a little into some mayonnaise and it was okay like that, and I could probably add a small amount in soups to amp them up a bit...but we'll probably never get through both jars.

And there are still lots of habaneros left.  I hate to waste them - so maybe I'll dehydrate some - or try that method of stringing them up to dry.

Or just pull up the whole plant and throw it over into the woods...peppers and all!

what I've been reading

Actually, this is what is being read to me.  

I heard about an app called "Hoopla", that lets you borrow digital copies of books, audio books, and movies online, for free.
You sign up with the app using your library card info from your local library.
It really is easy and they have a nice selection to choose from.

The audio books work great for me... I can plug my headphones into my tablet and listen when I ride my exercise bike.  If the book is really good it makes me look forward to hopping on the bike to find out what happens next!

So this latest book is "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up", by Marie Kondo.

I had seen and heard a lot about this book and how it's been beneficial in helping people get their homes and lives organized, so I was looking forward to "reading" it.

It is inspiring and full of good advice, some of it very helpful.

The very best thing I got from the book was " let go of things which have already served their purpose".   That means even if the item's only purpose has been to give you pleasure when you bought it.

That's something I have a problem with.  I see things as needing to be held on to...just in case they can serve some purpose in the future.  This book is helping me to look at items more realistically to see if it really is something worth saving and storing.

Sometimes, the author is a little "out there" suggesting that we should thank our clothes each day and also thank items we are getting rid of.  That seems weird to me, but I guess it would make one more conscious and appreciative of things they already have.

I won't be following all of her advice...like the idea that in order to sort through our clothes, we must bring every article of clothing into one room and put it on the floor.

Sheesh, if I did that it would be piled in there for months!

And, no matter how nicely you get your things organized - you have to have a lot of self discipline to keep them that way.

It's a good book to get yourself motivated for cleaning...about the same as watching an episode of "Hoarders" but Ms Kondo gives you some help in how to handle the hoard.

Homemakers luncheon

It was the annual gathering for all the Homemaker groups at the extension office for the next year's "kick-off".

One of the events of the day is a silent auction. Homemakers bring an item to donate if they wish, and the money collected goes to a charitable cause.  This year the funds are going to help ladies in Ghana learn to sew, to help support themselves and their families. (I think to purchase a sewing machine for classes there too.)

You just write your name and bid amount on the papers. 

 A lot of the donated items were hand made. I just took a Tupperware divided server that I've never used. It was as big as a spaceship and would have taken up all the space in my fridge.

I placeda bid on that brown fabric pumpkin of the left but didn't win.

Also on this blue woven pillow that my friend Linda made. I was out-bid on that too...so I went home empty handed.

The meeting is ready to start...

 Finally...time to break for lunch! Everyone brought a dish for a potluck meal.

I brought a pasta salad...and so did a bunch of other people.  I guess everyone thinks of it because it holds up well and tastes good at room temperature.  

The tables were groaning with every type of casserole and salad imaginable....

Pretty fruit tray at the end!

But wait!  That's not the end...there is an entire dessert table!

A bit more business and a few announcements. Dues were collected and we received our handbook for the year.

Something new this year is monthly painting classes. Sounds interesting...I'm  going to find out more about it!

barbecue at home

A couple of weeks ago my older son, Chopper, had lunch at a barbecue restaurant he had never tried before...FDKY BBQ.    Strange name, but he liked their food.  

Knowing how Lonnie loves barbecue, Chopper brought him a bottle of one of their sauces for us to try out.

When I saw pork shoulders on sale this week at the grocery, I knew just what to do with that sauce!

I bought a big one and roasted it for about 7 hours on Saturday.

I let it cool, separated out the fat then put the meat in the fridge overnight.   On Sunday morning, I sliced it up a little and added the whole bottle of sauce and heated it in the oven for about an hour.

It came out pretty good. The sauce is a good one...sweet and tangy.  We all like a little hot sauce on our barbecue too.

Along with it, we had deviled eggs, crash hot potatoes, cole slaw, Mayocoba beans, buttered green beans with onions, and Jiffy mix corn muffins.

(oh dear, chaotic table, again)

Thanks, Chopper, for the tasty barbecue sauce! Lonnie and I will have to go try the restaurant some time.

For dessert, white cake with cream cheese frosting in the middle and sweetened whip cream frosting on the outside...a belated birthday cake for me - so we had to have ice cream with it too.

White cake with white icing is my favorite.

I had a little mishap with the deviled eggs. I always sprinkle paprika over the top of them.

Well, this time I accidentally grabbed the cayenne pepper out of the cabinet and sprinkled that on them. Whew!

Those spices are close to the same color but definitely not interchangeable in a recipe!

And you know what's even worse?  This is the second time I've done that very thing!

The eggs were not inedible...and we do like hot foods...I just wouldn't make them that way on purpose.

Michigan trip - part 3

I still have a lot of pictures left. I hope I can finish up the story today!

On the morning we took the cruise on Lake Superior  to see Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, the weather was back and forth. Sometimes cool and cloudy with a few sprinkles of rain...then the sun would pop out for a few minutes.

Fortunately. our tour boat had a covered area with plenty of windows.

It was about a 15 minute ride to the area with the colorful cliffs. 

The guide gave us lots of info about the layers of rock...colored by different minerals.

The evening cruises are more popular because the sun shines directly on the cliffs...enhancing the colors.  

Look how different the lake looks when the sun comes out!

There are much nicer photos on their website if anyone is interested.

On the way back to the dock we passed this lighthouse. Built in 1868, now partly restored and protected by a seawall.  We were told there are lots of shipwreck remains in the lake around this whole area, well preserved by the cold and unpolluted water.

Of course being outside on a cool, drizzly morning makes you hungry, so when our cruise was over, I wanted to try a "pastie" (rhymes with nasty).  I had been seeing signs advertising them and it's fun to try regional foods, so we went to "Muldoon's Pasties", and ordered a beef one, with an extra cup of gravy, to share.

They are a lot like a pot pie and there are a lot of choices for the filling...savory or sweet.

This is "stick to your ribs" kind of food!

We then began our drive south, back toward Lake Michigan and I started seeing signs for another type of food that we don't have at home...smoked fish.  Finally, I had to pull in at a little store to see what it was.   They had a whole refrigerated case of it. Salmon, trout, whitefish and more.

The clerk told Lonnie that the fish is soaked in brine for 20 hours and then smoked for several hours (can't remember how many exactly).

I was hoping to just taste a free sample but they weren't allowed to do that. So, I bought this piece of smoked trout and put it in the cooler with the cheese.

That evening, we arrived in St. Ignace, on Lake Huron.  Lonnie chose a hotel right on the lake, a room on the 3rd floor with a balcony.  Sitting out there was almost like being on a cruise ship.

There was just a small patch of land in back of the hotel and I walked down to put my feet in Lake Huron. The 3rd of the Great Lakes on this trip.   

Move over geese!

Ouch! Not a good beach - too rocky!  

It was so pleasant sitting on the balcony that we didn't want to leave for dinner...so I put together a tray of smoked trout,along with some other snacks I'd packed for the trip... black olives, crackers and cheese. 

The trout was good...very smoky. A little goes a long way. ( I did finish the rest for breakfast the next day). 

We had planned to take the ferry to Mackinac Island the next morning, but the forecast said rain...all day long. Instead, we drove across Mackinac Island Bridge. This is the bridge that divides Lake Michigan and Lake Huron and connects Michigan's Upper Peninsula with the rest of the state.

We looked around Mackinaw City, then took a scenic drive south to Traverse City. 

In Traverse City we took the most beautiful drive out "Old Mission Peninsula". It was miles of scenic lake views and the roads were lined with wineries and vineyards, fruit orchards, and more.

At the tip of the peninsula was this Old Mission Lighthouse, built in 1870.

That's all grapes growing in the foreground below, the lake in the distance.

It was our last night of the trip so we stopped for a nice meal at Harrington's by the Bay.  I ordered a tenderloin salad.  I was so surprised when it came out looking like this...

I always poke fun at restaurants where the food is stacked up like this, but this was a really delicious salad.  Those are little pearls of caviar decorating the plate!

The next day was our drive home, with a couple of stops at fruit/produce stands.  The best souvenirs are the ones you can eat!

We came home with yellow plums, a jar of cherry pie filling, a small overpriced bottle of cherry wine (from a winery on the peninsula drive), concentrated cherry juice. some huge fresh peaches, cheese from the Wisconsin dairy, tiny Dutch shoes bought at the windmill park, a piece of driftwood and a colorful rock from Lake Huron.

It was a great trip and we plan to go back again some time to see the things we missed.

Always good to be back home though!