these days...

...this is what i've been doing when i have a minute.  it's taken me longer than desired due to unwanted sickness (although really...what sickness is wanted) and thanksgiving preparations and festivities.  all i have left to do on it is the binding now.  phew!  what a relief.  it should've been a two-to-three day thing, not it's turned into almost a week.  that's okay though!  i'll be happy if i even get to it before christmas now, the way things are looking.  (trying to squeeze some happiness into that last sentence, but it's not working.  i'll try harder)....re-do.....i'll be happy when i get to it this week!  yay!

and then there's this scene.  can i just freeze them like that forever?  please?

apple pie, part dos

thanks for tuning back in!  good to see ya!  now comes the part that actually makes the pie yummy, in my opinion.  that includes sugar!, cinnamon and nutmeg.  oh yum.  throw all ingredients into the apple bowl and mix until beautiful and shiny.

look at that, would ya?  i'm telling you, it's always tempting to just eat it right there and then; although you would surely notice a difference in taste and texture later.

next?  the real kicker....butt-ah!  dots of it everywhere!

then, just as martha does, layer flowers and turkey pie crust over the top.

ask the cute little girl nearby to apply the egg wash.  she'll do a great job, just like this one did!  if you have no cute little girl nearby, we're taking orders.  she travels!

love it, bake it and then?  eat it please!  fresh out would be ideal, but let's face it, that just doesn't happen, does it?  not most the time.  so re-heat, if you must.

continue on to make your pumpkin pies, mixing such beautiful colors like these.  can't get much more like fall than that- at least, not in a bowl.  (just smile)

pies = happy brooke

apple pie, part uno

i was in charge of the pies this year for thanksgiving.  i made the two that i love the most, apple and pumpkin pies.  oh me, oh my, oh dinosaur!  so here's the apple pie in the making:

to peel

(what?  so i love rounding the edges)

then they'll look like this, just beautiful.  next....core the apples (paying no attention to how dry my hands are.  i should've photoshopped lotion on them.  ha!  can you do that?) ...

...ask your daughter to make sure the apples are peek-worthy.  check!

put peelings in compost.

chop into fine slices.  don't forget to eat a few.

cut out pie crust designs for the top of the pie.

continued in part dos.

almost done

so remember how i started this the other night?  yeah.  i finally pulled it back out last night while i watched penelope (cute movie, by the way) and added more muslin siding, batting and the polka-dot backing.  tonight?  time to finish!  yay!  i will have finished it before thanksgiving, just like i wanted. 

lovely cositas giveaway!

i swear these things come in ever-so-handy!  tight muscles?  put your heat therapy rice bag on it!  cold feet?  rice bag!  need a warm compress?  rice bag!  your two-year-old get a boo-boo?  keep one in the freezer or fridge and you're all set!  i've made quite a few in the last few days and thought i'd share the wealth.  so i'm giving one away!  if you want this one, say so!  otherwise i can make you a different one!  no problem!

(so perhaps i will iron it, cause the wrinkles are driving me nuts!)

it has a washable outer part, cause you probably will be using it that much!

the other thing i decided to whip up last night...

...it's only half done at this point.  we'll try to finish this by thanksgiving day!

***to win***

simply leave a comment here right now!

comments will be closed wednesday at 10pm, PST, november 25...and the winner announced shortly thereafter.  be sure i have a way to contact you if you win!  good luck!

**congratulations to Staci Lynn!**

garden update

gardening is so gratifying!  i just adore it.  really.  i can't wait to spend even more hours in my future garden at my future home (whenever that may end up being).  plantlife is just so beautiful and unique and divine.  the genetic make-up of a plant is fascinating to me too.  does that make me a science geek?  cause i never did all that well in science, even though i loved what i was learning.  strange, i know.  i'm not a good test-taker. 

our pumpkin plant continues to grow, inch by inch.  i love that i recognize the spade-shaped main leaf that defines the pumpkin plant so well.  i feel a small sense of accomplishment by having grown it, although it's probably not much.  i'm sure that it will grow like a weed whether i do anything to it, or not.  we shall see!

as you can see, my cucumber plants are thriving and continuing to love me back.  i may have put more than one seed in each hole when planting, resulting in more than one plant growing together...whoops! 

and would ya look at that?  something to show on the first row!  corn!!!  i almost didn't see the sweet little sprouts when i stopped by.  being that i really kept hoping for something, i looked a little closer and i found these two buddies ready to make their big debut.  now here's to hoping for good growing and future pollination!

poor thing

my poor sewing machine.  i really do feel so bad for it's mal-treatment.  being that i'm the only that uses sally (what?  so i named her), makes me the mean one.  okay, i'll admit, it's been since halloween that i even pulled her out.  why, you ask?  because of this:

it made me so angry that night.  i was trying to make these for this:      (sorry about the blurry pic)

it ended up working out, but no thanks to sally.  since then i haven't had the decency to put a new needle in.  despite my many desires to do so, i've severely procrastinated any and all sewing projects that i had lined up.  it's sad really, cause the holiday's are coming up and i really should jump back in.  so....

....without further ado, here's sally!

she feels much better now.

to attack:

cheer me on, cause i'm gonna need it!

cinnamon settlers

this is jack.  jack is a jack of trades, one of which is baking.  who'd have known?

he makes cinnamon rolls among other things, but we were lucky enough to be the recipients the other night of his small masterpieces.  can you say, sugary deliciousness?  mmm...i can.  and did.  and hope to again.

inbetween cinnamon roll duties we played this...

...and wound up with those.  directions:

1.  place cinnamon roll on napkin/plate
2.  with your thumb and forefingers, pick it apart a bit at a time
 (or shovel through like i do)
3.  sip some hot chocolate every 2 bites
4.  continue to scarf until gone
 (while keeping an eye on the next one you'll eat)
5.  sip your hot chocolate, yet again.
6.  repeat.

pat yourself on the back for a job well done!
promptly afterwards, crash on the couch.

garden update

we mosied on over to the garden plot yesterday after picking the girls up from school, and just look at what we saw!!  that's right!  seedlings sprouts!  i was beyond excited, because 2 days ago there was still just soil.  this plant in particular that had sprouted was our cucumbers.  i'm so excited to add them to my salads...whenever that may end up being.  but who cares?  i'm just glad that they're there.

so we watered the certain areas that needed it and got a little muddy...

...and got even more excited about the small progress my pumpkin plant makes each time we visit. 

a small p.s. to this post; does anyone know what plant this is?  i thought i had weeded it all out, but over the past few weeks it has grown back in.  it's something that the previous garden tenants had planted, and it's not ugly by any means, but i'm not sure what it is.  and i'd like to know.  help!