Gnomes on the Brain

I love gnomes. I was working on this blanket in Maine and am finishing it up here at home. I have been putting gnomes on dishtowels, pot holders, sweat shirts, coffee sleeves... you name it!

More Rain...

More rain today. Ugh. I am ready for an end of the rain already. Just a little warmth would be nice.

I did get a chance to work on sewing more hand towels. I also was able to paint the background for my May ATC cards for the swap on Mary Jane's Farm Girl Connection. I think that this month's card is going to be fun to make.

Believe it or not, in between raindrops I was able to go outside and get rid of junk in the garden. I had held onto some metal attachments from my old gazebo. I went through them and kept some plain ones for tomato stakes but I did get rid of about 8 of them that I could honestly find no use for. I am trying to use more recycled items in my garden but I also have to let go of and dispose of items that just make my yard look like a junk yard.

Fingers crossed that tomorrow there will be some sunshine...

More Gardening

I was lucky today. It was damp and a litle raw out today and the sun hid behind the clouds but it did not rain. I woke up early - ran to Walmart to pick up some cheap pots and ran home to get started.

I moved about 8 cement paving blocks from the side of the house into the garden and placed my re-potted herbs on them. I can't wait for summer when the herbs are blooming and I can sit on the bench just smelling them!

I was lucky because my neighbors' children Annalisa and Nick came over and helped me to start all my seeds and then helped me label them and place them into the two little greenhouses. Wouldn't it be a magnificient thing gto have a permanent little greenhouse in the yard? One can only dream...and dream...and dream!

I am hoping that the rain will hold off tomorrow as well so that I can get the rest of my seed into little pots. I am going to try to make some out of newspaper.

There is nothing better than spending the day out in the garden , getting dirty and bone tired, and then coming in and taking a hot shower!

Finally ...The Sun!

Well this morning it looked like it was going to be another washed out day. I peered out my bedroom window and into the low corner of my yard and ta da! A lake... a pond... and ducks. yes, in fact ducks were swimming in my backyard. That did not bode well for the garden work. But I pressed on. I headed over to Lowe's, picked up some fencing, some stakes, some weed barrier and some more seed pots.

Driving back home the sky grew dark and boy did the wind whip! Ugh. I went inside and did some work and then joy of joys - the sun came out. It was still windy but I was determined to get outside. It was great - I was able to do a lot of weeding, straightening up of the rock border. I even got most of the fencing up - I still have to decide what to do about a garden gate.

I was able to prune down and trim many of my plants. I even got a chance to start to train my blackberry bush around a trellis.

It was so nice to take a break and sit on the bench and dream about my garden. I have a plan for my herb plot and a great idea for a movable trellis for my beans.

My new little plastic greenhouses came in the mail. I popped them up today. I am going to place them in a bare spot in the garden. Unfortunately tomorrow it is supposed to rain. If it doesn't I will place the greenhouses. Even if it does rain I am going to cover the dining room table with plastic and plant my seeds.

Giant Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Yumm-o from Martha Stewart.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup butter at room temp, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup vegetable shortening melted and cooled, 1 large egg, 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in melted shortening. Add egg and vanilla; mix until creamy. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Using a 2 1/2 inch ice cram scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 4 inches apart. Bake until edges are firm, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

Snickerdoodles

I love cookies. These snickerdoodles are a cookie lover's dream!

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, 1 cup unsalted butter at room temp.,1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Put butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into twenty 1 3/4-inch balls; roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

These cookies barely have time to cool before my family starts to eat them up!

Love My Knifty Knitter

I have always wanted to knit but I completely lack the coordination and let's face it the patience. So, a few years ago I found this "knifty knitter" in JoAnns. They come in circles and other shapes. Looms - mini looms are what they are! I have been "knitting" hats and scarves with them and they really come out looking great.

I have found one that looks just like a straight line and now I am "knitting" sections to put together to make an afghan for Mother's Day. It should be really pretty. So far I have only used rose colored cotton thread but think I am going to add other colors to it.