confession time

Well.

I cried so much writing that post,

(although watching the video makes me smile every time, so long as I watch to the last second to watch Shawn's mouth curl)

and was so sad throughout the day,

that come evening, I could stand it no longer.

I dug through the trash 

and rescued the shirt.

(it's in the washing machine as I type)

I know it's silly.

But ya'll.

I don't think I painted an accurate picture about the value of that particular shirt.

When I said it became a favorite, and that even I wore it (often),

what I mean, is,

for roughly a decade,

that shirt was being worn

for at least 50 percent of our waking lives.

(And that's a really low, and therefore inaccurate percentage guesstimate.)

Which means,

a lot of family history happened while that shirt was worn.

I've ordered what I think is an appropriately soft coordinating fabric.

When it arrives, I will drop everything,

and attempt to fashion something beautiful from the the remnants.

I was going to wait to post this until I'd made something,

but I felt like I was lying to everyone,

and making people unnecessarily sad.

(or maybe that was just me? ;-)

it's my birthday! sort of...

Almost a full week before my birthday last year,

this surprised me in the mailbox.

How cheery is that?!

Of course, I take forever to decide what I want to buy with my birthday money,

and this year was no exception.

But.

I finally decided and made my purchases :-)

The big gift is this

It's been on my list for a couple of years, so I am especially excited to get it.

The question was posed to subscribers of a magazine, "Would you want your daughter to marry a farmer?"

The response to that question, by women who were, themselves, wives of farmers,

was an overwhelming and resounding, "yes."

This book is a compilation of some of the response letters they received,

and quilt blocks that were inspired by them.

I'm looking forward to the letters, as much as the patterns.

(Now, which fabrics to choose?   hmmmm ;-)

I also picked a silicone baking mat set

I sometimes make crackers for our Sunday night snack-y dinner.

They're yummy, but my method is frustrating, so I don't make them 

as often as I'd like to eat them.

I think that these will make my cracker making a lot more enjoyable tolerable,

so I am eager to try them out :-)

After those, I had enough money left to buy a couple of books that I've had on my wish list,

by ordering one of them used, and one as a kindle book!!

And,

because I am so thrifty, I had a little bit of money left, 

so I spent it on some 'add-on' golden-eye needles.

And then, because I am dumb, 

and didn't realize that they hadn't included the cost of shipping my used book in my cart total,

I still owed a couple of bucks after I spent my gift card,

so, I actually bought the needles for myself ;-)

But I expect I will forget that part...

Thanks, Mom & Bill ~ I love you!!

:-)

the end is near

You know?

I think I may really 

actually

be able to finish this thing.

Probably not for another month or so, though, mind you...

Linking up with Lee and Work in Progress Wednesday :-)

~

For those who are curious:

I'm using DMC Perle cotton, size 8 for the hand-quilting,

and Aurifil 50wt (of course ;-) for the machine.

(I recently found this perle - which, on sale, is an excellent price. I admit that I prefer the aesthetic of the little balls of DMC, though)

I mark my quilting lines with a hera marker.

So far, my preferred needle is a straw (milliner's) needle from Foxglove Cottage.

I've tried the chenille needles (or maybe they were crewel?) that lots of people said were best for perle cotton thread, 

but I really didn't care for them. 

At all. 

I could only get 2 stitches loaded before having to pull the needle through;

with my foxglove straw needles, I can load as many as 6.

I can only assume those people haven't yet tried my favorite needle...

Oh, and I sew by the light of this lamp. 

It's not pretty, but it gets the job done, and it's ever so much less expensive than an Ott.

(A full spectrum lightbulb in a pretty lamp would work well, too. But that did not occur to me before I made my purchase.)

so long {sniff}

We're ball-parking it at 9-12 years ago,

 but none of us can really remember when we bought it.

Only that it was much loved,

and it came from Kohl's,

and for a flannel shirt, was kinda expensive, (though, of course, on sale)

but it was sooo soft, that it was worth it.

That shirt quickly became Tyler's favorite.

And I've been known to wear it on more than one many occasions.

(In fact, I was the one that got a little bit of yellow paint on it when we built the  kid's kitchen

when I was hugely pregnant with Lex'.

I always felt bad about that. Sorry, Hon'.)

When Luke and Lana got married,

Tyler and I spent hours looking for a comparable flannel shirt for Luke, for Lana to steal.

We finally settled on one,

but it wasn't as soft and comfortable as Tyler's.

I patched it a time or two,

but time and over-use had its way with it

and today, it went rather unceremoniously into the trash.

brand-new, almost...

Goodbye shirt. 

Thanks for the memories.

low carb italian cream cake for one (or two)

I don't know why I bother saying, "I'll be back soon with a recipe."

Whenever I say that,

it's like I jinx myself and then take extra long to get back

with the recipe.

Anyways.

Here is my version of somebody else's version of somebody's (?) recipe.

I should note, that while this is a recipe for one,

I almost always make just one for Tyler and I to share,

and it's always plenty.

The two times I've made one all for me - I have been stuffed.

It can also easily be quadrupled (just use a 1/4 c measuring cup in place of the tablespoon measure)

and baked for 20 ish minutes in an 8x8 pan at 350

and makes 8 or 9 nice sized servings.

Italian Cream Cake for One

Into a large mug or very small baking dish,

I was thrilled to find a set of 8 of these 1 1/2 - 2 cups baking dishes for $3!!
They are easier to wash than mugs, plus - they are great for making buns

crack 1 egg and beat it a bit with a fork

(In the summer time, I would put my Tbs of coconut oil in first, but since it is winter,

I stick my little bottle of coconut oil  in a container in the sink and run it under hot water to melt a bit.)

thank-you, chickens, for my lovely eggs!!

Then grab just a few pecan halves, and crumble them into your mug/bowl

Then add 1 TBS each:

low carb baking mix

shredded coconut (unsweetened)

vanilla protein powder (if you don't have this, use another TBS of the baking mix - it's actually a nicer texture that way)

xylitol (or erythritol, or truvia, or a bit of stevia...)

By now, your coconut oil should be melted enough that you can pour off a TBS,

so add that too,

and mix it all up real well.

Stick in the microwave for about 1 minute and 11 seconds.

Obviously microwaves will vary - you want it to just barely be done (no more shiny).

While it's cooking,
 mix up 2 Tbs of cream cheese with a bit of powdered xylitol and a drop of vanilla

(It is a bit of a splurge, but I buy the package at Sams that has 50 - 1 ounce tubes of cream cheese. It's the perfect amount)

After your cake has cooled a bit, spread your frosting.

If you really want to get fancy,

add a little whipped cream and a sprinkle of pecans

and enjoy!

for ease of copying - with no commentary:

Italian Cream Cake for One

1 egg

1 Tbs coconut oil

1 Tbs low carb baking mix

1 Tbs vanilla protein powder OR baking mix

1 Tbs xylitol or equivalent no/low carb sweetener

a few pecan pieces

mix all ingredients in a microwave safe mug or bowl and cook a little over 1 minute