Hope?

It's coming..............

I can feel it in my bones.

Not long until the porch looks like this again.

Snowy Night Supper

Here's Supper!

Mom made Lena's spaghetti sauce. Mom and Dad used to live with Lena and Roger when they were first married and this is the sauce Lena taught Mom how to make. It's a real family favorite perfect for a snowy storm night.

Mom let the sauce cook all day. It smelled so good!

She stewed some Italian sausages right in the sauce and took them out before serving to be divided up.

Here is Mr. Jimmy's fabulous whole wheat bread, ready to sop up all that red saucy goodness.

Warm and cozy. I ate so much spaghetti I didn't have room for the salad.

Keep warm.

Another Snow Storm.

We are having another snow storm today. This one is a soft and gentle storm. Loads of big fluffy flakes floating gently to the already snow covered ground.

Here's the view from the front porch.

and the dining room window.

Sebastian loves the snow and chases the big flakes. He tries to get them all in his mouth at the same time.

We're trying to keep toasty. Mr. Jimmy is making some fabulous whole wheat and seed bread. He's getting so much better at it. Mom is making Spaghetti and Sausages. Sooooo good!

and I am making Mr. Jimmy in a bunny suit!

:D

Brussel Sprout, Potato and Bacon Bake.

We decided to make one of our favorites for dinner.
We LOVE brussel sprouts.

We call this

Brussel Sprout Bake

and here is the recipe.

(By the way..... spell check is telling me it's spelled Brussels Sprouts. Do you say it that way? We call them Brussel Sprouts so I'm going to spell it the way we say it. Sorry if I offend anyone.)

Wash up a bag of brussel sprouts. Trim the ends off and cut the big ones in half. Put them in a large baking dish.

Add a small bag of washed and halved baby red potatoes.

and one yellow onion sliced into largish slices.

Get five or six extra thick cut bacon slices

and chop them into half inch chunks.

Drizzle on some balsamic vinegar

and some olive oil. The regular kind not extra virgin. That will burn.

Mix them up well and make sure everything is coated in oil and vinegar.

Then bake it at 450 until it's all golden brown. It took about 35 minutes, but watch it closely it burns fast.

This is Sebastian.

He is demonstrating the best way to get the cold wet snow off of your fur.
Apparently, you just rub it off on our bed.

:/

Lime Green and Turquoise Nail Art.

We're waiting for a HUGE winter storm.
So I've gone into rebellious mode and decided to make spring nails in almost neon colours.

I can feel the sun already.

The lime green and turquoise sparkles are Martha Stewart sparkles mixed in with the clear acrylic powder. The red flowers are UV gel an the top coat is UV gel.

To The Pool!!!!

Spring has to come soon........... Right?

Let the Redecorating Begin...... and meatloaf man.

Yesterday I bought the PERFECT retro piece for our dining room. Mom and Auntie J found it at the local Sally Anne (Salvation Army Thrift Shop for those not in the know). I am completely in love with it. They delivered the piece for twenty dollars..... unfortunately they broke the glass and smashed the front lip of the credenza. I'm going to have to find someone local who cuts glass and finishes it so I can have new doors made. I'm not sure what I'll do about the front lip of the bottom piece. They have refunded the shipping cost and offered to take some money off the purchase price but it's a charity shop so I'll deal with the loss. I will also remember in the future that the delivery people from thrift shops may not consider their cargo as precious as I do. It may be smart to find my own means of transporting large pieces in future.

Here is the piece in it's natural environment.

I really do love it. I hope I can get the blemishes fixed. Anyone out there know how to replace the melamine trim? Or where to find melamine trim from the fifties?


Here,
for your viewing pleasure
is Maggie's

MEATLOAF MAN!!!!

Before the sauna.

and after.
He was delicious!

Knitted DMC Floss Bracelet with Beads. From the Archives.

Quite a while back I made this tutorial for HA Kidd and co here in Canada. They are the folks responsible for beads and findings for sewing and DMC floss. A fabulous company all around.

We have company this week, Auntie J is visiting, so I'm using this as an opportunity to sift through the project archives and put up some things you may not have tried before.

Enjoy!

1. Wind one skein of
DMC color variations floss
onto a floss holder. Feed
the loose end of the floss
into the beading needle and
load on 60 beads.

2. Make a slip knot 12cm from loose end
of floss. This slip knot will be your first
cast on stitch. Cast on four more
stitches to have five in total.

3. Slide five beads up closer to knitting,
placing first bead right up against needle.

4. Start knitting row, pushing a new bead up
to the needles before every stitch. Knit 6
rows in this pattern. You will use half of
the 60 beads for these 6 rows.

5. Continue to straight
knit without beads for
55 rows (or when
unbeaded section measures
15cm). Finish piece
by adding 6 more rows
of bead knitting. Cast
off on the seventh row,
without beads.

6. Finished piece should
measure 19cm for an
average wrist width.
Add or take away knitting
rows to increase or
decrease length as
desired. Use a big eye
beading needle to sew
the raw thread ends
back into piece before
trimming.

Nail Fill and a Daisy

I had to do a back fill on my nails and decided to replace the roses from two weeks ago with a daisy.

I like 'em!

They feel like spring!

I left the round sparkles and the glitter in there.

I could only find time for one little daisy. It's embedded in the nail so it's flat on top.

New Things.

I've been busy working away on a commission this week, but not too busy to create other things too. George has also been busy getting in my way.

Honest, I slather affection on him constantly! You'd think he was starved for it the way he insinuates himself on everything we are working on. I think it's his way of slowing down the creative process so we don't miss anything. He really is helping!

Here are some new things I've done with some of the Five Sisters beads I got last week.

Simple drop earrings on a turned head pin. Took five minutes to make two pair.

A matching wrapped drop pendant.
Sometimes the simplest things are the best ones.

Here is the new fabric I got from Hootcouture to make Mr. Jimmy and I our spring outfits. It came speedy quick and wrapped in a pretty little dotty ribbon. Can't wait for a couple seconds to rub together so I can start sewing.

BEADS!!!!!! Five Sisters Purchase. YUMM

A little while back I ordered a small bunch of beads from

Five Sisters.

It was a teeny purchase but I was treated like a queen.
Fast and inexpensive shipping, and...
BEAUTIFUL BEADS!!!

Here is what I got.

I tucked my hand in so you could see the size of some of these pretties.
Maggs and I are already wrestling over who gets what.
I'd better get a second order in soon.
I'm pretty sure Maggs can take me.

I tossed together a quick pair of sky blue drop earrings because I couldn't bare to not have them with me all the time. I needed the spring time cheeriness of the blue to inspire me for the commission I'm working on this weekend.
It's going to be fabulous, I can already feel it.