Cookies For The Retirement Center

Yesterday, mom & I took Chooch, the therapy dog, over to the retirement center:



Mom adopted Chooch when she was about 2 years old. Mom's previous dog, Benjamin, who was also a therapy dog had passed away. Once mom had Chooch, mom trained her and had her certified as a therapy dog. Chooch just turned 10 years old 2 weeks ago.

Chooch is the sweetest, most lovely and gentle dog you would ever want to meet. So every other week, mom and I take Chooch over to the retirement center where Chooch is so loved and adored by the residents.

For each holiday, mom and I bake cookies and make up little cookie bags to give to the residents. We each make 3 different kinds for a total of 6:



Here is our basket of cookie bags:



And finally, we make little tags for them, with glitter (of course!):



We don't get too carried away with the tags. Just something to make the bags look pretty. It's really nice to give a bit of holiday sunshine to the residents. Some have little or no family. Some are a bit withdrawn or not totally on the planet (I know that feeling!) and some are just plain lonely. But they see Chooch and we had them a bag of cookies, and they smile.

I just got home from WalMart. I usually go on Friday but decided to do it today instead. I may be crazy but I'm not that crazy! I have a few dishes to wash up and then I'll head over to mom's. I promised I'd help make her Molasses Raisin Muffins for Thanksgiving. My mom is visually impaired so I promised I would watch the oven for her so they don't burn. These muffins are incredibly good so I'm going to see if mom will share her recipe with me and then I'll share it here. It'll be later this week.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I'll be making Applesauce with Cranberries tomorrow to take to mom's on Thursday. I'm hearing news that I've started an "applesauce making trend"! Baking it in the oven is really the way to go! Anyway, so I've never made applesauce with cranberries before. I'll let you know how it turns out!

I'm wanting to do some stitching but I have trouble sitting still. I seem to need to move around. Then, by 5 pm, I'm exhausted and need to go to bed. Once I get comfy cozy in my bed, restless leg syndrome sets in! That'll drive a person nuts! It's caused by the medication. If anyone has suggestion for me to get rid of it, I'm open to them! I usually have to get up and walk around for awhile. And I do take a bath before I go to bed which is supposed help and was helping until the last dosage increase.

Anyway, speaking of laying on the bed, thought you would enjoy seeing this photo of my Simba:



He pushes my stitched pillow/cushion out of his way and curls up with my teddy bear. I could love to be a cat in my next life and live with someone like me!

Still Breathing

I don't have anything all that great to share today. Just wanted to say hello. I've been quite restless and feel the need to keep moving around. I made a batch of shortbread cookies yesterday, sewed up a 9 inch block for a white peacock purse, went to Staples for a new ink cartridge ($71.99 later. What's up with that? Geez, we all need a loan to buy printer ink these days!), took cookies to my 3 great neighbors, made chili for taco salad and finally at 3:00 pm, when I was yawning, Scott told me to go lay down on the bed and watch TV. That was it for my day.

I saw my counselor this morning and she told me that the restlessness is really nervousness due to the upcoming holidays. She said that once I get past the 1st of the year, I should start to feel better. Thank goodness. I'm having a hard time sitting still to stitch.

I'm getting ready to head over to mom's now. We're going to the retirement center this afternoon with Thanksgiving Cookie Bags for everyone. I'm taking my camera with me to mom's so I'll have photos tomorrow. Wait till you see my mom's therapy dog, Chooch! She is so cute and so sweet! A beautiful Black Lab and the happiest dog I've ever met!

Until tomorrow, have a great day everyone!

Winter Crazy Quilt Project

I'm setting myself up here, with some projects to work on through out the Winter months. I thought I'd would put a few things together and just have a basket of projects ready to stitch on.

The first is a set of 9 8-inch blocks, all pieced in white fabrics with a vintage embroidered floral hankie as a focal point on each block:



This will be lovely hanging in my Living Room for Summer! It should help to keep my mind occupied too. This damned depression just seems to go on and on. Day after day after day. But I don't care to moan about it too much today. I try to think about my fun projects.

Another one that I want to piece up is a block for a Peacock Purse. I haven't done a peacock in a long time so I thought that would be a nice Winter project as well. I'm also planning to do a few embroidered things using my vintage iron-on transfers. I just need to finish up on my Vogart dresser scarf. I only have the flowers to do on one end and then it's complete. My mom wants to crochet around the outside for me. Despite my protests, only because my mom already does so much for me, I agreed to let her do that.

Well, I'm about out of steam for today. We've had nothing but cloudy, dreary, rainy days here all week. My Seasonal Affective Disorder Syndrome kicked in early this year. My Dr. increased my Zoloft to 100 milligrams a day and it just knocks me out by 3 in the afternoon on days like this.

Before I head off for the day though, I thought I'd share a photo of my Peach Applesauce with you:



I used 3 pounds of Red Delicious apples, 3 pounds of Jonathon apples, 3 medium size cans of peaches in pear juice, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Again, I baked it in the oven and oh, does my house smell good!

I never made applesauce with Jonathon apples before. I never liked them but as you can see, I'm experimenting these days.

Winter Crazy Quilt Project

On Saturday morning, I gave Mary Anne's Impossible Chocolate Pie a try. Oh my goodness! It's absolutely sinful! My father said it was dangerous! Ha, ha, ha! I took photos but, my photos were fuzzy so I don't have one to share. I just thought I'd mention that it's a wonderful, very rich dessert and if you want to give it a try, you won't be sorry. You can find the recipe here at Magpie's Mumblings. Thank you Mary Anne!

Susan asked me what I do with all my baking since Scott and I don't eat much of it. I give most of it to my father and my neighbors. The fun for me is making it and the way it makes my kitchen smell. My mom always jokes, that the only reason I have a kitchen is because it came with the house. LOL! I'm really not into cooking. It doesn't do a thing for me. I can make basic stuff like soup, chili and so on but it's the baking that I love.

Sue mentioned that she really enjoys whatever photos I post, be it stitching, sewing, baking or whatever. Thank you for your message Sue!

I was over-stressing (no wonder I had a breakdown) over staying on topic. My anxiety levels have always been off the charts! But as you can see, I'm loosening up a bit. From now on, I'm just going to talk about whatever I feel like talking about. There will be plenty of stitching, new designs (as soon as my desire to design comes back) and other craft related topics but there will also be my baking and probably some gardening photos come Spring & Summer. Maybe I'm starting to let go of some things and perhaps I won't be so uptight anymore.

Well, speaking of Spring & Summer, I started sewing up some blocks today for a new quilt project. I sewed up 4 blocks and have 5 more to do. I decided to do something light and airy to help me get through the dreaded Winter months ahead. Ya'll know how I feel about Winter!

Anyway, I've been collecting vintage machine-embroidered handkerchiefs for years now. I have a whole hatbox full of them! I pulled 9 out with different colored flowers:



The blocks are 8 inches square and are pieced all in a variety of white fabrics. I want my stitching and beading to really pop but I want the quilt to be soft looking. As soon as I get the last 5 blocks pieced, I'll share another photo of them all before I start stitching on them.

I'm still working on my Vogart dresser scarf with the kitties. It's taking me a wee bit longer than I anticipated. If I'd stay away from my Kitchenaid for awhile, I would be able to get it done!

Baking & Blog Friends

My mail came yesterday and what did I find in there? A wonderful vintage Cooky Book from Judy:



Oh, what a nice surprise that was! I've looked through it so many times, I'm surprised I haven't worn it out yet. There are a ton of yummy sounding recipes in here and I've already picked out a few that I would like to try. Along with the book, Judy also sent me a couple of charms. Thank you so much Judy! You're so kind to me!

I must say that my friends in blog-land are the best! So many of you have sent me cards and little surprises to cheer me up and encourage me through this very trying (and what feels like a never-ending) illness. I really can't thank all of you enough for your support and understanding.

Anne mentioned that she really enjoys my baking photos. She said that she wishes she could come to my house for a cookie! Anne, it would be a very long drive to my house just for a cookie! Thank you so much for leaving me a comment.

Honestly, if I could mail cookies to all of my blog readers, I would. Unfortunately, I don't have a money tree growing in my backyard and I haven't been able to work much for awhile so the best I can do is to share my baking, my stitching and my other creative endeavors with you.

I didn't actually bake today but I did make some Strawberry Applesauce:



I guess this is sort of baking because I put everything in a casserole dish and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees. That way, I don't have to watch it and keep stirring it on the stove top.

I must say that my house smells so good right now! I cut up 3 pounds of Red Delicious apples, sprinkle them with the juice of 1 fresh lemon and baked it for 40 minutes. Then I added a bag of frozen strawberries and 1/4 cup of sugar. I baked it for another 15 minutes and I have a nice batch of Strawberry Applesauce. I used a potato masher to mash the fruit after it was done baking. I like chunky applesauce! Sometimes I just leave the sugar out. I don't eat much in the way of sugar but today I felt like adding a little.

I was going to try a recipe that Mary Anne sent to me called Impossible Chocolate Cream pie. I bought the Bisquick today but unfortunately, I'm out of steam now. I will see how I feel tomorrow and perhaps make it then.

I'm hoping to feel decent enough on Sunday to run my sewing machine. I mentioned last week that I'm planning a new CQ project to help me get through this Winter. I collect vintage machine embroidered handkerchiefs. I picked out 9 of them with different flowers and I'll be working each one into an 8 inch block. They'll be pieced entirely in white fabrics. I really want my embroidery and beading to show up and working with flowers will help me to think of Spring.

I do feel like I should be designing. I have ideas but the drive just isn't there. I don't know why since I can stitch, sew and bake. I can take care of keeping my home clean and I take care of all errands. Working on designs at the moment just feels like one too many things. I'm told that will come back in time. I sure hope so. I do enjoy it. I just can't get into it at the moment.

Well, that's my post for today. Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'll have more baking and some sewing photos soon!