The Great Rooster Chase Is Over

Can you believe this little bird dominated our entire day! LOL The boys still hadn't caught him so I threw on my rubber boots and joined in the chase. And even though I didn't actually catch him myself (Jase did), I did remind the boys that it took a woman's motivating presence to get him caught!





Blessings,
Lea

Little Aprons & Vintage Dolls

Hurray ~ another UFO completed! Some time ago, I agreed to help a friend restore a rag doll that her mother made for her as a child. Originally handmade in the 1950's, this little doll came to me in a small envelope with no stuffing, no hair and missing her apron. And today I finally got her completed.



I was so pleased with my first attempt at a miniature apron. It's only about six inches long. New fabric just wouldn't do for such an old dolly. I was fortunate to have just the right vintage linen in my stash and was able to craft an apron that I felt she would be comfortable in. I think it suits her well, don't you?



She looks so pleased with her new yarn hair and fresh old apron. I sure hope she resembles the doll that my friend remembers as a child. Tomorrow she will be ever so carefully packaged and sent on her way to Mississippi. I wish I could be there when the packaged is opened!

I still have a few more unfinished projects to complete before I let myself begin a new one, but I can't help thinking how pretty a little kitchen Christmas tree would look covered in miniature aprons??? I hope I can make myself wait to begin.

Stay cozy & warm,
Lea

Raggedy Projects & Garden Dreams

These freezing temperatures are keeping me indoors and near the woodstove, so I'm finally catching up on all those unfinished projects that I'd love to work on but can never seem to get to. Am I the only one who does that? I did recently finish this little set of Raggedy Triplets for some dear friends. Now I'm completing my (blush) 12 year old quilt ... the last block in hand. (Will Mom ever be happy that I finally finished it!)



But though I love getting all caught up, my heart has already turned toward the garden with all the hopes of new things I want to accomplish this year. My mind is swimming with herbs & butterfly gardens, stone paths & scarecrow friends ... Sometimes I think God chose to place winter right before spring just for me. If He had not, I don't think I'd ever take time to catch up on other things or even to plan my garden well.

I'm off to stitch and dream some more. Stay warm!

Many blessings,
Lea

What could be sweeter ...

... than a basket of kitties?



These little cuties are the newest additions to our homeplace. Aren't they precious?

Postscript: For those of you that expressed your concern, though we can't spray and neuter every stray cat that visits us for a while, this Mama Cat does have an appointment with the vet to be spayed after these little kitties are weaned. Looks like she is a keeper for sure! :)

Blessings,
Lea

From My Kitchen ~ Homemade Cloverleaf Rolls

I just love to make homemade bread. I love the way it fills our home with a delicious scent. I love kneading it by hand ~ it just plain ole' feels good! LOL And I really love the way my husband and boys make over me when I bake. I get lots of extra lovin' on bread baking day. :)



But most of all, I take great satisfaction in knowing that I am making something for my family that doesn't contain all the chemicals and preservatives that store bought breads contain.

It is one of my goals this year to create a routine for myself to bake enough bread each week to eliminate our reliance on store bought. And a secondary goal would be to replace some of my store bought ingredients with freshly, ground whole wheat.

Some time back, I purchased a very nice hand powered grain mill from Lehman's Non-Electric. Little did I realize that you must have an extremely solid surface in order to use it. I still giggle a little thinking of the first time I set it up and began to grind. Wheat nuts were flying all over the room and the table was slowly vibrating across the floor. Colton thought it was hilarious while I wanted to cry.



I've debated purchasing an electric mill, but I think I would prefer to keep my non-electric and invest in a solid oak table instead. Still thinking about that ....

Well I'm telling you that whole, long story just to tell you this ... I made some wonderful homemade cloverleaf rolls tonight!

I used a recipe from my dear friend, Mary of And Even If ... And they were wonderful! Mine don't look nearly as good as Mary's but they were so tasty. My family just raved about them. So I wanted to share Mary's recipe with you.



Mary's Homemade Texas Ranch Rolls
(Mary is a Texas girl and I couldn't resist embellishing the name just a bit.)

First, dissolve 2 packages of yeast in 2 cups of warm water.

Then in a large mixing bowl, place the following:
1 beaten egg
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt

Mix egg mixture into the yeast water and stir well.

One cup at a time, add 5-6 cups of flour to the mixture. Knead by hand or use your mixer if you have a kneading attachment until the flour takes on a nice elastic feel.

Place large roll into a greased bowl - I prefer to use butter. Then cover and allow to rise in a warm place until it almost doubles in bulk. Depending on the temperature this may take about 30 minutes or more.

Get your muffin tin already by rubbing the cups with ... you guessed it ... more butter! (You can see why these rolls are so very tasty, can't you?)

Then pinch off walnut-sized pieces and roll them into balls. Place three dough balls into each cupcake cup. Allow these to rise in a nice warm spot until they rise just above the cup. Then they're ready to bake.



Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and .... brush with more butter!

This recipe makes about 30 absolutely beautiful rolls. I split the dough and made 18 rolls and one small loaf of bread for sandwiches for tomorrow's lunch.



Hope you enjoy Mary's recipe as much as we have!

Blessings,
Lea

From My Kitchen ~ Mini Cheesecakes

Sitting down here to write a post today, I feel like I'm visiting an old friend. Life has been bustling around our homeplace leaving little time for so many other pleasures. It's so nice to be back.

Today our family has enjoyed a day of quiet rest at home. After morning worship, I took a leisurely walk to check on all the new life that seems to be sprouting everywhere.

Colton enjoying an afternoon nap.

So many little things that I planted last year (and have forgotten about) are surprising me ~ lemon balm, lillies and the wild roses that I transplanted from the forest which have grown from one plant to three! Just moments ago I picked a small handful of lavendar that has the most wondrous fragrance. If you sleep with a little sachet of lavendar under your pillow, the fragrance of this herb helps to relax your body and promotes a peaceful sleep. I'm going to tie these up and use them tonight under my pillow.

Lavendar springing to life

Luke requested that I bake some cheesecakes for him today. I always make them at Christmas time, but never seem to make them during the remaining 264 days of the year. Why is that, I wonder? Well, Luke (or quite possibly Luke's stomach) reminded me that every day is special and that I need to make them more often. So today I did just that especially for him.

Here's my simple recipe:



Mini Cheesecakes
3 pkg 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 C sugar
1 can fruit filling or fresh berries
1 box vanilla wafers
muffin liners (24)



Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the softened cream cheese and eggs. Slowly add the sugar and vanilla beating until smooth.



Place one wafter into each muffin liner in cupcake tin. Pour the mixture into each cup until 3/4 full.

Bake for 15 minutes or until done. Cool completely and top with fruit. Refrigerate.

Of course, I had to enjoy one myself along with my favorite little snowman mug that I use even in July!



I can hardly wait to share all that's been happening around our place.

Blessings,
Lea

A Place For Me ~

Linda of Behind My Red Door recently posted about where she blogs. She prompted me to spruce up my journaling spot a bit. I really desired a place that just feels good when I sit down to business and pleasure.

This old computer has been all over this house. I've tried it in every room, but now that Jase has his own laptop, I've moved it into my bedroom where I can enjoy being surrounded by pretty, feminine things while I'm working. So I carved out a small and practical corner in our bedroom where I can do my sewing and enjoy my computer time.



So here is where I sit and visit with you. So many of the little treasures I've surrounded myself with are gifts from my sweet online friends. I love the old tag hanging on my lamp. It says ~ "The Lord bless and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!" It's wonderful to sit down and be reminded of that blessing daily.



Mary created the pinkeep wall hanging and the Grandmother's garden quilt block. The workmanship is just amazing and so inspiring. Jeffrey bought me my own little Beatle Bug matchbox car so I could race with them ~ I thought that was so sweet. Other reminders of my friends are from Linda, Paula, Rhonda and Patricia. Thanks for making my special place even more special.



To my left, I have set up a table for my sewing machine and notions. I completed the stitchery on the wall named "Job's Tears" while I was carrying Colton. It's very special to me because it reminds me of yet another time that the Lord carried me through a trial. The first pinkeep I ever got was the little lady mouse sitting on the stacked boxes. My husband saw it at a yard sale on his way home from work years and years ago and brought it home for me. I've loved pinkeeps ever since.

The little white basket with the pink rose is my latest pinkeep creation. The small chest of drawers is a recent Goodwill find that I hope to paint black sometime in the near future ~ its on my never ending list of projects that I can hardly wait to do! My grandmother's old fruit jars are filled with an assortment of old buttons. Can you ever have too many buttons? And the two little silver containers are recent thrift finds that I plan to repurpose into pinkeeps. Aren't they just lovely?



And to my right, I have set up an antique ironing board. I really do use it for ironing when I'm making dolls or aprons. I don't mind leaving it up like I would a regular irong board. Of course, it is currently covered with fabrics and charm packs that I just can't bear to put away. But I love to look at them for inspiration. You know, I can look at them for weeks and weeks, and then one day I'll look and know exactly what I need to do with it. I couldn't do that if it was neatly place in a box out of sight, could I?

Behind the old ironing board is a very old ladder. I found that old ladder at a yard sale when I lived in Chicago. (I've been thrifting for a very long time!) It was at a house about 10 blocks from my home and I bought it without realizing it would not fit into my tiny car. Well I had already envisioned it with quilts hanging on it and could not leave it behind, so Jase & Luke who were just little guys ~ maybe 10 & 6 years old ~ carried that ladder all the way home for me while I slowly followed in the car. They thought it was great fun and of course, used it well to climb trees before I finally moved it indoors for my quilts. Such a fun memory!



Well now it has been sawed in two pieces and this one holds four old quilt tops that I have found in my treasure hunts. I especially like those that have incorporated feedsack materials. Three of them are all hand-pieced and the bottom one is hand quilted as well. I suppose I treasure them because I know how much work some dear woman invested in creating them. I often wonder why they were never completed and ended up discarded ~ but I take good care of them and their efforts are not forgotten.

So now you'll know where I am when I visit with you. This will probably be my last post for a while. I am hopelessly behind in visiting and can hardly wait to catch up and see what you've all been up to! Maybe I'll get to sneak in some time tonight.

Be sure to stop by Leslie of My Country Home to see what other gals are working on this Wednesday.

Most importantly of all, Jase is doing very well. His spirits are high and he is keeping busy with school and work. I can hear him down the hall laughing with his brothers ... life is sweet!

Blessings,
Lea